When she got back to her office, the phone rang. It was Mi-Suk. "Noelle hi!"
"Hey Mi-Suk! How are you?" Noelle said. She was still a little upset with her colleague, as she never gave her a heads up that she would assist that special someone.
"I'm still at the production company and I'm still waiting for the papers to be signed. And I just received a call from the set..." Mi-Suk said and paused. Noelle felt that this definitely wasn't heading in the right direction. "Listen, I know you said you have to write, but you really need to get there. You're only ten minutes away, Sang-Jun has his phone shut, Mr. Kim is out of town, and I need more than an hour to get there..." Mi-Suk continued.
"Why? Why do I have to go to the set?" Noelle asked, alarmed.
Mi-Suk sighed. It was a genuine sigh. "Well... he lost his mind apparently. He said he's not filming anymore."
Noelle was taken aback. "What? Why?" She couldn't find any reason why Yeong Ye-Jun would suddenly stop filming.
"He said something about... protesting? For actors' rights?" Mi-Suk said, but it sounded more like a question that even she couldn't understand herself.
Noelle understood that this was serious trouble. She mentally calculated the cost of the delay he was causing. "That's strange. I didn't know he was a member of a union."
"He isn't. He doesn't pick up the phone, and the producers aren't giving me any details. I don't know what happened or what he is... fighting for?" Mi-Suk said, adding a big question mark at the end.
Noelle was intrigued by the mystery. Still... "I think I'll just make it worse if I go."
"You'll do great. Just go there and find out what's going on. I'm getting a cab in five minutes. Call me when you know more, and I'll guide you through. You know—every minute counts. And I'm counting on you," Mi-Suk said, sounding commanding and supportive at the same time.
Noelle was flattered. She was their only hope. She just had to find out what was happening. She could do that. Within a couple of minutes she was in a taxi heading to the park where Yeong Ye-Jun had apparently taken up the cause of a strike.
She arrived pretty fast. No heavy traffic that day. She headed straight to the base camp.
Everybody was upset. The production team looked furious, the hair and makeup crew distressed, the camera and sound crews clearly pissed. After scanning all those vexed faces—none of which belonged to Yeong Ye-Jun—she approached the production coordinator, who had always been very nice to her and eager to help over the past few days.
"Hello. I came here to check what happened," Noelle told him.
He looked at her for a second, then chuckled derisively. "You? They sent... you? They sent Christmas, the intern, to check? Do they think we're a joke?"
Noelle blinked. He was mean. What reason had he to be so offensive? Noelle tried to excuse him, even though she felt uneasy. Maybe his bad temper was the reason for his insults. She was about to explain herself, to calm him down, to make him see how unfair his behavior was. "I'm only here to—" she began, but he cut her off.
"Listen, little girl, be of some use and go fetch your master some champagne to cool him down," he told her.
It was the same guy who two days ago had helped her find a copy of the script with a big smile on his face. There were only a few possible explanations for this change in behavior: a) he had multiple personalities, b) there was a virus spreading that altered people's minds, or c) Yeong Ye-Jun had really pissed him off. She was not going to tolerate this.
"Excuse me, but I will pretend I haven't heard any of what you just said. Please tell me what's going on," Noelle said, trying to bring him to his senses.
Another lady, Mrs. Sam, a senior crew member, approached and took her aside. "Noelle, you chose the wrong person to inquire. Mr. Kim is the reason why Yeong Ye-Jun is pissed. He commented on the tattoos of one of the actors and how long it took to cover them. The young actor who plays the servant didn't say anything, but Yeong Ye-Jun thought the comment was inappropriate and started arguing with him. We intervened, but things got tense and Mr. Yeong decided to retreat to his trailer. We're trying to get him out and start filming again. Can you help?" Mrs. Sam explained.
"I'm not sure, but I can try."
It was a long shot. A very long shot.
Nevertheless, she picked up her phone and, for the first time ever, looked up his contact. His number had been saved on her phone from day one, along with other important company contacts. The first day she got back from work, she had spent a few minutes just staring at that contact. Afterwards, she never looked it up again. Even as his assistant, she had never called him – neither had he. But the time has come.
