CH 27

“Cut.”

When the director’s cut rang, Lee Wooyeon and Kang Youngmo, who had just sat facing each other and displayed a friendship like no other in the world, turned their faces.

“After taking a five-minute break, we start with the scene reading Mr. Youngmo’s letter.”

Kang Youngmo motioned he understood and stood up. His manager ran over and brought blankets and clothes to cover him. Kang Youngmo shouted, “Why didn’t you bring hot water?”

Choi Inseop, who was standing near the pillar, also ran to Lee Wooyeon.

“Thank you.”

If they only had to shoot the next two scenes, today’s shoot was over. Of course, no one could predict how long it would take to film those two scenes.

The robe that Inseop was holding was draped over Lee Wooyeon’s shoulder.

“Go to the car and sleep.”

“It’s fine.”

“I think it will take a couple more hours.”

It was already past midnight, and Inseop wanted to cry when he said that it would take a couple more hours. Of course, he didn’t show it on the outside, and he calmly replied, “It’s okay”, but he just wanted to go home and lie down.

It would be nice to take a hot shower and sleep with Kate once… Today was the day he called his mom. Fortunately, it will be midday in the United States by the time he goes home and makes a phone call.

“You don’t look good at all.”

Lee Wooyeon smiled and put his hands in his pockets. He looked at Inseop when he touched the warm object.

“Is it a hot pack?”

“Yes.”

“So the clothes were warm.”

Even during breaks, Lee Wooyeon, who read the script while putting his clothes on his shoulders, did not know what was in his pocket.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I think the only person who thinks of me like this is Inseop.”

That was correct.

From the time he opened his eyes to the time he closed his eyes, Inseop only thought of Lee Wooyeon all day. He remembered his schedule and planned the day to spend with him. He was only looking for an opportunity to catch Lee Wooyeon’s fatal weakness.

So, he only thought of Lee Wooyeon.

“But why are you empty-handed?”

Lee Wooyeon asked, pointing to Inseop’s frozen red fingertips.

“Because I don’t have enough hot packs… ”

Inseop was more sensitive to temperature than others. It was easy for him to get cold and hot. Because of the longer filming time than expected, the hot packs Inseop brought to use were also used to warm Lee Wooyeon’s clothes. He couldn’t even put his hands in his pockets because he was holding Lee Wooyeon’s clothes. However, he didn’t want to put his hands inside Lee Wooyeon’s clothes. In the end, his hand was frozen.

Choi Inseop put his hand in his pocket. Lee Wooyeon took out a hot pack from his pocket.

“It’s cold.”

He threw the hardened hot pack into the trash and pulled Inseop’s hand out of his pocket.

“… !”

“Warm up your hands.”

Lee Wooyeon grabbed Inseop’s hand and put it in the pocket of his coat. Choi Inseop tried to remove his hand, but the more he did, the more Lee Wooyeon gave strength to his hand. Inseop was on the verge of screaming because his hand hurt.

The warmth transmitted from hand to hand was warm, but due to the immense grip strength, it was hard to tell whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Stay still. Your hands are frozen.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Knowing that Inseop was embarrassed and flustered, Lee Wooyeon pretended not to know and turned his gaze to another place. The female staff members passing by joked about Lee Wooyeon.

“I would like to be the manager of Mr. Wooyeon.”

“I want to be Wooyeon’s manager too.”

It was rare for the staff to talk to the lead actor without hesitation and joke around. As such, the image of actor Lee Wooyeon was kindness itself. But for Inseop, his friendly image became poison.

“Now my hands are warm.”

“Isn’t it still cold?”

“I’m fine. Now stop…”

Kang Youngmo, who was passing by drinking coffee, frowned at the sight.

“What. Was it like that?”

“What do you mean? Sunbae.”

“Are you two like that? Hahaha, is that why your manager was so cocky with me?”

Even today, Kang Youngmo had Choi Inseop run an errand three times to bring him warm water. Thinking that he didn’t understand the sign of putting his manager next to him and harassing someone else’s manager, Inseop diligently picked up water and gave it to Kang Youngmo.

Of course, each time, Kang Youngmo said that the water was too hot or cold, and poured the water that Inseop brought onto the floor.

