It was a sunny day in Seoul—the perfect weather for what they were going to film. The crew was setting up the equipment while the actors began arriving.
Hyunbin Lee, clad in a suit, went out of a sleek, black sedan. The 52-year-old actor was greeted with bows.
“Good morning, sir!”
“You look really nice as usual, sir.”
Hyunbin waved off the compliments and went to his tent.
A few minutes later, Daniel was dropped off by a black celebrity van, his appearance instantly making the tired crew members refreshed.
“Daniel is bright as always.”
“Ah, I won’t miss filming, but I’ll miss him.”
“I thought we would film until next week, but this is already our last day.”
Because this was the last day, the extras also came, ready to celebrate the end of the filming.
Minseok, too, arrived in a rented car. As soon as he arrived, the other extras began complimenting his ride.
“How much is it?”
Minseok chuckled. “I honestly don’t know.”
“No way. You bought it without looking at the price.”
Minseok shrugged, earning him more compliments from his fellow actors. However, their conversation came to a halt when a beautiful woman came out of a brand-new European car.
“It’s Ari Bae!”
“What is she doing here? She never came to the shoots before.”
“Well, she was working on the script for the longest time. Now that it’s over, she must want to watch how it ends.”
Ari heard their conversation and pursed her lips. That was definitely not the case. If she had the choice not to go out, then she would. As long as she had internet and food, she could live for a hundred years inside her apartment.
However, she couldn’t take her curiosity. According to Man-shik PD, the beggar who played the drunkard was going to be here for the last day of filming.
“Ari!”
Man-shik PD walked to where she was and gave her a friendly hug. “You actually came.”
Ari crossed her arms in front of her chest and craned her neck to look around. “So, where is this guy you’re talking about?”
Man-shik’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, so you came here for him.”
Ari cleared her throat and looked away. “Obviously not,” she muttered. “Aren’t you going to treat everyone to a meat party?”
Man-shik smirked. “Sure, sure.”
“Anyway, where is he?”
Man-shik looked around until his eyes landed on someone just arriving. Unlike the others who arrived with cars, he was walking toward the set. His presence didn’t command any attention. In fact, even the extras didn’t notice him.
“There he is,” Man-shik said, gesturing toward Zeno.
Ari was expecting something. In the drunkard scene, it was quite dark, so she couldn’t see his face that much. However, if he managed to capture Man-shik PD’s attention, Ari thought he must be good-looking.
However, as she turned to look at him, her expectations dropped.
“He looks… normal,” she said.
“Oh, he’s not a beggar,” Man-shik said. “That was a mistake on my part.”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m saying—he looks normal. Why do you like him so much?”
The director didn’t answer. “Zeno!” he exclaimed instead.
Zeno turned to the direction of his voice. It was at that moment that the extras finally noticed him.
“Woah, who’s that? Why is he being called by Man-shik PD?”
Minseok turned to look at who they were talking about, his smile instantly dropping when he saw the familiar face.
“This guy?” he muttered.
“Do you know him?”
Minseok cleared his throat and looked away. “I don’t,” he said. “He must not be important, though. I’ve never seen him before.”
“Hmm, but Man-shik PD seems to like him a lot.”
“Ari, this is Zeno, the guy I was talking about,” Man-shik said. “Zeno, this is Ari, the sole writer of the show.”
‘So, this is the person who gave his character more scenes,’ he thought. She directly helped with increasing his meter, so he bowed his head in silent gratitude.
Ari observed him for a while. Even up close, he didn’t look too special.
“Is it true you don’t have any acting experience prior to this?” she asked.
Zeno quietly nodded. Then, he turned to Man-shik PD. “What time will my scene be taken?” he asked.
Man-shik glanced around, suddenly feeling excited. He wanted to see if his hunch was right. “Do you want to go first?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ari tilted her head to the side. For someone with no acting experience, he seemed awfully confident.
“Alright. Call Daniel from the tents,” he said to Bong, who obeyed his instruction with a grumble.
“Have you memorized the script? The time given was only short.”
Zeno nodded once again. Just then, Daniel came out of the tent, his signature smile on his lips.
His eyes brightened when he saw Ari standing next to Man-shik PD. However, his smile slightly dropped when he saw who was with them.
“He really came, huh?” he said with a small smirk. He walked over to where they were and bowed.
“Good morning, PD and writer,” he greeted.
“Ah, Daniel. Is it alright if we film Scene 146 first? It’s perfect since the sun is still present.”
Daniel glanced at Zeno and nodded. “Of course. I’m ready for any scene at any given time.”
He was also ready to show Zeno what it was like to act. Daniel believed Zeno only acted well because he was a drunkard himself. Now, it was time to show him the real deal.
“Good,” Man-shik PD said. “Go to your positions then.”
Then, he brought out his megaphone. “Alright, let’s start today’s shoot so we can finish early.”
The crew rejoiced, already excited to wrap up the filming.
Daniel sat on the bench facing a pond while Zeno situated himself just behind the cameras. The crew whispered as they gazed at his back.
“Isn’t he the drunkard?”
“The drama trended because of it.”
“Yeah, the hype honestly died down a little bit after the first episode. I hope it picks up again.”
“Can he pull through with this scene, though? It’s a dialogue that requires some skill, and I heard he’s a non-actor.”
“Isn’t he pretty handsome?”
“You need to visit your eye doctor again.”
Meanwhile, the extras also watched behind the scenes, curious about the newbie who was given much importance by Man-shik PD. Ari, on the other hand, sat next to the monitoring screen with some iced coffee, ready to witness what this Zeno guy was all about.
“Quiet on the set!”
“Everybody ready.”
Bong went to the middle with the slate. “Scene 146 Shot 1 Take 1.”
Man-shik PD looked around once more before shouting, “Action!”