I woke to the blaring sound of an alarm.
I picked up my phone to check the time: 5 a.m.
Haa, I’m so tired I could die.
I got out of bed, washed up in the bathroom, then went back to my room to change out of my pajamas.
‘Mm, would a tracksuit be a bit much?’
They had told me to wear something comfortable since I’d change into costume once I got to the set anyway, but I felt like showing up to a shoot in a tracksuit might make me look arrogant for no reason.
I should just go with something safe, like denim shorts and a T-shirt.
After getting dressed, I went out to the kitchen and took some milk from the fridge.
As I was eating cereal, Mom must have woken up from the sound of me moving around, because she opened the master bedroom door and came into the living room.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Mom said to me,
“Aren’t you tired, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired, but I can sleep in the car on the way to the shoot.”
“Really? More importantly, will cereal be enough? Do you want rice? I’ll make it for you quickly.”
“It’s fine. I have to leave soon anyway.”
After finishing my cereal, I headed out and said,
“I’m off~”
“Okay, work hard at the shoot.”
“Yep.”
I took the elevator down and went out through the first-floor entrance.
After standing at the entrance and waiting for about five minutes, Manager Soyeong unni’s car pulled up in front of me.
I got in the car and greeted her.
“Good morning~”
“Dohee, you were out early?”
“I just came out. Unni, aren’t you tired?”
“No, I went to bed early yesterday, so I’m fine. What about you, Dohee? Aren’t you tired? I heard you practiced at the company until late last night too.”
“I’m a little tired, but I’m okay. If I get too tired, I’ll just drink an energy drink or something.”
“Get some sleep on the way first.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I put in my earphones and listened to the song for the music video we’d be filming today.
As I listened to the song and thought about how I should act on set, my eyes closed from exhaustion.
“Dohee, we’re here, so wake up now~”
I opened my eyes at the sound of my manager unni calling me, and saw that we’d arrived at a high school near Seoul.
They said they’d rented it over the weekend, when there were no students, to film the music video.
The high school was bustling with staff and vehicles that had come for the shoot.
I asked Soyeong unni,
“It looks like all the staff are already here. We’re not late, are we?”
“No, we actually arrived an hour early, so don’t worry. Let’s go greet the director first.”
“Yes.”
I got out of the car and went to greet the director.
“Hello, Director!”
“You’re here? You read through the storyboard and practiced, right?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Good. We still have a long way to go before we’re ready, so get your makeup done and wait.”
“Yes.”
After greeting the director, I went around the set and greeted all the staff, then entered a large mobile makeup trailer with Soyeong unni.
When we went inside the makeup trailer, three staff members were sitting there.
Normally there would probably be more makeup staff than this, but since I was the only one filming the music video at this set, I guessed they had fewer people.
The three of them seemed to be a stylist, a makeup artist, and a hair designer.
I bowed to the staff and greeted them.
“Hello. I’m Lee Dohee. I look forward to working with you!”
The woman who looked the oldest among the makeup staff stood up and pulled out the chair in front of the mirror.
“Oh my, you came early? Sit here first.”
“Yes.”
I sat in the chair in front of the vanity.
Once I sat down, another staff member soon brought me tea.
“Ah, thank you.”
“It’s a tea for reducing puffiness, so drink it comfortably.”
“Yes.”
The staff member looked at my face and said,
“You’re barefaced right now, right? No makeup?”
“Ah, yes. I only put on lotion and sunscreen this morning.”
“Oh my, you’re so pretty even barefaced. How old are you?”
“I’m fourteen.”
“As expected, youth is the best. Your skin is incredibly clear too.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“Then we’ll start with your hair first, okay?”
“Yes.”
Since the concept for this music video was a first-love schoolgirl, we decided on straight hair styling to match an innocent image.
The hair designer began applying product to my hair.
Ugh, it’s cold.
When I shivered, the hair designer said,
“It’s cold, right?”
“Yes, this kind of thing is my first time.”
“Haha, I’m applying scalp essence so the styling comes out pretty. You’ll get used to it soon.”
“Yes.”
After applying the essence, she parted my hair in a 6:4 ratio to create an effortlessly put-together student look.
Then she straightened my hair with a flat iron, pinned up the top, added volume with a dryer, and sprayed it, and even though it was simple styling, it took over thirty minutes.
Once the hairstyling was finished, the staff member who seemed to be the makeup artist said,
“Now we’ll do your makeup~”
“Yes.”
The makeup artist began applying cushion foundation to my face.
I said to her,
“Ma’am, this is my first time getting makeup done, so I don’t know what anything is. If it isn’t rude, could you tell me what you’re doing?”
The makeup artist sounded surprised as she said,
“You’ve really never worn makeup before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Well… if you’re fourteen, I guess that could be.”
Holding up the cushion, she said,
“First, I’m going to make a base with foundation.”
As she continued each step of the makeup, she explained what it was.
After finishing the complicated makeup—foundation, shadow, eyelash curler, eyeliner, drawing my brows, blush, nose shading, tint, and so on—I looked in the mirror.
“Oh…”
Insane.
So this is why they say makeup works wonders on women.
The makeup artist also looked at my face in the mirror and exclaimed,
“Wow… you’re so pretty.”
