Without the intern his performance was missing something.
Usually, when he was filming or doing live performances, he avoided looking anyone straight in the eyes. On the rare occasions he did connect with someone in the audience, it was purely accidental. Even when he was singing – and he loved to sing – ninety percent of the time he imagined he was alone, rehearsing.
He had to throw many glances at the audience next to the stage, maybe offer a hand here and there, but most of the time he was... away. People always told him how deeply he connected with the crowd, how everyone adored his live shows, but he never understood how he was doing it. He was always picturing he was seeing someone close, like Sang-Jun or Chloe. He was a good actor after all. Always playing a part. That is way filming suited him better. No live audience.
It turned out that on that particular day he had actually decided to make a connection. And once that connection was broken, his performance got worse and worse. After ten takes of the same scene, the director was irritated and finally gave up. "We have the first. Let's take a ten-minute break and move on," Mr Han ordered.
Ye-Jun rushed to find Mi-Suk. She was on her phone again. How irritating.
"I understand, but it has to be today. Five? No, way. Twelve. Yeah, try that thanks," he heard her say.
"I don't get it. If you're so busy why do you even come here?" he complained to her.
"Do I tell you how to sing?"
"Like you could..."
"What do you want, your highness?" she mocked with a slight bow.
"Cut the crap. Where has that spy gone?"
"You mean Noelle?" Mi-Suk looked at him like he had lost it.
"Yeah, the intern. You let her loose to investigate and dig up things about me, didn't you?"
"You lunatic. I'm not telling you where she is just so you can go crazy on her."
"Listen. We need rules. Chloe made it clear she will impose things, impose her. So if the intern has to be on set, she has to stay within my field of view the whole time. I trust her even less than I trusted you back then," he said.
"Wait. Rules?" Mi-Suk's tone shifted instantly. Her teasing vanished. She looked at him with concern instead. That was terrifying.
"Yes, rules. I want to know where she is and who she's talking to," Ye-Jun insisted.
"It really surprises me to hear this from you, but honestly... I think it's a good sign. Well done, Ye-Jun. I'm proud of you," Mi-Suk said, smiling in a way that made him want to throw a chair. He had to hide his irritation. He needed her to bring the intern back, just to keep her in check.
"I'm not accepting her or anything. I just need to control her," he clarified, feeling the need to justify himself.
Mi-Suk studied him for a moment, weighing her response. "Ok, Ye-Jun, I get it. If this is what you need to stay focused and make this work, fine. I'll make sure she stays around."
"Ok, go fetch her now."
After a couple of minutes, still no sign of the intern. His irritation grew. He was right. She had to be there so he could keep an eye on her. And yes, she had to be there to prove her wrong, to show her he was great. Not the healthiest motivation, but what in his life was healthy? At least Chae-Youn wasn't sitting next to him. She was on a call with her manager, pacing like a caged animal.
"Guys, let's move on. We're rolling in five," Mr Han shouted. He was extra grumpy today. Ye-Jun would have to watch himself.
As he stood up to return to set, he spotted the silly girl with the awful hat approaching. Her expression was cranky, maybe nervous. She was heading straight to Mi-Suk and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Before he could stop himself, the dumbest possible line left his mouth: "Hey Christmas! Have you fixed it?"
She froze just a couple of meters away and looked at him. Shock washed over her face. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. Was it from the sun, or because he'd guessed she was dealing with the air-conditioning problem? No matter the reason, Christmas was the perfect name for his new minion.