Another day arrived.
After finishing a photoshoot for an advertisement, Yeo Ri immediately departed to the next job location.
Her destination was a local traditional Korean village often used as a set for historical films and dramas which was a two-hour drive away from central Seoul.
Being someone who had never left her hometown, Yeo Ri took in the fresh sights while barely containing her excitement. She had never travelled so far before, and all the filmings she had attended before this had all been done within Seoul.
Despite being a traditional old-fashioned village, there were plenty of people who walked around in modern clothing, and various fancy filming equipments littered the area.
As soon as she arrived on set, Yeo Ri was whisked away to the dressing rooms where she was told to change into a pretty hanbok. Afterwards, the stylist helped her put on a wig with a long braid.
As she stared at her reflection after the stylist finished her job, Yeo Ri could not help but touch her forehead. The first thing she noticed was how exposed her forehead was.
It was strange looking at herself in costume. Though, the stylist had done a great job with her makeover; her appearance was exactly that of a genteel and elegant noble young lady from the olden days.
Yeo Ri left the dressing room after thanking the stylist for her wonderful job, and the ever-loyal Secretary Kwon immediately appeared by her side, holding out an arm to help support her.
The skirt part of her costume was so long that the hem reached the ground, thus Yeo Ri had to hike it up a bit so that she would not dirty her pretty outfit or trip on her feet.
"I want to take a picture of this," she said to the man who was trying to gather the voluminous skirt off the ground without wrinkling it too much.
"As you wish," Secretary Kwon nodded. He allowed Yeo Ri to lead him to a place with an aesthetically pleasing background.
After Yeo Ri found a nice spot to stand and was ready to pose, Kwon Tae Yang moved back and took out his phone, opening up the camera to take several shots of the girl.
"Miss, please turn your body slightly to the left."
"Miss, raise your chin a little."
"Miss, tilt your head—smile—"
Secretary Kwon took his job as her designated photographer seriously. He even went so far as to squat on the ground to get a good angle.
Yeo Ri broke into a sweet smile as she stifled her laugh over Secretary Kwon's ridiculous posture. After the phone's camera flashed and her picture was taken, Yeo Ri dropped her smile and told the man, "I think that's good enough. Let's go find the director."
Yeo Ri did not bother to check the pictures he had taken, leaving it to the man's discretion on which to post on her social media account. He was surprisingly good at it, so the girl ended up giving the account to him to manage.
"Yes, miss." Secretary Kwon got up and dusted his clothes. He pocketed his phone, thinking that he would work on choosing the perfect photo to post online while Yeo Ri filmed her scenes.
Finished with her impromptu photoshoot, Yeo Ri walked over to the area where the production crew and actors congregated. Just as usual, she gave them her greeting before going over the script with the director.
"It's a scene where the main male lead and his entourage arrive at the second male lead's family manor only to find that the empress' people had arrived there first."
Yeo Ri listened to the director's briefing seriously, then got ready to take her position on the set.
The set was crowded with people. Since it was a confrontation scene between two parties, the scale was rather big. Many of the extras wore palace guard uniforms while some wore traditional clothes similar to hers.
The set director led Yeo Ri to her spot as everyone got ready for the first rehearsal.
Yeo Ri looked around, taking notice of her co-actors. Most of them were males, and many of them were extras just like her who was only going to appear in a scant few scenes.
Far away from her, at the majestic-looking gates of the set, stood several men who were clearly the main cast of the drama they were filming. Since the drama was pre-produced, it was Yeo Ri's first time seeing the cast members.
She easily recognised the actors, noting that they were all fairly famous familiar faces that she had seen several times on TV.
Yeo Ri's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed a man dressed in black. A stylist was busily fixing his hair while he read the script.
"Ah...!" Yeo Ri could not help but stare at the man.
'So similar!' The girl exclaimed in her mind. From his mono-lidded sharp-looking slanted eyes to his thin lips, Yeo Ri found him at least six or seven points similar to Hyuk. Even Gun, who was Hyuk's blood-related brother, did not resemble him as much as the man in black.
Of course, Yeo Ri could recognise the actor—Ryeon Jae Hwan. He was quite accomplished in the industry, with a few award-winning roles under his belt. Thanks to his intense eyes, he exuded a villain-like impression, and coupled with his handsome appearance, he was well-known for his portrayals of charming yet antagonistic characters.
"—!"
The man seemed to sense her gaze on him as he looked up, his eyes meeting hers for a brief second before she looked away in embarrassment after having been caught staring at him.
Yeo Ri's cheeks flushed as she felt genuinely flustered by the man.
Seeing him, Yeo Ri remembered the man who was currently locked behind bars, and her heart throbbed with a dull pain. She really missed Hyuk so very much. It had been over a month since she went to visit him in person thanks to her busy schedule, and she yearned to see him again.
"—Alright, everyone! Let's begin the rehearsal." The director clapped his hands to get the people's attention.
Hearing his call, Yeo Ri straightened her back, pushing away thoughts of her man to the depths of her mind.
The director called out the main cast, telling them to assume their positions.
The director began the rehearsals by setting the scene. "The crown prince and his allies will rush in from the gates just in time to see his confidant's family getting attacked by the empress' men. They pull out their swords and join in the fight against the enemies. The empress' men were ordered to execute the entire family for rebelling against the crown, so act like you won't spare anyone. For the Seo family's side, about two thirds will be dead and the rest will be dragged out to be executed in front of the crown prince."
The actors slowly moved according to the instructions by the director, making sure that their actions matched with what the director had in mind.
The mood during the rehearsal was laidback, and since there were still some of the actors reciting their lines while holding onto their scripts, the director chose to spend the time refining some minor details in their movements with the help of the set director and fight choreographer.
After the scene was laid out and perfected, it was finally time to shoot it seriously.
A staff snapped the slate, and the cameras began rolling.
Why is it that lately, every time I try to write a chapter, I give up because it felt so hard, but when I do actually sit down and bite back my complaints it’s actually pretty easy?
Sigh.
There is no cure for laziness.