Intermission (8) — The Last Stage

At last, it was the final shoot of Intermission — and its final performance.

Yoon Jay had watched Agitato perform their new songs and absorbed them as his own. Kang Ha-jun had practiced the vocals, and Baek Do-kyung and Nam Chan-hee had learned their instruments as well.

"Maybe we should've gritted our teeth and practiced harder too, huh?"

"Jay hyung told us, remember. We're actors, not aspiring professional musicians."

"I just want to enjoy the performance for real, that's all..."

Yoon Jay was rehearsing in sync with the three actors' stand-in performers — Chae Jin-hyuk's session team, who would play behind the curtain. It was the director's stubbornness: he refused to sacrifice even an ounce of authentic sound.

"Jay, seriously — would you ever consider being a guest member?"

"Thank you, but I'm busy enough just acting."

"Aw, don't decide that fast. Play one show with us and you'll never forget the feeling, I promise."

While the session men courted Yoon Jay, the staff bustled about as well.

Could crowd control on this scale even be managed? The answer came from KE Group, which stepped in to help — Jo Yoo-kyung's influence at work again. On top of that, they provided a veteran sound engineer who had toured with countless artists.

"Hyung, they say people from our company are coming too."

"Is that allowed?"

"They're saying it counts as work hours. Our CEO is thorough about things like that."

Attendance had been open to volunteers only — and every single employee had raised a hand. Apparently the other actors had mobilized their agency staff, and even their families.

"How many people are coming?"

"Last I heard, they said a thousand would be no problem?"

"Really? That's a lot."

Even allowing for the actors having exaggerated their little bet about who could guess the attendance number, the crowd that had gathered was far larger than expected.

When an actor's fan meeting tops a thousand, that's blockbuster territory. Yet this time, Yoon Jay's fan club alone had drawn more than five hundred.

This is genuinely huge. How does an actor barely a year into his career pull a fanbase like this?

Han Jin-woo stole a glance at Yoon Jay.

It wasn't even a proper fan meeting — just a brief performance, on a weekday, in a regional venue. At this point, they might as well start scouting real concert halls for an actual fan meeting.

Since no one knew how long the shoot might run — possibly an entire day — the agency had willingly chartered buses, and the fans had boarded them early in the morning.

"Wait, what's this on our seats? I hear our actor prepared gifts for us."

"Whoa..."

Yoon Jay had prepared a reverse tribute for the fans who'd come all this way.

He had taken the advice of Yoon Do-jun and Yoon Do-hwa on it — they were idols, after all, and veterans at handling fans.

"Wow, this is like full-on idol reverse-tribute stuff."

"Insane."

The haul ranged from blankets and T-shirts to eco bags, vitamins from one of the brands he advertised, and skincare sets from the luxury house that had recently named him an ambassador.

He had quietly donated to charities here and there as well, and money still remained in abundance. His family in America kept refusing to accept any of it, and only after much persuasion had he managed to cover Chris's tuition.

Besides, Yoon Jay himself had no taste for luxury, so the money simply piled up.

"Then... wireless earphones, at least?"

"Hyung. That's too much too."

"They're gifts for my fans — how is that too much?"

"I know exactly what you mean, but..."

In truth, he had wanted to prepare even more, but Han Jin-woo had stopped him, warning that once word got out, all sorts of strange people would come sniffing around later.

"Si-signed polar...oids?"

"Every single photo is different?"

"No way. Didn't they say just over five hundred of us came?"

"Wow, the sheer thoughtfulness. Unbelievable."

Everything else was already praised as remarkably well-curated, but the biggest reaction by far was for the polaroid photos bearing Yoon Jay's signature.

Even with Han Jin-woo snapping photos in every spare moment, there hadn't been enough, so Yoon Jay had set aside an entire day just to take them.

The reaction was as enthusiastic as he'd hoped. Coffee trucks and snack trucks had been arranged too — though Yoon Jay had no time to dwell on any of it.

When word spread that Yoon Do-hwa was sending one, the rest of Flava got swept along with her, and Yoon Do-jun's grew even more extravagant with the entire Buster lineup attached.