Inseop wanted to ask him if there was something in his actions where he could associate the word arrogance.

Lee Wooyeon did not respond to Kang Youngmo’s words. That made Kang Youngmo even more angry.

“I didn’t know that Lee Wooyeon liked men. I know that women would go crazy if they knew.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

Lee Wooyeon laughed out loud. Choi Inseop was nervous. He didn’t know if Lee Wooyeon would reveal his true nature and change his behavior  to beat Kang Youngmo. In that case, he would be able to grant Jenny’s wish without having to dig out the secret himself…

Lee Wooyeon, who was smiling while shaking his shoulder, hardened his expression and approached Kang Youngmo. When the man, with his extraordinary physique, suddenly approached in front of him, Kang Youngmo was startled and stepped backwards.

Lee Wooyeon stood in front of Kang Youngmo with a cool expression on his face.

The staff were also startled, so they stopped moving and looked at them. Everyone was puzzled by the sudden change of Lee Wooyeon, who always had a gentle smile like a bodhisattva.

“Can I hold your hand too?”

However, the words that came out of Lee Wooyeon’s mouth were completely absurd.

“What?”

“I will hold your hand. If it’s cold.”

Lee Wooyeon took Kang Youngmo’s hand. Kang Youngmo, bewildered, shouted and pulled out his hand. Lee Wooyeon smiled as he watched him walking away vigorously.

Choi Inseop took the opportunity to pull his hand out of his pocket.

“To the bathroom… ”

Inseop barely mumbled a word and ran away from the place. The hand held by Lee Wooyeon was hot. It felt like someone had put some paste on his hands. He wanted to wash his hands. He wanted to wash away that sensation quickly with water.

Choi Inseop went to the bathroom, turned on cold water and washed his hands. The wound that had not yet healed stung. It didn’t matter. If only he could wash away the warmth left on his hands.

His fingertips, which had barely warmed, froze cold. He lost feeling in his hands. Only the sound of running water from the sink rang out in the empty bathroom.

He looked in the mirror. Choi Inseop brought his fingertips to his face as usual. Blood rushed to the tip of his frozen fingertips.

The coldness of the heart that seemed to freeze and the tickling warmth of each of his cell dancing were mixed together, making it impossible to know what was what.

“Like a fool…”

He couldn’t stand it because he hated himself for being shaken by such nonsense. He thought that his heart was already dead… With Jenny, he believed it had been buried with her.

He raised his head. His wet eyes were stained red.

Peter, not Choi Inseop, was standing there.

“Peter. You’re late. Come down quickly.”

“Okay. Wait.”

Peter, who was ready, slowly descended the stairs. His father beckoned him to come down quickly.

“We will be late. We’ll have to go now, so that we can reach on time, right?”

“Can I not go?”

“No.”

Normally, he accepted all of his son’s foolishness, but this time, Inseop realized that his father was too stubborn and got into the car reluctantly.

Today was the day of the monthly Korean student council meeting. Since Inseop was adopted to the United States when he was one year old, he did not have any particular patriotism in Korea. However, Peter’s father, a third-generation Korean American, said it was important to know his roots and even gave him a Korean name.

His father insisted that if he goes to the Korean student council and hang out with the same Korean students, he will be able to understand more about the country he was born in. Peter didn’t really agree with that.

Even in the student council, Peter had no particular sense of belonging. He was reluctantly attending because of his father’s insistence. It was all about sitting in the back seat, reading a book, or just enjoying daydreaming alone. Even there, no one paid any attention to him. After thinking that his time was wasted, Peter stopped attending the meeting. After hearing from the Korean community that he hadn’t been to the meeting for four months, his father decided to take the time today and drop off his son himself.

“Call me, I’ll come pick you up when you’re done.”

“I’ll just figure it out.”

“Are you going to go somewhere else?”

He shook his head sternly, knowing that his son had gone elsewhere and read a book in the library or on a park bench.

“No. I’ll be waiting here at the end of the day, so be sure to call me. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Peter answered helplessly and entered the building. The children who were seated first were chatting with each other. No one recognized him and greeted him. Peter sat down in a corner and took out the book he had brought and began to read.

Today was the day of class and discussion on Korean literature. It was uncomfortable to hang out with people, but the literature class itself wasn’t bad.

