Entertainment Life With A Camera

Chapter 195

Do you think you’ve done your part?

The members returned to their dorm and decided to rest in their own rooms after having dinner.

Ian was lying on his bed, browsing through the replay service of TVM on his tablet, when his door was flung open.

“Hey.”

“Ah, you scared me. Knock first.”

Ian flinched his shoulder. Jo Tae-woong shook his wet hair with a towel and sat on Ian’s bed like he was diving.

Because of that, water droplets fell from Jo Tae-woong’s still damp hair.

Ian frowned and pressed Jo Tae-woong’s shoulder with his foot.

“Hey, where’s your conscience?”

“It’s my heart. You’re going to watch ‘Rural Life’, right? Let’s watch it together. No one else seems to be interested.”

“Really? What about Hyun and Seo-dam?”

“They went to bed early.”

“Ah, how boring.”

The composers of Awi, Lee Joo-hyuk, Park Jin-hyuk, and Kim Joo-young, were busy working on the carol with Hailey Poles.

Thanks to Ian’s crab lecture, their English skills had improved a lot, and they could handle it well without Ian’s interpretation.

“Joo-hyuk hyung’s room is so powerful right now, are we going to hit the jackpot this Christmas?”

“Hopefully.”

“Why, you can dream, right?”

“You have to write good lyrics to hit the jackpot. Did your English improve?”

“Ugh. You dirty native bastard.”

Since it was a carol song aimed at the English-speaking market, Ian also participated in the lyrics.

‘How will it turn out…’

[How will it turn out, it’s Hailey Poles, it’ll be great.]

‘Will it really?’

Hailey Poles became a global singer in the future, but who knows how that future will change with Awy’s collaboration. Ian wanted to test the butterfly effect.

Jo Tae-woong looked annoyed and threw Ian’s pillow at him.

“Well, they do make good songs… Oh, what’s this? ‘Rural Life’ replay ranking is number one.”

“I only saw the real-time search briefly when we came back to the dorm from Busan. Kim Ju-young was number one.”

“Really? Let’s see how well he did.”

Ian pressed the play button.

Around that time, Park Jin-hyuk and Kim Ju-young, who were gathered in Lee Joo-hyuk’s room, were talking about the same thing.

“We have to watch ‘Rural Life’.”

“Right. I keep forgetting because of this.”

“Let’s watch it after we finish the work.”

Kim Ju-young sighed deeply. He had already given up. It’s not like they wouldn’t watch it if he stopped them, and the captured images and clips were already circulating on the internet, so he could watch them anytime he wanted.

Park Jin-hyuk turned his chair and looked at Kim Ju-young.

“But tell me one thing. Is that true what you did in the preview?”

“I didn’t do it. I just sobbed, okay?”

“Anyway. Why did you do that?”

“Just… he comforted me well.”

Kim Joo-young briefly recalled the time he filmed ‘Rural Life’.

***

Kim Ju-young received the attention of the production team and the actors from the first day of ‘Rural Life’. He not only fixed the broken water pipe, but also prepared a splendid meal for lunch, making the actors gasp in awe.

“It finally feels like a healing rural program.”

The watching PD Sung muttered. He had a feeling that the scene he was filming would get high ratings when it aired.

“When did you learn this?”

“This year. I had a lot of days off, you know.”

“Ah, right. Then did you get certificates and stuff like that during your days off?”

“I just felt a bit anxious when I rested.”

Chae Seo-hee looked at Kim Ju-young’s complexion with a strange expression after hearing his answer.

“That’s amazing. It’s not easy, you know.”

“Right. I wouldn’t get out of bed if they told me to rest.”

“I would go on a trip right away.”

The other actors praised Kim Ju-young. Kim Ju-young picked up his chopsticks with an awkward expression.

“What do I do now?”

“Ju-young, sit down. We’ll do it.”

The actors didn’t just sit still like before. Jo Min-hwan was close enough to take advantage of him without feeling guilty, but they felt uncomfortable seeing a young kid doing everything by himself.

“Can I do this here?”

“Ah, no… you can’t do that there.”

“Ju-young! What about this?”

“Unnie! Just sit still!”

Kim Ju-young’s outfit almost ripped apart, but it made a good scene for the show. The camera director captured her dismayed expression on the screen.

“We were just trying to help…”

“Helping is staying still.”

Jo Min-hwan stepped in.

“Hey, Hye-ji. If you’re bored, go to the mart and buy something.”

“Should I?”

He sent all four actresses to the mart for errands and stayed alone with Kim Joo-young.

“Sorry, you’re busy and I called you for nothing.”

“No, it’s fun. Honestly, it’s less tiring than practicing…”

Jo Min-hwan, who was always interested in idols, took this opportunity to ask him various questions.

“How long do you practice?”

“Usually from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.”

“Really?”

“Yes, we push ourselves a bit before the comeback.”

Jo Min-hwan opened his mouth wide.

“Then what do you do during practice?”

“We mostly dance. The choreography is not fixed, so it changes as we dance. Then we need time to adjust to the new moves.”

“Wow. Kids these days work hard.”

Sung PD and Kim Ju-young held back their laughter at his words that sounded like an old man who had seen everything.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Jo Min-hwan and Kim Ju-young sat on the couch and chatted.

“You’ll be busy when you come back, right?”

“Yes. But I like it when I come back. I feel uncomfortable when I don’t work… Do you feel the same way?”

“Yeah. I get anxious when I have no work.”

Jo Min-hwan looked at Kim Ju-young as if he was surprised. He thought, ‘Even someone with her level of popularity feels the same way when they have no work.’

