Chapter 243

: Chapter 237
Besides, the layout of animation for the music video was also done and sent to VPictures in Vietnam. The final production of all this would be arriving in Korea in about one week at the latest.
And by that time Yu Zuung would appear before the camera.
Looking at her silhouette seen through the window on and off, Hyunwoo smiled in satisfaction.
On the other hand, however, he felt her pitiable because he knew about her feelings for him.
She set her mind on him. Rather her affection for him was special. Her abrupt behavior in Vietnam as well as her offering snacks and soft drinks to him every night was all expression of her affection for him.
But Hyunwoo was cautious about accepting her mating behavior because he still had a lingering affection for Suji. He wanted to give Suji a little more time.


At that moment, Yu Zuung’s window opened and she showed her face. Noticing him, she waved her hands.

You came early today.


Yea, I was tired, so I came back early.


Good for you. Have a good rest!


Okay. Goodnight!

Waving at her, he went to his room.
After taking a shower, he came back to his room and sat to watch TV.
He felt he would fall asleep quickly while watching the news.
But there was one news item that attracted his attention.
Though it might seem ordinary news to general viewers, it was special to him.


For it was about Any & Funny’s rival BNB.
The news was more provocative.
<Some students filed a complaint with the police about its violation of their copyrights.>
Hyunwoo giggled at that because he recalled the relevant news some time ago. According to the news, BNB hosted a variety of events including an internet cafe to support animation majors.
Though it looked grand, it was pretty simple when examined. It just copied Ani & Funny’s support program for the students.
Hyunwoo felt BNB’s program was commendable because what mattered was its support programs, not its copying Ani & Funny’s method.
But that was his mistake.
BNB’s program was not intended to support the students. It was only a trick to take their ideas.
That’s why the students, who had their original ideas stolen by BNB, filed the complaint in group.
What they revealed in the complaint was ridiculous.


Recently, BNB released an animation called ‘Ttimong,’ which was getting popular on the internet. It was based on the students’ original ideas. The animation found its way into the ads, books, and stickers. It generated a lot of profits for BNB.
But the copyright payment that BNB made to the students was only 10 million won. That was one million won per student.
BNB’s logic was simple.
<It’s true that the original idea came from the students, but the real production based on that was done by the professionals of BNB. Accordingly, the payment was made in proportion to their contribution.>
In the meantime, BNB skimmed the cream of the crop. It scouted the best students out of them as full-time employees.
Hyunwoo felt BNB’s act was despicable. In a nutshell, it was excessively greedy.
But that was the sorry state of the animation circles in Korea. Though there were lots of students interested in animation, they could not find a job because many animation companies were going bankrupt.
Several days later, Hyunwoo came out of the house early in the morning, waiting for Yu Zuung.
They planned to shoot her dancing for the music video of Temptation today.
It took a little longer for her to come out because she needed to do her makeup. Though there were professional coordinators ready to apply makeup for her, she still seemed anxious to do it on her own.


Finally, she came out.
Hyunwoo smiled naturally at her appearance. As it took some time, he thought she did lots of makeup, but she was just pleasantly plain.
She was putting on the thick jumper that he bought for her.
She made a bright smile at him and said,

Makeup is so hard for me. I just gave up and erased it from my face.


Good for you. It’s cold. Get in quickly.

He opened the door for her. As if it was too cold outside, she quickly hopped inside the car.
When he was about to start, his phone buzzed. It was a call from Jaeyun Hong, the team manager with Story Mecca. This was the call he had been waiting for several days.

It’s been a while since I talked to you last, Jaeyun.


Yes, sir. Sorry to get back to you so late. It isn’t that simple to establish a new system.




No worries. I think you’re quite busy with taking care of the contest and an Animoon system.


Sorry for the continued delay. But I’m almost done. As soon as I correct several mistakes, I think I can launch the new system.


Really? If everything goes well, you can open the new system within this year, I hope.


Impossible this year. I expect to open it next February, but it could be delayed a bit longer because of potential variants.

