Schedule
……Well. That should about do it.
Eunchae was here now, and she could drive, so me stepping out for a while wasn't likely to cause any real trouble. It was about time I stopped putting myself forward and let Go Yewon build a little authority of her own. No matter how easy and friend-like things were between us, a workplace was a different story. I meant to keep the advantages of blurring work and personal life, and only cut away the drawback of decision-making scattering in every direction.
"So I just need to pack a week's worth?"
"Yes. They'll probably match us with everyday clothes, but even if it isn't a fashion show, we should each bring something to wear, right? Pack a swimsuit, just in case. Oh, and—"
"Yeah. Go on."
Bae Jihyun hesitated, fidgeting with her hands, then carefully opened her mouth.
"……Would you maybe take a PPL?"
"Take what? A PPL? Someone's offering me an ad?"
"Strictly speaking, I'm the one getting it. Clothing. If you're all right with it, would you take one too, Shinwoo?"
"Isn't that a loss for you?"
"No. You won't regret it. If they like you, they'll keep supporting you. They don't even complain if the clothes get a little worn out here. You just send your size and the dates, and they coordinate about one outfit a day and ship it over, so it's easy too."
I thought it over. My clothes were all more or less the same anyway, and all I owned were formal pieces like shirts and slacks, so a little help wouldn't be a bad thing. My own clothes might not even suit the place.
"Be honest. That's a loss for you, isn't it?"
"If you want to be exact, I'd be giving you half of what they pay me."
"Then forget the money. Just get the clothes ready."
"……Are you sure that's okay? They'd be thrilled, of course."
"Yeah. That'll be plenty. So am I supposed to dress like what you're wearing? If it's too much, I'm not putting it on."
At that, Jihyun sank into thought, and her answer came a little late. Catching herself, she hurried on, flustered.
"Th-this is just my taste. I'll ask them to keep it toned down, then."
"Works for me. Easy."
"Could you send me your sizes?"
"Sure. Give me a second."
I pulled my phone from my apron, about to send Jihyun my top and bottom sizes, and my hand stopped.
……I haven't measured myself once since my body changed.
I swallowed, stared at the screen, then decided to hell with it and wrote down a size larger in each. For tops I had a rough idea—the coat I'd worn on my date with Hyunji had run a bit small—but bottoms were the problem. Wait. What was my pants size again? I couldn't remember. Come to think of it, when had I even last bought pants? I'd been living in nothing but free-size pieces with elastic bands because they were comfortable for work. Only now did it hit me that that was why clothes had never felt uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't remember my waist size."
"……What?"
Under Jihyun's round-eyed stare, heat climbed into my face before I knew it. Embarrassing. After all that showing off.
"It's just been forever since I bought pants."
"……Pfft. You had a side like this, Shinwoo?"
"……I'm dumbfounded too, right now."
"……Your face going red is cute."
"Maybe I should just ask for free-size."
"Don't. Just tell me roughly what you've been wearing, and I'll have them send one extra set a size up in each. I can adjust it with pins."
"……Yeah. That's better."
The luggage would get heavier, but my body had reached a point where I couldn't wear bottoms tight. Figuring her way would work, I sent the sizes in a message and asked.
"But if we're gone a whole week, what happens to your streams?"
"That's why we're stacking content ahead of time. YouTube has to go up no matter what. And we can probably go live from there."
"……Lives and YouTube both. They're really squeezing every drop out of this."
"They have to. We're taking out a whole week."
I turned the first page of the stack of printouts I'd been holding, and a photo of the filming site came up. There were few enough houses to count by eye, but the dense forest and fields behind them, and the long sweep of beach wrapping the place, made it a pretty village. Not too big, and not too small either. Only the name was a little…
"……Hoeyim Village?"
"Yes. A really tiny village in Dolsan-eup, just under Yeosu. Not even ten houses. They've all been vacated, but people from nearby still come and go to farm, they said."
"It's charming. The houses don't even look that old."
"Right? It's far, but about thirty minutes out there's the town center too. We should be fine staying there."
"……But the village name."
"……I get it. Th-the Chinese characters are different, they said……. I looked it up. There's a current in front of the village. It means a village that embraces a whirlpool……."
"Right……."
We both fell quiet, sinking into thought. The name was a bit much. The south. The South Sea. For the first time in a while, it started to feel like going on a trip. I'd given up on traveling abroad, now that going alone had gotten difficult. The southern sea was beautiful, too.
"Should be fine. Weather's the question, but it'll be nice if it's warm."
"Probably. The average temperature runs higher than Seoul. But the weather's been insane lately. It's hard to predict, so I think we should bring puffer jackets."
"Yeah. How many cast members?"
"Still undisclosed. I think it's for our reactions on the day."
"Still, we ought to know how many. Everyone's got a picture in their head."
"This is just my guess."
I watched Jihyun hesitate. She blushed and dropped her gaze. I had no idea why she was suddenly embarrassed.
"What?"
"……Talking about work with you is fun……. Anyway, they might not even have settled the numbers yet."
"……No way. It's right around the corner."
"In cases like this, it's because the male cast member can't make up his mind."
"So it might not be five and five, like they said back then?"
"Right. They can't scrap the show just because one or two people don't show. And if a streamer drops out, it isn't even I Want to Date anymore."
"……That's true. So it doesn't matter if the pairs don't line up?"
