GIJS

Chapter 128 Playground Games?

Ha Hyunjae, dressed as a peddler, felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if a dagger had been thrust into hid chest. If he hadn't accidentally glanced at Gunja's smartphone screen, a major disaster might have occurred.

Fortunately, Gunja's smartphone skills were akin to those of a grandfather. Hyunjae, like a hawk eyeing its prey, swiftly snatched the smartphone and hurriedly closed the SNS app before starting to scold Gunja.

"Wh-why did you—oh, it's so embarrassing to even say it."

"Why, what is it?"

"Don't use that word—!!"

Seeing Hyunjae's flushed face, Gunja tilted his head in confusion.

It's strange. The word "발기" (which is a shortened form of "발연기" or "bad acting") is not that serious. Why is Hyunjae so embarrassed? Could it be that Hyunjae also once had a history of bad acting?

"Oh, now I understand."

"Understand what?"

"Hyunjae, did you also..."

"You crazy—!!"

As the filming was about to begin, the members had no choice but to gather due to the recurring mention of inappropriate words.

"What's going on? Who's talking about 19+ stuff?"

"Why is Hyunjae so angry again?"

In the place where the members had gathered, Gunja, the guilty party, was bowing his head in front of Hyunjae, getting scolded.

"Stop using that... that word."

"발기?"

"Stop it, already!"

Receiving a smack on the back from Hyunjae, Gunja learned again about the correct usage of abbreviations.

Abbreviations are created by taking the first letters of words in a sentence, so shortening "bad acting" to "발기" (which can be interpreted as a different inappropriate term) is not appropriate.

"Indeed..."

"Indeed my foot, it almost became a big problem!"

"A problem? Why, Hyunjae, what did Gunja do?"

"Today's word to describe the filming is '발기'... I was going to post it on SNS."

"Ha ha ha—."

"Ah ha ha, that was close~"

"Gunja, what kind of 'noble' post is that from early morning?"

"Why? Is it not okay to use '발기' in the morning?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha, no, that's not it—."

"Ah, someone make it so we don't hear that word anymore—!!"

After receiving one more smack on the back from Hanyeo and Jeongmu, Gunja finally shut his mouth.

"Alright, I get it, stop hitting me... sob."

"Okay, got it. I'm sorry too."

"No, it's my fault for being inexperienced."

Gunja knew the original meaning of "that word." He just thought it would be fine since it was an abbreviation, but now that he understood the correct usage of abbreviations, he would not make the same mistake again.

"Ha ha ha, then let's post on SNS after the filming is done~ Now we need to get started~"

"Okay. It feels like my facial muscles are relaxing after laughing?"

"Ah, Gunja... you were trying to ease our tension."

Following Director Hyun Si-woo's instructions, all the actors and staff returned to their positions.

"Assistant Director, is the lighting team ready?"

"Yes, we're ready."

"Ha ha, then let's start with the first cut~"

"Camera roll, audio speed—."

"Scene 1, take 1, ready, action—!!"

With the small commotion caused by the 19+ word over, the clapperboard sounded, marking the beginning of the first shoot for Chillin Pictures.

* * *

The day before filming, Gong Yu-min, the PR content creator from the Cultural Heritage Administration, couldn't sleep due to anxiety.

At first, the excitement of working with her favorite idol filled her mind, but as the filming day approached, anxiety started to creep in.

Even though 7IN is a versatile idol, creating a video is no easy task. It's not a small-scale mobile drama filmed with a handycam, but a project involving a mid-sized filming team, which made her even more worried.

Would it all go smoothly...?

She didn't mind being criticized at work; after all, she had no particular enthusiasm for her job.

However, she couldn't bear to see her favorite idol being criticized for incompetence.

Thanks to the worry keeping her up all night, her eyes were bloodshot from the morning. The anxiety lasted until the first slate sound was heard.

However, once the filming began, Hyun Si-woo seamlessly took his place in front of the monitor and started controlling the set.

"Cut, haha, good job~ Camera operator, let's get one more shot with a tight bust~"

"Yes, understood."

"Sound director, there's a running scene in this shot; please check the wind sound~"

"I was just about to mention, the wind speed is a bit strong, so we'll need some ADR."

"Haha, I expected that~ Assistant director, did you schedule the ADR session separately?"

With the director keeping things in order, the set ran smoothly.

Having followed various promotional content shoots before, she had never seen a shoot run this smoothly without delays.

The 7IN members, who were actors, also helped with the staff duties during the shoot.

The strong In-hyuk and Tae-woong diligently carried heavy equipment and lights, while the meticulous Hyun-jae and Yu-chan supported the production team by checking double actions.

Meanwhile, music director Hyun-su opened his MacBook whenever he had a moment, sketching out the music for the project.

"...What, what's this..."

Seeing the smoothly running set, Gong Yoo-min covered her mouth with both hands.

Why are they so good at this?

The insomnia of the previous night turned out to be unnecessary. Hyun Si-woo moved confidently, crossing off the cuts on the storyboard, and the capable freelancers arranged by team leader Seo Eun-woo were each doing more than their share.

Of course, not everything was perfect. For example, Gun-ja's acting.

