Class Reunion
"Oh my, it's been ages since you came out."
"Mm, well… life just gets so busy."
The moment Lee Seon-ok sat down, she already regretted coming to the reunion. She shot a sideways glare at her best friend Han Gyeong-mi, who had called her half a dozen times to coax her into showing up.
"You said Chatterbox wasn't coming," Seon-ok whispered, jabbing her friend in the side. But Gyeong-mi looked just as put out.
"She really hasn't shown her face in three years. Why is she here now? Who even told her?"
Across the table, Choi Suk-yeong sat laughing with that same frivolous cackle she had never outgrown. Even back in school she had been consistently, relentlessly unlikable—flitting from group to group like a magpie, ferrying gossip and always choosing the words people least wanted to hear. She had never been popular among their classmates. If someone could be that consistently the same, you almost had to give her credit for it.
Sure enough, Chatterbox Choi Suk-yeong couldn't hold back any longer. Her eyes lit up and she opened her mouth.
"By the way, I heard you moved out to the countryside. Is it inconvenient living there?"
"Where did you even hear that? And Sejong City is hardly the countryside."
Choi Suk-yeong covered her mouth with her hand and laughed in exaggerated delight.
"Oh my, hohoho. In my head, anything outside Seoul is just the countryside."
Then, completely ignoring the awkward atmosphere settling over the table, she launched into boasting about her son.
"This time our Yeong-jun got into Yeonha University, can you believe it? I kept telling him to take it easy with the studying, but he wouldn't listen—stayed up all night every night. I was so worried he'd ruin his health."
"Ahaha, well… congratulations, Suk-yeong."
Hearing Chatterbox's monologue, Han Gyeong-mi nodded and leaned over to whisper to Seon-ok.
"That's why she came. She barely showed her face these past few years while her son was retaking the exams."
"Seems that way."
Seon-ok wasn't thrilled that Chatterbox had shown up, but seeing the other classmates' faces for the first time in nearly a decade still filled her with genuine warmth.
"Just tell them your son is Ryu Yeon-woo and shut that mouth of hers for good, Seon-ok."
Gyeong-mi kept poking her in the arm, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Seon-ok shook her head.
"What's the point of bringing it up? That girl invents stories even when there's nothing to invent. I don't want my son ending up in some rumor mill."
"True. She'd do exactly that."
They were deep in conversation with the others over beer when a friend at the far table looked over at Seon-ok and asked,
"By the way, your son's about university age now, isn't he?"
Chatterbox immediately chimed in with a look of pure concern for her friend.
"Why would you even ask her that? If he'd gotten into somewhere good, we'd have heard about it ages ago."
"Oh… is that so?"
Gyeong-mi bristled at the sight.
"Oh, come on. Her son is—"
"Gyeong-mi."
Seon-ok quietly called her friend's name, stopping her, then smiled at Chatterbox.
"Yes, he started university last year. He's at Hanguk University now."
Choi Suk-yeong's face froze as if she had just bitten into something foul. The friends around them erupted in excited chatter.
"Oh my goodness, Hanguk University? That's incredible! What major?"
"Seon-ok, you were always good at school yourself. He must take after his mother!"
"Mm, he got into Economics. Oh, come on, taking after me…"
Before anyone realized it, the center of conversation had shifted naturally to Lee Seon-ok. Chatterbox's carefully prepared bait about her son's Yeonha University acceptance was buried in an instant, and her lower lip jutted out in a pout.
"Your husband's still a civil servant, right?"
"Is a civil servant's salary enough these days for a family of four?"
"I heard house prices in the provinces have been dropping like a stone now that the bubble's bursting. Are you all right?"
"I've gotten hooked on golf lately. Want to play with me, Seon-ok? Oh wait—the infrastructure out in the provinces is a bit lacking, isn't it?"
Suk-yeong kept firing off questions, venom rising as she hunted for any weakness she could exploit. Even the friends nearby began to frown. Seon-ok did her best to ignore Chatterbox and lost herself in conversation with the others. After more than ten years apart, it felt like they had all slipped back into their girlhood; they laughed until they lost track of time.
"All right, shall we start wrapping up? Those of you who need to get home should head out."
It was already nearly ten. Everyone rose from their seats. As Chatterbox headed toward the parking lot, she spoke up.
