Chapter 136: Studio (4)
The target landed softly on the target. All four arrows managed to hit. Even though it wasn't perfect, it wasn't the worst. Of course, it was unsatisfactory considering Sang-Hyeon's original skills.
Sang-Hyeon knew this wasn't enough for him to pick up the bow again. This bow was poorly designed. The target was twenty times larger than an actual target, and he was twice as close to it.
He could barely put his trembling right hand in his pocket, and the outfit he borrowed was drenched in sweat. He felt sorry, but he was still smiling.
'At least this way works.'
He could still shoot. He could still challenge himself. Sang-Hyeon was satisfied with that.
***
"Wow!"
"Amazing..."
The supervisor came out to check on the noisy studio. He glanced at the four arrows embedded in the green target.
'Didn't he say his right hand was injured?'
He didn't doubt it because Manager Oh wouldn't lie about such a thing. Besides, the photographer confirmed it as well.
'Then... did he challenge himself?'
That meant Almond attempted it in an injured state to finish the shoot in one shot. The action scene was difficult for a normal person, but he finished it on his first try. Supervisor Koh set his eyes on Almond.
"Huff... puff..."
Almond was sitting down and catching his breath with his right hand in his pocket. The way it was awkwardly inside his pocket, it looked like he was trying to hide it.
Anyone could tell he was exhausted, but he still had a smile on his face.
'A smile...'
Miho and the other staff cheered him on, but Supervisor Koh felt a stinging feeling in his chest. He knew that the smile wasn't just from completing the task. Only the supervisor, who was old enough to experience the ups and downs of life, could tell what kind of smile it was.
'What did you go through...'
Why did a guy who was only thirty have a bitter smile like that on his face?
If he could smile like that, why did he challenge himself?
“Phew.”
Supervisor Koh took a light breath and walked toward Almond.
"Hey, Almond. Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes."
Sang-Hyeon naturally got up as Supervisor Koh approached him. He still didn’t forget his manners.
"... Tell me if there are any problems. We can go straight to the hospital."
"It's alright. It's nothing much."
Despite him saying that, Almond still had his right hand in his pocket. A polite guy like that still kept his hand hidden, which meant he wanted to hide something.
Supervisor Koh purposefully looked away. He looked at Almond's teary eyes and couldn't tell if it was sweat or tears.
"Alright, Almond. You did excellent today. Out of all the new models, you were the best."
"Sorry?"
Almond’s eyes widened at the sudden compliment.
"Maybe even better than some experienced people."
"...?"
Supervisor Koh was cold throughout the entire shoot. He wasn't fond of Sang-Hyeon because he was new and joined late, yet the higher-ups cared for him so much.
Anyone in Supervisor Koh's position would've thought the same, but now...
"Why so surprised."
Not anymore. The supervisor's eyes were filled with genuine emotion instead of cold, soulless eyes.
"You did really well today. Anybody would think the same even if our CEO came."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you."
"...?"
Supervisor Koh felt the same sensation as when he first held a camera and pressed the shutter. It was only a moment, but his eyes were filled with determination. Looking at Almond naturally brought out the burning passion he once had. However, that burning passion was only a fond memory now.
"It's just that… seeing you made me think of the good old days."
"..."
"Anyways, you were great today."
Supervisor Koh smiled and patted Sang-Hyeon on the shoulder before walking away with his almond milk.
"Everyone will fondly remember this."
***
"Wow! Did you see!?"
It was rare to see Miho shout so excitedly.
"Almond, were you always athletic? How did you do it in one take..."
The funny thing was that Ju-Hyeok should've been the happiest, but he had the gloomiest look, along with Manager Oh. Manager Oh dragged Miho away after seeing Ju-Hyeok.
"A-Alright, you should get ready for your next shoot."
"Huh…?"
Miho was confused because she thought everyone would be cheering. She turned around to get another look at Almond, but Manager Oh turned her head the other way.
"Do you want to be caught up in a scandal?"
"... Huh!!?"
They shouted so loudly that everybody could hear them as if they were in a scandal.
"Sigh. How does a girl like you continue to stream?"
"W-What... I was just impressed..."
Miho turned red.
Manager Oh felt bad about her innocent reaction but had to turn her attention away.
"Where did you send your manager to?"
"..."
Miho looked away and avoided Manager Oh's eyes.
"You said you sent them on vacation. Why did you send them away?"
"Uh..."
"And why did you leave your good car back home?"
"B-Because I'm not good at driving..."
"Huh?! You're not good, but you still know how to drive."
"..."
"If you don't come with your manager next time, I'm going to leave you out of the schedule."
This meant that Manager Oh wasn't just warning her, but was serious. Of all the streamers, Miho always needed a manager with her. First of all, she was a girl streamer and needed someone to guard her against fans. They were the second line of defense for her spontaneous behavior.
But—
"I didn't send them on vacation," Miho replied with an exhausted voice.
