Ju Taegang silently stared at the message he had received.
[Jeon Yeohu My Younger Brother: Sunbae-nim.]
He was sure Jeon Yeohu knew the ‘1’ had disappeared since he’d read the message, but there had been no reply yet.
Was he waiting for me to respond?
‘Jeon Yeohu?’
The Jeon Yeohu Ju Taegang knew wasn’t the type to act like that.
If he had something to say, he’d definitely say it—he wouldn’t just send a single ‘sunbae-nim’ and then nervously wait for a reply.
But Ju Taegang himself wasn’t patient enough to wait out the process, and in the end, he lasted less than five minutes before sending a reply.
[Yeohu. What’s going on this early in the morning?]
As soon as Ju Taegang sent his reply, the ‘1’ disappeared.
That meant Jeon Yeohu was still in the chat, not leaving, probably thinking about something.
But since the filming for had already ended and there were no more related schedules, Jeon Yeohu had never once reached out to him first.
It was always Ju Taegang who made the first move.
Barely a minute passed before a reply came flying back.
[Jeon Yeohu My Younger Brother: Please send a coffee truck.]
A coffee truck?
Me?
Out of nowhere?
“Is this guy really insane…?”
*****
Two weeks later, a coffee truck arrived at the filming site for .
Two coffee trucks had arrived at the same time for me—a rookie actor who didn’t even have a single fan club yet.
[Did our Yeohu want a coffee truck that badly~? Hyung’s buying, then. – Actor Ju Taegang –]
[There’s a junior here blackmailing me for a coffee truck? – Actor Ju Taegang –]
I didn’t like the comments, but the fact that Ju Taegang sent me a coffee truck was meaningful enough.
Seon Ji-yoon, holding a warm Americano from the truck, tapped me lightly on the forearm and smiled.
“Our Yeohu~ did you want a coffee truck so badly that you even threatened your sunbae?”
How many coffee trucks did I get in my previous life? Why would I be envious of one now?
“Then you send me a coffee truck too, sunbae.”
“We’re at the same filming site right now, isn’t it weird for me to send you one? I’ll send you one next time you shoot another project. But you seem pretty close with Sunbae Ju Taegang, huh? Unexpected.”
After downing her Americano in one go, Seon Ji-yoon shrugged her shoulders.
It was the first time she’d ever commented on my relationship with another actor, so I looked away from the coffee truck and asked her.
“Why’s it unexpected?”
“Sunbae Ju Taegang’s strangely hard to get close to. I’ve gone head-to-head with him at drinking parties a few times. Still, you’re close enough for him to send you a coffee truck. Ah, I’m jealous! I should try to get closer if we work together next time.”
“If you’re competing at drinking parties, that means you’re already close… well, maybe not if you nitpick.”
At drama wrap-up parties, you barely even know who came or went half the time.
“Is there some secret to getting close with Sunbae Ju Taegang?”
“Wanna know?”
“Yes!”
Seon Ji-yoon’s eyes sparkled.
“You just have to be handsome, kind, considerate, and good at acting.”
“Isn’t that everything but acting and looks the opposite of you?”
“Sunbae just doesn’t know my real self. Anyway, since you’re here, take a photo for me. I need a proof shot, but our manager’s terrible at taking pictures.”
“That’s my specialty.”
I stood in front of the coffee truck and pointed at the sign with Ju Taegang sunbae’s name on it.
The proof shot Seon Ji-yoon took made my legs look so long, you’d think I was some kind of eight-foot ghost.
I sent the photo to sunbae right away, and he replied instantly with a thumbs up emoji, clearly satisfied.
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: By the way, why did you suddenly ask for a coffee truck? You’re my junior, so I sent one, but still.]
[I wanted to get it from you, sunbae. I also want to attend the press conference. Is that possible?]
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: Seriously, what’s with you? Don’t you have filming that day?]
[I got permission from the director.]
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: I’ll mention it, but we’ve already made some plans, so it might not work.]
[That’s fine. I’ll leave it to you. I’m posting the coffee truck proof shot on SNS.]
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: Do as you like, but are you really Jeon Yeohu? Why are you so proactive all of a sudden?]
[Did you just notice? Actually, I’m not Jeon Yeohu.]
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: What? Really?? Who are you???]
[Do you think I’m serious?]
[Ju Taegang Sunbae: ;; What a crazy punk]
Since then, I exchanged twice as many messages with Ju Taegang as usual.
Anyone could tell we had the kind of banter you’d expect from close sunbae-hoobae.
After the coffee truck incident, the staff on set seemed to think Ju Taegang and I were quite friendly, and they started asking me about him from time to time.
“How is Actor Ju Taegang on set? I’ve never had the chance to do his makeup.”
“I never really heard about anyone close to Actor Ju Taegang, but he seems like a genuinely warm person. He even sent two coffee trucks and keeps looking out for you.”
Without Ju Taegang knowing, all sorts of good stories about him were spreading around the set of .
Meanwhile, I slowly built up connections elsewhere, too.
*****
Every now and then, entertainment journalists show up at outdoor drama shoots.
Not every time, of course, but for a big drama like , there were things to write about.
Even before regression, I knew a reporter who frequently showed up at these locations.
They’d appeared a few times when was filming outdoors, so I thought there was a good chance they’d show up today, too.
“Ah, there you are! Jeon Yeohu!”
