/Taewoong and Myungyong exit Seungho’s dorm, as the snow gusts and swirls around them. It is the end of January, the height of winter in Seoul./

/The apartment abuts a common walkway along the shared balcony, and snow frequently blows over the top of the railing and onto the footpath. It is a dry powder, and underneath is treacherous ice./

/Taewoong gingerly locks the front door and pulls it shut with his whole body. Beside him, Myungie had donned a knit cap and is wrapping a long scarf around himself, never taking his eyes off Taewoong./

M: …But why are we doing this? 

T: Why not?? 

Let's teach the little shit, that he can’t push his elders around!

"Do onto others…”, and all that crap. 

/The two waddle down the precarious walkway, ice crunching under their feet. Taewoong is clearly not wearing enough, and his arms are tucked to his sides - perhaps the thought of having pulled one over his brother is sufficient to keep him warm?/

M: ...Is he Christian?

T: ...No.

/They gingerly head down the exposed staircase. As they do, Taewoong remembers something important./

T: Ah! Son of a - 

I forgot my gloves!

Ah, fucking...forget it.

/After nearly turning back, he gives up and persists down the staircase./

/Myungie ambles alongside Taewoong with long strides as they exit the complex, his tall build a helpful bulwark against the wind./

M: Do you remember where you left them? 

T: Yeah - s’OK.

I was using them as potholders, then I put them down.

Just - c’mon.

/As Taewoong cuts an unrelenting path forward - he’s considerably shorter than Myungie, so he must be moving on casters or something - he mutters to himself,/

T: …Get it together, Taewoong.

He didn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know.

M: Um…is it OK for me to follow you? 

/Taewoong spins around and responds way too loudly,/

T: Why wouldn’t it be OK???

M: …

/Shrinking back and folding his hands together, Myungie holds his breath until Taewoong, who is fuming like a smokestack, walks off./

/He then turns around, resting his eyes on a couple of dark-clad men in the nearby street, who had come out for a smoke. The men are standing guard in front of a luxury SUV with tinted windows. To them, Myungie makes a circular gesture with his finger./

Driver: Sir!

/The leader of the men signals “OK” back to Myungie. The two then quickly clamber back into their vehicle and drive in a chaotic U-turn, before swinging around to tail Myungie. Myungie continues to walk forward, whistling as if nothing had happened./

/Above their heads, another Myungie looks down seductively from a massive billboard on the side of an office building. The billboard proclaims his stage name - 말렉, or “Malik” - as well as the date of his newest release, “Icemaker - the 6th album”, January 31, 2018./

/As they walk through a market square, Myungie attracts a lot of curious attention from diverse passers-by both young and old. He is in incognito mode - or so he thinks - but between his eye-catching fit and his towering height, he was sure to be noticed./

/For his part, Myungie seems completely comfortable, amused and delighted to be the subject of speculation. So what was the point of being undercover, anyway?/

/Taewoong walks ahead, feeling the awkwardness building in the silence between them. They hadn’t spoken in close to a decade, and it shows. Finally, he turns around, kicking a pebble of ice on the ground in what he hoped was a nonchalant way./ 

T: So uh…

sundae gukbap sound good?

M: For real??

/Myungie’s eyes nearly sparkle with delight./

M: We’re going to Three Sisters?

T: If that’s OK with you, Maestro.

M: I mean, yeah - 

/As Taewoong waits for Myungie's reply, a blur of motion passes behind them, honking loudly as it goes. Taewoong whips around and stares at the source of the disruption, taking a step back to avoid being splashed by icy sludge. Through the tinted windows, we can see one of Myungie’s hired goons pressing his whole face against the glass./

T: Hey, 

is that your car again??

M: Oh, 

couldn’t be…

/The two continue to stare at the brazen road safety hazard as it rounds the block again./

T: Maybe they can give us a ride, 

seeing as it’s your fault we’re out here.

M: You want to?...

