Hwarin hadn't been nervous from the moment she arrived on set, through her rehearsal with Director Shin Dongchun, or even right up until filming began. Of course, there had been a slight wobble whenever Kang Woojin stood directly in front of her, but even so—
Today, her resolve was different from usual.
Hwarin's secret weapon for overcoming a crisis was something no one else knew about: the iron will to charge straight through it with everything she had.
"It's nothing. Stay calm, like Woojin. Hwarin, you're just playing Lee Bomin right now!"
But that firm resolve of hers—
The moment Kang Woojin's face came right up against hers with only a single cherry blossom petal between them, it shattered completely. It felt like a dam collapsing. Everything she had built up over the past few days vanished like smoke in an instant.
As if that determination had never existed in the first place.
His face was so close she could hear his breathing. Had she ever seen him from this close before? His eyes were unbelievably beautiful. The look he gave Hwarin was intense, yet overflowing with affection. His gaze alone conveyed everything without a single word.
He cherishes me. He protects me. He looks after me. He likes me.
In an instant, Hwarin was swept up in overwhelming affection. She knew it was all acting. She knew that very well. But she had already been pulled in by those deep, sweet eyes.
"This is the first time I've felt like this since the first day of filming. How can a feeling be this intense? Somebody please help me."
Han Inho, straight out of the script, was right in front of her. Hwarin couldn't handle it. She was overwhelmed by Woojin's intense affection—no, by his acting. On the surface, it was only a silent moment with the two of them exchanging looks, but the emotion pouring out of it was enormous. It wrapped around her entire body.
To other people it might have felt sweet, but to Hwarin, it felt like an attack.
Around then, as Hwarin struggled desperately to hold on to Lee Bomin, she realized it.
'…I'm screwed.'
She felt like she was about to ruin everything. She felt like she would never be able to remain a true successful fan. And that thought soon became reality.
The moment Hwarin's awareness began to blur, Han Inho, standing before her, surged forward and passed through the cherry blossom petal resting on her hand. Lee Bomin—that is, Hwarin—couldn't react at all.
'It's coming. It's really going to happen.'
She knew exactly what was about to happen, but her heart felt ready to burst. Then Han Inho's lips touched hers. At that instant, every sensation in Hwarin's body seemed to stop. Her mind reset into a blank white page.
Maybe that was why—
"Kh-heup!"
Hwarin hiccuped.
It wasn't a small sound, either. It was loud enough to be obvious. At the sound, Hwarin squeezed her eyes shut. She had ruined the mood and made a fool of herself. Even so, she still didn't pull away from Kang Woojin's lips.
'...'
The feeling was almost addictive.
Imagine it. A fan who had fallen deeply for an idol, suddenly kissing the very person she adored. Who could possibly stay rational in a moment like that? That was why Hwarin's hiccups refused to stop.
"Hic!"
With his lips still pressed to hers, Kang Woojin was thrown off.
'Is this ad-lib? Or not? Damn it, this is confusing.'
Despite the soft sensation against his lips and the faint strawberry scent, Kang Woojin's mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hwarin's hiccuping. He couldn't tell whether it was real or not. Should he stop? He had no idea. But he had to regain his composure. Instinctively, he felt that if he wavered here, he'd lose.
'Ah, damn it, whatever. I'll just do my part.'
Alright. He made his choice. For now, he would keep pushing ahead at full speed.
At that point—
"Uh, did she suddenly get hiccups? Director. That… looks like an NG from Hwarin."
The staff watching the two of them from the set were startled. It made sense. The moment their lips met, Hwarin's expression had changed oddly.
"Why did she suddenly hiccup right at that moment?"
"Was she nervous?"
"…She looked pretty calm all day, though."
"Maybe she was just too surprised. Director, should we go ask?"
To anyone watching, it would have looked like an NG. After all, that had never been in the script to begin with. But for some reason—
"...No. We'll keep going without cutting."
"What??"
Director Shin Dongchun stared intently at the monitor showing Woojin and Hwarin and showed no sign whatsoever of shouting NG. Instead, he stroked his chin.
"There's a chance it was intentional."
"You mean improvisation? That?"
"Hm. As proof, Woojin is still completely immersed in the emotion. If it were that acting genius, he definitely would've noticed Hwarin slipping up right in front of him. If it wasn't a mistake, then look—doesn't it feel like Lee Bomin is completely flustered by her friend's unexpected move?"
In other words, Director Shin Dongchun was guessing that Hwarin's hiccup had been deliberate. The scene was turning out far better than expected. At the center of it all was Kang Woojin's presence. It was Woojin who was giving rise to that misunderstanding. A fog of misinterpretation spread across the set.
"...Wow—if that was calculated, it fits the situation perfectly."
"Lee Bomin hiccups because she's so shocked by Han Inho's kiss. That's actually a pretty interesting scene."
