Having finished filming up to episode four, the team of *Your Radiant Twinkle* decided to take a short three-day break. They judged that since they had been filming with such high intensity, it was best to take a moment to recharge.
And so, it was a long-awaited rest.
Taeha was spending this break with an unexpected person. It was Seon Min-gi, who had returned after finishing his activities in the United States.
“Mmm. This is delicious. It’s a taste you just can’t find in America,” Seon Min-gi said as he took a large scoop of injeolmi bingsu topped with a generous portion of red beans.
Taeha was watching him with an incredulous expression.
Initially, Min-gi’s activities were only supposed to include an appearance in Director Dan Weber’s *Downtown*, but his stay had lasted longer than expected. This was because his casting had been confirmed for *Space Admiral*, a new hero film being ambitiously prepared by Miracle Studios while the filming of *Downtown* was in full swing.
For Seon Min-gi, *Space Admiral* was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. No matter how much people said Miracle Studios’ reputation wasn’t what it used to be, it was a typical trait for Koreans to be unable to resist a Miracle production.
After busy travels back and forth between Korea and the United States, Min-gi was finally able to return to Korea for good. There were no more movie filming schedules left in the States. While there might be additional filming depending on the CGI work and editing results for *Space Admiral*, for the time being, he was done with a life centered around America.
Having returned to Korea completely, the first person Min-gi sought out was, surprisingly, Taeha.
In truth, Min-gi and Taeha were in frequent contact. However, the two could rarely meet. Even when they did, it was only for a quick cup of coffee, which usually resulted in them just catching up on their respective lives. In fact, the last time they had a proper conversation like this was during the early stages of filming *Killer x Killer*. It was only natural, as Min-gi had barely been able to return to Korea once filming for *Space Admiral* began. After that, he was busy with promotional activities for *Downtown*.
Regardless, it was their first meeting in a long time. It was Min-gi who chose a famous bingsu shop located in Seochon as the meeting place.
Taeha, who had been dragged to a bingsu shop for a meeting between two grown men, looked at Min-gi with disbelief before speaking.
“If you were going to eat that much, you should have just ordered me a separate one…”
“Should I order one for you now?”
“Forget it.”
“Don’t be pouting.”
“I’m not pouting.”
“Good to hear, then.”
“Sir, please give us one more injeolmi bingsu here.”
“You were going to order it anyway, so why the attitude?”
“Brother, I’m not giving you any. Don’t even think about eating more after you finish that one.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not the type to get upset over something like that.”
“I told you, I’m not upset either.”
Taeha and Min-gi exchanged banter as if they had never been apart, despite it being a long time since their last meeting. When the new injeolmi bingsu arrived, Min-gi, who had already finished his first bowl, shamelessly picked up a spoon, only to be rebuked by Taeha.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to eat any.”
“Just one bite.”
“No.”
“I’m the older one here.”
“Yes. And because you’re the older one, you should show some restraint.”
At Taeha’s firm response, Min-gi smacked his lips and set his spoon down. Then, he looked at Taeha and spoke.
“Anyway, the reason I called you out here…”
“Yes. What is it? You called me out so solemnly that I thought you’d been drinking again.”
“Drinking? As you know, I don’t really enjoy alcohol.”
“Right, sure. You only drink wine gracefully—at least officially.”
“Lately, it’s been bourbon. Living in America, I found myself more interested in bourbon than wine.”
“I see. That’s impressive. So, why did you call me?”
“I called you to give you a chance to explain two counts of deception.”
“Deception? What deception?”
“You don’t know?”
“No, I have no idea.”
When Taeha asked with a bright, innocent face, a sigh escaped Min-gi’s lips. He then held up his index finger.
“First. You didn’t tell me that you were the writer of *Virus*.”
“Ah. Right. You did tell me back then to wait until you got back to Korea.”
“So you remember. Did you pretend not to know on purpose?”
“I wasn’t pretending. I really just forgot.”
“That’s even worse, but go ahead and make your excuse. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Does this really require an excuse? Honestly, it was so long ago I don’t quite remember, but back then, I just thought that.”
“Thought what?”
“I thought I should reveal that I was the writer of *Virus* only after it became successful.”
“Why though?”
“Even though I was just a rookie actor, I wanted *Virus* to succeed without the title of a drama written by an actor.”
“For someone who says that, you revealed it quite openly on *Great Saturday*.”
“That was because the media distorted Brother Yoon-sung’s story, so I had no choice. Anyway, those were my feelings, so almost no one else knew besides you. I didn’t even tell my family, so that says it all.”
The fact that even his family didn’t know seemed to mollify Min-gi, who had been scowling. He nodded his head.
“It’s true that sometimes it’s harder to tell those closest to you. Fine. I understand.”
