Time passed quickly.
The merchandise Han Seongtae had commissioned entered production, and filming for Youth My Way continued smoothly.
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ applauds you, saying it was an excellent performance.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ expresses admiration at your rapid growth.]
As time passed and filming continued, Han Seongtae’s acting steadily improved.
Perhaps he had simply become accustomed to the set.
Even Han Seongtae himself could tell that the quality of his acting was improving.
But could it really be explained as nothing more than adjustment?
[‘The Pioneer of Method Acting’ wonders how you study in order to understand a character.]
Perhaps there was another reason.
Han Seongtae turned away, leaving behind the message that tickled the edge of his vision.
Whatever the cause, improving as an actor was a good thing.
It meant he could create far better scenes.
How could a human ever understand a god?
Whenever Han Seongtae had the opportunity to improve, he worked to grow as much as possible.
The fact that his efforts produced corresponding results was undoubtedly something to celebrate.
It had been one fortunate development after another, but Han Seongtae’s expression was not entirely pleased.
Step, step.
He walked heavily for a while before frowning and looking behind him.
Someone was following him.
“…How long are you planning to keep following me?”
The person following him was none other than the actor Lee Seunghyeon.
Since the man was his senior at the same agency, it was difficult to tell him outright to stop following him.
Lee Seunghyeon merely shrugged without answering Han Seongtae’s question.
“…”
Ever since Lee Seunghyeon had appeared at the filming location, Han Seongtae had received a phone call from him every day.
Whenever Han Seongtae went outside, Lee Seunghyeon would suddenly appear and attach himself to him, making Seongtae wonder where he had been waiting.
At first, Han Seongtae had tried running away and had told him to stop following him.
Lee Seunghyeon was not the sort of person who would listen to something like that.
Still, Han Seongtae could hardly report a senior from his own agency to the police as a stalker.
— Jung Dusik: Seongtae, they say the merchandise prototypes are ready. Should I pick them up separately?
Reading the message from Jung Dusik, Han Seongtae glanced back at Lee Seunghyeon.
When he saw the man trailing behind him as though casually loitering, he immediately sent a reply.
— No. Let’s go together. I’d like to see how they’re made.
All he needed to do was create a situation in which Lee Seunghyeon could not follow him.
After seeing Han Seongtae’s reply, Jung Dusik responded that he understood and would call the company.
Han Seongtae closed the messaging application and examined the calendar covering the top of his screen.
It displayed the filming schedule beginning that afternoon and the date his American friends were due to arrive.
His frustration temporarily disappeared, and a smile appeared at the thought of seeing the faces he missed.
Leaving the unrelenting gaze he felt from behind unanswered, Han Seongtae headed toward the filming location.
The scene being filmed this time showed Park Sejun singing.
Wanting to sing even a little, he had put on a mask and gone out onto the street.
He carried a guitar and several pieces of sound equipment.
“Get ready. We’re going in!”
At Kim Minseok’s voice, Han Seongtae released a breath just outside the camera’s view.
He could see the bit-part and background actors preparing ahead of him.
“Ready, action!”
At the director’s command, Park Sejun moved forward.
Murmur, murmur.
Park Sejun walked while people passed along the street.
The camera captured him.
Standing in a public square, Park Sejun began fumbling with his equipment and setting it up.
A few people glanced at him, but only briefly. They continued on their way without paying him any attention.
Park Sejun was not discouraged simply because no one cared about him.
He wanted to sing. He did not want attention.
Attention was merely something secondary.
“Whew…”
After finishing the setup and sitting in his chair, Park Sejun released a faint breath.
He could not tell whether the guitar resting on his knees was trembling or whether his body was shaking from nervousness.
Tap. Tap, tap.
He tapped the microphone.
The sound echoed through the speaker.
Once he knew the equipment had been set up properly, Park Sejun placed his hand on the guitar strings.
“Running forward every single day!”
“You’re leaving me behind, whoa!”
“I wanted love! Ho!”
Other people were busking around him.
There were bands, as well as people singing alone.
Without caring about the eyes around them, they presented their own stages to the world.
After watching them intently, Park Sejun slowly moved his fingers.
Strum.
A melody emerged from the guitar.
The tune flowing from his fingertips gently filled Park Sejun’s stage.
With his eyes closed, Park Sejun opened his mouth amid the melody he had created.
—I’m wandering right now.
I don’t know where I’m going.
I need you. Show me my path.
The instant Park Sejun’s voice spread across the square, the people passing nearby stopped.
“Wow, his voice is good.”
“Oppa, let’s stay and listen for a minute.”
“That vocal tone is no joke. Is he a singer?”
People looked at him.
Before long, they began gathering around him.
They listened to his song.
However, with his eyes closed, Park Sejun could not see them.
While singing, he was enjoying a stage that belonged entirely to him.