Hwarin's mistake ended up being mistaken for ad-lib, unintentionally covered by Woojin.
Around that time—
Kang Woojin slowly pulled his lips away. At the same time, Hwarin felt a pang of regret.
'I should apologize first.'
She needed to admit her mistake to Woojin and the staff. But then Hwarin met Woojin's eyes right in front of her.
"...!"
Her eyes widened slightly.
The reason was simple.
The man standing before her wasn't Kang Woojin.
The flushed face made red by tension. The eyes that seemed to hold a tangle of thoughts and worries. The eyelids blinking quickly in confusion. Even the tiny, nervous motions of his trembling hands.
He was still Han Inho himself.
Why? How? I messed up, so why is Woojin still acting?
His emotions looked even more intense than before. Then, as if realizing his own mistake, Han Inho let out a short sound.
"Ah."
Everything about it was exactly as written in the script. Only then did Hwarin understand.
'Keep going… he's telling me it's okay. He's telling me to keep going.'
She realized that Kang Woojin was trying to reassure her. It was clearly a misunderstanding, but because of it, Hwarin calmed down. Even her hiccups suddenly stopped. Alright, let's go all the way to the end. Hwarin—no, Lee Bomin—covered her mouth with one hand and looked at Han Inho, the boy she had thought of as only a friend.
Then she hiccuped again.
"Hic!"
This time, it was acting.
And she delivered the line from the script.
"...You crazy bastard."
From that point on, all the feelings Lee Bomin had kept buried inside began to pour out. The emotions she had tried so hard to hide, avoid, and turn away from because of Han Inho exploded all at once.
She couldn't control herself anymore.
At last, Lee Bomin—
"Ugh!"
She rushed at Han Inho with her arms spread wide. Her speed was so sudden that "threw herself at him" was the only fitting description. Even though she had to jump because of the difference in their heights, Lee Bomin still—
Thud!
She wrapped her arms around Han Inho's neck, and Han Inho, whose eyes widened by the second, instinctively caught her as she came at him like an animal pouncing.
From the side, the camera captured Han Inho and Lee Bomin tangled together in close-up.
They were completely immersed in the moment. This kiss scene belonged to an entirely different world from the subtle exchange they had felt only a few minutes earlier, when their lips had first brushed gently. Now their faces were pressed close, and their intertwined bodies drew even tighter together. The moment was fierce.
Even "fierce" felt too weak a word for it.
Director Shin Dongchun and the staff kept their mouths shut as they watched, but inwardly they were all having explosive reactions.
'Good! Perfect. This is exactly the kind of intensity we need! Damn, this scene is insane.'
'Wow… it really is intense, isn't it?'
'Even in a mini romantic-comedy series, scenes usually don't go this far, do they? Viewers are going to lose their minds!!'
Among the staff, the broad-built Kim Daeyoung stared with his mouth slightly open, wondering whether what he was looking at was even real.
'Are those two insane… damn it, I'm so jealous.'
The core intense scene had come out perfectly. For about ten seconds. Director Shin Dongchun was fully satisfied with what he had captured.
"Cut!!!"
He jumped to his feet and shouted into the megaphone.
"Urghhh!! Alright!!"
As Director Shin gave a thumbs-up, the staff, clearly moved, broke into applause. Only then did Woojin and Hwarin slowly separate. Hwarin coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
"Ahem. Right."
Kang Woojin, meanwhile, stared blankly into space with a somewhat cynical look on his face. But there was no harshness in it.
'...What exactly was that just now? I can't really remember.'
He couldn't tell whether what he had just experienced was real or an illusion. The intense sensation that had lingered on his lips still felt too vivid.
Right then—
"Woojin! Hwarin!"
An excited Director Shin Dongchun came running over.
"Perfect! Wow! Once this airs, it'll blow everything away! Hwarin, that hiccup was ad-lib, right?"
Hwarin hesitated slightly, and Kang Woojin caught it.
'So it really was ad-lib after all.'
Regaining his composure, Woojin spoke in a low voice.
"I think it made the scene feel much more alive."
"I completely agree! It captured Lee Bomin's reaction to Han Inho's sudden move perfectly."
At that moment, Hwarin's fangirl heart for Kang Woojin multiplied tenfold.
'Is he covering my mistake by turning it into ad-lib?… He's handling this scene, this entire cut, for me. It feels like I'm being completely carried by someone else.'
Whether it was in terms of distribution or acting, it didn't matter.
'He must have noticed my mistake. No, he definitely noticed it. But maybe because he thought the mood was good, he just let my hiccup pass and kept acting like nothing had happened.'
Hwarin was genuinely moved.
'His quick judgment, his sensitivity, even his understanding of his scene partner. He's top class in every way. It's amazing. Woojin is really something special.'
And as her fangirl heart grew bigger, so did her fantasies.
At that moment, Director Shin Dongchun, who had been watching the acting of Woojin and Hwarin with satisfaction, spoke up.