Kwon Min-jae and Baek Da-eun had even sent their own. It took considerable effort to talk Lee Young-chang, Moon Chang-min, and the rest of his acquaintances out of doing the same.

"Whoa..."

"This really feels like a rock festival."

Stepping off the buses, the fans gazed at the venue, which was more or less ready. If not for the vast green chroma-key backdrop, no one would have guessed it was a film set at all.

What caught the eye even more was the truck filling one entire side of the lot.

"What is all this?"

"Is there some kind of food expo going on here?"

Beyond the coffee and snack trucks sent by his acquaintances — and true to the Korean conviction that no gathering is complete without food — KE Group's food development division had sent an entire meal truck.

"Don't tell me this is..."

"I think it is?"

The audience, who had traveled here on purpose, were welcomed with full splendor. And drifting faintly through the venue was music — Agitato's own songs.

"Whoa, this song is so good? Is it just me?"

"Oh..."

It had been released ahead ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of time, generous and unhidden, to pull a mass sing-along out of the crowd later.

"We'll be escorting you inside now!"

Staff were positioned throughout the crowd, waving flags. It genuinely felt like being at a rock festival.

"Everyone, filming begins shortly — please be sure to read and follow everything shown on the notice board."

A staff member took the microphone and repeated the warnings.

Yoon Jay's fans were the most numerous, but there were also those who had loved Kang Ha-jun since his trainee days, and invited members of rock communities as well.

The front of the venue grew crowded in no time — packed enough that no chroma key was needed.

"Waaaah!"

"Kyaaah!"

Agitato stepped up onto the stage.

Yoo Tae-hyuk drew a long, deep breath. Yes — this air. The moment I remember that I'm alive.

Among the flags fluttering high overhead, one in particular caught his eye: Even Falling Is Rock.

It pierced straight to the heart of Agitato's story — the violin prodigy who had fallen from grace, and the band staggered by his own words and deeds.

"Ready?"

"Okay."

Yoo Tae-hyuk looked back at his members.

In the first scene, he had shown up late. He'd once bolted from practice entirely, lost in his own obsession. When Oh In-soo had threatened to quit, he hadn't flinched an inch.

But now, he knew how to look back at his members and find their rhythm together. He gave a small nod, and he and Kang Ha-jun moved at the same instant.

The opening number was fast-tempo punk rock, chosen to seize the crowd's excitement from the very first bar.

"Kyaaaaah!"

"This is insane!"

"Whoa!"

A great many musicians had collaborated on Intermission, and some had even donated their talents freely for the sake of reviving rock itself.

Songs poured over with that much care were more than enough to strike at people's heartstrings.

The ones who had only been screaming at first gradually began singing along to the choruses. The murmuring voices grew louder, swelling into the kind of mass sing-along you'd find at a major concert.

They were no longer an audience watching a film shoot — they had become a crowd there to see Agitato, truly.

Ah... this is fun.

Even playing and singing in a trance, the smile on Yoo Tae-hyuk's face never faded.

He wore the expression of a man driven half-mad by how delicious the music tasted, by how happy this moment was. Jung Yi-hyun, Oh In-soo, and Min Joon-young were no different.

Shall we push the tempo up a little more?

The setlist covered nearly every track slated for the album to be released later. There were pop-punk numbers that had once dominated the 2000s and were enjoying a revival even now, and quiet songs carried by a piano melody.

And the finale was pure improvisation.

"What are you doing? Run!"

"I'm dying here!"

"You maniac!"

As the improvised jam accelerated, faster and faster, the crowd's energy showed no sign of flagging. Min Joon-young and Oh In-soo cursed at Yoo Tae-hyuk even as they chased his tempo.

"WAAAAAAH!"

Just like the meaning of their name — fierce, feverish, and fast.

When it was over, the four of them were drenched in sweat, yet they couldn't tear their eyes from the audience roaring at the top of their lungs.

The PR team, primed with advance materials, published articles under the name Agitato.

People kept running into the unfamiliar group name across community boards, grew curious, searched for Agitato — and then searched for Intermission.

And so the filming of Intermission came to an end. On the way to the after-party, Yoon Jay looked back once at the venue, already half-torn down.

...I'll miss it.

