This children’s nutritional supplement CF was not something I had to do, but something I wanted to try.
It was an offer I accepted of my own will, not because someone else forced me into it.
It’s true that I was tempted by the larger advertising budget than I had expected, and I felt a tickling sensation in my chest at the sight of my parents, who were even more bewildered than I was.
But that’s not all.
This was something I was experiencing for the first time, where the result could vary significantly based on my own will and efforts.
It was a time that could either be labeled as regret or experience, depending on how I approached it.
I wanted to make it a meaningful time, one that would leave no regrets.
“Um, Director. I have something I’d like to ask.”
“Feel free to ask anything. Just not my bank account password.”
With his voice promising to answer everything he could, I first inquired about the intention behind what Kang Eun-tae, the director, wanted to convey in the CF.
I asked what exactly it was that he intended to express.
He had already mentioned himself that there was no need for me to act out any specific emotions; I just needed to run naturally on the track.
But it was also true that I couldn’t shake the feeling of something left unsaid.
“I’d appreciate it if you could share your thoughts in a bit more detail.”
I carefully voiced my somewhat presumptuous question, aware of its nature. Fortunately, he didn’t seem annoyed by the inquiry, which allowed me to glean a bit more about the blueprint in the director’s mind.
The problem, however, was that I couldn’t easily meet Kim Min-jun, who I had to synchronize with in front of the camera.
Still, I hoped I could at least meet him for just one day.
“Hey, Ha Eun. Why do you want to meet Kim Min-jun so much?”
“I have something I want to ask him directly.”
I didn’t tell my mother exactly what I wanted to gain from the meeting with Kim Min-jun.
When I tried to explain, it felt too vague and unclear.
In any case, there wasn’t much else I could do besides waiting for a way to contact Kim Min-jun.
After the advertising meeting, I spent my time going over the CF storyboard continuously.
In the end, all this was preparation for future Virtual YouTuber broadcasts.
Experiencing a CF shoot with a national representative wasn’t something that happened every day.
If I could blend these unique experiences into my broadcasts, I felt I could create my own distinctive content.
Of course, just using real-life experiences directly would only lead to trouble, so I would need to add some adaptations.
Time passed, and as the day of the ad shoot approached, about four days remained.
“This Saturday? Ah, yes. That’s fine.”
Finally, I got the chance to meet Kim Min-jun in person.
*
“Oh, you must be Ha Eun! A hundred times better than the starting pitcher, a genius girl!”
“………………”
One curious glance mixed with joy, followed by a firm handshake.
The morning meeting between Ha Eun and Kim Min-jun was a bit more chaotic than Ha Eun had anticipated.
Still, the main goal of meeting Kim Min-jun had been achieved.
Now, all that was left was to observe Kim Min-jun all day long and find a way to ensure that Ha Eun’s image wouldn’t be overshadowed in the CF.
“Hm, if all I do is watch him exercise, it might get boring. Are you really okay with that?”
“Yes. You can just show me exercising.”
Like Ha Eun, Kim Min-jun hadn’t really acted before either.
Therefore, the CF scene assigned to him didn’t require any particular acting skills; it was just a scene of “running.”
He just had to run on the long track and pass the baton to Ha Eun, who was waiting at the center of the track.
There were a few lines Kim Min-jun needed to record for the CF, but they wouldn’t be captured on camera.
Simply because Kim Min-jun was a national track athlete, his presence would stand out just by running.
If people watching the CF only remembered Kim Min-jun instead of Ha Eun, the essence of the children’s nutritional supplement CF would become diluted.
And so, in search of a way to highlight Ha Eun’s presence.
Starting with the very basic, simple stretching, followed by warm-ups and mealtime.
Even until the red sunset completely faded and the night sky took over, I captured Kim Min-jun’s day through my own eyes without showing a hint of boredom.
“Thank you. It really helped.”
‘…It helped?’
At that moment, Ha Eun, with her hands clasped together, bowed respectfully towards Kim Min-jun.
It was true that I was a little taken aback by the weightiness conveyed from her childlike vocabulary and atmosphere.
“Hm, I’m glad it helped. It was nice to meet you, Ha Eun.”
“Me too.”
I sent Ha Eun and her mother off with a smile.
These days, kids seem to become mature a little faster.
After all, she was only six years old… but then again, there are always exceptions.
Regardless, showing training routines was not a problem per se.
Throughout the various breaks, I felt I had answered the numerous curious and childlike questions she had asked with sincerity.
