Because Biyeon Would Like It

YeonjaeDay @yeonjae_day

He keeps meeting my eyes and it's awkward;;

For starters, his credentials are youngest Best Actor in history, and his looks are straight out of heaven. He's even good at foreign languages. His personality seems sweet and genuinely nice too. What am I supposed to do??

I wish he'd just stop looking at me already.... Every time I glance over, our eyes lock and I'm left flustered.

Though honestly, I don't get why he only exists inside the TV.

Maybe he's shy lol?

"Actor, you have thirty minutes until the next schedule. Please get some rest."

"Jinbae-hyung, how long would it take to get there from here?"

When he said about ten minutes, I hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "I'm really sorry, but could we leave in five, after I rest just a little?"

I didn't want to come across as childish, but I was simply too tired. I wasn't usually prone to motion sickness, yet after being shuttled from place to place for days on end, my stomach had turned queasy.

Jinbae-hyung immediately said of course ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and reclined my seat for me. "I'm sorry, Actor. I actually brought this up at the office yesterday, but they only said there was nothing to be done about it for now...."

"It's not your fault the schedule is packed, so why are you apologizing? Don't."

"Of course it's my fault. Managing your condition is my job."

Certain he would go on apologizing forever if I let him, I cut the conversation off there. Thankfully, Jinbae-hyung said nothing more, and I closed my eyes and rested for a while.

I just want one full day of rest.

A week had passed since I returned to Korea. It was as if all the leisurely lounging I'd done in France had been nothing but a dream — the work kept pouring in without pause.

To be fair, things had been hectic from the very first day, right there at the airport.

Hyung, why are there so many people—

The crowd when I'd departed had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been far from small, but this was several times larger than that. A public broadcaster even showed up to conduct an interview, so I ended up standing in the middle of the airport, holding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a microphone and delivering remarks.

Is this really necessary?

Of course, I knew exactly how illustrious the history of the Cannes Film Festival was. I had no intention of cheapening the value of the Best Actor award — who was I to presume such a thing?

But the endless stream of applause and praise, as if I'd just come home from winning Olympic gold, was honestly a bit overwhelming.

I still have no idea how that dinner with the President finally ended.

Being dragged from one banquet to the next, granting interview after interview — in all that chaos, a week had flown by. And because I still had to drag myself out of bed at dawn for acting practice on top of it all, the exhaustion only compounded.

And here I was, all the way in Korea, the place I'd been longing for — yet I hadn't even managed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stop by home.

Hah. No complaining.

I couldn't whine. Whatever else was true, I was in Korea right now. If I were still in France, I wouldn't even be receiving messages like this one.

A selfie of the man himself came attached. I snorted a laugh at the message.

"...Hyung, I'm fine now. Let's go."

As I slid my phone into my pocket, Jinbae-hyung started the engine. "You'll be able to rest properly in three days. Team Leader Woo promised to clear your entire schedule for that day, no matter what."

"Nice. Should we go for that drive then?"

"I'd love that! Just hang in there a little longer until then, Actor!"

The corner of my mouth lifted at his energetic voice. That's right — this was why Korea was good.

Three days later, I left my room the moment morning acting practice ended. I ate breakfast with Jinbae-hyung and the two of us went for a drive, just the two of us.

Neither of us said much — we simply took in the scenery in comfortable silence. That quiet was so profoundly peaceful. After lunch at a samgyetang restaurant nearby, we headed home to find Noh Bihyeok already waiting.

Midway through a conversation with that endlessly fidgety guy, I mentioned my body felt stiff all over, and his face lit up.

"Want to go to a Korean medicine clinic together? There's a place right in front of my building with a great acupuncturist. There won't be anyone there at this hour."

"A medicine clinic?"

"Yeah. Whenever I pull something during dance practice, I go get acupuncture. It works wonders."

Interesting. I'd assumed needles would scare him off. He was braver than I gave him credit for.

And so Noh Bihyeok and I went to the clinic. When we entered a room with two beds and lay down side by side, a rather elderly-looking practitioner came in. He focused the needles mainly on Bihyeok's legs, and on my shoulders and neck.

