SDM 34

“You shouldn’t go alone!”

“No, I won’t be alone. Baek Sang-hyun will be there. And they said they’re filming behind-the-scenes footage, so there’ll be a cameraman.”

“They might just set up cameras and leave. These days, it’s often in an observational camera format…”

“Ah, I know. Anyway, the cameras will be recording and the production team will be watching from somewhere.”

“That might not be the case.”

Hyeong-seok was adamant. Determined not to let Seong-woon go to Baek Sang-hyun’s house alone, he argued with Seong-woon at the front door. If they didn’t leave now, there was no way they could make it by the 10 o’clock appointment, yet Lee Hyeong-seok showed no sign of budging.

“Anyway, Baek Sang-hyun will be there, right?”

“Baek Sang-hyun has no medical knowledge nor does he know about your condition.”

“If someone collapses, he’ll call an ambulance. Or I’ll give him your phone number and tell him to contact you if I collapse.”

“How can we trust him?”

“What?”

“Honestly… it wouldn’t be strange if he had ill intentions towards you.”

“He’s not that kind of person. You’ve met him several times too.”

“You never know. You can tell ten fathoms deep in water, but you can never tell  a fathom deep in a person’s heart.”

Really? So Lee Hyeong-seok was suggesting that Baek Sang-hyun, harboring resentment over the sponsorship offer, had been pretending not to be angry at ‘Ryu Chae-yoon’, acting as if nothing had happened, treating him well, only to backstab him later?

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Why do you think this is ridiculous? Actors have such thick skin. People who appear on TV always act, even in their daily lives.”

“So am I.”

“That…! You’re different!”

“I’ll take an alarm bell with me, so can we go now?”

Seong-woon urged, dangling something like an alarm bell that elementary school students might attach to their bags. It was a device that not only made a loud noise when the ring was pulled but also sent emergency alerts to designated people.

“Hey, why are you going to his house in the first place?”

Oh no. Seong-woon held his head as he saw Ryu Chang-yoon entering the hallway. He had tried to leave quickly because he anticipated this, but Lee Hyeong-seok had ruined everything.

“He’s a celebrity. Where else can we practice the script?”

“The company.”

“Why go to the company specifically for that?”

“It’s company work, so doing it at home is strange.”

Well… that’s true. Seong-woon, quietly looking at Ryu Chang-yoon who was suddenly making sense today, shook his head. He shouldn’t get caught up in his sophistry, even if he was making plausible arguments with his clean-cut face.

“If we practice at the company, the content might leak.”

“The synopsis is already out anyway.”

“That’s just the synopsis… my role is kind of a plot twist.”

“If it’s a company where even that would leak, tear it down.”

What nonsense… Oh, damn. It’s aunt’s company, right? It’s a situation where he would actually tear it down. Seong-woon anxiously looked at his wristwatch, then pushed past Ryu Chang-yoon and Lee Hyeong-seok’s shoulders to get through. If he didn’t leave now, it would be impossible to arrive on time. Moreover, it was also unpleasant that they were trying to block every possible bad situation, even if it was for protection.

“I’ll do as I please. The doctor said to be careful not to experience any shocks, and I won’t drink alcohol or coffee… I’ll be careful with people too, so both of you, please stop.”

Seong-woon, who had suddenly lost his temper, got into the driver’s seat of the car, ignoring Lee Hyeong-seok’s footsteps chasing from behind. As soon as he started the car, Lee Hyeong-seok, with a shocked face, flung open the car door.

“Young master, you don’t have a license!”

Ah, right…. Thinking he should get his license again when he had time, Seong-woon sighed. He used to be quite a good driver.

“Young master, can’t we invite Baek Sang-hyun to the company? I’ll arrange an internal practice room.”

“…”

“This is serious, really.”

Lee Hyeong-seok looked at his phone and made a crying face. Seeing that even the chairmen were calling, it was clear what a mess this was. He could tell what Ryu Chang-yoon must have said in that family group chat without even looking.

“Geez, I won’t even be able to date later.”

“D-Date?”

Lee Hyeong-seok’s face turned even paler as if he had never even considered the concept of dating. Seong-woon noticed Ryu Chang-yoon quietly looking down at him through the car window and let out a long sigh.

He turned on the phone he had been fidgeting with and found Baek Sang-hyun’s number. After hesitating for a while, he pressed hard on the name to make the call and cleared his throat.

– …Hello?

“Hello, sunbae. This is Ryu Chae-yoon.”

– Are you there already?

“No, um… I was wondering if we could change the location?”

– Location?

A puzzled voice came back. Seong-woon mumbled, clutching his flushed face.

“I was hoping we could do it at the company.”

– Why?

“Well…”

Should I talk about my condition? Or should I just… While Seong-woon hesitated for a moment, Baek Sang-hyun seemed to have come up with his own reason and understood.

– I guess I’ll have to film the behind-the-scenes footage the director requested on my phone.

“Ah, that’s right…”

– When you say company, do you mean RBS?

“Yes, my manager says he’ll arrange it.”

The response sounded positive. Seeing Lee Hyeong-seok’s face brighten, Seong-woon spoke with a somewhat reluctant voice. Lee Hyeong-seok mouthed that he would also prepare a camera for filming behind the scenes.

“He says he’ll prepare a camera for filming behind the scenes too.”

– What if it gets leaked externally?

