Chul was surprised by June's bluntness. However, he quickly recovered from his surprise since this wasn't too uncharacteristic of June's personality.
Chul watched the entirety of Rising Stars, and he knew June was known for having a blunt, clear-cut personality.
"What do you mean?" he innocently asked.
June remained calm, holding his gaze. "I don't mind if you dislike me."
"What made you say that I dislike you?" Chul asked.
"I'm not stupid, manager. My stage name itself is already proof that you're not too fond of me."
Chul merely smiled, not confirming nor denying anything.
"I don't know what you mean," he innocently said. "I'm just doing my job as your manager. I haven't done anything out of line, have I?"
June pursed his lips since he knew Chul was right.
He made some comments here and there, but they were too vague to be considered 'targeted.'
"See?" Chul smirked. "I've been a good manager. I always keep your team up-to-date, and I also make sure that you get the best treatment possible from the company. Just look at the budget you have for this music video," he boasted.
"So, I suggest you go now…" he leaned closer to June and looked him in the eyes.
"Hoho."
***
June was fucking annoyed.
No, that was an understatement.
He was enraged.
He couldn't even internalize the director's instructions with how enraged he felt.
After Chul left him, the anger he felt escalated further. Even the make-up artist felt suffocated because of June's mood.
And now, he was sitting on the shoreline, looking at the setting sun.
May, the director of the music video, smiled as she observed June's facial expression. He had a slight frown on his face, but the glow of the sun made him look a bit soft, almost reminiscent.
This was the expression she was looking for!
"This kid's really good," she whispered to Rei. "How can he capture the mood right away?"
Rei smiled, her cheeks warming up as she looked at June. "Yeah," she softly said. "He's really good."
"Continue filming," May whispered to the cameraman.
Everybody stayed silent as June continued with the scene.
June leaned with one hand while the other played with the sand. Meanwhile, his legs were sprawled straight in front of him.
The sun descended with warm tones, casting a gentle glow over June's face. His eyes, reflecting a golden light, glistened with longing. There was an ache in his gaze—an unspoken narrative of a heart yearning for something lost.
Director May was captivated by the raw emotion coming from June.
The breeze played with his hair as if it also felt the sorrow of the young adult.
As the scene unfolded, it became evident that June carried a burden in his heart—an unresolved ache. His every movement and every nuance of his expression spoke of a soul yearning for something irretrievably lost.
And then, a flicker of anger flashed across June's eyes, causing May and Rei to gasp in surprise. They sensed the power of this moment, and although May didn't initially expect the scene to unfold in this direction, she wasn't mad.
Instead, it was the cherry on top!
"Perfect. Just perfect!" she whispered, not wanting to break June from his trance.
Meanwhile, June was still thinking about Chul.
At first, he felt lost…since his name, his identity will be lost in three days.
Then, he anger began bubbling in his chest. Chul's face flashed in his mind, and it annoyed him to the core, wanting to pound his face and make his nose cave in.
"Cut!" May shouted after a while, snapping June out of his thoughts.
"That was amazing," she exclaimed, walking to where June was. "I thought we were going to take a long time filming this scene, but you nailed it in one take."
June paused, looking at the crew with wide eyes. They all had appreciative looks on their faces, silently praising June for his performance.
'Wait,' June thought.
'We already started?'
***
"Action!"
The setting had now changed from the nostalgic shoreline to an intimate cabin nestled among the trees on the quiet beach.
The thick foliage made it nearly impossible for the sun to penetrate through the windows of the cabin, so it was strangely dark.
June stood alone in the semi-darkness, the only illumination coming from the muted glow of a solitary lamp.
The director continued to instruct June even after the cameras started rolling.
"Think of someone you want to do sinister things to," she said.
June didn't need further instructions. His thoughts immediately went to Chul, and just like that, he was completely immersed.
Slowly, June's face morphed into a haunting portrait of dark contemplation.
"Holy shit," May exclaimed. "He really is good."
The room was filled with eeriness as June continued to stare at a distance. The subtle play of shadows accentuated the contours of his face, only adding to the tension of the moment.
"Cut!" May exclaimed. "We're done," she said, clapping. "You nailed it, June."
June smiled, although he felt he didn't even do anything since he was genuinely feeling those emotions at the moment.
"Thank you, director," he politely bowed.
She patted his back. "I look forward to working with you again. But for now, can you call for Zeth and Ren? We'll move on to the next set."
June nodded and left the small cabin to go to the large cabin where his teammates were supposedly waiting.
However, when he opened the door, he was surprised to find nobody there.
"Guys?" he called, but truly, there were no people in the room.
"Hmm," he hummed, placing his hand under his chin. He did end earlier than expected, so the guys must have played around the beach thinking he was going to end a little bit later.
So, with much hesitation, June walked toward Chul's tent to tell him about the problem.
There was a 'do not disturb' sign outside of the tent, but June merely looked at it and shrugged before brushing the flap open.
"Hey…," he softly said, but his words were cut off when he saw what Chul was doing inside.
In the corner of the tent...sat Chul, his leg on top of his lap.
And his toes?
They were inside his mouth.
