Sprouts (1)
Thus, the awkward sibling date between Kang Tae-san and Kang So-yeon continued.
They entered the shopping center and picked out clothes for each other that seemed to suit them well.
They tried on oddly shaped sunglasses and giggled while looking at each other’s faces.
Everything about taking photos of one another in front of the pop-up store and snapping selfies together felt strangely awkward.
It was partly because the cameras and staff were watching, but thinking back, it was almost the first time the two of them had spent such intimate time together outside.
Ever since So-yeon started as an idol trainee in high school, Tae-san had always been busy with part-time jobs.
Of course, to outsiders, the two looked like an exceptionally close brother and sister.
Tae-san and So-yeon felt both awkward and happy.
“Whoa. Oppa, if you take photos like that these days, your girlfriend will get mad.”
“Really? How should I take them then?”
“Look. First, hold the phone upside down. You have to shoot from below to make the legs look longer.”
“Oh. You’re right.”
“Align the tips of the toes at the bottom and leave about a third of space above the head. Here, take it again.”
“How many photos are you planning to take? Are we making an album or something?”
Even as he said that, Tae-san enthusiastically took So-yeon’s photos.
The writer in charge smiled in satisfaction while watching him.
‘Oppa’s real-life visuals are no joke. He’ll definitely draw some attention once this airs.’
Deciding it would be good to give Tae-san more screen time, the writer quickly jotted down additional notes in her sketchbook.
She then waved it at So-yeon, who was heading over to check the photos.
So-yeon quickly caught on, read what the writer had written, and asked Tae-san,
“By the way, Oppa, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No? Why?”
“Just wondering. You were taking photos so enthusiastically, I thought you might be practicing to use it later.”
“I wouldn’t go this hard if it were my own photos. You’re going to post the ones we took today on SNS, right?”
“Oh. What’s gotten into you? Oppa’s even thinking about stuff like that now.”
“Hey now. I’m a full-fledged modern guy these days.”
The writer looked at her junior with a satisfied expression after hearing Tae-san’s reply.
“Their vibe is great. They’re unrealistically warm as siblings… so it might actually feel fresh.”
“Right. Especially Oppa’s visuals—they’re on par with any idol center, so the visuals really pop.”
“The sister’s an idol trainee and the brother’s an actor. I’m curious what kind of genes their parents have. Let’s prepare for the next interview.”
“Yes.”
Finally, the POA production team moved busily to secure an interview with Kang Tae-san.
By pulling out the family members’ hidden feelings or messages of support that the contestants couldn’t say in front of each other and playing them right before the stage, they could boost morale and stir emotions.
The writers quickly sorted through the prepared question list, deciding what to keep or cut.
The PD in charge brought Kang Tae-san to the prepared lounge and seated him in front of the set-up camera.
“Tae-san-ssi, just answer comfortably and honestly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The writer began asking the prepared questions one by one.
Though the hastily arranged interview room lacked pretty props or furniture,
Kang Tae-san’s mere presence seemed to fill the screen completely.
“So-yeon has been kind and polite since she was little, the kind of kid who brightens up everyone around her.”
Tae-san looked at her with the same loving gaze one might give So-yeon herself.
“I wanted to be a reliable roof over that So-yeon’s head. That’s why I worked even harder.”
“What do you think would happen if Kang So-yeon gets eliminated from this POA?”
“Does my feeling matter? I’m worried about how disappointed So-yeon would be. But even if she gets eliminated, So-yeon will shine wherever she goes. Not because she’s my sister, but because she has that kind of value. Anyone would recognize it.”
Watching Kang Tae-san, the writer thought of her own only blood relative.
Her mother’s son. That guy who shared the same surname.
Had she ever heard such warm words from him in her life?
No. She had never expected them, nor wished for them.
She wasn’t the only one. Any younger sister with an older brother would know.
That the older brother named Kang Tae-san sitting right in front of her was the very embodiment of a mythical unicorn.
“Lastly, do you have anything you’d like to say to contestant Kang So-yeon?”
“Hmm……”
Kang Tae-san straightened his posture and looked straight into the camera.
“So-yeon. I hope you do this work happily and enjoyably. Do your best without regrets. …I love you.”
Tae-san hesitated over the last words before finally murmuring them quietly.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had said “I love you.”
