An Unfamiliar Flutter
The president of Lee Yeonjae's fan club worked her fingers across her phone screen without a moment's rest. She checked it twice for typos, then hit upload. And after logging out of her 'YeonLover' account just as quickly, she signed into her burner account instead.
The tone was a touch different from the polite voice she used on her official account. But the people following her were already well used to it, replying without missing a beat. She'd snatched up her little brother's phone ages ago and had the video playing on it, so the president settled back with a satisfied smile.
"Ha… this really needs to blow up."
She had plenty to worry about, after all. It had only been the other day that she'd screamed herself hoarse at the news that Yeonjae had been cast as a one-top lead in a film—directed by Yoon Kang-yeon, no less. Word had it this project, too, would be submitted to the competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival, so she'd been waiting with hands clasped in prayer for a movie whose release date no one even knew yet. The perfect, golden chance to proudly show the whole world just how good Yeonjae's acting was—.
[Lee Yeonjae Announced as Supporting Cast Member in Web Drama 'Hello, My Summer']
[From Lead Role in a Famous Director's Film to Supporting Role in a Web Drama—Why the Sudden Change in Position?]
[An Inexplicable Career Path… Wooyeon Entertainment: "We Are Simply Respecting the Actor's Wishes."]
The news that came out of nowhere was a shock. A web drama? Out of nowhere, a web drama! She knew web dramas were slowly earning recognition for their value, but the prejudice was still alive and well. It was a territory that already-established actors wouldn't even glance at. And from the poster and trailer alone, Hello, My Summer looked like nothing more than the mass-produced teen romance that had been churned out endlessly until now. 'The male lead is an idol member? Say no more.' On top of that, his role was a supporting one. She simply could not understand why an actor whose previous work had been Director Yoon's one-top lead would make a choice like this. Of course, Yeonjae's acting would be flawless. As a fan, she never doubted that for a second. But right now, that wasn't enough. If the quality of the work itself was low, then no matter how brilliant the performance, it could only be judged by that standard. Not that there was any way for her to influence the quality of the production. Which meant the answer for fans—herself included—was obvious. Make the show a hit, regardless of its quality. Their plan was to charge forward under the banner of: "So what if it's a cheesy drama? It blew up, didn't it? What, your house doesn't have any smash hits in it?" In that sense, the performance from Kang Sehyun—whom she'd suspected would be an obstacle—turned out to be not half bad.
"Oh… he acts better than I expected."
Kang Sehyun of the eight-year veteran idol group 'Space.' There was no way the president, who'd fought plenty of fierce battles in the fandom trenches, wouldn't know exactly who he was. For a first acting role, it was far more natural than she'd anticipated. The dialogue, of course, was horrific.
"Gah! Ma'am, that was a gift…!"
"Sorry. I didn't know you were there."
"What? Are you looking down on me for being short? Flexing your height at me?"
"……Do you hear yourself right now?"
From the early stretch of the drama on, the female and male leads were already at each other's throats. The acting was more natural than she'd expected, but the dialogue made the whole thing impossible to take seriously. When the female lead hollered "Hey, transfer student! Stop right there!" in her toughest voice, even the president squeezed her eyes shut. 'That dialogue is actually insane….' And then fear gripped her. Yeonjae would be appearing soon. Was Yeonjae going to deliver lines that cheesy too? Granted, even that would no doubt come out unbearably adorable, like a tiny Bambi—but fear was still fear. The ten minutes that followed felt like walking through hell. And with less than five minutes remaining, the face she'd been waiting for finally appeared.
"Ha… don't even bother texting me first…."
Her fear melted away instantly—seeing Yeonjae on screen after so long was simply a joy. Just as the poster had shown, he'd grown noticeably taller. sprawled on the couch with messy hair, he looked like any ordinary kid's little brother—but everyone watching knew. There was no little brother in the world like that one.
"Ha… no time to wash my hair anyway… I'm borrowing that hat you bought the other day."
"What? Absolutely not."
"Aw, come on, noona. Just once."
And his chemistry with the female lead was better than she'd expected. Thanks to the rapid-fire editing typical of web dramas, the conversation bounced back and forth with real momentum, like a ping-pong rally. By the time the president—her analytical instincts completely forgotten—realized she'd sunk into the show and was simply grinning to herself, it was already happening.
"Jung Hanna!"
The moment Kim Hoyun filled the screen, having spotted Hanna, the president's expression froze solid.
"How are you this smart?"
"Quit smiling like an idiot."
"Don't wanna~."
The corners of the president's mouth, which had been curling upward, slid slowly back down. 'What is this….' Something was off. Something was very off.
"You're the one telling me, so what's embarrassing about it? Just say it."
The roomy hoodie, the facial features that had grown even more defined in the meantime, the low voice muttering complaints. And beneath the hat pulled down deep—two eyes that couldn't be hidden, brimming with a restless, crackling energy. The way he flashed a mischievous grin and then, for just a moment, stole a glance at the other person's reaction was strange somehow. Off in a way she couldn't name. 'That's definitely Yeonjae… my kid, right?' Then why… why was her heart racing? It felt as if Yeonjae wasn't Yeonjae—as if he'd become an entirely different person. He felt so unfamiliar that it was actually a little disorienting. Of course, she hadn't truly fallen for him. There was an age gap, after all. No matter how tall he'd gotten, his face was still brimming with that unmistakable boyish softness of a middle schooler. It was clearly a different beast from the pseudo-romantic thrill she used to feel fangirling over adult celebrities. But… there was something in the way he looked at Hanna—something that, regardless of age or gender, made the viewer's chest go soft and fluttery in the strangest way. And that strange feeling crested the moment he pulled off his hat and pressed it down onto Hanna's head.
