Chapter 107: The Reason for Teasing
TL: Aniea
The play was now only a week away. Having returned to the stage with Kim Eun-ha, I once again immersed myself in rehearsals.
"Give me your love~♬"
Not only the choir and production team but also the screen video and lighting set up behind the stage were all being coordinated.
Since it was a rehearsal that mirrored the actual performance in every detail, it was more physically exhausting than expected.
However, everyone who had been practicing to the point of wearing down both body and mind managed to perform their roles excellently, despite the long run time of 100 minutes.
"Good! That’s it for today!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"Waaaaah-!!"
Clap clap clap clap-!
As the third and final grand rehearsal came to an end, Kim Kaelin, who was in charge overall, announced the end of practice. In response, everyone cheered and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
"Didn’t we do pretty well!?"
"Yeah. There weren’t any mistakes at the end!"
"At first, I really wondered if this was even possible... To be honest, I was just thinking of doing the bare minimum and getting my phone back. But now I feel so proud of myself, you know?"
"Yeah yeah! I know exactly what you mean!"
Hehe-
The kids, excited, chatted away with the people next to them. The adults watching them from nearby also had gentle smiles on their lips.
In particular, Writer Jung Ha-rin and PD Kang In-ho, who were capturing everything on camera, nodded repeatedly.
"This is going to be a good production."
"At first, everyone seemed reluctant, but now I hear there are even kids who practice on their own without being told!"
"Since they can see their own growth. Plus, they get free one-on-one coaching from top-class professionals in each field. Opportunities like this are rare in life."
"Right. If we compare them before and after the performance, I’m sure the difference will be huge. It'll definitely help them a lot in their future lives!"
"Well, it’s the same for us too."
Kang In-ho turned his head and looked around at the staff nearby.
They were all people he had worked with for years, but today their expressions felt unfamiliar.
Because the faces that used to look half-zombie-like from constant overtime and repetitive tasks were now full of life.
"...Even though our workload has actually increased."
No matter how much the director personally pushed for this show, the number of staff was limited.
Since documentaries, unlike dramas, have relatively low expected profits, they couldn’t assign many people. They still had to keep producing dramas, after all.
So everyone here had to take on more than two people’s worth of work, equipment setup, filming, editing, etc. yet not a single person complained.
There were even many people like Assistant Director Oh Dong-gyu, who voluntarily took on more than what was assigned to them.
"Everyone’s enjoying themselves."
The pride of helping orphanage kids, who are socially disadvantaged. A front-row seat to watch their growth in real time.
Most of all, not having to worry about money or viewer ratings was the biggest factor. Since they could simply act according to their own feelings, of course they’d enjoy it.
"Eh, from what I see, you’re the one enjoying it the most, Director-nim."
Jung Ha-rin raised one corner of her lips. Even though she had worked with Kang In-ho for quite a while, she had never seen him look so relaxed.
However, Kang In-ho gestured with his chin toward the upper part of the stage as if to say that was nonsense.
"With those folks around?"
Following Kang In-ho’s gaze, Jung Ha-rin naturally turned her head. There, Kang Woo-ju and Kim Eun-ha were facing each other.
Even after the final scene of the play, the group ball, had ended, they continued practicing dance moves.
"CEO-nim stepped on his foot again earlier, right?"
"Yeah. It’s clearly less frequent than before, but it looks like she still messes up her steps now and then. Seems like she has a serious problem with rhythm."
"That’s probably not all there is to it."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I think she did it on purpose just now."
"...?"
As Kang In-ho tilted his head in confusion, Jung Ha-rin suddenly wore a wicked smile and moved behind his back.
Tap tap-
Then she lightly tapped Kang In-ho’s shoulder, as if to tell him to look here.
The moment Kang In-ho turned his head.
Something poked him sharply on the cheek.
It was Jung Ha-rin’s finger.
"...What are you doing?"
"Just messing around."
"Hey, are you a grade schooler or what?"
"Exactly. That’s the point."
"Huh?"
Kang In-ho, not understanding the context, blinked his eyes. His cheek was still being poked by Jung Ha-rin.
Grin-
Seeing Kang In-ho’s dumbfounded expression, Jung Ha-rin’s smile deepened. She stretched out her thumb and pinched his cheek.
"Children don’t know how to express their feelings accurately. So they often choose the most primitive way to get the attention of the person they like."
"...Aare youu sayiing thaat’s why theyyy teaseee?"
"Yes. Whether it’s throwing an eraser, poking a cheek, or stepping on a foot. When an attack comes from the outside, a person can’t help but focus on the other party."
Hmm-
Kang In-ho turned his gaze back to the stage. He saw Kang Woo-ju and Kim Eun-ha bickering again.
They didn’t care about the gazes around them and calmly continued their conversation as if they were trapped in their own world.
According to what Jung Ha-rin said, Kim Eun-ha purposely stepped on Kang Woo-ju’s foot to monopolize his attention...
"Reallyyy nowww!?"
As he watched the two, Kang In-ho suddenly screamed from the sharp pain in his cheek. His head turned reflexively.
"See? Sounds quite convincing, doesn’t it?"
"...Let go of this. Now."
"Okay~"
Jung Ha-rin let go of his cheek without hesitation, as if she had said everything she needed to. Of course, the teasing expression on her face didn’t disappear.
In response, Kang In-ho rubbed his reddened cheek and let out a deep sigh. He couldn’t just hit her in return.
"...Next time, use your words. Words."
"You never understand when I only use words."
"I may look like this, but I’m actually quite smart."
"This isn’t about smarts. It’s about awareness, you know?"
