The Production Presentation
Bzzzt—
"Whoa! No way. That's Han So-hyun. Whoaaa."
"Aaaah! She's seriously gorgeous. For real."
The selfie of Han So-hyun and Ryu Yeon-woo that had just dropped into their class group chat set the entire room off. For high school boys at the peak of their celebrity obsession, a photo of Yeon-woo with Han So-hyun was pure dynamite. Word spread so fast that kids from the neighboring class came pouring in, each of them crowding around the glowing screens, and the noise only got louder.
Rattle—
"Hey, you little punks. What's all this racket?"
The uproar had carried all the way to the teachers' office. Their homeroom teacher shoved the door open and stepped inside.
"Ah! Teach, look at this!"
Woo Seong-sik, sitting up front, thrust his phone toward the teacher.
"What the hell are you kids—whoaaa!"
Lee Jeong-tae took one look at the photo and yelped even louder than the students. Yeon-woo's homeroom teacher, as it turned out, was a Han So-hyun fan.
It wasn't just Yeon-woo's school. Online, talk about him was already running hot.
Beyond a bare-bones profile on the search engines, nothing about Yeon-woo had been made public, and romance-drama fans were suffering from pure curiosity.
A younger student from Yeon-woo's school tried to claim insider knowledge, but the post was quickly buried under newer threads.
The next day, the lead and supporting cast of Summer's Closet, along with the writer and director, dressed up for the first time in a while and gathered not on set but at the JNBC annex.
After a brief photo-wall session, the Summer's Closet team took their seats for the production presentation arranged inside the annex.
"Hello. I'm JNBC announcer Kim Min-ah, and I'll be hosting the production presentation for Summer's Closet."
Clap clap clap!
Applause from the production staff, the cast, and the press corps marked the start of the event.
"Today's broadcast is going out live through JNBC Live Now and JNBC's official Nertube channel. If the proceedings feel a little uneven at any point, we kindly ask for your understanding—this is a live broadcast."
Kim Min-ah paused to catch her breath, then continued.
"Yes. A drama premiering in winter—and what could be more fitting? Summer's Closet."
Hahaha!
Her little joke drew laughter from the room.
She followed with a brief introduction of the project and the actors, then the teaser rolled.
"Ahh, doesn't it just radiate that fresh, tender feeling? Next, we'll start by passing along a viewer question to our director."
The first question went to Director Kim Han-su.
"Director, the average age of your lead and supporting cast is twenty-four. Working with such young actors—the set atmosphere must have been bright and cheerful, right?"
"Hahaha. Exactly right. I felt like I was getting younger myself. Our Summer's Closet is a campus romance comedy full of bright energy. As many of you know, we adapted the original webtoon and directed it to be fun. We hope you'll watch."
Smiling, Kim Min-ah turned the next question over to Son Jin-uk beside her.
"Actor Son Jin-uk. How was the atmosphere on set?"
"Our set was carried by Actor An Jun-ho, the mood-maker, and Actor Ryu Yeon-woo, our mascot."
The announcer's gaze shifted naturally to Yeon-woo.
"The internet's already buzzing, isn't it? Oh my, look at that chat speed climbing. I can't even read it. Actor Ryu Yeon-woo, you appeared like a comet—and I hear you're a high school student?"
"Yes, that's correct. I'm Ryu Yeon-woo, playing Cha Woo-joo, and this is my first drama—I joined through an audition. I'm currently a student at Dongwoon High School. It's a pleasure to meet all of you for the first time through such a wonderful project. I look forward to your support, everyone."
Yeon-woo introduced himself clearly and deliberately, then even threw in a finger heart.
"Oh my, he speaks so well—I thought a statue had started talking."
Laughter bloomed across the room again.
"And here we have the lead who plays Yeo-reum in Summer's Closet—Actor Han So-hyun. A greeting for the viewers, please."
"Hello. I'm Han So-hyun, playing Jeong Yeo-reum, who'll be stuck with the happy dilemma of choosing between Kang Seo-jun and Cha Woo-joo on campus. Hey, is the chat speed for me really that much slower than Woo-joo's? Haha."
Her remark set off another round of laughter.
"Actor Han So-hyun—something just came up in the live chat. 'Nooo! Without So-hyun unnie I'd die.' Yes, that was from a Lee Jeong-tae. We'll send you a small gift. From time to time I'll read comments like these, and viewers whose comments I pick will receive prizes that include the actors' autographs—so please keep the chat mannerly."
Lee Jeong-tae… same name as my homeroom teacher.
The image of his bearlike teacher typing comments made Yeon-woo snort under his breath.
No way.
The rest of the questions were fielded by the leads, supporting cast, and writer Choi Mi-hyeon, and the production presentation wrapped up in a warm, easy atmosphere.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Once it was over, staff and actors exchanged greetings all around.
Then Director Kim Han-su clapped his hands and drew everyone's attention.
