“I haven’t personally reached out to him,”

Do Wook replied with a low voice.

Do Wook and Park Tae Hyung were the only ones in the group who were the same age and, since Do Wook was the one who gave him the strength to debut, you could say they had a more special bond even within the group. Park Tae Hyung, who isn’t very talkative and doesn’t say much in conversations, would at least talk with Do Wook.

However, Do Wook had been busy without a moment to rest doing individual activities, working on songs, etc. Recently he hadn’t even really been able to see the members at the dormitory.

Do Wook and Park Tae Hyung often used to exchange words of encouragement to each other right before their debut and for a while after their debut, but it was true that they hadn’t had time to talk just the two of them as Do Wook got busier.

In the beginning, Do Wook used to also worry about and look after Park Tae Hyung a lot. However, once the group got on track to a certain degree, Park Tae Hyung always silently did his part by demonstrating his skills.

‘Rather, that might have made me give him less attention…’

That thought suddenly came across Do Wook’s mind.

Jung Yoon Ki nodded, implying he knew that might have been the case, and showed Do Wook a text.

It was a direct message that Park Tae Hyung had sent Jung Yoon Ki.

If there was another member besides Do Wook that Park Tae Hyung was comfortable around, it was Jung Yoon Ki. As a leader and as the older one, Jung Yoon Ki looked after Park Tae Hyung from the shadows.

[Yoon Ki, made it safely back home. I have a lot on my mind, so…I think I’ll stay a few more days than expected. Please don’t worry too much if it gets hard to reach me…]

Park Tae Hyung’s hometown was Uljin in GyeongBook.

Park Tae Hyung’s parents, who came up to Seoul because their only child wanted to go to school in Seoul, went back down to Uljin after Park Tae Hyung debuted.

Two weeks had already passed since he sent the message.

“Then, ever since then…”

“Yeah…”

Jung Yoon Ki nodded his head to Do Wook’s question. The members were envious of Park Tae Hyung when he said he’d be going to his hometown for about 3 days.

They were on a break, but they had things scheduled here and there so there weren’t many members who could take an extended break.

Compared to the members who had individual activities, Park Tae Hyung only had KK activities so it was possible for him.

However, it wasn’t possible to leave on vacation just because he had nothing scheduled. He was approved to go to his hometown for 3 days because hadn’t been able to go back all this time.

Even if there was nothing scheduled, if they had free time, the KK members prepared for the next albums or endlessly put in effort to develop themselves. Park Tae Hyung was no exception.

“Man, it’s not like Tae Hyung is one to cause trouble…We’ve been crazy busy lately. I told him it’s alright because I thought he might just be feeling sentimental considering it’d been a while since he took time to go see his family…but this isn’t just a few days,”

Jung Yoon Ki said, shaking his head.

Ahn Hyung Seo, who was next to him, chimed in. Ahn Hyung Seo was one of the members who tried calling Par Tae Hyung whenever he had a free moment, despite starting to record an OST a few days ago.

“Yeah. I know he said it’ll be hard to reach him, but…his phone is off all day…and it’s driving me crazy just sitting around wondering when the heck he’ll be back, seriously.”

“Tae Hyung…he’s probably ok, right? I wonder what he meant by saying that he has a lot on his mind…”

Suk Ji Hoon asked, worried. Kim Won also let out a sigh.

Jung Yoon Ki showed them another text.

[I’m sorry if I worried you because you weren’t able to reach me…I think I’ll need a little more time…I’m truly sorry…]

“Maybe we were contacting him too much, but today he sent this message before turning his phone off again. I can’t help but feel frustrated.”

Do Wook hardened his expression. He didn’t know that the members had been this worried about Park Tae Hyung.

You could say he was being irresponsible, but he didn’t bail on any scheduled events and there was nothing he particularly had to do, so you couldn’t completely criticize him either.

Honestly, it was a problem they could ignore until they had a scheduled event, but it was unlike Park Tae Hyung, who went to the rehearsal hall everyday without fail to practice, so it was natural that the members were concerned.

Furthermore, the members recalled that Park Tae Hyung was less talkative in the dormitory and looked depressed before he headed down to his hometown, so they were even more worried.

“Does Baek Ho know?”

“He doesn’t know yet. I considered telling him, but I thought it would unnecessarily blow up into a big deal…I told him that Tae Hyung has some family stuff going on and will be staying there a little longer…”

Do Wook nodded his head.

If Manager Oh Baek Ho found out, Park Tae Hyung would obviously get scolded. If Park Tae Hyung were to get scolded when he was not doing well mentally, the situation wouldn’t get better.

First off, since he sent a message, it didn’t seem like there was a problem with him physically. It was also obvious that, based on the fact that fans were wondering what Tae Hyung was up to these days, he really had just confined himself at home.

“Do Wook, will you try contacting him? None of our attempts worked out…If we get scheduled for that TV Show…Tae Hyung needs to come back before Baek Ho tries to contact him…”

Sighing, Do Wook replied to what Ahn Hyung Seo said,

“Ok.”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re busy.”

Do Wook shook his head to what Jung Yoon Ki said. It involved the members, and it especially involved Park Tae Hyung.

Do Wook certainly had helped the members professionally and mentally, as well as in various other ways, but the members had also been a huge help to Do Wook.

The KK members played an important part in him getting goals and living not as ‘Kim Bo Myung’, but as Do Wook.

Do Wook was the one who got KK to where they were today, but the members had stuck with him through it. It wouldn’t have been possible with his efforts alone.

Moreover, it was deeply meaningful as a human being. He had a deep bond of friendship with the members that he had never experienced as Kim Bo Myung.

And Park Tae Hyung was one such member.

***

Filming for < Sweetheart from the Universe > became even busier. Until the final episode, they had to finish filming an episode one week earlier than the air date.

