One-Day Bodyguard
With three agencies tangled together in the production, scheduling alone had been an uphill battle. In the end, the production team had barely managed to secure the appearance contracts through a special two-week programming block, and they rejoiced as if they'd won the lottery.
"Mr. Yoon Jay, welcome!"
"…Hello."
The broadcasting station still hadn't gotten over its Along Along fever. When Yoon Jay opened the door of the station's meeting room for the pre-shoot briefing, he flinched at the sight of no small number of cameras pointed his way.
"Don't tell me they're filming this too and putting it online?"
"Yes, they are."
"If I'd known, I would've at least stopped by a salon."
"You look great as you are."
It wasn't flattery. The hair falling over his forehead actually looked natural and refreshingly different. His former profession had no doubt given him a certain rough edge, but after being thoroughly groomed into celebrity shape, he somehow looked even younger than before.
"Honestly, I hesitated about the appearance. I was worried the kids might catch flak for it…"
"Oh, please, don't say that. You three are the hottest siblings in the industry right now. These days, the media doesn't need to stick to the typical family formulas anymore."
The junior writer, who had become Yoon Jay's instant fan the moment she laid eyes on him, did her utmost to put him at ease. She had to stay on top of every trend, which meant she knew all about the manufactured controversies surrounding him too. This show would be her chance to turn things around, and she burned with a sense of mission.
"I'm curious how you got so close to the twins, Yoon Do-jun and Yoon Do-hwa."
"I've dreamed of having a big family since I was little. The twins showing up was a shock, but honestly, I was happy about it."
"If you don't mind my asking… may I hear the circumstances?"
"Hmm… people say it sounds like something out of a drama."
He'd realized it on his reward leave. Keeping everything hidden all the time was simply exhausting. Besides, the twins had already gone public with a fair amount through social media, so if he was going to keep acting, it seemed right to share at least part of the story himself.
"Wow… it really does sound like a drama."
"Anyway, the kids felt it was a bit much to just keep pretending otherwise."
"That makes sense. It's almost like an inheritance from their late father, in a way."
"Exactly, that too. You put it well — you really are a writer."
The compliment brought a flush to the writer's cheeks.
"Is there anything you'd like to contribute, any ideas for the show?"
"How about we keep it a secret from my younger siblings at first?"
"You have a real knack for variety."
Step one: the surprise camera.
Some of the public was endlessly curious about stars' private lives. Yoon Do-jun and Yoon Do-hwa were famous for being fraternal twins — a rare novelty — and both their groups had exploded in popularity the moment they debuted.
On top of that, they were entangled with Yoon Jay, who was riding a wave of popularity lately, and that fact alone drew everyone's attention.
"That van there is Flava's."
At a music show commute, reporters, fansite photographers, and fans attending the broadcast had gathered near the photo wall since the early hours of the morning. At a whisper from the production team, Yoon Jay quietly switched places with the regular bodyguard. He even had the meticulousness to hunch down and approach the van in a way that Yoon Do-hwa wouldn't notice.
"Huh? That guy…"
"Who is it?"
"Isn't that Yoon Jay?"
"Yoon Jay? Ah."
At first, people had frowned at a dark-haired man sidling up in suspicious, furtive movements — but once they realized who he was, a buzz went through the crowd. Yoon Jay pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head at them, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Delighted by the mischievous gesture, the many fansite photographers waiting for the commute snapped away at him. He'd have to post it on April Fools' Day, he thought.
"Ack! What the—!"
When Yoon Jay, who seemed to have sprouted straight out of the ground, pulled open the van door, Yoon Do-hwa let out a shriek.
"Oppa?!"
"Hey."
She'd known he was filming Manager's Daily Life. But she'd assumed he'd show up once more for an album promotion shoot — she never imagined the person waiting for her would be him.
"What are you doing coming out of there?"
"Filming. I'm your bodyguard today."
