Grass-Green and Green Are the Same
Walking the fine-drizzle path, he blankly watched the raindrops sliding down the tip of his umbrella.
On rainy days the distinctive scent rising from wet asphalt always settled the heart into quiet calm.
After a long silence Ryu Yeon-woo finally spoke.
"Is it not allowed?"
At the sudden question Son Jin-uk lifted his umbrella a fraction and looked at the young man walking beside him.
By now he understood this youth's way of speaking well enough.
At times like this you simply waited.
As if he had finished arranging his thoughts, Yeon-woo moved his lips again.
"…Is it really not okay to live doing what you want?"
The answer came not from Son Jin-uk but from Jeong Cheol-min, trailing behind them.
"No—it is. You have every right."
Gazing at the broad backs of the two tall men, he added,
"How does our team run?"
Yeon-woo and Son Jin-uk turned at the same moment and answered together.
"Until our hearts burst."
Satisfied, Jeong Cheol-min nodded and asked once more.
"Even if you think the road you're on is a detour, if you're enjoying it, it's the right road. When the ball leaves your hand and flies toward the hoop, it doesn't travel in a straight line—how does it travel?"
Yeon-woo looked back.
Through the rain that blurred the entire world, the young man with slightly damp hair turning to face them seemed to shine more vividly than any other subject around him.
Slowly he opened his mouth to answer.
"…Drawing a parabola."
From far off a cheerful shout cut through the rain.
"Okay, cut! Last scene was perfect too. Great work, everyone."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Keuh, you all did well."
Jeong Cheol-min dropped his umbrella and pulled Yeon-woo and Son Jin-uk into a rough embrace.
It was the first project they had filmed together under Saebyeol Media, and they had poured real effort into the basketball training just to reach a basic level of skill.
Looking at him, Yeon-woo nodded.
"Teacher worked the hardest of all."
There was more than a full generation between him and the other actors, yet he had kept the same practice pace and shooting schedule; the strain must have been enormous.
Around them the staff began clapping in celebration of the wrap.
"Parabola filming is complete!"
"All right, everyone—eat and drink your fill!"
"Okay!"
The big restaurant was packed.
It was the wrap party for Parabola.
At the actors' table the youngest, Dong-ha, was diligently grilling meat.
Yeon-woo spoke to him.
"It's been a while for you too, Dong-ha. Must be at least a month, right?"
"Yes. My scenes finished early, so it's been ages since I saw the hyungs. No album out lately either…"
"So what did you do for a whole month?"
"Just rested at home."
Jeong Cheol-min speared a piece of meat and said,
"If it wasn't a comeback period, you should've taken a trip somewhere."
"Nah—I stayed on standby in case the director called for reshoots."
"You little punk. You've really become an actor, haven't you?"
It had been a long shoot.
Months had passed even after the internal contest settled on the title Parabola, and in that time Yeon-woo had filmed and released the movie Moon.
If you went all the way back to the vague plan of "let's make a sports drama" before the title even existed, you had to rewind to the days when they were just launching Saebyeol Tube and shooting the variety show Saebyeol Family.
Of course we weren't filming the whole time…
Every cast member belonged to Saebyeol, so casting itself never stalled, but each of them was so busy that coordinating schedules had been a nightmare.
Deciding the genre, finding a director and writer, preparing the script—all of it took forever. Basketball practice alone ate up huge chunks of time.
And I laid down quite a few groundwork pieces too.
A follow-up variety show, Parabola—Training Camp, was already planned; the friendly match against the celebrity basketball team "Fast" still hadn't been uploaded to YouTube.
He had used connections to secure Netflix promotional support, and the final episode of Survival Island was about to air.
Lined up one by one, the activities tied to Parabola were far from few.
"Filming's over now. All that's left is the result."
The actors chewing meat nodded at Yeon-woo's words.
"It has to do well. I heard SBC's Daytona is going up against us in the same time slot?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Yeon-woo nodded at Son Jin-uk's remark.
The other actors might think the matchup was unfortunate, but the head-on collision had been Yeon-woo's deliberate choice.
"I really want us to crush them."
Jin Yu-han, who had been quietly eating, nodded as well.
"Me too. That drama's directed by Jo Hoon-gwang."
Dong-ha, still grilling, tilted his head.
"Do you all have some bad history with that director?"
The answer came from Director Kim Han-su at the next table, who had been listening.
"That man… even as a fellow director, he's a bit much."
Hearing him, Yeon-woo recalled the contents of the report.
The guy cleverly sexually harasses only rookie actresses and junior staff. His reputation among actors is rock-bottom.
Birds of a feather, was it?
Honestly, how Baeksol managed to pick out only these kinds of people every single time was a mystery.
"His behavior is filthy, but it's just ambiguous enough that it's hard to prosecute as a crime. And because the industry is so closed, the victims just keep quiet and let it slide…"
Yeon-woo nodded at Son Jin-uk's words.
