Chapter 017
I was flustered by Producer Jung's sudden remark.
“No, Cha Seungjun told me.
He said you've been a fan of Gil Boyoung since you were young.”
“Ah, ha...
Th-that...
Ahem...”
“My nephew is also a fan of some singer.
He knows everything about that singer's schedule, family affairs, and even personal matters.”
“Ah, th-that's right...
Well...
Ahem...”
Anyway, Cha Seungjun really talks about everything!
“If Boyoung really is acting like this because of that, then of course we should do something about it.
Still, we were able to figure out the problem quickly because of you, Gibaek.”
Director Song smiled proudly.
Thirty minutes later, the cinematographer returned to the set after changing the film.
Director Song spoke to the staff who had gathered.
“Before we start filming, I'd like to say something.
From now on, everyone except the actors and the staff who are immediately needed, please leave the set!”
The staff who had no idea what was going on exchanged confused glances.
“The atmosphere on the set has been a little unsettled, so I'd appreciate everyone's cooperation.”
Producer Jung added from beside him.
Everyone except the essential staff left the filming set.
Manager Hwang seemed displeased with the situation.
He glanced at Gil Boyoung before leaving the set.
Only after Manager Hwang left did Gil Boyoung's expression gradually become more relaxed.
Filming began again.
“Scene 32, cut four, take five!”
With Gil Boyoung having regained her usual pace, the filming proceeded smoothly.
While filming was underway, I had also come outside.
After a while, Producer Jung, who had been on the set, came outside.
“I think Gil Boyoung has found her rhythm again.”
“Ah, really?
That's a relief.”
“And Manager Hwang went back.
I also asked the agency representative to send someone else starting tomorrow.”
I nodded.
“But according to the representative, Gil Boyoung stopped acting without even consulting Manager Hwang.
Is that really true?”
“I don't think so.
No, even if that were true, there must have been a reason for it.”
At my firm answer, Producer Jung gave a small laugh.
“So you really are a passionate fan.”
Now that I thought about it, I began to wonder why Gil Boyoung had simply remained silent even when reporters published speculative articles about her past.
What exactly happened between Gil Boyoung and Manager Hwang, her former agency representative...?
When lunchtime arrived, we headed to a nearby restaurant we had reserved.
Gil Boyoung did not come to the restaurant, using her lack of appetite as an excuse.
But since she did not know that Manager Hwang had already left, she was probably avoiding the restaurant in case she ran into him.
I bought a bottle of banana milk from a convenience store and went to look for Gil Boyoung in the parking lot.
When I saw Gil Boyoung sitting in a corner of the parking lot with a blank expression, I felt strangely sorry for her.
As I approached, Gil Boyoung looked at me in surprise.
“Oh, Gibaek.
Didn't you eat?”
“What about you, noona?
What are you doing here?”
“Ah, I didn't have much of an appetite...”
“It must be...
really hard, right?”
“Hard...
Well, it is.
Still, it would be a lie to say I don't feel pressured when this is my comeback project after seven years...”
Gil Boyoung smiled calmly, but exhaustion was clearly visible on her face.
“Noona, have this.”
I handed Gil Boyoung the banana milk I had bought from the convenience store.
For a moment, Gil Boyoung's eyes seemed to tremble when she received the banana milk.
Then her eyes filled with tears.
I knew what banana milk meant to Gil Boyoung.
As a fan of Gil Boyoung, I had shown my admiration for her in my own way by keeping up with the shows she appeared in and reading articles about her.
“When I was young, my parents got divorced.
The person who was always by my side in their place was my grandmother.”
“Ah...
I see.
Then you must have many memories with your grandmother.”
“Whenever something difficult happened to me, my grandmother would always give me banana milk and comfort me.”
“Banana milk?”
“Yes.
But the strange thing was, whenever I drank the banana milk my grandmother gave me, somehow my heart would calm down, and I would feel like even the bad things that had happened would somehow turn out all right.”
“Rather than it being the power of banana milk itself, I think your grandmother's encouragement at those times was what really helped you.”
“Yes.
I think so too.
Maybe that's why, even now that my grandmother has passed away, whenever something difficult happens, I drink banana milk.
Somehow, it gives me strength.”
Those were words Gil Boyoung had once said during an interview at the premiere of a movie she had appeared in.
But contrary to my expectation that she would be happy to receive the banana milk, seeing Gil Boyoung with tears in her eyes made me wonder if I had made some kind of mistake.
“N-noona...”