"Alright, alright—today's a happy day. How about a company dinner, everyone?"
Waaaah!
The staff erupted in cheers at the director's call for a dinner.
The atmosphere had been so good, and filming had been progressing so smoothly, that despite a pile of setbacks that had left them short on time, they were already nearly at the final stretch of the shoot.
The Summer's Closet team gathered at a Korean traditional restaurant the assistant director had reserved in advance.
"Alright then, we'll start the first toast with a word from our director."
At the assistant director's cue, Director Kim waved his hands in refusal.
"Aigoo, what's the point of listening to an old man talk? For the toast, let's have the youngest over there—the one drinking cider instead of alcohol."
Kim Han-su's pass left Yeon-woo holding the toast out of nowhere. He rose with an awkward smile and led the cheer in a strong, clear voice.
"I've learned so much on this set. Let's keep fighting all the way to the end! Summer's Closet—aja aja! Fighting!"
"Aja aja! Fighting!"
"Aja aja! Fighting!"
The vaguely middle-aged flavor of the chant made Son Jin-uk snicker.
Everyone cheerfully echoed Yeon-woo, downed the first glass, and the dinner began in earnest.
Staff sang and danced amid the lively chatter, and the gathering wound its way toward the final stretch.
"Our Woo-joo—you've got to cry your eyes out tomorrow. What are we going to do?"
Han So-hyun, seated beside him, said to Yeon-woo.
"And whose fault is that?"
"What? Pfft."
She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed at his answer.
"Tomorrow's tears are partly my fault, sure—but isn't it also because of Senior Lee Sang-jung over there?"
At her words, Lee Sang-jung at the next table spoke up.
"Hey, what are you talking about? I had no choice, okay?"
The veteran actor's banter set the nearby cast laughing.
But Yeon-woo, already sunk deep into his character, couldn't quite manage a bright smile.
Lee Sang-jung's role was Cha Woo-joo's father—Chairman Cha.
The scene scheduled for tomorrow: Woo-joo, realizing his feelings for Yeo-reum too late, sinks into gloom as he watches Seo-jun and Yeo-reum grow closer—until a chance moment reveals why his father had treated his mother so harshly.
When the dinner finally ended and Yeon-woo headed back toward the lodging, something caught his eye.
"Huuurgh…"
A man was writhing in a corner of the parking lot, looking for all the world like a zombie.
Yeon-woo approached and checked the face. It was lighting director Im Seong-su.
"Seriously? He was so far in the corner nobody saw him?"
Looking troubled, Yeon-woo tried shaking him awake first.
"Director. Wake up. You'll freeze to death if you sleep out here."
"Uuurgh…"
Director Im showed no sign of getting up.
"Hmm. What do I do."
Yeon-woo pulled out Im Seong-su's wallet and checked the resident registration card.
The address listed wasn't all that far.
"No choice, then."
A full-grown man dead drunk is far heavier than a sack of rice of the same weight.
Yeon-woo hoisted the barely-coherent director onto his back and stood.
"Taxi—!"
"Ugh, the alcohol's not wearing off. I really overdid it last night."
"Hyung-nim, did you get home alright yesterday?"
"Don't even start. I don't remember a thing, and then I was just… home. My wife tore into me this morning—turns out the one who carried me in was Yeon-woo."
Lighting director Im Seong-su's words left everyone stunned.
"What? Yeon-woo did?"
"Yeah. Apparently I was so completely out of it he got worried, put me in a taxi, and carried me all the way to my door. The second I got to set I thanked him about a dozen times."
"Haa, how did that kid turn out so well?"
After the dinner the night before, Ryu Yeon-woo had found a blackout-drunk Director Im in a corner of the parking lot, checked the address on his ID, and personally carried him home.
Im Seong-su's wife and daughter had been startled twice over—first by their head of household being hauled in on someone's back, and second by the face of the person who'd done the hauling.
The morning-after disarray gradually settled, and they prepared to roll.
Then other actors appeared on set.
"Huh? Noona, hyungs—you don't have morning shoots today."
"Our youngest is shooting a big scene. Of course we come to cheer him on."
"Right. It's the day our Woo-joo cries his eyes out."
They'd come out on purpose despite the grind of consecutive shooting days. Yeon-woo was deeply grateful for the warmth.
"I'll have to pour this feeling into the tears in a bit. Noona didn't drink, and you two didn't go too hard last night, right?"
Jin-uk and Jun-ho answered.
"Obviously we paced ourselves. We've got afternoon shoots too—can't show up with puffy faces."
"Alright, going for a take."
The assistant director called out, and the three of them flashed thumbs-up for good luck.
Yeon-woo stepped onto the set and greeted Lee Sang-jung in front of him.
"Senior, looking forward to working with you on today's scene."
"You're the one doing the hard work. I'll do my best to help draw out the emotion."
Ready! Action!
On the director's signal, Yeon-woo began his lines.