001 Audition

At dusk, the boy sat by the window with his head lowered, his expression sorrowful. The security bars made the room feel like a cage.

Creak.

The girl pushed open the door. Slowly, the boy lifted his gaze, focusing on her, a faint, long-lost smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Brother.”

The girl, feeling guilty, approached him nervously and instinctively reached for his arm, as if it were her only support.

“Are you alright, brother?”

She crouched down, placing her hand on his knee so that the seated boy could easily look at her, subtly signaling her vulnerability.

The boy chuckled softly. Despite the pain caused by her actions, she was his sister. No matter what, he would only say:

“It’s alright.”

“Don’t worry.”

Though she was the one who had done wrong, and he the one hurt, he comforted her instead...

Unable to restrain herself any longer, the girl stood and hugged the boy from behind, just as he used to carry her when they were children. She wrapped her arms around his neck, their faces close.

Spoiled and unwilling to apologize to outsiders, even for unforgivable mistakes, she only pleaded:

“You know, I only have you, brother.”

The boy’s heart struggled. His large hand enveloped hers, his fingers gently stroking the back of her hand—whether to comfort her or persuade himself, he wasn’t sure. Finally, the words escaped his lips:

“I will protect you, little sister.”

Hearing this, where the boy couldn’t see, a cunning smile spread across the girl’s face…

“Cut! Very good!”

The scene snapped back to reality—the SBS drama “Penthouse” test shoot studio.

Yoon Yunhui couldn’t help but laugh outright; behind him, Han Jihyun laughed even louder.

“No way, no way, this dialogue is really cheesy.”

“Oh!”

Han Jihyun shyly tapped Yoon Yunhui’s shoulder. A trained actress, this was her first appearance in a role with such a strange relationship, so she was taking it seriously.

“Well then, how come you acted so well?”

“Maybe because I’m an only child. If I really had a sister or an older sister, I probably couldn’t pull it off, hahaha.”

Yoon Yunhui’s eyes flickered, clearly harboring a secret he couldn’t reveal.

No wonder this melodramatic script came from the queen of sensationalism, Kim Soon-ok. It was hard to believe such a storyline would actually make it to filming.

It didn’t feel like something fit to be aired.

“Ah, but I really have a younger brother…”

Han Jihyun fretted.

“When it airs, just tell your brother not to watch.”

Yoon Yunhui joked. They played siblings in the drama, but off-screen they were like brother and sister—Han Jihyun born in ’96, two years older than ’98-born Yoon Yunhui. After two days of rehearsals and test shoots, they had become friends.

***

“That’s true, with how he is… Ah, hello, PD-nim.”

Han Jihyun was about to tease her younger brother further when she unexpectedly saw the chief producer and main planner of the “Penthouse” series approaching.

“Good performance. Welcome to the ‘Penthouse’ crew, Jihyun-ssiI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.