"That part doesn't matter. What was surprising about I Want to Date back then was getting five men at all. It isn't easy when you aren't even a terrestrial network."
"But does something like this actually make broadcast footage?"
What followed had basically no content at all. Just going down to a country village and living a country life—cooking, playing around together. It was famous by now that cooking three meals a day in the countryside for a hit variety show was no ordinary challenge, but even so.
"Trust me. Everyone will probably bring their own bits or concepts, and we just share those and film."
"What did you prepare?"
"Me? Just fishing……. Cooking, fieldwork? That kind of thing?"
"……You think that'll be enough?"
"I mean, there's Three Meals a Day, and City Fisherman……."
"Those work because they're celebrities. You think PD Na and Mr. Lee Kyung-kyu are a joke?"
"……No, that's not what I—……. Then do you have a better idea?"
"Hm. I don't either. I'm just worried it'll be too obvious."
"……After nagging me like that. And who's the one acting more like a celebrity right now."
"Call it professional pride?"
"Yessir."
"So this variety team really just does that and calls it done?"
"Yes. They install cameras in the village and handle the recording. They said they won't step in beyond that. But—this is just what I think."
"Yeah."
"If they decide these people are hopeless, or if it starts to feel like a hit, I think they'll jump in right away. They slipped one clause into the contract under the vague word 'assistance.'"
"……Aren't they looking down on you a little too much?"
"The Korean broadcasting industry has always kind of looked down on YouTubers. You saw the news. They think we're easy. They go around saying if you quit your job, you can just be a YouTuber."
The news story had thrown me a bit, too. And aside from that, I could feel a strange hostility in Jihyun, and it bothered me.
"Did something happen?"
"……No. It's just, I used to want to be a PD."
"And?"
"……I applied to every single broadcaster, but I couldn't even pass the document screening, so I just stopped."
"Petty of them."
"Petty? I was a job-seeker for three years. I was desperate back then."
"You said you did broadcast work, too."
"I did. To put a single line of experience on my résumé. Of course nobody knew about the viewers then, but everyone knows now."
I nodded and slipped the papers back into the file.
"All right. Got it. And what else?"
"……Um, next month's schedule."
"When do you need me?"
Jihyun held out her phone. An April calendar filled the screen, already crowded with miscellaneous notes. She'd packed a fair amount of the schedule in already.
"This day, and this day."
"Once every two weeks, every Friday? Will that be enough?"
"……For now. I can still change the day of the week. Just say you'll appear that week."
"Tell me the truth. The way you're hesitating is weird."
"The truth is, viewers keep asking for a weekly fixed segment, but once a week would be hard on you, too."
"That's true. You'd burn through it fast. It's not like I have that much content."
"I think it'd be plenty if you just came and chatted, but we can talk about that later. For now let's lock it in like this, and come out a little more whenever you have time. Even once is fine."
"Ah. You want a surprise."
"Yes. Better than promising and not delivering."
"Giving more than you promised looks better."
"Exactly."
"Which means you're confident I'll like it on I Want to Date."
"……Yes. I'm confident."
"I'll look forward to it."
"……Okay."
I was watching Jihyun smile, quietly nodding, when a knock sounded at the door. I glanced at the clock. Already two-thirty. Lunch had come far too late. This was getting tight.
"Did you eat?"
"No. I had brunch."
"The boss and I are late for lunch, so it's a little hard to keep talking. Shall we stop here for today?"
"……Okay."
The disappointment was plain on Jihyun's face, but we couldn't keep waiting forever. Our Hayoung was probably hungry.
"So how are we getting there?"
"There's a seven a.m. flight from Gimpo to Yeosu. Get off that, drive about two hours, and we'll be there right around ten. I've booked the car and the flight, so don't worry. We'll have to rent a van anyway, given the headcount."
"You already booked everything? What about the cost?"
"I'm the one taking you, so don't worry about that. I'll come pick you up by five in the morning."
"That early? And is it all right if I go alone?"
"Filming starts from there."
"Ah. Got it."
"A few people besides me will probably be tagging along, so don't be too surprised."
"I'll get used to it. Don't worry so much. I'll try to be as natural as I can. What about Soo-jung?"
"She can't come. Editing."
"All right. I'll keep it in mind. Contact me if anything changes."
"Yes. Th-then I'll get going……."
I followed Jihyun, who rose slowly, as if she hated to leave, toward the café, and quietly slipped an arm around her waist.
"Hhh……."
"You came all dressed up this pretty, and you were just going to walk out?"
"……Ah……."
Expectation settled over the face looking up at me, and she carefully wrapped her arms around my waist. I looked down into her eyes without a word. Jihyun swallowed hard and whispered.
"……K-kiss me……."
"That's right."
The moment she finished begging—honest, the way I'd told her to be—I quietly pressed my mouth to hers. Strength flooded the arms holding me as Jihyun, still awkward in the motion, mouthed at my lips. I let her, then slid my tongue into her mouth all at once and stirred it through.
Chuup. Mm. Haup. Smck…….
A bitter trace of coffee lingered, but Jihyun's mouth was quite sweet. We stayed like that, kissing, and when I drew my lips away a strand of spit stretched long between us and snapped.
"Haa, haa……."
"See you next time, then."
"……Yes……. Next time……. Hnnn……."
I gave her soft, full rear a light squeeze. Jihyun let out a moan and shot me a glare.