episode_0051

Young, who had crossed her legs, now crossed them the other way.

Her short skirt rode up slightly, revealing a hint of her thigh.

Almost showing her panties, teasingly close to being visible.

‘Oh.’

I almost involuntarily glanced.

I snapped back to reality and looked at Young.

She was smiling faintly.

Like a victorious general after a battle.

“I’m not trying to seduce you.”

She knew how to use her charm as a weapon.

“Why the change of heart? Just yesterday at school, you seemed so repulsed by the idea of working with me.”

Young crossed her arms, still wearing the smile of a victor.

As if she knew I would come back.

“Is it all about money? Or is there another reason?”

I shook my head at Young’s sarcastic remark.

“I won’t beat around the bush.”

It wasn’t my style, and there was no benefit in doing so.

“My condition is simple.”

I held up three fingers.

“Three times.”

Young’s face momentarily contorted.

Cracks appeared in her facade of composure.

Did she interpret it differently?

“You just have to receive personal training from me.”

“What did you say?”

Young’s face, which had just contorted, relaxed again.

“Three personal training sessions. That’s my condition.”

“….”

“I’ll make sure to adjust the schedule enough. If you agree to three PT sessions, we can work together.”

“Is that… all?”

My proposal seemed somewhat shocking.

It wasn’t a common offer.

Who would think of asking someone to receive personal training instead of working on a photoshoot together?

“Yes. That’s all. Did you expect me to suggest something else?”

“No, not at all.”

I might try to recruit her to our gym, but there was no need to mention that.

I didn’t plan to rely solely on hypnosis and the system’s power for business.

Before meeting Young, I calculated the probability of promoting her through posters.

A mere 9%.

Even with adjustments for the poster’s impact, the fact that she held me in high regard, and other factors.

The chance of making her a full member was only 9%.

A probability of succeeding 9 out of 100 times.

The problem was.

‘I only have three chances left.’

I had to maximize the probability within these three chances.

So, I thought of inviting Young to my gym.

Bringing her inside and making her an interim member.

I didn’t expect to make her a full member in one go.

I planned to gradually promote her.

Raising that meager probability as much as possible.

That was my first goal for recruiting Young.

Hence, I proposed the deal of personal training instead of a photoshoot.

Young needed me.

And I needed her to protect the other members I had worked hard for.

We needed to come together for mutual benefit.

Isn’t that a win-win deal?

“Of course, you’ll receive the same payment Young suggested.”

I had no intention of cutting the amount the other party offered.

They offered it.

I would accept it.

“….”

Young remained silent, looking at me with a blank expression.

“Do you work as a separate trainer for personal training?”

“Yes, I’m also looking after Ye-seul right now.”

“Oh…!”

Young’s gaze shifted to Ye-seul.

Ye-seul vigorously nodded her head.

“Senior Jae-ho is the best trainer! After receiving PT from him, I lost a lot of fat! It’s really effective!”

Impressed by Ye-seul’s praise, Young scanned her body once.

“You do seem to be in good shape. Your figure is great, and it shows that you’ve been taking care of yourself.”

Even to Young, Ye-seul’s body was impressively well-balanced.

‘This man helped her achieve this body?’

Of course, Jae-ho’s body was also in good shape.

His shoulders were broad, and his biceps, visible in a short-sleeved shirt, were densely packed with muscles.

I thought you were just a slightly healthier person, but a personal trainer too?

He was like an endless onion that you keep peeling.

“Jaeho, you’re quite talented, aren’t you? From being a top student in the Computer Science department, to being a photographer and a fitness trainer. Is there anything else I don’t know about you?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh~, really?”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Was it up to me to have a choice?”

Yeongeun leaned forward slightly as she spoke.

“You rejected my offer once, but I’m still interested in your photography, Jaeho. My pride may have been hurt, but I’m not someone who pushes away the person I need.”

“Is that so?”

“Instead, I have a condition too.”

“What is it?”

“Take a picture of me here at the set.”

“You mean a picture of you, Yeongeun?”

“Yes, show me your skills. Show me how you can portray me.”

It wasn’t a difficult condition.

“How can I help you with that?”

Yeongeun raised the corner of her mouth.

***

I wandered around the set with my iPhone in hand.

