chapter 25

Chapter 25. Variety Show Appearance

Relieved by Yeon-woo's sudden appearance, So-hyun and Writer Choi's faces brightened.

"Cosa intendi?" one of the men asked.

Ah, Italians. It just so happened he had practiced shooting an Italian pistol today.

Fluent Italian flowed from Yeon-woo's mouth. After the Middle East, Italy was the country where he had spent the most time during his NIS days.

"Gentlemen, these ladies are with me. I suggest you find another opportunity."

Unlike in dramas and novels, confrontations in tourist areas rarely escalated into physical altercations and could usually be resolved with a calm conversation. However, even if it had come to a fight, these men would have been no match for Yeon-woo.

Fortunately, the men, understanding Yeon-woo's polite but firm tone, held up their hands in surrender and backed away.

"Yeon-woo!" So-hyun and Writer Choi exclaimed in unison, relieved.

Yeon-woo smiled at them. Despite being a famous actress, Han So-hyun had a refreshingly down-to-earth personality.

While Hawaii was a relatively safe tourist destination, venturing out at night, especially without a manager, was risky.

"It's relatively safe near the hotel, but it's late. What are you two doing out here without your manager?"

So-hyun held up the bag she was carrying. "Hehe, we wanted to try some American snacks. But there are a lot of Japanese snacks here."

Due to its proximity and the influx of Japanese tourists, Hawaii had a large selection of Japanese products.

"Let me walk you back. Or do you want to take a walk along the beach?"

"Let's walk! Even though he's a minor, it's reassuring to have a man with us," Writer Choi said.

Yeon-woo smiled faintly. In his past life, he had often protected VIPs in war zones, where dodging bullets and bombs was a daily occurrence, people who were primary targets for terrorists.

Han So-hyun and Writer Choi had no idea they were currently receiving top-notch protection.

They walked along the beach, chatting about the earlier encounter.

"By the way, what language was that? How many languages do you speak?"

"Italian."

"Wow! You even speak Italian! That's amazing!"

"So, they were Italian. They were kind of cute, though," Writer Choi commented.

Yeon-woo chuckled nervously. 'Did I just ruin Writer Choi's chance at romance? Haha.' Choi Mi-hyun, in her early forties, was still single.

"But I was scared!"

"Me too, So-hyun. They were so big."

Then, Writer Choi added quietly, "But handsome."

Yeon-woo, pretending not to hear, stared out at the ocean, sweating slightly.

Meanwhile, back in Busan, Prosecutor Han Hae-woon was searching for a woman named 'Jung Hye-min.'

She wasn't in any databases, like those for criminals or civil servants, and it seemed she had never applied for a job.

"Jeon Su-hwan was a real person, so this woman must be real too."

Since he had shifted his focus from Jeon Su-hwan to other individuals, his superiors seemed to have lost interest in his investigation.

"The child in my memory seems to be Jung Hye-min's daughter, so should I try searching for her?" He figured it would be more efficient than searching blindly with just a name and a vague image.

He gradually narrowed down his search.

A month had passed since their return from their dream vacation in Hawaii.

Yeon-woo's school life had also changed. The chaotic scenes at the school gate every morning had subsided. The students seemed to have gotten used to their celebrity senior and no longer swarmed him.

Bzzt Bzzt

Yeon-woo's phone vibrated during lunch break.

"Hmm? It's Team Leader Jung." He was the manager who usually handled Yeon-woo's filming and casting schedules.

"Is it about the cameo? Hello?" He assumed it was about the cameo Director Kim Han-soo had mentioned.

–"Yeon-woo, it's been a while."

"Yes, Team Leader Jung, how have you been?" It had been almost three months since they last spoke, after the filming for "Summer's Closet" had wrapped up.

-"I'm always the same, haha. Anyway, I'm calling about a casting offer."

"Is it for Director Kim Han-soo's cameo?"

-"Hmm? Is there a cameo offer? I haven't heard anything about that. It's a variety show. JNBC."

Team Leader Jung explained that following the success of "Summer's Closet," JNBC had planned a healing variety show featuring the four leads, where they would live in a traditional house in a quiet rural village.

The agency had initially planned to decline due to scheduling conflicts, but the network had agreed to film only on weekends for four weeks, so they were contacting Yeon-woo to confirm his availability.

"If it's just weekends, I can do it. It won't interfere with school."

-"Alright, then I'll proceed with that. Thank you, Yeon-woo."

"My first variety show," Yeon-woo muttered after hanging up.

Sung-sik, who had overheard him, slung his arm around Yeon-woo's shoulder. "Yeon-woo, you're going to be on a variety show?"

