Shotgun K

The studio was bustling in the middle of a busy work day. Stage staff ran around left and right, carrying equipment from one set to the other. I stepped into the area behind the sets, careful to stay out of the way of people working. Some noticed me and said their respectful greetings, which I returned. Then I saw the director’s assistant.
“Jae-Sung!” she said, looking completely surprised. “I’m sorry; you’re not scheduled for filming tonight.”
I smiled, trying not to give away that I didn’t remember her name.
“No, I know.” I told her. I lifted the bag up a bit in explanation. “I have to return Han’s clothes; I accidentally left with them on last night.”
The assistant let out a low hum, accepting the reason.
“Happens to the best of us with crazy schedules, I guess.” she said. “Well, I gotta go; Director has me on errands. You can hand those to someone in the dressing area. See you!”
With that, she scurried off on her way. I gave her a small wave in farewell as she left before I made my way deeper into the set.

The foot traffic in the dressing room area was not as bad as it was near the sets. But it was a bit more cluttered; clothes racks were lined up along the hallway walls, narrowing the hall. I made my way through the hall, brushing past rushing hair and make-up assistants.
If the place was this busy, that girl should be around---

“Supervisor! We need help in the extras’ room!”

I heard someone call over the small commotion of busy bodies from the staff break room.
“I’ll be out in a second!” a familiar voice called back.

A female staff member came out from the room, her arms full of clothes, hangers and shoes.
“Ah, excuse me,” she let out, her voice strained from the burden.
As she passed, she dropped a pair of black heels.

I bent down and scooped up the heels off the floor.
“Hey, you dropped these,” I said.

The girl turned around at my voice, and started to say something. But then she saw me and her jaw dropped open.
“Seo…Seo Jae-Sung,” she murmured under her breath. And then she gasped.
“Mr. Seo! I---I’m sorry for my rudeness!” she stammered. She bent over in a bow, forgetting that she had her arms full. More items fell from her arms, and she scrambled to gather them.
I pulled the paper bag so it hung from my wrist, and gathered most of the things she dropped.

“Here, I got them.” I offered.

The girl blushed deep red as she clutched onto the remaining items in her arms.
“I, um…thank you.” she stammered. “I just---I was told that you wouldn’t be filming here today…”

I raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed even darker.
“Uh…yea, well, you right; I’m not filming here today.” I told her. “I’m just here to return some stuff.”

This girl nodded frantically, her eyes glancing fleetingly up at my face and then back down at the floor.
“Oh…” she said.

She fell awkwardly silent, and it looked like she was squirming uncomfortably in front of me. I didn’t really see why she was avoiding looking at me.
I shifted the items in my arms so they were better balanced.
“Do you need help carrying these?” I asked, glancing down at the load. “If you want, I can carry these to wherever you need to take them.”

The girl looked up at me suddenly, her eyes wide in surprise.
“What?” she let out.

“These,” I said again, lifting them up a bit. The girl started blushing again.

“Oh…um, yes. That would be great actually.” she said. She turned, and started down the hall before turning back to me. “These are just being stored in the other room.”
I nodded and followed her lead.
The trip was just literally ten steps down the hall and into the dressing room right next to the break room. I set the armful of stuff down onto the closest table and straightened to a stand.

“Here you go,” I said, turning back to the girl.

The girl was hanging a jacket onto one of the racks. She glanced back at me and smiled.
“Thanks, that was really nice of you.” she said. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, I think I’m all set; I just have to find Woo Su---”

Suddenly, a group of people came bustling into the room, loud in their commotion.

“How the hell do you rip a dress standing still?” Sun Hi demanded, practically charging into the room.
She went over to one of the racks and started to rummage through the set of clothes. A second person was on her heel, her steps just as hurried.
“I don’t really know, but she needs to be on the set in five minutes!” this person said.
Sun Hi swore under her breath, shuffling from hanger to hanger. She finally pulled a white cocktail dress from the rack and shoved it into the person’s hands.
“Here!” she said, before turning to the third person. “What do you need?”

“A pair of black heels for Hye Rin’s birthday party scene.” the person said.

I watched in amusement as Sun Hi wheeled back around and started to shuffle through the bottom of the rack where a lot of the shoes were lined up.
“Black heels, heels, heels…” she muttered to herself. “Ugh! Which heels would work?”

“How about these?” I offered, scooping up the pair I had picked up off the floor.

Sun Hi turned and stared at the pair I was holding up in the air. After a few short seconds, she grabbed it.
“Perfect.” she said and shoved it towards the third person.

She put her hands on her waist triumphantly, waiting for the two people she assisted to rush out the room and onto their business. They didn’t; they were much too busy staring wide-eyed at me. It took another few seconds for Sun Hi to turn around and look towards me.

