"Annyeonhaseyo, I'm Park Bogum."

"..."

I thought I could literally hear the crickets chirping in the background as my family stared blankly at the guest standing at their front door.

"Nuna, did you hire someone to pretend to be Park Bogum?" Finally my brother asked.

"No, you idiot, are you blind? It's really him!" I shouted back, then proceeded to shove my family members away from the front door. "Let the poor guy in will you guys?!"

"A-ah, yes yes!" My dad suddenly sprung into action, grabbing a spare set of slippers and cleaning up the space on our living room couch. "Please! Make yourself at home! Sorry it's so messy in here. Do you want anything to drink? Coffee? It's probably too late for coffee. How about some juice?"

Bogum still stood shyly on the other side of the door, uncertain about his invitation inside. I sighed in exasperation and grabbed him by the arm to tug him inside. He obediently switched to slippers and shuffled his way over the living room, prompted by my pushing.

"Just relax," I reassured him, "sit down - my family won't bite... Too much"

He uncomfortably assumed his usual polite demeanor and kept bowing as my dad approached with water, a bottle of juice, and a plate of fruit.

"Appa! Don't scare him! You're gonna make him uncomfortable and he has to stay with us for a few days!"

"Nuna, you're inviting a stranger to stay in our place for a few days? Did you get scammed by this con-artist into thinking he's actually Park Bogum? We'll probably wake up the next morning to see all our stuff stolen by him."

"SHUT UP LEE JUN!" I shouted back, "Go up and play your stupid games."

Park Bogum broke out into a small smile at the exchange, "I really apologize for the sudden intrusion. But I promise I don't intend to steal anything."

"Aish," I sighed, "don't listen to that idiot."

"So..." My mom suddenly spoke for the first time. She still stood a far distance away on the other side of the room, as if afraid walking closer would shatter this dream of seeing Park Bogum inside her house. "It's really Park Bogum?"

"Ah yes--" Park Bogum began to answer before I cut him off.

"UMMA. Get over it and start taking care of our guest! It really is Park Bogum, and he got into some trouble so will need to stay with us until the Korea consulate opens after the holiday. Now, can you please help me find some extra blankets for him?"

My mom shook her head as if to clear her mind of her Park Bogum fog and followed me to the other room.

"How did this happen?" She asked as we moved out of earshot. "I didn't know he was taking his break in LA!"

"Yeah, I didn't either. He just happened to come to my cafe a few weeks ago. Then when he got into trouble with losing his stuff, I was the only Korean person he knew that he could find."

"Omo, he lost his stuff... He's just like his character Taek from Reply 1988! Omo, so cute..."

"Mom..."

"Ok, sorry. Wait - so you met him already before? And you didn't say anything about it?!" My mom exclaimed in betrayal.

"Look - I wanted to respect his time off. And knowing you and your circle of ahjumma fans, he's going to get found out and chased around if the news spreads."

"You think too lowly of me..."

"Am I wrong?" I gave my mom a stern look. Sometimes it was unclear who was the mom and daughter of the relationship. "Mom, please don't say anything to your friends. I'm going to tell Appa and Junnie to do the same. The poor guy had to announce to the world when he needed a break from being in the spotlight, I just don't want to ruin it for him now."

My mom nodded in understanding. "Fine. But I'm going to get a photo and autograph out of him at the very least."

I sighed. "Do what you want"

She giggled like a teenager and turned to get to work with the spare blankets.

I trudged back to the living room where my dad was now in full interview mode with his actor guest.

"...It's so wonderful to see our Korean films finally being recognized internationally, isn't it?" My dad mused.

"Yes," Park Bogum replied politely, "It's great to see American companies like Netflix working with Korean entertainment companies to bring those shows directly to international audience. The industry has been trying to break out beyond just Asia for a while now and it's amazing to see it finally happen."

"We must expand beyond Asia to continue growing. With the ban in China for Korean entertainment, it must have been hard on you guys? Western markets would be key to make up for that loss."

"Alright appa," I interrupted, "it's late - let the guy sleep!"

"Ah - right, YEOBO!" My dad shouted, "Go kick Junnie out of his room!"

Although he had already gone upstairs, my brother's ears seemed to be particularly in tuned to conversations about him. At the suggestion, he shouted back, "NO WAY I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME!"

"Aish this stupid kid," my mom roared and she stomped up the stairs, "TURN THAT THING OFF RIGHT NOW!"

"N-no" Park Bogum tried to interject, "Please, leave him be. I'm happy to be on the couch. It's my fault for intruding so suddenly, I don't want to inconvenience anyone."

"Are you kidding me?!" My dad whipped his head around quickly. It was almost as if he forgot for a second he was talking to a celebrity rather than his own children by the tone of his voice. Suddenly realizing this, he adjusted his volume and bowed apologized, "sorry. But really, Park Bogum-sshi, it's comfortable for us, so please just use our son's room."

"I really insist, what kind of adult would I be if I kicked a child out of his room?" Park Bogum, pleaded desperately.

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" Jun roared back from upstairs.

Park Bogum appeared shocked for a moment by the retort he received, but broke into an amused smile, "your