Rush Man Debut
As Suhyeon stepped into the waiting room used by the Rush Man cast, the first faces he spotted were Big-Nose Ji Seok-jun and Slick Yang Se-cheon, seated in chairs getting their makeup done. Toward the back on the sofa sat Grasshopper Yoo Jae-sik, Giraffe Lee Kang-su—who was even taller than Suhyeon—Youth President Ha Ho, and the muscular Kim Jung-guk.
The female cast members seemed to be using a different waiting room.
Suhyeon took a deep breath and greeted them loudly.
"Hello, seniors! I'm BBG leader Suhyeon. I'll work hard on today's shoot. Please take good care of me."
Yoo Jae-sik, recognizing him, jumped up from the sofa first with a grin and approached.
"Whoa, who do we have here? Isn't this the super hot Suhyeon everyone's talking about? Come on in. Great to meet you."
Suhyeon politely grasped Yoo Jae-sik's outstretched hand with both of his and replied,
"Senior, I'm still pretty green. Please feel free to speak casually. And... I've been a fan since I was little."
"Really? Then drop the 'senior' and just call me bro."
"Got it, bro."
A moment later, Suhyeon finished greeting everyone and joined Producer Jung Cheol-mo and the cast for an emergency production meeting.
"Everyone knows Suhyeon's the hot topic right now, right? He only has time this afternoon, so we're shooting on the fly with no prepared script. We'll rough out the concept now, and the rest you'll improvise on set."
Yoo Jae-sik responded to the producer's words.
"Since we can't go outside today anyway and have to shoot in the studio, let's do team battles. Suhyeon's got all that body hype, so put him opposite Jung-guk for a muscle showdown corner—that'll make for great visuals."
Kim Jung-guk chimed in.
"Then Jae-sik bro and I can be team leaders. Bro, you take Suhyeon on your team. One female per team, and split the rest evenly..."
"Perfect. During rock-paper-scissors for picks, if I win first, I call Suhyeon. If you win, pick someone else."
"Bro, skip that. I'll throw rock first, so you throw paper. That way I get Suhyeon first. If I win and pick someone else, viewers will think it's rigged."
"Hey, that is rigged. Fine, whatever. But Suhyeon came all this way—we gotta promo something. Suhyeon."
Suhyeon quickly answered Yoo Jae-sik's call.
"Yeah, bro."
"What do you need to plug right now?"
"Uh... nothing special besides the drama, bro."
"You're talking about Special Investigation Headquarters, right?"
"Yes, bro."
"Producer Jung, you know that friend quiz chance corner we do? Let's use that for promo. Suhyeon calls a co-star from Special Investigation Headquarters, does the quiz. Slip in some hype then."
"For Special Investigation... Seong Kang-ho or Kim Hae-su would be great. Big names fans love, rarely do variety. High interest. But they're Suhyeon's huge seniors... Suhyeon, got their numbers? Can you actually reach them?"
Suhyeon replied promptly to the producer's question.
"Yes, I have them. Both are reachable."
At that moment, the quietly seated Big-Nose Ji Seok-jun spoke up.
"If both work, go Kim Hae-su over Seong Kang-ho. Phone call with a female actress boosts ratings."
"Suhyeon does Kim Hae-su first. If no answer, Seong Kang-ho. Both fail, no promo."
"Got it."
"Any other ideas?"
Lee Kang-su offered one.
"Jung-guk hyung and I are always frenemies, so put me on Jae-sik hyung's team. I keep roasting Jung-guk's body, compare it to Suhyeon's—say Suhyeon's is pretty and nice to look at, but hyung's is gross, just dumb muscle from steroids. He holds it in then snaps. That's the concept."
Kim Jung-guk bristled at Lee Kang-su's words.
"Hey! I don't do steroids! Wanna die?"
"That's exactly the vibe. Perfect. More ideas?"
A bit later, Producer Jung summarized.
"Yoo Jae-sik introduces Suhyeon first, quick intro and talent show. Then friend quiz. After, individual battles: everyone writes their best event, draw and 1v1. Rig Jung-guk vs. Suhyeon. Finally, losing team picks one guy to strip shirt and take water bucket penalty."
Yoo Jae-sik replied,
"Isn't that too blatant? It's straight-up stripping Suhyeon for the viewers. He might feel weird. Suhyeon, you cool? Speak up if not."
Suhyeon smiled at Yoo Jae-sik's question.
Just like the rumors—super considerate of guests.
