#57

<Skin Therapy's New Face, L.I.T ― The Advertising Industry Turns Its Attention to K-POP Idols>

"L.I.T is the new model for Skin Therapy?"

Kim Chanyeong frowned as he skimmed through the news.

"This is the request we made to Skin Therapy because we wanted to do it."

Upon hearing that Skin Therapy was looking for a model among rookie male idols, they immediately submitted a proposal.

But now, it went to L.I.T?

"That bastard Kang Ichan……."

The photo attached to the news article showed Ichan's bright smile at L.I.T's fan signing event. So, the face Skin Therapy is promoting is Kang Ichan's.

"This bastard keeps getting in the way. Is he doing this on purpose?"

Before, he was gloomy and dark, so I didn't want to look at him, but now he's bright and dazzling, and it's annoying. If he was going to shine like this, why didn't he do it from the beginning? Who was he trying to mess with by acting so dark and gloomy?

[Kim Chanyeong, your judgment is completely off now. How could you let someone like Kang Ichan slip away? And you're the headhunter director at HS?]

After meeting him in person, even CEO Jang Myungwoo fell hard for Ichan.

[Do whatever it takes to bring him in.]

The constant talk about Kang Ichan every few days is starting to make him angry.

If you were so good at judging people, you should have actively stopped me when Kang Ichan was cast aside. You were the one who tacitly agreed.

Anyway, the fact that L.I.T is doing a CF means a red light has been lit for his future.

Because Jang Myungwoo staked Chanyeong's neck on MuteSeven winning the Rookie Award.

[If Mute wins the Rookie Award, then we can bring Kang Ichan in. Take responsibility and make sure we win the Rookie Award. Otherwise, I'll cut you first.]

In this situation, MuteSeven absolutely needs to land at least one CF.

To ensure they aren't forgotten by the public during their hiatus.

After deep thought, Chanyeong made a call.

"Oh, Director-nim. How have you been? About that advertising proposal you mentioned last time. Is it still valid?"

* * *

At the video studio located in Gwacheon.

Siu, wearing a floral crown, awkwardly lifted the corners of his trembling lips in front of a pure white wall.

"Siu-ssi, keep your head slightly raised and your eyes lowered. Good, now slowly shift your gaze toward the camera, okay?"

Once again, the director called for an NG.

"Siu-ssi. Your face is so pretty, and your skin is so good, but let's try to smile more brightly. Okay?"

Then Siu bowed at a 90-degree angle to apologize.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

That timid kid doesn't just apologize once; he's busy apologizing in every direction whenever there's an NG.

"Hyung."

I quietly approached Gyuhyung while watching Siu.

"Let's give Siu a little break. That scene alone has already had twelve NGs."

Gyuhyung nodded with a serious expression and went over to the director.

A short break was given.

"Siu-ssi. Let's take a little break and then resume filming. You'll feel better after resting a bit, right? Grab something to eat. Okay?"

Although the words sounded considerate, the slight irritation in the director's voice made Siu bow his head awkwardly.

"I'm sorry."

Even after the director left, Siu couldn't lift his head.

Seeing this, Gyuhyung quickly approached him.

"It's okay. It's not that big of a deal…"

Gyuhyung, wrapping an arm around Siu's shoulder, quietly led him out of the filming set.

It seemed like he was planning to calm him down and bring him back, but I wasn't sure if that would work.

Letting out a shallow sigh, Roa cautiously approached me.

"Hyung-nim. Will Siu hyung-nim be okay?"

"He has to be."

I lightly patted Roa's head and looked around.

Jaewon was sitting next to the filming director, completely absorbed in staring at the camera. I was worried he might quit being an idol and become a filming director at this rate.

Hanjoon, who had already finished his part of the filming, was catching up on some much-needed sleep.

"I'll go check on Siu. Keep an eye on Jaewon so he doesn't cause any trouble."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

After patting Roa's head once more, I headed toward the emergency exit where Gyuhyung had taken Siu earlier.

Landing this CF was a coincidence.

The advertiser happened to watch episode 2 of our show. While watching us sell walnuts, they were particularly drawn to how calmly I interacted with the fans.

Around the same time, Siu, who had briefly gone to Itaewon, got street-casted by someone from the advertising company.

By sheer coincidence, it turned out that the advertising company was the one the advertiser had commissioned for the skincare CF.

Since both the advertiser and the advertising company had chosen the same model, the contract was finalized smoothly. The terms were pretty good too.

The advertiser had chosen me, and the advertising company had chosen Siu, so we were both set to be the main models. Naturally, the director had high expectations for Siu.

The problem was Yoon Siu. This kid was just too timid.

"It's okay, hyung. I'll do better next time."