The afterglow, he suspected, would linger a long while yet.

Even after bringing in Ko Yu-jin and Im Seong-ho, Astra kept landing heavyweight actors. If it was the new company Lee Seo-won had built, most people trusted it enough to make the leap.

Most recently, Kwon Min-jae, whose contract had expired, had joined the roster. Several of the staff who had long supported Min-jae came over with him.

"Let's stop here for today. If anything's unclear, don't hesitate — just ask."

"Thank you."

"Lunch is almost here. What should we eat?"

Since many more actors would be arriving, the staff had been hired ahead of time as well.

"Huh...?"

Lee Da-hyun, mid-way through onboarding the new hire, caught sight of the entrance and laughed knowingly at the rookie who had frozen mid-sentence, staring. Then she spun her chair around and greeted Yoon Jay like an old friend.

"Jay, there you are."

"Hello, Da-hyun. This is—"

"Our new hire. The youngest on my team."

The new employee bowed deeply, yet couldn't tear her eyes away from Yoon Jay.

To be fair, seeing him in person really is a staggering shock.

Lee Da-hyun had been the same way at first. It was like watching a character straight out of a video game's character creator walking toward you... Even now, long since used to it, if she was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exhausted and her mind wandered off mid-task, he'd startle her all over again.

"By the way, I caught the performance the other day. You sing so well."

"Thank you."

"But seriously — you played every instrument yourself AND sang? You're so good I can hardly believe it."

"Trust me, if you saw this hyung's practice regimen, it'd blow your mind."

"Really? Then how about putting out an album sometime?"

Even as Han Jin-woo, trailing in behind, joined the banter, the new hire remained rooted in place, mouth agape, staring at Yoon Jay's face.

"The CEO and Managing Director Kwak are inside, right?"

"Yes. They're not busy, so just go on in."

"Thank you."

Yoon Jay gave the new employee a brief nod as well, then turned away.

Watching the rookie belatedly gulp down air, Lee Da-hyun grinned. How many times was this now?

"D-does he come to the office often? Celebrities never show up at their agencies, you know."

"Only Jay does. He drops by sometimes and even eats meals with our staff. Unusual, right?"

"Wow..."

The rookie kept staring at Yoon Jay's retreating back as he entered the conference room. What is that physique. No — that face, how does a face even...

"Honestly, I've been debating whether I need to add 'Yoon Jay frequently on-site' to our employee benefits page. You think that would break the application portal with too many applicants?"

"I genuinely think it would work. Wow... he's unbel— oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I still catch myself doing it sometimes."

Lee Da-hyun laughed brightly and rose, suggesting they go grab lunch. And Yoon Jay turned to face Lee Seo-won and Kwak Do-hyun.

"CEO. Managing Director."

"What brings you here, Jay? I heard you were leaving for the States."

"There's something I need to tell you before I go."

Yoon Jay told the three of them they should talk, and caught Han Jin-woo, who had been about to slip out.

"Jin-woo, you sit down too."

"Me — me as well?"

"Yes. You need to know this too."

Feeling dazed, Han Jin-woo found himself seated beside Kwak Do-hyun, observing Yoon Jay's face across the table.

As always, it was calm and composed — but there was something strange about the way his tongue kept wetting his lips.

"So, um... what is it? Nothing bad happened, right?"

"You mean like when Min-jae's stalker blew everything up?"

"Hyung, is this because of me telling you to get treatment?"

"Why would I need treatment?"

"Well, that... the more popular you get, hyung, the more strange people come crawling out of the woodwork. Because of that, I set up some counseling, and—"

"Ah, fair point. Though we really should have been more careful about that ourselves..."

Nothing negative surfaced from the three men's questions — no suspicion of drugs, no drunk driving, none of it.

Such topics had been rocking the acting world lately, so when he'd opened with a line like that, he'd braced himself for exactly those accusations.

More likely, the three of them had simply built up enough trust in Yoon Jay to believe he was incapable of such things. Seeing this reaction, his resolve hardened: he truly had to tell them, before it got any later.

"It's nothing like that."

"Then..."

"There is something I've been hiding. All this time."

H-hiding? Hiding what? The three men swallowed hard.