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Chapter 1
I REACH OUT AND CARESS THE FACE OF THE BOYI’m supposed to love.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you, too,” he replies, his voice all quiet and tender. “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time.”
On TV, Bryan Yoon is usually so goofy and cute, but now, when he’s absolutely serious, his gentle eyes have a magnetic pull to them that’s hard to resist. This kind of star power is probably the reason why millions of girls all over the world have posters of Bryan and the other members of NOVA, one of the top K-pop boy bands in the world right now. And why even ahjummas like my mom and her friends are members of their fan café.
I know why I’m supposed to have feelings for him, but in the end, whatreallygets my heart racing is the thought of Korean fried chicken.
Yummy and crispy and fried to a golden brown, I think while staring into my costar’s eyes.Just the right amount of greasy, perfect with some pickled white radish and a can of Diet Coke.
Don’t get me wrong, Bryan is really cute. But do I like him as much as I love my favorite food in the entire universe? No. Will I ever like him as much? Probably not. I’ve actually never felt that intense kind of emotion foranyhuman being—but I imagine this is what true love is like. And I must have been convincing, too, because from his chair behind the camera, Director Cha shouts, “Cut! That was fantastic. That’s a wrap for today.”
As soon as the director’s turned away, Bryan’s doting smile becomes a lopsided smirk.
“That was pretty good, newbie,” he says, running his hand through his swept-back hair. “Been practicing?”
One of his assistants hands him aboxof water, and he chugs it while waiting for my reply.
“I still don’t get why you insist on calling me newbie,” I say. “I’ve been in this industry for four years, while this is your first year as an actor.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but I’ve been in the entertainment industryin generalfor much longer than you...andthis is your first year breaking out big, isn’t it?”
“Fair,” I concede. Sometimes I forget that even though his professional name is English, Bryan comes from an entirelydifferent world than me. While I only moved to Korea a few years ago, he spent all his life here in Seoul, training with prep academies and music companies since he was in elementary school.
Bryan reaches out and ruffles my hair like I’m a little kid and he isn’t just one year older than me. “Just don’t lose your nerve after the premiere tonight. Good luck, Hana!”
I push him away and he laughs, giving me a peace sign on the way to his manager’s van. Usually I’d reply with something snarky, but today I don’t even have the mental capacity to do so. I’m far too anxious about tonight.
Most Korean dramas, unlike American TV shows, follow a live-shoot system. Even though today’s the premiere, we’ve only shot the first four episodes so far, and we’ll continue to shoot the rest of the show as new episodes air every week on Fridays and Saturdays. Live shooting can be overwhelming and stressful since it keeps production schedules tight enough to film and edit each of the remaining episodes within a week or two. But it’s also cool since we can adjust things based on viewers’ reactions and make last minute changes, if needed. For better or worse, tonight we’ll know exactly what audiences all over the world think of our show. And I’ll learn what millions of people think of my acting.
The biggest challenge will be finding the right balance between keeping true to my character and adjusting my performance according to feedback. I heard a lot of actors inmovies or American TV shows never read reviews or watch themselves on the screen. But when people are reacting to a show as we’re making it, it’s hard to ignore their responses. And it’s probably not a good idea to overlook them, either.
On the bus ride home, I search for news articles released today about our show.
Breaking News: Highly Anticipated Fantasy K-DramaFated DestinySet to Premiere Today at 9 p.m. KST!
Bryan Yoon Dishes on His New ShowFated Destinyon the Eve of Its Premiere
WhyFated DestinyStarring Bryan Yoon Is THE Biggest K-Drama of 2022
From the way the press is writing about it, you’d thinkFated Destinywas a one-man show. But I’m glad it’s at least on everyone’s radar. Even now on the bus, I overhear conversations about our show.
“I’m so excited to watch Bryan’s new series!” says a middle schooler who’s sitting a few seats behind me. “I’m for sure going to watch it after I’m done with cram school.”
“I’m just going to watch it on my phone. The tutors don’t care about what we do as long as we finish our work anyway.”
“Really?Mine are super mean and take our phones away.”
“Oh, huh. I always assumed they don’t care, but maybe I’mjust too sneaky for them to notice!”
They laugh, and I’m still smiling to myself when the first girl says, “Wait, speaking ofFated Destiny, did you see the girl Bryan’s costarring with? What’s her name again, Jang Hana? Jin Mina? How did a complete nobody like her land that role?”
I bite my lip to stop myself from correcting her.It’s Jin Hana!
The other girl shrugs. “I think I recognize her fromSuperstar League. Didn’t she play the foreign exchange student from America? She was pretty good.”