"What, a guy's just taking off his shirt? No big deal. And... our team wins, right?"
Filming for Rush Man kicked off in earnest.
As Suhyeon entered to Yoo Jae-sik's intro, cheers and screams erupted from every woman on set.
After the intro and talent segment, the first friend quiz chance began.
"Suhyeon, we know you're a genius, but you don't solve it. Call a friend, explain the problem, they answer. Not speed quiz, so take time explaining. But answer within 5 seconds after."
Suhyeon replied to Yoo Jae-sik's kind explanation.
"Got it."
"Who you calling?"
"I'm shooting a drama at another network right now. Calling a co-star from that."
"Suhyeon, just say KBC's Special Investigation Headquarters."
"Uh... can I mention a KBC drama on SBC?"
"Who cares? It's not the stone age. I'm not writing a report. Worst case, the producer takes the heat. So, which actor?"
As Yoo Jae-sik's joking wrapped, the cast shouted in perfect unison, as if rehearsed.
Suhyeon inwardly marveled at the sound.
Whoa, veteran variety pros—synced up without a single rehearsal.
"Calling senior Kim Hae-su."
A moment later, Suhyeon held his phone with a tense expression. It rang for a while with no answer.
"Ah, Kim Hae-su isn't picking up. Busy as expected for a top actress. Fail, try someone else..."
As Yoo Jae-sik declared failure, the call connected.
"Hello? Suhyeon?"
Suhyeon sighed inwardly in relief as Kim Hae-su answered and replied,
"Ah, senior. It's Suhyeon."
A sharp voice flowed through the phone.
"Hey! Suhyeon, you wanna get smacked?"
The set went dead silent in an instant. Suhyeon heard Yoo Jae-sik mutter low,
"Broadcast accident? Gotta edit this..."
Suhyeon calmed himself and said quietly,
"Senior, I..."
Kim Hae-su cut him off, enunciating each syllable sharply.
"Who! Am! I!"
"...Hae-su noona."
As Suhyeon switched to the term, a warm, silky voice like spring sunshine poured out.
"Hohoho. Yeah, Suhyeon sweetie~. What's up? Sorry, noona was showering, couldn't grab it sooner~."
The cast, who had been listening tensely, erupted in chatter.
The Rush Man shoot, starting at 5 p.m., wrapped at midnight. Suhyeon dragged his exhausted body to the car where his manager waited.
"Suhyeon, good work. Tough, huh?"
"Whew, variety's no joke. Way different from what I expected. Body's fine, but my brain feels shredded."
"It's cutthroat over there. Everyone's fighting for their turf."
"Still, Jae-sik bro looked out for me, so it went smooth."
"Yeah. Oh, during that quiz call with Kim Hae-su, sounded like she invited you to Busan Film Fest?"
"Ah, yeah. She mentioned it on the call... Not sure if I'm going yet, but if I do, I promised to go with her. Gotta check with the agency first."
Baek Seongcheol let out a long breath at Suhyeon's answer.
"Smart move. Park Sil-jang finds out, he'll carry you on his back. Kim Hae-su level shuts down haters. Public on-air promise? Ironclad excuse."
"Huh? Something up with Park Sil-jang?"
"Nah, nothing for you to worry about. It's done. You nailed it."
"Okay... Tomorrow's schedule?"
"Next week film's starting, so cram this week. 2 p.m. Abnormal Summit shoot."
"JTBC gave options: One Meal, Please or Abnormal Summit. Picked Summit—shorter record, easier."
"Yeah, sounds chill. That's it for tomorrow?"
"Nope. After, drive to Tongyeong overnight. Urban Angler's locked in. Arrive port by 5 a.m. day after."
"They know it's my first sea fishing?"
"Told 'em. Learn basics on site; if not, side guy helps. Edit fixes it."
"Cool. If no bites, I'll fillet one. Knife skills are solid."
Baek Seongcheol started the car and pulled out of the lot.
"Suhyeon, pick you up around noon? Makeup, arrive Sangam JTBC by 2."
"Nah, 10 a.m. Got somewhere to go."
"Where so early?"
"Nakwon Arcade."
"Instruments?"
"Yeah. Need some modern ones."
Suhyeon turned to the dark parking lot outside and thought,
All I know are old-school instruments. For the future, gotta master modern ones that fit this world...
Soon the car hit the bright streetlights. Suhyeon closed his eyes, calmly mapping his future in his mind.