# Chapter 18
Hwiseo packed his profile into his bag. If he had to reshoot it to his liking, he would need to explain why, and he didn’t want to do that. First of all, the chances of not getting cast were high, and renting a studio would cost money which would certainly be charged as an expense. Hwiseo’s goal was to participate in Lee Sunwoo’s project in any capacity—whether as a supporting actor, an extra, or even as staff. He didn’t need to spend money on a new profile.
“So where are we going now?”
“Oh, the planning department suddenly cancelled the music video shoot due to budget adjustments. We had already rearranged all the schedules. The guys said they want to at least film something for YouTube, is that okay?”
“I came here because I was told we were shooting a music video, but I just heard we’re doing a YouTube video instead, and at a surf park? I only just realized that’s our destination by looking at the navigation—of course it’s not okay.”
The manager cleared his throat with a cough. Hwiseo knew the manager was uncomfortable having this conversation alone with him in the car, but he didn’t feel like saying anything to make him comfortable.
Hwiseo had been on edge lately. He had to prepare for Lee Sunwoo’s audition with limited information, and he was also concerned about Je Wooseung looking into lawsuits and new agencies for him. He didn’t want to be indebted to him, but the truth was there was no faster way to resolve the situation without his help. Hwiseo hadn’t expected to feel this helpless again.
“We’ve arrived. Let’s get out, Hwiseo.”
The manager got out of the car first, as they had apparently reached their destination. Only then did Hwiseo properly see where they were, and his eyes widened. There was a sign with waves and surfboards, completely out of place in early winter. The picture clearly showed that “Surf Park” wasn’t a park named “Surf,” but an actual surfing facility.
***
Two members were waiting for Hwiseo in their surfing gear. And somehow, Hwiseo had become the latecomer who had kept everyone waiting for an hour. There were three cameras—one personal camera for each of the two members, and one filming everyone.
“Finally, Hwiseo-hyung appears! I thought my neck would fall off waiting. It’s been a while, hyung. How have you been?”
The first blow was thrown by Song Ju, the main dancer and the youngest member of the team.
“Well, the main character always appears last. Your face looks much better now. I want to get married too. But how could you not invite us to your wedding? I was hurt.”
…and the second jab came from Juhyun, the main vocalist.
“Yeah, it’s been a while. I didn’t know I was meeting you guys here until—let me see—we passed the Geumcheon tollgate less than an hour ago. If the manager knew I was the star, he would have left earlier, but I guess he didn’t know.”
And Hwiseo, the center of BLEN, found it easier to counter-attack when they came at him like this.
***
Officially, Hwiseo was known as a “beer bottle.” Hwiseo had seen the video of him telling a swimming-related anecdote on a variety show. The story was that he kept sinking no matter what, until even the instructor gave up. So Hwiseo understood why that man had jumped into the Han River to die. He must have thought he would never be able to get out on his own.
But now Hwiseo was standing in front of an artificial wave pool operated with warm water during the winter season, wearing a wetsuit. Behind the camera, the manager had his hands clasped together in a praying position, muttering nonsense like, “Just pretend to do it. Just pretend.” During the surfing equipment lesson, the two kept chatting with the instructor.
“What if the board floats away because I didn’t tie the leash?”
“You have to compensate if you can’t find it? This looks expensive. Ah, no worries, we can make Hwiseo-hyung pay for it!”
“Who cares about the board. Hyung could probably buy this whole surf park.”
Hwiseo stood slightly apart from the two, doing mental image training. This place was a jungle, and he needed to stay alert to survive. He repeated to himself that he needed to stay awake to survive. He had somewhat expected those two to act like this.
He could tell just by watching videos from their group activities. They pretended to joke while making fun of him, and while pretending to build him up, they put him in difficult situations. They made him rap when it wasn’t his strength, calling it his specialty, and asked him to be cute at random moments, then laughed loudly, pretending to be friendly members enhancing the mood.
“Hyung is probably scared because he can’t float in water, right? Don’t push yourself. Just stand there and watch us, hyung.”
Song Ju set the tone with a laugh.
“Hyung, you’re not really on our level to play with us. I don’t mean it in a bad way, but we play kind of childishly. This is supposed to be really fun though. Come on, join us! People misunderstand us because you’re always standing alone like that when we play.”
…and Juhyun skillfully twisted the knife.
