Spring's Lover - Premiere (1)
"Yes. In this film, Ji Woo-hyuk is a young firefighter living with PTSD — a man who wants to heal a heart worn thin by the work he does."
The host chimed in as if the answer had been cued.
"Exactly. Lately overseas we've been seeing a lot of content about PTSD in deployed soldiers, but this project turns its gaze on the heroes right next to us — firefighters. I'm already looking forward to it."
The host shifted his attention back to Ryu Yeon-woo.
"And here we have the hottest golden-boy actor of the moment — Ryu Yeon-woo. It's a real pleasure to meet you like this."
"Haha. The pleasure's mine."
Today's lineup was stacked with heavyweight actors whose interviews usually ran stiff and dry, the kind of room where funny soundbites were hard to come by. Kim Young-hwan's eyes lit up the moment they landed on Yeon-woo.
"We can't not talk about the college entrance exam that's been all over the news — but after watching the film's intro reel, a different question jumped out at me first."
"Of course. I'll answer as thoroughly as I can."
Yeon-woo smiled and met Kim Young-hwan's gaze.
"Hahaha. Feels like a congressional hearing. Watching the reel, I was struck by how seamlessly you and Kang Ju-won blended into each other — no sense of disconnect at all where your scenes connect. What kind of work or know-how went into that?"
A veteran of countless production press conferences, Kim Young-hwan zeroed in on the heart of the intro reel at once.
"That part came from advice my acting mentor, Jeong Cheol-min, gave me. I put a lot of effort into it."
Mentioning Jeong Cheol-min was Yeon-woo's way of passing along a little of his gratitude.
"I binge-watched Senior Kang Ju-won's entire filmography, picked out his distinctive traits, and worked to absorb them."
At Yeon-woo's answer, Kang Ju-won's eyes brightened. So did the host's — Kim Young-hwan had just found his next angle.
"Kang Ju-won — did you usually help Ryu Yeon-woo out on set?"
"No. Honestly, today in the waiting room was the first time we met. When one of you is playing the student version of a character and the other the adult, you don't often cross paths."
The host turned back to Yeon-woo.
"So you really did it all through screen analysis and practice alone."
Sensing an opening, Kim Young-hwan grinned and pressed on.
"In that case — would we be able to see Ryu Yeon-woo do an impression of Kang Ju-won's acting?"
Caught off guard by the sudden request for a party trick, Yeon-woo gave an awkward smile. Then he stood up.
Waaah!
The sheer nerve of rising without hesitation drew small laughs and warm applause from the director and actors seated beside him.
"I'm not sure my skills are enough to do Senior's acting justice, but I'll give it a try. Spring's Lover — fighting!"
Yeon-woo's bold little rallying cry pulled laughter from the reporters and industry guests in attendance.
"I'll do a scene from one of Senior Kang Ju-won's films — Joseon Manipulation Squad."
Yeon-woo turned toward Ju-won, seated behind him, and offered a slight bow. Ju-won smiled back and nodded.
"Ah, this woman — why is your gaze so heavy with sorrow? An unfinished bond from a past life has cast you into the poison of grief."
As if Kang Ju-won himself had taken over the body, Yeon-woo delivered the lines in a sijo-like cadence, recreating the film scene beat for beat. Then, with a sly, languid smile and Kang Ju-won's signature unhurried drawl, he landed the final line.
"Shall I… be the one to untangle that grudge for you?"
It was Lee Hyeon from Kang Ju-won's film Joseon Manipulation Squad — the handsome Joseon-era playboy who left the capital's women weak at the knees.
Clap clap clap.
The recreation was so flawless that the audience and Kang Ju-won himself broke into applause. Beside him, Han Ye-jin let out a soft shriek and started whacking Kang Ju-won's arm.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh — he's exactly like you, Senior!"
Han Ye-jin kept thumping him, shaking his arm as if to say look at that kid.
"Ow. Ye-jin."
Kang Ju-won felt a strange mix of feelings watching someone mirror him so completely, and he laughed, a little sheepish.
The host heaped praise on Yeon-woo's dead-on performance, then moved on to questions for the other actors. After Kang Ju-won and Han Ye-jin, the questions reached Jeong Su-yeon.
Han Ye-jin had already mentioned Yeon-woo and Su-yeon's friendship, so the natural follow-up came easily: how had the two of them gotten close in the first place?
"…Actually, today's only the second time we've met in person. We text sometimes, but whether Yeon-woo thinks of us as close — ah! I mean, I think we're close, but…"
Thrown the spotlight without warning, Su-yeon answered in a trembling voice, rambling a little. At her age, she simply didn't have much experience with this kind of public stage.
Director Kim Han-su stepped in with covering fire for the flustered young actress.
"Su-yeon is quite shy, so Yeon-woo must have put in a lot of effort to get close to her."
Su-yeon's face went scarlet. She dropped her head and spoke into the mic in a tiny voice.
"That's not true. I… was the one who asked for his number first."
Hahaha!
