“Hoh, hoh.”
“What’s got you so fascinated, Siwoo? Doesn’t it look pretty much the same as usual?”
My uncle and I were sitting side by side in a small conference room at LSB.
Maybe because it was my first time at a cable station, the atmosphere felt strangely different.
If I had to compare it, it was smaller than KMB and a little more hectic.
Still, I liked how the people seemed young and full of energy.
“Maybe it’s because I came here to do a variety show. It feels a little new.”
“Oh, really?”
My uncle and I talked together about what this new program might be like.
Would they really film all day? Would the staff atmosphere be very different?
Maybe because this was also my uncle’s first variety show with me, he was wound up especially tight.
On the way here, he kept muttering that we couldn’t let anyone look down on us. I had no idea who he was so fired up to compete with.
“It’s a shame Yeonsu can’t do it with you.”
“…”
At Uncle’s words, I took out my phone and checked the text that had come from Nam Yeonsu yesterday.
The sender was Nam Yeonsu’s manager.
Since Yeonsu didn’t have a cell phone, it seemed his manager had texted me in a hurry on his behalf.
[ Sorry, Siwoo ㅠ I don’t think I’ll be able to go. I really wanted us to do it together ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ ]
A message full of tears.
Yeonsu had begged so much for us to do it together, and then suddenly I got word that he couldn’t come after all.
Honestly, I wondered whether there was much point if it wasn’t with Nam Yeonsu.
If he were replaced by some other cast member I didn’t really know, I didn’t think it would be all that fun.
Not for me, the one doing the filming, or for the viewers watching it.
Still, the meeting had already been arranged, and keeping your appointments was a gentleman’s duty, so even though I felt deflated, I came to the meeting anyway.
As I put my phone back into my bag, the conference room door clicked open.
“Hello!”
A man came in, greeting us energetically.
So that was PD Kim Sanho.
He looked younger and fresher than I had expected.
“Hello, I’m Han Siwoo.”
“I’m Siwoo’s manager, Ji Donguk.”
From beside me, Uncle handed Kim Sanho his business card.
For now, it was just a hastily made card with only his name and phone number on it.
Kim Sanho also greeted us and handed his own card to Uncle.
“Wow, I didn’t think I’d get to meet the hottest person of the year like this. Nice to meet you, Siwoo.”
“Mhm, yes. Nice to meet you too.”
“Haha, you’re more cynical than I expected.”
I acted as though I hadn’t heard that and turned my head slightly.
“Seeing him in person, he’s far more striking than he looks on screen, isn’t he?”
“Haha, Siwoo hears that a lot.”
“That’s because my parents are awesome.”
I did not miss the chance to boast about my mother and father.
Kim Sanho laughed and said I was cute when he saw me raising both thumbs.
“Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that Siwoo’s manager is actually his uncle… Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s right. He’s my nephew.”
“I knew it. Those genes are truly excellent.”
“Hahaha, I hear that a lot.”
Uncle looked especially pleased.
By the way… Uncle, I’m hearing that for the first time.
You’re pretending you hear it all the time.
“Well then, shall we properly begin?”
“So… to sum it up, Siwoo will travel freely with us, and we’ll capture Siwoo exactly as he is. That’s the idea.”
The more I listened, the more I thought that if things really went the way Kim Sanho had described today, it didn’t sound bad.
There would be no pressure to be funny. It really would just be free travel.
Travel was also a major opportunity for an actor to build up experience and inspiration.
Traveling within the framework of a variety show with a PD like this would probably become a new kind of experience too.
Still, for a travel variety show, the location mattered most of all.
“But where would the trip be?”
“Well, that’s the thing. Nothing’s been finalized yet. The concept, schedule, and filming budget all change depending on the location. Once the partner who’ll appear with you is finalized, I think we’ll be able to decide properly too.”
So just like with dramas, the programming and production support changed depending on who joined the cast.
Even after appearing in only one drama, I’d already come to grasp the rough logic of how this side of the industry worked, so I nodded.
“But we do have several candidates. Want to take a look?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at once.
If there were candidate locations, of course I wanted to see them right away.
Telling me to wait a moment, Kim Sanho opened the thick clear file folder he had brought.
Inside were brightly color-printed candidate destinations.
There were several regional place names from around Korea…
Oh, Jeju Island was there too.
Because I watched a lot of TV, I skimmed over the familiar place names.
“Do you know where all of these are, Siwoo?”
“Mhm, I know most of them.”
Maybe he found it odd, or maybe a little doubtful, that I was quietly looking through the pictures without asking anything.
I had only answered as if to reassure him not to worry, but Kim Sanho’s face brightened.
“Hahaha. Ah, I think we did an amazing job casting you. You’re quietly funny.”
“Hm, am I?”
Kim Sanho said something else cheerfully, but honestly, it didn’t really register.
Maybe because I was flipping through the destination list so quickly, just scanning the locations with my eyes was already more than enough to keep me busy.
Most of them were domestic travel spots, but mixed in among them were a few overseas destinations.
“Oh…?”
One place name in particular immediately caught my eye.
It was none other than London, England.
“England…? We could go to England too?”
There were one or two other overseas destinations, but I didn’t need any of the others.
Once I saw that name, England was the only thing I could see.
Noticing my interest, Kim Sanho’s eyes lit up and he quickly explained.
“Are you interested in England? Since you’ve done theater, I thought it might be nice to visit the home ground of theater at least once. You could watch plays there too.”
“Wow.”
It was an excellent idea.
England… That was definitely tempting.
I had already been wondering when I might be able to go there someday.
And to think it was called the holy land of theater.
My heart, which had once belonged to the star actor of the Oscar Theater Company, the finest troupe in London, began to pound wildly.
