S108

Society Protocol 8

Agency

People were gathered around the cafe, the filming location for the highly anticipated youth melodrama Red Over Pink.

Seeing the filming vehicle, people were looking around, assuming there must be some filming going on.

Just then, a van stopped, and a beautiful woman stepped out.

It was Ha-kyung, a rising actress these days.

Ha-kyung, who debuted as an innocent country girl and displayed tremendous acting skills,

completely transformed her image for her next project and achieved what is commonly called a "jackpot" in a drama where she played the daughter of a wealthy, massive corporation owner.

As this was her third leading role, expectations were high, but the pressure on her was also immense.

Perhaps that is why she arrived at the set just before filming began, having her makeup done at a salon instead of on-site.

People were snapping photos with their smartphones.

Ha-kyung bowed slightly in greeting and entered the set.

As Ha-kyung appeared, all the staff members stood up to greet her.

When she made eye contact with the male lead, Jae-min, they exchanged a light bow.

The director was busy filming the man sitting in the chair.

Ha-kyung approached Jae-min and spoke in a low voice, careful not to let her voice get picked up by the microphone.

“Oppa, who is it?”

“My best friend. I met him for the first time today.”

Jae-min stood with his arms crossed, watching the director give her directions.

“Okay, cut. Min-hyuk, I’ll pass the lines via smartphone, so please give the assistant director the number. Assistant director, please organize where the new lines go in the books and distribute them again.”

The director turned her head to look at Ha-kyung and walked over briskly.

“Ha-kyung is here? You’re all dressed up nicely. It’s the perfect outfit for a formal meeting between friends. Good job.”

“But who is that, Director?”

“Who? Who? Ah, Min-hyuk, the story might change a bit. You know our writer, right?

I’m not sure how many episodes he’ll do yet; I think we’ll know once today’s shoot is over.

Oh, and for now, the two of them are going to have a certain level of mutual attraction. Got it? Please.

Ah, and Jae-min has to keep completely oblivious to this. He’s a very precious friend.”

"I guess I'm the only one who cherishes their friendship. Hahaha. Alright, Director. Ah, but I'm not

sure if it really looks that way just because they don't show it. Those two are doing it so blatantly."

“Well, it’s just a matter of the viewers recognizing it. Anyway, the story progression could change.

I’ll hand it over again once the new script comes out.

Part 2, which we’ve filmed so far, and Part 3 will proceed as planned, and Part 4 will also stay the same. He might reappear around Part 5.

I’ll discuss that with the writer. There’s still time, so please get ready. I’m counting on you.”

“Of course, Director. When do we start shooting?”

“We’re going to shoot the background outside for a bit and then start right away. Oh, but before that, we need to get the extras in and seated, so it’ll take a little while. Take a break. Assistant Director~!.”

The director called the assistant director, and the assistant director called the extras who were waiting downstairs,

paired them up, and assigned them to the coffee shop.

Min-hyuk recalled the time he used to work part-time as an extra.

[I'm supposed to be over there. Since I've come this far, I'll find a way to show them what I can do. However, since I'm not even a supporting actor, just a minor role, I need to keep a reasonable distance so I don't stand out too much and get in the way of the lead.]

It is not a deer drinking a stream like in a landscape painting.

It is not a forest behind the deer, but rather has the atmosphere of a tree right next to the deer in the middle.

[Yes, I am a tree. I am a tree next to a deer. It feels empty without it, but if I stand out too much, the deer is invisible, so I am a tree whose presence is felt just right. I am a tree.]

Min-hyuk practiced mind control to avoid getting flustered or overreacting.

This was what he used to tell himself whenever female students stared at him intently or followed him around.

If he overreacted and became too self-conscious of their gazes, he would look like a fool;

If he ignored them too much, he would also look like a fool. Therefore, he had been accustomed since childhood to act in a way that was just the right amount of self-consciousness to look cool,

but without making it obvious.

And when he encountered an intense person whose gaze he could not avoid by pretending not to notice,

he would inwardly recite this mantra to himself.

This stemmed from something his mother explained to him when they had gone to an art museum together to look at landscape paintings.

“Min-hyuk, every painting has a main character, supporting characters, and a landscape within it.

Of course, there are exceptions like Impressionism, but ordinary paintings have a theme.

Think about it. A painter doesn't just whip a painting up in a matter of seconds; they take their time and paint slowly for a long while.

While it is just a moment for the viewer, the painter keeps thinking.

Alternating between the overall landscape and the main character.

You have to figure out your position according to your role at that moment and act accordingly.

It’s the same in human society. Understood?”

It was young Min-hyuk nodding his head. Even now, he was nodding inwardly as he thought back to that time.

Shortly after, filming began.

While the cameras were rolling, they put their arms around the shoulders of Jae-min, the lead actor they were seeing for the first time, as if they were friends,

and slapped his back with their palms.

Then, as soon as the cameras stopped, they each acted completely awkwardly on their own.

It looked as if they had been hypnotized and were now breaking free.

Indeed. When filming, he felt like a character in a fairy tale under a spell.

Once the camera was removed, he felt as though the magic had ended and he had returned to being the protagonist who had to do housework again.

He was acting right in front of a famous TV star.

And not just any star, but the male and female leads. Within the work of a rising star director and a star writer.

Although no one would recognize him for such a brief moment, he tried to remain faithful to his role.

As a tree in a landscape background, fulfilling his true duty. It was then. The director's instructions came in.

“Min-hyuk, look at your friend’s girlfriend a little more intensely. Look at her while thinking to yourself, ‘I have to get you.’ A little more intensely.”

As soon as the director's instructions came in, the tree in the landscape painting suddenly began to move.

