“Wow….”
Befitting a resort, the entire guest room exuded warm colors. The pale yellow lighting that gave a warm and comfortable feeling created an exquisite harmony with the sunlight coming in from beyond the terrace.
Beyond the wide-open terrace, an endless horizon unfolded. The water surface embracing the blue sky shimmered. Yachts with white anchors floated leisurely on the water like a painting. Seungun forgot about unpacking and went out to the terrace.
Plump cumulus clouds. Foam rolling in while creating bubbles. Foreigners of various nationalities walking on the sandy beach. This place, where reality couldn’t be felt at all, felt like a completely different world.
“Huh?”
That’s when it happened. He saw Gi Siyoung and Lee Myeongwoo walking outside. Thanks to the low floor height, he could see where they were heading. They were passing under a tall palm tree and entering the resort annex. They said the breakfast buffet as well as various restaurants and bars were all in the annex.
“Ah, I need to hurry and unpack.”
Seungun hurriedly went back to his luggage. As Myeongwoo said, the suite had two rooms. With the large living room at the center, on the left was the master room, and on the immediate right was one small second room. Seungun carefully placed Gi Siyoung’s trunk inside the large room’s closet.
The master room was also connected to the living room terrace. There, a bed with a soft topper and cushions were prepared so one could fully enjoy Bali’s sun, and on one side of the table, carbonated water and fresh fruit welcoming their stay were lined up harmoniously.
Seungun took his remaining luggage to the second room. That room was better than Seungun’s house. Nowhere in this guest room was a space too precious to just sleep in and leave. The second room didn’t have a door leading to the terrace attached to the living room or master room, but even through the square window on the wall, the dazzlingly blue sea spread out. It wasn’t disappointing at all.
Fresh flowers were placed in stylish vases throughout the guest room, and perhaps because of that, the room was filled not with artificial fragrance but with the fragrant grass scent of passing through vast plains where flower buds had just bloomed. Black ocean-themed pictures in white frames hung here and there in the living room, so the eyes weren’t bored even without turning on the television.
Seungun, who entered the bathroom to wash his hands, almost fainted this time too. Because the vast ocean was visible from the bathroom as well. The pure white bathtub was placed close to the large window, structured so one could enjoy the ocean while bathing.
Seungun approached the window just in case and lowered all the fabric blinds. He moved carefully in the luxurious bathroom made of marble from floor to ceiling, worried he might drop and break something.
He returned to the room to unpack when he heard signs of people outside. The two, having finished a short meeting with the photographer, were coming in early. Seungun, who had changed into comfortable clothes, went out to see them.
Unlike Seungun when he first entered the guest room, the two didn’t even glance at the spectacular view unfolding in the guest room and had various conversations about the meeting content. They were probably used to this environment.
“You’re back already. By the way, the ocean is right outside.”
“Oh, right. Let’s rest a bit first and meet in the lobby in an hour. Seungun-ah. You take good care of Siyoung.”
“Yes.”
Myeongwoo, who finished his bland answer, left the guest room.
Gi Siyoung collapsed onto the long sofa. He closed his eyes tightly, sprawled out like wild grass.
“Are you going to sleep?”
“Wake me later.”
Gi Siyoung muttered. Though he’d slept throughout the flight, he seemed still hungry for sleep. Seungun returned to his room and finished unpacking. Since the schedule was shorter than expected, he hadn’t brought much. When he came back out to the living room, Gi Siyoung had fallen into a deep sleep.
Seungun waved his palm left and right in front of his closed eyes. There was no reaction. He took out his phone from his pocket and took pictures of him sleeping, click click. He zoomed in on just the face as much as possible so that if the background or clothes showed, one could tell who took it.
Even if President Gu might hit him upside the head saying this was all he’d bring back, he could at least present it as evidence that he’d tried.
The season’s greetings shoot would start in earnest tomorrow. The <Affair> filming schedule had been adjusted in advance, so it would resume in a few days, and including travel dates, there was only 2 or 3 days to leisurely enjoy Bali.
He woke Gi Siyoung and went down to the lobby. After the meal, since the photographer said it was just simple concept shooting so they could dress comfortably, Gi Siyoung left the room in really simple attire. Just a white short-sleeved t-shirt without even a common brand logo, jeans, and pitch-black sunglasses.
Yet when he crossed the hotel lobby like that, all the lights in the lobby brightened the surroundings as if they existed for him.
“Team Leader Myeongwoo, when is our free time?”
“Since full-scale shooting is from tomorrow, let’s gradually adjust. Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Yes, there’s a really famous photo spot nearby. And tons of great restaurants too.”
“Oh, share with me too. Don’t leave out an old man.”
“Ahaha, Team Leader, even your jokes—”
As they headed to the entrance to move by the local coordinator’s car, from somewhere, someone ran over shouting energetically, “Sunbae-nim! Sunbae-nim!”
At the Korean language heard in a foreign country, they all looked that way at once. The closer the distance became, the more they could tell that this person running over was also no ordinary figure.
“Huh?”
“Whoa, I know that guy. That’s Patrick, right?”
The staff murmured. Patrick, who’d run over like a bullet, stood before Gi Siyoung and bowed 90 degrees.
“Hello! I’m Patrick! Nice to meet you for the first time. Sunbae-nim!”
And he greeted energetically.
“Whoa? It’s really Patrick!”
“Amazing! Did he come for a shoot?”
Patrick was one of the members of a successful five-member idol group and was currently slowly establishing his position as a solo artist, having recently released his second solo album. Having debuted at nineteen and currently twenty-three, Patrick, now in his fifth year, had reached the top as an idol group and was showing potential as a solo artist beyond expectations.
