Friday Night Show
Everyone was worn out from the long journey, but after coming all the way to LA, none of them seemed ready to just collapse into bed. Instead they wandered the rooms of the suite, riding a second wind of excitement.
"Yeon-woo hyung! The private pool looks huge — want to swim?"
"It's ten degrees outside."
"Yeon-woo hyung! You saw me filming earlier, right? Want to do a dance challenge with me?"
"No."
Dong-ha had slept the entire car ride over, and now that his batteries were fully charged he kept buzzing around everyone like a restless fly.
Just then Han Byeol and Su-yeon came back from the lobby, where they'd gone to ask about something.
"Oppa! Look at this. Ta-da!"
In Han Byeol's hands were a pack of cards and a little silver bell.
Yeon-woo recognized the game — cards and a silver bell. He'd played it once before, at a housewarming party.
"…Halligalli?"
"Bingo! We asked the concierge desk if they had anything fun to play, and they gave us this!"
"A hotel just… has this lying around?"
At the word Halligalli, Jeong Cheol-min sat up from where he'd been sprawled on the sofa.
"Deal me in."
"Teacher, you know how to play Halligalli?"
Jeong Cheol-min snorted a laugh at Han Byeol's question.
"That game first got imported to Korea when I was in college. I played it a ton when it was all the rage."
Yeon-woo tilted his head at that.
Really…? We would've been around the same year. How come I only learned about it last time?
Then again, even in his previous life he'd been buried in studying just to get into Korea University, and he couldn't remember ever really going out after that either. Not knowing wasn't that strange.
Han Byeol and Su-yeon claimed a spot and started dealing the cards. Dong-ha and Jeong Cheol-min drifted over.
"Yeon-woo oppa, aren't you playing?"
"Hmm. If I join, it'll probably get awkward. Turns out I'm pretty good at this."
"What is that confidence? I'll have you know I never lost once at my school."
Yeon-woo gave an embarrassed little smile.
Seong-sik and Jun-su had said the exact same thing.
Last time I played, it wasn't even close to that level…
Reluctantly, he sat down.
And once again, the Halligalli tyrant was reborn beneath the skies of Los Angeles.
The next morning, Yeon-woo went out for a jog along the beach near the hotel — and spotted Kim Min-su and Lee Ye-eun.
"So they really are dating."
Come to think of it, the staff and company people had ridden in separate cars from the airport and been assigned rooms in the neighboring building, but he hadn't seen either of them all day yesterday.
Yeon-woo caught up to the pair walking ahead and popped up right between them.
"Isn't this dereliction of duty?"
Both of them jumped so hard they nearly left their skin behind.
"Mom—! You scared me!"
"Aagh! Actor-nim?!"
Yeon-woo grinned at them, mischief written all over his face.
"You two vanished for the entire day yesterday, and now you're out for a stroll together?"
"W-well, the bodyguards were handling everything, and there wasn't really anything for us to do, so…"
"I'm kidding. You two should rest while you're here too. I'm going to finish my run!"
With that, Yeon-woo shot off ahead again like a bolt.
Hmm. Good for them.
Or wait — he was younger than both of them, wasn't he?
After finishing his jog, he came back, showered, and only then did the others start stirring, the suite filling with the sounds of people slowly waking up.
"Hwaaam. Hyung, sleep well?"
"Yeah. Your snoring carried all the way to my room, though."
"Huk. Me? Wasn't that Teacher Cheol-min?"
At that moment Jeong Cheol-min came down the stairs from the upper floor, already protesting.
"It was not, you brat. I may look like a snorer, but I don't snore. Don't pin this on me."
"Yeon-woo hyung, which room did you take?"
At Dong-ha's question, Yeon-woo pointed upward.
"Me? Up the stairs to the second floor, the room further in."
"I slept on the third floor, though?"
Jeong Cheol-min pointed at himself and shook his head too.
"I was on the third as well. Su-yeon had the first floor to herself, so the second was probably Han Byeol's?"
"…Huh? Then—"
It was a morning of unexpected discoveries about Han Byeol.
