Han So-hyun's Awards Ceremony

Once the set had been roughly cleared, Jin-uk stayed behind inside the university building to shoot a few remaining scenes.

Seong-sik and Jun-su watched the filming the whole time, gasping in open admiration. Seeing someone they had only ever known from television and movie screens moving and breathing right in front of them was more than enough to leave them stunned.

"Whoa, this is insane. I never thought I'd actually meet Son Jin-uk."

"Hey, don't just call him by his full name in front of hyung."

At Jun-su's correction, Seong-sik waved it off as if the point were obvious.

"I know that much."

Before long Jin-uk finished shooting and walked over to Yeon-woo and his friends.

"Yeon-woo, the director said he's going to grab some extra establishing shots of the campus, so we can head out first."

"Oh, really? Then shall we go?"

Following Jin-uk's lead, the high-school boys trailed after him like a line of ducklings.

"This is the van. Hop in."

Jun-su and Seong-sik climbed into a van for the first time in their lives and kept letting out soft sounds of awe.

"Hyung, your friends have been getting a lot younger lately, haven't they?"

Sang-woo tossed the joke from the driver's seat. After Yeon-woo, this was the second day in a row Jin-uk was inviting high-schoolers over to his place.

"Hahaha. You're right. You on another date tonight?"

"Yes. Completely whipped."

Jin-uk and Yeon-woo both snorted at Sang-woo's answer. For all his talk of being whipped, his face looked thoroughly happy.

"Should we pick something up to eat?"

Yeon-woo asked. Jin-uk shook his head.

"Nah, we'll just order once we get there."

With the two boys still murmuring in wonder, the van sped toward Son Jin-uk's house and soon pulled into the parking garage. The friends kept exclaiming from the moment they entered the driveway, then climbed out after Jin-uk. They rode the elevator up; Jin-uk unlocked the door and ushered them inside.

"Come on in, kids."

"Wow, thanks to Yeon-woo we actually made it all the way to Son Jin-uk hyung's house."

The second the door opened, Jun-su and Seong-sik's eyes went round as saucers.

"Whoa. This is crazy."

They wandered from room to room, still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gasping. Even Jun-su, who usually kept Seong-sik in check, was too busy exploring like the teenager he was to rein anyone in.

Watching them, Yeon-woo quietly apologized to Jin-uk.

"Hyung, I'm sorry. They're just kids. They've never been in a place this nice before."

"Hahaha. It's fine, Yeon-woo. You talk like you're not a kid yourself."

"Well… that's true too."

Yeon-woo smiled softly. Even as he answered, Jin-uk watched the two boys roaming around and thought to himself that this was how kids their age were supposed to act—Yeon-woo was just unusually mature.

"All right, before the awards really get going, should we order some food?"

"Sounds good. Hey, guys, come here a second."

At Yeon-woo's call, Jun-su and Seong-sik gathered. Looking at them, Jin-uk asked,

"What do you two feel like eating? I'm about to place an order."

"Pizza for me!"

Seong-sik answered instantly. Jin-uk laughed as if he had expected exactly that.

"Perfect. Classics are always best. Okay, pizza and chicken it is."

"Yes! Thank you!"

Once the order was in, the host gave them a proper tour of the house. Time slipped by, and the delivery arrived almost before they knew it.

"Food's here, and the awards should be starting any minute."

"Um, Jin-uk hyung…"

Seong-sik hesitated, clearly wanting something.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Would it be okay if the four of us took a group photo?"

"You're just gonna post it on Stargram to get more followers, aren't you?"

Jun-su's pointed remark made Seong-sik flinch.

"Actors have private lives and image rights. You can't just slap photos online like that."

Jun-su scolded him. Jin-uk chuckled at the unexpectedly adult tone and answered,

"Normally Jun-su's right. But today's fine. Let's take it. This pizza's one of my endorsement products anyway—might as well get it in the shot. I'll post it on my Stargram too. The sponsor will love it."

He agreed readily and stepped between the high-schoolers.

"Hyung, are you really sure?"

"Yeah. I haven't even taken my makeup off yet. Perfect timing."

"Then… if you'll excuse us, we're taking it! One, two, three."

Click.

"Oh man, this is awesome. Hyung, is this photo okay? Can I use it?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Looking at the picture, Jun-su said,

"You're the one who should be worried. Standing next to those two, you look like a squid at best."

"Hey, I'm still better-looking than you."

Jun-su shook his head at that. Whether Jun-su cared or not, Seong-sik was already buzzing with excitement as he uploaded the photo to the family group chat and the class group chat.

Ding ding ding.

Jun-su's phone exploded with notifications.

"You already posted it?"