For his son who liked books, his father also ordered Korean novels and presented them to his son. The novel he was reading now was a gift his father gave him. But that was all. Peter liked the book, but couldn’t find more than that.

He turned the pages and prayed that time would pass quickly and the class would be over.

That was then.

The surroundings became quiet as if someone had poured cold water on them. As Peter lifted his head, a friendly voice came from overhead.

“Is the seat next to you taken?”

“… uh, … no.”

The boy sat down next to Peter. The girls in the auditorium murmured and looked at the boy. Peter knew what the meaning of that gaze was.

Admiration, and surprise.

It was today that Peter found out for the first time that Jenny’s prince was of Korean descent. And most of the people gathered here were like that.

The prince sat down calmly and waited for the start of class, not paying attention to his gaze. Until the teacher came in and told everyone to take their seats, all eyes in the auditorium were on the boy sitting next to Peter.

The class was conducted in Korean. Peter was concerned about Jenny’s prince sitting next to him, so he couldn’t even hear the teacher’s voice.

As if he felt a glance at him, the boy gave a gentle glance to Peter. Peter quickly turned his head. He felt guilty for making eye contact with her prince without Jenny’s permission.

“Who will read the poem we will learn today?”

The teacher’s eyes scanned the auditorium. Everyone could immediately notice where her gaze stopped.

“Okay. You said you were here for the first time today. Your name…”

“Phillips Levin.”

His name leaked out of someone’s mouth before the boy could answer.

Phillip Levin.

As a quarterback for WT Utson’s football team, he was so famous that everyone in the neighborhood knew his name.

“Philip. Okay. Would you like to come forward?”

Even though he wasn’t criticized, Peter couldn’t lift his head properly because his heart was pounding.

Phillip slowly got up from his seat and went out to the front of the auditorium.

Peter looked up slowly.

“Do you have a Korean name?”

“Yes.”

With a soft smile, the boy continued.

<I am Lee Wooyeon. Please take care of me.>

At that moment, for the first time, Peter realized that Korean was a word with such a respectful sound. And he couldn’t help but be surprised at Lee Wooyeon’s near-perfect Korean pronunciation.

<Can you read this poem to me?>

The teacher handed him the book. The boy stood with his elegant hands wrapped around the back of the book and began to read the poem down.

<Kim Namjo. For you.>

A deep silence filled the auditorium.

<My night prayers are long and repeat one thing.

Opening your eyes quietly is an unbelievable blessing.>

It was a beautiful poem. The words that came out of the boy’s mouth created poetry. Peter looked at the boy who read the soulful poetry.

<My dear, a bright soul who is thoroughly filled with only the freshly bloomed light.

A generous love that I could not attain even when I let down my hair and lie lonesomely.>

The sunlight pouring down from the high window of the auditorium hit the boy’s hair. Each time his soft voice broke into the light and touched the air, Peter took a deep breath.

The boy’s voice echoed softly in the auditorium.

The words of the boy which dispersed in the air and met again to create a delicate image whispered in his ear.

<For I will live for you, I shall give you anything precious.

I shall forget things I already gave you and remember only the love I haven’t given you. My dear.

In the distant sky where snow is falling, I behold you like I behold a halo of the moon..>

No one could take their eyes off the profile of the boy reading the poem with his eyes down. He caught everyone’s attention in the auditorium. Peter couldn’t take his eyes off him.

<Only for you, everything has a name and joy.

My dear.>

The boy raised his head.

The girls who were listening to the poem read all at once threw their gazes at him.

He handed the book back to the teacher. The teacher praised the boy’s perfect pronunciation and started explaining the meaning of the poem to the students.

The boy returned to his seat and sat down.

The schoolgirls sitting near him turned and glared at the boy. The boy leaned his chin as if concentrating on the class and listened to the teacher’s explanation.

He should have jotted down all of this in his notebook, but Peter couldn’t. All he did was read the same pages of the book over and over again. But not a single word entered him mind.

When he woke up, Peter noticed that he was writing the same words over and over in his notebook.

My dear. My dear… My dear.

It was the last verse of the poem the boy had read.

As soon as class was over, Peter tore up the paper from his notebook and threw it in the trash. It was Sunday afternoon when he first kept a secret from Jenny.