Chapter 42
“…Is it my imagination?”
Yoo Se-ah leaned back against the backrest, brushing her hair that had fallen over her shoulder.
Well, even if something had really happened, how could she possibly know, not having any psychic abilities?
‘…Maybe I’m a little low on sugar.’
Filming is a lot more physically demanding than people think.
Putting aside acting in front of the camera, simply waiting endlessly on set is tiring.
Therefore, managing one’s condition is a basic requirement for an actor.
If it’s finally time to film their scene after a long wait, and the filming is delayed because they are dehydrated or low on sugar, it’s an inconvenience to everyone, not to mention embarrassing.
“Se-ah-eonni, I brought some sweets.”
Just in time, Yoo Se-ah’s manager, Kwon Soyoon, arrived with snacks.
Yoo Se-ah smiled as she looked at the small tray filled with her favorite treats.
“What? How did you know to bring this without me even saying anything?”
“I ran into the assistant director on my way here.”
“Aha.”
Yoo Se-ah nodded at her words.
Although she had just said it to casually change the subject, she had indeed mentioned it to the assistant director.
“Sorry, eonni. I was away for a while, wasn’t I?”
“No. It’s you who’s having a hard time, working even overseas. But where did you get this? I heard we couldn’t call a coffee truck or a snack truck because we’re on an island.”
“The staff brought a variety of things. And well, no matter where we go, I always carry your snacks separately.”
“…I see.”
At Kwon Soyoon’s words, Yoo Se-ah fell into thought for a moment.
“…Have I been reaching for snacks that often lately?”
“Huh? Haha. No. It’s just basic manager skills.”
“Right? Hehe. I felt a pang of guilt for no reason.”
Liking snacks and being someone who frequently eats snacks have different connotations.
Especially for actors.
Reassured by her manager’s words, Yoo Se-ah let out a relieved laugh, then…
She gently placed the chocolate, which she had already picked up for the fourth time, back on the tray.
And then she naturally changed the topic.
“How’s the atmosphere on set?”
“It seems to be going smoothly? But I think there’s still a lot of time left until your scene, eonni.”
The scene Yoo Se-ah would be participating in next was set at night, so it could only be filmed after sunset.
The sun was slowly setting, but there was still quite a bit of time left.
“Then shall we go for a walk?”
“Are you still bothered by the snack talk?”
“…No, the beach here is beautiful.”
It was a suggestion she made out of the blue, having inadvertently considered the calories in the chocolate, but Yoo Se-ah naturally feigned indifference.
She changed into sneakers that were more comfortable for walking and came out with the thought of taking a light stroll around…
“Hey, bring an ice pack first.”
“Should I bring a towel too?”
“That’s a given, you fool!”
Something seemed chaotic.
Staff were running around with flustered expressions.
Judging by the direction they were moving, it seemed something had happened at the filming location.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, Mr. Jo Chanhyeok suddenly grabbed his head and collapsed during filming…”
“The senior?”
Jo Chanhyeok was a celebrity so famous that anyone who didn’t know him would be considered a spy in the film industry, and in this film, he played a key supporting role with the most significant role after the leads.
As Yoo Se-ah approached with a worried expression, Jo Chanhyeok was sitting on a plastic chair, his head bowed, pressing both temples.
“Ah, it’s alright. It’s nothing serious.”
As the staff brought ice packs, first-aid kits, and various other items, Jo Chanhyeok waved them away.
He had experienced this many times before and knew these things wouldn’t help.
‘It must be another migraine…’
A sudden, excruciating pain that felt like one side of his head was about to explode.
Although not publicly known, it was a fact that everyone who knew him or had filmed with him was aware of: Jo Chanhyeok suffered from severe migraines.
He seemed fine most of the time, but when the symptoms appeared, he would complain of extreme headaches.
It was said that for some people, even walking could be difficult.
Yoo Se-ah had also experienced migraines a few times, but…
For her senior, who rarely showed signs of discomfort, to stop filming, it must have been on a completely different level. That’s what she vaguely assumed.
“Mr. Chanhyeok, what do we do?”
“I’m sorry, Director-nim. I need to rest for a bit.”
“…No. Today’s schedule was too tight. Then let’s all take a short break and film other scenes first.”
Since Jo Chanhyeok had never complained, even from the first filming to this overseas location s*oot, the director couldn’t say much.
He simply wore a disappointed expression.
Eventually, they decided to film the scene later, and Jo Chanhyeok moved to a shaded resting area.
He seemed to have a calm expression at first glance, but his noticeably pale complexion revealed his condition.
“Senior, are you alright?”
“Who… Ah, it’s Se-ah.”
Jo Chanhyeok, lying on a cot, turned his head.
“I’m fine. It happens often. This happened once when we were filming ‘Unfilial’… Ugh.”
He tried to sit up, pretending to be fine, but grabbed his head again and lay back down.
After groaning for a while, he closed his eyes quietly and let out a deep sigh.
“…Still, it’ll disappear after I sleep for a bit.”
As an actor, Jo Chanhyeok had achieved great success and popularity, walking the so-called “flower path,” but almost no one around him envied his life.
When he was just starting to rise to stardom, his father’s business collapsed, leaving him drowning in debt.
Jo Chanhyeok took on all of his father’s remaining debt and managed to clear it all in just two years.
However… while working an excessively demanding schedule at the time, he developed the migraines he suffered from now.
‘Besides, Chanhyeok-seonbae is a method actor…’
Acting itself is mentally taxing, but the degree of exhaustion varies depending on the approach.
Among them, method acting, where the actor fully immerses themselves in the role, is considered to be one of the most tiring.
