Chapter 49

49. Samdeok District

"Hello! Bro!"

Seunghyun bowed to Jinyoung, who had come to his house.

"Hello!"

Although his face was covered with a hat and a mask, his stunning good looks could be felt just by looking at his exposed eyes.

"Let's go! To Mini Mini Deokgu!"

Seunghyun followed Jinyoung, pulling his bicycle.

"Bro, it's quite far to go to Siwoo's house by bicycle from here..."

"What are you talking about? Are you going to collapse on the way? Of course, we should go by car."

"Huh? You clearly said we would go by bicycle... and you told me to bring my bicycle."

"We'll go by car to a nearby place, and then we'll ride our bicycles from there."

"Oh~"

"You're the first person I've met who's more clueless than me. You're not like other people."

"Th, thank you."

Jinyoung loaded Seunghyun's bicycle onto his SUV.

Inside, Jinyoung's bicycle was also loaded.

And—

"Hey? Is this Siwoo's bicycle?"

It was a sleek black tricycle that looked quite expensive.

"Yep. Ah~ I don't have time to decorate it. I brought the tools, though. I'll try to paint it in bright colors to make it look like a kid's bicycle."

"......Okay."

'Just... give it to him as it is...'

The two got into the car and headed to Siwoo's house.

After about 40 minutes of driving, Jinyoung parked the car in a nearby parking lot, following the navigation.

"Okay, let's go by bicycle from here!"

"Okay!"

Seunghyun took his bicycle out of the car.

It was originally a very pretty white bicycle, but Jinyoung had drawn pink lines all over it with a sense of aesthetics that Seunghyun couldn't understand... Recently, Seunghyun had been called "Prince riding a pink zebra" by his school friends.

The words 'Deokgu's' written on the bicycle frame were a minor issue.

Jinyoung also took out his bicycle.

"Cool, right? Mine is a racing one. It's quite expensive."

Seeing Jinyoung's hot pink bicycle, Seunghyun was relieved that his brother hadn't drawn pink stripes to tease him.

"Let's go! Follow me carefully and slowly!"

"Okay! Bro!"

The two actors, wearing helmets, started pedaling their bicycles, looking like a scene from a movie.

20 minutes later.

The two bicycles entered a park near the Universe Apartments.

Squeak!

With an unnecessary spin, one of the bicycles stopped dramatically, as if it were a motorcycle.

Jinyoung took off his helmet, ran his hand through his hair, and looked around the park.

Seunghyun, who had also stopped his bicycle, looked for Siwoo with Jinyoung.

"Bro! Over there..."

In the center of the park, Siwoo was playing with a small soccer ball with his mother.

Jinyoung stopped Seunghyun from calling out to Siwoo.

After confirming that there weren't many people in the park, Jinyoung took off his mask and quietly approached Siwoo from behind.

After nodding to Siwoo's mother, Hyunjoo, Jinyoung ran towards the small soccer ball rolling on the ground.

"Yop yop yop!"

Jinyoung took the ball and performed a loud fake move in front of Siwoo.

Siwoo waved to Seunghyun, who had followed, and looked up at the silly uncle.

'He's 28, 24 years older than me... but he looks like he's 8...'

They decided to play for a while.

Taking care of children was one of Siwoo's specialties.

"Yop yop~ Look, Siwoo! Or is it too fast to see? Ha..."

Whoosh.

Suddenly, Siwoo inserted his foot between Jinyoung's laughing legs and kicked the ball away.

"Whoa!"

The ball rolled out from between Jinyoung's legs and tumbled behind him.

Surprised, Jinyoung quickly ran to get the ball.

When he put his foot on the ball and turned to Siwoo, his eyes widened.

The four-year-old child was running towards him with his arms wide open, laughing, which was both incredibly cute and strangely pressuring.

"Ooh~ Pressure defense! Come on~ Come on~"

Whoosh.

"Ah, no?!"

As soon as Siwoo extended his foot, the ball disappeared from under Jinyoung's foot again.

Seunghyun, trying to hold back his laughter, shouted.

"Wow, Siwoo! You're good at soccer!"

Whoosh.

The ball rolled away again.

Even though it was just for fun, Jinyoung, who had had the ball taken from him three times in a flash, realized something was off.

Jinyoung, tilting his head, shouted dramatically.

"Hey, are you a soccer prodigy?! I need to test you for real..."

Whoosh!

2:00 PM.

Water jets shot up from the fountain in the park.

Jinyoung and Siwoo, who had been playing with the ball, were caught in the water and got drenched.

"Ugh... I've only been here for 5 minutes... and I'm already like this."

Jinyoung wiped the water streaming down his face.

Seunghyun tried to comfort him.

"Bro, your hair looks really cool when it's wet. It's like the rain fight scene in that movie you did."

"Ah, really? Haha! Great! Come in! Right now! Siwoo, come here! I'll carry you!"

Jinyoung picked up Siwoo and splashed around in the fountain.

Since they were already soaked, they might as well enjoy the water.

"Mom, get out of the water~!"

"Wow! It's a fountain!"

"We want to play too!"

Local children who had come out for the fountain joined in.

Siwoo, held by Jinyoung, spun around and used his hand to cast a purification spell.

'He said it's with clean water... but just in case.'

