Chapter 30
Cherry blossoms are such fascinating flowers.
Blooming brilliantly in the mild spring weather perfect for a picnic,
they color the hearts of those who see them, then quickly hide away.
Personally, I think people seek them out more because they bloom early.
Things that live short lives naturally draw the eye more.
In that sense.
They dye everything in sight pink all the way to the horizon,
and, watching the petals leave their traces on the ground, I muttered,
“Pink-haired bitch….”
Fluttering around, seducing people and all.
Couldn't you last a little longer once you bloomed?
Since you wither so quickly, every schedule has to be compressed into a real-life speedrun.
That's why I've been on a three-day streaming hiatus.
Of course, I know I have no right to complain.
Wasn't it my choice to eagerly accept the work that friend lined up for me in the first place?
“Phew.”
I'm just a little disappointed.
And there are other people who have the right to complain about the pileup of work.
“Hey, that thing over there…!”
“Hey, can't you move it properly?!”
I comfortably leaned back in my chair and watched the staff bustling about as they prepared for the shoot.
I was currently waiting for the first shoot.
To be honest, I don't usually like waiting around.
But today, I didn't mind.
The breeze was blowing at just the right strength,
and the shade made it pleasantly cool.
Honestly, I could have stayed like this for another hour.
Lying in a hammock would be perfect in weather like this.
It was a shame I couldn't carry a hammock around because of appearances.
“Mr. Ahyeon, could you come over here for a moment?”
And so, while I was relaxing and enjoying the cool weather,
the director of photography, wearing a red hat pulled low, waved to me from a distance.
“...Yes.”
Ah, damn… It was perfect.
Hiding my disappointment, I went over, where a male director in his mid-thirties was already waiting.
I didn't need to see more to know what was going on.
“We have an additional request regarding this shoot.”
With a director here, of course he'd be directing.
Since they'd called me over separately, I assumed it was something different from the original plan.
“What is it?”
So I made sure to speak clearly,
looking straight into the director's eyes.
‘Always speak clearly when you talk! And look them straight in the eye, even if it seems rude.’
Teacher Han Seonghwa had particularly emphasized these basics.
What had she said? That trailing off or avoiding eye contact and making yourself look uncertain was the worst?
Well, it was only common sense.
In an industry where skill alone ruled everything, lacking confidence would just be cutting into your own flesh.
“Could you smile a little more brightly during the shoot?”
“Is there a reason?”
So I immediately answered the director, who had just made an unreasonable request.
“Ah, Mr. Ahyeon.”
“Hmm.”
When I answered so firmly, the photographer looked a little awkward,
while the man who had come as the director briefly swallowed a groan.
But that lasted only a moment before he continued calmly.
"Looking at the set and the concept for this outfit, I thought something brighter would suit the shots much better. I know it's an unreasonable request, but please."
Well, it was a reasonable thing for a director to say.
But I still responded glumly.
After we'd already finished signing the contract?
If they wanted a shoot with bright smiles, they should have hired a model for that sort of thing.
It didn't fit my image.
I had more of a cool, tsundere sort of vibe.
This was why shoots weren't easy.
When so many people collaborated to produce a result, trouble was inevitable.
“Um… Mr. Ahyeon?”
When I didn't answer, the man who had been the director broke into a cold sweat.
I wasn't ignoring him; I was thinking.
Hmm, what should I say?
For the record, I was a model who respected directing as much as possible.
Honestly, I was a top-tier model in terms of personality, but….
“I'll discuss it with the agency.”
This case was a bit of an exception.
I didn't think I needed to smile brightly.
“Ah, um, when you say the agency…”
At the mention of an agency, the director made an awkward face.
Because Ahyeon was Ahyeon's own agency.
In effect, I was saying I'd go talk to myself in the mirror, so of course he found it absurd.
But what could I do?
“Is that not allowed?”
No matter how much the director and photographer were technically in charge on a set,
model Ahyeon didn't know anything about that.
No, maybe I used to know….
“...Of course it's allowed.”
Ahyeon, Andel's exclusive model, had forgotten all about such formalities.
“I understand.”
So I answered that and returned to my place,
“I'll be back.”
“Okay.”
Then, as if handing off the baton, I sent Roselia over.
It was effectively a refusal.
Well, this sort of thing was common enough.
Shoots were supposed to be fluid, after all.
The director had probably intended to follow the original proposal at first,
but changed his mind after arriving here.
The cherry blossoms had bloomed beautifully, and the weather was nice.
