boyutpedia Chapter 195: Activities (8)
Chapter 195: Activities (8)
What did I just hear? S-Class Top Actress Choi Rina, whose brain just froze, stood still, locking eyes with Kang Rojun. At the same time, the same word echoed in her ears in Rojun’s voice.Noona- noona- noona-
As if it were reverberating.
Soon, something surged within Choi Rina. What should she even call this emotion? It felt different from something rational like falling for someone. If anything, it was closer to fangirling. The fangirl moment that Choi Rina had forgotten for a while during her time apart from Rojun had suddenly reawakened.
From 'Produce That 100!' to 'Rental Lover' and even 'Vanguard'.
Choi Rina had unknowingly become drawn to Kang Rojun, and her fangirling intensified when they happened to shoot 'Rental Lover' together. And now, that very favorite person just called her noona.
How should she put this?
It was like going to a fan signing event and having her favorite idol wave and call her 'noona'. A wave of emotion crashing in, while she found herself even more enchanted by her favorite, Kang Rojun. That was exactly what Choi Rina was feeling.
The only difference was that the location happened to be a variety show filming site.
‘This... seriously, he’s a real charmer.’
Moreover, that 'noona' came from a face so beautiful it seemed almost unreal. Choi Rina’s heart pounded harder than ever. But within a few seconds, she regained her senses. There were too many eyes and cameras here.
‘Hey, get a grip, Choi Rina.’
She barely managed to restart her brain, but that brief daze had probably already been caught on camera. Nothing she could do about that. So instead, she shifted her thoughts while looking at Kang Rojun.
‘But somehow... he seems softer. During 'Rental Lover', he had a bit more of a cynical edge. Of course, he still has a calm vibe, but anyway, I prefer this side. Ah, what am I even saying.’
Kang Rojun, looking at Choi Rina, wondered if he’d messed up.
‘Crap. I thought we’d gotten a bit more comfortable, so I just said it, was noona too much??’
But Choi Rina casually pointed at the potato field with her index finger.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
Is it okay? Still, deciding to mix between noona and sunbae, Rojun started moving. Just then, the second youngest actress, Seo Da-in, had just stepped into the kitchen and flapped her short bob as she made a fuss.
“Just now! Just now, just now, Rojun-ssi called Rina noona!!”
Jang Seo-young and Do-kyung, who had been fanning the firewood, came running.
“Really?!!”
"Is that true?!"
The cameras quickly zoomed in. Choi Rina, flustered for no reason, flailed.
“So what! What! I told you we worked on a project together?? We’re close!”
"But until just now, he was calling you sunbae-nim!"
“T-that was just because we hadn’t seen each other in a while and it was awkward! Also, because the unnies are here!”
Veteran actress Jang Seo-young suddenly responded.
“Rojun-ssi! Do-kyung-ssi! Call me noona too!”
And immediately realized how that sounded.
“Ah, that’s just embarrassing.”
Thus, the whole 'noona' incident stirred up chaos for about 10 minutes before it finally settled down. Soon, everyone returned to their tasks. Rojun and Choi Rina began chatting as they harvested potatoes in the field.
“You did the script reading for ‘Blood Hunt’, right? Was Tae-soo oppa good to you? He asked me, so I answered appropriately."
She was referring to Jung Tae-soo, the male lead of 'Blood Hunt'.
“Yes. Jung Tae-soo sunbae-nim was really nice.”
“All the actors there are kind, and they’re really passionate about acting. How was Director Yoo Ji-heon?”
“He had amazing charisma.”
Mostly actor-related conversations. About 30 minutes later, Kang Rojun straightened his back.
“Whew- Potatoes, this should be enough, noona.”
Still flinching at being called noona, Choi Rina followed behind Rojun.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
The harvested potatoes were handed over to Seo Da-in, who had been waiting. While she peeled the potatoes, Kang Rojun gathered tools and seasonings from the kitchen, including knives and cutting boards. Choi Rina, seemingly incapable of cooking at all, simply watched Rojun.
Rojun asked her,
“Sunbae-nim, have you never cooked before?”
“...Yeah, I can’t cook.”
“Then please slowly trim the carrots over there with the slicer.”
“Like this?”
“Yes.”
As Choi Rina trimmed the carrots with a crisp slicing sound, Kang Rojun, stationed in front of the cutting board, placed an onion on it. The next thing he reached for was a knife. Soon, three cameras gathered around Rojun. Regardless, Kang Rojun.
