Kids These Days Really Do Grow Up Fast
"And then they said this! Everyone's got that expectant look in their eyes!"
These days, An-gae pounced on me the moment I opened my eyes, eagerly reporting every last reaction from the internet.
Part of me worried it would come back having picked up strange speech habits again like before, but with that face glowing with pure excitement, I couldn't bring myself to tell it to stop.
"Thanks. You worked hard digging all that up again today."
"Not at all! Heehee. I'm so excited too!"
"I thought you didn't like romance."
"Anything's fine as long as it's Yeonjae acting!"
I stared quietly at that radiant, sunlit smile. When I stretched out those soft, tofu-like cheeks, the whining began — ow, that hurts. And yet the eyes gazing up at me were already head-over-heels drowning in laughter.
It really is just like a dog.
Like a dog grumbling at its owner's teasing while its tail whipped back and forth faster than ever.
As I habitually gathered An-gae into my arms, a thought surfaced.
A yokai, huh.
That unidentified someone who had once shown me the hallucination of Kang Tae-il had definitely used the word yokai.
I turned it over in my head every way I knew how, but no real conclusion ever came. Searching the internet or digging through books, I figured, would count as "an act of curiosity."
And besides — whether An-gae was a yokai or a human, there was nothing I could do about it either way.
I couldn't even ask. What was I supposed to do about it?
I was chewing over that helplessness, which by now felt as natural as my own skin, when An-gae suddenly lifted its head.
"Yeonjae! I have a question!"
"Yeah?"
"When the manager human asked you, you said there was a scene that really stuck with you. So I read the script over and over!"
"You did."
"Heehee. Which scene was it? I want to know!"
I looked at that innocent, laughing face in silence for a long moment. When the quiet stretched and those eyes began to cloud with puzzlement, I opened my mouth slowly.
"I'm not telling you."
"Huh?"
"I don't feel like telling you."
"…?"
An-gae froze mid-word, wearing a completely dumbfounded expression. Wearing Seong Ijun's face while doing it, somehow it suited him all too well.
"Wh… why? Is it something hard to talk about?"
"No. It's nothing much."
"Then why won't you tell me…?"
It looked utterly bewildered, like someone encountering an incomprehensible situation for the very first time in its existence. Even so, I kept my mouth firmly shut and merely shrugged.
Why should you be the only one who gets to ask questions?
Since I couldn't ask any of mine, I'd decided not to hand out answers so easily either. Childish? Sure, I knew that. But that flustered face was pretty satisfying to look at.
I feigned ignorance all the way to the end, and when I finally said, "Shall we start practicing now?" An-gae nodded its head in a stiff, half-risen daze, still blank-faced. And seeing that, I felt — subtly, but definitely — a little better.
Apparently I could be petty too.
"Hello, sunbae-nim."
"Hey there~ handsome again today."
I gave an awkward smile to Actress Shin Ayoung, who stuck her thumb up the instant she saw me and opened with a compliment about my face. She would be playing Kim Hyeyoon — the female lead, and the older sister of my character, Kim Hoyun.
"Ah, honestly. Wearing a school uniform at my age. People are going to curse at me for this."
"You pull it off just fine, though."
"Oh my! So you do know how to charm a lady. Goodness~ just how many girlfriends do you have!"
Actress Shin Ayoung had a crisp, bell-clear voice, and she talked a lot. Still, conversation with her was never uncomfortable. At the very least she was clearly serious about acting — one glance at her script, worn nearly to shreds, told you she was the diligent type.
We ran through today's scenes together in advance, and our chemistry turned out better than I'd expected. Her face broke into a bright smile, apparently quite pleased with our seamless back-and-forth.
"Phew. I really do love working with you. Your steadiness is beyond words."
"I like working with you too, sunbae-nim."
"Even the way you talk is adorable. Just call me noona~."
It did feel like she treated me as far too much of a little kid. Well, we were nearly twenty years apart, so I could understand it to a degree.
"I wish everyone else practiced as hard as you do… Sehyeon-ssi especially. Honestly, that one's a genuine worry~"
"Sehyeon hyung? He seemed to act really well at the table read."
"He acts well enough, but… he's an idol, isn't he? Acting isn't his main line of work. He won't be practicing as seriously as we do."
"…?"
If he acts well, isn't that the end of it? What does it matter what his main job is?
It didn't quite make sense to me, but I stayed quiet. Honestly, I wasn't interested enough to argue.
Apparently some people really could act well even while going through the motions.
"Rolling in five!"
Just as the conversation was dragging on long enough to wear me down, a staff member shouted at the perfect moment.
I changed into an oversized hoodie to match today's scene, then ruffled my hair every which way for the sake of realism.
