Chapter 30

    Chapter 30

    So Seo-jun created them. The clues were a teddy bear, a mother, and a smile.

    From afar, he heard the voice of director Ryan Will.

    -Ready, action!

    As he thought it was a small sound that didnt match his size,

    William was now four years old. The teddy bear in his hand was the gift he received for his fourth birthday. He liked this teddy bear more than any other gift, because his dad gave it to him. Talking to the teddy bear in the yard was Williams favorite game.

    It wasnt a great story. The breakfast was delicious, and the snack was always cookies. What should he play with today? This or that?

    It was another ordinary day. The weather was chilly, so his mom dressed him warmly. He sat in the yard where he played every day with the teddy bear under his arm.

    William!

    His mom called him. William lifted his head at the sound of his moms voice. His mom opened the door and looked at the baby. William liked his mom. He was so happy to hear her call that he smiled brightly and got up from his seat.

    William!!

    His mom ran to him. William stretched out both hands holding the teddy bear, wanting to hug his moms cozy embrace, as he saw her running towards him with her arms outstretched.

    William liked being hugged by his mom more than the delicious cookies, and he smiled happily more than ever.

    And then everything went dark. His body was cold.

    Cut! OK!

    Ryan Wills voice, like a shout, pierced Seo-juns ears. Seo-jun opened his eyes wide.

    Huh?

    What? Whats going on? When did the filming start?

    As he stood there with a blank face, he saw Barrens worried face in his sight.

    Did I scare you? Did I pull you too fast?

    Barren hugged Seo-jun and rocked him. Seo-jun stretched out both arms towards Melissa, so Barren thought it was a good timing and quickly grabbed Seo-juns side and pulled him into the chroma key cloth. And then he checked Seo-juns condition right away.

    In the previous filming, the other child actors started crying when they heard Melissa scream.

    Even after they passed that scene, some of them cried out in fright when Barren tried to grab the child actors side.

    But Seo-jun didnt cry and kept his eyes closed. His lips were slightly blue.

    Was he cold? But Seo-juns body, cuddled in Barrens arms, was warm enough.

    Barren was worried about the difference and asked again.

    Are you okay? Jun?

    Whats wrong, Barren?

    No, Jun

    Im fine!

    Seo-jun came to his senses and shouted at Ryans voice. Barren, who was patting Seo-juns back, put him down on the ground. The two of them held hands and headed towards Ryan.

    Werent you scared?

    No. It was fun!

    He didnt remember anything. Seo-jun just thought about William. Happiness, mom, and the wormhole that pulled him in. It was cold and dark. Seo-jun tilted his head. What was that?

    Ryan and the camera director were talking seriously while looking at the monitor.

    On one side, Melissa was wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Barren was surprised to see her.

    He knew she was working hard, but he didnt expect her to be so immersed that she would cry. And she had been repeating the same act all day long. He didnt think she had that much energy left.

    Did you get that into it?

    Uh, thats

    Melissa, who was about to answer Barrens question, saw Seo-jun holding Barrens hand and started crying again.

    Barren and Seo-jun didnt know what to do.

    Why are you crying?

    Melissa, why are you crying?!

    Uhuhu. William is so pitiful

    In the end, the other staff members took Melissa to the waiting room instead. The staff members who took Melissa had bright expressions.

    Finally, the OK sign came from director Ryan Will. They all looked at Seo-jun with proud eyes once in a while.

    Barren looked at Melissas back, leaning on the staff members, and shook his head.

    Method acting is not all good, I guess.

    Method?

    You dont know, Jun?

    William!!

    Melissa, no, Williams mother screamed.

    Oh, my child! My precious child!! She screamed. No! It didnt come out of her mouth. Her insides were burning like she had eaten a fireball. She couldnt make a sound as if her throat was blocked.

    William disappeared into the wormhole with a smiling face until the end. He only left one shoe behind.

    The mother, who was emotional, collapsed in the yard. She couldnt take her eyes off the place where the wormhole disappeared. Tears fell.

    The first to come to his senses in the suffocating situation was director Ryan Will.

    He forced his throat, which was tightly blocked, and shouted loudly. No one knew the moisture hidden in his voice.

    Cut! OK!

    As if that was a breathing hole, everyone who had stopped breathing watching Seo-jun and Melissas acting took a breath. The staff who were waiting went to Melissa who was crying on the floor.

    Meanwhile, director Ryan Will and James camera director secretly wiped away the tears that were falling without knowing and Jonathan went to the corner and cried.

    While the staff cleaned up the scene, the two directors watched the scene again.

    Too

    Well done.

    Ryan Will nodded his head and leaned back on the back of the chair at the words of James Landon, the camera director who had been with him since he first filmed a short film.

    They filmed all day long. He left only the youngest child actor and gave up on this scene because he didnt like any of them.

    He didnt like that, but fortunately, the last kid did well. No, not well. He showed an amazing performance.

    Ryan chuckled. He couldnt believe that the little kids acting made him cry, something he couldnt have imagined an hour ago.

    When he first sat on the floor, I thought his legs were hurting

    His smile as he got up from his seat seemed more like greeting his mom.

    Was it a coincidence?

    He could be a genius.

    It was Seo-juns smile that made his heart ache and made him want to cry even when he saw it again.

    His heart pounded in his burning chest. He couldnt help but laugh when he thought about how people would react to this scene.

    James, the camera director, nodded as well.

    A five-year-old actor who can make his co-star immerse in the role. No one would believe it if they heard it.

    Hes not five, though.

    Ryan Will laughed. James asked.

    What? How old is he?

    Hes 58 months now. Hes been four for 10 months.

    Well. Hell be five in two months, anyway.

    ***

    OK in one take?

    Jun did well. I was moved too.

    Melissas acting was amazing too. Until the last expression!

    I saw a movie that Melissa was in before, and it was completely different from today. It was a similar role, but today it was like she broke out of her shell, you know?

    But, did you see that?

    A staff members voice lowered. The ears of the staff who were moving the equipment perked up.

    What?

    Director Will and Director Landon crying.

    Was Melissas acting that good?

    No, it seemed like they were crying after seeing Juns acting.

    The staff tilted their heads.

    It seemed good, but not enough to cry, right?

    Jonathan seemed to be crying too.

    The staff looked at each other. Jonathan Will was Ryan Wills nephew and was studying to become a film director under his uncle. He was a promising boy who had won a prize at a film festival for middle school students.

    Is there something we dont know?

    The makeshift tent that was used as the child actors waiting room was not soundproof. Seo-jun nodded his head as he drank orange juice at the staffs conversation outside.

    And he recalled the number of people who were watching him during the filming. About 30. And the people who seemed to be affected by [The Illusion of the Smiling Face Mushroom] were.

    Melissa, Director Ryan, Director James, Jonathan Will. These four people.

    [The Illusion of the Smiling Face Mushroom] is low-grade, so it only affects these people.

    The top-grade skill, [The Tempting Packaging of the Small Mimic], which had an effect on all the targets, was an incredible skill that couldnt be compared to [The Illusion of the Smiling Face Mushroom].