-Swoosh.
He began peeling the onion with the knife. His movements were extremely practiced. In less than a minute, he had peeled several onions and placed the cleaned ones on the cutting board.
Then.
-Taktak! Taktaktaktaktak!
He began chopping at a rapid pace. It was clearly the touch of an expert. The staff holding the cameras widened their eyes, and even Choi Rina, who had been struggling with the carrots beside him, openly exclaimed in awe.
“Wow... wh-what? You’re really good??”
Seo Da-in, who had just finished peeling potatoes, and Jang Seo-young and Do-kyung, who were stoking the fire, rushed into the kitchen again. The moment they saw Rojun’s knife work, they were floored.
"Th-that's not just casual level knife skills?"
“Right, unnie?? Anyone can see that his knife work is serious business!”
“Wow- hyung, you look like a chef.”
Kang Rojun kept his eyes on the onions he was slicing and gave a soft chuckle.
“I practiced knife skills before, just for fun.”
Back when Rojun had been going through a rough time, he had nothing but time. So he eased his loneliness and boredom with things like writing and cooking. It had been a while, so he thought he might make a mistake, but thankfully there was no issue.
-Taktaktaktaktak!
The cameras and the actresses watched his knife work for several minutes. Or more accurately, they were watching Kang Rojun as he chopped.
“No! This isn’t okay! Rojun-ssi! You can’t be that good at chopping onions with that ridiculously handsome face! That’s just cheating!”
Everyone seemed to agree with veteran actress Jang Seo-young’s words. Even the dozens of staff members. The chaos that flared up again only calmed down after 15 minutes, and as Rojun cheerfully chopped potatoes, Choi Rina, still battling the carrots, muttered.
“...Rojun, seriously, when I look at you closely.”
“I’m handsome, right?”
Choi Rina crumbled helplessly at Rojun’s sudden interruption.
“Yeah. Huh? No no, that’s not what I meant.”
“Thank you.”
“Ha... I walked right into that.”
Meanwhile, Do-kyung was getting scolded by Jang Seo-young.
“I mean, Do-kyung-ssi! I told you to bring firewood, not a whole log??”
“I’m sorry.”
As the footage kept piling up from all directions, Rojun, having finished prepping the ingredients, stood up.
“Hmm, I still think we need fried eggs to round out the side dishes.”
“Oh! Really? Then I’ll go get some eggs. There’s a chicken coop out back.”
They even had a chicken coop? Kang Rojun stopped Choi Rina, who was about to put down the carrots.
“No, I’ll go. Noona, please finish up the carrots. We’re not finishing tomorrow, are we?”
“No, we’re not!!”
Smiling as if he were joking, Rojun stepped out of the kitchen. He headed to the chicken coop behind the house. Two cameras followed him, and the moment he saw the large coop full of chickens, he abruptly froze.
“......”
He barely took a couple of steps, then locked eyes with a chicken and stopped again.
‘What is that thing.’
Pointing at the coop with his index finger, Rojun turned toward the cameras behind him.
“...Is that really a chicken?”
The staff holding the camera nodded.
“It’s a chicken? Why? Are you scared of chickens?”
“No. Not exactly. But that one’s way too big to be a chicken.”
“Then what do you think it is?”
“Isn’t it an ostrich?”
“Ostrich?”
The camera staff burst into laughter.
“Ostrich, seriously? It’s a chicken.”
“It’s way too big for a chicken though.”
Rojun cautiously moved again. Eventually, right in front of the coop, Kang Rojun exclaimed.
“Wow- no, this guy’s not okay. Look at his eyes. He’s huge. You could ride him.”
He wasn’t being a wimp. The chicken’s eyes really were menacing. Rojun shot a pleading look to the staff, but the evil grins on their faces made it clear they weren’t going to help.
“......”
In the end, Kang Rojun had to admit it.
I’m scared of chickens.
But the variety show world is brutal. Just look at those cruel staff? They weren’t even thinking of moving from their spot. Cautiously, Rojun opened the coop door.
Then.
“Ah! Ugh! No no, go away, no no.”
Letting out wails, he somehow managed to get the eggs. Looking like a wreck, Kang Rojun closed the coop and muttered quietly to the staff.
“That really is an ostrich.”
Afterward.
