《Become a Star》


 Chapter 1

    Prologue


    In the beginning, [God] made several living things and allowed them to roam the world he created. Out of all of them, he especially loved humans, who were made in his image. Their superior intelligence and unrivaled abilities allowed them to dominate every part of the world for quite some time, creating diverse cultures and societies. It made [God] proud.


    One day, [God] suddenly wondered how much further humans would develop, and how they would change the world and other dimensions. Hence, he ordered twelve children to be born from his own flesh and blood to help humans and observe how far they would go.


    The twelve children understood their father¡¯s will, traveling across the world and between dimensions to impart all kinds of knowledge to humans. At the same time, they stimulated human desires and instigated several conflicts.


    However, only one of them was skeptical about their mission. He taught art to humans under his Heavenly Father¡¯s orders, but he was doubtful of the meaning behind it.


    ¡°Humans are uncivilized, ignorant and greedy. To them, art is nothing but a luxury beyond their means,¡± the son said.


    ¡°However, my son, unlike you, who are perfect from the beginning, humans are constantly evolving. Aren¡¯t you curious how they might grow if you show them the way?¡± [God] replied.


    ¡°I am not curious. Regardless, humans are lowly and foolish. They are a species that knows nothing about progress,¡± the son insisted.


    It was [God]¡¯s command to further develop their insignificant level, but his son, who loved beauty and abstract art, shuddered at the sight of the humans¡¯ barbaric and ugly nature. Even though [God] tried to persuade and pacify him, and harshly rebuked him, his heart did not waver. In the end, it incurred the wrath of [God].


    ¡°Very well. If that is what you truly think, live a thousand lives without any divine power and authority in the world of the humans whom you despise so much. Become one of those very same humans, and yet prove you are different from them. If you manage to accomplish anything in the human world without any power, while not having a single memory of being my child, I will acknowledge your will.¡±


    Thus, [God] cast his son into the human world, in the hope that he would feel something over the course of a thousand lives. However, as he was well aware of his son¡¯s personality, [God] did not have high expectations. It was apparent that if he did not do something about it, his son would gain nothing and it would be a complete waste of time.


    Living a thousand times in a human body is probably just like a game to that child¡­


    [God] thought. He decided to come up with a contingency plan and requested help.


    His twin daughters continued their older brother¡¯s duties and taught art to humans. However, they soon lost interest in the work, as it was not their duty to begin with, and neglected art. Therefore, at some point, humans had to learn and master art by themselves.


    Chapter 1


    One day, out of the blue, he changed overnight. It was not his personality or appearance that changed drastically. 23-year-old Chae Woo-Jin, who had been discharged from the military for two months, woke up one morning and remembered all of his past lives¡ªall 999 of them. It was rather strange waking up to that revelation in the morning, despite the fact that nothing else had changed.


    His previous lives had existed across nine realms, and he had lived diverse lives with no distinctions of gender or status. He had not only been reborn as a human being; he had been reincarnated as different types of species, including animals. However, he was not confused by the chaos and remnants of his past memories, and neither was his identity shaken. Oddly enough, he kept his cool, as he could separate himself from his previous lives.


    Of course, it would be a lie to say that this miraculous revelation was not terrifying. It had been several hours since he woke up, but his hands were still shaking and he still could not calm himself down. He pinched his cheeks a number of times to check if this was just a dream. His legs were trembling so much that it was hard for him to walk when he got out of bed, to the point that he almost had to crawl.


    However, apart from his body¡¯s reaction, as time passed by, he managed to pull himself together and became more calm and collected. It was as though a folder that contained 999 systematically organized videos occupied a part of his brain. That was an accurate description of his current state. Despite the large number, remembering all the contents of the videos did not overload his mental capacity. If he tried to recall a few of his previous lives, he was able to remember the details, as if he were playing a video.


    Initially, he was taken aback, but eventually, he became more and more convinced that these were his past lives, and not dramas or movies. Watching videos of someone else¡¯s life, like how one watched a drama or movie, did not make those clips an actual memory of one¡¯s own life.


    In the same vein, watching foreign movies did not allow one to learn a foreign language overnight. However, it was different when it came to remembering details from his previous lives. He was able to read, speak, and write the languages of the countries he had lived in, just by recalling it. He also knew how to use instruments he had never played before, and his drawing skills had significantly improved, even though he had never learned how to draw.


    Is this some sort of commemorative event for my thousandth life?


    In the midst of this uneasy and terrifying situation that had left him in a daze, a strange thought crossed Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mind. If he had lived a thousand lives, would everyone else have had the same experience as him? Was there a rule dictating that whatever happened to him could not happen to other people?


    Whatever.


    Chae Woojin, who had been trying to draw on a scratch pad, put down his pencil and lay back down on his bed.


    Is this why I wanted to become a celebrity so badly?


    Looking back at his past memories, Chae Woo-Jin eventually let out a laugh. In most of his previous lives, he had been involved in the arts. When he had been born into a wealthy family as a noble, he had been unable to fulfill his desire due to his family¡¯s opposition. However, at that time, he had lived his life supporting and loving the arts. Apart from that, he had spent his other lives singing, painting, acting, and writing plays.


    But it was only on Earth that I struggled to see such light in my life.


    In other realms, there were times he had ended up enjoying his life as a successful artist, but oddly, that had never been the case on Earth. Of course, there had been a number of his identities from his previous lives that were so well-known, even kindergarteners had heard of their names.


    However, they had suffered extreme poverty and contempt when they were still alive, and were not acknowledged in their lifetimes. They were never properly appreciated because they were too ahead of their time. Most of them had only received recognition in death, or some time after that.


    What was the point then?! I already died. What¡¯s the point of getting recognition only after death¡­?


    Of course, there were many more artists who had been buried in the flow of time, far from receiving recognition even in death. The same was true for several of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s previous lives, who had left no mark in history. In fact, he had lived far more such lives than successful ones. He had always been held captive by regrets and delusions in many of his past lives.


    When I wasn¡¯t an artist, I was rather successful.


    In lives where he had not been an artist, he had always become a rather successful and recognized individual, be it as a noble, a merchant, or various other professions. Considering this, he was bound to develop a strange sense of pride. He had tried so hard, so why had people not known of him? Of course, it was meaningless to find the answer only in death.


    This is my thousandth life, and I hope things will be a little different this time. So is my goal in this life to be famous, at least while I¡¯m still alive?


    He speculated that perhaps this was the reason he had remembered all 999 of his past lives. In other words, his soul¡¯s strongest desire had made this miracle happen. He comforted himself, wondering if he had suffered any injustices. Fortunately, for a long time, his goal in life had been to succeed as a celebrity; thus, his purpose in life did not change much.


    The first thing that greeted Chae Woo-Jin when he left his room after reaffirming his goal in life was his sister¡¯s nagging.


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s Sunday, how can you wake up so late?! Mom left for work earlier and I have to meet my friends for a study session, so make sure you get your lunch! Don¡¯t forget about the egg rolls in the fridge! Chae Woo-Jin, when you first got discharged from the army, even if it was Sunday, you always woke up at dawn and took a cold bath. You¡¯ve lost your discipline!¡± Chae Woo-Hee exclaimed.


    Remembering his past lives had not resulted in any immediate changes in Chae Woo-Jin''s life. He was still a student on leave of absence, whose future was uncertain.


    ¡°I woke up early this morning, but I didn¡¯t leave the room because I had to do something. I also have tutoring in the afternoon. Come to think of it, do you want me to tutor you instead of going to your study sessions? I won¡¯t charge you,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    Although he had been a trainee at an acting agency when he was 18, Woo-Jin had gotten into Korea University, the most prestigious university in Korea. He was naturally smart and gifted, thanks to his mother¡¯s side of the family; thus, even after being released from the agency and discharged from the military, it had been easy for him to charge high fees for lessons.


    He had started tutoring to earn money for his tuition fees along with extra pocket money, but he realized he had been too indifferent whenever his sister said she was going to study with her friends.


    ¡°Oh, please! I take after mom too, and I¡¯m just as good as you are at studying. Studying with friends is one of the few legitimate excuses I can use to hang out with my friends, so don¡¯t bother yourself over it. Use the time you were going to use to tutor me to take in one more student and earn a lot of money, my dear brother!¡± his sister said.


    Chae Woo-Jin smiled bitterly as he looked at his younger sister, who stuck her tongue out before leaving in high spirits. As a 23-year-old who had served in the military, it could be said that he was the head of the family now. However, in reality, he was an aspiring celebrity who had been a trainee since he was 18.


    He had joined a group that was preparing to debut and lived in a dorm with the other members, but things fell apart at the last minute, and he was eventually released from his agency. Now, he was just a young man who could not give up on his dream. The only thing Chae Woo-Jin had going for him was that he was a college student at a prestigious university.


    He and his younger sister had been raised by his mother. His mother had grown up in a family of lawyers and got married right after she graduated from university. She had given birth to two children, Chae Woo-Jin and Chae Woo-Hee. However, she had been unable to tolerate her husband¡¯s affair any longer, and had divorced him twelve years ago.


    At that time, a woman had visited their house with a girl who was only three months younger than Chae Woo-Jin''s younger sister, and casually requested for her child to be included in the family register. His father, the source of the entire debacle, had acted extremely shamelessly about it.


    He had blatantly stated that since this was now in the open, Chae Woo-Jin''s mother should treat the daughter born out of wedlock as her own. In addition, he had even informed her to accept the woman from his infidelity, and that even if she knew of their relationship, he would not break off the affair. He had claimed they were ¡°in love¡±, bragging about their stories and affection, and saying the family should be understanding.


    Thereafter, his mother, who had decided to file for divorce, was abandoned by her parents. Her father had not wanted a divorce in their family. Nevertheless, the appearance of his grandfather, who wanted to sever ties with his family, was the first time Chae Woo-Jin had ever witnessed something so cold. It was so unfamiliar and terrifying that he had wondered if this was the same grandfather who had once loved him so much.


    Ever since that incident, he had never met any of his relatives from the maternal side of the family ever again. They were so famous and talented that they would sometimes appear on the news or other platforms, but when that happened, he would intentionally look away from the screen. At times, he hated his grandfather more than his father for abandoning them, causing his emotional wound to grow.


    A small amount of alimony and no child support was not enough for a mother with two very young children to survive in the world. Her immature son had hurt her tender heart multiple times by saying that he wanted to become a celebrity. Gradually, his mother¡¯s abilities were recognized at work, and their financial situation got better. However, Chae Woo-Jin had done nothing to contribute.


    What¡¯s the point of remembering my past lives? It doesn¡¯t help me in any way right now. Besides, this is a world without martial arts or magic.


    <meta charset="utf-8">Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s past identities included martial arts masters and wizards. Even though he possessed all their theory and knowledge, he could not use any of it on Earth.


    Martial arts could only be performed on another Earth in a parallel universe. It was a world where one could fly after building up inner strength, just like the characters in martial arts novels that were popular these days. One could also use sound techniques and kill others with merely a song.


    It was a place where everything was exactly the same as Earth, except it was full of energy called qi, which people knew how to harness. It had been a world without a systematic theory of magic, but in that world, it would have been possible for him to perform magic based on his newfound knowledge.


    However, that was not the case for this world. Chae Woo-Jin tried casting the safest and most magnificent high-level technique that he knew, but nothing happened. It was not that there was no qi in this world, but compared to the Earth of other parallel universes, there was ridiculously little qi, only sufficient for people and nature to survive. Nothing more and nothing less.


    Even though this was a parallel universe, its structure and principles were completely different. Nature was beautiful, and if one were to go to places such as the Amazon or Africa, where ¡®qi'' was in abundance, and nurture themselves for the rest of their lives, they could attain results akin to three or four stars¡¯ worth of cultivation, but that was it. He was willing to place his reputation as a Martial Arts Honorable Elder in his past life on the line that he was right.


    In any case, it¡¯s still good for my health, so I¡¯ll keep going.


    It was difficult to build inner strength, but by doing so consistently, the meridians would expand, allowing his body to become stronger. In fact, even if it were just that much, he would be able to possess stamina and strength that nobody else on this earth could surpass. Of course, it was just knowledge that could not do anything for him, at least for now. Right now, it was not even worth as much as the egg rolls in the fridge.


    ***


    An unexpected phone call came when Chae Woo-Jin was on his way home from tutoring.


    - Is this Mr. Chae Woo-Jin?


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. Who am I speaking to?¡±


    He was always cautious about calls from unsaved numbers.


    - This is Kim Sang-Jin from the Death Hill project.


    ¡°Kim Sang¡­ Ah! You were the casting director for Death Hill, right?¡±


    Death Hill was the movie in which Chae Woo-Jin had managed to land a role, on his last vacation before he was discharged from the military. Of course, It was a minor role that only had two scenes. It was embarrassing to even call it a supporting role, but it was the first time Chae Woo-Jin had gotten into acting. Even so, the filming had ended a month ago, so there was nothing more for him to do.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with my scenes, by any chance?¡±


    - No. I¡¯m not in charge of filming, so I don¡¯t know about that. Fortunately, I know it¡¯s going well, at least. As for what I¡¯m calling you about today, are you available tomorrow? To be precise, I would need you to be free for three days¡­


    Chae Woo-Jin sensed something different in Kim Sang-Jin¡¯s tone. Since he had to seize the opportunity regardless, he had to clear his schedule. Fortunately, a student on leave had nothing but time.


    ¡°Three days? Luckily, I don¡¯t have anything important scheduled, so I can make some adjustments. How can I help you?¡±


    Even though it was urgent, his voice was calm and relaxed. He was not truly free, but since he did not have anything he could not reschedule, he kept calm and listened to what the other party had to say.

 Chapter 2

    - Death Hill¡¯s director and writer modified the sequence. It seems both of them liked working with you last time. They added a few more scenes for your character, which is why I called.


    Death Hill¡¯s director, Moon Seung-Kwon, was known for making sudden changes to the script while filming was still ongoing. As such, casting directors often complained since they had to often call up actors on the day before the supposed shoot. That also meant that just like Woo-Jin, there were also many who got to grab these unexpected opportunities.


    Woo-Jin hung up after Kim Sang-Jin told him about the schedule and location, and cheered as he ran around the sidewalk. At this moment, he was extremely elated, even though people were slowly avoiding eye contact with him as if he were a madman. Even recalling all 999 of his past lives could not compare to a golden opportunity like this.


    ***


    The female protagonist in Death Hill greatly suffered due to her father¡¯s debt, and her life became even more difficult after she became a suspect upon witnessing a murder. As she was being chased by the police, the killer, and various loan sharks, the only person who believed her was the male protagonist, a journalist. The movie followed the two protagonists as they experienced adversity and adventure to reach a happy ending, while Woo-Jin played the role of ¡®Loan Shark A¡¯ in this storyline.


    It was such a minor role that the character did not even have a name. He was the antagonist responsible for the female lead¡¯s initial misfortune, which started when her father borrowed money from loan sharks to pay off his gambling debt. To be more precise, he was one of the youngsters who worked for the boss of the loan shark company, whose duty was to collect money.


    However, he secretly liked the female lead. He initially approached her intending to collect her father¡¯s debt; in the process, though, he threatened her by breaking things and sexually harassed her, insisting that she sleep with him in place of the interest. That clingy slimeball even told her that after they sold her as a prostitute, he would tell his coworkers that he called dibs on her first.


    ¡°They liked the dirty look in your eyes,¡± the assistant director explained to Chae Woo-Jin. While elaborating on the full content of the modified sequence, he also emphasized that there was a slight change in Woo-Jin''s role. ¡°Originally, the female lead was chased and caught by the loan sharks, but she was rescued by the male lead before they turned her into a corpse with no organs. Now, instead of the male lead, A intervenes and rescues her. Previously, A was simply a pervert who sexually harasses the female lead, but now, we¡¯re adding a little madness and pure love to his character. Okay?¡±


    ¡°So, the key is to portray him as a pervert?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°And a spoonful of madness, and two spoonfuls of pure love,¡± the assistant director said as he handed over the script of the changed sequence with a mischievous look on his face. He had worked with Director Moon on more than a dozen films over the years, and he seemed to be fine with the modifications.


    In the eyes of the public, Director Moon Seung-Kwon was known for improvising and changing the script right before filming to change things up; but in truth, that was not the case. This always happened whenever he disliked the leads chosen by the investors. That was the truth behind the partially modified scenes that reduced the screen time of the leads. He made his changes spontaneous in order to avoid giving the investors or actors a chance to react. In truth, it was Director Moon¡¯s ¡®eccentricity¡¯ that required the cast to be fully prepared after only a few days of discussion with the main staff.


    That being said, the changes often made things better, allowing their movies to be more positively received by the public. Thus, even though the investors might grumble, they ultimately did not say much. It was similar to how an honor student''s bad behavior would be overlooked to a certain extent, as long as they kept up their good grades. Regardless of what anybody said, Director Moon was one of the most popular movie directors in Korea.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of lines, so memorizing them wouldn''t be a problem, right?¡± the assistant director asked. Whether or not he remembered that Woo-Jin had memorized his fairly long lines immediately during the filming a month ago, he was not worried about Woo-Jin''s memorization skills.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Umm¡­! You¡¯re dressed differently, and your hair is a little longer than the last time we filmed,¡± the assistant director remarked. After being discharged from the military for two months, Chae Woo-Jin''s hair was still short, but it seemed to have grown a little longer compared to the last time he was on set.


    After hearing what the assistant director said, the art director shook her head and commented, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Besides, time passes within the movie as well, so it¡¯ll look natural. If you need to convey pure love, it won¡¯t match well if your hair is too short. You have a good physique, so it''s fine.¡±


    The art director let out a spirited chuckle; she liked <meta charset="utf-8">Woo-Jin''s physique and looks that outshone the male lead¡¯s. The assistant director clicked his tongue and remarked, ¡°She won¡¯t be leaving this set because she wants to ogle handsome men.¡±


    ¡°I love looking at pretty things and earning money. Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is tall and handsome. I enjoyed the view back then, and it¡¯s so nice to see you again. Good luck this time. I hope to see you often here for a long, long time,¡± the art director said.


    There were quite a number of new actors present as a result of the ¡®modified script¡¯ that had been created thanks to Director Moon¡¯s spontaneity. An appearance in the movie, no matter how brief, would be impactful enough to make one¡¯s name known to the world. Everyone who was present knew that for a fact.


    Thus, the way they looked at Woo-Jin today was subtly different from how they had looked at him a month ago. If an actor who had already finished filming his part had been brought back to replace the male lead, it meant that the director must have seen something in him. If he messed up, he would have nothing to say if people mocked him for blowing his chance.


    Woo-Jin received the script for the scene, which only had a few lines, and read it over and over again. In order to understand the ambiance and A¡¯s personality, he had to understand the entire story. As soon as he was done with his makeup, however, he had to go on set immediately due to a lack of time.


    ***


    The loan shark boss¡¯ face quivered with anger as he yelled at A, ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t know where she went?!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± A replied.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, or you¡¯re pretending not to know?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Do you think there''s anyone in the office who doesn''t know you like that woman?!¡± As soon as the boss said that, he threw a light stainless steel ashtray at A¡¯s face.


    A¡¯s eyes glistened through the flying gray ash after he was hit by the ashtray. He replied with a sly smile, ¡°She''s hot and I want to bed her. Don''t you feel that way too when you see hot chicks?¡±


    Under Woo-Jin''s gaze, which seemed to be silently asking ''Why are we being like this when we''re birds of the same feather?'', the boss'' tense expression faded as he said, ¡°Find her and bring her here before the police get to her. It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not she was the killer, I just want my money back.¡±


    The interest alone was already more than enough to cover the principal sum, but it did not mean anything to the loan sharks.


    ¡°Should we sell her after we catch her?¡± A asked.


    ¡°Are you crazy?! Her face is plastered all over the country; how are you going to do that? How much would it cost to change her face? Maybe if the bounty was high, we could take it and also get a police commendation. Spend that 30 million[1] somewhere else and just hand her over to the factory,¡± the boss replied.


    ¡°By factory, you mean¡­¡± A began.


    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about!¡± the boss exclaimed with a burst of cruel laughter.


    In response, A laughed too. His eyes, which were void of all emotion, did not tremble at all. However, as soon as he left the boss¡¯ office and turned around to close the door, his eyes glittered with the taint of insanity. He smirked sinisterly, muttering, ¡°Factory? So you like factories, huh.¡±


    A had a dark look on his face, as if he were quietly asking, ¡®Who said you called the shots?¡¯.


    ***


    ¡°Cut!¡± the director yelled.


    The director¡¯s clapboard lifted a weight off Woo-Jin''s shoulders. That scene had been filmed with no bad takes from start to finish, leaving the director and other staff members very satisfied. Woo-Jin''s performance was better than they had expected, even though he had been suddenly summoned without any prior preparation. They liked the venomous look and madness in A¡¯s eyes, in particular.


    ¡°Was he that good at expressing emotions through his eyes?¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t bad in the first place. Is he the actor who was selected after the audition?¡±


    Loan Shark A had originally been such a minor role that there was no need for auditions. However, the director disiked the male lead, who was cast due to pressure from the investors. Hence, he had decided to hold auditions even for the smallest roles. This was the director¡¯s expression of protest ¡ª ¡°The male lead is the only nepotism casting in this movie.¡± If he found a good actor during the auditions, he would use them just as he did today. It was all a part of a rather strategic plan.


    Chae Woo-Jin was 186cm tall and had a personable face, with features that were popular these days. He was handsome and had soft and beautiful features, as opposed to sharp and defined features. However, because of his distinct features, it was still possible for him to achieve a bolder look depending on the makeup he used. At first glance, he looked like a gentleman, so they were worried that he would not be able to play the role of a delinquent loan shark. However, he was still able to do it effortlessly.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to be popular, right?¡± the cinematographer asked in a soft voice. Director Moon merely smiled. Having been in this field for a long time, they often had certain hunches. They were mostly correct, apart from a few exceptions here and there.


    The reason why some actors could not make it big despite having a good body and looks, as well as great acting skills, was fate. In fact, becoming a star in the sky was more than just hard work and luck. Stardom was a position that only those chosen by the masses and the God of Fate could enjoy. It could not be determined by mere gut feelings.


    ¡°The look in his eyes is really great,¡± the cinematographer remarked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying. He was good at conveying emotions through his eyes before, too,¡± the director replied.


    ¡°What''s in it for you? Why are you so concerned with his success?¡± the cinematographer asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Give them one or two jobs. Leave a good impression when they¡¯re still nobodies, and once they make it big, you get to pester them to be the Grateful Swallow[2],¡± the director said.


    Ignoring obscure actors and treating them recklessly were things done by those without foresight. Of course, Director Moon was not generous enough to care about people with no prospects, but at the very least, he had to be loyal to those whom he regarded to be in his ¡°line¡±.[3] Regardless of how jungle-like the entertainment industry was, he had had to follow this rule in order to survive in it for a long time. If one felt that a particular actor would make it big, one should start building a good relationship with them when they were still a nobody.


    ¡°And get stabbed in the back again?¡± the cinematographer asked.


    ¡°Ah! Those bad memories are starting to come back,¡± the director exclaimed.


    ¡°You can¡¯t expect them to be sincere towards you when you approached them with such intentions in the first place,¡± the cinematographer advised.


    After the clapboard was sounded, Director Moon and the cinematographer had been engaged in a secret conversation. As such, the actors had to get out of their relaxed state and be on their toes again.


    They had thought that it would be done in one take, but the director did not seem entirely satisfied.


    ¡®From which point in the scene will he want to do a retake?¡¯


    These complicated thoughts were swimming in the actors'' minds, while Director Moon remained unaware.


    After ending the conversation with the cinematographer, Director Moon looked up and asked with a blank expression, ¡°What are you doing instead of moving onto the next scene?¡±


    The others might not know, but Woo-Jin was done with filming for today. The important scenes would be filmed the next day, so he grabbed the script and quietly left the set. Despite how last minute he was called up, the schedule for the day was not so bad.


    The crew had rented an entire building that had been scheduled for demolition. Even though there were several rooms, they were all in use. When Woo-Jin went down to the actors'' lounge downstairs, there were already people seated there. They were Loan Shark 1, Loan Shark 2, and Loan Shark 3. Fortunately, he was familiar with them, as they had been on set with him during the last filming. Loan Shark 2 saw Woo-Jin first, and acted as though they were acquaintances.


    ¡°Oh¡­ A is here!¡± Loan Shark 2 remarked.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m guessing you guys aren¡¯t done with filming today,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re police officers today, loan sharks tomorrow, and passersby the day after. Did the filming go well for you?¡± Loan Shark 2 asked.


    ¡°It went all right today, but I¡¯m worried about tomorrow,¡± Woo-Jin said. Tomorrow¡¯s scene was going to be an action-packed brawl, so he was worried.


    Knowing Woo-Jin''s situation, Loan Shark 1 smiled and patted the seat next to him. Originally used as an office, the lounge was rather huge, so there was still much space even after with the four men inside. Judging from the mattresses on one side, it seemed as though sleeping arrangements had been settled.


    ¡°A, are you going to sleep here tonight too?¡± Loan Shark 1 asked.


    ¡°I might, since we have to work on the brawl scene early in the morning tomorrow. Is there space for me?¡± Woo-Jin asked in response.


    ¡°There will be mattresses and blankets everywhere at night, so you don¡¯t have to worry about finding a space to sleep. Director Moon takes good care of the staff, as well as the actors who do minor roles, so it¡¯s great to work with them,¡± Loan Shark 1 explained.


    Woo-Jin nodded upon hearing those words. Even he, who had just entered the entertainment industry, knew that Director Moon was famous for his good personality in a sea of demanding directors. He was very lucky to be working with Director Moon for his first movie.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re doing the brawl scene tomorrow too, that means you¡¯ll be joining us,¡± Loan Shark 1 said.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be beaten up by all of you. Please be gentle with me,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Why are you being so formal with us? In the film, you¡¯re our older bro,¡± Loan Shark 1 added.


    ¡°That¡¯s because he was hoping we would go easier on him tomorrow,¡± Loan Shark 3 interjected.


    Woo-Jin played along with Loan Shark 3¡¯s playful response, and the three men clenched their fists as they laughed, looking forward to tomorrow.


    1. ~25K USD <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. This is in reference to a famous Korean fable Heungbu and Nolbu where Heungbu saved a swallow and the swallow eventually returned the favor and made Heungbu wealthy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heungbu_and_Nolbu <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. In the Korean entertainment industry, a ¡°line" refers to people who are grouped together because they shared the same traits or are on the same ¡°side". For example, BTS'' rap line consists of RM, Suga, and J-Hope. And those who are close to national MC, Yoo Jae-suk are often said to be of the Yoo line. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s good that you have more scenes now, and you have quite a number of lines. We don¡¯t even have a script. We are just busy with having different makeup everyday and standing in the background to  fill out the scenes,¡± one of the loan sharks said.


    Director Moon might be well known for his impromptu script revision, but for the minor actors who were not lucky enough to have been given a chance, they were both envious of Woo-Jin and bitter about their situation.


    ¡°Which is why the first thing you must have is good looks,¡± he continued.


    ¡°He¡¯s not just good-looking though? He¡¯s tall too. And he¡¯s rather good at acting,¡± commented another loan shark.


    ¡°Indeed, A doesn¡¯t pale in comparison to Park Min in any way. I hate it whenever he grumbles every time there¡¯s an action scene. So, it''s good that we don¡¯t have to hear him grumble tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°According to what I¡¯ve heard, the script was modified because Park Min complained so much during the action scenes, they replaced the male lead with A.¡±


    Dissatisfaction with the male lead, Park Min, did not only come from the director, but also the other actors. It was understandable that an actor who made a living off his face was careful when it came to filming action scenes. However, even though they had practiced many times beforehand under the instructions of the action choreographer and took extra care during the shoot , Park Min was still panicky, and flinching throughout. Thus, it was inevitable for everyone to be annoyed with him. Because of that, there were several bad takes, which prolonged the time that they were forced to hear  Park Min¡¯s complaints and grievances. The minor and supporting actors were the ones who ended up suffering as a result.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to tell me not to grumble tomorrow, right?¡± Chae Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re quick-witted,¡± replied one of the loan sharks.


    Even though there was a lot of discontentment towards the male lead or, to be more precise, a famous actor, the minor actors could not continue their conversation about him. Hence, they laughed it off and wrapped up the conversation.


    ¡°Do a good job tomorrow. There are mask packs in the fridge over there, so use one in the evening before you go to sleep. You need to get your makeup done well in order to look good on screen,¡± one of them told Woo-Jin.


    They were envious of how lucky Woo-Jin was, but they were not jealous. They had been working in this industry for a long time, so they were experienced. They did not resent the fact that they had not gotten their lucky break. Instead, they simply did their best, hoping to get lucky one day.


    In order for that to happen, they knew very well that they would stand a better chance if the movie was successful. Apart from the leads, if any supporting or minor actors did a good job and became a topic of discussion, it would help the success of the movie. Even for small actors with minor roles, it was better for them to have a successful movie in their filmography than a flop.


    As such, despite Woo-Jin having already met the passing criterion of being good looking, the three of them still helped Woo-Jin out in many ways to ensure that he would look good on the screen and perform well. With their help, Woo-Jin was able to study and prepare for the scene tomorrow in a conducive and silent environment off to one side.


    Even though it seemed as though he had a lot to study, he was actually just trying to understand Loan Shark A¡¯s character. Looking at A¡¯s character alone, he was a selfish man who was brazen and impulsive. Someone like that, crazy, young and only looking to satisfy his own desires, would only display a very extreme sort of love. However, the assistant director said it was pure love. Woo-Jin did not know how to express it from such a character at all.


    Woo-Jin himself had experienced love before. When he was an idol trainee, they had been banned from dating. Also, because he was young, he had to juggle between school and practice, and hardly had enough time for both. Because of that, he eventually got into a conflict with the members in his pre-debut group; around that time, he began dating his college classmate.


    In his desolate state from overexhaustion and also feeling rebellious about the dating ban, he couldn''t reject the  pretty girl who had confessed her feelings for him. He gave all of his  first-times to her over the course of their relationship. At that time, the world seemed like a beautiful place for a brief moment, and it was a series of happy and exciting days that could not be described in words. He experienced ¡®love¡¯ for the first time, thanks to her. He would not die for her, but he had the desire to experience life with her.


    Just when he thought they were going to be together forever, however, she dumped him hard. When his agency let him go, Woo-Jin had thought of her and given up on his dream of becoming a celebrity. It might have been ridiculous to talk about the future at only 21, but for her sake, he had been determined to succeed in another field instead of becoming a celebrity. He had been somewhat confident because he had faith in himself.


    However, that had not been the case for her. She could not see a future with a college student from a poor family consisting of a divorced single mother and a younger sister, and had not even served in the military yet. Despite that, he kept clinging to her. When he drank late into the night, he would send her messages asking if she had slept. He did everything he could.


    They had even argued bluntly about whether they could be in a relationship or not despite their young age, and even cried about how it was okay to break up with someone they were not going to end up marrying.


    At that time, she said, ¡°What do you think dating is?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m doing now,¡± he replied.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s love. I¡¯m asking about relationships,¡± she said. Fortunately, she did not deny Woo-Jin¡¯s feelings. Perhaps that was why her words made him feel even more bitter.


    ¡°As you said earlier, we¡¯re still young and immature. It¡¯s great to be in a relationship with someone we love. But right now, there are a lot of problems in our relationship. I want to be able to enjoy the beauty of youth today, instead of worrying about tomorrow and planning for the future. I hate how we have to worry about money when we eat out, and I¡¯m tired of constantly worrying about tomorrow.


    ¡°My heart doesn''t flutter anymore when I kiss you. I just want to be in a normal relationship like other people around my age,¡± she explained. Looking at her dry eyes as she said she was tired, Woo-Jin could not bring himself to tell her that his heart fluttered just by looking at her and felt like it would burst out of his ribcage when they held hands,


    When I hug you, there are no words in this world that could express the bliss that coursed through every fiber of my body.


    That was the only love Woo-Jin had ever known. Even though it had not been a happy ending, he had been happy at one point. At that time, Woo-Jin felt that she looked so sweet even when she was just breathing; he was grateful and happy that she was born into this world.


    Would A be able to have such feelings? No.


    In A¡¯s eyes, it would be meaningless if he didn''t possess or conquer what he wanted, even if he had to give up his life to save that person. On the contrary, A would kill a woman with his own hands and take her body if he knew she would have a good life without him after his death. Except, A would never choose to die. That was the kind of person Woo-Jin pictured A to be.


    This was where Woo-Jin started feeling troubled. Tomorrow, he, no, A would have to die saving the female lead, Ara. However, he had no idea how to act out A¡¯s reluctance to accept death. Since he had to wake up at 5 a.m., he went to bed early and tried to get some sleep. However, his disorganized thoughts only kept him awake for longer.


    Come to think about it, I hated people quite a bit in my past lives.


    Woo-Jin started thinking about his feelings about love, and at a certain point, he started thinking about his past lives. From the beginning of his life, Woo-Jin had genuinely loathed human beings with all his heart, including his family. Thus, he had been lonely and miserable. Despite having lived quite a number of lives, he had not known that this phenomenon would change.


    Then one day, in his 457th life, his soul had fallen in love for the first time. He had never loved or even liked anyone in his previous lives before. That was when he had fallen in love with a woman for the first time through all his lives, and it had ended in a horrible tragedy. As he had been unable to understand or acknowledge that he loved somebody, or another human being, he had eventually killed her with his own hands before committing suicide.


    He had not acknowledged his love for her until the very end. Instead, he had camouflaged and disguised it as hatred. Thereafter, he fell apart, living in a world where the person he loved had disappeared. Since there had been no one to hide his feelings from, the aftermath had been too unbearable for him, and he was  haunted by endless self-loathing.


    However, what he had felt back then was slightly different compared to how A felt. A was clearly aware of his own feelings and knew exactly what he wanted. As someone who would rather kill the other party and continue living in bitterness than kill and commit suicide, what other inner thoughts and emotions did A have that made him choose death? Woo-Jin quickly scoured through the rest of his past lives. After experiencing love once, little by little, he had started to feel affection for human beings in his subsequent reincarnations. From that moment onward, he had naturally begun to develop love for his own families.


    After looking through his memories for a long time, Woo-Jin was finally able to find an identity from his past that had experienced similar feelings to A. Throughout his entire life, music was the only thing he had known. He had nothing more than just basic affection for his family and a sense of duty.  Music was the most important thing to him.


    However, as he had been born as a noble, he had been unable to achieve his dream. Thus, he had become more alienated and arrogant.


    One day, a woman appeared before him. He had been satisfied with his wealthy life and stable family as a middle-aged man, but the beautiful young woman who was as dazzling as the sun had been the muse of his dreams. The whirlwind of emotions he felt and his strong desire to have her were the same manic passion he felt about music.


    At that time, he had wanted to have her even if it meant throwing music, family, and everything else away. He had become horrifyingly possessive of her, such that if he could not have her, he wanted to make sure that nobody else could, even if it meant he had to kill someone.


    Upon hearing she had gotten engaged, he went nearly insane and eventually killed her fianc¨¦. Since he could not tolerate anybody coming close to her, he had continued murdering them, to the point that she became isolated. At the time, he had the financial resources and power to achieve such an outcome. He had been rather satisfied with the results: An unlucky woman plagued by misfortune, such that a mysterious death befall on anyone who came close to her.


    In the end, she had no choice but to choose him, the only person who loved her. Since it had been a forced decision and the only escape she had, there was no sincerity in her love. Having somebody physically was not all there was to love. Thus, the selfish man who was crazy about love could not be satisfied.


    One day, he drank some poison and died in front of her, as if to tell her, ¡®See, even the only person who ever loved you died in front of you. You are someone who brings so much misfortune to other people. There will never be anybody who will love you as much as I do. You have lost the one and only person who loves you.¡¯


    Since he could not receive her wholehearted love, he had wanted her to be unhappy for the rest of her life in a world without him. Even if she were to truly love somebody in the future, he wanted her to remember this very  day and give up on love. His bitter imagination of her potential happiness in a world without him made him hesitate, but he still stuck to his decision. What he felt then was the joy of being able to hurt and destroy her, the person who did not reciprocate his love. That was the "sacrificial" love of a selfish person.


    Ah¡­ was this truly my past life?


    Maybe that was the reason he had been so cruel and taken lives so lightly; possibly because of his strong hatred towards humanity, which had remained in him since his very first life. His incomprehensible hatred and feelings towards human beings had turned him into a monster.


    Right now, Woo-Jin himself could not understand the desolateness and madness involved, but in any case, that was all in the past. He shook his head and tried not to dwell on it too much, before looking back at A¡¯s feelings through the lens of his past life. Even though it might not have been the same, to roughly put A¡¯s feelings in common parlance, A was giving ¡®Ara¡¯ the middle finger.


    A knew that she would never love him, which was why he wanted her body. Because of that, he hoped that she would not be able to pay off her debt, and would thus be sold off as soon as possible. That was how he could have her for once, in the name of his one-sided love.


    However, she could die. In fact, she was going to die. He would not be able to have anything, so what should he do? Regardless of how much he thought about it, he could not come to a conclusion. He could give up and forget about it, but that did not seem as though it would work out well. That hesitation stemmed from A¡¯s pure love.


    A world without ¡®Ara¡¯ would not be fun, but he hated the fact that she would lead a happy life without him. Thus, he had to make it such that she would not have the ability to be happy. As punishment for not loving him back, he wanted her to never forget about him while suffering in misery, and being haunted by nightmares. Since a world without Ara would be a sad one anyway, he wanted her to live a living hell in a world without him. Woo-Jin thought that could be a reason for A to choose death over Ara.


    A cold smile crept across Woo-Jin¡¯s face as he immersed himself in A¡¯s feelings. Just imagining it alone made it so thrilling that his heart pounded hard. Even A¡¯s love was able to make one¡¯s heart race.

 Chapter 4

    Even though he had barely slept, Woo-Jin had a clear mind and his heart was happily beating for Ara. Thus, even though they started the rehearsal for the action scene at dawn, he was in his best condition.


    ¡°Remember the route you¡¯re using to escape with Ara. At this point, the brawl begins when A gets struck in the head from the back with a club. A is a smart guy¡ªhe¡¯s a character who knows how to use his body efficiently. In other words, he¡¯s absolutely not the type who would mindlessly counterattack,¡± said the choreographer in a stern tone and a sharp gaze.


    After mirroring the demonstration of the choreographer, Woo-Jin felt that it turned out to be easier than what he had originally expected. The memory of his past life as a Master who ruled the martial world helped him. Without that experience, it would have been difficult for him to follow the choreographer¡¯s demonstration. Needless to say, having the memory alone did not mean that his physical body could keep up.


    Woo-Jin knew how to move his body the way he wanted, as he had practiced the same dance routine over and over again every single day back in his trainee days in order to debut as an idol. Even after he was discharged from the military, he had not been lazy and danced in his free time, warming up every single time before that. Equipped with both a flexible body and knowledge from the past, he was able to follow the choreographer¡¯s instructions without difficulty, which allowed him to do a rather convincing job.


    Without realizing it, Woo-Jin felt grateful for the memories of his past lives. He had been able to understand A¡¯s feelings because of them, and now, they were helping him with this action scene rehearsal as well. Although Woo-Jin¡¯s body was flexible because of those dance practices, doing action and fight scenes was entirely different, and required a different set of skills.


    Nonetheless, he did not feel that it was beyond his ability. The only issue he faced was that when he was portraying A¡¯s sophisticated fighting skills, the combination of his dance-trained body, and the memories of his time as a Master, resulted in him looking more ¡®graceful¡¯ than necessary.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The choreographer was speechless for a moment, and told Woo-Jin to wait briefly before leaving his seat. Soon, he brought the assistant director back with him, as well as a few stunt actors. ¡°A! Show me what you did before! You guys, join in too,¡± the choreographer instructed.


    The assistant director¡¯s eyes widened as he watched Woo-Jin reenact the brawl according to the instructions given. He had not expected much from Woo-Jin when it came to action scenes, as the latter was only brought in on short notice based on his looks and acting skills. It was a sequence that had to be filmed and completed quickly while the male lead, Park Min, was shooting a commercial overseas. Thus, they could not give Woo-Jin enough time to practice. They had planned to gloss over the scene by getting him to do a rough imitation and making it look decent enough, but that was simply foolish arrogance.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little too graceful for a loan shark?¡± asked the assistant director.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. It¡¯s clean without any unnecessary moves. It looks as though he¡¯s dancing and flying¡­it¡¯s beautiful,¡± responded the choreographer.


    ¡°What should we do? Should we fix that and make it look more like the original A? Or...¡±


    ¡°Fix? What for?! Even if you shoot it just like that, you¡¯ll get a really great scene!¡±  The choreographer smirked at the assistant director, who was glaring at him with an expression that seemed to say ¡®What kind of crazy talk is this?¡¯. While it was important for the content of the movie to be realistic, aesthetics were equally important too. He felt relieved upon hearing that there was no need to modify a masterpiece to create an imitation.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go in this direction then,¡± said the assistant director.


    ¡°As it should be!¡±


    As a result, while Loan Shark A did not transform into a retired martial arts master, he was by no means just a low-level thug. Thus, some changes needed to be made to the content. Although it was a little cumbersome, it was an enjoyable task.


    ¡°Heh heh heh, he¡¯s going to surpass Park Min by a mile!¡± the assistant director muttered.


    The choreographer had an awkward look on his face when he heard the enthusiastic murmuring of the assistant director, who had a lot of complaints about Park Min. He tried to refute them initially, but eventually he stopped. In any case, the choreographer also knew for a fact that Park Min was done for. In truth, if things went on as they had before, the movie would be mediocre at best.


    Despite the huge effort put in by the female lead, coupled with the excellent staff and the perfect script and storyline, the male lead was the only person who was messing things up. Park Min himself was the only one who did not know that. Although he was a hallyu star, he could not act. Because he cared too much about not getting injured, his action scenes were uninspiring and lacked appeal. Movies and dramas attracted specific types of audiences, as they each had a different appeal, but Park Min was unaware of that.


    After becoming a hallyu star through acting in dramas, he was afraid to deviate from the image he had obtained from it. It was uncertain whether Park Min knew that would negatively impact movies, but even if he did, he seemed to have no intention of changing it. In a situation where special measures were needed, there was no reason to reject a godsend.


    Shortly after, with the help of Director Moon, the escape scene between A and Ara had been greatly modified. More precisely, the short action scenes with minimal dialogue became longer and more detailed. Director Moon¡¯s casual question resulted in Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion being factored into the lines.


    ¡°If you were A, what would you say at this moment?¡±


    Director Moon asked Woo-Jin for his opinion¡ªonly he would know if it was because he was struggling with modifying the content and lines due to the lack of time, or because he just wanted to test Woo-Jin¡¯s character analysis skills. Fortunately, Woo-Jin managed to answer his question very easily, because he had studied and understood A¡¯s psyche while he was losing sleep.


    Director Moon spent approximately four hours writing a new storyline based on the revised script. Considering the fact that Park Min would be joining the set the day after tomorrow, they did not have much time left.


    ¡°Alright, come on! Let¡¯s do this without any bad takes! You know we don¡¯t have much time, right?¡±


    The actors and staff, who were united in their operation to screw Park Min over, fired up their fighting spirit with their fists clenched.


    ¡°Ready, action!¡±


    When the director slammed the clapboard, the set transformed into the world within the movie. Upon entering the dark underground warehouse, A scanned Ara¡¯s body with his gaze as her hands were tied behind her. The camera slowly panned up from her toes and paused briefly at her unbuttoned shirt, revealing her cleavage, before fixating on her face; it was dirty with scratches.


    ¡°Our dear Ara is still as pretty as ever,¡± A remarked.


    Upon hearing the typical cheap remarks of a gangster, a look of disgust flashed across Ara¡¯s eyes. She had eventually been caught by the loan sharks, as she was exhausted from all the running. A chuckled, as if to say ¡®I saw this coming¡¯.


    ¡°But how did you hurt yourself? Don¡¯t you know you shouldn¡¯t scar a pretty face?¡± A asked.


    ¡°Get your hands off of me, you bastard,¡± Ara shot back.


    ¡°Just because you tumbled a couple of times on the pavement doesn¡¯t mean you should become so crude. Our dear Ara isn¡¯t that type of girl, right?¡± A continued. His voice was very kind, but the facial expression he had while stroking the wounds on her face with his rough hand was menacing. A¡¯s finger passed over Ara¡¯s wound, causing it to open and bleed.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Ara winced.


    ¡°Does it hurt? So why would you do such a thing and make it so troublesome for everyone?¡± A asked.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! I really didn¡¯t kill him!¡± Ara exclaimed.


    ¡°Claim your innocence before the king of the netherworld after you die. There are some things we have to do before that, don¡¯t we?¡± A replied. As he licked the blood on his thumb, he had a dirty look in his gleaming eyes, causing Ara to flinch and draw back.


    However, since her hands were tied up behind her, she could only mime some gestures. It was nothing but a laughable show of defiance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just have to make at least one pleasant memory before you die, so you¡¯ll be less resentful,¡± A remarked. He forcefully made Ara stand up against her will, picking her up with both arms. When she struggled to break free, A snarled and gnashed his teeth. ¡°You are already heavy to begin with. If you keep moving around, I¡¯ll just throw you onto the floor. You know that it doesn¡¯t matter if your limbs are broken or if you¡¯re conscious, right? Well, it would be a little boring though, if you are as still as a corpse after losing consciousness.¡±


    ¡°Evil bastard. You''re truly a horrible bastard!¡± Ara cried.


    ¡°You¡¯re only realizing that now? How slow-witted,¡± A said. He grabbed Ara, snickering as he came out of the warehouse with her. His subordinates who were waiting outside laughed.


    ¡°Have a good time!¡±


    ¡°The boss will look for her soon, though, so why don¡¯t you just do it inside¡­¡±


    Everyone knew why A was leaving the warehouse with Ara, who would soon be sent to the ¡®factory¡¯, but they simply pointed out that the time he had left was uncertain.


    ¡°Ah, but I still have to make it romantic. Red roses and wine on the first night, don¡¯t you know?¡± A remarked.


    Of course, that was not going to happen, but when he told his subordinates that doing it on the floor of the warehouse basement was not good enough, they seemed to agree and made way for him. A brought Ara to his office on the second floor.


    ¡°Cut!¡± the director yelled.


    There had been unexpected chemistry between A and Ara in their face-to-face scene. Although both of them had filmed together before, it lacked that strange tension and excitement back then. At that time, they had merely been a persistent loan shark and a helpless innocent girl, in a way that could not spark any further interest; but today, there was a strange vibe between the two of them. There was a point where things had gotten so racy and exciting that it made the audience feel embarrassed.


    Usually, it was normal for viewers to feel mad or repulsed by these scenes. However, the two actors¡¯ performances made them look forward to something potentially happening between them behind the scenes. Woo-Jin was leading the mood by exuding a mix of indecency and sex appeal.


    ¡°That was good! Keep up with that lewdness in the next scene!¡± Director Moon exclaimed.


    The staff members were all smiles when they saw Director Moon¡¯s OK sign. Without realizing, Woo-Jin¡¯s nervous heart became more calm as soon as he heard the word ¡®lewd¡¯, which was the word he had heard the most yesterday and today. Instead of worrying if he was doing a good job, he was full of confidence. He was able to grasp the framework of how to act through the director¡¯s reaction, getting a rough sense of what that desired ¡®lewdness¡¯ was.


    During the short break, Woo-Jin brushed his teeth and gargled hard in preparation for the next scene. When he was done, the manager of Kang Hee-Joo, the actress who played Ara, approached him and offered him a piece of candy. It was a strongly-scented mint flavored candy. Unbeknown to her manager, Woo-Jin hated the taste of it. But out of courtesy, he gritted his teeth and ate it.


    The shooting resumed. Whenever Ara, who was in his arms, exhaled heavily, the smell of mint tickled his nose. As such, he was a little frustrated as he threw Ara onto the sofa, but fortunately, the shooting continued.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a nuisance.¡± Seeing the blood dripping from the wound on her chin, A went to take a band-aid from the drawer. A wiped off her blood with his sleeve and carefully placed the band-aid over her wound, leaving Ara dumbfounded.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± exclaimed Ara. ¡°Tending to my wound?¡± she continued. ¡°Ha, are you trying to help after causing this mess?¡±


    ¡°I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. I am not the cause of anything. It was your father who took the loan, and you were the one who got yourself involved in a murder case and had to run away. If you want to blame the current situation on something, you should blame it on your terrible fate, no?¡± A replied.


    A¡¯s words were true, and so they hurt even more, as if a dagger had stabbed her in the chest. Unable to refute what he said, Ara lowered her head in embarrassment as tears unknowingly rolled down her cheeks.


    However, A forcefully grabbed Ara¡¯s chin and lifted it with a smirk on his face. ¡°You look so pretty when you cry. It makes this difficult.¡± He wiped Ara¡¯s tears with his rough hand with no regard for her comfort, moving his face close to hers such that their lips almost touched. Ara noticed his intentions and tried to turn her head, but A grabbed her chin and stopped her.


    ¡°Open your mouth,¡± said A.


    Ara clenched her teeth and resisted his inconsiderate and relentless demand that was as quiet as the devil¡¯s whisper. Suddenly, she was engulfed by a tremendous amount of pain as A tightened his grip around her neck.


    ¡°Ack!¡± Ara exclaimed. The unhesitating intrusion of A¡¯s lips against hers as she screamed was almost like violence. It was not pleasure, but fear and pain, that made her cave in to a kiss that was forcefully taken without consideration, warmth, or sweetness.


    ¡°Cut! Bad take!¡± the director called.


    Woo-Jin looked at the director with a blank look on his face upon hearing this was the first bad take of the day.

 Chapter 5

    Seeing how Woo-Jin was blaming himself, trying to recall what he could have possibly done wrong, like what rookies normally do, Director Moon let him be and said to Kang Hee-Joo harshly, ¡°Ara! Come here and take a look at your facial expression.¡±


    Director Moon looked stern when he beckoned Kang Hee-Joo over. He turned the screen around and showed her the scene they had just shot. Ara should have been repulsed by A due to the fear and pain that he put her through, but on the screen, her expression had turned from that into a blissful one in an instant, as she was caught closing her eyes slowly.


    ¡°Oh my!¡± Kang Hee-Joo exclaimed. There was no need to say more. As a veteran actor, she realized her mistake and felt ashamed. She covered her red face as she organized her emotions, before getting into character once again and resuming shooting. However, recognizing the problem and fixing it seemed difficult even for a veteran actor.


    ¡°Ah, why don¡¯t we just remove the kissing scene?¡± One of the staff members stated his opinion in a weak voice after the continuous bad takes, but it was immediately dismissed.


    ¡°Why should we remove such a great scene?! I¡¯m not going to do that,¡± Director Moon insisted.


    The kissing scene was originally supposed to be done with the male lead, Park Min, but he had been replaced with A. However, the atmosphere was driving them insane. It was clearly a violent and repulsive scene, but A¡¯s forceful kiss was so sexy that it made one shudder just by looking at it. It was stimulating. Looking at Kang Hee-Joo, who had failed to empathize and was completely immersed in her kiss with Woo-Jin at some point, it was clear that not only did his kiss look sexy, he was actually good at kissing in reality.


    ¡°What a lucky guy,¡± mumbled one of the staff members, feeling gloomy. Even if it was only because of the bad takes, he was not sure whether or not he was envious of Chae Woo-Jin for being able to kiss a beautiful actress that many times, or whether he was simply envious of Woo-Jin¡¯s great kissing skills, which could elicit such a facial expression from her.


    ¡°At this rate, our movie might become R-rated,¡± someone said. The staff members who were present at the scene thought that the kissing scene was more sexually charged than most bed scenes.


    Even though the remark had been muttered softly, Director Moon snorted when he heard it. He proudly declared, ¡°We can¡¯t receive a PG rating anyway. Let¡¯s give up on it! It¡¯ll make us feel more at ease if we just forget about it!¡±


    Originally, ever since the planning stage, they had planned to give up on getting a PG rating. They had not been expecting it in the first place, because the setting of the movie itself was a story that swept through the dark side of society, but their main concern was what rating they would end up getting.


    ¡°Loosen Ara¡¯s shirt a little more, and A is too well-mannered! I¡¯m telling you to fondle with your hands in a lewd manner like A would.¡± Director Moon smiled insidiously as he pretended to rub something.


    Seeing how Director Moon was personally showing that he had given up on getting a PG rating, the staff followed suit and did what they had to do. They fixed Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s smeared lipstick and loosened her shirt, which barely showed her skin, such that her shoulders were almost exposed. Woo-Jin¡¯s pupils dilated upon seeing that. He was very flustered.


    Kang Hee-Joo smiled and spoke to Woo-Jin for the first time. ¡°A, I mean, Mr. Woo-Jin.¡± As she was 32 years old, she spoke informally to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Ah, yes...¡± Woo-Jin began.


    ¡°Two of my movies prior to this film flopped, one after another. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°No matter how popular you were in the past, if your movie flopped twice or thrice, your value will decrease exponentially, and especially so if you¡¯re an actress over 30. I really need to succeed this time. So don¡¯t hesitate to treat Ara the way A would. You can touch my bare breasts.¡±


    Not knowing how to react to her serious declaration, Woo-Jin innocently blinked rapidly. Kang Hee-Joo laughed dispiritedly, because he was so different from the man she had been kissing passionately and forcefully a short while ago.


    ¡°I was a little flustered because you were really good at kissing, but don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t mess up anymore.¡±


    A wave of desperation had come over Kang Hee-Joo, causing her to be aware of reality. In truth, it had been difficult for her to accept the fact that she had to do a kissing scene with a rookie, who was not only playing a supporting role, but had also only started acting a month ago. Since her popularity was declining, she had wondered if they were looking down on her. Nevertheless, she had grudgingly accepted it because the previous performance of the male lead, Park Min, was so disappointing that she was afraid of being dragged down as a result.


    Director Moon¡¯s arbitrary, abrupt script revisions, which resulted in many reshoots, were well-known in the film industry. But above all, the fact that the results always ended in great success drew more attention than anything else. Additionally, since the process was dramatic, it had always become a topic of discussion. Since it was the first time Kang Hee-Joo worked with him, she didn¡¯t trust him at first, but eventually decided to, and see where it would lead.


    Chae Woo-Jin had shown results that exceeded expectations, to the extent that it was a pity he was not the male lead. A month ago, Kang Hee-Joo had felt that he was rather good at acting considering this was his first time, but he had not had such an overwhelming presence as he had now. She did not know what had happened in that month, but Chae Woo-Jin had now appeared in front of her as a ¡®real actor¡¯. His overwhelming presence was similar to that of older veterans with 40 to 50 years of experience, reminiscent of an experienced actor whose every small movement was meaningfully executed.


    That was what Chae Woo-Jin was doing. He portrayed a sexy but vile A, with a languid smile and a deep look in his eyes. He showed that he was truly in love with Ara with all his words and actions. For example, his hand supported her so her head would not hit the wall when he pushed her against it. While he grabbed her by the chin and forced himself on her, he gently stroked her wound when she bit his hand. His small gestures, like the time he subconsciously swept Ara¡¯s tangled hair with his fingers, made her heart flutter. That was why she did not resist what he did to her.


    It was rather thrilling, because the courtship of a man who loved a woman managed to convince those who saw it to accept his love. Also, at some point, even Kang Hee-Joo, the actress who played Ara in the movie, had been persuaded. Thus, at that moment, she was determined not to lose. The look in Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s eyes changed when she thought about how she was lagging behind in her acting, despite the fact that she absolutely did not pale in comparison when it came to her career or experience. Even if everyone in the entire world fell for A, Ara had to be the one to reject him.


    Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s determination was revealed in the next shooting. Ara was certainly afraid, and she shuddered in disgust when A kissed her violently. Ara bit A¡¯s tongue out of fear that she was going to be devoured, and with that, their breathtaking kissing scene was finally over.


    ¡°It hurts a lot.¡±


    A spat out the blood that was pooling in his mouth and took a jackknife out from his pocket with a satisfied look on his face. The knife folded spun beautifully on the tip of his finger. The moment it stopped, it made a bright sound, and a blade emerged. The blade of the knife, which seemed to be able to cut anything it touched lightly, slowly descended from the corner of Ara¡¯s eyes and hovered around her collarbone.


    ¡°Do you know where to stab someone to kill them?¡± A asked.


    ¡°...¡± Ara said nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware of those places,¡± A continued. As his vile eyes glistened, A surprisingly kissed her once again, softly and sweetly. It was different from his previous kiss. Afraid of the menacing blade, Ara was left defenseless in a way. Hence, kissing her was easier than before.


    However, the look in A¡¯s eyes was the coldest it had ever been, though she was unable to see them. The seemingly sweet kiss was nothing more than camouflage to hide the inner feelings of a cold beast. He said, ¡°You¡¯ll remember the taste of my blood today for the rest of your life.¡±


    He had kissed her with his bleeding tongue, and so, there was blood on the sides of Ara¡¯s mouth too. After he was done kissing her, Ara stared blankly in response to the unfamiliar sound of his kind gesture of wiping the blood off for her. Before she knew it, a broken rope was shaking in her hand. He had cut the rope that bound her hands behind her back with the jackknife when he kissed her the second time around.


    ¡°What¡­¡± Ara began.


    Before she could say anything more, A grabbed Ara and took her to the window, opening it before asking, ¡°Do you see them? The emergency stairs on the outside of the building across the street. Jump over there.¡±


    There was only enough space for two or three people to squeeze through the cluster of buildings. If they jumped down skilfully, they could escape to the building on the other side. However, that was only possible for someone like A.


    ¡°How can I make it to the other side? I can¡¯t do it!¡± Ara shook her head.


    Suddenly, the locked office door made a rattling sound. ¡°Big brother! The boss is looking for you,¡± came a voice.


    A had thought that he had a little more time, but his boss made a move earlier than expected. He frowned, but then smiled sinisterly immediately after, complaining, ¡°Don¡¯t you guys even know how to knock?¡±


    ¡°Heh heh heh, it¡¯s just us though, so there¡¯s no need to knock. Come on, open the door. The boss told us to hurry up and take care of it by today,¡± the subordinate said. The wicked laughter that erupted after that explicitly showed that he did not knock intentionally. Perhaps it was because the boss was rushing him, coupled with the disappointment of missing a good show, he shook the doorknob more than he needed to.


    ¡°What do you want to do? I¡¯m fine with opening the door right now,¡± A said.


    Ara looked at the rattling door and looked out of the window. She did not seem to have the courage to jump out. Even though the choice was apparent, A saw her hesitating, and so he clicked his tongue quietly and held on to the windowsill. A¡¯s actions were light and nimble as he jumped out of the window. It was very easy for him to get to the emergency stairs on the opposite building. Thereafter, he opened his arms, signaling her to go over. Upon seeing that, Ara bit her lower lip and climbed onto the windowsill.


    At this time, the subordinates sensed something amiss and started to kick the door down. Just when the door flew right open, Ara¡¯s body flew up, and by a hair¡¯s breadth, A grabbed her with both hands and pulled her into his arms. From then on, the pair began to make their way out of the building and start their escape.


    There was a lot of freedom in the movie¡¯s use of space, as it was being shot in a neighborhood that was about to be demolished due to redevelopment. This was because, if there were scenes where actors had to run through buildings or between them, they could always clear out the interior of an empty building whenever they had to. The only problem was the lack of time.


    After they filmed the scene where they ran through the alleys, the sun was starting to set. It was time for them to shoot the brawl scene where A fought against the other loan sharks who had been his subordinates. The set was prepared in advance inside the building next to the converted warehouse, so they could start shooting immediately.


    ¡°All of you know you have to pull an all-nighter today, right?¡± the assistant director asked.


    Before Park Min returned, they had to finish up the ¡®loan shark sequence¡¯. In response to the assistant director¡¯s question, one of the staff members next to him asked in a timid voice, ¡°Park Min must be tired from filming a commercial. Can¡¯t we simply ask him to rest for a few days?¡±


    ¡°I already suggested it to him. Of course I did! But he said that he would come here right away as soon as he got off the plane.¡±


    ¡°That man¡­ I mean, the male lead is usually very complacent, so why is he suddenly so diligent when he doesn¡¯t have to be?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because everybody is well-aware of  Director Moon¡¯s way of doing things. He must be feeling uneasy or something. He probably can¡¯t stand the fact that he has fewer scenes now. He could not question Director Moon directly, which is why he¡¯s in a hurry to rush back.¡±


    For actors, securing the number of scenes was a matter of survival. It was like war. If Park Min had already known Director Moon¡¯s way of doing things in the first place and still left the battlefield because of a commercial, he had to be prepared to pay a price for that. An inexperienced manager who failed to adjust his schedule would have put him in the position of a soldier who was in danger due to choosing the wrong weapon.


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of luck.¡±


    It was also about good luck for people like A, or rather Chae Woo-Jin, who could seize the opportunity given to him, allowing him to rehearse with stunt actors under the guidance of the choreographer. Perhaps Park Min was not unlucky; Chae Woo-Jin was simply luckier than him.


    Some said that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s great looks and outstanding acting skills allowed him to seize the opportunity that was given to him. However, without luck, there would be no such opportunities in life. The action scene with the chase began shooting only after they had thoroughly practiced, just in case.

 Chapter 6

    Only two or three people could pass through the narrow alley on the set. There, A shoved Ara forward telling her to escape alone, as he had already been stabbed in the lower abdomen during the first fight, so it was impossible for him to keep running. He knew that they were going to get caught eventually if this continued. Rather than saying that he was going to  sacrifice himself, it was more accurate to say that he felt that since they had already made it so far, if neither of them survived, they would have died in vain.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Ara asked.


    There were characters who would always cause inconveniences in such a manner, even when they were in the midst of an escape. It might be frustrating for the viewers, but there was a need to unravel the role¡¯s current psychological state through this manner, which facial expressions alone could not convey. It was an inevitable scene, as it was a means used to tell the story.


    ¡°Because you have to live,¡± A replied.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Goddamnit, why are you trying to pry even though you already know the answer?!¡±


    A could not give Ara the answer she wanted. Instead, he grabbed the back of Ara¡¯s head with his blood-stained hands and kissed her hard. That was their third kissing scene. Due to the unexpected chemistry between A and Ara, it led to the third of their kissing scenes, which had been gradually increasing in number. As a result, A¡¯s role went from a minor character, a loan shark, a nobody, to a supporting male character, or possibly a second male lead.


    Although it was not entirely accurate to call him the second male lead in terms of his total screen time alone,  Director Moon argued that the most important thing was content and not screen time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you actually committed murder or not, but today¡ª! You killed me. I died because of you, which means that you killed me. So, you can¡¯t go to heaven. There isn¡¯t a heaven that will accept a murderer, so let¡¯s meet again in hell.¡± Looking at Ara¡¯s shocked face and teary eyes, A smiled tenderly at her with his eyes. There was no sweeter goodbye than this.


    In the hope she would crumble and suffer for the rest of her life, A continued to taunt her. ¡°Don¡¯t think by any chance that you can be relieved about not having to see my face until you die. I¡¯ll become an evil spirit and stay by your side. I¡¯ll meet you every night in your nightmares, so regardless of how hard you try, you can¡¯t get away from me. Don¡¯t tell me you think we¡¯re parting ways here?¡±


    A smiled languidly as he gently wiped the tears beneath Ara¡¯s eyes with his blood-stained thumb. Tears rolled down Ara¡¯s cheeks as she took a couple of steps back from A, who could die happy just by imagining it.


    ¡°Until the very end, I¡­¡±


    ¡°I will always be with you. If you don¡¯t want to go to hell with me today, you¡¯ll have to hurry.¡±


    They could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the alley. Ara finally came to her senses. She bit her lower lip and looked at A before taking a step backward. One step. Two steps. Ultimately, his former subordinates approached A from the back, as A watched Ara turned around and ran away.


    ¡°This girl didn¡¯t even look back once, huh.¡± Harsh. A¡¯s soft whisper whistled through the narrow alley in the chilly evening night.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this quickly.¡± For the first time today, a bright smile appeared on A¡¯s face as he beckoned to a dozen of the subordinates who had been chasing him. ¡°I¡¯m going to be pretty busy if I start visiting you tonight,¡± he said.


    His statement about wanting to become an evil spirit who would visit her was not a metaphor or a lie to ease somebody¡¯s guilt. He sincerely meant it. It had only been less than a minute since they parted, but he was already missing her.


    Even though it was a brawl, only two people could fight A at a time in the narrow alley. There was no other way for them as A was blocking the alley ¡ª the only shortcut to the main road. Therefore, they had no choice but to get past him. The blood flowing from his lower abdomen painted A¡¯s upper body red, and his movements had become a lot slower compared to their first fight. Nonetheless, he was still smiling brightly.


    He grabbed the arm of a man who was striking at him from the side and twisted it, before kicking another man in the stomach and throwing the first man back into the group. He climbed on top of his retreating subordinates, as if falling backward, and grabbed a wooden stick that somebody was holding. Wielding a wooden stick instead of a sword, his movements made him look like a warrior from a world of martial arts.


    His movements were so beautiful that it was hard to imagine a man like that had decided to become an evil spirit, in the hopes of tormenting the woman he loved. At this moment in time, the heart of a malignant person, hiding behind the noble act of protecting a woman he loved, became less important.


    At some point, A¡¯s body gradually gave way and collapsed as he ended up taking more blows than he dealt. There were only four men left to move past A, who had dropped to his knees and was slowly drifting to the side. With his face touching the ground, A could see the subordinates who were already dead or had lost consciousness in his line of vision, but it did not make him feel any excitement.


    Even though they were his subordinates and coworkers, their relationship was one that allowed them to stab each other in the back at any time. He had known that he would die on the streets someday, so his death did not bring about much emotion. It was not sad or scary at all; he felt indifferent about it, as if he were going to sleep like he did every night. In the midst of this, he was feeling uneasy because of one person¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do you¡­ even know my name¡­?¡± A murmured.


    Of course, she did not. He had never told her. That was how he had placed another burden on her. The kind-natured woman would be increasingly tormented by feeling the same guilt over and over again. Wishing she would spend her whole life in despair like that, A died peacefully as his eyes remained wide open.


    ***


    As Woo-Jin waited for the cut signal, it seemed as though he had been dead for quite some time. He did not move his fingers and even stopped thinking about anything entirely; it was as if he had really died. Hence, even after the director finally gave the cut signal, Woo-Jin still could not escape from the clutches of A''s death.


    ¡°A, it¡¯s not the time for you to die yet!¡± Director Moon cried.


    As though he had been struck by lightning, the moment he heard Director Moon yelling at him, Woo-Jin shuddered and got up. Only then did he start to see the outlines of people within his blurry vision. On one side, there were people who were sniffling and crying, while others had their mouths open while staring blankly as if possessed.


    The set was shrouded in a quiet and gloomy atmosphere, and Director Moon was the only one whose eyes were gleaming. ¡°You know there are still a few outdoor scenes left, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    There was still a scene of them looking for Ara before she was caught by the loan sharks, as well as a scene where she got caught but was intentionally released. Those scenes were going to be shot outdoors, so the director was planning to shoot them all at once tomorrow. Or rather, today.


    ¡°So you have to remove yourself from A¡¯s death now, and turn into the cold-blooded A who will be chasing Ara down once again. It¡¯s 3 a.m. right now, so get a good few hours of sleep. Jin-Hwa, come here and take care of our dear Woo-Jin¡¯s skin. We¡¯ll be shooting in the sun in a few hours, so his skin needs to be soft and smooth!¡±


    Hearing Director Moon called him by name in such a friendly manner for the first time, Woo-Jin was startled for a moment.


    Meanwhile, the makeup artist approached Woo-Jin before pulling him aside, saying, ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Director Moon! I¡¯ll turn this tired-looking skin into the skin of a newborn baby.¡± The blood and bruises covering Woo-Jin¡¯s tired face were immediately wiped off cleanly by the professional.


    ¡°The highlight of the movie is finally out today.¡±


    The cinematographer looked at the scene they had just shot once again and smiled widely, feeling pleased. It had been a while since the scene that was originally chosen as the highlight had been reduced to a dull and uninspiring one due to Park Min. It seemed like only yesterday that he had cried about not being able to even use it in the trailer... To think a day like today had finally come.


    ¡°Our movie is no longer a movie full of trailers!¡± the cinematographer exclaimed. Death Hill, a movie he had once considered to be a failure, one that would be stigmatized and reflected in his filmography, was slowly starting to shine.


    ¡°When did Park Min say he was coming?¡± Director Moon asked.


    The assistant director answered Director Moon¡¯s question glumly, ¡°Tomorrow in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­¡±


    Yesterday and today felt like a dream¡ªthe ambiance on set was good for the first time in a long while. Above all, there was a scene he wanted to shoot again. However, today¡¯s schedule was too tight. If only they had one more day¡­ just one more day.


    ¡°Director!¡± A staff member appeared with the assistant director¡¯s phone in his hand and called out to him, sounding very excited.


    The crew was not allowed to have their phones with them when filming was in progress. However, there were times where they would receive urgent calls, so all phones would be gathered and taken care of by an assigned staff member. This was because they had to pick up calls from people in the film industry and deliver their messages. Just today, the person in charge of the phones received a call from the assistant director. His eyes, which had been hollow throughout the entire unreasonable shooting schedule, strangely lit up.


    ¡°It¡¯s been canceled,¡± said the staff member.


    ¡°What has been canceled?¡± Director Moon asked.


    ¡°Park Min¡¯s flight! It¡¯s been canceled due to fog, but according to the weather forecast, the fog warning will go on for more than a day. His manager called earlier, saying that he would return to Korea two days later than expected due to the flight cancelations and delays.¡±


    ¡°Two days?¡±


    ¡°Yes! At least two days!¡±


    Upon hearing the staff member¡¯s words, Director Moon¡¯s face started twitching strangely. Initially, he could not understand what the staff member was saying, but gradually realized what he meant. He suddenly stood up from his chair and looked around. In the corner of the set, Chae Woo-Jin, whose makeup had been removed and replaced with a sheet mask, was laying down on a long armchair.


    As soon as Director Moon found Woo-Jin, he ran up and grabbed both of the latter¡¯s hands. He yelled, ¡°Woo-Jin! Let¡¯s retake the scene we had shot previously!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Woo-Jin removed the mask on his face and started blinking rapidly. As he had fallen asleep within a short period of time, for a moment, Woo-Jin did not understand what the director was telling him.


    ¡°The scene that was shot a month ago. Let¡¯s do it again! The A at that time was a little inexperienced, unlike now. That A is not our A. Our A is a little lewder, a little crazier, and is filled with a little more pure love!¡±


    In truth, Director Moon had been depressed all day because of this. The more Woo-Jin acted as the new A, the more regretful he was about the scenes they had shot before, as they paled in comparison. He even wanted to cry as he wrote new lines in his head and created continuity with different structures. Every time there was a break, he would lament about how he had the perfect actor and script, and asked himself why he could not shoot it. However, he had not known that the heavens really existed, and he had not known that his wish would be granted like this.


    ¡°Um¡­ director?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll add in another kissing scene. It¡¯s going to be a perfect retake of a lover on the verge of going insane!¡± Director Moon exclaimed.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Ara will definitely agree to this, so don¡¯t worry about it!¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was worried about.¡±


    ¡°Our staff members are perfectly prepared, so you just have to stand in front of the camera!¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly as he looked at Director Moon, who had not spoken this many words to him since the first time they met.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something you¡¯d like to say?¡± Director Moon asked.


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    ¡°If you have something to say, just be candid with me.¡±


    While Director Moon was holding Woo-Jin¡¯s hands tightly and smiling, appearing as if to say that he was very magnanimous, Woo-Jin said courageously, ¡°I have to tutor someone tomorrow in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The set became entirely silent the moment everyone heard Woo-Jin¡¯s bright voice. They glared at him. The look in their eyes was close to resentment.


    Unable to withstand the desperate gaze in front of him, Woo-Jin sighed quietly and gave them peace of mind. ¡°I was thinking¡­ of telling them I can¡¯t make it this week.¡±


    Finally, peace came over them.

 Chapter 7

    Although it was early April, Woo-Jin rolled up his sleeves due to the hot weather. A slight smile appeared on his face as he placed an ice cube from his iced americano into his mouth. It had been almost a month since Woo-Jin had finished shooting his parts for Death Hill. He had heard that the shooting for the movie itself had ended a week ago. He did not know how the scenes they had shot over the course of six days, which were akin to a raging storm, would be edited, but judging from the ambiance at that time, it seemed likely that they would turn out well. He was more certain of that after talking to Director Moon yesterday.


    After complaining about how he had been unable to pick the male lead at will due to the pressure placed on him by the investors, Director Moon had assured Woo-Jin that as per the contract, they have full authority over the post-production. Director Moon¡¯s cheerful laughter and voice were still ringing in Woo-Jin¡¯s ears, telling him he had nothing to worry about. He had heard that the ambience of the set had been ruined by Park Min, who had returned after Woo-Jin was done shooting his scenes. That did not come as a surprise, as the actor, who was hung up on screen time, could not possibly have remained quiet about losing an entire sequence.


    However, the production staff had had a lot to say too, as he had left to shoot a commercial while the shooting was in full swing, not forgetting the fact that his flight had been canceled and delayed as well, resulting in further delays. Nonetheless, that could be seen as a blessing in disguise; apparently, Park Min had felt threatened as a result and abandoned his old attitude. He was said to have  worked rather hard during the shoot.


    ¡°Regardless, your acting suddenly improved within a day or two!¡± Director Moon had exclaimed.


    Woo-Jin had only been able to hang up after listening to Director Moon, who was still very unhappy with Park Min, complain for a long time. On the other hand, Woo-Jin, whose acting really had suddenly improved within a day or two, had been unable to stop his flushed face from burning throughout the phone call.


    Even though he was not bad at acting, Woo-Jin knew himself very well. Despite the fact that he had good acting skills, an inexperienced rookie¡¯s acting was bound to be awkward. Regardless of how much a celebrity was recognized for their acting skills, if one were to look at their first movie or drama, it was hard not to laugh at how rustic and plain their acting used to be. Woo-Jin¡¯s first time had not deviated much from that either. Even then, he had managed to seize the opportunity because he was better than the male lead, Park Min, not because he was outstanding. If his acting had been perfect from the start, there would have been no need for them to retake the scenes they had shot before.


    The sudden improvement in his acting skills had been triggered by the memories of his past lives. The hundreds of lives and deaths he had experienced in the past had given him the insight and understanding that he needed. His past lives had given him firsthand experiences that movies and books were unable to provide. As a result, they had made it a lot easier for him to empathize with other people¡¯s lives. Hence, over the past month, Woo-Jin had looked back on his past lives and done his own research. His soul certainly belonged to him, but in his previous lives, he had had different personalities and talents. They had probably been greatly influenced by the genes from his parents in those lives, as well as his education and environment. That was evident from the fact that the current Woo-Jin had an entirely different personality from those he had in his previous lives.


    Looking back on his past lives, which he sometimes shared similarities with, but at times had also done things that were utterly beyond his comprehension, Woo-Jin learned a lot, while either relating to them or being disappointed with them. He had also gained a lot of other things. First among those things was a grasp of multiple languages. Originally, he had also been able to speak English and Chinese to a certain extent, but now, he was able to speak several languages after remembering his past lives. Of course, there was the issue of some of the languages being too archaic to some extent; they were from previous eras, so they were very different from how they were used in modern times. However, once he figured out the language system, that issue was resolved.


    It was just speculation, but the great intellect he had been born with, and his ability to remember his past lives, seemed to have led to the expansion of his comprehension skills and knowledge. Because of that, he was able to increase the capabilities of his brain. This exponentially improved version of his brain had opened up several possibilities and potential directions for Woo-Jin. For instance, his musical talent and ability to play musical instruments came with that outstanding intellect.


    He had been a musician several times before in his previous lives, so he had the knowledge and techniques to play not only the piano and violin, but also all kinds of wind and string instruments. Needless to say, that did not mean he was suddenly proficient at playing those instruments. Just because one learned how to play the piano in their younger years did not mean they would be able to play the piano as well as they used to after a few decades. However, he possessed the basic knowledge and techniques needed to play most instruments, excluding modern digital ones. Furthermore, he no longer feared musical instruments because he knew how to read sheet music by heart.


    Since it was hard to get an instrument, he was unable to give anything else a try, but for now, his experiment with the piano was considered rather successful. Even though his current piano-playing skills were nowhere close to what they had been in his previous lives, considering the fact that he had been a genius pianist at that time, it would be unfair to make that comparison. Nonetheless, seeing as people were asking Woo-Jin if he had majored in piano when he had never learned it before, the results were good enough for him.


    Additionally, he had been a Dwarf, one of the humanoid races, in a past life. It was only natural that his dexterity had increased. Originally, he had already been good with his hands, but now he was able to easily fix and build things at home. As his mother and younger sister watched from the side, they had been amazed at what he was doing. He had felt flattered after seeing how pleased they looked, and after a certain point, there was nothing left in the house that he had not touched.


    He had also become very healthy and was in great shape. This was due to the fact that he had worked hard every single day to practice a mental cultivation technique he had learned when he was a warrior, in order to build inner energy. Of course, as expected, after practicing it for a month, he had not accumulated even a speck of internal energy. Nonetheless, it had still strengthened his meridians, and energy and blood. It had also expelled toxins and waste products from his body.


    Back when he had been reincarnated in China, the Shaolin Monastery and the Wudang Sect had still existed. However, there had been no such thing as ultimate martial arts of the sort that were found in martial arts novels. They had just been a simple group of warriors who trained together, and monks who learned martial arts. Of course, it could not be denied that their skills and abilities had been superior to that of ordinary people or soldiers. It was a fact that they could not be compared to the warriors from other Earths in parallel universes. Perhaps that was why this Earth lacked a proper internal energy mental cultivation technique. However, using the proper mental cultivation technique, along with the knowledge he was equipped with, Woo-Jin had worked hard training his qi. His method was considerably different from the other mental cultivation techniques and martial arts that had survived on this Earth into the present.


    He also taught his mother and sister how to do the same clear and concise technique, which had no side effects. He told them that he had learned it from a senior in the military, and to his surprise, they had responded positively. Despite not enjoying working out, his mother was open to doing those simple qi exercises that could be done at home; his sister, who was a high school student, had said that her head felt lighter and clearer after doing it, and did it diligently.


    As Woo-Jin inspected and honed the abilities he had acquired from his past lives, a month flew by in the blink of an eye. Apart from feeling anxious and confused about why this had happened to him, there was nothing bad about it for now. He had been worried that the memories of all his 999 lives might be entangled with one another, causing mental instability, but no damage had been done to him thus far, so his worries were unfounded. That was because he had thoroughly separated the personalities of his previous life from himself. He had accepted their memories and knowledge, but Chae Woo-Jin strongly adhered to his belief in possessing a different personality from his previous identities. The outcome had been surprising even for Chae Woo-Jin himself.


    After living 999 times, will the soul grow stronger by itself?


    Woo-Jin speculated that souls could be trained, and so, his soul might have become stronger as he lived one life after another. Otherwise, there was no way he would be fine even after remembering the memories of all 999 lives. However, there was something interesting - there was only one thing that had never changed in his previous and present lives, regardless of race, dimension, appearance, status, or personality. It was that he loved the arts with all his heart.


    ***


    ¡°That man over there is a celebrity, right?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ He looks like one, but I haven¡¯t seen his face before.¡±


    These were conversations about Woo-Jin coming from one side of the cafe he was sitting in. The moment he entered the cafe, he stood out from the crowd. People could tell that he was definitely someone who was different from the general public.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what people meant by ¡®a glowing face¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Look at his skin. What kind of man has that kind of pale and poreless skin?¡±


    ¡°If he were a celebrity, wouldn¡¯t he be wearing makeup? Celebrities¡¯ makeup is different from ours.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen his face before; are you sure he¡¯s a celebrity? And it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s wearing any makeup at all.¡±


    Whether he was a celebrity or not, or whether he wore makeup or not, people whispered to one another, talking about Woo-Jin, and some of them even secretly took pictures of him.


    ¡°Hey, you shouldn¡¯t be taking pictures of him secretly without his consent. What are you going to do if you get sued?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you he¡¯s a celebrity. We just don¡¯t know if he¡¯s a new actor or a model. I¡¯ll post this picture later on when he becomes famous.¡±


    The image of Woo-Jin sitting by the window with his legs crossed, looking listless and gloomy, looked like a painting. Whenever Woo-Jin moved his head slightly with the sunlight shining on him, people saw the illusion of light dust fluttering from him.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin?¡± came a voice.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin. Hello.¡± Woo-Jin, who had been sitting in the cafe thinking back on the past month, stood up to greet Kim Sang-Jin. The latter had called him, asking to meet today.


    ¡°Oh wow, it¡¯s only been a few months since I last saw you, and your face looks so much better.¡±


    Today was the first time the casting director, Kim Sang-Jin, was seeing Woo-Jin since his audition for Death Hill. At that time, Woo-Jin had been a soldier, so he had short hair. His face had been slightly rough too due to sunburn. However, within a few months, Woo-Jin had become a lot more handsome. Kim Sang-Jin looked very satisfied. On the other hand, since Kim Sang-Jin had initiated today¡¯s meeting, Woo-Jin was very nervous.


    ¡°Why are you so nervous? Sit comfortably. This reminds me of the first time I saw you. That was probably before you were discharged, right? Without your military uniform, you look more like a civilian,¡± Kim Sang-Jin remarked.


    The biggest reason why Woo-Jin had been selected to be Loan Shark A during the audition was that he had had a close shave during his last vacation, as well as a different vibe from ordinary people. Now that he wasn¡¯t as uptight and disciplined as a military soldier, he seemed more like a normal civilian, but when he got nervous, his body stiffened and his posture changed.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m in a situation where I can¡¯t help but be tense,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s normal for rookies to act that way. But what should I do? I think I should apologize to you first, before having a proper conversation.¡±


    Woo-Jin had arrived with anticipation of an offer when Kim Sang-Jin suggested a meeting, but when he heard the latter mention an apology, he was disappointed. However, he hid his emotions and asked for clarification, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I got you in trouble. Even if you curse at me later on, I¡¯ll have nothing to say. Would you like to have a look at this first?¡± Kim Sang-Jin asked.


    Woo-Jin had been disappointed, thinking this would not be related to casting, but to his surprise, Kim Sang-Jin gave him a movie script. ¡°Glooming Day?¡± he asked as he read the title.


    ¡°Yes, the movie is as depressing as the title. Just skim through it for now.¡±


    Glancing at Kim Sang-Jin¡¯s gloomy expression, Woo-Jin quickly skimmed through the script. Contrary to what Kim Sang-Jin said, the script was about a love story between young people. The story was about the immature love of college students who were in their 20s, from the point of view of a teaching assistant who happened to have a crush on the female lead. It might be a little depressing, but the content itself was very refreshing. However¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s boring,¡± Woo-Jin remarked.


    ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not interesting. It doesn¡¯t fit in with the trends lately, so it¡¯s not wise to make it into a movie as it¡¯s terrible¡­ but some writer!¡± The more he spoke, the more emotional he became. Kim Sang-Jin placed his hand on his chest and closed his eyes in a bid to control his emotions. After taking a few deep breaths and composing himself, he continued, ¡°The reason why I asked to meet today was because I want to cast you as a supporting actor in this movie.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a supporting role, don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ll be playing Cha Hyun-seung, the teaching assistant?¡± Woo-Jin asked. As the content was boring, there were very few characters. Hence, he could tell whom Kim Sang-Jin was referring to.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I said I should apologize to you. Your filmography would be ruined by casting you in a movie that¡¯s doomed to fail.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I simply reject?¡± Woo-Jin asked. Regardless of how new an actor he was, he was not desperate enough to do a movie that was bound to fail, as Kim Sang-Jin said.


    ¡°No. You can¡¯t reject it.¡±


    Woo-Jin frowned at Kim Sang-Jin¡¯s firm, unexpected answer. He was at a loss for words, because it seemed as though he had thought for a moment that he could disregard the other person¡¯s intentions like that as a rookie.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t get me wrong. I didn¡¯t want to be involved in this movie either, because I thought it was going to fail¡­ but I don¡¯t have a choice. I have to do it.¡± Kim Sang-Jin sighed and hesitated, as he was not sure how to explain the situation. Eventually, he started to explain with a depressed look on his face, ¡°This movie was personally requested by the CEO of G&C Entertainment, who will be in charge of the planning, production, and distribution. Why would they choose such a terrible script? That¡¯s because it¡¯s what CEO Choi likes!¡±


    G&C Entertainment, an affiliate of a conglomerate, was involved in everything from investing in films to planning, production, and distribution, using their huge amounts of capital and infrastructure. It was the company that had the most influence over the domestic film industry just by its size alone.


    ¡°Even though she¡¯s in her 50s, she still very much has the emotions of a young girl. Hence, she always does this once every few years. She makes a movie with a romance storyline that matches her taste, as well as hiring beautiful men and women as the main leads to fulfill the aesthetic aspects of her movie. No rejection or refusal is allowed here. There are quite a number of directors and actors who declined, and ended up not having more opportunities for years after that. I don¡¯t have to explain any further; you get what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡±


    The CEO of G&C Entertainment, Choi Won-Hee was known for having been born into a wealthy family, as well as her marriage to another wealthy man, the heir of G&C, resulting in her being involved in the management of her in-laws¡¯ company. She was unaware of the difficulties people faced in life, as she had been born and raised in an environment where she did not lack anything. She had also had a satisfactory married life, despite the fact that it was an arranged marriage. Thus, she could not comprehend or tolerate any situation where she had to give up on something, or when people were acting against her will. As such, her nickname was ¡®The Supreme Witch¡¯. Surprisingly, it was rumored that she was rather fond of that nickname of hers.


    ¡°It¡¯s sort of a hobby. If you invest tens of billions of dollars into such a hobby, you have to use the director, staff, and actors you want. The scale is different from the kinds of hobbies that ordinary people like you and me think of.¡±

 Chapter 8

    It was only then that Woo-Jin recalled that G&C Entertainment did a romance film once every few years. Their movies failed terribly at the box office every time but were still made for the sake of market diversity, and were known to be the graves of directors and actors. There was a tinge of resignation on Kim Sang-Jin¡¯s face as he sighed. He looked as though he had been through a huge hardship.


    Woo-Jin said, ¡°It seems the male and female leads have already been cast.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was a very difficult feat! Hoo.¡± Kim Sang-Jin laughed hollowly, saying he had already heard all the curses that would last him an entire lifetime. ¡°But it¡¯s really unfair. I¡¯m the casting director, but ultimately, the one above me is the one calling the shots. She¡¯s none other than the Supreme Witch. All I do is notify the actors who have already been chosen by her. You guys were trapped this time, but I¡¯m the one taking the blame.¡±


    ¡°In that case, she chose me too? Where did she find me?¡± Woo-Jin asked. If what Kim Sang-Jin said was true, that would mean that he had also been chosen by CEO Choi Won-Hee herself. However, before that, Woo-Jin was curious about how she had known about him in the first place.


    ¡°You were chosen, but¡­¡± Kim Sang-Jin had been speaking eloquently the entire time, but now, he avoided Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze and became evasive. As Woo-Jin continued staring at him, he eventually caved and revealed the entire story.


    ¡°The process of hiring the production staff and casting the main leads went smoothly. This was because they were selected by someone with high authority, hence they were not in a position to decline. However, the role of ¡®Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯ was the only one that couldn¡¯t be filled. According to her, he¡¯s someone who has to be absolutely intelligent and handsome. That¡¯s because he has a crush on the female lead, and we¡¯re going to be observing the male and female leads from his point of view. Otherwise, he could be mistaken for a stalker or a loser.¡±


    Perhaps Kim Sang-Jin was feeling thirsty; he apologized to Woo-Jin as he drank his unfinished americano. The drink he had ordered earlier had not been served yet.


    ¡°I was thinking about how my abilities would be doubted at the end of the day if all the nominated actors failed terribly, and then I suddenly thought of you. To be honest, when I was on the phone with Director Moon, he kept singing your praises, so I asked him for a favor and received the edited footage.¡± Kim Sang-Jin looked at Woo-Jin in a meaningful way, and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think I know why I¡¯m here,¡± Woo-Jin muttered. Director Moon Seung-Kwon. Woo-Jin exclaimed Director Moon¡¯s name in his heart with mixed emotions of gratitude and resentment.


    ¡°Bingo! And it was CEO Choi¡¯s decision, not mine. She was also very pleased with the fact that you look just like her son.¡±


    ¡°I guess I look familiar because I look like her son,¡± answered Woo-Jin apathetically, as he tried to make the best of this situation, while Kim Sang-Jin smiled with a doubtful look on his face.


    ¡°Her son is the spitting image of his father,¡± Kim Sang-Jin continued.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Am I supposed to know?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the chairman of G&C Group.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know much about businessmen.¡±


    Seeing Woo-Jin blush instantly, Kim Sang-Jin laughed and made a remark about how young people these days did not know much about the corporate world, continuing, ¡°The chairman of G&C Group is famous for looking like a toad. He¡¯s short and has a belly. CEO Choi¡¯s sons look like their father.


    ¡°A toad¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the regular sort of toad you¡¯re thinking of.¡±


    Woo-Jin did not know how to comprehend those words, so he blinked repeatedly for a moment. If he could, he wanted to look for a mirror and look at his face right now. He had always been indifferent about how he looked, regardless of what people said, but the toad comparison came as a shock.


    ¡°However, all the actors who look like her son, according to CEO Choi, end up making it big.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, CEO Choi likes her husband a lot. She says he¡¯s the most handsome man in her life, so she brags about how the most good-looking men in Korea look like her son.¡±


    Perhaps she had a conscience, and so she could not say that they looked like her husband. Thus, she compared them to her son instead. Nonetheless, from CEO Choi¡¯s point of view, that was the best compliment she could ever give.


    ¡°She¡¯s still blinded by love. She clearly has a keen eye, but she has the worst taste. Her taste when it comes to being obsessed with romance, as well as her inability to give up on it, is the worst, but as far as the standards of objective assessments are concerned, she¡¯s better than everyone else.¡±


    Kim Sang-Jin wanted to tell Woo-Jin that he had been praised by such a person, but he did not have the heart to do so. Even though in the eyes of the Supreme Witch, her husband and son, were the most handsome men despite looking like toads, getting compliments from a woman with bad taste was not that great.


    ¡°So, ultimately, the person who recommended me¡­¡± Woo-Jin began. Regardless of who he looked like, the most important thing to Woo-Jin right now was finding out who was the person who had recommended him to CEO Choi.


    ¡°It¡¯s Director Moon. He recommended you to me and I put you into the group of candidates, but it was CEO Choi who selected you from the list, not me.¡±


    ¡°Did Director Moon personally recommend me?¡±


    ¡°He¡­ didn¡¯t exactly recommend you, but he complimented you a lot. He said that regardless of the role you got, you would play it well. That was as good as a recommendation in this small industry where everybody knows one another.¡± Kim Sang-Jin, the master of tricks, smiled at Woo-Jin as he shamelessly defended himself. In other words, Director Moon¡¯s compliments about Woo-Jin had unintentionally landed him in this plight. He added, ¡°There¡¯s no way for you to get out of this as long as you¡¯re under the curse of the witch. Still, you¡¯ll certainly be rewarded, like the other victims who have been in your position.¡±


    All the people who had been involved in G&C¡¯s romance films, which always failed miserably, had been guaranteed their next job after the films ended. Whether they would succeed or not was up to their own abilities and luck, though. Nevertheless, at least in terms of investment and casting, G&C had certainly done everything they could in their favor.


    Nonetheless, all the actors wanted to reject those projects because they did not want to tarnish their track records. In most cases, the male and female leads chosen by the Supreme Witch were already at the peak of their careers. There was no reason for them to take part in such a movie. On the contrary, there was a high possibility of getting their reputations ruined. For example, there was an actor who had fallen into a slump after being in one of G&C¡¯s romance films. He had been given the nickname of ¡®rice soup actor¡¯ after that. [1]


    Woo-Jin sighed and nodded. If he could not escape, it was better for him to face the situation head-on. There was nothing for him to be afraid of as he had no image to ruin, and he felt less pressured knowing that the film was going to be a flop. People would only know that he had acted in such a movie if he got lucky enough to become famous later on. Only then would it appear in his filmography, and it would also be a little embarrassing if people dug up videos of it. But that was a problem that future Woo-Jin would have to deal with.


    Furthermore, Glooming Day focused on the story of the male and female lead. The slump and rice soup reputation would not be applicable to Woo-Jin, who was only a supporting actor. In addition, the film¡¯s content would be so boring that people would not even be interested in the male and female leads. Nobody would notice the supporting role without a single line throughout the entire movie. It was just a diary of a jealous, gloomy man who observed the passionate love of a pair of lovers that was akin to midsummer¡¯s blazing heat, hence the name of the movie.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s only concern was how to express the youthful passion of a depressed man, as well as the jealousy contained in his love and admiration, using only gestures and facial expressions and not uttering a single word. Even if the movie became a flop, the acting and characters would remain forever. That was the most important thing to an actor.


    ***


    ¡°When is the movie you¡¯re in going to be released?¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister asked.


    Woo-Jin shrugged in response to the question. He had wanted to hide it from his family as much as he could, but since he had had to stay on set for a few days for the shoot, he also had no choice but to let his family know. After being an idol trainee, he had been embarrassed about wanting to become an actor as he would be losing face, but that was not the reason why he had wanted to keep it a secret. In truth, it was because he had played the role of a merciless loan shark who sexually harassed women.


    ¡°Just mind your own business,¡± Woo-Jin remarked.


    The movie would be released in early July, but he wanted to hide it as long as possible. Most importantly, he did not want his family to see his kissing scene with Kang Hee-Joo. Evidently, the genre of the movie was action, but he felt as though he had been shooting an erotic movie.


    ¡°Why?¡± his sister asked.


    ¡°Minors aren¡¯t allowed to watch it,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    The editing had not been completed yet, so it had not received a rating. Regardless, Woo-Jin spoke peevishly. He could not hide it forever, so he wanted to lay the groundwork first.


    ¡°Oh my! What exactly did you shoot? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve given up on your life and are going to do whatever you want to do?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go. We¡¯re having curry for dinner tonight, so just peel the potatoes here.¡±


    Woo-Hee took the basket from her brother and sat down before slicing the potatoes obediently. However, she could not stop herself from being troubled over what he said. She put down the potato she was peeling and yelled, ¡°Big brother! No matter how desperate you are, you shouldn¡¯t shoot films like that! I told you that you shouldn''t live your life recklessly!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s some violence in it, that¡¯s why it¡¯s 19+[2]! Also, since I only had a minor role, I only appeared in the movie briefly, so stop being so interested, Miss Underage! Hey, the skin is too thick!¡±


    ¡°In that case, you should have just told me earlier! I was so distraught, do you think I could pay attention to the skins?¡±


    Woo-Hee cleared her throat and quietly examined the potato skins, carefully cutting them off. Woo-Jin looked at her and chuckled before sitting down in front of her and started dicing the carrots for the curry.


    ¡°Brother,¡± Woo-Hee suddenly began.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a lot of money in the future, and let you do all the movies and music you want, so don¡¯t do anything weird.¡±


    ¡°When?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Life is long. That time will come if you wait slowly.¡±


    Woo-Jin thought about how his youth would be over if he waited for that day to come and smiled. He remarked, ¡°Before that happens, I have a hunch that I¡¯ll have to work really hard to pay for your tuition fees.¡±


    ¡°Ack! Somehow, it seems likely that¡¯ll be the case, so I¡¯m anxious as well.¡±


    ¡°Hey, shouldn¡¯t you be telling me not to worry and that you¡¯ll pay for your own tuition fees?¡±


    Woo-Hee smiled brightly at Woo-Jin, who was taken aback by his sister¡¯s response. She stuck out her tongue, telling him that she would never give up the privileges that came with being a younger sister. However, despite saying that, perhaps she was secretly worried about something else, the tone of her voice subtly became more serious as she asked him another question.


    ¡°I¡¯m only a sophomore in high school, but before you worry about my school fees, have you prepared the money for your second semester? You are going back to school, right?¡± she asked.


    Even though Woo-Jin had taken on a minor role, he had still been in a movie. Seeing Woo-Jin step into the entertainment industry, Woo-Hee was worried about his academics. Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee¡¯s mother did not oppose or interfere with anything her children wanted to do. However, her only condition had been that they had to graduate from college. That condition was a warning meant solely for Woo-Jin, as there had been no way Woo-Hee would not go to college. That was their mother¡¯s final show of pride, as someone divorced from her cheating husband and disowned by her family. Hence, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee had been studying hard in any situation and were still getting good results.


    ¡°With the money I¡¯ll be getting from the part-time tutoring and the movie shoot, I don¡¯t have to worry about the tuition fees, so relax,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you said you got a minor role. Do you think I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯re getting from that?¡± Woo-Hee snorted, having done her own research on the internet.


    ¡°Ah, I have that previous movie, and an upcoming one,¡± Woo-Jin explained.


    He had only been paid 500,000 won [3] for his first contract for Death Hill, as he had a minor role, but he had later received 2 million won[4] for the additional shoots, which was personally taken care of by Director Moon. Due to the increase in production costs stemming from the reshoot, the budget was tight. Woo-Jin had not been expecting to be paid in the first place, as a rookie in a blockbuster film. However, Director Moon had graciously paid for the additional shooting out of his own pocket.


    On the other hand, for Glooming Day, even a rookie was being paid handsomely. The fact that the money had been deposited immediately upon the signing of the contract showed that they had had a hard time casting the actors. Thus, Woo-Jin did not have to worry about his tuition fees for now.


    ¡°You¡¯re shooting another movie? This time, by any chance, are you¡­¡± Woo-Hee began.


    ¡°This time, it¡¯s definitely PG-rated, but it¡¯s going to be a flop anyway,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s doomed when the movie hasn¡¯t even been filmed yet?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely going to be a flop. In any case, we¡¯re not going to make it.¡±


    As Woo-Jin pretended to cry and covered his face with both hands, he ended up really crying, as he had begun slicing onions right after cutting the carrots while talking to Woo-Hee. He had rubbed his eye with the hand that touched the onions.


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot,¡± Woo-Hee teased.


    Tears streamed down one of Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes, and he was unable to refute his sister.


    ¡°Go and wash your eyes, and look in the mirror. Your eye is really red.¡±


    ¡°Mirror¡­¡± As he had felt oddly afraid to look in the mirror lately, Woo-Jin went to the bathroom with a dark, gloomy cloud above his head.


    1. ¡®Rice soup actor¡¯ is a Korean term for actors who keep acting in box-office flops. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. In Korea, the movie ratings are rated according to age. 19 in Korean age is 18 according to international age. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. ~430 usd <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    4. ~1715 usd <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 9

    It was a sunny day and the sky was clear blue on the first day of filming for Glooming Day. On the contrary, the atmosphere was extremely gloomy and melancholic.


    The reason behind it was the nonchalant attitudes of Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee. They were the actor and actress taking on the leading roles of Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon respectively. Despite being only in their twenties, both were known to be talented at acting. The movie and drama scripts sent to their agencies had been piling up so much that it was impossible for them to have chosen this movie on their own accord. Since the movie was going to be a flop anyway, they did not even try to hide their intentions of doing a sloppy job and calling it a day.


    ¡°If that¡¯s how you want to act, then just go home.¡±


    However, Director Choi Yi-Geon was different. As much as he did not want to direct a movie that he was obligated to, it was still going to be something that would be credited to his name. He was not shameless enough to show the world substandard work.


    ¡°I knew that both of you were doing this half-heartedly during the table read, but I didn¡¯t know that you would be the same when the camera was rolling. I¡¯ll take full responsibility, so Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee, get off the set. What kind of actors are you?! This is bullshit.¡±


    The young director in his mid-thirties was a handsome, intelligent-looking man. Incongruent with his good looks, which were good enough for him to become an actor if he wanted, Choi Yi-Geon''s biting remarks were so harsh that nobody dared to say anything in response. He had not intervened during the two table reads before the first day of shooting and merely casually observed them. The smile on his face as he told Song Jae-Hee to act out her character the way she wanted had even made her blush.


    As he used to study abroad, he had only directed two movies thus far. However, both movies were masterpieces that had accrued more than five million viewers each. Five million might not seem much in an era with several movies that accounted for over ten million viewers every year, but what mattered was the genre of the film.


    Director Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s debut film had been a documentary about the story of an old monk and a child monk who lived in a temple. The old monk was preparing for his impending death, and had to teach the young monk about the world as the latter would eventually be left to live alone. The innocent young monk was still a child, rather than a religious person who practiced asceticism. Nevertheless, it had been more of a calm and beautiful story than a sad one.


    The second movie had been one centered on family. It revolved around a mother and a son. The woman had given birth to a child as a single mother and got married eventually, while hiding her past. Several years later, her child, whom she had previously put up for adoption, went to look for her. Based on the plot itself, one would have expected it to be a ¡®makjang¡¯ drama, but it was in fact a story about the psychological wounds of an abandoned child, and the pains of a woman who had no choice but to abandon her child. [1] In the movie, the son left without telling his mother he was her son because he did not want to hurt anybody, and the mother turned her back on her son despite knowing who he was.


    The calm flow of the storyline, without revenge or remorse, had left the viewers experiencing an indescribable pain in their hearts. The very fact that it had amassed more than five million viewers despite having deviated completely from standard storylines showed that Choi Yi-Geon was very good at doing his job as a director. Most of all, it was his ability to capture aesthetically pleasing visuals, as well as his understated editing skills, that had caused his talent to be greatly recognized. His amazing track record had led him to be chosen as the director of Glooming Day.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s enthusiasm was also dampened by the cast¡¯s lack of motivation before the shoot. Like the other actors, he wanted to do the scenes half-heartedly and get them over with. However, when the director told the main leads off, that was when he realized his mistake.


    He had not chosen to go into acting because he wanted to be a celebrity. He liked acting as much as he liked singing. He found it fun and exciting to analyze the characters, and act out or express the written lines in the direction he deemed fit. Doing so made him feel like a god, creating the axis of a new world.


    However, it had not been that long since he had started acting, and yet he had already lost sight of his aspirations, and was even about to destroy them. Thinking about that made his face turn red all of a sudden.


    ¡°If there¡¯s anybody here trying to act as they did, I¡¯m giving you the chance to leave now!¡±


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s cold warning this time hit Woo-Jin hard. Although Woo-Jin had no lines, he had the most number of scenes, other than the male and female leads. As soon as the director shot him a gaze, Woo-Jin shook his head with all his might. The gaze seemed to warn him that he would be thrown out as well if he could not deliver a good performance as ¡®Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯, the character that shared as much presence and importance as the leading characters.


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon stared at Woo-Jin with his bleary eyes for quite some time before shifting his gaze to the other people. Fortunately, Woo-Jin was given a chance without having to justify himself, as they had not shot Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s scenes.


    ¡°Calm down, sir,¡± someone began.


    As the matter started to get out of hand, the staff members and the main leads¡¯ managers stepped in and tried to pacify <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon, asking for his understanding.


    ¡°Jae-Hee is definitely not that kind of person. It¡¯s just that she hasn¡¯t adapted herself  to this role yet, so please try to understand.¡±


    ¡°Sung-Min only seemed that way because he was exhausted from a variety show shooting, which ended late into the night. It¡¯s absolutely not because he¡¯s doing it half-heartedly.¡±


    Woo-Jin had only signed his contract three weeks ago, but the main leads had already signed their contract two months ago. It did not make any sense for them to have had insufficient time to analyze their characters. Furthermore, Kwon Sung-Min had finished his previous shoot at 1 a.m., and it was now 10 a.m. Additionally, Woo-Jin had been on set since 6 a.m., and would be more exhausted than Kwon Sung-Min who had arrived only an hour ago. Yet, such details were not important in this situation.


    In any case, the concluding fact was that all the actors that had been cast for this movie had to take part in it. Nobody here had the supreme power to make any decisions. Unless they could come up with a better choice that would satisfy the Supreme Witch even more, they knew that they could not overstep their authority.


    However, the director was the person with the most power among them. Firstly, he had the full support of the Supreme Witch, and had been entrusted with the authority and autonomy to shoot the movie freely without any inconvenience. Even though he did not have the power to change the main leads, he could intimidate them. Moreover, if the director threw a fit because the actors did a bad job, thus delaying the shoot, those actors would be at a disadvantage. The pendulum of power had already swung to one side, and so the actors had no choice but to listen to Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°When I told you that you were free to do whatever you wanted, it meant I would fully believe and follow your interpretation of the role you were given. I didn¡¯t mean that you were allowed to act half-heartedly.¡±


    After <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon had cooled off to a certain extent, it seemed as though his fiery anger had suddenly vanished. He continued speaking in a polite manner with a smile. Woo-Jin was not the only person who thought that Choi Yi-Geon would make a good actor. Unwillingness were written on most of the people¡¯s faces.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to portray the story told by all of you in the most beautiful way possible. So, make sure that you give me the most beautiful acting you¡¯re able to express to the best of your abilities, understood? And so, I¡¯ll give you two hours to study your characters in depth and come back here after that.¡±


    With a beautiful smile, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon casually told them not to come back at all if they were not confident. They would later find out that he was an aesthete who was excessively obsessed with beauty and art. It explained why his movies had beautiful visuals. There was only one thing <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon wanted from the actors¡ªhe wanted them to be beautiful.


    Additionally, he explained that the beauty of an actor was measured by how well their acting fit the situation they were in for a particular scene, and whether it was portrayed accurately or not. It had nothing to do with their physical appearances. In a way, an aesthete like Choi Yi-Geon could not tolerate bad acting that ruined the screen.


    After hearing what Director Choi Yi-Geon said about the two-hour grace period, the actors hastily left their seats. The leading actors shared an understanding gaze with each other before heading in different directions. As a young man and woman, they were busy trying to avoid each other as much as possible, as if they were afraid of starting a scandal.


    Meanwhile, Woo-Jin had been thinking about where he should go, as he looked around the set that had been turned into a college department room. It was the place where Woo-Jin would spend the most amount of time shooting in; it was also a place that could be called ¡®Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s space¡¯. It seemed to be the most appropriate place to think about Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s character.


    Woo-Jin pulled a chair over and sat down. He stared out of the window blankly. They had rented an entire well-furnished model home and used it as the set, as if to prove CEO Choi¡¯s extensive support. It was not because the place was fancy and luxurious; but rather, it would cost them more money to prepare an accurate and realistic set than to use any random expensive set that looked fancy.


    Just by looking at it, he could tell that a lot of research had gone into setting the place up, and that the staff had put in a lot of effort into the set. Seeing as the actors had previously not put any effort into the acting despite being in a place like this, it was understandable why Director Choi Yi-Geon got angry.


    Although it was a model home, there was a window in the department room. Perhaps it was previously used as an office by employees from an architecture firm. Cha Hyun-Seung often looked down at Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon from that window. He could see trees with green leaves, as well as a well-decorated flower bed, beyond the window. What would Cha Hyun-Seung be thinking of when he looked at the couple passing through the area?


    Woo-Jin felt a sense of longing, as well as an inferiority complex, after reading the script.


    Park Ji-Hyuk was the son of an extremely wealthy family, even though he was not the heir of the conglomerate. On the other hand, Na Mi-Yeon was born and raised in an ordinary family, despite having earned the love of that wealthy son. Somehow, both of them had ended up falling in love with one another.


    Cha Hyun-Seung had had been observing them, but was unable to confess his feelings for Na Mi-Yeon. Park Ji-Hyuk was not someone Cha Hyun-Seung could match up against. Furthermore, Cha Hyun-Seung suffered from a severe inferiority complex as he compared himself to Park Ji-Hyuk, and ended up drowning himself in self-doubt. Thus, he was unable to confess his feelings to Na Mi-Yeon in front of Park Ji-Hyuk. He knew he was going to be rejected anyway.


    The love story between two people from different social classes, as well as the existence of a second male lead with a crush on the female lead while envying them from afar, was as clich¨¦d as it could get. Moreover, the second lead was but a means to make the male lead become more prominent. He could not shine at all. That was the limitation of Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s character.


    Woo-Jin could understand Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s feelings, but for some reason, he did not want to act according to the script. Just thinking about how he had to look at the couple amid the depressing and gloomy aura that he gave off gave him goosebumps. More importantly, if he were to act according to the script, the flow of the movie would be very predictable.


    For romance comedies, and especially so in the case of the purely romantic genre, the scriptwriters had a tendency to force their viewers to feel touched and emotional pain for the most part via the excessive emotions felt by the characters. Glooming Day did not deviate too much from this path ¨C Cha Hyun-Seung had to struggle and suffer due to unrequited love.


    No matter how Woo-Jin looked at it, it didn¡¯t sit right with him for Cha Hyun-Seung to observe the couple while not doing anything, and feel pained as though he was abandoned. Having Cha Hyun-Seung being depressed and pathetic to the very end, it felt as if the scriptwriter was forcing the viewers to be equally depressed. It also seemed that the scriptwriter wanted to use Cha Hyun-Seung as a tool to make the viewers empathize with the beautiful couple, and have them feel both envy and sorry for the pair of lovers.


    Yet, in Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion, the failure of this film was the existence of Cha Hyun-Seung. Contrary to the scriptwriter¡¯s intentions, the audience was more likely to think of Cha Hyun-Seung as a pathetic stalker, rather than empathize with him. He was too immersed in his own emotions, making it difficult for them to empathize with him, and even more difficult to sympathize with. However, his young and crazy unrequited love had similarities with Death Hill¡¯s A. No, if that was the case, Glooming Day¡¯s genre could then be classified as a ¡®horror thriller¡¯. Without a single line, it was difficult for him to portray Cha Hyun-Seung accurately.


    1. ¡®Makjang¡¯ dramas are dramas with ridiculous, extreme, and unrealistic plots. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 10

    After signing the contract for the movie and getting the script, Woo-Jin had thought about Cha Hyun-Seung the entire time and studied his character. As a result, he had been able to think of a new version of ¡®Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯ while retaining the writer¡¯s intentions to the best of his abilities. However, he had been disappointed with the ambience during the table read, so he decided to get rid of the Cha Hyun-Seung he had created and just follow the script.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s possible...¡± Woo-Jin mused to himself.


    Remembering Director <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s words from a while before, Woo-Jin got up from his seat and went to look for the former. Following the staff¡¯s directions, he found Choi Yi-Geon elegantly sipping on some tea. Contrary to his initial enthusiasm, Woo-Jin hesitated a little.


    Moon Seung-Kwon was the only director Woo-Jin had known before this movie. To put it tactfully and honestly, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon was very different from the plump, and heavyset Director Moon in every aspect, be it the movie genre they shot or appearance. Director Moon was sloppily dressed throughout the shoot while there was not a single thing that could be nitpicked of the neat suit that <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon was wearing; even his necktie was perfectly secure, without leaving even a single inch of space. He looked as though he could attend a board meeting right away; Woo-Jin found it difficult to approach him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon asked.


    ¡°I have something to discuss with you. Do you have time to talk?¡± Woo-Jin replied. As he had never had a personal conversation with the director<meta charset="utf-8">, he started to read the room without realizing it.


    ¡°If it¡¯s related to Cha Hyun-Seung, I¡¯m always free to talk whenever.¡±


    Contrary to Woo-Jin¡¯s concerns, Choi Yi-Geon readily pointed to the chair across the table with his right hand and invited Woo-Jin to sit. As Woo-Jin sat down, Choi Yi-Geon watched quietly while leaning his back against the sofa with his arms folded.


    ¡°You mentioned that this is your second time acting, right?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    Originally, there was supposed to have been an interview or a test conducted by the director before the casting call, but all of those things had been omitted in their case. Thus, in truth, they did not know much about each other.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what was the movie? I¡¯m just asking because I don¡¯t know,¡± Choi Yi-Geon continued.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been released yet. I heard it¡¯s going to be released in early July, but I don¡¯t know the exact details yet.¡±


    ¡°Supporting role?¡±


    ¡°Initially, it was a minor role, but I was called back for additional shooting. I¡¯m not sure how much of it will be used in the movie after they¡¯re done editing it.¡±


    Woo-Jin scratched his head in embarrassment for not being able to give a proper answer to any of <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon''s questions thus far; in particular, the fact that he himself did not know whether he had a minor role or a supporting role was rather hilarious. That said, Woo-Jin realized that he had definitely lucked out. It was evident that he was lucky, as he had landed a significant supporting role in his second movie after playing a minor role in his first, with the success or failure of the movie out of the equation.


    ¡°If it¡¯s going to be released in July, that means it¡¯ll only be released after our shooting ends. As you may have already known, we won¡¯t need more than a month to shoot our movie.¡±


    The movie did not have any action scenes, and there was no need for fancy techniques to portray the love story of two college students. If everything went smoothly, they would be done with the shooting in a month. The movie¡¯s runtime was only 100 minutes. As such, it was understood that the movie would be released in mid to late August. It was not as if the audience would suffer from heatstroke while watching a passionate love story in midsummer, but at least that was one excuse they had for the impending box office flop.


    ¡°If both movies are in early July and mid to late August, they might overlap if your previous movie becomes a hit. However, since you¡¯re not the main character, it¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    Hearing that the movie would be released in early July, Choi Yi-Geon had a hunch that Woo-Jin¡¯s movie was a blockbuster. If that movie was a hit, it would be highly likely that both of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s movies would overlap in terms of screening, since that film would stay in the theaters for a longer period of time. If that was the case, this film¡¯s public relations agency might adjust the release schedule for Glooming Day.


    However, judging from the fact that Woo-Jin was not the main character, but a minor or supporting character, it appeared that it would not pose a major problem. Hence, Choi Yi-Geon nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any information about you so I wanted to look for it, but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t find it. So, I wondered if it would turn out okay if we make a decision with just your looks, in accordance with CEO Choi¡¯s expectations. Fortunately, you don¡¯t have any lines,¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon said.


    ¡°Looks? What¡¯s there to make a positive judgment of?¡± Woo-Jin responded.


    People often told him that he was handsome, but Woo-Jin himself could not see it. Even when he looked at Woo-Hee, who looked more like him than anyone else, he felt that she was cute because she was his younger sister, but he did not find her pretty. Hence, whenever someone called him ¡®handsome¡¯, he merely took such words as compliments people said out of courtesy. To him, it was similar to the way people called anybody who was tall with clear skin good-looking.


    Thus, he could not help but be taken aback when he heard <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon telling him that he had gone ahead solely based on Woo-Jin¡¯s looks. What reason exactly did <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon have to believe in his looks so much? For a moment, Woo-Jin wondered if he had been cast as another excuse for the box office flop.


    ¡°I believe in your looks,¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon insisted.


    ¡°If you do that, the movie will be ruined,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°Our movie is already ruined.¡±


    Seeing the director speak so confidently, Woo-Jin became dispirited. Even though they both knew that for a fact, he had been unable to say it because he had wanted to cling to the hope that it might work out.


    ¡°When it comes to being a hit at the box office, who would pay to watch an old-fashioned movie like this in today¡¯s world? Still, my goal is to make a film I won¡¯t be ashamed of. Just because it¡¯s a box office flop or it isn¡¯t interesting doesn¡¯t mean that the film itself will be a wreck. I can¡¯t produce something like that with my name on it. It¡¯d be freaking embarrassing.¡±


    Sitting elegantly in an expensive suit, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon uttered slang that did not fit his image without hesitation. Despite that, he still looked dignified, throwing Woo-Jin off. That man was a movie director with the good looks of a movie star, which made him rather special.


    ¡°On that note, what does the Cha Hyun-Seung you are trying to portray look like?¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon asked. To a certain extent, he was able to guess why Woo-Jin had decided to look for him at this time.


    ¡°In your opinion, what kind of man is Cha Hyun-Seung?¡± Woo-Jin asked back.


    ¡°A depressed loser who struggles with an inferiority complex,¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon said.


    It was a firm assessment that was void of sympathy, but it was not that different from Woo-Jin¡¯s thoughts, and so Woo-Jin nodded. Most of the viewers would feel the same way too when watching the movie. However, he asked, ¡°Can I portray Cha Hyun-Seung in a different way?¡±


    ¡°Is there anything you¡¯re not allowed to do? Didn¡¯t I explicitly tell you to portray your character according to your wishes? It¡¯s just that you have to do it ¡®well¡¯. Otherwise, I¡¯ll chew you out like I did to those two earlier on. Have you seen any lovers who were truly in love with one another, acting like them? Have they never been in love before?¡±


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon clicked his tongue. He gestured in the air, not wanting to think about it. He asked, ¡°Mr. Woo-Jin, what kind of person do you want to portray Cha Hyun-Seung to be?¡±


    ¡°To me, Cha Hyun-Seung is someone with a brighter personality and a little more enthusiasm. However, the title of the movie is Glooming Day¡­¡±


    He was concerned because the word ¡®glooming¡¯ was in the title itself. There would be a fundamental error if Cha Hyun-Seung, the only person who should be depressed by seeing the bright and vibrant young lovers, became a more positive and upbeat person.


    ¡°The lovers are breaking up anyway. Isn¡¯t it depressing for them to accept reality and go their own way in the worst way possible? The main characters have a sad ending, but what does that have to do with the supporting character¡¯s sad disposition?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Ah¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin blushed and turned his head away for a moment. He was at a loss for words. It was said that children thought they themselves were at the center of the world. Likewise, Woo-Jin, the rookie, had made the mistake of thinking for a moment that he, the supporting character, was at the center of the movie. He had been unable to pay attention to the ending of the main characters, as he had been too caught up in the burdensome sense of duty that came from the thought that he was the only one responsible for the melancholic and depressing theme of the film.


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon chuckled when he saw how Woo-Jin struggled to lift his head, covering his red face with his hands. This trait of his, that rookies usually had, was not a bad thing. At the very least, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon liked his attitude so much that he seriously thought about putting Cha Hyun-Seung at the center of the movie.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you don¡¯t have a single line, but you always participated seriously at every table read.¡±


    At that time, the two main leads had been busy working with one another for their scenes, and had paid no attention to Cha Hyun-Seung. Nevertheless, Woo-Jin had looked at both of them with eyes that sparkled. He seemed to have been looking forward to the performances of the two actors who had already made it big, and he had looked extremely curious as to how they would portray the love between the two characters. There was no ugly jealousy or any inferiority complex.


    ¡°The way you looked at the main leads at the time wasn¡¯t bad. I would be okay with Cha Hyun-Seung looking at them with those eyes. The same way there are multiple interpretations of a single sheet music, isn¡¯t it the same for scripts? Even with the same lines, the mood changes entirely depending on the pronunciation and emphasis, as well as the facial expression. However, the problem is that Cha Hyun-Seung doesn¡¯t have a single line to express his emotions.¡±


    Woo-Jin, whose face was not as red as before, made eye contact with <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon. As he looked Woo-Jin in the eye, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon had a mischievous look on his face. He asked, ¡°How can we express Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s changed image without any lines, our dear actor, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    After taking an early lunch, the actors and the staff, who had used up the two-hour grace given by <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon, went back to the shoot with a serious attitude. Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee did not seem to have wasted the two hours they were given; they were immersed in their roles with a completely different attitude from before.


    ***


    Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon were sitting at the table across from one another in an empty room, teasing each other. It was not much of a story, but when they laughed, holding each other¡¯s fingers and looking each other in the eye before pecking each other on the lips, it gave off the impression of young love. Their acting this time was better than their uninspiring acting the first time around. They looked like lovers, tickling the audience who were watching them. These actors lived up to their names and were proving the fact that they were extraordinary, as they had the ability to change the ambience in an instant with their acting.


    ¡°Ah! When did you get here, Hyun-Seung?¡± Na Mi-Yeon was the first person to discover Cha Hyun-Seung, who was hesitating by the door. She waved at him. In response, he tapped Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s head lightly with a book that was in his hand, before glancing at the clock on the wall.


    ¡°We skipped class.¡±


    ¡°Please let us off this time, Hyun-Seung.¡±


    Cha Hyun-Seung forced a smile as he looked at the young couple, because he felt that it was pathetic how they had made their way to the department room of all places after skipping their class.


    ¡°Well¡­ I want to drink the coffee you made for me, so I¡¯ve been waiting for it!¡± Na Mi-Yeon exclaimed.


    In truth, both of them had wanted to be alone in silence, so they had chosen to go to the department room, but it was not necessary for her to say that. Everyone present knew the truth. The lovely woman¡¯s lie was a witty excuse to some, and an offensive joke to others.


    Cha Hyun-Seung placed the book and materials he had been holding on the desk, and made a cup of coffee for Na Mi-Yeon without saying a word. He poured the coffee mix into a paper cup, and added hot water from the water purifier before stirring it with a teaspoon.


    Park Ji-Hyuk grimaced at the sight of it. ¡°Mi-Yeon, how can you drink something like that?¡± he asked. The young master could never imagine drinking instant coffee in a paper cup, and ended up trying to snatch the paper cup from Cha Hyun-Seung.


    However, Mi-Yeon was a little faster than him, and said, ¡°Thanks for the drink. Ah, it¡¯s hot!¡± She grabbed the paper cup with both hands and tried to drink it quickly, but ended up scalding herself with the hot coffee.


    Park Ji-Hyuk was startled and asked her why she drank it. He placed his hands on Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s face and looked at her lips. They looked each other in the eye as he blew on her sore lips. They smiled at each other, becoming lost in their own world.


    They had already forgotten about Cha Hyun-Seung, who was still sitting next to them. Cha Hyun-Seung looked straight at them as he sat on the chair with his chin resting on his hand. It was only after they had said goodbye to him and left the department room that the look in his eyes changed. They had not held a tinge of darkness or sadness, but had now turned into regret.


    Now that he was alone, he got up from the chair and carefully grabbed the cup of coffee that Na Mi-Yeon had tried to drink from earlier. He carefully rubbed the faint lipstick mark left behind on the paper cup and walked toward the window. Leaning one of his shoulders slightly against the window, Cha Hyun-Seung brought the paper cup to his lips.


    In the original script, Cha Hyun-Seung was supposed to place the part of the cup with Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s lipstick stain on his lips, but Woo-Jin did not follow that direction. After hesitating for a moment, he stroked that part with his finger before drinking from the other side of the cup. He looked at the faint lipstick stain with kind eyes and nothing more.


    It was a sunny day. He drank the fragrant coffee with his eyes half-closed, basking in the light that poured in through the window. The world was a very beautiful place to the man, drunk on his affection for someone who was more fragrant than the cup of coffee.

 Chapter 11

    ¡°Cut!¡±


    There were no bad takes and so, Director <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon did not make any comments during the shooting. He prepared for the next scene without giving any praise or criticism. That alone was good enough for Woo-Jin. Since there was no way that the self-respecting director would allow his movie to be ruined, that meant that Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was satisfactory to him.


    ¡°Umm, I think Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s character has somewhat changed.¡±  Unexpectedly, Kwon Sung-Min was the one who raised an objection. Even after he was done with his scene, he stayed on set, watching Woo-Jin.


    However, when the acting went in a different direction from what he had expected, he frowned. This was because the scene where Cha Hyun-Seung stood under the sunlight turned out to be more sentimental and beautiful than expected.


    ¡°I know. And?¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Kwon Sung-Min replied, confused.


    ¡°I clearly said from the get-go that you¡¯re free to act out your interpretation of the character as you please. You don¡¯t think that only applies to the two main leads, do you? Besides, Mr. Woo-Jin has already gotten my permission. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon smiled and added that everyone was guaranteed the same freedom.


    Kwon Sung-Min said to <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon in a serious manner, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the ambience of the movie itself change as a result? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s in line with what CEO Choi wants.¡±


    ¡°So, what kind of movie does CEO Choi want?¡±


    ¡°One that follows Glooming Day¡¯s script.¡±


    Despite <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon''s advice, the two main leads had followed the script down to a T, acting out their characters accordingly¡ªan arrogant, but ignorant rich boy, and a nosy, yet lovely young lady. They thought it was the best way to please the CEO of G&C, who was the reason they were in this film, as well as the person with all the authority. However, they could not be happy about the fact that a supporting actor had suddenly changed the ambience of the film.


    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re not 100% correct. What CEO Choi likes the most about Glooming Day is the endearing couple, as well as their heartbreaking farewell. And the person she agonized over the most was Cha Hyun-Seung,¡± the director explained.


    The absolute criteria that CEO Choi had set for the film while she prepared it were that the main leads and the supporting actor had to be in their 20s, and that they also had to be charming and attractive. While the storyline was important, she had placed more emphasis on the visuals.


    However, to girls who were into romance films, Cha Hyun-Seung was an ambiguous character that was hard to fathom. The existence of a supporting character who had a one-sided crush on the female lead could create heart-palpitating tension and fantasy. Despite that, Cha Hyun-Seung was a man who did not take care of the female lead¡ªhe merely looked at her. He was also a character who did not appeal to the emotions of young girls.


    Instead, the pain experienced by Cha Hyun-Seung, who had to watch the love between the woman he loved and another man blossom, evoked a sense of sensual voyeurism in others. That was the only stimulating part of the otherwise boring movie, so it could never be taken out.


    However, if they were to follow the script, they would face the issue of Cha Hyun-Seung not having any charm or appeal, because he was so depressed and constantly drowning in his inferiority complex. Hence, they had looked for a good-looking actor, thinking that would negate the unpleasant traits of Cha Hyun-Seung.


    Of course, the script could be modified the way Chae Woo-Jin had, turning Cha Hyun-Seung into an upright person with a slightly brighter personality and a sad one-sided crush on the female lead.


    However, Cha Hyun-Seung had no lines in the film. How many good-looking actors in their 20s could act solely based on facial expressions without any lines? It was more difficult to act out one¡¯s self-restraint while hiding one¡¯s emotions behind a bright smile than to express a depressive unrequited love.


    Looking for an actor for this role was not impossible, but the conditions were not good enough for an actor who was decently successful ¨C it would be rude to hire them as a supporting actor instead of the main lead. It would be an unreasonable request even if it came from CEO Choi herself.


    More truthfully, though, she wanted to save such an actor for future projects. She wanted to see them as the main lead instead of a supporting character, so she had decided to be patient and cast them in the next project.


    In other words, CEO Choi desired the most, a beautiful, yet sad Cha Hyun-Seung, who was certainly not a loser. As <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon was explaining to Kwon Sung-Min in a simple manner, he pointed at Chae Woo-Jin, who was eavesdropping on the conversation between the two and had frozen on the spot, at a loss for what to do.


    ¡°This is the first time, so I can¡¯t make any conclusions, but that version of Cha Hyun-Seung wasn¡¯t bad. You feel the same way too, right?¡± asked <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon.


    That question took Kwon Sung-Min by surprise, and he subconsciously answered right away, ¡°Yes, it wasn¡¯t bad.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    Seeing Woo-Jin bow, expressing his gratitude, Kwon Sung-Min could not help but feel bad. Holding back his desire to say another word, he moved to the next set.


    ¡®Ah, I don¡¯t think this is it.¡¯


    In truth, Kwon Sung-Min was not upset because Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s character was modified. He was upset because of the aura that Woo-Jin was giving off, which was too shiny. As he leaned against the window, holding the paper cup and drinking coffee, Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s soul sparkled like sunshine, making the viewers¡¯ hearts flutter.


    It was the same for Kwon Sung-Min. It was not just him, but also the staff working on the set. Chae Woo-Jin instantly caught their attention. He did not have many years of experience, but Kwon Sung-Min could tell just by the ambience alone that it was a little dangerous and threatening.


    Since it was the first day, the shooting did not go on for too long. It ended quickly in the afternoon. Usually, everyone working on the set would have a get-together to bond as a group, but the lofty Choi Yi-Geon hated that aspect of Korean culture. As a person who preferred individualism, he had an aversion to socializing in groups. Hence, as soon as the shooting was over, he left. Since he was the director, the rest of the staff had nothing to say.


    It was the same for the main leads and Woo-Jin, who were the main characters of the film. The main leads were afraid of a potential scandal happening, so as soon as they were done with filming, they went to look for their own managers and disappeared separately. They wanted to err on the side of caution, but there was a reason behind it ¡ª Kwon Sung-Min had ended up getting involved in a scandal with the female lead of every movie or drama he was in. Ultimately, those incidents were dismissed as something that had happened by chance, but it was true that he had been close to the actresses.


    Hence, Song Jae-Hee¡¯s agency had given her strict instructions beforehand, and Kwon Sung-Min was trying to be careful this time as well. With the two main leads being that unfriendly to one another, the people who had gathered for the shoot naturally parted ways too. In any case, considering their tight schedule in the near future, it would be nice to be able to take a break whenever they could, so everyone was happy about it.


    The set was located on the outskirts of Seoul, so it took Woo-Jin slightly under two hours to get home as he had to make multiple transfers. When he got off at the bus stop, it was already a little after 9 p.m., so he walked faster.


    However, he could see the familiar rear view of a person on the usual path he was walking on a short distance away. It was Woo-Jin¡¯s mother, carrying a bag full of groceries in one hand. With his long legs, Woo-Jin ran immediately and grabbed the bag from his mother¡¯s hand, carrying it for her.


    ¡°Ahh! Who¡­ Oh, Woo-Jin! Don¡¯t sneak up on me without making any sound!!¡± Park Eun-Soo was surprised, and screamed when a strong man grabbed her bag of groceries; but after realizing that he was her son, she was relieved, but deliberately acted mad regardless.


    ¡°Sorry. I was walking from behind, but I saw you, so I ran towards you without thinking much about it. Did I surprise you?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I was very startled. My heart is still pounding,¡± replied Park Eun-Soo.


    ¡°But nobody is trying to see what¡¯s going on here, even after hearing a woman scream,¡± added Woo-Jin.


    The bus stop was a ten-minute walk away from his house. The alley in the residential area was not dark, as there were lights everywhere, but it was very quiet. It was not a crime-ridden district, but whether it was due to a lack of vigilance, or the indifference of the people living there, the alley was quiet in the middle of the night. Woo-Jin was worried about his mother, who was headed home late in the evening.


    ¡°A little scream won¡¯t do anything. Even for us, when we¡¯re at home, we don¡¯t pay any attention to the sounds outside. We can barely hear them,¡± Park Eun-Soo said.


    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯re in no position to complain about it,¡± responded Woo-Jin.


    Even Woo-Jin¡¯s family, who lived on the second floor of their leased house, often did not know what was going outside. A few days ago, the police had arrived because of a fight between the couple who lived next to them. They had only found out about it after it happened.


    ¡°I¡¯m still worried, though. You¡¯ve been going home late these days; are you going to be alright?¡± Woo-Jin asked his mother.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lived in this neighborhood for ten years; what¡¯s there to be worried about? On the other hand, you just started filming today. Is it okay for you to come home at this time?¡±


    Park Eun-Soo had assumed that it would be hard for Woo-Jin to go home once filming began, because he had had to spend the night on set previously. Since she had thought she would not be able to see him for a while, she was happy to see him.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s the first day, we were just trying to get a feel of things, so we ended early today. The schedule will be tight from tomorrow onwards, so they told us to be prepared. Fortunately, the staff decided to rent an entire motel near the set for us. People who find it hard to commute to and fro can stay there, so I¡¯m planning to pack some clothes and supplies and check in tomorrow.¡±


    For the main leads, it did not matter as their managers drove them around every day; but for Woo-Jin, he had no choice but to take a cab to the set at dawn. They had ended early today, so it was fine, but he did not have any contingency plans for days when filming ended at dawn. Additionally, in cases where there were hours of free time between shoots, the timing for him to make his way there or leave would be very uncertain.


    He had thought about renting a room near the set for a month, but the solution had turned out to be right there. He heard that the staff had rented a motel for them to stay in. Even though he was a little embarrassed, he had decided to ask if he could stay there; to his surprise, they readily agreed to his request. Besides, Woo-Jin played an important supporting character, so he was able to get a single room all to himself.


    ¡°So, I won¡¯t be able to see you at all throughout the shoot?¡± Park Eun-Soo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s my first time taking part in a shoot lasting this long...¡± Woo-Jin replied hesitantly.


    With years of experience as a trainee, Woo-Jin was well-aware of the K-pop industry, but he did not know anything about the movie industry. It started with an audition that he had chanced upon unintentionally, which had allowed him to make it thus far. Thus, he was as clueless as his mother.


    ¡°Do you really have to be an actor? You would do well regardless of what you do.¡± Park Eun-Soo was not against her son¡¯s decision, but she was not exactly supportive of it. Having grown up in a strict family, she did not understand why her academically-inclined son had to be a celebrity.


    ¡°Mom, it¡¯s something I want to do.¡±


    ¡°Seriously! You only call me mom in moments like this!¡±


    Woo-Jin had matured at a very young age due to his parents¡¯ divorce. He had been calling his mom ¡®mother¡¯ since middle school. However, he would cleverly call her ¡®mom¡¯ in situations where he was at a disadvantage, or when he needed something to go his way. This was because he was well aware of the fact that his mom¡¯s heart would soften if he called her by a title he had not used since he was a child.

 Chapter 12

    ¡°You¡¯re my son, but you¡¯re very cunning,¡± said Park Eun-Soo.


    ¡°There has to be at least one cunning person in our family,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re still a far cry from Woo-Hee when it comes to being crafty. Why are both my children like this¡­ Ah, where did I go wrong?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve raised us well, mom. So don¡¯t worry.¡± Woo-Jin grabbed his mother¡¯s right hand tightly with his left hand and shook it as he smiled at her.


    Even though they had had financial difficulties, he was not lacking in the emotional wellbeing department. That was because he had his mother and sister, Woo-Hee, with whom he had shared great days. At this moment, Woo-Jin was happy.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, do you want to meet your maternal uncle?¡± Park Eun-Soo said suddenly.


    Woo-Jin stopped walking upon hearing those words, which he could never have seen coming. He knew that his mother had severed ties with her family after the divorce, so he was very surprised to hear the word ¡®maternal uncle¡¯ coming out of nowhere.


    ¡°Because of your grandfather, I kept in touch with your uncle, albeit not very often. He¡¯s helped us a lot. He gave us a lot of money as well, contributing a large portion to our current house.¡±


    Originally, they had been paying monthly rent for their house. However, the owner of the house had said he needed a huge amount of money to buy a house for his recently married son. Subsequently, their lease agreement had been changed into a jeonse[1] one. The amount of deposit quoted by the landlord was rather high, but his mother had signed the contract without hesitation. At that time, she thought she had saved enough money for it, but that had not been the case.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve grown up, I¡¯ve been worried because there aren¡¯t any other adults in the house to give you any advice, but your uncle said that he wanted to meet with you to congratulate you on getting discharged from the military.¡±


    Shortly after Woo-Jin entered the entertainment industry in earnest, his mother had become very concerned. Since he had had some issues with the last agency, his mother met with her brother to consult him on potential legal issues and the like. At some point, his maternal uncle had probably brought up the suggestion of meeting with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll meet him another time. Please tell him I¡¯ll treat him to a good meal when we meet,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    As surprising as this was, he was beyond grateful to his uncle. He was not grateful because the latter had given them money for their house, but rather because his uncle had continued to stay in contact with his mother despite his maternal grandfather¡¯s rage. It was reassuring to know that his mother had someone to lean on in times of need, instead of being completely cut off from her family.


    However, since his uncle was as rigid and stubborn as his grandfather, even if Woo-Jin met with him it would be of no use, since he already knew what his uncle was going to say. Just like his mother, his uncle was also unhappy with Woo-Jin¡¯s decision to join the entertainment industry. If he was incompetent, it would have been a different story, but because Woo-Jin was smart, his uncle was going to try to convince him to take the Legal Education Eligibility Test (LEET).[2]


    ¡°Come to think of it, Yi-Yeon and Hee-Yeon must have taken their bar exam and LEET respectively.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard both of them passed. Yi-Yeon was appointed as a prosecutor last year, and Hee-Yeon is going to law school this year.¡±


    Woo-Jin nodded when he heard that both his cousins Yi-Yeon and Hee-Yeon, who were the same age as Woo-Jin himself, had passed their exams. It was not surprising at all, due to their competence and circumstances. However, all he could do was smile awkwardly at his mother while feeling sorry toward her, and tell her that he was happy for them.


    Park Eun-Soo still wanted Woo-Jin to take the LEET. Since everyone, including his grandfather and uncle, was a legal professional, naturally, she had hopes that he would follow in their footsteps.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about. I¡¯ve already given up on persuading you. I¡¯m pinning my hopes on Woo-Hee. She¡¯s very interested in that field,¡± said Park Eun-Soo.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°She said she has to fulfill my wishes, so you can do what you want to do.¡±


    Woo-Jin was at a loss for words, and was taken aback for a moment upon hearing Woo-Hee¡¯s thoughts.


    Park Eun-Soo looked at her son, who had a very surprised look in his eyes, and smiled. ¡°You still don¡¯t know what Woo-Hee is like? If she didn''t want to do something, regardless of what anyone said, she would never do it. She knew saying that would make us feel bad, so she could use it to get some benefits. She used to look up to your maternal uncle, so much so that she became very interested in that field, but she always pretends she doesn¡¯t. Anyway, she¡¯s as cunning as a fox.¡±


    What Park Eun-Soo said was so true that Woo-Jin nodded without realizing it. Brushing off the guilt he had had towards Woo-Hee for a moment, he was startled by a dark aura he felt behind him instantly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being as cunning as a fox.¡± Woo-Hee, who had been heading home from cram school, overheard her mother and brother¡¯s conversation in the alley and gave off dark and gloomy vibes as she spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get mad!¡± she pouted, intentionally squeezing herself between her mother and Woo-Jin before storming off.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to get mad at the slightest provocation,¡± said Park Eun-Soo.


    ¡°That¡¯s because she¡¯s going through puberty,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going through puberty!¡± Woo-Hee told them with pride that she had already been through the stormy period of adolescence and was now an intellectual who acted on reason rather than emotion. So, she snapped at Woo-Jin upon hearing what he said.


    ¡°Be quiet!¡± someone yelled in annoyance from one of the houses, after hearing Woo-Hee¡¯s loud cry. Additionally, the sound of dogs barking echoed throughout the neighborhood.


    Woo-Hee¡¯s face turned red from embarrassment, as Park Eun-Soo joked to Woo-Jin that their neighborhood was safe because someone had responded to her scream right away.


    On a warm spring evening, the wind carried the scent of flowers from somewhere else. With the sweet-smelling wind blowing in their faces, their silhouettes stretched across the alley under the moonlight.


    ***


    ¡°Cut! Bad take.¡± Director Choi¡¯s sharp yell made the ambience extremely cold, bringing down the mood.


    A week after the shooting began, the character Park Ji-Hyuk, who was being played by Kwon Sung-Min, suddenly fell apart. There had already been more than twenty bad takes for one scene. Additionally, they had prepared a water sprinkler for today¡¯s outdoor shooting of a rainy day scene. Naturally, Kwon Sung-Min and Woo-Jin, who were being sprayed by the water sprinkler, were not in good physical condition.


    ¡°Kwon Sung-Min, let¡¯s have a chat,¡± Choi Yi-Geon said.


    When Choi Yi-Geon quietly left the set with Kwon Sung-Min, Woo-Jin went to a chair that had his name on it and sat down. One of the staff handed him a blanket and a towel. He thanked them and instinctively let out a sigh. Fortunately, he had used an umbrella in the scene, so his entire body was not drenched. However, there had been several bad takes over quite a long period of time, so it was cold and his clothes were wet.


    Kwon Sung-Min also had a blanket over his shoulders as he followed behind Choi Yi-Geon. Even though he had makeup on his face, his lips had turned visibly blue. Without looking in the mirror, Woo-Jin assumed that he probably did not look that much different from Kwon Sung-Min. He carefully wiped his face with a towel.


    ¡°Sung-Min is a little out of it, more so today than before,¡± said the makeup artist who was drying Woo-Jin''s hair as she cocked her head to the side.


    Despite being at the young age of 28, Kwon Sung-Min was rather good at acting. He was not an actor who would normally cause repeated bad takes of one scene like this. However, Woo-Jin felt that it was only normal, since Kwon Sung-Min had been messing up since yesterday. Woo-Jin rubbed the nape of his neck with his hand as he thought about yesterday¡¯s shoot.


    ***


    It was a scene where Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon stopped in front of the festival held at their university while carrying their things with both hands. Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s shoelaces had come untied, causing her shoe to slip off. The rich boy, Park Ji-Hyuk, hadn¡¯t thought of putting down the things in his hands to tie her shoelaces for her. In the first place, he had no idea how to tie shoelaces.


    Cha Hyun-Seung sighed as he approached the dumb couple who kept looking at each other, asking what they should do. Thereafter, he got down on one knee and tied Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s shoelaces for her. Park Ji-Hyuk took his act for granted instead of feeling offended that some other guy had tied his lover¡¯s shoelaces for her. To someone like him, who was accustomed to ordering other people around, there was absolutely nothing to be jealous of.


    However, it was an agonizing moment for Cha Hyun-Seung, who could not hide his excitement and heart palpitations just from touching one of Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s shoelaces. The camera caught Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s trembling fingers slipping a couple of times. Cha Hyun-Seung was embarrassed by the fact that he did not tie them properly. He looked flustered as he shifted his gaze to the side. That was when he caught the shadows of those two people kissing each other.


    The immature lover, Park Ji-Hyuk, could not hold himself back while waiting for the teaching assistant to be done with tying Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s shoelaces. He thought that sneaking in a secret kiss was a romantic gesture. As usual, Cha Hyun-Seung was shattered by their action, and had to grit his teeth and close his eyes. Thereafter, with an expressionless face, he acted as though he had not seen anything, and hurriedly left.


    Cha Hyun-Seung displayed his inferiority complex by being cold, looking at the couple from afar while being unable to get close to them with his fists clenched. It was as though he had been betrayed and gotten hurt. Who did he think he was, staring at the couple who loved each other?


    Woo-Jin was grateful that he did not have to portray such a stupid character in such a manner. Woo-Jin''s version of Cha Hyun-seung was a man who might have been taken aback from seeing the shadow of the person he loved on the ground, but chose not to close his eyes or turn his head away. His eyes became cold instantly, but soon, he felt that his own jealousy was so absurd and shook his head. His clear gaze turned into envy. It was not some kind of dark jealousy, or a sense of inferiority toward himself. It was jealousy that contained a pure sense of longing.


    The reason he did not dare to confess to Na Mi-Yeon was not due to Park Ji-Hyuk being very handsome or the son of a wealthy family. It was because he knew that Na Mi-Yeon loved Park Ji-Hyuk so much that he could not come between them. After tying Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s shoelaces, making sure they would not come loose again, Cha Hyun-Seung got up and took the things in her hands.


    The surprised looks on Na Mi-Yeon and Park Ji-Hyuk¡¯s faces were very real¡ªthey were not in the script. When Cha Hyun-Seung left with the items, Na Mi-Yeon was the first to snap out of it and come to her senses. She called his name and chased after him.


    Instead of looking at the lovers pitifully from afar, he made her chase after him. Cha Hyun-Seung smiled pitifully as he felt Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s presence behind him. Knowing this was as good as it could get for him, he lowered his head with his eyes closed, consoling himself with the thought that he was only frowning because of the hot sun.


    When the festival scene ended, the ambience was not bad. The ad-lib they had not discussed was done on impulse, so Woo-Jin apologized. Fortunately, Choi Yi-Geon was okay with it and let it be. The problem came after Kwon Sung-Min watched the video again on the preview monitor. Kwon Sung-Min frowned and asked for a re-shoot for the parts that he did not like, but his request was denied.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that we were given a lot of money for production, but it¡¯s not to the extent where we can afford to re-shoot a perfectly shot scene.¡± The director assertively denied Kwon Sung-Min¡¯s request before moving on to the next scene without mercy.


    From then on, Kwon Sung-Min¡¯s displeasure was evident. He would immediately make sounds that showed how upset he was whenever Woo-Jin did something wrong that resulted in a bad take. Every time Woo-Jin asked the director or the staff a question because he lacked knowledge when it came to shooting, he would throw a jab and make comments about how it was hard to work with rookies because of that. Woo-Jin did not know the reason why, but he felt that Kwon Sung-Min did not like him.


    1. The jeonse system is a housing rental system where tenants have to give the landlords a large sum of money (approximately 50-60% of the house¡¯s value) as deposit, and live ¡°rent free¡± until the end of the lease, upon which the deposit is given back in full. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. LEET in Korea is equivalent to LSAT. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 13

    Woo-Jin was trying his best to get to know each and every crew member, since he was not working alone. However, it was hard for him to approach the main leads since rushing to become closely acquainted or trying to be too friendly with celebrities could lead to misunderstandings. For a rookie like Woo-Jin, he was in a position where he could not approach these celebrities unless they approached him first. However, now that it was plain and obvious that Kwon Sung-Min did not like him, he could not even talk to the latter easily.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard,¡± Woo-Jin said to himself. As he could not mess up his hair that had just been styled, he wriggled his fingers instead in a bid to straighten out his messy thoughts as bad memories of the past suddenly flooded his mind, making him feel helpless.


    When he was a trainee, he had lived in a dorm with the rest of his group members as they were preparing for their debut. They were obviously good friends, and so there were no issues at first. However, from a certain point onward, the leader of the group instigated a bully campaign against Woo-Jin. Later on, it became much more than just sarcastic remarks. They had even beaten him up as a group, targeting areas on his body that were not visible, so naturally, his face was spared from all the beatings.


    Even though they had recorded an album together, Woo-Jin was excluded from the group. When the group finally made their debut without him, the discord among them was so intense that he felt relief instead of bitterness. Even up until today, he did not have any lingering attachment to the group or the agency. He had no regrets.


    Perhaps because of that experience, in spite of the current uncomfortable ambience, he was used to it and it did not hurt his feelings. He had been hurt and betrayed by his close friends, and so, even though it might have been uncomfortable, the hostility from other people he was not well-acquainted with did not affect him.


    Woo-Jin returned to his normal self shortly after, leaning back against the chair and closing his eyes. Perhaps having such boundaries was not a bad thing. In the case of one-sided, unrequited love, it would be even more strange if two men who were fighting over the same woman had positive feelings toward each other. He still lacked the skill and experience to completely disconnect real-life emotions when he was acting, so it might be a good thing. As he thought about it that way, he started to feel more at ease.


    Having pulled Kwon Sung-Min aside for a chat, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon lit up a cigarette as soon as he sat down without asking the former if he was okay with it. He tried offering Kwon Sung-Min a cigarette, knowing that Kwon Sung-Min was a heavy smoker. But Kwon Sung-Min turned him down and took out his own cigarette pack instead.


    Being the straightforward person that he was, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon asked Kwon Sung-Min directly, ¡°Park Ji-Hyuk is evidently not a character who is jealous of Cha Hyun-Seung, so why are you acting like this?¡±


    Today¡¯s shoot had begun with Na Mi-Yeon feeling sick, causing her to miss her classes for a couple of days. Cha Hyun-Seung could not hold himself back and decided to visit the studio apartment she resided in. Park Ji-Hyuk then found out about Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s feelings for Na Mi-Yeon when he got there. However, the immature and ignorant Park Ji-Hyuk did not know what jealousy was. He felt he did not need to be mindful of an insignificant teaching assistant who could not even be compared to himself.


    ¡°Did you fall for Mi-Yeon? Well, it¡¯s not surprising, because she¡¯s a lovely girl.¡±


    That line should have conveyed the pride Park Ji-Hyuk had for the woman he loved, as well as sympathy for Cha Hyun-Seung, along with the unfathomable question of ¡®Why do you love a girl whom you cannot covet anyway?¡¯. But today, Kwon Sung-Min had chosen to vent his jealousy, annoyance, and contempt on Cha Hyun-Seung via that line instead.


    ¡°What kind of man is crazy enough to leave the guy who likes his girl alone?¡± asked Kwon Sung-Min.


    ¡°Park Ji-Hyuk is that kind of crazy man. Ordinary flowers are just weeds compared to the finest flowers in a garden. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird that those beautiful flowers would be jealous of weeds?¡± asked <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°In this case, we¡¯re not talking about flowers but men, so it makes sense,¡± said Kwon Sung-Min, expressing his discontent with Director Choi Yi-Geon for making him repeat the same scene continuously. His voice seemed to carry an aggrieved tone.


    ¡°You clearly told us previously that we could portray our characters according to our own interpretation of them. But why can¡¯t I do it when it¡¯s okay for Chae Woo-Jin to portray Cha Hyun-Seung in his own way? Cha Hyun-Seung has deviated from the script and is a completely different character now. He¡¯s now the one setting the mood. Why can¡¯t I do that? Why are you only criticizing my acting?!¡± complained Kwon Sung-Min.


    ¡°In order to do that, you should have portrayed the character like that from the get go!¡± snapped <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon, who was filled with a rage that appeared out of the blue. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing right now? Your character¡¯s personality is becoming inconsistent! Who¡¯s going to be able to understand why Park Ji-Hyuk snapped at Cha Hyun-Seung all of a sudden? I made it clear to all of you to study your own character in depth before acting them out. Besides, don¡¯t you know that today¡¯s scene is the best opportunity for you to show the audience what kind of person Park Ji-Hyuk is like?¡±


    Park Ji-Hyuk was someone who was not considerate or understanding towards other people. He hurt Cha Hyun-Seung with his thoughtless and immature behavior, but he himself was unaware of the hurt he was inflicting on others. That was why he was such a cruel person, even though he was always high-spirited and endearing.


    ¡°I know! But if I stick to the original plan and portray him like this, I¡¯ll end up becoming a villain. Should I not do anything about it?¡±


    This was what Kwon Sung-Min was concerned about. When the main lead turned into a villain from a certain point onward, the separation between ideals and reality was unbearable. If things had gone according to the script today, Cha Hyun-Seung should have been in a foul mood as he loitered around in front of Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s house on a rainy day, where he would bump into Park Ji-Hyuk wearing a uniquely innocent smile on his face. Feeling inferior to Park Ji-Hyuk, Cha Hyun-Seung should have had to portray a much darker and more withdrawn image.


    However, since Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s disposition had changed, Park Ji-Hyuk¡¯s child-like cruelty became more and more prominent, while Cha Hyun-Seung became more sad and heartbroken.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re bad at acting,¡± replied <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Kwon Sung-Min burst out laughing at <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon''s blunt words, which sounded absurd to him. Even though he was not a great actor, he had never heard anybody say that he could not act.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been acting this way ever since you took a look at the scene we shot on the monitor yesterday. What do you think of it? Your character, Park Ji-Hyuk, was so spiteful and immature that you wanted to punch him, right?¡± asked <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon.


    What the director <meta charset="utf-8">said was true, so Kwon Sung-Min kept his mouth shut and simply glared. Although Park Ji-Hyuk was an immature person, he was not a spiteful person. However, Kwon Sung-Min had been portraying him in that light for some time.


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon continued, ¡°That¡¯s why I made you repeat the scene a couple of times and pointed out your mistakes, but you didn¡¯t listen at all. So, I decided to let it be, thinking that was the version of Park Ji-Hyuk you wanted. Now that you¡¯ve personally seen it yourself, you see where you¡¯ve gone wrong, right? But what can you do? It¡¯s already too late. Do you want us to abandon all the scenes we¡¯ve already shot and redo everything because of you? The bottom line is that I don¡¯t want to do so.¡±


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon had already pointed out Kwon Sung-Min¡¯s mistakes. He had made him repeat the scenes and shown him the videos. He had clearly asked Kwon Sung-Min a few days ago if he thought that the character was being a little spiteful. However, Kwon Sung-Min had refused to acknowledge it. He had insisted that he was portraying the character correctly, and that Park Ji-Hyuk was not spiteful, just immature. He had ignored everything <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon said.


    And then yesterday, when he was in the same frame as Cha Hyun-Seung, the realization hit him. Cha Hyun-Seung ended up being a pure-hearted and sad character, while Park Ji-Hyuk was gradually degenerating into an unlikable, immature rich boy.


    ¡°Regardless of his sorrow, Park Ji-Hyuk is a pure-hearted and reckless person. He would never look like a villain if you expressed that well. Besides, Cha Hyun-Seung is a bystander who has a one-sided crush on the female lead. His affection has no effect on the love between the two main leads. All you have to do is to portray the love between the two main characters; the type of pure, immature, and beautiful love one has in one¡¯s twenties. However, you¡¯re trying to insert Cha Hyun-Seung into the love between the two characters! That¡¯s just not it,¡± <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon explained.


    In truth, Kwon Sung-Min was not good at acting, and also had a tendency to get caught up in Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s feelings. Cha Hyun-Seung was a person that Park Ji-Hyuk did not care about, but Kwon Sung-Min was constantly conscious of Cha Hyun-Seung.


    That posed a problem. It should have ended with Cha Hyun-Seung being a person who observed them from the perspective of a bystander. In other words, it meant that regardless of how much Cha Hyun-Seung loved Na Mi-Yeon, his emotions should not have affected the main leads¡¯ emotions. However, Kwon Sung-Min was trying to put him in center stage.


    ¡°He may be spiteful or immature, but Park Ji-Hyuk isn¡¯t someone who would be jealous or hostile toward Cha Hyun-Seung. That¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t feel the need to. He¡¯s very confident of himself and Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s love for him. In a sense, he¡¯s a steadfast person who doesn¡¯t waver. That¡¯s the gist of this movie! You said you didn¡¯t want to be a villain, but should Park Ji-Hyuk become a loser instead? Well, I think you¡¯ve already taken a step forward in that direction.¡±


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon sighed and asked if Kwon Sung-Min wanted to portray the loser now that Cha Hyun-Seung was no longer one. Since the genre of the movie was not as exciting as action movies or horror thrillers, the buildup of the characters¡¯ emotions was the most important aspect of the movie. Even if there was only one slip-up, it would be highly risky in the sense that the content could go in an entirely different direction, achieving an undesired outcome.


    ¡°Stay focused. If the main lead doesn¡¯t exude any charm, ultimately, doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯re bad at acting? But if your character¡¯s behavior becomes inconsistent, it¡¯ll be over for you. I noticed that the actors who fall into a slump after acting in a G&C romance film are the ones who displayed bad acting. No matter how much you hate the role or don¡¯t want to be in the movie, as an actor, acting well is your main job and priority. If an actor does a good job and the movie becomes a flop, the director and writers will be criticized. If an actor is bad at acting, I don¡¯t have to tell you what will happen, right?¡±


    <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon stood up from his seat after putting out the cigarette, saying, ¡°Take some time to cool off a little before coming out.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Kwon Sung-Min.


    As Kwon Sung-Min stood up at the same time, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon noticed that the look in the actor¡¯s eyes had become much calmer. <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon nodded without saying anything more. Even after they arrived on set, he did not start shooting immediately. He gave Kwon Sung-Min a little more time, using the excuse that the latter should fix his wet hair and smudged makeup.


    He had kept telling Kwon Sung-Min off for his poor acting, but compared to other actors in his age group, the latter had good sense and was rather smart. It was not easy to be that successful at such a young age. If he understood where he went wrong and was also given the opportunity to rectify it, he would do a good job that would not fall short of expectations.


    As <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon gave the cinematographer and the sound supervisor instructions, he glanced over at Chae Woo-Jin, who had already gotten into character. The latter was now Cha Hyun-Seung. Looking poised with a sullen look on his face, and not forgetting his half-closed eyes, he looked as though he had something on his mind. Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Cha Hyun-Seung was as clean-cut and beautiful as always.


    Although Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance was very unique, the overall vibe he gave off was different from the other actors in general. When he started acting, he became a much more charismatic and beautiful person compared to the original character. <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon had not made a judgment on whether that was good or bad for Woo-Jin as an actor.


    Woo-Jin had both skills and looks, so if he were to make full use of a good opportunity, he would have a bright future. However, it was important for him to know how to navigate sudden success at such a young age. The kind of actor Woo-Jin would end up becoming was solely dependent on himself.


    Before he realized it, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon had already approached Woo-Jin and stood in front of the latter, looking at him. Sensing his presence, Woo-Jin slowly lifted his head and looked at <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon. It was almost as if Woo-Jin had been possessed by Cha Hyun-Seung. Not wanting him to break character, <meta charset="utf-8">Choi Yi-Geon nodded instead of telling him that they were about to start shooting.

 Chapter 14

    Cha Hyun-Seung stood in the street on a rainy night, looking up longingly at the five-story building. From the look in his eyes, one could tell that he was very worried. He could not take his eyes off the light emitting from Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s studio apartment, as though he missed looking at her face, which he had not seen in days.


    ¡°Cha Hyun-Seung?¡± As Park Ji-Hyuk came out of Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s apartment, he found Cha Hyun-Seung standing there and called out to him, tilting his head to one side with a puzzled look.


    ¡°Are you here to visit Mi-Yeon? She hasn¡¯t been admitted to the hospital, so there¡¯s no need for you to come here,¡± said Park Ji-Hyuk.


    In other words, none of her classmates or friends had come to visit her. They had only told her to take care of herself after finding out that she was down with a cold. The image of Cha Hyun-Seung standing there with a takeout box bearing the logo of a porridge restaurant in his hand, in the middle of the night, looked rather strange.


    ¡°Mi-Yeon is sleeping right now, so even if you go to her apartment, you can¡¯t even see her. Did you buy that for Mi-Yeon?¡± asked Park Ji-Hyuk, pointing to the bag with the porridge in it.


    Cha Hyun-Seung nodded. He had bought it for her, but he did not buy it thinking that he could actually give it to her. Feeling embarrassed, standing there pointlessly by himself with numb feet, his face turned visibly red even though it was dark at night.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t give that to Mi-Yeon. You can¡¯t give cheap porridge with unknown ingredients to a sick patient.¡±


    Cha Hyun-Seung was at a loss for words upon hearing Park Ji-Hyuk speak without malice. He was only a man who was concerned about the woman he loved. For the first time, shame could be seen on his face that was already bright red.


    Park Ji-Hyuk stared at Cha Hyun-Seung and asked innocently, ¡°Did you fall for Mi-Yeon? Well, it¡¯s not surprising, because she¡¯s a lovely girl.¡±


    He spoke casually, as if he had just learned a fact that was neither ridiculous nor jealousy-inducing. The confidence he had that Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s feelings had no effect on their love turned into indifference, which soon led to disregard.


    ¡°Mi-Yeon is sleeping, so please leave. I have to go back in after smoking a cigarette.¡± Park Ji-Hyuk smiled brightly as he took out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and shook it. Even though he seemed rather spiteful, one could also argue that he was just a naive, sheltered rich boy.


    Cha Hyun-Seung turned around and left with the porridge that he was unable to give to Na Mi-Yeon. As he walked away, Park Ji-Hyuk was busy lighting his cigarette while holding an umbrella, and did not even shoot him a glance at all. A small speck of light shone over Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s shoulder as a thin wisp of smoke began to rise.


    At the end of the alley, Cha Hyun-Seung suddenly looked back after standing at the corner of the alley for a while, staring blankly. Before he knew it, Park Ji-Hyuk had finished smoking his cigarette. He did not see the latter going up to the studio apartment. When he looked up and looked for Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s unit, the light in her apartment had already gone out. He had to put the cumbersome umbrella behind his back in order to look up, as it was blocking the view of her apartment. Without the umbrella sheltering him, Cha Hyun-Seung lifted his head, allowing the rain to fall on his face.


    Raindrops ran down his hair and forehead, pooling around his eyes before dripping down his face. It looked as if he were crying, but the droplets were not tears. He had no expression on his face. He simply looked indifferent. At that moment, he started revealing one emotion through his eyes. Up until now, Cha Hyun-Seung had only loved Na Mi-Yeon silently from afar. The very first emotion he showed in a long time was despair.


    ---


    ¡°Cut!¡±


    Even though the scene was over, Chae Woo-Jin merely stood there in a daze. Choi Yi-Geon approached him with caution, seeing how Woo-Jin was unable to come to his senses even though the water sprinkler had been turned off and everyone was already diligently cleaning up. It was a situation where Woo-Jin could not snap out of character even after the scene was over, struggling with the waves of emotion.


    Choi Yi-Geon had seen that happen every now and then, so he went to pat Woo-Jin gently on the shoulder. Woo-Jin only came to his senses after that. He glanced over his shoulder and shifted his gaze toward Choi Yi-Geon. Choi Yi-Geon nodded in response to Woo-Jin, whose eyes were filled with tears that were not shed during the shooting. It was as if Choi Yi-Geon had already known what Woo-Jin was going through without him saying a single word.


    ¡°Director?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°I know how you feel. You must have a lot on your mind right now,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon.


    It was normal for Woo-Jin to feel disconcerted, when reality did not seem real and he could not distinguish whether the world of the movie he acted in was real or fake.


    ¡°Still, no tears. Cha Hyun-Seung doesn¡¯t shed any tears,¡± the director continued.


    Woo-Jin looked at Choi Yi-Geon, who was relieved that the tears had not been captured on screen. He asked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°If your version of Cha Hyun-Seung were a loser, he might have cried a couple of times. But your version of Cha Hyun-Seung is a firm and strong man. He wouldn''t cry over this.¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon was speaking to him as if he were warmly coaxing a child. It was very foreign and rather creepy. Thus, it helped Woo-Jin snap out of his trance and come to his senses, but he could not comprehend what Choi Yi-Geon was saying.


    ¡°Why would Cha Hyun-Seung be crying?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You¡¯re crying right now, no?¡± Choi Yi-Geon asked him a question in response.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one crying though, not Cha Hyun-Seung.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why are you crying, then?¡±


    Upon hearing Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s question, Woo-Jin hesitated for a moment and looked around. Even though everyone was paying attention to their conversation, they managed to fool Woo-Jin as they pretended to be focused on their tasks. So, he came clean and told Choi Yi-Geon how he truly felt.


    ¡°Earlier on, in the last part of the scene, I was suddenly reminded of the time my ex-girlfriend wanted to break up with me out of the blue. I shouldn¡¯t have done that¡­ I was thinking about something else while I was acting¡­ because it was so sad and full of despair¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± replied Choi Yi-Geon in a staccato tone, like a robot.


    In other words, in the historic moment of his career, the swooning ¡®look of despair¡¯ on Woo-Jin¡¯s face earlier belonged to Chae Woo-Jin himself, and not Cha Hyun-Seung. Despite how today¡¯s crappy shooting had unfolded, this was the only scene Choi Yi-Geon was satisfied with for the day. And that facial expression from the scene was the one he loved and was pleased with. Choi Yi-Geon kept those thoughts to himself, not saying them out loud.


    Looking at Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s facial expression, Woo-Jin asked in a discouraged voice, ¡°Perhaps we should shoot that scene again?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Choi Yi-Geon cried. How can I possibly shoot that again? He tried to suppress his thoughts and forced himself to give Woo-Jin a gracious smile. ¡°Even though that wasn¡¯t acting, it wasn¡¯t bad. Let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡±


    In truth, it was a decision that went against Choi Yi-Geon Yi-Geon¡¯s values. Even if it was a memorable scene, based on what Woo-Jin had said, it was not acting. Even though he felt strongly against producing anything that was not real acting, he could not give up on that scene. There was no guarantee that they could shoot a better scene if they were to do it again.


    ¡°But it¡¯s very unsettling to me. Even though there were many outtakes today, I want to do a perfect job¡­¡±


    ¡°It. Is. Perfect. Enough! So don¡¯t have any weird thoughts!¡±


    Directors were people who would do anything to shoot the scenes they wanted. Choi Yi-Geon realized that he himself was no exception as well. On the other hand, actors could only speak via acting.


    Woo-Jin felt that what he had done earlier was not acting¡ªit was only a scrap of emotion. While having these thoughts as an actor was new to him, he wanted to keep his stance. ¡°It¡¯s not that I have weird thoughts. It¡¯s just really absurd¡­¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon covered Woo-Jin¡¯s mouth with his hand and told him that he was already having weird thoughts. That was when Choi Yi-Geon had suddenly remembered what Woo-Jin had said earlier about his ex-girlfriend breaking up with him. At that moment, Choi Yi-Geon had a sad gaze, as he looked at Woo-Jin trapped in his arms.


    The despair, the only emotion reflected in Woo-Jin¡¯s expressionless face during the last part of the scene, was real. It was terrible how that was nothing but Woo-Jin¡¯s sincerity, which led Choi Yi-Geon to wonder how that had happened. What kind of love had Woo-Jin experienced at such a young age, for him to have come to know that type of despair?


    ¡°Hey everyone, since we¡¯re done with shooting today, why don¡¯t we have a get-together?¡±


    The word ¡®get-together¡¯ came out of the mouth of Choi Yi-Geon Yi-Geon, a person who hated the culture of Korean get-togethers. In his head, he could not think of anything else to manage this situation in a natural way. All he could think of was a get-together, which would be well-received by everyone in this uncomfortable situation.


    Choi Yi-Geon was not the only person who felt awkward. The people who had been pretending not to be listening in on the conversation, were somewhat flustered because they did not know how to deal with the sad and awkward ambience. Fortunately, everybody was in agreement pertaining to Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s suggestion for a get-together, and they rejoiced. As they cheered, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have a choice but to nod, as he couldn¡¯t possibly be the only person to object.


    He had learned that once he messed up a scene or shot a scene that he was unhappy with, regardless of how unsettled he might feel, there was no way for him to reverse it. In the early stage of becoming an actor and learning new things one by one, how dangerous was it to have trivial thoughts while acting? Regardless of how good the outcome was, he himself had to bear the shame of knowing the full truth. From now on, whenever he looked at the scene that was taken earlier, Woo-Jin would be secretly ashamed of himself and find it disgraceful. For the first time, Woo-Jin was conscious of how terrifying it was that videos would remain accessible to everyone forever.


    ***


    Choi Yi-Geon managed to skirt around Woo-Jin¡¯s request to shoot the scene again by using the get-together as an excuse. He smiled happily at first. He thought about how get-togethers were not necessarily a bad thing, and decided to hold them every now and then.


    However, four hours into the event, he realized the culture of such get-togethers in Korea was very tiring and inelegant.


    ¡°We¡¯re heading back now, right?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    For the first round, they went to a charcoal grilled ribs restaurant. After that, they went to a Korean bar, before going to a karaoke place at dawn. The remaining people who had gone to all three places were the ones staying at the motel.


    The two main leads disappeared at some point after they had left the Korean bar. Lucky people, Choi Yi-Geon thought. He envied the people who were not present, as he tried to straighten his defenseless body.


    Since his co-workers asked when they would have another get-together, Choi Yi-Geon changed his mind and told himself that he would not hold one ever again in the future. Do you think I¡¯ll show you this unsightly side of me, that¡¯s drunk and disheveled, again?


    As he made up his mind, the view before him gradually became more and more slanted as he fell to the side. What could this feeling of warm and cozy fabric touching my face be?


    He struggled to open his eyes that were about to close. Looking straight ahead, he could see Chae Woo-Jin holding the microphone. Listening to the introduction, it was Yim Jae-Beom¡¯s ¡®Confession¡¯.


    ¡°Nooooooooo~¡±


    How dare you sing a forbidden song at karaoke? Furthermore, of all the songs, why was a broken-hearted man singing that particular song? He tried to reach his hand out in a bid to stop Woo-Jin from singing it, but his body would not obey him.


    ¡°What should be done~ What should I do?¡±


    When Woo-Jin¡¯s song started, Choi Yi-Geon lamented to himself about what to do with Woo-Jin. You¡¯re definitely going to feel so embarrassed when you wake up in the morning. But you sing really well.


    Choi Yi-Geon looked at Woo-Jin as he slowly closed his eyes. His evaluation of Woo-Jin as an actor was put on hold, as he could not come to a conclusion on whether Woo-Jin was a good actor or a bad one.


    However, if Woo-Jin was able to express himself through his acting like the last scene he had shot today, Choi Yi-Geon was confident that Woo-Jin would become a great actor. He considered an actor to be beautiful as long as they acted well, regardless of their appearance.


    If what Woo-Jin had said was true, it would mean he had used a trick today. It was such a great scene that Choi Yi-Geon had approved it, even though it was not actual acting. It was personally a shame, but he had no choice but to give it the green light. It was against his own rules, but Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance that had been captured on camera was truly beautiful.

 Chapter 15

    It was fascinating to see layers of social walls between people get torn down via the get-together. They had done nothing but eat, drink, and sing together, but it felt like people had entered the first stage of interpersonal relationships already.


    Whenever Woo-Jin was face-to-face with the staff who had grown friendlier to him, he would smile awkwardly and bow. As he did so, a middle-aged veteran actor tapped him on the shoulder and spoke to him in a friendly manner. When Woo-Jin greeted him as politely as he could, the veteran actor gestured it away.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to greet me so stiffly. You said that your name is Woo-Jin, right? Let¡¯s have some drinks together the next time we¡¯re free.¡±


    The veteran actor smiled as he gestured in the manner of drinking from a shot glass in the air. The actor was not the first who had asked Woo-Jin to be his drinking partner today. It made Woo-Jin wonder whether he made a good drinking buddy. He had never liked alcohol to begin with, and most of his friends shared similar tastes as him. Yesterday¡¯s drunkenness had been an isolated event, as far as he knew. Even if it wasn¡¯t, everybody who was there was too bad at holding their liquor, and they were not in a position to tell anyone what had happened later on. He did not even know much about his drinking habits, so when he did look back on yesterday¡¯s event, he did not exactly remember having any weird drunk behavior. Thus, he was skeptical as to why other people wanted to drink with him at all.


    Even though he drank and sang till dawn, he felt refreshed when he woke up in the morning. His body was getting healthier and feeling lighter with each passing day, as he had been practicing the inner energy mental cultivation technique. Hence, he later approached the staff who were moving the audio equipment and started helping out.


    ¡°Hey, we said we¡¯re fine here.You overexerted yourself yesterday too, shouldn¡¯t you be conserving your energy?¡± asked one of the staff.


    ¡°I felt oddly energetic when I woke up this morning. Besides, I don¡¯t have many scenes to shoot today, so I don¡¯t have anything to do,¡± answered Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Well, you did sing with all your might till dawn yesterday, but how is it that your skin looks better?¡±


    Hearing the words of a staff member, the rest of them turned to look at Woo-Jin. It was not an overly tight schedule, but since the shooting schedule was crammed into one month, days of continuous shooting were frequent. Even if actors were energetic in the beginning, their skin became drier and drier as the days went by, making it more difficult to do their makeup. However, strangely enough, Woo-Jin¡¯s skin was becoming clearer and healthier. The makeup artist in charge of doing Woo-Jin¡¯s makeup even said that it was better for him to go without any makeup.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be young,¡± said one of the staff.


    ¡°When I was his age...no, not even then,¡± another staff member added.


    Regardless of how much the staff member thought about it, she realized that youth might not be the answer to everything, and scratched her head awkwardly.


    ¡°Looking at you, Mr. Woo-Jin, I can tell that you¡¯re polite and kind. But still, out of curiosity, you weren¡¯t a bully or delinquent back when you were in school, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°Recently, people have been talking about how a popular singer bullied a classmate back in high school, causing the victim to commit suicide.¡± Having taken a liking to Woo-Jin, the staff had asked as he seemed to be worried that Woo-Jin¡¯s past mistakes might come back to haunt him.


    ¡°Something like that happened?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    Even when Woo-Jin was done with shooting, he did not have the time to take a proper break, what with analyzing characters or watching how other people acted. Whenever he returned to his room, he would be busy doing exercises and practicing the cultivation technique to maintain his health, and would pass out right after. It was like he had built a wall around him, keeping worldly affairs out of his life. As a result, he did not know much about recent entertainment news.


    If one were to look at people who became celebrities, they would find that more often than not, those people were born with different talents from ordinary people. They had been extraordinary since they were little - there was no other way to express it other than putting it plainly that they were born with it. Hence, there were several cases where these people had used their abundance of talents in school to do bad things.


    Even though Woo-Jin had never bullied anybody, the victim¡¯s story hit close to home. As he was about to ask for more details about how a person could make such an extreme choice, his phone rang. After checking the name of the caller, Woo-Jin¡¯s face lit up.


    ¡°Oh~ Jung Hyun-Min, it¡¯s you!¡±


    -...why are you acting like this? Why are you pretending to be so nice?


    Even though they had been best friends since middle school, Jung Hyun-Min pretended it was not true. In today¡¯s language, he was what people called a ¡®tsundere¡¯. People like him would get mad and insist, ¡®I don¡¯t care about that person at all!¡¯, but that would not last long.


    - What, are you being bullied there? Did you get excited hearing my voice because you¡¯re feeling lonely and are struggling? Which bastard is it? I¡¯ll head over there and kick their ass.


    As always, the tsun-tsun act did not last for long. The same thing had happened previously. Back then, Woo-Jin could not tell his family that he was being bullied by his fellow members in the group. However, when he saw Hyun-Min¡¯s face, he broke down and told the latter everything he had been holding in. At that time, Hyun-Min paid for Woo-Jin¡¯s hospital bill, went to the group¡¯s dorm, and raised hell on them. Because of that, the discord within the group came to light; the agency learned about it, and several things happened after that, but it was always true that Hyun-Min was someone he could rely on. The existence of an ally who was always on his side regardless of what happened made him feel warm on the inside.


    Most importantly, everything worked out for the better in the end, so it was even better.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. I¡¯m just very happy to hear your voice after a very long time.¡±


    - Don¡¯t like me too much. I¡¯m already taken, so if you keep going for me, you will be the one getting hurt later on.


    Hyun-Min had started dating recently, and was now playing hard to get.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. So, would you like to tell me why a busy person like yourself has called me?¡±


    - My mom has been asking me why you haven¡¯t been coming by these days. She¡¯s been nagging me about how much she wants to hear you play the piano. You¡¯re a supporting actor, what are you staying on the set so long for? Why are they making you work so hard, huh?


    Since Hyun-Min had a piano in his house, Woo-Jin would practice playing piano there. His mother really enjoyed Woo-Jin¡¯s performances. His older sister had played the piano up until she was in high school before ditching it entirely, and left the piano sitting uselessly in the house. After listening to Woo-Jin play, his mother used to joke about how springtime had come once again for the piano.


    ¡°Even if I¡¯m not shooting any scenes, I¡¯m still observing. From my point of view, that¡¯s also studying in a way.¡±


    - That¡¯s good then. Honestly, my mom said that if you are going to continue playing the piano, she wants to give Chirp Chirp to you. It¡¯s better for it to be used as an instrument by someone else, than keeping it around at home as a mere decoration.


    Hyun-Min did not like the sound of the piano, or to be precise, his sister¡¯s playing of the piano. Hence, he named their piano ¡®Chirp Chirp¡¯.


    ¡°The piano? It¡¯s very expensive though.¡±


    Even though the younger daughter of the family played the piano as a hobby, Hyun-Min¡¯s family was rich, and so, they bought a high-end piano for her. It had been sitting in the corner of their house for several years as a decoration, but it was still a good piano from a well-known brand. Even if it was sold as a used piano, it would still fetch a rather decent price.


    - Even if it¡¯s expensive, it¡¯s still nothing but a white elephant in our house. Even though my mom likes hearing you play the piano, she said that it is very inconvenient for you to travel back and forth to practice at my house. Since it¡¯s an upright piano, it doesn¡¯t take up much space, so you can put it in your room. The only issue is soundproofing, but since you aren¡¯t living in an apartment, it should be fine.


    Hyun-Min recalled Woo-Jin¡¯s room, and had already calculated the space that Woo-Jin needed for the piano and was only worried about soundproofing. However, since it was a solid house that was well-built, the soundproofing was not that bad. After figuring those things out, Hyun-Min had called it a day.


    Woo-Jin, on the other hand,was left in a daze, unable to come to his senses. Even though Hyun-Min said that the piano was a white elephant, it was not easy to give an expensive piano away that casually.


    Although Hyun-Min¡¯s family was wealthy, they could only afford to buy things of the highest quality for their own children. They were not that rich to the extent they could give away an expensive piano that was worth millions of won to their children¡¯s friends without hesitation. However, Hyun-Min¡¯s mother loved Woo-Jin¡¯s piano performances, and had made the final decision to give him the piano. Even though it was enjoyable for her to be able to listen to the beautiful music, she felt sorry for Woo-Jin every time he went to their house to play the piano. Hence, she felt that it was better to leave the piano at his house where he could play instead of commuting to and fro to practice. That was because she knew that Woo-Jin, whom she had known since he was a child, would play the piano consistently unlike her daughter.


    - I just wanted to let you know first. I will take care of the rest.


    ¡°What do you mean, take care of the rest?¡±


    - I¡¯ll take the responsibility to move Chirp Chirp to your room, and if there¡¯s a problem with soundproofing, I¡¯ll ask your landlord and get permission from her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it together after I¡¯m done with the shoot.¡±


    - It¡¯s better to get it done as soon as possible. Since your landlord likes me, I will talk to her really nicely. Ha, it¡¯s such a pity that everyone¡¯s into me, I think I¡¯m such a sinner.


    With that statement and a hearty laugh, Hyun-Min hung up the phone. It seemed likely that the landlord would give them permission to do it. She had seen Hyun-Min hanging out with Woo-Jin over the course of several years, and she was very fond of the former. Surprisingly, she liked listening to classical music too. She strongly believed that everybody should be able to play at least one instrument. She had also told them not to worry about playing the piano or any other instruments and encouraged them to play any instruments they wanted. With that in mind, Hyun-Min proceeded with his plan with confidence.


    ¡°Your friend said he¡¯s giving you a piano?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon as he popped up next to Woo-Jin.


    Woo-Jin was startled and drew back.


    ¡°Director? By the way, what happened to your face?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    As always, Choi Yi-Geon was neatly dressed in a suit, but his dark circles were more pronounced and his skin was particularly rough.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gone off as far as I did yesterday. Your skin is glowing though. Is it because you¡¯re young?¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon mumbled to himself, as he gently stroked his face with the palm of his hand. It¡¯s so rough when I touch it. This is heartbreaking.


    ¡°Anyway, I unintentionally overheard your conversation. Do you play the piano as well?¡±


    ¡°I just started learning not too long ago, but my friend¡¯s mother said that she wanted to give me their piano. I¡¯m very thankful for it.¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled embarrassedly, as he thought about how he should call Hyun-Min¡¯s mother soon to thank her.


    ¡°After hearing you sing yesterday, I realized that you¡¯re very good at singing. Yet you can play the piano as well, and your friend¡¯s mother likes you so much that she¡¯s giving you a piano. You are well-loved, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon omitted the words, ¡®by God¡¯, when he said that.


    Looking at Woo-Jin staring back at him with puppy-eyes, Choi Yi-Geon asked confidently, ¡°You are the youngest child in your family, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the eldest son.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. You must be the youngest!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the eldest and I have a younger sister.¡±


    ¡°And all this happens?¡± Choi Yi-Geon screamed at the injustice.


    Apart from Woo-Jin, who cocked his head to the side because he did not understand why Choi Yi-Geon was reacting this way, everyone else around them understood his reaction.


    After the filming had ended yesterday, Choi Yi-Geon wanted to order pork ribs at the charcoal-grilled ribs restaurant. G&C¡¯s CEO Choi had given him a credit card, but it was her personal credit card and not just any corporate credit card. So, he had no intention of using it recklessly. Choi Yi-Geon knew how to keep boundaries.


    However, because of Chae Woo-Jin, his original plans were thwarted. Chae Woo-Jin looked around the restaurant, and as clueless as he was, he told them in a clear voice that it had been a long time since he had eaten beef.


    The get-together itself was held to comfort Woo-Jin, or to remove the awkwardness around him in the first place. Though Choi Yi-Geon had decided in his mind that the dinner was for Chae Woo-Jin beforehand, as soon as he heard Woo-Jin¡¯s words, he had frozen on the spot.

 Chapter 16

    Chae Woo-Jin looked cluelessly at Choi Yi-Geon in anticipation as he blinked. Looking at Woo-Jin¡¯s face, Choi Yi-Geon could not bear to tell him that they were going to eat pork ribs.


    As he was grilling the meat, Woo-Jin told them that he had eaten beef while he was in the military, but had never had the chance to eat beef after being discharged. Little by little, meat began to pile up on the plate in front of him.


    During the second round [1], they went to a Korean bar, and Woo-Jin looked very excited. He had mentioned that he and his friends were both not the greatest fans of alcohol, and so most of the time, they would hang out at cafes. He also said that when he was a freshman in college, he rarely went to drink with his classmates because he was busy with part-time tutoring and a bunch of other things.


    ¡°Are you a college student?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am currently on a leave of absence as I had to complete my military service. I plan to return to school in my second semester.¡±


    ¡°Which school?¡±


    ¡°Korea University.¡± [2]


    ¡°...You¡¯re smart.¡±


    As Korea University was one of the best colleges in Korea, everyone was momentarily caught off guard. It was not that there weren¡¯t any celebrities who went to Korea University, but it was true that if one went to that school, they would get a huge advantage. Everybody was surprised by his academic proficiency. However, Woo-Jin pulled a long face after he took a few sips of beer.


    ¡°I am not good at academics.¡±


    They wanted to refute, but after seeing the depressed look on Woo-Jin¡¯s face, they decided to keep their mouths shut and wait for him to continue speaking.


    ¡°I have a few classmates who went to Ivy League schools in America. One of my relatives had passed the bar exam and is now a prosecutor, and another relative, who is the same age as me, had also passed the LEET and is now at law school.¡±


    Woo-Jin did not bother to mention that his grades were better than his friends who went to Ivy League schools. It didn¡¯t matter anyway, since it was a world where the ultimate outcome was everything. He glossed over his cousins Yi-Yeon and Hee-Yeon¡¯s identities and kept it vague by referring to them as his relatives. Even when he was drunk, he did not want to seem like he was bragging about his connections, and thus referred to his cousins as ¡°relatives¡± to keep his distance from them.


    ¡°I feel so sorry towards my mother¡­¡±


    After drinking a bottle of beer, Woo-Jin became slightly tipsy.. In order to comfort Woo-Jin, who mentally digressed from being a capable student of Korea University to being a son who caused distress to his parents for not being able to excel academically, they continued drinking. After drinking some more, Woo-Jin¡¯s mood changed once more.


    ¡°Wow~! So this is chimaek. It¡¯s just as delicious as the rumors make it out to be.. However, I heard that eating a lot of chimaek can cause gout. What would I do if I got it? I heard that it hurts a lot.¡± [3]


    Woo-Jin, tempted into eating chimaek, managed to overcome his fear of gout. His eyes sparkled as he set the mood of the drinking party, continuously smiling and talking to people. Whenever he saw an empty glass, he would sidle up to them and pour them a drink, telling them to consider their health and drink moderately. Despite saying that, whenever he saw an empty glass, he would steadily pour drinks into it.


    At some point, somebody told him that they did not want a man to pour any drinks for them.  When he heard this, Woo-Jin shook his head.


    ¡°I was told that women should not pour drinks for anyone,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Who taught you such a weird custom?¡± they asked.


    ¡°When I was little, my maternal grandfather told me that when I start to learn drinking etiquette,  I should not let women pour any drinks for me. It¡¯s not right!¡±


    ¡°In that case, let me pour myself a drink,¡± one female staff said


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of sad for you to pour yourself a drink though,¡± Woo-Jin retorted.


    Because Woo-Jin was shaking his head in such a pitiful manner, the staff ultimately gave in and drank the glass he poured her. Even though Woo-Jin was polite, some of the female staff acted extremely aloof, which made it hard to approach them easily. However, after Woo-Jin poured them a few drinks and acted cute in front of them, they started to grow fond of him. Since such drinking behavior lightened the mood, people secretly welcomed it, and the atmosphere became better.


    The get-together peaked in the third round of the night, at karaoke. When Woo-Jin tried to sing Yim Jae-Beom¡¯s Confession [4], everybody, especially Choi Yi-Geon, tried to stop him. Based on their past experiences, whenever someone sang Yim Jae-Beom¡¯s song at karaoke, it rarely ended well, and they pleaded with him not to ruin the night, saying that everything had been going well so far.


    However, to their surprise, it went much better than they had expected. Woo-Jin sang so well that even the people who were in favor of the age-old rule which dictated that only Yim Jae-Beom himself could sing his own songs, were listening to Woo-Jin with their mouths wide open.


    After that, their karaoke session turned into a Chae Woo-Jin concert. He took their song requests and sang everything without hesitation, even songs by girl groups that had been suggested as a joke. That was not all - he had even copied the dances from the same girl group that he had seen in the military seemingly without difficulty. In fact, he danced and sang so perfectly that it made the audience wonder what kind of army allowed them to do nothing else but chase girl groups.


    However, he did not know anything about the girl groups or songs that had come out after he had been discharged, so he quietly slipped the microphone to the person next to him. When somebody criticized him for that, Woo-Jin replied with a bright smile.


    ¡°Girl idol groups are the dreams and hopes of soldiers."


    ¡°So you don¡¯t like them now?¡±


    ¡°I am not a soldier anymore. I have found my dreams and hopes elsewhere.¡±


    He was very blatant about his affection that had lasted for a limited time period. It was as if to say that they were going their separate ways after their business relationship was over, but he would not forget them because of their past ties. As if he was trying to prove that, Woo-Jin went back to the stage without hesitation as a familiar melody was heard. He shamelessly did a cute dance that was once popular without any hesitation, which required one to put both fists on their cheeks. Woo-Jin happily complied with any and all singing or dance routines, as if to show that not everybody was cut out to train to be an idol. It had been a long time since he had a place to sing to his heart¡¯s content, and there was no reason for him to save face.


    From the lows to the highs, his clear voice moved freely through his vocal range. His perfect singing skills captured people¡¯s hearts, making them request more songs. Despite getting many song requests from those who wanted to hear him sing,  Woo-Jin readily agreed regardless, with a bright smile on his face. That was more than enough to ease their boundaries, allowing him to win them over. Even when people whipped out cameras and recorded him, he did not hesitate to be filmed.


    As such, everybody assumed that Woo-Jin was the youngest child in his family without him having to say anything. They thought that Chae Woo-Jin was an atmospheric person who grew up loved.


    ¡®Perhaps an eldest son who¡¯s like the youngest child?¡¯


    Ultimately, after coming to a compromise on his own, Choi Yi-Geon glanced at Woo-Jin and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t remember what happened yesterday, right?¡±


    ¡°I did drink a lot, but fortunately, I remember everything, including all the titles of the songs I sang at karaoke yesterday,¡± Woo-Jin humbly bragged about how he had never blacked out before after drinking alcohol.


    ¡°In that case, you must have kicked the covers when you woke up this morning,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon. [5]


    If Chae Woo-Jin did not feel embarrassed recalling all those memories, Choi Yi-Geon was ready to affirm that he was a shameless man.


    ¡°I did not kick the covers, but I did get some stretching in,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    Choi Yi-Geon, who had finally realized that Chae Woo-Jin was shameless AND confident, grunted and went to the director¡¯s chair. Even though his face was rough and looked lackluster, his outfit was on par with a model¡¯s, what with his suit and shiny shoes.


    Even though Woo-Jin did not have any scenes to shoot today, he was still observing others act on set. Studying the script alone was insufficient for him, as it could not capture the flow of the scenes, as well as the constantly changing emotions between the characters. Even Woo-Jin deviated away from the script with regards to emotion, so he paid great attention to how the other actors portrayed their characters. In that way, he would then be able to understand the emotions between the characters and act accordingly.


    During a short break in shooting, a voice suddenly sounded out next to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Mr. Woo-Jin, you said you¡¯re 23, right?¡±


    Song Jae-Hee, the female lead, approached Woo-Jin amicably. In order to keep a distance from Kwon Sung-Min, she had been distancing herself from the other actors and production crew. Eventually, Song Jae-Hee had finally caved in to boredom and approached Woo-Jin first. It also helped that she was more comfortable talking to him because she was three years older than Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Please speak casually to me. I am younger than you and also your junior in this field,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Shall I do that?¡±


    Even though Song Jae-Hee was only 26, if one added her career as a child actress, she had 15 years of experience under her belt. She immediately dropped any honorifics and began speaking casually to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I only just got the chance to say this, but do you know how frustrated I was when I first saw you?¡± asked Song Jae-Hee.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You play an older guy in the movie, but you are clearly younger, in terms of age and appearance. How ridiculous would the audience think when they see us addressing you respectfully throughout the movie? I bet you don¡¯t know that as I¡¯m shooting this movie, I¡¯ve been taking care of my skin more than ever, and that I¡¯ve been obsessing over these reflectors, right?¡±


    At that point, Woo-Jin realized that there were a lot of reflectors laying around on the movie set. Since Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have any other movie sets to compare to apart from Death Hill¡¯s, he didn¡¯t know what was considered ¡®normal¡¯, especially since Deah Hill was mainly shot in the dark. The reflector had mainly been used by the female lead, if at all. Because of that, he hadn¡¯t cared much about the presence of an excessive amount of reflectors. He had also speculated that it might have been Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s attempt to pursue visual beauty.


    ¡°I specifically asked the director for them. I might even peak in visual appearance with this movie. However, I found out some time ago that Actor Kwon had also requested for reflectors,¡± continued Song Jae-Hee.


    Song Jae-Hee addressed Kwon Sung-Min by the ambiguous title of Actor Kwon because he was older than her, but career-wise, he was way below her in seniority.


    ¡°Don¡¯t I look old? My younger sister has been making fun of me every day for being a complete uncle after being discharged from the military,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°That might be true to young kids. After going to the military, men who looked like children would suddenly look more mature and grown up. The younger people call it looking old, but at our age, all the young people are just youngsters. Well, of course, you give off an aura of maturity for your age, but your face itself is the absolute definition of youth.¡±


    The beautiful actress in her 20s played around and pretended to be depressed, saying that time could not be beaten. However, Woo-Jin was the one who was actually depressed.


    ¡°Even so, I still look like a toad,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    It was true that age gave one a competitive advantage over others, but first of all, having good looks and acting skills were the most important prerequisites one needed to survive in the entertainment industry. One thing for sure was that Woo-Jin was very insecure about his looks.


    ¡°A toad? You?¡± asked Song Jae-Hee.


    ¡°Yes. Someone said that I look like a toad.¡±


    After meeting with the casting director Kim Sang-Jin, Woo-Jin went to look up the chairman of G&C on the Internet. When he saw the chairman and realized how much he himself resembled a toad, Woo-Jin fell into despair. It was not just his image but also his face that resembled a toad. Because of this, it reminded him of a time when his mother asked him out of concern if he could make it as a celebrity with his face, as celebrities had to be good-looking. Realizing that his mother might have a point, he was now in a deep swamp of misunderstanding.


    Moreover, as he recalled his previous lives, Woo-Jin¡¯s confidence plummeted even further.


    In his past lives, he remembered that there were many human beings and different races who were very beautiful. Additionally, Woo-Jin also had appearances that were on par with those beings in a few of his past lives, which might have been why he was not confident with his current face. As a result, he had to think deeply about whether or not he could succeed as an actor with his face. In the end, he gave up on his appearance and did his best to achieve his dream in the hope of being recognized as a talented actor, and eventually achieving the peak of his field as an extremely skilled actor.


    The biased remark of someone who was blinded by love, saying how a famous actor looked like her son, inadvertently fertilized the seeds of one person¡¯s dream.


    1. When Koreans go out for the night, they go for ¡°rounds¡±, each round involving a different activity, such as a different food or karaoke. Each round usually involves some form of alcohol. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. Korea University, also known as Koryeo University (?????), is part of SKY, which is an acronym used to refer to the three most prestigious universities in South Korea. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. Chimaek is chicken and beer. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    4. Yim Jae-Beom, or ???,  is a famous Korean singer. His song, ?? (Confession in English) is famous for being difficult to sing. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    5. Kicking the covers, or ???, is an idiom in Korean for ¡®feeling embarrassed¡¯ <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 17

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! Who exactly said that? Perhaps they said it out of jealousy?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a middle-aged woman, so it¡¯s definitely not jealousy. The truth is that she probably has really high standards. That¡¯s why I am going to work even harder, to please people like her.¡±


    Woo-Jin clenched his fists and got into a fighting stance to show that a small setback like this would not make him collapse. Song Jae-Hee struggled to hold back her laughter upon seeing that. She had kind of guessed what kind of person he was during the get-together - he was not stupid, but he was rather slow-witted and naive when it came to his own matters. Hence, she was slightly worried.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, which agency are you from?¡±


    ¡°I am not signed with any agency right now.¡±


    ¡°Then, have you decided which one you are going to sign with?¡±


    ¡°No. I am planning to be on my own for now.¡±


    Song Jae-Hee shook her head upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. Even for famous celebrities, it would not be easy for them to land as many jobs without an agency. Not being signed to an agency might have been fine in the past, but in present times, the entertainment industry worked very closely with agencies. The presence of marketing and management had been a measure of one¡¯s status as a celebrity for the longest time.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing if you are satisfied with continuing with minor or supporting roles like you are right now. But if you want to succeed, or if you even want to continue taking on various roles in the future, you will need an agency. Information and details about auditions for drama or movie roles are first delivered through agencies. Actors who aren¡¯t signed with any agencies, such as yourself, will only be able to come into the picture and take on those roles when no one can fulfill those roles. Naturally, there¡¯s bound to be limited roles for you in the future.¡±


    Of course, if one was lucky enough to be in a one-hit-wonder movie, their chances of success would increase. But how long would sudden, lucky fame last? Public opinion changes very easily, and they tend to have a short memory span too. Furthermore, huge agencies had a tendency to trample on rookies that did not belong to their agency without remorse. So many actors who were meant to make it big had ended up disappearing from the entertainment industry as a result.


    ¡°It¡¯s a world where a single line in an article can destroy you. Agencies can protect you as much as possible from such external threats. It¡¯s not just about acting for actors. There are so many things to deal with, do you think you can do it all by yourself?¡±


    Song Jae-Hee continued to praise agencies. Above all, she specifically highlighted sponsorship and styling management. For example, if an actor were to play a role of a wealthy person in a drama or movie and the clothes did not match the role, the blame would rest solely on the actor. There was a limit to what the production crew could prepare for them.


    ¡°Fortunately, for this movie, CEO Choi had already prepared the styling and clothes from start to end according to your taste for each scene. In the case of Actor Kwon, he would have been very concerned about sponsorships because of his role as the son of a wealthy family. Agencies are the ones who do all the troublesome and difficult work such as styling behind the scenes.¡±


    When she saw the way Woo-Jin looked at her, Song Jae-Hee could feel that she had almost convinced him. Hence, it was dangerous to leave him as he was, without an agency. He looked like someone who could be won over very easily by any random passerby.


    ¡°However, not all agencies are good,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    His past experience was the reason behind his hesitation.


    ¡°Of course! You¡¯re better off being alone than signing with a random sub-par agency.¡±


    ¡°In that case, which agency is the best? Just because an agency is well-known doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a good one. Most importantly, if you can¡¯t trust them, there¡¯s no point in joining it.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first agency was also a well-known agency in Korea. However, all he had gotten from that agency was the ugly side of the entertainment industry and a bitter sense of betrayal.


    ¡°Exactly. This is why I recommend DS.¡±


    ¡°DS?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My agency! It¡¯s abbreviated as DS, which stands for Divine Shadow. There is a diverse array of artists - both actors and singers included. Most importantly, the CEO is the son of a wealthy family, so he has a lot of money, which is why he will not make our artists do anything weird.¡±


    Upon hearing the name of the agency that Song Jae-Hee confidently recommended, the good-natured Woo-Jin frowned immediately. Of all public exams, the bar exam was ranked one of the highest in terms of difficulty, and there was a similar exam in the broadcasting industry. On the other hand, in the entertainment industry, there was something called the ¡®DS exam¡¯. In other words, that meant that entering DS Entertainment was more difficult than passing any auditions, or becoming a Hallyu star [1].


    First of all, the CEO of DS Entertainment was the son of a second-generation wealthy family, and thus had some distance from the internal conflicts of his family. However, he had already gained trillions of won through inheritance, gifts, as well as his own business. Perhaps, that was the reason behind the good welfare and management of his employees and artists. He was good at media marketing, and he did not try to turn the company¡¯s artists into famous celebrities by overworking them.


    Not all artists wanted to become famous celebrities. DS Entertainment¡¯s CEO provided an environment where all the artists could do what they wanted, be it acting or singing, even if they were not celebrities. In a way, he was similar to CEO Choi of G&C Entertainment. DS¡¯ CEO firmly wanted to help the actors and musicians that he liked to continue with their work without being hindered by economic difficulties or unconducive environments.


    Hence, the biggest challenge and the most difficult part of the DS exam was whether or not one suited the CEO¡¯s taste. Regardless of how talented an artist was, if they were not the CEO¡¯s cup of tea, they would not make it into DS.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that look on your face? It¡¯s as if you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re bound to fail.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I won¡¯t be able to make it.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ I can¡¯t be 100% sure, but there is a high chance that you are what the CEO is looking for.¡±


    ¡°Does your CEO like toads?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­he might like golden toads?¡±


    Because no one in the world hated them. Song Jae-Hee¡¯s eyes darted around to avoid making eye contact with the teary-eyed Woo-Jin. That was because she felt that she would not be able to hold back her laughter if she were to make eye contact with Woo-Jin, who looked so serious. It was so fun to tease him that she could not stop herself from doing so.


    ¡°Na Mi-Yeon, scene 72 is about to start!¡±


    The staff calling out to her was akin to salvation. She hurriedly got up from her seat and patted Woo-Jin¡¯s droopy shoulders.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how it¡¯s going to turn out to be yet. Don¡¯t be prematurely disappointed! I will recommend you to our CEO. Even though not all recommendations end up going through, it still gives you better odds than going through a regular audition.¡±


    Having been with DS for more than ten years, Song Jae-Hee was qualified enough to say that she was confident that she knew the CEO¡¯s taste. In truth, no agency with a keen judgment would reject someone like Chae Woo-Jin. On top of being very good-looking, he was also charming. He had an unforgettable appearance and he was good at acting. He had checked all the boxes ¡ª young, good-looking, great acting skills. He was also from a prestigious college, and most importantly, he had already been discharged from the military.


    ***


    After she was done with shooting, Song Jae-Hee went straight to the DS headquarters instead of going home. She went to look for the CEO, Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Oho~ It¡¯s Actress Song, who said she did not want to see me for a while. What¡¯s up?¡±


    CEO Jang Su-Hwan was personally acquainted with CEO Choi of G&C Entertainment. They were such close friends that they called each other terrible people. Hence, when CEO Choi picked Song Jae-Hee as the female lead of Glooming Day, Jang Su-Hwan grumbled but did not object to the decision.


    If CEO Jang had protected her, they would have been able to reject Witch Choi¡¯s request. Hence, Song Jae-Hee could not contain her anger, cursing in CEO Jang¡¯s face and declaring that she did not want to see his face for some time.  However, Song Jae-Hee had come to visit Jang Su-Hwan on her own accord. This was a situation that perfectly depicted the saying that ¡°you¡¯ll never know what will happen in life¡¯¡¯.


    ¡°I did not come here to see your face.¡±


    In order not to go back on her words, Song Jae-Hee sat down and faced away from Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°What can I do? I¡¯ve been friends with the Supreme Witch since we were children. How can I reject a friend who asked me for a favor? However, from what I¡¯ve heard from Manager Kim, the movie¡¯s coming out really well. He said that this movie will be better than any run-of-the-mill piece, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. If everything went as expected, how would it not fail?¡±


    Despite what she was saying, there was a subtle tinge of confidence in her voice. Even if she was not certain about how well the movie would be received by the public, it did not seem like the movie would receive much criticism. Of course, the editing was always the key to a movie¡¯s success, but since Choi Yi-Geon was the director of the movie, they had nothing to worry about.


    Jang Su-Hwan chuckled upon seeing her calm response. According to the information, regardless of the success of the movie, it was important for Song Jae-Hee to boost her image as a woman instead of a girl. Since Song Jae-Hee had been a child actor, even though she was now in her mid-twenties, she still could not escape from her image as a little girl. There was a strange separation between personas as the vibes she gave off to the audience did not match her adult appearance. Regardless of how many roles she took on as an adult, she did not exactly have any chemistry with the other actors. The main reason was that it felt as though she was a young girl trying to act as an adult.


    Both parties were worried because there were several child actors who failed to get past the stage of transitioning from child to adult. However, it felt as though the movie could be a turning point for Song Jae-Hee as an actress.


    ¡°We are both busy people so we should stop beating around the bush. Tell me, what brings you here, Actress Song?¡±


    ¡°When are you going to hold auditions for the rookies? The first audition of the year should be around now, right?¡±


    ¡°I decided not to do it this year, haven¡¯t you heard?¡±


    ¡°No, but why!¡± yelled Song Jae-Hee as she turned her head to look at Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Even if you hold auditions for thousands of people, only one or two people end up getting selected. What is this? Looking for pearls in a muddy field? To make it worse, the rookies who ended up getting selected are getting lower in quality by the year. I¡¯ll be honest with you, the purpose of holding auditions is gradually disappearing. However, if nobody gets selected officially, the amount of backlash we¡¯ll get is no joke. I¡¯d rather take a break this year and have auditions only once a year next year onwards.¡±


    DS, which was already difficult to get into, had grown even harder to get into. However, for Jang Su-Hwan, as the CEO of DS, they were not in a hurry to hold auditions as they did not lack artistes. Furthermore, there were quite a number of rookies and trainees who were preparing for their debut. Additionally, in many cases, the talents he had personally scouted tend to be better than the ones selected officially via auditions.


    ¡°In that case¡­¡±


    ¡°In that case?¡±


    ¡°What about recommendations? There were times when people signed with the agency after auditioning due to somebody¡¯s recommendation.¡±


    ¡°It depends on who¡¯s recommending and who¡¯s recommended. For instance, if an idol who debuted this year recommended his younger brother, he would be rejected. Do you think our company is some sort of flea market?¡±


    Jang Su-Hwan did not look too happy, questioning if there were really such instances.


    1. a famous Korean celebrity who has played a large part in the entertainment industry <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 18

    With the tension in the air, Song Jae-Hee hesitated for a moment and wondered to herself if she was qualified enough to recommend anyone. Then, she thought of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face and shook her head slightly. If she were to let him be, that boy would be lucky if he did not end up signing a slave contract with a strict agency. Before that happened, she had to put a safety net in place somehow.


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s someone I¡¯d like to recommend,¡± said Song Jae-Hee.


    ¡°By any chance, is his name Chae Woo-Jin?¡± asked Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Ack! What!¡±


    Forgetting she was a dignified female actress, Song Jae-Hee made strange noises as she jumped up from her seat. She stared at Jang Su-Hwan with a doubtful look, wondering if Woo-Jin had performed a blade dance. [1].


    ¡°There was someone who recommended Chae Woo-Jin before you.¡±


    ¡°Was it Manager Kim?¡±


    ¡°Manager Kim was the second person to recommend him. You are the third,¡± responded Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°I¡¯m the third? Not the second, but the third? Who recommended him? Who had the audacity to recommend Woo-Jin before I did?¡±


    If it was Manager Kim who had recommended him before she did, she would acknowledge it, since he had seen Woo-Jin throughout the shooting on set. However, when she had heard that someone other than her or Manager Kim had recommended Chae Woo-Jin first, it fired up an unnecessary competitive spirit in her.


    ¡°G&C Entertainment¡¯s Supreme Witch,¡± replied Jang Su-Hwan.


    Upon hearing Jang Su-Hwan¡¯s answer, she gaped for a few moments, but soon after conceded. She had heard that CEO Choi had personally selected the main leads, as well as the supporting actor, for this movie. Hence, she logically concluded she must have been the first person to know about Woo-Jin¡¯s value. However, she had guessed incorrectly.


    ¡°She had never actually seen him act before, so I asked her why she recommended him.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°She said that he looked like her son,¡± continued Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Ah, that toad¡­?¡±


    That was when Song Jae-Hee finally understood the meaning behind Woo-Jin¡¯s words earlier on during the day. G&C Group¡¯s general chairman was famous for looking like a toad. So that¡¯s why he was in despair.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that in all honesty, the Supreme Witch, who thinks that her husband is handsome, has terrible taste. But all the people whom she thinks resemble her son end up making it big,¡± said Jang Su-Hwan, grumbling about how obscure the witch¡¯s standards were.


    Jang Su-Hwan continued with his rant. ¡°Regardless of how much the Supreme Witch recommended him, I said that I would think about it and see how it goes. But seeing as both you and Manager Kim have recommended him, he must have something special, hm?¡±


    ¡°First of all, he has the looks and the acting down. He also has a unique vibe too, in a positive way. He has the so-called image and the aura of an actor.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty aggressive about recommending him, huh,¡± remarked Jang Su-Hwan.


    Since Song Jae-Hee was not the type of person to recommend someone else, or actively support them, Jang Su-Hwan glanced at her with a doubtful look in his eyes. Any potential scandals had to be managed properly in advance as long as the other party was a man, even if he was younger.


    ¡°He¡¯s not even an actress who will compete with me, so what do I have to be wary about? Most importantly, I¡¯m just worried about him because he¡¯s like a lost little child,¡± replied Song Jae-Hee.


    Song Jae-Hee was the eldest child in her family. She saw Woo-Jin as a younger brother that was born late into the family. She thought that it would be really cute if he were to call her ¡®noona¡¯ while looking at her with sparkly eyes. If they were in the same agency, it would be a step closer to making it happen. As the thought popped into her head, she realized that she had another reason for bringing Chae Woo-Jin into DS.


    ¡°All the people who recommended Chae Woo-Jin are people I trust to have a discerning eye, so I will seriously think about it. Of course, the final decision lies with me and Chae Woo-Jin himself, so stop worrying about this and focus on acting. Even if the movie becomes a flop, shouldn¡¯t you use this as an opportunity for you to completely get rid of your image as a child actress?¡±


    Ironically, the biggest reason why Song Jae-Hee was cast in this movie was because of her image as a young girl, rather than a mature woman. However, this girl was loved by two men, and her character, Na Mi-Yeon, gradually bloomed into a mature woman. So, playing that character was fun. There was a default mood or ambience set by the writer, but the overall outline would subtly change depending on how the actors portrayed their characters. With 15 years of experience as an actress, Song Jae-Hee was starting to develop a newfound love for acting again.


    As Song Jae-Hee left the office, Jang Su-Hwan grabbed the folder he was looking at right before she went into his office.


    <Chae Woo-Jin>


    All the information he could find out about Chae Woo-Jin could be found under the title of the first page of the file. Jang Su-Hwan was confident that it contained information about Chae Woo-Jin that Chae Woo-Jin himself probably did not even know about.


    ¡°If only he wasn¡¯t a TM trainee¡­¡±


    Jang Su-Hwan sighed as he read the document.


    ***


    A month had passed by very quickly. Finally, all that was left was one final sequence. Choi Yi-Geon and Woo-Jin had a one-on-one talk.


    ¡°Do Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s tears really fit his image here?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    It was a sincere question on Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s part ¡ª not an attempt at arguing ¡ª because he could not come to a conclusion about the acting.


    ¡°I think that it doesn¡¯t matter whether or not he sheds any tears. If you can¡¯t come to a conclusion, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just act according to the writer¡¯s intentions?¡±


    Perhaps it might have been the writer¡¯s intention to use Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s tears to declare the end of passionate young love; a love that was unable to achieve anything was forgotten without leaving anything behind. The tears that were shed as a result of complex feelings could have had different types of meanings, ranging from sorrow to injustice.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t crying too easy of a way to play it out?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°It certainly is,¡± answered Woo-Jin.


    There was nothing easier than using tears to release and express emotions. It was difficult for actors to cry naturally, but if said actor could shed tears to tell the audience how sad the character was, there was no more effective method to convince them and get their understanding.


    ¡°I feel like our hard work up until now would have been in vain if we use nothing but tears to unravel Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s complicated feelings. I¡¯ve also been thinking. When Cha Hyun-Seung happened to run into Na Mi-Yeon ten years later, he has already gotten married. I mean, I don¡¯t think that Cha Hyun-Seung will simply accept reality and marry a random person he did not love,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon.


    Woo-Jin concurred with what Choi Yi-Geon said and nodded.


    ¡°I feel the same way. My version of Cha Hyun-Seung is someone who knows what love is. That person is someone who would rather live alone than marry a woman he doesn¡¯t love.¡±


    The emotion that Woo-Jin chose when he acted as Cha Hyun-Seung was patience instead of a sense of inferiority. He played a character that knew what patience was when it came to love; someone who wanted to protect the love of the woman he loved, prevent her from getting hurt, and wish for her to shine more brilliantly than anyone else.


    ¡°Yeah, such a man, who already has a wife that he loves, cried because he saw the person he used to love?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°There is a saying that a man cannot forget his first love, even though in this case, it was his first unrequited love,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°In that case, what do you think would happen if you were him? Would you cry if you were to run into your first love ten years later?¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon asked Woo-Jin this cautiously, as he knew that Woo-Jin had experienced a painful relationship, despite not knowing the details. That sudden question was something Woo-Jin had never thought about before, so he was a little caught off guard.


    However, knowing Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s intentions, Woo-Jin earnestly thought about it. It had been almost two years since he had seen his ex-girlfriend. Since it was completely different from not seeing a former lover for ten years, coupled with the fact that Cha Hyun-Seung was also in an entirely different position, it was hard to make a comparison. But the one thing they had in common was that they had both lost the woman they loved.


    Right now, Woo-Jin was not in love with anyone, but he could imagine it. If he were to unexpectedly run into her one day and find out that she had completely forgotten about him, how would he have reacted? Not forgetting the fact that he had someone else by his side now.


    He felt like he would be about to cry, but ultimately never did, partly due to pride, partly to respect the one he was currently with.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Cha Hyun-Seung clearly had a different personality from Chae Woo-Jin, but they seemed to have similar feelings for their significant other. If anything were different, Cha Hyun-Seung would have put her wellbeing and emotions first and his pride second. It would not have been different just because he had a wife.


    Just because his love had ended did not mean love itself was over. It was not that he had lingering feelings for her, or that he could not forget her. It was the minimum courtesy and self-respect he could have for his past relationship. He would have wanted to cry but he would not cry, also out of courtesy and respect for the person he loved now.


    ¡°If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t cry. Cha Hyun-Seung wouldn¡¯t cry either. He¡¯s more emotional than anyone else, but he¡¯s a rational person when it comes to his actions,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right! It¡¯s a very common cliche to squeeze out tears because you cannot forget your first love.¡±


    Choi Yi-Geon had been working very hard in order to shoot a movie that portrayed uncommon emotions despite having a cliched premise. This was the first screenplay that the writer of Glooming Day had ever written. The reason why Choi Yi-Geon had ignored the writer¡¯s intentions was not that he was inexperienced, but because the sub-par dialogue and the trite content in the script had caused his blood pressure to rise throughout the production.


    The scriptwriter had compiled all the imagery people had of how ¡°first love" should be and put it into the script. Choi Yi-Geon was only satisfied with the movie ending. He truly only liked the ending; the inconsistent flow of the movie caused by the ending was unbearable. The first half of the movie was very beautiful, as though they were traveling in a fantasy world, but towards the end, they were brought back to reality. This was similar to the typical development of a comedy that was designed to be funny throughout, but was given forced emotions and a sense of reality towards the end, adding weight to it. In truth, Choi Yi-Geon was curious about how such a work landed in CEO Choi¡¯s hands, but what could he do even if he knew? It was useless unless he could go back in time and stop it from happening.


    ¡°Just ignore the writer¡¯s intentions, like what you¡¯ve been doing. Follow the emotions of your version of Cha Hyun-Seung,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon.


    If the writer were to watch the movie later on, they might doubt that it was a movie based on their screenplay. Most importantly, it was highly likely that CEO Choi would not like it. This was because all the romance movies that had been produced so far under her company were tailored to her taste and adhered to the script. But this time, the movie had deviated far from the script, much less her tastes. Beyond adding and removing parts of the content of the movie, the mood and ambience had completely changed compared to usual.


    However, Director Choi Yi-Geon was proud that he had produced a better movie than the previous romance movies. By making the characters more three-dimensional, he made their actions legitimate. At least, while watching the movie, he was confident that there would be no criticisms or debates about how the movie had excessive emotions or how it did not have verisimilitude.  As soon as he had resolved the last thing he was worried about, he prepared for the final scene.


    Ten years later, Cha Hyun-Seung had become a professor, and he was traveling to Busan via KTX for a seminar. Out of boredom, he took out his phone and scrolled through the headlines of the articles.


    1. Blade dances were performed by Korean shamans to channel supernatural powers from the gods and seek answers <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 19

    As he scrolled, Cha Hyun-Seung found a familiar name under the economic column and subconsciously clicked on it.


    <XX Group¡¯s Planning Director Park Ji-Hyuk returns to Korea with his wife after 8 years. Is this the beginning of a full-fledged succession battle?>


    The article started off with how Park Ji-Hyuk and his wife left to study abroad after their marriage and the numerous achievements he had accumulated at the New York branch. Due to these successful achievements under his belt, he was now transferred back to XX Group¡¯s headquarters. Back during college days, he had not been interested in the management of a financial group, but now, he had the look of an ambitious businessman. If the article did not have a photo of Park Ji-Hyuk, Cha Hyun-Seung would never have known that the ambitious looking Park Ji-Hyuk was the Park Ji-Hyuk he knew. On top of that, the unfamiliar woman standing next to Park Ji-Hyuk was the granddaughter of a media conglomerate.


    All the articles that wrote favorably about Park Ji-Hyuk were from said conglomerate. It was strange since 10 years ago, Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon were certainly dating each other. Faced with strong opposition from his family, they had suddenly disappeared from school one day. After hearing the rumors about them eloping, he had not heard any other news about them. Nobody had talked about ¡®so what happened to them after?¡¯, and he had never asked about their whereabouts, but he now knew what had become of their elopement. Perhaps, their dream-like ¡°romantic¡± escape had ended in failure.


    However, Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s thoughts were cut short by his phone ringing. As he took the call, the voice of his teaching assistant forcefully shoved him back into reality.


    - Professor, the food here is really bad!


    Upon hearing his assistant whine about the food, the corners of Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s mouth upturned slightly. His assistant had gone down to the university where his seminar was to be held in advance to make some preparations.


    - When you¡¯re here, don¡¯t go straight to the school and have your lunch somewhere else. There are so many good restaurants in Busan. How can the food in this school taste so bad?


    His teaching assistant, who had a reputation as a gourmet, began to recite every single famous food in Busan. He had even urged Cha Hyun-Seung to fill their three-day-two-night seminar schedule with a food tour. As he was amazed by the teaching assistant¡¯s speech and behavior, which he could have never imagined himself doing back when he was a teaching assistant, he hung up the phone and pondered about whether or not he was too easygoing. As he put his phone in his pocket, light reflected from the wedding ring on Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s left hand.


    When he got off the train, he took a taxi to the university. After he had arrived, he suddenly remembered what his teaching assistant had said earlier and decided to have lunch at a restaurant nearby. He was not craving any specific food, so he looked around and saw a dwaejigukbap [1] restaurant. Remembering that it was one of the must-eat foods in Busan according to his teaching assistant, he went into the restaurant without hesitation.


    ¡°Welcome.¡±


    It was after lunch time, so the restaurant was rather peaceful and empty. A woman, who was either the owner of the restaurant or just someone who worked there, walked him to his seat carrying a child on her back.


    ¡°Table for one? Just one serving of pork bone rice soup?¡±


    Not thinking much, Cha Hyun-Seung simply nodded his head until he realized the voice sounded familiar. Lifting his head, he made eye contact with Na Mi-Yeon, who had a cheap perm. For a moment, he was not sure if she was Na Mi-Yeon herself, or just someone who looked like her. In his unsureness, he heard her voice again.


    ¡°Do you want boiled pork slices too?¡±


    It was definitely Na Mi-Yeon. As Cha Hyun-Seung nodded slowly, she smiled brightly, and yelled towards the kitchen.


    ¡°One rice soup and one serving of boiled pork slices for table 2!¡±


    As Na Mi-Yeon brought over some disposable dishrags and a cup, he gaped at her, still in shock. However, she did not recognize him and merely treated him as one of her customers, like he was a complete stranger.


    When the food was out, Cha Hyun-Seung slowly began to eat while his eyes continued to follow Na Mi-Yeon around. She was sitting down at a table, holding her baby and giving him a bottle of formula. The baby looked less than one year old, and hurriedly drank from the milk bottle. Na Mi-Yeon looked happy as she watched her child drink milk, coaxing him. At that moment, a short, plump man with an apron came out of the kitchen. He was neither handsome nor ugly, just plain, from top to bottom. As this ordinary man turned on the TV, he looked at Mi-Yeon and her child and smiled delightfully.


    The channel he stopped on after some time seemed to be the news, specifically the news about Park Ji-Hyuk returning to Korea today. He and his wife, as well as their five-year-old son who was holding his parents¡¯ hands, were seen leaving the arrival hall. Shortly after, Park Ji-Hyuk was seen holding his son in one arm as he smiled brightly at the camera. At the bottom of the screen, the words written were: ¡®Full-fledged succession battle of XX Group¡¯. The news anchors were talking about it as well.


    ¡°The little boy must be so lucky to be born into such a wealthy family. These days, we say that children like that were born with a golden spoon in their mouth.¡±


    Looking at the five-year-old boy instead of Park Ji-Hyuk, the man shifted his gaze to Na Mi-Yeon and the child she was holding. He looked somewhat pitiful as he gazed lovingly upon the two of them.


    ¡°Watch something else,¡± Na Mi-Yeon suggested.


    Na Mi-Yeon looked down as soon as Park Ji-Hyuk appeared on the screen. Even though she asked softly, the man, who appeared to be her husband, did not comply.


    ¡°All the channels are the same. There is nothing to watch.¡±


    ¡°Why are you watching the news about other people who have nothing to do with us!¡± yelled Na Mi-Yeon.


    ¡°Other things have nothing to do with us either. Why are you getting upset though?¡±


    ¡°How is asking you to watch something else being upset?¡±


    She raised her voice initially, but it became softer and more cautious towards the end of her statement.


    ¡°Mommy, Daddy, I¡¯m back from school.¡±


    Just as the atmosphere in the restaurant was growing awkward, a boy, who appeared to be under ten, walked into the restaurant carrying a bag.


    ¡°Why are you only coming back now? Have you had your lunch?¡± asked Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s husband.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already had lunch at a friend¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°You should have called then! Do you know how worried your mother was?¡± The man chided the boy.


    ¡°Honey, why are you being like this?¡± asked Na Mi-Yeon.


    Na Mi-Yeon tried to calm her overly angry husband down and secretly glanced at the boy, hinting at him to go inside. The boy, seeing his father¡¯s face, hurriedly walked past the table Cha Hyun-Seung was seated at before disappearing inside. When the boy walked in front of him, Cha Hyun-Seung saw ¡ª the moment where the boy¡¯s face and Park Ji-Hyuk¡¯s face on the screen were side by side in front of him, and how similar the two looked. He could not bring himself to pick up his chopsticks anymore.


    Na Mi-Yeon was trying to appease her husband while holding a babbling baby. As her husband subconsciously called the boy an illegitimate child and complained to Na Mi-Yeon, asking why he had to raise somebody else¡¯s child, she noticed Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s presence in the restaurant, being the only customer left in the restaurant. Feeling ashamed, her face turned red. However, it was because he was a stranger witnessing a private argument. She still could not remember who he was.


    Cha Hyun-Seung got up and went to the counter. As he did so, Na Mi-Yeon came over and calculated the bill. Cha Hyun-Seung deliberately wrote his name clearly on the signature pad, and she looked at the name written at the bottom of the receipt, but gave the receipt to Cha Hyun-Seung without much thought and smiled. To think about it, she could not remember his face; there was no way she could have remembered his name.


    Cha Hyun-Seung left the restaurant with a sad smile, and ended up loafing around the entrance, staring blankly at the sky. It was the same season as that hot summer ten years ago, and the sweltering heat of Busan made his body feel even more sticky from all the perspiration. After loosening his tie slightly and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Cha Hyun-Seung looked around the restaurant for the final time. Na Mi-Yeon was there. She had become the wife of someone else, and not Park Ji-Hyuk.


    What made him endure that hot summer at that time? Whatever it was, it was not for this; he had not been that patient or endured that much just to look at her current plight. His trembling eyes were filled with regret. Letting out a deep sigh, Cha Hyun-Seung closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, his gaze slowly firming. He stretched out his left hand to look at the wedding ring on his finger. Now, he had someone by his side that he needed to love and protect.


    To Na Mi-Yeon, he was a person without a name or a memory. Who was he to speak about her life or feel sorry for her? Whether he lacked courage, or that he was too patient, his love was a cry beyond reach; it had come like a shower on a summer day which then disappeared without a trace. Because he was the only one who had loved, missed, and regretted, he had to be the one to end this love by himself. He did not know whether or not Na Mi-Yeon was in love with her husband right now. He hoped that she experienced a love that she did not regret, and was still loving a person she did not regret right now. Just like his current self.


    Just then, as if the heavens were answering him, he got a call from his wife. The moment he saw the word ¡®Wife¡¯ pop up on his phone, the edges of his mouth relaxed.


    - Honey, did you get to Busan safely? I wanted to call you right when you arrived, but I had forgotten about it while I was working. That¡¯s the way I am, though. It¡¯s very hot there, right? Have you had lunch?


    Upon hearing the voice of his wife, who was rambling on, asking several questions, Cha Hyun-Seung had a complex look on his face, as if he was both smiling and crying. He was not one of those people who spent his entire day thinking about his wife. He would think of her when he was not working or thinking about other thoughts, and he assumed the same for his wife. However, while his wife was thinking about him, he was thinking about Na Mi-Yeon. It was not even a previous relationship; it was an unrequited love. However, that did not mean that it was not love. As he mentally declared the end of his love, closing a long-overdue chapter on his youth, Cha Hyun-Seung apologized to his wife in a very soft voice. He did not know whether or not she heard him, and the only people who could see Cha Hyun-Seung mouthing his apology were probably the viewers.


    Unable to hear his soft apology, his wife asked him to repeat what he had just said.


    - Hmm? What did you say?


    ¡°...¡±


    This time, instead of saying he was sorry, he said something else. Once again, the viewers were  able to tell what he was saying by reading his lips, instead of hearing his voice. However, his wife, who could not see his lips or even hear his voice, replied to him happily, as if she knew everything he said.


    - I already knew that. I love you so much too.


    Cha Hyun-Seung was finally able to smile with that answer. His summer was still as hot as ever. As hot as it was, the shower that previously came was wet and cold. However, he was no longer alone in the cold rain that came with life.


    ¡°Okay, cut!¡±


    Finally, they were done shooting the final scene of the movie. Woo-Jin, who was briefly immersed in the emotions left by Cha Hyun-Seung came out of it slowly. After letting out a long sigh and relaxing his body, Woo-Jin was able to smile brightly. The feeling of sadness and a sense of accomplishment that came with completing something strangely made him excited.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡±


    Everybody clapped for Woo-Jin as the latter bowed to Choi Yi-Geon and the staff.


    1. ????, or pork and rice soup <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 20

    In the beginning, everybody could not hide their bitter feelings. It was true that they had felt as though they had sold themselves for money when they were casted in a movie they did not want to be in. But after the framework of the movie had been properly established, the actors immersed themselves in the acting and the negative ambience was reversed. Everyone started to feel a sense of accomplishment that stemmed from working on the movie. For the sake of the movie, Choi Yi-Geon firmly toughed it out and stayed focused, doing what needed to be done.


    However, nobody could deny that Chae Woo-Jin was the one who had kickstarted everything. He used his amazing acting skills, which overwhelmed the main leads, to create beautiful scenes that fulfilled Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s aesthetics standards. This ended up motivating the main leads to take their job seriously.


    ¡°Great job!¡±


    As they looked at each other, exchanging words of consolation and gratitude, their gazes naturally shifted towards Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°Why are all of you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to have a get-together today?¡±


    Now that they were done with the last shooting, and that they had come all the way to Busan, it would be such a waste if they went back to Seoul right away. It was time for them to enjoy their final party, spending the night in Busan. In general, that was what most people did.


    ¡°A get-together? Didn¡¯t I say that there will not be any more get-togethers ever again in my life?!¡±


    These get-togethers were not elegant. He hated how helpless he felt whenever he drank, losing control of his body, not being able to distinguish whether the world was spinning or if he was out of his mind.


    ¡°Oh, we won¡¯t be having a get-together? I thought that I would get to eat hweh [1] and eel while looking at Gwangan Bridge in the evening when I came to Busan. Are we just going to go back to Seoul?¡±


    Woo-Jin already had high expectations for gatherings. As it was his first time visiting Busan, he decided to look up famous restaurants and places of interest on the internet, which raised his expectations even further. They did not have a lot to shoot at Busan, but he thought that they would get to stay the night there, and had already kept all the places that were famous for their beautiful night views in mind.


    ¡°It ended up becoming futile huh¡­¡±


    Seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s sad, slightly disappointed smile, Choi Yi-Geon was immediately hit by a strange sense of guilt. He was clearly smiling, but it did not look like he was genuinely smiling. Over the past month, that was the look he had seen on Woo-Jin¡¯s face the most when he acted as Cha Hyun-Seung. There was something about that expression that made one emotional; it was a crossover between the smiling face of someone who had given up, and a smiling face with hidden disappointment.


    ¡°What if you don¡¯t drink¡­¡± said Song Jae-Hee.


    Yeah, it wasn¡¯t that Choi Yi-Geon did not like get-togethers, he just did not like the drinking culture that came hand in hand with them. Surprisingly, Song Jae-Hee was the first person to react to Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s remarks. The lady, who still looked beautiful despite being dressed in cheap clothes and given a tacky-looking perm, took a credit card from her manager and yelled.


    ¡°Dinner and drinks are on me today!¡±


    To be accurate, it was a corporate card given to her by her agency¡¯s CEO, but perhaps, the headline of the article would be along the lines of ¡®Song Jae-Hee generously buys her crew members food and drinks after shooting had ended!¡¯.


    With Song Jae-Hee taking a step forward like this, Choi Yi-Geon could no longer turn them down. In any case, the excessive money they were given for the production was more than enough to cover their accomodation fees for one night. It was the first time he did not have to worry about money at all when shooting a movie. It would be hard for him to enjoy this kind of welfare again, so he felt that it might not be a bad thing to enjoy it while he could.


    When Choi Yi-Geon nodded and gave the green light, allowing everyone to stay in Busan, everybody looked so happy that they seemed to be happier at this moment than a while ago when they had just completed the final scene.


    On the other hand, Song Jae-Hee had only been waiting for today to come. Since Kwon Sung-Min and her had been keeping a distance from each other, in order to avoid situations where they had to be together, she had been avoiding him entirely. Kwon Sung-Min was always caught in one scandal or another, so even if her agency did not warn her, she would have still been uncomfortable being around him. Even if she wanted to hang out with the staff and the other actors, it was hard for her to do so only when Kwon Sung-Min was not around, because it would have been very obvious. However, it was the last day of shooting today, coupled with the fact that they were in Busan, she could use the geographical location and their meaningful final get-together as a reasonable excuse. Since she had become the main lead, she had been worried about not being able to buy them food and drinks at least once. Hence, she felt lucky to have had this opportunity to do so, even though it was at the very last minute.


    Shortly after, the crew that had packed up the film set moved to a street that was lined with restaurants that specialized in sliced hweh near Gwangalli Beach.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a cat!¡± exclaimed Woo-Jin.


    Woo-Jin paused in front of the entrance of a Korean hweh restaurant when he noticed a stray cat rummaging through a pile of trash bags under a utility pole.


    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s a cheese cat.¡± [2]


    ¡°Cheese cat?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°We usually call those pale yellow ochre cats cheese cats. Judging from her body, it looks like she has just given birth.¡±


    A staff member who called himself a butler went up to Woo-Jin, who likes cats, and explained it to him in detail. [3]


    ¡°You must know a lot about cats,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I have a few cats at home. You seem to like cats too,¡± replied the staff.


    ¡°A long time ago, when I was little, I had a cat for about two years. Due to the circumstances at that time, I couldn¡¯t keep him anymore. He was also a pale yellow ochre cat like that one. He would be about 14 years old right now, so he¡¯s probably still alive, right?¡±


    Before Woo-Jin¡¯s parents had gotten a divorce, his family had adopted a newborn cat. He had it for about two years or so. However, his father¡¯s daughter from the affair was very fond of the cat. He remembered that when he left the house with his mother and Woo-Hee, they knew that their life from then on would be unstable, and on top of that, his father¡¯s daughter from the affair stubbornly said that she wanted to keep the cat, so he left her behind.


    ¡°The average lifespan of a domestic cat is 15 years, but my cat is now 18 years old. If you take good care of your cat, and make sure it stays stress-free, they can live a long life,¡± answered the staff.


    ¡°In that case, Woo-Sa is probably still alive now. The child who is taking care of him really loved him a lot.¡±


    The staff was able to guess from what Woo-Jin said that the child who was raising the cat instead was still young at that time. How can you trust the whims of a young child? However, he was not foolish enough to say that outright.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true. His name is Woo-Sa, huh? Was the name a play on the word ¡®wooja¡¯?


    The staff changed the topic and lightly pushed Woo-Jin from the back, entering the restaurant. Upon entering, Song Jae-Hee, who was sitting at the same table as Choi Yi-Geon, waved at Woo-Jin and pointed to the seat next to her.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, did you by any chance get a call from our agency?¡±


    After the initial boisterous atmosphere had subsided, and everyone had settled down and began socializing with people at their own table, Song Jae-Hee asked Woo-Jin that question in a soft voice, as she was afraid other people might hear her. She was sure that the agency would contact Woo-Jin, but things had been too silent.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t received any calls from them. Were you actually serious about recommending me to your agency back then?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I was, but since they have not contacted you yet, I feel embarrassed,¡± responded Jae-Hee.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay! I¡¯m already grateful that you think highly enough of me to recommend me. Thank you so much.¡±


    Even though it would have been nice to get a call from them, there was a reason why people had coined the term ¡®DS exam¡¯. Even though Song Jae-Hee had mentioned it previously, Woo-Jin had not expected anything, and hence, he had already forgotten about it. Hence, there was nothing to be disappointed about. Instead, he was worried about whether or not Song Jae-Hee was being unreasonable by recommending him.


    ¡°Wait, what? You recommended Woo-Jin to your agency?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°Ack! You always stay silent and eavesdrop on everyone else¡¯s conversation,¡± said Jae-Hee.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to listen to your conversation. Wouldn¡¯t it be even weirder if I had just sat here and didn''t say anything, while you people talk about things you¡¯re not supposed to say, hoping that I didn¡¯t hear it?¡± grumbled Choi Yi-Geon, as he dipped the raw sliced fish he was holding on into soy sauce that had been mixed with wasabi.


    He also added that it was not polite to talk among themselves while sitting at the same table.


    ¡°So, you still don¡¯t know the outcome?¡± asked Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t get a call, it means that I¡¯ve failed,¡± answered Woo-Jin.


    Judging from the fact that he had not heard anything about a closed-door audition, Woo-Jin took it as he had already failed the screening process.


    ¡°You¡¯ll never know. Maybe they did not want to disturb you while you were in the midst of shooting a movie out of consideration,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon.


    ¡°That¡¯s true! I hadn¡¯t thought of that,¡± exclaimed Song Jae-Hee.


    Usually, Song Jae-Hee and Choi Yi-Geon would bicker with one another. But at times like this, they were in perfect harmony. On the other hand, with negative thoughts, Woo-Jin shook his head. DS was not a small agency, so it did not seem like that they would hold a closed-door audition at the recommendation from one of their artistes. Most importantly, why would they contact him first? Even if they did, they would only consider Song Jae-Hee¡¯s recommendation after they had explored the possibilities to some extent after the movie had been released. In a bid to divert the attention of the two people, who were discussing when DS would contact him, Woo-Jin decided to ask Choi Yi-Geon something he had been curious about for a long time.


    ¡°There is something I¡¯ve always been curious about. Don¡¯t you feel uncomfortable wearing a suit throughout the shooting?¡±


    Throughout the shooting over the past month, Choi Yi-Geon had always worn a suit as he directed. Admittedly, he was more elegant and fashionable than other actors, but it did not look comfortable.


    ¡°It¡¯s uncomfortable for sure. But still, the set is my workplace. Have you ever seen an office worker wear casual clothes to work? When people get too comfortable, they tend to become sloppy and are bound to make mistakes. The workplace is like a battlefield. It¡¯s only natural for soldiers to go to war in military uniforms.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you only wearing them because you have too many suits and nowhere to wear them to?¡± asked Song Jae-Hee.


    Upon hearing Song Jae-Hee¡¯s remark, Choi Yi-Geon gave her an unamused gaze. In order to avoid his gaze, she deliberately whipped out her phone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a photo to commemorate our final day of shooting in Busan! Woo-Jin and Choi Yi-Geon, please come closer!¡±


    ¡°I like taking pictures, but I don¡¯t like to have my pictures taken. Besides, you¡¯re going to post that on your social media,¡± said Choi Yi-Geon as he shook his head at the idea of having his picture taken.


    Song Jae-Hee responded coyly, ¡°In that case, do I take a photo with only Woo-Jin? What are we going to do if it creates a scandal? You need to be in the picture so people won¡¯t make up stories. I am famous, and I have an agency, so I can deal with scandals, but Woo-Jin is a rookie. It¡¯ll be bad if there are rumors about him.¡±


    ¡°In that case, don¡¯t take a picture.¡±


    ¡°We have to take a picture and upload it so that news about the movie will spread, and we can also gradually reveal Woo-Jin¡¯s face to the world!¡±


    In truth, a scandal would most likely not occur because of that, but Choi Yi-Geon had already had a few drinks and could not think straight.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± questioned Choi Yi-Geon.


    Ultimately, he ended up taking a picture with them, with Song Jae-Hee in the middle.


    ¡°I think that Choi Yi-Geon is the type of person who finds it hard to say no,¡± commented Woo-Jin with a smile, as he looked at Choi Yi-Geon who sat down right after the picture was taken with an expressionless face.


    ¡°What nonsense! I¡¯m an iron-blooded person who is not that soft!¡±


    Exactly two hours after he said that, Choi Yi-Geon was drunk and knocked out. That was the result of not being able to say no to drinks offered by the actors and staff. On top of that, he had also accepted their proposal to have a wrap-up party after they had gone back to Seoul. Of course, everything was clearly documented and solid evidence could be found in the video recordings from that night. For better or worse, the videos would remain in history forever as evidence of what happened. It was fair to everyone.


    1. a Korean variant of sashimi, to be precise. It¡¯s cut differently, giving it a more chewy texture than regular sashimi. Also, the dipping sauce is gochujang mixed with vinegar. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. A term cat lovers in Korea use to call yellow cats. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. Cat owners in Korea call themselves butlers. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 21

    As much as he wanted to say that he was on a wonderful vacation, in reality, he was no better than being unemployed, it was just a normal Sunday for a student who had taken a leave of absence from school.


    ¡°Woo-Jin! You got cast in Song Jae-Hee¡¯s movie this time?¡±


    He hadn¡¯t been home for quite some time, so Woo-Jin had been sleeping in even though it was already rather late now. Ultimately, he had to get up because his younger sister shook him awake. The only thing he was seeing in his half-awake state was the face of his overly excited younger sister.


    ¡°Huh, what?¡±


    ¡°The day before yesterday, Song Jae-Hee posted a photo on her social media saying that it was from a get-together in Busan for the last day of shooting for her movie, and you were in the picture.¡±


    After hearing what his sister had said, Woo-Jin recalled the photo that Song Jae-Hee wanted to post on her social media for publicity purposes, before nodding absent-mindedly. Woo-Hee sighed as she watched her brother rub his half-closed eyes with his disheveled hair. She thought to herself about how other celebrities had editorial pictures of them waking up in the morning, but her brother was just an ordinary person.


    ¡°If I had known that you were shooting with Song Jae-Hee, I would have asked you to get her autograph for me! Now that the shooting is over, when will you see her again? When you see her again in the future, can you please get me an autograph~? Please?¡±


    As a fan of Song Jae-Hee, Woo-Hee was very upset that she had missed such a good opportunity to get Jae-Hee¡¯s autograph. She even felt resentful towards her brother who never told her anything about the movies he was cast in.


    ¡°Ah, Jae-Hee unni! If I had known earlier, I could¡¯ve seen her under the excuse of visiting my brother over the weekend. I¡¯ve always wanted to cry out ¡®milky skin Song Jae-Hee¡¯ in front of her!¡±


    Woo-Hee, who was always focused on unimportant things [1], buried her face in both hands, and fell to the side. Woo-Jin got up from his seat and glanced at his younger sister who was sobbing for her Jae-Hee unni. He walked over to his still unpacked carry-on bag and opened it. He took out the script, which was right at the top, turned the page, and pulled out a piece of paper before handing it to Woo-Hee.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Woo-Hee asked.


    The moment her brother held out the paper, Woo-Hee noticed what it was. She smiled and made a baby voice, trying to sound cute. She quickly scanned the white sheet of paper that had Song Jae-Hee¡¯s autograph and some words written on it in her elegant handwriting. At the bottom of her autograph, these words were written: ¡®Study hard, Chae Woo-Hee! ^^¡¯.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly amazing that you became a celebrity! Life is truly beautiful~!¡±


    Woo-Hee took the paper with both hands and held the piece of paper with Song Jae-Hee¡¯s autograph to her chest as she smiled so brightly, feeling ecstatic.


    ¡°Do you want me to get you Kwon Sung-Min¡¯s autograph too?¡±


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Woo-Jin found it strange how his younger sister was not interested in Kwon Sung-Min when he was becoming more and more popular among female students.


    ¡°There are a lot of rumors about him being a player. Regardless of how handsome they are, I don¡¯t like guys like that.¡±


    Whether or not it was because of the trauma caused by her father, Woo-Hee had strict standards when it came to that. Be it male or female celebrities, she was prejudiced against celebrities with a dishonest image. The reason why she was exceptionally fond of Song Jae-Hee was because of her bright and clean image that the latter had ever since she was a child actress.


    ¡°Celebrities might be different from the rumors about them. Rumors alone don¡¯t tell you what a person is truly like,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°So, Jae-Hee is different from the rumors about her?¡±


    ¡°Her personality is better and brighter.¡±


    ¡°See!¡±


    As expected, Woo-Hee, who was acting all proud for no reason, stroked the piece of paper and smiled, feeling content.


    ¡°By the way, where is Mom?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    Woo-Jin checked the time and asked about the whereabouts of their mother, who wasn¡¯t home for some reason. He worried as he wondered if she had to work on Sundays too.


    ¡°She went on a date with Uncle[2],¡± replied Woo-Hee.


    ¡°Ah, right. It¡¯s Sunday.¡±


    It was a great day to go on a date in this beautiful fine spring weather.


    ¡°Do you dislike Uncle?¡± asked Woo-Hee out of the blue.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to dislike. Mom is still young. If she happens to meet a good man, she should go out with him.¡±


    This was the first time their mother had officially dated after the divorce. They had known each other for a few years because of work, but they had started dating last winter after he confessed his feelings to her. That man had lost his wife and children in a car accident 10 years ago when a vehicle collided with them after running a red light. The accident had also left him with a leg impairment, but it was nothing compared to the death of his family. He struggled for a long time because of the shock and guilt of losing his family in a car accident where he was the driver. Woo-Jin had met him once. He was a good man who knew the importance of family.


    ¡°What would you do if Mom married Uncle?¡± Woo-Hee asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You know something, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Since Woo-Hee was Park Eun-Soo¡¯s daughter, Park Eun-Soo used to talk to her about personal things that she could not talk to her son about, especially when it came to anything related to the affairs of the heart. It must have been more difficult to talk to a son about things like that.


    ¡°Mom said that Uncle proposed to her not too long ago,¡± answered Woo-Hee.


    ¡°Did Mom give him an answer?¡±


    ¡°It seemed like she was hesitating for a variety of reasons. Uncle told her that she didn''t have to answer right away.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo was distrustful of men because of her ex-husband¡¯s affair; she was also worried about how her inflexible father, who was already disapproving of her divorce, might not accept her remarriage; and lastly, she was worried about her children. Those were probably the reasons why she was not able to readily accept the proposal. However, if Woo-Jin were to consider things from his mother¡¯s point of view, it was really rare for her to find a marriage partner with the same qualifications as that man¡¯s. He was 48 years old, the same age as his mother. He looked personable and handsome, and he was also well-educated. He had a luxury jewelry company that had a solid structure and was financially stable. Hence, his mother wouldn¡¯t have to worry about finances. Besides, his mother had already known him for a couple of years because of work, thus, she was certain of his personality and sincerity.


    Previously, Park Eun-Soo had only dated three months before marrying, so she was extremely cautious after what happened with her ex-husband, but she told Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee that the Uncle was a good person.


    ¡°If Mother wants to get married to him, I don¡¯t object to it,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°In that case, tell Mother not to worry about us. You should be the one telling her instead of me. She will feel less awkward that way too,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s better for you to tell her. If you tell her first, Mom will feel more at ease. What I¡¯m trying to say is that she¡¯s been walking on eggshells around you when it comes to this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    If Woo-Hee said that, it must be true. He had not thought about the fact that it was more difficult and embarrassing for his mother to talk to her own son about this, as compared to talking to her daughter. Hence, his mother would have no choice but to be cautious and walk on eggshells until Woo-Jin brought it up first.


    After Woo-Jin nodded and agreed, perhaps Woo-Hee felt relieved, she decided to do something nice for him.


    ¡°Should I prepare some food for you?¡± asked Woo-Hee.


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly the time to have breakfast though,¡± responded Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You will never skip your lunch, right? In that case, I¡¯ll make you a sandwich with a lot of tomatoes and lettuce.¡±


    Woo-Hee left the room, with her precious autograph from Song Jae-Hee in her hands, and Woo-Jin followed behind her. Now that he had woken up, he wanted to wash up before eating anything.


    ¡°By the way, what are those rag-like slippers? Is it a movie prop?¡± Woo-Hee asked as she pointed to the worn-out slippers while preparing the ingredients.


    A pair of slippers that were held together with tape and strings were placed in the corner of the hallway. She was going to get rid of it because it smelled bad, but she left it there just in case he still needed it.


    ¡°Of course not. I saw an old man wearing those slippers at the subway station last night. I was kind of worried for some reason, so I switched shoes with him.¡±


    Yesterday, he went to a photoshoot for a commercial. On his way home, he happened to see an old man picking up waste papers at the subway station. Looking at the slippers tied with strings that barely held them together, Woo-Jin approached the old man and suggested to him to wear his slippers. Fortunately, their feet were the same size, so Woo-Jin came home wearing the old man¡¯s slippers instead.


    ¡°Wow~ are you that kind?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m kind¡­ I¡¯m just doing that to go to heaven.¡±


    It was neither sympathy nor compassion. Woo-Jin had realized how cold-blooded and cruel his soul was after remembering his past lives. His soul basically had a cold heart that had no compassion for humans. Fortunately, he was no longer like that in the present day. However, was he heartless, or indifferent? Fundamentally speaking, he was not interested in anybody except his friends and family.


    Compared to his past lives, if one were to argue that these emotions had evolved, it could be said that Chae Woo-Jin was kind. However, he was still lacking a lot of compassion. Hence, he decided to make a conscious effort in becoming more attentive and considerate towards other people. Since he kept getting reincarnated, he could not be sure if there was heaven or hell, but if they existed, he was worried that he might end up going to hell. He had never committed any major sins in his current life, but if he were to take all the sins he had committed throughout his past lives into account, his soul was bound to go to hell.


    ¡®I have to lighten my negative karma, even if it¡¯s by a little!¡¯


    For all he knew, perhaps he might end up being dragged in front of the king of the netherworld without reincarnating after he died for the thousandth time. That¡¯s why Woo-Jin was determined to do a lot of good deeds in this lifetime. Giving his sneakers to an old man who was collecting waste paper was only the beginning. Fortunately, he had been donating to charities by chance since a few years ago, he wasn''t starting from zero in terms of accumulating points to go to heaven.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting old. You¡¯re worrying about the afterlife,¡± commented Woo-Hee.


    ¡°How disrespectful.¡±


    After tossing the smelly slippers in the trash bag outside, Woo-Jin washed his hands and walked towards the piano in the living room. Originally, the piano was supposed to be in Woo-Jin¡¯s room, but Woo-Hee wanted to learn how to play it too so it had been placed to one side of the living room instead. Their mother, who was very good at playing the piano, had been very delighted and was having a lot of fun teaching Woo-Hee how to play these days.


    ¡°Do you have a song request?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Beethoven¡¯s Moonlight Sonata! The sound always expresses its essence, hehehe!¡± answered Woo-Hee.


    As she was holding the knife she was cutting the tomatoes with, Woo-Hee smiled insidiously.


    ¡°I get the Moonlight Sonata part, but what do you mean by the second half of your sentence?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a manhwa in which the male protagonist is a very talented pianist. That¡¯s what the side character says when she sees the male protagonist play Moonlight Sonata.¡±


    ¡°Ahh~¡±


    It seemed like the cause of Woo-Hee¡¯s sudden interest in piano could be found in one of the manhwa books occupying her bookshelf. Woo-Jin sat down and started playing Moonlight Sonata without the sheet music.


    Even though Woo-Hee had requested the song, she did not think that Woo-Jin was actually going to play it. As they were siblings who shared the same childhood, she knew that Woo-Jin had only started learning the piano recently. Furthermore, when she saw him trying to play the song without looking at the sheet music, she lamented that her brother was going to continue bluffing to that extent. However, when Woo-Jin started playing the first movement, Woo-Hee stopped cutting the tomatoes and looked at her brother.


    It might be different for others, but when Woo-Hee listened to Moonlight Sonata, she was reminded of the gentle hand of the moonlight as it made its way through the dark night. It tried to open the window that was tightly shut, carefully and covertly, before attempting to lovingly persuade it to open. In the end, it would lose control of its emotions and shake violently. She had listened to the song after reading about it in the manhwa because it had piqued her curiosity. When she heard it, the illustrations of the scene in the manhwa overlapped with the music making her feel a surge of emotions. She was unable to do anything for a while as she listened to Woo-Jin¡¯s piano playing, which was as good at stirring emotions as other pianists.


    ¡°Where is my sandwich?¡± asked Woo-Jin, who looked behind at Woo-Hee after playing all three movements.


    Woo-Hee, who was still standing still holding onto a knife, snapped out of her trance and came to her senses.


    ¡°Hang on. It¡¯s almost done. By the way, how are you playing the piano so well even without sheet music? I definitely know all about your past. You never learned how to play the piano, did you?¡±


    Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were in the same situation, where they did not have the luxury of time and money to learn an instrument as they were busy trying to survive. Even if Woo-Jin started slightly earlier, it was impossible that he could play this well in such a short span of time.


    ¡°Even though I just started learning not too long ago, I¡¯ve been practicing how to play the piano in my head before that. As I did that, I ended up memorizing the sheet music.¡±


    This was a more realistic justification than saying that he used to be a musician in his past life, and that he had suddenly remembered every detail of all his past lives when he woke up one day.


