Chick 367
by Cristae367
“Wow—”
Groo exclaimed in awe as she watched Wooju, whose entire demeanor had changed.
The film Wooju was currently shooting was a remake of the classic masterpiece “The Omen,” a story centered on a child born as the devil.
Groo was utterly absorbed by Wooju’s performance, his cold and ominous acting so different from his usual self. The manager, his voice filled with pride, asked her,
“What do you think? Isn’t our Wooju great?”
“Yes!”
Groo nodded vigorously in reply, just as—
“Cut!”
—the director wrapped up the scene.
Wooju, deep in character, let out a long breath, and the director burst into thunderous applause.
“Wow—our Wooju absolutely owned it today! You’re the best! The very best!”
Wooju looked down shyly, then cast a furtive glance at Groo.
The director, who instantly understood that Wooju had put in extra effort to impress Groo, chuckled and showered him with even more praise.
“Oh~ our Wooju! You’re the best! Unbelievable! What a fantastic method actor you are!”
Embarrassed by the more effusive praise than usual, Wooju edged closer to the director under the pretense of checking the monitor, and whispered quietly,
“Supreme.”
“Supreme?”
The director repeated, and Wooju nodded.
It meant, ‘Please call me supreme.’
Though puzzled, the director quickly gave him a thumbs up.
“Ah, ah~! Wooju, you’re absolutely the supreme actor!”
Satisfied with the director’s response, Wooju glanced at Groo.
But Groo simply clapped innocently, filled with pure admiration.
The manager, who understood everything, could hold it in no longer and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
As filming wrapped up, the sky was already tinged with the hues of sunset.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Great job today!”
“You were really fantastic, Wooju!”
“Wooju, you were so cool today, huh?”
Compliments and farewells rained down twice as much as usual. Wooju bowed to the staff as he passed, locking eyes with the director.
The director waved playfully and called out,
“Wooju is supreme—supreme!”
The actors and staff burst out laughing, and Wooju’s face flushed bright red.
‘Ugh… Why did I say that?’
Wooju was just starting to regret asking to be called supreme when Groo came up beside him.
“Wooju, I should be heading home now. Today was really fun.”
Startled, Wooju grabbed her wrist.
“G-Groo.”
“Mm?”
“Would you stop by somewhere with me for a bit? It won’t take long.”
Wooju shot a glance at the manager, who smiled and rolled out a bicycle.
It was a two-seat, four-wheeled children’s bicycle.
“Take this.”
“I can ride my own bike home.”
“No. Take this. Let me give you a ride.”
“Hm?”
Groo’s bike was surely faster, but at Wooju’s firm tone, she nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go!”
The two of them rode the four-wheeled bicycle along the riverside.
The red sun was slowly setting.
They pedaled a long way down the embankment, then stopped at a quiet and scenic spot.
A gentle breeze rustled past, and the river, tinged crimson, shimmered softly.
“This is it.”
Wooju dismounted as he spoke.
Groo hopped down to follow him.
“Wow… It’s so pretty here! Look, there’s a family of ducks!”
Groo’s eyes sparkled as she pointed.
A mother duck and her ducklings were gliding serenely across the calm waters.
“…I thought you’d like it.”
Wooju muttered, then took out a handkerchief, spreading it carefully on the grass.
He plopped down and patted the spot beside him.
“Sit here.”
“Mhm.”
Groo hurried over and sat on the handkerchief.
The crowded bustle of the film set just moments before felt like a lie. Here, everything was supremely quiet.
A silent breeze passed between them, and far away, a bird called faintly.
For some reason, as Wooju listened to the familiar birdsong, he met Groo’s gaze.
“W-what?”
“Do you have something to say to Groo?”
“Huh?”
Flustered, Wooju’s lips trembled as he lowered his head.
“Yeah, I do…”
“What is it?”
Groo gathered her knees and rested her chin on them.
Her shining coral eyes met his, and Wooju pressed down the frantic beat of his heart.
Today, at last, he would confess.
He had woken before dawn, cooking with heavy-lidded eyes, poured himself into acting more than usual, found this perfect tranquil spot—everything was for this very moment!
Confess after putting his best self forward, in a quiet and beautiful place—that was the final step in today’s plan.
‘Everything was perfect. So…!’
Reciting the plan in his mind, Wooju opened his mouth.
“Groo, you know…”
Just then, the birdsong rang out again.
“Peep—!”
“Mhm.”
“I… I—”
“Peeeeep—!”
The shrill, piercing sound rang in his ears.
Groo sighed, gazing up at the sky with cloudy eyes.
“You know, Wooju.”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t the birdsong getting louder?”
“I-is it?”
“Peeeeeeeeeeep—!”
It was.
The faint birdsong had grown into an ear-splitting racket.
‘That’s not a duck.’
The duck family seemed to have had enough and was waddling off to another spot.
So what was this sound?
Wooju jerked his head around.
And at what he saw, he felt chill bumps race from head to toe.
“Brother Gidan?”
“Hm? Brother Gidan?”
Behind a bush, Gidan was smacking Mephisto on the head, wearing an awkward grin. Next to him, Sergey, Jin Siwon, and Bailach all averted their eyes.
No wonder Mephisto had been missing—Gidan must have restrained him, to stop him interfering with Wooju’s confession.
They weren’t the only spectators.
Behind them, Nayeon was grinning, while Romi covered her face in embarrassment.
And familiar faces from the Orchestra guild were all hiding behind the bushes, each pretending to look elsewhere, trying to avoid eye contact.
‘No way… is Mr. On Joorim here too?’
Wooju glanced left and right in panic.
‘…!’
Soon, Wooju spotted two large figures sitting in a nearby pavilion. On Joorim and Amakusa Kazuki.
Joorim, unlike usual, was glaring fiercely in Wooju’s direction, while Kazuki kept soothing him.
“Oh, it’s Dad!”
“…”
Wooju squeezed his eyes shut.
Of course. No wonder everything had been going so smoothly.
“Dad!”
Groo, oblivious to Wooju’s dismay, waved both hands at Joorim.
Joorim rose slowly. Clearly, he intended to join them.
Biting his lip in frustration, Wooju leapt up and grabbed Groo’s wrist.
“Let’s run!”
“Hm?”
Thinking it was a fun game, Groo burst out laughing and ran with Wooju.
The guild members started to jog after them en masse.
Groo waved enthusiastically at them as she ran.
Wooju glanced over his shoulder—Mephisto was streaking toward him, beak grinding with evident fury.
If he got caught, it would be bad.
‘Brother Gidan, thank you for stopping him… but you didn’t have to bring the audience along…’
Wooju ran for his life, hiding his devastation.
His confession had been a complete disaster. He could never bring himself to confess in front of so many people.
It was an utter failure!
Just as Wooju was blinking back tears,
Groo called out brightly,
“Wooju!”
“Yeah?”
“Today was really fun!”
Wooju blinked. At Groo’s radiant smile, he pressed his lips together and nodded broadly.
“Yes!”
Even if my confession failed, it’s fine as long as you had fun.
Grinning back at Groo, Wooju pushed himself to run even faster.
There would still be many chances to share his feelings.