Yoon Jay put on a shamelessly matter-of-fact face and extended his hand to her. So that's why the manager oppa had insisted she board last. Bewildered, Yoon Do-hwa's ears turned scarlet.
"Hello!"
"Yes, mind your step, please."
It seemed unfair to do it only for Yoon Do-hwa, so he offered his hand to the other members as well.
The wariness ran deeper than usual. Too many rookie entertainers fresh onto the scene had turned out to be a famous celebrity's cousin, a distant in-law, some hidden connection — all leveraged as propaganda — and people had learned to keep their guards up.
Besides, while the smear campaign had undeniably started with CEO Oh Seung-han's cunning reverse viral marketing, the suspicions swirling around Yoon Jay hadn't simply evaporated. The more people cheered him on, the more people grew to hate him for no reason at all.
Those swept up in the malicious discourse, and those stubbornly insisting they'd been right all along, were still out there. After all, some people make their YouTube money off of tearing down celebrities.
The fans themselves, for their part, were thrilled. The more content to revisit, the better — and a single media appearance was a chance to leave a lasting impression.
Thanks to the bait-throwers, the community forums had been a war zone since morning — but none of them knew the truth. The moment Yoon Jay walked into the building, he had, out of pure habit, located the emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and defibrillators. And the camera silently captured it all.
"Are music shows always this early?"
"Yep. Morning rehearsal, then a mid-run rehearsal, then pre-recordings, and then the live broadcast on top of that."
"And you do this how many times a week?"
"Five, six times a week. Hey — don't just ask me, go ask some of the other members too."
Even in the middle of an interview, he was out there trying to get screen time for the other members — and the members who got named instantly froze in alarm.
"No no, please film Do-hwa unnie a lot!"
"Unnie! You don't have to look out for us!"
"The tteokbokki you ordered for us was delicious, thank you."
On the whole, the atmosphere was warm and playful. Yoon Do-hwa looked after her younger members, and rather than leaning on her just because she was their leader, the members cheered each other on as equals.
"I was grateful for that, by the way."
"Ah, Director Jang, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'd been worried about Do-hwa for a while, honestly. Thanks to you, Mr. Jay, we got through it."
Director Jang Min-chan — the man who'd once delivered tteokbokki after answering Yoon Jay's phone call — swallowed hard the moment he saw him in person. Good heavens, he's gotten even more striking since debut. The face was already finished — how does it keep improving?
"Also, once your contract with your agency is up, I'd love for you to consider ours—"
"I still have plenty of time left, but I'll keep it in mind."
If Lee Seo-won had heard that, he'd have flown into a rage: scheming to poach our actor already, the nerve of this guy.
He's incredibly busy.
Yoon Jay didn't slack off just because it was a variety shoot. Standing with his hands clasped, ever alert, he drew murmurs and stares from passersby. Some even took pictures of him.
And so Yoon Jay shadowed Flava through their schedule, carrying out his one-day bodyguard duties.
"I have a question for you."
"Oh — yes!"
The member caught off guard by Yoon Jay's question, Seong Jia, nearly jumped out of her skin. She'd rewatched Along Along several times, and she'd even hunted down a fair number of his ads and pictorials.
"When your schedule's this packed, when do you sleep?"
"We catnap during downtime, or doze off while getting our hair and makeup done."
"Is that even allowed?"
Yoon Jay, who understood nothing whatsoever about the idol ecosystem, filled the show's audio track with genuine, family-perspective worry and astonishment.
Of course, the end of the music show didn't mean the end of the schedule. A fan signing event was set for right after dinner.
Flava's fandom skewed heavily female. The fans who had already clocked Yoon Jay's presence since the morning commute eagerly anticipated what kind of show he'd put on at the signing event.
"Mr. Jay, you'll be shadowing Do-hwa from behind with close coverage."
"Is there anything I should know?"
"Screen out rude questions or anything like that before they reach her. Some people attempt inappropriate physical contact, so please intervene if that happens. Unless Do-hwa reaches out her hand first, just refuse anything — handshakes included."
