Chapter 179: Unknown Past (3)
In the midst of it all, Ju-Hyeok was suddenly asked to join the advertisement.
'What are they talking about?'
His reaction was pure astonishment.
The director proceeded to explain the reason for this offer.
"I could just see it right here. The souls of the office workers standing on the rooftop with the setting sun, right before their overtime. It felt much more natural for Sang-Hyeon than jumping around like the Little Prince and smiling brightly. I'm sure viewers will be more touched too."
Ju-Hyeok nodded.
'I think that's true.'
He thought the same from the beginning. The previous concept didn't suit Sang-Hyeon at all.
Sang-Hyeon's looks certainly fit the image, but that wasn’t who he truly was.
He started his life as an ordinary office worker, not much different from countless Korean office workers.
The only thing that made it different was that he spent his childhood preparing to be a professional athlete.
Sang-Hyeon ended up spending a whopping five years in Ahsung. His adult identity was now shaped as Ahsung Corporation's senior salesman Yu Sang-Hyeon, the Yu Sang-Hyeon with connections, Assistant Yu Sang-Hyeon...
Those bittersweet memories were embodied by the present Yu Sang-Hyeon. Although he was now a streamer, fragments of his past still lingered within him.
The scent, once like a disinfectant, had now become a mildly pleasant fragrance to him.
The director's keen sense of smell detected that scent.
"And this concept aligns perfectly with the current weather. It would enhance the product's appeal as well. It targets 30-40 year old office workers who are concerned with their health. Isn't it a perfect fit?"
"I agree, but why am I..."
"I think Sang-Hyeon can only be most natural when he's with Ju-Hyeok. We don't have time for an acting coach now. And Mr.Ju-Hyeok looks amazing on camera. You look completely like an office worker. It makes for the perfect visual on screen. The size difference between Mr. Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon is also appropriate to capture the skyline within the camera frame..."
As the director went on with his aesthetic talk, Ju-Hyeok was thinking about two concerns in mind.
'Is this person serious? I can't believe I'm gonna be in the advertisement.'
The first concern was that he suddenly became an advertisement model.
'What about the money when there are two models?'
The second concern was about this extreme change in the concept, adding one more model. How would they change the payment?
The director answered his question, "I can handle the payment to some extent. I have some authority in this field."
"But still, with one more person added in.."
"Of course, I can't promise the same cost as Sang-Hyeon. Mr. Ju-Hyeok isn't well-known after all, but I will increase the rate to the regular model.
It would probably be around four million won. Four million won for one day of shooting.
Considering that Sang-Hyeon earned 70 million won, it was an extremely small amount. However, it was a significant sum of money for Ju-Hyeok.
'What kind of situation am I in right now?'
As a manager, he knew that playing a supporting role to the main model he handled came quite often.
"Alright."
Ju-Hyeok stood up and shook hands.
"We can't just proceed with a verbal agreement. Please write a brief contract at least."
The director nodded while shaking hands.
"Got it. Seon-Jae! Bring me a short-term model contract!"
After that, things proceeded swiftly.
It seemed the director didn't want to miss capturing this sunset scenery.
The director preferred natural lighting and analog shooting techniques with minimal computer graphics.
"... Wow, does this mean you’re treating us to dinner tonight?"
"I need you to be logical, at least out of all of us today."
It was absurd that someone who received 70 million won was saying such things.
"Even Ji-Ah said the same thing, that the eldest should treat."
“Haha,” Sang-Hyeon laughed out loud.
Ju-Hyeok frowned even more. What do these guys think of themselves, always treating the eldest as a source of entertainment?
"We got this."
Sang-Hyeon raised his hand.
"Of course, one take."
"Yup."
Clap! Their palms brushed against each other.
***
Against the backdrop of the sunset sky, Sang-Hyeon sat on the bench in the garden.
He was wearing a full suit, complete with a necktie, and took a bag of almonds out from his pocket.
"Sigh."
Sighing, he picked up one almond after another, emptying the entire bag into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
Finally, as the camera widened, Ju-Hyeok was standing next to him and looked directly at Sang-Hyeon.