The stage and the audience both burst out laughing at Su-yeon's adorable fluster. The truth was, from the waiting room onward Su-yeon had been quietly uncomfortable with the way the narrative kept drifting toward Yeon-woo approaching her first. And with Yeon-woo's fans watching the production presentation, she worried that any misunderstanding might somehow turn them against him.
The roar of laughter only rattled her further, and the words tumbled out in a rush.
"No — I mean — that's not — he's an actor my age, but the way he commanded the set, that aura was so cool, I wanted to be like him…"
Su-yeon's reaction was endearing, but the seasoned host, Kim Young-hwan, smoothly redirected to spare the overwhelmed young actress.
"Hahaha. Having just watched Ryu Yeon-woo's brilliant performance myself, I completely understand what Jeong Su-yeon means. Now then — shall we look at three questions chosen directly by the audience waiting for Spring's Lover?"
With that, Kim Young-hwan lifted a prepared panel from below the stage. From there, the second half of the event centered mainly on the leads, Kang Ju-won and Han Ye-jin.
And so the production presentation wrapped without a hitch under the host's fluid, practiced guidance. Yeon-woo exchanged goodbyes with Director Kim Han-su and the cast — see you at the premiere — and headed back to his officetel.
That same evening, the production presentation footage and teaser went up online, and through the agency the material was shared to Yeon-woo's fan cafe, Woo's, as well.
The fan cafe's reaction was electric — and the comments under the publicly posted production presentation video were no different. With major stars attached, there was plenty of talk about Kang Ju-won and Han Ye-jin, but the comments about Ryu Yeon-woo ran just as thick.
Yeon-woo skimmed the comment reactions, then called his father.
"Well, well — my son. Actor Ryu himself. To what do I owe the honor?"
At his father's greeting, Yeon-woo made a quiet note to call more often, then spoke.
"Hahaha. Dad, what are you up to?"
"Just got off work. Was thinking of grabbing a drink with the guys. And how about our Actor Ryu?"
With his friends right there, Ryu Cheol-ung deliberately called him "Actor Ryu" — the proud father itching to show off.
"I wrapped the production presentation today and came back to the place. So — are you free on the thirteenth? It's a Sunday. I'd like to invite the family to the premiere."
"Hmm? Premiere? Of course we're going. Our Actor Ryu."
The way his father deliberately boomed the word premiere for his friends' benefit was endlessly entertaining.
"Dad, then I'll call Mom and So-hyun separately right now."
"Do that, our actor. And make sure you eat proper meals on time."
"Yes. And you don't drink too much — go home, okay?"
After hanging up with his father, Yeon-woo called his mother and his younger sister So-hyun in turn and filled them in. He remembered what the staff had said — for a press-and-VIP premiere, roughly ten guest seats per actor was perfectly fine.
"Hmm…"
He stroked his chin for a moment, then picked up his phone again.
"Hey, Jun-su."
Morning of the thirteenth.
Yeon-woo's family dressed in their finest and piled into Cheol-ung's car at first light, bound for Seoul.
"Heehee. He said it was just a cameo so the screentime is short, but going to a premiere to see our son — it feels completely different from a drama."
"Our Actor Ryu just landed a lead in Director Park Chan-hong's next film, remember. Today you and I should think of this as a dress rehearsal. Hahaha."
Hearing the nonstop laughter from the front seats, So-hyun grinned in the back.
"Mom, Dad. Your smiles are stuck ear to ear."
And it wasn't only Yeon-woo's family whose smiles wouldn't come down.
On a KTX seat racing toward Seoul, Jun-su was, if anything, even more wound up than Yeon-woo's parents.
"Seriously, are you that happy, man?"
"We're adults now. Do you even understand the heart of a man going out to win love?"
With the new year they had both turned twenty — adults, even if the high school graduation ceremony hadn't happened yet. Jun-su and Seong-sik. Watching Jun-su like this, Seong-sik shook his head.
"You still don't know what love is, kid."
"What are you talking about. Like you do?"
Woo Seong-sik, who had dated more than a few times through school, shrugged with theatrical superiority at Jun-su's talk of true love and destiny.
"You ever even kissed anyone?"
A guy who had spent every waking hour gaming and then, once high school started, poured his entire one-track heart into Hong Yu-ri alone? Not a chance.
Jun-su said nothing. Seong-sik preened like he'd won.
"Yep. Confirmed kid. Can't even answer. Get rekt—"
"Cut it out."
At the sight of Jun-su speaking through clenched teeth, Seong-sik backed off a step.
Before long the KTX pulled into Seoul Station.
"Seong-sik, then I'll see you at the theater. I'm going fishing for love."
"Yeah, man. Since we're here — fighting. And when you see Yeon-woo later, bow once for me."
Yeon-woo had handed Jun-su two of the remaining tickets and told him to go for it. The second ticket was, of course, for Hong Yu-ri.
Even if Yeon-woo's help accounted for a clean one hundred percent of this setup, today was still Jun-su's first real date. Heart ready to take flight and knotted with nerves all at once, he started walking toward the subway entrance.