Chapter 65: What is Teacher Jiang's obsession with Baona's little toes?

"Cut! That's a wrap for this take!"

After keeping the improvised version, the two of them shot the original version again.

Once the director called cut, Kang Jae-hyun went over to the monitor to discuss with him how to make the ankle-rubbing shot look like it had an ambiguous tension that was "crossing the line yet restrained."

Meanwhile, Krystal hurried over to the rest area, using both hands to fan her burning cheeks frantically.

The sensation of the muscles in that guy's arms had imprinted on her skin right through the fabric of his school uniform, scorching her cheeks so intensely that the heat refused to fade.

Rounding the corner of the studio.

After making sure there was no one around, Krystal abruptly kicked off her high heels and brought her nose close to her ankle to sniff.

"Hmm?"

She scrunched up her nose and leaned in closer to verify.

Luckily, there was only a faint scent of leather.

Even so.

Krystal still dug out a pack of wet wipes from her bag and began frantically wiping her feet, not even sparing the spaces between her toes.

"What kind of shameful play is our Bona engaging in?"

Kim Ji-won leaned against the wall at some point, dangling two cups of iced coffee in her hands with a mischievous look on her face.

"Yyah!"

Krystal scrambled to slip her shoes back on. "When did you get here?"

"Ever since you started sniffing your own little feet like a puppy~"

"Aish... Kim Ji-won!!"

"Why are you so nervous?"

Kim Ji-won pressed an iced coffee against her burning cheek. "I'm not Teacher Kang."

"What are you talking about!"

Krystal snatched the iced coffee and took a tactical sip.

Kim Ji-won tilted her head and scrutinized her blushing cheeks.

"Question one: Why did the original script call for holding her up, but Teacher Kang insisted on a bridal style carry?"

"How would I know what that pabo is thinking!"

Kim Ji-won held up two fingers.

"Question two: Aren't Teacher Kang's arms stronger than you expected? How did it feel to be carried like a bride?"

"I—I didn't notice anything at all!"

"Really?"

Kim Ji-won shook her phone. "I just took a photo of someone's cheeks turning completely ripe when she was being carried bridal style. Do you want me to send it to you?"

"That's a private photo! Delete it! Right now! Immediately!"

Krystal lunged forward in exasperation and anger to snatch the phone, while Kim Ji-won nimbly dodged out of the way.

"What's so private about something photographed in front of more than thirty staff members?"

"..."

Speechless, Krystal turned around and walked away. "I'm not talking to you anymore, the next scene is about to start."

"Wait!"

Kim Ji-won called out to her, pulled a mini tube out of her pocket, and handed it over. "Hand cream. Guaranteed to make your little feet smell amazing after applying it~"

"......"

Kim Ji-won blinked. "You're welcome~"

"Kim! Ji! Won!"

"..."

Back on the set.

The makeup artist squatted in front of Krystal, using eyeshadow to blend a realistic red and swollen effect onto her ankle.

"A bit redder."

The director leaned in to take a closer look. "It needs to look like a genuine sprain."

"Ne."

Kang Jae-hyun stood nearby, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward Krystal's feet.

Her ankles were very slender, and her skin was so white under the sunlight that it was nearly translucent, with faint blue veins visible beneath the surface.

Seeming to sense Kang Jae-hyun's gaze.

Krystal's ten rounded toes curled up self-consciously.

"Let me explain the emotional arc to you both—"

Director Boo Sung-chul sat down next to Krystal.

"Bona starts out by acting tough, saying, 'I don't need your help.'"

He suddenly bit his lower lip to demonstrate a stubborn expression, then immediately released it. "Not a real bite, but that ambiguous feeling of almost biting down."

"When it hurts, don't frown; let it flow naturally—gasping for air while secretly digging your fingers into the seams of the chair."

"Ne."

Krystal immediately used a hand mirror to mimic the micro-expressions the director had just demonstrated.

"Now for Chan-young—"

Director Boo Sung-chul turned to Kang Jae-hyun.

"First is guilt. That guilt should be reflected right here at the glabella, furrowed slightly, but don't frown."

Hearing this, two shallow lines instantly formed between Kang Jae-hyun's brows.

Next, Boo Sung-chul pointed at his Adam's apple.

"When you catch her peeking at you, the ankle-rubbing movement should pause for a beat, swallow past your Adam's apple, and the camera will catch the close-up."

"Ne."

"And the most crucial part—when Bona realizes Chan-young is looking up inquiringly, her gaze quickly darts away, and her chin must be lifted to maintain the arrogant persona."