As I opened the door and stepped out of the filming set, I saw Siu nodding while his fingertips trembled.

"Yeah. Think of it as no different from filming a music video. There's really no difference."

"Okay."

Siu clenched his trembling fingers tightly and forced a smile.

That kid is not okay at all right now.

The inferiority complex he's been harboring is on the verge of exploding.

I usually try not to intervene, but I'll dip my toes in just a little this time. We need to finish the filming, after all.

"What do you mean there's no difference? It's completely different."

I walked over to the protruding steps where the two were sitting and turned off my Heart’s Resonance. If Siu's emotions explode, the emotional waves would be too overwhelming to handle.

And because an uncomfortable situation might arise.

"Filming a music video is something we're good at and enjoy, but this is unfamiliar territory."

Honestly, Kang Ichan and Yoon Siu have some unresolved issues between them.

"Even though Gyuhyung-hyung is saying that, if you told him to do it, he wouldn't be able to, right?"

When I pointed at Gyuhyung with my chin, he scratched his head awkwardly. Then he stood up clumsily, patted my shoulder, and went back inside. It seemed like he knew that this kid and I had something to resolve.

"I’m saying it's natural to be nervous."

This is Siu's first CF filming in an unfamiliar environment. It's natural to be nervous, but his desire to do well is making him even more tense.

Even now, he's trying so hard to hide his tension with a stiff face. He's probably afraid of revealing his emotions.

"No. Roa and Jaewon aren't nervous at all, and they're doing great."

"That's because those kids are immature. They don't even know what's what. And Hanjoon hyung never thinks about anything anyway."

The youngest members are naturally carefree, so they don't hesitate no matter what they do. If those kids ever get nervous, it means something really serious is happening.

And Roa gets nervous or excited at different points than others.

As for Hanjoon… he's just a blunt kid. That's why he doesn't react to most things.

The problem is Kang Ichan and Yoon Siu.

"I'm just as nervous as you are. You know I have camera fright."

I thought I was going to die trying to control my heart, which felt like it was about to burst during the filming. But Siu wouldn't know that.

"I'm the kind of person who faints in front of people."

"But you overcame it. I envy that about you."

"No. I didn't overcome it."

At my words, Siu's eyes widened.

"I just buried it."

Kang Ichan and Yoon Siu became trainees around the same time.

In a way, their personalities were similar. Both were timid, quiet, and unsociable. They could have become close, but they always kept a distance, probably because they saw themselves in each other.

Both of them had rock-bottom self-esteem and self-love.

"I buried that terrifying fear. I pretended not to see it."

Siu started seeing Kang Ichan differently after I took over this body. The changed Kang Ichan must have been a good stimulus for Siu.

"Every time, I'm scared. Nervous. My damn heart just… goes crazy."

Watching me, he must have tried so hard to change, to prove that he could do it too.

"But what can I do? It's something I have to do. And you…"

Of course, it's not going as planned, so he's despairing like this.

"You said you'd stake your life on this, right?"

Suddenly, tears poured from Siu's large eyes.

"You, what I sad… you remember what I said?"

"No, I don't remember. I read it in the diary."

Then Siu covered his face with both hands. His small face was completely hidden, and his shoulders started shaking.

Two days before the accident, I told Siu what he had said to Kang Ichan.

"Kang Ichan, please get your act together. How long are you going to keep this up? It's something we have to do anyway. I've staked my life on this, you know."

Recalling the conversation between Yoon Siu and Kang Ichan from the diary, I continued quietly.

"Isn’t that what you said when I came back after disappearing for two days after the debut team was decided?"

For someone as timid as Siu, it must have taken a lot of courage to say that. Of course, being as timid as he is, he probably regretted it immediately.

Siu wiped his eyes with his hands and reached out to grab the hem of my clothes.

"I'm sorry."

It seems this has been weighing heavily on him all this time. Even though it wasn't his fault.

"I should have apologized sooner, but I couldn't. Ichan-ah. I'm really sorry."

"What are you sorry for? That was the right thing to say. How irresponsible do you have to be to run away right after the debut team was decided and we were barely starting?"

That was Kang Ichan's fault. Kang Ichan knew it too, which is why he wrote down his apologies in the diary.

But Siu ended up feeling guilty because Kang Ichan had an accident two days after he said that. That must have made him even more timid.

"Yoon Siu. You're a winner for not running away and enduring even in such a scary situation."

"It's not enduring. It's… not being able to run away."

Siu shook his head and looked up at me with a tear-streaked face. His deep brown eyes were filled with unspoken words and trembled.

"I, I… really staked my life on this."

I had a rough idea. I figured this kid had his own story too.

"This is the only way I can live like a human being."

But that's too much of a stretch.

To say that this is the only way to live like a human being.