Chapter 93

Chapter 15. The Documentary, and Everyday Life

The photoshoot took place outdoors.

I didn’t specifically ask the janitor, but I thought it might not be appropriate for outsiders to take photos in the classroom.

One August afternoon.

We changed into our school uniforms and roamed around the school grounds.

We posed with our hands on our hips in front of the flower beds, sat on the benches with our legs crossed, and even sat in the pavilion.

We carried two selfie sticks.

One was for taking photos, and the other was for live streaming to interact with our fans.

“Okay, let’s get some recommendations for the next pose!”

Comments quickly flooded in.

- How about standing in a line and putting our hands on each other’s shoulders?

- Creation of Heaven and Earth...?

- Just do all of them! 😍

- Your outfit matches your face. Astronomy.

The last comment was peculiar.

It seemed to be a poorly translated version of “Your school uniform suits you, Universe.”

Imagining a fan translating a foreign sentence and pasting it into the chat made me find it rather cute.

Since there weren’t many comments, I tried to respond to each one.

“Putting our hands on each other’s shoulders? I’ll give it a try.”

“Thank you, everyone, for saying we all look beautiful.”

“Right? The school uniform suits us, doesn’t it? I know it looks good on me.”

My siblings looked amazed at my basic English, which made me feel a bit embarrassed.

Then, I noticed a striking comment.

“Creation of Heaven and Earth? I can’t remember it suddenly. What was it...?”

“Isn’t it a famous painting?”

Lee Hyuk said.

“It’s a Michelangelo work. It’s on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, where God and the first human are touching their fingers on a cloud...”

“Oh, I remember now. That’s it.”

“It sounds interesting. How about we try it?”

“First, Universe, just stay still. I’ll lift you up.”

Jung Hyun lifted me up like a prince.

“Hey, Jung Hyun. This pose is a bit awkward.”

“I’m fine, hyung.”

“I know, but I’m talking about me.”

“Just keep quiet and take the pose. Yes, lift your knee a bit and stretch out your hand. The angle...”

“Let’s just do it, Hyung. If we try to replicate the painting exactly, it’ll never end. We’d have to be naked too.”

We laughed and struck the pose.

I lay on the left side, and the youngest, who was being held up by Biju and Lee Hyuk, lay on the opposite side, getting into position.

Then, we extended our fingers gracefully, and the expression on our faces was so solemn and dignified that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Looking at the selfie stick, I saw comments like “😂😂😂” in the chat.

“Wow, it turned out well.”

The quality of the photo was exceptionally high.

Smiling, I nodded at the fans’ requests to post it on our fan cafe and SNS.

Of course, we’ll post it.

“Hyung, where should we go next?”

“Let’s head to the end of the sports field.”

I led my siblings like a teacher guiding kindergarten students.

“Wow- the flowers here are so beautiful!”

They were more excited about taking my graduation photos than I was.

Especially our second youngest, who loves doing things together, looked incredibly happy.

I felt the same way.

Surrounded by my siblings, who were bouncing around like puppies, I laughed continuously.

It had been a long time since I had such a fun day.

* * *

Dusk.

In the car passing over the Han River Bridge, bathed in the sunset, we each held a can of soda.

“You all did a great job.”

I smiled and handed out cans of Zero Cola.

Laughter erupted as the cans clinked together in a toast.

“It’s so hot.”

The youngest flapped his shirt in the breeze coming through the open window.

It was understandable.

Wearing a winter school uniform, complete with a jacket, in the middle of summer must have felt like being in a steam room.

Lee Hyuk took a sip from a thermos of barley tea and said,

“By the way, we’ve had a hard time because of our incompetent hyung.”

I almost spat out my Zero Cola.

“Hey. Isn’t it usually me who says that? ‘You all did a great job, but what hard work was this?’”

“Look at that military sentiment.”

“It’s so outdated, hyung.”

“...”

“Why are you like this, hyung? Universe isn’t just outdated; he is actually old. Right? We’re all old.”

