Today, we all agreed to gather at the agency where Youngjae belongs to film promotional content for Today’s Fruit Shop.
It was a casual shoot where everyone brought some food, ate together, chatted, and promoted the drama.
“Hyunjae.”
“Hyung!”
The moment I stepped out of the car, I ran into Jewook.
“How have you been?”
“Yeah.”
While we exchanged a light hug and greetings, Jibin also opened his car door and popped out with a greeting.
“Jewook-hyuuuuung~! Oh!”
He hurriedly got out of the car and dashed straight toward me.
“Dude! You’re insane! How did you even think of getting rid of that stalker like that?”
“I couldn’t just keep waiting for her to leave on her own.”
“Respect. You’re one smart bastard. You planned it with Taewoon-hyung, right?”
“Of course.”
“You… you’re really something.”
I didn’t bother denying Jibin’s praise.
Even I thought getting rid of the stalker that quickly was a pretty good move.
“But how did we end up getting invited here? Not just anyone gets to appear on this, you know.”
Jewook looked genuinely curious about today’s shoot.
“Huh? This isn’t a place just anyone can appear on?”
It wasn’t even a TV show; it was just a YouTube broadcast, right?
I thought it was simply eating delicious food and having light conversation.
“You didn’t know? Almost everyone who appears here either starred in this show’s variety programs before or has personal connections with the PD.”
“I did think it was a bit weird, to be honest. Besides Taewoon-hyung, none of us are really at the level to appear here.”
The moment he mentioned “connections with the PD,” a suspicion popped into my head.
Could it be because of me?
If they accepted us onto this famously hard-to-get-on program because of me, I felt like I should at least say thank you separately.
“It’s probably got something to do with Taewoon. Or maybe our production company has good pull.”
“Maybe? I’ll ask Taewoon-hyung when he gets here. Hyung, what did you bring?”
The staff had asked each of us to bring food to share during the shoot.
“I brought some simple fruit. You?”
“Cake! The cake here is seriously no joke.”
“And you?”
“I…”
“Oh, it’s Taewoon.”
Right on cue, Taewoon’s car pulled into the parking lot, and he stepped out carrying shopping bags in both hands.
“Waa~ look at this hyung’s scale.”
“What’d you buy?”
Jibin and Jewook were dying of curiosity about Taewoon’s menu.
“Secret. But isn’t it a bit much to ask about the menu before even saying hello?”
“It’s your news anyway. The moment I go online, it’s all over the place; your new album is coming out soon, right?”
At the mention of his album preparations, Taewoon’s previously sulky face instantly brightened.
So simple.
At times like this, even though he was older than me, Taewoon felt adorably childish.
“Hyunjae, here.”
“Thanks.”
Hayoon, who had ridden with me, handed over the food I had prepared.
“What about you?”
He’d just complained that everyone was only interested in food, yet now Taewoon was staring at my dish with huge expectations.
“I packed it from home.”
“From home? For real?”
“Waa~ look at the effort.”
“We’re running out of time, so Taewoon-hyung and I will head up first.”
Our scheduled time was almost here, so we had to go up.
“We’ll grab our stuff and follow right away.”
“It’s my first time on a major variety show like this, so I’m a bit nervous; if I say anything weird, give me a signal.”
“Got it.”
“Then we’ll head up first.”
Taewoon and I took the elevator upstairs together.
“The production company is really pushing the promotion hard.”
“Hm?”
“I didn’t book this program through my side.”
So it really is because of me?
The more time passed, the more certain I became.
But I couldn’t say anything; my appearance on that program hadn’t been revealed yet, and I wasn’t even an official cast member, so mentioning connections felt awkward.
“Let’s promote the heck out of it today.”
“Of course we have to do well.”
I’d thought the drama was good from the very first script reading, but apparently the finished product turned out even better, and I’d heard the production company was betting everything on promotion because they saw real potential.
“I told you at the script reading, didn’t I? That this project is precious.”
Among the four of us, the one who was probably the most impatient and desperate was me.
“Ah! Speaking of which, I’ve been curious; you’ve barely debuted, so why are you in such a rush?”
He looked at me with genuine curiosity.
“It doesn’t seem like you come from a poor family and need money fast, and it doesn’t look like your parents are sick and you need to succeed quickly… so why?”
“Um…”
The moment I opened my mouth, the elevator doors opened, revealing the floor where I’d had my meeting before.
“Let’s go in.”
“What the~ you can’t just stop mid-sentence like that…”
“Oh! Taewoon-ssi!”
Taewoon, who had been about to whine about why I wouldn’t tell him the reason, instantly switched to his celebrity smile the moment Youngjae appeared.
“Hello, I’m Taewoon.”
He flashed a huge grin, folded one arm politely, and bowed at the waist.
“Hello~ First time meeting, right?”
“Yes! I’ve always wanted to appear on a program with PD-nim, so thank you so much for inviting me.”
“No, no; the honor is all mine. Haha.”
After greeting Taewoon, Youngjae looked at me, smiled, and lightly tapped my waist.
“Hyunjae”
“Been well?”
Seeing me casually greeting Youngjae, Taewoon’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Then he spoke with his eyes.
What the heck? You two know each other?
I just smiled at the wide-eyed Taewoon.
“But you could’ve come lightly; why did you bring so much?”
“Ah, I brought these for everyone to eat together…”
When Youngjae spoke to him, Taewoon quickly hid his shock and started taking out what he brought.
“What is it?”
“Jang-ajji.” (pickled soy sauce seafood)
They had clearly said to keep it simple, yet this was anything but simple.
“Huh?”