    ¡°How is this fair? We have the same genes, but I can¡¯t do it!¡± complained Woo-Hee.


    ¡°That¡¯s the difference between dominant and recessive genes,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Are you dissing me?¡±


    As Woo-Hee was quibbling about how ludicrous it was, she was still holding on to the knife. She had not thought about letting go of that knife at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that I have the recessive gene,¡± responded Woo-Jin.


    ¡°So why can¡¯t I do it?¡± asked Woo-Hee.


    ¡°That¡¯s because geniuses have always been arrogant and don¡¯t make any effort.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that! I guess I¡¯ve been a little arrogant these days.¡±


    Seeing Woo-Hee contemplating things while holding on to her knife, Woo-Jin asked her when he could have his sandwich in a cautious manner. After many twists and turns, Woo-Jin finally went into his room to eat the sandwich that Woo-Hee had made for him. He checked his phone for any missed calls and texts that came while he was gone. He blinked. He had a missed call from an unknown number, but after he had looked at the text message that came from the same number, he realized that it was not unknown at all.


    [This is Kwon Ji-Ah, the casting director of DS Entertainment. I tried calling you, but you didn''t answer, so I decided to send you a message instead. DS is very interested in working with you. That¡¯s why we contacted you first to discuss us moving forward together in the future. Please send us a text message with your availability so we can contact you accordingly. We can also do a video call if you¡¯d like.]


    1. The original Korean idiom used was ???? ??? which is directly translated as focusing on the ritual¡¯s food than the ritual itself. It means to focus on the useless personal interest rather than the important tasks <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. This is ???, which is a middle-aged man. A man close enough to be called ¡®uncle¡¯ but of no blood relations. Can also be used as a general address for middle-aged men. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 22

    At the end of the message, Ji-Ah had attached the link to the company¡¯s website, where a short introduction of her was written, just in case Woo-Jin was doubtful or suspicious of the text message. It seemed like she had mentioned doing a video call so he could match her face to the picture on the website. In any case, if he were to personally make a trip down to their office, he would be able to learn the validity of this text message, so it was not a big deal. What surprised Woo-Jin was the content of the message. It was surprising that DS was interested in him but even harder to believe the part where she said they wanted to discuss moving forward together. He thought that even if DS contacted him, he would have to audition first, and then make a decision before signing the contract.


    That was a reasonable guess on Woo-Jin¡¯s part as an unknown rookie without any achievements yet. He had never imagined receiving a call from them, offering to sign a contract and discussing working together. He even read the message a couple of times to see if there was anything hidden between the lines. After checking Kwon Ji-Ah¡¯s face on the website, Woo-Jin replied to her message, telling her that he was free to do a video call right now.


    ***


    After speaking with Kwon Ji-Ah on Sunday, things moved quickly. Without going through any other parties, Woo-Jin had a private one-on-one interview with DS Entertainment¡¯s CEO Jang Su-Hwan directly on Monday.


    ¡°You look better in person.¡±


    That was CEO Jang Su-Hwan¡¯s first impression of Woo-Jin. He had thought that Woo-Jin was very good-looking, after looking at his videos and photos countless times prior. However, those videos and photos could not be compared to how Woo-Jin looked in real life ¡ª he looked so perfect in person. He was dressed unfashionably and plainly, but if he were to receive the same amount of treatment and care as the other celebrities, he would definitely stand out.


    ¡°Oh my, scrutinizing one¡¯s appearance is a habit of mine; it comes with my job. Have a seat. We haven¡¯t signed the contract yet but it¡¯s fine if I speak casually to you, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d prefer that too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you have a nice voice too. It¡¯s a pity we don¡¯t get to hear such a nice voice on Glooming Day.¡±


    In his usual relaxed and confident body language and voice, CEO Jang Su-Hwan frankly evaluated Woo-Jin. Perhaps he was satisfied with his decision ¡ª the look on his face softened and his smile grew bigger.


    ¡°You must have been very surprised to receive our call, right?¡± asked Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°What were your first thoughts? You can be honest.¡±


    It was uncertain what kind of answer CEO Jang was expecting, but he had a strange look on his face. It seemed as though he wanted to hear what Woo-Jin thought of DS.


    ¡°I could not tell if the people in your agency were insane or if I was delusional and unable to comprehend what I was reading. Are you really going to sign a contract with me?¡±


    They were immediately offering to sign a contract with him without asking him to audition first, and it was DS, of all agencies, who contacted him first. He would be crazy if he blindly believed that.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you want to sign with our agency, we will sign the contract right here, right now.¡±


    ¡°Without an audition?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but there isn¡¯t any issue on my end because I have already seen your portfolio.¡±


    It had been almost two months since G&C¡¯s CEO Choi recommended Chae Woo-Jin to him. Over the course of those two months, CEO Jang Su-Hwan hadn¡¯t just been thinking it over.


    ¡°To be honest, when I was deciding whether or not to sign the contract with you, I had several concerns of my own. However, after hearing the comments of the two people I asked to evaluate you, I was determined to recruit you.¡± continued Jang Su-Hwan.


    For Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s case, while Jang Su-Hwan cared about the opinions of the people who recommended Woo-Jin, he himself was also interested in Woo-Jin. Nevertheless, he had been hesitant to sign the contract with Woo-Jin because if he were to sign him with their agency, he was certain that things would get messy with TM. Additionally, while he himself did not seem to be aware of it, Woo-Jin¡¯s family history would inevitably pose a problem in the future.


    Jang Su-Hwan wanted to become the Medici of the entertainment industry and he had been working hard to make it a reality. Some people saw him as nothing more than a businessman who made money from the entertainment industry. However, at the very least, Jang Su-Hwan was doing his best to protect his artistes. He had also supported them to the best of his ability to ensure that they could produce their best work in the most optimal environment. However, what Jang Su-Hwan hated the most were the messy scandals that were riddled with rumors. He could not stand the fact that his artistes couldn¡¯t focus on their work as a result of that, as well as the company suffering from criticisms internally and externally.


    Furthermore, Jang Su-Hwan¡¯s family was opposed to him entering the entertainment industry because they were afraid that his business would have a negative impact on the group¡¯s image. Taking that into consideration, he had to be more careful.


    Recently, large conglomerates had been stepping up and entering the entertainment industry. However, Jang Su-Hwan¡¯s family was much more on the conservative side, so they were still against the idea of dabbling in the entertainment industry. That¡¯s why whenever a person was selected, everything from their personality to their environment would be scrutinized. Regardless of how much DS wanted to recruit them, if there was a major problem, that person would be ruthlessly abandoned.


    However, even though Chae Woo-Jin could potentially bring about a couple of problems in the future, Jang Su-Hwan could not let go of him. Apart from those potential problems that could arise, Chae Woo-Jin had an attractive appearance, as well as checking off all the other boxes. Coupled with the hunches that Jang Su-Hwan had as a result of being in this industry for so many years, it made it hard for him to give up on Woo-Jin that easily. He had to contemplate for a long time whether Chae Woo-Jin was worth signing a contract with, and being prepared to deal with all the issues. However, he could not come to a conclusion, and so, he ultimately turned to the two directors.


    ¡°I personally asked Director Moon Seung-Kwon and Director Choi Yi-Geon what kind of actor you are,¡± said Jang Su-Hwan.


    Jang Su-Hwan himself had personally contacted the two directors. Since it was very rare for Jang Su-Hwan to personally come forward because of a contract with an actor, they could tell how concerned he was.


    ¡°One could not stop singing your praises but there was only one conclusion. As for the other person, he did not particularly shower you with any compliments, he only said one thing. However, both of them said the same thing. They want to make a movie with you as the male lead.¡±


    The first person was a renowned veteran, a director who represented Korea¡¯s film industry. The second person was a rising contender known for his unique style and new way of directing; a director who was more established abroad as compared to Korea. The former was a typical director at the box office; the latter was a director who pursued art films and had won several awards at film festivals abroad.


    Chae Woo-Jin was acknowledged by these two individuals, who had very different dispositions, as an actor.


    ¡°Furthermore, both of them sent me some of the edits of their movies on their own accord without me asking for them. I looked at them and came to the decision that I want you as one of DS¡¯ actors,¡± continued Jang Su-Hwan.


    Truth be told, Jang Su-Hwan fell in love with Chae Woo-Jin as an actor the instant he watched the edited clips of the movies. On top of having good looks and outstanding acting skills, Chae Woo-Jin also had a great screen presence and aura ¡ª qualities an actor should possess. Jang Su-Hwan couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Woo-Jin the entire time until the scene was over.


    ¡°You¡¯re a great actor.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for liking my work. However, I¡¯m a little worried. They were good only because the directors did a good job directing the movies.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not confident about future projects?¡± asked Jang Su-Hwan in an offhand manner, as he had come across many people who were humble and modest.


    ¡°Regardless of whether I am confident or not, I am now relying on my own efforts and sincerity. However, I am worried because I am very well-aware of the fact that I am not the best version of myself at the moment. While I will continue to work hard and do my best, I also know that hard work doesn¡¯t necessarily yield the best results.¡±


    Whether it was the end of his trainee days that had happened recently, or the countless experiences he had gone through in his previous lives in the distant past, Woo-Jin knew the bitterness of life all too well. He knew that hard work did not always yield the best results, and that good luck in the beginning did not guarantee a happy ending.


    In truth, he had been very lucky recently. He was fortunate enough to meet people who thought well of him and had fun working together with them. However, it was scary at the same time for him as well. How long was this good luck going to last? He was afraid that he would not be able to overcome trials and tribulations with his own strength and effort without luck on his side.


    Hence, he came to think more favorably about signing a contract with an agency. Initially, he wanted to be on his own for a while because of his experience with his previous agency. However, Song Jae-Hee¡¯s attempt to convince him had a huge impact. An agency would offer a much higher level of protection against external threats that he would be defenseless against by himself. He felt that an agency was trustworthy if their artistes trusted and relied on them. However, Woo-Jin was no longer the naive person that he was back then ¡ª someone who felt happy and excited just by landing a contract with an agency.


    ¡°In other words, progressive effort? I like that answer better. There are a lot of young people these days who mistakenly believe that they can become stars right away after receiving compliments from people around them and believing in their own skills, which are lacking to begin with. What you are trying to say is that you have not reached the level you want to be at yet, and you don¡¯t know what will happen in the future, and you¡¯re worried that if you were to blindly sign a contract with us, you might end up being mistreated, right?¡±


    CEO Jang Su-Hwan picked up on the emotions that Woo-Jin struggled to express. Woo-Jin¡¯s previous agency, TM, was one of the few agencies that were recognized in Korea, but it could not be compared to DS. Just like the saying that there would always be someone better, DS¡¯ status, planning ability, etc. were by far the best and they did not lack anything. However, there was no guarantee that DS wouldn¡¯t do the same thing to Woo-Jin, like what TM did previously.


    In the entertainment industry, people were thoroughly exploited instead of being tossed aside, and the agencies were at the apex of the entertainment industry. They were places that were capable of committing menacing acts that were worse than abandoning an artist without any guilt.


    ¡°I am well-aware that in my current circumstances, if DS offers to sign a contract with me, I have to accept it. This is because this is as good as it gets. To be honest, I don¡¯t know what you saw in me, but you are known to have good judgment, so I think that you must have a good reason for choosing me. If there is something I lack, there must be a way for me to make up for it.¡±


    Upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words, CEO Jang Su-Hwan nodded with satisfaction. This was because he was confident that DS was the best agency when it came to supporting and helping celebrities and artists.


    ¡°However, I don¡¯t want it to be a sponsorship,¡± said Woo-Jin. [1]


    ¡°...!¡±


    At first, Jang Su-Hwan was taken aback and confused by what Woo-Jin said, but eventually it was cleared up. In the report containing Chae Woo-Jin''s information, according to the statement from TM, there was discord amongst the members in his group. However, Jang Su-Hwan could not comprehend their decision because if he was the CEO of TM, he would never let Woo-Jin go. Even if the group couldn¡¯t debut together due to internal discord, it was not the end of his journey. With his good looks and great singing skills, he could have been placed in a new idol group, or groomed into an actor. TM had quite a number of actors as well, so it wasn¡¯t like they were out of options. However, the CEO chose to drop Woo-Jin instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m only asking just in case...did TM by any chance¡­¡±


    ¡°TM said that they would not let me debut if I did not accept the sponsorship,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°So did you accept it?¡± asked Jang Su-Hwan.


    ¡°Of course not. When I rejected it, they threatened me, saying that I have to spend the rest of my life as a trainee.¡±


    ¡°But they let you go.¡±


    If they had threatened him, it meant that they did not intend to let Chae Woo-Jin go that easily, but that was not in line with the outcome.


    ¡°I recorded my conversation with TM''s CEO. I used that to threaten him a little,¡± explained Woo-Jin.


    Sponsorships had to be kept confidential. That¡¯s why the CEO had personally contacted Woo-Jin and made the secret proposal. According to the standard practice, it was common for subordinates to step in and handle issues, but if the problem became more severe, the CEO would nip the problem in the bud while feigning ignorance.


    He speculated that the sponsor must have been an important figure who needed things to stay confidential since the CEO had personally stepped in to handle it. In any case, because of that, Woo-Jin was able to terminate the contract without much repercussions or rumors within the company.


    ¡°So you were the one who wanted to leave TM and not the other way around. Did you give them the recording?¡± asked Jang Suhwan.


    ¡°I gave that to him,¡± answered Woo-Jin.


    ¡°That?¡±


    ¡°There was no way that the CEO would have spoken to me only once or twice. I recorded everything each time, but I had only revealed the existence of the last recording.¡±


    In order to not let the CEO find out about the other recordings, Woo-Jin had pretended to be naive and told the CEO that he had recorded their conversation on the spot. He had acted as though he had recorded the conversation only on that day because he could not take it any longer, intentionally pretending to be excited so that it seemed believable. Woo-Jin had told the CEO that if he did not terminate the contract immediately, he would send the recording to the media and spread it to the public. Fortunately, it worked out. Needless to say, everything would blow up and the CEO was reluctant to let other employees know about the sponsorship issues, that¡¯s why, he called in a lawyer and terminated Woo-Jin¡¯s contract on the spot. In return, Woo-Jin had to give the CEO the phone with the voice recording in it.


    1. Most of the time these sponsorships require sexual favors from the artists in Korea. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 23

    The CEO had rushed to resolve the matter since he did not want to give Woo-Jin any opportunity to save a backup copy of the voice recording; he did not know that Woo-Jin handing over his phone was a ruse from the get go to avoid further suspicion. TM''s CEO had always thought of Woo-Jin as an innocent and kindhearted young lad. However, innocence did not equate to stupidity; people often got them mixed up. It was a mistake that was usually made by people who only saw schemes as either an act of conspiracy or an insidious act.


    ¡°Got it. However, what is the reason why you¡¯re telling me this? What if I did the same thing to you as TM''s CEO did? Now that I know about it, I could be more crafty, right? Or are you telling me about it because you trust that I will never do that to you?¡±


    Jang Su-Hwan would not do something like that, but he was curious about Woo-Jin¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°For the time being, I trust Song Jae-Hee¡¯s words, but I don¡¯t know what will happen in the future. That¡¯s why I told you about it. I want you to state it explicitly in the contract. I would like you to put it down in black and white that the contract would be automatically terminated if either the company or myself propose or consent to sponsorships.¡±


    According to what Song Jae-Hee mentioned in passing, DS had zero tolerance when it came to their own artistes making any sponsorship agreements in private. She told him, somewhat pridefully, that if they were caught, they would be kicked out of the agency with immediate effect. She encouraged Woo-Jin to join DS, telling him to trust her and that joining DS would be good for him.


    However, just like he hadn¡¯t known that TM would do something like that, he did not know what DS would do behind the scenes as well. Hence, by being upfront about it ahead of time, he was preventing it from happening entirely. He knew that not all celebrities had sponsorships, as well as the fact that not all agencies recommended sponsorships. Nonetheless, Woo-Jin¡¯s past experience made him want to err on the side of caution. Just in case DS proposed to their artistes to accept sponsorships, he needed a smokescreen to ensure they would not do it to him.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, I¡¯m more than happy to do that for you. I am someone who thinks that celebrities are artisets who represent the modern times. Artistes should be judged based on their work and talent, and make a name for themselves through that. I have no tolerance for anything else that degrades or cheapens them.¡±


    When Jang Su-Hwan first entered the entertainment world and opened his agency, there were many businessmen and politicians who offered sponsorships to his artistes. If he had accepted their proposals, it would make him no different from a pimp. It was absurd. In a way, their actions could be seen as an insult to him, that was why, he had given it some time and gotten back at them one step at a time.


    Fortunately, he had the resources, power and finances to pull it off. The businessmen who had made such a proposal had either become bankrupt or had lost management rights and authority, thus becoming insignificant people. Politicians and civil servants in high positions had also lost all power and authority, disappearing from the public eye.


    According to Jang Su-Hwan, people who only see the arts as a tool for satisfying one¡¯s sexual desires, instead of appreciating it, were a menace to society.


    ¡°Sponsorships were not originally meant as a sexual transaction; the purpose behind them has been strangely distorted. In DS, I¡¯m the only sponsor. As a lover of the arts, I started this agency because I wanted to genuinely support, protect and care for my artistes, helping them to bloom and reach their potential.¡±


    Jang Su-Hwan chuckled out loud, and asked Woo-Jin, ¡°There needs to be one or two other wealthy people who do the same thing as me, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Chae Woo-Jin agreed with him, making him feel very happy.


    If there were agencies like TM that pushed for disreputable sponsorships, then there were also cases where it was the other way around. There were quite a number of celebrities that personally got themselves sponsorship deals as a means to attain quick success and wealth causing the agencies to end up being in a pickle instead. Even if these people were selected in the beginning, the CEOs were unaware of the dark desires of their hearts and ended up being stabbed in the back by these artistes instead. In that regard, Jang Su-Hwan and Chae Woo-Jin were on the same page.


    ¡°There is also something else I¡¯d like to tell you,¡± said Woo-Jin. Unlike Jang Su-Hwan, who was in a good mood, Woo-Jin still maintained a serious look on his face.


    ¡°Go ahead and tell me anything that¡¯s on your mind. Before signing the contract, we have to iron out all the details and reach an agreement.¡±


    ¡°If I sign a contract with DS and do well, it is highly likely that TM will harass me,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You¡¯re aware of that?¡±


    Woo-Jin nodded in response to Jang Su-Hwan¡¯s question. Judging from his reaction, Jang Su-Hwan seemed quite surprised.


    TM had the tendency of obsessing over valuable artistes that got away. However, they were not like that with every single one of them. TM allowed those who had already been famous at the time they joined the agency or those who left after becoming famous by debuting under TM to leave without bearing any grudges against this group of celebrities. But, that was not the case for trainees or artistes who had debuted under TM and were unsuccessful, so they would leave only to eventually gain recognition elsewhere.


    It wasn¡¯t that TM wanted them to come back to their agency. Instead, they wanted to destroy those artistes, ruining their chances of success entirely. That was how their obsession worked. It was as though TM were trying to show that they let them go because those artistes had issues to begin with, not because the agency themselves had poor judgment. Their modus operandi was so subtle and uncommon that the public was still not fully aware of it.


    Truth be told, if one were to think about it, how many stars did TM successfully produce? Furthermore, instead of destroying these artistes personally, they used the help of a third party to create terrible scandals that would lead to the demise of their entertainment careers. They also had strong ties with some reporters that specialized in dirty work like this, hence, things had always gone smoothly for them.


    ¡°Not many people in the industry know about TM''s shady actions. Indeed, the biggest reason why I hesitated signing a contract with you was because you used to be TM''s trainee. Nonetheless, I¡¯ve made my decision, and that means that I will deal with everything. But how did you know about it? They are very sly.¡±


    He had wondered about it, but when he heard that Jang Su-Hwan had already known about it, Woo-Jin finally felt at ease. He realized that even if he didn¡¯t talk about it,  he had unknowingly been worried about it. The moment Woo-Jin learned the truth about TM, he had been looking for an agency that would protect himself.


    ¡°To be honest, I only found out about it recently. No, I felt it. Recently, a trainee, who was a few years my senior, was caught up in a scandal. I saw how he got destroyed. Thereafter, I looked at all the other cases and found out that they had all left the entertainment industry in a similar fashion. I also came to learn that it was always the same couple of reporters that raised the initial doubt and presented the evidence to the public,¡± explained Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Lee Hyung-Jin.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s scandal had recently shaken up the entertainment industry. After being a trainee at TM for a considerable amount of time, he eventually left for another agency. At the beginning of this year, he started to gain some recognition. He went on a variety-music TV program and was recognized for his great singing skills. Every single song he had released swept the charts. He was truly on a roll. He had also become more famous by appearing in commercial films, as well as all kinds of variety shows. It would not be an overstatement to say that Lee Hyung-Jin was certainly the number one rookie who shone in the first half of the year.


    However, one day, rumors started to circulate. It was said that Lee Hyung-Jin was a bully back when he was in school, and that a fellow student had committed suicide because of the bullying, which had been instigated by him. One by one, testimonies from his former classmates surfaced, and the photo of him and the student that committed suicide was released. Apparently, it was a photo of Lee Hyung-Jin grabbing his friend by the neck. While it was hard to see his friend¡¯s face due to the angle, Lee Hyung-Jin was smiling brightly in the photo, thus resulting in a bigger uproar.


    ¡°I heard that the news of the death of his friend was truly shocking to Hyung-Jin. They were really good friends. When I first met him, he was very deep in his slump to the point he could hardly sing. His friends at school were not exactly model students, but they were not school bullies either. They used to hang out quite a bit together, but I heard that after Hyung-Jin became a trainee, he spent less and less time with them. During that time, some of those friends turned into actual bullies and started bullying Hyung-Jin¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that not only did they hide the truth, they had also distorted it?¡± asked Jang Su-Hwan.


    There was so much evidence and testimonies against Lee Hyung-Jin that even Jang Su-Hwan, who knew that TM was behind a lot of scandals, had also thought that Lee Hyung-Jin was guilty. The reason why Jang Su-Hwan had been very invested in this incident was because he had been extremely interested in poaching Lee Hyung-Jin before the rumors circulated. Since Hyung-Jin had already signed with another agency at that time, Jang Su-Hwan had been stuck in a dilemma about whether he should wait until the end of Hyung-Jin¡¯s contract with them, or if he should pay the penalty and recruit him right away.


    Since it did not happen often, Jang Su-Hwan had chosen to overlook the relationship between TM and Lee Hyung-Jin briefly. However, when the scandal broke out, he was reminded of the atrocities that TM had committed. Around the same time, people recommended Chae Woo-Jin to him and Jang Su-Hwan had a lot more to contemplate over.


    ¡°Hyung-Jin said that he had only found out later on that his friend had been bullied. One time when he was drunk, he cried as he told me how hard it had been at that time. Of course, I had only heard his side of the story, but I¡¯d like to believe that a person who was drunk and not in the right mind would not have intentionally lied to me. I¡¯ve also seen the picture that has gone viral on the internet in Hyung-Jin¡¯s wallet. It was taken when they were fooling around. Even though his friend¡¯s face could not be seen, he said that he treasures that photo because it was the last photo he had taken with his friend.¡±


    However, the truth had been buried, and Lee Hyung-Jin had turned into a murderer who drove his friend to death. The only people who sided with him was the family of his deceased friend who had committed suicide. Lee Hyung-Jin was at the funeral the entire time, and even now, six years later, he still visited his friend every year on the anniversary of his death. However, that meant absolutely nothing to the public who was already biased against him.


    When an article that served to clarify the truth was released, another article that rebutted it surfaced again, portraying Lee Hyung-Jin as a shameless person who wore a mask to deceive the bereaved. They were persistently bent on destroying him, making it so that Lee Hyung-Jin had no chance of recovery at all.


    According to something Woo-Jin had heard before, one of the students who instigated the bullying was the son of a wealthy man. Additionally, his uncle, who was a prosecutor, intervened and everything was taken care of and covered up despite the presence of a suicide note. Woo-Jin, who still remembered how it made Lee Hyung-Jin even angrier to the point of exploding, had been absolutely taken aback.


    The friend¡¯s family were only ordinary citizens with no power, and Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s current agency was just a small to medium-sized agency. They had no power to protect him. Even if the truth were to be exposed later on, it would be hard for things to go back to how they used to be since once a person¡¯s image was to get ruined, it would be difficult for them to undo the damage done.


    It was apparent that there were bound to be some people who would not believe the actual truth and stick to the distorted facts to the very end, and be distrustful of Lee Hyung-Jin. The existence of prejudice against celebrities that could not be shaken off was so fatal to them that it was uncertain whether or not they could recover from it. That was TM''s goal.


    Even if the truth were to be revealed later on, the public would always be suspicious of them. Once distrust was established, people were generally unreceptive to new evidence. It was human psychology to not want to admit their own mistakes when it came to blaming innocent people. There were several people who had forgotten about the rumors and were not interested in the truth that was revealed later on.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first movie, Death Hill, was set to be released three weeks from now. Glooming Day would also be released six to seven weeks from now. It was still uncertain whether or not his movies would become a box office hit. Even if they were, it was highly likely that Woo-Jin¡¯s name would not be noticed. However, from now on, no one knew what TM would do to him as he made his first earnest step into the entertainment industry.


    TM always attacked the artistes on their hit list just before they became famous, when their fandom was still weak and when they still lacked the strength to resist. That was because it was the best time for them to get rid of these artistes easily.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much TM can use against me. I only studied hard in school, and I did not have any enemies. I only had friends who were similar to me, and I haven¡¯t fallen out with anybody yet. The only thing they can potentially use against me is the fact that I got taken out of the pre-debut group due to the discord among the members, and that I was terminated from TM,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    Even if they wanted to frame him or start some rumors, there needed to be some basis. However, they didn¡¯t have any dirt on Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Nonetheless, a few years ago, there was a female artiste who completely disappeared from the big screen after leaving TM, due to rumors of her having a sponsor. For some reason, I have a feeling that they might do something similar to me. Either that, or using testimonies of the members from my pre-debut group to portray me as complete trash,¡± added Woo-Jin.


    It was without a doubt that someone else must have taken over Woo-Jin¡¯s place that he had rejected. Woo-Jin could guess who he was, but if a scandal broke out, he had a feeling that his name would be brought up instead of that person¡¯s name. Either that, or that there would be rumors circulating that he was the person behind the discord among the members, causing him to be unable to debut with the group in the end.


    In any case, there were five of them. If they corroborated their stories well and said the right things, it would not be surprising if Woo-Jin was portrayed as the villain. Jang Su-Hwan had searched and reviewed everything pertaining to Chae Woo-Jin. He knew that there was nothing in his past that might pose a problem. The only thing was the discord among the idol group, known as Blue Fit, where Chae Woo-Jin was the victim, a fact that Jang Su-Hwan had already known.


    Woo-Jin did not know but Jang Su-Hwan had already gathered all evidence and materials pertaining to him. Hence, even if he were to get attacked, they would be able to defend him sufficiently.


    However, no one knew when the two ticking time bombs would go off - 1. The secret about Woo-Jin¡¯s father¡¯s family; 2. False rumors that could be spread in the future. Nonetheless, Jang Su-Hwan who had considered everything was confident that he could deal with it. Hence, he decided to work with Woo-Jin. The increase in the number of possible circumstances that could arise did not change anything.

 Chapter 24

    ¡°If we knew with certainty how they would operate, then it would allow us to prepare,¡± said Jang Su-Hwan.


    DS was better than TM when it came to utilizing the media. If TM''s CEO was smart, the wisest thing for him to do would be to leave Chae Woo-Jin, who was now a DS artist, alone. Truthfully, Jang Su-Hwan thought it was highly likely that things would pan out that way. He wanted to believe that TM''s CEO was not foolish enough to do anything reckless to DS.


    ¡°Most importantly, I have clear evidence,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you really did a good job with the voice recordings. Nothing can top that. However, what are we going to do about the discord among your former group members? There are five people on their side, so we¡¯re at a disadvantage.¡±


    Even though they had already secured the evidence, Jang Su-Hwan wanted to know what Woo-Jin thought.


    ¡°Do you think that I only recorded my conversations with TM''s CEO? Besides those recordings, I also have videos.¡±


    Jang Su-Hwan stared blankly at Woo-Jin, who was smiling, for a moment. He knew that Woo-Jin was smart, but he had assumed that was only the case when it came to academics. He did not expect Woo-Jin to be able to adapt to circumstances that well.


    As a matter of fact, it was Woo-Jin¡¯s friend, Hyun-Min, who suggested that he take video and audio recordings. When Hyun-Min found out that he was being bullied by the other members, Hyun-Min had told him that he needed to collect evidence first. Hyun-Min taught him how to secretly record videos and gave him all kinds of recording equipment. Hyun-Min also added that he should take multiple recordings at the same time, because if the members were to find one of the recordings, he would still have the remaining ones as a backup. Thanks to that, he had been able to capture the conversation where the CEO proposed a sponsorship deal to him as well, which happened around the same time.


    When Hyun-Min saw the video of Woo-Jin being beaten up by the other members, he lost his cool and went all the way to his dorm to kick up a fuss about the matter. However, neither one of them revealed the existence of the video. Even though it was not guaranteed when he would use it, Woo-Jin kept the videos as an insurance since nobody knew what would happen in the future.


    When Jang Su-Hwan met Woo-Jin¡¯s eye for a moment, they laughed at the same time. Jang Su-Hwan liked how Chae Woo-Jin was unpredictable in this manner. He was not bad at all. Woo-Jin was a very charming actor on screen, and in reality, he was bright and wise. There was no one else this perfect.


    ¡°So now, it¡¯s time to discuss our contract.¡±


    With the last obstacle out of their way, there was no need to hold off on it any further or reassess anything.


    ***


    While preparing dinner for his mother who had just gotten off work, Woo-Jin told her about what happened today.


    ¡°Mother, I signed a contract with DS today.¡±


    ¡°DS? What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°DS is an entertainment agency and it¡¯s very well-known. I¡¯ve just signed a contract with them today.¡±


    ¡°Did you look through the contract thoroughly? It¡¯s not a slave contract or an unfair one, right? Your uncle[1] said to look for him if you have to sign any contract. You¡¯ve already signed it?¡±


    While Park Eun-Soo was not interested in the entertainment industry, she closely followed the news about it. She was very concerned about the chronic problem pertaining to contracts within the entertainment industry. Likewise, his uncle seemed to be very concerned too. Woo-Jin laughed when the image of his mother and uncle putting their heads together, worrying about him, came to mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked at every single word carefully, so please do not worry. And please help me thank Uncle for being concerned about me.¡±


    ¡°But still, what happened the last time¡­¡±


    ¡°Although I was young back then, I nitpicked so much to the point that their lawyer got fed up with me; there was nothing wrong with the contract itself. That was why there wasn¡¯t any scandal when I left the agency. It¡¯s no different this time. I caused the lawyer to get fed up again this time and made sure to get the maximum benefits possible.¡±


    Even though they had severed ties with Woo-Jin¡¯s grandfather, his mother was still from a family of legal professionals. While it was still kept under wraps, Woo-Jin was also preparing for the bar exam to fulfill his mother¡¯s wishes. Naturally, he was different from ordinary people who did not know anything about the law, especially since he now possessed memories of his past lives.


    Although they were very different from the law in the present day, his jobs in his past lives had been related to the law. That¡¯s why he was well-versed in the principles and ways of living in this world. Not to mention, Woo-Jin had been an Italian mafia boss based in New York in the life just before this current one. He had been forced to take over as the boss because it was a family business, but he had still made a name for himself in the world as a remarkable mafia boss. The fact he had been able to survive in the dark world of that era and die of old age instead of an unnatural death was proof of his competence. He had been so notorious that if one were to search his name on the internet, they would be able to find a lot of information about him.


    Although he had been a person who wanted to become an artist, as an avid collector of famous paintings and old books, he had lived a life where he was above the law, dominating over others. He had mastered the ways of escaping the law and illegalities, which were known as the evils of the world.


    However, despite all the knowledge he possessed, as well as his memories, Woo-Jin¡¯s core was so firm and strong that his character and nature did not change. There was no way for someone like Woo-Jin to sign a contract with a mere agency when that contract was unfavorable to him.


    ¡°First, we are splitting the earnings evenly at the start. Thereafter, we will be allocating the earnings using the sliding scale instead based on the amount of money I earn, which will cause the ratio to change at all times.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re using the sliding scale, it means that the more you earn, the bigger the share you get, right?¡± asked Woo-Jin¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Yeah, originally, the contract pertaining to the distribution of earnings would only be renewed every one to two years depending on the circumstances, but I managed to change it to once every six months.¡±


    Right now, it was fifty-fifty, but after he had hit a certain level of income and fame, he would eventually be able to adjust it to twenty-eighty at best, in favor of Woo-Jin of course.


    ¡°Is that a good thing?¡± asked Woo-Jin¡¯s mother.


    ¡°It is bad if I don¡¯t get any jobs or am unable to become successful, but it would be very beneficial for me if I suddenly become famous within a short period of time, and if my earnings suddenly increase because of commercial films or other projects. If the ratio changes only every one or two years, the agency would get more money during that period while I end up getting less,¡± explained Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Will that day ever come?¡± asked Park Eun-Soo seriously. She did not sound like she was joking. Because of that, Woo-Jin avoided her gaze and looked like he was about to cry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I¡¯ll be sad,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    One of the reasons why Park Eun-Soo did not want her son to enter the entertainment industry was because his odds of becoming successful were very low. Although she thought he looked very handsome from all angles, she thought it was because she was blinded by her motherly love to a certain extent. She had always underestimated her children¡¯s looks.


    Undoubtedly, whenever she compared her children to other people¡¯s children, she thought her children were certainly considered to be good-looking. However, that was the same for all the other parents. They would always think that their children were the most precious and beautiful people in the world.


    Instead of trusting biased sentiments and reckless bravado, Park Eun-soo had always taught her children how to be humble and pragmatic. Because of how their mother brought them up, both Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee had a tendency to be critical when it came to their own appearances. They spent their entire lives with the mindset that they had to work hard and increase their skill sets in order to survive in the difficult present era where looks were highly valued, as people who lacked in many areas.


    ¡°I will work hard instead,¡± added Woo-Jin.


    One¡¯s efforts would never betray them, but it was not guaranteed that they would lead to success. Even so, Woo-Jin had always lived his life trying his best every time. That was Woo-Jin¡¯s way of loving himself and his family.


    ¡°Yeah, I trust my son. If you are happy doing what you¡¯re doing, I will be happy too.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo hugged her son and patted him on the back. She was worried that she might have been too cold by reminding him to be realistic. However, just as always, Woo-Jin remained resolute and did not waver at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s the same for me. So Mother, you should take the path that will make you happy, without worrying so much about what other people think.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    ¡°I heard from Woo-Hee that Uncle Choi proposed to you. It¡¯s good to think it through carefully, considering all the different factors, but I don¡¯t want you to worry about what we think. I hope that you won¡¯t walk on eggshells. We¡¯re both grown up and we¡¯ll find our own way to make ourselves happy in the future. Similarly, you should find your own happiness. It would be very sad if we¡¯re the obstacles obstructing you from making the choice you want.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo burst into tears when she heard her son¡¯s words. Looking at her son who was smiling as he wiped her tears tenderly, she gently nodded.


    Her first marriage had been decided by her family. They had not considered her feelings or opinions at all. It was an arranged marriage; in any case, she did not have the power to say no from the get go. She had believed that her father would find the right person for her. It had been a marriage that checked off all the boxes, in terms of family, educational background etc. And although it had been a loveless marriage, she had still tried her best to make it work.


    After their children were born and grew older, she had started to fall for her husband. But, it had been nothing more than her own delusion. Even her father resented him after they saw his true colors. That¡¯s why, she did not have any regrets getting a divorce and severing ties with both her husband and her father.


    On the other hand, she had been elated when Choi Min-Woo, the man she was currently dating, proposed to her. Imagining their breakup alone was enough to make her sad and gloomy. However, she could not help but hesitate when it came to accepting his proposal. That was because fulfilling her duties as a mother of two children was more important to her than being a woman in love. However, her children were telling her to live as a woman instead of a mother from now on.


    ¡°Your decision has always been right. That¡¯s why, Woo-Hee and I have always trusted any choice you made, and we have always been happy with it. So don¡¯t worry about anything at all. We will continue to live happily like we always have.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    Seeing his mother, who was smiling brightly and looking more at ease, Woo-Jin smiled too. Even if she made the wrong choice, there was nothing to worry about. It might be difficult and painful at that moment, but as long as they were together as a family, she could always start over.


    After their conversation ended, Woo-Jin went into his room and sat down at the desk. He was determined to study hard even if he had debuted as an actor. Nowadays, celebrities with a good educational background had received a lot of attention on their own because of the great synergy effect. Even though there were not many of them, there were a few of them from Woo-Jin¡¯s college whose value increased and became more popular. Since Woo-Jin had given up on using his looks, he was going to do everything, apart from his skills, that allowed him to catch the attention of the public. If he had a good educational background on top of good grades, people would be interested in him twice as much.


    ¡°Is this what people call attention-seekers?¡±


    As Woo-Jin thought about doing everything he could for the sake of getting attention, he took out the civil law book. Although he had no intention of entering the legal industry, his mother¡¯s greatest wish was for him to pass the bar exam. He wanted to prove to everyone, especially his grandfather, that it wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t do it, he simply had not done it.


    He felt bad for his mother instead of being annoyed by his mother¡¯s desire to prove to everyone that she was able to raise her children well on her own after getting a divorce. His mother was still kept in the dark, but as soon as Woo-Jin had entered college, he had already started preparing for the LEET. If he managed to enroll in all the classes he wanted in the spring semester, he would be able to take all the prerequisite law classes. If that went well, he was planning to give the LEET a try next year.


    Comparing all 999 lives, Woo-Jin had never loved his family as much as he loved his mother and younger sister. That¡¯s why, he wanted to do his best to achieve what both of them wanted. Doing one¡¯s best for their beloved family was a token of affection, not sacrifice.


    ¡°Well, even if I only get through the first round, it will help my fame.¡±


    There was nothing wrong with using that as a stepping stone to help him get closer to achieving his dream. What he had come to realize after living several lives was that studying was always useful.


    ***


    Woo-Jin¡¯s manager looked muscular and fierce enough to be a bodyguard. Nevertheless, he had a pretty name.


    ¡°My name is Kang Ho-Soo. I am 30 this year.¡±


    ¡°I am Chae Woo-Jin. I am 23, so please speak to me casually. How should I address you?¡±


    If he were to add ¡®Mr.¡¯ before Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s name as a young man, It would be rather distant and disrespectful. However, if he were to directly address Kang Ho-Soo ¡®hyung¡¯ without asking for consent, he was worried he might come across as being rude. Woo-Jin was wary of that.


    ¡°If you¡¯re okay with it, you can just call me ¡®hyung¡¯.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will call you Ho-Soo hyung from now on. Please feel free to call me Woo-Jin as well.¡±


    ¡°I am uncomfortable speaking casually from the beginning because I¡¯m rather introverted, but I will try my best.¡±


    Contrary to his appearance, Kang Ho-Soo smiled coyly. It was evident that he was a shy person, but he still had a somewhat scary look on his face. Woo-Jin shook Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s massive hand, but his hand was trembling without realizing it. He had expected Kang Ho-Soo to be a former athlete or soldier, however, he was trained professionally as a manager.


    Kang Ho-Soo also revealed that it had always been his dream to become an executive at DS in the future. When Woo-Jin asked him if his goal was to start his own agency, he said that since he developed good judgment because of DS, he wanted to stay in DS and work his way all the way up, such that the CEO was his only superior.


    ¡°Are you ambitious?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± asserted Kang Ho-Soo with confidence.


    He was as meticulous in his work as he was when it came to his aspirations. Woo-Jin could easily tell how considerate he was.


    ¡°Tomorrow, you will do a health checkup first. The only thing you have to do is start fasting from this evening onwards, and follow the instructions written here. We will meet with a stylist the day after tomorrow, who will get a feel of your overall style. If you have a favorite brand, color, or style, please write it here. I plan to take a picture for your profile after you¡¯re done with styling. Is there any photographer in particular that you want?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo passed to Woo-Jin several sheets of paper containing questions. Within the questionnaire, there were many questions about his date of birth, family relations, detailed information about his educational background up until now, as well as several questions about Woo-Jin¡¯s personal preferences, etc. Basically, they were information that would be very useful to a manager.


    1. This time, it¡¯s blood-related uncle ¡ª mother¡¯s brother <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 25

    ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to learn?¡± asked Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°Anything I¡¯d like to learn?¡±


    Woo-Jin, who was writing down his answers on the questionnaire, lifted his head and looked at Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°Yes, such as musical instruments, foreign languages, etc. Normally, you need to take classes on history and general knowledge, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary in your case. Also, you have some time since your acting classes are put on hold until after your movie gets released - we will decide after looking at it.¡±


    While Woo-Jin was supposed to be trained by his agency on how to conduct himself during interviews, as well as social etiquette, he did not have to take any classes on general knowledge and academic subjects. It was also uncertain whether it was necessary for Woo-Jin, who had been highly praised by the two directors, to take acting classes so they were temporarily held off.


    However, if the agency¡¯s artists were specifically interested in learning other things, they were more than welcome to use the budget allocated for them.


    ¡°If I can learn an instrument, I would like to learn the violin.¡±


    Woo-Jin was now proficient at playing the piano, but he had not gotten an opportunity to learn the violin. He was confident that if he were to practice playing the violin as much as he did with the piano, he could be proficient at it too. Now that this opportunity had finally presented itself, Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was full of anticipation.


    ¡°String instruments are somewhat¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t learn it?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Well, you might get calluses on your hand. Furthermore, violins tend to leave some marks on your jaw,¡± replied Kang Ho-soo.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°You can take those lessons when you get the chance to learn it later on. Since you¡¯re still a rookie, you have to show your face a lot and you can¡¯t afford to have any flaws or blemishes on your face. The public is not forgiving when it comes to things like that,¡± explained Kang Ho-soo.


    In contrast with his intentions, Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s smile looked cruel. Regardless of whether he understood what Kang Ho-Soo meant or not, Woo-Jin simply swallowed his saliva and nodded. On the other hand, when Kang Ho-Soo asked him if there was anything else he would like to learn apart from instruments, his gleaming eyes were extremely fierce.


    ¡°What about Chinese?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Chinese? It¡¯s a good choice. If you are thinking about expanding into the Chinese-speaking market, of course, it¡¯ll be good for you to learn it. You¡¯re going to start learning from the basics, right?¡±


    ¡°No. I can understand, speak, write, and read Chinese, but¡­because I¡¯m self-taught, it¡¯s not entirely perfect or natural, especially when it comes to pronunciation,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    In one of his past lives, Woo-Jin had been born in China and had lived there in the olden days, so his pronunciation was very different from the Chinese that people spoke in the present era. He knew several Chinese dialects, including Mandarin and Cantonese, etc., but he had to correct his pronunciation to match the modern version of those dialects.


    ¡°I understand. I will look for a teacher who is a native speaker, but I have to say that it¡¯s amazing how you were able to learn Chinese on your own,¡± remarked Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°I¡¯m fortunate enough to be good at picking up languages, so I¡¯m able to speak some foreign languages.¡±


    Woo-Jin, who had unintentionally developed more skill sets via recalling his past lives, felt embarrassed by his self-praise and scratched his cheek awkwardly.


    ¡°Smart men are rather popular these days. However, don¡¯t reveal how talented and capable you are in the beginning ¨C I think it¡¯s better to reveal your skills to the public one by one, pretending you only found out about them by chance. People won¡¯t like it if you¡¯re a showoff and your public image would suffer as a result, but that doesn¡¯t mean you have to pretend to be terrible at what you do.¡±


    Woo-Jin tried to deflect the praise, saying that because he was mostly self-taught, he hadn¡¯t mastered it perfectly, and he wasn¡¯t very good at it. Kang Ho-Soo was rather relieved by his humility. He had been worried that Woo-Jin would have a temper since he was a student at a prestigious college and a rookie whom the CEO thought highly of. However, his worries were unfounded and he had a very good impression of Chae Woo-Jin.


    However, seeing Woo-Jin continuously write his answer to the question, ¡®What languages do you speak?¡¯, Kang Ho-Soo shook his head, as if he was tired of it. He did not know that Woo-Jin did not even use half of them.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Park Si-Yeon asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m 23.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only 23, so why do you give off an old person vibe?¡±


    Park Si-Yeon, the stylist that DS¡¯ fashion director had made an appointment with, scratched her chin, feeling confused the entire time. Woo-Jin wore jeans and a white short-sleeved T-Shirt to go to Park Si-Yeon¡¯s boutique with his manager. Even though it was just an ordinary style, his physique was great enough that he was a stylish actor who could become a model.


    When it came to his appearance, he was also more good-looking and beautiful compared to anybody she had seen recently. However, the thing was that Woo-Jin gave off the vibes of a war veteran instead of the fresh vibes that a young man in his early 20s should give off.


    ¡°He was discharged from the military earlier this year, and he¡¯s the eldest son in the family, so I think that¡¯s why he has a unique sense of maturity.¡± As if he understood what Park Si-Yeon meant, Kang Ho-Soo answered on Woo-Jin¡¯s behalf. Similarly, when he had first met Woo-Jin, Kang Ho-Soo had also paused for a good second or two because he had also felt that Woo-Jin was very mature for his age.


    If Woo-jin was startled by Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s appearances, then it could be said that Kang Ho-Soo had been a little intimidated by Woo-Jin¡¯s vibes. He must have come to his own conclusion now because he explained his thoughts to others as if they were the correct answer.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that it¡¯s necessarily a bad thing. To be honest, Mr. Woo-Jin¡¯s age is somewhat within the awkward range ¨C he¡¯s too old to take on a child¡¯s role and too young to play a member of society. When I first heard your age, I thought that I had to purposely give you more of an ¡®adult¡¯ look, but it¡¯s good that I don¡¯t have to. Young people should dress like young people. What concept is the agency going for in Mr. Woo-Jin¡¯s case?¡± asked Park Si-Yeon.


    ¡°They want him to give off the vibes of an intelligent dandy guy,¡± replied Kang Ho-Soo.


    After discussing with the fashion director, they decided not to change his current look. It wasn¡¯t like he was an idol; they didn¡¯t need to create a fresh and bright image just because he was young.


    As Park Si-Yeon had mentioned earlier, Woo-Jin was at the age where he was still at the crossroads between youth and adulthood. It could be a dark period for an actor. That¡¯s why, unless he was only playing the role of a vivacious college student, Woo-Jin¡¯s maturity was not necessarily a bad thing.


    Just like how it was difficult for a child actor to transition into an adult actor, it wasn¡¯t a matter of good or bad acting, but rather a matter of prejudice that came with certain images.


    ¡°However, he cannot look old.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about an intelligent ¡®young man¡¯, right? A young man! A man who has entered adulthood, exuding an air of sexiness, who is no longer a boy or a teenager!¡±


    Park Si-Yeon¡¯s eyes gleamed as she spoke in an excited tone, probably because she had suddenly captured the perfect image for Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Can he be sexy?¡± asked Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know about the subtle sexiness of an intelligent man? That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! The austere sexiness of a refined gentleman. That¡¯s the dream of every woman.¡±


    Park Si-Yeon rebuked Kang Ho-Soo for not knowing anything and hummed to herself while she took a measuring tape before taking Woo-Jin¡¯s measurements.


    ¡°Is your family well-to-do?¡± Park Si-Yeon asked Woo-Jin out of the blue as she was measuring his neck.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Middle-class?¡±


    ¡°A little more on the lower middle side,¡± answered Woo-Jin.


    Woo-Jin measured the standard of living using the family circumstances of his life back when he was little, as well as his friends¡¯. Understandably, if he used that as a yardstick to calculate what middle class was, his current life was considered lower middle class.


    ¡°Is that so? You look like you come from a wealthy family. In that case, the clothes you wear daily might be an issue. You can wear sponsored clothes or clothes that your wardrobe stylist has prepared for official public appearances, but I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll have to wear your own clothes in your daily life. These days, the paparazzi follow celebrities all the time. I¡¯ll recommend some brands, so even if you¡¯re hard up right now, try to buy a few pieces and wear them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, feel free to pick what you like. Here¡¯s the corporate card,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said to Woo-Jin, as he held up the corporate card and smiled. Park Si-Yeon whistled in response.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing CEO Jang has high expectations for Mr. Woo-Jin, huh? Even though DS provides their artists with ample support, they don¡¯t normally care about their daily lives.¡±


    ¡°Not that he¡¯s never done that,¡± responded Kang Ho-Soo.


    Park Si-Yeon nodded and said that she understood. She had worked with DS a lot and so, she was well-aware of the current situation with Woo-Jin. Her question was essentially the same as DS¡¯ answer ¨C the higher the expectations, the more understandable it was for them to take care of trivial matters. Looking back on similar cases, all of the people who were highly regarded by the CEO ended up becoming the top celebrities in DS.


    ¡°Indeed, there¡¯s no way he would send any ordinary rookie my way.¡±


    Who was Park Si-Yeon? She was someone who had personally taken care of, and was still taking care of, the fashion needs of the most famous celebrities in Korea. She was a famous celebrity herself as well. As such, not every DS artist would end up getting sent to her. However, Kang Ho-soo said that Chae Woo-Jin was even more special than the chosen ones.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to Mr. Choi to get his hair done, right? I will contact him and discuss Mr. Woo-Jin¡¯s concept in advance. However, Woo-Jin¡¯s wardrobe stylist isn¡¯t here today?¡±


    ¡°She is in China right now because one of the groups she¡¯s in charge of is having a concert. The handover hasn¡¯t been completed yet. She will be here the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°By groups, you mean idols? If she¡¯s styling for idols, will she be able to adequately take care of Woo-Jin¡¯s styling needs?¡±


    Singers and actors sought completely different styles and images. That was why Park Si-Yeon was frowning. She was not happy with the fact that a wardrobe stylist, who used to be in charge of idols, was going to be the one taking care of Woo-Jin.


    ¡°She¡¯s someone with a great sense of style, but frankly speaking, she is not a good match with the idols she was in charge of. She wanted to go for a modern look, but the parties involved did not like it, even though it was well-received by the fans.


    ¡°Oh, I know who she is! If she¡¯s the stylist you¡¯re talking about, she will be a good fit with Mr. Woo-Jin. As soon as she gets back, tell her to come here. For today, shall we check out the styles that match Mr. Woo-Jin one by one?


    Woo-Jin looked at Park Si-Yeon, who was smiling broadly at him. He did not know anything up until then ¨C what it was like to try on dozens of clothes before getting evaluated and then having his photographs taken.


    ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®the face completes the fashion¡¯. It¡¯s not wrong, but it¡¯s also not necessarily the truth. In my opinion, confidence completes the fashion! So straighten your back!¡± exclaimed Park Si-Yeon, on top of hitting him on the back and correcting his posture.


    It was advisable for him not to put his hands in the pocket when wearing this top because of the details on the edge of the sleeves. That top focused on the waistline, so he had to know how to sit, showing his side profile, while allowing the shoes to be seen in a natural way, etc. Fashion was more difficult than academic subjects in school.


    ¡°You have a fair and clear complexion, so all the colors look good on you, which is a good thing. You probably usually wear dull colored clothes, but sometimes it¡¯s nice to change things up a little with a striking color like this.¡±


    ¡°Is this the color of a yellow chick?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Umm, lemon yellow to be exact.¡±


    When Woo-Jin looked at the bright yellow T-shirt, he was dumbstruck and said it was the color of a chick, but Park Si-Yeon corrected him. However, lemon yellow or other shades of yellow looked like the baby chick yellow to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s really hard for most men to pull off this color, but it suits you very well ¨C you look as bright as a forsythia that has just bloomed! If you wear this on an ordinary day in your daily life, you will stand out and draw attention to yourself.¡±


    Unlike Park Si-Yeon, who was full of confidence, Woo-Jin questioned it in his head on the other hand and sighed. He doubted that he would even head out in this outfit.


    ¡°By the way, when is your official debut?¡± asked Park Si-Yeon.


    ¡°The first movie will be released in approximately three weeks,¡± answered Kang Ho-Soo on behalf of Woo-Jin, who was floundering with a soulless look in his eyes due to exhaustion.


    ¡°In that case, from now on, you have to go to places such as cafes and libraries when you have time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already planning to do that,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Tell me in advance where you¡¯ll be going. I¡¯ll coordinate with you accordingly.¡±


    As a rookie whom no one knew about, Woo-Jin had to deliberately show himself in public places everywhere so that people would post comments and captions, saying ¡®I¡¯ve seen that person somewhere before, and somehow he caught my eye. He turned out to be a celebrity after all! He¡¯s so good-looking, that¡¯s why I took a photo. Could he be Chae Woo-Jin?¡¯ later on.


    After becoming famous, things that happened in the past would start to surface everywhere. The more attention he drew from people when he was just an ordinary person meant that he was more likely to become a hot topic of discussion and make it big.


    Hence, before they released the movie, it was necessary for him to pretend to be an ordinary person in the midst of the general public, and get their attention. Of course, in the event that nobody paid any attention to him, and in turn failed to become a hot topic of discussion, the agency would have also taken photos and made preparations for that.


    ¡°Ah, by the way, what¡¯s the title of the movie? When it starts screening, I¡¯ll have to watch it.¡±


    ¡°Death Hill, a movie directed by Director Moon Seung-Kwon,¡± answered Kang Ho-soo once again, on behalf of Woo-Jin, who still lacked energy.


    ¡°Ah! I know that movie. I¡¯ve been very interested in that movie since its early stage of production. Mr. Woo-Jin acted in it? What was your role?¡±


    Upon hearing Park Si-Yeon¡¯s question, Kang Ho-Soo paused for a moment and looked at Woo-Jin. That was because the movie was shot before Woo-Jin joined DS, and hence, Kang Ho-Soo had not heard anything about the role he played.


    Noticing the awkward position his manager was currently in, Woo-Jin answered instead, despite being in a state of exhaustion.


    ¡°A horrible loan shark who bullies and sexually harasses the female lead. Ultimately, he gets beaten by his co-workers and stabbed to death. Ah! Did I just spoil it for you by saying he died? It¡¯s a small supporting role though, so it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo and Park Si-Yeon were both at a loss for words for a moment upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. He was still half-dazed due to exhaustion. When their gazes met, they both opened their mouths at the same time.


    ¡°He has to have the image of an intelligent and decent person; an ascetic man.¡±


    ¡°More importantly, he needs an image that portrays him to be classy, sexy, and pure.¡±


    They did not know what would be the end result of combining all these images together, but both of them were firmly on the same page. The outcome was that Woo-Jin had to try on dozens more clothes but that was not important now.


    The words that were stuck in their minds now were ¡®terrible loan shark¡¯, ¡®sexual harassment¡¯, and ¡®tragic death¡¯. As Woo-Jin was preparing to become a celebrity, step by step, the release date of Death Hill was approaching quickly.

 Chapter 26

    Death Hill was rated PG-15 ¨C film intended for audiences 15 and over.


    Death Hill, a blockbuster planned to be released as a summer hit, had received a lot of attention from the public since the early stages of production because it was a movie directed by Moon Seung-Kwon. It was so popular that there were speculations from the beginning that  the movie would attract approximately 10 million viewers, so the PG-15 rating was a green light for the movie.


    Since there were quite a number of violent scenes that were associated with the dark side of society, they were greatly concerned about the rating they would receive. There were even rumors about how the investors had put a lot of pressure on Director Moon and demanded that he edit a number of scenes for the sake of receiving a favorable rating. Needless to say, Director Moon did not accept their request, and the scenes were edited according to his own wishes, making the movie a director¡¯s cut.


    Fortunately, the outcome was satisfactory. Considering that a blockbuster had to get a PG-15 rating at the very least if they wanted it to become a big hit, the rating they received could be said to be rather beneficial.


    However, despite the favorable rating, the people who were going to bring down the success of the movie were none other than the two main leads. Although Kang Hee-Joo was originally one of the top actors in the country who was a great actress, recently, her performance had been rather poor. More precisely, a lot of people had been saying that she did not have an eye for good screenplays. The screenplays of the films were sloppy and unrealistic, and had been flops, that¡¯s why she was worried that it might be the same for Death Hill.


    As for the male lead, Park Min, there was only one issue with him ¨C his lack of acting skills. Park Min was famous for having a lot of female fans. Whenever his movie was released, a basic review and rating would be out as well, and every single time without fail, there were always criticisms about his acting skills. The movie was not made solely for Park Min¡¯s fans. The main issue was how many audiences they would lose because of Park Min, who was expected to perform poorly.


    It was only natural that people¡¯s expectations about how well Death Hill would be received at the box offices would be significantly lower than it was at the beginning because of these concerns. Nonetheless, the very good looks of the main leads would be pleasing to the eyes.


    There was no doubt that Moon Seung-Kwon was a very talented director, who had poured a lot of money into the cost of production. Because of that, people were also optimistic that to a certain extent, their expectations would be met. That¡¯s why as soon as the official teaser was uploaded to the internet, the number of views increased exponentially.


    The scene of the expected hardship of the pitiful and beautiful female lead, as well as Park Min¡¯s good looks, caught the eyes of the people everywhere. Also, although the alley action scene only appeared briefly, it stirred excitement among the viewers and piqued their curiosity.


    ¡°He¡¯s Park Min, right?¡±


    The female students who were sitting at a cafe with their friends, watching the teaser of Death Hill, shared their opinions with one another. And there was the brawl scene in the alley but it was too short and the face of the man in that scene, which looked somewhat similar to the male lead, couldn¡¯t be seen clearly, so it sparked a heated debate.


    ¡°Park Min is not that tall. He¡¯s probably shorter than 5¡¯11 (180cm).¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Park Min isn¡¯t that short, but he¡¯s not as tall and slim as the man in the teaser.So then, who is he? If he¡¯s not the male lead, then who¡¯s the guy that appeared in the action scene in the trailer?¡±


    ¡°Park Min probably used a stunt double. Isn¡¯t he known for using a stunt double in action scenes? He¡¯s always openly talking about how one has to take care of their own body.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t criticize my Park Min! His face is like a national treasure. If there¡¯s a scar on that face tare you going to take responsibility for it?¡± one of the girls responded agitatedly as she refuted her friend¡¯s statement. As If this was something that happened frequently, her other friends agreed with her unenthusiastically.


    ¡°Yes, yes. You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Park Min¡¯s face alone is a national treasure. It¡¯s true that he¡¯s at a level where he shouldn¡¯t be criticized for not wanting to do action scenes.¡±


    ¡°If only he was good at acting¡­ You know what, he¡¯s not a terrible actor. He¡¯s good enough. Even though he always takes on the same type of roles - the handsome, kind and righteous guy, it¡¯s fine since he¡¯s good to look at.¡±


    In conclusion, they praised their friend¡¯s ¡®oppa¡¯ and avoided the debate by saying that he could get away with everything because he was handsome. All of them knew how their friend, who was a member of Park Min¡¯s fan club and cried out ¡®oppa¡¯ enthusiastically to him while showering him with gifts, felt about Park Min.


    ¡°Nevertheless, it¡¯s a good thing that it¡¯s rated PG-15. I¡¯m happy because I¡¯m 18 years old~! When the movie is out, it¡¯ll be my treat, so we have to watch it together.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I was already planning to watch even if Park Min wasn¡¯t the male lead. Besides, you¡¯re going to watch it multiple times anyway. Save your money.¡±


    Feeling touched by their friendship, the girls embraced one another. While that was happening, one of them glanced over at a man sitting across from them.


    ¡°Oh my god! Hey, look over there.¡±


    When the three girls turned around and looked where their friend was pointing at, there was a gorgeous man who was the epitome of the word ¡®wow¡¯.


    The man was wearing a pale yellow T-shirt, and black slacks that exposed his ankles. That shade of pale yellow was difficult for even women to pull off but it accentuated the man¡¯s fair skin and caused him to give off youthful vibes. At first, his clothes drew their attention to him, but his appearance made them unable to keep their eyes off of him.


    He looked as though he had monolids, but his double eyelids seemed to appear whenever he blinked. Whether he had double eyelids or not, his big and bright eyes caught people¡¯s attention at first glance.


    He had the highly sought-after ¡®greek nose¡¯ with a straight nose bridge that was neither too high nor too low. He looked really good possibly because of his ¡®seagull-shaped¡¯ youthful lips. [1]


    His face was small enough while still being proportionate to his body, and his facial features were in perfect harmony. Even though he was a man, people were amazed by how beautiful he was. His neatly trimmed bangs covered his forehead in a tidy manner, and his overall style was perfect. His slim fit pants accentuated the silhouette of his legs, and the gray belt that was barely visible also accentuated his incredibly lean waistline.


    The four female students were somewhat in a trance as they wondered how a person like him could actually exist in real life. Even someone''s ardent fan, who would usually ridicule the thought of a person being a national treasure on par with Park Min, couldn''t help but think that as well.


    At this time, they saw a female student wearing their school uniform approaching the table that the man was sitting at, before sitting down.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Chae Woo-Hee from Class 3?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s that Chae Woo-Hee? The prettiest girl in this district, the one who¡¯s the top student in the entire school?¡±


    ¡°I think so. How common are girls as pretty as her?¡±


    ¡°What¡­ Chae Woo-Hee has a boyfriend?¡±


    As soon as Woo-Hee sat down, she pouted. They were also females, but she still looked very lovely and pretty when she pouted. One of the girls argued that if the person Woo-Hee was trying to act in a cutesy manner in front of smiled brightly at her, he had to be her boyfriend. Her friend shook her head in response.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. Take a good look. That guy looks exactly like Chae Woo-Hee. They are the male and female version of one another. If you look at their faces, you can tell that they¡¯re siblings.¡±


    ¡°What kind of brother and sister are so sweet to one another? I have a younger brother, but we never act like that.¡±


    ¡°I have an older sister, but I agree. We¡¯re like enemies.¡±


    Just as the girls shook their heads after seeing the friendly atmosphere between Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee, which was non-existent in other real-life siblings¡¯ relationships, the man grabbed Chae Woo-Hee¡¯s cheeks and pulled them. Woo-Hee then tried to do the same to him, but was blocked when she reached out her hand. Woo-Hee looked rather funny as her right hand flailed about in the air.


    ¡°They do look like siblings.¡±


    ¡°This feels more realistic. Even then, Chae Woo-Hee still looked pretty even when he pulled her cheeks.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not just pretty, she has great hair too¡­ Oh! Someone said that Chae Woo-Hee has an older brother who goes to Korea University. My friends who saw him made a big deal about how handsome he was. I think that¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡°In that case, should we go over there and pretend we know Woo-Hee?¡±


    Hearing the suggestion of their friend, the girls¡¯ eyes gleamed for a moment, but shortly after, they had a sullen look on their faces. None of them were close enough to talk to her.


    ¡°Most importantly, even though we know who Chae Woo-Hee is, she probably doesn¡¯t know who we are.¡±


    Chae Woo-Hee was the top student of their school, and she was known as the prettiest girl in their school district. She was so well-known that every single person in school knew who she was, but that was not the case for these girls. Additionally, they had never been in the same class as Chae Woo-Hee.


    Ultimately, they decided to secretly take pictures. They took pictures of Woo-Hee and her brother while they pretended to take selfies. They wanted to brag to their other friends about it later on, so they wanted to have some evidence.


    ¡°Regardless of what we say, they¡¯re not going to believe us. I¡¯ve also heard people saying that Woo-Hee¡¯s older brother was very handsome, but I didn¡¯t know he was this good-looking. However, he¡¯s not photogenic.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that he¡¯s not photogenic ¨C the camera simply cannot capture his good looks. Check this out. I took a quick photo and it turned out great. But the real deal is so much better.¡±


    Even in those photos, Woo-Hee, who looked prettier than they did after using Photoshop or a photo-editing app, looked much better in real life. She [2] had heard that some celebrities looked worse on screen, but she felt that it was not applicable to the current situation. She had already prepared an excuse if her friends¡¯ would not believe her if she told them about it. But in truth, Chae Woo-Hee¡¯s appearance alone was enough evidence. She could simply explain that he was similar to Chae Woo-Hee. However, she could not control her desire to share that face that was on another level, with several people, reacting in advance and swaying their opinions first. Even though he was not their biological brother, she wanted to brag about him. At this moment, Park Min had already disappeared from the mind of his passionate fan.


    ~


    The moment Woo-Hee saw Woo-Jin at the cafe in front of the school, she frowned and puffed up her cheeks. ¡°Woo-Jin, why are you dressed like that? Do you think someone in the reserve forces could dress like that and become a freshman at college?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing this because I like it. The wardrobe stylist told me to wear it,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Still, we are going to mom and uncle¡¯s engagement dinner tonight, so you should dress up.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s mother ultimately accepted the uncle¡¯s proposal. Even though they had already met each other, it was still their engagement party after all. Woo-Hee pouted because she felt that her brother was not properly dressed for the occasion.


    ¡°I was planning to do that too. However, my stylist said that if I wear a suit, I would look too mellow and mature. Because of me, our mother might end up looking older. It¡¯s only natural for people to think she¡¯s old because her son looks old. Additionally, uncle has no children and he¡¯s the same age as mother. Hence, she recommended this outfit which exudes a youthful and bright ambience, if I want our mother to have an image of a young mother who has children who still need to grow up.¡±


    Whether she understood Woo-Jin¡¯s long explanation or not, Woo-Hee nodded.


    ¡°In conclusion, you¡¯re trying to say that you are an old-looking reservist. You¡¯re an extremely old person who would make our mother look old if you did not try hard enough to look younger!¡±


    ¡°I wonder who¡¯s saying such a nice thing?¡±


    Woo-Jin grabbed Woo-Hee¡¯s cheek with his right hand and pulled hard, and made a sound of him snapping his teeth. Woo-Hee tried not to lose and counterattacked, but it was unsuccessful.


    ¡°Ooh, can you release your hand? This is my territory. There are kids from my school over there. What am I going to do if they recognize me? Ha, it¡¯ll be so embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°Do you know them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°In that case, they don¡¯t know you either. Don¡¯t be so full of yourself.¡±


    Hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s cold judgment, Woo-Hee glanced over at her schoolmates. She felt embarrassed because they were busy taking selfies and talking to each other. Woo-Hee smiled sweetly at her brother.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re my older brother, I might have become as narcissistic as celebrities. Is it contagious?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t happen to me, though,¡± responded Woo-Jin.


    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone says in the beginning,¡± retorted Woo-Hee.


    Woo-Jin, who had been teased by Woo-Hee as she smiled slyly, eventually grabbed her mouth instead of her cheek. Woo-Hee flailed about for a bit before raising her hands as a sign of surrender. Looking at her, Woo-Jin smiled and let go of her mouth. Instead, he messed up her hair while under the pretext of stroking her hair. At this moment, the siblings continued pranking each other as per normal, unaware that they were being watched by the girls who were pretending to take selfies.


    ~


    The engagement dinner was not as formal as Woo-Hee had expected. The four people met with each other in a room of a luxurious traditional Korean restaurant. They were awkward around one another, but they were very excited.


    1. Seagull-shaped lips are really popular in Korea - it makes one look youthful and more approachable, as though one is smiling because of the upturned lip corners. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. One of the girls who was secretly taking pictures <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 27

    Ever since Park Eun-Soo accepted Choi Min-Woo¡¯s marriage proposal, he had been especially happy every day. After he had lost his wife and daughter in an accident, not a single day had gone by without him having any nightmares. If only he had left the house ten minutes earlier or later that day...no, most importantly, if only he hadn¡¯t driven off immediately after the traffic light had turned green, then such a tragedy would not have happened.


    Without ever knowing what had happened, he had lost consciousness and went into a short coma. By the time he regained consciousness, his wife and daughter¡¯s funeral had already been over. Additionally, the doctor had told him that he would have to limp for the rest of his life.


    Having to limp wasn¡¯t a big deal to him at all ¨C he could still walk. It was somewhat uncomfortable for him to walk with a slight limp, but it was not the source of his pain. The memories and guilt towards his wife and daughter, who could no longer come back to life, had caused him to plunge into the depths of despair and wrecked his life.


    At one point, he had even considered committing suicide, but he could not bring himself to do it. After all, he was the child of his beloved parents, and he did not want to break their hearts. Furthermore, as the CEO of his company, he was responsible for the livelihoods of several employees, as well as their families. The moment he realized that ending his life was not the solution, he threw himself completely into work.


    However, three years ago, he saw Park Eun-Soo for the first time. His first impression of her was that she was a beautiful person, and after that, little by little, he could not take his eyes off of her. She was like a shining light that had appeared in his dark life.


    After hearing that she was divorced and that she lived alone with her two children, he started to harbor hope. However, he had given up repeatedly due to the increasing guilt he had towards his dead wife and daughter. Up until then, he had continued having nightmares while his feelings for Park Eun-soo grew stronger and stronger.


    Subsequently, he had overheard Park Eun-Soo¡¯s superior talking about arranging a blind date for her, and that ended up triggering him. He spent a couple of days feeling as though he was on the verge of going insane. Much to his surprise, his heavy heart felt much lighter after he made up his mind. He visited his wife and daughter, and apologized to them, crying for quite some time.


    It might seem hypocritical, but he confessed his feelings to Park Eun-Soo, telling her that he wanted to be happy from now on. Strangely enough, he had stopped having nightmares ever since. After he had confessed to Park Eun-Soo and started dating her, he found out that the person her superior wanted to set her up with was none other than himself. He had laughed for quite a while when he heard that. He was genuinely happy; so happy that he was able to laugh out loud for the first time in almost a decade.


    ¡°Woo-Jin seems to be getting more and more handsome,¡± said Choi Min-Woo.


    The last time he saw Woo-Jin was six months, right after Woo-Jin had been discharged from the military. Woo-Jin appeared to look more handsome than he did back then.


    ¡°What about me!¡± asked Woo-Hee.


    ¡°Of course you look good too, Woo-Hee.¡±


    The siblings resembled Park Eun-Soo and that made them more lovable. Most importantly, Woo-Hee was the same age as Choi Min-Woo¡¯s daughter, who had passed away. Whenever he looked at Woo-Hee, he often wondered how things would have been if his child were still alive. It made him sad sometimes, but he was also certainly excited about becoming a father of another person, in place of his daughter.


    While he was looking at Park Eun-Soo and the kids, he thought about how fortunate he was to have tried his hardest to continue living up until now. He was able to show a side of himself that he was not ashamed of, and thinking about how he would be able to take care of three people generously, financially speaking, made him happy.


    Even though it was an engagement dinner, as her children, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee did not interfere with their mother¡¯s marriage. Hence, they merely listened to what both adults had to say. Choi Min-Woo¡¯s parents had immigrated with their eldest son and couldn¡¯t be present for the dinner. However, they were very pleased with the news of him getting married again since they had thought he would spend the rest of his life alone. That¡¯s why they had decided to completely follow their son and Park Eun-Soo¡¯s wishes regarding their marriage.


    Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo decided to have their wedding a month from now at a cafe they rented. It would be a small wedding where only their close friends would be invited. Their only problem was the house they were going to live in after they got married.


    Of course, Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo had been planning on living with the children, but Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee did not want to interfere with the newlyweds¡¯ lives.


    ¡°Getting married at this age, we¡¯re not considered newlyweds. Don¡¯t worry about it and just live with us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still newlyweds regardless of age, no? My opinion is that newlyweds should live like newlyweds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying right now.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Miss Eun-Soo is right. It¡¯s a big house and your rooms will be nicely furnished and decorated. They¡¯ll also be on the second floor, so you don¡¯t have to worry about us and we can live happily together in the same house. We¡¯ve already built a big house for our family to live together, how lonely would it be if the two of us are the only ones living in the house?¡± asked Choi Min-Woo.


    There was a difference of opinion between the two sides for some time, but eventually, they were on the same page since all of them wanted the same thing. The biggest reason why Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo had decided to get married was because they wanted their family to live happily together. Undoubtedly, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were a part of their family.


    Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo wanted everyone to live together, getting to know each other and growing to love one another, even if arguments were to happen at times. From the start, it was never meant to be a marriage where the two of them only wanted themselves to live happily ever after. Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee finally caved and agreed to the two stubborn people¡¯s request, making their parents smile brightly.


    The food was delicious and the conversation among the four people flowed naturally. When they brought up the topic about Woo-Jin signing a contract with DS, Choi Min-Woo reassured Park Eun-Soo, saying that he had already looked into the agency in advance, and that it was good. Step by step, they were starting to become a family, sharing their concerns and supporting one another.


    ~


    It had been a long time since Woo-Jin had gone to school. It was nice. There was a unique atmosphere that a place of learning could have; it was quite a different vibe given off by the vigorous youths and society.


    ¡°This is the fragrance of youth,¡± remarked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s the end of the semester, so there¡¯s barely any students here.¡±


    When Woo-Jin took a deep breath and immersed himself in his emotions, Jung Hyun-Min, who was next to him, cynically brought him back to reality.


    ¡°Why. Did we. Choose today. Of all days. To submit our applications. For reinstatement!¡± Hyun-Min¡¯s voice was full of dissatisfaction, as he spoke in fragments.


    Hyun-Min¡¯s girlfriend was going to go back to her hometown in the countryside for summer break tomorrow. It seemed as though they had originally planned a little farewell where they would cry over her temporary departure. However, at this moment in time, Hyun-Min was grumbling to himself as if he could not believe the cold reality of him walking around the campus with his friend.


    The reason why Hyun-Min and Woo-Jin decided to do it today was because Woo-Jin said that he would be busy on other days. From tomorrow onwards, Woo-Jin had to take photos for his profile, and he had to go through a mandatory training program on how to act in social situations and interviews. They had to prepare a lot of things in a rush since they did not know what changes would be made to Woo-Jin¡¯s schedule after the release of the movie. It would all depend on how well the public received the movie. In the end, today was the best day for them to complete their reinstatement applications to school before the release of the movie.


    Additionally, submitting their applications to the school wasn¡¯t the only reason they met up today ¨C it was actually just an excuse to have Woo-Jin¡¯s photo taken in school. Since Hyun-Min knew about the real purpose of their meetup today in advance, he could not reject Woo-Jin cold-heartedly. That¡¯s why he kept shifting his gaze to the manager who kept following them around.


    ¡°Mr. Manager, you¡¯re taking good photos, right?¡± asked Hyun-Min.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done this more than once or twice, so they¡¯ll turn out well.¡±


    Most of the time, the photos of celebrities, especially rookies, that were taken as they went about their daily lives were deliberately taken by their acquaintances or agencies, who would upload the photos to the internet. It led the public to talk about these celebrities in a very natural manner. There was nothing more effective and sophisticated than having a total stranger who was completely unrelated to the celebrity generate buzz about them, pretending it was nothing but a coincidence.


    For that purpose, Kang Ho-Soo kept a distance from Woo-Jin and followed him from behind, taking candid pictures of Woo-Jin, making them look as natural as possible. Jung Hyun-Min was just a supporting actor, but he was also indispensable today.


    ¡°My face won¡¯t be seen in these photos, right?¡± asked Jung Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Even if your face is in the shot, I¡¯ll cover it up later on. Don¡¯t worry,¡± responded Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°But then again, I have to sacrifice myself for you. If I show my face, who¡¯s going to pay attention to yours?¡± said Hyun-Jin, who flaunted as he tucked his short hair behind his ears. His mother had always called him her ¡®handsome son¡¯ as he grew up, so he had been brainwashed by her.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re so beautiful,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°So you acknowledge it too, my friend!¡±


    Even though Hyun-Min did not know whether Woo-Jin was complimenting him or being sarcastic, he was still proud. Hyun-Min had also taken a leave of absence from school with Woo-Jin and had gone to the same training camp, but ended up in a different unit. Today, he was sacrificing some of his precious time to submit his application to the school with Woo-Jin. He acted like his time was precious and emphasized the favor he was doing for Woo-Jin, that he cherished his friendship so much he had picked his friend over his girlfriend.


    Despite complaining, Hyun-Min ultimately did everything he could for his friend. He did not block Woo-Jin from the sunlight so he could get good lighting. However, the sunlight in June was far from being a reflector ¨C it was a heater. Hyun-Min hid in Woo-Jin¡¯s shadow and muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hot? I feel hotter.¡±


    ¡°Who am I here for again?¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it!¡±


    Woo-Jin kept his mouth shut because there was no point in arguing. The school hadn¡¯t changed much over the past two years, but there were some small changes. The building that was under construction had been completed; the interior of the cafe on campus had changed; and so did the tree landscaping. Additionally, there were no familiar faces.


    The process of applying for reinstatement was simple. Once they had finished it without much difficulty, they looked at each other for a moment wondering what they should do now. They had completed their external goal, but their true purpose had not been fulfilled yet. However, the two simple men were baffled, not knowing what to do to steer their actions towards the direction of their actual goal.


    ¡°Woo-Jin?¡±


    When a familiar voice called out to him suddenly, Woo-Jin was startled but he tried his best not to show it as he turned around. On the other hand, when Hyun-Min saw the face of the woman who called out to Woo-Jin, he could not hide his emotions and frowned. She was Lee So-Hyun ¨C Woo-Jin¡¯s first love; the woman who kicked him when he was down in the dumps. Hyun-Min was even more irritated because she still looked beautiful after two years.


    The reason why Woo-Jin was able to keep his cool even though he did not expect to see her was because he had already imagined this situation when he filmed the last part of Glooming Day. At that time, Woo-Jin had been determined to act as indifferently and naturally as possible, for the sake of his own self-esteem, and her peace of mind. Fortunately, he was able to greet his classmate in a polite and ordinary way, without showing any emotions.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± greeted Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Yeah it has really been a long time. The same goes for you too, Hyun-Min.¡±


    ¡°Ya.¡±


    Since they were classmates in business school, Hyun-Min couldn¡¯t completely ignore her, and simply replied curtly.


    ¡°I heard that you were discharged from the military. Are you applying for reinstatement?¡± asked Lee So-Hyun.


    ¡°Yeah. Come to think of it, you¡¯re a senior, huh? How¡¯s your preparation for job hunting?¡±


    ¡°No, actually, I also came to apply for reinstatement today. I went abroad to study a language.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? That must have been great. In that case, we won¡¯t hold you back any further. See you when school starts.¡±


    Woo-Jin let So-Hyun through and casually said goodbye to her. However, after taking a couple of steps, she stopped in her tracks.


    ¡°You changed your number.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ I lost my phone previously, so I decided to change my number as well when I got a new replacement for my phone.¡±


    When he had handed his phone over to TM''s CEO, he covered it up by telling other people vaguely that he had lost his phone. A few days after that, he had gotten a message from So-Hyun that she wanted to break up. He had been beside himself, and changed his number when he had gotten himself a new phone.


    The only reason he hadn¡¯t sent Lee So-Hyun any drunk texts in the middle of the night, asking ¡®Are you sleeping?¡¯, was because he did not have a phone. He was surprised that So-Hyun had called him later on, but Woo-Jin did not ask her why. Instead of saying goodbye, he gave her a slight nod. This time, he really turned around and left. Fortunately, she did not say anything to him after that.


    ¡°She¡¯s still looking at you,¡± Hyun-Min spoke to Woo-Jin as he glanced back. However, Woo-Jin pretended not to hear what he had just said.


    After leaving the building, Woo-Jin sighed and looked back. A look of relief and disappointment appeared on his face when he could not find any familiar faces among the passersby. Upon seeing his facial expression, Hyun-Min frowned.


    ¡°Are you still not over Lee So-Hyun?¡±


    ¡°If I were already over her, I wouldn¡¯t be this hung up on her.¡±


    ¡°In that case, continue doing that. Judging from So-Hyun¡¯s facial expression, it seems like she¡¯s not over you either. Go on and make your love last forever~! You¡¯re going to make a movie, right?¡±


    He had no intention of arguing about other people¡¯s romantic feelings, but when Lee So-Hyun dumped Woo-Jin, it was the worst period of Woo-Jin¡¯s life. Hence, it was only natural for Hyun-Min to be sarcastic whenever her name came up in conversations.

 Chapter 28

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m still actively in love with her. I just have residual feelings for her. No, to be honest, I don¡¯t know.¡± Woo-Jin shook his head, not knowing how to explain how he felt.


    Truth be told, if Lee So-Hyun were to tell him ¡®Let¡¯s date again,¡¯ then in his current emotional state, he would probably agree. In fact, he would be more than happy to do so, triggering the love he had for her in the past to surface once more and devoting it to her.


    However, regardless of how he felt, rationality was stopping him from doing so. Even if they were to date again, it would only be because he was caught up in his delusion of wanting to revive his feelings for his first love; the pure and innocent love he had for her in the past was no longer there.


    Nonetheless, his heart was telling him something else. Will I ever meet a girl who I¡¯ll love as much as I loved her? If I can¡¯t love anyone else as much, then there¡¯s no reason for me not to love her again.


    ¡°Are you okay, Mr. Woo-Jin?¡± asked Kang Ho-Soo, who went up to him, studying his expression. He had been following Woo-Jin the entire time while keeping a distance.


    In the questionnaire that Kang Ho-Soo had given Woo-Jin the other day, one of the questions was about his first love or girlfriend. Woo-Jin had answered the question honestly. There would be nothing beneficial about hiding his past from his manager, and he did not want to hide the relationship he had with her by lying about it.


    That¡¯s why Kang Ho-Soo, who had been quietly observing what had happened, knew who she was immediately. On the surface, they looked like classmates who were greeting each other after running into each other by chance. However, there was hidden tension and excitement between them.


    This is not good, not good at all. Kang Ho-Soo muttered to himself as he went up to Woo-Jin. When Chae Woo-Jin signed the contract with the agency, he had removed the clause pertaining to the prohibition on dating. This was because according to his past experience, he was rather defiant in the face of that rule. If he was in a relationship, he would try to hide it to the best of his abilities, but he strongly insisted that he hated any bans that were placed on his personal life. Hence, as his manager, Kang Ho-Soo had no choice but to pay close attention to Woo-Jin¡¯s love life.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Also, it¡¯s not going to happen right now,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    Perhaps Woo-Jin knew what Kang Ho-Soo was worrying about because he shook his head at Kang Ho-Soo. It was not going to happen yet. Even if he were to start dating again, whether it be with Lee So-Hyun or someone else, it was not going to happen right now. The reason why Lee So-Hyun wanted to break up with Woo-Jin had not been unraveled, and that itself was holding him back. Regardless of who he dated, the experience of losing somebody once because of the harsh reality was more than enough.


    Kang Ho-Soo, who had not formed any trust or emotional bonds with Woo-Jin yet, did not understand what Woo-Jin was trying to say. However, he had understood that Woo-Jin had no desire to date right now, and so, he was relieved. Hyun-Min was the only one who sensed that Woo-Jin was open to the possibility of dating her again, causing him to be unhappy.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re not in the best of moods, let¡¯s go somewhere for a drink,¡± suggested Hyun-Min hastily. He thought that they might see Lee So-Hyun again if they continued to linger here.


    ¡°It¡¯s still daytime, though?¡± said Kang Ho-Soo. Seeing him rather taken aback by the idea of day-drinking, Hyun-Min looked pitifully at him. Instead of elaborating and explaining, Hyun-Min poked Woo-Jin in the ribs.


    ¡°We don¡¯t drink when we meet with our friends. Most of us can¡¯t hold our liquor,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t hold our liquor ¨C we just don¡¯t drink!¡± exclaimed Hyun-min.


    ¡°If you throw up after you drink, then you can¡¯t hold your liquor.¡±


    Woo-Jin, who had quickly regained his composure, placed his arm over Hyun-Min¡¯s shoulder and smiled at Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°In that sense, let¡¯s go grab a drink. There¡¯s a cafe nearby that has really good coffee¡±


    ¡°The cafe had closed down,¡± said Hyun-Min.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re lying!¡±


    ¡°Other cafes started springing up in the area and caused competition to intensify, so they had to bring down their prices and it eventually went bust. That cafe used expensive coffee beans, so they couldn¡¯t lower their prices,¡± Hyun-Min recounted sadly, as he recalled how bitter he had felt after finding out they had closed when he tried to visit the cafe a while ago with his girlfriend.


    He could not hide his disappointment as he told Woo-Jin that one of the part-time staff had been very pretty. Regardless of whether he had a girlfriend or not, it was still the truth.


    Instead of going to the cafe, they picked a restaurant that was frequented by female students. Being surrounded by couples and women, their table was the only one where there were only men. In some sense, they had achieved their goal, because they received a lot of attention.


    ~


    After seeing Death Hill¡¯s trailer airing on TV, which had been shared on the internet first, Woo-Jin suddenly became depressed. Of course, he hadn¡¯t been expecting much since he did not know whether he was a minor character or a supporting character, and he had only done a few more days of additional shooting.


    Nonetheless, it seemed like he ended up having some expectations because of Director Moon¡¯s praises and constant reassurance that he did not have anything to worry about when it came to editing, since he was a bit disappointed after seeing that he could barely make out his back in the trailer.


    Upon hearing that Woo-Jin had signed a contract with DS, Director Moon Seung-Kwon contacted him first. Even when they had a meal together, the director had not said anything else to Woo-Jin; the entire time, he merely told Woo-Jin to look forward to the box office opening. However, now that it was just around the corner, Woo-Jin felt left out.


    In any case, Woo-Jin had a special affection towards loan shark A. While it was his first role in a movie, A¡¯s twisted and selfish character was extremely charming that it left a strong impression. As he agonized over the character analysis, and plunging into despair, it had also given him an opportunity to understand his past lives. While it was not a character that was cool or beautiful, as gruesome as it was, it was a very memorable one.


    ¡°But supporting characters, no, minor characters don¡¯t even get tickets to the premiere¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin was well-aware that he had no place in the press conference or the pre-premiere interview. The actors who played the male and female leads, as well as the other main characters, were so famous and popular that they had no reason to send a rookie there to promote the movie.


    Death Hill¡¯s press preview was going to be held tomorrow, and the VIP preview was happening on the following Monday, but Woo-Jin had not been given a ticket to any of the previews. Even though he did not expect the production company to contact him to take part in the publicity of the movie, it still made him feel a little sad to be treated as a nobody.


    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s important to make it big.¡±


    For celebrities, even taking on minor roles or making a cameo appearance would make them a topic of discussion. To highlight their differences further, in this case, those celebrities were invited to the premiere and would get to be interviewed, while real cast members like him who had actual roles to play were treated like they were nothing. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed.


    Fortunately, Woo-Jin had not told his friends and family that he had acted in Death Hill, and so, he felt relieved. Judging from the vibes he got from the trailer, it seemed as though they had decided that A would be a minor character, rather than a supporting one. If his family were to watch the movie with great anticipation and see that Woo-Jin had only appeared in a few scenes, they would definitely be disappointed as well. Besides, only a few people had known that Chae Woo-Jin would be appearing in this movie. If Woo-Jin kept his mouth shut about it and only talked about Glooming Day, he figured that his family would not know about it. An amusing thought came to his mind: At this rate, people are going to mistakenly think that Glooming Day is my debut film.


    Even though he was depressed, it gave him a reality check. Just because he was cast in two movies and signed a contract with DS, it did not mean that he had become a star right away. Realizing that once again, Woo-Jin thought, "Some things take time. I should not rush or be disheartened so easily. It would be greedy of me to expect myself to succeed right from the get go."


    Woo-Jin felt that the best thing for him to do was to train and physically condition himself according to the program put in place for him by his agency and followed it diligently. After going through an intense training session with his personal trainer, he was dragged to the spa by Hwang Yi-Young, his beauty stylist, to get a massage.


    ¡°You are blessed with good skin, so you don''t need any other treatment. By the way, your nose is real, huh? When the staff saw you for the first time, we talked among ourselves saying that you must have gotten a nose job, but now that I¡¯m touching it, it¡¯s really your natural-born nose. Mr. Woo-Jin, you should truly thank your parents.¡±


    The beauty technician was full of admiration when she looked at Woo-Jin¡¯s skin and facial features. When comparing him to the celebrities that she had taken care of, none of them could even come close to Woo-Jin in terms of having good skin. On top of that, his perfect facial features were completely natural, making him even more special.


    That¡¯s why she was rather nervous when she carried out the beauty treatment on Chae Woo-Jin. If she were to make a mistake and ruin his perfect skin, she was afraid of the consequences she had to face. Not only did she carefully select the products to use on him, she also had to meticulously check the patch testing she had done on his skin.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve seen Mr. Woo-Jin¡¯s mother and sister. They resemble each other a lot. Everyone can tell they¡¯re a family.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. His mother looks very elegant and beautiful. Mr. Woo-Jin will look amazing too, when he gets older.¡± The beauty stylist, Hwang Yi-Young, continued the conversation with the beauty technician, instead of Woo-Jin, who could only listen quietly because of his face mask.


    This famous beauty spa in Gangnam was the go-to place for all kinds of people. Famous people, including celebrities, as well as rich people, were their main customer base. Their customer service and management were top-notch, but it had unwittingly become a hotbed for rumors. In other words, the first impression he made there was of great importance. This was because the evaluations of the staff, who called themselves experts and the likes, would lead to rumors, especially when there were suspicions of plastic surgery. Nowadays, once a celebrity was suspected of having done any plastic surgery, people would not believe any refutation, even if they were to take an x-ray of their heads and show it to the world.


    For someone like Chae Woo-Jin who had perfect facial features, it was difficult to avoid suspicions when it came to plastic surgery. His features were so perfect that even Hwang Yi-Young had asked him where he had gotten his surgery done when she first met Woo-Jin because it looked so natural and flawless.


    As such, it was expected to a certain degree that some self-proclaimed experts would run their mouths. That¡¯s why it would be good for them to bring the ones who gossiped the most over to his side since they were the source of the rumors. Fortunately, they had succeeded in recruiting a talented and influential person like her in this field as his personal beauty technician.


    ¡°By the way, Woo-Jin seems to have gained some weight on his face, so please pay attention to the chin area. It¡¯ll be bad if our dear Woo-Jin gets a double chin, so please rub it with more strength.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any fat. You¡¯re demanding!¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young deliberately pointed to the chin while talking about the non-existent fat under his chin. Perhaps people working in this field had something in common; the beauty technician quickly understood what Hwang Yi-Young meant. She was trying to highlight the fact that Woo-Jin had a naturally small face without the help of any jaw surgery, and that she did not have to be too careful with it.


    ¡°Mr. Woo-Jin, you truly need to thank your parents multiple times.¡±


    While Woo-Jin had always been grateful to his mother, he did not feel the same way towards his father. So whenever the beauty technician talked about his parents, he felt uncomfortable. It would be easy for him to find out information about his father, whose face he could barely remember now, but he did not feel the need to. Nonetheless, one day, he would have to talk about his family in an interview and he had yet to decide what he would say about his parents when that time came.


    Well, his mother would be remarrying soon after all, so naturally, he would have a father after that. Woo-Jin finally felt relieved after summarizing his family relations in a simple manner - two parents and a younger sister. It was as though he had completed a difficult assignment. He made up his mind that he would not be including his biological father in his answers to the countless questions he would be asked about his parents in the future. Besides, that was something his biological father would want as well ¨C to continue living like they did not know each other just like they had been doing up until now. Woo-Jin, who had become more at ease, fell into deep slumber at some point during the conversation between the beauty technician and Hwang Yi-Young.


    ***


    Meanwhile, DS¡¯ CEO, Jang Su-Hwan was smiling happily as he looked at the reviews that were posted after the press preview of Death Hill.


    <A story that could only be told by Director Moon Seung-Kwon. He remains a legend.>


    <The revival of Kang Hee-Joo. Her lack of discerning eye is no longer a cause for concern.>


    <The movie was almost perfect. If only the male lead, who had mistakenly thought himself as the female lead, was taken out. Nevertheless, the second half of the movie was worth watching, but that¡¯s about it.>


    <Why doesn¡¯t the male lead appear in the second half of the movie? The male lead, to me, is the unknown actor.>


    <The movie has the perfect scenario, a pitiful but strong female lead, clean and sophisticated directing and editing, and last but not least, a beautiful and perfect supporting character that should have been the male lead. There¡¯s only one thing that ruined the movie. I want to know who exactly casted the male lead.>


    <Three out of five stars. Why? What kind of main lead would XXX (spoiler) in the middle of the movie? When it came to the passion and love for Ara, looks, screen presence, acting skills, and action scenes, the male lead paled in comparison to the other actor. I don¡¯t understand why the female lead ended up with him. So, only three stars.>


    ~


    The movie was generally well-received. There was not a shadow of doubt that it would be the movie of this summer. The only flaw of the movie was the male lead, Park Min. He was originally criticized for his acting, but now, people were criticizing his looks too. Additionally, although it had not been explicitly mentioned yet, people had been starting to talk about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s role. Critics and entertainment journalists who had attended the premiere were unanimously showing their interest in ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯, who had overwhelmed the viewers with his beauty and irresistible charm.

 Chapter 29

    Even though his agency did not put pressure on the media to publish anything about Chae Woo-Jin as an actor, there were already reports about people digging for information about him. Perhaps if those people knew that Chae Woo-Jin was already one of DS¡¯ artistes, they would not hesitate to openly promote him.


    By nature, the media and agencies shared a mutually beneficial relationship where they tried to be in each other¡¯s good books, taking care of one another. Their relationship was one where they would do favors for one another, even if they did not ask the other party for one in the first place. Even though it required quite a lot of effort, it was a relationship worth investing in.


    After the preview was over, Jang Su-Hwan was once again reminded of the importance of their relationship with the media when he saw an article with a picture of Park Min grimacing. If one were to become haughty once they had become successful and went against the media, they would be ¡®rewarded¡¯ with such photos and articles. Even though there was no need to be intimidated by the media, it was clear that an actor abusing their power and disregarding their circumstances was a foolish act.


    Jang Su-Hwan looked at Death Hill¡¯s official poster and promotional materials that were placed side by side on his desk. The faces of the two main leads were on the poster with their names printed in big letters. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name could be found at the bottom of the poster, among the names of the other actors, printed in small letters. That was the same for the promotional materials ¨C unless one were to intentionally search for it, it was difficult to make out Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name.


    However, unlike the official poster, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face could be seen quite clearly in the promotional materials. There was an image of the scene that was taken right before they kissed, where he had perched on top of the female lead, who was sitting on the sofa, grabbing her chin. Even though they were at the back, that took up a third of the whole poster. Apart from that scene, there was also another where he held the female lead in his arms as they walked as well as one where he was placing a band-aid on the female lead¡¯s wounded face. They were in sharp contrast with Park Min¡¯s scene with the female lead, where they were only running away, while holding each other¡¯s hands. The comparison was making it evident that a love story between Chae Woo-Jin and the female lead had formed. The images of Woo-Jin and the female lead were really nice to look at, and above all, they were sexy.


    The reason why the official poster and the promotional materials were so different was because Park Min had an investor backing him. There were rumors saying that Park Min, who had returned after filming a commercial abroad, was very guarded against Chae Woo-Jin for taking over his parts in the movie while he was away. Actually, instead of being guarded, it was more accurate to say that he was retaliating against Woo-Jin.


    His indiscriminate hostility towards the rookie, who had the audacity to steal his sequence, put pressure on the production company via his investor. There was no other reason why Chae Woo-Jin was not invited to the press conference, previews and interviews. It was a well-known fact in the industry that Park Min¡¯s sponsor was Death Hill¡¯s biggest investor. If she had only been an ordinary investor, she would not have been able to aggressively and biasedly push for more opportunities and advantages for Park Min. She had acted as though she was not interested in getting back the money she had invested into the movie. Seeing how her purpose of investing was not to make profits but to lift Park Min¡¯s spirits, Director Moon seemed to have suffered quite a bit because of her abuse of power.


    Unlike the official poster, the promotional materials were produced and released as late as possible. If they were made in advance, it was possible that the investor would have removed Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face from the promotional materials. Because of that, Chae Woo-Jin was now known as ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ after the press preview. It was not easy to locate his name in the poster or the promotional materials because the name of his character hadn¡¯t been mentioned at all throughout the movie. In the last scene, he posed a question to the female lead asking if she even knew what his name was.


    In an official interview that had taken place after the preview screening, Director Moon Seung-Kwon casually mentioned that Chae Woo-Jin was only a rookie. He purposely did not announce it out loud or make it obvious. The biggest reason for that was because Park Min¡¯s investor was present. Director Moon Seung-Kwon said that he had simply casted a rookie for a role that had to be filled, and that he was thankful towards the actor for doing such a good job, saving one of the scenes of the movie. He had only answered questions pertaining to the content of the film, and had avoided talking about the actors as much as he could.


    Regardless of how famous a director was, in order to shoot the movie they desired, they had no choice but to depend on investors because of the ever-increasing cost of production. It was inevitable for them to be swayed by the power of capital. However, in truth, Director Moon was too greedy this time. Baseless investments lowered the quality of a piece of art. He had also regretfully realized that by using this opportunity to shoot the movie, at the slightest slip, it could lead to the movie getting ruined in the end.


    ¡°Woo-Jin probably doesn¡¯t know about it yet.¡±


    Woo-Jin probably did not know that just because the critics mentioned it, ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ was one of the most searched phrases at the moment. Since he did not browse the internet much, Woo-Jin lacked sources of information. Even if he looked at the search queries that were currently trending, he most likely wouldn¡¯t know what that term meant.


    The young man, who had always known what to do and would do a perfect job at that, was strangely slow and indifferent when it came to his own personal affairs. If the people around him looked at him and started whispering something about a handsome man, he would instead assume that they were talking about someone else and glance around.


    ¡°Well, that humble personality of his is charming too.¡±


    CEO Jang did not think it was necessary to change Woo-Jin¡¯s personality. Even though Woo-Jin was not an idol, Jang Su-Hwan knew that a personality as such would play a huge part in attracting fans. However, it was also good that Woo-Jin was not that naive and foolish. No matter where he was, Jang Su-Hwan wouldn''t have to worry about him.


    Unlike CEO Jang Su-Hwan, who was satisfied just thinking about Woo-Jin, Director Moon Seung-Kwon was in a less than ideal situation. After completing an interview with the host of a variety program about celebrities, Park Min pulled Moon Seung-Kwon aside and started arguing with him.


    ¡°Director, how can this happen? How did you edit the movie such that people would think that the supporting character is the male lead?¡±


    Park Min¡¯s face, which was always akin to a sculpture, was distorted with anger. After the preview, he was more resentful of the praises he was hearing about the unknown actor than he was about the criticisms he was getting about his acting.


    ¡°How many times have I told you? It was a scene that was definitely needed and because the actor did a good job, we ended up getting a really good scene. It would have been fine if you had done a good job too. What exactly is the problem?¡±


    Moon Seung-Kwon would most likely not work with Park Min ever again for the rest of his career. Additionally, he could confidently say that the investor who was backing Park Min would never pump in any capital into any of his movies in the future ever again. Nevertheless, the movie still had not been released yet, so they tried their best to be civil with one another as much as possible. In the future, they still had to attend preview screenings and regional stage greetings, so they could not afford to spark rumors of discord.


    ¡°But that was originally my sequence!¡±


    If you acted in that sequence, our movie would have been ruined. Director Moon Seung-Kwon held himself back from speaking his mind, and tried to respond calmly.


    ¡°You left the set to shoot a commercial abroad. Were we supposed to not do anything for a week and simply wait for you? Also, regardless of the actor, as long as it was done well, it¡¯s fine with me.¡±


    ¡°You should have waited for me! Didn¡¯t my sponsor invest in this movie?¡±


    Eventually, the agitated Park Min touched the detonator first. Director Moon Seung-Kwon, who had experienced a life crisis after accepting the money he should not have taken in the first place, could not take it any longer. He pointed his finger at the main culprit who, by ruining his movie, ruined his reputation as the box office legend.


    ¡°Yeah, I barely put up with your acting because of her. If not for her, I would have removed you from the movie entirely! What, you¡¯re telling me that you should have acted in those scenes? What do you think would have been different if you acted in them instead? In any case, everybody has been saying that you¡¯re an actor who can¡¯t act well and only depends on his looks. Why are you coveting after other people¡¯s scenes when you couldn¡¯t even do your own parts properly? If you had acted in those scenes, do you think that the same praises about A would be directed towards you instead? Stop spouting ridiculous things and come to your senses, you terrible actor!¡±


    Despite his fame and title as Korea¡¯s box office director, Moon Seung-Kwon had a good personality, and had always been kind and courteous towards his subordinates. Once they had started a production together, he always prioritized the relationships with his co-workers instead of arguing over every little detail. He had rarely, no, never raised his voice in such a reckless manner to an actor that had appeared in his movie.


    ¡°How...how could you say that?¡±


    ¡°Did I say something wrong? I will never work with you again in the future. If there¡¯s someone crazy enough to want to shoot a movie with you, I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening. If you are unhappy about it, whether it¡¯s the preview screening or any other events, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you show up or not, because there is someone else I would rather invite to these events. Please get out of my sight!¡±


    I should have done this earlier. Initially, he had tolerated Park Min because of the investor. After that, Moon Seung-Kwon had continued tolerating him for the sake of the movie. Last but not least, he continued to tolerate him up until now for the sake of making the movie a box office hit. However, it was too much for him. There was a limit to his patience; he could no longer overlook Park Min¡¯s bad behavior. How could he work with an actor who did not respect the director at all?


    For a moment, Park Min was speechless when he saw Director Moon turn away from him coldly. Ever since he debuted, he was known as the most handsome man in Korea. He was well-respected by both the public and the important people in the entertainment industry. Even though recently, people had been criticizing him because his terrible acting skills weren¡¯t showing any signs of growth, he was still Park Min.


    In fact, there were many other actors with similar careers who were still getting a lot of flak for their poor acting skills. If one were to compare Park Min to them, at least he had a unique appearance. Besides, if they had to pick from a pool of actors with similar acting skills, everyone would pick Park Min as the best of the bunch and be anxious to cast him.


    Taking his acting skills out of the equation, Park Min was the most wanted actor and won the hearts of the public as the most handsome man in Korea. It was solely the director¡¯s fault for the controversy that had arisen over his acting skills in Death Hill ¨C it was not his fault. It was evident that the director had sacrificed him to promote the rookie. He felt that the reason why people were criticizing him for his looks was because they had focused on making the rookie look good by giving him all kinds of special effects. Park Min was certain that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance paled in comparison to him in reality.


    ¡°He¡¯ll come to his senses only after being properly compared and put in his place.¡±


    Park Min laughed insidiously as he took out his phone and called someone. Regardless of how influential his sponsor was, he could not publicly go against Director Moon. If he were to do that, it would mean that Director Moon was inferior to him.


    ¡°Noonim!¡± [1]


    Park Min used a voice that was noticeably and incomparably sweeter than the one he used with Director Moon. The lady listened to Park Min¡¯s grievances and concerns, comforted him, and even got angry on his behalf. Ultimately, she promised to give Park Min what he wanted.


    Less than 30 minutes after that, Director Moon received a call saying that he could invite Chae Woo-Jin to the VIP preview screening. For some reason, the person who had been cutting off Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s opportunities expressed that it would be good for ¡®all actors¡¯ to be gathered together. After hanging up the phone, Director Moon went silent for a moment. He blinked, not knowing how to accept her suggestion.


    ¡°Is this Park Min¡¯s way of apologizing?¡±


    Director Moon, who wanted to call Chae Woo-Jin more than anyone else, was confused because of the current situation. That¡¯s why he accepted it as Park Min¡¯s apology.


    ¡°Well, he was the one who talked back to the director.¡±


    Director Moon was elated and called Chae Woo-Jin. There was no need to say too much; this was what he truly wanted to say to Chae Woo-Jin:


    ~


    ¡°You might not know me well, but I¡¯m such a person, ok?¡±


    ~


    However, he had to wait.


    ¡°Woo-Jin fell asleep during the skincare treatment. Should I wake him up?¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young picked up Woo-Jin¡¯s phone; she knew that Director Moon Seung-Kwon was on the other end of the line and tried to be as polite to him as possible, but the tone was less than enthusiastic. Director Moon hung up after telling her that he would call again in a bit, and waited for time to go by.


    The moment everyone had been waiting for with excitement had finally arrived. Director Moon wanted to gesture to Woo-Jin, who was about to enter a whole new world, to go come quickly.


    1. A respectful term for older women used by younger men <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 30

    ¡°Wearing black is the way to go, and you¡¯re wearing a Zegna suit to boot.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young looked at Chae Woo-Jin, who had dressed up for the preview screening, with her eyes half-closed. Seeing Woo-Jin dressed completely in accordance with her personal taste, she reacted in a dramatic way because he looked so dazzling. On the other hand, Woo-Jin stood there frozen and could not move.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little too much?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    Even though he did not know much about luxury brands, he knew how much an Ermenegildo Zegna suit cost. He was worried about not being able to use the bathroom if he were to wear that.


    ¡°It¡¯s from their sartorial line, so it¡¯s not as expensive as you think. It was specially sponsored by Miss Park Si-Yeon, so all you have to do is look good in it and take good pictures.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying I don¡¯t have the confidence to look good in it.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young stared at Woo-Jin, who was grumbling. Brimming with confidence, she said to him arrogantly, ¡°Listen up, Chae Woo-Jin. You are worth so much more than some clothes that cost millions of won. In fact, the suit should be very grateful to you for wearing it. And so what if you stain it? It¡¯s made of a very high quality fabric, so even if it gets stained, it will come off if you wash it well. I¡¯m going to wash it before returning it anyway, so what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young tapped Woo-Jin¡¯s arm as she smiled. She was the boss. When Woo-Jin, who had become a little more confident, threw his shoulders back, Hwang Yi-Young laughed out loud in approval.


    ¡°But, don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll be the only one standing out too much?¡±


    Director Moon had personally called him to invite him to the VIP preview screening, but he did not think that he would get noticed by anyone as an actor who played a minor character. Director Moon Seung-Kwon had only told him to dress well, and did not say anything else apart from that. Woo-Jin felt very embarrassed for putting in a lot of effort into looking good since it looked as though he was expecting to receive a lot of attention.


    He was worried about making mistakes so he looked up the preview screening on the internet. He looked at the pictures of the other celebrities who attended the event, but they wore plain-looking clothes that did not look particularly special.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know this but almost all of them are wearing luxury clothes and accessories. Park Min is also wearing something similar to this line, so you won¡¯t be the only one standing out,¡± said Hwang Yi-Young.


    ¡°But he¡¯s the male lead.¡±


    ¡°Woo-Jin, you¡¯re the great supporting actor! It doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯re the main lead or the supporting actor, as long as it looks good on you and you mingle confidently. Everything is great about you, but I think that sometimes you lack confidence.¡±


    Upon hearing Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s criticism, Woo-Jin reflected on himself for a moment. He had never thought that before, so he felt that what she said came out of nowhere.


    ¡°I¡¯m just being realistic, no?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    Woo-Jin had always considered himself to be a realist through and through. As he entered the entertainment industry, he never forgot to keep himself in line to ensure that he did not forget about reality or become pretentious after having big dreams. That was the first time he realized that it could be seen as having a lack of confidence in others¡¯ eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see it as being realistic at all.¡±


    From Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s point of view, she felt that there were a lot of things Woo-Jin did not know about himself. Additionally, he did not browse the internet much, so he was unaware about the fact that he was currently trending, even though ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ was already becoming more and more famous via the help of only a few still cuts and good reviews from critics and journalists who had seen the movie.


    ¡°Also, there is an actual difference between being humble and having no confidence. However, right now, it¡¯s not the time for you to be humble.¡± added Hwang Yi-Young.


    ¡°But I shouldn¡¯t be full of confidence either. I get what you are trying to say, but I really don¡¯t think that I should be wearing these clothes. It¡¯s not the time, place, or occasion for it,¡± responded Woo-Jin.


    If he was attending an awards ceremony today, he would wear that suit without any hesitation, but that was not the case.


    ¡°Do you really not want to wear it?¡±


    ¡°I will wear it next time. I will wear it when it fits the occasion. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to wear it, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t think that I should wear it today.¡±


    Since it was Woo-Jin¡¯s first official public appearance, Hwang Yi-Young wanted him to look good. It was not like he looked bad in it in the first place ¨C he wore the suit better than anybody else. And if she wasn¡¯t dying to show the world how perfect he looked, then she would not be able to call herself a fashion stylist.


    However, Woo-Jin was not wrong either. Bluntly speaking, as a rookie who had nothing to show, he would have looked ridiculous wearing a luxury suit to the preview screening of a movie where he was only the supporting character. But because he was Woo-Jin, it felt like he looked good in everything.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s change into something similar. Gentle and sexy.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder a couple of times wistfully before nodding


    eventually.


    ¡°I trust you,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°What, is that how a guy who trusts me behaves?¡± responded Hwang Yi-Young.


    Hwang Yi-Young shook her fist at Woo-Jin as she joked about how she hated him for making things difficult, before telling him to change out of his clothes. As soon as she had given up on getting him to wear the Zegna suit, she started brainstorming on clothes that were as similar to Park Min¡¯s suit as possible.


    Gradually, articles that compared Park Min to Chae Woo-Jin had started surfacing. All of them were written by the journalists who had watched the movie at the press preview screening. They predicted that the two men would be competing with one another in a close fight for the title of ¡®Korea¡¯s most handsome man¡¯.


    Having seen Park Min in real life before, in Hwang Yi-young¡¯s opinion, those articles were ridiculous and absurd.


    ¡°How dare they have the audacity to compare Woo-Jin to Park Min.¡±


    She could not forget the very first time she laid eyes on Chae Woo-Jin. Although she had met several celebrities, it was the first time she had seen the so-called ¡®brilliance,¡¯ a term that people used to describe stars, when she met Chae Woo-Jin. After his style had been decided, as well as going through skincare treatments, he became even more perfect. In the past, he had been a raw stone, but now, he was a refined gemstone.


    ¡°We¡¯ll clearly show everyone who is the better one!¡±


    It was a well-known fact that Chae Woo-Jin was now Korea¡¯s most handsome man. However, Hwang Yi-Young could not stand him being compared to anyone else. By dressing Woo-Jin in clothes and style that were similar to that of Park Min, she was determined to clearly show everyone who stood out more under the same circumstances. The moment Hwang Yi-Young was burning with determination, Woo-Jin shuddered as he felt a chill go down his back as he took off his shirt.


    ***


    When Woo-Jin arrived at the parking lot of cinema C, where the preview screening was held, he immediately called Director Moon. He was closely following Director Moon¡¯s instructions to call him the moment he arrived


    - Ohh, Woo-Jin, you arrived?


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m at the underground parking lot right now. Where should I go?¡±


    - Take the VIP elevator and come up to the tenth floor. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in front of the elevator, so hurry up.


    ¡°VI...ah, I found it. I¡¯m going up now.¡±


    There were four guides standing in front of the VIP elevator that Director Moon had mentioned. As soon as Woo-Jin started walking towards the elevator, the two people standing in front of the left elevator approached him.


    ¡°For celebrities, this way please.¡±


    The guide did not recognize Woo-Jin, but when he saw him, he assumed that he was an actor and immediately guided him to the elevator that was exclusively used by celebrities. When Kang Ho-Soo showed them the invitation, the guide confirmed the details and informed the people upstairs of Woo-Jin¡¯s arrival via a walkie-talkie.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is heading up now.¡±


    The door was about to close on the waiting elevator when it opened again and a group of three people entered. When they had appeared, Woo-Jin naturally turned his head and Park Min entered Woo-Jin¡¯s line of sight. At that moment, their eyes met. The reactions of the two people, who had acted in the same movie but never met each other in person, were quite different. Woo-Jin naturally bowed first since, even though they had never met, Park Min was very famous and had more experience than him in this field. The other two people seemed to be Park Min¡¯s managers, so he greeted them by simply nodding. The cold vibes emitting from Park Min made the ambience awkward for them to exchange greetings.


    Meanwhile, Park Min was unable to be as calm as Woo-Jin. He got on the elevator that was about to go up and saw a man he had never met before. Since it was an elevator reserved for celebrities to use, he guessed that Woo-Jin was an actor as well. However, Park Min did not immediately remember his face or recognize who he was. There¡¯s no way I don¡¯t know an actor who¡¯s that good-looking. Who can he be?


    Park Min was someone who was well-aware of how good-looking he was, and he had never felt threatened or lost to anyone else when it came to the looks department. As such, Park Min could objectively and subjectively evaluate him. All things considered, the other party was clearly more handsome and beautiful than himself. It might be awkward for a man to call another man beautiful, but it was more than fit enough to be called beautiful.


    However, even though it was clearly his first time seeing this person, the other party felt somewhat familiar to him. The moment Park Min looked back to ask his managers who that person was, Park Min¡¯s face contorted. That was because he could see on both of his managers¡¯ faces that they were lost in admiration of the other person¡¯s looks, which Park Min could see on their faces. The two people, who had grown accustomed to good-looks as they were always by Park Min¡¯s side, were pros who would usually not openly reveal their emotions when seeing someone¡¯s looks.


    Park Min was more concerned about the fact that he should not have gotten on that elevator than finding out who this person was. He knew that from the moment they got out of the elevator, all eyes would be on them. Why did this man have to be next to me? Park Min glanced to the side and unfortunately saw that the man was dressed in clothes that were similar to his.


    Just as he tried to force himself to look normal and stop contorting his lips, he heard the bell and the door of the elevator opened wide. Out of consideration, Woo-Jin and Kang Ho-Soo took a step back to allow Park Min and his managers to get off first. Park Min nudged his managers in the back, since they were still in a daze, and pushed them out. Just before he got out of the elevator behind them, Park Min hurriedly pushed the ¡®close door¡¯ button. As soon as he got out of the elevator, he glanced at the guide who was pushing the ¡®open door¡¯ button to prevent the door from closing. Park Min then stumbled slightly while looking as though he was greeting the guide. He moved the guide¡¯s hand away from the button, pretending it was an accidental mistake.


    Everything happened in a very short span of time. Even though he was bad at acting, he was good at making his earlier actions look very natural. Nobody could sense anything amiss about his intentional series of actions. On a day where there was an event like today, the button of the elevator at the parking lot was constantly being pushed in preparation for the arrival of guests. That¡¯s why as soon as the door closed, the elevator would go down. Sometimes, when the guide had forgotten to push the button and the people inside the elevator did not push the ¡®open door¡¯ button in time, the elevator would go down and come back up again. Park Min, who had made use of his knowledge from his past experiences to his advantage, smiled gently.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­not Woo-Jin, huh.¡±


    Director Moon, who had been waiting for Woo-Jin¡¯s arrival, stopped in his tracks. He had been about to greet the person, who had just arrived and was coming out of the elevator, with open arms. Director Moon had only seen the guide standing near the elevator writing the name of the actor, ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯, who was about to arrive next; he did not see the signboard with the name ¡®Park Min¡¯ that was put up immediately after.


    When Director Moon found out that the man who just came out of the elevator was Park Min, his excitement died down. Instead of welcoming him with open arms, he tapped Park Min on the shoulder and greeted him. That was because he was not that mad anymore with Park Min since he had put in effort into inviting Woo-Jin to the preview screening.


    Shortly after, Director Moon shifted his gaze to the back and a smile appeared on his face again. The door of the elevator that was closed had opened once again. Woo-Jin had finally appeared. There was a commotion in the hall before it was shrouded in strange silence.


    Park Min, who sensed something strange in the atmosphere, quickly turned around. Just as he had expected, the door of the elevator that should have gone down had stopped and was opened again. Park Min saw that inside the elevator, a burly man with a kind smile on his face was pressing and holding the button. And inside the elevator was the man, who stood out wherever he went, smiling as he made eye contact with Director Moon with his innocent-looking eyes.


    Finally, Park Min had realized who the man in the elevator was ¨C he was the man who played loanshark A in the movie, a character who was not even given an actual name.


    As soon as Woo-Jin got off the elevator, Director Moon slightly pushed Park Min to the side and walked towards him. Even though Director Moon¡¯s action drew a lot of attention, nobody cared that much about it. It was because everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the man Director Moon was greeting.


    There was a joke that had been going around ¨C after looking at Park Min, everyone else would look like a squid. [1] But today, it seemed like it was Park Min¡¯s turn to look like a squid, while Director Moon looked like an unknown alien in comparison to them.


    ¡°Why does this guy look more handsome every time I see him?¡±


    Director Moon, who had met Woo-Jin two weeks ago to have dinner with him, was blown away by him. He had become more handsome in the span of two weeks.Woo-Jin definitely did not have an ordinary appearance when he first met him, but he was still amazed by how Woo-Jin kept looking better and better every single time they met after that.


    It was not surprising since Woo-Jin had met Director Moon for the first time after he had just been discharged from the military. He had been skinny, and his skin had been rough due to lack of care, and last but not least, his hair had been shaved into a buzz cut which made him look less attractive. Woo-Jin had only been given a chance because he was naturally good-looking.


    And as he recalled the memories from his past lives, and continued to practice the mental cultivation techniques, which gradually purged the toxins and waste products that were accumulated in his body, Woo-Jin¡¯s skin began to improve rapidly. As his body became healthier and more balanced, his posture had also improved. Most importantly, as he learned how to control and use his effectively, Woo-Jin learned how to act in a graceful manner while maintaining an upright posture at any given moment.


    Naturally, even his slightest movements caught people¡¯s attention, causing them to be in awe of him. With the help of the beauty treatments arranged by his agency, his skin became brighter each day, and started to bring out his natural beauty.


    ¡°You¡¯ve always taken good care of me, Director Moon.¡±


    He did not say that out of humility. When they were reshooting the scenes for Death Hill, it had only been a day since he had remembered his past lives, so there had been no changes in his external appearance. Despite that, Director Moon still took good care of Woo-Jin and always complimented his good looks.


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural for me to think highly of you.¡±


    As Director Moon smiled delightfully, he patted Woo-Jin on the back. It made him very pleased that he would forever be the director of the movie that Chae Woo-Jin debuted in. Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s second, so I won! Being competitive all by himself, Moon Seung-Kwon grabbed Woo-Jin¡¯s hand and pulled him.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just stand around, we should go to the photo wall and take some pictures.¡±


    Leaving the male lead behind, Director Moon led Woo-Jin to the photo wall. However, no one had paid any attention to Park Min, who was left behind, grinding his teeth. What could he do in a situation where even his own managers were captivated and fixated on Woo-Jin?


    After arriving at the photo wall where dozens of reporters were waiting, Moon Seung-Kwon introduced Woo-Jin to everyone with confidence.


    ¡°The Unknown Actor has arrived.¡±


    Woo-Jin flinched for a second when the light from all the cameras flashed at once. Worried that he might have made a weird face, Woo-Jin waited for Director Moon, as well as Park Min, who was following closely behind. Since they were in the same elevator, they had to stand together at the photo wall, and all the other actors who had arrived after them had to wait.


    As Park Min walked towards them, Director Moon kindly led two actors to the photo wall ¨C particularly, Director Moon pushed Park Min on his back with strength, as he smiled.


    1. In Korean, the term ¡®squid¡¯ refers to ugly people. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 31

    Having two handsome actors standing next to one another was not a common sight. As soon as they went up the stairs and stood in front of the photo backdrop, white camera flashes went off. People were speaking noisily at the same time, but at this moment, Woo-Jin could not hear anything. He thought that he would be fine because he had assumed that the experiences in his past lives would have prepared him enough for this, but it seemed like memories were nothing more than just that - memories. Seeing how he was feeling so nervous, and that his hands were trembling, it seemed as though only what he had experienced for himself was real.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin!¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled as he turned his head towards the direction where his name was being called from. It was a subconscious reaction, but the reporters caught it right away and started calling out his name. Some of them called out Park Min¡¯s name as well, but there were significantly more reporters who called out Woo-Jin¡¯s name.


    Woo-Jin also heard some of them asking him questions, but he simply smiled and looked into the camera. Before going to the event, his agency had thoroughly emphasized that if it was not an official interview, then he was not obligated to answer any of the reporters¡¯ questions. Depending on the situation, saying thank you or that he would work hard was more than sufficient.


    Shortly after, the other actors showed up and Woo-Jin stood in front of the photo backdrop once again with them. Only after taking a group photo with the main leads and supporting actors, with Director Moon in the middle, was Woo-Jin able to finally break free from the clutches of the cameras.


    There were several reporters who wanted more time with him, but he simply bowed his head slightly and followed Director Moon as he walked off. He did not look haughty or arrogant; he looked very elegant and confident, causing a number of reporters to be in awe of him. But when Chae Woo-Jin and Director Moon entered the theater, their admiration turned into regret.


    Thereafter, all the reporters who took photos of the other celebrities that had arrived tilted their heads to one side. All the celebrities who prided themselves on having their good looks seemed mediocre. Compared to Woo-Jin, they were just average-looking. With that in mind, a new title came to mind - Beauty Slayer! Contrary to Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s expectations, Woo-Jin did not receive the title of ¡®Korea¡¯s most handsome man¡¯; instead, he had received a rather unique title.


    After entering the theater, Woo-Jin saw a familiar face. Woo-Jin and the female lead, Kang Hee-Joo, as well as the middle-aged actor who played the role of the loan shark boss, greeted one another delightfully. He had also greeted the main staff members as he shook hands with them. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but they had developed a strange sense of camaraderie during the intense and arduous week-long shoot, thus playing a role in this happy reunion. The phrase, ¡®Overthrow Park Min¡¯, was still relevant.


    ¡°Can I really sit here?¡± Once again, Woo-Jin asked as he sat to the left of Director Moon. Sitting to the right of Director Moon, Kang Hee-Joo nodded and gestured to him to sit down.


    ¡°Mr. Park Min will sit next to me, so you can sit there. Director Moon must be very happy to be sitting in the middle of a handsome man and a beautiful woman,¡± said Kang Hee-Joo.


    ¡°The handsome man is here but where¡¯s the beautiful woman you talked about?¡±


    ¡°Director!¡± Kang Hee-Joo rolled her eyes, but it was not because she was upset by what the director had said.


    No matter what sort of comments she received today, she couldn''t help but be in high spirits. After watching the film at the press preview screening, she had regained her confidence to some extent. Even though nobody could guarantee how well the movie would be received until it was finally released, the huge amount of favorable reviews and high anticipation of the movie becoming a box office hit made it so that regardless of what she heard, her excitement wouldn¡¯t die down.


    ¡°By the way, ever since you¡¯ve joined DS, you¡¯ve truly become so good-looking that I couldn¡¯t recognize you.¡±


    In response to what Kang Hee-Joo said, Director Moon, who had been complimenting Woo-Jin on his good looks every time he saw him, defended Woo-Jin on his behalf instead.


    ¡°Woo-Jin has always been good-looking.¡±


    ¡°We have to be honest though. He might have been handsome back then but he wasn¡¯t as handsome as he is now. Seeing Mr. Woo-Jin now, I truly lucked out. We shot the movie together when he was less attractive, and thanks to that, I don¡¯t look bad next to him.¡±


    Seeing Kang Hee-Joo clasping her hands in delight, Woo-Jin asked her in a serious tone, ¡°Was I really less attractive back then?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know that all this time, sir?¡± Seeing how Woo-Jin reacted in such a serious manner, Kang Hee-Joo responded politely to him, but it was just a joke with no significance.


    If one were to compare Woo-Jin¡¯s past self to his current self, he was definitely less attractive back then. However, it would be a different story altogether if one were to compare Woo-Jin¡¯s past self to most people in their prime.


    ¡°If someone who wasn¡¯t attractive changes, then isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±  Park Min spoke sarcastically, interrupting the conversation. He had entered the theater slightly after them and was sitting down at his seat. As someone who had always been at the center of attention, he felt bitter due to the sense of alienation he had experienced today.


    ¡°What is obvious? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to say.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Do you know what he¡¯s referring to, Woo-Jin?¡±


    ¡°If there was a change, I think that skincare treatments must have played a part.¡± Woo-Jin, who had always been serious, thought carefully before answering this time as well.


    It was true that his features had always been the same, and if he had to pick out any differences in his face, then he could only point out that his skin had improved tremendously. As a result, all the praises went to his beauty technician. Truth be told, the fact that his overall style had become more refined and classy, coupled with the systematic self-care routines, played a huge role, but he didn¡¯t feel that this was an appropriate time to be listing them out.


    ¡°His skin has certainly improved. His facial features are the same, but his face is glowing.¡± When Kang Hee-Joo became equally serious and chimed in, Woo-Jin started complimenting his beauty technician. It piqued Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s interest and she asked for more information. In the midst of them going back and forth, Park Min ended up being disregarded once again.


    ¡°By the way, I noticed that you didn¡¯t say hello to me, your senior in this field, when you saw me. Considering that we acted in the same movie, aren¡¯t you being too haughty?¡± Park Min smiled thinly as he threw a jab at Woo-Jin. At first glance, he looked like an actor who was very considerate and kind to his juniors. That was because cameras were everywhere and there was no telling what they would capture.


    ¡°Ah! Come to think of it, I really didn¡¯t greet you. I didn¡¯t want to come off as overly friendly and overstep my boundaries since you¡¯re very famous. Also, I realized that I haven¡¯t officially introduced myself since you weren¡¯t there when I was shooting on set. I am Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin stood up and bowed with a smile on his face that was even brighter than Park Min¡¯s. He was polite, but not servile; he looked genuinely happy to meet him ¨C there was nothing to nitpick.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Park Min responded curtly and turned his head back to the front.


    Kang Hee-Joo then criticized him, ¡°If a junior greeted you, shouldn¡¯t you, as the senior, reciprocate it?¡±


    ¡°Is there anybody in Korea who doesn''t know my name?¡±


    ¡°Then you should have told him to introduce himself instead of greeting you from the get go. For a senior figure, you¡¯re not very kind. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re aging physically but not mentally.¡±


    Even though they were exchanging insults, both of them had an extremely friendly look on their faces as they smiled brightly. They kept their voices as low as possible and barely opened their lips to the extent that it almost seemed as though they were ventriloquists to the people around them.


    ¡°I guess only your face is aging because you have so many wrinkles.¡±


    ¡°My brain has more wrinkles in comparison. People call it aging wisely and gracefully. What do you think? Don¡¯t you want to learn a thing or two from me?¡±


    Park Min used rationality to control himself and suppress his anger that rose instantly, holding himself back from lashing out.


    ¡°Should I say something, or should I stay silent¡­¡±


    Park Min felt that Kang Hee-Joo shouldn¡¯t have butted into his conflict with Woo-Jin, and he was unhappy with the fact that Kang Hee-Joo kept talking back casually to him, despite being younger than him, just because she was his senior in the field. Just as Park Min was about to chew her out, Woo-Jin interrupted and said to Kang Hee-Joo with gleaming eyes, ¡°Are those Shuel shoes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, these are handmade shoes that I¡¯ve commissioned. They¡¯re pretty, right?¡±


    ¡°These were designed by my mother.¡±


    ¡°Oh my! Really?¡±


    Because Kang Hee-Joo turned her body to speak with Woo-Jin, Park Min no longer had anyone to talk to. He could have continued talking to her back, but he gave up and was forced to turn his head and face the front, but the bitterness in him continued to linger. The people around him, on his left and right, treated him as though he did not exist.


    Even though it was obvious that Park Min was being excluded and that nobody wanted to socialize with him, nobody said anything about it either. The first reason was that the crew and cast were sitting in the row in front of them. Another reason was that the other celebrities and important people in the industry that were sitting behind them were busy looking at Chae Woo-Jin, so they were not paying attention to Park Min¡¯s situation.


    The birth of a new star has always been mysterious, and piqued people¡¯s interest. This was the starting point of a star¡¯s rise to fame, which could be a happy thing for some people, but a threat to others. Nobody knew whether it would be extinguished like a candle, or become an explosion of light that happened right before the birth of a star.


    On the other hand, Park Min did not care about the birth of a star at all; he felt that he himself was not suited for the movie industry. He felt that there were too many crazy people in the film industry, and had concluded it would be beneath someone as refined as him to work in an inferior industry.


    The movie started screening, and after a runtime of 130 minutes, Woo-Jin felt as though he had returned from a different world. That was because he felt like he was loan shark A as he watched the movie. A¡¯s screen time was a lot longer than what Woo-Jin had expected as most of the footage used were not edited. That¡¯s why it was easier to keep up with A¡¯s emotions, and even after the movie had ended, it was difficult for him to remove himself from those emotions.


    When the movie was over, he subconsciously clapped his hands as he was swept up to the front by the people around him. Even when they were on the stage, Woo-Jin continued to sit to Director Moon¡¯s left.  Woo-Jin¡¯s mind was blank even as he held onto the microphone that was handed by the staff to every single person on the stage.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s true that we faced a lot of difficulties while shooting the movie, there were also fun times. That¡¯s probably the reason why I continue to make movies and haven¡¯t been able to leave this industry. I would like to express my gratitude to all the actors and staff members who have worked hard with one another for six months, and I hope that everybody who watches our movie will be happy.¡±


    Director Moon Seung-Kwon, who picked up the microphone first, ended his brief address with a classic but typical remark. He glanced at Kang Hee-Joo, signaling that it was her turn to speak. Usually in places like this, it was best to add another line and close off with well wishes. Kang Hee-Joo also repeated what she had said in the previous preview screening, albeit modifying it a little.


    ¡°I am Kang Hee-Joo and I played Ara in the movie. As you may have known, I was at a major crossroads shooting this movie. Instead of immersing myself in the role during the shoot, I was more concerned about whether this movie would become a hit or what if it turned out to be a flop again. That¡¯s why I was unable to thoroughly get into Ara¡¯s character at first and struggled a lot, but I managed to overcome it with the help of the director and the staff. I would also like to thank my fellow actors who had watched quietly from the side and waited for me to get out of the rut.¡±


    Kang Hee-Joo exchanged eye contact with the people around her as she expressed her gratitude. Park Min, who was the next person to speak, curled his lips as looked at her.


    ¡°Indeed, you had a hard time back then,¡± Park Min said, as he played it off as a joke while crinkling his eyes. However, she could not get mad at him. She thought about how absurd those words were since they were coming from the person who put her through hell because of his acting. Nonetheless, Park Min was not done talking.


    ¡°The reason why Miss Kang Hee-Joo struggled so much, which was uncharacteristic of her, was because one of the scenes that was shot early in the production had to be reshot all over again. But thanks to that, we were able to create such a wonderful movie. The hard work was worth it.¡±


    Park Min cleverly revealed to the public that she had to reshoot her scene with Chae Woo-Jin, and phrased it in a way that made it seem as though he himself was the one reshooting the scene. In truth, he had not been there, so he did not know the reason behind the reshoot. Park Min, who had only heard about it later on, had weirdly twisted the truth.


    As for the truth, by phrasing it that way, he made Kang Hee-joo the topic of discussion today first. It would be even better if it led to some controversy and criticisms about her acting skills. In any case, even if this movie was a flop, he had been casted in a huge drama, and was currently preparing for it. Unlike movies, he had always felt at home with dramas, and they had always been successful. It was better for him to abandon the film industry than waste his efforts by giving it another shot.


    Park Min quickly turned his head around. He concluded that even if he was not at the center of the topic of discussion today, it would not be a bad thing to sacrifice others and make them look bad. He felt that it was better for the spotlight to be on Kang Hee-joo, rather than having himself being constantly compared to or mentioned with the rookie, whose name he did not even know. If she was painted in a bad light, then it couldn¡¯t get any better.


    Because Park Min had been smiling and playing everything off as a joke the entire time, Kang Hee-Joo could not get mad at him. She could only laugh. Since she was the one who said something first, it was too late for her to say anything now. Furthermore, it was true that she had struggled in the beginning of the production, so she did not know whether she should deny it or not.


    After Park Min had finished his speech, it was the other supporting actors¡¯ turn to address the crowd. They praised the production crew, as well as the female lead, Kang Hee-joo, adequately. They looked like they were in a rush to do some damage control and neutralize what Park Min had said earlier. On the other hand, the culprit who lit the fire was carefree and relaxed. Besides, he had achieved his intended reactions and ambience, so he was acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.


    Finally, it was Woo-Jin¡¯s turn. Except for Park Min, everyone turned to look at him. Anybody who had seen the movie would know how deadly and charming Chae Woo-Jin was in Death Hill. The moment he appeared on the screen, they would become so focused and into the movie that it was breathtaking. However, strangely enough, he was not the only one who shone on-screen. His character permeated throughout the entire movie in a very natural manner and did not stand out alone. He made the other actors shine at the same time.


    Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s acting was consistently good throughout the movie, but when she was in the same frame as Chae Woo-Jin, she looked especially lovely and feminine. She had also naturally showed off her charm in response to the acting of Chae Woo-Jin, someone who genuinely loved Ara.


    When the characters were in the same scene as Chae Woo-Jin, their acting was accentuated. The loan shark boss became more vicious than anyone else, and his co-workers and subordinates became underhanded at times, and were sometimes loyal at other times. A person who stood out in real life would not be the only one who shone alone in the movie; he would complement other people and make them shine too. Thus, his acting became even more meaningful. People who had personally worked with a typical actor like Park Min, who tried to shine alone in real life and in movies, knew how difficult that was.

 Chapter 32

    ¡°I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin, I played loan shark A in the movie.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, a commotion broke out in the theater. The real name of ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ had finally been revealed, but it was not wrong to say that he [1] did not have a name. Apart from Park Min, the production crew and the other cast members were busy trying to hold back their laughter.


    Up until now, they had kept quiet whenever people talked about ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ just so that they could see this reaction, since they could imagine the reaction of the public if they were to find out that the charming character was actually a nameless one.


    ¡°Nevertheless, since I¡¯m called A and not 1 or 2, I¡¯m grateful towards the writer because it sounds rather cool.¡±


    The crowd burst into laughter. While they were still immersed in the ambience of the movie, if it was revealed that the real name of ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ was loan shark 1, they would have instantly been brought back to reality.


    ¡°Just like everyone else, I¡¯d like to thank the production crew and my seniors, but I¡¯m certain that the gratitude I feel is even greater. Since it was my first time acting, I was lacking in a lot of aspects, but everyone had done a good job in guiding and encouraging me, especially Kang Hee-Joo, who had ended up reshooting a scene because of my poor acting. As I watched and observed her on set, I managed to learn what it was like to be a professional actor. Today, it was my first time watching the ending of the movie. For some reason, Ara didn¡¯t look very happy in the end, and that was what made me the happiest.¡±


    The movie clearly had a happy ending. Not only did Ara manage to get rid of the false charge, she had also caught the criminal and was now freed from the clutches of the loan sharks. Ultimately, the movie ended with her walking on the beach while holding hands with the male lead. However, he could feel the heavy weight on her shoulders by looking at Ara¡¯s facial expression at the end ¨C her forced smile suggested that while she was happy, she was never truly happy, thus eliciting sadness in the viewers. Woo-Jin had seen Ara¡¯s final facial expression through the eyes of loan shark A, and hence, it was more satisfying than anything else as A had died while hoping for something like that to happen. Woo-Jin''s face was glowing, as he smiled.


    The words of the production crew and actors, who had spoken before him, became vague and scattered. The only thing they remembered was the last impression left by Chae Woo-Jin. As a result, Park Min had only achieved half of his goal. He wanted to sacrifice Kang Hee-Joo and quietly remove himself from the spotlight. However, that didn¡¯t mean that the movie would not become a box office hit, and it also didn¡¯t change the fact that he was still the male lead.


    Park Min had only been getting useless attention over the past few days. However, he concluded that this was better than being criticized for his acting skills or having his appearance compared to Chae Woo-Jin, and being criticized for it. While he did manage to remove himself from the spotlight as planned, he wanted Kang Hee-Joo to be in the spotlight, not Chae Woo-Jin.


    Park Min had gone in the wrong direction from the start. He tried to make Kang Hee-Joo look bad by attacking her acting skills, but her acting in the movie was perfect to the point that it was hard to believe that she had struggled in the early stages of the production. However, Park Min, who was indifferent towards other people¡¯s acting, could not have known that. As such, Park Min¡¯s presence, as well as his comments, had been quietly buried beneath all the buzz.


    After the preview screening, the headlines were filled with several different topics. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance as the real identity of ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯ who acted as the charming loan shark A; praises about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills; and Kang Hee-joo and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s warm anecdotes.


    The pre-screening ticket sales of Death Hill were fully booked, setting a new record in its opening week. Even though the early success was not guaranteed to continue till the end of screening, the extraordinary records fueled positive thoughts. Amidst the discussions about how the movie would easily exceed 10 million viewers, there were several speculations and high expectations about the final rating of the movie.


    Despite such a pleasant start, Woo-Jin suffered for a few days right after its release. He started facing problems the moment the movie was released to the public.


    ¡°How could you shoot such scenes without my permission? Even if you are an adult and have already completed your military service, in my eyes, you are still a child¡­!¡±


    His mother was shocked by his passionate kissing scene with Kang Hee-Joo in the movie. During the shoot, even Woo-Jin felt that the kissing scene was extremely heavy and racy. It felt as if he was shooting an erotic film instead of an ordinary kissing scene. A¡¯s desire to devour Ara was best portrayed in that scene, and it was very violent and sexual as it was a scene where he had struggled with his inner conflict.


    As an actor, he was satisfied with his acting, but he was not that thick-skinned to get his family to watch the movie. That was the reason why he intentionally did not tell his family about his appearance in Death Hill, even though it was well-received at the preview screening. His family was not interested in the entertainment industry, and they did not browse the internet much. Hence, he thought that he would be able to hide it successfully from them.


    However, he was caught off guard by Choi Min-Woo, his soon-to-be stepfather. Since Choi Min-Woo was running a company, he was very interested in things that were happening around him. Moreover, he had already considered Woo-Jin as his son, so when Woo-Jin had signed a contract with an agency, it was only natural that he would try to learn more about him. Choi Min-Woo had even connected with DS¡¯ CEO. In fact, they had gone to the same college back in the day. They had met up for a meal and had a serious conversation about Woo-Jin the other day, and that was when Choi Min-Woo had found out about Woo-Jin¡¯s debut movie that would soon be released.


    Needless to say, Choi Min-Woo went to watch the movie with Park Eun-Soo on the day of its release, and she was extremely shocked by her son¡¯s acting. Regardless of how long she had been watching the movie, she could only see the man on the screen as Chae Woo-Jin, her son, instead of his character, loan shark A. While the kissing scene was shocking in its own way, A¡¯s ending made her even more heartbroken.


    ¡°And I have to see my son die in such a manner?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, I¡¯m not actually dead! It¡¯s just acting,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°It looks so real. Oh my gosh, it must have been very painful.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t painful at all. All the weapons that you saw were fake.¡±


    ¡°I heard that there were several cases where actors got injured on set while shooting an action scene. Also, there was a scene where you were stabbed with a knife. You didn¡¯t actually get hurt, did you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a fake knife. When you press it against a surface, the ¡®blade¡¯ automatically goes inside, so it¡¯s safe. As for the blood, it came from a capsule placed in his mouth. He had to bite it in order for the ¡®blood¡¯ to ooze out.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s sister was explaining everything in detail to their mother, who was ignorant about film production. This caused the already sweating Woo-Jin to lose his mind. Woo-Hee had not seen the movie yet, but after hearing what her mother said, she looked at her brother as though she was on the verge of tears.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, What the hell have you been doing? Didn¡¯t I tell you not to shoot shady things!¡±


    Woo-Hee was somewhat aware of the movie, as it had been quite a popular topic of discussion among her classmates lately. However, as both an honors and a model student, she had been trying to ignore it because studying came first. Her best friends were also similar to her ¨C they did not have much interest in movies or dramas. They would sometimes watch a few interesting dramas or variety TV shows, but they did not really go to the theaters much. At best, she only watched one or two movies a year.


    ¡°It¡¯s not shady.¡±


    ¡°But mom said it was.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, it wasn¡¯t shady. I just don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what you meant? In that case, I¡¯ll watch it with my friends.¡±


    Upon hearing what Woo-Hee said, Woo-Jin and his mother yelled together, ¡°You¡¯re not watching it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t watch it. You will go blind.¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± Woo-Jin stumbled in shock upon hearing the harsh criticism from Park Eun-Soo, who was still shocked by her son¡¯s kissing and death scenes. Woo-Hee quietly comforted her brother by stroking his shoulder.


    ¡°The movie wasn¡¯t bad. It was interesting, and the action scenes were good, but because my son was in the movie¡­what¡¯s the point?¡±


    As the mother of a budding film actor, Park Eun-Soo was not ready yet. She shook her head bitterly. All she could see whenever she saw his character throughout the movie was her son. She was startled every time she saw him kiss the female lead, and she ended up crying when her son got beaten up and stabbed. Thereafter, she could not focus on watching the movie, so she did not know its ending. Hence, she was unable to recommend it to her daughter.  Perhaps, the parents of the other actors may have felt the same way, or it might just be because Park Eun-Soo was too rigid and old fashioned. Either way, she had a lot on her mind.


    ***


    <A tale about monsters ¨C Death Hill>


    The film Death Hill is a story about monsters who are living in our society. A gambling addict of a father who incurred debts due to lack of self-restraint; the high interest accumulated from easy loans and the tyranny of materialistic people; a psychopath who enjoys the act of killing; authorities that were blinded by their thirst for credit; the irresponsible and result-driven media.


    With the story being centered around a woman named ¡®Ara¡¯, the film is tragic, terrifying, and sad, but it also shows hope. However, even though the movie had a happy ending, ¡®Ara¡¯ could not be happy. With the help of some people, she was freed from the false charges against her, as well as from the debt incurred by her father. But in the end, one of them had to sacrifice his life for her.


    If salvation was achieved at the cost of another person¡¯s life, could the survivor be truly happy?


    She was loved, but she knew that she had to carry the weight of this debt for the rest of her life. ¡®Ara¡¯, who is well-aware of the darkness, lies and the weight of life in this world will gradually transform into a monster, even if it was not her intention to do so. It seemed as though that is the message that the final focus of the film wants to convey to its viewers.


    After being tainted by the darkness in the world, it is difficult for ¡®Ara¡¯ to be any happier than this. This is how monsters nurture other monsters in this world. Additionally, it raises the concern that our society encourages this even further, which could be seen from Ara¡¯s facial expression at the end of the movie, when she had a smile on her face that seemed to be ridden with unhappiness.


    Her facial expression alone in this one scene elicited these feelings, which is why I can¡¯t help but praise Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s acting. The theme of the movie was very clear-cut. Hence, that might be the reason why Chae Woo-Jin, otherwise known as ¡®The Unknown Actor¡¯, said at the preview screening that ¡° Ara didn¡¯t look very happy in the end, and that was what made me the happiest¡±.


    The ¡®Unknown Actor¡¯, another monster with intense desire in the movie, saved someone by sacrificing his own life, but he could not make the person he loved happy. In a way, his sad and horrifying love was similar to violence. It represents the image of a typical person in society, who puts their happiness before everyone else, regardless of how much they love others; just like how we live our lives without knowing that they are monsters.


    However, our society is still warm and beautiful. Strangely, after watching Death Hill, a journalist thought back about a photo that went viral on the internet not too long ago. It was a photo of the back of a young man who gave his sneakers to an old man, who was picking up waste paper at a subway station, in exchange for his worn out slippers.


    Monsters are not the only ones who live in our society. More importantly, the fact that we are able to recognize beautiful and touching scenes when we see them is proof that we still have warmth in our hearts.


    ......redacted......


    Lastly, adding on to the journalist¡¯s personal thoughts, Chae Woo-Jin is a monster in his own way. It is pretty much impossible to make the worst villain as attractive as he did, but that just shows us that he possesses high analytical and comprehension skills of his character. Most importantly, since this is his first time acting, I greatly look forward to his future endeavors. Judging from what Chae Woo-Jin has shown us, I dare say that a monster of a rookie has appeared in the film industry. Frankly speaking, I will always welcome such a monster with open arms.


    (Choi Il-Jae, Maeil Moonhwa)


    /


    - Did the movie that I watched before have such a theme¡­


    ©¸ It depends on the person who watches it hahaha


    - In conclusion, the point of the article is Chae Woo-Jin. LOL


    - By the way, is Chae Woo-Jin that handsome? Everyone has been saying that Chae Woo-Jin is more handsome, but I think that Park Min is more handsome.


    ©¸ Mr. Park Min, you can¡¯t write that here.


    - I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be different in real life, but comparing the photo of him and Park Min, he¡¯s definitely more attractive.


    ©¸ He looks like he has done plastic surgery on his entire face. Don¡¯t be fooled.


    ©¸ Excuse me! What basis are you writing that comment on? I¡¯ll give you the link to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s graduation pictures from elementary school up until high school that were uploaded on the internet, so go take a look! You¡¯re just spreading rumors. DS doesn¡¯t sue people who do things like that. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing.


    - The slipper young man! It¡¯s hard to judge since there were only pictures of his back view, but I think he probably has a kind face. He looks tall and slender from his back view alone.


    ©¸ I was truly touched by that picture. The back view of a person wearing worn out slippers that were going to fall apart at any moment in such a stylish manner, while dragging his suitcase!! At this point, we would have heard about the person in the photo, but we have heard nothing about it so far.


    ©¸ There were a lot of speculations about his identity, but they were all false. Some people have even claimed that it¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin. In any case, it¡¯s just the delusion of crazy fangirls. LOL


    - Genie oppa!! I just found out that his name is Chae Woo-Jin. We¡¯re no longer under Japanese occupation, but I changed your name. I¡¯m sorry T_T


    ©¸ Same here. I also just found out his name is Chae Woo-Jin. I¡¯ve always thought that his name was Choi Woo-Jin.


    ©¸ Are the two of you members of Wish Baragi? Fancy seeing you here! To be honest, all of us thought that Genie oppa¡¯s name was Choi Woo-Jin. T_T [2]


    - Umm¡­? Who are you guys? Wish Baragi? What¡¯s that? Is it a fan club¡­


    - Chae Woo-Jin!! I thought that his name was Choi Woo-Jin, but he was already famous before this. Ever since he was a TM trainee, he had a lot of fans because of his great looks. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for his debut and was prepared to spend a lot of money, but he was kicked out after his group debuted. Wish Baragi is a place that is created by and filled with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans. We¡¯re a group of tenacious girls who have been waiting for more than two years without even knowing his actual name!


    - That¡¯s right. Wish Baragi! I haven¡¯t been going much since I¡¯ve joined, but I should go again soon. Woo-Jin! I wish you all the best!!!!


    ¡°Wish Baragi?¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young, who was clipping Woo-Jin¡¯s articles, tilted her head when she saw the words ¡®Wish Baragi¡¯, which had appeared in the comments on each article.


    1. loan shark A <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. Baragi comes from the Korean word for ¡®sunflower¡¯ (haebaragi). It usually refers to fans who admire and look up to their idols, just like how sunflowers follow the sun. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 33

    ¡°It originally started off as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Fancafe, but due to the serious circumstances, it became a place for anti-fans to gather for them to rally against TM and Blue Fit,¡± replied Kang Ho-Soo. [1] [2]


    After hearing Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s response, Hwang Yi-Young looked even more baffled. Kang Ho-Soo gave a brief explanation to Hwang Yi-Young, who did not know that Woo-Jin used to be a TM trainee. As Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s manager, he had gotten Woo-Jin¡¯s background information from CEO Jang. Thus, he knew a lot of things about Woo-Jin that even Woo-Jin himself was unaware of.


    ¡°Wow! Woo-Jin used to be an idol trainee? It suits him, but for some reason, it feels like it doesn¡¯t suit him that well.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the leader of the group bullied Mr. Woo-Jin because he wanted to become the main vocalist. When Blue Fit debuted without Woo-Jin because of various reasons, it must have completely taken Mr. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans by surprise since they were enthusiastically waiting for his debut. Nonetheless, Mr. Woo-Jin was still with TM back then, so his fans kept silent out of fear of messing things up for him with his agency. But ultimately, Woo-Jin still left TM. Thereafter, his fans came together to establish ¡® Wish Baragi¡¯. They gave Woo-Jin the nickname ¡®Genie¡¯, coined after the genie¡¯s lamp that grants wishes, thereby naming their fanclub ¡®Wish Baragi¡¯.¡±


    Initially, the Fancafe members called each other ¡®baragi¡¯, but it eventually became ¡®barag¡¯. It was funny how the barags mistook Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name as Choi Woo-Jin. Since there was no way of getting information about a trainee, Wish Baragi was a fanclub that was created without any proper information.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s high school was a place where students were obsessed with academics. Most of the students there were more interested in the core subjects ¨C Korean, English, and Math, rather than the entertainment industry. It was a school where grades came first.


    In order to do what he wanted, Woo-Jin hid the fact that he had joined an entertainment agency until the very end. Woo-Jin managed to pull this off because not only was he the top student in the school, he was also in the top 0.1% of the country. When Woo-Jin told his teacher that he would be more comfortable studying at home, his teacher had trusted him and allowed him to do so.


    Of course, neither Woo-Jin¡¯s teachers nor his classmates knew that he was an idol trainee, except for his close friends. More importantly, he was in an all-boys high school, where no one was particularly interested in the entertainment industry with the exception of girl groups. Nobody from his school would coincidentally spot Woo-Jin when he went to TM''s headquarters for work. It was the same in college. The strikingly handsome Woo-Jin had always been at the center of attention, but nobody could imagine that he had dreamed about becoming an idol. This was especially true since he barely interacted with his classmates or anyone else in college because he did not actively participate in any activities. Thus, there wasn¡¯t much room for rumors to spread.


    Additionally, the fangirls who waited for Woo-Jin in front of TM¡¯s headquarters did not cross paths with him during their daily lives ¨C their social circles did not intersect. Most importantly, they had always thought that his name was Choi Woo-Jin instead of Chae Woo-Jin. Even when they had heard that Chae Woo-Jin was the most handsome guy in school, they would snort and say that he was nothing compared to their beloved Choi Woo-Jin.


    And the biggest factor was that his agency had prevented any information from getting out so that they could create a sense of mystery in preparation for Blue Fit¡¯s debut. However, because Chae Woo-Jin had been released from TM, his fans could not get any information about him. As a result, they had almost zero information about Woo-Jin. That was how Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans, who loved him for his great looks, ended up creating Wish Baragi, becoming anti-fans of TM and Blue Fit while waiting for Woo-Jin¡¯s return. One of the members must have mistakenly heard ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ as ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯, and they gave him the nickname Genie.


    ¡°I know that shortly after Blue Fit debuted, there was a very organized group of anti-fans that rallied against them. Is that by any chance¡­¡±


    ¡°Not all of them were anti-fans, but it¡¯s more or less an anti-fandom group. Wish Baragi Fancafe is now a secret page, and they are no longer accepting new members, so it¡¯s not exactly active anymore. At their peak, I heard that there were more than 5,000 people, and a number of them were just anti-fans of Blue Fit and not fans of Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that there were already more than 5,000 members, including anti-fans of Blue Fit, in his Fancafe even before he debuted? Wow~ Woo-Jin is incredible.¡±


    Naturally, it was hard to maintain the number of members as time went by. It was not easy waiting for someone whom you knew nothing about, for more than two years. However, since Chae Woo-Jin had finally debuted, the members of his Fancafe from back then remembered him and those hardcore fans were drawn back to him once again. Thus, Hwang Yi-Young felt that it would be easier for him to form a fandom.


    ¡°Ah! Come to think of it, CEO Jang made sure that Woo-Jin came to headquarters through the underground parking lot! Was it because CEO Jang didn¡¯t want Woo-Jin to show his face when he leaves the building? I thought it was strange when CEO Jang asked Woo-Jin to keep a low profile around headquarters when CEO Jang was also the one who asked Woo-Jin to create some exposure for himself. So that was his intention.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps among the fangirls outside headquarters, some of them might be Wish Baragi members. They became anti-fans of TM due to Woo-Jin¡¯s incident, and they also turned their backs on other idols who were from TM. It¡¯s kind of surprising that CEO Jang is hiding Woo-Jin from them.¡±


    Due to the rise of Hallyu tourism these days, the area around the agency had become a tourist attraction. As such, the number of people who gathered in front of the agency¡¯s building to catch a glimpse of their favorite idols and celebrities increased. There were so many visitors that the nearby malls tailored themselves to appeal to the new influx of tourists.


    Because of that, the well-known celebrities did not enter through the main entrance on the first floor. Instead, they would enter via the underground parking lot. Sometimes they would show their faces to make their fans happy. The people who used the main entrance on the first floor were people who were still relatively unknown, or trainees who had not debuted yet. In the past, that was how Woo-Jin increased his exposure by showing his face to the girls who were waiting outside TM.


    Initially, the number of people who saw Woo-Jin only ranged from the tens to hundreds, but shortly after, due to the fans¡¯ network, people started talking about him and shared the pictures they took of Woo-Jin with each other. As a result, Woo-Jin became a hot topic of discussion in the community on the agency¡¯s website, and gradually, the number of people who paid attention to Woo-Jin started increasing. Most of Wish Baragi¡¯s members found out about Woo-Jin in that manner and eventually became his fans.


    Those girls had admitted that they were suckers for handsome men and they were not ashamed of it. At this moment, Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young were making fun of Wish Baragi¡¯s solidarity and perseverance. They were simply crazy fans who started fangirling solely because of his looks, but they did not know how deep the camaraderie they had forged with each other because of their mutual aversion to TM and Blue Fit. They did not start calling themselves ¡®barags¡¯ for nothing.


    Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe, which started with 5,300 members, had more or less maintained those numbers even though the club was not as active as it used to be. Although there were a lot of members who joined because they were anti-fans of TM and Blue Fit, it was still known as a Fancafe where fans who fell in love with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s looks gathered.


    Some time after Chae Woo-Jin fell off the grid, they stopped recruiting new members, and the Fancafe turned into a private page. Nonetheless, they still secretly maintained the Fancafe as a medium to rally against TM and Blue Fit, while waiting for Genie¡¯s return. This was because they believed that there was no way someone with his looks could live an ordinary life, and that Genie would definitely return to the entertainment industry. Finally, their Genie had returned, and their wish had come true.


    <Barags, I am sure that all of you have seen Death Hill!! Our dear Genie is back. Naturally, that passionate kissing scene must have been heartbreaking for all of you, but even so, that scene was so beautiful that it made me cry. I¡¯m just thankful that Genie came back to us after becoming even more amazing then what we¡¯ve expected. As such, after a long discussion that lasted till dawn, the mods team has decided to get your votes pertaining to the direction that Wish Baragi should go towards from now on.


    You will be voting to see if you want to keep maintaining our secret Fancafe and to continue with our TM and Blue Fit anti-fandom activities! If not, we would like to hear your valuable opinions on whether we should release the private information to the public, and focus on being a public Fancafe for Chae Woo-Jin.


    To be honest, while we did carry out anti-fandom activities, our end goal was to wait for Genie¡¯s return. We considered ourselves Genie¡¯s fans while carrying out anti-fandom-related business, but we felt that it is time for both sides to make a decision, because we are afraid it might cause harm to Genie.


    The mods team will absolutely follow the wishes of everyone regardless of the outcome. Since this is an important vote for the future of our Fancafe, we have decided to give you ten days to vote before tallying the votes. I have sent out the message to all our members, but please spread the word to the other barags who haven¡¯t been visiting the Fancafe recently. We look forward to receiving your precious votes. Needless to say, as for mistaking Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name as Choi Woo-Jin, we are asking you to remain silent about our shameful past.>


    - I¡¯ve voted. After abandoning the idols whom I used to like and waiting patiently, this day has finally arrived.


    - I¡¯ve voted too. Now that our dear Genie has joined DS, I think we should be thankful towards TM. I no longer have any resentment towards them. Chae Woo-Jin oppa~~


    ©¸ That¡¯s right. We can now say thank you to TM. Frankly speaking, with Genie oppa¡¯s face, it¡¯ll be a shame for him to just be an idol. There¡¯s a member who¡¯s dying to be an actor but couldn¡¯t make it (everyone knows who I¡¯m talking about without me spelling it out right?), but our oppa is now an actor who is talented at acting!!!


    - To be honest, I joined the Fancafe because I didn¡¯t like Blue Fit. However, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve become a fan of Genie. We should still do some anti-fandom activities, but now it¡¯s too troublesome to put in so much effort into rallying against Blue Fit.


    ©¸ Me too! I didn¡¯t like TM and Blue Fit, so I joined the Fancafe without knowing anything and ended up liking Genie. I hope things will be smooth-sailing from now on.


    - I¡¯ve decided to let go of the past. Our dear Genie has to do well from now on, and we cannot become his stumbling block. Also, I don¡¯t know who Choi Woo-Jin is either. Hmm¡­


    - Well, as for the amazing kissing scene, he¡¯s both mature and handsome, I¡¯m guessing that he should have at least been in a relationship before? I was more surprised to find out that he¡¯s a business major at Korea University after looking at his profile! From what¡¯s been gradually revealed, I found out that he was the top student of his school and he had a perfect score on the CSAT! What does he even lack? [3]


    ©¸ Unnie gave off the cool womanly vibes¡­hehehe


    ©¸ I was so heartbroken when I found out that he went to the military during his two years of absence.


    ©¸ Me too! I was surprised by Genie¡¯s academic background. I know the reason why he went to the military and it made me sad, but I was also happy for him.


    ©¸ Genie has become more handsome since he¡¯s been discharged!!!!


    - I kept hearing about a guy named Chae Woo-Jin from my friend. She said he went to her school, but I kept ignoring her, and he turned out to be Genie. That girl!


    ©¸ Ah¡­ Barag¡­ T_T


    ©¸ Who the hell said his name was Choi Woo-Jin in the first place¡­ Let¡¯s cry together. T_T


    - I¡¯m happy about the fact that other people will know who I¡¯m talking about when I talk about Chae Woo-Jin. Back then, I had no one to talk to about him apart from the members here. T.T


    ©¸ This is so true T_T


    There was a sense of belonging among the members of Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe, as they had been constantly carrying out fanclub-related activities. Most importantly, a lot of members felt that they did not have to hide in the dark anymore, since Chae Woo-Jin had finally debuted.


    After ten days of voting, they had decided to erase the past, and only promote their Fancafe as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Fancafe. As such, that led to the rise of a toxic group of fans, who were obsessed with good-looking men. They had regretted their past as sasaeng fans, and had come to possess the knowledge of anti-fandom know-how, allowing them to leave malicious comments with ease. This was the birth of a Fancafe that was armed with unprecedented persistence in the entertainment world. [4]


    However, they had always been affectionate and polite to one person. Most importantly, they were clever enough to hide their true nature from their beloved star.


    1. Fancafe is a forum hosted by DAUM ¨C a platform where idols and agencies communicate with fans. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. Anti-fans are people who criticize and rally against public figures, such as idols, or even companies. They tend to gather on forums and sites to share their mutual aversion. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. CSAT is the standardized test used in Korea for college admissions, like the SAT. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    4. Sasaeng fans are obsessive fans who stalk their favorite celebrities and engage in extreme behavior, such as invading the privacy of those celebrities. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 34

    ¡°How did the move go? I should have helped out.¡±


    ¡°You should rest when you¡¯re not working. Besides, we left everything to the moving company, and they took care of everything, so my younger sister and I just sat around since we had nothing to do.¡±


    After his mother¡¯s wedding, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee moved into the new house that Choi Min-Woo prepared. Both their mother and Choi Min-Woo had gone on their honeymoon, but arrangements had been made prior to that, so the siblings had nothing to do. They simply needed to set a date for them to move.


    Nonetheless, Kang Ho-Soo apologized for not being able to take care of it personally. He thought differently from Woo-Jin, who felt that such matters did not fall within the job scope of a manager. Contrary to Woo-Jin¡¯s initial impression of him, he was extremely attentive, kind and reliable. But because of that, Woo-Jin was often put in an awkward position as he tended to go above and beyond while carrying out his duties.


    ¡°Your mother¡¯s wedding was both beautiful and lovely. If I get married, I¡¯d love to do something similar, if possible. Even if I were to scale it down, it would still cost me a fortune to do something similar,¡± said Hwang Yi-Young with a blissful look on her face, as she fixed Woo-Jin¡¯s hair while recollecting that day.


    It was a small wedding where only Woo-Jin¡¯s uncle and his family, as well as close friends, had attended. However, it was a rather fancy wedding that was meticulously planned and executed down to the last detail. Looking at his mother¡¯s wedding elicited strange emotions in him. More than anything, Woo-Jin wanted his mother to be happy.


    ¡°I heard that my mother was very thorough with the wedding preparations.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, you mentioned that your mother was the one who designed the shoes that became a huge hit after Kim Hye-Young wore them in ¡®Cinderella¡¯s Dream¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but my mother didn¡¯t actually watch that drama.¡±


    During the production of the drama, she had received a commission and collaborated with them to design the shoes. However, when it was being broadcasted, she did not watch ¡®Cinderella¡¯s Dream¡¯. Instead, she watched another drama during that time slot. This was because during the design process, Kim Hye-Young had given her so much grief that she was appalled from just looking at Kim Hye-Young¡¯s face for a period of time. She was just happy enough with the outcome of the shoes that she had personally designed without seeing it appear on TV.


    ¡°So what are her future career plans? She¡¯s now the wife of the CEO of Brisingamen, right? I feel that it would be a waste if she quit her current job since she¡¯s very talented, but things could become complicated if she works for another company as a designer.¡±


    ¡°The company that my mother worked at is affiliated to my father¡¯s company, so it¡¯s a little awkward. My mother was fine with it, but the boss felt kind of bad, so she decided to quit and now she is working at my father¡¯s company as a designer.¡±


    His mother had gotten married right after college before she could accumulate life experiences. She did not want to leave her previous company as she was proud of the job which she had found after the divorce. Most importantly, she liked her job. Hence, she had no intention of giving up her job as a designer to become someone else¡¯s wife.


    ¡°In that case, wouldn¡¯t the employees of your father¡¯s company feel uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°Designers tend to be very individualistic. Her co-workers at her previous job were not uncomfortable ¨C only the boss felt that way. Fortunately, the boss of Brisingamen is my father, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. Nobody would say anything if the boss¡¯ wife wants to work there. But what will she be doing at a jewelry company if she¡¯s a shoe designer?¡±


    ¡°She had always been interested in becoming a jewelry designer. She won an award at a contest, which gave her the opportunity to become well-acquainted with my father.¡±


    Woo-Jin was still not familiar with the word ¡®father¡¯, hence, he stuttered every time he said it. He ended up covering his red face with both hands. Seeing Woo-Jin act like that, Kang Ho-Soo smiled in silence, while Hwang Yi-Young called him cute while bursting out in laughter.


    ¡°Woo-Jin has to get used to using the word ¡®father¡¯ a little more. If you stutter in front of your father, that would be kind of cute.¡±


    ¡°That would be bad because Woo-Hee is the cute one in our family. The moment I start acting a little cute, she would kick up a big fuss, telling me not to invade her territory.¡±


    ¡°Woo-Hee! Is that pretty girl not interested in becoming a celebrity?¡±


    Even though she had heard about Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister from Kang Ho-Soo, it was Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s first time seeing her at the wedding. She looked at Woo-Hee in admiration and repeatedly wondered why their family had such great genes, while thinking about how unfair life was.


    More often than not, although siblings of celebrities resemble each other, they usually give off the impression that they paled in comparison when it comes to appearances. Hence, it was difficult for them to enter the entertainment industry and succeed, since they looked similar and would not come across as looking unique, coupled with the fact that they did not have any exceptional talents. Thus, the public would be rather blas¨¦ towards them. This is similar to the reason why most of the celebrities who tried to manipulate the media into portraying them as the second version of another famous celebrity ended up falling off the grid eventually.


    However, Chae Woo-Hee was different. While she resembled Woo-Jin, she gave off a vibe that was distinctly different from Woo-Jin¡¯s with her feminine charms. And unlike her brother, she looked like a smart, good-looking girl who could bewitch men. She gave off her own unique vibes while resembling Woo-Jin, so there was no need to determine who was the better looking one. Hwang Yi-Young heard that Woo-Hee excelled academically as well. When she met Woo-Hee in person, she could tell that she was a fine child, who was polite and very cute.


    ¡°Her dream is to become successful through academics,¡± replied Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Well, it makes sense since your mother¡¯s side of the family is filled with intellectuals¡­ Perhaps you and your mother are mutants.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young only learned about Woo-Jin¡¯s family background after she had attended the wedding. Woo-Jin¡¯s grandfather was the CEO of a well-known law firm in Korea, and his uncle was the Public Prosecutor General. Despite severing ties, would blood ties truly get broken? That did not seem to be the case judging from what his cousins had said at the wedding.


    ¡°Your grandfather was very angry when he heard about the news of you debuting as an actor. However, what¡¯s funny is that I heard he kept clippings of the articles about you.¡±


    ¡°That will only be resolved if Auntie Eun-Soo takes a step back. It¡¯s obvious that based on Grandfather¡¯s personality, if the other party does not take back their words, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring himself to do anything. He kept the old photos of you and Woo-Hee in his wallet even though they¡¯re already worn out because he misses the both of you. Even though he told us to never contact you again, he was very mad at me a few days ago. He asked me why, as your olden cousin, I didn''t stop you from going into the entertainment industry. Even today... ¡°


    After quietly eavesdropping on the conversation between Woo-Jin and his cousins, Hwang Yi-Young concluded that his grandfather was just an old man who was protesting stubbornly. He was simply waiting for her to come forward to apologize and reconcile with him first. He was no longer angry ¨C he was just waiting for her to make the first move. The problem was that Woo-Jin¡¯s mother, Park Eun-Soo, was similar to him in that regard. The war of nerves between father and daughter had been going on for more than ten years because of their stubbornness.


    ¡°What if your grandfather opposes you being in the entertainment industry later on?¡± asked Kang Ho-Soo. Woo-Jin responded by shaking his head gently.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter. I¡¯d feel sorry towards my grandfather but I¡¯m not going to listen to what he says, especially when my parents are not against it.¡±


    After meeting with his uncle and cousins, Woo-Jin learned that the conflict between his mother and his grandfather was not as serious as he had thought, but that was it. He was happy for his mother, but it did not mean that he would give his grandfather any power over him.


    Woo-Jin was not worried about his grandfather, who originally had very high expectations for him for not understanding his decision to enter the entertainment industry and opposing it. After his parents¡¯ divorce, he had stopped considering his biological father as his father, and his love for his grandfather had also dwindled significantly.


    Regardless of whether it elicited hatred or anger in his grandfather, there was nothing his grandfather could do to make Woo-Jin cower. Woo-Jin did not care about his hopes and wishes. Hence, he could not care less about being told to give up on his dream in order to improve his relationship with his grandfather in the future. Woo-Jin thought that it was okay for him to continue living without regrets, which was how he had been living his life till now. He had nothing to do with his grandfather till date, and there was no need to change that.


    Upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s unexpectedly cold answer, even though Kang Ho-Soo could understand where he was coming from, he could not shake off his complicated feelings. While he was worried about the opposition from Woo-Jin¡¯s grandfather, he also felt that he could be the perfect shield for Woo-Jin. Truth be told, who would dare to harm the grandson of Park Hyun-Man, the CEO of Rome law firm? It was evident that even though he was a double-edged sword, he certainly would not harm Woo-Jin.


    ¡°By the way, does CEO Kim of TM know the identity of your grandparents?¡±


    As Kang Ho-Soo started getting information about Chae Woo-Jin, this was something that he had always been curious about. If he had known,  CEO Kim would never have offered Woo-Jin the sponsorship deal. But then again, there were all kinds of people in the world.


    ¡°Probably not. I did not mention it in the first place, and furthermore, he¡¯s not someone who would thoroughly look into the trainees¡¯ background. He had always told me that I should spare a thought for my mother who had gone through a lot of hardship, and asked me if I would succeed in this industry with no connections.¡±


    TM''s CEO was a very tactless person. He was disorganized and impulsive as well. The way he treated people was not much different from his personality, so he was very apathetic towards people whom he deemed as inferior beings.


    ¡°Somehow...he does seem like that kind of person.¡±


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m being left out right now. What are you talking about?¡± asked Hwang Yi-Young. She did not know as much about Chae Woo-Jin as compared to Kang Ho-Soo, so she did not understand what they were saying and complained about being excluded. They were evidently talking about TM, but she could not read in between the lines.


    ¡°By the way, why am I getting my hair and makeup done now if we¡¯re going to a photo shoot?¡±


    While Hwang Yi-Young was feeling excluded, Woo-Jin was feeling entirely baffled and curious. He would be getting his hair and makeup done again by the staff before the photo shoot, but right now, Hwang Yi-Young was meticulously touching up his hair.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s the same as asking women why they wear makeup to work? Also, I¡¯m not exactly doing your hair right now. I¡¯m just applying some hair tonic for the abuse you¡¯ll be putting it through today,¡± snorted Hwang Yi-Young. She was applying the tonic on his hair, disregarding her act of styling his hair meticulously.


    Woo-Jin was having his first photo shoot today. The photos would be featured in ¡®Biltman¡¯, a magazine whose target audience was women in their 20s to 30s. Although they were trying to promote a classy image for Woo-Jin, that was not the main point; it was the fact that Kim Jun-Yeol was going to be the photographer of today¡¯s photo shoot.


    He was someone who only took photos of what he wanted, and he had a natural talent for capturing the most beautiful moments of people. Be it laughing, crying, showing anger, or any other emotion, he had always captured the most beautiful side of his models, and the photos ended up looking beautiful without fail. Even an ugly and distorted face would turn into a work of art when being photographed by Kim Jun-Yeol.


    He was so well-known to the point that people even said that if one wanted to take photos of their most beautiful moments, they should go to Kim Jun-Yeol. There were several people who wanted Kim Jun-Yeol to take pictures of them, but not everyone was chosen, including Woo-Jin.


    His agency had sent in a request to him to take photos of Woo-Jin for his profile, but he had turned them down nicely. It did not come as a surprise because Kim Jun-Yeo was too good to be taking photos for a rookiel. His agency had sent in a request just to try their luck, but they did not expect much. Hwang Yi-Young was the only one who held a grudge. However, the opportunity for her to get even came by very quickly.


    Kim Jun-Yeol, of all people, was the photographer working on the photo shoot for Biltman. It was also said that Kim Jun-Yeol was the one who personally chose Chae Woo-Jin and insisted that he wanted him as his model, to which the magazine had accepted.


    In this situation, Kim Jun-Yeol had the power over everyone else, including models and the magazine company. In truth, the photo shoot had already been done with another actor, but Kim Jun-Yeol decided to scrap it while he was editing the photos because the model did not match the concept of the shoot. He insisted that he could not publish such trash. That was the story behind why they were doing a photo shoot for the August issue of the magazine that would be published in ten days time.


    While the stubborn Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s change of heart could be expected to some extent, it was necessary to get a headstart. If one were to compare Woo-Jin in Death Hill to his current self, he was nothing but a complete rookie back then. If Kim Jun-Yeol had picked Chae Woo-Jin as his model after watching only his movie, Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s true intention was to completely catch him off guard by showing him the current Chae Woo-Jin.

 Chapter 35

    One of the main topics that was discussed among the media and the audience at every stage greeting was how the cameras did not show the appealing side of Chae Woo-Jin on screen. Park Min was no longer deemed as Korea¡¯s most handsome man. Surprisingly, that title was not bestowed upon Woo-Jin either. Instead, he was given a corny nickname ¨C Beauty Slayer.


    Additionally, it was evident that the public¡¯s expectations had been raised. People who had not seen Chae Woo-Jin in person were extremely curious about what he looked like, and their expectations snowballed. It was Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s job to make Woo-Jin look good. They could not afford to be lax and think that it would be okay to leave his hair and makeup undone just because he would be getting them done at the studio later. From the moment they left the company till the time Woo-Jin arrived to meet with the photographer and staff members at the studio, Woo-Jin was still considered to be working. Being properly groomed reflected Woo-Jin''s positive attitude towards his work.


    When Kim Jun-Yeol saw Chae Woo-Jin in the flesh, he was caught off guard as he was expecting to see loan shark A from the movie. This made him realize his previous mistake of turning down a hidden gem such as Woo-Jin. The revenge came as an added bonus. They wanted to tell Kim Jun-Yeo that playing it safe might potentially lead to losses of greater rewards. In any case, the photos for Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s profile were beautifully taken and they would not be replaced anytime soon.


    ***


    In line with Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s expectations, Woo-Jin arrived at Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s private studio, Yeol Passion, looking absolutely gorgeous.


    ¡°He¡¯s glowing.¡±


    Everybody shared the same sentiment as the person who had inadvertently said those words. Even the staff who had been desensitized after working with so many models were in a daze, as they stared at Woo-Jin. They were amazed by the huge disparity between Woo-Jin¡¯s looks and theirs. All of them had seen the movie, but loan shark A and Chae Woo-Jin looked like they were worlds apart.


    In the movie, loan shark A was a bad guy who was corrupted and deadly. Characters like that had always been popular, because they were so passionate to the point that they were willing to risk their lives, causing viewers to fall in love with them. People had commented that anybody who took on the role would look cool. However, nobody could deny the fact that loan shark A was amazing because of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s good looks and great acting skills.


    Hence, the staff at the studio were very excited because they were expecting to see loan shark A in Chae Woo-Jin. That was due to the fact that rookies usually tended to keep the image of their characters that had become a hit among the public for a period of time. However, the person who walked in through the door was not the deadly man who died a wretched death in a shabby alley, but a pure and innocent young man who was glowing.


    It was not to say that they disliked this version of him; they just found it hard to hide their surprise as seeing this new gem had caught them off guard. The first person who snapped out of her daze and regained her composure was the editor of the magazine. She approached Woo-Jin and greeted him before explaining the concept of today¡¯s shoot.


    ¡°Today, we are going for a combination between a successful man who is effortlessly sexy and a wholesome man, who has not forgotten what it¡¯s like to be a playful boy. However, you don¡¯t have to strip to look sexy, so don¡¯t worry. We want to show off the ascetic mature and carefree vibes a man can give off even when he¡¯s wearing a vest, so you won¡¯t be exposing much skin. Also, there¡¯s a term, ¡®kidult¡¯, which refers to adults having child-like tendencies. That¡¯s the vibe that we want to capture; a man in a suit playing with plastic models and toys.¡±


    Woo-Jin had assumed that all he needed to do was to wear nice clothes and look good for the photo shoot. As he listened to the editor, he started to become more serious. The image of a pure man playing with toys looking sexy without showing much skin was floating in his head. Even if the task was not difficult, the most important thing was that he had to capture the specific image that the magazine and the photographer wanted.


    The makeup artists tried to add volume to his bangs before neatly pulling it back. It might look natural, but if he were to shake his head vigorously, his hair would stay still because of the amount of wax and hair spray on it. On the other hand, there was not much makeup on his face ¨C they had only filled in his eyebrows and applied some eyeliner, which made Woo-Jin¡¯s facial features and fair skin stand out even more. Since the team of makeup artists prepared by the magazine was in charge of Woo-Jin¡¯s hair and makeup, Hwang Yi-Young could only sit on the sidelines and evaluate their work. Judging from her brief smile, it seemed to have gone well.


    Originally, editorial photo shoots conducted by magazines were not compensated, and on top of that, in most cases, models had to prepare their own clothes and makeup. Nevertheless, they would still do it because it was a way of advertising themselves. If the models were celebrities, there would be several companies who would sponsor them, so compensation did not matter. It was not much different from going abroad for free for a photo shoot and having fun.


    In contrast, even though Woo-Jin would not be compensated for the editorial photo shoot today, his clothes and makeup were being taken care of by the magazine company. Since it was no different from a fashion editorial spread, coupled with the fact that it was aimed at advertising sponsored products, the magazine company paid a lot of attention to the details. The clothes they had prepared for him were similar to the ones that Hwang Yi-Young had prepared for Woo-Jin for the preview screening the other day. However, even though the photos would be published in the August issue, it was still surprising that he had to wear a vest.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the readers feel hot just by looking at the photos because it¡¯s August?¡± asked Woo-Jin.


    Regardless of how breathable the fabric was, it was hard to tell from the photos. In response to the worried Woo-Jin, the editor smiled and gave him his assignment.


    ¡°Your job is to ensure that the readers don¡¯t feel that way when they look at your photos, regardless of the season.¡±


    That¡¯s the job of the model. From the clothes to the accessories, every single one of them was to be advertised in the magazine. The level of appeal of the products that were advertised showed how good a model was. Even though the model was the main focus in the photos, if the model outshone the products to the point where people only concentrated on the model, that would mean that the model was not doing a good job.


    Well-known and talented models had the ability to bring out the appeal of both themselves and the products without sacrificing either. Hence, today¡¯s photo shoot could be rather challenging for Woo-Jin, as he had only focused on acting out a character well.


    The first outfit was a pure white suit with a contrasting blue tie, and a platinum watch. The watch was adorned with blue sapphires which complemented the necktie, creating cool vibes. After he changed into his clothes and completed all his preparations, Woo-Jin was finally able to meet Kim Jun-Yeol, the photographer.


    ¡°Sexy.¡±


    He did not mean that Woo-Jin had sex appeal, but rather, it was a word that was commonly used in this field to describe someone when they looked very attractive.


    ¡°I was worried that you might give off cheap gangster vibes like your character did in the movie, but it turned out much better than I had expected.¡±


    As Kim Jun-Yeol personally chose Chae Woo-Jin to be his model, he could not help but feel worried. The task for today¡¯s theme was to express the laid-back and sexy vibes that a successful man gave off, with luxury products as the main subject. After watching the movie, he fell in love with loan shark A and was in awe of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s looks, but it did not change the fact that he was worried about the overall unsophisticatedness of his character as a gangster that was portrayed in the movie. Nonetheless, he had chosen Chae Woo-Jin for the editorial after seeing his photos that were uploaded to the internet.


    At the VIP preview screening, Chae Woo-Jin and Park Min were dressed similarly. Regardless of whether it was coincidental or intentional, it had become a topic of discussion for quite some time. That was because Chae Woo-Jin made mass-produced clothes that were made domestically look like luxury clothes when it was compared to Park Min¡¯s clothes which were from a renowned luxury brand. Currently, that outfit worn by Woo-Jin has been called ¡®That Actor¡¯s Suit¡¯ and was selling like hot cakes.


    Thereafter, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s clothes had always been at the center of attention at every stop during their regional promotional tour. He had a classy and modestly sexy look that was completely different from loan shark A, who was a gangster in the movie. This was in line with the concept for this editorial. From his appearance alone, Woo-Jin had passed the first stage.


    ¡°Since we know each other¡¯s names, let¡¯s skip the old-fashioned greetings and introductions, and start shooting immediately.¡±


    Kim Jun-Yeol dove straight into work and led Woo-Jin to the set. It was a very well-known fact that Kim Jun-Yeol was someone who was difficult to work with, so Woo-Jin had prepared himself to a certain extent. Although Kim Jun-Yeol was talented, he was also bad-tempered and stubborn, and he was known for being harsh to his models when he did not get the results he wanted.


    Woo-Jin was at a loss because the photographer was someone who seemed like he did not need his model¡¯s input. Regardless of the role he played, Woo-Jin was someone who took time to get a deep understanding of the character he was portraying. Thus, he felt that delving right into the photo shoot was too hasty,


    Leaning against a mahogany desk with papers and books, Woo-Jin had to pose with some documents in his left hand while acting as though he was reading them. The problem was that the documents in his left hand should not cover the tie. However, it would make him look a little awkward if he held the documents at a distance. Hence, he double checked and confirmed the concept of the photo shoot before deciding on the poses, but it did not work out well.


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin! If you do that, we won¡¯t be able to see the tie. Hey, do you need a magnifying glass? There isn¡¯t a young man who reads from such a distance!¡±


    It was not easy to come up with a set of poses after incorporating Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s feedback. He had told him to move in a more natural way, but since this was entirely different from acting, the awkwardness made Woo-Jin hesitate. The neverending shutter sounds and intense reflectors, as well as the annoying voice of Kim Jun-Yeol who kept yelling did not help with Woo-Jin¡¯s situation.


    ¡°I told you to have a high and mighty look on your face, didn¡¯t I! Do you know that you look very timid right now?¡±


    He thought that Woo-Jin would know what to do without him having to point it out. As soon as they had started shooting, Kim Jun-Yeol did not share his opinions about the concept and only pressured Woo-Jin. Unless Woo-Jin had some prior experience or collaborated with Kim Jun-Yeol before, Kim Jun-Yeol was not a good photographer for rookies like Woo-Jin. As a photographer who had worked with several veteran models, Kim Jun-Yeol did not have patience for amateurs and their lack of experience.


    Goddammit, that¡¯s not it!¡± Ultimately, Kim Jun-Yeol started cursing and the tension in the air kept increasing.


    ¡°Everybody knows how to do that. What are we going to do if you can¡¯t do it!¡±


    Woo-Jin became very emotional as he voiced his discontentment in his mind. Kim Jun-Yeol kept ordering him to act natural and do whatever he wanted to, but when his poses were slightly off, even by a bit, he would yell at him. He already had an image he wanted in his head, so he kept yelling ¡®NO¡¯ until Woo-Jin gave him what he wanted.


    It did not make sense how he wanted Woo-Jin to be free without giving him any freedom. Woo-Jin found it funny that he expected him to express the laid-back disposition and pride of a successful man while putting such pressure on him, so he burst out laughing.


    ¡°Hey, you little punk! I told you to laugh arrogantly, who told you to sneer?¡±


    He tried to wear an arrogant look on his face but it was unsatisfactory, so Kim Jun-Yeol said he gave up.


    ¡°I don''t know anymore! I don¡¯t care anymore.¡±


    Woo-Jin gave up on caring about what Kim Jun-Yeol thought. He had run out of poses he could choose from the concept that he had been given. Woo-Jin rubbed both temples as he felt like he could not accomplish anything if he flinched every time Kim Jun-Yeol said no.


    Kim Jun-Yeol immediately shouted something, but Woo-Jin was not paying attention anymore. Perhaps Kim Jun-Yeol had a firm image of what he wanted for this editorial shoot because he had seen all kinds of people who were successful or people who were born leaders. However, it was something that was too difficult for an ordinary actor in his 20s to capture.


    Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s standards were too high. Even the actor who had worked on this editorial shoot could not do it, so he scrapped it. Since they had already failed once, it was understandable why Kim Jun-Yeol was more picky and pushed Chae Woo-Jin even more.


    However, realistically speaking, no model or actor in their 20s could give him what he wanted. Neither could Woo-Jin. However, he could not give up just because he could not execute it well. More than that, he did not want to be replaced like the previous model.


    Woo-Jin hurriedly looked back on his past lives and picked one of them where he was a successful person. Since he had once been a noble and a member of the royal family, he knew what true arrogance was.

 Chapter 36

    Of course, understanding something and applying it was not an easy task. Just because his soul remained the same, did not mean that his personality or disposition was the same across his previous lives. Since Chae Woo-Jin and his past identities had completely different characters, it was evident that they had no influence on each other as they were individuals who existed independently.


    Hence, up until now, whenever he acted, he would utilize his past lives as references to aid him in doing a better job at portraying the characters. However, he did not have the luxury of doing that now due to time constraints. He had no time to think, analyze and contemplate with the incessant buzzing of camera shutters.


    Under such circumstances, the quickest solution was to directly take on the character of one of his past lives. Woo-Jin did just that, casting aside his own nature for the time being. In this critical situation, he chose deceitful improvisation over the truth. A smile gradually appeared on Woo-Jin¡¯s face, which had been hardened. The look in his eyes started to turn cold and arrogant. At this moment, everyone who was present here was either his dependent or a lower-ranking person who had to obey his orders.


    The clothes and accessories that he was wearing were prepared for him; he did not have to do anything to get them. The concept of material needs existed only to satisfy his desires; they were not a tool to prove his worth. His existence had already deemed him worthy. The clothes and accessories that he was wearing had value because he was the one wearing them. These items would become priceless because he wore them. Such was the origin of luxury goods.


    It had been apparent that Woo-Jin was conscious of the value of the clothes and accessories through his cautious actions, but now, his cautious gestures were decisive. As Woo-Jin was pressing down on his temples, he looked at Kim Jun-Yeol. His cold eyes were at ease, like that of a predator who had found something that piqued his interest.


    Kim Jun-Yeol paused for a second when he saw Woo-Jin¡¯s sudden change in facial expression and gestures. Chae Woo-Jin no longer had a look of forced arrogance within the timid look on his face. At some point, Chae Woo-Jin started giving off an unapproachable aura through the lens. Kim Jun-Yeol took his eyes off of the viewfinder for a moment and looked at Chae Woo-Jin. He had subconsciously avoided looking Woo-Jin in the eye.


    Kim Jun-Yeol had met several people who were renowned leaders, from politicians to CEOs of conglomerates, but he had never once avoided their gaze. Regardless of who they were, they were nothing more than a model, a subject that he had to take photos of. Photographers should never avoid the gaze of the subject¡¯s eyes, which showed their inner feelings.


    However, Kim Jun-Yeol had avoided the model¡¯s gaze without realizing it today. That was because the moment their eyes met, he felt that he would be devoured by Woo-Jin¡¯s charisma and the heavy aura surrounding him. More importantly, he got goosebumps all over his body which almost brought him to his knees.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s real!¡±


    The emotions Woo-Jin expressed was neither an act nor a sloppy impersonation. Woo-Jin was naturally emitting a sense of confidence and arrogance that only high ranking people possessed. He had finally given Kim Jun-Yeol the look that he had been searching for. Kim Jun-Yeol tried his best to focus, as he forced himself to straighten his shoulders that were hunched from the overwhelming aura.


    ¡°Hold up, I don¡¯t think...this pose is¡­¡±


    The documents were no longer there, and Woo-Jin had started browsing through one of the books on the desk. His left hand was in his pocket, causing a third of the watch to be hidden. Nevertheless, it was still better than his previous poses. Thus, there was no point in criticizing it.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that I¡¯m allowed to pose however I want to?¡± Woo-Jin asked Kim Jun-Yeol in a graceful tone. Woo-Jin had skillfully adjusted his tone to fit the look of an arrogant sovereign, so even though he was speaking formally, the listeners felt as though he was addressing them casually.


    ¡°I said that because you will get the safest results if you follow the concept.¡±


    ¡°Are we just trying to get the safest results?¡± asked Woo-Jin as he continued looking at the book without glancing at Kim Jun-Yeol.


    Shortly after, Woo-Jin lost interest in the book as it did not have much content. He threw it aside and looked through other things before he finally looked at Kim Jun-Yeol. When their gazes met, Woo-Jin smiled with a look in his eyes that seemed to ask him ¡®Do you really want me to listen to you?¡¯.


    Despite being unhappy with Woo-Jin¡¯s attitude, Kim Jun-Yeol instinctively pressed the shutter button out of habit as a photographer. Taking it as his consent, Woo-Jin used the sets that were assigned as backgrounds and started posing without hesitation. Originally, Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s work style was to create a scene that did not deviate from the image he had decided on. This was especially so for inexperienced or new models who were doing a photo shoot for the first time. He was more strict with them. It¡¯s more accurate to say that he simply forced them to create the image he wanted.


    However, today, Kim Jun-Yeol had given up on his principles because of Chae Woo-Jin, a rookie who was modeling for the first time. That was because he was overwhelmed by Woo-Jin¡¯s energy, and that Woo-Jin had created a better and more perfect version of the concept that Kim Jun-Yeol had in mind.


    At this moment, Woo-Jin, who was leaning against the desk with both hands in his pockets, crossed his legs in a laid-back manner said to Kim Jun-Yeol, ¡°Isn¡¯t this good enough?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a command. He was telling him to stop taking photos. Kim Jun-Yeol felt Woo-Jin¡¯s sincerity and nodded as he pressed the shutter button for the last time. Kim Jun-Yeol, who had managed to get photos that satisfied him, was in a charitable mood.


    For the next shoot, Woo-Jin sat on the railing wearing a blue suit with a violet jacket while drinking wine, etc. The photos mainly depicted the lofty private life of a distinguished man.


    In the following shoot, Woo-Jin wore a casual suit and started playing with plastic model toys. Even then, he was completely immersed in it.


    Woo-Jin came to realize that he liked being a model. He removed himself slightly from the character that he had assumed and started to express his own emotions during the photo shoot. Fortunately, the serious look in his eyes when he played with the plastic model toy was perfectly in line with the kidult image which Kim Jun-Yeol wanted.


    Kim Jun-Yeol stopped using the sharp arrogant voice that he had been using earlier, and was no longer making demands. There was no longer any reason to terrorize a model who was doing well even without his interference.


    Soon, it was Woo-Jin¡¯s final shoot. This time, he wore a black suit with a dark gray necktie, coupled with cufflinks and a tie clip. The tie clip and cufflinks came as a set; the small diamonds that were closely embedded around the square onyx sparkled brilliantly whenever they reflected light.


    This time, he had to work with a female model. According to the concept, a naked woman would wistfully hug a perfectly dressed man from behind with a bed in the background. Looking at the sunlight that was streaming through the window, it seemed to be a story about a woman who was trying to stop the man from leaving after spending the night together.


    Woo-Jin took a close look at the model ¨C she had red lips, her makeup was slightly smudged, her hair was unkempt, etc. A red bed sheet was wrapped around her body, but judging from her curves that were exposed, it seemed as though she was not wearing any underwear. The man was told to express his sexiness without showing any skin, while the woman was openly showing her sex appeal.


    ¡°Are we supposed to be a pair of lovers who are in love with each other?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± asked the editor. She was making sure that Woo-Jin''s attire looked okay, and she stared at him blankly after hearing his question.


    Despite being in her late 30s, she was overwhelmed by the aura that was currently emanating from Woo-Jin, as she tried to get a read on him. Of course, she understood the situation as well as the gist of what he was saying, but it took her longer than usual to process his question. Woo-Jin pointed to the female model with his chin, who was sitting on the bed while waiting for them.


    ¡°My relationship with her. There must be a concept, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. According to the concept, she is your lover. It¡¯s the story about a man who¡¯s leaving for work and a woman who¡¯s trying to ask him when they will meet again,¡± replied the editor.


    ¡°In that case, she¡¯s not my lover.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°If we were lovers who had spent the night together, would she have to ask me when we will meet again? Lovers do not part with one another in that manner.¡±


    The editor looked at Woo-Jin, who was smiling sweetly as if he was trying to imply something. She imagined something for a moment before blushing.


    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we make two versions for this shoot?¡± interrupted Kim Jun-Yeol. He had been listening to their conversation and he was voicing out his thoughts. He smiled sinisterly as Woo-Jin and the editor looked at him at the same time.


    ¡°Lovers for one version and one-night stand for the other.¡±


    ¡°One-night stands are immoral!¡± The editor gnashed her teeth at Kim Jun-Yeol, saying it was classless. However, perhaps because they were well-acquainted, there was no grudge or hostility sensed in their exchange.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t think that normal lovers cling onto each other that much, asking when they¡¯ll meet again.¡± Woo-Jin said that it seemed like an interesting plan and languidly agreed.


    In the beginning, he had completely assumed the character of one of his past lives. But now, he had adapted to a certain extent and was now in a strange state where he was an amalgamation of both his past and present self. He was arrogant and insolent enough without going overboard, and laid-back at the same time. If other models were to do that, it might seem as though they had rudely interrupted the conversation, but because Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s aura was overwhelming, people felt comfortable when the intensity of his aura fell.


    ¡°Exactly! That was what I thought right from the start,¡± remarked Kim Jun-Yeol.


    ¡°But during the planning meeting, you said that it was good because it was sad!¡±


    ¡°Oh really? Did I?¡±


    Seeing how Kim Jun-Yeol looked away, claiming that he did not remember anything, the editor laughed speechlessly. They had already planned out a concept, and it was not Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s work style to deviate from it, but it was also not something that was in line with her personality as an editor. Most importantly, she was worried about how the clients would react.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do the shoot first and decide later. Besides, calling it the one-night stand version is just a name that we came up with. We¡¯re just taking photos anyway. It¡¯s still the scene which we originally wanted.¡±


    In other words, they were just shooting an additional version. Regardless of what it was called, they would still be getting the same content in the end. There was no issue except that the editor hated the vulgar term ¡®one-night stand¡¯. They would only be extending the photo shoot by just a little. Nobody could oppose Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s opinion as he possessed the greatest power on set. Following Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s suggestion, they decided to go with the ¡®lovers¡¯ version first.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­Kwon Eun-Mi.¡±


    Woo-Jin asked the female model, who was laying on the bed with only a thin sheet wrapped around her body, for her name as he gently sat down next to her. Kwon Eun-Mi looked up at him and said her name without thinking. She had already felt the overbearing aura from the man before her just a while ago during the earlier photo shoots, and she was being suffocated by the intense pressure. Kwon Eun-Mi felt nervous, which was different from her usual jobs.


    ¡°Ah, Miss Eun-Mi.¡±


    When Woo-Jin looked down, the sight of Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s body peeking through the sheet made him feel very dizzy. It was a good thing that the sheet, which was made of silk gauze, was red. Else it would have revealed everything, as the material was that thin. Even so, the beautiful curves of her slender arms and legs were clearly visible as the sheet only covered her body from her chest to her thighs.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first thought was that the woman¡¯s body was beautiful. Smooth skin, long slender arms and legs, and a well-endowed body. As a model, Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s body was flawless. But it did not mean that Woo-Jin harbored any strange thoughts. He felt that she was beautiful, pretty and perfect in terms of her appearance. He did not think of anything else apart from that. On the contrary, he felt great respect for Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s great work ethics.


    For someone who had never shown much skin for his roles, it was difficult for Woo-Jin to strip completely like Kwon Eun-Mi did. Even though there was a sheet to cover the important parts of her body, she could not completely hide her body that was subtly peeking through the fabric. Additionally, she acted comfortably in front of a man whom she had never seen before in her current state. That was certainly something Woo-Jin had to learn.


    Woo-Jin swept Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s unkempt hair behind her ear, as he spoke to her. Her makeup had been redone and it was lighter and more elegant as compared to before. The cue to start shooting, as well as the shutter sounds coming from Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s camera, faded into the background.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°From this moment onwards, we are lovers. It¡¯s my first time doing an editorial shoot, so I prefer to have a conversation as compared to just posing for a photo. Will you play along with me?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Although he had assumed the character of his past self and relied on it for the photoshoot, Woo-Jin gradually found his own essence after getting accustomed to it and realizing what the unique ambience Kim Jun-Yeol wanted was. Now, he was starting to act out an original version of himself. He was now playing the role of an arrogant but kind lover.

 Chapter 37

    Kwon Eun-Mi, who was facing Woo-Jin, could not hide her blushing face. She knew that he was only acting, but Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was so sweet that it made her heart race. Before she could regain her composure, Woo-Jin hugged Kwon Eun-Mi with the sheet still wrapped around her, and laid down next to her. Kwon Eun-Mi took a deep breath in a bid to calm her pounding heart, unintentionally making herself look adorable.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too much to go to work on a day like this?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re too much.¡±


    ¡°Should we just roll around in bed all day?¡±


    Woo-Jin, who was laying on top of Kwon Eun-Mi, gently pressed his body against hers, stroking her body with one hand. The intention behind his gesture was so clear that it made it hard for Kwon Eun-Mi, as well as the staff on set, to control their beating hearts. The scene in front of them somehow stimulated a sense of lust and voyeuristic desires as it felt like they were peeking into the private life of a pair of lovers.


    ¡°Why do your eyes, nose, and mouth look so pretty? You look so perfect that I don¡¯t want to leave your side.¡±


    The way Woo-Jin looked at Kwon Eun-Mi was as though he was looking at his lover. Woo-Jin smiled at her as he touched the various parts of her face, and Kwon Eun-Mi was slowly absorbed into her role as his lover.


    ¡°Pfft, you know, saying that somehow makes you seem like a playboy?¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I guess you have to work harder to hold on to the playboy.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not denying it huh?¡±


    ¡°I love looking at your jealous expression.¡±


    Even though Woo-Jin was gentle and sweet, the character that he was playing was extremely domineering. In his past life, regardless of how much he loved others, he could not get rid of his tendency to dominate them. Nevertheless, his candid face was only reserved for his lover and no one else.


    Kwon Eun-Mi was drunk on her emotions. Instead of worrying when they would meet again, she was seducing Woo-Jin with her body language. Even if not for the whole day, she was just trying to get Woo-Jin to spend a little more time with her.. Kwon Eun-Mi wrapped her arms around Woo-Jin, pressing her voluptuous bosom against him, and Woo-Jin let out a long sigh. The sigh was not one of rejection, and Kwon Eun-Mi became aroused by hearing it.


    She subconsciously bent her back and burrowed between Woo-Jin¡¯s legs. Upon seeing that, Woo-Jin twisted his lips slightly, as though he was trying to hold back his laughter. He got up and sat on top of Kwon Eun-Mi, who was lying down. With Kwon Eun-Mi locked between his legs, Woo-Jin looked down, grabbed his tie, and loosened it. The necktie clip reflected the morning sunlight and sparkled brilliantly.


    Woo-Jin, who looked like he was going to pounce on Kwon Eun-Mi, smiled impishly for a moment as he picked Kwon Eun-Mi up with the sheet around her and held her in his arms.


    ¡°Oh my!¡±


    Woo-Jin got out of bed and lifted Kwon Eun-Mi up, supporting her waist and hips with both arms. Looking down at Woo-Jin, Kwon Eun-Mi managed to hold on to the sheet, which was about to slide down with both hands and covered her chest. However, her back remained exposed and the sheet, which was covering only her hips and private areas, barely separated Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi.


    Even though Woo-Jin was holding on to her tightly, she felt uneasy and wrapped her legs around Woo-Jin¡¯s waist and naturally placed her arms on his shoulders. As the sheet covering her chest slid down, Woo-Jin¡¯s arms moved skilfully to hide her from other people¡¯s gazes.


    ¡°I want to spend the whole day with you like this but I have to go to work.¡±


    ¡°I guess...you should¡­¡±


    Upon hearing those words, Kwon Eun-Mi unknowingly flinched, but there was nothing that she could do. At this moment, she truly felt as though Woo-Jin was her lover. Under normal circumstances, Kwon Eun-Mi would be unable to keep her cool especially since she was practically naked while being held by a man whom she had just met. As if that was not enough, Woo-Jin also had a full view of her breasts.


    Every time Woo-Jin exhaled, the feeling of his breath brushing against her skin felt strange. Furthermore, the combination of Woo-Jin¡¯s body being wrapped around her legs and the feeling when he stroked her bare back made her whole body heat up. Nonetheless, it was not awkward or embarrassing at all, because it all felt very natural and real.


    As a famous model, not only had Kwon Eun-Mi participated in fashion week in Korea, but she had also participated in fashion weeks abroad. She had done several fashion photoshoots with other models. With experience under her belt, she had done many similar, if not more raunchy photoshoots as compared to this one. Whenever she did those photoshoots, she would try to act calm and undaunted but on the inside, she struggled with the shame that came with it. When she had to work with a male model throughout the shoot, their lewd and lustful gaze was the most insulting thing she experienced. There were also some male models who would secretly stroke her body or touch her inappropriately and pretend it was an accident all while laughing creepily.


    Not every single one of the models that she had worked with acted that way, but it was very rare for her to remain entirely calm and composed during the shoot. Even the well-mannered professional male models could not hide the excitement in their eyes and body language.


    But now, there was no reason for her to feel ashamed because she truly felt as if she was loved. There was nothing to be ashamed of baring your breasts and naked body to your beloved lover. There was no lust or excitement detected in Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze. There was only a warm look in his eyes, like he was looking at something beautiful and precious to him.


    ¡°Then kiss me.¡±


    ¡°Kiss?¡±


    ¡°You have to give your lover a kiss when he leaves for work! Don¡¯t you know that?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi kissed Woo-Jin¡¯s forehead as she smiled even though she thought it was nonsensical. Naturally, she chose to kiss his forehead because her head was above his eye level.


    ¡°No.¡± Woo-Jin repeated Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s words back to her and tilted his head back. Kwon Eun-Mi could not hold back her laughter and pecked Woo-Jin lightly on the lips, as if to pacify her childish lover.


    At this moment, the wind blew and the red bed sheet that was barely separating the two of them fluttered, causing Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s body to be hidden from the camera. The red sheet between the man in a black suit; the pale-skinned woman in his arms, who had wrapped herself around his body, created a perfect harmony of colors. The photoshoot of the lovers version had now come to an end.


    To prepare for the second photoshoot, they had to redo Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s makeup to create the illusion of smudged makeup after their affair the previous night. It was similar to the makeup they had done initially, but it was more glamorous and seductive.


    ¡°It feels like I¡¯m watching a movie. My heart can¡¯t stop racing.¡± Unable to subdue her excitement, the editor grabbed Kim Jun-Yeol and started shaking him.


    ¡°Honestly, when I first saw Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, I thought that he was going to overshadow Kwon Eun-Mi but oh my god! How does he create such chemistry while bringing out the best sides of both of them?¡± said the editor.


    ¡°Thanks to that, we¡¯ve gotten some good shots.¡±


    Kim Jun-Yeol frowned as he looked at the photo of Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi kissing, which was taken towards the end of the shoot, when Woo-Jin was sitting on top of her on the bed while loosening his tie. All the photos looked so good that he could not decide which ones to pick. For now, the two photos that he had selected for publishing were perfect, but in truth, it would be a shame if they were to trash the rest. They were as good as the previous models¡¯ best photos.


    ¡°Was the behind-the-scenes video well taken?¡±


    ¡°Of course! But can we even release it? It¡¯s too explicit.¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi had shown too much skin; it would be difficult to upload the behind-the-scenes video on the internet for everyone to watch.


    ¡°We have to add mosaics to the places that need it.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯ll ruin the look of it. The video looks really pretty, like a movie. It would be such a pity to use mosaics.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the sloppy-looking mosaics. Leave it to the experts. There¡¯s a guy in our team who¡¯s good at doing that, just leave it to him.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°If we upload it, it¡¯ll probably cause a stir.¡± The editor agreed with what Kim Jun-Yeol had said.


    While they were watching the photoshoot, everyone, including Kim Jun-Yeol and the editor, found it hard to contain their excitement. It was a moment where they felt as though they were secretly spying on the passionate love between an actual couple, like they were watching a scene from a movie. Every time Kim Jun-Yeol pressed the shutter button, a work of art was captured and produced.


    There was no need to talk about how good Woo-Jin was; even Kwon Eun-Mi had shown a very beautiful side of her that had exceeded expectations. She was so perfect today; instead of thinking about how much skin she was showing, she was so perfect that they were wondering if she was really that beautiful.


    To begin with, Kwon Eun-Mi already had a reputation for having a great figure, but people had felt that she was too risqu¨¦ at times. Since she was very sexy and had a body that stimulated men¡¯s desires, the image people wanted from her was limited. Hence, the editor was visibly upset upon hearing that Kwon Eun-Mi was cast for this photoshoot instead of the model from the previous photoshoot. The editor felt that Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s image was too erotic for a photoshoot that was advertising luxury goods.


    However, she agreed when the client said that a photo with both a successful man and a beautiful woman had to be included in the photoshoot. Any man would want to have a secret love affair with Kwon Eun-Mi. Having her would make anyone the object of envy. But today, Kwon Eun-Mi had thrown aside all the prejudice towards her about being nothing but sexy and risqu¨¦. She was simply beautiful. Being with Chae Woo-Jin automatically made even someone like her give off the impression that they were classy, and that she naturally deserved to be loved in that manner.


    Just like what Kim Jun-Yeol had said, if the video were to get uploaded, both Chae Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi would ride a new wave of popularity. Suddenly, the editor felt it was such a shame. They were two versions, but ultimately, only one of them would be published in the magazine. It was evident that the next version would be as amazing, but one of them had to be tossed out. With only one photo per outfit, the page count had already been predetermined.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for us to do that. I¡¯m the team leader, so screw it!


    The editor¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up and she started to look for the fashion coordinator.


    ¡°Are there any outfits which we haven¡¯t used from the ones you¡¯ve brought today?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one suit left. Why?¡±


    ¡°Get Chae Woo-Jin to change into it.¡±


    ¡°Why does he have to change his clothes¡­ Ah! Instead of abandoning one of them, you want to add one more page?¡± The quick-witted fashion coordinator understood what she meant. While she looked forward to the next shoot, she had also felt it was a shame that they had to let go of one of them. Hence, she was secretly hoping that this would happen.


    ¡°But will the editor-in-chief approve of this?¡±


    ¡°If it were you, wouldn¡¯t you want to look at those photos?¡±


    ¡°Of course I would.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡±


    Their exchange was short and they acted quickly. Woo-Jin took off his black suit and changed into the extra suit that the fashion coordinator had brought.The dark wine double-breasted suit was excluded because it seemed too hot for the current season, but it had nothing to do with the current situation.


    In order to accentuate the ¡®cool¡¯ vibes, even by a little, they styled Woo-Jin¡¯s hair, making it look slightly disheveled, and they made him wear a simple platinum ring on the ring finger of his left hand.


    ¡°Is it an affair and not a one-night stand?¡±


    Judging from the design of the ring and placement on his finger, it was a wedding ring. Furthermore, it was evidently an affair, since he was greeting a woman in the morning who did not seem to be his wife after they had spent the night. Nobody answered Woo-Jin¡¯s question; everyone quietly avoided making eye contact with him and got up.


    ¡°It seems like we¡¯re having an affair this time.¡± Woo-Jin approached Kwon Eun-Mi who was posing on the bed. He sat speechlessly next to her.


    ¡°Fashionable trash, huh.¡±


    ¡°Trash is trash. All they do is pollute the surroundings.¡±


    ¡°In that case, am I the side trash that has been contaminated by another trash? And then being thrown away miserably?¡± Kwon Eun-Mi rolled her eyes while picturing the image. She smiled gratifying shortly after.


    At first, she wanted to go for the ¡®vixen¡¯ vibe, but after hearing what Woo-Jin said, she felt that it would be okay for her to become a bad girl who was gradually getting tainted by bad boys.


    ¡°Even if a beautiful woman like yourself gets abandoned, you¡¯ll fight for your man. Beautiful women are well-aware that they would never lose their dignity till the very end.¡±


    ¡°But beauty fades with age. Every single day is akin to a scary time bomb to them.¡±


    ¡°While racing against time, you end up getting entangled with trash like me.¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi agreed with Woo-Jin¡¯s conclusion and nodded. As a result, it allowed her to decide on a rough image for this shoot.

 Chapter 38

    Usually, Kim Jun-Yeol would be shooting photos from a well prepared set. However, this was not the case today. The sudden change in routine had caused Kwon Eun-Mi to feel a little lost. She felt a little embarrassed when she thought back to how she lost control of her emotions in her previous photo shoot with Woo-Jin. It was said that it¡¯s a good sign if the picky Kim Jun-Yeol stayed quiet throughout the whole photo shoot, but Eun-Mi felt that she had been unprofessional throughout.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start shooting now.¡±


    Kim Jun-Yeol grabbed the camera and walked towards them. The dazzling reflectors were back in place and the staff members retreated. Even though Kim Jun-Yeol was constantly pressing the shutter button right in front of them, from this moment onwards, Chae Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi were the only ones who existed in the story created solely by them.


    Woo-Jin sat on the bed and began fixing his necktie. The cufflinks that were made of brilliantly cut ruby gems looked particularly cold on his wrists. Kwon Eun-Mi pulled up the sheet from behind her and covered her chest, and got up before leaning her upper body on Woo-Jin. She hugged him from the back, and rested her head on his shoulder. Woo-Jin tried to get up without even turning around to look at Kwon Eun-Mi, whose face was filled with sorrow and longing.


    ¡°When will we meet again?¡±


    All Kwon Eun-Mi had gotten after taking the initiative to talk to him was a cold response from Woo-Jin. She was in a rush to grab onto Woo-Jin, who was about to leave without giving her a response. Even though she had begged him, the cold response plus the bad boy vibes which Woo-Jin was giving off made her shudder.


    ¡°How can you just leave like that?¡± asked Kwon Eun-Mi. Only then did Woo-Jin slowly shift his gaze towards her. Kwon Eun-Mi trembled at the sight of his cold gaze that was void of any warmth.


    ¡°We had a good time yesterday, no? You said I was pretty.¡± Kwon Eun-Mi, who was clinging on to the man, became more talkative. She recalled the good memories from last night and forced them upon Woo-Jin, earnestly pleading with him to look at her once again.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty. So?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°You have nothing else going for you apart from that, am I wrong?¡±


    The words that finally came out of Woo-Jin''s mouth was so insulting that it made Kwon Eun-Mi''s face turn red. However, she soon looked at Woo-Jin with a spiteful look in her eyes. Although she knew it was shameful, she also knew that losing Woo-Jin would be the worst case scenario.


    ¡°But I fulfill the needs that your wife is unable to fulfill.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Woo-Jin pondered for a second and smiled widely before chuckling. Feeling encouraged, Kwon Eun-Mi slowly got out of bed and got on her knees, skillfully wrapping her long arms around Woo-Jin''s legs. Her slim and beautiful fingers ran across his thighs as she smiled seductively.


    ¡°My wife wouldn¡¯t be caught dead doing something so nasty like this.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good to do nasty things in bed?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, only in bed. You¡¯re useless outside of the bedroom, so I¡¯m wondering if I should just call it quits.¡±


    Woo-Jin was looking at his necktie and the cufflinks on his sleeves while ignoring Kwon Eun-Mi, who was wrapping her hands around his waist. She gently bit her lip and latched herself onto him even more.


    ¡°Think about how many hours you spend in that bed every day,¡± said Kwon Eun-Mi.


    She was showing an earnest obsession that was beyond desperation. There was also spite in her gaze that showed she was capable of doing anything Woo-Jin wanted. Kim Jun-Yeol began pressing the shutter button even more rapidly as he watched the interaction between the two of them, who were gradually becoming more and more spiteful towards each other.


    ¡°So in addition to being nasty, you have no pride.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The shame on her face only lasted for a brief moment; Kwon Eun-Mi smiled sweetly at him despite his harsh words. Woo-Jin clicked his tongue softly and grabbed her with both hands before lifting her up. He adjusted the sheet that was wrapped around her body so that it would not fall off.


    Woo-Jin, who was wearing a neat and classy outfit, was dramatically opposed to Kwon Eun-Mi, who looked like a shabby woman with unkempt hair who had only a thin sheet to cover herself with. Woo-Jin placed his arms around her and hugged her, as if he was comforting Kwon Eun-Mi. He then whispered sweetly into her ear, ¡°If you know where you stand, then know your place and act accordingly.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was sweet and alluring, but the meaning behind his words was anything but sweet. As soon as he stopped talking, he immediately threw Kwon Eun-Mi on the bed. The red sheet fluttered in the air as she was being thrown onto the bed. Woo-Jin looked on coldly as Kwon Eun-Mi tried to prop her upper body up by using both her hands for support. He turned around and walked away with no hesitation.


    Behind him, Kwon Eun-Mi was looking at him pointlessly as the red sheet fluttered around her. The sheet that was wrapped around her body was like a red dress fluttering in the wind, but it could not cover the spite and desperation in her eyes. In contrast, Woo-Jin¡¯s face, which was void of all emotion, and his neat outfit was so perfect that it made Kwon Eun-Mi look even more miserable.


    If the lovers¡¯ version was filled with love and happiness, this version was filled with spitefulness and sorrow. Although both versions appealed to different tastes and preferences, none of the photos were bad.


    ¡°Good!¡±


    At long last, Kim Jun-Yeol had announced that the photo shoot was over. Woo-Jin, who had been suppressing his true self the entire time, had finally returned to normal, as one could tell from the look in his eyes. The subtle pressure and charisma that had filled the studio throughout the shoot had also quietly disappeared. Woo-Jin had reverted to a Korean young man in his 20s, politely and respectfully expressed his gratitude towards Kim Jun-Yeol as they wrapped up the photo shoot.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Dumbfounded, Kim Jun-Yeol laughed as he looked at Chae Woo-Jin, who had become a fine young man. He wondered what kind of person Chae Woo-Jin was, and also wondered if the other actors did this too. Kim Jun-Yeol had seen several actors who assumed different personalities at every photo shoot, so he did not think much of it. Meanwhile, Woo-Jin approached Kwon Eun-Mi and bowed to her as well.


    ¡°I am sorry for what I did earlier today. Did I injure you when I threw you onto the bed without warning?¡±


    There were several things that caused Woo-Jin to feel apologetic towards Kwon Eun-Mi. As he was acting out the different concepts for the photo shoot, he was so rough with her that she unintentionally ended up having to bare her chest. No amount of apologies would be enough for what he did in the last scene where he threw her onto the bed.


    ¡°Ah, I was a little surprised but it¡¯s okay. Things that are worse than that do happen from time to time during my other photo shoots.¡± Kwon Eun-Mi suddenly felt a sense of shame that she had not felt during the photo shoot. She told him it was okay, while wrapping the sheet around her body tightly.


    ¡°This is my first time doing a photo shoot, so I might have overdone it in various ways. Thank you for being so accommodating to everything. Thanks to that, I¡¯ve learned a lot today.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also learned a lot while working with you today. It¡¯s also my first time doing a photo shoot in this manner so it was rather unfamiliar, but we ended up getting absorbed into our roles, and thanks to that, I think we¡¯ve taken some good photos. Thank you too.¡± Both of them thanked each other sincerely as they looked at one another.


    For the first time, Kwon Eun-Mi felt that acting was fun, and she had learned how to express her emotions more accurately for future photo shoots. Additionally, even though she had revealed so much skin, it was her first time working with a male model who was respectful, and whose actions were refreshingly new to her, so naturally, she felt good about it.


    Kwon Eun-Mi reached her hand out for a handshake. She had gained a vague sense of confidence. Up until now, she had only been using her body to create images that highlighted sex appeal. Her self-esteem had gradually decreased as she unknowingly felt a sense of inferiority complex every time she had to do photo shoots with repetitive themes.


    The male models whom she had worked with only saw her as a sexual object, and not as a fellow co-worker. Regardless of how hard she had tried to break out of it, the image that both her clients and the public wanted from her had already been fixed. Today¡¯s photo shoot was also an extension of those expectations. Chae Woo-Jin had presented to her a different approach in which she could present herself even though she was showing a lot of skin.


    After completing the first round of the photo shoot, Kwon Eun-Mi was taking a break after getting her makeup fixed. During that time, she looked at a couple of photos on the monitor and saw that the woman in those photos was different from the risqu¨¦ Kwon Eun-Mi that she had always known. In those photos that told a story, she was no longer just an object or trophy.


    Even though she was playing a supporting role, Kwon Eun-Mi was a model who filled the contents of the story within the photos. Realizing the direction she should work towards in the future, Kwon Eun-Mi wore a very beautiful smile on her face. Woo-Jin smiled back at her, not knowing her backstory, and felt relieved as he told her that he was fortunate to be able to work with such a kind partner.


    The photo shoot might be over, but Woo-Jin was not done with work. On top of the photo shoot, Woo-Jin also had to do an interview with the magazine. The photo shoot was intended for a project that was already meant to be published in the magazine. Since they changed the model, they had to reshoot the entire thing. However, Woo-Jin¡¯s interview was not in the original plan. When they had decided to replace the model with Woo-Jin, the magazine company quickly suggested doing an additional interview with him as they did not want to miss this opportunity.


    With only ten days before the new issue gets published, even though Woo-Jin¡¯s agency did not know the details of the magazine company¡¯s circumstances, it was certainly not easy for the company magazine to decide to hold this interview. As such, this also meant that the first exclusive interview with Woo-Jin was a major thing that could not be missed.


    ¡°Hello, I am Lee Yoo-Jung from Biltman.¡±


    Woo-Jin greeted the journalist who had introduced herself. Woo-Jin was dressed comfortably in a dark blue casual suit that was paired with a white T-shirt with black stripes. This was in contrast with what he wore during the photo shoot.


    Since they had aimed at portraying him as a full-fledged adult in the photo shoot, they wanted to highlight his bright and cheerful image during the interview. The surprising thing was that Kim Jun-Yeol was standing next to Lee Yoo-Jung with a camera, instead of the photographer of the magazine.


    ¡°Do you have any complaints about me taking photos of an interview that is conducted in my studio?¡± asked Kim Jun-Yeol arrogantly.


    Seeing how arrogant he was, nobody could not raise any objections. Instead, they were grateful that he had stepped up to do it. Hwang Yi-Young was the only one who was quietly grumbling in the corner.


    ¡°Who says he can butt in and take photos of Genie as and when he pleases?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not disadvantageous to Woo-Jin though, so what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Of course there¡¯s nothing bad about it, I just can¡¯t stand the sight of him.¡±


    As she was conscious of the staff of the magazine company who were hanging around, Hwang Yi-Young expressed her dissatisfaction by pouting. Even though everything had turned out well in the end, she was offended by Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s attitude in the beginning, when he was harsh to Woo-Jin. Even though she did not expect people to respect and be considerate towards rookies in this field, people should still treat others with basic respect. Putting it bluntly, Woo-Jin¡¯s agency was not the one who begged them to let Woo-Jin be the model for this photo shoot, so she wondered why Kim Jun-Yeol was being so arrogant.


    ¡°It¡¯s all about gaining experience. Things don¡¯t always go according to your wishes ¨C you can¡¯t always do what you want with the people you want.¡± Kang Ho-Soo shared the same sentiment as Hwang Yi-Young, but he could not openly express it.


    ¡°But somehow Woo-Jin doesn¡¯t look too happy, no?¡± asked Hwang Yi-Young.


    ¡°You felt that too? Strangely, it seems like he has been that way ever since the photo shoot ended.¡±


    Both of them had focused all their attention on Chae Woo-Jin to observe him. They were more sensitive to how Woo-Jin was feeling compared to anybody else. Although he was clearly smiling, they could tell that Woo-Jin was feeling more gloomy and crestfallen than ever.


    ¡°Death Hill is your debut film, so you must be very happy that it has been breaking box office records day after day.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just so amazing. It¡¯s like that children¡¯s song we sang when we were little ¨C ¡®How Great It Would Be to Be On TV¡¯. Up until now, it¡¯s been very emotional for me, so I haven¡¯t had the time to process it.¡±


    ¡°If you walk down the streets these days, there must be a lot of people who recognize you. Whenever that happens, doesn¡¯t it feel real?¡±


    Movie or entertainment industry-related TV programs often played scenes of the movie where Woo-Jin appeared in, and characters imitating loan shark A in variety TV shows started to surface too. Hence, there were quite a number of people who knew of Chae Woo-Jin even if they did not watch the movie.


    ¡°Some people would occasionally recognize me when I take the subway or the bus. It hasn¡¯t really sunk in yet.¡±


    ¡°There aren''t a lot of people who recognize you? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, though. Even if they don¡¯t know that you¡¯re an actor, your good looks will still make you stand out.¡±


    Upon hearing the journalist¡¯s words, Woo-Jin secretly rolled his eyes as he tried his best to understand her thoughts. He contemplated for a moment about whether or not it was good to have looks that stood out. He thought that it was one of those trick questions that he had come across when he was training for how to handle interviews. It was an interview where he was uncertain how he would be counterattacked if he was quick to show off.

 Chapter 39

    ¡°I¡¯m not that famous yet, so I think it¡¯s natural for people to not know who I am. Also, people have told me that I look very different on screen compared to my real self. Maybe that¡¯s the reason why people who have seen the movie do not recognize me in real life. Not too long ago, a few people who were sitting in front of me were talking about Death Hill, as well as about loan shark A. Despite that, they did not recognize me. Even though I don¡¯t know what the future has in store, it has been a very fun and magical journey thus far.¡±


    Be it in the past or present, Woo-Jin had always caught the attention of others, but he rarely noticed it. Even though he had been receiving incomparably more attention than what he used to in the past, there was no way a person could change so suddenly. As long as people did not act like they recognized Woo-Jin, he would just conclude that they did not recognize him. Even if his eye-catching appearance had caught their attention, he would assume that they were not interested in him unless they talked to him.


    There might have been various reasons behind it, but there were unexpectedly many who could not bring themselves to approach Woo-Jin even if they did recognize him. Because of that, Woo-Jin had bought into the illusion that he was enjoying the freedom of being relatively unknown.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it make you sad?¡±


    ¡°The movie has just been released, and it¡¯s just one movie. Naturally, I am not expecting anything much. To be honest, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s particularly a bad thing. I want to use public transportation; I want to go to the supermarket and shop comfortably; and I want to have the freedom to go anywhere I want to with my friends and family like I do now.¡±


    Regardless of how thick-skinned he was, Woo-Jin would still feel a lot of pressure if he were to act freely and walk down the streets while being scrutinized by the public. Woo-Jin was very satisfied with his current state when he saw other famous celebrities having a hard time because their private lives were being taken away from them.


    ¡°As long as you are not upset, it¡¯s fine. But I¡¯m having some trouble understanding your reasoning. How can people not recognize you when you are so strikingly handsome? Of course, after seeing you in person today, I feel that it¡¯s such a shame that the cameras were unable to perfectly capture your charm. What are your thoughts on that?¡±


    It appeared as though she was expressing pity when she asked that question, but Woo-Jin felt that it was a thoroughly calculated trick question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s charm is important in the film ¨C what¡¯s important is how well loan shark A was portrayed, and how charming he was. If I didn''t have this mindset, it would be a mistake on my part as an actor.¡±


    ¡°Is loan shark A the only important thing to you in the movie? Not how you look or how you appear on screen?¡± Journalist Lee Yoo-Jung¡¯s question was strange, but Woo-Jin answered calmly.


    ¡°If you had watched the movie, you would know that appearances are not important to a character like loan shark A. Death Hill was trying to use his violent love and selfish greed as devices to express some of the absurd violence in the society. If you¡¯re able to sense Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s presence in loan shark A, it would mean that I¡¯m not qualified enough to be an actor.¡±


    As Woo-Jin answered Lee Yoo-Jung questions, he could not understand why she was so dead set on talking about his appearances. Woo-Jin had heard a lot of people comment that he did not look as good on screen, so he wondered if it was really that bad. Woo-Jin also wondered if Lee Yoo-Jung was indirectly implying that he was thick-skinned for becoming an actor with his bad looks.


    However, the questions had been vetted by Kang Ho-Soo in advance and were given the green light, so they would not be unreasonable. Since it was an interview conducted by a magazine company that advocated lookism, he felt that the content of the interview was bound to deviate in that direction.


    ¡°Are you saying that you are satisfied with how loan shark A turned out in the movie?¡±


    ¡°It would be accurate to say that I did my best, regardless of my satisfaction level. Since I did the best I could, there¡¯s nothing else I have to say right now. For all you know I might feel embarrassed when I watch it again in the future. Even though there¡¯s a 9 in 10 chance of that happening, it¡¯s up to the viewers to decide whether or not it is satisfactory in the first place. I am just an actor who¡¯s waiting to be evaluated.¡±


    ¡°In that case, what if the viewers are not satisfied?¡±


    ¡°We should always remember our past mistakes and stay hung up on them. As long as I don¡¯t forget my mistakes and failures, I will keep trying my best. At least I won¡¯t wear myself out by constantly dwelling on my mistakes.¡± Woo-Jin laughed as he felt what he said was somewhat awkward. His bright smile was so dazzling that Lee Yoo-Jung was captivated by it. Woo-Jin¡¯s looks were befitting of his nickname ¡®The Beauty Slayer¡¯. Thus, the main topic of today¡¯s interview had already been decided. Biltman¡¯s main target audience was young women, and their utmost interest was on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s looks. Hence, Lee Yoo-Jung wanted to know Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s thoughts on his own appearance, as well as his level of self-confidence.


    However, Woo-Jin had skillfully evaded all the traps in every question, and gave all the politically correct answers. Since DS thoroughly trained their rookies, they rarely made mistakes during interviews. However, the aura that people gave off was something that could not be taught. The overflowing confidence and upstanding aura that Chae Woo-Jin gave off was hard to come by from young men of his age.


    Only then did Lee Yoo-Jung realize that she herself was charmed by Woo-Jin¡¯s beauty from her first impression of him and had approached him with bias. She thought that by showering Chae Woo-Jin with compliments about his looks was a way of highlighting his strengths. He was clearly a handsome and beautiful man, but more importantly, his sincerity as an actor was genuine and appealing.


    After realizing her mistake, Lee Yoo-Jung continued the interview in a more serious manner. She asked about his reasons and circumstances behind his audition for Death Hill, as well as getting him to share his stories on set during the first shoot and also during the re-shoot.


    ¡°How was your first time doing a photo shoot with a magazine?¡±


    ¡°It was difficult.¡±


    ¡°The photographer, Kim Jun-Yeol, is not an easy person to work with, right?¡± Lee Yoo-Jung laughed mischievously as she looked at Kim Jun-Yeol who was taking photos next to them. However, Kim Jun-Yeol was indifferent to her comment and stayed focused on his job.


    ¡°No. Rather, he suffered a lot because of me. I thought that doing a photo shoot would be an easy task, and that caused problems.¡± Woo-Jin looked straight into the camera in Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s hands. He bowed and apologized to the latter. Woo-Jin was simply ashamed of himself for thinking that it would be easy, as well as the method he used to overcome the crisis.


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot today, but I¡¯ve also realized how much I¡¯m lacking. I¡¯m extremely ashamed of rushing fearlessly into the photo shoot today and jeopardizing it. Hence, I won¡¯t do any other photo shoots for the time being. I think that I have to learn more about becoming a model first. Thinking back, I feel ashamed of myself.¡±


    Kim Jun-Yeol almost dropped his camera. He wanted to ask Woo-Jin ¡®What on earth are you saying?¡¯, but Lee Yoo-Jung did not give him the opportunity to do so. She asked Woo-Jin another question immediately after, thereby denying Kim Jun-Yeol his chance to say anything. Somehow, Kim Jun-Yeol started to feel anxious because he felt that he was going to lose his opportunity to take photos of that marvelous subject for some time. Putting aside the anguish of a certain artist, the interview continued and they had almost come to the end.


    ¡°Last but not least, what kind of actor do you want to be?¡±


    ¡°An actor with several names.¡± Woo-Jin smiled shyly as he continued answering the journalist who did not seem to understand what he meant.


    ¡°That¡¯s because regardless of our roles, our characters will be given a name. Right now, there¡¯s only loan shark A, but in the future, I will continue to take on roles with different names, and I want their names to become mine. Instead of being an actor who is only known as Chae Woo-Jin, or being remembered for just one of the roles, I want to become an actor who¡¯s being referred to by several names. Well, it¡¯s still just a dream though.¡±


    At the end of the interview, the 23 year old young man smiled bashfully as he revealed his aspirations. Chae Woo-Jin, who was being photographed by Kim Jun-Yeol¡¯s camera, was not an experienced and confident actor with beautiful looks, he was just a shy young man with a dream.


    ***


    ¡°Today¡¯s photo shoot was very tough, right? But even though it was your first time, you did a very good job during the photo shoot with Kim Jun-Yeol as well as during the interview with Lee Yoo-Jung. Especially when dealing with Photographer Kim, who is picky at times. The staff was very surprised that he actually behaved like a meek sheep throughout.¡± Having observed the photo shoot and interview from start to end, Kang Ho-Soo offered Woo-Jin a cup of iced Americano as he comforted and complimented the latter.


    ¡°Tough or not, it¡¯s not that important. I hope I did well though.¡±


    ¡°The photographer said it was good, so it¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s someone who will work all night to edit the photos to his satisfaction if he doesn¡¯t like them.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m glad.¡±


    ¡°Get some sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up when we arrive at your house.¡± Seeing how tired Woo-Jin was, Kang Ho-Soo suggested that he get some sleep. Even the usually talkative Hwang Yi-Young had kept her mouth shut out of concern for Woo-Jin.


    That was how bad Woo-Jin''s condition was. He had never been exhausted even after pulling a few straight days of all-nighters to shoot his scenes. However, the entire process of going through a photo shoot and doing an interview did a bigger number on him mentally than physically. Hence, he was very exhausted. The last part of the photo shoot with Kwon Eun-Mi went well as they worked together under the pretext of acting, but the earlier photo shoots were not easy at all.


    The act of assuming the personality of an identity from his past life to create the perfect scene was a very tedious task. Woo-Jin was only able to get the hang of it towards the end of the series of tasks that were neither fun nor delightful. Before that, he had only acted according to the personalities of his past lives.


    All the actions he did, such as drinking wine; working at a desk; reading a book; and taking a pet out for a walk, etc. were nothing more than just actions that he had carried out after allowing his past life¡¯s personality to take over. It was neither acting, nor was it an impersonation. He had merely picked one of his personalities from the past and expressed that ¡®I am such a person.¡¯ It was not a bad thing to use his past memories to help him understand and express areas that he had no knowledge of, but that was the limit.


    This was a different path from acting, different from the path which Woo-Jin was pursuing. Acting was something that had to be created after he had studied the role, as well as tackling the challenges that came with it. The moment he had realized that imitating something that had already existed was not considered acting, he started to feel ashamed. If the time came where he had to act as another person who existed in real life, without putting in his own emotions and using his understanding of them to act out the role, it would be nothing more than a puppet show.


    The essence of acting, which he had only realized belatedly, had naturally dissolved during the photo shoot with Kwon Eun-Mi. At least during that photo shoot, he was able to act out his role in his own way, instead of letting his past life¡¯s personality take control of him. Even if only one photo was taken, the subject would have to create a story through their own acting and give it their own storyline to turn it into a work of art.


    When the photos were sloppily taken, they would only be considered as just Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s personal photos, and not a work of art. He was fortunate to be able to recall his past lives, but it was not simply just an opportunity for him to impersonate his past lives with those memories. One should never ignore their true selves at any given moment. Chae Woo-Jin, who was still far from reaching the top, had realized early on what was the most important aspect of acting. This realization has allowed him to reflect on his actions, which would surely aid his future growth.


    Woo-Jin thought to himself about what it meant to be fortunate, as he gradually started drifting off to sleep. Protecting himself was the way to protect the art he wanted to create.

 Chapter 40

    Wish Baragi increased their membership count to 30,000 in just a span of three weeks after DS recognized them as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s official Fancafe. Since they started with 5,000 members and already had photos of Woo-Jin back when he was with TM, Wish Baragi naturally stood out amongst the newer Fancafes.


    As the saying goes ¨C ¡®You have to spend money to make money,¡¯ it was only natural that the Fancafe, which had plenty of members and materials, attracted more people. This naturally led to the continuous cycle of posts and materials being uploaded in earnest every day. Quite a number of people signed up because they were interested in Woo-Jin, even though they were not exactly fans.


    The most surprising thing was that DS had been quick to recognize Wish Baragi as Woo-Jin¡¯s official Fancafe, which was a very unusual move. Normally, after a DS artist debuted, there would be several Fancafes made for them. Only after at least two years of observation would DS then pick out one of the Fancafes to be their official one. In comparison, the speed of recognition of Wish Baragi as the official Fancafe was unprecedented.


    Needless to say, DS¡¯ CEO Jang Su-Hwan had become a very popular figure among the members of Wish Baragi. However, ¡®Mr. Kang¡¯ and ¡®Fashion Coordinator Hwang¡¯ were the runner ups behind Chae Woo-Jin in terms of popularity because Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young had joined the Fancafe on behalf of Woo-Jin, and they served as the fastest and most accurate sources of information for the members of the cafe. In other words, the members of Wish Baragi acknowledged them as the unofficial admins of the group.


    The day after Woo-Jin had done the photo shoot with Biltman, Hwang Yi-Young had subtly advertised it in the Fancafe, spreading the news to his fans. She had also posted a couple of candid photos of Woo-Jin such as the one that was taken when he was getting his makeup touched up after changing into a suit, as well as the one that they took of him while he was focused on putting on the cufflinks.


    To his fans, who had been thirsty for more information about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s activities after Death Hill, this was akin to rain after a drought, and it became the center of discussion amongst fans. The members of Wish Baragi, who could not contain their excitement upon seeing just a couple of photos of Woo-Jin in a suit, had almost passed out when they watched some of the behind-the-scenes videos that were uploaded on Biltman¡¯s website.


    In particular, the behind-the-scenes video, which was only accessible to people who had verified their age, elicited the biggest reactions from viewers. One of those videos looked akin to a scene straight out of a movie. In that video, Woo-Jin took on the role of a romantic yet badass guy which gave off a mixed variety of charms. Although Woo-Jin had already shown the macho masculine side of him in Death Hill, his fans could not help but lose their minds over his well-groomed classy appearance, which gave off an entirely different vibe.


    As a result, people ended up pre-ordering copies of the magazine and eventually, they were all sold out. Even people who were not Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans pre-ordered it after watching the behind-the-scenes video. Since there were a lot of photos from the shoot that had made the cut, the magazine company decided to publish a supplemental booklet containing the additional photos. Because of that, the publication date got pushed back by two days. Nonetheless, it was a good call on the magazine company¡¯s part.


    After the magazine was published, word about the perfectly captured photos in the magazine spread like wildfire amongst fans and non-fans alike. Additionally, they had also praised Kwon Eun-Mi, who had shown an unexpected side of herself. It was the first time they had seen the woman, who was only known for being sexy, look so lovely and sad.


    There were several voices who wished that they could see Chae Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi act in the same movie or drama. A few talented people combined the behind-the-scenes footage of both versions and uploaded them as one video, which told a story.


    Among those fan-made videos, the most popular video was one that was titled ¡®Lovers of Death¡¯, which had included various scenes of Death Hill in which Woo-Jin had appeared in. It was about the love story between Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi, where the former had married another woman due to his family¡¯s disapproval of their relationship. But he had continued to see her in secret after his marriage. At the end of the video, the man could be seen struggling with overwhelming regret as he still loved Kwon Eun-Mi, even though his actions towards her were cold. Naturally, this video was made by one of the members of Wish Baragi.


    - Please shoot a movie with Kwon Eun-Mi!


    ©¸ That can¡¯t happen! I¡¯m only 16 now. Somehow, I have a feeling that if Genie were to shoot a movie with her, it would be rated NC-19, so I¡¯m against it.


    ©¸ Ah, to the person who thinks it¡¯ll be rated NC-19, I know how you feel, However, I¡¯m an adult, so I¡¯m in favor of the movie.


    - For some strange reason, whenever our dear Genie is paired with a woman, there would be an insane amount of chemistry between them, causing viewers to have dirty thoughts. As a fan, I have mixed feelings about it, but on the other hand, I¡¯m a girl who loves looking at sexy men.


    ©¸ Since he¡¯s a man we can¡¯t have anyway, it¡¯d be nice for him to be everyone¡¯s lover as an actor, and to show us different sides of him¡­ I mean it from the bottom of my heart, but why am I crying? T_T T_T


    - Glooming Day will be released soon. Let¡¯s be patient for now.


    ©¸ A lot of people have already said that it would be a terrible movie.


    ©¸ There¡¯s no such thing as a good G&C romance film. I mean, why did Genie have to be in a movie like that? I get that he had to strike while the iron is hot, but of all times, he had to shoot it before he joined DS. Now there¡¯s nothing they can do about it. It¡¯s really upsetting.


    ©¸ Judging from the fact that Song Jae-Hee, who¡¯s also one of DS¡¯ actors, had acted in the movie as well, the agency probably couldn¡¯t have done anything to prevent it. This might just be Genie¡¯s unavoidable fate.


    - Nevertheless, Glooming Day has a solid production crew and amazing main leads. Is it really going to become a flop?


    ©¸ The production crew and actors are perfect, but every G&C romance film has become a flop thus far. It¡¯s almost like they¡¯re cursed.


    ©¸ I pray that it¡¯ll be different this time, please¡­ Chances are slim, but as his fan, I¡¯m still going to watch it.


    - By the way, does Genie like it when we pretend to ignore him? It felt that way to me when I was watching the interview.


    ©¸ I guess he is enjoying his freedom. Honestly, what he said is true ¨C celebrities have their private lives too. There¡¯s nothing good about people following you around as you go about your day, bothering you.


    ©¸ Surprisingly, he is kind of slow in that regard. There was one time I screamed when I saw him in front of TM''s headquarters. However, when he looked around and saw an idol behind him, he had assumed I was screaming at that idol instead and just walked away. If you don¡¯t explicitly yell his name, he wouldn¡¯t know that you¡¯re calling out to him.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s answers in the interview had given his fans a lot to agonize over. They had a great desire to protect the wishes of the young Chae Woo-Jin, who mentioned that he still wanted to use public transportation and hang out with his friends with ease. Additionally, most of them wanted to respect his privacy and refrain from excessive fanaticism because of what he had said. As a fan, the least they could do for him was to respect his wishes. They decided to do just that, but in return, they paid close attention to Jin-Woo¡¯s activities, claiming that they had to pursue their interests.


    However, just as their curiosity and anticipation for his next work were peaking due to the photos from the photo shoot, the news about his next film being a romance film by G&C was enough to flip these expectations into concerns. Naturally, all his fans would be worried about his next film, which had a 100 percent chance of becoming a flop, being released immediately during a time when he was just starting to gain popularity.


    However, the negative atmosphere was lifted when ¡®Fashion Coordinator Hwang¡¯ posted the backstory of how Song Jae-Hee and her manager recommended Woo-Jin to CEO Jang. The members found out that Woo-Jin had the opportunity to sign a contract with DS because he had a role in Glooming Day. The members then reassured themselves that Woo-Jin would still succeed because he was a talented man. Even though Glooming Day might not be good for Woo-Jin¡¯s career, it did change his fate.


    Just like what a fan had said, they had to accept that it was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s destiny to act in  Glooming Day. Thereafter, there were no more complaints about Glooming Day. Ultimately, worrying about a movie that has yet to be released would not change anything. Perhaps being a worrywart was a ¡®disease¡¯.


    Even if they did not talk about it, there were many other topics to talk about in Wish Baragi. Even though they were just talking about Chae Woo-Jin, they constantly had new topics to talk about, sometimes creating disputes on conversational topics that were triggered by talks from outside the Fancafe.


    <Barag friends! Did you know that M Site has been mocking us and kicking up a big fuss about how we had claimed that ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ is Genie? Of course, in the beginning, we talked about how their back views looked similar, but we stopped talking about it because there was no evidence.


    So, when I investigated the source, I found out that it started with site B. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s one of our members, but when people were discussing ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯, there was a comment talking about how his back view looks like Genie¡¯s, and some comments were agreeing with them. Ever since then, comments have been popping up on several sites talking about how it looked like him, but that¡¯s all there is to it.


    There weren¡¯t any strong arguments over it, and nobody had insisted that it was Genie. Aren¡¯t they completely treating us like we¡¯re crazy fangirls and mocking us? Honestly, when I saw the photo, I also thought ¡®Oh, that looks like Genie!¡¯. But since there isn¡¯t any conclusive evidence, I didn¡¯t think much about it. Maybe many of you guys may have shared the same thoughts as me. But if we make an unsubstantiated claim, we are all well aware that we will get flack for it.


    Additionally, if we wanted to confirm the facts, we could¡¯ve asked Mr. Kang and Fashion Coordinator Hwang, but there was no need for that. If they said yes, people would think that they are trying to manipulate the masses via the media, and if they said no, people would say ¡®who asked?¡¯ and call Genie an attention seeker. I doubt that the two of them wouldn¡¯t have said anything either.


    I feel that when our dear Genie becomes a big star in the future, this will be one of the many stories of his past which will be revealed. However, the fact that people are trying to bury this has fired up my fighting instincts. So from now on, I¡¯m determined to gather evidence. They probably think that we¡¯re easy to mess with because we are not doing anything about it.


    We will be gathering the evidence and dealing with them on our own. I don¡¯t want to bother Manager Kang and Fashion Coordinator Hwang with this. Keep in mind that this is a response to the defamation targeting our members, not Genie. If it¡¯s not him, then so be it. And if it¡¯s him, then let''s tell the world the truth!


    Additionally, I¡¯ve taken screenshots and videos of the people who tried to defame us without any evidence, and I¡¯ve noted down their IDs and IP addresses. Even though it has only happened once, if something similar happens in the future, it¡¯s no longer a mistake ¨C it¡¯s intentional on their part, and so, I think that we should deal with it thoroughly. Hence, please write down your suggestions.>


    - After I read the posts, I was taken aback too. When I looked at the screenshots, the only thing that was said in those posts was that they looked similar, and nothing else. But they¡¯re treating us like we¡¯re crazy fans. I¡¯m truly speechless! We¡¯re not even talking about it anymore and yet they¡¯re bringing it up on their own and blowing things up. There was one person among them who was particularly aggressive. I had also taken a screenshot of it as evidence.


    - I tried overlapping the photos of ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ and Genie¡¯s back profile in Photoshop after adjusting their proportions, and it was a perfect match. Will that be considered as evidence?


    - After looking it up, I found out that it happened on the day he was returning from the final shoot in Busan. They had taken photos for Glooming Day and wrapped up the shoot. By any chance, did any of the staff on set remember what Genie wore?


    - Come on you guys, even without evidence, we should know the truth! Just like how our family members can recognize us from our silhouettes from far, we should be able to do it too! In the past, when there¡¯s a turncoat in an activist group, they were able to identify the people at the rally in the photo even though the students were wearing hats and masks. Even if you try to hide everything from the people you¡¯re close to, they¡¯re bound to find out.


    ©¸ Activist groups, turncoat¡­ Judging from the words you¡¯ve used, you are revealing your age. ^^;;


    - There was a navy stain on the left sleeve of the white T-shirt which ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ was wearing at that time. Furthermore, there was a drawing of a cat on his suitcase that looked like a British Shorthair. It¡¯s not a sticker ¨C it looks like he had drawn it himself.


    - Genie¡¯s younger sister is in the same class as my younger sister! Should I ask my younger sister to ask her if she knows anything?


    ©¸ Let¡¯s get along with one another.


    ©¸ Are you talking about his pretty younger sister who was a hot topic of discussion on the Internet a while ago? The same girl who was seen at the cafe with Genie, who looked like him? That girl who flailed her arms when Genie was pulling her cheeks?


    ©¸ His younger sister was said to be the top student in school and people have been talking about how pretty she is since a long time ago. She¡¯s known as ¡®the pretty girl in this district¡¯. Is that really true?

 Chapter 41

    On internet forums, when a main topic is being discussed, there is bound to be subtopics. After the photos and videos taken at the cafe by Woo-Hee¡¯s classmates had been uploaded to the internet, Woo-Jin''s younger sister became one of the topics of interest among Woo-Jin¡¯s fans.


    <I¡¯m the member whose sister is in the same class as Genie¡¯s younger sister. A lot of people have been messaging me to ask for more details, hence, I decided to make an official post.


    According to my sister, Genie¡¯s sister is very good at academics, and she is fairly well-known for being very pretty, but she herself is unaware of that. She doesn¡¯t dress up much because she¡¯s so focused on her studies, and because of her aloof personality, she brushes it off casually when others compliment her.


    She talks about her brother from time to time, and as it turns out, she has been talking about Genie. She mentioned that her brother would make her anything that she wanted to eat, and that he recently started playing the piano for her as well. Her ringtone, F¨¹r Elise, was played and recorded by Genie himself. Yesterday, she was running late in the morning and was about to leave in a hurry, but Genie stopped her and brushed her hair for her before tying it up.


    Of course, my sister didn¡¯t hear these stories directly from Genie¡¯s sister; she either overheard it when Genie¡¯s sister was talking to her friends or her other friends told her. My sister is not a member of Wish Baragi, but she is a fan of Genie. ^^;;


    Also, I received a message from the admins that we shouldn¡¯t drag Genie¡¯s younger sister into this matter, just like how we¡¯re not dragging Mr. Kang and Fashion Coordinator Hwang into it. I will inform my sister about it.>


    - Whoa, that¡¯s amazing!!!!


    - Genie is just so thoughtful. I¡¯m just going to continue being his big fan.


    - There was once when Manager Kang posted a picture of a sandwich that Genie¡¯s sister had made for him. I guess his family takes turns to do nice things for each other. Well, after seeing the video of the two siblings teasing each other at the cafe, I can tell that they have a very good relationship with one another.


    ©¸ I know, right?!! It¡¯s so nice how they don¡¯t act like siblings while resembling each other. After watching that video, I liked Genie even more.


    - Barag friends, I don¡¯t know if I should say this but we should refrain from talking about Genie¡¯s younger sister. She¡¯s just a normal person. If she¡¯s a sophomore in high school, it means that she¡¯s busy studying. We should be protecting her from distractions instead of causing trouble for her. Genie¡¯s younger sister has to enter Korea University just like him!


    ©¸ Ah, I didn¡¯t think about that. I heard that his sister isn¡¯t interested in the entertainment industry, so it wouldn¡¯t be good for her to have so much public exposure.


    ©¸ That¡¯s true. We can¡¯t do anything that will adversely affect Genie. From now on, let¡¯s refrain from talking about his sister.


    Hwang Yi-Young nodded with satisfaction as she read the posts on Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe page.


    ¡°As expected, the original members are quick-witted and good at regulating the other members.¡±


    Currently, there were two groups in Wish Baragi ¨C the original members who had been there since the beginning, and the new members who have joined after the Fancafe was opened to the public. Initially, there was some unease about how the original members would treat the newcomers. People were afraid that the original members would be cold and unwelcoming, but on the contrary, they were patient and helped to keep the new members in check.


    Strictly speaking, they were fans who had waited patiently for two years for someone who had not debuted. Furthermore, Genie had even vanished off the grid at some point in time. Arming themselves with patience, tenacity, and spite, they were well-aware of what they had to do to protect their beloved Genie.


    At the same time, they also knew all too well the kind of damage that inconsiderate and thoughtless fans could do to their idols. Instead of being protective, they slowly taught the new members the mindset and attitude which they should have as fans, and skillfully manipulated the new members¡¯ behavior and speech. Even though they didn¡¯t show any mercy to members who were stubborn and tried to stir trouble, they were kind to new members who were clueless.


    Instead of arrogantly ordering the new members around, they set the tone in a natural manner, firmly establishing the Fancafe¡¯s identity. Their top priority right now is to become fans who will not obstruct Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s path to success, as he was just starting out his career as an actor.


    They wanted to collect information from the people around Woo-Jin while minimizing interference with his private life as they wanted to protect his privacy. Their motto was to be with Chae Woo-Jin for a long time and thus, they learnt to act with common sense. Considering that several of the original members of Wish Baragi were sasaeng fans back then, this was very unusual.


    However, to someone who knows the backstory of the club, it would not be strange at all. Since they had experienced it firsthand as former sasaeng fans, they were well-aware of the damage that they could potentially bring to their beloved celebrities. It was also the result of repentance after realizing that being a sasaeng did nothing good for their celebrities. The realization that stemmed from regret that only the people who had lost their idol for two years could feel gave  birth to fans who had common sense.


    ¡°Nevertheless, it¡¯s not a bad thing to keep talking about Miss Woo-Hee.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Kang Ho-Soo, who was looking through the posts on the Fancafe page next to Hwang Yi-Young, felt awkward as he felt that the situation was vague.