"Hey. Lying there like that, you seriously look like a hedgehog."

"...?"

What was he on about. When I answered with a look, the guy snickered.

In the evening, I invited everyone over and we all had dinner together. Jeonghyeon-hyung was locked into a brutal filming schedule, so we settled for a video call, leaving just Nam Inhu, Seong Ijun, and Noh Bihyeok at the table.

I was quietly watching Seong Ijun and Noh Bihyeok chatter away when I sensed movement beside me.

"Yeonjae."

"Hmm?"

"Mentioning me in your acceptance speech this time... thank you. Really."

The eyes of Nam Inhu, whispering so softly, were faintly red.

It caught me off guard, but I did my best not to let it show, answering in a murmur as if sharing a secret. "It was something I had to say anyway. And I'm sorry I went and came back alone."

"What kind of idiotic thing is that to say? You were the lead of the film."

There wasn't a trace of bitterness to be read on his face as he said it.

And that made it easier to offer the next words.

"Next time, let's go together."

"......"

"Acting with you this time was so much fun. For the next project, I think it'd be even better if we played characters who appear together."

Only after a long silence did Nam Inhu finally manage to open his mouth.

"...Yeah. Me too."

His voice was thick.

Unlike the two people chattering nonstop in front of us, the corner where Nam Inhu and I sat was quiet. But it wasn't awkward at all.

Amid the alternating rhythm of peaceful days and frantic ones, a new offer came in.

The company's reaction to it was explosive. Team Leader Woo, Jinbae-hyung, every single employee — they were all of one mind. Absolutely, under no circumstances, even if I died — no.

"You might as well throw dirt in my eyes while you're at it. Those bastards forgot their drama became a hit because of you, and the stunt they pulled at the very end — I still bolt upright in my sleep thinking about it."

Faced with Team Leader Woo's flinty voice, I gave an awkward answer. "I doubt it was a hit because of me."

"Without you, there's no way it would've blown up like that. I'm not saying this because you're my kid and I'm covering for you — I'm going off cold, objective data."

I briefly wondered when exactly I had become Team Leader Woo's kid, but I just smiled.

How on earth do I talk them into this?

I was stuck. Because I was actually in favor of it. I was still fumbling for an opening when Jinbae-hyung spoke first.

"Don't tell me, Actor... you want to do it?"

His voice was thick with disbelief. At the same time, Team Leader Woo and the employees all whipped their heads around toward me.

Under the burning weight of all those stares, I smiled helplessly. "...It's just a single day of shooting, after all. We'd film it as a simple cameo."

"Have you forgotten what those people pulled at the end? Your vlog, the livestream — all of it!"

"I haven't forgotten. Just calm down first, Team Leader."

Her usual frosty image nowhere in sight, I barely managed to soothe the agitated Team Leader Woo.

Yes — we had been discussing the cameo offer for Goodbye, My Summer Season 2.

Season 1 had been an even bigger hit than anyone anticipated, and Season 2 had been picked up as a full cable drama. An entirely new cast was coming in, so in truth it shared nothing with Season 1 but the title.

And yet a proposal — no, a plea — had arrived asking whether Kim Hoyun and Jung Hanna could make a surprise cameo appearance early in episode one.

"You should've seen the groveling posture they begged in. I'm sure it's because of the Best Actor news. It's the way of this industry, sure, but it was still a funny sight."

She had a point. I'd thought the same thing every time I scrolled through the flood of messages on my phone.

After the award, congratulations poured in from countless people. Including from the main PD of Dogs' Leash — the one who'd gotten me onto the set as an extra at Seong Ijun's request.

His message congratulated me on the award, and then, asking whether I might possibly appear in his next project, positively dripped with caution.

It was a complete reversal from how he'd treated me before. Bitterly funny, in a way.

"Do you genuinely want to shoot with those people again?"

At the tone that said she truly couldn't comprehend it, I scratched the back of my neck.

"Honestly, I don't particularly want to film with them either. And I hate the idea of them getting to shoot me like I'm an easy pushover even more."

"Then why?"

Facing the stares that demanded to know what on earth it could be, I answered with an sheepish grin.

"Because I thought Biyeon... would enjoy it."