Episode 69

 

On the morning of the filming day, Haeun got up at the crack of dawn and headed to the salon. He was so drowsy that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was practically dragged into the car.

When he had schedules, it was natural to go to the salon early in the morning for styling. However, since today was a more important schedule than any other, they said he needed to do her absolute best, so they spent much longer than usual setting his hair and makeup.

It was an epic journey spanning several hours, but to Haeun’s eyes, it didn’t look much different from usual. The only noticeable difference was his hair with its fluffy baby perm; he couldn’t really understand why they had put so much effort into the other parts. Because of this situation, Haeun was already thoroughly exhausted even before going to the filming location.

Actually, while Haeun was getting his hair done, a message came from Kim Gyowon asking where he was. When he replied that he was getting his hair done at the salon, Gyowon told him to send him the exact location. 

Though he found it puzzling why he was asking so specifically, instead of questioning it, he obediently searched for the salon name on the map and sent him the result.

Usually, asking someone to send their location means they’re coming over, but even so, he didn’t think he would actually come in person. He believed that Gyowon would also be spending busy time at a salon preparing for today’s filming.

But true to Kim Gyowon’s nature of always pleasantly exceeding Haeun’s expectations, he showed the same pattern of behavior today as well. When he finished his styling and came out, Kim Gyowon’s van was waiting there.

The door opened and Kim Gyowon poked his head out. It wasn’t a similar car, nor had he just sent the car – he had really come in person. Haeun approached the car with curiosity and surprise, immediately striking up a conversation with him.

“How did you come here? Did you finish getting your hair done early, sunbae?” 

“Something like that.”

For a moment, he hesitated, wondering if he had approached him and thrown questions at him like an overly curious kindergartener. Fortunately, Gyowon nodded with a nonchalant expression and answered, so he didn’t need to hesitate for long. Haeun rolled his eyes and replied.

“Oh… you must have been busy.”

Didn’t he need as much time for styling as he did? Gyowon smiled and said in a playful tone.

“Going together makes us look closer, doesn’t it?”

He had always thought he really cared a lot about whether they looked close, but actually, that was also for his benefit. It would be right to accept it gratefully. Haeun nodded and answered.

“That’s true. Thank you.”

Gyowon’s eyes, which had been smiling playfully, widened in surprise at those words.

“Why are you being so obedient today?”

He seemed genuinely surprised, but there also seemed to be a hint that he was teasing him. Even when he answered nicely, he had something to say about it.

Haeun narrowed his eyes and glared at him. Then Gyowon laughed, saying that now he looked more like himself. It wasn’t the right timing to say “What do you mean, like myself?!”

So Haeun calmly said, “I’ll go tell my manager hyung and come back.” 

Gyowon nodded. Only then did Haeun feel a wave of awkwardness and embarrassment, scratching his head as he headed toward his manager. The manager seemed quite flustered by Gyowon’s visit this time as well. He also seemed troubled by losing his work again but still nodded readily when he said he would ride in the same car as Gyowon.

Well, anyone could see this was a situation that would benefit Haeun. Thinking about it that way made him feel strange again. Haeun returned lost in thought and got into Gyowon’s van. 

Gyowon, who had been holding his phone horizontally watching a video, turned off the screen and lowered his hand when Haeun got in.

Haeun looked at Gyowon with a thoughtful expression and spoke.

“Is there anything different about me today?”

It was a question he threw out instead of what he was originally going to say. “Why are you being so nice to me?” was something he had thought about many times, but it was always too embarrassing to say out loud. 

If he answered that he wasn’t treating him particularly better than others, it would be awkward, and even if he explained his reasons, it would still feel awkward.

So he had said this instead, but for a moment, a look of bewilderment flashed across Gyowon’s face. It was an expression rarely seen from Kim Gyowon. A purely flustered face without any hint of teasing. He couldn’t tell if he was flustered by the fact that the question came up at all or if he was flustered because he couldn’t figure out what was different.

Since Kim Gyowon probably hadn’t been earnestly studying Park Ha’s face, which he himself hadn’t properly examined, he didn’t think he would notice changes that he himself wasn’t aware of. Still, it seemed like it would be fun to pretend to complain to Kim Gyowon for being flustered at not being able to find anything.

“If you ask like that, hyung has to try his best to find something… Your hair?”

“Again?”

The hair was obvious enough that even Haeun, who had no interest in how Park Ha’s appearance changed, could notice it. But contrary to his expectation that Gyowon would be flustered if he asked about something else, he continued speaking with a surprisingly calm expression.