With that, the director clapped his hands. "Let's run through the scene twice first."

Kang Jae-hyun knelt on one knee on a soft cushion, holding his palm upward to signal Krystal to place her foot on it.

Krystal pressed her lips together and slowly rested her foot in his hand—

"Ah!"

The moment his warm palm touched her chilled skin, she jerked her foot back as if electrocuted.

Kang Jae-hyun froze. "Are you ticklish?"

"No..."

The tips of Krystal's ears turned completely red as she stubbornly extended her foot back out. "Continue."

Second rehearsal.

Kang Jae-hyun's thumb pressed against the protruding joint of her ankle.

Krystal's entire body tensed like a drawn bow, and she completely forgot her lines, focusing solely on her frantically curling toes.

The director slapped his forehead.

"Bona-yah, you're not getting a foot massage right now."

"Pfft—"

The surrounding staff members burst out laughing in unison.

Kim Ji-won laughed so hard she nearly fell backward out of her chair.

Amidst the uproarious laughter of the entire crew, Krystal covered her face with both hands and fell backward onto the recliner, letting out a pitiful groan through her fingers:

"Just let me die..."

Third attempt.

Krystal finally squeezed out her lines: "It's, it's all your fault..."

The end of her sentence trembled so much that it didn't sound like a reproach at all, but rather like coquettish flirting.

"Yeah, my fault."

Kang Jae-hyun picked up his cue smoothly, precisely executing even the Adam's apple swallow requested by the director.

However, Boo Sung-chul still stroked his chin and shook his head.

"I keep feeling like something is off..."

He suddenly clapped his hands.

"Ah! The problem is Chan-young! Your massage technique is way too professional!"

"Uh..."

Kang Jae-hyun scratched the back of his head. "I picked up a couple of moves from a Tui Na master on the set of *The International Market* in Thailand before..."

"No wonder!"

The director was torn between laughing and crying.

"Yoon Chan-young is a high school student, not a physical therapist. Your movements need to be clumsier!"

A sudden realization dawned on Kang Jae-hyun. When he touched her foot again, he deliberately lightened his pressure, his fingers even "accidentally" poking the center of Krystal's sole.

"Yyah!"

In a reflex action, Krystal kicked him in the shoulder.

The director's eyes lit up.

"That's the exact state we want! Action!"

The clapperboard snapped shut with a sharp "crack."

The fragrance of artificial osmanthus flowers was scattered by the wind machine, and silver-white fragments drifted down like snow onto their shoulders.

Krystal curled up on the bench, the hem of her school uniform skirt spread out like flower petals, while her injured ankle was carefully cradled in the palm of Kang Jae-hyun's hand.

"It's all your fault..."

"Yeah, my fault."

"Camera 3, push in—closer!"

The camera practically brushed against Krystal's ankle.

Under the close-up, her curling toes opened and closed slightly like pearls in an oyster shell.

When Kang Jae-hyun's thumb brushed across the artificial bruise, Krystal abruptly clenched the hem of her skirt.

"Does it hurt?"

His voice dropped very low, sounding as though he were coaxing a ruffled cat.

"I—I don't need your help!"

This line was supposed to be delivered with a glare.

Yet the moment she lifted her eyes, she crashed straight into Kang Jae-hyun's gaze, which was as gentle as water.

The fierce look scripted in the script instantly fell apart completely, and her eyelashes fluttered in a flurry, resembling a startled butterfly.

The wind machine happened to stir up a fresh round of flower rain.

An osmanthus blossom suddenly drifted into her hair.

The lighting technician expertly dimmed the primary light, bathing the outlines of the two figures in a honey-colored backlighting.

"Cut! Perfect!"

A production assistant trotted over and handed her a towel.

Kang Jae-hyun took it first, but naturally reached out to brush the artificial flower petal from Krystal's hair before anything else.

"A petal."

She froze in place, not even daring to blink her eyelashes for fear of disturbing the intimacy of the moment.

—Please, does he even have any idea how ambiguous this action is?!

Yet Kang Jae-hyun remained completely oblivious. In fact, while adjusting the tie of his costume, his fingertips suddenly paused—

A faint, elusive sweet fragrance lingered among his fingertips.

Driven by an impulse he couldn't explain, he brought his hand close to the tip of his nose and sniffed gently.

"Did Bona put something on her feet? They smell nice."

"......"

Krystal's brain short-circuited on the spot.

The hand cream Kim Ji-won gave her...

Her feet...

He smelled them...

He actually smelled them?!

"Ah, that's... i—it's the setting spray sprayed by the makeup artist! Yes! Setting spray!"

