Flex
PD Lee Yu-jin, deliciously tipsy from the spicy beer, tilted her glass.
"Bonus vacations are usually set before the finale, right?"
Moo-young looked puzzled, and she quickly corrected herself.
"Sponsorship. Sponsorship. We're thinking of shooting a one-off travel variety with the kids, and they said if the You Are a Star, I Am a Star cast goes, they can cover lodging and flights."
"Whoa, really?"
"What do you think? Wanna do it?"
A travel variety show—probably something like Youth Footprints? As if reading his mind, she nodded.
"Where to?"
"We'll decide based on schedules once the members are locked in."
"Can we really just play around freely?"
"Of course. Treat it like a vacation. Vacation."
Flights meant at least Jeju Island. Moo-young, who'd never flown before, nodded eagerly, buzzing with excitement.
He turned to Ro Min beside him, pleading. "Ro-min, we gotta go, yeah? Free trip like this doesn't come around often."
"I'll make it work if I can."
"Yes!"
The camera director tossed in a sly joke at the beaming Moo-young. His face was flushed red too.
"You know you gotta take your shoes off on the plane, right?"
"Come on, director! I'm not that much of a country bumpkin. That's such an old gag."
"Haha! Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Have a safe trip. And don't forget to lift your butt a little at takeoff."
"Huh? Why?"
"So it flies better."
"Aw, come on—"
"For real. The safety announcement says it—buckle up and lift your butt slightly."
Moo-young's eyes darted wildly as the camera director delivered the prank with deadpan seriousness. No way to tell if it was true. He shot signals at the others, but got nothing back.
"You don't have to, but it'll shake more if you don't."
"R-Really?"
"Hahaha! This kid falls for everything!"
Everyone stifled their laughter with booze. Oblivious, Moo-young hung on the director's every "tip."
That night, the whole crew celebrated the Baeksang win, glasses clinking endlessly.
"Drink up—!"
"Pour more!"
"Congrats, Moo-young!"
"Director, that's the fifth time you've said that."
It was pure madness.
* * *
"Jin Lim and Kang Seong-bae?"
On the day of the Streets' Sunlight script reading, Moo-young was stunned to hear who'd been cast in the remaining roles.
Jin Lim had spent decades in supporting parts, bouncing between big screens and TV with sky-high name recognition. Kang Seong-bae had dominated theater for nearly half a century.
"Exactly. Pretty wild, huh?"
"Jin's one thing, but I don't think I've ever seen Kang Seong-bae in a movie."
"Me neither."
Go Kyung-min chuckled as he turned the wheel. For a no-name director's debut, the lineup was heavyweight.
They must've seen the script's potential too.
"Whoa, I'm so nervous."
He'd rarely shared scenes with legends like them. Plague had Yuna, and You Are a Star, I Am a Star was mostly rookie idols new to acting.
Today was the real deal.
"You'll go to the dinner after the reading, right?"
"Obviously. I wanna get close to them."
These weren't rookies—they had careers longer than Moo-young was old. Plenty to learn.
As Moo-young huffed excitedly through his nose, Go Kyung-min thought to himself,
This guy's weird. Doesn't get awkward around elders.
Great attitude, but not the norm. Generational gaps and all—veterans could be intimidating by default. Even Go Kyung-min felt it.
"Should we grab drinks on the way?"
"They'll have them at the office."
"Yeah? We're almost there?"
"Yep. Just waiting on the light. But you've been reaching for your wallet a lot lately. Always trying to buy stuff."
Moo-young just grinned at Go Kyung-min's comment. Money kept pouring into his account, but there was nowhere to spend it. No rent, new clothes shipped daily from sponsors, food was the only thing...
"They say you gotta spend to know how. This is all I got. Jun-ho's even gained weight thanks to it."
"From all that delivery food?"
"Funny part is, I order, but he eats it all."
First time realizing nine figures could hit his balance.
Chatting idly, they pulled up to the Streets' Sunlight production office. Still a tiny building, no matter how many times he saw it.
"Hello."
"Ah! Ha Moo-young!"
"Right on time. Congrats on the rookie award."
"Oh, thanks."
Exchanging greetings with staff, they headed inside. Tae-seok, Na Geum-dong, and Bora were already seated—Tae-seok's schedule had wrapped, and Na Geum-dong picked him up.
"Hey."
"You guys are early."
The vibe was different from other projects. You Are a Star, I Am a Star was commercial TV, with press and even docu-promo. Plague was indie but packed with stars, buzzing with energy.
But today, just five seats.
Chairs perfectly matched for leads and supports. The production couldn't fit every minor role, and they were small parts anyway.
Director Bae Cheol-min stood to greet him.
"Nice weather today, huh?"
"Yeah. But what's with the new scripts?"
Fresh copies at each spot. Moo-young pulled his battered one from his bag—highlighter marks in every color, notes everywhere, edges worn from handling.
"Can I use mine?"
"Well, about that—"
Screech.
