NUTMEG 17

If his mood would improve by tormenting me like this, I was willing to play along to some extent. After all, all I had to do was stay still…

I felt too sorry to give the clothes to the wardrobe team as they were. Thinking I would at least try to get the stain out, I stopped by the restroom first, where Director Lim, who was washing his hands, saw Minje and his eyes widened.

“What is this! Did you take a shower in spicy beef soup?”

“Ah, I bumped into someone…”

“Earlier, Lee Jingi put on a pretty spectacular show in front of Minje. Minje, you have the patience of a saint. You’re just going to let that slide?”

“Who is Lee Jingi?”

“You know, the kid who was in the running for the role of Eunsung until the very end, Director.”

“You forgot already?” the assistant director said, glaring at Director Lim. Director Lim took off his thick, horn-rimmed glasses and, while vigorously wiping the cloudy lenses on his gray t-shirt, chimed in.

“Ah. That vague-looking kid? Minje, I’m so glad you showed up. It was a real pain because the investment company kept trying to push him in. He can’t even act. Geez.”

“Hey, didn’t you say once that it was okay if they couldn’t act?”

“There’s a limit to everything. Ah, Minje. For the record, your face and your acting were both excellent.”

“…”

“But why is he on set? Did I cast him?”

“The investment company threw a fit at the last minute, so you just gave him some random role. What is wrong with your memory?”

“A director just needs to remember the movie.”

Minje quietly listened to the conversation as he scrubbed the costume in the cold water. Splash, splash. Just then, Director Lim, who had started brushing his teeth, pointed a finger urgently at Minje’s hands, saying, “Hey, hey, hey.”

“Cheon Minje, you might get in even more trouble if you wash the costume like that. Just take it as it is.”

“That’s right. I’ll go with you and explain it to Section Chief Park.”

In the end, the assistant director even went to the wardrobe room in Minje’s place to explain the situation. When Minje bowed his head and said he was sorry, Section Chief Park said, “Kids these days are scary~,” and casually handed him a new costume. There were several spare outfits for the main actors. He probably hadn’t even considered something like this and just threw the spicy beef soup simply because he saw it and got annoyed. Minje even felt a little sorry for the man named Lee Jingi.

The day without Wonoh was very long. Minje picked up his phone again, which he had been taking out whenever he had a spare moment all day. A few new notifications had arrived. When he opened the KakaoTalk chat, this time it was a picture of a lizard. Is it reptile special day…? A faint smile naturally appeared on his face.

🍊

The next day, it rained heavily.

According to the news Director Lim had on in the morning, a typhoon was coming. While eating breakfast at the dining table, Ms. Yeonja and Director Lim started talking about the weather, saying things like the sound of the wind was unusual. Minje, who was in the middle of spreading strawberry jam and peanut butter on his toast, stopped to listen to the news.

“Do you think the typhoon will get worse? We have location shoots starting next week.”

“It’ll probably blow over. Have a good shoot, Mr. Minje.”

Ms. Yeonja, who had the day off from filming, grabbed her car keys, saying she was going to visit her home in Seoul. She seemed to be in a good mood, going home after a long time. As if she wasn’t bothered by the dreary weather at all, he could hear her humming a song in her lovely voice.

While squeezing toothpaste onto his toothbrush, Minje’s gaze briefly rested on the raindrops that were furiously beating against the windowpane before he looked away. It would probably be fine. Typhoons always seemed to chase with fierce momentum, only to quickly dissipate.

Today, they were filming the boxing scene.

They were going to film a proper sparring match and training sequences, so the director of the gym that taught Minje boxing, Gwak Pilseung, had even come to the set to supervise. He seemed a little nervous in the unfamiliar place, but his face immediately brightened upon seeing Minje. Pilseung, who was wearing a sleeveless workout shirt, still had forearms packed with solid muscle. Just as he finished greeting the director with a light hug, he heard the voice he had been looking for.

“Hyung. Did you do well yesterday?”

It was Choi Wonoh, whom he was seeing for the first time in two days. A bright smile appeared on Minje’s face without him even realizing it. Over the past two days, they had only exchanged silly talk on KakaoTalk every day, but it felt like they had become real friends, not just him ‘playing the part of a friend.’ Mustering some courage, he even made a joke, following Wonoh’s KakaoTalk style.

