5 - The Second is Proficient Episode 5
Se-ah entered the bustling filming set and approached Director Shin, who was in front of the monitor.
“Hello, Director.”
“Oh, you saw the concept, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
She smiled brightly at Director Shin, who spoke casually, and looked at the monitor. She checked how much of her would be in the frame and discussed her movements.
“You can sit at that desk over there.”
The entire scene was to be shot as a bust shot. The voice of an angry boss would be laid over, and she would act out a powerless and depressed expression. Then, Snack Chips would fall onto the desk.
“Feel free to act however you want here. We’ll CG the snack falling later, so be as natural and nonchalant as possible.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And you have to go out of frame at the end.”
The advertiser’s request was to leave nothing but the Snack Chips visible. Just like the concept Se-ah had shown during her audition.
Se-ah nodded and stepped into the frame. A clean, solid-colored desk and chair. She took her place and pondered how best to act.
“Hey! What’s taking you so long?”
Surprised by the shout from nearby, her gaze involuntarily turned. Director Shin, who had been so gentle with her, seemed to be hitting someone on the head while giving instructions.
A moment later, the person who had been shouted at approached Se-ah and bowed deeply.
“Hello, I’m Kim Sang-tae, the youngest assistant director.”
“Yes.”
She stared blankly, flustered, at his gloomy, dark face. The assistant director scratched his head and apologized first.
“I’m sorry. We’re planning to dub the angry boss’s voice in post-production, but on set, I’m supposed to shout at you. I apologize for not telling you in advance.”
It seemed like he was new to this industry. He looked overwhelmed trying to handle all the odd jobs while also dealing with the actors.
“It’s okay, Assistant Director. Please shout at me harshly.”
If possible, shout as if you’re talking to the boss you hate the most. Se-ah whispered that it would make the acting more realistic, and the assistant director’s face relaxed a little.
“Rookie! Get out of the frame, quick!”
Was Director Shin always this angry? He didn’t seem like a hothead earlier, even though he was a bit perfunctory.
“Okay, let’s proceed.”
Director Shin snapped his fingers and, catching Se-ah’s eye, gave the cue, signaling the start of filming. The camera and audio teams, already accustomed to the director’s temper, moved immediately.
The cheerful Snack Chips logo song played. It was a situation that could have frozen her, but her eyes and expression changed in an instant.
“You’re going to do your work like this!”
The voice of an angry boss was laid over. Se-ah closed her eyes tightly as if she was sick of it, then opened them. The quiet anger that arose from a situation where she was annoyed but couldn’t express it was palpable.
“What are you even doing right!”
The assistant director’s voice echoed through the set. The audio director, startled, looked at the assistant director and then back at her.
Since they were going to dub it anyway, he could have just done it roughly, but it was a shout filled with too much sincerity. The audio director’s expression was full of worry that the actor might be offended, and the filming might go wrong or take longer. But his worries were unfounded.
Se-ah opened her closed eyes and lowered her head. She looked listless, but her expression was well captured on camera.
She sighed deeply, rubbed her face roughly with one hand, and pulled up her chair as if to get back to work. But then, as if she didn’t want to, she distorted her mouth and ruffled her hair.
‘It’s good that she’s not trying to be pretty.’
That was the common thought among the watching staff. New actors were desperate to look good, whether it was in commercials or dramas.
It was understandable that they were pretty, but trying to be pretty was an eyesore. The staff would often feel disgusted listening to winks, lip bites, and smiles made with thin voices in front of the camera.
“Okay, CG!”
Director Shin signaled that the snacks had fallen from above. Se-ah, timing it perfectly, widened her eyes in surprise. She sat back down on the chair she had awkwardly moved back from.
It was a funny yet subtly cute expression. A gentle smile spread among the staff conducting the filming.
Se-ah stared at the snacks that the staff had placed there in the meantime, with a bewildered expression. Her displeased expression, as if asking what this was, turned to curiosity as she picked up the snack box.
Her natural and ever-changing expressions were intriguing. She opened the snacks, and the sound of crunching echoed as she took a bite.
Her expression seemed to say, ‘Oh, this is kind of good?’ As she emptied the snacks, she turned the box upside down and shook it, as if wondering if she had already eaten them all, and even checked the inside.
Her somewhat forlorn smile showed that all the stress she had received from her boss had been resolved.
“When you’re feeling down? Of course, Snack Chips!”
She smiled brightly and shook the Snack Chips as if they were a magical item. Se-ah placed the snack box down so that it was well captured in the frame and then cheerfully got up and disappeared out of the camera’s view. Only the zoomed-in Snack Chips remained on the monitor.