"Understood."
"If anything goes wrong, call me over. You're a celebrity yourself, after all, Mr. Jay, so—"
"No, it's fine. I'm a bodyguard today, remember?"
Yoon Jay played it like it was nothing, which only made Flava's manager more anxious. If Yoon Jay took any heat, Yoon Do-hwa would be heartbroken — so he resolved to deflect trouble before it ever reached him.
As they entered the fan signing venue, the fans already seated and waiting erupted in cheers and fired off their cameras in bursts.
So this is what it's like…
Yoon Jay took in the unfamiliar scenery with genuine enjoyment. Glancing at the members, he saw them all smiling as they struck pose after pose. They were even talking to the fans filming from the seats with their mouths alone.
"Do-hwa, hi!"
"Unnie! You came again!"
"Could you write this for me?"
Meanwhile, a fan sat down in front of Yoon Do-hwa. Yoon Jay helped her into the large ribbon headband the fan held out in Do-hwa's place, then straightened the crooked ribbon. It reminded him of his little sister. Serena Jenkins — he used to tie her hair all the time when she was small.
He's never done this before, and he's… good at it?
The manager, watching sidelong, marveled inwardly. Yoon Jay handled the fansign props with practiced ease, stopped a fan from sticking something on the back of his hand, and even flashed a little V-sign at the fansite photographer calling his name.
Then, past the midpoint of the fan signing, something happened.
Every so often, there's that kind of fan — someone who demands recognition for their bad mood and acts out with petulant hostility.
The person in front of him, irritated over an unscripted broadcast crew being present, expressed it by roughly hurling the album down.
The problem was that the throw missed its mark — and Yoon Do-hwa's hand was right in the album's path. The sharp corner of the album could easily have gashed the back of her hand.
Smack!
"…!"
It was Yoon Jay who blocked it. He'd thrust out his own hand in Do-hwa's stead, tidied the fallen album, and stepped back — not forgetting to shoot the thrower a brief, icy glare.
Wow, those reflexes are insane…
The manager watching from the side marveled to himself. The back of Yoon Jay's hand was slightly scraped, but he brushed it off as if it were nothing.
After all these incidents, the next day came Yoon Do-jun's group's turn.
If Yoon Do-hwa had set the example as leader and big sister, Yoon Do-jun was simply the beloved maknae personified.
The moment he spotted Yoon Jay, he hung off his back like a sloth — and the Buster members all grimaced at the sight.
"Hey. Why are you bothering him, what's all this."
"H-hyung, I'm sorry. He's a bit of a pest, isn't he?"
"Wow, but your grip strength is crazy. He's dangling off you like that and you're not even losing your balance…"
"Jihyuk-hyung fell over, remember?"
His older brother was on this side, but this group's hyungs were no pushovers either. Yoon Do-jun had trained alongside them since trainee days, and they said they were like family… the atmosphere on this side looked pretty good too.
"Anyway, we're in your care today."
"Just call us comfortably. If you're Do-jun's brother, you're our hyung too."
"May I, then?"
"Of course. We met briefly back then, right? The setting was a bit… awkward, but."
The leader, Yoo Jihyuk, made friendly small talk while sneaking glances between Ji Yeon-woo and Yoon Do-jun. The two of them had once traded jabs over Yoon Jay, and it still quietly weighed on his mind.
Yoon Jay, for his part, keenly registered the shift in Jihyuk's gaze.
So it's him.
He observed Ji Yeon-woo, who rolled his eyes away the instant their gazes met.
At last, when the boy excused himself to the restroom, Yoon Jay slipped out into the corridor too and waited for him to return.
"Yeon-woo, right?"
"Ah — yes."
At the sight of him, Ji Yeon-woo yanked the wire of his pinned microphone clean out of the transmitter — and then flinched and trembled as Yoon Jay came closer.
Off the record? What— what does he want with me…?