༺ Leaked Photos ༻
Yoomyeong took a deep breath, filling his chest to the brim before holding it. And then, with a surge of strength in his forearms, he pulled the bowstring taut.
Maintaining the utmost tension, he aligned his gaze and the arrowhead with the target, focusing intensely as if the target wasn’t just made of paper but real prey.
And as if he enjoyed the peak of this tension, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile before he released the arrow.
Zing—
The arrow flew straight towards the target…
Swish—
And missed.
“Cut! Good work.”
“Thank you. You too, director.”
“We’ll film the arrow as it hits the target next.”
The archery instructor who was watching from the side interjected.
“Weren’t you a bit of a shooter? By the looks of it, I thought you’d hit the bullseye…”
“Haha, I only learned the stance for the filming.”
Yoomyeong laughed awkwardly.
“Try to learn properly next time. You’ll pick it up in no time if your form is that stable. So, what else have you done? You have the look of someone who’s trained in martial arts or combat sports for a long time.”
“Uh… I haven’t really trained in anything…”
“Is that so? Hmm…”
The talkative instructor’s gaze sharpened as if he were a different person when he drew his bow and aimed at the target. Yoomyeong observed the instructor’s posture and gaze closely, thinking it might come in handy someday.
Zing—
Thwack!
After they filmed the arrow piercing the bullseye, the shoot at the archery range was concluded.
Because the Unmask phase contained only cut shots of Park Joo-won’s colorful appearance without any dialogue, filming in one location did not take long. But since all of the outdoor filming had to be completed in one day, their schedule was tight.
“We’ll move quickly to the next location.”
*
The next location was a hip-hop club in Itaewon.
It was the middle of the day, so the club wasn’t open for business. However, cameras, lights, and other equipment were already set up, and extras that were dressed in nighttime clothes and makeup were filling the club.
Yoomyeong changed into the prepared outfit and added a bit of styling to his hair.
“Can you dance, Yoomyeong?”
“Uh… I’m not sure. I’ve never danced this kind of dance before.”
“It’s more about having expressive facial expressions than flashy dance moves, so don’t stress too much. Just go with the flow and find the rhythm with those around you.”
The most glamorous female extras were positioned where they would lock eyes with Joo-won. The concept would show Joo-won focusing on the music and dancing, ignoring their flirtatious glances.
Soon enough, music began to fill the space. The isolated room, lit by flickering neon signs, made it hard to tell if it was night or day.
“Everyone, please start dancing.”
Many of the extras were picked from club enthusiasts and were familiar with the scene, having been there the night before and ready to return tonight. They began to move naturally to the thumping hip-hop music.
Yoomyeong observed them for a moment.
Each of them moved to the beat of the music with their unique flair, but there was also a pattern.
Being a professional in using his body, Yoomyeong quickly caught on to the pattern and began to move along.
Dum— dumm—
The basics of the dance were the up-and-down movement.
Bouncing lightly to the rhythm with the knees and waist added bounce to the body, and the wave-like motion of bouncing was stylish without being overdone.
As he got the hang of it, the simple up and down bouncing steps evolved, and his shoulders began to swing slightly.
The director observed this scene with a peculiar sensation.
An actor who knew how to showcase his body.
Although he didn’t yet seem fully accustomed to this space like the others, the orderly movements from his fingertips and the captivating elegance when his body belatedly followed the direction of his feet were undeniable.
He gave off a natural charm.
And as the music continued, the feeling of being unaccustomed gradually faded, and the transformed movements began to have a uniqueness to them, capturing the attention of others.
Dumm!!!
When the music stopped and the camera paused, the extras murmured among themselves.
“Does he have some experience in dancing?”
“Is he from abroad? It’s a bit different from the local club style.”
“I went on a club tour in the US once, and the clubs in Chicago had his vibe.”
Amid unclear references and critiques, Yoomyeong asked awkwardly.
“Is… is this how it’s supposed to be?”
The director was speechless.
Then, the shooting concluded with scenes of Yoomyeong driving on a deserted road and embodying the rough driving concept at a racetrack.
The 15-second version highlights the stiff Mr. Park from the office before cutting to Park Joo-won enjoying his post-work life, aggressively driving his car. Meanwhile, the 3-minute mini-drama version would add dialogue to showcase Mr. Park’s stressful daily life before he broke out to live as ‘Park Joo-won’ and not ‘Mr. Park,’ before returning to his orderly life the next day.
“That’s a wrap!!!”
And so, the commercial shooting ended.
*
After a week filled with adrenaline from working closely with Yoomyeong, Park Jinhee’s eyes were heavy with fatigue. She hadn’t been able to sleep at night because of the adrenaline rush.
She swallowed a pill of ginseng extract, something she reserved for times of extreme fatigue.
‘It was the most rewarding day of my life… I was finally rewarded for all the hardships I had endured at the company!’
Park Jinhee took pride in her work and professionalism, but to her, work was work.
