Since that night, I have developed a secret hobby.
It is precisely about seeing Ahn Geon-ho's work.
It wasn't that I particularly wanted to watch it. I was just curious because I hadn't seen it for a while. I wanted to know just how great he must be for my mom to watch it so attentively, why people kept talking about Ahn Gun-ho, and why I had resisted watching it so hard.
I was just trying to verify that.
I lay face down on the bed and scrolled through my phone screen. Ahn Gun-ho had appeared in more works than I had expected. There were school dramas, office dramas, and fantasy works that resembled historical dramas—though not strictly historical—and I thought he had even played a young detective once. In the photos, Ahn Gun-ho was seen smiling in a school uniform, or wearing a suit and coldly looking down at someone.
You really lived a hardworking life.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I pressed my lips together tightly for no reason.
Was it because of the money after all?
That question lingered in my mind longer than I expected. Whether I started because I liked it, or because I had no choice. Whether I wanted to do well from the start, or whether I just got good at it by enduring.
For me, those times were completely empty.
Among them, what I was watching was a drama currently airing. "Shall We Date at School?" Even the title made me feel a little embarrassed. It was about studying, fighting, and dating at a school attended by kids from wealthy families. It was a story that could be considered cliché, yet sweet and innocent.
Gunho appeared there as a quiet male student. He came from a good family, had good grades, and was naturally good-looking, but strangely, he was always alone. He was a character who gradually opened his heart only to the female protagonist, then said mean things for no reason, and later regretted it.
I stared at Gunho on the screen for a while and muttered.
You're doing well.
She must be doing this job now because she likes it. If it were just for the money, she might have quit halfway through.
And it's shining so brightly like this.
That's right. Ahn Gun-ho on the screen was truly shining. As if he were born to be an actor, as if he were born to play this role.
It's really bad.
I dropped my phone on the bed and buried my face in the pillow. It wasn't that the drama was bad.
Just a few days ago, I was loudly declaring that I wouldn't watch your work, yet here I am, secretly looking it up on my own. And the fact that I'm scrutinizing his face one by one, critiquing him to figure out his true intentions... that felt really awful.
I sat up and ran my hand through my disheveled hair. "Is there anything to eat? Should I go to the convenience store?" With that thought in mind, I opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the living room.
Mom and Dad were watching TV in the living room while eating apples.
"Did Yeoju finally wake up?"
Aren't you sleeping in too much just because it's the weekend?
It happened a little while ago.
I gave a vague answer to my parents' objections and sat down on the soft sofa.
As I picked up the apple with my hand, Mom scolded me, saying it was dirty. "So what?" I said, and as I ate it, a familiar voice came from the TV. It was the episode of the drama I had been watching earlier.
“Geon-ho, I heard you’re filming nearby today.”
Oh my, really?
“They say a drama is being filmed in the alley past the main road down there.”
“Yeoju, don’t you have to go?”
I was listening to my parents' conversation when my mom called me.
I put an apple in my mouth, trying my best to act as if nothing was wrong.
“Why me?”
Aren't you curious?
I'm not curious.
"Mom is curious, so you go check it out, my daughter."
That's enough.
After saying that, I went back into my room. Soon after, I put on a long-sleeved cardigan, pulled my hat down low, and headed toward the entrance. I mean, I wanted to eat something, but I wasn't really in the mood for an apple. I'm going because the apples aren't very sweet. It feels stifling staying at home all the time, so I'm taking a walk as well.
“Where are you going?”
I'm going to the convenience store.
“Mom, buy me ice cream~”
"okay."
I answered briefly and closed the front door. The area in front of my house was quiet. Didn't they say it was down there? Usually, they do film a few times right at the entrance.
Since I had to walk downhill to get to the convenience store anyway, I gladly turned around.
As I got closer to the entrance of the alley, the crowd grew larger. Staff members were standing on the usually quiet street, and several large vehicles were parked one after another. As I moved toward the center, large lighting equipment and cameras were set up. Someone was running around holding a walkie-talkie, and onlookers were craning their necks from a distance beyond the line.
I stood behind the people for no reason.
Gunho was visible through the gap.
Gunho was wearing a school uniform and talking with the director. Whether it was because there were many people around, or because the camera was in front of him, Gunho looked much further away than usual.
Gunho nodded whenever the person who appeared to be the director explained something. His face was relaxed as usual, but a thin layer of tension lingered beneath it. Then, the announcement that filming was about to begin was heard.
As the camera started rolling, Ahn Gun-ho seemed like a completely different person.
The scene looked like a fight between the female and male protagonists. The woman stood at the end of the alley with a very sulky face, and Gun-ho was catching his breath, appearing to have followed behind her.
“Why are you following me?”
The actress spoke coldly.
Gunho did not answer immediately. Instead, he stopped just as he was about to take a step closer. That brief hesitation felt strangely natural.
