episode_0046

The filming of “Crime Predator” proceeded smoothly.

There wasn’t a single actor among the main cast who lacked in acting skills, and this was largely due to the immersive script by writer Lee Kyung-mi.

When exceptional actors bring a great script to life, the visuals naturally follow suit.

With about a month left until the first broadcast on KCN, the schedule was relaxed, allowing Director Kim Jung-ho to spare no time or resources in capturing even better visuals.

The early episodes of “Crime Predator” were filled with unforgettable scenes in every episode.

Both the actors and the staff.

By this point, a sense of confidence began to emerge.

“Our work… if done well, could even surpass ‘I See Ghosts’, don’t you think?”

“It’s worth a shot. At this rate.”

The set was filled with optimism and hope.

However.

People tend to forget easily.

That crises don’t just happen internally.

***

Tap-

Tap-

Tap-

Gil Hye-yeon paid for it.

Shin Ji-hoo personally went to buy mango shaved ice.

The first taste of mango shaved ice was a shock to Seo Yi-soo.

It was so delicious.

Since then, whenever filming was over, Seo Yi-soo would pester Shin Ji-hoo to buy mango shaved ice.

Tap-tap-

Tap-

“Um, Seo Yi-soo?”

Tap-tap-

“Hey?”

Tap…

“Hmm?”

Seo Yi-soo, sitting in a corner of the set, holding the mango shaved ice in her arms and eating it endlessly, suddenly raised her head.

A familiar face was looking at her with concern.

The rugged, manly actor.

Bae Dong-geun.

“…Eating shaved ice all the time like that. Are you sure your stomach is okay?”

Seo Yi-soo, who ate mango shaved ice every break time, was a cause for concern.

Why, is there something wrong?

Unless adults stop them, kids will keep eating ice cream until they get a stomachache.

So, even Bae Dong-geun, who usually keeps his distance from the staff, couldn’t help but ask.

But Seo Yi-soo just smiled, her mouth turned up.

“You don’t have to worry at all. Instead, why don’t you have a bite too?”

“…Me?”

Bae Dong-geun pursed his lips at the unfamiliar term.

Seo Yi-soo muttered to herself, “Is this not it?” and then said again.

“Would you like a bite too, sir?”

“…Sir?”

“Is this not it either?”

Sir, huh.

Does this kid not know the word ‘senior’?

He didn’t seem like an ordinary kid from the first time he met him.

He seemed to lack common sense.

Bae Dong-geun chuckled.

‘Did he live abroad or something?’

That thought naturally crossed his mind.

Anyway, Bae Dong-geun decided to let it go.

He wasn’t strict enough to insist on formalities.

And if he kept questioning, even stranger words than ‘sir’ would pop up.

“No, it’s fine. Enjoy it, Seo Yi-soo.”

“If you insist. What a shame.”

Seo Yi-soo didn’t seem to have any intention of forcing him to try it.

When Bae Dong-geun declined, she just continued to enjoy her shaved ice.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

She scooped up the shaved ice with her small lips, savoring it deliciously.

‘…Huh, this shaved ice looks strangely delicious.’

Just watching her made Bae Dong-geun’s appetite rise.

It didn’t seem like ordinary shaved ice.

It felt more like the shaved ice from a famous dessert shop.

It was the result of Seo Yi-soo’s destructive emotional expression.

Her talent shone even in moments like this.

“Um, hey…”

“Hmm?”

Unable to resist any longer, Bae Dong-geun cleared his throat and spoke.

“Let’s, let’s eat together.”

“Hehe. Of course. Who could refuse such a delicious treat?”

Seo Yi-soo offered him a disposable spoon.

Bae Dong-geun, as if possessed, accepted it and sat down in front of Seo Eui-soo.

He gulped it down, swallowed his saliva, and took a bite of the shaved ice.

And so, the mango shaved ice that he ended up eating.

“…It’s just mango shaved ice.”

There was nothing particularly special about it.

“When I see Seo Eui-soo eating it, it looks so delicious, but it’s not that amazing.”

In fact, it couldn’t be helped.

Seo Eui-soo is from another world.

It was a taste full of first-time experiences.

So far, every single food on Earth felt revolutionary in taste to Bae Dong-geun, who had been familiar with the tastes of Earth for over 30 years.

Seo Eui-soo’s ability to convey emotions conveys the revolutionary taste and excitement she feels.

The taste he received like that,

There was bound to be a significant difference between the taste felt by Bae Dong-geun’s tongue, which had been familiar with the tastes of Earth for over 30 years, and the taste he received.

Bae Dong-geun looked at Seo Eui-soo with fresh eyes.