“I bought meat!”

“Wow!”

Kim Ju-young ran to the basket that Lim Hye-ji was holding with a bright smile.

“We can’t just treat the guest like that.”

“We just bought it and Ju-young will do everything.”

Thanks to Kim Ju-young, the cast of ‘Rural Life’ had the most luxurious dinner since they started filming.

“Ju-young, sleep well.”

“Yes, good night.”

Kim Ju-young, who shared a room with Jo Min-hwan, lay down on the bed he prepared and stared blankly at the dark ceiling.

‘Is this really all I have to do?’

It was her first time doing an observational variety show, so Kim Joo-young blinked her eyes. ‘They want to see the natural side of the cast, so it should be fine.’ She thought and turned over and closed her eyes.

‘Sung PD will edit it well.’

She must have been tired from the accumulated fatigue, as she fell asleep easily.

Kim Ju-young, who woke up early in the morning, got up and opened the door. Jo Min-hwan was already preparing something in the yard.

“You woke up early?”

“Yes. Do you usually wake up at this time?”

Kim Ju-young rubbed her eyes and headed to the sink. She had gotten used to waking up early because of the comeback preparations. She would go to the practice room at dawn and practice until late at night.

“No. Ugh, I couldn’t sleep.”

“What are you doing today? Where are you going?”

“Later, Hye-ji and I have to go to Seoul for the Yoo Sang Art Awards.”

Ah, the Yoo Sang Art Awards. Kim Ju-young lifted her head as if she remembered something.

“Isn’t Ian going there too?”

“Oh, right.”

“Isn’t it amazing that Ian was invited there?”

“It’s amazing that he was nominated. It would be better if he won.”

“Wow. You should definitely win and come back.”

Kim Ju-young clapped and cheered him up. Jo Min-hwan raised his head and accepted her support, then made a playful expression and poked her side.

“Don’t you feel jealous when you see Ian doing well?”

“Uh, hyung. I’m not that petty.”

Kim Joo-young giggled and denied it.

Ian never ignored the group or the members because of his popularity, so he had no jealousy or complaints.

“But don’t you feel different as a friend of the same age? I think I would feel a bit weird if my close friend did better than me.”

“Hey. Hyung, the group and the individual are different. Ian and I are in the same group.”

“Then you never felt jealous? Not even once?”

“Unnie! Just sit still!”-(Am not sure if this sentence is a repeat. I think you should check this. Thanks.)

Kim Ju-young waved his hand.

Ian also thought that Kim Ju-young was amazing for trying various things during his break, but Kim Ju-young also thought that Ian was an amazing person.

Unlike him, who was still groping around and dabbling in different things, Ian had confidence in his abilities and used them generously, and the results were always good.

“He’s him and I’m me. We have different roles.”

“Then do you think you’re fulfilling your role?”

Kim Ju-young hesitated for a moment and smiled vaguely.

“I don’t know… I’m not sure.”

Jo Min-hwan felt the same sense of alienation that Chae Seo-hee had felt. He had felt that Kim Ju-young’s self-esteem was relatively low compared to the group and individual popularity that was dominating the scene.

“Let’s talk later.”

Jo Min-hwan patted Kim Ju-young’s back.

***

After a simple breakfast, Jo Min-hwan and Lim Hye-ji changed their clothes and went out to the front yard. They were going to Seoul for a while to attend the Yoo Sang Art Awards.

“We’ll be back!”

“Come back with an award!”

The car that took Jo Min-hwan and Lim Hye-ji left the filming site.

“It feels so empty with two people gone.”

“What should we do?”

The remaining actors, Park Soo-min and Lee Yoo-jung, sat down on the couch. They were also actors with 7 and 9 years of experience, respectively.

With only the seniors left, Kim Ju-young got up to look for something else to do. Suddenly, Chae Seo-hee, who was sitting next to Lee Yoo-jung, tapped her side.

“You have nothing to do, right? Let’s lie down here and look at the sky. You too, Ju-young. You worked too hard since yesterday.”

“Right. You should rest a bit at times like this.”

“Yeah. Sit down.”

Kim Ju-young followed their suggestion and lay down next to Chae Seo-hee with a gap of one foot.

Fluffy clouds were floating leisurely in the clear blue sky. Kim Ju-young looked at the sky with a new eye.

“Come to think of it, I think I can count the times I’ve seen the sky like this.”

“Right?”

Chae Seo-hee smiled softly. Park Soo-min and Lee Yoo-jung looked so comfortable that they seemed to be sleeping with their eyes closed.

Kim Ju-young, who wondered if it was okay to keep lying down like this, rolled his eyes.

“But can we keep doing this? What about the broadcast content?”

They laughed.

“Sung PD will take care of it.”

“How come you care more about the broadcast than us, the regulars?”

“He’s still a baby.”

Kim Ju-young sighed deeply in embarrassment. He kept looking at the sky for a while.

“I hope they win an award…”

It was unclear who she hoped would win an award, whether it was Ian or Jo Min-hwan or Lim Hye-ji.

“Have you ever won an award at Yoo Sang, noonas?”

“We all did, right? Seo-hee unnie was the youngest winner.”

“Hey, you know better than me?”

“Wow, really?”

Kim Ju-young lifted his head and looked at Chae Seo-hee. She stared into space with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

“…I’m bored.”

“Is there nothing we can do?”

“We have nothing to do, Ju-young did everything.”

The actresses who had been silent for a while turned their heads and looked at Kim Ju-young. He felt their gaze and half-raised his body.

“What, what is it?”

“Ju-young, can you tell us a bit about yourself?”

“Me?”