“Your eyes seem a bit more round. Did you try to look more innocent on purpose?” 

“What?”

Really? Maybe because her eyes already looked gentle enough to seem naive, she couldn’t feel the difference. Seeing Gyowon’s confident response, it seemed like he was right, but there was no way to confirm for sure.

“No? I thought I observed pretty well…”

Gyowon tilting his head slightly looked both unlike him yet strangely fitting. Haeun shrugged lightly, thinking it would be difficult to perplex or trouble Gyowon any further.

“I can’t answer because I don’t really know if it’s right or not either.”

“Then why did you ask and startle hyung?”

As expected, his voice didn’t sound startled at all now. Remembering how she had been held up until just a moment ago, Haeun grumbled in response, feeling newly dissatisfied.

“I really spent so long getting my hair done, but I don’t know what actually changed.”

“I thought there might be some decisive change that I failed to notice… I reflected on it a bit.”

“What would you need to reflect on, sunbae?”

“I wondered if I’ve been less interested in Haeun than I thought.”

Really? It seems like he pays plenty of attention already. Thinking that way, Haeun recalled Gyowon’s extremely terrible response time to messages by her standards. Considering that, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he definitely wasn’t interested.

“That might be slightly true.”

When he nodded and answered, Gyowon raised his eyebrows slightly. It wasn’t like he added any words to that, he just stared intently at Haeun for a moment.

After that, there was silence. Haeun, who had been looking around the car distractedly for a while, soon took out his phone with a determined heart. It was to do a final check on the cast of the variety show that would start soon. Although they were quite famous celebrities in this world, they were all strangers to Haeun, so he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

Gyowon, who had been leaving the concentrating Haeun alone for a while, finally spoke after quite some time had passed.

“You seem pretty nervous.”

“Does it show?”

Haeun looked up and asked. His eyes met directly with Gyowon’s, who had been observing him. He nodded lightly and gestured with his chin.

“Your expression is stiff.”

“You must have been observing me carefully.”

It was amusing to see him staring so intently right after talking about whether he was interested or not. Gyowon didn’t deny it and laughed along.

As his tension eased and they exchanged a few more trivial words, they had arrived in front of the broadcasting station before they knew it. Seeing how his heart grew heavy again after feeling a bit more comfortable, he really must have been nervous.

Fortunately, he would be sharing the cast waiting room with Gyowon as well. Seeing the two characters “Park Ha” written under the name Kim Gyowon gave him a strange feeling. A joint variety show appearance with him; this would have been unimaginable for “Park Ha” until recently.

He greeted all the cast members before filming began. Having Kim Gyowon beside him felt quite reassuring. Thanks to him, the cast members showed a more friendly yet careful attitude, and he helped greatly by answering questions he found difficult to respond to.

“Our show requires informal speech and the atmosphere can be a bit tough. But you don’t need to be too intimidated—just act naturally.”

One cast member left such advice before departing. It was worrying words that made him wonder just what kind of atmosphere would be created. After he left, he reflexively looked at Gyowon’s face, but he just shrugged slightly without saying much.

The time spent in the waiting room passed by like lightning. When they announced that filming would start soon, his nervous heart became surprisingly calm, making his worries seem pointless. It was a moment when confidence rose that perhaps he was strong in actual situations.

The variety show they were filming today had the main characteristic of everyone speaking informally to each other, just as the cast member had advised earlier. 

Though it was meant to create a comfortable atmosphere, speaking informally to much older cast members right from the first meeting could be a psychological barrier. 

However, Haeun had a shameless enough personality to casually talk to elderly patients who were like father figures in the same hospital room, so that much wasn’t a big deal for him.

Haeun mulled over the script he had received in front of the set. It felt more difficult because not every situation was predetermined like in a drama script. 

However, only the very beginning was specific and clear. When the cast members who had been having light conversation among themselves introduced the two with flashy descriptors, they would simply open the door, enter, and naturally throw out their greetings.

He recalled the written phrases in more detail. The descriptors that would introduce Kim Gyowon on the broadcast were all embarrassingly grandiose – Korea’s top melodrama actor, mysterious figure, acting genius, and so on. In Haeun’s case, it was just “idol attempting acting for the first time.”

Soon the cast members began introducing the guests as written in the script. Gyowon, who had been looking straight ahead until then, turned his head and mouthed a question: “Shall we go?” 

Haeun nodded and opened the door with a determined expression.

“Hello!”

Though his voice cracked slightly at the end in an unseemly way, Haeun shamelessly maintained a confident expression.