Chapter 31: The Elevator

The filming location was, of course, in Seoul.

They decided to use cars driven by the production staff for transportation.

Since even the poster shoot process itself would be filmed, quite a large group ended up moving together.

The camera director, the writers, Producer Kwon, Woo-joo, and Ji-tae.

They split into two cars, and naturally, Woo-joo and Ji-tae rode in the same one.

The two of them sat in the back seat of the first car, with Producer Kwon in the driver’s seat.

It briefly crossed Woo-joo’s mind whether a main producer usually drove, but considering Kwon’s personality, it didn’t seem strange at all.

“Want some?”

Inside the moving car, Ji-tae held out a piece of chocolate to Woo-joo.

It was a timid gesture, like offering snacks to make a first friend at the start of a new semester.

“I don’t like sweet stuff.”

“What do you mean sweet? It’s delicious. Why wouldn’t you eat this?”

“Then why don’t you eat rice crackers?”

“Because they taste bad.”

“They’re good.”

“They’re not.”

“I’m telling you they are.”

Their childish back-and-forth finally made Producer Kwon burst out laughing.

“I see it in the recordings every time, but watching you two argue in person… you’re seriously incredibly childish.”

Producer Kwon was the type who laughed while saying exactly what he thought.

And it wasn’t wrong.

Woo-joo suddenly felt embarrassed and cleared his throat.

“It’s because of him.”

He shifted the blame to Ji-tae.

Ji-tae mouthed silently, So what?

Woo-joo let out a deep sigh and turned away.

He had planned to nap, but Ji-tae kept rustling beside him, asking if he wanted anything to eat, and wouldn’t let him rest.

The filming location was the production company’s studio for Living Together as Two.

True to its status as a major corporation, the building was enormous.

“You two head up first and get ready. One of our writers will guide you.”

“Yes.”

After getting out of the car, Woo-joo and Ji-tae followed the youngest writer into the elevator.

The filming studios were on the 8th floor.

The elevator gradually filled up with more people.

It seemed like it was just after lunch break.

Employees glanced once at Won Ji-tae before looking away.

Working in a place like this, they probably saw famous celebrities all the time, so it wasn’t particularly exciting.

Or maybe they were thrilled internally but didn’t show it.

At every floor, no one got off—only more people got on.

Having boarded from the basement, the two were naturally pushed into a corner.

The youngest writer, who was short, looked squashed as well.

Woo-joo wanted to help, but he was struggling enough himself.

“There are so many people.”

“Seriously.”

A flicker of irritation passed over Ji-tae’s face.

The elevator stopped at another floor, and once again, more people squeezed in.

Woo-joo, already in the far corner, had no choice but to press against the wall.

Ji-tae, who had been standing awkwardly with his arms crossed, was shoved backward hard.

In the end, Ji-tae turned around to face Woo-joo.

The distance between them shrank instantly.

With his long arms, Ji-tae braced himself against the wall, trying desperately not to be pushed closer.

At the next floor, once again, no one got off.

Instead, one or two more boarded, and the elevator reached full capacity.

At that point, Won Ji-tae looked visibly strained.

He had one palm pressed against the corner wall, clearly struggling to maintain distance from Woo-joo.

He was even frowning.

“Hey.”

Woo-joo whispered softly.

Then he suddenly reached out, grabbed Ji-tae by the back, and pulled him closer.

Ji-tae’s hand slipped off the wall, and their bodies ended up fully pressed together.

“Why are you struggling like that? Just stay like this for a second.”

The two ended up in a half-embrace.

The elevator was quiet.

The employees wore irritated expressions, all staring at their phones.

The only sound inside was the mechanical hum.

“……”

Why did the elevator feel like it was moving so slowly?

Even Woo-joo was starting to get annoyed.

Then he slightly leaned his head back and looked at Ji-tae.

“Won Ji-tae, are you hot?”

“…What?”

“Your face is red.”

Woo-joo’s lips curved upward out of habit.

Suddenly, Ji-tae made an incoherent sound and buried his face into Woo-joo’s shoulder.