“He says he’ll do his best to prevent that…”

– Forget it. Don’t worry about that. I’ll go to the company, so contact me when you’re at the practice room.

“Okay, ah…”

He wanted to say something more, but the call had already ended. Seong-woon removed the phone from his ear and glanced at Lee Hyeong-seok’s satisfied face. Lee Hyeong-seok, briefly showing embarrassment, carefully grabbed Seong-woon’s shoulder.

“Then, young master, please get in the back. I’ll take you straight to the company.”

“Which practice room should I go to?”

“Ah, it’s your first time at the company, right? There are only two actor practice rooms right next to each other, so you’ll inevitably meet there.”

Seong-woon, now in the back seat, pressed his forehead against the window as the car started moving. He felt a bit regretful, but also not unpleasantly relaxed. He hadn’t been invited—though that might be an odd way to put it—to someone else’s house like this before, so he had no idea how to act.

“I’ll place security guards to keep everyone out of the practice room hallway.”

“Okay.”

“If you need anything, please let me know.”

Lee Hyeong-seok bought an iced Americano and a hot herbal tea from the cafe in front of the company, put them in the practice room, and left. A full-length mirror covered one wall on a cold-feeling wooden floor. Seong-woon scanned the familiar practice room scene and then plopped down on the floor.

There was a time when he practically lived in places like this. Because he loved acting so much, he would spend each day wondering how he could improve even a little, how he could become a bit more natural, and how he could immerse himself in the role a bit more. There was a time when Seong-woon would study and practice every script that came to the agency.

Lost in thoughts of the past, Seong-woon suddenly turned his head at the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Sang-hyun, with his hat pulled low, was entering the practice room. Ironically, dressed in casual clothes like that, he looked even more like a celebrity… There’s clearly a reason why some people become stars.

“…”

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, hello.”

Was he too immersed in Jin Seong-woon’s emotions? For a moment, he had completely forgotten Ryu Chae-yoon’s persona. As he hurriedly greeted and stood up, Baek Sang-hyun smirked. Baek Sang-hyun, known for being kind to his juniors, didn’t seem at all offended by the slightly late greeting.

“I’m sorry for suddenly changing the location.”

“It’s fine.”

Baek Sang-hyun came over to Seong-woon’s side and slid down against the wall, just as he had done earlier. Looking up, it was as if he was asking why Seong-woon wasn’t sitting next to him.

“What were you looking at so intently?”

Baek Sang-hyun asked as Seong-woon sat down next to him, holding a paper cup. He wasn’t really looking at anything in particular… If anything, maybe the mirror? For a moment, Ryu Chae-yoon’s face in the practice room had felt very awkward. This space felt like it should be ‘Jin Seong-woon’s’ place.

“Have some coffee.”

Even after all this time, the craving for caffeine hadn’t diminished. Seong-woon barely resisted the temptation and handed the coffee cup to Baek Sang-hyun.

“Why don’t you drink it when you clearly want to?”

“Me?”

“You always look at it like a hungry puppy.”

“…I’ve never looked at it like that.”

“You just did.”

“…”

“You look at beer the same way, but you don’t drink alcohol either?”

Because of the full-length mirror, it felt like their eyes were meeting even though they were sitting side by side. Seong-woon lowered his head and took a sip of the hot tea. Looking at his watch, he saw his heart rate was over 100. It wasn’t enough to set off an alarm yet, but at this rate, he might be dragged back to the hospital without reading a single line of the script.

“I have a chronic condition.”

This much should be okay to say. Baek Sang-hyun wasn’t the type to go around blabbing that Ryu Chae-yoon had a heart condition. Besides, now that he’s in the entertainment industry, it wouldn’t be easy to keep this completely hidden. Unless it didn’t show at all externally, he had several incision scars right in the middle of his chest.

“I can’t have caffeine or alcohol.”

“…That must be inconvenient.”

“It’s… okay now. That’s why I requested the change of location today. If I have a seizure or something, I need someone who can respond.”

Once he said it, he felt a little better. Confirming that his heart rate was back in the normal range, Seong-woon took out the script from his bag.

“Why are you in such a hurry to start?”

“…Am I?”

“Finish your tea first.”

Baek Sang-hyun nodded once, then got up and turned on the heating. He must have noticed Seong-woon’s fingers curling up involuntarily even while holding something warm.

When he first woke up in this body, it was summer so he didn’t notice, but given the temperature at home and places Seong-woon frequently visited was set to suit his constitution, as the cold wind started to blow, he realized how sensitive Ryu Chae-yoon was to cold. For Seong-woon, who was used to being more sensitive to heat than cold like a typical adult male, it was a difficult body to adapt to.

As the room temperature rose a bit and he finished his tea, Seong-woon’s body warmed up. Without realizing it, he stopped pulling his sweater sleeves to hide his hands. He put down the empty cup on the floor and stood up.

“Shall we start then?”

Baek Sang-hyun, who had tossed his hat aside, swept his hair up and stood still. He slightly raised his chin, lowered his gaze, straightened his neck and shoulders, moved one leg slightly forward while leaning his upper body back a little, and finally rested his hands in his pockets as if slipping them in.

“…”

It was the first time Seong-woon had seen someone build a character in real-time. With this  novel feeling, he watched as Baek Sang-hyun’s facial and body muscles moved in new ways, his gaze changed, and his entire attitude transformed completely.

Ah, this is interesting. Is this what it feels like to act with someone? Seong-woon found himself smiling without realizing it.