That Evening
In the central lounge where the dormitory residents of Building 7 gathered when they had free time, the voice of a girl from the TV was echoing. It was the final episode of the popular sitcom Hwangdang Daegajok (The Outrageous Family) that was airing.
Once, back in 2003, the drama had gained immense popularity during the Hallyu wave, even setting a record of 51% in viewership ratings. Today was the airing of the last episode of this national drama.
I didn’t remember the ending of Hwangdang Daegajok very well, so I found it somewhat exciting.
‘It’s a drama from the past, but strangely, very few people remember its ending.’
But…
If the ending is forgotten, there’s a reason for it.
It had started with great promise, but ended in a disaster.
“…..”
“…..”
“…..”
“…..”
‘…This is even worse than I imagined.’
With just about five minutes left in the broadcast, only four out of the original 31 viewers in the lounge were still watching.
The girl Juri on TV was dancing, her exaggerated smile like a traditional mask, doing a silly, carefree dance.
– “Haa~ Ahbeoji~!!”
“…..”
“…..”
“…..”
“…..”
Due to the flailing limbs and silly movements, Juri’s striking eyes were no longer visible.
‘I’m pretty sure the early episodes of the sitcom didn’t feature such intense dancing.’
In the first episode, she danced shyly, like a cute girl… but by the final episode, she was dancing like someone with a seizure.
– “Haa~ Ahbeoji~!!”
“……”
Honestly, it was painful to watch.
‘Is this the death stage of a meme?’
It was pitiful.
The drama had succeeded in gaining popularity with the “Give me allowance” trend, but failed to find a follow-up gimmick. It seemed like they were trying to milk the characters’ images until the very end.
Of course…
In the future, Juri, unable to shed her image as ‘Juri’ from the sitcom, would quit acting. She had been consumed by the grotesque image of the character, ‘Juri.’
‘She used the same name for her stage name as her sitcom character, and her acting career in Korea ended while she appeared as an extra in a few American movies, before eventually retiring.’
“……”
Thinking about that made me feel sorry for her. This was the last image she could show as an actress.
– “Haa~ Ahbeoji~!! Yung~ Don chuseyo~!!”
– “Okay, okay!”
– “Wow! Grandpa, you’re the best!”
– “Wow, our Juri, you’ve been dancing for a whole year!”
– “I’ve never seen money coming out of Dad’s wallet before!”
– “Shut up, you guys! Can’t I even give allowance to my granddaughter?”
The stingy grandfather of the gold shop, Jeong Heungchun, who always ignored Juri’s requests, reluctantly took out money from his wallet.
But in the drama, the character Juri, portrayed as the world’s greatest fool, ended up convincing her parents to give her the allowance.
– “Mom will save it up and return double later.”
– “Really? Waaah!!”
That’s right, you should leave the allowance to mom and dad.
– “I’m so happy!”
The couple, who had completely tricked their daughter, giggled and went out for a date at a Western-style restaurant.
Then, with some playful music, the story of the grand family of the gold shop in Jongno came to an end—Hwangdang Daegajok was over.
– “Jja-jjan!”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Ha.
This is a mess.
‘Parents who sell out their children for money… what a ridiculous ending.’
I sighed inwardly.
‘But back during the Olympics, everyone stayed until almost midnight, but this drama was so boring that by 10 PM, everyone just went to bed.’
The cold silence of the lounge was interrupted by TV commercial jingles.
“……”
“……”
Cola and Hongcha seniors looked disappointed.
“What is this?”
“I didn’t expect it to be this boring.”
Cola, Kang Jina, spoke as she looked at Hongcha, Na Aeri.
“Looks like it’s just more and more catchphrases until the end. I thought it would be different at the end…”
“I thought the last part would have a fun scene.”
Na Aeri, tying her long hair into a ponytail, said.
“It’s strange, last year, it was still a pretty fun drama, right?”
“Yeah, there were tons of catchphrases, and lots of commercials.”
“It’s starting to lose its popularity, and now look at it. All our hopes for the last episode are just foolish…”
I said to the discouraged Na Aeri.
“Still… isn’t this totally lucky?”
“Huh? Lucky? What do you mean? You mean good luck? That’s cute.”
“This is the time to think positively.”
“How?”
“For example… ‘Since we stayed up late, the day just got longer, right? This is totally lucky!’”
“Hahaha! What’s that? That’s kind of cute.”
Normally, there should have been a ‘Biki’ at the end, but…
That was something they would continue in 20 years.
