Invitation

"Director Lee. The footage looks fantastic, doesn't it?"

"These days, if you throw enough money at it, the CG always comes out looking sharp. But more than that, Director Hwang—the post-production on the ending sequence they handed over should be finished soon. I'm really looking forward to that."

"That desert chase scene you mentioned last time?"

Director Hwang, who had already seen the rough cut before it went to post, nodded and turned his eyes back to the screen, where the trailer was now playing.

"Ryu Yeon-woo. That kid's the real deal."

Just then a drama department staffer burst into the director's office without knocking, clearly in a hurry.

"Director! The final ratings numbers just came in."

"How'd we do?"

The staffer handed over a printed sheet. Director Hwang snatched it up and stared. Director Lee Sang-hun craned his neck ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to look as well.

These were the figures straight from the ratings company—faster and more accurate than anything on the internet.

"Yes! The graph's turning!"

They still hadn't overtaken the competition, but two consecutive episodes of climbing numbers told Director Hwang everything his thirty years of experience needed to know. Barring some major disaster, they would sail past the rival show by the mid-season stretch and start absorbing its audience on the way up.

He clapped Director Lee Sang-hun on the back, grinning with pure satisfaction.

"Director Lee—if you run short on production budget during the later shoots, you tell me right away. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. Hahaha."

Today, Director Lee Sang-hun's shoulders looked twice as broad as usual.

The next morning Yeon-woo left the house early and drove himself to the special set complex.

At the gate a security guard stopped the car and approached.

"How can I help you?"

"I'm here for the Star Beyond the River set."

"Ah—head over to Zone B2. There's parking just around the side."

"Thank you."

Following the guard's directions, he rounded the corner and found a building of considerable size.

"Pretty impressive scale."

He parked and stepped inside. Staff members bustled past carrying equipment.

"Oh? Yeon-woo."

"Gi-hun hyung."

A lighting-team staffer who had been setting up fixtures spotted him coming in and hurried over.

"You got time off and you still show up at the set this fast?"

"I wanted to look around a bit early. My family's place is in Daejeon. Is the director here yet?"

"He should be through the door to Set Three."

Yeon-woo opened the door the staffer indicated. Inside, the set had been dressed to look like a cave. Up close the materials still gave away that it was a set, but it was dark enough that it would look convincing on camera.

Farther in, Director Lee Sang-hun was checking camera frames and locking down compositions. He came into Yeon-woo's line of sight.

"Director."

"Hmm? Wait—Yeon-woo? Why aren't you resting? You're already here."

"My family's place is nearby, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I thought I'd stop by early. By the way, this set is incredible."

"Haha. Have you seen the room next door? In the chroma-key room we actually planted a few real trees."

Director Lee launched into an enthusiastic rundown of the various sets.

"Oh, perfect timing. Want to step into frame for a second? I want to pre-set the lighting for each scene so it flatters your face."

"Sure. Stand here?"

"Okay. Good. Sang-myeong—get the lights."

Yeon-woo stood as the subject while the crew dialed in the setup. The set door opened again and another actor walked in.

"Hello, Director. Wait—Yeon-woo?"

"Yu-han."

Jin Yu-han's appearance caught Yeon-woo completely off guard. True to form for an acting-obsessed fool, Yu-han had left Seoul first thing in the morning and driven straight to the set.

"Wow. The passion of our two actors is bringing tears to my eyes. Sob, sob."

Director Lee's mouth twitched upward as he pretended to cry.

"When did you get here? I had no idea you'd come too."

"My place is nearby. Figured I'd drop by early while I was at it."

"Even better. Since both of you are already here, let's just run everything and lock it all down."

They started rehearsing not only Yeon-woo's solo scenes but the ones they shared as well.

"Ha. If every actor worked like this, the quality would jump a whole level."

Watching two young actors who, even after a forced rest day in the middle of a grueling schedule, showed up at the set as if by prior agreement, Director Lee felt his chest catch fire.

"Right. If the young ones are burning this hard, I'll grind my soul into the work too."

Passion flowing from the top gradually infected the staff below, and a natural, let's-do-this energy took hold across the set.

They poured everything into the rehearsals, and before anyone noticed it was already four in the afternoon.

"All right, actors—let's call it here and head out. Burn too hot and you'll get sick. Take care of yourselves."

"Yes, Director."

Yeon-woo had walked the sets enough to feel familiar with them, and after running lines with Jin Yu-han he had a solid mental map of how he wanted to play each scene.

Yu-han stretched and followed him out of the building.

"Ugh. Leaving so early this morning really took it out of me."

"So are you heading back up to Seoul now?"

"Well… I don't have anything scheduled, but yeah, I probably should."

That was when Yeon-woo remembered his sister So-hyun asking for an autograph.

"An autograph's fine, but the real thing would be better."

"Hmm?"

"Yu-han, want to come to my place? We've got a free guest room. Stay the night and head up tomorrow. Sun's going down soon anyway."