The tree began to shine as it caught the sunlight.

A deer drinking from the stream turned its head to look at the tree.

“Deer, I stay only here, but you are lucky to be able to roam anywhere. Tell me a fun story.”

The tree in the landscape painting suddenly spoke to the deer. The deer was startled.

“I hop and skip around freely in this forest. But there is no need to be too envious.”

“I am really envious of you, so why is there no need to be?”

"Humans go around chasing me with guns. They also set traps that render me immobile if I step on them. So there is no need to be envious. I envy you more. At least no one is trying to kill you."

“Deer, then shall we switch lives for a while? If I come back right away, you’ll turn back from a tree into a deer. How about it?”

The deer was tired of being chased and wanted to put everything aside for a moment and rest comfortably.

The deer chanted the spell just as the tree had taught it.

The tree became a green deer, and the deer became a brown tree. No, it was closer to a golden hue.

The green deer ran around the mountain, enjoying its freedom.

And it met other trees, met stones, and met wild boars. And it met snakes and met flowers.

The green deer no longer remembered the time when it was a tree.

The green deer did not go to find the tree.

“Cut, okay. Good job, Jae-min and Ha-kyung. We’ll wrap up filming for today. We have a set shoot tomorrow, so I’ll see you then.

The assistant director will contact the manager later, after dinner time, to set the time.

Well then, thank you for your hard work. You worked very hard today, too, Min-hyuk.”

Jae-min and Ha-kyung exchanged a slight bow and parted ways.

Ha-kyung left the set quickly, as if she had another schedule.

There must have been a reason why today's filming ended early.

The agency director, who was watching Jae-min film on set after receiving a call from him, noticed Minhyuk.

He had been a manager for over ten years.

He considered himself capable of roughly predicting how far a person would go and how big they would become just by looking at them once.

To those around him, he was sometimes treated like a fortune teller.

He himself was indeed interested in fortune telling and physiognomy.

Why had Jae-min called him? At first, upon seeing the text message telling him to come to the set,

he had rushed over in a panic, thinking Jae-min had had a big argument with the director.

However, the atmosphere was harmonious, and he couldn't find anything off-putting.

That is, until now. The only thing that bothered him was the look in the eyes of the man acting next to Jaemin.

"Managing Director, you're here? Has it been a while since you last came?"

"What? I've been here for ages. Didn't you know? You're pretending not to know because you really don't. It's a ploy to cover up the fact that you ignored me."

"Director, it's tiring to live life overthinking things. And I really didn't know. You saw the whole filming."

"Yeah, I think I saw almost everything. But what's going on? I flew over here thinking something terrible had happened."

"Ah, if you saw everything, there's not much need to explain. You saw my friend, right? What do you think of him, Director?"

"Your friend? Was the kid next to him your friend?"

"No, he's a friend in the drama. Seriously, even when I try to immerse myself, this is just... It's no help at all."

"Ah, so that's what it was. I saw him. Who is he? I've never seen him before."

"I'm telling you, he's a friend, but I've never seen him before. More importantly, what's the vibe? Your intuition, Director."

“It’s okay. It’s not quite as good as when I first saw you, but it’s not bad in its own way.”

“Oh my, Director, why are you saying such insincere things again?

Anyway, I overheard a conversation nearby and heard he came from an acting academy.

He did some acting when he was young, and it seems he attends a good school now—he just became a freshman.

I don't think he's majoring in acting, though. There isn't an acting department there, you know. If your intuition holds you right, Director, I called you in to come and take him. What do you think?”

“Really? Hmm, he looks decent and has a good educational background. He certainly has the basic titles. But how does his acting look? Is it decent?”

“He doesn’t stand out too much, nor is he too weak; he seems to have a natural talent for matching the atmosphere perfectly. Maybe it’s because he started at a young age. Actors really do have to start as child actors. Early training.”

“Then his acting is fine too. I’ll talk to the CEO.”

“Why talk to the CEO again? You’re being so humble. Has the CEO ever said anything you said was wrong? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen.”

“Jae-min. The CEO is only fond of me because he knows I always keep him in my heart. Just wipe off your makeup while I talk to the CEO, and then we’ll proceed.”

Jae-min's agency director walked out of the filming location holding the phone.

It was partly because he would be able to see Min-hyuk leaving if he stayed at the door,

and partly because the noise of equipment being cleared away on set was bothersome.

Min-hyuk approached Jae-min, who was removing his makeup, and greeted him.

“Hello. My name is Min-hyuk. It is a great honor to be with you today.”

“Ah, friend. You did a great job. We’ll be able to see each other again, right?”

“I came here thinking this was a one-time thing.”

“Huh? Didn’t the director say anything?”

“No. She didn’t say anything. Excuse me, but could I get an autograph?”

Jae-min, unable to figure out how it had come to this, took the small spiral notebook and pen Min-hyuk held out and asked as he signed it.

“You said your name is Mr. Min-hyuk, right?”

“Yes! Wow, thank you.”

The notebook had “To my friend Min-hyuk” written on it along with the signature.

Jae-min looked around to find the agency director. But he was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't move either, as he was in the middle of getting his makeup done.

“Well then, take care. I will always be cheering for you. Thank you.”

It was the first time Jae-min had ever given an autograph to someone he had acted with.

Seeing that the director hadn't said a word and the agency director wasn't there, he felt a little frustrated. However, he quickly gave up.

[Well, they'll figure it out on their own. As for me, I'm just someone who follows orders.]

Min-hyuk ran into the agency director, who was about to hang up the phone and enter the filming location.

"Excuse me, wait a moment."

Min-hyuk was startled as a large man approached to grab him.

"I work with Jae-min. Are you signed to an agency? Here, take this business card."