“Yes. I appreciate your understanding. But I’m still not giving you any bingsu. Put the spoon down.”
Min-gi, who had slyly picked up the spoon, set it back down and moved on to his next question. Now, he held up two fingers—his index and middle fingers.
“Then, second. When did things become like that between you and Miss An Ji-yeon? You owe me a clear explanation for this part.”
Taeha didn’t understand what Min-gi was talking about at first. But soon, realizing the meaning, he frowned.
“Who said things were ‘like that’? I just appeared on a Nutube content hosted by Sister Ji-yeon to promote the movie *Killer x Killer*.”
“…Are you really not in a relationship?”
“No, I told you, meeting for the Nutube content was everything. In fact, I haven’t even run into her by chance since then. We just exchange messages occasionally.”
“Ahem. Then you should have said so. Why did you let me misunderstand?”
“You’re the one who misunderstood on your own, so why are you demanding an excuse from me?”
“Demanding? It looked that way, so I just thought that way.”
“Whatever. I have nothing more to say about that.”
“Fine. Then I’ll let this slide as well.”
Min-gi spoke as if he were being generous. Only then did a normal conversation become possible between the two.
“Anyway, you’ve really shaken up the Republic of Korea while I was gone.”
“I was lucky. Both *Virus* and *Killer x Killer* were successful back-to-back.”
“I enjoyed both. They were excellent. I already knew you were good at acting, but in *Killer x Killer*, it felt like your skills had grown even further. It almost made me regret leaving for Hollywood.”
“Goodness. For someone saying that, you just conquered the world with *Downtown*.”
It was true. Although it wasn’t nominated for the Baek-am Art Awards because it was a foreign film, *Downtown*, which was released this spring, also recorded huge success domestically. Like *Killer x Killer*, it drew ten million viewers to the theaters. It was especially meaningful because it was the first foreign film to record ten million viewers since the Pandemic.
If *Downtown* had been eligible for the Baek-am Art Awards, *Killer x Killer* might have faced stiff competition. In fact, the performance of *Downtown* released overseas via OTT platforms and other means far surpassed that of *Killer x Killer*. The fact that *Downtown* was nominated for an Academy Award while *Killer x Killer* unfortunately missed out was a testament to that.
However, Min-gi remained unfazed by Taeha’s words and replied nonchalantly.
“It was a Dan Weber film. I didn’t really do anything special.”
“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? Acting while learning English is no easy feat. Congratulations once again.”
“Thanks. Anyway, regardless of the movies we were each in, I was even more surprised by *Virus*. How were you able to write a work like that? Were you originally very interested in writing?”
Since it became known that Taeha was the writer of *Virus*, it was one of the questions he heard most often. At first, he found the question somewhat awkward. Since he couldn’t reveal the fact of his regression, he was at a loss for how to answer. But after hearing the same question so many times, excuses flowed smoothly from his mouth.
“Yes. I’ve been interested in drama writing for quite a long time. If I hadn’t coincidentally received a casting offer and debuted as an idol, and if I hadn’t met my current manager, Chan-hyeong, and dreamed of becoming an actor, I probably would have walked the path of a drama writer much sooner.”
Min-gi nodded as if Taeha’s words made sense.
“So you’ve been interested for quite a while. You certainly had a unique ability to analyze texts and translate them into acting since I first met you. I was just amazed that it was also related to your writing skills. Are you currently working on your next project as a writer?”
“Yes. It’s called *Your Radiant Twinkle*, and I’ve already finished the final draft of all sixteen episodes. We’re currently in the middle of filming.”
“To think of taking on the acting as well, you’re truly bold. So, when are you going to cast me in one of your works?”
The sudden talk of casting surprised Taeha. He hadn’t expected Seon Min-gi, who had successfully settled in Hollywood with *Downtown* and *Space Admiral*, to bring up such a topic. As a result, it felt quite different from when other actors asked to be cast in his works.
“A role that I’d want you to play might appear in my work someday, but… would I even be able to cast you? I don’t think I could afford you with a typical production budget.”
“Are you worrying about the production budget before you’ve even written the piece? Just try writing it first. If I like it, we can always adjust the appearance fee.”
“I’m grateful just for the offer.”
Taeha replied, touched by Min-gi’s sincerity. But Min-gi simply maintained a nonchalant expression as if he had said something obvious. Then, his spoon slyly moved toward Taeha’s bingsu once more.
Since Taeha was grateful for Min-gi’s words, he decided to allow him one bite. After taking a spoonful of injeolmi bingsu and looking briefly satisfied, Min-gi finished it and spoke.
“Good. Are you grateful? Then you can do me a favor, right?”
“Pardon? A favor?”
What came out of Seon Min-gi’s mouth next was something truly surprising.
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