"Oh, good heavens. Our top actor has a bit of a cold? Well, we can't have that—he's our star."
At the director's words, the extras in mascot costumes began to stir.
It wasn't like they'd been demoted to working under these hot lights and wearing stuffed animal suits—but they still had to perform choreography, so what were they supposed to do if the AC was turned off? And to make things worse, they couldn't even drink water because they were afraid of having to keep running to the bathroom.
"Please, cut us some slack. Our top actor has another schedule tomorrow."
Instantly, the atmosphere turned ice-cold—so much so that it couldn't have been more awkward.
"Shouldn't be a problem."
The director shrugged and looked around at the staff.
"Leave just the minimum AC running and turn off the rest. We can always take off our outer layers anyway."
"Ah, yes!"
The staff pressed the remote, and soon the studio grew stiflingly hot. A large fan was running, but it was nowhere near enough.
"No matter how you look at it, everyone's dying of heat right now—the AC... the AC..."
"Hyun-mo."
Just as Hyun-mo stepped forward, unable to hold back any longer, Bae Jung-soo stopped him.
"What's the point of you saying anything? Just leave it. Don't get involved."
"But still...!"
"I know. But all we'll do is put ourselves at a disadvantage. Just hold it in. Last time you spoke up, you ended up suffering for it, didn't you?"
Top actor? The real top actor is Koo Hyun-mo. That jerk? What kind of...
Just then, Mo Ji-gyeong walked over, sweeping his hair back.
"Oh~ I'm so sorry. Ah, I was filming until dawn this morning, so I'm feeling a bit under the weather myself. So I hope you'll understand. It's not like we're turning the AC off completely, right?"
His gaze briefly flicked toward Koo Hyun-mo, and for some reason, the look in his eyes was strangely cold.
"..."
Hyun-mo bit his lip, holding back his frustration. Sweat streamed down his forehead, but what annoyed him even more was Mo Ji-gyeong's sheer shamelessness.
"Whoa, it's cold. Don't you think so, Director?"
"Ah, you're right, it is a bit chilly. Our top actor's condition is important, after all. Well then, shall we start by filming the interview separately over there first?"
"Yes, Director. I look forward to working with you today."
Mo Ji-gyeong sauntered across the middle of the studio, passing by with an air of ease. Then, as if noticing Hyun-mo's gaze, he turned his head slightly and curled the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile.
"Whew, you must be hot. Right?"
Mo Ji-gyeong drew out his words, deliberately putting on a pity-filled expression.
"Just hang in there a little longer. Oh, but that mascot costume is really cute. By the way, we've been seeing each other quite often lately, haven't we?"
Huh?
Does Mo Ji-gyeong know Shin Hyun-mo?
"Still as righteous as ever, I see."
Mo Ji-gyeong sneered, patting Hyun-mo's shoulder with his palm as he walked past.
"..."
There was clearly some unpleasant history between the two.
Hyun-mo barely managed to press his lips together and hold back. If he were still Koo Hyun-mo, he would have made someone like Mo Ji-gyeong crawl, but as Shin Hyun-mo, there was nothing he could do.
However.
He didn't know what kind of relationship Shin Hyun-mo and Mo Ji-gyeong had, but—
'One thing's for sure — that bastard needs to be put in his place.'
And as far as Hyun-mo was concerned, that guy was long overdue for a good dose of his own medicine.
***
"One more final rehearsal, then we'll go straight into the shoot!"
What he really wanted was to stomp on that arrogant bastard Mo Ji-gyeong right this instant, but the filming came first.
Still, what was the point of preparing all this choreography for a scene that would only last three seconds—five at most?
"Huff, huff..."
The mascot costume was so thick that even the slightest movement made sweat pool inside and breath come in short gasps. Among the bit actors barely holding on inside those suits, groans of discomfort began to surface one by one.
Hyun-mo forcibly swallowed a string of curses and followed the choreography with blazing eyes.