Hyunwoo was a bit disappointed. He thought it would not be that complicated because Story Mecca had already relevant systems in operation.
Of course, there was nothing he could do because they didn’t delay it intentionally.
After the call, he headed for Seoul.
The studio of the music video ‘Temptation’ was in Seoul. Hyunwoo stopped by the makeup room before going to the studio.
But the makeup artist made a perplexed expression. As Yu Zuung was so beautiful even without any makeup, her beauty could be deformed with the addition of makeup.

What should I do?

The artist asked Hyunwoo.
He didn’t think about it long. In the case of Soyun Han, she needed a thick makeup, but Yu Zuung didn’t need it.
After all, Yu Zuung was done with minimal makeup. Instead, she wore a lot of lipstick as it was the key point of the music video.
She felt a bit disappointed at the makeup, though. She felt she didn’t need to come to an expensive makeup studio for this kind of makeup.

Let me do makeup on my own,
she said.

Sure,
Hyunwoo said.
Driving to the studio, he gave her some precautions.

Hide your face with a mask from now on. You should not say a word until after you’re done with the shooting and arrive at home. Got it?

He already gave her such a reminder several times.
He adopted the theme of the current music video as mysticism. By hiding the faces of the masked dancers, he wanted to draw the curiosity of the TV viewers as much as possible.
Though he created such a concept for to Soyun, he felt it was a good strategy.
Yu Zuung was well aware of that. Ironically, the popularity of the music video depended on how long the masked dancers could hide their real faces.

Yes, I get your point,
said Yu Zuung.
Before driving to the studio, he stopped by another makeup studio.
There was a car parked in front of it. When he pulled over beside it, a woman got in his car. Like Yu Zuung, she hid her face with a mask.
She was Soyun. As the mask was too big for her face and only revealed part of her face that was done with thick makeup, it was impossible to recognize her.
Yu Zuung could not recognize her at all.
Hyunwoo, Yu Zuung and Soyun did not talk to another.
Hyunwoo took them to the studio right away.
Jiah Sohn, the dancing student from Todolyipyo alternative school, was already there, waiting for them.
Jiah was not wearing a mask yet. She was the only dancer whose face would be revealed to the public.
Though he ordered Todolyipyo students to keep silent about her identity, she would be the first one to reveal it to the press when the music video made a big hit.
As soon as Hyunwoo saw Jiah, his jaw dropped. Her face was completely changed from what he saw last time.

Who the hell is this? Is this Jiah that I know?


Hohoho. I’ve had my nose raised a bit through cosmetic surgery. Do I look strange?

In fact, Hyunwoo had a low view of cosmetic surgery because he felt most of the women had that surgery out of greed.
But he didn’t object unconditionally. If they could make up for their defects through cosmetic surgery and regain confidence in their lives, he felt it was necessary.
That was the case of Jiah.
She had an inferiority complex about her face. With the plastic surgery on her nose alone, she looked like a different woman. Hyunwoo even felt she was originally beautiful.
She also had her teeth fixed with surgery, as they had been pretty crooked previously.
Neither did she need to feel bad about her sharp eyes with thick double eyelids because there were some who liked double eyelids like hers.

No, no. You don’t look strange. You look very beautiful. I can’t take my eyes off because you’re beautiful.

She was all smiles because of his praise.
In the meantime, Kwangsu, the representative of Real Film, arrived for the shooting. As the studio was already ready, he could immediately start shooting.

Shall we start? Put on a mask, Jiah.


Yeah.

Jiah put on the mask and looked at Yu Zuung and Soyun with a curious expression.
But she held back her curiosity because Hyunwoo gave her precautions about it. Kwangsu also didn’t pay attention to their real identities at all.
The shooting lasted about four hours. They didn’t make any mistakes because they were so thoroughly prepared, but Kwangsu repeatedly filmed their performances to obtain the best scenes.
Thanks to this, Hyunwoo had the luxury of enjoying their colorful performances for a long time.
In particular, Yu Zuung and Sonyun’s attraction stood out.