Episode 16

“Alright, the campus tour ends here. Thank you all for your hard work.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks.”

The guide concluded the tour and distributed souvenir exchange tickets, explaining that participants could receive their souvenirs at the university headquarters. Since Kim Junsoo’s purpose for visiting today was to get a souvenir, he was about to head straight to the university headquarters. However, Woo seong-sik curiosity was piqued by the bustling scene below the hill.

“Hey, Junsoo. Let’s go down there and take a look too. Isn’t there a famous celebrity there?”

“Sure, let’s check it out.”

Kim Junsoo and Woo seong-sik descended the hill. As they got closer, the atmosphere felt even more vibrant than it appeared from above. The eastern entrance of the College of Humanities was filled with numerous staff members and professional filming equipment. An FD carried a sign that read, “Please don’t shout or look at the camera,” while controlling the surroundings.

“Get ready, stand by, and action!”

The director, who had just started filming the current scene, shouted “action” after cueing everyone.

The lighting and sound teams came out of the building, followed by Han So-hyeon walking along with the camera.

“Oh, really. What’s wrong with Kang Seo-joon? Why is he so annoyed with me these days?”

As Yeoreum walked out, she paused briefly and became lost in thought.

“What mistake did I make? Ah, I don’t know, I don’t know.”

She walked out, shaking her head left and right.

“I don’t know either.”

Then, Cha Woo-joo appeared from behind the entrance column, revealing himself after hiding.

“Aah!! Cha Woo-joo? Hey, why are you scaring people?”

“You have nothing to do right? Let’s go somewhere together today.”

However, it wasn’t only Jeong Yeoreum who was surprised.

“Whatttt!!! Ugh…!”

Seeing Yeon-woo suddenly appear while they were observing from outside the set, Seong-sik let out a yell.

When the nearby filming staff looked at them, Junsoo hurriedly covered Seong-sik’s mouth.

“Hey, be quiet. You’re not supposed to shout, didn’t you see the sign?”

As Junsoo removed his hand that had been covering Seong-sik’s mouth, he whispered.

“Weren’t you surprised? It’s Yeon-woo. Over there.”

“I know. I saw too. I’ve noticed since Han So-hyeon started walking. They’re shooting together with Yeon-woo.”

Hearing Junsoo’s words, Seong-sik looked at Junsoo and spoke.

“Oh… Is that so? That’s impressive. I just thought she was pretty.”

“I know. You were even drooling with your mouth open.”

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad!”

Seong-sik snapped back at Junsoo.

Meanwhile, on the set, Cha Woo-joo decided to take a break and pulled Yeoreum’s hand to lead her away.

They were in the midst of filming a scene where they walked away while Cha Woo-joo suggested they take a break and clear their minds.

 

“Cut! Let’s just cut the last part and do it again. Mr. Yeseul, can you check the camera angles?”

“Sure, we walked this way when Yeoreum, and Woo-joo were talking, so it should look like this.”

“Okay.”

As they adjusted their paths according to the grip’s instructions, Yeon-woo and Yeoreum walked out again.

“Okay, cut! Let’s prepare the props and move on to the next scene.”

The next scene depicted Woo-joo giving Yeoreum a ride on a bike as they left the campus.

“Actors, take a short break. Mr. Yeseul, please give them hot packs and blankets.”

Because they were transitioning from the spring of the new semester to summer within the scene, it was freezing since it was winter during the shoot.

“Dance, noona.”

“Ugh, it’s so cold.”

A staff member rushed over and attached hot packs to padded jackets before covering them with blankets.

“Yeon-woo!”

At that moment, Yeon-woo turned around at the familiar voice coming from beyond the staff members.

“…. Huh?”

Yeon-woo hastily stood up and turned around.

“Noona, hold on for a moment. These are my friends.”

“Ah, Yeon-woo’s friends?”

When Junsoo and Seong-sik, who were controlling the set, cleared a path for them, Yeon-woo hurried over to the kids and hugged them, saying he was surprised and happy to see them.