"Haha, Gun-ja~ Please look a little sadder here~"

"Like this?"

"Hahaha, you don't look sad at all~"

"Really..."

"Imagine you want to write calligraphy with a brush but realize you don't have a brush or ink."

"Gasp."

"So you went to the stationery store but happened to have no money in your pocket."

"...That's terrible..."

"Haha, that's it~ That's the expression~"

Even Gun-ja's poor acting looked cute to Gong Yoo-min. The way he clumsily followed Hyun Si-woo's directions and only understood Hyun-jae's strange directing was endearing.

"Cut, haha~ Okay~"

"Okay—!!"

"Haha, Camera operator~ How long until the next setup is ready~"

"15 minutes including the lighting."

While the filming team set up the equipment, the rest of the crew took a short break.

Before her racing heart could calm down, Yu-chan and Gun-ja appeared in front of Gong Yoo-min with snacks.

"...P-please have some snacks, officer..."

"Officer, also have some tea with it."

"Th-thank you."

It was incredibly flattering. Inside, Gong Yoo-min felt like she might even bow deeply in gratitude.

"...Ah, no need to bow..."

"Officer, why would you bow to us!"

"Oh no!"

She didn't just imagine it; she actually moved her body!

But there was nothing she could do. This moment was the career high of Gong Yoo-min's life.

Working on a project with her favorite idol. How much good karma must she have accumulated in her past life?

Gong Yoo-min unknowingly put her hands together in prayer. Since the filming location was in Gyeongju, a young and handsome monk happened to pass by.

"Thank you, thank you, Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva..."

So immersed in her immense satisfaction, she didn't even notice the monk's true identity.

"Oh, officer, you're really too much!"

"Gasp, Tae-woong."

"But do I really look like a monk? I guess it's pretty convincing, haha."

"Yes, you really look like a handsome monk."

"Really? Officer, you're also beautiful!"

Tae-woong, who had been mistaken for a real monk, proudly rubbed his bald wig and walked away toward the filming team.

"Hehe, hehehe..."

However, Gong Yoo-min's happy smile didn't last long.

"Officer Gong, I'm here~"

Gong Yoo-min's boss and the person in charge of another video project, 'Clothing Culture Content,' Senior Officer Jeong Yun-cheol, arrived on set.

"Is everything going well with the filming?"

"Ah, yes..."

"Your face is all smiles. Must be nice working with such good-looking friends?"

"Yes, well..."

As soon as she met Jeong Yun-cheol, Gong Yoo-min's words became sparse. What on earth is this person doing here?

"I came to check if Officer Gong is doing well."

"Ah, yes."

"If you're being clumsy again, I'll have to help you."

"Ah."

"Officer Gong, when will you be able to do well on your own? Watching you need everything done for you, you really do seem like a princess."

"Ah..."

"Princess officer, princess officer... Why do you act like a princess when you're not one?"

"Ah..."

"Isn't it fun~? Isn't it fun~? Hahaha."

As Jeong Yun-cheol's words grew longer, a shadow fell over Gong Yoo-min's face. It was hard to believe she had been swimming in happiness just moments ago.

Does this person have nothing better to do? Why come all the way here to cause this trouble?

"Senior officer, I suppose the clothing video project is finished?"

"Oh, we wrapped that up a while ago."

"Ah..."

"You know, clothing videos always get good views."

"...Yes..."

"This time, we even brought in overseas influencers to ensure high view counts from the start. You know how nationalistic content does well on YouTube?"

"Yes, well..."

"Just imagine. YouTubers with millions of subscribers wearing hanbok, dancing, and doing reviews. That alone guarantees good views, doesn't it?"

"...I suppose so."

Reluctantly admitting, Jeong Yun-cheol's traditional clothing content always got high views. On the other hand, Gong Yoo-min's cultural heritage content often did not.

Given the nature of the content, it's easier to get high views with influencers in the clothing field. Moreover, this time, they deliberately invited overseas influencers, so the views would be even higher.

"We prepared like that, but will a drama work?"

"We'll see."

"It's not just 'we'll see.' How long are you going to keep losing?"

"Ah..."

"Why are you filming a drama with idols? Officer Gong, this isn't child's play."

"..."

"Officer Gong? Do you understand? This isn't child's play?"

Although swearing inside, Gong Yoo-min bit her lip and endured.

"...Whether it's child's play or not, just wait and see."

"Hahaha, that's why I came here~ Yes, with idols, how cute will they be in their antics, hahaha."

Before Jeong Yun-cheol's laughter even ended, the director announced that the setup was complete.

"Director, the setup is finished!"

"Haha, then let's resume filming~"

The next scene was where Asan-nya shoots an arrow with a scroll after overcoming the wall and defeating the guards.

A scene full of Gun-ja's confident action.

At the mention of the action scene, Senior Officer Jeong Yun-cheol lightly snorted and laughed.

"Haha, an action scene~ Do you think that's easy?"

After all the actors were in their places, the assistant director's booming voice announced the resumption of filming.

"Camera roll, sound speed-."

"Scene 4, Take 3-1-1, Action—!!"

Crack—

As soon as the slate sound rang, Gun-ja, dressed as Asan-nya, jumped over the wall with his clothes fluttering.