Crunch, crunch.
Sang-Hyeon continued to eat the almonds, ignoring Ju-Hyeok.
Ju-Hyeok eventually asked the question he had asked hundreds of times before. It was like an automatic reflex because he asked so many times.
"Hey, are those really good?"
"..."
Sang-Hyeon remained silent and simply continued eating almonds.
"..."
The sound of chewing almonds filled the air, creating a lingering silence between them.
Sang-Hyeon effortlessly devoured the almonds as if he was breathing. It was a familiar sight, a natural and effortless daily action.
"Hey, give me one too."
Ignoring the request once again, Sang-Hyeon remained focused on eating the almonds.
Now, he loosened his tie and lifted his head, devouring the almond as if taking a sip.
"Hey, I said give me one."
"..."
At that moment, Ju-Hyeok's expression began to turn sour.
"Here."
Plonk.
Sang-Hyeon tossed the almond bag onto Ju-Hyeok's lap. Then he swiftly stood up and muttered, "Director Park, seriously... sigh..." before returning to the office.
The bag he threw at Ju-Hyeok was empty.
Ju-Hyeok's face contorted skillfully.
"This mother-fu—"
“Cut!”
The director's okay sign resounded.
"No need for a reshoot! This is great!"
The director confidently stated.
Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok also rushed over to watch the last take.
'Wow.'
'It's actually not bad.'
Although it veered more toward B-grade than the initial concept, it was undeniably more fun and natural.
"Okay, the next scene is starting as you lean on that railing. Let's go."
Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok quickly reviewed the scribbled script on the tablet and walked toward the railing.
The cameras followed them.
The scene started with Ju-Hyeok leaning against the railing while lighting a cigarette.
"... Ha."
As expected, Sang-Hyeon walked over with a tired face and stood beside him.
When Sang-Hyeon rummaged inside his suit, Ju-Hyeok took out the lighter.
"Do you need a light?"
"No."
What Sang-Hyeon was searching for wasn't a lighter. It was almonds.
Crunch.
Sang-Hyeon took out the almond bag and started munching on them instantly.
Ju-Hyeok's expression gradually darkened.
Crunch. Crunch.
Maybe this wasn't acting after all.
"Is it really that delicious?"
"Here."
This time, Sang-Hyeon took one out and handed it to Ju-Hyeok.
"!"
Ju-Hyeok was surprised at Sang-Hyeon’s offer and cracked open the almond. He put it in his mouth.
In no time, Ju-Hyeok started munching on it like crazy just like Sang-Hyeon. They continued eating almonds without saying a word.
The cigarette that Ju-Hyeok had been smoking was now stuck in the ashtray, barely half burned.
"Cut!"
Once again, the director's expression was pleased.
"This is amazing! As expected!"
In the director's eyes, it was a satisfying outcome.
The scene was like the refreshing style of Japanese commercials during the bubble economy era while complementing the gray cityscape.
'If we edit it well, this will definitely be much better.'
The director stroked his beard as he ran a mental editing simulation in his head. In his head, an improved advertisement was being depicted. However, that was just a simulation in his head.
"Wait, let's pause here!"
The director stood from his camera seat and called the rest of the staff over.
"I think the main scenes are done, but let me quickly put the rough cut together and take another look."
The director had to bring out the vision from his head and examine if it actually worked in reality, especially since this was an impromptu concept. He needed to take the time to compare and contrast.
The staff and editing team gathered to start a meeting with the director.
"Please wait roughly for an hour."
"Oh, sure."
At that moment, there was nothing for Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon to do.
They simply wandered around the imaginary floating garden of diamonds, lost in thought.
"... Hey."
Ju-Hyeok nudged Sang-Hyeon.
"You really wanna eat that thing again?"
Crunch.
Sang-Hyeon, who was already chewing almonds even when not in the commercial, put another one in his mouth.
"I, I can't stop..."
Sang-Hyeon held out his hands as if it wasn't his fault.
"What kind of curse is on those almonds that you can't stop eating them?"
