Chapter 62

Tae-un closed his mouth. It was no use even if Soram asked him with furrowed brows why he had become a malfunctioning AI again.

On the way back, the three decided who would pay by playing ladder at an ice cream shop they stopped by. The first game Ayoung got caught in became a practice game, and in the second game, Soram got caught and his card was swiped.

Thus, at 10 p.m., the filming ended with capturing the three of them leaving work together.

* * *

The international airline KR Airlines started advertising a few days ago by borrowing the main spot on portal sites with the phrase "KR Airlines' new faces." In the center, the silhouettes of two models who had not yet been revealed were standing.

However, no one failed to guess who the two were. Because next to one of them, a paper airplane was clearly drawn.

Even before the two's appearances were revealed, various sites began to stir. And the moment the two wearing a pilot's uniform were revealed outside the silhouette, the airline's official website had to put up a waiting line for site entry, which was only opened during large-scale discount events. That was how many people came in to receive the photo cards distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

KR Airlines' models. That was the position the PR department actively offered to the two from the flight team. Currently, there was absolutely no one in Korea who could do better than Jin Soram and Han Tae-un for that position. Thus, the two accepted this advertisement that they would shoot together.

On the day the pictorial photos were released, people cheered at the sight of the two wearing navy blue pilot uniforms.

In the pictorial, Soram was smiling slightly, touching the headset on his head and showing his teeth. The aircraft he was piloting seemed like it would definitely mix in a playful joke during the in-flight announcement.

Next to him, Tae-un was holding a suitcase and looking straight ahead expressionlessly. The uniform hat on his head harmonized neatly with his hair, which was pushed back for a change, and his thick features.

Another photo captured the moment when the two passed by each other at the airport and made eye contact, the scene where they sat side by side in the cockpit as the captain and co-pilot, and the scene where they sat on the head and nose of the aircraft under the blue sky.

Amidst the pouring attention, the airline, which became serious about counting down, this time put a countdown on the dates for the TV CF and behind-the-scenes video release of the shoot.

[What countdown again ㅠ Did KR Airlines change to a company that launches rockets instead of airplanes?]

[Ah, please, my blood is drying up ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

There were so many people waiting for the next news that complaints flooded the homepage.

A month and a half before that video was released.

Soram and Tae-un came to the filming set with a large airplane model.

"Wow, Chief Han looks cool."

Tae-un, who came out with an awkward face in his uniform, turned his head in the direction of the voice. There, Soram, wearing the same clothes, was already sitting in the waiting chair.

"How about me?"

"It suits you well."

"There's no soul at all, but thanks."

...I mean it. It was hard for a lean muscular and tall physique like Soram's to not look good in anything. As Tae-un was about to go there, the director spotted the two who had finished preparing first.

"Now, we'll start with individual shoots first."

"Yes."

Soram and Tae-un each stood in front of the prepared white background.

As expected, Soram's side was friendly and Tae-un's side was overflowing with requests like "Just a little more natural... Soften your expression a little..." So, the ending time was much earlier for Soram. Tae-un, who did his best in his own way, felt a little unfair, but there was nothing he could do.

The individual shoot continued a little longer, and Soram rested in the waiting chair for a while and then approached behind the camera filming Tae-un. Tae-un, whose expression became even stiffer, asked glumly.

"...Are you going to keep standing there?"

"Yes. I'll watch over you. Hm? It came out well, so why do they keep reshooting?"

"Because it's a little different from the feeling they wanted. Right... It looks fine if you don't think about the concept. People with thick features take good photos."

"..."

"But let's take a few more shots. It's getting better the more we shoot."

"That's true. Chief Han, relax your shoulders a bit. Or rather, try doing this."

Soram demonstrated putting his hand on his lower back. As Tae-un followed the motion, the shirt and uniform jacket were pulled taut. An unconscious cheer erupted among the staff.

"Oh, good. Good. As expected, someone who has lived together knows well."

"..."

Tae-un wanted to hide somewhere for a moment, but fortunately, thanks to the expressionless face he had on, he was able to continue filming. However, that too was on the verge of collapsing several times because of Soram, who added interjections like "Wow, Han Tae-un ssi is really handsome."

The shutter sound rang a dozen more times. Sweat formed on Tae-un's forehead, who had been standing under the hot lights for a long time, and his face also turned slightly reddish.

"Let's fix the makeup once, and um, Chief Han. Can you possibly float something around with your ability? I think that would be impactful."

"You can't."

Soram, who was next to him, interrupted the conversation and answered.

"The specific information about Chief Han's ability has never been disclosed, so if it's left as a video, the headquarters will delete it all. Just shoot and composite it."

"Ah, I see."

"It's a job where we have to keep secrets to a certain extent. Sorry about that."

