By Zephyria 
The official name of the new filming location was Square Roger-Stephane.
The name had been changed in 2008. However, local residents still called it by its old name, Recamier Park.
Snugly nestled in a dead-end alley, it was a filming location the editor had been saving.
Although the area was quite busy, with famous department stores, a cathedral, and the 25-hectare Luxembourg Gardens nearby, this small, deeply hidden park was as peaceful as a secret garden.
When the two entered the park, the students had already arrived. They were wearing their own clothes, but they had received simple makeup. That alone made them look excited, as if they were experiencing being models.
The male student, who was carrying a guitar, gasped in surprise when he saw Song Hyun-soo, who had changed into his costume.
“Wow… you look great?”
It was the male student with the guitar.
“Really?”
“I thought the clothes from earlier suited you well, but this is like… you look like a real actor.”
The man’s expression and eyes didn’t seem to be just empty compliments. Song Hyun-soo felt embarrassed but also good.
“Looks like it’ll be a fun shoot, right?”
Thud. Song Hyun-soo felt something heavy placed on his shoulder, and it was Yoon Joo-ho. The man shrugged his shoulders with a shy smile and replied.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It’s my first time doing something like this, so I don’t know what to do.”
“Just act like you usually do when you hang out with your friends.”
The man nodded at Yoon Joo-ho’s advice and looked around the park with a fresh gaze, asking.
“How did an outsider know about Recamier? Tourists really don’t know about this place.”
“We get help from a local coordinator during the shoot. It’s our coordinator’s scouting ability.”
“I’m glad it’s not Luxembourg or Tuileries.”
“Do you come here often?”
“My ex-boyfriend used to live around here.”
“Ah…”
A lot could be felt from Yoon Joo-ho’s exclamation of ‘Ah.’
First of all, it was definitely not ‘Ah, so he was gay.’ It was closer to ‘I knew it. Just as I expected. That’s why he was hitting on my boyfriend so much.’ Song Hyun-soo could tell, even if others couldn’t.
Song Hyun-soo smiled even brighter and slipped out from under Yoon Joo-ho’s arm.
“Haha… the park is really pretty.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s meaningful gaze stuck to the back of his head, but he felt like he shouldn’t turn around.
The models moved deeper into the garden. They settled on a beautiful staircase surrounded by buildings on three sides. A new vitality arose among the filming crew in the impromptu situation.
“Theo, can you play the guitar?”
“Of course!”
At the editor’s suggestion, the male student took the guitar out of its case and played snippets of simple melodies, as if tuning it.
Popcorn and ice cream were given as props to ease the awkwardness of the college student models. The students, holding snacks in their hands, asked the editor with nervous expressions.
“What do we do now?”
“Just eat deliciously, talk, and play.”
The filming began in a situation where the only onlookers were a couple sitting on a green bench with a dog.
The first few minutes were closer to a warm-up to soften the atmosphere. The models, scattered up and down the stairs, looked up and down at each other and continued the conversation.
A female student with long curly hair asked Yoon Joo-ho, who was sitting a few steps above.
“If you have a social media account, could you tell me? I want to follow you.”
“I don’t update it very often.”
“That’s okay.”
Yoon Joo-ho entered his account into the app search bar she handed over. Then he returned the phone to her.
She was greatly surprised after checking the account profile. Her eyes and mouth widened simultaneously, almost in shock.
“What is this… Oh my god, this guy is crazy!”
“Why, what’s wrong, what is it?”
The friends sitting around her murmured and leaned towards her. She shouted.
“He has almost 50 million followers!”
“What??”
This time, even the other friends rushed to her. Except for the male student who was leaning against the railing of the stairs and tuning his guitar. He said in a casual tone, as if he had expected it.
“I knew he would be famous. Look at his face. It would be strange if he wasn’t famous.”
“Even so, did you expect 50 million followers? Don’t be ridiculous. Angele has about 4 million?”
A person with nearly 50 million followers.
The way the students looked at Yoon Joo-ho changed. It was closer to pure admiration than snobbish calculation. For people of that age, the number of followers on a social media account was like some kind of social proof.
While everyone was paying attention to Yoon Joo-ho’s account, the male student with the guitar handed his phone to Song Hyun-soo with a shy smile.
“What about you? If it’s okay, can you tell me your account?”
