Chapter 22 Chapter 22
"So, that's what's going on..." Bao Heng sat on the practice room floor and briefly explained the company's decision to Lia. "Okay, I understand." Lia nodded, her expression calm.
"It's just that...if you quit midway, the public's comments might not be very favorable..." Bao Heng hesitated for a moment, but still reminded her tactfully. Although Lia has always shown a maturity far beyond her peers,
But she's still just a teenager. Even if she's prepared for the pressure she might face before stepping onto the stage, she might not be able to truly withstand it.
"I understand... Thank you, Sister Baoheng." Lia gave her a grateful smile. "I will shoot the music video seriously and try my best to participate in the program. If there are any changes later, I will also take responsibility for my choices."
Seeing her clear and organized speech, Baoheng nodded and said nothing more. After Baoheng left, Lia sighed and took out the MV shooting script from her bag.
Although she had not yet confirmed whether to participate in the filming, she had already read the document dozens of times, and the edges of the paper were slightly worn.
While meeting a friend at a cafe, the male protagonist (Yong Pei) unexpectedly discovers that his girlfriend is also having intimate relationships with four other men. On the verge of a breakup, the male protagonist falls into self-doubt and confusion.
At the end, he woke up and realized it was all just a dream. His girlfriend sat quietly across from him, smiling at him. She reread the plot and still felt it was outrageous. The first time she saw it, she even read it from beginning to end three times.
Only then did she confirm that she had understood correctly. That's right, it was the "five men and one girlfriend" setting. It was so outrageous that she couldn't help but wonder if Yongpei himself hadn't read the script before agreeing to film it. "Huh——"
Her gaze went blank, and she sighed deeply. Although she had agreed readily to Sister Bao Heng, it would be a lie to say she wasn't worried about public opinion at all.
She had originally planned to wait until she was truly ready before deciding whether to debut, but now, she was inexplicably pushed forward several steps. She felt powerless, but could not find a way out.
"Let's finish filming first..." She whispered to herself, her eyes returning to the script. "..." "Who on earth came up with this kind of plot..." She held her forehead with her hand.
It seems she needs to cultivate her "actor's sense of conviction." ... Although acting and stage performance may seem similar, the actual execution is very different.
Although YG's regular courses for trainees also include acting-related content, this type of training is more focused on "expression management" on stage rather than actual acting.
To become an idol, one needs to be able to capture the camera and create an atmosphere on stage, which is different from truly "acting" in real life. Therefore, the company arranged two extra acting lessons for her.
"What's the hardest part?" the teacher asked, adjusting her movements. "Ignoring the camera," Lia answered truthfully.
"Very good, that shows you know where the problem lies." The teacher nodded. "On stage, you must always be aware of where the camera is; but when filming, the most important thing is to pretend it's not there."
"Ignore the camera. Only then can your audience engage with the story." Lia nodded earnestly, her mind quickly digesting the information. After the first class, it took her a long time to gradually overcome her professional habit of "looking for the camera."
She used to be accustomed to giving the "appropriate" expressions to the camera; but in front of the camera, such "appropriateness" became "artificial." She began to practice "ignoring the camera" in front of the camera, looking, listening, and reacting to the air.
Fortunately, the practice yielded positive results. At the end of the second class, the teacher patted her on the shoulder and said, "Not bad, you've adapted quickly." Lia felt relieved and curled her eyes. "Thank you, teacher."
Although she was still not comfortable with the content of the script, she didn't want to mess up any of the tasks that lay before her. Furthermore, it was Senior Yong Pei who personally asked her to act in the role - she was grateful, so she naturally had to prepare thoroughly.
Lia arrived at the set early in the morning on the day of shooting.
The studio was set up in an industrial area on the outskirts of the city, and the scene construction took three full days to complete: a cafe, a classroom, and even a scene decorated as a bar, all for this MV.
She changed into the clothes prepared by the crew in advance, put on a thick down jacket, sat obediently in front of the mirror, and let the makeup artist fiddle with her face.
While busy with her work, the makeup artist muttered to the styling assistant beside her: "Her temperament is a bit too cold, the makeup needs to add some warm colors... I'll put a woolen hat on her later." "Okay..." The assistant nodded and turned back to look for accessories.
A moment later, Yongpei walked into the studio. After greeting the staff on site one by one, he walked forward and stood behind Lia. "Lia, see you again." "Hello, senior."
Lia was pressed down on a chair by the makeup artist and could only nod apologetically, "Thank you for letting me star in this MV." "Relax, you are the protagonist today." Yongpei waved his hand with a smile.
Lia stuck out her tongue: "Problem girlfriend," right? "Oh, right," Yongbae said, seeming to remember something and taking a step closer. "The other members will be here soon. Does Zhilong know you're filming today?"
"Huh???" Lia was shocked. "The other members???" "Aren't there five 'boyfriends'?" Yongpei shrugged, looking as if it was a matter of course. "Except for me, they each have one."
Just one for each person... Lia was completely annoyed. The other party's self-righteous attitude made her feel that the abnormality was not in the plot, but in herself.
She instantly wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. After all, she wasn't prepared to act out such an outrageous scene in front of Quan Zhilong. Just then, there was a noise outside the studio. Dasheng was the first to enter, coffee in hand, followed by the rest of the group.
They had probably already gone to the beauty salon to get their makeup done, and they all looked pretty good. Kwon Ji-yong was wearing a simple black T-shirt, his hair pulled back and casually fixed with styling spray, revealing a smooth forehead.