Such actors avoid taking on more than one role at a time, if possible.
But even back then, he stuck to his acting style and continued his career, and still does to this day…
Yoo Se-ah thought this must also be one of the reasons his migraines hadn’t gone away.
“Will you be able to sleep?”
“What choice do I have? I have to try… Even medicine doesn’t work.”
“What about sleeping pills?”
“They work, so I fall asleep right away, but when I wake up, the headache gets worse, so I can’t take them.”
In conclusion, there was no other way but to try to force himself to sleep.
Jo Chanhyeok closed his eyes and put on the eye mask and eye compress his manager had brought.
“…Does massage have any effect?”
“Massage? It’s good. The effect is temporary, though. But why?”
“Huh? No, I just suddenly thought of it.”
To be precise, she had been spacing out for a moment when she thought of Kang Taehan, and massage was an afterthought.
“Do you know a good massage therapist or something?”
“Uh… I think I do?”
“Think?”
It’s either yes or no, what does “think” mean?
Jo Chanhyeok asked back in a bewildered voice.
“Well, he’s often mentioned on Instagram, and… um. His acupressure skills are quite extraordinary.”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t actually received a massage from Mr. Taehan.
She had only received a brief palm acupressure.
Yoo Se-ah suddenly recalled the memory.
‘It was a strange feeling…’
The moment he pressed her palm, a feeling like an electric current ran through her chest.
It was a brief moment, but a powerful experience she could still vividly recall.
If she were to receive a massage from Mr. Taehan…
Thinking up to that point, Yoo Se-ah pursed her lips and looked up at the awning above for no reason.
Just the thought of it was too stimulating.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
Early Wednesday afternoon.
Kang Hoyeon stepped out of the house with a sheepish expression, tilting his head.
It felt strange to wake up late and leave the house like this.
‘I haven’t done this much…’
When he was younger, he would leave early in the morning because he was the youngest, and after he got older and opened his own shop, he had to leave early to prepare for business.
Of course, he hadn’t achieved great success by doing so…
But thanks to that, he was able to send Taehan to university without any debt, so he had a sense of pride in himself.
“But sales are better these days than when I was working so hard…”
To be precise, it started after his shoulder injury healed and he started making hand-pulled noodles again.
Passersby who watched him make hand-pulled noodles outside started appearing one by one, and at some point, the number of customers began to increase significantly.
These days, he was even enjoying the luxury of having one day off a week… but sales were incomparable to before.
Honk honk.
At that moment, a car horn sounded from down the alley.
Turning his head, he saw someone waving from the car window, their face peeking out.
“Father!”
It was none other than Kang Hoyeon’s son, Kang Taehan.
He said he had gotten a car from an acquaintance and was receiving it today, so he drove all the way here, suggesting they go for a drive together.
“…You got that for that cheap?”
For a moment, a look of bewilderment crossed Kang Hoyeon’s face as he looked at the car.
He had assumed it would be a small car after hearing the price Kang Taehan mentioned before, but a large Santa Fe had suddenly appeared.
“Father, get in.”
“Hey, Taehan-ah. Is this… a flooded car or something? Or did you pay extra?”
Used car prices were expensive these days, so it was an unbelievable price unless there was a reason.
However, Kang Taehan only smiled in response to his father’s words.
“He gave me a discount as a token of gratitude… It seems like more than just a little. I’m just grateful.”
“…He’s a good person in many ways.”
“It’s a good connection.”
Kang Hoyeon got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
He then looked around the car’s interior and dashboard and let out a gasp.
Even the mileage was good.
‘I heard the story roughly…’
His son had saved one of Wonho’s friends on Gyeryongsan, hadn’t he?
That’s what he had heard when he asked how the two had met before.
He would have been worried if Taehan had said he bought it from a used car dealer at that price, but it made sense if he received it as a reward for doing a good deed.
“…It seems good things happen and good people gather around you because you do good deeds.”
“Huh? I didn’t hear you, Father.”
“It’s nothing. Never mind.”
When Kang Taehan, who was driving out of the alley, asked back, Kang Hoyeon, feeling embarrassed, mumbled his words.
“But it’s great! My goodness. I get to ride in a car driven by my son.”
“You’ll be riding in it often from now on.”
“Haha. Come on, you think I don’t have a car?”
Kang Hoyeon turned his head for a moment and quietly watched his son driving.
He was so busy when Taehan was young that he couldn’t even fulfill his role as a father properly, yet how did he grow up to be such a fine young man?
Just looking at him made Kang Hoyeon feel proud and grateful.
“…But.”
Some time passed.
The car had entered the highway and was driving smoothly, adjusting to the surrounding speed.
“You drive pretty well. When did you practice so much?”
It’s actually easier to drive on the highway than on national roads, but there’s still psychological pressure when you’re a new driver.
However, there was no hint of such anxiety in Kang Taehan’s driving.
He must have driven in Seoul a few times.
But Kang Taehan’s answer was different from his father’s expectations.
“Huh? Where would I find the time to do that?”
“What? Weren’t you a long-time holder of an unused driver’s license?”
Kang Hoyeon’s voice was full of surprise.
Kang Taehan nodded calmly.
“Yes. This is my second time driving since I got my license.”
“…I see.”
There was a brief silence.
Kang Hoyeon quietly looked ahead, then checked his seatbelt once more and confirmed the location of the passenger seat handle.
“…Do you want to stop at the rest area up ahead?”
“Are you sleepy? You can sleep if you are.”
“…No, it’s fine.”
He wished he had stayed oblivious.
Thinking that, Kang Hoyeon tightly gripped the passenger seat handle next to him.