“Oh,” she said, sounding mildly surprised. “Hey, Jae-Sung.”

I smiled and raised a hand in a small wave, somewhat amused at how mild her reaction seemed in comparison to the other workers.

“What are you doing here?” she asked me.

I went to speak when the girl I had helped carry the stuff into the room tugged Sun Hi by the arm.
“Sun Hi!” she hissed, sounding alarmed. “Don’t be so rude!”

“No, it’s alright; we know each other.” I said. I turned back to the young costume supervisor. “I just came to bring back the clothes that I accidentally walked out with last night.”

Sun Hi blinked, and looked down at the bag I was holding out to her. She peered into the bag with this kind of suspicious look.
“Oh, look at that,” she said. “I didn’t even know you walked out in these…”
A look of realization came over her face then.
“Ah,” she let out. “That’s right…”

She turned to the other three assistants in the room.
“I’m going into break. Is there anything else I can help with?” she asked.

The three female assistants looked at each other, still looking stunned. They all shook their heads.

“Okay then. I’ll be back to work in twenty minutes.” Sun Hi told them. “Call me if there are any other emergencies.”

With that, she took the bag from my hand.
“Come on, let’s go talk.” she said, nodding towards the door.

I nodded and started to follow her out of the room.
“It was nice meeting you all.” I told the three assistants before walking out the door.

I caught up with Sun Hi quickly as she walked down the cluttered hall.
“Where are you going?” I asked.

Sun Hi glanced back at me but didn’t stop or slow her pace.
“I’m going to the roof for break.” she told me. “I need some air.”
I followed her out through the set and out of Studio D. She turned left, leading the way down the halls into a dark back area.
“Just past this way,” she told me over her shoulder.
I followed her without a reply as she made her way up these net iron steps that spiraled up towards the high ceiling. Sun Hi kept on glancing back at me to make sure I was still behind her. I just returned it with a curious look.
The steps lead up to a small landing, and on the other end was a metal door. Sun Hi took few wide strides to the door and pushed open to step out onto the roof.

It was almost 4:00 PM, and the sun wasn’t at its peak anymore so the light wasn’t too bright. But it still managed to hurt my eyes as it adjusted to the new brightness. I stepped out onto the rooftop after her, squinting and blinking.

“Sheesh, you look tired.” I heard Sun Hi note.

I ignored the comment and opted to take a look around the new surroundings. The rooftop was actually a nice space; it was clearly made so people could step out here when they pleased. The ground was cleanly paved for easy walking and the edge of the rooftop was blocked off with brick walls for safety. There were even benches in the corner under a simple garden pavilion for visitors.

Sun Hi walked over to the pavilion and plopped down onto the benches with a heavy sigh. She set my bag down onto the ground and leaned her elbows into her knees before she looked at me.
“You can sit down you know,” she told me, patting down the bench next to her.

I smiled and let myself take a seat next to her on the bench.
“A busy day for you, huh?” I asked.

Sun Hi let out a groan and rolled her eyes.
“Like you won’t believe.” she muttered. “Everything that could go wrong did all at once…it was a mess.”
She let out a sigh and looked at me with a curious look.
“So…how about you?” she asked me.

I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
“What about me?” I asked.

“You left in a hurry because of an emergency, right?” she said.

I grimaced, the memory of last night flowing easily back to the surface of my mind.
“Yea, that’s right.” I said.

I heard Sun Hi hum next to me.
“That bad?” she asked.
I gave her a look and she raised an eyebrow at me.
“So am I going to hear about this big emergency on the news?” she asked me.

This time I rolled my eyes.
“No, no. You won’t be hearing anything about it on the news, that I’m sure of.” I told her.

“You sure about that?” she said. “That’s how I heard about your break-up with that Kang Yun girl.”

Another grimace escaped me at the mentioning of my ex-girlfriend.
“Yea, that made top news, didn’t it?” I said dryly. In the chaos of everything, I had forgotten about Yun.
“What is up with you and all these questions, anyways?”

Sun Hi just shrugged.
“I’m just curious.” she said.

I let out a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling tired. I could feel her staring at me from the side.
“You know, you look like you haven’t slept in days.” she pointed out.

“Well, not days but you’re right.” I told her.

When she gave me a look, I continued.
“I didn’t get to go home until almost seven this morning.”

“What? Why?” she demanded, frowning in disapproval.

“It’s…it’s really a really long story.” I said.

The girl let out a snort, shaking her head.
“Yea, I bet.” Sun Hi muttered. “You have those annoying bags under your eyes. You know how hard it is to cover up those bags for camera?”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing that today’s my day off.” I returned.

“So what kept you up all night?”

