Free Web NovelFinding something to do during break wasn’t easy.
Even if I spent ten hours a day clinging to composing software, there was still time left over.
[Things to do during paid leave]
[How to use your vacation days without regrets]
[How to become famous for using your leave well]
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No matter how hard I searched, it was useless. In this age of hyper-productivity, everyone focused solely on career-improvement projects that had to be accomplished during precious holidays. With my limited options, there wasn’t much I could imitate.
If someone asked what I used to do on paid leave at Hanpyeong Industry...
'I just stayed at home as an on-call reserve unit, damn it.'
For some office workers, holidays didn’t mean much.
There were countless salarymen carrying laptops into cafés, countless employees unable to turn off company messenger notifications.
So how could anyone truly rest just because they took leave? Even I used to keep my phone beside me from the start of work hours until the end of the day because I never knew when Manager Nam would call. Needless to say, my computer stayed on at all times too.
Even after coming to UA, there were barely any days when I truly did nothing during breaks. Unless I was bedridden from overwork, I was usually doing something. And the breaks themselves were never long.
Then suddenly, I was thrown into the world of rest.
An incomplete freedom where digital civilization was forbidden had been granted to me.
Like a new employee on their first day at work, I panicked because I had no idea what to do.
"...That’s why you want to tag along to the action school?"
"Do you require additional explanation?"
At my answer, Choi Jeho looked troubled and shook his head.
"You’d be better off following Kang Giyeon to lectures or something. Didn’t he say he signed up for online classes?"
"Webcell? I’m already good at that."
"Then why’s he learning it?"
"No idea. He was watching the Webcell masterclass I uploaded yesterday too."
Choi Jeho’s brow furrowed like an accordion.
His expression screamed genuine inability to understand Kang Giyeon, so I kept my grand plan to film Webcell Masterclass Part 2 for Kang Giyeon safely to myself.
"When I went delivering pancakes with Cheonghyeon, they said they ran trial programs too. They don’t do those anymore?"
"They do. It’s just...."
"Ah. You’re embarrassed because you’re grown up now and your friend wants to tag along. In that case, I’ll tactfully visit separately."
"...Haa."
After sighing like he intended to drill through the floor, Choi Jeho finally spoke.
"I don’t want to get scolded by Jeong Seongbin."
The tightly crossed arms perfectly revealed his displeased mood.
"Get permission. Then I’ll take you."
"That’s quite a difficult condition. Could you perhaps allow a more generous preparation period?"
Leaving behind only a dismissive "Do whatever you want," Choi Jeho walked away.
From that point onward, I began begging Jeong Seongbin in the most pitiful and shameless ways possible.
The sloppier my posture became, the stricter Jeong Seongbin grew. The more I sprawled across the bed, the more lenient he became toward me.
I exploited this thoroughly.
"Seongbin, I’m so bored."
"Want to play games or something?"
"I’m tired of sitting around. I’m getting restless."
I genuinely was restless.
During the trip, we’d run around enthusiastically nonstop, but going back and forth between the dorm and the gym wasn’t enough to burn off the accumulated energy.
Strictly speaking, Jeong Seongbin wasn’t actually interfering with everything I did.
Stay away from work for a while.
Avoid excessive physical activity.
Those were the only two things he insisted on.
But if you removed those two things, what exactly was left in my daily routine?
Playing bass in my room was fun, but the days became unbearably monotonous. Cracks were forming in my peaceful life. Couldn’t anyone at least respect the tendencies of an extrovert?
Thanks to the members’ active support, I’d even tried things like manga cafés and watering plants, but I still hadn’t found a hobby that fit perfectly. More than anything, it made me think Korean teenagers desperately needed opportunities for hobby exploration and career experience programs.
Watching me lying spread across the bed, Jeong Seongbin spoke.
"If you’re going to the gym, go with me."
"Didn’t you say your legs were sore after leg day yesterday? Can you even go today?" ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"..."
Every time Jeong Seongbin entered the room, I muttered nonstop.
"I feel like I’d feel refreshed if I just loosened up once."
"Watching Jeho and Cheonghyeon do it looks really fun."
"Once promotions start again, I probably won’t even be able to think about it...."
After enduring this for three whole days, Jeong Seongbin finally raised the white flag.
"Please make absolutely sure to check the safety equipment two or three times. And definitely inform them about his head in advance. Make sure he doesn’t get swept up in the atmosphere and attempt overly excessive action scenes."
"Seongbin, shouldn’t you be saying those things to me instead of Choi Jeho?"
Despite me being the complete beginner, Jeong Seongbin spent all his time nagging Choi Jeho instead.
The funny thing was that Choi Jeho actually listened carefully to Jeong Seongbin’s nagging. When I talked, the bastard barely listened with the bridge of his nose.
Ridiculous guy.
Anyway, I finally gained access to Choi Jeho’s action school.
It reminded me of when I’d followed him to Jang Junho’s music video set. Thinking about how I’d gone all the way there just to monitor whether Choi Jeho would do something stupid...
All I could think was that I’d really experienced every possible thing in life.
"Everyone on this team looks striking in person."
That was the instructor’s very first sentence upon seeing me.