He had never been any good at dancing. Ever since the dance he'd practiced for a hundred days for a fan meeting during his Koo Hyun-mo days became a meme and spread all over the internet as funny reaction clips, he'd given up on dancing long ago.
Despite his lack of skill, he managed to keep up by sneaking glances at the person next to him and matching their movements as best he could. Fortunately, the choreography and blocking were simple enough that it wasn't too difficult.
'Mo Ji-gyeong—I need to find a way to really stick it to that bastard...'
As a result, his mind was completely consumed with thoughts of how to take Mo Ji-gyeong down.
Hyun-mo knew Mo Ji-gyeong's weaknesses inside out. Given all the history between them — all the information and attacks they'd traded over time — he had plenty of ammunition stored up, both big and small, ready to use whenever needed.
'But I have to be careful.'
Shin Hyun-mo still needed to build up his filmography going forward. The more roles he took on, the more chances he'd have to expand his acting range. In that situation, recklessly picking a fight with Mo Ji-gyeong, who was backed by a major agency, wasn't a wise move.
'Right, there's no benefit to making an enemy out of him for no reason. Maybe I'll just watch things a little longer...'
Not that he was backing down — he was simply choosing to spare Mo Ji-gyeong. For now.
"Alright! Here comes the folliculitis villain! Enter!"
Finally, Yu Jeong-gon the villain made his appearance.
"Raaaaaagh!"
Yu Jeong-gon brandished his trident and menacingly stalked along the tape markings laid out by the production crew.
"Now, run along the designated lines! Look scared! Tremble with fear! Yes! Move while checking your blocking. Good, that's it!"
Following the director's instructions, the mascot extras ran around frantically.
"Ahhhh! Aaaah!"
At first, their fleeing looked awkward and forced, but soon Yu Jeong-gon's fierce expression startled them into genuine, desperate running.
'What's so important about playing a follicle mite that he's going that hard...'
Hyun-mo watched Yu Jeong-gon throw himself completely into the role, pouring his soul into the performance of a follicle mite. The sight suddenly made his nose sting.
"Ahahaha! That's hilarious!"
"So cute!"
The staff, the crew, and even Mo Ji-gyeong — they were all slapping their thighs and roaring with laughter, as if this scene was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
Regardless, the bit actors were giving it their all. Fighting against the absurd situation and the sweltering heat, they followed orders as best they could. They were all putting in a tear-jerking effort.
A familiar saying came to mind.
From afar, it's a comedy. Up close, it's a tragedy.
It wasn't quite tragic enough to call it a tragedy, but it had that vaguely tragic feel to it. Like watching a group of bit actors fight their own desperate battle, completely unnoticed by anyone.
"Raaaaagh!"
"Aaaah!"
Suddenly, Hyun-mo found himself wondering what it would have been like if he'd been the one playing the follicle mite.
He probably wouldn't have done as well as Yu Jeong-gon.
More likely, he would have thrown a fit about how absurd it was for a top star like Koo Hyun-mo to be doing something so undignified.
"Good. That's enough for the rehearsal. Everyone remember the blocking, right? Follow the tape markings on the floor and try not to stray from them. Take a short break, wipe off your sweat, and we'll start the actual shoot!"
After several rounds of rehearsing the blocking and choreography, it seemed the production team was finally satisfied.
As soon as the director finished speaking, the mascot extras collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.
Yu Jeong-gon, who had run the most, let out ragged breaths, looking like he'd just crawled up from hell.
"Jeong-gon hyung, it was just a rehearsal. You didn't have to go that hard."
It wasn't like anyone was handing out prizes for the best follicle mite impression. With his entire body painted red like that, he'd be lucky to make 150,000 won out of this.
"Ah, I just got into it because it was fun. This is acting too, you know."
Acting.
Right, it was acting, but...
"Whoa, look at that face? This is acting too, you know. Someone has to do this role, and I'm grateful for it."
"Hyung... why do you act?"
Suddenly, he was curious.
Why go through all this — painting your face with red paint, doing a job that didn't pay much, in a studio with no AC — and still give it your all?
