261 – Behind the scenes
Fortunately, the one who saved me from this difficult situation was my stylist sister who was outside.
“Hey… I think they’re about to start filming.”
“…You, see you later when you go home.”
Saying that, Nao’s mother took a step back and met my gaze on the way out. I sneered and left the waiting room.
After staring at that figure until the end, Nao, who fell from my forearm, spoke with a calm expression.
“Senpai, let’s go to the studio too.”
“Uh…yes.”
Because so much has happened in such a short period of time, I don’t even know what is what anymore.
Anyway, the purpose of my coming to the broadcasting station today was to film a year-end special, so I followed Nao and my stylist sister, who were leading the way, saying they would guide the way.
***
The inside of the studio, where filming was scheduled to begin shortly, was busy.
“There! Watch the line! The camera falls over!”
“You haven’t finished fixing the script yet?! What have you been eating all this time?!”
Broadcasting staff running around in front of and behind the stage, PDs and writers checking the script for today’s broadcast.
And even several actors who appeared in the drama.
From my point of view as an outsider, it feels like I’m in a completely strange country.
I was feeling intimidated for no reason, so I glanced around, and Nao, who was next to me, whispered.
“You don’t have to worry too much. It’s not a live show, it’s a recorded broadcast, so even if the senior makes a mistake, it will be edited.”
“Yes, yes.”
It wasn’t very comforting, but it’s advice from a working actor, so you should heed it.
“Oh! You really came!”
At that time, someone approached us with quick steps.
“As expected, Minato-san knew how to do it!”
The one who said that and greeted Nao in a friendly tone was the drama director I had seen before at the filming set.
“It’s been a while for you too! Almost half a year?”
“Ah, yes. I guess that’s about it.”
“hahahaha! You must be nervous because you have a stiff expression in front of the camera!”
While saying that, the director slapped me on the shoulder and introduced me to actors and station staff who passed by, saying, “This is the friend I told you about!”
Thanks to that, having sold my face extensively to people I didn’t know the name of, I felt like hiding in a rat hole.
Is this the broadcasting station version?
I was dragged here and there by the director for a while, but fortunately I was finally free thanks to a station staff who had come for another business and took him away.
“…What should I do now?”
Thanks to that, I was left alone and became like a borrowed sack of barley.
The only faces I know in the studio are the director and Nao, whom I just saw.
Because standing in the middle of the street would interfere with people’s traffic, I tried to crouch down in the corner, but a woman who appeared to be a station employee approached and started talking to me.
“I…”
“Yes?”
“Hey!”
An employee backed away in amazement when I looked at him.
I felt as if I had seen a ghost.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes.”
The employee who came to his senses belatedly explained to me the content of the broadcast.
Since I’m a special guest, it seems that while the talk show is in progress, I stand by at the back of the stage and then come on stage in the middle.
I didn’t think much of it until just now, but after receiving the script like this, I realized that I was really appearing on TV.
While listening to the explanation of my role from the youngest PD, the person who seemed to be the cinematographer shouted for the camera to stand by in front of me, as if the preparations for the broadcast were finally over.
Then, the large cameras started to light up one by one.
After a while, one of the station staff came forward and hit the slate, and the opening of the year-end special broadcast began.
***
The year-end special broadcast of
The Blue ~Apocalypse of Youth at School~) was conducted in a friendly atmosphere overall.
Anyway, it’s been a while since the actors met each other after the drama ended, but it’s because the drama that aired in the second quarter was a hit.
Since the content of the drama is about a former motorcyclist and passionate teacher disciplining disobedient students in his own way to bring them back to school, many young actors were employed.
I don’t know if that’s why, but it’s a gathering of good men and women.
When I sat in a comfortable position on the sofa and watched them talk to each other, I had the impression that people like that are becoming celebrities without even realizing it.
That was the time when I was standing behind the staff at the station and admiring the stage.
“Hey.”
“?”
Suddenly, someone spoke to me, and when I looked to the side, it was Nao’s mother that I saw earlier.
“Oh, how is your mother here?”
“Parents are here to see their daughter filming. Who can say what?”