While I’d slipped away to look for a reporter during a break in filming, a staff member in a gray hoodie came running toward me, waving.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to let you know the coffee truck arrived.”
“Coffee truck? Another one?”
Did Ju Taegang send another one?
“Jeon Yeohu, do you know singer Park Iwon by any chance?”
“Park Iwon…? You’re saying Park Iwon sent a coffee truck?”
As soon as I heard the staff member, I headed straight to where the coffee truck was.
Standing in front of the bright pink coffee truck, still wearing a blood-soaked suit, felt surreal.
Even stranger was the sign on the coffee truck with the name ‘Park Iwon.’
‘Things felt off ever since that SNS comment.’
I remembered the comment Park Iwon had left on my SNS the day I posted the proof shot from Ju Taegang’s coffee truck.
+
(Photo)
[Recently, my most treasured sunbae, Ju Taegang, sent me a coffee truck. Working hard on filming something~ What could it be? Look forward to it. The selfies after the first photo are unrelated to the shoot.]
+
– Enough food for a week… Please post more photos
– I love you
– Wow, this actor seems close with Ju Taegang too. Good-looking people hanging out together, so happy
– @won_park_official I want to send a coffee truck too
└ ????? Oppa, why are you here ??????
└ This is wild. Isn’t this the first time he commented from his official account?
└ Oppa…?
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ @daso***** Hey, your oppa is here
+
An article had come out about Ju Taegang sending the coffee truck, and even Park Iwon’s comment made it into the news, but I deliberately didn’t respond to it.
Even so, I never expected him to actually send a coffee truck with the message, [Supporting Actor Jeon Yeohu – From singer Park Iwon –].
“Hyung.”
“Haje Ban, there you are?”
“They say this coffee truck’s latte is really good.”
Haje Ban said this as he held a steaming hot latte.
“But I’m surprised. When did you get close with Park Iwon?”
“I have no idea, either.”
At any rate, if I didn’t take a proof shot with the coffee truck Park Iwon sent, that could stir up trouble too, so I dutifully took a photo again.
As soon as he got the proof shot, Park Iwon messaged me with dozens of emojis, apologizing for secretly sending the coffee truck, and I simply replied with a short ‘It’s fine, thank you.’
After Haje Ban left for filming and the crowds in front of the coffee truck had cleared, I loitered nearby.
I already knew exactly what outfit and camera that guy wore when sneaking around for scoops.
‘That’s him.’
Wearing clothes similar to the on-set staff and smearing prop blood on his outfit, he blended in, but the small camera in his hand wasn’t for behind-the-scenes footage or drama shooting.
“Excuse me.”
“……”
“Reporter.”
The moment he heard ‘reporter,’ the man’s pace quickened.
‘It’s 20XX now… so he probably hasn’t gained much recognition as a reporter yet.’
He was better off not being recognized.
In order to become a well-known entertainment reporter, this guy specialized in sneaking onto sets without permission, leaking unverified rumors as fact.
“Please stop, Reporter Hyunsaengsa.”
Once I called his name, he slowed down. Having his name exposed, he probably figured there was no point in running.
“Surprised that I know your name, huh?”
Hyunsaengsa stood frozen, wearing a red and green checkered shirt with jeans.
Both hands gripping his camera were shaking.
I sauntered over and bent down to meet his bowed head.
“Reporter, did you have permission to be here?”
The main cast of had already been made public.
He’d sneaked all the way onto set, so there was no way Hyunsaengsa didn’t know my face.
“Jeon Yeohu, haha, yeah. I did get permission…”
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
He must have thought he could brush it off with a half-baked excuse since I was a rookie. Problem was, I wasn’t a rookie.
“That’s strange. Our director is strict about embargoes, there’s no way he’d grant permission for you to be here.”
I addressed him respectfully as I eyed the small bulge in his jeans pocket.
He still carried that around, huh.
“Would you mind taking the recorder out of your pocket first?”
“Huh? Recorder?”
“It’s a bit much to sneak onto set with a recorder… Might as well turn off the recording on your phone, too.”
Hyunsaengsa obediently stopped the phone recording and took another recorder from his pocket.
He handed it to me when I held out my hand.
“I turned it off.”
“Thank you.”
At this stage, he still hadn’t broken any major exclusives and didn’t have a reputation in the industry, so he seemed a lot less cocky than I remembered.
– Hey, at least I don’t expose stuff about you, Actor Jeon Yeohu.
– I have some, too?
– Doesn’t everyone make mistakes once in their life?
– Amazing. Well, as long as you keep my stuff out of it, I won’t interfere. Do as you please.
Before regression, I thought of Hyunsaengsa as a necessary evil—no matter what kind of trash he was, as long as he didn’t hurt me, it was fine.
As long as it wasn’t about me, whatever.
‘He and I were the same kind of trash.’
Frowning at the memories of my previous life, I ran a hand through my hair.
Hyunsaengsa, terrified and tense, didn’t even think of running away. He just stood there trembling.
“Hyunsaengsa, do you have any big scoops you’re working on?”
“Huh? Well, no, not really…”
As expected of Hyunsaengsa.
Even now, hearing the word ‘scoop’ made him lift his head a little.
“I heard a rumor somewhere.”
Grinning, I switched his recorder back on, now in my hand.
“There’s supposed to be a big scoop about Sunbae Ju Taegang, isn’t there?”