Jin Yu-han had been a child actor for so long that he had never had many friends his own age, and he had never once been invited over to a friend's house. Lately, though, he had found a peer he could actually respect as an actor—someone who shared his only real hobby and profession—and working with Yeon-woo had been genuinely fun. The invitation was tempting.

"Hmm… should I? I don't want to impose on your family."

"You won't. Friends crash over all the time. They won't mind."

It was true—during exam prep, when study sessions ran late, Jun-su and Seong-sik had often slept in the guest room. Whether the family would treat a famous actor of more than a decade the same way they treated high-school friends Woo Seong-sik and Kim Jun-su was another question, but still.

Yeon-woo pulled out his phone and called his mother.

"Yes, son?"

"Mom, a friend's going to stay over tonight. Is the guest room cleaned?"

"I did a full deep clean the day before you came down. Spotless. Who is it? Is Jun-su coming?"

"No, a different friend. We'll head home together then."

"All right. Go ahead."

"Yu-han, then how about we go to my place, look over the script, and run lines?"

"Oh, that sounds perfect."

"Leave your car here. We'll take mine."

And so the two of them—more serious about acting than anyone—climbed into the car and headed for the family home.

Beep-beep—

He unlocked the door and stepped inside. His mother wasn't home.

"Must've gone to the market for dinner ingredients."

"Ah. This is my first time at a friend's house."

"Really?"

Yeon-woo asked it back, then thought carefully and realized that in his previous life he had never been to a friend's house either. Or rather—had he even had friends?

"Hmm. Come to think of it, I haven't really done it much either. Want a tour?"

The house wasn't large enough to warrant a full tour, but since Yu-han would be staying the night, Yeon-woo showed him around.

"This is my little sister's room. Probably better not to open the door without her permission. She's at that sensitive age."

"Oh—you have a little sister?"

"Her name's So-hyun. Ryu So-hyun."

At the name, Jin Yu-han clapped his hands.

"Right, I remember. At the awards last time you said she had the same name as actress Han So-hyun."

"She watched episode two of our drama and has been your fan since yesterday. Sign something for her later."

"Hahaha. Really?"

Then the front door opened and his mother came in with the market bags.

"Mom, you're back."

Yeon-woo went to the entryway to meet her and took the shopping bags.

"Did your friend come with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you? What kind of friend—oh my goodness!"

She stepped through the inner door into the living room with Yeon-woo and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Jin Yu-han.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Jin Yu-han. I'm filming with Yeon-woo."

"Oh my, oh my—of course I know. Of course I do."

"Please speak comfortably. I'm Yeon-woo's friend."

"Hoho, is that so? You little rascal. If the friend you were bringing home was a star like this, you should have said so. I would have bought beef."

She fussed over the polite bow Jin Yu-han offered, then smacked Yeon-woo on the back. It was the second time he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had taken one of his mother's back-smacks—the first had been after she saw the self-shot room footage from the variety show Summer's Table.

"Mom. If Seong-sik or Jun-su heard that, they'd be hurt."

"Hmm? Would they? Well, I can grill beef for them too. Anyway, sit on the sofa. I'll cut some fruit right away."

She headed for the kitchen. Yeon-woo pulled out the script and sat on the living-room sofa with Jin Yu-han.

They sank into the pages almost at once, trading interpretations, discussing the acting in earnest, and locking down the rhythm of the lines.

Lee Seon-ok came out with a full plate of sliced fruit and stopped in the kitchen doorway, standing still as she watched her son and Jin Yu-han. A little moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.

That child who used to struggle so much, who was so dark…

How had he grown up this well, turned around a full hundred and eighty degrees? She was almost dizzy with happiness.

"Eat while you work, boys."

"Thank you, ma'am."

They ate fruit and settled properly around the living-room table, taking notes and refining the performances. Outside, the sky darkened before they knew it.

Beep-beep—

The front door opened with a clatter of noise, and his father and So-hyun came in.

"Mom, Mom! So today I took the September mock exam and the teacher said—kyaaaah—!"

So-hyun had been chattering about school as she walked in. The moment she saw Jin Yu-han sitting in her own living room, she screamed.

"What is this girl yelling about all of a—huh?"

His father, right behind her, spotted Jin Yu-han and his eyes went wide.

"Hello. I'm Jin Yu-han, Yeon-woo's friend. I'll be imposing on you for the night."

"Ah, right. Nice to meet you. My goodness—you're even taller and better-looking than on screen."

His father shook Yu-han's hand and clapped him on the shoulder.

Once the greetings were done, Jin Yu-han looked past him at Ryu So-hyun, who was still frozen in place.

"Hi. So-hyun, right?"

"Hieeeek."

With a strange little squeak she bolted into her room.

"What's wrong with that kid? Sorry about that, Yu-han."

"…Is she still in the middle of puberty?"

"Haha. No, it's fine. Really."

His father and Yeon-woo offered awkward apologies; Jin Yu-han waved them off, saying it was nothing.

They settled into easy conversation—his father asking Yu-han, with a father's quiet worry, how Yeon-woo was doing on set—when, after maybe three minutes, So-hyun's door cracked open and she reappeared.