Round 142

Prev | TOC | Next

“Why am I more nervous?”

Today was the long-awaited shooting day.

I’ve been practicing the script with Ara in the dungeon, and it felt like we repeated the lines hundreds of times, even though it was just simple acting.

“Oops!”

Now Ara is showcasing an act of tripping even after walking just a little. Though her awkward exclamations were slightly bothersome, I clapped my hands, pretending to be pleased.

Clap clap clap.

“That’s it! Just like that!”

“Oops!”

But there were no such exclamations in the script. Who did she learn that from?

…….Father? Young-seong?

Surely, I don’t do that, right?

Reflecting on myself, Ara approached me with a confident look.

“It’s done now!”

“Yeah. Shall we go?”

“Okay!”

After a simple breakfast, we stepped outside.

Dududududu!

It was 8 AM, and seeing the construction workers, I greeted them warmly.

“Hello!!”

My greeting was almost drowned out by the noise, but someone recognized it and waved back at me.

“You’re up early! Where are you headed today?”

“Hello! We have a brief errand to run, and we’ll be back soon!”

“Ara is coming along too! Have a good trip!”

“We’ll be back!”

My father’s friend nodded and went back to his work. I decided to give the prepared crops to them.

I saw the supervisor managing the site from a distance. I took some items from Bokkeum and approached the supervisor.

“Ah, sir. Please share these during your break.”

“Oh, it’s Mr. Lee’s son! Thank you, we’ll enjoy these.”

Since I had given them some before, the supervisor greeted me warmly and accepted the gift. The crops were all things that would be helpful for their work.

‘Sweet potatoes for physical enhancement, potatoes for stamina boost, and embergrill sprinkled on top for mental fortitude.’

They were butter sweet potatoes and butter potatoes.

Easy to eat and with guaranteed deliciousness, perfectly complemented by the embergrill for a clean finish.

“Enjoy your meal!”

“Sure, Ara. The guys really appreciate it. Be safe on your way?”

“Okay!”

Ara was much loved by the workers.

As we came down the mountain, a waiting vehicle came into view. It was a car provided by Iron Blood Entertainment.

‘Wow.’

It was one of those cars that celebrities, called Starcraft, rode in.

“Hello. Are you Lee Kyu-seong?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Just then, someone got out of the passenger seat to greet us.

It was Ara’s temporary manager assigned by the company.

“Please get in.”

“Yes.”

The car door opened automatically. Ara jumped with joy at the sight.

“It’s so cool!”

Though most Magic stone cars had automatic doors, the ones we had used so far were manual. 

It was her first time seeing automatic doors, so Ara was thrilled.

“Your hairpin looks pretty.”

“It’s new, glad you like it. Thank you.”

As soon as we got into the car, the manager noticed Ara’s hairpin. Today, Ara wore the hairpin made by Mammon and skipped her usual hat.

“When we arrive at the site, we will make some adjustments, but since it’s a minor role, the hairpin should be fine.”

“Okay.”

As we got into the car, we headed straight to the main house.

There, we saw Seon-ah waiting in front of the house.

“Oh! There she is.”

When I pointed her out with my finger, the car stopped in front of Seon-ah.

Her expression looked determined, as if she was about to go to war.

“Hello, Lee Seon-ah.”

“Yes!”

Seon-ah answered energetically, like a new recruit in the army, and got into the car. Ara welcomed her with a bright smile.

“Seon-ah Seon-ah!”

“Ara, let’s do our best today! Fighting!”

Relax a bit first, will you?

I was slightly worried about Seon-ah’s overly tense appearance, but Ara, who was actually going to be acting, seemed fine, so I let it go.

“When we get there, we will handle most of the work, so you don’t have to be too nervous.”

The manager, sensing Seon-ah’s tension, smiled calmly. Seon-ah nodded vigorously, still looking tense.

“Okay!”

She didn’t seem to relax at all.

On the way, we had various conversations with the manager when suddenly the manager received a phone call.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Sure.”

The manager answered the phone with a few formal replies and then suddenly responded in a shocked voice.

“What?!”

Startled by the sudden increase in volume, Seon-ah and I cautiously glanced at the manager, wondering what had gone wrong. After finishing the call, the manager spoke with a troubled expression.

“Ara’s script has been changed.”

“What?”

The script has been changed?!

Ara was also shocked by the manager’s words and froze in disbelief.

“Does that mean I can’t say ‘Oops’…?”

But can the script really change so suddenly? And on the day of the shoot, no less.

“Is this common?”

“No! It’s very uncommon!”

The manager, equally upset, replied.

“They said they’ll send the revised script to Kyu-seong and me, but we’ll have to wait until we get to the site to understand the full situation.”

“What if Ara makes a mistake?”

“It won’t be Ara’s fault at all. This is against protocol! They wouldn’t have any grounds to complain if you refuse to shoot! If you and Ara wish, you can cancel it!”

Hearing the manager’s impassioned reassurance, I felt somewhat relieved.

“Let’s check it out first. I’m also curious why it was changed so suddenly.”

“Okay. Got it.”

The manager, slightly calmer, checked his phone and nodded.

