Overslept Premiere
The first to wake to the sound of rushing water was Yoo Won-sang, who played the role of Yeong-su in Gongbeomche.
Turning his head while still lying down, he saw actors sprawled all over the living room.
A few seemed to be sleeping in Do Hyun-woo's room.
'Am I the first one up?'
He started to sit up but hesitated.
If he got up first, he'd probably get teased with something like, "As expected, you're too old to sleep much."
At 36, Yoo Won-sang was the oldest among the main and supporting cast of Gongbeomche.
That's when it happened.
"Rise and shine! Rise and shine!"
Do Hyun-woo burst out of the bathroom, dripping water everywhere, and started yelling.
"Ughhh."
"Ow, my back hurts..."
"What time is it?"
The groggy actors stared blankly at Do Hyun-woo as they woke up in a daze.
He was vigorously towel-drying his hair to rouse them, then dashed back to his room to get dressed.
He even shooed out Eum Sung-hyun and Moon Jae-won, who had been sleeping in the room, into the living room.
One of the dazed sitters finally spoke up.
"Do we really have to go that far just to watch the drama?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Do we have to get properly dressed?"
"Well... You wash up and dress nicely for ancestral rites, right?"
"True."
"Should we at least comb our hair?"
That's when Do Hyun-woo bellowed from the room.
"What nonsense is that? Haven't you checked your smartphones?!"
During filming, they'd made a habit of ignoring their phones to stay immersed.
Now that shooting was over, the habit was fading, but no one was grabbing their phones right after waking up.
The smartphones they finally checked showed...
AM 7:48
...the wrong time.
"...What the?"
It wasn't just that.
Dozens of wrong missed calls and hundreds of wrong messages popped up.
But it wasn't the smartphones that were wrong—it was their perception.
"...Morning?"
"Morning? Seven in the morning?"
Did Gongbeomche already go public to the world?
While we were sleeping?
Bam!
Do Hyun-woo slammed the door shut and bolted out, frantically putting on his shoes.
The horrified actors swarmed after him to the entrance.
"Why didn't you wake us!"
"I set the alarm for morning!"
"Morning?"
"PM? No, AM!"
"How are you so brazen...?"
"But where are you going this early?"
"Where? To work, obviously!"
"Oh, right, it's Friday."
And that was it.
With a scream of 'I'm late!', Do Hyun-woo vanished.
He did leave one more line behind.
"Watch the drama comfortably before you go!"
"..."
"..."
Having witnessed the storm of his commute, the actors returned to the living room with dumbfounded expressions.
They turned on the TV in the living room to Tvic, and there was Gongbeomche featured prominently under This Week's New Releases.
"Not on the rankings?"
"Those update at noon."
"Should we play it...?"
But strangely, they didn't feel like watching the drama.
It wasn't anxiety.
That had vanished yesterday.
It just didn't feel real.
"Seriously, how did no one wake up?"
"We pulled an all-nighter and drank..."
"Felt like 15 hours of sleep."
"Look at Sung-hyun's face—glowing."
"I woke up at night but figured the director would wake us, so I slept more."
"Me too."
"No wonder my back hurts."
But they weren't clueless.
"...KakaoTalk is blowing up."
"Missed calls too."
"Damn, these guys ignored me when they wanted me out, but now eight missed calls."
"Who?"
"My old agency."
"Mine sent a hanwoo set from my previous-previous agency...?"
"At this hour?"
Their hazy eyes sharpened.
"We did it, right?"
"Probably...?"
Lee Sun-jae spoke up.
"...How about some haejangguk?"
In conclusion, there were no haejangguk places open this early nearby.
They ended up at a 24-hour kimbap joint.
"What'll you have?"
"Soul food."
"Me too."
"Just order eight ramyeon? Four kimbap."
"Yeah."
As they got the owner's okay and pushed two four-person tables together, So Jeong-hoon blurted out.
"Honestly, I imagined this. Watching the drama, someone cries, director drops a profound quote... Everyone gets moved, eyes welling up."
"I trusted you all. Thanks for the great work?"
"Right? We all cheer in emotion, neighbors complain, turns out they're watching Gongbeomche too."
"Your imagination's too detailed."