    ¡°Mr. Woo-Jin is secretly a golden boy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a secret though, everybody knows he¡¯s a golden boy.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s good-looking, smart, and good at acting. He also attended a prestigious university, he¡¯s pretty much flawless. Some people even say that he¡¯s not human.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young was rather blas¨¦ unlike Kang Ho-Soo, who was serious. After managing idols for so many years, she had seen pretty much everything. In comparison, this was nothing.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the online trolls and people who feel inferior to him are saying, no?¡±


    ¡°If you let them be because they¡¯re insignificant, Woo-Jin¡¯s image will eventually become that way.¡±


    As of now, Woo-Jin had only appeared in one movie and one photo shoot with a magazine. Even though he was not that well-known amongst the public yet, since his viewers had exceeded 10 million, the name ¡®Woo-Jin¡¯ as well as his photos were constantly appearing on TV shows. Woo-Jin was rapidly gaining exposure to people of all ages and genders.


    Initially, they were only interested in Chae Woo-Jin as an actor, but gradually, other bits and pieces of information about him were bound to surface. In truth, there was almost nothing bad that was said about Chae Woo-Jin. Most of it pointed towards how perfect Chae Woo-Jin was as a human being to the point that it was almost unbelievable.


    Even though it was a good thing, it was clear that it would cause some people to feel jealous. It would be a relief if it only ended in jealousy and nothing more, but the potential of online trolls and anti-fans coming out of the woodwork had to be taken into consideration. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were the ones who had to fight these internet trolls and anti-fans both online and offline on his behalf.


    Right now, what was important was the loyalty of his fans, as well as his image as a celebrity. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s current image was that of a handsome, sexy and perfect man, who was good at acting. However, to his longtime fans who had known him since his trainee days and had memories about his past, Woo-Jin¡¯s old image as a pure and innocent man remained in their minds. By incorporating innocence into the trivial recollection of his past, they looked at Woo-Jin in a positive light regardless of what he did.


    On the other hand, when it came to the new fans, the image they had of Woo-Jin was only solidified through his movie and photos from the magazine photoshoot. They were still unsure of the image they wanted to portray him as. In the meantime, there had been people who were trying to taint his image by accusing Woo-Jin of being an inhuman person, especially after his editorial photos in Biltman.


    After the success of Death Hill, the entertainment industry¡¯s big players¡¯ interest in Chae Woo-Jin rose, leading to quite a number of offers for roles in movies and dramas. However, the problem was that most of them were roles for gangsters. The image of him as loan shark A was so strong that the type of roles people wanted him to act in was still limited. Hence, Bilman¡¯s offer to do a photo shoot for luxury products was an unexpected opportunity.


    As expected, the photo shoot was extremely well-received by the public, and Chae Woo-Jin had finally created a classy image for himself. Immediately after, roles that were offered to Woo-Jin greatly increased in quality and variation. It now ranged from a CEO of a conglomerate to a mafia boss.


    As such, problematic opinions of him began arising from unexpected places. Some said that because Chae Woo-Jin was too perfect, he acted like a jerk and lacked humanity. In particular, they brought up the behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot and claimed that it showed Woo-Jin¡¯s true self. They said that he was cocky for taking charge of the photo shoot and seemed to have been ordering Kwon Eun-Mi around, even though he was a rookie and she was more experienced than him. They criticized his noble and royalty-like arrogance, linking it back to his lack of humanity.


    Even though they had a hunch of where these comments came from, it was not the right time to respond to them. They had to make the public aware of Woo-Jin¡¯s humane and caring side as much as possible before other negative images of Woo-Jin appeared. For example, the image of him as a caring older brother who loved his sister would be a pretty good one. Besides, in Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s opinion, Chae Woo-Jin did truly dote on his sister, so it was not exactly a lie.


    ¡°Hmm~ Is that so? By the way, is Woo-Jin really The Slipper Young Man?¡± Instead of answering Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s question, Kang Ho-Soo smiled in response. It was an unspoken affirmation. Based on what she had already known, it had happened before Woo-Jin joined DS. This clearly meant that it was not a calculated good deed. But if they were not careful, they could be accused of manipulating the media.


    Even though it had been a few months, the reason why The Slipper Young Man had become a trending topic was because of the story of the old man in the photo, who was photographed picking up waste paper, had surfaced.


    The story of the old man who lived in a single room in the basement with his demented wife and young grandson had become known to the public, and kind samaritans had reached out to help. The public¡¯s curiosity about ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ increased. His one small act of kindness has snowballed and led to great results. Would people accept it if they found out that Chae Woo-Jin was ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯? Even Hwang Yi-Young would be doubtful if she didn¡¯t know Woo-Jin in real life.


    ¡°In any case, we can¡¯t even brag about something that we should be proud of because of those scumbags. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re doing,¡± said Hwang Yi-Young as she smiled indignantly. Even though Hwang Yi-Young did not know much about management on the professional level, she felt that she had learnt many things after listening to Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s explanation and observing his attitude.. As she used to manage idols in the past, she was well-versed in fighting against anti-fans.


    How dare they attack my celebrity? Hwang Yi-Young picked up her phone without hesitation.


    ¡°Who are you calling out of the blue?¡±


    ¡°The president of Wish Baragi Fancafe.¡±


    ¡°You know each other?¡±


    ¡°As Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fashion coordinator, even if we don¡¯t know each other, we should become acquainted.¡±


    Unlike Kang Ho-Soo who only posted in the Fancafe, Hwang Yi-Young was the best when it came to promoting friendship and unity.


    ¡°President~!¡± As soon as the call was connected, Hwang Yi-Young called out to Ma Do-Hee affectionately. She was the admin and president of the Fancafe and she was younger than Hwang Yi-Young.


    Upon hearing Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s voice which was tinged with injustice and resentment, Ma Do-hee¡¯s ear perked up immediately.


    - What¡¯s the matter, Fashion Coordinator Hwang!


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, president!¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young trembled in anger as she regurgitated the words that she had heard from Kang Ho-Soo earlier. As Hwang Yi-Young recounted the words out loud, she started getting riled up again. She would not have denied it if they had said that Woo-Jin was inflexible and stubborn. Hwang Yi-Young was baffled that people called Woo-Jin inhumane just because he was shy and couldn¡¯t accurately judge his own worth.

 Chapter 42

    - They are such horrible people. That¡¯s the same on M site. These people are slowly crawling out from under the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! It¡¯s going to be cold soon, they should just stay underground. I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re crawling out. Genie is someone who gets shy very easily, and he¡¯s surprisingly naive and innocent. Why are they trying to nitpick on him!


    - I know, I know! I still vividly remember what Genie looked like every time we passed by TM''s headquarters. Back in his trainee days, Genie would blush and smile brightly whenever he saw us.


    Ma Do-Hee fell for Genie¡¯s looks back then and remained as his fan up until now. Ma Do-Hee had started her journey as an idol fangirl. The moment she had laid eyes on Chae Woo-Jin, she knew that she had reached the final destination of her journey. Woo-Jin would be the last idol that she would chase.


    - I¡¯ll look into it and if it¡¯s true, I¡¯ll tell the Fancafe members to reveal all the information and stories about Genie that they¡¯ve been hiding so far.


    ¡°Stories?¡±


    - There are quite a number of Fancafe members who have personally seen how Genie acted in real life. We¡¯re afraid that he would not like it if we behave too much like sasaeng fans, so there are quite a few stories that only we know about which we have kept hidden from everyone else.


    When Woo-Jin was in the military, regardless of how hard they looked for him, he could not be seen walking down the streets. However, stories about his sightings started to increase within Wish Baragi after he had been discharged from the military. Due to his striking appearance, there were quite a number of instances where they had spotted him walking through the crowd by chance. Even though they were unsure because they could not confirm his identity, the members of Wish Baragi guessed that he had been in the military during his period of absence due to his shaved head.


    Thereafter, some of them had found out by chance through an acquaintance, who was part of the movie production crew, that Woo-Jin was shooting a movie. Although they called him Choi Woo-Jin while the acquaintance referred to him as Chae Woo-Jin, it was fortunate that neither of them noticed the difference in pronunciation. As such, they were able to hold a poll to open the Fancafe to the public just in time for the release of Death Hill.


    Before the premiere of Death Hill, since Woo-Jin roamed around in public more usual because of CEO Jang¡¯s instructions, quite a couple of Wish Baragi members managed to catch a glimpse of him. However, they did not want to look like stalkers, nor did they want to give Woo-Jin unnecessary pressure. Thus, they disguised themselves to look like normal passers-by. Because of that, it was difficult for them to openly talk about their experiences.


    When the Fancafe was still a private group, they had uploaded and shared most of the photos, as well as what they had seen or heard. But before they opened up the Fancafe to the public, they had deleted most of those posts, leaving only a few behind. After the mass cleanup of their Fancafe page, most of the posts depicting Woo-Jin¡¯s life were deleted. Afterwards, when they saw him, they pretended to not see him; when they heard information about him, they pretended that they didn¡¯t know anything. They did their best to ensure that they did not cross the line.


    After ending the conversation with Hwang Yi-Young, Ma Do-Hee sent a group text to the Wish Baragi admins. In less than an hour, they had confirmed that everything Hwang Yi-Young had said was true, and decided on a flawless, systematic course of action. From that evening onwards, eyewitness accounts began appearing on Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe page, quietly developing a new public image of Woo-Jin.


    Out of the multiple stories that were shared on the page, the highlight was the story of Woo-Jin going to the convenience store with his sister and buying a bunch of snacks. Since it was posted shortly after deciding not to involve Woo-Jin¡¯s family too much, the poster was extra careful with her words.


    The post went like this: The author started off by saying that her friend informed her that Chae Woo-Jin and his sister were at the convenience store that she was working at. The author didn¡¯t really believe it, so she went to check the CCTV footage and confirmed that it was indeed Woo-Jin. She also explained that the high-performance CCTV camera had perfectly captured Woo-Jin¡¯s face, and that her friend just so happened to be doing a voice recording for personal reasons. She happened to record Woo-Jin¡¯s voice in the recording as well.


    After explaining the whole story, although the author did not upload the entire footage and recording, she uploaded the snapshot of the footage and the voice recording with only Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice to the Fancafe. The author had even described the conversation between Woo-Jin and his sister, which she had heard from her friend, in detail. He was an older brother who was very attentive and caring towards his younger sister. He took care of her and was worried about her. Such dynamics between siblings were absent in most families. If not for the voice recording, she would not have believed it herself.


    Since Woo-Jin kept a low profile, it was extremely rare for fans to be able to hear his voice. Even though there was a chance that the snapshot of the CCTV footage and the voice recording could be fake, the fans were happy and grateful for them. After they saw how innocent Woo-Jin was while teasing his sister, as well as how kind and affectionate he was towards her, all the new fans erased the prejudice that they had against Woo-Jin.


    For those who only knew Woo-Jin after looking at his recent work, they had already established an image of him from what they saw. Hence, they had initially thought Woo-Jin had a strong personality and was slightly rude. Seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s true self caught them off guard as it was completely unexpected and beyond their imaginations. However, their image of him being ruined was not a bad thing, so they accepted it positively.


    Needless to say, the fan who wrote the post did not have a friend who ran a convenience store, because she herself was the so-called friend in the story who had personally seen Woo-Jin. She was a foolish fan who froze up when she saw Chae Woo-Jin before her eyes. Thus, she missed the golden opportunity that was given to her to ask for an autograph as well as to take a photo with him. If not for the high-performance CCTV camera as well as the fact that she was reading and recording a novel for her grandmother who had a bad vision to listen to, she would not have been able to get anything from her encounter with Woo-Jin. She might have to spend the rest of her life regretting it.


    Was she being rewarded by the heavens for doing a rare act of filial piety towards her grandmother? As someone who was not a muggle, she got lucky. However, as Woo-Jin¡¯s fan, there are rules that she had to follow to protect his privacy and his family. Hence, she did not share this story with anyone with the exception of a few members of Wish Baragi, who had been her close friends for a long time. She knew what she had to do to protect Woo-Jin and his family, and if it were not for the group text that she had received, she would not have shared her story.


    There were other members who were in the same situation. It was not that they did not have any news about Woo-Jin. On the contrary, despite knowing something, several fans had worked hard to stay in line to respect his privacy. However, the moment when theories that were defaming Woo-Jin surfaced, they immediately took action.


    Even so, they did not confront the people who had openly criticized Chae Woo-Jin because they knew the entertainment industry well enough to not do something foolish like causing conflicts and indirectly aggravating the spread of baseless rumors. Instead, they would only post their own factual accounts.


    Within a few days, stories about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s sightings started appearing on Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe site. They uploaded photos of him taking the bus alone, and other photos of him at the grocery store. In one of the posts, a member flaunted an autograph which she had gotten from Woo-Jin three years ago. Next to his autograph, Woo-Jin had written ¡®This is the first autograph I have signed in my life¡¯. The post caused a stir among the members of the Fancafe.


    As the posts written by his longtime fans started to surface, the newer members also started to share their experiences. Initially, they were still cautious, but gradually, they got comfortable and jumped onto the bandwagon, writing their stories. There was a member who talked about how she saw Chae Woo-Jin going to school to apply for reinstatement with his friend and eating at a restaurant nearby, and posted the photos she had taken of him that day. Another member posted a photo they had taken in April of Woo-Jin and a man, whom someone had pointed out was a famous casting director, allowing them to guess which day it was. Perhaps, for Chae Woo-Jin as an actor, it was a memento of a special day in his career, hence, that photo was very precious.


    One member even said that Chae Woo-Jin was tutoring her younger sister, but her mother fired him immediately after seeing his face. Back then, it was a reasonable decision. But now, she would complain about it to her mother, and they would share a good laugh over it.


    All of the photos that were posted alongside their stories had something in common ¨C Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s bright smile. The intense and arrogant look he had in the movie and the photos from the magazine photo shoot was nowhere to be found. The posts in Wish Baragi¡¯s Fancafe were reposted on other community sites, which attracted people¡¯s attention.


    The members of Wish Baragi had decided on the concept. It was an undeniable fact that Chae Woo-Jin was a good-looking man; while capitalizing on that, they wanted to build up his image as a family man. Naturally, there were comments arguing how he looked cold and unaffectionate, but they did not have much of an impact. Based on the CCTV footage and the voice recording taken at the convenience store; the ringtone which Woo-Jin played for his sister to record; and buying a comic book for her, there was no way that Woo-Jin could be a cold and unaffectionate person.


    Additionally, they had refuted comments that said Woo-Jin was arrogant during the photoshoot by explaining that he was very good at acting. In the beginning of the behind-the-scenes video with Kwon Eun-Mi, Woo-Jin did mention that he would go into acting mode, which he did. They asserted that because he was very good at acting, his charisma would not only be seen in videos, but in pictures as well. The original members were meticulous and systematic while refuting these comments. Following their code of conduct helped them control their emotions and they did not overreact or get overly excited, nor were they irritated by negative comments.


    The new members who had joined Wish Baragi because of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s good looks for the fun of it were gradually being influenced by the original members. The original members had already managed to convince those who were originally anti-fans of Blue Fit and TM to fall for Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s charms, so it was not difficult for them to sway the members who had already been enamored by his good looks. These casual fans would wake up one day and realize that they had become passionate fans of Chae Woo-Jin.


    ***


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for him to do variety shows or other interviews?


    The photo shoot and interview Woo-Jin had done for Biltman was very well-received. The manager of the planning department of DS, Song Yi-Hwan, had immediately come up with a road map for Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s still too early for variety shows. Don¡¯t you know that creating a persona on variety shows would spell the end of his acting career?¡± CEO Jang predicted that if Woo-Jin went on a variety show, he would not return to the big screen. He was worried that if he were to go on a variety show and do whatever he was told to do, he would create a likable persona because he would be too good at it.


    ¡°In that case, what about an interview? It¡¯s hard to refuse every single interview request. Because of how great Biltman¡¯s interview went, interview requests are flooding in from other magazines.¡± They would be lucky if it was only a request and nothing more. There were even complaints questioning why they were turned down.


    ¡°Accept the interview requests after Glooming Day is released. It¡¯s ridiculous to get interviewed over and over again for one movie.¡±


    ¡°The movie is going to be a flop though, is that going to be okay?¡±


    While interest in Woo-Jin was growing day by day, she felt that the premiere of Glooming Day was akin to pouring water on a raging fire. Song Yi-Hwan felt that Woo-Jin should be actively exposed to the media and public beforehand to increase public awareness to a certain degree.


    ¡°Yesterday, The Supreme Witch said that she cried after watching the final version of the film because it was so good.¡±


    ¡°But her taste in films¡­¡±


    ¡°No, she has never acted this way before. Even though they were films that she liked, there were several instances where she did not finish watching them. She said that this was the first time where a film had managed to capture and express the scenes that she had pictured when formulating the script. Even if it was not going to be a box office hit, you can be sure that it won¡¯t be a disappointing film.¡±


    Even though the Supreme Witch did not have the best taste in films, her evaluations were always objective and accurate. If not, she would not be this successful in the entertainment business.

 Chapter 43

    ¡°It¡¯s not bad to be known to the public as an actor who has been in critically acclaimed films. What about doing commercials?¡±


    ¡°Initially, we¡¯ve gotten offers for products like ramen, detergent, and beverages. Recently, even though it¡¯s a one-off thing, we¡¯ve also gotten offers from grocery stores, telecommunication companies, cosmetic and beauty companies.¡±


    ¡°Choose one of the three among the recent offers and go ahead with it. Don¡¯t accept every offer and burden Woo-Jin with work.¡±


    In CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s opinion, commercials were a means to tell people ¡®I have become famous enough to shoot commercials for these products¡¯. Hence, instead of appearing in multiple commercials, he emphasized that the celebrities should only shoot a couple that would help them boost their image. As a result, Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s decisions occasionally caused some rifts with the celebrities from the agency.


    Unlike Jang Soo-Hwan who was always carefree and relaxed, the celebrities wanted to strike while the iron was hot. There were many realists who felt that good days will not last forever, and they felt that they should not be sitting around idly while taking opportunities for granted. It was often difficult for them to come to terms with Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s opinion that they should refrain from shooting too many commercials if they wanted to extend those ¡®good days.¡¯ because of their opposing views.


    Fortunately, Chae Woo-Jin had no interest in shooting commercials. For now, what he wanted was the freedom of choice rather than earning more money. Thus, Woo-Jin was not worried about having to shoot fewer commercials.


    ¡°By the way, did Woo-Jin say he¡¯s going to accept that role?¡± The only thing that Woo-Jin would not budge on was the roles that he wanted to act in.


    ¡°Yes, he likes both the storyline and the character.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a given. The quality is there because it¡¯s Yoo Soo-Min¡¯s work, but she¡¯s known for her eccentric taste and preferences. On top of that, Park Jong-Hyuk is the production director. He¡¯s known to have a bad temper and is very fussy, and every actor wants to avoid working with him. And, it looks like they are shooting ¡®The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯ at the same time. Of all dramas, why did he choose to be in one that¡¯s shooting alongside a major drama with Park Min as the main lead?¡±


    ¡®The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯ was a drama that was expected to be the best drama in the second half of the year. The production cost had already exceeded 10 billion won and it boasted star-studded casts. From the writer to the production crew, the best of the best were gathered to produce this drama.


    Although Park Min paled in comparison to Chae Woo-Jin in the recent movie, he was still a Hallyu star. There were rumors about how some overseas companies had entered into negotiations abroad for the drama rights just because Park Min was starring in the drama. Although Park Min¡¯s acting skills were questionable, the dramas he starred in were still guaranteed to be a hit. In other words, Park Min was more highly sought after in the drama industry than Woo-Jin was.


    The female lead and supporting actors were also famous and talented actors. Hence, even though Park Min was not great at acting, there were many people who could make up for his lack of skill. More importantly, because of Park Min¡¯s relatively better performance in the second half of Death Hill, many people said that they were looking forward to the drama.


    Hence, a lot of other broadcasting networks bit the bullet and decided not to schedule their dramas too close to ¡®The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯. Instead, they decided to replace the dramas in that time slot with low-budget ones, which happened to be SBC¡¯s ¡®City of Shadows,¡¯ written by Yoo Soo-Min. Even though she had gained some fans through her unconventional and eccentric work, her work was not as popular.


    Nevertheless, the reason why her script ended up being made into a drama was because she was recognized for the quality of her work. Since she had received international awards from time to time, she could not be disregarded. Hence, the broadcasting networks mainly scheduled dramas which were written by people like Yoo Soo-Min in time slots where potentially popular dramas were not aired. Everything was fine up to that point.


    Even if the viewership was low, it would still be good for the actor¡¯s career if the public continued to talk about the drama long after the drama finished airing; there was nothing bad about it. However, the biggest obstacle was Park Jong-Hyuk, the production director. From the viewers¡¯ point of view, he was without doubt a talented and excellent production director. However, to CEO Jang, he was just a nutjob whom he had to entrust his actors to..


    There was a famous story about how Park Jong-Hyuk spent 10 days creating a 3 minute scene. Naturally, that scene went down in history as one of the best drama scenes, and the actor became a huge star because of that one scene. However, the actor developed a bone disease several years after shooting that scene. Seeing the way Park Jong-Hyuk treated actors and staff members without any consideration, people could tell that Park Jong-Hyuk was a lunatic who valued his work over everything else.


    Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk believed in making sacrifices for the sake of creating beautiful works of art. On the other hand, CEO Jang believed that the actors themselves were already a work of art. As such, due to their ideological differences, Jang Soo-Hwan did not like Park Jong-Hyuk.


    So, when Chae Woo-Jin said that he was going to work with Park Jong-Hyuk, Jang Soo-Hwan could not help but foam at the mouth. The conditions could not have been any worse. Woo-Jin was given the role of a killer. Even though it was an upgrade compared to a loan shark, he was still a killer. A killer.[1]


    A sigh escaped from Jang Soo Hwan¡¯s mouth. The only redeeming factor was that Woo-Jin had acted as an intelligent teaching assistant in Glooming Day. If Woo-Jin acted in City of Shadows right after Death Hill, the public¡¯s image of Woo-Jin might end up being that of a cold hearted brute. So, even though Woo-Jin¡¯s fans did not like Glooming Day, CEO Jang embraced it and eagerly waited for the movie to be released.


    As the premiere of Glooming day approached, the two main leads and the supporting actor were being interviewed. It was expected for Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee, but Woo-Jin would have never been included if it was not for Death Hill¡¯s success.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask me to choose between the two of them, right?¡± After hearing what Song Jae-Hee said, the reporter, who was an entertainment insider from MBS, paused for a moment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not ask boring questions like that.¡±


    ¡°Why is it boring? Questions like that are fun and the viewers want to know the answers too, so we have no choice but to ask them.¡± The reporter, who might or might not be a close acquaintance of Song Jae-Hee, was unfazed and just smiled casually.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you an answer. As the main character in the movie, I would choose ¡®Park Ji-Hyuk¡¯, who was played by Kwon Sung-Min, of course. That¡¯s because she loved ¡®Park Ji-Hyuk¡¯ and gave it her all. But personally, I hate both of them. One of them is blind to reality and the other one thinks too much.¡±


    Since it seemed like Song Jae-Hee had given up on resisting his questions, the reporter immediately asked another question. ¡°What about both men in real life?¡±


    ¡°You know my ideal type ¨C someone who is older and mature, and someone who has conviction when it comes to work!¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that both of them are not your type?¡±


    ¡°At the very least, I don¡¯t detect the scent of a mature man from my juniors [2] and younger men.¡± Upon hearing what Song Jae-Hee said, Kwon Sung-Min lifted his arm and pretended to sniff himself, while Woo-Jin laughed softly as though he was looking at something amusing.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, this is no laughing matter. Mr. Kwon Sung-Min has been chosen at least once. Both you and your character have yet to be chosen by anyone!¡±


    ¡°I guess it didn¡¯t really matter to me because I wasn¡¯t wishing to be chosen by Na Mi-Yeon when I was shooting the movie.¡± Hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply, the reporter laughed meaningfully.


    ¡°Do you know what people have been calling you before the release of this movie?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it ¡®The Beauty Slayer¡¯?¡± answered Song Jae-Hee. She pushed Woo-Jin, who was sitting beside her, aside. It seemed that she was uncomfortable about them being photographed together.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but there have been rumors circulating about how your character¡¯s love went unrequited in Glooming Day as well. People have been saying that you might be crowned as Korea¡¯s poster boy for unrequited love.¡±


    Woo-Jin thought for a moment after hearing what the reporter said before replying with a smile on his face, ¡°In order to qualify for that title, I would need to experience unrequited love at least 30 times. Until then, I¡¯ll respectfully decline.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make you sound kind of greedy?¡± asked Kwon Sung-Min. Woo-Jin¡¯s reply had piqued his interest. Woo-Jin avoided looking him in the eye and replied bashfully, ¡°It¡¯s still a title on the national level though.¡± Even though the title was somewhat negative, it was still a title that not everyone could obtain. Thus, Woo-Jin felt that it was not a particularly bad thing. Seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction, Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee burst out laughing, and said that they should offer him roles whose characters suffer from unrequited love from now on.


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of¡­¡± As they made fun of Chae Woo-Jin, who was shaking his head while feeling flustered, the interview continued in a cordial way. The interview ended with them talking about the movie, as well as interesting or funny anecdotes from the movie set, etc. Seeing how well they got along together, the reporter remarked that the ambience on set must have been really nice.


    However, as soon as the reporter left after the interview, Kwon Sung-Min stood up and looked at his watch. ¡°Well then, I have a drama to shoot.¡± Without a single trace of a smile on his face, he left without saying a proper goodbye, ruining the amicable ambience.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s always been rude like that.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been busy shooting dramas these days though.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. To be honest, it¡¯s something that I can relate to, so it feels even sadder.¡±


    The interview was held at Headquarters M, which was also the set in which Kwon Sung-Min was shooting the MBS drama which aired on Mondays and Tuesdays. The way in which Kwon Sung-Min left was somewhat regretful, but Song Jae-Hee somewhat understood his feelings since she knew the fear and frustration one experienced whenever they witnessed their juniors rising rapidly.


    The reason why she could be so generous towards Chae Woo-Jin was because he was of the opposite sex and not her competitor. Chae Woo-Jin, a rookie who posed a threat to her position as an experienced actor, did not understand her words. He simply nodded his head, taking it as she meant that she understood Kwon Sung-Min¡¯s circumstance ¨C being busy with drama shootings and whatnot.


    ¡°Right! You said that you¡¯re going to be shooting a drama too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I went to the table read yesterday.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, I guess you¡¯re the type of person who chooses the difficult path, huh?¡±


    ¡°Not you too. I think the drama is pretty decent.¡±


    CEO Jang reacted the same way, and for some reason, the moment he decided to act in ¡®City of Shadows¡¯, people around him were in a hurry to stop him. Even though they were right to question him, Woo-Jin knew this was something he wanted to do from the moment he read the script. This was also the first role that he had chosen on his own accord. However, everyone hated his decision and even Hwang Yi-Young flicked his forehead lightly. Nonetheless, he was stubborn and did not change his decision.


    ¡°It¡¯s written by Yoo Soo-Min, so there¡¯s no way it¡¯ll be bad. It¡¯s just that the circumstances are pretty bad.¡± As she left the interview location, Song Jae-Hee shook her head. As an actress, she also had the desire to work with Yoo Soo-Min at least once in her career. However, the time slot where the drama was scheduled to air and the production director were factors that were too unfavorable.


    ¡°Come to think of it, only one person approved of it. Director Choi Yi-Geon praised me for choosing a good drama,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Are you still in contact with Director Choi? Isn¡¯t he in France right now?¡± Woo-Jin looked at Song Jae-Hee, who was rejoicing for a moment, and smiled meaningfully.


    ¡°Ho-oh.¡±


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Hey, it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking,¡± responded Song Hee-Jae.


    ¡°What am I thinking?¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡±


    Song Jae-Hee blushed and walked briskly in front of him, unlike her usual cheerful and confident self.


    ¡°By the way, the director said that you¡­¡±


    ¡°What? He talked about me too?¡±


    Song Jae-Hee, who initially wanted to get as far away as possible from Woo-Jin, suddenly approached him and looked at him with gleaming eyes. Looking at Song Jae-Hee, who could not hide the anticipation in her beautiful eyes, Woo-Jin told her what Director Choi had said. ¡°He asked if you¡¯re dating someone right now because your face has been glowing.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what, what. Dating? That¡¯s funny. My skin has become so rough these days and I¡¯ve been so out of it! Tell him that it¡¯s all makeup and that it¡¯s been a million years since I¡¯ve dated anyone! Make sure you tell him that. Tell. Him. Twice. Understood? Did he say anything else?¡±


    Song Jae-Hee, who had calmed herself down, looked at Woo-Jin once again with anticipation in her eyes. Looking at her gleaming eyes, Woo-Jin repeated what Director Choi Yi-Geon said verbatim.


    ¡°He said, Song Jae-Hee, why is she annoyingly¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t want to hear anything. Don¡¯t say it, don¡¯t say anything!¡±


    Song Jae-Hee covered her ears and shook her head, refusing to listen to what Woo-Jin was saying. She kept covering her ears repeatedly with both hands, closing her eyes, before turning around quickly and walking away. As Song Jae-Hee was running away, her manager hurriedly ran after her. Behind the retreating Song Jae-Hee, Woo-Jin continued the rest of the sentence even though she was out of earshot.


    1. Repeated it as it was in the raws. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. juniors in terms of seniority at work <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 44

    ¡°Getting prettier and prettier.¡±


    However, the subject of the compliment had already gone far, far away. Woo-Jin shrugged and lamented the fact that Song Jae-Hee did not hear the end of the message. For some reason, Woo-Jin felt like he had stumbled upon their secret. He felt as though he was biting into a sweet and sour candy.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be young,¡± remarked Woo-Jin while he was waiting for Kang Ho-Soo. If anyone had overheard Woo-Jin, they would definitely scoff at him.


    ¡°Whoa~! Who¡¯s that handsome guy over there?¡± Production Director Son, who was passing through the hallway of the variety entertainment department, saw the tall and handsome Woo-Jin and stopped in his tracks. Judging by Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance, it was evident that he was a celebrity, but Director Son could not recall who he was.


    ¡°That¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin. A while ago, after watching the video of him singing ¡®Confession¡¯ on the internet, you said that we had to find some way to get him to sing on our show.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s him?¡±


    The production staff uploaded a video of Chae Woo-Jin singing ¡®Confession¡¯ at their karaoke session on the internet before the premiere of Glooming Day as a means of generating publicity. It had only been uploaded for less than two hours, but the producer of a music variety show had been one of the first few people to watch it.


    ¡°I said it¡¯s a waste if he did not utilize his extraordinary singing skills. But if I had his face, I¡¯d also choose to be an actor.¡±


    Woo-Jin was the first person who had perfectly sung ¡®Confession¡¯, apart from the original singer Im Jae-Beom. Production Director Son was blown away by his voice that was on par with professional singers and wanted to find a way to invite Woo-Jin to their show, but everyone around him shook their heads, saying it would be impossible because Chae Woo-Jin belonged to DS.


    DS¡¯ CEO Jang rarely sent out his favorite artists to appear on variety shows if there was nothing particularly beneficial about it. He could not stand to see his precious artists risking their image by appearing on a variety show.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t think our show is the kind which will affect their careers?¡±


    ¡°We make them put on a mask and sing, don¡¯t we? He will be covering his face as he sings. Both CEO Jang and Chae Woo-Jin should like that idea. Besides, Chae Woo-Jin is going to start shooting his drama soon, what¡¯s there to lose?¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    Looking at the spot where Chae Woo-Jin stood just moments ago, Production Director Son sighed. It had been a long time since he had fallen in love with someone¡¯s voice after listening to them sing at karaoke.


    ¡°It would have been really nice if he had started off as a singer first before becoming an actor.¡±


    ¡°He had almost debuted as the main vocalist of Blue Fit in the past,¡± replied the assistant production director.


    ¡°Blue Fit?¡± Production Director Son was curious. The assistant director who was standing next to Production Director Son gave him a detailed explanation. While Production Director Son was watching the video over and over again after he fell in love with it, the assistant production director quickly searched for information regarding Chae Woo-Jin. Even though there were only bits and pieces of information on the internet about Woo-Jin¡¯s past as a former trainee of TM, he managed to retrieve more accurate information about Woo-Jin through an acquaintance in the industry. After hearing the story of how Woo-Jin was replaced right after he left TM before the group¡¯s debut, Production Director Son narrowed his eyes, as though something had come to mind.


    ¡°About Blue Fit ¨C there were rumors talking about how their main vocalist Min Si-Hoo was not the one who sang their debut single right?¡±


    ¡°Those rumors were secretly circulating at one point. It¡¯s evident that Min Si-Hoo is too talented in singing for him to be an idol. But, up until now, he still hasn¡¯t performed as well as he did in that debut single, both in terms of singing and the emotions in his voice.¡±


    When Blue Fit debuted, they had received a lot of attention because everyone had thought that Min Si-Hoo was an idol who had a lot of talent in singing. It was truly the birth of a great rookie idol, and now, he had become a hallyu star with both wealth and fame because of his success. Nobody could deny that the huge success of their debut single laid the foundation for his current achievements. In particular, the main vocalist¡¯s part in the song was so perfect that it could be called ¡®the ultimate fantasy¡¯.


    The way he freely moved through the high and low notes, as well as his burst of scream-like belting at the end of the song, was so good that it gave the listeners goosebumps. However, Min Si-Hoo had never managed to replicate the same feeling at live performances. Even with the help of equipment during the recording sessions, there were times where it felt like it was an entirely different person singing. TM claimed that it was intentional on their part by using a different arrangement to create new and different vibes.


    Even though it did not seem like TM had used a different arrangement, they had a very solid fandom, so the rumors were soon dismissed. They were able to create such a huge fan base in record time because of their amazing debut single. At the same time, it also led to the rise of a lot of anti-fans.


    Since the controversy showed no signs of dying down, TM decided to spread the news about Min Si-Hoo¡¯s alleged medical condition. They made an announcement saying that his vocal cords were inflamed some time after they had recorded the debut single, resulting in him being unable to sing as well as he used to.


    It was not known if it was just an excuse or the truth, but ultimately, the public showered Min Si-Hoo with all kinds of sympathy, allowing him to shake off the false accusation. He became known as the unfortunate singer who could not tap into his full potential because of a misfortunate accident.


    It was evident that Min Si-Hoo was still an amazing and outstanding singer; it¡¯s just that his singing ability was not as fantastic as it was in the debut single. Many people felt that it was a shame, and they missed Min Si-Hoo¡¯s old singing voice, which they loved but would never be able to listen to again. It was a little strange that he could not recreate the same emotions in the debut single, but the public no longer doubted Min Si-Hoo¡¯s ability as a vocalist.


    ¡°If my prediction is right, I think we might be able to arrange for a mask to be put on Chae Woo-Jin. Of course, before that¡­¡± Production Director Son had an evil grin on his face as he grabbed the assistant production director¡¯s arm.


    At this moment, Chae Woo-Jin felt an ominous aura and shuddered.


    ¡°Are you cold? Should I turn down the temperature of the air conditioning?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel cold, but for some strange reason, I just felt a chill.¡± Woo-Jin waved at the worried Kang Ho-Soo, gesturing him not to worry about it, as Hwang Yi-Young, who was sitting next to him, covered his knees with a blanket. She grumbled, ¡°That means you feel cold. We¡¯re going to the table read now. It¡¯ll be bad if your throat starts to hurt.¡±


    Woo-Jin could not refuse the kind gesture and covered himself with a blanket even though he did not feel cold. Judging from the road conditions, it seemed like there was heavy traffic. Not wanting to waste any time, Woo-Jin took out the script for ¡®City of Shadows¡¯.


    Chae Woo-Jin was supposed to act as a killer named ¡®Louie Ahn¡¯ in ¡®City of Shadows¡¯. He was adopted overseas and ultimately fell into the hands of a criminal syndicate after being repeatedly abandoned and he grew up to become a killer. Since Louie Ahn had been trained to kill since he was a child, it had become second nature to him. One day, the syndicate dissolved and he was granted freedom. Freedom was a foreign concept to Louie Ahn. Experiencing freedom for the first time threw him into a state of confusion and caused an identity crisis, leading him to return to the country where he was born. It was a homing instinct without meaning or purpose.


    However, the list of things that Louie Ahn could do was very limited. There were very few jobs in Korea that were open to foreigners who had no parents or educational background. If he had been a complete foreigner, he would have been able to become an English teacher, but because he looked Korean, they did not acknowledge him as an native English speaker.


    Since his only interest was coffee, he had opened up a small cafe with the money that he had saved up. The small cafe was located in an alley in the neighborhood and only had a few customers. This gave Louie too much free time, and he did not know what to do. Free time and thoughts were directly proportional to one another ¨C the more time he spent alone with his thoughts, the deeper Louie fell into the dark rabbit hole. Louie ended up rethinking his purpose in life, and decided to once again become a contract killer and killed people without any guilt.


    One day, he got hurt and met a doctor whom he was strangely attracted to. Since he did not know what love was, he could not comprehend his feelings for her. One day, he was hired to kill her father. He felt guilt for the first time when he looked at her while she cried. He was confused and learned what jealousy was because of her partner. He then found out later on that her partner was the one who had hired him to kill her father.


    The reason why Chae Woo-Jin was fascinated by Louie¡¯s role was because it was interesting to watch the character, who was initially void of emotions, learn and change into a whole new person. It was similar to a newborn baby learning about the world and growing bit by bit.


    The script for the first fourteen episodes of the sixteen-episode drama had already been released. Woo-Jin could see the process of the transformation of Louie¡¯s emotions. Louie blossomed into a human being because of one person. However, as the female lead got closer to learning the truth, she gradually became more and more devastated and fell apart.


    Yoo Soo-Min did not seem to have any intention of saving the female lead from desolation, and both male leads, who were by her side, were not normal people. Both of them were just accessories who ended up being the reason behind her tragedy.  Perhaps it was the writer¡¯s take on the phrase ¡®wander alone like a rhinoceros¡¯, as she did not offer the female lead any salvation or breakthrough. [1]


    Dramas that had bitter romance but did not guarantee happiness for the main characters did not fit into the trend these days. If it was not for K Broadcasting Station¡¯s all-stars drama, ¡®The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯, it might have been hard for City of Shadows to get selected and scheduled. Instead of giving up on the ratings, it seemed as though the broadcasting company wanted to save their image by producing a good drama.


    Perhaps that was why they had spared no effort in putting together a decent team of production crew, and increased the budget of the production costs. It was because of the anticipation of the birth of the so-called masterpiece of a drama. However, because Park Jong-Hyuk was the production director, it had led to several limitations.


    The actors were reluctant to work with him, so they had a hard time casting the main leads. Nevertheless, they managed to smoothly cast the supporting actors, who were older veteran actors with several years of experience under their belts. But the younger actors, who would be the main leads, were all unwilling to be a part of the drama.


    The actors had no reason to regret their decision as competing against ¡®The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯ was already going to be an impossible task, coupled with the fact that Park Jong-Hyuk was the production director. As a result, rookies were casted for the three main leads.


    Even though the female lead Park Yeon-Ah was a rookie, she was a veteran in the theater industry. The other male lead, Kang Min-Ho was an actor who was gradually becoming well-known in the film industry. Both Park Yeon-Ah and Kang Min-Ho willingly accepted their roles with great determination, regardless of who the production director was, because they wanted to enter the drama industry.


    Before they had officially started shooting the drama, the three actors got to know each other better through several meetings and table reads, and they quickly became close. In particular, Park Yeon-Ah and Kang Min-Ho, who were both 32 years old, started speaking informally to one another and became friends, while they treated Chae Woo-Jin like their younger brother.


    ¡°Choi Joon is just a very greedy person. He wants to have both his company and his woman, so he would get rid of anything which he considers to be an obstacle.¡± When Kang Min-Ho was explaining the role he was playing, Park Yeon-Ah refuted him and said it was absurd.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you glorifying your role too much? No matter how I see it, Choi Joon is just a psycho.¡±


    ¡°Psycho people have a mental disorder though. In my opinion, Choi Joon is a perfectly normal person. Perhaps his problem is that he¡¯s frighteningly rational, making him extremely calculative and ambitious. A cold and rational man who loves passionately and cares only for himself is not a psycho.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve just described a psycho. Woo-Jin, you think so too, right?¡±


    While the two people were working hard on analyzing the character, Park Yeon-Ah sought solidarity from Woo-Jin, who was working hard at grilling pork collar meat at the side.


    1. The phrase ¡®wander like a rhinoceros¡¯ is a reference to a Buddhist text called ¡®The Rhinoceros Sutra¡¯. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 45

    ¡°If by psycho, you mean psychopath, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s one. Even though Choi Joon is a bad guy, it¡¯s evident that he¡¯s aware of his own feelings and is clear of his goals. Perhaps from Choi Joon¡¯s point of view, he thinks that his actions are commendable based on what he was taught. The father of Choi Joon¡¯s lover was a lawyer who wanted to expose his evil deeds. Choi Joon had decided to hire Louie to kill him not because he was heartless, but because it was the most logical method that would allow him to protect both his company and lover.¡±


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words, Kang Min-Ho clapped his hands softly and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! People are quick to call criminals psychopaths these days; I see that as a way of exonerating them. I¡¯m trying to say that even with a sane mind, it feels like people are trying to attribute the crimes he had committed for his own interests and desires to psychological issues. Regardless of what others say, Choi Joon is a bad guy with a sane mind. He¡¯s well-aware of the consequences and implications of the crimes which he had committed."


    Park Yeon-Ah nodded. She seemed to understand where Kang Min-Ho was coming from after hearing his argument about how not all criminals who committed terrible unethical deeds were psychopaths.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that he¡¯s just an ordinary bad guy? In that case he¡¯s truly a horrible person.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Wah~! Lee Yoo-Ra must have done something bad in her past life for her to be this unfortunate. One of her love interests is a bad guy through and through, and the other one is an immature killer. She can¡¯t catch a break!¡± Park Yeon-Ah was about to cry because of her character¡¯s cruel fate. Woo-Jin placed a couple of pieces of well-grilled meat in front of her, as if to console her.


    ¡°A man is not everything in life. Charge forth alone, like a rhinoceros.¡±


    ¡°The two men¡¯s obsession with her is too great for her to be able to pave her own path.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ I think Lee Yoo-Ra must have betrayed a few countries in her past life.¡±


    Since Louie was the character Woo-Jin played, he wanted to take his character¡¯s side as much as possible. But even Woo-Jin himself felt that Louie¡¯ obsession with Lee Yoo-Ra went too far. The love that was engraved in his heart brought about destruction rather than beauty, and it was begging for her love. The love that Louie expressed was always tainted with blood.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting more and more scared about how this will end.¡± Park Yeon-Ah wrapped the meat with a perilla leaf and fed it to Woo-Jin, who had been working hard grilling the meat, as she grumbled with resignation.


    Even though the scripts for all sixteen episodes were already out, the writer and production director had only released the scripts up to episode 14 to the actors. It seemed like the goal was not to just keep the ending a secret, but they wanted to make the actors feel some suspense from the unknown ending. Perhaps, they felt that if the actors knew about the ending, their acting would not be as good. Woo-Jin shared the same sentiment.


    Shooting a drama was different from shooting a movie, in the sense that a drama was more paced out. If the actors knew the ending, their energy would diminish as the filming reaches near the end. Hence, the tension that they were experiencing by not knowing the ending was different, unlike the other dramas where a happy ending was guaranteed.


    ¡°Maybe it would end up being just a dream.¡±


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin, do you want to die?¡± asked Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°Oh, I would like that very much, please just let it be a dream. Or at least go back to the time before the character met the two horrible men. That happens a lot in novels these days.¡± said Park Yeon-Ah.


    ¡°It would also be nice if the drama ends with a subtitle saying ¡®Season 2 coming soon~!¡¯,¡± added Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Woo-Jin is quite a greedy person.¡±


    The ambiance, which was a little gloomy, became more lively after Woo-Jin joked about wanting a second season. They had temporarily stopped thinking about the drama and moved on to talking about their everyday life while they wrapped and ate the delicious well-grilled meat with perilla leaves.


    Initially, Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah were subconsciously prejudiced against Chae Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin was handsome; had great acting skills; an impressive academic background; as well as his contract with a solid agency. They had assumed that he would be difficult to get along with.


    Kang Min-Ho, who had been active in the film industry, knew that Chae Woo-Jin was currently the most popular actor in Chungmuro. [Ref] Chungmuro is equivalent to Hollywood in Korea. [/ref] Even though he had only acted in one film thus far, it was said that the movie directors of Korea had acknowledged him as an actor who had made a huge impact. Even though they were both main leads in the same drama, Kang Min-Ho felt that Woo-Jin was in an entirely different league, even though he had started making a name for himself.


    However, after meeting and getting to know Woo-Jin, rather than sensing the difference in their levels, Kang Min-Ho was taken by surprise by how Woo-Jin was able to break down such a complex role. After watching Woo-Jin act out his character Louie over several table read sessions, Kang Min-Ho had been captivated by Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills and became rather fond of Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin too felt the same towards Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going back to school in September, wouldn¡¯t it be very tough for you because you have to juggle between going to school and the shoot?¡±


    Even though City of Shadows would be airing in mid-October, the shooting was scheduled to start the day after tomorrow. Woo-Jin had to go back to school during the most busy period. He had also inevitably put his classmates and professors in a difficult position.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I went to visit the professors who are in charge of the classes which I am attending to explain the situation to them while asking for their understanding. For starters, they¡¯ve agreed to let me make up for my absence by writing papers. The more classes I miss, the more I have to write. Of course, I have to take the exams, but even though my worries about being absent for classes have been alleviated, I don¡¯t know what it is going to be like.¡±


    Despite saying that, Woo-Jin had adjusted his classes and tried his best to schedule them in the morning, and he made sure he barely had any classes on Fridays. Woo-Jin had done his best to try to not miss any classes. Nonetheless, he had also asked his classmates to record the lectures for him in case he missed his classes. He still needed to know the contents of the lectures to some extent in order to write the papers. Education was that important to Woo-Jin.


    Even though Yoo Soo-Min had personally offered him the role, he had rejected it initially because of the conflict in schedule, as it had coincided with the start of the new academic year. That was because he felt that unless it was a role for a movie, it was impossible for him to juggle both his studies and the shoot, as dramas were filmed on a tight schedule.


    However, Writer Yoo did not give up and delivered the scripts for episodes 1 to 14 to him. She had told him to skim through it first, but she would not have leaked the scripts to Woo-Jin unless she was extremely determined to get him on board. This showed that although Yoo Soo-Min was desperate in casting Woo-Jin, she also had great confidence in her writing. In the end, her gamble paid off.


    Woo-Jin fell in love with his character, Louie, and ended up wanting the role. It was the first role that Chae Woo-Jin had chosen for himself in his acting career. Fortunately, the production crew had agreed to arrange the schedule of the shoot such that it would minimize clashes with Woo-Jin¡¯s academic schedule if he chose to accept the role. Woo-Jin did not believe that they would be able to keep their promise towards the end of the shoot, but they should be able to keep their word in the earlier stages. Regardless of how infamous Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was, he wanted to believe that he would not openly violate the terms of the contract.


    ¡°Do you believe them?¡± Woo-Jin laughed weakly upon seeing Kang Min-Ho¡¯s skeptical reaction. In truth, he could not trust Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. Woo-Jin had heard many horror stories from CEO Jang, who had opposed him from participating in the drama, about Production Director Park.


    ¡°Since I¡¯m the one who¡¯s being greedy, I have to pay the price.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be young.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If I were you, I¡¯d just take a leave of absence.¡±


    ¡°I promised my family that I¡¯ll definitely graduate, so I can¡¯t do that. My younger sister would be very upset and kick up a big fuss.¡±


    If Woo-Jin ended up taking a leave of absence or gave up on school halfway, his mother would be disappointed and sad. But in the end, she would come to terms with it regardless of what Woo-Jin chose to do. On the other hand, Woo-Hee was a child who actively interfered with Woo-Jin¡¯s life and she would probably turn the house upside down. And their mother would not stop Woo-Hee from doing that either.


    ¡°By younger sister, you mean the one who looks just like you?¡±


    ¡°How do you know my younger sister?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I know? A photo of you pinching her cheeks had been uploaded to the internet.¡±


    ¡°I saw that photo too. Even though it¡¯s just the side profile, both of you look like peas in a pod. It¡¯s amazing.¡±


    After listening to their conversation, Woo-Jin was completely bewildered as he had no idea what they were talking about. Hence, Park Yeon-Ah used her phone to search for it and showed him the video they were talking about.


    ¡°Oh, oh, oh~! Someone had filmed it huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s called ¡®Rookie Chae Woo-Jin and a flapping chick¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how they managed to film that.¡±


    The video was recorded by Woo-Hee¡¯s classmates who were at the cafe. However, Woo-Jin was unaware of that, and thought that it was uploaded by his agency. He had heard about the plan to create an image of him as a brother who loved his sister dearly from Kang Ho-Soo, but he was flustered because he had never imagined that it would be done this way. He had to protect his sister¡¯s portrait rights too, and since she was still a student, Woo-Jin wanted to make sure that she was fine with it. Hence, Woo-Jin immediately texted his sister, asking if she knew about the video that was posted on the internet.


    [Yeah, I know]


    [You know? Are you okay with that?]


    [What can you do even if I said no? Since you¡¯re not that famous yet, nobody has approached me directly and bothered me about it. Don¡¯t worry!]


    [But still, I¡¯m sorry. T_T]


    [*Pat pat* If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you consider retiring? You should focus on your studies.]


    [I heard that you got a question wrong in your math exam this time around. Time for tutoring?]


    [Work hard on the shoot!]


    [It hasn¡¯t started yet.]


    Kang Min-Ho, who was looking at Woo-Jin and his sister¡¯s text messages from the side, giggled as he read the messages to Park Yeon-Ah, who was sitting across from them.


    ¡°The siblings are having fun.¡±


    ¡°I know. As for me and my sisters¡­¡± Kang Min-Ho thought of his sisters and immediately shook his head. He thanked Woo-Jin for grilling the meat as he wrapped the meat in a perilla leaf before feeding it to him. ¡°You have a tough journey ahead, so eat up and rejuvenate your body.¡±


    ¡°What is pork neck going to do for the body?¡±


    ¡°Park Yeon-Ah! Are you disregarding Handon pork?¡±  [Ref] Handon pork is the most expensive pork in Korea. Like their Hanwoo beef. [/ref]


    ¡°I¡¯m ignoring you.¡±


    Woo-Jin, who was smiling brightly as he looked at the two friends bickering back and forth, frowned for a moment. There was too much garlic in the perilla wrap that Kang Min-Ho made for him. As he struggled with the burning feeling in his throat, the bright-eyed Kang Min-Ho, who was sitting next to him, turned around and asked happily, ¡°Is my perilla wrap that delicious? Do you want me to make another one for you?¡±


    ¡°Umm, ah, it¡¯s okay!¡± After taking a sip of water, Woo-Jin regained composure to a certain degree and shook his head violently. Park Yeon-Ah waved her chopsticks at Kang Min-Ho and chided him.


    ¡°Does it look like he¡¯s enjoying himself?¡±


    ¡°Of course! There¡¯s no way the god-like pork neck would taste bad. I fed it to him with the fragrant perilla leaf and plenty of garlic which is good for the body.¡±


    As Kang Min-Ho was grumbling, Woo-Jin made an exact perilla wrap as the one he had just eaten with the same amount of garlic and fed it to Kang Min-Ho. However, contrary to his expectations, Kang Min-Ho gave him a thumbs up, saying it was delicious.


    ¡°He¡¯s just a garlic lover. He threw a lot of garlic into his food earlier too.¡±


    Their plate of garlic, which had already been refilled twice, became empty again. As Park Yeon-Ah pointed to the empty plate, Woo-Jin pressed the bell button on their table. Woo-Jin wondered how many plates of garlic they had already asked for as he said to their server, who looked like a part-timer, ¡°Could you please give us a lot of garlic?¡± with the most apologetic look on his face.


    ¡°Just garlic?¡±


    Startled by the server¡¯s high-pitched voice, Woo-Jin was taken aback for a moment, before raising two fingers. ¡°And two more servings of pork neck. I would be very grateful if you could bring us a lot of garlic.¡±


    The part-timer looked at Woo-Jin, who was smiling awkwardly, with a sharp gaze which lasted for a moment before confirming his order in a rigid tone.

 Chapter 46

    ¡°A lot of garlic?¡±


    ¡°And two more servings of pork neck please.¡±


    As soon as their unfriendly server walked away, Park Yeon-Ah lowered her voice and chided Woo-Jin, ¡°We¡¯ve already ordered five servings and we haven¡¯t grilled two of them yet.¡±


    ¡°I felt bad that we kept asking for more garlic and nothing else since it¡¯s rather expensive these days,¡± Woo-Jin responded.


    ¡°Garlic really is expensive these days. Honestly, when the part-timer asked ¡®Just garlic?¡¯ I flinched a little too. Mr. Kang Min-Ho, please eat in moderation.¡± Park Yeon-Ah was very aware of the food prices because she cooked her own meals. She seemed to share the same sentiment as Woo-Jin as she glared at Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°Garlic isn¡¯t that expensive,¡± responded Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°Its price has gone up so much these days! I went to the grocery store yesterday and was so shocked after seeing the price,¡± added Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s just garlic? Everything except for our pay has gone up..¡± A bond of sympathy developed between Park Yeon-Ah and Woo-Jin as they looked at each other and nodded grimly over the prices of groceries.


    ¡°Well, Mr. Kang Min-Ho, you¡¯re one of the top supporting actors these days so you must be getting paid more and more. That¡¯s probably why you¡¯re not bothered by little things like that, right?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I live with my parents. Why would I still need to go grocery shopping? I just eat whatever they buy for me; how would I know how much anything costs? And let¡¯s get this straight ¨C Woo-Jin is the most well-paid actor out of the three of us.¡± Kang Min-Ho felt what they were saying was unfair and pounced on Woo-Jin.


    It was true that in the first place, Woo-Jin was the most well-paid actor out of the three of them. Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah had not been the production team¡¯s top choices. In terms of appearance and acting skills, the two of them had been the best options in the limited pool of actors, but since the casting was still unsatisfactory, they were naturally paid less.


    On the other hand, Chae Woo-Jin was an actor that the writer and production director had wanted to cast by all means. Fortunately, the role had piqued Woo-Jin¡¯s interest and he ended up liking the character, so it worked out. However, the problem was CEO Jang. He did not want his artist to waste his time on a less than ideal role, so he actively opposed Woo-Jin¡¯s decision. But because of that, the production team took Woo-Jin¡¯s school schedule into account and was very flexible with the shooting schedule, as well as paying him well for the drama.


    ¡°The reason why I¡¯m paid well is because the CEO of my agency is good at negotiating. I have nothing else to say about it.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s also because the writer really wanted to cast you in the drama. I heard that the moment she saw you in Death Hill, she exclaimed that you were exactly what she imagined Louie to be. I wonder exactly what kind of Louie she had in mind. ¡°


    Kang Min-Ho shook his head as if saying that no matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand it. In the movie Death Hill, Woo-Jin¡¯s character had been a depraved and very emotional person. On the other hand, in the City of Shadows, Louie was, at a glance, a soft-hearted and weak-looking murderer. Because he learned nothing and knew nothing about the world, Louie was a naive person who lacked emotions with child-like cruelty. So, even when Louie was obsessed with love, he was not someone who was emotionally passionate in nature. There were no similarities between the two contrasting characters Woo-Jin had played before. Kang Min-Ho was curious what Writer Yoo had seen in loan shark A because he could not tell what it was at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that complicated ¨C she just liked his face. His face was the only thing that appealed to her,¡± said Park Yeon-Ah.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Upon hearing Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s simple explanation, Kang Min-Ho nodded, and Woo-Jin covered his face with both hands. Woo-Jin became serious as he wondered where this image of a killer was hiding in his face.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, I heard a piece of confidential information,¡± Kang Min-Ho whispered in a soft voice, as he suddenly leaned his upper body towards them.


    ¡°We are the only ones in this room. You can say it out loud.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    Kang Min-Ho straightened his body back up as he said that it was a huge piece of information from the production team. ¡°As you already know, Choi Joon¡¯s younger brother is appearing from episode 5 onwards. They said that an idol will be playing that role.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right! Our drama isn¡¯t one for idols. Taking acting skills out of the equation, the type of drama we¡¯re doing isn¡¯t suited for idols at all. What nonsense!¡±


    Kang Min-Ho lightly patted the back of the agitated Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s hand as he continued to speak solemnly. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped since there¡¯s a connection between the huge agency and the broadcasting company. Also, the drama production company doesn¡¯t know what will happen from now on, so they have no choice but to comply with both their demands. Presently, it seems like the production team is the only one that¡¯s suffering. They didn¡¯t say who it was, but they must have cast him before they cast us.¡±


    At Kang Min-Ho¡¯s words, Park Yeon-Ah chugged the glass of Coke, as though she was chugging alcohol, and slammed it against the table. ¡°They cast him first, but seeing how there aren''t any articles published and haven¡¯t they told us anything about it, it¡¯s so obvious that it¡¯s because the person sucks at acting. Darn it, if you¡¯re an idol, you should use your talent and focus on singing. Why are you trying to steal other people¡¯s jobs? I really put in all my effort into this drama!¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah had started performing on stage from the age of 20 because she liked theater. However, reality was harsh. Regardless of how great her acting was and how many praises she had gotten for it, she only made a name for herself in the theater industry.  When actors who had become famous through movies or drama, or actors who got caught up in scandals and decided to act in plays as a way of self-discipline, entered the theater industry, they were automatically given the leading roles.


    It was because these popular and well-known actors had the ability to draw in a bigger audience, so no matter how much she struggled, she couldn¡¯t win against them. Since she was still too young to give up on her dream, she decided to do this drama and use it as a stepping stone.


    ¡°Why is this X of an X trying to get in my way? If he ruins the drama, I will set his agency on fire.¡±


    Woo-Jin poured Park Yeon-Ah another glass of Coke as consolation, while she was swearing with her own filter turned on. Woo-Jin himself used to be an idol trainee, so he could have been cursed in the same way if he became an actor after debuting as an idol. Although it seemed like it could have happened to him, it ultimately did not, so Woo-Jin shared Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s sentiment.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your pork neck.¡± With perfect timing, the part-timer slid open the door and entered with a slightly flushed face, before placing the meat and garlic on the table.


    ¡°We only ordered two servings though?¡±


    It was a huge amount of meat that definitely looked like it was more than two servings. Woo-Jin clarified with the part-timer as he wondered if it hadn¡¯t been sent to the wrong table.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the house. Please let me know if you need anything else.¡±


    The three of them lost their composure for a moment. They felt overwhelmed as they looked at the two servings of meat that looked more like four servings, along with the soup bowl that was filled to the brim with garlic. They were not familiar with such excessive hospitality and were not accustomed to such a situation. Furthermore, The attitude of their server who smiled coldly while emphasizing the words ¡®need¡¯ and ¡®anything¡¯ was very suspicious and questionable.


    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    Looking at what was written on the check, it seemed like the extra servings were indeed on the house. Park Yeon-Ah carefully speculated and replied to Kang Min-Ho¡¯s question, ¡°Do you think that maybe she¡¯s a fan of both of you?¡±


    Seeing as it was unlikely for anyone to recognize her as a stage actress, Park Yeon-Ah speculated that it was likely for the server to recognize both men, especially Woo-Jin. If she was a fan, it would be understandable.


    ¡°At the very least, she¡¯s not my fan. I¡¯ve only done unconventional supporting roles so far; I doubt anyone would be able to recognize me if I walk down the streets in casual clothes,¡± Kang Min-Ho answered firmly as he slowly shifted his gaze towards Woo-Jin. Even though Woo-Jin was only a rookie who had recently started becoming popular, he was the most popular actor out of the three of them, and there were more people who recognized his face.


    ¡°If she¡¯s a fan, wouldn¡¯t she have asked for an autograph or at least acted like she knew me? She looked very calm and a little hostile.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Even my very few, almost non-existent, fans would at least give a small scream of admiration when they see me. Her reaction earlier was a little¡­cold, right?¡±


    Although the two of them were talking like this, they had almost never met their fans in person before. Kang Min-Ho had only recently started to be known as one of the top supporting actors, however, he only played supporting characters with strong and tough personalities while in reality, he looked unexpectedly gentle and meek. Because of this mismatch between his true self and the image his fans had of him, there were very few people who could recognize him in his daily life.


    Nonetheless, Kang Min-Ho had observed the famous actors he had worked with in films and was accustomed to the interactions between celebrities and their fans. Even if fans did not make a huge fuss, it was hard for them to hide their happy faces. However, the server had not displayed that kind of happiness. Instead of acting like a fan, she gave off tense and hostile vibes.


    The same held true for Woo-Jin - he had barely met any fans of his own. Kang Ho-Soo was always by his side and since the huge majority of Woo-Jin¡¯s fanbase was female, they would not readily approach Woo-Jin because of Kang Ho-soo¡¯s intimidating appearance. Even Woo-Jin, who could adapt faster and more easily than other people due to the experiences he had from his past lives, had been nervous the first time he met Kang Ho-Soo, so it would have been a lot worse for the other people.


    But more importantly, the members of Wish Baragi were passionate fans of Woo-Jin who did their best not to bother him. Whenever they chanced upon him engaging in personal activities or spending time with his friends and family, they completely pretended not to know who he was. They would follow him but kept a reasonable distance from him. That was the code of conduct of the people who had repented their past mistakes as former sasaeng fans.


    This was largely attributed to the interview he did with Biltman. his fans had sensed his desire to still be able to enjoy the freedom of going out in public as a not-so-well-known actor, so they had decided to grant him his wish.


    On the other hand, the other people, who were not his fangirls, would more often than not simply walk past Woo-Jin in real life. Quite a few of them had stopped in their tracks and realized that it was him after he had already walked quite a distance away from them. In truth, unless they had a proactive personality, it was difficult for most people to chase celebrities unconditionally and talk to them or get an autograph. The ones who happened to recognize and approach him had a very proactive personality and had huge reactions. Woo-Jin was only accustomed to these over-the-top reactions and could never imagine the part-timer to be his fan.


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of you, Kang Min-Ho.¡± Having concluded that the part timer was not a fan of anyone, Park Yeon-Ah looked at Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°Ah, why me again?¡±


    ¡°She got so annoyed that we kept calling her to ask for more of this and more of that, that she just gave everything to us all at once. Didn¡¯t you see the look on her face when she told us to let her know if we need anything else?¡±


    ¡°Then, what about the meat?¡± In other words, he was trying to say that it was clearly more than two servings of meat, and she could not possibly have given extra meat all at once just because she was too lazy to get it.


    ¡°Could it be because I¡¯m too good-looking?¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah looked at the proudly beaming Kang Min-Ho who was supporting his chin with his thumb and index finger. She decided to chug her glass of Coke instead of responding to him while Woo-Jin started grilling in silence.  When they had finished eating all the meat, the depressing conclusion that the three of them had come to was that their server wanted them to just eat up and get lost.


    That was as confident as the two actors, who had spent years trying to make it big but to no avail, and the rookie could get. Their conviction was further strengthened by the fact that nobody had asked any of them for an autograph when they paid for their food and left the restaurant. Ultimately, that was how a very shy fan¡¯s feelings for her idol, which she failed to express, were kept hidden from him. And later that day, a credible story about how Chae Woo-Jin loved garlic surfaced within Wish Baragi. For a long time after that, the gifts Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans had given him always included black garlic extract.

 Chapter 47

    Right before the release of Glooming Day, the public either ridiculed the movie or were generally indifferent. The only people who felt sorry for the cast or even looked forward to the release of the movie were the fans of the main leads and movie aficionados who loved Director Choi Yi-Geon¡¯s work.


    Even though they did everything they could and used every means and tool possible to promote the movie, it did not do much. The prejudice that all G&C romance films were bad had been very deeply ingrained in the public¡¯s minds. It was to the point that there was even a joke circulating about how Glooming Day would be considered successful if it had a tenth of Woo-Jin¡¯s ¡°Confession¡± video¡¯s viewers.


    The constant ridicule and negative reactions to a movie that had not been released or seen yet spread like wildfire. Nobody had any expectations for this movie. The trailer of the movie was very beautiful and touching, but like it was for all such movies, everyone expected the trailer to be all there was to it.


    When the first press screening turned out to be better than expected, many people said it was because of G&C¡¯s aggressive support. G&C¡¯s unusually excessive amount of promotion had actually created an adverse effect. The public thought of it cynically as they said that G&C had bought the media with huge amounts of capital.  The public said that¡¯s how it had been for the previous films, but it had still been flops. In the end, the film was released to the public with poor reception on the first day.


    However, looking at the facts, Glooming Day had been treated unfairly. Compared to how they had acted with previous romance films, G&C was making a completely different move this time.  Previously, it used to be - publicity? What publicity. I Like terrible parents who were embarrassed by their inadequate children, G&C would screen the movies in as few theaters as possible, and secretly reduce its screening duration.


    However, the public did not remember that, and the only thing ingrained into their minds was that the G&C romance films were below average. Naturally, the main leads¡¯ fans were the reason behind the increase in the number of reviews written by the public. Needless to say, the public did not think much of their biased ratings and mocked them. The public felt that despite the good ratings left by these fans, it did not change the consensus that the movie was bad; most of the comments under each review mocked the reviewers, asking them if they were part-timers hired by G&C or fans of one of the actors.


    However, after about a week of the movie¡¯s release, the negative reception started to show some change. One by one, people began to watch it ¨C some accompanied their friends to watch it without any expectations, some watched it with their parents because there was nothing else to watch, while others watched it because they had originally liked the genre.


    Soon, the public began to appreciate the movie as viewers, and not simply as any of the actors¡¯ fans. It was a movie that reminded them of their first love and left them feeling heavy-hearted at the end of summer. It was not refreshing, nor was it clear, or even happy, but it still left behind a strange sense of excitement and sadness in their hearts. The bleak reality of their beautiful first love dying miserably was frustrating while also leaving behind a  bittersweet aftertaste in their mouths.


    The word of mouth was frightening. The reviews gradually went from ¡®I watched it without expectations but it turned out to be surprisingly good¡¯ to ¡®It¡¯s a movie that¡¯s worth watching at least once,¡¯ and eventually evolved into ¡®It¡¯s a movie you must watch.¡¯


    The stifling midsummer heat remained hot even with light showers as it left behind a subtle heat.  After the heat, showers, and storms had passed, the arrival of fall evoked memories with faint nostalgia. Like this, the movie told its viewers about the love of a glorious day, as well as its emptiness.


    Furthermore, the cinematography of the movie was very beautiful. Everyone was so in awe of every single scene that was shot beautifully that they could not help but compliment the director saying, ¡®As expected of Director Choi Yi-Geon.¡¯ While the storyline was not particularly exciting, the natural development of the plot and the portrayal of the individual characters made the directing and the actors¡¯ skills stand out.  But, that only made the three characters within the movie even sadder and more pitiful. While the characters¡¯ love was beautiful, the choices they made were understandable and relatable that the viewers had no choice but to accept it.


    ¡°Darn it, I watched it with no expectations but what is this!¡± One of the viewers grumbled as they left the theater after the movie was over, pressing their fingers to the corners of their eyes. This good-natured grumbling was more like a compliment than a complaint.


    ¡°It was actually pretty good, right? The movie wasn¡¯t particularly interesting, but it was just so calm that you lose track of time and end up getting hooked on it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! To be honest, I don¡¯t really remember much about the storyline, but even now, the beautiful scenes are still lingering in my mind. Wow, the actors were absolutely gorgeous.¡± Their friend had coerced them into watching it, but instead of being dissatisfied with it, they ended up liking the movie a lot; all they could do was sigh and marvel at how good it was. Everyone within earshot of the comment nodded and wholeheartedly agreed.


    Even after the movie was over, the impression it left did not go away for quite some time. While the viewers discussed it with the friends or family members they had watched it with, everyone basked in the afterglow of their experience as they shared the same sentiment as the stranger who had made that comment.


    ¡°What kind of Devil Fruit did Chae Woo-Jin eat? How can he be so pure and pitiful?¡±


    ¡°I knew he was handsome, but he was so beautiful that it can¡¯t be described in words. Do you remember the scene where he was leaning against the window, holding a paper cup? The scene where he sparkled in the sun, as though he had absorbed the sunlight, was so beautiful, right? Chae Woo-Jin has a nice voice, but it was a pity he didn¡¯t have a single line. They should have at least used his version of ¡°Confession¡± as the background music.¡± The viewers, who had become fans of Woo-Jin after watching the video of him singing ¡°Confession,¡± felt that the only downside of the movie was that they could not hear his voice.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t have any lines?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Wah, for real! I didn¡¯t even realize it until you mentioned it. I thought he clearly looked sad, but he really didn¡¯t have a single line at all!¡± Everybody was surprised by that belated realization. Chae Woo-Jin had easily displayed all kinds of emotions without even a single in the movie.


    The people who had seen the movie mistakenly thought that he had conveyed countless emotions through several words and lines. Because of that, only after the movie ended did several people realize that Cha Hyun-Seung, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s character, had no lines. This led to a different topic that deviated away from the movie.


    It seemed difficult to express intense emotions through acting, but it was surprisingly easy. Naturally, if one could not act at all, then regardless of what they did, it would only end up looking like a funny and childish expression of emotions. However, mediocre acting skills were enough for one to passionately portray emotions, or blatantly display sadness and anger, with good acting being thrown into the mix occasionally. It was the case where a person¡¯s outstanding acting skills in one role could be called into question in an entirely different role. That was the same reason why actors, who lacked decent acting skills, continued to take on similar roles to the characters they had executed well.


    It was a well-known fact that Chae Woo-Jin had been taking the center stage as the remarkable rookie in Death Hill. Many directors and producers in Chungmuro had been paying attention to him and did their best to cast him in their films. It was only natural. Whether it was his eye-catching appearance that made Park Min (who was known as Korea¡¯s most handsome man) look like an ordinary person or the amazing chemistry he had with the female leads on screen that made the viewers¡¯ hearts flutter or to his amazing acting skills - he lacked nothing.


    Nonetheless, the image people had of him was still limited. The strong image he had in Death Hill was one that made him seem like a dangerous and depraved man, while the image that was portrayed in the Biltman photo shoot was one that showed his charisma, arrogance and sexiness. In other words, he was still instilling an image of himself as someone with a bold personality. This meant that even though the public had recognized his great acting skills when it came to playing characters with a bold personality, it was still uncertain whether or not Chae Woo-Jin was an actor who could play a variety of roles.


    However, in Glooming Day, Chae Woo-Jin had once again deviated from the image he had created for himself. His expressive and beautiful acting calmed the hearts of the viewers. It was not that his character could not speak; he had proven his acting skills by displaying his ability to convey the emotions and opinions of his role without a single line.  The look of despair on his face as he stood in front of Na Mi-Yeon¡¯s house on a rainy day was specially mentioned and praised across different media outlets.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Park Yeon-Ah asked out of curiosity when she saw Woo-Jin turn off the display on his phone after reading an article on his phone and thunk his head on the wall. ,


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just the remnants of my shameful past are haunting me right now.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem? The reviews have been pretty good and the movie is doing well these days, no?¡±


    ¡°I guess humans don¡¯t know how to be satisfied.¡± Woo-Jin sighed. Park Yeon-Ah squatted down next to him as she snorted and began teasing him lightly.  ¡°What did you say previously? ¡®Remember your mistakes but don¡¯t take them to heart?¡¯ Right now you seem to be keeping a lot of things bottled up, though?¡±


    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t want to keep them bottled up, what can I do when they continue to linger around in the form of proof and attack me from time to time? I¡¯ll be stuck with them for the rest of my life, right?¡± Contrary to what he was saying, Woo-Jin looked at Park Yeon-Ah with a look on his face that seemed to be saying, ¡®Please tell me the answer is no¡¯.


    ¡°Unless you¡¯re doing theater plays, your mistakes will be stuck with you for the rest of your life and career, perhaps even for posterity and become history, if you¡¯re doing movies, dramas, and whatnot. That¡¯s why if you don¡¯t want to be humiliated from your grave, you have to do your best when you shoot.¡±


    Even though she did not know the details, she was able to guess what it was about when she saw Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction after he saw the article. Regardless of how good the compliments and praises were, what good was it if one was not satisfied with themselves?


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s humiliating, I¡¯d be happy to see articles about me getting published.¡± Even though she knew how Woo-Jin felt, she felt somewhat envious of him. Park Yeon-Ah took a sip from the cup of coffee in her hand.


    ¡°Agh! It tastes awful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    The coffee that Park Yeon-Ah drank was an Americano made by Woo-Jin himself when he acted as Louie, his character, who ran a cafe in the drama.  Woo-Jin apologized because he thought that the coffee he made tasted bad but Park Yeon-Ah shook her head.


    ¡°Usually, I  only drink instant coffee so I can¡¯t drink black coffee like this. Nonetheless, what can I do? Lee Yoo-Ra loves Americano.¡±


    In the drama, Lee Yoo-Ra was a true Americano addict. Because of her taste in coffee, she became a regular at Louie¡¯s cafe and got closer to him as a result. However, Park Yeon-Ah herself could not drink Americano. So, she was in the midst of training herself to get into the habit of drinking it whenever she had the chance to.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re suffering too. The writer is too much for making you ruin those pretty nails like that.¡± Louie had a habit of expressing his emotions through biting his nails whenever he was deep in thought or panicking. As a result, the nails on Woo-Jin¡¯s left hand were ruined. He had deliberately bitten them to the point that the flesh under his thumbnail could be seen. He had followed everything that was written about Louie in the script down to a T.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I didn¡¯t bite it until it hurts.¡±


    Looking at how Woo-Jin seemed indifferent, Park Yeon-Ah smiled and patted him on the shoulder. There were many reasons behind people¡¯s success; they were either very lucky, or it was the result of their skills and hard work. While luck was on Woo-Jin¡¯s side, it seemed like hard work had also played a huge part in his success.


    Motivated after looking at Woo-Jin, Park Yeon-Ah frowned as she took another sip of the Americano. She planned on training herself and getting used to this tasteless drink till she could drink it without grimacing subconsciously at all. She could have added sugar to the Americano, but for some reason, her pride did not allow her to act without putting in a huge effort.


    ¡°The losers are gathered here, huh?¡± Kang Min-Ho said as he suddenly appeared. He stood there looking down at the two people who were squatting in the corner.


    ¡°Did you say losers! That¡¯s a very insulting remark. Is that a challenge?¡±


    ¡°Challenge? Do you want to get cussed out by the production director and get kicked out of the set?¡±


    Upon hearing Kang Min-Ho¡¯s jeers, Woo-Jin and Park Yeon-Ah could not lift their heads up as their shoulders drooped down. One of them could not stop grimacing whenever she drank the Americano, and the other one kept getting bad takes without knowing the reason. Even though they were being called ¡®losers¡¯, they had nothing to say or refute.

 Chapter 48

    Woo-Jin wondered whether he truly was that bad at acting, and so, he went to look for the article about himself. He turned his head as he became flustered seeing the picture of himself in the article that was full of praise for him. He had to watch the movie at every screening event, but there was one particular scene he could not bring himself to watch, and the picture was from that exact scene - it was the look of despair on Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s face that everyone praised.


    Perhaps if he had been the one to act the way he did in that scene and if Production Director Park had recognized it and rejected it because he knew that it hadn¡¯t been him acting, then Woo-Jin would be able to acknowledge and accept it. But that was absolutely not the case. Woo-Jin had never once used his own emotions or adopted another identity¡¯s personality when he was acting as Louie.


    ¡°For me, I know what I did wrong, and everybody knows that too. But what did Woo-Jin do to get his scene rejected repeatedly? Do you know?¡± This was a question Woo-Jin wanted to know the answer to and Park Yeon-Ah asked Kang Min-Ho for the answer in his stead


    ¡°If I knew the answer, I would already be a famous actor by now.¡± Kang Min-Ho was in the same boat as them ¨C he did not know the answer. After looking at it objectively, subjectively, and from every angle, he still did not know why the production director was dissatisfied with Woo-Jin¡¯s acting. He shook his head as he said that if he knew the reason why, then he would be the god of acting,


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Production Director Park is the god of acting?¡±


    ¡°At the very least he has an eye for good acting, and he¡¯s good at producing quality content.¡± Although it was at the expense of the actors¡¯ wellbeing, Production Director Park was known for producing the best results when it came to his work. That was probably the reason why the unnamed idol used their connections with the broadcasting company to take on a role in the drama, albeit a supporting one, when most actors had rejected it. When it came to building an acting career, the best way to spruce up one¡¯s filmography was to work with Production Director Park.


    ¡°Who was the one who said that Production Director Park would not be as harsh to the actors like he was before because he was shocked at how difficult it was to cast actors this time?¡±


    ¡°Me!¡± When Kang Min-Ho proudly raised his hand, Park Yeon-Ah drank her remaining coffee in one go as she glared at him.


    ¡°In any case, they¡¯re all X of XX!¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah got up from her seat as she tightly gripped the script that had been in her hand the entire time. She took a deep breath before marching towards the set. From the back, she looked like an armed soldier going into the battlefield. Seeing her like that, Woo-Jin got up from his seat as well.


    ¡°Our dear female lead cusses in X¡¯s at every little thing huh. Regardless of how much she filters herself, she has to maintain her dignity.¡±


    ¡°If you interpret it as ¡®sun of a beach,¡¯ it doesn¡¯t sound that bad,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kang Min-Ho thought to himself ¡®What is Woo-Jin talking about?¡¯ for a moment before laughing out loud. He patted Woo-Jin on the back and complimented him for being positive.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re already keeping your head up, don¡¯t worry too much about it because you¡¯re really good at acting.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s good, why does he keep rejecting my scenes?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps he¡¯s engaging in a power struggle with the actors.¡±


    There were quite a few directors who were intentionally strict and fussy when working with rising actors. It was because if the directors did not establish their authority from the get-go and keep them in line, the actors might let their arrogance get to their heads and ruin the film or drama with their complacency. Furthermore, Production Director Park might also be concerned because, from the start, they had groveled to Woo-Jin since they were determined to cast him in their drama at all costs.


    Nobody could deny that the actor who was the driving force behind Glooming Day¡¯s success, a movie that everybody had assumed would become a flop, was Chae Woo-Jin. In the film, Woo-Jin was entirely a neutral party who was not biased towards either side. He took charge and led the main leads with a warm gaze and rationality, neither appealing to their emotions nor being cold towards them.


    In other words, it meant that the supporting actor, Chae Woo-Jin, had control over the two main leads. Thus, the last thing that left a strong impression and continued lingering in the minds of the viewers was Cha Hyun-Seung, Woo-Jin¡¯s character. Kang Min-Ho speculated that since Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk had to work with an actor like him, the Production Director might have wanted to get a head start and establish dominance over Chae Woo-Jin by constantly rejecting his scenes.


    However, Woo-Jin shook his head firmly. ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡±


    Although he did not have a lot of experience, he could tell that the two directors he had worked with loved their work with all their hearts. They had brainstormed to come up with ideas on how to get the best results and put in a lot of effort into the process as they did everything in their means to achieve their envisioned results.


    And he could see the same passion in Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. The production director was most definitely not engaging in a power struggle just because he wanted things to go smoothly and not let the drama get ruined by the actors. His sharp gaze did not show a desire to win, but a desire for success, and when he looked at Woo-Jin, his gaze was filled with anticipation, not annoyance or anger.


    Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk had seen a problem that Woo-Jin was oblivious to, and was trying his best to fix it but because Woo-Jin himself did not realize that, he kept rejecting the scenes. While it would have been nice if he had told Woo-Jin directly, Woo-Jin believed the Production Director must have had a good reason not to. It could either be a problem that Woo-Jin himself would not understand even if he were to point it out to him, or a problem that was difficult to explain with words.


    ¡°It¡¯s really a battle, huh?¡±


    Woo-Jin walked weakly towards the set. Kang Min-Ho¡¯s words were not entirely wrong. Woo-Jin, who had to go back to the battlefield, was a defeated soldier.


    ***


    In September, Woo-Jin had to juggle studying and shooting the drama at the same time and was completely out of it. Because of that, he was unable to enjoy Glooming Day¡¯s unexpected success and only realized that people paid more attention to him than before.


    ¡°Woo-Jin oppa, the movie was really good,¡± one of Woo-Jin¡¯s juniors, who was attending the same class as him, spoke cheerfully after walking up to him. More people were definitely recognizing him and approaching him more than before. Additionally, there were more times he was flustered in school than he was outside of it because his manager, Kang Ho-Soo, was not around during school.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He was polite towards his junior. He had seen her a couple of times before but did not know her name.


    ¡°Oppa~ Please speak casually. Other returning students act very friendly when they see me. It makes me feel sad that you¡¯re so distant.¡± Woo-Jin gave a slight smile as he responded to the unknown yet affectionate junior who was trying to get into his good graces.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I am.¡± Woo-Jin, who was generally indifferent to the people he did not particularly care about or like, tried his best to smile more widely and be as nice to her as possible. From the moment he stepped into the entertainment world, he could no longer act or do things the way he wanted.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit old-fashioned, so when I feel awkward, it¡¯s not easy for me to speak casually.¡±


    As Woo-Jin said that, he realized that he had a similar disposition as his manager, Kang Ho-Soo, and laughed. He also wondered if the phrase ¡®birds of the same feather flock together¡¯ was applicable in their case. In any case, as soon as Woo-Jin laughed, his junior felt more at ease with him.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay! I really liked your movie, so I wanted to tell you that. You don¡¯t have to feel pressured.¡±


    Seeing how the movie had left a strong impression on her, Woo-Jin finally eased up a little and became more friendly towards her. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to approach a senior first, so thank you for approaching and talking to me first. What is your name by the way?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Da-Jung. Park Da-Jung!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re friendly so I guess you¡¯re true to your name. [1] I¡¯ll try my best to speak casually in the future, but for now, please let it slide.¡± Park Da-Jung subconsciously nodded at the beautiful smile and gentle voice that greeted her.


    After finding out that Chae Woo-Jin was among the students who were returning to school this semester, she predicted that her life on campus would become rosier. However, it had fallen short of her expectations as there were very few opportunities for her to meet Chae Woo-Jin.


    Even in the past, Chae Woo-Jin was known for not showing up at events or gatherings. She had heard that apart from a few close friends, he barely interacted with the other classmates, but she did not know that it was to such an extent. The other seniors had also told her that even if she were to meet him in class, there would be even fewer chances for her to talk to him directly. Only after experiencing it herself did she believe it. On top of that, he had recently started to only attend classes and disappeared right after it ended because of the drama shooting. Being able to talk to him like this was a huge opportunity.


    At the time she first enrolled in the university, she heard that the most handsome man in school had left for the military. Since it was difficult for anyone to take photos with him if they were not closely acquainted with him, the only photos that were left of him were the ones that were secretly taken Even if they had taken a photo with him, seeing his handsome face next to theirs had overwhelmingly embarrassed them, so they ended up deleting it. All that was left were fuzzy photos that were taken from a distance.


    Even though people could still tell from the badly taken photos that he looked handsome, at the time, most of the freshmen had simply dismissed the claims and made fun of them. Due to the various kinds of media, people had extremely high standards. Even if one were to use the power of Photoshop, there were plenty of photos of handsome men from all over the world on the internet. And so, the legend about the most handsome man in school who was not photogenic was treated like an urban ghost story.


    When she heard that the actor in the movie, Chae Woo-Jin, was the handsome senior everyone had talked about, she screamed and when she saw him in person, she almost passed out. So that¡¯s him. At this moment, she could not think of anything else and could only bask in his presence as she admired the man before her eyes. Contrary to her expectations, even though she had an advantage in the sense that they were studying the same major and were in the same class, it was not easy for her to approach him. The rumored Chae Woo-Jin was not a very sociable person, and she had to muster up every ounce of courage to say a single word to him. But instead of telling her off, he said she was friendly and even complimented her name; naturally, her voice gained strength.


    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re currently shooting a drama. Isn¡¯t it tough  juggling both shooting and classes?¡±


    ¡°It''s tough.¡± Woo-Jin immediately made a face, acting like he was dead. He waved his book as he told her that he had to go to his next class. Truthfully, he had scheduled his classes very closely to one another so he did not have time for casual conversations. At that moment, Park Da-Jung looked sad as she took a step back and let him go.


    ¡°Ah! I barely spoke to him and didn¡¯t even get an autograph.¡± When Park Da-Jung looked sadly at Woo-Jin¡¯s retreating back that was disappearing into the distance, her friend shook her head at her.


    ¡°We go to the same school anyway, there¡¯s no need to rush.¡±


    ¡°But still!¡±


    ¡°I heard that his younger sister¡¯s friends didn¡¯t even ask for autographs.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± asked Park Da-Jung.


    Her friend immediately realized she should not have said that and quickly changed her expression before replying casually, ¡°On the site that I browse, there¡¯s a member whose younger sister is in the same class as Senior Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister. So that member would sometimes ask for information about him, but she found out that his younger sister¡¯s friends weren¡¯t very interested in getting his autograph since they could get it any time. Seems like they¡¯re pretty calm since they¡¯ve known him for a long time and have hung out with him as well. I guess that¡¯s why they¡¯re not making a big fuss and pretty laid back about knowing him.¡±


    ¡°All of a sudden, the people I seem to envy the most in this world are Woo-Jin oppa¡¯s younger sister¡¯s friends.¡±


    ¡°Even though they¡¯re fascinated by Senior Woo-Jin, I guess they don¡¯t feel like they¡¯re meeting a celebrity since they¡¯ve met him before he debuted.¡±  Park Da-Jung had no choice but to agree with her friend when she said that the younger girls were behaving so well, so they, as adults, had to be as good or better than them.


    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the name of the site?¡±


    Park Da-Jung did not develop much of an interest in him after watching Death Hill, but she immediately fell hard for Chae Woo-Jin in Glooming Day and started fangirling over him. Hence, she was very curious about the site her friend had mentioned earlier. Even if she could see Chae Woo-Jin whenever they had the same class, she also wanted to know more information about him from other people via multiple avenues.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    Her friend¡¯s eyes wavered a bit when she saw how insistent Park Da-Jung was on wanting to know about the site. Whenever someone who had always hidden their secret life as a fangirl had to reveal it, they were momentarily conflicted. However, fangirls had always been welcoming to new fangirls, so the friend¡¯s inner conflict was very brief.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Wish Baragi¡­¡±


    At this moment when the new member of Wish Baragi was born, Woo-Jin was in the midst of a liberal arts class. He had a cup of coffee from the vending machine to combat his fatigue as he rested his head on Hyun-Min¡¯s shoulder, who was sitting next to him.


    1. ¡®Da Jung means kind or friendly in Korean. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 49

    ¡°Hyun-Min~! I¡¯m so tired.¡±


    ¡°So why are you doing this to yourself?¡± Hyun-Min ruthlessly pushed Woo-Jin¡¯s head away with his hand as he said it was too heavy. Woo-Jin had been leaning limply against him and so, he swayed aimlessly and bumped into the girl sitting on his other side.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Woo-Jin immediately straightened his body and apologized to her. He paused for a moment, something about her looked familiar.


    ¡°Dinky Coffee!¡± Hyun-Min peeked over at Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction and recognized her first after he saw her. She was the female student who had worked part-time at the cafe that Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min frequented before they entered the military. However, it had closed by the time they had been discharged from the military.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Only then did Woo-Jin recall who she was. He awkwardly bowed his head as he greeted her. Perhaps she might have remembered who they were as well because she responded with a slight smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that Dinky Coffee has closed down. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing you here. What year are you in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a junior. By the way, Dinky Coffee didn¡¯t close down.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I know that. This guy over here had to learn how to become a barista, and his teacher happened to be the owner of Dinky Coffee. The owner said that he bought a building and moved out of the previous location. But we hadn¡¯t known that and thought it had closed down because of the competitive pricing of the other cafes in the area.¡±


    As Woo-Jin sat between them, the conversation between the female student and Hyun-Min continued until their professor had entered the classroom. Hyun-Min even found out that her name was Kim Tae-Hwa and that she was a year younger than them. When class was over, he even waved as he said goodbye to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re extremely friendly, huh?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a beauty. It¡¯s good to build friendships with a beautiful girl in a way or another.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to tell your girlfriend what you said.¡±


    ¡°Why are you more controlling than my girlfriend? A jealous man is unattractive, my friend.¡± Woo-Jin lightly kicked the back of Hyun-Min¡¯s knee because he found Hyun-Min¡¯s behavior ridiculous.  He glanced at Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s back  as she walked into the distance


    Just like Hyun-Min said, she was more beautiful than most celebrities. Even though she was not wearing any makeup and was only dressed in jeans and a white shirt, she looked good because she had a great figure. However, for some reason, the gloomy look on her face caused her beauty to fade away. With looks like hers, she should have grabbed the attention of the male students in school, but strangely enough, she had slipped their eyes. Even though she was beautiful, there was something dark about her that made her unapproachable. Just like Hyun-Min, she was the type of person who was only good to look at and admire from afar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re looking at her with too much affection?¡± When Woo-Jin could not take his eyes off Kim Tae-Hwa, Hyun-Min smiled slyly as he tapped Woo-Jin on the arm.


    ¡°No, she just looks strangely familiar.¡±


    ¡°Of course, she looks familiar. We used to frequent Dinky Coffee all the time before we entered the military. It would be weird if you didn¡¯t find her familiar.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. For some reason, it feels¡­¡± Woo-Jin did not finish his sentence and shook his head. He did not even know how to express this feeling with words. Back then, he did not have any feelings or emotions when he looked at Kim Tae-Hwa. However, Woo-Jin was rather disconcerted by this sudden familiarity he had sensed from her.


    ¡°A beautiful woman weakens all defenses.¡±


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t the case back then.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you different from who you were back then?¡± Hyun-Min probably spoke without particular meaning, but Woo-Jin¡¯s face hardened after those words. The only difference between the past Chae Woo-Jin and the current Chae Woo-Jin was that he had now possessed the memories of his past lives, and it had made a huge difference to the present.


    ¡°Why are you taking it so seriously? At that time, you were heartbroken over your breakup and weren¡¯t interested in beautiful girls around you, but now, you¡¯re single. Single and ready to mingle!¡± Woo-Jin lost his train of thought after seeing how ridiculous Hyun-Min looked, flapping his arms.


    Woo-Jin decided not to think about it any further after hearing his cheerful friend¡¯s explanation. His instincts that were telling him to stay away from Kim Tae-Hwa were stronger than the sense of familiarity he felt from her. His sixth sense was warning him not to approach any further. In hindsight, most of the decisions he had made based on his gut feeling often led him to make the right choice. Thus, Woo-Jin quickly brushed his thoughts about Kim Tae-Hwa aside.


    There was one more class left for the day. Hyun-Min, who had picked the same classes as his friend, complained about the agonizingly tight schedule. However, he would most likely follow Woo-Jin¡¯s schedule and pick the same classes as him in the next semester as well. That was because he wanted to prepare for situations where he would be able to share information about the lectures, reports, and exams with Woo-Jin if he was unable to attend class. Hyun-Min had complained that his life was hard as he rummaged through his bag and gave a protein bar to Woo-Jin. Hyun-Min told him to eat it and stay strong, but Woo-Jin did not even have time to do that.


    The protein bar eventually fell into the hands of a child who had been with a middle-aged woman that had recognized Woo-Jin and asked for his autograph. He wanted to give something to the person who was happy to see him and the protein bar was all he had. Sharing the little things as equals, giving and receiving, was not a bad thing. However, as soon as he arrived on set, this warm feeling subsided.


    ***


    Production Director Park was famous for being a perfectionist and working with him was more physically challenging than Woo-Jin had expected. That was because he could not move on to the next scene without having redone each scene a dozen times. Since Woo-Jin barely had to redo any scenes in his previous two films, this was a rather embarrassing and difficult experience for him. There were many times where he had to repeat the same scene over and over again until it was in line with the production director¡¯s expectations that it became hard for him to distinguish acting from reality.


    ¡°The world is such a strange place. Even though there are people like me, I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying.¡±


    ¡°Cut! Bad take.¡± As though he had achieved spiritual enlightenment, Woo-Jin stared blankly at Production Director Park when he heard the words that had been constantly repeated without fail.


    On the other hand, Park Yeon-Ah, who was playing the other character in the same scene, could not figure out what was wrong with the acting that seemed perfect. As she tried to figure it out, she became serious and her face stiffened.  If his acting was unsatisfactory, she was worried about how her acting would be evaluated.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, your acting is really impeccable.¡± The staff members and other actors nodded after hearing what Production Director Park had said.


    There were not many actors who could act out their characters that well with great emotion. Nobody on the set could deny this fact. Park Jong-Hyuk looked around for a moment. Perhaps he felt that there were too many people eavesdropping because he pulled Woo-Jin aside to have a private chat. Aware of the production director¡¯s intention, the other people did not even look at them.


    ¡°However, that¡¯s the problem. You¡¯re clearly great at acting, and people can feel it, like ¡®Wow, that actor is really good at acting!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Does my acting feel fake?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel fake, but I¡¯d say it feels very calculated. There are some actors whose acting itself is flawless, but you can tell they are acting. I¡¯m saying that I kind of get that same feeling from you too. Well, your acting is fine as it is, but relax a little! Become the real Louie, and not act as Louie.¡±


    In truth, Park Jong-Hyuk could not figure out what the exact issue was, so he could not tell Woo-Jin directly about it. Woo-Jin was clearly good at acting, but something about it bothered him, so all he could do was reject the scene without being able to give a reason. But seeing how Woo-Jin did eventually nail the scenes, it seemed like time was the answer to the problem. The production director had only found out the reason by chance. As he was putting the scenes that he had given the green light together, he naturally found out what he wanted and what Woo-Jin¡¯s issue was.


    Meanwhile, Woo-Jin was utterly confused by Production Director Park¡¯s request for him to become the real Louie, instead of acting as him. Woo-Jin thought that he had done enough to act as Louie, so the production director¡¯s words did not make any sense to him. He felt that being able to become a version of Louie that was good enough boiled down to acting skills, but that was not the case. If the production director had told him that his acting was bad, he would have understood it better.


    Nonetheless, it seemed like he had a vague idea of the meaning behind what the production director had said. Woo-Jin glanced over at Park Yeon-Ah, who was at a distance away. She was a very good stage actress. However, there were times when her peculiar stage voice or exaggerated movements were a little unpleasant. Perhaps it was due to her inability to change the habits she had adopted back when she was a stage actress. On several occasions, Woo-Jin had felt the awkwardness during the moments where her actions were unnatural. After hearing what the production director had said, it could clearly be inferred that there were times where his acting felt unnatural too.


    ¡°Relax a little¡­¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s shoulders drooped as he sighed. Even though Woo-Jin was not exactly relaxing, he felt his strength leave his body, as he fell into deep thought. The production director approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Think carefully about the scenes you have nailed. Not everything was bad. If you couldn¡¯t do it at all, I wouldn¡¯t have any expectations. I know you can do it, so I can¡¯t just let it go when I see you being confused and lost.  We¡¯ll start shooting another scene, so take some time to clear your mind.¡±


    Production Director Park was usually someone who would continue to shoot until the actors were exhausted but he was being exceptionally considerate towards Woo-Jin by giving him a short break. It might seem as though he had given Woo-Jin special treatment, but in truth, he was trying to save time. If it had been an actor who was bad at acting, it would have been normal for them to keep shooting and shooting, until the actor got the character down pat. However, Woo-Jin was an actor who did not have to do that. Rather than giving each other a hard time and wasting time and resources, it was better to give him some time to figure out what to do by himself.


    Hoping that Woo-Jin would be able to figure everything out by himself, Production Director Park gave him a USB flash drive that he had prepared in advance. It contained the raw version of Woo-Jin¡¯s scenes that he had given the green light. The hand that took the flash drive felt particularly heavy because of the meaning behind it.


    ¡°For example, Cha Hyun-Seung¡¯s look of despair in Glooming Day, or how you got into character in the behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot. It was so perfect that it truly gave me goosebumps watching it. It felt as though it was real and not an act. That¡¯s what I want.¡±


    If Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk had not watched those videos, he would have thought that Woo-Jin¡¯s current acting was good enough. However, after seeing the amazing things Woo-Jin had done before, he could not be satisfied with what Woo-Jin was doing now. Park Jong-Hyuk left under the pretext of shooting since he did not want Woo-Jin to feel more pressured than he already was.


    Left standing there by himself, Woo-Jin looked down at the USB flash drive in his hand. The indescribably complicated feelings he was experiencing made his chest feel tight. Woo-Jin came to his senses after standing there mindlessly for a while and looked around. Perhaps it was because everyone was busy focusing on the shoot, but Woo-Jin noticed that nobody was paying any attention to him.


    Woo-Jin went to the corner of the set that had been transformed into a cafe and borrowed a laptop that was used by the staff. He plugged in his earphones and carefully studied his acting that was on par with the production director¡¯s strict standards. Even he could see that the scenes that had been accepted, after dozens of rejections, looked good. However, he could not tell what the difference between the ones accepted and the ones that had been rejected was.

 Chapter 50

    It was a pity Woo-Jin did not have the footage of the scenes that were rejected. It would have made things easier for him if he could compare and evaluate them. However, he was thankful that Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk, despite being a very demanding person, was taking such good care of him.  So, even if he thought it was a shame, he left it at that.


    He found out what Production Director Park wanted after hearing his last remark, but that did not mean he had understood everything. The acting that had met the production director¡¯s standards was Woo-Jin¡¯s ¡®original¡¯ acting ¨C it did not contain his feelings, and neither did he adopt a personality from one of his past identities. In that case, it meant that apart from using the method Woo-Jin hated, there were other ways of satisfying Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s demands.


    ¡®What can I do for you?¡¯


    ¡®Why are you always trying to do something for me whenever you see me?¡¯


    ¡®Because there¡¯s nothing I can do for you.¡¯


    ¡®It¡¯s not that you want to do something for me because you haven¡¯t done anything, but rather, you feel unsettled because there¡¯s nothing you can do, right?¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯ve done nothing for you and there¡¯s nothing I can do for you, but there¡¯s only one thing I can do well, so I hope that for your sake, you¡¯ll never need my help.¡¯


    ¡®Then why do you keep asking me what you can do for me?¡¯


    ¡®Because you might need me someday.¡¯


    In the scene that was shot a couple of days ago, Louie continuously asked the female lead those questions with a completely emotionless face. People had always wanted ¡®something¡¯ from him, so Louie had assumed that was also the case for the person he had fallen in love with. That was why he had constantly asked himself, ¡®What should I do for her?¡¯


    As a contract killer, the only thing that Louie had complete confidence in doing was murdering people. He hoped that she would not need his help, but he had a feeling that she might need it one day. A killer¡¯s hunch was never wrong.


    In this scene, the cold and unfeeling Louie showed his regret, as well as his affection for her, along with a killer¡¯s instincts. It was also the scene that had been rejected several times because the production director was not satisfied with Woo-Jin¡¯s performance. On top of that, the female lead¡¯s peculiar stage voice had caused the production director to reject it almost the same amount of times he had rejected Woo-Jin. Thereafter, both of them had been completely exhausted and ended up collapsing. He remembered how Park Yeon-Ah had staggered and sank into the chair like slime as she was unable to lie down on the floor because of the sponsored clothes she was wearing.


    He had not been able to think about anything after facing a constant stream of rejections. He vaguely remembered repeating the movements on auto-pilot and regurgitating lines that had been engraved in his mind. He had not been cognizant of whether or not the lines he had mindlessly uttered were right or wrong; he had just said them as though he was having a conversation with Lee Yoo-Ra. He could only remember that at the time, he had talked and acted like Louis without consciously thinking about acting and whatnot.


    ¡°Become like Louie. Without doing it consciously¡­¡±


    Looking back on the scenes that had been given the green light, a good majority of them were like that. All the moments where his subconscious had naturally taken over after repeated rejections were the ones he had stopped acting consciously. When the camera started rolling, Woo-Jin tried to immerse himself in his role as much as possible and act it out, but he had a tendency to return to his actual self as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. He made a clear distinction between his character and himself, Chae Woo-Jin, as he frequently toggled the on and off ¡®acting mode¡¯ button in his head as he acted.


    Woo-Jin did not know whether or not Producer Director Park¡¯s advice to get deeper into character was the right thing to do. He had clearly gotten into character and acted it out, but he had not fully become Louie. Producer Director Park could tell he was acting and had picked up on the awkwardness that was hidden in his conscious acting and lines despite how natural they seemed.


    Woo-Jin snapped out of his thoughts and glanced over at Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah who were shooting the next scene. Just like before, the production director was repeatedly yelling ¡®cut¡¯ on set, but unlike Woo-Jin¡¯s situation, the shooting continued.


    The problem with Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s acting was the tone of her voice and her gestures. If she were to fix them, her acting would be flawless. Practicing repeatedly was the best thing to do to break one¡¯s habit, so she continued shooting her scene. Perhaps, if Woo-Jin continued acting in such a pattern, it might have become a habit that could not be easily corrected later on even if he wanted to, as it was in Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s case. It was clear that Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s criticism had come at the right time.


    Among the three main characters, Kang Min-Ho¡¯s shooting was the most smooth-sailing. Without a doubt, age and experience could not be denied - he was an experienced actor. He was the one most deeply immersed in his character and had a high level of understanding of his character. Even after his scene was over, he continued staying in character for a while. Hence, even when the cameras had stopped rolling, he had often looked at Woo-Jin with a sharp cold gaze. Woo-Jin had always felt awkward by his hostile gaze whenever that happened.


    Additionally, Kang Min-Ho did not have any bad acting habits from the get go. He was a senior actor whom Woo-Jin had a lot to learn from. Woo-Jin no longer had to watch the videos once he realized what Production Director Park Jong-Hyun wanted, as well as his own issues, so he closed the laptop and rested his head on top of it.


    It was good that even though he had recalled his past lives, he still had a high self-esteem and a big ego, and had not lost his focus. However, it did not help much with his acting. The more he shielded himself from thinking about the memories of his past lives, the more difficult it became in many ways for him to immerse himself in the role.  This was particularly true for the previous photo shoot, where he had blocked off his thoughts even more than usual.


    In the past, he had subconsciously immersed himself in the role and acted, but he could no longer do that now. Perhaps, he was afraid that he would let the personality of his past identities take over without realizing it, hence he always had his guard up and consciously prevented it from happening.


    It was easier said than done to get rid of the on and off ¡®acting mode¡¯ button in his head and naturally become Louie. That did not mean that the other actors were not aware of the fact that they were acting. Woo-Jin still did not know what the differences between him and those actors were. In truth, even if he had known how to do it, it was pointless. If everyone could mimic how the good actors did it, there would not be any bad actors in the world.


    ¡®That said, it¡¯s absolutely not acceptable to act using a personality from a past identity like the last time. That is not acting. I just have to immerse myself into the character. If so, it¡¯s going to feel like I¡¯m living one more life.¡¯


    After remembering all 999 of his past lives, Woo-Jin had never stopped doing his best to ensure that he did not lose the real Chae Woo-Jin. However, he was worried that if he completely immersed himself into a role, it would be no different from immersing himself into the memories of his past lives.


    ¡®If I do that, it wouldn¡¯t just be 999 past lives. It would go beyond 1,000 lives and continue to increase as I take on more roles, so what would be the difference?¡¯


    After agonizing over it, Woo-Jin came to an instant realization. Whether it was 999 or 1,000 lives, it did not make much of a difference for Woo-Jin. At most, it would be like living just one more life. He could use it as a reference like he did with his past lives and be done with it after.


    If he were to do that, then just like he had been doing, it would not cause any harm to his current personality. In other words, he could just think of his role as one of his past lives and act it out. No, instead of acting, it was more accurate to take on that particular persona.


    ¡®No, that¡¯s not it! I can¡¯t become Louie throughout the entire shoot. It¡¯s important to have the on and off button.¡¯


    After solving one problem, another one came up. Woo-Jin sighed. However, the solution was within reach.


    ¡®Come to think of it, in the previous photo shoot, I did recall the memories of the past and acted based on my past personality. After that, I vowed not to do it again because it was not acting but improvising according to the circumstances. It was not bad, right? If I just pretend I had a past identity like Louie, then I could just act out his personality.¡¯


    The photo shoot had been awkward and it had been his first time, so instead of acting, he had taken on the persona of one of his past identities. It was a moment of self-reflection where he had decided to just ¡®act¡¯ while maintaining his actual personality. Woo-Jin wondered if that reaction had resulted in today¡¯s outcome. He wondered if he had subconsciously guarded against the character he was acting as he tried to protect his personality and consciousness.


    In that case, it seemed like the best thing for him to do for now was to take on a personality and act, just like he had done previously, but this time, he would create a new past life based on Louie and take on his personality.


    Woo-Jin pictured Louie¡¯s life in his head. When he was four years old, his parents, who had fought every day, seemed to be in a particularly good mood on that day. Louie, decked in new clothes and shoes, had held his parents¡¯ hands tightly as they went to the amusement park. They had eaten delicious pork cutlet, and ice cream, as well as pastel pink cotton candy, and he had chased cute cartoon characters around with a balloon in his hand. It was a fun and happy time. But at some point, he had realized that he was all alone, abandoned.


    Later, he had been adopted by a couple in America, but there were many children just like him in the house. It did not seem like his adoptive parents held any affection for the children they had adopted; they had only done so to receive state benefits.


    One day, the police had knocked on their door and their ¡®fake family¡¯ had been disbanded. After going to several different foster homes, Louie ended up in the hands of a mafia organization. He had been 11 years old at that point. Ever since then, he started learning how to kill. The fragrant coffee he drank after murdering people was sour and bitter and helped him forget the disgusting stench of blood for a moment.


    Thereafter, Louie was granted freedom from such a life, and for the very first time in his life, he had taken a good look at himself, and was aware of his feelings, and had learned what love was. Even though he felt guilty, he could not stop becoming a killer and murderer.


    Woo-Jin brainwashed himself into viewing Louie¡¯s life as a past life, and just like he did the previous time, he pulled out Louie¡¯s personality and empathized with him. He had done it once before, so it was a little easier this time. From this moment onwards, he became the real Louie, and not an actor. In doing so, he did not violate the promise to himself of not acting out the personality from his past life. While the newly created past life was considered a past life, it was not real, so it was not a foul. It was an original act.


    Based on what he had experienced during the last photo shoot, he had been able to get out of character quickly because he was extremely guarded against letting his previous life¡¯s personality take over. In other words, it meant that it could be turned on and off.


    Woo-Jin had been resting his head on top of the laptop but now, he sat up straight and looked around with eyes that were void of emotion.


    Louie¡¯s life had always been gray and he saw the world in black and white as well. It was like living in the shadows. As Louie shifted his gaze towards the existence that was the only light in his life, his pupils quivered. Louie usually walked around in a hunched posture with his body looking limp. He only stood up straight and tensed his body when he was at ¡®work¡¯.


    He leaned back against his chair and looked at Park Yeon-Ah with a hazy gaze. More precisely, he smiled very faintly as he was looking at her acting as Lee Yoo-Ra. He looked like a young boy with his lackluster hair and pale skin. His appearance reflected his mental age pretty accurately as well.


    ¡°Louie, are you ready?¡± Production Director Park, who had been observing Woo-Jin from time to time while the shooting was ongoing, called out to him. He was sitting idly as he looked at Woo-Jin. It had been four hours since he had last talked to Woo-Jin.


    After seeing Woo-Jin nod quietly, Production Director Park narrowed his eyes, as though he felt a chilly wind. Woo-Jin stood up weakly and walked towards the direction of the production director¡¯s voice. His footsteps were light and perfectly spaced. At first glance, he seemed to be staggering, but his gait was surprisingly straight. If he were on a sandy beach, his footsteps would barely be seen.


    ¡°We are going to start shooting the previous scene again.¡±


    Production Director Park glanced at Woo-Jin and immediately instructed him to prepare himself for the shoot without saying anything else.

 Chapter 51

    Park Yeon-Ah had the best acting skills compared to any of the other female actors Woo-Jin had worked with. Despite the awkward habits she had acquired as a stage actress, there were moments where she had completely immersed herself in her character. It could be seen when she made eye contact with Woo-Jin during the shoot.


    Woo-Jin looked at Park Yeon-Ah, who was sitting across from him, and pulled himself together. Yeon-Ah¡¯s character, Lee Yoo-Ra, was someone who grew up in a loving environment; someone who was bright and full of positive energy. After seeing her clear eyes start to gradually cloud over as time went by, Louie felt pain. But he never found out the reason why.


    Today, they would be shooting the part where the two people were strangely drawn to each other even though they could not be happy together. They had to work well together so that they could properly portray the buildup of emotions. Acting is not only a solo act, teamwork is important as well.


    Park Yeon-Ah, who had been sitting across from him, had been replaced by Lee Yoo-Ra. Eventually, they heard the sound of the clapboard, and Woo-Jin had forgotten about acting.


    ¡°The world is such a strange place. Even though there are people like me, I don¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying.¡±


    His motherland, which he had left at a young age, had become a foreign place to Louie even though its people spoke the same language as him. Louie had never given up hope that he might meet his biological parents one day. And when that time finally came, he wanted to tell them all about his life and the things which he did. As such, Louie had never forgotten the Korean language. He would study and practice Korean in his free time so that he could speak it fluently, but it had long since lost its purpose.


    Lee Yoo-Ra replied offhandedly to Louie, ¡°I¡¯m good at Korean. If there¡¯s something you don¡¯t understand, you can always ask me to translate it for you, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Regardless of how difficult a problem was, it would become a piece of cake after Lee Yoo-Ra took a look at it.


    ¡°So, what do you not understand? Ask away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your patient.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not a shrink, so I won¡¯t be charging you. Also, I said that I¡¯d translate for you, not treat you.¡± Lee Yoo-Ra smiled delightfully and shrugged, as though she was proud of herself for saying something funny. Her confident and cheerful personality was foriegn to Louie as he had never experienced such emotions before.


    ¡°I think that you¡¯re the weirdest out of everything I¡¯ve seen so far.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a weird creature like you before. I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying and everything you do is weird.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°That said, I don¡¯t dislike you¡­which makes me even weirder. Can you translate that?¡± The way Louie stared at Lee Yoo-Ra looked so innocent, like a student waiting for an answer. He truly did not know anything, and the curiosity and anticipation in his eyes were genuine. He was not trying to tease her, and  neither was he trying to get the obvious answer by beating around the bush.


    Lee Yoo-Ra froze for a moment as she did not know what to tell Louie, who had truly asked out of curiosity. She had a vague idea of what the answer was, but it was embarrassing and awkward to say it out loud. Louie looked at the blushing Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s face and tilted his head.


    ¡°Are you not feeling well?¡±


    ¡°Nah.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Adults are good at telling lies without batting an eye, so I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an adult too! You think you¡¯re a teenager huh?¡± Lee Yoo-Ra, who had been agonizing over how to answer him, quickly jumped at the opportunity given to her when the topic had changed, and said something else instead of answering him. However, when he had accused her of lying, she felt a little guilty, so she quibbled about what he had said and grilled him back.


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I hate it.¡±


    ¡°Still, don¡¯t put yourself down. That''s a bad habit.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So, when are you going to translate it?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Louie, who had never missed his target, had never forgotten the things he started. Lee Yoo-Ra, who had to agonize over answering him once again, rolled her eyes and racked her brain, thinking about how to get herself out of this mess.


    Louie looked straight at her. Shortly after, he nodded as though he had understood something. This time, Lee Yoo-Ra wanted to ask him. What do you get? Why are you nodding?


    ¡°So you¡¯re a quack.¡±


    ¡°Hey~! This is a different domain.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it.¡±


    He told her to calm down and kept making a face that seemed to say that he had understood, but Lee Yoo-Ra felt unsettled, and she started to shake her legs. She could not possibly say anything along the lines of ¡®You like me,¡¯ so it started to drive her insane. She tried to drink some coffee to soothe her stomach that was churning with anxiety, but it was too hot. Drinking it would upset her stomach further, so she looked at Louie in a cavalier manner and placed another order.


    ¡°One more iced americano!¡±


    After receiving her order, Louie stood up. Lee Yoo-Ra was the only customer in the cafe, and the tranquility had created a warm and relaxing atmosphere. A smile slowly crept across Louie¡¯s face as he stood up and turned around. That was the first time he had smiled since the drama started, but Lee Yoo-Ra did not see it.


    When the sound of the clapboard was heard, Park Yeon-Ah was dumbfounded for a moment before blinking her eyes because it was the first time they had finished shooting a scene without any bad takes.


    ¡°Wow~!¡± exclaimed Park Yeon-Ah, who seemed to be in disbelief. She ran to Woo-Jin and grabbed him by the neck as she cried out, ¡°Woo-Jin, we did it! This is the first time we¡¯ve finished a scene without any bad takes!¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah looked at Woo-Jin who had replied in a lackadaisical manner as he nodded. She realized that she had made a mistake and slowly loosened her grip. She had made the mistake of doing something that would break an actor out of character. Likewise, Park Yeon-Ah had also been assuming Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s personality up until now ¨C she was more cheerful than usual, and her movements were more excessive as well, so she was well-aware of what this was all about.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I also feel very good right now.¡± Woo-Jin, who had returned to his original self at a certain point, had a slight smile on his face as he turned around and looked at Production Director Park.


    Even though he had heard the sound of the clapboard and the production director had not rejected the scene, he was still uncertain. Woo-Jin and Park Yeon-Ah craned their necks and waited for the production director to say something, like baby birds asking for food.


    ¡°It was good. Just keep acting like that. Do you think I do it because I like tormenting actors? I can be a good person too if they act well on their own.¡± Woo-Jin and Park Yeon-Ah awkwardly contorted their faces as they tried hard to not laugh at the ridiculous statement.


    If one wanted to know what would happen if actors had to work with a picky and extremely perfectionistic production director, they could just take a look at Park Jong-Hyuk. It did not matter if he was nice or not. Regardless of the production director''s actual nature, it was a fact that the actors could not get out of this distressing situation.


    Additionally, Production Park Jong-Hyuk was someone who would tell his actors to do two more things right after telling them to do something. It doesn¡¯t make sense for someone like that to call themselves nice. Park Yeon-Ah, whose expression had been really weird earlier, had managed to calm herself down. She tapped Woo-Jin on the shoulder, looking slightly more confident than before.


    ¡°We¡¯ve really done a good job this time, right?¡± Woo-Jin nodded his head without hesitation after hearing the self-praise that was filled with joy. If it was said that Woo-Jin understood how to act, then it can be argued that Park Yeon-Ah understood the restraints that came with acting.


    In a live broadcast or a play, the audience would only look at what they wanted to see. On the other hand, in dramas and movies, the viewers could only see what the actors had intentionally shown. In a play where everything was captured in one frame, the actors had to make bigger moves in order to highlight their movements. Hence, even though she knew other methods of expressing herself physically in videos, which only required minute movements, she could not fully understand it.


    ¡°I knew I needed to keep my emotions and movements concise, but I didn¡¯t know how to express that. Now, I know.¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah did not know how she had managed to finish shooting the scene without any outtakes. It was just speculation, but acting seemed like a job where interaction between people made a huge impact. Since Woo-Jin had perfectly acted out his character, Louie, she wondered if she herself had also done the same thing by being fully immersed in her character, Lee Yoo-Ra. She had forgotten about acting and had become Lee Yoo-Ra, thus, her exaggerated acting habits did not appear. Forgetting about acting during shoots was not an issue that had plagued Chae Woo-Jin alone.


    Both of them had been agonizing over the same issue, just that their expression and means of self-awareness were different. Fortunately, they were not stupid; with a little hint, both of them were able to fix their problems. Park Yeon-Ah had managed to figure out why Production Director Park had been rejecting her scenes through practical experience. She gave Kang Min-Ho, who had been watching them shoot their scene from the side, a V-sign, showing off her newfound confidence, while challenging him at the same time, as if to say she would not lose to him.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally going to make some progress. I had a hard time because of you inferior actors, and yet you¡¯re still so conceited!¡± Kang Min-Ho scoffed at her and shrugged contemptuously. Woo-Jin and Park Yeon-Ah, who had made huge mistakes, could not retort. They quietly read the script and prepared for the next scene.


    Just because Woo-Jin had regarded Louie as one of his past identities and acted like him did not mean that the shoot would be smooth-sailing from now on. Since it was an incomplete ¡®life¡¯ that was different from his past lives, he had to ensure that there were no inconsistencies with the portrayal of his character.


    Woo-Jin had constantly thought and researched about acting during his free time. Woo-Jin monitored his acting and looked for areas in which he could improve in, and thought about Louie as he did his best to interpret his character. As he did that, he had naturally pictured and created Louie¡¯s life. The process was so fun and he experienced the joy of creating things.


    ¡°There was a time where I had died without writing down the ideas in my head.¡±


    Everybody recognized his name now, but in his past life, he was a very poor writer. He had done ghostwriting for a living, but his life had ended without him being able to pen down his last piece of work which he spent a lot of effort in.


    ¡°Am I going to see it to the end this time?¡±


    Writing was different from acting. He wasn¡¯t trying to take on the personality of that past identity ¨C it was just an extension of the dream which he could not achieve in that past life. He already had all the ideas and storyline in his head, but since the times were different, it seemed like tweaking it would make things easier.


    In his past life, he had so written so many exquisite and lyrical literary works that he was known as ¡®the mother of writing¡¯. On top of that, he had lived several other lives as a writer. He felt that it would not be a bad thing to create new writings by gathering all these life experiences. It felt as though he would be fulfilling the unrealized dream of his previous lives as writers. In any case, they were Woo-Jin¡¯s past lives. Their dreams are his dreams.


    Woo-Jin took out a notebook after feeling motivated. However, as soon as he looked at the pile of books next to it, as well as the list of reports he had to write, he quietly closed the notebook. He had a big dream, but now was not the time. The dream of his present life took precedence over the dreams of his past lives.


    ***


    ¡°You know that we¡¯ll be shooting Louie¡¯s action scenes over the next three days, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± The floor director asked Woo-Jin for confirmation as soon as today¡¯s shooting had ended. He did not have classes on Friday, so they had decided to shoot the action scenes that had been postponed over the next three days from Friday till Sunday. However, judging from Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s personality, he was worried that they might not be able to shoot the scenes they wanted to during that time frame.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be your first time being attached to a wire right?¡± asked Kang Min-Ho out of concern. He had probably seen Woo-Jin¡¯s face darken after answering the floor director¡¯s question. Kang Min-Ho had shot several action films, so he knows how tough it was doing stunts with wires during shoots. He was well-aware of what Woo-Jin was worried about.

 Chapter 52

    ¡°I¡¯ve been attached to a wire a couple of times before during training, but it¡¯s going to be my first time doing it during a shoot. I¡¯d rather work without them if I could, but that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    As soon as Woo-Jin entered DS, he had been doing stunt training consistently. And after the decision to accept this role for City of Shadows, Woo-Jin had been doing the necessary training needed for the drama at the stunt school. However, wearing the stunt vest was already suffocating, and when he was hanging in the air, the wires tugged against his skin and it hurt.


    ¡°Everything is tough at first.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re used to working with wires now?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing in this world that I absolutely cannot get used to, and that is working with wires.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the consolation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not consoling you. You should have become a third-generation chaebol scion like me, then you would never have to work with wires.¡± Kang Min-Ho laughed teasingly as he walked away. Woo-Jin looked at the back of his head and came to a realization that this was the reason why people got into fights on set.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll put up with it for tomorrow¡¯s sake.¡± That said, it was almost midnight. Even though Woo-Jin had to get sufficient sleep to recharge for the shoot that starts at dawn, he had a lot of things to do. His schedule was so tight that he would have probably collapsed long ago if he did not use the cultivation technique daily to relieve his fatigue.


    There were many people who stayed at the filming site, but both Kang Min-Ho and Woo-Jin had the luxury of staying in single rooms. However, they shared a common bathroom. Woo-Jin, who had changed into a set of comfortable clothes, removed his makeup there before leaving.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, you¡¯re already heading to bed?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®already¡¯? I have been shooting since dawn, I¡¯ll barely get enough sleep as it is.¡± Even if he went back to his room now, he would not be able to sleep right away because he had to complete his report. However, he had not bothered explaining that to others.


    One of their co-stars, Lee Dan-Woo, pointed to one side of the set and said wistfully, ¡°Time¡­it¡¯s never enough. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve all had a drink together, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re able to join us.¡± The actors who had been on set today had been gathered over there. Everyone else apart from Woo-Jin will either only start shooting in the afternoon, or they barely have any scenes to shoot. Hence, they decided to get together for a drink.


    Even though they were shooting the same drama, they would have no chance to interact if they did not have any scenes together. However, several of the actors had to shoot their scenes today, and so they decided to have a get-together. Soon after, Park Yeon-Ah and Kang Min-Ho had also sat down in their respective seats.


    ¡°One drink is fine.¡±


    Even though he had a lot of work to do, Woo-Jin felt that joining them for a few hours would not hurt, so he decided to join them. He was not a huge fan of drinking, but he had subconsciously learned a lot of new things when he spent time with his seniors. However, Kang Min-Ho yelled at him sternly, ¡°What are you doing here! You need to sleep so that your skin will glow on camera tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right~!¡± Park Yeon-Ah immediately agreed with him, indirectly showing off that they were close friends.


    ¡°My character is not a third generation chaebol scion, so I need to look disheveled. I can¡¯t have glowing skin.¡± Woo-Jin snorted after hearing the word ¡®glowing¡¯. It did not fit the image of Louie, who had dull and disheveled hair, dark circles under his eyes which gave him an ashen look.


    ¡°But still, you can¡¯t drink.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± As soon as veteran actor Go Young-Hoon, who had a major role in the drama, shook his head disapprovingly, Woo-Jin immediately became submissive.


    Woo-Jin knew that Go Young-Hoon was concerned about him because he had to start shooting at dawn the next day, and he could not insist anymore. All he could do was briefly look at his fellow actors with a gaze that was full of envy. His shoulder dropped, and just as he was about to head back to his room to sleep, Woo-Jin heard a voice calling out to him from behind.


    ¡°Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Seeing how Woo-Jin turned around immediately with enthusiasm and twinkling eyes, everybody burst out laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disappointing you, but even though you can¡¯t drink, can you buy some alcohol for us?¡± Go Young-Hoon held out his credit card and got Woo-Jin and Lee Dan-Woo to run an errand for them. Naturally, the two youngest people were selected.


    The staff had been busy cleaning up the set. It was late, so they had either gone home or were resting somewhere. Go Young-Hoon felt bad for asking them to run an errand, so he picked the two young men in front of him instead. As Woo-Jin thought about how he would be able to go out to get some fresh air, Woo-Jin happily took the card from Go Young-Hoon despite not being able to join the drinking party. Since they had been shooting on set for the entire day, Woo-Jin wanted to go outside. Perhaps Lee Dan-Woo shared the same sentiment as well and he nodded without hesitation.


    ¡°He looks like a puppy who¡¯s going out to get some fresh air.¡±


    Even though Woo-Jin was a rookie, he was fairly well-known, and he was also one of the main characters in this drama. It was rather nice to see that he was willing to run errands. Go Young-Hoon, who had experienced the arrogance of young stars several times before, hoped that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s innocence would last for a long time.


    ¡°He still hasn¡¯t realized that he¡¯s a celebrity himself. How could he go outside looking like that? I told him not to wear that T-shirt because one of its sleeves was stained by dark blue paint, but he didn¡¯t listen. He said it was the most comfortable T-shirt he had.¡±


    Kang Min-Ho held his stomach and laughed when he saw Woo-Jin leaving the set with no makeup while wearing a stretched out T-shirt and sweatpants with knee bags. As a celebrity, even if they were going to a store nearby, regardless of whether or not anybody recognized them, they should always wear some makeup and leave the house after coordinating their clothes. However, that had not been the case for Woo-Jin at all.


    ¡°He¡¯s still handsome nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°His skin looks more radiant without makeup, and even though he¡¯s wearing a stretched out T-shirt, his face is still handsome, so what¡¯s there to worry about?¡±


    ¡°Ah~!¡±


    ¡°Woo-Jin looks good in anything.¡±


    After hearing Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s explanation, Kang Min-Ho had come to a huge realization that ordinary celebrities like himself were the ones who cared about their image and made sure that they looked presentable whenever they left the house. Chae Woo-jin¡¯s extraordinary appearance had surpassed that of ordinary celebrities, so he should not be compared with them. Woo-Jin, who had unknowingly become the victor of their conversation, went to the convenience store with his head held high in his getup. Woo-Jin usually went to a nearby grocery store, but it closed at midnight. So, he ended up going to a nearby convenience store. Woo-Jin had never been there before, but he knew that the shop was there.


    ¡°Wow~! You are Da-Young and Cho-Hee from Berry Rose, right?¡± exclaimed a young man. He had swung by the convenience store in the middle of the night, and chanced upon a girl idol group who had disguised themselves as part-timers.


    ¡°I¡¯m a big fan. I really like the song Catch Me, Catch Me.¡±


    After seeing the young man¡¯s strong reaction, the Berry Rose¡¯s members, Da-Young and Cho-Hee, smiled brightly. They brought their hands to their mouths and made a cute gesture while exclaiming, ¡°Yes! This is Da-Young from Berry Rose!¡± ¡°Yes! This is Cho-Hee From Berry Rose!¡±


    They were shooting the new pilot program for Do You Know Us?. It was a variety program where a rookie or actors that were relatively unknown hid among the general public to see the reaction of the people whom they had interacted with. The guests of the first episode were two Berry Rose¡¯s members, and they had dressed up as part-timers who were working at a convenience store.


    Berry Rose was a girl idol group that had debuted three months ago, but they had managed to top the charts soon after their debut, which was uncommon amongst rookies. They deserved to be the trending girl idol group with their amazing singing abilities and beautiful looks.


    Regardless of how they tried to disguise themselves as part-timers in a convenience store, they would still stand out. Naturally, the customers who had visited the convenience store recognized them immediately. The customers were filled with joy by this unexpected encounter, and praised them, saying that they looked better in person.


    ¡°Are you in the midst of shooting right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes! So please keep it a secret. We¡¯re broadcasting it next Sunday, but all you have to do is to pretend that you don¡¯t know about it for the next few hours until the recording is over.¡±


    The young man took a photo with Da-Young and Cho-Hee, and the staff interviewed him about how he felt after meeting them, etc. In order to ensure that the recording would go smoothly, they had also gotten him to promise to keep this a secret as it would not be fun if people were to flock towards the convenience store after hearing about it.


    However, word of mouth was also important as this was the pilot episode of the program that would be aired on TV. Hence the staff told him that after the recording was over, it would be okay for him to spread the word without revealing any spoilers.


    After the young man left wistfully, the staff reorganized the shelves in the convenience store once again. They had chosen to do the recording at night because the low human traffic would allow them to record the customers who showed up by chance, one by one. They would also have enough time to tidy up the store after each recording.


    In truth, the production team wanted another member of Berry Rose to be a part of this program, but since she was a minor, it would be impractical for her to have a part-time job at a convenience store at midnight. More importantly, she was on an entirely different level from the rest of the members, so she was too arrogant to even consider taking part in the pilot episode of a new program. Hence, they had casted the second and third most popular members of the group. Even though it was a shame, the outcome had been rather good.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming again. Two men this time!¡± After getting tipped off by the staff who was acting as the lookout, the rest of the staff hurriedly evacuated to the storage area. One of them had disguised themselves as a customer and sat down by the table, pretending to eat cup noodles.


    Da-Young and Cho-Hee moved to the counter and waited for the arrival of the customers. They were more laid back this time around as compared to the first time. They thought about the reactions of the customers, and the compliments that they were about to receive. They did not think that it would be this hard to imagine the positive reactions of their fans. After three months of doing TV programs and debuting as a girl idol group, they had become accustomed to the acclamation and reverence from the public.


    ¡°Hyung, which brand of beer should we get?¡± asked one of the men who had opened the door, looking at the person behind him.


    ¡°I wanted to drink something light. I don¡¯t know much about the different types of beer either. I only drink what I like. What should we do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just call them and ask.¡±


    The men who had entered the convenience store went straight to the liquor section without paying any attention to the Berry Rose members at the counter. Their actions were quite different from the previous customers. Most of the customers usually looked around when they entered the store, and that would be when they noticed the members of Berry Rose.


    Since this was their first time encountering customers who came into the store with a purpose, Da-Young and Cho-Hee felt momentarily embarrassed. They were curious and stretched their necks over the counter to catch a glimpse of the two men. When they saw the man who was picking out beers, they lost control of their facial expressions momentarily and their jaws dropped. The man, who had slightly wet tousled hair and was dressed in casual clothes, wearing flip-flops, was the most good-looking man they had ever seen thus far.


    Da-Young came to her senses first and tapped Cho-Hee on the arm. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he look familiar?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think so too¡­¡± Cho-Hee answered in a trance-like fashion as she nodded mindlessly.


    On the other hand, the staff who had been monitoring the situation from the storage area had kicked up a big fuss as well.


    ¡°That guy is Chae Woo-Jin, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s him. Our production director was very fussy about casting the actors as he wanted the show to be a success, and Chae Woo-Jin was the person he picked first!¡±


    When they had decided on the concept of Do You Know Us?, the first person the production director had thought of was Chae Woo-Jin. He was a rising star that had been trending recently, but had yet to appear in any variety shows yet. If Chae Woo-Jin had been casted in their program, it would without a doubt become the talk of the town.


    However, DS¡¯ CEO Jang was not in a rush to have his artist appear on a mere pilot episode of a new program. They had tried to cast him several times, but they had been rejected every time under the pretext of shooting a drama and studying. They were surprised to see him here, and thought about how they had lucked out.


    ¡°But why did Chae Woo-Jin come here at this hour dressed like that?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Ah! There¡¯s a studio nearby that¡¯s often used as a set for shooting dramas! I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯re shooting a drama right now.¡±


    Just then, the owner of the convenience store, who had been watching the recording, interrupted, ¡°My daughter is a fan of Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, can I get an autograph from him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but please be patient. This is truly a coincidence, so it¡¯s a golden opportunity for us.¡±


    The production director put a finger to his mouth in a bid to shush both the owner and the staff member. ¡°Shh! Let¡¯s listen to what he¡¯s saying.¡±


    As Woo-Jin was talking on the phone and picking out the beer, the staff kept their mouths shut and focused all their attention on him. With the help of the cameras and sound equipment installed at every corner of the store, all of his actions, including his soft voice, were captured and heard clearly.

 Chapter 53

    ¡°By the way, can I get an ice cream for myself?¡±


    Woo-Jin had left immediately wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, and he did not have time to bring any cash with him. He felt his empty pockets as he asked the card owner for permission out of courtesy.


    - Hmm? You can get more than one if you¡¯d like. Buy everything you want to eat. If you want to get some snacks [1], feel free to buy them too.


    After hearing what Ko Young-Hoon, who had been holding back his laughter, had said, Woo-Jin hung up the phone and looked at Lee Dan-Woo with a bright smile.


    ¡°Dan-Woo hyung, we just need to pick out the snacks [2].¡±


    ¡°Oh really? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll be back after I smoke this cigarette, can you pick them out yourself?¡±


    Woo-Jin nodded when Lee Dan-Woo took out a cigarette and gestured towards the outside of the store. Woo-Jin told him it was not a big deal and patted the apologetic Lee Dan-Woo on the back before nudging him. Lee Dan-Woo passed along their co-workers¡¯ message and told Woo-Jin to buy one can of beer per person, instead of a whole bunch of beer. He also asked Woo-Jin to get a lot of snacks before hurrying outside.


    Lee Dan-Woo had been putting up with nicotine withdrawal all day and it was about to drive him insane. Once again, it seemed like today was not the day for him to quit smoking. Even though Lee Dan-Woo declared that he would quit smoking on a daily basis, the fact that he carried a pack of cigarettes around signified his lack of willpower to quit. Woo-Jin had been aware of Lee Dan-Woo¡¯s struggle against nicotine withdrawal during shooting, so he happily let him leave and started picking out snacks.


    - Catch me, catch me, now¡¯s the time~!


    - Catch me, catch me, don¡¯t regret it later and hurry, hold my hand~!


    Everybody in the convenience store was startled by the sudden music. They had turned off the speakers to ensure the recording went smoothly, so they were extremely shocked to hear Berry Rose¡¯s song out of the blue. This was especially true for Da-Young and Cho-Hee, who instinctively wanted to dance to their parts. Luckily, they had managed to restrain themselves.


    ¡°Did you change my ringtone?¡±


    - Catch me, catch me~ Catch me~! The song is great, right? It¡¯s my favorite song these days. Let that be the exclusive ringtone for my calls for the time being.


    The source of the music that had resounded throughout the convenience store came from Woo-Jin¡¯s phone.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with you changing it but tell me first before you change it. I was confused for a moment because I¡¯ve never heard it before. Why are you calling me this late at night?¡±


    Hyun-Min had been fiddling with his phone after class and it seemed like Hyun-Min had changed his ringtone. However, the most important thing right now was the reason why he had called in the middle of the night. Usually, there was nothing good about getting calls at this time.


    - Woo-Jin~! We¡¯re screwed.


    ¡°You can be screwed by yourself. Why are you dragging me with you?¡±


    - Because you¡¯re also in group 4. Ever since we got assigned to group 4, I¡¯ve been smelling the scent of death in the air


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯ve already finished my quota and sent it. Who hasn¡¯t completed their part?¡±


    The moment Hyun-Min mentioned group 4, Woo-Jin realized what he had been talking about. Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min were in the same group for group assignments and presentations, which were compulsory. Both of them had completed their assigned parts, so there was nothing to worry about even if it was a group assignment. Any problems they have experienced were always because of somebody else.


    - Hyung-Sik got into a car accident today.


    ¡°Today?¡± Woo-Jin had emphasized the word ¡®today¡¯ because it was past midnight.


    - Yes, today! I just received a call telling me that he had been hit by a negligent driver when he was wandering around after getting drunk. The accident must have occurred before midnight, but I just received the call, so let''s just take it as today.


    ¡°Did he call you personally? Did he say he was seriously injured? Hold up, Hyung-Sik is our group leader. It¡¯s not a problem since you are the one who will be presenting right?


    - The presentation is not the issue right now. Hyung-Sik was supposed to gather the data and write the report before I can start the powerpoint slides, but he hasn¡¯t done anything. Furthermore, he told me that he injured his right hand.


    ¡°Our presentation is due next Wednesday. Even though I had a busy schedule, I still managed to finish researching and compiling the data three days ago!¡±


    - That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! Damn group assignment!


    Hyun-Min cursed and complained about Hyung-Sik after hearing what Woo-Jin had said. Perhaps Hyung-Sik had not been in a rush to complete the assignment because he assumed that he could get it done over the weekend, but now that things had gotten to this point, what good was it?


    In order to start working on the powerpoint slides, the group members had to write a report using the data that they had collated. Since it was Hyun-Min¡¯s responsibility to do the powerpoint slides, he was now burdened with the extra work.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be fine doing everything by yourself? You¡¯re also the group leader in the other class. Send me the rest of the data. I¡¯ll collate everything this weekend and go over to your place on Sunday evening. It¡¯ll be better if we do it together.¡±


    - I¡¯m fine with it, but wouldn¡¯t you be overdoing yourself?


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, I¡¯ll just have to sleep less.¡±


    Da-Young and Cho-Hee smiled awkwardly while trying to communicate through eye contact as they looked at Chae Woo-Jin, who was in the middle of a serious phone call while picking out snacks. Both of them had known it was Chae Woo-Jin even before the staff had told them about his identity via the earphones.


    Initially, they had just been enchanted by his striking appearance, but soon after, there was no way they did not know who Woo-Jin was. They had already gotten used to seeing all kinds of good-looking celebrities in an agency that was filled with famous actors and singers. Even though it had only been three months, they had already done quite a fair bit of TV programs.


    However, they had never seen anyone who exuded an aura like Woo-Jin at the agency or the broadcasting station. They could tell he wasn¡¯t an ordinary person the moment they laid eyes on him, and after connecting the dots, they realized that he was the celebrity that everyone was talking about.


    ¡°He looks so much better in person.¡±


    ¡°I thought he looked really handsome when I was watching the movie¡­ How can he look even better in person?¡±


    Even though they were still in the middle of recording, the staff did not stop the two of them from ogling at Chae Woo-Jin. In fact, they welcomed it because it had indirectly made their program more interesting. However, the problem was that there were too many staff members who were busy ogling at Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to pay for these.¡± While Woo-Jin was still on the phone, he placed the beer and snacks on the counter, causing Da-Young and Cho-Hee to snap out of their trance.


    - Are you also going out to drink now?


    Perhaps Hyun-Min¡¯s sharp senses caught on to something, as his voice grew sharp over the phone. His reaction was only natural as their group leader had just gotten into an accident after drinking.


    ¡°I can¡¯t drink because I have a tight schedule later, and I have to wake up early. I¡¯m running an errand now. I¡¯m the maknae [3] here. Cute, right?¡±


    Woo-Jin suddenly remembered he wanted to eat ice cream, so he grabbed a vanilla ice cream cone and placed it on the counter. Woo-Jin was unable to hide the joy in his actions after saying his last sentence. As the eldest in the family, Woo-Jin had always felt that it was his responsibility to take care of his mother and sister. Now that he was being treated as the youngest, it felt new and refreshing, and Woo-Jin enjoyed such treatment.


    - You finally realized how cute it is to be the maknae. Of course, maknaes are the cutest!


    Woo-Jin then called his friend ¡®The maknae of the family, Jung Hyun-Min¡¯ in response. After hearing his friend laugh out loud, Woo-Jin frowned slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment.¡±


    - Just like how drunk words reflect sober thoughts, there¡¯s truth in the words of a confused person too.


    ¡°Go to bed.¡±


    - I can¡¯t sleep. I have to burn the midnight oil tonight.


    Even though Hyun-Min couldn¡¯t see him, Woo-Jin smiled sadly after listening to his words as Woo-Jin felt bad for Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Thanks for your hard work. I''ll try to free up as much time as I can and head over on Sunday.


    After he hung up, he acted like nothing had happened and looked calmly at Da-Young and Cho-Hee.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Is there an issue?¡±


    When Da-Young and Cho-Hee had made eye contact with Woo-Jin, they looked at him with anticipation as they spoke simultaneously. [4]  They thought that he might have recognised them.


    ¡°Are you going to ring me up?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± They sighed in disappointment when Woo-Jin pointed to the card that had not been swiped. The two girls processed the sale and stared blankly at Woo-Jin once again. Both parties stared blankly at each other for a moment, and  Woo-Jin immediately understood the situation and tried to be considerate, so he told them, ¡°You have to give me a receipt.¡±


    He had paid for the items using someone else¡¯s card, so he had to get the receipt. After getting the receipt from them, Woo-Jin said in a kind and understanding voice, ¡°It must be your first part-time job.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡±


    ¡°I may look weird, but I¡¯m not a bad person, so please rest assured.¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled brightly and tried to be as nice as possible. He had been acting as a killer all day, so he thought that he could have been emanating dark and dangerous vibes. Anybody would feel anxious if they encountered someone like that in the middle of the night.


    ¡°Initially, you might be flustered when new customers arrive as you don¡¯t know what to do. It¡¯s good that you have each other as working the night shift must be quite scary too.¡± As someone with a younger sister, he felt proud of the two young girls who were working the night shift at a convenience store, and at the same time, he felt bad for them. Naturally, his voice was filled with kindness.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, did you buy everything? Sorry, after abstaining for the whole day, my body can¡¯t hold itself back any longer and is craving for nicotine. You haven¡¯t started smoking yet, right? Don¡¯t ever start.¡± Lee Dan-Woo went into the store after he finished smoking. He took the plastic bag that was filled with cans of beer from Woo-Jin and apologized to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I got a call from my friend a while ago and we just finished talking. By the way, would you like to eat some ice cream?¡±


    ¡°My mouth feels dry but I don¡¯t like sweet things. Eating a whole ice cream to take away the aftertaste is too much for me to handle.¡±


    ¡°In that case, just take a bite.¡± Woo-Jin peeled off the wrapper of the vanilla ice cream cone and offered it to Lee Dan-Woo.


    ¡°Hey, I just smoked so it¡¯ll smell.¡±


    ¡°Most of my friends are smokers, so it doesn¡¯t really bother me.¡± Since Woo-Jin had already said he didn¡¯t mind and Lee Dan-Woo¡¯s mouth felt dry, he stopped turning him down and took a bite of the ice cream cone.


    ¡°It tastes good huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s delicious. But I still can¡¯t eat the entire thing.¡±


    ¡°Should I tell Writer Yoo to change the script and turn Hyung-Chul into a character who loves eating sweet things?


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡®Hyung-Chul¡¯ was the name of Lee Dan-Woo¡¯s character. Woo-Jin was just joking, but the writer, Yoo Su-Min, is particularly fond of Woo-Jin, and would listen to his suggestion. Needless to say, it was nothing more than a joke, on the premise that Woo-Jin would never do such a thing.


    ¡°Writer Yoo will listen to me. I¡¯m just joking. Anyway, have a good one you two.¡± Woo-Jin, who was having fun teasing Lee Dan-Woo, could not hold back his laughter. He said goodbye to Da-Young and Cho-Hee, who had to work till dawn, with a bright smile and cheered them on with a clenched fist, telling them to hang in there.


    Lee Dan-Woo had been focusing on Woo-Jin from start till end, and he did not look at the two cashiers behind the counter at all.  As a self-proclaimed fan of Berry Rose, it was truly a pity.


    After Chae Woo-Jin and Lee Dan-Woo had left the convenience store and they vanished from sight, Da-Young and Cho-Hee stuttered as they looked at each other. ¡°Ah, I should have gotten his autograph.¡±


    ¡°Should we go after him?¡±


    So that was how it felt to meet a celebrity. At this moment, they had temporarily forgotten that they were celebrities too. By the time the both of them had regained their composure and were brought back to reality, Woo-Jin, who they thought had already left,  entered the store once again. They thought he had recognized them and came back,, but he had only returned to get two more bottles of warm soymilk. And this time, he had practically run out of the store.


    The two idols felt disappointment and resentment when their hopes were dashed once again. They thought to themselves ¡°We are quite famous now, why doesn¡¯t he recognize us?¡± However, apart from that, Chae Woo-Jin was extremely good-looking, so it was hard for them to come to their senses. They wanted to become a fan the moment he had made eye contact with them and cheered them on softly, with a deadly smile on his face.


    Da-Young and Cho-Hee hesitated for a moment as they did not know what to do. A while after Woo-Jin left, the production crew came out of the storage room, but Da-Young and Cho-Hee did not notice them. After the recording was over and when they were alone, Da-Young asked Cho-Hee in a slightly gleeful tone, ¡°Earlier on before we started shooting, A-Ra swung by for a bit and left. right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she laughed after seeing our getup and said it was a good thing she didn¡¯t participate in this program. And then she left.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t she say she¡¯s a fan of Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    ¡°After seeing the character named A-Ra in Death Hill, A-Ra cursed at her for having the same name as her, and called her an old woman, etc. She¡¯s a huge fan who gets extremely jealous over such things even though A-Ra is just her stage name.¡±


    ¡°Her reaction is going to be interesting after this goes on air.¡±


    There was always bound to be someone who was mean and was disliked by everyone even though they were in the same idol group. Since the other party was younger than them and was extremely rude, and they were unable to retaliate or display their displeasure, their resentment towards A-Ra only grew stronger.


    ¡°But will that part even be aired? It was filmed without Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s permission. It might become problematic if they air it.¡± It did not seem like the production crew was going after Chae Woo-Jin to ask him for permission. Just like them, the production crew seemed to have lost their composure too.


    ¡°The production crew will take care of it and come to an agreement with his agency. Even if it gets edited, all that matters is letting A-Ra know that it was Chae Woo-Jin. If I get to see her face turn sour, I¡¯d feel so good. In A-Ra¡¯s eyes, she probably thinks we are worse than her cat.¡±


    The idol group which had debuted three months ago, had already started to rot within because of their internal strife.


    1. The word that¡¯s used here is ??, which is baby talk for snacks. Ko Young-Hoon was talking to Woo-Jin like he¡¯s a child. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. It refers to drinking snacks (??), which is different from the ones before. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. ¡®Maknae¡¯ refers to the youngest person within a group, be it family, friends, idol groups, in the workplace, or any type of group or community. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    4. The last part of the sentence was added to make clear that it¡¯s Da-Young and Cho-Hee speaking over each other instead of Woo-Jin responding to one of the girls. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 54

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. The safety equipment is perfect. Even if he does fall, we have prepared an inflatable crash mat that¡¯s filled with lots of air as an extra precaution.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo was left speechless after hearing what Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk had said. He clutched the back of his neck as he picked his next words carefully. Otherwise, he could not guarantee what kind of curses or swear words would come spewing out of his mouth.


    ¡°Um, PD, this is the 13th floor.¡±


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that?¡±


    ¡°Who actually shoots scenes where the actors jump from building to building in real life for a drama? It¡¯s not even a movie. What is the point of the green screen then?¡± Kang Ho-Soo proceeded to demand that if Park Jong-Hyuk did not like the idea of using a green screen, he should hire a stunt double.


    ¡°Are you downplaying dramas?¡±


    ¡°Who cares about that! If something happens to Chae Woo-Jin during the shoot, are you going to take responsibility for it?!¡± summarized Kang Ho-Soo.


    According to the storyline, Woo-Jin had to film an escape scene after Louie had successfully completed a mission by jumping from building to building. Naturally, Kang Ho-Soo had assumed that the scene would be shot with a green screen as the backdrop, and edited with CGI thereafter. However, that was not the case.


    When Kang Ho-Soo asked the production director if they would be using a stunt double, the latter had said no once again. Needless to say, Woo-Jin¡¯s manager, Kang Ho-Soo, kicked up a huge fuss when he had heard that Woo-Jin would be doing all the stunts personally, relying solely on wires and safety equipment. He had immediately contacted the agency and their legal team should be on their way now. Until their arrival, Kang Ho-Soo was determined to prevent the shooting from commencing.


    ¡°It¡¯s doable for me though.¡±


    "See! Even Woo-Jin says it''s doa... Hey!¡± Kang Ho-Soo was so flabbergasted that he yelled at Woo-Jin, which was unlike him. Kang Ho-Soo looked at Woo-Jin with a pressurizing gaze, as though Woo-Jin had betrayed him. But Woo-Jin was unaffected as he merely looked calm and composed.


    Woo-Jin did not have a fear of heights, and it seemed unlikely that an accident would happen with the safety equipment that had been set up. Even if he were to fall, the thick inflatable crash mat would cushion his fall, so it was not an issue. In fact, he had even thought that it would be fun to fall on it. He had been trained to jump this distance several times before at the stunt school. The only difference was the height, but it was not that big of a deal to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Look! Even actor Chae says it¡¯s okay! I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s safe! ¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because Actor Chae is still a rookie and there are a lot of things he doesn¡¯t know yet because he¡¯s young. Has there been a Korean drama where the actor had to personally jump from one building to another on the 13th floor?¡±


    ¡°If there isn''t, I can be the first to do it.¡± Woo-Jin interrupted with a smile, while totally disregarding the atmosphere. As soon as Kang Ho-Soo heard that, he practically beat his chest and yelled. He didn¡¯t even realize that he was speaking to Woo-Jin without honorifics. ¡°Woo-Jin, you stay out of it!¡±


    ¡°You people are giving Actor Chae a hard time right now. You think he''s a young and inexperienced rookie?¡±


    A strange alliance had somehow been formed. ¡°Since we¡¯ve already prepared everything, we should start shooting soon. We have to shoot it while it¡¯s still dark. If we keep delaying, the sun is going to rise.¡± Woo-Jin tried to persuade the staff around him, saying that they would have woken up for nothing if they did not start shooting soon.


    ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Woo~ Jin~!¡± The excited production director glanced at Kang Ho-Soo and snorted as he gave instructions to the crew. They had prepared five cameras on standby to shoot this one scene. They had been preparing for it over the course of quite a number of days. Naturally, they had also finished discussing this matter with Woo-Jin.


    Production Director Park did not recklessly press him to do such a dangerous shoot. He had first proposed it to Woo-Jin, and if Woo-Jin rejected the idea, he would have hired a stunt double. However, Woo-jin himself was opposed to the idea of hiring a stunt double. Woo-Jin looked at it from the viewers¡¯ point of view and felt that there was nothing as insincere and tasteless as using a stunt double for the action scenes. It would be obvious that they were different people, and insisting that the stunt double was the actual actor is ridiculous and would have killed the suspense in the scene.


    More importantly, Woo-Jin did not feel the need to use a stunt double because he felt that he could do it. He also knew that life was precious, so if it was an impossible task, he would have firmly rejected them from the get go.


    After double and triple checking the safety equipment attached to his body, Woo-Jin went up the rooftop railings. It was a scene that made the viewers petrified, but the person doing it seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself as he smiled calmly. There was a camera that was dedicated to shooting the behind-the-scenes video; the camera crew had used it to capture every single one of Woo-Jin¡¯s movements and facial expressions.


    ¡°Wow~! It¡¯s a lot more terrifying than I expected.¡± Woo-Jin lowered his head and looked down at the bird¡¯s eye view that was beyond his imagination and whistled.


    ¡°Right? So just give up and come down, okay?¡± Kang Ho-Soo, who had not given up on talking Woo-Jin out of it, tried to persuade Woo-Jin as he shook his leg nervously ¨C an action that did not match his appearance and stature.


    ¡°Don¡¯t block the camera and step aside!¡± However, Production Director Park treated him harshly and kicked him out of the viewfinder.


    The stunt choreographer taught Woo-Jin the radius of action that was calculated based on the angle of the cameras, and reminded him multiple times to be careful. Chae Woo-Jin was the most relaxed and laid back person on set today, so the stunt director had been extra concerned about him.


    Accidents normally happened when the person executing the stunt got distracted. Being too nervous would cause one¡¯s body to atrophy, which would be bad, but being completely relaxed was not a good thing either.


    ¡°We have to rehearse a couple of times right?¡±


    ¡°Kang Ho-Soo is already kicking up such a huge fuss because you¡¯re shooting it once, so forget about the rehearsal. Our studio actor will demonstrate it once so please watch carefully.¡±


    Even if what they had shot turned out to be less than ideal, what was important was that the actors did the stunts personally. There was no need to overexert himself as any awkward parts could be edited using CGI.


    ¡°How can I learn well by watching others?¡±


    Woo-Jin gave the wires full control over his body, and jumped a couple of times on the spot at the edge of the railing. Seeing Woo-Jin fly in the air, Kang Ho-Soo, who had been kicked to a corner of the rooftop, felt dizzy and lost strength in his legs.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to the height to a certain extent, so I¡¯ll try jumping after the demonstration,¡± said Woo-Jin to the production director.


    ¡°A¡­ are you really going to be okay?¡± Even Production Director Park, who was known for putting actors through hell, had to hesitate. Originally, his job was to coax and browbeat the actors who wanted to chicken out of shooting the scene into getting everything done. However, Chae Woo-Jin was too proactive, so he was concerned. When Production Director Park had originally envisioned how things would unfold, he had never imagined a situation like this happening, so he became as meek as a sheep, as he tried to get a read on him.


    ¡°I¡¯m really okay. When I was in the military, I jumped out of a helicopter without using wires and crash mats.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d suppose that height and this height would be different though.¡±


    ¡°The height is different, but the act of jumping is the same. I¡¯ll get going now.¡± Woo-Jin jumped off the railing and moved towards the entrance of the rooftop. After checking on the camera that was following him, Woo-Jin started running vigorously. When he got close to the railing, he leaped lightly over it with the help of the springboard on the floor, and raised his right arm and stretched it in front of him.


    During the editing process, they would edit this scene to make it seem like an iron ring had shot out of a device that was mounted on Louie¡¯s arm, hooking itself onto the building on the other side. Woo-Jin tugged on the rope that had been connected in advance to check its tension. He then grabbed it and jumped off without hesitation.


    He had heard some faint sobbing sounds behind him, as well as Kang Ho Soo¡¯s heavy breathing. The latter was trying to hold back his screams. Immediately, a thin smile crept across Woo-Jin¡¯s face. In the blink of an eye, Woo-Jin had flown to the building on the other side, and landed on the wall on both feet. He grabbed the rope and quickly climbed up to the roof.


    Originally, the people at the top of the building were supposed to pull the rope and pull Woo-Jin up, but Woo-Jin had climbed up to the roof with his own strength without taking a break. While the staff was stunned by his actions, Woo-Jin climbed over the railing and waved to Production Director Park, who was standing on the other side.


    ¡°This is so much more fun than bungee jumping!¡± Of course, Woo-Jin had never bungee jumped before. However, after watching others do it and comparing it with his experience, there was barely any difference in height, and when it came to safety equipment, his current safety equipment was more secure.


    Production Director Park was dumbfounded after hearing what Woo-Jin said through the microphone that was attached to his body. Production Director Park had an indescribable expression on his face. Even though he himself was well known for being crazy, he felt that Woo-Jin was even crazier than him.


    The stunt which Woo-Jin had done earlier was perfect; it was not lacking in any aspect. Normally, there would be no need for additional takes. However, like what Woo-Jin said previously, he had treated this as a rehearsal. A smile could be seen on his face as he jumped from building to building, which was not a portrayal of his character Louie. Woo-Jin had also turned around and waved excitedly after landing on the opposite rooftop, thus ruining the footage and rendering it unusable.


    He had to redo it because it was unsatisfactory, but Woo-Jin was actually very satisfied with himself. Woo-Jin did not have any equipment to jump back to the original building, so he had to go down via the elevator and go back up to the building. Despite the trouble of detaching and attaching the wires again, the production director could still hear Woo-Jin¡¯s excitement over the microphone.


    ¡°Production Director, after jumping, I was wondering ¨C instead of going up to the roof, wouldn¡¯t it be more realistic to go down the wall of the building? I¡¯m supposed to be fleeing by leaping over to the next building. If I go down the building from the roof via the stairs or elevator, I could get caught by the security guards waiting below. Instead of going up to the roof, wouldn¡¯t rappelling down the walls be a foolproof method of escaping?¡±


    Everybody knew that, but it was already difficult to jump from one building to another. Who would have the audacity to ask Woo-Jin to rappel down the wall? Regardless of how shameless and ruthless the production director was, he could not bring himself to do that.


    ¡°It makes sense, but it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me, I¡¯m okay. After doing it once, I think it¡¯s fun, and I¡¯m confident that I can do it. Let¡¯s try it out once, if it doesn¡¯t turn out well, then we¡¯ll stick to the original plan.¡±


    When Woo-Jin said ¡®I can always do it again¡¯ from the bottom of his heart, Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk became flustered and came up with excuses.


    ¡°The sun will rise soon, it sucks that the shooting got delayed¡­but just do it in moderation. Don¡¯t overexert yourself.¡± Park Jong-Hyuk lamented to himself that he had never stopped any actors from doing something like this before throughout his directing career. But ultimately, he accepted Woo-Jin¡¯s suggestion. He had acknowledged the fact that if Woo-Jin were to successfully pull it off, it would paint a much more realistic scenario and create a better outcome.


    The stunt choreographer taught Woo-Jin the movements once again, based on the new changes, and in the meantime, the placement of the cameras were also changed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess around and jump seriously this time!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Woo-Jin, who was more excited than usual, introduced the new movements into the shooting without any hesitation. As soon as Woo-Jin became Louie, he started doing the rooftop fleeing scene seriously. After arriving on the roof and jumping over the railing, Louis jumped over to the next building without hesitation, and landed on the wall on both feet before tugging on the rope.


    After checking that the rope was taut, he finally rappelled down the wall. Louie¡¯s actions looked very natural and decisive as he was descending. Every time he kicked off from the wall, his actions looked seamless. If not for the wire rope hanging around his body, the scene would look absolutely perfect and phenomenal.


    Woo-Jin, who had arrived at the inflatable crash mat safely, ascended the 2 meter wall once again to shoot the final landing scene. As soon as the air mats were removed, Woo-Jin landed beautifully with one knee on the ground. Right after they had heard ¡®cut¡¯ followed by the sound of the clapboard, the staff rushed over to Woo-Jin to remove the wires around him and checked his body for injuries.


    ¡°Are you injured anywhere?¡±


    ¡°Are there any sore or painful areas on your knee or ankle?¡±


    ¡°Is your chest okay? The wire vest puts a lot of pressure on it. Can you breathe properly?¡±


    The staff who had worked with Park Jong-Hyuk long enough to be called the ¡°Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk Team¡¯, were equally flustered because this had never happened before. Because Production Director Park was awkward, the staff flocked to Woo-Jin in his place and started bombarding him with the questions, all while examining his physical condition.


    ¡°Excuse me, excuse me. Please let me through.¡± Kang Ho-Soo pushed the staff members aside one by one with his broad shoulders and huge stature, and approached Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°My limbs and chest are fine. It is not painful.¡±


    Woo-Jin swung his arms around and jumped on the spot a couple of times. Every single time he jumped, the people around him held their breath and felt nervous, but fortunately, the worst case scenario did not happen.


    ¡°Do you know how shocked I was? The legal team arrived at dawn and the CEO called and kicked up a big fuss as well.¡±


    ¡°I said I was fine, so everything¡¯s fine. I know that my body is precious too, and I wouldn¡¯t have done it if it wasn¡¯t doable. I did it because it was within my means and it was great because it was fun. You worry too much, hyung.¡± Woo-Jin smiled pompously and pushed Kang Ho-Soo to one side, and told him not to get in the way of the shoot.


    After removing the wire vest and all the ropes, Woo-Jin became Louie once again, with one knee on the ground. It was the following scene after he had jumped off the building.

 Chapter 55

    Louie had displayed incredible speed and agility when rappelling down the building while fleeing the scene after committing murder but now, he looked up at the sky weakly. As he stared blankly into space, it was as if his eyes, which were void of all emotion, were reflected in the dark night sky.


    Louie walked around sluggishly with his arms stretched out. He went around the corner of the building and walked through the alley before disappearing into the night. The security guards, who had not seen him, ended up running past the alley and onto the main street. Meanwhile, the sun rose slowly, filling the gaps between the buildings with its light.


    A long shadow appeared before Louie as he walked with his back facing the sun. With his shadow in front of him and the shadows of the buildings behind him, Louie was buried within them. It was as if this scene was depicting his life within the shadows.


    Kang Ho-Soo could not laugh nor cry after watching Woo-Jin act out the stunts. He told the lawyer who had just arrived, to wait for a moment. Even if the mood on site was good, the outcome would be different depending on how CEO Jang responded. Just then, Kang Ho-Soo had received a call from CEO Jang; he took quite a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down, to no avail.


    ¡°This is Kang Ho-Soo.¡±


    - How did it go?


    This was the follow-up phone call from CEO Jang after he had instructed Kang Ho-Soo to prevent Woo-Jin from doing the stunt at all costs, so Kang Ho-Soo shut his eyes tightly to brace himself from the backlash.


    ¡°He jumped twice, sir. The first time was during the rehearsal where he jumped over and scaled the building to the roof. The second was during the actual shoot where he jumped over and rappelled down using a tightrope. Shooting has already ended for all the scenes.¡±


    - Judging from your voice, it seems like there were no accidents.


    CEO Jang listened to Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s explanation, but since wasn¡¯t aware of the circumstances, he only focused on the fact that there were no accidents.


    - Send it over first.


    They hung up and Kang Ho-Soo sent the video he had taken to CEO Jang. In the first video, Woo-Jin had jumped off the rooftop, and the terrifying view of the ground below had been clearly captured. The second video was filmed from the ground when Kang Ho-Soo had worriedly gone down to wait for Woo-Jin.  Even though Kang Ho-Soo had only used a phone to record the video, the angle at which he filmed it had perfectly captured Louie¡¯s distant figure rappelling down the building. The actual scene that was shot with multiple cameras would definitely be one for the history books.


    Production Director Park would most likely be criticized by the public for a long period of time for shooting this drama without using a stunt double. Kang Ho-Soo did not sympathize with him, because Park Jong-Hyuk himself had already expected it but still decided to proceed with it anyway. The main issue was Woo-Jin.


    Since he had shot something this amazing, it would not be surprising for directors to make unreasonable demands when Woo-Jin filmed action scenes in the future. CEO Jang already knew that it was going to be troublesome. Thus, Production Director Park would have to endure even harsher criticisms and become the scapegoat to set an example to others. Other directors might not have the same level of mental fortitude as Production Director Park, and the intense backlash from this incident would keep them in line and force them to make compromises before they make unreasonable demands of Woo-Jin.


    While Kang Ho-Soo was sighing repeatedly, he once again received a call from CEO Jang. By counting the minutes, it was evident that CEO Jang had been in a hurry to call him right after he had finished watching the videos.


    ¡°This is Kang H-...¡±


    - What on earth have you been doing, you punk! Did you just stand there and record him?


    Kang Ho-Soo had already prepared himself and listened silently to CEO Jang¡¯s angry voice, which was drastically different from his prior calm demure. Even if he were to refute CEO Jang¡¯s words, the only response he would get were curse words.


    - Put Production Director Park on the line! I already knew he would do something like this, but this is just too much.


    Kang Ho-See looked around, but Park Jong-Hyuk was nowhere to be seen. He had gone back up to the roof to supervise the packing up of the filming equipment.


    ¡°Please let me talk to him.¡± Woo-Jin suddenly approached Kang Ho-Soo and reached out his hand as he tried to talk to CEO Jang. Kang Ho-Soo silently handed the phone to Woo-Jin. He looked slightly relieved as he took a step back.


    ¡°Hello, I¡­¡±


    - Hey! You shouldn¡¯t have done that, Production Director Park. You already took one of my actors and put them through hell the last time, but what did you do this time? Descending walls? You crazy bastard! Will you only realize ¡®Oh, I shouldn¡¯t have done something like that¡¯ after getting sued?


    ¡°I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    - Huh? Who?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    - ¡­


    CEO Jang who had only shown his cheerful and elegant side to Woo-Jin became speechless for a moment and coughed a couple of times.


    - Ah, it¡¯s Woo-Jin. I got a little worked up, right? Why did you do such a dangerous thing? I don¡¯t normally say things like that, but I think you¡¯ve done something rash this time.


    ¡°It might have been rash, but as an actor, I think I¡¯ve made the right choice.¡±


    - That¡¯s what the green screen is for, and at the very least, you should have discussed it with me before doing something like that! Did Production Director Park threaten you?


    Jang Soo-Hwan tried to show his calm and graceful side to Woo-Jin, but in the end, his voice gradually got louder and louder as he was unable to hide his rage.


    ¡°Production Director Park had told me that it was okay to use a stunt double. It was his idea but I opposed it. Why would I make someone else do something that I¡¯m capable of doing?¡±


    - Just because you can do it, doesn¡¯t mean that you should.


    CEO Jang¡¯s rebuttal was not wrong, so Woo-Jin tried to explain his thought process to him.


    ¡°First of all, using a green screen is convenient but awkward. Regardless of how advanced technology is, I¡¯m not a fan of the tacky and low-quality CGI used in Korean dramas. The production director also had no intention of shooting using a green screen, and would rather use a stunt double if needed. So that¡¯s why I said I¡¯d do it. And the reason why I didn¡¯t tell you about it is because you would have said no.¡±


    - Of course, I would have said no! Who is crazy enough to make their own actor do something like that!


    Despite the severity of the situation, Woo-Jin laughed after hearing what CEO Jang had said. There were several actors in this world who had shot scenes that were a lot more dangerous and harder than the one he had done today. If the actors themselves were not the CEO of their agency, that would mean that the CEO of their agencies were all crazy people.


    ¡°I¡¯m well-aware of what you¡¯re worried about, but sometimes I feel like we are your pretty dolls that are kept in your dollhouse for you to display and admire.¡±


    - I¡­


    Jang Soo-Hwan wanted to refute Woo-Jin¡¯s words, but he was unable to. The artists in DS matched his tastes, be it in looks or talents. Thus, CEO Jang couldn¡¯t help but to treat them dearly. He had given them the best environment and honor under one condition ¨C they had to always comply with his strict requirements. That was because he did not want his favorite artists to be screwed over or be in danger.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t become an actor who would play safe and use a stunt double to execute the things I¡¯m able to do myself. In the future, I plan to personally do stunts that are more difficult than this, if it¡¯s within my means. I will do my best to act out all the roles that I¡¯ll choose perfectly. That¡¯s what an actor is. I didn¡¯t start acting to play it safe and look graceful.¡±


    Jang Soo-Hwan felt as though someone had struck him on the head. That was because what Woo-Jin had said was very similar to his ideal definition of an actor. He used to call actors who weighed the pros and cons of everything they had to do terrible. However, when it came to his cherished actors, he could not make rational decisions. This was not the first time he had a desire to protect an artist and prevented them from making the choices that they wanted to make.


    When Woo-Jin was signing his contract with DS, he had emphasized that he wanted the freedom of choice in production and role, and added a clause indicating that no interference of any kind when it came to acting would be allowed. At that time, Woo-jin had a brief debate about it with CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. Ultimately, CEO Jang had accepted Woo-Jin¡¯s demands because he was confident that he would be able to convince Woo-Jin, who was still in his early twenties.


    Regardless of what was written in the contract, if CEO Jang Soo-Hwan said no, most of the artists would simply accept it. Nobody could go against his will. Jang Soo-Hwan was certain that Woo-Jin would have listened to him too. Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s influence was just that great, even if he took out his status as CEO. Of course, there were also people who were not afraid of him, and one of them was Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk.


    This time, Woo-Jin had made a reckless decision and had gone through with it. This was only possible because Park Jong-Hyuk was supporting him. Park Jong-Hyuk was not worried about the consequences. It might be a different story after the drama was over, but Park Jong-Hyuk was well-aware of the fact that CEO Jang would not take any legal action against him before the drama had even started because Jang Soo-Hwan was not someone who would engage in anything that might come across as buzz marketing.


    After the drama wrapped up filming, Park Jong-Hyuk was willing to accept any consequences from Jang Soo-Hwan. He was someone who had nothing to fear, because he had experienced something similar many times before. Jang Soo-Hwan knew Park Jong-Hyuk as much as the latter knew him.


    More importantly, Park Jong-Hyuk had clearly suggested to Woo-Jin to use a stunt double if he didn¡¯t want to film the scene, but Woo-Jin was the one who had rejected his suggestion. When Jang Soo-Hwan thought about this, he cursed at him, calling him a rat. Park Jong-Hyuk was always well-prepared and armed with loopholes.


    In terms of legal issues, Woo-Jin had made the grave mistake of acting independently without notifying his agency. However, he could not be held responsible for it because of the clause he had added to his contract with his agency. Clearly, Woo-Jin must have already thought things true.


    Jang Soo-Hwan had been mocking TM''s CEO, but something similar had happened to him. Jang Soo-Hwan had finally realized that he himself had made the same foolish mistake. He had subconsciously treated the docile and pure-looking Chae Woo-Jin like the other young men in his age group. In other words, he saw him as a young naive boy.


    In hindsight, Woo-Jin had been looking for a fence to protect himself from TM, rather than an agency. It also seemed as though he had thoroughly researched the environment of the agency and prepared himself before entering the ¡®fence¡¯, such as the personality and behavior of CEO Jang Su-Hwan around his actors.


    It was clear that he had provided great support to his artists, but it seemed like Woo-Jin did not want to compromise on the arrogant and inflexible aspect of Jang Soo-Hwan, who was similar to Heungseon Daewongun, who had refused to establish diplomatic relations, like what he had done today.


    - Are you saying that you did the right thing?


    Woo-Jin answered CEO Jang¡¯s question, which sounded much calmer than the first time around, with the same look on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I did the right thing, it¡¯s just that I am not ashamed of what I did. If I gave up on shooting the scene out of consideration towards you, it would have been disgraceful of me.¡±


    - It might have gone smoothly today, but there¡¯s no guarantee that you won¡¯t make a mistake in the future.


    ¡°I¡¯m not foolish enough to do something that I have no control over. Today¡¯s stunts were truly doable.¡± The tone of his voice as he grumbled a little was full of youthful exuberance that people his age had. That was the reason why Jang Soo-Hwan kept getting deceived. Even though Woo-Jin was not as naive and innocent as he seemed, Jang Soo-Hwan was still deceived by his appearance and innocent smile. Just like right now.


    - As you wish, I will not blindly oppose your decisions in the future. However, bear in mind that this should also be your last time recklessly doing whatever you please. Regardless of how much you want to follow your heart and act like what you¡¯ve stated in the contract, I still have a responsibility and an obligation to protect you.


    CEO Jang could not compromise anymore, and Woo-Jin did not argue with him. What Woo-Jin accomplished today would be a stepping stone to his future challenges, and it was not meant to be the start of a feud with CEO Jang.


    - However, we will have more problems to worry about in the future. Because of your actions today, I feel horrible just imagining what the other directors will demand from you in the future. I¡¯m not stopping you because it¡¯s dangerous, I¡¯m trying to tell you to take good care of yourself!


    CEO Jang shared the same concerns as Kang Ho-Soo. Since filming had already been completed, there was nothing they could do about it. What was most important right now was what would happen in the future.

 Chapter 56

    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that as well. Perhaps during the press conference, or when I get a chance to be interviewed later on, I¡¯m thinking of telling everyone it was my first time doing stunts, so I didn¡¯t know what I was doing and shot the scene recklessly. I¡¯ll also tell them that I ended up having to write a self-reflection letter because I was reprimanded by you. So CEO Jang, please be my shield. I¡¯ve shot an action scene like the one today; if I don¡¯t shoot one in the future, it¡¯s not because I¡¯m trying to weasel out of it in fear.  It¡¯s either because it¡¯s dangerous or because I really cannot do it. Regardless of what other people say, I simply can¡¯t do what I can¡¯t do.¡±


    - You sure talk well.


    ¡°Also, we need something spectacular like this to catch people¡¯s attention or give them something to talk about in order to win against The Blue Castle¡¯s Master.¡±


    - Win?


    Once again, CEO Jang was flummoxed by Woo-Jin¡¯s unexpected words. He had not been worried about the quality of the drama, but it was also true that he had not once thought about the City of Shadows winning against The Blue Castle¡¯s Master in terms of viewer ratings or popularity.


    ¡°While I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to win against them, I¡¯m shooting the drama with the determination not to lose terribly to them. Our drama is really good; it would truly be a shame for it to go unnoticed.¡±


    - I understand how you feel, but the drama production company has a marketing team and the broadcasting company will advertise it too, so why are you giving yourself such a hard time and going through all this trouble?


    ¡°In order to market and advertise it, the City of Shadows team will need something to work with and show the viewers. Come to think of it, the Blue Castle team has already released the behind-the-scenes video with the main leads in it, and it was said that they would be publishing articles about the drama every day.¡±


    Seeing how Woo-Jin was boldly asserting that he should do something in such a situation, CEO Jang got all choked up for a second. It was as though Woo-Jin was a young boy who had become the breadwinner of the family. It was very sad and heartbreaking. And it only became more pitiful as Jang Soo-Hwan wondered if Woo-Jin had jumped from the high building with such a mindset. Jang Soo-Hwan had a soft spot for pleas like that.


    When it came to choosing a production, it seemed like Woo-Jin had picked by prioritizing what he liked rather than considering the show¡¯s success rate, so the greed he was showing was rather unexpected as well.


    ¡°Of course, picking a production that I like takes priority, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s okay for it to fail. I aspire to be successful as well.¡±


    The City of Shadows did not sit back and do nothing. But even though they had been publishing some articles and had started promoting as well, there were limits to promoting the storyline of the drama itself. Apart from Woo-Jin, the other main leads were very underwhelming and the public was bound to compare the City of Shadows with The Blue Castle¡¯s Master, which had given people a lot to talk about, from the main leads to the supporting actors.


    - I suppose so, but you have to take care of your body too.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see how things go. I know that my body is precious too. I absolutely will not do anything that¡¯s too much for me to handle, so please do not worry about me too much. I¡¯m not that foolish.¡±


    Even though he had wondered if Woo-Jin had done something like that because he was such a smart fella, when he heard Woo-Jin¡¯s argument as an actor, he could not blindly oppose, so CEO Jang confirmed it with him again.


    - Right?


    It might be more productive to think about how to make good use of what had happened, instead of asking ¡®why did you do it?¡¯ However, CEO Jangdid not want reckless challenges like this to keep happening and only hung up the phone after he had repeatedly beseech Woo-Jin not to do it.


    Kang Ho-Soo had been watching the entire time next to Woo-Jin as he talked to CEO Jang on the phone. He did not try to hide the look of surprise on his face as he asked Woo-Jin, ¡°You said all of those things, and yet the CEO still was not mad?¡±


    ¡°He was mad at me, but it seems like he had a lot to think about first.¡±


    Woo-Jin was well-aware of the temperament of people like CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. While having control and having the upper hand was important, CEO Jang was not someone who liked it when people blindly and obediently obeyed him. Furthermore, because he was more passionate than anyone else, he had a huge desire for his artistes to produce high-quality work. The best way his artistes, who CEO Jang protected and cherished, could repay him was by producing remarkable works.


    In contrast with Woo-Jin¡¯s carefree and laid-back attitude, Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s mind was in a complete mess after he had hung up the phone. He could not help but think that it really had been like what Woo-Jin said - that he really had been shielding his artists from any challenges. He began to become more and more concerned that he had been holding back his artistes as a result.


    Jang Soo-Hwan understood and liked the artistes¡¯ eccentric and unique actions so, there were quite a number of artistes with such temperament in DS. In other words, there were no rules prohibiting other artistes from doing the same thing Woo-Jin did in the future. But, just because Woo-Jin had gloriously succeeded did not mean the same success was guaranteed for the rest of his artistes.  Just thinking about it sent a chill down Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s spine as he shuddered.


    CEO Jang replayed the video Kang Ho-Soo had sent him. Even though it was not taken professionally, it was filled with tension and looked extremely cool. If they were to air the finished product that was professionally shot and edited, it would definitely look fantastic. Since Park Jong-Hyuk was also good at producing the best scenes, Woo-Jin would not have suffered in vain.


    It was truly a joyous thing for Jang Soo-Hwan to have been able to watch such a phenomenal scene, and he was proud to have an actor who could display such wonderful acting in his company. He had been about to get extremely angry, but when he heard Woo-Jin¡¯s voice and looked at the footage, his heart softened, and he got greedy.


    He wanted to continue seeing Woo-Jin act and looked forward to seeing what kind of acting Woo-Jin had in store for everyone to see. In hindsight, he realized that at some point, the actors in DS had begun to choose only the safe paths. The fence that Jang Soo-Hwan had built to fend off their enemies had been successful, but at the same time, it had restrained his artistes, preventing them from reaching their potential.


    Although DS was an agency so difficult to enter that people had coined a new term, ¡®the DS qualification exam,¡¯ there were still artistes who chose to leave every now and then.


    Perhaps the source of their frustration was the environment created by Jang Soo-Hwan - a  safe paradise with no challenges was bound to be boring.


    It would have been even weirder if discontentment had not accumulated since not only were they not able to act the way they wanted, they also could not appear in variety programs or commercials because CEO Jang felt that they were not good enough for his artistes. Jang Soo-Hwan had thought he had given them a fair amount of compensation, but now he wondered if that mindset itself was wrong. He had not been like this in the beginning. He used to like and enjoy challenges and taking risks. He could not even remember when he had started to change.


    ¡°I was a CEO who held my artistes back.¡±


    Feeling regret and shame upon having that realization, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan continued fiddling with his phone. Even though it was hard for him to change right away, he was willing to do so, and he had many reasons as well. He wanted to keep seeing the acting he had seen a little while ago, and he hoped that the actor who had produced such an acting would continue to stay in his agency and remain safe for a long time.


    ¡°First things first!¡± CEO Jang could not sit back and wash his hands of the publicity of the drama as he had done until now. He hated to see Park Jong-Hyuk add another success story to his name, but there was nothing he could do. In order to gain something, one had to lose something. Even though he truly hated Park Jong-Hyuk, the director also had the talent that CEO Jang adored.


    Even though it was still early in the morning, Jang Soo-Hwan rushed to call the CEO of the production company of the drama. He had decided to let go of his complacency that things would work and become more active. He had to do something before the ¡®breadwinner¡¯, the young boy whom he cherished, did anything else in the future.


    ¡°Yeah, regardless of how great the opponent is, like Goliath, we have our very own David.¡± [1]


    Jang Soo-Hwan smiled as he looked at the morning sunlight shining through the window. It seemed like the day to start something new.


    ***


    Once they had overcome a huge obstacle, everything after that was just trivial challenges. When it came to physical fights, Woo-Jin¡¯s movements were beyond reproach, which had already been proven when they had shot Death Hill. In fact, he had gotten a lot better than before ¨C a double kick in mid-air without the help of wires was nothing to him. Exercising and training regularly had helped a lot.


    He ascended the wall with one foot and ran a couple of steps before doing a flying kick. He looked as graceful and agile as a jaguar. The production crew¡¯s jaws dropped in awe. They had never imagined he would be able to do something like this without the help of any equipment.


    ¡°I guess after ascending the wall once, doing it again isn¡¯t a big deal anymore.¡± Even though that statement was true, everyone glared at the person who said it for speaking in the middle of the shoot. That person seem to hunch his shoulders as he became silent.


    After striking his opponent in the neck with his long leg, Woo-Jin made a full turn in order to regain his balance. As he did so, he placed his left hand on his opponent''s shoulder before jumping and running into the distance.


    After rehearsing once, Woo-Jin insisted that he could pull it off without the wires, and so, the shooting began without him being bogged down by the wires. It was a lot more convenient and easy to move without the wire vest. However, Woo-Jin was the only one feeling carefree. All the other people watching could not help but keep feeling nervous. Although they were impressed and amazed by him being able to do somersaults using only his body strength without the help of wires and springboard, the people watching also had to be careful and keep an eye on him in case an accident occurred. Accidents were unpredictable and could happen at any moment.


    ¡°What are you doing, you bastard?¡±


    It was a scene where a security guard, played by an action actor, yelled at Louie and swung a club at him. Originally, Louie was supposed to grab the club, twist it before yanking it out of his hand, and swing it instead. However, the actor had felt excited by the rhythmic action scene and swung the club at full strength. Naturally, the club had slammed against Woo-Jin¡¯s palm as he reached out to grab it.


    ¡°Keuk¡­¡±


    Fortunately, the club was made of plastic and was hollow on the inside, and had been painted over with metallic paint. However, the actor had swung subconsciously and the club had gained momentum before smacking against Woo-Jin¡¯s palm. Naturally, there was no way it did not hurt. Woo-Jin¡¯s palm throbbed with pain as the red marks started to feel warm.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    The production director and the production crew stopped working and ran over to Woo-Jin. Kang Ho-Soo squeezed through and grabbed at Woo-Jin¡¯s wrist and looked at his hand as he asked about his condition loudly.


    ¡°It hurts a little, but it will be better soon. Getting hit by a plastic stick is not a big deal.¡± Kang Ho-Soo could no longer hold his anger back and flew into a rage after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s indifferent remark.


    ¡°What¡¯s fine about it!? Are you only going to be an actor for a year or two? Don¡¯t you know there¡¯s a possibility of you getting bone-related disorders later on if you just leave it?! Is that why you¡¯re so carefree and reckless about your own body? And also, you might be fine with it, but I¡¯m not. If I let something like this happen, I would be disqualified as a manager. Are you going to make me into an incompetent person like that?¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled slightly when he heard Kang Ho-Soo shouting ceaselessly at him.  Since dawn, Kang Ho-Soo had been dropping honorifics when he spoke to Woo-Jin. He was oblivious to the fact since he had been preoccupied with expressing his rage and worry.


    ¡°Why are you smiling? Regardless of what you say this time, I¡¯m taking you to the hospital first.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you think I¡¯ll calm down just because you¡¯re¡­ wait, you¡¯re going to the hospital?


    For some reason, he had thought Woo-Jin would smile and say that he was alright, so when he agreed, Kang Ho-Soo was taken by surprise.


    ¡°Production Director, can we go to the hospital real quick?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t worry about the shoot. Hurry up and go to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°After you get out of here, cross the crosswalk and go down in the direction of the station, you will see an orthopedic clinic.¡±


    After reading the room, a quick-witted staff member started searching immediately and told them the exact location of the hospital. Kang Ho-Soo checked the time; it was now 11 a.m.


    ¡°The clinic is open till 2 pm on Saturday.¡± As the staff continued to explain, Kang Ho-Soo grabbed Woo-Jin and tried to leave the set in a hurry.


    ¡°Hyung, I¡¯m fine so please don¡¯t be too worried.¡± Woo-Jin gently closed and opened his right hand as he smiled at the action actor who had hit him with the club. Even though it hurt a little, he tried his best to keep a straight face and hide his pain for the sake of the person who had been more concerned about him than Woo-Jin himself was.


    ¡°Ah, alright. Go get your hand treated¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sorry. We tried to do our best and ended up making a mistake. We¡¯ll just have to do a better job next time.¡±


    Action actors or extras would end up finding themselves in a very difficult situation if they injured the main actor.  This was because the storyline would not be affected even if they were not in the film or drama,  so if the main actor did not want to see their faces, the crew would have no choice but to fire them.


    Woo-Jin did not know what would happen since he did not know what Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was like, but the action actor would most likely have a lot to worry about. Woo-Jin wanted to lighten the mood first and ease the actor¡¯s burden. There was no need for them to be embarrassed or upset over this any further. Due to the nature of his role, he had to keep working with action actors till the end of the drama. If they were to be careful with one another, nothing would happen.


    The rigid atmosphere at the filming site naturally softened thanks to Woo-Jin acting normally and even joking that he would take a break before coming back. Even though it was a short distance, Kang Ho-Soo drove Woo-Jin to the hospital. Hwang Yi-Young, who had tagged along, had found some ice and was using it as a cold compress on Woo-Jin¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Noona, are you still mad at me?¡±


    Since yesterday, Hwang Yi-Young had not spoken with Woo-Jin. While Kang Ho-Soo had fought with Production Director Park yesterday in a bid to stop Woo-Jin from shooting, she had only been able to stamp her feet repeatedly from a distance in anxiety.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me! Because I really hate you.¡±


    She had heard Woo-Jin¡¯s thoughts and convictions about being an actor, but apart from that, there was something else that made her upset and angry.


    1. This is a biblical reference to David and Goliath. Goliath was a Philistine giant who was defeated by young David in single combat. This reference is widely used to denote an underdog situation, where the smaller and weaker opponent faces a bigger and stronger enemy. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 57

    ¡°You have absolutely no idea why we¡¯re mad.¡± Hwang Yi-Young said ¡®we¡¯ instead of ¡®I¡¯. That meant that even if Kang Ho-Soo was not saying it, he shared the same sentiment as her.


    ¡°You¡¯re upset because I acted alone without consulting anyone.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but what really pissed me off was that you did all of that without taking us into consideration the entire time.¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, you probably knew we would have stopped you if we found out about it. However, if you had made an effort in the beginning to convince us and CEO Jang as you did after the fact, would we have blindly opposed it?¡±


    Since Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young were just employees, they had no authority over the company policies that governed Woo-Jin. It was a fact that even if they had not opposed his plan, there was nothing they could have done for him. Putting it bluntly, if both of them had helped Woo-Jin, they might have had to resign.


    ¡°But at the very least, we would have gotten a solid confirmation and assurance of your rights and safety from Production Director Park, and we would have prepared for the worst-case scenario. Just because nothing happened doesn¡¯t mean it''s unnecessary. You prepare because there is always the slightest possibility that something could go wrong.  But, you were so confident in yourself that you simply ignored the entire process. The stunts must have looked easy to you and you probably couldn¡¯t understand why we were nervous and worried about something so trivial. If you want to argue about efficiency, it would have been better to complete everything quickly without cumbersome procedures for the sake of convenience. But Woo-Jin, we are not you. There was no assurance and we were just terrified. You didn¡¯t give us any confidence and made us tremble in fear. You did that to the people who love and care about you the most out of everybody here on site.¡±


    Right now, it was natural for Production Director Park to treat Woo-Jin kindly and gently while saying that Woo-Jin was doing amazing. That was because Woo-Jin had done everything so well without the production director having to gripe or act harshly towards him. This was the result of the cooperation between the production director and the actor for the sake of producing the drama. However, if one were to look at the intention behind their actions, it was similar yet different at the same time.


    If Woo-Jin made the best choice after considering his pride as an actor and the production, then it could be said that Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk only took the drama¡¯s production into consideration. No matter what he did, Park Jong-Hyuk was a person who would not be ashamed of anything as long as it was for the production. He wasn¡¯t a person who felt gratitude or had a sense of altruism towards other people and Woo-Jin had ultimately hurt the people who loved him by believing such a person.


    ¡°As an actor, you must have wanted to be proud of yourself, but hear me out. Even though you only have a small injury, Ho-Soo oppa and I, as well as everyone else at the site, were nervous and worried. There are people like us who care about you, and there are also people like Production Director Park who¡¯s worried that the shooting will be disrupted if something happens to you. In a way, it means that you¡¯re a precious and important person. And yet our worries just seem ridiculous to you?¡±


    Woo-Jin shook his head after hearing Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s question. He had never thought of it that way ¨C he had only thought he had to work hard and do his best.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the production crew or the production director that would be with you if something were to happen to you. Just like now, we¡¯d be the ones who¡¯ll be with you. A drama is a production put together by actors and the production crew, but we¡¯re the ones who make Chae Woo-Jin the human into an actor. We are the staff members that specially cater to you and only you. If you¡¯re committed and loyal to your job, please respect what we do as well.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s job was to take care of Woo-Jin and manage him. In his arrogance, Woo-Jin had prevented them from doing their job.


    ¡°Noona¡­I truly didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡±


    ¡°I know, but even if it wasn¡¯t your intention to do that, you disregarded us with your actions.¡± Seeing Hwang Yi-Young biting her lip and trying to hold back her tears, Woo-Jin started to realize what he had done wrong.


    Yesterday¡¯s shooting had been extremely easy with zero difficulties for Woo-Jin. He simply could not understand why the people around him were getting flustered and kicking a huge fuss even though he was fine. It was to the point where he was beginning to question them ¨C ¡®I said I¡¯m fine, but why can¡¯t they trust me?¡¯


    Woo-Jin had felt a strong desire to complete everything quickly without having to deal with cumbersome procedures since they were running out of time. He had only focused on acting and felt that any issues that may stem from it were secondary. He also believed that those issues could be resolved as long as filming went smoothly since all of them were just people he had a working relationship with.


    However, Hwang Yi-Young was talking about the weight of the affection and trust between people. Woo-Jin had disregarded the influence his actions had on others, and he had lacked the depth of affection to understand the other party¡¯s feelings. Hwang Yi-Young had understood Woo-Jin¡¯s state of mind and she was feeling hurt over it.


    ¡°And more importantly, the people who are loved are obligated to understand the feelings of the people who love them. Even if you can¡¯t love all of them, at the very least, you shouldn¡¯t disregard their feelings. If you do that, you¡¯ll either become an arrogant person who treats people around them badly or you¡¯ll become a cold-hearted person. I hope you don¡¯t become someone like that.¡±


    Some of the members of the idol group Hwang Yi-Young had been in charge of had been like that. Initially, they had been innocent and friendly, but eventually, they had gotten used to the love and affection showered by the public and had taken it for granted. And after a certain point, they started calculating people¡¯s feelings and assessing both people and feelings in terms of material value instead of feeling grateful. They had given up on understanding the feelings of the people who loved them and only pursued their own desires.


    Hwang Yi-Young truly hoped that Woo-Jin would not go down that path. Even though it might seem like she was kicking a big fuss because of something so trivial, everything always started from something insignificant and trivial. A person could get used to circumstances without realizing it and gradually change as a result.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    After hearing what Hwang Yi-Young said, Woo-Jin suddenly remembered his mother If he thought back to how his mother had cried as she watched the scene where his character had been beaten to death in Death Hill, he had a rough idea of the rollercoaster of emotions Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young must have experienced yesterday.


    Even though Hwang Yi-Young and Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s feelings might be different from his family¡¯s, he couldn¡¯t ignore the depths of their feelings. Also, when he thought about how his family would react once yesterday¡¯s filming was aired, he had nothing to say. If Woo-Hee had done the same thing he had done, then regardless of whether she was capable of doing it or now, he would have been very furious.


    ¡°Hyung, noona, I¡¯m truly sorry. I was arrogant.¡±


    He thought he only had to do a good job as an actor; then, everyone would be happy and understanding of what he had done. He had made a huge mistake by being inconsiderate and disregarding the feelings of the people who were worried about him and thought of him as a human being first before an actor.


    What was the point of remembering his past lives? He was still unaware of the weight of the feelings that existed between people. That was the inherent limitation of his soul. But that did not mean he intended to give up on understanding the emotions between people. Just like how he loved his family and liked his friends, he was determined to try his best to understand and have affection for other people by gradually expanding his circle.


    He hoped that by doing so, someday he would someday become a better person than he currently was. Making the people around him sad like he was right now was not the direction he wanted to go in life. He never wanted to remain a lonely and cold-hearted person as he had in his past lives. If Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t remembered his past lives, he never would have become aware of his own problems.


    ¡®I have to go to heaven.¡¯


    Even as he was sincerely repenting his actions, Woo-Jin recalled the one goal he had in life.


    At some point, they had arrived at the orthopedic clinic, but Kang Ho-Soo simply parked the car in the parking lot and remained quiet. He wanted to give Hwang Yi-Young some time to tell Woo-Jin the things he wanted to say in his stead. Regardless of how much he tried, he did not have the gift of expressing his feelings as coherently as she did. That¡¯s why he was secretly rooting for her.


    Hwang Y-Young couldn''t help but burst into tears at Woo-Jin''s sincere apology. She quickly covered her swollen eyes with a tissue before waving.


    ¡°I¡¯m done talking, so hurry up and get your hand checked out. We¡¯re going to be late.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young said she wanted to stay in the car so Woo-Jin and Kang Ho-Soo left her behind and went up to the orthopedic clinic on the second floor. The clinic the staff had found for them was famous for treating arthritis, so Woo-Jin and Kang Ho-Soo saw quite a number of elderly people the moment they had entered the clinic. While Kang Ho-Soo was registering on his behalf, Woo-Jin quietly sat in his chair and waited. His face became a bit serious as the conversation he just had with Hwang Yi-Young lingered on his mind and made him feel depressed and full of remorse.


    ¡°Where are you hurting?¡± an elderly woman asked. Even though his gloomy vibe was making it hard for people to easily approach him, the elderly lady had craned her neck and made eye contact with him.  Woo-Jin replied that he had injured himself and showed her his red palm.


    ¡°This is a clinic where a lot of people with arthritis come to get treated, so I thought that you had arthritis at such a young age and became concerned. Even though you¡¯re someone else¡¯s child, when I see young people, I think of them as my grandchildren. Oh no, it¡¯s red and swollen! It must be very painful.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I broke any bones, but I came to get it checked out just in case.¡± Woo-Jin opened and clenched his right fist slowly. Only then did the look of worry in the elderly woman¡¯s eyes dissipate.


    ¡°Yeah, you have to see a doctor right away if you get hurt. If you don¡¯t do anything about it, you will suffer when you¡¯re older like me. When I was younger, I was busy every day trying to make a living to feed my children, so I didn¡¯t bother going to the hospital. Now that I¡¯m old, all I have left is a sick body, and my children think I¡¯m annoying,¡± mumbled the elderly woman, sounding a little dejected. There was also regret in her voice. However, shortly after, she shook her head slightly and smiled at Woo-Jin. Even though she had a lot of wrinkles, she looked very beautiful.


    ¡°You know, now that I¡¯m looking at you closely, I see that you¡¯re very good-looking. You look like my grandson.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I thought he looked like my grandson too as soon as I saw him.¡± An elderly woman, sitting in front of them had been listening to their conversation the entire time. Now, she turned around and looked up and down at the elderly woman who had spoken first. It was a sarcastic remark that seemed to imply it was hard for someone with her genes to produce a descendant that looked as good as him.


    ¡°Perhaps your grandson and my grandson look alike. Maybe we have the same ancestors?¡± However, the first elderly lady must have been broad-minded. She simply smiled and was intrigued by what the other elderly woman said. Woo-Jin, who was stuck in the middle, felt too awkward to say anything. He just smiled awkwardly and nodded.


    ¡°But I think I¡¯ve seen your face many times before.¡±


    ¡°I feel the same way. Are you a celebrity? I think I¡¯ve seen you in a drama before.¡±


    The two elderly women talked to Woo-Jin at the same time, curious about who he was.


    ¡°I¡¯m an actor, but my drama hasn''t aired yet. It¡¯ll be aired on Wednesday and Thursday on SBC in mid-October.¡± When Woo-Jin seized this opportunity and cleverly promoted his drama, the elderly women said they had expected it and whipped out their phones, wanting to take a photo with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing a celebrity in person in my entire life. Can we take a photo together? I¡¯m going to show my grandchildren later on and brag about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind taking photos with you, but I¡¯m not that famous, so your grandchildren will be disappointed.¡±


    ¡°So what? I¡¯ll just say that you¡¯re an actor that I like.¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled widely and took a photo with them. He even signed an autograph for them with his injured hand. The elderly people who had been watching them joined in and took photos with him as well, and received his autograph.

 Chapter 58

    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin! Please head over to consultation room 2.¡± Woo-Jin got up from his seat and said goodbye to the elderly people before entering the room. When it was time for his checkup, the elderly nudged him and told him to get going, unlike their earlier behavior where they crowded around him to get his autograph and take photos.


    As Woo-Jin turned around to go to the consultation room, he made eye contact with the nurses who were taking photos of him with their phones. Unlike the elderly folks, they recognized Chae Woo-Jin as soon as they had laid eyes on him. Woo-Jin bowed slightly and greeted the nurses who were blushing before entering the examination room and had his X-rays taken. While waiting for the results, Woo-Jin took photos with the nurses. Unlike the elders, the nurses did not ask him for his autograph since he had injured his right hand.


    ¡°Your bones and nerves were not injured, but inflammation may occur, so please take your prescribed medications. If it still continues to hurt, then please come back again, and use a cold compress religiously.¡± The attending physician did not know who Woo-Jin was; the physician was kind and had treated him like an ordinary patient, looking at him with a calm gaze that lacked excitement.


    As soon as Woo-Jin left the consultation room, a nurse gave him a small bottle of frozen water, and told him that it was more convenient than using an ice pack.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, rest in the car while I collect your medicine.¡± After speaking casually to Woo-Jin previously, Kang Ho-Soo had become more at ease with Woo-jin. It seemed that Kang Ho-Soo wasn¡¯t aware of it, so Woo-Jin tried his best to hold back his laughter and nodded. They went down to the first floor together, but Kang Ho-Soo headed towards the pharmacy, while Woo-Jin walked towards the parking lot.


    ¡°Meow~!¡± Suddenly, Woo-Jin heard the faint cry of a cat and stopped in his tracks. As he looked around the parking lot, he heard the cat crying again. At the same time, he spotted a cat poking itself out between the pillars, making its way towards him.


    ¡°You¡¯re a cheese cat too huh.¡± It was a pale ivory cat with slightly darker yellow ochre stripes. The nickname, ¡®cheese cat¡¯, which he had learned from one of the Glooming Day¡¯s staff the other day in Busan, was befitting for it.


    Initially, he had assumed that it was a stray cat. It was a British Shorthair that looked rather old. It looked very dirty ¨C it must have either gotten lost, or it had been abandoned because of its old age. Woo-Jin was afraid that if he were to get close to the cat, it would be frightened and run away, so he stayed still. However, the cat came up to him first and rubbed its face against his feet.


    Woo-Jin squatted down and examined the cat after hearing its meows. Seeing how happy the cat looked, as well as how it kept showing him affection by purring and rubbing its body against him, a name appeared in Woo-Jin¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Woo-Sa?¡±


    ¡°Meow~!¡±


    After hearing the happiness in its cry, Woo-Jin quickly checked the cat¡¯s right front paw. A long time ago, Woo-Sa¡¯s paw got caught in the wheel of his bicycle, and the wound had left a deep scar. There was a visible scar on its paw that could be seen between its fur, causing Woo-Jin to choke up.


    ¡°You¡¯re really Woo-Sa.¡±


    Woo-Sa meowed and responded to Woo-Jin every time he said its name, and Woo-Jin was unable to laugh or cry as he stroked Woo-Sa.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, what are you doing there?¡±


    Woo-Jin did not go to the car after entering the parking lot, so Hwang Yi-Young stepped out of the car and called out to him. When Woo-Sa heard Woo-Jin¡¯s name, it picked up its ears and tapped Woo-Jin with its paw. When Woo-Jin was younger, they had often played a game where Woo-Sa would go up to him and tap him with its paw every time it heard Woo-Jin¡¯s name. Woo-Jin could not bring himself to smile and picked Woo-Sa up and showed it to Hwang Yi-Young.


    ¡°What is this cat? It¡¯s kind of¡­¡± Even though Hwang Yi-Young was pretending to be nice, she did not have the heart to say anything harsh to Woo-Jin, who was holding a cat that looked old and dirty. She just frowned.


    ¡°This is my cat, Woo-Sa.¡± Woo-Jin introduced Woo-Sa with a bright smile. They had been reunited after 12 years. Kang Ho-Soo, who had gotten back from the pharmacy, was also very surprised by this coincidental encounter.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that this is the cat you had left behind in your father¡¯s house when your parents had gotten a divorce? How can you be sure of that?¡± All the cats of the same breed and color looked the same, and so, Kang Ho-Soo found it hard to believe the cat was his.


    ¡°Firstly, its breed, eye color, and the patterns of its fur are exactly the same, according to what I remember. And it has the same wound on its front paw over here. Also, Woo-San?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Woo-Hee!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Woo-Sa!¡±


    ¡°Meow~!¡±


    After seeing Woo-Sa¡¯s immediate response, Woo-Jin looked at Kang Ho-Soo triumphantly.


    ¡°Most importantly, I just know it. Even though we only spent two years together, I remember Woo-Sa very clearly, just like how Woo-Sa recognizes me.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I got it. It¡¯s great but we have to bring it to the vet first,¡± said Hwang Yi-Young out of disgust. The protagonist of the beautiful story was great to look at, but Hwang Yi-Young could no longer stand the sight of Woo-Jin holding the cat and continuously rubbing his face against it. After searching for the closest animal clinic and arriving there, Hwang Yi-Young was finally at peace.


    ¡°Is it a senior cat?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s around 14 years old..¡±


    ¡°Judging from its condition, did the two of you just reunite after you lost it recently? I think it had been roaming the streets for a few days. In my opinion, it would be better for you to take it to the clinic you normally go to.¡±  Since it was a senior cat, there must have been a clinic which it visits regularly. The director of the animal clinic had recommended them to take it there, as there were various reasons why it would be more beneficial than taking it to a clinic they had never been to before.


    ¡°A few days?¡± However, Woo-Jin had something else on his mind. It was fortunate that Woo-Sa had not been on the streets for too long, but the thought of Woo-Sa roaming the streets for even a few days made Woo-Jin¡¯s heartache. Hwang Yi-Young then recounted the story to the director on behalf of the depressed Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how both of them still recognize each other after 12 years.¡± Normally, people would not readily believe such a story, but the director easily understood and empathized with Woo-Jin¡¯s situation. He knew from experience that it was not unbelievable, as he was someone who understood the connection between humans and animals better than anyone else.


    After being washed and groomed at the pet groomer, which was run by the animal clinic, they took Woo-Sa¡¯s X-rays before running quite a number of tests.


    ¡°Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t have any major illnesses. However, it has arthritis because of its old age. There aren''t any major problems apart from it being slightly malnourished as it hasn¡¯t eaten much in the past few days.¡± The cat hadn¡¯t sustained any injuries despite living on the streets for a few days so the director went on to praise Woo-Sa for being a smart cat since it meant that it must have been good at avoiding dangerous situations.


    As if he was the one being praised, Woo-Jin felt flattered. He was in a good mood and thus, he bought a bunch of cat supplies from the animal clinic.


    ¡°Are you planning to keep it?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Although you¡¯re its original owner, would it be okay for you to do that? You need to consider the fact that there is someone else out there who has been raising this cat for 12 years.¡± Kang Ho-Soo proceeded to tell him that it would be fine to keep the cat if it had been abandoned, but if the owner lost the cat, they might be having a hard time looking for it. He continued to argue that if they had raised the cat for 12 years, it would mean that they loved the cat very much. Thus, it would not be right to overlook it.


    ¡°If they had lost the cat, they''d be looking for it right now. If that¡¯s not the case, it would mean that they had abandoned it,¡± said Hwang Yi-Young coldly, as she ran a search on a website for missing cats. She also added that they could search for missing cat posters in the area later on during their free time. After hearing what she had said, the three of them rushed back to the filming site with a peace of mind.


    They were unexpectedly delayed because of Woo-Sa, so when they returned to the set, the ambiance was quite tense. Kang Ho-Soo had only informed them that they would be slightly late, so all kinds of speculations as to whether Woo-Jin¡¯s injury was more serious than they had thought had been made because they were unaware of the details.


    Contrary to their concerns and worries, Woo-Jin arrived at the set smiling brightly. He was holding a cat they had never seen before and was busy showing it off to the people there. Woo-Jin indirectly recounted the story of what had happened 12 years ago, and thanked the action actor who had caused this fateful meeting. Woo-Jin was so polite and treated him as though he was his benefactor that it made the actor feel awkward.


    As soon as the misunderstanding had cleared up, Production Director Park realized that he had been worrying over nothing, and yelled at Woo-Jin, ¡°Hey, Chae Woo-Jin! Is the cat the most important thing right now?¡± Even though he was glad to know that Woo-Jin was in a much better condition now because of the cat, it was not important now.


    Since Woo-Jin had been doing a good job with the action scenes thus far, they were able to save more time than expected. However, that did not mean they could afford to procrastinate and relax. Filming a drama is a race against time, so they had to save time whenever possible.


    ¡°Understood, sir!¡±


    Time was also precious to Woo-Jin since he had to wrap up quickly so that he could go over to Hyun-Min¡¯s house to work on their group project. However, it was also Woo-Jin¡¯s job to soothe Woo-Sa, who did not want to leave his side. Luckily, Woo-Sa was sitting quietly nearby, feeling satisfied with Woo-Jin watching over it from nearby. It had made a clever judgment about the situation and was aware of how it should behave.


    ¡°By the way, what have you been doing since just now?¡± On their way back, Kang Ho-Soo finally realized he had been speaking casually after Hwang Yi-Young had brought it up. After some deliberation, they had decided to speak casually to one another since things had already come to this. Woo-Jin¡¯s apology to Hwang Yi-Young and Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s casual speech earlier had helped them get closer, so the ambiance between them had improved.


    Hwang Yi-Young had asked Kang Ho-Soo that question out of curiosity, as Kang Ho-Soo had been searching for something online for quite some time. Judging from his serious facial expression, she wondered if something terrible had happened and she was worried.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Woo-Sa. I don¡¯t think we have to look for its owner anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also searched on the website for missing cats earlier, but I couldn¡¯t find anything. It¡¯s hard to say for sure.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m certain. I looked up Woo-Jin¡¯s half-sister¡¯s social media accounts just in case, and she wrote a post yesterday evening, saying that the cat she had raised for 12 years had died.¡± Hwang Yi-Young was startled after hearing what Kang Ho-Soo had said and stood up immediately. Woo-Sa, who was sitting next to her, pricked its ears and glanced furtively at Hwang Yi-Young.


    ¡°Oppa, do you know who Woo-Jin¡¯s half-sister is?¡± asked Hwang Yi-Young in surprise. She did not know much about Woo-Jin¡¯s family history, so she asked Kang Ho-Soo about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s written in the data given to me by CEO Jang. After talking to Woo-Jin about it, he didn¡¯t seem to know who she was, so I tried to tell him about it, but he said he didn¡¯t want to know about it.¡±


    ¡°I see. But what did she write on her social media? She said that Woo-Sa died?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a simple caption. She just said that she¡¯s very sad that the cat she had raised for 12 years died, and asked people to comfort her. She even uploaded a photo of Woo-Sa.¡±


    Looking at the posts that she had uploaded previously, the cat sitting next to them was clearly Woo-Sa. Woo-Jin¡¯s half-sister emphasized that she was a cat lover who had raised a cat for 12 years, and made use of Woo-Sa to create this fake online persona.


    The truth might be different, but Kang Ho-Soo had a strong hunch that this was the case. ¡°I don¡¯t think that she had abandoned Woo-Sa ¨C she might have lost it. However, she was probably too lazy to look for it, so she just assumed that it¡¯s dead and called it a day.¡±


    ¡°Woooow~!¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young could not contain her curiosity and tried to snatch the phone that Kang Ho-Soo was holding, but was unsuccessful. The tall man raised his hand and quickly locked the screen, leaving the woman to flail her arms in the air.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just show it to me?¡±


    ¡°Even Woo-Jin himself doesn¡¯t know who she is, so it¡¯s not right for you to know her identity.¡±


    ¡°Woo-Jin said he doesn¡¯t want to know, but I want to know.¡±


    ¡°This is someone else¡¯s family business. Just drop it.¡±


    Since Kang Ho-Soo was firm about it, Hwang Yi-Young couldn¡¯t ask more and had to keep her mouth shut. However, regardless of how much she told herself to be patient, she eventually reached her limit and asked another question in a softer voice.


    ¡°By the way, is the half-sister the same age as Woo-Hee?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then, does Woo-Jin have any other half-siblings?¡±

 Chapter 59

    Kang Ho-Soo hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to answer Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s question. The story about Woo-Jin¡¯s family affairs was akin to a makjang drama, and Kang Ho-Soo was unsure of talking about it in Woo-Jin¡¯s absence. [1] However, he felt that Hwang Yi-Young should know a little more of the inside information, so he finally said something, ¡°He did, but not anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal family didn¡¯t run a conventional conglomerate, but they were still very well-off and successful; the business passed down from generation to generation had also been solid. Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father, who had inherited the business, was a good businessman, and the family business had prospered under his leadership. He had also started a new business on top of that and was currently on a roll.


    However, there¡¯s no such thing as a human who¡¯s perfect in all aspects, as one could tell by looking at Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father. After getting a divorce, Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father remarried shortly after. His new wife was a docile woman coming from a rather good family. She had given birth to a son the following year, but she couldn¡¯t stand the marriage any longer and got a divorce five years later because of the continued extramarital affair by Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father with the same mistress.


    ¡°So, his wife from his third marriage is the biological mother of Woo-Jin¡¯s half-sister.¡±


    ¡°His mistress has finally become his lawful wife?¡±


    ¡°You can say that. However, the problem is that Woo-Jin¡¯s younger brother¡­ had passed away in a horseback riding accident last year.¡± All the problems stemmed from Woo-Jin¡¯s younger brother¡¯s death from the previous year.


    ¡°In that case, that would mean Woo-Jin is the only son in the family now. Don¡¯t tell me his biological father is suddenly trying to win him over by saying things like, ¡®You¡¯re my only son,¡¯ etcetera. That¡¯s not the case, right?¡± Hwang Yi-Young had a serious look as she continued saying how she had seen similar things in dramas.


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s not a drama, the reality is even worse. Additionally, I heard that his family is very patriarchal, and they value sons a lot more than daughters. That said, you never know. When Woo-Jin¡¯s parents had gotten a divorce, not only did his father give up custody over their children but also gave up parental rights.¡±


    When Park Eun-Soo had asked for a divorce, the most important thing that she couldn¡¯t give up on was her parental rights and custody over Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee. Of course, it would be pointless to seek parental rights over Woo-Jin, who was now an adult, but from a symbolic and moral standpoint, his biological father was not qualified to do that.


    ¡°This is absolutely ridiculous. He doesn¡¯t care about his children or anything else when he¡¯s crazy about a woman.¡±


    ¡°Hwang Yi-Young!¡± Kang Ho-Soo felt she had gone overboard and quietly restrained her. Aware of his intention, Hwang Yi-Young covered her mouth with both hands as she nodded.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s been undergoing fertility treatments with his wife for the time being. If they succeed, Chae Woo-Jin won¡¯t be in their lives, just like it¡¯s always been. But if it fails¡­.¡± Just thinking about it made his head hurt. Naturally, Woo-Jin would not waver or change his mind. It was more of a question of how the other side would act. If his biological father tried to act fatherly because of his need for Woo-Jin instead of genuine fatherly love, it would definitely hurt Woo-Jin.


    ¡°We should be prepared to a certain extent.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, I feel that Woo-Jin¡¯s half-sister is kind of pitiful. Her presence must have been unwelcomed in her stepmother¡¯s eyes, being labeled as an illegitimate child, and as a result, might have gone through some kind of trauma during her adolescence.¡± After hearing what the kindhearted Hwang Yi-Young said, Kang Ho-Soo couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter and burst out laughing. They were sitting quite a distance away from the set, so it did not affect the shooting, but he quickly covered his mouth, stifling his laughter.


    ¡°Pitiful? Her?¡± It might be pure speculation or prejudice, but when Kang Ho-Soo had taken a look at her social media accounts, he had a feeling that she had made use of her half-brother¡¯s death to create a pitiful image for herself, similar to what she had done with Woo-Sa. Perhaps her mother¡¯s former acting profession had influenced her, which could explain why she was very good at putting on an act.


    ¡°You know that she¡¯s the same age as Woo-Hee, right?¡± When Hwang Yi-Young nodded, Kang Ho-Soo proceeded to tell her all about the 18-year-old girl¡¯s splendid life.


    Woo-Hee and that girl¡¯s birthdays were only three months apart. So, after the divorce, without any explanations, people had naturally assumed she was Woo-Hee. It had been a reasonable conclusion regardless of her name, considering her age when she was living in the house.


    After the couple had gotten divorced, the father lived with his daughter, while the wife lived with their son. Usually, in most cases, it was the other way around. Even though people thought it was strange, nobody intervened or questioned anything, as it wasn¡¯t their family affair. And Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal family hadn¡¯t bothered correcting other people¡¯s misunderstandings either.


    After years had passed, the girl was naturally regarded as the daughter of his first wife. And after her father married for the third time, her biological mother had become her legal mother, except nobody knew that they were already related by blood. This was a much better outcome than tainting his family¡¯s name with his extramarital affair and illegitimate child.


    ¡°As long as people don''t purposely look into it like CEO Jang did, then there''s no way that child will suffer. Even though it¡¯s going to be hard for her to marry into an esteemed family that nitpicks everything since she¡¯s an illegitimate child, she still has a net worth of millions of dollars at such a young age. People like us are not in any position to say she¡¯s pitiful.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo truly felt that with millions of dollars worth of property in her name at her age, she probably wouldn¡¯t mind being labeled as an illegitimate child by her father¡¯s family. Hwang Yi-Young was shocked by what Kang Ho-Soo said and repeatedly mumbled millions of dollars with a spiritless smile.


    ¡°He was truly crazy about a woman to the point¡­ crazy bastard.¡±


    Even though she did not know everything about Woo-Jin¡¯s past, she knew he had struggled financially. She wondered to herself, Even though he was so heartless to his wife, did he really have to put his children through hell as well?¡¯ She also had a prejudiced thought of whether well-educated people from wealthy families were all like that. Hwang Yi-Young had a lot on her mind. That said, it didn¡¯t mean that Woo-Jin was unhappy now, so there was no reason for her to be depressed.


    ¡°Woo-Sa!¡± After hearing Hwang Yi-Young call its name, Woo-Sa glanced at her before immediately turning its head away. The arrogant Woo-Sa only looked at Woo-Jin the entire time, and although it was cold to Hwang Yi-Young, it was a warm and friendly cat towards Woo-Jin alone.


    ¡°Everyone has a cat but me¡­.¡± [2]


    This was what we called a tragedy.


    ***


    After they were done shooting, Woo-Jin spent some time with Woo-Sa during their short break. As a senior cat with arthritis, it was evident that Woo-Sa struggled with moving around a lot. However, it liked being petted by Woo-Jin as they sat still or simply stared into each other¡¯s eyes without moving. Hwang Yi-Young, who did not have a cat, spared no effort taking photos of them, as she lived vicariously through him.


    ¡®Coordinator Hwang¡¯ uploaded a post to Wish Baragi in real-time. She added photos and videos to the post that told the story about Woo-Jin and Woo-Sa¡¯s fateful reunion after 12 years of separation. There were photos of Woo-Sa¡¯s back view, as it stared at Woo-Jin while he was in the middle of shooting, as well as Woo-Sa sleeping peacefully in Woo-Jin¡¯s arms, and so on. Hwang Yi-Young had also uploaded a video of Woo-Sa pawing Woo-Jin¡¯s foot in response to her question ¨C ¡®Woo-Sa, where¡¯s Woo-Jin?¡¯


    ¡ª It¡¯s been 12 years since it last saw him, and yet it still remembers him. Animals are better than people.


    ¡ª Judging from the pictures, you can really tell it¡¯s a senior cat. Hmm¡­ perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯m a bitter person, but isn¡¯t it obvious why the old cat had been roaming around the streets for days? People are truly horrible. There should be attachment and affection after raising the cat for so many years though.


    ¡ª After reading this post, I went to look for a post uploaded by a Glooming Day staff member a month ago on his social media account. It was during the get-together after they had wrapped up the filming in Busan. He said in the post that Genie saw a stray cat and became concerned about the cat he had when he was younger. He said that he hoped it was still alive despite its old age¡­ Ah, let me wipe my tears away.


    ©¸ By the way, that cat is clearly a British Shorthair, right? That¡¯s the same breed as the one in the drawing on the Slipper Young Man¡¯s suitcase.


    ©¸ It is, right? We¡¯ve already come to the conclusion that Woo-Jin is the Slipper Young Man. The problem is, how do we make it sound plausible to the general public? It¡¯s not going to be easy at all. T_T


    ¡ª You¡¯ll meet whoever you¡¯re destined to meet, and the truth will be out one day. Our dear Genie, who has been blessed by destiny, will be alright!!


    ©¸ The commenter above me! Previously, you said that Genie ended up on Glooming Day because of destiny. You must really like destiny. Hahaha.


    ©¸ I do think it¡¯s fate though. Glooming Day had more than 5 million viewers, though 6 million would be pushing it. Nonetheless, who could have imagined that movie to be so successful? The movie he debuted in hit 10 million viewers, and the movie which everybody assumed would be a flop, ended up becoming a masterpiece, so it¡¯s fate.


    Naturally, there were several comments about various things under Woo-Sa¡¯s post. His fans were delighted with Glooming Day¡¯s success, and their anticipation for the drama he was currently shooting had been growing day by day. Even though there were concerns about The Blue Castle¡¯s Master which would be aired at the same time, ultimately, everybody stood united and agreed it was all about quality rather than viewership ratings, and reminded everyone not to miss it.


    Also, thanks to Glooming Day, Woo-Jin had been able to secure middle-aged fans and not just the young ones. There was an aspect of Glooming Day that subtly stimulated nostalgia for one¡¯s younger days. The schooling days in his youth, his subtle longing for his passionate first love, as well as his gratitude for his spouse in the present ¡ª this all had contributed to the film¡¯s success.


    Naturally, it had started with the Barags, who had gone to see the movie at the theater with their parents, so it wasn¡¯t that hard for them to include their parent fans to watch the drama when it aired. As the authority to decide what to watch on TV, their mothers¡¯ support was paramount.


    Meanwhile, another topic had come up in Wish Baragi.


    <Hi everybody! The unlucky fan strikes again. Today, my grandmother went to the clinic and ran into a celebrity, so she took a photo with him and sent it to me. It turned out to be Genie! She even got an autograph from him. My grandmother looked at Genie and said, ¡®How can anybody be so handsome and kind?¡¯ And all the other elderly folks flocked to him and took photos with him. She said he had even signed autographs for them with his injured hand.


    I was brokenhearted when Fashion Coordinator Hwang said that Genie had injured himself in the morning and went to the clinic, but just looking at the photo of Genie with my grandmother made me extremely happy. Originally, my mom was going to take my grandmother to the clinic today but couldn¡¯t accompany her because of work. And now, my mom feels very disappointed. I guess you¡¯ll have good luck if you¡¯re filial.


    But my grandmother has been saying something ridiculous ¨C that Genie looks a lot like my oldest brother, but my brother looks like a toad. Even though he¡¯s family, I can¡¯t defend and cover up the fact that he looks like a toad¡­. Genie doesn¡¯t know that, but still, I¡¯m sorry.>


    ¡ª Needlessly to say, Woo-Jin looks amazing, but your grandmother is very beautiful too. I want to see the other photos he had taken with the other elderly folks.


    ¡ª As expected, Genie oppa is kind to the elderly~!


    ¡ª Your grandmother is so beautiful that I can¡¯t imagine her grandson looking like a toad. According to Fashion Coordinator Hwang, his hand is only a little swollen, but I¡¯m worried about Woo-Jin because he has to work with Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. I hope he doesn¡¯t make Genie do questionable or dangerous things. I¡¯ll be praying every day in front of a bowl of jeonghwasoo[3].


    ©¸ I¡¯ve already been praying.


    ©¸ Count me in.


    ¡ª He¡¯ll be shooting action scenes up until tomorrow. I hope he doesn¡¯t get any more injuries and the shooting ends safely.


    ¡ª Production Director Park! If you make our Genie do questionable things, I really won¡¯t let it go. I¡¯ll use all my experience as an anti-fan and take you down!


    After looking at the comments on Wish Baragi, Hwang Yi-Young sighed and said Woo-Jin had already done something questionable by working together with Production Director Park. For some reason, she too felt like praying in front of a bowl of jeonghwasoo tonight.


    1. Makjang drama is an exaggerated over-the-top drama with unrealistic, ridiculous, and abnormal situations being the norm. Common storylines can include birth secrets, extreme revenge plots, twisted relationships, etc. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. The phrase used here is ¡®?? ?? ???¡¯, which people say when they see a cute cat. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. ??? or jeonghwasoo is the freshest and cleanest water drawn from the well at dawn. Traditionally, Koreans often prayed in front of a bowl of freshly drawn water which symbolizes the most divine and purest offering. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 60

    On Sunday afternoon, Woo-Hee closed her book and did some stretches her brother had taught her before leaving her room. Then, she snooped around the kitchen where the smell of delicious food was coming from. However, it wasn¡¯t time for dinner yet, so she turned on the TV in the living room without much thought. As Woo-Hee sat cross-legged on the floor, Woo-Sa got up from the sofa and approached her before climbing onto her lap.


    ¡°Woo-Sa~ Let¡¯s watch TV together.¡±


    Since Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t keep Woo-Sa on set, Woo-Jin¡¯s mother and Woo-Hee had personally made a trip down to bring it home the day after he found Woo-Sa. Since then, Woo-Sa often followed Woo-Hee around the house. Initially, it had refused to leave Woo-Jin¡¯s side but perhaps it recognized Park Eun-Soo, because it calmed down shortly after and rapidly adapted to the new environment.


    It was probably out of concern for the cat, but Woo-Jin had been dropping by the house frequently after his mother and sister took Woo-Sa home. It was completely different from when he had just started shooting the drama and hadn¡¯t bothered to go home. This had visibly upset his mother as she questioned if they were of lesser importance than the cat in his eyes. However, apart from that, she loved and cared about Woo-Sa very much.


    Woo-Hee vaguely remembered Woo-Sa. She remembered whining in jealousy because Woo-Sa liked her brother more than her She also remembered crying more over the fact that she would not be able to see Woo-Sa anymore rather than separating with her father. Although she couldn¡¯t remember anything about her biological father anymore, Woo-Hee still had some memories of Woo-Sa.


    Woo-Hee watched the TV while petting Woo-Sa¡¯s soft fur, but there was nothing interesting. Two unknown girls were pretending to be part-timers at a convenience store and surprising customers, but it wasn¡¯t that interesting.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    It might have been different if they were celebrities she knew, but just as she was getting bored watching people complimenting the members of an unknown idol group on their beauty, Woo-Hee saw her older brother.


    ¡°Mom, dad! Oppa is on TV!¡±


    Park Eun-Soo and Choi Min-Woo ran into the living room immediately after hearing Woo-Hee¡¯s shout. The middle-aged helper lady, who had been making dinner with Park Eun-Soo in the kitchen, also followed them.


    ¡°I need to throw those clothes immediately.¡± That was Park Eun-Soo¡¯s first reaction when she saw her son on the TV screen.


    ¡°Nevertheless, Woo-Jin still looks good despite that getup.¡± Choi Min-Woo, who had a better eye for aesthetics than most people, could not defend Woo-Jin¡¯s outfit. But even so, he had praised Woo-Jin for his good looks.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take this opportunity to get new clothes for Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point in doing that? He stubbornly only wears what he¡¯s comfortable with! It¡¯s been getting chilly in the evening these days, but look at what he¡¯s wearing. He doesn¡¯t know how to dress for each season. Still, Miss Yi-Young takes good care of him, and it seems like he¡¯s been wearing what she picks out for him, but he¡¯ll go back to wearing those clothes at any chance he gets.¡±


    Even as the two people were complaining about his outfit, they couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the TV screen and were unable to hide their sadness when they saw Woo-Jin was struggling with his group assignment. Even if they didn¡¯t know what happened with the group assignment, it was clear that juggling both shooting a drama and studying at the same time was difficult.


    After watching the segment where Woo-Jin had reassured Da-Young and Cho-Hee, Woo-Hee giggled and made fun of her brother. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s a TV program! In reality, if only two women were working at a convenience store at that time, and a man like that is loitering around, it would be truly scary. Maybe because we¡¯re watching him on the screen, but oppa looks especially gloomy today. He¡¯s a complete terror machine.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo chided her, telling her not to say such a thing about her brother, but she couldn¡¯t refute what Woo-Hee had said. Her son, who was wearing a stretched-out T-shirt and sweatpants with knee bags, dragging his flip-flops, looked different than usual ¨C there was something cold about him. Clearly, his voice sounded friendly and he had a gentle expression, but he was still giving off an intense and frigid vibe.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of the character he¡¯s playing? He¡¯s a little different from his usual self.¡± Perhaps Choi Min-Woo had also sensed the difference in Woo-Jin that only his family could feel because he reassured Park Eun-Soo by suggesting Woo-Jin¡¯s role in the drama could be the reason behind it.


    ¡°That must be it, right? Even though it¡¯s just a role he¡¯s playing, I guess he still stays in character as he goes about his daily life. Still, seeing him like that makes me feel relieved.¡± Seeing how Woo-Jin seemed to be getting along with his co-workers, and judging from how friendly Woo-Jin and Lee Dan-Woo were to one another, Park Eun-Soo was relieved.


    At first glance, Woo-Jin seemed friendly and kind to everybody, but Park Eun-Soo knew her son¡¯s nature very well. He was extremely indifferent towards the people he didn¡¯t like or care particularly about. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a bad person by nature and would at least mask his indifference with kindness, but she was always worrying about him.


    Nonetheless, now that he was an adult, she could see that he had been getting along well with strangers and trying his best to be nice to the people around him. Every time she saw that happening, it made her feel proud as she realized that he had grown up.


    ¡°But was that really a coincidence?¡±


    The captions provided some information as it stated that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance was just a coincidence and that he was shooting a drama in the vicinity. However, even from Woo-Hee¡¯s perspective, it seemed too coincidental to be true, so she looked at the TV screen with suspicion.


    However, that was not the most important thing. When Chae Woo-Jin left the convenience store, an old man was picking up waste paper products in a corner near the glass window in front of the convenience store. Woo-Jin, who had just been passing by, gave Lee Dan-Woo the plastic bag he was holding and walked towards the older man.


    ¡ª Do you need my help, grandpa? [1]


    With the help of the cameras that had been installed previously to capture the customers¡¯ reactions before and after entering the convenience store, they managed to record Woo-Jin¡¯s voice and actions perfectly.


    ¡ª Oh, it¡¯s alright, so please run along. Your hands will get dirty.


    ¡ª It¡¯s just paper. Even if it¡¯s dirty, how dirty can it get? But, it¡¯s past midnight, are you still working?


    ¡ª The convenience store owner always throws out the cardboard boxes after midnight. If he does it during the day, it would be messy¡­ Oh?


    The old man had been loading a cardboard box onto his cart when he stopped talking in surprise after seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s face in the light.  As soon as the old man suddenly went quiet, Woo-Jin, who had been organizing the cardboard boxes, looked up at the old man¡¯s face. His eyes widened as well.


    ¡ª Grandpa?


    ¡ª It¡¯s you, the young man who gave me the sneakers back then! I wanted to thank you if we ever met again, but we actually met again like this!


    The old man was genuinely happy to see Woo-Jin and grabbed his hand and shook it with both his hands. Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly with a slightly puzzled look on his face after seeing how the old man was overly happy to see him,


    ¡ª My family survived because of you! Thanks to ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ or whatever, we somehow became famous so my wife is currently in a nursing home, and my grandson and I have moved close to here.


    After hearing the old man¡¯s heartfelt story, Woo-Jin nodded with a look on his face that seemed to suggest he understood.


    ¡ª Ah, I¡¯ve also heard about it from the people around me and found out recently. I¡¯m glad everything has worked out well.


    They had a brief exchange of greetings, and because of the late hour, the old man started to hurry. After seeing the old man worry about his grandson, who was alone at home, Woo-Jin went back into the convenience store and bought two bottles of warm soymilk.


    ¡ª I didn¡¯t bring my wallet with me, so I can¡¯t buy anything else for you. It¡¯s late, so please go home and have a warm drink with your grandson before you sleep,


    Woo-Jin gave the old man two bottles of soy milk. They said goodbye to one another and parted ways. The old man looked on as Woo-Jin made his way towards Lee Dan-Woo, who was slightly farther away, before pushing his cart with a warm smile as he walked in the opposite direction.


    The scene then transitioned into an exclusive interview with the old man. When the staff asked the old man about Chae Woo-Jin, he shook his head.


    ¡ª I didn¡¯t know he was a movie star. I don¡¯t even have a TV at home, let alone watch movies. I only saw the photo that went viral much later when people visited me and provided all kinds of support. Even reporters came to interview me. I haven¡¯t seen him at all ever since, up until we ran into each other like that today. I really wanted to thank him at least once, but we couldn¡¯t meet before. What I received that day were just sneakers, [2] but because of that, others now know that there are people like us in this world. Who cares about someone like me? I¡¯m just a dirty and messy person who blocks the way. And I¡¯m very thankful to the gentleman who took the photo. As my grandson had said, one photo can change the world, right? To the people who have helped us ¡ª thank you. Thank you for everything.


    The interview ended with the old man wiping his tears away with his wrinkled hands. After the video ended, the panelists kept asking Da-Young and Cho-Hee about this chance encounter. They had not known anything about the story of the Slipper Young Man, so they looked very surprised. As if they were fans of his, Da-Young and Cho-Hee responded to the panelists¡¯ questions as they talked about their feelings after meeting Chae Woo-Jin. They also expressed their disappointment that Woo-Jin had not recognized them, saying that they would formally greet him the next time they see him in an aegyo manner. [3]


    The host of the show and the panelists clapped and said that was the true concept of Do You Know Us? and became very excited. The TV program ended on a beautiful note, with the caption saying, Thank you DS Entertainment for allowing us to broadcast the recording of Chae Woo-Jin without his consent.


    ¡°People do meet like that, huh.¡±


    Even if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t say he was the Slipper Young Man, his family had already known about it. Which family wouldn¡¯t recognize their son and brother after looking at the photo that everyone was talking about for a while and even appeared on the news? Furthermore, Woo-Hee had heard directly from Woo-Jin about the slippers in question, so there was no way she hadn¡¯t known about it.


    ¡°This is why we should do good deeds. You never know where and how you¡¯re going to run into people. In any case, Woo-Jin had done a good thing.¡±


    When Choi Min-Woo agreed with what Park Eun-Soo had said, Woo-Hee looked at them ambiguously and said, ¡°But oppa said he only did that because he wanted to go to heaven?¡± While it was clear that what he did was praiseworthy, Woo-Hee wondered if kindness with an ulterior motive, instead of sincere kindness that came from one¡¯s heart, was truly a good thing.


    ¡°Regardless of the intention, it¡¯s still better than doing something bad. And having those thoughts itself is good. When people have nothing to fear, they become venomous and cold-hearted. Additionally, the slipper incident isn¡¯t only about Woo-Jin doing a good deed. It has influenced other people too. Such a heartwarming ending is a happy ending.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo smiled warmly and grabbed Choi Min-Woo¡¯s hand after hearing what he said before adding, ¡°In the past, your brother would have just walked past the old man. It¡¯s not that he would intentionally ignore the old man¡¯s presence, but he truly wouldn¡¯t have been able to see him or think about helping him. It¡¯s said that people see and practice what they think. So regardless of what your brother¡¯s intentions or motives were, his perspective has broadened, and his thoughts have gotten deeper. People change little by little like that and become better people. And we call that a good deed.¡±


    Woo-Hee nodded after hearing what her parents said. Up until now, Woo-Hee had been laughing on the inside whenever she heard people talk about the Slipper Young Man. Since she knew her brother wouldn¡¯t joke about such a thing, she had taken what he had said about wanting to go to heaven seriously. Because she knew Woo-Jin¡¯s side of the story, when people around her praised the Slipper Young Man, she would respond and say to herself, ¡®You don¡¯t know anything that¡¯s why you¡¯re praising him.¡¯.


    However, the most important thing in the Slipper Young Man¡¯s story was not his hidden intentions but the cycle of paying it forward and a family that had experienced a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Even if the intentions behind the good deed were not altruistic, the results that followed shouldn¡¯t be disregarded.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s a happy ending,¡± Woo-Hee replied cheerfully, as Choi Min-Woo gently stroked her hair. Both Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were kind and upright children in his eyes.


    The popularity of Do You Know Us? could be seen just by looking at the trending search queries in real-time. However, Chae Woo-Jin, the Slipper Young Man, and the City of Shadows were the top three most-searched queries. The TV program¡¯s name could be seen below the top three, followed by all the members of Berry Rose filling all top ten spots of most-searched queries.


    Naturally, there were negative reviews about the show as well. Firstly, there were a lot of doubts about whether Chae Woo-Jin entering the convenience store was truly just a coincidence. Suspicions about whether or not it was just an act to create publicity for the drama started to arise.


    1. ???? here doesn¡¯t refer to Woo-Jin¡¯s actual grandfather. It¡¯s a polite term to call an older man. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. The raws really do say sneakers and not slipper here <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    3. Aegyo or ?? means acting in a cute way. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 61

    However, the suspicions did not last long, thanks to the refuting statements posted in real-time along with the supporting evidence. Firstly, Do You Know Us? was aired on MBS, while Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s drama would be aired on SBC.  As MBS would be airing the first two episodes of their new drama on Wednesday and Thursday, the same days as City of Shadows, it didn¡¯t make any sense for MBS to promote Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s drama before their own. This logical argument put an end to the doubts regarding the publicity stunt.


    Additionally, there was only one supermarket and convenience store in the studio¡¯s vicinity that was used as the drama set. However, the supermarket had closed at midnight, leaving the convenience store as their only option. Hence, people argued it wasn¡¯t unusual for Chae Woo-Jin to go to the convenience store at that time.


    And most importantly, DS¡¯ CEO Jang felt very strongly against the idea of his artistes appearing in variety TV programs and prevented it from happening as much as possible. Nobody could deny the absurdity of him agreeing to let Chae Woo-Jin appear in a pilot episode of a TV program for the sake of promoting his drama.


    The fans of DS¡¯ celebrities were well-aware of CEO Jang¡¯s aversion to variety TV programs. If Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t run into the old man, who had spilled the truth about the Slipper Young Man, they clearly wouldn¡¯t have been permitted to air the portion with Chae Woo-Jin in it, and the entire thing would have been edited out.


    However, many people in this world tend to nitpick on every tiny detail. When claims that it was to create publicity for the drama were quashed, people started spreading rumors about the agency fabricating the Slipper Young Man incident to promote Chae Woo-Jin. This time, the photographer of the photo in question personally stepped forward and refuted the rumors. At that time, he hadn¡¯t even known who Chae Woo-Jin was. And he professed that such speculations about a photo that had been clearly taken with good intentions left him displeased.


    Under the circumstances where things had been a little overheated, a post that had been uploaded to the Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Fancafe a while ago started trending belatedly. Posts dedicated to the process of finding similarities between the Slipper Young Man and Chae Woo-Jin, along with the evidence supporting the claims, provided a different kind of entertainment to people.


    A photo where someone had superimposed pictures of the rear-views of the Slipper Young Man and Chae Woo-Jin also surfaced. The T-Shirt Chae Woo-Jin had worn on his way to the filming site of the movie was the same as the one he had worn to the post-production get-together at Busan, which incidentally, had also been the same T-shirt that the Slipper Young Man had worn. The dark blue paint stain at the end of the left sleeve looked exactly the same in all the photos.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans had also found photos of his hairstyle at that time, which matched the young man¡¯s hairstyle in the photo. Additionally, photos of him wearing the same sneakers he had given the old man were also found. Also, there was plenty of evidence to prove that the drawing of the cat on the suitcase was very similar to the cat that Woo-Jin had recently been reunited with.


    This overwhelming evidence that did not miss a single detail had only been kept within the community before this incident happened. Also, if the fans had voluntarily collected all the evidence on their own accord, the prevailing opinion was that both Chae Woo-Jin and the agency had no intention of making it public. It was obvious that if they truly wanted to use all the information to create publicity for Chae Woo-Jin, they would have revealed everything back when the Slipper Young Man was the talk of the town. In fact, it would have been more natural if they had revealed it back then, as the number of coincidences this time made it seem even more unnatural.


    It might sound ridiculous to argue that something so unnatural had served as evidence to prove Woo-Jin¡¯s innocence, but if this had been a script written by someone, it would be too contrived and ridiculously childish. He hadn¡¯t done anything terrible, and being the protagonist in a moving tale that had once stirred the public was definitely a good thing for Chae Woo-Jin. They could do nothing about the people who insisted on twisting it into something horrible, but most people rejoiced after learning about the coincidental story.


    ¡°But how can he not know Berry Rose?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Does Chae Woo-Jin need to know who they are?¡± The college students who gathered on the campus in small groups had different reactions based on their gender. The boys, who knew the face of each Berry Rose member despite not being ardent fans of them, could not understand Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I guess they look worse in real life?¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t! Ara, in particular, is much prettier in real life; what do you mean!?¡±


    ¡°Ara wasn¡¯t there, though. Why are you getting so worked up? It¡¯s possible for people not to recognize members of girl idol groups.¡±


    ¡°So people might not recognize members of Blue Fit, too, then?¡± The girl who heard that became worked up and got angry.


    ¡°Hey! How can anybody not recognize Blue Fit? It¡¯s been three years since they¡¯ve debuted. How can you compare them to rookie idols who have only debuted three months ago!¡±


    Just because they were friends didn¡¯t mean they all had the same thoughts and feelings. They might have shared the same sentiment in the beginning, but as soon as they talked about Blue Fit, one of the female students started frowning. Perhaps, she didn¡¯t want her friends to continue talking about Blue Fit any longer, but she showed them something she had just searched for online.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She only played the video after getting all of her friends¡¯ attention. It was a video of Chae Woo-Jin singing a song by a girl idol group while doing their dance routine. The Glooming Day staff who uploaded the video had also included a description.


    ¡°It says that from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s perspective, girl groups are divided into pre-discharge and post-discharge from the military. Apparently, he doesn¡¯t know anything about the girl groups that debuted after he was discharged.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Chae Woo-Jin has already completed his military service?¡± The female student nodded indifferently to the male student, whose attention was focused on the part where Woo-Jin had gone to the military rather than the other things they had talked about.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that. I¡¯m suddenly starting to like him,¡± the male student responded.


    ¡°Hey, he¡¯s still a celebrity after all. He must have been in the unit that¡¯s responsible for events and sang a couple of songs, having an easy life in there before getting discharged,¡± another male student chimed in.


    ¡°He went into the military before he debuted. He was in one of the front-line units,¡± replied the female student softly. After hearing what she said, the male students ultimately nodded and acknowledged Chae Woo-Jin unanimously.


    ¡°Yeah, so what if he doesn¡¯t know who Berry Rose is! He¡¯s someone who served in the military.¡± The female students burst out laughing at how ridiculous the male students were for having the notion that going to the military absolved one of everything.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin feed ice cream to the other actor who was with him? What was his name again?¡±


    ¡°Lee Dan-Woo.¡± The girl, who had been sharing the information about Chae Woo-Jin with her friends the entire time, answered indifferently this time as well.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! Didn¡¯t your imagination run wild after watching that? Someone¡¯s going to write a fanfiction because of that scene alone.¡±


    ¡°The fanfiction¡¯s already out. The serialized fanfiction is at its peak right now, so you should check it out! Chae Woo-Jin is a protagonist who¡¯s kind and affectionate. It¡¯s really fun to read!¡±


    After hearing what her two friends said, the girl who had been providing them with the information pricked up her ears and asked, ¡°Where is it published?¡± She wrote down the link to the site that her friend provided in her notebook, though her friends didn¡¯t realize the cold gaze that flashed in her eyes for a split second.


    And a few days later, the author of the aforementioned fanfiction wrote a very long apology and uploaded it to the site. People were free to fantasize, but any secondary creations that would damage Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s image were prohibited and against the rules of Wish Baragi. This meant that they couldn¡¯t let other people outside of Wish Baragi do that either. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were always quick and ruthless when it came to these things.


    ***


    The shooting of City of Shadows went smoothly. Externally speaking, after the episode of Do You Know Us? had been aired, more and more articles were written about Chae Woo-Jin, as their exposure to the media increased. Internally speaking, the number of bad takes gradually reduced as time went by, and thanks to Woo-Jin¡¯s perfect acting out the action scenes without accident, they were able to proceed with the shooting without any delay.


    Apart from the fact that he had been exhausted from Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s constant rejection and bad takes in the beginning, the situation was better than he had expected. Woo-Jin¡¯s action scenes might have felt like an extreme task to others, but it was the complete opposite for him that he even began questioning why something so easy was regarded as something extreme to begin with.


    Instead, it was something else that made life difficult for the actors. That was because Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk had demanded the burning cruelty created by cold rationality from Kang Min-Ho, the selfishness hidden within Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s tenacious innocence, and last but not least, the image of a baby bird that had escaped from the empty grave of emotions from Woo-Jin himself.


    Kang Min-Ho had directly asked Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk exactly what kind of image it was, but the answer he had gotten in return was concise, ¡°That¡¯s something the actor has to figure out.¡±


    That was an insincere reply as expected of the drama¡¯s production director who had been criticized for putting actors through hell. So, Woo-Jin ended up asking the writer, Yoo Soo-Min. Initially, she was puzzled because that was the first time she heard about it, but shortly after, she praised Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk in admiration.


    ¡°As expected, the production director understands me well. If you follow what he says, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± When Woo-Jin asked once again what she meant by that, Yoo Soo-Min shrugged casually.


    ¡°You just have to do exactly as you¡¯re told. Why are you reading too much into it?¡±


    And so, the three of them had given up on getting a clear answer after concluding that both the production director and the writer couldn¡¯t give them the answers they sought. To put it more precisely, even though both the production director and the writer knew the answer, they didn¡¯t know how to put it into acting. The teachers knew the answer but not the method of solving it - it was the actors¡¯ job to figure out the solution to the problem posed to them.


    ¡°Hey, baby bird!¡± Woo-Jin might have been a little happier if ¡®baby bird¡¯ hadn¡¯t become his nickname.


    ¡°Oh my, look at him staring at us. How cute!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fun teasing him.¡± Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah, who had suddenly formed a duo, were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they took turns making fun of Woo-Jin.


    ¡°You guys have such great chemistry. You should take this opportunity to date one another.¡±


    ¡°Did you not know? We¡¯re going out with each other, as friends!¡±


    ¡°Peas of a pod. Uhh, stop complementing each other so perfectly.¡±


    Woo-Jin, who had been studying for his tests and completing his class reports along with shooting the drama, could not laugh along with them. Woo-Jin¡¯s physical condition was not good these days, and he even had dark circles under his eyes, to the point that Hwang Yi-Young joked about how convenient it was since she didn¡¯t need any makeup to create the dark circles under his eyes for his character.


    As the drama progressed, Louie gradually became more and more exhausted and skinnier, and Woo-Jin¡¯s reality and circumstances were perfect for it.


    ¡°Did you hear? We¡¯re going to appear on Huntsman.¡±


    ¡°No, why? We¡¯re already busy shooting the drama; why do we have to be on a variety show!¡± As soon as Kang Min-Ho, who was always up to date with new information, asked about it, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t control his emotions and cried out loud. His schedule was very hectic at the moment, and if they were to go on Huntsman, Woo-Jin felt like he was going to turn everything upside down.


    ¡°Our drama will be airing soon. Huntsman is SBC¡¯s show as well, so we should use it to promote our drama.¡±


    The Blue Castle¡¯s Master had started airing their first episode this Wednesday, in other words, yesterday. As everybody expected, their first episode had received an 18% rating, and their drama was going smoothly. Even though the episode had focused on the characters¡¯ backstory, it was pretty well-received.


    However, the reporters, who had initially praised the production with high anticipation, strangely began to mention the negative aspects at some point.


    ¡°They said it was so pathetic that it was almost like a live show.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they start shooting a month before us?¡±


    ¡°Their cast is made up of the most famous actors who are in high demand. Since they¡¯re not as free as we are, their schedules must be very hectic and tight, so it must have thrown a wrench into the shooting schedule, causing delays and creating a big mess.¡±


    After hearing what Park Yeon-Ah said, Woo-Jin sighed depressingly. ¡°Why am I so busy for an actor who¡¯s not in high demand?¡±


    ¡°Our dear baby bird has been struggling, huh. Let me give you a hug.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good!¡± Woo-Jin lost his temper and pushed Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah aside before walking off into the distance.


    ¡°Our dear baby bird has become irritable.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s now at a rebellious age of 23.¡±

 Chapter 62

    As the drama¡¯s release date drew closer, the shooting schedule became more hectic, causing Woo-Jin to skip his classes continuously against his will. Since he had arranged with his professors to make up for the missed classes by submitting reports, it meant that the more classes he missed, the more reports he had to write.


    ¡°I must be insane ¨C how bold of me to juggle academics and an acting career at the same time. But noona, doesn¡¯t our CEO hate the idea of his artistes appearing on variety shows?¡± Woo-Jin asked Hwang Yi-Young, feeling hopeful. Woo-Jin had been hoping that the news he heard was false, but his heart was mercilessly broken.


    ¡°I know; I thought it was weird too. Even for a TV program from the same broadcasting company, he felt that appearing on a variety show for publicity was disgraceful. So, he hated that notion entirely. However, recently, there have been rumors about the CEO is becoming more flexible than before. He has permitted a couple of other artistes to appear on variety shows as well, and he¡¯s not as picky about commercials as before. He even told them to go for it if that¡¯s what they really wanted.¡±


    However, that didn¡¯t mean CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had changed dramatically. He had only given the green light to two or three things out of the ten things that he used to be vehemently against, but needless to say, that alone was a major change that had shaken up the entire agency. When Hwang Yi-Young said that she was very curious, Woo-Jin agreed and said that he was also curious about the reason behind this recent change.


    Woo-Jin held onto the script even as he suppressed the urge to do whatever it took to pursue and get rid of the reason behind this change. He had memorized and repeatedly studied this script to the point that the cover had worn out. He looked at the worn-out script before putting it away, then began to write his report, feeling depressed. Recently, Woo-Jin had somewhat been able to relate to Woo-Hee¡¯s previous words when she had said that she would ¡®get mad at the slightest provocation.¡¯


    On the day of Huntsman¡¯s shooting, Woo-Jin¡¯s condition was at its worst. This meant that Woo-Jin kept failing throughout the shoot when it came to drawing lots. However, fortunately, the show¡¯s shooting went smoothly without a hitch and it ended pretty well. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a terrible experience considering that he had fun. Contrary to his dissatisfaction expressed before the shoot, Woo-Jin was now in a better mood after receiving a gold badge with Huntsman¡¯s logo on it. That was the power of a 24K gold badge.


    Huntsman¡¯s shooting had been completed on Monday, followed by City of Shadows¡¯ press conference on Friday. After attending a series of events, Woo-Jin could sense that the drama¡¯s release date was approaching.


    After Woo-Jin had shot the action scenes with the buildings, DS¡¯ CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had personally invested in City of Shadows. As a result, the filming conditions had improved even more thanks to the significantly higher budget, which was neither too much nor too little.


    Even though Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was someone people either loved or hated, he wasn¡¯t a person to siphon off money meant for the production. On the contrary, he was so passionate about his work that he had even used his personal funds for the drama¡¯s production. Hence, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s additional investment had certainly led to an improvement in the production quality and also resulted in the press conference being bigger than originally planned.


    Kang Min-Ho showed up to the press conference in a luxurious suit that exuded the vibe of a third-generation chaebol [1] scion, looking very stylish with slicked-back hair. He didn¡¯t look like his usual goofy self at all. Park Yeon-Ah wore a white sleeveless midi dress, looking very elegant. Her hair was sectioned and braided into several small braids before being tied together and adorned with colorful pins everywhere, making her look much younger than her actual age.


    ¡°You look very pretty when you¡¯re all dressed up like this.¡± As someone who regarded his own face as ordinary and average-looking, Woo-Jin had very high standards in terms of aesthetics. And so, that was a huge compliment coming from him.


    ¡°I''ve always been pretty!¡±


    ¡°Hey, look at how speechless Woo-Jin is and how he shut his mouth right away. He¡¯s bad at lying.¡± Despite looking like a third-generation chaebol scion, Kang Min-Ho was ultimately still the same on the inside. He giggled and waved casually towards the cameras.


    Woo-Jin, whose character was a contract killer, was decked in a black suit and a white shirt to match his role. He looked dapper, but his sharp figure was lean and cold. All of them were dressed according to their characters and had their photos taken.


    This was Woo-Jin¡¯s second time attending a production press conference ¨C he didn¡¯t get a chance to attend Death Hill¡¯s press conference. People didn¡¯t know him back then and didn¡¯t pay any attention to him, so he wasn¡¯t invited to the press conference. More importantly, Director Moon Seung-Kwon couldn¡¯t invite him because he had to walk on eggshells around the major investor.[2]


    As for his first press conference, which was for Glooming Day, Director Choi Yi-Geon and Kwon Sung-Min, the male lead, wanted it to be as simple as possible, especially the latter, who had given the excuse that he was busy shooting a drama. Director Choi Yi-Geon had also said he hated press conferences with a passion, as they were just empty formalities where people acted ostentatiously, so he shared the same sentiment as Kwon Sung-Min. Thus, Woo-Jin only remembered taking some photos at the press conference before it ended with a short interview, as though they hadn¡¯t done anything at all.


    However, the press conference for City of Shadows was a grand event that had been prepared with the finest quality things and was held in the banquet hall of a five-star hotel. After the cast and crew had their photos taken, each of them did a long introduction and speech before watching an extended trailer for the drama. The trailer looked very impressive and magnificent, like a movie.