Writer Oh Young Ji and the studio staff had meetings or were writing practically from the moment they opened their eyes.

The reason why the final filming date was suddenly moved up was because of its immense popularity.

Wang Hee Jin, who was as popular in China as Do Wook was, was invited to a national event in China, and Do Wook also appeared in a U.S. TV show, so the agencies of both leading actors asked for the filming to be accelerated.

One thing that could be considered fortunate was that, unlike usual, Writer Oh Young Ji was pumping the scripts out quickly, perhaps energized by the ratings.

There was a saying that a successful drama will be successful no matter what, and that was the case with < Sweetheart from the Universe >.

There was a small party on the set on the day Do Wook finished his last scene.

There was a lot of interest whether the alien ‘Chun Min Jun’ would go back to space or continue living on Earth.

Writer Oh Young Ji, Director Ahn Chul Hwan, and the two leading actors were also divided over the ending.

Actually, Do Wook knew the ending.

‘An open ending…where he goes back to space…’

Also, that ending could honestly be considered the stain of < Sweetheart from the Universe >. It was an ending most viewers were upset over.

Do Wook already knew that, so the first few times, he subtly told Writer Oh Young Ji, “Still, wouldn’t it be good to have him stay and that their love continues?”. However, Writer Oh Young Ji was firm in her idea. For the ‘Chun Min Jun’ she imagined as she wrote, leaving was the right thing.

It’s true that the actor makes the character three-dimensional, but it’s the writer who creates the character with their own hands.

Despite knowing that the result wouldn’t be good, Do Wook accepted Writer Oh Young Ji’s opinion. Writer Oh Young Ji was also fully aware that it was a very risky ending.

The drama had already achieved the maximum success it could have. There would be a controversy over the last episode, but it wasn’t to the point that it would dent the project’s reputation.

‘The right thing to do in this situation probably is to go with what the writer wants…’

Do Wook didn’t agree with her, but from one creator to another, he decided to respect Writer Oh Young Ji.

Do Wook’s final filming scene was him writing a letter to the female protagonist Han Song Hee before returning to space.

The final scene of the broadcast would probably be a different scene, but it was the last scene scheduled to be filmed.

When the camera did a close-up of Do Wook crying a single tear as he held on to his finished letter, the director was supposed to signal ‘cut,’ but he didn’t call it for a very long time.

It was only for one minute, but it was a very long time. The set was silent, and some of the female staff were sniffling behind the set as they watched Do Wook cry. They empathized as fans of the drama.

A round of applause erupted when Director Ahn Chul Hwan signaled ‘cut’.

“Good work! Good work!”

Do Wook wiped the tear from the corner of his eyes and bowed. Do Wook repeatedly yelled, “Thank you for your hard work,” and the staff applauded fervently.

“You worked the hardest! Thank you for your hard work!”

“But you still have some parts left to shoot, sir…”*
(TL Note: I wanted to clarify that Do Wook is trying to say that the Director works harder than him. And it said Do Wook’s scene is the last to be filmed so I’m not sure what more the Director has to film @.@ I checked the original and that’s what it said.)

“I’ll be free too after just two more days of filming!”

Ahn Chul Hwan cackled.

At that moment, a female supporting actor came out from behind with a cake with candles on it. The nearby support staff popped party poppers towards Do Wook.

He had not expected this at all, so Do Wook accepted the cake in a daze.

“Thank you for taking such good care of us all this time. We’ll see you at the wrap party, but…we wanted to express our gratitude,”

The supporting actress said to Do Wook. They presented him with the staff’s rolling paper* along with the cake.
(TL Note: Per ChatGPT, rolling paper is a communal, handwritten message sheet used among staff, team members, or in group-settings)

Do Wook’s popularity on set was a different type of popularity from the popularity with the public. He was good at acting and drove the popularity of the drama so the staff were already grateful to Do Wook, but that wasn’t the only thing they were grateful for.

The politeness Do Wook showed on set was not easily seen in other top actors.

Not once was Do Wook quick to anger with the mangnae staff member. Even when filming was delayed due to staff mistakes, Do Wook comforted the staff members by saying that he was happy that he had more time to memorize the script.

The snack and food carts sent by Do Wook’s fans also helped Do Wook’s popularity. Do Wook was an actor that the staff wanted to continue working with.

“I….”

Do Wook cleared his voice and spoke to the dozens of staff members facing him.

“It’s thanks to you all that the drama is this successful. Thank you for going as far as preparing a cake. I’m really the one who should be thanking you…”

Do Wook continued speaking.

“Winter is in full swing now…and this drama is coming to an end, but you guys will still be working on set, so…

Do Wook gave a look to Nam Da Woo, who was standing in the back. Do Wook had also prepared something for the staff.

Nam Da Woo made his way through the staff holding a big package. The staff’s eyes widened.

“We prepared a small gift. Though it’s not much…we’ll see you at the wrap party then.”

What Do Wook had prepared was a thick, long, padded jacket. Everyone on the filming crew owned at least one, but it was an item that was hard to have two of because it was expensive.

The staffs’ jaws dropped when they saw the padded jacket in the shopping bag.

Out of consideration of the mangnae staff member and assistants who would not be able to attend the wrap party, Do Wook deliberately chose today to hand out gifts.

Do Wook’s warm heart pulled the staff’s heartstrings once again. Numerous staff members gave a blessing to Do Wook, whether out loud or in their hearts.

They genuinely hoped that Do Wook’s future path would be even more radiant.

***

Once he got back to the dormitory from the set, Do Wook changed his clothes. He changed into his most comfortable clothes and covered his face with a scarf and hat. He then put on his backpack.

He was heading to Uljin.

—

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