"Yeah, a short healing variety show."

"Awesome! A variety show! Your fan cafe will go crazy!"

Yeon-woo stroked his chin, considering Sung-sik's words. "Hmm, I'm not a very entertaining person. I hope I can do a good job."

"Dude, for actors on variety shows, it's all about the visuals."

Yeon-woo nodded, thinking Sung-sik was probably right. The fans wouldn't expect him to be a comedian. It was a healing variety show, after all.

Ding Ding Ding!!!

"See you later. Let's walk home together."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break, and Sung-sik returned to his classroom.

Later that afternoon, as Yeon-woo was studying at home, his phone buzzed repeatedly. He assumed it was his class group chat, but it was a different one.

–"Summer's Closet" Cast Chat (4)

– Han So-hyun: Did everyone agree?

– Son Jin-wook: You mean the variety show? I'm in.

– Ahn Joon-ho: Me too.

– Han So-hyun: It's not just for publicity, but a variety show after the drama? It's a new experience.

– Ahn Joon-ho: It means our drama was a success, right? Woohoo!

– Son Jin-wook: Is Yeon-woo busy studying? Come out, Yeon-woo! #RyuYeonWoo

Yeon-woo smiled and typed a reply.

– Ryu Yeon-woo: I agreed too. I'm excited for my first variety show.

– Han So-hyun: Yay! Our complete team!

– Ahn Joon-ho: The first shoot is next weekend, right? Wow, that's fast.

– Son Jin-wook: It'll probably air right after the third week of filming, right? Variety shows are different from dramas.

They continued chatting, but Yeon-woo, determined to make up for the lost study time, focused on his books. While his new, younger brain was sharp, he still needed to put in the effort to adapt to the drastically changed curriculum.

The day of the first variety show shoot arrived.

Beep!

"Is this thing on?" Yeon-woo turned on the camcorder he had received from the broadcasting station and started filming himself.

"Hello, I'm Ryu Yeon-woo. Nice to meet you." He waved at the camera, his eyes still half-closed from sleep.

"It's the morning of the first shoot for 'Summer's Table.' I just woke up."

He opened his suitcase and started packing.

"Packing my bags." He felt awkward just filming himself, so he narrated his actions.

He finished packing, got dressed, grabbed the camcorder, and left his apartment.

"Should I have talked more? This is so boring," he muttered to himself in the elevator, looking at the camcorder.

Ding!

He arrived on the first floor and got into Min-soo's waiting car.

"Hello, Min-soo hyung. It's been a month."

"It has. How have you been? What's with the camera?" Min-soo smiled and pointed at the camcorder.

"Ah, do you want to say hello? You might appear on TV. It's my self-cam."

He pointed the camera at Min-soo, who froze, looking flustered.

"Ah, hello." He gave a stiff, robotic wave.

"I'll stop filming here and turn it on later."

Beep!

Before Yeon-woo could turn the camera back on, they arrived in Gunsan and met with the production team and Son Jin-wook.

"Jin-wook hyung!"

"Yeon-woo, you're here."

So-hyun and Joon-ho had taken a boat to the island earlier.

"Are we going to an island?" Jin-wook asked, looking at PD Lee Kyung-sik.

The filming had started abruptly, with only a brief explanation of the show's concept. While the other actors had attended pre-production meetings, this was Yeon-woo's first time meeting the production team, due to his school schedule.

"We're going to GaeYa Island. It's a quiet and beautiful fishing village with about 300 households."

"Are you providing food?" Yeon-woo asked.

The PD smiled. "Yeon-woo, what's the name of our show?"

"'Summer's Table,' right?"

The PD handed him a fish identification guide. "These are the fish species found around GaeYa Island. If you win games against the production team, you'll earn the chance to shop at the only supermarket on the island. But for the most part, you'll have to be self-sufficient."

Jin-wook, looking at the guide, made a face. "We've been tricked. Director, you said this was a healing variety show. We have to catch fish too? This is a killing variety show."

The production team laughed at his playful complaint.

"Yeon-woo, have you ever fished?" Jin-wook asked.

Yeon-woo recalled the time he had "fished" off the coast of Somalia while stationed on a warship during an anti-piracy operation. They had used dynamite and cannons, collecting the stunned fish that floated to the surface. He supposed that technically counted as fishing.

"Yes, I've done something similar."

A writer's hand moved busily off-camera, noting Yeon-woo's ambiguous answer for potential editing material.

"The boat's here. Let's go."

The production team and the two actors boarded the ferry to GaeYa Island.