“It was boring without you.”

“See?”

Wonoh also shot back playfully and laughed along with Minje. The dimple that formed on only one side of his mouth whenever he curled his lips seemed especially deep today.

“Today we’re going to shoot the training and sparring scenes, so make sure to warm up thoroughly. Especially during the sparring, Director Pilseung, please map out the choreography perfectly so no one gets a scratch on their face!”

“You heard him, right? Guys, shall we start with 2,000 jump ropes like old times?”

“Ah, Director. If we do that, this hyung will be showering in sweat. Let’s just do a warm-up.”

Choi Wonoh used Minje as an excuse and reduced the jump ropes from 2,000 to 200. Pilseung, who said it was his first time on a film set, awkwardly pretended to know what he was doing, saying, “Oh, is that so? Well, Minje’s face has to look good, I guess.” As he said, Minje, who got hot easily and sweated a lot, would get his hair soaked as if he’d just come out of a swimming pool whenever he jumped rope. Though he hadn’t known that Wonoh was aware of that.

The two of them did a light warm-up and then decided to properly loosen up their bodies while filming, since they had to shoot the training scenes anyway. He was stretching with one leg extended straight and the other knee bent on the ground when Wonoh, who was warming up on a mat, called to Minje.

“Hyung, press down on my back for me.”

He was asking him to press his back down further from a seated position on the mat with his legs spread. Okay, he said, and lightly pressed on his back, but as he pressed, his upper body lowered with a long streeeetch. Minje’s eyes widened.

“How far down does this go?”

“I’m naturally flexible.”

Just as he said, his thick upper body folded almost to the floor, but Wonoh didn’t look like he was struggling at all. Feeling competitive, Minje tried pressing harder, but his posture just got lower with the pressure. He suddenly recalled the almost acrobatic dance moves he performed. Are all good dancers like this? Minje looked down at his own body, which had been far from flexible since his past life. At that moment, his arm was grabbed.

“I’ll do it for you too, hyung.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Why? It feels really good.”

Wonoh immediately sat Minje down and started pressing on his back. “Ah! Aaargh!” The sounds came out on their own. Wonoh laughed out loud and put merciless force into his palms.

He absolutely couldn’t go down any further, and when he tensed his arms, they began to tremble. Blood rushed to his downward-facing head, and it grew flushed and hot. The insides of his thighs and the backs of his knees burned as if on fire, so he naturally bent his knees slightly, but Choi Wonoh, like a ghost, used his other hand to press down hard on his knees.

“Heuk…”

Because of his forcibly straightened knees, it literally felt like his legs were going to rip. Only after he raised his right hand and slapped the mat several times in a sign of surrender did Wonoh remove the arm that was pressing down. As he massaged his inner thighs with a reddened face, he met Wonoh’s gaze with a strange expression. Then, he quickly changed his expression, smiled, and jutted his chin toward the back. Following his direction, his eyes landed on Yang Hyesol’s familiar camera. Did you press down so mercilessly just so the making-of camera would film it? When he shot Wonoh a resentful look, Wonoh just smiled.

“Ah. Wonoh, just a moment. Your glove tore, so it’s being repaired right now.”

At the news that they would be shooting soon, he went to the props team, only to hear that the glove repair wasn’t finished yet. The first scene was an overview of the training, and there was a part where only Wonoh would be hitting a punching bag.

“Then I’ll just use Minje hyung’s. They’re the same anyway.”

“You want to do that?”

After receiving Minje’s black gloves, he put them on and secured the wrist straps, his brow furrowing subtly. Are they uncomfortable because they’re not fitted to his own hands? Watching Wonoh’s face, Minje grew concerned about his subtle reaction and found himself staring unintentionally. But soon, Wonoh’s expression relaxed as if nothing was wrong, and he hit the punching bag a couple of times, seemingly to warm up. He must be fine, Minje thought, and was just about to turn his head away.

“Ah!”

At the sharp, guttural scream that pierced his ears, everyone from Director Lim and the camera and lighting teams to the props team turned their gazes to him. And Minje was no different.