He wore a pair of black-framed glasses without lenses, seemingly added for a photoshoot. He looked both fresh and unruly. Lia stared at him for two seconds, and a single word popped into her mind: a gentleman scoundrel. Quan Zhilong spotted Lia immediately.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, obviously not expecting to see her here. His eyes swept over Yongpei, who shrugged with an expression that looked like he was asking for a punch: surprise~~
The makeup artist quickly finished prepping Lia's face and took a thick-knitted, colorful hat from the styling assistant and put it on her head. The fluffy wool stuck to her forehead, highlighting her chin. "Hello, seniors."
Lia stood up, turned around, and bowed to the group. "Wow, it's Lia!" Dasheng smiled as he approached. After greeting them, he turned back and complained to Yongpei, "Hyung, you've done such a good job of keeping it a secret. I've been trying to figure out who the heroine is."
As she spoke, she stole another glance at Quan Zhilong. Quan Zhilong also approached. Lia looked at him nervously. She rarely appeared in front of him dressed like this, and suddenly she felt a little embarrassed.
He pulled out a heat pad from somewhere and casually handed it to her. "It looks great," he praised with a smile. * The filming quickly got underway.
The first scene is a classroom scene with Lia and Dasheng, where they sit side by side at their desks, flipping through their notebooks. Her expression is natural and playful, requiring almost no acting; she looks like a genuine high school girl.
The director only called out "Again" once before approving the move. The second scene shifted to a dimly lit "bar" setting. Lia, donning a black slip dress, high-heeled boots, and her long hair tied up, stood across from Treta, slowly dancing to the rhythm.
Under the ambiguous lighting, she surprisingly fits this style, her expression focused yet a little distant, giving her a certain sense of mystery and allure. ... Before I knew it, it was afternoon, and I had already finished filming the studio scenes with my four "boyfriends."
Only one scene remained—with Kwon Ji-yong. It was set in a cafe. She sat by the window, holding a hot drink in both hands, lowering her head to stir the liquid.
She had been able to get into character naturally in the other scenes, but in this one, during the ten minutes she spent standing outside the set, she repeatedly checked her makeup and hair, her positioning, and even moved her coffee cup several times. Quan Zhilong could see her nervousness.
He made a funny face and winked at her: "Don't worry, if anything goes wrong later, I will take the blame." Lia was amused by him and nodded to him gratefully. The script for this section is very simple:
The two were dating at a cafe when Yongpei suddenly pushed open the door. Upon seeing this scene, his expression froze, and he turned and left. There was no elaborate movement or dialogue, just a simple display of intimacy. Offstage, everything was in place, and the camera lights came on.
The director yelled: "Action——" Lia flipped through the menu and asked: "Would you like some pancakes?" Quan Zhilong tilted his head to look at her and said in a low voice: "Just order." Lia smiled and nodded. The next second——
He did something not in the script. He reached out and gently took her fingers, which were resting on the table. His palm was warm, and his fingertips pressed against her knuckles, not applying too much pressure, just a gentle touch.
In that instant, all the lines she had memorized so clearly vanished. The coffee machine hummed in the distance, the cameras rolled, and the scene was completely silent. She instinctively looked up and happened to meet his gaze.
His expression was calm, and a hint of fondness flashed in his amber eyes as he looked at her. He continued in a very natural tone, "Anyway, I'll eat whatever you order." It was as if they were truly lovers who had been in love with each other for a long time.
Time seemed to have paused. Just then, Yongpei pushed the door open and walked in. He froze for a moment, then reacted perfectly according to the script—his expression froze, and he turned and left. "Ka-" Quan Zhilong withdrew his hand.
"How is it?!" He winked at Lia proudly, and his deep look disappeared, with a look of satisfaction that "he was handsome again".
The director clapped his hands with satisfaction: "This scene is OK, the atmosphere is very good. Zhilong's hand holding just now was very good, keep it." "Well... Oppa's acting is great." Lia praised in cooperation, then stood up and bowed to the staff who helped to clean up.
No one noticed anything unusual about her. ... There were still a few individual shots left to be re-shot, and she was dragged along by the makeup artist to have her makeup done. The wind outside the studio was a bit chilly, and she sat in a chair, looking down at her fingers, a bit dazed.
The rest of Big Bang had finished filming their scenes and were now gathered in a corner chatting. "Okay, I'm going to call Yongbae; he needs a touch-up of his makeup, too." The makeup artist clapped her hands and fixed Lia's hair.
"I'll go, unnie." Lia came to her senses and stood up. As the youngest person on the set, she should always run more errands. As she approached the group, Dasheng's voice came intermittently:
"It's not that I'm curious... I'm just concerned..." "Didn't you meet Se Kyung-nu that New Year?" "Yeah..." "So did you have a fight with her at the bowling alley that day?" "We didn't have a fight..."
"So... did you break up or not?" Cui Ta couldn't help but get straight to the point. Lia stopped in her tracks. "No... it was just a cold war..." Quan Zhilong's voice was a little lower than usual. His fingers paused slightly.
She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but her heart seemed to freeze, each beat heavy. So, that day at the bowling alley, he was going to meet his girlfriend. So... he had a girlfriend...
Her mind was in a mess. She seemed to understand the conversation quickly, but it seemed as if she hadn't thought about anything at all. She walked back slowly, the voices fading away. The warmth from the hot pack in her hand faded, and she suddenly felt a little cold. "Where's Yongpei?"
The makeup artist was puzzled to see her return alone. "Oh... Senior went to the bathroom. I'll go get him later," she heard herself reply with a smile.
----------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