The report from Han Hae-un had said the same thing.
There was no need to overthink it.
It wasn't about punishing someone or delivering justice—he was simply an obstacle on the road ahead.
Obstacles were meant to be cleared.
"We just smash them. Face them head-on and destroy them with ratings."
The quiet remark from Yeon-woo drew every actor's gaze.
Then Jeong Cheol-min burst into a booming laugh.
"Khahaha! Right. How does our team run?"
The sudden line from the drama made everyone snort with laughter.
"Until our hearts burst."
At that same hour, the Parabola team was not the only one drinking and talking about the competition.
Director Jo Hoon-gwang was also raising glasses with Lake Film CEO Jeong Yang-gi in a private room in Gangnam.
"Haha, hyung-nim, you're worrying over nothing. No matter how hot Ryu Yeon-woo is these days, we've got Yoon Seung-seol. In Korea his name value never drops."
"I keep hearing that survival show of his is insanely popular with the younger crowd…"
Jo Hoon-gwang slammed the glass back and cut him off.
"Keuh, did these bastards water the booze? Why's it so weak? Ah, hyung-nim, don't worry. Our production budget is more than six times theirs. You know how it works in this business—when you crush them with money, the results always show."
While speaking he looked Jeong Yang-gi up and down.
This idiot is fretting over some no-name cable drama? Parachute bastards who drop from the sky are all chicken-hearted like this.
In Jo Hoon-gwang's eyes, Jeong Yang-gi was nothing more than a figurehead and a paper CEO.
Behind him stood an unidentified force that had been pouring money into films and dramas of every size for years; Jo had learned that much through direct and indirect channels.
Whenever he successfully delivered one of their projects, the reward was an invitation to a certain villa—pure wine-pool and meat-forest excess.
Keuh, full overseas location shoot, Yoon Seung-seol as lead, production budget through the roof—there's no way it fails. What, a basketball drama? Besides those kids playing around on cable, nothing else is even competing in the same slot.
Just imagining the villa invitation already made his body heat up.
He fixed Jeong Yang-gi with cold eyes.
"Hyung-nim, you just focus on the promotion. Nothing shows results as clearly as advertising when you've thrown that much money at it."
Time flowed on, and before anyone noticed, the premiere of Parabola was only a week away.
That also meant the final episode of Survival Island would air that same day.
"Yes, she said she left nothing on the table, so the results should be good."
—Anyway, that morning I deliberately prepared only foods that wouldn't upset her stomach and told her to eat light, but the girl insisted on pumpkin taffy she'd never eaten in her life…
Listening to his mother's machine-gun complaints, Yeon-woo quietly hummed agreement.
"Still, she finished the exam safely, so that's a relief."
Two days earlier his little sister So-hyun had taken the college entrance exam.
Just the other day she was pouting with her lip stuck out five inches because she wanted to go to karaoke with her friends, and now she's about to become a college student.
He felt, with fresh clarity, how long he had already lived this new life—long enough that it had begun to feel natural.
"I'll call So-hyun myself and tell her to come up to Seoul soon. She's been a student under pressure; I should at least buy her a meal."
—All right. You're not hurt anywhere?
"Fit as a fiddle. You're watching Survival Island that's airing now, right?"
—Of course. Why would you film something so dangerous? Every time I watch I keep fretting and telling your father…
The machine gun started up again and Yeon-woo broke into a light sweat.
Ugh…
He regretted bringing it up.
"Anyway, the final episode airs today. And right after it ends, the drama starts on the same network."
—Right, you know Aunt Eun-seong? She said the schedule worked out perfectly because the drama follows immediately on the same channel, so it's easy to keep watching.
Yeon-woo nodded at his mother's words.
Of course the schedule hadn't "worked out"—he had carefully engineered it by appearing on a survival variety show that had never been part of the original plan.
If ordinary viewers felt that way, it was a success.
After hanging up with his mother, Yeon-woo spent the time cleaning the house.
He had claimed he was tired and skipped the weekly Survival Island viewing party.
Yeah… if they see the booby traps and rope action in the finale, the questions will pour in nonstop. Better just not go.
It looked like it would become a hassle, so avoidance seemed wiser.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang.
Hm? Did Mom send side dishes by courier? No, it's already past evening for a delivery.
Yeon-woo walked to the wall pad to check the front door and saw unexpected faces on the screen.
—Yeon-woo, hyung brought calpis because I figured you'd be tired. Let's watch Survival Island together.
—Oppa, open the door!
The next-door neighbor and his guests stood there.
Son Jin-uk, Han Byeol, and the other actors, and behind them Manager Kim Min-su grinning sheepishly and CEO Jeong Hyeok as well.
The problem was that the next-door neighbor and his guests were standing right in front of his house.
"Ugh… this…"
It looked like escaping the swamp of questions tonight would be impossible.