    The overall ambiance of the drama was fancy but very dark at the same time. And the scene where Woo-Jin leaped to the building on the other side marked the end of the video. Even though they had used the footage from the rehearsal, instead of his second attempt, which would be used in the final edit, the scene was edited using CGI to remove the wires and looked realistic and very exciting.


    ¡°How did you shoot the building scene? From what I¡¯ve heard, is it true that Mr. Chae Woo-Jin shot it personally without a stunt double?¡± After watching the trailer, the reporters brought up the highlight, the final action scene, as soon as the second part of the interview with the actors began.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be releasing the behind-the-scenes clips when the drama airs, so please check it out when the time comes.¡±


    Unsatisfied with Production Director Park Jong Hyuk¡¯s concise answer, the reporters continued to ask questions, but the quick-witted emcee intervened and set the event¡¯s tone.


    ¡°Come to think of it, this is the first time the three main leads are acting in a drama, right? I¡¯m sure you must have at least one memory of the shoot where you felt that it was very tough. How was it?¡±


    The three actors smiled awkwardly after hearing the emcee¡¯s question. Regret was written all over their faces. It was their first time acting in a drama, and the production director was Park Jong-Hyuk of all people, so wouldn¡¯t it have been tough? How could it only have been just one memory? There were a lot of things that could not be said out loud.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy to adapt initially because I worked in a different field before this.¡± Kang Min-Ho, an experienced actor, was the first to answer. He talked about the obvious mistakes that stage and movie actors made when acting in a drama. The interviews with the different actors that followed were roughly the same. They shared some fun and light-hearted anecdotes and talked each other up. The interviews ended on a warm note, with the cast and crew emphasizing the great ambiance on set because of the staff¡¯s hard work and the amazing camaraderie among the three actors while also praising the production director moderately.


    ¡°But the idol didn¡¯t show up today either. You have filmed everything except for the scene where ¡®Choi Kang¡¯ appears in episode 5. Did he say he was coming?¡± As they were waiting for their cars after the press conference ended, Park Yeon-Ah questioned the idol¡¯s identity, whose name had not even been mentioned up until today. At this point, she was doubtful whether an idol had taken on the role of Choi Kang.


    ¡°I was curious, so I asked him, and he told us to wait for a little longer because apparently, he wants to shoot the part after taking proper acting lessons.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late for that now.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess he must have been dispirited after watching us act. After seeing our looks and our acting, it¡¯s disheartening, right?¡± Park Yeon-Ah responded to the pompous Kang Min-Ho in a pitiful tone to shut him up, ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to hear more.¡±


    Woo-Jin had been watching the two argue with each other when his eyes met with someone in the distance. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what expression he should have and quickly bowed in greeting to hide his face. Park Yeon-Ah slowly turned her head upon seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s actions.


    A man was standing next to an executive of City of Shadows¡¯ production company. She stared at the face of the man, who looked familiar for some reason, before hearing the answer from Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°It¡¯s Seol Moon-Young, the first-generation idol star who became a well-known record producer. I heard he¡¯s the CEO of a certain agency now.¡±


    ¡°TM.¡±


    ¡°Oh~! That¡¯s right.¡± Kang Min-Ho nodded after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. Looking at Seol Moon-Young, he wondered if that¡¯s what people meant by a successful person who¡¯s never experienced failures before. He had debuted as an idol at a young age, and later, the group had disbanded without many issues while he was still on a roll. And Seol Moon-Young, who started his solo career then, had maintained his popularity to this day. Furthermore, he was also a very talented record producer. Blue Fit¡¯s debut album, which was considered a masterpiece, was one of his works.


    ¡°Do you know him?¡± Park Yeon-Ah asked after greeting the executive of the production company. She seemed puzzled as she watched Seol Moon-Young approach Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Briefly, in the past.¡± They thought nothing of Woo-Jin¡¯s serious response. Networking was very important in the entertainment industry, where everybody was intertwined with one another. They thought this was one of those relationships.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Woo-Jin. How long has it been since we last met?¡± As expected, Seol Moon-Young approached Woo-Jin, looking happy to see him. Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah looked at each other and slowly backed away. Judging from how they greeted each other, it seemed like it had been a while since they had seen each other, so Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah figured it would be polite for them to leave.


    ¡°Yes, sir. How have you been?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always been the same. I enjoyed your movie. I didn¡¯t know you were so good at acting. It¡¯s amazing.¡± Seol Moon-Young still had his Duchenne smile, which had once captivated the public. Even Park Yeon-Ah, who was standing at a distance, was getting butterflies in her stomach.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always cherished you. Do you know how sad I was when you left like that?¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I couldn¡¯t help but be sad.¡± The sharpness within Seol Moon-Young¡¯s friendly smile pierced through Woo-Jin¡¯s heart, but Woo-Jin tried not to show it on his face; they simply looked at each other and smiled.


    Glancing at Woo-Jin¡¯s face for a moment, Seol Moon-Young sincerely praised him for his acting talent before Woo-Jin could say the same thing. He felt that Seol Moon-Young was incredible for not revealing his true emotions, as though he was constantly wearing a mask, even though Woo-Jin could sense the incongruity of it the entire time.


    ¡°Oh, right. You know Min-Soo, right? Lee Min-Soo from Blue Fit, the group you almost debuted in. He¡¯s also joining the cast of City of Shadows this time around. Even though he¡¯s the same age as you, he had acted in a few dramas before. And since he debuted years before you did, he¡¯s your senior in this field, so treat him with respect. Even though you¡¯ve left TM, as long as you¡¯re in the entertainment industry, you have to know your place.¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled in response to Seol Moon-Young¡¯s condescending words and look, before saying, ¡°If he acts like a senior, of course, I¡¯ll treat him accordingly.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t let you down.¡±


    ¡°I hope so too. Min-Soo and the others have always only let me down. But, I¡¯m sure there will come a time where he doesn¡¯t disappoint me.¡±


    Seol Moon-Young¡¯s eyes narrowed for the first time as he stared at Woo-Jin after hearing his reply. He noticed that Woo-Jin had included him in the list of people who had disappointed him.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t changed much ¨C you¡¯re still the same as back then. Where exactly is your arrogance coming from? Ah, now that you¡¯ve joined DS, you have a reliable backer?¡±


    There was no value in responding, so Woo-Jin kept quiet. Seol Moon-Young seemed to have misunderstood his action and smirked as he gently tapped Woo-Jin on the shoulder.


    1. This is an English transliteration of the Korean word ?? which means rich business family <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">


    2. Park Min¡¯s sponsor. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 63

    ¡°Yeah, you better hold onto that connection of yours for as long as possible. You sure are lucky. As someone who I used to cherish and care about, I hope your good luck lasts for a long time.¡± Seol Moon-Young appeared to have said everything he wanted to. He walked off after saying, ¡®See you later,¡¯ in a flat voice. He showed some courtesy by greeting Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah, who were standing at a distance, before getting into the car that had arrived just in time and driving off.


    ¡°Are you not on good terms with him?¡± Park Yeon-Ah asked doubtfully. Regardless of how much Woo-Jin and Seol Moon-Young were smiling, she could sense the tension between the two.


    ¡°Be on good terms with that person? No way.¡± Woo-Jin answered more firmly than ever as he dusted off his left shoulder where Seol Moon-Young had touched with his palm. Woo-Jin was explicitly showing that he would be in a foul mood if Seol Moon-Young left even a speck of dust on him.


    ¡°Oh, right ¨C about the idol starring in our drama. He¡¯s Lee Min-Soo from Blue Fit.¡±


    ¡°Lee Min-Soo?¡± Woo-Jin disregarded Park Yeon-Ah, who was delighted for some reason, and asked Kang Min-Ho how he felt about him.


    ¡°I know he¡¯s been in a couple of dramas before, but I don¡¯t think he was bad.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t great in the beginning, but he started to improve more and more over time. He¡¯s hard-working, and people can see that his acting has gotten better, so the public¡¯s reactions were positive on the whole. He took on roles regardless of how insignificant they were, saying he wanted to start his acting career in a slow and steady manner, and work his way up, thus creating a good impression.¡±


    Because of Blue Fit¡¯s immense popularity, there was nothing strange about Lee Min-Soo taking on lead roles, and yet, he took on minor and supporting roles, earning him a lot of brownie points.


    ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t it good that he¡¯ll be portraying Choi Kang? I think he would be a good fit for the role of a rebellious teen who couldn¡¯t fulfill his dreams of becoming a singer because of his family¡¯s opposition.¡± Park Yeon-Ah had been resentful about an idol being cast in their drama but was now smiling brightly in approval.


    When Kang Min-Ho pointed that out, she replied proudly, ¡°Even if I object, they¡¯ll still cast an idol in our drama anyway, so it¡¯s good that they picked Lee Min-Soo. He¡¯s the best choice out of all the idols. In fact, he¡¯s the best at acting.¡±


    After the press conference ended, there wasn¡¯t anything scheduled for the evening. It was already late, but their remaining free time was like a dream for those who had been exhausted from the recent hectic schedule. On his way home in the car, Woo-Jin saw the advertisement for City of Shadows on one of the buildings of SBC¡¯s headquarters. Even though he had heard about it before, it was his first time seeing it today as he hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to pass by the broadcasting station till now.


    Woo-Jin felt his heart pounding hard after seeing Louie¡¯s face on the enormous billboard. If this had happened sometime back, he would have felt embarrassed and overwhelmed, but now, there was a subtle change in his emotions. Without realizing it, the pleasant excitement had boosted his confidence.


    Having come this far, he had no intention of losing his place to anyone anymore, regardless of who they were. Woo-Jin was well-aware of the reason behind his unprecedented thirst for victory. He thought he no longer harbored any resentment towards those people, and his residual feelings for them were well-hidden. He had hoped those feelings would stay buried deep within himself and never come up again, but it had been wishful thinking on his part.


    As soon as Woo-Jin got home, instead of studying or taking a break, he went to research clips from all the dramas Lee Min-Soo had acted in so far. From Woo-Jin¡¯s perspective, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s acting in the beginning was very hard to watch. However, Lee Min-Soo had made visible improvements over time, and Woo-Jin could see that he had grown enough to be called an actor.


    According to Kang Min-Ho, Lee Min-Soo was earnestly taking acting classes, so it was clear that his acting would improve over time. And his ability to learn how to act was unmatched. Once Woo-Jin realized he couldn¡¯t make a judgment based on Lee Min-Soo¡¯s past performances, he stopped looking at old clips after watching Min-Soo¡¯s most recent work.


    Since Lee Min-Soo was the first person to be cast in the drama, it meant that he had not expected Woo-Jin to be cast in City of Shadows. Like Woo-Jin, he must have been taken aback by the current situation.


    For some reason, Woo-Jin was able to empathize with Lee Min-Soo and understood his reasons for delaying the shoot and instead focused on acting classes. Perhaps, Lee Min-Soo was not that different from himself, so it was clear that he was fiercely determined. Lee Min-Soo was very ambitious and was someone never to miss an opportunity. It was evident that he wanted to act well this time and use it as a stepping stone to take on leading roles.


    ¡°But you¡¯re not the only person in the world who works hard.¡±


    Woo-Jin thought about Lee Min-Soo¡¯s face when he had yelled, ¡®Why is everything so easy for you?¡¯ while clenching his teeth. He hadn¡¯t considered the efforts Woo-Jin had put into making the execution of his tasks look easy. Lee Min-Soo had always only looked at the final results and chalked his skills off as natural talent. Woo-Jin had even admitted to his lack of talent, but that didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t try. And in Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes, Lee Min-Soo was a friend who was very talented. He wasn¡¯t satisfied with where he was back then and worked even harder to get to where he was today.


    Recalling the look in Lee Min-Soo¡¯s eyes the last time he saw him, Woo-Jin subconsciously clenched his fists. Strangely enough, he didn¡¯t want to lose to Lee Min-Soo. No, more precisely, he wanted to beat them all. He didn¡¯t want to be left behind, looking at their backs, anymore.


    ***


    Huntsman¡¯s recent viewership rating was low. From that alone, it meant that the publicity efforts via the program were insignificant. Still, considering its popularity abroad, it was worth it. When Huntsman was airing in the afternoon on Sunday, Woo-Jin was busy shooting. He had experienced a strange mix of feelings about wanting to watch it while simultaneously not wanting to watch it. Kang Min-Ho was on a break at that time and asked Park Yeon-Ah to watch it together with him, but she ran away in disgust.


    ¡°I can¡¯t look at my face on TV!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s coming from somebody who¡¯s acting in a drama?¡±


    Kang Min-Ho had asked Park Yeon-Ah to watch the episode with him, but even he ended up skipping it. It wasn¡¯t his first time appearing on a variety TV show, but it was his first time going on a variety program to promote his drama as the main lead. Even though he didn¡¯t know how it would turn out, for some reason, a sense of embarrassment took away his courage.


    The people appearing in the show missed it when it was aired, but many other people watched it on their behalf from start to end, without missing a single second. As soon as Huntsman was over, the faithful barags [1] gathered at Wish Baragi Fancafe¡¯s page and flooded it with their reviews in real-time.


    ¡ª How can Genie oppa be so unlucky? I mean, how did he pick the only defective gun out of ten guns? Furthermore, he looked so cool when he picked out the gun first after saying, ¡®Worrying doesn¡¯t change anything,¡¯ but he ended up picking the defective one and couldn¡¯t even complete the mission as a result. T.T


    ©¸ Instead, Yeon-Ah unnie had missed the target(doll), so he becomes a black knight. Oh my gosh, I almost fainted when I saw him knock down the doll in one shot. He had the perfect form! He must have practiced a lot for his role as a contract killer.


    ¡ª There¡¯s also the part where they had to climb up a rope ¨C everyone else slipped and couldn¡¯t climb, but he climbed all the way up by himself. However, he picked the pi?ata with flour instead of the one with colored paper confetti¡­ ;; He had a 1 in 5 chance of picking the flour one, and he sure knew which one to pick!


    Chae Woo-Jin had shown the viewers his ability to cleverly complete all the Huntsman missions. However, when it came to games involving luck, all the options he had picked decisively turned out to be the wrong ones, making all his efforts go down the drain. The barags felt sorry for him but were excited at the same time because it was fun.


    ¡ª That¡¯s not all. He answered all the questions in the quiz correctly by himself, but he swapped the envelope with the hints he had received because Hahwa asked him to, and the word inside the new envelope was ¡®Blank!¡¯ The envelope that Hahwa got contained conclusive evidence. Why the hell did you swap the envelopes, oppa!!


    ©¸ He came first place in the quiz, but the people in the first three places were given an envelope at random, one of them being a blank one. Genie was so shaken up after receiving the blank one, and he kept receiving the blank ones, so he wasn¡¯t confident in his choice of envelopes. Did you see Genie¡¯s eyes tremble when he heard the host say it was a blank envelope? The production crew probably thought that Genie would win the quiz, so out of fairness(?), they might have randomly shuffled the envelopes with the hint and picked the blank ones for him themselves? Oh my, it¡¯s pointless!


    ©¸ But it was really funny when Genie made a deal with Mr. Kang Min-Ho to exchange information, even though he didn¡¯t have any hints. The original killer tried to convince the client that they were on the same side, so Mr. Kang Min-Ho was deluded for a moment and gave him an important hint before realizing that Genie had nothing. Hahahaha.


    ¡ª Kang Min-Ho is actually quite a goofy person. He¡¯s played so many unique characters in films, so I thought he had a domineering personality, but he¡¯s rather cute. Seeing him laugh and getting so flustered, not knowing what to do after being fooled by Genie, I can really tell they have a good relationship.


    ©¸ I¡¯ve heard about it but judging from their interactions on Huntsman, I can tell the three of them are very close. The ambiance on set must really be wonderful. The three of them had good chemistry even though they were on different teams.


    The way they teased each other was very natural, and they looked comfortable around one another, meaning they were close to each other, so the barags were very relieved. As fans, they were just happy to see Woo-Jin doing well at work and in his social life.


    ¡ª When he went to the store to complete a mission, I kind of expected Genie to perform well, but I had no idea that he could speak both English and Chinese so well. He sounded exactly like a native. It was so cool to see him reply to the Chinese person, who had recognized him as the loan shark from Death Hill, in their native language. Even though the Chinese tourist didn¡¯t understand Korean and had watched the movie because of ¡®someone else,¡¯ I¡¯m so proud to hear that they¡¯ve become Genie¡¯s fan!


    ©¸ When they aired that segment, they censored the actor¡¯s name with a ¡®beep.¡¯ The caption read ¡®someone else,¡¯ but we all know who he is.


    ¡ª I like the part where the British person asked him for directions! The conversation between the two as Genie searched for the directions on his phone was so natural. Wow~! How did they go from talking about the clear autumn sky in Korea to air pollution and global warming? Both of them sounded so serious that it was really funny.


    As they had been given a mission in an area frequented by tourists, Woo-Jin had several conversations with the foreigners who had either recognized him or asked him for directions. They had aired the scenes without censoring anything, allowing Woo-Jin¡¯s foreign language skills to stand out even more. It was an opportunity to show off his linguistic skills naturally, which Kang Ho-Soo had wanted him to brag about in the past without coming off as being pretentious.


    ¡ª Even though Genie was very unlucky and kept picking the wrong choices, he ultimately won. The missions aren¡¯t important; after all, the contestants only have to be good at tearing off their opponents¡¯ name tags in Huntsman. They haven¡¯t made their contestants do that lately, so it¡¯s not as exciting as before, but didn¡¯t they manage to revive the element of excitement today?


    ©¸ I thought I was going to die from laughter when Yeon-Ah unnie said, ¡®Woo-Jin, think about it carefully,¡¯ when Genie was going to rip off her name tag. She¡¯s so charismatic and amazing! When Genie ripped off her name tag after letting her go three times, the way she went, ¡®Darn it, X~!¡¯ and scoffed as she flipped her bangs to the back. I was so charmed by her at that moment; she totally became my girl crush.


    ©¸ And also the part where Ji Sung-Jin asked what X meant, to which Genie replied, ¡®She¡¯s saying I look like a flower.¡¯


    ©¸ Seriously, why was Ji Sung-Jin the only killer in Huntsman today when Genie was in a state of total mess? Genie had to carry the entire team by himself.


    In today¡¯s episode of Huntsman, the guests and members were divided into three teams ¨C the client, the killer, and the victim. The client and the killer each teamed up with one Huntsman member, and the rest of the members were victims along with Park Yeon-Ah. However, except for the three guests, the Huntsman members didn¡¯t know which team they belonged to, while the guests didn¡¯t know which members were assigned to their teams. The guests and Huntsman members had to look for their allies using the hints they had received during the missions. With only one hint from Kang Min-Ho, Woo-Jin was able to find the other killer. However, that was Ji Sung-Jin, the person known to be incompetent.


    1. Members of Wish Baragi <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

 Chapter 64

    In Huntsman, only the killers were allowed to tear off the name tags of the victims. Tearing off the name tag of any of the clients would get them disqualified from the game. Ji Sung-Jin got disqualified for tearing off the name tag of one of the clients, Ha-Hwa, resulting in Woo-Jin having to struggle all by himself.


    Woo-Jin was initially cautious from not knowing the other client¡¯s identity. However, following Ji Sung-Jin¡¯s disqualification, he threw away his hesitation and tore off the other players¡¯ name tags. So in that sense, Ji Sung-Jin had somewhat done his part.


    On the other hand, the clients and victims had to find the safe[1] before the killer caught them. The client would win if he found the safe before the killer caught all the victims, and the victims would win if they found the safe before the clients did without being caught by the killer. Last but not least, the killer would win if he managed to eliminate all the victims before either team found the safe.


    However, Woo-Jin had ripped off the last victim, Kim Jung-Guk¡¯s name tag by a hair¡¯s breadth right before Kang Min-Ho found the safe.


    ¡ª I was shocked when I saw Genie kicking the wall before spinning once in the air during his fight against Kim Jung-Guk.


    ©¸ You weren¡¯t the only one. Even Kim Jung-Guk had become like a paper tiger in front of Genie oppa. I was totally blown away when they swarmed in from all directions to grab Genie oppa, and he grabbed Lim Kwang-Soo¡¯s shoulder to leap before running away. Even my brother was stunned after complaining the entire time since I started watching Huntsman after hogging the TV remote.


    ¡ª I think it was certainly a good thing he appeared on Huntsman. Previously, I tried to pique my mom¡¯s interest and told her about Genie, but to no avail. However, when she watched Huntsman today, she inquired about him and told me to inform her about Genie¡¯s upcoming movie or drama. Previously, when I told her to watch Glooming Day with me, it had fallen on deaf ears.


    ©¸ There is nothing better than going on variety TV programs and acting in dramas to make your face known to the public. But I wonder what made CEO Jang change his mind this time around and tell Woo-Jin to go on Huntsman.


    ©¸ They must have been really desperate to send Genie on a show that¡¯s already lost its appeal.


    ¡ª To the commenter above, what you¡¯re saying is kind of weird, though? What¡¯s there for Genie to be desperate about?


    ©¸ To be honest, I may be a fan of Genie, but many things that happened previously on Do You Know Us? were too forced and fake. He pretended to run into the waste paper old man by chance, and even things on Huntsman were scripted ¨C do you think Kim Jung-Guk would get caught that easily? Everybody knows that they were secretly colluding, and it¡¯s a well-known fact that they must have reshot the scene if it didn¡¯t turn out well. In any case, as a fan, I¡¯m kind of disappointed that they¡¯re excessively trying to get the public¡¯s attention.


    It was a recognized fact that not everybody in the same group would feel the same way. However, everybody who had joined the Fancafe had some sort of basic affection for Woo-Jin. It was an irreplaceable first principle. However, members trying to ignore this principle started appearing in Wish Baragi.


    ¡ª Sometimes, this place is like a nest of fanaticism. Regardless of how good Genie is, let¡¯s fangirl over him in moderation. I don¡¯t even know if the fans here are half as caring and devoted to their families as they are to Genie.


    ©¸ It¡¯s only been two weeks since you joined and you are already writing such comments the minute you got promoted? What audacity!! Don¡¯t worry about others, but if you have time and love in your heart to write something like this, you must be really good to your family, huh?


    ©¸ Of course, I am! Which is why I¡¯m saying that you guys are pathetic. Can¡¯t you guys have some self-restraint like me and keep it cool? Is it that hard to be rational?


    ¡ª Yeah, it¡¯s hard! Everyone, please don¡¯t feed the troll. Let¡¯s be cold to the asshole, who likes to play it cool.


    A self-proclaimed fan appeared to nitpick on Chae Woo-Jin and spoke ill of all of his fans, riling up the other fans to start a fight with her. But, just as it was about to happen, a mod quickly appeared, calmed down the angry barags, and warned that member.


    Despite that, that member became more annoying and continued writing controversial comments on the bulletin board in a bid to stir the fans up. However, unlike the first time around, nobody paid her any attention. They ignored her existence as though she were invisible and scrolled past her comments without mentioning them at all. Just because it was the internet didn¡¯t mean it was any different from a tree falling in the forest¡ªunperceived and unheard.


    The poster¡¯s originally hateful and mocking comments eventually turned to pleadings full of anxiety and humiliation. By this time, the mods had gathered all the comments about Chae Woo-Jin that the problematic member had uploaded to other sites. Whenever somebody posted something slanderous about Chae Woo-Jin, the barags scattered over the internet would collect all the possible information and material about the original poster. Even though it was impossible to inspect every single person who had joined Wish Baragi, there were quite a few cases where they had caught some members posting such comments when they ran a check. And they got lucky this time.


    ¡ª Well, you aren¡¯t even an incredible person ¨C you¡¯re just a nobody, who stirs trouble on other sites [2]. Even if you write negative things about Woo-Jin here, it isn¡¯t going to reinstate the reputation of XX as the most handsome man in Korea. You think you¡¯re very cool for stealing your parents¡¯ money to buy gifts for that person and are proud of what you¡¯ve done. And for that, I¡¯ll give you the middle finger. We will live happily and well with our warm hearts and reject someone as ¡®cool¡¯ as you. Even though our time together was short, it¡¯s been terrible, so let¡¯s not cross paths ever again.


    After posting the clearly-worded announcement, the mod sent a message to the problematic member and banned her. No one cared about her after exposing her past doings because the peace that came after the brief disturbance was beautiful. Right now, the most important thing was that there wasn¡¯t a single loach turning the water cloudy in this place.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s ultimate victory after overcoming a series of bad luck was the most joyful occasion for the barags. But, more importantly, their family members¡¯ interest in the actor Chae Woo-Jin after watching Huntsman made them happy. Even though their greed of wanting to keep Chae Woo-Jin to themselves still lingered, their desire for him to thrive even more was bigger.


    ¡ª By the way, didn¡¯t Genie¡¯s face look very haggard? Seeing him so active seems like he is in good health, but how should I put it¡­? His face looked exhausted.


    ©¸ It must be very taxing to go to school and shoot a drama simultaneously. A friend of mine attends Korea University, and I heard that Genie has been missing his classes. So he has piles and piles of reports to complete. Additionally, midterms are starting next week. T_T


    ©¸ Genie oppa, please give birth soon~! [3]


    ©¸ Um¡­ It¡¯s ¡®get well soon.¡¯ When you say ¡®give birth¡¯...it means Genie is going to spawn something¡­ ;;


    ©¸ Anyhow, we should send him some black garlic extract to nourish his body.


    As soon as a fan mentioned black garlic extract, the other barags nodded in unison. They quickly gathered other barags¡¯ opinions, agreeing that black garlic was the best because it suited his taste due to his love for garlic and its accompanying health benefits.


    ¡ª There were many controversial things in the trailer they played during the press conference, but it seems as though Genie had shot that particular scene without a stunt double.


    ©¸ No way! Even if that¡¯s the case, they must have used CGI. Did he shoot it in front of a green or blue screen?


    ©¸ It looked too realistic to be a green screen, and the change in angles and composition were very dynamic ¨C it would cost a lot of money to get them done one by one using CGI, and it would be very laborious too¡­ ;;


    ©¸ Could it be made possible because of the significant increase in budget thanks to CEO Jang investing in the drama?


    ©¸ They definitely didn¡¯t use a green screen. From what I¡¯ve heard, they were shooting a drama at that building at dawn on the Friday when Genie had shot his action scenes. It¡¯s said that a person hooked to wires had jumped from one building to another and had even descended the wall of the building, but they didn¡¯t know if it was Genie himself or a stunt double.


    The thing that the reporters at the press conference were most curious about was the most important thing to the barags. However, the production director and actors¡¯ lips were sealed, so there was no way for them to get the truth. The only thing they could do was hope they would air that part as soon as possible so they could watch the behind-the-scenes video.


    ***


    Woo-Jin had to take his midterms on the week they aired the first episode of City of Shadows. Until now, he missed his classes to shoot the drama, but he couldn¡¯t do that for his exams. They had clearly stipulated in the contract that he wouldn¡¯t be shooting during the five days of his midterms. However, Production Director Park acted as though he had no intention of honoring it.


    ¡°Are you out of your mind! Do you think it¡¯s reasonable for the main lead to be absent from the shoot for five days?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I worked longer hours to shoot the scenes in advance, no?¡± Apart from the day of the press conference, Woo-Jin had worked through his breaks and continued shooting over the past two weeks to make up for his five-day absence. Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t ashamed to demand these five days of absence as he had saved everybody¡¯s time by getting the action scenes right in just half a day, as opposed to other people who spent a couple of days instead.


    ¡°Drama is a race against time! Do you think that editing the drama footage until a few minutes before it airs and then making sure it airs on time has nothing to do with you?¡±


    "I think we should shoot the scenes where Louie doesn¡¯t appear during those five days. I have shot all my scenes up to episode 6. I had also shot some scenes for episodes 7 and 8. However, aren¡¯t there several scenes in episodes 5 and 6 that haven¡¯t been shot yet?


    Woo-Jin was referring to Choi Joon¡¯s younger brother, Choi Kang, who would be appearing from episode 5 onwards. It was time to complete episodes 5 and 6 that were missing Choi Kang¡¯s scenes. Also, judging from Production Director Park¡¯s personality, he would most likely reject most of Lee Min-Soo¡¯s scenes in the beginning. So it was better to set plenty of time aside and start shooting now instead of waiting till the episode¡¯s air date was right around the corner.


    ¡°The actor who will be playing Choi Kang said he can¡¯t do it because he still isn¡¯t ready yet, remember?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯ll wait patiently for the actor who¡¯s unprepared but won¡¯t give me five days even though I¡¯ve been doing well thus far?¡±


    Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was very different from the directors that Woo-Jin had worked with so far. Directors Moon Seung-Kwon and Choi Yi-Geon had continued to keep in touch with Woo-Jin consistently even after they had finished shooting the movie. They had communicated with Woo-Jin enough to keep their relationships going.


    However, Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk didn¡¯t have such expectations because he had only seen Woo-Jin as an actor instead of someone he wanted to interact with. Hence, Woo-Jin also wanted to have nothing more than a professional relationship with him.


    ¡°How can you compare the main lead to a supporting character!¡±


    ¡°Even though our screen time is different, as long as he has a part, it has to be filmed someday, and that¡¯s a fact. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem if you tell him to shoot right away tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not ready yet¡­.¡±


    Even though it was frustrating to wait for Lee Min-Soo, Park Jong-Hyuk thought it would be better for Lee Min-Soo to start shooting a little later, when he would be able to perform better, even though they were behind schedule. So, he had delayed Lee Min-Soo¡¯s schedule as much as possible, though his prejudice against idols and distrust in Lee Min-Soo also played a part in this decision.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done my best for the drama, so I think it¡¯s only right for you to ensure my bare-minimum needs are taken into consideration., I won¡¯t be coming here for five days starting tomorrow, so how you make use of that time is at your discretion. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my jurisdiction or responsibility.¡±


    Production Director Park Jong-Hyun couldn¡¯t get used to Woo-Jin¡¯s stubborn attitude, as the latter had always obeyed him regardless of what he had asked. Woo-Jin¡¯s passion for the drama led Park Jong-Hyuk to believe that he could easily pressure Woo-Jin by being a bit more insistent. He hadn¡¯t expected Woo-Jin to come on this strong. This new side of Woo-Jin made him suddenly feel a sense of disconnect from the old, obedient Woo-Jin.


    Being familiar with such reactions from people from a young age, Woo-Jin spoke flatly.


    1. Strongbox for valuables. ?


    2. The writer described her as a loach, as loaches turn the water cloudy. ?


    3. ?? (to give birth) sounds exactly like ?? (get well). ?

 Chapter 65:

    ¡°I¡¯ve always done my job to the best of my abilities, but that doesn¡¯t mean I will sacrifice my needs.¡± Everything he had done was what he was capable of, and not once had he overdone himself. However, people had misunderstood that and demanded more from Woo-Jin many times before. Taking him for granted, he had been told something along the lines of, ¡®Since you¡¯ve done something similar previously, you can do it again this time.¡¯


    If it were something within Woo-Jin¡¯s means, he would do it, but he was never the type of person who would do things for other people at his own expense. However, people only realized it after experiencing such situations. Or they criticized him, saying he had changed.


    ¡°Also, more importantly, I¡¯ve kept my promise, so should you.¡±


    When Woo-Jin was shooting the action scene at the buildings, he had yielded a lot to the production director¡¯s demands. Of course, it was still within his means, and he had negotiated with the production director while making it seem as though he was making a concession. But, he had no intention of doing that without getting anything in return, nor did he have much trust in Park Jong-Hyuk. Woo-Jin simply left the dumbfounded Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk alone and got up from his seat.


    It was now Monday, past midnight. In other words, he would be taking a five-day break from shooting starting now. Over the next five days, Woo-Jin forgot about the drama and solely focused on his studies. The first episode had premiered on Wednesday, but he didn¡¯t even have time to watch it. Occasionally, people he didn¡¯t know would walk up to him in the hallways and say good things about the drama, but it still felt very surreal to him.


    The rating on the first day was 8.7%, which was definitely not a bad start when compared to Yoo Soo-Min¡¯s previous productions. And the second episode that was aired on Thursday had a 10.3% rating. The results were very encouraging as it meant that not only had they retained their viewers from the first episode, but they had also gained new viewers.


    Their competitor, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master, continued maintaining a rating of 18%, and MBS¡¯ drama ranked last among the three broadcasting companies with a rating of 5%. Since both the MBS drama and the highly-anticipated The Blue Castle¡¯s Master were unable to hit 20% once again, they ended up getting mocked by amateurs. In particular, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master became a laughing stock on the internet with people saying that the drama was all hype and no substance and that the episodes looked like a compilation of edited footage of the male and female leads¡¯ terrible acting.


    Compared to his previous performances, the male lead, Park Min, had improved a lot, but it didn¡¯t mean that he had turned into an outstanding actor. So, the negative comments were unsurprising since people had already given up on Park Min to a certain extent, but this time around, their target was unexpectedly the female lead.


    Until now, her reputation as an actress had been generally good. Her acting skills weren¡¯t poor to the extent of suddenly becoming the center of a debate. But for some reason, both she and Park Min had performed terribly this time around. The crux of the issue was that her current role as an innocent and pitiful woman was on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to all her previous roles where she played a tough and strong-willed woman with a bright personality.


    Perhaps, she wanted to diversify her role types, but judging from the results, it turned out to be a failure. The inability of the two actors in the drama to act from start to finish created a negative synergy. Nonetheless, they took comfort in the fact that the ratings hadn¡¯t dropped, and they were still the highest viewed Wednesday-Thursday drama by a large margin.


    More importantly, the rights to the drama had been sold overseas at a high price because of Park Min¡¯s popularity, so the producers didn¡¯t express any dissatisfaction or complaints about him. Although the drama hadn''t drawn as much attention and there was a bit of issue with the acting, it was still considered a success.


    Chae Woo-Jin returned to the set on Friday afternoon, the day after the second episode was aired. Some people had regarded it as the appearance of the main lead, while others saw it as the return of the prodigal son. Regardless of what they called his return, Woo-Jin had a brutal filming schedule ahead of him.


    ¡°Did the shooting of Choi Kang¡¯s scenes go well?¡± At dinner, Woo-Jin acted like nothing was wrong and asked Kang Min-Ho about Lee Min-Soo.


    ¡°Yeah! He shot them with his best effort up until this morning. He had as many bad takes as you and Yeon-Ah, and there was a lot of swearing and cursing on set. I¡¯ve never seen Production Director Park so angry before. But starting last night, he got a lot better. Frankly speaking, he¡¯s very good at adapting to circumstances.¡± Woo-Jin nodded absently in response to Kang Min-Ho¡¯s reply.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you in TM before?¡± asked Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°Yes, how did you know?¡±


    It was a piece of information that could easily be found on the internet, but Kang Min-Ho was not interested in digging up Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s past.


    ¡°I heard it from Lee Min-Soo when he mentioned that both of you used to be idol trainees. He¡¯s very amiable and good-natured. Even though Production Director Park kept cursing at him, he continued to work hard without even a frown. He was also friendly towards Yeon-Ah and me and called us ¡®noona¡¯ and ¡®hyung,¡¯ making me reflect on my past prejudices against idols.¡± Woo-Jin nodded once more after hearing Kang Min-Ho sing Lee Min-Soo¡¯s praises. Since he had already been in a similar situation before, he wasn¡¯t surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯ve known what kind of person Lee Min-Soo is since a long time ago.¡± Woo-Jin smiled brightly, saying nothing seemed to have changed, and Lee Min-Soo was still the same as back then. He truly had to hand it to him for being consistent.


    ***


    Louie and Choi Kang would be meeting each other for the first time in episode 10 ¨C they didn¡¯t have any scenes together before that. Although Choi Kang would be consistently appearing in the drama from episode 5 up until the finale, they only had a total of three scenes together. Hence, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t expect to see Lee Min-Soo¡¯s face anytime soon. However, their reunion happened much faster than he had assumed.


    Monday morning saw Lee Min-Soo arrive at an amusement park, that day¡¯s outdoor filming site. Park Yeon-Ah and Woo-Jin had already begun preparing for the shoot. The filming had commenced very early as they had to finish shooting the child actor¡¯s parts before the amusement park opened to the public. Louie and Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s scenes would be filmed after the park opened at 10 a.m. Given the early hour of the shoot, the standby staff had been famished. Lee Min-Soo went around the set, followed closely by his manager, and greeted everyone present with a bow. To the staff members¡¯ delight, he also handed out small paper bags containing a bottle of Dutch coffee and a sandwich each to show his appreciation. This was not an unfamiliar scene as previously, Kang Ho-Soo had given out snacks to the staff on Woo-Jin¡¯s behalf.


    However, the staff could not understand why Lee Min-Soo specially made a trip down to the amusement park for such a small thing, even though he didn¡¯t have any filming scheduled for the day. If they were shooting downtown, he could easily brush it off by saying that he happened to be in the area. But that was not the case here, so Woo-Jin was rather curious about his intentions.


    After greeting the staff, Lee Min-Soo walked towards Woo-Jin and Park Yeon-Ah as they went through their lines together. When he saw Woo-Jin, he smiled brightly and approached him with his arms wide open as though he had seen his best friend. Given the danger of being hugged by Lee Min-Soo if he stayed still, Woo-Jin forced himself to cough as hard as he could. His bent-over posture from the ¡°coughing fit¡± looked severe enough to shock Park Yeon-Ah, and she patted Woo-Jin on the back to comfort him. Lee Min-Soo had no choice but to lower his arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s really been a while, huh?¡± Lee Min-Soo said with a bright smile when Woo-Jin pretended that his cough had subsided to some extent.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you guys were close to each other back when you were in TM?¡± Park Yeon-Ah asked Woo-Jin. It was a casual question given Lee Min-Soo¡¯s super friendly attitude towards Woo-Jin, but she received a response that was beyond her expectations.


    ¡°Of course. We were very close.¡±


    ¡°No, we weren¡¯t exactly close.¡±


    Their answers were completely different from one another. Lee Min-Soo looked hurt after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply, as though he was about to cry, but nodded shortly after. His expression seemed to suggest that he understood the reason behind Woo-Jin¡¯s reply.


    ¡°Are you still mad that I was the one to join Blue Fit instead of you? The decision wasn¡¯t in my hands but the management. It¡¯s unfair for you to be mad at me,¡± Lee Min-Soo responded, looking aggrieved and hurt. Park Yeon-Ah widened her eyes after hearing what he had said.


    Although Lee Min-Soo and Woo-Jin were acting very casually, what Park Yeon-Ah just heard was by no means insignificant gossip in the entertainment industry. Lee Min-Soo¡¯s ambiguous tone seemed to have subtly painted Woo-Jin as a narrow-minded person and himself as the victim, almost as if he was trying to insinuate that Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t good enough to debut as one of Blue Fit¡¯s members. So, what right did he have to be mad at the wrong person?


    ¡°When have I ever been mad at you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Have I?¡± Woo-Jin asked as he looked at Lee Min-Soo with an innocent face. Since Lee Min-Soo¡¯s back was facing the sun, Woo-Jin was blinded by the bright sun, but still smiled brightly.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this straight. I¡¯ve never lashed at you in anger or have been mad at you. As you¡¯ve said earlier, it had nothing to do with you. I merely stated the fact that we were never close. Frankly, have we ever been close with one another?¡± Woo-Jin asked with genuine curiosity.


    Lee Min-Soo frowned when Woo-Jin looked at him as if he was truly curious. It was normal for people to pretend they were close, even if it was just out of courtesy. However, that wasn¡¯t the case here at all. It would have been great for Woo-Jin to say that he was close with Lee Min-Soo of Blue Fit. However, he was too stubborn to grab this perfect opportunity that had landed in his lap to gain more fame and publicity. And such action was something that Lee Min-Soo could never understand.


    ¡°If you say so. I thought we were close, but I guess I must have misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°If we were close, we wouldn¡¯t have spent the last three years without any contact. I thought we were just acquaintances, but I guess we have differing views. Well, you¡¯ve always been very generous when it comes to your definition of a ¡®friend.¡¯¡±


    In the past, Woo-Jin had been deceived by Lee Min-Soo and had once thought of him as a good-natured person who was nice to everyone, so Woo-Jin was nice to him in return. Even though they weren¡¯t close, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s kind and polite attitude towards Woo-Jin was very different from what he said behind his back. He would act very friendly in front of people, weaving white lies of things that ¡°Woo-Jin had allowed him to do¡± then pretending to be a victim while questioning Woo-Jin about his intentions with his change of stance. Woo-Jin had even heard him grumbling at times about how friendship didn¡¯t mean anything to Woo-Jin, and how Lee Min-Soo wasn¡¯t sure why Woo-Jin would throw his ¡°friend¡± under the bus.


    ¡°Unnie!¡± Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s fashion coordinator called out to her as they were in this tense and awkward atmosphere. The moment Park Yeon-Ah left to change for her shoot, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s constant smile suddenly vanished.


    ¡°F*cking bastard! Couldn¡¯t you have played it nice? You¡¯re so condescending now that you¡¯re a little famous, huh?¡± [1]


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything because I¡¯m not famous. If I were famous, my field of vision would be wider, letting me look at a bigger picture. It must be nice that you have a lot to look at, huh?¡± While Woo-Jin¡¯s expression remained the same, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s face turned red instantly. Lee Min-Soo was not confident in controlling his expressions, so he covered it up by pretending to stroke his face with his palm.


    Paying him no attention, Woo-Jin politely asked as he read the script, ¡°By the way, you don¡¯t have any scenes to shoot today, so why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Is there a reason why I should tell you?¡±


    ¡°Nope. You don¡¯t have to tell me if you don¡¯t want to,¡± Woo-Jin answered in a nonchalant tone. At that moment, Hwang Yi-Young went to call him.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, makeup.¡±


    Louie was always decked in a simple T-shirt and jeans. It was fine for him to look a little unkempt, so he didn¡¯t have to change into a separate set of clothes even though he had been wearing his clothes for quite some time. Hwang Yi-Young approached Woo-Jin¡¯s sitting area and greeted Lee Min-Soo briefly before fixing Woo-Jin¡¯s makeup.


    1. The direct translation of the phrase is ¡®You can¡¯t see anything just because you¡¯re a little famous.¡¯ ?

 Chapter 66

    ¡°Thank you for the coffee and sandwich.¡±


    ¡°You must have been working hard since dawn, so I hope this can be of some help to you. I¡¯ve prepared the actors¡¯ refreshments separately as they can¡¯t have them right now since they¡¯ll be starting the shoot soon. So, please make sure to give one to Woo-Jin later on.¡± Before they knew it, Lee Min-Soo had left after politely greeting Hwang Yi-Young with a kind look.


    ¡°What did you talk about?¡± Hwang Yi-Young asked softly as Lee Min-Soo walked into the distance.


    ¡°Nothing much. We were just expressing our different opinions about our relationship. By the way, do you know why he came here today?¡±


    ¡°He had something to attend to in the area yesterday and decided to take a quick stop here before heading back to Seoul. He wanted to observe and study the lead actors¡¯ acting to have a good grasp of the ambience.¡±


    ¡°He has a good attitude towards work, huh?¡± Woo-Jin laughed. He had now become an ashen-faced Louie with dark circles under his eyes. He thought about how Lee Min-Soo used to tag along whenever Blue Fit had recording sessions for their debut song, all for the purpose of observation and study. He felt rather relieved that things seemed to be the same as before. This was indeed fortunate for Woo-Jin because it would have been difficult to deal with Lee Min-Soo if he had become an entirely different person.


    They were shooting Louie and Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s trip to the amusement park today. Lee Yoo-Ra set aside a day to take Louie to the amusement park after he mentioned that he had never been to the amusement park except for the one time he went there with his parents as a kid.


    She wanted to create new memories with him, not knowing that his parents had abandoned him there that fateful day.


    ¡°Are we going to keep walking like this? Since you¡¯re afraid of taking the roller coasters, shall we go on the merry-go-round?¡± Lee Yoo-Ra asked, with a look in her eyes that seemed to say, ¡®Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid of that too.¡¯ Louie simply nodded in response.


    Louie walked around blindly without much thought as he recalled the path he had walked along with his parents when he was a child. As Lee Yoo-Ra led him down the path, Louie saw a child running away ¨C it was young Louie. Young Louie had walked on this very path that day too. He held both his parents¡¯ hands with a happy smile on his face. Walking down the same path with his parents and a slightly different background, young Louie smiled at adult Louie as he walked with Lee Yoo-Ra. Not knowing the meaning behind that smile, Louie stopped in his tracks for a moment.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lee Yoo-Ra also stopped in her tracks. She looked up at Louie with sparkling eyes, but he had a distant look in his eyes. Seeing that young Louie was about to get on the merry-go-round, Louie subconsciously started walking quickly. He had to stop him. ¡®No, you can¡¯t go on that.¡¯


    However, young Louie was already riding on a horse on the merry-go-round; he had become the happiest child in the world, smiling widely. And that smile vanished right when the merry-go-round had stopped. The world that was embracing both him and the child had collapsed.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop him,¡± muttered Louie. Lee Yoo-Ra approached him and held his hand quietly. The feeling of a soft, warm hand in his hand caused Louie¡¯s gaze to shift from the crying young Louie toward Lee Yoo-Ra.


    ¡°Are you leaving too?¡± He was asking her if she would also be leaving him if he were to get on the horse on the merry-go-round. Lee Yoo-Ra smiled and shook her head without knowing the deep meaning behind those words.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by ¡®leaving,¡¯ but it¡¯s not happening today.¡±


    ¡°Then what about tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Probably not either.¡±


    ¡°What about the day after tomorrow?¡± She shook her head, thinking there would be no end to these questions at this rate.


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave. I won¡¯t leave even if you plead with me to disappear from your sight! So we¡¯re good, right?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything, which is why you¡¯re cruel.¡±


    ¡°What did you say? Me? Cruel?¡±


    ¡°And pitiful.¡± ¡®Because I killed your father.¡¯ The image of Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s crying face after losing her father overlapped with young Louie¡¯s crying face as he stood by the merry-go-round. ¡®I took away your world and made it fall apart. I did that to you.¡¯


    Louie was finally aware of what he had done to her and couldn¡¯t hold in his emotions any longer. He looked away from Lee Yoo-Ra, and his gaze fell upon young Louie once again. The balloon that had made the young child happy for a brief moment flew up into the sky; the cotton candy fell to the ground and created a mess as it melted. It was a devastating and tragic scene, as though it was giving him the preview of young Louie¡¯s future.


    ¡®Would I be able to take it if I were to be abandoned like that once again? Even though I was much younger back then, I held up well and survived, so I probably wouldn¡¯t die, right? But even if I don¡¯t die, would I be okay? I suppose I¡¯d feel my world crumbling down again.¡¯


    At that moment, he was struck by realization like a bolt of lightning, causing him to feel despair.


    ¡°It¡¯s love, huh? This is love.¡±


    It was a different type of love compared to the one he had for his parents. Still, he clearly understood that Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s existence meant the entire world to him.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lee Yoo-Ra widened her eyes out of curiosity. Even though she was standing next to him, Louie was muttering to himself very softly, so she couldn¡¯t hear what he said.


    Young Louie was no longer crying; he looked at adult Louie with puffy eyes.


    ¡°I endured this moment and survived. How about you?¡± the child asked. But Louie couldn¡¯t give him an answer. Now aware of the weight of his sins, he had also realized what his feelings toward Lee Yoo-Ra meant. He loved her deeply, and she was his world now.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Wow~! Are you apologizing to me now? A day like this has actually come.¡±


    Lee Yoo-Ra smiled as she covered her mouth with her hand. Louie continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. And if that¡¯s what you want¡­I¡¯ll do it.¡± Louie¡¯s words were drowned in the commotion made by a group of laughing young students as they walked past them.


    Lee Yoo-Ra slightly frowned as she told Louie that she couldn¡¯t properly hear what he had just said. He stroked her forehead with his finger, smoothing out her frown, and said, ¡°Ugly.¡±


    He had always wanted to make her smile but didn¡¯t have the ability to do it.


    ¡°It must be nice to be as good-looking as you.¡±


    ¡°It would have been nicer if we had met back then.¡±


    Louie looked at the backs of the young students that passed by with a futile longing. If he had continued living in Korea instead of getting adopted and moving to the United States, his past might have turned out like that. And he might have met Lee Yoo-Ra at some point in his life.


    ¡°Even if we had met, we would have probably just walked past each other without getting to know one another.¡±


    ¡°...?¡± This time, it was Louie¡¯s turn to question what Lee Yoo-Ra had just said, and he tilted his head slightly. She called him ¡®cute¡¯ and went on her tiptoes to stroke his hair. Louie lowered his head a little so that Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s hand could reach his head.


    ¡°When we met each other for the first time, it was purely coincidental.¡± Back then, Lee Yoo-Ra had just discovered a new cafe in an alley that she usually passed by. As she was snooping around the cafe, Louie appeared before her with an injured arm. Lee Yoo-Ra had helped him treat his wounds without asking any questions when she found him returning to the cafe that also doubled as his home. That was how their friendship had started.


    ¡°For a coincidence to develop into a meaningful connection, it requires care and concern on each party¡¯s part. We walk past so many people in just one day, but how many people among them do we form a connection with? We got to know each other in a pool of so many people because we cared and bothered to make an effort to get to know each other. However, if we were that young, I wouldn¡¯t have paid any attention to a boy who¡¯s younger than me.¡±


    Lee Yoo-Ra shrugged and added, ¡°So it was the best time for us to meet at this stage in our lives.¡± She grabbed Louie¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get on the merry-go-round now.¡±


    ¡°Us?¡±


    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t tell me you wanted to do it alone?¡± Lee Yoo-Ra thought he was being ridiculous and dragged him to the merry-go-round. He walked past the still crying young Louie and trampled on the cotton candy that had dropped onto the ground.


    Behind him, young Louie was staring at him. He stood still with an expressionless face before gradually fading away until he disappeared, leaving only adult Louie behind as he rode a wooden horse with Lee Yoo-Ra. However, Louie wasn¡¯t happy at all.


    Even though he had found love today, Louie was more unhappy than ever because he knew his world would abandon him once again. He truly hadn¡¯t known the weight of his sin, which was no one else¡¯s fault, would be so heavy.


    Louie looked extremely miserable and gradually crumbled down, in contrast to Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s happy disposition. He fell into despair after realizing that regardless of when they met, it was ultimately the worst moment of her life.


    ¡°Cut!¡±


    The production director gave the green light, and they were done with the scene. Woo-Jin stumbled for a moment as he got off the wooden horse. Like Louie, he walked lifelessly without anything on his mind. Then someone approached him and sat him down in a chair. He could see Kang Ho-Soo from his peripheral vision.


    Kang Ho-Soo quietly unscrewed the water bottle cap and passed it to Woo-Jin. He took the bottle and drank from it while his mind was still devoid of thoughts. Just then, a shadow appeared right before him.


    ¡°Your acting was better than I expected.¡± Lee Min-Soo said to Woo-Jin, looking slightly surprised. It sounded like a compliment but was undoubtedly a backhanded comment.


    Chae Woo-Jin was like that in the past. He would complete tasks that people couldn¡¯t do even if they had put in their best efforts, with total ease, and act like it was nothing. His look of nonchalance and indifference had provoked others.


    ¡°I watched your movie and assumed that they had done a good job editing it to make your acting look decent, but now that I¡¯ve seen it, your acting is rather¡­¡± Lee Min-Soo cut himself off mid-sentence. That was because Woo-Jin looked up at him as he drank from the water bottle. Lee Min-Soo subconsciously took a step back when he made eye contact with those emotionless eyes.


    Was this how it felt if one were to run into a murderer who wanted to kill them? Kang Ho-Soo approached the trembling Lee Min-Soo as he stood frozen and supported him. He whispered, ¡°It¡¯s best not to get too close to him while he¡¯s still in character.¡±


    Woo-Jin tended to get out of character relatively quickly after the cameras stopped rolling. However, there were times like these when he needed a little more cooldown time, especially after shooting an emotionally taxing scene. Right now, Woo-Jin was silently looking at Lee Min-Soo through Louie¡¯s eyes. Lee Min-Soo was a worthless person to Louie, and he had no emotions toward him.


    After looking at Lee Min-Soo from Louie¡¯s perspective, Woo-Jin finally felt that the suffocating bitterness within him had started to diminish. Ever since he had discovered a thorn he didn¡¯t even know existed, he had been on edge the entire time. He had a hard time calming himself down because the thorn had pricked him even at the slightest touch.


    However, in hindsight, Lee Min-Soo wasn¡¯t someone who existed in Woo-Jin¡¯s world. He couldn¡¯t be compared to any of the people who existed in it. There was no reason to be affected by someone like him, but Woo-Jin had kept thinking about him.


    Woo-Jin started to get out of character and smiled gently. He thought to himself: ¡®You¡¯re going to spend the rest of your life living like that, huh? Living like a greedy hyena who covets what others have and steal from them, but ultimately gets nothing but rotten meat.¡¯


    He had never been envious of rotten meat; the fact that it was stolen had always irked him. However, looking at it from Louie¡¯s point of view, it was futile to feel that way. Unless he was a hyena, he didn¡¯t need rotten meat even if he had it.


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡±


    ¡®Because I¡¯m different from you.¡¯

 Chapter 67

    <Chae Woo-Jin is an interesting actor>


    He has always been a unique individual since his debut. His first role was a supporting character in a blockbuster guaranteed to be a box office hit. Judging from that alone, it might sound glamorous, but his character (loan shark A) was actually just a minor character with only two scenes in the beginning. For those who don¡¯t know, you can judge how minor his role was, given that he had only received 500,000 won (US$500) as compensation back then.


    The infamous Director Moon Keung-Kwons¡¯ fickle temperament, along with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s competence, were the reasons why loan shark A had evolved into a supporting character. Without either one of them, it¡¯s highly likely that the public would not have gotten a chance to meet The Unknown Actor, who was trending this summer. Nevertheless, it would have been impossible for actor Chae Woo-Jin to escape the public eye because, as luck would have it, his second film was released right after his first.


    Just as the public was still basking in the hype over ¡®The Unknown Actor,¡¯ we got to meet Cha Hyun-Seung, a man with a passion akin to a late-summer heatwave. Chae Woo-jin¡¯s first movie was a typical action film, while his second was a classic romance. He transformed from a fatally charming bad boy into a pure and upright young man in an instant, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to catch the public¡¯s attention. He was simultaneously able to captivate people with all kinds of tastes with these two distinctly different characters.


    It was rare for a rookie to establish a solid fan base in such a short time like Chae Woo-Jin did. And this time around, he has once again appeared before us as a killer. He¡¯s taking on the role of the main lead in a drama for the first time after playing supporting characters in the two previous films, making it hard not to harbor expectations as well as concerns. Undoubtedly, Chae Woo-Jin is good at acting. And it¡¯s already been proven that his presence can overwhelm the main characters¡¯ presence, so there was no need to worry about that.


    But dramas are different from movies. Thus, there were concerns about how playing a killer as his first leading role in a drama would give the very charming Chae Woo-Jin a specific image. That¡¯s because my idea of a killer did not deviate too much from the audiences¡¯ idea of one.


    However, this was a mistake that stemmed from overlooking the fact that City of Shadows was written by Yoo Soo-Min. In this newly released drama, ¡®Louie¡¯ did not look anything like the typical killers we usually imagine them to be. Instead, he had an ashen face and pale, chapped lips that would occasionally bleed, and nails that had been bitten to the point of exposing the pink flesh underneath; even his gait was unsteady and unfocused. He was pathetic and weak but beautiful, like a baby bird that had lost its mother. But when he was immersed in work, he would become a cold-blooded slaughterer with a murderous intent exuding from his emotionless face.


    Chae Woo-Jin managed to capture the two distinctly different images in one character ¡ª Louie ¡ª and pulled it off effortlessly. Hence, those concerns were truly unfounded. A sensible actor would find a role that suits them, but an actor who¡¯s good at acting would not mind taking on any role. So, it was absolutely pointless to worry about Chae Woo-Jin being given a fixed image as he¡¯s someone wise and great at acting.


    ......redacted......


    Some time ago, I had described Chae Woo-Jin as a ¡®monster rookie.¡¯ Today, I¡¯d like to place the modifier, ¡®beautiful,¡¯ in front of that term. Undoubtedly, Chae Woo-Jin looks perfect and beautiful, but that¡¯s absolutely not what I¡¯m talking about. He¡¯s a very adventurous actor who loves taking on challenges. However, he¡¯s not complacent and is not afraid of how he appears in the eyes of the public. When an actor becomes conscious of his appearance, he will get into a rut and fall behind.


    Chae Woo-Jin hasn¡¯t displayed any signs of that thus far. He has been part of only three productions so far, and only four episodes of the drama have been aired, so it may still be too early to give an evaluation. Hence, I acknowledge that this may be a warning disguised as a compliment. Still, the sight of him making progress and taking on challenges is remarkable. And I look forward to seeing more of it.


    As a person who makes our hearts flutter as we wait in anticipation for his next character, I dare say he¡¯s beautiful. And on that note, I end my article in the hopes of seeing his beauty for a long time.


    (Daily Culture. Choi Il-Jae)


    After reading the entire article, Lee Min-Soo could not hold back his anger and subconsciously threw the tablet in his hand to one side. Coincidentally, the road manager happened to open the door and enter the room at the same time, so the tablet hit him and bounced off before tumbling onto the floor. The road manager picked it up and inspected it; luckily, there were no damages. He quietly placed it back in front of Lee Min-Soo.


    ¡°Some kind of paid article.¡±


    He wanted to add, ¡®Who would believe that?¡¯ but Lee Min-Soo couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it. It might be the case if the article had been written by someone else, but Choi Il-Jae was known for being an anti-lobbyist. Lee Min-Soo knew this fact because both he and his agency had tried to contact Choi Il-Jae several times before, but each time ended in failure.


    Lee Min-Soo couldn¡¯t help but feel bad after seeing someone like that publish a favorable article about Chae Woo-Jin. ¡®Why does it have to be Chae Woo-Jin of all people?¡¯ Lee Min-Soo was annoyed and on the verge of going insane because he had barely gotten rid of Chae Woo-Jin, but now the latter had reappeared as a drama actor.


    ¡°Have you met with the sound supervisor?¡± Lee Min-Soo asked the road manager about the task''s progress that he had entrusted him; he was trying his best to calm himself down. However, the road manager could not give him a straight answer. Judging from his hesitation and lip biting, Lee Min-Soo could already guess his answer and frowned.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say they¡¯ll get an actor to sing the theme song! Among the actors who sing¡­ Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    When Seol Moon-Young heard from the production company¡¯s executive that the drama''s theme song hadn¡¯t been recorded yet, he suggested that the sound supervisor leave that task to him. From the beginning, they had planned to get one of the actors to personally sing it to bring out the mood and emotions of the drama. Lee Min-Soo would be an appropriate candidate for that job as Blue Fit¡¯s sub-vocalist, as he had the right skills and qualifications. The sound supervisor didn¡¯t accept Seol Moon-Young¡¯s suggestion right away but expressed that he would think about it. And today, he announced his decision via the road manager.


    ¡°The sound supervisor heard Chae Woo-Jin sing ¡®Confession,¡¯ and the song¡­¡± The road manager was interrupted mid-sentence because a tablet suddenly flew right towards his face. The tablet grazed his face and smashed into the wall before falling to the floor with a loud ¡®crack.¡¯ Lee Min-Soo had received several tablets like this one from his fans anyway, so even if he were to break a few, it wasn''t exactly a waste. It didn¡¯t matter what it was as long as it had somehow helped him overcome his sudden surge of anger.


    ¡°He should have just spent his life living in the shadows. Why did he come back? Why? Why?¡± Lee Min-Soo slammed his fist against the table, feeling like he was about to go insane. He couldn¡¯t understand why that bastard who was good at studying would come back into the entertainment industry. Lee Min-Soo kept repeating the words ¡®If it were me¡¯ and ¡®If I were him¡¯ over and over again while he sorted out his feelings and grudges towards Chae Woo-Jin.


    Chae Woo-Jin had always triggered Lee Min-Soo¡¯s inferiority complex. Looking at Woo-Jin made him feel terrible and miserable because it made his average talent seem so insignificant. He used to think he was the most talented in the world when he was younger. As he grew older, he was confident of achieving everything as long as he tried his best. He believed that hard work would always yield the best results and truly did his best every time.


    However, he had hit a wall in his last hurdle. Since he was unable to surpass the wall called Chae Woo-Jin, Lee Min-Soo chose to nibble at the bottom of the pillar supporting the wall. In fact, he had removed the pillars supporting the wall on both sides because of how hard it was to knock it down. He thought the wall would naturally crumble and disappear after that, but it ended up becoming stronger and appeared once again. But why now of all times?


    When his ardent desire of debuting as a member of Blue Fit became a reality, he felt as though the entire world belonged to him. However, if one were to take a step back and look at the harsh reality, they¡¯d realize that idols were ultimately nothing more than a seasonal business. Additionally, things these days were different from how they used to be ¨C it was a fact that these idols would be treated like garbage after a few years.


    Furthermore, regardless of how successful the group itself was, only one or two members would be loved by the public and attain success. The rest of the group members would just be in the background, feeling very anxious over the group¡¯s popularity and being forced to walk on eggshells. Everything would be over for them on the day the group disbanded, as they didn¡¯t have what it took to have a solo career.


    Nowadays, those idol groups had been going on temporary hiatus instead of disbanding, but there wasn¡¯t any significant difference between the two for the less successful members. In Lee Min-Soo¡¯s opinion, Blue Fit would not last long as an idol group due to the members'' personalities. And as long as the main vocalist, Min Si-Hoo, was in the group, he would have no chance of establishing himself as a vocalist and succeeding in his career.


    When he realized that he couldn¡¯t become the most successful vocalist in Blue Fit even without Chae Woo-Jin getting in the way, Lee Min-Soo decided to become an actor and worked hard to get to where he was at today. However, Chae Woo-Jin had once again appeared in his life. And it was also at his most crucial moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ve worked so hard up until now! It was so hard for me to get to where I¡¯m at today.¡±


    Although he was the first to be cast in City of Shadows, Lee Min-Soo really wanted to play Louie in the drama. He had lost count of the number of times he had gone to see the writer, Yoo Soo-Min, as well as ask Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk to give him the part. Lee Min-Soo was confident that he could have his way if he left it to them, but they ended up choosing Chae Woo-Jin.


    The wonderful Chae Woo-Jin they had chosen left the set for five days to take his exams, forcing Lee Min-Soo to shoot his parts even though he was still in the middle of studying how to act his character. He was so angry that he couldn¡¯t hold it in and went to visit Chae Woo-Jin on the day of the shooting to see the difference between him and Chae Woo-Jin with his own eyes. He thought that he would personally look at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting and laugh at them for choosing Chae Woo-Jin over him. He had wanted to ask them, ¡®Did you think that the person you¡¯ve chosen is somebody special?¡¯


    And on that day, Lee Min-Soo had once again experienced the same despair he felt back when he heard Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s song in the old recording studio.


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be! I¡¯m not the only one in this tough predicament.¡± ¡®Why is this only happening to me?¡¯ In that moment of frustration, Lee Min-Soo thought about Min Si-Hoo, the person who had joined forces with him to fight against their common enemy, Chae Woo-Jin.


    The person more likely to be in a worse predicament was Min Si-Hoo, the leader and main vocalist of Blue Fit. He was the person at the forefront of all the battles. After the war was over and they had each gotten what they wanted, both parties gradually became estranged. They were well aware of each other¡¯s weaknesses and intentions, creating a huge chasm between them, such that they couldn¡¯t become close friends again. Even though there was no loyalty or anything left between them, they could not stand by and watch either side collapse.


    ¡°Tell Si-Hoo hyung that Chae Woo-Jin will be singing the theme song of the drama.¡±


    The road manager nodded without knowing the reason behind his instructions. It had been less than two years since he had joined TM, so he didn¡¯t know about the relationship between Chae Woo-Jin and Blue Fit. Hence, he regarded Lee Min-Soo¡¯s volatile reactions towards Chae Woo-Jin as mere jealousy. However, he couldn¡¯t understand why he had to tell Min Si-Hoo about Chae Woo-Jin. Nonetheless, his worry was short-lived; he had learned from experience that doing as he was told was best for him, so he immediately stopped thinking about it.


    Lee Min-Soo bit his lip as he thought about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s singing video he had seen recently. ¡®Chae Woo-Jin still sings as well as before, and his song tugged at people¡¯s heartstrings. And now he will be singing the drama¡¯s theme song?¡¯


    There had already been a lot of buzz going around because of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s video where he sang ¡®Confession.¡¯ Finding out that Chae Woo-Jin used to be a member of TM was not a big deal. But when the writers found out that he was an original member of Blue Fit and had left right before they debuted, they started to question why. At least, they became more curious about how Lee Min-Soo was better than Chae Woo-Jin, as he was the one who replaced the latter.


    Some people had also dredged up the rumors surrounding their debut song from a long time ago. Of course, Lee Min-Soo could argue that he had only done what the management had told him to do, but Min Si-Hoo was an active participant in every aspect.


    ¡°It looks like that person is going to wear that ridiculous mask and sing, huh.¡±


    At this point, Min Si-Hoo had to step forward and show off his abilities as much as possible. He had the skills, so he would be able to do well on ¡®King of Mask Singer.¡¯[1] He had to be recognized by the public as a singer with a different charm that set him apart from Chae Woo-Jin, to ensure that the old rumors would not surface.


    Lee Min-Soo couldn¡¯t care less about what would happen to Min Si-Hoo, but as long as they were in the same boat called Blue Fit, he couldn¡¯t just stand by and watch the mast collapse. He was well aware that he had to watch over the mast in order to survive and row hard towards his destination. When the boat arrived at the destination, it would then be discarded.


    1. It¡¯s a variety show where contestants had to wear masks when they sing to remove factors such as popularity, career, and age that could lead to prejudiced voting. ?

 Chapter 68

    It was concluded that ¡®The Wind That Blows From You,¡¯ sung by Chae Woo-Jin, would be the ideal fit for the theme song of Louie and Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s love. Because of his relationship with Seol Moon-Young, the sound supervisor couldn¡¯t give them a flat refusal and delicately evaded the matter by saying he would think about it, but he had no intentions of having anyone else but Chae Woo-Jin sing the theme song. To begin with, it was a song meant to be sung with Louie¡¯s emotions, and since Chae Woo-Jin was an amazing singer, there wasn¡¯t any reason not to choose him, even if they had a famous K-pop idol singer as one of the options.


    ¡°The song is good.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you will be able to sing this theme song? If it¡¯s too difficult, you don¡¯t have to do it.¡± As Woo-Jin studied the sheet music, Kang Ho-Soo reminded him that he always had the option of saying no. However, Woo-Jin shook his head, looking very interested and captivated by the song.


    ¡°I like it. The wind that blows from you doesn¡¯t reach me, and the waves that blow from me push you away ¨C just like the situation between Louie and Lee Yoo-Ra. I think it would sound perfect if I sing it in a calm, low voice, just the way Louie whispers.¡±


    He liked the song, but more importantly, the song that represented Louie¡¯s feelings seemed like a continuation of acting out his character. It felt as if Louie¡¯s character would be incomplete if he didn¡¯t sing it, so he really wanted to be the one to sing the song. After seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s positive response, Kang Ho-Soo checked the notebook in his hand and told him that he would discuss the recording schedule with the sound supervisor.


    Kang Ho-Soo continued, ¡°A telecommunication company wants you to do a one-off commercial for them, but the CEO thinks that adding on a commercial shoot to your schedule would be too much, so we¡¯ve decided to postpone it for now. The client happily accepted the suggestion, and we¡¯ve made a verbal agreement to schedule it for the end of the year. Would that be okay?¡±


    The client was more enthusiastic about using Chae Woo-Jin as a model than they had expected. In fact, they were the ones to take the initiative of suggesting to CEO Jang their willingness to wait if it meant that Chae Woo-Jin would be able to do the commercial. To seal the deal, they brought up the verbal contract when CEO Jang said they would think about the commercial only after the drama was over. Naturally, with CEO Jang pushing the contract signing to a later date, Kang Ho-Soo was now trying to read Woo-Jin¡¯s expression subtly.


    Commercials were a very sensitive matter to celebrities. Since it was going to be Woo-Jin¡¯s first commercial, Kang Ho-Soo couldn¡¯t help but worry about what his reaction would be. When it came to verbal agreements, nobody knew if they would be actually honored until it happened. However, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t show much interest in it ¨C he was much more enthusiastic about the theme song. In fact, he was rather against shooting a commercial under current circumstances, thinking the idea to be rather terrible. So Kang Ho-Soo was relieved that Woo-Jin was fine with shooting it at a later date.


    ¡°And last but not least, we still have the Berry Rose issue¡­.¡± Kang Ho-Soo brought up this matter with much difficulty. Somehow, it felt that this was the main issue he wanted to address today. Woo-Jin shifted his gaze away from the sheet music and looked at Kang Ho-Soo upon hearing the name of the girl idol group that he had recently discovered by chance.


    After Do You Know Us? was aired, Woo-Jin¡¯s friends had given him a hard time about it for quite some time as they were astounded by the fact that he didn¡¯t know who Berry Rose was. In particular, Hyun-Min was mourning his lack of awareness of the fact that when he called Woo-Jin, his telephonic voice had momentarily shared space with Berry Rose¡¯s members. Hyun-Min had almost grabbed Woo-Jin by the collar when the latter had asked him what the point of knowing girl groups was when he had been discharged from the army.


    ¡°Are they by any chance nitpicking on how I didn¡¯t recognize them?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. But after that, there were a lot of suggestions from different parties to cast both you and Berry Rose together, saying that it would be good for you to work with them. Even when we said it would be difficult right now, they wouldn¡¯t let it go and asked about collaborating once you¡¯re free after the drama ends. Of course, that¡¯s provided if the hype still remains until then.¡±


    There had been several attempts to cast Chae Woo-Jin and Berry Rose together in variety TV programs and invite them to various events. As Berry Rose was currently very popular, they had responded positively to those suggestions. The problem here was Woo-Jin. He had been using the drama¡¯s filming as an excuse for the time being, but he wasn¡¯t in a position where he could continuously reject them either.


    ¡°What did the CEO say?¡±


    ¡°He said that you can do whatever you want, and he won¡¯t stop you as he did in the past, but because of that, things have gotten rather awkward. Back then, we could have used the CEO as an excuse, but people know that he has loosened up a little these days. If you reject them, you might come across as being rude. Even though you didn¡¯t recognize Berry Rose the first time around, if you keep disregarding them, it would really seem like you¡¯ve ¡®ignored¡¯ their presence.¡±


    It would have been best not to be entangled with them at all from the beginning, but they had already gotten involved with one another unintentionally. More importantly, the root of the problem was that the people were eagerly anticipating Chae Woo-Jin and Berry Rose¡¯s reunion. If Woo-Jin were to reject these offers while Berry Rose responded positively, it could make Woo-Jin seem disrespectful. It wasn¡¯t that serious yet, but it was still a cause for concern.


    ¡°Do I have to meet all six members of Berry Rose?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to! It¡¯s enough to meet the girls you met back then ¨C Da-Young and Cho-Hee.¡± For some reason, Kang Ho-Soo was somewhat reluctant to let Woo-Jin meet the other Berry Rose members. Since Woo-Jin only had to meet the two members he had met before instead of all six members, he had no reason to refuse. He hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, but he seemed to know how disappointing it felt to not be recognized by another celebrity.


    ¡°When the drama is over, please help me set it up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to do it?¡±


    ¡°If the hype dies down, just let it be. If not, I think it¡¯ll be better to just meet with them at least once. It¡¯s better than having people talk about us repeatedly.¡± Kang Ho-Soo nodded and agreed with Woo-Jin. At this moment, he just hoped that people would forget about Chae Woo-Jin and Berry Rose as time passed. However, exciting gossip like that did not die down that easily. Additionally, it might be too optimistic to hope for that since one of them was doing well in his drama, while the others were doing well in variety TV programs and producing popular music.


    The fourth episode of City of Shadows received a rating of 14%, and finally, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯s seemingly solid rating fell to 16%. The rapid development at the beginning of the drama had slowed down after the episodes shot abroad had ended. These episodes had taken up most of the production costs, and the remaining episodes were shot in Korea, leading to a decrease in the hype about the drama.


    Many people even said they couldn¡¯t sympathize with the passionate love between the male and female leads of The Blue Castle¡¯s Master. The viewers pointed out that they had fallen in love too quickly, and the process of risking their lives for love was too forced. On the other hand, the mood on the set of City of Shadows was lively, and the cast and crew members were greatly encouraged due to the steady rise in the show¡¯s ratings.


    There was a negative reaction towards the news about Lee Min-Soo appearing on the drama from episode 5 onwards, as people were unhappy about an idol appearing in a well-made drama with good acting. Nevertheless, many people felt that it was a good thing that Lee Min-Soo was the one chosen instead of other idols. After improving his acting skills, Lee Min-Soo was slowly establishing himself as an actor. More importantly, the comments about how his acting was decent enough for a supporting role had been effective. Although it was a public opinion started mainly by Blue Fit¡¯s fans, it was not exactly wrong.


    On the day episode 5 aired, Blue Fit¡¯s fan club, Blue Hole, sent a food truck to the filming site. It was an all-you-can-eat food truck that had various foods, including popular meat and side dishes, as well as desserts. Naturally, the actors and staff members were very pleased.


    ¡°The fans of idols are truly something else.¡± Park Yeon-Ah was amazed, as though she had seen a whole new world after looking at the photo of Lee Min-Soo along with the words, ¡®Please take care of our oppa!¡¯ printed on the wrapping paper of each disposable wet towel. However, the individually wrapped cutlery and cup holders also had Lee Min-Soo¡¯s face printed on them, making her feel a little uncomfortable. She had to turn them slightly before use so that the picture was out of sight. Even the napkins had Blue Fit¡¯s logo and a caricature of the members printed on them.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to enjoy these perks and treatment because we¡¯re working with an idol.¡± Despite saying that, Kang Min-Ho added that it wasn¡¯t a big deal and fans of famous celebrities would do the same thing too.


    ¡°Ohh~! Speaking from experience?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve had quite a bit of experience with food trucks like this one. But why am I crying?¡± Kang Min-Ho pretended to wipe away his non-existent tears and expressed his concerns to Woo-Jin, sitting in front of him. ¡°Your fans said they would be preparing lunch boxes tomorrow. But looking at what Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans are doing today, will they be alright?¡±


    The situation had become kind of strange because the supporting actor, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans had pulled such an act a day before the main lead¡¯s fans did. Kang Min-Ho was a little worried that people might compare tomorrow¡¯s lunchboxes prepared by Woo-Jin¡¯s fans to the over-the-top food truck from today. Either way, it was because Woo-Jin¡¯s fans did not have as much experience as the fans of an idol active over the last three years and were slower too. If both fandoms paid tribute on two consecutive days, people would naturally compare them to one another even if it weren¡¯t their intention.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? It feels like I¡¯m eating out, so I like it. To be honest, I¡¯m starting to get tired of eating the regular food we get these days.¡± Woo-Jin had been tired of eating the usual food from the food trucks at the drama¡¯s filming site recently. After all, it was different from eating home-cooked food, so the more he ate, the more tired he got of the food. Putting his personal feelings towards Lee Min-Soo aside, even though the food provided by his fans was not the same as home-cooked food, it was different from the usual food they had, so he thought it was good too.


    ¡°I¡¯m really glad you like it. They¡¯re airing the episode I¡¯m in today, so my fans have specially prepared the food truck for me for this occasion. As it turns out, I heard that your fans have prepared food for tomorrow?¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled at Lee Min-Soo, who was smiling with a clueless look on his face. Regardless of the sequence, Woo-Jin was just thankful that his fans had prepared food for them. When he first heard that his fans were planning to deliver lunch boxes to the filming site, he was pleasantly surprised. Woo-Jin was genuinely happy that his fans were so thoughtful and took good care of him and his co-workers, even though he was still a nobody.


    Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans probably felt the same way too. Regardless of what Woo-Jin thought of Lee Min-Soo, for his fans, Lee Min-Soo was definitely someone worth putting in all the effort. That thought itself deserved full respect. It didn¡¯t matter who did it first or whose fans spent more money.


    ¡°I saw your fans earlier and thanked them for the food, but truly, thank you. I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite these days, but thanks to you, I got to eat such great food today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Meat is always glorious! I¡¯ll be eating well, thanks to you.¡± ¡°Thank you~!¡± Park Yeon-Ah and Kang Min-Ho took turns to thank Lee Min-Soo, and the latter nodded. He sat down next to Woo-Jin with an awkward look on his face and started by asking for their understanding and cooperation with something.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how they knew about it, but I heard that Lee Jin-Ah from TNB¡¯s Entertainment Plus will be coming here for an interview after finding out about the food truck. Would that be okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s free publicity. What''s not to like?¡± As soon as Kang Min-Ho spoke on their behalf, Park Yeon-Ah nodded. Naturally, everybody¡¯s gazes shifted towards Woo-Jin after that.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Woo-Jin asked once again as he looked at them with his round eyes while eating a piece of chicken thigh. He wondered if there was a reason for Lee Min-Soo to ask for his consent because someone from an entertainment program was coming to interview him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never watched Entertainment Plus before, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before, although not very often¡­.¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s voice became softer and softer as he felt there was something he didn¡¯t know about.


    Based on what Woo-Jin had already known, ¡®Entertainment Plus¡¯ was a TV program going on for the past two years, but he didn¡¯t watch it when he was serving in the military, and he didn¡¯t have time to watch it lately. It was not exactly a show that he would watch, but he roughly knew that it was a program that reported news related to the entertainment industry.


    ¡°There¡¯s a reporter named Lee Jin-Ah from that program ¨C she¡¯s a little loud and noisy. She¡¯d try to get information from everyone and interview people here and there, badger them to show off their skills and talents.¡±


    ¡°Ah~! I think I¡¯ve seen her before.¡± Woo-Jin now recalled who she was and looked coldly at Lee Min-Soo. Even though he made it seem as though he could do nothing about it, a variety TV program wouldn¡¯t send someone over without reason. ¡®He has already set it up in the first place, so why is he doing a silent protest against that reporter?¡¯


    ¡°In Entertainment Plus, Lee Jin-Ah is the funniest reporter, and she¡¯s good at conducting interviews. Her segment probably has the highest ratings,¡± Park Yeon-Ah answered on Lee Min-Soo¡¯s behalf and added that it was the law of capitalism.


    From the perspective of an interviewee, Lee Jin-Ah was the most annoying interviewer, but the producers always sent her to important places that were highly sought after by the viewers. If she had come because of the food truck prepared by Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans, it also meant that Blue Fit¡¯s Lee Min-Soo was very popular.


    ¡°But do I have to show off my skills? Can I not do it?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t, Lee Jin-Ah will make you do something like the ¡®Did you make kongnamul muchim~!¡¯ gag [1]. Kang Ho-Soo had met Lee Jin-Ah before; he shook his head, feeling sick of her as a person. Since Entertainment Plus was on cable, there were times when it had gone too far. Despite being criticized, they would just brazenly cross the line as long as they got good ratings. Even though it was good for publicity, it was not a pleasant coverage.


    1. Kongnamul muchim (??? ??) is a Korean soybean sprout side dish. It was a famous line used by comedian Lee Ju-Il back in the 80s. ?

 Chapter 69

    ¡°So I have to do it too?¡±


    ¡°I guess so? The focus is on him, but they¡¯ll probably try to get hold of you for an interview as well. And also get you to showcase your skill or talent.¡± As soon as Kang Min-Ho gave a firm answer, Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo¡¯s faces turned red simultaneously. The former was flustered that he had to showcase his skill, and the latter was filled with rage because they would be interviewing Woo-Jin as well, even though he was the focus of the news coverage.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, you don¡¯t have to worry about showcasing your talent.¡±


    ¡°Me? What kind of talent do I have?¡± Woo-Jin was perplexed as he truly believed in his lack of talent and asked Park Yeon-Ah for clarification as she obviously knew more than he did. Kang Min-Ho snapped his fingers in exasperation, saying he too knew of Woo-Jin¡¯s talent. ¡°Woo-Jin, you really are unbelievable! You¡¯re good at imitating other singers. What are you worried about when you can sing exactly like the original singer as long as you sing with determination?¡±


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s version of ¡®Confession,¡¯ both Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah had tried to find out the secret behind singing that well. And then, they found out that Woo-Jin could do singing impressions perfectly. He was so good at imitating the original singers¡¯ voices that if he were to go on Hidden Singer, he¡¯d be able to defeat the original singer. [1]


    ¡°I¡¯m just imitating them, that''s all. Back then, when I spoke to the members¡­ or just people I know, I took note of the distinct features of each of their tones and imitated them.¡±


    Min Si-Hoo had once expressed his dissatisfaction with the distribution of the parts when they were recording Blue Fit¡¯s debut song. At that time, Seol Moon-Young had gotten Woo-Jin to sing the parts by imitating Min Si-Hoo¡¯s voice. After living together for more than a year, Woo-Jin was very familiar with the tone and characteristics of Min Si-Hoo¡¯s voice, so he could effortlessly do as told.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have the confidence to sing as well as Woo-Jin, don¡¯t be greedy.¡± Seol Moon-Young had said that to Min Si-Hoo when his face turned pale after hearing Woo-Jin sing a song in a voice that was almost identical to his own. He couldn¡¯t argue further as the song sounded completely different despite having identical voices. However, Min Si-Hoo resorted to violence from then on.


    ¡°That¡¯s your talent!¡± Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah jeered at Woo-Jin, whose response lacked enthusiasm, remarking that only talented people could be so nonchalant about it.


    ¡°But Min-Soo, why do you look so unhappy? Is something wrong?¡± Park Yeon-Ah asked. She was teasing Woo-Jin when she tilted her head to the side and glanced over at Lee Min-Soo sitting silent and gloomy. Ever since they started talking about talents and skills, for some reason, his face had turned pale, and he seemed very uncomfortable.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just that my episode is airing today, so I guess I¡¯m a little nervous.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll probably be better than us considering that you already have quite a bit of experience acting in dramas. You have no idea how terrified we were on the day they aired the first episode because it¡¯s our very first drama.¡± Kang Min-Ho added that his stomach still hurt just by thinking about that day, to which Park Yeon-Ah nodded her head earnestly in agreement.


    When the two people told Lee Min-Soo not to worry because they had been worse than him, Lee Min-Soo forced a smile and looked at Woo-Jin from the corner of his eyes. He couldn¡¯t tell what Woo-Jin was thinking, and the calmer Woo-Jin looked, the more anxious he felt.


    ¡®This is not what I had in mind.¡¯


    Lee Min-Soo¡¯s original plan had been to flaunt his fandom in front of Woo-Jin to dampen his spirits. When he had heard that Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were going to prepare lunch boxes for the cast and crew on a certain day, he thought they were just going to be regular lunch boxes. Hence, he intentionally arranged the food truck to come a day before and treated everyone to the fantastic spread of food. In other words, he wanted Woo-Jin to experience the difference between the two of them for himself. Woo-Jin seemed very proud to have a few fans, so Lee Min-Soo wanted to utterly crush his spirits and keep him down.


    However, Woo-Jin¡¯s response was less than ideal. Instead of feeling defeated, he took the initiative to approach Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans and even thanked them for the food. As a result, it caused a commotion among the fans who came on behalf of Blue Hole. Almost as if they had momentarily forgotten whose fans they were, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans flocked towards Chae Woo-Jin to ask for autographs and take pictures with him. And Chae Woo-Jin had acceded to their requests, smiling the entire time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now,¡± when Woo-Jin got up from his seat after he was done eating, Lee Min-Soo turned his head to look at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any scenes to shoot in the afternoon, so I¡¯m going to record the theme song. Everybody, please work hard and practice the skill or talent you¡¯ll be showcasing.¡± Even though Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t eaten his fill yet, he felt it would be better for him to leave before Lee Jin-Ah arrived, so he left earlier than expected.


    Glancing down, he found Lee Min-Soo looking at him. ¡°I hope your shooting goes smoothly. If I remember correctly, you¡¯ve done some singing imitations too, right?¡± Woo-Jin got reminded of how Lee Min-Soo used to copy the songs he had sung all the time and smiled. Thinking back, he remembered Lee Min-Soo singing quite a bit, but it wasn¡¯t as good as Woo-Jin¡¯s impression of Min Si-Hoo.


    ¡°That opportunist! He actually abandoned us and left. All he cares about is himself, huh?¡± Park Yeon-Ah grumbled as she stood up with a plate in her hands. The sudden wave of exhaustion increased her appetite.


    In the afternoon, they would be shooting a scene where Lee Yoo-Ra would meet with the brothers, Choi Joon and Choi Kang, so Park Yeon-Ah had nowhere to run.


    ¡°At times, I envy the three of you because of how close you seem with one another.¡± After freezing on the spot for a moment upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s parting words, Lee Min-Soo snapped out of his daze and spoke to Kang Min-Ho.


    ¡°I¡¯m the same age as Yeon-Ah, and Woo-Jin is much younger than us, so it¡¯s only natural for us to become closely acquainted.¡± Park Yeon-Ah was of the same age but opposite sex, while Chae Woo-Jin was of the same sex but a different age group, so there was no reason to be guarded against each other. No, in fact, it was all thanks to Woo-Jin.


    All three of them were considered the main leads, but in truth, Chae Woo-Jin, or ¡®Louie,¡¯ was the main lead. However, they could become close friends because Woo-Jin took the initiative and approached them first. If the hot rising actor had a superiority complex, then age and work experience wouldn¡¯t have mattered. There was no need to tell Lee Min-Soo about something this private, so Kang Min-Ho just replied evasively.


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s only possible because you take charge and lead them, hyung.¡±


    ¡°I do have a sense of leadership.¡± Kang Min-Ho was joking, but the problem was that Lee Min-Soo didn¡¯t know his personality well enough. If Park Yeon-Ah had been present, she would have slapped him on the back and mocked him, but none of his close friends were there.


    ¡°Even though the entertainment industry revolves around popularity, at times, they don¡¯t give enough recognition to people with a lot of experience and an impressive filmography like you, hyung. Sometimes, I think it¡¯s too much. Just on this set, I heard that Woo-Jin had struggled a lot in the beginning; on the other hand, you barely had any outtakes. However, the staff members treat Woo-Jin like he¡¯s the best. Seeing that makes me very upset.¡±


    Kang Min-Ho listened silently to Lee Min-Soo as he showered him with praises. He nodded from time to time with a smile on his face, encouraging Lee Min-Soo to say everything he wanted to say. When they heard a commotion at the entrance of the set, Lee Min-Soo got up from his seat and turned around.


    ¡°Lee Jin-Ah from Entertainment Plus is here.¡±


    ¡°I have to get going. I said those things earlier out of frustration. So please don¡¯t worry too much about it. I like Woo-Jin too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware of that.¡± Kang Min-Ho smiled in understanding. Lee Min-Soo bowed to him and turned around; judging from the look on his face, he appeared to be more at ease.


    ¡°What were you guys talking about so seriously? I was afraid of interrupting your conversion, so I ate somewhere else.¡± As soon as Lee Min-Soo left the room, Park Yeon-Ah appeared and gave Kang Min-Ho a cup of warm lemon tea. He turned the cupholder so as not to look at Lee Min-Soo¡¯s drawing and shrugged.


    ¡°Choi Kang is Choi Joon¡¯s younger brother, after all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that doesn¡¯t sound like a compliment.¡± Park Yeon-Ah frowned as she thought about Kang Min-Ho expressing his thoughts about the rational Choi Joon being a bad guy.


    ¡°And perhaps the younger brother is worse than the older one.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a compliment.¡± It was definitely a compliment for Choi Joon when someone else was worse than the bad guy. Kang Min-Ho clinked his cup of lemon tea with Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s cup and smiled at her, as the latter chuckled.


    He continued, ¡°Sometimes, people who have become successful at a young age have an ugly attitude and personality. They have a certain arrogance that makes them think they can treat people however they want. As a result, they look down on others a lot.¡±


    ¡°I get what you mean. I can¡¯t stand how childish they are, but it seems like you handled it well.¡± Park Yeon-Ah comforted him by saying that he did a good job. Kang Min-Ho replied with a big smile, ¡°I¡¯m good at putting up with a lot of things.¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah burst out laughing after hearing the undeniable fact, and this scene was aired on Entertainment Plus as it was. Since then, Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah continued treating Lee Min-Soo just like they did in the beginning. There was no particular reason to treat him differently since nothing had changed, just that they had no choice but to smile begrudgingly when they had to listen to the strange things Lee Min-Soo said when they were alone with him.


    ¡°I was truly shocked when I found out that the ¡®Slipper Young Man¡¯ was Woo-Jin. He¡¯s not that kind and caring towards others. Regardless, it¡¯s necessary to create a good image if he wants to join the entertainment industry. If he had revealed his actual personality, his time in the entertainment industry would probably be done by now.¡±


    The tone of his voice was very casual, as though he was joking. It was easy to miss the true meaning behind his words and just listen to what he said without putting in much thought, laughing with him along the way. And it was easy for Lee Min-Soo¡¯s words to linger in the minds of his listeners for a long time without them thinking too hard about it. In that regard, Park Yeon-Ah had given Lee Min-Soo a lot of points for his speech. He had mastered the art of disguising everything he said as a joke, acting like he wasn¡¯t serious. He had a knack for getting people to nod their heads to everything he said at some point in a long conversation.


    It was a conversation method specially used in variety TV programs these days. It seemed really easy for Lee Min-Soo to pique other people¡¯s curiosity while glossing over secrets, playing it off as a joke, being indirectly sarcastic to the other party, and ultimately turning them into an object of criticism.


    ¡°Hmm, Woo-Jin was right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Lee Min-Soo became nervous for a moment after seeing Park Yeon-Ah stroke her chin as she smiled meaningfully. He wondered what Woo-Jin had said to her while he wasn¡¯t around.


    ¡°He said that both of you were never closely acquainted! After hearing what you said, I can see that you were not close to Woo-Jin. In many ways. So don¡¯t go around telling people that you¡¯re close to Woo-Jin, especially not on TV! You¡¯re not the only one who can speak.¡± Park Yeon-Ah didn¡¯t see the need to engage in a long conversation with Lee Min-Soo. She gently patted him on the shoulder, took her script, and walked away. She tried to put up with him, but she wasn¡¯t as nice as Kang Min-Ho.


    ***


    The next day, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans from Wish Baragi had prepared lunch boxes for them. They were shooting in the studio that day, so lunch boxes were more suitable than a food truck. However, there was another reason why Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans had chosen to do it today.


    ¡°It¡¯s my birthday today?¡± Park Yeon-Ah pointed at herself as she asked the people standing around her. Even though birthdays had become less meaningful over the years, she hadn¡¯t ignored it intentionally this year. On the contrary, she had truly forgotten about it. Due to the tight filming schedule, she had been too busy to even know what day it was today.


    ¡°Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday dear Yeon-Ah~ Happy birthday to you!¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah ultimately smiled after seeing the two-tiered cake in front of her. She really liked how there was only one birthday candle. They had also made a small fondant figure of her, and it looked very cute and pretty, so she decided to take it with her.


    ¡°I mean, you didn¡¯t have to do this for my birthday!¡± Looking at the shy and happy Park Yeon-Ah because she had never imagined something like that happening, Woo-Jin felt very happy and proud.


    Today¡¯s birthday party was prepared by Wish Baragi. While he was grateful for the lunch boxes, Woo-Jin quickly told Kang Min-Ho the truth after hearing about why Wish Baragi chose to do it today. Then, with Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s help, both of them were able to get the hairpin and phone case that Park Yeon-Ah had always wanted. They knew their gift had matched her taste the moment they heard her gasping in admiration after unwrapping it.


    ¡°I¡¯m already so thankful for the cake, and you guys even got me gifts? Thank you so much!¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah held up one of the gift boxes with the words ¡®Wish Baragi¡¯ written on it and greeted the barags taking pictures at the back. And when she unwrapped the gift, she let out the most intense cry of joy they had ever heard today.


    ¡°This! How did you get your hands on these? It¡¯s the 12th-anniversary limited edition pictorial and figurine of the series ¡®O! Phelia¡¯!¡±


    Three years ago, Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s ultimate favorite webtoon artist had published a limited edition pictorial and released a figurine to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the series. However, as a starving actress, she couldn¡¯t buy it then. She felt dispirited and uploaded a post about it on her social media but deleted it a few days later. After that, she tried to get her hands on them after becoming financially more stable, but they were limited edition merchandise after all. Nobody was selling the items even though there was an interested buyer. Hence, she couldn¡¯t help but cry out loud because she finally got her hands on these legendary items that she had only seen in pictures.


    1. Hidden Singer is a variety-music TV program in Korea where one famous singer and several of their impersonators sing one measure of a song behind the blinds for four rounds. ?

 Chapter 70

    The ten barags who came on behalf of Wish Baragi seemed to have understood Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s feelings; they smiled shyly and waved their hands. As they were preparing for today¡¯s setup, the barags had thoroughly searched through the internet as they contemplated on what kind of special gift to get for Park Yeon-Ah.


    Although she wasn¡¯t popular, Park Yeon-Ah was known for being a stage actress and had fans of her own. Initially, they thought that they might be able to get some information from her fans so they asked around, but they ended up getting help from an unexpected person.


    The barags had found a screenshot from one of the die-hard fans of ¡®O! Phelia¡¯ of the post that Park Yeon-Ah had uploaded to social media a few years ago. As a fellow enthusiast, that fan wrote a heartfelt comment that she empathized with Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s feelings. With that, the barags had decided on Yeon-Ah¡¯s gift, but their task at hand was to look for the limited edition pictorial and figurine. With much difficulty, they finally managed to get their hands on it three days ago. Luckily, they were able to get the items cheaper than they had expected from a Korean website that acted as a platform to sell used items. But for some reason, it felt a little bitter because they could sense a mother¡¯s resolve to get rid of her child¡¯s collection coming from the seller.


    Having received the best gift, Park Yeon-Ah thanked the barags and asked them how they managed to obtain the pictorial. If, by any chance, they had spent too much money on it, she was more than willing to pay for it herself instead. Technically speaking, even though the pictorial was cheaper than the hairpin that Woo-Jin had gotten for her, it was the best present in terms of value and efficacy.


    After the birthday party was over, Wish Baragi gave each of the actors and staff members a two-tiered boxed lunch. There was a drawing of a genie coming out of the lamp like smoke on the cover of the boxed lunch. The cute genie with black hair and round black eyes seemed to be a Chae Woo-Jin inspired character. People knew how Woo-Jin¡¯s fanclub¡¯s name, Wish Baragi, came about so they smiled gently when they saw it. However, each boxed lunch contained a card with an individualized message to its recipient and their name.


    Kang Min-Ho¡¯s card read: ¡®I thought you were a rather goofy person after seeing you on Huntsman, but you seem a little scary in the drama. You¡¯re such a great actor who can play characters with distinctly different personalities! Choi Joon is scary, but I like Kang Min-Ho oppa~!¡¯


    ¡°It would be nice if she added a heart at the end of the sentence. Guess she doesn''t draw hearts for just anyone?¡± After reading the sentence that matched the round handwriting, Kang Min-Ho looked at Park Yeon-Ah as he smiled broadly. When he saw Park Yeon-Ah looking rather serious as she read her card in silence, he quietly glanced over her shoulder and looked at its content.


    <I saw Memories of the Forest [1] and I thought you were truly a wonderful actress. Since then, I¡¯ve always had faith in every single one of your plays and saw them all. Regardless of the role you took on stage, you¡¯ve always been beautiful and shone brightly. And that¡¯ll remain the same no matter where you go. You always make the right choices.>


    The word ¡®fighting¡¯ was written next to a drawing of two clenched fists at the bottom of the message. [2]


    Even though she was currently shooting a drama, Yeon-Ah had always missed acting on stage and wondered if her choice to pursue acting in dramas was an act of betrayal. Despite the fact that everyone had supported and praised her for doing a good job, she was constantly worrying about that by herself. Seeing how the person who wrote the message seemed to understand her feelings and was telling her that it was okay, Park Yeon-Ah started to get choked up. She gently rubbed her eyes and kept the card.


    Everyone was preoccupied with reading their cards before they started eating, so Lee Min-Soo took his card out of his boxed lunch and read it.


    <Choi Kang¡¯s acting is indistinguishable from reality! I¡¯m always keeping a lookout for your activities in Blue Fit and drama appearances.>


    Lee Min-Soo felt kind of strange - he didn¡¯t know whether the note was a compliment or an insult. Lee Min-Soo¡¯s character, Choi Kang, was an immature and egotistical person. He was not exactly a bad guy, but he was definitely not a good person. And the person who wrote the message simply said they were keeping a lookout for his activities without saying that they liked it or anything along those lines. Hence, it sent chills down his spine; even more so because he felt as though he had received a similar letter in the past before. However, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s train of thought was immediately interrupted by Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s exclamation.


    ¡°Wow~! It¡¯s my favorite smoked duck and chilled jellyfish salad.¡± After opening up her boxed lunch, Park Yeon-Ah was delighted to find her favorite food. The beef seaweed soup that was specially prepared and only given to her for her birthday was still warm. [3] Apart from the main dishes, all the other dishes consisted of her favorite food.


    Kang Min-Ho assumed that since it was Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s, Wish Baragi had only prepared foods she liked for all the box lunches, but to his surprise, he found his favorite grilled eel in his boxed lunch. He quickly took a look at the boxed lunches of the people around him and noticed that the contents were different.


    Since Woo-Jin was not a picky eater and ate all kinds of food, his boxed lunch contained balanced and nutritious side dishes. The roasted garlic at the side was a little strange but he figured it was meant to be eaten together with the meat. The barags had prepared the boxed lunches so meticulously he felt bad eating it without them. Earlier, Woo-Jin had asked the Wish Baragi members to join them but they shook their heads in unison. Putting his happiness aside, he was choked up just thinking about what they had done and felt as though he might not be able to digest his food properly.


    Even though most of them were older than him, it felt like they were younger than him when they blushed and acted very shy. Hence, Woo-Jin became gentler and more friendly towards them. The barags could also sense Woo-Jin opening up to them and treating them more warmly. It was a moment where they shared an unspoken communication and were considerate of each other¡¯s feelings.


    Just then, Lee Min-Soo interrupted them as he approached and greeted them. ¡°Thanks for the boxed lunch. It¡¯s your first time doing something like this; it must have been hard, right?¡± Just like what Chae Woo-Jin had done the day before with Blue Hole, Lee Min-Soo expressed his gratitude and waved at the barags.


    For a moment, the barags who saw him froze on the spot and couldn¡¯t do anything. However, that pause was very short and only the other members noticed those barags being shaken up. 70% of the barags who had shown up today on behalf of Wish Baragi to distribute the boxed lunches were the original members. In other words, seven out of ten of them were people who hated Blue Fit. And the remaining 30% were juniors who had been well-educated by them, even though it was over a short period of time. As expected, they followed their seniors and hated Blue Fit unconditionally.


    They quickly observed and read the ambience between Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo. Regardless of how much they hated Blue Fit, if Woo-Jin wanted to heal the rift between them and get along with them, Wish Baragi would respect his wishes; they had no reason to make any fuss. However, the way Woo-Jin looked at Lee Min-Soo was dry and indifferent. They could tell at one glance that his current emotions were strikingly different compared to when Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah were present. There was no need to look at Lee Min-Soo¡¯s reaction; Chae Woo-Jin was the most important person to the barags, so they only cared about his feelings. After clearing up the confusion, the barags did a navel bow [4] and greeted Lee Min-Soo politely.


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    After greeting him and telling him ¡®I hope you enjoy the meal even if it¡¯s not up to your standards¡¯, they simply stared vacantly at him. For a moment, Lee Min-Soo was thrown into confusion and was at a loss for what to do next when Woo-Jin¡¯s fans didn¡¯t make any moves after greeting him. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted them to call him ¡®oppa¡¯ and follow him around like everyone else, but at the very least, he thought the barags would have asked for his autograph and taken photos with him like they had done with Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah earlier.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Woo-Jin broke the silence and awkwardness that had been present for quite some time and looked at Lee Min-Soo, as though he was asking if he had anything else to say.


    ¡°Nothing. I just came over to say hello.¡±


    Lee Min-Soo had come over thinking about what had happened between his fans and Woo-Jin yesterday, but in the end, he returned to his seat feeling lonely. Ma Do-Hee, the president of Wish Baragi, spoke to Woo-Jin in a very soft voice as she looked at Lee Min-Soo¡¯s back. ¡°It¡¯s our first time seeing an idol in person, so we feel very awkward and didn¡¯t know how to treat him. Did we come across as cold and disrespectful by just greeting him? What if you¡¯re close friends and Lee Min-Soo gets upset later because of us?¡±


    Woo-Jin shook his head gently at Ma Do-Hee, who had lied in a natural way about seeing an idol for the first time.


    ¡°Rather than being rude, you were overly polite. And also, even if his feelings were hurt, we¡¯re not that close to even talk about something like that in the first place.¡± The barags subconsciously clenched their fists when Woo-Jin shrugged. They smiled happily after realizing that they were right about Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Ho¡¯s relationship.


    The actors looked at each other¡¯s food in admiration when they found out that each of them had received different boxed lunches. The barags had prepared their favorite food for all of them; the attention to detail had made the actors very happy. Kang Min-Ho snooped around, taking pleasure in looking at the different boxed lunches. He took a look at the quiet Lee Min-Soo¡¯s boxed lunch.


    ¡°That looks like deep-fried ginseng. Ah! Didn''t you say that you really liked eating it on TV before?¡±


    Kang Min-Ho recalled Lee Min-Soo had appeared in one of his favorite TV programs that showcased famous restaurants. On the show, Lee Min-Soo had mentioned that he liked deep-fried ginseng as he enjoyed a plate of it. Kang Min-Ho nodded and said, ¡°Woo-Jin¡¯s fans are truly so meticulous. Ginseng beef roll, stir-fried octopus, and grilled abalone? They¡¯re all delicious food.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Would you like to have some?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I have eel!¡±


    Lee Min-Soo forced himself to smile at Kang Min-Ho who said that he loved eel more than anything else, and reluctantly picked up the spoon. Lee Min-Soo¡¯s boxed lunch contained all the food he had eaten and said he liked on the show. In truth, he hated bitter food, as well as the slippery texture of seafood, but he had lied about it on TV. He loved anything sweet but didn¡¯t want people to find out that he had a child-like taste when it came to food, so he had lied.


    Somehow the boxed lunch didn¡¯t contain any of his favorite food. It was truly amazing how the barags had managed to avoid every single one of his favorite foods.


    Regardless of what he said on air, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans knew his taste in food very well. Even though he had lied to cover up his child-like taste in food, his fans felt that Lee Min-Soo was absolutely adorable.


    Seeing how Woo-Jin¡¯s fans could have found out if they had spent a little more time looking into it, Lee Min-Soo cursed inwardly as he called them callous. There was nothing he liked about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans.


    ¡°Wow! They have even tailored the staff members¡¯ boxed lunches according to their dietary needs ¨C whether they have diabetes, high blood pressure, or simply on a diet.¡± Kang Min-Ho looked at the staff members¡¯ boxed lunches after seeing that everyone had received different types of boxed lunches. He couldn¡¯t stop marveling at how meticulous Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were.


    Even though their boxed lunches were not uniquely different like the actors¡¯ ones, they had prepared separate ones for the staff members who had special dietary needs. It was amazing how the boxed lunches were catered to their specific needs and all the food they had prepared was delicious. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans hadn¡¯t ordered these boxed lunches from a catering company.


    ¡°Seriously, Woo-Jin¡¯s fans are incredibly sincere and devoted. Come to think of it, they had written messages to the staff members as well.¡±


    It didn¡¯t just stop at the boxed lunches; the barags had also prepared a handmade lip moisturizer and hand cream in a pretty paper bag with a picture of a cute genie on it, as well as soap and scented candles.


    The paper bags given to the actors had cute stickers of the faces of their characters in City of Shadows on them, and the ones for the staff had stickers of drawings of cute characters, instead of photos, on them ¨C the sound crew¡¯s character was holding a recording device; the art crew¡¯s characters were either holding a brush, a camera, or a light reflector. Needless to say, they were each given a shopping bag with a sticker that matched their profession.


    Since the drawing style was not consistent across all the stickers, it seemed like the fans had divided the labor and drew them one by one. It was an arduous task for just one or two people, so that meant that several people had participated. While the celebrities had received a lot of tributes from fans, it was their first time seeing fans being so meticulous towards other people.


    In truth, it didn¡¯t matter what the staff thought, but for other celebrities, the fans¡¯ tributes might not be as pleasant for them. As people of the same profession, there were many times they felt a sense of relative deprivation as the tributes did not suit their tastes and only catered exclusively to the specific celebrity.


    A good example would be the food truck prepared by Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans the day before. Everything they had seen and touched had Lee Min-Soo and Blue Fit¡¯s faces imprinted on them. It made other actors feel uncomfortable because it felt like Lee Min-Soo¡¯s fans were trying to imply that the other actors were lesser than their idol, thus making them feel upset.


    However, the drawing of the Woo-Jin-inspired genie coming out of the lamp was so cute and it wasn¡¯t used excessively. Additionally, their photos didn¡¯t look bad next to his. More importantly, judging from the food and personalized cards, everyone could tell how much effort and attention to detail they had put into the preparation. They felt as though they had been treated with sincerity, and they felt very touched. They were also envious of how Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans treated him, as well as how important he was to them.


    1. One of Park Yeon-Ah¡¯s plays. ?


    2. Koreans say ¡®fighting¡¯ (pronounced as ¡®hwaiting¡¯) to cheer someone on. It¡¯s equivalent to ¡®good luck¡¯, ¡®you can do it¡¯, or ¡®fight on¡¯. ?


    3. In Korea, seaweed soup is traditionally eaten on birthdays or after giving birth. ?


    4. It¡¯s a formal respectful bow that is mostly used by women in uniform, especially flight attendants and salespeople. They clasp their hands together at the navel position when bowing. ?

 Chapter 71

    ¡°It must be Woo-Jin¡¯s fans'' first time doing something like this, but isn¡¯t it amazing how they¡¯ve prepared everything in such a systematic way? Usually, inexperienced fans would be uncoordinated and confused but that was absolutely not the case today.¡±


    Despite being perfectly prepared, sometimes fans would become overly excited when they meet their favorite actors in person at the filming site and go overboard with their actions. However, the members of Wish Baragi had nailed it perfectly, even in the way they behaved. They didn¡¯t just fawn over Woo-Jin ¨C they were also thrilled to meet the other actors but did not kick up a huge fuss.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I¡¯m getting a little scared.¡± As Park Yeon-Ah was applying the handmade hand cream that was given to her by Wish Baragi, she rolled her eyes at Kang Min-Ho after hearing what he said and told him off.


    ¡°What are you saying? At least put down the black garlic extract you¡¯re drinking right now if you¡¯re going to say that. I was talking to the president of Wish Baragi earlier and when I thanked her for all this and said it must¡¯ve been difficult, she said that Woo-Jin¡¯s manager and fashion coordinator helped them out a lot. She said they were only thinking about how not to disgrace Woo-Jin. How can they be so nice and humble? I¡¯ve never been envious of other people¡¯s fandoms before, but I¡¯m a little envious today.¡±


    Park Yeon-Ah was misunderstanding something. Ma Do-Hee had spoken the truth, but if they were to look back at the situation, the actors would see that these girls were well-aware of how a celebrity would be criticized for their fans¡¯ actions. The barags were very familiar with the standards and knew for a fact that they would be thoroughly scrutinized, so they had prepared by learning from the past mistakes people had made.


    Blue Fit¡¯s anti-fans had heavily criticized Blue Hole¡¯s food truck from yesterday and it had caused displeasure amongst the fans of the other actors of the drama. While treating the actors and staff members who had been working hard to a great meal was a nice gesture and the other fans were thankful for that, Blue Hole¡¯s love for their oppas had been too excessive and they had overdone it.


    People felt that it was too much of them to plaster Blue Fit¡¯s logos and photos everywhere when it wasn¡¯t a promotional event for Blue Fit¡¯s music or a variety TV program with Blue Fit as guest stars. It was fine for them to say things along the lines of ¡®Please take good care of Lee Min-Soo,¡¯ but they were mocked for saying ¡®Best actor Lee Min-Soo! God of acting!¡¯.


    To put it bluntly, there were so many great actors in City of Shadows and yet they had the audacity to call Lee Min-Soo the ¡®god of acting.¡¯ Additionally, the main lead Chae Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo were the same age and the former had been getting praised by the media for his peak performance, so people wondered what Blue Hole was trying to insinuate.


    Despite getting criticized like this, everyone knew that Blue Hole would probably repeat the same behavior again the next time around. Blue Hole was a fandom with a strong sense of superiority because of Blue Fit¡¯s popularity. Because they perceived other people¡¯s complaints as jealousy and groundless criticisms, they kept making the same mistakes and received the same criticisms. In fact, there had been quite a number of people who became anti-fans of Blue Fit because of Blue Hole.


    On the other hand, Wish Baragi¡¯s barags were clearly aware of what kind of anti-fans they themselves were and hated the idea of anti-fans like themselves sticking closely to Chae Woo-Jin. At the very least, they didn¡¯t want to be the reason why people became Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s anti-fans. Since acting was not a one-man job, they had prepared the boxed lunches and gifts in the hopes that Chae Woo-Jin would get along with the other actors and work in a comfortable environment. They had even put in all the time and effort into preparing Lee Min-Soo¡¯s boxed lunch, just that it lacked love.


    After being ignored by Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans and having a terrible lunch, Lee Min-Soo was in very poor condition. He took some medicine to aid digestion and also drank some nutritional supplements a little while later.


    ¡°Darn it, today of all days¡­¡±


    He wanted to somehow postpone the shoot in the afternoon, but he couldn¡¯t. They were shooting the scene where Louie and Choi Kang met for the first time today and it was going to be physically taxing because of its fast pace. From the start, that hadn¡¯t been a good sign. As Lee Min-Soo thought about how he was going to be in the same frame as Chae Woo-Jin, he started grinding his teeth without realizing it.


    There was nothing he could do about singing, but he absolutely refused to lose to Woo-Jin in acting. It was an important day for Lee Min-Soo today to establish himself as Actor Lee Min-Soo, and not an idol who acted.


    ***


    Woo-Jin looked around the set that had been transformed into Choi Kang¡¯s room and checked his path of movement several times. He went back and forth between the window sill and the bed over and over again and consulted with the cinematographer as well.


    ¡°I want the vibe to be a little dreamy. The moonlight shining against Louie¡¯s back through the window, creating a backlit figure, as he slowly approaches Choi Kang.¡±


    ¡°Like a spirit from a ghost movie?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a horror film!¡± Woo-Jin looked a little disappointed when the cinematographer firmly rejected his suggestion.


    ¡°But Choi Kang does feel afraid of Louie in this scene though. I understand the image you¡¯re going for, but what if Choi Kang¡¯s fear gets canceled out?¡± Perhaps the cinematographer had his own thoughts after Woo-Jin comments because he started stroking his chin with a serious look on his face. When he had discussed the scene with Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk, they had only talked about Louie¡¯s dreamy appearance and the overall ambience without taking Choi Kang¡¯s emotions into consideration.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t there be a fundamental fear of strangers regardless of the ambience?¡±


    ¡°But sir, we need to get the message across to the viewers, not Choi Kang. Since the viewers know who I am, they won¡¯t feel any fear amidst the dreamy ambience.¡± So, it was highly likely that the audience wouldn¡¯t be able to understand Choi Kang¡¯s fear and fail to empathize with him.


    In this scene where both parties met, the viewers had to look at Louie from Choi Kang¡¯s perspective. However, the problem was that unlike with Choi Kang, Louie was not a stranger to the viewers at all. Instead, they liked Louie because he was the main lead. If actors were to go with the dreamy route, then it would only end up making Louie stand out even more.


    Having compassion and affection for the main lead with a sad childhood was not a bad thing, but ultimately, Louie was a killer. Regardless of how many stories they came up with, it didn¡¯t change the fact that he was a murderer. Woo-Jin did not want such a character to be loved and understood by the public just because he was the main lead. At this point, the viewers needed to clearly recognize that Louie was a killer, a slaughterer who took people¡¯s lives.


    The viewers had to be terrified and horrified as they looked at Louie, but at the same time, they must not be able to look away or lose their affection for him. It was like how Lee Yoo-Ra hated Louie, but she could not get away from him and continued to hold onto him.


    ¡°But Choi Kang¡¯s fear is not the most important thing in this scene. In other words, we need to take into account Louie¡¯s ruthlessness too. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to create a dreamy ambience with both conflicting emotions?¡± Producer Director Park Jong-Hyuk interrupted them. He had been quietly listening to the conversation the entire time. Ultimately, both the production director and cinematographer refused to give up on creating a dreamy ambience.


    ¡°It¡¯s my task to show fear, so don¡¯t worry. I will do my best to make the viewers empathize with my character,¡± said Lee Min-Soo. He entered the set after he was done with his makeup. Woo-Jin had an ambiguous expression on his face as he looked at Lee Min-Soo¡¯s pale face.


    ¡°If things go wrong, it might not fit the mood and our acting might not connect and the scene might not work,¡± said Woo-Jin.


    To put it simply, today¡¯s scene was akin to a nightmare on a beautiful moonlit night. Even though the background was beautiful ¨C it was a terrible reality for those who came into the nightmare or dreamed about it. If the actor made a mistake, it could seem like he was leaping around alone on a beautiful flower hill. Woo-Jin was not only worried about Lee Min-Soo¡¯s acting; he was also worried about his own. However, it seemed as though Lee Min-Soo did not interpret it that way.


    ¡°Are you trying to say that you don¡¯t trust me? All you have to do is act well. Don¡¯t worry about other people¡¯s acting and just do your part well. Don¡¯t just talk about the ambience!¡± Lee Min-Soo became sensitive and snapped at Woo-Jin, removing the ¡®mask¡¯ he usually wore. The staff had never seen this side of him and even though they were staring strangely at him, he didn¡¯t sense it. That was because Lee Min-Soo had also agreed with Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk and the cinematographer¡¯s opinions.


    If the shooting progressed as Woo-Jin said it should, then it was highly likely for Choi Kang to look pitiful and miserable. It would have been better for Lee Min-Soo to act properly in a better ambience. Lee Min-Soo planned to act in a way that evoked compassion and fear from the viewers. Even if Choi Kang was afraid of Louie, he wasn¡¯t going to look pitiful. Instead, Lee Min-Soo intended to make the viewers sympathize with Choi Kang and acknowledge Louie as the villain.


    Lee Min-Soo felt under the weather but it could be a blessing in disguise. Everything was in place, and like what Hwang Yi-Young said, he naturally gave off a frail vibe. With subtly different purposes, Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo began working together. It was their first time shooting a drama together so they practiced their lines and moves, as well as shared their opinions with one another. The shooting commenced when both of them had thought they were ready. Even though Lee Min-Soo had gotten a bad take in the beginning, he got the hang of it shortly after and made no mistakes.


    Choi Kang was deeply asleep when he suddenly woke up at some point. His vision was blurry; he blinked his eyes and sluggishly got out of bed. He was shivering because of the cold wind that was blowing from somewhere else. Choi Kang saw his unkempt hair blowing gently in the wind and shifted his gaze to the window. His window had been closed before he went to bed, but it was wide open now. Looking out of the window, there was a waning moon hidden within the gray clouds. It looked quiet and still. The thin curtains that fluttered in the wind looked so beautiful, like a painting.


    Suddenly, Choi Kang saw a shadow of a person leaning against a desk that was pushed against the wall by the window. He tried to strain his unfocused eyes in his half-awakened state and spoke to the person standing there with the moonlight shining against his back.


    ¡°Hyung?¡±


    As soon as Choi Kang spoke, the tall and slim shadow that was leaning against the desk stood up. The person who was taller than Choi Joon cast an elongated shadow over the bed where Choi Kang was laying in.


    ¡°Who¡­who are you¡­?¡±


    Regardless of how sleepy Choi Kang was, he could tell that the person standing there was not his older brother. He sprung to his feet and tried to retreat but he was blocked by the bed¡¯s headboard and wall; he had nowhere to run.


    The shadowed man stared at Choi Kang as he scratched something on the desk indifferently with a well-forged dagger in his hand. Choi Kang wanted to scream but was beside himself with this bizarre scene. He simply exhaled heavily. Perhaps, he was convincing himself that he¡¯s having a terrible nightmare right now.


    At some point, the black shadow approached closer and closer to Choi Kang. As the winds blew the clouds and allowed the moon to peek through, the intruder¡¯s face could gradually be seen. His sharp jawline and face appeared as though they had been painted on black paper; his lifeless eyes that were void of all emotions had been revealed too. He had pale and chapped blood-stained lips. He wasn¡¯t smiling at all.


    The moment where the intangible shadow transformed into a person was strange and beautiful. However, his voice that cut through the night air was cold and sharp like the sound of thin ice crunching.


    ¡°You better be quiet,¡¯ whispered the shadow, no, the man standing next to his bed, as he held the sharp dagger against Choi Kang¡¯s carotid artery.


    ¡°Which do you think would be faster? For the people to come to your rescue after you scream or for you to die after getting stabbed? The choice is yours.¡± Even though the man¡¯s voice was flat and soft, his pronunciation was clear and he conveyed his message clearly.


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing right now? How dare you do this despite knowing who I am¡­¡± Choi Kang tried to argue slightly loudly but he clenched his teeth and suppressed his voice when he felt the blade gently pressing against his carotid artery. His voice faded into a mumble and fear began to creep into his voice. However, the man looked at Choi Kang with a look on his face that seemed to suggest that Choi Kang had said something weird.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who you are.¡± If that had been the case, this wouldn¡¯t have happened in the first place.


    ¡°But why are you doing this?¡± Choi Kang swallowed his saliva out of nervousness; the blade pierced slightly into his skin. As soon as he was startled by that, the man jokingly tapped Choi Kang¡¯s neck with the dagger. Beads of sweat trickled down to his neck, drenching the neckline of his pajamas.


    The man answered Choi Kang¡¯s burning question, sounding like he was bored, ¡°The most important thing is that you¡¯re Choi Joon¡¯s younger brother.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s¡­¡±


    Choi Kang thought about how Choi Joon looked at him with a cold look in his eyes a few days ago and felt goosebumps forming as he wondered whether the man was acting on his brother¡¯s instructions. Regardless of how much his brother hated him, how could he hire someone to do this? The man shook his head slightly after seeing the anger in Choi Kang¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 72

    ¡°No, this is a request from someone who wants to hurt your older brother.¡±


    ¡°Is this how they want to hurt my brother?¡±


    Choi Kang expressed that he wanted to see his cold-blooded brother get hurt too. His thoughts did not match his current predicament. It was absurd to imagine something that could never happen.


    ¡°People naturally assume that everyone else is just like them. Those who are hurt and have lost their family want to seek revenge in the same way, just like now.¡± The man held the dagger firmly against Choi Kang¡¯s neck as he sighed softly. It felt as though he knew that this was pointless. Even if he were to kill Choi Kang, it would never hurt Choi Joon.


    Suddenly, Choi Kang seemed to have realized who the man was ¨C the killer who had been appearing in the news these days, with wanted posters of him scattered all over the country.


    ¡°Louie Ahn?¡± The man smirked after hearing Choi Kang¡¯s question. Choi Kang was able to have a good understanding of the situation after getting his silent affirmation.


    ¡°Who commissioned you to kill me? Is it because of my brother?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of knowing the answer? You¡¯re going to die anyway.¡±


    Even after explaining everything to him, Louie Ahn was now firmly declaring Choi Kang''s death sentence. The sight of the moonlight shining against his back, illuminating his figure, looked very beautiful. Louie talked about death so easily as if it was something meaningless.


    ¡°Please spare me! I¡¯ve never done anything terrible and I¡¯ve never had a grudge against anyone! It¡¯s unfair for me to die because of my brother.¡± Choi Kang ignored the dagger that was pointing at his neck. He got off the bed and knelt down before grabbing Louie¡¯s leg with both hands and begging him.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡± There was nothing more useless than complaining about injustice to a contract killer. Louie looked at Choi Kang with an indifferent look. It was as though he had been through similar situations several times before.


    Choi Kang knew that there was no point in begging and tried his best to calm down but to no avail. He was scared and resentful, and he did not want to die this way. In retrospect, there were plenty of opportunities for Louie to kill him. Louie didn¡¯t have to wake him up to talk about the situation.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you¡­kill me?¡±


    According to the news, Louie Ahn was a very vicious killer. When he was in America, he had been a contract killer that was affiliated with the mafia, and would kill anybody regardless of their status ¨C be it politicians or businessmen. He would never do anything without a reason. There was hope for survival if he could find a breakthrough.


    ¡°If you want to kill me because of my brother, that means you have a grudge against him! Let me help you. I¡¯ll do anything to help you take revenge on my brother so please spare me. I¡¯m only 26 years old. There are so many things that I have and want to do, and there¡¯s no reason for me to die because of that person!¡±


    Choi Kang studied Louie Ahn¡¯s face as he pleaded with him. Louie was firm; he stood in the shadows, unwavering. Even the warm moonlight pouring in through the open window shattered when it touched his body, creating a cold and gloomy shadow. Thus, Choi Kang felt even more scared. Louie Ahn was like a devil who visited him in a dream and turned it into a nightmare.


    ¡°You¡¯re being too loud.¡±


    It was a soundproof room, so nobody would be able to hear Choi Kang regardless of how much he cried out. However, it was night time and the windows were open. Choi Kang flinched and trembled when he heard the quiet remark. Strangely enough, Louie¡¯s voice seemed to pierce his body like shards of ice, sending a chill down his spine.


    ¡°Please, I beg you. I don¡¯t want to die. Seriously! I¡¯ll do anything, so please¡­let me go.¡± Choi Kang prostrated himself as he held Louie¡¯s ankle while sobbing. He couldn¡¯t even cry out loud because the blade of the dagger would pierce his throat if he did that. The sound that escaped through his lips was weird ¨C it was a combination of heavy breathing and crying. It was impossible for him to think straight as he was engulfed by fear because he could die right now.


    ¡°Even so, you¡¯re still going to die.¡± Choi Kang turned his head and looked up at Louie when he heard the declaration of his impending death quietly ring through the air. It was normal for people to feel sympathy after looking at a face that was filled with tears and mucus, but Louie did not show a single shred of emotion. Choi Kang¡¯s emotions were crushed by the coldness emitted from Louie before they could even get to him.


    ¡°The reason why I didn¡¯t kill you is because of my client¡¯s wishes. They want Choi Joon to be in pain from watching you suffer constantly, after knowing that you would die soon. They hope that he would realize what he had done and reflect on his past doings.¡± After hearing what Louie said, Choi Kang briefly forgot about the gloomy reality of his future.


    ¡°But is that really possible?¡± wondered Louie. He sounded like he was talking to himself and Choi Kang subconsciously shook his head in response. Both of them knew that it would never happen. Louie¡¯s client was the only one who didn¡¯t know this blatant truth.


    ¡°You¡¯re as pathetic as the hopes that you harbor.¡± For the first time, Louie displayed a shred of emotion. There was a fleeting moment where the moisture in Louie¡¯s emotionless eyes glistened, but Choi Kang didn¡¯t manage to catch it since he was filled with the fear of dying. Perhaps, Louie might have just been complaining.


    ¡°Um, if you have that much resentment towards my brother, why don¡¯t you just kill him! Why me¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel victimized. Even though his death will come later than yours, your brother¡¯s name is definitely on my list as well. I may be stupid but I¡¯m merciless.¡±


    Louie slowly crouched down on one knee before sitting in front of Choi Kang. He grabbed Choi Kang by the chin and looked him in the eye.


    ¡°Do you want to live?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no, heu-heuk¡­ Yes!¡± Choi Kang nodded as he answered Louie. Tears streamed down his face whenever he moved.


    Louie looked silently into Choi Kang¡¯s eyes. After whining and crying, Choi Kang had gradually calmed down and made eye contact with Louie. Both of them faced each other silently; not a single rustling sound could be heard. They remained in silence for a long time. Just like an animal that was afraid of getting eaten if it moved first, Choi Kang tried his best to maintain his eye contact with Louie.


    However, he promptly lowered his eyes and tried to escape from Louie¡¯s gaze. He could no longer meet Louie¡¯s eyes, which were as deep as an abyss. Looking into Louie¡¯s eyes made Choi Kang feel like he was falling deeper into the abyss, diminishing his hopes of escaping.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in trying to weasel your way out of this.¡±


    Choi Kang wanted to lower his head after hearing Louie¡¯s soft voice, but his eyes were fixated on Louie. His eyes that were trembling in fear looked pitiful, but they had been consumed by the nightmare created by Louie. At this very moment, Louie was the ruthless grim reaper who ruled this place.


    ¡°If you try to flee the country, I will have no choice but to kill you earlier than planned. What happened today might seem like a dream, but I will look for you again the moment you mistake our encounter as a nightmare.¡± Perhaps in the morning, Choi Kang might carry some hope that it was just a dream. But when he discovers the word ¡®again¡¯ that Louie had engraved on his desk earlier with his dagger, Choi Kang would fall into despair once again.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± Choi Kang wanted to ask Louie why he had to do that, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a raspy sound of breathing. His body was trembling but he had no strength.


    ¡°I will kill you regardless of your actions, but my client might be different. Try your best and struggle, maybe you might be able to change my client¡¯s mind.¡± Louie smiled coldly, as if hinting to Choi Kang that failure meant that his ending would be predetermined. He was like a beast within the shadow created by the moonlight. Choi Kang trembled like a young animal that had been caught by a beast who would bite off his leash and take his life at any moment. Hence he couldn¡¯t see it ¨C the hidden remnants of hope that were reflected in Louie¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It may be difficult though,¡± Louie whispered to him that his client¡¯s resentment was strong; and Louie¡¯s will to kill Choi Kang was just as strong. As soon as Choi Kang realized that, he couldn¡¯t control the fear that was spreading throughout his body. As his body was trembling, he tried to grab on to Louie, but the only thing he could touch was the shadow created by the moonlight.


    ¡°Okay! We¡¯re done!¡±


    Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo did not move despite the cue given by the happy Production Director Park; Woo-Jin looked at the moonlit window on the set and controlled his emotions. They had used lighting to create the moonlight, and Woo-Jin stared at the fake moon on the screen beyond the window. Just as his emotions gradually numbed, a faint smell snapped him out of his trance.


    Woo-Jin looked around and tried to find the source of the smell, and he found a stream of liquid flowing from beneath Lee Min-Soo who was sitting down. Woo-Jin hurriedly moved a few steps back. Instinctively, he knew what it was without having to rack his brains. Woo-Jin heaved a sigh of relief as it would have touched his shoes if he had been a little closer.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Woo-Jin heard Lee Min-Soo talking to himself as he slowly looked around.


    The staff didn¡¯t pay attention to what was happening on the set because they knew Woo-Jin liked taking some time to collect himself after shooting a scene. Each of them was busy focusing on the task at hand. Producer Park Jong-Hyuk was engrossed in sharing his opinions with the production team as they watched the footage. The ambience right outside the set was totally different, creating a weird sense of alienation.


    Woo-Jin walked quietly towards the bed; he picked up the bedsheet and handed it to Lee Min-Soo. The latter felt conflicted for a second but ultimately he had no choice but to accept it. On one hand, if he refused it, the staff would be able to see the wet patch on his pants. On the other hand, wrapping it around his waist was akin to telling other people what had happened. However, the latter option was better if he had to make a choice. At least they could only imagine his disgraceful act without seeing it.


    Lee Min-Soo quickly wiped the floor with the bedsheet and glared at Woo-Jin. ¡°The day you tell other people about this¡­¡±


    He had drunk too much water before shooting the scene. This had only happened because he kept drinking water to ease his bloated stomach and nausea. It was all because of the boxed lunch prepared by those Wish Baragi fans or vermin. [1]


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the one whom you should be worried about right now.¡± Woo-Jin nodded in the direction of Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. Production Director Park hadn¡¯t noticed anything initially; he seemed to have only discovered it after watching the footage. He stared at Lee Min-Soo, probably feeling taken aback as well. To be precise, he was staring at the lower half of Lee Min-Soo¡¯s body that was being covered by the sheets.


    Lee Min-Soo was shocked; he jumped up from his seat and tried to run towards Production Director Park. However, he didn¡¯t wrap the sheets around him properly ¨C he was only holding it in front of him. As a result, Lee Min-Soo tripped over the long hem of the bedsheet as he was running over.


    Lee Min-Soo fell to the floor with a loud thud, drawing everyone¡¯s attention towards him. Fortunately, he fell over the bunched-up sheets and didn¡¯t seem to be injured. However, everyone saw a dark wet patch on his sky blue-colored pajamas around his butt area. And even though Lee Min-Soo had already wiped the floor, a dark stain could still be seen on the wooden floor.


    The filming site became deathly silent. Amidst this awkward silence, Woo-Jin was the only one who moved and casually made his exit. By the time Woo-Jin left the set, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s coordinator was seen running over to him in a hurry.


    ¡°Should I say that you acted well?¡±


    During the shoot, Lee Min-Soo seemed genuinely afraid of Woo-Jin. However, it was uncertain if it was because Lee Min-Soo was deeply in character or if he himself was afraid. If it was the latter, it meant that he was in the same situation as Woo-Jin back when he was shooting Glooming Day. [2]


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then it¡¯s truly embarrassing.¡±


    For the longest time, Woo-Jin felt ashamed and couldn¡¯t bring himself to watch that particular scene. He shook his head as he recalled it. In a strange way, Woo-Jin sympathized with Lee Min-Soo but he had also somewhat misunderstood the cause of Lee Min-Soo¡¯s shame. Woo-Jin felt that being too emotional while acting was a mistake. Hence, he thought that Lee Min-Soo felt embarrassed because of the sense of shame that stemmed from being unable to act.


    ¡°I can relate to that.¡±


    Woo-Jin clicked his tongue and sat down on his chair. Under the circumstances, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s acting was perfect. The greater his fear now, the easier it would be for the viewers to understand Choi Kang¡¯s act of betrayal towards Choi Joon later on.


    In any case, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s accident must have been perfectly captured on camera. Just like Woo-Jin, there was nothing Lee Min-Soo could do even if he was dissatisfied if the director chose to give the green light. Would they reshoot it or just let it be? Woo-Jin decided to wait quietly until Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk and Lee Min-Soo came to a consensus.


    Woo-Jin waited for a long time that day, but they didn¡¯t reshoot the scene.


    1. ??? (vermin) sounds like ??? (baragi). ?


    2. The rain scene where Woo-Jin cried because of his own emotions while acting. ?

 Chapter 73

    Park Yi-Yeon swallowed his saliva. He had returned to a strangely silent house after spending three days at work. He had forgotten that today was Thursday because he had been so busy with work. He looked at the time and it was already well past 10 p.m.


    ¡°Where is Grandfather?¡±


    ¡°Where else would he be at this hour?¡± answered Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s mother as she chuckled while she took his briefcase from him. The reason why the whole house was tense at 10 p.m. every Wednesday and Thursday surfaced in Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s mind.


    ¡°He is really not honest with himself.¡± continued Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s mother. It was true that her father-in-law''s feelings dictated the mood in the house, but this time, they weren''t on edge because he was angry, but because they were pretending not to see the feelings he was hiding


    Park Yi-Yeon straightened his slightly loosened necktie and adjusted his clothes before going to the place where his grandfather used as his private living room. He knocked on the door but there was no answer, so he opened the door slightly before entering. He saw his grandfather sitting on the sofa watching a drama with his arms crossed. Park Yi-Yeon couldn¡¯t help but shake his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m home, Grandpa.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± The grandfather offered a few warm words of encouragement to his grandson whom he hadn¡¯t seen in three days, but his gaze was still fixated on the TV. Previously, he wasn¡¯t bothered by the fact that the TV was small and old since he only watched the news. However, he had gotten a new TV to replace the old one, and it was also high-definition and of the latest model.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see Woo-Jin,¡± said Park Yi-Yeon. He took off his blazer and sat comfortably next to his grandfather as he watched the drama.


    ¡°He¡¯ll appear soon.¡± As soon as his grandfather said that, Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s cousin, Woo-Jin, appeared on the screen. Louie appeared to be dark and gloomy in the drama, which was in stark contrast with Woo-Jin¡¯s usual pure and handsome appearance. This strange contrast caused the viewers to feel distressed.


    Even if they hadn''t met for a while, Woo-Jin''s personality had always remained the same, so Park Yi-Yeon couldn''t help but feel that it was awkward and strange every time he saw his younger cousin on TV. Thus, Park Yi-Yeon could not get used to seeing Woo-Jin on TV because it was awkward and strange. The Woo-Jin on TV was clearly his cousin, but he looked like a completely different person, and his face would look different at times too.


    The viewer''s protective instinct was stirred up after seeing Louie¡¯s dangerous yet beautiful appearance on screen. Park Yi-Yeon had thought Woo-Jin was handsome, but he had never once thought that Woo-Jin was beautiful. Chae Woo-Jin was evidently more handsome in real life, and yet, Yi-Yeon couldn¡¯t help but think that Woo-Jin looked strangely beautiful on TV.. Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s colleagues did not know about his relationship with Chae Woo-Jin. Sometimes they would make him cringe by singing praises of Woo-Jin in front of him. It was amazing how they had time to watch the drama amidst their busy schedules, and Louie was unusually popular amongst the masses.


    ¡°That¡¯s an additional murder charge. At this point, he should be severely punished,¡± said Park Yi-Yeon sternly, as he watched Louie flee the scene in the drama after murdering someone.


    His grandfather had been watching the drama with a displeased look on his face the entire time. He nodded his head and said, ¡°But if he does it right¡­¡± Judging from his unspoken words, he was confident that Louie could get away with it if he handled it correctly.


    ¡°Grandpa, our country is governed by the law. I don¡¯t think you should say something like that in front of a prosecutor.¡±


    ¡°What did I say? You¡¯re making a false accusation.¡± His grandfather feigned ignorance, so Park Yi-Yeon stealthily threw some bait at him.


    ¡°But there is a way for him to escape. If he gets a good lawyer¡­¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The grandfather and grandson duo looked at each other silently for a moment before turning their heads back to watch TV. Park Yi-Yeon shook his head disapprovingly as he watched Louie flee to the rooftop.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he just asking to be caught if he walks around like that without covering his face?¡±


    ¡°If they cover his face, the ratings of the drama will drop.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s grandfather especially loved the Chae siblings because they resemble their mother, who in turn resembled their grandmother. His grandfather¡¯s unchanging love for his grandmother was the reason why he did not give in to numerous temptations before and after her death. Thus, Park Yi-Yeon thought that was the reason why he was complimenting Woo-Jin¡¯s looks. But objectively speaking, Woo-Jin was a handsome man. As much as he wanted to ridicule his grandfather¡¯s opinion, he decided to accept reality.


    There was a girl among the judicial apprentices that he had taken a liking to. However, he heard that she joined the Fancafe a while ago after becoming Woo-Jin¡¯s fan. She had expressed that it was her wish to see Chae Woo-Jin in person with her own two eyes. He wanted to tell her that ¡®Chae Woo-Jin and I are cousins¡¯, but he held himself back.


    Park Yi-Yeon asked her confidently, ¡®Doesn¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin share some resemblance with me?¡¯, since he had heard a lot of people say that back when they were younger. However, all he got in response from her was a laugh that he wanted to erase from his memories. She was more cold-hearted and rational than anyone else at work, but her eyes gleamed with excitement when she talked about Chae Woo-Jin. He could sort of understand that exposing the criminal¡¯s face was their way of providing fan service to people like her.


    ¡°Oh, oh~ oh!¡± While Park Yi-Yeon was recalling those bitter memories, the scene where Louie jumped from one building to another was shown on TV. However, it looked so realistic that Park Yi-Yeon wondered what was going on. They had shot the scene where he rappelled down the building from the ground floor, and it was a dynamic composition. They switched between close-ups and long shots, creating a very realistic scene.


    ¡°Technology has improved a lot these days.¡± Park Yi-Yeon hesitated momentarily as he looked at his grandfather¡¯s side profile. His grandfather believed without a doubt that it was all CGI, but on the other hand, Park Yi-Yeon didn¡¯t think that it was CGI. He assumed that Woo-Jin had used a stunt double.


    ¡°Come to think of it, they aired a different footage from the one they showed at the conference. That one was good but this one is definitely better. Oh yeah! They said that they would be releasing a behind-the-scenes video, so check to see if it has been uploaded.¡± Judging from what his grandfather had revealed, he was pretty much telling Park Yi-Yeon that he knew a lot about Woo-Jin¡¯s drama. Nevertheless, he pretended to be uninterested and spoke indifferently.


    ¡°Is it uploaded?¡± Seeing the credits roll after Louie¡¯s disappearance into the concrete jungle after his successful escape, Park Yi-Yeon visited the drama¡¯s website on his phone.


    ¡°I heard that they tend to upload the behind-the-scenes videos right after the episode ends.¡±


    The production team behind the City of Shadows had put in a lot of effort into the behind-the-scenes videos for the viewers who wanted to continue basking in the afterglow of the drama after the episode had ended. They wanted to show the fun and friendly ambience on set to the public, while thanking the actors who got along with each other, and also because they took great pride in the drama that they had worked hard on.


    Just like what his grandfather said, they had already uploaded the behind-the-scenes video on the website. Park Yi-Yeon went to the living room to look for a tablet after seeing his grandfather frown when he tried to pass his phone to him. Naturally, his grandfather¡¯s face gradually hardened as he started to watch the video on the slightly bigger screen. Even Park Yi-Yeon was wiping the sweat from his forehead as he watched from the side, all while studying his grandfather¡¯s face.


    Everything looked so massive when watching the behind the scene¡¯s video as they looked at the building with a bird¡¯s eye view. However, Woo-Jin was not nervous at all when he jumped from the railing. Before he jumped, he had a bright smile on his face as he talked about the military, just like a child before going on a ride at an amusement park.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Park Yi-Yeon leaned back and moved away from the screen as watching that video made him weak in the legs. He probably reacted that way because Woo-Jin was his cousin ¨C he wasn¡¯t just an actor. It was good that the shoot was completed without incidents. Otherwise, it would be terrible by just imagining the worst-case scenario.


    If even Park Yi-Yeon himself had already felt that way, then what about his grandfather? Park Yi-Yeon was busy looking at him from the corner of his eyes. Nonetheless, he was still too inexperienced to understand his grandfather¡¯s emotions by studying his facial expression.


    After watching the lengthy video, his grandfather sighed and handed the tablet back to Park Yi-Yeon. ¡°Your aunt must be worried. She has a fragile heart, and if she watches something like that¡­¡± Regardless of how much he loved his grandchildren, his children always came first. The reason why he loved Woo-Jin so much was because Woo-Jin was the child of his daughter, who was the apple of his eye. Even though Woo-Jin had acted in a dangerous scene, it was fine since he safely completed it. However, Park Hyun-Man was worried if his daughter would be upset after watching it.


    The reason why he strongly opposed her decision to get a divorce back then was because he cared for her. Park Hyun-Man was old, so he had an old-fashioned mindset. But setting aside his values, he thought that it was rash of her to divorce her husband because he had an affair since many other men did the same thing. Park Hyun-Man thought it was a normal occurrence.


    Park Hyun-Man tried to persuade his daughter to turn a blind eye to it just this once. He had also advised her that all men were the same, and history would repeat itself if she married someone else. Nothing would change unless she was planning to stay single and live alone. He wasn¡¯t defending his cheating son-in-law, he was just saying that he was no different from other men. Park Hyun-Man said all this even though he only had eyes for his wife, and did not fall for any temptations even after her death.


    For someone who had spent his lifetime devoted to only one person, divorce was an unfathomable concept. His daughter had developed her own set of values stemming from her parents¡¯ marital bliss, and he prioritized social norms over her values. Park Hyun-Man claimed to have opposed it for his daughter¡¯s sake and used her as an excuse, but in reality, he just wanted to avoid humiliation. Park Hyun-Man had placed his in-laws¡¯ interests before his daughter¡¯s happiness. He realized later that all he was doing was to force her to turn a blind eye to her ex-husband¡¯s wrongdoing by telling her that everyone else was the same.


    Park Hyun-Man thought that his daughter would end up caving and coming back to him after experiencing hardships since she had a sheltered childhood. Even though he deliberately got mad at her and tried to intimidate her, it did not break his daughter¡¯s resolve. It was quite a shock for him as Park Hyun-Man was used to getting what he wanted, and it made him even angrier. Thereafter, the divorce was no longer of any importance to him ¨C he was simply angry that his child had the audacity to disobey him.


    Park Hyun-Man came to his senses after some time passed. He had realized how old-fashioned and hardheaded he was, but it was already too late. Park Hyun-Man could always apologize if he regretted his actions, but it was not easy since he was a stubborn old man. In the meantime, his grandchildren had grown up and his daughter had remarried.


    In terms of qualifications, his second son-in-law had paled in comparison to his first son-in-law. However, Park Hyun-Man was glad because his second son-in-law was a genuine person. His daughter was wise enough to make the right choice, unlike him who chose a piece of trash. Once again, he reflected on his mistakes.


    The more mistakes Park Hyun-Man realized that he had made, the more courage he lost. Park Hyun-Man was unable to gather the courage to approach his daughter because he himself knew the weight of his past wrongs. He felt sorry towards her for being a foolish father who could only worry about her behind the scenes, and he was ashamed that he didn¡¯t have the courage to come forward to ask for her forgiveness.


    Park Hyun-Man handed his phone over to his grandson and gestured for him to make a call. ¡°Call CEO Jang.¡±


    Park Yi-Yeon hesitated for a moment because there were too many CEO Jangs. ¡°Which CEO should I call?¡± He had an idea of who it was but he needed confirmation.


    ¡°Who else could it be? The guy named Jang Soo-Hwan!¡± Park Hyun-Man gnashed his teeth in anger, saying that Jang Soo-Hwan should have taken proper care of Woo-Jin since he was in charge of him. Instead, he let him shoot such a dangerous scene, which was going to shock his daughter.


    ¡°He¡¯s not picking up the phone. It¡¯s too late now, we can call again tomorrow in the morning¡­¡±


    ¡°Keep calling until he picks up.¡± Park Yi-Yeon became the awkward middle man after hearing his grandfather¡¯s firm reply. He called Jang Soo-Hwan several times but it kept ringing. He did not pick up the call.


    ¡°Send him a message. Tell him that if he doesn¡¯t pick up the phone, I¡¯ll go to his house right now to look for him.¡±


    After Park Yi-Yeon sent the text message as instructed, they finally heard CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s voice coming from the other end of the line when they called him again.

 Chapter 74

    Park Hyun-Man had been worried that Park Eun-Soo would get a heart attack after watching the latest episode of the drama, but she was rather excited by the end of the episode.


    ¡°Dramas these days are just like movies. The final scene of the episode looked very cool, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. In the past, I was astonished to even see CGI ducks awkwardly floating in the pool, but this is nothing compared to that. But still, Woo-Jin must have had a rather hard time shooting it.¡±


    The husband and wife duo was convinced without a doubt that Woo-Jin¡¯s scene was edited with CGI. As such, they were delighted to see favorable reviews about that amazing scene. However, they had a sad look on their face when they imagined Woo-Jin hooked to wires and suspended in the air while acting out that scene. They didn¡¯t know much about shooting, but they knew that wirework wasn¡¯t easy.


    ¡°By the way, looking at Louie gave me an idea for a design.¡± Park Eun-Soo smiled bashfully as she took out her design sketchbook and did a rough sketch. The clasp of the necklace that was made up of dozens of tiny square pendants looked very fancy.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be opera length [1] and you can switch between one or two layers with this clasp. You can also make it into a lariat necklace by placing the clasp anywhere in the middle. What do you think?¡±


    Park Eun-Soo had been a self-taught jewelry designer for a long time and she was good at her job. She had won several awards in jewelry design competitions, so even a rough sketch shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.


    ¡°Hmm, it caught me by surprise but I can tell you were the one who designed it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my design?¡± Park Eun-Soo knew her issues better than anyone else but she feigned ignorance and scowled.


    ¡°It¡¯s fancy, albeit too fancy at times. This design is clean but people can tell it¡¯s your design by looking at the clasp. It¡¯s good to have a distinctive style that is uniquely yours. It¡¯ll look good if with some minor touch-ups.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s similar to Louie¡¯s character? He stirs up your protective instinct because he looks weak, but he is actually stronger than anyone. I want to express the various sides of a person and its changes.¡±


    As Park Eun-Soo watched her son''s movies and dramas, she began to differentiate between her son and her son''s characters. Park Eun-Soo is less flustered now as compared to before when seeing her son on TV. These days, she enjoys watching the drama while analyzing Jin-Woo''s character, and she would share it with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°It¡¯s more similar to Woo-Jin compared to Louie. Woo-Jin looks so good that the marketing department keeps pushing for him to be our model.¡± Choi Min-Woo smiled happily and said that he was put in a very awkward situation because of that.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing similar stories from other people too. The designers have also been saying that they¡¯d like Woo-Jin to be their model for the upcoming brand which they¡¯ll be launching. I find it so hilarious every time people tell me that I look like Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    Both of them had not revealed their relationship with Chae Woo-Jin to the company. Only a few board members had attended their wedding, so unless they told people about it, there was no way any of them would know about their relationship. These board members were trusted friends of Choi Min-Woo and they were aware of his wishes, so they wouldn¡¯t tell others about it.


    Thus, the staff only knew that Park Eun-Soo had a son and a daughter. Every time they saw her, they would comment on how similar she looked like Chae Woo-Jin and asked if they were related. Whenever that happened, Park Eun-Soo would neither affirm nor deny it. She simply replied, ¡®I get that a lot.¡¯


    The reason why they didn¡¯t tell their co-workers that Woo-Jin was their son was because too many of their employees had been pushing to hire him as a model. This was especially true for the upcoming brand whose target audience are youngsters ¨C Chae Woo-Jin was their first choice. Many of the designers who pushed for this idea said that Chae Woo-Jin was their muse.


    If they were to tell everyone that Woo-Jin was their son, the company would naturally assume that Woo-Jin will be hired as a model. However, neither of them wanted to burden Woo-Jin with their company¡¯s work-related issues. It would be nice if he signed a contract with them as their model, but they didn¡¯t want him to do that just because he was their son. They figured that Woo-Jin probably had plans for the future, so they didn¡¯t want to force anything upon him just because they were his parents.


    ¡°But we can¡¯t hide it forever. Wouldn¡¯t it be better for us to just tell now instead of later?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to hide it forever, but I don¡¯t think we should take away Woo-Jin¡¯s freedom of choice at this point in time. We can ask for his help when his fame spreads in the future ¨C ¡®Son, can you become a model for our company?¡¯.¡±


    Contrary to Park Eun-Soo¡¯s worries and expectations, Woo-Jin was currently doing well. Although Park Eun-Soo was not good at surfing the internet, most of the online articles and posts which she had come across about her son were positive in nature. Fortunately, a lot of people seemed to like him and she didn¡¯t need to search far to see the people¡¯s positive reception of him. Louie became the recent obsession of her fellow designers at work. They complimented Chae Woo-Jin on his acting skills as well as his appearance daily, and they were fascinated with the character Louie.


    Park Eun-Soo felt both relieved and proud, but she was also concerned if Woo-Jin was put under a lot of pressure to perform well. Naturally, her greatest desire was for Woo-Jin to quit acting and focus on his academics, but there was nothing she could do about it. Every parent had a soft spot for their children, and she was his mother after all. Just like how she had gone against her father¡¯s wishes in the past, it was her son¡¯s turn this time around. And this time, Park Eun-Soo would be on the losing side.


    ¡°Let him decide for himself which commercials he wants be in, like how he decides which roles he wants to take on in acting.¡± Park Eun-Soo smiled brightly and nodded after hearing Choi Min-Woo¡¯s words.


    Woo-Hee looked at the amicable couple and quietly hid her behind her back. Woo-Hee looked for the behind-the-scenes video after the episode ended and had come running into the living room to tell them about it, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say anything. Woo-Hee decided to keep it to herself for the time being so that her parents could get a good night¡¯s sleep. It might not be the case for her mom, but her dad was going to find out about it the next day, so there was no need to upset them a few hours in advance. Hence, she stealthily tiptoed back into the room, unlike how she ran out of the room earlier.


    ***


    From episode 6 onwards, City of Shadows had officially surpassed The Blue Castle¡¯s Master. Judging from the huge disparity in ratings, popularity, and rerun statistics, City of Shadows had become the top Wednesday and Thursday drama. The viewers were able to experience different emotions with each episode and it was fun to predict future developments by picking up on the subtle hints and foreshadowing that the writer had dropped.


    As the drama started trending, Louie¡¯s fashion sense had also caught the public¡¯s attention. Wearing jeans with a comfortable T-Shirt was a common style that could be seen anywhere. However, Chae Woo-Jin was the one who was wearing it, so it didn¡¯t look ordinary. To put it bluntly, he stood out even when he wore flip flops and sweatpants with knee bags.


    Even though the outfits were ordinary and not fancy at all, which was in line with his character, the unbranded clothes that Woo-Jin¡¯s stylist had personally shopped for still looked good on him. They were very well-received by the public because it seemed like anybody could pull off the look with simple but decent-looking clothes. Louie¡¯s style could easily be classified as shabby-looking if they weren¡¯t careful, but it looked so good that people were praising Woo-Jin¡¯s stylist for putting her soul into it.


    Chae Woo-Jin was not the only one getting all the attention ¨C Kang Min-Ho, who played Choi Joon, the extremely rational character that gave the viewers goosebumps; Park Yeon-Ah, who played Lee Yoo-Ra, the strong female character that was loved by two unusual men, started to get noticed as well. The popularity of both actors had increased significantly and more people were taking an interest in them due to their ability to bring their characters to life, as well as their phenomenal acting skills.


    Even though the drama was centered on a love triangle, a lot of the viewers shipped Louie and Lee Yoo-Ra together. People used to refer to them as the ¡®milk¡¯ couple,[2] but interestingly enough, the couple was always centered around coffee instead of milk. Hence, many people referred to them as the ¡®latte¡¯ couple.


    The biggest driving force behind the drama¡¯s popularity and their number one ranking in viewership ratings was Louie¡¯s escape scene, which was shown in the preview at the end of episode 5. It looked like a scene out of a movie and so it drew people¡¯s attention and piqued their interest.


    Louie¡¯s escape scene at the end of episode 6 instantly increased their ratings to 24%. Thus, it increased their expectations of the ratings for the next episode. Their aim was to reach at least 20% for the next episode.


    The footage used in the drama was different from the ones used in the promotional video that was shown at the press preview and the preview. The action and development were different from what the viewers had expected. It provided them with satisfying visuals and fed their curiosity, giving them greater satisfaction.


    After watching the behind-the-scenes video that was uploaded after the episode ended, the viewers learned that the footage from the rehearsal was used in the promotional video and preview. In other words, that meant that Louie¡¯s smile in the preview was reflected the real Chae Woo-Jin, so his fans edited that part separately and kept it. Due to the nature of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s characters in the previous two movies and City of Shadows, there was no reason for him to smile brightly. Hence, it was very difficult for them to see Chae Woo-Jin smile. His smile was so rare that this was enough to satisfy his fans.


    However, not all the feedback was positive, and they had come from somewhere unexpected. The production team of The Blue Castle¡¯s Master expressed their concerns about the lack of safety in an interview, saying that the production director¡¯s recklessness could have killed the actor. This has caused the public to be concerned that the production director might have made unreasonable demands towards the actors for the sake of getting high ratings.


    As several articles that sympathized with them were posted online, it quickly became the center of a controversy.


    <Is this ¡®auteurism¡¯? Is this a crazy act of ¡®auteurism¡¯ for the sake of ratings!>


    <Will Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s greed lead to an actor¡¯s demise?>


    <How far should an actor go when it comes to acting? All that¡¯s left to do is to jump off a plane.>


    <Compared to the other dramas, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master¡¯s production team loves their actors! Safety comes first!>


    The person who had received the most criticism was Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. Considering his track record, people thought it was another one of his unreasonable doings. However, Chae Woo-Jin looked like he was enjoying himself in the behind-the-scenes video, so it was unreasonable to only criticize the production director.


    Some people suggested that Woo-Jin had gone insane while trying to become famous, but their comments didn¡¯t get as much traction as others who posted long but polite comments to defend him. They also stated facts saying that Chae Woo-Jin had no reason to do something this crazy to become successful. This incident was evidently upsetting for Woo-Jin¡¯s fans but it was a great topic for people who liked to stir trouble.


    - The PD is crazy. What would a rookie actor know? Judging from the behind-the-scenes video, Chae Woo-Jin seemed to be amazed and excited as it was his first time doing a stunt like that. The PD didn¡¯t stop the ignorant actor and must have continued to egg him on.


    ©¸ Even though he¡¯s a rookie, he¡¯s still an adult. He must have known the risks that he was getting himself into. There are so many people in the world who are crazy about becoming famous. What makes Chae Woo-Jin any different from them?


    - That PD had always been notorious. There was once where he broke the ice of a frozen river in the middle of winter and made an actor go into the water for hours, saying it didn¡¯t matter if it was a reality TV program. Even famous actors can¡¯t escape his clutches, let alone a rookie like Chae Woo-Jin.


    - If he had just fallen to his death, more people would have talked about him and his fame would have increased. What a pity for Chae Woo-Jin. He missed his chance at making history.


    ©¸ That would only apply to people like you. Even if you die, I¡¯m not sure if anybody would even talk about it in the news. How pitiful. You¡¯re just a lowlife who has no legacy to leave behind.


    The internet became a battleground. It was divided between Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans, who were upset with the production director, and the attention seekers who wanted to take advantage of the situation to troll. However, the tide gradually changed as the fans of actors who had suffered in the hands of Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk took Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s side.


    The fans of the other actors had always gnashed their teeth in anger when it came to Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk. They began to complain about him and vented their anger towards him. Their detailed stories highlighted Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s notoriety even more. As a result, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s recklessness was dismissed as a rookie¡¯s innocent mistake. The ignorant rookie did something dangerous by acting out on his own volition, but he was very brave and professional. However, his fans hoped that he would be careful in the future.


    Shortly after, DS Entertainment released an official statement.


    1. 26 to 35 inches ?


    2. This was most likely their ship name. It comes from Louie (??) and Yoo-Ra (??). Milk in Korean is ??, and so, the ? in Louie became ?, and their ship name became ¡®??¡¯ ?? - ¡®milk¡¯ couple ?

 Chapter 75

    Although the contract stipulated that the agency had the right to veto ¡®dangerous situations¡¯ and ¡®shoots that threatened the health and life of an actor,¡¯ the important issue here was that Chae Woo-Jin did not see it as a ¡®danger¡¯ and just accepted his task.


    <The actor himself was not afraid of performing the stunt and neither was he forced to do something against his will ¨C he only did it because it was within his means. To Chae Woo-Jin, the building escape scene in episode 6 of City of Shadows was a very easy accomplishment that was just a part of his job as an actor.


    However, our agency considers this to be a reckless move on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s part as he is an actor who is unaware of his position. DS plans to actively intervene and take charge of any future action scenes that Chae Woo-Jin will be involved in. Please understand that it was an inevitable choice by our agency, as the safety and health of our actors is our top priority.


    We would like to clarify that this does not mean that the shooting of all action scenes is prohibited. We give you our word that the public will always be able to see the cool side of Chae Woo-Jin in an action scene as long as it is deemed necessary. We will take the plot of the story, the actor¡¯s wishes, and his safety into consideration.>


    Park Eun-Soo had a very serious look on her face while she was reading the article. There were a lot of things she wanted to know but the article had limited information. She was torn over whether she should personally call her son or not. He was in the middle of shooting at the moment, so she was very worried that she might interrupt him.


    ¡°What are you looking at with such a serious¡­oh my! Do you like Chae Woo-Jin too?¡± The youngest designer of design team 3, Ryu Na-Ye, was happy to see the article Park Eun-Soo was reading. Ryu Na-Ye often said that Chae Woo-Jin was her muse, so Park Eun-Soo simply nodded in response.


    ¡°You must be shocked too. Initially, I too thought that it was CGI, so I was very shocked when I watched the behind-the-scenes video. What kind of drama would make their actors shoot something like that? In any case, I knew that Park Jong-Hyuk would eventually stir up some trouble! I even prayed in front of a bowl of jeonghwasoo!¡±


    ¡°Is the PD that notorious?¡± Ryu Na-Ye fumed with anger in response and told Park Eun-Soo about Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s past deeds.


    ¡°When Genie said that he would be working with Park Jong-Hyuk, we knew that this day would eventually come.¡±


    ¡°Genie? We?¡± Park Eun-Soo tilted her head in bewilderment. Ryu Na-ye then proceeded to explain the backstory of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s nickname and his Fancafe in detail.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s such a platform too.¡±


    ¡°If you sign up for his Fancafe, you can get information about Genie faster than other people. His fans are quick when it comes to getting information about him. Additionally, if there are malicious comments about Genie, the fans gather quickly to respond to these comments to defend him.¡±


    As soon as Park Eun-Soo expressed interest in joining the Fancafe, Ryu Na-Ye elaborated on her work at the Fancafe and gave a brief introduction on the nature of the fans.


    ¡°Ah! The hairpin that Genie gave his co-star Park Yeon-Ah for her birthday is our company¡¯s product. Park Yeon-Ah uploaded a picture of it on her social media, so the accessories department was kicking up a huge fuss today, saying they hit the jackpot. The CEO even gave them a corporate card to use for their get-together.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo seemed to have taken an interest in this piece of information that she was unaware of. Seeing how Ryu Na-Ye was more up to date with information about her son by using a platform she didn¡¯t know about, Park Eun-Soo developed a strange sense of jealousy. On the other hand, Ryu Na-Ye was so excited that she hadn¡¯t noticed the look on her team leader¡¯s [1] face. People usually got excited when they talked about the things they liked, and would tattle on endlessly if the other party showed any signs of interest.


    ¡°The barags decided to put up with the current situation for the time being. The drama is on track to hitting a viewership rating of 20%, so we cannot criticize the PD right now. Naturally, people are saying that the PD made use of our innocent Genie, but what will doing that accomplish? Hmph! I¡¯m just waiting for him to wrap up the shooting of the drama. This is just like the cooling period in The Clinic for Married Couples: Love and War. [2] Park Jong-Hyuk has to suffer big time, seriously! He doesn¡¯t know how important Genie is, and if this drama becomes a success, Park Jong-Hyuk is going to become even more successful. I don¡¯t want to see him succeed like that! Even if I want to make a voodoo doll of Park Jong-Hyuk, I can¡¯t do that until they¡¯re done shooting the drama.¡±


    The barags¡¯ hated Park Jong-Hyuk so much that they wanted to make a voodoo doll of him. But under the current circumstances, if anything were to happen to him, they knew that it would negatively affect the drama and ultimately harm Chae Woo-Jin. It probably wouldn¡¯t happen but Ryu Na-Ye was so upset about not being able to make a voodoo doll that she looked like she was going to cry.


    ¡°You must really like Woo-Jin a lot.¡± No parent could bring themselves to hate someone who genuinely liked their children this much. Park Eun-Soo smiled gently and put her jealousy aside.


    ¡°Wow~! When you called him ¡®Woo-Jin¡¯ with that look on your face, it really feels as though you are Genie¡¯s mother.¡± Park Eun-Soo looked very similar to Chae Woo-Jin, and she was very kind with a good personality. Hence, whenever Ryu Na-Ye looked at Park Eun-Soo, she wondered if Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother was like her. Initially, she had theorized that they were mother and son, but that couldn¡¯t have been the case. If it were true, the rumors would have already spread and the company would have immediately hired Chae Woo-Jin to be their model. But more importantly, she couldn¡¯t be that lucky. Ryu Na-Ye got lucky because she was a true fan. Ryu Na-Ye, who had been laughing until a moment ago, suddenly looked disappointed. After seeing that, Park Eun-Soo decided not to call Woo-Jin for now.


    Park Eun-Soo sat in front of the computer in the evening and hesitated for a long time before entering Wish Baragi¡¯s site. The signup process was relatively simple. After setting her username as ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯, she proceeded to answer some questions like if she liked Chae Woo-Jin, to which answered ¡®yes¡¯ without hesitation. After that, all she had to do was to type out the name of the productions in which her son had appeared to date.


    However, this was when she started facing difficulties. A sprout appeared in front of her username, signifying her status as a new member. She wasn¡¯t granted access to the posts that she wanted to read. In order to get promoted to a full-fledged member, she had to check-in for ten days in a row, and upload at least three posts about Chae Woo-Jin on the bulletin board.


    ¡°I have to wait ten days before I can read the posts?¡± muttered Park Eun-Soo helplessly, as she looked at Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk¡¯s name and the titles of the posts pertaining to this incident. She felt frustrated because she wanted to read them immediately but was unable to do so.


    ¡°Did you sign up?¡± Choi Min-Woo asked quietly. Park Eun-Soo didn¡¯t sense his approach; she turned around and looked at him in surprise.


    ¡°You know about this site too? Did you happen to sign up too?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up but I know that it¡¯s Woo-Jin¡¯s Fancafe.¡± Choi Min-Woo remarked that he should at least know about it, causing Park Eun-Soo¡¯s face to turn red. As his mother, she had only found out about her son¡¯s Fancafe today. Park Eun-Soo started to reflect if she had been too indifferent. She told Choi Min-Woo about her conversation with Ryu Na-Ye today and became despondent.


    ¡°You¡¯re not indifferent towards Woo-Jin ¨C you¡¯re just not good at getting information online. Hmm¡­it says here in the terms and conditions that if you have taken a photo with Woo-Jin, you can be promoted right away.¡±


    After hearing what Choi Min-Woo said, Park Eun-Soo went to look for the photos which she had taken with Woo-Jin on her phone. Among the photos, Choi Min-Woo picked the one where Woo-Jin was wearing a military uniform from when he was on vacation during his military service. Even though his hair was shaved, he looked good and his features were striking. It was definitely not an unflattering photo.


    ¡°This is what you would call a rare item.¡± Choi Min-Woo covered Park Eun-Soo¡¯s face with a cute fox character and uploaded the photo to the cafe before applying for promotion.


    ¡°But is it okay for me to lie like that?¡± Along with the photo, they had written a story about how ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ was well-acquainted with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents, and that she had known Chae Woo-Jin since he was a child.


    ¡°Then are you going to tell them ¡®I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother!¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°More importantly, it¡¯s true that we know his parents very well! You¡¯re also not lying about knowing Woo-Jin since he was a child.¡± Park Eun-Soo hit Choi Min-Woo on the back and laughed. Meanwhile, Choi Min-Woo whistled softly as he refreshed the page to check if their application had been approved. Just today, there were many posts that were posted on the site so that people could get promoted. Choi Min-Woo gently looked at Park Eun-Soo as he told her she most likely wouldn¡¯t be approved today


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°You seem to be doing better than I had expected.¡±


    Choi Min-Woo was out of the office for the entire day because of work and hadn¡¯t seen Park Eun-Soo in the office today. Choi Min-Woo briefly asked her if she was okay over the phone, but even though she said she was fine, he couldn¡¯t relax until he met her face to face. When he saw Park Eun-Soo, she seemed to be coping better than he had expected, so he thought it was a little strange.


    ¡°You cried back then.¡± Choi Min-Woo recalled the time when they watched Death Hill together and tapped her nose with his finger. He was upset that he couldn¡¯t comfort her properly because he was flustered back then, but for some reason, he felt that it was a pity because he couldn¡¯t comfort her today.


    ¡°I was shocked, but I didn¡¯t cry. Do you think that I cry every day?¡±


    ¡°I came in here hoping to hug you when you cry. It¡¯s a shame I couldn''t do that.¡± Park Eun-Soo smiled broadly and told Choi Min-Woo that she would hug him instead, before putting both arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.


    ¡°This is not bad either. But are you really okay?¡± Choi Min-Woo asked Park Eun-Soo. She was sitting down and hugging him while he was standing. He held her face with both hands, tilting her face up towards him.


    ¡°I was shocked and angry, but after watching the behind-the-scenes video, I saw Woo-Jin smiling brightly. After seeing my child smile so happily, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask why he chose to do something which would make me sad. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while ¨C Woo-Jin should continue doing what he wants to do, even if it¡¯s not something that I approve of. But every time he does that, I won¡¯t argue with him.¡±


    It was impossible for Park Eun-Soo to cry every single time Woo-Jin did something that upset her. Thus, she made the decision to become stronger and more open-minded with each passing day as she watched her son¡¯s movies and dramas. That¡¯s because Park Eun-Soo feels that parents should become the sea that embraces their children. Even though Park Eun-Soo was a flower that was grown in a greenhouse, she was not delicate or weak. If that were the case, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to find the resolution to live with her two children.


    It was not easy for her to make the decision, but once did, she moved forward without looking back. And Woo-Jin was a lot like Park Eun-Soo in this regard. ¨C they did not have any regrets regardless of what they did. No matter what path they chose, they would always do their best and be proactive.


    Perhaps that was the reason why she was not as shocked as she had been in the beginning. But rather, it was shocking in a different way. Park Eun-Soo saw her son working via the behind-the-scenes video, and she saw how much he enjoyed it. It looked safer than what she had imagined in her mind, and she found out that it was a collective effort of several people which made that scene possible.


    In order to create what they wanted, designers would choose the materials and the method to smelt each gem, one by one. A designer would not give up on any design which they truly wanted. She guessed that Woo-Jin had probably felt the same way. It was just like how she didn¡¯t care about anything else if she wanted to turn a specific design into reality.


    Park Eun-Soo also felt the need to understand Woo-Jin¡¯s work a little more after her conversation with Ryu Na-Ye. She decided not to be afraid or have second guesses. Thus, she wanted to join Wish Baragi.


    ¡°You¡¯re brave, Park Eun-Soo.¡± Choi Min-Woo usually spoke to Park Eun-Soo with honorifics, but sometimes it was natural for them to speak casually since they were of the same age. Choi Min-Woo said he was proud of Park Eun-Soo, and stroked her hair before kissing her on the lips. And he naturally segued into the subject which he had been wondering how to bring up the entire time.


    ¡°I met with Senior Jang today.¡±


    ¡°Because of Woo-Jin?¡±


    The ¡®Senior Jang¡¯ that Choi Min-Woo had been referring to was none other than CEO Jang Soo-Hwan.


    ¡°To be precise, it was because of you. Since you¡¯re being brave, why don¡¯t you try opening your heart to other people?¡±


    ¡°To who?¡±


    Choi Min-Woo looked down at her gleaming eyes and sighed softly. He answered, ¡°Your father.¡±


    1. Park Eun-Soo ?


    2. It¡¯s a TV program that portrayed the story of a husband and wife who seek a divorce, while a panel of judges analyses the marital problems and suggests some solutions that might help the couple with their marriage. The cooling period is a period of time given to couples to reconsider divorce, in order to prevent them from getting a divorce in haste. ?

 Chapter 76

    All¡¯s well that ends well.


    But for Woo-Jin to achieve that good ending, there were still things he had to do. Curiously, however, he didn''t have a single speck of the courage he had when he had recklessly caused trouble.


    He was mainly worried about the controversial escape scene because of his mother¡¯s reaction. Realization, and the subsequent feeling of guilt, had hit the day before, and Woo-Jin had spent the entire day in a state of nervousness. However, even after four days, he had had no queries from his mother.


    There had been previous instances where both parties had been busy, resulting in long periods of no contact. There were no real issues with Woo-Jin¡¯s mother not contacting him; Woo-Jin was the only real party sitting on a figurative bed of nails due to his guilt.


    [Tsk tsk. You¡¯re not even a kid anymore! Is this funny to you?]


    Seeing this message from Woo-Hee, Woo-Jin asked how their mother was doing. However, the response was less than optimistic for Woo-Jin.


    [She thinks it¡¯s CG. Dad probably knew it right away, but weirdly, none of them have said anything about it. Though I will say, Mom¡¯s face grew pretty dark around Friday evening for some reason.]


    Friday evening would reasonably be enough time for them to figure out the truth. But, thinking his mother was worried about him, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t just pass over his growing concerns.


    ¡°Yeah, I should call her first¡­.¡±


    It was better to take a beating first before asking for forgiveness. Finally, coming to a decision, Woo-Jin picked up his phone to give his mother a call, but Hwang Yi-Young tapped on his shoulder as he did so.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, do you know who this is?¡±


    As Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s phone screen came into view, Woo-Jin¡¯s pupils slightly dilated. While her face was covered by a cute fox character, the person in the photo with him was most definitely his mother.


    ¡°What about this picture?¡±


    ¡°Last Friday, a new member of Wish Baragi sent this photo while asking for membership. She said she was old friends with you and literally sent the entire fan club into chaos.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s clean-shaven, buzz-cut, youthful self in a military uniform was a scarce sight for fans, especially since it was tough to have a picture with Woo-Jin unless they were exceptionally close friends with him. Fans treasured every single photo of Woo-Jin from his younger days due to their extreme rarity.


    The fact that the user ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ had a picture with him while saying that they were longtime friends meant that said user had a deep friendship with Woo-Jin. This also meant that they had stories and photos of Chae Woo-Jin that not many people had, hence the ruckus within Woo-Jin¡¯s fan club.


    ¡°Yeah, so ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ immediately got promoted to a formal member. Fanclub members are secretly trying to ask me about her, but I have to know something first, right? I feel like I have heard the name somewhere, but I can¡¯t exactly remember, so I came to ask you.¡±


    Woo-Jin knew from the get-go where the nickname ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ had come from, but Hwang Yi-Young apparently had not gotten that far with her thoughts, only thinking that ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯ was the name of someone¡¯s child due to her limited information.


    Woo-Jin was at a loss as he read his mother¡¯s post and looked at the picture she had uploaded. After a brief period of thought, noting that his mother had hidden her identity, he figured that spewing around the fact that ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ was actually his mother wouldn¡¯t be the best move. However, when Woo-Jin said that ¡®Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom¡¯ was speaking the truth, Hwang Yi-Young could only reply with, ¡°Oh, so she IS someone you know! The baragis are going to love this.¡±


    Looking at Hwang Yi-Young strutting around as if it was something to be proud of, Woo-Jin quietly passed a hand over his forehead. He wasn¡¯t sweating, but his palms felt oddly wet for some reason.


    ¡°She¡¯s really introverted, so try not to pry too much, please. Also, can you make it so that she doesn¡¯t know that I am aware that she is a member of my fan club? She¡¯d probably leave due to embarrassment.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? Then I¡¯ll manage this carefully.¡±


    While he didn¡¯t know the backstory, Woo-Jin felt that acting ignorant would be the filial move in this situation.


    ¡°Has she written anything else?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not at all. She¡¯s only read a couple posts and added a few comments here and there. Her comments are really short and polite, so I think she¡¯s still getting a sense of awareness of the fan club. Is she on the older side?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I guess you can say that.¡±


    Woo-Jin stared blankly into space after deciding not to call his mother. Whatever she was thinking, he couldn¡¯t think of a good way to handle it. Finally, after an interminable amount of procrastination and thinking, Woo-Jin decided to message his mother.


    [I''m guessing you were alarmed by the events in the 6th episode, and I apologize for frightening you, mother. I''m sorry, I wasn''t thinking about you or the family when filming that scene. I only thought about what was best for myself and that it was fine as long as I was satisfied. I don''t regret my decision, but it''s also true that you must have been worried after watching it, and that is entirely my fault. I''ll make sure to think about my decisions carefully and to also consult you in the future.]


    After typing out and deleting his words repeatedly, the message he sent got a reply a few hours later. Contrary to Woo-Jin¡¯s long message, the text he got was a short inquiry.


    [You didn¡¯t think so before, so what made you think this now?]


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t reply immediately to his mother¡¯s probing question. After listening to Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s advice, his train of thought was difficult to explain in words. However, he tried to type out his thoughts as best as possible with the desire to organize his thoughts and heart.


    [Well¡­I now know that, at the very least, I shouldn¡¯t make my loved ones worry about me. The reason people get angry at me because they worry and care for me. My job is to convince my loved ones, but I know now that I completely disregarded all of you. To tell the truth, I should have talked to you first and assuaged your worries. But I was too engrossed in filming to care about my loved ones, thus missing an opportunity, for which I¡¯m entirely at fault. I was avoiding you afterward because I was afraid of your response, and I¡¯m still very sorry that I only contacted you now about this.]


    Woo-Jin went through some more enlightenment as he sent the long text to his mother. While his behavior to relieve his loved ones¡¯ worries and better his communication had changed, Woo-Jin himself had not changed much. He would still continue to act in the scenes he wanted to without fear or falter, thus making him unable to say the words, ¡®I¡¯ll never do it again in the future.¡¯


    [You said you were afraid, and yet you texted me first.]


    [Because you¡¯re my mom. Rather than being afraid of you scolding me, I¡¯m more afraid of you being worried about me. I know all this, but I¡¯m going to continue acting this way in the future, so I¡¯m really sorry. I know what you¡¯re thinking, but I won¡¯t falter in what I do and probably will have to apologize again. I know you¡¯ll accept what I¡¯m doing because you¡¯re my mom and always care about me. I¡¯m always thankful for you and sorry because you have to go through such emotions because of me.]


    When Woo-Jin really thought about it, he was a very unfilial son. He knew very well what his mother wanted from him but kept walking his own road in the end. However it was put, he was a reckless and undutiful son. He had made his choices because he had a mother who trusted him, respected him, and watched over him with care.


    [It must be nice having a mom like me.]


    The unexpected jab made Woo-Jin flinch.


    ¡°How do I respond to this?¡±


    Woo-Jin thought about how to respond to this message. His grandmother on his maternal side had passed away when Woo-Jin was seven, and it was unclear whether his mother had just thought of the incidents happening then or was actually complimenting herself.


    [Why is it that I¡¯m a great mom, but my father is like this?]


    Another message came in as Woo-Jin was trying to get a grip on his disorganized thoughts. This seemed more like grumbling rather than an inquiry, so Woo-Jin took a deep breath. His mother wasn¡¯t one to bring up his grandfather easily, and while Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know the backstory, it was clear that something had happened.


    [That¡¯s because you and Grandfather are different, just like I¡¯m different from you, mother.]


    [You call me ¡®Mother¡¯ after calling me ¡®Mom¡¯ for so long? That is true though; we are different. When I¡¯m in a bad mood, I end up hating everyone, but in the end, you¡¯re my beautiful little son, while my father is still an irritable old man. I need to work now, so film your scenes well. And Mom is trying to understand you, so don¡¯t worry too much about me, alright?]


    After that final message, Woo-Jin finally understood why his mother had joined the fan club. Maybe it had been the correct decision to pretend to be ignorant of that certain situation. With a lighter heart, Woo-Jin sat up and left.


    Woo-Jin thought he should plan on going home to see his family tomorrow, no matter what. Rather than text, he wanted to meet and talk honestly about his feelings face-to-face.


    While Woo-Jin was shedding the heavy weight on his shoulders, Park Eun-Soo¡¯s sigh weighed heavily on the office floor. The team members glancing at her wondered whether the leader¡¯s designs had not worked out well or whether their designs were just that terrible.


    This time, Team 3 and Team 5 had been picked as the main design teams for the new brand about to be launched. While no changes had been made yet, the team names would be changing shortly, and no decisions were made about which designs among the many would be selected as final products. A sigh would not have been strange in such a situation. The designers who still hadn¡¯t met their quotas lowered their heads and focused on their design.


    While the team members were buried in their misunderstandings, Park Eun-Soo thought about personal things, specifically Choi Min-Woo mentioning her father. She still didn¡¯t dare to meet him, especially after his outburst towards her. She still had some prejudice against him and was afraid of what he would say.


    ¡®Did I never give my father assurances on anything?¡¯


    From a parents¡¯ standpoint regarding success, they had trusted Woo-Jin to succeed with anything he did, so they allowed freedom of choice despite personal worries.


    That¡¯s how much trust they had in Woo-Jin. Was it that, or was it just blind faith? Or a mixture of both? Either way, when analyzing that in reverse, she had never given her father the opportunity to have confidence in her, and he too never had faith in her, making her heart feel heavy.


    [Did you not trust me that much?]


    Park Eun-Soo impulsively sent her father a message.


    Even if she hadn¡¯t saved it, she had no hesitation in pressing her father¡¯s still unchanged phone number. While her number had changed once, the last four numbers had remained the same. So if he remembered her number, he would know the meaning of the message from the unsaved number.


    While she had taken some time to respond to her son¡¯s message due to personal thoughts, Park Eun-Soo received a response from her father in almost no time at all.


    [It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t trust you, but I didn¡¯t trust the people like me living in this society.]


    Park Eun-Soo chewed on the message she had received for the first time in a long while from her father. But then, another message found its way to her father.


    [Then what about now?]


    [Nothing¡¯s changed about me. However, I know you were in the right.]


    Her father¡¯s speech was straight and to the point as usual. However, even with this, a knot sitting in Park Eun-Soo¡¯s heart loosened just slightly.


    [Then, do you still hate me?]


    Her finger, wandering aimlessly for a bit, boldly pressed send. This was a question she could never ask her father in person, but she could predict the response. Even if she did know how he would respond, she couldn¡¯t help the childish desire to want to confirm in this way.


    ¡®I did this because you¡¯re my mom.¡¯ Like Woo-Jin¡¯s response to her, Park Eun-Soo¡¯s inquiry to her father was because she was his daughter.


    [I¡¯ve never hated you. How could I ever do that? I¡¯m just disappointed and apologetic¡­I just want to see you again.]


    Park Eun-Soo¡¯s expression crumpled with the response she had been expecting. She quickly covered her face with both hands, in case someone saw, and quietly sighed. Of course, 12 years of resentment and concerns wouldn¡¯t dissolve immediately, but the emotions she had covered up with much effort caused ripples in her heart as they resurfaced to the forefront of her mind.

 Chapter 77

    Practical problems, conflicts caused by each others¡¯ values, and hurtful words towards each other were some things that would never be erased. However, the previously existing love between father and daughter had rooted itself deeply into both their lives, and it continued to remain even now.


    Hatred and love existed simultaneously. Because they loved each other, they were apologetic and they couldn¡¯t deny that they felt both worry and longing.


    [Do you still hate me?]


    The father¡¯s question to his silent daughter put her deep in thought. Eventually, she just decided to be honest.


    [Yes, I hated you, and truthfully, I still hate you. All the hard times I experienced made me resentful, thinking it was all your fault. But that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t love you. I¡­still do.]


    There was so much she wanted to say.


    Parents can¡¯t always be right. This was a realization Park Eun-Soo had come to understand as she raised her children. What she wanted of her children didn¡¯t necessarily mean her children wanted the same for themselves either. She tried her hardest to live her life so that she wouldn¡¯t become like her father. All so that she wouldn¡¯t end up hurting her children like she had been hurt by her father, but as time went on, she began to understand him.


    ¡®I must have given father a hard time as well.¡¯


    Every parent loved their child differently, and she now realized that her father loved his children in a different way from her. So even though she still resented him, she couldn¡¯t help but continue to love him.


    However, she still lacked the courage to see her father face to face and was too embarrassed to sit in front of him and speak these words. While it was unclear how well the words would be understood, she could, at the very least, be honest with him.


    [It¡¯s okay however much you hate and resent me. It was my fault. I¡¯m sorry.]


    Park Eun-Soo was not the only one that became honest. The man who rarely apologized on his own took the initiative to apologize first. As she read her father¡¯s curt reply, Park Eun-Soo began to flounder in a sea of her own emotions.


    She wondered whether it was really this easy to make amends. For a moment, she questioned whether they could have had a good relationship if they had been this honest in the past and regretted the lost opportunity. But she also knew that the two of them could never have understood one another like this if enough time hadn¡¯t passed.


    Unable to formulate an answer, Park Eun-Soo ended up lying facedown on her desk. She tried to calm her emotions and hold in her tears, but it wasn¡¯t easy. The last 12 years of bottled-up emotions ended up bursting out like a flooded dam.


    However, the team members viewing this scene trembled in their shoes as they glanced at one another.


    ¡®Were our designs that sh*tty?¡¯


    Their imaginations ballooned in misunderstanding as all of them trembled in fear.


    While Park Eun-Soo was a shoe designer, she was extremely famous in that area and had had many hit designs, so her illustrious career was not one to be mocked. After winning various awards in different competitions and such, she was treasured as a top designer for many years now.


    With a talented and able team leader appearing in a severe dilemma, what could the team members do besides try to sense her reaction? After only a few months, they knew that team leader Park Eun-Soo was both warm and upfront. She could not be placed at the same level as the other extremely irritable team leaders.


    And so, they thought there must be a reason if someone like her was showing such a defeated reaction. And what else could it be but an issue with the designs they had turned in, right?


    A quota of 10 designs was needed to be approved by the 15th of this month, but most of the team hadn¡¯t achieved even half of that goal. If the good-natured Park Eun-Soo was unable to get angry and could only self-reflect like this, then how terrible were their designs?


    The team, which had been slacking a little until now, started moving rapidly. As the designers used their own methods to bring their artistic potential to the fullest, Ryu Na-Ye began making gifs of Chae Woo-Jin.


    In an empty cafe, Louie slowly raised his head and stared around blankly. As he raised his head, he was thrown into slow motion, and light particles started falling all around him. Like this, a design was created with every gif, and Na-Ye was the only one in design team 3 to achieve this month¡¯s goal.


    ***


    The last part of episode 8, where Lee Yoo-Ra learned the truth about Louie and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s version of ¡°A Wind that Blows from You,¡± flowed through the scene. Right after they had spent a wonderful and happy time at the amusement park, Lee Yoo-Ra found out the truth and collapsed.


    Whatever I do, I can¡¯t feel the wind that comes from you.


    We walk the same path, but the wind that comes from me pushes you away.


    We can bury the dark and twisted truth.


    The path towards you is not the happiest path for me.


    There was just no other way for me to go.


    Whatever I do, the wind that comes from you doesn¡¯t linger around me.


    We look toward the same destination, but the wind that comes from me hurts you instead.


    Don¡¯t ask me about the hurtful and tiring present.


    I don¡¯t have the courage to lie to you.


    I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t see any other paths for you either.


    The low, calmly sung lyrics, as if being whispered in one¡¯s ear, spoke of a dark, depressing future for the duo. The ¡°Wind that Blows from You¡± was released at midnight and climbed straight to the top of the music charts.


    ¡°Such a song ranks first too, huh?¡±


    Woo-Jin was amazed that a song he had sung was leading on the music charts. Of course, the song itself was good, and he had endeavored to sing it well, so he had some confidence. But as he viewed the results, all that was left was a sense of bewilderment.


    ¡°Such a song!?¡±


    Kang Min-Ho glared darkly at Woo-Jin as his mouth twitched.


    ¡°You know ¡®such a song¡¯ is really good, right? It matches well with the mood of the drama and makes the main characters so much more relatable. Not to mention the subdued aura of autumn that comes from it! It¡¯s SOOOO freaking good!!!!¡±


    As Kang Min-Ho went on with compliments as if his song was the one being insulted, Woo-Jin was more realistic.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too depressing? The lyrics just mean no hope for us at all, and it¡¯s so hard to be sung by other people.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s autumn, this type of feeling isn¡¯t necessarily bad. But, I do acknowledge that it¡¯s hard to sing along. Since it¡¯s so low in pitch, I thought it would be easy at first, but there¡¯s no space to breathe. I realized how ridiculously difficult the song was after I tried singing it.¡±


    It was one of those songs where even trying to take a breather in the middle would mean missing a stanza. The breath would be harsh on the mic, and there was a high chance of messing up the song itself. While it was a good song to listen to, it wasn¡¯t a song that could be easily sung by anyone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about anything else, but as I sang it, I realized how good you are at singing. Others probably think the same thing.¡± Kang Min-ho then showed Woo-Jin a news article published around ten minutes ago. With Woo-Jin¡¯s detached nature, there was no way he¡¯d especially make time to look for articles about him.


    <TM lost Chae Woo-Jin, Blue Fit¡¯s original member>


    The title of the article summarized the content. It analyzed why TM had discarded Chae Woo-Jin, and mockingly questioned what gains TM had made by discarding him in the first place. Furthermore, the last paragraph went on to mention the author¡¯s opinion that Woo-Jin had a much better future at DS than TM.


    ¡°This is¡­¡­.¡±


    Sketchy. That was the only word that came to mind.


    TM¡¯s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung had a little bit of a complex regarding DS¡¯ CEO Jang Su-Hwan. They both had different starting points, their tastes were completely different, and both were often compared in the entertainment industry in particular. Kim Seok-Hyung always had comments saying he was a salesman for his people, and he absolutely abhorred it. Truthfully, being compared to Jang Su-Hwan in the first place was extremely harsh.


    In the first place, both had different purposes for operating entertainment companies, so it was truly unfair to compare both parties¡ªlike comparing apples to oranges. But criticism and biases pushed Kim Seok-Hyung over the line, and this way, Jang Su-Hwan became a trigger for him.


    By now, Chae Woo-Jin had stopped reacting to the articles that compared the two CEOs, but unfortunately, the problem was that this time, the comparing factor was himself. At this point, he didn¡¯t want to be associated with TM any more than possible and was extremely frustrated that the reporters continued to connect him with them.


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t usually read comments under the online articles, but this time he couldn¡¯t suppress his curiosity and began reading them one by one. Blue Fit fans might have thought the article lacked taste, but contrary to expectations, Chae Woo-Jin garnered quite a bit of support.


    Most fans were sad that Chae Woo-Jin had not debuted with Blue Fit, while some said his low tones wouldn¡¯t have fit with Blue Fit¡¯s style. However, the majority did say that with his skills, he wouldn¡¯t have stood out like a sore thumb in the group and might have even created a different mood for the group. Based on his singing and appearance, there was no reason for him to be removed, so the only reason they could think of was his dancing skills.


    Woo-Jin witnessed his fans¡¯ live reactions when they responded to an unaware commenter who expressed that Woo-Jin probably wouldn¡¯t have been a good dancer, especially with Blue Fit¡¯s reputation of clean, synchronized dancing.


    ¡°But I do dance well¡­.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Kang Min-Ho widened his eyes at Woo-Jin¡¯s words that had an undertone of being unjustly accused. Apparently, he had thought the same thing as he read the comments.


    ¡°If you¡¯re saying that for yourself, you must really dance well, huh?¡±


    Woo-Jin had always been the type to be harsh to himself but generous to others. So, if he was complimenting himself, there was no way he was a terrible dancer. And this was a fact as Woo-Jin had extremely high standards, especially with his knowledge of past lives.


    Compared to all the beautiful people he had seen in his past lives, he and the people around him were just average in their appearance, if not below average. But, thanks to his previous lives, his standards had needlessly become higher, and that included how he assessed his own skills and abilities.


    More than anything, compared to some of his past lives where he was considered a master of the field, currently, he was extremely lacking. It was not an exaggeration to say that Woo-Jin had only just started walking. So to reach the level of mastery from his past lives, he was always very harsh with himself.


    He always complimented others who couldn¡¯t remember their past lives because, according to Woo-Jin, they were already good, considering their handicap of not remembering their past lives. But he also never used the same standards on himself given his knowledge of his past lives. To make it fair on others, he always pegged himself down a notch because his starting conditions were very different from others.


    However, even compared with his past lives, he had confidence in dancing. While he was talented in other fields during his past lives, he believed himself talented in dancing in this life. He hadn¡¯t decided to be an idol for nothing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be a detriment to others¡¯ eyes.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t a braggart and thus gave a modest answer. However, he couldn¡¯t hide the slight hint of pride in his voice, and Kang Min-ho picked up on that and interpreted it as such: ¡°Just because I left due to not fitting in, people are assuming way too much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because people like assuming things. This time, both parties are being praised because both did well. But if one side collapses, everyone will be divided in their opinions as they choose one side. If something went wrong, they wouldn¡¯t stop giving their opinions on all the happenings, even going so far as to say that was expected. They won¡¯t hesitate to even step on the loser, so you should be careful.¡± Kang Min-ho cautioned Woo-Jin.


    The public¡¯s scale of what was right was never fair. One mistake or loss of fame, and the people would take sides immediately. Justice and fairness never existed in the entertainment industry.


    ¡°So, don¡¯t become like a certain someone. He¡¯s a little too touchy nowadays.¡± Kang Min-ho was obviously referring to Lee Min-Soo. He had seemingly turned into a venomous snake after today¡¯s filming. Lee Min-Soo had not requested a retake, but with his and TM¡¯s request, Production Director Park had promised to cover up the scene in question with CG.


    As of episode 6, City of Shadows had surpassed The Blue Castle¡¯s Master and even achieved 20% viewership on television networks, making Production Director Park extremely generous in nature. He was happy to the extent that even being insulted couldn''t dampen his feeling of joy.


    Thus, Lee Min-Soo¡¯s request that would have earned a flat-out refusal only received a mild response of, ¡°Eh, yeah, I¡¯ll allow it.¡± Releasing evidence of Lee Min-Soo¡¯s mistake on the screen would pose a problem was a concern raised by the CG/Art design team, but that was only an afterthought.

 Chapter 78

    Maybe it was because of that, but recently, Lee Min-Soo only had a venomous gaze. Irrespective of his internal thoughts, previously he had at least pretended to be friends with Woo-Jin and was polite to others. However, after the article was released, he stopped with his pretenses altogether.


    Surprisingly, the directors actually understood this side of Lee Min-Soo, almost as if it was expected. Since he was a famous idol, it would be pretty strange for him to not act like this even after appearing kind to people around him. However, given his striking resemblance to Choi Kang¡¯s haggard and anxious self after the character had gotten a death threat, everyone put up with the sudden change in his behavior.


    Thanks to that, Woo-Jin had a much easier time filming than before once their true emotional distance was revealed, not needing him to force any interaction with Lee Min-Soo. Before this, Woo-Jin had to put up with Lee Min-Soo¡¯s various attempts of buddying up with him even when he tried his best to ignore Min-Soo. But now, there was no need for that, and in its own way, everything was going peacefully.


    The bothersome article was removed from the news portal a few hours later due to the combined efforts of both TM and DS. It was, however, too late as it had already spread to many internet communities at that point.


    Like Kang Min-ho had said, no side was slandering the other, and people were simply curious about the reason for Woo-Jin¡¯s dismissal from TM. There was only a sense of mocking, and some insults hurled toward CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.


    With City of Shadows achieving a steady 20% TV viewership, the number of viewers of the drama increased, and more people began to recognize Chae Woo-Jin. Of course, that meant more people were talking about him as they went about their lives. If one were to look around in any randomly chosen restaurant, all the different tables would be found discussing Chae Woo-Jin in many different ways.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest; I thought he looked like a dandy, but after watching some of the behind-the-scenes videos, even as another man, I thought he looked really cool.¡± A male student commented on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s action scenes and behind-the-scenes videos and gave him high praise, saying that he would have never been able to do it if it were him.


    ¡°If an actor gives that much effort, it¡¯s really not a waste of money. But look at Park Min; he has a salary of 100 million won per episode. He literally took two billion won¡¯s worth of the budget. The man has no morals, especially when you look at his acting.¡±


    ¡°Every time there¡¯s an action scene, he uses a stunt double. Is he one of the female leads? Why is he acting like a pretty boy?¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting and Park Min¡¯s salary were often mentioned among a group of guys. Simultaneously, a girl sitting at an adjoining table was feverishly looking up information on Chae Woo-Jin while ignoring everything, to the point of angering her boyfriend.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to eat? You said you wanted to eat tteok-galbi!¡± [1]


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m eating. You should eat too, honey.¡±


    Without raising her head, the girl raised her spoon haphazardly and ate just the rice with no care in the world. She was so busy looking at the fanmade gifs of Chae Woo-Jin that she didn¡¯t have the time to even pay attention to the tteok-galbi.


    ¡°Ugh, seriously?!¡±


    In the end, the boy slammed his utensils down on the table with a bang, making the girl finally lift her head. Then, she looked back down at the gifs before smiling broadly and speaking to her boyfriend, ¡°I must really like you, honey.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°When I look at you after looking at Chae Woo-Jin for so long, you don¡¯t look ugly; instead, you look lovable.¡±


    It seemed like a compliment, but the guy really wasn¡¯t left feeling all that great. At a loss, he could only look at her with a dubious look on his face. Was he supposed to be happy that he wasn¡¯t called ugly, or should he be happy to be called lovable? As he pondered, he glimpsed at her phone and saw Chae Woo-Jin moving around.


    ¡°Oh, so that is a compliment.¡±


    The words that naturally came out of his mouth made the couple laugh. A family was sitting behind the couple whose relationship had fortunately gotten stronger.


    The parents looked lovingly at their elementary school-aged son as they served him some side dishes while urging him to eat, ¡°Eat a lot, okay? That way, you¡¯ll grow tall and strong like Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°That phrase again! Does it mean he¡¯ll grow tall if he eats a lot? What if he grows fat?¡±


    A while ago, the hospital¡¯s projections had predicted their son¡¯s height to be much shorter than their expectations due to the parents¡¯ short stature, thus affecting the child¡¯s height.


    However, the wife decided they couldn¡¯t dismiss environmental factors and had continuously tried to feed their son something or the other. The husband worried slightly after looking at his wife¡¯s plump body because genetics didn¡¯t just affect height.


    ¡°It¡¯s still better than not eating and not growing at all. Who knows? Maybe Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents are also small and stout.¡±


    Looking at his slightly downcast wife, the husband glanced at the sky briefly. Yeah, it was probably better to try anything than living without any hope.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Who cares if he gets fat! Our son will be smarter and more handsome than Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    As the husband cut the tteok-galbi into smaller pieces so his son could eat it easily, he empathized with his wife. The couple had been obsessed with the new drama recently, and if their son grew up to be like Chae Woo-Jin, they would be happy. However much they looked at it though, their son was slightly better than Woo-Jin, so there was no need to worry.


    As one passed by the heart-touching scenes, less cordial scenes were also present among the people.


    ¡°Why are your grades so terrible, huh? That actor you like so much, Chae Woo-Jin or whatever his name is, was an idol trainee while attending high school. He went to Korea University with full marks on the CSAT [2]! You¡¯re literally sitting in your room with all you¡¯ll ever need, so why are your scores still like that, huh?¡±


    People were comparing their childrens¡¯ scores with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s scores, and couples were fighting by comparing their or their partner¡¯s looks and skills to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s. But, whatever the conversation, the basis of it was Chae Woo-Jin, which meant that to some degree, they acknowledged him as an actor.


    Chae Woo-Jin was no longer an unknown celebrity. Beyond likes and dislikes, he had cemented his position as a well-known actor, and the drama¡¯s success had helped make this possible. Now, no matter where anyone went, no one would claim they didn¡¯t know the name ¡°Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    ***


    As filming went into its final stages, everyone was on edge. With the final episode¡¯s script distributed, the actors correspondingly prepared their mindsets for the ending. No one expected a happy ending, and there were no contrary predictions regarding the plot. The only issue was how well the viewers would take a sad ending, though admittedly, the viewers seemed to have mostly given up on a good end as well. Although it seemed like the viewers simply wanted the characters to live the rest of their lives happily, even if separately, it seemed like there would still be some trauma for the viewers after the last episode. Woo-Jin thought that the lessening of that emotional trauma was up to the actors.


    The actors¡¯ acting brought emotional depth to scenes, including an understanding of the scene and its conclusion. Thus, Woo-Jin had already transformed into Louie while reading the script. To have a successful conclusion, Woo-Jin needed to focus on acting without any mistakes.


    However, a shadow covered the script, and Louie¡¯s cold, empty eyes flashed with annoyance. He had purposely found an empty room to read the script alone, so he looked up, wondering who had tactlessly followed him in. It was Lee Min-Soo, someone who had avoided Woo-Jin on his own.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Today was the last day of filming with him, so Woo-Jin wondered if there was a problem.


    ¡°You think you¡¯ve won, don¡¯t you?¡±


    With Lee Min-Soo¡¯s question, Woo-Jin lowered his script and looked up at him. He knew the purpose behind the question but honestly found it quite droll.


    Lee Min-Soo continued, ¡°I¡¯ve never really competed with anyone, but you think you¡¯ve truly won with just this?¡±


    A derisive chuckle slipped out of Woo-Jin¡¯s mouth. His movies had succeeded, but he had played a side character in all of them. They weren¡¯t movies with the name ¡°Chae Woo-Jin¡± attached to them. However famous they got, he couldn¡¯t go around bragging about them as if they were his movies.


    Thankfully, the drama topped the viewership rating and got good reviews, so he was slightly pleased with that. But it wasn¡¯t over with just one successful TV drama; it was just the beginning for him. And because Woo-Jin knew that it was the beginning, he couldn¡¯t help but find Lee Min-Soo¡¯s words amusing.


    ¡°I know where your arrogance comes from, but we¡¯re not what we were before, either!¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    The conversation was already tiring. Woo-Jin rubbed his temples before pointing to a clock on the wall. Since there wasn¡¯t much time, he wanted Lee Min-Soo to get to the point.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve just been enjoying popularity and living comfortably. We went through hardships and struggled much more than you!¡±


    ¡°Really? Alright.¡±


    With that insincere reply, Woo-Jin picked up his script again. While he thought the conversation was over, Lee Min-Soo remained standing in his original position.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re the top of the world, the absolute, the greatest right now, don¡¯t you? Well, you aren¡¯t! No one can touch us now. No one doubts our skills now. Do you know how much blood, sweat, and tears we¡¯ve shed to become the Blue Fit we are now? So you have absolutely no right to be arrogant, even completely disregard us, just because of your slight singing skill.¡±


    Woo-Jin had never understood the words, ¡°This is absurd,¡± as much as he did now. He had never disregarded them, but as someone previously regarding their musical skill in contempt, he didn¡¯t deny Lee Min-Soo¡¯s words.


    ¡°If you really think you¡¯ve put in enough efforts, then you shouldn¡¯t have made an album with songs someone else sang, right? On top of that, the first time you ever went on a TV program, you didn¡¯t sing live but lip-synced to songs I recorded. From what I know, you¡¯ve done that at least three times, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Lee Min-Soo should be thankful that he had remained calm until now. This was really a case of the one at fault insulting an innocent. [3]


    ¡°That¡¯s because Director Seol made us do it! We¡¯re not at fault! Do you think Si-Hoo hyung lip-synced to your singing because he thought it was good? Hyung isn¡¯t lacking in any aspect. We won¡¯t lose out to you now!¡±


    Lee Min-Soo¡¯s venomous eyes were roiling with the desire to hurt Woo-Jin in any way possible, but to Woo-Jin, it all seemed like an impassioned diatribe. He understood the desire for Blue Fit to deny Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s singing or any involvement from him at all in their own success.


    Woo-Jin never had any plans to deny Blue Fit¡¯s efforts in creating their own success, either. Blue Fit would likely have gone down in history as a famous, successful idol group even without his singing. He had only cut himself off because their paths had diverged; however, it seemed that Lee Min-Soo still hadn¡¯t let go.


    ¡°You¡¯d better watch ¡®The King of Masks¡¯ this week.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ becoming the king again?¡±


    After Woo-Jin¡¯s ¡®The Wind that Comes from You¡¯ had been released and topped the music charts, a new king had been crowned in that week¡¯s episode of The King of the Masked Singers. The man, christened ¡®Commander of the Universe,¡¯ had sung a rock version of Park Hyo-Shin¡¯s ¡®Wildflower¡¯[4] to take the king¡¯s position for himself.


    ''Commander of the Universe¡¯s'' version of ¡®Wildflower¡¯ had edged out Woo-Jin¡¯s first place song at the time. Both songs had been in the top 100 rankings for the past two weeks, but the ''Commander of the Universe''s'' song had just edged out Woo-Jin¡¯s song by a little bit. And everyone knew that the so-called ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ was really Min Si-Hoo, to the point that the mask was completely pointless.


    ¡°We will never lose to you in singing anymore.¡±


    Lee Min-Soo continued to brag to Woo-Jin like he was the one to achieve all that.


    ¡°Are you ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯? That¡¯s funny. I was pretty sure he¡¯s someone else but alright.¡±


    Even if they were on the same team, individual accomplishments definitely did not add to another individual¡¯s resume.


    Of course, as the previously lip-syncing Min Si-Hoo slowly realized his fame, the others who participated would probably have had weights pull off their chest. However, that was their problem; there was no need to bicker about it. In simpler terms, it wasn¡¯t like Woo-Jin had begged them to lip-sync to his singing, so he wondered why Lee Min-Soo was doing all this.


    ¡°We had no power then, so all we did was listen and follow Director Seol¡¯s orders. We don¡¯t owe you anything, and neither are we at fault for anything we did. You really shouldn¡¯t think you are above us with just that. We didn¡¯t do that because we lacked skills or anything. Whatever anyone says, we were the victims!¡±


    Lee Min-Soo screamed desperately at him, but it had no effect on Woo-Jin at all. According to him, they were different now, but Lee Min-Soo had remained the same. Everything, then or now, had stayed the exact same.


    ¡°Even then, even now, you spout the same words again and again.¡±


    Leaving Lee Min-Soo aside, curiosity regarding the rest of Blue Fit briefly popped into Woo-Jin¡¯s mind then. Would they be the same as him, or was he the only one that stayed like this?


    He was curious. But only very slightly.


    1. tteok-galbi (???), which are minced, seasoned, and grilled beef ribs. ?


    2. CSAT (??): stands for College Scholastic Ability Test, your college applications bank on the score you receive on this test ?


    3. This is a Korean phrase, ????? ?????. It essentially means someone at fault is insulting a random passerby for their own faults. I just translated this directly as possible. ?


    4. Wildflower is a famous Korean ballad that is also famously difficult to sing due to its high register. YT link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtcM3KhgF-s ?

 Chapter 79

    At one point, there had been talks of an extension for City of Shadows, but the writer, Yoo Soo-Min, was adamant about concluding the drama at episode 16. On the other hand, their competitor, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master, had been on the decline, while City of Shadows maintained a rating of 20%. The drama had achieved unexpected success. Hence, the wrap-up party held special meaning for the actors and staff who gathered together to watch and celebrate the finale. And because the broadcasting staff and reporters, along with the fans of the drama, also attended the party, it became even more meaningful and it ended on a cheerful note.


    After the wrap-up party was over, Woo-Jin got home slightly past midnight. As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he took a step back in shock. Woo-Hee was sitting cross-legged on his bed in the dark, with the desk lamp as the only light source.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing in my room at this hour instead of sleeping?¡± He jokingly told her to go for an audition if she wanted to be cast in a horror movie, but she continued to stare at him with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Did he live or die?¡± Woo-Jin simply smiled in response to her question and turned on the bedroom light.


    Woo-Jin had finished shooting the drama a week ago and had returned to his daily life. He went back to school as normal and spent time with his family; they had even watched his drama together yesterday. Even though it was a little embarrassing, he shared anecdotes of things that happened on set and the deleted scenes, and his family enjoyed them very much.


    But today, he had just gotten home from the wrap-up party where they watched the drama finale together as a group. Woo-Hee had stayed up waiting for him because she was dying with curiosity about the last episode.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious.¡±


    On a snowy day, Lee Yoo-Ra made a final request to Louie - to kill ¡®Louie Ahn¡¯.


    ¡°How am I supposed to know? Lee Yoo-Ra told Louie to quietly kill himself in an unknown place, without making a sound. She told him to remove all traces of himself and make it seem like he had never existed in this world. He could have gone to the countryside and lived a quiet life!¡±


    Lee Yoo-Ra did not want to see Louie¡¯s final moments. Apart from her request, she had another condition ¨C she wanted him to die a quiet death without anybody¡¯s knowledge. Thus, if Louie wanted to live, he could very well do so.


    ¡°She made the request and cried after turning around. Lee Yoo-Ra didn¡¯t even cry when she found out that Louie and her fianc¨¦ killed her father, so what do you think it meant when she cried?¡±


    Throughout the drama, Lee Yoo-Ra hadn¡¯t been able to define the feelings she had towards Louie and had only realized them in the last moments of the drama. However, the problem was that her hatred had grown so strong, it overpowered her love for Louie.


    ¡°She hated him so much that she wanted him to die but she spared his life!¡± It seemed as though Woo-Hee couldn¡¯t help but want Louie to somehow live. However, upon analyzing Louie¡¯s character, she knew that he would never go against Lee Yoo-Ra¡¯s request. It was Louie¡¯s job to successfully carry out his clients¡¯ requests; if Lee Yoo-Ra, as his last client, gave him his final task, then even if it meant killing himself, he would accomplish it without fail. Lee Yoo-Ra couldn¡¯t hold back her tears because knew what he was like.


    ¡°Did he really die? Louie is a human after all, wouldn¡¯t he want to live? It¡¯s possible that he might secretly watch over Lee Yoo-Ra as she lives happily.¡± Reality hit Woo-Hee and she looked as though she was about to cry. She pinned her last hope on her brother.


    ¡°We actually had to reshoot the scene that was aired today because the writer revised the script. Originally, the final scene was supposed to have Lee Yoo-Ra crying next to Louie¡¯s dead body as blood flowed out of his body, staining the snow-covered ground. However, after we shot it, it looked somewhat corny and trite, and there was also a possibility that it might trigger a warning from the Korea Communications Commission [1], so we slightly modified the ending.¡±


    As a matter of act, the drama had already been criticized for its violence and murder scenes. Even if they were to try their best to portray them euphemistically, there was a limit to their efforts as it was, after all, a drama with a killer as its main character. However, some of the staff felt that they shouldn¡¯t show any blood in the final scene.


    ¡°But it looked so pretty, like a flower¡­¡± Louie¡¯s blood splattered over the snow-covered ground looked like a flower; it was a beautiful sight. The production team had abandoned beautiful visuals and reached a compromise with reality for the finale that was aired today. They had also deliberately created room for different interpretations. Changing the ending into an open-ended one where people could find comfort wasn''t a bad thing.


    ¡°My dear little sister, I¡¯m sorry but there are no hopes and dreams in City of Shadows.¡± Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but tease his younger sister one last time. Then, he picked her up from his bed and sent her out of his room. Woo-Hee mumbled, looking like she had more to say, but Woo-Jin patted her on the head as he chased her away, telling her to go to sleep.


    After washing up, Woo-Jin changed into his pajamas and was about to go to bed when his younger sister came looking for him once again.


    ¡°Louie¡¯s dead.¡± He gestured for her to go away but Woo-Hee entered his room anyway and looked at him with a serious look on her face.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I wanted to ask.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Unlike how she was earlier when they talked about the drama, Woo-Hee was hesitant. Woo-Jin sat on a chair instead of his bed and looked at her. Seeing how Woo-Jin was all ears, Woo-Hee asked hesitantly as she bit her lower lip, ¡°You¡¯re better at singing and dancing than Blue Fit, right?¡±


    Woo-Jin slightly raised his eyebrows; it was an unexpected question.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the Commander or something is Blue Fit¡¯s main vocalist. He won and became The Masked King twice in a row. He has fans who are completely obsessed with him and they always put others down. It pisses me off.¡±


    Even though she didn¡¯t explicitly say it, anybody who heard her would know that she was referring to Woo-Jin when she said ¡®others¡¯. There were quite a number of Blue Fit fans among high schoolers. It was fine if they wanted to sing praises of their favorite celebrity, but there were people who would always talk about Woo-Jin and compare him to Min Si-Hoo, intentionally saying harsh words when Woo-Hee was within earshot so she could hear them.


    Woo-Hee¡¯s fellow schoolmates who didn¡¯t like her had also joined in. Regardless of how well she got along with her friends, there had always been people who were jealous of her because of her good grades or something else, or simply disliked her. When word got out that Chae Woo-Jin was her older brother and that he adored and doted on her excessively, their hatred for her intensified. It wasn¡¯t to the point of bullying nor was Woo-Hee having a hard time, but it had hurt her pride.


    ¡°They¡¯re saying stuff like how it¡¯s natural for you to get kicked out of the group, and how Blue Fit is a talented group, so you wouldn¡¯t fit in with them. They even said that the song you sang was ranked lower than the Commander¡¯s songs so it¡¯s proof that you¡¯re not as talented as them. I was so annoyed because of that. It was rough.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not even a singer, so what¡¯s there to compare? They¡¯re such funny kids. So, what did you say?¡± This was what he had been worried about when he became a celebrity. He had worried that his family would end up being dragged into the picture and criticized by his anti-fans just because they were related to him, and now, it was happening.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything. As your younger sister, I am dignified and respectable. I can¡¯t lash out at those naysayers. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans have taken care of everything, so don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re not acting like that because they don¡¯t like you, it¡¯s me they don¡¯t like. They¡¯re acting like this because they know my weakness. To be precise, you became collateral damage because of me.¡±


    Those people had attacked Woo-Jin hoping it would hurt Woo-Hee as a result. At the same time, if Woo-Hee became agitated or mad, they could use her celebrity brother to threaten her. However, Woo-Hee wasn¡¯t the type of person who would be hurt or intimidated by such things. Besides, Woo-Jin had so many fans that there was no need for her to personally take any action. It simply pissed her off and it hurt her pride. She had a hard time holding herself back from saying that she was the only person who could criticize her brother.


    ¡°Can you go on The King of the Masked Singers too? Can you join the competition and crush that Commander or The Masked King or whatever his name is?¡± Woo-Hee rarely asked anything like this. She looked rather serious. No matter how many times she said she was fine, it seemed as though it was inevitable for an 18-year-old girl to be sensitive.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it more embarrassing if I lose?¡±


    ¡°That¡­that¡¯s true!¡±


    Woo-Hee had also listened to the song sung by the ''Commander of the Universe.'' By singing on his own, Min Si-Hoo stood out more than when he sang in a group. Even though he had only become The Masked King twice in a row, the skills he had displayed were worthy of high praise. He had sung so well that even someone who was tone-deaf and clueless about anything related to music would be in awe of his voice. He was as good as, no, he was even better than the singers that had made their mark in the history of The King of Masked Singers.


    Woo-Hee had been shocked after finding out from the article that Woo-Jin was supposed to debut with Blue Fit. Despite having no interest in idols, Woo-Hee used to like Blue Fit quite a bit. However, when she learned about the things that happened in the past she stopped liking them.


    But when her brother¡¯s name had been mentioned alongside Blue Fit several times in a day, it started to get on her nerves. She brought it up because she didn¡¯t want Woo-Jin to be associated with them anymore and wanted him to use his skills to put it to rest once and for all. However, after hearing what Woo-Jin said, she realized that things could get worse if her brother were to lose to Min Si-Hoo. After all, he had stopped singing for quite some time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go on the show! Don¡¯t you ever do that! I don¡¯t think I was thinking straight for a moment. You must be tired so don¡¯t think about anything and just go to bed, okay?¡± The more Woo-Hee thought about it, the more she felt like she shouldn¡¯t have suggested it, so she regretted talking about it. Personally, she thought of her brother as a distinguished person who could do everything, but a subjective assessment was not equivalent to an objective one.


    Woo-Hee pulled Woo-Jin out of his chair and got him to lay down in bed. She covered him with a blanket and half-heartedly sang him a lullaby. She reiterated several times to forget what she had said earlier and left the room.


    ¡°The King of the Masked Singers huh¡­¡±


    Recently, he had been hearing about it a lot more. Almost as if it was intentional, someone had published an article about his connection with Blue Fit when it should have been forgotten about and the internet trolls just had to mention Woo-Jin in the comments of the article about the ''Commander of the Universe.'' Even the members of Blue Hole, who had initially been disappointed that Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t debuted with Blue Fit, started to show a sense of superiority.


    As Min Si-Hoo proved his ability to the public as a singer and received recognition, it increased Blue Fit¡¯s status as a whole. After all, the singers had to sing well in order for the group to receive recognition. Moreover, even though Lee Min-Soo had acted well in the drama, the main characters¡¯ presence was so strong that he couldn¡¯t stand out. Perhaps because of the backlash, Blue Fit¡¯s fans tried to do whatever they could to undermine Chae Woo-Jin.


    Nevertheless, Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t bothered by it because he felt that as long as he did a good job, he would be able to completely cut ties with them one day. However, he couldn¡¯t imagine what Woo-Hee¡¯s classmates had been saying at school for her to behave that way. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t sleep; he got up to his feet and sat down. It seemed like he wouldn¡¯t be able to get any sleep tonight.


    ***


    Park Eun-Soo woke up in the morning and walked to the living room. When she found her son sleeping on the sofa hugging Woo-Sa, she tried to walk as quietly as possible. She went back into the bedroom and came out with a blanket. She was about to cover him with the blanket, but she paused for a moment.


    Just looking at her son¡¯s facial expression, as the morning sun shone on him while he slept, made her feel warm and at peace. It was a moment she wanted to treasure for a long time. Woo-Jin and Woo-Sa slept so soundly that it didn¡¯t wake them up even after she took photos and covered them up with a blanket.


    Since Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have classes on Friday, it was okay for him to sleep in. Hence, she and the other family members didn¡¯t wake him up. He slept for a long time, and whenever they walked past the living room, they tried to be as quiet as possible.


    Woo-Jin woke up late in the morning. He lounged around the house for quite some time as his parents and sister had already gone out. Thereafter, he had lunch and slowly started to prepare to go to school.


    1. It¡¯s a South Korean media regulation agency modeled after the Federal Communications Commission of the US. ?

 Chapter 80

    Even though Woo-Jin could now attend classes normally, he still had reports that he needed to submit. It had been a while since he went to the library to do some research and he was planning on studying hard. After wearing a pair of non-prescription glasses, a hat, and a scarf, Woo-Jin looked in the mirror and smiled. In the past, he had wondered why on earth did celebrities choose to dress like that, but he was doing the same thing now.


    It was hard for him to move around campus as freely as he did at the beginning of the semester. Things were fine during classes, but the moment he left the classroom, Woo-Jin no longer had any privacy. When Woo-Jin looked around during lunch, he was constantly taken by surprise whenever he saw phones pointing at him. Even when he was getting coffee from the vending machine, he would hear the sound of camera shutters echoing. [1] Because of that, he felt apologetic towards his friends on more than one occasion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us. They¡¯re not taking photos of us anyway. Even if they happened to capture our faces by accident, they would blur it out.¡±


    Perhaps his friends had already experienced it quite a number of times before, so they were not bothered by it anymore. Woo-Jin was the only one feeling anxious and worried about his friends¡¯ portrait rights and privacy. Even though none of his friends complained, Woo-Jin still did his best to cover up his face as much as he could.


    After thoroughly preparing himself, Woo-Jin left the house. He stood outside his house and stared blankly at the sky. The car wasn¡¯t there. To be precise, Kang Ho-Soo was not by his side. Woo-Jin had subconsciously become accustomed to Kang Ho-Soo driving him around over the last couple of months, so he was taken aback for a moment. He was at a loss on how to get to school.


    Woo-Jin felt that it was embarrassing to call Kang Ho-Soo just to ask for a ride to the school library, so he couldn¡¯t bring himself to call him. Hence, Woo-Jin took public transportation for the first time in a while. He covered his face with a scarf so that only his eyes were visible. Woo-Jin only texted Kang Ho-Soo after he got on the subway.


    [You¡¯re on the subway right now?]


    [Yes, I have to do something at the library. I¡¯ve completely covered my face, so nobody will recognize me.]


    [You should have taken a taxi.]


    [Ah¡­ ;;] [2]


    After reading Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s text message, Woo-Jin realized that it didn¡¯t cross his mind that there existed another mode of transport. As an ordinary citizen, Woo-Jin had rarely taken a taxi in the past decade. He was unfamiliar with the luxury of taking a taxi to school. Woo-Jin told Kang Ho-Soo that he would definitely take a taxi home, but Kang Ho-Soo said that he still felt uneasy about it, so he promised Woo-Jin to pick him up on time.


    Woo-Jin tapped his head on the pole that he was leaning against and felt pathetic. He thought it was ridiculous how someone like him, who used to think of taxis as a luxury, had become accustomed to being driven around by his manager.


    ¡°Is ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ really Min Si-Hoo?¡± The girls sitting down in front of Woo-Jin might have gotten tired of the silence because they started talking about the latest celebrity gossip.


    ¡°It¡¯s clearly him. Everybody knows it¡¯s him but they¡¯re pretending to not know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. He¡¯s going to win for the third time this week, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course! The ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯ is the best among the contenders, but he¡¯s definitely no match for the Commander,¡± said the girl confidently. She appeared to be either Blue Fit¡¯s fan or Min Si-Hoo¡¯s fan.


    ¡°But who is ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯? He sings pretty well but I have absolutely no idea who he is.¡±


    ¡°People have mentioned a few names. But it would be really funny if ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯ is Chae Woo-Jin, like what we predicted.¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s ears perked up after hearing his own name. He didn¡¯t watch last week¡¯s episode of The King of the Masked Singers so he didn¡¯t know who ¡®Counterattack From the Past¡¯ was, but there seemed to be some speculation that he was Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Why? Even though he doesn¡¯t have the skills to beat Commander, ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯ sang surprisingly well. If he really is Chae Woo-Jin, then wouldn¡¯t he be considered quite skilled for an actor?¡± Towards the end of her sentence, the other girl quietly sided with ¡®Counter-attack From the Past,¡¯ saying that she really liked ''The Wind that Blows from You'' by Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I sang along to that song too. It¡¯s an easy song ¨C anybody can sing it. Chae Woo-Jin only sounded good because of autotune. If he were to sing it live on air while reproducing the same sound, I would acknowledge his vocal skills. But I bet that¡¯s never going to happen. It¡¯s really disgraceful how he manipulated the media into saying that he was an original member of Blue Fit with his meager skills!¡±


    ¡°Oh really? I¡¯ve never seen any articles about that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t come across any of them. If you search online, you can find many articles about it. In my opinion, ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯ is most likely Chae Woo-Jin. Even their voices are similar in the lower registers. And what is up with the name ¡®Counter-attack From the Past¡¯? He might want to live up to his name but he¡¯s going to be crushed by the Commander.¡±


    Then, she prattled on about how she was only watching City of Shadows because of her Min-Soo oppa, and condemning Woo-Jin for thinking he was all that when his acting was just subpar.


    ¡°I think Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting is pretty great and I like him though¡­¡± Perhaps the girl who sided with Chae Woo-Jin was timid by nature ¨C she couldn¡¯t stand her ground or refute what the other girl had said, and ended up beating around the bush.


    Her friend clicked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°If he¡¯s actually good at acting, he would have at least won an award at the recent film festivals. He did get nominated for a couple of things here and there, but ultimately it doesn¡¯t matter. He only received that much recognition because the media kept hyping him up. He¡¯s totally overrated. For all we know, he has an influential sponsor backing him since he became that famous in such a short period of time.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not true! Didn¡¯t DS say that they¡¯re against sponsorships?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so gullible! Do you believe everything people say?¡± replied the girl assertively as she looked pitifully at her friend. Woo-Jin subconsciously put more pressure onto the pole he was holding after hearing what she said. In his moment of anger, he wanted to reveal his face and ask her to repeat what she said earlier on. But he held it in, albeit barely.


    Woo-Jin did not win any awards at the two film festivals in November. He had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Best New Actor, and Most Popular Actor but those awards were given to other people. Kang Min-Ho won the Best Supporting Actor award. That was because he had displayed exemplary acting skills in his movie, which was released in the first half of the year. Kang Min-Ho had received the title ¨C ¡®Prestigious Supporting Actor¡¯. [3]


    The Best New Actor award went to the actor who had finally won the award after starring in a movie for the third time; he was originally a drama actor. And the Most Popular Actor award went to a Hallyu star. Nonetheless, Woo-Jin had no complaints because they all deserved to win. Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t expecting much after looking at the other nominees, but CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had also commented that it would be difficult for him to win any awards this time around. Hence, he didn¡¯t think much of it but it seemed like people who liked gossiping had interpreted it differently.


    Additionally, it was absurd how they had accused him of having a sponsor. He wanted to tell them ¡®Tell your favorite oppa the exact same thing to his face¡¯ but he held himself back although it was only after a huge internal struggle. All of a sudden, he wondered if Woo-Hee had been hearing similar comments at school. When he thought about his younger sister being harassed in this manner, it pissed him off. It had been a while since he felt this angry.


    Woo-Jin looked at the girls, who were still in the midst of their conversation; it didn¡¯t seem like they were getting off the subway yet. He leaned in slightly towards them. The two girls were shocked and leaned back immediately when a complete stranger leaned in with his face close to them. But they couldn¡¯t exactly scream because he was keeping a reasonable distance away from them.


    Woo-Jin looked at both of them intently and lowered the scarf that was covering his face. Even though he was wearing a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses, both of them recognized Chae Woo-Jin as soon as they saw his face. They immediately replayed their entire conversation in their heads. One of the girls looked a little justified, while the other girl¡¯s face turned red, not knowing what to do. Woo-Jin gathered all the patience he had in him and smiled at them. Yeah, you can¡¯t say harsh things to someone¡¯s face when they¡¯re smiling.


    ¡°I enjoyed listening to your conversation.¡±


    ¡°I- I- ¡­¡±


    ¡°Spreading false information without any evidence is clearly defamation. I am a huge fan of the law. If you don¡¯t want me to be rich, please be careful with your words. Even though I don¡¯t have the patience to put up with this three times or more,[4] I¡¯ll let it go this time. I hope you have a good day, and that you¡¯ll always have good thoughts and say beautiful things.¡±


    After bowing politely to the two girls, Woo-Jin covered his face with the scarf once again and got off the subway. As Woo-Jin walked down the street confidently, he turned into an alley and found a small corner that was hidden from view and stopped there. Woo-Jin pulled his hair with both of his hands. Chae Woo-Jin was having a fierce internal debate - one part of him was telling him he did a good job while the other was saying he should have held back.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything bad so why am I being tormented by this?¡± Woo-Jin ran his fingers through his hair and fixed it. The world would be a strange place if a victim were to be condemned for acting this way.


    He had recorded his conversation with the two girls, so even if they were to make allegations against him, he would be safe. Hence, there was no reason to worry. However, Woo-Jin was having heartburn because he didn¡¯t get to say half of what he really wanted to say. Because Chae Woo-Jin the celebrity was projected to be a polite person, the real Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know how to relieve his unresolved anger and that was his regret. It was funny how he couldn¡¯t say what he wanted to say and was worried about the consequences of his actions because he was a celebrity.


    When Kang Ho-Soo came to pick Woo-Jin up at the library some time later, the latter confessed to the former about what he had done. Woo-Jin expected Kang Ho-Soo to be embarrassed by what he had done since his primary job was managing artistes, but Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s reaction was unexpected.


    ¡°Hahaha, good job! You¡¯ll get sick if you hold it in. You didn¡¯t curse them out and only said nice things. What¡¯s so bad about it?¡± Kang Ho-Soo heard Woo-Jin¡¯s voice recording and waved his hand, telling him it was okay. Initially, when he heard the insults and false rumors about Woo-Jin, he immediately became furious, so he understood how Woo-Jin felt.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the members of Blue Hole were like this up until a while ago. It seems like they¡¯ve suddenly become very aggressive.¡± They used to like Chae Woo-Jin a lot ¨C not only during the time when they visited the filming site with the food truck; they still liked him even when there were articles written about Chae Woo-Jin almost debuting with Blue Fit. It was strange that their attitude towards Woo-Jin changed after a couple of weeks.


    ¡°Blue Fit belongs to TM after all. It¡¯s clear that they pulled some dirty tricks. Originally, they would have started a smear campaign against you, but because you¡¯re a DS artiste, they can¡¯t do anything to you and so they are using Blue Hole to create flaws. Swaying the fans¡¯ opinions is easier than you think. To fans, their bias [5] is better than any other famous celebrity. If you hurt their pride or sense of superiority even by a little, it¡¯s common for things like that to happen.¡±


    Idol fandoms didn¡¯t fight and speak ill of one another for nothing. If their bias had a rival, the big fans would do anything to destroy them. And Blue Hole was a fandom that was known to have many big fans.


    ¡°After hearing you say that, I¡¯m so glad I didn¡¯t debut with Blue Fit. On the other hand, aren¡¯t the members of Wish Baragi kind and good-natured? Oh, are you okay, hyung?¡± The car swerved for a moment, so Woo-Jin widened his eyes as he looked at Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°I suddenly lost strength in my hands, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s my fault for calling you while you were resting.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t resting because I was working since morning. By the way, did you not see the posts that were directed at Blue Hole? There were quite a number of them.¡±


    Woo-Jin nodded in response to Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them. I¡¯m thankful they took my side and even showed them all kinds of evidence¡­ I was surprised by how aggressive the posts were. Ah! I¡¯m grateful for my fans who have sided with me, but I¡¯ve also seen the posts where they¡¯re telling everyone to calm down. Aren¡¯t they well-mannered and kind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    1. Camera shutter sounds cannot be disabled on phones that are bought in Korea. ?


    2. The double ; was left as it was in the raw. ?


    3. ?? ?? is a title given to supporting actors who acted very well. ?


    4. This is most likely a reference to the saying ''Even Buddha may be upset if his face is hit three times.'' ?


    5. A fan¡¯s favorite kpop idol or member in a group. ?

 Chapter 81

    As Kang Ho-Soo had guessed, it was very likely that the two people whom Woo-Jin talked about were the same person. Wish Baragi¡¯s members proudly said that ¡®Everyone has at least one alternate account online,¡¯ and gave detailed explanations on how to manage one¡¯s IP address when using an alternate account. As a bonus, they had also explained how to avoid and prove defamation.


    However, it was a fact that actions of the Wish Baragi¡¯s members had greatly aided Woo-Jin. The barags¡¯ efforts had spun the negative posts about Chae Woo-Jin on the internet so that it seemed like the Blue Hole¡¯s personal vendetta against him, and prevented these posts from spreading any further. If Woo-Jin had witnessed the entire process of how the barags rendered the infamous Blue Hole powerless and unable to fight back in real time, Woo-Jin never would have used the word ¡®gentle¡¯ to describe them.


    In fact, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t get used to the profane language and ridicule that were used in the process, so he didn¡¯t read the posts in detail. Furthermore, the barags had disguised themselves as Blue Fit¡¯s anti-fans instead of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans when they were attacking Blue Hole, and acted like they were feeble victims. People who didn¡¯t know the context easily misunderstood that it was a fight between Blue Hole and Blue Fit¡¯s anti-fans.


    ¡°Honestly, apart from Blue Hole, nobody else has said anything bad about you ¨C the majority of the public is rather fond of you. And as more and more evidence suggests that these keyboard warriors are members of Blue Hole, public sentiment towards them has also started declining. Since they have a bad track record, people have been thinking along the lines of, ¡®They''re doing it again?¡¯.


    Blue Hole¡¯s members were only satisfied if Blue Fit shone brightly wherever they went. They couldn¡¯t stand it when any of the Blue Fit members went on a variety show without having an important role; if a lot of their footage got edited out; and if other people received more attention than them.


    When Lee Min-Soo first debuted in a drama, Blue Hole¡¯s members had kicked up a huge fuss about how he had lesser parts than the male lead, and told him to build a connection with the female lead even though he wasn¡¯t even the second lead. But when he got along with her, they were unhappy about it.


    At that time, Blue Hole had stirred up trouble by targeting the actress who played the female lead in the drama; they left mean comments on her social media accounts, and made personal attacks on her. Back then, if Lee Min-Soo¡¯s agency hadn¡¯t stepped up to release a public statement stating that Lee Min-Soo had wanted to study acting from scratch, things would have remained the same. After that, the members seemed to be more restrained, but old habits die hard.


    Lee Min-Soo had regarded City of Shadows to be the turning point in his acting career. He had met with Writer Yoo Soo-Min and Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk; putting the success or failure of the drama aside, he thought that they were certainly going to make a drama together, and blindly jumped at the opportunity.


    However, the role that he got was not good enough for Blue Hole, and he was overshadowed by the main leads who were good at acting. One of the reasons why there was a growing hostility towards Chae Woo-Jin was because they found out that Lee Min-Soo wanted to play ¡®Louie¡¯.


    ¡°And the PD of The King of the Masked Singers had also contributed to this situation.¡±


    ¡°What has he got to do with it?¡± Woo-Jin was baffled by the sudden appearance of a new person. Kang Ho-Soo sighed.


    ¡°He¡¯s been wanting to cast you in their program for a long time. However, CEO Jang had rejected him without any hesitation. Nonetheless, it doesn¡¯t seem like the PD has given up on casting you yet. I think he¡¯s the one providing the reporters with information about your connection with Blue Fit.¡± The production director of The King of the Masked Singers had published an article about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s connection to Blue Fit, and TM was trying to use it to tarnish Woo-Jin¡¯s image.


    The King of the Masked Singers'' production director kept providing the reporters with sources of information in a bid to hurt Woo-Jin¡¯s pride, so that he would appear on the King of Mask Singers. The interview in which he had showered the ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ with compliments was an extension of that. From his standpoint as the production director, regardless of whether Woo-Jin or Min Si-Hoo won, it would become a trending topic. Hence, he wouldn¡¯t be making any losses.


    ¡°I can just ignore it.¡±


    ¡°It can go either way, and there¡¯s a very fine line between humans¡¯ pride and sense of inferiority; messing with either of them would create an unexpected variable. TM''s CEO Kim is the best example of this.¡± The reason why CEO Kim Seok-Hyung couldn¡¯t stand looking at celebrities that thrived after leaving TM was because he didn¡¯t want others to say he didn¡¯t have an eye for talent or compare him to the CEOs of other agencies. He was an example of how an inferiority complex could be disguised as pride.


    ¡°What will happen if I remain silent and do nothing about it?¡±


    ¡°Well, nobody knows until CEO Kim and the production director of The King of the Masked Singers obtains a satisfactory result.¡±


    ¡°If I can¡¯t rise above that, I have to be self-conceited.¡± Perhaps, TM''s CEO wasn¡¯t expecting Woo-Jin to go on The King of the Masked Singers. Even though CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had become more broad-minded, it wasn¡¯t to the point that he would send Chae Woo-Jin to a music variety program.


    ¡°Is there any way for us to screw them over?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kang Ho-Soo paused for a moment after hearing Woo-Jin use a word that he rarely used.


    ¡°If I go to the office now, will I be able to meet with CEO Jang?¡± Kang Ho-Soo had been at the office since the morning and had only left to drive Woo-Jin home; he responded to Woo-Jin¡¯s question by changing lanes.


    ***


    After hearing what Woo-Jin had to say, CEO Jang had a strange expression on his face.


    ¡°But in order to do that, you must first win. Do you have the confidence to do that?¡± He knew Woo-Jin could sing, but he couldn¡¯t give a proper evaluation because he had never heard him sing live. He had fallen in love with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting ¨C not singing. Hence, it was only natural for him not to know much about it.


    Presently, Min Si-Hoo¡¯s performance was at its peak. Even though his singing had been criticized for its lack of emotions and that he had relied too much on technique, a lot of singers couldn¡¯t even do that. Furthermore, his vocals were definitely much better than in the past. Although he did not show as much emotion and vocal range as he did in Blue Fit¡¯s debut album, he had grown immensely in terms of vocal techniques.


    ¡°Min Si-Hoo is really good at singing and he has improved to the point where he¡¯s enjoying singing his favorite songs, instead of the songs he has to sing as an idol. He¡¯s no longer the Min Si-Hoo you used to know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, but I can¡¯t sit around and do nothing about it.¡± Woo-Jin felt that walking on eggshells around them was not the way to go. If the people they were dealing with weren¡¯t going to remain silent even if Woo-Jin chose not to do anything about it, it was time for them to fight back in moderation. Fortunately, even though Min Si-Hoo had worked hard, Woo-Jin was not foolish enough to bury his natural talent and let it stay hidden.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you really want, look for Kim Joong-Sun. He will test you. If PD Kim is satisfied, I won¡¯t be against it either.¡±


    ¡°Are you giving me your approval?¡± Woo-Jin thought it would be difficult to persuade Jang Soo-Hwan, so his reply came as a relief to him.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t given you my approval yet. We need to get the green light from Joong-Sun before discussing it. However, I¡¯m starting to get tired of putting up with this nonsense. It¡¯s too bothersome to kick up a big fuss over it, so I just let it be. But people just don¡¯t know where to stop.¡± Jang Soo-Hwan looked annoyed just thinking about it, so Woo-Jin apologized to him. Since he was the cause of Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s frustration, Woo-Jin acted carefully around him.


    ¡°These kinds of things are no big deal. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re determined to take them on. Since you¡¯ve stepped into the entertainment industry, you¡¯ll be seeing more of these in the future. On another note, how are things between your mother and maternal grandfather?¡± Jang Soo-Hwan quietly asked Woo-Jin about his family, as though it was the more important matter at hand.


    Jang Soo-Hwan was bombarded with calls from Park Hyun-Man after midnight the other day, and he vented his stress on Choi Min-Woo the next day.


    ¡®If he¡¯s so worried about Woo-Jin, he should just step up and take care of Woo-Jin himself. Why is he taking out his anger on innocent parties?¡¯


    Choi Min-Woo silently listened and called Park Hyun-Man on the spot. That was how the father-in-law and son-in-law exchanged their first greetings over the phone. Choi Min-Woo was not intimidated by the great Park Hyun-Man, and made a bold request, ¡°Thank you for worrying about our son, but we¡¯ll take good care of Woo-Jin, so please take care of Eun-Soo first.


    ¡°CEO Jang is someone we trust and have entrusted our son to. Sir, father-in-law, I don¡¯t think you should walk all over him just because you are acquainted with him. Woo-Jin was also at fault in this matter. I don¡¯t want to put the blame on anyone else because of his mistake. You are currently worried about Eun-Soo, right? So much time has passed; I hope that you¡¯re able to be a little more honest, father.¡±


    Even though Choi Min-Woo kept calling him ¡®father-in-law¡¯ and ¡®father¡¯, Park Hyun-Man did not object to it. If he hated it, he would have said something, so it meant that he had tacitly acknowledged Choi Min-Woo as his son-in-law. After exchanging a few words with each other, Choi Min-Woo respectfully ended the call and apologized to Jang Soo-Hwan for this incident.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one who should be apologizing¡­¡±


    ¡°Parents are to be blamed for their children¡¯s mistakes, but the children are at fault for making their parents worry.¡± Choi Min-Woo felt sad that Park Eun-Soo and Park Hyun-Man had wasted so much time not only hurting each other, but themselves as well. Hence, Jang Soo-Hwan suggested that he take this opportunity to mend the relationship between father and daughter and to have a fresh start.


    ¡°I think my mother and grandfather will eventually meet with one another after contacting each other.¡±


    ¡°Oh really? That¡¯s a relief then.¡± Even though it wasn¡¯t an Ojakyo [1], Jang Soo-Hwan was pleased because he seemed to have played a similar role as the bridge. It was better to have more people on their side. Jang Soo-Hwan was very happy to have recruited a strong ally.


    ¡°No, wait a second! Park Hyun-Man has already been meddling with Woo-Jin¡¯s affairs this entire time, so after he reconciles with his daughter, there won¡¯t be any reason for him to stop himself, right?!¡± Jang Soo-Hwan cried out after the belated realization hit him. However, there was no one there to hear it.


    Kim Joong-Sun was DS¡¯ composer and producer. Nobody doubted his abilities after looking at the singers he had discovered, as well as the albums he had released. Every day, countless aspiring singers dreamed of getting a chance to sing in front of him. Singers put in a lot of effort in order to sing the songs that were composed by him.


    ¡°Sing this one.¡± Kim Joong-Sun took out one of his unreleased songs and handed it to Woo-Jin. It was difficult to judge someone¡¯s vocals if they sang a song that was already famous. There were singers who were born with natural talent, but there were also others who became great singers via repetitive learning. Hence, Kim Joong-Sun didn¡¯t evaluate Woo-Jin using his version of ¡®Confession¡¯ and the drama¡¯s theme song.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to read sheet music, do you want me to give you a guideline?¡± Kim Joong-Sun asked Woo-Jin kindly as the latter looked through the sheet music. He was fundamentally nice to people who weren¡¯t professional singers.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I kept looking through the sheet music because I liked the song. Should I go to the recording studio and sing it there?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll be doing it here.¡±


    Even though he was nice to people who weren¡¯t professional singers, he didn¡¯t let just anyone into the recording studio. Although requesting Woo-Jin to sing a song with sheet music which he had seen for the very first time without any accompaniment was an unreasonable request, it was necessary for Woo-Jin to be able to do that if he was determined to go on The King of Masked Singers.


    ¡°Recalling my time with you. I found¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop! Are you singing with your natural voice?¡± Kim Joong-Sun had been curious about it for a long time. He hadn¡¯t met Chae Woo-Jin in person, so he wasn¡¯t sure, but Woo-Jin¡¯s singing voice was very different from his speaking voice in movies and dramas. There were singers whose voices changed every time they sang.


    However, the voices of singers with a clear voice like Chae Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t change that much when they sang. Kim Joong-Sun had to know if it was a habit of Woo-Jin¡¯s or if he had changed it intentionally.


    1. In the Korean version of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, the heavenly king¡¯s daughter, Jiknyeo, and a herder, Gyeonwu, could only meet once a year on the seventh day and seventh month each year, but they could not cross the Milky Way. Hence, crows and magpies worked together to form a bridge across the Milky Way, called the Ojakgyo, for the couple to meet. ?

 Chapter 82

    ¡°It¡¯s not my natural voice.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure why you are changing your voice, but stop messing around. Use your natural voice to sing properly.¡±


    ¡°But if I do that, I don¡¯t think it matches the mood of the song well.¡±


    ¡°Different instruments create different moods. Discarding an instrument¡¯s distinctive tone in a bid to match the sheet music is absurd. If you keep doing that, don¡¯t you know that you¡¯ll ruin a song someday?¡± Kim Joong-Sun looked at Woo-Jin seriously. His question made Woo-Jin feel ashamed. Singing a song in a voice that matched it was just an excuse because Woo-Jin had simply stopped singing with his natural voice at some point. There wasn¡¯t a particular reason for that, but at times Woo-Jin simply didn¡¯t want to listen to his own voice.


    ¡°Recalling my time with you. I found the place we used to go; a garden where another woman is smiling brightly and chatting away.¡±


    ¡°A place where another man is watering the flowers. We wasted your time here, and I¡¯m full of regrets.¡±


    Kim Joong-Sun¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing a voice that was completely different from all the other songs Chae Woo-Jin had sung before.


    ¡°Try singing it one more time in the lowest pitch possible, and then in the highest pitch possible. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re singing in falsetto or your natural voice.¡± Woo-Jin sang the song two more times per Kim Joong-Sun¡¯s request.


    ¡°You¡­have a very wide vocal range. And you¡¯re very good at using your head voice freely. Quit acting and just become a singer. I¡¯ll take good care of you,¡± Kim Joong-Sun said with a smile. Instantly, Woo-Jin subconsciously took a couple of steps back. Woo-Jin might have been tempted by his offer for a moment if he hadn¡¯t known about Kim Joong-Sun¡¯s reputation as a brutal dictator to the DS singers.


    ¡°I¡¯m satisfied being an actor. Being an actor is my life¡¯s calling.¡±


    ¡°What a shame. I¡¯ll really take good care of you, though.¡± After hearing his firm answer, Kim Joong-Sun looked pitifully at Woo-Jin and smacked his lips.


    ¡°Can I go on The King of the Masked Singers?¡± Woo-Jin asked Kim Joong-Sun a question to change the subject quickly. In any case, he had to pass this test before talking about the next steps.


    ¡°According to my sources, the ''Commander of the Universe'' has won three times by now this time around. We¡¯ll find out the day after tomorrow once they air the episode, but the results came as no surprise because he absolutely killed it.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t watch The King of the Masked Singers last week, but I know that you went on the show as a celebrity judge.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kim Joong-Sun looked somewhere else for a moment and cleared his throat. He twiddled his fingers in front of Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Red Sun~![1] Forget everything I said, forget everything I said!¡± Kim Joong-Sun had to watch his mouth because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. So it wasn¡¯t something he could freely reveal, even though he was on Woo-Jin¡¯s side.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything.¡±


    ¡°Good! But I have good and bad news ¨C which do you want to hear first?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the bad news.¡±


    Kim Joong-Sun gestured to Woo-Jin to come closer and whispered softly in his ear, ¡°The ''Commander of the Universe'' has four wins during this week¡¯s recording. He must have been prepared to win at least five rounds. A contestant needs at least five wins to become The King of the Masked Singers'' legend. Perhaps, he¡¯s going to be fully prepared during the next recording. He¡¯ll probably crush you if you recklessly face him head-on.¡± He wasn¡¯t trying to scare Woo-Jin, just stating a fact. He absolutely could not afford to take the battles against the Commander lightly.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the good news?¡± There was no hesitation in Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes. Kim Joong-Sun looked into his eyes and smiled, looking very pleased.


    ¡°We have about ten days left before the next recording! That¡¯s enough time for us.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible for me to go on the show?¡± If they were going to be recording in ten days, it meant they had already chosen the contestants. There were few reasons for Woo-Jin to doubt his ability to participate midway through the competition. For one thing, he wasn''t sure whether he would be able to replace one of the contestants at such short notice. Another thing was whether the session musicians [2] had enough time to rehearse with a new addition.


    ¡°Every time the PD saw me, he kicked up a fuss, asking me why he couldn¡¯t cast Chae Woo-Jin in his show. He has already prepared a mask just for you. He assured me that you can go on the show anytime as long as we give him five days'' notice before the recording. So yes, it¡¯s possible. If the session musicians are good at what they do, they won¡¯t mess up the accompaniment despite the time constraints, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s expression turned dreadful after hearing that the production director had already prepared a mask for him. Kim Joong-Sun laughed uncontrollably as he realized why he was chosen to be one of the judges. They had previously badgered him incessantly to be a judge, so he appeared as a special guest on the show, but it turned out that they had another motive. Even though Kim Joong-Sun could understand how the production director managed to become this successful with variety TV shows, his obsession was on another level.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking, but could you help me inform The King of the Masked Singers'' crew about my participation? And tell them that you¡¯ve persuaded both CEO Jang and me to do it.¡± Kim Joong-Sun readily agreed to Woo-Jin¡¯s request and nodded enthusiastically. However he saw it, it was a win-win situation¡ªtaking the credit of roping in Chae Woo-Jin and emphasizing the favor owed to him by the production director wasn¡¯t a bad thing at all.


    ¡°But I¡¯ll only go on the show on one condition ¨C I¡¯d like you to negotiate for me.¡± Kim Joong-Sun blinked his eyes for a second after hearing everything Woo-Jin had to say, as the latter smiled mischievously.


    ¡°There would be no point in winning if you were to do that. You know that, right? Do you know how many singers failed to catch the public¡¯s attention despite being crowned The Masked King, with their careers ending right there?¡±


    ¡°At the very least, I¡¯m confident that I¡¯m better than Min Si-Hoo,¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s remark caused Kim Joong-Sun to burst out in laughter at his level of confidence.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a funny fella! I like it!¡± Once again, Kim Joong-Sun latched onto the idea of turning Woo-Jin into a professional singer and tried convincing him. In that sense, he was as obsessed as the production director of The King of the Masked Singers.


    Once the drama ended, apart from appearing on The King of the Masked Singers, they ultimately held him to his promise to appear on a variety TV show with Berry Rose. The public was still very interested in his fateful connection with Berry Rose, and it couldn¡¯t be ignored.


    After City of Shadows final episode was aired, people kept talking about the drama¡¯s open ending and came up with their version of new stories about the conclusion. The drama¡¯s afterglow was so strong that the viewers couldn¡¯t let go of ¡®Louie¡¯ that easily. As a result, the public became increasingly curious about Chae Woo-Jin with each passing day, wanting to know more about him. His negligible exposure to the media had his fans and the broadcasters wishing to see Chae Woo-Jin somehow appear in variety TV programs together with Berry Rose.


    ¡°I think either TV Star or Happy Plus would be good. TV Star has better ratings and is more popular than Happy Plus, but the latter is progressing very well. Happy Plus also gives you the advantage of recording comfortably without feeling burdened. However, nobody talks about it as much anymore, to the point where nobody knew it was on air.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with TV Star.¡± Perhaps, Woo-Jin had already thought it over beforehand, so there was no hesitation in his voice.


    ¡°Will you be okay?¡±


    If Woo-Jin went on TV Star, there was a high possibility of the hosts not hesitating to ask him sensitive questions. ¡°We can prevent that from happening by signing an agreement before the recording, but it will take out all the fun, making the show boring. You might actually end up thinking that it wasn¡¯t a good idea to go on that show because of how badly it was done. That will be another problem to deal with, then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hiding anything; I can answer any questions. And, there are many things I need to address at least once.¡±


    ¡°There will be a few other guests on TV Star, so there are a lot of things you have to do.¡± Kang Ho-Soo warned Woo-Jin that he had to be prepared to some extent. Woo-Jin made a V-sign in response, expressing it wasn¡¯t a problem at all.


    ¡°There have been many ups and downs in my life. So there are a lot of things to talk about.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a problem because you can¡¯t talk about everything.¡± For example, it would be too much for Woo-Jin to handle right now if he were to talk about his parents¡¯ divorce and family history, as well as everything that had happened to him when he was in TM. But after hearing what Kang Ho-Soo said, Woo-Jin smiled, revealing his pearly whites.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± asked Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea. I¡¯ve also spoken with the CEO and gotten his permission.¡± As CEO Jang was pretty supportive of it, Kang Ho-Soo shook his head. It seemed that CEO Jang had changed a lot recently for some reason. He became more mischievous and reckless in various ways.


    ¡°And please schedule TV Star¡¯s recording after The King of the Masked Singers.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s actions on TV Star might change depending on the outcome of The King of the Masked Singers. Considering that, Kang Ho-Soo wanted to schedule the latter first, and Woo-Jin read his mind.


    Woo-Jin rested his chin on his hand and asked, ¡°Hyung, do you think I¡¯ll lose?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a fifty percent chance of that happening? In my opinion, there¡¯s a fifty percent chance of everything happening. Regardless of whether the probability is high or low, ultimately, there are only two outcomes ¨C success or failure.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s great that we always share the same sentiment. However, I have a killer move, so I¡¯m definitely going to win.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that killer move of yours?¡± Kang Ho-Soo looked very serious. Woo-Jin looked at him and replied seriously as well.


    ¡°I know the secret to singing exceptionally well.¡± Woo-Jin had been training the entire time consistently ever since he learned the secret. He was extremely confident. However, Kang Ho-Soo looked at him and gradually backed away. As if in slow motion, Woo-Jin saw the upright Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s faith and confidence slowly disappear from his eyes.


    Hwang Yi-Yeong personally prepared Woo-Jin¡¯s outfit after hearing the concept behind The King of the Masked Singers from their team. She had Woo-Jin wear a pair of glasses and used a scarf to cover his face just in case, like a celebrity. She also bought ready-to-wear clothes and altered them one by one. Woo-Jin looked at the clothes that had been elaborately altered and scratched his face. He wondered if it was necessary to go to such great lengths for this show.