"How could I hold something like this back?"

Jun-su switched his phone to silent and opened the group chat. Seong-sik had uploaded both the selfie with Han So-hyun from that afternoon and the group shot they had just taken.

The chat was exploding so fast that Jun-su gave up trying to keep up and closed his phone. Beside him, Seong-sik's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Ugh, attention hog."

"Hahaha. If I were a Joseon king, my royal name would be AttentionSeeker."

Jun-su shook his head. This time Yeon-woo shook his head right along with him.

"Okay, the awards are starting."

The four of them turned their attention back to the ceremony. After a stretch of presentations, Han So-hyun appeared on screen.

"Wooo! So-hyun noona! Fighting!"

Seong-sik shouted like he was cheering at a baseball game, and everyone burst out laughing.

"Pretty soon Yeon-woo's gonna be up there too, right? When you are, you better say my name!"

"Haha. Well… our drama's on JNBC, so we don't even have an awards show."

"Come on, next project or the one after that—you'll get there someday. Looking like that."

"Okay. I'll definitely say your name."

Before long it was time for the Best Actress award that So-hyun had been nominated for. The presenter announced the winner.

So-hyun accepted congratulations from her fellow actors, climbed the stage, and received the award.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Jin-uk's living room turned into a festival in real time.

"I knew our So-hyun noona was going to win."

"Since when is she 'our' So-hyun noona?"

Seong-sik was bouncing off the walls; Jun-su needled him for it. But Jun-su himself, along with Yeon-woo and Jin-uk, was clapping and smiling just as hard.

So-hyun's cute, sly little laugh drew chuckles both from the awards hall and from Jin-uk's living room.

She listed family members and staff, then finally looked straight into the camera, winked, and finished,

"Whoa! She just said Yeon-woo's name! Right? Did I hear that wrong?"

Seong-sik looked around; Jun-su nodded that he had heard it too.

"So-hyun… we agreed not to mention it because it's a different network. There's no stopping her."

Jin-uk shook his head left and right, but the corners of his mouth were climbing. The sudden shout-out had startled Yeon-woo as well, yet he felt just as warm about it.

When the awards finally ended, Yeon-woo and the boys were each assigned a guest room and began getting ready for bed. The house was so large—and Jin-uk lived alone—that even after giving every visitor a room of his own there were still extras left over.

"Are you sure I can have this whole room to myself? This bed is basically the size of our living room back home."

Sitting on the guest-room bed and looking at Yeon-woo, Jun-su asked.

"There probably isn't a smaller room in this place. We're here, so we might as well enjoy it."

Yeon-woo answered with a gentle smile, and Jun-su nodded.

Yeon-woo went back to his own room, lay down for a while, then got up before sleep to wet his throat and stepped out into the living room.

Bzzzt!

His phone vibrated. Yeon-woo glanced at the screen.

— Han So-hyun

"Yes, noona. Congratulations on the award. Really."

He answered with a smile.

"Did you see? Did you see? I mentioned our Yeon-woo too!"

"Haha. Yes, I saw. I watched with Jin-uk hyung."

From the other end of the line came a bright "Oh, really?"

"You're sleeping at Jin-uk sunbae's place again tonight?"

"Yes. We all came over to watch your awards together."

"I'm so touched!"

Just then Jin-uk wandered into the living room, still brushing his teeth.

"Ah, hyung. Noona's on the phone."

"Hohyeohi?"

Jin-uk spoke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Yes, So-hyun-ssi."

So-hyun must have heard him on her end as well, because she asked,

"Is that Jin-uk sunbae?"

"Yes. He's brushing his teeth right now, so he can't talk."

"Hoo-ha-na-go mal-hae-hyo!"

Jin-uk managed a hurried mumble, waved his hand, and retreated to the bathroom.

"He says ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to tell you congratulations, noona."

Yeon-woo understood him perfectly anyway.

"Okay. Thank youuu! I don't have morning shoots tomorrow, so I'll probably see you on the twenty-eighth!"

"Yes. The outdoor scenes earlier were already cold—that dress must have been freezing. Rest well so you don't catch a cold."

"What is this sweetness? You sleep well too, Yeon-woo."

They ended the call, and Yeon-woo returned to his room.

The next morning, after finishing his shoot, Yeon-woo boarded a train with his friends and headed down to his parents' house. The steps that carried him home after several weeks felt light. He hugged his welcoming parents and younger sibling one by one, then spent a happy Christmas evening grilling pork belly together.

After that he returned to Seoul, wrapped up the remaining shoots and the drama poster photography, and the new year dawned.

Today—Wednesday, January 3rd.

The long-awaited first broadcast of Summer's Closet.