Yonha University (1)
"What's with that look?"
Jin-uk asked, watching Yeon-woo, who had drifted off into memory without realizing it.
He must have let a sad expression slip across his face.
"It's nothing. Here's your watch."
Yeon-woo smiled and handed the NIS watch back to Jin-uk.
"Want me to get you one as a gift?"
Yeon-woo smiled at that.
"I don't really wear watches. They give me metal poisoning on the wrist."
"That's because you wear cheap junk and get metal poisoning. Haha. You look refined, but you're pretty old-fashioned."
"Is that so."
Ryu Yeon-woo did not regret the past he had devoted to the nation and its security. Still, he was determined to live a life different from the one before.
Around the same time Yeon-woo was looking at the watch in Son Jin-uk's home—
Creak—
The chief of the Western District Prosecutors' Office opened the door to Han Hae-un's office and walked in.
"Prosecutor Han. Ah—no, stay seated, everyone."
The investigators sprang to their feet in surprise at the chief's visit.
The Western District chief was a high-ranking figure, holding a third-tier post even among deputy chief prosecutors.
"Chief, why come in person instead of calling me...?"
Prosecutor Han Hae-un rose as well to greet him.
"Haha. Prosecutor Han is working hard, so the idle man ought to come to him."
The district chief approached Hae-un with a friendly air and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I hear you've been looking into someone named 'Jeon Su-hwan' lately. What's going on?"
"Sir? How did you...?"
Hae-un was startled by the chief who had an arm around his shoulder and was speaking in a lowered voice.
It wasn't even an official investigation—just personal inquiries—yet the chief had come down himself.
"I looked into it myself, and that man is already dead. Whatever the case may be, there's no right to prosecute once someone's deceased, so let's leave it at that. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
The district chief patted Hae-un's shoulder and soon left.
"The chief came down in person? Just who is Jeon Su-hwan...?"
It had to be an order from higher up—so high they couldn't even tell where it had originated.
"Hey, I'm going because you asked, but does it have to be tomorrow?"
Jun-su looked over at Seong-sik's grumbling.
"Don't tell me this is about Christmas Eve."
"Hey, even a single guy can enjoy Christmas Eve."
Hearing that, Jun-su glared at him.
"Ah, what's with you? You already scored a rare item and now you're talking nonsense? If that's how it is, spit it back out."
"No, I was just saying. Fine, I'm going."
Why on earth go on a university tour on Christmas Eve.
Watching Seong-sik mutter under his breath, Jun-su spoke up.
"Do either of us even have anyone to meet on Christmas? Tomorrow was the only day no one signed up, so the reservation actually went through."
Jun-su had tried to apply for a tour of Seoul's Yonha University every chance he got, but the competition was so fierce he always lost the mad-click race. The Sunday-only tours happened to fall on Christmas Eve this time, leaving open spots. He'd signed up right away, but going alone felt a little lonely and intimidating, so he'd dragged Seong-sik along.
"Hey, after the tour they give you a blanket and pens with the Yonha University logo on them!"
"Well, my point is you get into school with grades—what's a blanket got to do with it?"
Seong-sik shook his head.
"No, for real—a friend of my sister's got one of those and her grades shot up, and she got into Yonha."
"Ugh, you unscientific shamanism believer. Fine. We need to sleep early if we're leaving tomorrow. I'm heading in first."
"Hey, be at the front of the supermarket by nine a.m. tomorrow. Got it?"
Seong-sik and Jun-su waved and parted ways at the apartment entrance.
Chatting late into the night and sharing deep conversations about acting, Yeon-woo and Jin-uk had grown much closer.
"Hyung-nim, good morning. Morning, Yeon-woo."
"Yes. Good morning, Sang-woo hyung."
As they climbed into the car, Jin-uk spoke as if something had just occurred to him.
"Oh right, Yeon-woo. Did you tell your team leader?"
"Ah, yes. He said it doesn't matter which shop we go to as long as we get a receipt for the expense report."
"They're pretty flexible over there too. LN Ent. Not strict, and they seem to prioritize the actors' convenience for most things. Jae-hyeok sunbae is there too."
At Jin-uk's words, Sang-woo spoke while driving.
"Hyung, their upper ranks are solid. Even among managers, it's a place people want to get into."
Listening to Sang-woo, Jin-uk fell into thought for a moment.
"Hmm, is that so? My re-contract is almost up anyway. LN made me an offer too. You interested, Sang-woo?"
"You're taking me with you?"
"What, isn't that obvious? We've been together five years—we go all the way together."
Moved by Jin-uk's words, Sang-woo looked at him with glistening eyes.
"Hey hey, watch the road. The light's green."
"Hyung-nim, I love you."
"Ah, that's a bit awkward. Then I can't take you."
Jin-uk tossed out a joke, feeling oddly embarrassed.
"They're still looking after me well at LN too, and they said they'd already spoken to my father even before our drama filming started."
In truth, following Jeong Cheol-min's advice, Yeon-woo planned to settle on LN Entertainment as his agency as long as there were no major issues with the contract terms.
"Then if things go well, we'll be eating from the same pot, Yeon-woo."
"I'd like that."
"Well well, do all the men in this car like me too much?"
Laughing and chatting, they arrived at the shop.
"Filming starts at lunch, so we have some time. Should I grab something to eat?"
Sang-woo asked Jin-uk as he got out of the car.
"No, it's fine. Yeon-woo and I ate something light before we left."