I agree.
But I acted modest and said,
“Haha, it’s because you did such a good job with the makeup.”
“No. Your face did everything, really. Your skin is clear too, so the makeup sits well. Your base is just too good.”
“Haha.”
After finishing my makeup, I got up from the chair, took the school uniform the stylist handed me, and went to the changing room inside the vehicle to change before coming back out.
Then, after I changed into the socks and shoes the stylist gave me and she fixed the fit of my clothes, all the styling was complete.
I went in front of the vanity mirror and looked at myself.
Wow… this is insane.
As expected of professionals, something really is different.
This is one for the collection.
I took out my phone and took a selfie.
When I checked the photo, it was definitely KakaoTalk profile picture material.
Though lately, unfamiliar boys kept messaging me on KakaoTalk, so I’d changed my profile picture to the default screen, but I couldn’t resist this.
Ah, of course I’d have to change it after the music video was released.
As I kept taking selfie after selfie, Manager Soyeong unni, who had been sitting in the makeup room chair and smiling as she watched me, said,
“Dohee, I’ll take pictures for you with the rear camera. Let’s go outside.”
“Gasp, yes.”
We went outside and took full-body photos with the rear camera, then as I looked through the pictures and chose which ones were pretty with my manager unni, an hour flew by.
A staff member came over and said to me,
“Actress, we’ll begin filming now.”
“Yes~ Understood~”
I followed the staff member into the classroom, the first filming location.
This song was a rock band song sung while reminiscing about a first love.
They said the music video would be cross-edited with scenes of the X-One seniors.
The director said,
“All right, we’ll start with the first scene.”
“Yes!”
I sat in the very back seat of the dark classroom,
by the window where only sunlight came in, at a desk with a notebook and workbook placed on it.
“All right, let’s go. Cue!”
The track started playing, and in time with the song, I began pretending to study with an expressionless face.
After pretending to study for about ten seconds, I stretched both arms upward.
Then I turned my head, looked as if my eyes had met the camera, and smiled brightly with crescent eyes.
“Okay. Let’s do it one more time for now.”
“Yes~”
After repeating it two more times,
“This time, don’t smile brightly. Let’s try it with a softer smile.”
“Understood~”
“All right, here we go. Cue!”
After repeating it several times, filming for the first scene ended, and I began filming the next scene.
This time, it was a scene where I sat by the classroom window so the camera could see my profile, looking out the window.
After all the filming in the classroom was finished, I headed to the music room for the next shoot.
Once all the filming staff had moved the equipment to the music room and preparations were complete, I went and sat in front of the piano.
Originally, the shoot in the music room was supposed to be a cute scene where I played castanets and a triangle, but at the company’s suggestion, we decided to try having me play the piano too.
The director said,
“You can comfortably play any piece you want.”
“Yes, understood~”
Since it was June, early summer, I should play something refreshing—Joe Hisaishi’s Summer from Kikujiro.
“We’ll begin. Cue!”
I started playing the piano.
Summer from Kikujiro wasn’t a difficult piece that showed off my skills, but it was more than enough to make the atmosphere on set feel fresh.
“Oh, she plays the piano well.”
“There’s a reason TopEast recommended it.”
The piano scene, which received fairly good reviews from the staff, got an okay sign from the director in one take.
“Okay. We’ll go straight to castanets.”
“Yes~”
I got up from the piano, and as the director requested, I held castanets in both hands and played them while dancing wildly, like someone shaking a tambourine at karaoke.
Watching my ridiculous dance, the staff on set burst into laughter.
“Why is she so cute? Hahaha.”
“She’s weirdly good at dancing badly too, so it’s cute. Khuhuh.”
The director, who also burst into laughter at my wild dance, gave the okay sign and said,
“Hahaha, good, good. That was great! Now, let’s go one more time!”
“Yes!”
.
.
.
After we finished all the filming in the music room, including the triangle, the director said,
“All right, okay. Before we film the next scene, let’s eat first.”
It seemed it was already lunchtime.
Since I had left my phone with Soyeong unni while filming, I couldn’t check the time, so I asked her.
“What time is it now?”
“It’s exactly one o’clock. Let’s hurry out and eat.”
“Yes.”
I followed Soyeong unni out to the field.
There was a meal truck near the tent on the field.
Looking at the meal truck, I said to Soyeong unni,
“Oh, this is my first time seeing a meal truck. Is it good?”
“I haven’t eaten from them many times either, but everything I’ve had so far was good.”
“Oh…”
Since the staff were still packing up the filming equipment and coming out, the line for the meal truck was short.
It should be fine if I eat first, right?
I approached the meal truck and picked up one of the plates placed at the front of the line.
The food laid out in front of the meal truck included braised short ribs, bulgogi, japchae, and more.
They were side dishes that couldn’t possibly taste bad.
Once I saw the food, I started to feel hungry.
Now that I thought about it, the only thing I’d eaten today was the cereal in the morning.
The line grew shorter, and finally, it was my turn to get food.
I was about to take some when Manager Soyeong unni said from beside me,
“Dohee, you know the next scene is running on the field, right? If you eat a lot, it’ll be hard to run, so only eat a little, okay?”
Ah.