"Oh no, not at all."

Before Tae-un could say anything, Soram blocked the difficult situation. When Tae-un looked at him, Soram puffed out his chest with a "I did well, right?" expression.

A moment later, the director finally nodded. In fact, since they were advertising models, they tried to get soft cuts, but as they kept shooting, they thought, as Soram said, what more is there to nitpick when the face is like that and the body is like that?

However, they decided to slightly modify the original intention. Emphasizing Soram's bouncy appearance and Tae-un's serious appearance to clearly show the image contrast and create synergy.

"Let's take a short break and then continue with the next shoot."

The staff dispersed, and Soram approached Tae-un.

"Here."

Then he grinned as he held out water.

"You're grateful, right? I'm a very reliable chief today, right?"

"...Yes."

As he received the water, their fingers touched once, and when he received the lid, a slightly wider area met.

After finishing the indoor shoot, the next was the outdoor shoot.

The planned composition was a scene where Soram and Tae-un sat on top of an aircraft floating in the air. The advertising agency that came up with this concept and the director in charge of filming all agreed that this composition was only possible because it was Jin Soram and Han Tae-un, who had flight abilities, and it would definitely become the main cut.

However, to capture that scene, the sky spread out behind the airplane had to be blue and clear. But now, a large cloud was passing by, covering the sun. The director, looking at it, got heated, saying that the overturned steamed rice cake-like cloud was passing by very slowly.

The cloud flowed slowly and sluggishly. The break time got a little longer as they waited for the cloud to pass. Soram and Tae-un sat side by side on the folding chairs placed outside.

"How's your first CF shoot impression, Chief Han?"

There was only one answer Tae-un could give.

"...I think I'd rather dispatch ten times a day."

"You do look like you're having a hard time. Try to adapt a bit now."

Soram's words became comfortable again when it was just the two of them. Well. Tae-un also shrugged his shoulders and answered briefly.

Soram looked up at the airplane scheduled for filming.

"Hmm, we'll have to fly up there later."

"Don't use your ability. I'll float it and lift you up."

"It's fine. Why bother?"

"The doctor said not to overuse your ability for a while even after being discharged."

"Just flying that little is..."

"Save your body when it's not a dispatch situation."

For Soram to fly by himself, it required one more step of using his ability. Because of that, it was true that it took a little more effort than simply flying a vehicle.

However, after hearing Tae-un's words, Soram felt a little dumbfounded. Was it something to worry about this much for someone who has the same 1st-grade recovery power as him? It's been a while since he finished outpatient treatment at the hospital.

Also, the current Han Tae-un might not know, but someone who looked and acted exactly like him sacrificed his life three times to save someone. So, who was telling whom to take care of their body?

But Soram knew that he now felt completely different about Tae-un compared to the people from the past. So his mind probably didn't react as sensitively to his words as before.

"What if I don't want to? I'm going to use my ability to the fullest."

When Soram reacted defiantly, Tae-un frowned.

"Listen while I'm asking nicely."

"Why don't you try saying it not nicely?"

"..."

Tae-un, who had been staring at Soram, lowered his head to his ear. Soram was puffing out his chest as if to say, "Try it." Soon, Soram, who heard the words poured into his ear, lifted his head abruptly.

"You cursed in a dialect! To make it hard to understand!"

In front of Tae-un, who was playing dumb as if nothing had happened, Soram fumed and clenched his fists, huffing and puffing. That chemistry made laughter spread among the staff passing by.

"Hey."

"What?"

"I heard it all during training. That you're only 24."

"So?"

"Your birthday hasn't even passed, and you're being cheeky."

"..."

Really, so childish... Tae-un turned his head to the side. However, with his birthday at the end of November, he kept his mouth shut at the persistent question of when his birthday was.

A staff member approached the two of them like that.

"It looks like the filming delay will be a bit longer. While you wait, change your clothes and rest comfortably while having a snack. We'll fix your makeup right before anyway."

"Yes."

If it was for another reason, it would be different, but there was nothing they could do since it was because of the weather. For the two of them who had difficulty making time on weekdays due to being on standby for dispatch, they had also adjusted the schedule to the weekend.

Soram took out a choco pie from the snack box the staff had handed over and tore open the packaging. The choco pie was slightly melted, and chocolate was smeared on the inside of the packaging. He didn't like sweets, but the sugar definitely relieved his fatigue. Soram looked up at the sky, half white and half blue, while chewing on the choco pie.

"Can't we just shoot it like this?"

Tae-un also looked up at the sky following him. The steamed rice cake cloud had now passed halfway.

"They want a clear sky. It should be fine once that passes."

"But a sky without a single cloud is a bit..."

Soram's eyelids closed and opened again.

"Doesn't it look cold? With nothing at all."