This Crude advertisement was the embodiment of the office worker Park Jinhee’s fantasy: leaving work at 6 PM, breaking out of the office, and wearing the mask of the competent Ms. Park at work but spending post-work hours doing what she liked.
This project was the first time her work aligned with her hobbies, mutually enhancing each other.
She held the flash drive tightly, her face lit with excitement.
Today, she had an important meeting.
*
In a coffee shop in Jongno.
In a corner table hidden from prying eyes by large plants was the person Jinhee was going to meet today.
“Hello, Ms. President.”
“Hello, Ms. Emperor Bohyung.”
It was Jung So-jin.
“Can I check the goods first?”
“After you see them, rational conversation might become impossible…”
“That… is it that significant? I still want to open Pandora’s box!”
“Then here it is, haha.”
She handed over a flash drive, and So-jin quickly plugged it into her laptop, beginning to review dozens of photos stored inside.
“Wow, a suit…”
“Yes, a suit.”
“Wait, are the shirt buttons undone for real? And the sleeves?!”
“Calm down, Ms. President.”
As her hand on the mouse began to tremble, Park Jinhee poured her some water, which she gulped down before taking a deep breath.
“So, you witnessed this scene live…”
“…Yes.”
“Ah!! Seriously! I’m so jealous. Those eyes… I want to see them.”
Park Jinhee sweated at her chilling comment and then brought up the agreement.
“As I mentioned, the source has to remain anonymous. No one should know that it’s me.”
“That’s obvious, but is this okay? Isn’t there something like industrial secrets… or legal issues?”
“No. It’s approved for buzz marketing by the executive. The company won’t take any action.”
“Then why go through a complicated method?”
“Which are you more inclined to click on? A photo, or a leaked photo?”
“Ah… I see. So that’s what you intended…”
Jung So-jin nodded understandingly.
Then, she immediately upgraded Jinhee to a gold member in the fan cafe’s management system.
“This is a small token of appreciation.”
“Oh, thank you!”
“While I’m jealous you saw this alone, you’ve earned the gold member status by planning to share even a bit with all members. I look forward to your future contributions.”
“Yes. I’ll release the B-cuts after the ad launch, too. I can’t do it through the fan club, but the more content, the better.”
“You’re right.”
Today, Park Jinhee had her fill and used everything to her advantage.
She satisfied her personal desire to share Yoomyeong’s cool appearance and achieved her goal as the marketing team leader for Crude, all while earning a gold member badge.
It was really the perfect harmony between hobby and work, a beautiful collaboration.
*
In Maronnier Park on Daehangno.
Yoomyeong was enjoying a leisurely moment on a park bench, enjoying the breeze for the first time in a while.
Despite wearing a black beanie and sunglasses to cover his face and dressing as plainly as possible, passersbyers still glanced at him, sensing something out of the ordinary about him.
He was there to see the fall regular performance of <Comet>, which featured Seon-ha and his Oedipus colleague, Hye-Seon. Hansung, Jun-ho, and Suho were also free and planned to join him, but Yoomyeong arrived earlier in Daehangno to soak up some sunlight and take a leisurely walk before the show started.
“Hyung, you have to call me right away if you get recognized and it starts getting crowded.”
“Don’t worry too much. I look so common that I doubt they’ll recognize me.”
“…I doubt that.”
Road manager Ho-chul sighed while observing Yoomyeong, who recently seemed to catch everyone’s eye even when he was just sitting quietly.
Though he didn’t have a particularly striking face or unique features, Yoomyeong wouldn’t pass for an ordinary person even if he was fully bundled up, especially not now.
Having been a road manager for years and seen celebrities grow to fame, Ho-chul found Yoomyeong’s dramatic transformation to be unique.
{People keep staring at you, kyung.}
‘Really?’
{Try to tone down your presence if you don’t want to be recognized. It might help.}
Yoomyeong dimmed his charisma as Miho marveled once again at his ability to control his presence. He had never seen a human manage their energy so effectively.
‘The breeze is nice, isn’t it?’
It was a cool autumn day.
The air grew a bit chilly as late October approached, but the sunlit spots remained warm and the occasional cool breeze made for a refreshing atmosphere.
Music could be heard from various corners as buskers performed.
{Look, is that person acting?}
‘Where?’
Miho pointed towards a woman in a mask, who was making expressive gestures and reciting lines from <The Merchant of Venice>.
A few onlookers watched her, but they quickly lost interest and moved on when they realized that her performance wasn’t quite as catchy as the song.
Yoomyeong watched her performance from a nearby flowerbed.
{Hey, isn’t that the girl?}
‘Huh?’
{You know, the one who did the photoshoot with you. The one who played the lead role in the drama you were doing in your past life.}
Yoomyeong looked closer at the woman’s face peeking out from the mask.
‘It really is her… Why would someone who debuted be here…?’
The actress was the very woman Yoomyeong had shot the <Rococo> pictorial with.
Seol Soo Yeon.
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