"I’m pretty aware too."
"Yeah, right."
Seriously-
Jung Ha-rin snorted as if she couldn’t believe it. Kang In-ho, seeing the obvious sincerity in her expression, awkwardly changed the subject.
"Anyway, we’re really near the end now. We’ve pretty much covered all the necessary footage. Do we just need to recruit stage staff now?"
"That part, the CEO-nim said he would take care of. We just need to focus on filming the stage."
"He said we’re filming not during the actual performance, but the final rehearsal the day before, right?"
"Yeah. If we’re moving cameras around right in front of the audience, they won’t be able to concentrate. They’ll be wearing their costumes then anyway."
"And all of those were custom-made, right?"
"Yeah. Can’t expect anything less from the CEO-nim."
At first, they naturally thought about renting costumes. But things didn’t go as planned.
Since medieval-style plays were extremely rare in Korea, the number of costumes available for rent was severely limited. The quality was low, too.
On top of that, since the cast was a diverse mix of boys and girls of all ages from the orphanage, finding costumes that fit was like picking stars from the sky.
But it was also a problem to invest too much in a one-time play with no financial return. Just as everyone was racking their brains over it.
-Let’s just get them made.
Kim Eun-ha, as usual, resolved the issue refreshingly. They decided to custom-make all the costumes regardless of price.
-We’re sorry.
-Honestly, it’s impossible within a month.
-We’re already booked until next year....
But this time, the problem was the artisans to make the costumes. Those considered “experts” in this field were truly few and far between.
Naturally, they had many clients, fitting their reputation. Some had even made their contact info completely private.
No matter how much money you had, if there was no one to do the work, it was impossible. Even Kang In-ho and the production team were inwardly giving up...
-Please let me take it!
-I can finish within a month!
-I need three weeks. No, just give me one week!
But lo and behold.
The very artisans who ignored the production team or responded coldly began clinging to them as if flipped 180 degrees.
Kang In-ho, who easily deduced the reason, couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked Kim Eun-ha.
-What did you do?
-I said I’d pay them more.
-How much did you offer, exactly...?
-As much as they wanted.
A saying from a certain saint flashed through his mind: ‘If things aren’t going well, first check if it’s because you don’t have enough money.’
Kang In-ho, who thought he had gotten fairly used to watching Kim Eun-ha over quite a long time, realized just how foolish that assumption had been.
"...If you tell artisans they can use as much material as they want without any limits, of course they'll lose their minds."
"Director-nim, my heart's already pounding. Seeing Woo-ju ssi and Jun-woo ssi in uniforms! Don’t you think they’ll look just like real princes!?"
......
Judging by her sparkling eyes and blissful expression, she wasn’t joking, Jung Ha-rin looked absolutely enchanted like a child.
Squelch-!
Kang In-ho quietly observed her face. For some reason, it rubbed him the wrong way. Without warning, he extended his foot and stepped on the top of Jung Ha-rin’s foot.
"...What, what are you doing!?"
"You got new shoes, right? Initiation ceremony."
"I bought these over a year ago!?"
"Really? Sorry. I didn’t know."
......
Whistle-
Kang In-ho casually whistled and looked away. Jung Ha-rin glared at him, then quickly extended her foot forward. But
"Too slow."
As if he’d expected it, Kang In-ho easily stepped back and protected his foot. A sly smile formed on his lips.
"Director-nim."
"Can't hear you."
"Director Kang In-ho-nim."
"Guess we should start wrapping up too..."
"Hey, Kang In-ho."
"What now, huh!?"
Though Kang In-ho had been deliberately ignoring her, he couldn’t help but react when Jung Ha-rin dropped the honorifics.
"You. Stay right there."
"You better stop playing around."
"I warned you."
......
Sssss-
They say even in the middle of summer, frost can form when a woman holds a grudge. Kang In-ho, despite his usual composure, froze in place at her unusually cold gaze.
Step-
As Jung Ha-rin took a step forward, Kang In-ho reflexively flinched and tried to step back. Or rather, he would have.
"Hiss...."
Clunk-!
At the sound of her voice, reminiscent of a snake, Kang In-ho froze in an awkward position. In that brief moment of hesitation.
Jung Ha-rin swiftly closed the distance with a few more steps and stood in front of him. The moment Kang In-ho felt a chill run down his spine and tried to turn away.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Squelch-
Jung Ha-rin stepped on the top of his foot. He could’ve easily pulled it free if he applied some strength, but the psychological pressure was overwhelming.
While Kang In-ho stood there hesitating, unable to move forward or back, Jung Ha-rin locked eyes with him and spoke.
"Hehe. Now you can’t run away, can you?"
......
Grin-
Jung Ha-rin wore a meaningful smile that could’ve easily replaced the Evil Sorcerer.
And Kang In-ho, like someone under a spell, could only nod silently.
.
.
.
"...When on earth are those two going to start dating?"
Shake shake-
Watching Kang In-ho and Jung Ha-rin's lovey-dovey antics from the stage, I shook my head.
"Even I can tell Director-nim is completely clueless. Writer Jung is giving him such obvious signals, how can he not notice?"
......
"Hmm? What’s wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Sigh-
Out of nowhere, Kim Eun-ha let out a sigh loud enough to shake the heavens. I wondered if I had done something wrong, but no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.
"...Did I do something?"
"Not really."
"Then why are you stepping on my foot?"
"Oh my. Sorry. It was a mistake."
......
Squelch-
Even as she claimed it was a mistake, Kim Eun-ha only pressed down harder with her foot. That day, I had my foot stepped on over and over without knowing why.
*****
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