Kang Jae-hyun looked completely bewildered.

"Setting spray on your feet?"

"Because..."

Krystal's gaze darted around frantically.

"Because ankles need makeup too! So..."

"Oh."

Kang Jae-hyun nodded, actually believing it.

Lowering his head, he sniffed his own fingers again and chuckled good-naturedly, "It actually smells pretty good, like peaches."

Krystal: "......"

At that moment, she was immensely grateful that she had applied that tube of hand cream—if Kang Jae-hyun had caught the scent of feet stuffed inside high heels all day long, she might have jumped straight into the Han River on the spot.

Not far away.

Kim Ji-won held up her phone, recording this entire scene, and thoughtfully posted it to their "Heirs Cast Gossip Chatroom."

In truth, Kang Jae-hyun and Krystal had a fairly heavy schedule of scenes today.

After filming three scenes, only one final continuous piggyback scene remained—where Yoon Chan-young carries Lee Bona on his back to a proper hospital to have her ankle checked out.

Just as Krystal was touching up her makeup.

She suddenly noticed her phone vibrating frantically in her bag.

Pulling it out, she took a look—

[Heirs Cast Gossip Chatroom]: 36+ unread messages.

The moment she tapped it open, the chat history scrolled past in a blur:

[Park Hyung-sik]: ??? Teacher Kang, what are you doing???

[Kim Woo-bin]: @Kang-jae-hyun, care to explain?

[Park Shin-hye]: Bona-yah... your feet... taste like peaches?

[Lee Min-ho]: [Shocked.jpg]

[Choi Jin-hyuk]: What kind of perverted statement is this???

[Kang Ha-neul]: Is it still not too late for me to come over and watch?

[......]

Krystal's pupils dilated as she frantically scrolled upward with trembling fingers—

[Kim Ji-won]: @Everyone, what kind of obsession does Teacher Kang have with Bona's little feet? [Video]

In the video, Kang Jae-hyun was lowering his head to sniff his own fingers, smiling good-naturedly as he said:

"It actually smells pretty good, like peaches."

"Kim! Ji! Won!"

Krystal snapped her head up, scanning her surroundings with a murderous aura, and finally spotted the culprit under a parasol not far away.

"You're dead!!"

"Huh?"

Kang Jae-hyun looked in bewilderment at Krystal, who had suddenly exploded and given chase to Kim Ji-won.

He immediately snatched up his phone, and his pupils dilated instantly:

[Kang Jae-hyun]: No! It's a misunderstanding! It's the scent of the setting spray!

[Kang Jae-hyun]: You guys shouldn't take things out of context!!!

[Kang Jae-hyun]: [Panicked.jpg]

Park Hyung-sik appeared out of nowhere and hooked his arm around Kang Jae-hyun's neck.

"Hyung, I never took you for this kind of fetishist."

"I don't!"

Kang Jae-hyun's face flushed bright red.

"The director told me to smell it!"

Director Boo Sung-chul, who had just walked over: "??? When did I ever tell you to smell a female actor's feet?"

"No... it's the setting spray the makeup artist used..."

The more Kang Jae-hyun tried to explain, the worse it looked, and sweat broke out on his forehead from anxiety.

On the other side, Krystal finally cornered Kim Ji-won, and the two of them tumbled together in a scuffle—

To be accurate, it was a one-sided beating administered by Krystal.

Kim Ji-won laughed while pleading for mercy:

"I was wrong, I was wrong! I'll delete it right now!"

"Too late!"

Krystal snatched her phone away, only to discover that the video had been accidentally forwarded to the larger main crew chatroom amidst their tussle.

[Lighting Department - Chief Park]: Is this video... something that can be broadcasted?? [Shocked.jpg]

[Screenwriting Department - Lee Soo-yeon]: @Kim Eun-sook Senior-nim, should we add this into the script? [Doghead]

[Makeup Artist - Han Min-young]: Um... actually, we didn't spray setting spray on her feet (whispering).

[Production Assistant Guy]: So it really is foot fragrance???

[PR Department - Section Chief Lee]: Material acquired √ #Yoon-Chan-young-Foot-Fetish# trending search reserved.

[Director - Boo Sung-chul]: Already edited into the behind-the-scenes footage; will release it once viewership ratings break 15%.

[Producer - Yoon Ha-rim]: Looking forward to it, viewers love this kind of natural interaction.

[......]

Kang Jae-hyun stared at the furiously scrolling messages, his fingers hovering and trembling over the keyboard—

Explain?

The more he explained, the deeper he dug himself in.

Don't explain?