    ¡°I mean, what¡¯s with the mask that they¡¯ve prepared for a long time now? It¡¯s definitely sloppy, so you have to wear nice clothes to make up for it.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure when you haven¡¯t even seen the mask?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious just by hearing its name.¡± Hwang Yi-Young didn¡¯t seem to be a fan of the concept presented to her by The King of the Masked Singers'' team. In fact, Woo-Jin had also thought it sounded very absurd when he heard it back then, let alone Hwang Yi-Young. However, the mask they received was better than expected; it was neither shabby nor ostentatious. On the contrary, it looked elegant and classy.


    Looking at the mask and outfits prepared for him, reality began to hit Woo-Jin. It would be his first time singing in public. Even though this entire thing started because of his resentment and anger, he loved singing very much, so it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad situation. He couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.


    The first duet he had to sing in the first round was Baek Ji-Young¡¯s ¡®Garosugil At Dawn.¡¯ The production team had requested the song, and he had no complaints about the selection. As soon as he heard the song¡¯s name, he could guess that he was up against a woman. They matched their schedules and rehearsed the duet for about two hours the day before the recording.


    His reflection in the mirror looked ridiculous, as he was wearing just the mask with his casual clothes. His field of vision was so limited that he kept stumbling on his way to the practice room from his waiting room. If it hadn¡¯t been for the bodyguard standing next to him, he would most likely have fallen. For Woo-Jin, today was more of an opportunity to get used to the mask rather than rehearsing the duet. Just as he expected, the person who entered the practice room before him was a woman. She was wearing a beautiful and fancy lily on her nicely styled wig.


    ¡°Hello. I am the ''Queen of Lilies.''¡± The lady greeted him first with an altered voice. She looked very relaxed. There was something unique about her, even with the way she curtsied and waved her hand like a candidate from Miss Korea.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am the ''Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang.''¡± [3]


    Even though it was just a rehearsal, the production team was so thorough that they altered their voices the entire time, except when they were singing. When Woo-Jin shook his head because of not being used to the mask and altered voices, the ''Queen of Lilies'' told him not to worry as it was normal for everyone to feel that way initially, as though she was very experienced.


    ¡°Shall we begin?¡±


    It was more comfortable for them to speak politely to one another as they didn¡¯t know if the other party was a senior or junior. Since there was no point in exchanging greetings out of courtesy when they were each behind a mask, both of them started rehearsing in full swing after introducing themselves.


    1. It¡¯s a catchphrase coined by Kim Young-Guk during the early 2000s, which he says along with the accompanying hand motion when ¡®hypnotizing¡¯ others to help them. The hypnotist also uses the catchphrase to snap the person under hypnosis out of it. ?


    2. Freelance musicians are hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. ?


    3. The Korean for the stage name is ??? ??? ??. ?? - ¡®Doryeong¡¯ is an honorific term for ¡®young man¡¯ or ¡®boy¡¯ used in the olden days. ?? - ¡®Hanryang¡¯ here refers to a wealthy man who doesn¡¯t have a job but spends frivolously indulging in life¡¯s pleasures. The closest meaning in English is ¡®hedonist.¡¯ ?

 Chapter 83

    ¡°Are you nervous? I have some cheongsimhwan[1]. Do you want it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I think you should take it, noona."


    On the day of the recording, Hwang Yi-Young stayed with Woo-Jin after the rehearsal. She had prepared the cheongsimhwan for Woo-Jin but instead ended up taking it herself because of her nerves. Kang Ho-Soo didn¡¯t tag along because his strong physique was easily recognizable regardless of how well-disguised he was. Apart from Hwang Yi-Young, the youngest staff of the agency was the only other person to tag along, so she felt extremely overwhelmed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Hwang Yi-Young awkwardly apologized as she trembled in her seat. She felt awful from being more anxious than the person taking part in the competition.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Strangely enough, I¡¯m not nervous, so I find that rather surprising.¡± He only realized where he was after seeing how nervous Hwang Yi-Young looked.


    He loved singing so much that he had dreamed of becoming a singer at one point; he was also confident in his dance skills. However, ever since his dream had been thwarted, forcing him down a different path, he started to hate his singing voice for some strange reason. It could have been because of his disappointment in himself for giving up on his dream or the frustration stemming from the thought that his inability to be a singer was greater than he had expected.


    Over the past ten days, his practice sessions mainly focused on helping him regain his natural singing voice and to use it to sing his songs. Woo-Jin fiddled with the mask that was covering his face. He felt a strange sense of relief that his face was covered. From this moment on, he was not Actor Chae Woo-Jin.


    He was now labeled as an actor first wherever he went. He didn¡¯t hate it, but he wanted to become an actual singer at least once when he sang. Naturally, it was highly likely that he would get opportunities to sing the theme song or even release an album for a drama in the future. But regardless of what he did, he could ultimately never shake off his image as ¡®the actor who can sing¡¯ because Chae Woo-Jin was now an actor, not a singer. That was the dilemma he had faced when he quit singing and chose to become an actor. Perhaps, this was his first and last chance in his life to sing on stage as a singer.


    ¡°The ''Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang'' is next on stage.¡± A staff member knocked on the waiting room door and called out to him. Woo-Jin was the sixth entry belonging to the third group in the first round. As the rehearsal was longer than expected, the time for Woo-Jin to be on stage got pushed back. But it was a good opportunity for him to build his resolve.


    Woo-Jin was escorted to the stage with bodyguards on both sides. As soon as he got on stage and took off his gown, the crowd went wild, screaming ¡®Wow~!¡¯ from all directions. He was wearing a Gat[2] with crystal and jade ornaments, along with a deep violet robe over a white wide-sleeved Dopo[3]. A sejodae[4] was tied around his waist. His getup could only be seen on characters in historical dramas.


    He didn¡¯t look like a doryeong who was dreaming of becoming a bon vivant, but rather someone who had already become one. Judging from his fancy and stylish Gat ornaments and clothes, he looked like a young master from a distinguished family. The crowd settled down as soon as the accompaniment started playing, and it became quiet. Woo-Jin sang the first male part of the song.


    Woo-Jin calmly sang with clear, deep vocals. As soon as his voice resounded throughout the stage for the first time, the refreshing emotions in his voice captivated the audience, reminding them of the time spent walking down Garosu-gil[5] late in the evening.


    On the other hand, the ''Queen of Lilies'' had a sweet voice, smooth and relaxing, leaving a sweet aftertaste in the audience¡¯s ears. Her singing contained the emotions of a mature woman, in contrast to Woo-Jin¡¯s singing, which was akin to cool and refreshing night air. Moreover, they didn¡¯t overdo their parts to make themselves more prominent during the chorus. When one person sang a solo piece, the other party would sing a counter-melody softly, and when they sang together, their tones complemented one another, as though it was sung by one person. It was thanks to the Doryeong¡¯s ability to impeccably match up to the ''Queen of Lilies¡¯'' high notes and sing at the same key.


    However, the ''Queen of Lilies'' sang about hope while Woo-Jin sang about the cold reality in the chorus, where the audience could feel the sense of desperation of the separated lovers. Woo-Jin¡¯s acknowledgment of the cold reality within this sweet sorrow made the listeners¡¯ hearts sink towards the end. The ''Doryeong Who Dreams Of Becoming A Hanryang¡¯s'' sorrow disrupted the ''Queen of Lilies¡¯'' song filled with sweet emotions and lingered on. When they finished singing the song, the host, Gam Sung-Joo, went up on stage.


    ¡°The duet face-off between the two singers in the third group in the first round has ended. The singers will now greet the audience. We¡¯ll start with ''Queen of Lilies.''¡±


    ¡°Hello. When it comes to flowers, lilies are the best. So I¡¯m the ''Queen of Lilies!''¡± The audience burst out laughing when she did her trademark Miss Korea greeting she had done when she first met Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Hello. I am a ''Doryeong Who Dreams Of Becoming A Hanryang'' because I don¡¯t want to work.¡± Woo-Jin pulled out a hand fan from his waist and opened it, greeting them like a hanryang.


    ¡°He looks like Gu Yong-Ha from Sungkyunkwan Scandal[6]!¡± The audience went wild as they agreed with the celebrity judge¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°Alright, firstly, let¡¯s hear from the judges.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first. First of all, both of them are real singers.¡± Kim Hyung-Cheol raised his hand first. The other judges nodded in agreement in response. They started by giving their verdict that both the ''Queen of Lilies'' and the ''Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang'' were professional singers from the get-go.


    ¡°Hanryang Doryeong, you held the microphone in a rather rigid way. You seemed a little nervous, but your vocals¡­ha~! It¡¯s my first time hearing someone sing so articulately with such a deep voice. It makes me wonder if he sings in places that the general public has no access to. As for the ''Queen of Lilies,'' she is very skillful. It¡¯s like she has been here at least once before. And when she was singing earlier, I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement even though it was a ballad.¡±


    Cho Jang-Hyun agreed with Kim Hyung-Cheol; he nodded and continued, ¡°Both are very talented, so it¡¯s hard to determine which singer has an edge.¡±


    ¡°There are a few people I have in mind as to who ''Queen of Lilies'' is, but as for Hanryang Doryeong, I really have no idea who he is, even after going through my mental list of seniors and juniors in the field. If I take into consideration that he might have changed his singing style, there are a few people that come to mind, but none of them are as tall as Hanryang Doryeong.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s wearing one of those shoes that give you a little extra boost in height. Can you show us your shoes?¡± As soon as Shim Bong-Seon jumped up from her seat and yelled as she pointed at Hanryang Doryeong, the latter raised his foot and showed the judges his shoe from every angle. Gam Sung-Joo looked at his taesahye[7], which didn¡¯t have a raised platform, then quickly grabbed Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s foot and lowered it.


    ¡°You cannot show them your shoes.¡± Gam Sung-Joo deliberately acted flustered because people could guess the person hiding behind the mask with just his height.


    ¡°If you¡¯re curious, you have to make an educated guess logically. You can¡¯t use this to make an accurate guess.¡± As soon as Gam Sung-Joo stirred up the judges, the light-hearted ambience became more serious. One by one, the judges continued sharing their thoughts and impressions about Hanryang Doryeong.


    ¡°You¡¯re not an idol, but a solo artiste, right?¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know any tall singers with such skills.¡±


    The judges were thrown into confusion because the ''Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang'' had a very unfamiliar voice. He was evidently a talented singer based on his skills, but they had never heard his voice before. Several names popped up in their minds, but they didn¡¯t seem right.


    ¡°When he sang in the same high key as the ''Queen of Lilies'' during the chorus, I was completely blown away by how good he was. He never failed to back her up during her solo parts and match her vocals during the parts where they sang together. More importantly, Hanryang Doryeong has a special talent for playing with people¡¯s emotions.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It was the first time I felt my heart sinking while listening to that song.¡±


    ¡°Mental images came to mind as I listened to that song. That¡¯s why I was immersed in it and became even more emotional.¡±


    Regardless of how many comments the judges made, no particular person came to their minds. There weren¡¯t any professional singers with such skills that looked like him or shared all the characteristics. Eventually, they had no choice but to give up on guessing the real identity of Hanryang Doryeong. On the other hand, several names were mentioned as they speculated over the Queen of Lilies¡¯ identity. Meanwhile, Kang Goo-Ra proudly raised his hand and expressed his thoughts; he was the one leading the mood among the celebrity judges.


    ¡°I know someone who has a voice as sweet as the ''Queen of Lilies¡¯'' ¨C Han Ji-Yeon!¡± Kang Goo-Ra brought up Han Ji-Yeon¡¯s name as she had a sweet voice, but he didn¡¯t get a positive response because she was known as a serious person who hardly joked around. So she wouldn¡¯t have cavorted like that.


    ¡°Frankly, I knew who she was from the moment I heard her voice. Regardless of how hard a person tries to change their voice, they can¡¯t change their unique habits. Choi Eun-Ryeong, are you here again?¡± Choi Eun-Ryeong was a contestant who had appeared on the show before and was a runner-up. When Kim Hyung-Chul mentioned her name, several people looked surprised.


    The ''Queen of Lilies'' denied that she was Choi Eun-Ryeong because both had distinctly different singing styles ¨C Choi Eun-Ryeong had a powerful and energetic voice, not because the latter didn¡¯t have the skills. The ''Queen of Lilies¡¯'' sweet and captivating song gave off a very different vibe from Choi Eun-Ryeong. However, her actions made it seem rather convincing that she was indeed Choi Eun-Ryeong. Everyone started arguing whether she was Choi Eun-Ryeong.


    When the judges could not come to a conclusion and only gave their feedback, Gam Sung-Joo stepped in and told the contestants to showcase an individual skill. For starters, the ''Queen of Lilies'' impersonated a comedian while she did the grasshopper dance. After that, the elegant and refined ''Queen of Lilies'' couldn¡¯t contain her excitement and broke character.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s Choi Eun-Ryeong!¡± When everybody cried ¡®Choi Eun-Ryeong¡¯ in unison, the ''Queen of Lilies'' made a gesture as if to say that she had been wrongly accused and used both hands to make an ¡®X.¡¯


    ¡°Next, we have Hanryang Doryeong. You mentioned that the individual skill you¡¯ll be showcasing is traditional Korean dance?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Because I¡¯m a hanryang. Isn¡¯t it only natural for me to do that?¡± Hanryang Doryeong asked as he opened up his hand fan. Using that as a signal, the sound of haegeum[8] and danso[9] resounded throughout the studio. The Hanryang Doryeong began to dance to the sad but heavy song.


    With the fan in his hand, Hanryang Doryeong fluttered his wide sleeves and danced with soft steps. As he tiptoed, every movement he made was like a butterfly dancing. His soft and light butterfly-like dance moves were so beautiful that they captivated all the viewers. His white, wide-sleeved dopo and the deep violet robe looked like the wings of a butterfly. It was a moment where ¡®navillera¡¯[10] felt more realistic than ever. When Hanryang Doryeong finished his dance performance, everyone sighed regretfully as it felt too short.


    ¡°Can I vote again? We can only watch Hanryang Doryeong dance again if he wins, right?¡± This time, nobody laughed after hearing what Shim Bong-Seon said because they all wanted it to be true for a moment.


    ¡°Fortunately, the voting has already ended. Would it be the ''Queen of Lilies'' with sweet and beautiful vocal cords, or would it be Hanyrang Doryeong, the master manipulator of emotions? I will be announcing the results of this neck-and-neck showdown now! The winner who will be going to the second round is¡­.¡±


    1. ??? is a pill formulated with thirty-odd herbs. It is known for its calming effects. ?


    2. Korean traditional headgear mainly worn by nobles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gat_(hat) ?


    3. A hanbok (traditional Korean attire) overcoat. The Dopo was mostly worn by male Confucian scholars during the Joseon period, as well as nobles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopo_(clothing) ?


    4. A cord belt with tassels. https://m.blog.naver.com/nadakik/221010870696 ?


    5. It¡¯s an area in Gangnam, Seoul, known for its upscale boutiques, galleries, restaurants, cafes, etc. Its name means ¡®tree-lined street,¡¯ referring to the ginkgo trees planted along the streets there. ?


    6. A Korean historical drama. The actor Song Joong-Ki portrayed Gu Yong-Ha in the drama. ?


    7. Shoes decorated with taesamun (scroll design) on the toe and heel area. They were worn by the nobles in the Joseon Dynasty. https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/7222 ?


    8. A traditional Korean string instrument that resembles a vertical fiddle with two strings. It¡¯s derived from the ancient Chinese xiqin. ?


    9. A Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean folk music. ?


    10. Navillera means ¡®fluttering like a butterfly.¡¯ ?

 Chapter 84

    The moment the audience¡¯s curiosity reached its peak, their hearts pounding because of the background music, Gam Sung-Joo exclaimed, ¡°The contestant who will enter round two is¡­!!¡± With everyone¡¯s gaze focused on the screen, ¡®Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang¡¯s¡¯ face appeared.


    ¡°As expected!¡±


    ¡°Wow~!¡±


    The people who voted for Hanryang Doryeong were delighted, while those who voted for ¡®Queen of Lilies¡¯ were disappointed, but they nodded and accepted the outcome.


    ¡°53 to 46! ¡®Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang¡¯ won by seven votes and will advance to round two. Hanryang Doryeong, you may go to the waiting room now.¡±


    Woo-Jin was still looking at the screen in disbelief, so Gam Sung-Joo promptly urged him to leave the stage. Hanryang Doryeong was still in a daze as he went down the stage and headed towards the waiting room. A VJ[1] approached him and asked how he felt.


    ¡°It feels good.¡± Woo-Jin finally started getting the hang of the situation to some extent; as soon as he replied curtly while gently fanning himself, the VJ felt a little embarrassed and asked him another question.


    ¡°Have you thought of anyone who might be the ¡®Queen of Lilies¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I can¡¯t reveal whether she¡¯s a senior or junior, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re not allowed to refer to them using a title that allows people to guess your age.¡±


    ¡°I knew she was Han Ji-Yeon. As soon as I heard her voice for the first time, I knew it was her.¡± Hanryang Doryeong added that he wasn¡¯t sure why anyone else, apart from Kang Goo-Ra, couldn¡¯t put two and two together and tilted his head to one side as if confused. The ¡®Queen of Lilies¡¯ took off her mask after ¡®Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming A Hanryang¡¯ got off the stage and performed a solo act. She was indeed Han Ji-Yeon.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± As soon as Woo-Jin entered the waiting room, Hwang Yi-Young and the other staff member went up to him.


    ¡°Why are you already nervous? It¡¯s only the second round.¡± Woo-Jin sat on the sofa as he snorted. As soon as he shrugged his shoulders proudly, Hwang Yi-Young was all smiles.


    ¡°I believe in you! It¡¯s just that the rest were curious.¡± Woo-Jin took off his mask and exhaled loudly. Hwang Yi-Young went behind him and rubbed his shoulders. She wanted to give him some food, but Woo-jin rejected her, saying he wanted to go on stage on an empty stomach.


    His opponent in round two was the ¡®Invincible Band-Aid.¡¯ He wore denim overalls, giving off the vibe of a mischievous child, and had two large band-aids on his forehead. He looked adorable. Hanryang Doryeong from the third group of the first round was the first to sing. His song choice for the second round of the competition was ¡®You to You¡¯ by Lee Seung-Hwan.


    He sang in a low pitch during the parts where he expressed his deep emotions as if talking to himself, then immediately hit the high notes without transitioning to the middle notes when there was a burst of emotions. The high notes were so clean and bright that it felt as though they were directly beating against the listeners¡¯ chests. When the audience listened to Hanryang Doryeong sing, they felt as though sound waves had entered and reverberated throughout their bodies. His performance in the first round was just an appetizer of what was to come.


    It was a song with such strong emotions that it would be accurate to describe it as a song with an element of Han[2] in it. The heartbreaking song was full of distant sadness and despair. However, there wasn¡¯t any resentment. Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s song was about a man¡¯s emotions that had his longing buried deep within his heart, as he wished for the happiness of the one who left him. It also talked about his desire to see her happy when they meet again someday. However, the singer seemed to know that that day would never come. Hence, the song about the man¡¯s desire was even more sorrowful and heartbreaking.


    When Hanryang Doryeong finished singing the song, the studio was shrouded in silence for a moment. There was no room for hand-clapping or cheers. There was also no need for anyone to intentionally put on any facial expression to show how moved or impressed they were. Instead, the cameras captured the tearful look of the audience and celebrity judges, staring blankly at the stage. They were completely unaware of their crying and looked surprised by the tears dripping down their chins.


    Kim Hyung-Chul turned his body and head around and quickly wiped his tears away, but it was caught on camera. Before the audience could compose themselves, Hanryang Doryeong left the stage, and ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ took his place. His song choice was Jo Sung-Mo¡¯s ¡®Song of the Wind.¡¯


    The Band-Aid used his nasal voice when he sang the high notes; it was soulful and lovely. He wasn¡¯t bad at singing high notes. However, immediately after hearing Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s song, he was very shaken up and lost the ability to control his emotions. After making a couple of mistakes and finishing his song, ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ looked very dispirited.


    ¡°The showdown between the contestants in the second group in round two is over.¡± Judging from the less-than-enthusiastic sound of applause after ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ had finished singing, it was as though the results had already been announced.


    ¡°I saw some people cry, but I won¡¯t drop any names. ¡®Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang,¡¯ whose emotions melted the cold winter with warm tears, and ¡®Invincible Band-Aid,¡¯ who will heal any wounds! Your choice will determine which of them advances to round three.¡±


    Gam Sung-Joo tried to stall for time while introducing the two contestants during the voting session, but he didn¡¯t need to as the voting quickly ended.


    ¡°Voting has ended. The decision has already been made, so we can talk comfortably now.¡± Kang Goo-Ra grabbed the microphone after hearing Gam Sung-Joo¡¯s light-hearted comment and pointed at Hanryang Doryeong.


    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Hanryang.¡± Hanryang Doryeong held the microphone with both hands and gave a clear and simple answer. Kang Goo-Ra looked at him and shook his head with a look of disbelief on his face.


    ¡°No, you have another identity!¡± Kang Goo-Ra added that he was on the verge of tears because he was so emotional for a moment. Hanryang Doryeong looked at him and couldn¡¯t help but sigh. He pulled something out from the hem of his robe. Everybody¡¯s attention was focused on his dubious action.


    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t that a mapae[3]? Gam Sung-Joo reacted dramatically when he saw the item that Hanryang Doryeong presented.


    ¡°His Majesty called for me one night and gave it to me. I just want to quit and become an unemployed hanryang¡­but there was no point in making an appeal because he won¡¯t even meet me now. And look at this. There¡¯s only one horse. What can I do with just one horse!¡± Woo-Jin acted according to his own storyline and looked very bitter. People could be heard holding back their laughter everywhere in the studio.


    ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t your outfit too fancy for a secret royal inspector?¡± Kang Goo-Ra narrowed his eyes and questioned him. His original intention was to uncover the identity of the singer, who made his listeners very emotional, but he quickly participated in the act.


    As Kang Goo-Ra had pointed out, the face that was drawn on the Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s mask was smiling brightly, but the ornaments on his Gat were made of crystals and jade, so they sparkled beautifully whenever light shone on it. The luxurious ornaments were the main contributing factor that made the boring mask look good. Additionally, the white dopo and deep violet robe that Hwang Yi-Young had worked really hard on were very wide, so whenever he moved, the hem of his clothes would flutter. It was an exquisite sight. Nobody could chastise him for engaging in debauchery wearing that outfit.


    ¡°It¡¯s all just a disguise. There¡¯s no reason for a secret royal inspector to dress modestly.¡± He forcefully opened up his fan and spoke confidently. The audience could no longer hold back their laughter after seeing his mannerisms.


    ¡°Hanryang Doryeong! You must be an actor since you¡¯re acting so shamelessly.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a singer! Or at least a musical theater actor¡­ Ah! I think you¡¯re a musical theater actor.¡± It was impossible for a talented singer like him to be anything other than a singer. Calling him an actor just because he was good at acting out a scenario was ridiculous. Kim Hyung-Chul answered his question and came to a realization on his own. Leaving him be, the other judges spoke to the neglected ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ in the meantime.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s definitely an idol¡ªa popular one in his 20s. Hanryang Doreyong feels like someone more mature, while on the other hand, the Band-Aid gives off youthful vibes.¡±


    The judges had already speculated the contestants¡¯ identity in round one, so they were no longer as enthusiastic in round two. Instead, they started speculating more about their age. Regardless of how young Hanryang Doryeong was, most guessed that he was in his mid-30¡¯s. While he had the skills, it was difficult to tap into people¡¯s emotions without years of experience. One of the judges even argued that calling himself a doryeong rather than a seonbi[4] was a move to dupe people into thinking he was a little younger.


    ¡°Are you guys going to perform an individual skill this time around too?¡± Shim Bong-Seon raised her hand and asked, to which Gam Sung-Joo responded, ¡°Of course they are!~¡± while pointing at ¡®Invincible Band-Aid.¡¯ After making some mistakes in round two and becoming dispirited, ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ had now regained some energy and stood in the center of the stage.


    He grooved to the music as he did the moonwalk, gradually increasing his speed as he danced. Finally, he finished the dance by spinning on the floor with his knees and lifting his body up in the air with one hand supporting his weight.


    ¡°Oh~! Hanryang Doryeong has to dance now too.¡± Shim Bong-Seon wanted to see them showcase their individual skills solely to see Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s dance again. The ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯s¡¯ dance was pretty good, but they had already gotten used to seeing the flashy dance moves of idols thus far. It was enough to simply compliment him and applaud as loud as they could following the script. However, Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s dance was unusual, even though it was a traditional Korean dance; it was new and beautiful.


    ¡°I danced for you previously, so I¡¯ll do something different this time.¡± Hanryang Doryeong stepped forward with a microphone in one hand and a fan in the other and started singing a chang[5]. Today, he was showing what it meant to be a hanryang doryeong.


    He sang one of the most popular pansori[6] songs, ¡®Ssukdaemeori¡¯[7] from Chunhyangjeon[8] with all his might. Hanryang Doryeong sang Chunhyang¡¯s sad song about her long-lost lover in such a way that made the mood in the studio gloomy and pensive.


    ¡°Hang on. Mr. Hanryang Doryeong, aren¡¯t you getting ready for round three? Why are you singing all the high notes here!¡± Gam Sung-Joo was taken by surprise after hearing the sorrowful high notes flowing out of Hanryang Doryeong and stopped him. He didn¡¯t even realize he had subconsciously called him Mr. Hanryang Doryeong. Even though he hadn¡¯t announced the results yet, his words had already revealed it.


    ¡°Now, all that¡¯s left is to announce the contestant who will be heading into round three. Between Hanryang Doryeong and ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯¡­the winner is¡­!¡± Even though Woo-Jin had already experienced it once, he was nervous once again. The loud cheers and huge gestures of others were invisible to him.


    ¡°The contestant who will be advancing to the third round is Hanryang Doryeong! 87 to 12! He has won by 75 votes!¡±


    Unlike before, as soon as the results were announced, Woo-Jin quickly greeted the audience. And right when Gam Sung-Joo told him to go to the waiting room, he hurriedly got off the stage. He quickly got used to the process because he had already done it once. As soon as he went down the stage, he casually did a V-sign to the VJ who had been following him from the aisle and made a happy remark.


    ¡°Can you guess who the ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ is this time again?¡± The VJ asked the same question as the Hanryang Doryeong could guess the previous singer, Han Ji-Yeon, so easily.


    ¡°Ren from Vesta.¡± Woo-Jin brought up a name that none of the judges had mentioned and was confident of his answer. It was the gratifying result of mastering idols and girl groups¡¯ songs when he was preparing for TheKing of the Masked Singers.


    1. Video jockey. ?


    2. Han is a Korean concept that is best described as an internalized feeling of deep sorrow, resentment, grief, regret, and anger. ?


    3. A horse pass that was issued to the officials of the central government of Joseon when they were ordered to make an official trip to regional areas. It was a certificate that permitted the use of government horses. ?


    4. A scholar. ?


    5. A Korean traditional narrative song (ballad). ?


    6. A Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. ?


    7. disheveled hair ?


    8. It¡¯s a book ¨C one of the best-known love stories and folk tales of Korea. It is based on the pansori Chunhyangga, the most famous of the five surviving pansori tales. ?

 CH 85

    Woo-Jin¡¯s opponent in the third round was known as the ¡®Hand Warmer That Sets Your Heart On Fire¡¯. He wore a mask that was shaped like a hand warmer and a warm, brown outfit. He would be singing first, followed by Hanryang Doryeong.?


    ?


    The judges said that Hand Warmer was under better circumstances as compared to the ¡®Invincible Band-Aid¡¯ earlier and that he was lucky. Because both contestants had already competed in two rounds prior to this, based on their previous performances, the judges had already picked a winner in their hearts. ¡®Hand Warmer That Sets Your Heart On Fire¡¯ was a good singer, but he was not as talented as Hanryang Doryeong.?


    ?


    Hand Warmer sang a jazz version of Bobby Kim¡¯s ¡®When We Are Able to Love¡¯. He didn¡¯t let Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s previous performance get to him and he was able to finish strong. However, when he received a half-hearted reaction from the crowd that was contrary to his expectations, couldn¡¯t help but feel baffled. Strangely enough, the celebrity judges and audience members became less and less enthusiastic with each passing round.?


    ?


    Shortly after, Hanryang Doryeong went up the stage and sang. Only then did Hand Warmer find out the reason behind their lack of enthusiasm. Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s choice of song was ¡®Collar¡¯ by Im Tae-Kyung. Woo-Jin¡¯s song selections were made based on the concept of a doryeong who dreamed of becoming a hanryang. He figured that singing songs with a heavy beat while wearing a Hanbok[1] would not match the first impression which he had created. Kim Joong-Sun had also advised him not to take any risks from the beginning unless he had already become The Masked King?


    ?


    Thus, Woo-Jin picked songs that would go well with the Hanbok. As a result, all the songs had one thing in common ¨C the lyrics were about the sorrow of those who had been left behind by their lovers. Even though most of the songs were about love, one would realize that the songs Woo-Jin had picked today had similar moods and lyrics after taking a closer look. While arranging the songs, Woo-Jin had decided to express the emotions differently for each song.?


    ?


    In round two, Woo-Jin sang ¡®You to You¡¯ with han; he tried his best to express the stages of resignation while understanding and accepting the unavoidable reality despite feeling disconcerted. The sorrowful song made the listeners¡¯ hearts ache and caused them to weep. But in round three, Woo-Jin sang ¡®Collar¡¯ in a grim tone. After getting over his prior emotions, he had reached a stage of enlightenment. Like the tranquil flow of water, Hanryang Doryeong had acknowledged reality. However, the regret that was hard to let go of clung onto him like the last hope. The foolish person only became aware of how precious the relationship was after it was over, and dared not to speak of the word ¡®regret¡¯. It was tragic, but after listening to the song, the audience felt strangely relieved, as if they had let go of the bitterness in their heavy hearts.?


    ?


    The audience had been sitting down for a long time today just listening to songs, and they were subconsciously weighed down by weariness. Listening to the song relieved them of their fatigue and they felt refreshed. It was a somewhat comforting and refreshing feeling which traveled throughout their body. The audience looked down at their fingertips; they were subconsciously trembling with excitement. Appreciation and judgment were not important to the people who wanted to bask in the afterglow of the song. However, the curiosity about the person who evoked all these emotions grew bigger.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about your thoughts and feelings about advancing to round three. Frankly, did you expect yourself to make it this far?¡± It was only natural for Gam Sung-Joo to ask that question. Everyone in the studio knew that Hanryang Doryeong would become the finalist today. It was neither a speculation nor a prediction, but a fact.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re honest. In that case, do you think you can become the next Mask King?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll have to listen to The Masked King sing in order to find out. I must become The Masked King today in order to get two mapae[2].¡± Gam Sung-Joo laughed in response and told the audience about the anecdote pertaining to the mapae.?


    ?


    ¡°Hanryang Doryeong was dissatisfied with the fact that there was only one horse on the mapae, so he protested to the production team. In response, they told him that every time he becomes The Masked King, they would add one more horse to the mapae.?


    ?


    ¡°So if he continues to become The Masked King, won¡¯t there be ten horses on the mapae?¡± After hearing Kang Goo-Ra¡¯s question, Woo-Jin imagined what a ten-horse mapae would look like, and burst out laughing. A ten-horse mapae was used by the king, so it was as though they were telling him to plot treason. But Woo-Jin wondered if taking the throne away from ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ when he became The Masked King would be akin to treason, so he laughed.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s laughter in his altered voice made him sound like a mischievous child, to the point it raised suspicions as to whether he was the same person who sang the tragic and heartbreaking song just a moment ago.?


    ?


    ¡°Mr. Hanryang Doryeong burst out laughing. By any chance, did thinking about it make you that happy?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. In any case, regardless of how well I sing, I can only get a 5-horse mapae.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? What do you mean by that?¡± Gam Sung-Joo widened his eyes and looked at Hanryang Doryeong, as if it was the first time hearing about it. The cue card didn¡¯t mention anything about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if I continue to be The Masked King, it¡¯ll be hard for me to go on the show after four more episodes because of my busy schedule. Right now, I can only make time during these five weeks. It¡¯ll be hard for me to do so after that. I told the PD that I¡¯d be able to stay throughout the competition if he put me in after March, but he wanted me to just go on the show today.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin told the production director that if he were to go on the show today, he could only do five episodes in total. However, if he were to participate around March, he would be able to appear in as many episodes as the production director wanted. Woo-Jin told him to choose between these two options. The production director wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, so he had no choice but to pick the former. Additionally, if he waited till March, there was a chance that Woo-Jin might change his mind and back out.?


    ?


    ¡°No! Why did the production director make such a decision?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He must have gauged that it would be difficult for me to win more than five times in a row. I felt that it would be hard for me to do that as well, so I agreed.¡± Hanryand Doryeong proceeded to say that was the reason why there wouldn¡¯t be a ten-horse mapae, and smiled innocently. It was uncertain if this scene would be edited out, but at the very least, the people present in the studio had heard it.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin¡¯s fifth victory approached, the production director would become increasingly frustrated. If someone failed to defeat Hanryang Doryeong with their vocals, the first Mask King would voluntarily step forward to have a showdown against him. Because the production director insisted on getting someone who could only appear in five episodes on the show, he was responsible for everything. The production director had no choice but to send in the people he had been saving, to use at a later date, to meet their demise.?


    ?


    The viewership ratings were high right now as the show had reached the peak of its popularity, but there was no telling how long they could keep it up for. Every time Woo-Jin won, the production director would have no choice but to send in his trump cards[3] to try to knock him down his throne. Although that might not happen, Woo-Jin could always trigger the production director, using the same method as what he had done to Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Naturally, if that were to happen, there was a possibility that Woo-Jin would not be able to hold on to his title as The Masked King by achieving five consecutive victories. However, Woo-Jin wanted to make full use of this opportunity to sing as an actual singer. Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t in a rush to protect his title as The Masked King; he wanted to enjoy new challenges.?


    ?


    If everything went according to his plan, then The King of the Masked Singers would maintain the highest viewership count while Hanryang Doryeong was still the Masked King. However once he stepped down, the show would come to an end unless the crew could find another strong candidate who could revive the dying embers of the show. It was most likely that The King of the Masked Singers would suffer for a bit.?


    ?


    But this plan would only be possible if Woo-Jin completely captivated the public, on top of becoming The Masked King and achieving five consecutive victories. If Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t do that, then his plan to secretly take revenge on the PD would be futile and he would have to leave without truly being able to even attempt his revenge. However, Woo-Jin was so confident that he was already thinking about the next Masked King candidate whom he would be up against.?


    ?


    This time around, Woo-Jin evaluated and compared himself objectively and not subjectively. Woo-Jin felt that he had a good chance of winning this competition. Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t have participated in the first place if he had no chance of winning. As if responding to Woo-Jin¡¯s conviction, Hanryang Doryeong became the finalist of today¡¯s competition.?


    ?


    ¡°The defending Masked King will now say a few words.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Umm¡­ The Hanryang Doryeong is a very talented singer, so I¡¯m very nervous and excited today. I will do my best to keep my title!¡±?


    ?


    Nobody could see the ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯s¡¯ facial expression because of his mask. It was hard to say anything because it was difficult to guess what he was thinking just by listening to his altered voice. This was one of the pros of The King of the Masked Singers. It was good for the contestants as they were able to protect their pride by hiding their emotional state from viewers, and the viewers could imagine whatever they wanted to keep their fantasies alive.?


    ?


    The Masked King, ¡®Commander of the Universe,¡¯ would be singing the late Kim Kwang-Seok¡¯s well-known song, ¡®Becoming Dust.¡¯ As a fellow contestant, Woo-Jin was able to catch a glimpse of Min Si-Hoo¡¯s hard work as soon as he heard the accompaniment. Min Si-Hoo had excellent vocal techniques, but he was criticized for his lack of emotions. Woo-Jin wondered if he picked this song to make up for his shortcomings. Even the song title, ¡®Becoming Dust¡¯, had the effect of making one feel emotional. If a good singer like Min Si-Hoo used a little technique, he would be able to bring the song to the next level.?


    ?


    Min Si-Hoo was doing a really good job at executing a rock version of this song. He had a wider range and better vocals compared to before, thus making the song sound bold and refreshing. Even from Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, it was as though Min Si-Hoo had combined all his strengths and displayed them together through this song.?


    ?


    CEO Jang was right ¨C he wasn¡¯t the Min Si-Hoo he used to be. All of Min Si-Hoo¡¯s songs that Woo-Jin had listened to were recordings. Regardless of how good technology was, it couldn¡¯t fully capture the reverberation and fine technical skills that could be heard during a live performance. Min Si-Hoo had evidently grown a lot as a singer, and he knew his strengths and weaknesses very well. His progress was unexpected and terrifying, so much so that Woo-Jin¡¯s hands started sweating without him realizing it.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin furrowed his brows towards the middle of the song. What they thought was the best song choice for Min Si-Hoo backfired. The public was familiar with Kim Kwang-Seok¡¯s ¡®Becoming Dust,¡¯ and he did give them the emotions they wanted. There was a unique emotion that was hard to draw out with just technique alone. If he couldn¡¯t do it, it would be hard for the song to touch the hearts of the listeners. No, Min Si-Hoo¡¯s virtuosic song would have been enough to captivate the people, if they had not heard Hanryang Doryeong sing.?


    ?


    Min Si-Hoo¡¯s performance was better than the other contestants that performed today, so it would have been enough for him to keep his title as The Masked King. If the audience had not listened to Hanryang Doryeong sing, they wouldn¡¯t have detected the problem within his song.?


    ?


    After experiencing Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s cathartic songs, the listeners had a harsh evaluation of the Commander¡¯s songs. Additionally, the high notes that were trying to tap into their purified emotions were nothing more than noise to them. Initially, the listeners weren¡¯t aware of it, but as time went by, they began to feel fatigued from listening to Min Si-Hoo¡¯s song. Several audience members that were sitting in front of the stage eventually blocked their ears with both hands as they couldn¡¯t bear to listen any longer.?


    ?


    1. Traditional Korean clothes ??


    ?


    2. Horse pass(es) ??


    ?


    3. The other Mask Kings ?

 CH 86

    ¡°You¡¯re really not going to tell me how many votes you won by??


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young kept badgering Woo-Jin for an answer while they were in the car. They had to be careful at the office to maintain confidentiality, so she only had a few opportunities to openly ask him about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Please watch the episode when it goes on air.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How am I going to wait till next Sunday! They¡¯re only showing round one this week.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Stop it. There are people like me too, you know.¡± At least Hwang Yi-Young got to see Woo-Jin enter the waiting room wearing The Masked King¡¯s golden mask; Kang Ho-Soo couldn¡¯t even go anywhere near the broadcasting station that day. The production team had requested him not to tag along as it might expose Woo-Jin¡¯s identity. As Woo-Jin¡¯s main manager, Kang Ho-Soo was rather well-known among Woo-Jin¡¯s fans because of his physique and appearance. Initially, many people had mistaken him for a former gangster turned bodyguard instead of Woo-Jin¡¯s manager. It wouldn¡¯t help much even if he were in disguise, so he couldn¡¯t tag along in the end.?


    ?


    ¡°I want to brag about it, but I can¡¯t, so it¡¯s killing me on the inside.¡± It was the first time that an ordinary actor ¨C not a musical theater actor ¨C had become The Masked King. It was definitely brag-worthy. Hwang Yi-Young was dying to tell everyone about it, but she wasn¡¯t allowed to, so it was driving her insane.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re preparing well for next week¡¯s recording, right?¡± Kang Ho-Soo asked. Kim Joong-Sun had restricted access to the studio Woo-Jin was using for his practice sessions. Even Woo-Jin¡¯s staff members weren¡¯t allowed to enter unless needed for music-related work. All these restrictions made Kang Ho-Soo feel very frustrated because he couldn¡¯t get involved in anything related to The King of Masked Singers.?


    ?


    ¡°I can just do what I did previously.¡± Despite saying that, Woo-Jin¡¯s thought process was a lot more complicated. He wanted to defeat Min Si-Hoo without room for any refutation. He wanted to win by a landslide such that nobody could raise any objection or spin any stories later on. Hence, Woo-Jin pushed himself to the limits.?


    ?


    He knew Min Si-Hoo better than anyone else, so he was well aware of his weaknesses as well. Additionally, he could gauge Min Si-Hoo¡¯s current skills by looking at his previous performances on The King of Masked Singers. He was confident of winning over Min Si-Hoo with his current singing skills, but Woo-Jin also had help from his past lives. Therefore, becoming The Masked King was not a problem as he was equipped with the experiences and secrets from his past lives as someone who used to be a bard, singer, and master of the Sound Technique.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin was still far from reaching his ideal level, he was still able to easily defeat Min Si-Hoo with his current skills, and he certainly didn¡¯t have a problem dealing with the other contestants using these skills. However, despite the production director''s efforts, he was worried that the other singers might play it safe and choose not to challenge him. In order to leave the competition without a hitch later on, Woo-Jin had revealed in advance that he would only be doing five episodes. As a result, he might have put himself in an unfavorable situation. The other singers only had to hold out for the next four episodes. Even if they didn¡¯t take on Hanryang Doryeong, the latter would be stepping down on his own, so they wouldn¡¯t want to take the risk.?


    ?


    ¡°The King of Masked Singers¡¯ PD will take care of it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He managed to get you to go on The King of Masked Singers. Do you think he can¡¯t convince the other singers to do the same?¡± Evidently, The King of Masked Singers¡¯ production director was rather impressive in that regard. Even Min Si-Hoo wore a mask and participated in the program despite having ridiculed music variety programs in the past.?


    ?


    ¡°You should worry about today¡¯s recording instead. Are you really going to go ahead with it?¡± Today, Woo-Jin would be recording an episode of TV Star with Berry Rose. Kang Ho-Soo asked for a confirmation from Woo-Jin, even though they had already established an agreement with the production team.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes. The CEO has also consented to it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem, but it might get chaotic for a while. You¡¯re busy preparing for The King of Masked Singers in the first place, so I¡¯m afraid it might be a hassle.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is it chaotic on our side? The production team is the one who¡¯s busy dealing with the chaos.¡±?


    ?


    Today¡¯s recording would be airing next Thursday on TV Star, while The King of Masked Singers would be airing on Sunday.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a terrible week for you. Are you sure you want to start today?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said to do TV Star after The King of Masked Singers ends. I didn¡¯t want to make an excuse saying that I stepped down from The King of Masked Singers because of a mental breakdown.¡± There was always an excuse for everything, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want such mercy.?


    ?


    After arriving at the waiting room prepared by TV Star, Woo-Jin found out they had changed the cast for today¡¯s episode. Originally, Berry Rose¡¯s Cho-Hee was scheduled to be on the show, but she couldn¡¯t make it due to a conflicting schedule, so another Berry Rose member, A-Ra, would be replacing her.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the same for me regardless of who shows up because I¡¯ve never met them before, so it¡¯s fine with me. In fact, I¡¯m glad that Kang Hee-Joo is going to be on the show, thanks to A-Ra.¡±?


    ?


    Kang Hee-Joo portrayed ¡®A-Ra,¡¯ the female lead in Death Hill. She would be joining today¡¯s recording because her character shared the same name as Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra. The theme of today¡¯s episode was ¡®Our Meeting Was A Coincidence.¡¯ Since they invited the two A-Ra¡¯s to the show, it seemed as though this forced coincidence was a conversation topic. However, Woo-Jin was happy with the updated cast list as he was more comfortable with Kang Hee-Joo than Berry Rose.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Woo-Jin went over to Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s waiting room, and she greeted him warmly.?


    ?


    Since it was a dialogue-heavy program, the production team didn¡¯t feel comfortable having just Chae Woo-Jin and Berry Rose. They were unsure if the three of them were entertaining enough, and this was a considerable risk. Hence, the production director came up with a reason for Kang Hee-Joo to appear on the show, as he was also closely acquainted with her.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin was on his way back to his waiting room after saying hello to Kang Hee-Joo, he ran into the two Berry Rose members in the hallway. As Woo-Jin had met Da-Young before, he looked at her first before greeting her naturally when he saw them coming out of their waiting room.?


    ?


    ¡°How have you been? I¡¯m sorry for not knowing who you were back then.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay! You were put on the spot, and now you have to go on the show because of us, right?¡± When Da-Young bowed and apologized to Woo-Jin, he waved his hand, saying it was okay.?


    ?


    Just then, he made eye contact with the girl staring at him. After researching Berry Rose, he could tell who she was at a glance.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re A-Ra Yang from Berry Rose, right?¡± Perhaps, it was because A-Ra was the same age as Woo-Hee, so he felt as though he was meeting his sister¡¯s friend.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m a fan of yours.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oh really? Thank you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°On that note, please give me your phone number. Let¡¯s keep in touch with one another.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I think that would be kind of difficult.¡± A-Ra didn¡¯t ask if she could have his number but had confidently told him to give her his number. Just when Woo-Jin was taken by surprise by her action, his savior appeared right on time to save the day.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, makeup!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be there right away!¡± Hwang Yi-Young stuck her head from behind the waiting room door and called out to Woo-Jin. He pointed at her and told the two Berry Rose members, ¡®See you later.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa, you allow the staff to speak to you so casually like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Huh?¡±?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin was about to head towards his waiting room, A-Ra shot him a glance as if to say she couldn¡¯t comprehend what just happened.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too nice to the people working for you. If you¡¯re a little nice to those ordinary people, before you know it, they will try to walk all over you.¡± Unlike the blas¨¦ look on Da-Young¡¯s face from experiencing this so often, Woo-Jin stood rooted to the ground for a moment in shock. Then, with an innocent look on her face, A-Ra proceeded to say that he seemed too generous and forgiving to other people.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin slowly took a step back and distanced himself from A-Ra. For some reason, he felt uneasy, as though he had stepped on a strange landmine.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin and the other cast members opened the glass door and entered the studio after the hosts explained the topic of today¡¯s episode and gave a short introduction of them.?


    ?


    ¡°Our meeting is purely coincidental. He came on this show after running into two members from an idol girl group at a convenience store by chance. An up-and-coming star, Chae Woo-Jin!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin bowed after Kim Goo-Jin introduced him. With so many cameras facing him, Woo-Jin was flustered for a moment because he didn¡¯t know which camera to look at like he did back in Huntsman. He was reminded of how variety TV programs used too many cameras. Just in time, Kang Hee-Joo skillfully gestured to him the correct camera to look at.?


    ?


    As soon as the host finished introducing the guests, Woon Jong-Shin asked Kang Hee-Joo, ¡°But why is Kang Hee-Joo here?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence. Don¡¯t overthink it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you going to be starring in a new movie soon?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not shooting any movies at the moment. The only reason why I¡¯m here is because of my character in my previous movie, ¡®Ara.¡¯¡± She gave Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra a high five as decided beforehand. However, the latter looked at Kang Hee-Joo with a sullen glare because she was sitting next to Chae Woo-Jin. Naturally, she didn¡¯t actively participate in the conversation.?


    ?


    It was definitely a good thing to invite Kang Hee-Joo to the recording today. Despite being a little cynical, she led the mood at the start, allowing Woo-Jin and Berry Rose to feel less anxious.?


    ?


    ¡°I think they¡¯re still nervous, so let¡¯s listen to a song first. How about Berry Rose¡¯s ¡®Catch Me?¡¯¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I can¡¯t sing right now because my throat hurts.¡± A-Ra cutely shook her head and placed both hands on her cheeks. Da-Young wanted to stand, but she hesitated and looked around, not knowing what to do.?


    ?


    ¡°We can¡¯t force a sick person to sing, but we can¡¯t make Da-Young sing alone either. Hey, Chae Woo-Jin! Volunteer to sing with her.¡±?


    ?


    Kang Hee-Joo gave A-Ra a piquant smile and told her it was okay. Woo-Jin was sitting on her left; she pushed him towards Da-Young. Before Woo-Jin knew it, he went up the stage behind the studio and sang Berry Rose¡¯s debut song, ¡®Catch Me,¡¯ with Da-Young.?


    ?


    ¡°Catch me, catch me, it¡¯s now or never~! Catch me, catch me, don¡¯t regret it later. Come take my hand~! Catch me~!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin sang ¡®Catch Me¡¯ with Da-Young in sync, albeit in a deep voice. Thus, it didn¡¯t go well with Berry Rose¡¯s lively song. Da-Young couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer; she kept turning around and laughing because the song had become totally different ¨C it felt heavier than the original.?


    ?


    ¡°What is this! It feels like I¡¯m threatening the person, telling them they¡¯ll pay for it if they don¡¯t hold me.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Your effort is commendable for singing a song together with someone you don¡¯t know, but this is kind of¡­¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I watched one of your videos online. You sang one of the idol girl group¡¯s songs really well, so what¡¯s with your performance today?¡±?


    ?


    After hearing the hosts complain, Woo-Jin responded after he finished singing.?


    ?


    ¡°Back in the military, I sang that song so many times that I became very familiar with it. However, it¡¯s my first time singing this song today. Wasn¡¯t it good enough considering it¡¯s my first time?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You sang very well! You sang very well, but¡­.¡± Da-Young turned around and laughed again as she spoke, while Woo-Jin shamelessly looked very pleased with himself after hearing her compliment.?


    ?


    Woon Jong-Shin stopped him just as Woo-Jin was about to return to his seat with Da-Young. ¡°How can you go back just like that? You have to sing too.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I just sang, though. You want me to sing again?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You have to sing your song now, ¡®The Wind That Blows From You.¡¯¡± When Woon Jong-Shin raised his hand and said that, the hosts on both sides confirmed that Woon Jong-Shin had been listening to that song nowadays.?


    ?


    ¡°I really like that song and wondered if I could ever hear it live. I guess today¡¯s the day!¡±?


    ?


    Even though Woon Jong-Shin was a singer and producer, the younger generation was more familiar with him as a variety TV program entertainer. He hadn¡¯t had much opportunity to interact with Actor Chae Woo-Jin. Furthermore, everybody knew that DS rarely allowed their artistes to go on variety TV shows, but the opportunity had arrived at long last.

 CH 87

    ¡°Regardless of what I do, the wind from you doesn¡¯t reach me. We walk on the same path, but the waves blowing from me push you away. Let¡¯s bury the dark and sad truth in the shadows¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Woon Jong-Shin¡¯s eyes widened as Woo-Jin sang. Kang Goo-Ra had a lukewarm reaction, but everyone else admired Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s vocals, which sounded the same as the recorded version. Anybody who had sung along to ¡®The Wind That Blows From You¡¯ at least once would know that it wasn¡¯t an easy song to sing.?


    ?


    ¡°You sing really well. You sound so good.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, you sound decent. Chae Woo-Jin, would you consider going on The King of the Masked Singers by any chance? With your ability¡­.¡± While Woon Jong-Shin was full of admiration for Woo-Jin¡¯s performance, Kang Goo-Ra only responded that it wasn¡¯t bad.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin returned to his seat and earnestly asked Kang Goo-Ra, ¡°Could you convince my CEO to let me go on the show?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It was tough for me to appear on this show too.¡± Simply by mentioning CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s name, Woo-Jin was able to decline any request to appear on variety TV shows without having to say much.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, even if you go on the show¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah?¡± When Woo-Jin expressed his curiosity, Kang Goo-Ra shook his head and told him it was nothing.?


    ?


    ¡°A-Ra doesn¡¯t seem to be in good condition. You mentioned you had a sore throat earlier. Are you okay?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, kind of.¡± A-Ra smiled broadly. She was a young girl, so the hosts found her very endearing and lovable.?


    ?


    ¡°That reminds me ¨C I heard that A-Ra is known for being a cat lover. Doesn¡¯t Woo-Jin have a cat too?¡± Woo-Jin responded to Kim Goo-Jin¡¯s question by recounting the story of how he crossed paths with Woo-Sa again. A-Ra then looked at Woo-Jin as her eyes lit up.?


    ?


    ¡°After being apart for twelve years? Wow~! Hearing this story reminds me of our Peanut, who crossed the rainbow bridge not too long ago. Our dear Peanut had also lived with us for twelve years before leaving.¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin heard that the cat was 14 years old when it crossed the rainbow bridge, he sympathized with A-Ra for the first time and felt upset too. It seemed like he didn¡¯t have much time left with Woo-Sa, so he felt depressed. However, he could also feel A-Ra¡¯s sorrow.?


    ?


    ¡°Butlers [1]! Let¡¯s not do this here.¡± Woo-Jin returned to reality and continued with the program only after Kim Goo-Jin stepped in.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to delve deeper and get to know more about Chae Woo-Jin. Is it true that you were an original member of a certain idol boy group and even took part in recording sessions?¡± As though he was interrogating Woo-Jin, Kim Goo-Jin¡¯s tone and attitude were solemn.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s true, but that¡¯s not unheard of for trainees. It¡¯s common for us to go further along in the process and record songs only to leave the group or agency at the last minute. Hence, it doesn¡¯t matter who the members were before they debuted and released the album.¡± Woo-Jin proceeded to say that he was nothing special and reacted in a way that implied it wasn¡¯t a big deal. However, as the hosts were aware that Blue Fit¡¯s fans had been targeting Woo-Jin on the internet, they saw it as a problem that needed to be addressed.?


    ?


    ¡°But don¡¯t you feel disappointed? They¡¯re not just idols ¨C they¡¯re Hallyu stars now. You must have felt a little envious to see them do well, right?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked indifferent as he replied, ¡°No.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I find it hard to believe! Bring it over.¡± A staff member brought over a portable lie detector that they had already prepared in advance and placed it in front of Woo-Jin. The user would hook their finger to the machine, which released some electricity to shock them when they told a lie. Woo-Jin was fascinated by it, and when he placed his hand on it, the hosts ran over to him like hounds.?


    ?


    ¡°You were envious of them, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No.¡±?


    ?


    Everyone looked surprised to see that the machine didn¡¯t shock him. The hosts said that it might be broken and tested it out on one another. After ensuring that it was working fine, Woo-Jin placed his hand on top of it again.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, why did you leave at the last moment?¡± This time around, Woon Jong-Shin was the one earnestly asking the question. From his point of view as a producer, he felt that TM made a huge and regrettable mistake of letting Chae Woo-Jin go. Even though Chae Woo-Jin was a baritone singer, most of Blue Fit¡¯s songs were more masculine in nature, with heavy beats. He would have fitted right in.?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯re incompatible.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Your answer is extremely simple and concise. Could you elaborate~!¡± Kim Goo-Jin goofed around and pronounced the words in a unique manner, causing Woo-Jin to relax a little and laugh with them.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s just that the ideals that we pursued weren¡¯t aligned with one another. Do I need another reason?¡±?


    ?


    Even though they asked Woo-Jin a couple of questions regarding Blue Fit, the lie detector didn¡¯t go off. After that, they ran out of questions to ask, so the game of truth ended uneventfully. However, Woo-Jin said it was fun and continued placing his hand on the machine.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh, are you determined to tell nothing but the truth today?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My mothe-...ack!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin argued that the machine might be broken, but it was pointless. Nevertheless, when he repeated that his mother was the most beautiful woman to him, he was shocked once again.?


    ?


    ¡°So if you had gotten to the recording stage, it would mean that you¡¯re familiar with the idol group¡¯s debut song.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, somewhat.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Could you sing it for us?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you making me sing again!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to put you on the spot ¨C I just happen to like your voice very much. I want to hear you sing ¡®Shining Star.¡¯¡± The other hosts complained as soon as Woon Jong-Shin made the request, stating that it was his wish to hear him sing that song.?


    ?


    ¡°We kept reminding you to maintain the anonymity of the idol group, but you just revealed the title of the debut song to everyone. Now that it¡¯s already come to this, he¡¯s going to end up singing it. A lot of people had sung that song on our program, so what difference would it make if Chae Woo-Jin were to sing it one more time?¡±?


    ?


    Because it was such a masterpiece, many celebrities had sung ¡®Shining Star,¡¯ claiming it to be their all-time favorite song. And since Woon Jong-Shin also liked the song a lot, whenever a good singer appeared as a guest on the show, he would always get them to sing it. So adding Chae Woo-Jin to the list wouldn¡¯t change anything. Even though his circumstances were ambiguous, the hosts and guests on TV Star tended to go with the flow. The program was relatively flexible, and situations like this were rather common.?


    ?


    ¡°When I first heard you almost debuted as a member of that group, do you have any idea how much I¡¯ve thought about it? How would it sound when you sing ¡®Shining Star¡¯ in your deep and husky voice. Everyone, if you want to curse and blame somebody, direct it at me. As you can see, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s forcing Woo-Jin to sing, even though he doesn¡¯t want to.¡±?


    ?


    Woon Jong-Shin faced the camera and apologized in advance. Because everyone knew he had loved this song for a long time and that he was a collector who liked hearing different people with various voices sing it, his action was understandable. Otherwise, his request would have caused a lot of inconvenience to both Blue Fit and Chae Woo-Jin. Naturally, the production team had already informed Woo-Jin about Woon Jong-Shin¡¯s request beforehand, And Woo-Jin didn¡¯t reject them.?


    ?


    ¡°If I sing it again, it makes me want to break the rules.¡± Woo-Jin smiled mischievously, but nobody understood what he meant by that. He stood up and grabbed the microphone. After clearing his throat, he started singing Blue Fit¡¯s debut song, ¡®Shining Star.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be that person to you. Just wait and see. For the rest of your life, you¡¯ll have to see me outside the world you¡¯ve abandoned¡­.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin started singing, everyone became flustered. It wasn¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice; it was ¡®Shining Star¡¯ sung by Blue Fit.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah, ah~ Shining star!¡±?


    ?


    More precisely, it was the part sung by their main vocalist, Min Si-Hoo. One of the reasons why Blue Fit¡¯s debut song became so popular was the five high notes of the song. When Woo-Jin hit the five high notes, everybody present started getting goosebumps. It was perfect; it sounded exactly the same as the recorded version, as though someone was playing their CD.?


    ?


    After recording ¡®Shining Star,¡¯ no one had ever heard the song live because Min Si-Hoo could no longer sing as well as he did due to a vocal cord inflammation. However, that very same version of ¡®Shining Star¡¯ was now resonating throughout the studio.?


    ?


    Everybody clapped their hands when the song ended, but they looked confused, as though they didn¡¯t know what they had just heard.?


    ?


    ¡°Fess up! You played Blue Fit¡¯s song, and Woo-Jin lip-synced, right?¡± Kang Goo-Ra knitted his brows and asked the production team, to which the production director shook his head violently, making an ¡®X¡¯ with both arms.?


    ?


    It was true that they had made prior arrangements with Chae Woo-Jin before the show to sing ¡®Shining Star,¡¯ but that was all there was to it. Even the production director was equally baffled by the current situation. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was very unique when he sang. He would use an amazing, husky, baritone voice whenever he sang, which he never used on other occasions. However, that wasn¡¯t the case at all when he sang ''Shining Star.¡¯ He used a different voice that everyone was familiar with.?


    ?


    Regardless of whether the people were panicking or not, Woo-Jin casually sat down and explained in a playful voice.?


    ?


    ¡°Back then, the producer had once told us to imitate each other¡¯s voices, so we¡¯ll be familiar with each other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to accede to Woon Jong-Shin¡¯s request¡­ack!¡± As soon as Woo-Jin sat down, Woo-Jin started talking with his hand on the lie detector. When he was shocked by the lie detector, people in the studio burst out laughing. The others didn¡¯t think much of it, but Woon Jong-Shin remained silent without saying a word. His face hardened, and he didn¡¯t even laugh.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you upset because you didn¡¯t get what you wanted? This guy is so narrow-minded!¡± As soon as Kang Goo-Ra tapped Woon Jong-Shin on the shoulder, he finally came to his senses and forced a smile.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though it was just an impersonation, how can it sound exactly the same as the album version?¡± That was the reason why Woon Jong-Shin was shocked.?


    ?


    His voice itself was great, but it sounded precisely the same, from the beat to his breathing between the musical phrases and his pitch. Even Min Si-Hoo himself had never reproduced the exact same performance. Unless it was sung by someone else.?


    ?


    Having listened to ¡®Shining Star¡¯ countless times, Woon Jong-Shin could be certain of it. The moment he lifted his head with a sharp gaze in his eyes, he made eye contact with the production director. The production director lightly shook his head and covered the sides of his mouth with his hands, and mouthed the words, ¡®This is not something we should meddle in,¡¯ to Woon Jong-Shin such that he was the only one who could see him. They would be airing this episode, but it wasn¡¯t TV Star¡¯s responsibility to judge or get to the bottom of this matter.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I sang this song, so it¡¯s a little difficult.¡± When Woo-Jin whined as he held his neck, Kang Hee-Joo handed him a bottle of water. Woo-Jin drank the water and silently watched as Woon Jong-Shin and the production director exchanged signals with one another.?


    ?


    ¡°Looking back, Chae Woo-Jin experienced a lot of coincidences that day. Not only did you meet Berry Rose at the convenience store that day, but you had also run into the elderly man that inadvertently made you the Slipper Young Man. Was it really a coincidence?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Exactly. I feel like I¡¯ve used up a life¡¯s worth of coincidences that day.¡± They switched the topic back to his first meeting with Berry Rose. Many people had speculated that what happened that day wasn¡¯t coincidental and had been scripted.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you usually do good deeds like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. I was making my way home after shooting Glooming Day that night. I had been away from home for quite some time. It was one of those days where I felt that the world looked beautiful and I should try to be a good person. I found out later on that people called me the Slipper Young Man, but truth be told, I didn¡¯t do anything. The people who helped the elderly man and gave him hope are the true MVPs. For some reason, I¡¯m the one getting all this attention, so I feel bad and, frankly, very embarrassed. I hope that people will stop talking about the Slipper Young Man.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin made it clear that he refused to accept any compliments that he didn¡¯t deserve.?


    ?


    1. As mentioned before in one of the previous chapters, cat lovers are called ¡®butlers¡¯ in Korea. ?

 CH 88

    ¡°Nevertheless, didn¡¯t it help to improve your image?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My image wasn¡¯t exactly bad before, right?¡± After hearing Kang Goo-Ra use the word ¡®improve,¡¯ Woo-Jin laughed and made a rebuttal. Meanwhile, Berry Rose agreed with Woo-Jin and nodded enthusiastically.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s underhanded to make use of the elderly to boost one¡¯s image. I¡¯m not that kind, but I wouldn¡¯t stoop so low to do such a thing.¡± Woo-Jin dismissed the rumors that had been circulating about the encounter being scripted. Nobody knew how accurate the lie detector was, but at the very least, it didn¡¯t get triggered. Kang Hee-Joo quietly listened to what Woo-Jin said and raised her hand.?


    ?


    ¡°I was going to ask you in private later on, but after listening to this conversation, I want to ask it right now. If I¡¯m not allowed to, please edit it out later.¡± Kang Hee-Joo asked Woo-Jin, while looking at the production director, seeking approval from him.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to talk about it here but I¡¯ve been making small donations to a foundation for youth victims of violence. The head of the foundation told me that a person named ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ is on the list of donors, so I wanted to ask if he¡¯s the said donor. They said it¡¯s been a little over three years¡­¡±?


    ?


    The people managing the foundation didn¡¯t remember or pay attention to all the names that were stamped periodically on the donation bankbook. However, there was a particular name which they happened to remember, and they chanced upon the same name elsewhere. Thus, they couldn¡¯t help but be curious. The management team wondered if their donor was the same person as the well-known actor. Since Kang Hee-Joo had been donating to their foundation for a long time and had done volunteer work with them, they decided to ask her to find out if Woo-Jin was indeed their donor.?


    ?


    If the person that donated to their cause a few years ago had become a celebrity, the foundation wanted to support them too. Most of the time, they didn¡¯t know who their donors were. If they managed to find out, they would try their best to express their gratitude one way or another. Thus, Kang Hee-Joo wanted to quietly ask Woo-Jin about it in private, but after hearing the story about the Slipper Young Man, she wanted to ask him openly in front of everyone. In truth, Kang Hee-Joo brought it up because she thought it would be good to let everyone know about Woo-Jin¡¯s good deed.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was caught off guard by the sudden question and didn¡¯t know how to react. He was suddenly reminded of the reason why he had decided to donate to a youth foundation for victims of violence. Back then, his mind and body had been in a mess. Rather than wanting to help someone else, Woo-Jin had sought comfort from the fact that there were other people in this world who were struggling just like him. It had been a consolation to him that he was not the only one struggling in the world and that he was still better off than them.?


    ?


    ¡°So they were right huh.¡± Kang Hee-Joo nodded with a satisfied look on her face after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s response. She couldn¡¯t hide her joy from finding out that she had a comrade who shared the same intentions as her.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know if there are other people who shared the same name as me, but I had only donated a very small amount. Back then, I saved the money I had earned from private tutoring bit by bit and donated them. I didn¡¯t earn much back then; even now, I still don¡¯t earn a lot. It¡¯s not exactly worth mentioning¡­¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first donation was an act of impulse. After donating some of his savings, he had completely forgotten about it. Woo-Jin had only remembered it after updating his bankbook at a later date. However, he felt bad for pretending that it never happened, especially after donating once for his own selfish reasons.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin was having a hard time, he tried to find comfort anywhere he could. But when the difficult times were over, Woo-Jin brazenly went back to his daily life and casually forgot about it. Hence, Woo-Jin felt obligated to continue donating a certain amount of money to the foundation up until now. Just like how he escaped from hell, he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be a waste if his donations could bring hope to someone else.?


    ?


    However, tutoring was Woo-Jin¡¯s only way to make money back then since he was a student. After shooting the two movies, the compensation that he had received from both movies made up his entire income. After joining DS, the only jobs he received were his one-episode appearance on Huntsman, as well as the drama, City of Shadows. The production company of the drama hadn¡¯t compensated him yet, so the only income Woo-Jin earned after joining DS came from Huntsman.?


    ?


    That said, Woo-Jin had yet to receive the money because the agency only paid him once every three months. Naturally, DS gave him a monthly allowance, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t feel comfortable using it. Hence, Woo-Jin¡¯s donations were not that significant yet. Woo-Jin¡¯s fellow celebrities understood what he was trying to say.?


    ?


    In any case, it had only been less than six months since Chae Woo-Jin made his debut. As he had never done a commercial before, he couldn¡¯t afford to donate the same amount of money as other celebrities. Right now, Woo-Jin could only afford to donate small amounts, but he felt like he was showing off by revealing his ¡®good deed¡¯ openly in a place like this. Thus, he looked ashamed.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I also started off by donating insignificant amounts that I was too embarrassed to reveal. The important thing is that you¡¯re actively showing an interest towards a good cause like that.¡± Woo-Jin felt as though he had been stabbed by Kang Hee-Joo¡¯s words, and he felt even more embarrassed than ever.?


    ?


    ¡°But you must have been in your early twenties three years ago. What made you think about doing something like this? When I was at that age, I didn¡¯t think about donating even though I did some volunteering.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin was about to answer Woon Jong-Shin¡¯s question, Kang Hee-Joo placed his hand on the lie detector. Flustered and in a state of shock, Woo-Jin had taken his hand off of it and this time, his action hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed. It seemed like Kang Hee-Joo wanted Woo-Jin to showcase his sincerity, but Woo-Jin was not able to appreciate her kindness.?


    ?


    ¡°It was a difficult period for me. One day, as I was walking down the streets, I saw a poster of the foundation and it made me think about how there were people younger than me who had experienced even more suffering. No, it all started out of sympathy in the first place. But compared to them, I was in a slightly better position.¡± Woo-Jin calmly added that he continued donating later on out of habit.?


    ?


    People could kind of guess what Woo-Jin went through during his difficult period of time. According to Kang Hee-Joo, he had started donating to the foundation approximately 3 years ago. But this was a very delicate subject. Considering that Blue Fit made their debut less than 3 years ago, if Woo-Jin had been donating for more than 3 years, it meant that Woo-Jin started donating right before their debut. Back then, Woo-Jin must have been excited about realizing his dream. However, the fact that he sympathized with youth victims of violence, out of all people, spoke volumes about his past.?


    ?


    The only person who didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind Woo-Jin¡¯s words was A-Ra. She simply stared at him with her round eyes and failed to pick up on the clues, which was why she was smiling all by herself, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere within the studio.?


    ?


    ¡°Please edit this segment out. I might have somehow revealed my dark past.¡± Woo-Jin felt flustered because he hadn¡¯t expected himself to talk about this topic. Regardless of how much prior arrangements were discussed and made with the production team, nobody knew where the flow of the conversation would lead them to in a talk show filled with various people. It seemed that Woo-Jin now understood what it meant to feel tense at all times.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had only intended to moderately attack Blue Fit by singing ¡®Shining Star¡¯. But he ended up unintentionally hinting about what the group members had done to him back then. Kang Hee-Joo could vaguely guess why Woo-Jin was feeling embarrassed. She said brightly to him with an innocent face, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything bad. You should brag about your charitable acts to everyone. In my opinion, people should know about the good deeds that celebrities do, so that those people who never considered doing good deeds can think about it and start doing it too.¡±?


    ?


    The aftermath of violence was always disastrous for both children and adults alike. Even though Kang Hee-Joo was not an apostle of justice, she felt that it was important to increase awareness about this issue because of her character. The hosts stopped asking questions since Woo-Jin appeared to be uncomfortable with revealing more information. They could also roughly sense what Woo-Jin wanted to hide.?


    ?


    Kim Goo-Jin asked A-Ra a question while flipping through the cue cards to look for a different topic. ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard for you to juggle both school and work at the same time?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s hard, but I love what I am doing, so it¡¯s fun.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re the happiest when you¡¯re having fun. If you¡¯re doing something you love for work, it¡¯ll stop becoming fun.¡± Everyone laughed at Woon Jong-Shin¡¯s complaint not because it was funny, but because they could relate to it. They were laughing in sadness.?


    ?


    ¡°A-Ra also mentioned that she was a fan of Chae Woo-Jin, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, which was why I asked him to give me his phone number before the recording started, but he rejected me,¡± A-Ra complained while pouting her lips. The hosts comforted her and asked Woo-Jin why he turned her down.?


    ?


    ¡°Giving your phone number should not be a big deal. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to take care of her like a younger sister? For all you know, it might become a moving story within the entertainment industry.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I already have a younger sister though.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°She¡¯s already too much for me to handle.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin shook his sullen face, people sympathized with him and they could no longer make a rebuttal.?


    ?


    ¡°Since I¡¯m an only child, can¡¯t I get to know you more just like actual siblings?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I also have an 18 year old sister. If I think about it, we don¡¯t really call or keep in contact with each other. It¡¯ll be better for you if you abandoned whatever fantasies you have about siblings.¡± The hosts nodded after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s firm response. In truth, it was annoying to have a minor following you around and calling you all the time.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your idea of an ¡®oppa¡¯ only exists in fantasies. A-Ra, there¡¯s nothing special about oppas¡±.?


    ?


    ¡°The same holds true about having a younger sister. I have no fantasies or dreams about having a younger sister.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, aren¡¯t you being too harsh? What¡¯s going to happen when your younger sister watches this episode?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to make sure she goes to sleep before it goes on air,¡± Woo-Jin said in a serious manner. Kang Goo-Ra decided to bring up the lie detector once again.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, you¡¯ve taken your hand off the lie detector for quite some time now. Please place it again on the lie detector and say it.¡± Woo-Jin didn¡¯t place his hands on the lie detector immediately, but he eventually placed his hand on it once again and said to the camera.?


    ?


    ¡°I love you, my little sister!¡±?


    ?


    Seeing that the red light didn¡¯t come on and he didn¡¯t get shocked by the lie detector, Woo-Jin clenched his fist tightly and celebrated his victory.?


    ?


    ¡°See! He loves his younger sister a lot. A-Ra, you should give up on Chae Woo-Jin. Since it seems like having a biological younger sister is more than enough for him, why don¡¯t I be your oppa instead?¡± Woon Jong-Shin playfully widened his eyes and tilted his head. However, A-Ra looked very disappointed and didn¡¯t even glance in his direction.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, I just felt close to him because my last name is Chae too.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oh? Your last name is Chae as well? So is your name Chae A-Ra?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as they started talking about names, A-Ra¡¯s face hardened and she wanted to change the topic.?


    ?


    ¡°A-Ra is just her stage name. She has a different birth name.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Ra! Chae Woo-Ra!¡±?


    ?


    A-Ra¡¯s real name was Woo-Ra. There was nothing wrong with her given name alone, but the problem was that her last name was ¡®Chae¡¯. Whenever Chae Woo-Ra said her name when she was still a child, people would make a pun out of her name and say, ¡°What do you want to fill it up with?¡± [1]. Thus, she ended up developing a complex and used ¡®A-Ra¡¯ as her stage name instead of ¡®Chae Woo-Ra¡¯.?


    ?


    Knowing that A-Ra didn¡¯t like her name, Da-Young deliberately revealed it to everyone. A-Ra looked like she was about to cry and expressed her displeasure, not many people noticed the conflict between the two girls. That was because right after hearing that ¡®Chae Woo-Ra¡¯ was A-Ra¡¯s real name, the red light on the lie detector beneath Woo-Jin¡¯s hand started to blink continuously.?


    ?


    1. ??(?) means to fill something up or stuff something. ?

 CH 89

    ¡°Woo-Jin, are you okay?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Your hand!¡±?


    ?


    When the red light on the machine went off, the electric current would flow through and shock the user if they were lying. Considering the lit-up red light, the machine was already shocking Woo-Jin non-stop, but he was just staring blankly at A-Ra. Finally, he snapped out of his thoughts and came to his senses after hearing people call out to him and hurriedly removed his hand from the machine. When they asked if he was okay, he responded with an expressionless face, as though he had lost his soul.?


    ?


    ¡°Hey! What am I going to do? How can you tell everyone my name! It¡¯s so embarrassing!¡± As soon as the recording was over, Chae Woo-Ra entered the waiting room and grabbed anything she could get her hands on before throwing them at Da-Young. At first, she threw a tissue box. And then, when she threw a leftover boxed lunch at Da-Young, the latter quickly dodged it.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s so embarrassing about the precious name that your parents gave you.¡± Da-Young calmly dodged the incoming objects both times. Chae Woo-Ra was the first to run out of energy. She gasped for breath as she gave Da-Young a hostile glare.?


    ?


    ¡°My name must have been so old-fashioned that it gave Woo-Jin oppa such a huge shock! If my oppa hurt his hand, you¡¯ll have to take responsibility for it!¡± Even though Da-Young was the eldest sister in their group and was three years older than her, Chae Woo-Ra dropped honorifics and spoke to her casually. It didn¡¯t bother Da-Young at all either.?


    ?


    ¡°Your oppa, my ass! He didn¡¯t even want to give you his phone number.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As long as I like him, he¡¯s my oppa!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°If you like him that much, why don¡¯t you just join his Fancafe and take part in those fan activities?¡± Da-Young pointed out that even though Chae Woo-Ra herself claimed to be a fan of Chae Woo-Jin and was always thirsty for more information about him, she didn¡¯t even sign up for his Fancafe.?


    ?


    ¡°Fancafes are for losers who will never get a chance to meet Woo-Jin oppa in their entire lives, so why should I sign up for it? You make me laugh! Are you telling me right now that you think I¡¯m on the same level as those lowly beings?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re so great that you lied about having a sore throat and didn¡¯t sing, right?¡± Even though Chae Woo-Ra was a sub-vocalist, she was the best singer in Berry Rose. Initially, when they wanted to make her the main vocalist, she said it was too much work and threw a tantrum. And so, her agency¡¯s CEO calmed her down and made her a sub-vocalist.?


    ?


    ¡°Am I a clown? Why would I sing in front of old people.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So what does that make Chae Woo-Jin? He sang three songs today.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I know! In any case, he¡¯s too nice of a person.¡± Da-Young found it amusing how a person like Chae Woo-Ra had someone she liked.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, you do have the same last name, and your names start with ¡®Woo.¡¯ Perhaps it¡¯s a hangryeol[1].¡±?


    ?


    Seeing as Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t know about it, even though they might not be close relatives, they might be from the same clan. So even though they weren¡¯t exactly blood-related, she might be fond of him because he felt like family.?


    ?


    ¡°Hwang what? What¡¯s that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Go search it up. Do I have to teach you even that?¡± Chae Woo-Ra snorted in response to Da-Young¡¯s cold reply and ran a search on her phone. Shortly after, she cursed at Da-Young. Her face was burning with rage.?


    ?


    ¡°F*ck, you called me an infectious disease?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What did you search for this time around?¡± Perhaps, incidents like this happened often; Da-Young sighed and walked towards Chae Woo-Ra, and took a look at the search results on her phone. Chae Woo-Ra showed her the search results for ¡®yellow fever¡¯ in a dignified manner.[2]?


    ?


    ¡°Mosquito-transmitted¡­malignant, infectious disease¡­ha¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Da-Young shook her head and said, ¡°What was I even expecting from you!¡± Initially, she had wondered why a girl like Chae Woo-Ra would become an idol when she didn¡¯t lack anything. But now, Da-Young had a better understanding to a certain extent. With Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s level of intellect, it would have been hard for her to get into a good college. To enter any college, she had no choice but to resort to illicit admissions or make a considerable donation to the school to get enrolled. Perhaps, Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s parents weren¡¯t a fan of these methods. Instead, they seemed to have aimed for her to get a special admission to a university as a celebrity. Regardless of her choice, she¡¯d still be receiving similar insults, but at least she was dumb enough to be proud of getting special admission as a celebrity.?


    ?


    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m going back to the dorm to comfort the crying Cho-Hee.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So what if she couldn¡¯t make it? What¡¯s the big deal?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Who kicked up a huge fuss because she wanted to go on the show?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I only did it because I wanted to see Woo-Jin oppa. So what¡¯s the issue?¡±?


    ?


    Da-Young shook her head; her expression suggested she was getting tired of her exchange with Chae Woo-Ra. Besides, both of them took separate vans to the venue, so Da-Young left the waiting room first without hesitation.?


    ?


    ¡°In any case, nobodies tend to be bitter people, so they have a bad personality.¡± Chae Woo-Ra wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. She turned around and asked her personal assistant standing behind her.?


    ?


    ¡°Right! Have you delivered the present to Woo-Jin oppa?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He turned it down.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why? Did he say he didn¡¯t like it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. He turned it down because accepting it would make him feel uncomfortable.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why would it make him feel uncomfortable? Everything about Woo-Jin oppa is great, except that I think he¡¯s acting too much like an ordinary person instead of a celebrity.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Ra was depressed and pouted as Woo-Jin turned down a five thousand dollar watch that she had gotten for him.?


    ?


    ¡°Miss, it¡¯s getting very late. You should make your way home now.¡±?


    ?


    The recording session took longer than expected. As soon as her personal assistant started becoming antsy and informed her that it was already past 11 p.m. now, Chae Woo-Ra laughed mockingly.?


    ?


    ¡°No one¡¯s going to be home even if I go back now, so what¡¯s the point of monitoring the time? Even if he knew I¡¯d be home late, he wouldn¡¯t say anything about it. All my dad cares about is a son, not a daughter like me!¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s father only cared about his son and having a son. After their golden son died in an accident last year, her father was eager to have another son. Even though she was his only child right now, he didn¡¯t care or give her any attention, while Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother got angry with her, telling her things like, ¡®You should have been born as a son!¡¯ and ¡®If you had been a little smarter, I wouldn¡¯t have been disregarded like this!¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°Everyone hates me!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Miss.¡± Her personal assistant felt sorry for her and wanted to comfort her somehow, but Chae Woo-Ra turned it down.?


    ?


    She could barely remember it, but when she was little, her mom had clearly pointed to a boy and said, ¡°From today onwards, he¡¯s your oppa!¡± However, the oppa had a fierce look on his face when he looked at Chae Woo-Ra and stuck up for the little girl hiding behind him. She envied and hated that girl so much that she forcefully took away the cat that the girl loved dearly. That cat was Peanut. She thought that if she had Peanut, the oppa would like her too.?


    ?


    ¡°I just¡­I just wanted an oppa like that.¡±?


    ?


    It was such a vague memory that it made her wonder if it actually happened. Peanut was the only evidence that proved it had clearly happened. Hence, she loved Peanut in her own way. However, in a moment of folly, Peanut ended up running away. Being an arrogant person, she wasn¡¯t the type to go after other people. And as Peanut got older, it wasn¡¯t as cute as it used to be, so she didn¡¯t bother looking for it. More importantly, there was no need to cling to the past that she could no longer remember anymore. Also, it was because she had found the person who perfectly matched her idea of an ¡®oppa¡¯ she had always imagined. It didn¡¯t matter what happened to her actual oppa. She didn¡¯t know if he even existed in the first place.?


    ?


    However, the person she wanted to be her oppa was Chae Woo-Jin. And he already had a younger sister.?


    ?


    ¡°How annoying!¡±?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    It was Sunday, and it was almost time for The King of the Masked Singers to be on air. Woo-Jin was heading down to the first floor when he ran into Woo-Hee on the stairs as she was heading up.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you heading up? Aren¡¯t you going to watch The King of Masked Singers?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not watching it.¡± Just last week, Woo-Hee was watching The King of the Masked Singers with her eyes glued to the TV screen, but she refused to watch it today. Instead, she had a sour look on her face. It was only natural for her to be upset, considering that she had seen ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯ win four rounds.?


    ?


    ¡°They¡¯re only showing round one today, so they¡¯ll probably show his fifth win next week. Just relax and watch today¡¯s episode.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to raise the viewership ratings of the show.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We aren¡¯t part of the representative sampling anyway, so that¡¯s not going to work.¡±.?


    ?


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m boycotting it even if I¡¯m doing it alone, and I¡¯m going to kill the popularity of the show!¡± Woo-Hee clenched her fist and quickly ran up the stairs before Woo-Jin could even say anything. Even though she had already told her friends not to watch it, she was going up to her room to send them a reminder message to not watch The King of the Masked Singers.?


    ?


    ¡°She didn¡¯t have to do that, though.¡± Woo-Jin scratched his head and went down to the living room. This time, his mother was sitting on the sofa with a grim look on her face. His father went out for a dinner party, so his mother was alone in the huge living room.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m about to watch The King of the Masked Singers.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t really watch shows like that, though.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°People have been saying that it¡¯s worth watching¡­.¡± For some reason, his mother seemed a little aggressive today, so Woo-Jin sat down quietly without asking more. As soon as Woo-Jin sat down, Woo-Sa jumped onto his thigh and sat down. Suddenly, he thought about Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s Peanut that died at the age of 14. He hoped that Peanut wasn¡¯t Woo-Sa, but it was most likely the case.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Ra told the sad story about how she had dropped by the convenience store on the day of Do You Know Us¡¯ recording, but she didn¡¯t get to meet Woo-Jin. Two days later, Woo-Jin found Woo-Sa in the parking lot near the orthopedic clinic nearby, so he could make a guess that she had brought the cat along with her that day and lost it.?


    ?


    The mood in the living room was tense because of Woo-Jin¡¯s heavy heart and Park Eun-Soo¡¯s heightened aggressiveness. After watching the show in awkward silence without the usual conversations, it was finally the third pair¡¯s turn to sing.?


    ?


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Woo-Jin pricked up his ears as soon as he heard his mother¡¯s reaction.?


    ?


    The third pair finished their duet, and Gam Sung-Joo called Hanryang Doryeong ¡®young master¡¯ after the judges had decided he would be advancing to round two. Then, the caption ¡®The young master¡¯s appearance that cannot be concealed¡¯ appeared on the screen. Park Eun-Soo turned to look at Woo-Jin only after the fourth pair went on stage.?


    ?


    While people only heard Woo-Jin¡¯s actual singing voice today, she was very familiar with the tone of her son¡¯s singing voice. Additionally, she had heard him singing in the house a while ago, so there was no way she didn¡¯t know it was him. Seeing his mother¡¯s eyes gleam particularly brightly, Woo-Jin quietly placed his index finger on his lips. His mother followed suit and pointed to the second floor with her left index finger. She asked if he was keeping it a secret even from Woo-Hee, to which Woo-Jin quietly nodded.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, husband and wife are one in body and soul.¡± When his mother said she would tell her husband, Woo-Jin burst out laughing, but he didn¡¯t stop her.?


    ?


    ¡°Will I be able to watch this show at ease next week?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But I think you¡¯ll have fun.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s fun.¡±?


    ?


    The heavy mood in the living room that was present throughout the episode of The King of the Masked Singers went away instantly. Woo-Jin wondered if it was just a passing feeling and looked around curiously.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, how did you know that Queen of Lilies was Han Ji-Yeon? I couldn¡¯t tell at all.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I could tell just by listening to her voice.¡± Seeing her son shrug and say it wasn¡¯t a big deal, Park Eun-Soo looked at him with a somewhat spiteful look on her face. Nonetheless, it was nice to see her smiling that brightly. Woo-Jin felt a small wave of emotions upon seeing his mother smile like this. And he realized that the worry that had been bothering him over the past few days wasn¡¯t his problem alone.?


    ?


    ¡°I have something to tell you in secret. And I want you to make a decision.¡± He brought it up on impulse, but he felt he was doing the right thing. He made up his mind previously that he would discuss the issue with his family now, as he didn¡¯t want them to suddenly find out about the truth without any prior warning when watching the show on TV.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to tell Woo-Hee about it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯d rather she not know about it.¡±?


    ?


    They went into the study because The King of the Masked Singers was about to end, and Woo-Hee might come down at any moment.?


    ?


    ¡°I saw that girl a few days ago at TV Star¡¯s recording.?


    ?


    ¡°That girl?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Ra.¡±?


    ?


    1. Hangryeol (??) means generation name ¨C it is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean given name. Members of the same generation share that character. ??


    ?


    2. Generation name is ¡®??¡¯, while yellow fever is ¡®??¡¯. Chae Woo-Ra misheard ¡®??¡¯ for ¡®??¡¯. ?

 CH 90

    Chae Woo-Ra ¨C the child of Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father and his mistress. Woo-Jin clearly remembered her name. As a child, he remembered that Chae Woo-Ra had very much resembled his biological father, but it seemed like her face had changed a lot as she grew up. So, when he first met her, he never imagined she was his half-sister and only remembered her name after hearing it. Now, he could see that woman¡¯s face when he looked at Chae Woo-Ra.?


    ?


    As such, Woo-Jin told his mother the full story of how he ended up guest-starring on TV Star and how Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra turned out to be Chae Woo-Ra.?


    ?


    ¡°It must have been shocking for you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, I was at a loss for a second and slipped up.¡± Woo-Jin then told her how he had been so shocked and agitated at that moment that he hadn¡¯t even realized the electricity flowing from the lie detector had shocked his hand.?


    ?


    ¡°So, what are you worried about?" his mother asked. Woo-Jin was worried his mother would get a huge shock when she watched the episode on TV. And he was also worried about Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s reaction when she later found out from her father that he, Chae Woo-Jin, was actually her older brother. Presently, she was already his fan and had been bothering him, so Woo-Jin was worried Chae Woo-Ra might cause some trouble in the future.?


    ?


    ¡°If you are worried about me, then I will let you know that I¡¯m fine. We live in Seoul, and it''s not that big of a city. Did you think that we would never run into any of them? I¡¯ve seen that woman several times when I dropped by the department store for work.¡± Park Eun-Soo had run into Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother when she was looking around the stores at the department store for market research. Being satisfied with their position, Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother had even tried to blatantly mock and look down on Park Eun-Soo. However, it would have only worked if Park Eun-Soo still had any lingering attachment to the hell she had escaped.?


    ?


    Even though that woman had changed Park Eun-Soo¡¯s life, she was also the reason why Park Eun-Soo could escape from hell all by herself. From a certain perspective, she was Park Eun-Soo¡¯s savior[1], as well as a victim that voluntarily chose to enter the hell of her own accord. Even though it was ridiculous, she didn¡¯t want to envy that woman or go back to the past.?


    ?


    ¡°Compared to seeing her mother, seeing that child¡¯s face isn¡¯t a big deal. She isn¡¯t even my biological child. Where she is or what she is doing has nothing to do with me. Instead, I¡¯m worried about you. Nevertheless, both of you¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Regardless of how much Woo-Jin wanted it, he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that they were blood-related. When Park Eun-Soo remarried, Choi Min-Woo wanted to legally adopt the children and change their last name to his at the same time. If that were the case, their last name would no longer be ¡®Chae¡¯ but ¡®Choi,¡¯ so Park Eun-Soo was hesitant to give her consent. No, to be precise, she wanted to give her approval immediately, but if they were to do that, it meant the children would have to let go of their roots.?


    ?


    Regardless of how rotten their roots were, the children had the right to make their own choices. At the very least, they wanted Woo-Hee to do it of her own will when she was no longer a minor, instead of doing it to fulfill her parents¡¯ wishes. Not long ago, Park Eun-Soo had cautiously mentioned this to her children but was instead told that she worried about it for nothing.?


    ?


    ¡°Like we said a few days ago, the last name ¡®Chae¡¯ truly means nothing to us. In fact, it¡¯s better for Woo-Hee to change her last name as soon as possible. Having a different name from father[2] might even be detrimental to Woo-Hee. ¡®Chae¡¯ is simply a last name and blood relation that mean absolutely nothing to us. Nothing would change with us by calling Chae Woo-Ra our biological father¡¯s daughter.¡± They had no feelings towards their biological father, and similarly, didn¡¯t have any feelings towards their half-sister.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything as long as it¡¯s okay with you both. You don¡¯t have to worry about your biological father either. You might remember what he was like, but I assure you, he isn¡¯t someone who cares about his children. He cared for you and loved you only because you were a son. He never truly loved you as a parent. And he didn¡¯t care about Woo-Hee at all. Even now, I doubt he¡¯s changed much.¡±?


    ?


    Even at that time, Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father hadn¡¯t shown much affection towards Chae Woo-Ra. He had only performed his fatherly duties because she was his daughter ¨C nothing more and nothing less. It didn¡¯t seem like he would watch a TV show just because his daughter appeared on it.?


    ?


    ¡°I mean, I doubt he even remembers your names properly.¡± When Park Eun-Soo had run into that woman at the department store by chance, she had said something scornfully to obviously agitate Park Eun-Soo ¨C Oh my goodness! Woo-Ra adopted a cat, and her father suggested naming it Woo-Jin. So I asked if we could change it a little and call it Woo-Ja instead, but he seemed annoyed. When I asked if it was really okay to name it Woo-Jin, he acted in an oblivious manner and asked why it even mattered.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s father was originally bad at remembering other people¡¯s names. He hadn¡¯t called Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee¡¯s names in years, so they might have ended up getting erased from his memory altogether. He wasn¡¯t stupid, so it was probably due to his lack of interest in his children. He seemed to have a function in his brain that allowed him to erase the names of the people he didn¡¯t care about with no regrets. Hence, Park Eun-Soo wasn¡¯t shocked by what that woman said, just that it was hard for her to endure the fact that Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother dropped all honorifics and spoke to her casually the entire time, even though she was younger. That woman would remember who Woo-Jin was, but she wasn¡¯t the type of person to come forward and reveal his identity.?


    ?


    ¡°Additionally, he only watches the TV for news. He has no interest in male celebrities. He only likes women, just enough to meet them via a matchmaker.¡± Park Eun-Soo wondered if she had revealed too much since she spoke so bluntly, but Woo-Jin was already an adult. He already knew why his parents had divorced, so there was no reason to hide it.?


    ?


    ¡°You said you were shocked to hear that girl¡¯s name, right? Tell them to just air it without editing that part out. Even though nobody knows about it right now, you can¡¯t keep it a secret forever. If the truth about you both being half-siblings comes out, people would know exactly when you found out who Chae Woo-Ra is. In that case, you won¡¯t need to explain yourself, and it would serve as proof that both of you spent your entire lives living apart like strangers, such that neither of you recognized each other¡¯s faces.¡±?


    ?


    The older generation might not know that the younger generation had changed a lot these days. They were now living in a world where the public would fully understand and show their support if there was a good reason justifying why a person would treat their blood-related relatives coldly. Nobody would talk about family obligations or duties after seeing a pair of siblings who grew up without knowing what each other looked like.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly after hearing his mother¡¯s clear judgment. He was most worried about his mother, but she took it so well that he wondered if he had been worried for nothing. However, in truth, the most important subject still remained. These were stories he never wanted to tell others, stories that he wanted to keep a secret for the rest of his life. However, CEO Jang and Kang Ho-Soo said there was no such thing as keeping a secret forever. If the truth would be revealed one day, he had to be the one to tell everyone about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Also, there¡¯s one more thing we have to decide whether to edit out or not.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Go ahead and tell me everything.¡± It made Park Eun-Soo very happy to see her son consulting with her like this, as he had always taken care of everything by himself. However, as Woo-Jin continued with his story, her face turned darker by the minute.?


    ?


    CEO Jang continued to frown long after the episode of The King of the Masked Singers ended.?


    ?


    ¡°Who are these people trying to mess with?¡± Ultimately, he picked up his phone and called The King of the Masked Singers¡¯ production director.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Who is this??


    ?


    The person at the other end of the line gave a less than enthusiastic response after receiving a call from an unknown number. He received many work-related calls from unknown celebrities and agencies in his line of work, thus explaining his terse response when he picked up the call. However, he had no choice but to pick up the calls because he didn¡¯t know if they were important.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m Jang Soo-Hwan from DS.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Jang who? Ah, CEO Jang. What brings you¡­ You must have watched today¡¯s episode!?


    ?


    Production Director Son sounded serious at once because the only reason CEO Jang Soo-Hwan would call him was to talk about today¡¯s episode. How much ever he tried, he couldn¡¯t think of a reason why CEO Jang wanted to talk about it. In the end, Chae Woo-Jin became The Masked King, and the episode went smoothly without a hitch. There was no need for the CEO of Woo-Jin¡¯s agency to call the production director.?


    ?


    ¡°I watched the episode and I was wondering why Woo-Jin sounds worse than he normally does. Was Woo-Jin not able to sing well that day?¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I¡­don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re getting at.?


    ?


    As soon as The King of the Masked Singers¡¯ Production Director Son feigned ignorance, Jang Soo-Hwan smirked.?


    ?


    ¡°Is that so? So Woo-Jin must have been in bad condition that day. But, seeing that he managed to become The Masked King at that level, he must have been very fortunate indeed.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Of course, luck is needed to become The Masked King, but this time around¡­?


    ?


    ¡°Exactly. Woo-Jin will be too ashamed to face his maternal grandfather. After all, he decided to go on The King of the Masked Singers because his maternal grandfather is a huge fan of the show. He only participated out of filial piety.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Ah, is that so? He will be delighted to see his grandson¡¯s face when he takes off his mask later on.?


    ?


    Production Director Son responded very calmly, so Jang Soo-Hwan decided to be similarly shameless.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, even if that were the case, wouldn¡¯t he want to see his grandson be at his best, showcasing all his skills when he performed? He has a very discerning eye. Perhaps, you know that too. He is the CEO of Rome law firm, Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather. He loves his grandson so much that he would call me and kick up a huge fuss at the slightest mistake, so I¡¯m in a tough position too.?


    ?


    Production Director Son couldn¡¯t respond to CEO Jang¡¯s supposed predicament for some time.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan thought about how the father and daughter must have reconciled with each other by now. It was the virtue of a businessman to use everything possible with no shame.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Is¨Cis he really¡­Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather??


    ?


    ¡°Are you going to lie to him of all people? But is that the only sound system in The King of the Masked Singers? Or did Woo-Jin not perform well that day?¡±?


    ?


    Rome law firm was different from several law firms in Korea. As a production director of a broadcasting station, he was well-aware of the influence and connections Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather had in political and business circles. He even managed to make CEO Jang Soo-Hwan take a step back. He wasn¡¯t a person to be trifled with. Just hearing about it over the phone made sweat trickle down Production Director Son¡¯s back.?


    ?


    Although he had never dealt with CEO Jang Soo-Hwan before, according to the rumors circulating in the broadcasting industry, many people said that CEO Jang was extremely well-mannered and prioritized pleasure over work. On the other hand, he knew nothing about the CEO of Rome law firm, but he had a strong impression of him as a scary figure. In other words, he was a person in a high position, and provoking him would do no good.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to make him sound better beyond his abilities. But shouldn¡¯t we show everyone how good he truly is?¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. It was just the first round, so he didn¡¯t give his all. We didn¡¯t use anything to manipulate his voice. You¡¯ll be able to verify this when you watch the next episode.?


    ?


    Production Director Son was aggrieved. Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t reveal 100% of his skills in the first round. He revealed his true abilities as he advanced to the second and third rounds, so Production Director Son thought of meddling only after that. Since Chae Woo-Jin had announced that he would only appear in five episodes, he had to take him down somehow before he left the show.?


    ?


    When he first cast Woo-Jin in the show, Min Si-Hoo was doing much better than he had anticipated, so he never expected Woo-Jin to become The Masked King. Even if he did, he assumed that everything would be over within five episodes. He planned to publish the story about Chae Woo-Jin and Min Si-Hoo¡¯s rivalry without going too far and profit from it. But as soon as he heard Woo-Jin sing in round three, he realized how difficult it was going to be.?


    ?


    Nobody would be able to beat him. The best record in the show so far was nine consecutive wins. Woo-Jin possessed such great singing skills that he would be able to break that record. But what would happen if such a Masked King voluntarily stepped down after five episodes? The production director was also the one to force Woo-Jin to go on the show this time around instead of March next year. He was indeed caught between a rock and a hard place. Hence, he had no choice but to rig the sound system.?


    ?


    1. The writer used ¡®???¡¯ here to describe Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother. It¡¯s a reference to a Korean folktale (Sister Sun and Brother Moon) where a sturdy rope (???) falls from the sky to rescue a pair of siblings from a tiger. ??


    ?


    2. Woo-Jin is talking about his step-father and not his blood father here. ??


    ?


    Bookmark

 CH 91

    Even though there was nothing they could do during the recording, if the sound was rigged before it went on air, it would diminish the emotional impact of a performance. It would be effortless for the production team to tweak the performance so that it will merely sound good but not great. If they were to do that then there would be nothing for people to talk about, and the people in the audience would be the only ones who would debate over the performances.?


    ?


    This way, even if Chae Woo-Jin were to leave the competition of his own volition, Production Director Son would face less criticism for creating such a tight schedule. Furthermore, it would be easier for them to cast other singers. It would be the perfect scenario If someone in their pool of singers defeated Chae Woo-Jin and ascended the throne. However, he hadn¡¯t messed with today¡¯s episode?


    ?


    ¡°Is that so? CEO Park and I are familiar with Woo-Jin¡¯s singing skills, so we¡¯ll know when we watch the episode on TV. In that case, I trust you, Production Director Son.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Do you think I¡¯m someone who would mess with my own show??


    ?


    ¡°Exactly, you wouldn¡¯t do something like that.¡±?


    ?


    As they hung up the phone on a friendly note, Jang Soo-Hwan snorted. While Kim Joong-Sun had also given his evaluation, having personally listened to the recordings of Woo-Jin¡¯s practice sessions, Jang Soo-Hwan was dumbfounded when he watched the episode on air.?


    ?


    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t listened to the recordings, I would¡¯ve been completely clueless and gotten deceived! I knew he was going to meddle with it, but they can¡¯t do it right off the bat in the first round.¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan didn¡¯t know that Woo-Jin had taken it easy and hadn¡¯t put in 100% of his effort in round one. He had only heard Woo-Jin sing to the best of his abilities. Thus, he was infuriated thinking that the production director had already rigged Woo-Jin¡¯s performance.?


    ?


    Since Production Director Son hadn¡¯t done anything yet, he felt victimized for being wrongly accused. However, he was now serious when it came to dealing with Woo-Jin. From now on, Production Director Son would be tearing his hair out while trying to look for singers who could dethrone Woo-Jin in five episodes by using actual vocal skills instead of gimmicks.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was very pleased with himself for having a very productive day after fighting to protect the welfare of his artiste. However, that feeling only lasted for three hours.?


    ?


    ¡°Why is he calling again?¡± For a second, Jang Soo-Hwan felt guilty when he received a call from Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather, but he quickly realized that he hasn¡¯t done anything wrong. Nonetheless, it didn¡¯t take long for his face to turn pale after confidently answering the call.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The reason why ''Doryeong Who Dreams of Becoming a Hanryang'' from The King of the Masked Singers became a hot topic was largely due to his dancing skills rather than his singing skills. Since the current generation had no exposure to Korean traditional dances, Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s dance performance came like a breath of fresh air and was a beautiful surprise. Thus, there was a plausible theory that Hanryang Doryeong went on the show to promote Korean traditional dance. It was not surprising that even the experts of Korean traditional dances marveled at his performance, and showered him with praises, saying that his execution was flawless.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    People had also pointed out that even though Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s getup was more aesthetically pleasing as compared to the other contestants, it didn''t do justice to the uniqueness and beauty of hanbok.?


    ?


    ¡°I truly did my best!¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young had also commissioned a hanbok designer to make a stylish hanbok for Woo-Jin. After recalling the beautiful hanboks worn by the scholars in historical dramas, she had complained that it was hard to recreate them.?


    ?


    ¡°On that note, can I tell you a piece of good news?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What is it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I heard that a couple of hanbok designers have contacted the production team of The King of the Masked Singers and said that they wanted to sponsor Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s outfits. Of course, they¡¯re fine with him not appearing on the show ¨C they just want him to wear it.¡±?


    ?


    Judging from round one alone, it was hard to tell if Hanryang Doryeong would become the next Masked King. His performance was rather decent, but he didn¡¯t display singing skills that were worthy of beating ¡®Commander of the Universe¡¯, so nobody was certain if he could win. Thus, the hanbok designers weren¡¯t suggesting for him to wear it during the next recording; they wanted to sponsor him in hopes that he would wear the hanbok elsewhere because they coveted his elegant appearance.?


    ?


    ¡°By any chance, is Cha Young-Joo one of those designers?¡± Out of all the different hanbok designers, Hwang Yi-Young wanted Woo-Jin to wear Cha Young-Joo¡¯s hanbok the most. Kang Ho-Soo smiled brightly instead of answering her question. However, it would be unreasonable to expect them to make a hanbok in time for the upcoming recording on Wednesday.?


    ?


    For now, Hwang Yi-Young got the production team to deliver a memo with Woo-Jin¡¯s body measurements to Cha Young-Joo, and told them to pick a hanbok that best matched Woo-Jin¡¯s size from the ones that had already been made.?


    ?


    ¡°Cha Young-Joo would be able to guess that Hanryang Doryeong became the Masked King.¡± It was obvious because they requested them to send it over by Wednesday, which was the day of the recording, without giving him ample preparation time.?


    ?


    ¡°The production team will take care of it and be careful. The most important thing is that Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s identity has to be kept secret.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Nobody has mentioned Woo-Jin¡¯s name yet, right?¡± Hwang Yi-Young asked. Hanryang Doryeong had a completely different singing style from Chae Woo-Jin, and it was difficult to make out his figure because he was wearing a hanbok. As far as she knew, nobody had mentioned Woo-Jin¡¯s name thus far.?


    ?


    ¡°I went on Wish Baragi¡¯s page just a while ago, and some people have speculated that Woo-Jin might be Hanryang Doryeong.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Already?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Did you think the same people who could tell that the Slipper Young Man was Woo-Jin just by looking at his back view can¡¯t recognize him just because he wore a mask and a hanbok? But the majority of them are still uncertain, so the general consensus was to observe first and see what happens. After all, Woo-Jin used a completely different singing style.¡±?


    ?


    Even though both of them watched the recent episode with the knowledge that Hanryang Doryeong was Woo-Jin, the tone of his voice on the show was so different that it made them second guess the truth. Even his fans were uncertain.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s more interesting if they don¡¯t know his identity, so I¡¯m a little concerned.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°In any case, the barags will be busy this Thursday in the evening, so they probably won''t have time to think about the Masked King.¡± Like Kang Ho-Soo said, the episode of TV Star with Woo-Jin as a guest star would be airing on Thursday. The world would be at peace until the end of TV Star¡¯s episode on Thursday evening.?


    ?


    Articles containing speculations were uploaded all over the internet, and people on every open discussion site had their own opinions and ended up causing confusion. However, the two most unruly groups of people were unexpectedly quiet. Blue Fit¡¯s anti-fans were the only ones who went on a rampage.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C What did we just watch today??


    ?


    A chill ran down Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s spine after hearing Ma Do-Hee¡¯s voice; it was calmer than expected. Ma Do-Hee was rather calm even though she called Hwang Yi-Young as soon as the episode was over.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly what it looks like. Because Kang Hee-Joo talked about the foundation, Woo-Jin subconsciously revealed what happened back then. It was not a lie, even though it was an unintentional mistake. He had also impersonated Min Si-Hoo¡¯s voice back then in the recording studio and sang his part. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen after this. But Woo-Jin has solid evidence to prove the physical abuse.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Umm¡­?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re free to blow up the matter as much as you want because we know the cause and have the evidence to back it up.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Can we? As Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans, we should always have good thoughts and say beautiful things.[/ref] This is a reference to what Woo-Jin said to the girl on the subway in chapter 80. [/ref]?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young could hear the grim laughter from the president of Wish Baragi¡¯s over the phone. Everybody knew about the subway incident, where a Blue Fit fan insulted Chae Woo-Jin right in front of him. That was because her friend that was with her posted about it on social media on the same day.?


    ?


    Even though Chae Woo-Jin had personally heard the girl insulting him right before his eyes, he still acted politely to her. As his fan, Ma Do-Hee said, ¡°We¡¯ll protect what we need to protect.¡± For some reason, those words sounded more terrifying than anything else.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    There were several occasions where Chae Woo-Jin had impersonated Min Si-Hoo¡¯s voice and sang in the recording studio under the instructions of the producer. However, Chae Woo-Jin clarified that he has absolutely no knowledge of Blue Fit¡¯s song recording process that had taken place after his departure. He firmly states that any further questions should be directed to TM.?


    ?


    After the episode had been aired, reporters and fans of both Blue Fit and Chae Woo-Jin sent several inquiries to DS. However, DS drew the line and stated that they didn¡¯t have any information as ¡®Shining Star¡¯ was TM''s song.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Many of the public¡¯s questions had been answered by science. Professor Oh Myung-Hwan was a speech and audio researcher; his answer dispelled several doubts that the public had. All that¡¯s left was TM''s response.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Silence implied consent at times. Even though TM should have refuted these allegations a long time ago, they still avoided giving a definite response. Since they had tacitly acknowledged stealing Woo-Jin¡¯s voice and lip-syncing, the last matter of interest was about what happened to Chae Woo-Jin back then that made him sympathize with the youth victims of violence.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C It¡¯s so obvious. Chae Woo-Jin was bullied, his song was stolen, and then he got kicked out.?


    ?


    ©¸ It hasn¡¯t been confirmed yet, what are you talking about??


    ?


    ©¸ Please accept reality. It¡¯s a 94% match. The professor even said that Chae Woo-Jin sang it better than Blue Fit¡¯s album version, which was why it wasn¡¯t a complete match. If Min Si-Hoo can sing the exact same way as he did in the album, I¡¯ll acknowledge that they didn¡¯t steal Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s song.?


    ?


    ©¸ You should get your facts right first before you speak. Si-Hoo oppa has vocal cord inflammation!!!?


    ?


    ¨C¨C It¡¯s not like he has vocal cord nodules; he has vocal cord inflammation, how terrible! But he¡¯s doing well in The King of the Masked Singers, right? Frankly, everybody in the world knows that Min Si-Hoo is a great singer, no??


    ?


    ©¸ He¡¯s good at singing everything else except the five high notes. Nevertheless, doesn¡¯t that mean that Chae Woo-Jin is so good at singing that they had no choice but to use his vocals? Strangely enough, Min Si-Hoo¡¯s songs lack emotions. It feels as though he doesn¡¯t have a soul. Now I know the reason why. He¡¯s a psychopathic bully, so he has no emotions.?


    ?


    ©¸ I took a screenshot of your comment. They¡¯re going to sue you.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C You can tell that Chae Woo-Jin has no lingering attachment towards Blue Fit when he was answering the questions while being hooked to the lie detector. If I were him, I would have wanted to get out of that hellhole too. When Chae Woo-Jin said that their ideals weren¡¯t a match, it showed how magnanimous he was!!!?


    ?


    ©¸ Magnanimous? Oh please! Ultimately, he revealed everything. Who¡¯s the root cause[1] of this situation??


    ?


    ©¸ That¡¯s because people kept talking about the Slipper Young Man, so Chae Woo-Jin felt embarrassed and said that it was nothing at all. Then, Kang Hee-Joo started talking about the donation to the foundation. Chae Woo-Jin got so emotional while he was talking about it. Go and take a look at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face during that moment. I¡¯m not even his fan but I almost cried when I saw that!! Also, he isn¡¯t the root cause ¨C he only sparked this debacle.[2] You ignoramus!?


    ?


    1. The writer used ¡®??'' here, which means ¡®cause¡¯ (of the problem). ??


    ?


    2. ?? is used here. It means ¡®problem¡¯. It¡¯s telling the readers that the person commenting above used the wrong word (¡®??¡¯ instead of ¡®??¡¯. It¡¯s a fairly common mistake Korean speakers make because they sound rather similar. ??


    ?

 CH 92

    Amid the conflicting opinions, Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra became a topic of discussion for smiling the entire time when Chae Woo-Jin talked about his dark past. However, she was later revealed to be his fan and had just been staring at him in a daze, so the public decided to chalk it off as childish behavior. Many people felt that if Chae Woo-Jin were to appear in front of them, they would be in a daze staring at him as well.?


    ?


    Perhaps, that was why Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction to hearing A-Ra¡¯s real name, ¡®Chae Woo-Ra,¡¯ ended up getting overlooked. His excuse that ¡®he was thinking about something else for a moment¡¯ was linked to the previous topic, and people guessed that he must have been in considerable emotional pain and had a lot on his mind.?


    ?


    Additionally, just as expected, many people expressed their concern for Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s family on the internet. When it was reported that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister had gone to school on Friday morning with swollen eyes, many people felt sorry for her. In addition, people who had been bullied or had family members that were victims of bullying became more sympathetic.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C This is precisely why bullying is scary. Even in action scenes, people without stunt doubles immediately become victims because they were attacked by a group of people.?


    ?


    ©¸ He didn¡¯t repay violence with violence but just endured everything by himself. To be honest, even if the Blue Fit members attacked Woo-Jin oppa all at once, it would¡¯ve been over with just one kick. T.T?


    ?


    ©¸ How dare you say that about Blue Fit? Nobody knows what exactly happened yet! For all you know, he might have been bullied at school. And frankly, if you take a good look at all the people who have been bullied, you¡¯d know there was a good reason for it.?


    ?


    ©¸ This person has posted the same comment on other posts. How persistent. Chae Woo-Jin had no problems at school. It¡¯s a well-known fact that all his teachers loved him and his friends at school were goody two shoes. Even though he didn¡¯t have a lot of friends, I heard he was very close to his friends, so nobody could lay a finger on him.?


    ?


    ©¸ Woo-Jin, what are you doing on the internet? It¡¯s so obvious it¡¯s you.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I think Chae Woo-Jin intentionally said those things on TV Star because our oppas are doing so well, especially Si-Hoo oppa!! If my oppa loses his title as The Masked King because of the trauma caused by this incident, I¡¯m not going to let it go!?


    ?


    ©¸ My thoughts exactly. My poor Si-Hoo oppa! Fortunately, The King of the Masked Singers had a recording last Wednesday, so I think he¡¯s clinched his sixth victory without a hitch. But what are we going to do about the next recording? T_T?


    ?


    ©¸ He left on his own, so why is he playing the victim now after such a long time? He must have felt bitter and regretful after leaving, lmao.?


    ?


    ©¸ Everyone, you¡¯re now looking at the people who are mourning in the blue hole of the universe.?


    ?


    ¡ª You guys make me laugh. Didn¡¯t you see Woon Jong-Shin tell Woo-Jin to sing even though he said he didn¡¯t want to? And Kang Hee-Joo was the one who talked about the donation first. Chae Woo-Jin even told the production team to edit it out. But you people didn¡¯t even look at the caption added by the production team stating that they didn¡¯t edit it in the spirit of spreading good deeds, did you??


    ?


    ©¸ Woo-Jin, it¡¯s time for you to take your medicine. Please refrain from commenting here.?


    ?


    ©¸ Exactly. If he really didn¡¯t want the production team to air that part, wouldn¡¯t he have personally gone and requested them to edit it out!! And wasn¡¯t he the reason why there was animosity within the group back then? It was a hot topic among the fans, no??


    ?


    ©¸ What? I was with TM for a very long time, and it¡¯s my first time hearing about this. What are you talking about? And like what you people have said, if Blue Fit is innocent, there¡¯s no reason for you guys to be agitated, right?¡±?


    ?


    After watching TV Star, Blue Hole went into panic mode; they couldn¡¯t do anything initially, so they just observed. Eventually, out of the two waiting groups, they were the first to make a move. In general, the posts and articles on the internet were criticizing Blue Fit, so they started posting rebuttals and made accusations against Chae Woo-Jin everywhere. Even now, they were still relentlessly attacking him. As soon as other people started getting sick of Blue Hole¡¯s actions, Wish Baragi members quietly made an appearance.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    A longtime fan of Chae Woo-Jin found some old photos and uploaded them to the internet. One photo showed Chae Woo-Jin wearing short sleeves while others wore long sleeves. Another picture showed the opposite. The issue at hand could be found in the enlarged image of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s hand taken from the photo where he was wearing long sleeves.?


    ?


    The picture was taken with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens, so even when it was magnified dozens of times, the bruises on the back of his hand that couldn¡¯t be hidden by the long sleeve were clearly visible. The bruises were on the back of his hand and not his fingers, and they looked like defensive injuries. Judging from the bruises, one could easily imagine what he was trying to hide under the long sleeves.?


    ?


    ?


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    Several barags also went to the community sites they had been active in for a long time and posted on their bulletin boards, declaring war on Blue Fit and Blue Hole. Some of these members were known to be gentle and polite, so the other members were flustered after seeing the sudden change in their demeanor, but they were understanding.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Si-Hoo oppa, I will support you till the very end, so please make sure you keep your title as The Masked King and show everyone your skills.?


    ?


    ©¸ Your oppa doesn¡¯t even have any skills in the first place. Since he¡¯s like a tree with no roots, even when the wind blows on the leaves, he¡¯ll be blown away.?


    ?


    ©¸ I wonder if your oppa is really the one behind the mask. Was he lip-syncing again this time around? Well, judging from his soulless voice, it must have been him. I know that even if we present solid facts to people like you, you¡¯ll disregard them anyway. I¡¯ll still leave the link here. Go look at the difference between the lip-synced performance back when your oppas debuted and the live performance.?


    ?


    If a post spoke favorably of Blue Fit, even just a little, dozens of comments mocking Blue Fit would be published under it in less than a minute. People defending Woo-Jin would leave a link to the post that compared and analyzed Blue Fit¡¯s lip-synced performance back when they just debuted and the actual performance without lip-syncing. They then proceeded to ask if the fans would still continue to support Blue Fit.?


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    ¨C¨C Why is Chae Woo-Jin so quiet when he was the one that sparked this entire debacle? He needs to say something and take a stand, so our oppas won¡¯t be wrongly accused. Isn¡¯t he doing that purposefully??


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    ©¸ What does Woo-Jin have to say? TM is the one who needs to take a stand, not Chae Woo-Jin. But why are they not saying anything when things are so chaotic right now? Please let your brain cells work. I feel so sorry for your brain cells because they will die without being given a chance to work properly for once. Also, it¡¯s ¡®purposely,¡¯ not ¡®purposefully.¡¯?


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    ©¸ If you have any complaints, you should take them up with TM. You¡¯re whining about something you obviously don¡¯t know anything about!?


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    ©¸ Since you¡¯re a child with poor comprehension skills, let me kindly explain it to you. Just know that the blue people are just assholes. Say it once. It¡¯s catchy, huh??


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    ¨C¨C Please stop making pregnancy attacks [1]! [2] Even though she¡¯s terrible at Korean, she must be good at math. She knows her place[3] very well.?


    ?


    In less than a day, a video of Blue Fit¡¯s manager assaulting their fans as they tried to rush in while the Blue Fit members watched was uploaded to the bulletin board. Details about a dispute in a bar that led to an assault and a GIF of the idols tossing gifts from a fan into the trash without taking a few steps also surfaced. So much information had appeared in such a short time that one of the members even asked if the people who posted all these details were originally Blue Fit¡¯s anti-fan.?


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    ¨C¨C Alright, I acknowledge everything. But there must have been a reason why they bullied Chae Woo-Jin. My oppas would never have done that to Chae Woo-Jin for no reason!?


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    ©¸ You¡¯re right ¨C there are so many reasons. He¡¯s handsome, smart, good at singing, kind, and perfect. Here¡¯s a link to a compilation of instances that clearly show Min Si-Hoo¡¯s character. Since he¡¯s your beloved oppa, please go and take a look. I can¡¯t imagine how someone who treats his fans like this would treat Chae Woo-Jin, let alone children like you.?


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    ©¸ So are you bullying someone too? Judging from what the original commenter posted, it seems that way. What a wonderful combination of idols and fans that bully others.?


    ?


    Not only did it counter-argue Blue Hole¡¯s response that there was a reason why the victim got bullied, but it had also led to a petition to urge TM to reveal the truth behind ¡®Shining Star¡¯ and Blue Fit. The public opinion also began to lean towards one side after seeing how confident Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were and TM''s attitude in this incident ¨C they were still tight-lipped about everything.?


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    ¡°Don¡¯t we need to somehow come up with a contingency plan?¡± TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, looked at Seol Moon-Young. Seol Moon-Young shrugged and gave him a look as if to say, ¡®This was all your fault for not being able to handle the matter properly.¡¯?


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    ¡°You were the one who removed Woo-Jin from Blue Fit. When Woo-Jin left, Si-Hoo didn¡¯t have what it took to fill the void. You were the one who suggested using the song Woo-Jin sang.¡± Kim Seok-Hyung was taken aback by Seol Moon Young¡¯s laidback attitude and an expression that suggested he had done nothing wrong. Seol Moon-Young was strangely dignified for someone caught between a rock and a hard place, as his unyielding act back then as a producer had led to this incident.?


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    ¡°I¡¯m well-aware of what you¡¯re planning to do. You¡¯re planning on telling the public that ¡®Shining Star¡¯ was a tragedy caused by my own greed, right?¡± One could not kill the goose that laid the golden eggs over something like this. Rather, it was an issue that could be resolved cheaply by sacrificing Seol Moon-Young, by getting Blue Fit to say that they had done so only because of their producer. The matter would blow over after they had done some self-reflection for one to two years. As for the bullying, they would simply argue that a little fight among young children was a common thing.?


    ?


    As Seol Moon-Young smirked after pointing it out, Kim Seok-Hyeong swallowed his saliva and remained still.?


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    1. It¡¯s a typo. ???? means personal attack, while ?? means pregnancy. However, later on, it became an internet term that¡¯s mainly used when men slander women.[/ref]! Blue Fit and we are victims too.?


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    ©¸ Oh, you¡¯re pregnant? I¡¯m guessing you haven''t heard that having a good heart as a mother is good for prenatal education. Listening to bullies¡¯ songs is not good for children either.?


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    ©¸ To the commenter above, she used the word ¡®attack¡¯ though. OP, are you saying we got pregnant and attacked as a collective group? Or are you telling us to get ourselves pregnant? I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying at all. Well, judging from how you called yourselves victims, you must be delusional. I suggest you go to a hospital.?


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    ©¸ They¡¯re victims, alright; victims of their own a ??


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    2. In the raw, the writer said ??(? ??)?, which translates to ¡®a person who does harm/damage¡¯. It¡¯s a play on the word ???, which stands for ¡®victim¡¯. ??


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    3. ?? means fraction, but it also means place/position. ?

 CH 93

    ¡°By the way, I found out a pretty interesting piece of information. The real reason why Woo-Jin left TM,¡± Seol Moon-Young said to Kim Seok-Hyung.?


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    ¡°What?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Lee Yeon-Yi had done something that Woo-Jin refused to do.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...¡± CEO Kim wasn¡¯t sure what Seol Moon-Yong was implying, so he kept quiet.?


    ?


    Blue Fit¡¯s member, Lee Yeon-Yi, had gotten drunk at a drinking party one day and unintentionally spilled a secret. Seol Moon-Young happened to get wind of it.?


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    ¡°Right now, the golden eggs are being laid, but in any case, once a sex scandal breaks out, it¡¯s impossible to make a comeback. I¡¯m sure you know that better than I do. Even if you hold events and concerts abroad, the group will still meet its doom and disband at some point. So it would be better for you to just let them go right now. Keep in mind that only then would you be able to save TM''s image and keep our solidarity going for a long time.¡±?


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    Seol Moon-Young smirked. As a former idol, he was more familiar than anyone else with how the music industry worked. This group still had a lot to offer, so abandoning them at this point was such a waste. But there was nothing else the CEO could do. He had to save himself first to live to see another day.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you forget you were the producer of that album?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Let¡¯s just tell the public that, ¡®The soft-hearted producer caved to the complaints of his overly-ambitious student,¡¯ and call it a day. After all, considering his family background, Min Si-Hoo will still be able to lead a comfortable life without being a singer, so we don¡¯t have to worry too much about him.¡±?


    ?


    Min Si-Hoo hated Chae Woo-Jin, resulting in their feud back then. TM decided to take Min Si-Hoo¡¯s side over Woo-Jin because of his impressive family background. When choosing between the two members, it was the most clever and rational decision to make at that time. That was also why the other Blue Fit members took Min Si-Hoo¡¯s side and rejected Chae Woo-Jin, choosing to engage in violence against him. In any case, the other members had also earned an insane amount of money that most people wouldn¡¯t be able to earn in their lifetime, so their lives weren¡¯t particularly pitiful either.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Kim, this just got delivered from DS.¡± Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s secretary opened the door and handed him a Certification of Contents[1] and a small package sent by DS. Out of curiosity, Kim Seok-Hyung opened the package first. It contained a small USB flash drive and a card. He had a bad feeling about it and decided to verify the flash drive¡¯s contents first. Its only content was a five-minute audio file. However, listening to it was akin to hearing his death sentence.?


    ?


    It was the recording of Min Si-Hoo and other Blue Fit members swearing at Chae Woo-Jin and assaulting him. The sound of their assault had been clearly recorded as it was, all of it. It clearly captured Min Si-Hoo¡¯s wrath, stemming from his strong desire to become the main vocalist and the mockery from the other members that sympathized with Min Si-Hoo, without any filter.?


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    ?


    ?


    That was the phrase written on the card that came with the package containing the USB flash drive. The short sentence in bold contained several meanings. At this moment, waves of desperation washed over Kim Seok-Hyung as he realized that he was unable to make the issue go away quietly this time around.?


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    ¡°Oh no! I don¡¯t think this issue will go away even if you sacrifice me.¡± Seol Moon-Young whistled as he sneered at Kim Seok-Hyung. The latter glared at him before taking a look at the Certification of Contents.?


    ?


    The first page of the document contained the results of an analysis of Min Si-Hoo¡¯s parts in Blue Fit¡¯s song and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice when he performed ¡®Shining Star.¡¯ They had officially commissioned Professor Oh Myung-Hwan, a speech and audio researcher, for that. Naturally, the results concluded that both audio clips were sung by the same person, prompting DS to request a reasonable explanation and compensation from TM.?


    ?


    The following document was about the assault inflicted by the members of Blue Fit. DS managed to secure clear evidence of the assault, and it was stated that the statute of limitations for assault was five years. However, Chae Woo-Jin said that he wanted an apology from Blue Fit instead of pursuing legal action. Furthermore, he wanted an unequivocal apology from Min Si-Hoo, the cause of the discord and the lead perpetrator, along with the other members. DS expressed that if they didn¡¯t comply, contrary to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s wishes, DS would be left with no choice but to pursue legal action for the sake of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s honor.?


    ?


    Judging from the fact that the Certification of Contents arrived on Friday afternoon, it could be safely assumed that DS had already been thoroughly prepared.?


    ?


    ¡°This pretty much means that there is no way out. Furthermore, do they have a lot of money? They hired Rome law firm to write something as trivial as the Certification of Contents. I heard they charge an arm and a leg for just a simple document.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a warning. Doesn¡¯t it mean that if we end up going to court because of this issue, the lawyers from Rome law firm would be representing them?¡± In a situation where clear evidence was present, coupled with the fact that Rome law firm would be representing the other party, defeat was guaranteed for TM.?


    ?


    ¡°Rome doesn¡¯t take on celebrity cases, though?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But if you look at it from another perspective, it¡¯s a lawsuit between two companies, so they might make an exception. More importantly, isn¡¯t Jang Soo-Hwan the CEO of DS?¡± Judging from the relationship between Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s family and Rome law firm, it wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible for Rome to take on the case.?


    ?


    ¡°As for the assault, fair enough. But even if you were to abandon Blue Fit, having Si-Hoo take the heat alone for ¡®Shining Star¡¯ isn¡¯t enough. So, Moon-Young, I¡¯m asking you for a favor. Can you please turn a blind eye and sacrifice yourself just this once? I¡¯ll give you anything you want in return.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung was Seol Moon-Young¡¯s mentor, so he tried appealing to Seol Moon-Young to help him out for old times¡¯ sake. The latter¡¯s eyes lit up like a snake and made an offer.?


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    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it if you give me 5%.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Give me just 5% of your TM stocks.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You must be completely out of your mind. Just for something like this?¡±?


    ?


    Despite Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s agitated response, Seol Moon-Young didn¡¯t budge at all; he was adamant about not taking the fall all by himself for other people¡¯s mistakes. Hence, Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s anger gradually lost its power.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent several years building my career, which I¡¯ll be throwing away over this matter, and you¡¯re making it sound like it¡¯s not a big deal? You have a lot of money. When this scandal breaks out, the stocks will hit rock bottom anyway. Wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you simply buy another 5% to make up for it when the price is at an all-time low? Which is a better option? Think about it carefully. What do you think will happen to the agency if we add the sponsorship issue to the list? Do you think the other TM artistes would go unscathed with Blue Fit¡¯s demise?¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung would be able to protect the company¡¯s image if he chose to part with just 5% of his stocks. And even though Blue Fit was done for, he could save the other artistes as a result.?


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    ¡°The trainees that are preparing to debut are rather promising. If you don¡¯t intend to sacrifice them as collateral damage, 5% isn¡¯t a big deal for something this trivial, am I right?¡± Seol Moon-Young told him to think it over carefully and said he would take the fall for ¡®Shining Star¡¯ once the stocks were transferred over to him.?


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    The entertainment industry was essentially a business that sold images. Lip syncing and assault were fatal mistakes, but they were nothing compared to an agency condoning and pushing for sponsorship. It was akin to getting rid of a bump only to add one more.?


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    TM''s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung observed the trend over the next couple of days and finally reached a decision only on Sunday afternoon.?


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    ***?


    ?


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to watch it today either?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had been depressed over the past few days. Woo-Jin teased her, poking her in the rib. He insisted that she go down to the living room to watch TV with him, but she looked at him with sad eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°Stop it.¡±?


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    ¡°I¡¯m getting depressed because you keep acting like this.¡±?


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    ¡°Hmph, why do you even care about the feelings of your younger sister with no fantasies?¡±?


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    ¡°Because I love you.¡±?


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    ¡°Ahhhhhhh~! Don¡¯t say that, don¡¯t say that!¡±?


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    Woo-Jin forcefully dragged Woo-Hee down to the living room, as she yelled that hearing those words was more repulsive than getting poked in the ribs.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought her here.¡± His parents had been waiting for them in the living room, and as soon as Woo-Jin announced their arrival, they greeted the children with bright smiles. Woo-Jin¡¯s parents sat on the sofa while he sat on the floor by their feet as he continued patting Woo-Hee on the head. Woo-Jin told her to smile because everything was fine now. She looked at his eyes and gradually started to laugh while pouting.?


    ?


    As always, after The King of the Masked Singers ended, Wish Baragi was buzzing with conversations and discussions. For the first time in a few days, it was a pleasant day for the barags that were worried they¡¯d have to release their pent-up anger once again today.?


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    ¨C¨C I¡¯m so glad that you-know-who is gone. I don¡¯t even want to type his name out. Frankly, I was a little worried that he might win and get his sixth victory because if he failed to get his seventh victory, Genie might be wrongly accused. You have no idea how worried I was.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C When exactly will TM come forth and make an official statement??


    ?


    ©¸ There was an official announcement earlier. They said that an official interview will be held on Monday at 3 p.m.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Who exactly is Hanryang Doryeong? Strangely enough, my heart is unusually racing for him.?


    ?


    ©¸ Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re thankful towards him for beating that person??


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    ¨C¨C I¡¯ll only know for sure if Hanryang Doryeong removes his gloves, but no matter how I see it, he looks like Genie.?


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    ©¸ But their singing voice is so different from one another.?


    ?


    ©¸ His voice was completely different too when he sang ¡®Shining Star.¡¯ Ack! Just thinking about it makes me feel so emotional because it¡¯s such a pity, and it¡¯s so unfair. But right now, I¡¯m thinking if I should buy ¡®Shining Star.¡¯ If we buy it, they¡¯ll be giving the profits to the blue people, right? Also, that means that I¡¯ll have to listen to the voices of those people too, so it¡¯s making me reconsider¡­ T_T?


    ?


    ¨C¨C For the people who are agonizing over whether to purchase ¡®Shining Star¡¯ or not, please download this. It¡¯s a version containing only Genie¡¯s voice. Don¡¯t worry about copyright and whatnot because they violated it first. So just download it.?


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    ¨C¨C I¡¯m a little concerned about the fact that the real name of Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra is ¡®Chae Woo-Ra.¡¯ Could there be some kind of birth secret??


    ?


    ©¸ That¡¯s too far-fetched. Reality is different from dramas.?


    ?


    Contrary to Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s prediction, the barags continued to show a deep interest in The King of the Masked Singers despite the current state of frenzy after TV Star¡¯s episode was aired. The battle against Blue Fit and Blue Hole had always been a part of their daily routine. They couldn¡¯t afford to disregard a significant event like The King of the Masked Singers. Additionally, they instinctively guessed that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Until last week, they had been uncertain, but this week they were very confident that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin. No matter how they looked at it, his posture when he stood, his hand gestures when he spoke, as well as the way his body moved when he felt embarrassed, were somehow exactly the same as Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Even though the tone of Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s voice was completely different from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s singing voice in all of his performances and recordings thus far, his usual speaking voice was more obvious in The King of the Masked Singers. The more engrossed Hanryang Doryeong was in his song, the more apparent Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s usual speaking voice would become.?


    ?


    However, the barags had a mutual understanding to only keep it within Wish Baragi. They were waiting for the day when Hanryang Doryeong would take off his mask while appreciating the secret only they knew about.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Everybody, Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom just uploaded a photo she had received from Genie¡¯s mother. Genie¡¯s mother personally took the photo. Please take a look at it. Our paradise is waiting for us.?


    ?


    Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom uploaded a photo of Woo-Jin to congratulate him on stopping Min Si-Hoo from making his fifth victory on The King of the Masked Singers, and also for the sake of cheering up the barags who had been suffering a lot over the past couple of days.?


    ?


    It was a photo of Chae Woo-Jin sleeping on the sofa with Woo-Sa in his arms. He looked like he was at peace, and was sleeping without any worries with a gentle smile on his lips as the warm morning sun shone on him. That photo was their paradise.?


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    1. It¡¯s a document that verifies the contents of a specific piece of mail (usually important documents such as legal or confidential documents). ?

 CH 94

    ?


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    At 3 p.m. on Monday, Blue Fit held a press conference and acknowledged all the things that they had done to Chae Woo-Jin collectively as a group, and made a public apology. Following the press conference, TM''s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung and Seol Moon-Young¡¯s interview was uploaded immediately afterward. Watching it get uploaded one after another, Hyun-Min read it to Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Putting Blue Fit aside, it seems like Seol Moon-Young is trying to shoulder the blame for the whole voice theft issue.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He must have cut a deal with the CEO.¡± The Seol Moon-Young that Woo-Jin knew would never sacrifice himself. He would never do anything that results in a loss for himself.?


    ?


    ¡°It says that if they¡¯ll refund the album if that¡¯s what the buyer wants and instead of halting sales for ¡®Shining Star,¡¯ they¡¯ll be releasing the songs you sang back then for free. Of course, they¡¯re planning to give you reasonable compensation for it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m going to take the money?¡± Seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s annoyed reaction, Hyun-Min quickly did some mental calculations and calculated the fees incurred by Min Si-Hoo¡¯s infringement of copyright, along with other damages that Woo-Jin suffered. Hyun-Min¡¯s eyes trembled wildly because the amount of compensation offered would be too great a sum to reject.?


    ?


    ¡°¡®Shining Star¡¯ was such a popular song. No, it¡¯s still very popular. Are you really not going to accept the money? Hey, now is not the time for you to be prideful.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll have to accept it. Just that the money won¡¯t be going into my pocket.¡± Although DS¡¯ legal team had already entered negotiations with TM with regards to the compensation, Chae Woo-Jin informed his agency that he would be donating the money to the Youth Victims of Violence Foundation. Chae Woo-Jin could guess that they would shamelessly request DS to stop digging up their horrible deeds by telling the entire world that they were exonerated by paying a hefty sum of money, hence the donation.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin knew better than anyone else how great and scary money was. The amount of compensation offered by TM would be a rather significant amount since they had to close the negotiations to let the world know that they had done their best. However, Woo-Jin would not take a sum of money that made him feel anxious and suffocated instead of feeling happy.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m shooting a commercial tomorrow. I¡¯ll be earning a lot of money in the future.¡± Woo-Jin could finally shoot the commercial by the telecommunication company which he had been putting off for a long time due to various circumstances. Woo-Jin thought that perhaps he would not be able to earn as much as the amount of compensation if he were to take baby steps like that.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, good for you. But I don¡¯t think I can¡¯t earn that much.¡± Hyun-Min was checking something on his phone before locking it nervously.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I was planning to buy some of TM''s stocks this time around when its prices get cut in half, but they¡¯re not going down like what I predicted.¡±?


    ?


    TM''s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung held a press conference just in time, right after the stock market closed. As a result, the stock prices didn¡¯t go down today. Despite TV Star¡¯s episode being aired last Thursday and the chaos that ensued from Friday up until today, TM''s shares did not fall in line with Hyun-Min¡¯s predictions.?


    ?


    ¡°Clearly, there has been a lot of trading going on. As soon as the stocks were released, people snatched them up. Thus, the stock prices didn¡¯t fall as I predicted.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin glared at his friend after hearing his confession, Hyun-Min turned his head around and played innocent.?


    ?


    Regardless of what anybody said, TM was still one of the biggest entertainment agencies in Korea. Nobody thought that it would collapse despite being shaken by this scandal. Even if Blue Fit was done for, they could be replaced by other people, and TM still had many other celebrities and idol groups. There were numerous people in Korea who shared the sentiment that it wouldn¡¯t take long for TM to recover from this setback. Hyun-Min¡¯s desire of taking advantage of this opportunity to dabble in stocks seemed to be nothing more than an empty dream.?


    ?


    ¡°What a great friendship, huh?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I was trying to make use of the company that my friend thinks of as hell to make some money off of them. Don¡¯t misinterpret my intentions.¡± Hyun-Min gulped down the canned coffee like it was alcohol. He finished it after barely taking a couple of mouthfuls.?


    ?


    He shook the empty can wistfully and muttered under his breath, ¡°Everyone shares the same thought. But I heard those people are using this opportunity to discipline themselves instead of disbanding? The stock prices aren¡¯t going down because they didn¡¯t say that they were disbanding?!¡±?


    ?


    Naturally, Blue Fit knew that they had to follow the procedure of disbanding their group. They announced that they would be ceasing all activities and disciplinary actions would be taken. Be it due to the stocks or his personal resentment towards them, Hyun-Min was very unhappy about this.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Jang forbade it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He said if Blue Fit disbanded, their fans might become my anti-fans.¡± As long as Blue Fit acknowledged their mistakes, their fans were not in a position to say anything to Chae Woo-Jin. If they were to attack Chae Woo-Jin during the current circumstances, even fools would know that the media and public would condemn them. As long as Blue Fit didn¡¯t get disbanded, the fans would have no choice but to walk on eggshells and live in fear.?


    ?


    On the other hand, if Blue Fit were to get disbanded under the current circumstances, Blue Hole would make Chae Woo-Jin their common enemy. It might be a different story if they naturally disbanded in the future, it was imperative that Chae Woo-Jin must not be the cause behind their disbandment.?


    ?


    ¡°What if they make a comeback? To be honest, it¡¯s not like they don¡¯t have the talent. I think they might just keep a low profile for a few years and surface once they get a good song to perform.¡± All this while, Hyun-Min had been getting upset and enraged whenever he saw Blue Fit on TV. Now, he was starting to feel relieved, but leaving it to chance made him feel uneasy.?


    ?


    ¡°It would be hard for them to do that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Your CEO said that he would prevent that from happening?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, my maternal grandfather¡­¡± One day, Woo-Jin had sat his mother down and came clean about everything that had happened to him. Witnessing his mother¡¯s pain before his eyes made Woo-Jin feel sorry, but at the same time, he also felt a sense of liberation. He felt guilty for putting his mother through such pain, but the sense of relief from knowing that there was someone else who felt more angry and sad for him made Woo-Jin feel rather liberated.?


    ?


    That day, Woo-Jin¡¯s mother called his maternal grandfather while crying. Her reason for calling him was similar to Woo-Jin¡¯s desire for his mother¡¯s help and understanding. Listening to his mother crying next to him already caused Woo-Jin to feel heartbroken, so it wasn¡¯t hard for him to guess how his grandfather must have felt while listening to his beloved daughter speak as she cried.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps it would be hard for them to continue staying in the entertainment industry in the future.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you feel sorry for them. You don¡¯t, right?¡± Hyun-Min looked at Woo-Jin¡¯s somewhat bitter expression and rolled his eyes. He even shuddered and said that Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t like that in the past and that it felt as though Woo-Jin was gradually reaching enlightenment.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a man of virtue? They are people who hit you for sticking up for me. However, I''m still an adult after all. There¡¯s no honor or dignity in getting help from others. I wonder when I will finally be able to stand tall and fight for myself.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is your maternal grandfather an outsider? And why do you have an agency in the first place? They said they would take care of matters like this for you.¡± Hyun-Min grabbed an untouched can of coffee and lifted the tab. Since they were sitting on a bench in the park during late December, the hot canned coffee had already cooled down. When Hyun-Min shook the can and asked Woo-Jin if he wanted to drink it, the latter shook his head.?


    ?


    ¡°Speaking of the agency, why did their faces look as though they were glowing when they were apologizing? They read the apology letter without any hint of emotions just like a robot. They didn¡¯t look like they were trying to apologize; it seemed like they were grumbling after being dragged out. Did TM not teach them proper etiquette before the press conference?¡±?


    ?


    Even though they were decked in black suits, their makeup wasn¡¯t as toned down as most celebrities¡¯ when they did such interviews. Usually, their faces would be darkened with the help of makeup, and there would be dark circles beneath their eyes to show how depressed and distressed they were. But that was not the case for Blue Fit. Their makeup artist didn¡¯t even redden the rims of their eyes so that it looked like they were on the verge of tears. Instead, they appeared with a light-toned base and complementary colors on their faces.?


    ?


    Min Si-Hoo curtly read the apology on behalf of the group in an emotionless voice before leaving. Even though Min Si-Hoo wasn¡¯t sincere, he didn¡¯t even try to look like he was going to cry or tear up to put on an act for the public. On the contrary, Min Si-Hoo had a mean look in his eyes, and it was obvious that he was trying hard to hold back his anger, making people wonder what kind of apology he was trying to give.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Jang told them to do that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is CEO Jang the mediator behind the scenes? What else did he instruct them to do?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Both the CEO and I don¡¯t believe that they are being sincere just because they apologized. However, there will be many people who only look at things at face value.¡±?


    ?


    Regardless of the truth, the people who liked Blue Fit would believe them if they had acted sincerely. Had he sincerely apologized, they would likely forgive everything he had done and support him in hopes that he would quickly recover from this setback. Thus, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan gave detailed instructions to TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, with regards to the clothes that Blue Fit would wear, as well as their makeup. That was the reason behind their look when they stepped forward to apologize. Furthermore, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan warned them that if Min Si-Hoo were to shed any tears or make any facial expressions that suggested he was remorseful, he would not consider it as an apology.?


    ?


    ¡°Those people did as CEO Jang instructed?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We have video evidence. CEO Jang threatened to spread it and sue them for assault if they didn¡¯t do as instructed.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to release the video?¡±?


    ?


    Hyun-Min was rather bewildered; he had expected them to release it unconditionally. He looked at Woo-Jin with a look on his face that seemed to say ¡®You have something so powerful in your hands, I don¡¯t understand why you won¡¯t use it.''?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled and responded, ¡°Right now, people just have an image of me getting bullied. If they watched the video, they would be able to see everything explicitly, so the images would be engraved in their minds. People might question if I acted like a loser and deliberately got hit in order to capture it on camera. The image of a victim is also not good for an actor. It would also be a disadvantage if I want to take on the role of a strong character in the future. Also, I don¡¯t want my parents to see me getting beaten up.¡±?


    ?


    Fortunately, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan shared the same opinion as Woo-Jin to not release the video. Woo-Jin had nothing to gain as an actor by showing such an explicit scene. Instead, he would let the public guess and leave it up to their imagination. Even though Chae Woo-Jin was now a victim, many people thought that he was able to overpower his bullies with force because of the action scenes in his drama. The scene in City of Shadows where he escaped by leaping across buildings was particularly helpful in this instance. It didn¡¯t matter if Chae Woo-Jin had been a victim back then, people had already seen how strong he was when he jumped off the building without any fear.?


    ?


    Hence, releasing the video would not do Actor Chae Woo-Jin any good. Nonetheless, it was a great weapon to use against Blue Fit. If they hoped to recover from this incident and make a comeback in the future, they had to do whatever it took and follow all of CEO Jang¡¯s instructions in order to prevent this video from being circulated. Blue Fit also had to stop the circulation of the stories about the feud that happened after Min Si-Hoo lost the position as the main vocalist to Chae Woo-Jin. There was also the story of how the other members participated in the bullying because they found it hard to oppose their senior Min SI-Hoo because of his family background. In order to do all of that, Min Si-Hoo had to read the apology written by CEO Jang Soo-Hwan as it is.?


    ?


    It must have been hard for Blue Fit to follow CEO Jang¡¯s instructions to not show a shred of remorse during the apology. Even though they weren¡¯t truly sorry, they had no choice but to tense up their eyes and lips to hold back their angry tears. Naturally, they showed absolutely zero sincerity in their apology, causing the viewers to frown. Since there wasn¡¯t a genuine reconciliation or forgiveness, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had gotten what he wanted - the assailants would remain as assailants forever.

 CH 95

    ¡°What I learned this time around is that the ones who get sacrificed are always the most powerless people.¡±?


    ?


    In this incident, Blue Fit members got criticized the most, and they also suffered the most damage out of everyone. They wouldn¡¯t be able to make a comeback in the future, and if one were to also take their bleak future into account, it would be hard to put a number to the total damage.?


    ?


    Seol Moon-Young¡¯s fall from grace had tarnished the entire career he had built so far, but his interview had subconsciously evoked sympathy from the public. After hearing Chae Woo-Jin sing ¡®Shining Star,¡¯ they were able to understand his agony that resulted from dissatisfaction with Min Si-Hoo. If it weren¡¯t for Min Si-Hoo¡¯s greed, the album would have been released as planned. Thus, quite a number of people shared the sentiment that Seol Moon-Young was also a victim in some way or another.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what Seol Moon-Young had received from CEO Kim Seok-Hyung in exchange for becoming the scapegoat. One thing was certain was that he never would have taken the blame readily without considerable compensation. Thus, he wouldn¡¯t have made a significant loss. And even though CEO Kim Seok-Hyung might have incurred financial losses, scandals like that had always been rampant in the entertainment industry. Regardless of what happened, he always weathered the storm and emerged victorious.?


    ?


    TM was still flourishing, and Kim Seok-Hyung was still the head of the agency. Even though Kim Seok-Hyung and Seol Moon-Young had made some losses, they ultimately survived by sacrificing the most powerless and insignificant people.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, it isn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t do anything and just put up with everything like you did,¡± Hyun-Min said.?


    ?


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t feel guilty. It¡¯s just that reality hit me once again.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How do you beat the final boss in a game?¡± Hyun-Min sipped his coffee and placed his arm on the back of the bench before looking at Woo-Jin and continuing. ¡°If my level is low, I¡¯d form a party with several other people and fight it. However, you have to fight several monsters before you get to the boss, and it gets annoying at times. Initially, you¡¯ll take a huge amount of damage from these monsters, even though it¡¯s just a single hit. However, once you face them a couple of times, you¡¯ll get the hang of it and be able to defeat them easily. Then, one by one, after killing the monsters around, you¡¯ll be left with the final boss. Like now.¡±?


    ?


    As a noob, one would have no choice but to seek help from higher-level individuals. Still, after gradually accumulating experience points and leveling up, they would be able to defeat the final boss all by themselves one day. Hyun-Min explained that ultimately, this was all just a process Woo-Jin had to go through to defeat the final boss.?


    ?


    ¡°If only reality were like a game. But TM''s CEO Kim doesn¡¯t seem like the final boss¡­.¡± Woo-Jin had perhaps met several great and outstanding people in his past lives, so TM''s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung didn¡¯t seem that great in comparison now.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, think of him as a high-level monster you need to defeat to get to the final boss.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you cursing me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why people work so hard to build their skill sets in real life, just like they do in games? On that note, when did you learn how to sing traditional Korean ballads?¡± Since Hyun-Min brought it up so casually, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t understand what he meant initially, but he gradually started blushing and awkwardly shook his head.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I didn¡¯t sing any traditional ballads.¡± Even though Woo-Jin denied it, Hyun-Min paid no attention and continued asking.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t get to see that bastard Min Si-Hoo remove his mask before your eyes? What a pity! You could have seen him turn pale, stuttering in front of you, unable to answer the questions. What a pity!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Hyun-Min smiled brightly at Woo-Jin; the latter was still feigning ignorance.?


    ?


    ¡°If I were to hide in the crowd, covering my face with a hat and a scarf, with my back facing you, wouldn¡¯t you still be able to recognize me?¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Hyun-Min¡¯s question, Woo-Jin earnestly imagined the hypothetical situation. No, he didn¡¯t have to imagine; when something similar happened in the past, Woo-Jin recognized his friend¡¯s back view at a glance and approached him. However, Woo-Jin shook his head and continued feigning ignorance.?


    ?


    ¡°Hey!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much from me.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin grabbed his bag and stood up, Hyun-Min was speechless as he pointed a finger at him. He could recognize his friend at a glance, so how could Woo-Jin say such a thing??


    ?


    ¡°Where are you going? Hey, Doryeong!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Be quiet!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it wasn¡¯t you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Did I say it wasn¡¯t me?!¡±?


    ?


    In the end, Woo-Jin meekly admitted the truth, and Hyun-Min placed an arm around his shoulder before asking about that day once again. ¡°You really didn¡¯t see that bastard¡¯s face?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. I saw it on TV as well.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Be honest with me ¨C it was gratifying, right?¡±?


    ?


    On the day of recording, he had simply been in a daze and didn¡¯t have any thoughts in his mind. All he saw was himself being crowned The Masked King with 96 votes in his favor and went home without being aware of what had happened afterward. He finally found out what happened following his departure from the stage only after watching the episode on TV yesterday. Min Si-Hoo had only won three votes; he couldn¡¯t say anything even after he took off his mask.?


    ?


    The flustered and puzzled look on his face was so obvious that it made the viewers feel embarrassed on his behalf. Standing next to him, Gam Sung-Joo kept talking to him and tried his best to lighten the mood, but to no avail. Even the interview that happened after a contestant got ousted was nonexistent. Min Si-Hoo looked very dejected, unlike his usual lively and confident self.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee was so happy seeing him like that ¨C she laughed out loud in delight, rolling on the floor in the living room. Even though her mother hit her on the back for her unbridled behavior, she kept smiling brightly. Despite lecturing Woo-Hee, their mother was also smiling as brightly as her.?


    ?


    ¡°I was happy.¡±?


    ?


    Rather than feeling gratified for defeating Min Si-Hoo, it made Woo-Jin happier to see his family having a great time. However, seeing them so happy over something like that also made him feel sorry towards them. He wondered if it was childish or distasteful of him to go on The King of the Masked Singers to defeat Min Si-Hoo, but he no longer had to worry about that.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    After TM''s official press conference on Monday, the staff members at the set of the commercial were cautious around Chae Woo-Jin. Most of them were worried about him having a hard time from feeling stressed over what happened the day before. The sensitive nature of actors was helpful when it came to acting, but it made it difficult for other people to work with them.?


    ?


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    However, Chae Woo-Jin arrived on set seemingly cheerful, as if nothing had happened. He bowed and greeted every staff member he saw and approached the director of the commercial.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you feeling okay today?¡± The director in his mid-thirties looked at Woo-Jin and asked cautiously. He got very heated watching TM''s press conference yesterday. He questioned why of all days they held the press conference a day before the shooting of the commercial and angrily thought up all kinds of ideas in his head.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course. It happened a long time ago. There¡¯s nothing to be upset about now. They¡¯re the ones having a much harder time than me right now.¡± It might be hard for people bogged down by the past, but as a person who had deliberately induced this series of events, it wasn¡¯t hard for him. However, others misinterpreted his words and sang praises of him.?


    ?


    ¡°You were too kind. That''s why they treated you like that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he like a saint?¡±?


    ?


    The advertising industry was the most sensitive to the trends and popularity of celebrities in the entertainment industry. Chae Woo-Jin was the best blue-chip[1] in the entertainment industry these days. It wasn¡¯t certain whether the individual at the center of the legend that made a movie and drama, which everybody had deemed to fail, but became successful, would have the same effect in advertising. However, nobody could imitate his unique aura. Having the company logo next to his face alone was meaningful enough.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had to take two videos today. He got his makeup done and changed into a different set of clothes for the first commercial. His prop was a sword. His clothes and makeup were inspired by the fashion style of a high-level executive. He would be wearing a fancy sword on his back that looked like it came out of a fantasy movie. The black suit fitted his body perfectly, and his hair was combed back neatly. He looked like an executive who had to attend a meeting. Woo-Jin also had a 120-centimeter Bastard Sword in his hand.?


    ?


    ¡°The purpose of this commercial is to advertise the company¡¯s image - ¡®We are number one!¡¯ We¡¯ll be shooting it based on the concept that our competitors are no match for us, so beat us if you can! We¡¯re planning to shoot it using an aggressive marketing strategy and shake everything up.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken a look at the scenario for the commercial. But if we don¡¯t do it right, wouldn¡¯t it look like a game commercial?¡± Woo-Jin would take the throne by defeating and eliminating robots based on the scenario. But due to the props and storyline, it was easy for people to misunderstand it as a game commercial.?


    ?


    ¡°The era of using phones to make only phone calls is over. Our commercial suggests that our network speed is so fast that it''s conducive for gaming.¡± The head of advertising from the marketing department was a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was filled with youthful passion.?


    ?


    ¡°In the beginning, the supreme being looks bored, but gradually, he becomes more and more excited, as he eliminates the enemies one by one. Finally, as mentioned in the scenario, before he ascends the throne, he takes a step back and smiles arrogantly, with a condescending look on his face as though he was saying, ¡®These insignificant beings!¡¯¡±?


    ?


    The head of advertising personally posed for Woo-Jin with the desired expression; his eyes gleamed as he looked at Woo-Jin. It seemed as though he was telling Woo-Jin to mimic him, so Woo-Jin stopped moving and mimicked his facial expression. Woo-Jin was somewhat confident he could pull off the arrogant look of a supreme being. However, as soon as Woo-Jin made the facial expression, the head of advertising¡¯s gleaming eyes started trembling violently as he froze.?


    ?


    ¡°This isn¡¯t it?¡± As soon as Woo-Jin felt something was off, he smiled awkwardly and scratched behind his ears.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡­that¡¯s scary. We can¡¯t air such an expression.¡± He shook his head and proceeded to say it looked as though Woo-Jin was really going to kill someone, so it would be rejected.?


    ?


    ¡°I must admit that it looked so real. It was so scary that I might have nightmares. Can you do something else? Like a charming and seductive smile!¡± At first, he wanted him to have the arrogant look of a supreme being, but now he wanted Woo-Jin to seduce the viewers. Woo-Jin could barely hold back his laughter upon hearing his suggestion. Even though they had a lot of images in mind, in the end, the commercial only aimed at doing one thing ¨C attracting customers.?


    ?


    The viewers might feel submissive and fearful when they saw Woo-Jin¡¯s arrogant, supreme-being look, but they wouldn¡¯t have a good impression. That definitely wasn¡¯t what the company wanted. So regardless of the storyline, the commercial had to unconditionally evoke positive emotions from the viewers.?


    ?


    Ultimately, the company was asking him to portray the image in a plausible way. The most important thing was that the commercial had to give the viewers the confidence that the company¡¯s products and services were reliable and useful. Even if that wasn¡¯t the case, they had to appear sincere enough to make their products and services look sufficiently attractive to elicit the desire to own them. This was the reason why commercials couldn¡¯t be trusted.?


    ?


    ¡°The CGI for the background has already been created, so please take a look at it.¡±?


    ?


    In the first shoot, Woo-Jin had to act by himself in front of the green screen. There were many fantasy elements and content in the background, so they planned to use CGI for everything apart from Woo-Jin himself and a few props. However, as the shooting of the commercial kept getting postponed, they had completed the CGI background in advance.?


    ?


    The dim city streets were very glamorous. A tall, futuristic-looking yet unrealistic building stood at the end of the street. Upon entering the building, robots appeared and started attacking the empty space. Before long, they broke into pieces and shattered. Thereafter, the broken robots transformed into new ones. The fragments created in that process produced a fancy mise-en-sc¨¨ne. And the scene ended as they slowly approached the throne at the end of a grand door.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin watched the video over and over again. He checked the time for each take, and he carefully reviewed the movement and direction of the robots¡¯ attack, engraving them in his head. He calculated the movement path and actions to gauge the next move. He would be making revisions later on as he worked on synchronizing his actions with the video, but when it came to saving time and effort, it all depended on how good Woo-Jin was. More importantly, he didn¡¯t want to look stupid in front of other people by not knowing where to look or getting the directions wrong.?


    ?


    1. It¡¯s a stock market reference; it refers to an established, stable, and well-recognized corporation. ?

 CH 96

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to memorize and calculate everything. You just have to memorize the scenes by takes, and we¡¯ll guide you every time,¡± the advertising manager said to Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled briefly while glancing at the advertising manager, who told him that it would be easy as long as he followed directions. He found it funny that the manager talked about it so easily when he would be the one acting it out.?


    ?


    After doing some simple calculations, Woo-Jin turned off the video and looked closely at the sword that he¡¯d been holding the entire time so he could get used to it. It was heavier than he thought and needed more time to get used to it. The blade was light, but the sword''s balance wasn''t right because the handle was heavy from all the fancy decorations, so he needed more time to get used to it. Still, the decoration on the handle wasn¡¯t pointless as it represented the telecommunications company¡¯s logo. When he held the sword upright and looked at the overall design, it was an amazing commercial item.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin walked in front of the green screen, calculated the movement and time for each take, and considered the springboard that was painted green and the location of the mini stairs. During all of this, he was still holding onto the sword.?


    ?


    ¡°You have to draw the sword while carrying it on your back, so it probably won¡¯t be easy. If you can¡¯t do it after practicing a few times, it¡¯ll be better if we just took out the sword completely from the start and have you appear without it.¡± When the martial arts director said that after walking up to Woo-Jin, the advertising manager standing next to him nodded as if they agreed.?


    ?


    ¡°Drawing the sword is important, but this is the highlight.¡±?


    ?


    The storyboard contained a scene where the model killed a robot by drawing the sword. It looked very cool and stylish in martial arts novels and cartoons. The advertisement manager could only smack his lips in disappointment when considering the possibility that the scenario might not get played out. However, Woo-Jin knew that drawing a 120-centimeter sword that rested on his back was naturally a difficult task, and it wasn¡¯t something he could do just because he was pressured.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin glanced at the two people still discussing the sword draw and started swinging the sword in his hand. Once he got used to the sword, he naturally sheathed it into the scabbard on his back. When it made a clear ¡®click¡¯ sound, the two people who had been talking looked back at Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Just like his nickname, he fulfilled their wish when their eyes met. When he naturally drew the sword and began sword dancing, the advertising manager¡¯s face brightened up, and the martial arts director looked as if Woo-Jin met his expectations.?


    ?


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, I came to know you after hearing a lot of things about you, but you¡¯re good at swords too! I guess you learned how to use it before.¡±?


    ?


    Rumors about Chae Woo-Jin had widely spread among the martial arts directors. From Death Hill to City of Shadows, the director had heard many stories from the people who worked with Woo-Jin. Even among the action stars, their opinion about Chae Woo-Jin was so good that they didn¡¯t feel pressured working with him. So when he showed how skilled he was with the sword, the martial arts director released a sigh of relief and was happy.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin had to learn the actions and movements required in every take from the martial arts director, the act itself wasn¡¯t difficult. The important parts for this shoot were the precise timing and knowing where exactly to look. Before officially starting the shoot, they first took the still cuts that would be used in posters and life-size cutouts. Woo-Jin did many different poses like holding the sword in his hand or arrogantly holding the sword in one hand like a cane, etc.?


    ?


    After finishing the still cuts, they continued the shoot in front of the green screen. Woo-Jin was required to do everything by himself in an empty space, so he focused all of his senses.?


    ?


    ¡°Take one, ready, action!¡±?


    ?


    Take one was a scene that was seven seconds long. A man looked forward as he walked proudly and confidently through a complicated yet glamorous city. But then, he looked up to the sky when he heard a sound. His eyes stared at a white bird flying through the gray sky.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin was mentally drawing the CG scenes that he had seen earlier, he didn¡¯t forget to count the time in his head. Before starting the shoot, he had counted the numbers and matched the time as per his calculations. It didn¡¯t have to be perfect since it was simply a basis for an estimate, so his acting didn¡¯t have any hesitation.?


    ?


    When he arrived in the front of the building, which was his destination, the bird circled around him and flew far away. After turning his attention away from the bird flying away, Woo-Jin walked into the building, and according to the CG video, as soon as he entered, the robots would approach to attack him.?


    ?


    ¡®First, I¡¯ll attack the one on the top, right side, and then after penetrating the robot¡¯s chest that¡¯s on the left side¡­.¡¯?


    ?


    The first robot held up its sword and attacked from the top, and at that moment, Woo-Jin performed the blade dance and cut the robot¡¯s waist. A couple of fragments started flying, and another robot used its fist and attacked Woo-Jin¡¯s chest. He grabbed the robot¡¯s wrist with his left hand and twisted it before kicking the robot and making it fall. After stepping on the fallen robot, he jumped into the air, grabbed the sword with both hands, and struck it straight down, causing the robot¡¯s body to shatter as it was split in half.?


    ?


    The broken parts flew all over the place like dust. Soon, they connected, and it started changing into birds. The four birds created from the robot¡¯s broken parts circled above Woo-Jin¡¯s head and attacked him simultaneously. Within that short time, Woo-Jin thought it wouldn¡¯t look cool if he simply just struck them while swinging his sword like the martial arts director told him to do.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin knew that once the scene was corrected using CG, even the boring actions could be made to look stylish and cool, but the actions shown on the storyboard were generic actions that often appeared in other game commercials. There were too many cliches for a commercial meant to be number one without an equal.?


    ?


    After grabbing the sword¡¯s handle and swinging it a few times, Woo-Jin remembered a double-edged sword technique used when fighting against enemies that were attacking all at once. He moved quickly. Rather than an attack, it was more of a sword technique, but he didn¡¯t nitpick its use, as no one present would question his use of double-edged sword skill. He didn¡¯t have the experience to reenact it precisely but was able to at least imitate it.?


    ?


    Out of the robot birds attacking from the four directions, he pierced the bird he was supposed to kill first. Then, he swung his sword again after turning it and crossing over, making the pattern look like the infinity symbol. He moved his body in a flashy movement as he swung his sword. It was an attack meant to lower his enemies¡¯ concentration. If he was fighting an actual person, it was a move that would cause his opponent to lose their spirit and throw them off guard. The attack wasn¡¯t practical and was used for its stylish moves and that was the biggest reason why Woo-Jin chose it.?


    ?


    As the shattered robot birds broke in the air, they flew like the snow, and with Woo-Jin in the center, he displayed an evil smirk and became an arrogant, absolute being.?


    ?


    After catching his breath for a little bit, Woo-Jin raised his hand and asked the director to say cut.?


    ?


    ¡°Cut!¡±?


    ?


    When the director quickly gave the cut signal, the staff ran towards him. Woo-Jin took the towel handed to him and took a breather while wiping the sweat from his forehead. Since there were a lot of physical movements, he had consumed a lot of energy and was slightly out of breath.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit tired because it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve done intense actions. How was my adlib earlier?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin asked the director about the action that wasn¡¯t on the storyboard, the director gave the okay sign. Who wouldn¡¯t like it? They couldn¡¯t request more from the actors because the actors wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up, not because they didn¡¯t want to include it in the storyboard.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin pushed back the hair from his forehead that came down while drinking water and then stopped his action midway. His tidy hairstyle had become messy now.?


    ?


    ¡°Should I redo my hair?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, your current hairstyle is fine since it¡¯s flowing down naturally. Your hair became loose while you were swinging the sword around and the way it was flying naturally looked very stylish.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing the visual director¡¯s explanation, Woo-Jin stopped touching his hair. Thankfully, he had stopped right before brushing his hair with his fingers, and he released a sigh of relief. When his breathing became somewhat calm, he got his makeup fixed, and after looking at the style, the shoot resumed.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin approached the grand and glamorous doors, they opened automatically and he followed the path to a throne at the end. Holding his sword with his right hand, Woo-Jin sheathed it with a clean motion into the scabbard on his back. He approached the throne, then turned to look at the camera. His narrowed, arrogant eyes slowly curved, and a charming smile appeared on his face. The way he raised his chin a bit and looked as if he was looking down resembled the gaze of an absolute being that was looking down at the world. With a face full of superiority and confidence that no one could follow, he looked down at the world; however, he wasn¡¯t a cruel or cold-hearted king. The mercy that he showed in an instant was enough to bewitch people, and they had no choice but to fall for it, and just like that, he used his cold charisma and beautiful smile to seduce the world.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin then turned around without hesitation and walked towards the throne, and the camera filmed his back. The scene originally ended there, but he saw the mini stairs that were removed from the green screen. The stairs were used in an earlier scene where he had to walk on a staircase, and it was now moved to the side. The height of the stairs happened to be similar to the throne, so Woo-Jin walked up to it and sat on top of the stairs as if he was sitting on a chair.?


    ?


    The throne in the CG video had an armrest, and in the area where he believed the armrest was going to be, he pretended to place his elbow on it and then supported his chin with his left hand.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled as if it was signaling that the arrogant absolute being¡¯s reign was starting now.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was tired after studying at the library, so after gathering his hat, mask, and scarf, which were now necessities, he exited the lounge.?


    ?


    Even though it was winter, people would look at him strangely if he wore a mask and scarf inside the library where the heater was on. Fortunately, it was peak flu season, so even with the slightest cough, people willingly stayed away, and thanks to that, no one recognized him so far.?


    ?


    More than that, Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t the only person wearing a mask, so it was even more liberating. He realized he was thinking like a celebrity when he started worrying about what to do once winter passed.?


    ?


    Rubbing his eyes under his glasses with a finger, Woo-Jin sat in a corner of the lounge. It was a bit loud, but even with the music playing inside the lounge shop, this much noise was white noise to him.?


    ?


    The long chairs with backrests were arranged in a back-to-back seating in a row. So even if Woo-Jin sat in the corner, the seats in front and next to him were already filled. Woo-Jin lowered his head as much as possible and pulled his hat down.?


    ?


    Just then, Hong Kwang-Ho¡¯s ¡®Walk on Aimlessly¡¯ sung by Hanryang Doryeong, who had already won twice, was playing through the lounge speakers. A group was sitting in front of Woo-Jin, and one of them suddenly lifted their head.?


    ?


    ¡°Hey, be quiet!¡±?


    ?


    As soon as she heard the song, she interrupted her friends in their conversation and placed a finger on her lips, telling them to quieten down. When the song ended, the girl released a light sigh and wriggled her body with satisfaction, and when Woo-Jin looked at her, he nervously curled forward.?


    ?


    ¡°This is a really good song! How can his high notes be so clear?¡±?


    ?


    Hanryang Doryeong had sung the song in a much higher tone than the original song, and because his voice was powerful and clear, the listeners didn¡¯t feel distressed even when they heard his high notes, and instead, it helped them feel relieved. It was impossible to know what his limits were as he sang both high and low notes freely and captured the hearts of his listeners. Some reviews even suggested that the scariest thing about him was that he didn¡¯t let go of the hearts he captured until the song¡¯s end.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m Choi Hee-Jung¡¯s fan, so I¡¯ve been looking forward to the day she makes a comeback, but I didn¡¯t think she was going to fail like this. Also, I¡¯m not lying when I say this, but when I listen to Choi Hee-Jung¡¯s song and then listen to Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s, I definitely feel a difference in their skills. Even though I¡¯m her fan, I started realizing that I couldn¡¯t deny the truth.¡±?


    ?


    In yesterday¡¯s episode of The King of the Masked Singers, Hanryang Doryeong beat Choi Hee-Jung, who was known to be the queen of the ballad, and won twice. Choi Hee-Jung expected to have power for a long time by appearing in The King of the Masked Singers, but it was absurd how she failed to meet expectations. Although her fans felt really disappointed, there was a clear difference in their skills, to the point that she couldn¡¯t deny the results so it couldn¡¯t be helped.?


    ?


    ¡°It was fascinating how Hanryang Doryeong managed to guess all the people who appeared on the show. Do you think the staff told him ahead of time?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin heard her, he almost shook his head unintentionally.

 CH 97

    In the beginning, Gam Sung-Joo had asked Woo-Jin to make some guesses without much thought. But Woo-Jin kept guessing every single one of them correctly, so Gam Sung-Joo handed Woo-Jin a sketchbook and told him to write down his guesses in there. Every time a face was revealed, he would match it against Woo-Jin¡¯s answer.?


    ?


    ¡°No way! You have such a good sense of pitch.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin won by such a huge margin that nobody questioned Choi Hee-Jung¡¯s defeat. As such, the curiosity surrounding Hanryang Doryeong grew even more. There were many speculations about who he could be, but nobody was sure about who Hanryang Doryeong was.?


    ?


    ¡°He sounded really good, but wasn¡¯t his buchaechum[1] so dreamy? On top of that, can you believe that he was the one who personally drew the plum blossoms on the fan? He can sing, dance, and draw! If he takes off his mask and turns out to be a handsome man, I¡¯d find it unfair even though I¡¯m a woman.¡± As Sung-Joo remarked, ¡®Isn¡¯t he so perfect?¡¯ envy and wistfulness flashed across her face.?


    ?


    While Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s second victory on The King of the Masked Singers yesterday was important, there were plenty of other things to talk about. Firstly, a wide sash tied around his dark green robe amplified Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s slender figure which made him stand out even more compared to the previous hanbok he wore. The beautiful outlines of the hanbok could be clearly seen, and Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s movements became sharper, making him look very elegant.?


    ?


    When Hanryang Doryeong danced with the fan which he always carried with him at the request of the judges and audience, his dance was brimming with such precision and energy that it seems as though they were watching a military dance. When he opened up the fan and revealed the plum blossoms painted on it, it created the illusion of them swaying in the wind. When Gam Sung-Joo asked where he had gotten the fan from, Hanryang Doryeong answered by saying that he drew the plum blossoms personally. After that, Gam Sung-Joo took the fan and showed it to the audience; it was by no means a poorly done painting.?


    ?


    ¡°Who exactly is he? Once I find out who he is, I¡¯ll become his fan right away.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Chae Woo-Jin is the best 2 days ago?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course, Chae Woo-Jin is the best! I get so mesmerized every time I see his commercial. Recently, I¡¯ve been seriously thinking about joining his Fancafe.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin became so nervous at the sudden mention of his name that he couldn¡¯t even budge. Judging from the ambience, it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to get cursed at or insulted like the previous time, but his heart was pounding hard because he was nervous.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, that telecommunications company¡¯s commercial? When I first saw it, I was stunned. But when I came to my senses, I wondered what kind of commercial was it. I thought it was a commercial for a game and went to look it up, but it turned out to be a commercial for a telecommunications company. I was taken by surprise and thought it was a little too dramatic, but it was still pretty cool though.¡± She added that watching the commercial made her believe that if she switched over to that carrier, she would be able to play mobile games with high internet speeds.?


    ?


    ¡°After he killed the birds with his swords, he turned around at the end and smiled before walking to the throne proudly and sitting down. When I saw that, I automatically cried ¡®Your Majesty!¡¯ The commercial was so well-made and it was absolutely sensational. When I saw the life-size cardboard cutout of Chae Woo-Jin in my neighborhood, I stood next to it and took a photo. But what¡¯s funny is that when I passed by the area yesterday, there were other people standing in line waiting to take photos with it.¡±?


    ?


    This time around, the life-size cardboard cutout of Chae Woo-Jin was particularly realistic because it had the exact same measurements as the real deal. When people stood next to it, it was like taking a photo with Woo-Jin himself. Her friend next to her had been quietly listening to her story.?


    ?


    As soon as the girl remarked that everybody had the same mindset and laughed, her friend laughed awkwardly and said, ¡°Somebody stole the cardboard cutout from the branch in our neighborhood¡­¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s hilarious!¡± After hearing the absurd story, Woo-Jin almost nodded in agreement. He wondered what was the point of taking that huge cumbersome thing home. Even Woo-Jin himself had rejected their offer by saying that he didn¡¯t need a life-size cardboard cutout of himself, so he found it hard to understand why anybody would want it.?


    ?


    ¡°Who wouldn''t want to steal it? Sure, it would be embarrassing to be caught, but that''s not why I''m holding myself back. It''s because I want as many people as possible to see it. The person who did it isn¡¯t his fan.¡± The arguments Woo-Jin heard were different from his thoughts, so he felt bewildered.?


    ?


    ¡°I was also a little tempted and examined it. The cutout was attached to a heavy iron pole so it¡¯s hard for anybody to just grab it and go. How did they do it? I acknowledge their passion.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, the life-size cardboard cutout this time around looked really good. The cutout of Woo-Jin wore a carefree smile on his face while holding a sword in one hand. It looked like something straight out of a manhwa[2]. It¡¯s evident that the people behind the commercial are very familiar with the idea of capitalizing on fandoms. They got it down pat. It¡¯s a crime, but I think it¡¯s worth taking the risk!¡±?


    ?


    There were also rumors about how a bunch of obnoxious people went to different branches of the telecommunications company to demand for Woo-Jin¡¯s poster. A possible reason behind this phenomenon was that outside of his filming, Chae Woo-Jin rarely did interviews or photo shoots. It was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time hearing that his Biltman¡¯s photos were no longer available and that people have been complaining that they were charged a high premium for them.?


    ?


    ¡°I heard that he shot two videos for the commercial. Why did they only release one! It¡¯s making me dizzy.¡± Even though it was a one-off commercial, the publicity material had stated clearly that Chae Woo-Jin had shot two different footage for the commercial.?


    ?


    ¡°The public¡¯s response was better than expected, so it seems like they¡¯re trying to make more money off of the first video before releasing the other one. Judging from the CGI of the commercial alone, it must have cost a lot to produce, so they need to make more money.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°When I watched the behind-the-scenes video, what¡¯s truly amazing about Chae Woo-Jin was that he improvised on the spot and came up with the sword technique to kill the birds. My younger brother practices kendo and he has been doing it every day. He said that it was a very difficult technique. Can you believe a person like him was abused by Blue Fit?¡±?


    ?


    At some point, the behind-the-scenes video of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s action shoot became a hot topic amongst the public. Woo-Jin was famous for not using a stunt double, the reason being his extraordinary movements. People could tell that he had great control over his body and his actions were well-connected and looked very natural. They were simply remarkable. Woo-Jin executed moves that could only be seen in Taekwondo demonstration videos. He made his turning kick and the way he rotated his body midair seem so easy, so there were instances where people hurt themselves trying to mimic Woo-Jin¡¯s moves.?


    ?


    It was the same in this commercial; the public was full of admiration after watching how Woo-Jin spun in midair after jumping off the springboard and how freely he wielded the sword, like a true warrior. If Blue Fit had not personally admitted to their acts of violence against Chae Woo-Jin, people would have dismissed it as an absurd rumor. Chae Woo-Jin looked like he had the strength and ability to protect himself. He had an image of a strong person.?


    ?


    ¡°He must have endured it. Min Si-Hoo was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He would probably stir up trouble if anybody were to mess with him.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I was speechless after hearing about Lee Min-Soo. I heard that he drove a deep wedge between Woo-Jin and the other blue fit members. That was how he managed to replace Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    Even though it had been two weeks after the press conference, people were still talking about Chae Woo-Jin and Blue Fit¡¯s bad relationship. The topic did not die down easily because both parties are famous and popular.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans must be very upset. It must have come as a huge shock to them.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Me, I¡¯m one of them!¡±?


    ?


    The girl who said that Chae Woo-Jin was the best was visibly upset as she pointed at herself with both hands. Even though Woo-Jin smiled slightly after hearing that, he started to feel bitter and had a hard time controlling his emotions. When Woo-Jin asked Kang Ho-Soo how his fans reacted to the news, Kang Ho-Soo told Woo-Jin not to worry because they didn¡¯t feel hurt ¨C they were just shocked. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant, but when Woo-Jin said that he wanted to take a look at Wish Baragi, Kang Ho-Soo turned pale and stopped him.?


    ?


    ¡°You''re rather agitated right now, so it¡¯s better for you if you don¡¯t read it for the sake of your mental health.¡± Kang Ho-Soo suggested to Woo-Jin some interesting posts to read, such as the ones that gave a logical breakdown on why Chae Woo-Jin was Hanryang Doryeong. Kang Ho-Soo thought it would have been too obvious if he had stopped Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt so ashamed of himself so he made up his mind that he would definitely do fan service[3] for his fans.?


    ?


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they releasing ¡®Shining Star¡¯? Didn¡¯t they clearly state that they would release Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s version for free?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°They said they would release it after March.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Chae Woo-Jin donated all the compensation money from TM. I wonder if they pushed back the release because it was embarrassing to release it right away under the current circumstances. In any case, they didn¡¯t give us the reason and said that they¡¯d know after March.¡±?


    ?


    The actual reason was that people could easily guess that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin if they were to release ¡®Shining Star¡¯. When CEO Jang secretly sounded them out, he found out that TM had already known that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin. Seol Moon-Young knew Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s singing style better than anyone else in TM. With Hanryang Doryeong singing to his heart¡¯s desire using his actual voice, it was easy for Seol Moon-Young to guess his real identity. Perhaps, it would also be easy for people with good hearing to figure out who Hanryang Doryeong was after listening to Woo-Jin¡¯s version of ¡®Shining Star¡¯.?


    ?


    Thus, if they were to release ¡®Shining Star¡¯ now, it would be akin to advertising that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had taken an interest in watching the mystery surrounding Hanryang Doryeong develop, as well as the public¡¯s reaction while they tried to guess who he was. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan actively prevented TM from releasing ¡®Shining Star¡¯.?


    ?


    ¡°Right! I heard that Chae Woo-Jin had also shot a commercial for ¡®Gaon¡¯ this time around.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Gaon? What¡¯s that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You said you¡¯re his fan yet you don¡¯t even know what that is? It¡¯s a newly launched brand by Brisingamen. Chae Woo-Jin became their exclusive model.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve been busy studying these days so I haven¡¯t had time to surf the internet. Speaking of Brisingamen, most of the items in my wishlist are their products. Their products are so expensive.¡± The self-proclaimed fan of Chae Woo-Jin became crestfallen and looked like she was about to cry. If she could, she would buy all the products that Chae Woo-Jin modeled for, but Brisingamen was a brand that was beyond her financial capabilities.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a brand targeted at young people, but if it¡¯s by Brisingamen, it¡¯s most likely going to be expensive. Nevertheless, their jewelry is made of the highest quality and their designs are so beautiful.¡± The girls proceeded to say that it couldn¡¯t be helped that Brisingamen¡¯s jewelry was expensive because customers were ultimately paying for the design. Woo-Jin smiled happily to himself as he heard how the girls felt about the company and their products.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had overheard the conversation between their parents about wanting Woo-Jin to be the model of their newly launched brand, so she told Woo-Jin about it and that was how he ended up becoming a model for Gaon. He found out from his agency that Brisingamen had indeed been trying to recruit him as a model. CEO Jang said that Brisingamen¡¯s marketing department had actively pushed for Woo-Jin to be their model, but Choi Min-Woo told him to ignore them.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin thought that it was not a big deal and was amused by how his parents were fretting over it, so he accepted the proposal to be their model through the agency without informing them. His parents got a shock when they found out about it. They told Woo-Jin not to worry about it and tried to stop him, but Woo-Jin brazenly said that it¡¯s better for celebrities to land more commercials.?


    ?


    ¡°Ooh, Gaon released the still images a couple of hours ago.¡± One of the girls listened to the conversation between her friends and searched the internet to get some information. As soon as she informed them about her findings, they quickly began searching for ¡®Gaon¡¯ on the internet. In other words, ¡®Gaon¡¯ was already included in the real-time search engine, and it was easy for people to look for the still images of Chae Woo-Jin from Gaon¡¯s commercial.?


    ?


    It was a photo of Chae Woo-Jin hugging a woman from behind with her head turned, revealing only her cheek, ear, neck, and shoulders. Chae Woo-Jin looked straight ahead and placed his lips to the woman¡¯s ear with an earring on it; unlike him, her face could not be seen. Looking at the photo of him stroking the necklace with his hand that was wrapped around the woman¡¯s shoulder already gave off a very soft and sensual vibe.?


    ?


    As expected of an advertisement for a jewelry company, Chae Woo-Jin wore a ring on his ring and middle finger, and a watch on his wrist. They stood out as men¡¯s accessories and their modern designs were not overdone.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s too risque!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°This is what I call sexy. You¡¯re a beekeeper!! Honey is dripping from your eyes [4]. Can I make jewels with those eyes?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hey! I was just imagining it. More importantly, this necklace is very pretty. These small square pendants look like sapphires, right?¡± The necklace in the photo was designed by Woo-Jin¡¯s mother, Park Eun-Soo. He found out about it during the shoot when Ryu Na-Ye from the design team showed up to the set to provide some background information. Thus, when the girl complimented his mother¡¯s design, Woo-Jin felt as though he had been praised, so he smiled with pride.?


    ?


    1. Korean fan dance ??


    ?


    2. Korean term for comics and print cartoons ??


    ?


    3. Fan service or fanservice in Korea largely refers to artistes or idols reacting to their fans or acting around their co-band members in a manner that is affectionate or lovable to please their fans. In general, it refers to any acts that make their fans happy. ??


    ?


    4. ??? ?? ?? ?? ??? is a Korean phrase used to describe one''s eyes looking at someone else''s eyes lovingly or affectionately. ?

 CH 98

    The conversation came to a halt.?


    ?


    He was laughing internally but ended up laughing out loud, so the people around him suddenly stopped talking. They had assumed he was asleep the entire time and paid no attention to him, only to be startled for a second when they heard his laughter. After that, nobody spoke again because of suspicions that he had overheard their conversion while pretending to be asleep.?


    ?


    As the conversation came to an abrupt end and the surroundings became quiet, Woo-Jin eventually pretended to be asleep; he intentionally tossed and turned and snored softly. Thanks to his acting skills that were wasted in a place like this, the girls seated in their chairs soon let their guards down and started talking again.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m really not asking for much ¡ª I simply hope that I can live with Woo-Jin for just one day. I¡¯ll be happy for the rest of my life if I can have that one day with him.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°And it would be a nightmare for Chae Woo-Jin which he would try to forget for the rest of his life?¡±?


    ?


    After that, the group of friends exchanged some dirty jokes among themselves. Listening to their conversation made Woo-Jin writhe, and he was at a loss for what to do. While it was hard to put up with insults, listening to people make sexual jokes about him was also hard. As was finding himself in a tough spot, not being able to get up and leave or do anything about it; fortunately for him, they got up and left first.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the guy next to us was a little weird?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°In what way?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°His head was hanging low, but whenever we said something, he would flinch. I honestly doubt he was actually sleeping.¡± Finally, the girl came clean and told her friends her reason for purposely making the dirty jokes ¡ª she wanted to test the man¡¯s reaction. Just as she expected, he flinched and looked uncomfortable, so she urged her friends to leave earlier than planned.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah! Recently, whenever I see that guy, he¡¯s always covering his face with a mask and a hat, looking so suspicious. People normally remove their scarves when they study, right? I wonder if we should report it to the management office because he looks so suspicious of being covered up. Besides, didn¡¯t he look like a loser earlier? Crouching down the entire time.¡±?


    ?


    Nonetheless, the man seemed to be studying very hard, so she couldn¡¯t bring herself to report him. She ended her story there, and the girls soon forgot about the man¡¯s existence. As soon as those people left, Woo-Jin also got up. Hearing what people had been saying about him was an interesting experience for him. He also gained a lot from this experience as he learned how the public viewed him and what they thought about him.?


    ?


    ¡°Nonetheless, the part where she said she wanted to lock me up in a basement was kind of¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin happened to see a life-size cardboard cutout of himself in front of one of the branches of the telecommunications company on his way home from the library. Because of what he had overheard earlier, he found it hard to move along casually like it was nothing. Just like what one of the girls had said earlier, a few people were waiting to take a picture with the life-size cutout.?


    ?


    ¡°You have to wait in line for your turn to take a photo.¡± Someone told Woo-Jin to get in line behind them. As soon as Woo-Jin shook his head and said he was just looking around, they pouted their lips in displeasure. They seemed to have misunderstood him, thinking he was mocking or judging them.?


    ?


    The store was playing Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s song while people outside were lining up to take pictures with Woo-Jin¡¯s life-size cutout. Woo-Jin felt this moment to be incredibly bizarre and looked at the current situation like a bystander.?


    ?


    ¡°Business hours are now over.¡± An employee of the store went out and tried to bring the life-size cutout inside. One of the people in the line protested but to no avail; she had been standing at the back of the line waiting the entire time, and it was finally her turn.?


    ?


    ¡°I am sorry, but we are closed. We have to take it back into the store.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t you just attach it firmly to the pole and leave it outside?¡± The cutout had several firm rings placed behind it and was attached to the pole outside the store with a chain and a lock. It seemed like it would be difficult for anyone to steal it, and bringing it into the store every day in the evening seemed like a laborious task as well.?


    ?


    ¡°There have been a lot of thieves stealing the cutouts lately. The headquarters said they don¡¯t have any more of them, so we have to be careful.¡± As the employee said that, they looked Woo-Jin up and down. It was as though they were rebuking him, saying, ¡®You look so suspicious, so even though it¡¯s troublesome, I have to lift this thing every day and bring it inside.¡¯?


    ?


    The people around Woo-Jin also stared at him. They could understand why he was wearing a mask and a scarf, but wearing a hat late in the evening was suspicious. Standing idly around the life-size cutout despite having no intention to take a photo made him look even more dubious. Rumors had been circulating around about people that weren¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans stealing the life-sized cutouts and selling them at high prices.?


    ?


    As soon as the people around him started getting suspicious of him, Woo-jin had no choice but to leave. He walked down the street where his songs were playing everywhere. Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s songs that were playing everywhere were familiar yet new. As long as there were groups of people around, hearing someone mention his name or talking about him was nothing new, but he had always found it awkward. ¡®Is becoming more well-known to the public and making them remember and like me really the end, or is it the beginning?¡¯ Woo-Jin pondered about that. Perhaps, the answer could change any time depending on one¡¯s limits.?


    ?


    ¡°So, are you satisfied right now?¡± Instead of answering his own question, Woo-Jin looked up into the sky; nothing was visible in the black sky. This wasn¡¯t the only dream he wanted to achieve in all his current and past lives. Suddenly, he wanted to be the only thing shining in the night sky where the moon couldn¡¯t be seen.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Ultimately, The King of the Masked Singers¡¯ Production Director Son personally contacted Woo-Jin via Kang Ho-Soo. This was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time talking to the production director because all the things pertaining to the recordings that needed to be addressed had gone through his manager.?


    ?


    ¡ª I know it¡¯s shameless of me to ask for this favor, but can you reconsider leaving the show??


    ?


    At this juncture, Woo-Jin only had two more episodes left. Furthermore, It was difficult for them to recruit a singer that would be talented enough to defeat Woo-Jin with just their skills alone. Therefore, while the show¡¯s ratings were on the rise, Woo-Jin leaving the show voluntarily was bound to be a fatal blow. Even though the third episode hadn¡¯t been aired yet, Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s popularity was unprecedented.?


    ?


    Even the people within the Korean traditional dance and pansori communities started to take an interest in Hanryang Doryeong. But regardless of how hard they searched, nobody like him had ever gone on The King of the Masked Singers before, so people kept questioning his identity.?


    ?


    Judging from his two traditional dances and his voice they briefly heard, they noticed that Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s skills weren¡¯t at the level of an apprentice. It was way beyond a level that a mere celebrity as such could imitate. However, nobody they knew fit the bill, so they had a hunch that he might be a rookie. Some people welcomed him, and some felt nervous as they already saw him as a threat. Either way, they were all curious about his identity.?


    ?


    Recently, famous people in the traditional culture field or Living National Treasures[1] had personally stepped forward and expressed their interest in him, thus putting Production Director Son in a tough spot. It was not just once or twice where he felt as though he was truly at his wit¡¯s end. If he were to let Hanryang Doryeong go just like that, it wouldn¡¯t be just a matter of writing a written apology and explanation.?


    ?


    ¡°I had already informed you in advance before I went on the show. You are putting me on the spot by saying that at this point in time.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª I know! But if you leave the show now, it¡¯ll put a lot of people in a difficult position, so¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Production Director Son himself was one of those people; he would be in the most difficult position. He tried to appeal to Woo-Jin¡¯s empathy and compassion. But, since Woo-Jin had already predicted what would happen, he simply listened to the production director¡¯s words with a blas¨¦ attitude.?


    ?


    ¡ª Nobody has ever dropped out of the competition of their own accord thus far, so we¡¯re very concerned about what our next step should be. We don¡¯t know if you should remove your mask at the end of the fifth episode, and we¡¯re uncertain how we¡¯re going to pick the next Masked King. To put it bluntly, we can¡¯t possibly have the runner-up be The Masked King. They couldn¡¯t beat you after all. I¡¯m worried we might hurt the pride of the person we crown as the next Masked King in the following episode after your departure¡­.?


    ?


    Production Director Son subtly warned Woo-Jin that they might not remove his mask at the end of his journey should he choose to leave midway. The claim about Chae Woo-Jin being Hanryang Doryeong had only come from his fans; it didn¡¯t have much traction. To put it bluntly, fans of celebrities that could sing or tall actors and singers had made that claim before. Thus, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans¡¯ claims weren¡¯t convincing enough and ended up getting overlooked. They didn¡¯t insist they were right either.?


    ?


    More importantly, regardless of who Hanryang Doryeong was, many people became his fans solely because of his songs and performance. Therefore, if they didn¡¯t reveal Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s identity, Chae Woo-Jin would ultimately have nothing to gain.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to reveal that I¡¯m Hanryang Doryeong. Frankly, when I defeated Min Si-Hoo and ousted him as The Masked King was kind of an awkward situation. I¡¯m an actor, after all. It¡¯s not exactly a good look for me if I were to come across as enhancing my presence by singing on a music variety show. I¡¯ll go with whatever you decide, so it¡¯s up to you.¡±?


    ?


    Instead of wanting to reveal his identity to the public, Chae Woo-Jin expressed his thoughts that it would bring him more trouble, thus making Production Director Son flustered. Production Director Son¡¯s voice instantly became harsher because things didn¡¯t go the way he wanted.?


    ?


    ¡ª Once you go on the show, you have to think about your duty and responsibility towards it!?


    ?


    ¡°I want to make things easier for you too, but the circumstances aren¡¯t allowing me to do that. If I had gone on the show in March, none of this would have been an issue. I also think it¡¯s such a shame.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª I looked into your schedule and heard that you don¡¯t have anything lined up for you in the first half of the year because you¡¯re taking a break. Can¡¯t you make time for just one day? As long as you make some time for just one day, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s March or not.?


    ?


    Two weeks after Woo-Jin¡¯s fifth recording session, it would be March. He only had to squeeze in one recording during that period somehow. In that case, just as Woo-Jin asserted, he wouldn¡¯t have any problem continuing his journey in The King of the Masked Singers.?


    ?


    Hearing how persistent Production Director Son was, Woo-Jin struggled to hold himself back from laughing and cleared his throat. Fortunately, they were talking on the phone as it would have been hard for him to act and control himself if they were talking face-to-face.?


    ?


    ¡°I have an exam in late February.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª An exam? Wouldn¡¯t you be on a semester break from school??


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking the bar exam.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Bar¡­.?


    ?


    Judging from his voice, it was evident that Production Director Son was taken aback. However, Woo-Jin continued speaking while pretending to sound regretful and sighed.?


    ?


    ¡°I can¡¯t go into detail because it¡¯s a personal matter, but my mother really wants me to take the bar exam. There¡¯s no way I would pass, but nevertheless, I¡¯m going to prepare for the exam out of filial piety. You told me to make time for a day, but it takes up much more time than that to prepare for that one day.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Woo-Jin''s reply, Production Director Son was once again reminded of who Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather was. After hearing about it from CEO Jang, he went to look into the CEO of Rome Law Firm as he didn¡¯t know much about him previously. Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather was the CEO of the law firm, and even though Woo-Jin¡¯s uncle was currently working at the law firm, he used to be a prosecutor general. Moreover, Woo-Jin¡¯s cousins from his maternal side had also passed the bar exam. One of them had become a prosecutor, while the other was currently training at the Judicial Research & Training Institute (JRTI).?


    ?


    Under such circumstances, it was inevitable for Chae Woo-Jin to take the bar exam. Regardless of how successful he was as a celebrity, as a mother, she could have different ideas of what she wanted her son, a student of Korea University, to be. It was understandable. It was understandable, but it didn¡¯t discount that it was a bad situation for him.?


    ?


    1. Formally known as Holders of Intangible Cultural Heritage. For example, Song Deok-Gi, one of the last practitioners of traditional martial arts, is the holder of Intangible Cultural Property No. 76 (Taekkyon). ?

 CH 99

    ¡°I have to step down because of that. I know I might fail, but I still need to study and make sure I don¡¯t get a terrible grade, else I won¡¯t be able to face my mother. And who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll get eliminated before the fifth episode. I intentionally cannot get eliminated as The King of the Masked Singers has credibility, and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to tarnish that either. So it¡¯s better to get eliminated by someone with better skills. Don¡¯t you agree, Production Director Son?¡±?


    ?


    Production Director Son gritted his teeth at Woo-Jin¡¯s bright reply. He was going to ask Woo-Jin if he was willing to be eliminated intentionally since he didn¡¯t want to step down voluntarily. But before he could mention it, Woo-Jin brought up the credibility of The King of the Masked Singers first. If it were an ordinary celebrity, he would calmly appease them by saying that a variety show didn¡¯t have much credibility and try to coax them. However, Production Director Son felt uncomfortable about exposing the broadcast¡¯s weakness to the person who wanted to take the bar exam and his family.?


    ?


    ¡ª Right¡­.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m only an actor, so I¡¯m sure there¡¯s nothing to worry about since there are plenty of people more talented than me. Everything will work out. Plus, once The King of the Masked Singers and the bar exam is over, I¡¯ve personally planned something in March, so even if I really wanted to help you, I won¡¯t have the time.¡±?


    ?


    Previously, Woo-Jin had mentioned having free time starting from March, but now he retracted that statement, bluntly saying that recording one episode won¡¯t resolve the issue. Regardless of whether Production Director Son was affected by his terse reply or not, Woo-Jin smiled innocently and said that winning five times in a row was a difficult thing to do.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin was an actor, he possessed skills that no one could surpass, so hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s futile assurances didn¡¯t help Production Director Son at all. He still recalled when the Director of Entertainment gave him an earful and told him to prevent Hanryang Doryeong from voluntarily stepping down.?


    ?


    ¡°What the hell did I do?¡±?


    ?


    After getting off the phone, Production Director Son mumbled dejectedly. He took in Woo-Jin thinking that he was an innocent cat, but he grew up and became a ferocious tiger.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Recently the xx Library¡¯s administrative office received a few complaints. Even with the flu season going on, a suspicious man who covered his face a little too much was seen frequently, and of course, it wasn¡¯t like the man was doing anything dubious. All he did was visit the library at dawn when it opened, study, and would sometimes appear in the lounge. However, even though the library had a perfect heating system, the man wore a hat, glasses, mask, and scarf inside the library so anyone would think that he was suspicious. It also made people warier because of a recent violent crime.?


    ?


    Since the office received several complaints, they had no choice but to check the man¡¯s identity, and surprisingly, this suspicious man was none other than the actor, Chae Woo-Jin. Many thought he was taking a break after the drama ended, but he was living his life being a devoted student. Even though he covered his face to prevent others from getting distracted, it only instilled fear in them. The library users expressed their disappointment when they heard about this later on.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin~!¡± Hwang Yi-Young had read the entire article and eagerly called out to Woo-Jin, who was getting his makeup done as Hanryang Doryeong.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you drink the vending machine coffee while looking at a wall? Or sleep while being curled up in one of the chairs in the lounge?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°They already released an article about that day?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not the important part. I was afraid something like this would happen, that¡¯s why I suggested you go to the school library. Even if you cover your face there, no one will report you.¡±?


    ?


    Students who were used to Woo-Jin pretended not to notice him whenever he walked around with his face covered, so that part was definitely convenient, but going all the way to the school instead of the nearby library was a waste of time.?


    ?


    ¡°They didn¡¯t do anything bad to you, right?¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young must¡¯ve imagined Woo-Jin getting dragged away and tortured somewhere as she looked almost in tears. However, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but laugh after looking at Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s expression that suggested he had been dragged away after participating in an independence movement.?


    ?


    ¡°No, everyone was nice and told me they were just checking after receiving several complaints and asked whether I had caught a cold or if I had a scar on my face that I was trying to hide.¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin revealed his face, all the people in the administration office recognized him. They were polite even when they didn¡¯t know who he was, and once they recognized him as Chae Woo-Jin, everyone treated him even better, so he actually felt bad.?


    ?


    ¡°I probably can¡¯t go there anymore, right?¡± Woo-Jin mused.?


    ?


    ¡°Were you thinking about going there again?¡± Hwang Yi-Young almost rolled her eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°It was fun.¡±?


    ?


    Whenever he got tired of studying, he would amuse himself by sitting in the lounge, listening to others talk about things happening in the world and recent trends, and so on. He would sometimes hear them talk about him, which wasn¡¯t bad either.?


    ?


    ¡°I can imagine that since you¡¯re Chae Woo-Jin. Stay still! You need to look handsome when you remove your mask.¡±?


    ?


    This was his last day standing on The King of the Masked Singers¡¯ stage. Only the third round remained and Woo-Jin was getting his makeup done during the break. No matter the result after the third round, Woo-Jin would be removing his mask today, so he had to dress up.?


    ?


    This time, Hwang Yi-Young wasn¡¯t worried about the results. However, she had her doubts when he won the second time in a row by beating Choi Hee-Jung, the Queen of Ballad, and after that, he managed to rap to Leessang¡¯s ¡®Clown¡¯ and beat Kwon Yeol, the Master of Rock, to clinch his third victory in a row. His fourth opponent was Jo Dong-Il, known as the best male vocalist after having an honorary graduation on I¡¯m a Singer. It was funny how Woo-Jin felt nervous at that time because he managed to take the fourth win easily by singing Kim Soo-Chul¡¯s ¡®A Flower That Didn¡¯t Bloom.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°Who do you think is going to appear today?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I know who it is, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Tsk, I can never win against you.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin could¡¯ve ¡°accidentally¡± let such information slip from time to time, but he never did that. Instead, he would just tell her to watch the episode, making her feel even more curious. Thanks to that, she enjoyed watching the show, but she would start going crazy when the time came for someone to be crowned The Masked King.?


    ?


    ¡°When you remove your mask, don¡¯t touch your hair too much and just push it back once. When you first make eye contact with the camera, smile bashfully, then immediately change to a dignified and confident smile. Then, when you make eye contact with the audience, don¡¯t forget to smile softly at them!¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young stressed that the moment he removed his mask was critical and pointed out a few precautions to take. After thinking that today would be his last day in this waiting room, Woo-Jin looked around the room before leaving when the staff called his name.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wore his golden mask and cape, then sat on The Masked King¡¯s designated seat to watch the third round. He picked the ¡®Warm Snowflake Fairy¡¯ as the one who¡¯ll advance to the next round, and as expected, her performance didn¡¯t disappoint him.?


    ?


    The ¡®Warm Snowflake Fairy¡¯ picked SG Wannabe¡¯s ¡®As I Live,¡¯ and despite the song having a deep tune, she succeeded in singing it in her own style. She released a strong resonance, and it was such a moving performance that the audience was constantly amazed by her. However, because she showed off too much of her skills, everyone knew who she was.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for me to ask Hanryang Doryeong who they think ¡®Warm Snowflake Fairy¡¯ is.¡±?


    ?


    Since the panel of judges and audience knew who she was, Gam Sung-Joo held back his laughter and continued with the show, and as everyone expected, ¡®Warm Snowflake Fairy¡¯ became a finalist for The Masked King spot. When it was Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s turn, he walked up to the stage.?


    ?


    ¡°Before this, you¡¯ve competed against very talented people, and this time too, you¡¯re going up against a strong opponent. So let me ask this. Are you confident?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Before coming on the stage, I told my Fashion Coordinator noona that I plan to enjoy this to my heart¡¯s content. I won¡¯t abandon my duty and enjoy the stage without being too attached to the result.¡±?


    ?


    When Hanryang Doryeong mentioned the word noona, there was a small commotion among the panel of judges as well as the audience because everyone had assumed him to be in his mid-30¡¯s.?


    ?


    The skills and emotions that Hanryang Doryeong had were difficult for a young man to express, making a few of the younger candidates that were thought to be him not get acknowledged in the end. But when he said the word noona, people started getting confused. They didn¡¯t know whether his fashion coordinator was simply older than him or if Hanryang Doryeong was younger than what they thought.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh my, Hanryang Doryeong is going all out since it¡¯s his last day.¡±?


    ?


    Since Gam Sung-Joo knew who Hanryang Doryeong was, he made a meaningful remark and walked off the stage. When the instruments started playing the music, people tilted their heads to the side in confusion as they didn¡¯t recognize the song. People were unfamiliar with Woo-Jin¡¯s pick, the musical number ¡®The Blue Crane Cries in the Clouds.¡¯?


    ?


    To sing this song, Woo-Jin specifically requested today¡¯s outfit to be blue. Even though the song was about hopeless dreams and despair, he picked this song because he recalled his past lives.?


    ?


    He lived many lives where he gained power and wealth, but most of his past lives were filled with hopelessness and loneliness. It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t have talent, but he always had to live against the trend of each era, so he was never in the spotlight. Their dreams and hopelessness were also his, and Woo-Jin, despite feeling bitter, wanted to understand and comfort them more than anyone.?


    ?


    This was also his way of thanking his past lives even though they lost their dreams or had to give them up to make a living and had to live a tormented life. He didn¡¯t deny that he was Chae Woo-Jin and that what he was now was because of his past lives or him living those lives.?


    ?


    He sang with more sincere and mournful desperation than the time he competed against Min Si-Hoo.?


    ?


    The moment he sang the song, countless stories ran through his head. Woo-Jin always placed a wall between his past lives and his current self, and at this moment, he broke it down, accepted it, understood it, and embraced it. Just like the song¡¯s lyrics, instead of giving up on the dream and despair because of his status, he was going to spread his wings and someday fly powerfully towards the blue sky. He¡¯d go wherever he wanted to go, freely and confidently, so that he could become the blue sky.?


    ?


    That¡¯s why the song that Woo-Jin sang overcame despair and confinement and showed hope. Beyond the dead end, the crane that hid within the clouds flew high towards the sky.?


    ?


    Hanryang Doryeong was excellent in delivering his feelings to others, so whenever a song ended, there was always silence. Whether it was sadness, hopefulness, or happiness, it was a moment of sympathy difficult to escape. As always, the ones that broke this kind of magical moment were the cold-hearted people.?


    ?


    ¡°Wow, this guy! When I first listened to the song, I thought he was trying his best to get eliminated, but that wasn¡¯t the case.¡±?


    ?


    Singing a popular song gave the contestant an advantage because it was effective in getting votes. Even when it came to musical numbers, it might¡¯ve been different if it were the Phantom of the Opera, but many people were confused after hearing the unfamiliar instrumental.?


    ?


    However, they fell in love with this song to the point that they didn¡¯t care about the song¡¯s unfamiliarity anymore. When they started listening to the lyrics, they became sad with him because of the despair, and as the last part of the song brought hope, they all released a sigh of relief.?


    ?


    Hanryang Doryeong proudly said that today was his last recording regardless of the result, and there wasn¡¯t going to be a next time. Many had high expectations and he was so popular that people signed a petition, asking to stop Hanryang Doryeong from leaving the show voluntarily. Because of that, Woo-Jin thought they were planning for him to naturally hand over The Masked King¡¯s throne to an opponent who was better in terms of skills.?


    ?


    Knowing that his opponent was talented, he picked this song to get eliminated successfully, but that wasn¡¯t the case. In the end, Hanryang Doryeong didn¡¯t sing while being considerate to his opponent and like he said, he planned on having fun to the fullest while doing his best before leaving.

 CH 100

    ¡°Okay! That concludes Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s last performance and once again, he managed to leave people in tears. SnowflakeFairy, this is your first time watching Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s performance live, can you tell us your thoughts?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oh¡­the biggest reason as to why I came here today was so that I can listen to him sing live. From my experience, if you listen to a song through TV, you can¡¯t really say that you listened to it properly because there¡¯s nothing better than listening to a singer¡¯s voice live. In my opinion¡­I¡¯m really glad I decided to come but at the same time, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have come. I¡¯m probably going to get eliminated, right?¡±?


    ?


    Snowflake Fairy quickly accepted defeat. She said that if she could vote, then she would unconditionally vote for Hanryang Doryeong because she sensed that no one here remembered her performance. In this situation, Snowflake Fairy confidently acknowledged her defeat. However, Snowflake Fairy didn¡¯t lose confidence because she didn¡¯t lose due to her lack of talent, but because her opponent was trully skilled.?


    ?


    ¡°Voting time is over. Will Hanryang Doryeong keep his position as the masked king or will someone new ascend to the throne! The winner is¡­¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin already knew the results, but this time, his heart started beating quickly. It was similar to the feeling of worrying all night that he might¡¯ve written down the wrong answer after thinking that he did well on his exam, or writing the wrong name on his exam script.?


    ?


    ¡°The Doryeong that dreams of being a Hanryang has won five times with the score of 96 to 3! Hanryang Doryeong has managed to keep his position. It¡¯s the same score as the first time he was crowned king. Was this all planned?¡±?


    ?


    When Gam Sung-Joo asked the question while the audience members were cheering, Hanryang Doryeong shook his head. If he had the ability to do that, then he would take all 99 votes instead of giving up three votes.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be having an official conversation with Hanryang Doryeong later on, so please wait outside the stage for now.¡±?


    ?


    The process of Hanryang Doryeong leaving the show was going to happen after Snowflake Fairy removes her mask. When Hanryang Doryeong left the stage while wearing his golden mask, Snowflake Fairy covered her face bashfully with her hands.?


    ?


    ¡°Now! Snowflake Fairy, please remove your mask and reveal your identity!¡±?


    ?


    "Noooo, I don''t want to! I want to leave it on."?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the audience here and those who are watching from home already know who you are.¡±?


    ?


    When Gam Sung-Joo said that, Snowflake Fairy must¡¯ve given up because she sighed, turned around and started removing her mask.?


    ?


    ¡°The Warm Snowflake Fairy is none other than one of Korea¡¯s best vocalists, Na Yu-Ri, who debuted 18 years ago!¡±?


    ?


    When Snowflake Fairy removed her mask, Gam Sung-Joo started listing her debut song as well as her best hit songs, but Na Yu-Ri approached him and quietly covered his mouth.?


    ?


    ¡°It''s embarrassing so please don''t say anymore.¡±?


    ?


    Since Na Yu-Ri only received three votes, she felt embarrassed to continue listening to him.?


    ?


    ¡°If I had known that I was going to get embarrassed like this, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to come. But my curiosity got the better of me. Honestly, three votes is a little messed up isn¡¯t it? Wait, no! I understand why I got three votes because even I wouldn¡¯t have voted for myself. Thank you for the three votes.¡±?


    ?


    Na Yu-Ri felt ashamed and didn¡¯t know what to do because she expressed resentment at first and then immediately acknowledged her loss. Not only was she a talented singer, but she was famous for her innocent and cute personality, so everyone looked at her happily.?


    ?


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s bring back Hanryang Doryeong, who¡¯s stepping down from the show voluntarily, back to the stage. Hanryang Doryeong, you¡¯ve managed to keep your position today, but you have no choice but to leave the show because of your schedule. So, you will be removing your mask and revealing your identity. Snowflake Fairy, you may head to the waiting room.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Sorry?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I came here to see Hanryang Doryeong, not to leave after receiving three votes. Since I received three votes, I think I have the right to see who Hanryang Doryeong is!¡±?


    ?


    Na Yu-Ri stood her ground as she confidently mentioned her three votes. Na Yu-Ri said that if they made her leave without giving her the chance to see who Hanryang Doryeong was, then they should just edit her out and the audience supported her by clapping.?


    ?


    That was why Na Yu-Ri was standing next to Gam Sung-Joo when Hanryang Doryeong returned to the stage. As soon as Hanryang Doryeong saw Na Yu-Ri, he greeted her and Na Yu-Ri did the same. Even though Na Yu-Ri didn¡¯t know his identity, she was certain that they were similar in age or Hanryang Doryeong was her senior. Thus, Na Yu-Ri greeted him respectfully.?


    ?


    ¡°Hanryang Doryeong, are you really going to leave the show today? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a waste? If you continue, it may be worth it to try to beat the previous record.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I would like to do that too, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t due to personal reasons.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°If I may ask, what exactly is that personal reason?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Filial piety.¡±?


    ?


    When Gam Sung-Joo became flustered after hearing his short answer, Na Yu-Ri, who was beside him, nodded seriously while wiping her eyes. Na Yu-Ri believed there was nothing more important than that since she lost her father early last year.?


    ?


    ¡°Since you mentioned that you were going to be free starting from March, would it be okay if we did a Hanryang Doryeong special and continue from there? The production staff did mention that it was okay to take a break for one episode.¡±?


    ?


    The audience clapped and cheered in agreement after hearing Gam Sung-Joo¡¯s question. There were rumors that the audience rating was going to be high because Hanryang Doryeong was leaving the show today and was expected to take off his mask. He managed to sit on the throne by breaking through the high competition rate, but the audience wanted to keep watching Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s performance on TV.?


    ?


    ¡°When I first decided to appear on The King of the Masked Singers, I didn¡¯t expect to be on this show for five episodes and that was why I agreed to appear on the show. If I had planned on appearing on the show in March in the beginning, I would have left my schedule open. However, since that was not that case, my scheduled was filled with other activities. It¡¯s difficult for me to stay on the show. I¡¯m sorry.¡±?


    ?


    It wouldn¡¯t have been a problem if Hanryang Doryeong appeared again in March, but considering the situation he was in right now, he firmly answered that he would be busy in March too.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s really unfortunate. Then, please remove your mask.¡±?


    ?


    The moment Hanryang Doryeong removed his mask, there was no chance of him appearing again, so the MC tried his best to delay and convince him. But no matter how hard he tried, it didn¡¯t work. After lightly nodding at the PD, Gam Sung-Joo raised the hand that was holding the cue card.?


    ?


    ¡°The identity of Hanryang Doryeong is~!¡±?


    ?


    When the MC said that, Hanryang Doryeong turned his head and loosened the string that was holding up the mask and everyone was focused on his every move. Not only was Hanryang Doryeong the first one to voluntarily leave the show, but no one really knew his identity. Despite there being many candidates, this was the first time where people were uncertain of the masked king¡¯s identity. Hanryang Doryeong was the perfect masked king for The King of the Masked Singers.?


    ?


    People held their hands together and widened their eyes as they saw his back. Even though it was unintentional, their bodies moved on their own and they couldn¡¯t help but react that way.?


    ?


    ¡°The Doryeong that dreams of Hanryang is¡­ Actor Chae Woo-Jin! His name wasn¡¯t well known at first, but then he earned the title of Beauty Slayer, and created the Louie syndrome last year through City of Shadows!¡±?


    ?


    The moment Hanryang Doryeong removed his mask and turned around, people looked confused because they couldn¡¯t believe it. While removing his mask, Woo-Jin pushed back his messy hair once and greeted the audience after smiling awkwardly at the camera. Then, Woo-Jin displayed the confident smile that Hwang Yi-Young ordered him to do. At first, the audience was confused by his smile but soon after, they finally released the praise they¡¯ve been suppressing.?


    ?


    ¡°I told you! I told you he was Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    Shim Bong-Sun was the first person in the panel to come back to her senses and she started complaining to Kang Goo-Ra. Shim Bong-Sun mentioned before that based on his frame, he looked like Chae Woo-Jin but had been told that it was impossible. ¡°Wait, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin! I heard that you¡¯re unable to appear on the show because of your agency¡¯s CEO.¡±?


    ?


    Kang Goo-Ra brought up what Woo-Jin said when he appeared on TV Star.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because back then, I was already appearing on the show so I couldn¡¯t answer right away. On top of that, Mr. Kim Joong-Sun managed to convince my CEO to let me participate. If it wasn¡¯t for him, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡±?


    ?


    When Chae Woo-Jin appeared on TV Star, Kang Goo-Ra heard his singing and confidently said that he wasn¡¯t Hanryang Doryeong. Woo-Jin mentioned that it was difficult to appear on The King of the Masked Singers because of his agency¡¯s CEO, Jang Soo-Hwan. Another factor was that the singing voice between Chae Woo-Jin and Hanryang Doryeong were really different. That was probably why everyone, including Kang Goo-Ra, thought that Hanryang Doryeong wasn¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Then the singing style and the tone that you used all this time¡­¡±?


    ?


    Up till now, the charming deep voice that Chae Woo-Jin used was pretty famous, so people were confused about which one was his actual voice.?


    ?


    ¡°I sang the songs that I sang previously with a low voice in order to match the style of the song, but the voice that I used in The King of the Masked Singers is my real voice.¡±?


    ?


    That¡¯s when people realized. Chae Woo-Jin was so skilled in impersonating people that he was able to sing with the same voice as Min Shi-Hoo.?


    ?


    ¡°Is it possible¡­to sing that well at that age?¡±?


    ?


    The professionals insisted that Hanryang Doryeong was a singer and was pretty old in age, so they tilted their heads because they still couldn¡¯t believe it. Their attitude made it seem like they were still suspicious of him, so Woo-Jin lifted his mic and sang part of the song he sang from earlier today so that they could no longer deny the fact that he was Hanryang Doryeong. Even though he sang without any music, the audience all looked sentimental within that short period because of how touched they were earlier.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that we have to part ways like this. When will we be able to see the fabulous Chae Woo-Jin again?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to come back with great projects.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you planning on becoming a singer anytime soon?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I would first like to do my best to become a great actor.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had opportunities, but when he said he wasn¡¯t planning on taking those opportunities, people looked disappointed. Since they didn¡¯t want to send him away like this, they kept holding onto Woo-Jin and that was when someone suggested that Woo-Jin perform one last dance. Since Woo-Jin already prepared for this beforehand, he signaled the crew and smiled brightly when he took the sword that the crew brought out. The blade was dull because it was more of a ceremonial sword, but the balance was different when compared to the sword he used during the commercial shoot.?


    ?


    The performance that Woo-Jin had prepared was a sword dance. One of his past lives was drunk on excitement and lived his whole life being obsessed with beauty and this was one of the dances that he enjoyed dancing. Until his very last breath, he used this sword to protect someone. That was why his sword dance, which was both empty and beautiful, showed a strong and determined will. In order to prevent his family and the people he loved from getting hurt, he performed this dance as a way for him to express his determination to get stronger. The sword dance was like a ceremony where he expressed his feelings to others.

 CH 101

    The rain had been pouring since night, but fortunately, it subsided to a drizzle in the morning. It is said that the rain ushers in spring, but it seemed like winter wasn¡¯t over yet. The moment Woo-Jin stepped outside, every breath exhaled was blown away by the wind due to the piercing cold. There was still a long way to go before spring arrived, and winter was still here to stay.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯ll be warm at the exam center, right? Do you want to carry a lap blanket with you just in case?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s enough; I¡¯m good.¡± Even if it wasn''t, Woo-Jin still shook his head while closing his sufficiently packed backpack. They kept giving him more and more items to carry along with him, and even though he would be going by car, they had given him too much to carry.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was on his way to take his first bar exam. His parents were more nervous than him and were anxious the entire way to the exam center. As Choi Min-Woo drove, his neck and shoulders seemed stiff throughout the journey, while the unreligious Park Eun-Soo kept praying to all the gods in the world. On the other hand, Woo-Jin was sitting comfortably in the backseat feeling at ease; he dozed off and opened his eyes only when it was time for him to get out of the car.?


    ?


    ¡°Please drop me off here.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s still a distance away, though?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s faster for me to walk from here. If you go around the alley, there is no sidewalk in the first lane, and there are a lot of cars, so it¡¯ll be hard to get out.¡± Woo-Jin had checked the traffic conditions around the exam venue beforehand. He pointed to the area he wanted to get off at, and as soon as Choi Min-Woo pulled over, Park Eun-Soo grabbed Woo-Jin¡¯s hand and stroked it, just as he was about to get down from the car.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m worried because it¡¯s raining. What if you catch a cold after walking in the rain?¡± Woo-Jin smiled gently upon hearing his mother¡¯s concerns. He grabbed his scarf and shook it. He felt sorry for the other people taking the exam, but this weather helped him instead.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Even if you don¡¯t do well, it¡¯s okay.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not expecting much either,¡± Woo-Jin said it jokingly, but his mother glared at him instead. Seeing that his mother still hadn¡¯t given up on her wish, Woo-Jin laughed awkwardly as he got out of the car. Just like how Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t give up on his dreams, his mother couldn¡¯t abandon the ideas she had for her child that easily either.?


    ?


    After repeatedly telling each other to get going, his parents eventually drove off first when they realized Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t budge before seeing them leave. Not wanting their son to stand outside even a second longer, his parents hurriedly left. As soon as they left, Woo-Jin finally made his way towards the exam venue.?


    ?


    He had to cover his face as much as possible, so he didn¡¯t have the luxury to look around him, but the faces and facial expressions of the people standing under the umbrellas were all different. There were people of all ages, ranging from the early 20s to 40s, with various expressions ¡ª some looked energetic, while others looked worried or had nothing on their minds.?


    ?


    The alley was very congested with a line of cars heading towards the exam venue, along with people going there on foot. Even though it only took approximately ten minutes to get to the gate of the high school, numerous people walked past Woo-Jin. Nobody knew if the weather reflected people¡¯s moods or if people¡¯s moods fluctuated depending on the weather, but most people there looked glum. It was as though only this area was from a different world ¡ª it was tense and gloomy.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was very self-conscious, worrying about causing any disturbances towards the test takers. Still, he managed to finish the exam without a hitch. Nobody noticed him even when he removed his hat, mask, and scarf, leaving only his glasses on. People glued to their books even during lunch and break weren¡¯t that curious about the person sitting next to them. The invigilators were the only people that recognized Woo-Jin; they paused for a moment after seeing him but calmly ignored his presence soon after.?


    ?


    After the exam ended, Woo-Jin waited for the other people to leave the exam hall first before making a move. It was still raining. While the misty rain had remained unchanged from morning up, the wind was so strong right now that it flipped many umbrellas inside out. Even though Woo-Jin¡¯s two-fold umbrella wasn¡¯t as strong as a large umbrella, its frame was relatively strong, so fortunately for him, it was good enough to withstand the wind.?


    ?


    Even though he left later than the rest, many people were still present on the road. Woo-Jin scanned the crowd and wondered if there was anyone he knew. Just then, he saw someone in front of him walking in the rain with hurried steps. He looked closely at her, finding her familiar, and realized her to be his classmate, Kim Tae-Hwa. She was the part-timer at the cafe that Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min used to frequent. As such, whenever they saw each other in class, they¡¯d often acknowledge each other¡¯s presence.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin realized that all the classes they had together were related to law. He had spoken to her a couple of times before because Hyun-Min was friendly to her, but Woo-Jin and Kim Tae-Hwa were not very close. Furthermore, he had purposely distanced himself from her because of the strange, subtle vibes he had gotten during their first encounter in school.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wanted to ignore her presence as much as possible but subconsciously hastened his steps to approach her before sheltering her with his umbrella. He didn¡¯t even know what he was doing up until he placed his umbrella over her head, but it was already too late by then.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa was stunned when her five-fold umbrella flipped inside out in the rain and wind before breaking. She didn¡¯t know that the shaft of her portable umbrella was that weak. In that helpless moment, she was afraid that the notes in her bag would get wet, so she decided to stop trying to get her umbrella to work and hold her bag tightly to her chest with both arms. She couldn¡¯t let her notes get wet, even if it meant she would be drenched in the rain.?


    ?


    She had only taken a few steps before she was taken by surprise by another person¡¯s presence, along with the shadow over her head. She stopped in her tracks and looked to the side. The sudden appearance of a stranger with a hat and a scarf that covered half his face shocked her, and she instinctively backed away from him.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Woo-Jin quickly lowered his scarf, revealing a little more of his face. He was wearing glasses, but when he lifted the brim of his hat slightly, Kim Tae-Hwa could see his face.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, hello.¡± She was first relieved to know he wasn¡¯t a total stranger. Then, after nodding her head in a greeting, she subconsciously tilted her head to the side, wondering why Chae Woo-Jin was here. She looked back at the exam venue she had exited a while ago. There was nothing else apart from the high school used as the exam center at the end of the alley.?


    ?


    ¡°I came from there too.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Am I not allowed to take the bar exam?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­.¡± Kim Tae-Hwa hesitated, feeling she said something rude, but Woo-Jin told her it was okay. It was only natural for her to ask that, so there was nothing offensive about it.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin walked closer to Kim Tae-Hwa and moved the umbrella closer to her, so she wouldn¡¯t be walking in the rain. Syncing their footsteps, Kim Tae-Hwa had no choice but to walk together with him.?


    ?


    ¡°Because it¡¯s what my parents want.¡± Perhaps, when everybody found out that Chae Woo-Jin had taken the bar exam, most of them would ask the same question as Kim Tae-Hwa. And he would have to give the same answer.?


    ?


    ¡°Your parents must want a lot from you.¡± It seemed like most people would react similarly to Kim Tae-Hwa. Woo-Jin was worried other people would fault his parents because they wanted their son to take the bar exam even though he was already a celebrity.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who wants a lot from myself. My parents are simple people who would rather I become a stable civil servant than a celebrity with an uncertain future. But, on the other hand, I¡¯m the one not willing to let go of either after all.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is that so?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes.¡±?


    ?


    When it came to Chae Woo-Jin, no matter how much his parents wanted him to do something, if he didn¡¯t want to do it, that was all there was to it. Ultimately, he had the final say, so it wasn¡¯t wrong to say he was the one with a lot of desires and expectations.?


    ?


    After a moment of silence, Kim Tae-Hwa looked at Woo-Jin and asked, ¡°What will you do if you pass the exam?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t expect myself to pass, so I haven¡¯t thought about that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It must be true for the people who have the luxury of choice because they have a safety net or a backup plan, but there are a lot of desperate people who spend decades working towards their goal of passing the bar exam¡­.¡± Kim Tae-Hwa responded. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s light remark could come across as annoying to the middle-aged people who couldn¡¯t give up on their dream of passing the bar exam and hopelessly cling onto it. Woo-Jin understood how they felt, but there was no need for him to be understood by them.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number of people who took the exam today, but I heard the passing rate is nearly one in fifty. Not everyone who took the exam is desperate. Unless success or failure is decided based on desperation, nobody can criticize anyone for their mental attitude.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But if you pass and choose not to go down that path, it¡¯s evident that someone else who could have passed would end up failing. It could very well be the most important last shot that person had at the bar exam.¡± There were bound to be others who shared the same thought as Kim Tae-Hwa and would make the same argument.?


    ?


    ¡°Should I throw away my life choices because of someone I don¡¯t know?¡± Woo-Jin answered honestly, with the mindset that he was being interrogated in advance, as it was only a matter of time before someone else asked the same question.?


    ?


    ¡°Um¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Everybody¡¯s bound to have their own desperate moments and difficult personal circumstances. That applies to me too. Even though my worries and concerns might seem trivial to others, it¡¯s a decision I had to make at the crossroads of my life. Just like how relative standards cannot be regarded as absolute criteria, it may not be a big deal to others, but I¡¯m desperate myself too. It¡¯s not illegal to give up on the fruits you¡¯ve earned after working hard, fair and square. Furthermore, it has to undeniably be a competition for you to say I¡¯m stealing the opportunity from somebody else.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt that one had to enter the competition with the determination to win first before urging others to give up. Only the winner could decide whether to keep the trophy or throw it away. What was the point of claiming a trophy that was never his, to begin with??


    ?


    ¡°More importantly, don¡¯t they accept more people than the maximum capacity every year because of tied scores? So ultimately, the person would fail because they couldn¡¯t get a higher score, not because of me.¡± Kim Tae-Hwa blinked several times after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s calm retort before apologizing repeatedly. She felt sorry and embarrassed for going off on him for no apparent reason when he sheltered her with his umbrella on this rainy day.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps, I thought I would be one of those people who would fail. I¡¯m sorry. I was too presumptuous.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Probably a lot of people share the same sentiment as you. Taking all those people into account, it¡¯s indeed presumptuous.¡± Kim Tae-Hwa blushed slightly after hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s casual response. She didn¡¯t take the bar exam because of her lofty aspiration or a strong sense of justice. The exam was a means to prove her value and show it to everyone. If someone were to criticize her for it, she would most likely be furious.?


    ?


    ¡°Which way are you going?¡± They had already reached the entrance of the alley, giving her no time to apologize. As soon as they got there, Woo-Jin asked her the question. Kim Tae-Hwa pointed to the right with the umbrella in her hand.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s my ride over there. The weather¡¯s cold; if you catch a cold, it¡¯ll be hard for you to prepare for the second exam. Also, you don¡¯t have to return the umbrella. Since we don¡¯t have the same major, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be taking the same classes anymore, so just keep it.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin gave the umbrella to Kim Tae-Hwa as he said goodbye before turning around. His right shoulder was already very wet. Before getting in the car, Woo-Jin turned around and looked, only to see Kim Tae-Hwa standing there motionless. He nodded his head. Before she could do the same, he had already gotten into the car, and it drove off immediately.?


    ?


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Kang Ho-Soo asked Woo-Jin as he looked at Kim Tae-Hwa in the side mirror. Instead of the van, he drove the car to pick Woo-Jin up today.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 102

    ¡°Even though we have different majors, we got to know each other because we took the same classes. To be precise, she¡¯s on more friendly terms with Hyun-Min, and just happened to take the exam today.¡± Woo-Jin replied.?


    ?


    ¡°She¡¯s a beauty.¡± At Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s remark, Woo-Jin nodded thoughtlessly. As soon as he got into the car, he dried himself with a towel Kang Ho-Soo handed him.?


    ?


    ¡°She¡¯s beautiful and seems to be quite an honest person, so I think she¡¯s alright, but¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°She seems to be a little gloomy.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, you do like people who are bright and cheerful.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Do I?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Have you taken a good look at the people around you?¡±?


    ?


    After thinking earnestly about what Kang Ho-Soo said, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t disagree, so he simply chuckled softly. His tastes and preferences were as unchanging as a pine tree,[1] so that was rather amusing to him as well.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if no one¡¯s watching, it¡¯s good to be careful. If people start spreading rumors, that girl will have a harder time than you.¡±?


    ?


    Kang Ho-Soo had observed Woo-Jin the entire time, so he knew there hadn¡¯t been any emotional exchange between both parties. Woo-Jin looked at the people he liked with a different kind of gaze, making it easy to identify his thoughts and feelings. However, since other people didn¡¯t know Woo-Jin that well it could lead to a different opinion. If someone had taken a photo of a similar situation, then depending on how it was implied, it could easily lead to a scandal.?


    ?


    ¡°Then it would indeed be troubling.¡±?


    ?


    Since they had different majors and classes, coupled with the fact that he no longer had to take any law classes, he wouldn¡¯t have to see Kim Tae-Hwa much in the future. Still, Woo-Jin promised himself that he would be careful going forward. Earlier on, he had subconsciously approached her and sheltered her with an umbrella, but would never do something like that ever again.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you do well on the exam?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll only know when I get the score, but I think I should be able to pass the first exam without much difficulty.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How can you be that confident before they have graded the papers?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Most of the questions on the exam were ones that I knew how to answer.¡±?


    ?


    It might be different for open-ended questions, but it would be an issue if he couldn¡¯t even tell with certainty how many questions he had gotten right in the multiple-choice section.?


    ?


    ¡°What a show-off. In any case, I¡¯m glad you took the exam today. They¡¯ll be airing The King of the Masked Singers tomorrow, and your face will be revealed to the public, so you¡¯ll be busy for quite some time. So prepare yourself to some extent.¡± Normally, Woo-Jin would be modest, but this was one of the rare moments where he nodded positively. Woo-Jin had put in a considerable effort for his performances in The King of the Masked Singers for the sake of personal glory, as well as giving Production Director Son the proverbial middle finger. As a result, he defeated the leading contenders by a huge margin and protected his title as The Masked King, causing him to feel proud of himself.?


    ?


    ¡°I think I did a good job this time around.¡±?


    ?


    Upon seeing how Woo-Jin was brimming with confidence, Kang Ho-Soo could no longer hold himself back and laughed aloud.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Cha Young-Joo asked as soon as she saw Director Yoon Seon looking for her. She had a sour look on her face. Even though they were close friends, she didn¡¯t really want to greet him right now.?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like they¡¯re going to start filming Red Enemy soon.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°They¡¯ve finally decided on the main lead?¡±?


    ?


    Red Enemy had been delayed for three years due to casting difficulties. Upon hearing Director Yoon Seon mention Red Enemy, Cha Young-Joo took her eyes off the TV for the first time since he appeared and looked at him.?


    ?


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to be the main lead? I guess I¡¯ll be getting really busy now.¡± Cha Young-Joo was in-charge of the outfits for the historical film, Red Enemy. It had been delayed because the production team couldn¡¯t decide on the main lead. The thought of starting this long-awaited project made her feel excited. She had already completed the designs and prepared the fabric, so she was ready to start the project at any moment.?


    ?


    ¡°But for some reason, why do you sound so unenthusiastic?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Perhaps, the actor playing the main lead wasn¡¯t the best choice, so Director Yoon Seon sat down with a frown on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°Who is it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°A few days ago, we made an official offer to the actor¡¯s agency, but due to personal circumstances, they will inform him only on Monday, and he¡¯ll then decide whether to accept it or not. For all I know, maybe I¡¯ll get rejected.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No way~! When the script for Red Enemy was released, more than one or two actors fought with each other for the part. None of them got it in the end because you turned them down. Even after the auditions took place, none of the actors caught your eye, forcing you to intervene on purpose. You even complained a lot about it. There are still three or four actors that I know of¡­ who are still obsessed with the production.¡±?


    ?


    There were so many actors coveting the part of the male lead for Red Enemy. While it was a historical film based on an actual historical figure, taking on the lead role would also be very meaningful.?


    ?


    ¡°Prince Myeong-Hwan is one of the historical figures well-liked by Koreans. Even though he had a tragic life, he was a very charming person, so it¡¯s guaranteed to be a big hit whenever a drama or movie about him gets made. Actors consider it an honor just to be called the first or second-generation Prince Myeong-Hwan. Who wouldn¡¯t want to take on that role?¡± And right now, several actors aim to become the third-generation Prince Myeong-Hwan. Cha Young-Joo assured Director Yoon that there was no way he got rejected and asked who the lucky young man was once again.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah! Chae Woo-Jin sure deserves that role. Judging from his appearance and his acting skills, he¡¯s the perfect person to play Prince Myeong-Hwan. But what are you unhappy about? In my opinion, he seems to be the most perfect candidate so far.¡±?


    ?


    As Director Yoon Seon was preparing for Red Enemy, a movie with Prince Myeong-Hwan as its protagonist, he became as stubborn as he could. Others might call him picky and curse at him, but Red Enemy was more than just a movie; he aimed for success. Since he was a child, Prince Myeong-Hwan had been his idol, and he wanted to make an outstanding production centered on him. Thus, he had high expectations of the main character and the actor portraying him.?


    ?


    ¡°He has to be perfect. I wonder if I¡¯m uncertain because he¡¯s too modernized for the role. I doubt he¡¯s a good fit for historical movies and dramas. Frankly, I wasn¡¯t a fan of all the actors that portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan thus far. Prince Myeong-Hwan loved the arts. I didn¡¯t like how they overly emphasized his carefree nature and turned him into a libertine, or put their focus on politics and interpreted him as a political scapegoat.¡± There were a lot of movies and dramas about Prince Myeong-Hwan thus far, but Director Yoon Seon brought up the two most widely known ones and clicked his tongue.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re very greedy. To be honest, it¡¯s true that Prince Myeong-Hwan was quite a carefree person and did what he wanted. Based on the evidence that surfaced a few years ago, his scandal with Queen Yun turned out to be true as well. Of course, the king who intentionally stole his younger brother¡¯s wife was the main culprit of all the tragedies, though.¡±?


    ?


    Looking back at every piece of information, it was evident that Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s life wasn¡¯t very smooth-sailing. He lived a life of absolute destruction because of his father, brother, and mother before dying a tragic death. However, his life was so dramatic that people felt sorrier for him and even loved him.?


    ?


    ¡°If Hanryang Doryeong is an actor, he would be the perfect candidate!¡± Director Yoon Seon¡¯s gaze shifted to The King of the Masked Singers that Cha Young-Joo was watching; he coveted Hanryang Doryeong.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though his face was covered with a mask, he really brought out the beauty of hanbok. He seems to be good at traditional dance and ink painting, so there would be no need to use a double during filming.¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan was good at singing and dancing, as well as poetry and calligraphy. There would be several scenes in the movie where he would be painting or doing calligraphy, as well as dancing. Hence, the director was very concerned about casting the right person, ensuring they had a certain level of skill to take on the role and act out the scenes beautifully.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who made that hanbok.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I know, which is why it would be a bigger shame if he¡¯s not an actor.¡± The more he looked at how fitting Cha Young-Joo¡¯s hanbok would be in his movie, the more wistful he felt.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you a singer? Why are you so old~!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely a singer, but we don¡¯t know how old he is yet. What if he turns out to be a musical actor? He would be handsome and good at acting, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Nobody that amazing exists in this world!¡± Director Yoon Seon smiled cynically and said that if such a person existed, he wouldn¡¯t have wasted three years before snorting.?


    ?


    ¡°Be quiet! It¡¯s Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s turn to sing now.¡± Even if Cha Young-Joo hadn¡¯t sponsored the hanbok, she would still become Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s fan. But since she was sponsoring his outfits, she showed her affection for him without holding herself back.?


    ?


    After Hanryang Doryeong finished his song, Cha Young-Joo and Director Yoon Seon couldn¡¯t stop basking in the afterglow of his performance. They were envious of Na Yu-Ri as they listened to her comments. Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s songs were worth listening to at any cost.?


    ?


    ¡°It must be truly incredible to hear it live, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ack! Na Yu-Ri only received three votes. But it makes sense. Perhaps, she got three votes because she¡¯s Na Yu-Ri. If it were someone else¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Seeing Na Yu-Ri¡¯s attitude as she acknowledged the situation while speaking incoherently made people smile. It was definitely different from Min Si-Hoo¡¯s attitude back then, even though he had also gotten the same number of votes as her.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh, oh! He¡¯s removing his mask!¡± Cha Young-Joo showed how tense she was by squeezing Director Yoon Seon¡¯s arm. As soon as Hanryang Doryeong took off his mask and turned around, Cha Young-Joo wasn¡¯t the only person to be in shock. After they saw Hanryang Doryeong turn around, both Cha Young-Joo and Director Yoon Seon thought of the same thing.?


    ?


    ¡°What is Chae Woo-Jin doing over there? Where is Hanryang Doryeong?¡±?


    ?


    Even after hearing Gam Sung-Joo introducing Hanryang Doryeong as Chae Woo-Jin, they both simply stared at the TV in a daze. While they were in a state of disbelief, they gradually believed Chae Woo-Jin was Hanryang Doryeong after he sang a verse from the song earlier.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, Chae Woo-Jin was Hanryang Doryeong, huh.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin raised his sword and told the audience he would dance to finish his performance on stage. Only then did Director Yoon Seon¡¯s eyes light up again, just a tad slower than Cha Young-Joo. A Korean traditional dance instructor he became acquainted with during the preparation of the movie commented that Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s dance was flawless. They said in admiration that not only did he get the basics down pat, but he had learned and executed every step like a professional. Hence, Director Yoon Seon couldn¡¯t help but be curious about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu[2].?


    ?


    ¡°Geonmu¡­¡±?


    ?


    A geonmu was essentially a sword dance, particularly prevalent during the Joseon Dynasty. The gisaengs[3] would dance or perform court dances as a warm-up act, causing brutality to be replaced with elegant and beautiful movements. While synchronized group dances were lively and energetic, the sword had been reduced to an instrument for dancing. Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s cold geonmu had disappeared and couldn¡¯t be seen.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin closed his eyes after lowering the sword. And as the music played, he moved his body slowly. When he lifted one foot and moved it to the side, the hand with the sword slowly moved upwards. His movement became faster and faster; the sword left behind a trace of silver line, painting a picture. It left a mark in the air as though a silver dragon had ascended to heaven. Whenever the edges of his sleeves fluttered, the sound of wind blowing could be heard. The movements were powerful, fierce, and had no hesitation.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s geonmu?¡± Cha Young-Joo was full of admiration and felt very inspired as she watched Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu. It was very different from all the other geonmus she had seen thus far. She felt this way because the shape of his collar as it flapped with every move made her pay attention to the outlines of hanbok. She wanted to take a pen and sketch right away, but she couldn¡¯t take her eyes off Chae Woo-Jin, so her fingers kept wriggling.?


    ?


    ¡°Instead of a sword dance, it¡¯s more like swordsmanship.¡± Just like Prince Myeong-Hwan when he danced. According to old manuscripts, Prince Myeong-Hwan was like a warrior that jumped right into a battlefield when he danced. Many were afraid of being slashed by his sword. Nevertheless, it was said that his geonmu was so beautiful and fascinating that it captivated people.?


    ?


    Additionally, it was also said that his sword stole people¡¯s hearts and souls instead of their lives. Of course, nobody could know for sure as they couldn¡¯t see Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s dance right now, but Director Yoon Seon imagined that if his dance remained in present times, it would be similar to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu.?


    ?


    As Director Yoon Seon watched without taking his eyes off for even a second, he soon realized that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu was different from Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu seemed to have the intention of protecting someone. It was just as charming but didn¡¯t give off any deadly vibes, as though it was going to slash a person¡¯s neck at any moment.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon wondered if Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s dance would look like that if his last dance had been passed down through the generations and Chae Woo-Jin was dancing with a sword to protect something or someone.?


    ?


    ¡°I need to get him on board, right?¡± As soon as Chae Woo-Jin was done performing his geonmu, Yoon Seon muttered as though talking to himself.?


    ?


    ¡°Probably. As far as I know, if you don¡¯t get Chae Woo-Jin to take on the role, you¡¯ll never be able to shoot Red Enemy in this lifetime.¡±?


    ?


    The truth was like a curse at times.?


    ?


    1. Interesting to note that the pine tree (Korean red pine specifically) is the national tree of Korea. It symbolizes tenacity, unchanging beliefs, and tenacious vitality to grow strong even in a barren land. ??


    ?


    2. Korean traditional sword dance. ??


    ?


    3. Gisaengs or kisaengs were women from outcast or slave families trained to be courtesans. They provide artistic entertainment and conversation to men of the upper class. ?

 CH 103

    ?


    ?


    Hanryang Doryeong defeated Snowflake Fairy (Na Yu-Ri) by a margin of 93 votes and ultimately attained his fifth victory. However, his decision to leave the show remained unchanged; Hanryang Doryeong took off his mask as planned and stepped down as the Masked King through his own volition. The viewers were so curious about his identity that the viewership ratings hit 42% at the moment he removed his mask.?


    ?


    When Hanryang Doryeong revealed his face after removing the mask, I¡¯m certain that almost everybody was stumped by this turn of events. The person behind Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s mask is none other than the young and handsome actor, Chae Woo-Jin. Instead of the middle-aged singer that everyone expected, Woo-Jin appeared and shattered their expectations and dealt a blow to public prejudice.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I had goosebumps all over just by watching it yesterday! Initially, I thought the production team and Hanryang Doryeong were pulling a prank on the viewers. If Chae Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t sung after removing his mask, I wouldn¡¯t have believed it was him. Goddamn, how can Hanryang Doryeong be Chae Woo-Jin!!?


    ?


    ©¸ So what if Hanryang Doryeong is Chae Woo-Jin? Your words are kinda strange.?


    ?


    ©¸ I apologize for causing any misunderstanding. I was just trying to say that I couldn¡¯t believe it when I first saw him.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Honestly, I¡¯m still in a state of shock. I never expected Hanryang Doryeong to be Chae Woo-Jin. Whenever I heard people talking about him, I thought that he was only a handsome actor so I wasn¡¯t really interested in him. I just started watching City of Shadows recently and I regret not becoming his fan back then!?


    ?


    ©¸ I started watching Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s movies yesterday as well, and it¡¯s time for me to start City of Shadows. I also downloaded ¡®The Wind That Blows From You¡¯ and I¡¯m looking for the edited version of ¡®Shining Star¡¯ with only his parts.?


    ?


    ©¸ TM just released the original version of ¡®Shining Star¡¯ which was sung by Chae Woo-Jin earlier.?


    ?


    Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s fans started showing love for Chae Woo-Jin and learned new things about Woo-Jin that they didn¡¯t know before, and they also began to watch the previous productions that he acted in. The revelation that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin was so well-received that the movies, dramas, and variety shows that he was casted in started trending on internet search engines and were at the top of the list.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Ah!! That¡¯s why they delayed the release of ¡®Shining Star¡¯. I cussed at TM for using dirty tricks but it turns out they were being considerate. If they released it earlier, people would have realized that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ©¸ I¡¯m just speculating but I think DS was the one that stopped TM from releasing it. TM''s not suicidal.?


    ?


    ©¸ Ah I think you meant to say ¡®considerate¡¯? [1] But the word ¡®suicidal¡¯ fits this situation perfectly for some reason.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C When the Blue Fit scandal broke out, I wasn¡¯t interested in Blue Fit or Chae Woo-Jin so I didn¡¯t think much about it¡­ But now that it¡¯s over, I¡¯m getting mad about it. May Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s future be smooth-sailing from now on!!?


    ?


    ©¸ It might sound harsh but as Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s fan, if Chae Woo-Jin was a member of Blue Fit, I might cuss at him. I¡¯m really very happy that justice is on our side. My blood is also boiling just by thinking about Blue Fit, albeit belatedly.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Justice? Oh please! He intentionally went on the show so that he could beat Min Si-Hoo. In any case, it¡¯s rather childish and petty of him to take revenge.?


    ?


    ©¸ I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Chae Woo-Jin clearly stated in the beginning that there was a scheduling conflict and that he would be able to go on the show after March, but he still appeared on the show because the PD insisted. It¡¯s a fact that has been confirmed and acknowledged by the PD himself. Why are you making baseless accusations! And what¡¯s wrong with taking revenge? I¡¯m always in favor of seeking this kind of revenge.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C The PD must have insisted on getting Chae Woo-Jin on the show because he wanted to stir some drama by pitting him against Min Si-Hoo, but he ended up shooting himself in the foot. Who¡¯s going to watch The King of the Masked Singers now that Hanryang Doryeong is gone???


    ?


    ©¸ I second that. The show was good, but it reached its peak because of Hanryang Doryeong. Since he has defeated Choi Hee-Jeong, Kwon Yeol, Cho Dong-Il, and Na Yu-Ri, I can¡¯t help but lose interest in the show. It seems like for the time being, it''ll be boring regardless of who goes on the show.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I feel so bad for Na Yu-Ri. She sang so well that I thought she was singing her favorite song, but she only received three votes. T_T?


    ?


    ©¸ Didn¡¯t she sing to the best of her abilities this time around? Since she has gotten the same number of votes as Min Si-Hoo, it¡¯s obvious that she¡¯s not that great.?


    ?


    ©¸ What are you talking about?? As compared to when Hanryang Doryeong pitted against Min Si-Hoo, Hanryang Doryeong seemed to have taken Na Yu-Ri very seriously. You must be deaf or something. Nevertheless, Na Yu-Ri got three votes. Also, the three people that voted for Min Si-Hoo fessed up, saying they voted for him because they were fans of Blue Fit, but in fact, they wanted to vote for Hanryang Doryeong. The Blue Hole members self-evaluated it as votes from die-hard fans.?


    ?


    As promised, the day after Hanryang Doryeong was revealed to be Chae Woo-Jin, TM finally released ¡®Shining Star¡¯ after all the delays. People only understood why TM delayed the release after listening to ¡®Shining Star¡¯. It was sung with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s natural voice, which was different from his other singing voices that the public was familiar with. Even though he had not reached his peak back then and his voice was still unseasoned compared to his present skills, it was so full of emotions that it was in a different league compared to the original song sung by Min Si-Hoo.?


    ?


    As a result, it further exonerated Seol Moon-Young. People understood that it would have been difficult for anybody to let Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice go to waste. Now that Hanryang Doryeong had been revealed to be Chae Woo-Jin, Seol Moon-Young¡¯s side of the story gained even more sympathy from the public.?


    ?


    Back then, there were people who fell in love with the masterpiece, ¡®Shining Star¡¯, and became fans of Blue Fit. There were also people who fell in love with Hanryang Doryeong after witnessing his skills. It was only natural for these two groups of people to become new fans of Chae Woo-Jin. Thus, in just one day, the influx of new members in Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Fancafe grew exponentially.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Who wouldn¡¯t want Genie? I heard that the people who are preparing for a historical film are going crazy. Originally, they wanted to cast Chae Woo-Jin, but I guess some people were concerned because they felt that he was too modernized for the role. But after yesterday¡¯s episode, they realized that they had all been worried for nothing.?


    ?


    ©¸ Genie has monolids; he has a face that¡¯s perfect for historical dramas and films, so what¡¯s there to worry about? Man! Everything about him looks handsome, from his face to his body structure. His posture is so straight and great. Hmph.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C We have a lot to teach the new members. Should I open a crash course on the bulletin board??


    ?


    ©¸ That¡¯s a good idea. After all, we¡¯re a Fancafe with history and tradition.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C After hearing ¡®Shining Star¡¯ that was released today, I realized that 20 year old Genie was a beast as well. I can fully comprehend why Seol Moon-Young wanted to use his voice.?


    ?


    ©¸ In a nutshell, TM did something stupid. I bet you a hundred won that CEO Kim is downing bottles of alcohol by now.?


    ?


    ©¸ He should be doing that for the rest of his life.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C That man kicked Genie out when he was having a hard time instead of taking care of him. It¡¯s obvious what the future of that person is going to be.?


    ?


    ¨C There¡¯s a Fool Hole fan who attends the same hagwon [3] as me. She was totally in low spirits today. Just a few days ago, even though those fools messed up, she claimed that Min Si-Hoo was better than Genie at singing and chose to die on that hill. She couldn¡¯t even look me in the eyes today.?


    ?


    ©¸ They still have fans? The people around me said that it was crazy and that they left the fan club because they were disappointed ???


    ?


    ©¸ There are still a lot of them left. They lied to the fans abroad and cussed at Genie. I had to explain the truth to them again.?


    ?


    ©¸ If they¡¯re fans from abroad, that means you explained in a foreign language? You¡¯re so talented!?


    ?


    The barags used to refer to Blue Fit as ¡®the blue people¡¯. But after TM''s official press conference, they started to call them the Fools. The nicknames were becoming more and more intense.?


    ?


    The members of Wish Baragi had already expected Hanryang Doryeong to be Chae Woo-Jin. They had been waiting for this moment and when it came, they simply enjoyed it. They had truly felt like they were at war for the past two months. The barags had hated TM and Blue Fit for a very long time, but they didn¡¯t exactly have a reason to do so. They simply didn¡¯t like Blue Fit because Chae Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t part of the group, and they hated TM for letting him go.?


    ?


    After learning the truth, they realized how great their intuition was, and it was heartbreaking for them to know that there was a clear basis for their hatred. It was a lot easier for them to hate Blue Fit and TM out of pettiness. Even after TM''s official press conference, the process of searching for defamation comments and posts written by Blue Hole members, fighting them and eventually emerging victorious was a tearful journey. It might have been even more arduous if they weren¡¯t comforted by Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s performances, as well as Woo-Jin¡¯s commercial.?


    ?


    Meanwhile, some of the barags went on a mission to catch the people who stole the life-sized cutouts from the telecommunication company¡¯s stores. There were others who toured around the library that Chae Woo-Jin was reportedly seen at. Additionally, Jin-Hee¡¯s Mother uploaded photos of Chae Woo-Jin in his everyday life every now and then. She became the new rising star amongst the barags.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo took a photo of her son while she was watching The King of the Masked Singers with her family yesterday, and posted it on Wish Baragi. Initially, she felt awkward to pretend like she was an acquaintance of Chae Woo-Jin, while hiding the fact that she was actually his mother. But after doing it a couple of times, the lies piled up and she became increasingly brazen.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t cut his hair in a while ahead of the bar exam, saying he didn¡¯t want to jinx it. Seeing him do something he hasn¡¯t done for his CSAT [4], Park Eun-Soo could felt that he genuinely wanted to pass. Hence, Woo-Jin would pin his bangs back when he was at home because they were annoying. Park Eun-Soo took a photo of Woo-Jin eating an apple with his bangs pinned to the back when he looked at her, with Hanryang Doryeong dancing on the TV behind him. When Park Eun-Soo asked when Woo-Jin learned how to dance like that, her son laughed mischievously and said it was top secret.?