What was wrong with them, inviting someone who obviously couldn’t swim to a water activity, and then telling him to just stand there like a sack of barley when he bothered to come? On top of that, they were framing it as though he didn’t participate because he was fussy, even though they knew he—the “beer bottle”—though currently Hwiseo could swim well—couldn’t enter the water. They were really something. But looking at their faces, whitened with sunscreen that showed their determination not to get tanned, his fighting spirit dissipated. Seeing these men, who were actually older than him, act like this left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wondered why the original Hwiseo had allowed himself to be pushed around by these self-destructive punks.
The two screamed loudly every time they fell into the water. As singers, they had good vocal projection that echoed throughout the area. The instructor had initially explained that it was good manners not to enter the deeper area designed for advanced surfers, but Juhyun, unable to ride the board well, swam to the inner area as if to show off his swimming skills instead, going back and forth with the waves. Unlike Juhyun who quickly gave up, Song Ju, being a dancer, made a decent effort. After dozens of attempts, when he managed to stand on the board for about 3 seconds, wobbling, he made a commotion about high-fiving the instructor.
Around them were quite a few other surfers enjoying free surfing and ordinary people taking lessons. While Hwiseo was internally clicking his tongue at the two who paid no attention to other users, another surf instructor approached him. It was the woman with long hair tied in a ponytail who had taught him the basic posture earlier.
“You can try in the beginner’s bay even if you can’t swim, because the water is shallow. I’ll hold you from the side. It’s fun. You won’t regret it if you try.”
Hwiseo nodded to her and wet his body with water. Song Ju and Juhyun watched as Hwiseo was about to enter the water. ‘He’s coming into the water?’ ‘Is he really coming in?’ They exchanged glances.
The schedule that the company had given to the two after their music video was canceled was a paid advertisement for a water park to be uploaded to their own YouTube channel. It was hastily arranged by the company, suggesting they could promote their unit album while showing how close they were, and wouldn’t it be nice to ride waves and have fun? Adding Hwiseo was entirely Juhyun’s idea. Honestly, Juhyun had been very surprised by Hwiseo’s Q-App live. He’d played guitar and sang. The song was clearly made by someone else, but when he asked around, no one knew who.
He had planned to put the timid, hunched Hwiseo—stripped of lighting and filters—in front of the camera. But clearly something had changed during the break. The Hwiseo who had finished stretching cut through the water fearlessly in front of them. Hwiseo, who seemed to be carefully getting up in push-up position with his right foot stepping forward, soon wobbled and fell into the water. The two, who had momentarily frozen, burst into loud laughter at the sight.
Hwiseo grabbed the arm of the instructor standing beside him and got up. He walked back into the water and lay prone on the board.
“Paddle. Good. When you catch the wave, make sure to push firmly. Now, now! Push!”
At the instructor’s shout, he raised his upper body, placed his right foot, and pulled his left foot between his arms. But he immediately fell to the right with a splash. As if water had entered his ear, Hwiseo tilted to one side and jumped in place. Then, after exhaling once with a “hoo,” he swept his wet hair back.
“I think I can do it, instructor.”
Hearing this, Song Ju laughed and called over the camera that had been outside the water.
“Film Hwiseo-hyung. He says he’s getting the hang of it now.”
“If hyung can ride it within three tries, I’ll buy dinner today.”
Hwiseo approached the two, looking them straight in the eyes, and said:
“Deal!”
***
“You’re riding so well! Only about three out of ten beginners can stand up, and among those, you’re in the top 1 percent!”
Even the instructor who had been helping Song Ju joined in urging Hwiseo, who had come out of the water, to try the advanced pool. Not only had the manager been unable to close his mouth for a while after seeing Hwiseo smoothly ride the board, getting up on the wave at once, but even the members were speechless.
“You can go in by paddling. It’s too deep to walk there. But you can swim, right?”
“I learned during the break. Survival swimming.”
“Ah, I see. Well, follow me this way. Your center of gravity control is excellent, and your eye focus, which is crucial, is also perfect.”
The three of them moved in rhythmic steps and disappeared into the advanced pool. The camera had already moved to the center of the pool to film Hwiseo.
As Hwiseo caught a wave, he stood on the board and naturally lowered his posture. With his center of mass forward, he kept his feet firmly planted even amidst the spray coming from all directions. Standing up on top of the wave like that, Hwiseo’s body was pushed forward with the crashing waves. It felt as if he had become one with the sea.
“Woooow!”
Hwiseo’s cheer cut through the oncoming wind and rose with the waves. It felt like all the stress he had been under was washing away.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