"It's a cliché. But what's this situation?"
So Jeong-hoon chuckled, scanning the kimbap shop, when Lee Sun-jae cut in.
"Probably Won-sang hyung cried first? Older folks tear up easier."
"Hey! I didn't cry."
"Maybe Sung-hyun cried first."
"I didn't cry either."
Right then, the ramyeon arrived.
"Curious about online reactions, but watching before the drama feels off?"
"Watch the work first. Our major debut."
"Should've joined the internal screening."
"I'll watch at home right away. Feels good knowing it succeeded."
"I knew our drama would do well."
"Funny. Don't you remember drunk-searching ramen shop spots last night, Jae-won?"
"Oh yeah. Shibuya."
As they ate amid light banter, customers started trickling in.
"What? Aren't they glancing at us?"
"Why us?"
"Because of the drama...?"
"Yo, supporting actors from 10-million films walk streets fine."
"That's celebrity delusion."
"Already got it?"
They were seasoned actors without fame.
They knew recognition was rare.
But they overlooked something.
"Um..."
"Yes?"
"A-aren't you the Gongbeomche actors?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah! It is! Totally!"
"W-well, yeah."
First, all eight cast members from the drama were together.
"For real? Really?"
"Told you!"
"Whoa. Autographs?"
"Photos?"
"But why are your faces so puffy...?"
"Premiere party last night, duh!"
Second, the drama had done far better than they thought.
"Y-you know us?"
"Industry folks?"
"The whole shop...?"
As the actors panicked, customers approached.
Once the ice broke, momentum carried it.
Many customers probably hadn't watched yet.
But that didn't matter.
"Freaked out watching last night! So fun!"
"Acting was killer...!"
"Proves anyone's not an actor."
"Autographs, please?"
Yoo Won-sang started tearing up.
Not profound words.
Anyone could say it.
But...
These few words were what they'd desperately craved.
Performing to three audience members in a university district small theater.
Lying to parents when a drama role got fully cut.
Claiming to be a civil service exam prepper when asked about job.
In all those moments.
They'd craved it desperately.
Yoo Won-sang's tears reddened the others' eyes.
"Damn, hyung."
"I'm really not sad."
Watching, Eum Sung-hyun thought differently.
He hadn't chased the actor dream as long as them.
But...
"Gongbeomche is the first self I'll achieve and realize as actor Eum Sung-hyun."
From now on, he'd cherish it.
Probably until death.
"Um, excuse me. Hyun-tae-ssi...?"
"Yes?"
"Is Hyun-tae really the culprit?"
Eum Sung-hyun burst out laughing at the school-uniformed student's question.
CEs and assistant CEs take the day off on release day.
Since it drops at 10 PM anyway, better relax than fret at the office all day.
Post-release work falls to marketing and research teams.
But yesterday wasn't ordinary.
The marketing team leader's calls exceeded ten, last at 2:30 AM.
In that chaos, the lead CE had ghosted on release day.
'I'm really dead.'
Panting into the SSK building, he saw staff clustered at the elevators.
Their eyes shifted upon spotting him.
Jealousy, cheers, denial, positivity...
All emotions flashed, but no time.
Seeing elevators at the top floor, he bolted for the emergency stairs.
He hit the fourth-floor marketing team at exactly 9 AM.
"Sorry!"
He bowed deeply to Team Leader Jeong Sun-young.
He'd explained via message, but she seemed pissed.
But...
"Ah, Do CE. Good morning."
She looked enlightened.
"Really sorry about yesterday."
"Nah, it's fine. Bonding with actors? That's work as CE."
Really fine?
Did rage overload short-circuit her?
Or Kyoto-style subtlety?
Various thoughts, but luckily not.
"I slacked yesterday."
"Slacked?"
"Logistics has nothing if sold out before biz team buys stock?"
"...Right?"
"Marketing's the opposite—no work."
"Opposite?"
"Explosion. Unhandleable level."
He swallowed hard.
He'd checked sentiment on the subway, but public opinion's complex.
Not just article counts or comments.
The sure thing: buzz exploded post-release.
Direction unknown without data.
"What kind of explosion?"
"Probably..."
She showed four article titles.
"Korea split in half?"