"Well, I just can't stop it."
It seemed like Sang-Hyeon had no control over himself.
Ju-Hyeok snatched the almond bag he was holding.
"If we can't enjoy them when it's time for the commercial, what's the point? I'm taking this away."
"What, isn't the shoot over?"
"If they don't like it, we'll reshoot it. We can shoot this concept even at night."
They were already considering shooting it until nighttime.
Sang-Hyeon saw Ju-Hyeok as someone who put in the effort no matter what it was. He recalled how Ju-Hyeok used to stay late at work 24/7.
Sang-Hyeon eventually nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, whatever. You're right. We should enjoy them when the time comes. We shouldn't devour them all now."
Sang-Hyeon's gaze lingered on the almond bag that Ju-Hyeok snatched away.
Ju-Hyeok knew Sang-Hyeon too well. He came up with a suggestion.
"Hey, we still got some time, right?"
"Yeah."
"I just thought of something you can do right now. If you do this, I'll let you eat almonds."
"... What is it?"
"I created an SNS account under your name. It's Rune-stagram, but I haven't posted anything yet."
"Oh, really? Do the fans know about this too?"
"Yeah. I posted an announcement when you were shooting earlier."
Ju-Hyeok took out his phone and showed the number of followers.
[Followers: 3K]
There were almost 3000 people following the account already.
'This many people are following already.'
Ju-Hyeok made the announcement just a few hours ago, yet many people had already started following. It felt like they were gaining more popularity as they saw the number of followers.
"So what about this?"
"Check this out."
Ju-Hyeok showed Sang-Hyeon Miho's Rune-stagram.
It was a post with a short video, but there were so many views and comments already.
"Isn't this from the Fantasia filming?"
It was a post of a short version of a video taken on the Fantasia set.
The bottom of the post was full of tags: #Filming #Fantasia #cleric, etc.
— Miho is the god...
— If she's a real cleric, then she would definitely create controversy.
— At least we can be sure that she can cure the eunuch.
— OMG, this is insane. Are there any official photoshoots?
— @kei_tpa This is Miho, lol.
— Wow, you're so prettyyy!! I'm in love with your pink hair!!!
— She looks stunning even in that outfit. True goddess...
— Is that also the lipstick she's advertising?
These comments had a different vibe compared to All-tube or Trivee. Some tagged their friends under the post while others showed interest in Miho's clothes or make-up.
"It’s more commercial-like than other SNS, right?"
"Yeah, definitely. They are literally showing it off to advertise it."
While it seemed like a communication channel to others, it definitely looked like an advertising billboard to Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon.
Posts were all about clothes they wore during the shooting, make-up, contact lenses, hair salons, and even camera brands...
There were countless things they could advertise in one post, especially on Rune-stagram.
Miho, especially, received a lot of attention for posting her fashion styles. It seemed like brand sponsorships were contacting her endlessly for each post.
"I know we need to be careful when advertising one thing, but it is definitely better when we can advertise this directly to our fans."
"How directly? Like communicating?"
"Yes. SNS is the perfect platform for direct communication."
Sang-Hyeon could see where Ju-Hyeok was getting with this.
"So you want me to post pictures like Miho?"
"Yeah, we need to advertise it anyway. If we post it on Rune-stagram, it will be advertised to more people and we can communicate with our fans as well. More people would get to know who Almond is."
"Hmm, that’s true."
The almond advertisement would also turn out better and it would be easier to communicate with the fans. Many more people would know about the streamer Almond.
"But what should we post?"
The almond filming is already done, so they couldn't post the scenes from the film like Miho did. They also couldn't publish the finished film without approval either.
They needed to take a picture of something new or something like a short vlog.
"We have something to post. Something you're talented at."
Ju-Hyeok threw the almond bag back to Sang-Hyeon and pointed upward.
"Catch it with your mouth."
On that day, Almond's Rune-stagram officially published the first post.
Almond eating almonds.
#advertisement #GreenDiamond
All the fans, who were eagerly awaiting Almond's return, began flocking to the post.