I wondered if this was okay.

“If Yeongeun asked you to do it, it should be fine.”

The producer directing the scene said it should be fine.

“But please don’t leak the photos to the outside world.”

The producer, who introduced himself as Kim PD, warned me firmly.

“Of course.”

Taking photos at the set was just a means to bring Yeongeun to my gym, not to make money from it.

“Please don’t make any noise during the shoot.”

After receiving another warning from the assistant director, I took my place in the corner of the set.

As I watched Yeongeun check the script one last time in front of the camera, I thought about the offer she had made to me.

‘Take a picture of me acting.’

At the same time, she added two more conditions.

– Capture Yeongeun’s beauty well.

– Capture the charm of the character she’s portraying.

She also mentioned that it didn’t matter how I took the photos as long as I fulfilled those two conditions.

That’s why I was walking around the set with my phone.

“Being able to see Yeongeun’s acting up close like this is all thanks to you, Oppa.”

Yesol watched the set with eyes full of admiration.

She didn’t even blink, as if she wanted to remember this moment forever.

And then there was Yeongeun.

“I think the screen is too dark, Director. The lighting seems too weak.”

“No matter how well you act, with a face like that… sigh, forget it. What can we expect.”

Although I was taken aback every time she made the set tense with her sharp voice, it seemed like she hadn’t let her guard down yet.

Yesol was Yesol.

‘I need to focus on my work too.’

I captured Yeongeun in the frame with my phone.

Depending on how I directed the subject reflected in this lens, the image of the photo would change drastically.

Today, I anticipated a slightly more challenging task than usual, as I had to create the image the client desired.

‘Take it slowly.’

As I pondered how to portray Yeongeun, the shoot began.

As the camera started rolling, the cool and distant Yeongeun disappeared.

“Were you waiting here all this time?”

Yeongeun, now portraying Hwarin, stood in that spot.

She wasn’t the stubborn heiress I always saw her as, but a confident rookie actress who had just graduated from college and entered the workforce.

‘Impressive.’

She truly was an actress.

In that brief moment, she immersed herself in her emotions and character, continuing her performance flawlessly.

I captured Yeongeun transformed into Hwarin on camera.

Setting the frame and imagining the image that would best suit her and Hwarin, I pressed the shutter at the perfect moment.

Click.

How can I meet all of Yeong-eun’s requirements?

A single photo that encapsulates all of my worries.

In the picture, Hwaryun is filled with concern, empathy, and gratitude towards the man waiting for her outside in the heat without an air conditioner.

Warm eyes.

A smile that seems to be there but not quite.

The iced coffee she holds contains all her worries about the man.

It was a face that Yeong-eun would never have had in the past.

“Enough.”

I whispered quietly.

Even I admired Yeong-eun’s appearance in the photo.

“Is this good enough?”

It was clear that my skills were not at this level when I first learned.

Whether it was when I took pictures of Ye-seul or now.

Unknowingly, my confidence rose, and I gained confidence in my choices.

Will it turn out well if I take it like this?

I don’t think this is good.

…the hesitation disappeared.

Just that one thing made such a difference.

“It’s all thanks to the gym.”

It was thanks to the confidence I gained from the gym.

Of course, the gym still needed a lot of improvement.

But I could believe in myself.

I could grow the gym further.

With newfound confidence and certainty, I was about to take the next picture.

“I can’t do it.”

Hwaryun turned back into Yeong-eun.

***

In the end, only one picture was taken.

Yeong-eun couldn’t continue acting to take more pictures before setting the scene properly.

In the end, without properly finishing the shoot, Yeong-eun left the camera.

“Ugh, annoying.”

I met Yeong-eun’s eyes in that state.

“How was it? Did you take it well?”

“I could only take one. Will you still look at it?”

“Just one… There weren’t many to take, I guess.”

“Yeong-eun’s acting kept getting interrupted.”

It seemed like she couldn’t focus on acting for more than 30 seconds.

Except for the beginning, the emotions didn’t come through properly.

“Well, that’s not something Jaeho needs to worry about. Show me. I want to see how you took it.”

At her request to see the picture, I handed her my phone.

One picture.

When Yeong-eun saw the picture of Hwaryun taken during the first shoot, her eyes widened.