    ?


    1. The previous commenter used the word ¡®??¡¯ which means to commit suicide, while ¡®??'' means considerate. ??


    ?


    2. The double ; was left as it was in the raw ??


    ?


    3. Hagwons (??) are after-school academies/private institutions/cram school in Korea ??


    ?


    4. College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT, also abbreviated Suneung, is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 104

    Chapter 104?


    ?


    ¨C Jin-Hee¡¯s Mother!! Exactly how close are your families for his mother to send such a photo to you? Why isn¡¯t my mom friends with Genie¡¯s mom??


    ?


    ¨C My hands are shaking right now. I swear I¡¯ve never seen this side of Genie before. So this is how he smiles when he¡¯s with his family. Here¡¯s to Genie¡¯s warm eyes that are looking into mine right now.?


    ?


    ¨C He seems to have a mischievous look on his face. I guess he watched the show together with his family. I wonder if his family knew about Genie being Hanryang Doryeong.?


    ?


    After uploading her post, Park Eun-Soo kept checking the comments as if she had been hooked on doing this. Finally, she replied to the last comment with a happy smile on her face.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, everybody knew.¡±?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo was the first in the family to know about Hanryang Doryeong. However, she didn¡¯t tell anyone except her husband, Choi Min-Woo, who hadn¡¯t seen the show. She didn¡¯t even tell Woo-Hee about it because Woo-Jin asked her not to, so the secret was kept safe.?


    ?


    Initially, Woo-Hee was simply happy that Min Si-Hoo didn¡¯t manage to clinch his fifth victory. But subsequently, she started looking suspiciously at Woo-Jin since the second episode. She still wasn¡¯t sure because Woo-Jin feigned ignorance. Either way, she couldn¡¯t imagine Woo-Jin hiding something big like that from her.?


    ?


    However, the moment Woo-Jin got his third victory, Woo-Hee grabbed him by the neck and shook him excitedly, questioning why he didn¡¯t tell her about it earlier. She was convinced Hanryang Doryeong was Woo-Jin without needing his confirmation. After learning that she was the only person in the family who was kept in the dark, Woo-Hee asked if she was such a clueless person and fell into despair for a couple of days. Woo-Jin had followed the depressed Woo-Hee around and even cajoled her. Then, just as Park Eun-Soo was happily reminiscing about what happened, she suddenly received a phone call from her father.?


    ?


    ¨C Why didn¡¯t you tell me??


    ?


    As soon as Park Eun-Soo answered the call, her eyes immediately widened when she heard the abrupt question.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? About what?¡±?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo¡¯s first thought was that her father called because he found out that Woo-Jin had taken the bar exam. Even though her heart was pounding crazily, she feigned ignorance for the time being. Although Woo-Jin thought that Park Eun-Soo still hadn¡¯t given up on her son taking the bar exam, she wasn''t as zealous as she used to be. This was because many people loved and acknowledged her son, and she felt proud as she watched him steadily walk on his own path. Since he had already started the bar exam this year, he might as well finish it, but she was planning on telling him not to put himself through any more hardships. That was why she was worried that her father might interfere and make things worse.?


    ?


    ¨C I heard that Woo-Jin is on the show called The King of the Masked Singers??


    ?


    ¡°Ah~! So that¡¯s what you were referring to. We didn¡¯t know anything about it at first either but happened to find out by chance after watching it on TV. Woo-Jin told us not to tell anyone, so we couldn¡¯t say anything.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C Am I ¡°anyone¡±??


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo was very confused after hearing the disappointment in her father¡¯s voice that he couldn¡¯t hide. Even though her father didn¡¯t directly talk about Woo-Jin joining the entertainment industry, she assumed it was natural for him to oppose it, given his nature. Thinking that the whole incident with Blue Fit back then might make him more adamant against it, she tried her best to refrain from talking about Woo-Jin¡¯s affairs about the entertainment industry as much as possible.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t watch shows like that anyway.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C ¡­?


    ?


    ¡°Father?¡±?


    ?


    ¨C Forget about it.?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo looked at the phone, perplexed as the call was disconnected. She couldn¡¯t understand why her father was acting so out of character. Her confusion stemmed from the lack of knowledge on how religiously her father watched all the movies and TV shows his grandson appeared in. He had even made a collection of all his works so far. So naturally, she also didn¡¯t know that Park Hyun-Man had lost his temper and called his daughter after going on The King of the Masked Singers¡¯ website, where he found and downloaded the episodes that Woo-Jin had appeared in. As always, it was difficult for children to understand their parents¡¯ feelings.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Just as Kang Ho-Soo confidently predicted, many people desperately wanted to get an interview with Chae Woo-Jin. The agency¡¯s phone rang all day, and the public relations team had been busy dealing with the reporters one by one. They were busy providing an appropriate amount of information about Chae Woo-Jin while simultaneously reviewing the content.?


    ?


    ¡°Just today, we received two offers for historical productions,¡± CEO Jang Soo-Hwan mentioned.?


    ?


    Apart from the historical films and dramas that had already aired or started shooting, all the remaining upcoming productions wanted to cast Woo-Jin. The production teams examining the situation and weighing their options before jumping in seemed to have become more anxious since yesterday.?


    ?


    ¡°Tsk, these people are too late. They need to have good intuition like Director Yoon Seon.¡± CEO Jang Soo-Hwan probably already had a production in mind, so he didn¡¯t even bother giving more details of the other productions that had sent in their offers today.?


    ?


    ¡°Director Yoon Seon?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, Director Yoon Seon made an offer to cast you in his movie. I specifically didn¡¯t tell you about it earlier because I didn¡¯t want to disturb you when you were preparing for the bar exam. Still, if you want to do a historical production, this one is much better than the other offers that came in today.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s a good director. Is that a historical film as well?¡±?


    ?


    Even though he believed that Director Yoon Seon was a good and talented director, more importantly, Woo-Jin liked that he wanted to cast him before Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s identity was revealed. If they wanted to hire Chae Woo-Jin after seeing Hanryang Doryeong, it meant that there was a limit to the image they wanted from him.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s called Red Enemy ¡ª its screenplay surfaced in Chungmuro[1] three years ago, but the shooting still hasn¡¯t commenced because Director Yoon Seon was very picky when it came to casting the main lead. A lot of agencies and actors covet the role, but he¡¯s offering it to you!¡±?


    ?


    Even though it surfaced in Chungmuro three years ago, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know anything about it. Thus, he was not as deeply moved as CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. However, judging from CEO Jang¡¯s reaction, he had high expectations for it.?


    ?


    ¡°You mentioned that it was a historical film. What is it about?¡± He was curious whether it was a movie centered on historical events based on actual historical figures or a mix of reality and fiction, where the characters were made up.?


    ?


    ¡°You know who Prince Myeong-Hwan is, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes¡­I do.¡± Jang Soo-Hwan failed to notice the momentary pause in Woo-Jin¡¯s reply. His eyes became slightly fuzzy. Even though it had been a long time, Prince Myeong-Hwan was an idol that people in the arts looked up to and aspired to be.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s the life story of the man whose father, King Gyeong-Jo, named him Myeong-Hwan, where ¡®Hwan¡¯ stands for ¡®retreat,¡¯ but he changed the character of his name, changing its meaning to ¡®flame.¡¯[2] They named the movie Red Enemy, based on the sentence ¡®My heart is red because of the flame within it.¡¯¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right ¡ª you¡¯ve been cast as Prince Myeong-Hwan!¡±?


    ?


    After reading the screenplay of Red Enemy, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan coveted the role and wanted one of his actors to land it. Previously, DS had also recommended a couple of actors, but Director Yoon Seon rejected all of them. However, the tables had turned this time around. It was meaningful that Director Yoon approached them first and proposed to work with Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Jang¡­¡±?


    ?


    The excited Jang Soo-Hwan had already started imagining Woo-Jin as Prince Myeong-Hwan; he couldn¡¯t hear anything. After Woo-Jin called out to him a couple of times, he finally snapped out of his thoughts and came to his senses. Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s face was beaming more than ever because he was looking forward to meeting the most perfect and beautiful version of Prince Myeong-Hwan anybody had ever seen thus far.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to take on the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡± CEO Jang Soo-Hwan asked Woo-Jin several times to clarify because he thought he might have misheard him. When he finally understood what Woo-Jin said, he cried out loud.?


    ?


    ¡°Why not? Woo-Jin, think about it carefully! We¡¯re talking about Prince Myeong-Hwan here. The Prince Myeong-Hwan!¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan could not comprehend Woo-Jin¡¯s decision and listed all the actors that had portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan so far. Some of them were even given the title ¡ª ¡®Korea¡¯s Top Actor.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°Do you by any chance not know much about Prince Myeong-Hwan? That¡¯s not the case, right?¡± CEO Jang had the urge to grab a history book right away. Prince Myeong-Hwan occupied several pages in historical texts as the driving force, as well as the victim of the coup.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to portray him because I know him well enough.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked away, frowning. His attitude meant that it was something he truly didn¡¯t want to do. However, Jang Soo-Hwan couldn¡¯t let go of his desire to get Woo-Jin to portray Prince Myeong-Hwan. Even though he had never forced an actor to take on a role they hated, he held onto Woo-Jin and continued talking.?


    ?


    ¡°Why? Is it because something upsetting happened while you were studying about Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°There are¡­quite a lot of reasons.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°This is not something you should decide on the spur of the moment. We still have some time, so let¡¯s think about it over the next few days before giving an answer.¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan patted Woo-jin on the back and gently coaxed him as though he was comforting a child. He didn¡¯t forget to place Red Enemy¡¯s script in Woo-Jin¡¯s hand while he was at it.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you really not going to do it? You might not know this, but people have been talking about Red Enemy for a very long time. Director Yoon Seon is one of the most renowned directors, so there won¡¯t be any hiccups during the film production. You don¡¯t have to worry about the production or anything at all. So why don¡¯t you just trust him this once?¡±?


    ?


    Upon hearing that Woo-Jin turned down the part, Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s response was not much different from Jang Soo-Hwan''s. He spoke up for Director Yoon Seon just in case Woo-Jin had any misunderstandings about him. He had never expected Woo-Jin to be reluctant to take on the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to do with the director. I just don¡¯t want to act as Prince Myeong-Hwan.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Prince Myeong-Hwan is a very well-rounded character, so I thought you¡¯d like him. Is that not the case?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested because many people have already portrayed him.¡±?


    ?


    Realizing Woo-Jin still had no interest in the role, Kang Ho-Soo used Jang Hee-Bin[3] as an example.?


    ?


    ¡° Jang Hee-Bin has been portrayed by so many actresses, but still many actresses covet that role whenever there¡¯s a new drama or movie about her. Prince Myeong-Hwan is Jang Hee-Bin for male actors. There are so many different interpretations of him, so yours could be very different depending on how you act. I think it¡¯ll be a good idea for you to do some serious research about him before coming to a decision¡­.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s appeal, Woo-Jin held back his laughter with all his might and nodded without sincerity. Regardless of how much he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t feel any enthusiasm towards it.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan. He knew him too well; that was why he didn¡¯t want to take this role. Prince Myeong-Hwan was one of his identities from his past lives, so it was impossible for him to not know who he was. He was born as the sole legitimate child of King Gyeong-Jo. When he was born, the kingdom already had a crown prince who was 14 years older than Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    The situation was very similar to that of Prince Gwang-Hae and Prince Yeong-Chang[4], just that, unlike King Seon-Jo, King Gyeong-Jo was wary of Prince Myeong-Hwan and kept his distance. To be precise, the issue was that Gyeong-Jo had regarded Queen Moon-Jin, Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s biological mother, and her family as enemies. Therefore, in Gyeong-Jo¡¯s eyes, Prince Myeong-Hwan was nothing more than a threat to his royal authority.?


    ?


    King Gyeong-Jo had never once looked after his children as a father. He named him Myeong-Hwan ¡ª ¡®Myeong¡¯ for inscription and ¡®Hwan¡¯ for retreat. Even though ¡®Hwan¡¯ had several meanings, Gyeong-Jo was clear and firm about its meaning and told his young son to remember it for the rest of his life.?


    ?


    At the young age of 7, Prince Myeong-Hwan was married to a woman from a humble family and was chased out of the palace. When his wife was 20, she gave birth to a son, and both mother and son died a mysterious death a few days later. Prince Myeong-Hwan was 17 years old at that time.?


    ?


    The world that had never been fun started to become very dull. After ascending the throne, his older brother was always wary of him and would monitor and harass him. On the other hand, Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s mother wanted her son to ascend the throne, even if she had to stage a coup with the help of her family.?


    ?


    ¡®I was fed up.¡¯?


    ?


    He was very sick and tired of his family and blood relations. He had often gone to bed praying that he wouldn¡¯t wake up in the morning. If he were to take on that role, he wasn¡¯t confident enough to act it out without getting his personal emotions involved.?


    ?


    1. Korea¡¯s Hollywood. ??


    ?


    2. A lot of Korean names use hanja (Chinese characters), and in this case, his original name (Hwan) was ߀, but he changed it to Ÿ¨. ??


    ?


    3. She¡¯s the consort of King Sukjong of Joseon and the mother of King Gyeongjong. She was the Queen of Joseon from 1689 until her deposition in 1694. ??


    ?


    4. Grand Prince Yeong-Chang and Gwanghaegun of Joseon are actual historical figures. King Seon-Jo named Prince Gwang-Hae as his successor. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 105

    ¡°By the way, when am I going to get a haircut?¡± Woo-Jin changed the subject and asked about his hair as he touched it with his hand. He hadn¡¯t been able to cut it because of his exam. As his schedule was free, Hwang Yi-Young took this opportunity and went on vacation with her family, prompting Woo-Jin to ask Kang Ho-Soo instead, but his response was rather lukewarm.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re going to cut your hair?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°My bangs are annoying,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    ¡°You might film a historical drama in the future, so you should leave it alone,¡± Kang Ho-Soo suggested.?


    ?


    ¡°...¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you should play Prince Myeong-Hwan, but you could possibly appear in a different historical drama,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt like no one was on his side as he heard Kang Ho-Soo deny talking about Red Enemy. But it was understandable since no one really understood him. The unexplainable frustration that Woo-Jin felt caused him to feel burdened.?


    ?


    Red Enemy was the drama that CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was forcing on him, so Woo-Jin didn¡¯t bother reading the script. Instead, he placed the script on one side of the room and tried his best to forget about it, but he couldn¡¯t ignore it. To Chae Woo-Jin, Prince Myeong-Hwan was one of his past lives that he didn¡¯t want to revisit, but as an actor, he couldn¡¯t help getting curious about Red Enemy.?


    ?


    Since the new semester started, Woo-Jin was busy with school, and unlike before, where he was basically invisible, many people asked for him. Of course, he couldn¡¯t attend all of the gatherings, but he did attend a few to express his sincerity by showing up. As a result, his social life improved a lot.?


    ?


    It had been a few days since he received the script for Red Enemy, but CEO Jang Soo-Hwan and Kang Ho-Soo no longer forced Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s role on Woo-Jin. However, seeing how they didn¡¯t mention visiting a hair salon, he could somewhat guess their thoughts.?


    ?


    ¡°Mother?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    He arrived home late after attending classes and meetings and was surprised to see his mother reading something in his room.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh my! Is it that late already? I read it briefly while cleaning your room¡­¡± she said.?


    ?


    After looking at the time, Park Eun-Soo stood up from her seat while holding the Red Enemy script. The script had sat in the same spot for a few days, and while she started reading it out of curiosity, she ended up sitting down and reading the rest of it.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you read it?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Was I not supposed to?¡± she asked him.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin shook his head while smiling when she asked in shock.?


    ?


    ¡°No, it should be fine as long as you don¡¯t leak it,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t do something like that, but are you going to do this movie? Who will you be playing?¡± Park Eun-Soo asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I did get cast for the film, but I¡¯m not going to accept it,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    ¡°How come?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I just don¡¯t like it.¡±?


    ?


    When her son answered indifferently, Park Eun-Soo looked disappointed but agreed as if there wasn¡¯t anything she could do to change his mind.?


    ?


    ¡°The script seems great, but nothing can be done if you don¡¯t want to do it. It¡¯s said that even roles are part of one¡¯s destiny. Anyway, did you eat?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    As she heard his answer, Park Eun-Soo placed the script in its original spot and started leaving the room.?


    ?


    ¡°You can take it with you and read it,¡± he told her.?


    ?


    ¡°No, I already read it once and was rereading it because it was fun,¡± she said.?


    ?


    When he heard her, Woo-Jin unknowingly asked while looking at Red Enemy, ¡°Did you enjoy it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I enjoyed reading it, at least. The story was good, and most of all, I was really immersed.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What was Prince Myeong-Hwan like in the script?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°He was cool and charming, as expected from the main character, but he¡¯s a bit different from the Prince Myeong-Hwan that everyone knows about, so it was memorable. They wrote him so well that he seemed very convincing, however¡­.¡±?


    ?


    His mother didn¡¯t finish her sentence and instead shrugged while looking at Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°While reading it, there was another character I was more interested in than Prince Myeong-Hwan,¡± she said, finishing her sentence.?


    ?


    ¡°Who?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°They don''t appear in a lot of scenes, and the role isn¡¯t very impactful, but personally, I was feeling bad for them,¡± she explained.?


    ?


    People would usually like one character when reading a script, but since that wasn¡¯t always the main character, Woo-Jin was no longer interested.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, you mentioned the application for changing Woo-Hee¡¯s last name. How did that go? She sounded like she was going to apply before the new semester started,¡± Woo-Jin asked suddenly.?


    ?


    He had forgotten about it as he was busy preparing for the exam and asked his mother when the thought suddenly popped into his head. Since Woo-Hee didn¡¯t meet the condition of getting adopted as a biological daughter, she told them last December that she would look into general adoption and change her last name.[1]?


    ?


    ¡°Oh¡­about that¡­.¡± Park Eun-Soo vaguely responded. His mother, who rarely stopped talking midway, smiled awkwardly. Everyone knew that Woo-Hee was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister, so changing her name to Choi Woo-Hee would give people something to talk about.?


    ?


    ¡°I did tell Woo-Hee that it was probably better to do it when she enters college, but I guess I forgot to tell you,¡± his mother told him.?


    ?


    It was strange how his mother was avoiding eye contact. Woo-Hee was known to have the last name ¡°Chae¡± because of Woo-Jin, so she probably wanted to end the topic quickly as she thought he would feel terrible, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t ask any more questions.?


    ?


    After his mother left his room, Woo-Jin picked up the Red Enemy script. He didn¡¯t get rid of it and left it in a place where he could see it because he was still attached to it as an actor. Plus, many people around him had said it was a good script, so he couldn¡¯t ignore it.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m simply curious¡­.¡±?


    ?


    The moment he flipped the first page, it only took him a moment to read to the last page.?


    ?


    Like his mother said, the story was immersive, so it didn¡¯t take him long to read until the very end. After reading every word, Woo-Jin checked to see who the writer of Red Enemy was and noticed it was written by Yoon Seon, the director.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you serious¡­!¡±?


    ?


    Works, where Prince Myeong-Hwan was the main character, always stereotyped the prince. He was usually portrayed as having enjoyed the arts, spending time with courtesans, and pretending to be immersed in dance and poetry while in a complicated political situation. He was even criticized for being a bit indecisive and was bullied by his mother, which caused him to make a drastic decision in the end.?


    ?


    However, Red Enemy crushed many stereotypes regarding Prince Myeong-Hwan, and it was funny how 80 percent of it was close to the truth. Out of all the works Woo-Jin had seen so far, this script understood and portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan the best. As if the director watched the prince up close, he understood the prince¡¯s personality well and wrote it accordingly. Just how much research did he do that he could write it this close to the truth??


    ?


    If there was one thing that Woo-Jin found lacking, then it was that people didn¡¯t know that Prince Myeong-Hwan was a narcissist and an immature person, and because of that, Director Yoon Seon glorified him by filling the remaining 20 percent with lies.?


    ?


    ¡°Why am I the one feeling embarrassed?¡± Woo-Jin asked himself.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt mortified and sad because despite living in the present, he was embarrassed about Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s life.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, why?¡±?


    ?


    Since Director Yoon Seon hadn¡¯t gotten any replies, he took the initiative to visit DS because he couldn¡¯t wait anymore. At first, he had been indifferent about casting Chae Woo-Jin, but now, he had changed his mind and was adamant about casting only Chae Woo-Jin. He was confident. Even though he had told Cha Young-Joo that he might get rejected, it was nothing more than worrying about something that hadn¡¯t happened yet. And so, when he heard the situation from CEO Jang Soo-Hwan, he couldn¡¯t believe it.?


    ?


    ¡°In my opinion, I think this is a personal issue,¡± Jang Soo-Hwan said.?


    ?


    ¡°A personal issue?¡± Yoon Seon asked.?


    ?


    ¡°When I saw Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction, I noticed how he personally didn¡¯t have a good opinion about Prince Myeong-Hwan, and there¡¯s a good chance that he still hasn¡¯t read the script,¡± the CEO explained.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan knew Woo-Jin well, but in the end, all of his assumptions were wrong.?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, how can he dislike Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡±?


    ?


    Forget the casting issue; Director Yoon Seon didn¡¯t understand that part more. And since CEO Jang Soo-Hwan also agreed with him, he couldn¡¯t hold back his sorrow and grabbed his chest.?


    ?


    ¡°Everyone interprets history differently, and the playboy image of Prince Myeong-Hwan that was first portrayed may have been engraved into Woo-Jin¡¯s head. He¡¯s pretty old-fashioned, so he really dislikes those things,¡± CEO Jang said.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh wow! That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t like how they portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan the first time. I still don¡¯t understand why they portrayed someone like him that way,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    ¡°But he was portrayed in a pretty charming way,¡± the CEO commented.?


    ?


    Even though they didn¡¯t like how the prince was portrayed, no other actor would be able to surpass their interpretation of Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s carefree personality and loneliness. It was a well-known fact that Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s popularity increased because of that.?


    ?


    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± the director asked.?


    ?


    ¡°We need to convince him,¡± CEO Jang answered.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had fallen in love with the sword dance that Woo-Jin showed during his last appearance on The King of the Masked Singers. Now, unable to imagine anyone else as Prince Myeong-Hwan besides Chae Woo-Jin, he was just as desperate as Director Yoon Seon. ¡°I¡¯ll set up a meeting so that you can meet him, so try your best to convince him,¡± CEO Jang said.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan let Yoon Seon take over. If it were any other actor, they would¡¯ve had to prepare a lot of things before going into filming, but for Woo-Jin, there wouldn¡¯t be any problem if he joined now, so taking that into consideration, putting in the time to convince Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t a waste.?


    ?


    Thanks to CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s arrangement, Woo-Jin ended up having dinner with Director Yoon Seon. When Woo-Jin saw a table full of Korean food, he understood why CEO Jang Soo-Hwan told him not to leave until he finished all the food. As a result, Woo-Jin and Director Yoon Seon looked as if they were having a meeting between families while having more than enough food for two people.?


    ?


    ¡°Have you had the chance to read Red Enemy?¡± the director asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon''s face brightened up instantly when Woo-Jin gave him an answer different from his expectation. Even though he wrote it, Director Yoon Seon was really proud of how the script turned out and was confident that no actor would turn down the role once they had read it.?


    ?


    ¡°The script was good, but I believe I lack¡­in many things to take on the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan,¡± Woo-Jin told him.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re not lacking at all! I¡¯ve wandered for three years looking for the right candidate and chose you for the role!¡± the director said.?


    ?


    Truthfully, since last year, the investors had suggested Chae Woo-Jin, but Director Yoon Seon had kept rejecting him all this time. However, he changed his mind after watching the telecommunication commercial.?


    ?


    The way Woo-Jin fought off the robot birds with a sword made him think that he was good at sword dancing, and since his acting and appearance were acceptable, the director thought he would be able to interpret and act out Prince Myeong-Hwan the best out of all the young actors.?


    ?


    Ultimately, Director Yoon Seon selected Chae Woo-Jin because the investors pressured him to stop delaying the film. But the end justifies the means, and after three years, he was confident that Chae Woo-Jin was the only actor he was okay with.?


    ?


    ¡°If you have any misunderstandings regarding Prince Myeong-Hwan, that¡¯s because the previous dramas and movies interpreted him wrong, and actually, he¡¯s not that kind of a person,¡± Director Yoon Seon explained.?


    ?


    ¡°When I read the script, I realized that you interpreted him differently,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°The prince that¡¯s portrayed in the Red Enemy is the actual prince. So I didn¡¯t interpret him differently.¡±?


    ?


    For the first time today, Woo-Jin was genuinely curious after seeing Director Yoon Seon¡¯s confident attitude. In history, all they talked about were the results of Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s deeds, works of art, political situations that surrounded him, and their consequences. Additionally, the media had a big influence on portraying him in a certain way.?


    ?


    But Director Yoon Seon¡¯s Red Enemy portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan differently from the others, making Woo-Jin curious about how he got that confidence when writing this story.?


    ?


    1. Based on a google search, if the adoption of a biological child is allowed, the kinship with the biological parents will be terminated, the legal kinship with the adopted parents will be newly formed, and the surname of the biological child will also follow the adopted father. In a general adoption, the adopted adoptive parents acquire the status of the birth of their adopted parents during marriage, so the adopted parents are subject to the parental rights and relatives of the adopted parents. However, the existing kinship with his biological parents remains the same. In order to ¡°qualify¡± for an adoption as a biological child, the person who will be a parent must be a married couple for at least three years and the person who will be an adopted child must be under the age of 15. ?

 CH 106

    ¡°I wrote Red Enemy based on the letters that Prince Myeong-Hwan exchanged with his friends, as well as the opinions of the people around him and the materials I obtained by combing through records and visiting historians. I didn¡¯t write the script randomly.¡± Director Yoon Seon explained.?


    ?


    The director gave Woo-Jin a detailed explanation about the amount of effort and process he had went through in order to gather materials about Prince Myeong-Hwan. His face was filled with passion as he recounted his story and it was obvious that he genuinely adored and admired Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°Some say that Prince Myeong-Hwan enjoyed the arts and found pleasure in spending time with courtesans, but he actually had a mild case of mysophobia, so I¡¯m suspicious about if he really embraced the courtesans,¡± he said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin stopped eating and asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but be surprised because Director Yoon Seon pointed out a specific detail that wasn¡¯t mentioned anywhere.?


    ?


    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s nothing! Seol Ha was a courtesan who was close to Prince Myeong-Hwan and there were records that stated that she taught the other courtesans. Since the prince didn¡¯t like drinking from wine glasses that others had used, they had to prepare a separate wine glass, and they would throw away the cloth that he used to wipe himself. Since Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t allow a single stain on his clothes, the courtesans were also warned to be extra careful while serving him,¡± the director explained.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin recalled the past while listening to his explanation. Thinking back, the courtesans whom Seol Ha had trained pleased him and were quick on their feet, making him feel comfortable.?


    ?


    ¡°Everyone said that it was only natural since he was the prince, but it was then when I realized that he had a case of mysophobia. Prince Myeong-Hwan enjoyed the courtesans¡¯ artistic skills and didn¡¯t hesitate to support those with skills, but I¡¯m certain that he didn¡¯t embrace any of them because our prince is definitely not that type of person. I also found out that Prince Myeong-Hwan became angry when people asked him why didn¡¯t he take Seol Ha, who was his close friend, as his concubine,¡± added Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan had adored the courtesan Seol Ha the most and people had been suspicious of the love triangle between him, Seol Ha, and Queen Yoon. However, Yoon Seon couldn¡¯t find any evidence that Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol Ha were in a romantic relationship.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s not just me, but other historians also believed that Seol Ha was Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s soulmate. We also believe that when she died at a young age, Prince Myeong-Hwan murmured to himself, ¡®Now I don¡¯t have any friends under this sky who¡¯ll genuinely understand me,¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t the sadness that one felt when sending away their lover,¡± he told Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin nodded unknowingly after hearing Director Yoon Seon¡¯s explanation and continued the conversation.?


    ?


    ¡°Seol Ha was the best dancer at the time and supposedly, she expressed her tough and strong spirit through her dance despite being a woman. Honestly, her advice played a big part when Prince Myeong-Hwan sublimated his swordsmanship into a sword dance. No, I think that¡¯s what happened.¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin unintentionally revealed the truth of what happened, he quickly changed the subject because the story about how Prince Myeong-Hwan took Seol Ha¡¯s advice when practicing the sword dance wasn¡¯t recorded anywhere.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin suddenly recalled Seol Ha who was a friend from his past life. If he had to make a comparison, then she was like Hyun-Min, his current friend. Their friendship was a pure and honest relationship that went beyond gender and status. There was even a time when they had talked throughout the night and it had become dawn without them realizing it; they continued to exchange poems as the morning sunlight shone through the window.?


    ?


    Even though the poem now appeared in Korean textbooks and gave students a headache, Prince Myeong-Hwan had been able to express all of his worries and sorrow when he was with Seol Ha. He had once offered to get her out of the brothel, but Seol Ha declined because no matter where she went, it didn¡¯t change the fact that she was Seol Ha, the courtesan. She smiled sadly while saying that the brothel was the only place where she was able to dance freely as a woman.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m certain Prince Myeong-Hwan was very shocked by Seol Ha¡¯s death and thoughts of death and the fear of not being able to be with her again influenced him a lot,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right, and that¡¯s probably why he made that decision in the end,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    ¡°To Prince Myeong-Hwan, Queen Yoon was an important person, but I¡¯m sure Seol Ha was the one who exerted the greatest influence on him throughout his life,¡± Woo-Jin added.?


    ?


    ¡°We share the same thoughts,¡± Director Yoon Seon commented.?


    ?


    After hearing what Woo-Jin said, the director didn¡¯t find his words to be absurd. In fact, he deeply sympathized with Woo-Jin and was moved. When he imagined how Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s sword dance came to be, Director Yoon Seon could only conclude that it was because of Seol Ha. However, people ignored him saying that it wasn¡¯t possible for a prince of a nation to learn a ferocious and energetic sword dance from a courtesan.?


    ?


    Truthfully, there really wasn¡¯t a big gap between Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol Ha. In Director Yoon Seon¡¯s point of view, she was the only person with whom the prince kept close to him and exchanged many conversations with.?


    ?


    ¡°We may have a lot more in common than you think,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    As if he found an accomplice, Director Yoon Seon looked at Woo-Jin with sparkling eyes. It seemed as if Director Yoon Seon was saying, ¡®Just like me, you¡¯re a fan of Prince Myeong-Hwan.¡¯ The director looked like he came to the conclusion that Woo-Jin hasn¡¯t declined the role not because he disliked the prince, but because he was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to properly interpret the great Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°H-Hold on. Honestly, I¡¯m¡­not that kind of person,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    However, Director Yoon Seon was already looking at Woo-Jin as if he was that kind of person.?


    ?


    ¡°Give it some thought,¡± the director suggested.?


    ?


    He spread his arms wide and spoke as if he was dreaming.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Prince Myeong-Hwan was lonely throughout his entire life and the only person he could open up to was a courtesan. To Prince Myeong-Hwan, despite having parents, brothers, a friend, and a lover, it was basically the same as having no one. The people that were the closest to him used him as a tool for political disputes. But, did he ever feel subservient or lose his will?¡±?


    ?


    Already halfway inside his own fantasy, Director Yoon Seon wasn''t asking the question because he expected an answer.?


    ?


    ¡°I admire the prince¡¯s spirit and will. He genuinely loved art and wasn¡¯t pretending to love it in order to prevent himself from getting involved with politics. He wasn¡¯t indecisive because he couldn¡¯t go against Queen Moon-Jin. No matter what happened, it just didn¡¯t matter to him. As long as his will wasn¡¯t broken, he always remained a generous person,¡± Director Yoon Seon explained.?


    ?


    When the director spoke, all Woo-Jin could do was drink water because even though what he said was the truth, the facts were a bit twisted. Prince Myeong-Hwan hadn¡¯t been generous or liberal about anything, he was just indifferent to it and believed that nitpicking about everything made him look undignified. Director Yoon Seon probably didn¡¯t know the amount of effort that Prince Myeong-Hwan had put in in order to live a dignified life.?


    ?


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he a man of confidence when he met with not only the king of his country, but the ministers and even the envoy from the Ming Dynasty? Actually, don''t you think it¡¯s amazing how he used his ability and arrogance to make them bow and apologize to him?¡± the director asked.?


    ?


    Truthfully, back then, the prince only took action because he found it ridiculous how the foreigners from the Ming Dynasty looked down on Joseon¡¯s poetry when he was standing right in front of them. Not only was the prince the best writer in Joseon, but there wasn¡¯t another writer like him in the Ming Dynasty, so what gave them the right to look down on him when he claimed to be a calligrapher.?


    ?


    During that time, Prince Myeong-Hwan hadn¡¯t been interested in increasing Joseon¡¯s spirit and honor; he had just wanted to show off his talent.?


    ?


    ¡°He even cherished his people. He once saved a person who was being harassed by a high-ranking official. If I were to describe him using modern words, he¡¯s an indifferent but caring person,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    At that time, Prince Myeong-Hwan had only done what he did because the high-ranking official was the vice minister and mud got on his clothes because of all the fuss they were making. Prince Myeong-Hwan had lost his mind and used a horsewhip on them, only to find out that the vice minister was hitting on a civilian¡¯s young daughter to make her his concubine. Somehow, Prince Myeong-Hwan got involved so he had no choice but to save the daughter.?


    ?


    ¡°You know, when I think about how he took his last breath while recalling his lonely life, it makes me really sad because right now, there are so many people that look up to him and love him,¡± Director Yoon Seon said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin, who was the former Prince Myeong-Hwan, wasn¡¯t interested in Director Yoon Seon¡¯s sad words.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s the point? Will his spirit be happy just because he received the things he didn¡¯t receive while he was alive?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin acknowledged that Prince Myeong-Hwan was one of his past lives, but his feelings didn¡¯t waver. The moment the prince had closed his eyes, that life was over and Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to become swayed by the situation and emotions which he felt back then while living a new life. That was the reason why Woo-Jin rejected Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s role. He was also afraid that the boundaries he had been maintaining between his past lives might collapse the moment he acted as Prince Myeong-Hwan. While reading the Red Enemy, he felt nervous because it showed the parts he was embarrassed about.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but this is just a consolation for the living,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    ¡°The living?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°A consolation for the many Prince Myeong-Hwans¡¯ who are currently living in this world,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t quite understand what Director Yoon Seon was saying.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if Prince Myeong-Hwan wasn¡¯t loved by his parents and siblings, he didn¡¯t let them manipulate him when they tried to use him as a tool for political disputes. He loved himself the most, so for those who are in a similar situation as the prince, I want to show them the true Prince Myeong-Hwan. The way he loved and lived his life,¡± explained Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin remained quiet for a moment because he never imagined someone would look at Prince Myeong-Hwan in that manner. After blinking a few times, Woo-Jin spoke.?


    ?


    ¡°But in the end, Prince Myeong-Hwan chose suicide, so how can that comfort those people?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Despite the fact that Queen Moon-Jin started a rebellion in order to place herself on the throne, the prince proudly raised his sword and aimed it at her and her followers. Can that be considered as suicide? Or was it a choice to protect himself until the very end? If the prince ended up ascending the throne, then he would¡¯ve been nothing more than their puppet. It would have been like Yoon Jong, who ascended the throne in Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s place after causing a rebellion,¡± said Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    Woo-jin swore that Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t harbor such thoughts back then. Even though it ended exactly as how Director Yoon Soon described, the dead prince and Woo-Jin were the only ones that knew the truth and it was a dark history that would remain buried forever.?


    ?


    That¡¯s why Woo-Jin felt bad for the Prince Myeong-Hwan that appeared in Red Enemy. Because the truth was buried in history, any actor would want this role since he was interpreted as a much cooler and three-dimensional character. If Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have any memories of his past, he too would¡¯ve immediately agreed to work with Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s spring outside, the prince lamented that the frost beneath his feet still hasn¡¯t melted and it¡¯s my small wish to present the season of spring to him,¡± the director told him.?


    ?


    ¡°Spring?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Spring may have arrived, but it was the season which he wasn¡¯t able to experience. Even though he felt lonely, there were many that loved and cherished him. I want to tell him that the spring he never knew of had been beside him. And thanks to the work which he had left behind, our spring has arrived! I want to give a gift to Prince Myeong-Hwan by properly focusing on him.¡± he answered.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin heard Director Yoon Seon¡¯s reply, he felt the director¡¯s innocent passion and affection stabbing him in his heart, causing his mind to turn faint and his heart starting to burn.?


    ?


    ¡°And I want to tell this to the other Prince Myeong-Hwans¡¯ that are living in this world. To enjoy the spring that comes into their lives and that it¡¯s not their fault for not being loved. But rather, the fault lies on the people who don''t love them,¡± the director added.?


    ?


    After hearing that, Woo-Jin was deduced that Director Yoon Seon''s past was similar to Prince Myeong-Hwan at one point and that it was Prince Myeong-Hwan that helped him welcome a new spring.?


    ?


    ¡°How can a movie bring spring to the people?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon smiled brightly like a kid in response to Woo-Jin¡¯s curiosity.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out once you start filming the movie,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    The director tempted Woo-Jin by asking if he wasn¡¯t curious about what kind of spring they were going to create.

 CH 107

    It was spring, but his inability to feel it represented his state of mind. ¡°What does your spring look like?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin asked Hyun-Min.?


    ?


    ¡°For me, as long as I¡¯m with my Ggong, it¡¯s always spring for me,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    He nicknamed his girlfriend ¡®Ggong¡¯ because her last name was ¡®Gong,¡¯ and appeared as if just thinking about her made him happy. However, when he looked at Woo-Jin in front of him, a wry smile appeared on his face as he grumbled that the reality was winter.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, are you filming something historical this time?¡± Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Everyone looked at your hair and guessed it,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, no matter what I do, I think I¡¯ll do a historical film while in this state,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    After returning from her vacation, even Hwang Yi-Young was against Woo-Jin getting a haircut, so he didn¡¯t really care anymore. After meeting with Director Yoon Seon, he started thinking about many things, and even though he was constantly thinking about Prince Myeong-Hwan from Red Enemy, he had a hard time making a decision.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin started becoming curious about how Director Yoon Seon was going to express the spring that he thought of and how he was going to show it to the people, so he started rewatching the movies that the director filmed a long time ago. There were a few he watched before and others that he¡¯d never watched. After watching the director¡¯s recent movies, Woo-Jin was left with a feeling of comfort and consolation and realized that the director looked at people kindly. Red Enemy was probably going to be like that too, which was why Woo-Jin became even more curious. Will people be able to feel spring even after watching a movie that had a tragic ending??


    ?


    Ding~!?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin received a text notification, Hyun-Min was more interested than he was.?


    ?


    ¡°Who¡¯s the guy that¡¯s been sending you petty texts recently?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Just some guy. He¡¯s a persistent and passionate person,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin checked his phone, wondering what the text would say this time. After his last meeting with Director Yoon Seon, he occasionally texted and emailed Woo-Jin. He sent all the materials he collected about Prince Myeong-Hwan and even reported about the film set currently being built and the film''s progress.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin sent a reply asking why he would make preparations for the film when the main character hadn¡¯t been decided yet, the director replied with a crying emoticon. After he met with Woo-Jin, the director claimed to be inspired by him and sent new content that was going to be added to the script. The scene was about Prince Myeong-Hwan learning the sword dance from Seol Ha, and while reading it, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but recall the past, which made him smile.?


    ?


    That was when he realized what Director Yoon Seon meant when he mentioned the spring that Prince Myeong-Hwan couldn¡¯t feel. The faint warmth that he felt was like spring.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh Ha-Na?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin read the unfamiliar name on the text message.?


    ?


    ¡°Is she the same Oh Ha-Na that used to be a child actor?¡± Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Probably? If I get cast as the main character, then Oh Ha-Na will be my partner,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    After the audition for Queen Yoon finished, Director Yoon Seon told Woo-Jin the name of the person finalized for that role through a text message.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh Ha-Na? Not bad. She turned 21 this year, so you two should be able to get along, and even though she has that smart and coy image, it should be fine since she¡¯s pretty and good at acting,¡± Hyun-Min explained.?


    ?


    While searching for Oh Ha-Na, his eyes lit up.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you thinking about doing Red Enemy?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Woo-Jin asked, surprised.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s an article about it that says that Oh Ha-Na was finalized for the role of Queen Yoon in Red Enemy and even though they haven¡¯t revealed who¡¯s going to be playing the role of Prince Myeong-hwan, there are rumors that it¡¯s going to be Chae Woo-Jin,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    Hyun-Min showed Woo-Jin the article that he was reading. It said that the production company and the investors of Red Enemy had their eyes on Chae Woo-Jin since last year, but due to Director Yoon Seon¡¯s constant opposition, they didn¡¯t know who would finally get that part.?


    ?


    ¡°Someone¡¯s calling you,¡± Hyun-Min said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t realized his phone was vibrating because of the article he was reading. He returned Hyun-Min¡¯s phone and answered the call.?


    ?


    ¡ª It¡¯s not true!?


    ?


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±?


    ?


    When the person on the other line started off with a vehement denial, Woo-Jin checked to see who had called him and realized it was Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    ¡ª Oh my gosh! I don¡¯t know who wrote such an article, but what they wrote about me opposing you is false. False, I tell you! You¡¯re not upset, are you??


    ?


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    Anyways, Woo-Jin knew just how much effort the director put into trying to cast him, so he didn¡¯t get swayed by what was written in the article.?


    ?


    ¡ª Oh yeah? That¡¯s a relief. What kind of reporter would write something like that? They should¡¯ve just written about Oh Ha-Na being cast instead of dragging all of us down. Don¡¯t take it the wrong way because you¡¯re the only person who can play my Prince Myeong-Hwan, and if you don¡¯t agree, then I¡¯m not going to film the movie!?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s no need to go that far.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Where are you right now? Should we meet??


    ?


    When Director Yoon Seon mentioned that he didn¡¯t have anything else to do after the audition, he subtly asked Woo-Jin¡¯s whereabouts, but Woo-Jin shook his head and ended the call politely after telling him that he was with a friend.?


    ?


    ¡°Despite what the article says, it seems like the director wants to cast you, but you still haven¡¯t decided, right?¡± Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    Based on Woo-Jin¡¯s attitude during the call and the director¡¯s animated voice he heard from time to time through the phone, Hyun-Min guessed the situation and seemed excited about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you accepting the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s a real person. It¡¯s not fun,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make him more charming?¡±?


    ?


    When Hyun-Min said that, Woo-Jin looked at him as if he was being ridiculous.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though everyone knows about him, in the end, no one knows since he¡¯s a historical figure, so don¡¯t you think it¡¯s great that you¡¯ll be able to create a new character of the prince and let people know about him? People might even think of you first when they talk about Prince Myeong-Hwan,¡± Hyun-Min explained.?


    ?


    Hyun-Min was saying that when people mentioned Prince Myeong-Hwan, the actor who played the prince first popped into their heads, but since things changed with time, he wanted Woo-Jin to take the role.?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I like Prince Myeong-Hwan too. If you do play that role, it¡¯ll look so real that my heart will ache, and I¡¯ll become sad, but I think I¡¯ll also be happy. I¡¯ll be vicariously satisfied while thinking, ¡®Ah, Prince Myeong-Hwan is my friend!¡¯¡± Hyun-Min answered.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin asked if it would interfere with him trying to empathize with the character. When Woo-Jin mentioned it would be difficult to focus if a friend played the role of a historical figure, Hyun-Min shrugged.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s a historical figure, but the prince that¡¯s shown on the screen is a fake character, so don¡¯t think so much about it. Remember that Prince Myeong-Hwan is nothing more than a role that actor Chae Woo-Jin needs to overcome and challenge himself. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to do it or not, but don¡¯t give up just because you¡¯re burdened by the fact that he¡¯s a historical figure,¡± Hyun-Min explained.?


    ?


    Even if the script was written based on historical evidence, it couldn¡¯t be 100 percent identical. In the end, Prince Myeong-Hwan showed in the movie, couldn¡¯t be a real person and was only a new character recreated through an actor.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty rational,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°More than that, Prince Myeong-Hwan died young before he reached 30. That means a young actor needs to play that part, and out of all the actors in their 20s and early 30s, no one¡¯s a better actor than you,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°Hey, that kind of compliment makes me feel uncomfortable, and there are a lot of actors that are in their mid-30s,¡± Woo-Jin commented.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin mentioned a few names, Hyun-Min waved his hand and frowned.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if an actor takes good care of himself to the point that he looks younger than his age, they give off a certain vibe. Honestly, the people that played Prince Myeong-Hwan so far were too old, and some people got shocked after finding out that the prince died before he reached 30 years. History has been misinterpreted. What I¡¯m also trying to say is that even if you wanted to play Prince Myeong-Hwan later, you wouldn¡¯t be able to, so take the chance while you can,¡± Hyun-Min told him.?


    ?


    He must¡¯ve gotten thirsty after so much talking because he picked up his cup, but upon realizing it was empty, started spinning it as he contemplated, ¡°Should I order another?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You said you were going to meet Miss Ggong here. Aren¡¯t you going to drink coffee with her?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    The two were currently in the new location of the cafe they used to visit often. While filming the drama, Woo-Jin met the owner of this cafe again, and after that, he would visit occasionally.?


    ?


    Since there was still time left before Hyun-Min¡¯s date with his girlfriend, Woo-Jin decided to wait with him, and when he spoke while looking at his watch, Hyun-Min placed down his cup as if he had given up on reordering.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, since when did Miss Tae-Hwa start working part-time again?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin whispered to Hyun-Min while looking at Kim Tae-Hwa studying at the counter since there weren¡¯t any new customers. After the first exam, Woo-Jin thought he would never see her again, but the unexpected reunion made him feel awkward. Kim Tae-Hwa offered to buy his coffee today for the umbrella he gave her and for not apologizing properly last time, but as the coffee was more expensive than her hourly pay, he couldn¡¯t let her do that.?


    ?


    ¡°I guess the owner asked if she could do it since he couldn¡¯t trust anyone else. He told her that he didn¡¯t mind her studying when there weren¡¯t any customers, so she¡¯s studying while working as a part-timer,¡± Hyun-Min answered.?


    ?


    The cafe owner needed a reliable person to work the counter while he was out, and in exchange for not interfering with whatever she did during the remaining time, he offered the job to Kim Tae-Hwa. Unlike the occasional visitor, Woo-Jin, Hyun-Min knew a lot as he often visited with his girlfriend.?


    ?


    ¡°When I asked her about the exam after hearing it from you, she said she passed based on her provisional grade.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°And she¡¯s still working as a part-timer?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s a bit tough for her since she missed out on the scholarship last semester. Wait! I don¡¯t think you have any right to say something like that,¡± Hyun-Min pointed out.?


    ?


    Not only was it difficult living the life of a celebrity while attending school, but he was at the point where he had to prepare for the bar exam. Hyun-Min, who had enthusiastically encouraged Woo-Jin to accept the role, now changed his mind and told him to give up the Prince Myeong-Hwan role. No matter how he looked at it, it would make Woo-Jin look really greedy.?


    ?


    While the two were immersed in their conversation, the chime bell rang, signaling the entry of a new customer, but other than the part-timer, no one really cared.?


    ?


    ¡°Thud!¡±?


    ?


    The sudden dull sound caused everyone to turn their attention to one place. The sound came from the counter where Kim Tae-Hwa was sitting, and a middle-aged woman stood holding her handbag in front of her, fuming.?


    ?


    ¡°How dare you! How could you do this? You wench! You wench!¡±?


    ?


    Every time the woman spoke, she hit Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s head with her bag, and the sound that everyone heard just now was the sound of the bag hitting her head. While the other customers remained at their spots surprised, Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min stood up and approached the woman.?


    ?


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, I don¡¯t know what this is about, but you should talk it out.¡±?


    ?


    Hyun-Min took the lead and stood between the woman and Kim Tae-Hwa. Woo-Jin quietly grabbed the woman¡¯s bag and blocked her so that she couldn¡¯t hit Kim Tae-Hwa anymore.?


    ?


    ¡°Who the hell are you? This is a family problem, so you two stay out of it.¡±?


    ?


    The woman talking down to them resembled Kim Tae-Hwa. Not able to do much, Woo-Jin looked at the dumbfounded Kim Tae-Hwa, standing up from her seat and nodding.?


    ?


    ¡°She¡¯s my mother,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s really nothing,¡± she said.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa approached her mother while looking embarrassed.?


    ?


    ¡°Mom¡­¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How dare you ignore my calls!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do this here. Let¡¯s go outside. We can talk outside,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa signaled the other part-timer and exited the cafe while dragging her mother by her arm.?


    ?


    ¡°What the? The way that woman hit her seemed serious. Shouldn¡¯t we follow them?¡± Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    He shivered while mimicking the way the woman hit Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s head. As a pacifist, he hated violence. Moreover, if it was between family members, no matter what the issue, he believed resolving it through violence wasn¡¯t right.?


    ?


    ¡°That woman didn¡¯t care about hitting her even with so many people around. What if she starts hitting her outside?¡± Hyun-Min asked with concern.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin held Hyun-Min back from heading outside because his girlfriend would arrive soon.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow them, so you stay here,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was very concerned because he believed that violence between family members was inappropriate. Since he was going to leave soon anyway, he decided to follow Kim Tae-Hwa. He couldn¡¯t interfere with family problems and didn¡¯t want to get involved in other people¡¯s personal affairs, but it was dangerous to be with someone who used violence like that.?


    ?


    ¡°Call me later,¡± Hyun-Min said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin nodded and exited the cafe. After taking her mother outside, he saw Kim Tae-Hwa heading toward the parking lot behind the building. When he slightly opened the door leading to the parking lot, he saw the mother and daughter standing in a corner away from the building. He stood behind the pillar at the parking lot entrance and looked at the mother-daughter pair. He might be nosy, but if that woman used violence again, then he would be ready to run towards them.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re such a cruel girl. I¡¯ve never seen a girl as cruel as you,¡± her mother said.?


    ?


    ¡°I sent you the money,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s enough?!¡± she yelled.?


    ?


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do any tutoring last month because something came up. That¡¯s all the money that I have,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    Based on what Kim Tae-Hwa said, Woo-Jin realized that her family didn¡¯t know she had taken the bar exam.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, right! I¡¯m sure you hid the money somewhere. Your sister is working hard in the UK, but you don¡¯t even want to support her while living comfortably here. Didn¡¯t I tell you that she needed to prepare for the upcoming competition and get private lessons?¡± the woman said.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother yelled while pressing her finger against her head. It wasn¡¯t as bad as what she had done earlier, so Woo-Jin held it in, staying still.

 CH 108

    ¡°It¡¯s true, and what do you mean unnie is going through hardships? The place she¡¯s living at is better than my dorm¡­.¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh my! How could you two be so different despite being twins? Your sister always talks nicely and is affectionate, but you¡¯re so cold, and what did you say? The place she¡¯s living at is better? Do you think she should live in a place like yours when she¡¯s making music? Also, did I tell you to live in a dorm? You should just live at a nice place too,¡± her mother said.?


    ?


    Blaming her sister out of anger when she voluntarily chose to move into a dorm had Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother scoffing at Kim Tae-Hwa for being ridiculous.?


    ?


    ¡°Excluding my tuition and living expenses, I send the rest of the money to you, so how can I live in a better place?¡± Kim Tae-Hwa asked.?


    ?


    At this point, Woo-Jin felt dumbfounded. As a third-person listening in on the conversation, he was speechless after hearing the mother had come all this way just to complain how Kim Tae-Hwa didn¡¯t send back a lot of money this month. Then she even told her to live in a nice place??


    ?


    ¡°Are you trying to show off that you have money?¡± her mother asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that I¡¯m in a tough situation, not trying to show off,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa answered.?


    ?


    When her mother¡¯s voice gradually sounded sharper, Kim Tae-Hwa mumbled quietly as she hunched her shoulders.?


    ?


    ¡°Who told you to go to college? We told you before that we couldn¡¯t support you since Tae-In wanted to study the violin. We even suggested that you attend a college in Gyeonggi-Do so you can continue staying at home, but you moved to Seoul to attend the University of Korea out of pure selfishness, so you do things on your own! This is my first time seeing a child trying to suck out every last bit from her parents! You should¡¯ve listened and become a government official. Even if you graduate from a famous college, kids these days end up in civil service anyway, so why are you wasting time like this? Had you become a government official, all of us, including Tae-In, would¡¯ve been happy,¡± her mother explained.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin noticed how Kim Tae-Hwa clenched her fist while listening to her mother¡¯s complaints with her head down. She controlled her emotions by clenching and loosening her fist a few times, but in the end, she couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and spoke to her mother in a repressed voice.?


    ?


    ¡°If we¡¯re in a difficult situation because of Tae-In¡¯s study abroad expenses, then why not ask Tae-Hyuk to get a part-time job too? He''s a college student now, so he can¡­.¡±?


    ?


    But even after gathering the courage to comment, she watched her mother¡¯s reaction, which caused her voice to become quieter.?


    ?


    ¡°What? You want the little boy to do what?¡± Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I got a part-time job at his age and helped the family while earning my own living expenses,¡± she told her.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you talking about? You never did that. Here you go again with your nonsense. Anyways, you should get that mythomania fixed first. Do you think I¡¯m doing this because I hate you? I¡¯m doing this so that you can grow up to be a better person,¡± her mother explained.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know a lot about Kim Tae-Hwa, he at least knew that she didn¡¯t have mythomania, and during this time, the sound of her mother telling her to stop lying filled the parking lot. Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother was pretty experienced in crushing a person¡¯s self-esteem.?


    ?


    ¡°I went through so much pain giving birth to all of you, so all of you are precious to me,¡± she said.?


    ?


    Her mother suddenly changed the subject and started comforting her daughter by telling her about her twin sister¡¯s hardships as she had to compete against her wealthy friends. She also mentioned how her brother was still too young and immature to get a part-time job.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I trust you, and since we¡¯re old, we can¡¯t rely on anyone. Your sister will probably live abroad for the rest of her life, and I heard that when you get married, the husband lives with his wife¡¯s parents, so I¡¯m sure Tae-Hyuk will do that when he gets married later. So you¡¯re the only person we can rely on, and the only reason why I was so mad today was that you didn¡¯t pick up my call,¡± her mother explained.?


    ?


    After her mother finished talking, Kim Tae-Hwa quietly apologized.?


    ?


    ¡°Make sure to pick up my phone calls next time, and I¡¯ll let it slide this month. Starting next month, you have to send the same amount you did in the previous months. We have plans as well, and if you suddenly send less than what you normally send, how are we supposed to make up for the deficit?¡± her mother said.?


    ?


    ¡°I understand,¡± Kim Tae-Hwa said.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s my good daughter,¡± her mother told her.?


    ?


    Her violent energy was no longer present, and she patted her daughter¡¯s back while hugging her. As she fixed Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s messy hair, she even asked kindly if it hurt a lot earlier. This extreme change in the mood caused Woo-Jin to have goosebumps.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now, so go back to work,¡± her mother told her.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother displayed the face of the most kind-hearted mother and left the parking lot while waving her hand. After seeing her mother off, who didn¡¯t look back once, Kim Tae-Hwa remained in the same spot and then hugged herself.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s cold,¡± she said.?


    ?


    The cold weather in early March was still chilly for her.?


    ?


    Since Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mother left, Woo-Jin thought she probably wouldn¡¯t get hurt anymore, so he quietly left the scene. He couldn¡¯t really comfort her since it was her family affair, nor could he badmouth her mother. More than that, he felt like he eavesdropped on something he shouldn¡¯t have and felt terrible towards Kim Tae-Hwa. In their previous conversation, he told Kim Tae-Hwa not to overstep her boundaries. But here, he was now doing the same, and it made him extremely uncomfortable.?


    ?


    After texting Hyun-Min that everything was fine, Woo-Jin sighed. He now understood why Kim Tae-Hwa looked dark and lacked confidence, and he pitied her. Unfortunately, she had high expectations and hope from her parents, who didn¡¯t love her. He realized this when he watched Kim Tae-Hwa meekly submitting once her mother treated her a bit kindly. He was frustrated by how she couldn¡¯t give up what she should be giving up and wasn¡¯t walking with confidence wherever she went.?


    ?


    He suddenly recalled Director Yoon Seon¡¯s words.?


    ?


    ¡®And I want to tell this to the other Prince Myeong-Hwans that are living in this world. To enjoy the spring that comes into their lives and that it¡¯s not their fault for not being loved, but rather, the fault is on the people that don''t love them.¡¯?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa was already living in spring, and no matter where she went, she wouldn¡¯t get that kind of treatment. The inferiority complex that she wasn¡¯t loved by her family crushed her self-esteem.?


    ?


    For the first time, Woo-Jin called Director Yoon Seon first.?


    ?


    ¡°Tell me, can a person¡¯s life really change through one movie?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin asked, Director Yoon Seon answered immediately without any hesitation.?


    ?


    ¡ª That¡¯s why I make movies and the reason why I¡¯m working hard.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Not many people visited a photo exhibition at a small art museum. Since the museum opened the small exhibition and not a famous photographer, only the usual visitors went to see it. Because of that, Woo-Jin could freely enjoy the photos since he was at a place that didn¡¯t have a lot of people.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin visited this place on an impulse. When he looked at the culture promotion section on the newspaper corner, he was moved by the title printed there. He didn¡¯t visit because he knew the photographer or was interested in photography. However, the title, ¡®The People I Love¡¯ and the explanation underneath piqued his interest.?


    ?


    It was supposedly a collection of the photographer¡¯s loved ones and strangers living in unfamiliar cities. He understood the former but became curious whether the latter part of the collection really comprised the people the photographer loved. In what perspective was the photographer looking at them to be included among the people they loved.?


    ?


    That small curiosity was why Woo-Jin visited the museum and why he intentionally didn¡¯t look at the exhibition pamphlet. Instead, when he entered the gallery, Woo-Jin followed the arrangements of the photos and slowly walked while admiring the work. He knew that the models in the pictures earlier were the photographer¡¯s family. There were different pictures where old and wrinkled faces were looking at the photographer with affection and trust, a woman in her mid-30s that looked back with a smile while changing flowerpots, and a young girl looked as if she was asking, ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ while holding a puppy.?


    ?


    The earlier photos clearly showed the exhibition''s theme because of the emotional exchange between the photographer and the models. Just by looking at them, it was obvious that they trusted and loved each other.?


    ?


    And the photos that he saw next were the ones that made Woo-Jin curious: an old couple they met on the country road, people of an unknown city walking fast with their backs against the morning sun, hikers they had met on the mountain path, and the backs of the people that were looking at the sunrise.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was certain that the photographer and those people didn¡¯t know each other. Either they didn¡¯t notice the camera or were wary of the camera and expressed their fear towards a stranger. However, the same people either smiled awkwardly or waved their hands later. While the photographer was taking such two pictures, Woo-Jin was able to imagine how the photographer spent their time with these people.?


    ?


    There was a common misconception about the word love. The photographer was expressing this great and intense emotion that humans possessed through different perspectives. Although everyone¡¯s emotional weight was different, it seemed like the photographer wanted to show that the love for mankind was also basically a form of love. Their warm gaze towards strangers made them look loveable, and even though they weren¡¯t interacting with each other, the people in the photos were loved depending on how the photographer felt.?


    ?


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Woo-Jin commented.?


    ?


    The last photo was a scene of a fire where a child was rescued by a firefighter, and after discovering someone, they were smiling brightly. That was when Director Yoon Seon approached Woo-Jin and spoke.?


    ?


    ¡°The child must¡¯ve been staring at their parents, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Probably. It¡¯s a relief that the child didn¡¯t get injured badly and their parents are safe,¡± the director answered.?


    ?


    As they didn¡¯t know the truth outside of the photo, people read the story within and guessed it was a happy ending, seeing the houses in the background hadn¡¯t collapsed. The photo caused viewers to worry and feel relief for the people inside the picture, and even if it wasn¡¯t love, it was a moment where they felt a small amount of affection.?


    ?


    Before they knew it, the photographer changed the title from ¡®The People I Love¡¯ to ¡®The People We Love.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°I was surprised that you wanted to meet at a place like this, but thanks to you, I found a great photographer. You have good taste,¡± Director Yoon Seon said.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. This is my first time attending a photo exhibition. I picked it because of the title, so I can¡¯t really accept your compliment as it was sheer coincidence,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°Then, you have a good eye,¡± the director complimented.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but laugh because it felt like he was pressuring him to pick his movie since he had a good eye. The director must¡¯ve also appreciated the exhibition because he also purchased a photograph when Woo-Jin bought one. The exhibition staff recognized Woo-Jin and tried to give it for free, but he insisted on paying for it. However, he didn¡¯t decline when the people around him asked for his autograph and to take pictures with him.?


    ?


    ¡°Should we go for a walk?¡± the director asked.?


    ?


    As soon as they exited the museum, Director Yoon Seon suggested walking around. The art museum was located where the cultural street was developed, and murals and small props decorated the streets, so there was a lot to look at. Also, the weather was rarely this nice and warm, so Woo-Jin gladly accepted his suggestion. It wasn¡¯t crowded since it was a weekday afternoon, so it was enough for Woo-Jin to freely enjoy the walk just by wearing a hat and sunglasses.?


    ?


    While they walked in silence, Woo-Jin was the first one to talk.?


    ?


    ¡°For what reason did you pick me for the Prince Myeong-Hwan role, Director Yoon?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re the actor that I wanted,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    ¡°For example?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin asked, Director Yoon Seon looked as if he was caught off guard, so he tried to buy some time by looking around but ended up sighing. Since he wasn¡¯t a good liar, he decided to be honest.?


    ?


    ¡°Your acting and looks were acceptable. What I was concerned about was whether you had the vibe that¡¯s suitable for a historical movie and whether you¡¯ll be able to express Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s abilities properly without being awkward. So despite other people¡¯s suggestions, I¡¯d kept you as my second choice,¡± the director answered.?


    ?


    In the end, Director Yoon acknowledged the information written in the article a few days ago and spoke while scratching his neck awkwardly.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing that a director expects from an actor. It¡¯s how realistically the actor can portray the character that we created! So even though I sent you the casting proposal before I knew that you were Hanryang Doryeong, at that time, I honestly thought that it wouldn¡¯t matter even if you declined,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon reflected on his emotions and joy when Hanryang Doryeong¡¯s identity was revealed and confessed truthfully. He found Hanryang Doryeong to possess the elements needed for Prince Myeong-Hwan and said he wanted Chae Woo-Jin because of his ability to act out the prince.?


    ?


    ¡°No matter how much material I collect and how close to the truth I get about Prince Myeong-Hwan of Red Enemy, he can¡¯t be 100 percent perfect. I acknowledge that my fantasy and expectations may twist the truth, but since this isn¡¯t a documentary, it¡¯s not a bad idea to slightly glamor him up a bit, right? I wanted an actor that could express my Prince Myeong-Hwan the best, and I found that expectation in you,¡± Director Yoon Seon told him.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan of Red Enemy was a historical figure and, in the end, was a role and character. Since he had already committed to it, Director Yoon couldn¡¯t give up his desire to make the prince even more perfect. Even though he was a historical figure, the director stressed that the prince in the movie was a fictional character and expressed the same opinion that Hyun-Min had.?


    ?


    If he simply wanted a good actor who could act out Prince Myeong-Hwan, Red Enemy would have been released long ago. But since he wanted more than that, he claimed that it had to be Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 109

    ¡°Then, let me ask you this. Why are you hesitating to accept the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan? Based on your reaction, I don¡¯t think you completely dislike the role,¡± asked Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    Director Yoon grumbled about how this situation was giving him false hope. Since Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t refute it, he looked up at the clouds. Just like how the clouds change shape constantly, Woo-Jin changed his mind several times throughout the day.?


    ?


    ¡°Because any actor would want the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan that¡¯s portrayed in the Red Enemy. I agree that the actor Chae Woo-Jin wants to accept the role,¡± he said.?


    ?


    That¡¯s why Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t strongly reject the role. Perhaps, it would¡¯ve been better if he didn¡¯t read the script. If Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t read that, he would¡¯ve already declined the role regardless of what the director and the people around him said. However, actor Chae Woo-Jin was unable to fully let go of Prince Myeong-Hwan because of the growth opportunities available when acting in this movie. Hyun-Min¡¯s suggestion to grab the opportunity when he had the chance kept repeating in his head. Even Woo-Jin himself thought that his dawdling was frustrating and despite the fact that he created this situation, he was angry and annoyed.?


    ?


    ¡°Then, what is the normal Chae Woo-Jin thinking about?¡± asked the director.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that my mental boundaries will break down,¡± answered Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Since Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t tell Director Yoon about his past life, it was difficult for him to put his feelings into words. Instead, he explained the mental confusion and depression that actors experienced after filming.?


    ?


    ¡°What should I do if I lose myself in the role and start becoming delusional once I¡¯m done filming? What should I do if it affects human Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s personality? I¡¯m scared that the boundary between me and Prince Myeong-Hwan will break down to the point where I won¡¯t know who I am anymore,¡± explained Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Have you experienced something similar before?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin shook his head after hearing Director Yoon¡¯s question. If the role was a character of a different historical figure, then Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t have to think so hard about it.?


    ?


    This would be different from the photo shoots where he had to act out a different personality. For those situations, he acted by reflecting on the life he had once lived. Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t have to think so hard about it he had to act as if Prince Myeong-Hwan had been time-warped to the future. But in this current situation, he could only feel embarrassed because it felt like he was writing his own autobiography.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s feelings were so complicated it was hard to put into words. He was required to act as Prince Myeong-Hwan, who was one of his past lives, not for days or hours, but for months. Woo-Jin was worried about whether he¡¯d be able to return to reality with normalcy afterward. There wasn¡¯t a set rule that Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s personality wasn¡¯t going to affect Woo-Jin¡¯s personality. It would be all too easy for the wall to keep crumbling once the first crack happened. It would be difficult to guarantee what would happen after that. It was inevitable that he would feel afraid of a situation that he had never experienced before.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a fear that many actors experience and grapple with, but you¡¯ve never experienced this before, so why are you feeling so apprehensive about Prince Myeong-Hwan? Especially when we haven¡¯t even started filming yet,¡± said Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what to say, so he accidentally told a lie.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­I really like Prince Myeong-Hwan and he¡¯s my idol. I can¡¯t stop thinking about the possibility of being too immersed once I get into character.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s words sounded stiffer than reading a Korean book, but Director Yoon Seon¡¯s eyes sparkled. What Woo-Jin wanted to say was that he wasn¡¯t the kind of person Director Yoon thought he was, but since Woo-Jin was unable to explain his situation, he had no choice but to acknowledge it by avoiding his gaze. Since he had said it himself, he couldn¡¯t deny it anymore. ¡°It¡¯s normal to be worried,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    ¡°Is it normal?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who is worried about that. There are a lot of actors who have reached the point where the better their acting is, the more they are immersed into the role. It comes to the point where they struggle to differentiate reality,¡± answered Director Yoon.?


    ?


    Director Yoon¡¯s words were right, but what he was saying was different from the situation that Woo-Jin was in, so he just kicked at the cobblestones with the tip of his shoe. Woo-Jin felt like a patient who had lied and hid his sickness from his doctor during a consultation.?


    ?


    ¡°You asked me a few days ago, right? Whether one movie can change a person¡¯s life. Do you think a movie like that can be made with minimum effort?¡± asked Director Yoon.?


    ?


    Unless the director was a genius who could create a masterpiece with minimum effort, it would be hard to ignore the amount of effort and time that went into making one movie.?


    ?


    ¡°The photos that we saw just now, do you think they came out the way the photographer wanted? Of course, a photo that was taken by chance can touch people¡¯s hearts, but most of them took countless attempts and practice in order to create one piece of art,¡± explained Director Yoon.?


    ?


    Even though they specialized in different areas, the amount of effort that was put into their work was the same and people who specialize in art all share the same goal.?


    ?


    ¡°I believe that fundamentally, art exists in order for people to empathize with and gather inspiration from. However, I also know that it¡¯s not something that everyone can do,¡± added Director Yoon.?


    ?


    In order to create the art that he envisioned, putting in minimum effort won¡¯t move people since they would evaluate it based on the results. The amount of effort and trouble that was put in was judged based on the results. No matter how much effort was put into creating the piece, if the public evaluated it as being trash, then all the past efforts were considered wasted and no one wanted that outcome. That¡¯s why people were more desperate and immersed in the world of art. It was to the point that people went crazy for this so-called art.?


    ?


    ¡°There are people that call us entertainers, but I believe we¡¯re artistes who spearhead modern culture. But rather than being the chosen few to spearhead culture, I think we¡¯re more like performance artists that express ourselves through our work. We artists can¡¯t help the fact that we get really immersed in our work,¡± said Director Yoon Seon.?


    ?


    ¡°Then, what should I do once we¡¯re done filming? What I¡¯m afraid of is that I might change after we¡¯re done filming the movie. I don¡¯t want it to affect my everyday life,¡± said Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Director Yoon burst out laughing after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. He had needlessly imagined Chae Woo-Jin acting as Prince Myeong-Hwan in his daily life.?


    ?


    ¡°When I¡¯m working on a project, I become the creator. But once I¡¯m done editing and have nothing else to work on, there are many times when I experience the feeling of helplessness. After all, once I finish filming a movie, I¡¯m nothing more than an old man that¡¯s heading towards his 60s. That helplessness may be similar to what actors feel when they break out of their roles,¡± explained Director Yoon.?


    ?


    Actors weren¡¯t the only ones that went crazy. While filming a movie, Director Yoon could create a world, break it down and redefine it from the creator¡¯s point of view. Within that world, he could control one¡¯s life and destroy a country. But after acting like some great being in the fantasy world for months, it was difficult to get used to the shabby appearance that was reflected in the mirror. There were times when he felt a sense of helplessness and low self-esteem, which was a bit different from what the actors felt.?


    ?


    ¡°Then how did you overcome it, Director Yoon?¡± asked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Is there a need to overcome it? It¡¯s a part of me and part of my job, so I just meditate on it. Oh, so this is what I¡¯m feeling this time. I closely monitor the thing that¡¯s causing me to feel frustrated and dejected and once I do that, it gives me energy for my next project and I know how to deal with it,¡± the director answered.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon revealed that observing himself was a very fun thing to do.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know myself very well and yet, I¡¯m making a film that can move the hearts of others. It¡¯s pretty funny and that¡¯s why I¡¯m happy and proud of your concern right now,¡± he said.?


    ?


    There are a lot of actors that tackle a project based on the script and role alone, and it was normal for them to be confident based on their personal taste and the success of the work. There weren¡¯t that many actors that rejected the role of a film that guaranteed success. In Director Yoon Seon¡¯s point of view, he hasn¡¯t seen that many actors like Chae Woo-Jin that thought seriously about the role.?


    ?


    Seeing as how he didn¡¯t think badly of Chae Woo-Jin, he was probably really fond of him. Just like how he spent three years trying to find an actor, if the actor who was offered the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan thought long and hard before deciding, he would feel grateful. He wanted the actor to not just rely on the success of the movie, but to think hard about Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°But if you really can¡¯t do it, then I won¡¯t pressure you any longer,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°...?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few actors who got ruined because they weren¡¯t able to break out of their roles. If you¡¯re feeling that kind of danger, then it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t do it because I cherish and love talented actors like you,¡± said the director.?


    ?


    There was a reason why actors had panic disorder and drug addictions. It¡¯s either because they were pressured by the role; or that they think they are unable to handle the role; or like what Woo-Jin was worried about, they became too immersed in the role and started empathizing with the character.?


    ?


    ¡°Then what about the movie?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. Just think about yourself. The theme of Red Enemy is to love and cherish yourself; I can¡¯t force an actor to accept the role if they¡¯re afraid that it¡¯s going to ruin them,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon¡¯s smile was just as warm as the movies that he made. At the very least, he wasn¡¯t like Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk, who considered the work as the top priority.?


    ?


    Just like the photo exhibition, ¡®The People I Love,¡¯ Woo-Jin was certain that Director Yoon-Seon was going to turn Prince Myeong-Hwan into a person that everyone loved through Red Enemy.?


    ?


    At this moment, Woo-Jin realized that he was at the crossroad of choices. He was worried about the things that could happen. It¡¯s possible that nothing may happen or it could be an adventure where he would lose himself. If he overcomes this hurdle, then he¡¯d have the confidence to take on any role in the future.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon mentioned that he wanted the people who watched Prince Myeong-Hwan and his movie to experience the season of spring, but this also applied to Woo-Jin. He knew that through this movie, spring would come into his life too.?


    ?


    Besides Prince Myeong-Hwan, Woo-Jin looked back at the figures in his past lives who could potentially be featured in a movie or a drama. There weren¡¯t any foreigners, so he could exclude them. Including Prince Myeong-Hwan, there was a total of three people. One of them had already been featured in a drama, so there was a possibility of it happening.?


    ?


    ¡®Does that mean I need to keep avoiding them?¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wondered if avoiding those roles just because they were his past lives was the right thing to do when he wanted to accept them.?


    ?


    ¡°But you know. Even if it doesn¡¯t apply this time, when you pick a role, don¡¯t be too afraid of changing because of the influence of the role,¡± the director told him.?


    ?


    ¡°How could I not be afraid when I¡¯m losing myself?¡± asked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Why do you think that you¡¯re losing yourself?¡± asked Director Yoon.?


    ?


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that a part of me is changing because of the role¡¯s influence?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°People always change. Does it make sense that you want people to change in a positive way through this movie, but you yourself don¡¯t want to change? More than that, there¡¯s no guarantee that this would be a bad influence,¡± pointed out Director Yoon.?


    ?


    The director wanted to make a movie where people could feel the season of spring and learn to love themselves. But if the actor ended up being ruined, then that would be illogical.?


    ?


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re human, change is normal. How you change is the important part,¡± said the director.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin did a self reflection after hearing Director Yoon¡¯s words because up until now, he had experienced a lot of changes. Being able to remember his past lives was what influenced him the most, but that didn¡¯t mean it affected him in a negative way. When he found himself in an intense situation, Woo-Jin protected himself by being rational and was trying to become a better person bit by bit.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin looked at Kim Tae-Hwa, he wanted her to change. It was a pity that she was trapped in a stagnant background, not knowing how small and suffocating the world she was living in. Kim Tae-Hwa didn¡¯t know that a new life could unfold before her eyes if she just broke away every so slightly.?


    ?


    If one movie or one photo could be the chance to change a person¡¯s thoughts and life, then Woo-Jin wanted to do that for her. No, not just Kim Tae-Hwa, but for others as well. Woo-Jin obtained this sense of altruism that he didn¡¯t have before and this could be considered as a change.?


    ?


    Up until now, Woo-Jin was interested in beautiful works, stories that moved him, and unique characters. But when he appeared on The King of the Masked Singers as Hanryang Doryeong, he saw how the audience emphatized with his songs and that¡¯s when he realized many things.?


    ?


    A desire to create works that can move people¡¯s hearts awakened inside him and it was also the moment where he became certain of the ideals that were once uncertain to him. Even though he was given the opportunity to start, Woo-Jin had been avoiding it because of his fear or uncertainty.?


    ?


    However, Director Yoon Seon had told him to look back at himself. Whether it was courage or rationality, it was something that Woo-Jin really needed. If it was something he eventually had to do, then he wanted to do it with Director Yoon Seon. An adult like Director Yoon Seon would probably catch him if he deviated from the correct path. As both an actor and a person, Woo-Jin was standing at an important crossroad in his life and he needed a teacher that he could trust and rely on.?


    ?


    It really didn¡¯t take much to change his mind.?


    ?


    Thanks to Director Yoon Seon¡¯s words, Woo-Jin looked at his negative thoughts from a different aspect and became hopeful. If he accepted and acknowledged his fear rather than trying to overcome it, then it wouldn¡¯t be a fear of the unknown. It could give him the strength to reflect and a reason to improve himself. Out of the many changes that he experienced so far, all he had to do was to face another one.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll do well?¡± asked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if I have to give up on this movie, you¡¯re a good actor who I want to protect,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    Director Yoon didn¡¯t give Woo-Jin confidence or false promises for the sake of convincing him. As a person that trusted and cherished Woo-Jin¡¯s talents, he just gave his opinions.?


    ?


    It would be silly not to film a movie with a director like him. Even though letting the elder offer the handshake to someone below them was the polite thing to do, Woo-Jin extended his right hand towards Director Yoon Seon first. Right now, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to nitpick about that and Director Yoon Seon wasn¡¯t the type of person that cared about formalities.?


    ?


    ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡±?


    ?


    After a long wait, Woo-Jin¡¯s answer was like music to the ears. As Director Yoon Seon grabbed Woo-Jin¡¯s hand, the smile that appeared on his face was as bright as a spring flower. The warm wind that signaled the start of spring was here.

 CH 110

    Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s ready ¡ª people looking at Chae Woo-Jin had this written all over their faces, but Chae Woo-Jin himself was swamped and out of it because he had a lot of things to prepare for. First of all, he had to thoroughly read through Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s data that Director Yoon Seon had sent him previously but wasn¡¯t interested in looking at back then.?


    ?


    There was so much information about Prince Myeong-Hwan that Woo-Jin wondered if a lot of historical records still existed. As he read through them one by one, Woo-Jin realized this movie was the story of Prince Myeong-Hwan that was seen through other people¡¯s eyes. The works and letters left behind by Prince Myeong-Hwan alone weren¡¯t enough to make a movie. Eventually, they had no choice but to fill the void with information and data left behind by others.?


    ?


    The glamorization of Prince Myeong-Hwan in Red Enemy had also ultimately reflected the gaze which the people who lived back then used to look at him. Regardless of how well Woo-Jin knew Prince Myeong-Hwan, he couldn¡¯t possibly have known how other people viewed him at that time. Thus, the materials used as the movie''s foundation contained a lot of information and stories that Woo-Jin was unfamiliar with.?


    ?


    The truth unbeknownst to the prince himself, as well as the objective evaluations of him, felt like a completely different story. It piqued Woo-Jin¡¯s interest, causing him to gather and look into the data of not only Prince Myeong-Hwan, but also the other individuals. Additionally, he practiced Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s geonmu in his spare time. Fortunately, Director Yoon Seon had suggested that the dance would be based on the geonmu performed by Woo-Jin on The King of the Masked Singers. He had unintentionally picked a dance that was most historically accurate, just that he wanted to tweak the choreography to be more in line with the prince¡¯s frightening and powerful dance.?


    ?


    The master of Korean traditional dance, Jang Ho-Seob, was in charge of the choreography. However, Jang Ho-Seob didn¡¯t modify Woo-Jin¡¯s geonmu as much as possible either. Instead, he would rather ask for Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion and study the dance together before making revisions. Jang Ho-Seob had been focusing his efforts on increasing the awareness of Korean traditional dance via the media. He was pleased to meet Woo-Jin and also had a great deal of respect for him. He also tried probing by asking Woo-Jin where he learned to dance from. He seemed to have thought that Woo-Jin had learned the dance from an unknown dancer that hadn¡¯t revealed their identity to the cultural community. Apart from the occasional difficulties of introducing people from the traditional culture community, he was a teacher that was easy to get along with.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Woo-Jin happily greeted Kwon Eun-Mi. She was cast as Seol Ha in the movie and had been taking dance lessons from Jang Ho-Seob for a longer time than Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Kwon Eun-Mi had only worked as a model when they had done the Biltman photoshoot. Having experienced the taste of acting after working with Woo-Jin on the set, she later studied acting and started her acting career by appearing in a couple of dramas and movies. Woo-Jin was in awe of how much she had grown in such a short period. Regardless of how hard one worked, innate talent still mattered to a certain extent. However, Kwon Eun-Mi had it all.?


    ?


    She had also proudly landed her role as Seol Ha by auditioning for the role with her own skills and nothing else. Even though she was tall, her dance moves looked very pretty because her slender limbs matched Seol Ha¡¯s dignified and alluring image. Even to Woo-Jin, who knew Seol Ha in real life, Kwon Eun-Mi was the perfect person to portray Seol Ha. More importantly, it was better for someone he had worked with before, like Kwon Eun-Mi, to play the part of Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s close friend than someone he barely knew.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time doing geonmu, so I¡¯m nervous.¡± As soon as rumors about the production of Red Enemy started circulating last winter, Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s agency quickly signed her up for Korean traditional dance classes. Since she had been preparing for Seol Ha¡¯s role right from the beginning for several months, she was able to do well in the audition. However, because they added the geonmu scene that wasn¡¯t included in the original script, she was so nervous that she froze, like when she first learned how to dance.?


    ?


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re better than me at dancing, though? Your movements are lively and full of energy. You truly dance as well as Seol Ha.¡±?


    ?


    Kwon Eun-Mi was a model, so she knew how to move her body. Furthermore, she had learned her basics well, so she could follow Jang Ho-Seob¡¯s instructions well. Both of them had to dance equally well for the scene where Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol Ha had to do the exact same geonmu together. They both had to set aside some time to practice over a long time to be in sync.?


    ?


    As they met with each other frequently, they often discussed their roles in their spare time. Woo-Jin furtively told Kwon Eun-Mi about Seol Ha¡¯s personality and habits in the form of suggestions. Naturally, whenever he gave an appropriate explanation based on the various materials he had studied, she would accept his opinions and reflect them in her acting.?


    ?


    All the characters of the movie gathered together for the table read; it was also the day where they got to officially greet each other and become more well-acquainted.?


    ?


    ¡°Son~! Come sit next to mom.¡± As soon as Im Ji-Young, the actress portraying Queen Moon-Jin, saw Woo-Jin, she called out to him warmly and patted the seat next to her.?


    ?


    ¡°This seat belongs to my son, so no one else can sit here.¡±?


    ?


    None of the characters that Woo-Jin had played so far had parents, so he wasn¡¯t sure how to react in this situation. Even Woo-Jin¡¯s biological mother had never called him ¡®son~!¡¯ in such a warm and affectionate manner. Thus, he instantly turned around to see who the person behind him was.?


    ?


    ¡°Hoo~!¡± Upon seeing Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction, Im Ji-Young called out Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s name, ¡®Hoo,¡¯ loudly to make fun of him. Only then did Woo-Jin realize she was calling him and went over to sit next to her, greeting her with a bow.?


    ?


    ¡°Hello. Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Mm, I know! I¡¯m Im Ji-Young, and I¡¯ll be playing Queen Moon-Jin. If things had worked out with my first love, I¡¯d have a son as old as you.¡± Im Ji-Young was in her mid-forties; she was currently a mother of two elementary school children. She looked at Woo-Jin and wondered, ¡®When will my children grow up?¡¯ Chae Woo-Jin often received love and affection from adults; Im Ji-Young was no exception.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you get a shock earlier because I called you ¡®son¡¯?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, yes! That¡¯s because none of my previous characters had any parents.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I guess I¡¯m your first parent then!¡± It seemed as though Im Ji-Young had watched Woo-Jin¡¯s previous movies and dramas. She was delighted and smiled widely.?


    ?


    ¡°Usually, when I play the role of a parent, I often casually call the actors playing the role of my children by their names even when the cameras aren¡¯t rolling. So from now on, you call me ¡®mother¡¯ as well. Hm, but it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to be that easy.¡± Judging from Woo-Jin¡¯s attitude and reactions, Im Ji-Young made a rough guess about his personality ¡ª he didn¡¯t seem the type who could affectionately call others ¡®mother¡¯ on the spot.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. It often happens naturally as we shoot the movie.¡±?


    ?


    It was her first time having a ¡®son¡¯ as old as Woo-Jin as she had only worked with child actors. The disparity was a little awkward for her as well, so she tended to be intentionally affectionate with him.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s my son!¡± Im Ji-Young patted Woo-Jin on the back as she bragged to Kwak Eun-Hyuk sitting across from her. He was the actor playing the role of Inyoung-Gun, Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s older brother. He had been deposed because he tried to stage a coup.?


    ?


    He replied with a wicked smile, ¡°You must be happy, mother.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ack! Did you just call me ¡®mother¡¯?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you reacting this way? Even though she¡¯s a stepmother, Queen Moon-Jin is still Inyoung-Gun¡¯s mother.¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk alluded to what Im Ji-Young said to Woo-Jin a while ago and made fun of her a little.?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯re both in our forties; do you have to do this!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m still in my thirties!¡±?


    ?


    Both parties had worked with each other in the past. So there wasn¡¯t any awkwardness between them even though they were dissing and making fun of each other.?


    ?


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m Kwak Eun-Hyuk. My name is a little difficult to pronounce, right? You¡¯re really handsome¡­and more importantly, you¡¯re young!¡±?


    ?


    Kwak Eun-Hyuk had already been cast as Inyoung-Gun three years ago when he was in his thirties. While the production was delayed for three years, he entered his forties[1]?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, why did you debut so late? We¡¯re finally going to shoot this movie, but I¡¯m already in my forties.¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk remarked that at least if the movie had been shot last year, he would have been able to leave behind the beauty of his thirties. He pulled out a mirror and looked at his face from different angles.?


    ?


    ¡°If I had known this was going to happen, I would have gotten acupuncture here.[2]¡± The actual age difference between Prince Myeong-Hwan and Inyoung-Gun was 14 years, and Woo-Jin and Kwak Eun-Hyuk were 17 years apart, so the latter was conscious about the wrinkles under his eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve aged well, so don¡¯t worry, Your Majesty!¡± Director Yoon Seon was listening to the conversation among the actors; he rolled up the script and playfully hit Kwak Eun-Hyuk on the head with it.?


    ?


    ¡°Besides, I wouldn¡¯t have cast Chae Woo-Jin two years ago. He would have been too young!¡± Director Yoon Seon made it clear that the actor playing Prince Myeong-Hwan must not be too young. After hearing that, Kwak Eun-Hyuk corrected his stance and thanked Woo-Jin for accepting the role. He was technically still 39, so he was protecting the last bastion of his thirties.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, why isn¡¯t your wife, Queen Yoon, here yet??


    ?


    Perhaps, the skit wasn¡¯t over yet. Director Yoon scanned the actors and looked for Oh Ha-Na.?


    ?


    ¡°I think she ran away because I¡¯m old.¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk shrugged and touched the wrinkles he was still conscious about.?


    ?


    Even though it was time for the table read, Oh Ha-Na, the actress playing Queen Yoon, wasn¡¯t present. Though she was only 21 years old, she already had ten years of experience under her belt as a child actress. She didn¡¯t say anything beforehand, and neither was she a rookie who didn¡¯t know how important the first table read was for the actors and production crew. They had only gotten a call from the assistant director belatedly saying that her manager was stuck in a traffic jam.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I believe that. He didn¡¯t say where the traffic jam was, right?¡± The assistant director laughed awkwardly in response to Kwak Eun-Hyuk and dodged the question. He hadn¡¯t heard anything else from the manager other than the road being congested, so he couldn¡¯t give an answer.?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon looked at the time and ultimately decided to start the table read without Oh Ha-Na.?


    ?


    ¡°Prince! How can you be so soft! Does it not make you angry to see a person of lowly birth ascend the ranks and disrespect your mother?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Cutting down money allocated to the Daebijeon[3] is reasonable. Is this year also not a year of poor harvest like last year?¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan calmly explained the situation, as opposed to his angry mother.?


    ?


    ¡°The heavens are also angry because a lowly man ascended the throne.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Mother, my older brother, His Majesty, is the eldest son of our father. He is the head of this country. If he is lowly, then so am I.¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan replied sarcastically to Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s venomous remarks. Even though it was empty talk, he disagreed with his mother¡¯s sentiments and talked back to her the entire time.?


    ?


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s something you aren¡¯t happy about?¡± Im Ji-Young looked at Woo-Jin and asked after they finished reading their lines. That was when Woo-Jin realized he had been subconsciously furrowing his brows, so he quickly relaxed his face.?


    ?


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s nothing. You might not know this, but every time I read out a line, your face would contort a little.¡±Im Ji-Young tapped Woo-Jin¡¯s forehead with her finger.?


    ?


    ¡°Me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah! You look like you have many thoughts in your mind. That¡¯s why I¡¯m starting to become curious. What are you thinking about?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Unlike Im Ji-Young¡¯s casual question, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t speak his mind easily. Even though it was nothing, it was something that bothered him ¡ª Im Ji-Young¡¯s version of Queen Moon-Jin was very different from the real Queen Moon-Jin. The problem was that Woo-Jin knew the truth. Even though he tried reminding himself that it was just a movie adaptation, he couldn¡¯t help but draw comparisons repeatedly.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to share our opinions now, so it¡¯s okay to speak with conviction.¡± Director Yoon Seon knew that Woo-Jin had been looking at and studying the historical resources as much as he did, so he gave him a chance to speak.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin started off by telling Im Ji-Young that her acting was good.?


    ?


    ¡°However, according to the literature, Queen Moon-Jin is said to be someone who speaks very coldly.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s why I purposely expressed it in a sharp and venomous way, no?¡±?


    ?


    But that was the issue. To express it that way, Im Ji-Young started raising her voice at a certain point. However, the real Queen Moon-Jin had never raised her voice at any moment.?


    ?


    1. He¡¯s probably still 39; hence he argued he was still in his thirties, but that would make his Korean age 40. At the time of birth, Koreans regard newborn babies as 1 year old. People get older every Jan 1st instead of their birthday. ??


    ?


    2. Cosmetic acupuncture can possibly remove fine lines and diminish wrinkles. ??


    ?


    3. The Queen dowager''s quarter. ?

 CH 111

    ¡°Queen Moon-Jin was born into a prestigious family; until she became the queen, she was a young lady from a Yangban[1] family and had received the best education. The norms of these families are famous for being strict ¡ª from an early age, they would be caned right away if they were to raise their voices, even if it was just by a little. So while she was born with a cold personality, she entered the palace as a disciplined and restrained young lady because of her education and upbringing and went through many hardships.¡±?


    ?


    Although she was put through rigorous education, she grew up as a lady of a wealthy and prestigious family and lacked nothing. However, upon entering the palace as the second wife of King Gyeong-Jo, she went through many hardships because of her insidious mother-in-law and inattentive husband, as well as high-spirited concubines that gave birth to sons. Even after giving birth to Prince Myeong-Hwan five years after tying the knot, Gyeong-Jo still disregarded her. He had neglected her even more and treated her with contempt. After going through such a hard time, her heart was filled with han[2]. Every word she uttered was cold. Nonetheless, the dignified woman had never once openly raised her voice or used a sharp tone whenever she spoke.?


    ?


    ¡°Queen Moon-Jin was a very elegant and refined woman. Prince Myeong-Hwan described her as someone always dignified and difficult to deal with and that even though she had never showered him with a mother¡¯s love, she had never once abandoned her dignity as the queen of this country. Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s biological father had once written, ¡®A person¡¯s voice expresses their personality. A frivolous person speaks loudly, and people who get too agitated or excited cannot be trusted.¡¯ I believe we can guess how a man like that had brought up his daughter, especially when he had already made plans to send her into the palace from an early age.¡± Queen Moon-Jin had prioritized her status as the queen over her identity as a mother. Im Ji-Young¡¯s acting did not match her way of speaking.?


    ?


    Seemingly shocked, Im Ji-Young¡¯s face paled upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words. If someone else had said that instead, she might have refuted by saying that all the previous actresses that portrayed Queen Moon-Jin had acted in such a manner. However, Im Ji-Young knew Woo-Jin very well, so she couldn¡¯t dismiss his words. Moreover, as a person excelling academically talked about historical resources, it seemed the truth, so she believed him.?


    ?


    Im Ji-Young stared blankly at Director Yoon Seon, who was also the writer of the movie. He was equally bewildered. In truth, his focus was on Prince Myeong-Hwan, whom he had studied from a new angle, not Queen Moon Jin. Though he valued her past and flow of thoughts, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to her tone of voice. Queen Moon-Jin was famous for her spiteful nature, after all. Thus, even though the previous actresses had portrayed her in slightly different ways, they were fundamentally similar ¡ª all of them spoke harshly and venomously, just like how Jang Nok-Su[3] and Jang Hee-Bin were always portrayed the same way.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s just how I imagined Queen Moon-Jin to be, so you can take what I say with a grain of salt.¡± Woo-Jin continued dispiritedly, saying that he seemed to have made a momentary mistake because her acting was different from the Queen Moon-Jin he had in mind after looking through historical resources and research materials.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin tried to read Director Yoon Seon and Im Ji-Young¡¯s thoughts and secretly took a step back. While Queen Moon-Jin he knew was such a person, there was no rule dictating that Queen Moon-Jin in Red Enemy had to be exactly like her. Woo-Jin felt that he had disrespected his senior because he failed to manage his facial expressions; thus, he decided to completely get his act together from now on.?


    ?


    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re right.¡± Im Ji-Young waved her hand and agreed with Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion. It was apparent that she was trying to break away from biases and try something new. She was also very greedy when it came to acting, so she was more than happy to portray a different version of Queen Moon-Jin than the previous ones.?


    ?


    Despite wanting to try something new, one must always exercise caution when shooting historical films and dramas. The slightest slipups could lead to criticisms and accusations of distortion of historical facts, so the changes should be done in moderation only after thorough research. Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s data was generally related to political strife, so people¡¯s assessments of her were poles apart depending on their perceptions. Nevertheless, both sides unanimously agreed on one thing that Queen Moon-Jin didn¡¯t hold herself back and was spiteful in her remarks.?


    ?


    ¡°What you said earlier on is true, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Should I send you the materials after I find them?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in advance.¡± There was still time before production began, so she wanted to do more research about her role again in the meantime.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, how¡­ no, no! It¡¯s on me.¡± Im Ji-Young was about to ask Director Yoon for his opinion on how she should portray a dignified and venomous woman, but she shook her head and mumbled to herself. If it didn¡¯t work out after she had given it a shot, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to ask Director Yoon for help then. So the table read session continued, except for her, as she became deep in thought while looking at the script.?


    ?


    After that, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t criticize any other actors when it came to portraying their characters. His feelings towards Im Ji-Young¡¯s portrayal of Queen Moon-Jin were exposed because he failed to manage his facial expressions after seeing how her portrayal had deviated a lot from the actual Queen Moon-Jin that he knew. He never intended to pick other actors¡¯ acting in the first place.?


    ?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together, Dong-Ho!¡± After the table read ended, the actors and production crew decided to have dinner and a get-together. As they were leaving the studio, Woo-Jin joked around with Lee Dan-Woo, his close friend and co-star in City of Shadows.?


    ?


    Lee Dan-Woo played Dong-Ho, a eunuch that served Prince Myeong-Hwan. He was a very important person to Prince Myeong-Hwan. Dong-Ho had been by Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s side ever since they were children, and he also tagged along when Prince Myeong-Hwan left the palace. They had been together up until the last moments of the prince¡¯s life. Even though Dong-Ho was not his close friend, he gave Prince Myeong-Hwan his full support and followed him till the very end. He was the only servant that served Prince Myeong-Hwan as his master with sincerity.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re the one playing Dong-Ho, hyung.¡± Even though Director Yoon might not have cast them out of consideration for him, he was happy that Kwon Eun-Mi was playing Seol Ha and Lee Dan-Woo was playing Dong-Ho.?


    ?


    However, Lee Dan-Woo replied to him soullessly with a disheartened look on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°You should try being a eunuch too.¡± While Lee Dan-Woo was glad to be cast in the movie and had no complaints about the role itself, he was sad because he was just a eunuch.?


    ?


    ¡°Dong-Ho was a great eunuch. How many eunuchs have made a name for themselves in history?¡± That was not all. Making a name for himself wasn¡¯t enough ¡ª he was also a eunuch that had earned the honor of being a loyal subject.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not comforting at all.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°To be honest, if I were you, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d feel very comforted either.¡± Lee Dan-Woo glared at Woo-jin as the latter coldly talked about reality. Then, all of a sudden, he looked around. Most of the actors had already left the studio, and before they knew it, they were the only ones left behind. They were lagging behind because Lee Dan-Woo was taking his own time packing his bag.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh Ha-Na didn¡¯t show up in the end, huh. Where on earth could she be that the road was still congested after three hours?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°She might have gone to the countryside. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t in an accident.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As the female lead, she should have been present for the first table read! Is she even self-aware or not!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Seol Ha the female lead?¡± Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t particularly unhappy with Oh Ha-Na, but the more he read the script, the less he felt that Queen Yoon was the female lead. While there was romance between Queen Yoon and Prince Myeong-Hwan, based on the number of scenes and the scenes with Prince Myeong-Hwan, Seol Ha had a bigger role. Moreover, all the scenes that he considered important involved Seol Ha. Thus, from a certain point onwards, Woo-Jin started to think of Seol Ha as the female lead.?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Queen Yoon the female lead?¡±?


    ?


    Queen Yoon would be the female lead if one were to judge based on the romance alone. However, she was at the center of conflict in Red Enemy; she was never the female lead at the forefront of the movie.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, that might be the case because Queen Yoon was always the female lead in all the dramas and movies where Prince Myeong-Hwan was the male lead.¡± In truth, Woo-Jin replied flatly because he wondered why it even mattered who the female lead was in the first place. Regardless, Woo-Jin personally didn¡¯t like Queen Yoon. Thus, if he could have his way, he would want Red Enemy to be a story about friendship without any romance.?


    ?


    ¡°...?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was talking while looking at Lee Dan-Woo when the latter flinched for a second, so he shifted his gaze to the front because it seemed like Lee Dan-Woo was startled to see someone. And Oh Ha-Na was standing in front of them, staring at Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin quickly recalled what he had just said. If she believed herself to be the female lead, his words would have been offensive enough. But that didn¡¯t mean that Woo-Jin was arguing against Queen Yoon being the female lead, so he acted dignified.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re Oh Ha-Na, right? I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.¡± Even though Woo-Jin felt embarrassed because they met each other for the first time in such a manner, he greeted her first. Although Oh Ha-Na was aware that Lee Dan-Woo was standing next to Woo-Jin, she continued staring at Woo-Jin with her mouth shut. The dark energy emanating from her continued to bloom, so much so that it made Lee Dan-Woo sneak away to the side. It didn¡¯t seem like it would be easily resolved, so Woo-Jin decided to apologize to her first.?


    ?


    ¡°If what I said earlier upset you¡­.¡± Even though Oh Ha-Na was younger than Woo-Jin, she was his senior in this field, so he spoke cautiously to her, but looking at her face, he was startled and shut his mouth. That was because tears suddenly fell from her eyes filled with anger. She was still glaring at him with the same intensity, and on top of that, tears kept falling from her big eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°Wahhhhhhh~!¡± Soon, she started crying out loud, like a young child throwing a tantrum and shedding large teardrops whenever they were upset. It was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time seeing an adult cry like that, so he became flustered and didn¡¯t know what to do. To put it bluntly, even Woo-Hee had never cried like that ever since she was in sixth grade.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin tried to communicate with Lee Dan-Woo with his eyes as if to ask if what he said was that harsh. Lee Dan-Woo shrugged with a puzzled look on his face as well and shook his head. Oh Ha-Na didn¡¯t stop crying right away. One of the people who was startled by her loud cry was Oh Ha-Na¡¯s manager. Without asking or saying anything, her manager tried comforting her, but to no avail. Because Oh Ha-Na cried like that for a full hour, Woo-Jin felt helpless. All he could do was walk on eggshells. Today, he failed to control his facial expressions, so he made a mistake, and then this debacle. Thus, it had been a difficult day for him in various ways.?


    ?


    A few days later, Woo-Jin managed to get some information about Oh Ha-Na from Kang Ho-Soo. There was a particular reason accounting for why she couldn¡¯t attend the table read, as well as why she cried profusely after hearing what he said.?


    ?


    ¡°According to my hard-earned information, Oh Ha-Na bawled her eyes out that day after finding out they had added one more scene for Seol Ha.¡±?


    ?


    They released a new script because of the additional new scene, where Prince Myeong-Hwan went to Seol Ha for advice about the geonmu and danced together. Director Yoon Seon sent each actor a new script the day before the table read, and Oh Ha-Na confirmed it belatedly. As a result, it was said that she had cried so much that her eyes became swollen. Thus, she couldn¡¯t attend the table read.?


    ?


    After she managed to calm down somehow and had reduced the swelling with an ice pack, she rushed over to greet the rest of the cast. Things were fine until she met and greeted the actors and production crew leaving the studio after the table read. Even though she was late, most of them were easygoing enough to look past that and appreciated the fact that she had made it. However, the problem was that she went into the studio to greet Woo-Jin after finding out he was still inside and ended up overhearing his words.?


    ?


    1. The Yangban was the highest social class during the Joseon dynasty. ??


    ?


    2. Closest meaning in English is resentment and hatred. ??


    ?


    3. Consort Jang Nok-Su was the consort of Yeonsangun of Joseon. ?

 CH 112

    ¡°I mean, well¡­it¡¯s not that I¡¯m blameless, but that¡¯s all?¡± Woo-Jin asked if that really was something to cry over. The movie''s runtime had increased with the addition of the scene with Seol Ha. It would only be confirmed after the final edit, but at the very least, it wasn¡¯t the case where they were removing one of Oh Ha-Na¡¯s scenes or reducing the number of her scenes. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t think it was a matter that warranted such a strong, negative response or something to feel indignant about.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh Ha-Na is known for being greedy when it comes to her roles. Still, I¡¯m guessing that she might have originally wanted to play Seol Ha and not Queen Yoon,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.?


    ?


    ¡°Has Oh Ha-Na not looked in the mirror?¡± Woo-Jin reacted very naturally. Oh Ha-Na¡¯s age and appearance didn¡¯t match Seol Ha at all. Putting her acting skills aside, as someone who was barely an adult, her youthful face wasn¡¯t a good fit for the role because Seol Ha was a character that had gone through all kinds of turmoils and hardships in life. Director Yoon Seon had even said that he absolutely wouldn¡¯t have cast Chae Woo-Jin two years ago, so it was evident that age was an essential factor to consider when casting actors for a role.?


    ?


    ¡°She even specifically learned how to dance and tried her best, but I guess her agency said it was absolutely impossible, so she had no choice but to audition for Queen Yoon¡¯s part. Nonetheless, it seems like it won¡¯t be easy for her to let it go. She¡¯s confident of her own abilities and believes she can do a good job. Perhaps because people around her kept shooting her down, she finds it even more unfair,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.?


    ?


    The more competitive a person was, they tended to struggle more from letting go of their unfulfilled dreams. Under such circumstances, it was understandable for her to feel upset and resentful. She had already cried a lot before going to the studio, but receiving the second blow from Woo-Jin while not having full control over her emotions might have made her rather upset.?


    ?


    ¡°Should I make a formal apology to her?¡± Woo-Jin asked. It didn¡¯t seem like a matter of Woo-Jin apologizing to her, but taking a step back for the sake of ensuring the production¡¯s smooth progress wasn¡¯t a bad move. There was a stereotype about child actors being firm and confident, but Oh Ha-Na didn¡¯t seem to fit the stereotype, so Woo-Jin was surprised.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for an apology! Director Yoon Seon had also said that even though both Queen Yoon and Seol Ha were important figures to Prince Myeong-Hwan, Red Enemy is a movie that focuses mainly on Prince Myeong-Hwan,¡± Kang Ho-Soo replied firmly. In other words, regardless of who the female lead was, Prince Myeong-Hwan was the one and only main character of the movie. Hence, they only gave names for the roles during the auditions without explicitly stating who the female lead was.?


    ?


    ¡°So what I¡¯m trying to say is that there¡¯s no need to argue about who the non-existent female lead is. Furthermore, if you apologize to Queen Yoon, how would Seol Ha feel?¡± Kang Ho-Soo continued. Naturally, there were bound to be some conflicts between the actresses, but it was their problem, not Woo-Jin¡¯s. Right now, he wasn¡¯t in a position to take care of them or pay attention to their feelings. Woo-Jin himself wasn¡¯t aware of his own status ¡ª at this point, he was no longer regarded as a rookie.?


    ?


    ¡°I really have to be careful with my words.¡± He didn¡¯t know that a casual conversation to which he didn¡¯t give much thought would create such a problem. In conclusion, it felt like he got caught talking behind someone else¡¯s back, which left a bad taste in his mouth.?


    ?


    ¡°This was a good experience for you. Still, it was a neutral and cautious response. Thanks to that, we¡¯ve also received confirmation from Director Yoon that this movie focuses entirely on Chae Woo-Jin. So things turned out pretty well.¡± This time around, Kang Ho-Soo seemed to be rather pleased with the outcome, remarking, ¡®All¡¯s well that ends well.¡¯?


    ?


    Just then, Kang Ho-Soo got Woo-Jin¡¯s attention once again as though he had just thought of something. ¡°Woo-Jin, don¡¯t be fooled by the tears and think that she has a tender heart. Oh Ha-Na has ten years of experience. You have to bear in mind that regardless of how young she is, she¡¯s not an ordinary person. She has survived in this industry for ten years and is a successful actress.¡±?


    ?


    For a child to survive in the jungle, they would have no choice but to make a weapon that suited them. For Oh Ha-Na, it seemed to be tears.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    April 1st.?


    ?


    Before they knew it, it was the first day of production for Red Enemy. Today¡¯s shoot was about one winter day in the year Prince Myeong-Hwan turned 18. The king only had daughters back then. But, even at the age of 32, ministers started appealing to the king to appoint Prince Myeong-Hwan as the crown prince.?


    ?


    In the wake of the new year, some officials pressured the king to wait to have a baby boy as his successor, while the others objected to it, arguing that it was too early because the king was too young. Both sides kept arguing based on their own interests. As a result, the royal court was in an uproar. The king didn¡¯t step out of his residence under the pretext of being ill, and it went on for three days. Eventually, Prince Myeong-Hwan knelt and groveled for forgiveness in front of the king¡¯s residence.?


    ?


    It was warm on the day of the shoot, but the scene was set in December, in the middle of the raging cold spells. It was also a freezing day on the actual day of the incident. While Prince Myeong-Hwan was groveling on his knees, he was cursing at the old fogeys for appealing and petitioning to the king in the middle of winter instead of spring, thereby making him suffer in the cold. It was only natural for him to feel that way because after Prince Myeong-Hwan was done groveling outside, his entire body was frozen solid, such that he had frostbites all over his fingers and toes. It was so severe that he almost had to get them amputated, but he managed to overcome the crisis safely. If Prince Myeong-Hwan had lost just one finger back then, his life might have been a little easier after that. Hence, overcoming the crisis ¡°safely¡± wasn¡¯t exactly a fortunate thing.?


    ?


    ¡°Please don¡¯t use the hairspray.¡± Woo-Jin stopped the makeup artist from spraying it onto his hair as she wanted to tidy up his stray hair while adjusting his topknot. He wanted to let his hair flow down naturally after undoing his topknot when he was groveling for forgiveness. This was to avoid his hair from looking unkempt like the characters in other historical films and dramas from using hairspray to tidy up stray hair. In any case, his hairstyle wasn¡¯t the same, so they couldn¡¯t claim that it was an accurate representation. But when Prince Myeong-Hwan loosened his topknot back then, his hair fluttered beautifully.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan had lovely hair because he used to wash it every day with calamus water and apply camellia oil to his hair before combing it carefully with a fine-toothed bamboo comb. When he removed his samo[1] and manggeon[2] before loosening his topknot, his hair didn¡¯t remain clumped up like a rice cake.?


    ?


    After getting ready, Woo-Jin went to the area where the director and production crew were waiting. As Woo-Jin heard the director yell, ¡®Ready, action!¡¯ he slowly opened his eyes. This time around, Woo-Jin created a brand new Prince Myeong-Hwan for Red Enemy that was different from the Prince Myeong-Hwan of his past life, just like how he created a brand new Louie when he was shooting City of Shadows. The person who used to be Prince Myeong-Hwan in his past life would be portraying his former self. Hence, even Chae Woo-Jin himself didn¡¯t know how the new Prince Myeong-Hwan would react.?


    ?


    ~?


    ?


    A quiet commotion ensued when Prince Myeong-Hwan entered the palace accompanied by only one eunuch. The footsteps of the court ladies that passed by were quicker and different than usual. Just as he was about to get to the Daejeon[3], a Jimil Sanggung[4] of Jagyeongjeon[5] appeared before him. Perhaps, she had run over; he could see a cloud of condensation as she exhaled.?


    ?


    ¡°Your Highness, you must have forgotten your way because it has been a while since you have visited the palace. The way to Jagyeongjeon is here.¡± She greeted Prince Myeong-Hwan and bowed, blocking the way to the Daejeon and pointed in the direction where she came from. As she bowed, her eyes trembled violently when she saw what Dong-Ho was holding in his hand. He was standing right behind the prince. She immediately recognized what the round and long thing wrapped with a white cotton cloth was.?


    ?


    ¡°Your Highness came just in time. The queen dowager said that you appeared in her dream last night and said mournfully that it is because she longs to see you. If she had known that the dream allowed her to see you in person like this¡­.¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t wait to listen to the remainder of the Sanggung¡¯s words and just walked past her. She was startled, but as soon as she tried to follow behind him, the prince warned her in a low voice.?


    ?


    ¡°I will meet with His Majesty first. I will pay the queen dowager a visit afterward, so be quiet.¡±?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan arrived in front of the Daejeon without any hesitation. He looked around the palace that was shrouded in silence. Since he had asked for an audience with the king in advance, there wasn¡¯t any issue. However, even though they were aware of his visit, no instructions were given from the Daejeon. Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t call out to the people guarding in front of the Daejeon or the court ladies either.?


    ?


    He looked at the snow falling from the sky and painted a picture in his mind. His eyes and mind were his brushes. Step by step, the surrounding landscape turned into an ink painting. Naturally, unnecessary things in the background were erased. He stood alone in the empty space and forgot about the time as he felt the blank, ink-painted snow touching against his skin. For a split second, a smile appeared on his lips. His cold and frozen eyes warmed up for the first time since entering the palace.?


    ?


    Even though it was only for a moment, this chilly place turned into a beautiful picture, allowing his mind to become calm and relaxed. However, his purity that found comfort in the inanimate painting was shattered by the appearance of a Sangsun[6] that penetrated through the ink painting, tearing it.?


    ?


    ¡°Your Highness, you came all the way here, but you cannot seek an audience with His Majesty as he is taking a nap.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It does not matter if I do not see His Majesty.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I am sorry?¡±?


    ?


    As soon as the cunning Sangsun noticed what Dong-Ho was holding in his hand, he pretended to be surprised. However, Prince Myeong-Hwan ignored him and shifted his gaze towards the Daejeon before yelling out loud.?


    ?


    ¡°Lee Hoo[7], the sinner has come to confess his sins to you, Your Majesty, and is here to seek punishment.¡±?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan turned around and looked at Dong-Ho behind him, signaling him with his eyes. After hesitating, Dong-Ho eventually placed the straw mat on the cold ground. It was so silent that one could hear the sound of snow piling up on the ground. The sound of the straw mat touching the ground resonated particularly loudly.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan took off his official¡¯s uniform and samo before giving them to Dong-Ho. He glanced briefly at the embroidered giraffe on the breastplate of his uniform. Today was a day where the meaning of the breastplate was exceptionally heavy. He purposely wore an unlined undergarment made of cotton and even removed his manggeon and loosened his topknot. He sat on top of the straw mat and first bowed respectfully to the king. Dong-Ho took a step back as he held onto Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s clothes. The Sangsun pretended to be surprised by the current situation and acted flustered. Soon, he disappeared quietly into the Daejeon.?


    ?


    ¡°Your Majesty is still well and healthy. I do not know why they came up with such an inauspicious petition. I am dull and foolish. How dare I bring this matter up to you? Please forgive those who momentarily made a foolish judgment for the sake of our country and punish the sinful Myeong-Hwan instead.¡± He emphasized the name ¡®Myeong-Hwan¡¯ that was given to him by his father and confessed his sins out loud.?


    ?


    The petition to appoint him as the crown prince had evidently been started by the queen dowager and her family, so Prince Myeong-Hwan wasn¡¯t held accountable for their sins. He was also well aware that they were the fences that protected him. Nonetheless, if he stayed still and did nothing, he could truly become the crown prince. Judging from their power and actions, there was nothing they couldn¡¯t accomplish. Even though their proposition to appoint Prince Myeong-Hwan as the crown prince didn¡¯t go as planned, it was a serious claim judging from the state the king was in.?


    ?


    Even though the queen had a stillbirth, the main thing was that the queen had gotten pregnant several times before, and his concubines had given birth to daughters. This meant that the king could have a baby boy at any time.?


    ?


    ¡°Father had me when he was 38. Your Majesty is much healthier and filled with vitality than him. Your Majesty should not be worried about your successor!¡±?


    ?


    When King Gyeong-Jo had his son at the age of 38, there wasn¡¯t any rule forcing him to step down from the throne. The only person who had to die was none other than Lee Hoo himself. Prince Myeong-Hwan had to kneel and grovel for forgiveness because he felt it was too much for the people who insisted on getting him appointed as the crown prince.?


    ?


    ¡°I, your subject¡¯s existence blinds the eyes of your loyal subjects, and it makes Your Majesty feel concerned. Please sentence me to death for my sins of disrupting the foundation of the country and causing them to put pressure on you for having a successor!¡± He emphasized the word ¡®subject¡¯ instead of referring to himself as the king¡¯s younger brother and told the king out loud to kill him.?


    ?


    After he was done speaking, gasps could be heard everywhere. At this moment, in the quiet palace, the people that needed to be careful with their words and actions let their guard down and expressed their emotions. The sounds of footsteps running in a jiffy were probably servants running to inform their masters. The palace only had one master, but the court ladies served many masters.?


    ?


    Lee Hoo was very cynical because of the bitter reality. He was born in the palace, but he left at a young age, so he never adapted to this underhanded world. The Daejeon was still as quiet as before. The king still hadn¡¯t passed down any commands. Finally, Lee Hoo sat up straight and looked at the Daejeon in front of him. It was a race against time from now on.?


    ?


    1. Silk hat worn by government officials and bureaucrats. ??


    ?


    2. A type of netting headband made of woven horsehair, worn around the forehead to keep the hair tidy when worn in a topknot. ??


    ?


    3. The Great Hall, where the king resides. ??


    ?


    4. They were court ladies responsible for attending to the king, queen, queen dowager, and royal concubines. ??


    ?


    5. One of the royal residing quarters where the queen dowager resides. ??


    ?


    6. A eunuch in charge of meals in the palace. ??


    ?


    7. Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s other name. ?

 CH 113

    The king¡¯s brother couldn¡¯t be executed simply because the officials suggested that the king appoint a crown prince. Both parties would continue competing with one another until the king established his dignity and Lee Hoo resolutely revealed his will. He groveled for forgiveness because he wanted to live ¡ª not because he wanted to die. Because of that, he had to endure till the end. Even if it meant dying after that.?


    ?


    The light snow falling since he arrived at the palace developed into roaring snow flurries. Initially, the snowflakes melted as soon as they touched his body, melting and evaporating repeatedly; from a certain point onwards, it started freezing before evaporating. And snow began to pile up.?


    ?


    When the snow stopped falling and the sun came up, the snow piled up on Lee Hoo¡¯s body melted, wetting his hair and undergarments. However, the snow started falling once again, as though it was playing a cruel joke on Lee Hoo, and the biting wind kept blowing at him, repeatedly freezing his hair and undergarments solid. Even though he was only wearing undergarments, he wore them in several layers, so he could endure the cold. Several layers of thin cotton undergarment kept him very warm, and if it weren¡¯t for the strong winds and snow, he would have been able to endure the cold. But the weather was unforgiving.?


    ?


    Just like that, Lee Hoo ended up spending two days in the snow and put up with the cold. Nobody came to clean up the snow. His beautiful face started peeling, and his lips were chapped and ended up bleeding. White, dry patches of skin appeared all over his face. The exposed skin outside his collar and sleeves had become coarse and hard.?


    ?


    He could no longer tell what the time was at this point. Just then, a long shadow appeared in front of him. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the king of this country looking down at him.?


    ?


    ¡°It is cold.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I do not feel cold at all,¡± Lee Hoo replied.?


    ?


    ¡°Get up,¡± the king said.?


    ?


    ¡°I cannot do something to harm the body my parents have given me, so I am still alive despite committing such an act of disloyalty. Please sentence me to death and lay the foundation of this country.¡± As soon as Prince Myeong-Hwan finished talking, he kowtowed repeatedly, slamming his forehead to the ground. Red blood splattered and flowed all over the snow that had been piled up. The dripping blood was as red and intense as the plum blossoms that Prince Myeong-Hwan usually drew.?


    ?


    As Lee Hoo was asking to be sentenced to death while kowtowing, the king looked at him with an expression full of mixed feelings. He looked at his cold breath dissipating into the air and shut his eyes tightly.?


    ?


    ¡°I told you to get up. Having me repeat myself is also an act of disloyalty. Since you have admitted your mistakes, I will respond. Go back and lock yourself up for a month.¡± The fact that the king didn¡¯t refute Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s confession meant that he had acknowledged that Prince Myeong-Hwan was guilty too. In the king¡¯s eyes, the very existence of Prince Myeong-Hwan, Lee Hoo, was a sin in itself.?


    ?


    As soon as the king entered the Daejeon and disappeared from their sight, Dong-Ho quickly walked up to Lee Hoo and draped his uniform over his shoulders. As Lee Hoo straightened up, blood trickled down his face to his chin from his wounded forehead. Dong-Ho wiped his master¡¯s blood with a cloth and then stood before him with his back facing Lee Hoo. It was too physically taxing for Prince Myeong-Hwan to walk out of the palace after kneeling for two days.?


    ?


    Lee Hoo felt conflicted for a second. He must not let Dong-Ho carry him on his back for the sake of his own honor. However, if he walked out of there in a dignified manner, it would reduce the significance of his self-punishing act over the past two days. So he stood up first and wore his clothes with Dong-Ho¡¯s help before facing the Daejeon and bowing respectfully. After that, he gestured Dong-Ho to come over and placed his arm around his shoulders. This was the best option he could choose.?


    ?


    As soon as he left the Daejeon with Dong-Ho supporting him, the people who saw him flocked over. Among them was Jimil Sanggung of Daebijeon; she was accompanied by the royal physician. Prince Myeong-Hwan laughed softly when he saw her.?


    ?


    ¡°Please tell the queen dowager that I will visit her next time.¡±?


    ?


    Lee Hoo turned down everyone¡¯s help. Only after arriving in front of the already prepared sedan did his legs give way, and his body collapsed.?


    ?


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Dong-Ho was shocked and caught him. Lee Hoo took a deep breath and muttered.?


    ?


    ¡°This is so strange. It¡¯s so hot in here, but why do I feel so cold?¡± Lee Hoo hit his chest in frustration and asked Dong-Ho, with a perplexed look on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°Cut! Bad take.¡±?


    ?


    Despite hearing the director yelling ¡®bad take,¡¯ Woo-Jin remained still before raising his hand slowly and touching his face. He looked at the water droplets between his fingers and wondered what they were. His mind went blank for a second.?


    ?


    ¡°These look like tears¡­ Am I crying right now?¡± Woo-Jin said, blankly.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lee Dan-Woo affirmed.?


    ?


    ¡°But why?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Lee Dan-Woo responded to Woo-Jin¡¯s own question with a concise answer, but Woo-Jin raised his head and questioned the reason with a blank look on his face. However, it wasn¡¯t a question Lee Dan-Woo could answer. Woo-Jin was the one who deviated from the script, so he should have the answer. Strangely enough, the tears didn¡¯t stop falling that easily. As Woo-Jin was flustered while wiping them with the back of his hand, Director Yoon approached him.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s question, Director Yoon said that his eyes were hurting because of the makeup and suggested that the actors and staff take a break for a while. He then advised Woo-Jin to go somewhere nice with him and led Woo-Jin to an old tree that was quite a distance away from the set.?


    ?


    Director Yoon sat down first on one of the large rocks surrounding the old tree like a protective barrier. Then, he beckoned to Woo-Jin, patting the seat next to him. Woo-Jin sat down next to him; he was still wiping away his tears that hadn¡¯t stopped flowing down.?


    ?


    ¡°Are all our actors crybabies?¡± Director Yoon held back his laughter and handed Woo-Jin a handkerchief. Woo-Jin pressed it against his eyes, and his tears seeped through it. It was starting to make him feel scared. Woo-Jin absolutely couldn¡¯t comprehend the tears he was shedding against his will.?


    ?


    ¡°Why am I acting this way?¡± Woo-Jin asked, alarmed.?


    ?


    Originally, according to the script, Prince Myeong-Hwan was supposed to smile futilely, as though he was laughing at the world when he said the last line. The warning given to the people planning to use him was a success. However, it left behind a bitter taste because everyone knew that even though Prince Myeong-Hwan risked his life like that, the ambitions of those people wouldn¡¯t cease to exist. The person at the pinnacle of it was his mother. The moment might be gratifying, but his smile that foreshadowed the endless war reflected his complicated thoughts.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin was shedding tears with a puzzled look on his face. Such a direct portrayal of emotions was not written in the script.?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the excessive empathy you were initially worried about?¡± the director said?


    ?


    ¡°Empathy¡­¡± His current state was too ambiguous for him to say it was empathy. The actual Prince Myeong-Hwan did not shed these tears. Red Enemy¡¯s Prince Myeong-Hwan was confused because of his childish mind and complicated emotions towards his mother, but he was not sad. Woo-Jin was confident that it was not empathy, so he shook his head.?


    ?


    ¡°Even so, think back carefully. Did you feel something you normally don¡¯t think about while acting? In other words, what thoughts and emotions would the prince have in this situation when he looked at the Daejeon?¡± the director suggested.?


    ?


    People might feel different when they act out a scenario they had only read. After hearing Director Yoon¡¯s question, Woo-Jin casually answered as he pressed the handkerchief against his eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps he wanted to use the bathroom urgently. His frostbitten fingers and toes were unscathed, probably because he constantly wriggled them while holding back his urine. And he would have grumbled about the suffering caused by those old officials in this cold season, and he would have written a poem or sang a song in his heart out of boredom.¡±?


    ?


    He had almost gone insane because he couldn¡¯t sleep on a cold day. It had taken him a while to realize the king was standing before him, looking down at him because of his frantically wandering mind. Although it wasn¡¯t written in the script, back then, the Sangsun had coughed next to him, snapping Prince Myeong-Hwan out of his thoughts.?


    ?


    Director Yoon also agreed with Woo-Jin, saying it must have been something like that. After all, Prince Myeong-Hwan was only 18 back then.?


    ?


    ¡°In the past, 18-year-olds were treated like adults, but if you look at the precocious kids these days, 18-year-olds still are considered partially as children. It¡¯s the intermediate phase where they are not physically and mentally mature yet, and therefore are not adults.¡±?


    ?


    However, judging from the circumstances back then, when the average life expectancy was short, people were forced to be adults at such ambiguous ages. As a result, they married at a young age and became parents after that. Living in such a forced environment, they had no choice but to grow up. Things wouldn¡¯t have been much different for Prince Myeong-Hwan as well.?


    ?


    ¡°A child pretending to be an adult. As such, it would be highly likely for him to seek little joys alone even in serious situations,¡± the director said.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, Prince Myeong-Hwan wouldn¡¯t have experienced any sadness back then. At least that¡¯s what I think, but why am I crying like this? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m actually sad.¡± Woo-Jin said vacantly as he wiped his tears for the last time. He finally stopped crying. Director Yoon pondered deeply about Woo-Jin¡¯s response.?


    ?


    ¡°Could it be because you were seeing something different from what you felt?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°See?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°You only understand and see the things you know about, just like how there¡¯s a big difference between the emotions you experience when you have inside knowledge and the times you don¡¯t when we examine a production or any situation. If you don¡¯t know anything, a polarizing scene which people either love or hate could be a tragedy to some and a comedy to others,¡± the director explained.?


    ?


    The story of Cimon and Pero was one such example; it had appeared in several works. The painting of a young woman breastfeeding an old prisoner might be repulsive to people who see it for the first time if they didn¡¯t know the story behind it. However, if they were to learn that the daughter, who had given birth not too long ago, couldn¡¯t stand seeing her father starve to death in prison and breastfed him to help him stay alive, the painting might look different to them. Nonetheless, before that, people either liked or disliked it based on what they saw, stimulating them to feel various emotions. After learning the backstory or attaining inside information, the greater the twist, the greater the emotions felt. However, under the circumstances where a person already had a lot of information, they would understand and empathize with the situation the moment they see it.?


    ?


    ¡°Before the shooting started, didn¡¯t you research and look into Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s information the most out of everyone? So even while you were acting, you might have felt sad when you looked at the scene.¡± Director Yoon proceeded to tell him that he had experienced something similar at times before when he watched movies or looked at artworks. Even though it was just an ordinary portrait, knowing the subject of the painting and what their life was like evoked a different feeling.?


    ?


    He felt those emotions first after seeing whatever he was looking at before his brain could comprehend it. There were also times when he experienced various emotions without knowing why he felt that way.?


    ?


    ¡°However, I was in the middle of acting. I didn¡¯t have time to look at it subjectively at all.¡± Woo-Jin wondered if he felt sad and cried because of the unfinished scene, so he shook his head with a serious look on his face.?


    ?


    When he was acting, he acted as Lee Hoo from Red Enemy, not Chae Woo-Jin. He didn¡¯t even have time to think objectively because he wasn¡¯t aware he was acting. More importantly, he was living his life as Prince Myeong-Hwan. So there was no reason for him to grieve just because he felt a contrasting emotion from what he was feeling. That¡¯s if Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t sympathize with Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±?


    ?


    Realization hit Woo-Jin in an instant.

 CH 114

    At the end of the day, the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan and Red Enemy¡¯s Lee Hoo were both Chae Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had always looked at his past lives objectively before evaluating and sensing them. However, Red Enemy¡¯s Lee Hoo was not such a person. He was very sensitive and empathetic. And while he had a rational mind, he was also impulsive and had a great sense of aesthetics.?


    ?


    Red Enemy¡¯s Lee Hoo painted a picture in his head and went on an adventure in the imaginary world he created. What would he think of Prince Myeong-Hwan from Woo-Jin¡¯s past life? How did the 18-year-old view the situation in which he asked his older brother to kill him, while making it seem like he was on his way to pay his mother a visit? They shared the same name and were in the same situation, but they each had a slightly different personality, so the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan seemed more immature and weaker. What if Lee Hoo couldn¡¯t hold back his tears after perceiving that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan was someone who was more pathetic than himself??


    ?


    ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Director Yoon heard Woo-Jin swear unintentionally next to him. He gently patted Woo-Jin on the back.?


    ?


    ¡°This only happened because you looked at the character with empathy and kindness.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But I¡¯m getting way ahead of myself. Prince Myeong-Hwan sympathizing with Prince Myeong-Hwan.¡± After hearing what Woo-Jin said, DIrector Yoon quickly understood what happened, even though it was slightly different from his original expectations.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan thought he was different from the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes. Red Enemy¡¯s Lee Hoo is a little different from what I imagined Prince Myeong-Hwan to be.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. More importantly, if your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan felt that way, wouldn¡¯t it mean that half of the battle is won?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Half of the battle is won?¡± Woo-Jin fiddled with the wet handkerchief as he muttered weakly. Before he began acting, he was worried that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s personality would surface, but he didn¡¯t expect the other prince to act on his own discretion.?


    ?


    ¡°Maybe your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan will be the first audience member of our movie.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Audience member?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He has knowledge of all the facts and we made him cry, so all that¡¯s left for us to do is to move the hearts of the audience members, no? Regardless of whether or not they like our movie, I want them to feel the same emotions.¡±?


    ?


    Director Yoon pointed to the old tree behind them. The tree must have lived on for hundreds of years; its trunk was thick and solid. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, right? Even people who don¡¯t like this tree would be in awe when they look at it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you trying to tell me to be like a tree?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. What we¡¯re going to do right now is to look at the tree and take a break.[1] Isn¡¯t it tiring to search for the hidden lessons to learn in everything that we see? We¡¯re just going to just relax for a bit and enjoy the shade and beautiful scenery that Mother Nature provided us.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing DIrector Yoon¡¯s words, Woo-Jin closed his eyes and calmly inhaled the fragrant scent emanating from the tree. He could smell the scent of young saplings and the scent of soil emanating from the ground, etc. It smelled just like the scent of spring.?


    ?


    ¡°This is nice, but why am I feeling increasingly uneasy?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Because you have a lot of unfinished assignments.¡± And for actors, their assignments were ultimately directly related to acting. Director Yoon said that acting was similar to that tree. The tree must have fought intense battles over hundreds of years in order to survive, but it was aesthetically pleasing to the people who looked at it and brought them comfort.?


    ?


    ¡°There are several answers when it comes to acting, and the answer differs from person to person.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because there isn¡¯t a correct answer?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The correct answer is different for each individual. If there isn¡¯t a correct answer, doesn¡¯t it mean that the answers they found were all wrong?¡± Even the same person¡¯s answer changes from time to time. Whenever people changed, it was only natural for their acting style to change as well.?


    ?


    ¡°Im Ji-Young is well aware of this. She knows that there are a lot of correct answers, but since she doesn¡¯t know who it¡¯ll come from, she always has the tendency to listen to people and observe them. Some people say she has no self-respect as an actress because of that, but her acting has never once disappointed anyone.¡±?


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon brought it up as he recalled Woo-Jin pointing out Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s tone during the table read. If there was a clear basis in the other party¡¯s words, Im Ji-Young was not embarrassed about taking advice from them regardless of who they were. She was an actress who felt that making an error in acting or making an inaccurate representation for the sake of protecting one¡¯s pride was shameful.?


    ?


    On the other hand, if it had been Kwak Eun-Hyuk, then even in the same situation, it never would have happened. In the first place, he wouldn¡¯t have asked Woo-Jin for his opinions about what he had done wrong after looking at Woo-Jin¡¯s facial expression. That said, it didn¡¯t mean that his acting style was bad nor wrong.?


    ?


    ¡°Kwak Eun-Hyuk has his own acting style. Just like what you¡¯ve seen earlier, his rendition of the king¡¯s look of anguish was very impressive." Even without seeking advice, Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s acting was flawless. His fingertips were trembling as though he was looking at the real Inyeoung-Gun.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to decide on an acting style right now. Just act accordingly to what you feel is right. If you make a mistake like just now, I will reject the scene and help you out. Follow your heart¡¯s desire and do whatever you want. Trust me and don¡¯t be too afraid of bad takes.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin was famous for having very few bad takes. In the beginning, he did have dozens of bad takes for one scene in City of Shadows, but once he got the hang of it, he barely received any bad takes. For actors like Woo-Jin who had barely gotten any bad takes, at some point when their scenes started getting rejected, they¡¯d wonder if there was something wrong with their acting; or if their acting had gotten worse; or that the director was picking on them. Just because an actor barely received bad takes, it didn¡¯t mean they were a good actor. Similarly, just because an actor received a lot of bad takes, it didn¡¯t mean that they were a terrible actor.?


    ?


    ¡°To be honest, nobody knows the emotions of a particular character in the show as well as the actor portraying it. There¡¯s a flow that a writer or director looks out for, but there are times when an actor gets carried away by emotions and their acting turns out to be unexpectedly good. It¡¯s on the production crew to evaluate it objectively.¡± It was a stage for actors to act to their hearts¡¯ content, and it was the production crew¡¯s responsibility to tweak, organize and direct the stage. Because their roles were clearly divided this way, the actors could immerse themselves in their roles.?


    ?


    ¡°If your version of Prince Myeong-Hwan thinks that the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan looks pitiful, then isn¡¯t that how he looks? And that is also the emotion that our audience members will see and feel. As the first audience member of our movie, you¡¯re probably the only one who can best express that feeling and mood.¡± After hearing what Director Yoon Seon said, Woo-Jin¡¯s mind cleared up, as though he was hit by a cool breeze.?


    ?


    He decided to not think too much about bad takes. Even if Red Enemy¡¯s Lee Hoo got carried away with his emotions, Woo-Jin decided to take it as part of the process of perfecting his acting. After getting a couple of bad takes, he would eventually get it right.?


    ?


    ¡®After all, I¡¯m an actor who has not reached his full potential.¡¯?


    ?


    Just because he picked the wrong answer out of the many different ones, didn¡¯t mean that all the other answers were wrong too.?


    ?


    After deciding to become Prince Myeong-Hwan, Woo-Jin¡¯s mind never felt lighter. He felt as though he kind of knew what it felt like to trust the director and focus on acting.?


    ?


    After the shoot ended, the actors and the production crew gathered around and looked at the scenes they had shot and shared their thoughts. Kwak Eun-Hyuk watched his scene with a cold gaze with bated breath. Kwak Eun-Hyuk was extremely engrossed in it. Soon after, he combed his hair back with his fingers, looking very pleased with himself.?


    ?


    ¡°My skin looks clear and there aren¡¯t any wrinkles around my eyes.¡± Even though his comment had nothing to do with his acting, it was Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s own way of expressing it.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though the second attempt was better, the initial scene with the bad take was rather good too.¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk liked the scene where Woo-Jin teared up and got a bad take. Perhaps Director Yoon felt the same way, he called Woo-Jin and came up with a plan.?


    ?


    ¡°I agree, it wasn¡¯t bad. Lee Hoo, cry for real the next time around.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first attempt at acting revealed the emotions of the character, and his second attempt subconsciously drew out the audience¡¯s emotions. Even though the second attempt was better, the first one was not necessarily bad. Director Yoon swore to himself that he would get Woo-Jin to cry in one of the future scenes.?


    ?


    ¡°The thing I liked about this scene is the blank look on his face as he cried without realizing it. It leaves a lingering imagery. He looks so beautiful when he cries.¡±?


    ?


    In order to accurately portray his roughed-up appearance after kneeling in the snow for two days while groveling for forgiveness, they used makeup on him to make his skin look chapped with dry patches on it. When tears rolled down his cheeks, he looked neat and beautiful instead of looking like a mess.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m going to switch over to the beauty parlor Woo-Jin goes to.¡± Contrary to his skin in his first movie, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s skin was improving. The beauty parlor he frequented was thriving with new clients. Of course, their skin did not improve as drastically as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s did. Nonetheless, be it a placebo effect or not, they had gotten quite a number of good reviews.?


    ?


    ¡°Hyung-nim[2], you have good skin too.¡±?


    ?


    Just like their relationship in the movie, Kwak Eun-Hyuk wanted to call Woo-Jin by his name. Thus, Woo-Jin called him ¡®hyung-nim¡¯. Even though it was hard for him to call Im Ji-Young ¡®mother,¡¯ it was easy for him to call his senior ¡®hyung-nim¡¯.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s good. I spent so much money on my face. By the way, what kind of beauty products do you mainly use?¡± As soon as they were done reviewing the footage, Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s interest shifted to skincare. Even while they were talking, he was tapping his cheek in an upward motion with his palm to lift it. Immediately after the shoot ended, he quickly removed his makeup to allow his skin to breathe. Kwak Eun-Hyuk cared a lot about his skin.?


    ?


    ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m not so sure. I simply use what my stylist gives me.¡± Woo-Jin could easily remember his lines just by glancing at the script, but he couldn¡¯t remember the brands of the beauty products he used. All he had to do was to write the number on the bottles and apply them in numerical order after washing his face. When Woo-Jin hesitated, Kwak Eun-Hyuk exclaimed with a look of disbelief on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°As an actor, how can you be so indifferent about skin care! The most important thing to actors is acting skill, but self-care starts with caring for your skin!¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk then went on about how one had to constantly take care of their skin regardless of how young they were because skin damage is irreversible.?


    ?


    ¡°I have a sheet mask that I really like, I¡¯ll give you a few so try it out.¡± At some point, Kwak Eun-Hyuk dragged Woo-Jin away. Woo-Jin had to go through a lecture about the functions and ingredients of the beauty products. In return, Woo-Jin received an armful of sheet masks and samples of beauty products.?


    ?


    Some actors carried all kinds of dietary supplements everywhere they went and gave them out to the people around them. However, in Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s case, he seemed to be giving out beauty products instead of dietary supplements. While organizing the beauty products that Woo-Jin had received from Kwak Eun-Hyuk, Hwang Yi-Young was lost in admiration because all the products he had given Woo-Jin were high-end ones that were known for their effectiveness.?


    ?


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s bag was filled with beauty products like these?¡± asked Hwang Yi-Young.?


    ?


    ¡°For some reason, I feel like you would run over and steal his bag if I said yes.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hmm, why don¡¯t you start taking an interest in beauty products from now on?¡± Hwang Yi-Young repeatedly said that it wasn¡¯t a suggestion that she made out of self-interest. Woo-Jin responded positively and asked if he should do it earnestly.?


    ?


    1. The Korean word used was ?? which is ¡®healing¡¯ written in Korean. ¡®Healing¡¯ refers to physical wellness, mental health, freedom from anxiety, and life satisfaction. ??


    ?


    2. A more polite way of addressing a ¡®hyung¡¯ ?

 CH 115

    ¡°Really?¡± As soon as Woo-Jin responded after she told him to give it a shot, Hwang Yi-Young became somewhat flustered.?


    ?


    ¡°After all, I¡¯m at the age where I have to start preparing for my thirties.¡±?


    ?


    Kwak Eun-Hyuk had emphasized that even though getting older was inevitable, managing it and taking care of himself was solely his responsibility. Kwak Eun-Hyuk had also mumbled about how he needed to get botox done under his eyes. However, anybody could tell just by looking at his face that so far, he hadn¡¯t gotten any botox done. He still looked like he was only in his early thirties despite being in his forties.?


    ?


    But unexpectedly, Kwak Eun-Hyuk mentioned that as an actor, getting older was fun because the older an actor became, the more roles would be open to them. Kwak Eun-Hyuk¡¯s words left a deep impression on Woo-Jin. However, he also added that it was important for one to take care of themselves to play a variety of roles for a long time.?


    ?


    ¡°On the other hand, it¡¯s also upsetting when you can¡¯t get a role because you¡¯re older. So whenever you get the opportunity, try taking on roles that are suitable for your age,¡± Kwak Eun-Hyuk advised.?


    ?


    ¡°What kind of roles are you referring to?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°A student in those coming-of-age high school dramas or films?¡±?


    ?


    Kwak Eun-Hyuk pretended to weep, saying he could only play the role of a teacher in those productions. Naturally, he was massaging his eyes with his fingers even at that moment. Coming-of-age high school dramas or movies weren¡¯t Woo-Jin¡¯s cup of tea, so he wasn¡¯t going to take part in them, but Woo-Jin also had something he wished for.?


    ?


    ¡°I want to be cast as a teenager in school when I¡¯m in my thirties.¡± After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s earnest reply, Kwak Eun-Hyuk gently squeezed out the sample of an anti-aging beauty product onto his hand.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    All of Woo-Jin¡¯s scenes with Queen Yoon were scheduled as early as possible because it was the best time to portray their relationship as they met and parted in spring. Additionally, it was good to be immersed in emotions as they were planning to shoot Prince Myeong-Hwan and Queen Yoon¡¯s story continuously in one go.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin headed towards a temporary building to put on his wig. The building was currently being used as an area for actors to get their makeup done. He happened to run into the makeup artist on his way there.?


    ?


    ¡°Where are you going? That¡¯s the way to the wig room.¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, we took the wrong hair ornament for Queen Yoon, so I¡¯m going to change it.¡± She then told Woo-Jin to go on ahead. Woo-Jin opened the door to the makeup room without much thought and suddenly stopped moving. Oh Ha-Na and her stylist had already gotten there first. It seemed like the makeup artist was styling Oh Ha-Na¡¯s hair earlier on and left the room to get a different hair ornament.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m clearly her senior in this field, no? So how can she look at me that way, acting all arrogant?¡± Oh Ha-Na complained.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, Kwon Eun-Mi is a world-class model after all,¡± the stylist said.?


    ?


    ¡°Regardless of how famous she is as a model, she¡¯s only a rookie and my junior in the acting industry!¡± Perhaps, Oh Ha-Na was very unhappy with Kwon Eun-Mi and sounded very agitated.?


    ?


    ¡°How can she act as Seol Ha when she doesn¡¯t even have any acting experience! Isn¡¯t it ridiculous? Because of people like her, innocent actors like us end up suffering. In any case, how can I shoot a movie with such a dirty thing? Just thinking about it makes me sick!¡± Oh Ha-Na continued.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin heard it by chance, he felt that she had gone too far, so he made his presence known and entered the room. Just like what Oh Ha-Na said, more often than not, rumors would unknowingly start spreading when an actor got offered a role via a secret deal without going through an audition. Some rumors were completely false in this industry too. Nonetheless, there were absolutely no rumors about Kwon Eun-Mi playing Seol Ha. Instead, it was rather well-received by everyone, and Woo-Jin shared the same sentiment as the general public.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin entered the makeup room, Oh Ha-Na¡¯s conversation with her stylist was cut off abruptly. Oh Ha-Na shut her mouth, looked at Woo-Jin, and immediately greeted him with a bright smile.?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa~!¡± Despite their terrible first encounter, Oh Ha-Na still called Woo-Jin ¡®oppa¡¯ in a friendly way. They weren¡¯t enemies, so instead of being awkward, Woo-Jin was moderately polite with her as well. However, hearing that she wanted Kwon Eun-Mi to treat her as a senior, he became more careful with his words.?


    ?


    ¡°You seem to already be done with your makeup,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°I had to shoot another scene, so I got my makeup done first. I¡¯ll be done after putting on the hair ornament.¡± Oh Ha-Na smiled as she fixed her hair, looking clean and beautiful like a lady from a Yangban family.?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na watched as Woo-Jin sat down. Seeing as Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t said anything, she spoke first.?


    ?


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°About what?¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°You heard everything I said before you came in.¡±?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na might have guessed as much, so she asked him bluntly. Woo-Jin replied calmly, ¡°Just because I heard, it doesn¡¯t mean we have to talk about it.¡±?


    ?


    After what happened with Oh Ha-Na the last time, Woo-Jin tried his best not to talk about other people as much as possible. She didn¡¯t have anything good to say earlier and even more because he didn¡¯t want to contribute or start any rumors. Even if Woo-Jin took Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s side and said nice things about her, the more they talked about her, the more these rumors would be reproduced.?


    ?


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take it as you share the same opinion as me,¡± Oh Ha-Na said.?


    ?


    ¡°How did you even arrive at that conclusion?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°You didn¡¯t refute what I said. Doesn¡¯t that mean you share the same sentiment as me?¡± After hearing Oh Ha-Na say that cheerfully, Woo-Jin smiled. This young lady had a knack for making people feel flustered. Regardless of how people reacted, she would set a trap to get them involved, but she wasn¡¯t very good at it.?


    ?


    ¡°I see how it can be interpreted that way. However, it¡¯s my first time hearing what you said today, so I have no grounds to make an argument. Plus, I don¡¯t have the talent to slander other people without evidence, so I¡¯ll have to look into it.¡± Woo-Jin whipped out his phone and looked through his contacts. Upon seeing him do that, Oh Ha-Na asked who he was calling.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m calling Kwon Eun-Mi. I have to ask the person concerned if it¡¯s true,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll come clean if you ask her about it?¡± Oh Ha-Na was shocked and flustered. She got up from her chair and stopped Woo-Jin from calling her.?


    ?


    ¡°Who should I ask then?¡± As soon as Woo-Jin looked cluelessly at Oh Ha-Na and asked her, she frowned.?


    ?


    ¡°Kwon Eun-Mi should also know what people have been saying about her. Whether she explains herself or refutes it, that¡¯s her story to tell. That¡¯s not something I can argue about,¡± Oh Ha-Na said.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Oh Ha-Na snorted, and her lips twitched after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply.?


    ?


    ¡°I think you¡¯re naive and don¡¯t know anything. You shouldn¡¯t go easy on people like that. What kind of truth are you expecting from people whose lives are full of lies?¡± Oh Ha-Na spoke with conviction. There was no doubt on her face, confusing Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    He didn¡¯t know the truth about Kwon Eun-Mi. Rumors buried the truth. As such, rumors could be falsehoods that hid the truth, or they could be something that was connected to the truth. Thus, he couldn¡¯t say anything until he uncovered the facts. Even though there were no rumors right now, Oh Ha-Ha spoke with conviction. It was difficult to distinguish whether she had a reason for acting that way or if she had been completely deceived by her own delusions.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought your clothes, prince.¡± Hwang Yi-Young entered the makeup room with Woo-Jin¡¯s costume. She glanced over at Oh Ha-Na and greeted her before hanging Woo-Jin¡¯s clothes on the hanger. These clothes were to be worn over the white cotton clothes Woo-Jin was currently wearing after finishing his makeup. Hwang Yi-Young placed it such that the dopo would not get wrinkled. Oh Ha-Na watched her as she did that before sitting down.?


    ?


    She muttered, ¡°If you trust people so easily, you¡¯ll get stabbed in the back one day.¡± Oh Ha-Na lamented regrettably. Hwang Yi-Young turned to look at Woo-Jin as if asking if something had happened. Woo-Jin smiled faintly and avoided giving an answer. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the truth, but it¡¯s true that those rumors are not pleasant.¡± This was the most important part to Woo-Jin. Regardless of Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s truth, it was none of his business. All he had to do was act well for the sake of producing a good movie. Woo-Jin wondered why it even mattered how Kwon Eun-Mi got her part or whether or not Oh Ha-Na was lying out of jealousy. He simply hoped that the movie would not get dragged through the mud because of baseless rumors right from the get-go.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, I agree with you. We can¡¯t be dragged down together,¡± Oh Ha-Na answered with confidence. As soon as the makeup artist came in with her hair ornament, she completed the finishing touches and left the makeup room for the shoot.?


    ?


    After Woo-Jin wore his wig and only two of them were left in the room, Hwang Yi-Young asked Woo-Jin what Oh Ha-Na meant. To avoid repeating his previous mistake, as well as Oh Ha-Na¡¯s mistake today, Woo-Jin spoke with utmost caution.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard any rumors about that. Though not everybody with a sponsor ends up with rumors about them. But just like Oh Ha-Na asserted, if anybody interferes with the casting process, people will start spreading rumors within the industry, like in Park Min¡¯s case,¡± Hwang Yi-Young said.?


    ?


    Casting was the most sensitive subject in the entertainment industry. Usually, when somebody got cast for a role, people often wondered why and rumors would start spreading like wildfire. Whether it was because of the actor¡¯s talent, their agency¡¯s power and influence, or external pressure by a third party, etcetera, there was no way it would be overlooked. Meanwhile, the audition for Red Enemy was said to be impartial and stringent. Even if what Oh Ha-Na said was a truth that only she was privy to, it was undoubtedly careless of her to say it out loud in a place where anyone could hear. And if it weren¡¯t true, it would be a vicious act that could destroy the career of a good actress.?


    ?


    However, Oh Ha-Na knew that a rumor like that would do no good for their movie. Hence, it was highly likely that she purposely said it in time for Woo-Jin to hear. Oh Ha-Na meant to give the information only to certain people and made sure they heard it. She was trying to drive a wedge between them.?


    ?


    ¡°What a brazen young lady. You can¡¯t exactly disregard her because she¡¯s playing your lover in the movie. Woo-Jin, you¡¯re going to have a hard time.¡± Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s worries were not unfounded. Before this movie, Woo-Jin¡¯s luck had been strangely good ¡ª his co-stars were pleasant to work with. Even though they had different personalities, they were straightforward people who weren¡¯t bitter or resentful. Since all of them were older than Woo-Jin, he was always grateful to them for guiding him like a younger brother.?


    ?


    On the other hand, it was a fact that Oh Ha-Na was very different, given what had happened previously, as well as today. However, in just a bit, he had to act out a scene where he fell in love with her. It was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time acting as a person''s lover towards whom he had absolutely no attraction. In fact, he didn¡¯t even like her.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! The actual queen was a bitch anyway. Her reputation just worsened,¡± Hwang Yi-Young said.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°They found the queen¡¯s diary a couple of years ago.¡± Queen Yoon¡¯s secret diary had been discovered by chance while the palace was undergoing renovations. Perhaps, the Jimil Sanggung that served the queen or a court lady secretly hid it during the coup to hide their mistress¡¯ flaws. That was the most plausible theory. It wasn¡¯t surprising because the diary''s contents had acknowledged that Queen Yoon and the prince were lovers even before she entered the palace. Additionally, even after becoming the queen, she still couldn¡¯t forget the prince and expressed how much she longed for him.

 CH 116

    The moment the diary was found, the rumors spreading around were confirmed to be true. The people who served the queen would have wanted to eliminate the evidence entirely, but they didn¡¯t have enough time to do so. Hence, they had no choice but to hide Queen Yoon¡¯s disgraceful act.?


    ?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t read the diary back then because I had no interest in it, but I read it this time around. Everyone else says it¡¯s sorrowful and heartbreaking, but in my opinion, she¡¯s truly one hell of a bitch.¡± The more she spoke, the more agitated Hwang Yi-Young became, and her voice grew louder too.?


    ?


    ¡°On the day before the selection process[1], Prince Myeong-Hwan visited her and asked her to somehow figure out a way to fail the screening test. However, after that, even though she told him she would take care of it, she did her best to become one of the top three candidates. It¡¯s funny how she cried about it and tried to justify that she sacrificed herself for the sake of her father and family.¡± Thus, Hwang Yi-Young argued that Queen Yoon was an opportunist and a two-faced person who was power-hungry.?


    ?


    ¡°Ultimately, Prince Myeong-Hwan had low standards. Or maybe he was into bad girls. But even though she was the most wicked woman of all time, it doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s not the love of someone else¡¯s life. Ha, even a married woman like her was in love, whereas I¡­.¡± Hwang Yi-Young started grumbling at some point, but her opinion about Queen Yoon wasn¡¯t wrong because Woo-Jin felt the same way about her.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because she was a person who never gave up on anything.¡± Queen Yoon didn¡¯t want to give up on anything ¡ª from the honor and wealth bestowed upon her by her status as the queen to Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s unconditional love for her. As soon as the king got married to his concubine, Queen Moon-Jin hurried Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s wedding ceremony as a political move.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan was widowed at the age of 17, and it was rather strange that he didn¡¯t have a second wife at that age. His wedding took place quickly, and Queen Yoon couldn¡¯t tolerate it. She entered the palace and ordered the servant she brought with her to send a letter to the prince. In the letter, she gently admonished her lover for cheating on her. Prince Myeong-Hwan was so overwhelmed with emotion that he sent a long and detailed letter in response.?


    ?


    ¡°If you look at the diary along with Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s diary¡­.¡± Hwang Yi-Young was cut short while talking.?


    ?


    ¡°Seriously, noona!¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Please stop talking about the letter,¡± he said.?


    ?


    Perhaps, that servant turned Sanggung was the one who hid the queen¡¯s diary. She was the only person who knew about the relationship between the queen and the prince and also the contents of the queen¡¯s diary. What did Prince Myeong-Hwan say in response to the woman who sent him a letter telling him not to get married after abandoning him and marrying his brother, thus becoming his sister-in-law? He told her that all he wanted was the flower picked by its owner and vanished in the house and not unknown flowers blooming in the garden. He also added that no flower could replace the scent that permeated his chest, and the scent of alcohol became his only friend, sharing his frustrations. The content of his letter was very childish.?


    ?


    It¡¯s not just anyone else ¡ª it¡¯s my past life!?


    ?


    However, he couldn¡¯t curse only his past self for being an imbecile because Woo-Jin did something similar a few years ago. Woo-Jin¡¯s face gradually turned pale as soon as he recalled the pathetic things he had done when he got dumped by his first love. Woo-Jin wondered if his soul was that consistent. As the prince, he had even committed suicide in front of the person he loved for not loving him back, so he couldn¡¯t just find fault with a particular past identity for being foolish. His personality and preferences had simply been engraved in his soul. He loved those women the way he loved art. At times he was obsessed with them and wanted to own them or give anything and everything unconditionally to them to keep them by his side.?


    ?


    For the first time, Woo-Jin felt that he needed to let go of the lingering feelings he still had for his first love. Those feelings weren¡¯t going to disappear just because he wanted them to. Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t gotten rid of his lingering feelings for Lee So-Hyun that had been tucked away somewhere. He used to think there was no harm in being on good terms with her.?


    ?


    However, when he looked back on his past lives and what Prince Myeong-Hwan had done because of the current circumstances, he felt it was truly a bad idea. Hypothetically speaking, if he had a next life and became an actor again, how would it turn out if he were to be cast in a movie depicting Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s life story, where he would tell the story of his first love? It was a shameful past that could not even be compared to Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s history with Queen Yoon.?


    ?


    Even if you die, it doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re dead.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s past was a little embarrassing, but remembering the things he had done himself was difficult. And he didn¡¯t want to spend his entire life at a loss like Prince Myeong-Hwan, pining for only one woman.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you okay, Woo-Jin? You look very pale. Should I talk to the director and ask him to postpone the shoot?¡± Hwang Yi-Young asked in concern.?


    ?


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I just realized something important,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°That the queen is a bitch?¡± Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s indifferent words stabbed Woo-Jin like a dagger once again. Then, suddenly, it hit him clearly ¡ª all the women he had ever loved were of the same type. While his attitude towards his lovers was consistent, all his lovers¡¯ personalities were also, by and large, the same, with just a few differences.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s absolutely a terrible woman,¡± Woo-Jin acknowledged. And he was a total fool. A fool¡¯s love was always reckless and blind, failing to see the people for who they were. Even though he liked such women, Oh Ha-Na was absolutely nothing close to that. As Woo-Jin prepared for the scene where Prince Myeong-Hwan met Queen Yoon for the first time and fell in love with her, he was worried.?


    ?


    How should I express my love for that woman? Should I express the actual Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s obsessive and crazy love as it is, or should I portray a purer version? ?


    ?


    After calming himself down, Woo-Jin tried to imagine Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s version of ordinary love.?


    ?


    ¡°Ready, action!¡± As soon as Woo-Jin heard Director Yoon¡¯s cue, he became a cheerful 20-year-old Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°D-do you really have to do this, Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡±?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan was wearing a shabby dopo; the painter looked at him with a pale and fearful face as he shook his head. The prince had been financially supporting the painter the entire time. Perhaps, the painter never could have imagined a day like today would come, so he was sweating continuously and getting flustered.?


    ?


    ¡°O-ho, I am your disciple today! I am in your hands, teacher.¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan had dressed up as a poor artist and said he would follow the painter around today. He lacked skills, so he decided to make arrangements to become the painter¡¯s disciple and shadow him.?


    ?


    ¡°Okay, which gibang[2] are we going to today?¡± the prince asked. The painter specialized in painting portraits. He was especially famous for drawing women very well. However, since men and women were distinctly different, he was rarely hired by the Yangban. The painter mainly worked in gibangs, and his job was to paint the kisaengs there.?


    ?


    ¡°You picked the wrong day. A filial son had requested me to paint a portrait of his elderly mother,¡± said the painter.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh no, that¡¯s regrettable!¡± said the prince.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, so today, please¡­.¡± said the painter.?


    ?


    ¡°Pasque flowers are still flowers.[3]¡± Instead, Lee Hoo was rather interested in seeing how the painter was going to portray the old lady, so he was more than happy to tag along. He wanted to shadow the painter because he wanted to learn the techniques of drawing portraits ¡ª not to ogle at the subject of the paintings.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen if your identity gets exposed?¡± the painter asked.?


    ?


    ¡°None of the court officials are going to recognize me in this getup. In fact, it¡¯s even more dangerous for me to go to a gibang.¡± He didn¡¯t have a lot of people he was that close with, so nobody could imagine him doing something like this in such disguise. Lee Hoo was well-aware that it was impossible for those people to even think about him.?


    ?


    The painter looked at the elated prince and became flustered because he didn¡¯t know what to do. Even though they weren¡¯t going to a high-ranking official¡¯s residence, the place they were going to seemed to be the residence of a fairly prestigious Yangban family. A servant came out to greet them and guided them to a well-lit room in the outer-wing building to the south of the main building.?


    ?


    ¡°Mother, the painter who will be painting your portrait is here.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What? Who¡¯s here?¡±?


    ?


    The mistress of the residence appeared to be about 40 years old. She tried explaining to the subject of today¡¯s portrait, but the elderly lady was hard of hearing and tilted her head. The elderly lady looked at the painter and Lee Hoo with blurry vision, but shortly after, beckoned them to sit down, seemingly having understood the situation.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you drawing a portrait of me? It¡¯s only going to break my son¡¯s heart.¡± Perhaps she knew her son¡¯s desire to see his elderly mother for a long time by capturing what she currently looked like, so the elderly lady positioned herself properly.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s hard for her to sit for a long time because of her age.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, so I¡¯m just going to draw a simple sketch today.¡± After hearing the painter¡¯s words, Lee Hoo skillfully organized the various painting tools and took out the oilpaper and charcoal before laying them out in front of them. Lee Hoo acted as the painter¡¯s assistant, making him feel uncomfortable. The moment the painter grabbed the charcoal, he drew a line on the oilpaper as though he had forgotten about everything else.?


    ?


    Lee Hoo became a passionate student and observed the painter as he looked at the subject and sketched her every distinctive feature and wrinkle without leaving out any of them. He traced over the lines drawn by the painter with his finger. He looked at the elderly lady and was engrossed in thinking about how he would have drawn the same part if he were to draw her himself.?


    ?


    ¡°Grandmother, mother!¡± A young woman could be heard entering the room with light refreshments. Lee Hoo was busy watching the painter drawing a sketch of the portrait, so he didn¡¯t raise his head even though he heard footsteps of someone walking along his side. He seemed to have heard the mother nagging her daughter, lecturing her for intruding, coupled with the daughter¡¯s laughter. Finally, the daughter made an excuse saying she came into the room to watch.?


    ?


    As soon as the painter stopped painting for a moment to observe the elderly lady, Lee Hoo raised his head as well. After looking at her beautiful hands that didn¡¯t seem to have done any menial labor in her entire life and the wrinkles around her mouth, Lee Hoo¡¯s gaze shifted to the side. At that moment, he made eye contact with the young lady sitting next to the elderly lady.?


    ?


    The greatest bitch of all time!?


    ?


    Woo-Jin let out a stifled laugh. Lee Hoo had suddenly recalled what Hwang Yi-Young had said earlier and forgot where he was for a second. He laughed out loud.?


    ?


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±?


    ?


    If it were Woo-Jin, he wouldn¡¯t have laughed so casually, but he was currently Lee Hoo, the candid prince that did not hold himself back. Even if the other party was the greatest bitch of all time, the man who loved her would take pleasure in this too. The prince sat comfortably, hitting his knee with his hand as he laughed.?


    ?


    ¡°Cut?¡±?


    ?


    Lee Hoo somewhat came to his senses after hearing Director Yoon¡¯s bewildered voice. He wiped his tears and looked back at Director Yoon, and apologized with a mischievous look on his face. He couldn¡¯t do anything because it was too funny. After laughing to his heart¡¯s content for quite some time, he became Woo-Jin once again. He spotted Oh Ha-Na among the actors that were looking at him. No, she was currently Queen Yoon, Yoon Hwa-Eun.?


    ?


    As Hwang Yi-Young had said, Yoon Hwa-Eun was a stereotypical bad girl. Despite knowing everything, Prince Myeong-Hwan loved her. The kind of person she was wasn¡¯t an important issue to him. Woo-Jin wanted to let the young and innocent lady know what a warm and beautiful love was. Even though Chae Woo-Jin himself wasn¡¯t familiar with it either, he hoped that their love would bloom beautifully. Right now, this was an excellent opportunity for Prince Myeong-Hwan to create a different love, which would have been great if things had developed this way back then.?


    ?


    After Woo-Jin had calmed himself down and finished preparing, they resumed shooting once again. The moment his gaze met Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s gaze, Lee Hoo had a strange feeling that they were destined to meet. Instead of falling crazily in love at first sight like Prince Myeong-Hwan did, Lee Hoo tried to start their romance slowly and steadily.?


    ?


    1. All potential royal consorts would have to undergo a selection process where the chosen candidate would become the future queen. ??


    ?


    2. Gibang is the place where a kisaeng (women from outcast or slave families who were trained to be courtesans) lived in ancient Korea. ??


    ?


    3. Pasque flowers are called ??? in Korean. Its direct translation is ¡®grandmother flower.¡¯ The writer basically says that just because she¡¯s old doesn¡¯t mean she isn¡¯t a woman. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 117

    The rain in spring looked like tiny beads of water made of gleaming green light. The sprouts on the trees were sparkling through these transparent droplets of water. A man opened a clean glass window and reached out his hand, feeling the raindrops. He slowly turned his head after hearing a sudden sound. As soon as the two people made eye contact, a bright smile flashed across the man¡¯s face. Affection and lingering feelings could be felt in those gleaming eyes; it was stifling.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Let¡¯s come here together again next year.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s never break up. I¡¯ll always be with you, regardless of where you are!¡± As soon as the man spoke, the woman placed her hands together and made a vow. Even though there was no hope in her voice that was filled with excitement, she was happy at this moment.?


    ?


    The girl had watched the commercial several times before; she clicked on the first episode of City of Shadows. Even though she had seen it countless times and remembered all the lines by now, it was always new and exciting every time she watched it.?


    ?


    Rattle rattle.?


    ?


    Instead of opening the door, the person standing outside the room spoke in a sharp voice.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you lock the door again? Come out and have dinner! What exactly are you hiding in your room? I don¡¯t know why your door is always locked. If you continue being like this, I¡¯ll open the door and enter your room when you¡¯re not around.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! This is my territory. If anyone tries to enter, they¡¯ll get it from me!¡± the girl responded.?


    ?


    ¡°Okay, okay, just come out of your room and have your dinner. It¡¯ll be nice if you can come out of your room on your own whenever it¡¯s time for dinner. Why do I have to call you every time!¡± The look in the girl¡¯s eyes kept changing as she listened to her sister¡¯s complaints. She lived with her sister, and her nosy sister seemed to think something terrible would happen if she skipped a meal. The girl had no choice but to turn off her monitor and get up from her chair. If she continued ignoring her nosy sister, she might barge into her room.?


    ?


    The girl hadn¡¯t even turned on the room light, and she scanned her dark room before leaving. The light from the living room shone through the gap of the open door and illuminated the room. A picture of Chae Woo-Jin on the wall and a life-size cardboard cutout on one side could be seen in the dark. She barely resisted the temptation to keep looking, and as soon as she shut the door, the sound of the door slamming and locking echoed silently in the air.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo looked at the picture hanging in the Gaon store and tried her best not to smile. It showed Woo-Jin wearing a necklace as a bracelet, and half of his face was covered with his right hand, which had a ring on one of his fingers. His carefree smile captured the cheerful and lively nature of the youth in their twenties. Seeing how he managed to effortlessly pull off women¡¯s jewelry as a man, Park Eun-Soo felt that celebrities were indeed different from normal people. The pictures of the models from the other brands didn¡¯t even catch her eye, probably because Woo-Jin was her son.?


    ?


    Just then, the store manager happened to see Park Eun-Soo and approached her. The Gaon boutique in this department store was directly managed by the headquarters. Even though it was barely a couple of times, Park Eun-Soo had swung by to do market research or look at the store displays, so the manager remembered her.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re here, Team Leader Park,¡± the manager said.?


    ?


    Even though she was Brisingamen¡¯s CEO, Choi Min-Woo¡¯s wife, Park Eun-Soo had always put her position as a designer first before anything else. Additionally, many company employees, both at the headquarters and in the stores, were unaware of their relationship as she was not the type to go around revealing personal details. It was also harder for the store manager to find who she was, especially since the manager was scouted via a headhunter and had only become the manager of Gaon at the start of this year. The people who knew Park Eun-Soo well didn''t go around spreading her information, let alone Park Eun-Soo herself. Since she visited the store from time to time, the manager felt at ease talking to her.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me today. Just pretend I¡¯m not here. I came to look around the department store for some market research.¡± Park Eun-Soo went to the department store to browse the other jewelry boutiques and check out the design preferences of consumers, so she told the manager not to pay her any attention.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s a misunderstanding. I called you over intentionally because I have a favor to ask of you,¡± the manager said.?


    ?


    ¡°A favor? From me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve submitted a proposal to the head office, but if the opportunity arises, I hope that you can help me out as well.¡± The manager gave a shy smile, pulled Park Eun-Soo into the boutique, and spoke softly, ¡°Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Woo¡­I mean, Chae Woo-Jin? What about him?¡± Park Eun-Soo asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I was wondering if there¡¯s any chance we could host a fansign event. Ever since Chae Woo-Jin became our model, our brand awareness has risen significantly even though he¡¯s a newcomer. That¡¯s why other companies have been keeping an eye on us and thinking of ways to overcome the competition. Not too long ago, the models from the other brands had hosted fansign events here,¡± the manager said.?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo didn¡¯t know much about business and marketing, so she smiled awkwardly after hearing what the manager said and made a casual remark asking if that really happened.?


    ?


    ¡°Recently, the hairpin Chae Woo-Jin used to pin his bangs during his classes in school, and the necklace he wore, have both been selling very well. I think it¡¯s great that Chae Woo-Jin modeled for our brand, but I truly didn¡¯t expect him to actively promote our products like this.¡± These products weren¡¯t sponsored for an official event in the first place. Models seldom continued using the products they modeled for in their daily lives. Hence, if they were to show the consumers that Woo-Jin personally wore these products, more often than not, it would be a lot more effective than shooting a few commercials or advertisements.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s certainly a very popular actor, so his every move would be posted on the internet right away. Hence, I shared my opinion with the higher-ups yesterday that even if he doesn¡¯t host a fansign event, it would be good if he could just drop by the boutique at least once.¡± Gaon didn¡¯t have a flagship store, so this boutique was the biggest one directly managed by the company¡¯s headquarters. It was also the boutique with the highest overall sales and was considered the main store of Gaon. Hence, if they were to hold a fansign event, this was the right place.?


    ?


    When the models from the other brands showed up, it had certainly hurt their sales on the day itself. Even though it wasn¡¯t just a one-day business, there were several jewelry brands in the department store, so models from these brands took turns having their fansign events. Thus, Gaon¡¯s exposure was bound to decrease. Chae Woo-Jin had the ability to create a ripple effect that other models from those brands could not compare to. The manager wasn¡¯t asking for much ¡ª she just wanted Chae Woo-Jin to drop by Gaon¡¯s boutique at least once.?


    ?


    ¡°The design team doesn¡¯t have a say in such matters. If it¡¯s feasible, wouldn¡¯t the marketing department be processing it?¡± Park Eun-Soo asked.?


    ?


    ¡°That must be the case, right? The models from the other brands have been coming here consecutively for the fansign events since last week, so I guess I have been rather impatient. I¡¯m sorry for making you feel burdened,¡± the manager apologized, but Park Eun-Soo gestured to her, telling her it was okay. She knew very well what it was like to have the desire to perform well.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, Chae Woo-Jin is currently shooting a movie. So, it¡¯s highly likely that he doesn¡¯t have much spare time after juggling both academics and work at the same time,¡± Park Eun-Soo said.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡±?


    ?


    After comforting the disappointed manager, Park Eun-Soo left the boutique. She took a quick glance at the other boutiques and walked towards one of them. No, she was about to.?


    ?


    However, she was stopped by a middle-aged woman who grabbed her by the arm as she called out her name. ¡°You¡¯re Park Eun-Soo¡­right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Who are you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Kang Hye-Min.¡± Park Eun-Soo was still puzzled even after hearing the middle-aged woman¡¯s name. She didn¡¯t recognize her face or her name. Park Eun-Soo became guarded and tried to release herself from the woman¡¯s grip, but the middle-aged woman desperately held onto her arm.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s¡­second wife.¡±?


    ?


    Upon hearing the name ¡®Chae Mu-Seok,¡¯ Park Eun-Soo stopped moving and stared blankly at the woman who identified herself as Kang Hye-Min. Chae Mu-Seok was Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee¡¯s biological father. Park Eun-Soo didn¡¯t know the name of the woman he married after their divorce, but she knew she was a young lady who was ten years her junior. However, the woman standing before Park Eun-Soo right now looked much older and more sickly than her.?


    ?


    ¡°I happened to see you while I was walking around; that¡¯s why I blindly followed you. Can we¡­go somewhere close by and talk? Just for a bit¡­?¡± Kang Hye-Min said.?


    ?


    ¡°Why should I do that? We are strangers who have nothing to do with one another, especially since you¡¯ve divorced that person too.¡± After learning the woman''s identity, Park Eun-Soo let her guard down, but that didn¡¯t mean she was comfortable enough to sit down with her and talk. Even though she didn¡¯t know how Kang Hye-Min knew about her, Park Eun-Soo felt uncomfortable around her.?


    ?


    ¡°Just for a little while, please. There¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡±?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo was conflicted for a moment after hearing her desperate plea. Kang Hye-Min was so thin that she was all skin and bones. She was only in her late thirties, but she looked like a middle-aged woman because of her sunken eyes and wrinkles. Upon a closer inspection, one could tell that her gaunt and skinny face used to be beautiful at one point. Her disheveled hair and expensive but untidy clothes gave people the impression that she was not currently of sound mind.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s something I must tell you about your son,¡± Kang Hye-Min said.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you know my son?¡± Park Eun-Soo asked her warily, thinking she wanted to talk about Woo-Jin. However, Kang Hye-Min was puzzled by her reaction.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Ah, no, I don¡¯t. But I¡¯m aware you have a son. Just like me in the past¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo could feel the sadness in the last part of her reply. She didn¡¯t have the heart to reject the woman who was starting to tear up. She left the department store and brought Kang Hye-Min to a nearby cafe. Kang Hye-Min looked hesitant after getting seated even though it seemed as though she had a lot to say.?


    ?


    Park Eun-Soo waited patiently as she watched Kang Hye-Min continuously fiddle with her warm cup of tea as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. Shortly after, Kang Hye-Min started to tell her what had happened in the past. Before getting to the main topic, she seemed to want to address an issue first.?


    ?


    ¡°At first, my uncle[1] was the one who arranged my marriage with that person. I turned it down initially after learning he had been divorced and that he was a lot older than me. However, the more we heard about him, the more we realized he came from a very prestigious family beyond our imagination. It was a little weird too. Even though he had been divorced, he could easily find a better woman than me because of his family background. Back then, my father was a professor in a university. And my father¡­dreamed of becoming the president of the university with the help of that person.¡±?


    ?


    To put it bluntly, as soon as Kang Hye-Min married him, her father quickly rose through the ranks in the university. Initially, the dean was the highest position her father could reach. However, after four years of Kang Hye-Min¡¯s marriage, her father became the university president.?


    ?


    ¡°My marriage with him definitely had to do with increasing our status.¡±?


    ?


    She used to think she was already living an affluent life free of difficulties and tribulations. But, after marrying Chae Mu-Seok, her status had risen exponentially ¡ª she had a personal assistant and chauffeur overnight. She didn¡¯t have to make a trip down to the department store; they went to her. They would open the boutiques anytime she wanted and greet her, even if it was at dawn. When she received a call from a department store in Hong Kong about a newly released product, she would take the plane and fly there to buy it on the day itself like it was nothing. When she suddenly craved the food she previously had in Japan, she would fly over immediately for lunch and fly back. She didn¡¯t have to think about which color to get because she could buy all of them regardless of the price if she liked them.?


    ?


    ¡°At first, it felt like a dream. That person was also kind and well-mannered, so I mistakenly thought that I received such a blessing because I had saved a country in my previous life. I was such a fool,¡± Kang Hye-Min said.?


    ?


    Seeing Kang Hye-Min mock herself, Park Eun-Soo could relate to her. Even though it was an arranged marriage, Park Eun-Soo used to think Chae Mu-Seok was gentlemanly and charismatic, even though he wasn¡¯t affectionate.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s all just a facade,¡± Park Eun-Soo said.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, it was a facade. As soon as his father collapsed out of the blue, he revealed his true colors.¡±?


    ?


    Two years after their wedding, her father-in-law collapsed due to a stroke and became partially paralyzed. As a result, Chae Mu-Seok took over all the family businesses. Since he was the only son, he took over everything peacefully because he didn¡¯t have any brothers or relatives to dispute management rights. After being the sole owner of everything, he acted like he no longer needed to regard others or care about anyone at all.?


    ?


    1. Her father¡¯s younger brother. ?

 CH 118

    ¡°Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s father wanted to convalesce in France, so that woman moved into our house as soon as his parents left the country.¡± Perhaps thinking about that day still made Kang Hye-Min feel sick ¨C she clenched her teeth and continued.?


    ?


    ¡°We weren¡¯t living with my in-laws, but it seemed like the woman had been walking on eggshells, trying to be cautious. Back then, I truly thought that Woo-Ra was your daughter. Every week when Woo-Ra said she was going to see her mother¡­I never imagined her mother would be that woman.¡±?


    ?


    When that woman suddenly barged into their house, she had kicked Kang Hye-Min out of the master bedroom. When Kang Hye-Min first saw her, Kang Hye-Min wondered what that woman was doing in her house because she was a very famous actress.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve been occupying someone else¡¯s room up until now, so you should be behaving yourself.¡±?


    ?


    That was what the woman had told her when Kang Hye-Min said she would call the police. What was even more ridiculous was that all the employees at home knew who that woman was and treated her with the utmost respect.?


    ?


    As soon as the shocked Kang Hye-Min called her husband, he seemed to be clueless about it. At first, he was so flustered to the point that she could sense it over the phone. That woman had acted on her own accord. After Chae Mu-Seok got home, before entering the master bedroom, he told Kang Hye-Min, ¡®Now that things have come to this point, you just have to understand¡¯. Kang Hye-Min tried to follow him into the room, but the woman blocked her.?


    ?


    ¡°This is our room. You can¡¯t enter it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What are you talking about! This is our room, we¡¯re married. You¡¯re the one who has to leave!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Tsk, tsk ¨C it has been our room for a very long time. Our Woo-Ra was conceived on the bed in that room, you know.¡±?


    ?


    Seeing how she spoke in such a dignified manner without the slightest hint of embarrassment, Kang Hye-Min was dumbfounded. She even boasted to Kang Hye-Min about how they had a longer history. After all, that woman had been using the bedroom since Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s first wife went to stay at her parents¡¯ house during her second pregnancy because of her severe morning sickness.?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯ll be living in the same house from now on, so I hope we get along.¡±?


    ?


    That woman shook Kang Hye-Min¡¯s fingers half-heartedly and proudly entered the master bedroom. Kang Hye-Min couldn¡¯t bring herself to go after her.?


    ?


    The next day, that woman redecorated the master bedroom, and Kang Hye-Min¡¯s items were relocated to another room. Kang Hye-Min did her best to raise Woo-Ra because she didn¡¯t want to be viewed as the stereotypical stepmother. However, as soon as Woo-Ra saw that woman, she went ¡®Mom~! Are we living together now?¡¯ and jumped for joy. Kang Hye-Min tried to clarify the situation and questioned Chae Mu-Seok, but all she received was an indifferent response.?


    ?


    ¡°Instead of whining about it in such an undignified manner, we can just get a divorce if you can¡¯t stand it.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Mu-Seok then proceeded to compare Kang Hye-Min with his ex-wife, Park Eun-Soo. He commented ¡®Indeed, a person¡¯s upbringing shapes that way they act,¡¯ and clicked his tongue. Afterward, he said that just because he had gotten a divorce once, it didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t do it again and that he¡¯d do whatever she wanted.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll do whatever I want? In that case, kick her out of this house¡­our house.¡±?


    ?


    She added that if Chae Mu-Seok did that, she wouldn¡¯t care what they did outside. Upon hearing that, Chae Mu-Seok laughed out loud.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re the only person in this house who acts as you please. Ever since you came to this house, was there anyone else apart from you who could act as they pleased?¡±?


    ?


    That was the moment when she realized why this man had chosen to marry her. That was the same with his in-laws as well. They knew their son so well that they were sure he would never change. Kang Hye-Min was the best candidate to marry their son.?


    ?


    Someone as perfect as his first wife had no reason to tolerate and continue living with Chae Mu-Seok. Kang Hye-Min was the perfect candidate ¨C there wasn¡¯t that big of a social difference but she would keep quiet and put up with it even if she was treated with disrespect. As a reward for her obedience, her father was able to become the president of the university. The moment Kang Hye-Min and Chae Mu-Seok finalized their divorce, her father was fired for being involved in a corruption scandal.?


    ?


    ¡°I put up with it for three more years, but that was my limit. In exchange for leaving Woo-Young behind, I received a huge sum of alimony.¡± Nevertheless, she believed that since Chae Mu-Seok loved his son a lot, that woman wouldn¡¯t be able to treat Chae Woo-Young badly. Kang Hye-Min also thought it would be better for her son to stay and become the Chae family¡¯s heir instead of leaving with her.?


    ?


    ¡°With regards to being an heir¡­ Did you not think about what would happen if that woman were to give birth to a son?¡±?


    ?


    It was silly of her to expect something like unconditional paternal love from Chae Mu-Seok. It would¡¯ve been more comforting for her if he was someone who had a patriarchal mindset and only loved and treasured sons. However, Chae Mu-Seok was simply obsessed with the idea of having only one son and that only his son could carry on the family name.?


    ?


    ¡°He got the surgery done after Woo-Young was born. He said he didn¡¯t need any more children.¡± He had two sons and two daughters; he was considered to have accomplished an amazing feat in his family compared to the past few generations by having so many children. Park Eun-Soo finally understood what Kang Hye-Min was trying to say and nodded.?


    ?


    ¡°I heard that both of them fought about it. That woman wanted to have more children¡­ obviously. But he said this: ¡®Judging from Woo-Ra¡¯s behavior, I can tell what kind of children you¡¯ll give me. Even if you give birth to ten children, it¡¯s pointless,¡¯ and turned her down.¡±?


    ?


    Even though both of them seemed to love each other a lot, they had a difference of opinion. And Kang Hye-Min learned that Chae Mu-Seok had no respect for anyone ¨C not even that woman.?


    ?


    ¡°So, assuring myself with that, I divorced him and left Woo-Young in his care¡­¡± As she looked back to the past, Kang Hye-Min suddenly started crying. Park Eun-Soo held her hand tightly with both hands because as a mother, she could feel it in her heart that the death of one¡¯s own child was unimaginably painful.?


    ?


    ¡°After the divorce, I never heard from them ever again. I only knew he had remarried and had a son.¡± That was why Park Eun-Soo was relieved as she learned that that man would no longer have any lingering attachment to Woo-Jin. She was suddenly no longer at risk of losing him. A few years ago, Park Eun-Soo had run into that woman at the department store and found out that Chae Mu-Seok had gotten a divorce once again and the two of them finally got married.?


    ?


    ¡°However, I was shocked to hear Woo-Ra say she was an only child on TV last year. I knew he had another child, so I was confused and decided to look into it¡­¡± After watching TV Star, Park Eun-Soo investigated the matter to clear her doubts and found out that Chae Woo-Young died in an accident two years ago.?


    ?


    As soon as Park Eun-Soo found out about it, she halted both the process of changing the children¡¯s last name, as well as the adoption process. Her children could change their last names without the consent of their father, but that was not the case for adoption. Additionally, there were even incidents where the biological father raised an objection to changing the last name and thus, it was reversed.?


    ?


    Right now, Chae Mu-Seok hadn¡¯t thought about Woo-Jin yet. There was no way that woman would let that happen. Under such circumstances, there was no need to draw his attention to them and create unnecessary trouble. Additionally, now that Park Eun-Soo had mended her relationship with her father, she didn¡¯t have to worry too much about legal issues, but there was no reason to wake a sleeping dog. That woman was also doing all she could to prevent it from happening, so it was best for them to stay silent until her wishes come true.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say to console you.¡± Park Eun-Soo patted the back of Kang Hye-Min¡¯s hand and tried to comfort her while feeling sad. As someone who was once terrified of losing her child, Park Eun-Soo never wanted to experience the feeling of losing a child forever.?


    ?


    ¡°That woman must have killed Woo-Young!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That can¡¯t be true.¡± Park Eun-Soo comforted Kang Hye-Min, telling her it was just her own speculation. If that had been the case, there was no way Chae Mu-Seok wouldn¡¯t have known, and he would never forgive her. However, Kang Hye-Min shook her head vigorously.?


    ?


    ¡°No, you have no idea how much of a terrible human being she is. You should be careful too.¡± Kang Hye-Min held Park Eun-Soo¡¯s hands tightly as she trembled with anger.?


    ?


    ¡°I may seem like an insane woman, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with being careful. No one knows what she¡¯s capable of doing¡­when she doesn¡¯t get what she wants. She¡¯s the type of person who does things without thinking and disregarding the consequences. She doesn¡¯t care about dealing with the aftermath or taking responsibility. The only thing that motivates her is greed.¡±?


    ?


    Kang Hye-Min struggled to calm herself down; her hands were shaking so much that Park Eun-Soo could feel it even though she was sitting across from her. Park Eun-Soo started to get emotional as well, and that woman¡¯s face came to mind. Even though that woman was shameless and audacious, she couldn¡¯t break Park Eun-Soo. She had tried a couple of times but to no avail. Ultimately, all she could do was to be sarcastic and pick fights with her.?


    ?


    Perhaps, that was the reason why Park Eun-Soo thought of her as nothing more than a pathetic person. And that was probably a generous evaluation after taking into account the satisfactory life that she was living right now. If she were in Kang Hye-Min¡¯s shoes, would she be able to remain this calm? Knowing that the answer was no, she understood where Kang Hye-Min¡¯s sadness and anger came from.?


    ?


    However, such anger and speculation took a toll on Kang Hye-Min¡¯s mind and was bad for her body. Hence, Park Eun-Soo tried to think of ways to calm her down and comfort her, but she couldn¡¯t come up with anything, so she had no choice but to stay silent. At times like these, it was better to lend a listening ear than to come up with something lame just for the sake of consoling her.?


    ?


    ¡°I wanted to be like you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I wanted to be a proud and dignified mother like you, so I worked really hard¡­ while looking forward to the day when I could live with Woo-Young¡­¡±?


    ?


    While Kang Hye-Min was preparing for the divorce, she went to dig for information about Park Eun-Soo. She wanted to know how Park Eun-Soo had managed to get custody of her children after divorcing Chae Mu-Seok. Initially, when Kang Hye-Min looked at Park Eun-Soo¡¯s family background, she thought it was only natural for Park Eun-Soo to be able to do so with her family¡¯s backing. Since she came from a family of legal professionals, Kang Hye-Min thought Park Eun-Soo would have been able to brazenly take her children with her and walk away from Chae Mu-Seok.?


    ?


    However, Kang Hye-Min was shocked to learn that Park Eun-Soo had severed ties with her parents because of the divorce. She was also shocked to find out Park Eun-Soo was living in a jeonse-based [1] rental house with her son and daughter, while living a difficult life. That would have been her future if she got a divorce and took custody of Woo-Young.?


    ?


    At that time, Kang Hye-Min''s resentment towards her parents who were vehemently opposing her divorce lessened. She could even understand them a bit ¨C even Park Eun-Soo¡¯s family was against her divorce with Chae Mu-Seok, let alone my parents. So she didn¡¯t hate them any longer.?


    ?


    Even though Kang Hye-Min admired Park Eun-Soo, she couldn¡¯t follow in her footsteps. Kang Hye-Min couldn¡¯t turn down Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s alimony, and she didn¡¯t have the confidence to live alone with her son without anybody¡¯s help, like Park Eun-Soo did. Kang Hye-Min asserted that it was better for Woo-Young to live with his father and become his heir, but in reality, she was scared. She knew she had nothing to offer her son because of her incompetence. She was used to a life of luxury, so she didn¡¯t have the courage to go back to her old life.?


    ?


    ¡°If I had lived with Woo-Young even though we were poor¡­would we be happy now?¡± Nobody could answer Kang Hye-Min¡¯s question. There wasn¡¯t a conclusive answer to a hypothetical situation. There was no way Park Eun-Soo could answer something that even God didn¡¯t know the answer to.?


    ?


    ¡°Because you are different from me¡­I hope you will protect your son¡­¡± That was the reason why she followed Park Eun-Soo blindly after seeing her by chance. Park Eun-Soo had taken a different path, and Kang Hye-Min hoped that she would reach a different ending. She wished her departed son¡¯s older brother and sister would live a healthy and happy life.?


    ?


    Kang Hye-Min had imagined all the different possible scenarios pertaining to the past and future. Right now, they were just pointless ¡®what if¡¯s¡¯ to Kang Hye-Min. The future she had dreamed about had been crushed two years ago.?


    ?


    1. Jeonse is a housing rental system in Korea where instead of paying a monthly rent to a landlord, a large lump-sum payment is deposited for the duration of the contract, which is usually between 50% and 70% of the property''s value and is returned to the tenant in full after two years. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 119

    ¡°Thanks for doing me a favor,¡± Song Jae-Hee put her hands together and thanked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Song Jae-Hee was currently shooting a romantic comedy and had asked Woo-Jin to appear as a guest star on it, to which he readily accepted. He would be playing the female lead¡¯s first love. Even though he wouldn¡¯t have much screen time, it was a significant cameo. Fortunately, it would be released two months before Red Enemy, so there wouldn¡¯t be an overlap. Nonetheless, as it was a comedy, the character he¡¯d be playing was not particularly cool but was somewhat a wreck. Thus, she was apprehensive that Woo-Jin might not be interested.?


    ?


    ¡°As I mentioned before, I¡¯ve been meaning to play a character like that,¡± Woo-Jin said. A stalker with a delusional disorder who happened to be a third-generation chaebol! Woo-Jin was busy chuckling as he read the script. When Woo-Jin complimented the script for being well-written, Song Jae-Hee shrugged and praised herself for having a good eye.?


    ?


    ¡°Director Choi must have said he liked this movie, huh?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah! He liked it because there isn¡¯t any forced development for a romantic com¡­.¡± Song Jae-Hee stopped talking and started blushing. After seeing her act this way, Woo-Jin congratulated her. He could guess that Director Choi Yi-Geon and Song Jae-Hee had started dating for a while now as they had been in contact with one another.?


    ?


    ¡°Does CEO Jang know about this?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course he does. We¡¯re only nine years apart, but he grumbled and asked what I liked about that ¡®old man.¡¯ What¡¯s wrong with my Yi-Geon!¡± Woo-Jin was indifferent to the fact that they both were dating as he had already expected it, but when he heard her call him ¡®my Yi-Geon,¡¯ he felt as though he was getting hives all over his body.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because judging from Director Choi¡¯s age and personality, he¡¯s taking his relationship with you very seriously. So in CEO Jang¡¯s opinion, he might think you¡¯re too good to be settling for him,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Song Jae-Hee had been with Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s agency since she was a child, so he thought of her more like a daughter than his agency¡¯s artiste. Now that his daughter had grown up and was dating a man nine years older, it was only natural for CEO Jang to be concerned.?


    ?


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t serious about him, I wouldn¡¯t have started a relationship with him.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So, are you thinking about getting married?¡± Woo-Jin asked in surprise. Song Jae-Hee felt it was normal for her to think about marriage and thought Woo-Jin¡¯s question was strange.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you think I¡¯ve never dated anyone at this age? That¡¯s why I can be more certain that this person is mine. If I let him go, I¡¯ll regret it for the rest of my life. I can feel that my Yi-Geon is the man of my destiny!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Does that mean that you didn¡¯t feel that way about your past boyfriends?¡± After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s earnest question, Song Jae-Hee paused for a moment and avoided making eye contact with him. However, Woo-Jin felt that he knew her answer without her having to say it, so he smiled and asked a different question.?


    ?


    ¡°How was it when you broke up with someone you loved so much that you thought they were your destiny? How does one get a beautiful breakup?¡±?


    ?


    Song Jae-Hee widened her eyes and responded to his question with another question. ¡°Are there beautiful breakups in this world?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Huh?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Regardless of the reason, a breakup is bound to be ugly and messy. It¡¯s greedy to want a beautiful breakup. As for a cool breakup? Wouldn¡¯t that mean your relationship wasn¡¯t that passionate, to begin with?¡± Song Jae-Hee asserted that the greater the love, the uglier the breakup would be.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, I¡¯d still prefer a beautiful breakup.¡± Woo-Jin sighed as he recalled what happened a few days ago.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin made the list of the successful candidates for the first round of the bar exam. His academic advisor hurriedly called for him before class started. His advisor knew that Woo-Jin had taken the exam but didn¡¯t expect him to pass, so they were rather flummoxed.?


    ?


    In a way, it was a natural outcome as Chae Woo-Jin was an impeccable student. Even though he couldn¡¯t get more than a particular grade last semester because of his poor attendance rate, his reports and test scores were better than everyone else¡¯s. From a professor¡¯s point of view, he was a competent and talented person, and it was a shame for him to be in the entertainment industry.?


    ?


    Considering that it was common for people to fail their exams after taking a leave of absence, his feat was a little short of a miracle. Hence, the academic advisor became even more concerned, not knowing what to do with this student that was letting his talent go to waste. As an academic advisor, they hoped Woo-Jin would pass the second round of the bar exam, but after considering that he was in the midst of shooting a movie, they felt sorry for him because it seemed like it might be too much for him to handle.?


    ?


    After Woo-Jin was done talking to his academic advisor and listening to their concerns and advice, he still had 20 minutes left before his next class started, so he spent his remaining time with Hyun-Min. They sat at the emergency stairway connected to the outside, where barely anybody passed through as the emergency stairs weren¡¯t used by everyone regularly.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lee So-Hyun came out of the emergency exit and asked in surprise when she saw the two. Hyun-Min frowned and wondered why, out of all the people in the school, Lee So-Hyun was the one using that door.?


    ?


    ¡°My next class is starting soon,¡± Woo-Jin replied simply. Lee So-Hyun paused for a second after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s brief reply before stealthily approaching him and asking softly, ¡°There was a Chae Woo-Jin on the list of candidates that passed the first round. Is that you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°And so what if it¡¯s me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I just wanted to congratulate you.¡±?


    ?


    In the past, when they both were dating, Woo-Jin had once told Lee So-Hyun about his plan to take the bar exam, and she still remembered it. So when she saw Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name on the list of candidates who had passed, she didn¡¯t just overlook it.?


    ?


    ¡°Your dream came true. But it¡¯s still a secret, right? It seemed like nobody knew about it,¡± she remarked.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because rumors aren¡¯t going to help me with my preparations for the second round. I hope you¡¯ll pretend you don¡¯t know about it as well.¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s academic advisor shared the same sentiment and said they would do their best to prevent rumors from spreading as much as possible. The name on the list alone was not enough to reveal his identity, so for the time being, he was planning to pretend to have no knowledge about it.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll congratulate you next time. If you pass the final round, I¡¯ll buy you a meal to congratulate you,¡± Lee So-Hyun said.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you buying me a meal? You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Can¡¯t I do that as an old friend? And don¡¯t be mistaken. I have a boyfriend.¡± Lee So-Hyun frowned and told Woo-Jin not to be so sensitive. She even grumbled, asking if she wasn¡¯t allowed to buy her classmate a meal.?


    ?


    ¡°Whether you have a boyfriend or a husband, it has nothing to do with me. There are many other people who want to buy me a meal. Frankly, what I¡¯m trying to say is I don¡¯t have any time for you.¡± It seemed like Lee So-Hyun was the mistaken one instead, so Woo-Jin told her how he felt upfront.?


    ?


    ¡°How could you¡­be so rude to someone who congratulated you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How am I being rude? I was just being honest with you because you said I was being sensitive.¡±?


    ?


    Previously, Woo-Jin had always hoped that his love story with Lee So-Hyun was not over for good and that they¡¯d rekindle their love someday. Even though he didn¡¯t love her as much as he did in the past, apart from his family, she was the only one he had loved this much. The memory of his love for her always made Woo-Jin very emotional, preventing him from giving up on this one hope.?


    ?


    However, since Woo-Jin decided to let go of his lingering feelings for her, he didn¡¯t feel any need to be polite to get along with her like before. After getting discharged from the military, whenever Woo-Jin ran into Lee So-Hyun in school, she had always been friendly and acted as if they still might have a chance in the future. Because of that, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t make up his mind and was very confused. If Lee So-Hyun were single, she might have understood his complicated feelings, but she currently had a shiny couple ring on her finger. She had been dating someone since last fall, but Woo-Jin found it hard to understand what she wanted from him.?


    ?


    ¡°You weren¡¯t like this,¡± Lee So-Hyun said.?


    ?


    ¡°He has always been like this. He had just been too soft on you this whole time.¡± Hyun-Min suddenly interrupted their conversation. He had been standing in the middle of the staircase, keeping a lookout for people heading their way. Hyun-Min pointed at Woo-Jin and told Lee So-Hyun that she was the only person who didn¡¯t know what Woo-Jin was honestly like and smiled broadly. He looked delighted.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m going to treat you just like a normal classmate, like what you forced me to do previously. You¡¯ve been hoping for that for a long time,¡± Woo-Jin said. In the first place, he wasn¡¯t the type to interact much with classmates he wasn¡¯t familiar with, let alone having a meal together. It was just plain absurdity.?


    ?


    ¡°These days, you aren¡¯t like that, though,¡± Lee So-Hyun retorted.?


    ?


    ¡°You should try having a social life. And become like me.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Then what about me? You¡¯re nice to other people, but why are you so mean to me!¡± Like Lee So-Hyun pointed out, Woo-Jin had changed a lot recently. He was friendly to the people he barely knew, as well as strangers, and he had also actively participated in school activities. Perhaps, Lee So-Hyun wanted the current Chae Woo-Jin. No, to be precise, she wanted him to treat her a little more special as compared to others. Woo-Jin tilted his head to the side after hearing her request.?


    ?


    ¡°Am I obligated to do it just because you want me to?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡­!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll admit. Honestly, it¡¯s true that I hadn¡¯t gotten rid of my lingering feelings for you up until now. As you can remember, I liked you a lot back then.¡± Lee So-Hyun gave a satisfied smile after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply. She looked as though she had gotten the answer she wanted to hear.?


    ?


    ¡°However, these feelings have all disappeared in an instant, just like the melting snow. I truly thought it was impossible, but it became possible one day. And now you don¡¯t seem that special anymore. Do I really have to be cordial with you now?¡± Even when he had firmed his mind and was logical, his heart never stopped feeling the same way. His messy feelings had always dominated him and broke his resolve, but his feelings for Lee So-Hyun had suddenly disappeared one day by chance. It all happened while he was shooting Red Enemy.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan fell in love with Yoon Hwa-Eun and approached her, pretending to be a poor painter. It was rare for a painter to be called to a private residence to paint a portrait of a woman. Still, for some reason, the young lady¡¯s father had also commissioned the painter to do a portrait of his daughter, along with her grandmother¡¯s portrait. It was supposedly going to be shown to her prospective mother-in-law when it was time for her matchmaking. At that time, Prince Myeong-Hwan believed him and thought it was the truth until he died.?


    ?


    However, a few years ago, the truth was revealed upon discovering Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s diary. It was a premeditated move on the father¡¯s part to commission the kisaeng painter to paint the portrait of the elderly woman and his daughter. It had all been a ruse to get his daughter to marry Prince Myeong-Hwan. The latter had lost his wife and was widowed.?


    ?


    The Yoon family had no ties to Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s family, and they were close to the king. However, the king already had a queen, so the only way for Yoon Hwa-Eun to enter the palace would be to become a concubine. It seemed as though the Yoon family was choosing between getting Yoon Hwa-Eun to become a concubine or marrying Prince Myeong-Hwan and ended up picking the latter.?


    ?


    And when it came to power, becoming Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s wife and having Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s family as a connection would give them more power than just being a concubine. Hence, the Yoon family made a huge decision to get to the center of power.?


    ?


    First, Yoon Hwa-Eun''s father commissioned a portrait from the painter as he heard he was acquainted with the prince and that they met with each other often. So naturally, he planned to commission a portrait of his daughter as well. The prince visited the painter¡¯s studio regularly, so he believed that Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s portrait would catch his eye. Yoon Hwa-Eun was extremely beautiful, so her father had complete confidence.?


    ?


    However, to his surprise, the prince had personally gone to his residence with the painter. It was a favorable outcome that he had never expected. It was very rare for a young lady from a Yangban family to approach a mere painter without hesitation and be friendly to him. It was naive of the prince to mistakenly believe that they were meant to be together and that their love transcended social classes.?


    ?


    Fortunately, even though Yoon Hwa-Eun was acting under her father¡¯s orders, she had also fallen in love with the prince. However, that was only because she knew his true identity. She never would have fallen for him if she had thought he was just a poor painter.?


    ?


    Meanwhile, the queen died along with her baby during childbirth. To look for a new wife, the king lifted the prohibition of marriage. As soon as he started looking for unmarried young women to be a part of the selection process, Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s father changed his stance. He decided to abandon Prince Myeong-Hwan as he was not interested in taking the throne and chose to become the Buwongun[1]. Yoon Hwa-Eun obeyed her father¡¯s wishes and acted accordingly. Seeing Yoon Hwa-Eun change her mind as she put on an act was different from what he had known.?


    ?


    1. The title of the queen¡¯s father. ?

 CH 120

    The full moon was exceptionally bright in Red Enemy; Lee Hoo went to look for Yoon Hwa-Eun in the middle of the night because he was longing to see her. They were shooting the scene where Lee Hoo was sitting on top of a wall that was neither high nor low, while looking down at Yoon Hwa-Eun. After finding out how they felt about each other, they kissed each other on the lips. The pair of lovers were just starting their relationship; they looked like flowers against the backdrop of the full moon. For the first time in Lee Hoo¡¯s life, he learned that the word ¡®fragrant¡¯ could be used to describe a person.?


    ?


    On his way back, Lee Hoo felt happiness for the first time, after finding out what love was. After the director slammed the clapperboard, even though Lee Hoo had disappeared and Woo-Jin was back normal again, the lingering feeling still remained in his heart.?


    ?


    So this is love. ?


    ?


    People had been talking about their love story for hundreds of years. Even though it was pure nonsense, the feelings Lee Hoo had were real, and that was enough. Lee Hoo had loved Yoon Hwa-Eun with all his might, so there was no reason for him to feel regretful.?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin decided not to have any lingering feelings and regrets, the cool night breeze blew away the feelings that had been accumulating in Woo-Jin¡¯s heart without a trace.?


    ?


    ¡°Looking at you now, I feel at peace.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s belated but I apologize for bothering you in the past. Love doesn¡¯t justify everything, but I¡¯m sorry.¡± And I also apologize for the terrible things I¡¯ve done to you in my past life. Woo-Jin expressed the apology he couldn¡¯t say to Lee So-Hyun directly in his heart.?


    ?


    The first person his soul had ever loved; the person he loved the most throughout his past life as he struggled to receive her love. Currently, she was Lee So-Hyun. Woo-Jin had realized it at some point. While Woo-Jin was acting as Prince Myeong-Hwan, his emotions from back then resurfaced. After reflecting on his other past lives, his soul called out to him and told him that all these women shared the same soul.?


    ?


    ¡®The only soul I¡¯ve ever loved and wanted to be loved by was you, Lee So-Hyun.¡¯ He was always the one who desperately clung onto her, and she was always the one who ended their relationship. I don¡¯t know if our relationship was an ill-fated one or if we¡¯re destined to never be together, but our love story never had a happy ending. This time around, Woo-Jin decided to accept their breakup without trying to fight against fate.?


    ?


    Even though he had been a huge nuisance to her throughout his past lives and had done several terrible deeds, he had also made a lot of sacrifices as well. Looking back, it seemed like nothing much had changed throughout the reincarnations, but there were some things that had changed and evolved gradually.?


    ?


    Throughout his life, he repented and devoted himself to doing his best to make up for all the terrible things he had done to her. On the other hand, she tried to dominate him with the arrogance that people on the receiving end of love usually had. He didn¡¯t always meet her in each reincarnation, but whenever he did, his lingering affection and love for her gradually became weaker. Meanwhile, he could feel that her obsession with him and possessiveness were getting stronger. He began questioning if his existence had an adverse impact on her soul. It was enough reason for him to end their relationship.?


    ?


    ¡°When I see you now, my heart no longer flutters.¡± Woo-Jin placed his hand over his chest and told her the truth.?


    ?


    ¡°I know it¡¯s all a lie! You sang all those songs on The King of the Masked Singers because you couldn¡¯t forget about me.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What?¡± After hearing what Lee So-Hyun said, Woo-Jin recalled the lyrics of the songs he had sung on The King of the Masked Singers. He was shocked when he realized all the songs contained the painful emotions that resulted from the inability to forget about a former lover. Woo-Jin wanted to ask Lee So-Hyun how she managed to interpret it in that manner, but she was faster.?


    ?


    ¡°I know how you feel. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to be nice to you because I feel guilty towards you. How could you reject my kind intentions like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Am I not allowed to reject you?¡± It was so absurd that Woo-Jin asked in agitation.?


    ?


    ¡°You made me like this. I know that nobody else loves me as much as you do. How could you think of abandoning me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How am I abandoning you? Besides, you already have a boyfriend.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Shall I break up with him and get back together with you?¡± After hearing her say that so casually, Woo-Jin gradually became more cool-headed. Lee So-Hyun was different from how she was like when he met her in his previous lives.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to do that. It seems like things between us are really over now. And I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. The songs I sang on The King of the Masked Singers were selected by my vocal coach. I didn¡¯t pick them!¡±?


    ?


    Naturally, Woo-Jin had selected a few songs as well, but he didn¡¯t want to cause any more misunderstandings.?


    ?


    ¡°Is this you taking revenge on me because of what I did to you?¡± Lee So-Hyun still seemed to think Woo-Jin was lying. She firmly believed she could capture Woo-Jin¡¯s heart whenever she wanted to.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was getting exasperated because of her incredibly ridiculous attitude.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re a bitch all right.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin thought of Yoon Hwa-Eun as he looked at Lee So-Hyun, and subconsciously muttered those words. While his soul¡¯s taste in women was as unchanging as a pine tree, she was also very consistent and persistent. She was so similar to Yoon Hwa-Eun that the word ¡®bitch¡¯ came out of his mouth before he realised it.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin became flustered as he saw how shocked Lee So-Hyun was. Hyun-Min was the only person there with a sound mind; he tried his best to hold back his laughter and dragged Woo-Jin out of there as it was time for class. As they headed towards the door of the emergency exit, Hyun-Min patted Woo-Jin on the back and told him he had done a good job.?


    ?


    ¡°Good job. Even though if you said that to her, you were still being nice.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I mean, I still have an image to maintain after all¡­ Hang on, what I just said to you¡­eugh!¡± Woo-Jin was about to apologize to Lee So-Hyun but Hyun-Min covered his mouth. As Woo-Jin was being dragged away, A cold breeze blew between Woo-Jin and Lee So-Hyun. She had lost her mind.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wanted to sever ties with Lee So-Hyun perfectly; not like this. He had never had a beautiful farewell with her throughout all his different lives, and it seemed nothing would change this time as well.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Surprisingly, nothing happened. The world didn¡¯t change just because Woo-Jin cursed at his first love. The only thing that changed was the way they looked at each other. To be precise, Chae Woo-Jin had been blinded by his emotions for Lee So-Hyun for quite some time. It was as if he was under a spell. The opportunity presented itself and the spell had simply been broken as a result. Hence, the world hadn¡¯t changed ¨C it was still as beautiful as ever. It showed that parting ways with someone wasn''t something that didn¡¯t need a meaning attached to it.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you think that you got robbed because you¡¯re weak? No. It¡¯s because you have no ambition. When a powerful person doesn¡¯t know how to utilize their power, they will constantly be robbed of their possessions!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What have I been robbed of? Why do you think my ambitions are small?¡± Prince Myeong-Hwan also had big dreams. He wanted to create beautiful works of art and music that would go down in history. However, Queen Moon-Jin did not understand, nor did she want to understand those dreams of his.?


    ?


    ¡°Your milksopism! That is what¡¯s making you a loser!¡± Hwang Yi-Young was yelling as she hit against the floor of the daecheong maru [1]. Woo-Jin ended up rolling on the floor laughing.?


    ?


    ¡°I can¡¯t get into the mood at all because of you!¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s version of Queen Moon-Jin was brutal, but she lacked charisma. It was also very similar to a model-actress¡¯ rendition of Queen Moon-Jin in the past, which had been severely criticized. Woo-Jin teased her as he asked why out of all the different version, she had to use the criticized rendition as her inspiration.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you think I copied her because I wanted to? People who are terrible at acting are more or less the same.¡± Hwang Yi-Young said that she was Queen Moon-Jin at heart but her body could only act as a Sanggung, before putting the script to one side. Just then, she saw someone entering the anchae [2] where Woo-Jin rested while waiting for his turn. Even though she wasn¡¯t wearing a gache [3] and a dangui [4], Oh Ha-Na was well-dressed and she looked like Queen Yoon. Thus, Woo-Jin deliberately greeted Oh Ha-Na politely.?


    ?


    ¡°Should I not be here?¡± Oh Ha-Na pouted and pretended to sulk. She sat at the end of the dancheong maru. Hwang Yi-Young quietly backed away when she appeared. Woo-Jin sat cross-legged on the floor.?


    ?


    ¡°I was thinking about it while waiting for the shoot to begin, but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn¡¯t understand Yoon Hwa-Eun, so I came to look for you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Although Oh Ha-Na spoke casually to Woo-Jin, Woo-Jin treated her with respect, as if she was Queen Yoon. It was uncertain if Oh Ha-Na liked it or not, but she looked at him before shifting her gaze to the garden, which could be seen from the daecheong.?


    ?


    ¡°Why would Yoon Hwa-Eun abandon Prince Myeong-Hwan?¡± When Oh Ha-Na acted as Yoon Hwa-Eun, that was the thing that didn¡¯t make the most sense to her. Even though their encounter was premeditated, the feelings she had expressed in her diary were real. Yoon Hwa-Eun had truly loved the prince and had never gotten rid of her lingering feelings for him till the very end. Yoon Hwa-Eun had abandoned the person she loved and became the queen. Oh Ha-Na could not relate to her at all.?


    ?


    ¡°I have a lot on my mind. I know that even when you look at it from the perspective of a modern person and evaluate it objectively, her decision was still very cold and political in nature. However, that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that the prince was not qualified enough.¡± Oh Ha-Na said that Yoon Hwa-Eun would have chosen Prince Myeong-Hwan if she loved him that much and their love was mutual and that Oh Ha-Na couldn¡¯t immerse herself into her role as Queen Yoon at all.?


    ?


    ¡°Why did you say she abandoned him?¡± This conversation topic was more interesting than the sloppy practice of lines with Hwang Yi-Young, so Woo-Jin moved closer and asked.?


    ?


    ¡°If she didn¡¯t choose him, isn¡¯t that the same as abandoning him?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yoon Hwa-Eun never abandoned the prince. Perhaps this is your misunderstanding.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°If she married someone else, that means that she had abandoned him.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°She didn¡¯t just choose one person. She had both.¡± 21 year old Oh Ha-Na tilted her head to one side; she didn¡¯t understand Woo-Jin¡¯s words. Since she hasn¡¯t experienced what it was like to be in a relationship, she was still clueless about the complicated feelings and compromises between men and women.?


    ?


    ¡°Yoon Hwa-Eun knew; she knew that even if she became the queen, Prince Myeong-Hwan would have never been able to let her go. If she had chosen the prince, all she could get was his love. However, by becoming the queen, she would gain power and honor. She had made the best choice in which she wouldn¡¯t lose anything.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°However, Prince Myeong-Hwan is still a prince! Even if she couldn¡¯t become the queen, she would be able to attain enough power as the prince¡¯s wife. And if the prince didn¡¯t die during the coup, she would have become queen. Regardless, she would have still gotten what she wanted, no?¡±?


    ?


    From what she learned in history, Oh Ha-Na felt that Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s decision was so stupid that it was difficult for her to control her emotions. However, her criticism came after knowing what happened in the end. It was similar to Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s decision to fall for the prince because she knew that he was the poor painter.?


    ?


    ¡°Maybe she knew.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Knew what?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That the prince had absolutely no interest in the throne at all.¡± That was the biggest reason why Queen Moon-Jin and Yoon Hwa-Eun were vexed to begin with, the difference being that the former had no choice, while the latter had another option.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if they couldn¡¯t be together, Yoon Hwa-Eun was confident that he would love her forever, so is there a reason for her to marry the prince?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What about the heart?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t abandon him. She simply gained one more.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Noo¡­ I hate it more now!¡±?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling very appalled. Perhaps, the reason why she wanted to play Seol Ha instead of Yoon Hwa-Eun was because she couldn¡¯t comprehend Queen Yoo¡¯s emotions. It was solely up to Oh Ha-Na to act out these complicated hidden feelings. However, as an actor, Woo-Jin wanted her to know that Queen Yoon was a very charismatic character. There wasn¡¯t any character in Red Enemy who was as complicated as Queen Yoon.?


    ?


    1. A cool wooden-floor style hall in a Korean traditional house. It was devised to help Koreans survive frigid winters and to block the sunlight during summer. ??


    ?


    2. A space designated for ladies. Outsiders cannot enter without permission. [/ref[ and her eyes widened. Woo-Jin followed her gaze and saw Oh Ha-Na. He slowly got up from his chair.?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa~! What¡¯s so funny? I could hear you laughing all the way from the other side of the wall.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What brings you here, Your Majesty?¡± Oh Ha-Na had never once came to the hanok [ref] Korean traditional house ??


    ?


    3. Traditional Korean wig worn by women ??


    ?


    4. A type of upper garment for women in hanbok. It was worn for ceremonial occasions during the Joseon Dynasty. ?

 CH 121

    ¡°Nevertheless, she was loved. So it¡¯s clear that she was a beautiful and remarkable woman,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Apart from her physical beauty, her soul was truly dignified and dazzling. She caught people''s attention wherever she went and was easily loved by everyone. Her evaluation in the present day was based on the remaining data passed down through the ages, but at that time, she was infinitely loved by the civilians as the queen, and her physical beauty was flawless.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin described it as the arrogance of people who were loved, but there was something about her confidence that always charmed and captivated other people. As she got older, these traits became more prominent.?


    ?


    ¡°So, please portray her well, Oh Ha-Na. She was the most loved and publicly adored woman in Joseon back then,¡± Woo-Jin requested.?


    ?


    ¡°The most loved?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s still in the literature, people¡¯s affection for Queen Yoon seemed to pose a threat to Queen Moon-Jin. Putting her relationships aside, it was evident that she was someone who shone beautifully all by herself. As the queen, her compassion for the civilians was not lacking in any way.¡± Woo-Jin calmly answered Oh Ha-Na¡¯s question. Prince Myeong-Hwan was the only person Yoon Hwa-Eun treated with cruelty and disdain. As the queen and mother of the nation, she was deserving of praise.?


    ?


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s response, Oh Ha-Na looked at him for quite some time. Finally, she blushed slightly and turned her head away.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, then¡­let¡¯s do our best.¡± Oh Ha-Na nodded as she thought of something. She covered her flushed cheeks with both hands, feeling embarrassed. Every time she glanced at Woo-Jin, her face became more and more flushed. In the end, Oh Ha-Na could not tolerate it anymore and broke the silence first as Woo-Jin quietly watched her.?


    ?


    ¡°When are you going to confess to me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°About what?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°A confession,¡± Oh Ha-Na prompted.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, a confession about what?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked cautiously at Oh Ha-Na, wondering what to say to her, as she was blushing and acting very shy. Just then, Oh Ha-Na¡¯s face couldn¡¯t get any redder; she suddenly became furious and yelled at him.?


    ?


    ¡°When are you going to confess your feelings for me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Whose feelings for¡­who?¡± Woo-Jin was shocked by her sudden outburst and responded to her question with another question.?


    ?


    ¡°You like me, don¡¯t you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Me? You? Are you insane?¡± Woo-Jin was so shocked; he pointed at himself before pointing at Oh Ha-Na as he looked around and asked. It was unknown whether he was asking whether he was insane to like her or she was insane to like him. But that just showed how overwhelmed he was by this that he didn¡¯t make any sense. It was so ridiculous that even Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young reacted in the same way ¡ª they looked at Oh Ha-Na as though she had gone insane. Oh Ha-Na was jumping to conclusions without analyzing the situation step by step.?


    ?


    In this entire scenario, only Oh Ha-Na¡¯s manager was calm and collected. But ultimately, he couldn¡¯t help but despair because he felt very frustrated at not being able to stop her outburst from happening.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to try so hard to lie about it. Because I¡¯ve already noticed your feelings for me.¡± Oh Ha-Na persisted in persuading Woo-Jin to confess his feelings.?


    ?


    ¡°How in the world did you misunderstand and arrive at that conclusion?¡± While Woo-Jin was flustered, he also wanted to distance himself from Oh Ha-Na, so the tone of his voice was very stern.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s hard not to notice how much you like me when we act together.¡± Oh Ha-Na covered her cheeks with both hands and looked at Woo-Jin with a disgruntled look in her eyes. She was resentful towards Woo-Jin for not confessing to her, forcing her to say those words as he continued denying his feelings and was upset about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just acting, though?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What kind of acting looks that real? The last time we kissed¡­it was so sensual and passionate¡­.¡± Oh Ha-Na asserted that nobody could act like that unless they truly felt that way. Woo-Jin was completely taken aback by the absurdity of her words.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve been acting like that all this while!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m a very experienced actress. Did you think I couldn¡¯t differentiate reality from acting! I can tell just by looking into your eyes. I can feel how much you love me, so do you know how shy I get every time we act together in the same scenes?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wanted to tell her that if she wanted to call her previous acting ¡®experience,¡¯ she should just throw it away, but he held himself back. Even though she had ten years of acting experience, the love scenes Oh Ha-Na had done thus far were about young, innocent love. Additionally, the other actors she had worked with were also young and were actors who started off as K-pop idols at best.?


    ?


    This was Oh Ha-Na¡¯s first time acting as an adult, working with another full-fledged adult actor. Even though she was fairly good at acting, many of her previous co-actors were terrible actors. Their acting skills were frankly embarrassing compared to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills. Oh Ha-Na had been accustomed to the way they acted out love scenarios, so her mind was currently in total chaos. Without realizing all of that, she was certain Woo-Jin truly loved her.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lot, and I think you¡¯re good enough to be my boyfriend. So let¡¯s officially start dating from today onwards.¡± Oh Ha-Na said it as though it was only natural for both of them to date, so Woo-Jin gestured disapprovingly to her.?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®start dating today!¡¯ I think there¡¯s been a misunderstanding between us. I have absolutely no romantic interest in you. I¡¯m sorry if you misunderstood my intentions because of my acting skills, but we¡¯re acting as a pair of lovers ¡ª if the viewers can¡¯t feel the love between the characters, wouldn¡¯t that be a greater problem?¡±?


    ?


    Despite Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation, the look on Oh Ha-Na¡¯s face suggested that she didn¡¯t comprehend the situation at all. On the contrary, she looked rather frustrated because she didn¡¯t understand why Woo-Jin was trying his best to hide his feelings.?


    ?


    ¡°Let me put it in simpler terms. I have only acted as Prince Myeong-Hwan and portrayed his love for Yoon Hwa-Eun. If you¡¯ve detected any romantic feelings from my actions, it was simply my character¡¯s love for Yoon Hwa-Eun ¡ª not my feelings toward you,¡± Woo-Jin said plainly. Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young nodded vigorously in agreement. Standing next to them, Oh Ha-Na¡¯s manager was so embarrassed that he couldn¡¯t raise his head.?


    ?


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me everything is all a lie?¡± Oh Ha-Na asked.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s not a lie ¡ª it¡¯s just acting.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Then why did you kiss me like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What did I do?¡± Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t done anything apart from acting; he was so frustrated that he subconsciously raised his voice.?


    ?


    ¡°You treated me as though you truly loved me¡­like I was the most precious person to you in the whole world. You didn¡¯t just kiss me on the lips, but you also used your tongue and gently hugged me¡­.¡± Oh Ha-Na recalled what happened previously and blushed. She was feeling very embarrassed. She had pecked a lot of actors on the lips in her previous shows and movies, but it was her first time kissing anybody so passionately for a scene like she did with Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t that agreed upon with the director during the rehearsal! Don¡¯t tell me Actor Chae Woo-Jin forced you to act in such a manner without getting your consent?¡± Kang Ho-Soo eventually stepped in and defended Woo-Jin as he could no longer sit back and listen to their interaction without doing anything. However, he was very careful with every word he said because Woo-Jin could be accused of sexual harassment if something went awry.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case, but¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hyung! I¡¯ll explain it to Miss Ha-Na myself,¡± Woo-Jin interrupted. Kang Ho-Soo had a huge physique and an intimidating face; when he questioned Oh Ha-Na with a grimace, the latter was startled and hiccuped. Woo-Jin gently massaged his temples and began to break everything down for Oh Ha-Na, explaining step by step.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what type of acting you¡¯ve done or the acting style of the actors you¡¯ve worked with, but that¡¯s how I normally act. If I¡¯m acting out a scene with my lover, isn¡¯t it only natural for me to act like that?¡± None of the actresses Woo-Jin had worked with thus far had misunderstood his acting for true intentions, so he never imagined something like this would happen now.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re lying! You acted even more passionately only because it¡¯s me, no? If another actress played Yoon Hwa-Eun, you wouldn¡¯t have acted like that.¡± Oh Ha-Na¡¯s face full of confidence portrayed her stubbornness to only see what she wanted to believe in.?


    ?


    ¡°Then let me explain it from a different angle. What would have happened if you played the prince¡¯s wife, Lady Park?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The prince¡¯s wife, Lady Park?¡± Lady Park was the woman Prince Myeong-Hwan married hastily under Queen Moon-Jin¡¯s orders after Yoon Hwa-Eun became the queen. Woo-Jin referred to her as ¡®the prince¡¯s wife Lady Park¡¯ as her name was not recorded in history. As soon as Woo-Jin mentioned her, Oh Ha-Na shrank back. She was reminded of the shoot that took place a few days ago.?


    ?


    ¡°You were present during the shoot where I shot the scene with the prince¡¯s wife, Lady Park, not too long ago, right? If you were playing Lady Park, I would have acted in the same way.¡±?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na was shocked after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation. She had been so horrified by how cold Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was during his scene with Lady Park that her legs had given way. That was the same with the actress at the receiving end of his acting. Her legs gave way after looking into Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes, causing her to collapse to the floor. Thus, there were several bad takes. Seeing that had convinced Oh Ha-Na even more that Woo-Jin liked her.?


    ?


    ¡°I think my acting doesn¡¯t change because of who the other actor is ¡ª it¡¯s dependent on the other person¡¯s role.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But if I were the prince¡¯s wife¡­if I were the prince¡¯s wife, you would have acted the same way too?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for me to do that? If my acting changes because of who the other actor is, what kind of an actor would I be?¡±?


    ?


    After Woo-Jin explained as clearly as he could, tears began to well up in Oh Ha-Na¡¯s eyes as she stared at his face. Everyone, including Woo-Jin, instantly had a look on their faces that seemed to say, ¡®Not again?¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°How could you draw a comparison to the prince¡¯s wife out of so many different characters? You¡¯re too much!¡± Looking at her running away with tears in her eyes, it seemed like Oh Ha-Na both understood and didn¡¯t understand what he was telling her.?


    ?


    Her manager was about to run after her but stopped in his tracks and turned to Woo-Jin before apologizing profusely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Ha-Na is very naive, so it seems like she had momentarily misunderstood acting for reality. Please¡­ I will explain things to Ha-Na and get her to understand.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t this happen today because you failed to make her understand?¡± Oh Ha-Na¡¯s manager flinched when Kang Ho-Soo questioned him and avoided his gaze. He had also tried explaining the situation to Oh Ha-Na, but to no avail. She was the type of person who was inclined to believe what she thought was true, so she wouldn¡¯t accept any other explanations until she understood the situation herself. And if she couldn¡¯t win, she would try to get out of the situation by crying, so her manager couldn¡¯t do anything. She had developed this bad habit since she was a child because the people around her kept giving in to her whenever she cried.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll do whatever I can to figure out a way to make her understand. This all happened because Chae Woo-Jin is really good at acting, so please don¡¯t think too badly of her.¡± Seeing Oh Ha-Na¡¯s manager wrapping up the conversation hastily before chasing after her, Hwang Yi-Young clicked her tongue because she was dumbfounded.?


    ?


    ¡°Regardless of how young she is, she has a lot of experience in acting, and yet she can¡¯t tell the difference between acting and reality? What¡¯s going to happen if she runs her mouth and spreads untrue things about Woo-Jin, making him seem like a creep?¡± Hwang Yi-Young said.?


    ?


    In truth, Oh Ha-Na wasn¡¯t the only person who felt that way. After seeing him act, the staff had also misunderstood and thought Woo-Jin might have had real feelings for Oh Ha-Na. The ambience emitted by Prince Myeong-Hwan, a man who loved Yoon Hwa-Eun, was no joke; it was so warm, beautiful, and bright that it was dazzling.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll report this matter first. It is necessary for us to lodge a clear complaint to the agency and draw a clear line,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that delusional kids like her would become stalkers later on.¡± Hwang Yi-Young had seen many stalkers stalking idols before, so she shuddered and asked Woo-Jin if he was okay.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 122

    ¡°Should I say that I feel relieved because I¡¯m good at acting or apologize for the misunderstanding?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s because Oh Ha-Na is young. Aside from her experience and acting skills, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s inexperienced when it comes to acting out a love scene since she¡¯s only acted with her peers. Honestly, she is pretty young to be able to handle your acting, Woo-Jin,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.?


    ?


    Aside from talking badly about Oh Ha-Na, he understood what she was going through. Oh Ha-Na¡¯s acting was flawless, but it was also true that she was falling behind in the acting competition against Woo-Jin. Still, her acting was very natural when she acted out Yoon Hwa-Eun, who couldn¡¯t pull herself together because she was overwhelmed by Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s love. But Woo-Jin found out that Oh Ha-Na was actually swept away, making this situation funny yet sad.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing for her that she didn¡¯t meet the real Prince Myeong-Hwan,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na wouldn¡¯t be able to accept Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s fierce love that was like a raging storm. Woo-Jin felt relieved because it seemed like they did an excellent job at changing it to a gentle and sparkling love at the last minute. Oh Ha-Na might¡¯ve labeled Woo-Jin as a stalker if they hadn¡¯t done that. Being misunderstood as being in love was better than being labeled a stalker.?


    ?


    ¡°But was it that shocking to speak for Lady Park? It¡¯s strange how that was more shocking, don¡¯t you think?¡± Woo-Jin doubted Oh Ha-Na¡¯s reaction, so he asked Hwang Yi-Young.?


    ?


    ¡°You were really scary when you filmed with Lady Park. No, you were really cold to the point that if the real Lady Park were here, she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That was nothing. I was more¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin abruptly cut himself off mid-sentence. Prince Myeong-Hwan was actually cold and uninterested in his wife, Lady Park, to the point that he didn¡¯t remember her name.?


    ?


    Just because it happened in his past life didn¡¯t mean that he remembered everything. It was similar to not remembering your neighbor¡¯s name even after hearing it. It was a situation where Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t remember clearly and Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t remember the name of his second wife. That was how indifferent he was towards his wife. In the movie, his attitude towards Lady Park was very refined, but his attitude towards her was actually way worse.?


    ?


    ¡°How could he forget his own wife¡¯s name¡­?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was shocked by the fact he had just found out. For the first time, he realized that while Prince Myeong-Hwan was wandering around because he was crazy in love, his wife had remained in her position all by herself.?


    ?


    When the thought suddenly popped into his head, Woo-Jin stood up from his seat.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go make a call.¡± Woo-Jin grabbed his phone and walked behind the main building as his face suddenly turned serious.?


    ?


    ¡ªOh, Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    After hearing his mother greet him happily, Woo-Jin asked a question about the comment his mother made that one day.?


    ?


    ¡°Mother, while you were reading Red Enemy, you said there was a role that you were bothered by, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡ªI did.?


    ?


    ¡°Was that Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s wife?¡± Woo-Jin asked his mother. He wanted to check this because if it was Lady Park¡¯s role that had bothered her, his mother would be able to understand her feelings the best.?


    ?


    ¡ªYes¡­ that¡¯s right. Maybe it¡¯s because I put myself in her shoes, but for some reason, I felt sorry for her. Imagining how his wife lived all by herself after the prince died made me really sad. Thinking about how she watched her husband¡¯s back and then lived by herself from such a young age made me feel bad for her.?


    ?


    Unlike today, it was a time when having a social life wasn¡¯t allowed. Having the title of the first wife was the only thing that remained for her since she had no children and no one to rely on for the rest of her life. Park Eun-Soo recalled Kang Hye-Min, who she met a few days ago, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.?


    ?


    ¡ªLike other people¡­ I¡¯m sure she didn¡¯t have a future she could dream of. I wondered if she blamed herself every day for not being loved and thought something was wrong with her. If that did happen, her life was probably hell.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin closed his eyes as he listened to his mother¡¯s words of sympathy. His past life had made Lady Park¡¯s life a living hell, and for some reason, he felt he knew who Lady Park was in this life, causing him to suddenly be out of breath. Similar to realizing who Lee So-Hyun was, Woo-Jin suddenly remembered who his wife was in his past lives.?


    ?


    Just like with Lee So-Hyun, there were many connections with her. There was a time when the three lived in the same era, and there was also a time when they met separately and formed a relationship. While Lee So-Hyun was the person he loved, she was always either his wife or fiancee. However, it wasn¡¯t a marriage or an engagement that he wanted. They always had a respectful and polite relationship until he got acquainted with Lee So-Hyun. The problem always occurred after falling in love with Lee So-Hyun because he treated Lady Park coldly and considered her a hindrance just for existing in that spot.?


    ?


    Just realizing this didn¡¯t mean that he suddenly had other feelings for her. He felt terrible for her, but that had happened in his past lives. Since the beginning, he never loved her, so he didn¡¯t feel guilty about betraying her, but more than that, the mistake he made was in his past life, and the hell she experienced was also in her past life, not her present life.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin was shocked that he had done the same thing he despised so much in his past life.?


    ?


    Love was a valuable and great feeling. Whether it¡¯s religion or principle, people considered love as the most important feeling, but in Woo-Jin¡¯s past lives, he hurt the people around him while chasing after his love. Even if it was a family that wasn¡¯t made with love, it was his duty to protect them, but Woo-Jin, in his past lives, abandoned that duty by neglecting and leaving his family every time. Just like Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father.?


    ?


    Even if the situation during that time, whether legally or socially, was one where people weren¡¯t as criticized for their responsibility and ethics, it couldn¡¯t be used as an excuse because he didn¡¯t like himself.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin changed as life went on, and it was the same for Lee So-Hyun and probably the same for Lady Park as well. To be honest, she became more depressed, less confident, and longed for love even more.?


    ?


    ¡°I guess the three of us have an ill-fated relationship,¡± Woo-Jin mused.?


    ?


    It was a relief that Lee So-Hyun had no regrets towards Woo-Jin and actually tried to keep her distance because she felt uncomfortable. As someone not interested in celebrities, she instinctively rejected him and just recognized him as senior Hyun-Min¡¯s friend. On the other hand, Woo-Jin was always worried about her, even though she was uncomfortable around him. ¡°I guess I felt really sorry without realizing it.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa, or Lady Park, he really wanted to end his relationship with her within this lifetime. Although he hadn¡¯t caused any trouble, he hated feeling indebted to her all because he remembered his past lives, and moreover, this feeling of self-hatred was a feeling he needed to avoid even more. However, with the newly realized emotion, he had the courage and a good enough reason not to make the same mistake again.?


    ?


    If there was one thing he wanted, it was to date the person he loved and marry her, and if the day came where their love died, he vowed not to get involved in an exhaustive craze like he did in his past lives.?


    ?


    This sick and twisted relationship between the three people would be perfect once they all went their separate ways, and this life was his only chance to prove that.?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na was another person shocked by Lady Park, so she needed to have a long talk with Director Yoon Seon. After experiencing it a few times, the staff wasn¡¯t interested in why she was crying. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what kind of conversation they had, but contrary to what he was worried about when he saw her again, she looked fine, no, it was a problem because she was too fine.?


    ?


    ¡°I know for sure that you don¡¯t like me, oppa, so I apologize about that. But, my feelings for you were real, oppa. And I also liked¡­ kissing you. So how about we make our relationship official this time?¡± Oh Ha-Na asked.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    After immediately taking two steps back from Oh Ha-Na, Woo-Jin shouted with determination, and after seeing his firm attitude, Oh Ha-Na spoke while pouting.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re too stiff, oppa. You can speak casually since it¡¯ll be better if we got to know each other,¡± she suggested.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not interested in dating, and since we¡¯re here to work, we should just work, and I shouldn¡¯t speak so casually since you¡¯re my senior,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    If possible, Woo-Jin wanted to keep his distance even while talking formally to each other, so he treated her like his senior.?


    ?


    ¡°But!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯re here to work, so let¡¯s work, senior!¡± he shouted.?


    ?


    His determined answer shocked Oh Ha-Na, which caused her to cry again. However, her chronic tears weren''t scary weapons anymore. Now that she had lost her weapon, Oh Ha-Na could no longer be Woo-Jin¡¯s counterpart.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin, dressed in a purple suit with wavy hair, looked around the cafe with an ambiguous look.?


    ?


    He was making a guest appearance in a movie after receiving Song Jae-Hee¡¯s request, but the filming location just happened to be at Dinky Coffee. It was the place that Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min visited often and the same cafe that Kim Tae-Hwa worked as a part-timer.?


    ?


    Through the last drama, it seemed like this place got sponsored after getting in touch with the entertainment industry.?


    ?


    Thankfully, Kim Tae-Hwa wasn¡¯t here. According to the story he had heard from Hyun-Min after she passed the first round, she quit her job here and worked a few high-paying private tutoring sessions while using the premium she received from passing the first round of her bar exam. Considering that, Woo-Jin wondered why such a smart lady was so obsessed with such exhausting emotions and lived a difficult life.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s because of me¡­ no, it¡¯s because of Lee Hoo.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was about to immediately understand and reflect on it but quickly blamed Prince Myeong-Hwan. After making Lee Hoo the bad guy and returning as the innocent Chae Woo-Jin, he headed to the second floor. The staff didn¡¯t allow any customers on the second floor since it was used as the film set. Inside the empty cafe, a few tables were used by the extras, staff organizing their equipment, and Song Jae-Hee, sitting by herself. She was sitting at a famous yet competitive spot because of the beautiful scenery outside the window. When Woo-Jin quietly sat next to her, Song Jae-Hee looked away from the window and greeted him happily.?


    ?


    ¡°I heard you went through something difficult.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Did you already hear the rumors?¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin sat down, Song Jae-Hee mentioned the situation with Oh Ha-Na while suppressing her laughter.?


    ?


    ¡°No, I found out after CEO Jang asked me about Oh Ha-Na. Even if she was a child actress, I¡¯ve never worked with her, so there¡¯s no way I would know anything about her,¡± she explained.?


    ?


    There weren¡¯t any nasty rumors going around in the industry. All they said was that Oh Ha-Na cried easily and was a stubborn person. However, people wouldn¡¯t rebuke her since she started off as a child actress and slowly made her way to becoming an adult actress. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had only asked Song Jae-Hee because he wanted to hear her personal opinion.?


    ?


    ¡°But you already know, right? That this is just the beginning.¡± When Song Jae-Hee asked that question, Woo-Jin was dusting off his shoulder, so he looked at her while doing that.?


    ?


    ¡°Couples that fall in love at first sight while filming and then end up getting married are the ones that have a beautiful ending. There are far more couples than the public knows who date and break up while acting as lovers, but that¡¯s nothing. If I were to tell you my experience, a married man who¡¯s famous for being in a devoted relationship called me saying that he wanted to have a one-night stand with me,¡± Song Jae-Hee said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was so shocked by what she told him that he couldn¡¯t say anything. A married man saying that was morally wrong, and when he imagined a married woman doing the same thing to him, Woo-Jin got goosebumps.?


    ?


    ¡°There are people who can¡¯t distinguish between acting and reality that they get so excited and instantly fall in love, and there are others who get into a physical relationship while filming, and once that¡¯s done, they just go their separate ways. When that happens repeatedly, some just enjoy it. Basically, they¡¯re using acting as an excuse to enjoy that physical relationship,¡± she explained.?


    ?


    At first, people like Oh Ha-Na misunderstood the situation because they were immersed in the acting. But as it gradually repeated, they started to enjoy that situation and even started gambling.?


    ?


    ¡°They plan to make their partner fall for them by seducing them, and once the filming ends, they abandon them. Some people also show that off as some kind of trophy,¡± she said.?


    ?


    ¡°Up until now, I¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Song Jae-Hee clicked her tongue when Woo-Jin reacted as if he couldn¡¯t believe it because he had never seen anyone do that before.

 CH 123

    ¡°You¡¯ve been lucky. Oh Ha-Na? What she did is simply adorable, nothing extreme. Even though she seems sly, she¡¯s still young which is why she asked you to go out with her and acted romantically. Just wait until you meet an older fox because there are more foxes that¡¯ll be impatient about not being able to take you to bed to satisfy their lust.¡±?


    ?


    The fox that Song Jae-Hee was referring to could be a shortened word for female actress or she could actually mean the animal,[1] but no matter the interpretation, it all meant the same thing. Song Jae-Hee wanted to tell Woo-Jin that women weren¡¯t the only beings he should watch out for, but seeing how Woo-Jin seemed shocked already, she thought maybe it would be too much to tell him that.?


    ?


    ¡°I heard that our agency warned them to manage her better, but the fact that Oh Ha-Na expressed interest in you openly shows that her agency isn¡¯t really disciplining her,¡± she explained.?


    ?


    ¡°Then¡­¡±?


    ?


    When Song Jae-Hee saw that Woo-Jin understood what she was saying, she nodded. ¡°Because you could actually fall for her. The two of you don¡¯t have a big age gap and when a pretty girl like her starts flirting, it¡¯ll be difficult for an energetic young man to stay still. It¡¯ll be good if you two date, and if you don¡¯t, they¡¯ll know your weakness. There may be people behind Oh Ha-Na who is instigating her,¡± she said.?


    ?


    No one knew how the public would react if they did start dating, but from Oh Ha-Na¡¯s point of view, she had nothing to lose. Being Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s girlfriend was worth boasting about because of his position and worth. If things went well, they could show off their synergy by being labeled as a compatible couple.?


    ?


    ¡°But what did you mean by weakness?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin knew very well that there were many celebrities that used scandals, but he wondered what kind of weakness Song Jae-Hee was talking about when they hadn¡¯t even started dating.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, this is a bit embarrassing to say¡­¡±?


    ?


    Song Jae-Hee looked around, and after confirming that there wasn¡¯t anyone around within earshot, she continued talking.?


    ?


    ¡°If you and Oh Ha-Na don¡¯t start dating but form that kind of relationship, then her agency could have a weakness to use against you. You know that there are celebrities who changed to a random agency, right? There¡¯s a reason why they change agencies despite being offered a contract that¡¯s worse than before.¡±?


    ?


    For celebrities who made a living based on their image, if the agency knew their weakness, it was really easy to push them around. It was something that Woo-Jin had never thought about, so he was surprised, but he couldn¡¯t deny that possibility.?


    ?


    ¡°Then what about Oh Ha-Na? If her agency used that kind of method, then nothing good will come out of it,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    If the things that Song Jae-Hee said came true, then Oh Ha-Na wouldn¡¯t gain anything from it.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it would be more profitable for the agency if they caught a big fish like Chae Woo-Jin even if it meant that they would have to sacrifice Oh Ha-Na? Keep in mind that there are agencies that use women to bait top celebrities. There are those who conspire with the CEO of the agency and actively engage in those activities, but there are many women who get used unknowingly,¡± she explained.?


    ?


    Thinking that it was too early to tell him all this, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan and Kang Soo-Ho had never told him anything. They believed Woo-Jin was still an innocent young man and it was too early to tell him about the darker side of the entertainment industry. But Song Jae-Hee, who acted with Woo-Jin before, didn¡¯t consider him to be a little boy.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be relieved just because the other person is a man because there¡¯s a lot of bisexual men in the industry. Also, even if it isn¡¯t an issue about sexuality, there¡¯s a possibility that they may drug you when you go out to drink together. There are also scumbags that invite people to parties, and after secretly putting drugs in the drinks, they start manipulating them,¡± Song Jae-hee said.?


    ?


    There was no one like that among the actors that Woo-Jin worked with so far, so he hadn¡¯t experienced anything like that, which was why his agency hadn¡¯t mentioned it.?


    ?


    Not only did Woo-Jin not have a chance to meet anyone on the blacklist that he had to be careful of, but his agency and Kang Ho-Soo were doing a good job at blocking it from their end. Since they were doing such a great job, Song Jae-Hee didn¡¯t particularly need to talk about it. But since the issue with Oh Ha-Na came up, she took the opportunity to talk to him about it anyway.?


    ?


    From a woman¡¯s point of view, Chae Woo-Jin was a cool and desirable man. Even though she was in a relationship, he was objectively a charming man, so it was understandable for young girls to fall for him.?


    ?


    ¡°Right now, everyone sees you as a desirable person,¡± she said.?


    ?


    Whether it was because of pure desire or his commercial value, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s current net worth was very high. If there was something they had to give up in order to have him, they would be willing to throw it away without hesitation. Seeing how Woo-Jin himself didn¡¯t realize it, Song Jae-Hee felt frustrated.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a jungle out there,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right. A jungle looks beautiful from afar,¡± Song Jae-Hee said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin nodded sadly when Song Jae-Hee said that they were living in a place like that and it was their fate for not being able to escape that.?


    ?


    As soon as the set was ready, the filming began. Filming a movie in a familiar place with an unfamiliar crew was a whole new experience. This electrifying feeling was one of the reasons why they couldn¡¯t escape the jungle.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m asking this just out of curiosity, but where were you and what did you do last night between 8:25 p.m. and 10:08 p.m.?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    The young man had lived a sheltered life and thought that everything would go the way he wanted. However, for the first time in his life, things didn¡¯t go his way after meeting this person which put him in a difficult position.?


    ?


    ¡°Look, Mr. Park Kwang-Heon! We broke up three months ago, so why do you keep monitoring me?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Monitor? How is that monitoring? It¡¯s protection!¡± Park Kwang-Heon yelled.?


    ?


    Park Kwang-Heon was actually nagging about how dangerous it was for a woman to be alone at night in a rough world like this.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking who you were with and what you did with them. That¡¯s all you need to tell me,¡± he said.?


    ?


    Every gesture the man made was elegant. He knew exactly what expression and action to take to give him the most elegant look. He looked at the woman from a calculated angle and slightly narrowed his beautiful eyes. The woman deliberately shook her head and closed her eyes because she felt like she was going to fall in love with his charming eyes that weren¡¯t overbearing.?


    ?


    ¡°Just stay out of my life! I¡¯m scared of your mother and I don¡¯t like your suffocating obsession over me either!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t an obsession¡­¡± he told her.?


    ?


    With tearful eyes, the man turned his head after hearing what his ex-girlfriend said. After elegantly taking out a handkerchief and wiping away his tears, the man patted his chest with his left hand. Once he calmed down, he looked back at the woman. Seeing his wet eyes and innocent crying face would make people think that there wasn¡¯t another man like him. It was a good method to make anyone fall for his trap, but thankfully, the words he spoke broke that innocent image.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re too menacing, insincere at times, and often ignorant,¡± Park Kwang-Heon said.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re the one that followed me around saying that you liked me!¡±?


    ?


    The woman gave up on being polite towards the man.?


    ?


    ¡°No, no. It means that I loved you despite those qualities. That I, Park Kwang-Heon, loved you, Lee Chae-Ryeong. Aren¡¯t you thankful?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    Park Kwang-Heon looked at Lee Chae-Ryeong as if he just couldn¡¯t understand her. As if he was asking her how she could reject someone like him.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not thankful at all. Even if it isn¡¯t with you, I¡¯m going to meet a great man and live a happy life with him, so let¡¯s finally put an end to this,¡± she said.?


    ?


    ¡°And where will you go to meet a man that¡¯s better than me? No, is there a man in Korea that¡¯s better than me?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    Lee Chae-Ryeong was at a loss for words when she saw Park Kwang-Heon questioning her with wide eyes. Her eyes started scanning through him from his long stretched out legs to his lean body and finally stopped on his beautiful face. Despite having long, wavy hair, there probably wasn¡¯t a man in Korea, no, in the entire world, that looked as good as him, which caused Lee Chae-Ryeong¡¯s eyes to slightly shake. Not only was his appearance perfect, but he was rich as well.?


    ?


    ¡°I already know that I¡¯m perfect without you staring at me like that. My reflection in your eyes is causing even me to be breathless,¡± Park Kwang-Heon said.?


    ?


    However, his mental state wasn¡¯t normal because he said those words seriously without changing his expression.?


    ?


    ¡°So tell me, what did my Chae-Ryeong do during the 103 minutes that I wasn¡¯t able to protect you. Did you do something you shouldn¡¯t have done and now, can¡¯t tell me? Like meeting another man, walking while holding hands with that man, kissing that man, or doing something more than that¡­ how could you do that to me?¡±?


    ?


    That continuous delusion of his was a problem too. After coming up with a theory, he would come up with a strange conclusion and then get angry.?


    ?


    ¡°How can your feelings change so quickly when it¡¯s only been 97 days since we broke up. You even used your body like a dirty¡­!¡±?


    ?


    Lee Chae-Ryeong didn¡¯t want to listen to him anymore, so she grabbed the cup of water in front of her and splashed the water at his face.?


    ?


    ¡°Please come to your senses!¡±?


    ?


    With her cold criticism and the water that dripped down from his hair and face, Park Kwang-Heon closed his mouth and eyes. The water ran down his hair and dripped down from his chin. When he opened his eyes slowly and looked to the front, his eyes started to change. As if a dangerous beast had woken up, the atmosphere surrounding him started to become dangerous. When he shook his head, the clear water drops that were on his hair scattered all over the place while shining like jewels. When he used his right hand to push back the hair that was covering his forehead, his good-looking forehead appeared and his beautiful face shined even brighter.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°...¡±?


    ?


    Lee Chae-Ryeong flinched after hearing Park Kwang-Heon¡¯s quiet voice. With a frightened face, she carefully checked his condition because she overdid it.?


    ?


    After wiping his wet face with his hand, Park Kwang-Heon looked down at his hand for a moment. After lightly licking the water that was running down from his hand to his wrist, he glanced at Lee Chae-Ryeong. His sensual and beautiful smile was like a scene in a commercial and this caused Lee Chae-Ryeong to become breathless for a moment.?


    ?


    ¡°The water makes me look good,¡± Park Kwang-Heon said.?


    ?


    He wasn¡¯t lying. Lee Chae-Ryeong, who was sick and tired of him, forgot how to breathe and was staring at him with a blank expression.?


    ?


    ¡°Even you think I¡¯m beautiful, right?¡± he asked her.?


    ?


    Lee Chae-Ryeong realized it from the moment she sat across a man with a smile so beautiful that it could bewitch someone. She realized that she needed to date anyone she came across the moment she left his place. If she didn¡¯t do that, she knew there was no way for her to escape this man. She needed to escape before she fell for this beautiful beast again.?


    ?


    ¡°Cut!¡±?


    ?


    As soon as the director gave the signal, Hwang Yi-Young wiped Woo-Jin¡¯s hair with a towel. Even though the inside of the cafe was warm, the irregular weather of early spring could cause Woo-Jin to catch a cold, so she had to be careful.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, your cringe acting was great!¡± Hwang Yi-Young said.?


    ?


    ¡°Is that supposed to be a compliment?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a compliment, I swear!¡± she said.?


    ?


    The character Woo-Jin played was different from his previous characters, so Hwang Yi-Young enjoyed watching it. She was confident that Woo-Jin was the only person who could act out a crazy, narcissistic man in a sexy way.?


    ?


    While Woo-Jin was wiping his face with the towel, the director and the camera director were talking while watching the replay.?


    ?


    ¡°I was worried that it could turn out to be a ridiculous scene if things went wrong, but I was worried for nothing. As expected from Chae Woo-Jin. He made it convincing so that Lee Chae-Ryeong will have a reason to try to find a boyfriend because she¡¯s afraid that she¡¯ll fall for Park Kwang-Heon even more.¡±?


    ?


    A charming and crazy man was really dangerous. This movie was about the rational Lee Chae-Ryeong trying to find a boyfriend after coming to that realization.?


    ?


    ¡°Even though he¡¯s dangerous, anyone would be greedy for a charming man like him. Wouldn¡¯t it be less convincing if she gave up?¡±?


    ?


    The camera director was worried that the audience was going to react differently because of how well Woo-Jin acted out the role. This scene was originally supposed to be comical, but Park Kwang-Heon turned out to be so charming that he may actually become more popular than the male lead.?


    ?


    ¡°Desire followed by destruction is dangerous, so when we film the upcoming scenes, we can focus more on that.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin appeared behind the two at some point and added his opinion. He suggested that they put more emphasis on Park Kwang-Heon¡¯s dangerousness in the remaining scenes, which caused the directors to look at Woo-Jin and then at each other.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s hair that was still wet shined black, making him look like a jewel. Will they be able to quench the desire of those who covet this jewel? For some reason, they felt like they couldn¡¯t. When the two directors scouted Chae Woo-Jin for a special appearance, they realized that they made a big mistake when selecting the male lead for this movie.?


    ?


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll leave that to you.¡±?


    ?


    Despite that, the director smiled at Chae Woo-Jin and asked him to do as he suggested. The director ended up becoming one of the people that desired Chae Woo-Jin.

 CH 124

    For those fresh out of college, their first job is like a piece of art where they draw their big dreams on, and to Choi Ji-Won, TM was that kind of place. So when he was assigned to the PR department, which was directly associated with his major, he was so excited that he couldn¡¯t sleep.?


    ?


    ¡°Take one each and register on the websites you¡¯ve been assigned to.¡± Assistant Manager Kim, who was in charge of training, handed the three new recruits papers with different forum websites written on them.?


    ?


    ¡°Including yourself, you need to make at least three accounts, and that can be your family or whoever,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°So, what do we need to do?¡± one of the new recruits asked.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re slow. What is this place?¡±?


    ?


    Assistant Manager Kim opened his arms wide and cursed the new recruit that asked a stupid question while pointing at the PR office. The PR department¡¯s job was to promote the agency¡¯s celebrities in any way possible. So what the new recruits usually did was register on famous forums, then pretend to promote the agency¡¯s celebrities¡¯ schedule and work and compliment them.?


    ?


    ¡°When promoting using the different accounts, don¡¯t forget about managing the IP address. If your account gets caught or the location of the head office gets leaked because you used the same IP address, I¡¯ll kill you,¡± Assistant Manager Kim warned.?


    ?


    He always lectured the new recruits on managing their IP addresses and avoiding defamation. On their first day at work, the new recruits¡¯ shoulders drooped a little after hearing what they would be doing at the PR department. They thought that this kind of work was done by part-timers, but it seemed like it was a task that full-time employees had to do.?


    ?


    ¡°Also, make sure to focus on attacking Chae Woo-Jin,¡± Assistant Manager Kim added.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin?¡± one of them asked.?


    ?