It was something he had failed to say properly, using the excuse of being too busy making a living and assuming she would know anyway.
Saying it in front of the camera through the interview wasn’t particularly cool either.
It still felt too embarrassing to say face to face.
Yet the staff, including the writers, couldn’t help but harbor a huge misunderstanding at such a natural line.
“Can an older brother really say ‘I love you’ to his younger sister?”
“Aren’t those two… not actual siblings?”
“Could the director say something like that to his sister?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t say creepy things. I’d rather die.”
“Still, if it came from a handsome real older brother like that, maybe it’d be okay?”
While the staff whispered among themselves, So-yeon came looking for him.
“If the interview’s over, are we heading back now?”
The writer in charge, who had approached to remove Tae-san’s microphone, answered.
“We should. By the way, So-yeon-ssi, would it be possible to interview Tae-san-ssi’s parents as well?”
“My parents?”
“Yes. After doing Kang Tae-san-ssi’s interview today, I thought it might be nice to have the parents appear briefly too.”
She was curious what kind of people had raised such a unicorn-like son.
“Ah……”
Just as Kang Tae-san was about to explain that they had actually grown up in an orphanage, So-yeon gently grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“?”
“It might be difficult to interview our parents. I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize. The two of you already make a great picture, so it’s more than enough.”
“Yes! Thank you for understanding.”
Thanks to So-yeon’s bright smile, the writer didn’t feel too bad despite the rejection.
“We’ll be inviting family members for the final performance too, so please come watch the stage.”
“If you invite us, of course we’ll go.”
“Oppa. Be careful on your way back. Thanks for making time even though you’re busy.”
“Busy, my foot. Thanks to you, I had fun too.”
After confirming that the people around them were busy, Tae-san asked quietly,
“But are you not going to talk about our parents? About growing up in the orphanage?”
“Yeah. Let’s not.”
“Why?”
So-yeon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I don’t want to earn sympathy votes from people with my past. I’m going to get into POA with nothing but my own skills.”
At So-yeon’s sincere expression, Tae-san thought, Ah.
He realized how shortsighted he had been to worry that she might be ashamed of growing up in an orphanage and trying to hide it from others.
His younger sister, Kang So-yeon, had already grown into such a wonderful adult.
“Yeah. You’re right. Do your best till the end. I’ll head out first.”
“Okay, thanks, Oppa. When it’s over, let’s go on a trip together.”
“Good idea. Rest well!”
A smile spread across Tae-san’s lips as he returned to his car with his manager.
He had always thought of her as just a kid, but seeing So-yeon now grown up and handling her own work so impressively warmed a corner of his heart.
“Manager-nim. I heard our So-yeon is pretty popular these days.”
“Kang So-yeon-ssi? She’s causing quite a stir lately. She’s definitely making it into the top six. Her text voting ranking last week was in the middle.”
“How do you do that text voting thing?”
“……Don’t tell me you’ve never done it.”
“Ah. Well, I’ve never tried something like that before……”
“Never tell your sister about this.”
“Yes.”
***
Recently, Tae-san’s days had been a continuous string of schedules.
Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, he had to go film the one-act drama That Man, That Woman.
Since he also needed Smile Points to buy Oronamin F, he went out for simple cleaning part-time jobs about once a week.
Perhaps because he had dealt with so many clients by now, none of the recent requests involved experiences that would hit him too hard, which was a relief.
Today, however, there was a schedule more important than the others.
It was the acting lesson that Tae-san had personally requested from Choi Hyung-tak, the CEO of Kidari Entertainment.
The day he would receive that acting lesson had arrived.
“You can go up to the fourth floor.”
When he arrived at Kidari Entertainment, a staff member he had never seen before pressed the elevator button for him.
Come to think of it, this was Tae-san’s first visit to the Kidari headquarters.
Though he knew nothing about interior design, the luxurious marble and artworks made him instinctively shrink back.
Having never worked at a company before, the very concept of a headquarters building felt unfamiliar.
The fourth floor he was guided to felt even more foreign.
Rooms lined both sides of the hallway like university lecture halls, each with a small window and a reserved name tag in front.
‘Actor Kang Tae-san / Acting Practice’
Kang Tae-san opened the door with his name on it and stepped inside.