“You… you took this? Just now?”

“Yes, it was quite difficult. I didn’t have much to work with.”

“Wow, this is… really…”

Yeong-eun’s mouth twitched as she looked at the picture.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the phone.

Would it be appropriate to say she was sucked into the picture?

As Yeong-eun admired her own image in the photo, she asked in a surprised voice.

“You took this with your phone camera?”

“Yes.”

“You took it just now?”

“Yes.”

Yeong-eun saw.

A picture focused on herself.

It captured the most delicate moment of emotion she had brought out while acting.

The pure love that Hwaryun was showing was captured in the photo.

‘I made this expression?’

She didn’t know.

She had thought she was good at acting because others had told her so.

How she expressed emotions, how she handled her gaze, how she expressed emotions.

She felt emotions she couldn’t even feel when watching videos, just by looking at a photo.

‘Is it possible to express this through a photo alone?’

It was an expression that couldn’t be achieved with just a good model.

If the model was good, she should have felt the same emotion multiple times already.

“What do you think?”

“…You’re really amazing.”

Pure admiration.

Yeong-eun expressed her emotions honestly as she looked at Jaeho’s photo.

And she became curious.

Would others feel the same emotions she was feeling now?

“Kim PD-nim! Come here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Take a look at this.”

She handed Jaeho’s photo to Kim PD of .

“Why are you showing me this… What is this?”

Kim PD’s forced displeasure was replaced with a somewhat serious tone.

He had been living off cameras for over ten years.

The moment he saw the photo of Yeongeun, his eyes sparkled.

His pupils were so enlarged that they formed perfect circles.

It was understandable.

Yeongeun’s appearance in the photo was so beautiful.

Even PD Kim, who was tired of seeing her and annoyed by her personality, momentarily changed his mind!

Why?

Because the person in the photo was not Yeongeun!

It was Hwarin.

The female lead of the drama that PD Kim was doing his best to create.

She was in the photo.

“Who took this photo?”

“I knew you would recognize her.”

Who is it?

Is it the camera team that Yeongeun brought in?

But she didn’t bring anyone with her?

There was someone who came by invitation.

‘No way?’

Suddenly, PD Kim’s head turned.

He looked at Jaeho, who was standing dumbfounded.

“So, did you take this photo?”

“Yes.”

“Where do you work… No, I am Kim Dongju PD from WBS, can I have your business card… Are you working on the photo side?”

He thought the person would be a veteran based on the photo, but now he looked like a young man just starting out in society.

What’s the use of looking younger than expected?

PD handed his business card to Jaeho.

“This person is a student at Ulsan University.”

“Majoring in photography?”

“He’s in the computer science department.”

Eunyoung replied instead of Jaeho.

“Do you have any experience in photography?”

PD Kim asked Jaeho.

Jaeho shook his head.

“No. I only briefly learned it in the past.”

PD Kim’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me.

“Then, do you have any thoughts about working in this field? No, we are hiring a separate employee for poster and photo work at WBS…”

The gaze that was just looking lazily a moment ago became sharper.

As if.

Trying to catch prey.

No.

It was the eyes of a professor trying to catch a graduate student.

Oh, save me.

“Sorry, but this person has a contract with me.”

Eunyoung stopped the excited PD Kim.

“Right?”

She confirmed.

She had to work with Jaeho no matter what.

***

She managed to fend off the PD’s request to take photos for the poster.

‘Let’s work together later. Just take the poster. We’ll provide the studio.’

An uncertain promise was made along with the business card.

“Ah, it’s tiring.”

The response was too quick after taking Eunyoung’s photo.

It was well taken, but was it really that good?

I looked at Eunyoung, no, Hwarin’s photo.

“It’s well taken.”

And I took a few more photos on set.

A photo of Yeoseul and Yeongeun together.

Yeoseul, who wanted to take a selfie with Woosang, took a selfie with my phone.

Why did she use my phone to take a photo?

“Seniors take really good photos. The camera takes the best photos when taken by a good photographer, right?”

Yeoseul, satisfied with her meeting with Woosang, left.

“Is this Jaeho’s gym?”

Eunyoung came to our house.

Or rather.

To the gym.

It’s time to start working out.