The rest of the members came downstairs, and they were still debating the identity of last night's snoring culprit when the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong—
"I'll get it."
Dong-ha ran to open the door, and Bernard Fenton walked in.
"Did everyone rest comfortably last night?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Mr. Fenton, we slept very well."
Bernard Fenton smiled with satisfaction at Yeon-woo's answer and gestured outside.
"Shall we head out, then? To Hollywood."
There was still plenty of time before the scheduled shoot, but they needed to get makeup and wardrobe done, so leaving now made sense.
"Let's go."
They arrived by car at the Hollywood studio, where the makeup team that had flown over from Korea did their faces. Lee Ye-eun handled styling for everyone except Dong-ha.
"Hmm, perfect. K-beauty really is the trend these days."
Lee Ye-eun beamed with satisfaction as she looked over the fully dressed team.
Apparently local makeup styles didn't suit Korean faces, so they'd brought the entire makeup crew over. Yeon-woo, who knew nothing about any of that, simply took her word for it.
Outside, a show staffer knocked on the door.
"Are you ready?"
After a quick rehearsal, the actual taping began.
Yeon-woo and the others waited backstage while the studio filled to capacity with a live audience.
The team watched the monitors.
"Whoa, I'm suddenly nervous."
"Honestly, I still can't tell if this is a dream or real life. I've never even been on a Korean variety show, and somehow I ended up on an American talk show."
Yeon-woo smiled at his tense co-stars.
"If you freeze up or can't think of an answer, just toss it over to me."
"Hearing you say that actually calms me right down. When did you get so grown-up?"
"Hey, I've always been taller than you."
"You little—"
A staffer approached.
"Guests, we'll be standing by now."
And then, at last, the host's voice rang out, introducing the White Blood expedition team.
"Please welcome the cast of White Blood!"
David Powell's voice was met with a roar of cheers.
Yeon-woo and the others stepped out from behind the partition, waving.
Waaaaah—!
The cheers only grew louder.
Powell's face registered genuine surprise at the audience reaction — bigger than expected.
That's all performance, of course.
How many stars had this man met over years of show business? That startled expression was a calculated move, designed to elevate the guests' status in the viewers' eyes.
Yeon-woo smiled at the display, walked over to Powell, shook his hand, and pulled him into a light hug.
"Good to meet you, Powell."
"Welcome to our show."
Powell exchanged light hugs with the rest of the members as they filed in behind Yeon-woo, and once the greetings were done, everyone took their seats.
"Alright, Mr. Ryu."
"Just call me Yeon-woo — keep it casual."
Yeon-woo's easy preemptive strike, perfectly timed, drew a smile from Powell.
"I like that. Getting to be on first-name terms with the lead of the best-selling series in the world right now."
A ripple of laughter rolled through the audience at Powell's banter.
He continued.
"So you've arrived in America — how does it feel? Yeon-woo, are you starting to feel your own popularity yet?"
Yeon-woo smiled faintly at the question.
I need to seize the initiative with this first answer. If I want to set the tone for the entire talk show.
Decision made, Yeon-woo casually crossed one leg over the other, draped an arm along the back of the sofa, and looked at Powell with a smile full of confidence.
"Well. You just saw it, didn't you?"
He gestured toward the cheering audience. Powell, clearly not expecting that answer, clapped and laughed.
The audience followed suit, laughter breaking out across the seats.
On a Korean variety show, that kind of swagger would have sparked controversy within minutes — but American talk shows thrived on exactly this kind of breezy, playful energy.
Good start.
Yeon-woo immediately uncrossed his legs as if nothing had happened and spoke again.
"Haha. Just kidding. Since we got to America, we've been surprised by how many people actually recognize us."
"You really know how to lift a guy up and drop him, don't you. What about the rest of the cast? Ella? Do you know your popularity in America is through the roof right now?"
Yeon-woo smiled to himself at Powell calling Han Byeol "Ella."
Fenton does the same thing. Her popularity in the States is so high that the moment people see her, the role is the first thing that comes to mind.