    After hearing what he said, the new recruits widened their eyes and stared at Assistant Manager Kim. They thought he had randomly said Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name, but they understood and nodded.?


    ?


    Even though Blue Fit held a press conference because of Chae Woo-Jin, it seemed like the public wouldn¡¯t forgive them. Not only were they no longer receiving commercial deals, but the advertisers filed a lawsuit. Overseas concerts were the biggest source of income for both TM and Blue Fit, but they had to cancel all of it. TM had said they were going to reflect upon their incident but were planning on keeping the concert schedule they had originally planned with the excuse that it had been contracted. However, it was all useless now. The concert halls and event organizers that signed the rental agreement sent the termination notice first. According to the contract, Blue Fit was at fault for damaging their image, so the agency couldn¡¯t even receive the cancellation fee. More than that, as the agency¡¯s leading celebrity, the symbolic meaning behind Blue Fit¡¯s downfall was more potent than the economic effect. Because of Blue Fit, the image of other celebrities under the agency got ruined, and there were even rumors that the company¡¯s support was falling apart.?


    ?


    They hired so many new recruits this time because they wanted to show that TM was doing well. Even though Blue Fit was amazing, they worked hard to show everyone that even without them, the agency was still doing well.?


    ?


    Considering how this all started because of Chae Woo-Jin, they understood why Assistant Manager Kim gave them that task, so the three new recruits nodded at the same time. As long as they worked for TM, Chae Woo-Jin was their enemy too.?


    ?


    ¡°I can register with mine, my mother¡¯s and my little sister¡¯s¡­.¡±?


    ?


    After he finished registering on the forums he was assigned to, Choi Ji-Won looked at the message board first because depending on the mood of the website and the plan, the type of post and the content changed. The website he was assigned to seemed pretty easygoing, and the members were really interested in celebrities. However, since the members possessed a lot of knowledge about the celebrities, it could easily work against him if he approached it carelessly.?


    ?


    ¡°But I need to know about Chae Woo-Jin if I¡¯m going to start attacking him.¡±?


    ?


    Choi Ji-Won wasn¡¯t normally interested in Chae Woo-Jin, so he was getting worried. When he applied to TM, he only researched the celebrities under this agency and didn¡¯t care about the others. Anti-fans were also considered fans in the entertainment industry, so he had to know something about Chae Woo-Jin to attack and curse him.?


    ?


    When he searched Chae Woo-Jin on the internet, he noticed a lot of data about him even though it had only been a year since he debuted. There were paparazzi pictures that looked like pictorials, still cuts and videos of works he filmed, and a lot of GIFs that fans had made.?


    ?


    He got sick of looking at him even before looking at the data properly, so he looked over at his colleagues sitting next to him to see what they were up to. The male colleague on his right was writing something down, so when he stretched his neck out to see what he was working on so passionately, he saw Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s picture on his monitor. The post was a compliment about Hanryang Doryeong, who revealed himself to be Chae Woo-Jin on yesterday¡¯s episode of The King of the Masked Singers. His colleague wrote a comment saying, ¡®Hey sissy~! No matter how many times I listen to him, I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s a good singer or not. Did the group get hypnotized or something?¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°Do you know anything about Chae Woo-Jin?¡± Choi Ji-Won asked.?


    ?


    ¡°No,¡± his colleague replied.?


    ?


    ¡°But you¡¯re writing it so well,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°All bad comments are usually about the same thing. It¡¯s just talking negatively without any logic or content,¡± the colleague said.?


    ?


    Choi Ji-Won sighed after hearing his colleague talking calmly. He applied to this company with aspiration, but the first task he was assigned was leaving negative comments.?


    ?


    After shaking his head, he looked at his female colleague, sitting on his left. She was writing something down while looking at her monitor. She had written down the dramas and movies Chae Woo-Jin was in and his personal information. Like him, this colleague seemed like the type who wrote negative comments after gathering data.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re working hard,¡± Choi Ji-Won said.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course!¡± the girl said.?


    ?


    For some reason, her answer sounded aggressive. She must¡¯ve felt Choi Ji-Won flinching because she lifted her head and spoke while glaring at him.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m a fan of Blue Fit. If I got hired by TM, I thought I would become a successful otaku, so you have no idea how hard I¡¯ve worked to get hired! But this bastard¡­ because of him, my Blues!!¡± she said.?


    ?


    Her every word was filled with resentment, and as Choi Ji-Won awkwardly nodded, he encouraged her to keep up the good work. The fact that one of them was highly motivated and was working hard was a good thing.?


    ?


    He barely managed to suppress the sigh that was going to come out and decided to promote the agency¡¯s celebrities and place Chae Woo-Jin on hold for now because he didn¡¯t want to write nasty comments about someone he didn¡¯t know. However, when it was time to get off work, he knew that he had made a bad decision. While Assistant Manager Kim checked to see what the new employees completed for the day, he got angry at Choi Ji-Won. He basically said that attacking and slandering Chae Woo-Jin was the new employee¡¯s primary task.?


    ?


    ¡°You ignorant little bastard!¡±?


    ?


    Assistant Manager Kim¡¯s evaluation of Choi Ji-Won was short and blunt. The talented employees of the PR team were already promoting the agency¡¯s celebrities. Though he wasn¡¯t straightforward about it, the homework given by the assistant manager was Chae Woo-Jin. So Assistant Manager Kim made an example of Choi Ji-Won and scolded him badly for not following instructions.?


    ?


    The next day, Choi Ji-Won started working hard in writing nasty comments. Even though he didn¡¯t know anything about Chae Woo-Jin, when he began writing them, he realized what his colleague meant when he said that there didn¡¯t need to be any logic involved. All he had to do was write whatever came to his mind.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah! What is this!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Choi Ji-Won asked?


    ?


    ¡°I created an account on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan cafe, but they rejected my promotion and blocked my ID.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan cafe?¡± Choi Ji-Won was surprised because it was none other than his female colleague who was a big fan of Blue Fit and also the most motivated.?


    ?


    ¡°Being in disguise is the basic part of getting to know your enemy. So after I registered, I logged in for 10 days straight and even wrote empty compliments about Chae Woo-Jin, but I still got rejected. When I messaged the admin about it, they said they couldn¡¯t promote me because of an issue with the procedure, so they just kicked me out! So I tried to register again, but they blocked me. It¡¯s so ridiculous!¡± she yelled out in frustration.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t make a mistake in your post?¡± Choi Ji-Won asked.?


    ?


    Even if she disguised herself, the fact that she was an anti-fan was difficult to hide, and to make things worse, she was a genuine anti-fan. It was possible that she expressed her hostility towards Chae Woo-Jin without realizing it.?


    ?


    ¡°Did I?¡± she asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Is there a different reason? Try registering again by using someone else¡¯s name,¡± Choi Ji-Won suggested.?


    ?


    After getting encouraged by Choi Ji-Won, she signed up on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan cafe a few more times but failed to get promoted and got kicked out each time. At this point, Choi Ji-Won felt that something was off, but since he didn¡¯t know the reason, he couldn¡¯t make any guesses.?


    ?


    ¡ªGood looks aren¡¯t everything!?


    ?


    ¡ªThe bastard only donates when he has money left.?


    ?


    ¡ªIf he¡¯s so good at studying, why not take the bar exam instead of becoming an actor? Such a waste.?


    ?


    ¡ªHe¡¯s nothing but an otaku that can¡¯t enjoy the world because he¡¯s studying, acting, and singing!!?


    ?


    ¡ªIs it possible to have that kind of face without going through plastic surgery? I¡¯m sure he used the power of science to get that face.?


    ?


    While writing nasty comments on a post about Chae Woo-Jin, Choi Ji-Won thought it didn¡¯t sound right, so he tilted his head. Though it was a malicious comment, it sounded like a compliment for some reason.?


    ?


    ¡°I think I need to gather data about Chae Woo-Jin,¡± he said.?


    ?


    When Choi Ji-Won complained that this wasn¡¯t going to work, his female colleague next to him suddenly interfered.?


    ?


    ¡°Ask me anything. What do you want to know? His height is 186 cm, weight is 74 kgs, blood type is A, his birthday is March 28th, making him an Aries, and even though he has monolids, he gets double eyelids when he¡¯s tired, and he usually drinks an americano. Director Moon Seung-Kwon and Director Choi Yi-Geon adore him a lot, so they meet often. His favorite restaurants are¡­.¡±?


    ?


    All Choi Ji-Won could do was open his mouth as he listened to his colleague talk about Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°You know a lot,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°Well¡­ this is nothing,¡± she replied.?


    ?


    His colleague proved that not anyone could be an anti-fan, causing Choi Ji-Won to become motivated. But the more time passed, the more suspicious he was of his colleague¡¯s motives.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, this pin is beautiful.¡±?


    ?


    It had been five months since they got hired. Choi Ji-Won¡¯s colleague insisted that she was still a Blue Fit fan, but she would stare at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s picture, compliment the accessory he was wearing and spend her day talking about the movies and dramas he appeared in.?


    ?


    ¡°Is that Chae Woo-Jin?¡± Choi Ji-Won asked.?


    ?


    He even saw a picture of Chae Woo-Jin as his colleague¡¯s phone background.?


    ?


    ¡°You see, it¡¯s¡­ a way for me to get motivated. Every time I see his face, I¡¯ll be filled with motivation!¡± she said.?


    ?


    ¡°But that necklace is simple, yet cute. It looks pretty expensive, and I think I¡¯ve actually seen it somewhere¡­.¡± Choi Ji-Won said.?


    ?


    ¡°Jewelry like this usually has pretty similar designs!¡±?


    ?


    Choi Ji-Won felt awkward and agreed with her when she suddenly got angry, but he really did see it before. It was strange because as a single man, there was no way he would know of a necklace like that, and after a few hours, he figured out where he saw the necklace from. It was the same Gaon necklace Chae Woo-Jin wore in a paparazzi picture. Only a small batch was made and sold by Gaon, and after checking their website, it showed that it was out of stock. Choi Ji-Won naturally found out about it because his fans posted dozens of posts per day about how much they wanted to buy it.?


    ?


    ¡°No way! Well, if an item like this does get popular, people are bound to make fakes.¡±?


    ?


    Just like his colleague stated earlier, all jewelry designs were the same.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too much?¡± Choi Ji-Won asked.?


    ?


    The problem was his other male colleague, not her. Even though posting malicious comments and slandering Chae Woo-Jin was their job, his other colleague was starting to break away from that.?


    ?


    ¡°You think so? It¡¯s becoming more provocative the more I write it,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t get his family involved. Let¡¯s just focus on Chae Woo-Jin,¡± Choi Ji-Won suggested.?


    ?


    ¡°Then I have nothing to write about. I¡¯ve already hit rock bottom.¡±?


    ?


    There was a line when writing malicious comments and slandering others. They needed some kind of foundation to work with, but Chae Woo-Jin himself was almost perfect no matter how they looked at it. His appearance, skills, intelligence, figure, and talent were all perfect, so asking to write malicious comments about him was very troubling.?


    ?


    Thinking about it now, his colleague had been writing malicious comments about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister. He would mock her, saying that she should become a celebrity too instead of studying, and sometimes, he would write really harsh comments that caused Choi Ji-Won to frown.?


    ?


    ¡°Once I started doing it, it became fun,¡± his colleague said.?


    ?


    Choi Ji-Won became skeptical about coming here and doing something like this, but his colleague, on the other hand, seemed to have realized his true nature while writing malicious comments.?


    ?


    As expected, when he had a feeling that something was off, one of his colleagues resigned.?


    ?


    ¡°I can¡¯t continue doing stuff like this anymore. And there¡¯s a company that I really want to work for.¡±?


    ?


    His colleague who prided herself in being a Blue Fit fan resigned and left the company. The trash bin beside her desk was full of pictures and data about Blue Fit. On the other hand, the data about Chae Woo-Jin that she collected to post malicious comments about him was nowhere to be found.?


    ?


    A few months later, DS¡¯s legal team sent a letter of complaint to Choi Ji-Won and his male colleague working in the PR department.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 125

    The necklace had an elegant design with a thin chain and a pendant made of a small six-millimeter pearl. But the woman kept picking it up and putting it down because wearing a pearl necklace during the summer where people sweated a lot didn¡¯t seem fitting. However, surprisingly, it didn¡¯t take her long to make a decision. In the end, she picked up the necklace and headed towards the register. No matter how popular a product was, Gaon sold its products in limited quantities and then discontinued them, so it was the right thing to purchase a product when you had the chance.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯d like to pay for this,¡± the woman said.?


    ?


    It was strange how she didn¡¯t see any staff in the store. The only person she saw was a man behind the register with his back turned. He seemed busy working on something, so he turned around when the customer called for him.?


    ?


    ¡°Um¡­?¡±?


    ?


    When the woman saw him, she stared at him blankly, as if expressing her doubt. She kept looking back and forth between the man walking towards her with a bright smile and the signboard posted on the store wall. The man in front of her had the same face as the man on the signboard who had his long hair flying in the wind, half-closed eyes, and a charming smile. The only difference was that the man in front of her had cut his long hair and styled it neatly. The man¡¯s hair was neatly pushed back, and when he folded the sleeves of his white shirt twice, he exuded masculinity. His long legs were accentuated by his black pants that weren¡¯t too tight and had an appropriate fit.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae¡­Chae Woo-Jin?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Welcome, miss. How can I help you?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    Even though the man said a standard greeting, he seemed embarrassed by what he said and smiled awkwardly. When she checked that the name tag attached to his chest said Chae Woo-Jin, the customer ended up screaming.?


    ?


    ¡°Ahhhhhh! You¡¯re really Chae Woo-Jin!¡±?


    ?


    When she screamed, the other customers in the store started taking interest as well. At first, they were surprised by her scream, but when they heard Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name, they craned their necks and looked around the Gaon store. Once they discovered that Chae Woo-Jin was really inside the store, they started crowding around him.?


    ?


    As Gaon¡¯s exclusive model, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance filled not only the store with excitement but the entire mall as well. At the same time, the Gaon employees on stand-by returned and organized the gathered people.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you want to purchase this necklace?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin picked up the case holding the necklace, the customer who was still spacing out nodded unknowingly. Based on her reaction, she either liked him or was one of his fans.?


    ?


    ¡°You picked the one with a cute design. I think it¡¯ll look good on you,¡± he complimented.?


    ?


    ¡°W-Why are you here?¡± she asked.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to work here as a part-timer for two hours,¡± Chae Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s answer, the people watching shouted a cry of understanding. People quickly realized that it was an event similar to an autograph event. The fact that Chae Woo-Jin was behind the register meant that they needed to purchase something in order to meet him. Usually, this type of event was held to encourage people to buy their products.?


    ?


    It wouldn¡¯t matter for the people who were satisfied with just looking at him and taking his pictures, but if they wanted to have a unique experience with Chae Woo-Jin, there was only one way. However, since they couldn¡¯t easily buy such an expensive piece of jewelry, right now, more people were watching than they were buying.?


    ?


    ¡°C-Can I hug you just once?¡± the woman asked.?


    ?


    The woman had been hesitating but had gathered her courage to ask when Woo-Jin personally charged the woman¡¯s card and returned it to her.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you want me to be that easy?¡±?


    ?


    At Woo-Jin''s response, the woman and the other people were far from feeling offended and actually screamed because they liked it. It was because of the influence of Finding the Lion, which had Woo-Jin doing a cameo. After the movie was released, people became extremely excited over the character named Park Kwang-Heon.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t understand it, but whenever he acted like Park Kwang-Heon, people liked it so much that they didn¡¯t know what to do. That¡¯s why whenever he was in a difficult situation, he acted like Park Kwang-Heon. Moreover, during that time, no matter what he said, the people liked it, and no one felt offended by it.?


    ?


    Usually, Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t mind giving light hugs, and he usually agreed to his fans¡¯ requests whenever they asked for a picture, an autograph, or a hug. But after something that happened recently, he started avoiding making physical contact with his female fans.?


    ?


    At the time of the incident, Woo-Jin had bowed down and lightly hugged the woman''s upper body, but she had suddenly pulled Woo-Jin in, closing the gap between their lower bodies and started touching him. She fondled his butt without hesitation until Kang Ho-Soo forcefully pulled her away from Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what to do since he was surprised but just decided to let it go.?


    ?


    The problem was that a few days later, another fan asked for a back hug. Despite what happened last time, since he wasn¡¯t hugging her from the front, he decided to take a picture with her while giving her a light back hug. Even though it was called a back hug, he simply placed his hands on her shoulders, but the woman forcefully pulled his hand and placed it inside her clothes. Regardless of what he wanted, the woman was making him touch her breast, and this was possible because of the low-cut outfit she was wearing for summer, which shocked him.?


    ?


    Since he became a celebrity, Woo-Jin was prepared to an extent for people to touch him and had given up on preventing that, but regardless of what he wanted, the fact that she was making him grope a person¡¯s bare skin was unforgivable.?


    ?


    They managed to handle it, thanks to Hwang Yi-Young''s quick reaction of pushing the woman and yelling at her, but he couldn¡¯t control his emotions at that moment and almost slapped the woman¡¯s cheek. Rather than feeling good about touching her skin, he felt unpleasant and disgusted as if a snake slithered by. Since then, he flat out rejected requests for hugs and back hugs.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t hug just anyone,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°Wow! He¡¯s the Crazy Honey!¡±[1]?


    ?


    Even though he turned down her request, Woo-Jin¡¯s first customer actually liked it. Crazy Honey. They called Park Kwang-Heon ¡ª Kwang Honey by combining crazy Kwang[2] and the word honey,[3] Crazy Honey was currently Woo-Jin¡¯s new nickname.?


    ?


    Even though he changed his hairstyle after filming Red Enemy, creating the unique mood that Park Kwang-Heon had was really easy. When Woo-Jin spoke and acted like Park Kwang-Heon from Finding the Lion, everyone gasped because they liked it so much.?


    ?


    ¡°Can I spray water on your face?¡± someone asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course not. You¡¯ll only regret it,¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    ¡°I want to regret it!¡± they yelled.?


    ?


    Even while his fans were reacting enthusiastically, he grabbed the necklace that the woman paid for just now and placed it around her neck.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty! You picked a good one,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Although he wasn¡¯t the one buying it, Woo-Jin seemed satisfied with the purchase. Seeing that, the next person who wanted to make a purchase lightly pushed the woman at the register and stepped up. Then, the Gaon staff approached the customer who purchased the necklace and gave them Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s autograph prepared beforehand and a small gift that Gaon had prepared for them.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re going to purchase a ring?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes!¡±?


    ?


    The second customer grabbed whatever she could just to see Woo-Jin, and luckily, she grabbed a ring. She was worried that her heart would stop beating if Woo-Jin put the ring on her just like he did with the customer in front of her.?


    ?


    ¡°The ring is tiny,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because they made it specifically for pinky fingers,¡± the customer said.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s cute. I guess they don¡¯t make different sizes for this,¡± he said.?


    ?


    ¡°This one has different sizes, so it may not fit me. In that case, I¡¯ll have to find one that fits me,¡± the woman said.?


    ?


    She sighed. If the ring didn¡¯t fit her, then not only was it going to be annoying, but she would¡¯ve lost her chance to wear the ring that Chae Woo-Jin put on her finger.?


    ?


    ¡°Then I should pray that this ring fits your finger, ma¡¯am,¡± he said.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin raised the ring, he made a heart-thumping sound and put the ring on her pinky. It got slightly stuck on her knuckle but seeing the ring fit her finger perfectly caused Woo-Jin to raise his hands and ask for a high five. Thinking that she could return by wearing the ring Chae Woo-Jin put on her, she happily high-fived Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    After watching the situation, the others who weren¡¯t planning on buying anything started looking around the store. It was chaotic because they wanted to interact with Woo-Jin, and to do that, they needed to buy something, but the store staff skillfully helped them with their purchase.?


    ?


    ¡°Can I call you oppa?¡±?


    ?


    The woman that looked like she was in her late-20s asked Woo-Jin hesitantly. In terms of their age, she could never call him oppa, but whenever she saw Woo-Jin, she couldn¡¯t contain her desire to call him oppa.?


    ?


    ¡°No matter what you call me, it won¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin,¡± he answered.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin happily gave her permission, the woman smiled brightly and immediately called him oppa.?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa! Can you say one of the lines that Crazy Honey said in the movie?¡± she asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    Park Kwang-Heon''s lines in the movie were really popular, but they were too impractical to use in everyday life. Honestly, Woo-Jin felt really embarrassed because he was saying the lines without being emotionally prepared.?


    ?


    ¡°Say any of them, please!¡± the woman yelled.?


    ?


    When the woman gathered her hands and looked as if she was praying, Woo-Jin smirked and lifted his bangs using his hand. Since none of the lines that Park Kwang-Heon said were normal, it wasn¡¯t easy to say them to an ordinary person. After thinking about it, he thought of one.?


    ?


    ¡°After hanging out with dark people, did you get blinded when you saw me?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes!¡± she yelled.?


    ?


    Unlike the customer that nodded fiercely, Lee Chae-Ryeong had coldly asked him, ¡®Are you crazy?¡¯ in the movie. Even though the customer didn¡¯t follow the script, Woo-Jin finished his line.?


    ?


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going crazy because of how wonderful I am,¡± he said.?


    ?


    It was normal for people to think that Park Kwang-Heon was crazy because he said these lines shamelessly. However, no matter what he said or did, everyone understood because he was Park Kwang-Heon, and he was so popular and loved by the public.?


    ?


    As the event continued, some customers made unreasonable requests, but others just asked for an autograph. At times, some customers looked like students, and when he thought they were making an expensive purchase, Woo-Jin gave an excuse that it didn¡¯t look good on them and picked something else.?


    ?


    ¡°Could you sing us a song?¡± another customer asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Is there a specific song you want me to sing?¡± he asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Any song that you¡¯re comfortable singing,¡± she answered.?


    ?


    She must¡¯ve been a timid person because she couldn¡¯t make eye contact with him and mumbled. Since she suddenly asked him to sing, he couldn¡¯t think of a song. However, a song suddenly popped into his head when he realized how this moment would remain in her memory for a long time since she was acting shy in a crowd of aggressive people. So, Woo-Jin lowered his head and quietly sang a song while placing the hairpin that she chose in her hair. As he sang Lim Tae-Kyung¡¯s Mark, Woo-Jin quietly left a mark in his shy fan¡¯s heart, but not all the customers were like her.?


    ?


    ¡°Please put the brooch here.¡±?


    ?


    The area that the woman pointed was her chest. Even though the woman was wearing a fancy yet light blouse, it was obvious to Woo-Jin that she wasn¡¯t wearing any undergarments. She probably prepared for this by going to the bathroom and removing it.?


    ?


    It was a situation where he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. A bitter smile appeared on his face because it seemed like fans like her were abundant these days. Woo-Jin grabbed the brooch and cautiously placed it in a slightly higher area than what she wanted, and made sure his finger wasn¡¯t touching her body.?


    ?


    ¡°I wanted you to place it here,¡± she said.?


    ?


    The woman complained as she emphasized her chest.?


    ?


    ¡°It looks better here. If you place the brooch down there, people will look there and won¡¯t be able to see your pretty face,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    When they made eye contact, Woo-Jin¡¯s kind words caused her face to turn red and agree with what he said. He wasn¡¯t sure whether she felt embarrassed by what he said or if she just accepted it as a compliment, but he managed to handle it without hearing another complaint.?


    ?


    1. This ¡®honey¡¯ isn¡¯t the one made by bees, but the form of address like ¡®sweetheart.¡¯ ?? ??


    ?


    2. Refering to hanja. ??


    ?


    3. This ¡®honey¡¯ was written in English and refers to the form of address. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 126

    Two hours went by in a flash. Apart from the few customers who had put him in an awkward situation, Woo-Jin found the whole experience relatively enjoyable. He shook the hands of every customer that was still waiting in line and gave them his autograph, reducing their disappointment.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh, the cup of coffee I was drinking is gone.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked around the counter after the event ended. The cup of coffee he drank from time to time while serving the customers had gone missing. The coffee was also one of the products Woo-Jin was endorsing ¨C he had signed a contract with them a few days ago. Thus, he had intentionally brought it with him. From what Woo-Jin could remember, it seemed like there were a few sips left, so he was rather bewildered when he found out it went missing.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing one of the customers took it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°There was some coffee left though. Could they have thought it was trash and just threw it away?¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s naive remark, the store manager smiled awkwardly and told him that could have been the case. Woo-Jin turned down the dinner invitation with the department store executives by using his tight schedule as an excuse; he was very exhausted and drained.?


    ?


    ¡°Fansign events must be even more tiring than this, right?¡± Woo-Jin had never attended an official fansign event. Just imagining it made him speechless. Right now, he only had a Fancafe, but they were in the process of creating another fan club next year, so it was only a matter of time before he had to attend his first fansign event.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if it makes you physically tired, it would not be as emotionally taxing. The event today was aimed at advertising, so there were a lot of ordinary people.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t fans ordinary people too?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course not. They¡¯re absolutely different.¡±?


    ?


    People who simply liked Chae Woo-Jin, and fans who came together to form their own fan club were completely different ¨C Wish Baragi members in particular would never pull the same act like some of the obnoxious customers had done today. Believing that, Kang Ho-Soo comforted Woo-Jin and eased his concerns.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The latest movie Woo-Jin acted in had been released. Even though it was just a guest appearance, Woo-Jin had outshone the male lead. And the surprise event held in Gaon today caused chaos to ensue within Wish Baragi. It had been a drought for the barags for almost six months and it was finally raining after the drought.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    After a couple of people consecutively posted about their experience at the event along with photos on the Fancafe, the barags were delighted and infuriated at the same time.?


    ?


    ¨C Barag, we were there at the same time. I saw that crazy bitch too. She was behind me and I didn¡¯t expect her to do that. I¡¯ve seen a couple of people who go out without a bra because it¡¯s summer, so I simply thought she was one of them, but oh my goodness! She was so determined to get Genie to touch her chest. Surely that crazy b can¡¯t be one of the barags, right??


    ?


    ©¸ No way, I doubt that¡¯s the case. Could the person who asked Genie to sing Im Tae-Kyung¡¯s Mark be a barag by any chance??


    ?


    ©¸ Yes, Genie sang the song while putting the hairpin on my hair. I¡¯ll never wash my hair ever again.?


    ?


    The customer who acted meek and shy in front of Chae Woo-Jin was actually a bubbly barag.?


    ?


    ¨C I only heard about it towards the end of the event and ran over. I almost made it but I was too late. Gaon should have announced they were holding such an event in advance.?


    ?


    ©¸ If they had done that, the department store would have been filled with people and they wouldn¡¯t have been able to manage. Even though it was a surprise event, there were still so many people flocking to the boutique to the point where it was terrifying.?


    ?


    ©¸ The company posted a video of it on Gaon¡¯s homepage. The marketing team posted a video of the situation during the event ¨C the speed at which people flocked there was incredibly terrifying. Our dear Genie has become so famous. I¡¯m so proud!!?


    ?


    ¨C¨C One of Gaon¡¯s designers is a member of our Fancafe. The luck fan has updated us whenever Genie collaborated with them for a commercial or photo shoot. I wonder if she was present at the event today. I want to hear her story.?


    ?


    ©¸ I¡¯m that designer! But I wasn¡¯t a lucky fan today. The marketing department held the event, so I didn¡¯t hear about it until later on. Besides, our team leader gave us too many tasks today.?


    ?


    ©¸ *pat pat* Your team leader is so mean.?


    ?


    ©¸ Ah! I can¡¯t believe Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom is consoling me. Nevertheless, our team leader is a great person. Wah~! As I¡¯m typing this comment, my team leader just sent me a gifticon [1] for a cake for working hard today. Hehe. //?//?


    ?


    ¨C The barag who commented above has a good boss. It seems like the CEO of the company I recently joined (I¡¯m a secretary) is a fan of Genie. He¡¯s over 70 and is known for being a level-headed and intimidating figure in the industry. But oh my goodness ¨C the wallpaper of his phone is the photo Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom posted the other day.?


    ?


    ©¸ I think Genie is secretly popular among men too. Recently, I¡¯ve been seeing someone, and he would often say that he looks like Genie. But he would do it secretly and subtly as if it wasn¡¯t true. I found out he was a fan because he was angrier than I was over the Blue Fit incident previously. I remember going, ¡®Ah, so he¡¯s a fan too¡¯. Apart from his name, everything about him is perfect so I found him to be rather attractive and mysterious since a long time ago. Well, ever since then, I started to be interested in him, and I think he¡¯ll confess to me soon.?


    ?


    Not all the posts and comments on Wish Baragi were about Chae Woo-Jin ¨C there were also a few happy and sad anecdotes about things that happened at work, or stories about barags dating and getting into relationships while being a fangirl.?


    ?


    ¨C The videos of Genie serving the customers are being posted one by one. They¡¯re extremely hilarious. Oh my god, someone told him to say Crazy Honey¡¯s lines, and so he said ¡®Pretty crazy bitch!¡¯ His vibe and the way he said it was exactly like Crazy Honey in the movie.?


    ?


    ©¸ Crazy Honey is seriously the greatest character of all time. It¡¯s such a pity that he barely got any screen time. He had so many great lines. My favorite part was when he said ¡®I can¡¯t stop looking at the mirror every morning!¡¯ while being sad. Ah, this narcissistic person¡­you crazy beautiful bastard.?


    ?


    Because Chae Woo-Jin was the one who played the character ¨C and not anyone else, people sympathized with him, creating a bigger impact. It would have been a ridiculous comical figure if a mediocre actor had played that character, but instead, Chae Woo-Jin had turned him into an incredible character. Without Chae Woo-Jin, the movie would have only been moderately successful, but it was currently one of the top movies in the box office thanks to the ¡®Crazy Honey Syndrome¡¯ created by Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¨C When are they releasing Red Enemy? I can¡¯t get enough of him in Finding the Lion so I¡¯m anxiously waiting for it.?


    ?


    ©¸ It¡¯s going to be released on Chuseok [2]. The director has been making preparations since a long time ago, so most of the things that have already been prepared were carried out, so I think they¡¯ll finish editing it fairly quickly.?


    ?


    ¨C From what I can tell, it seems like the actresses in Red Enemy are pretty close to one another. Genie must have been very lonely.?


    ?


    ©¸ I know, right? Judging from their social media accounts, they seem really close to one another. In that case, the rumors must be false. Initially, there were rumors circulating about how both of them weren¡¯t on good terms, no??


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young sighed softly as she read the comments on Wish Baragi.?


    ?


    ¡°They seem close to one another? Oh please, they¡¯re basically Tom and Jerry¡­¡± Kang Ho-Soo shook his head after hearing what Hwang Yi-Young said and refuted her.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s more accurate to say they¡¯re the female version of Park Kwang-Heon and Lee Chae-Ryeong. Of course, Kwon Eun-Mi isn¡¯t a crazy person like Park Kwang-Heon.¡± Hwang Yi-Young couldn¡¯t hold back her laughter when she heard Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s words and started laughing.?


    ?


    The relationship between the two parties was very subtle. Oh Ha-Na had continued to stay on set even after she had finished shooting Queen Yoon¡¯s parts. She scrutinized Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s portrayal of Seol-Ha, intimidating her by saying she would assess her acting. Even when Oh Ha-Na tried to criticize her with all her might, it didn¡¯t affect Kwon Eun-Mi. Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s lukewarm reaction made Oh Ha-Na even more furious.?


    ?


    Oh Ha-Na was loved and sheltered by the public and the adults around her while growing up, while Kwon Eun-Mi had been participating in fashion shows all over the world since she was in her late teenage years, and worked hard to get to where she was today. Thus, Oh Ha-Na couldn¡¯t put up with Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s steadfast nature.?


    ?


    As Oh Ha-Na continued to be hostile towards Kwon Eun-Mi, one day, she had finally acknowledged Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s portrayal of Seol-Ha. Seol-Ha looked so beautiful as she performed the geonmu alongside Prince Myeong-Hwan, and it finally hit Oh Ha-Na that she couldn¡¯t act out such a scene. Oh Ha-Na couldn¡¯t comprehend Seol-Ha¡¯s maturity and deep sorrow; her life was too smooth-sailing and rosy to express Seol-Ha¡¯s han.?


    ?


    It was the same with Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol-Ha¡¯s friendship, which transcended gender and difference in social status. Kwon Eun-Mi was very feminine and full of sex appeal so it made Oh Ha-Na wonder how she managed to act out Seol-ha¡¯s innocent friendship with Prince Myeong-Hwan. Both of them did a remarkable job portraying their platonic friendship. Thus, Oh Ha-Na had no choice but to acknowledge that she wasn¡¯t cut out to portray Seol-Ha.?


    ?


    ¡°You were pretty good. But it¡¯s not because I¡¯m not good at acting ¨C it¡¯s because I¡¯m young and inexperienced. I hope you keep in mind that I¡¯ve never lost to you!¡± Oh Ha-Na could have given Kwon Eun-Mi a short and sweet compliment, but she spoke in circles. Kwon Eun-Mi slowly started to pay attention to her.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute!¡± Nobody knew what Kwon Eun-Mi saw in Oh Ha-Na. Perhaps, she saw the sheltered Oh Ha-Na as an intriguing and interesting character as they belonged to two different worlds.?


    ?


    Thereafter, Kwon Eun-Mi started adoring Oh Ha-Na and started spending more time with her. Oh Ha-Na was like a young animal that was caught by Kwon Eun-Mi, squirming and struggling to be released from her grasp. Even though Oh Ha-Na didn¡¯t like her, she gave in to Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s charisma and she was occasionally fascinated by her. Thus, Oh Ha-Na had been stuck with Kwon Eun-Mi to this day.?


    ?


    ¡°Fortunately, this allowed Woo-Jin to be at ease.¡±?


    ?


    Because of Kwon Eun-Mi, things didn¡¯t go according to the wishes of the CEO of Oh Ha-Na¡¯s agency.?


    ?


    1. Kakaotalk, a mobile messaging app mainly used in Korea, could be used to send gifts to friends. ??


    ?


    2. Korean Thanksgiving Day (October) ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 127

    {Ray, do you want to watch this video?}?


    ?


    Hugh Miller handed the tablet to his friend, Rayford, and showed him a video. It was the behind-the-scenes video of a drama uploaded to YouTube. Even though he had just watched a dizzying scene where a person leaped from one building to another without the help of CGI, Rayford looked apathetically at his friend.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s not bad but was it a stunt double?} Rayford commented.?


    ?


    {No, it was the actor himself! This is the actual scene from a drama that was aired on TV,} Hugh replied.?


    ?


    After watching the behind-the-scenes video, Hugh showed his friend a clip from the drama next. The scene that the actor himself had personally done was very energetic and spectacular. There was certainly a huge difference in realism between using a stunt double and not using one.?


    ?


    {The actor himself shot the scene? That¡¯s dope!} Only then did Rayford become interested and watch both videos over and over again.?


    ?


    {He¡¯s been trending on YouTube lately; he¡¯s a very popular actor in Korea. He¡¯s perfect in every aspect ¡ª from his looks to his acting skills and his professionalism,} Hugh gave some more details.?


    ?


    Rayford knitted his brows after hearing Hugh¡¯s compliments about the actor. But unfortunately, the only thing he heard was the actor¡¯s nationality and nothing else.?


    ?


    {By Korea, you mean South Korea? Man, didn¡¯t I say I wanted a Japanese actor?} Rayford grumbled.?


    ?


    It was obvious why Hugh showed him this video; they needed an Asian actor to play a supporting role for their upcoming movie. They had finished casting the main characters and had just begun casting the supporting roles. The Asian character, Jin, was especially important to them. Since they were looking for an actor who was good at doing action scenes, the ideal candidate in Rayford¡¯s mind was a Japanese actor.?


    ?


    {If you¡¯re looking for an Asian who can fight, the first thing that comes to anybody¡¯s mind would be a samurai!} Rayford said.?


    ?


    Hugh Miller was the writer and co-producer of the film. He clicked his tongue after hearing Rayford¡¯s response. {Hey, look! I¡¯m the one who wrote the script, and I didn¡¯t think about samurai at all while I was writing it. I had only indicated ¡®Asian¡¯ on it ¡ª why do you think the character''s nationality isn¡¯t specified? That¡¯s because I want us to freely create the character instead of limiting our creativity. I don¡¯t want you to be too biased.}?


    ?


    Rayford¡¯s face turned slightly red with shame after hearing Hugh Miller¡¯s criticism. Hugh Miller was not just his friend but was also his co-worker and the writer of the movie. To them, a film that successfully captured a world free from prejudice was the ideal movie. However, Rayford, was also judgemental.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m sorry. However, think about it carefully. This is our third film together ¡ª you know how important this movie is for us since our previous movies have been a tremendous global success. Therefore, I can¡¯t help but be cautious and think about boosting its popularity as much as possible. Frankly, apart from a couple of actors, Korea still has little presence in Hollywood.?


    ?


    Hugh had nothing to say in response to Rayford¡¯s justification. The Asian culture that the West was most familiar with was probably that of Japan. Jin¡¯s character in their movie was significant even though it was a supporting role. It couldn¡¯t be denied that they needed to make a prudent choice.?


    ?


    {Additionally, the Japanese and Chinese investors decided to be a part of our movie after hearing about the Asian character. On the other hand, we haven¡¯t heard anything from the Koreans,} Rayford continued.?


    ?


    They couldn¡¯t disregard foreign investments because of their movie¡¯s massive production cost. However, after hearing Ray''s words, Hugh responded violently, looking very displeased.?


    ?


    {Hold up! You were trying to get them to invest in our movie? Have you gone insane? You¡¯re well-aware of how much they interfere with movies under the pretense of investing. Those investors were the ones who made the British eat their steak with chopsticks in David¡¯s recent film! And also, it¡¯s not like we lack investors. Frankly, we¡¯re better off getting financial support from The Consccia Foundation!}?


    ?


    This time around, Rayford became dumbfounded after hearing Hugh¡¯s zealous speech. {The Consccia Foundation? They¡¯re the mafia. I¡¯m absolutely against it!}?


    ?


    {Even though they manufacture arms and weapons, they¡¯re now a legal corporation; they¡¯re not the mafia! Additionally, their support for art and culture isn¡¯t tainted with hidden motives. They¡¯re already supporting so many studios, so why are you the only one making a big deal out of it?} Hugh asked.?


    ?


    The Consccia family started as an Italian mafia family in New York, but they had now become a legitimate business. Nonetheless, the fact that they were initially the mafia didn¡¯t change. More importantly, even though it was a legitimate company, Rayford detested them because they manufactured weapons.?


    ?


    {I know that The Consccia Foundation was founded by Don Lansky, whose dying wish was to dedicate 10% of all profits to provide unconditional support to the arts and cultural projects. It still doesn¡¯t change the fact they were once the mafia, and all that money was earned from killing people,} Rayford retorted.?


    ?


    Even though Rayford didn¡¯t care much about pursuing the right thing over his own interests, he still had principles he couldn¡¯t compromise on.?


    ?


    {As much as you hate receiving financial support from The Consccia Foundation, I¡¯m equally against accepting money from those Chinese and Japanese investors. I hate things that destroy the originality of our movie more than the mafia,} Hugh stated firmly.?


    ?


    At the very least, The Consccia Foundation protected the essence of an artiste. This was all thanks to the current head of the Consccia family thoroughly complying with his grandfather¡¯s wishes, whom he held in high regard.?


    ?


    {Ray, I understand your desire to make a perfect movie. However, we already have enough funding to cover the production costs. There¡¯s no guarantee that our movie would turn out to be a success just because we have more financial support.}?


    ?


    Hugh didn¡¯t care if they didn¡¯t cast the actor he suggested. However, he gave Rayford a clear warning that their long-standing friendship would end if Rayford received capital from parties that later made excessive and unreasonable demands and ended up heavily compromising the movie¡¯s production.?


    ?


    Hugh calmly left the office, leaving only the tablet behind on the table. Rayford awkwardly scratched his face and picked up the tablet before replaying the video Hugh had shown him earlier.?


    ?


    {He sure looks cool.} As he grumbled and mumbled to himself, he went to look for other videos of the actor named ¡®Genie.¡¯ After spending a few hours looking at video clips from his movies and drama, Rayford exclaimed, {Shit, he''s prince charming!}?


    ?


    Rayford grabbed his hair with both hands, feeling very tormented. Rayford was someone who had taken a fancy to the Japanese samurai, and at this moment, nobody knew that his concerns and internal conflict had started because of a Korean actor.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Woo-Jin was struggling every day. Firstly, he was anxiously waiting for Red Enemy¡¯s release scheduled at the end of September, as well as the results of the second round of the bar exam that would be announced in early October. Regardless of how confident the production crew and actors were, the movie''s success was inevitably dependent on how well-received it was by the public. And that was something no one could predict. That was the same for his exam results.?


    ?


    For the first round, the exam only consisted of multiple-choice questions with straightforward answers. So Woo-Jin could grade himself easily by checking which questions he had gotten right or wrong. However, the second exam was comprised of open-ended questions, so there were a lot of ambiguities. He felt as though he had done well, but most candidates shared the same confidence. As it was based on relative grading, it didn¡¯t matter how well he did if others fared better than him. And if he passed, he still hadn¡¯t decided whether or not he wanted to go for the interview in the third round.?


    ?


    ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll decide after I get the results.¡± Planning ahead this early and getting excited over it was also rather pathetic. Moreover, Woo-Jin currently had other things to do and worry about.?


    ?


    The sullen Woo-Jin turned on his computer and loaded the site he had been visiting dozens of times a day lately. He proceeded to key in his login details before repeatedly taking deep breaths and exhaling.?


    ?


    ¡°Last night, I went to bed immediately after writing¡­.¡± Woo-Jin had gotten started on a new task recently. He had been feeling very restless and frustrated every day, so he started writing in his spare time in the hope of fulfilling the dream he couldn¡¯t achieve in his past life. Now that he was done shooting the movie and was on summer vacation, all he could do was wait for the results of his bar exam. Writing resulted from his inability to withstand the boredom he was dealing with.?


    ?


    However, regardless of how great a writer he was in his past life, it didn¡¯t go as well as he thought it would when he tried to write it himself. It was as though he was shooting a Hollywood masterpiece in his head, but his hands were not as good, producing results like that of a child carelessly pressing the shutter.?


    ?


    Writing required a different skill from drawing or playing a musical instrument. The more Woo-Jin wrote, the more he realized how difficult it was to construct a sentence and develop a story while keeping it realistic throughout without deviating from the subject. Nevertheless, the knowledge and experience from his past lives served as a guide for him.?


    ?


    To keep it as his original work, Woo-Jin wrote little by little and started converting it into a serialized novel on a literary site a month ago. He didn¡¯t start it recklessly but had done thorough research in advance and found a site where various genres could be serialized, and anybody could easily post their novel.?


    ?


    After reading the works of several writers and inspecting the site''s quality, he decided to do a fantasy novel. Instead of doing literary work on a complex subject, he planned to start with a light topic and inch forward step by step.?


    ?


    At first, he created his own unique worldview by combining the knowledge of his past lives. As he wrote twice a day, Woo-Jin went through a different experience from anything he had ever experienced before. People talked about him as a writer, and he felt encouraged by the compliments and the messages and comments from his readers telling him how enjoyable his work was.?


    ?


    However, at some point, as his novel began to gain popularity, people started leaving a lot of malicious comments, to the point that Woo-Jin felt he had received more negative comments in the past month than he did as an actor.?


    ?


    Strangely enough, he had never been hurt by the malicious comments he received as Actor Chae Woo-Jin. To a certain extent, he had confidence in his acting. Even when there were people who interpreted a role differently than Woo-Jin and pointed out the issue, he was able to confidently express his opinions. He was so confident and sure about his acting that nobody could hurt him. It wasn¡¯t worth listening to the persistent negative comments unrelated to his acting, so he didn¡¯t even pay any attention to them.?


    ?


    However, it was a slightly different story when it came to his novel. He was clearly aware that he was still a work in progress as a writer and had yet to perfect his writing style. Perhaps that was why he was very offended when people pointed out his already known flaws. And today, one such comment made him frown.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The prolix style is making the sentences sound boring? I¡¯m well aware of that as well, but what do you want me to do if I can¡¯t fix it!¡±?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin was writing the novel, he thought no one knew about his writing as much as he did. As such, he became more careful when choosing his words and hid the implicit meanings within them. It made him happy and amused when people discovered them. Even when others interpreted them differently, it made him happy in a different way. Thus, he knew the flaws of his writing better than anyone.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, the flaws he couldn¡¯t fix were not to his liking, so he just let them be. As Woo-Jin was writing, he found out that he liked the prolix writing style. As he continued writing like that, the sentences became too long at times, making them harder to read. Despite that, he couldn¡¯t stop being stubborn, and it compromised the quality of his writing at times. Even though he knew that, he couldn¡¯t find a different solution because he wasn¡¯t good enough yet. When people pointed out something he couldn¡¯t change because he wasn¡¯t good enough, it strangely lowered his self-esteem and tormented him for days.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, this person! If it¡¯s hard to read, then don¡¯t read it. Why are they wasting their time reading my novel? Did you think I wrote this for you to read? I¡¯m also a busy man¡­no.¡±?


    ?


    Recently, Woo-Jin talked to himself a lot, and his words were becoming more aggressive. He spent most of his day writing. His daily routine consisted of planning out the storyline of his novel in his head, mumbling to himself, and getting mad at the comments that seemed malicious. While the nasty comments were upsetting, he hated the disrespectful attention-seekers even more.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was well-aware that he was an attention-seeker. As a celebrity, he wanted to get people¡¯s attention; he had acknowledged the fact that he published his novel online for everyone to see because he wanted the public¡¯s attention, even though he could practice writing on his own in private.?


    ?


    ¡°If you want attention, use your own abilities and skills. Because of people like you who try to get attention by being disrespectful to others, good people like us are being lumped together with you and getting criticized.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin hated fellow attention-seekers who were rude and malicious to others. He also felt these people were pathetic because they had nothing better to do than to waste their precious time reading things they didn¡¯t have to read and even going through the trouble of leaving comments.?


    ?


    ¡°But it¡¯s bothering me¡­.¡±?


    ?


    That was the issue. He also thought it was strange that he kept getting hung up on things he didn¡¯t have to care about.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 128

    ¡°Ugh, here comes another message.¡±?


    ?


    While Woo-Jin was reading the comments and refreshing the site, he received a new message. Woo-Jin had never interacted with anyone else on the site. He had always received only three kinds of messages ¡ª praises and encouragements; negative criticisms, asking questions such as ¡®You call this writing?¡¯; and last but not least, messages from publishers, offering to publish his novel.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had no plans to publish his novel in the first place. He was surprised and amazed when he first received these messages from publishers, but he was now indifferent toward them. Hence, regardless of the type of message he received, he no longer cared about them and had stopped reading them for the most part.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, he wondered who sent the message, so he opened the message window, where the number of unread messages had increased. He saw the publisher''s name and closed the window without any regrets. The important thing for him to do right now was to fix his writing style and perfect it, as well as improve the composition of his writing. Woo-Jin decided not to think about anything else; he was very eager to work hard and write today.?


    ?


    ¡°Ack! Oppa, what happened to your face?¡± Woo-Hee asked in shock because her brother¡¯s face had always looked clean and bright but had now become rough and sunken.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you doing at home at this time? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be in school?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Today is Sunday.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had lost track of time. He had been sitting in his room writing, not knowing what day or time it was. He knitted his brows as the bright light shone on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve been cooping yourself in the room recently, so mom is worried about you. What exactly have you been up to?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m merely expressing the pain of writing with my body. We¡¯re all living in pain, struggling to express the thoughts and worries that have been occupying our minds.¡± Woo-Jin gave a prolix explanation of his situation, similar to how he wrote his novel.?


    ?


    ¡°You used so many words, and yet I¡¯m having a hard time understanding what you¡¯re saying. If I write a report like that, I¡¯ll fail.¡± Woo-Hee¡¯s words were nothing personal, but as soon as Woo-Jin heard it, he walked over to the sofa and collapsed onto it. For some reason, Woo-Hee¡¯s remark was similar to the constant malicious comments left by his readers.?


    ?


    ¡°Have you been reading novels online and leaving comments?¡± Woo-Hee could have possibly done so as she was usually into comics and novels. Woo-Jin asked his younger sister seriously in a bid to confirm the possibility of a family conflict.?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m a senior in high school! I don¡¯t have time for things like that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I did everything I wanted to do when I was a senior in high school, though.¡± As soon as Woo-Hee heard Woo-Jin¡¯s indifferent words, she ran to her brother and threw Indian Rice[1] at his back. Woo-Hee was nowhere close to being called stupid, but she was just an ordinary student compared to her brother.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to tell you to have faith in yourself. You¡¯re my younger sister, after all. How different would you be from me? It¡¯s okay for someone like you to take it easy once in a while.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But I¡¯ll feel anxious and uneasy if I don¡¯t study. I¡¯ll probably feel scared.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So, do you feel scared even now?¡± Woo-Jin wanted to know if Woo-Hee was anxious even while resting at home on a Sunday, to which she shook her head.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad. So, just a moderate amount of anxiety?¡± Woo-Jin was relieved after hearing his sister¡¯s response as she didn¡¯t seem to be as stressed as most seniors in high school yet, but he decided to get further confirmation.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re really not reading novels online, right? Is your username ¡®skypetals¡¯ or something like that by any chance?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I prefer reading physical copies of novels or comics. And you¡¯re well aware that I can¡¯t browse the internet much because staring at the computer screen makes my eyes hurt. Besides, I don¡¯t have the luxury of time to care about things like that right now!¡± Woo-Hee was annoyed because she had to shoot Golden Ball in school next week.?


    ?


    ¡°What kind of school makes a fuss about getting their seniors involved in something like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re doing it too? Isn¡¯t that just for people who signed up for it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The principal says it¡¯s mandatory for the top ten students in each grade. Ugh! Everybody knows you¡¯re my older brother, so it¡¯ll be extremely embarrassing if I mess up early on!¡± That was Woo-Hee¡¯s greatest concern. The depressing concern was understandable, but Woo-Jin simply patted his sister on the shoulder halfheartedly. He felt sorry for her, but all he could think about at the moment was his novel. Be it Golden Ball or anything else, there was no need for Woo-Hee to worry.?


    ?


    On the other hand, Woo-Jin felt that he was the one who was pressed for time. For some reason, it seemed as though the more he wrote his series, the more his quality of life slipped. He had also become too sensitive.?


    ?


    ¡°I won¡¯t be doing this for long.¡± Woo-Jin felt he couldn¡¯t keep living like this; he decided to post only up to a hundred chapters and use it as a study before deleting it. He still had ways to go as a writer. It was too early for him to be publishing a series, but he did it anyway because of his greed. It was a moment when a reckless attention-seeker quietly raised the flag of defeat. It was also the outcome of a celebrity with a lot of free time on his hands reaching his limit as he passionately fulfilled his desire to write.?


    ?


    ¡°Skypetals! I¡¯m not stopping because I lost to you¡­ Yeah, it¡¯s for the sake of a remake!¡± Woo-Jin was tired of being tormented by malicious comments and disrespectful attention-seekers. Just like that, he made an excuse and justification for himself.?


    ?


    After a few days, Woo-Jin finally published his 100th chapter and deleted his novel without any regrets. It was a sudden departure of a novel that had been gaining popularity from the get-go. Several readers had expressed their sadness and disappointment, sending messages to the writer hoping he would pick it up where he left off again. They had also posted comments on the site''s bulletin board for everyone to see.?


    ?


    However, as soon as Woo-Jin deleted the novel, he never logged onto the site again. Finally, two years later, an overseas publisher published an English version of his novel and found its way back to Korea, allowing his readers to read his writings they had been dying to read once more.?


    ?


    Until the writer¡¯s identity was revealed, it was inevitable for suspicions surrounding the novel and the writer to circulate, along with allegations of plagiarism. However, it was a story that had yet to be told.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin used up his stockpile of chapters and posted up to chapter 100. Thereafter, he enjoyed the peace of mind for the first time in a very long time. The experience of writing and publishing his series online was akin to hearing public criticisms and jeers to his face when he was performing on the streets in his past lives. Naturally, it was incomparably better than the latter because he could safely hide behind the mask of anonymity.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, from Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, the emotional stress he had to deal with in both situations was the same. At least when he was performing on the streets, he had the pride and arrogance that stemmed from the public¡¯s inability to keep up with his standards. On the other hand, the current Woo-Jin was spiraling because he felt extremely dejected, lamenting how poor his writing was. And it was rather severe.?


    ?


    Because he was criticized for his imperfect writing, he lost all confidence and felt very daunted. Ultimately, he was only able to calm himself and think rationally after he had decided to delete the novel.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s just a minor setback,¡± Woo-Jin muttered as he wiped the condensation from the mirror with his hands after taking a shower. Publishing his series wasn¡¯t all that bad. The more he wrote, realizing where he went wrong, the more problems he couldn¡¯t objectively see back then were clearer, and the better his composition and writing style became.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll never give up. Just you wait. I¡¯ll stick it to you one day, petals or whatever your name is!¡± Woo-Jin made up his mind and singled out one particular person among the people who mocked him under the guise of giving him advice instead of leaving malicious comments.?


    ?


    Anonymity was great in this regard ¡ª nobody knew Chae Woo-Jin had written a novel and taken it down after his feelings got hurt. There was also no way for Chae Woo-Jin to find out who those disrespectful attention-seekers that had greatly tormented him were. So there was still room for Woo-Jin and those people to escape.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin came out of the bathroom; he patted his rough and dull face before taking a sheet mask out of the refrigerator. The sheet mask that Kwak Eun-Hyuk strongly recommended was certainly effective. After trying it out for himself, Woo-Jin bought it in bulk and shared it with his family.?


    ?


    After using the cold sheet mask and finishing his skincare routine with anti-aging cream, Woo-Jin hugged Woo-Sa tightly and climbed into bed. He hadn¡¯t been able to get a good night¡¯s sleep recently because he had been thinking about his novel and even dreaming about it in his sleep. However, after taking a long bath, he fell into a deep slumber for the first time in a while as soon as he got in bed with Woo-Sa.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, are you sleeping?¡± A few hours later, the housekeeper picked up the phone and went to his room. When she found Woo-Jin sleeping in bed, she was flustered and hesitated for a second. Woo-Sa was the first to discover her presence; as soon as it leaped to its feet, Woo-Jin opened his eyes and sat up as well. He rubbed his eyes and was greeted by the sight of the elderly woman standing there. He looked quizzically at her because she rarely went into his room.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Hee¡¯s school just called. Please pick it up.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Hee¡¯s school?¡± Woo-Jin was alarmed because he thought something had happened to her at school, so he quickly answered the call. As he imagined all kinds of terrible things, Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was shaking a little when he answered the call.?


    ?


    ¡°Hello.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Are you Woo-Hee¡¯s oppa, Chae Woo-Jin??


    ?


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Did something happen to Woo-Hee?¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª That¡¯s not the case¡­.?


    ?


    After hesitating for a moment, Woo-Hee¡¯s homeroom teacher gave him a brief explanation. They were shooting Golden Ball today, and Woo-Hee made it to the top three finalists. Her teacher had also added that they were sure Woo-Hee would most likely emerge victorious.?


    ?


    Last Sunday, Woo-Hee had mentioned in passing that they would be shooting Golden Ball. It seemed like that was happening today. Usually, in situations like this, parents would typically make a trip down to school and show their faces. The issue here was that their parents were not currently in Korea. Her parents were attending a jewelry fair in Paris, making Woo-Jin Woo-Hee¡¯s temporary guardian for the time being.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Yes. I think Woo-Hee will be the winner, so it¡¯ll be less than ideal if none of her family members show up.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee¡¯s homeroom teacher was having a hard time asking Woo-Jin directly to make a trip down to the school. Woo-Jin could sense their struggle over the phone. Woo-hee must have told her teacher not to bother him. According to what he heard, it didn¡¯t seem like her homeroom teacher was insisting that Woo-Jin had to be there in place of his parents ¡ª most likely, the school, or rather, the principal, and the production crew had pressured them to give Woo-Jin a call.?


    ?


    ¡°I want to go as well as I want to be there for my younger sister. But this is not something I can decide on my own. I have to call my agency and get their permission first.¡±?


    ?


    It would have been different if Woo-Jin had gone there and appeared on the show by chance, but since that wasn¡¯t the case, Woo-Jin answered carefully. Perhaps, that was a satisfactory answer, so the homeroom teacher¡¯s voice became more at ease. The teacher told him that the school had prepared an event that would commence after the winner had been decided, so he still had some time to do the necessary preparations, and there wasn¡¯t any need for him to rush.?


    ?


    After hanging up, Woo-Jin called Kang Ho-Soo. Kang Ho-Soo also expressed that he wasn¡¯t in the position to make any decisions until after he had contacted the agency directly, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t get an immediate answer. A few minutes later, Kang Ho-Soo called and gave him the green light and ordered Woo-Jin to stay home and not go anywhere until he and Hwang Yi-Young got to his place. As he would be appearing in a TV program, he was a celebrity first before his status as a guardian, so he always had to take the TPO (time, place, and occasion)[2] into consideration.?


    ?


    Since he was going to school, Hwang Yi-Young picked out a simple suit for him. It was summer, so he wore a navy suit with a white shirt underneath. As for his makeup, she only used powder and sunscreen on his face without using any color-tinted makeup products.?


    ?


    ¡°You seem to have lost some weight on your face, but the makeup looks good on you. The powder settles seamlessly without looking cakey. The light will not make your face look oily or shiny.¡± Hwang Yi-Young applied powder on Woo-Jin¡¯s face even though he had great skin to prevent his face from looking shiny because of the camera flashes. His makeup today was aimed at achieving the bare minimum. After she was done with his makeup, the ¡®bare-faced makeup look¡¯ that would deceive everyone was now complete.?


    ?


    Right after he was done preparing, Woo-Hee¡¯s homeroom teacher called and informed him that his sister was the last person standing. Woo-Jin arrived at her school just in time ¡ª he was neither late nor early. He headed to the auditorium where the program was being filmed. The students, teachers, and parents he had walked past on his way from the parking lot to the auditorium exclaimed as soon as they saw him.?


    ?


    ¡°What is Chae Woo-Jin doing here?¡±?


    ?


    Reality hit Woo-Jin once again as soon as he saw the surprised reactions of the parents who didn¡¯t know his sister attended this school. It was a completely different reality from where he was heavily criticized, receiving all kinds of comments on the internet as a fantasy novel writer. As soon as they saw him, they flocked towards him, making it hard for him to push through the crowd and make his way to the auditorium.?


    ?


    1. ??? ? (literal translation: Indian rice) ¨C the name of a snack in Korea. ??


    ?


    2. ¡®TPO¡¯ is the term that originated in Japan, which refers to a person accommodating themselves to a particular situation and acting appropriately. ?

 CH 129

    ¡°Excuse me, please.¡±?


    ?


    Since he was at Woo-Hee¡¯s school, Woo-Jin moved around campus without Kang Ho-Soo accompanying him. Hence, he didn¡¯t have anyone to clear the path for him.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin oppa, did you know that Woo-Hee is the last one standing?¡± As soon as one of the girls in the same school uniform and similar hairstyle yelled, Woo-Jin nodded and explained that was the reason why he was here.?


    ?


    ¡°So please let me through. I have to get to the auditorium. I¡¯m here today as a guardian.¡± Since Woo-Jin was at his younger sister¡¯s school, he had to be mindful of his actions and be respectful, so Woo-Jin tried his best to show that he was having a hard time trying to move through the crowd. The students probably found it to be rather hilarious, so they burst out laughing when they heard Woo-Jin call himself Woo-Hee¡¯s guardian. They followed closely behind him every time he took a step.?


    ?


    ¡°Have you ever been on Golden Ball?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t shoot it at my high school back then.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You seem to have lost some weight. Are you on a diet? Or are you preparing for your next production?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re wearing the latest Armani suit this time around. Are they sponsoring you?¡±?


    ?


    The questions got harder with each passing step. Fortunately, the production crew members noticed the commotion and went out to greet him. However, there was a particular person other than the production crew whom Woo-Jin had to impress. Woo-Jin recognized Woo-Hee¡¯s homeroom teacher as he had seen Woo-Hee¡¯s class photo the other day.?


    ?


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin, Woo-Hee¡¯s oppa. She¡¯s under my care for the time being, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hello. There¡¯s no need to be so nervous. Whenever I meet my student¡¯s guardians, their reactions are mostly the same.¡± The teacher in their[1] mid-forties stood up straight and burst out laughing as they watched Woo-Jin greet them. Regardless of how old or what the guardians¡¯ occupations were, when they met the homeroom teacher for the first time, their responses were by and large the same, save for a few arrogant ones.?


    ?


    ¡°Both you and Woo-Hee resemble your mother a lot.¡± Remarked the homeroom teacher in admiration as they brought Woo-Jin to meet the principal. The teacher had met Park Eun-Soo a couple of times before because of career counseling.?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin entered the auditorium, thunderous cries erupted. When rumors about Chae Woo-Jin visiting the school started circulating, students immediately filled the auditorium. Prior to this, none of them showed up even when their teachers urged them to go to the auditorium to show their support.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee turned around and looked at him; she looked like she was having mixed feelings ¨C she seemed happy to see her older brother as she wasn¡¯t expecting him to come, but at the same time, she looked a little embarrassed too.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee mouthed to Woo-Jin, ¡®What are you doing here?¡¯ As expected, she chided him.?


    ?


    ¡®I do what I want!¡¯?


    ?


    ¡®It¡¯s embarrassing!¡¯?


    ?


    ¡®Just think of it as fate.¡¯ Woo-Jin remarked that it was fate that their parents went on a business trip abroad, leaving behind her older brother to take care of her, and chuckled to himself.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin rarely watched Golden Ball, but he knew that the family members of the last person standing would show up to give their support. Since their parents couldn¡¯t make it, he couldn¡¯t let Woo-Hee appear on the program alone. Their parents would definitely be very upset after watching the episode when it was aired. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to see that happening on TV either. Even though it was embarrassing, it made him feel better to be able to turn up and support his younger sister.?


    ?


    The Chae siblings openly communicated with one another by mouthing words to each other in front of all the students, teachers, and production crew. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know why the female students were hitting their friends on their shoulders. It was because Woo-Jin was acting like an ordinary older brother, a side of him they had only seen on TV.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin greeted the principal and sat down next to them.[2] He clenched his fists rigidly and placed them on his knees. One by one, the students took photos of him and posted them on their social media accounts in real-time. Whichever way Woo-Jin turned, there was a camera. However, Woo-Jin had already gotten used to it, so he didn¡¯t find it strange at all. On the contrary, if they hadn¡¯t given him such attention or looked at him with friendly gazes, he would have felt strange and uneasy.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had been on her own ever since she got to the 45th question. As Woo-Jin watched her solve the problem, he was not too worried. The problems weren¡¯t difficult and he felt that she was capable enough to solve them. However, the fact that he was sandwiched between the principal and the homeroom teacher made him nervous.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin was in high school, he never had a hard time around his teachers. But now that he was sitting here in capacity as Woo-Hee¡¯s guardian, his mind went blank. Aside from being a celebrity, all he could do right now was worry incessantly about how he might put his younger sister at a disadvantage if he made a mistake or acted disrespectfully, and she might even be negatively assessed as a result.?


    ?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be nervous. Woo-Hee is a very bright girl, so she¡¯s not nervous and will do well.¡± The principal spoke to Woo-Jin in a courteous manner. They seemed to have mistaken Woo-Jin¡¯s nervousness for him being worried about Woo-Hee. Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly and said to himself: It¡¯s all because of you!?


    ?


    Woo-Jin could sense the cameras around him constantly taking pictures of him, so he had to be extra mindful about managing his facial expressions. Woo-Hee solved the 48th question with ease; it was her last chance to ask for help. Woo-Jin looked at the answer his younger sister had written on the blackboard and grinned. The host hadn¡¯t announced the correct answer yet, but Woo-Jin was certain she had gotten it right and relaxed.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s your goal for the future, Chae Woo-Hee?¡± Before revealing the answer, the host asked Woo-Hee a question.?


    ?


    ¡°I want to become a prosecutor.¡±?


    ?


    Unlike Woo-Jin who had taken the bar exam only to meet his mother¡¯s expectations, Woo-Hee had been dreaming of becoming a prosecutor for a very long time. It wasn¡¯t anybody¡¯s will ¨C she wanted to pursue it. It was her own desire. Hence, Woo-Jin was very proud of his younger sister¡¯s goal for the future.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, am I currently speaking to a future prosecutor? What kind of prosecutor do you want to be? Do you have any other dreams by any chance?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I just want to be a prosecutor. Are there different types of prosecutors? I just want to be a prosecutor that observes the law religiously.¡± Woo-Hee firmly expressed that there was no need for other types of prosecutors. A slightly bitter look flashed through the host¡¯s eyes since he knew what the reality was, but his back was facing the camera.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you have any role models?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes! My maternal uncle!¡± Woo-Hee answered immediately and glanced at Woo-Jin. She was wondering if it was okay for her to reveal details about their family relations like that. Woo-jin gently nodded his head.?


    ?


    Since Woo-Jin had become a celebrity, and they had already reconciled with their maternal side of the family, this was something that would be revealed one day. Additionally, everything that had happened between them was already water under the bridge. Nonetheless, Woo-hee seemed to feel burdened by the fact that she was the one who exposed it. Putting their relationship aside, Woo-Hee did objectively look up to her maternal uncle as her role model since a long time ago. There was no reason for her to feel burdened by this and lie about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Your maternal uncle must have been a very admirable prosecutor. It¡¯s rare for nieces to look up to their uncle like you do.¡±?


    ?


    By talking about Woo-Hee¡¯s maternal uncle, it was also implying that they were talking about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal uncle as well. In truth, apart from his younger sister, not much was known about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s family. Thus, a lot of people in the auditorium were interested in this topic and waited for Woo-Hee to continue with her story.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s a lawyer now.¡± As someone who was obsessed with prosecutors, Woo-Hee responded sullenly. Her maternal uncle used to be a prosecutor, and Woo-Hee thought he was very cool, but now that he had become a lawyer, Woo-Hee didn¡¯t think he was as amazing as he used to be. Instead, her prosecutor cousin, Park Yi-Yeon, had replaced her uncle as the focus of her care and affection.?


    ?


    ¡°Hahaha, so that means you don¡¯t think your brother is that cool.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Woo-Hee answered immediately without any hesitation. Aside from her love for her brother, there was never an instance where Woo-Hee thought Woo-Jin was particularly cool, especially since she had recently seen him cooping himself up at home, with dark clouds hanging over his head.?


    ?


    ¡°Right now, what do you think of your brother, who is here today on behalf of your family?¡± As soon as the host mentioned Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name, everyone in the auditorium cheered loudly, asking him to go on stage. When the host called his name, Woo-Jin got up from his seat and walked over to Woo-Hee.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin stood right next to Woo-Hee, everyone exclaimed in admiration. The pair of siblings resembled one another so much that it was hard to hide the fact that they were related. It was also difficult to say which one of them was the better-looking one. The beautiful siblings stood side by side; while they resembled one another, they each had their own personality. The crowd felt as though their eyes had been purified by just looking at them.?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like everyone here knows who Woo-Hee¡¯s brother is without him introducing himself, but please introduce yourself anyway.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m Woo-Hee¡¯s oppa, Chae Woo-Jin.¡± Facing the camera, Woo-Jin bowed and said his greetings. Then, he proceeded to bow and greet the students and teachers alike, one by one, looking as if he was telling them to take care of his younger sister. Woo-Hee poked Woo-Jin in the ribs and told him to stop.?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like the oppa somehow got stuck with the duty of taking care of his younger sister, but seeing you standing here next to each other makes people happy. Your parents must be very proud. Why aren¡¯t your parents here?¡± Even though the host had already known the reason, they still asked Woo-Jin in order to explain the situation to the audience.?


    ?


    ¡°My parents had to go on a business trip out of the country yesterday, so I came here on their behalf.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Both of them?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, they work in the same company.¡± The students clapped in response to Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. Because their parents went on a business trip together, they were lucky enough to get the opportunity to see Chae Woo-Jin in person.?


    ?


    ¡°However, Woo-Hee doesn¡¯t seem too happy about the fact that her brother¡¯s here. I saw Woo-Hee mouthing to you, asking why you¡¯re here.¡± As soon as the host said that, the other students yelled that they saw it too.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s strange but seeing him here makes me feel embarrassed.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re embarrassed of me?¡± When Woo-Jin placed his hand on his chest and asked, Woo-hee nodded vehemently. Woo-Jin then expressed his disappointment by tapping against his sister¡¯s heel with his foot. They look so affectionate that nobody believed Woo-Hee¡¯s words.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, we got to see how you normally behave around one another, so it was really amusing. Chae Woo-Jin, do you think that Woo-Hee will be able to throw the golden ball?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I think she will do her best regardless of the outcome. She¡¯ll do well. I don¡¯t know what it feels like since I¡¯ve never experienced anything like this back when I was in school. But now that I¡¯m here, I can see that it¡¯s a very unconventional experience that will become a fun memory for the students here to look back on in the future, so I¡¯m very envious.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin stroked Woo-Hee¡¯s head; she was wearing a hat with her friends¡¯ name tags on it. All Woo-Jin remembered about his school life was that he studied, so he was somewhat regretful about it. If he had known he was going to pursue acting, he wouldn¡¯t have joined TM and would have just enjoyed his student life. As such, he wanted Woo-Hee to experience and enjoy everything, including the things he didn¡¯t get to enjoy back then.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee understood how he felt more than anyone else; she grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked at him. Their biological parents¡¯ divorce and difficult family situation after the divorce hadn¡¯t impacted Woo-Hee as much as it did Woo-Jin. The absence of a paternal figure was not a big issue to her. Her father didn¡¯t have a huge presence in Woo-hee¡¯s life, so she didn¡¯t have any lingering feelings or attachment to him, nor did she long to see him. Even though life became increasingly difficult for them, the young Woo-Hee didn¡¯t feel it that much. She was just happy to spend every day with her mother and brother.?


    ?


    Her older brother was the one who went through hard times with their mother. Because Woo-Jin took care of her, their mother was able to work peacefully. Woo-Jin claimed he hadn¡¯t done anything for them, but he spent his childhood making sacrifices for his mother and younger sister. Woo-Jin made eye contact with his sister and smiled, telling her he was fine, and lightly flicked her forehead.?


    ?


    1. The gender of the teacher was not specified ??


    ?


    2. The gender was not specified ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 130

    ¡°Woo-Hee, you mentioned earlier that you were embarrassed by your brother, but in truth, both of you are very close to one another.¡±?


    ?


    When the host told them to hug each other, the siblings shook their heads simultaneously with a look of disgust on their faces. The audience in the auditorium burst out laughing because they were perfectly in sync, with the same look on their faces while doing the same action.?


    ?


    Recounting moving stories or outrightly professing one¡¯s love for their family was one way of expressing the love between family members, but the Chae siblings simply showed the audience their usual selves. Even though it was subtle, they looked like a family overflowing with happiness, just like how they were in their daily lives.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had gotten the 48th and 49th questions right; all she was left with was the final question. She opened her pre-selected questionnaire, and when the principal read out the question, the ambience in the auditorium instantly became tense. This was because Woo-Hee was a liberal arts student, and the question she had chosen happened to be a science question.?


    ?


    However, as soon as Woo-Hee wrote her answer on the blackboard after hearing the question, Woo-Jin took a look at it and smiled, feeling at ease. For a very long time after that, people kept talking about his smile when his younger sister was confirmed to be the winner of Golden Ball. The smile was so warm that it made people want the lovely pair of siblings to be happy.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, on this day, Woo-Jin also realized how terrifying high school girls could be. As soon as they were done shooting the episode, hundreds of students flocked towards him. His recent experience of typing continuously for more than ten hours a day to publish his novel was nothing compared to this ¡ª he had to sign that many autographs.?


    ?


    Seeing how Woo-Jin was busy taking photos and signing autographs for every student, Woo-Hee couldn¡¯t take it any longer and ultimately screamed at the top of her lungs.?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa! Don¡¯t touch anyone!¡± Despite feeling disgusted over the host¡¯s suggestion to hug her brother, Woo-Hee ran over to Woo-Jin and hugged his waist tightly as she glared at the students around them. She didn¡¯t do it out of consideration for him because she thought he might be exhausted or having a hard time dealing with these girls ¡ª she did it out of anger.?


    ?


    He¡¯s my brother¡­why are you guys making a fuss over him? Even though they were her friends, she was greedy and didn¡¯t want to share him with them. When he was in public, he might be their Chae Woo-Jin, but Woo-Jin had to be none other than Chae Woo-Hee¡¯s brother when he was with her.?


    ?


    ¡°Hey, just act normal.¡± When Woo-Jin felt awkward and told Woo-Hee how her actions were bizarre, she also acknowledged that she was acting strange.?


    ?


    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m still in the stormy period of my life. I¡¯m at the age where I don¡¯t need a reason for anything I do, regardless of what it is!¡± Thus, Woo-Hee proudly declared that she would continue acting strange to her heart¡¯s content.?


    ?


    Surprisingly, Woo-Hee¡¯s classmates empathized with her instead ¡ª they were all busy laughing and commenting that anybody with a brother like Chae Woo-Jin would want to keep him all to themselves. They were at the age where they easily made a fuss, easily felt moved, and easily empathized with others.?


    ?


    The students burst out laughing and took a group photo with Chae Woo-Jin instead. They joked that nobody but Woo-Hee was allowed to stand within one foot of him ¡ª it was known as ¡®The Woo-Hee Zone.¡¯?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin thought the expression, ¡®piles of drama and movie scripts,¡¯ was only applicable to other celebrities. However, he couldn¡¯t exactly jump for joy seeing the tall pile of scripts before his eyes. In any case, he could only pick one out of all of them, or perhaps, none at all. There was a high chance that could be the case.?


    ?


    In order to make a careful choice, Woo-Jin read all the scripts that were piled up in front of him without leaving any of them out. However, after reading the scripts, his thoughts and feelings were different from before. The experience of writing a novel allowed him to assess and analyze the scripts from different angles.?


    ?


    In the past, he would focus on the overall storyline and character¡¯s personality, but now his focus was on the overall composition and dialogues. Because he had read a lot of popular novels these days, he could get a rough idea of how the rest of the script would unfold after reading the initial portion. He could also tell if the novelty at the beginning of the story couldn¡¯t be sustained or if its chaotic development couldn''t be rectified.?


    ?


    In truth, Woo-Jin felt that his own writing was more interesting than these scripts. Even though his novel had many flaws, its storyline was undoubtedly rather interesting. He had been fortunate thus far ¡ª all the productions he had worked in had decent storylines, but most of the scripts he looked at today were below average. Because of that, Woo-Jin started the second semester of his academic year without deciding on his next production.?


    ?


    ¡°L Instinct Woo-Jin is here.¡± One of Woo-Jin¡¯s classmates greeted him with a smile as he entered the classroom. After the episode of Golden Ball had been aired, many words had been used to describe Woo-Jin. When Woo-Jin had first arrived at Woo-Hee¡¯s school, he had stiffened his back and sat up straight next to the principal as though he was being punished. When people saw how he looked, they started calling him ¡®L Instinct.¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Jin appeared on Golden Ball in the capacity of a guardian, thereby softening his previously perfect image and also making him seem more human. His parents also had fun watching it, and everyone he met was amazed by this side of him and became more friendly towards him.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you calling hyung-nim names! Please sit here, hyung-nim.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hyung-nim?¡±?


    ?


    Another classmate told the first classmate off for teasing Woo-Jin, and shook the chair next to him, offering Woo-Jin a seat. However, Woo-Jin became very guarded after hearing another male student referring to him as ¡®hyung-nim.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°If I marry your sister, you¡¯ll be my brother-in-law, so it makes sense for me to call you ¡®hyung-nim.¡¯¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hey, you shouldn¡¯t be eyeing a high school student! Did you see the look in Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes change? You¡¯ve been blacklisted from this moment onwards.¡± Woo-Jin nodded and agreed vehemently with the person that chided the classmate who called him ¡®hyung-nim.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t enough ¡ª Woo-Jin walked over to a seat as far away from the blacklisted person as possible before sitting down.?


    ?


    Unfortunately, after that episode of Golden Ball had been aired, people had been asking Woo-Jin to introduce Woo-Hee to them, both celebrities and schoolmates alike. If they too were high schoolers like Woo-Hee, Woo-Jin would have complied, but they were adults in their mid-twenties, so it was disgusting. When he got mad and went, ¡®What the hell are you talking about, she¡¯s just a high school student,¡¯ they responded with, ¡®Why does it matter? She¡¯ll be a college student in a few months anyway.¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Hee was as good-looking as her older brother, and she was smart; she wasn¡¯t lacking in any aspect. However, dating was something only Woo-Hee should decide for herself. Woo-Jin might be her older brother, but it wasn¡¯t up to him to determine whether he should introduce someone to her or not. The people Woo-Jin thought would be good for Woo-Hee didn¡¯t make a move, while the ones who, in his opinion, should stay as far away from his sister as possible had been badgering him.?


    ?


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking her to date me right away. She¡¯ll be enrolling in our school next year, no? By then, we would be close¡­.¡± Of course, some said these things as a joke, while others meant what they said. In this case, it was the latter.?


    ?


    ¡°My sister has high standards.¡±?


    ?


    Unlike Woo-jin, Woo-Hee nitpicked on a lot of things, from appearance, academic and family background, to character. As days went by, she became more and more demanding in terms of what she wanted in a partner. When Woo-Jin told her earnestly that she would be spending the rest of her life alone at this rate, she responded that one should set high standards to start with, so they could lower them gradually when needed. From her response, it was apparent she had never been in a relationship before.?


    ?


    While she said that, the people who heard it interpreted it differently. As someone who grew up together with an older brother like Chae Woo-Jin, Chae Woo-Hee was not impressed by most of the male population.?


    ?


    ¡°For some reason, I feel worse because I can¡¯t refute it.¡± The male classmate was treated like the world¡¯s number one prince at home, but in front of Chae Woo-Jin, he couldn¡¯t help losing his groundless confidence. In this situation, the expression ¡®wishful thinking¡¯ was so apt that nobody sided with him.?


    ?


    ¡°By the way, your maternal uncle worked for the Seoul District Prosecutors¡¯ Office?¡±?


    ?


    That was another consequence of Golden Ball. The people who weren¡¯t interested in Chae Woo-Jin, the celebrity, were very interested in his maternal uncle¡¯s identity. They were mainly the people who had taken the recent bar exam and were currently waiting for the results of the second round. In a bid to get out of the earlier situation with the blacklisted classmate, Woo-Jin happened to sit behind a classmate who had also taken the recent bar exam.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Could you tell me his name?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why? He¡¯s no longer working there. What¡¯s the point of knowing his name¡­?¡± Nobody was better than his maternal uncle when it came to seeking connections in the industry. Hence, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t lie and replied evasively.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any legal professionals, so I was wondering if I could get some advice for the interview stage if I pass the second exam¡­ I¡¯m kind of shameless, right?¡± As his classmate spoke, perhaps he felt ashamed, so he scratched his head. While he was indeed shameless, anybody in his situation would have had the same concern and done the same thing. Woo-Jin did not think negatively of him after thinking that way. On the other hand, if Woo-Jin were in his situation, he might have been equally shameless and asked for the same favor.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯ll be hard for my maternal uncle. He¡¯s very busy these days. Also, if you pass the second round, wouldn¡¯t you be fine for your interview? Nobody has failed the interview in recent years.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Instead of feeling disappointed by Woo-Jin¡¯s reply, his classmate became less nervous, and his face became brighter. He checked his surroundings before asking Woo-Jin softly. No one else could hear him.?


    ?


    ¡°What about you? Do you think you¡¯ll pass?¡± He had run into Woo-Jin during the second round of the bar exam. When he saw Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name on the list of candidates who had passed the first round, he was a little skeptical. However, there weren¡¯t any rumors, and none of the professors mentioned it as well, so he assumed it was someone else with the same name. He knew people had talked about it on the internet momentarily, but the topic immediately disappeared. However, he happened to run into Woo-Jin right when he left the exam venue after the exam ended.?


    ?


    At that time, he wondered why Woo-Jin was taking the bar exam, but after watching Golden Ball, he could kind of understand why. Even though it was his maternal side of the family, if any of them were legal professionals, Woo-Jin might feel pressured to take the bar exam against his will. Thus, his classmate speculated that Woo-Jin''s family was highly likely to have more than one legal professional.?


    ?


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Wow~!¡± Hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s straightforward and honest answer, the classmate deeply admired him. Some people around them noticed it and shifted their gazes towards them.?


    ?


    ¡°I envy you.¡± Even as he said it, his classmate couldn¡¯t decide what he was envious of ¡ª the fact that Chae Woo-Jin could say that he would pass with confidence or just his overall confidence. It was hard for him to tell which was the case.?


    ?


    However, everybody who went to school with Chae Woo-Jin acknowledged his abilities. They didn¡¯t doubt Woo-Jin¡¯s academic achievements and considered them a fluke or questioned whether he played any dirty tricks. Hence, his classmate wasn¡¯t jealous of him even though Woo-Jin was confident of passing the exam. Somehow, he was envious and scared because Woo-Jin seemed so perfect that it was meaningless to be jealous. On the other hand, he had also wondered what Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s final destination would be. They were in the same place, but Woo-Jin was no longer here.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Rayford looked around as he left the airport.?


    ?


    {What¡¯s wrong?} Hugh frowned after seeing his friend¡¯s strange behavior.?


    ?


    Rayford exclaimed in disbelief, {There¡¯s not a single reporter! No one came to welcome us. Is this even possible?}?


    ?


    {Of course. This is an unofficial trip to Korea.}?


    ?


    {But still, how can anybody not know that I¡¯m here!}?


    ?


    Rayford was a world-renowned movie director and producer with two consecutive box office hits under his belt. He was a well-known figure whom the paparazzi tended to follow around. The cameras followed him wherever he went, documenting his every move. Naturally, nobody could have known about their trip to Korea because they did everything stealthily like the characters in a spy movie.?


    ?


    {What did I even expect from people with sloppy intel?} Rayford came to a strange conclusion as to why nobody from Korea approached them about the movie.?


    ?


    After arriving in Seoul and unpacking their luggage at the hotel, they headed downtown without much thought. In any case, they were tourists who were currently touring around Korea. As they walked and checked for the touristy routes and famous restaurants they had looked up in advance, Hugh saw a large billboard on a building. He nudged his friend.

 CH 131

    {Oh, oh, your prince is over there!}?


    ?


    A video of Genie wearing a traditional Korean costume, dancing with a sword, was playing on the billboard. A movie trailer appeared shortly after.?


    ?


    {What is that fluttery outfit he¡¯s wearing? It looks like a skirt, but it¡¯s not feminine. It¡¯s exquisite and stylish, though? Is that black thing on top of his head a hat?} As Rayford continued asking questions, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the trailer. He didn¡¯t know anything about the movie itself, but the graphics and composition of the video looked so good that it was attention-grabbing even though it was short. He didn¡¯t know if they were dancing or fighting with a sword, but it was so intense and sharp that it was breathtaking. It was very fast-paced as well, and the composition of the video was ever-changing.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s Korea¡¯s traditional costume. I heard he was shooting a historical movie, so I guess that must be the one. Hey, look over there.} As Hugh answered, he pointed at their surroundings. Quite a number of people had stopped in their tracks on the streets to watch the trailer with a dreamy look in their eyes. Their gazes were full of love and admiration for Genie.?


    ?


    {He must be very popular in Korea.}?


    ?


    {He hasn¡¯t exactly done much to promote himself or boost his popularity, but it seems like he¡¯s starting to build a fanbase in China and Japan these days as well.}?


    ?


    He didn¡¯t go out of his way to act in productions or promote himself overseas for the sake of becoming a Hallyu star. Still, recently, his popularity was increasing in East Asia. It wasn¡¯t forced either. And judging by the fact that the majority of his fanbase was created naturally without any help from external factors, it was a sign that he would explode in popularity soon. This was a result created by an actor who had debuted only a year ago.?


    ?


    {You know a lot, huh?} While Rayford was preoccupied with focusing only on Actor Chae Woo-Jin and nothing else, Hugh looked into the other external factors and forecasted his potential.?


    ?


    {Ray, I bet my life and death on this movie as much as you did. Did you think I picked just any random actor for this movie?} Hugh chanced upon the video on YouTube and fell in love with Genie, but that was not the only reason why he picked him. He would not be qualified to be a producer if he hadn¡¯t taken marketability as well as various conditions into consideration, just like Rayford.?


    ?


    {Is he currently shooting that movie?} While listening to Hugh¡¯s response, Rayford felt disappointed that the trailer had ended.?


    ?


    {It will be released in a few days.}?


    ?


    {You truly know everything, huh.}?


    ?


    {I think you¡¯re more incredible.} Hugh mentioned why Rayford didn¡¯t have any other plans or contingencies for their trip and sighed. Impromptu planning was Rayford¡¯s greatest forte, but in truth, he wouldn¡¯t have been as successful as he was today without the calm and collected Hugh by his side.?


    ?


    {Let¡¯s have dinner first. We¡¯re currently on vacation.}?


    ?


    {Yeah, we¡¯re on vacation,} Rayford replied cheerfully and blindly walked forward.?


    ?


    {Not that way.}?


    ?


    {Yes!}?


    ?


    As soon as Hugh said that while looking at the Maps app on his phone, Rayford turned around and walked back to his friend. There were a lot of customers at the bulgogi restaurant listed in the tour booklet, and the quantity of meat was little for its price. It would have been nice if it was delicious, but the meat was tough, and they had served them wilted greens. On top of that, their customer service was terrible.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m worried.}?


    ?


    {About what?}?


    ?


    {I guess I¡¯m just wondering if my prince will be like this too. There are only a lot of rumors about him, and I think I¡¯d be very disappointed if I find out he¡¯s nothing more than a pretty doll on the outside.}?


    ?


    {Just disappointed?}?


    ?


    {I¡¯d be sad too.}?


    ?


    After watching Genie¡¯s commercial, Rayford¡¯s love for him solidified. Looking at Genie¡¯s ensemble ¡ª a suit with a sword on his back, his appearance was exactly what Rayford had always imagined Jin to be. In their upcoming movie, their character, Jin, would be wearing a suit as well. He was a cold-hearted, and rational swordsman who wore glasses with his bangs swept neatly to the back. However, he couldn¡¯t help but fall in love with Genie¡¯s appearance despite the absence of glasses.?


    ?


    In truth, the Japanese actor that Rayford secretly had in mind was not very tall. Additionally, he was of mixed-race, so he didn¡¯t exactly look very Asian, so Rayford had been feeling conflicted about it the entire time. And on the other hand, Genie was slim and tall with beautiful Asian facial features. Now that Genie had come into the picture, it was meaningless to fret over the Japanese actor. More importantly, Genie could speak English.?


    ?


    After hearing him speak English with a foreigner on a variety TV show that he made a guest appearance on, he learned that he had a more accurate English pronunciation than Rayford and Hugh themselves, who went to Ivy League schools. This meant that they didn¡¯t have any issue working with him right away. In fact, most of the Asian actors they had considered for Jin¡¯s role had some problems with communication. So being able to communicate well with one another would change their depth of understanding of the production, allowing them to save a lot of trouble when working together.?


    ?


    After gradually learning more and more about how perfect Genie was, his expectations kept growing and growing. In the case of English-speaking Hollywood actors, they could grasp their abilities and limitations to a certain extent, so there was no difficulty casting the right roles for them. However, Genie looked so glamorous and perfect that it made Rayford somewhat uneasy. It was frustrating because he couldn¡¯t estimate his actual skills based on his appearance.?


    ?


    More importantly, he didn¡¯t understand Korean, so he had some doubts about whether he was indeed a good actor. He couldn¡¯t help but be doubtful if Genie could still maintain the same level of acting if he were to speak English instead of Korean. Hence, Hugh proposed they organize an official audition for Genie for the part, but the doubtful Rayford had rejected it.?


    ?


    {We¡¯re just trying to cast one person, you don¡¯t have to dig so deep and make it so complicated.}?


    ?


    {You know better than me that auditions aren¡¯t a good way to gauge an actor¡¯s skills. There were many cases where an actor prepared and practiced the same part to the death and acted it out perfectly at the audition but failed to live up to expectations when acting out the other parts during the production.} Hugh was speechless after hearing Rayford¡¯s argument, and then he proceeded to argue with him.?


    ?


    {You were the one who selected those actors in those cases that you¡¯re currently talking about! I told you not to rush and look at the other actors too before finalizing them, but what did you say? There wasn¡¯t any need because they were good enough, didn¡¯t you? But why are you being particularly strict when it comes to Genie?}?


    ?


    {I know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m being careful! I¡¯m not going to make the same mistake this time around. Do you want me to make the same mistake again?} Hugh sighed after hearing Rayford¡¯s justification and replied, ¡®That¡¯s why I came here with you.¡¯ His friend was finally being careful after such a long time, so Hugh wasn¡¯t planning on objecting to that.?


    ?


    {How are you going to verify Genie¡¯s acting skills? Is there a way for ¡®ordinary travelers¡¯ like us to meet a top celebrity? And even if we do get to meet him, how will we put his acting skills to the test?} After hearing Hugh¡¯s question, Rayford looked as though he was faced with an unexpected problem and simply blinked. Unfortunately, after rejecting Hugh¡¯s proposal to request an audition with Genie from his agency, he scheduled a flight to Korea out of the blue, so he currently had no thoughts or plans for their next step.?


    ?


    {About that¡­ Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure?}?


    ?


    {I seriously resent my parents for moving into the house next to yours 30 years ago.}?


    ?


    {I think of your parents as my lifelong saviors.} Rayford blinked and tried to act in a cutesy manner as Hugh was about to explode in anger. However, the aegyo of the man in his late thirties absolutely had no effect on Hugh, the victim of Rayford¡¯s antics over the past 30 years.?


    ?


    {Gross. Turn your head away from me.}?


    ?


    {Yes!}?


    ?


    After their disappointing dinner, just like that, their first day in Korea came to an end. Fortunately, the hotel bed was soft, and the breakfast they had the following day was to their liking.?


    ?


    They had given up on looking for famous, popular restaurants among tourists and settled for a moderately crowded restaurant for lunch. Their meal turned out to be much more satisfying than the bulgogi they had the day before. After that, on the pretext of sightseeing, they went to the school Woo-Jin attended ¡ª Korea University.?


    ?


    {He¡¯s not here.}?


    ?


    {He¡¯s not here, huh.}?


    ?


    Hugh found the building where Genie had his classes and went to check with Rayford, but they couldn¡¯t find him. Since they didn¡¯t know Korean, they couldn¡¯t ask around for his whereabouts, so it was pointless for them to keep waiting for him outside the building for hours. It happened to be Friday; Woo-Jin had no classes that day.?


    ?


    {He¡¯s not here.}?


    ?


    {Yeah¡­.}?


    ?


    The day after their fruitless trip to Korea University, Hugh turned to the internet this time around. He found some information about Genie on the websites used by foreign tourists in Korea. As soon as he saw a post that had been uploaded in real-time by tourists who happened to see Genie at a department store, making a huge fuss about it, they headed there. And they did see him, someone who looked a lot like Genie.?


    ?


    However, he was just a copycat who wore similar makeup as Genie and dressed in similar clothing. He wasn¡¯t Genie himself.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t tell me the Genie they were referring to was him? It¡¯s so obvious that it¡¯s all makeup and plastic surgery, though?}?


    ?


    {I guess¡­.}?


    ?


    There seemed to be some misunderstanding and confusion. If it was any consolation, they had seen quite many people approach the man in question, thinking he was Genie. They weren¡¯t the only idiots here.?


    ?


    {What exactly did you search for?}?


    ?


    {It¡¯s always better to get more information. I pieced it together, and to get the best results¡­.}?


    ?


    {Shut up!} It was Hugh¡¯s turn to shut up this time around.?


    ?


    Feeling thirsty, they bought the coffee Genie had done a commercial for and then sat on a bench on the street and drank it.?


    ?


    {I didn¡¯t know it would be this hard to meet an actor. I usually see one or two actors within five minutes after leaving the house¡­.} Hugh nodded vehemently and agreed with Ray. It had been a while since he shared the same sentiment with Ray. If they could speak Korean, they might hear rumors about what Genie was currently doing, even if it was not in real-time.?


    ?


    {Shall we take the opportunity to learn Korean?}?


    ?


    {Fighting![1]} Ray welcomed Hugh¡¯s suggestion. He chuckled and told Hugh that they finally agreed on something together.?


    ?


    {Yeah, let¡¯s fight!} Hugh said quietly.?


    ?


    After wasting two days just like that, Ray and Hugh looked less stressed as they walked down the streets. They didn¡¯t forget to comfort and repeat to themselves that they were merely sightseeing right now. However, for some reason, everywhere they went, whenever they turned their heads, Genie was right there. They passed by a store with a life-size cardboard cutout of Genie; they watched a trailer for Genie¡¯s movie on a billboard down the street, and they ate while watching Genie¡¯s commercial at the restaurant.?


    ?


    {I can¡¯t do this!}?


    ?


    Rayford refused to walk around anymore and searched for a place to rest and plan for Operation ¡®Casting Genie.¡¯ And there wasn¡¯t any place more suitable than a cafe to sit down and draw up a plan for hours.?


    ?


    {Dinky cafe?}?


    ?


    Rayford pointed to a cafe and dragged Hugh there. Unlike its name, the cafe seemed to occupy the entire building. Unfortunately, the first floor was already filled with people so they couldn¡¯t find a table to sit at. Normally, they would have just left the place, but they looked around the cafe from a tourist''s perspective. Most of the people in that spacious cafe were locals. Meaning it was popular among locals, unlike those places recommended in the tourist brochure. They didn¡¯t want to miss out on a place like this again.?


    ?


    {Excuse me, are there any other seats available?} Hugh shared the same sentiment as Rayford and grabbed one of the employees passing by. As soon as the employee looked at the foreigners, they widened their eyes and answered.?


    ?


    ¡°I don''t speak English!¡±?


    ?


    {I understand your English well enough, though? Your pronunciation is good too.} Despite Hugh¡¯s remark, the employee shook their head and walked away.?


    ?


    1. In this context, it means ¡®let¡¯s go!¡¯ It''s a term Koreans use to cheer someone on or wish them good luck. It is used to express encouragement and show support for a person¡¯s actions. ?

 CH 132

    {What is this terrible customer service?}?


    ?


    {I guess it¡¯s going to be hard for us to stay here.}?


    ?


    {What should we do? Leave?}?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t know. I think that flight of stairs leads to the second floor. Shall we go up?} It looked like a two-story cafe from the outside. There weren¡¯t any available tables on the first floor, so Hugh thought they should go up to the second floor before figuring out their next move. Hugh beckoned to Rayford, and as he was about to take the next step, someone who appeared to be the owner of the cafe approached them.?


    ?


    ¡°Hello! Nice meet you¡­?[1] Is that how you say it? In any case, welcome![2]¡± Just like his employee, the owner did not have a good command of English. He smiled awkwardly and led them straight to the second floor. Even though they couldn¡¯t communicate with each other, he could tell they were customers. Kim Tae-Hwa didn¡¯t have any trouble serving foreigners back when she was working part-time at the cafe. At times like these, the cafe owner missed her a lot.?


    ?


    The second floor was packed with customers. Fortunately, there was an empty table. The boss led the foreigners there and spoke to a customer who was sitting by the window beside the empty table.?


    ?


    ¡°Um, Woo-Jin! I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but are you good at English?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What. Ah¡­¡± Woo-Jin saw a foreigner standing behind the cafe owner and immediately understood his plight. Woo-Jin had arrived ahead of time for his meeting with Hyun-Min, so he readily agreed to help the owner. Woo-Jin got up from his seat and approached the men who were staring blankly at him and spoke to them.?


    ?


    {Excuse me, the cafe owner asked me to translate for him. Would that be alright?}?


    ?


    {Ahh¡­} As soon as Hugh nodded with a blank expression on his face, Woo-Jin asked if they were customers. Woo-Jin then told them if they were customers, this was the only table remaining and asked for their kind understanding.?


    ?


    {May I help you with your order?}?


    ?


    {O-of course. That would be great.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin handed them the menu on behalf of the owner and gave them his honest opinion.?


    ?


    {To be honest, I only drink the Americano here, so I¡¯m not the best person to recommend drinks to you. If you have a favorite type of coffee bean, you can order from the list here.}?


    ?


    Since the menu was written in both Korean and English, Woo-Jin did not have to explain each and every item. However, because Rayford and Hugh told Woo-Jin about their taste and preferences, Woo-Jin was able to recommend drinks to them.?


    ?


    Hugh went with Woo-Jin¡¯s go-to Americano, while Rayford ordered a cinnamon sprinkled caf¨¦ mocha. Both of them exchanged glances. Rayford looked very proud and pleased with himself as he was the person who dragged Hugh to this cafe. He looked at Hugh with a slightly arrogant look.?


    ?


    The way ¡®ordinary travelers¡¯ could meet a top celebrity like the one Hugh had been talking about earlier was to go to the right cafe. Waiting in front of a school? Searching on the internet? Learning Korean? None of those were the answer.?


    ?


    Naturally, they didn¡¯t know such great fortune was awaiting them when the cafe owner led them to the second floor. Even when the cafe owner spoke to the man sitting by the window, they still didn¡¯t know his identity. The moment the man by the window turned his head towards them and stood up, Rayford closed his eyes for a moment because of the sunlight pouring in through the window. As the blinding figure approached them with the sunlight shining against his back, both of them could tell right away who he was.?


    ?


    Rayford had found all the movies and shows Genie acted in and watched them several times on a big screen. Because of that, he was confident he could recognize Genie¡¯s face in any situation and at any moment. Thus, with glasses being Genie¡¯s only disguise and the absence of a hat or a mask, there was absolutely no way Rayford couldn¡¯t recognize him. More importantly, he was even more appreciative because of their encounter with the fake Genie the day before.?


    ?


    Both of them were able to put themselves in the shoes of fans who met their favorite celebrity when Genie walked up to them and initiated a conversation to help them with interpretation. It seemed as though the other customers in the cafe were already aware of Genie¡¯s presence ¨C initially, they¡¯d stare at Genie for a while before looking somewhere else. They had either gotten over their initial excitement before Rayford and Hugh arrived, or were mature enough to respect the privacy of celebrities. Regardless, Genie seemed to be enjoying his leisure time in peace.?


    ?


    Under the table, Hugh gently stepped on Rayford¡¯s foot. He was trying to tell Rayford to try talking to Woo-Jin, but Rayford was currently in a trance, staring at him. In situations like that, Rayford was the best at being thick-skinned.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s my first time visiting Korea, so I don¡¯t know what to do.} Rayford quickly exclaimed as soon as Genie was about to get up. In truth, he wanted to tell Genie he didn¡¯t know what to do after running into him in this cafe.?


    ?


    {Did you come to Korea to sightsee?} Fortunately, Genie seemed interested in having a conversation. Hugh nodded in response, but Rayford shook his head. Both of them then stared at each other as though they wanted to kill one another. Hugh sighed on the inside and thought to himself: You can¡¯t even get this one thing right? This time around, he shook his head, but Rayford nodded.?


    ?


    {We came here for business and pleasure.} Ultimately, Hugh replied that they came to Korea for business and pleasure. And then there was a moment of silence at the table. The ambience was very tense ¨C it was either filled with awkwardness or nervousness.?


    ?


    {You¡¯re very handsome. By any chance, are you an actor?} Rayford couldn¡¯t tolerate the silence anymore; he spoke amiably to Genie first. Hugh kicked him in the shin under the table right after that. They were hiding their identities, but even then, Hugh felt embarrassed by Rayford¡¯s typical conversation starter.?


    ?


    If Rayford had said that in Hollywood, everyone would have been happy and flattered to hear that. However, this time it would only result in the other party being more guarded.?


    ?


    {Thank you for thinking so highly of me.} Genie neither confirmed nor denied it; he merely accepted Rayford¡¯s compliment, and reacted in a prudent manner.?


    ?


    {I¡¯ll get going¡­}?


    ?


    {Is there a travel destination you¡¯d recommend to foreigners like us?} Hugh the tourist interrupted Genie and looked at him innocently. He also didn¡¯t forget to take out the travel brochures and memo pad from his bag. In that way, it would make him look like a fairly enthusiastic tourist. He thought he would be able to pique Genie¡¯s interest, even if it was just a little.?


    ?


    {We wanted to have a free and easy impromptu trip, but as you can see, we can¡¯t speak any Korean. Since we didn¡¯t make any plans beforehand, we don¡¯t know anything. I know it might be rude on our part to ask you about it, but we¡¯re just glad we finally got to meet someone whom we can communicate with for the first time in days. You¡¯re the only one we can currently turn to for help.} Rayford had once told Hugh that he would have become a scam artist if he hadn¡¯t become a screenwriter. The latter begged Genie as he looked at him with tears in his eyes.?


    ?


    {It would be much better for you to go through a travel agency instead of me.} Hugh refused to give up even after looking at the innocent look on Genie¡¯s face that implied he didn¡¯t know anything about sightseeing either.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s supposed to be a free and easy trip though ¨C there¡¯s no romance in engaging the services of a travel agency. Isn¡¯t encountering and developing an unexpected connection with a stranger at a travel destination the beauty of traveling?} As Hugh spoke, he tapped Rayford in the shin once again with his toes. He was trying to tell Rayford not to remain quiet and to help him out. However, he soon realized it was a bad call.?


    ?


    {We met here because of fate. Shall we exchange phone numbers?} Hugh noticed how Genie¡¯s eyes trembled slightly as he looked at Rayford whipping out his phone with a gleam in his eyes. It was not like Rayford was trying to hit on Genie, so Hugh wondered what he was trying to pull. Hence, Hugh gathered all the strength in his toes and kicked his friend in the shin as hard as he could.?


    ?


    {Ack!}?


    ?


    Rayford suddenly lowered his head and looked like he was in pain. Genie looked at him and was puzzled by his reaction. Hugh said calmly.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine. He has a chronic disease. It¡¯s about time for him to have a seizure.}?


    ?


    {In that case, he should take some¡­}?


    ?


    {There isn¡¯t any medicine that can cure him.} Hugh waved his hand and told Genie to forget about what his friend had just said.?


    ?


    {Ah! Come to think of it, we don¡¯t know each other¡¯s names. I¡¯m Hugh, and that sick person is Rayford. You can just call him Ray.}?


    ?


    This was their first meeting, yet one person asked to exchange numbers while the other person casually revealed their names. Woo-Jin looked at them and sighed. He wondered if they were even telling the truth when they said it was their first time in Korea and that they were currently traveling. Woo-Jin was even more suspicious of their identities, but Woo-Jin¡¯s name was not a secret in Korea, and he had no reason to hide it either.?


    ?


    {My name is Woo-Jin.} Fortunately, his name was not difficult for foreigners to pronounce. When the two foreigners heard his name, they were thrilled and exchanged glances with each other before exchanging whispers. Woo-Jin roughly heard the word ¡®Jin¡¯ and something about destiny.?


    ?


    Seeing as the two people were having a conversation between themselves, Woo-Jin tried to leave for real this time as he had no reason to stay. However, Woo-Jin felt something tugging him, so he looked down and saw Rayford pulling the hem of his clothes.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked at Rayford¡¯s face and the hem of his clothes that was in Rayford¡¯s hand, alternating between the two with a suspicious look on his face. Rayford then gently let go of his clothes; he swept his blonde hair back with his fingers and asked Woo-Jin a question.?


    ?


    {Do you know me by any chance?} As soon as the blue-eyed caucasian with blonde hair looked at him with gleaming eyes and asked the question, Woo-Jin¡¯s first reaction was to look at his surroundings. Woo-Jin thought these two people had been acting kind of strange since a while ago, but he finally understood what was happening. He thought it was a hidden camera prank, which he had only heard of up until now. However, there weren¡¯t any variety TV programs these days that had a hidden camera segment, so he wasn¡¯t too sure.?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t know who you are.} As soon as Woo-Jin gave an honest answer, Rayford trembled, looking very shocked. Hugh sat across from him and witnessed the entire thing. He was seen covering his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter. At this moment, Woo-Jin was convinced that it was a hidden camera prank.?


    ?


    He didn¡¯t think it was a regular segment ¨C he thought it was a hidden camera for a one-off event of some variety show. Since Red Enemy was about to be released soon, Woo-Jin speculated that the production company or his agency must have planned it in secret for the sake of creating publicity.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was still not a fan of variety TV programs, but he didn¡¯t stubbornly object to them as much as he used to in the past. He might have given the green light if it was needed to create publicity.?


    ?


    {Really? Do you really not know who I am?} Woo-Jin was conflicted for a moment as he watched Rayford ask him again in desperation. Woo-Jin quickly thought about the best way to make the situation as interesting as possible, as well as the best way to react in this situation ¨C if he were to be too patronizing, he would seem like a pushover, and it would make things difficult for him in the future. If he were to act coldly, it could worsen his image.?


    ?


    {Do I have to know?} Woo-Jin tried to be as polite as possible while maintaining his distance. After hearing his response, Rayford tugged on his hair and exclaimed.?


    ?


    {I can¡¯t believe this! How can you not know who I am?} Woo-Jin took a closer look at Rayford after hearing his words. Woo-Jin thought he might have been a famous celebrity overseas, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t recognize him.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m sorry. He¡¯s quite famous in America, so he thinks everybody would recognize him wherever he goes. He doesn¡¯t know how big the world is.}?


    ?


    {Ah, I see. If you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll get back to my business now.} Woo-Jin answered flatly and bowed before returning to his table.?


    ?


    Perhaps, the concept behind the hidden camera prank today was ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction when meeting a foreign celebrity¡¯. It was evident that it was an experiment about choosing between protecting his pride, or showing everyone how flustered he was.?


    ?


    After returning to his seat, Woo-jin pretended to drink his coffee that had already cooled down while observing the foreigners¡¯ reflection in the window. Even though the reflection was blurry, he could see Rayford and Hugh arguing with one another. Woo-Jin guessed that they were probably discussing their next move or getting instructions.?


    ?


    1. This was written in Korean, but basically English with a Korean pronunciation. ??


    ?


    2. This is 100% Korean ?

 CH 133

    {What exactly does that make me now?} Rayford asked.?


    ?


    {Isn¡¯t it true? You¡¯re a famous director in America, not here. The main leads of your movies are famous in Korea, but you aren¡¯t.}?


    ?


    Rayford was a well-known director, so many people worldwide recognized his face. However, it wasn¡¯t to the point that any random person he met abroad on the streets by chance would recognize him. Hugh felt sorry for his narcissistic friend and clicked his tongue softly.?


    ?


    {Nevertheless, he¡¯s still an actor, no?}?


    ?


    On the other hand, Rayford¡¯s argument was not entirely invalid. The general public might not know who he was, but actors often recognized the faces of international film directors abroad, especially a ¡®famous director¡¯ like himself.?


    ?


    {Even if he knows who you are, he would have only seen you in pictures. Besides, you look much better in pictures than in real life, unlike some people.} Hugh pointed at Genie with his chin and laughed at Rayford.?


    ?


    If one had to evaluate Genie¡¯s aura and appearance as an actor, he was much better in person than in videos. Hence, as soon as they saw him, they could recognize him without a shred of doubt.?


    ?


    {I know, I did tell the paparazzi and reporters not to photoshop my pictures too much! It¡¯s time for me to make a move to restore our image that you destroyed.} As soon as Hugh got up from his seat with a cup of coffee in his hand, Woo-Jin quickly lowered his gaze ¡ª he had been watching their reflection in the window the entire time. Woo-Jin felt very nervous. It seems like they¡¯re officially starting the hidden camera prank now. ?


    ?


    {Are you here alone?} Hugh asked as he gently sat down in front of Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    {No, I¡¯m meeting a friend here. I¡¯m currently waiting for him.}?


    ?


    {You must have been taken aback earlier because of my friend, right? He thinks he¡¯s famous, like an actor or something.}?


    ?


    {Is he really an actor?} Woo-Jin asked as he glanced over at Rayford. Rayford was looking at him too. He didn¡¯t have the looks of a typical actor, but he wasn¡¯t bad-looking. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know if he was truly an actor from another country or a foreign actor active in Korea, so he wanted to clarify with Hugh.?


    ?


    {Actor? Oh please! Never say such a thing to him. He might let it get to his head and really quit his job to become an actor.} And then Hugh took out a business card from his wallet and gave it to Woo-Jin. After looking at what was written on the card, Woo-Jin raised his brows slightly.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was well-aware of who Hugh Miller of LL-Studio was. He was already a successful screenwriter in Hollywood, a founding member of LL-Studio, and a producer directly involved in movie productions. But unfortunately, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what he looked like.?


    ?


    {You¡¯re very famous.}?


    ?


    Hugh was bewildered by Woo-Jin¡¯s indifferent reaction. Hiding their identities and approaching Woo-Jin before putting him to the test and casting him, just like what Rayford wanted, was nothing but a pipe dream. In reality, they were just foreigners having a hard time holding a conversation with Genie. The most realistic and appropriate procedure would have been to openly reveal who they were and propose to Woo-Jin to do an official audition. More importantly, it was also the most polite and proper way of making an offer to the actor they wanted. Hence, Hugh gave Woo-Jin his business card and tried to be honest with him, but the other party only showed indifference.?


    ?


    {You¡¯re also famous, aren¡¯t you, Genie?}?


    ?


    Hugh had dropped all pretense and called Chae Woo-Jin by his nickname. Woo-Jin¡¯s real name was not hard to pronounce, but they had already gotten used to his nickname, Genie.?


    ?


    (So you do know who I am. I sensed something fishy earlier. I am indeed Chae Woo-Jin, but can you prove you¡¯re the real Hugh Miller? Surely this business card is not enough to verify your identity.}?


    ?


    As expected, Hugh confirmed that Woo-Jin really didn¡¯t know what they looked like. He took out his phone and quickly found an article with their picture before handing it to Woo-Jin. The photo was taken at the premiere of their recent movie with the other actors standing next to them.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked at Hugh, comparing him to the picture, before looking at Rayford again. And barely managed to hold back his laughter.?


    ?


    {Ah! My friend told the reporter to edit his face in the photo, and that was the end result. He¡¯s the one in the picture.}?


    ?


    Even though Hugh was telling the truth, Woo-Jin was only taking it with a grain of salt. The person in the photo and the person claiming to be Rayford looked very different. They certainly shared some similarities, but it would be a bit of a stretch to say they were the same person. Nevertheless, Woo-Jin acknowledged the hard work of the hidden camera crew for finding people who looked this similar to the actual people. At the very least, Hugh Miller looked like the person in the photo.?


    ?


    Hugh and Rayford were known for being flexible about street casting. As a result, quite a number of actors had caught their eye by chance and made their debut. They were now successful actors in Hollywood. Because of that, Woo-Jin remembered hearing about people deliberately camping on the streets they passed through, waiting for them.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin tried his best to hold back his laughter and returned the business card to Hugh. He finally figured out the topic for today¡¯s hidden camera prank ¡ª it was a hidden camera prank where they disguised some people as famous Hollywood producers, offering to cast him in a movie, and was aimed at seeing his reaction.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled calmly and swept his bangs to the back with his hands. He felt that these people were going a little too far. Every actor dreamed of going to Hollywood and making it big. That was the same for Woo-Jin. He wouldn¡¯t have been fooled even if he didn¡¯t know it was a hidden camera prank, but this experiment seemed like a terrible joke by giving people false hopes.?


    ?


    {Why did you show me your business card?} Woo-Jin pretended to be fooled. He was very curious about their next move and what they would say to him.?


    ?


    {We¡¯re in the midst of preparing for our upcoming movie. We need an Asian actor for a supporting character in our movie, and we¡¯re thinking about casting you. We¡¯ve seen your work and Rayford is very fascinated with Genie, the actor. Of course, I know the standard procedure is to send an official request for an audition to your agency and discuss the offer, but our curiosity about you has brought us here.}?


    ?


    Despite Hugh¡¯s earnest confession, Woo-Jin kept still with his arms folded and a slight smile on his face. For some reason, the look on his face didn¡¯t seem like the reaction of a person who had just received great news.?


    ?


    {It seems like you ran into me here by chance, huh.}?


    ?


    {Exactly! Isn¡¯t this fate!} Hugh wanted to refrain from using that expression, but he couldn¡¯t find a better word to describe the current situation other than this clich¨¦d, overused line. Even though he was a writer, he was reminded of the limitations of words and expressions at times like this.?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t think it can be considered fate.}?


    ?


    {Huh?}?


    ?


    {The ¡®fate¡¯ you speak of is used to express the hope of some kind of potential in our future.} As Woo-Jin spoke, Hugh shook his head slightly. His writer¡¯s instinct subconsciously kicked in and was about to ramble on, but he managed to stop himself. There was a dignified look on Woo-Jin¡¯s frowning face. He didn¡¯t look like an actor who had just received an offer from a famous movie producer.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin sipped on his coffee gracefully and looked at Hugh with a bitter smile. He was currently feeling conscious of the hidden camera, which could be anywhere, thus explaining the look on his face.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s crucial for the producers to choose the right actors for their production, but the actors themselves have an equally important role in making the final decision as to whether or not they want to do it. Even if they¡¯re interested in accepting the offer, it¡¯s also important to fit it into their schedule. If any of these conditions aren¡¯t met, there¡¯s no way we can work together.}?


    ?


    In other words, Woo-Jin was trying to express his thoughts along the lines of, ¡®By telling me you want to work with me and go for an audition, did you think I¡¯d be hasty to jump right into it and be happy?¡¯ as politely as he could. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t directing it at the ¡®fake¡¯ Hugh sitting in front of him; it was a message for the production crew behind the hidden camera prank aiming to make fun of an actor. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what kind of reaction he was hoping for, but at the very least, he didn¡¯t want people to laugh at him. Even if he might be criticized for being arrogant, his pride made him protect his dignity as an actor. He would never act recklessly and look shocked just because he heard the name ¡®Hollywood.¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Jin stood up quietly, ensuring his chair didn¡¯t make a sound. He spoke politely to Hugh.?


    ?


    {Since you took time out of your busy schedule to come here, I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip before heading home. If you want to cast me in your movie, please officially send the script and documents pertaining to the shooting schedule to my agency. I¡¯ll know if I¡¯ll like it after taking a look at them. Only then will I be able to come to a decision. I wish you all the best.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin greeted Rayford with a gentle nod and happened to see Hyun-Min coming up to the second floor.?


    ?


    {Just in time ¡ª my friend is here.} Woo-Jin pointed to Hyun-Min, who was greeting Woo-Jin with his hand raised.?


    ?


    {I mean, we¡­.} Hugh tried to stop Woo-Jin from leaving, but he had already walked off. He didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry, but he was already gone after taking a few graceful steps. Hugh could only blink his eyes at this ridiculous situation.?


    ?


    {He¡¯s so proud! And so cool! That¡¯s Jin right there!} Before Hugh knew it, Rayford was already sitting on the chair in front of him, where Woo-Jin sat previously. His slightly teary eyes were filled with admiration. Even if they didn¡¯t have to look specifically for an Asian actor, out of all the actors in Hollywood, he had never seen anybody so proud and confident thus far. It was a kind of pride with a sense of authenticity distinctively different from those who tried hard to make themselves look dignified on the outside.?


    ?


    {How did he know this is my weakness¡­?} Rayford thought of the scene where Jin shook off the blood on his sword and advanced towards his enemies and automatically imagined Genie as Jin, who looked even more cold-blooded with the light reflecting off his glasses. He was an honorable person who never yielded to anyone and would firmly cut off anyone that tried to coerce him.?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t think now¡¯s the time for you to rejoice¡­.}?


    ?


    In Hollywood, fame was priceless. Both Hugh and Rayford had only made two movies since they had founded their studio, but they had previously made a name for themselves in Hollywood. Thus, up until now, every actor had reciprocated their interest in them. As a result, this experience was very unusual and new to Hugh. If he had shown Woo-Jin his passport, the matter would have easily been resolved, but he just had to show him a picture of him from an article, thereby creating this issue. And now, he was stuck in a huge dilemma.?


    ?


    Hyun-Min turned his head and looked at them as he was being dragged away by Woo-Jin. He wanted to know why because he felt like he had seen the two foreigners somewhere before, so he asked Woo-Jin about it.?


    ?


    ¡°What happened?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of getting myself out of a nasty prank.¡± Woo-Jin walked even faster, feeling worried that the production crew behind the hidden camera prank would come rushing in. He wanted to let it pass and move on from it as civilly as possible, but it made him rather unhappy that they were playing with a person¡¯s ambitions and desires in such a manner.?


    ?


    However, the production crew didn¡¯t make an appearance. After leaving the cafe, it was still silent for a long time. He didn¡¯t get any calls from Kang Ho-Soo either. If he had been in a hidden camera prank, his manager would have already known about it, but he still heard nothing about it even after a couple of days.?


    ?


    And the day after Red Enemy was released, LL-Studio officially sent a script of the movie along with a casting offer to DS.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 134

    ?


    ?


    Many reasons explain why the movie is poetic. For starters, there are no unnecessities in the movie. It¡¯s well-organized, and the director decisively left out pointless elaborations, creating a poem consisting of only the most beautiful and meaningful words.?


    ?


    People feel all kinds of emotions after reading a poem; just like most of these emotions continue lingering in our hearts, the viewers will leave with a lot to think about after watching Red Enemy. Additionally, I¡¯m confused whether I¡¯ve just watched a historical film or a healing film[1]. Prince Myeong-Hwan was understanding even though he was in pain; he was resentful and yet full of sorrow; he longed for her while wallowing in sadness. And ultimately, Prince Myeong-Hwan couldn¡¯t help but continue loving her.?


    ?


    There have been several movies and dramas about Prince Myeong-Hwan thus far. However, I don¡¯t think any of them were as historically accurate as Red Enemy or had looked at the historical facts from a different perspective. In more ways than one, this movie has challenged our common sense.?


    ?


    The prince¡¯s relationship with the Kisaeng, Seol-Ha, had deviated from his love triangle with Queen Yoon. Instead, Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol-Ha¡¯s relationship turned into one that was simple but filled with love and loyalty. After watching the movie, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the only person who briefly felt ashamed for seeing them from a worldly and vulgar perspective. As such, the movie has made me realize how backward our prejudices are.?


    ?


    Interestingly, this movie has no actors ¡ª only historical figures coming to life, showing us the moments of that time. Queen Moon-Jin was reminiscent of a cold and intelligent politician. She doled out her stinging criticisms in a calm and elegant tone; it was so charismatic that it made the viewers¡¯ knees go weak.?


    ?


    However, when silent tears automatically rolled down her face after receiving the news about her son¡¯s death and the successful coup, it reminded the viewers that Queen Moon-Jin was still a mother after all. The moment when she closed her eyes briefly and opened them, her soulless and hollow eyes gave the viewers a lot to think about. She had failed as both a politician and a mother.?


    ?


    The beautiful and selfish Queen Yoon. There are a lot of different criticisms about her. No, there were. That was until the perfect image of a nation¡¯s mother that remained in the literature was single-handedly destroyed by a diary. She was calculative and cruel to one man but a wonderful queen to her people. It was a clear historical fact that the people were enraged and had grieved greatly over the death of the queen ¡ª not the king. That alone was the undeniable achievement of Queen Yoon. However, it made me wonder if that might have been the end result of the carefree nature created by the confidence and arrogance of a person who was loved.?


    ?


    There was also Inyoung-Gun ¡ª the victim in history. He was an ill-fated king who had been assassinated in the coup. The cause of the coup had never been clarified. People had always criticized him for being weak and indecisive. However, in Red Enemy, he was worried about his country even though he was prepared, but the powers beyond his reach always made him feel helpless. It was unclear whether he was weak because he had no power or couldn¡¯t gain power because he was weak, but I was glad to learn that he wasn¡¯t the incompetent king we know of.?


    ?


    I can¡¯t help but talk about Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s wife, Lady Park. The prince had completely neglected her and had never loved her; to the very end, he had turned his back on her. Through her character, the movie showed us that there are times when we don¡¯t get what we want regardless of how hard we try.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan didn¡¯t give her even a sliver of hope. The cold-hearted side of him left a rather strong impression on the viewers. The prince would have been a hypocrite if he had tried to show half-hearted compassion and affection for his wife. The movie tells us that there is no reason to be heartbroken if there are no happy memories.?


    ?


    However, the married couple resembles each other in various ways ¡ª a wife who was never loved by her husband and a husband who was neglected and abandoned by his loved ones. And naturally, we realize that the prince wasn¡¯t miserable because he wasn¡¯t loved ¡ª he was in pain because he couldn¡¯t give up.?


    ?


    In the movie, Prince Myeong-Hwan loved generously; he enjoyed life, and more importantly, he loved himself. Even though he had a mother who didn¡¯t shower him with care and concern, a lover who only wanted to possess him without any sense of responsibility, and a wife whom he married as a political move and had zero affection for, the prince wasn¡¯t miserable at all. No, he can¡¯t be miserable anymore.?


    ?


    There are literary records that expressed the anger in Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s heart as a ball of fire and stated that he was always shivering in the cold. After seeing him in the movie, we fall in love with Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s great passionate love for himself, as well as his artistic soul. The movie makes one feel as though they are secretly looking at Prince Myeong-Hwan through the eyes and ears of a fan, as though they¡¯re stalking him.?


    ?


    When the coup had been decided, they had planned to kill the king and his pregnant queen during the commotion to prevent them from seeking revenge in the future. Knowing this, the prince headed towards the palace with a sword in his hand. The prince looked very cool in the final scene, wearing a dopo and a gat. Even then, he exuded the playful vibe of a child going on a picnic. Until the very end, without even the slightest hesitation, he was evidently the one in charge of deciding his own life or death.?


    ?


    The beautiful prince of Joseon, Lee Hoo, took responsibility and enjoyed life till the very end. Even though it wasn¡¯t sublime, his passionate self-love was endearing and admirable. Through his character in the movie, we are able to experience the warm spring that the prince didn¡¯t get a chance to experience for himself, and we have come to love him.?


    ?


    ¡°If there is beautiful redness in the world, it¡¯s probably the burning flame in my heart. This flame is my love for art that keeps me alive.¡±?


    ?


    That quote by Prince Myeong-Hwan is why the title of this movie is Red Enemy.?


    ?


    (Film Critic, Park Hwan)?


    ?


    The presales tickets for Red Enemy were fully booked, and it was praised for being a beautiful epic film. Nonetheless, the storyline was solid and magnificent, such that the viewers were thoroughly entertained for two hours without feeling bored.?


    ?


    Strangely enough, as they were watching the movie, the viewers had forgotten about Actor Chae Woo-Jin and only thought about Prince Myeong-Hwan. That was the same with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans. All they could think about throughout the movie and even after it had ended was Prince Myeong-Hwan. They thought and wondered about his life, his art, and his love. They only subsequently remembered Chae Woo-Jin was the one playing Prince Myeong-Hwan and were taken by surprise.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin, The Beauty Slayer, among other various nicknames he had, was nowhere to be found in the movie. All people could see was his character, Prince Myeong-Hwan. And it made it impossible for them to think of anybody else as Prince Myeong-Hwan except him. In other words, not only was Chae Woo-Jin Prince Myeong-Hwan, but only Chae Woo-Jin could be Prince Myeong-Hwan. People called that ¡®making a strong impression.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°The movie is very well-received, so why is Woo-Jin acting like that?¡± Hwang Yi-Young asked, feeling terrified as Woo-Jin suddenly started stomping his feet and pounding his forehead against the table out of nowhere. Kang Ho-Soo stopped her from walking over to Woo-Jin. He had a faint smile on his face as he shook his head.?


    ?


    ¡°Right now, Woo-Jin¡¯s having a huge internal battle between his pride and ambition.¡± Kang Ho-Soo proceeded to tell her about how LL-Studio sent in their offer to cast Woo-Jin two days ago, and the misunderstanding Woo-Jin had about them a couple of days before that. Kang Ho-Soo was still in a daze as he had only found out about it this morning, so he felt that Woo-Jin must be feeling worse.?


    ?


    ¡°Ho-hollywood~!¡± As soon as Hwang Yi-Young exclaimed loudly, Woo-Jin lifted his head from the table and looked at her. If he were in a manhwa, he would have dark clouds hanging over his head, raining on him.?


    ?


    ¡°How important is the role? If it¡¯s a supporting role, it¡¯s probably not very important, but since Rayford is the director of the movie, you have to do it no matter what. Even if you¡¯re only appearing in the movie for a minute! Woo-Jin~! You¡¯re doing it, right?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked at the elated Hwang Yi-Young and recalled what he had said a couple of days ago. He closed his eyes in horror and turned his head away. He had behaved in a very proud and arrogant manner because he thought it was a hidden camera prank, but they really were the director and writer of LL-Studio.?


    ?


    ¡°I still have my pride, though¡­.¡± Realistically speaking, pride was of little importance at this juncture. A great opportunity had come knocking on the door, and it would be foolish to hesitate. He just couldn¡¯t readily accept it because of his pride that wasn¡¯t even that important.?


    ?


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any programs doing hidden camera pranks these days, though.¡± As soon as Hwang Yi-Young made that comment after hearing what Kang Ho-Soo said, Woo-Jin started to tear his hair out with both hands.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing Woo-Jin act like that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Director Rayford said he would be in Korea for another two weeks. And if Woo-Jin is interested in the movie after reading the script, he would like to meet him in person anytime during his time here.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s not an issue of time. If it were up to Woo-Jin, he would want to meet them right away, but his pride is stopping him.¡±?


    ?


    After receiving an official offer from LL-Studio, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan confirmed the facts and told Woo-Jin about it just this morning. And the first thing Woo-Jin did was read the script in question.?


    ?


    ¡°Unfortunately, I guess he really likes the character, Jin.¡± If it had been a movie with terrible writing, he would have been able to keep his pride till the end and mock Hollywood. If that had been the case, the sun would be shining over Woo-Jin¡¯s head right now instead of dark clouds.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had never thought about Hollywood; he quickly looked into LL-Studio¡¯s upcoming movie. He found out that they had already confirmed the main characters and that naturally, a couple of actors from other countries were aiming to get the role of Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°The actors who want to play Jin are all distinguished actors, so Woo-Jin is very anxious at the moment. He has to pretend to ponder over it for a few days, but what if they change their minds?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What exactly is there to worry about! They¡¯re not asking you to go for an audition ¡ª they¡¯re offering you the role right away. If they came all the way to Korea to meet you, doesn¡¯t it mean it¡¯s already pretty much in the bag? Woo-Jin, be confident.¡± Hwang Yi-Young walked up to Woo-Jin and ran her fingers through his unkempt hair. He didn¡¯t have time to sit around and be listless because he had a red carpet event and an interview scheduled today.?


    ?


    ¡°Even meeting them is hard,¡± Woo-Jin muttered, leaving Hwang Yi-Young in charge of his hair. Even though he was definitely going to accept the offer, he was worried about how he should behave around them. Should he be as haughty as he was a few days ago? Or should he act like he usually would in front of directors? He couldn¡¯t do as he pleased, like what he did a few days ago. His decision to stay firm and proud and the mindset that helping others would do no harm had landed him in the current situation where his head was in conflict with his heart.?


    ?


    ¡°Nonetheless, the fact that they officially sent the script and documents over as requested means that they don¡¯t have an issue with your attitude back then, right? Americans probably have a different sentiment about things like that compared to the people here. I think there¡¯s no need for you to be too cautious.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s advice, Woo-Jin smiled wryly and asked if it was really okay for him to do that.?


    ?


    ¡°So what if it doesn¡¯t work out? What¡¯s so special about Hollywood?¡± Just like his intimidating appearance, as soon as Kang Ho-Soo spoke fearlessly, Woo-Jin and Hwang Yi-Young paused and looked at him.?


    ?


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a big deal.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oppa, you don¡¯t have to act so tough.¡± Hwang Yi-young raised her hand, which had been trembling ever since they said the word ¡®Hollywood.¡¯?


    ?


    1. Koreans use the term ¡®healing¡¯ to refer to things that soothe/lift one¡¯s spirits, i.e., healing trips. In this case, it means ¡®feel-good movie.¡¯ ?

 CH 135

    Nowadays, it was only a matter of time for famous celebrities to further their careers abroad, and indeed, several actors had done so by appearing in Hollywood movies. It was nothing new, but it was absolutely not something to be taken for granted. Korea had so many actors, but only a handful of them had appeared in Hollywood productions. Naturally, acting in a movie didn¡¯t mean an actor would suddenly emerge as a global star, but it definitely was a stepping stone.?


    ?


    ¡°What is the movie about? Are hero movies popular these days?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s similar. It¡¯s a fantasy movie about guardians protecting each continent. Needless to say, the main character is the Guardian of North America.¡±?


    ?


    The guardians of each continent, simply referred to as Guardian, were clearly human beings at first. They were then selected to be a Guardian, whose role was to defend their continent for hundreds of years without aging or dying. That was the premise of the movie. Then one day, the Guardian of North America disappeared for an unknown reason, and a new Guardian was chosen among humans.?


    ?


    ¡°Originally, a Guardian would normally choose a successor to take over their position and die after they had fulfilled their mission, but in the movie, the Guardian of North America was suddenly murdered without having any time to do that. So the movie is basically about the guardians of other continents confronting the forces that are trying to kill them while taking turns to teach the new Guardian of North America.¡±?


    ?


    To put it simply, the main story was about the birth of a hero, but the deep understanding of each continent¡¯s culture and the stories of the beings who had lived hundreds of years as humans were interesting.?


    ?


    Naturally, Jin was the Guardian of Asia. That was why the Chinese and Japanese investors had been strongly recommending actors from their own countries and aimed at being a part of this movie. They wanted someone from their country to be the Guardian of Asia and the symbolism that came with it.?


    ?


    Hugh and Rayford seemingly had said something about destiny after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s name at the cafe the other day because it sounded just like ¡®Jin.¡¯ Additionally, Woo-Jin¡¯s nickname was ¡®Genie,¡¯ so they were excited either way, but Woo-Jin had a different interpretation. Just thinking about it made Woo-Jin¡¯s face turn red, so much so that Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t fully rejoice about his current situation.?


    ?


    Today, Woo-Jin had to attend a red carpet event in one of the suburbs, and in the evening, he had to do a street interview for an entertainment program.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll be very busy today, so get some shut-eye whenever you can.¡±?


    ?


    However, his heart had been racing since this morning, so rather than feeling tired, his mind was becoming clearer and clearer. Ultimately, Woo-Jin gave up on getting some sleep. Instead, he took out his phone and browsed the internet. He didn¡¯t play any games, nor frequented any websites, so he simply clicked on random articles and read them. Just then, a familiar name among the entertainment articles took him by surprise.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin was a hyung Woo-Jin had known since his TM days. They had left TM at around the same time, and he had made a successful debut in the first half of last year. However, he was kicked out of the entertainment industry after being accused of instigating his friends to bully a friend in high school and subsequently driving his friend to commit suicide. Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s incident allowed Woo-Jin to see the ugly side of TM, and his vigilance against them made him join DS without any hesitation.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin hurriedly clicked on the article bearing that forgotten name in its headline. There was a video of Lee Hyung-Jin busking on the street; people were jeering and throwing trash at him, condemning him. The person recording the video was also cursing at him without holding himself back. Nonetheless, Lee Hyung-Jin finished singing the entire song before bowing and thanking the listeners.?


    ?


    After watching the video, Woo-Jin locked his phone and closed his eyes. His palpitating heart was making him feel varied emotions. Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s voice still had the power to make one¡¯s heart flutter. And he still hadn¡¯t given up ¡ª even though people jeered and threw trash at him, he continued singing till the end.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know if he was feeling very frustrated because he understood how Lee Hyung-Jin felt when he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stop singing halfway, or if he felt sad because he really valued Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s singing. Regardless of the reason, Lee Hyung-Jin was singing on the streets in the cold, and he didn¡¯t do anything to deserve being jeered by people. Lee Hyung-Jin was such a pitiful singer, to the point where it felt extremely unfair.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°The star of today¡¯s Street Date! Who could it be?¡± Reporter Kim Woo-Hyung of Entertainment Report took a look at the crowd who came to see him and asked out loud.?


    ?


    Kim Woo-Hyung was the leading reporter of Entertainment Report, such that whenever people mentioned the name ¡®Kim Woo-Hyung,¡¯ Street Date would come to mind. Seeing as he was downtown with a camera in the late evening, he was shooting Street Date. Nobody knew who the guest for today was, but people still flocked over to watch. That was the case because the celebrities appearing in the segment were generally more famous and popular than the average celebrity.?


    ?


    After hearing Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s question, people started throwing out names of celebrities they wanted to meet since they didn¡¯t have any information about today¡¯s guest. It was slightly after 8 p.m., so most people on the streets were in their twenties and thirties, with more or less the same ratio of men to women. Thus, the names that were heard varied from actors to singers.?


    ?


    However, everybody knew for a fact that several actors had appeared on the program to promote their movies and dramas. Hence, the quick-witted people singled out the main leads of the recent movies and dramas.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin!¡± A man in his early twenties cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled.?


    ?


    At that moment, screams and cheers were heard from all sides, but people weren¡¯t exactly having high expectations of seeing Chae Woo-Jin there. Every week, whenever they filmed the program, the audience never failed to mention Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name.?


    ?


    The other day, they did a special feature on Chae Woo-Jin on Entertainer Report. They showed a scene where people were screaming Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name after Kim Woo-Hyung asked that same question like he did every time before Street Date started. It happened more than once or twice. The program host had invited Chae Woo-Jin to appear on the program at least once because of that. But that was half a year ago.?


    ?


    ¡°What did you just say? Chae Woo-Jin?¡± When Kim Woo-Hyung said that, looking aghast, everybody¡¯s faces fell. They quickly gave up hope and said he would probably not appear this time around again. In other words, they had resigned to fate, thinking there was no way they would be this lucky today.?


    ?


    ¡°However! You guessed correctly today. Today¡¯s guest is a prince who was once a loan shark, a teaching assistant, a killer, and a third-generation chaebol ¡ª it¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin!¡± After Kim Woo-Hyung exclaimed, with perfect timing, Woo-Jin came out of the building across the street where he had been hiding the entire time.?


    ?


    The crowd turned their bodies around, and their gazes followed the lights and camera. Before they knew it, Chae Woo-Jin was standing there. Their screams and cheers echoed through the buildings, traveling quite a distance. Woo-Jin was less than 50 meters away from Kim Woo-Hyung, but the clamoring crowd was very difficult to restrain. If the bodyguards hadn¡¯t paved the way for him by cautiously blocking the crowd, it would have been almost impossible for Woo-Jin to meet Kim Woo-Hyung today.?


    ?


    Hands were stretched out from all directions, grabbing him and waving to him. Woo-Jin finally arrived in front of Kim Woo-Hyung, looking somewhat different from what he did a couple of minutes ago when he first appeared. His tidy hair was scattered all over the place; it was unkempt. Woo-Jin adjusted his camel half coat that was slipping down and exposing his shoulder and swept his hair back with his fingers. He didn¡¯t forget to check his surroundings as well. The crowd had gotten a lot bigger than when he was observing from the other side, and they were blocking the entire path, becoming even bigger in an instant.?


    ?


    ¡°Wow! Since Chae Woo-Jin is the guest for today, so many people have gathered here right away. Oh, the people in the building over there are watching, right? Please wave at them.¡± Woo-Jin looked in the direction where Kim Woo-Hyung was pointing at; people in the commercial building across the street were rushing to the windows, looking their way. Woo-Jin glanced over at them and waved, causing loud cheers to echo once again. It was so loud that it felt as though the ground they were standing on instantly shook like there was an earthquake.?


    ?


    ¡°Ever since I started hosting Street Date, I¡¯ve never seen such a massive crowd or heard such loud cheers on the streets.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Neither have I.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had met fans in confined spaces before, but it was his first time seeing such a big crowd filling up the entire street. People flocked to the recent event at the department store, but they didn¡¯t scream as loudly, probably because they were indoors.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh~! Aren¡¯t you used to such reactions by now? It seems like this happens a lot wherever you go.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°A lot of people must have gathered here because we¡¯re in the middle of recording the show. I¡¯ve never experienced anything like this before.¡± Not that it had never happened before, but rather, the crowds were not as big and wild.?


    ?


    In Woo-Jin¡¯s experience, with a few exceptions, the public seemed to be more daring and reckless when there were cameras around. Perhaps, they were confident that celebrities had to watch how they treated the general public when the cameras were rolling and wouldn¡¯t be able to put up much of a fight. It was a completely different ambiance from how it was in their everyday life, where they behaved appropriately and respected Woo-Jin¡¯s privacy.?


    ?


    ¡°Are we able to walk?¡±?


    ?


    Walking down the street, looking at the stores, and talking to people was the beauty of Street Date. However, it seemed difficult to inch forward in the current state.?


    ?


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try raising your arms like Moses[1] and say ¡®Clear the way!¡¯¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Clear the way! Like this?¡± Woo-Jin followed Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s instructions before looking back at him and asking. Kim Woo-Hyung held back his laughter and pointed to the front. Before he knew it, people had cleared the way for them and stood on both sides, just like Moses¡¯ miracle. Woo-Jin quickly lowered his arms and thanked the people.?


    ?


    ¡°Shall we get started on Street Date now?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time my heart isn¡¯t fluttering during a date.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Shall I make your heart race?¡± Kim Woo-Hyung asked meaningfully. He was confident of putting Chae Woo-Jin on the spot at any time with embarrassing questions.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I made a mistake. I¡¯m very excited and happy right now.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin raised both his hands and surrendered, Kim Woo-Hyung laughed.?


    ?


    ¡°Umm, if it¡¯s the first time your heart isn¡¯t fluttering during a date, does it mean you¡¯ve been on several exciting dates before?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not that young. Of course, I¡¯ve been on dates before.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ohh~! You¡¯re honest.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s anything terrible.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What about now?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Frankly, I haven¡¯t dated anyone since I got dumped before I went into the military.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Woo-Hyung widened his eyes in surprise after hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s confession. Even though they had shown him the questionnaire before the recording, the answers to these questions were at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s discretion. It was a routine question that had to be asked, so even if the guest didn¡¯t want to answer it, they still had to do it. It was a question about love and relationships.?


    ?


    Even though they had expected Chae Woo-Jin to give an evasive answer since it was entirely up to him, he had chosen to deal with it head-on instead.?


    ?


    1. Biblical reference to Moses parting the Red Sea. ?

 CH 136

    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin, have you also been dumped before?¡± What surprised Kim Woo-Hyung was the conclusion, rather than the confession about Woo-Jin¡¯s previous relationship.?


    ?


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s only one reason why people break up. Isn¡¯t it because they don''t love the other person anymore?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You mentioned that you got dumped earlier. So, what about you?¡± Instead of saying that they broke up, Woo-Jin chose to use the word ¡®dumped¡¯. In other words, it meant that there was a possibility Woo-Jin might still be harboring romantic feelings for his former lover.?


    ?


    ¡°It was hard for me back then because I wasn¡¯t ready to accept the break up. But judging by how I¡¯m able to talk about it calmly now like it¡¯s nothing, it seems like I¡¯m completely over her now.¡± There was no sign of pain on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s smiling face. It was nothing more than recounting a past experience.?


    ?


    ¡°By any chance, do you think she regretted breaking up with you?¡±?


    ?


    Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s question made Woo-Jin think about what Lee So-Hyun had previously said about starting over again. After hearing him call her a bitch, she started to behave strangely. She brought her boyfriend, who had already graduated, to a school gathering and bragged about the diamond ring he had given her in front of Woo-Jin. It was as though she was confident that she could hurt Woo-Jin through her actions. In the past, Woo-Jin wouldn''t have understood her behavior and would have gotten flustered. But now that he understood it to a certain extent, he found her actions rather interesting.?


    ?


    ¡°She¡¯s not the type of person who would dwell on a relationship after it has ended. And be it in the past or present, the fact that I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin hasn¡¯t changed. There¡¯s no reason for her to revisit old feelings. This story ends here. It¡¯s already been years since we¡¯ve broken up; it¡¯s rather unexpected and meaningless to bring it up.?


    ?


    And on that note, Woo-Jin concluded his love story. There were a lot of people throwing questions at him; even though this was a topic that had to be brought up at least once, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want it to become the main topic of discussion. Kim Woo-Hyung quickly caught on and stopped asking any more questions about his love life.?


    ?


    ¡°Shall we get back to our original goal?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Publicity?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin, it seems that you¡¯re not coy at all. Since you¡¯re here for publicity purposes, why didn¡¯t you appear on this program earlier? It has already been a few days since the release of Red Enemy.¡± The movie was released three days ago and Street Date would only be aired in two days, so it couldn¡¯t be considered as a true publicity stunt.?


    ?


    ¡°Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Na appeared on the show last week, so I thought it would be good for me to be on the show this week.¡±?


    ?


    In truth, Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Na had already appeared on Street Date together and promoted the movie. However, the production crew had asked both of them to convince Chae Woo-Jin to appear on the show, so the two women kept badgering Woo-Jin, saying that there was nothing bad about promoting the movie. Ultimately, Woo-Jin decided to appear on the program as well. Woo-Jin and Kim Woo-Hyung left out all the details of this cumbersome process; they simply looked at each other and laughed it off.?


    ?


    ¡°Last week, both of them said they had a very hard time shooting Red Enemy. How was it for you? According to them, you looked very relaxed, and they said they were very envious of you.¡±?


    ?


    Kwon Eun-Mi, in particular, had to relearn the geonmu again and had a very difficult time. On the other hand, Woo-Jin had personally done all the paintings and calligraphy works himself without anybody¡¯s help on top of the geonmu. Yet, Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Na said he never once looked like he was struggling, so they were envious and impressed.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s the result of me trying my best to look relaxed.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I watched the movie yesterday. You did the paintings and calligraphy yourself without relying on a stand-in. It was really thrilling to watch the scene where the camera zoomed in from a long shot to a close-up. When we grab the brush, it shakes and ink drips onto the paper; how did you write so clearly? Additionally, I heard your handwriting and paintings were exactly the same as Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s remaining pieces!¡± asked Kim Woo-Hyung, who was feeling excited. Woo-Jin then replied with a relaxed smile on his face.?


    ?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep at night and kept practicing. You can think of it as something similar to a swan paddling [1]¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you trying to say that you kept practicing and training behind the scenes in order to look relaxed and elegant?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course. Is there anything in this world that can be easily obtained? I¡¯m not that perfect.¡± Woo-Jin bragged about his hidden efforts while throwing a couple of lies into the mix. Regardless of how much he remembered about Prince Myeong-Hwan¡¯s life, it was not easy for him to perfectly execute a skill he once had the moment he picked up the brush. He did spend his time practicing every evening, so Woo-Jin proudly publicized his hard work.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, working hard doesn¡¯t always equate to getting the results you want. It differs from person to person right? Frankly for me, even if I try my hardest, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to do it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Everybody has their own talents. If it doesn¡¯t work out, then you¡¯ll just have to find something else.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You didn¡¯t say something didactic like ¡®Keep trying till the very end¡¯, huh.¡± Kim Woo-Hyung then told Woo-Jin to work on building a positive image, and asked if he was suggesting that people should give up.?


    ?


    ¡°After I debuted, what I heard other people say was that I was lucky, and that I was born with many talents so I can easily do anything. I¡¯ve always agreed with them. However, it¡¯s just a synergistic effect of my talents being compatible with my dream. If I had dreamed of becoming a scientist or a doctor, I wouldn¡¯t have needed those talents. Perhaps it would have just ended up being a hobby, and nobody would have told me I was lucky, or that I could do anything easily because I¡¯m talented.¡± Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t lucky because he was talented ¨C he was lucky because his talents were suited for his dream.?


    ?


    ¡°And I¡¯m not telling anyone to give up easily. I¡¯m trying to say that you need to be clear about what you¡¯re good at, as well as what you want to do. If people are aware of that, they¡¯ll feel less tired and not give up. Talents are just shortcuts; I just wanted to urge everyone not to overlook other ways of achieving their goals because they were only fixated on shortcuts.¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin was writing his novel, he realized that he wasn¡¯t very good at it. Nonetheless, his novel was popular on the site because he had knowledge from his past life as a writer. It was knowledge that helped him, not talent. Anybody could acquire knowledge by accumulating experience and effort. In order to do that, one had to first acknowledge and accept the fact that they had no talent. However, many people go through unnecessary hardships because they were not able to accept it and end up wasting a lot of time.?


    ?


    ¡°In that sense, you¡¯re a lucky man, Chae Woo-Jin.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I believe so. And fortunately, I¡¯m not lazy, so I¡¯ve been trying my best to improve.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ohh~! It¡¯s nice to feel your confidence and sincerity.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m still a 24 year old with a lot of dreams.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You still have dreams?¡± As someone in his mid-twenties, Woo-Jin¡¯s life was just starting. However, the current Chae Woo-Jin already had it all. As long as he was disciplined and didn¡¯t cause any scandals, he would most likely continue enjoying his fame and popularity for many years to come.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably be dreaming till the day I die, no?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you still a young man who dreams?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My wish is to continue dreaming even when I¡¯m old.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As an actor, are you afraid of getting old?¡± It seemed natural for anyone with a special and beautiful appearance like Chae Woo-Jin to be afraid of getting older, even if they were still young. Hence, it seemed rather strange for him to casually talk about getting old.?


    ?


    ¡°Kwak Eun-Hyuk said the older I get, the more roles I¡¯ll be able to play, so it¡¯ll be fun. Naturally, there will be a limited number of roles I can play after a certain point. But wouldn¡¯t it be fun since they are roles I haven¡¯t taken on when I was younger?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like all you think about is acting.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m happy and grateful now because I get to do what I like.¡± After that, Chae Woo-Jin continued to talk about acting.?


    ?


    When they reached the square in the middle of downtown, they stopped walking and looked around. It was now time for them to talk to the general public and ask them questions about Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Now, let me ask a question. The person who gets it right will have the chance to make a wish to Chae Woo-Jin. Of course, only wishes that can be fulfilled here and be aired on TV will be accepted.¡± Sometimes, there were people with unreasonable wishes, so Kim Woo-Hyung made the rules clear right from the beginning.?


    ?


    ¡°How many more productions does Chae Woo-Jin have to act in, in order to become Korea¡¯s poster boy for unrequited love?¡±?


    ?


    During an interview last year, it was said that Woo-Jin had been acting as characters who experienced unrequited love, and that he was on the path of becoming Korea¡¯s poster boy for unrequited love. Woo-Jin responded that he would only accept the title after he had done thirty such roles. Coincidentally, all the characters he had played thus far had unrequited love.?


    ?


    ¡°Twenty five!¡± The answer was derived after subtracting the number of productions Chae Woo-Jin had been in from thirty. After a brief pause, someone had answered the question correctly. When Kim Woo-Hyung said it was correct and beckoned to them, a man in his thirties came forward.?


    ?


    ¡°Surprisingly, the person who answered correctly is a man. I¡¯m already looking forward to hearing your wish.¡± Kim Woo-Hyung handed him the microphone. Feeling embarrassed, the man took out his phone and told them his wish.?


    ?


    ¡°To be honest, my wife is currently pregnant. I heard that looking at beautiful people will have a good prenatal effect on the child.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Are you okay with that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course. My wife is Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But still, aren¡¯t you jealous?¡± Kim Woo-Hyung looked at the happy man and asked out of curiosity. It was rare to see a husband who was willing to take a photo of a male celebrity whom their wife liked for the sake of their unborn child.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, but my wife still finds me as lovable as ever even after looking at Chae Woo-Jin. I came here to buy tteokgalbi [2] from a nearby restaurant that we frequent because she was craving it, but I''m happy now that I have another gift for her.¡±?


    ?


    The happy smile of the man who had taken a selfie with Woo-Jin was contagious. Woo-Jin congratulated his wife for having such a good husband. He then shot Kang Ho-Soo a meaningful look. The latter was standing at the back with the bodyguards. He was trying to tell Kang Ho-Soo to follow the man and buy him tteokgalbi. Kang Ho-Soo fully understood what Woo-Jin meant without exchanging words; he nodded and followed the man.?


    ?


    Thereafter, Kim Woo-Hyung asked two more questions. The second person who had gotten the right answer wanted to look Woo-Jin in the eye for a minute, and she wrote down what she wanted Woo-Jin to say to her on a piece of paper before handing it over to him. After reading it, Woo-Jin coughed repeatedly. After one minute had passed, he looked at her earnestly and recited the line.?


    ?


    ¡°Remember ¨C today at 8:12, for a minute, it was just the two of us.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Aaaaaa~!¡± The girl jumped for joy and fell backward, shocking the crowd. Even though she got a few scratches on her forehead, she shook her arms as though it was nothing. She faced the camera and made a finger heart, expressing she was fine.?


    ?


    The last person who got the right answer was a male student.?


    ?


    1. The writer¡¯s trying to say that swans move gracefully on water but we don¡¯t see their feet paddling hard beneath the water surface. ??


    ?


    2. Grilled short rib patties. It¡¯s a Korean beef dish made with minced beef short ribs. ?

 CH 137

    ¡°Woo-Jin hyung, if I¡¯m being honest, I used to be your anti-fan.¡±?


    ?


    The unexpected confession caught Woo-Jin¡¯s attention because the boy had spoken in the past tense.?


    ?


    ¡°I really hated how my parents would constantly compare me to you. So I decided to check how good you really were, but¡­ you really were outstanding.¡±?


    ?


    The boy scratched his head before asking the actor to hug him as he didn¡¯t need anything else. Although Woo-Jin had been the target of his jealousy, he needed comforting from the person he now looked up to.?


    ?


    Realizing the student was fatigued and burnt out, Woo-Jin hugged him tightly and patted his back. He could see his younger self in the boy. Woo-Jin turned his mic off and quietly consoled him.?


    ?


    ¡°Think only about yourself for now. You need to be happy first before you can help others.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°How do I even do that¡­? Your parents are fortunate to have you, hyung.¡± It was exhausting because no matter what, the boy couldn¡¯t meet his parents¡¯ expectations due to his lack of talent. He began to wonder whether everything was his fault for being ungifted, and soon, the self-deprecation constantly gnawed at his mind.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m no different from you. I made my mother cry on so many occasions, and she never wanted me to become an actor. The life she envisioned for her son was never supposed to be like this. But since I¡¯m happy and satisfied with my own life, she isn¡¯t saying anything about it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But my parents are¡­.¡± The boy stopped mid-sentence. Sometimes, it felt like they were projecting their own dreams onto him, while other times, it seemed like they wished the best for him but got impatient. But in the end, he simply couldn¡¯t understand his parents.?


    ?


    ¡°Your parents have already experienced life and walked down its paths. They simply want to share their mistakes, regrets, know-hows, and many other things with you. It¡¯s just that their teaching methods are awkward and clumsy since it¡¯s their first time being parents.¡±?


    ?


    Thus, oftentimes, grandparents shower their grandchildren with love and affection to make up for the mistakes they had made as parents. Woo-Jin had been the same in his past lives. He hadn¡¯t behaved as a proper father and expressed himself in all the wrong ways. He only knew how to be strict and never openly loved his children, so all the affection he couldn¡¯t shower his children with went to his grandchildren instead.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s also my first time being a son.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. They really should be more lenient on you since you¡¯re also a beginner. Still, now that I¡¯ve gotten to talk with you, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re good people. You¡¯re so concerned because you love them and don¡¯t want to disappoint them, right?¡±?


    ?


    The boy hesitated for a bit before shyly nodding. He also knew that he wouldn¡¯t be having these worries in the first place if he didn¡¯t love his parents.?


    ?


    ¡°Will I be as successful as you if I work myself to the bone?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It would be depressing if you worked yourself to the bone but ended up unhappy,¡± Woo-Jin replied.?


    ?


    ¡°These days, people can¡¯t achieve anything if they don¡¯t go that far.¡±?


    ?


    No, it would be more accurate to say that one had to work oneself to the bone to produce even the tiniest of results in today¡¯s society.?


    ?


    ¡°First of all, find the path in life that will make you happy. Don¡¯t compare yourself to me. As long as you continue walking forward searching for happiness, success will often find its way to you. Though you may lose your way at times, never give up. Since it¡¯s so difficult to be successful in today¡¯s society, you should at least live a happy life.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is it easy to find happiness?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hmm¡­. Do you want me to tell you the truth?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    The boy nodded in response.?


    ?


    ¡°In truth, it¡¯s extremely difficult.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin burst into laughter at the boy¡¯s frustration.?


    ?


    ¡°If life is going to be full of hardships no matter what you do, then you should at least aim to be happy. Someone I know is living miserably, but they never gave up on what they love. In fact, they look happy and¡­ beautiful when doing what they love. What¡¯s allowed them to endure so far isn¡¯t working to the bone but courage. Courage to hold onto what they love and never let go. From what I can see, you¡¯re already doing the best you can at your stage in life. But if you feel miserable and think that your parents will be disappointed no matter what you do, then you should at least find the path that leads to your happiness.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s words appeared to have shocked the boy.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you should be the only one happy. Just keep in mind that you can make others happy only when you are happy.¡±?


    ?


    The boy¡¯s parents were probably hoping for him to be successful according to societal norms, believing that it would make them happy and, in turn, make him happy. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what kind of happiness the boy wanted, but if he felt miserable with the present situation, then he needed some courage to overcome his circumstances.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin squeezed the boy tightly in his arms once again as he wished for the boy to love and care for himself more. The dumbfounded boy blushed in embarrassment. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t stop himself from tousling the adorable kid¡¯s hair mischievously. As the boy relaxed and smiled shyly, Woo-Jin wondered whether having a little brother would be something like this.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    With the final question and wish-fulfillment, the street date came to an end. Woo-Jin said goodbye to Kim Woo-Hyung and returned to the van, where he found Hwang Yi-Young greeting him with a frown.?


    ?


    ¡°You lost your coat¡¯s buttons.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right! This was lent to us, wasn¡¯t it?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin finished inspecting his coat and exclaimed in concern.?


    ?


    ¡°As I thought, someone tore them away when people were crowding around you earlier. Geez, even though they knew you were wearing sponsored clothes, they went too far. But don¡¯t worry, a few buttons shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Hwang Yi-Young reassured him.?


    ?


    The clothes Woo-Jin wore often sold out due to his stylish looks, so many clothing brands paid Woo-Jin to have him advertise their products.?


    ?


    They profited just by having Woo-Jin wear their clothes on TV, so they probably wouldn¡¯t complain about some lost buttons. In fact, the companies always dry-cleaned the clothes before sending them to Woo-Jin and also paid extra for repair fees if necessary. So Woo-Jin was living a luxurious life compared to other celebrities.?


    ?


    ¡°Still, I¡¯ll buy this from them.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Should we do that, then? The coat does suit you very well. It would be a shame to send it back.¡± Hwang Yi-Young commented that the camel coat went well with Woo-Jin¡¯s light-skin tone when she suddenly recalled something. ¡°By the way, don¡¯t you think a lot of your belongings have been disappearing lately?¡±?


    ?


    They weren¡¯t particularly important things. It all started with the drinks and snacks Woo-Jin had opened. But these days, pens, umbrellas, glasses, hats, and all kinds of accessories were vanishing.?


    ?


    ¡°It must be the fans taking small souvenirs with them.¡±?


    ?


    It usually happened when crowds gathered around him, so Woo-Jin didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. But, unlike the easygoing Woo-Jin, Hwang Yi-Young frowned deeply and recalled the past.?


    ?


    As someone who had worked with idols and experienced all kinds of things, she couldn¡¯t overlook even the smallest issues. The diehard fans always began small but later behaved outrageously and went too far.?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to pay more attention from now on. No matter how small an item, stealing is still stealing. And if we overlook their behavior, they¡¯ll think of it as the norm and incite their friends to do the same thing.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin agreed with Hwang Yi-Young about stopping people from getting into thievery. He promised to be more careful in the future when Hwang Yi-Young asked a question she had been pondering about.?


    ?


    ¡°But when are you going to contact Director Rayford?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s expression tensed up.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Hm?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I totally forgot about that.¡±?


    ?


    Even though he had made his decision, Woo-Jin had no idea when and how to reach out to the director. His mind was filled with the video of Lee Hyung-Jin singing and his final bow. The excitement of entering Hollywood had surprisingly vanished. There was currently something much more important to him than that.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    One day, two pictures were uploaded online and raised some doubts. One picture had a man in a hat, glasses, and a scarf hiding his face sitting on the ground, watching Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s performance. In the other, Lee Hyung-Jin had approached the man and was chatting with him.?


    ?


    ¡ª I¡¯m not sure. I really can¡¯t figure it out with his face hidden! How can anyone recognize him as Chae Woo-Jin with these pictures??


    ?


    ©¸ Hmm¡­ I immediately recognized him, though. He often wears that hat and scarf, and the only person in our country with that perfect silhouette is Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ©¸ Bullshit, why would Chae Woo-Jin even go there? He¡¯s extremely busy these days because of the movie¡¯s release.?


    ?


    ¡ª Well, it¡¯s not totally unbelievable. Wasn¡¯t Lee Hyung-Jin also in TM with Chae Woo-Jin? If they were close, it¡¯s possible for them to meet up.?


    ?


    ©¸ But that makes even less sense. Chae Woo-Jin was a victim of bullying, so how could he be friends with a f*cking murderer??


    ?


    ©¸ Lee Hyung-Jin used to bully a friend from school, so it was a different matter. He could¡¯ve been nice to Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ©¸ Even if he was nice to Chae Woo-Jin back then, it¡¯s an entirely different issue now that Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s true nature has been revealed. If I were Chae Woo-Jin, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to see him, so why reach out first??


    ?


    ¡ª If it really is Chae Woo-Jin, couldn¡¯t he have attended to jeer at him as well??


    ?


    ©¸ The mood between them seems too good for him to be jeering at him.?


    ?


    The online community was in an uproar. Was the man in the picture Chae Woo-Jin? If yes, why was he there? All kinds of questions were tossed around, but people could only make assumptions without a proper answer.?


    ?


    However, a few days later, new pictures made their way to the internet. This time, several people had taken photos from different angles. As more and more clues proved the mysterious man¡¯s identity, it soon became a certainty that he was Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    In fact, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were convinced of it. Many eyewitnesses had seen Chae Woo-Jin together with Lee Hyung-Jin while they were at TM. But no one could figure out why he would reach out to Lee Hyung-Jin now of all time. Thus, his fans worried that Chae Woo-Jin might get involved in some unnecessary trouble.?


    ?


    Generally, few people actually watched Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s performances. Initially, people showed up to heckle and disrupt the show while filming it all, but that was only for the first couple of days. After that, as Lee Hyung-Jin stubbornly sang every single day, people could only begrudgingly walk away. They had realized that ignoring him was the best course of action. Filming him and mocking him online only promoted him even more.?


    ?


    Soon, only a few people attended to cause him trouble and vent their anger. Most simply ignored him and tried to forget him.?


    ?


    But with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance, people began to pay attention to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s performances once again. As a result, more people than ever attended his gig. Needless to say, some were there to slander him and jeer, but the majority were there to see Chae Woo-Jin instead of Lee Hyung-Jin.?


    ?


    In fact, those who didn¡¯t care about Lee Hyung-Jin didn¡¯t like it when people created a ruckus because they worried Chae Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t show up. So they stopped the hecklers instead. Before long, the performance progressed smoothly with no interruptions or jeers, and the troublemakers stopped showing up.?


    ?


    As such, people hadn¡¯t listened to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s singing before, but now his singing began to properly register in people¡¯s ears. As a former singer-songwriter, Lee Hyung-Jin was an exceptional singer from all standpoints. The songs he wrote while he was stuck for more than a year at home echoed with all kinds of emotions.?


    ?


    The songs that used to be lighthearted were mixed with melancholy and sorrow. Those who listened to his delicate voice enunciate the desolate yet beautiful lyrics naturally shivered as their hearts trembled in grief.

 CH 138

    Someone commented, ¡°This is a nice song,¡± as they watched Lee Hyung-Jin sing.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I can¡¯t help but listen to it even though I don¡¯t want to.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ve been coming here for a few days now, and yesterday, I found myself singing this song at home.¡±?


    ?


    The audience¡¯s scorn towards Lee Hyung-Jin was undeniable, but his singing was so good that it was driving them crazy. Many of them wondered how such a horrible person could be blessed with such incredible talent.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t that uncommon. It¡¯s a pain in the ass if you make a fuss about every little issue, y¡¯know?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But how can the song be so good when the writer is a piece of shit? I absolutely refuse to separate the art from the artist.¡±?


    ?


    People began to judge Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s performance and shared their opinions when Chae Woo-Jin, the person they had hoped to see didn¡¯t show up. In fact, Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t show up at the park even when the show ended and Lee Hyung-Jin bowed to the crowd. Thus, the crowd attending his gigs slowly shrank again. However, Lee Hyung-Jin wasn¡¯t completely disregarded like before. His songs were objectively good, incredibly good. Listening to him in a live show for free was a great bargain.?


    ?


    The fans of Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s songs shared a strong love-hate relationship with the singer. They felt betrayed because of the revelation of his true nature. But if one could forget about the singer and focused on listening to the song, they¡¯d find themselves being transported to paradise.?


    ?


    {Is this where Genie has been showing up lately?}?


    ?


    {They¡¯re not certain if it¡¯s Genie or not.}?


    ?


    Hugh turned to Rayford and clicked his tongue. After they officially proposed to DS to cast Genie in their film, CEO Jang introduced them to a travel guide who also played the role of their interpreter.?


    ?


    Thus, they traveled around Korea with a packed and productive schedule despite their lack of knowledge. Each and every restaurant the interpreter recommended was exquisite. At some point, the main goal of their trip to Korea had changed to become a culinary tour. In fact, they had both gained weight and gotten rounder compared to when they had first arrived in Korea.?


    ?


    However, they had yet to hear a response from Genie even after ten days. CEO Jang¡¯s behavior hinted at an answer, but the actor in question had not said anything. Hence, Hugh decided to go online to gather information about ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ once more in the anxious Rayford¡¯s stead. During his stay in Korea, Hugh learned how to write Genie¡¯s name in Korean. Nonetheless, it was still impossible to read the content on the websites, so he asked their interpreter to look into the recent news related to Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Needless to say, they were aware that Genie was busy with the premiere of his recent movie. In fact, Hugh had bought a pair of tickets for Red Enemy with the help of a Korean acquaintance in the United States and boldly watched Genie¡¯s movie on the very first day.?


    ?


    Their already big fascination for Genie turned into an obsession once they finished the movie. They had already read the synopsis of the film beforehand, but as expected, they couldn¡¯t understand a single word of dialogue.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, language was not the be-all and end-all of the artistic world. Their worries that Genie might be awkward when acting in English completely vanished. His acting had already transcended the language barrier as they had enjoyed and appreciated ¡®Red Enemy¡¯ with no issues.?


    ?


    More importantly, during their conversation Genie had proved that his English skills were unquestionably excellent. And if he couldn¡¯t move people emotionally when acting in English, they were even considering having him speak in Korean and adding subtitles on the screen. That was why they had disregarded holding an audition and had immediately offered the part to Genie.?


    ?


    And after that, the two of them rewatched Red Enemy countless times. They even visited the various historical sites that appeared in the film.?


    ?


    {This movie will get nominated at various film festivals, won¡¯t it?} Hugh asked.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s not guaranteed, but I¡¯m pretty sure that it¡¯ll win at least the Best Picture award at whichever festival it gets nominated.}?


    ?


    {What about the award for Best Actor?}?


    ?


    Rayford hesitated.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s¡­ possible. My gut tells me the possibility isn¡¯t zero.}?


    ?


    {But since it¡¯ll be next year, we will still be first, right?}?


    ?


    Red Enemy would only begin to gather attention at international film festivals the following year. There was still time before Chae Woo-Jin gained international popularity and garnered the interest of countless film directors. Hugh and Rayford would begin filming their movie in December, so they absolutely had to grab a hold of Chae Woo-Jin before that and tie him down with a contract.?


    ?


    Of course, gaining attention at film festivals wouldn¡¯t immediately make him a worldwide movie star. However, Chae Woo-Jin was tall, very handsome, and extremely charming even in the eyes of a foreigner. He truly had the qualities that would make him a global phenomenon. As long as the other film directors had fully functional eyes, they definitely wouldn¡¯t miss a chance at grabbing onto him.?


    ?


    {The world is too connected these days. Once something or someone garners attention, their international popularity skyrockets. And there¡¯s no need to mention how the eyes of the world are already looking at South Korea¡¯s entertainment industry.}?


    ?


    Right now, they were the only ones who were aware of Genie, but Rayford couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious at the fact that the talented actor could gain global popularity at any moment.?


    ?


    {Geez, just who was it that said Korea¡¯s entertainment industry was small and had barely any presence in Hollywood?}?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t plan on taking back my words. It¡¯s true that not many Korean actors are active in Hollywood and that their industry is small. But I¡¯ll admit that they have a large variety of content and their trends change quickly. If they take good advantage of it, the industry could become the heart of their culture.}?


    ?


    However, the people in the industry weren¡¯t taking advantage of its strengths and kept using its weakness: the profit-oriented commercial aspect. Thus, the industry only boosted trends without doing anything substantial.?


    ?


    In Rayford¡¯s eyes, Koreans only knew how to come up with good ideas, get exploited, and later get tossed aside. There was no real substance nor any vision for the future. South Korea was way ahead in trends compared to other countries and the people were brimming with creativity, but they were unable to properly exert their influence over the world. All they could do was provide some variety and maintain their reputation with a few popular celebrities.?


    ?


    Art can bloom with the help of a single genius. However, once the flower wilts, the seeds need to be sown again in fertile soil in an appropriate environment to grow. It would be fine if all it took was a single flower, but creating a cultural phenomenon took an entire flower garden which couldn¡¯t be done with just a single genius. And this was not limited to only cultural activities.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s good to pioneer and guide trends, but the reality is that Korea¡¯s entertainment industry is unable to lead the forefront of cultural trends.} Rayford commented.?


    ?


    {I agree! South Korea will most likely birth a new international superstar next year, but it doesn¡¯t mean their entertainment industry has grown. I really wish they wouldn''t make such an assumption, but it¡¯s highly unlikely, isn¡¯t it?}?


    ?


    Occasionally, some people believed that the successes of a singular genius were synonymous to the growth of an entire industry. In doing so, that industry would often fall further behind the times. This was because some assumed that an individual¡¯s success meant there was a foundation for others to be successful as well and stopped investing in the industry. {Genie¡¯s name would have spread around the world by the time our film releases in November next year, right?} Hugh asked.?


    ?


    {It¡¯ll depend on how the marketing for Red Enemy goes.}?


    ?


    {Then I guess there¡¯s the possibility that our movie will be what brings Genie into the spotlight.}?


    ?


    {Yes, if he does appear in our movie¡­}?


    ?


    Rayford replied dryly and glared at Hugh as they stood in the now empty park. Both the singer and his audience had left long ago. In the end, the man they had waited for never arrived. Rayford blamed Hugh for another one of his wrong leads.?


    ?


    {You and your terrible information gathering skills!}?


    ?


    {This is all your fault!} Hugh exclaimed.?


    ?


    {What? Why?}?


    ?


    {Genie said he greatly respects the director of his new movie in an interview. Apparently, the director helped him to find a new path to follow and grow as an actor, and Genie learned a lot under him!}?


    ?


    {What does that have to do with me?} Rayford asked.?


    ?


    {Look at yourself. Do you think you¡¯re a respectable director?!}?


    ?


    Rayford¡¯s face paled at Hugh¡¯s criticism, but soon turned stern and replied.?


    ?


    {I am an advocate of being a director who is friends with the actor! I¡¯m not some elderly director who needs to be respected?! I¡¯m a director that grows with the actor, that looks towards the same horizon as¡­ Hey! Wait for me!}?


    ?


    Hugh had left Rayford behind and was walking in the distance. The latter quickly ran after him.?


    ?


    Apparently, luck wasn¡¯t on their side as they never came across Genie again since the first fateful encounter. They researched the places Genie frequented and even looked up his schedule with the help of their interpreter. However, the information was either wrong or they were always one step too late. This time, they had come to where Genie was rumored to be as they were unable to wait any longer, but to no avail.?


    ?


    They had taken an extended leave and were enjoying their trip, but because they were so uneasy, they didn¡¯t feel relaxed no matter how much they rested. In the end, they didn¡¯t plan anything the next day and just went back to the park where Lee Hyung-Jin was performing.?


    ?


    The two men stood slightly apart from the rest of the crowd, which got smaller day after day. Even though they weren¡¯t actively listening to Lee Hyung-Jin, his music naturally made its way to their ears.?


    ?


    {I didn¡¯t mention it yesterday, but he¡¯s a great singer.}?


    ?


    Even if they couldn¡¯t understand the lyrics, they could objectively evaluate the songs with only the melodies and the singer¡¯s skills. In fact, they could give the most unbiased opinion as they were unaware of the rumors surrounding Lee Hyung-Jin.?


    ?


    {He¡¯s too good to be singing on the streets.}?


    ?


    {Yeah. But why does the audience¡¯s reaction feel so cold?}?


    ?


    {That is because there is a misunderstanding.}?


    ?


    {Oh~? What do you mean by a misun¡­} Rayford turned his head towards the familiar voice next to him and saw an even more familiar face.?


    ?


    {I didn¡¯t think I would find the two of you here.} Woo-Jin greeted the two as he lowered the scarf which was hiding his face.?


    ?


    The man Rayford had been greatly excited to meet was finally in front of his eyes. However, he stopped himself from expressing his happiness. If he rejoiced and made a fuss, he would surely look unprofessional.?


    ?


    {Oh, are you not busy these days? I thought that was the case, but it seems I was wrong.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin chuckled at the words that appeared to have some underlying connotation. He hadn¡¯t purposefully disregarded them or delayed contacting them to act hard to get. He simply prioritized the situation surrounding Lee Hyung-Jin more than his entry into Hollywood right now. Woo-Jin¡¯s mind was filled with that matter, and in the meantime, he was actually busy with the release of his new movie.?


    ?


    He wasn¡¯t planning on sacrificing his career for Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s problems. Woo-Jin simply realized that he too could be someone¡¯s fan.?


    ?


    Initially, Woo-Jin was upset and worried for Lee Hyung-Jin as he was someone who knew the truth behind the rumors. But in all honesty, Woo-Jin ended up falling in love with the songs Lee Hyung-Jin wrote and composed when he came to see him. The skills, delicacy, and vocal techniques required to create and sing such songs intensified Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s admiration for Lee Hyung-Jin¡ªthe human¡ªand made him a fan of Lee Hyung-Jin¡ªthe singer.?


    ?


    Prior to this, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t understand the feelings of his fans. He felt grateful for their love and support but couldn¡¯t truly comprehend their emotions. However, he now empathized with them. Woo-Jin now wished for Lee Hyung-Jin to live a life of happiness and experience success like his own fans wished it for him.?


    ?


    {I am busy. If I weren¡¯t, I would¡¯ve come here every day.}?


    ?


    {...}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had temporarily forgotten about entering Hollywood because of his activities as a fanboy, but he didn¡¯t plan on letting go of the rare opportunity.?


    ?


    {I¡¯ve carefully read through the script you sent me. It was very well thought out. How can you write so skillfully?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin admired Hugh Miller as a screenwriter as much as he loved the singer Lee Hyung-Jin. Woo-Jin knew how difficult it was to write excellent scripts and his praise came from the bottom of his heart. Hugh¡¯s gaze met Woo-Jin¡¯s sparkling eyes. He immediately pushed Rayford out of his way and faced the actor.?


    ?


    {I know I¡¯m bragging, but it¡¯s a great script, isn¡¯t it?} he said proudly.?


    ?


    {Of course it is. Every character has depth and it''s so vivid they almost appear alive. Such an evocative and detailed script can¡¯t be written without profound knowledge about each and every culture involved. I was in constant awe as I read through it. The character ¡®Jin¡¯ you proposed to cast me as was so charming that I didn¡¯t want to give him to anyone else.}?


    ?


    This time, Hugh¡¯s chest puffed out in response to the praise. He proudly turned to Rayford, showing off his status as a praiseworthy screenwriter.?


    ?


    {But why haven¡¯t we heard a response from you yet? I thought you were going to refuse our proposal.}?


    ?


    Hugh asked nonchalantly as if all his worries so far were a lie. One didn¡¯t have to be an actor to put on a carefree and laid-back front.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 139

    {I have a habit of saving the best bite for last. People also say that eating too quickly can give you indigestion,} Woo-Jin remarked.?


    ?


    {Huh?}?


    ?


    Hugh was confused by the Korean actor¡¯s statement.?


    ?


    {You gave me two weeks to make up my mind, so I wanted to make the most of that time. Casting me in your movie must be a risk and a completely new experience to both of you, but I can say the same. I couldn¡¯t recklessly depart on a brand new adventure with no preparations.}?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin explained how he had used the given time productively by pondering on many things, Hugh couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He then remembered an interview with the director of Red Enemy that the interpreter had read out loud. The director had mentioned how Chae Woo-Jin had initially caused him trouble by refusing the role several times. However, he added that he was grateful towards the actor for doing so. Previously, Hugh hadn¡¯t understood the meaning behind those words, but now he could somehow relate.?


    ?


    Many actors saw movies and roles as stairways to success. But those who saw them as challenges instead were always more honorable and resplendent. Woo-Jin was shining brighter than anyone else in Hugh¡¯s eyes right now.?


    ?


    {So what do you think now that you¡¯ve spent your time contemplating?} The screenwriter asked.?


    ?


    {My answer was already set in stone from the beginning. I¡¯m not so stupid as to let go of ¡®Jin.¡¯ I was planning on contacting you today, but that seems unnecessary now as we¡¯ve ¡®coincidentally¡¯ run into each other.}?


    ?


    Although this appeared to be a fateful encounter, the reality couldn¡¯t be further from that. Woo-Jin had actually come to the park the previous day but quickly left when he noticed Rayford and Hugh. He had been totally unprepared and hadn¡¯t known what to say if they started a conversation.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had heard from the agency that the two visitors were earnestly looking into him. The information came directly from the interpreter that CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had introduced to them. Hugh and Rayford regularly went out to find Chae Woo-Jin, but fortunately or unfortunately, they always seemed to be a step too late. So when he was informed that the two would be revisiting the park today, he had been fully prepared to meet them.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had even prepared a speech to proudly accept the casting proposal without appearing rude. He listened to Kang Ho-Soo''s advice on behaving more confidently and treating the two young and spirited American filmmakers as peers rather than the usual humble attitude while interacting with his Korean counterparts.?


    ?


    {I will soon send a formal response to LL-Studio regarding my decision.}?


    ?


    {That¡¯s great news for us. All those administrative matters regarding the contract and other nitty-gritty can be left to the office workers and lawyers. Right now, we are simple tourists on a leisurely trip, so thanks, but no thanks. We''ll reject any complicated work.}?


    ?


    Hugh had the most authority in LL-Studio. Yet here he was, flailing his hands, saying he had nothing to do with the complicated matters, and claiming to be on a carefree holiday while pretending to be easygoing.?


    ?


    Before long, another one of Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s songs ended. Woo-Jin stated that they should arrange a meeting to discuss the details and was about to quickly make his way to Lee Hyung-Jin when suddenly, Hugh grabbed him and held him back.?


    ?


    {Ray and I indeed happened to ¡®coincidentally¡¯ enter this park, but what about you? What is your relationship with that singer?}?


    ?


    Hugh was curious why the busy actor had specifically made time in his schedule to see that singer¡¯s gig.?


    ?


    {We¡¯re on friendly terms, but I am also his fan. This is the only place in the world where I can listen to his songs,} Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t wearing his usual hat or glasses today. He did have a scarf hiding the bottom half of his face, but he had already loosened it during his conversation with Hugh. The people around slowly noticed Woo-Jin¡¯s presence, and as time passed, the area had become rowdy.?


    ?


    Many among the doubtful and hesitant crowd gathered around Lee Hyung-Jin recognized the actor. Chae Woo-Jin was initially worried that wrapping a scarf would make him unrecognizable, but Hwang Yi-Young assured him otherwise. In the end, his fashion coordinator was right, and his concerns were futile.?


    ?


    Their goal had always been to act mysterious to trigger people''s curiosity instead of avoiding being recognized. Thus, Woo-Jin calmly walked past the people staring at him in astonishment.?


    ?


    Reenacting his Moses act from Street Date, Woo-Jin effortlessly parted the crowd like the Red Sea and formed a path to Lee Hyung-Jin in front of him. Although the crowd was much smaller in comparison¡ªnumbering 50-odd people¡ªthe visual impact was still as strong.?


    ?


    Each time Lee Hyung-Jin finished a song, he had to manually start another instrumental track on his own. Once he finished adjusting his equipment and grabbed his mic again, he saw someone approach him and sit on the ground at the front. An ambiguous expression formed on Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s face as he recognized Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin had realized that Woo-Jin believed in him when the actor first came to see him. However, never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Woo-Jin would continue visiting him regularly after that first visit. Lee Hyung-Jin had thanked him but firmly stated not to come again as he worried for Woo-Jin¡¯s public image.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin visited again and again nonetheless. Lee Hyung-Jin now had mixed feelings about the attention he received from the public, thanks to the actor¡¯s actions.?


    ?


    ¡°This next song is called ¡®Comma.¡¯¡±?


    ?


    Before long, Lee Hyung-Jin moved his gaze away from Woo-Jin and put all his effort into singing his song.?


    ?


    ¡°You wrote a full stop as I ran endlessly.?


    ?


    You were already at a standstill, but I continued confidently,?


    ?


    Not once looking back, believing in your presence following me,?


    ?


    Thinking you¡¯d be there behind me, slow but steady.¡±?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin had spent long, difficult years feeling guilty about his friend¡¯s death. But he had finally begun to move onwards in his life, forgetting about it. Yet, an unexpected rumor ruined his career, and he fell into a bottomless pit of despair. Feeling bitter and wronged, he began to abhor the entire world.?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin wrote countless songs during the year he spent stuck in his home. Among all those, this was the only song about his deceased friend. At first, his mind was a mess and his emotions a big jumble that he simply couldn¡¯t express himself properly. In fact, he wanted to avoid the problem and kept himself busy with other issues, drowning in alcohol and music. He screamed words filled with rage and resentment towards the world for not believing him.?


    ?


    One day, after drinking way past his limit the previous night, Lee Hyung-Jin woke up in the afternoon, not knowing whether a day or two had passed.?


    ?


    Suddenly, he realized that death could come to him at any time while he spent his days drinking alone in his single-room apartment, with no one checking on him. Immediately, a sense of dread took over him. He wasn¡¯t afraid of death, but it would be too unfair to die with the nation against him because of a false rumor. He shivered as he imagined the public mocking him and gossiping at the news of his death for less than a day before moving on with their lives.?


    ?


    Death was a state where the body and mind came to a halt.?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin didn¡¯t care about the death of his body as he already didn¡¯t want to do anything. But the mind was a different issue. Lee Hyung-Jin still had dreams and pondered on various subjects.?


    ?


    What tormented him was that his thoughts were neverending, including thoughts on what could come after death. Lee Hyung-Jin could¡¯ve taken his own life if he had stopped caring and had no more lingering feelings. However, he couldn¡¯t do it.?


    ?


    There were too many things he wanted to do, too many songs he wanted to sing. He was still afraid of people¡¯s attention and bore a grudge for their misunderstanding. But if he died here, he would never be able to do anything again. All the possibilities would disappear, and Lee Hyung-Jin would be placing a full stop on his life.?


    ?


    Sudden, unavoidable death would be a different issue, but Lee Hyung-Jin could not, and would not, purposefully invite death. There was too much he couldn¡¯t give up on.?


    ?


    The day this realization dawned on him, he ended up crying all day. One had to be totally apathetic and lifeless to abandon their dreams and not fear what came after death. Lee Hyung-Jin finally began to understand how much despair his friend must have gone through to take his own life.?


    ?


    He started imagining his friend¡¯s worries and the things he had to give up while making such a terrifying and difficult decision. His friend had already placed a full stop, while Lee Hyung-Jin was still considering it.?


    ?


    The very next day, the singer finally stood up again after dusting himself off the past burdens. He had realized that he was currently at a comma of his life, not a full stop. With that realization, Lee Hyung-Jin wrote the song ¡®Comma.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°You gave me your comma as I forgot you.?


    ?


    The story we write as only memories remain.?


    ?


    Your feet are still at a full stop while I rest at a comma,?


    ?


    But we¡¯re both standing on the same paragraph.?


    ?


    Yet I still have much to go before my story ends.?


    ?


    I will continue the story you finished.?


    ?


    My comma always remembers your final sentence.¡±?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin was a sentimental and straightforward person who used to sing jolly, sweet, and lovely songs in Woo-Jin¡¯s memories.?


    ?


    But in the past year, he became a composed and reserved person with a heavy presence. Although Woo-Jin could no longer see the bright smile on his face anymore, he sensed that Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s soul had grown and matured. Having gained a deeper understanding of love, hate, and sincerity, the earnest singer¡¯s songs now dug into people¡¯s hearts and struck a chord where it hurt most.?


    ?


    ¡°Lost in the countless stops, the comma lets me breathe, understand your pain.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin sat cross-legged under the warm autumn sunlight as a cool wind blew, listening with utmost concentration to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s song. The crowd that had gotten rowdy with Woo-Jin¡¯s arrival soon calmed down as they observed the actor¡¯s attitude.?


    ?


    The scene between the two was so beautiful that the audience thought they were watching a movie. In the scene, Woo-Jin sat on the grass¡ªlistening to the music¡ªand the only sound coming was Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s song, the soundtrack of the movie.?


    ?


    Despite the lack of action, the spectators weren¡¯t bored of the scene. In fact, their hearts were fluttering. Woo-Jin¡¯s facial expression was in constant change, reacting to the music. Thus, the crowd soon began to listen to the song¡¯s lyrics that they had always been ignoring. The little sympathy and empathy they felt created ripples, expanding and slowly shaking their hearts.?


    ?


    Songs were like magical spells that appealed to emotions.?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin sang two more songs after finishing ¡®Comma,¡¯ then expressed his gratitude to his audience and began to pack up his things. He couldn¡¯t just sing and leave immediately as he was carrying too much equipment with him.?


    ?


    As he put away the speakers, mic, and cables, Woo-Jin approached the singer and lent him a helping hand. This had never happened before, as Woo-Jin always left when the gig ended. Lee Hyung-Jin sent the actor a questioning glance.?


    ?


    ¡®Why are you doing this?¡¯?


    ?


    All the people Lee Hyung-Jin used to consider his friends had turned their backs on him. He had already cut off his school friends from his life due to the betrayal he felt with his friend¡¯s death.?


    ?


    Meanwhile, the friends he made in the entertainment world also turned their backs on him when the false rumor started spreading the previous year since they didn¡¯t want to get involved in the scandal. Now that all those he considered his friends had abandoned him, Lee Hyung-Jin was dumbfounded by Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s actions, who was only a ¡®friendly junior¡¯ in the past.?


    ?


    Moreover, this ¡®friendly junior¡¯ was currently a superstar who had no reason to approach him. There were no benefits for Chae Woo-Jin, as he didn¡¯t need any noise marketing to increase his popularity that already far overshadowed Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s from his prime.?


    ?


    ¡°Because I¡¯m your fan, hyung.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin said in response to the quiet inquiry.

 CH 140

    Lee Hyung-Jin stared at Woo-Jin, confused by the latter¡¯s statement. Woo-Jin took the speakers from his hands and put them away in their containers before explaining himself.?


    ?


    ¡°I really love your songs, especially Comma. I¡¯m only helping out since I¡¯m concerned my favorite singer will get tired. This much is normal for a fan, you know?¡±?


    ?


    Lee Hyung-Jin stood still at Woo-Jin¡¯s words. Without even realizing it, tears began rolling down his cheeks. He finally realized how nice and satisfying it felt to be called a singer, to be told that someone loved the songs he wrote and sang.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin calls Lee Hyung-Jin ¡®my favorite singer.¡¯¡±?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan shivered as he read the title of the news article.?


    ?


    ¡°Can you see the goosebumps on my skin?¡±?


    ?


    CEO Jang pulled back his sleeves and showed his forearm to Woo-Jin as he shivered again. He even clicked his tongue, asking why Woo-Jin had to say something as cringy as ¡®my favorite singer.¡¯ Saying that he would¡¯ve chosen a more sophisticated phrase, mocked Woo-Jin¡¯s linguistic skills. Yet, he couldn¡¯t actually come up with a better phrase on the spot.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you can say. After all, didn¡¯t your eyes get swollen from crying too much when you saw the video of Hyung-Jin hyung?¡± Woo-Jin said in return.?


    ?


    This time, Jang Soo-Hwan could only awkwardly clear his throat at the response without being able to say anything else. The CEO had always wanted to bring Lee Hyung-Jin over to his company before the scandal broke out. Thus, he was very fond of the singer.?


    ?


    Since he had already heard the truth of the suicide incident from Woo-Jin, Jang Soo-Hwan held no prejudice towards the singer and bawled his eyes out, upset as he watched the video. Jang Soo-Hwan had forgotten about Lee Hyung-Jin during the year the singer went off the radar, however, Lee Hyung-Jin hadn¡¯t given up and was now trying to stand back up to face the world again.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan pitied Lee Hyung-Jin but also admired him. He adored the songs Lee Hyung-Jin had written and because of that, felt even more vexed about the circumstances surrounding the singer. Lee Hyung-Jin was already Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s ¡®favorite singer¡¯ as well.?


    ?


    ¡°Ahem, anyways. The talk of this entire week was your statement of being Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s fan, along with people¡¯s curiosity towards the lyrics of Comma and how you two got close back at TM. Hm? It also seems like your fans are treating TM as the harbinger of evil and suffering.¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan read the comments attached to the article and couldn¡¯t stop himself from chuckling. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were denouncing all the relationships he had made at TM as terrible, ill-fated relationships that got him in trouble.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you know that your fans are posting crying emojis in the comment section? They say they have no idea what to call their favorite actor¡¯s favorite singer.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Please stop teasing me. More importantly, have you looked into that matter?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin complained that CEO Jang was poking fun at him when they were supposed to be on the same side. In response, Jang Soo-Hwan took out an envelope containing some documents and handed them over. He summarized the contents for Woo-Jin as he continued to read through the comments.?


    ?


    ¡°About the bullying incident, the main perpetrator¡¯s father is the CEO of a large company¡¯s subcontractor, while his paternal uncle is a chief prosecutor. The incident was covered up and the perpetrators were acquitted thanks to the uncle¡¯s authority. He also has some connections with the press, which is why the incident was glossed over by the media. Needless to say, this was all possible thanks to the father¡¯s wealth.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had requested CEO Jang Soo-Hwan to investigate the true culprits behind the bullying incident that Lee Hyung-Jin was being blamed for. They had to get a hold of the perpetrators in order to clear Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s name from the false accusations.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin skimmed through the document when he suddenly paused at a line.?


    ?


    ¡°The uncle has been regularly meeting someone from the Rome Law Firm?¡± he exclaimed in shock.?


    ?


    ¡°Technically speaking, he¡¯s currying their favor as he plans on retiring next year. Read to the end.¡± CEO Jang answered.?


    ?


    The rest of the document explained how the uncle was likely to retire from the prosecutor¡¯s office in the following year, and was looking into various top-class law firms around the country. Naturally, the Rome Law Firm was the best of the nation, but the document explained how it was unlikely the prosecutor would make it in due to his slightly lacking career.?


    ?


    ¡°But I assume he¡¯s still on the list of candidates to be recruited?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Probably.¡±?


    ?


    As long as he was on the list of candidates at the Rome Law Firm, it was highly likely they had already gathered documents and information related to the candidate. There were rumors surrounding the Rome Law Firm that they did thorough background checks on each of their candidates. As one would expect, Woo-Jin knew the rumors were true.?


    ?


    ¡°This man has got to have at least one antecedent of corruption, right?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    ¡°We already know of one such antecedent, don¡¯t we?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We can¡¯t allow this corrupt old man to have an honorable retirement.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I agree, but what good will it do to Lee Hyung-Jin if we condemn the prosecutor?¡± Jang Soo-Hwan commented.?


    ?


    CEO Jang wanted to prove Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s innocence as soon as possible and bring him into DS. They could always deal with the true perpetrators later on.?


    ?


    ¡°We cannot be the ones to clear Hyung-Jin hyung from the false accusations,¡± Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean? If not us, then who will?¡±?


    ?


    CEO Jang was confident he could control the press in their favor. If he brought up the issue of Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s past again and cleared the suspicions one at a time, he was confident they could erase all the false rumors.?


    ?


    ¡°If you bring him into DS immediately, people will start having doubts. They might even believe that CEO Jang manipulated the media and used fake evidence to prove Hyung-Jin hyung¡¯s innocence just to bring him over to your agency.¡± Woo-Jin answered.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan also expected this to happen to some degree. They would be suspected, but that was inevitable in the entertainment world. Some people would always doubt them for the sake of doubting.?


    ?


    ¡°Setting TM aside, the rumors originated from the press and the public. It¡¯s only natural that they should acquit the false rumors themselves. But I think the first spark should come from a local news reporter instead of someone in the entertainment industry. All this before TM intervenes and causes a mess.¡±?


    ?


    Despite being forgotten for a year, Lee Hyung-Jin was slowly making his way back into the mainstream thanks to Woo-Jin¡¯s actions. Most of the public acknowledged the man¡¯s talent as a singer-songwriter, but they simply could not forgive him for his past and continued to look at him with contempt.?


    ?


    However, for celebrities, the only thing worse than malicious comments was a lack of comments. Being criticized was far better than being forgotten.?


    ?


    Now that he had decided to return as a singer, Lee Hyung-Jin was already prepared to be swept up by the controversy. Woo-Jin knew that it would be hard, but he hoped his favorite singer could endure the difficult and painful situation for just a bit longer. He wanted Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s comeback to be flawless. That was his greedy wish as a fan.?


    ?


    ¡°This incident must be brought up and gossiped about somewhere outside the entertainment world. The situation will descend into further chaos if we stand on Hyung-Jin hyung¡¯s side and provide evidence without condemning the true perpetrators. We need to tear them down and pull them to the surface of the scandal one after the other, with a tangled web of evidence.¡±?


    ?


    The prosecutor¡¯s nephew had bullied a classmate into committing suicide. However, even though the perpetrator¡¯s name was written in the suicide note, the incident was covered up as a misunderstanding between friends. It was dismissed as a friendship falling apart due to some confusion, and the victim writing the other¡¯s name in the suicide note out of spite.?


    ?


    Thus, the student who had committed suicide was branded as a hot-tempered boy who impatiently chose death. Hence, even if someone secretly investigated the prosecutor¡¯s background, this incident would come up without seeming inappropriate.?


    ?


    ¡°But our main issue is the father,¡± Woo-Jin stated.?


    ?


    They could deal with the prosecutor with the help of Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family, but there was no one he could rely on in the business world. The perpetrator¡¯s father was still successful and prosperous, so even if they tried to condemn the uncle, the father could always counterattack. Moreover, Woo-Jin had no idea of what power the man held and what he could do.?


    ?


    Tap tap.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan knocked on the table to catch Woo-Jin¡¯s attention.?


    ?


    ¡°We should be able to deal with the father pretty easily.¡± Jang Soo-Hwan mentioned.?


    ?


    ¡°How?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Read the document again. Where is his company affiliated to?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s the CEO of Rosie Laboratories, so is it an affiliate of Rosie Cosmetics?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Rosie Cosmetics was the parent company of the Rosie Group. Usually, the products created at Rosie Laboratories were used as the main components of their cosmetics.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. And it happens to be owned by the Supreme Witch¡¯s family.¡±?


    ?


    Large companies were often connected to one another, just like how Jang Soo-Hwan was friends with G&C Entertainment¡¯s Supreme Witch, CEO Choi Won-Hee.?


    ?


    ¡°And I happen to be friends with the Supreme Witch! Since I had Song Jae-Hee star in Glooming Day just to satisfy her for her hobby, it¡¯s time for the Witch to repay her debt!¡±?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan bragged to Woo-Jin, but the latter sent him a skeptical gaze.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s not even CEO Choi¡¯s company, but her family¡¯s. How can she help us out? Rosie Laboratories may be affiliated to them, but the document says they¡¯ve been working together for over 15 years. Would they actually lend us a hand? It also bothers me how the affiliate company has over a hundred employees. One wrong step and we could get over a hundred innocent people involved.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t plan on making a hundred-odd people lose their jobs just to save Lee Hyung-Jin. It was unlikely to happen as they didn¡¯t quite have the authority to do so, but Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but worry about the smallest of possibilities.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Woo-Jin. No matter how terrible the CEO of the Rosie Laboratory may be, there¡¯s no need to ruin a perfectly good company. If they want to go bankrupt, they should at least go bankrupt from their own mistakes. But if we hint at the fact that we can make their parent company stop all transactions with them, the CEO¡¯s mind should be a mess. That¡¯s all we need the Supreme Witch to do for us.¡±?


    ?


    In today¡¯s world, it didn¡¯t matter whether they had a partnership for 15 years or for 150 years over several generations; it was difficult to find loyalty and honor in trades between companies. The biggest concern and fear of subcontractors was a shift in the opinion of their parent company that could result in the suspension of their partnership at any moment.?


    ?


    Therefore, if they stimulated this fear within the perpetrator¡¯s father, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help his prosecutor brother if the latter got involved in an investigation over the suspicion of corruption.?


    ?


    ¡°The problem is¡­ the Supreme Witch may listen to my request but Rosie Cosmetics is a different issue. That family is all about deals and transactions. You should keep in mind that you might be forced to film commercials for their products.¡± CEO Jang said.?


    ?


    If Choi Won-Hee informed her family of Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s request, it was possible that they would support CEO Jang and Woo-Jin. But in order to make them act as Jang Soo-Hwan wanted, they needed a concrete reward in exchange.?


    ?


    ¡°Will they even want me in their commercials?¡± the actor asked.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was more than willing to star in commercials in exchange for their help, but whether they were actually interested in him was a different question altogether. He couldn¡¯t get complacent before communicating with Rosie Cosmetics.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve already received five offers from cosmetic companies to star in their commercial. Did you think Rosie Cosmetics wasn¡¯t one of them?¡±?


    ?


    Thankfully, Woo-Jin had yet to participate in any other cosmetics commercials, so there would be no problems if the Rosie Group demanded his involvement.?


    ?


    ¡°Really? Then why don¡¯t we contact Rosie Cosmetics without CEO Choi as an intermediary?¡± Woo-Jin asked. He thought that it would be a shame to offset the debt CEO Choi owed them for the small role of a messenger.?


    ?


    ¡°Then she¡¯ll sulk!¡± Jang Soo-Hwan exclaimed.?


    ?


    ¡°What?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The Supreme Witch will sulk if she learns that we made a deal with the Rosie Group without going through her. Why do you think her nickname is ¡®the Supreme Witch¡¯ in the first place? Witches are evil beings that curse babies to death by getting pricked by a needle just because they weren¡¯t invited to a birthday party!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin steeled himself at CEO Jang¡¯s outburst. There seemed to be some history between the two of them. In any case, they couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistakes in this secret operation. Not only did they have to bring the hammer of justice down on the true criminals and absolve Lee Hyung-Jin from the false rumors, but they also couldn¡¯t get innocent bystanders involved.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t wish to change the world or anything so grand. He simply wished everyone could live happily smiling together.

 CH 141

    A luxurious Korean table d''h?te[1] restaurant is the perfect place for a family reunion or a small business meeting. Every room is sound-proofed so no noise leaks outside, and as an extra precaution, the corridors played relaxing music to mask the sound. Moreover, since the people inside the rooms can¡¯t hear the music outside, they can relax and talk as much as they want.?


    ?


    Thus, people like Woo-Jin and Park Yi-Yeon often went to high-class restaurants such as this one to have confidential conversations.?


    ?


    During their meal, Park Yi-Yeon snorted when he suddenly received a small piece of paper from his cousin. He didn¡¯t know how to react and fiddled with the mysterious note, not knowing to laugh or cry at the absurdity of the situation.?


    ?


    ¡°So the person on this paper, this Kim Gwan¨C¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Shush! Don¡¯t say the name out loud.¡± Woo-Jin interjected.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon had barely managed to think of something to say and opened his mouth to read the name, but was quickly stopped by Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°Are we filming a thriller-crime movie or something? We¡¯re already safe in this room. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re some government spies taking part in an intelligence warfare. How am I supposed to react when all you¡¯re giving me is a piece of paper with some random name?¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon asked as he shook the small note with the name ¡®Kim Gwan-Young¡¯ in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s face.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had eaten dinner today with his cousin Park Yi-Yeon in order to ask him for help regarding Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s case. They were drinking tea comfortably after finishing dinner when Woo-Jin sneakily slid a piece of paper with a single name ¡®Kim Gwan-Young¡¯ written inside towards Park Yi-Yeon. He was the prosecutor who was the target of Woo-Jin¡¯s plans.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin was still part of TM, Lee Hyung-Jin had talked about the suicide incident once during a drunken stupor. Lee Hyung-Jin mentioned that the legal case had taken a strange turn because the culprit behind the bullying had a prosecutor in his family. Woo-Jin had never forgotten that piece of information, so when he asked CEO Jang Soo-Hwan to investigate the perpetrators, Woo-Jin was already planning on asking his cousin for help.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin¡¯s first priority when dealing with this issue was the safety of his loved ones, so he had no choice but to act extremely carefully and covertly. Thus, Woo-Jin explained the entire story to Park Yi-Yeon in a quiet voice. However, he was so quiet that Park Yi-Yeon had to ask him to repeat himself several times.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s still a year left, but Kim Gwan-Young is definitely going to voluntarily resign next year, because the one who¡¯s most likely to become the next Prosecutor General is his coworker. Kim Gwan-Young is the reason why I¡¯m having such a hard time these days.¡± Park Yi-Yeon sighed as he spoke.?


    ?


    Thankfully, it seemed Park Yi-Yeon knew Kim Gwan-Young personally. The old man had been asking for Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s help since his grandfather was the CEO of the Rome Law Firm.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s obviously not the only one who¡¯s been bothering me about the Rome Law Firm. But with his lacking career and achievements, he should know that I can¡¯t help at all, let alone influence the recruitment process at the firm. Still, he won¡¯t listen to me.¡±?


    ?


    People often approached Park Yi-Yeon because of his background. However, Park Yi-Yeon had become a prosecutor through his own abilities without the help of his family. As long as he didn¡¯t resign as a prosecutor and worked at the Rome Law Firm, he held neither authority nor the right to exercise any power within the law firm.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon could understand that the younger prosecutors with lesser experience would be unaware of his status¨Cor the lack thereof¨Cin the law firm, but most of the older prosecutors who had worked with his father should be painfully aware of how futile it was to ask for Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s help. In fact, Kim Gwan-Young was one of the people who had known his father, which made his already futile requests to Park Yi-Yeon even more pathetic.?


    ?


    ¡°But still, you¡¯re overdoing it. A single piece of paper, really?¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon returned the note to Woo-Jin as he rebuked him.?


    ?


    ¡°We need to be careful. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being extra cautious.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin tore the paper into smaller pieces before pouring water over the shredded bits. He was the type who pays extra attention to everything. In fact, Woo-Jin always started recording on his phone whenever he felt something was weird in his surroundings. Park Yi-Yeon was amazed by Woo-Jin¡¯s behavior, and wondered where his cousin had learned such tricks.?


    ?


    ¡°So, what is it you want from me?¡± Park Yi-Yeon asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Information and materials that will get this man arrested.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Then you¡¯re asking the wrong person. Even if we work at the same place, it doesn¡¯t mean I know everything about him. And if we did notice any hints of corruption, we would¡¯ve already started investigating it. But Grandfather should have the documents and materials that are available only to the chief prosecutor and above. Keep in mind that I have no power in the Rome Law Firm. Did you think Grandfather or Father would give me materials and data gathered by the firm? Even my father didn¡¯t have any access to them until he retired as a prosecutor and joined the company.¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon firmly drew the line, telling Woo-Jin he wouldn¡¯t be able to help. He even warned the latter not to make the same mistakes as his coworkers by constantly nagging Park Yi-Yeon for help.?


    ?


    ¡°I already expected that, but asked just in case. It would be a bit awkward if I went to Grandfather or Uncle just to ask for their help. In fact, they wouldn¡¯t show me anything that they¡¯re not showing you, would they?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin found it difficult to make requests or act spoiled towards his grandfather now that he was an adult. Moreover, it was even more awkward for Woo-Jin since his mother had a falling out with his maternal family which lasted for a long while. And during that period of time, Woo-Jin and his sister didn¡¯t stay in touch with them. Woo-Jin quickly reconnected with Park Yi-Yeon since they were of the same age group even though the latter was slightly older than Woo-Jin. However, he couldn¡¯t do the same with his grandfather and uncle.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had also instantly become friends with her older cousin Park Hee-Yeon who was of the same gender, but it was painfully obvious she still had a hard time around the adults of their maternal family. Their uncle was a great role-model they looked up to, but he was not yet a friendly uncle whom they could comfortably chat with.?


    ?


    ¡°Be more confident in yourself. I¡¯m sure Grandfather will happily help you out if you ask him.¡± Park Yi-Yeon mentioned.?


    ?


    There was no way their grandfather wouldn¡¯t listen to Woo-Jin¡¯s request when he felt indebted to his daughter and her children.?


    ?


    ¡°If there are some issues with Kim Gwan¨C with that man, I don¡¯t think Grandfather would necessarily refuse to help. He has been showing a lot of interest in Lee Hyung-Jin these days too.¡± Park Yi-Yeon added.?


    ?


    Their grandfather was going crazy over Lee Hyung-Jin ever since Woo-Jin had called him ¡®his favorite singer¡¯. He frowned as he looked into Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s past, worrying that Woo-Jin was making dangerous friends.?


    ?


    Their grandfather¡¯s heart had ached and raged with fury when the Blue Fit scandal occurred, so it was not surprising that he was being paranoid with Lee Hyung-Jin. But since he believed that Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t behave thoughtlessly, he turned his attention to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s past instead.?


    ?


    ¡°Grandfather has? Isn¡¯t he extremely busy? How did he learn about Hyung-Jin Hyung?¡±?


    ?


    Never in his wildest dreams would Woo-Jin imagine that he was the reason behind his grandfather¡¯s interest in Lee Hyung-Jin. Instead, Woo-Jin was simply amazed by the fact that his grandfather knew the singer.?


    ?


    ¡°He isn¡¯t that busy these days. He reduced his workload and is slowly preparing to retire.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin recalled his grandfather¡¯s age and sat silently. When they reunited after several years, Woo-Jin got slightly teary when he noticed how much older his grandfather looked. He had realized that even such a vigorous and upright person couldn¡¯t resist the passing of time.?


    ?


    ¡°But he¡¯s still healthy, isn¡¯t he?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Check for yourself when you visit him. Anyways, are you confident in your results for the second round of the exam?¡±?


    ?


    The results for the second round of the bar exam would be announced in three days. Woo-Jin nodded at Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s question instead of voicing out his answer.?


    ?


    ¡°Really?¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s surprise was expected. Taking into consideration Woo-Jin''s busy schedule and activities, it was already an incredible feat to have passed the first round of the exam. But the family members hadn¡¯t mentioned Woo-Jin¡¯s qualification to his grandfather to avoid putting pressure on the examinee.?


    ?


    The CEO of the Rome Law Firm never paid much attention to examinees who had only passed the first round. However, he did receive some reports about notable geniuses or examinees with special circumstances. However, Woo-Jin¡¯s uncle removed the report on ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ before it could reach his grandfather.?


    ?


    Thus, Park Hyun-Man was still unaware that his grandson had taken the bar exam.?


    ?


    ¡°Then go visit once you pass it. He¡¯ll be ecstatic. Looking at how he¡¯s been acting recently, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll accept whatever you decide to do in the future. But this is a different matter. It¡¯s about his pride, and he¡¯ll definitely be happy about it.¡±?


    ?


    Despite other¡¯s concerns, Park Hyun-Man actually understood Woo-Jin¡¯s choice to pursue acting as a career and supported him. He would¡¯ve been against it if Woo-Jin was a no-name actor or had bad rumors surrounding him. However, Woo-Jin was doing well in the industry and was working hard to rise to the top, so there was no need for Park Hyun-Man to drag his grandson down for no apparent reason.?


    ?


    Moreover, he was already satisfied since Woo-Hee had stated that her dream was to become a prosecutor during the ¡®Golden Ball¡¯. Park Hyun-Man wore a gleeful smile on his face for several days after watching the show, saying that their line of work needed more motivated and decisive children like her to join. Park Hyun-Man remembered the times he worked as a prosecutor and it felt like he was getting acknowledged by his granddaughter.?


    ?


    ¡°Now that Woo-Hee has decided to go to law school, if you pass the bar exam, Grandfather will be overjoyed~!¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon chuckled as he imagined their grandfather¡¯s reaction. Even if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t work as a prosecutor or any type of government official, the fact that all his grandchildren had passed the bar exam would be something Park Hyun-Man could be proud of. So there was nothing Park Hyun-Man wouldn¡¯t do to grant his grandson¡¯s wish.?


    ?


    Suddenly, Park Yi-Yeon recalled something and took out his phone while gesturing at Woo-Jin to come sit next to him.?


    ?


    ¡°Let¡¯s take some selfies.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin asked as he sat next to Park Yi-Yeon. Woo-Jin knew his cousin didn¡¯t like to take pictures, so this came as a surprise to him.?


    ?


    ¡°I told my girlfriend I was having dinner with my cousin tonight and invited her to join, but she refused. So I¡¯m gonna tease her with some pictures.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re dating someone, hyung?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for five years and started dating a month ago.¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon swung his arm around Woo-Jin¡¯s shoulders and took a photo with a big grin. As soon as he got the picture, he frowned and immediately deleted it. After some trial and error, he finally got a barely passable picture, and pushed Woo-Jin away.?


    ?


    Even though he had affectionately posed with Woo-Jin, Park Yi-Yeon kicked Woo-Jin away without hesitation as soon as he got what he wanted. The actor sensed some hidden spite behind his cousin''s actions, so he left the seat and asked.?


    ?


    ¡°But how is taking a picture with me teasing your girlfriend?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My future wife happens to be your fan.¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon called his girlfriend his future wife without hesitation. They had only dated for a month, but the time they had spent together beforehand couldn¡¯t be ignored. The five years was more than enough for Park Yi-Yeon to consider a future with her. In fact, although no one knew what the future held, Park Yi-Yeon wouldn¡¯t have started dating his girlfriend if he wasn¡¯t ready to marry her.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon had inherited his grandfather¡¯s pure vision of love and had a very straightforward and firm ideal of dating and marriage.?


    ?


    He believed there was no point in dating if it wasn¡¯t followed up with marriage, so he made his intentions clear when he first confessed: ¡®From the moment you start dating me, you will have no choice other than marrying me in the future.¡¯?


    ?


    That was why Park Yi-Yeon could naturally use the word ¡®wife¡¯.?


    ?


    ¡°When she finds out that the cousin I saw today is you, she¡¯s gonna be so vexed~!¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon laughed grimly and looked at the photo on the screen for a while more before sending it to his girlfriend. As he pressed the send button, Park Yi-Yeon smirked like a mastermind executing his grand masterplan of a conspiracy involving the entire world.?


    ?


    ¡°She replied.¡±?


    ?


    A few dozen seconds went by since Park Yi-Yeon sent a single photo without any explanation, and a reply had already arrived. Woo-Jin was also curious about the reply and sat right next to his cousin to read it.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s just a line of question marks.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t realized what¡¯s going on yet. Oh? She¡¯s calling me.¡±?


    ?


    It seemed that she wasn¡¯t satisfied with just sending a line of question marks and urgently called her boyfriend.?


    ?


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you busy?¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon said in a sulky tone. It seemed one of her excuses not to come tonight was that she was busy with work. Woo-Jin had never heard his cousin talk in this manner, so he held back his laughter and quietly watched the situation unfold.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin would¡¯ve been more than satisfied if his future cousin-in-law wasn¡¯t an anti-fan, but hearing that she was his fan lightened the burden on his shoulders. Even since he became Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s fan, Woo-Jin now appreciated fans who supported him far more than before and felt grateful for their love.?


    ?


    Although many were surprised by Woo-Jin¡¯s sudden declaration that Lee Hyung-Jin was his ¡®favorite singer¡¯, none of his fans criticized him for it. Everyone knew that there was a reason behind his actions, and most of them recognized Lee Hyung-Jin as a talented singer. Woo-Jin¡¯s past as a victim of bullying seemed to have helped him out with swaying the public¡¯s opinion.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fans believed that he wouldn¡¯t hang around Lee Hyung-Jin without a good reason.?


    ?


    ¨CWhat on earth is this picture? Is the person sitting next to your squid face who I think he is??


    ?


    ¡°Hey! What do you mean by ¡®squid face¡¯? I¡¯m hanging up.¡±?


    ?


    ¨CDon¡¯t be like that, you know that I love squids the most in the world.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I do know that you love eating grilled squid as snacks with your alcohol. Maybe that¡¯s why my body has been hurting all over recently.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin watched his cousin bicker lovingly with his girlfriend in amazement as it was a fresh experience. Although Park Yi-Yeon wasn¡¯t an annoying or overbearing cousin, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t quite treat him like a close friend as his cousin was older. But Woo-Jin enjoyed watching Park Yi-Yeon chat with his future wife as he saw a new side of his older cousin.?


    ?


    1. Korean table d''h?te, called han-jeongsik in Korean, is a Korean-style full-course meal characterized by the array of small banchan plates in varied colors. ?

 CH 142

    "I told you I was having dinner with my cousin today, so who else than my cousin would be in the photo?¡± Park Yi-Yeon said to his girlfriend on the other end of the phone.?


    ?


    ¡ªHuh? Huh? Huuuuh????


    ?


    "That¡¯s right! Didn¡¯t I tell you before that if you dated me, I could help make your fangirling activities a success at the very least?¡±?


    ?


    A confused voice spat a string of bizarre words out of Park Yi-Yeon''s phone in response. Among them were questions such as: ¡®How was I supposed to know that¡¯s what you meant?¡¯ or ¡®I thought you would just silently accept and support my fangirling!¡¯?


    ?


    "So you don''t want my help?" Park Yi-Yeon asked.?


    ?


    ¡ªI do. I¡¯m never breaking up with you.?


    ?


    "No need to state the obvious. In any case, that¡¯s it for today."?


    ?


    ¡ªHuh??


    ?


    "One should always throw only a handful of fish bait at a time. I''m a squid who slowly but steadily provides quality food and the best environment for the fish coming inside my fishing area."?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon settled the grudge he held against his girlfriend for not accompanying him tonight in a teasing yet caring manner. He poked fun at her a bit more before saying he had some important stuff to talk with Woo-Jin and hung up soon afterward.?


    ?


    "Are you sure you¡¯re getting along with her?" Woo-Jin asked in confusion.?


    ?


    ¡°We can talk without holding back because we were friends of the same age for so long.¡±?


    ?


    "Does Grandfather know you plan on marrying her?"?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know the familial or financial situation of his cousin¡¯s future wife. Nonetheless, he didn''t think their grandfather would allow Park Yi-Yeon to get married so easily just because he loved her, considering that Woo-Jin''s mother and uncle had arranged marriages.?


    ?


    "I feel bad for what happened to Aunty, you, and Woo-Hee, but things have gotten laxer in the family thanks to what happened back then. Grandfather said he''ll allow us to marry whomever we want as long as their family¡¯s status isn¡¯t too different from ours and the person we wish to marry is good. In fact, Grandfather likes my girlfriend a lot because she¡¯s in the same line of work as us."?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled bitterly at Park Yi-Yeon''s words but was happy for his cousin.?


    ?


    "It¡¯s a well-known fact that Aunty¡¯s divorce played a big part in Grandfather¡¯s obsession with conducting background checks on people. In the past, he was only interested in evaluating people¡¯s social statuses and public image, but since the divorce, he thoroughly investigates their private lives as well. And my girlfriend passed his evaluation!¡± Park Yi-Yeon bragged to his cousin.?


    ?


    Although he only looked into people¡¯s competencies and their reputations before, Park Hyun-Man became exceedingly distrustful of people after getting tricked by his ex-son-in-law. So nowadays, Park Hyun-Man didn¡¯t care too much if someone¡¯s personal life wasn¡¯t perfect, as long as he didn¡¯t get stabbed in the back later on.?


    ?


    "In any case, you should go see him after getting your results. Now that Grandfather is interested in Lee Hyung-Jin, he must be busy collecting intel on him. By the time you visit him, he should have more than enough info and evidence that will be of use to you. And if you pass the bar exam, he¡¯ll be overjoyed and help you proactively."?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon added that Woo-Jin shouldn¡¯t feel too anxious about visiting their grandfather since the latter was recently bored by the lack of work.?


    ?


    "Now that we¡¯re done talking about your issue let''s get to my business."?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon put down his teacup, held his hands together on the table, and gazed seriously at Woo-Jin. The actor watched his cousin with suspicion as Park Yi-Yeon was behaving like an intimidating prosecutor in the midst of an interrogation.?


    ?


    "There will be a bloodbath in the entertainment industry around November."?


    ?


    "A bloodbath?" Woo-Jin asked for clarification.?


    ?


    "The relationships between celebrities and their sponsors in the political and business worlds will be revealed."?


    ?


    "And you''re in charge of that case, hyung?"?


    ?


    Although he didn''t give a proper response, the answer was apparent from the smile on Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s face.?


    ?


    "Aren¡¯t sponsorship scandals quite common, though? In the end, it will be treated as a single person¡¯s misbehavior and get quietly glossed over. Has there been a single time where such a scandal got properly resolved?¡± Woo-Jin asked. He was very skeptical.?


    ?


    Political and business figures were no ordinary people who could be easily shaken. Even if a celebrity committed suicide or someone confessed their wrongdoings, the scandal would only shine for an instant before the light got extinguished. There had never been a bloodbath that involved the entertainment, political, and business worlds. No one was ever punished, and those who committed suicide would simply take on all the blame before being forgotten.?


    ?


    ¡°This time around, we have a proper target and guidelines on how to proceed provided by the higher-ups. But while we catch the big fish, many other extras will get caught in the net. Still, those extra fish are so famous that the country will be in chaos.¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon pointed up with his finger. He hinted that he had no choice but to take charge of the investigation due to instructions from above.?


    ?


    In other words, their target could not escape the investigation, and the underlings would get caught in the crossfire. However, not all the underlings were innocent, so Park Yi-Yeon didn¡¯t feel guilty for getting them involved.?


    ?


    "Are the higher-ups trying to eliminate a political opponent?"?


    ?


    "Ooh~! You¡¯ve gotten smarter, Woo-Jin. That''s right, the political world is going through an extensive pruning in preparation for next year''s elections, while we prosecutors are waiting for the opportunity to bring up the scandals and cases we¡¯ve been keeping quiet about so far. We sound really pathetic now that I¡¯ve said that out loud. But, this is how we live as prosecutors."?


    ?


    A large pruning. The plan was to eliminate the big shots of their opponents while sacrificing some of their own people in return. Famous celebrities were also involved and getting sacrificed, so it was guaranteed that the scandals would garner attention and bring social repercussions to the targets.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve chosen a great career, unlike me.¡± Park Yi-Yeon smiled bitterly and complained. Naturally, he had chosen this career with firm determination and conviction, but he sometimes doubted his choice when situations got complicated as such.?


    ?


    "But why are you telling me all this?" Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon had no reason to tell Woo-Jin that chaos would descend on the entertainment industry and it involved sponsor problems. In fact, Park Yi-Yeon wasn¡¯t the type of person to talk about his investigations to others when they were far from over, even if his cousin was a celebrity.?


    ?


    "Simply put, this case is a problem about political and business big-shots sponsoring certain celebrities. But the most crucial aspect is actually the connection between the entertainment agencies and the brokers¡ªthose who play the role of the middleman between agencies and sponsors. Celebrities just receive money and simple support for their activities from the sponsors, but agencies get support to expand their influence in the entertainment industry while brokers profit from it personally in between everything."?


    ?


    Although sponsorship issues could be treated as personal problems, they became the impetus that allowed agencies to push ahead in the entertainment industry with the help of politicians backing them. Moreover, agencies didn¡¯t always get cash in return for pimping their celebrities to rich entrepreneurs.?


    ?


    In addition, the brokers profited by being the liaison between the politicians, entrepreneurs, and agency representatives.?


    ?


    "But this time, we won¡¯t get the brokers involved. Trying to catch them is like tipping a domino. You find more and more dirt on other people, and it never ends. But I''ve already investigated them all just in case." Park Yi-Yeon paused for a moment.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin silently waited for his prosecutor-cousin to continue talking. But at this point, he could see where his older cousin was getting to. He had guessed Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s intentions as soon as the topic of sponsorship had been addressed.?


    ?


    "But your name came up in the process of investigation."?


    ?


    Woo-Jin chuckled as his prediction came true.?


    ?


    He had guessed that Park Yi-Yeon wasn¡¯t simply here to warn his celebrity cousin about the bloodbath that would occur in November. Park Yi-Yeon wouldn¡¯t talk about this topic in a restaurant with Woo-Jin if the latter¡¯s name were not mentioned during the investigation.?


    ?


    "So, do you think I have a sponsor?" Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    "No way. I wouldn''t have eaten dinner with you so calmly if I did."?


    ?


    Even if Woo-Jin was his blood-related cousin, Park Yi-Yeon wouldn¡¯t have spared him. In fact, he would¡¯ve shaved Woo-Jin¡¯s head instead of grabbing the actor¡¯s hair in anger. [1] Park Yi-Yeon mumbled to himself before continuing his explanation.?


    ?


    "We are already investigating our target to gather solid evidence so that they cannot slip out of our hands by the time we reveal everything in November. So we¡¯re still in the process of randomly collecting any and every superficial information we find. That''s how your name was brought up.¡±?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon couldn¡¯t go into detail, but for now, he planned on following the orders given by the higher-ups. With his current track record, he still couldn¡¯t afford to deviate from the guidelines or try to catch a bigger fish. Moreover, Park Yi-Yeon didn¡¯t trust his superiors enough to make a case and insist on his beliefs.?


    ?


    However, he intended to investigate the case he was now in charge of perfectly. He would gather all the overall intel and make his own judgment on the situation so that he could use the findings to his advantage if he ever came to need them¡ªlike a secret weapon up his sleeve.?


    ?


    And surprisingly, Park Yi-Yeon ended up finding out about the hardship Woo-Jin had gone through at TM. He discovered that Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t left TM because of his discord with Blue Fit but because TM¡¯s CEO forced him to have a sponsor.?


    ?


    "How did you find out about that? The only ones who know about it are the CEO and me¡­. Wait, was a broker involved in that as well?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin thought that CEO Kim had ordered him to get a sponsor in total secrecy. However, Park Yi-Yeon found out about this incident even though a few years had passed. Thus, it was probable that many people were aware of that scheme.?


    ?


    Moreover, Park Yi-Yeon had just said that they were investigating secretly, so they shouldn¡¯t have been able to dig too deeply into this matter. In other words, Park Yi-Yeon had found out about the incident even though he wasn¡¯t actively looking into it, meaning that more people were involved in that case than Woo-Jin had thought.?


    ?


    "There is a rumor that a broker actively recommended you to the lady sponsors back then. I hear that those ladies greatly regret not having gotten a hold of you now that you¡¯ve become so famous,¡± Park Yi-Yeon mentioned.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin picked up the teacup he was fiddling with and drank the contents all at once in response. Those were the most revolting things Woo-Jin had heard in a long while, and his guts were writhing in disgust.?


    ?


    "Apparently, another member of Blue Fit met those ladies to replace you but got cast aside recently. I hear it¡¯s Lee Yeon¡­.¡±?


    ?


    "Lee Yeon? Wait, it''s Lee Yeon hyung? Not Lee Min-Soo?"?


    ?


    "Hey! Don''t call him Lee Yeon hyung. He¡¯s the reason I¡¯m being constantly mocked at work," Park Yi-Yeon exclaimed.?


    ?


    The people at the office constantly messed around with Park Yi-Yeon because he had the same name as Lee Yeon[2]. Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s co-workers enjoyed talking about Lee Yeon and all the scandalous information they found about the idol in front of the prosecutor just to tease him.?


    ?


    Moreover, Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s girlfriend hated his given name. Previously, when she joined Woo-Jin¡¯s fancafe, she¡¯d start glaring at her boyfriend for no reason and also insulted his name out loud. Park Yi-Yeon only learned of the reason later on, but he still thought it was unfair to mistreat him just because of his name.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t care much about his cousin''s hardships at work. The actor was surprised by the news that Lee Yeon had replaced him, as he had always expected it to be Lee Min-Soo.?


    ?


    "It really wasn¡¯t Lee Min-Soo?"?


    ?


    "I''m afraid not," Park Yi-Yeon confirmed.?


    ?


    "Lee Yeo¡ªI mean, that person was always timid and a bit of a coward. There¡¯s no way he would do something so bold and¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Before he could finish his sentence, Woo-Jin suddenly remembered something and closed his mouth. The timid Lee Yeon always stood inconspicuously behind the other Blue Fit members. He had a beautiful face according to current beauty standards but had half-baked skills. It was often said that Lee Yeon wouldn¡¯t have been able to join Blue Fit if not for his appearance. In consequence, Lee Yeon was always anxious and had low self-esteem. He thought he didn¡¯t have any other worth or skills. Therefore, it was highly likely that Lee Yeon had thought of the sponsorship offer as an opportunity to prove himself.?


    ?


    "Oh well, why should I care whether it was Lee Min-Soo or anyone else."?


    ?


    "Right, that doesn''t matter. But....¡±?


    ?


    "If you have something to say, say it already. Stop dragging out this conversation with one piece of info at a time," Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    There was no need for Park Yi-Yeon to create such a serious atmosphere just to talk about something of the past. Moreover, it didn¡¯t matter to Woo-Jin whether it was Lee Yeon or Lee Min-soo who accepted the sponsorship. The actor sensed that his cousin had yet to bring up the core of his concerns and urged him to continue.?


    ?


    "About the broker who promoted you to the sponsors¡­."?


    ?


    "Oh right! How did they know about me? They must¡¯ve somehow heard of me since they were recommending me."?


    ?


    Usually, the agencies arranged sponsors for trainees that had yet to debut. The brokers would never personally promote trainees who had yet to debut to the sponsors first.?


    ?


    "They already knew you very well beforehand. You know them too."?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon slowly revealed the truth. Woo-Jin was somewhat doubtful but tried to recall all the people in his small entourage back in the days at TM. However, he couldn¡¯t find the answer, so Woo-Jin blankly stared at Park Yi-Yeon. No one in his surroundings could¡¯ve been a middleman between the entertainment industry and the political-business world.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon took a deep breath and got rid of all the hesitation remaining in his mind. He had leaked details about his secret investigations because Park Yi-Yeon believed he had to inform Woo-Jin of the truth no matter what.?


    ?


    "It was Kim Hye-Ryeong."?


    ?


    "Kim Hye-Ryeong? Who are you¡­ Don¡¯t tell me, is it that woman?"?


    ?


    "Yes, it¡¯s the woman you¡¯re thinking of."?


    ?


    Kim Hye-Ryeong, the actress, was the current wife of Woo-Jin''s biological father, Chae Mu-Seok. She was greatly active in the entertainment world until her marriage, so there was no way Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know of her name.?


    ?


    1. This is an idiomatic saying that means Park Yi-Yeon would¡¯ve gotten extremely angry/pissed that he would¡¯ve gone the extra mile to punish Woo-Jin much more severely. ??


    ?


    2. Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s first name ¡®Yi-Yeon¡¯(??) is written the same way as ¡®Lee Yeon¡¯ in Korean. The family name ? is written as ¡®Lee¡¯ in English but pronounced ¡®Yi.¡¯ ?

 CH 143

    ¡°Why did that woman¡­?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Having a sponsor is the easiest and quickest way for a celebrity to attain success, but it can also become a shackle that holds them down for the rest of their lives. It could become the worst sex scandal for a celebrity, causing them to fall from grace. Or people could use it to threaten and manipulate them for life. Regardless of her intentions, it seems like that woman wants to completely destroy you. From what I¡¯ve heard, she had actively recommended you.¡±?


    ?


    Because of that, she had now become more famous as a broker for having a good eye as she had the foresight to recommend Chae Woo-Jin before he made it big. She was currently scouring through the entertainment industry, smearing dirt on promising celebrities wherever she went and dragging them through the mud.?


    ?


    ¡°That seems to be the case judging from what she¡¯s doing right now. Back then, she probably didn¡¯t do that for the sake of helping you either.¡± In truth, in Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s case, she became very successful after getting a sponsor, but it was evident that she wasn¡¯t trying to help Woo-Jin become successful by recommending him.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. We cut off all contact with those people. Am I a thorn in her side or something? It would make sense if I kept appearing on TV like I do now, annoying her, but that wasn¡¯t the case then. Is there any chance she did that without knowing who I am?¡± Woo-Jin felt that this conjecture was more convincing. He wanted to believe it was a situation that had happened by chance. To put it bluntly, they didn¡¯t know any details about each other¡¯s lives, so Woo-Jin was doubtful that something like this could even happen.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re saying Kim Hye-Ryeong doesn¡¯t know who you are? Don¡¯t hold your breath. Also, do you really need to understand why she¡¯s doing this? That¡¯s how she chooses to live; what can we do about it? In fact, it would be even more of a problem if you understood her. I¡¯m only telling you about it because I think you need to be careful.¡±?


    ?


    If she had attempted it once, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t do it a second time. Even though it wouldn¡¯t be easy for her because Woo-Jin was currently in a much better place than when he was still in TM, one should never underestimate how low a malicious person would stoop. Since it seemed as though Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know why Kim Hye-Ryeong had something against him, Park Yi-Yeon had no choice but to tell him everything that was going on in that family.?


    ?


    ¡°I had a younger brother?¡± Woo-Jin had only known about Chae Woo-Ra; it was his first time hearing about a younger brother he didn¡¯t even know existed. The belated news of his younger brother¡¯s death gave him mixed feelings. And as soon as Woo-Jin heard about how his biological father had been after the death of his son, he felt bitter. It was not something that would easily blow over. In order to hide his shaking fingers, Woo-Jin lowered his hands and placed them under the table.?


    ?


    ¡°I think aunty[1] doesn¡¯t want you to know about it, but I think it¡¯s something you should know. It¡¯s only a matter of time before everyone knows about our grandfather and your relationship. And by then, that person[2] will recognize you too. Who knows, he might stop doing his terrible deeds and obsess over his wonderful son, who¡¯s all grown up? That woman, Kim Hye-Ryeong, had put in so much effort to do all those things to you back when you didn¡¯t mean anything, so it makes me wonder what she¡¯ll do to you if that happens.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I probably still don¡¯t mean anything to him now. It¡¯s just a matter of whether I¡¯m useful or not.¡± Woo-Jin was fully-aware of what he meant to his biological father; he couldn¡¯t help but smile cynically.?


    ?


    ¡°Why did that woman even become a broker in the first place? I mean, his wife is doing such a thing, and yet that person isn¡¯t doing anything about it?¡± That was the most questionable thing Woo-Jin simply could not wrap his head around. Even though there was no way that person, whom Woo-Jin refused to call ¡®father,¡¯ didn¡¯t know what Kim Hye-Ryeong was doing, it didn¡¯t make sense for him to condone her actions either.?


    ?


    ¡°Kim Hye-Ryeong became a broker approximately three years after aunty got a divorce while being active in the entertainment industry at the same time. And your biological father was the one who benefited from the connections she built as a result. Moreover, your father¡¯s family became so wealthy in such a short period after Kim Hye-Ryeong became a broker, so there¡¯s no reason for him to oppose it.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s father¡¯s family originally owned quite a number of hotels and resorts domestically and internationally. On top of taking over these hotels, Chae Mu-Seok had also founded a food company that dominated the distribution network and was currently on a roll. From business expansion and permits to loans, anything that had to go through institutions always went smoothly without a hitch.?


    ?


    The couple had a mutually beneficial relationship. Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s status as Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s wife played a huge part in increasing her value as a broker. Compared to low-level brokers who could stab them in the back at any moment, being from the same social class, Kim Hye-Ryeong was a trustworthy ¡®friend¡¯ these sponsors could share secrets with. They had a lot to lose if either side betrayed the other party, so their relationship was bound to become more solid and discreet. Even though the price of providing private entertainment was not very high initially, their business relationship turned into a friendship over time, which then eventually turned into a strong connection.?


    ?


    ¡°Maybe they loved each other in the beginning, but it seems like it¡¯s been a long time since their romantic relationship had completely turned into a business one.¡± The current situation had been created as a result of the woman¡¯s fight against abandonment and the man¡¯s self-centered desire to take advantage of the woman¡¯s struggle.?


    ?


    ¡°How dirty.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You think this is dirty? It¡¯s nothing. Work with me for a month. You¡¯ll never say that.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°They¡¯re playing dirty.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know how disappointed he should be; he was in distress. If those two people had been genuinely deeply in love with one another, he would have acknowledged that it resulted from his parents¡¯ incompatibility. However, if this was nothing more than the result of their made-up love, it was so dirty that it made Woo-Jin feel sick.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeon was right ¡ª not being able to understand them was a normal and fortunate thing. Woo-Jin felt so sick that he ended up lowering his head. The current situation was so disgraceful and tragic that Woo-Jin felt too embarrassed to face Park Yi-Yeon.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The day after Woo-Jin met with his cousin, he went to see Rayford and Hugh to talk about the movie. Nothing could lift Woo-Jin''s spirits because of the lingering emotions from the day before, but he was calmer and more rational than anyone else. Thus, Rayford mistook it as him having a serious attitude towards work, thereby creating an even deeper sense of affection for this trustworthy young man.?


    ?


    They discussed Woo-Jin¡¯s shooting schedule, and the lawyer and staff from America had taken care of the contract for his compensation and remuneration. They managed to sign the contract without a hitch before Rayford and Hugh returned to the United States.?


    ?


    {I¡¯ll see you in December then!}?


    ?


    The movie''s production would be starting in December, but Woo-Jin¡¯s shoots were scheduled in January and February next year. However, Woo-Jin decided to be at the filming site earlier in December to get used to the training of the action scenes and the ambiance of the site.?


    ?


    That was the outcome of Rayford¡¯s impatience to introduce Woo-Jin to the other actors and production crew as early as possible. The other reason was that he wanted Woo-Jin to get to know and build a friendship with them before he started shooting, allowing him to quickly adapt to the unfamiliar environment. But, more importantly, since Chae Woo-Jin was a rookie and a nobody in Hollywood, he figured it would be advantageous for him to show his face on set often, regardless of whether he had to shoot a scene or not.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin had already signed the contract, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan postponed publicizing the articles about him expanding into Hollywood for the time being. While LL-Studio did have a solid capital and reputation because of the success of their previous movies, as compared to the other production companies with a long history, it was still relatively new. Since there had been many cases where production companies not lacking in capital or experience ended up canceling their production, it would be too rash for them to celebrate. Moreover, it was too risky to promote a movie that hadn¡¯t started its production.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan kept ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s entry into Hollywood¡¯ a secret for the time being as making a fuss about it could potentially lower Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s value. However, even though it wasn¡¯t the right time for that, there were many ways of promoting Chae Woo-Jin, one of which was the announcement of the candidates that had passed the second round of the bar exam.?


    ?


    ¡°You really passed!¡±?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin was confident, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan still had a great deal of uncertainty and doubt. However, when he saw Woo-Jin¡¯s name on the list of candidates that passed, he was dumbfounded.?


    ?


    ¡°When did you even study for it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°There are people who are even more capable than me.¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin saw Kim Tae-Hwa on the list of names, all he could think about was how incredible she was. He became more capable because he had remembered the memories of his past lives, but Kim Tae-Hwa passed the first and second round on her first attempt while working part-time at the same time. In other words, she was truly a capable person.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had recently given Kim Tae-Hwa a movie ticket for Red Enemy with the help of Hyun-Min, but he didn¡¯t know if she had seen it or not. Even if she had seen it, nobody could guess what she felt or thought about it. Even though Woo-Jin hoped things would change for the better, there was nothing he could do if that weren¡¯t the case. Woo-Jin just hoped that she wouldn¡¯t make the wrong choice because of her family in the future when she was in a position where she had to use the law fairly.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin? What¡¯s on your mind?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, what did you say?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I asked if you were going to go for the interview.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare for it for the time being.¡±?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t going to go to the training institute, not going for the interview after coming this far would be a pity. In the second round of the bar exam, they had passed eight more people than the original quota, so nobody could say he had wasted another person¡¯s opportunity just because he chose not to pursue law.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin desired to have the honor of being the number one successful candidate. As soon as they had released the list of candidates who had passed the exam, people who knew he had taken the test kept calling and texting him. Meanwhile, he immediately called his parents. The joy he could sense in his mother¡¯s cheerful voice made him feel at peace for the first time in a while.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you the details.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Please do as you wish, sir.¡±?


    ?


    A couple of journalists had published favorable articles about Woo-Jin going to see Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s performances. The articles looked at Lee Hyung-Jin from a new perspective, quelling any criticisms about Woo-Jin and DS engaging in buzz marketing[3]. Of these reporters, one had maintained a good relationship with DS, and the other regarded Woo-Jin favorably.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had planned to inform them of the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round of bar exam first. CEO Jang was well-aware of the concept of giving and taking ¡ª he had sent the materials he had already prepared to the journalists at the same time. The journalist who published it first would become the star of the scoop.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    The first journalist, who published the article as soon as they had gotten the materials from DS, was in such a hurry that they made the mistake of typing ¡®educator¡¯ instead of ¡®bar.¡¯[4]. However, their impressive speed was unmarred by the typo. On the contrary, people wondered how surprised they must have been to make such a typo, and it continued lingering in their minds for a long time.?


    ?


    There was also a huge difference in the number of views between that article and the rest published a few minutes later. The journalists that had published just the title without any content started posting follow-up articles with all the details. Regardless, it was only natural for the journalists with materials from DS to publish a more detailed report with substantial content.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    1. Woo-Jin¡¯s mother. ??


    ?


    2. Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father. ??


    ?


    3. Publicity stunt where any publicity is good publicity even if it elicits a negative response. ??


    ?


    4. Both characters are very similar to one another ¨C ?? and ??. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 144

    Chapter 144?


    ?


    ¨C Somebody, tell me what I¡¯m looking at right now!?


    ?


    ©¸ Please don¡¯t be in denial. Instead, hiding this article from your parents should be your top priority right now.?


    ?


    ©¸ I turned off the Wi-Fi at home after reading the comment above, but what¡¯s the point? For some reason, I have an uneasy feeling it¡¯s going to be on the news¡­ Should I eat out with my parents for dinner??


    ?


    ©¸ What if they happen to be airing the news on the TV in the restaurant¡­There¡¯s no escaping it!?


    ?


    ¨C When he said he was leaving The King of the Masked Singers out of filial piety, I thought it was kind of strange. I guess Hanryang Doryeong went to take the gwageo [1] after all.?


    ?


    ©¸ There¡¯s no way he ranked first in the exam, right??


    ?


    ©¸ The commenter above is too delusional.?


    ?


    ¨C In that case, is Woo-Jin oppa going to stop being an actor? He can¡¯t do that~!!!!?


    ?


    ©¸ No way. He¡¯s doing so well these days¡­is there even a reason for him to go to the training institute??


    ?


    ©¸ But Genie¡¯s younger sister said on Golden Ball that being a prosecutor is her dream. Furthermore, since finding out that their maternal uncle was a prosecutor, people have been saying that they come from a family of legal professionals, haven¡¯t they??


    ?


    ©¸ Come to think of it, there aren¡¯t any known details about his family apart from his sister, right? Is there anyone who knows anything about his family??


    ?


    ¨C I don¡¯t know why people are so curious about his family when all they have to do is just congratulate him.?


    ?


    ©¸ Is there something wrong with being curious? He¡¯s a public figure. Now that he has passed the bar exam, the netizen investigation team will soon find out about his personal life and whatnot!?


    ?


    ¨C If Woo-Jin oppa becomes a prosecutor¡­do I have to become a criminal in order to meet him? T_T I¡¯m just imagining myself giggling while getting interrogated.?


    ?


    ©¸ It¡¯s going to get really rowdy at the Prosecutors¡¯ Office¡­ ;;?


    ?


    ©¸ Ah, why aren¡¯t you guys thinking about getting a job at the Prosecutors¡¯ Office!!?


    ?


    After hearing the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round of the bar exam, the one thing people were most curious about was his family. Park Hyun-Man scanned the desk where today¡¯s newspapers were neatly placed. He picked up one of them and couldn¡¯t stop smiling as he read the article on the next page. He thoroughly read through the article, tracing every word with his finger. His secretary that was standing in front of him quietly placed a cup of tea down.?


    ?


    ¡°Secretary Choi.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My grandson will be here today at 3 p.m., so please be there to welcome him. It¡¯s his first time here so people might bother him. Please show him around.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is Prosecutor Park coming?¡± Secretary Choi asked, feeling puzzled after hearing Park Hyun-Man¡¯s words.?


    ?


    Secretary Choi wasn¡¯t too sure as she had just joined the company, but according to what she had heard from her seniors, Park Yi-Yeon had visited the law firm several times before he passed the bar exam. However, after he had passed the bar exam and entered the training institute, she heard that he was very careful with his actions to the point that he didn¡¯t visit the law firm at all. Park Yi-Yeon¡¯s visit was unexpected, but it was even stranger to call it his first visit.?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, the grandson who¡¯s coming today is my daughter¡¯s son. He has just passed the second round of the bar exam, so he wanted to stop by my house to see me, but I told him to come here instead. Isn¡¯t seeing what the ambience here is like a part of studying too?¡±?


    ?


    Park Hyun-Man¡¯s voice was filled with pride; after hearing what he said, the secretary widened her eyes in surprise. Park Hyun-Man often talked about his daughter, so it wasn¡¯t strange to find out he had another grandson. It was just that she had absolutely no idea this grandson of his had taken the bar exam, so she was momentarily confused.?


    ?


    Secretary Choi was still contemplating how much she should know about her boss¡¯ personal life. It was difficult for her to determine if she was incompetent for not knowing his other grandson had taken the bar exam, or whether it was natural for her not to know about it because it was something personal.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so nervous. He had secretly taken the exam without my knowledge and I only found out about it yesterday. More importantly, you didn¡¯t even know he existed.¡± Park Hyun-Man knew how Secretary Choi felt just by looking at her eyes. He smiled softly and took the edge off her nerves.?


    ?


    The secretary who had worked for Park Hyun-Man for several years had retired, and the newly recruited secretary was still inexperienced in many ways. The reason why Park Hyun-Man hired an inexperienced secretary instead of an experienced one was because he was reducing his workload at the law firm and was considering retirement. It would be a waste of manpower to hire a capable person and let them idle around. Instead, it would be more beneficial for him to properly train an inexperienced secretary with potential, so that they would become a competent employee that would be helpful to the company in the future when he retired. Apart from being slightly impulsive and showing her emotions on her face at times, Secretary Choi was a rather competent worker.?


    ?


    ¡°How would I be able to identify your grandson?¡±?


    ?


    If it was Park Yi-Yeon, she would be able to recognize him as she had seen him a couple of times at their house back when she was following Park Hyun-Man around for work. But since the other grandson she had only learned about today was the one visiting the office, she wondered how she was going to identify him in the lobby.?


    ?


    It seemed as though she wanted to save his grandson the trouble of going through the tedious identification checking process at the information desk, but that would only be possible if Secretary Choi knew what he looked like. She wanted to approach him as soon as he entered the building to bring him up using a free pass. Secretary Choi subtly asked Park Hyun-Man to show her his photo, but he just smiled.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll probably know when you see him. He looks just like my daughter.¡± Secretary Choi had never met Park Hyun-Man¡¯s daughter, so she was flustered. It would be better if he looked like Park Hyun-Man instead, but she remembered hearing somewhere that his daughter resembled his late wife, so she was put in a tough spot. In the photo that Secretary Choi saw, Park Hyun-Man¡¯s wife was a beautiful woman in her sixties. She didn¡¯t see a younger version of her, so she needed to use her imagination.?


    ?


    ¡°Come to think of it, I thought she looked a lot like Genie. I wonder if it¡¯s because they have the same kind of vibes? He must be handsome then.¡±?


    ?


    Secretary Choi was a fan of Chae Woo-Jin; she stretched her imagination, thinking about the time she was caught by surprise when she found out how much Chae Woo-Jin resembled Park Hyun-Man¡¯s wife. In the end, even though she tried her best, all she could think about was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face, so she was in a pickle. She thought she was going to suffer from withdrawal symptoms because she missed him and kept thinking about him.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to tell who he is when he¡¯s in the lobby. I¡¯m guessing my grandson will probably be the only person you¡¯ll see.¡±?


    ?


    Secretary Choi was having a hard time managing her facial expressions because of Park Hyun-Man¡¯s confident assertion. Even when she saw the handsomest of men, Secretary Choi no longer thought much of them. She felt sorry for the CEO for bragging about his grandson. Passing the second round of the bar exam called for a celebration, but it was an exam Chae Woo-Jin had passed as well. She didn¡¯t know whether or not he was good-looking, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to match Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s beauty anyway. Unless Park Hyun-Man¡¯s grandson was Chae Woo-Jin himself, it seemed that she would never have eyes for his grandson.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re doing it again. Don¡¯t show your emotions.¡± In the past, he would have instantly replaced his secretary as soon as they showed any signs of sloppiness without bothering to point it out. However, as Park Hyun-Man got older, he became more understanding towards young people. Rather than blaming them for their lack of experience, he focused on correcting their mistakes.?


    ?


    ¡°I am sorry. I will work on it.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t scream when you see him.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t scream when you see my grandson. As my secretary, you have to maintain your dignity at all times. Think of this as part of your training too. I will be keeping an eye on your performance in the future, so keep that in mind.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, sir. Understood.¡± Secretary Choi left the CEO¡¯s office, and fortunately, she had succeeded in holding back her laughter till the end.?


    ?


    ¡°Man, the CEO is so silly. I wouldn¡¯t scream after seeing anyone unless he¡¯s Genie.¡±?


    ?


    Secretary Choi rubbed her tired eyes. She didn¡¯t sleep well because she was chatting with the members of Wish Baragi till dawn, exchanging information with them upon hearing the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round. Because of that, her eyeliner was smudged, so she took out a mirror and fixed her makeup. She was barely wearing any makeup, but because Park Hyun-Man wanted his secretary to look presentable, she always had to dress modestly. She kept her makeup pleasantly simple, without looking too shabby. She didn¡¯t have to look pretty to impress anyone at work, so she didn¡¯t care that much about her appearance. Whenever this happened, she wanted to resign and change jobs.?


    ?


    ¡°Hoo~! If Genie is going to the training institute, I¡¯m going to make preparations to become a civil servant too.¡±?


    ?


    Even though chances were slim, Secretary Choi couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of Woo-Jin working for a law firm even if she were to decide to follow him to the courthouse or the Prosecutors¡¯ Office, so she sighed. It was a joke, but it wasn¡¯t absurd to say being a criminal was the easiest way to convene at the Prosecutors¡¯ Office or courthouse.?


    ?


    As the time approached 3p.m., Secretary Choi tidied and adjusted her hair that was put in a ponytail. She was wearing a navy suit and a white shirt. She checked herself in the mirror several times to ensure she looked flawless in front of the CEO¡¯s grandson, whom she was meeting for the first time.?


    ?


    ¡°Perfect! All I need is a pair of glasses to look just like Proctor B[2].¡± She felt it was a pity she couldn¡¯t dress up as Proctor B. Looking and acting like a secretary, she casually went down to the lobby on the first floor. Even though it was Saturday, there were many people in the lobby. This district was always overflowing with work even on a rest day.?


    ?


    How am I going to identify the CEO¡¯s grandson among all these people? ?


    ?


    It was unlike Park Hyun-Man to insist on getting her to welcome his grandson without first giving her any details, as he had always given clear instructions about work. Perhaps, it was a meaningful test, so Secretary Choi strained her eyes, and felt very tense.?


    ?


    As Secretary Choi stood beside the information desk looking at every person who entered the building, an unbelievable presence appeared before her eyes at 2.50 p.m.. As soon as a man in a black suit and a purple silk tie appeared in the lobby, everybody shifted their gazes towards him. His legs were very long and he had a very good posture as he walked, taking big strides that regardless of how he looked, people couldn¡¯t help but stare at him. His neat hairstyle might seem a little too mature for his age, but it didn¡¯t bother her much because it suited him perfectly. At first glance, his outfit was simple but sexy. With every step he took, his silhouette looked absolutely flawless. It was as though all the light in the world was pouring down on him.?


    ?


    Initially, she was so focused on him that she didn¡¯t notice he was holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a paper bag that appeared to be a gift in the other. After momentarily stopping and looking around, he saw a brave woman walking towards him. Moments later, she gestured towards the information desk where Secretary Choi was standing. As the man nodded and expressed his gratitude before walking towards her, Secretary Choi was busy piecing the pieces together.?


    ?


    The man stopped a few steps away from her; he lowered his head slightly and looked at Secretary Choi¡¯s name tag. She suddenly came to her senses and spoke.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you by any chance the CEO¡¯s grandson who¡¯s here to see him?¡± The moment Secretary Choi subconsciously opened her mouth, the pieces of the puzzle in her head fell in place.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, nice to meet you. I am Chae Woo-Jin.¡± Chae Woo-Jin smiled brightly; he showed her that his hands were full and apologized for not being able to shake her hand.?


    ?


    ¡°Please let me get that for you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not very heavy.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to visit his grandfather empty-handed, so he bought red roses and handmade cookies, as advised by his mother. Even though his mother had told him the reason, Woo-Jin still felt uneasy, so he checked with his grandfather¡¯s secretary to ensure the gifts were to his liking.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ve made the right choice.¡±?


    ?


    There were always red roses in the office, and Park Hyun-Man enjoyed eating cookies. After a brief exchange of greetings, Secretary Choi led him to the elevator that was exclusively used by the executives. Her back was so straight, and her hands were clasped together at the front. Woo-Jin thought that she looked just like a flight attendant because of her posture.?


    ?


    As expected, the moment Chae Woo-Jin appeared with Secretary Choi walking behind him, everyone in the office widened their eyes and stiffened up like stone statues. Some of them managed to come to their senses and whispered to the person next to them, but no one knew what was going on. It was unknown how the lawyers found out, but they were busy leaning against the door of their respective offices, looking at Chae Woo-Jin. Secretary Choi was amazed by how fast they were able to gather intel. As they were coming up from the first floor to the fifteenth floor, someone had reported the sightings of Chae Woo-Jin to them.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, you¡¯re here.¡± Park Eun-Cheol was entrusting some data research to an employee. He looked at Woo-Jin and greeted him. Woo-Jin saw his maternal uncle holding a stack of papers in his hands with his sleeves rolled up and nodded.