Just seeing the name was enough to make my chest race.
“If I end up doing it, I want to go to England.”
“Okay. I’ll remember that.”
When I, who had been wearing an indifferent expression, spoke so actively, Kim Sanho seemed quite excited.
It had not even been an hour since we introduced ourselves, but he was already calling himself “uncle” and treating me very comfortably.
Seeing Kim Sanho draw a big circle around England with the pen he was holding, I felt that if things continued like this, I really might be able to go to England.
“However…”
Before that, there was still something that needed to be resolved.
I decided to speak directly.
“What happened with Yeonsu-hyung?”
“Uh, well…”
At my question, Kim Sanho showed a slightly troubled expression for the first time.
It was unlike him, since he had seemed confident throughout the entire conversation up until now.
“To be honest… Nam Yeonsu’s side has already turned it down. I really wanted to do it with him too, but over there…”
Kim Sanho was about to continue, but then he shut his mouth completely.
Seeing that, I narrowed my eyes.
Just from Kim Sanho’s words alone, I could guess what had happened.
After hesitating for a moment as if he were choosing his words, Kim Sanho changed his expression and spoke brightly.
“Instead, we’re in the middle of casting another friend. You don’t need to worry about that. If you want to appear on the show, we’ll find another cast member somehow. The project won’t fall through.”
“Mhm, I see.”
I had wondered if that was the case, and sure enough, it was.
It seemed Nam Yeonsu’s father had stopped him from going this time as well.
Without meaning to, I let out a faint laugh.
As I thought about Nam Yeonsu’s situation, a past I did not want to recall kept raising its head.
It made me think of my past self, trapped inside a tightly shut container.
For some reason, when Nam Yeonsu was involved, I could not ignore it.
It was not only because of this variety show. If things continued like this, his beautiful talent and his love for acting felt as if they would rot away.
“PD-nim. I want to do this. The program’s purpose is good, and it feels new. I also wanted to visit England at least once.”
“Really? Then that’s a huge relief. I really want to go with you too, Siwoo.”
“Yes. I also think connecting the fact that I performed on stage with England is something different. To viewers, I may just be Kang Wooju from Cactus, but before that, I was Yeongsugi and Jonathan too.”
I listed, one by one, the names of the characters I had played in the stage productions I appeared in.
Kim Sanho, who had been listening to me quietly, widened his eyes slightly in surprise, then grinned.
“Ha, seriously. I knew my eye wasn’t wrong. Genius, genius. Seeing this side of Siwoo, seriously discussing the proposal, feels so fresh in person. I’m already looking forward to how this side of you will come across to viewers.”
Geni… what?
For a moment, I went blank at the sudden Konglish pronunciation that came out of Kim Sanho’s mouth.
I had never quite gotten used to Kang Yonghwi’s Konglish either… Were most directors and PDs in this world like this?
Blinking in confusion, I nodded firmly at Kim Sanho’s words and spoke as if making a declaration.
Fortunately, Kim Sanho seemed to like me quite a lot, so I thought he might go along with my stubbornness to some extent.
“But I have one condition.”
“A condition? Good. Tell me.”
“I won’t do it unless I do it with Yeonsu-hyung.”
“What…?”
“S-Siwoo?”
At that thunderbolt of a statement, Kim Sanho opened his mouth slightly in shock, and Uncle, who had been listening quietly, called my name in alarm too.
But I could not just leave Nam Yeonsu alone like this.
It also bothered me that I kept thinking about my past life.
Kim Sanho looked troubled by my firm words, but I had no desire to take them back.
“You can bring Yeonsu-hyung in, right, PD Kim Sanho?”
They said he was an amazing PD, so let’s see him show me what he could do.
Before anyone knew it, more than half of 2007 had already passed.
Cactus, which had begun in midsummer, was airing its final episode today, September 9.
The day before, episode fifteen had recorded a viewership rating of 45 percent, making Cactus the highest-rated drama of the year.
To commend the hard work of Team Cactus, KMB decided to hold a grand wrap party for them.
Today, the day the final episode would air, all the staff members and actors of Team Cactus were gathering in one place.
Until the live broadcast began, they would enjoy the after-party and dinner together, then watch the final episode as a group.
Cha Ilnam had rented out an entire large restaurant in the city.
As the scale grew larger and larger, word of the Cactus wrap party naturally spread through the industry.
In front of the restaurant we had rented for the day, congratulatory wreaths sent by people from all walks of life were lined up, and in front of those, reporters were camped out and waiting as if it were a red-carpet photo zone.
Many people were paying attention to whether or not the final episode of Cactus would break the dreaded 50 percent mark today.
“It’s Moon Heeseong!”
Click, click, click.
One by one, the actors began appearing in front of the restaurant.
Among the lead and supporting actors, the first to show himself was Moon Heeseong.
In this drama, he played “Ji Hyeonseong,” a character who possessed both a boldness and warmth he had not usually shown before, and he was being praised for displaying a broader acting range.
Moon Heeseong greeted the cameras lined up on both sides with a handsome smile, then entered the restaurant.
Then came a large car arriving right after him.
Rumble.
From inside that car stepped out Han Siwoo, the number-one topic of buzz for this drama.
“Oof.”
Patter, patter.
The small figure who hopped down from the large car smiled brightly and headed toward the restaurant entrance with a dignified air.
An overwhelming barrage of flashes poured down along with the sound of shutters.
“Siwoo! Please look over here just once!”
“Siwoo, look over here. This way! This way!”
With a bright smile fixed on his face, Han Siwoo gave a gentle little wave to the reporters calling out to him so desperately, then entered the restaurant.
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