‘What’s important is a positive mindset…!’
While I was preaching about future catchphrases, Kang Jina came from behind and hugged me. Suddenly, I felt a rush of heat from behind me.
“We’re the only ones left, and we got to see the youngest act cute, totally lucky, right?”
“……”
“……”
Kang Jina said, with the enthusiasm of a golden retriever on a walk.
“Come on, Hana, dance! I think you’ll look cuter than that Juri who was dancing earlier.”
“S-Sorry…”
“Huh? Why? Whyyyyy~?”
“That dance…”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Ugh.”
The more I resisted, the tighter Kang Jina hugged me.
‘Ugh, I can’t breathe. This is an internal issue.’
But Na Aeri, instead of stopping it, came closer and giggled. They were the perfect duo when it came to playful bickering.
“Hana’s face is turning red.”
“Hehe, it’s worth it to be the only ones left.”
“Hehehe, lucky~”
“Hehe, lucky~”
‘That’s not ‘Biki,’ it should be ‘Uhyo ww’ instead…?’
In the atmosphere of mutual consolation, Senior Oh Yujin clapped and cheered late.
– Clap Clap Clap
“Wow, wow… This is the first time I’ve watched a drama all the way to the end. B-But, it was still somewhat f-fun, right? Hmm…?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
We stared at Senior Oh Yujin, dumbfounded.
‘Why the delayed applause…?’
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
– Clap Clap Clap
But the clapping grew quieter.
Anyone could see that the ending had been hastily wrapped up.
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
The awkwardness…
“…Hahaha.”
In the end, Oh Yujin awkwardly wiped her glasses with her sleeve and said with a forced smile.
“H-Haha. Well, I’m glad it ended warmly. The grandfather finally learned to spend money for his family, right? That was kind of funny.”
Kang Jina turned her head away, as if she couldn’t hear her.
“Warm? Funny…?”
“Hmm, well… In American dramas, they often wrap things up hastily in the end. But in this one, they really highlighted each character’s story…”
Oh Yujin rambled desperately trying to defend it. But Kang Jina and Na Aeri shook their heads and ignored her.
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Hwangdang Daegajok… in 20 years, it would be remembered as a top nostalgic drama, and every time someone complained about dramas being boring in the 2020s, this would be the prime example. It turned out that the nostalgia bias was much stronger than expected.
I reached out past the two seniors’ hug, grabbed one of the snacks on the floor, and bit into it.
– Crunch
Hmm.
Delicious.
‘Sure enough, they used to put a lot more ingredients into snacks back then, and the taste was rich.’
With that sound, the seniors around me started to loosen their hug and move.
“I’m going to bed now.”
“I’ll eat some snacks.”
– Crunch
“You’re gonna gain weight.”
“You Yankee girl, are you saying I’m going to gain weight?”
“What, is that British humor? People who can’t cook have boring jokes too.”
“……”
Cola and Hongcha, stretching as they got up, started cleaning up the area, then trudged back to their rooms.
“Yawn, I’m sleepy. Hongcha, did you brush your teeth?”
“No.”
“Should we do it together?”
“I’ll do it alone.”
“Na Aeri, you bad girl!”
“What year’s catchphrase is that?”
So, only Na Aeri and I remained in the lounge. The room was silent except for the sound of the TV. Soon, the commercial ended,
<The final ending song of Hwangdang Daegajok began.>
“…….”
“…….”
I looked at Oh Yujin, who seemed strangely deflated. She had her knees gathered and her lips pouted like a duck, staring blankly at the TV.
“……”
“……”
‘It feels just like the atmosphere when the solo competition I worked so hard for got canceled.’
Could it be that she was just as sad that “Hwangdang Daegajok” ended abruptly, as if it were her own thing?
I thought I knew Oh Yujin’s personality fairly well, but surprisingly, I didn’t know much about her personal life.
‘She was so horrified when I asked about her birthdate or school info back then…’
Back then, it seemed like she didn’t want to reveal her age.
“……”
“……”
Still, seeing the future mentor like this was a bit pitiful. After all, right now, Oh Yujin was just a diligent high school student.
I looked at her and said,
“…But I think it’s lucky to have someone who thinks of you like Yujin-sunbae.”
“Huh?”
Her round glasses sparkled.
