He kept sneaking glances, anxious eyes flicking to the rearview mirror over and over, and his face already looked like someone had stamped the word “ruined” across it. Even while he tried to focus on driving, he couldn’t help constantly worrying about the back seat. In a word, the manager felt so nervous and on edge he thought he might just drop dead.Was this really the right thing to do?Dragging a kid with no memories straight onto set, what was he thinking… they said over there they were already grinding their teeth about it, ah, Mom…What shoved the already-uneasy manager into a more solid, painfully real kind of anxiety was the question Sihyeon had asked a few days earlier.For the first day or two after they came back to the dorm and Sihyeon started sharing a room with Chan, the manager kept watching them like they were a bomb that might go off at any second. But as the days went by and they seemed to be living together without any problems, that anxiety slowly shifted into relief. He’d half-expected a scream like a death shriek to explode through the door at any moment, but far from that, Chan and Sihyeon’s room was almost too quiet. If anything, Sanyoo and Euihyun’s room was the noisy one.Realizing he was starting to feel more and more relieved that Sihyeon had lost his memories—when he really shouldn’t—made the manager heave a long sigh.Then, when he happened to meet Sihyeon’s eyes as he came out of the room, his whole body trembled like a kid caught doing something bad. Did he catch what I was just thinking? It had only been a thought in his own head, so of course that was impossible, but he still felt guilty for no reason and looked away. It was pointless, though—apparently Sihyeon had business with him from the start, because he walked right over to the sofa where the manager was sitting and asked, “Are you busy?”“No, of course not. Ha, haha.”He forced out an awkward laugh, but Sihyeon only gave a small nod, not seeming to care much, and held something out to him.It was a script.The manager’s face filled with question marks, and Sihyeon opened his mouth.“I don’t know what the E is, or the N. I kind of get what a flashback is, but… ah, O. And L too.”He traced the stage directions in the script slowly with his finger as he asked, one point at a time, and for a moment the manager’s mind went completely blank. Right. He lost his memories.No, he’d already known that, and yet—having him ask something this concrete suddenly made it hit like a truck.What Sihyeon was asking about were the most basic terms in a drama script. Notations like “Jihan E,” “Jihan N,” and the other markings really would be hard for someone who’d never seen them before to understand without any explanation. Can he actually shoot this for real…?Even as he felt all the questions he’d been trying so hard to ignore start creeping back up to the surface, the manager—who’d gone to shoots with Sihyeon more than a few times—began explaining the terms and symbols Sihyeon was asking about, one by one. E is short for Effect, N is short for Narration, and so on…At some point, as he watched Sihyeon nodding like he was really hearing it all for the first time with every explanation, the manager started wanting to cry.Since Hajin had never watched dramas in the first place, everything was bound to feel unfamiliar. He carefully engraved the explanations he’d just heard straight into his head, flipping lightly through the script, when the manager finally couldn’t take it anymore and asked in a trembling voice.“Um… Sihyeon. You know….”“…?”“Are you really, really going to be okay? Hm? Can you really shoot the drama?”If you can’t do it—if it really feels like this is impossible—say it now. No matter what it takes, no matter what I have to pull, I’ll try to get us past this shoot somehow, okay? Are you really okay? Can you do it?He looked like he might burst into tears at any second. Faced with this sudden swing in the manager’s emotions, Sihyeon watched him with a slightly puzzled expression, then quietly smiled.You’re smiling? You can smile right now?The manager spoke in a voice that was now thick with tears and blame.“Sihyeon, this isn’t a joke. If people find out you’ve lost your memories, you’re really done for… You have any idea how many people are lying in wait for you right now, just watching with their eyes blazing, ready to pounce the second something slips? You… well, you might not know, but the truth is… the truth is… you’ve got a million antis! I didn’t say anything, but you were seriously hopeless before! Your acting was really awful, I mean, what kind of actor looks at the woman he loves like that? I was floored—how do you think the viewers felt! But the thing is, yeah, your face is the only thing you ever had going for you, waaah…”Oh, wow.Sihyeon’s expression turned awkward as he looked down at the manager, who couldn’t overcome his own weak nerves in the end and burst into tears, finishing in something that was practically a full-on roast. He really does cry easily.Even if he hadn’t said it out loud, he must have been really anxious this whole time, because once he started he just kept rattling off one worst-case scenario after another. Watching him, Sihyeon couldn’t help but let out another small laugh. It felt like the person who should be crying had gotten swapped.Normally I’d be the one crying—lost my memories, scared, totally clueless—and you’d be the one comforting me, wouldn’t you.Imagining that, he smiled—and when the manager saw that smile, he started sobbing even harder. Still looking absurdly amused, Sihyeon eventually reached out his hand.