A few days later, when I encountered Ha Eun again at the CF shooting site, she greeted me politely, suggesting that Kim Min-jun hadn’t made any mistakes.
However, if I had to pinpoint something that was on my mind.
“Uh? Ha Eun, do you want to run with me too?”
“Yes. Can I…?”
“No, it’s not that you can’t, but…”
She came up to Kim Min-jun, who was trying to warm up in advance to prevent losing his breath during the CF shoot, and asked him to run just one lap alongside her to match her pace.
Was it to try to loosen her tense body in anticipation?
“Then let’s start with stretching.”
“Yes.”
So, bit by bit, I relaxed Ha Eun’s rigid body, and then, just like she had requested, we started to run very slowly on the track together.
Soon after that, someone from the staff announced that they were about to start preparing for the shoot.
After gently patting Ha Eun’s shoulder as encouragement, I flashed a friendly smile to her, saying the phrase “fighting” along with it.
In return, I received a couple of nods and a “Kim Min-jun, fighting!”—a cheer that sounded nothing like something a child would say.
‘…I guess you need to be at that level to shoot a CF.’
Kim Min-jun couldn’t help but click his tongue at Ha Eun’s extraordinary demeanor.
She was a fun kid, in many ways.
Not long after, the shooting finally began.
Running towards Ha Eun, I passed her the baton with an appropriately fast yet stable posture that I had memorized over the past few days.
At the same time, several cameras began to follow Ha Eun, no longer focusing on Kim Min-jun.
However, when Ha Eun reached roughly the middle of the track.
– Stumble.
In an instant, her two feet got tangled, and she fell flat on the ground.
The sight of Ha Eun, clearly a mistake, was caught on camera.
As expected, a “no good” sign should have immediately come from Director Kang Eun-tae the moment Ha Eun fell.
Yet, rather than stopping the shoot, he hurriedly prevented people from rushing towards Ha Eun and shouted,
“Focus on capturing Ha Eun’s entire face right now!”
He instructed the cameras to focus on her face as she just managed to get herself back up.
Fortunately, she hadn’t teared up, but it was a situation that anyone apart from Kang Eun-tae would find hard to understand if they continued to shoot.
Nonetheless, the cameras, almost by necessity, complied with Kang Eun-tae’s directions.
They managed to capture Ha Eun jogging towards the end of the track, albeit in a somewhat haphazard manner.
Only when Ha Eun’s feet reached the end of the track did the “cut” signal finally come from Kang Eun-tae.
Afterward, he personally walked over to check on Ha Eun, who was slowly approaching from a distance.
For the filming staff, who knew Kang Eun-tae could be a bit of a dictator during CF shoots, this was quite a surprising sight.
“First, fetch the first aid kit and disinfect the wound. You explain to Ha Eun’s mom on my behalf, Yeong-tae.”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
Thus, with delegating the care for Ha Eun’s slightly scraped knee to someone else, Kang Eun-tae returned to his director’s spot and began to calmly review the results that had come to be because he intentionally didn’t call “no good” from the start.
‘… Huh.’
A sense of déjà vu.
The image of Ha Eun in the filming, appearing as if she were just a younger version of Kim Min-jun.
The cadence of her steps, the angle at which she raised her head; everything was similar to Kim Min-jun.
But when Ha Eun’s gaze suddenly dropped, she stumbled.
At that moment, silence enveloped the filming ground.
– Zing.
The silent gaze that literally held no awareness of anything other than the finish line was captured perfectly by the camera.
The déjà vu that was felt moments before had transformed into a tool that emphasized Ha Eun’s overall atmosphere.
The child who had been running stable like Kim Min-jun just a second ago was now staring quietly into the distance as she lay fallen, amplifying the contrast.
Following this, as Ha Eun slowly got back up, her eye level rose, and soon she regained her original elevation.
Maintaining a completely stoic expression as if nothing had happened, she continued running until the end.
Coincidentally, this mirrored exactly Kang Eun-tae’s words just days prior:
“I intend to express Ha Eun’s calmness as confidence gained from the nutritional supplement. With the supplement, she is confident in facing any adversity.”
It was as if he had precisely captured the concept of the CF he had laid out when persuading Ha Eun and her parents.
‘No wonder the intuition was sharp.’
Perhaps it was because the image in his mind aligned closely with what had been captured from the very first shoot.
Kang Eun-tae’s lips had been subtly curled upward for some time now.