“He could be successful even if he didn’t act and just did mukbang on YouTube.”

He’s also good at acting with a unique touch.

He thought she was a girl overflowing with talent in many ways.

Seo Eui-soo suddenly looked up at Bae Dong-geun.

“Why did you stop using the spoon? Doesn’t it suit your taste?”

“…No. It’s fine. I’ll eat it.”

It was a taste that was less than expected and ordinary, but it wasn’t enough to put down the spoon.

Bae Dong-geun slowly toyed with the spoon.

Seo Eui-soo

Chak chak chak chak chak chak chak chak-

She ate the shaved ice at a pace of one bite, one chew while sitting on the chair and holding the shaved ice in her arms, with the tall man sitting in front of her, looking quite unusual and somewhat comical.

Bae Dong-geun was aware of that as well.

But for some reason, he didn’t feel like leaving this place.

He wanted to keep watching Seo Eui-soo eat the shaved ice.

He chuckled.

“She’s cute.”

Even though she was quite unconventional in her actions and way of speaking.

For some reason, watching her, he didn’t find her annoying but rather endearing.

“…Seo Eui-soo.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Am I bothering you? Among the actors on set, you only talk to Seo Eui-soo. It might be difficult for a 20-year-old rookie actress.”

Bae Dong-geun has a businesslike personality.

But that doesn’t mean he’s cold-hearted.

“I wasn’t always like this. But since I always get the same role, acting started to feel too familiar to me.”

Bae Dong-geun began to explain the reason for his businesslike attitude.

It was quite unusual considering his usual self.

Normally, whether the other person was uncomfortable or not, Bae Dong-geun wouldn’t care.

It was because of Seo Eui-soo.

The charm that Seo Eui-soo exuded made him let down his guard and speak his mind.

He said, “I suddenly felt like it wouldn’t work out. Familiarity breeds contempt, after all. So I thought I should make the set unfamiliar from then on.”

If the role became too familiar, he had to make the set unfamiliar, even if it meant making the people there feel unfamiliar.

That’s why Bae Dong-geun became a businesslike person.

A mid-level actor who established himself in the acting field as a rough tough guy specialist.

It was a bitter aspect of Bae Dong-geun.

“So, what I want to say is, I’m sorry. Because you might feel uncomfortable because of me.”

And looking at him like that, Seo Eui-soo looked at him quietly.

The spoon that had been teasingly playing around stopped.

She said, “I’m not uncomfortable at all.”

“…Really?”

“As you know, I’m not in a position to feel uncomfortable watching other people’s actions.”

“Yeah.”

Well, that’s true.

If Bae Dong-geun makes others uncomfortable with his meticulousness.

Seo Ei-soo, on the other hand, tends to make others uncomfortable simply because he is peculiar.

It’s just that Seo Ei-soo’s charm offsets that.

So Seo Ei-soo said to Bae Dong-geun.

He looked at him with eyes full of goodwill towards everything on Earth.

“People say that everyone is strange in their own way. So, sir, it’s not strange, uncomfortable, or unusual for you to be a little strange.”

“……”

Somehow, he felt amazed.

He felt like he was being comforted by a young actress who was barely half his age.

If he were to give advice or comfort, he should be the older one to do so.

It was a situation where, as an adult, he felt ashamed.

In that situation, Bae Dong-geun didn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, haha. That’s what I said during the first shoot. It was something that Manager Shin Ji-hoo said, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s right.”

“That guy seems to like it.”

“Uh-huh.”

Seo Ei-soo smiled even more proudly when Shin Ji-hoo received praise.

And Bae Dong-geun, seeing Seo Ei-soo’s smile, nodded as if to say he understood their relationship.

Seo Ei-soo offered him a mango bingsu.

“Anyway, let’s eat this quickly.”

“Okay. Let’s eat. Let’s eat.”

A middle-aged actor approaching 40 and a fresh-faced rookie actress eating bingsu together like that.

Chop chop chop chop chop chop……

The sound of scraping and the thud of the spoon repeated like a nursery rhyme.

After worrying about manners……

It was truly a rare moment for Bae Dong-geun to open his heart to an actress on set.

And that was when it happened.

“……Huh?!”

One of the staff members who was looking at his phone frowned.

“Hey, everyone, take a look at this. I’ll send you the link.”

He shared a link to an article in the group chat.

“Ah……”

“Why is this person suddenly like this.”

Those who saw the shared article were taken aback.

The article was in column format, discussing the overbearing behavior of major entertainment companies.

It talked about how unproven rookie actors were being pushed into major works by the coercion of large agencies.

The problem was the example mentioned in the column.