“I mean Juri. Even though it might seem forced, I think she must have danced desperately till the end because she wanted the viewers to laugh at her performance. It was her way of trying to make the best of the situation…”
“She threw away her image just to make people laugh. If you keep treating her like a fool, though… wouldn’t it be better to just say something like, ‘Ah, the drama was fun,’ and give her a clap of appreciation?”
“……..”
“In the end, Juri was just trying to seize her chance as best as she could.”
“…….”
‘I meant to defend the drama, but it ended up being more of a defense for Juri.’
Maybe it was because Juri was someone I might meet soon.
Oh Yujin paused for a moment to reflect on my words and then smiled brightly.
“Yeah. You’re right. Us ‘ordinary’ people need to grab hold of our chances tightly. ‘That girl’ tried her best to make us laugh, so being honest with a smile would probably be much more encouraging.”
“…….”
“Thanks, Hana.”
“Ah, no…”
…?
Something felt off.
I couldn’t quite place it.
‘What is this response…?’
Just as I was about to feel awkward, Oh Yujin suddenly changed the subject.
“Tomorrow, you’re taking a croquis class with the middle school kids in the afternoon, right?”
“Yes, in the Western painting class.”
“Then, how about we practice together in the morning and loosen up our hands?”
“Huh? What about your class, Yujin-sunbae?”
“I can rest.”
I just have to finish organizing the documents for New York University, and it won’t take long. The swimming teacher’s study-abroad class is surprisingly light, so I often get breaks.”
“Where should we practice?”
“Well, you know, quickly sketching passersby is great for building up form.”
“How about in front of the restaurant?”
“It’s too sunny there… I have a spot where I usually practice. Let’s go there and work.”
I could already see the budding qualities of a solid mentor in her. She was like the seed of a future artist who would become famous for her portraits.
I asked her,
“How much do you practice each day?”
“Well… I’m not sure. But I think I finish a croquis book in a day.”
“…..”
That meant she drew about 80-100 sketches a day. It would take around 4-5 hours of constant drawing to fill that much.
‘If we count the time, I probably draw that much too… but this requires a different level of focus.’
I understand now.
If I practiced alongside someone as diligent as her, I could learn a lot.
I nodded to Oh Yujin.
“Okay. I’ll practice with you then.”
Is she really an elementary student? I used to just want to play and run around at that age.” Hehe.
“…I’ll be a middle schooler next year. And you’re still just a first-year high school student…?”
“Really? Hana, you’re so tiny that I forgot.”
Oh Yujin pinched my cheek.
‘Ugh, I’m being treated like a kid again…!’
The next day, as promised, we sat side by side on a park bench, sketching the passing students. The chilly autumn wind brushed past the hand holding the pencil.
And so, the days went by.
The shooting day for the youth drama “Our Spring, Wind” was approaching.
Inside the silent bus
Two girls were sitting in a vehicle heading to the filming location.
“……..”
“……..”
One of them was staring intensely at the script, filled with annotations in blue pen. The other had her legs crossed, looking out the window absently.
The one staring out the window muttered softly.
“I don’t want to work at the same place as a monkey doing tricks.”
“……..”
“If you want to ride the coattails of some trendy catchphrase, you should go to a comedy show. Why are you sticking around here hoping to pick up scraps?”
“……..”
“How long do you think a street-cast nobody will last?”
“…….”
The small hand gripping the script trembled slightly. But she couldn’t argue with her senior’s muttering. She just focused on memorizing her lines.
If she got the lines wrong again…
There would be the assistant director’s scolding and her manager’s cold stare.
Even if they were shooting a slapdash scene with a hastily prepared script, she, as an outsider, had to keep her guard up.
‘I know.’
She knew very well that her sudden rise to fame wasn’t due to her talent, but pure luck, catching a break in an audition.
‘I know.’
She also knew this was all a poisoned chalice.
But…
‘I need to hold on.’
After reading her script for a while, Juri looked up.
“……”
She was finding it hard to keep reading the densely annotated script. The motion sickness was slowly creeping up on her.
So, she turned her head towards the window.
“……”
‘We’ll be there soon.’
Juri stuffed the script into her bag. The inside of her bag was filled with scripts, all annotated with blue pen, their pages worn to the point of being unreadable.
“……”
Even if she had to play the fool.
She had to be the perfect fool.
But.
It was still a bit unsettling.
‘Of all places…’
Her cousin.
Her most successful cousin was attending the school where the filming was taking place.
‘I don’t want this to be seen by Yujin unnie on set.’
Juri let out a quiet sigh.
But the bus didn’t stop. It kept driving forward.