“Cut!”
Director Shin’s satisfied signal echoed through the set.
***
In the waiting room, Heo Yuri bit her lip, suppressing her anger. She never dreamed that Im Se-ah would turn out like this.
“You’re going to do your work like this!”
Just then, someone’s shout broke through the waiting room door. It must have been a while since filming started? In Yuri’s mind, she pictured Se-ah getting thoroughly scolded by the director.
Good for her. Who did she think she was, acting all high and mighty about stealing her acting? A sense of relief swept across Yuri’s face as she snickered.
Im Se-ah was good at acting. Her ideas were good, so it was often good to steal them during auditions. She would be a little sad to think that there would be no more opportunities like that, but that was all.
“What are you even doing right!”
The resounding voice echoed again. Yuri laughed as she imagined Se-ah being thoroughly scolded. Did she act all high and mighty in front of the director too? It was so satisfying.
No matter how much she clung to her later, she would never take her around again. She didn’t even know the favor of taking her around so she could audition, and she treated her like a thief. It was ridiculous.
Yuri chuckled to herself and checked her concept. It wasn’t difficult. Unlike Se-ah, she felt good imagining receiving a lot of praise.
The situation was passing an exam, and all she had to do was express her joy when she heard the sound of passing. Then, Snack Chips would fall from above, and she would eat them deliciously and say just one line, ‘When you’re feeling great? Of course, Snack Chips!’
Im Se-ah wouldn’t have been much different. How could she have been scolded so much? She scoffed.
“Yuri-ssi. We’re going to start filming!”
Yuri, startled by the staff’s words, got up and went to the set. The director and filming staff looked happy. It seemed like they were happy that Se-ah’s filming was over and it was her turn.
“We’ll CG the part where the snacks fall here. Please act freely for the next scene, and leave only the snacks at the end.”
Meanwhile, Director Shin was looking forward to Yuri’s acting after seeing Se-ah’s performance. They were from the same agency, and he had heard that they had been friends since school. So, they must have grown up competing with each other.
Good acting made people excited. As a director, he often felt joy in the acting he saw on the monitor.
It was just a commercial, but there were times when he met actors who performed concise acting in a short amount of time. It was rare, but it seemed like today was one of those days.
“Alright, let’s start!”
He sat in front of the monitor and gave the cue with a good feeling, watching Yuri’s appearance in the frame.
But his good mood quickly hit rock bottom as if it had never been there. It wasn’t that Heo Yuri was bad at acting. It wasn’t bad, but… Director Shin sighed through his teeth.
It was okay up to the point where she danced excitedly when the youngest assistant director shouted, “Passed!” But.
“Snack Chips CG!”
Okay, granting her a hundred concessions, let’s say it was okay for her to cover her mouth and be surprised in a pretty way. But wasn’t it a bit much to do acting that wasn’t in the script? He had told her to go out of frame at the end, but Yuri stubbornly stayed and continued acting.
She peeked her face out next to the snacks, ate them with a crunch, and smiled, wrinkling her nose refreshingly. Seriously. Was this an orange juice commercial? Director Shin frowned and shouted.
“Cut! Heo Yuri-ssi, come over here.”
Whether she couldn’t see Director Shin’s expression or not, Yuri seemed satisfied as she checked her appearance on the monitor.
“We need to reshoot the last scene because you have to go out of frame.”
He sighed deeply and continued to explain calmly. The advertiser wanted this concept, and they had to proceed as is. New actors would cry at the drop of a hat, delaying filming, so it was difficult to get angry like he usually would.
“Hey, Im Se-ah already did that. Wouldn’t it be fresher and better to do something different?”
Her words, spoken confidently as if she was presenting a good idea, left him speechless.
Her acting, which was at a mediocre level despite his expectations, was one thing, but it was absurd that she was ignoring the existing concept. She was completely different from Se-ah, who had filmed earlier. In a bad way.
“Heo Yuri-ssi, the advertiser wanted you to go out of frame.”
Even with Director Shin’s words, spoken as he suppressed his annoyance, Yuri didn’t budge and pouted. After repeated persuasion, she reluctantly stepped back into the frame, and someone approached.
“Oh my, Director Ju!”
It was Ju Hyeon-ho, a director from the advertiser, Miso Confectionery. His face was displeased and sullen.
“We’re going to reshoot, so don’t worry too much.”
“No, that’s not it…”
Ju Hyeon-ho, swallowing a sigh, introduced someone who had come with him.
“This is CEO Kim Yun-deok of Miso Confectionery.”