“…You said you’d stop crying. You even answered me.”His fingertips brushed the wet cheek gently. He could more or less guess what the manager was afraid of.“To be honest, I can’t say for sure that I’ll do well.”At least—“I won’t be something to laugh at, so… don’t worry.”At those words, the manager’s eyes went round like a rabbit’s, and he blinked as he asked, “How?”Then Sihyeon curved his lips in a faintly chilly smile and answered.“Well, I’ll just have to make sure they can’t laugh.”And then, finally, the day of the shoot.Unlike the manager, whose complexion looked like he could be rushed to the Hospital at any moment, Sihyeon’s face was as carefree as ever. On the way to the set, he didn’t even bother memorizing his lines; he just stared lazily out the window, lost in thought. The manager was dying to yell at him, seeing that, but barely held it in as he watched him in the rearview mirror and opened his mouth to say the same thing for the fifth time.“Sihyeon, when we get there, make sure you greet everyone properly. Say hello to all the staff too… And if they ask for your autograph or a handshake, don’t look at them like they’re trash…”“……….”“I mean, everyone already knows what you’re like, so there probably won’t be many people like that, but still… still…”“Especially with the director, you really have to be polite, okay? His personality isn’t exactly bad, but he’s famous for being a nutcase… Once he decides he doesn’t like you, there’s nothing left to salvage. And honestly, I think we’re already on his blacklist…? Ha ha, hahaha. I mean, what, ha ha. It’s not like he’s going to kill us, right? Haha… Sihyeon. Sihyeon, what do we do if we die? My heart hurts while I’m driving. Huh? What do we do?”“…Then should I drive?”Only then did the manager finally clamp his mouth shut. Sihyeon turned his gaze back to the window.A little while later, they arrived at the set, which was bustling with people. Since this was Sihyeon’s first time ever in a place like this, he blinked and looked around, and the manager—looking jittery—grabbed his wrist and started dragging him along, saying they needed to get to the waiting room first, change clothes, and start makeup. Even as he let himself be pulled along without resistance and kept looking around, he really didn’t seem to have a shred of nervousness.Ugh, just kill me now, the manager thought, letting out a deep sigh as he bowed to people they passed along the way. Sihyeon, walking behind him, followed his lead and offered relaxed greetings of his own.…?Isn’t that Lee Sihyeon? ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Is he greeting people? Did I see that right…?The fact that he hid in the waiting room on the excuse of being shy and, even when he did come out, would just brush past people without saying hello—Sihyeon’s personality was famous enough that everyone knew about it. So when he walked by greeting them, the people watching started reacting with shock, big and small. Some even rubbed their eyes, but when the sight didn’t vanish, they were shocked all over again, and only when his back disappeared into the waiting room did they finally clutch their chests, muttering, Did I see that wrong? I must be seeing things.Unaware of any of this, Sihyeon went into the waiting room and looked at the styling team, who were shrinking back from him, and the personal staff dispatched from the salon. He only watched them with an expression that said, What’s with them?Even though they’d been his dedicated styling team ever since his debut days, thanks to all of Lee Sihyeon’s shit, he always traveled in a separate car and arrived on his own. Not knowing that, Sihyeon only gave a light once-over to the tense faces that were frozen solid as if they’d never seen him before, and, standing in for the manager who’d rushed off somewhere in a hurry, opened his mouth.“They told me to change and get my makeup done.”I had my hair dyed at the salon, but I didn’t have time for makeup.His voice was low but mild as he spoke, and it seemed to snap them out of it. A coordinator, still stiff as a board, came over and pointed at the outfits already laid out on the table. “You can change into the suit here, and once you come out, you can get your makeup and hair touched up over there…”Her voice came out in a tiny crawl, her explanation hesitant and small. Since Sihyeon had always hated anyone touching his body, fixing his outfit or makeup on-site had been a constant ordeal. For personal schedules, it wasn’t unusual for him to get everything done at the salon and then just take off on his own.Of course things were bad between them, but since this was the first time they’d seen him since the accident, they didn’t know what to do with themselves and just fumbled awkwardly. Sihyeon listened to the whole explanation without rushing her, nodded, and said, “Thanks.”“Excuse me?”She jerked a little like she’d been stung by a bee and looked up at him. Sihyeon tilted his head, puzzled.