"Yes, understood."
Jin-uk went in first, and Yeon-woo followed.
"Oh my, you're here. Jin-uk-ssi. Cold out, right?"
"Nah, we just got out of the car right out front."
Director Jeong Ha-neul greeted Jin-uk. She was a famous makeup artist ranked among the top three in the industry.
"Please take care of this friend with me today, Director."
Jin-uk pointed to Yeon-woo coming in behind him.
"Come on in. I got the concept from the on-site team this morning. You're even better-looking than on screen."
"Hello. I'm Ryu Yeon-woo."
Yeon-woo greeted her with a smile in his eyes.
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Yeon-woo-ssi. A face I'd love to work on. Ah, don't get the wrong idea—I mean for makeup. Hoho."
Staff came to guide them both, and Director Jeong Ha-neul's team put careful work into their makeup and hair.
"Do you two have filming tomorrow as well?"
Director Jeong asked while busily working with a brush.
"Tomorrow's just morning filming, right? Yeon-woo."
"Yes, and the day after is afternoon filming too, so once tomorrow's done I was thinking of heading home for a bit—it's been a while."
At Yeon-woo's answer, Director Jeong smiled with her eyes.
"Going to spend Christmas with family, then?"
At the director's words, Yeon-woo and Jin-uk looked at each other.
"Oh, is tomorrow Christmas?"
"I didn't realize either."
"Anyway, people in this industry live so busy they don't even know the date. Then again, I'm at work too."
Director Jeong shook her head.
"Ah! Right. Yeon-woo. Want to stay at my place again tonight?"
"Huh? I don't mind, but..."
"We should watch the Summer awards ceremony. Let's watch it together at home."
At Jin-uk's words, Yeon-woo clapped his hands.
"Ah, right. It's tonight, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Today's outdoor shoot will probably prioritize So-hyun-ssi's scenes first because of that."
"Yes. Sounds good. Watching together will be fun."
At Yeon-woo's answer, Jin-uk fiddled with his phone and started typing.
"I should ask Jun-ho what he's doing tonight. Three guys hanging out on Christmas Eve?"
"Jun-ho hyung doesn't have anyone either?"
"Nope. As far as I know, our whole cast is the singles squad."
At Jin-uk's words, Director Jeong laughed.
"Hoho. Isn't that a bit of a problem?"
"Tell me about it."
After finishing makeup, Jin-uk and Yeon-woo headed to Yonha University for outdoor filming with the campus as backdrop.
"Hey, Jun-su. This school really is pretty."
"I told you. This has the prettiest campus in the country."
"Oh, the noonas are pretty too? Look over there."
Seong-sik and Jun-su followed the tour guide around various parts of the school.
"Haa... now that I'm here, I do want to go to this school. Maybe your sister's friend just got motivated and went back to studying."
"Could be. But that's good in its own way, right? We're seniors now—we need to study."
"Yeah, we do."
Jun-su and Seong-sik seemed to do nothing but game every day, but surprisingly their grades weren't bad. Good enough to aim for mid-to-upper tier Seoul universities through early admission.
"We'll look at our scores through the June mock exams, and if it's doable, drop early admission and go for regular admission. Yonha University."
"Hey, but be honest. You want to come to Yonha because of Hong Yu-ri noona, right?"
"Ah, I don't know. Why ask when you already know. Let's just listen to the guide noona—she says this is the College of Natural Sciences."
Jun-su pointed to the guide explaining diligently up ahead and changed the subject.
Kim Jun-su had actually been crushing on Hong Yu-ri since their first year of high school. With Hong Yu-ri recently getting into Yonha through early admission, Jun-su now had a goal.
"Ah, damn it, then I'm in too. Yonha. A peach garden oath for a friend's love."
Seong-sik also decided to burn through his senior year with a sense of purpose.
"Hey, but the peach garden oath was between Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei—three people. There's only two of us."
"Dunno. Let's include Yeon-woo. He could probably get in here even if he took the test with his feet."
"If Yeon-woo is Guan Yu 'cause the name's similar, which of us two is Liu Bei?"
"Look in a mirror and you'll know. I don't know who's Liu Bei, but you're definitely Zhang Fei."
At Seong-sik's words, Jun-su stared at him in disbelief.
"What are you talking about. But wouldn't Yeon-woo go to Hankuk University?"
"True, Yeon-woo could probably manage Hankuk too. But with his acting schedule, will he even have time to study next year?"
They thought of Yeon-woo, who only briefly showed up at school during exam periods before rushing back to the set.
"Hmm, he's a monster, after all?"
"Right...?"
"Hey. But you know Yu-ri noona likes Yeon-woo, right?"
Seong-sik poked Jun-su in the side.
Jun-su looked at him with an incredulous expression.
"I like the Jellyz noonas too."
"Ah, is that the concept?"
"Yeah. Yeon-woo isn't competition."
Jun-su and Seong-sik nodded.
"Ah, but talking about Yeon-woo so much makes me want to see him."
Clap! Clap!
The guide, clapping to get the attention of Jun-su and Seong-sik who kept chatting in the back, said,
"Everyone, this is the College of Humanities. The entire building is constructed in European style, making it the most unique and a popular photo spot even within Yonha University."
A murmur rose.
People were gathered near the College of Humanities at the bottom of the hill.
"On holidays like today, a lot of people come for various shoots, and apparently there's a drama filming today as well."
The guide continued after briefly introducing the history of the College of Humanities.