"Even with his hair a complete mess the kid's handsome. If I had a little brother like that, I'd have carried him on my back and raised him for real."
So that person really is the type to keep talking right up until the camera rolls.
The PD, apparently well used to her chatter, gave a vague reply and then walked straight over to me.
"Sorry to put this on you from the very first shoot, but please don't let us get an NG. We need this scene in episode one right away, so it's a bit urgent."
"Yes. I'll do my best."
Fortunately, it wasn't a particularly difficult shot. There were hardly any lines at all.
When I sprawled naturally across the sofa, a staff member approached as if they'd been waiting and tidied my hair for me. I closed my eyes and was organizing my thoughts when the PD's careful voice reached my ear.
"Rolling. One, two—"
And I thought of Kim Hoyun.
Not the supporting character of a story about a young couple's tender first love, but Kim Hoyun, who would one day be the only protagonist of his own life.
The brows that furrowed on their own at the thought of a selfish older sister who could think of no one but herself; the eyes that kept darting here and there as they stole glances at the girl he liked. And even the daily bewilderment that came with the aching sweetness of a first love just beginning.
"Action!"
Taking all of it in at once, I opened my eyes — and twitched my foot.
"Sigh… text me first, would you…."
I had been staring at my phone for hours on end. I'd wandered out to the living room telling myself I'd at least watch TV, but somewhere between rolling around on the sofa, my hand had drifted right back to the phone. The quietly playing television had been forgotten ages ago.
"Ugh… this is seriously driving me insane."
I glared resentfully at the innocent black screen, then tossed the phone away without ceremony.
The moment it slid down toward my feet, the door burst open as if someone had pressed a button. Kim Hyeyoon strode out like some great general and looked down at me sprawled there with pure disdain.
"What is even wrong with your life…"
"Don't talk to me. Get lost."
At my growl, she grumbled something about how I got more disrespectful by the day, her voice fading down the hall.
I was staring blankly at the ceiling when I spotted Kim Hyeyoon coming back with a glass of water, about to return to her room — and grabbed her.
"Hey."
"……"
"Noona."
"What."
"What makes girls' hearts race the most when a text comes in?"
"…?"
Kim Hyeyoon's face scrunched up as though she'd just heard the most preposterous thing in the world.
"What. Are you asking me for relationship advice right now?"
"It's not about me."
"Sure it isn't. Who is it? Someone I know?"
I felt her eyes light up with interest. At the same time, she smacked my leg, thwap thwap. When I flinched and pulled my legs together at the rough blows, she settled naturally into the empty space beside me. A dictator through and through, that one.
"Don't ask who it is. Just answer."
"I'll answer if you tell me."
"……"
I would sooner die than say it — but the answer was more urgent than my pride. I ducked my head and mumbled, and Kim Hyeyoon raised her voice as if she hadn't heard a word.
"How can you be this bad at talking? Who is it!"
"Ugh, it's Jeong Hanna. Happy now?"
"Jeong Hanna?!"
I simply swallowed dryly at that voice, shrieking into a register of pure shock. I knew exactly why she was reacting like that, which made it all the harder to say anything at all.
"Are you insane. When I asked if you liked Hanna, you swore up and down that you didn't—"
"I didn't like her back then. It's just… recent. Ah, I don't know. Just tell me the answer already."
"You've known her almost ten years now. What could Hanna possibly get from you that would make her heart race? Think a little, would you?"
That completely useless answer made my temper flare. When I arched a brow and glared, she only smacked me again, demanding to know why I was making that face.
Rubbing my stinging forearm, I muttered, then what exactly was I supposed to do?
Bzzt—
Then my phone suddenly vibrated, and I shoved Kim Hyeyoon aside in a hurry. I blithely ignored the cursing behind my back and unlocked the screen.
I stared at the display blankly for a moment — then shot to my feet.
"Hey… hey, I'm heading out for a bit."
"What? Where, all of a sudden?"
"None of your business."
What should I wear? A shirt might be trying too hard. Just the hoodie, keep it natural?
Straining to stay calm, I touched my forehead. The instant my fingers registered the messy hair, my face crumpled toward tears.
"What are you fidgeting around for?"
"Sigh… there's no time to wash it… noona, let me borrow that hat you bought the other day."
"What? Absolutely not."
"Aw, come on, noona, please. Just once."
When I pressed my palms together, ready to beg on the spot, Kim Hyeyoon gave a grudging okay. The second I saw her nod, I bolted straight for my room.
I breezily ignored Kim Hyeyoon muttering, "What a weirdo…" behind my back.
I had no time to care about things like that.
Hanna had messaged me first!