"... What?"
"Vacation... I didn't send them."
"Then did Bubblegum send them?"
"No, that old man doesn't intervene with things like this. Sigh," Miho looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "We had a big fight."
Manager Oh couldn't hear the rest of the story.
"Miho! Come here!"
The shoot was ready and she had to stand before the camera.
***
Ju-Hyeok ran to Sang-Hyeon, who came into the waiting lobby.
"Hey... does it work again?"
The sentence was vague, but it was obvious what he was asking.
'Work...'
It looked like that for other people. Sang-Hyeon shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Does it look like it works..."
Sang-Hyeon glanced at the four arrows lined up in a straight line on the green figure acting as the giant. Looking at it this way, it did seem like it. However, an archery coach would smack him on the head.
"At first it was weird, but it worked out later on, right? Otherwise, how did you do it?"
"With this accuracy? No way."
"Y-You at least shot it. And multiple times at that! If you practice more..."
"No, actual archery and how I did it in Battle Large are different. The combat style draws less and is specialized for shooting multiple times."
"... So?"
"What do you mean so? It means it uses the arm less, so I can shoot more. If it were an actual archery technique, I wouldn’t even be able to shoot twice."
"Ah..."
"In archery, even a slight miss from bullseye is a big deal... so it's practically impossible."
"I see," Ju-Hyeok nodded.
He didn't ask any further. It looked like Sang-Hyeon didn't want to talk about it.
Tap.
He just patted him on the back.
"Anyway, good job. It was a good one-take."
"Alright."
"We're done, so let's take a break."
"Sounds good."
After an hour, the shoot finished. The three streamers outside looked exhausted.
"I want to grab a drink, but it seems like a stretch, right?"
"Haha..."
Bubblegum made a suggestion, but everyone was too tired.
"Let's save it for next time."
Bubblegum and his manager returned to their car while Manager Oh, Miho, Sang-Hyeon, and Ju-Hyeok returned to their van.
"Everyone, good job."
After everyone thanked each other, the car started. It was starting to get dark outside as the headlights brightened the road.
It was already 8 P.M.
It was rush hour, and the traffic was heavily jammed. Manager Oh glanced at them, worried that they would be annoyed.
However, they were all knocked out. The traffic seemed like a blessing instead.
"Where should we go first? I don't think it'll matter where we go," the staff driving asked.
He asked whether to head to Miho's house or Sang-Hyeon's first. It was like asking who he wanted to be left alone with.
"Go to Hoogye first."
"Alright."
Manager Oh decided to go to Miho's house last. There was still a story he needed to hear from her.
***
"Alright, we're at Hoogye."
Tap, tap.
They finally woke up after he tapped them on their shoulders. Ju-Hyeok fixed his frameless glasses and looked around with a surprised look.
"Did you have a good night?"
"Ah…! I'm sorry."
"It's alright. This is why we drive you guys around."
Ju-Hyeok never imagined he'd fall asleep with Manager Oh sitting beside him. That was how exhausting today's shoot was. Sang-Hyeon, who was one seat over, felt the same. He was still sleeping with his mouth wide open. Ju-Hyeok had to hit him on the forehead to wake him up.
"Huh..."
"What do you mean, huh? Wake up. We're here."
Sang-Hyeon got off without saying much while scratching his head. He didn't even look surprised. The more Ju-Hyeok watched him, the more interesting he was.
"Thank you."
"Of course. See you next time!"
Manager Oh closed the door as the van left.
Vroom...
Hearing the engine drive away because of their busy morning, they felt empty.
Blink, blink...
The orange street lamp made a blinking noise as if it was dying. Underneath the light was the stairs of hell.
"... Sigh."
"Let's go."
Sang-Hyeon zoomed past him as if he never slept. Ju-Hyeok was annoyed by his stamina. Sang-Hyeon looked back.
"Uhh... Hey, the pay statement. I think the YouTube payday is today. I just got it."
"...?"
Ju-Hyeok looked up at Sang-Hyeon, trying to catch his breath.
That was right. Today was payday.
Ju-Hyeok forgot about it because their YouTube was linked to the emails of Sang-Hyeon and Ji-Ah, the editor.
"R-Right, but can't we check later? Damn..."
Ju-Hyeok loved money like everyone else. Seeing the pay would feel good, but this hellish staircase erased all those thoughts.
Sang-Hyeon smirked, "Ah, right. You have terrible stamina. Is it because you're over thirty..."
"T-This mother—"
Just as Ju-Hyeok imagined choking him by the neck…
“Kyaaaaa!”
They heard a girl scream. The two turned around towards the shout.
"!?"
"...?"
A familiar door faced them. It was Ji-Ah's house. They got goosebumps thinking about the man hiding the other day.
"... W-What the."
"Did something happen?"
As soon as Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon were about to run toward the scream, they heard another shout.
“No wayyyyy!”