"He really is trash. Why did I have to fall for that guy of all people?"
The bright, bouncing voice was thick with mischief. And on the hand reaching up to block her from lifting her head, the veins stood out sharply against the skin.
"Which means you're the loss here, obviously. How many people can inhale a whole bowl of ramyeon in under a minute like you?"
"You wanna die?"
For the entire length of that exchange, all the camera showed was the hand pressing the hat firmly down over her head. Capturing only that impossibly casual voice and the busy movement of two hands, the camera waited until the final line was finished before it finally swung around.
"……"
And the president could do nothing but stare blankly at the screen. On the screen was Kim Hoyun, smiling with a face that looked one second away from tears. A boy wearing an expression that made something in your chest go strange the instant you saw it.
"Hello, hyung."
"Oh? Ah. Hey there!"
The moment he stepped out of the car, singer Kang Sehyun was right there in front of him, and he bowed in greeting. The face that had been absently reading a script brightened the instant its owner registered him. It was a face that transformed dramatically depending on the expression it wore. Perfect for acting. "Episode one blew up, you know. The comments are literally nothing but you."
This was the moment for a modest, aw, no, not really sort of face—but he simply smiled and said thank you. Everyone present knew perfectly well that anything else would just be empty words. Denying something this obvious could easily look worse than saying nothing at all.
"Posts about it are already going around everywhere. I did a quick search on my way here, and it was all talk about our drama."
That, too, was the truth. Two days had passed since the release of Hello, My Summer's first episode, and the view count had already surpassed three million. Including the short clips circulating on social media, the number was surely even higher. Part of the credit went to the fans of 'Space,' where singer Kang Sehyun belonged, joining forces with his own fans… to promote the drama with everything they had.
"I've spent two days rewatching nothing but your parts. How does anyone act that well?"
"Thank you. Your acting was really wonderful too, hyung."
"You don't have to feed me empty compliments~. I don't care about that stuff."
Tilting his head slightly at the dismissive hand-waving, he pressed on.
"It's not empty. I said it because I genuinely meant it."
"……Really?"
"Yes. You know the part where you tell Kim Hyeyoon, 'Dwarfs should keep quiet'? Your acting in that moment was genuinely good."
It was the kind of line that could turn ridiculous in the wrong hands—cheesy to the absolute limit. But Kang Sehyun had thrown the line out in a low voice with barely any breath mixed in, keeping the character's indifferent edge intact while still preserving the overall lightness of the scene. An excellent choice.
"Ah~, that's because the acting coach told me to do it that way. Not my idea."
"Did the coach also film your takes for you?"
"Well, no, but—" "Then it was you who did well, hyung."
"……"
The clear, matter-of-fact answer was met with an unreadable expression. When the sudden silence stretched on, he considered saying more, but couldn't think of anything worth adding, so he gave a parting bow and turned away. 'I guess he's the type who's really stingy about compliments.' Not that it had anything to do with him. Whether or not Kang Sehyun took acting seriously, as actress Shin Ayoung had put it—as long as the filming went smoothly, it was none of his concern. Brushing the thought aside, he changed into his school uniform and came back out. Today's scene was the first real conversation between the male lead 'Han Yeoreum' and the female lead's younger brother, 'Kim Hoyun.' After a huge fight with the female lead, the male lead finds himself restlessly loitering in front of her house, and Kim Hoyun spots him and strikes up a conversation. Hoyun approaches the unfamiliar face with a wariness that fills his eyes—then, after barely a few words exchanged with the male lead, lets all that tension melt away. And then comes the absurd request: he'll help the male lead make up with his sister, so will the male lead return the favor with his love life? It was a high-difficulty scene, one where he had to call a guy who looked like he'd already mastered romance hyung while slipping in a not-so-subtle dose of aegyo. 'Reading it again, the dialogue… honestly.' There wasn't a shred of depth to be found anywhere. The lines singer Kang Sehyun had to deliver were no picnic either, which was probably why his expression looked even darker than before. Knowing the PD's temperament, there wouldn't be many takes—so they had to get their timing down before that happened. The script run with singer Kang Sehyun, their first one-on-one, went more easily than he'd expected. If anything, it was more comfortable than his sessions with actress Shin Ayoung. He hadn't asked how much the man practiced, so that was beside the point—but purely on acting skill, this side was far more polished.
"Hyung, you really know how to work your expressions."
"Expression acting is the one thing I've always been confident in."
This time, at least, singer Kang Sehyun accepted the compliment without denying it. For an idol, they say, expression work that can command a stage is every bit as important as singing ability. He smiled back at the proud, confident grin—somehow, he had a feeling today's shoot would go more smoothly than usual. And sure enough, the filming flowed like water without a single NG, and the faces of the PD and the entire staff grew brighter by the minute. The moment the camera's red light came on, a gentle breeze drifted across the set. In that peaceful atmosphere, singer Kang Sehyun was just about to deliver his line— "S-Sehyun! We've got a problem!"
Someone came rushing into the filming set, breathless with urgency.