Since I was up after Lee Cheonghyeon, I’d been incredibly nervous, but the long break in between had saved me.
While warming up, I even got praised for having excellent basic stamina.
"My only strength is my physical endurance, so this is embarrassing."
"No matter what we make him do, he won’t collapse easily."
Choi Jeho personally vouched for my endurance.
Really, if you took away my stamina, I’d be a corpse—
...No, why were there so many extreme expressions in the world? Did I use negative idioms unusually often? Improving my speech habits felt urgent.
"So, Iwol 씨, is there anything you specifically wanted to try? There are lots of different types of action work. There’s wire work, using props like wooden swords, and so on."
The instructor generously offered a wide range of choices even to me, who’d merely tagged along as the friend of his prized student Choi Jeho.
And there was one thing I absolutely wanted to learn.
"Car stunts!"
A black car speeds aggressively toward the protagonist.
Trapped in a dead-end alley with nowhere to escape, the protagonist leaps onto the hood to minimize the impact! freēwēbnovel.com
"So you don’t just want to cling to the car body, you want to roll and fall off too?"
"Yes!"
"What kind of stunt landing is that? Just do something normal."
Choi Jeho immediately ruined the mood from beside me.
"Since this isn’t an actual filming set, it’d probably be possible if we used a shooting vehicle at slow speed, but for safety reasons, it’d be better to practice first before trying it. You should thoroughly learn stunt falls too. Especially if your head needs to be protected."
"I see...."
"Come along whenever Jeho comes. I’ll tell one of the guys with free time to keep an eye on you."
"Thank you!"
The instructor willingly extended the trial period for one-day visitor Kim Iwol.
While Choi Jeho practiced fight choreography, the instructor taught me how to safely roll around on the floor.
"It’s common to think the entertainment industry is insensitive toward injuries, but UA seems to care a lot about safety."
The instructor said that while wrapping up the lesson.
"Really?"
Considering all the accidents that had happened at UA so far...
I honestly didn’t want to agree.
But perhaps from the perspective of people working on-site, it really did look that way.
Everything in the world was relative, after all.
So I didn’t outright deny it.
"When they told us Cheonghyeon 씨 and Iwol 씨 were coming, one of your company staff members repeatedly emphasized that safety should be prioritized over getting exciting footage. Usually it’s the opposite."
Since Jukyeong noona usually handled these kinds of contact arrangements, the "company staff member" he referred to was probably her.
The phrase "usually it’s the opposite" left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"And Jeho’s become more interested in first aid too. He was always diligent about learning, but I think company policy has influenced him a lot."
"...What?"
"Whenever we hold safety training sessions, he always comes without fail. Even when I ask whether he’s too busy with schedules, he never says anything and just sits there all grumpy."
The instructor laughed out loud.
But I couldn’t laugh.
The ride back was quiet.
Several dozen times, I debated whether or not to speak to Choi Jeho.
"Hey, you...."
When I finally managed to force the words out, Choi Jeho turned toward me.
His gaze looked utterly indifferent.
'You didn’t develop trauma or anything, did you?'
I wanted to ask.
But the question caught in my throat and never came out.
It was even harder to ask since when.
Honestly, I hoped I was simply overthinking things.
Because Choi Jeho looked perfectly fine.
"...When are you going again next time?"
"I’ll see depending on my schedule."
Choi Jeho answered lazily.
The bastard really, truly looked completely unaffected.
The road of creation was long and arduous.
The progress of the "make a topline" homework Lee Cheonghyeon had assigned me remained close to zero.
"Creation is painful and difficult."
"But hyung, you’re good at planning concepts. Isn’t it similar to that?"
"It’s a completely different dimension."
At my answer, Kang Giyeon silently stared at Lee Cheonghyeon, who was joyfully dancing in front of his laptop while working.
He seemed unable to believe that behavior counted as struggling through difficult creative labor.
"Cheonghyeon is another class entirely. Comparing gods and humans is simply too cruel."
"Ah, I see."
Kang Giyeon’s face clearly said:
'Of course it is.'
I saw it with my own eyes.
"Do you have a genre you want to write? Juu hyung seemed kind of curious."
"Juu?"
Even when Lee Cheonghyeon had first started composing, Park Juu had shown unusual interest. Back then it had been because he carried unresolved feelings about bands, but this time I wondered why, so I casually asked him.
The answer I got back was unexpectedly simple.
"The idea of singing a song written by another member sounds cool...."
He’d simply been curious about what kind of song he might end up singing.
It was such an innocent reason.
"Even though there’s no guarantee it’ll make the track list?"
Just because a member composed something didn’t mean it would definitely be included on the album. Even Lee Cheonghyeon had fought through blind tests every single time to secure title tracks.
Park Juu’s answer to my hypothetical question was clear.
"Singers don’t only sing songs that make it onto albums."
Honestly, I was surprised.
If Park Juu’s yearning for bands had once been a small spark, now it had grown into a flame large enough to consume anything that could become firewood.
I felt like I finally understood why the word "passion" used the character for heat.
What did I need to consume to bring warmth back into my lukewarm life?
Listening to Lee Cheonghyeon shouting that he’d finally done it, I sank into thought.
