Chapter 134: Studio (2)
"Wow! Almond, the makeup looks really good on you."
Miho was the first one to greet him as he approached the photo shoot. Sang-Hyeon replied with a smile to thank her. Miho tried to add on, but…
"Uh, uh... Miho, you can't move yet."
"Ah, yes..."
The photographer stopped her. Afterward, she could only steal glances at Sang-Hyeon.
"Almond, stay here for a moment. The main photographer is going to come soon."
"Sure."
Sang-Hyeon leaned against the wall, waiting for his set to be prepared. As the white studio lights moved around, his set quickly became ready.
Beside him was Bubblegum doing his own shoot. Sang-Hyeon watched him for a bit. Since it was his first time seeing Bubblegum in person, he was intrigued.
He wasn't as professional as Miho, but he was skilled. Bubblegum noticed and greeted him. Sang-Hyeon replied with a smile.
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped Sang-Hyeon on the back.
"?"
He turned around and was confused to see nobody.
"Over here. Here."
He heard something below him.
"Hello! Almond!"
Almond wasn't tall, but the girl standing before him was quite short. She was around 150 cm in height.
"I'm the main photographer. I hope for the best."
She looked and sounded like a child. Sang-Hyeon was surprised that she was the main photographer.
"Ah... Yes, nice to meet you."
He was worried because she didn't look like a pro and he wasn't a pro either.
'Will this work out...'
Manager Oh thought the same thing from a distance and asked Supervisor Koh about it, "Who's that person? You said you were going to take special care of Almond!"
"Huh? Don't you see that I'm busy right now? I am taking special care of him."
"Look at Almond's photographer. I told you to put him with a veteran since he's new."
"...?"
Supervisor Koh glanced at the photographer and shrugged.
"Oh Soo-Young? I did put a veteran with him, Manager Oh."
"... Really? She looks young."
"She is young, but she started when she was even younger. From our connections, she's the best one to take photos of guys."
He gave a list of famous names she was responsible for. If it were true, she was a veteran photographer.
"Hmm... Is that so?"
It seemed like Manager Oh was still in disbelief. Supervisor Koh noticed him continuing to glance toward them and reassured him.
"Her skills are undeniable, but her preference is a little... weird. No, it's more like she gets way too into it."
"?"
"She's pretty hyper. And... it's fine if she likes the way it turns out, but if she doesn't, then she’ll just quit."
"What?! Then what happens?"
"... If that happens, it's more work for us. We have to ask another photographer to take his photos. Manager Oh, there's a solution to everything, so just mind your business."
Manager Oh frowned, but didn't say much. This wasn't a big deal for a studio of this size, but he was uneasy about putting a strange photographer with Almond because it looked like Supervisor Koh wanted to intimidate the newcomers.
***
Flash!
A voice was heard after Sang-Hyeon's first shot.
"Oh shit!"
And it continued.
"It's really good! You're very good-looking! Woaaah!"
Flash!
"Wow! You're a piece of work! Even more impressive than the actor I worked with recently."
Flash!
"Shit!"
This was all coming from one person.
"Greeat!"
Oh Soo-Young was an energetic individual. Sang-Hyeon was worried that she would use all her energy for the day in this photoshoot.
Her way of taking photos was unusual. Sang-Hyeon barely changed his pose, but she ran around taking pictures of him from different angles.
For Sang-Hyeon, it was easy as a beginner. However, as an athlete, he was concerned about her stamina.
Tadak.
Tadak.
She ran all over the place with her heavy camera while screaming and shouting.
"Shiiiit! I love it! One more time in this pose!"
She showed him an example of a pose.
Chuk, chuk, chuk.?
She approached Sang-Hyeon and fixed his clothing for him as well. He could feel the heat from her when she came close.
Her eyes were bright and shining. Oh Soo-Young seemed to be satisfied with her photoshoot today.
"This is your first photoshoot, right? You're like a statue standing still. There's nothing awkward about you."
Sang-Hyeon stayed quiet because it didn't seem like she was looking for an answer.
Flash! Flash!
She was busy pressing the shutter and shoving the camera before his face.
"It's amazing! You're doing fantastic. Very sexy. Is this a game for women? I want to play it too!"
Her hands and feet were restless, but so was her mouth. It was a part of her job as well.
"Just debut as a celebrity now, please? You're born to be one."
Sang-Hyeon started gaining confidence after listening to all the compliments.
'Seems like it's going well.'
He naturally pulled off all the poses. The photo shoot was going great. However, there were difficult parts as an amateur.
"Alright, should we smile naturally? Naturally as possible. Bright too!"
He was trying to smile naturally. It was the hardest task for beginners. Staring at the camera blankly wasn't difficult, but smiling naturally was hard for anyone.
Sang-Hyeon was worried he'd look awkward, which resulted in an awkward smile.
"Hmm…? It's not like we're taking a photo for your passport. Think about something funny. Not too funny, just enough to make you smirk."
Sang-Hyeon thought about it. He thought of Bubblegum rolling around in Battle Large.
“Pfft,” a smile naturally came out.
"Hmmm. No, no. Your face has much more potential than this. There's no bright feeling right now. Something more genuinely funny."
What did she want him to think of?
Sang-Hyeon's face froze and the photographer added, "How about something happy instead of funny?"