/Myungie blushes out of nowhere - perhaps entertaining the thought of that cozy car ride, or perhaps just plain cold - before snapping back to reality./ 

M: Oh, wait, hold up - 

Since when did it become my fault? 

/Taewoong had already moved on, so Myungie follows. The two proceed to walk down alleyways filled with cafes, groceries, and specialty shops, as snow falls inexorably around them./

T: Well, 

It’s one thing for Seungie to not know his place,

but why the hell did you actually show up?

M: Oh, Dude…

Don’t be like that…

He's your little brother!

You want me to just leave the poor kid on read?

T: …Well, why not?

/Flashback: Seungho texting Myungie energetically, with generous smatterings of emojis./

M: I was happy. Seungho approached me super respectfully!

While still being real about wanting advice.

He’s a cool kid!

T: BARF…

/Myungie turns to Taewoong with a serious look./

M: Actually, can I tell you something?

I feel like - we caused this. 

Like, we made him think that being an idol 

was a good job to have. 

/Flashback: Two young ne’er-do-wells, whose identities shall remain protected, sing karaoke boisterously in front of Seungho and pretend to be living large. One has a bottle in his hand./

M: ‘Cause he used to come over to our dorm, and even as trainees, 

We would brag about 

How fun it was to live on our own, chasing the dream - when it wasn't shit!

Remember?

/Taewoong doesn’t look like he totally buys that account of the past./

T: I said that? 

…Was I drunk??

M: Every night!

T: …

/Taewoong doesn't think he needs to respond to that one./

T: Well anyway, you should stop feeling responsible, 

because Seungie flunked his college entrance exam all by himself!

You tell me, what options did he have after that?

/Flashback: A teenager with a bob cut and a face mask emerges into the frigid late autumn chill. Almost wistfully, he watches a leaf fall. The College Scholastic Ability Test, or suneung, is held every November./

T: Luckily he at least had my business connections to lean on, 

Or else no one would have watched his audition tape either!

/Flashback: With a strong hand, Taewoong forces his little brother to bow in front of a group of men who appear to be corporate bigwigs at Taewoong’s former company. For their part, they appear to be in a jovial mood, seeing their former artist return with his little brother at his side./

T: This might come as a shock to you, but that little crybaby is already 20 years old - 

M: …Or as the rest of the world calls it, 19!

T: Ooh, 19, such a kid! Hey, can you stop trying to make international age happen?

What a fucking mess that’d be…no thanks!

/Taewoong almost seems to be ranting and raving to himself at this point. Maybe he’s been holding in a lot./

T: Such a shame that everybody has to grow the fuck up eventually!

If Lil’ Baby’s not gonna study, or enlist, then I guess

he’d better put his beauty allowance from Mommy and Daddy to work, 

before that well also runs dry!

M: Mm hmm…

Snerk…

T: So knock it off with all this talk of us being the cause or feeling sorry,

I’ve warned him since the beginning that…

…What??

/Taewoong whips around to see Myungie standing at a distance, with both hands plastered over his mouth. He’s trying so hard to hold in his laughter that it looks like he might pee himself./

M: And, what about your “beauty allowance”?

Did...did you get one too??

/Taewoong’s expression becomes dark./

T: …Yo. 

How come you want to eat dirt all of a sudden?

M: Oh shit - 

/Taewoong cracks his knuckles and in one swift motion, he crouches down and scoops up an icy snowball, as Myungie breaks off into a frenzied run./

T: I think you’d better get to that restaurant, quick!

M: Wait, hold up, there’s ice -

Eek!

/Too late! The icy fastball breaks against the exterior of a nearby building, causing an audible splat! And nearly missing two children, one appalled and holding his friend back from the path of the projectile, the other giggling because grown men throwing snowballs is too funny. The snowball then slowly breaks off, and crumbles to the ground./

T: Ugh…

Now I’ve really done it. 

/Taewoong says, and we see what he means in a moment./