The director paused. Then the two veterans arrived together.
"Hello."
"Hello! Teachers!"
Jin Lim, just over fifty, was the middle-aged truck driver. Kang Seong-bae, in his sixties, the underwear thief.
"Nice to meet you."
Jin Lim greeted gracefully. Everyone shot to their feet, bowing deeply.
The elder gentleman Kang waved it off with a hearty laugh.
"What're you all doing? Sit, sit."
"Thought you'd be late—perfect timing."
The aura was no joke. The kind only lifelong pros had—steady, solid, effortlessly relaxed.
I wanna age like that.
Moo-young muttered it in his head without realizing.
The production head served tea and kicked off the reading.
"Shall we start? Director Bae Cheol-min?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes! Hello, I'm director Bae Cheol-min. Thanks for joining us on Streets' Sunlight."
Introductions went clockwise. Small group, and Moo-young, Tae-seok, and Bora already knew each other—no need for formality. Tae-seok jumped in first.
"Tae-seok here. Honored to work with you all. Oh, and I'm the host role."
"Kang Bora, the nurse. I'll do my best."
"Ha Moo-young, the vampire—"
As Moo-young stood to bow, the veterans beamed, adjusting glasses to study his face.
"We know. The Baeksang rookie winner, right?"
"Yes, that's me. Thank you."
"Saw your acting—impressive. Tae-seok's bodyguard role too, and Bora in Cafe Please, was it?"
Everyone burst out laughing in shock. A legend watching their recent work? Unreal honor.
"Gotta check my new colleagues. Right, teacher?"
"Damn right. I binged 'em thanks to Jin Lim."
"Wow, such an honor."
The five actors' warm intros had staff and managers smiling too. The director, peeking in, was over the moon.
"Let's start the reading?"
"Yes. This script's just too good."
"I greenlit it after one read. Hehe."
"Oh, teachers. Please use these new scripts."
"Huh? Why?"
They pulled out their own well-thumbed copies, full of character notes. Nothing beat your own marked-up version.
Why new ones?
"There are some revisions."
"Oh? Where?"
"Scenes 71 to 75, and 127 to 134."
"Let's see..."
They fetched reading glasses and flipped through. Moo-young, Tae-seok, and Bora followed suit, checking changes.
"Budget issues, so we had to tweak a bit."
Front part: vampire's first worldly pleasure. Back: truck driver's husband accident flashback.
Moo-young tilted his head.
"How so?"
"Club scene needs too many extras, so switching to a room and straight to drugs. Truck crash was full frontal, but now just sound."
No helping budget constraints. The actors nodded understandingly, a bit bummed.
"Changes aren't bad."
"Yeah, workable compromises."
"Still a shame, director."
"It's fine. We'll make great scenes either way. With such amazing actors..."
The production head cleared his throat awkwardly. Securing investment was their job—guilt was fair.
Moo-young spread both scripts and compared diffs.
"Hmm."
"Let's begin?"
"Skip the establishing shot. First up, Moo-young?"
"Oh, right. Got it."
Moo-young snapped to and delivered the opener.
"Again."
Another night—the vampire's routine. Stumbling drunks on the street, their vomit. Lustful, sucking couples. Noisy, rude, insane humans.
"Oh my. Hello. New face?"
"How'd you find this place?"
"I brought him. Saw him wandering the streets all frail, same time every night. Figured he was like us."
The reading flowed smoothly. Skipping skippable bits, debating interpretations, rehashing key scenes, chewing the script to bits.
"Won't show next time. I'll nail it for real."
"Kuhaha! Talking in your sleep."
"Gramps, don't laugh like that. Looks pervy as hell."
"Why not call me O-seok then?"
The five actors' lines flew fiercely. Voices, eyes, gestures alive—like they'd lived these lives. Subtle character tics hidden everywhere.
"Hey now!"
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Intent or not, that's how it sounded!"
For instance, host Tae-seok clutched his phone nonstop. Truck driver Jin Lim kept rubbing her sore shoulder.
Bam!
Tae-seok's angry fist slammed the table short and sharp—like a ring bell ending the round. Silence fell; they all just stared.
The veterans smiled, removing glasses.
"Whew, you kids are good!"
"Yeah, these youngsters are different."
Tae-seok, Bora, and Moo-young shyly thanked them. Like bouncing on a taut, precarious rubber band.
"Fun stuff. Break time?"
"Yes, please."
At their request, a breather. Bathroom runs, coffee fetches.
Then...
"Hyung, hold up."
Moo-young called Go Kyung-min, signaling the production head and director too. The four huddled in a side room, eyeing him.
"What's up?"
"Director, those changes... You really wanna shoot it that way?"
"What do you..."
Small tweaks, but not the original script he'd loved. And if budget-forced? Even more disappointing.
"Looks like extras and one junk truck would cover it. Rewriting for that feels off."
The three men leaned in.
"I'll chip in some cash to the budget. A little investment from me. Let's shoot it our way."