“This… no matter how you look at it, it’s about Seo Ei-soo, right?”

Actress S, affiliated with K Entertainment.

A rookie actress with no filmography suddenly started appearing in major works in significant roles.

Moreover, the article mentioned that the actress recently appeared in a minor director’s flop and embellished her lead experience,

based on which she landed a crucial supporting role in a major anticipated work.

If you had even a little interest in the industry, you couldn’t miss that the actress S was Seo Ei-soo.

“Oh, the comments are not good either.”

Indeed, the comments section mentioned Seo Ei-soo by name and was in disarray.

The journalist who wrote the column was quite famous, so the reaction was even more intense.

“I know this journalist. He writes articles for money from TAS Entertainment, he’s famous.”

“TAS, isn’t that Han Min-seok’s agency? The lead in .”

“That’s right.”

“Calling this kind of thing a media play. It’s dirty work.”

“Originally, TAS has a bad reputation in that regard.”

It was clear that things were going downhill.

It was all done to tear down , a work that was a rival in terms of time and genre.

“What should we do?”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. We just have to make Episode 1 entertaining for everyone. The problem is…”

In fact, in terms of the work itself, this incident wasn’t a big obstacle.

Whatever happens, if they can make Episode 1 entertaining, the controversy will end.

The problem was Seo Ei-soo.

An actress.

And a rookie at that.

From a position where image was more important than anything else, if she got caught up in this kind of controversy, it could leave a bad mark on her.

All eyes were on her.

There, Seo Yisoo, who was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, stood frozen with a plastic spoon in her mouth.

“Sh-Shin Jihu… Did I do something wrong again?”

Too shocked to even think about spitting out the plastic spoon in her mouth, she looked for Shin Jihu.

It was truly a pitiful sight.

The desire to protect her surged involuntarily.

Everyone was furious with one heart.

“Hey, seriously. What are you doing with that kid?”

“Anyway, TAS. What a thug.”

Of course, Shin Jihu was much more enraged than those people. He was deeply angry.

He patted Seo Yisoo’s shoulder and took the spoon out of her mouth.

“It’s okay. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Gil Hye-yeon also stepped forward.

“Yeah. I can refute this kind of article easily. I’ll do the interview.”

Bae Dong-geun also had a grim expression like a demon.

“I’ll do it too. The interview.”

“Why is this senior getting involved in other people’s business? Well, I’ll do it too. That interview.”

Even Lee Hyun-seong.

Everyone stood together for Seo Yisoo.

However…

Despite their efforts, Seo Yisoo’s controversy did not die down easily.

It was because Seo Yisoo, the subject of the controversy, could not participate in the interviews.

While her colleagues could understand her peculiar personality, presenting it to the public carried too high a risk.

It wasn’t just about being a bit eccentric, but there was a risk of being labeled as ‘eccentric’, ‘attention seeker’, or even lacking respect for young subjects.

As a result, while her colleagues actively responded to the controversy, Seo Yisoo herself had to hide away.

This fact fueled Seo Yisoo’s guilt and fear.

“Shin Jihu… I don’t understand why people are treating me like this.”

Seo Yisoo grew increasingly gloomy as the days went by.

It was her first time facing the public as a presence.

Seo Yisoo was extremely sensitive to emotions.

To her, the malice emitted by the faceless masses of the public was a terrifying and painful subject.

Shin Jihu gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t think of a way to resolve the situation.

‘I’d like to just get rid of TAS, but… that won’t solve the problem.’

The spark of controversy had already spread to the public.

While the instigators could be condemned, the controversy itself wouldn’t disappear.

Shin Jihu pondered with a heavy heart on how to resolve the situation.

Ring ring-

Shin Jihu’s phone rang at that moment.

“Oh, Director. Long time no… Wait, calm down first. …What? What did you say?”

And that phone call held the key to resolving the situation.

“…Seo Yisoo.”

“Why are you calling me? I’m in distress right now…”

“Understood. Just answer the phone. It’s Director Han Kyung-jin.”

Han Kyung-jin, the director of “Sea Diary”.

After finishing all the filming for the project, he had disappeared for editing and now he was contacting her again.

Seo Yisoo wasn’t particularly eager to talk to anyone.

But since Shin Jihu told her to answer the call.

So she gritted her teeth and answered the phone.

And through her ears, Han Kyung-jin’s trembling voice resonated.

“S-Se-Se-Se-Seo Yisoo. P-Please… listen carefully.”

With a voice that seemed more surprised than anyone else.

Han Kyung-jin spoke.

“We… need to go to Busan. It seems like we have to go to Busan.”

Busan…

What was in Busan again?