Tactless Guy Blues and Rush Man Reunion
Kim Donghu was a man. The dawn of the day after I'd made plans with Sujin.
"You're already out here?"
"Yeah, meeting on the first floor's quicker, right?"
Sujin was waiting right in front of her house. I'd meant to greet the auntie and uncle since it had been a while.
'Eh, greetings can wait—anytime's fine.'
Thinking that, I casually glanced at Sujin's headband.
"You always wear a headband like that?"
"I hate sweating, so... yeah, sometimes!"
She spoke in that oddly defensive tone, fiddling with her bangs nonstop. Come to think of it, I'd heard girls obsess over their bangs like that.
'They even hold 'em back while running or whatever.'
The image popped into my head, and I quickly spotted the nearby athletic field by our apartment. Dawn made it perfect—no crowds, empty track, plenty of space to run easy.
"But seriously, you gonna do this every day?"
"Huh? Do what?"
"Like, actually practice with me like this all the time?"
At Sujin's question, I nodded like it was obvious.
"Pretty much, yeah? Truth is, you should've been running steady for at least six months minimum, but hey—better than nothing."
Getting good at running was dead simple. Just run consistently. Sure, limits existed, but hitting "pretty fast" for average folks? Easy anytime.
'Course, a week's not enough for even that.'
Still, enough time to make the act itself feel natural.
"Stretch first, no exceptions—or you'll get hurt."
"Really? How?"
"Just copy me."
Stretching wasn't rocket science. Basically that New Millennium exercise from elementary school. A teen perk, nothing more.
"I always slacked off on this in school—feels weird doing it right."
"Eh... skip the couple weird moves, and it's all good."
And with that, our run kicked off smooth as butter. What obstacles could running even have?
'3km in 15 minutes—damn, she's solid.'
Third-class army fitness level. Child acting must've built her stamina young.
"Huff... huff..."
First lap done, Sujin gasped for air, scrambling for water.
"Slow sips, slow."
I'd come prepared, pulling a bottle from my bag and handing it over. Gulp gulp. Mid-chug, she tugged off her headband—probably annoying her subconsciously. Bangs flipped up, revealing her forehead.
"Whoa, a zit."
I spotted the pimple.
"Wha—what?! Huh?!?!"
No clue why, but Sujin freaked for real. I blurted advice her way.
"Sujin, they say pressing zits with headbands like that is bad..."
"Shut up! I hate you! Not talking to you anymore!"
I got hated on.
"...?"
Sujin stormed off without even looking back. Our inaugural run? Over in 30 minutes flat.
>No meetings till our shoot, not even at school! Contact ban!
A full no-contact order dropped.
'What the hell?'
The zit? For real?
++++++
Rush Man MC Yoo Jiseok always reviewed guest info meticulously before they arrived. Human lives being what they were, though—special cases were rare outliers.
Except.
"Yujin PD, this for real?"
"Pardon?"
"That child actor Kim Donghu on today."
"Yep yep."
"His resume's insanely flashy—like, hard to believe?"
"Right? Makes him all the more trustworthy."
Kim Donghu was outlier-of-outlier weird. Agencies faked concepts with gimmicks sometimes, but this? Mess up, and boom—disaster.
'PD must've vetted it, though.'
Ditching doubts, Yoo Jiseok prepped for shoot. Two kids meant worries, but also relief.
'Heard they're tight.'
Acquaintances since Kyarruk Doctor!—at least decade-long, basically childhood friends.
But.
As if smashing his expectations flat, the early-arriving duo hit the scene.
"Hey, Sujin!"
"Don't talk to me till filming starts."
He overheard while greeting them.
'Weren't you guys close?'
Childhood friends who'd done two projects together. What was with the ice?
'They fight or something?'
Worried it'd tank the shoot—
"...better now? Sorry about that... I shouldn't have been so thoughtless with the zit..."
"Br-bring up the zit and you're dead! Never speaking to you again!"
"But it's gone now..."
"Still! You ruined everything that day! You know that, right?!"
"...Yeah, yeah I do."
"Anyway! So no talking till the shoot! Talk and we're done for good!"
The adorably petty spat curved Yoo Jiseok's lips into a grin.
'Man, so fresh and cute—driving me nuts.'
Famous We Got Married softie like him, handed prime lovey-dovey fodder?
'Like dangling fish in front of a cat.'
Or was it the reverse? Whatever—irrelevant. One thing clear: today's shoot was gonna be gold.
++++++
Is zero tact a sin? Debates raged on it. You could pour effort into raising it, but it never stuck. Sometimes, no-tact helped. Hell, maybe tact was a myth?
But.
Kim Sujin settled it a week back: tactlessness was straight-up criminal.
Culprit? Kim Donghu, naturally.
'Total idiot! Moron!'
Manga guys cringed through cheesy lines but kissed zits anyway.
'I know it's fake, cartoon logic—duh, I get it!'
But couldn't he fake it a little? How do you blurt "zit" like that?
'No other boy would call that out!'
No chats with other boys to compare, but Donghu's response? Dead wrong. She hid under blankets in shame.
No contact till shoot day. Hilariously, seeing him right before filming softened her rage a tad.
But play it too easy? Nah.
'Act prickly now, chat first post-shoot, grab food—perfect.'
Flawless, if scary, plan locked in. With that resolve—
"Alright, today's Rush Man partners! Fresh faces! Kim Donghu! Kim Sujin!"
Rush Man filming rolled.
'Whoa, unreal.'
Sujin lost it over her dream show. First variety since Kyarruk Doctor!—extra hype.
And.
'He's stunned too.'
Donghu gawked, mouth agape. Ironclad actor boy gone doofy? Cute enough she giggled unwittingly.
Yoo Jiseok, waiting for this—pounced.
"Ah, see? That's what long-time chemistry does—faces alone crack you up!"
Slick line drew members in.
"Bro, what? Long chemistry? Aren't they strangers?"
"Heh, clueless? I studied up just for this!"
Classic Rush Man opener: member banter to warm the vibe, segue to main show.
But as it dragged, Sujin's face burned red—unhideable.
'If this airs... whole world knows we're childhood friends?'
Then outings? No issue—old pals. Scandals? "Friends since Kyarruk Doctor!—pure friendship." Covered.
'This jackpot's happening to me!'
Stay mum, play cool! She bit her lip, fighting smiles.
National MC Yoo Jiseok saw through it.
'Teasing's cool—no hard feelings.'
Even liking it. He pivoted to Donghu.
"Having such a pretty, cute childhood friend rocks, right?! Huh?!"
"Heh, bro why ask the obvious? Puberty central—super sensitive age."
Laughter erupted.
"Yeah, it's great. Sujin's cute and pretty."
Kim Donghu was a man.
"Eek?!"
Sujin's cat yelp was bonus.