Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

“The ‘Ku-mo-ri face’? What does that even mean?”

“Haha, the director knows what he’s talking about. Cheonmyeong really does have that vibe.”

I had no idea what they meant, but the team leader laughed and agreed with the director.

“He’s got such a sharp, proper personality, but that face makes him the perfect type to reel fans in.”

Was that a compliment? Or were they teasing me? I couldn’t tell.

“See? He’s so serious that he’s getting lost in thought all by himself right now. That’s what makes him cute.”

“Exactly. Maybe because Cheonmyeong spent all his time studying, he’s completely unspoiled. That’s why he’s going to be really popular.”

Ah, so it was a compliment after all. I hadn’t known what “Ku-mo-ri face” meant, so I couldn’t tell if the director was praising me or making fun of me. With my years of experience, I should have been able to pick up on the nuance right away, but when slang or trendy terms got mixed in, it was hard to guess what the speaker really meant.

For example, there was that time when my friends bought bread from the school store and said, “Ah, this bread is king-bad,” so I thought “king” meant good and bought it too, only to get scolded.

Another time, a classmate brought a mechanical pencil that cost 20,000 won, and everyone kept saying “it’s so good.” From the sound of it, I thought it was something bad, so I assumed the pencil wasn’t good. Later, when I finally tried it out and felt how smooth it was, I was shocked.

Like that, there are so many words these days that you can’t guess the meaning of, so whenever someone uses abbreviations or slang, it takes me a while to figure out their intent.

“You two look great together. The shots will come out nicely.”

At least I understood that one. It meant my face and Baek Jae-heon’s face matched well, so the footage would look good.

But does that even make sense?

How could our faces match? Baek Jae-heon was the classic, handsome type with a refreshing look, while I was just the “looks like he studies hard” type. To put it nicely, maybe the type who’d be the student council president.

“Cheonmyeong-nim, we’ll start with your shoot first.”

“Ah, yes…!”

I jumped up at the words that I’d be going first. The shoot was finally starting.

“Myeong-hyeon looks really nervous.”

“Do well out there!”

The team leader and manager laughed softly behind me as if I were cute. My whole body was stiff with nerves, and I couldn’t bring myself to reply. I just forced a stiff smile back at them.

“When you walk, relax your body a little more.”

“Don’t plop down too hard when you sit.”

“When you look straight ahead, don’t snap your head up so suddenly.”

“When you lie down, don’t just flop down like you’re collapsing.”

Once we actually started shooting, I realized even that stiff smile of mine had looked pretty relaxed in comparison.

Now, every single one of the director’s requests felt like I was getting scolded. When I tried not to tense up while walking, I ended up stiffening even more. When I tried not to plop down, I couldn’t sit at all. When I tried not to snap my head up, my eyes just glared upward. When I tried not to flop down while lying down, I ended up holding a V-up pose like I was doing an ab workout.

In short, it was a disaster.

“Shall we take a short break?”

The director must have sensed that I needed it because he smiled and suggested we pause the shoot for a bit. Everyone told me it was fine and to relax, but that was easier said than done. On top of being nervous, I was now frustrated with myself, which only made me tense up even more.

Because of me, no one could move on to the next part of the shoot. Since the lighting and set design needed to match, they had to finish the next scene while the sun was still up, but at this rate, we wouldn’t even finish my scene by evening.

“Haa…”

When they said we’d take a thirty-minute break before starting again, I went to the waiting room and sat in front of the vanity. I wanted to lean back against the sofa behind me, but if I messed up my hair, they’d have to redo it, so I couldn’t. Nothing was going the way I wanted.

If I’d ever done acting in my past life, expressing these emotions wouldn’t have been this hard. What did I even do with my life, never once trying acting? Well, I guess most people don’t have a reason to act, but still, I hated how I was getting frustrated over things I couldn’t control.

“Don’t try so hard.”

I thought I was alone in the waiting room, but Baek Jae-heon, sitting in a chair farther away, suddenly spoke up.

Since there were only the two of us in the room, he was clearly talking to me.

“Huh?”

“It’s your first time.”

He sounded like a senior with years of experience, even though this was only his second shoot as well. If I snapped back, it would just start a fight, so I decided to steer the conversation away.

“Even if it’s my first time, I still want to do well.”

“You’ll get good at it eventually.”

“Well, sure, if we keep shooting like this every day.”

“Then what’s bothering you so much?”