Following the “ostrich” incident, Kang Rojun quickly recovered his composure and started cooking. Soon, a delicious smell began to fill the air. In truth, Kang Rojun was quite skilled at cooking. He stir-fried over the fire and quickly whipped up shredded potato stir-fry, then with a few flicks of the pan, the fried eggs and potato pancakes were ready.
The crowning touch was kimchi fried rice.
The kimchi stir-fried rice was made with kimchi that Jang Seo-young had brought from home, and the aroma was so rich that the staff were swallowing their saliva. Anyway, while it had taken over two hours to prepare the ingredients, completing the cooking and setting the table took less than an hour.
The table was set on the wooden floor in front of the kitchen.
Kimchi fried rice and side dishes were beautifully spread out on the wide table. The soup was the soybean paste soup that Choi Rina had boiled in the morning or rather, the soybean paste water that Kang Rojun had resuscitated.
-Sss.
A camera attached to a mid-sized Jimmy Jib captured the completed dishes. These shots would be used for inserts or the teaser. The hungry actresses, Rojun, and Do-kyung were all silently hoping the camera would hurry up and move out.
“Please enjoy your meal!”
As soon as the Jimmy Jib pulled back, everyone grabbed their spoons and began stuffing kimchi fried rice into their mouths. The first to exclaim in delight was Choi Rina.
“Amazing! This is delicious!!”
Jang Seo-young and Seo Da-in followed suit.
“This is seriously good! The sweet and salty balance is perfect!”
“Whoa! Try the shredded potatoes and the potato pancakes, unnie! This is unreal!!”
Do-kyung was.
“......”
Perhaps exhausted, he silently devoured the food and gave Kang Rojun a quiet double thumbs-up.
After the meal came a short break.
During this time, the cameras weren’t rolling. Rojun found it fascinating.
‘Ah, this is how people get close in between filming.’
Even the senior actresses and the main PD, along with the staff, began chatting and hanging out. They took commemorative selfies and talked about 'Vanguard'.
"The 'Vanguard' Japan concert is causing a sensation."
“Yeah, I heard it’s the shortest time ever after debut? And the first time, too??”
Though he wasn’t doing anything special, Kang Rojun enjoyed this moment. Just like the program’s title, it truly was 'A Tranquil Day'. They even enjoyed a light beer with grilled beef for dinner. Though it was a short time, everyone had become quite close, and the beef party lasted until fairly late into the evening.
The one who signaled the end was Jang Seo-young.
“We have to harvest potatoes in the morning, so should we get to bed soon?”
The actresses who agreed said goodnight and headed to their rooms, and Kang Rojun and Do-kyung also lay down in their assigned room. Soon, Do-kyung, lying next to him, asked in a drowsy voice.
“How was it, hyung.”
“It was fun.”
“Come to think of it, I think this is the first time we’re sleeping just the two of us.”
“Is it? What about you, how was today?”
“......”
No answer came from Do-kyung. Turning his head, Rojun saw Do-kyung had already passed out cold. Letting out a faint laugh, Kang Rojun also gently closed his eyes, using the sound of insects as a lullaby.
‘Chirrr chirrr… what a nice sound.’
After about forty minutes of rest, Kang Rojun quietly got up. He quietly picked up the tablet he had brought with him.
-Sss.
He began working.
The next day, the morning of the 11th, at Netflix Korea.
Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, who seemed to have just arrived at work, sat down and turned on her laptop. The first thing she clicked was the production company list. It was time to choose a production company to partner with for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
As she briefly scratched her chin, she muttered under her breath.
“Contacting a production company isn’t the hard part.”
What she was struggling with now was choosing a PD to direct 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. She opened the list of PDs to consider and let out a quiet sigh.
“There’s no one who feels exactly right-”
The candidates that appeared on screen were all experienced. Still, for some reason, none of them appealed to Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin. Somehow, it just didn’t feel like the right match for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
“Should I redo the PD list?”
Just then.
-♬♪
Her phone began to ring. She picked it up without much thought, then paused in surprise.
“Huh? Why is this person…”
About two hours later.
Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin opened the glass meeting room door. At the same time, the woman inside the meeting room stood up. A familiar face. Her frizzy brown hair was tied back in a single line.
It was PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
After shaking hands with Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, PD Jung Soo-ryeong smiled and said,
“As I mentioned on the phone",
“I’ve come for an interview.”