“...I’ll let it slide today because I’m in a good mood, really.”

I poked the youngest’s side playfully.

Then, I laughed heartily.

While chatting happily with the members about the ad shoot and the photos we just took, Min Ki hyung handed me his phone.

“The manager has something to tell you.”

He switched to speaker mode, and we huddled together.

- Hey, it’s me.

Seok Hwan hyung’s voice was as clear and bright as a sunny sky.

- I have two pieces of news for you. Which one do you want to hear first? The good news or the interesting news?

Jung Hyun answered promptly.

“Either one.”

- Then, let’s start with the good news. You know HBS MTV, right? Showtime?

“Yeah, of course we do.”

It was the music show where we first became a top candidate for first place.

-HBS is launching a new program. It’s an idol reality show featuring New Black.

“Reality show? Really?”

-It’s confirmed for the next quarter. Filming starts in early September, and it will air around the time of your second album release.

We all cheered simultaneously.

An idol reality show.

It was the program we had always envied when the Street Boys were filming for K-Net.

The dream and wish of every rookie idol.

We were going to be on a TV reality show.

We clapped and cheered, and the melody of "Santus" echoed in my ears like a hallucination.

“Hyung, what’s the interesting news?”

-It’s good news related to promotion. It’s better if you see it yourself. Check the official SNS account on your phone.

“Official account?”

-When you go in, there will be a video tagged with you.

We went to the official SNS and immediately understood what the interesting news was.

* * *

PBS Current Affairs and Education Department.

A woman sat at a cubicle desk, holding a phone.

“...I’m sorry, but would it be difficult to do the interview? We’re not doing any strange editing or anything. It’s a documentary. Yes, sir. A documentary. I’m not asking for a long time, just 5 minutes of your time...”

- I don’t really want to talk about that day on TV. I’m sorry.

“Sir, sir! Just hear me out...”

The call had already been disconnected.

Jung Woo Jeong, the youngest writer on the PBS special documentary team, sighed.

This was her tenth attempt at securing an interview.

It seemed like this special was particularly difficult to cast.

Despite the public broadcaster’s name, finding people willing to agree was like plucking stars from the sky.

It was due to the nature of the documentary’s subject.

This special was about righteous people.

People who had performed acts of righteousness.

Those who had thrown themselves into danger without hesitation at disaster sites or various accidents were the subjects of this documentary.

A man who ran to save a crying baby in a burning car, a college student who rescued a homeless person attempting suicide, a lifeguard who rushed to save someone drowning, and so on.

The subject matter was good, but securing interviews was a challenge.

At least, securing interviews with public servants like firefighters, police, and coast guard was easier, but the problem was with ordinary citizens.

To cover such incidents, permission from the victims was also necessary, and most people were hesitant to grant it.

The obvious reason was that they didn’t want to recall painful memories.

Even if the victims agreed, the righteous individuals often felt uncomfortable and refused.

There were already several cases where the victims had given the green light, but the righteous individuals had backed out.

“Just hear me out for a moment...”

And now, she had failed her eleventh attempt.

Sighing, she crossed out a contact number with a pen and read the twelfth one listed below.

‘Name: Choi Ik Hyun. Agent: Choi Yong Jae, 02...’

A small note next to it read ‘Gahyeon-dong righteous person.’

It was an incident that had been widely reported in the media last year on the day of the college entrance exam in Gahyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.

The outline was simple.

A driver having a seizure caused a sudden acceleration, heading towards an elderly person pulling a cart.

A near-disaster was averted when a test-taker risked his life to intervene, preventing any casualties.

The fact that the rescuer missed the exam was a source of great regret.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

She took a deep breath and dialed the number.

After a while, when Choi Yong Jae answered, Jung Woo Jeong calmly explained her request.

She was filming a documentary and wanted to interview the righteous person who had saved someone that day.

The other party asked her to wait and called back 30 minutes later.

- Yes, my father has agreed.

Yes.

She clenched her fist. Now