“The revised script has arrived.”

As I checked, I saw the script had indeed arrived, just as the manager said. Seon-ah, too, was diligently reviewing the script.

I looked over the script as well, noting the increased lines compared to before. 

The changes weren’t major or extensive, which eased some of my worries. 

The problem was that Ara had to perform it immediately, and I wondered if she could memorize it in such a short time.

“We should head over.”

The site wasn’t far.

***

When we arrived, we saw numerous crew members bustling around, each busy with their tasks.

We were at Hangang Park. The atmosphere among the actors was quite calm, indicating we were not late.

“Oh, Brother, there’s Kim Kang-woo.”

Seon-ah exclaimed in a hushed voice, trying to contain her excitement.

But I felt the same excitement bubbling up. I knew who would be there, but I never imagined I’d actually see such a famous actor in person.

‘Ara acting with Kim Kang-woo…’

Ah, this isn’t the time to be amazed. I need to get Ara to read the newly received script quickly.

“Oh! You’re here! Welcome, come this way.”

Just then, a man wearing sunglasses, clearly managing the scene, greeted us.

“That’s the director,” the manager whispered to me.

“Hello. We’re looking forward to working with you today.”

“Oh, it’s us who should be thankful. And I must apologize for the sudden script change. It must have been very inconvenient. I apologize for not informing you earlier.”

As the director bowed in apology, we waved our hands dismissively. Only Ara received his greeting confidently.

“It’s alright! I’ll do my best!”

“Oh, you’re Ara? Great, we’re counting on you today, Ara.”

“Okay!”

I was curious about why the script had been suddenly changed, so I decided to ask.

“Why was the script suddenly changed?”

“Well, the writer seemed to know Ara beforehand. So they revised the script to better fit Ara.”

“Oh.”

It seemed the writer of this drama was a subscriber to Ara’s YouTube channel. I never imagined it would connect like this.

“The writer is here today and really wants to meet Ara.”

“But director, isn’t there supposed to be an acting check?”

“Huh? Oh, since it’s a short role, it’s fine.”

Is it really fine?

Even if it’s a minor role, Ara’s lines and scenes have increased…

Ara’s role, which initially involved just tripping, was changed to a child telling innocent lies. It wasn’t a bad role since the lies were cute and well-meaning.

‘If it’s not good, we can reshoot.’

Even professional actors make mistakes, so surely some allowance would be made for Ara, who is acting for the first time.

With that thought, we followed the director to meet the drama writer. There, we also saw Kim Hye-na, who would be acting with Ara.

“Oh, it’s Ara!”

Kim Hye-na spotted us first and reacted excitedly like a child.

The person next to her, who looked like the drama writer, also lifted their head and checked us out.

“Oh, is she my fan?”

“Wow, your tone is just like on YouTube! Hello, Ara? Nice to meet you!”

As Kim Hye-na greeted Ara warmly, I felt Seon-ah stiffen beside me. She grabbed my sleeve and whispered.

“It’s Kim Hye-na, brother, it’s Kim Hye-na.”

“I know.”

It’s hard to find a kid these days who doesn’t know Kim Hye-na. Seeing such a famous actress welcome Ara felt surreal.

“This is Lee Kyu-seong, Ara’s guardian, and this is Lee Seon-ah.”

“Nice to meet you. Please take care of us.”

As we bowed, both Kim Hye-na and the drama writer bowed back.

“Thank you so much for choosing this drama.”

The drama writer, Yoo Hyun-joo, couldn’t take her eyes off Ara, speaking as if she were seeing a celebrity herself.

“Seeing her in person, she’s even more…”

“More what?”

“More adorable.”

“Thank you.”

Thanks for the kind words. As soon as Ara received the compliment, she straightened her back and lifted her head confidently, seeming much more relaxed.

“Oh, and I apologize for the sudden script change. I was so thrilled to hear that Ara was cast that I made an impulsive decision to revise the script.”

Yoo Hyun-joo’s apologetic expression made it hard to be upset, not that I intended to be upset in the first place.

“Ah, are you the one running the YouTube channel, Seon-ah?”

“Huh? Yes, that’s right!”

Seon-ah was already having a natural conversation with Kim Hye-na, and the atmosphere was very positive.

“Since we have some time, why don’t we practice the newly revised script?”

“When will the filming start?”

“We have about an hour, so don’t worry too much. Even if there are mistakes, we can reshoot, and since Ara is a child actor, small mistakes will come off as cute.”

“Okay.”

First, I checked if Ara had memorized the lines I had already informed her about.

“I. ate. it. all.”

“That’s not right.”

Even though Ara was innocent, she was smart and quickly memorized her lines. She even adjusted her tone, so I clapped and praised her.

“Ara, you’re doing great!”

“Hehehe.”

That’s my Ara, a genius in acting too!

I wanted to see the reactions of the others, so I turned my head.

But their expressions were somehow awkward.

“Well, as long as she’s cute, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s my fault for suddenly changing the script.”

“Shall we practice a bit more?”

The reactions were awkward. It was obvious that they were reacting to Ara’s acting.

Why, what’s wrong with Ara’s acting?

Prev | TOC | Next