Woo-joo was startled for a moment but then nodded.

It seemed Ji-tae was simply uncomfortable and irritated by the cramped space.

With a body that big, it couldn’t be easy to stay folded up like that.

And lately, Ji-tae had been blushing often.

Maybe he was more sensitive to heat than expected.

Once again, Woo-joo learned something new about him.

Only when they reached the 8th floor did Woo-joo finally escape that suffocating elevator.

“Writer, are you okay?”

“I thought I was going to die…….”

The youngest writer wiped sweat from her face miserably.

“Oh? But where’s the actor?”

She looked around beside and behind Woo-joo.

There should’ve been one more person.

“Ah, he said he’s going to the restroom. He knows where it is, so he said he’d come on his own.”

Right after getting off, Ji-tae had suddenly said he needed the bathroom.

So that’s what it was.

It wasn’t that he was irritated from feeling cramped—he just needed to go.

That would explain the troubled expression.

Nodding to himself, Woo-joo followed the writer diligently.

The place they entered was a waiting room combined with a makeup area.

“Player Kang, please sit here.”

“Yes.”

Woo-joo had experienced professional styling a few times during advertisement shoots, so it wasn’t unfamiliar.

Still, it felt awkward.

“Wow, your skin is really good.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s very clear.”

As he chatted lightly with the makeup staff, the door opened and Ji-tae walked in.

Through the mirror, Woo-joo noticed him briefly avoiding eye contact before slipping quietly into his seat.

Woo-joo didn’t think much of it.

The makeup was kept natural.

Since Woo-joo had come in first, he finished before Ji-tae and sat on the sofa to wait.

Bored, he looked around absentmindedly—then his gaze settled on Won Ji-tae.

Ji-tae had his eyes closed, calmly accepting the touch of the stylists.

Seeing him like that, he did look like an actor.

Far more used to this than Woo-joo was.

Woo-joo found himself staring at his handsome face for a long time.

Then Ji-tae slowly opened his eyes.

Through the mirror, their gazes met directly.

“…What.”

Ji-tae muttered toward the mirror with a sulky expression.

Woo-joo narrowed his eyes at him.

“Alright, since you’re both done with makeup, I’ll briefly explain the direction of the shoot.”

Just as Ji-tae finished and stood up, Producer Kwon entered at perfect timing, holding a rolled-up A4 sheet in his hand.

“Since we’re doing this anyway, I wanted to do it properly.

You two have completely different professions, right?”

Woo-joo nodded.

“I thought it would be interesting to highlight that.”

Up until now, all the cast members of Living Together as Two had been celebrities—idols, actors, or models.

Woo-joo was the first from a different field.

Of course, it helped that despite being an athlete, he was as famous as most entertainers.

The writers seemed to have built the concept around that unusual pairing.

“For one cut, we want to capture you both as actors.

For the other, as athletes.

The distinction will come through the outfits.”

At that, Ji-tae’s eyebrow twitched.

With his modeling experience, he seemed to immediately grasp the intention.

“Through the outfits?”

Woo-joo, unfamiliar with such concept shoots, asked like a curious student in class.

“Yes. You’ll understand once we start.

I’ll explain more during the shoot.

For now, let’s change outfits—we’re short on time.”

At Producer Kwon’s words, the staff moved quickly.

Woo-joo was guided by his stylist to one side.

A glance at the clothes hanging on the rack was enough to understand.

There were two outfits prepared.

One was a trendy suit.

The other was a volleyball uniform—something very familiar to him.

Only then did he fully grasp how Producer Kwon planned to create the contrast.

When the cast had been revealed, people were already intrigued by the pairing of an actor and an athlete.

This concept made full use of that appeal.

Woo-joo couldn’t help but admire it.

So this is how professional writers think.

There really are people in the world who know how to use their heads well.

By the time he finished that thought, he had already changed clothes.

However, one staff member suggested slightly altering his hairstyle, so Woo-joo had to sit back down in front of the mirror again.