“Ah, sorry...
I...
I really love banana milk.
Enough to make me cry.”
Perhaps she felt embarrassed about showing me her tears, so Gil Boyoung hurriedly wiped them away as she spoke.
“Ah, me too...
Well, not enough to make me cry, though...
Haha...”
I gave an awkward smile before continuing.
“Whenever I'm nervous or tired, drinking banana milk somehow helps me relax.
They say eating something sweet when you're in a bad mood can make you feel better.
I guess it's probably that kind of effect.”
Gil Boyoung looked at me and asked curiously.
“You too?
I'm the same.
It's strange to find someone else like me.”
“Oh, really?
You too, noona?
That's amazing.”
I pretended that I had no idea, but this time, I genuinely wanted to give Gil Boyoung some strength.
“Noona, stay strong.
You just need to do what you normally do.
No matter what anyone says, you're the best actress I know.
No one acts better than you.”
For a moment, Gil Boyoung's eyes trembled as she looked at me.
“Thank you...
Those words give me more strength than anything else.
I think I can really do well this time.”
A gentle smile appeared on Gil Boyoung's lips.
After lunch was over, filming began again.
Perhaps it was the effect of the banana milk.
The staff watching Gil Boyoung's acting, now filled with confidence, could not stop expressing their admiration.
Time passed, and filming had already entered its middle stage.
One early morning in February, we gathered at an abandoned factory.
After finishing our preparations, we began filming at nine o'clock as scheduled.
While everyone was busy filming inside the abandoned factory, Producer Jung and I watched the situation from outside while making a fire in a metal drum with wood we had gathered from the nearby mountain.
The extra actors waiting nearby began gathering around the burning drums one by one to escape the cold.
As Producer Jung put more firewood into the drum, he looked at the thick dark clouds overhead and spoke worriedly.
“I think it's going to rain.”
“I know.
The weather forecast didn't say anything about rain, though.”
“Have you ever seen the weather forecast get things right all the time?”
“Well...
That's true, but...”
The old abandoned factory had a slate roof full of holes in various places.
If it rained, it was obvious that the rain would pour straight inside.
The factory was also so large that there was no way we could cover the entire roof with plastic sheets.
With no particular solution available, all we could do was pray that it would not rain.
At eleven o'clock, I left to pick up the lunch boxes we had reserved at a restaurant fifteen minutes away by car.
However, while I was returning after picking up the lunch boxes, raindrops began hitting the car window one after another.
Then, before long, the rain began pouring down heavily.
The situation we had feared had happened.
When I returned to the abandoned factory, the scene had become a complete sea of water, just as expected.
Rain poured through the many holes in the roof and flooded into the abandoned factory.
Fortunately, because everyone had reacted quickly, all the equipment had already been moved to a corner where the rain could not reach it.
Filming was suspended, and the staff and actors stared helplessly at the rain pouring inside.
I hurried toward where Producer Jung and Cha Seungjun were standing.
“What have you decided to do?”
“For now, we've decided to wait until the rain stops.
I contacted the weather service, and they said it should stop before three in the afternoon.”
“It's lunchtime anyway, so let's have the staff eat first and see how things go.”
Cha Seungjun and I hurriedly set up the lunch boxes we had brought in the area where the rain was falling the least.
“If we'd known this would happen, we could have just eaten at the restaurant comfortably, especially with the weather this cold...”
Despite Cha Seungjun's complaints, I looked at the clouds, which had become even darker than they had been in the morning.
“Hyung, there's a chance the rain might not stop.
Shouldn't we come up with some kind of backup plan?”
“A backup plan?
What kind of plan?
Do you think there's anything we can do?
We'd have to pack up and leave.”
Leave the set just like this...?
If we came all the way here and had to cancel, we'd lose not only the equipment rental fees but also an entire day's expenses...
Just like with any movie, time was money.
Especially for an independent film with a tight budget, having the filming schedule delayed was a serious problem.
And on top of that...
We even called in a generator truck today...
Originally, when we planned the filming schedule, we intended to shoot during the day and night of the first day, and then shoot at night on the second day.
But the reason we had forced all the abandoned factory scenes into a single day was because we did not have enough budget to rent the generator truck for two days.
And besides...
If we had to stop filming like this, there would be more than one or two problems.
My thoughts began racing.
“Hyung.
I'm sorry, but I'm going to go out for about thirty minutes.”
“Where are you going when it's raining?”
“There's something I need to look into.”
I hurriedly left the filming set.