“Hey, guys! This is a real coincidence.”

“We were on a university tour and happened to come here to see what was being filmed today.”

“Wow, I never imagined you’d be here, Yeon-woo.”

Seeing friends from school in an unexpected place, even in a different city, brought joy. At that moment, So-hyeon, walking up from behind, spoke.

“These are Yeon-woo’s friends?”

“Woah, it is the real So-hyeon. This is insane. I’m going crazy.”

So-hyeon chuckled at Seong-sik’s pure enthusiasm.

“Hey, call her ‘Actress Han So-hyeon.’ Is she your friend?”

Junsoo corrected Seong-sik, but then So-hyeon gestured with a smile.

“Call me ‘noona.’ Come over here, guys.”

Guided by So-hyeon’s hand gesture, Yeon-woo led his stunned friends to the corner of the filming area where So-hyeon was resting.

“Noona, I’m a huge fan! I watched all of ‘Falling Flowers in Hanyang’ behind-the-scenes footage. It’s my favorite drama!”

Seong-sik excitedly poured out his words.

Seeing Seong-sik like that, So-hyeon responded with a smile, saying, “Really? Thank you.”

“Ah, my heart hurts. Junsoo!”

Seeing So-hyeon smiling at him, Seong-sik exaggeratedly clutched his chest as if he were having heart palpitations. Looking at his antics, Junsoo gave him a sarcastic look.

“Earlier, when I said you were drooling. It wasn’t that bad.”

“When did you say that? I wasn’t drooling that much. Noona.”

Observing their playful banter, So-hyeon burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, you guys are really cute.”

“Is she being serious this time?”

 

Junsoo said, hitting Seong-sik on the back. Then, from a distance, the assistant director’s voice was heard.

“Set up is complete. We’re going to resume filming.”

Upon hearing that, Yeon-woo and So-hyeon stood up.

“Hey guys, stay here for a moment. It’s the last scene, so we’ll shoot and be done soon.”

“Alright, got it. Fighting!”

Yeon-woo seated his friends back in their spots, removed his padding, and stepped into the frame again.

“Ready, cue!”

Woo-joo brought Yeoreum along and handed her a mint-colored helmet that was hanging on a parked bike.

With an expression that said, “Whatever, let’s relieve some stress,” Summer accepted the helmet.

“Okay, cut! The scene where they ride the bike. Let’s do a tight shot and a bust shot.”

After adjusting the positions and rehearsing a few times, they got ready to film again.

“Ready, cue!”

After handing Yeoreum the mint-colored helmet, Woo-joo put on his black helmet and revved up the bike. Then, he started riding with Summer behind him.

As Woo-joo rode the bike with Summer, the director, Kim Han-soo, watched the monitor and smiled slightly. He then gave Yeon-woo additional instructions.

“Cut. Hmmm, Yeon-woo. Could you make the riding a bit more dynamic? It needs something more exciting.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

Yeon-woo nodded and, upon hearing the cue again, rode the bike with a more lively posture.

“Wow, Yeon-woo looks so cool.”

Seeing Yeon-woo in action from a distance, Seong-sik and Junsoo whispered to each other, appreciating his appearance. Seeing Yeon-woo actually filming a scene seemed to amplify the sense of awe.

After Woo-joo and Summer’s scene, Woo-joo brought Summer over and looked back at her, still in a daze.

“What are you doing? Sit behind me.”

Summer also put on her helmet and cautiously sat behind Woo-joo.

“If you sit like that, you’ll fall behind as soon as we start.”

He gently pulled her closer by the waist, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Well, well. I thought it was a scene from an old drama, so nostalgic.”

Woo-joo started the bike’s engine as they exchanged a few words.

Director Kim Han-soo, watching them through the field monitor, smiled with satisfaction.

“Cut! Nice! It was perfect.”

Applause broke out on the set with a cheerful atmosphere.