Wouldn't anyone want to see a beautiful woman smiling brightly in the softly blowing breeze?
So the cherry blossoms were to blame.
That pink-haired slut had seduced our kind director and caused this whole trouble-
At least, that's what I thought.
“Pretty firm, aren't you?”
…until Roselia returned with an awkward smile.
**
“Could we really not do it?”
A little while after Roselia arrived,
the director came over himself, looking troubled.
Seeing him ask again after I'd already refused, he seemed to have grown more certain of himself….
I told you, it's better if I don't smile.
How many shoots do you think I've done?
People like me should be photographed with a faint smile and an air of mystery, not grinning brightly.
And more importantly, it didn't match the contract.
No matter how much better he thought his way was, the man should follow the contract.
Even when I worked construction in the past, there was always someone like this on-site who ignored the safety rules and caused an accident.
Thinking about the time one of the rookies almost ended up half-crippled, I shuddered.
In that sense.
‘What kind of directing do you think you're doing, being this damn unreasonable? Hey, you little shit, you want to call it quits and go home right now?-’
Words like those quietly poked their heads up in my throat, but I couldn't say them.
One foul-mouthed butcher was enough with Wayo, thank you very much.
The Celestial Dragon Ahyeon merely signaled to the manager sitting elegantly beside him.
Back when I'd first signed with an international brand and started traveling abroad after meeting Roselia,
there were several rules that the underage model Ahyeon and Ahyeon's sole manager, Roselia, had established to survive the brutally difficult overseas shoots.
One of them was the two-strike system.
It wasn't difficult; it was simple.
On the first strike, manager Roselia would reason with the other party.
On the second strike….
“Come this way for a moment.”
Former French Army Captain Rosélia Moreau stepped in.
“Yes?”
“Let's have a little chat.”
And so, the director was led away by the muscular former female soldier, who was about his height.
Shortly afterward.
“...Let's shoot it for now.”
He returned with a slightly more agreeable expression.
“Sounds good.”
I gave him a light nod and rose from my seat.
I told you, Ms. Moreau was definitely more effective than plain Roselia.
“No matter how I look at it, this pictorial's concept should be brighter….”
The director, whose will had not prevailed despite his more agreeable expression, grumbled like that.
“...Oh, this looks good?”
But the photographer's words as soon as the shoot began quickly drowned him out.
“Would this expression work?”
“Ah, that's good. Shall we go for a wistful look at the cherry blossoms instead?”
“No. This is just right.”
“Ah, okay-!”
I've been doing this for years.
I told you, this look was better.
And honestly, I had no intention of wearing out my image for a domestic pictorial.
Even Andel dressed me in fancy clothes that matched my atmosphere and sent me to Fashion Week.
Why should I be the one to compromise here?
And more importantly….
“Ah, that's good—very good.”
I was confident in front of a camera, too.
The photographer continued shooting, nodding repeatedly.
One shot beneath the cherry blossoms.
One shot a little farther away from them.
Of course, since it was a magazine pictorial, it took some time to change outfits several times and redo my makeup, but….
“All right, the A-cut is finished! Next….”
The shoot itself wasn't very difficult.
Looks like I'll be finished a little early today.
Yesterday and the day before, we'd spent a long time traveling from place to place,
but today's route was exceptionally short.
Apparently, the director had planned the route himself.
He seemed to be competent in that area.
If I finished this early, I could even do an evening stream at home.
Originally, I'd planned to rest and stream at night, but wasn't it better to go live early?
I'd finished Wuxia War, so I planned to look for a new game on the way home.
Of course, I'd play a little Rell too.
Looking at the patch notes earlier, it turned out my main champions had just gotten buffed.
Maybe the times were finally on my side.
Yeah, things had felt pretty oppressive until now.
Between the matchmaking rigging and nerfs to my main champions,
the era of what was essentially targeted patching was over.
So I went through the shoot thinking that once I got home, I should play Rell first-
“All right, we're done!”
and the magazine shoot ended with the photographer looking extremely satisfied.
“What time is it?”
The shoot was already over?
Since the sun was still high in the sky, I went over to Roselia and asked the time.
“Three o'clock. We finished early today.”
“Really?”
I thought I was shooting well, but apparently I was just in good condition.
“Heh-”
I was so pleased that I'd finished the afternoon's piecework much earlier than expected that I smiled without meaning to,
“See? You look better when you smile….”
but I let the director, who had been hovering nearby, mumble it into one ear and out the other.