At that moment, he forgot even the sounds around him and became one with the music.
Thump, thump.
In time with the beating of his heart, his hands created a beautiful melody.
“Waaaaah!”
He heard the voices of students.
When Park Sejun opened his closed eyes, the interior of a school auditorium appeared before him.
During high school, he had sung at a festival Lee Mihee had told him about.
He had happily created a stage before more than a hundred students.
The students cheered at the melody he created, and people recorded videos as his voice spread in harmony with it.
‘That was nice.’
Park Sejun still had not forgotten the sight of himself creating a stage while dressed in his school uniform.
For that moment, he had been able to think of nothing but music.
Those were days when he had innocently held a dream and sung with a pure heart.
He missed that time.
—I’m running forward now.
Where am I going?
No one will tell me which path is mine.
He closed his eyes once more and opened them again.
The school auditorium was no longer there.
The students who had sung along with him disappeared, and the street returned to his sight.
“…?”
Having returned to reality, Park Sejun blinked at the scene spread out before him.
‘Why is everyone gathered here?’
People surrounded him.
So many had gathered that he could not even see the scenery behind them.
When had so many people arrived?
Park Sejun had sung with his eyes closed, completely unaware that they had encircled him.
— But I’m still running.
Because that was who I was.
The song ended, and the fingers plucking the strings came to a stop.
He looked around with a dazed expression.
Everyone was focused on him.
Under their gazes, Park Sejun slowly opened his mouth.
“I didn’t expect so many people to listen to my song.”
How could he possibly have known?
Several years had passed since he stopped singing, and his untrained voice was not what it used to be.
“Oppa, you sing so well!”
“You’ll sing one more song for us, right?”
“What was the song you just sang? I searched for it, but nothing came up.”
People called out to him.
Park Sejun answered each of them.
“Thank you for enjoying it. The song I just performed was one I wrote myself. It’s called ‘Hope.’”
At his answer, everyone began speaking at once.
The sound they created reached him like a single piece of music.
Park Sejun did not realize that the corners of his mouth had risen.
“The next song I’ll perform is……”
He had given up on his dream.
He had believed he could never become a singer.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he could not abandon music.
How could he give up when it made him this happy?
“……’s ‘Question.’”
It was a song addressed to himself.
A question asking whether he should try becoming a singer again.
—You’re this happy right now. Can you truly give it up?
You never really gave it up in the first place.
Park Sejun was about to begin playing the guitar again.
“……!”
Han Seongtae, who had been turning his head with the camera, suddenly froze.
One second. Two seconds.
A considerable amount of time passed.
“Cut! What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
The emotion Han Seongtae had built for the scene had collapsed.
Kim Minseok immediately noticed and stopped filming.
It was the first time Han Seongtae had ever caused an NG, so everyone looked at him in confusion.
Even though he could feel their gazes, Han Seongtae could not spare them any attention.
“Uh… Why are all of you there?”
Han Seongtae was staring at the people standing among the staff.
They had appearances rarely seen in Asia.
When their eyes met Han Seongtae’s, they grinned and spoke.
“Hello, Han.”
Rogers’s voice reached him.
His American friends had appeared at a completely unexpected moment.
“We’ll take a short break!”
With the arrival of the Rampage cast, filming had no choice but to stop temporarily.
After drinking the water Jung Dusik brought him, Han Seongtae turned to look beside him.
Rogers and the others stood around Han Seongtae, smiling.
They seemed to be enjoying his startled reaction.
Han Seongtae gave his friends an exasperated smile before speaking.
“What happened? You never said you were coming today.”
“Surprise!”
“You were surprised, right, Han?”
Was he surprised?
Han Seongtae could confidently say that he had been extraordinarily surprised.
There were still three days left until the date they had said they would come to Korea.
Since he had never expected them, he could not help being even more shocked.
“I wanted to see that expression. Han, you don’t startle easily. How do you like my surprise present?”
“Thanks. Thank you. I’m so grateful that I feel like hitting you.”
“Oh. Han, please don’t do that. Do you know how much your punches hurt? They’re enough to surprise professional fighters. I don’t want to die.”
Han Seongtae released a deep sigh as Rogers spoke playfully.
Lee Seunghyeon was not the only person he needed to keep an eye on.
Rogers was also an extremely mischievous person.
“Han, are you free later?”
“What do you mean by later?”
“Early this morning. Let’s go see a movie together. I already bought all the tickets.”
Han Seongtae shook his head as he watched Rogers pull several tickets from his pocket.
The man was truly impossible to predict.
Even so, Han Seongtae could not dislike him because he knew how much Rogers cared about him.
Smiling, Han Seongtae lightly struck Rogers in the side.
“Urgh! You just used a one-inch punch on me, didn’t you?”
Still, that did not make Rogers any less irritating.
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