When Summer Passes, the Autumn We've Been Waiting For
“After summer passes, the autumn we've been waiting for.”
It was Brand N's signature slogan for the season. The moment the visual director heard Han Yeo-reum's voice, the words slipped out of her mouth almost on their own.
“If we're signing her anyway, we should have gone for a three-year contract, not some short one-year deal….”
Standing in front of the camera, gazing into the lens, Han Yeo-reum drew the eye in a way she couldn't quite explain. A hunch settled over her that the name Pi Chae-won would soon be attached to every single product Brand N put on the shelves.
A Second Glance (C)
Online or offline, what a star needs is the public's gaze! Not only in person — your photos, your videos, even the sound of your voice will make people stop, look back, and focus one more time.
How many outfits is this now?
It wasn't as though she wore every new product for the shoot. For each category, a couple of key pieces got the main model treatment, while the rest were uploaded as standard model cuts or simple product-only shots. Even so, there were this many.
“Yeo-reum! Look here and give us a wink!”
“Ooh, nice! Adorable! Love it! Now give me a big giggly laugh!”
“Yes, yes! Now sway that body — round and rooound! Let that skirt flare out!”
She'd assumed it would be similar to the ALAB shoot, but that had been a mistake. Her hair had to be restyled with every change of wardrobe, and since the clothes couldn't show a single crease, Coordi Hwang came dashing in after every shot to smooth everything back into place.
“Yeo-reum, you tired?”
“She's right. If you're worn out, you can ask for a break. That's totally allowed.”
“Tired? It's you unnie and the staff here who are working so much harder than me.”
She could feel the atmosphere on set warm at her answer. But she meant it. She genuinely wasn't tired at all.
Good thing I used the item.
◈ Details: Back-to-back waits, packed schedules, not enough sleep! All of it adds up to run-down condition. Why not try an item that gives you the effect of a deep, restful sleep — without sleeping a wink for 48 hours?
Added to the points she'd earned from Pachehi breaking ten million views a while back, it had come to exactly 1,500 points.
Which meant her balance was now a flat zero — but in exchange, she had stamina that wouldn't run dry for a good long while.
It's my first photo shoot, so I used it just in case — and honestly, I'm glad I did.
Up before dawn, hair and makeup done, then hours on end in front of the camera. Running low on stamina would have been a disaster.
Her hair was styled yet again to match the new outfit. Fine pins slid in one after another, and every time the makeup artist touched up her lips with a brush, her heart gave a little flutter.
This is the kind of thing you only ever see on TV!
No matter how many shots they took, she didn't feel the least bit tired. Having every single person on set looking only at her felt wonderful, too.
Each time a shot wrapped, her manager and coordinator were at her side in an instant.
Han Yeo-reum, you're really a celebrity now. A genuine celebrity.
“Yeo-reum, you okay?”
“Drink. Water.”
The water bottle with its straw in Manager Choi's hand, the handheld fan in Hwang Ji-hye's — they swept her fatigue away.
On the set of Faster Than the Law, I was on my own the whole time.
Having people take care of her was more of a comfort than she'd expected. Frankly, this wasn't even as grueling as her warehouse shifts, yet here they were, fussing over her like this.
So this is… what being a celebrity tastes like…?
She could feel the rest of the staff going out of their way for her as well.
She sat down next to the photographer and monitored the shots with close attention. The screen was filled edge to edge with her pictures.
They came out clearly better than the ALAB shoot last time.
The full-body shots in the sneakers stood out above all. The photographer seemed to agree, because he directed her into a fresh pose.
“Yeo-reum, I love this move — could you do it again with the next outfit? The one where you stretch your foot straight out front.”
“Yes, sir! Got it!”
“Great. I'll flag these shots separately — okay, this is the last one, so let's bring it home!”
At the sound of the photographer's brief applause, the whole staff cheered along. The final outfit was a comfortable set of track clothes.
“Now, ease that cuff back a little — ah, yes, just like that!”
As she shifted her poses under the photographer's direction, the clicking of the shutter grew faster and faster.
How many people would she see on the street wearing these clothes from now on? These sneakers? These bags? Someday, she'd hear her own name called out on the street, too.
Thinking about it, a smile came to her face without her even trying.
“Great expression! Keep smiling just like that. Okay!”
Would her ads end up playing on the side of buildings someday, too? Just imagining it made her happy.
She beamed along with the photographer's gestures, which all but ordered her to smile wider.
“Perfect! Love it! That's a true wrap! Great work, everyone!”
The photographer, who'd finally taken his eyes off the lens, lowered his camera. Yeo-reum rose from her chair, about to applaud along with everyone else—
“Hap-py birth-day to you~!”
“…Huh?”