Patrick couldn’t hide his excited expression while looking at Gi Siyoung. Like his own fans who, chased by time limits at fan signing events, hurriedly spat out their prepared words then moved to the side, he rattled off what he wanted to say very quickly upon seeing Gi Siyoung.
“Ever since I was young, after watching dramas that Gi Siyoung sunbae-nim appeared in, I first said I wanted to become a celebrity. But running hard, a day like this eventually came! I really wanted to meet you once, and it’s truly an honor! I think the real thing can’t be captured on screen. When I was a rookie, I performed a congratulatory stage at an awards ceremony that sunbae-nim attended—do you perhaps remember? Ah, it’s okay if you don’t remember. I was just a rookie then.”
Gi Siyoung slowly took off his sunglasses and said.
“I remember. Wasn’t the song title <Thunder>?”
“Gasp! You remember! That’s right. It was our debut album.”
“If you’re my fan, you should become an actor—why did you become an idol?”
“Well…. Actually, I still have a desire to act. But somehow the agency told me to debut as an idol first. Haha. But I’m still practicing acting here and there now, so I’m hoping to someday see sunbae-nim in a good production.”
“I see. Let’s definitely work together next time.”
Gi Siyoung held out his hand while speaking dryly. Then Patrick, surprised where he stood, bowed and politely clasped hands. His face as he straightened his upper body was completely flushed. Patrick, who said Gi Siyoung was his idol, was so nervous he even sweated profusely down his sideburns.
“Thank you! Since you said that, I’ll really remember it!”
“Then let’s see each other again next time.”
Gi Siyoung placed his sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose and moved his steps. Patrick just stood still and blankly watched Gi Siyoung moving away. Taking that opportunity, company employees gathered around Patrick and requested autographs.
“Oh, of course. Since you’re sunbae-nim’s colleagues, I should naturally sign…. Huh? Where did my pen go?”
Patrick rummaged through his pockets. Seungun took out a ballpoint pen from his bag.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Patrick naturally took the ballpoint pen someone else gave him and began signing for the company employees in turn. Perhaps because he was an idol, his service was definitely exceptional. His characteristic bright smile gently melted people’s hearts. The employees working at the actor-specialized agency were entranced, completely intoxicated by the idol’s fan service.
“Patrick, let’s go!”
Patrick’s manager called him from far away. Patrick looked around holding the ballpoint pen. It was to find the owner.
“Just keep it.”
“What?”
“Keep it.”
Seungun bowed as he passed by Patrick’s side.
“Huh? But still….”
However, Seungun had already left. Patrick watched Siyoung’s group moving away, then checked the pen cap. A sticky note was attached to the very top of the pen, and a name was written inside it.
***
From the next day, the season’s greetings shoot began in earnest. The morning shoot that started at dawn on a low mountainside of Bali at daybreak ended early because everyone was cooperative, and now the afternoon shoot proceeding indoors was in full swing.
Gi Siyoung, dressed in loose, cool material long pants and a white tank top, leaned against the terrace railing and struck a pose while looking at the camera. Though the hot sunlight beat down with momentum to cook his back, the slightly shaded spot where he stood created a completely different atmosphere.
The photographs of Gi Siyoung in comfortable attire, naturally posing without being conscious of the camera lens, were recorded exactly on the large work monitor each time the photographer pressed the shutter.
“Turn your gaze slightly to the left, that’s good now, scan the floor once. That’s good now. Eyes downcast, gaze again just a little…. Cut! Let’s try sample B too. I think it’ll match well with the background?”
“I’ll prepare outfit B!”
Staff began moving busily to change his clothes. They brought clothes that had been hanging on a rack to one side and smoothed out wrinkles with a steam iron. Numerous people rushed in to dress one person in perfect appearance.
Gi Siyoung, who changed into outfit B, now sat cross-legged on a carpet. He had to create a calm, meditative atmosphere. The photographer tenaciously captured Gi Siyoung’s appearance from an observer’s perspective.
Sculpture-like facial lines. Even a single one of his eyelashes felt as if it held some story.
What about the muscles visible outside the tank top? The body brimming with vitality was enviably maddening even for a fellow man to see, and he felt exhilaration whenever he added to his portfolio that body he could never have even after a lifetime of effort.
“Cut! Okay!”
“Good work!”
“Good work!”
A staff member held out a handkerchief to Siyoung. Because they’d sprayed mist countless times throughout the shoot for a moist skin expression, Siyoung’s face was full of moisture. He wiped his face with the handkerchief and stood up.
Leaving behind the fantastic weather, they’d only worked like crazy until just before sunset. It was now early enough to eat an early dinner.
“Good work. I was watching, and I think this season’s greetings photos will turn out amazingly too!”
Gi Siyoung drank the bottled water Myeongwoo offered while rolling his eyes left and right. Because the person who would normally be bustling around diligently was nowhere to be seen, not even a shadow.
“Where’s Im Seungun?”
“Seungun?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, Seungun.”
Myeongwoo spoke casually as if only now remembering Seungun’s existence.
“He said he was sick, so I sent him back to the lodging early.”
“Sick?”
The person who had been fine until just earlier couldn’t be sick. Was he faking illness now that he’d gotten somewhat used to manager work? Because he reacted keenly, the accessory fell from the stylist’s hand as they were removing the ear cuff. Gi Siyoung snatched the ear cuff with quick reflexes and handed it to the stylist.
“Right, ha. Where else would you find a kid who moves as perceptively next to you as Seungun? He was working like iron, but he had to get sick coming all the way here. We planned to go around to lots of fun places.”
“Where did he say he was sick?”
Gi Siyoung asked casually.