"Seon-ok, you're heading back to the provinces, right? Taking the train?"
"Yes, I need to catch the KTX. I've already booked my ticket."
"Want a ride to Seoul Station, then?"
Seon-ok had been wondering why she was suddenly being so kind when Chatterbox added,
"My husband bought me a foreign car for our anniversary. How about a little test drive?"
"Mm, I'm fine, thanks."
Just then, the classmates who had gone out to the parking lot first began murmuring in excitement.
"Oh my, is that Ryu Yeon-woo? Is he filming around here?"
"It really is him. Oh, my daughter is such a huge fan."
"Sounds like you're the fan."
Yeon-woo stepped out of a sports car, flashed a bright smile at the cluster of aunties, and walked over.
"Oh my, did he come to this restaurant?"
"This is insane. Girls, we hit the jackpot. Seeing a celebrity this close…"
"I heard he just won some kind of Bear award or something?"
Yeon-woo spotted his mother coming out through the restaurant door amid the crowd of aunties.
"Mother!"
He grinned, waved cheerfully, and strode toward her.
"Huh? Did he just say 'Mother'?"
"Ryu Yeon-woo's mother was at this restaurant?"
Lee Seon-ok stepped forward with an embarrassed little smile.
"Son, how did you know I was here?"
"Father called me. I'll take you home."
The classmates' mouths fell open.
"Holy—what is this?"
"Ryu Yeon-woo is Seon-ok's son?"
"Then the one who got into Hanguk University…?"
Han Gyeong-mi planted her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly triumphant.
"That's right. It was all over the news last year—the actor who got into Hanguk University's Economics Department through regular admissions. That's Seon-ok's son."
Only then did the classmates seem to process the situation. They closed their gaping mouths and crowded around.
"Oh my heavens! This ajumma is such a huge fan. So nice to meet you!"
"This is crazy. Auntie, don't you remember me? I saw you at a wedding hall when you were this tiny."
Yeon-woo looked at his mother's friends and smiled gently.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Ryu Yeon-woo, Lee Seon-ok's son."
Smiles bloomed naturally on every classmate's face.
"Oh my, oh my, he's so handsome."
"Aigoo, Seon-ok, how could you have a son this wonderful and not say a word sooner?"
"Mm, I did brag…? I said he goes to Hanguk University."
One of her friends shot her a look and lightly smacked her arm.
"Girl, Hanguk University isn't the issue. He's a great actor bringing glory to our country right now."
"Haha, not at all. I've only just left the rookie stage."
"Aigoo, and he's humble on top of everything."
She had deliberately kept quiet for fear of online gossip, but now that it was out in the open, Seon-ok began introducing her friends to her son one by one.
"This is Auntie Yeong-seon."
"Hello."
"Oh my, I even bought you toys when you were little. You don't remember, do you?"
"And this one you know, right? Mom's closest friend, Auntie Gyeong-mi."
She worked her way through the introductions until only Chatterbox Choi Suk-yeong was left standing off to the side with a face like she'd swallowed something bitter. Seon-ok glanced at her, then pulled out her phone to check the time.
"Aigoo, my train's almost here."
"Ah, then we'd better go. Aunties, I'll see you all again sometime."
"Does this mean Ryu Yeon-woo is my nephew now? My daughter is going to faint when she hears."
They exchanged smiling goodbyes, and Yeon-woo hurried over to open the passenger door of the red sports car.
"Aigoo, our son has such good manners."
Yeon-woo helped his mother into the passenger seat and pulled away.
"Mother, what time is your train? Should I drive a little faster?"
"Hmm? No, we have plenty of time. It's the eleven o'clock train."
Yeon-woo glanced at the clock and spoke.
"What? You said the train was almost here…"
Remembering Chatterbox left standing alone in the parking lot, his mother let out a soft snort of laughter.
"Mm, there was a reason. Feels pretty satisfying, actually."
In the car heading toward Seoul Station, Yeon-woo alone tilted his head in mild confusion.
After formally coordinating the music show schedule, Yeon-woo headed to the practice room to rehearse with Seo Ji-eun. His phone rang on the way.
— +1 (213) 807-67···.
Yeon-woo stared at the complicated string of digits on the screen and almost rejected the call as voice phishing, then tilted his head.