A happy moment. As soon as he heard that, he recalled a certain moment. It was when he was eating with Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah. He thought of when his dining table was almost full. He hadn't given it much thought at the time, but that was the memory he recalled.
His eyes and lips slowly formed a smile.
"Ohhhhh!"
Flash!
The photographer was impressed and continued pressing her shutter.
"Shiet!"
Flash! Flash! Flash!
'But his right hand is a little awkward.'
After several shoots, Oh Soo-Young noticed Sang-Hyeon was uncomfortable with his right hand. It wasn't a big issue, but she could tell that he was self-conscious about his right hand.
'Did he not want to say anything?'
Something like this was usually discussed before the photo shoot, but Sang-Hyeon hadn't brought it up.
"You look good!"
That meant Oh Soo-Young didn't have to bring it up as well. It was polite to let it slide.
"This time, we'll try with your right hand in your pocket!"
***
The photoshoot was coming to an end. Bubblegum, Almond, and Miho finished their photoshoot together as well.
"Good work."
"Almond, you did well despite it being your first time. Wahaha."
"We're almost done. You're very good."
The staff gathered and complimented him.
'Did I worry too much for no reason?'
He was nervous because it was his first photoshoot. After all, Sang-Hyeon's lifestyle was far from all this. However, everything proceeded smoothly despite his worries.
'It was much more fun than I imagined it'd be.'
Instead, he had fun. The studio was fun with all these people running around, giving various poses, and completing posters individually. He thought he was built for this.
"Alright, this is the last one."
Now, the most important one was left for last. It was shooting a video, and it'd likely show up the most in ads. Sang-Hyeon's task was simple.
All he had to do was run towards the green wall and shoot a green turret in the distance, which the CG would take care of.
"It's simple, right? Since it's something you do every day," one of the staff asked him.
The staff handed him a simple recurve bow. Sang-Hyeon's eyes shook as he stared at the bow.
"... Almond?" the staff member asked him again because he didn't reply.
'Are you stupid, Yu Sang-Hyeon?'
Sang-Hyeon questioned himself. He didn't consider that he'd have to shoot a bow. He was too comfortable because of the rehearsal. He felt stupid because he couldn't predict this happening...
It was completely reasonable as well.
Ju-Hyeok panicked and interfered, "We didn't hear about this beforehand."
"Sorry?" the staff member looked confused.
Who would report every little detail? It wasn’t like there was any nudity. What was the need to notify someone known for using a bow that he would have to use one for the shoot? It was a strange question and Ju-Hyeok knew that as well.
'I need to reject them, but naturally as possible...'
Sang-Hyeon could refuse if he persisted, but there would be rumors about him floating around. Manager Oh ran to them.
"Hold on. Hold on. Let's briefly talk for a moment."
He grabbed the staff member and dragged him to Supervisor Koh.
"Huh... huh? W-What are you doing?!"
"Ah, it'll just be a moment. Let's take a break for now!"
The shoot came to a pause as Manager Oh interrupted. The cameraman shooting Miho and Bubblegum stared in their direction in confusion.
Ju-Hyeok went over to Sang-Hyeon and said, "Sorry, I made a mistake. I was just excited about shooting an ad. I didn't expect..."
"Sorry."
"Huh?"
Sang-Hyeon walked away after saying sorry.
"Hey, where are you going?!"
"To the washroom."
***
"W-What's wrong?" the staff being dragged by Manager Oh complained.
Supervisor Koh questioned him as well, "What?! What's going on?!"
"Hey, there's something I didn't tell you about."
"What is it? Why are you dragging my staff around?"
"It's..." Manager Oh scratched his head.?'Ah... What should I say?'
He managed to turn their attention away for now, but was thinking of the best thing to say.
"It's just that… Almond's been getting some medical work done... on his arm."
"Medical work? On his arm?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't tell us that before?"
"You didn't say anything about shooting a bow either. Other than that, there's no problem."
"It looks fine…?"
Manager Oh was speechless. He said it was hurt. What was the problem?
"It does seem painful," Oh Soo-Young butted in.
She was the photographer in charge of Sang-Hyeon.
"He seemed very self-conscious of it in the photoshoot earlier... he looked uncomfortable."
Manager Oh felt relieved while Supervisor Koh looked stressed out.
"Sigh... This is a pain. Why did a capsule streamer hurt his arm?"
"What are you trying to say? Do game streamers only play games? Why he got hurt is none of your concern! Just know that this is too much!"
"Urgh..."
Supervisor Koh couldn't talk back to Manager Oh.
"Sigh... When does the medical work finish? We need this scene because Almond's character shoots arrows... We'll try to move our schedule around..."
‘Damn, are they willing to move around their schedule for this scene?’?Manager Oh started breaking a sweat.?'I didn't imagine this.'
Gulp.
Was there a limit to his excuses? He didn't imagine them waiting for Sang-Hyeon’s arm to be fixed.
"Ah... This isn't a matter that'll be fixed in a couple of days—"
Slam!
The glass door opened as Sang-Hyeon walked in.
His face was wet as if he washed his face. There was a moment of silence as Sang-Hyeon walked in while they talked about him.
Sang-Hyeon's eyes burned with determination as he stared at the staff.