Three walls were soundproofed, and one side was entirely glass.
“Kang Tae-san?”
Tae-san looked at the person calling his name.
A man stood there wearing a bucket hat, a shaggy beard, and ragged, tattered clothes.
“Uh…… Yes. But who are you?”
For a moment, Tae-san wondered if he had entered the wrong room and glanced around.
“Who do you think? Your teacher. Why, do I not look like an acting teacher because of how I look?”
“Ah. I’m sorry. Hello, sunbae-nim. My name is Kang Tae-san.”
“……”
His acting teacher, Goo Yang-man, slowly scanned Kang Tae-san from head to toe as the latter bowed politely.
“How old are you this year?”
“I’m twenty-five.”
“They dragged a mushroom picker out of the mountains to teach some kid whose head isn’t even dry yet? Anyway, Choi Hyung-tak is the same as ever, then and now.”
Goo Yang-man grumbled as he sidled up next to Kang Tae-san.
His appearance was messy, but a fresh scent of soil emanated from him.
Just as he said, he seemed to have been foraging for mushrooms in the mountains and had only just returned to the city.
“Since when was your dream to become an actor? Ah, do you mind that I’m speaking casually? If you don’t like it, speak casually too. I have no intention of teaching anyone while worrying about manners and formalities.”
“No, it’s fine. Please speak comfortably. Actually, becoming an actor wasn’t my dream.”
“?”
“It just happened somehow…… but now I want to do it properly.”
“A guy who made it into Kidari Entertainment…… People would say you’re full of yourself if they heard that.”
“Haha. I suppose so.”
Goo Yang-man stepped away from Tae-san, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly walked around the room.
“Who’s someone you respect?”
“Ah…… Hmm…… People who live diligently. People who live their lives to the fullest are usually pretty cool.”
“Have you ever dated?”
“No.”
“Have you tried?”
“No. I haven’t.”
“Why? With a face like that, there must’ve been plenty of girls chasing after you.”
Tae-san found himself answering Goo Yang-man’s questions, which kept coming one after another without even blinking.
“I never really felt that way. I was too busy just trying to make a living.”
“Have you done a lot of part-time jobs or things like that?”
“Yes.”
“Is your family situation difficult? What about your family relationships?”
“I have a younger sister.”
“What does your sister do?”
“She’s an idol trainee.”
“What do your parents do?”
At Goo Yang-man’s tone, which strangely seemed to strike at the heart with every single word, Tae-san’s face gradually hardened.
“I asked what your parents do. Is that an uncomfortable question?”
“……They’re not around.”
“Did they pass away?”
“I don’t really know. My sister and I grew up in an orphanage together.”
“You said your sister’s a trainee. Then instead of doing all this, you should’ve just kept doing part-time jobs like before and focused on supporting her. Why are two kids without parents to look after them trying to become a singer and an actor?”
“……”
Goo Yang-man slowly approached again while watching Kang Tae-san answer every question, no matter how rude.
“Do you think you’re a responsible person?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“When you describe yourself to others, do you say, ‘I have a strong sense of responsibility’?”
“I’ve never described myself that way.”
“Then how do you describe yourself?”
“Just…… that I do what I’m told to the best of my ability and give it my all. Something like that.”
“Someone who does what they’re told and gives it their all……”
Goo Yang-man suddenly sniffed the air near Kang Tae-san.
“You don’t wear perfume?”
“Ah. Yes. I don’t have any.”
“Good.”
Goo Yang-man casually tossed the bundle (which didn’t look like a bag at all) he had thrown in the corner right in front of Tae-san.
“Go pick some pine mushrooms.”
“Yes?”
“You said you do whatever you’re told to the best of your ability, right? Go pick them with everything you’ve got. Not just any— they have to be wild.”
“No…… That, I came here to learn acting from you, sunbae-nim.”
“Can’t do it? You said you do everything you’re told.”
“……”
“And you’ve been calling me sunbae-nim this whole time—why would I be your sunbae? You’re not an actor yet.”
Goo Yang-man’s lips curled up slightly. Another sharp remark slipped out from within.
“What are you doing? Get going already!”
“Ah…… Yes!”
Kang Tae-san hurriedly left the practice room. Inside the bundle Goo Yang-man had given him were a few unknown mushrooms still covered in dirt and roots.