"Country code 1 is the U.S., and 213 is… where was that again…"
He accepted the call as the answer clicked into place. In this life, there was still only one person in Los Angeles who would call him.
"Chrissy?"
— Ohh, how did you know? Do you have my number saved?
The warm, familiar voice of Chrissy Monroe, music director for Sketch, made Yeon-woo smile.
"Area code 213. The only person in L.A. who'd call me is you, Chrissy. How have you been?"
— Congratulations—! First of all, congratulations. About Berlin.
"Thank you. It's all thanks to the wonderful songs you gave us."
— I heard J was actually going to perform it live, so I did a little rearranging.
Chrissy explained that the original arrangement wasn't quite right for a broadcast stage, so she had lightly reworked it to include a guitar solo in the middle. The contract had already ended at the wrap party, and the film had even been released, yet she was still putting in this much effort as if it were her own project. Yeon-woo felt a deep wave of gratitude.
"Thank you, Chrissy. When I get to the States, I definitely owe you a meal."
— A meal? Korean food would be perfect. I just made my daughter some Korean tteokbokki at home and she loved it. She's completely obsessed with K-pop these days.
"Oh, really? The program J is performing on is a music show dominated by K-pop idols. Your daughter will probably love hearing a song her mom composed."
They laughed together over the phone until a slightly worried note entered Chrissy's voice.
— By the way, I got so excited rearranging it that the solo ended up a bit… difficult. Hmm, but if it's J, he can handle it. He's done all of this before.
"You think so?"
From the phone conversation alone, Yeon-woo couldn't quite picture how she had rearranged it. Min-su's car pulled up in front of the building that housed the practice room. Yeon-woo got out and took the elevator up.
"Producer, it's been a while. Hmm, noona isn't here yet."
"Ah, yes. Seo Ji-eun said she'll be about an hour late."
He exchanged greetings with the mixing engineer and producer who had worked on Sketch, then played the rearranged file Chrissy had sent. In the film, the original song "Watercolors" had been a simple, unadorned piece performed with just an acoustic guitar in the back seat of a village bus. That made it feel a little thin for a music show stage. This rearrangement kept the original feeling while filling out the structure.
"Hmm, this is nice."
The producer listening beside him nodded as well. Then the mid-song solo began. The guitar rang out strongly, followed by a dull, rhythmic thumping that locked to the beat.
"Hmm?"
Both the producer and Yeon-woo tilted their heads at the same time. It didn't sound like drums…
"Is that him tapping on the guitar body with his hands?"
While reading the attached notes, the producer clapped his hands.
"That's it. He taps the guitar, then for the next section he pulls out a violin…"
As the producer spoke, the sound of a violin began to rise.
"That part wasn't in the original at all."
Apparently, thinking the original felt a bit sparse for a music show, Chrissy had added a solo designed to let Yeon-woo shine.
"But is it even possible to play the instruments live? I heard even bands usually just mime along to a recorded track…"
"Ah, bands have so many overlapping sounds that the ambient noise and audience cheering make it hard to capture everything cleanly. But since you'll be performing alone, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll double-check that with the music show staff."
Yeon-woo nodded and began marking the changed sections on the rearranged score. Looking at the same sheet music on the monitor, the producer clicked his tongue.
"Actor, this is seriously high difficulty."
"Yeah… it definitely is."
Yeon-woo studied the score and picked up the violin.
"Still, if I practice hard enough, there's nothing I can't do."
From the still-playing track, notes raced up and down the scale with considerable technical flourish, pouring out of the speakers.
This is going to be rough. Looks like I'll be living in the practice room for a while.
The officetel he was currently living in made this kind of practice difficult. He would have to pour everything he had into it while he still could. He steadied his breathing, looked at the score, and pressed his fingers firmly against the strings. To a trained violinist it might have been laughable, but for Yeon-woo the rearrangement clearly exceeded his current skill.
Before long he had sunk completely into practice. Watching him, the producer fell into thought.
This actor… Director Chrissy Monroe is probably thinking the same thing I am.
After only a few days of watching him practice and deliver everything asked of him without fail, any musician would start getting greedy.
And so the night deepened, and the first rehearsal of a stage that would leave fans stunned began.