Adriana was wearing a thin strap tank top and skinny jeans.
“Models are models after all.”
Angela, checking her appearance through the camera screen, couldn’t help but exclaim.
Most women dress casually for comfort.
But Adriana was different.
When she wore it, the clothes came alive. Without any special effort, it looked like a luxury item.
“Or is it that the clothes highlight Unnie’s figure?”
That didn’t matter.
Anyway, the scene captured on video was excellent on its own.
“This could be used as a thumbnail.”
Angela’s expectations soared.
“Unnie, it’s great. Now, if you could just add a bit more emphasis on the handbag.”
“Really? Got it.”
Adriana, who had been relaxing her expression, posed with a serious face.
“…!”
It was shocking.
Angela bit her lip and barely maintained her poker face.
It was so hard to hold back her laughter.
“Claiming to be an amateur wasn’t just humility!”
Adriana was certainly posing seriously.
But no matter how generously one looked at it, she resembled a 7-year-old girl proudly showing off a gift to her mom.
“Is it because she looks young?”
Afterwards, she changed her poses to ones that emphasized the handbag in her own way.
“Hmm.”
If this was a talent, it was definitely a talent.
Her consistently awkward poses were cute, and her constant serious expression was a scene-stealer.
“It’s even more fun because it’s not intentional.”
She thought this concept wasn’t bad.
After all, the point of humor could be that the perfect model looked rather clumsy the more she tried.
No, if edited well, this could be much more effective than something mediocre and could even become a meme, gaining a lot of attention.
But there’s a concern…
“This is a bit different from Hyunsoo’s intention in the storyboard.”
Basically, this project was about launching a “luxury handbag.”
No luxury item incorporates “comedy” elements.
The image of luxury comes from years of perfected quality, not from prioritizing temporary buzz.
“Are we switching to this direction?”
Angela didn’t voice this out of consideration for Adriana’s feelings.
Instead, she looked at Hyunsoo with a complex expression.
“Hold on.”
Hyunsoo seemed to answer with a finger gesture.
He watched Adriana with a gentle gaze for a long time.
Perhaps aware of his gaze, she gradually relaxed, as seen through the screen.
“You look great, Adriana. You always dress well at school, but seeing you outside, the vibe is completely different.”
“Hehehe. Really? I’m still a bit embarrassed…”
“It doesn’t show at all. Let’s leave the more professional photoshoot for the photographer. For now, I just want to capture some everyday scenes, is that okay?”
“Sure! How should I do it?”
Hyunsoo looked around and then guided her to the sofa.
“Don’t think of it as a shoot, just act as you usually do. You’re a guest at our house today. You’re just carrying that handbag.”
“Ah, I see. So I should think of it as a daily vlog rather than an Instagram vibe?”
“Exactly. Professionals get it right away with just a word.”
“Hmm. You’re treating me too well today. It’s different from usual. Just how much are you planning to make me work~.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“Haha, you’re a guest, a precious one who came all the way from the other side of the continent. Can’t treat you poorly. By the way, did you meet your family last weekend? You said you went home.”
“Oh, right. You remember. I went because it seemed like I’d be very busy for a while. Didn’t do anything special, just attended a party at home.”
“A party? Was it someone’s birthday?”
“No, our family is just like that. We have parties every weekend, and all the nearby relatives gather. We eat, sing, and dance in the backyard until late at night.”
Hyunsoo nodded as if he had heard about it before.
“Oh, I’ve heard that. It’s a South American culture, right? Gathering with family and having parties often. Sounds fun.”
“It’s exhausting to prepare and clean up. But, it definitely feels healing to visit home, even if it’s physically tiring.”
Adriana caressed her handbag with a wistful expression.
“Being in the middle of New York feels like being a grain of sand on the beach, whether I’m there or not. At home, it feels like there’s a special place just for me.”
“I think I understand. But a grain of sand? If you called yourself a pearl in the sand, maybe. Others would be mad if they heard you say you’re just a grain of sand.”
“Hahaha, you’re funny. No matter how I think about it, you’re a strange guy.”
Hyunsoo’s eyes curved slightly.
“Out of the blue?”
“Just. Guys your age usually only have one thing on their minds… But you seem to have everything but that.”
“…”
Their conversation continued naturally.
“What is this?”
At first, it felt odd, like being a third wheel on someone else’s cute date, but Angela gradually got absorbed into the camera’s screen.
She understood Hyunsoo’s intention.
“Natural looks are like a photoshoot.”
Adriana was most beautiful just as she was.
She reclined comfortably on the sofa, chatting with Hyunsoo.
Her figure was so impressive that there was no need to set up specific angles. Her natural poses were enough.
When she hugged her legs, she looked lovely.
When she listened seriously to Hyunsoo, she looked elegant.
“She was just cool without trying too hard.”
There was no need to emphasize the handbag. Simply blending it into Adriana’s daily life was enough.
It wasn’t that the props made Adriana stand out; it was that Adriana was special, making all her props shine.
“I’m jealous.”
No, it went beyond jealousy to envy.
A person born with star quality.
“What?”
Angela, watching the screen closely, suddenly felt something was off.
It was a detail that could easily be overlooked if not for her keen observation skills.
Angela had always been continuously thinking about creating better videos, so she became sensitive to even the smallest changes.