“Alright, let’s finish up with the stuntman and Yeoreum’s scene. Since there’s no sound, you can shout if you’re scared.”

While Yeon-woo was a special agent trained to ride anything as well as any stuntman, he was still a high school student who didn’t even have a driver’s license this time around.

Since he couldn’t directly film the driving scene, Yeon-woo had to walk over to his friends. Dressed in the same outfit as Yeon-woo and waiting nearby, the stuntman rode the bike while Yeon-woo’s friends caught the scene of the bike riding off on film.

“Yaaah! It’s so cold!”

 

So-hyeon screamed for a different reason.

“Okay, So-hyeon’s filming is done for today.”

With that, as the filming wrapped up, So-hyeon quickly left the set for an award ceremony. In that short time, So-hyeon took a selfie with Seong-sik and Junsoo. At that moment, murmurs gathered from the crowd that had gathered to watch. Son Jin-yuk pushed through the crowd and approached Yeon-woo.

“Is the filming finished?”

“Yes, hyung. It just finished a moment ago.”

“WOW! Son Jin-yuk! Oh, … Actor.”

Seong-sik marveled at Son Jin-yuk, and when Junsoo discreetly nudged him, he hastily added, “Actor.”

Seeing this, Jin-yuk signaled Yeon-woo with his mouth, asking, “Who’s that?”

“They’re my closest friends from school. They were visiting the university today and we happened to meet.”

“Oh, really? Yeon-woo’s friends. Nice to meet you guys.”

Seong-sik and Junsoo quickly shook Jin-yuk’s outstretched hand.

“It’s an honor, hyung. My favorite drama of yours is ‘Your Name!'”

“Didn’t you say ‘Falling Flowers in Hanyang’ earlier?”

Junsoo teased, and Seong-sik immediately tackled him.

“Shh! Be quiet! Comrade!”

Glancing at Junsoo, Seong-sik imitated Jin-yuk’s role of a spy, ‘North Korean spy’, from Jin-yuk’s hit drama ‘Your Name,’ and jokingly addressed Jin-yuk as the “actor.”

Thanks to the playful Seong-sik, both Jin-yuk and Yeon-woo laughed.

“So-hyeon noona already left.”

“Yeah, right. We’ll need to prepare from now on. It’ll be tight, especially for an actress.”

Jin-yuk nodded his head.

“Our Hwang Jaeil has a photoshoot scheduled until late at night.”

“He can’t make it.”

After sending a message to Ahn Junho, who played Hwang Jaeil in the morning, Jin-yuk sadly received a reply that he had a schedule conflict.

Hearing Yeon-woo’s response, Jin-yuk sighed quietly, then looked at Yeon-woo’s friends.

“Oh! You guys, maybe you’d like to come to our house? With Yeon-woo.”

“What?!”

His friends were taken aback by the unexpected invitation.

“Can we really?”

Woo seong-sik’s eyes glittered with anticipation as he asked.

“Why not? So-hyeon is nominated for an award today. How about watching and celebrating together?”

With that, Seong-sik and Junsoo quickly got in touch with their families and received permission.

 

[What? Who’s staying over? What nonsense is this about staying at someone’s house?]

“No, noona, it’s true!”

[Stop talking nonsense, alright? Are you planning to secretly stay up all night playing games at an internet cafe that even minors can sneak into?]

Seeing how much Junsoo wanted to go, Son Jin-yuk, who was watching over the call, spoke up.

“Well then, have a video call with noona.”

Hearing Jin-yuk’s words, Junsoo asked his sister to wait for a moment and ended the call.

 

-Ring, ring.-

 

[Why, Junsoo? Is this the kind of face I want to see in broad daylight? And where are you?]

[Hey? Why are there so many people?]

“Wait a moment, noona.”

Junsoo handed his smartphone to Jin-yuk next to him.

“Hello, this is Son Jin-yuk.”

[……..]

[Ahhhhh!]

The scream erupted a moment later, as the situation was understood with a slight delay.