"We moved through that quickly, but to be honest, I want to try it once more without that little issue. Let's do it again according to the original script."
Hwarin nodded immediately. She was full of determination.
"Yes, Director."
Woojin answered with a detached expression.
"…Understood."
But inside, he was shaken.
'Again?! We're doing that again?! Seriously?'
Naturally, he was delighted.
'I'm completely in favor.'
After that.
The intense kiss scene between Kang Woojin and Hwarin continued. This time, at Director Shin Dongchun's request, it followed the script exactly. Lee Bomin runs over holding cherry blossom petals.
"Look at this."
"So what?"
"Ah! Smell it!"
Then came the kiss.
Of course, this time there was no hesitation from Hwarin, and it flowed naturally into another fierce kiss. There wasn't a single flaw in the acting from either of them.
However—
"Cut! NG!! What's wrong with the wind machine? The cherry blossom petals are supposed to scatter in the background!"
One of the wind machines had stopped, so the petals that were supposed to be flying through the background never appeared.
So then—
"Check it now! Woojin! Hwarin! Sorry, but we have to go again!"
The third take of the kiss scene was confirmed.
But even after the wind machine was fixed, it wasn't over.
"Cut, cut! NG! Why is the boom mic dropping into frame? It's visible! Lift it, lift it!"
This time, it was a staff mistake.
In short—
"Again, again! Let's go again!"
The fourth kiss scene.
Kang Woojin, of course, acted like it didn't bother him at all, but inwardly he felt like hugging the staff member who had made the mistake.
'Thank you so much. Truly.'
And in the end—
"Good! Alright!!"
That intense kiss scene had to be re-shot five times before it finally received approval. It was a completely unexpected outcome, and Woojin struggled to calm the heat surging through him. He nearly burst out laughing. In situations like this, careless chatter could be deadly.
Even so—
"Hwarin, you did really well."
While getting his makeup touched up, Kang Woojin gave a small nod toward Hwarin. Hwarin also responded calmly.
"Mm. Woojin, thanks to you too."
"What? For what?"
Lowering her voice, she whispered,
"Thank you for handling things for me."
She was obviously talking about her mistake, but Woojin had no idea what she meant. Still, especially after finishing that intense kiss scene, pressing her for an explanation would only ruin the atmosphere. In a situation like this, staying calm and composed according to his concept was the right move.
"Ah, right."
Woojin answered firmly, then turned away.
From here on, it was Hwarin's solo part, while Kang Woojin would be waiting off to the side. A little later, after returning to a shaded spot, Woojin let out a quiet sigh.
Hoo—
Blankly, he replayed the historic events of the day in his mind. The sensation on his lips still felt vivid. Right then, Choi Sunggeon spoke up in agreement.
"Woojin, good work."
Really? Calling it hard work felt wrong. If anything, it had been a blessing. Still, Woojin suppressed his overflowing feelings and answered in a low voice.
"No. Hwarin worked harder than I did."
"Haha, that sounds like you. Even after a kiss scene that intense, you're so calm that Hwarin might feel sorry."
"..."
"More importantly—here, take this. Read it so you can get used to it."
Then Choi Sunggeon handed him a thin stack of papers.
"It's the revised lyrics. The opening part is in Japanese."
It was about Kang Woojin's Alter Ego YouTube channel.
On the 22nd, in Da Nang, Vietnam.
It would have been around 11 a.m. in Korea, but in Da Nang it was only a little past 9 in the morning. Even so, the weather was unbearably hot. Though it was still early, the humid air already felt suffocating. Even so, the streets of Da Nang were full of motorbikes.
Just like in other countries, the morning scenery there wasn't very different from Korea.
A Korean film crew had recently arrived in Da Nang. At that moment, they were passing through one of Da Nang's dense forests, beyond a long bridge.
There were roughly twelve people in the group.
All of them wore safari hats to shield themselves from the sun, and the chubby man leading the way shouted back at the others.
"How about this place?!"
The chubby man in the gray short-sleeved shirt, drenched in sweat, played an essential role on overseas shoots as a line producer.
A line producer's responsibilities were wide-ranging.
As a local coordinator, he found filming locations specified in the script, communicated with local contacts, mobilized local crew members needed for the shoot, and handled everything related to overseas production.
In other words, overseas shoots depended heavily on the line producer.
At his shout, one of the twelve—wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt—looked around at the surroundings.
It was Director Kwon Gitaek.
His face, too, was covered in sweat.
But his eyes remained sharp as he took in the place around him.
"...Hm."
The thick trees and brush. The cries of unknown animals coming from somewhere nearby. The smell of dirt. The buzzing of insects at his ears. A shabby house visible in the distance. The hot wind brushing through the trees.
For a moment, a thought crossed Director Kwon Gitaek's mind.
'This really is much better than a set.'
The world of The Island of the Missing unfolded before his eyes like a panorama.