“No way?”
That’s why she couldn’t help but notice Adriana’s “change.”
People can’t maintain one posture for a long time.
They unconsciously cross their legs, lean back, constantly changing their posture.
Of course, Adriana was no exception.
“Luckily, it doesn’t interfere with the video.”
There were no particularly annoying habits.
But what particularly caught Angela’s attention… surprisingly had to do with Hyunsoo.
“No way.”
Angela first denied it.
No matter how clever Hyunsoo was, it was hard to believe he intended this.
So she watched a bit longer.
“You two must be hungry now. Let’s move to the kitchen. I’ll cook, so can you keep me company?”
“Sure! But you know how to cook? You’re really different.”
They moved to the kitchen, and Angela quietly followed.
“Wow. You look like a chef. You’re so good with the knife. You must have done this many times??”
Adriana, standing, leaned her head towards Hyunsoo to watch him cook.
How could she look like a model even when standing crookedly, pulling on the handbag strap?
“Hah.”
Angela, momentarily distracted by Adriana, looked back at Hyunsoo and was astonished.
“Seriously?”
She got goosebumps all over.
Once she noticed, it was clear.
Before Adriana’s change in posture, there was always a preceding action from Hyunsoo.
“Crazy!”
Angela, having filmed for many years, already knew this fact.
Conversations between two people aren’t just verbal but also involve body language.
One person’s body gestures influence the other’s posture.
Usually, it’s an unconscious reaction. Like yawning when bored, or crossing arms when feeling defensive.
But Hyunsoo seemed to be doing it intentionally. He deliberately induced the desired posture from Adriana.
“Even on the sofa earlier!”
When Hyunsoo’s voice lowered, or when he subtly leaned back, Adriana naturally closed the distance.
When he looked at her, she made eye contact. When his gaze shifted, Adriana curiously looked in that direction.
“He even cut the vegetables from an angle where Adriana had to peek over his shoulder.”
There were many subtle changes that were hard to catch.
Although she didn’t know how he did it, through his posture, gaze, expression, and conversation, he made Adriana change her posture moment by moment.
“He gets the desired outcome without direct directing?”
The part that frustrated Angela the most during filming was directing.
Sometimes, when shooting scenes that required a script, it was hard to convey her vision to the actors.
No matter how specifically she explained or showed examples, they often couldn’t express it properly…
“It’s almost done. Want to taste it?”
“Yum! Wow, it’s amazing. Let’s open a food truck together! This would definitely sell~.”
“Again, again!”
Angela noticed.
When Hyunsoo fed her, he adjusted the spoon’s height.
He made sure to feed her in a way that looked good on camera, aligning their eye levels for the most ideal shot.
“He’s a monster.”
“Angela, let’s stop filming and eat together.”
“Okay…”
He was a monster.
“What?”
A monster who cooks very well.
“So Hyunsoo, when are you planning to shoot a cooking show?”
11 PM.
Angela left for home after some more meetings, and Adriana, who had been helping her mom, just went up to bed.
Knock, knock.
Hyunsoo knocked on the door of the room that had become his mom’s workshop.
Even after waiting a while, there was no response.
“Did she already go up to the main bedroom?”
He placed his ear against the door but heard nothing.
Hyunsoo carefully opened the door.
“Oh.”
Various leathers, linings, and materials like key rings and chains were scattered all over.
His mom was asleep at her desk, holding a pencil.
“She hasn’t been sleeping lately.”
Seeing the pile of crumpled papers, he could feel his mom’s struggles.
“Not yet.”
Even at this point, with about 15 days left, his mom hadn’t finalized the design.
Of course, Hyunsoo and Adriana knew his mom’s struggles, so no one rushed her.
But maybe because she was feeling pressured herself, she invested every waking moment into the design.
It was heart-wrenching, but seeing his mom work hard made him happy.
- Your happiness is my happiness.
He still vividly remembered his mom’s face from the years she spent by his side.
She always smiled, but as she felt her physical limits, she blamed herself.
- If only I were healthier, I could take much better care of you. Why didn’t I exercise when I was young, making my son suffer like this?
“I don’t want to see that side of you anymore.”
While cherishing those memories, Hyunsoo much preferred the current version of his mom, pouring all her passion into his dream.
“I don’t plan to repay 47 years of care with just this one time. Let’s continue to live happily together, mom.”
Securing the opportunity to attend classes at FIT, getting help from Adriana, Angela, and the soon-arriving photographer to launch the best product—all these efforts were for his mom.
To pave her path as a designer with flowers. It was the least he could do as a son.
“Now, sleep well. We can think about it together tomorrow and come up with a good design.”
He intended to wake his mom and escort her to the main bedroom.
“Umm… No. Can’t go.”
But she resisted desperately, even mumbling in her sleep and continuing to sketch.
Hyunsoo chuckled and glanced at the design she was working on.
“This one has potential.”
In fact, there had been several good designs so far. But they were discarded because they didn’t satisfy his mom’s standards.
“So she’s aiming for a more classic look this time.”
To Hyunsoo, this design looked the best.
What caught his eye was his mom’s doodle below the design.
[????? It’s lacking. But I don’t know what’s lacking…]
Hyunsoo gazed at his mom’s design, eyes gleaming.