28-year-old Jinyoung, who looked like he was 8, and 16-year-old Seunghyun, who looked like he was 6, and Siwoo, who was currently 4 but whose age was unknown, played joyfully with the local children, getting splashed by the water.

"Whoop whoop whoop~!"

When Siwoo shouted, the children followed.

"Whoop whoop whoop~!"

Jinyoung, wearing his mask again, sprinkled water on the children and asked Seunghyun.

"Hahaha! Wow, it's really fun! But why are the kids suddenly swearing?"

* * *

PD Lee Hyoeun sipped a hot Americano while reviewing the ratings analysis of the past six months' variety shows on her desk.

"It's stressful. Even if it's just a moderate success, people will say something. How did it come to this?"

The man sitting next to her said,

"Because you're so good, the company has high expectations. I'd be happy with just a moderate success."

PD Lee Hyoeun tied her hair back and picked up her coffee cup with both hands.

"Right. I should think positively. Anyway, we've got a great lineup of guests."

"Is it the fourth day? I heard Song Jinyoung is coming. Wow, how did you get him? He doesn't usually appear on variety shows."

"True. His agency is very strict with image management. They don't let him do interviews casually. There's a rumor that he's actually quite silly."

"Really? That gentle Song Jinyoung? He's known for his good manners and composure."

"Either way, it's a problem. If he's really silly, the agency will ask for all the footage to be edited out. If he's too composed... there won't be enough content. We can't just show his face for an hour and a half to the viewers."

"If that's the case, it would be better to rewatch his previous works. Anyway, with your reputation, you managed to get Song Jinyoung. This time, try to build a good relationship with him. You might need him again."

"Ha, I've managed to get him, but I'm struggling with what to show with him. It's not easy."

While PD Lee Hyoeun was scratching her head with the back of her pen, the junior PD, who was also working on the new variety show, appeared with quick steps.

"Senior, there's a new photo of Song Jinyoung on Instagram?"

"What photo?"

"Look."

The junior PD showed his phone to PD Lee Hyoeun.

In the photo...

It looked like they had gone to a water park, and Song Jinyoung, drenched, was holding a young and cute actor, Ryu Seunghyun, and a child, all smiling brightly.

"...Hey, isn't that child Deokgu?"

"Right. He's grown a lot, hasn't he?"

"Indeed. He looks like a kindergartener now? What's the deal with this photo... Wait a moment."

PD Lee Hyoeun smiled at the junior PD.

"What a good boy. It's a great idea."

The junior PD, pleased with the praise, showed PD Lee Hyoeun the comments on Song Jinyoung's Instagram.

"Last year, Deokgu was very popular. If you look at the comments... there are many saying the child has grown a lot and that they miss him. They're saying it's great to see him again after a long time."

"Right. Having the children stay for the entire two days and one night would be too much, but if Song Jinyoung and the children come on the first day, play for a while, and then go home in the evening... it would create some content for Song Jinyoung, and the children wouldn't be too tired... Let's try to make it a warm segment."

PD Lee Hyoeun extended her palm, and the junior PD high-fived her.

* * *

Jinyoung shouted from the other end of the phone.

Siwoo replied.

"Yup~ Alright~ Is there a sea there?"

"Yup!"

The casting for Samdeok was decided.

It was their official reunion after a year.

– Wow, amazing! Deokgu is back together!

– Song Jinyoung fixing fish in a fishing village while feeling the sea breeze? Haha, it's so different from his usual image.

– I want to see how much our baby Deokgu has grown!

– They seem to have met and played recently and are really close. They're all as beautiful inside as they are outside!

The comment section heated up as soon as the casting news was announced.

October.

With the weather getting slightly colder, Siwoo was waiting in front of the apartment, wearing a windbreaker.

"Siwoo, you know you always have to be careful, right?"

"Yup. I know~"

"What if you fall from a high place?"

"Ouch."

"......No."

"Ah, ouch."

"Y, yeah? It should hurt, right? Anyway, Siwoo, you're right. Always! Be careful!"

"Alright~ Mom~"

Hyunjoo repeated the same instructions to Siwoo over and over again.

Even though she would be following and watching the entire time, she kept reminding him to be careful, as they might encounter unexpected hazards in the fishing village or countryside.

"Our Siwoo is so smart, so I'm not too worried."

"Yup~ Smart~ Chess genius~"

Vroom!

A black van, clearly belonging to a celebrity, pulled up in front of building 107.

The door opened, and Seunghyun's manager and Seunghyun got out.

"Hello, ma'am."

"Yes. Hello. Thank you for coming to pick him up."

"What are you talking about? It's our duty."

Siwoo also greeted Seunghyun.

"Bro~"

"Come here!"

Seunghyun knelt down and gave Siwoo a tight hug.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Yup!"

Seunghyun said to Hyunjoo.

"Since I wasn't sure, I brought some hand warmers in case Siwoo gets cold."

The manager laughed.

"Even though it's warm today and he doesn't need hand warmers, he still brought them."

"No, Bro. Siwoo is young and might get cold. And we're going to an island, so there will be sea breeze..."

"Right, right, I get it. Ma'am, please give me Siwoo's car seat and get in the car. I'll drive you to Ganghwa Island comfortably. There, we'll meet the production team and take a boat to the island."

Siwoo got into the car from Seunghyun's company and headed to Ganghwa Island.

Oh