Han Byeol, for her part, just beamed and shook her head.
"Nope! Since we got to America I haven't even left the hotel! This is my first time going out!"
Yeon-woo nodded as he watched her pure, unfiltered answer.
Han Byeol is Ella through and through. Leave her alone and she'll play her part perfectly.
The questions that followed went smoothly — Dong-ha and Su-yeon answered in fairly fluent English, while Yeon-woo stepped in to interpret for Jeong Cheol-min as needed.
You could tell from Powell's face that the show was rolling along in a pleasantly lively atmosphere.
Looks like it's going the way he wants.
Energized, Powell moved on to the next segment.
"I've got a few questions here that White Blood viewers sent in."
"Sounds fun."
Yeon-woo eyed the question cards in Powell's hand and thought to himself,
These won't be serious questions looking for real answers. They're going to want quick, witty responses — so I'll take them.
Powell looked down at a card and read aloud.
"If the final gem hadn't been in the Lachrymal Gland, but in the stomach or the bladder instead — what would you have done?"
Before the question had even finished, Yeon-woo struck the same arrogant pose from the opening and shook his head.
"Never. I would've given up on the spot."
As he spoke, he raised both hands in a shrug and stuck out his lower lip with perfect deadpan innocence.
Another wave of laughter broke out.
By now, everyone understood this was Yeon-woo messing around.
"Haha. Next question. If you look at the screen behind you, you'll see a certain meme."
Yeon-woo and the others turned. On the giant screen was the scene of Jeong Cheol-min opening a door and delivering the line, "Guest, it seems to be love" — followed by Yeon-woo firing right back, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Was that scene scripted?"
Yeon-woo smiled and answered.
"That's an excellent question. That scene was one hundred percent ad-libbed."
A murmur of impressed surprise rose from the audience.
"What was the original line again? Dong-ha?"
He smoothly handed the spotlight to Dong-ha, who caught it without missing a beat.
"Um, I think the original line was, 'Guest, I've found a reason to go up as well'?"
Yeon-woo nodded and picked up the thread again.
"Dipangdal opened the car door and threw out that ad-lib, and I just fired right back."
Powell looked pleased to have snagged a good story and nodded along with a satisfied smile.
"Oh, I see. Next question, then — this one's for Dipangdal sitting next to you."
At the sound of his character's name, Jeong Cheol-min tensed.
"Dipangdal, what happened with Emiline after that?"
Yeon-woo had seen that question floating around Korean internet communities before.
But the sudden question left Jeong Cheol-min's mind completely blank. He leaned over and whispered urgently to Yeon-woo.
"Yeon-woo, what am I supposed to say? That's not even in the script."
"Well… want me to just wing something?"
Jeong Cheol-min nodded vigorously.
Hmm. What should I say?
Calling Han Byeol "Ella" and Jeong Cheol-min "Dipangdal" — American audiences seemed to be collapsing actor and role into one. Hollywood stars came with their own established personas, so the distinction was clear. But with unfamiliar Asian actors, the characters' images had simply fused onto the performers themselves.
Yeon-woo nodded and answered simply.
"He's still looking for Emiline in real life. He's unmarried, after all."
The absurd answer sent Powell and the entire audience into laughter.
Even Jeong Su-yeon and Han Byeol, sitting further back, cracked up along with them.
"What? Why is everyone laughing? Yeon-woo, what did you just say?"
"I'll tell you after the show."
Powell moved on to the next question.
"This is the last one. What was the driving force that made all those cells — who were living just fine in their own places — decide to follow the protagonist and climb upward?"
Yeon-woo rubbed his chin.
Hmm. That's a pretty serious question.
You couldn't run an entire show on nothing but laughs. That would make everything feel too light.
For this one, I should give a real answer — something I actually believe.
He gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"Hmm. There's a line in Oscar Wilde's comedy Lady Windermere's Fan that goes like this."
Yeon-woo paused for a beat, glanced once at the faces of the members sitting beside him, and then continued.
"…We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."