Saying that, Nao’s mother glanced at Nao during the filming, then crossed her arms and asked with her sharp eyes.
“So what’s your relationship with my daughter?”
“Yes? Like I said earlier, it’s just a normal senior-junior relationship…”
Nao’s mother then raised one of her eyebrows.
“You’re asking me to believe that right now? Judging by the look in her eyes, it doesn’t seem like a normal relationship.”
“No, I mean…”
In her frustration, I explained to Nao’s mother how she rejected her confession during the summer festival in the past.
Nao’s mother, hearing her all, asked with her eyes narrowed.
“So you really have nothing to do with Nao?”
“Yes.”
There was no shame in looking up to the sky.
And Nao’s mother, who was staring at me intently, nodded her head with an approving expression.
“I don’t think you’re lying, so I’ll trust you.”
“…Thank you.”
Now that I’ve been proven innocent, I sighed in relief.
Nao’s mother, who saw me like that, said with a softer voice.
“It’s my first time meeting you, so I’m sorry for being harsh. I was worried that my only daughter might be caught by a bad guy.”
“No, because you are my parents.”
Because it doesn’t happen for a day or two to be misunderstood because of my appearance, I was actually in a state of putting my mind down to some extent.
“…So, does that child really have no feelings?”
I looked up at Nao’s brightly smiling face on stage.
Certainly, ten passers-by have a face that will answer, “You are pretty.”
However, I could definitely say that those feelings and the feeling of liking are two separate things.
“Anyway, I have the feeling that the world I live in is different. So when I was first confessed to, I turned it down for that reason.”
“Aren’t you gay?”
“Can I be serious?”
“Whoops, that’s a joke.”
Nao’s mother, who smiled for the first time after saying that, looked vaguely at her daughter on the stage and said.
“I want that child to marry a good person. My mother doesn’t have eyes to see, so she only met garbage men, but I want her daughter to have a normal married life.”
Saying that, Nao’s mother took out her wallet, but inside it was a picture of her family that showed only Nao and Nao’s mother.
I didn’t bother to ask because it was probably quite complicated.
It’s rude to ask such a sensitive topic in the first place.
“As I said before, I already have a girlfriend. Even if my mother doesn’t worry, I plan to remain a good senior-junior relationship with him, so don’t worry.”
“…If that’s the case, I’m glad.”
Perhaps understanding my sincerity, Nao’s mother nodded slightly and stepped back from her.
“It looks like that wife is calling, so go away. Thank you for listening to the complaints of an ajumma I’ve never seen before.”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”
It was only then that I realized that the youngest PD I had seen before was beckoning to me and nodded.
“Then I’ll go.”
“That’s right. You must have been very nervous because it was your first time appearing on a broadcast, but cheer up.”
Before, you acted so harshly, but now you warmly say good things.
I was moved again and tried to bow her head, but Nao’s mother had already left.
“Are you only sensitive to things related to your daughter?”
Perhaps, contrary to my first impression, she was a great daughter-in-law.
***
“Okay then! It’s finally #1! The best minute that achieved 17.8% Viewership rating! That scene is finally revealed!”
With the introduction of an MC from Genin who can often be seen on TV broadcasts, a video starts playing on the electric panel.
A dark abandoned factory.
And the main character and the thugs confronted in it.
When Nao is held hostage and is threatened by gangsters, the protagonist, a handsome actor, shouts for release with an indignant face.
The tension is rising, and the moment when a fight is likely to break out-
A tall man wearing a black gakuran muttered just one word as he walked out of the darkness.
“Send it.”
The camera gradually closes up as if waiting.
The face, which didn’t look like a high school student, had a more distinct shade because of the dark lighting.
‘… It’s my face when you look at it like this, but it looks really bloody.’
With that feeling in mind, I slowly prepared to go up.
Then the MC’s voice came from in front of the stage.
“So today! We’ve got you as a special guest!”
From noble mtl dot com
The youngest PD, who was measuring the timing next to me, gave me a hand signal saying that it was right now.
I nodded and went up the stairs with a nervous expression.
“The hot topic! It’s Yuseong Kim!”