"What's with the sudden question? I do it because I want to. What about you? Doing it for fame and fortune?"
Yu Jeong-gon's offhand reply made Hyun-mo reflect on his own past for no particular reason.
'Why did I start acting, anyway?'
At first, he did it without really knowing why. Then, he did it to chase fame and fortune.
Back in his child actor days, just memorizing lines and crying on cue was enough to earn praise, so he thought he was good at acting.
People said crying was hard, but it wasn't for Hyun-mo. Because his mother would pinch and hit him right before filming to make him cry.
Thanks to that, those scenes came out brilliantly.
But that was all it was.
Rather than actual acting, it was more like being pushed or fed lines by people around him, scene by scene. That was it.
Looking back now, it wasn't so much that he wanted to act — it was more that he'd started too early, gotten a taste of money, and ended up unable to do anything else.
Yu Jeong-gon was right.
When it came down to it, he'd done it for the money — using his acting earnings to fill his mother's endless financial demands.
Ever since he was young, he'd scraped by, calling what he did "acting." Still, if he was going to do it, he wanted to do it well.
There was a time like that, too.
"You little punk, you worked hard anyway. But first, let's get something to drink. I'm dying of thirst."
Yu Jeong-gon slapped Hyun-mo on the back and stood up.
"Ah! I need water too."
"Can we get some water?"
"I need to go to the bathroom too..."
Complaints started popping up all around from the mascot group as they began looking for water, but the staff stopped the extras heading toward the restroom.
"I'm sorry, but please hold off on the water for just a little longer! We're about to start the shoot right now."
"Excuse me?"
At the staff's words, everyone nearby froze, their expressions hardening.
"We have a second shoot scheduled, so if you could just bear with it for a really short while... we're going to start filming now."
The studio became chaos. It was hot, humid, and absolute pandemonium.
Of course, he understood the tight shooting schedule, but wasn't this going too far?
"Gong-pil, could I get some water? The lights are drying me out, and I keep getting thirsty."
"Yes, sir. Here's some mineral water."
On one side of the studio, Mo Ji-gyeong's corner was a completely different world. He'd asked them to turn off the AC because it was cold, but then had a fan placed right in front of him — what was that about?
Given the situation, Hyun-mo's anger toward Mo Ji-gyeong only flared up more.
'And I was going to go easy on that bastard...'
His frustration shot straight to the top of his head. At this rate, he wasn't about to let it slide.
Hyun-mo, who knew Mo Ji-gyeong's weaknesses, curled one corner of his mouth into a sly grin.
"Alright, everyone get ready! We're starting the shoot!"
The staff barely managed to calm the agitated mascot extras and got them into position in the middle of the studio.
"Since we've come this far, let's get it right in one take without any mistakes."
The bit actors all pulled together, their shared goal being to wrap up the shoot as fast as possible.
Their eyes burned with the kind of intensity you'd see from people desperate to clock out early.
"Standby. Ready! Action!"
Finally, after all the twists and turns, the shoot was about to begin.
— Flutter flutter.
As if a gust of wind had blown from somewhere, a bundle of papers scattered before his eyes, and that cursed script — the one that had disappeared — reappeared right in front of Hyun-mo.
The script glowed with a radiant light, thrusting itself into the center of Hyun-mo's vision.
[Koo Hyun-mo's Failed Acting Skills Rehabilitation Service Activated!]
'No way — am I going to keep seeing scripts like this every time I take on a role?'
Hyun-mo nearly screamed out loud. He glanced around frantically to see if anyone else could see it too. Fortunately, it seemed that absurd screen was visible only to him.
As he calmly read through the text on the script, he came across increasingly incomprehensible words.
[Starting from the bottom — taking on bit roles first! We will provide full support for 36 months, until your acting skills earn recognition.]
'What... full support?'
What kind of trick was this this time?
As he shook his head in disbelief, the script drew closer and revealed a new stage direction.
[From now on, Koo Hyun-mo — you will be connected to the senses and emotions of Extra Role No. 23, the Follicle.]