“I said thank you.”She hadn’t expected to hear anything like that, so she answered in a daze, “Ah, yes, yes…” drawing out the end of the sentence without meaning to, then practically bolted out of the waiting room.What was that?Sihyeon’s face momentarily clouded with mild confusion at the incomprehensible reaction, but he quickly lost interest. He picked up the neatly arranged suit from the table, went inside, changed quickly, and came back out.The black suit, fitted close to his body, was something he was familiar with.Loosening the tie strangling his neck just a little, he sat down in the chair the coordinator had pointed out earlier. As soon as he did, a woman carrying a makeup box came over like she’d been waiting and started doing a simple makeup look on him.She knew of Lee Sihyeon’s bad reputation, but maybe because of how gently he’d treated the coordinator just now, she didn’t seem especially scared.How does a guy not have a single pore?The staffer, who’d come as a replacement because they were short-handed, was seeing his face up close for the first time and couldn’t stop quietly marveling at his skin as she worked. Even as she applied base, it barely showed, and she tapped carefully at his forehead with a hand that held equal parts envy and admiration before pausing. Sihyeon’s eyes slowly opened.His irises weren’t even that desaturated, but they caught the light so clearly they looked like glass. The line of his eyes flowed together in a way that was somehow indecently alluring, and she barely managed to keep her face from flushing.Not only did all his features fit perfectly on his small face, he had this kind of beauty on top of that—what, did he save an entire country in his last life? Was he some kind of saint? And what about me, did I sell mine off completely or what, damn it… She muttered to herself inside as Sihyeon blinked once and spoke.“Are you done?”“Pardon? Ah, no… I’ll just add a little shadow to your eyes and that’s it. Could you close them again, please?”At that, he obediently closed his eyes again. She thought his neatly lined lashes looked like they’d had extensions put in and hurried to finish the eye makeup, then told him she was done. He opened his eyes and looked into the mirror. It felt like something was a little different, but he couldn’t really tell. Either way, he’d done everything they told him to, so that was that. He again told the staffer who’d done his makeup, “Thank you,” and her eyes went round as she stared at him.Is… is that not how you’re supposed to talk…?Around the time she started having that question, the manager, who had rushed off somewhere, came back. He frowned at the slightly crooked tie, then straightened it properly before hurriedly grabbing Sihyeon and hauling him out to the set.Which brought them back to the present.Park Gangjun couldn’t help openly knitting his brows as he looked at Sihyeon, who had just walked up to greet him. Wearing a black suit, Sihyeon looked less like a cold, gloomy loan-shark and more like a model who’d taken a wrong turn on his way off the runway. His white face, made even more striking by the suit, looked nothing but fresh, and the assistant director standing beside him muttered internally, We’re screwed.“Huh… wow. So, uh… your body’s okay?”“Yes, I’m fine. I heard the shoot got pushed back a bit because of me…”“Oh, that~”“I’m sorry.”Huh?When Sihyeon suddenly bowed his head and apologized politely, the people who’d been sneaking glances at them all sucked in a quick breath. Not only did he apologize, he bowed? Lee Sihyeon? The same Lee Sihyeon who was notorious for not even greeting people properly? Holy…Park Gangjun was just as surprised. He’d been planning to tear into him since he’d spoken first, but seeing him bow his head before he could say anything, it didn’t feel like some half-assed apology someone had forced out of him, either. Wasn’t this kid supposed to be famous for having a really shitty attitude?Park had heard plenty of rumors about Lee Sihyeon, so he was puzzled—but when someone apologized this politely, there wasn’t really anything he could say to that.You’re dead the second we roll camera.Eyes flashing like a demon’s, Director Park waved a hand at Sihyeon, who was still bowing, muttering, “It’s fine, it’s fine,” and only the assistant director, who could read his thoughts like an open book, looked at Sihyeon with a slightly pitying gaze.Today’s shoot itself was for Jihan’s very first entrance scene. Guided over to the prepared set, Sihyeon was given a rundown of his marks. The crew member explained roughly, thinking, You’re going to rack up a few dozen takes anyway, but when Sihyeon stopped them to ask for more detailed clarification, they reluctantly went into more specifics. He listened closely, nodding slightly as they talked.It was a simple scene, if you wanted to call it that. Jihan, sitting alone on the office sofa with his usual blank expression, as if he were waiting for something, but not looking impatient. After a moment, the door would slam open, and a few big guys would drag in a man who looked like he’d already been beaten half to death. They’d force him down on his knees right in front of Jihan, panting like a dog, and Jihan would speak. “Talk.” Just two syllables, but enough to make your knees buckle. The man would shake his head, trembling, and Jihan, sinking a little deeper into the sofa, would flick his eyes. The violence would rain down again. Jihan, watching it all with the same flat expression. Then he’d get up and walk over to the man, whose condition was even worse than before. Their eyes would meet as he bent his knees just a little. Jihan’s mouth would open again…That was about as far as it went.Summoning up the script he’d already crammed into his head, Sihyeon sat down on the expensive-looking sofa in the set. Across from him, the director, wearing some kind of crooked grin, shouted out.“Ready?”“Yes.”“Okay then, rolling—cue!”At the director’s signal, the red lights on the cameras surrounding the set all flicked on at once.

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