“What, what? Is there a problem?”

It was Director Lim who checked on Wonoh first. Wonoh’s handsome eyebrows contorted in pain as he quickly took off his right glove. In an instant, everyone nearby, including Minje, had gathered around him, holding their breath.

The glove fell off with a thud, and his right hand was revealed. It seemed as if everyone sucked in their breath at once.

“Fuck. Props team!!!!!!”

Again, it was Director Lim who shouted first, his voice like he had swallowed a train whistle. At the same time, Minje’s face turned pale.

Wonoh’s right hand was deeply cut by something and covered in blood. Moreover, it wasn’t just bleeding; the skin between his knuckles was severely split open and peeled back, clearly visible to the naked eye.

6.

“An exclusive just broke yesterday, so I have to ask. What was your parents’ reaction to you taking on your first movie role?”

Choi Wonoh raised the corners of his mouth, forming a slanted smile.

Yesterday afternoon, an exclusive article confirming Wonoh’s movie role had broken, causing the agency a headache as they tried to coordinate the pre-scheduled interviews. It was an interview arranged to wrap up the official promotions for the group UNCONTROL’s album. They would have asked in advance to refrain from movie-related questions, but they wouldn’t be entertainment reporters if they listened to that. In any case, no reporter would be curious about the actual artistic merit of the movie; they just wanted to drag in his parents to get a headline.

For a moment, Wonoh was annoyed at the stupid reporter for asking the exact question he had expected, but he quickly composed his emotions and answered obediently, his long, almond-shaped eyes crinkling into a crescent.

“As you know, my parents are busier than I am. We haven’t had time to sit down and talk as a family recently. I think I see my manager hyung more often than my mother.”

As he said this, he glanced once at his manager, Younghoon, who was sitting behind him, then smiled at the reporter in front of him again. The reporter, with a flushed face, chimed in, “Right. I also see my senior’s face way more than my mom’s!”

“Of course, they were very happy and supportive when the decision was made. My mother was proud that I was following the same path, but my father actually seems a bit disappointed.”

“Oh, why is that? Because you’re appearing in a different movie, not his?”

That’s right, probably. Wonoh took a sip of his coffee during the pause.

It was a moderately fabricated story. Was it a year ago, or two, since he had last contacted his parents? And even that was through a secretary or a manager, as always. The dysfunctional family only used each other’s names conveniently when necessary.

The reporter couldn’t wait for the pause and leaned in eagerly over the table.

“Actually, a lot of people are curious about that move. Why did you choose another director’s work for your debut film instead of your father’s?”

Wonoh glanced at the three faces sitting beside him. One had a resigned expression, as if used to this. One was a little peeved. And the other one… had no thoughts at all.

It was time to wrap up this stupid interview.

“I can’t stay in my parents’ shadow forever, you know.”

“Oh… but I’m sure others would think differently.”

“Mr. Reporter. We’re here today for an interview to wrap up our album promotions. If you keep asking about my movie, I’ll feel too sorry toward my hyungs and dongsaengs.”

“Ah, ah! Right, right. I’m going to write an article about UNCONTROL too, but opportunities like this are rare. Ah… it’s such a shame. Could you maybe spare some time later?”

“Yes. There will be opportunities to talk about the movie later. Thank you for your hard work.”

And he smiled again, signifying that it was over. The reporter, who had been staring at Wonoh’s face with a dumb look, belatedly and hastily packed his laptop and bag. A staff member from UNCONTROL’s dedicated PR team handed the reporter a pre-signed CD and bowed. As the reporter whispered, “Manager, do you really have to book me?! For a Choi Wonoh exclusive?!” the familiar-faced employee smiled smoothly and saw the reporter off, saying, “Oh, Mr. Reporter. The movie promotion is handled by the distribution company, so we don’t have any power~.”

Choi Wonoh had the members get in the van first and waited for her to come rushing over before he spoke.

“Manager.”

“Wonoh, I’m sorry. I told him absolutely no movie questions, but that reporter is just so stubborn.”

“When we do the press rounds for the movie later, we can exclude that reporter, right? He didn’t even know the name of the shotgun model earlier. This happens every time, so I really can’t face the members.”