"Standby!"
Yeo Ri, Jae Ha, and Min Joon made some body stretches, loosening their muscles as they prepared to run towards the river and jump into the water.
"Ready... action!"
Receiving their cue, they ambled towards the shallow part of the river, stopping at the place where the water was at the level of their knees or shins, as was instructed in the script.
Accompanied by the faint sound of music in the background, played on a speaker from a drone flying above them, Yeo Ri and her co-stars played by throwing water at each other and making large splashes.
A large grin naturally surfaced on Yeo Ri's face. She was genuinely having fun.
Laughter tickled her throat as the two girls tacitly decided to gang up on the only boy in the group. They were having so much fun that she had almost forgotten that the cameras were rolling.
"And cut!"
The director called out to them with a megaphone. "Go and get dried and changed first before we begin the next take!"
"""Yes~"""
The three shivered as they trudged out of the waters. Several staff members immediately came to their side, passing towels to the three drenched youths. They were ushered to the wardrobe station, where they got changed and had their makeup reapplied.
"This isn't too bad, right?" Byun Joo Hyuk asked Yeo Ri as he helped dry her hair.
"It's fun," she responded, flashing a smile at the reflection of the man behind her.
"That's good. If you like doing these kinds of things, I'll mention it to the President later," Byun Joo Hyuk spoke as he carefully aimed a blow-dryer to the younger girl's long hair.
"Mm."
"Yeo Ri-ah, do you need a hot pack?" Jae Ha called out to the younger girl, holding out a portable hot pack. She had her manager go buy it earlier, and had some extras so she was happy to share it with her co-workers.
"No, I'm not that cold anymore. Thanks for offering, Unnie."
"Alright then," Jae Ha turned to her other co-worker, "Min Joon, how about you?"
"Nah, I don't need it either. I'll probably have to bother Noona for it after the second round, though."
"Okay," Jae Ha nodded with a laugh. After taking one for herself, she told her manager to put away the rest.
Finally, after the three were sufficiently warmed and dry, they came back out to the set.
"The next one will be the individual shots. I want you to take turns going into the water. We've got some helpers who will be splashing water on you for special effects," the director instructed. "The ending will be you falling into the water."
"So who's going first?" The three exchanged glances.
"Rock, papers, scissors?" Jae Ha suggested.
"Okay," the two younger ones nodded in agreement.
"""Rock, papers, scissors!"""
Yeo Ri threw a rock, while both Min Joon and Jae Ha threw scissors, signifying her win for the first round.
Jae Ha and Min Joon played against each other until one of them emerged victorious.
In the end, the order was decided: Yeo Ri had the first turn, while Min Joon would be going after her, and finally, Jae Ha was the last.
"Yeo Ri, you're up first! Ready?"
Yeo Ri nodded towards the main camera that was filming her from her back.
"Action!"
As usual, Yeo Ri's body reflexively moved after the cue. She jogged to the river, bracing for its coldness, then made a full turn to face the main camera.
Her skirt swished and grazed the surface of the water, causing droplets to fly around everywhere. She saw one of the helpers get hit by some of the droplets, causing him to flinch. Yeo Ri laughed at his overreaction.
As if sensing the young girl's teasing laugh, the man grinned evilly, preparing to barrage her with buckets of water as payback.
Yeo Ri turned sideways, effectively dodging the man's attack.
"Hey—!" The man almost shouted as Yeo Ri scooped the water below her and splashed it towards the man.
Yeo Ri giggled hysterically as she saw the man getting drenched. The man, infected by her laughter, also began chuckling.
"Yeo Ri, cue!" The director yelled with his megaphone.
Facing the camera again, she flashed another smile as she allowed herself to fall backwards into the water. Yeo Ri closed her eyes just as her back was submerged in the water.
"Okay, cut!"
"Puah—!"
Yeo Ri rose up from underwater barely a few seconds after she went in. The staff members helped to fish her out and brought her to shore. As soon as her feet touched the land, Byun Joo Hyuk and several female staff members had already crowded her, passing her a towel and a blanket.
"Yeo Ri, if you need a hot pack, I left them in a black plastic bag at the waiting room!" Jae Ha said, waving her hand to the girl.
"Thank you, Unnie!" Yeo Ri replied. She bowed politely to everyone, gratefully thanking those who had came to help her, and also the others for their hard work.
Just as she was about to return to the wardrobe station to get changed, she noticed a peculiar figure who was simply standing by the side.
"Ah!" Yeo Ri let out a sound of recognition.
It was the heir, Do Kang Rok. Yeo Ri wondered when he arrived. From the looks of it, not many people had noticed his presence either.
Mr. Do seemed to notice her staring and turned to look at her.
"Ah, h-hello," flustered after being found out, Yeo Ri hurriedly greeted him. She saw him walk closer to her, causing her to tense.
"Good work, Miss Lee," he said. The corner of his lips was quirked upwards, his eyes were twinkling as if he was happy with what he was seeing.
"I saw the footage from the earlier shots. You've all done a good job. Especially you, Miss Lee. You were magnificent," he praised with a nod.
"Ah? Oh... thank you very much..." Yeo Ri bowed deeply, thanking him for the praise. She didn't know how well she did, but she must've done extremely well to warrant such high praises from the man.
"I assume it's pretty chilly for you right now. Go ahead and get warm. Well then, see you, Miss Lee." Do Kang Rok nodded curtly to the girl one last time before walking away.
Even as she saw him off and went back to change out of her wet clothes, she was still dazed.
What was that? What just happened?
Did she just get praised by the big boss?
Yeo Ri was still digesting Mr. Do's words as she changed into a fluffy bathrobe and had her hair dried by Manager Byun again.
Yeo Ri had no idea how captivating her simple performance had been.