First Time Leaving the Country
'Talented Rookie Actor….'
The newly earned title glittered and shimmered. Myeong Je-ha said it quietly, mouthing the words without sound.
Even amid the noisy chatter of our classmates, his words somehow came through to me with unusual clarity.
"You did great."
I still felt as though I were standing on the stage. The stage I'd climbed after so long, the fluttering in my chest when the curtain rose, the hot lights pouring down from overhead, the sensation of existing as Juliet. I closed my eyes for a moment.
The applause that had burst out in slow ripples was gone now, but it still seemed to echo in my ears.
"…Ah."
I want to act more.
"…Ah!"
I want to stand on that stage longer.
"Yeo-reum!"
"Whoa, you startled me."
"What were you thinking about, spacing out like that? Are you really tired? Well, you can sleep on the plane, so wake up for now, okay? We have to get going. Here, put this coat on, and the gloves too. Unnie will fix up your muffler all nice and new."
I nodded at Coordinator Hwang, who was beside me, wearing a worried expression and earnestly explaining my outfit. Apparently closing my eyes "for a moment" had tipped straight into dozing off.
Right. This was Incheon International Airport.
I'd come straight here to prepare my next schedule the moment the final stage play ended. Namely, a trip to Japan for the year-end awards ceremonies.
December was an especially busy month for the entertainment industry. Awards shows and events of every kind came one after another without pause.
So my schedule looked like this:
'MCing Music N, the MBS awards ceremony, the upcoming Blu-ray pictorial shoot for Pachehi, and then the cast dinner for Faster Than the Law, now finally wrapped….'
In other words, not a single moment of rest all December long.
I'm exhausted. I pulled on my fluffy muffler and gloves and opened the door of the van. The instant the cold outside air touched my face, a commotion erupted.
Click-click-click-click-click—!
Did I just say I was exhausted to death?
"Han Yeo-reum, over here—!"
"Yeo-reum! Say hi! Hi!"
I take it back.
'So this is… what it feels like to be a celebrity…?'
Getting photographed the moment you step out of a car—something I'd always dreamed of trying at least once. The fatigue melts away in an instant.
I waved my hand as if none of this had ever been a dream of mine, angling the sponsored gloves just subtly enough to catch the camera.
'I knew there'd be a lot of people at the airport today, but this blows right past my expectations….'
And it wasn't just the reporters—the airport grounds were packed shoulder to shoulder with fansites wielding enormous cameras. After all, today was the day every idol and actor who'd been active this year flew to Osaka for the Music N year-end awards.
"Please don't push—!!!"
"Keep a safe distance! Safe distance!"
Once the reporters out front got their shots, the real thing began. As we walked toward the terminal, the fans hoping to get even a little closer to their idols scurried busily alongside.
'So can I just head inside now?'
I, of course, was the exception….
I'd probably be able to slip into the terminal quite comfortably. I wasn't famous enough for anything else.
When the shutter clicks had thinned out somewhat, I gave a small, polite bow to the reporters whose faces I at least faintly recognized.
Several of them were the ones who'd written kind articles about me after the Faster Than the Law script reading. I monitored my own coverage several times a day, so I knew every one of their faces.
'And Reporter Wi among them is the closest of all.'
All those check-in messages had been worth it. Even the look on Reporter Wi's face when she saw me was different from the others'.
I greeted her, thinking of Deokdeok.B, Reporter Wi.
"Then I'll see you again soon."
"Yeo-reum, fighting—!"
Just as I was wrapping things up on a warm note, the expressions of the reporters who'd been greeting me changed in a flash, and they lifted their cameras back up to their faces.
'What now?'
It didn't take long to find out. The door of an arriving van swung open, and—
"Myeong Je-ha! It's Myeong Je-ha!"
"Just one look over here, please—!"
Myeong Je-ha appeared.
In an instant, every last reporter sprinted toward him. Dressed in a light brown mustang jacket, Myeong Je-ha waved leisurely in greeting. I, left behind all alone, buried my face in my muffler.
"Yeo-reum, you've worked hard! Come on, let's get inside."