If you just go.
“…….”
“…Because I don’t think you’ll see me anymore.”
I unconsciously held my breath for a moment.
I saw a face that looked like it was on the verge of tears. I was startled. Was that kind of expression just acting? It was the first time I had seen my friend act—and it was also my first time seeing an actor friend—so I wasn't used to it.
The actress glared at Gun-ho as if suppressing her anger, then turned around and went inside the house. The sound of the door slamming shut echoed loudly in the alley.
Gunho stood in front of the closed door for a while.
He didn't say anything.
Left alone in an empty alley, I let out a very small sigh.
"under……."
That sigh sounded so real that I needlessly curled my fingers.
Just then, someone shouted.
“Cut!”
The air became lighter in an instant.
Gunho, who had just moments ago been a man left alone in an empty alley, blinked a couple of times and became his original self again.
He nodded slightly toward the fans and walked toward where the director was. He seemed to be having a light conversation with the actress who followed him out of the door.
The actress and Ahn Gun-ho quietly listened to the director while watching the monitor. Judging by the director's expression, he seemed pleased with the result. Even I think I acted really well this time. Though I know absolutely nothing about acting.
It was fascinating.
It was fascinating to see the person I used to see on screen right in front of me, and equally fascinating to see the kid I knew effortlessly doing his part amidst such a crowd. It was hard to believe that the Ahn Gun-ho who used to argue about constellation names on the rooftop as a child was the same person as the Ahn Gun-ho who had just looked like he couldn't hold onto anyone in front of the camera. It was true that a long time had passed, but I also felt that we had truly become strangers.
Perhaps because it was a brief break, the atmosphere around him had loosened up a bit. A few fans quietly called out his name, and Gunho approached them to greet them. He didn't come too close, but he still bowed his head and waved to the people who were waiting.
I took a step back.
It would have been weird if I got caught. After all, they just saw me in passing. I should head to the convenience store and then go home.
But at that moment, I made eye contact with Gunho.
I froze right there.
Gunho also looked surprised for a moment, then soon raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Then, as if trying to approach me, he acted as if he were constantly trying to move forward.
"No way, with so many people here, you're coming to me from here? I absolutely refused. Who knows what kind of breaking news story might break tonight?"
I quickly left the spot before Ahn Gun-ho could get through the crowd. When I turned around, he looked at me with a wistful expression, then immediately started interacting with fans.
-
After stopping by a convenience store to buy three ice creams and some snacks, I went back up the alley. The street was deserted, presumably because the filming location had been cleaned up in the meantime. I occasionally ran into people rushing over belatedly, asking if it was already over.
I walked away while looking at the front gate where I had been acting just moments ago. It felt really strange to see my friend working.
When I checked my phone, there was no contact. Seriously, what are you expecting?
When I entered the house, Mom and Dad were sitting on the sofa exactly as they had been earlier.
That took a while.
Because there are a lot of people.
"Because of filming?"
There were a lot of people at the convenience store.
Mom and Dad laughed, pretending not to know. It makes me angry. Couldn't they have just let it slide?
I gave my parents an ice cream each, and then came into my room with my own in my mouth.
I sat at a sun-drenched desk and unlocked my phone. Gunho, whom I had seen just moments ago, kept coming to mind.
The face that became a different person in front of the camera, the face of social life shown to actors and directors, the face when dealing with fans, and the face that was glad to see me.
I found that difference fascinating.
Time I didn't know was contained within that face. The dramas I hadn't watched, the works I pretended not to know, the names I had overlooked out of spite. All of that was the time that had passed for Gunho.
The phone made a tinkling sound and vibrated slightly.
[What are you doing next Friday?]
It was Ahn Geon-ho. Without even mentioning what he had seen earlier, he got straight to the point.
I looked at the screen for a moment and wrote a reply.
[why]
A reply came right away.
[Let's go see the stars]
I blinked.
"You're in the middle of filming, aren't you busy?" *Tap-tap*, I quickly typed out a message.
[No filming next Friday?]
[It's there, but it ends early]
[Is it okay for an actor to go around like that?]
I'm not just wandering around; I'm making time for it on purpose.
My hand paused for a moment. Was it always supposed to feel like this?
My fingertips tingled for a moment, perhaps because of the sweet ice cream.
Much later, I sent a short message.
Nothing special happened
A reply came right away.
Then I'll come pick you up on Friday.
I was looking at the screen and muttered softly.
It's really all up to you.
The ice cream was almost gone, so I quickly stuffed it into my mouth before it melted. I picked up the tablet on the bed and restarted the drama I had paused. On the screen, Ahn Gun-ho followed the female lead around with an innocent, love-struck look on his face, as if he were the protagonist of a romantic movie. Ah, yes, he is the male lead in a melodrama. Just like that, the evening, the weekend, was approaching.