The phone rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. It kept ringing, but there was no response. As expected. She hung up and decided it was time to go to his trailer and knock on the door. "He's not picking up. I'll have to go look for him."
"No need to. There he comes," Mrs. Sam replied.
Noelle turned around and indeed saw Yeong Ye-Jun approaching. He was ready for work. All dressed up, makeup done, wig perfectly placed. Although, his expression didn't match the kind and poetic character of Prince Hwang. No, that was the pissed face of Yeong Ye-Jun. It was time to take action. She had no idea what exactly to do, so she just walked quickly toward him, hoping to speak to him before he reached the base camp.
As she approached, she noticed that his gaze was fixed on the people under the pavilion. Hadn't he seen her? Or was he just ignoring her?
This will turn out just lovely!
When she was four or five steps away, she stopped right in front of him. It was now or never. "Mr. Yeong, Mi-Suk sent me," she said in a steady, clear voice. She believed those key words would grab his attention—and they did.
He stopped and looked down at her. "Welcome, Your Highness," he said with an awful smirk.
"Mr. Yeong, nobody could reach you on the phone, and I was the one who could get here the fastest. I came to tell you to resume work," Noelle said. Those weren't exactly her orders, but he had just called her Your Highness. She didn't handle mockery well.
"Where is the royal decree you need to provide me in order to obey? Without that, I'm afraid your command lacks legitimacy."
Is he acting or just making fun of me?
Her teeth clenched. "I would appreciate it if you could deal with this situation with maturity."
"Oh, I'm mature enough. Follow me and you'll see," he said, heading toward the base camp.
Noelle walked fast right behind him. "Mr. Yeong, what happened? You need to resume working immediately."
"People who don't perform satisfactory, must be removed."
"You're being one of them now, causing problems for everyone..." Noelle told him in a low voice. She wasn't sure he heard her until he replied in an unexpectedly calm, decisive voice.
"You should be with me, not against me. Keep quiet," he said decisively, looking at her firmly. Noelle gasped. She hadn't seen that firm kind of behavior from him before.
They were at the base camp now, and he turned to face the crowd. "I will do whatever I want today! I cannot perform under these conditions!" Yeong Ye-Jun yelled.
Nobody could contain him. She felt that talking to him again wouldn't make any difference. She dialed Mi-Suk's number.
"Mi-Suk, where are you? Hurry up! He's out of control!" Noelle said.
"I'm coming! Tell me, what happened?" Mi-Suk asked.
Noelle quickly told her what she had found out from Mrs. Sam. "And right now, they're still fighting..." Noelle informed her.
"Mr. Kim...?" Mi-Suk's voice trembled. "That's not good... Gosh... Hold on. I'm calling Chloe. I'll call you back." She hung up before Noelle could respond.
Noelle turned to the scene. Mr. Kim was staring angrily at the trees, muttering things like "I should have become an actor! At least I'd know when I should be working" and "How easy it is for wealthy people to disregard other people's work...". On the other hand, Yeong Ye-Jun was saying "It's easy to disrespect the arts. Most people find it easy!" and "Some people think their work is more important than others".
The situation was getting worse, and she wasn't sure Mi-Suk could find Chloe in time.
The production guy turned around and came closer to Yeong Ye-Jun. The latter was ready to rumble.
"Mr. Yeong, can you please go back to the set to shoot the scene? You've wasted a lot of valuable time for all of us" Mr. Kim said.
"As long as you remain on this set, I refuse to do anything," Yeong Ye-Jun replied.
Noelle thought it would be wise if she could persuade him to go back to his trailer, away from production, so everyone could calm down. She took a step toward him, but at the same time Mr. Kim stood opposite Yeong Ye-Jun, ready to escalate the fight.
"I dare you to say that one more time" Mr. Kim shouted.
Yeong Ye-Jun was ready to attack him. Noelle knew they'd reached a point where things would only worsen.
She reacted on instinct.
She threw herself between the two men, facing Yeong Ye-Jun. She raised her hands, placing them firmly on his chest to hold him back.
"Enough!"