Manager Choi emerged from the wardrobe area with a cake, candles lit. Coordi Hwang, who had sidled up without her noticing, placed a pointed party hat on her head.
“To our beloved Yeo-reum!”
The entire staff, not to mention the photographer and the visual director, were clapping together.
“Blow out the candles now!”
“You have to make a wish! A wish!”
Yeo-reum dazedly blew out the candles — whoosh. A small popper went off beside her, and colorful confetti fluttered down.
“How… how did you all know it was my birthday?”
“What kind of manager wouldn't know her own talent's profile?!”
“Did you think we'd just let it slide?”
Manager Choi and Coordi Hwang exchanged mischievous grins. The visual director held out a large box and a bouquet of flowers.
“Consider this a bribe, and a birthday present. The rest of the products will be couriered to your home. This one, open right here.”
Staff members all around were holding up their phones, and it was obvious even this was meant to be put to marketing use. Still, it felt good.
How long has it been since I spent a birthday like this?
Back when she'd dropped out of school and scraped by doing odd jobs at the theater troupe, there were a few years when she saw her mother and Tae-yang regularly. Embarrassing as it was to admit, living alone in Seoul was simply too hard to endure otherwise.
But as time went on, her nameless, unknown life just stretched longer and longer.
So… back then, there wasn't any other way.
And so she had all but abandoned her mother and Tae-yang.
She wanted to go home only after she'd made it. She couldn't bear to show them anything shabby about herself. She couldn't ask two people for their support when she couldn't even take care of her own needs.
So it ended up being only once in a great while — two or three messages a year, and that was it.
For a few years, she'd spent her birthdays modestly with the theater people. But that only lasted a time or two. Her birthday always made reality sink in, so eventually she started pulling overnight warehouse shifts on the day itself.
As those past birthdays rose up in her memory, the tip of her nose stung for no good reason.
“Open it, quick! Come on!”
The visual director urged her on. Yeo-reum took a brief, deep breath and moved her hands on the box. From inside, helium balloons floated gently up.
“Whoa…!”
The Summer We've Been Waiting For
Written across the balloons was Brand N's campaign slogan — the very one she'd recited earlier — in a playful twist. Inside the box were the sneakers that had been christened the Pi Chae-won Sneakers, arranged one of every color.
Click!Click!Click!
Shutters went off all around her. It sounded, somehow, exactly like a chorus of congratulations. The words on the balloons lodged themselves in her heart and refused to leave.
“Yo. Noona's here.”
The door lock beeped as the passcode was punched in, and the door edged open with characteristic carelessness. Yeo-reum shuffled inside, both arms laden with boxes.
“What's all this?”
“Sneakers. Wear them. Your shoe size is still 275, right? If they don't fit, just curl your toes and force them on.”
What she handed over was the black colorway of the model that had made the Pi Chae-won sneakers famous.
“What's this? You got a model discount?”
“How do you know I'm modeling for them? It hasn't gone public anywhere yet.”
“Noona, take a look at yourself right now.”
“I know, right? So pretty. So cute.”
“…Cut the nonsense.”
Come to think of it, she was still wearing the clothes from the shoot. Head to toe, she was dressed entirely in Brand N product.
“You left before dawn, you came home carrying boxes stamped with the N logo, and everything you're wearing is brand new. Only an idiot wouldn't put it together.”
“Sharp as ever, you little punk. Truly the future of our family.”
“Whatever…. Just eat.”
Han Tae-yang went to the kitchen and set the table. That sly rascal — he'd made seaweed soup again, because it was his big sister's birthday.
Come to think of it, even back when she'd gone silent on him for so long, he'd still left a thermos of seaweed soup at her front door every year on her birthday.
Guilt washed over her all over again. Her brother and her mother — she'd abandoned them just as surely as if she'd thrown them away.
“Is there none for Mom?”
“…There is.”
“Noona, you still haven't contacted Mom today, have you.”
It wasn't that she wouldn't. She couldn't. Even now, after regressing and coming back, just looking at her mother's number in her contacts made her want to run away all over again.
“She worries about you. I won't ask why you've been like this for months — so just call her. That's all.”
“I will, eventually….”
“When. Do it right now, in front of me.”
“Why do you always talk to your big sister like you're giving orders? You're still in high school, you know.”
As she got older, her mother was aging too. And for a stretch of her life, she had simply erased that mother from it. Because she wanted to become an actress. Because she wanted to chase her dream.
Even now, back at twenty, the guilt she'd buried was still there, festering under the surface.
“Fine. I'll dial her myself.”
“Ah! Don't—!”
Before she could stop him, Han Tae-yang had the phone up, and barely a ring or two later, her mother's face filled the screen.
[Yeo-reum!]
Staring at her mother's warmly smiling face, Yeo-reum froze for a moment. Because — it had been years since she'd last seen that face.