"Yes, unnie…."
"The muffler's warm, right? It was the cutest of everything Ryu Risa picked out this time. It goes so well with the coat you're wearing today, too."
"Thank you, unnie…."
I linked arms with Coordinator Hwang and stepped into the terminal. There wasn't even time to feel deflated. Because I….
'This is my first time leaving the country….'
I'd been to the airport once before, on a trip to Jeju Island. But the sheer scale of this place was different.
The jostling crowds, the footsteps flowing back and forth, the unintelligible announcements—it all surged and receded like an endless tide. Just being in this space made me feel as if I were waiting for a new beginning.
'I can't let a golden opportunity like this go to waste.'
I observed the people around me.
"Wh-where did my passport go?"
"I reminded you about it from yesterday, didn't I?! I can't live with you, honey!"
A couple frantically digging through their pockets in search of a missing passport.
"I need to pee."
"Ooooh, hold on just a minute! You can hold it, right?"
"I also pee."
"You can… hold it… right?"
A family with several small children, the little ones whining as if each of them had been assigned a mission.
"Yes, yes. That's the matter I sent to you by email—have you perhaps not had a chance to check it yet?"
An office worker with a laptop on her knees sat on an airport chair, discussing work over the phone. Someone filmed what looked like a vlog, framing her own face in a mirrorless camera. Someone else dragged a suitcase at a dead run, apparently about to miss a flight.
It felt as though everyone's separate lives were crossing paths here, and I simply gazed quietly at the scene.
'I might land an airport-worker role someday, after all…. I could shoot a departure scene, too.'
I quietly ran through a few possible scenes in my head. The airport was the perfect place to mine for clichés. And if I ever went on an overseas location shoot….
"Hi, Yeo-reum."
"Whoa, you startled me."
At the familiar voice behind me, I whipped my head around. Myeong Je-ha had somehow crept up close at some point.
"Is it because you two are classmates? You seem close."
"I suppose we are. We just did the final stage play together, too. Oh, you didn't come to see it, Reporter-nim."
"Aigoo, you know how busy year-end gets—."
"Please come next time for sure. I'll send you a ticket."
Unlike me, Myeong Je-ha had reporters following him all the way into the terminal. And his way with words was on another level entirely. One movie—a 10-million-viewer one, granted—but he was a Rising Star with a single film to his name, yet he carried himself like the top star of all top stars.
"Right, Yeo-reum? You'd love for her to come, wouldn't you?"
"Absolutely!"
"If Yeo-reum says so herself…. Okay. Next year, I promise I'll come! I'll clear my whole schedule!"
The way he wove me into his conversations with the reporters felt completely natural. Thanks to Myeong Je-ha, I even exchanged a few words with the reporters I'd only just learned the names of.
Only after buying coffee for the entire press corps did he send them on their way, then handed me one of the drinks in his hands.
"Coordinator-nim, have one too."
"Thank you…."
Unnie. You were talking nonstop right beside me. Is that really all it took to slip your mind? Coordinator Hwang abruptly went silent. I took a sip of the hot chocolate Myeong Je-ha had handed me.
"Ooh…. That's piping hot."
"Come eat a meal with me in Osaka."
"Excuse me? With… me?"
I wasn't the only one caught off guard. Myeong Je-ha's manager behind him and Coordinator Hwang beside me both had their eyes wide open. Myeong Je-ha just laughed, as if he found the whole situation amusing.
"Why are you racking your brain so hard? Chu Ga-eul and Ju Jun-seo… that gentleman can come too."
"Oh, right, I'll introduce you to my friends. Uh. Yeah, you can make it happen. Mm."
I answered as if I weren't the least bit flustered. Good. That was smooth.
"I'm starting a movie soon, so I figure we could film a vlog together while we're at it. Two birds, one stone."
Huh? A vlog? I looked at Myeong Je-ha as if to say, what on earth are you talking about?
"Hello—!"
From far away, next to Manager Choi, who'd gone to park the car, an unfamiliar woman was waving at me.
"Kkam-jjak-i!"
…Who are you?