“This place is a real hidden gem, so I brought it for everyone.”
“Potluck parties aren’t originally supposed to be like this… What did you bring?”
“I figured everyone would bring delicious stuff, so I brought yukhoe (beef tartare).”
That’s what I brought; yukhoe.
“Yukhoe?”
“I was originally going to bring mungtigi from the butcher near home, but I came straight from filming, so I substituted with yukhoe.”
“Don’t tell me… that grandma downstairs…”
“Yes, I was going to ask the butcher ajusshi, but my schedule got messed up.”
“Aww~ I really wanted to eat that again; what a shame.”
Youngjae looked genuinely disappointed, clearly remembering the taste from back then.
“By the way, how do you two know PD-nim?”
“You didn’t tell him?”
“I didn’t say anything?”
There hadn’t been any articles about me yet, so I figured I shouldn’t talk about it and kept quiet.
“You’ve got a really tight mouth, huh?”
“PD-nim never mentioned it, so I thought I shouldn’t say anything…”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Hyunjae is currently filming Countryside Three Meals with me.”
“Huh?”
Taewoon’s already sharp eyes grew at least twice as big.
Is that really such a big deal?
“Waaa…”
“Hello~”
“Hi!”
Right behind the speechless Taewoon, Jewook and Jibin entered with greetings.
“Come on in!”
“Thank you so much for inviting us.”
“No~ we’re the ones who should be thankful. Hurry and sit.”
Jibin glanced sideways at the weird-acting Taewoon but pretended not to notice because of the cameras.
Taewoon quickly regained his composure and glared at me.
You didn’t tell me this huge news?
I wasn’t trying to hide it; I’m literally nothing there, okay?
Honestly, I wasn’t even an official member; I was just someone who dropped by occasionally to help, so there was nothing to tell.
We sat around a long table that seated eight; the four of us, Youngjae, and someone introduced as the writer.
“Continuing from earlier, it looks like Jewook-ssi and Jibin-ssi are also meeting me for the first time.”
“Yes, I’ve only ever seen PD-nim on TV, so it really feels like meeting a celebrity.”
Jibin especially couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Hahaha, Jibin-ssi…”
“I actually met you briefly at an award ceremony when I was a child actor.”
“Really?”
“I think this is the first time since then.”
“Wow~ how many years ago was that?”
“Almost twenty years, I think.”
We started filming while having light small talk.
We ate the delicious food everyone brought and gradually talked about each person.
He’s clearly done this hundreds of times.
Youngjae skillfully led the conversation and kept the questions flowing.
“Now, to get to the main point; the four of you filmed a drama together, right?”
“Yes! We shot a drama called Today’s Fruit Shop.”
“There’s a novel with that title too, isn’t there?”
“That’s right. It’s a drama adaptation of the novel.”
“Huh? Really? I read that novel and loved it.”
Of course he already knew everything, but Youngjae naturally acted like he didn’t and brought it up, and we all played along smoothly.
“So the four of you play friends the same age?”
“Yes, though I feel a little guilty about my age…”
“Jewook-ssi has such a baby face, though~”
“Then who plays Oh Neul in the drama…?”
“I’m Oh Neul.”
“Ah! So Taewoon-ssi is Oh Neul. Then you are?”
“I’m…”
We passionately promoted the drama; that was the whole reason we were here, and Youngjae nodded along attentively.
“So when does it air?”
“The premiere is September 18th. From today’s date… exactly two weeks from now.”
“Huh? Only two weeks left until our broadcast too?”
It felt like just a few days ago there was still a whole month left; how did time pass so quickly?
“You didn’t know?”
“Wow~ aren’t you a little too uninterested?”
“Uninterested? I’ve just lost all sense of dates because of filming.”
“You can watch it on OTT, so please tune in~”
“I’ll definitely watch. With the chemistry between the four of you, it’s bound to be fun.”
We perfectly wrapped up the drama introduction, and recording ended.
“Good work, everyone.”
“Please invite us again next time!”
“When will this air?”
“It’ll be released to match the premiere date.”
“I see.”
“You must already be exhausted from filming; adding promotions on top must be even busier.”
“It’s fine, haha.”
I smiled and told Youngjae it was okay, but starting the very next day, a flood of promotional schedules poured in.
And the absolute highlight among them was this.
[Today’s Fruit Shop four leads all present! One-day café open]
[Premiering September 18, Today’s Fruit Shop becomes Today’s Café for a day]
It was a one-day pop-up café, timed perfectly with the premiere date.
“If you forget anything, everything’s written here, so don’t worry; just stay calm and make it!”
“Yes!”
“Taewoon-ssi and Hyunjae will handle coffee, Jewook-ssi and Jibin-ssi will do ade first, then we’ll switch midway.”
“Boss, could you show me once more how to pull an espresso?”
“Sure, I’ll show you slowly.”
We woke up at dawn, finished preparations early, came to the café, and learned how to make drinks.
“Ah~ I think I get it now.”
“Wow… people are already gathering this much.”
At Jibin’s voice, I looked up and glanced outside the window; a huge crowd had already formed in front of the café.
“Didn’t our article only go up this morning?”
“This is insane.”
“When did they all get here?”
It was fascinating to see so many people flock like clouds just to see us.
“If we’re ready, the fans are waiting outside; shall we open?”
“Shall we?”
“Sounds good.”
“Then we’re opening!”
It wasn’t Today’s Fruit Shop anymore; it was Today’s Café that opened.
The moment the doors opened, customers rushed in with a whoosh, and at the same time, everyone shouted.
“Hello! We are Today’s Fruit Shop.”