For a moment, Song Hyun-soo unconsciously looked at Yoon Joo-ho. Perhaps the male student noticed it.
Yoon Joo-ho was clearly aware of the conversation here, but he pretended not to know, munching on popcorn. As if it didn’t matter if he told him.
“Don’t be disappointed, I don’t have 50 million followers.”
Song Hyun-soo entered his account and handed the phone back to the man.
“Wow, 100,000 is also a huge number.”
He haltingly read the English name written on the profile.
“Hyun, Soo. Is that right?”
“Almost. Hyun-soo.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m Theo. Theo Morel.”
After saying his name and smiling, he began to play the guitar in earnest. It was Justin Bieber’s song ‘Peaches.’ Unlike the original song, his slow humming voice was quite sweet.
Yoon Joo-ho muttered in Korean above Song Hyun-soo’s head.
“He’s showing off his charm.”
Of course.
Yoon Joo-ho, who had been quiet even when asked for his social media account, revealed his true colors. Song Hyun-soo smiled silently and tilted his head back to look up at Yoon Joo-ho above him.
“The atmosphere is nice, isn’t it?”
“The atmosphere is nice?”
“I like it because it’s a song we used to listen to often?”
“……”
After discovering a video of Justin Bieber playing this song in an acoustic version, the two had been obsessed with it for a while. Song Hyun-soo would imitate the passionately singing on the concert stage to make Yoon Joo-ho laugh. At those times, Yoon Joo-ho would laugh loudly while rolling around on the sofa as if Song Hyun-soo was the most talented comedian in the world, and when the performance was over, he would open his arms wide and hug Song Hyun-soo tightly, shaking him from side to side. As if he loved him so much he didn’t know what to do.
Listening to that song being played on the guitar in Paris, Song Hyun-soo felt like he was immersed in a new sensation.
The fig trees, beech trees, and linden trees with small red berries surrounding them seemed to be shaking the pleasant autumn air and laughing together.
Song Hyun-soo said, scooping up ice cream with a spoon.
“Just because he likes men doesn’t mean he likes me?”
Yoon Joo-ho’s hand reached over his shoulder. And he grabbed Song Hyun-soo’s hand, taking the ice cream on the spoon and eating it.
“Hmm… even after being through that, you’re still saying that?”
Even those moments were being captured on camera.
The students were starting to relax more and more, and the atmosphere became more lively. In the photos, Yoon Joo-ho and Song Hyun-soo had a subtle mix of friendliness and distance, as if they were part of the group of college students and yet not.
Who started it first, a popcorn game suddenly began.
It was a competition of who could throw the popcorn higher and catch it. Soon Yoon Joo-ho and Song Hyun-soo joined in.
A female student in a denim skirt and Dr. Martens succeeded in a considerable height and struck a triumphant pose.
Enthusiasm and disappointment, laughter and jeers poured out endlessly from the simple act of throwing and catching popcorn.
Song Hyun-soo shouted in an excited voice.
“Sunbae, look! I’m good, right?”
Even if he didn’t call him, Yoon Joo-ho was already watching. Song Hyun-soo, who had succeeded for the fifth or sixth consecutive time, gained confidence.
He even took off his jacket and stood up from his seat, taking a stance from the bottom of the stairs. Everyone cheered for Song Hyun-soo’s passion. Waiting for a moment when the wind was calm, he threw the popcorn straight up high. The popcorn hit his forehead and bounced to the floor. A disappointed sigh erupted from the audience.
A second attempt.
This time, it narrowly missed his cheek next to his lips. Even the onlookers who had been watching from afar were disappointed. In the meantime, the audience had grown quite a bit.
In an instant, a roar of cheers burst out and soared into the sky.
Song Hyun-soo had succeeded on his third try.
Someone roared as if their cheering soccer team had scored the winning goal, and someone else jumped around so much that the popcorn in the box flew into the sky. In that thrilling moment, Song Hyun-soo looked for Yoon Joo-ho with his eyes. He was smiling very happily. Just like when Song Hyun-soo sang ‘Peaches’ passionately.
Song Hyun-soo, who bent back and spread his arms as if dancing the moment the popcorn landed in his mouth, and Yoon Joo-ho, who was cheering and enjoying himself.
All the scenes were frozen in the photos with a dynamism that seemed like they would wriggle at any moment.