“Ah, I don’t think I can really tell you.”

“Was it a family emergency?”

“No.”

“Trouble with the paparazzi?”

“Nope.”

“A Love scandal?”

“No! Aoish, so many questions with you…” I sighed out, exasperated.

Sun Hi let out a small laugh, the sound of it almost gleeful.
“Well? Is everything resolved now?” she asked me, ignoring my last comment.

I hesitated, not knowing how I should answer.
“…not really, no.” I finally said. “Like you said, it’s a pretty messy business.”

Sun Hi hummed thoughtfully, frowning slightly.
“Hmm, whatever it is, I sure hope you get through it.” she said. “Just know that if you need someone to talk to, I’m willing to listen.”

I let out a smile, glancing to the side at her.
“Woo Sun Hi, you’re an odd person.” I told her.
She made a face, and I laughed.
“All the other assistants and staff treat me like I’m not human and yet you talk to me like this like we’re old friends.”

Sun Hi let out a scoff.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just being a kind and caring person. I’m nice like that.” she said.
But then she looked at me and grinned.
“I don’t know about old, but I’ll be a friend.” she said. “So if anything troublesome comes by, spill it out to me! Woo Sun Hi swears guaranteed confidence.”

I let out a sigh, and turned my eyes up to the sky.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” I said, with a smile.

Suddenly, a ringing broke out from my jacket pocket, the familiar ringtone breaking the peace. I pulled my phone out from the pocket and answered the phone.
“Yeoboseyo?”

“Jae, I’m done with my business with Director Oh. We can leave whenever you’re ready.” Mr. Park said.

“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.” I said and hung up. I turned back to Sun Hi. “I have to go.”

Sun Hi nodded.
“Alright, take it easy.” she said.

“Likewise.” I returned.

One last wave and I walked off the rooftop.



After a few moments of talking to Director Oh, I met up with Mr. Park in the parking lot. He was already in the passenger seat, waiting for me.
I got into the driver’s seat without protest.
“So how did everything go?” I asked.

“I just got a hold of your filming schedule. Though it’s tentative, you won’t have to come in for two more days.” he said. “They said they would call if plans change.”

I hummed in response, not having anything to say about it. I started the car, backed out of the spot and drove out the parking lot.

“How about you? Anything happen with you?” he asked then.

I glanced at my manager before turning back to the road.
“No, nothing big. I just handed Sun Hi the clothes I had to return.” I said. I made a turn to the right, heading back onto the highway.

“Who’s Sun Hi?” Mr. Park asked.

“Oh, right.” I said, remembering he probably hasn’t met her yet. “She’s the new costume supervisor. She replaced her aunt when she got hurt on the set or something.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” he said, humming thoughtfully. “So, did you guys talk?”

I glanced at my manager, confused at what he was getting at.
“Yea, we did briefly. But she’s busy.” I said. “We just had time to ask each other how we’re doing today, you know; small talk.”

“So…you haven’t talked to her about…” he trailed off, but I knew what he was talking about.

“No, I haven’t told her anything.” I murmured. “That would be some conversation, don’t you think?”

“Jae, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t speak to anyone about the incident.” Mr. Park said. “I mean, you should tell the whole world and it would be better if this stayed private---”
Mr. Park stopped, and sighed.
“What I’m trying to say is, this is a lot to deal with for you. It’s going to be stressful.” he said. “If you trust her and if it would help, I think it’s okay to talk to her about it.”

My hands gripped around the steering wheel as I inhaled deeply and exhaled in a long, tired breath.
“Mr. Park, I don’t know…” I said. “This isn’t just about me, that girl in the park…”

“Jae, believe it or not, talking about it could help.” he said. “Keeping it pent up can’t be healthy.”
I let out another sigh as Mr. Park continued.
“If she’s willing to listen, why don’t you let her hear it?” he suggested.

“I just met her literally yesterday, Mr. Park.” I reasoned. “Besides, I have you to talk to.”

Mr. Park laughed.
“I don’t count, I’m your manager!” he said.
He stopped laughing and let out a tired breath.
“It may still be too early, but it’s up to you to decide if you want to talk.” he said. “Just promise me you won’t keep it all bottled up like you often do. If she becomes your friend, I’m sure she’ll be willing to listen.”

I thought about it, thinking about everything he just said.
“I know, she’ll guarantee confidence too.” I muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I promise I won’t bottle it in.”
I glanced over to the passenger seat and at my manager.
“Does this make you feel better?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Park let out a sigh and looked over to me. He reached over and gave me a pat on the shoulder.
“Yea, it does.” he said. “Of course, I may be your manager, but if you need to talk, I’m always around too…”

I mustered up a smile for his sake.
“Thanks Mr. Park.” I said.