He'd be branded a pervert for life.

In the end, in a fit of self-abandonment, he sent a [Laying flat and accepting mockery.jpg] meme.

On the other side.

Krystal buried her face in her hands in absolute despair.

She suddenly felt that today's Han River seemed exceptionally well-suited for taking a dive.

Taking advantage of the moment, Kim Ji-won leaned in close to Krystal's ear and delivered a soft, fatal blow:

"Actually... Teacher Kang sniffed quite earnestly, didn't he?"

"......"

Krystal's fists clenched tight.

The director suddenly raised his megaphone and shouted:

"Get ready for the final piggyback scene!"

As if granted a reprieve, Kang Jae-hyun bolted toward the set, only to hear a chorus of coughing erupting behind him—

"Ahem, run a bit slower, Peach Teacher~"

"Do you need me to prepare some wet wipes, Teacher Kang?"

"Make sure you don't sneak a sniff while carrying her!"

Stumbling, Kang Jae-hyun nearly tripped over a wire.

......

Director Boo Sung-chul sat in front of the monitor, stroking his chin in thought.

Having weathered the "pleasant surprises" of the previous few scenes, he now had a firm grasp of the chemical reaction pattern between Kang Jae-hyun and Krystal—

They simply had to run through the scene a few more times before the official take.

Not to adjust their acting.

Rather, it was to let the two of them burn off those heart-fluttering little ticks beforehand, so they could present the most natural sense of ambiguity during the actual filming.

This kind of treatment was usually reserved exclusively for the lead actors.

Yet no one raised any objections at the moment—after all, this unexpectedly exploding CP had already become the ratings savior of the production crew.

"Let's try the scene twice to get a feel for it." The director clapped his hands. "The clapperboard doesn't need to roll."

First trial run.

Krystal stood on her tiptoes and draped herself over Kang Jae-hyun's back, her arms instinctively tightening the moment they wrapped around his neck—

"Cough, ahem... Bona-yah..."

Kang Jae-hyun rolled his eyes as he was nearly choked out. "I'm suffocating..."

"Ah! I'm sorry!"

Krystal panicked and loosened her grip, only for her entire body to slide halfway down, leading her to grab a handful of his ear in her fluster.

"Ouch!"

A chorus of muffled laughter erupted from the sidelines.

Second trial run.

"This time, no choking necks and no grabbing ears."

Kang Jae-hyun squatted down and issued a stern warning.

"Ne..."

Krystal pressed against him gingerly.

As a result, Kang Jae-hyun stood up too abruptly, and she crashed right into the back of his head with a loud "thud."

"Ow..."

Krystal, holding her nose with tear-filled eyes, and Kang Jae-hyun, spinning in circles at a loss for how to check her injury, looked precisely like a pair of clumsy penguins.

......

Forty minutes later, the two of them finally ushered in the official filming.

"Scene 36, ready!"

"1, 2, 3—Action!"

Kang Jae-hyun steadily supported the curves of Krystal's legs, while her wrists, holding her high heels, hung naturally in front of his chest.

The artificial sunset cast long shadows of the two figures, and the silver osmanthus props drifted down onto their shoulders under the blowing wind machine.

According to the script, Krystal was supposed to bury her face in his shoulder and pretend to be asleep.

Yet the moment she actually leaned against him—

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The sound of his heartbeat transmitted through his school uniform was fast and heavy, resembling someone who had just finished running a marathon.

Krystal blinked.

—So he was nervous too?

This discovery suddenly emboldened her.

"Chan-young-ah..."

Krystal secretly rubbed the tip of her nose against the back of Kang Jae-hyun's neck.

"Hmm?"

"Am I heavy?"

Kang Jae-hyun's footsteps paused.

The camera pushed in for a close-up, casting his profile in sharp relief under the sunset filter while a gentle curve lifted the corner of his mouth:

"Our Bona is lighter than a cloud in the sky."

Krystal suddenly tightened her arms wrapped around his neck, burying her blushing cheek even deeper into the crook of his shoulder, while her dangling calves swayed gently like a kitten that had successfully stolen a dried fish.

"......"

"Cut! Perfect!"

The "cut" sounded, but Kang Jae-hyun still stood in place without moving.

"Put, put me down..." Krystal muttered softly.

"Oh, oh!"

Kang Jae-hyun snapped out of his trance, his movements as he bent down to set her down stiff as a robot.

The moment their gazes met, they snapped apart simultaneously.

One stared at the tips of her shoes while the other gazed at the sky, looking exactly like a pair of sensitive plants whose leaves rapidly curled inward the instant they were touched.