 CH 145

    ¡°A man with flowers is always right.¡±?


    ?


    Seeing his nephew holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, Park Eun-Cheol chuckled. Back when his mother was alive, she used to love red roses the most. And she used to say that whenever his father came home from work with red roses in his hands.?


    ?


    ¡°In return, his descendants are the ones suffering.¡± It was rather embarrassing for Woo-Jin to carry red roses around since noon because of his romantic grandfather. Park Eun-Cheol laughed out loud after hearing what Woo-Jin said and patted his nephew on the shoulder. As soon as he did that, gasps could be heard everywhere.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s my nephew.¡± Park Eun-Cheol responded indifferently to the curious people who had been in a state of shock since Chae Woo-Jin showed up. Park Eun-Cheol was enjoying this moment, which was similar to the cathartic feeling he got whenever he put forth an argument backed by solid evidence. He congratulated Woo-Jin and went back to his office.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin promptly followed Secretary Choi to the CEO of Rome Law Firm¡¯s office. As soon as he left, time paused for a moment before continuing to tick again. The dead silent place was filled with chaos. Some people were even gasping for air. The same applied to Secretary Choi, who was currently leading Chae Woo-Jin to the CEO¡¯s office. After receiving the roses and cookies from Woo-Jin and leaving the room, she leaned against the wall and collapsed to the floor.?


    ?


    She had never given up hope that she would get a chance to see Chae Woo-Jin with her own eyes one day. She had imagined countless scenarios in her head, but never did she expect herself to meet him like this.?


    ?


    ¡°That was perfect!¡± Secretary Choi said while gasping for air.?


    ?


    She thought about how she had easily accomplished the task given to her by Park Hyun-Man and clenched her fists. She now had a clear reason to live as the perfect ¡®Secretary Choi,¡¯ without making any mistakes in the future. She set her resignation letter aside and stopped thinking entirely about the courthouse and Prosecutors¡¯ Office.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°My secretary didn¡¯t scream or make a fuss when she saw you?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. She was reticent and stern, so it made me feel rather nervous instead.¡±?


    ?


    The former secretary, who had served his maternal grandfather for a very long time, was a very kind and thoughtful person. On the other hand, Secretary Choi, whom he had just met today, seemed so cold that it made Woo-Jin nervous.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s fine then.¡± Park Hyun-Man smiled very proudly. However, he glanced at the now seated Woo-Jin with a sharp look in his eyes, wondering when he did it.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re not intending to go to the training institute, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going.¡± Park Hyun-Man didn¡¯t look very hopeful; Woo-Jin looked at his grandfather¡¯s facial expression and answered with ease.?


    ?


    ¡°You rascal! Do you know that the bar exam only evaluates your abilities? Interviewers should fail people like you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s possible.¡±?


    ?


    If he were to be evaluated purely on knowledge or other aspects, there was no reason to fail him, but in Woo-Jin¡¯s case, he didn¡¯t deserve to pass because he wasn¡¯t planning on pursuing a legal profession in the future. If that was a problem, he would be in a situation where he had nothing to say, even if he failed. Park Hyun-Man clicked his tongue as soon as Woo-Jin earnestly agonized over the problem he hadn¡¯t thought about earlier.?


    ?


    ¡°Tell them you¡¯ve had a deep respect for your grandfather since you were a child and look up to him. Even though you don¡¯t know what will happen in the future, you¡¯re certainly not doing this for fun. If you say that, you¡¯ll pass.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that cheating?¡±?


    ?


    It was a question that had to be answered with utmost honesty and conviction, yet his grandfather was teaching him the easy way out. Woo-Jin''s eyes dimmed as he looked at his grandfather.?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s cheating! Everyone does that¡­ Wait, does that mean you didn¡¯t respect me when you were little?¡± Since Woo-Jin had come so far, Park Hyun-Man wanted him to become the top candidate for the bar exam. After trying to teach him a great trick, he glared at his grandson.?


    ?


    ¡°Of course I did. Naturally, I took the bar exam because of you. If that hadn¡¯t been the case, why would I have worked so hard for years to prepare for the exam and take it?¡± As Woo-Jin responded, a sudden realization hit him ¡ª he got the hang of how to answer the interview questions. Perhaps, that was the same for Park Hyun-Man; he smiled and gave him more thoughtful advice.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s all you need to do. And if you have an interview before they announce the top candidate, just keep saying that you didn¡¯t know you¡¯d pass, so you weren¡¯t too worried about it, and you¡¯re planning to seriously consider going down that path in the future. Also, say that there has been a great deal of misunderstanding on their end and that you¡¯re excited.¡± Woo-Jin smiled so widely that his eyes disappeared into a squint after hearing his grandfather¡¯s advice and acknowledged that he understood.?


    ?


    Park Hyun-Man subconsciously looked at his grandson with a warm look in his eyes. In any case, as long as he didn¡¯t make a huge mistake, the interviewers wouldn¡¯t go out of their way to find fault with Woo-Jin. Every Korean citizen had the freedom to choose not to take the exam and go down that path in the first place.?


    ?


    ¡°Well, you did make it this far without our help, so I believe you¡¯ll do well.¡±?


    ?


    Even though Park Yi-Yeon did indeed pass the bar exam as the top candidate, it was more or less a logical outcome. He had received the best education with generous support, so it would have been rather strange if he hadn¡¯t passed. Park Yi-Yeon grew up in a conducive environment with everything he needed, so Woo-Jin¡¯s achievements were even more impressive and miraculous in comparison.?


    ?


    ¡°But still, you should have given me a heads-up when we saw each other the other day. Do you know how shocked I was yesterday?¡±?


    ?


    He was still skeptical even after seeing a very familiar name on the list of applicants who had passed the second round, so he called his son to probe into it and ended up arguing with him, saying they were treating him like a useless old man by hiding things from him. Though he understood their intention, he questioned them whether they thought he was foolish enough to do something inconsiderate to his grandson, who was about to take the exam.?


    ?


    He hadn¡¯t been this angry in a very long time. Park Hyun-Man, his son, and two grandchildren had already taken the bar exam. As such, he was more perceptive than anyone else. As soon as Woo-Jin called to tell him he had passed the second round of the bar exam, Park Hyun-Man quickly cooled down. If Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t done so, his grandfather would have kept sulking a very long time.?


    ?


    On the other hand, he felt that it would be an excellent opportunity to let everyone know Woo-Jin was his grandson. It was getting harder and harder to hide this piece of information from the public. Furthermore, in light of the circumstances of Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father¡¯s family, hiding it wouldn¡¯t do any good for the situation. It would be better for them to reveal the facts from their side and establish a solid position, not giving those people any time to prepare.?


    ?


    ¡°A while ago, it was revealed that A-Ra or whatever her name is from Berry Rose is the daughter of the CEO of Bareunjeong Foods, right? They talked about how she¡¯s from a wealthy family and so on.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve seen the article too.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know his biological father had established a food company and was stunned to find out that most of the condiments he normally used were from that company. His mother didn¡¯t tell him anything about it; she could have felt bitter whenever she saw them in the kitchen. Or perhaps, now that she didn¡¯t have any feelings towards him, she could have felt nothing after seeing them as well.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s one thing I heard the most from people after the article was published?¡± Park Hyun-Man asked.?


    ?


    ¡°They asked you about the past?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No. It¡¯s A-Ra or Woo-Ra. People think she¡¯s my granddaughter. That¡¯s why they tell me I have a pretty granddaughter.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like they¡¯ve tried really hard to hide the truth behind her birth. They¡¯ve misled people to think she¡¯s Woo-Hee. Thanks to that, I now have a granddaughter I didn¡¯t know about before.¡±?


    ?


    Park Hyun-Man explained everything that had happened in detail to Woo-Jin; the latter had been completely clueless about it. However, after hearing the story about how the Chae family painted the picture that Chae Woo-Ra was Woo-Hee at some point onwards to protect their honor, Woo-Jin eventually frowned. Park Hyun-Man was laughing out loud, but a cold, sharp look flashed across his eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if they twisted the facts about her birth, it was only possible because you¡¯ve been turning a blind eye to it, no?¡± The grandfather Woo-Jin knew would definitely have known about it. Woo-Jin asked because there was a possibility his grandfather had pretended not to know about it.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, the more weaknesses a person has, the more they¡¯re bound to be at a disadvantage. Armed with the knowledge of your enemy¡¯s weakness, we wait patiently to enjoy the satisfaction of using it against them at the right time.¡±?


    ?


    Responding one by one to those worthless rumors would only drain them emotionally, without gaining anything back in return. So Park Hyun-Man chose to wait in silence over momentary relief. Instead, he earnestly helped his opponent¡¯s weakness grow as much as possible by letting the small fruits they had planted grow and ripen.?


    ?


    ¡°Then how did you respond when people asked if she was your granddaughter?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I told them one of my grandchildren did become a celebrity, but I don¡¯t know much about the girl idol.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°People must have misunderstood.¡±?


    ?


    Park Hyun-Man severing ties with his daughter over her divorce back then wasn¡¯t exactly a secret. Because of that, it was the perfect answer to mislead people into thinking that he didn¡¯t know much about his grandchildren and had only gotten information about them through others.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing how your relationship with that girl will unfold once people find out you¡¯re my grandson. Everyone in Korea knows Woo-Hee is your younger sister after all.¡± In Park Hyun-Man¡¯s eyes, Chae Woo-Ra wasn¡¯t someone he needed to protect. She was one of the reasons why his daughter suffered anyway. Just that¡­.?


    ?


    ¡°However, she¡¯s your younger sister, so you might care about her.¡± Park Hyun-Man carefully examined Woo-Jin¡¯s facial expression as he spoke because he was concerned and wanted to know how Woo-Jin felt about it.?


    ?


    ¡°I made up my mind when I became an actor that I will protect my family no matter what and make sure they don¡¯t suffer. But I don¡¯t consider Chae Woo-Ra part of my family.¡±?


    ?


    He felt sorry for Chae Woo-Ra, but he simply could not see her as his younger sister. And since she was already 19, she was old enough to protect herself, and Woo-Jin was also willing to lend a helping hand if something happened to her. That was only because he wasn¡¯t the type of person who would enjoy the misfortunes of others. It could be heartbreaking because he was compassionate.?


    ?


    However, it was nothing more than compassion for others ¡ª it wasn¡¯t the same affection he had for his family. Chae Woo-Ra wasn¡¯t an orphan who had a hard life, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t find a reason to protect her. It might seem cold-hearted, but there was hardly anybody who would put others before their own family.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, an interesting article will be published soon.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing his grandfather¡¯s meaningful words, Woo-Jin told him to do as he pleased. Truth be told, mobilizing the media was beyond Woo-Jin¡¯s means. His maternal grandfather wasn¡¯t someone who would do anything to hurt his family. It seemed like something he had been thinking about doing for quite some time, so Woo-Jin decided to just go with it. He still didn¡¯t have any ammunition against his biological father¡¯s family. Woo-Jin concluded that it would be better to leave the issue entirely to his maternal grandfather and decided not to care about it for the time being. Instead, he recalled the purpose of his visit today and spoke softly.?


    ?


    ¡°I have a favor to ask of you.¡± Woo-Jin carefully spoke and secretly studied his grandfather¡¯s face. As they hadn¡¯t spoken to each other for quite a while before the reconciliation, it was difficult for Woo-Jin to ask his grandfather for a favor. But there was also hesitation as he didn¡¯t know if it was appropriate to ask for his grandfather¡¯s help with a personal matter.?


    ?


    ¡°What is it?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I would like you to help a hyung of mine with his problem. He was falsely accused and is having a hard life because of it, and you¡¯re the only person I can turn to for help with this matter.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Park Hyun-Man heard what Woo-Jin said, he instantly knew where this was heading. He had been curious about Lee Hyung-Jin, so he looked into him, but he didn¡¯t expect the details of his investigation to be used in this manner. Getting the sense that Woo-Jin wanted what he had looked into, Park Hyun-Man pretended not to know and threw a question back at him just to be sure.?


    ?


    "Did someone already ask you for a favor?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Of course not. I just wanted to help him because it makes me too angry to stay still and do nothing about it. Am I way out of line?¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin looked at Park Hyun-Man with an innocent look in his eyes, the latter started coughing. Park Hyun-Man had only remembered the younger version of Woo-Jin. Now that Woo-Jin had already grown up, he seemed a little unfamiliar to him. However, when Woo-Jin showed this side of himself from time to time, it reminded Park Hyun-Man of the times when he clutched onto his leg and acted cute when he was little. Regardless of how much they had grown during the time he had lost, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were still his beloved grandchildren.?


    ?


    Park Hyun-Man¡¯s gaze lingered on the red roses on the desk for a while; the secretary had placed the flowers Woo-Jin bought into a vase and left it on his desk. Park Hyun-Man suddenly thought of his wife, who loved red roses, and sighed softly. The fact that he could no longer see his wife was heartbreaking and saddening enough, but he had been away from his daughter and grandchildren for too long because of his own obstinacy. It was such a waste of time that it made him feel very frustrated. That was the result of forgetting what was important. Park Hyun-Man was an inflexible man of principle, but he now knew what the most important thing in the world was.?


    ?


    ¡°All right, what can I do to help?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had been nervous the entire time, but once his thoughtful grandfather asked him that question, he was finally at ease. Even though his cousin, Park Yi-Yeon, told him not to worry, he was apprehensive because if his strict maternal grandfather had declined by any chance, it would have been the end of the road. Looking at how relieved his grandchild was, Park Hyun-Man shrugged. At times like these, it wasn¡¯t necessarily bad to be powerful.

 CH 146

    TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, had been feeling very uneasy since the day before. Feeling anxious always made him imagine only the worst outcomes.?


    ?


    ¡°Damn it, why did that fella even take the bar exam? Don¡¯t tell me he wants to become a prosecutor or something?¡± Kim Seok-Hyung couldn¡¯t calm himself down; he paced back and forth in his office, muttering to himself. His right-hand man, Director Kwon, shook his head at this sight.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. He has been doing very well these days, so why would he want to become a civil servant?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But you never know. If he can become a big prosecutor and gain a lot of power, what¡¯s so great about being just a celebrity? To put it bluntly, what if he chooses that path and goes into politics and then seeks revenge on us?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Does he have anything to seek revenge on? If it¡¯s about Blue Fit, that matter has already been resolved¡­.¡± Director Kwon was about to say that even if Chae Woo-Jin might have ill feelings towards TM, he had no reason to seek revenge, but he paused. As CEO Kim¡¯s close aide, he too knew the real reason Chae Woo-Jin left TM. He was so focused on resolving Blue Fit¡¯s matter that he had momentarily forgotten about that piece of fact, and it had just come to his mind.?


    ?


    ¡°I highly doubt it. It¡¯s disgraceful for him after all.¡± Even if Woo-Jin was still holding a grudge against Kim Seok-Hyung, it wouldn¡¯t benefit either one of them to dig it up again.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. On the contrary, it could be an opportunity to build his reputation. Who knows if he wants to destroy us and say that he resisted the temptation and made it so far by himself?¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung''s impassioned speech wasn¡¯t entirely far-fetched. Even if it wasn¡¯t about that particular issue, as long as Woo-Jin held a grudge against them, he could find as many cases as he wanted. Woo-Jin¡¯s recent act of approaching Lee Hyung-Jin was somewhat suspicious as well.?


    ?


    ¡°If that guy had set his heart on politics in the first place instead of wanting to be just a celebrity,?


    ?


    wouldn¡¯t his actions thus far make sense to a certain extent? So why bother being a celebrity? Just work your ass off and take the bar exam!¡±?


    ?


    The more Kim Seok-Hyung thought about it, the more he was convinced that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s goal was to get into politics rather than become a celebrity. If Woo-Jin were to go into politics after having years of experience as a prosecutor under his belt, coupled with his current popularity, he would most likely create a stir and become very successful.?


    ?


    Director Kwon might have disparaged prosecutors as mere civil servants, but prosecutors could gain a great deal of power as they climbed the ranks. How could a mere celebrity be compared to a politician who had won the public¡¯s affection and risen to a high position? Kim Seok-Hyung had mocked Chae Woo-Jin for being unambitious, but the thought of him possibly being the most ambitious of them all sent a chill down his spine.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, there¡¯s no need to worry about it in advance. Even if he becomes a prosecutor or a politician, what can we do about it?¡± Director Kwon casually dismissed CEO Kim¡¯s worries and reminded him that they too had strong connections backing them and there was nothing to be afraid of.?


    ?


    However, Kim Seok-Hyung couldn¡¯t let it go. He had done those things to Chae Woo-Jin, and always evaluated others using himself as a yardstick and tried to read their thoughts.?


    ?


    ¡°More importantly, the fact that his maternal uncle used to be a prosecutor makes me feel uneasy.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He must have been a public prosecutor. If he had been a powerful individual, would he have done nothing and let his nephew suffer at that time? Frankly, the Blue Fit issue had been discussed after Woo-Jin entered DS. It wasn¡¯t like it brought up by his maternal uncle. That uncle¡¯s probably not working for a big law firm at the moment; he might have just set up his own office and is currently working as a puny lawyer.¡±?


    ?


    Even though Director Kwon had only said that to calm Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s nerves, what he said did make quite a lot of sense. Judging from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s circumstances at that time and how he couldn¡¯t properly fight back, it was apparent that either he wasn¡¯t on good terms with his uncle or that his uncle had no power.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, we don¡¯t have to worry about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s family?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? We also know several prosecutors ourselves.¡±?


    ?


    After news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round of the bar exam broke out the previous day, people all over the internet had gotten curious about his family. The truth was bound to be revealed regardless of whether the netizens took matters into their hands and investigated it, but no details had been released thus far.?


    ?


    Frankly, considering his popularity, the fact that the information that should have already been public was still unknown meant that it was nothing substantial in the first place. Moreover, since nobody had dug up anything about his family thus far, they weren¡¯t influential enough to threaten Kim Seok-Hyung.?


    ?


    Even though his primary concern had been allayed, Kim Seok-Hyung was still pacing his office, feeling worried. Perhaps, he didn''t have to be concerned. However, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what he would have done if he were Woo-Jin, and worrying about it. It was clear that if he were Chae Woo-Jin, he would definitely seek revenge and give them a taste of their own medicine.?


    ?


    More importantly, Chae Woo-Jin did ultimately take his revenge on Blue Fit. The incident could¡¯ve been quietly forgotten, but he subtly revealed it to the public on The King of the Masked Singers and TV Star instead, making the matter worse. It was unlikely for someone like him to forget about the humiliation and harassment he had gone through because of the sponsorship matter. Furthermore, even if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t use that matter to get back at them, there were many other ways for him to seek revenge on TM and Kim Seok-Hyung. If Chae Woo-Jin was determined to take them down, more than one or two people would be implicated, so Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s worries were not unfounded.?


    ?


    ¡°Unless he continues being a celebrity, it wouldn¡¯t do us any good if he were to take an interest in law or politics.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin still had lingering resentment towards TM; it was nearly impossible for them to stop him from trampling on TM for the sake of his success. In terms of getting the public¡¯s attention and achieving a satisfactory outcome, there was nothing like earning the merit of eradicating a corrupt agency. Because of Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s concerns, Director Kwon looked up articles on the internet in the meantime to see if Chae Woo-Jin had expressed his stance in any way.?


    ?


    ¡°An article has just been published. DS announced that nothing has been confirmed yet and that Woo-Jin¡¯s still contemplating it seriously. He¡¯s focusing on preparing for the interview first and is seeking everyone''s kind support.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Damn it!¡± When CEO Kim heard that Chae Woo-Jin was contemplating it seriously, he understood it differently. As he became increasingly worried that his predictions might come true, he had no choice but to look for a different solution.?


    ?


    ¡°We have to make him fail the final round of the bar exam. Should I hire someone to hit him with a car before the interview so he can¡¯t make it?¡± Getting someone into a car accident was an easy feat for Kim Seok-Hyung.?


    ?


    ¡°Then what will you do after that? There¡¯s still next year. You can¡¯t possibly do the same thing twice. You can¡¯t keep running him over with a car every time. The interview isn¡¯t important. Even if he goes for the interview, we could always create a condition that will guarantee his failure. I don¡¯t think this is something that will be resolved just because he can¡¯t go for one interview.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung had been feeling restless and uneasy the entire time. After hearing what Director Kwon said, he paused. Just like he said, Chae Woo-Jin making it to the interview this time around was not important. Even if he didn¡¯t become a legal professional, a smart man like him could always become a politician. There were people in the entertainment industry who had gone into politics. If he didn¡¯t have any serious scandals that could potentially end him, he could always become a politician in the future when he was older. He had already shown everyone how capable he was, so he was much more qualified to become a politician than every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wanted to go into politics.?


    ?


    ¡°A dangerous scandal¡­. If there are dirty rumors about him, not only will he lose his popularity in the future, he will most likely fail his interview right now, let alone go into politics, right?¡± He had to crush him and make sure he wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to them, be it now or in the future. Even though CEO Kim was doing it for a different reason, his method wouldn¡¯t be much different from the one he used to destroy the artistes who had succeeded after leaving TM thus far.?


    ?


    ¡°I have no choice but to use it,¡± Kim Seok-Hyung muttered. He still had the phone he had taken from Chae Woo-Jin back then.?


    ?


    When Chae Woo-Jin left TM, Kim Seok-Hyung had no doubt that he would become successful. It would have been strange if he didn¡¯t with those great looks and skills. Chae Woo-Jin was indeed such a talented man that it was a shame for TM to lose him. If he hadn¡¯t recorded their conversation and blackmailed him, CEO Kim would¡¯ve somehow found a way to keep him. He didn¡¯t have a choice in the past because the broker and client wanted Chae Woo-Jin very badly, but if the sponsorship issue had been well-resolved, he wanted to find a way to retain him. He had never imagined Chae Woo-Jin to come on so strong and do whatever he wanted.?


    ?


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning to use it to threaten him. I took the phone to bring him back to our agency in the future¡­.¡± Unlike what he did to the other artistes, he had created a weakness for Woo-Jin to bring him back to TM. That was how much he had valued Chae Woo-Jin, and constantly lamented over losing him.?


    ?


    But that was now over. Kim Seok-Hyung had to make the quick decision of prioritizing himself first. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s weakness was the phone Kim Seok-Hyung had. The latter edited the voice recording on Woo-Jin¡¯s phone and made it sound like he wanted to be sponsored. Kim Seok-Hyung separately recorded himself persuading Chae Woo-Jin not to do it and flawlessly combined the two recordings. On top of that, he even created a fake text conversation between Chae Woo-Jin and himself discussing the sponsorship.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you going to use that? As you have already seen in the Blue Fit incident, if Woo-Jin has another recording of your conversation, it will not do you any good to use it. On the contrary, it might cause a backlash.¡± If Woo-Jin had recorded a video of the members of Blue Fit back then, he might have done the same with his conversation with Kim Seok-Hyung. As soon as Director Kwon pointed it out, Kim Seok-Hyung confidently shook his head.?


    ?


    ¡°That video was taken by accident. Woo-Jin was trying to record a singing practice session when the boys did those things to him. He broke his phone at that time and changed to a new one, which is the one I currently have with me. There were no other recordings in it, though.¡±?


    ?


    The phone Woo-Jin used to record the Blue Fit members beating him up was broken at that time. That act of violence was the trigger that eventually led to Woo-Jin¡¯s departure from Blue Fit, so Kim Seok-Hyung remembered it very well. He had distinctly heard that Woo-Jin¡¯s phone had broken after being beaten up by the other members, so he had to get a new phone. And Kim Seok-Hyung currently had the phone he had newly purchased then.?


    ?


    There were no other recordings on the phone apart from the last conversation Woo-Jin had with Kim Seok-Hyung. More importantly, Kim Seok-Hyung felt that Chae Woo-Jin and DS wouldn¡¯t have kept silent all this while if the broken phone had contained any other voice recordings on top of the video.?


    ?


    ¡°If you were Chae Woo-Jin or DS, and you have other recordings, would you have done nothing and stayed silent the entire time? You probably would¡¯ve tried taking something away from me. Just look at that bastard, Seol Moon-Young. He knew about Lee Yeon¡¯s sponsorship and took my shares after threatening me with it.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung was unaware that there were various recording devices other than phones. No, even if he did, he never imagined the possibility of Chae Woo-Jin using another device to record their conversation. Chae Woo-Jin was young at that time, so Kim Seok-Hyung didn¡¯t think he would¡¯ve been that meticulous. Since there were no other recordings in the new phone, he determined that it was unlikely there would be any in his old phone too.?


    ?


    ¡°He may be smart, but if he were that meticulous, he wouldn¡¯t have revealed he was recording the conversation on the spot.¡± Seeing how confident Kim Seok-Hyung was, Director Kwon started to waver little by little.?


    ?


    ¡°Frankly speaking, if Woo-Jin doesn¡¯t have any other recordings, we have the upper hand. We have his phone, and if we use it well and set a trap for him, it¡¯ll be hard for him to get out of it.¡±?


    ?


    If Woo-Jin were to take this matter to court, they could say they had lost the phone, which contained the evidence and provide them with the edited copy instead of the original recording. To put it bluntly, even if TM were to lose the court case because of defamation, it was clear that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s image would¡¯ve already been destroyed by then, and it would be impossible for him to restore it.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, he doesn¡¯t have any more recordings! He had no reason to remain quiet this entire time if he had them!¡± Kim Seok-Hyung was very skilled in plotting against people; he always assumed others had bad intentions. He thought everyone would exploit other people¡¯s weaknesses and make use of them or use them to threaten those people to their own advantage, just like himself. So he concluded that DS and Chae Woo-Jin had been silent thus far because they had nothing incriminating.?


    ?


    ¡°Send it to Journalist Kang and tell him to blow it up tomorrow.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Tomorrow?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t you think we have to blow it up as soon as possible and completely destroy his image?¡±?


    ?


    Now that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s image had reached its peak, it was the best time to destroy it. After discussing with Director Kwon how to proceed, CEO Kim took out Woo-Jin¡¯s phone.?


    ?


    ¡°The day for me to use this has finally come.¡±?


    ?


    It was the last card CEO Kim had planned on using to bring Chae Woo-Jin back to TM. Kim Seok-Hyung remarked that he never thought he¡¯d throw it away like this. But, up until the very end, he felt it was such a shame.

 CH 147

    Chapter 147?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    (Best Day. Kang Il-Ro)?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan started his Sunday morning with a cup of fragrant tea and a piece of unpleasant news. His thoughts were simple.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this son of a bitch?¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan was speechless; he read the article that woke him up this morning over and over again. Kim Seok-Hyung wouldn¡¯t have dug his own grave if he hadn¡¯t recklessly tried to stir up trouble, so Jang Soo-Hwan couldn¡¯t understand why he would do such a thing. He figured things were going to get noisy again over the next couple of days, so his temples were already throbbing.?


    ?


    ¡°See, another phone call! I wonder if they even sleep in.¡± Jang Soo-Hwan clicked his tongue softly after receiving yet another phone call. However, Jang Soo-Hwan became excited after realizing that Park Hyun-Man had called him first thing in the morning.?


    ?


    What should I tell him to make things as dramatic as possible? ?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan picked up the phone, while imagining all the interesting things that would unfold because of his words. After meeting Chae Woo-Jin, his life had become rather dynamic, and Jang Soo-Hwan enjoyed it.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The blackout curtains were drawn, allowing sunlight to pour in through the window, instantly lighting up the room. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but unwillingly open his eyes because of the sudden bright light. What he saw in his semi-awake state was the blurry image of three people looking down at him. His parents and Woo-Hee were staring at him; he couldn¡¯t continue sleeping, so he leaped to his feet.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you guys staring at me?¡± Woo-Jin rubbed his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice. Woo-Hee handed him a glass of cold water. For some reason, Woo-Jin felt as though it was a wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee situation[1], so he hesitated to drink the water at first. After he finished drinking, Woo-Hee quickly took the glass back from him.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± As soon as Woo-Jin asked them in his sleep-laden voice, his father replied cautiously.?


    ?


    ¡°We trust you, but we can only help you deal with it if we know the full story, so we couldn¡¯t wait anymore and woke you up. You were sleeping so soundly, I¡¯m sorry for waking you up.¡± After his father was done talking, his mother immediately held out a tablet in front of him.?


    ?


    The title, was displayed on the screen. Woo-Jin quickly read the contents of the article because of its impactful title.?


    ?


    The more he read, the more he laughed ¨C not because it was funny, but because it was so ridiculous it made him angry. He thought to himself: These people couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer and ultimately started a scandal huh. Woo-Jin had expected that TM might do something after finding out Woo-Jin had met with Lee Hyung-Jin. However, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t expect them to play their trump card so easily.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s still acting on a whim without thinking it through again.¡± It seemed like Kim Seok-Hyung was still as hasty as before, and handled things haphazardly once he made his mind up. He was someone who didn¡¯t know restraint, and because of him, people around him always ended up suffering and feeling exhausted.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin!¡± When Woo-Jin muttered to himself, his mother couldn¡¯t take it any longer and called him. Woo-Jin studied the faces of his family members that were staring at him, and looked them in the eye; rather than feeling doubtful or anxious, they were worried about him. Woo-Jin returned the tablet to his mother and replied.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been edited. I have the original version, so please don¡¯t worry.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Edited? Original version?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, this is the real reason why I left TM. In fact, the contents of the recording are actually the opposite.¡± Woo-Jin found it very hard to discuss the sponsorship matter in front of his parents and younger sister, so he explained it in that manner.?


    ?


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the truth is completely different from what the article is saying, right?¡±?


    ?


    Because of his father¡¯s earnest look, Woo-Jin had no choice but to talk about the incident in detail. He wanted to ask Woo-Hee to leave the room momentarily, but she had to know the full story in order to explain the situation to her friends in school.?


    ?


    Upon hearing the truth about his departure from TM, which had nothing to do with the Blue Fit incident, Woo-Jin¡¯s mother was upset, and his father was very angry.?


    ?


    ¡°We¡¯ve already prepared something in advance just in case something like this happens, so you don¡¯t have to worry. We¡¯ll be having a press conference around tomorrow to deal with the matter.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Why do it tomorrow when you have the evidence? Just quickly settle it today!¡± His mother had a serious look on her face, and she asked Woo-Jin if he could withstand the horrendous accusations that were floating around the internet. His father then shook his head and explained.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay because we have the means to deal with the damage for a day or so. The greater the damage, the stronger the counterattack. That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking, right?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes.¡±?


    ?


    Whenever such a scandal occurred, it was impossible to prevent one¡¯s image from getting damaged. In order to get out of this mess, it was better to punish the perpetrator to the fullest, rather than acting as a weak victim. The plan was to make Woo-Jin look like a powerhouse that was a force to be reckoned with, so much so that the rumors about him wanting a sponsor would seem like nothing but ridiculous slander. In order to accomplish that, Woo-Jin had to experience some suffering. One day was the right amount of time for them to suffer damages and demand compensation from TM. If they dragged it out for too long, the damage suffered would increase. But a day was a reasonable window of time to give his enemy, and prepare for a perfect counterattack.?


    ?


    As a businessman, Choi Min-Woo understood this concept. There were often times when a victim intentionally took more damage than needed during a business transaction. It was only done in situations where the victim in question was confident they could handle it till the very end, but it was mainly used when they stood a lot to gain from the perpetrator, or when they wanted to destroy them.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, the companies that Woo-Jin is contracted to must have a lot to prepare for.¡±?


    ?


    There were three companies that hired Woo-Jin as a model for their advertising campaigns ¨C Gaon, the telecommunications company, and a coffee company. Woo-Jin started off by doing a one-off commercial for the telecommunications company, before signing a contract with them as their exclusive model. As for the coffee company, Woo-Jin had signed a contract with them a few months ago. He was the exclusive model for each of the companies, so the damage done to the image of the exclusive model could cause immediate damage to the company.?


    ?


    TM was only attacking Woo-Jin, but they ended up causing a substantial damage to these companies. These companies could handle a day¡¯s worth of damages, so it was a question of whether TM had enough capital to compensate for the damages done to these three companies.?


    ?


    For the first time in a while, Choi Min-Woo showed his true nature as a businessman. He hurriedly left the room. He had to quickly contact his lawyer and call the CEO of Taeyang Foods, where Woo-Jin was working as a commercial model. Fortunately, they were close acquaintances, so the matter would be easily resolved. Choi Min-Woo wanted to seize this opportunity to brag about Woo-Jin being his son. His footsteps quickened.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s mother and Woo-Hee comforted him by patting him on the shoulder silently before quietly leaving the room, leaving Woo-Jin all alone. He looked for the article and read it again while scratching his head. The more he read the contents of the article, the more he laughed. This was exactly what CEO Kim Seok-Hyung would have done. Instead of releasing a statement as a company, he had told the journalist to indicate that an employee had reported it. It was a measure he had taken to absolve himself of all blame in case things went south. There were plenty of people who were willing to do anything and follow his instructions if he paid them.?


    ?


    In the scenario CEO Kim had orchestrated, an employee had found Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s phone and the voice recording by chance and reported it to the journalist out of a sense of justice. Even if Woo-Jin were to show everyone the original recording, he could conclude the matter by accusing that employee of editing the file.?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s M.O. (modus operandi) was to always create a way out for himself and to use someone else as a scapegoat. If there wasn''t any conclusive evidence proving CEO Kim Seok-Hyung was the one who edited the voice recording before reporting it to the journalist, he would get away with it again.?


    ?


    Perhaps they would come up with a story about how the employee that reported Chae Woo-Jin had some sort of animosity towards him back when the latter was still in TM, and that seeing his recent success triggered them into setting him up. It was also their technique of discrediting Chae Woo-Jin by saying there was a problem with his character, such that it was enough to make one employee feel vindictive. As for whether or not their scapegoat would still be loyal towards TM in the face of several lawsuits, it was something that TM would have to deal with.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin grabbed his phone as he wanted to give CEO Jang Soo-Hwan a call first. It was Sunday, and there was nothing scheduled for the day, so Woo-Jin had put his phone on silent mode so that he could get a good night¡¯s sleep. Because of that, he didn¡¯t know he had already gotten so many calls and texts from people who were worried about him after reading the article. Before looking at those calls and messages, Woo-Jin called CEO Jang Soo-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Jang.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C You must have read the article too. Perhaps, these people just can¡¯t deviate from what¡¯s expected of them.?


    ?


    CEO Jang¡¯s voice sounded more cheerful than expected, so Woo-Jin¡¯s worries eased. Woo-Jin felt sorry towards CEO Jang because it seemed as though he had been bothering him every time a TM-related problem surfaced. Woo-Jin understood why CEO Jang was hesitant to recruit him before they signed the contract.?


    ?


    ¡°Have you called TM by any chance?¡±?


    ?


    ¨C I should probably call them first, right??


    ?


    CEO Jang didn¡¯t want to hear the voice of the person who staged everything, but he had to do the bare minimum to show that he wanted to resolve the matter. This was so that he could say DS weren''t following formalities only because TM was unreasonable first.?


    ?


    ¡°I called to tell you not to do it.¡±?


    ?


    ¨C Why??


    ?


    ¡°I know him better than you do. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s looking forward to receiving our call right about now, but he won¡¯t pick it up. It¡¯s clear it would give him a sense of superiority, which he would enjoy to the fullest, before picking up the call.¡±?


    ?


    Perhaps CEO Kim might not even give CEO Jang Soo-Hwan the time of day and just hang up right away while claiming he was busy. After hearing what Woo-Jin said, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had to admit he wasn¡¯t surprised.

 CH 148

    ¡ª But, if they were to change the narrative and accuse us of holding a press conference without verifying any details with them, it could be troublesome. We¡¯ll have nothing to say if Kim Seok-Hyung denies everything and comes up with an excuse about how he just got back from a short trip and was unaware of the article.?


    ?


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan insisted on sending him a text message as evidence even if he didn¡¯t pick up the phone.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll call him tomorrow morning.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Why would you deal with that fella! This is an issue between adults.?


    ?


    ¡°No. It¡¯s my problem. And also, I¡¯m an adult too.¡±?


    ?


    From the beginning, Woo-Jin had always thought of this matter as his own problem. Getting help from others was different from taking a step back and being protected. Even when he was younger, he had always protected himself. Now that he was older and all grown up, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for him to hide behind other adults.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps, that person is feeling very anxious as well.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung might have stirred up trouble, but he most likely had a lot of uncertainties. It was obvious that he was keeping a close eye on how Woo-Jin and DS would react while making contingency plans. But, if they remained silent without kicking up a fuss, then he would become even more anxious instead. had already stirred up trouble, but there were still a lot of uncertainties. He would have to answer the phone call that Woo-Jin would make right before the press conference.?


    ?


    After convincing Jang Soo-Hwan, Woo-Jin hung up the phone and briefly responded to the people who called and texted him, telling them not to worry and simply watch the press conference tomorrow. After that, Woo-Jin specially made a phone call to Director Yoon Seon. He felt terrible toward the director and the production company because this incident blew up right when the movie was topping the box office charts.?


    ?


    ¡ª Judging from how they picked Sunday of all days to blow up the matter, they¡¯re obviously targeting the movie¡¯s ticket sales.?


    ?


    Yoon Seon burst with anger after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation. There were bound to be more viewers on Sunday than on weekdays. While maintaining box office success was important, the movie ratings were even more important to the director. It was difficult for Director Yoon Seon to hold back his anger as this was the most crucial period.?


    ?


    ¡ª So, the companies you¡¯re modeling for will sue TM??


    ?


    ¡°At the very least, my father is planning to do so.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Your father??


    ?


    ¡°My father is the CEO of Brisingamen.¡±?


    ?


    There was nothing to hide anymore at this juncture, so Woo-Jin told him the truth. Director Yoon Seon remained silent for a while. He momentarily held back his anger and asked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡ª Can our production company take part in the lawsuit as well? On top of reducing our viewers, this scandal has damaged the image of our movie, among several other things.?


    ?


    It was still too early to report the statistics for the day, so he couldn¡¯t say much, but upon hearing about the lawsuit, it piqued Director Yoon Seon¡¯s interest.?


    ?


    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on my lawyer yet, but shall I get them to contact you when the time comes?¡±?


    ?


    Each company had its own legal team, but Woo-Jin¡¯s lawyer would ultimately be in charge of dealing with TM.?


    ?


    ¡ª Even though CEO Jang will take care of it and decide on a lawyer for you, you have to pick a good one. Since you¡¯re dealing with TM, it¡¯s highly possible they¡¯ll hire someone with power and high status.?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan was very influential and had a lot of connections, but he paled in comparison to Kim Seok-Hyung when it came to playing dirty. Director Yoon Seon was well-aware of what Jang Soo-Hwan couldn¡¯t do and what Kim Seok-Hyung was capable of doing.?


    ?


    ¡°My maternal grandfather will probably look for a lawyer for me.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Your maternal grandfather? Not your maternal uncle??


    ?


    Director Yoon Seon was curious about Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family and asked about it. Woo-Jin then answered his question calmly.?


    ?


    ¡°My maternal grandfather is the CEO of Rome Law Firm.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª ¡­?


    ?


    ¡°Director?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin didn¡¯t hear any response from the other end of the line, he called out to Director Yoon Seon once again.?


    ?


    ¡ª I felt very relieved all of a sudden¡­.?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin had assured him that he had the evidence and they were going to sue TM, Director Yoon would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t anxious about it. However, Director Yoon Seon¡¯s anxiety-ridden voice started to sound normal again in a flash.?


    ?


    After talking a little more about the incident, Woo-Jin hung up the phone and was startled to find Woo-Hee standing there. She had come into the room while Woo-Jin was on the phone and had been staring at him with her arms folded ever since.?


    ?


    ¡°When did you come in?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Just a while ago.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin put his phone aside; while he felt bad towards Director Yoon Seon, he was glad today was Sunday instead of a weekday. Woo-Hee would have gotten embroiled in this dirty rumor without any countermeasures if today had been a weekday. The press conference was scheduled for tomorrow morning, so as long as Woo-Hee somehow managed to avoid dealing with the matter, there was no reason to drag her into it.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you want to skip school tomorrow?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re having a press conference tomorrow morning? What¡¯s there to avoid then?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s just that things will be problematic until then. There¡¯s no need for you to listen to something you don¡¯t have to hear.?


    ?


    ¡°Hmph, no one in school would do anything to me. I¡¯m not that weak.¡± Woo-Hee snorted and acted strong. Then, she hesitated at first before mustering the courage to hug Woo-Jin tightly.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you. And I¡¯m sorry for not knowing anything.¡±?


    ?


    Like her mother, Woo-Hee did not fully understand or support her brother¡¯s decision to become a celebrity. She had resigned to it because Woo-Jin simply wanted to do what he loved, just like how she wanted to become a prosecutor. It couldn¡¯t be helped if her brother¡¯s heart was in the entertainment industry.?


    ?


    Despite his feud with Blue Fit and the constant pressure given by the agency''s CEO regarding the sponsorship issue, her older brother managed to overcome everything by himself in silence, so Woo-Hee was proud of him. At the same time, she felt that perhaps one of the reasons her brother had to endure everything by himself in silence might be that his family had no means of supporting him.?


    ?


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Woo-Jin happily accepted his sister¡¯s quiet apology. He felt that he could laugh about it because it had happened so long ago.?


    ?


    ¡°But don¡¯t go on the internet today.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s a mess, right?¡± Woo-Jin asked in a tone that suggested he wasn¡¯t expecting much. There were mixed feelings written all over Woo-Hee¡¯s face.?


    ?


    She replied, ¡°That may be the case, but your fans are very supportive of you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is that so?¡±?


    ?


    The thing Woo-Jin was most worried about regarding this incident was disappointing his fans, even just for a bit, but hearing what Woo-Hee said made him feel relieved. First of all, taking his side meant that they believed him.?


    ?


    ¡°They gritted their teeth in anger and argued that any information or material coming from TM must not be trusted regardless of the situation. They also said you recorded that clip during an acting practice session and that TM probably edited it. Reading their posts alone is terrifying enough.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Hee shuddered and remarked that it was her first time seeing so much han and spiteful words in the posts. Especially since Woo-Hee had friends who were members of Wish Baragi, and having heard their reactions firsthand, she felt as though she could hear their voices in her head when she read the posts.?


    ?


    After the article went viral, Woo-Hee¡¯s friends were curious about the situation, so it was only natural for them to contact her first. Even before hearing Woo-Hee¡¯s explanation, none of them doubted Woo-Jin. Woo-Hee could proudly proclaim that she was going to school tomorrow was partly because of the trust she had in these friends.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating. My fans are so meek and gentle. There¡¯s no need to feel terrified.¡± Woo-Jin reached for his phone as he couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity, but Woo-Hee stopped him.?


    ?


    ¡°I told you not to look at them today.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°My fans are defending me; I need to know what they¡¯re saying.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Hee knew what Woo-Jin thought about his fans, so she suddenly felt a strong sense of obligation to protect the barags of Wish Baragi. Even though they were scary, it was evident that they were Woo-Jin¡¯s most trustworthy warriors. So Woo-Hee quoted her friends'' usual catchphrase.?


    ?


    ¡°No knight wants to show his princess his bloodied face.¡±?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    An hour before the press conference.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin arrived early and waited in the waiting room to avoid running into the reporters. As he organized his thoughts by himself, he picked up his phone and called TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, with just thirty minutes left to spare before the press conference began.?


    ?


    Seeing how the person at the other end of the line picked up the call as soon as the phone started ringing, a slight smile crept across Woo-Jin¡¯s face at the satisfaction of knowing he was right about Kim Seok-Hyung. However, none of them broke the silence first.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt it was time to say something, so he purposely let out a long sigh, audible to Kim Seok-Hyung. Starting from now¡­ready, action! It was the beginning of a makjang.?


    ?


    ¡°Why did you do such a thing?¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s trembling voice was filled with resentment and despair.?


    ?


    After hearing his question, the person on the other end of the phone started laughing scornfully. For some reason, his voice sounded cheerful and infinitely lighthearted.?


    ?


    ¡ª What do you mean??


    ?


    ¡°Everything in the article is a lie, isn¡¯t it? You were the one who pressured me into getting a sponsorship. How could you edit the voice recording and change the narrative like that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª Edit?! I have absolutely no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I didn¡¯t even know it was leaked until I saw the article.?


    ?


    Fortunately, Kim Seok-Hyung didn¡¯t deny or pretend he didn¡¯t know about the article. It would¡¯ve been difficult to carry on the conversation if he had feigned ignorance. Kim Seok-Hyung knew this conversation was being recorded, and Woo-Jin knew he was aware of it. It was also clear that CEO Kim was probably recording it too. With both parties fully aware that their current conversation was being recorded, they were careful with every word they said to not dig their own graves.?


    ?


    ¡°So, the employee who stole my phone was the person who edited the voice recording of our conversation?¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª I¡­don¡¯t know anything about that.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you do or do not know anything about it, but today, I¡¯m going to tell the truth. So, I would ask you to please reveal the truth too.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin pleaded with Kim Seok-Hyung and begged him. As soon as Woo-Jin told him this matter could only be resolved with his help, Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s voice became more and more relaxed, and it started to sound more arrogant.?


    ?


    ¡ª The truth?! The truth that I know has been spelled out clearly in the article. What kind of truth do you want me to say?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean by that? You were the one who threatened me to get a sponsor.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was shocked by Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s words and replied with a question.?


    ?


    ¡ª You actually have the audacity to make such an accusation! Even with such solid evidence, you¡¯re still lying through your teeth shamelessly without repenting? I thought you would reveal the truth because you¡¯re having a press conference today, but you were planning to pin it on me??


    ?


    Perhaps, CEO Kim continued talking to Woo-Jin under the impression that he would present their current conversation as evidence later during the press conference. However, it was evident that he was trying to intimidate Woo-Jin by leading the mood with his strong and confident voice. Perhaps, that was why he was speaking more politely than usual, thereby making him sound stiff and choppy.?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung was treating Woo-Jin in this manner largely due to the fact that CEO Jang Soo-Hwan failed to call him. Jang Soo-Hwan was known in the industry for his hatred of scandals and bad publicity and his extreme hatred for celebrities who had sponsors in particular. The moment he found out an artiste he had been supporting generously had a sponsor, he would coldly kick them out of the agency without any hesitation.?


    ?


    From a celebrity¡¯s point of view, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing if their agency didn¡¯t see them as a commodity. People were bound to make mistakes, making wrong choices at times because of greed. If something like this happened to one of Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s artistes, he would do whatever it took to become a shield for Chae Woo-Jin and try his best to protect his marketability. Even if the problems couldn¡¯t be resolved entirely, he could always send him abroad for a couple of years before making a comeback. He wouldn¡¯t give up on his commodity that easily. That was how much he appreciated Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s commercial value.?


    ?


    However, Jang Soo-Hwan was different. Since Jang Soo-Hwan hadn¡¯t attempted negotiating with Kim Seok-Hyeong thus far, it was possible he might have already abandoned Chae Woo-Jin. As a result, it gave Kim Seok-Hyung a small sliver of hope. Because Kim Seok-Hyung was very good at recycling, he was more than willing to take in the discarded Chae Woo-Jin and use him once again. That was why he kept the phone call going, even though he could¡¯ve hung up on him. He wanted Woo-Jin to know he was the only person who could save him from his current predicament.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 149

    ¡°So, are you saying that everything in the article is true? Are you saying that we did have that conversation?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin asked Kim Seok-Hyung in disbelief, a cocky smile appeared on the latter¡¯s face.?


    ?


    ¡ª Of course! The contents of our conversation and the reason behind your departure from TM were written in the article. Are you trying to deny everything now? I was so surprised when I read the article because the journalist knew exactly what happened.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, are you saying that the whistle-blower took the phone from your desk and reported everything as is without making any modifications??


    ?


    ¡ª Does it need to be rectified at all??


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s answer had already been determined ¡ª everything that had been written in the article was an undeniable fact. The moment he answered ¡®no,¡¯ he would be proving Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s innocence.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re truly too much. You know the truth.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin pleaded and sounded as though he was close to tears; the more desperate his voice sounded, the more excited Kim Seok-Hyung got. Even though Chae Woo-Jin was holding a press conference, Kim Seok-Hyung concluded that ultimately, he had no evidence or information to present.?


    ?


    ¡ª No matter what you say, the truth remains unchanged.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, are you saying you will not be raising any objections regarding this article? And that the contents of the article are true and match the information and materials you have?¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª That¡¯s right!?


    ?


    ¡°That means you¡¯re saying you were the one who fabricated them.¡±?


    ?


    ¡ª ¡­?


    ?


    Only after Woo-Jin pointed that out, did Kim Seok-Hyung realize he had made a mistake, but it was too late to change his words. So instead, he chose to respond with silence.?


    ?


    ¡°You and I are the only people who know the truth. But if the information and materials were fabricated by you, isn¡¯t the intention behind the act too obvious?¡±?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin made a solid argument, Kim Seok-Hyung briefly agonized over how to respond. He felt that it would give him the upper hand to end the call here, so he moved his finger to the ¡®end call¡¯ button. However, he stopped moving when he heard a faintly audible cry coming from the other end of the line.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re really too much.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin was crying; even when he was bullied by the Blue Fit members or threatened by TM because of the sponsorship issue back then, Chae Woo-Jin had remained strong. That same Chae Woo-Jin was crying right now. It was clear to Kim Seok-Hyung that he had truly cornered Chae Woo-Jin this time around. As expected, Kim Seok-Hyung thought he had made the right choice, so his body quivered with joy.?


    ?


    ¡ª I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Who would''ve known it would blow up because of an article? It can¡¯t be helped if I were to be blamed for not keeping the evidence safe, but I¡¯m also a victim of theft.?


    ?


    Convinced he had the upper hand, Kim Seok-Hyung relaxed his tensed back muscles and leaned back comfortably against his chair as he answered. He kept swiveling his chair as he loosened up. The more he slouched, the more he lowered his guard.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin struggled and appeared vulnerable, Kim Seok-Hyung felt momentarily conflicted. He was busy thinking whether or not it would be better for him to give Woo-Jin some room for negotiation before the press conference.?


    ?


    ¡ª I¡¯m only saying this because I feel bad for you, but if Jang Soo-Hwan abandons you and you have nowhere to go, come to me. I¡¯ve known you since you were a child. I''ll be magnanimous with you because of my affection for you during all those years.?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung intentionally spoke to him in a kind voice, but Woo-Jin had to bite his tongue to hold himself back from laughing after hearing it. Putting aside how Kim Seok-Hyung interpreted his slight groan, Woo-Jin kept failing to fully get into the character he was acting this time around. Had he been shooting an actual scene right now, he would have gotten a lot of bad takes, so he sighed. Fortunately, however, there was sorrow in his voice, just like he intended.?


    ?


    ¡°All I can hear is you telling me that you¡¯ll put out the fire after starting it[1].¡±?


    ?


    After hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s weak voice and sigh, Kim Seok-Hyung tried to comfort Woo-Jin with an unusually cheerful voice.?


    ?


    ¡ª Think about it carefully ¡ª do you think a neat freak like Jang Soo-Hwan will just let this scandal slide? No, he won¡¯t! But, I will accept you because of who I am as a person.?


    ?


    ¡°But according to the article, you¡¯re not magnanimous at all, though?¡±?


    ?


    The article stated that Kim Seok-Hyung had released Woo-Jin from TM because he couldn¡¯t tolerate the idea of his own artiste getting a sponsor. Judging from the contents of the article alone, Kim Seok-Hyung was the neat freak here. However, it didn¡¯t make sense for him to tell Woo-Jin to go back to TM.?


    ?


    ¡ª Well, about that¡­.?


    ?


    ¡°In fact, I heard Lee Yeon hyung accepted the sponsorship you wanted me to take. You put up with him, so there''s no reason for you to kick me out since I didn''t do anything.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin said that in a scornful voice, sounding completely different than before, Kim Seok-Hyung jumped from his seat and yelled.?


    ?


    ¡ª How did you! No, I mean, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about right now.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about either. But don¡¯t you want to know how I found out the truth about Lee Yeon hyung?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin quietly asked Kim Seok-Hyung a question, which the latter couldn¡¯t readily answer. Even though his sorrowful, pleading voice sounded completely different, the flustered Kim Seok-Hyung was unaware of the difference.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin hung up immediately without waiting for Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s response. Kim Seok-Hyung called him back in a hurry, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t answer and turned his phone off.?


    ?


    ¡°Woo-Jin, it¡¯s time.¡±?


    ?


    Side Story. I had a dream.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa agonized over what to do as she fiddled with the advance tickets for Red Enemy she had gotten from her senior, Jung Hyun-Min. Woo-Jin had given her two tickets to watch it with a friend. They were free passes that could be exchanged for the actual tickets for her preferred time slot at the theater whenever she wanted.?


    ?


    She was at a loss because she didn¡¯t have any friends to watch the movie with. After entering college, she had always been busy with either her part-time job or preparing for exams. She didn¡¯t really enjoy watching movies, so she placed the tickets between the pages of her book after contemplating for a while.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa had no opinions about the movie. She had only watched Red Enemy because of one film critic¡¯s review she had read.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    It was strangely a heart-wrenching phrase. It was the feeling she experienced after finding out the unexplained pain in her neck was due to a fishbone stuck in her throat. So she took the movie ticket from her book and went to the theater. It was very spontaneous.?


    ?


    For some reason, she had gotten quite curious about the movie after reading the review. What kind of movie would make a critic write such a review? ?


    ?


    She was worried as she heard the tickets had been getting sold out every day, but even though it wasn¡¯t a good seat, it was still a weekday morning, so she could watch the movie at her desired time.?


    ?


    In truth, Kim Tae-Hwa didn¡¯t quite like Chae Woo-Jin. To be precise, she didn¡¯t hate him, but she didn¡¯t understand the feelings of those people who blindly loved him. Even though she had more conversations and spent more time with him than his fans, she had never been attracted to him. When she looked at him, she felt some sort of chill in her heart. Perhaps, that was why she didn¡¯t want to watch the movie. She would be in a tough spot if she were to constantly feel those emotions throughout the film.?


    ?


    However, Chae Woo-Jin was nowhere to be found in Red Enemy. No, she couldn¡¯t sense his presence. She wondered if it was because he was an actor. All she could see was Prince Myeong-Hwan, not Chae Woo-Jin. But that didn¡¯t necessarily mean it was a good thing.?


    ?


    ¡ª My heart has found its way here.?


    ?


    Prince Myeong-Hwan said to the eunuch. However, the eunuch grabbed him and tried to stop him till the very end. The prince then proceeded to tell him to leave, saying he should live at the very least.?


    ?


    ¡ª My heart is here too.?


    ?


    Both of them faced their enemies with a sword in one hand and a calm and peaceful look on their faces. Following their hearts, they were here to either save their lover or be by their master¡¯s side and protect them till the very end.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s such a selfish person¡­.¡±?


    ?


    After watching the movie, the first thought that came to Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s mind was that Prince Myeong-Hwan was too much. However, after mulling over it for a bit, she realized Queen Moon-Jin and Queen Yoon were ultimately the ones who were selfish. Prince Myeong-Hwan was merely an individualist who remained true to his feelings. Nevertheless, she found him selfish because everyone might have been happy if he had given up.?


    ?


    ¡°A person who can die for his lover but cannot give her what she wants.¡±?


    ?


    How great would it have been if Prince Myeong-Hwan had coveted the throne just like his mother and lover wanted? If that were the case, Yoon Hwa-Eun wouldn¡¯t have become the queen, and Prince Myeong-Hwan wouldn¡¯t have had to marry his wife, Lady Park.?


    ?


    ¡°What did his wife even do to deserve this?¡±?


    ?


    In Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s opinion, it didn¡¯t seem as though Lady Park had truly loved Prince Myeong-Hwan. At that time, the fate of women from noble families was to marry whoever they were matched with and spend their entire lives thinking they were destined to be together. Since Lady Park tied the knot with the prince, she must have tried her best to be faithful to him. But that didn¡¯t mean it was okay for her to be neglected, unloved, and spend the rest of her life all by herself.?


    ?


    ¡°Why do people have to sacrifice the innocent because they want to play with emotions?¡± Kim Tae-Hwa grumbled as she took the remaining ticket out of her wallet. She was still experiencing lingering feelings from the movie, but she wasn¡¯t quite certain what they were. Kim Tae-Hwa had always hated such ambiguous feelings and decided to watch the movie again as she had time.?


    ?


    Unlike the first time, she booked a late afternoon show this time around. By the time she had finished watching the film, it was already evening. As Kim Tae-Hwa walked down the dark street after watching the movie, all she could think about was Prince Myeong-Hwan.?


    ?


    ¡°It must be nice.¡±?


    ?


    When she first watched the movie, she hated and resented Prince Myeong-Hwan, but after watching it for the second time, for some reason, she felt envious of him and had a newfound respect for him as well. She was jealous of his unwavering ideals, dreams, and love. How could he be so firm? How could he be that fearless of not being loved? ?


    ?


    If Prince Myeong-Hwan had been obsessed with being loved, he would¡¯ve definitely become the king. He would¡¯ve given up on his dreams and lived according to the wishes of his mother and lover. He would¡¯ve tried his best to become the king and lead the life they wanted. In other words, just like Kim Tae-Hwa right now.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa had a dream. She wanted her parents and siblings to be proud of her social success. Her family had been disregarding her and giving her a hard time. If they were proud of her, they would feel sorry and shower her with love. This hope of hers was what made her who she was today. She had that dream only because she wanted love and approval.?


    ?


    Perhaps, that might not be her actual dream. That was the dream of a version of herself she had seen through the lens of her family members, and it was the same for the prince. He was definitely suited to be the king. However, it wasn¡¯t his dream ¡ª it was Queen Moon-Jin and Yoon Hwa-Eun¡¯s hope and dream.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being hated and remained true to himself until the very end. Life and death were not very important to him. Wherever his heart went, his dreams and love would be found in the same place too.?


    ?


    ¡°Where does my heart lie?¡±?


    ?


    As Kim Tae-Hwa walked, she suddenly found herself getting lost. With nowhere to go, she stood there blankly and kept asking herself what her dream was. Did her dream exist only because she wanted to be loved, or was it truly for herself??


    ?


    And then, she finally came to a realization.?


    ?


    ¡°I wanted to be loved by others¡­but I didn¡¯t love myself.¡±?


    ?


    If she had loved herself, she wouldn¡¯t have lived like this just to be acknowledged and loved by her family. If she loved herself, she wouldn''t be afraid of not being loved by others. However, she wasn¡¯t like this because she had done something wrong ¡ª it was only natural as nobody had properly showered her with love since she was born. Her family members were to be blamed for not teaching her how to love; it wasn¡¯t her fault. There was no reason for her to blame herself because she was innocent. And there was no need for her to hate them for not loving her. Like Prince Myeong-Hwan, they were merely living their own lives.?


    ?


    A person had the right to love the person they wanted to love, regardless of whether they were happy or unhappy being with them. There was no need to be sad because they didn¡¯t love you back. Naturally, as a family member and a human being, it was inevitable to feel resentful toward those who failed to do what was right. But it would be too unfair to destroy one¡¯s life because of them.?


    ?


    ¡°If I love myself, I can go wherever my heart goes¡­.¡± Then perhaps, she wouldn¡¯t be afraid of anything.?


    ?


    Kim Tae-Hwa had a dream. But the dream shattered and scattered everywhere like broken pieces of porcelain in an instant. They quickly spread through the air in the dark night, leaving not a single trace behind.?


    ?


    ¡°Ha~!¡±?


    ?


    Strangely enough, it became easier to breathe.?


    ?


    1. The original Korean idiom is ? ?? ? ??, which directly translates to ¡®giving someone sickness and then giving them the medicine.¡¯ The English equivalent is ¡®carry fire in one hand and water in the other.¡¯ ?

 CH 150

    ¡°Woo-Jin, it¡¯s time.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin hung up on CEO Kim Seok-Hyung, Kang Ho-Soo entered the waiting room and pointed out the time. Before he knew it, it was almost time for the press conference. Hwang Yi-Young had followed behind Kang Ho-Soo; she checked Woo-Jin¡¯s attire and makeup to make sure that everything was in place, and explained the do¡¯s and don¡¯ts to him.?


    ?


    Today, Woo-Jin stuck to his usual style. There was no need for him to dress to impress, or to dress modestly. As usual, Hwang Yi-Young tried her best to create a modern and classy vibe, except that this time, Woo-Jin wore the Zenga suit he had rejected last years because it had been too excessive.?


    ?


    ¡°When you enter the conference room, walk naturally as you button up your jacket. When you make eye contact with the journalists, don¡¯t smile; look slightly angry and solemn! Okay?¡±?


    ?


    The journalist had immediately published such a deceitful article, without checking the facts and going through the negotiation process. Woo-Jin would be considered a pushover if he wasn¡¯t mad at that journalist. The journalists who blindly agreed with him were also considered accomplices. It was important for Woo-Jin to express his disappointment towards them.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was known for being very polite and smiling at all times, but he had a very solemn look on his face right now. The journalists were about to find out the reason why. Before opening the door to the conference room, Kang Ho-Soo glanced at Woo-Jin and asked if he was going to be okay. Up until now, those journalists had only shown him kindness. It was time for Woo-Jin to face their sharp criticisms and ridicule. Even though Kang Ho-Soo was going to be by his side, the only person who had to deal with that was none other than Chae Woo-Jin himself.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin nodded, Kang Ho-Soo slowly opened the door. Even before entering, Woo-Jin instinctively wanted to close his eyes because of the incessant camera flashes, but he stopped himself. Woo-Jin fixed his gaze firmly; he buttoned up his jacket and entered the conference room.?


    ?


    When Chae Woo-Jin appeared, the cameras followed his every movement; the conference room was filled with the noisy sounds of journalists busily moving around. Today¡¯s press conference would be broadcasted live. When Chae Woo-Jin said he would be giving an explanation about the sponsorship rumors, several broadcasting stations had offered to do a live broadcast. Since it was what Woo-Jin wanted, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had given the green light for it to be aired live on broadcasting stations, and some cable ones.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin entered the conference room with a solemn look on his face; he didn¡¯t look nervous or intimidated. Instead, he emitted a very cold vibe, and he looked very dignified. His eyes were filled with disillusionment and anger as he looked at the journalists. The cameras fully captured his expression and everything was being aired on TV.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s entrance was drastically different from what the journalists had expected, so they paused for a second as their eyes tracked Chae Woo-Jin as he walked, feeling puzzled. They were gathered here to hear the excuses Chae Woo-Jin had prepared. They had been making wagers with one another about what kind of clothes and makeup he would be wearing, and what kind of excuses he would be making while looking haggard. The most popular excuse they came up with was Chae Woo-Jin recording himself during an acting practice session, and TM editing the voice recording, which was also what his fans had claimed. So many of the journalists had chosen this excuse, which led to the bets being called off.?


    ?


    Aside from a couple of journalists who had always been in favor of Chae Woo-Jin, the rest of the journalists believed that he had made his debut in the entertainment industry with the help of a sponsor. This was a separate issue from acknowledging Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s abilities and value. And in light of the evidence, it would be comical to make a different judgment.?


    ?


    There were many sponsors in the industry, but they were all in hiding. It was just a matter of whether they would be caught or not. Chae Woo-Jin was caught because he was unlucky; it was nothing surprising. As such, the entertainment industry and the sponsorship issue were closely related to one another. The situation seemed too obvious for them to doubt and ignore the cases with sponsorships and just side with Chae Woo-Jin instead.?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin sat down, the camera flashes went off, blinding him once again. However, the journalists were impressed upon seeing him look calmer than ever. They couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that Woo-Jin was a very talented actor, as per their expectations. They also felt sorry for him. The downfall of an actor, whom everyone thought would have a bright and solid future, was imminent.?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t just the matter of a celebrity having a sponsor. Many people had been saying he would probably fail the interview stage of the bar exam because of this incident. As of now, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s future looked very bleak. Needless to say, his acting skills and looks were top notch, so after years of self-reflection and repentance, he would be able to make a comeback. Naturally, he would be getting a lot less fame and glory compared to what he would have gotten if this incident hadn¡¯t happened, but it wasn¡¯t the end of the road for him. That was how valuable Chae Woo-Jin was.?


    ?


    However, in the midst of everything, some of the journalists saw something strange. The drinks and bottled water placed in front of the journalists were products of Taeyang Foods. Chae Woo-Jin was their exclusive model. They wondered if these were sponsored by Taeyang Foods, or if it was just Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s attempt to show that he was still thriving.?


    ?


    ¡°It is with great regret that we¡¯re gathered here on a Monday morning because of such an incident.¡±?


    ?


    The journalists were experiencing mixed feelings after hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s opening statement. Getting an interview with Chae Woo-Jin was a very difficult feat to begin with. The opportunity that was given to only a chosen few was given equally to all of them today. They didn¡¯t know if they should be happy that this was the topic of their first interview with him as a journalist, or if they should be upset as they were people who loved the broadcasting and entertainment industry.?


    ?


    ¡°It is also with great regret that my very first press conference is being held to refute the article that was published yesterday.¡±?


    ?


    The journalists nodded; as expected, they had figured that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation at today¡¯s press conference would be filled with rebuttals and excuses. Perhaps, it was the logical outcome. He had too much to lose to give up without putting up a fight.?


    ?


    The press conference was organized in such a way that Chae Woo-Jin would first announce his stance on the issue at hand, before opening up the Q&A session to the floor. After hearing the explanation of the process of the press conference from the host, the journalists held themselves back from asking questions, and waited for Chae Woo-Jin to speak.?


    ?


    ¡°All of you know what I¡¯m about to say, but the article written by Journalist Kang Il-Ro from Best Day is not true. However, the voice recording that Journalist Kang had publicly released was indeed the final conversation I had with CEO Kim Seok-Hyung on the day I left TM.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s words didn¡¯t make any sense; the journalists were baffled, and wondered what he meant. There was a moment of silence in the huge conference room.?


    ?


    ¡°Except that the contents of the conversation were completely different from what I remember, so I was very confused. I thought my memory was failing me, so I searched for the recordings that I had and played them.¡±?


    ?


    The journalists¡¯ eyes lit up upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s assertion. In truth, the voice recording released by Journalist Kang Il-Ro was very short. In that recording, Chae Woo-Jin had only briefly responded to what CEO Kim Seok-Hyung of TM said. However, things were bound to be interesting now that there was another voice recording.?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin glanced at Kang Ho-Soo and gave him a cue, he pressed a button on an audio device he had prepared.?


    ?


    ¨C Do you think you can make it big without a sponsor??


    ?


    ¨C I¡¯ve seen a lot of seniors in the industry who became very successful without the help of a sponsor.?


    ?


    ¨C That¡¯s only because you¡¯re not aware of it. Do you know there are things they¡¯re hiding that haven¡¯t been exposed yet??


    ?


    As soon as the journalists heard the voice recording, they could tell the people talking were TM''s CEO and Chae Woo-Jin. Kim Seok-Hyung had often been interviewed; there was no one here that didn¡¯t recognize his voice.?


    ?


    ¨C It¡¯s good to have a sponsor in order to succeed quickly and easily in the entertainment industry. But so what? Have I said I wanted to succeed quickly and easily??


    ?


    ¨C Woo-Jin, turn a blind eye just this once. If you keep insisting on going against my wishes, you¡¯ll forever remain a trainee. Do you think I¡¯ll let you debut??


    ?


    ¨C In that case, please go ahead.?


    ?


    ¨C What??


    ?


    ¨C I¡¯d rather not be a celebrity than do something so dirty.?


    ?


    ¨C You¡¯re walking all over me just because I¡¯ve been overindulging you! Hey, there¡¯s only one way for a broke person like you with no connections to succeed. Just crawl when I tell you to crawl! You have to think about your mother who¡¯s raising her children alone!?


    ?


    Upon hearing Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s screaming voice, the journalists¡¯ faces turned pale.?


    ?


    ¨C I guess that¡¯s your way of surviving in this world, but just because you lived your life like that, doesn¡¯t mean you should tell me to live my life in the same way.?


    ?


    The conversation between Chae Woo-Jin and Kim Seok-Hyung continued for quite some time. The duration of the voice recording released by Best Day¡¯s Journalist Kang Il-Ro could not be compared to Woo-Jin¡¯s voice recording. Because of that, everybody could immediately see how Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s words had been edited.?


    ?


    The audio device was now playing the part where Chae Woo-Jin revealed he was recording the conversation. Naturally, CEO Kim Seok-Hyung was yelling, while Chae Woo-Jin calmly responded.?


    ?


    ¨C What¡¯s wrong with recording the conversation? You¡¯re pressuring me to get a sponsor.?


    ?


    After clearly hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply, Kim Seok-Hyung yelled at him in a voice that was hardly recognizable. It clearly showed how quick-tempered and unscrupulous Kim Seok-Hyung was. Shortly after, the voice recording came to an end, with Woo-Jin leaving TM and handing the phone with the voice recording over to Kim Seok-Hyung.?


    ?


    ¡°This is the entire conversation I had with CEO Kim Seok-Hyung. And as a provisional measure, I would also like to say that I have quite a number of other voice recordings of the conversations I had with TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung. If need be, I have every intention of disclosing them.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin then took out some documents and stood up. He held out the papers and showed them to the journalists, making sure they could see them.?


    ?


    ¡°With regards to the authenticity of CEO Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s voice in the voice recording, we have asked a sound and voice researcher, Professor Oh Myeong-Hwan, to confirm that it is the same person.¡±?


    ?


    After Chae Woo-Jin slowly turned the pages and showed everything to the journalists, he placed the papers neatly together and set them aside, before speaking to the journalists.?


    ?


    ¡°That is all I have to say. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.¡±?


    ?


    It took some time to play the entire voice recording, so Chae Woo-Jin had barely said anything himself. Thus, the journalists raised their hands immediately as they still had a lot of questions. Woo-Jin pointed to the first journalist he saw who was standing in front of him.?


    ?


    ¡°I am Journalist Choi Min-Jae of Shinhwa Daily.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, Journalist Choi.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You mentioned that you have quite a number of recordings on top of the one you¡¯ve released today. I¡¯m curious as to what led you to record them in the first place. And you had given your phone to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung, so how did you end up getting your hands on today¡¯s voice recording?¡±?


    ?


    The contents of the voice recording had clearly documented everything, including the part where Chae Woo-Jin handed his phone over to Kim Seok-Hyung in return for being released from TM. Everyone was curious about how he was able to present the voice recording that had been stolen.?


    ?


    ¡°Whenever I talked to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung, I always had two or three voice recording devices on me, and that includes my phone.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing what Chae Woo-Jin said, the journalists could not hide their confusion. Chae Woo-Jin was only 21 years old at that time. It was hard to think that a young man at that age would prepare two or three recording devices just to record something. They looked at Chae Woo-Jin, and flocked towards him while wondering what kind of plot he was hatching?


    ?


    ¡°I started recording our conversations because back then, he had been bothering me for months to get a sponsorship. It wasn¡¯t something that happened over a day or two. It just so happened to coincide with the Blue Fit incident as well, so I decided to record everything just in case. And as you¡¯ve heard from the last part of the voice recording, I thought there was no other way for me to safely leave TM without incident.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Chae Woo-Jin finished answering that question, Lee Ji-Yeon of Daily Two threw him a curveball. She was someone who worked closely with TM.?


    ?


    ¡°You claimed that the voice recording released by Journalist Kang of Best Day was edited. In that case, do you have any evidence to prove today¡¯s voice recording wasn¡¯t edited?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The authenticity of the voice recording will be revealed during the trial. However, if Journalist Kang Il-Ro wants to refute my words, he should just release the full voice recording like I did.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t see the need to explain why his voice recording was genuine. These things would be clarified by the experts during the trial. If they wanted to refute the truth, they could always support their arguments with other sources.?


    ?


    ¡°Regardless of what I say, it¡¯ll never be as good as a scientific explanation. However, I just want to say that science and technology has proven that the voice in the voice recording belonged to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung. In that case, wouldn¡¯t it mean that I had given TM''s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, a script and asked him to record himself with it?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked at Journalist Lee Ji-Yeon with a cold gaze. It was different from how he looked at the rest of the journalists. However, they only made eye contact for a brief moment because of the incessant questions from the other journalists.?


    ?


    ¡°Are you thinking of going to trial?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re asking the obvious.¡± Woo-Jin laughed out loud as though he had heard a joke. Instead of striving to maintain a positive image, Woo-Jin had adopted a strong and arrogant attitude today.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, who will you be suing?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We will decide after consulting with our lawyer, but we will definitely be suing the TM employee who had provided the source for the article. Naturally, the ill-intentioned person who edited the voice recording will be included as well. And the actions taken against Journalist Kang Il-Ro will differ depending on his response. Needless to say, I intend to demand a clear apology and compensation from him for publishing the article without first verifying the facts.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin showed zero tolerance. While there might be room for negotiation, he had already made it clear that he intended to demand compensation for the damage caused. His attitude was firmer than ever; it was certainly very contrasting from his easygoing side of him which he had shown thus far. Ever since the press conference started, he had been emitting a very unapproachable aura. He was not the Chae Woo-Jin everyone knew.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 151

    ¡°Then, is there any other person you think might have edited the voice recording that Journalist Kang Il-Ro had released?¡±?


    ?


    It was possible that Journalist Kang Il-Ro might have edited the voice recording himself, or someone else with a different intention might have edited it before reporting it on purpose. It was somehow most likely the latter, and it was somewhat predictable. However, he couldn¡¯t recklessly mention who they were. It was a very sensitive issue. If he were to point fingers at another person without clear evidence, it could cause a backlash. Thus, the journalist who asked the question did not necessarily want a direct answer either. Instead, it was a question aimed at eliciting a response that suggested there was someone Chae Woo-Jin was suspicious of. That alone was enough material for them to write a long story.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know who the informant is, so how would I know that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Did Journalist Kang Il-Ro not say anything about the informant?¡±?


    ?


    When an article got published, the subject in question would normally confront the journalist and ask for the facts first, so everyone had assumed that would have been the same for Chae Woo-Jin. However, the journalists felt that Chae Woo-Jin was conveying his uneasy feelings about Kang Il-Ro when he expressed his dissatisfaction about not knowing the informant¡¯s true identity.?


    ?


    ¡°Why should I ask him when he didn¡¯t bother asking me if the information he had received was true when writing the article? I have no intention of engaging in any conversations with him in the future. The only person he will be talking to from now on will be my lawyer.¡±?


    ?


    Even if Kang Il-Ro knew who the informant or the person who edited the voice recording was, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to hear anything directly from him. He made it clear he had no intention of meeting him at all and didn¡¯t want to waste any time dealing with him.?


    ?


    That was when it finally hit everyone present that none of the journalists from Best Day had been invited to the press conference. All kinds of people from the media were gathered here, and Best Day was rather well-known, so by not inviting any of their journalists, Chae Woo-Jin and DS were implicitly showing how they would be treating them from here on. So it wasn¡¯t a matter of dealing with Kang Il-Ro alone.?


    ?


    The journalists were instantly terrified. Even though Kang Il-Ro was the one who started it, most of the people in this room had spent all of the previous day chiming in and writing articles about Chae Woo-Jin as well. They had written those articles to their hearts¡¯ content without holding themselves back because they were aware of CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s hatred and intolerance towards any issues pertaining to sponsorships. Aside from the journalists who had inquired with DS first and waited for a response, everyone else had assumed Jang Soo-Hwan would have abandoned Chae Woo-Jin. After being abandoned by DS, Chae Woo-Jin would just be a celebrity whom people could treat badly. However, now that things had gone in this direction, they were the ones in the doghouse for acting recklessly instead.?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, I too am a human, so I want to know who edited the voice recording. That¡¯s more important to me than finding out who the informant is.¡±?


    ?


    The important thing at this point wasn¡¯t finding out who the informant was but rather what their intentions were. And it was imperative to find out the person behind the edited voice recording at all costs. Imagination knew no bounds, but the thing that always stood in the way of truth was the evidence. Without evidence, the truth would be nothing more than an imaginary rumor. That was why Chae Woo-Jin had to be cautious with every word he spoke.?


    ?


    ¡°That is why I called the CEO of TM, Kim Seok-Hyung, right before the press conference started.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Chae Woo-Jin mentioned the name of the person in today¡¯s voice recording, as well as the owner of the other piece of evidence, a commotion ensued in the conference room. Today''s biggest finding was that the CEO of TM had introduced a sponsor to his own agency¡¯s artiste and forced him to accept the sponsorship rather than the fact that Chae Woo-Jin had been framed.?


    ?


    The pervasive and hidden existence of sponsors within the entertainment industry had always been a problem. However, this was the first time evidence proving that a CEO of an agency had directly mentioned and forced his artiste into accepting a sponsorship had actually surfaced. This incident had made the rumors about Chae Woo-Jin having a sponsor pale in comparison.?


    ?


    The concrete evidence ensuring that an unprecedented incident was about to occur was finally being broadcast live nationwide. There was no way anybody could cover it up. It was no longer an incident about Chae Woo-Jin; it had now turned into a huge matter involving TM Entertainment, CEO Kim Seok-Hyung, and all the other artistes belonging to that agency.?


    ?


    Clearly, CEO Kim Seok-Hyung wouldn¡¯t have known the situation would develop in such a manner, so it would be interesting to see how he would respond to Chae Woo-Jin. To a certain extent, everyone present had an inkling who the culprit behind the voice recording in question and Journalist Kang Il-Ro¡¯s informant was.?


    ?


    The journalists didn¡¯t dare imagine the look on CEO Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s face at this very moment as he watched the broadcast. Feeling regretful, they thought about how they should have been at TM''s CEO¡¯s office instead of being here in this conference room and waited for Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s next words.?


    ?


    ¡°As you have heard the voice recording earlier, CEO Kim Seok-Hyung would have had no reason to refute the article published yesterday. Nonetheless, he was the only person who knew the truth, so I had no choice but to call him. As I was once a TM artiste, I didn¡¯t feel inclined to release the voice recording that could cause damage to the people from that agency. Hence, I was willing to compromise with CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin implied that he was willing to make an excuse and go with his fans¡¯ claim that it was a voice recording of an acting practice session. Not all TM artistes had sponsors. In fact, it could be argued that there were more people without sponsors. However, today¡¯s incident had implicated TM''s artistes as a whole. There was no reason for Woo-Jin to make any sacrifices to save all of them, and he had no intention of doing so.?


    ?


    But by saying this, Woo-Jin had shifted the blame that could fall on him to Kim Seok-Hyung. It was necessary for Woo-Jin to strongly emphasize that the release of the voice recording was entirely a misfortune caused by Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s obstinacy and poor judgment.?


    ?


    ¡°However, CEO Kim Seok-Hyung had insisted that the information written in the article was accurate and just as he remembered. He also said that the phone and voice recording had not been tampered with and exactly matched the article. On the contrary, he was angry with me. There was nothing I could do. Based on what he said, it could be said that the informant had handed the materials over to the journalist without editing them. Naturally, this does not mean that the informant was completely guilt-free. It is a known fact that the act of spreading false information about me has damaged my honor and the image of the products and services I have advertised and also negatively impacted my movie currently running in the theaters, so I will not be making any compromises.¡±?


    ?


    The journalists had been busy moving around; upon hearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s words, they paused for a moment. What he had just said could be interpreted in many ways. It seemed as though he was suggesting that the person who edited the voice recording was CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.?


    ?


    ¡°I think you should be very careful with what you say about CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.¡±?


    ?


    A journalist who had always been on good terms with DS and Chae Woo-Jin cautiously pointed it out. They had given Chae Woo-Jin the opportunity to correct himself, on the off chance it was a slip of the tongue. That was because, judging from Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s personality, he would definitely go all out and take him down if he were to find any weakness.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Kim Seok-Hyung has already confirmed it. He even said that he remains unrepentant and has given me a definite answer that he has no intention of refuting the article. He insisted that the information in the article was exactly the same as the materials he had on his desk. Naturally, he never explicitly revealed who edited the voice recording. I merely interpreted CEO Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s words.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin also added that the two voice recordings had different contents, so they would be verified in court at a later date.?


    ?


    ¡°Setting the voice recordings aside, what about the text messages on your previous phones?¡±?


    ?


    At this point, nobody thought Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s voice recording had been fabricated, but the text messages on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s phone still had to be addressed. That question was aimed to give Chae Woo-Jin a chance to explain to the people who didn¡¯t understand or still had questions after watching the broadcast.?


    ?


    ¡°Thankfully, Journalist Kang Il-Ro had taken a screenshot of the texts on my phone and posted it in the article. You must have noticed that the date in the screenshot says February 11th, 10.25 p.m., but unfortunately, my contract with TM had been terminated on February 11th itself.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin answered the question and showed the other document he had prepared to the journalists. It was the termination agreement Woo-Jin had signed when he left TM. The year and date, February 11th, were clearly indicated in the agreement.?


    ?


    ¡°If I am not mistaken, I remember this agreement had been written at approximately 5 p.m. that day. I am very curious about the meaning behind this exchange of text messages that occurred after that.¡±?


    ?


    The contract had been terminated, so he wondered why he would even argue with the agency¡¯s CEO in the evening over the sponsorship matter and why the latter would even be persuading him. Looking at the text messages, Chae Woo-Jin was still clearly texting as though he was still an artiste of TM.?


    ?


    It was hard to argue that Chae Woo-Jin had terminated his contract with TM after the exchange of texts had taken place because of time constraints. If Chae Woo-Jin and Kim Seok-Hyung had only met with one another after exchanging those text messages and had the conversation in the voice recording before terminating his contract, it would have already been February 12th that day. More importantly, Woo-Jin¡¯s voice recording included the part where they had summoned a lawyer, and the termination agreement had the lawyer¡¯s signature on it. It didn¡¯t make sense for Kim Seok-Hyung to call a lawyer and fill out the paperwork at approximately midnight, and the timeline didn¡¯t make sense in more ways than one.?


    ?


    All things considered, all the evidence pointed to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung''s guilt.?


    ?


    ¡°A while ago, you mentioned that this incident has damaged the image of the products and services you have advertised for. So, I would like to ask how you plan to deal with it.¡±?


    ?


    The journalist who asked this question had been curious about the Taeyang Food beverages placed in front of them since before the press conference began. With such overwhelming evidence, it seemed like DS would have done some damage control and stopped all advertising, especially since CEO Jang Soo-Hwan personally knew the companies, so he would¡¯ve acted swiftly.?


    ?


    Generally, whenever such a situation arose, it was within reason for companies to cut off their models because their image would be significantly damaged, making them uneasy, even though the truth was important. This was because the image of their company¡¯s products mattered more to them than the truth.?


    ?


    These companies normally responded by quietly replacing their models rather than getting involved in the scandal. It was difficult to find a highly sought-after model, but that didn¡¯t mean it was impossible. In the eyes of these companies, models had always been akin to consumer goods that could be replaced. None of them would choose to go through the trouble of taking part in a lawsuit for the sake of their model. That said, it was unclear what Jang Soo-Hwan had done as a middleman in this situation.?


    ?


    ¡°That will be answered by my lawyer, sitting next to me.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin pointed to the middle-aged man sitting next to him from the beginning of the press conference. The journalists had been curious about the mysterious man; they shifted their gazes towards him with gleaming eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°I am Lee Young-Hwan from Rome Law Firm. I will be representing Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. There are a few more things we have to discuss with the companies pertaining to this issue, but they are well aware that this incident has damaged the image of their products and services, as well as their company. We plan to claim compensation for damages from Journalist Kang Il-Ro and the informant. There will be no settlement in this process, and I would like to clarify that everything will be done in accordance with the legal process.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing what the lawyer said, the journalists were initially surprised by the unusual decision made by the companies. As such, they could clearly sense how much these companies trusted CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s abilities and Chae Woo-Jin, as well as how confident they were in both of them.?


    ?


    And then, they were also flustered in a different way by the fact that the lawyer Chae Woo-Jin had hired was from Rome Law Firm because they came to a realization belatedly that Rome had never represented any celebrities. They had always been preoccupied with major cases pertaining to estate and social issues, so their manpower was scarce.?


    ?


    In the past, several celebrities had tried to seek Rome¡¯s legal services when they were involved in scandals, but they had turned all of them down, saying they didn¡¯t have the luxury of taking on such a small case. It was the first time Rome had ever represented a celebrity.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 152

    It was uncertain if Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s power and influence had brought about this unusual outcome or attributed to the influence of the companies Chae Woo-Jin was modeling for. However, it was clear that Rome taking on this case alone would give the parties being served immense pressure.?


    ?


    ¡°I will be in charge of all legal matters concerning Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. We ask for your kind understanding so that Chae Woo-Jin can focus on his acting career and other endeavors in the future.¡±?


    ?


    In other words, the lawyer was telling the journalists not to bother Chae Woo-Jin from now on. It wasn¡¯t just an empty threat ¡ª Rome Law Firm always followed through with actions. The journalists present here already knew that as they had heard a lot about it.?


    ?


    ¡°In that case, how are you going to deal with the sponsorship issue?¡±?


    ?


    As soon as one of the journalists asked that question, Lee Young-Hwan openly frowned. It was very subtle, but the journalists became tense after seeing the look on the highly dignified and charismatic lawyer¡¯s face. Lee Young-Hwan paid no attention to it, faced the cameras broadcasting the press conference live, and spoke clearly.?


    ?


    ¡°I do not know why Mr. Chae Woo-Jin keeps getting linked to the sponsorship issue. It is a malicious case that damages a person¡¯s reputation and the companies they work with by spreading false information. The sponsorship matter is a social issue that should be dealt with by the police or prosecutors separately. It is not related to Mr. Chae Woo-Jin in any way. Please refrain from implicating him in it. This is clearly defamation as well.¡±?


    ?


    Lee Young-Hwan proceeded to present guidelines for future articles. The sponsorship itself was not important; what mattered was the inside story that created false information and evidence. They had to draw a hard line and make it known that the chronic sponsorship issue within the entertainment industry had nothing to do with Chae Woo-Jin. While the reason accounting for this clear division was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s important image, Park Yi-Yeon was also another reason.?


    ?


    Park Yi-Yeong had been secretly investigating the sponsorship problem within the entertainment industry. The litigation was supposed to take place in November, but it had suddenly surfaced because of this incident, so he was in a challenging situation as of now. Even though it had been accelerated, a good thing that came out of it was that it had provided a basis for the investigation to be carried out naturally. Also, this incident had saved him a lot of trouble.?


    ?


    However, the problem was that Chae Woo-Jin and Park Yi-Yeon were cousins. Park Yi-Yeon was indispensable to the investigation. As the prosecutor of this case, his cousin, Chae Woo-Jin, should absolutely not be involved in the sponsorship issue. Hence, Lee Young-Hwan had deliberately emphasized that the sponsorship matter was a social issue that had nothing to do with Chae Woo-Jin. Even though Kim Seok-Hyung was indeed one of the people Park Yi-Yeon had been investigating, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s case had to be viewed as an entirely separate case. It was personal, whereas the sponsorship matter was a social issue that was not related to him in any way. It was necessary to force the public to view it that way.?


    ?


    ¡°Since it¡¯s almost time to wrap up the press conference, we will only take two more questions.¡±?


    ?


    The host confirmed the time and informed the journalists. The conference was quickly coming to an end as the voice recording playback took up a lot of time. The journalists raised their hands, eager to ask more questions, but the host picked a journalist with whom they had already made prior arrangements.?


    ?


    ¡°Judging by the voice recording and materials you have prepared, it seems as though you have extensively prepared them since a long time ago. Did you by any chance expect something like this to happen?¡±?


    ?


    The journalist read the memo they had received from their director before heading for the conference room. When they first saw the question, they wondered what it was about, but they now understood and realized how important this question was. In other words, it was asking if there were any other important things that DS and Chae Woo-Jin wanted to reveal.?


    ?


    ¡°Yes.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You did? Could you please elaborate on that?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It is because of the strange fact that none of the aspiring artistes that left TM became successful.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean none of the artistes that left TM became successful? You are one of them, along with Lee Hyung-Jin¡­ Ah¡­!¡±?


    ?


    Yes, there had been a few successful ones. However, the one thing they all had in common was that all of them had a bad ending, apart from Chae Woo-Jin. Perhaps, if Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have any evidence against TM, he most likely would have become one of the fallen celebrities. At the thought of how there might be more to the story than meets the eye, the journalists looked very interested. The ones who had somewhat guessed it nodded and remarked that they had expected it, while the faces of some of the others turned pale; they couldn¡¯t raise their heads and simply feigned ignorance.?


    ?


    ¡°We will take one last question.¡±?


    ?


    Regardless of their reactions, the host calmly continued with the press conference, once again picking another journalist who had already been decided in advance as the final person.?


    ?


    ¡°You mentioned you have spoken to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung on the phone right before the press conference. Is there anything else you have not told us about?¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin looked troubled for a moment after hearing that question. Then with a vague look on his face, as though he was trying to hold back his laughter, he grabbed the mic and answered.?


    ?


    ¡°He told me to come back to TM if I get kicked out of DS.¡±?


    ?


    His answer might be concise, but the cause of the situation was clearly implied. If he didn¡¯t have the original voice recording, he would¡¯ve had no choice but to make a deal with Kim Seok-Hyung to explain and cover up the incident. Judging from Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s conviction and personality, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s contract with DS would have definitely been terminated if he had failed to prove his innocence. After leaving DS, TM would become the only place Chae Woo-Jin could rely on, so Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s calculations were not entirely off.?


    ?


    Perhaps, there was a massive gap between the future Kim Seok-Hyung had dreamed of and the reality.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°What is that bastard talking about right now! When did I say that!¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung was watching the press conference. He was also well aware of the implications of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s answer. Thus, he couldn¡¯t control his anger and let it out. He grumbled, saying, ¡®I only said I¡¯d take him back out of pity, and what did he say? How could he twist my words like that and mislead everyone?¡¯ That was his only excuse for getting mad.?


    ?


    ¡°I tried to save him from his plight, and he¡¯s not even thankful. I¡¯ll sue him for defamation too!¡±?


    ?


    He sat down on the sofa and yelled as he ripped his hair out, but he knew he couldn¡¯t sue Chae Woo-Jin. In any case, he did tell him to go back to TM, and if Woo-Jin were to release the voice recording of their phone call that happened right before the press conference, he would truly be in a sticky situation.?


    ?


    ¡°I was doing so well, and then I became agitated after hearing Lee Yeon¡¯s name at the end. What should I do?¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung had never imagined Woo-Jin would have a copy of the original voice recording. He couldn¡¯t understand why Woo-Jin and DS hadn¡¯t done anything to him all this while, despite having the voice recording in their possession. If he were them, he would¡¯ve already used it to threaten him or make a deal. His blunder only occurred because those people sat back and did nothing, so he felt very resentful.?


    ?


    ¡°I think the best thing to do is to insist that Assistant Manager Kim had misunderstood after hearing the voice recording recorded during an acting practice session and tipped off the journalist.¡± Director Kwon had been quiet the entire time; he made a suggestion in a weak voice. No matter how hard he racked his brain, that was the only way he could think of. In any case, as long as he managed to successfully convince everyone that Assistant Manager Kim was the one who had reported it, he would have a slight chance of escaping this predicament.?


    ?


    ¡°Tell Assistant Manager Kim not to worry and that we¡¯ll take care of the trial and the aftermath. Speaking of which, why did they hire a lawyer from Rome of all the law firms!¡±?


    ?


    During the Blue Fit incident previously, DS had sent them a certification of contents filled out by Rome; this time around, they had employed their services once again. Kim Seok-Hyung was mortified upon seeing that. Even if they wanted to flaunt their money, going to such an extent seemed insane.?


    ?


    ¡°But if the other companies choose to participate in the lawsuit, the amount of money involved would be very hefty.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung wanted to say it was probably just an idle threat, but then he thought of Jang Soo-Hwan and sighed. He was doubtful that Jang Soo-Hwan had persuaded the other companies to participate in the lawsuit. However, they would not have a choice but to take action on account of Jang Soo-Hwan. They wouldn¡¯t want this incident to drag on for a long time and cause them more trouble.?


    ?


    ¡°Try contacting some of the executives we know from the companies suing us.¡±?


    ?


    Some of the senior executives of the companies that Chae Woo-Jin was modeling for had a good relationship with TM. Now, he had no choice but to count on them for the time being.?


    ?


    ¡°Everything¡¯s going to be fine.¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung was confident things would be resolved this time as well as they always did in the past. It would cost him a huge sum of money, but he decided to think of it as a consequence of bad judgment on his part. Things like that happened when doing a business; there were bound to be risks everywhere.?


    ?


    Director Kwon looked at CEO Kim; he hoped the latter would be more careful and learn something from this incident. However, people don¡¯t change that easily. Kim Seok-Hyung had only been dealing with more or less the same type of people. It had played a considerable role in his incredible luck thus far. His continuous success made him confident and arrogant, blinding him. And this time, their opponent seemed too big for them to handle.?


    ?


    ¡°CEO Kim!!¡±?


    ?


    Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s secretary recklessly opened the door to his office without knocking and barged in, looking very pale. His secretary¡¯s rude behavior made him furious.?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any hands!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I do, but¡­. An article was just published¡­.¡±?


    ?


    The secretary¡¯s gaze shifted to the TV. Chae Woo-Jin was currently wrapping up the press conference. Kim Seok-Hyung had a feeling the new article his secretary was talking about was about Chae Woo-Jin, so he frowned slightly. It was only natural for the details of the press conference to be published in real-time. She wouldn¡¯t have been so surprised by the obvious.?


    ?


    ¡°What is it?¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Kim Seok-Hyung asked his secretary what happened, she looked as though she was about to cry and showed him the article that had just been published on the internet.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°See! What did I tell you? My Woo-Jin oppa would never do such a thing.¡± Chae Woo-Ra pointed to the TV and screeched at the other Berry Rose members. At the same time, the members of Berry Rose stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces. They were in the midst of preparing for the Celebrities¡¯ Special Admission to college.?


    ?


    ¡°What are you talking about? Has any of us said anything about Chae Woo-Jin? You were the one who went berserk all on your own, yelling, ¡®How dare those old bitches try to get fresh with my oppa?¡¯¡±?


    ?


    As a celebrity, sponsorship had always been a sensitive issue that they had to be cautious about. Hence, after the article went viral yesterday, none of them had said a thing about Chae Woo-Jin. They were not the only ones keeping silent ¡ª most of the celebrities held their breath and kept an eye on the situation throughout the day. It was a sensitive issue in this industry.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Ra was like a double-edged sword to Berry Rose. Berry Rose had been appearing on TV a lot with the help of Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s family. Because of that, all the members gained a moderate amount of popularity. Even though they were losing out on a huge source of income because they didn¡¯t perform at events for the sake of their group¡¯s image, they were still enjoying a substantial amount of benefits in return. Thus, they accepted Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s entire personality and somehow got along with her.?


    ?


    As long as Chae Woo-Ra was a member of Berry Rose, there was no need for them to look for sponsors. No, in a broad sense, Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s family was their sponsor. The only difference was that they had sold their pride instead of their bodies. As a result, they were in no position to run their mouths and criticize someone else.?


    ?


    Hence, while the other members of Berry Rose remained silent, Chae Woo-Ra became very agitated all by herself and kicked up a big fuss. She had assumed the rumors about Chae Woo-Jin were true and cursed at anyone who was a sponsor. In a way, the person who believed in the rumors about Chae Woo-Jin the most out of all the members of Berry Rose was Chae Woo-Ra.?


    ?


    ¡°I trust people too easily because I¡¯m very naive. What¡¯s wrong with that? Is it a crime to be naive?¡± When Da-Young pointed that out, Chae Woo-Ra acted rather dignified instead. The previous day¡¯s events had happened too long ago for Chae Woo-Ra to remember.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±?


    ?


    Da-Young no longer had the energy to argue with her, so she simply agreed with Chae Woo-Ra. Even though Chae Woo-Ra was a piece of work, this incident made Da-Young realize that she was grateful for her existence. She was lucky enough to have a relatively easy life in the entertainment industry, as long as she let go of her pride.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh my god! Chae Woo-Jin is the grandson of Rome¡¯s CEO!¡±?


    ?


    Cho-Hee wasn¡¯t listening to what Chae Woo-Ra was saying ¡ª she was just sitting in a corner doing her own things. She exclaimed after coming across an article online.

 CH 153

    ¡°What?¡±?


    ?


    The other Berry Rose members rushed over to Cho-Hee and began reading the article that she showed them. The article started by describing an eyewitness account about how Chae Woo-Jin appeared at Rome Law Firm on Saturday. Rome Law Firm was located in a building with other law firms; due to the nature of the job, many people worked on Saturdays as law firms were always swamped with work.?


    ?


    Several people were puzzled when Chae Woo-Jin showed up at Rome. The first thing that came to mind was that perhaps he might have been involved in some sort of lawsuit. However, it would have been rather strange for Chae Woo-Jin to show up at the law firm with a bouquet of red roses if that had been the case. Looking at the photo of Chae Woo-Jin that was sent to the journalist on that day,, he looked more like a guest than a client.?


    ?


    ¡°A man with flowers is truly attractive.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin was very photogenic ¨C he looked good in photos taken from any angle. People couldn¡¯t help but admire his beauty when they looked at him.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s visit had stimulated a lot of curiosity, and many theories and stories surfaced after that, but it was a clear fact that Chae Woo-Jin was the grandson of Rome¡¯s CEO, Park Hyun-Man. Thus, it was only natural for Chae Woo-Jin to visit his maternal grandfather the day after the list of candidates that had passed the second round of the bar exam was announced.?


    ?


    As such, the journalist ended off the article by saying it was understandable that Chae Woo-Jin had taken the bar exam, and how absurd the sponsorship theory was.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s right, why would the grandson of Rome¡¯s CEO look for a sponsor?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s insane. Didn¡¯t TM''s CEO mock Chae Woo-Jin for not having any connections in the voice recording? So he didn¡¯t know about this?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°He must have done it because he didn¡¯t know any better.¡± If he had known about it, Kim Seok-Hyung wouldn¡¯t have made those blunt remarks and pushed Chae Woo-Jin into a corner. Neither would he have introduced Chae Woo-Jin to a sponsor, much less do what he did today.?


    ?


    ¡°TM did all kinds of foolish things, huh.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin was already a great asset on his own; if they were to include the huge connections he had, it would mean that TM had suffered a very big loss. Even in Berry Rose¡¯s case, the fact that Chae Woo-Ra was the only child of Bareunjeong Foods¡¯ CEO had already been a huge help.?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, if you¡¯re talking about Rome¡­ Woo-Ra, I mean, A-Ra, isn¡¯t your maternal grandfather the CEO of Rome?¡±?


    ?


    It had never been published in a news article; it was just a rumor that had been covertly circulating around on the internet. It was normal since people could easily search on the internet and find out that Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s father had once been the son-in-law of Rome¡¯s CEO. People naturally deduced who Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s grandfather was by looking at her age.?


    ?


    After looking at the articles posted on the internet, the other Berry Rose members had asked Chae Woo-Ra directly about it?


    ?


    ¡°Members from the upper class were bound to meet one another. Did you think my mother came from just any family?¡±?


    ?


    Even though Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t openly admit it, it was as good as a silent acknowledgement. . Hence, the Berry Rose members had no choice but to feel even more disheartened and walk on eggshells around Chae Woo-Ra, as her maternal side of the family consisted of powerful people too.?


    ?


    However, now that an article had revealed Chae Woo-Jin was the grandson of Rome¡¯s CEO, Park Hyun-Man, what was the relationship between Chae Woo-Jin and Chae Woo-Ra??


    ?


    After hearing Da-Young¡¯s question, Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s face turned pale; she couldn¡¯t give a response and simply froze in place. Another member looked at her and muttered pitifully.?


    ?


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t even know you had a real brother?¡±?


    ?


    The members of Berry Rose knew how much Chae Woo-Ra liked Chae Woo-Jin. They felt sorry that she had such a story as well. Nobody in Berry Rose could call Chae Woo-Jin ¡®oppa¡¯ as Chae Woo-Ra would kick up a huge fuss. Seeing as the oppa she liked turned out to be her real brother, it could only mean their family got broken up. However, Da-Young didn¡¯t get caught up in the exchange of emotions among the other members.?


    ?


    ¡°Chae Woo-Jin has another younger sister who¡¯s the same age as you. Are you twins?¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s father had gone through a divorce, so it was understandable if their family had gone their separate ways when they were very young. Seeing how Chae Woo-Jin had alluded to his mother¡¯s remarriage during the press conference, the possibility of him being her half-brother couldn¡¯t be ruled out. However, after seeing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister in Golden Ball not too long ago, Da-Young didn¡¯t think they would be step-sisters as they looked alike. If that was the case, what was the identity of the two sisters that were of the same age? Her first speculation was that they were twins.?


    ?


    And upon hearing Da-Young¡¯s question, the cold look on Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s face started to crack.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    It was the first time since Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s debut that news and articles were being published and released one after another in real time, while receiving such intensive media attention. It was as though he had hit three home runs, which started from the news about him passing the second round of the bar exam.?


    ?


    The level of attention Woo-Jin was receiving from the media and the public was the same as a celebrity who had caused a scandal. This time, quite a number of things had been revealed, so people were busy sorting out the facts. Wish Baragi had quickly grasped the situation and organized the facts as they rushed to sway public opinion. At the press conference, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s lawyer had strongly emphasized that Chae Woo-Jin must not be linked to the sponsorship rumors in any way. His fans had completely understood the intent behind it, and they made it their mission to educate the public.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Thank you barag, for straightening out the situation. Thank you for making us feel relieved after yesterday¡¯s rude shock, and bringing up such an important point.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C You¡¯re lying, barag! Previously, you told us you were dating someone who looked like Genie. I¡¯m sure you think about your boyfriend during those 24 hours too.?


    ?


    ©¸ I see my perfect (apart from his name) boyfriend every day at work, so I don¡¯t have to think about him. He¡¯s right in front of my eyes.?


    ?


    As Wish Baragi had been thrown into a state of confusion the day before, one of the contributors wrote a post to calm the other barags down and explained the current situation in a comprehensible way. Hence, many barags were grateful to her, and expressed their anger while watching the live press conference.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I almost blew my lid when I was watching the press conference. Everything had been going so smoothly for Genie, what kind of bullshit is this? If Kim Seok-Hyung was that greedy, he should¡¯ve protected him dearly and helped him flourish! What did he do to the young man in his early twenties? Sxxxxxx? When I was listening to the voice recording, I was so angry that I cried.?


    ?


    ©¸ Let¡¯s think of it as a process to help Genie become more prosperous. Letting the whole world know how smart and resolute 21 year old Genie was via this incident alone is a huge bonus. Seeing how he wasn¡¯t swayed by temptation and worked hard on his own, I fell in love with him all over again. He has absolutely not suffered any damages or losses because of this incident.?


    ?


    ©¸ I know, right? It must have been hard for a 21 year old to say those words to the CEO (I meant to say ¡®bastard¡¯) of the agency and safely(?) get out of the situation. Our dear Genie accomplished such a difficult feat at a young age. Ah, I¡¯m going to wipe my tears.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I think we should take this opportunity to look into the other artists who have been embroiled in rumors after leaving TM. Genie oppa would never call Lee Hyung-Jin his favorite singer for no reason.?


    ?


    ©¸ That¡¯s right. I had goosebumps when Genie said he had prepared everything in advance because he knew something like this was going to happen. I figured they must have done the same thing to Lee Hyung-Jin. Genie knows something about it, right??


    ?


    With the addition of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s testimony and suspicions about Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s incident, a hypothesis was established and circulated. As soon as the rumors about Lee Hyung-Jin surfaced last year, he had insisted on his innocence until the very end, and even the family of the deceased had sided with him.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, people didn¡¯t believe his claims because the media had strongly portrayed Lee Hyung-Jin as the culprit behind the entire incident, and no one else had stood by him. Everyone had accused him of being a murderer and a bully, and he wasn¡¯t given the opportunity to defend himself. If by any chance, someone had a different opinion, they would have been treated as an irrational and cold-hearted fan of Lee Hyung-Jin, so people had no choice but to keep their mouths shut. That was why nobody stood up for him, which eventually led to his downfall.?


    ?


    At that time, the public thought justice was served, so they were pleased.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I¡¯ve suddenly become afraid of TM. Genie will be fine, right??


    ?


    ©¸ He has DS backing him up, and the other companies said they were going to file lawsuits as well. And his lawyer is from Rome Law Firm. I looked it up and found out he has a high chance of winning the lawsuit, so please don¡¯t worry. CEO Kim¡¯s underhandedness is terrifying, but not his power or influence. That said, justice always prevails!?


    ?


    ¨C¨C He made a mistake by stirring up trouble when Genie left him alone. What exactly was that TM bastard thinking when he did this??


    ?


    ©¸ He was probably afraid that Genie would pass the interview segment of the bar exam and his guilty conscience pricked his mind. It seems like he published that article to ensure Genie would fail the interview.?


    ?


    Surprisingly, a lot of people had identified the root cause of this incident. CEO Kim Seok-Hyung didn¡¯t pull such an act because he was resentful of letting go of a big fish. Instead, it was because of his rational fear of the fish catching and eating him alive.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Yesterday, Jin-Hee¡¯s Mother told us not to worry because everything would be revealed at the press conference, so I wasn¡¯t worried at all.?


    ?


    ©¸ Exactly. Not only do we have Manager Kang and Coordinator Hwang on the official front, we also have Jin-Hee¡¯s Mother on the personal front.?


    ?


    When the news broke out and rumors started circulating, Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young published a post on Wish Baragi, but it wasn¡¯t able to ease the members¡¯ anxiety. It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t trust Chae Woo-Jin ¨C they were simply too worried about what would happen if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have any evidence to refute those accusations.?


    ?


    Meanwhile, Jin-Hee¡¯s Mother wrote a message to the agitated barags, telling them not to worry. She was known to have a personal relationship with Chae Woo-Jin. She told them they would find out everything after watching the press conference, and uploaded on the bulletin board a real-time photo of Chae Woo-Jin casually playing with Woo-Sa on Sunday. Several fans felt relieved after seeing how Chae Woo-Jin was casually enjoying his afternoon while looking very carefree because they were very worried the incident might have hurt him.?


    ?


    The confidence shown by DS and the people around Chae Woo-Jin was naturally conveyed to the fans. That allowed them to feel confident and reassured. Following which, another piece of news broke out right before the press conference was over, shocking the barags who thought this incident couldn¡¯t become even more dramatic.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I¡­ Didn¡¯t that TM dog mock Genie for having a hard life with his single mother in the voice recording? He also mentioned at the press conference that his mother had remarried last year and he¡¯s currently living with his parents¡­ What is this article talking about??


    ?


    ¨C¨C In another follow-up article, it¡¯s said that after CEO Park Hyun-Man¡¯s only daughter had gotten a divorce, she raised her children alone without any help from her parents. I guess that¡¯s why Genie didn¡¯t talk about his mother¡¯s family.?


    ?


    ©¸ The person Genie¡¯s mother is currently married to is the CEO of Brisingamen! Gaon, the brand Genie is modeling for, is one of its brands. Wow~! It seems like all the puzzle pieces are falling into place now.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Even though I don¡¯t know much about the law, I¡¯ve heard a lot about Rome, so I was initially grateful that they were representing Genie, but it turned out to be an expected outcome. Ah, those people deserve it! Normally when something like that happens, even if it turns out to be nothing more than a rumor, companies don¡¯t come forward to participate in a lawsuit. However, the CEO of one of the companies that hired him as a model is his father, and after some digging, it seems like his father is a very close acquaintance of Taeyang Foods¡¯ CEO. That¡¯s why they¡¯re taking action.?


    ?


    ©¸ That person is completely screwed. The people who ran their mouths yesterday are nowhere to be seen right now.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C I¡¯m having a mental breakdown right now¡­ ;;?


    ?


    ©¸ Ack! Come to think of it, you¡¯re one of Gaon¡¯s designers. You really didn¡¯t know about the relationship between your CEO and Genie??


    ?


    The other WIsh Baragi members asked her out of envy and curiosity, but the response they had gotten back was a shocking piece of information.?


    ?


    ¨C¨C My team leader is the CEO¡¯s wife¡­ ?


    ?


    This was what fans called a ¡®lucky fan¡¯.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Chae Mu-Seok of Bareunjeong Foods was reviewing the documents he had received in the morning. While he was reading the final draft of the advertising materials for the newly announced condiments line, his secretary quietly entered his office. As soon as he glanced at her, she placed a piece of documents on his desk.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±?


    ?


    He thought he had already received all of the reported documents, so Chae Mu-Seok frowned as he thought one of them had been left out.?


    ?


    ¡°I printed out an article that had just been published because I figured it¡¯s something you need to read.¡±?


    ?


    After hearing what she said, Chae Mu-Seok looked at it. There was a photo of a man, along with an A4 sheet of paper with the contents printed on it. Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s eyes scanned the article indifferently; it didn¡¯t take long for his eyes to light up.?


    ?


    ¡°I see.¡±?


    ?


    However, there was no warmth in his cold voice.

 CH 154

    Unlike the usual high, blue autumn sky, it had been dark and cloudy since this morning. The weather wasn¡¯t bad ¡ª fine dust had simply covered the sky like clouds[1]. The hazy air made it seem as though it would rain at any moment; it was one of those days when people felt down for no reason.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt relatively calm after the press conference, but that didn¡¯t mean he was elated. Just like the gray sky, his chest was filled with fine dust. Perhaps, he looked somewhat sad. Before getting into the car after leaving the hotel where the press conference was held, Woo-Jin¡¯s face didn¡¯t seem to suggest he was the victor; instead, he looked dispirited and a little sad.?


    ?


    A video journalist happened to be in the right position at the right time and quickly captured the look on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t look like the arrogant and cold-hearted Chae Woo-Jin throughout the press conference ¡ª he looked like a 24-year-old young man who had been wounded. Being strong didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t in pain.?


    ?


    During the press conference, the steadfast young man was more confident than anyone else. Yet, as he stared blankly in front of him, it seemed as though he was feeling lonely and empty for a moment. He was still more beautiful than anyone else, but no, that was why he looked even more heartbroken.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    Fortunately, that was the article''s title that was published alongside the aforementioned photo of Chae Woo-Jin. Chae Woo-Jin looked very different from his usual self during the press conference. The people who watched the live broadcast could tell how angry he was. However, this photo alone gave the public a rough idea of the extent of how hurt he was. Even though the truth was based on evidence, this photo touched the public''s hearts.?


    ?


    ¡°What if Woo-Jin oppa actually leaves the entertainment industry at this rate?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I know, right? For some reason, looking at this photo makes me very sad.¡±?


    ?


    He wasn¡¯t openly upset or angry ¡ª his face was filled with emotions that were difficult to express in words. Nobody would condemn him for being pleased. Chae Woo-Jin seemed to have a lot of thoughts weighing on his mind, and looking at his contorted face alone was heartbreaking.?


    ?


    ¡°Even if he leaves, we can¡¯t say anything because he had seen it all at such a young age. Frankly, from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s perspective, he wouldn¡¯t have any regrets even if he were to leave the entertainment industry. He doesn¡¯t lack anything; he has it all.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°This is all because of TM!¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin¡¯s family background was publicly revealed right after the press conference, the previous day''s article turned into an absurd incident. Chae Woo-Jin had once again proven he had no reason to look for a sponsor, even though the indisputable evidence he had provided was sufficient.?


    ?


    The articles published one after another talked about how Rome¡¯s CEO particularly loved his grandchildren, who resembled his late wife. Even if they had severed ties because of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother¡¯s divorce, it would have been more effective for Woo-Jin to earnestly seek his grandfather¡¯s help than look for a sponsor.?


    ?


    Moreover, they had already reconciled with one another and were on good terms. It was just a matter of time. It meant that the love between the grandparent and his grandchildren was deep. To put it bluntly, if Chae Woo-Jin had disclosed information about his mother¡¯s family, the people around him would¡¯ve taken care of him. So why would he even need to look for a sponsor? Would a person who would stop at nothing to attain success more easily hide information about themselves that would put them in an advantageous position??


    ?


    People were at a loss for words because of this ridiculous situation.?


    ?


    ¡°Come to think of it, Chae Woo-Jin is rather amazing. In the voice recording we¡¯ve heard earlier, TM''s CEO looked down on him and mocked him for not having any connections, yet he didn¡¯t say anything. If I were him, I would have immediately revealed who my grandfather was.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Exactly. If it weren¡¯t for this incident, he would have hid it for as long as possible.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s not true. In any case, it would¡¯ve still been revealed via these articles.¡±?


    ?


    When Chae Woo-Jin visited Rome Law Firm, people had taken photos of him, and rumors started circulating. That was how the articles came about in the first place. Regardless of how hard he tried to hide it, the articles would have been published anyway.?


    ?


    Immediately, a counterargument was made in response to this view.?


    ?


    ¡°Do you think journalists can thoughtlessly publish articles about people''s family background like that? The media would have asked them for permission first before publishing the article. Think about it ¡ª the other companies published articles about Chae Woo-Jin yesterday, but they didn¡¯t publish anything today. What does this mean? This means they had already known Chae Woo-Jin was the grandson of Rome¡¯s CEO. Nevertheless, the fact that they didn¡¯t publish any articles yesterday meant that they had been observing the situation while waiting for the green light.¡±?


    ?


    Unlike the other media companies, the company that first published the article revealing the identity behind Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather didn¡¯t publish any other articles about Chae Woo-Jin the day before. It was different from the other media companies that had removed or revised the scandalous articles they published the day before, one by one. If the media had published the article the previous day, it would have clearly become a major story. While it would¡¯ve given the public a different kind of shock, the article would still be advantageous to Chae Woo-Jin, so there was nothing to worry about. Nonetheless, the media company still walked on eggshells and waited for the right time.?


    ?


    ¡°Perhaps, if this incident hadn¡¯t happened, Chae Woo-Jin and his family would¡¯ve continued hiding the truth for as long as they could. Wouldn¡¯t you look at Chae Woo-Jin in a different light if you think of it that way?¡±?


    ?


    Even though the article would¡¯ve been uploaded regardless of the scandal, people who didn¡¯t know the full story saw it differently. Celebrities normally publicized everything that would boost their image and reputation. Thus, when it was revealed by chance previously that Chae Woo-Jin was The Slipper Young Man, some people saw it as a means of marketing.?


    ?


    Many people believed it was staged to look like a coincidence and that they had planned to air it on TV right from the beginning. Even if Chae Woo-Jin had truly been The Slipper Young Man by chance, him crossing paths with the elderly man in a place that happened to be the location of a filming site seemed too contrived. Hence, people speculated that either Chae Woo-Jin or his agency had chosen to reveal his identity as The Slipper Young Man in such a manner as a means of creating publicity.?


    ?


    Since it wasn¡¯t as though his past bad deeds had been exposed, unlike some people, Chae Woo-Jin simply laughed and brushed it off even if there were doubts. Celebrities wanted to get attention in one way or another, so he thought this was better than buzz marketing.?


    ?


    However, judging from the events that transpired today, people started to think it was truly a coincidence. This was because a person, who had been hiding a significant piece of information that could have attracted much more attention from the public, had no reason to bring up the story of The Slipper Young Man, which was considered old news.?


    ?


    Thus, people started seeing him in a different light again. More importantly, the 21-year-old Chae Woo-Jin in the voice recording was tenacious and had stood his ground. How many trainees could express their minds so clearly to the CEO of their agency and get themselves out of the sticky situation? He had also done it all on his own, without the help of the people around him.?


    ?


    As a result, people naturally started to find him trustworthy. A principled person who stood his ground was bound to be beautiful. More importantly, people could easily tell what kind of person he was after seeing how sad he looked when he left the hotel after the press conference ended. Anybody would be rejoicing at their own victory, but Chae Woo-Jin had seen through the entire situation and was saddened by the bitter reality.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°That photo is well-taken. Was it intentional?¡±?


    ?


    The CEO of G&C Entertainment, Choi Won-Hee, swung by DS to see Jang Soo-Hwan. She asked while looking at the article published in real-time, along with Woo-Jin¡¯s photo. She was wearing a purple suit, looking very dignified and charismatic. Everything about her was different, starting from how she sat comfortably on the sofa, as though this was her own office. Every time she moved her hand, the rhinestones on her nails that were painted red would sparkle brightly. Her short hair and red lipstick looked perfect on her, allowing her to make a strong impression.?


    ?


    ¡°Unlike you, we¡¯re not cunning businessmen.¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan was mad when he heard Choi Won-Hee¡¯s question. At the same time, he looked at Woo-Jin¡¯s photo and became depressed. Woo-Jin had a good reason to be upset. The betrayal of an adult he once trusted and looked up to must have felt like he was being stabbed in the chest by a dagger.?


    ?


    ¡°If that¡¯s not the case, so be it. Why are you nitpicking me? But he still looks really good even with such a look on his face. I sure have a good eye, don¡¯t I?¡±?


    ?


    Choi Won-Hee praised herself and tried to get Jang Soo-Hwan to agree with her, but he responded by contorting his face instead. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to tell her that everybody knew she had terrible taste. Because he was afraid of the consequences.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±?


    ?


    Instead, Jang Soo-Hwan asked her the purpose of her visit. With the help of Choi Won-Hee, the talks with the Rosie Group had concluded. As for the commercial, they planned to meet and sign the contract in the next couple of days. Rosie Cosmetics had heard about the situation between TM and Chae Woo-Jin via Choi Won-Hee, but they had nothing much to say about it. In other words, it meant everything would be carried out as planned without any changes.?


    ?


    This time, Choi Won-Hee had worked very hard to be the middleman, so everything went smoothly. While it was an issue that would¡¯ve been resolved even without her help, Jang Soo-Hwan acknowledged she had made things easier for him without the need for a lame explanation. However, there was no reason for Choi Won-Hee to visit Jang Soo-Hwan when everything had been well taken care of.?


    ?


    ¡°Am I not allowed to be here? I have a favor to ask of our dear Woo-Jin, so I came here.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Our dear Woo-Jin? Since when did our Woo-Jin become your Woo-Jin?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he¡¯s Eun-Soo¡¯s son? Eun-Soo and I used to be very close. I¡¯m her unnie [2].¡±?


    ?


    Truthfully, they were just acquaintances who were polite to one another, but Eun-Soo did address her as ¡®unnie.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°You just know each other¡¯s faces.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We were closer than that!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m sure that was the case.¡±?


    ?


    If he were to argue that Choi Won-Hee wasn¡¯t that close to Park Eun-Soo, that would mean he himself wasn¡¯t acquainted with Park Eun-Soo at all. Jang Soo-Hwan sulked and dismissed her. He was momentarily annoyed when he heard Choi Won-Hee say ¡®favor.¡¯?


    ?


    ¡°What is this d¨¦j¨¤ vu? It seems like a situation I¡¯m all too familiar with because it keeps happening¡­.¡±?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t Choi Won-Hee¡¯s first time barging in and asking for a favor. In fact, it happened not too long ago ¡ª just the beginning of last year. She suddenly dropped by to see Jang Soo-Hwan and expressed her desire to cast Song Jae-Hee in Glooming Day and had also used the word ¡®favor¡¯ that day.?


    ?


    ¡°No way!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even said anything yet.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t even need to hear it ¡ª it¡¯s obvious what you¡¯re about to say. If you were casting my actors in a decent movie, you wouldn¡¯t have personally come here to ask for a favor. That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying no. Woo-Jin has already signed a contract, and he¡¯ll start shooting in December.¡±?


    ?


    To be precise, it was starting next year in January, but it wasn¡¯t wrong of him to say Woo-Jin would be going to the U.S. in December.?


    ?


    ¡°He¡¯s shooting a movie? I haven¡¯t heard anything about it, though?¡±?


    ?


    There wasn¡¯t any information about Chae Woo-Jin signing a contract with any production companies that were starting their production in December. Even though Choi Won-Hee didn¡¯t know everything about the movie industry, she definitely would have known about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s next movie. She didn¡¯t hear anything about it, but Jang Soo-Hwan used the movie production as a reason to turn her down, so she was suspicious.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon.¡±?


    ?


    Choi Won-Hee looked at him with bleary eyes. Jang Soo-Hwan smiled wryly at her and slowly crossed his legs as he responded haughtily. Woo-Jin¡¯s entry into Hollywood¡¯s film industry was a secret to Choi Won-Hee as well because Jang Soo-Hwan was planning to reveal it only after it was confirmed, just like the results of the bar exam.?


    ?


    After seeing Jang Soo-Hwan acting high and mighty, Choi Won-Hee remarked that he looked ridiculous.?


    ?


    ¡°Forget about it! I¡¯m asking Woo-Jin for a favor, not you.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Did you not hear what I said? The production is starting in December.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Who cares? December is still far away. And when did I say I¡¯m producing a movie? Also, it¡¯ll be over in a month.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°No means no!¡±?


    ?


    If Choi Won-Hee came and asked for a favor in person, it was by no means a normal request. Jang Soo-Hwan was certain of it, so he gave her a clear answer. If it didn¡¯t work, he had every intention of dragging Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather into the picture.?


    ?


    ¡°I can guess what you¡¯re expecting, but it¡¯s not happening this time around.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s what you said for Glooming Day too.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°So did the movie become a flop? I thought Song Jae-Hee got rid of her image as a child actor and is doing very well now thanks to a certain movie!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...¡±?


    ?


    Jang Soo-Hwan couldn¡¯t refute what she said, so he cleared his throat. However, it was nothing short of a miracle.?


    ?


    ¡°It was a miracle created by Director Choi Yi-Geon and Woo-Jin. It wasn¡¯t because you had a discerning eye.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t deny that. On that note, does Woo-Jin like documentaries?¡±?


    ?


    While taste was one thing, Choi Won-Hee didn¡¯t deny that the romance movies she pushed for had tragic endings. As such, she was particularly fond of Glooming Day, her only successful romance movie. Additionally, she had taken a huge interest in Chae Woo-Jin and favored him a lot.?


    ?


    ¡°I said no.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°What do you think I¡¯m going to say, that you keep saying no for no reason?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you thought I didn¡¯t know about the recent variety TV program you¡¯ve been preparing for your cable network.¡±?


    ?


    Initially, Jang Soo-Hwan thought she wanted to cast Woo-Jin in a movie. However, there weren¡¯t any G&C Entertainment movies in which Choi Won-Hee could ask to cast him. Choi Won-Hee¡¯s favorite romance film had also been produced last year, so it would be silent on that front for a few years. In that case, there was only one thing left ¡ª the recent variety TV program belonging to G&C Entertainment¡¯s only cable network.?


    ?


    1. Korea is plagued by air pollution. Koreans wear masks even when they¡¯re not sick because of the fine dust issue. ??


    ?


    2. Unnie (??) is used by females to call an older female (be it friends or biological older sisters/cousins). ?

 CH 155

    ¡°Documentary? You like documentaries, huh. What kind of documentary is it? The kind that reveals a celebrity¡¯s private life?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We can reveal it if you¡¯d like, and if you don¡¯t, we won¡¯t do it. It¡¯s fine either way because it¡¯s a documentary that follows the will of its subject. If Woo-Jin wants to stay in his room all day and sleep, we¡¯ll shoot him doing that.¡±


    G&C Entertainment¡¯s cable network, GCTV,  was preparing for their variety TV program, which would be in the format of a docuseries called Life Depicted. It was a show where its cast was allowed to portray their lives the way they wanted, without intervention from the director and writer. Even if it was uninteresting, they planned to follow the cast¡¯s wishes through and through. There was an assumption that even if the cast chose to sit around all day long doing nothing, there would be no interference on the producers¡¯ part.


    The show''s concept was to break free from the imperative idea that variety shows had to be funny and interesting and simply portray something that was not scripted or forced. However, that was a nice way of saying they wanted to do a boring TV program. Ultimately, the only driving force of the show was the popularity of the cast.


    ¡°Things are going to get chaotic from now on.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Which is why we have to establish a positive image. Frankly, Woo-Jin is getting too little exposure for his fame level. We¡¯re in an era where being mysterious doesn¡¯t cut it. These days, being good at acting alone is not enough. For the people who only knew Chae Woo-Jin through his movies and shows, he may be a perfect actor to them, but they have no trust in him as a human being. The public wants to know what kind of person he is, and now is the best time to show them the real him.¡±


    Even though he had cleared his name, it was only the beginning. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s academic achievements, family background, along with his family history, etc., should not define who he is as a person. Jang Soo-Hwan agreed with that notion as well. Chae Woo-Jin needed a new opportunity, and there was no guarantee that acting alone was the answer to that.


    ¡°However, it¡¯s not even going to be on a broadcast channel¡­.¡±


    Choi Won-Hee knew Jang Soo-Hwan very well; a slight smile appeared on her face. All she needed to do was entice him by telling him what he wanted to hear.


    ¡°There¡¯s more buzz about our shows. Our shows have also topped the charts on several occasions, beating the shows from other channels that aired during the same time slot.¡±


    ¡°Instead, if it becomes a flop, you won¡¯t be able to recover any of your capital. At least broadcast channels get to recoup a small amount from the basic charges.¡±


    ¡°If it becomes a flop, it would mean Chae Woo-Jin has reached his limit.¡±


    Even though Jang Soo-Hwan was being critical and nitpicked on cable networks, GCTV had produced a couple of exceptional dramas and variety TV shows. Additionally, they had several popular TV programs that had received high ratings, beating most of the TV programs from broadcast channels by a mile. This was enough to make Choi Won-Hee feel confident. With the best production team and system, Choi Won-Hee was confident she could accommodate Chae Woo-Jin and give him everything he needed. Nevertheless, if the ratings were low, it would mean the issue was with the cast itself. Due to the nature of the show, the viewers would watch it solely because of Chae Woo-Jin himself.


    ¡°Is that the attitude of a person who came here to ask for a favor?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s why I personally made a trip here to ask you politely and respectfully.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have a choice because it¡¯s hard to cast him.¡±


    It was a variety TV program following the format of a documentary. Because of that, the show¡¯s success relied heavily on the cast¡¯s competency due to the lack of script and exciting elements. Even if Choi Won-Hee bragged about having the best production team, the only things guaranteed were the best equipment and editing skills.


    As she mentioned earlier, the show¡¯s failure depended solely on the cast, and they would¡¯ve reached their limit if the show were to become a flop. It was difficult even for veteran entertainers. On the other hand, it was rather despicable of Choi Won-Hee to use the popularity of the shows on her network as a selling point, as it was clear she only intended to depend solely on the popularity of the celebrities cast in the upcoming show. Jang Soo-Hwan was mad because she had the audacity of casting Woo-Jin in a TV program that might become a flop.


    ¡°What do you mean! We have already cast two out of the three people we have in mind for the show. Woo-Jin is the last one.¡±


    Life Depicted would have a total of nine episodes, in which the three celebrities would each shoot separately and appear in alternate episodes. They ran into a few casting difficulties, but they managed to successfully cast the other two members not too long ago. As of now, all that was left was to cast Woo-Jin.


    ¡°For some reason, it seems like your casting process is rather apparent.¡±


    ¡°Putting popularity aside, in terms of name and prestige, Chae Woo-Jin is at the bottom out of the three. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea for Woo-Jin to be in the same TV program as them and have his name mentioned alongside theirs.¡±


    Just like Woo-Jin, the two people who had been chosen were known for not showing themselves much to the public. Regardless of the casting process, those two people had accepted the offer because of their desire to break away from their mysterious image; they wanted to communicate with the public.


    There weren¡¯t any TV programs these days that showed the trivial everyday life of celebrities, without the burden of having to be funny or exciting, like a documentary. It was a safe and easy first step toward approaching the public. However, there was a high risk of failure, so the drawback was that not anybody could give it a go.


    ¡°Who are the other two people?¡±


    ¡°Yoon Seong-Hwan and Park Mi-Hyun.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not bad.¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯re not bad.¡±


    Yoon Seong-Hwan and Park Mi-Hyun were the best actors within their age groups ¡ª the fifties and thirties respectively. Yoon Seong-Hwan was known for his clear outlook and beliefs as an actor and his self-assertiveness. He had only appeared in movies thus far, so his appearance in a TV show would definitely become a hot topic. He used to be with DS at one point, but he was one of the artistes who left the agency because they refused to be overprotected by Jang Soo-Hwan. ?


    ?


    As for Park Mi-Hyun, she was an actress in her late thirties known for being a homebody. She was introverted and shy and hardly ever left the house unless it was for work. She was a celebrity who rarely appeared on TV, as she hated being in interviews or variety TV programs, apart from the productions she was a part of.


    Compared to them, Woo-Jin was considered rather active in the industry. As of now, he might be much more popular than the other two actors, but he paled in comparison in terms of acting experience and name. Even though they wouldn¡¯t be shooting together, it was definitely a good opportunity for Woo-Jin to appear in the same TV program as them. It would do him good to accept this offer.


    ¡°You worked really hard, huh?¡±


    ¡°Was there anything I failed to do even when I personally attended to it?¡± In other words, it meant that Choi Won-Hee had personally visited the other two celebrities¡¯ agencies to cast Yoon Seong-Hwan and Park Mi-Hyun, just like she did today.


    ¡°You went there personally? Why?¡±


    Regardless of the concept, it was still a variety TV program. Jang Soo-Hwan didn¡¯t understand why Choi Won-Hee would personally make a trip to their agencies to cast the actors in a variety TV program. Even if she had casually dropped by DS¡¯ office because Jang Soo-Hwan was her friend, he couldn¡¯t imagine The Supreme Witch personally making the trip to cast the actors.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this TV program is your cup of tea?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, why?¡±


    ¡°Because the three actors are my cup of tea.¡±


    If it were a TV program in line with Choi Won-Hee¡¯s taste, Jang Soo-Hwan would never let Woo-Jin take up her offer. However, her response made Jang Soo-Hwan feel even more disturbed.


    ¡°So basically, you want to gather your favorite actors and take a peek into their everyday lives¡­.¡±


    Choi Won-Hee glared at Jang Soo-Hwan; as soon as they made eye contact, Jang Soo-Hwan quickly shut his mouth. Oftentimes it was necessary to remain silent. For instance, this very moment.


    ¡°Yoon Seong-Hwan and Park Mi-Hyun chose to be a part of this program. It wouldn¡¯t do Woo-Jin any harm either. As the CEO of his agency, I hope you¡¯ll make a wise choice.¡±


    ¡°You said you were asking for a favor! But, judging from your attitude, it seems more like a threat, no?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°G&C Entertainment will give Chae Woo-Jin the same treatment as Yoon Seong-Hwan and Park Mi-Hyun from now on. For your information, our company categorizes those two actors under S++ tier. You know what this means, right?¡±


    Production companies, agencies, and other advertising companies had divided celebrities into different tiers and given them different treatments and fees according to their respective tiers. Presently, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s tier differed from company to company, but he mainly sat between S and S+. It was a very high rating for an actor in the second year of his debut. However, things would be different when huge agencies, such as G&C Entertainment, classified Chae Woo-Jin under S++ tier. Not only was it unprecedented, but it was also the best treatment he could ever get.


    For Jang Soo-Hwan, this was a condition he couldn¡¯t resist. Going up the tiers wasn¡¯t just about an increase in appearance fees; depending on the tier, the treatment and acknowledgment he received from the industry would be different.


    It was evident that he would benefit greatly from appearing in the TV program. Looking back, G&C Entertainment was the first to promote Woo-Jin to the S tier. That was what he had gotten for appearing on Glooming Day, and the other companies back then immediately followed suit and promoted Woo-Jin to a higher tier.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be worried about? At times like these, you just have to agree to it.¡± Choi Won-Hee presented him with a clear-cut answer when Jang Soo-Hwan hesitated for a bit.


    ¡°Still, I should get Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion on this.¡±


    ¡°Do whatever you want. G&C Entertainment is a beautiful company that is centered around culture and people. I can wait.¡± The Supreme Witch smiled brightly; she had a magnanimous attitude. She always repaid favors with fairness and generosity. However, she acted very arrogantly and dignified when asking others for favors, so it left a bad taste in their mouth.


    ¡°Annoying,¡± Jang Soo-Hwan inadvertently said what he was thinking, but he didn¡¯t bother correcting himself.


    ¡°You¡¯re small-minded. And you should lose some weight. Your tummy is showing.¡± The Supreme Witch retorted immediately. She was more aggressive and had taken it further. It was a moderately violent attack on someone who had started dieting a month ago using facts.


    ***


    The press conference was just the beginning ¡ª not the end. After Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s press conference had ended, TM officially refuted his claims. They claimed that the voice recording he had played during the press conference had been recorded during Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting practice session with CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.


    The circumstances changed within a day; CEO Kim used the excuse Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans came up with the previous day. Since it wasn¡¯t an excuse meant for TM to use, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans felt it was utterly absurd. On the other hand, he apologized for not responding to the article immediately after it was published because of his greed. He also admitted telling Chae Woo-Jin to come back to TM over the phone.


    However, he completely denied the other facts and drew the line there. TM didn¡¯t file any lawsuit against Chae Woo-Jin for defamation either. They merely published a series of articles to refute the accusations but provided no evidence to substantiate their claims.


    Regardless of TM''s stance, Chae Woo-Jin proceeded with the legal process in an orderly manner. The person who tipped off Journalist Kang Il-Ro was a member of TM''s PR team. At first, he claimed he had found the voice recording and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s phone from CEO Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s desk by chance and reported it in the spirit of righteousness. ?


    ?


    However, his attitude changed as soon as he heard about the companies and the compensation lawsuit he was up against. As everyone expected, he shifted the blame to CEO Kim Seok-Hyung and revealed Kim Seok-Hyung was the one behind everything. And then, it turned into a fight between the informant and CEO Kim Seok-Hyung.


    This incident wouldn¡¯t be resolved in just a month or two, so Woo-Jin decided to take it easy and see how the situation would develop. In truth, there was nothing else he could do from this point onwards. Besides, his mind was somewhere else, so he didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to think about this incident. And finally, it was the day when the article about the corruption investigation got published. Woo-Jin smiled and hummed.


    ¡°Are you that happy?¡±


    Woo-Jin was drinking warm pear juice to soothe his throat. He saw Woo-Hee looking at him with sunken eyes and took a step back in shock.


    ¡°Are you actually humming in a house with a high school senior studying for the CSAT¡­?¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, you have about a month left before the college entrance exams. Time flies.¡±


    ¡°Pfft~! People normally feel time passes faster when it comes to other people¡¯s affairs.¡±


    ¡°My dear sister, I¡¯m also an exam candidate.¡±


    Woo-Jin was preparing for the interview stage of his bar exam, which would be held in early November. He reminded his sister that he was also exhausted and that they were in the same boat as exam candidates.


    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll acknowledge that if the entire country pushes back the working hours on the day of the interview stage.¡±[1]


    The haggard high school senior thought that all the exams in the world were not as important as the CSAT. And Woo-Jin knew why Woo-Hee was so worn out, so he didn¡¯t retort back and tried to be considerate towards her. He poured warm pear juice into a glass and put it in front of his younger sister.


    ¡°Regardless of what happens, I¡¯ll definitely get a perfect score for CSAT this year!¡± Woo-Hee took the glass of pear juice and blew on it; she uttered her firm resolution.


    If motivation could boost one¡¯s ability, Woo-Hee¡¯s skill gauge was now full. Woo-Hee was acting like this because of the competitive spirit within her, rather than being motivated as a student taking an exam. And the person who brought out Woo-Hee¡¯s competitive spirit and increased her fighting power was none other than Chae Woo-Ra.?


    ?


    1. On the day of CSAT, workers at government offices and public firms are allowed to arrive at work an hour later to reduce traffic congestion and ensure that all students arrive at the exam place on time. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 156

    Because Woo-Hee knew the reason behind her parents¡¯ divorce, she had also known about Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s existence for a long time now. It was just that she didn¡¯t care enough about it to pay attention to it. Just like it was for Woo-Jin, their half-sister Woo-Ra did not matter to her. ?


    ?


    However, when Woo-Jin appeared on TV Star and found out that A-Ra from Berry Rose was Chae Woo-Ra, Woo-Hee had also learnt the truth about it. Woo-Hee¡¯s family didn¡¯t feel the need to hide it from her. Instead, they concluded that it was better to tell her about it now rather than letting her find out from other people in the future.


    It might have been a different story if Woo-Hee wasn¡¯t aware of Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s existence in the first place, but knowing who she was right now didn¡¯t change anything. Woo-Hee was merely curious about how Woo-Ra looked like, and how different she was from them; Woo-Hee also wondered if Woo-Jin had taken after their biological father¡¯s side of the family and became a celebrity because of that.


    But that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t worried about Woo-Hee at all. When information about Woo-Jin¡¯s mother¡¯s side of the family was revealed to the public, their relationship with Chae Woo-Ra would inevitably be revealed as well. The thing that worried them the most was Woo-Hee¡¯s reaction. They were concerned that she might end up feeling hurt during the crucial period before she took her CSAT because of this.


    The timing was ambiguous in more ways than one; Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather thought it would be advantageous for Woo-Jin to reveal his identity as Park Hyun-Man¡¯s grandson before the interview. Out of consideration for Woo-Hee, they explained the situation to her beforehand and tried to make her understand what was going on bit by bit, while taking one step at a time.


    However, when TM published the article out of the blue, things progressed rapidly and abruptly. They had no choice but to reveal the relationship between Park Hyun-Man and Chae Woo-Jin earlier than planned. Within a couple of days, speculations about the relationship between Chae Woo-Jin and Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra started surfacing the internet. It was only natural as there were already rumors about A-Ra being the granddaughter of Rome Law Firm¡¯s CEO.


    Even though it was a sudden development, Woo-Hee understood and accepted the situation. And Woo-Hee was even in a good mood on the day of the press conference. Her friends tried to comfort her but they made her angry instead. When details about her stepfather and maternal grandfather were revealed, she simply shrugged her shoulders. ?


    ?


    ¡°So Berry Rose¡¯s A-Ra is Woo-Jin oppa¡¯s younger sister too?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t look alike, but since they both became celebrities, they must be siblings.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Hee was shocked after hearing the thoughtless comments that her friends made as they were curious about her relationship with A-Ra. To Woo-Hee, Chae Woo-Ra is the daughter of her biological father. They were technically half-sisters, but Woo-Hee thought of her as a stranger.


    But that wasn¡¯t the case for the rest of the world. Even though they were only half-siblings, nobody could deny the fact that Chae Woo-Ra was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister. Regardless of their non-existent relationship, they were still biologically related to one another.


    As Woo-Hee listened to how others referred to Woo-Jin as someone else¡¯s older brother, and how they were similar because they were in the same industry, she became increasingly upset. ?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m a lot more similar to oppa compared to her!¡± Woo-Hee¡¯s competitive spirit was triggered as she exclaimed an undeniable fact. She had no interest in the entertainment industry, so she had no plans to change her career path. Instead, she decided to show everyone that she was more similar to Woo-Jin, by walking down the same path as him.


    ¡°Entertainment industry? Oh please. I¡¯m going to enter Korea University¡¯s Business School with a perfect CSAT score.¡±


    Woo-Hee had already decided on her career path, but she wasn¡¯t aiming for a perfect score on the CSAT. She originally took the exam lightly, but because of this incident, her attitude towards it changed. She took it very seriously now, which was a good thing, but it was wearing her out. She had become very haggard, but she looked like a model student in everyone else¡¯s eyes.


    Her mother was very surprised by this change. Woo-Hee thought she would be worried about her, but her mother turned out to be rather happy instead, and remarked that there was finally a high school senior living in her house. She also added that she finally felt like a parent now because her son hadn¡¯t been anxious back when he was a high school senior taking the CSAT.


    Additionally, as a parent of an examinee, Woo-Hee¡¯s father was also very nervous and mindful of his actions. In Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion, their parents were obsessed with being the parents of a high school senior.


    ¡°By the way, are you shooting the documentary or something at home?¡±


    ¡°How can I do that when I¡¯m living with someone who¡¯s taking the CSAT?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ It¡¯s okay if it¡¯s just for a couple of hours though.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Everybody already knows I¡¯m your younger sister, so it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Woo-Hee nodded lightly and patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder, telling him not to worry about her. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but laugh even though her remark was filled with hidden intentions.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We could¡¯ve moved past this quietly, but because of me, everything got revealed to the rest of the world.¡±


    ¡°But you get popularity and wealth in return. You shot ads and helped dad¡¯s company. The good outweighs the bad.¡±


    Brisingamen was already a successful company to begin with. As a jewelry company, it had a high brand value both domestically and internationally, so even if Woo-Jin did not become their model, Gaon would have still been successful. However, judging by its popularity and their speed of growth, it was clear Woo-Jin made a huge contribution. Additionally, now that Woo-Jin¡¯s relationship with his father had been revealed, it made an even bigger and positive impact. It was a fact that even the employees of the company hadn¡¯t been aware of, when it was found out that this truth caused the employees to resent their CEO, it made people smile.


    Woo-Hee didn¡¯t think it was all bad. Apart from the slight inconvenience that stemmed from having to be careful about what they did in private, she felt that there were more pros than cons of her brother being a famous actor. There were times where Woo-Hee felt flattered, so much so that she felt embarrassed. It was a nice experience. ?


    ?


    ¡°It seems like I¡¯m an attention seeker too because I¡¯m just like oppa.¡±


    Woo-Hee used the words that Woo-Jin used to describe himself from time to time. She emphasized that she was just like Woo-Jin, and brought the pear juice back to her room. As a high school senior, Woo-Hee had been exhausted the entire time, but she suddenly became very positive and cheerful. She was unpredictable.?


    ?


    Unfortunately, Woo-Jin had another unpredictable younger sister, who was also a senior in high school. Berry Rose immediately stopped all activities on the day when Woo-Jin was revealed to be Park Hyun-Man¡¯s grandson. The reason they cited was that A-Ra had to prepare for the CSAT as she was a senior in high school.


    It felt strange that they abruptly canceled the events that had already been scheduled in advance, but the news surrounding Chae Woo-Jin was so big that their abnormal actions didn¡¯t garner much attention. The CSAT preparation was a reasonable excuse, to a certain extent. It was just that the true story was revealed a few days later, shocking the public. Just because the posts about A-Ra being the granddaughter of the CEO of Rome Law Firm had been taken down, it didn¡¯t mean that the memories of the people who knew about the rumors had been erased.


    As such, gossip about this topic was all over the internet. The media companies had yet to publish any articles because they were conscious of Park Hyun-Man and only made conjectures.


    ¡°Nothing is easy.¡±


    Woo-Jin sighed as he drank the coffee that had cooled down a bit. His biological father, his wife, and their daughter. None of them were easy to deal with. Woo-Jin was unable to understand Woo-Hee¡¯s behavior, nor he was unable to predict how Chae Woo-Ra would behave either. He was also nervous because he didn¡¯t know how Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s parents would react to their daughter¡¯s sudden change. This was particularly true for Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s biological mother as she had already tried to sabotage Woo-Jin once.


    Woo-Jin already had multiple things on his plate; now that one more troublesome matter had been added to the list, Woo-Jin¡¯s life became even more exhausting. Even when Woo-Jin had been cast in a program called Life Depicted, he had no complaints. However, when he looked at the shooting schedule ¨C three days, two nights each week over the course of four weeks, without the help of the writer, it was simply overwhelming.


    During that period, the fact that he had to plan the shoot and take the lead was rather burdensome. The first shoot was scheduled for this Thursday, and it would be ending on Saturday. Thursday¡¯s shoot had already been approved by the school and his professors. He had also told his friends who were in his class to stay away if they didn¡¯t want to be caught on camera.


    Just like that, he was planning to fill the time by showing a small snippet of his school life, but he was worried about the next day. He had no classes on Friday, so he had no choice but to show the viewers what he did during his spare time. He tried to make plans, but he ended up tearing many pieces of paper because he found them to be very boring.


    Feeling frustrated, he called the production director and asked what the other two people did for their shoot. Yoon Seong-Hwan had started shooting last week. Recently, he had been preparing for a play, so the concept of his shoot focused on the process and his relationship with his fellow theater actors. After the rehearsal, they shot him at a get-together talking to the other actors about acting. It seemed that the theme he was going for was becoming a mentor to his juniors.


    As for Park Mi-Hyun, she had finished her first shoot a few days ago. As someone known for being a homebody, she showed the viewers how she had fun at home. She showed them how to have fun and methods to enjoy every moment at home. She showed what she ate, and how she spent her time.


    Woo-Jin hung up the phone feeling pressured when he heard that even the production team had been surprised by the sheer amount of things she was able to do despite the limited space. ?


    ?


    Fortunately, there was no overlap with what Woo-Jin had planned. As an actor in the second year of his career, he wasn¡¯t in the position to dive into deep discussions about acting, and Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know how to spend his time at home. Since he couldn¡¯t attempt these things even if he wanted to, it seemed like he had to do something uniquely different. Hence, he felt the pressure of needing to create content that was different from the other two actors.


    ¡°People have changed the way they look at you.¡±


    After hearing Hyun-Min¡¯s subtle words, Woo-Jin stopped worrying and looked around. The reactions of the people he made eye contact with were different, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t see any significant difference compared to before.


    ¡°How has it changed? It seems like it¡¯s the same as before though.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve become more greedy.¡±


    The students on campus had always thought favorably of Chae Woo-Jin. Even before he became an actor, it was rare to find someone who hated him, including the professors and other students who didn¡¯t know him personally. Apart from his lack of social skills, he was perfect in every way, so there was no reason to blindly dislike him. It was the same even after Chae Woo-Jin became an actor. In fact, people liked him even more, so the ambience around him was mild and sweet.


    ¡°On top of being Actor Chae Woo-Jin, who will most likely pass his bar exam, your maternal side of the family owns Rome Law Firm, and your step- father is the CEO of Brisingamen. Not to mention, your biological father owns Bareunjeong Foods and Garam. Who wouldn¡¯t covet that?¡±


    When Woo-Jin¡¯s relationship with Chae A-Ra was revealed, it would be strange if people didn¡¯t know about his biological father. Bareunjeong Foods was founded by his biological father, and it had grown rapidly in recent years, but Garam was the foundation of their wealth. Garam was a hotel chain that ran dozens of hotels and resorts domestically and abroad. Even though each branch was managed by a professional manager, Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father was the CEO of Garam and he owned 53% of Garam¡¯s shares.


    Even though this was just another story of someone else¡¯s life, other people didn¡¯t see it that way.


    ¡°Lee So-Hyun called me yesterday.¡±


    ¡°She called you?¡±


    Lee So-Hyun felt uncomfortable around Hyun-Min as he had openly expressed his dislike for her, to the point it was so obvious that Lee So-Hyun pretended not to know him and tried to avoid running into him at all costs. Woo-Jin wondered why she would even call Hyun-Min personally.


    ¡°She asked if I knew about your family, so I told her I knew about it a long time ago, and then she got mad at me. She said we played her.¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She thought you were testing her. She said that if she had known about your family, she wouldn¡¯t have broken up with you.¡±


    Even though Lee So-Hyun had said a lot more things to him, Hyun-Min briefly summarized the key points of the conversation. Lee So-Hyun said that Woo-Jin appeared to be a poor aspiring actor with no future; even if he became a successful actor or had a high chance of passing the bar exam, she only treated him like a shiny rock. However, now that she found out the rock she had tried her best to toss away turned out to be a diamond, she claimed to have been deceived by him.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, huh?¡±


    Learning more and more about the true colors of the person he had once loved with every fiber in his being was a difficult feat. Instead of answering his friend¡¯s question, Woo-Jin nodded and facepalmed.


    ¡°She said those words confidently. She probably thinks that she deserves to be forgiven and loved regardless of what she does. On top of having a high self-esteem, it¡¯s clear that she¡¯s a self-centered person through and through.¡± Hyun-Min shook his head and Woo-Jin nodded in agreement.


    Even though it seemed as though Woo-Jin was the one who caused her to become like this throughout his past lives, the present day Woo-Jin was embarrassed by this situation. All of it was pathetic and absurd.


    ¡°Nobody should be ashamed of any type of love¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Adultery is shameful!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not love. Don¡¯t compare our love to something as dirty as that.¡±


    Woo-Jin overreacted to Hyun-Min¡¯s casual remark. The word ¡®adultery¡¯ triggered all kinds of emotions within him. It was the shame and warning given to himself by his past lives, coupled with the hatred towards his biological father.


    Even if Hyun-Min hadn¡¯t said that, stories about his parents started surfacing, as details about Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father were revealed. As expected, Woo-Jin¡¯s reaction on TV Star began trending belatedly. The reason why he stared into space after hearing A-Ra¡¯s name was directly linked to their family secret. While Chae Woo-Ra was indeed Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister, it was evident that they didn¡¯t share the same mother.


    In Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes, she was just a younger sister whose face he didn¡¯t even recognize. He only knew her by name. On the other hand, Chae Woo-Jin was an older brother whose name Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t even know. That short scene alone seemed to have revealed the story about their relationship, which evoked a sense of bitterness.

 CH 157

    Interestingly, the public¡¯s gaze was kind and warm towards one person but freezing cold towards the other.?


    ?


    Since Chae Woo-Ra was only 3 months younger than Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s biological sister Chae Woo-Hee, people could guess their family circumstances from the clues. In fact, the small rumor that had gone around saying that Chae Woo-Ra was the granddaughter of the Rome Law Firm¡¯s CEO Park Hyun-Man only fortified their assumptions.


    The situation was like a family drama TV show with illegitimate children and inheritance issues. So naturally, people were greatly intrigued and excited to watch the situation unfold, but most of them also showed some disdain towards one person in particular.


    The villain of the story was automatically selected as Chae Woo-Ra. She usually bragged about being born rich and had a completely different lifestyle than her half-brother. Woo-Jin used to be harassed for being too skilled and was almost forced to get a sponsorship by the CEO of his old agency because of his unremarkable family background.


    Compared to Chae Woo-Ra, who was raised in a wealthy family and lived an easy life, Chae Woo-Jin had faced countless adversities to reach where he was today. Even if one didn¡¯t want to compare or judge them, the differences were far too significant to go unnoticed.


    In particular, the speculation that Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s cat ¡®Peanut¡¯ ¡ª which was said to have died after she had raised it for 12 years ¡ª was actually Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s ¡®Woo-Sa¡¯ was an irrefutable truth. Chae Woo-Ra had already spread the story of her cat¡¯s death on TV and on social media. There was too much evidence pointing at her that she couldn¡¯t deny anything.


    ¡°Is Woo-Hee doing okay?¡± Hyun-Min asked Woo-Jin.


    Even though Woo-Hee and Woo-Ra were both technically his friend¡¯s sisters, Hyun-Min couldn¡¯t help but show favoritism to the former and worry about her first.


    ¡°Surprisingly, she seems to be enjoying this situation,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    Woo-Hee secretly held grudges against her biological father. Although she claimed that she didn¡¯t care about him anymore, it appeared that countless untold emotions had piled up deep in her heart. Additionally, she didn¡¯t feel competitive towards Chae Woo-Ra purely out of friendly rivalry either.


    ¡°She¡¯s directing her competitive spirit towards her studies while relieving stress by listening to people¡¯s reactions and gossip about that household. Woo-Hee says that the world is beautiful¡­ because¡­ pffft¡­ karma exists¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter and burst out laughing as they walked before finally taking a deep breath and sighing.


    Woo-Hee¡¯s dream was to become a just and fair prosecutor, and it seemed she would mercilessly punish her flesh and blood for their crimes without hesitation. Well, to be more precise, she was being even more ruthless and unforgiving as she was the victim in this specific case.


    Woo-Jin was honestly a bit shocked to learn that Woo-Hee had been secretly harboring anger deep in her heart because he believed that his sister was completely indifferent and cold towards their paternal family.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a good thing her anger exploded now instead of being kept locked inside for longer,¡± Woo-Jin commented.


    Rather than being unaware of her own boiling emotions and letting them pile up forever, Woo-Jin was relieved that Woo-Hee had allowed it all to burst out into the open. However, he was still worried about his sister¡¯s emotional state.


    ¡°It is a good thing. This was an issue that needed to be addressed at least once. She needs to let out her true feelings before moving on. I was worried for her since the current situation isn¡¯t the ideal one I had in mind, but I¡¯m glad she¡¯s using her overflowing emotions to fuel herself positively,¡± Hyun-Min said.


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to our parents. They¡¯re taking good care of her.¡±


    In the end, anger was still an overflow of mostly negative emotions. Thus, Woo-Jin¡¯s family was paying extra attention so that Woo-Hee didn¡¯t get hurt or feel hollow on the inside. Fortunately, his younger sister was raised with lots of love and had grown into a woman who could share that love with others in turn. Moreover, his parents watched over Woo-Hee so that her anger was dealt with properly.


    "But¡­.¡±


    "There¡¯s a but?" Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    ¡°Seems like the filming the day after tomorrow will interfere with everything.¡±


    Although his parents were taking care of his sister, the filming of Life Depicted was an issue Woo-Jin had to take responsibility for.


    Even though the shooting day was set for the day after tomorrow, Woo-Jin had no idea what to do on camera and could only spin his pen around in his hand in thought, desperately racking his brains for ideas.


    ¡°Did you ask the other two how they filmed theirs?¡± Hyun-Min asked.


    The following Friday was the airing date of the first episode, so Woo-Jin couldn''t postpone the shooting any longer. As there were no solutions to Woo-Jin¡¯s predicament, Hyun-Min advised his friend to copy off of others.


    ¡°I did. Senior Yoon Seong-Hwan will use his career to his advantage and demonstrate his acting and outlook on life. On the other hand, Senior Park Mi-Hyun decided to show the viewers how an actress without a job can have fun at home.¡±


    ¡°Seems like their personalities don¡¯t really overlap with yours.¡±


    ¡°So what if they don¡¯t overlap? It doesn¡¯t change how I have nothing to show,¡± Woo-Jin exclaimed.


    ¡°Just peel and eat some mandarins on camera.¡±


    Hyun-Min joked that people would still watch the show just to watch Woo-Jin eat some mandarins. He encouraged his celebrity friend to use this opportunity to try it out for fun.


    ¡°Mandarins are expensive these days,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    Hyun-Min snorted at his friend¡¯s absurd reaction. Rather than rebuking Hyun-Min for the stupid suggestion, Woo-Jin¡¯s response was that the fruit was expensive. In other words, Woo-Jin had already considered the same idea before.


    ¡°Sheesh, don¡¯t pretend you¡¯re broke with the money you make,¡± Hyun-Min said in exasperation.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s grumpy today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I decided to give up on buying TM¡¯s stocks.¡±


    Hyun-Min had once hoped that TM''s stock would decrease due to the Blue Fit incident. However, things did not go as expected, which greatly disappointed him back then.


    But with the current situation, Hyun-Min had the same expectations, saying that things would go differently this time around. In other words, there was only a single reason for which Hyun-Min would give up on TM¡¯s stocks again.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t go down again?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°Others were also buying the stocks, and there was no sign of it going down. I think the CEO of TM is gonna change sometime soon.¡±


    Woo-Jin was not surprised by the lack of fluctuation last time, but it seemed someone was planning something big by buying all of TM¡¯s stocks.?


    ?


    Since someone was recklessly buying everything without calculating their profits, it was unlikely that an outside power was intervening, but rather someone on the inside was trying to take over the company.


    ¡°They¡¯re all so organized and efficient that lowly, powerless people like me don¡¯t have the time to do anything.¡±


    As Hyun-Min complained, Woo-Jin finally asked a question he had been pondering for a long time.


    ¡°But have you made any money through stocks so far?¡±


    Woo-Jin was curious whether Hyun-Min had ever profited from it. Although Hyun-Min often talked about his investments and expressed his interest in the stock market, Woo-Jin had never gotten any news about the end results.


    ¡°Right now, my main priority is my studies. Someone I consider my mentor suddenly appeared one day out of the blue and got¡­.¡±


    ¡°I heard that Seok-Cheol recently made quite a bit of money through stocks.¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously comparing your friends with each other? Nothing else in the world hurts people¡¯s feelings more than that.¡± Hyun-Min complained.


    ¡°So basically, you didn¡¯t earn anything.¡±


    Hyun-Min stood silently as he couldn¡¯t refute or deny anything. Woo-Jin could do nothing for his friend other than patting him on the back in consolation. However, Woo-Jin realized that he should just ignore anything Hyun-Min had to say about stocks from here on out.


    ¡°I also had several opportunities to profit! But I just let them pass.¡±


    Woo-Jin sent a pitiful gaze at his friend¡¯s desperate claim, which only made Hyun-Min lose his temper faster.


    "Hey! I would¡¯ve also made a lot of money if I had bought Garam and Bareunjeong Foods¡¯ stocks.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°Do you know how much their stock has increased since it was revealed that you were their CEO¡¯s son?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to do with them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your own opinion. Other people don''t think the same.¡± Hyun-Min enthusiastically emphasized that people thought differently from Woo-Jin.


    Although the world was rapidly changing, Korea¡¯s mindset that blood relations mattered most could not be changed so easily.


    ¡°You¡¯re not just a celebrity. You¡¯re extremely competent as someone studying business and administration and taking the bar exam. Then, your maternal family is also at the helm of the Rome Law Firm. Even if you say that you won¡¯t take part in the management of the companies, the name value of ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ is so big that people believe they won¡¯t make any losses when investing in those companies.¡± Hyun-Min explained.


    Just like how choosing the suitable model for advertisements had the effect of increasing sales, it was only natural that the stocks of Garam and Bareunjeong Foods would rise because of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s identity as the CEO¡¯s son.


    ¡°Similarly, Brisingamen¡¯s stocks have also risen considerably.¡±?


    ?


    Hyun-Min had already predicted the rise of these stocks but didn¡¯t want to use his friend¡¯s familial circumstances to his advantage and make money.


    ¡°You idiot! There''s no way they¡¯ll continue rising now, but if a similar opportunity ever comes, don¡¯t hesitate to buy them. I¡¯ll allow it." Woo-Jin rebuked his friend.


    He preferred having Hyun-Min earn money thanks to him rather than other cunning businessmen. But despite Woo-Jin telling Hyun-Min not to worry about such trivial matters in the future, the latter reacted indifferently and spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that desperate.¡±


    Hyun-min''s principles and values would not allow him to use a friend''s personal problems as a means of profiting. However, instead of being moved, Woo-Jin mocked his friend.


    ¡°Would someone that¡¯s not desperate cling onto TM¡¯s stocks like it was their lifeline?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because my mentor seemed interested in the entertainment industry¡­ Anyways... Why haven¡¯t you been going to your favorite singer¡¯s gigs recently?¡±


    Hyun-Min changed the topic as there was nothing he could say. As someone who knew even the most minor details about Woo-Jin, it was easy for him to change the flow of the conversation with his friend.


    ¡°These days, it¡¯s more helpful for him if I don¡¯t go.¡±


    "Why? Thanks to your press conference, the topic of Lee Hyung-Jin has been popping up frequently, but in a good way. Wouldn''t it be better if you went and fully vouched for him at a time like this?"


    ¡°Better for who? Me or Hyung-Jin hyung?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Being supported by Chae Woo-Jin could improve Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s public image. If someone extended a helping hand to another when no one believed in the latter anymore, it would greatly motivate them. Moreover, it would remind the public to look back and check the truth once again.


    ¡°My part in the story is done. From now on, Hyung-Jin hyung needs to find his way on his own. Only then will the public remember him as Lee Hyung-Jin, the singer, independent from me.¡±


    ¡°You really do care about Lee Hyung-Jin a lot.¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s my favorite singer.¡±


    Woo-Jin did not want to step forward and become Lee Hyung-Jin''s savior. All he did was make people doubt the facts they believed as the truth, then discreetly take his leave from the scene. From now on, when the real truth would get revealed one at a time, Lee Hyung-Jin had to play his role as the protagonist of his own story.


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to openly help him out by his side. That would only satisfy Chae Woo-Jin, and in the long run, would make Lee Hyung-Jin owe him a debt. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to form a relationship based on debt with Lee Hyung-Jin.


    ¡°So unfortunately, I need to step out of the picture to let the public see Hyung-Jin hyung¡¯s brilliance.¡±


    ¡°You know you sound super arrogant right now, don¡¯t you? Are you worried that he¡¯ll be overshadowed if you stand next to him?" Hyun-Min asked.


    ¡°You said so earlier. People now look at me with greed, even though nothing has changed in the person known as Chae Woo-Jin. Think back on the things So-Hyun told you as well.¡±?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t changed at all. He was still an actor and an examinee preparing for the bar exam interview.


    However, people viewed him and valued him differently now that his maternal and paternal families¡¯ circumstances were revealed. The fame, power, and wealth people envied about him belonged to his maternal and paternal families, not Woo-Jin. Even though he would not inherit a single piece of the families¡¯ possessions, the public was getting the wrong idea about Woo-Jin due to a small misunderstanding.


    Naturally, the existence and presence of Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family was of help, but it was not an absolute power he could rely on.


    Lee So-Hyun had cast Woo-Jin aside because he was shiny but still nothing more than a pebble. And in fact, that hadn¡¯t changed to this day. It was just that people¡¯s vision of him had morphed into something new just because Woo-Jin¡¯s background and environment had slightly changed.


    ¡°Diamonds were just shiny stones at first as well.¡±


    The essence and nature of things didn¡¯t change in life. What changed was the people¡¯s views that attributed a certain value to it. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t consider himself a diamond, but he wanted to tell people that no one could accurately predict what a shiny stone could become in the future.


    Thus, if he stood by Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s side right now, Woo-Jin would be the center of attention, and people would try to assign a value to Lee Hyung-Jin with his connection to Woo-Jin in mind.


    They would mistake that Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s brilliance actually came from Woo-Jin, and the actor couldn¡¯t allow himself to be a hindrance to those he loved. He was slowly learning how to care for others and acting to help them in their journey through life.


    Suddenly, Woo-Jin turned a new and fresh gaze towards Hyun-Min. Although he had always been grateful for Hyun-Min¡¯s care and concerns, Woo-Jin had been taking them for granted as they had been friends for so long.


    But if the situation were reversed between him and Hyun-Min, Woo-Jin would behave just like the current Hyun-Min, so the celebrity never doubted his friend. Woo-Jin finally realized that this relationship was a precious and sparkling friendship that could never be replaced. Since the two¡¯s thoughts and feelings were always the same, Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t been aware of it thus far.


    This kind of trust and love often slipped out of people¡¯s hands in life, never to be found again. In fact, it had happened countless times to Woo-Jin in his past lives.


    Woo-Jin felt deeply grateful to Hyun-Min for being by his side since he was but a mere stone buried in the dirty earth. Whether Woo-Jin was a pebble or a shining gemstone, Hyun-Min had always stayed with him and gazed at him with the usual glow in his eyes.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Hyun-Min asked.


    As Woo-Jin fell into deep thoughts and stared at his friend with a profound gaze, Hyun-Min shuddered, hugged his arms, and retreated a few steps to put some distance between the two.


    ¡°I just felt grateful to you.¡±


    ¡°Want me to buy you some mandarins?¡± Hyun-Min pretended to take out and open his wallet while sending suspicious glances at the actor. Woo-Jin let out a genuine chuckle as he watched the embarrassed Hyun-Min.


    Woo-Jin would never have found a friend like Hyun-Min if not for the latter¡¯s great personality, hard work, and perseverance.


    ¡°I think I know what I need to do now.¡±


    If Woo-Jin had truly not changed, he just had to show that unchanged image to the audience. He wanted to show the brilliance of a stone that had yet to become a gem to those who would recognize reality as is.


    It was now Woo-Jin¡¯s turn to show the same effort, and faith Hyun-Min had in the pebble called ¡®Woo-Jin¡¯ to the public.


    He had finally figured out how to film his Life Depicted.

 CH 158

    On the day Life Depicted aired its first episode, the viewing rate was around 5%.?


    ?


    With Yoon Seong-Hwan, Park Mi-Hyun, and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance on the show, the rating was unimaginably high for broadcast television but only somewhat decent for cable television.


    In the first place, the show¡¯s concept itself made it difficult to get higher viewing rates. This had been pointed out by many people even before the episode aired. In addition, the trailer made the show seem like a documentary, causing the viewers to have lower expectations and reducing the hype. People even joked that the channel was purposefully destroying their audiences¡¯ expectations as a marketing strategy to impress them later on.


    Nevertheless, the show had garnered a lot of attention since the celebrities set to appear on it were rarely seen on the small screen. In reality, the rating was so low for the first episode because people were waiting for online reviews. If the show received a good evaluation, they planned on watching it as well.


    The first episode started off with the cast members attending their first planning meetings after getting selected for the show. Unfortunately, there were no opportunities for the three cast members to get together for the meeting, so each of them had met the director and production crew on different days and discussed the show.


    ¡ªIs there really nothing? I won¡¯t ask for a detailed script, but please tell me you have a synopsis or something of the sort!


    Park Mi-Hyun exclaimed at the director¡¯s news about the lack of script. Her outburst contrasted a lot with Yoon Seong-Hwan¡¯s charismatic reaction. He had simply frowned slightly and said, ¡®how easy.¡¯


    Lastly, Chae Woo-Jin simply stated that he had already been informed of it and calmly listened to the crew¡¯s explanation. In fact, they asked Woo-Jin whether he was really okay with it because of his extremely ordinary reaction.


    Although this channel usually broadcasted documentaries, Life Depicted was still a variety show. And no matter how realistic they wanted to make it, a variety show could not function properly without a script. This was common sense even if one didn¡¯t participate in variety shows very often. That was why Park Mi-Hyun was so dumbfounded.


    ¡ªI was informed of it when signing the contract. Didn¡¯t you say then that I needed to figure out what to do myself?


    Chae Woo-Jin faced the crew with a naive expression that was just begging to be duped. He didn¡¯t seem to suspect the crew or the information he was provided.


    It was true that they had told the actor in advance, but the director couldn¡¯t help but ask whether Woo-Jin had not doubted their words even the slightest. Only then did Chae Woo-Jin look shocked.


    ¡ªWait, does that mean you do have a script?


    He looked lively and excited for the first time since the beginning of the meeting and stared at the crew with a beaming gaze. The director met those eyes that screamed ¡®please give me the script now¡¯ and awkwardly denied it in response. He had just asked Woo-Jin for the sake of it.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s expression darkened instantly, which was edited in slow-motion in the episode.


    The flames of excitement that brightly burned in his eyes got extinguished, and the lips that curled upwards quickly reversed in position. It was an extremely theatrical reaction. This was when people realized that Woo-Jin¡¯s composed attitude from the beginning was merely a facade.


    The three cast members agonized a lot throughout the planning meetings about how they would film the show and came up with individual solutions vastly different from one another. The two more experienced actors knew exactly what their audience would want to see and quickly scheduled the filming dates.?


    ?


    On the other hand, Woo-Jin was completely clueless about what to do. He asked his two seniors what their concepts were when their filming was over and asked the production crew for different opinions several times.


    In the end, he had to schedule the filming day without a proper idea in mind as they couldn¡¯t push it back anymore. Fortunately, Woo-Jin had come up with a concept a few days before the shooting began.


    ¡ªI will simply behave as I usually do at home, so please don¡¯t hesitate to ask me any questions throughout the filming if there¡¯s anything you¡¯re curious about.


    Even though he had never participated in interviews outside of when he was promoting his movies and shows, Woo-Jin declared that he would take this opportunity and answer any questions with no exceptions.


    Since there were already several shows with similar concepts, his portion of Life Depicted could end up dull and boring if his answers were basic. But since the interviewee in question was the Chae Woo-Jin, nothing else mattered.


    ¡ªCan we really ask you anything we want?


    The director asked suspiciously, to which Woo-Jin nodded.


    ¡ªIt¡¯s your freedom to ask any questions you want, and it¡¯s my choice whether I decide to answer or not.


    Woo-Jin finally smiled cheerfully as if he had finished his homework, and a load of pressure was lifted off his shoulders.


    ***


    The actual Life Depicted began with each cast member waking up in the morning in their respective homes.


    Due to his low blood pressure, Yoon Seong-Hwan couldn¡¯t do much for a while when he woke up. He stayed seated on his bed for some time, blankly staring at the air, until he finally stood up and got out of his covers.


    It was a vastly different appearance than his usual firm and steadfast behavior on camera. Nevertheless, he did vocal and physical exercises on a daily basis to begin his mornings, showing how he took thorough care of his health and voice as an actor.


    The perfect enunciations and clear voice in his plays were the results of his earnest and diligent practice. In fact, he was always dynamic and vigorous during the usual exhausting rehearsals.


    Although his charisma was overflowing on the stage, Yoon Seong-Hwan was a gentle and helpful advisor to his juniors behind the scenes and dedicated much time to them.


    Due to his public image as a tough guy, many people assumed he would be an oppressive and intimidating senior, but he completely blew those assumptions away and showed a very unreserved attitude.


    ¡ªThey¡¯re simply my colleagues. It¡¯s not like I can achieve anything on my own in this industry. But these people keep calling me Teacher instead of Senior!?


    ?


    One of Yoon Seong-Hwan¡¯s issues with acting was that the younger generations called him Teacher, even though he considered everyone his equal and colleagues. At some point in his career, he looked back on himself and realized that he had gotten old. But what could he do against the passing of time?


    Meanwhile, Park Mi-Hyun¡¯s mornings started later than most people. Her sleeping schedule was inconsistent as she had finished filming a movie recently and had no more work to do. She woke up late in the morning¡­ could this even be called morning anymore? Despite the sun being high up in the sky, she had forced herself to wake up ¡®early¡¯ as she was conscious of the filming.


    However, what bothered her these days in her life wasn¡¯t the irregular lifestyle but her last role, which still influenced her mentally.


    ¡ªIt¡¯s always like this for me. Once I start playing a specific role and get in their mindset, it¡¯s difficult to get out of it afterward.


    Even though the production crew hadn¡¯t asked anything, she quietly grumbled to herself. Her manner of speaking and behavior was the exact same as the character she had most recently played. Park Mi-Hyun mumbled to herself again in a vexed voice, saying that things couldn¡¯t continue like this.


    Throughout the shooting, Park Mi-Hyun¡¯s hair was unkempt, and she didn¡¯t wear make-up; she was showing her true, untouched face. Her argument was that she never wore make-up when at home. In fact, even her clothes were baggy for the sake of comfort.


    Because of her late morning rise, Park Mi-Hyun prepared one big meal to serve as breakfast and lunch and showed her excellent cooking skills to the camera.


    ¡ªIt¡¯s all for the sake of enjoying life.


    Even though she was eating alone, Park Mi-Hyun served the dishes on beautiful plates and decorated them as a formality. She never chose a random cup to drink from; it was all about the overall aesthetic.


    After cleaning the house and starting the washing machine herself, she had somewhat digested her brunch, so she began exercising. She also didn¡¯t forget to complain about how she couldn¡¯t let down her guard and be careless about her health. Otherwise, she would immediately gain weight, or so she claimed. In fact, Park Mi-Hyun was constantly moving her body and working out without ever taking a break.


    Even the viewers were astonished by how dynamic, and demanding Park Mi-Hyun¡¯s routine was. After watching her exercise, people finally realized why she never seemed to gain any weight.


    Finally, it was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s turn. As the youngest cast member, Chae Woo-Jin had a secondary identity as a student alongside his job as an actor. Thus, he woke up earlier than everyone else.


    As the alarm rang at 6AM, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s body sat up like a machine. He turned off the alarm with swift movements as if it were second nature. He then massaged his face, but his expression remained blank.


    Suddenly, Woo-Jin jolted in surprise as he noticed the camera in his room. A confused look spread across his face until he finally remembered it was the unmanned camera set up for the shooting and lightly bowed to it.


    The messy hair and the action of scratching his cheeks all exuded a refreshing and youthful sensation befitting his age. Unlike his usual appearance as dignified and somber characters on screen, the atmosphere around him was light-hearted and vibrant.


    ¡°Why do you have numbers labeled on your cosmetics?¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin had washed and was about to put on make-up in front of the mirror when the director suddenly asked him.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin chuckled lightly. He found it amusing that the very first question he was asked during filming was about his make-up. As he had filmed the commercial for Rosie Cosmetics a few days ago, all of the products he was currently using were from that company.


    He realized that he was unintentionally advertising the products but didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it as Rosie Cosmetics was already going to sponsor the show to get some product placements. Thus, he wouldn¡¯t get in trouble for his actions. Woo-Jin calmly and nonchalantly responded.


    ¡°My fashion coordinator made those. I didn¡¯t know much about make-up and made a mistake once, so she doesn¡¯t trust me anymore.¡±


    As he focused on answering the question, Woo-Jin subconsciously grabbed the product labeled ¡®1¡¯ and spread the skin toner on his face.


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    He had temporarily forgotten that he shouldn¡¯t use the toner right after shaving. Woo-Jin grimaced at the stinging pain and turned to the camera.


    ¡°I usually make mistakes like this.¡±


    Even though the toner¡¯s bottle clearly had a second label, ¡®Not after shaving,¡¯ Woo-Jin had made a mistake due to a moment of carelessness.


    In return, Woo-Jin now felt completely awake. He then made his way to the kitchen on the first floor and skillfully cooked an egg sunny-side-up, sliced some fruits, and spread some jam on toast. But for some reason, he prepared two portions of breakfast.


    ¡°That¡¯s for my sister. She¡¯ll wake up soon and come downstairs for breakfast.¡±


    Woo-Jin commented that he simply went and prepared breakfast for Woo-Hee since he was already in the kitchen.


    ¡°You seem very accustomed to preparing breakfast.¡±


    The director said with a doubtful expression. He assumed Woo-Jin never cooked for himself since it looked like he was born and raised in a wealthy family.


    ¡°Well, I guess I am. It would be too difficult and exhausting for my mother to juggle work and household chores simultaneously. So I started helping out and tried to be more independent until it became second nature.¡±


    Although they had recently hired a housekeeper to help out with the chores, the habits from Woo-Jin¡¯s old lifestyle couldn¡¯t be so easily overwritten.


    Moreover, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want his mother to wake up early and prepare breakfast for her grown-up children when she had to leave for work.?


    ?


    Thus, the easiest solution was to have the housekeeping lady prepare the ingredients the previous evening and have Woo-Jin cook for his sister as well. In fact, this was much easier compared to their old lifestyle, so it was no trouble for him at all.


    As Woo-Jin ate his breakfast, Woo-Hee came downstairs and sat at the table, seemingly half-asleep.


    She yawned and stretched for a bit until she made eye contact with the camera facing her. Woo-Hee blinked a couple of times as a confused look showed up on her face.


    Only then did she finally remember how the production crew had slept in the guestroom the previous evening. Woo-Hee then bowed to the crew.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work this early in the morning,¡± she said.


    Woo-Hee then turned to her brother.


    ¡°You could¡¯ve woken up a bit later today.¡±


    She showed concern towards the crew, who had to wake up earlier than Woo-Jin before addressing her brother and criticizing him.


    ¡°We need to fill up the runtime with some content, though.¡±


    ¡°But by waking up early, aren¡¯t you increasing the runtime you have to fill with content?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t realized that before and started wondering whether he should go to bed early tonight. After a light-hearted conversation throughout breakfast, Woo-Jin returned to his room and sat at his desk.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to study at the library?¡±


    The director had assumed that Woo-Jin had woken up early to go to the library and study for the midterms in the following week.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be many empty seats left at this hour, and we¡¯ll only bother the people there.¡±


    No matter how much the other students had gotten used to Chae Woo-Jin, his presence always started a commotion, whether big or small.


    Woo-Jin had to be careful with his actions and not be a nuisance to others, as not everyone was his fan. So he quietly studied at his desk until it was time to leave for his morning classes.

 CH 159

    ¡°Do you drive to school yourself?¡±?


    ?


    The director asked from the back as Woo-Jin got in the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Yes, I do. I was being a nuisance to my manager by asking him to drive me every day, so I got my license not long ago.¡±


    ¡°Then you must be a beginner driver¡­¡±


    Only then did the ¡®new driver¡¯ sticker stuck on the back window enter the director¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten in any accidents yet,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    Contrary to the director¡¯s concerns, Woo-Jin drove very skillfully. Woo-Jin changed lanes on roads with a lot of traffic so naturally that no one would think he had started driving about one month ago.


    Only then did the director and video jockey let out a sigh of relief. Woo-Jin grinned as he watched their reactions.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you use public transport frequently in the past?¡± asked the director.


    Woo-Jin had mentioned it in one of his initial interviews and was often seen taking public transport until last winter. There were many stories talking about Woo-Jin¡¯s incognito appearances in public.


    ¡°I did. But more people have started recognizing me since the new year, and it was disturbing the others around me.¡±


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t use public transport for the same reason as why he couldn¡¯t go to the library. The noise and commotion around him would bother others, and Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to be a nuisance. Additionally, since it was more crowded in public areas, there were higher chances of some undesirable incident happening. Thus, Woo-Jin had no choice but to drive a car.


    The director attentively listened to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation, when he suddenly remembered the incident in the subway where some strangers were unknowingly insulting Woo-Jin in his presence. The director asked whether that incident had influenced Woo-Jin¡¯s decision to avoid public transportation.


    ¡°I would be lying if I said it didn¡¯t have any effect. To be honest, that incident was the reason why I decided to appear on The King of the Masked Singers. They were doubting my skills and said that my success was probably thanks to a sponsor, which made me flare up at that moment.¡±


    This was the first time Woo-Jin had talked about the reason behind his participation in The King of the Masked Singers. Many people assumed that it was because Woo-Jin wanted to get revenge on Min Si-Hoo, the reigning Masked King. This was the first time Woo-Jin honestly told the public his reasons.


    ¡°Considering that you were getting angry and frustrated, many people said you were very polite and acted like a gentleman towards those two.¡±


    Woo-Jin smiled brightly at the director¡¯s words. Since the car stopped at a red light, Woo-Jin used the opportunity to face the camera.?


    ?


    ¡°That day was when the reality that I had become a celebrity hit me. I realized that there was a difference between what I wanted to say and what I could actually say. If I had let my emotions take over and spoke my mind, it would only cause a scandal and I would be unable to defend myself.¡±


    If Woo-Jin had gotten swayed by his emotions, that day would¡¯ve caused a scandal and become a stain on his track record. People always cursed others and call them names behind their backs, so were these strangers really at fault for unknowingly gossiping about Woo-Jin in the latter¡¯s presence?


    Humans usually defend the weak from the strong due to emotions and empathy. And when an incident occurrs between a celebrity and a civilian, the public judged the former to be the strong and acted accordingly. On the other hand, celebrities sometimes evaluated the public¡¯s judgments and coercions as an act of power of the strong, while they were the weak who were being oppressed by the demands of the general public.


    The criteria for categorizing the strong and the weak was different for everyone and it was dependent on their point of view. It was an interesting phenomenon to study.


    Additionally, if a celebrity deemed themselves as strong, they would become arrogant. But if they considered themselves weak, they would be irritable and were prone to nervous breakdowns.


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t intend on becoming the oppressor nor the oppressed. He just wanted to be acknowledged and loved by everyone.


    The traffic light turned green. Woo-Jin spoke frankly as he pressed on the accelerator.


    ¡°Do you know the saying ¡®if you feel cheated, then become successful in life¡¯? I don¡¯t really like that expression, but that was the only thing I could tell myself back then. But I wondered if I was being too petty and childish when I decided to participate on The King of the Masked Singers.¡±


    ¡°So basically, Hanryang Doryeong was born thanks to that stranger in the subway. Then everyone should thank them if they ever bump into them outside.¡±


    The director responded light-heartedly as he could hear a hint of bitterness in Woo-Jin¡¯s voice and sensed many complex emotions stemming from the Blue Fit scandal.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, that person wasn¡¯t really at fault. The reason why they misunderstood me was because I hadn¡¯t allowed the public to know the real me, so it was partly my fault,¡± Woo-Jin spoke his thoughts out loud.


    ¡°Is that why you decided to star in our show?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. Why are you asking that when you already know the answer~¡±


    The fact that CEO Choi Won-Hee was personally going around different agencies looking for three actors to star in Life Depicted was already a well-known story. It was already too late to glamorize their motive to cast Woo-Jin to put them in a better light. The director¡¯s awkward coughs could be heard through the camera.?


    ?


    Although the production crew had high expectations for Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s school life, they all sighed and shook their heads in exhaustion once afternoon came. Their hopes of capturing Woo-Jin¡¯s daily life with his friends and potentially a lover at the school campus had been completely shattered to dust and scattered away in the wind.


    They arrived on campus and started off with Woo-Jin¡¯s first morning class, which was quickly followed by another with no proper break in between, and the cycle continued. Woo-Jin could only grab lunch after 2p.m., and he immediately entered an empty auditorium and used his spare time to study after finishing his meal.?


    ?


    Student Chae Woo-Jin was busy preparing for his midterms and bar exam. Thus he had no time to worry about portraying the lifestyle the production crew was expecting from him.


    ¡°Why do you work so hard?¡±


    The director couldn¡¯t resist asking the actor who was reading a thick textbook. Although Woo-Jin was busy studying, the director judged that they could bother for a bit since Woo-Jin had told them they could ask anything they wanted. Woo-Jin raised his head from the book and fortunately, there was no displeasure on his face for having his study session interrupted.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you give yourself a bit more leeway and relax a little?¡±


    Although he was still young and had room for growth, Chae Woo-Jin was definitely going to be a successful actor. Moreover, they wouldn¡¯t know if he would pass the bar exam. But since Woo-Jin had passed the second round, the possibility was high and people were optimistic. The director didn¡¯t know what path Woo-Jin would choose in the end, but he thought that the current Chae Woo-Jin could relax a bit more.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. Look around us. I¡¯m not the only one who is struggling, nor do I seem to be a special case.¡±


    Woo-Jin directed his gaze to the other students around them. Even if everyone wanted to take different paths in life, people generally ended up walking down the same path. There was an organizational restriction and culture in this country that forced the inhabitants to paint their lives using a shared pool of materials, only to end up with very similar looking canvases.


    ¡°The reality of our society is that people have no choice but to follow the same path until they reach their desired destination, regardless of their goals.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you think you¡¯re already halfway there?¡± the director asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still too young to be talking about being successful in life.¡±


    Woo-Jin flailed his hands, emphasizing that he still had a long way to go. As someone who had lived countless lives, Woo-Jin knew how meaningless it was to aim to be ¡®successful¡¯ in society.


    Woo-Jin had lived through so many lives where he thought he had failed to be successful till the very end. However, those lives were now being praised and evaluated as distinguished experts of their time.


    On the other hand, there were many cases where he was satisfied with his life¡ªwhere he believed to have been successful and achieved a high status¡ªthere was not a single record of them in history. The criteria for what constituted success and a satisfactory life is truly vague and ambiguous.


    ¡°I¡¯m just living to the best of my ability for my own sake.¡±


    Woo-Jin saw that the director was about to ask him another question and quickly put a finger to his lips. Although it didn¡¯t bother Woo-Jin, their conversation was disturbing the other students around them. Even Hyun-Min, who was Woo-Jin¡¯s most supportive and helpful friend, was glaring at the actor from the side. Exams were existences that turned people into anxious and narrow-minded monsters.


    After classes ended for the day, Woo-Jin went to the gym and exercised before making his way home. On their way back, the director asked the question that he couldn¡¯t ask earlier.?


    ?


    ¡°What do you mean by living for your own sake?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly what it means. What else could it mean?¡±


    ¡°Many people say they live for themselves, but they all end up living very different lives. I was wondering what living for your own sake meant specifically to you.¡±


    Just like how the standards for success were different for everyone, the meaning of living for one¡¯s sake wasn¡¯t the same for everyone. The director was curious to know where Woo-Jin¡¯s expanded towards as he lived for ¡®his own sake¡¯.


    ¡°I wish I could get good grades and hopefully a scholarship this semester since I didn¡¯t miss too many classes. I want to make my parents happy by passing the bar exam. I hope my movies keep being box office hits as they have been so far, etc. That¡¯s what I want for myself; a life where I fulfill the small dreams and wishes in my everyday life.¡±


    The scope which Woo-Jin considered as living for his own sake was a lot more trivial and narrower than what the director was expecting.


    ¡°Your small dreams sound ordinary but they also sound quite difficult to achieve,¡± the director commented.


    It was true that Woo-Jin¡¯s small wishes were ordinary and it seemed like they were wishes that everyone would have. But despite being ordinary dreams, it was very difficult to make any one of them come true.


    ¡°They¡¯re common wishes that everyone dreams of in their daily lives,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°But only a limited number of people can make them come true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what makes it precious and beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Makes what precious and beautiful?¡± the director asked.


    ¡°The life that one builds with their family and friends. My life is not worth more than someone else¡¯s because I achieved something that¡¯s difficult to do. The reason why I like my current life is because there are people around me who will be truly happy for me from the bottom of their hearts if I become successful. The gratitude I feel for those who are happy for me is precious, and the fact that I¡¯m not facing life alone makes it beautiful.¡±


    Woo-Jin then mentioned the recent incident as an example to prove his point. Although it was an embarrassing and secretive story to tell, Woo-Jin had come to an important realization through this incident.


    ¡°When the article in question was published, my family and the people around me believed in me, got worried for me, and got angry for my sake alongside me even though there was no reason for them to trust me. That¡¯s when I realized that I really should give it my all when living my life.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s first thought was not that he had lived a good life. Instead, it was resolve for the future.?


    ?


    These people hadn¡¯t stood by Woo-Jin¡¯s side because there was some evidence defending him or because they firmly believed in his innocence. Their love for the human known as ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ simply took precedence which caused them to unconditionally trust him. If Chae Woo-Jin ever did something wrong, these people would be disappointed in him and admonish him, but their love for him would not wane.


    Woo-Jin felt a sense of responsibility because it was as if he had peeked into their hearts. If Woo-Jin went down the wrong path, they would have no choice but to side with him. They would justify his wrongdoings and distort the truth just because they cared about him.


    ¡°It scared me. That¡¯s why I praised the past me but warned the future me. ¡®Make sure you live a good life from now on.¡¯ I need to become happy and live a long life alongside my family and friends. So the first thing I need to do is to live for myself. If I love myself, I wouldn¡¯t ruin my own life, and I would never disappoint my loved ones,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    Now that his mindset had changed, Woo-Jin¡¯s vision of the world and his life suddenly became beautiful. Throughout his past lives, Woo-Jin simply considered life as the state of being alive and surviving. There was no concept of spending time and energy to fulfill a dream back then.


    But these days, Woo-Jin had been constantly pondering about the final objective he wanted to achieve before dying. He wondered why he dreamed and why he is living to achieve that dream. But as he kept thinking about this, an answer naturally came up in his mind.


    He lived to walk alongside his loved ones and dreamt about dreams that he wanted to share with them.


    He wanted to share his heart with more and more people, expanding beyond his family and friends, just like the photo exhibition titled ¡®The People I Love¡¯ which he had seen before.


    These were the sincere thoughts that came from inside Woo-Jin''s heart and soul From the person whom the director thought was pushing himself for no reason.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve had a lot to think about because of the recent incident. In that case, may I ask you one last question?¡± the director asked.


    Woo-Jin nodded in affirmation.


    ¡°What do you plan on doing if you pass the final round of the bar exam?¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin had mentioned that he was taking the bar exam to express his gratitude to his mother, who had silently watched over him without opposing his choice to become a celebrity.


    Many joyful things had happened since Woo-Jin became an actor, but there were many painful incidents as well. Even strangers could guess how concerned and sad Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents must have felt during the Blue Fit scandal and the recent rumors.


    Thus, it seemed natural for Woo-Jin to work hard to pass the bar exam. In return, many people were wondering how determined he was about the paths which he would take in life.


    Woo-Jin showed the most serious expression today in response to the director¡¯s careful question.


    ¡°I will¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin pondered for a moment and slowly opened his mouth, when episode 1 of Life Depicted came to an end.

 CH 160

    Episode one of Life Depicted ended with a really shameless cliffhanger that made people look forward to the continuation with a burning sense of curiosity.?


    ?


    But what annoyed people most was how cleverly Woo-Jin¡¯s answer was edited out of episode two and glossed over completely.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t he telling us?!¡±


    ¡°He obviously answered the question. Though the broadcasting company isn¡¯t showing it to us yet.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans were upset as their burning curiosity was left unresolved even after watching episode two.


    However, since the bar exam had yet to fully finish, it could¡¯ve been that the broadcasting company was being careful about airing that scene. Woo-Jin¡¯s answer was a variable that could cause different reactions depending on whether he had passed the exam or not.


    Thus, the fans believed that they would finally hear the answer alongside the announcement of the exam results and were barely holding back their fury. But whatever Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s answer was, his fans were ready to respect his decision and accept the consequences.


    ¡°Our Woo-Jin had the interview for the exam a few days ago. I wonder how it went.¡±


    ¡°They say the results will be announced next Friday. So be patient for a bit longer.¡±


    Whether if it was out of consideration or because they were wary of Woo-Jin¡¯s background, the media refrained from reporting his bar exam interview. They only briefly mentioned it before moving on, so the general public had nowhere to get the information.


    Moreover, the production crew of Life Depicted had avoided filming on that day and scheduled the recording sessions around it, so the show also contained no information about the interview.


    ¡°I thought the show would be boring, but it¡¯s quite enjoyable to watch. The viewing rates have been increasing as well. It¡¯ll probably reach 10% next week.¡±


    ¡°I know, right? I was only planning to watch Woo-Jin¡¯s parts and not the other two, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from watching it all. Yoon Seong-Hwan is so charismatic and has years of experience, so I can¡¯t help but get invested in his scenes. Also, if you forget about her diligence, watching Park Mi-Hyun is like I¡¯m watching myself. She¡¯s so relatable.¡±


    Although the show wasn¡¯t incredibly engaging, it was interesting to see the cast members live as ordinary people instead of superstars and observe their uneventful yet intense daily lives.


    No matter how old they were or how famous they were in their respective fields, these people constantly strived for greatness and moved forward. But rather than seeming painful or difficult, they were lively and enjoyed it. It made the viewers feel motivated and want to do something as well.


    ¡°Oh right! Did you hear how Lee Yeon from Blue Fit got in a car accident two days ago?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? I¡¯m amazed by how much things have changed for them. In the past, the entire country would¡¯ve been shocked by the news, but now, I was totally in the dark until you told me.¡±


    Just last year, there was a news flash about how Blue Fit¡¯s van had gotten in a small accident and had made contact with another vehicle. But now, it was surprising how it had taken two days for them to hear about the car accident.


    ¡°Apparently, he was drinking until late in the night and crashed his car into someone¡¯s house in a residential area the next morning. They were trying to hide the incident as much as possible, but it got out today. It¡¯s true that Blue Fit is way past their prime nowadays, but it looks like TM couldn¡¯t look after them because of how chaotic things are for them.¡±


    Even if Blue Fit¡¯s popularity had waned, news about celebrities getting in accidents always garnered attention. Their manager had done their utmost to stop the news from spreading, but because TM was a mess these days, it wasn¡¯t enough to prevent information from leaking.


    ¡°TM really is hopeless! Our Woo-Jin caught some of his online trolls recently, and it turned out to be a TM employee. They say the company made an entire team just to ruin his reputation online!¡±


    ¡°Kim Seok-Hyung, that bastard is finished now. Apparently, the board of directors will be convened soon. The largest shareholder changed recently, and they want to dismiss the CEO. There are also rumors that they reached an agreement with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s advertisers and sold them a lot of stocks.?


    ?


    ¡°Seriously? Take that, CEO Kim.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t deserve to be called TM¡¯s CEO! I was Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s fan, but because of that bastard¡­.¡±


    This fan was forced to hide the fact that they were Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s fan for the past year, and the frustration had piled up so much that it still fueled their anger today.


    Many people resented Lee Hyung-Jin and blamed him for his wrongdoings while being unable to throw away their love for his songs. But these people were in complete shock these days because of the recent news that had hit the front pages.


    It had all started in a case that had no relation to Lee Hyung-Jin. However, while investigating a prosecutor involved in a corruption case with a corporation, they had discovered Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s name.


    During the investigation, it was revealed that the prosecutor''s nephew was the main culprit behind a classmate¡¯s bullying, and the victim had committed suicide. The prosecutor then used his influence to cover up the incident.


    However, this incident turned out to be the same one where Lee Hyung-Jin was said to be the perpetrator. The general public had been deceived by a made-up narrative by the corrupt prosecutor and a corrupt journalist.


    In addition, it was revealed that TM¡¯s CEO, Kim Seok-Hyung, had lent them a hand and manipulated the public¡¯s opinion. Thus, the false accusations and rumors surrounding the latter had finally been cleared.


    To be more precise, CEO Kim had purposely framed Lee Hyung-Jin and spread the rumors first to spur the public.


    ¡°At least we now know the truth.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! I was still a bit doubtful after Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s press conference. So if that prosecutor wasn¡¯t being investigated, Lee Hyung-Jin would¡¯ve still been framed, and people would¡¯ve been insulting him even now.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a monster! I really hope TM¡¯s CEO changes this time around. Should I pray to the heavens and make an offering?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s highly likely that he¡¯ll go to jail before losing his position as CEO. The maximum penalty for spreading false information is up to seven years in prison.¡±


    This fan of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s was furious and frustrated when they learned that the maximum sentence was only seven years, even though that monster had ruined someone else¡¯s life.


    ¡°Though some of his other victims are also preparing to file a lawsuit against him these days, it might be longer.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin and Lee Hyung-Jin weren¡¯t Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s only victims. There were many cases where celebrities left TM, only to have nasty rumors start spreading about them until they were forced to retire after their reputation had taken a nosedive. And these ex-stars were now preparing to file lawsuits against CEO Kim. It was difficult to gather evidence now since a lot of time had passed since those incidents, but a broken bowl was bound to leak water eventually.


    Although these two friends were fans of different celebrities, their hearts were united as one now that they had a common enemy. As they talked about other various topics, they finally reached their destination.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the store our Woo-Jin frequents!¡±


    Although the shop had gotten famous for having Woo-Jin as a regular, the coffee they brewed was actually delicious, so they had other regulars who frequently came as well. These two were such regulars as well.


    However, there was a stall on the store¡¯s outdoor terrace today, one they had never seen before. The first thing that caught their attention was a person wearing a cute teddy bear costume.


    ¡°Huh? I recognize that bear from somewhere¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s that mascot that got famous with its emojis, I think.¡±


    ¡°Look! It even has the flower on its ear.¡±


    The round and cute bear had a rose attached to its ear. The worker wearing that mascot was pointing at the stall and gesturing with dance-like movements. What then caught their eyes were the natural soap bars at the stand and the man selling them.


    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that guy Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s friend?¡±


    The face of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s good friend¡ªwho was often seen with the actor at university in Life Depicted¡ªhad naturally gotten familiar to Woo-Jin¡¯s fans.


    In fact, Jung Hyun-Min¡¯s face was now recognizable to anyone who watched the show, even if they weren¡¯t Woo-Jin¡¯s fans.


    ¡°Excuse me, are you Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s friend who has been appearing on that one show?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that Chae Woo-Jin is my friend.¡±


    Hyun-Min answered his potential customer¡¯s question with a business smile.


    ¡°Are you working part-time here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not quite a part-time job but more like a separate business. These are excellent homemade soap bars. Would you like to have a look?¡±


    Hyun-Min held out and showed the products one after another. A sticker on the wrappings detailed the ingredients and efficacy of each soap, which helped customers select the ones they wanted.


    ¡°How could I use something so pretty?!¡±


    The soaps were shaped like macarons, cupcakes, or various other forms like traditional Japanese sweets. The two friends closely inspected each soap bar one by one when they turned to Hyun-Min and asked.


    ¡°By the way, are you here alone today?¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin was always by Hyun-Min¡¯s side on the show; it now felt natural to see the two together at all times.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m with my lackey bear today, and I¡¯m its master who reaps all the rewards[1].¡±


    Hyun-Min spoke as he directed his gaze to the bear acting all cutesy next to him and chuckled. The bear was doing its best to solicit people and gather their attention towards the stall without being embarrassed by the curious gazes.


    The bear costume and mask looked to be of high quality even from afar. Most cheaply made costumes just looked dirty and disfigured, but this one was different. The person inside the bear suit was slightly intimidating because of their tall height, but the bear mask itself was incredibly adorable, and the person¡¯s every action was cutesy and precocious.


    ¡°So cute~!¡±


    It appeared that the person inside the suit had gotten more motivated by the customers¡¯ reaction, and the bear was moving in an even more adorable manner.


    Hyun-Min¡¯s face twisted in disgust when he saw the bear¡¯s actions, but he immediately returned to his business smile and clapped his hands.?


    ?


    ¡°Now, now, this is a rare opportunity. Those who buy our soaps will get the chance to take a picture with that son of a bi¡ª I mean, son of a bear¡­ Ah, teddy bear! A picture with that teddy bear.¡±


    Hyun-Min spoke boastfully. Although taking a picture with a mere part-timer in a bear suit was no big deal, the customers paid no mind to the discrepancy of the situation.


    One customer who had bought the smallest and cheapest macaron soap bar stood next to the teddy bear and asked their friend to take a picture. The photos weren¡¯t too bad. In fact, since they were in front of a nice-looking coffee shop with a cute bear, the picture came out very well.


    Standing behind the short customer, the tall bear spread its legs apart to lower itself and raised its arms to form a heart above his head.


    The friend then also decided to buy a soap bar and asked the bear to do a specific pose. They asked it to stand as if it were running and then positioned themselves behind the bear as if they were chasing after it.


    ¡°Catch the bear~!¡±


    Passers-by soon started gathering around the stall in front of the coffee shop because of the interesting scene.


    Hyun-Min became more excited, and his voice grew louder as he promoted his soaps. He explained the advantages of handmade soaps along with the ingredients that were used. People consulted him about their skin conditions, and he recommended the products that suited them best.


    In the meantime, the bear took plenty of pictures with the customers who had bought soaps, listening to all their whimsical requests. Since it performed all the actions the customers asked for, the spectators couldn¡¯t help but get more excited as they watched it.


    ¡°By the way, are you filming this for something?¡±


    One customer belatedly noticed the camera nearby and asked Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re filming a show about one man¡¯s lonely struggles in life,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Oh, are you also going to star in TV shows from now on?¡±


    The customer asked Hyun-Min as they recognized him thanks to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Life Depicted show.


    Hyun-Min swept his hair to one side with his hand.


    ¡°Well, I get asked that often. But as someone who dreams of becoming the Korean Warren Buffett, it won¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you doing here?¡± the customer asked innocently.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. What am I doing here?¡±


    Hyun-Min muttered depressingly before recommending a good soap for skin pore care and skin-lightening effect made with Korean chestnut shells.


    ¡°Then when will this air on TV and on what channel?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll air in a few weeks. But you don¡¯t have to pay much attention to it since it¡¯s a boring show with low viewing rates.¡±?


    ?


    At Hyun-Min¡¯s words, the teddy bear lightly hit him on the head a couple of times.


    Hyun-Min then turned his back on the bear and patted his shoulders, telling it to massage him instead of punching him. The bear sighed and shrugged in defeat before massaging Hyun-Min¡¯s shoulders desolately.


    Fortunately, they were able to sell out all their soaps, thanks to Hyun-Min¡¯s eloquence and the bear¡¯s lively actions. Furthermore, the stall was in front of a popular coffee shop, and there was a good flow of people on the street, which significantly helped their sales.


    ***


    Once they sold out, Hyun-Min and the crew were able to take a break inside the coffee shop¡¯s break room while packing up their belongings, courtesy of the manager¡¯s thoughtfulness.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, how much is today¡¯s sales~?¡±


    Woo-Jin took off the bear mask and slumped down on a chair next to Hyun-Min, who was meticulously counting their profits as soon as he took a seat.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d be fine since it¡¯s November already, but it¡¯s so freaking hot in this costume,¡± Woo-Jin said in exhaustion.


    Sweat dripped down Woo-Jin¡¯s face while his hair was stuck to his forehead. He then took off the rest of the costume. All the hot air trapped inside escaped, and Woo-Jin shuddered as he felt the cold on his skin.


    Although he was busily counting their gains, Hyun-Min threw a large towel at Woo-Jin out of concern that he¡¯d catch a cold. Woo-Jin wiped his face with the soft towel and asked again with emphasis.


    ¡°How much is it?¡±


    ¡°Excluding the raw material costs and the cost of using the shop¡¯s terrace, we get 26 thousand won each,¡± Hyun-Min replied.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s hands spontaneously trembled when he heard that their reward for working for almost four hours was a mere 26 thousand won. He had spent too much energy at the beginning, and by the end, he was exhausted and sat on the terrace stairs while interacting with the customers.


    And when Hyun-Min announced that they were sold out, Woo-Jin immediately collapsed to the floor, which gave the spectators a big laugh. But hearing the reward for all that effort, Woo-Jin lost all drive.


    The two of them had been selling soap today because of an assignment at university. The professor of their major had given them an assignment where each student had to invest 100 thousand won and profit as much as possible, whether through stocks or by running a business.


    It didn¡¯t matter whether they did it individually or as a group project, but reporting their procedures and finances was mandatory. In the end, they¡¯d be given grades based on who had made the most profit.


    The professor advised the students not to be too pressured about the money since making a loss was still a great life experience and good study material. But the students¡¯ scores were relative to the others¡¯ results, and they¡¯d be awarded grades based on who had profited the most.


    So, in the end, it was impossible for them to not be stressed. The students now cared about money above everything else.?


    ?


    1. Comes from the idiom ¡®The bear does all the work, and the master/owner reaps all the money,¡¯ which talks about one person doing everything but the other taking all the credit. Here, Hyun-Min is making a pun since the other guy is in a bear costume. lmao. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 161

    ¡°How much longer do we have to do this¡­?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin muttered as he stared down at the bear mask on the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said we should invest in stocks instead,¡± Hyun-Min complained.


    ¡°So? How would that help us at all?¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s decision not to trust Hyun-Min when it came to stocks was firm and unshakeable. Moreover, other students from their major had already lost even the initial 100,000 won they¡¯d invested in stocks.


    In comparison, their earnings might have been low today, but they hadn''t suffered a loss.


    ¡°Besides, the stocks of the company you suggested have been falling like crazy recently, you know?¡± Woo-Jin reminded his friend.


    Hyun-Min had guaranteed Woo-Jin that a certain videogame company would do extremely well. However, with the company¡¯s new mobile game doing terribly, the stocks had been taking a nosedive.


    Woo-Jin still had chills down his spine when he remembered how they had almost bought those stocks. His doubts about Hyun-Min¡¯s opinions on stocks were truly reasonable and perfectly timed.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­.¡±


    Hyun-Min couldn¡¯t say that he was just unlucky this time around because he had always been ¡®unlucky¡¯ with stocks so far. He could only keep his mouth shut. But since he felt frustrated, he still protested to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Things would be so much easier for us if you just showed your face to everyone.¡±


    He understood that Woo-Jin had a hard time today, but if he took off that heavy mask, their soaps would¡¯ve sold out much faster. However, Woo-Jin refused to show his face no matter what and kept the mask on.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m putting on a show out there to help with sales. Still, aren¡¯t we doing pretty well so far?¡±


    Although today¡¯s profit wasn¡¯t satisfactory, Woo-Jin wondered how they had fared compared to the other students.


    ¡°There are rumors that Kim Yi-Seon made more than 500 thousand won already, while those who pooled their initial funds together and started a business earned at least 100 thousand won each,¡± Hyun-Min said.


    Since Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t too familiar with the news and rumors going around in the department, he was dejected at Hyun-Min¡¯s words.


    ¡°Seriously? She actually made 500 thousand won? How did she earn so much in ten days?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s really dexterous. She made some ornaments with beads and sold them through social media. She already had a lot of followers, so it was easy to promote the products. She also made them regularly as a hobby before the assignment and was often asked if she ever planned on selling them. Basically, she had enough publicity and a bunch of potential customers from the start.¡±


    Woo-Jin let out a deep sigh at Hyun-Min¡¯s explanation.


    When they first received this assignment, many people offered Woo-Jin to partner up and work together. If they didn¡¯t plan on investing in stocks, having Woo-Jin as a teammate when running a business would make it a guaranteed success no matter what.


    Because of that, Woo-Jin had turned down all the offers. He was disillusioned by their schemes of using him to make money easily. He didn¡¯t want to do all the work and let them profit from it like leeches.[1]


    Still, the only friend Woo-Jin could trust was Hyun-Min, so he suggested pairing up together first. Except, this time, it was Hyun-Min who was somewhat unenthusiastic about Woo-Jin¡¯s proposal since he planned on making money through stocks.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, Woo-Jin somehow convinced Hyun-Min¡ªwho still couldn¡¯t give up on investing in stocks¡ªto start a homemade soap business. Hyun-Min¡¯s girlfriend made soaps as a hobby, and her skills were good enough to go professional.


    Woo-Jin had thought of this project when he remembered how he and his family had loved the soap bars they had received as gifts from her the other day. Thus, they paid Hyun-Min¡¯s girlfriend the cost of the raw materials along with the labor fee, and they finally started selling the first batch of products today.


    The sales were much better than they had initially expected, but the profits were too minimal compared to the energy and hard work they had put into selling them, which demotivated Woo-Jin.


    ¡°But are you really okay?¡± Hyun-Min asked.


    "Oh¡­ Yeah.¡±


    Woo-Jin glanced at the production crew before answering Hyun-Min¡¯s question. Two days ago, he had his interview for the bar exam.


    However, he had gotten into a minor accident as he was leaving the house in his car. Another vehicle was rushing towards the passenger seat of Woo-Jin¡¯s car. But thanks to Woo-Jin¡¯s quick reaction and evasion, only the rear-end of his car was slightly bumped by the oncoming vehicle.


    On the other hand, the other driver turned the steering wheel right before running into Woo-Jin¡¯s car but couldn¡¯t reduce their speed and crashed into the wall. Woo-Jin¡¯s family was startled and ran outside when they heard the loud crash and felt the house tremble. Only when they reached Woo-Jin did his brain process what had happened and woke up from a daze. The accident had happened so quickly that his mind couldn¡¯t register it fast enough.


    His family was relieved when they saw that Woo-Jin was safe as he slowly got out of the car. They then immediately reported the accident to the police.?


    ?


    ¡®Are you injured anywhere?¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s mother checked her son¡¯s condition as she worried about his health. Woo-Jin shook his head before checking the time. He had left the house with a lot of leeway until the interview, so he had plenty of spare time to wait for the police to arrive.


    His mother told him not to go to the interview in this situation, but Woo-Jin was truly fine. He was pretty surprised but not shocked enough to give up on the exam.


    When the police arrived, his father stepped forward and spoke to them first. He asked whether they could let Woo-Jin leave to take his interview as they had a black box in the car and the CCTV camera installed in front of the house. Just to be sure, the officers had Woo-Jin take a breathalyzer test before letting him go. His father then lent him his car and his chauffeur, and Woo-Jin was able to arrive for the interview on time.


    Only when he came home after the interview did Woo-Jin find out that the other vehicle¡¯s driver was Lee Yeon, a Blue Fit member. He had bumped his head and lost consciousness when he crashed into the wall. When the ambulance arrived and opened Lee Yeon¡¯s car door, the stench of alcohol had spread everywhere inside and oozed, especially from him.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s father had prevented Woo-Jin from approaching the other vehicle until the ambulance arrived because he had recognized Lee Yeon in the driver¡¯s seat. He had thought that Woo-Jin would¡¯ve been shocked and upset to find out that Lee Yeon was behind the accident.?


    ?


    ¡®Was he badly injured?¡¯ Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡®He only has a small scratch on his forehead. Apparently, he just couldn¡¯t gain consciousness properly because of the alcohol.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin understood why Lee Yeon had committed such an extreme act.?


    ?


    He had apologized at the press conference with the rest of Blue Fit and tried to get back to work after a little while. However, things didn¡¯t go their way. In particular, Woo-Jin was gaining more and more popularity, which prevented Blue Fit from finding a place to stand in the entertainment industry.


    However, Blue Fit¡¯s Lee Min-Soo was being misunderstood because of the recent sponsorship rumors. People assumed that Lee Min-Soo was able to join Blue Fit by accepting the sponsorship offer Woo-Jin had refused.


    Although the suspicions weren¡¯t aimed at him, Lee Yeon felt like his throat was only getting tighter and tighter, unable to breathe properly. He was feeling extremely anxious that the prosecutors were investigating the deep-rooted problems in the entertainment world.


    As he drowned his stress in alcohol, Lee Yeon directed his fury at Chae Woo-Jin.


    If that was its extent, Woo-Jin could still sympathize with him.?


    ?


    He¡¯s crazy.?


    ?


    But he couldn¡¯t forgive Lee Yeon. If Woo-Jin had reacted any slower, both of them could¡¯ve been gravely injured in a horrible accident.


    If he forgave Lee Yeon¡¯s crazy behavior, Woo-Jin would be just as crazy as him.


    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t injured anywhere. Thanks to the mental cultivation technique he practiced every day, his muscles hadn¡¯t cramped, and his blood vessels hadn¡¯t burst anywhere. Once the sun rose the following morning, his body felt refreshed and light again. Woo-Jin got himself checked at the hospital just in case, but the results showed no abnormalities in his body.


    However, Hyun-Min was still worried for his friend, so he told Woo-Jin to just cover his face and sit next to him at the stand to rest for the day. But Woo-Jin still wore the bear costume as initially planned and helped with the sales since he was truly okay.


    Despite the weather being chilly today, Woo-Jin was exhausted from the heat because the costume and the clothes he wore underneath were so thick. Nevertheless, Hyun-Min worried that it might¡¯ve been because of an aftereffect of the accident.


    ¡°Geez, you really don¡¯t listen to anyone, do you?¡±


    Hyun-Min spoke bluntly while careful with the wording since the production crew around them were still unaware of the incident.


    In any case, Hyun-Min was somewhat relieved because Woo-Jin had a good complexion and didn¡¯t seem to be hurting anywhere.


    ¡°Come to think of it, how did your interview go?¡±


    The director was silently listening to the friends¡¯ conversation before suddenly asking Woo-Jin.


    Although they had no idea what Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min were talking about, the director thought it was related to the interview and intruded on their conversation.


    ¡°It went okay. The atmosphere was more easygoing than expected, and it wasn¡¯t too stressful.¡±


    There had been a moment when Woo-Jin had to mull over a question in the form to fill in before the interview, where he was asked why he wanted to become a judicial officer. But otherwise, everything had gone fine.


    The group discussions dealt with topics he had expected, while the individual interviews did not have any harsh or trick questions.


    Woo-Jin wondered whether that was only the case for him, but when he asked the other examinees, it turned out that most people had experienced similar things. Rather than being a test to eliminate the examinees, the interviews were more like a procedure they had to experience as a formality.?


    ?


    But while Woo-Jin felt like he had finally climbed to the summit of a mountain, the assignment was currently blocking the magnificent view and kept bothering him.


    Hyun-Min then suggested a change of plans.


    ¡°This project is too exhausting and doesn¡¯t make us a lot of profit. We need a different business plan.¡±


    ¡°What ideas do you have?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere with lots of people and charge them money to hug you and receive your autograph! I¡¯ll gather the customers and receive the payment next to you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°So, what do you think? It¡¯s a great idea, no?¡±


    Woo-Jin reacted by squeezing the cup of water in his hand tightly.


    ¡°Even Kim Seon-Dal[2] sold physical water in return for money at the very least!¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m selling people good memories with you instead of water. You¡¯re a bear. My lackey bear. And I¡¯m the money-making master. It¡¯s a win-win situa¡ª I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    As Woo-Jin gripped onto his cup of water tightly and stared intently at Hyun-Min, the latter stopped blabbering about his new business plan and apologized to his friend. Though, Hyun-Min didn¡¯t feel too disappointed because he was mostly joking.


    They planned on selling soaps again tomorrow, but they¡¯d only make a bit more than 50 thousand won in two days. There were obviously some classmates who were in the red and struggling to profit at all, but Hyun-Min and Woo-Jin could only see the backs of those running way ahead of them, earning more than 100 thousand won.


    ¡°Do you ever plan on releasing a photobook?¡± Hyun-Min suddenly asked.


    ¡°A photobook?¡±


    ¡°An artbook-ish photo album. We could make 200 thousand won just by selling a hundred photobooks for two thousand won.¡±


    ¡°Two hundred thousand¡­.¡± Woo-Jin muttered.


    Even though he had refused to give hugs and autographs to his fans, Woo-Jin lifted his head at the sound of 200 thousand won. Well, technically speaking, he was more interested in his grades than the money.


    Hyun-Min noticed Woo-Jin¡¯s shaking eyes and quickly came up with a plan in his mind. He had spoken of the photobook casually without much thought, but it wasn¡¯t a bad idea at all.


    As someone who enjoyed taking pictures and was skilled at it, Hyun-Min had experience making a photobook as a club activity. If he took the photos and edited them personally with Woo-Jin as his model, they could easily advertise the photobook and sell them all.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pick out the best photos I¡¯ve taken of you before and take some new ones as well to make a photobook. So if we sell out next week just like we did today¡­.¡±


    If they sold two hundred photobooks, they¡¯d probably place in the top half of the class for the assignment in terms of profits.


    ¡°But this isn¡¯t something I can just do because I want to. I need to ask the agency first.¡±?


    ?


    Although Hyun-Min had expected Woo-Jin to outright refuse, the actor unexpectedly showed an ambiguous reaction and used the agency as an excuse. Hyun-Min then stared at Woo-Jin and raised his eyebrows in suspicion.


    ¡°Wearing that costume is harder than you think, you know¡­?¡±


    Woo-Jin averted his gaze and murmured that he¡¯d prefer modeling for photos rather than dancing around in a thick bear costume for hours just to gather people¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Right, people need to make use of their special skills in life.¡±


    Hyun-Min turned toward Kang Ho-Soo with puppy eyes at his friend''s response.


    Hyun-Min was simply working on his course assignment, but since Woo-Jin was still being filmed for a show, Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young were accompanying them.


    ¡°Ho-Soo hyung!¡±


    If they needed permission from the agency, it was best to ask them directly rather than beating around the bush.


    So first, they needed to latch onto Kang Ho-Soo and beg him, as he had been watching them from the beginning and knew of their current circumstances better than anyone else.


    At Hyun-Min¡¯s call, Kang Ho-Soo grunted in his mind and turned to Woo-Jin.


    Currently, Woo-Jin¡¯s emotions were divided into two categories. One half was full of greed to make more money to get higher grades. The other half thought it¡¯d be easier to take pictures than wearing a costume for hours.


    Woo-Jin quietly avoided Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s gaze, brought up the cup he had been holding onto tightly, and awkwardly drank all the cold water inside.


    Hyun-Min proactively showed his blog to Kang Ho-Soo to brag about his skills as a photographer. Considering he was an amateur, Hyun-Min¡¯s blog was quite famous and popular among photography enthusiasts. The photobook he had published in the club was also very well received.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t publish it for commercial use but think of it as a combination of course work and an event, it¡¯s a simple matter. It¡¯s also great content to air on the show,¡± Hyun-Min pointed out.


    Woo-Jin always struggled to find a good theme and ideas for upcoming shoots of Depicting Life, so Hyun-Min¡¯s idea was also a great opportunity for the actor. If they filmed and aired the processes of creating and selling the photobooks, it would end up as entertaining content for the show.


    Since they¡¯d only make a small number of photobooks for an assignment instead of selling them in large quantities as a real business, it could become a rare, special, and fun event for Woo-Jin¡¯s fans as well.


    Moreover, since all the process and backstory would be broadcast on TV, later on, they didn¡¯t have to explain the reasons and origins of the event.


    Kang Ho-Soo sighed softly as two grown-up men stared at him with sparkling eyes.


    Despite saying he was fine, Woo-Jin had still gotten in an accident two days ago, so Kang Ho-Soo wasn¡¯t comfortable with the actor wearing a thick costume for hours on end.


    Kang Ho-Soo finally took out his phone and left the coffee shop¡¯s break room. He first needed to report the situation to CEO Jang and ask his opinion.?


    ?


    1. It''s the same idiom from chapter 160, meaning, "the bear does all the work and the master/king taking all the profit/credit for it." But since the classmates wouldn''t really be taking ALL the profit/credit if they worked with Woo-Jin (in fact, most people would realize that Woo-Jin had done the work and praise him instead), I rephrased it so that it''s more like they''re jumping on the bandwagon to get good scores using Woo-Jin''s fame. Hence the "leeches." ??


    ?


    2. Kim Seon-Dal (?? ???, Bongyi Kim Seon-Dal) is a swindler from the late Joseon Dynasty who famously sold off the Taedong River. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 162

    About 10 minutes later, Kang Ho-Soo returned to the break room and nodded to Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min, giving them the green light to make photobooks.?


    ?


    ¡°However, Woo-Jin cannot show himself at the stall when you¡¯re selling the photobooks, and you need to make them without our help. The CEO said that we won¡¯t do a quality check of the samples since these are products made by students for a university assignment, but he has high expectations for the photobooks. Also, he wants to be your very first customer.¡±


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had unexpectedly given them permission pretty easily without deep consideration. He was quite interested in how Woo-Jin¡¯s friend would make the photobook as compared to an actual professional. This was an extremely rare yet entertaining occurrence.


    He was also curious to know the differences between how an artist viewed their subject and how a friend viewed Woo-Jin. If this process and backstory were aired on TV later on, the reactions of those who had bought these photobooks would definitely be interesting to say the least.


    Naturally, these photobooks would likely end up as scarce and premium products on the market afterwards, but that wasn''t something for the agency to concern themselves with.


    There were many cases where fans personally took photos of their idols to make amateur photobooks. Just like how the agencies couldn¡¯t regulate every product on the market or restrict the fans¡¯ activities, the fans¡¯ desire to consume more of their favorite idol''s content couldn¡¯t be quenched.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get started!¡± Hyun-Min exclaimed.


    ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°You do realize that the others are ten days ahead of us because somebody wanted to wait until their exam was over, don¡¯t you?¡±


    They had been given three weeks to complete the assignment, but because of Woo-Jin¡¯s interview, ten days had passed for the duo with nothing under their belt.


    Thus, they had less than two weeks to finish the task. Taking the photos would take up a big part of the work, but editing and compiling the pictures was also essential and time-consuming.


    The enthusiastic Hyun-Min packed his belongings and stood up. Woo-Jin followed suit but told his friend in a daze.


    ¡°I should at least take a bath beforehand.¡±


    The sweat covering his body had dried up throughout their conversation, so Woo-Jin felt unpleasantly sticky and didn¡¯t feel like doing anything unless he washed himself.


    Hyun-Min¡¯s eyes suddenly beamed as if he received enlightenment from Woo-Jin¡¯s words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to take photos of me bathing?!¡± Woo-Jin shouted as soon as he noticed his friend¡¯s gaze.


    They knew each other so well that they could guess each other¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°No way~ No matter how blinded I am by money and high grades, I¡¯m still a human being with some dignity.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have any dignity whatsoever,¡± Woo-Jin jabbed back at Hyun-Min.


    Woo-Jin stared at his friend with suspicion and retreated a couple of steps to put some distance between them.


    ¡°I just came up with the theme of the photobook. How about capturing you in your natural state?¡±


    ¡°Natural¡­¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin shivered as his rebukes only seemed to further fuel Hyun-Min¡¯s imagination. He wondered whether he had accidentally walked into a minefield while trying to take the easy way out.


    ¡°I was thinking of a jjimjilbang[1]! A scene of Chae Woo-Jin with a towel wrapped around his head like Princess Leia buns, eating a boiled egg with a cup of sikhye[2] in his hand. That would be a great idea for a picture! What, did you think I¡¯d say something weird? I¡¯m a pure and innocent soul.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, but I can¡¯t go to jjimjilbangs anymore. I¡¯d cause a commotion just by being there.¡±


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t really like jjimjilbangs to begin with. He didn¡¯t have the time nor leeway to relax in those places, and he was someone who was sensitive to the heat, thus he didn¡¯t like being in hot and humid places.


    Still, Woo-Jin would go with his friends. But nowadays, jjimjilbangs were one of the places he couldn¡¯t visit anymore due to his fame.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid of being recognized, he was afraid of all the dreadful photos that could be taken while he was in a public bath.


    ¡°But the towel buns, eggs and sikhye¡­ They¡¯re such great ideas¡­¡±


    Hyun-Min muttered to himself as he didn¡¯t want his idea to go to waste. Then, he wore a strange smile and snapped his finger.


    ¡°All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.¡±


    Hyun-Min told the clueless Woo-Jin a quote from an American photographer and told the latter to go wash up at home. Hyun-Min then left in a hurry, claiming he had to prepare his camera and a bunch of other things.


    Woo-Jin got increasingly anxious as he saw his friend¡¯s excitement. He knew all too well how students could change drastically when they were blinded by their school grades.


    Woo-Jin considered continuing to sell soap bars for a moment, but changed his mind as soon as he saw the large bear mask. His throat clogged up just from the thought of wearing that again.


    Woo-Jin got up from his seat while smacking the mask that was on the table. He¡¯d rather be blinded by his greed for good grades than suffer inside that sweltering and stuffy costume.


    ***


    Hyun-Min prepared a camera from a brand that sounded exactly like ¡®cannon¡¯, some clothes that looked similar to jjimjilbang clothes, some sikhye, and many other things.


    Woo-Jin sat down in front of an indoor heater with a towel wrapped like buns on his head and all kinds of snacks you¡¯d see in a jjimjilbang laid out in front of him.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just fabricating a fake scenario!¡± Woo-Jin exclaimed.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not the truth. The concept is the joys and sorrows of a young man who is unable to go to a jjimjilbang, so just drink your sikhye! As for your face¡­ Well, it looks all clean and soft since you just took a bath. That¡¯s good.¡±


    Hyun-Min grabbed Woo-Jin¡¯s chin and moved the latter¡¯s head around, inspecting his face. Woo-Jin¡¯s clean skin was perfect to represent the effects of a jjimjilbang, so there was no need to put on any make-up.


    In fact, they didn¡¯t even have a choice since they couldn¡¯t ask Hwang Yi-Young to apply make-up for Woo-Jin because of CEO Jang¡¯s instructions. As Woo-Jin sat in front of the heater with his towel buns and the snacks, they somehow managed to recreate the atmosphere of a jjimjilbang.


    Woo-Jin peeled the boiled egg and ate while sipping on his sikhye. The fatigue from the day gradually took over and his eyes slowly lost their light.?


    ?


    ¡°Perfect! Now get changed,¡± Hyun-Min said.


    ¡°Hm? What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re done with the jjimjilbang concept. Changed into different clothes now. Let¡¯s take more photos.¡±


    As they pressed on due to the lack of time, Woo-Jin got changed in a daze and was led to the kitchen this time.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve shown people how I cook already¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin had been filmed while cooking in Life Depicted a few times and two of those instances had already been aired on TV. He argued that people wouldn¡¯t be interested in this concept anymore since they were now familiar with it.


    ¡°This is a photoshoot, not a documentary. Use your skills to turn any point in time into a work of art that transcends reality.¡±


    ¡°All I understood from that is ¡®I have no more ideas or concepts so let¡¯s just take random pictures¡¯, you know?¡± Woo-Jin retaliated.


    Hyun-Min didn¡¯t reply to his friend¡¯s comment and simply raised his camera, urging Woo-Jin to cook something. The latter opened the refrigerator and took out some ingredients to make a salad. He put lettuce and boiled broccoli into a bowl and grilled some bacon.


    No matter how good a salad was, it wouldn''t be appetizing if it didn''t contain meat.


    Woo-Jin removed the oil from the grilled bacon with a kitchen towel. Then, to make the sauce, he finely chopped onions and pickled cucumber before mixing it with mayonnaise, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper.


    Woo-Jin poured the sauce over the vegetables and bacon, mixed everything together, and grabbed a fork to taste it. But before he could take a bite, Hyun-Min shouted that they were done and urged Woo-Jin to move to the next scene.


    Woo-Jin had to go back to his room and change again as Hyun-Min kept rushing him because there was no time. Although they were filming at home, Woo-Jin had to keep changing and tweaking his hair as the concepts were different from one another.


    Woo-Jin gave up on putting on make-up altogether and only restyled his hair. This time, he came out wearing a navy blue checkered shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans.


    Then, Woo-Jin saw Hyun-Min sitting on the sofa, rubbing his stomach peacefully with a cup of sikhye in hand and an empty salad bowl beside him.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze sharpened as he glared at his friend. When Hyun-Min noticed Woo-Jin, he jumped up and pointed the camera at the actor before the latter could do anything.


    ¡°Why does it almost seem like you¡¯re using that to threaten me?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call this a weapon since its nickname is Cannon.¡±


    Celebrities couldn¡¯t survive without cameras, but those same cameras were also their worst enemies.


    It was the same case for Woo-Jin. When a camera lens was pointed at him, he had to strike a pose and behave extremely carefully.


    ¡°Hmm, wanna take a picture with Woo-Sa this time?¡± Hyun-Min asked.?


    ?


    ¡°No, it¡¯s too exhausting for Woo-Sa.¡±


    As they gradually ran out of ideas and materials in the limited space, Hyun-Min casually mentioned Woo-Sa. He thought that a picture with Woo-Jin¡¯s pet cat would be perfect, but Woo-Jin immediately shook his head.


    In the current situation where Chae Woo-Ra was being shunned and insulted by the masses because of Woo-Sa, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t just take a picture and release it to the public. It would look like Woo-Jin was taunting her by showing that he was getting along with the cat that she had abandoned, which didn¡¯t sit well with Woo-Jin.


    Even if he didn¡¯t consider Chae Woo-Ra his sister, even if she was simply a stranger to him, Woo-Jin felt like it would be unwarranted ridicule and foul-play. Above all, he was worried that Woo-Sa would be stressed in a place with a lot of strangers, since the production crew of Life Depicted was with them.


    Hyun-Min sensed the hidden meaning in Woo-Jin¡¯s words and didn¡¯t argue back. He simply continued to think of another concept. Soon enough, he pointed at the piano in the living room.


    ¡°This time, play the piano while looking like you overslept and are still a bit dazed during the late morning. Sounds good?¡±


    ¡°The morning? The sky¡¯s already dark outside, though.¡±


    Woo-Jin was starting to get a bit annoyed. He had been running around the house and constantly changing his clothes all evening.


    Since the photobook¡¯s theme was to show Woo-Jin in his natural state, there was no need for Woo-Jin to put on an act. So while there was no mental fatigue, Woo-Jin was still physically exhausted from all the activities he had done today from noon until now.


    In fact, the day had felt so long that he thought it would be more worthwhile and enjoyable to act throughout the night.


    Seeing Woo-Jin displaying his annoyance and tousling his hair, Hyun-Min shouted ¡®Good~!¡¯ and pressed the shutter continuously as he nodded. Through his messy bangs, Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes reflected bafflement and disbelief. He could only smirk and chuckle at his friend who kept taking pictures in this situation.


    Woo-Jin reluctantly sat in front of the piano and looked outside the living room window. It was impossible to create a calm morning atmosphere in a situation where the night sky filled the horizon.


    This is fated, but this too shall pass.


    ¡°I will play a popular piece. And the piece that best expresses my current feelings is¡­¡±


    Beethoven''s 5th Symphony. Woo-Jin began playing a famous symphony better known as Fate.


    The production crew was momentarily stunned at the grand and powerful opening. The dynamic playing quickly turned more and more impatient, making the listener uneasy.


    Woo-Jin was playing the piano too violently, spreading a feeling of unease as if the listeners couldn¡¯t predict what lay ahead. The melody created by his possessed fingers that danced without end struck the hearts of the listeners, not their fate.


    Hyun-Min lamented the fact that his photos could not capture the sound of Woo-Jin¡¯s playing, but he still took as many pictures as he could. He was initially looking for a calm, late-morning atmosphere, but this wasn¡¯t that bad either.


    The evening outside the window blended with the melodic music to cast a lonely and melancholic veil on the living room.


    And thus, their first photoshoot ended. They had gotten all the pictures they could take inside the house, so Hyun-Min and Woo-Jin scheduled an outdoor photoshoot for the next day.


    ¡°Firstly, we¡¯ll have the photoshoot tomorrow morning and move on to selling soaps at noon, and¡­¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Wait, we¡¯re selling more soap?¡± Woo-Jin interjected.


    His expression distorted as if he had heard something appalling.


    ¡°We need to. We still have a bunch of unsold soaps. Or should we throw them away instead?¡± Hyun-Min asked sarcastically.


    In fact, there were still some soap bars left that they had ordered and received. They had planned on selling all the bars this weekend in two batches, and if it went well, they¡¯d order more and sell them the following weekend.


    ¡°Then do I have to wear the bear costume again?¡±


    ¡°If you hate it that much, I¡¯ll sell them alone tomorrow.¡±


    At Hyun-Min¡¯s words, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t bring himself to say no. They were partners on the assignment, so it would be unfair of Woo-Jin to not help with the sales just because it was tiresome.


    As long as Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to show his face, the only way he could promote the soaps was by wearing a costume.


    ¡°Then why are we making a photobook in the first place?¡±


    Woo-Jin had agreed to make the photobook to avoid wearing the bear costume, but it felt like he was trapped in a neverending vicious cycle.


    ¡°Because we don¡¯t need to sell soap if we make a photobook?¡± Hyun-Min answered, confused by his friend¡¯s question.


    They couldn¡¯t do anything about the soap bars that were already made, but if they produced photobooks, they wouldn¡¯t have to order and sell new soap bars the following week.


    ¡°Then how are we going to sell the photobooks?¡±


    ¡°Just like how we sold the soaps, obviously¡­¡±


    Hyun-Min¡¯s voice got quieter by the end of his sentence as realization struck him and he sneaked a glance at Woo-Jin. CEO Jang had forbidden Woo-Jin from showing himself when selling the photobooks.


    In other words, Hyun-Min has to either sell the photobooks alone or Woo-Jin will have to wear a costume and solicit passers-by just like this afternoon.


    Hyun-Min silently got up and packed his camera and belongings. Then, he quickly left the house, leaving behind Woo-Jin¡ªwho had yet to realize the severity of the situation¡ªin the care of the production crew for Life Depicted.


    Soon enough, Woo-Jin gradually realized what was happening. But before he could go into a frenzy, Hwang Yi-Young silently took out the bear costume which had been properly folded and packed away in their luggage and handed it over to Woo-Jin.


    It seemed like Woo-Jin had spoken too soon when he told her to take it away as he no longer needed it.?


    ?


    1. A jjimjilbang (???) is a large Korean bathhouse usually with hot and cold baths & dry saunas. They usually also have one main large hall where people can sleep and a small shop on the side to buy food and drinks. When you enter, you need to change into the jjimjilbang clothes, which are typically a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. ??


    ?


    2. Sikhye (??) is a traditional sweet Korean rice drink with grains of cooked rice inside. Imagine a bubble tea but with a sweet rice punch and grains of rice instead of tapioca balls. ?

 CH 163

    Lee Hyung-Jin''s songs had a lonely autumn scent to them.?


    ?


    People expected the sadness in his voice to have decreased, but the atmosphere he exuded was the same as before. He was still drenched in sorrow and was struggling like a bird on a lake, unable to fly because of an oil spill.


    When he sang, people could understand the meaning behind the lyrics and naturally mirrored the emotions the singer expressed in rhythm. Lee Hyung-Jin had written and composed the songs himself, so his sentiments were infused into every aspect of the music, which in consequence, shook the listeners¡¯ hearts profoundly.


    And now, nobody jeered or threw trash at him anymore. People also stopped whispering to each other and gossiping while Lee Hyung-Jin performed. Instead, everyone quietly listened to the melody he cried.


    Lee Hyung-Jin hadn¡¯t changed at all; the people who attended his gigs had a change of heart. Each of his little actions resounded in their souls. Some people even tried to help Lee Hyung-Jin pack up when his gig ended.


    However, Lee Hyung-Jin refused their help with a smile. It was an uncomfortable smile drawn with confusion and awkwardness.


    Woo-Jin was standing at the very back of the crowded audience for the sake of the performer, and only now did he start advancing towards Lee Hyung-Jin.


    That was when people noticed him and realized that Chae Woo-Jin had come to the gig today. Many hadn¡¯t thought of keeping an eye on their surroundings since the actor hadn¡¯t visited in a long while. But that only showed how captivated they were by Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s singing with no leeway to pay attention to the people around them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Since he had helped out before, Woo-Jin started packing up the sound equipment without hesitation.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin glanced at Woo-Jin and didn¡¯t refuse his help. Instead, he actively greeted him in a friendly manner. His smile was much more relaxed, unlike his previous awkward expression around others.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been very busy recently. By the way, I came here with a camera filming me, but is that okay with you?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Lee Hyung-Jin flinched at the word ¡®camera.¡¯ Even though he was always confident in himself and enjoyed standing before cameras more than anyone else, he now couldn¡¯t hide how his fingers trembled in the presence of one.


    Seeing Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s trembling eyes and how he was unable to respond, Woo-Jin casually told him.


    ¡°They¡¯re here to film me and not you, hyung.¡±


    ¡°I know. I watched the show,¡± Lee Hyung-Jin answered.


    It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t watch any TV at all. However, he rarely watched the news or entertainment-related broadcasts. As he was so disconnected from the world and didn¡¯t have access to public information, Lee Hyung-Jin was unaware of how the public¡¯s opinion of him had changed for a long while.


    But one day, far more people than usual suddenly attended his gig, and reporters came looking for him. Lee Hyung-Jin was wary of them and had his guard up, wondering how they were planning on ruining his life this time. But the words that left their mouths shocked him.


    So for the first time in forever, he watched the news and looked for articles online and finally learned what had happened in the outside world that he had been neglecting.


    The suspicions that began with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s actions, the allegations of a corrupt prosecutor, and the stories of TM¡¯s CEO Kim Seok-Hyung with the reporters who were working with him.


    Lee Hyung-Jin had known the source of the lies surrounding him, but only now did he realize that he knew only half of the true story all this time.?


    ?


    CEO Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s story was something he couldn¡¯t have imagined even in his wildest dreams. Thus, it was that much more shocking and terrified Lee Hyung-Jin even further.


    But it was true that he now had more courage to face the world he had been neglecting so far. Despite his struggles and fears, Lee Hyung-Jin hadn¡¯t completely despaired yet.


    As he gradually became more interested in the entertainment world, he started watching Life Depicted, which starred Woo-Jin.


    No matter how the broadcasting company portrayed the show, it was still a show about successful people. They must¡¯ve had their fair share of hardships and struggles, but the lives of successful actors were the target of envy of the general public and those who dreamed of going down the same path.


    In fact, Lee Hyung-Jin also got extremely jealous of the cast members. However, he could only hold his breath and stare in awe as he watched those actors¡¯ daily lives.


    It would be a lie to say that he didn¡¯t project himself onto the actors on the small screen, who were constantly and fiercely chasing their dreams with enthusiasm, living life dynamically.


    It was nothing to be ashamed of or to reflect on. Lee Hyung-Jin was simply envious of their lives and wanted the same for himself.


    He had the same 24 hours in a day just like them. However, he didn¡¯t treat those 24 hours as preciously as them since it would simply repeat itself every day, forever.


    Success wasn¡¯t why these people shone so brightly every second, every minute, every hour of their lives. He could tell by watching the show. Woo-Jin and the cast members weren¡¯t headed towards success but were walking down the path to happiness.


    They knew what they wanted and how to become happy. Their earnestness and fierceness as they faced the world made the viewers¡¯ hearts pound.


    That was what Lee Hyung-Jin was most jealous about. He felt nervous as the backs of the people running towards their happiness seemed so out of reach and only seemed to get further and further away from him.


    ¡°But who¡¯s that person acting all silly and taking pictures of¡­ Oh, I see.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin discovered Hyun-Min in the distance, making all kinds of poses and standing in weird positions to take photos of Woo-Jin. The singer then nodded as he recognized the face of Woo-Jin¡¯s friend from the show.


    ¡°He¡¯s your friend.¡±


    Friends¡­ Lee Hyung-Jin had no one left to call that. Well, to be more precise, he had started receiving messages and calls from those he had considered his friends long ago, but Lee Hyung-Jin was ignoring them all.


    ¡°A lot¡¯s been going on in my life today,¡± Woo-Jin said with a sigh.


    Woo-Jin was dragged outside by Hyun-Min early in the morning to take photos. Then, he had to wear a bear mask and sell soap bars in the afternoon. When he finally had some room to breathe and wondered where they should go, this was where they ended up coming.


    Hyun-Min was the first one to bring up the topic.?


    ?


    ¡®You haven¡¯t been going to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s gigs recently, right?¡¯


    ¡®More like I couldn¡¯t go.¡¯?


    ?


    As he had mentioned in the past, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to overshadow Lee Hyung-Jin when the latter was trying to make his way back into the entertainment world. He wanted Lee Hyung-Jin to shine on his own as a singer with his own identity.?


    ?


    ¡®I get you, but if I were Lee Hyung-Jin, I¡¯d be feeling really lonely these days,¡¯ Hyun-Min said.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin raised his eyebrows with a puzzled look. Now that the truth was revealed, Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s fans were slowly returning, and the people in Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s life who had misunderstood him were now reaching out to him again. Although it could be tiresome, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be lonely.?


    ?


    ¡®You know what they say. It¡¯s easy to cry with someone during sad times, but a true friend will laugh by your side when you¡¯re happy. However, from a different perspective, many friends will stand by your side when you¡¯re successful, but when you fail and hit rock bottom, how many people will stay with you until the end?¡¯?


    ?


    Feeling sad or happy for someone else was simply an emotional exchange.


    Thus, it didn¡¯t harm or benefit the friends who were reacting to someone¡¯s emotional state, though it might drain them emotionally or mentally. So there was no reason for one¡¯s friends to change just because of their emotional state. All it did was bring each other closer or push each other apart through emotional connection and communication.


    However, when it came to successes or failures in life, friends often approached the successful person and disappeared from the lives of a ¡®failure.¡¯ Being next to someone who had hit rock bottom was much harder to do than sincerely congratulating someone for their happiness.?


    ?


    ¡®Personally, I wouldn¡¯t be happy even if someone who had abandoned me returned now. I¡¯d just be afraid and find it pointless,¡¯ Hyun-Min said.


    ¡®Sure, that makes sense. So why would I be any different for Hyung-Jin hyung?¡¯


    ¡®Of course, you¡¯re different. You¡¯re his fan. A true fan who set an example and gave him strength during his darkest days. Nothing is more empowering and encouraging to a celebrity than a fan who doesn¡¯t forget and comes to visit him. Shouldn¡¯t you know this better than anyone else?¡¯?


    ?


    Woo-Jin could only nod at Hyun-Min¡¯s question. Fans were existences that gave him strength in a different manner from family and friends.


    Fans were people who could constantly love him and trust him, but they could also turn their backs on him at any time. So he was grateful towards them and cared about them, but was also afraid.?


    ?


    ¡®Do you think he¡¯ll be okay with me?¡¯?


    ?


    ¡®Why wouldn¡¯t he be? You never left him in the first place.¡¯ Hyung-Min answered.?


    ?


    There was no reason for Lee Hyung-Jin to feel betrayed by Woo-Jin or feel empty about the latter¡¯s advances. In fact, it was more likely that he¡¯d feel closer and more comfortable with Woo-Jin than any other friend who suddenly contacted him again just because his circumstances had changed.?


    ?


    ¡®Do you know how many reporters and broadcasters are trying to interview and cover Lee Hyung-Jin these days? Apparently, he refused them all. He has suffered so much from them that he¡¯s more afraid than happy to be the center of attention again. But at some point, Lee Hyung-Jin will have to show his face to the media once more. Only then will it truly be a new beginning for him.¡¯?


    ?


    Thus, Hyun-Min advised Woo-Jin to bring along the Life Depicted crew and have Lee Hyung-Jin get used to them and gradually appear on TV again.?


    ?


    ¡®I totally agree with Mr. Hyun-Min¡¯s opinion.¡¯?


    ?


    The director of the show¡ªwho had been quietly listening to them¡ªraised a hand and supported Hyun-Min¡¯s argument.


    When Woo-Jin gave a sidelong scowl, the director felt awkward but still shamelessly stated that they could edit Lee Hyung-Jin out of the show if the latter wished for it.


    The director also defended that it wouldn¡¯t be a bad plan for Lee Hyung-Jin to slowly get used to being on TV as a cameo appearance rather than as the main character.


    That was how Woo-Jin ended up boldly visiting Lee Hyung-Jin with a bunch of staff and crew members hanging out behind him.


    ¡°Buy me dinner. I¡¯m feeling hungry.¡±


    After they finished putting away the equipment, Lee Hyung-Jin spoke to Woo-Jin after glancing at the cameras around them. He was a bit afraid of being filmed for the first time in a while, but fortunately, Hyung-Jin quite liked the Life Depicted show.


    The show was edited simply and plainly without any manipulations that could cause misunderstandings. Thus, he could accept their presence with no skepticism. He also didn¡¯t mind Woo-Jin¡¯s friend taking pictures on the side while striking various poses, trying to look cool.


    Most of all, Lee Hyung-Jin missed talking to people and desperately wanted to chat with someone.


    ***


    ¡°You should¡¯ve chosen something more expensive to eat if you were going to ask him to pay. Are you really fine with ox bone soup[1]?¡± Hyun-Min asked.


    Lee Hyung-Jin had chosen to have ox bone soup for dinner. Hyun-Min grumbled and complained that Woo-Jin¡¯s wallet would¡¯ve been fine with buying much more expensive meals instead.?


    ?


    Hyun-Min quieted down only after Woo-Jin ordered extra beef slices after flipping through the menu.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting colder these days, so I wanted to eat some warm soup.¡±


    The weather in early November was still warm, and the wind blew gently. But for some reason, Lee Hyung-Jin felt cold, and his body shivered in the piercing winds.


    The moment he took a sip of the warm broth, the gentle heat that spread throughout his body could not have felt any better.


    ¡°It¡¯s only going to get colder from now on. Will you keep doing outdoor performances?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I do want to play on a small stage indoors, but¡­.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin had started his outdoor gigs because he wanted to make someone listen to his songs.


    With the rate he was going, he thought he would die alone in his small room, drunk on alcohol. So his first thought was to get outside and communicate with people. But every step he took outside was so painful and straining to the extent that he started sympathizing with the Little Mermaid.


    Even if the misunderstandings and accusations that caged him were now destroyed, Lee Hyung-Jin was still terrified and anxious. Although he wanted to take on new challenges, the pressure was holding him back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even have the money to rent an indoor hall, and even if I did manage to find one, I wonder who¡¯d actually buy the tickets. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been hesitating.¡±


    These days, Lee Hyung-Jin was having a hard time paying his rent in the first place. He had been active and popular as a celebrity for barely a few months back in the day.


    He was somehow able to get by with the money he had made back then, but nowadays, his bank account was hitting rock bottom, and he was about to go in the red.


    He was too ashamed to ask his parents for money, so Lee Hyung-Jin was troubled about how he should make money from here on out.


    Therefore, he didn¡¯t even dare attempt to rent a music hall. Not only was the money a problem, but he also had low self-confidence and worried too much about how he¡¯d sell tickets.


    Moreover, he could somehow bring and organize the sound equipment by himself for street performances, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for paid concerts. With no staff members or practice sessions, he couldn¡¯t even think of renting a place.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d need to worry about the ticket sales. It was my first time listening to hyungnim¡¯s performance today, and I immediately became your fan.¡±


    The cheeky Hyun-Min boldly called Lee Hyung-Jin ¡®hyungnim.¡¯


    ¡°When Woo-Jin said he was your fan, I didn¡¯t really care much about it back then. To be honest, even though we¡¯re very good friends, we have very different tastes in music. But now I see what he meant.¡±


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t particularly offended by Hyun-Min¡¯s confession as he already knew about it. But somehow, both Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min were completely engrossed in Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s voice and songs. It seemed that they did share the same music tastes sometimes.


    Since there was no reason for him to complain and bicker, Woo-Jin simply nodded at Hyun-Min¡¯s words.?


    ?


    1. Ox bone soup (???-Seolleongtang) is a Korean soup that uses a broth made from ox bones with some slices of beef and spring onions, and garlic generally. ?

 CH 164

    ¡°Just call me hyung. We don¡¯t even have much of an age difference, so it¡¯s weird to hear you say hyungnim,¡± Lee Hyung-Jin said with a serious look.?


    ?


    ¡°Should I?¡±


    Hyun-Min quickly nodded and accepted Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°You would need staff members to perform in a concert hall, so it must be difficult for you to step up,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    Preparing a concert wasn¡¯t as simple as just renting a place. Woo-Jin quickly grasped the hardships Lee Hyung-Jin didn¡¯t vocalize as he was also part of the industry and knew the nitty-gritty of organizing concerts.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you start looking into agencies? You must be receiving offers from various companies these days,¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°There are a few places that have reached out.¡±


    Many agencies were contacting Lee Hyung-Jin recently, including the company that had terminated his contract the previous year. However, Hyung-Jin couldn¡¯t trust any of them as he had experienced betrayal twice at the hands of the agencies he trusted.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be more careful with my choice this time,¡± Hyung-Jin said.


    He didn¡¯t plan on choosing a random agency in a hurry because he had difficult times right now. Hyung-Jin¡¯s previous agency that seemed trustworthy had immediately abandoned him as soon as the bad rumors about him started spreading.


    Lee Hyung-Jin knew they couldn¡¯t protect him as they had no power. But that didn¡¯t mean that he was used to being thrown aside and was okay with it. However, that same agency contacted him a few days ago, saying they wanted to work with him once again. But throughout their conversation, Hyung-Jin only felt disgusted.


    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you recommend Hyung-Jin hyung to your boss or something? You¡¯re always bragging about how good your agency is every day. Why don¡¯t you recommend him like Jae-Hee noona did for you?¡± Hyun-Min asked Woo-Jin.


    He pushed his friend to recommend Lee Hyung-Jin to CEO Jang like Song Jae-Hee had done when Woo-Jin was a rookie actor.


    ¡°Our agency should¡¯ve already reached out to Hyung-Jin hyung.¡±


    Woo-Jin responded as if it were the most natural thing. He knew how interested CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was in Lee Hyung-Jin; thus, he had no doubts DS would¡¯ve called Lee Hyung-Jin.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get contacted, though.¡± Hyung-Jin shook his head in denial as he took another spoonful of ox bone soup.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t? There¡¯s no way. Our CEO is a huge fan of yours, hyung. He even cried when he saw a video of you singing in the streets,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    This time around, Hyung-Jin was the one to be surprised by Woo-Jin¡¯s statement. It was already unexpected to hear that CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was his fan, so Hyung-Jin couldn¡¯t have ever imagined that the CEO would cry for him.


    As a matter of fact, Woo-Jin was just as surprised right now. He obviously thought that DS would have reached out to Lee Hyung-Jin. When he learned that it wasn¡¯t the case, Woo-Jin turned to Kang Ho-Soo, who was eating dinner at the table next to theirs.


    He sent a questioning glance asking whether CEO Jang had truly not contacted Hyung-Jin. Kang Ho-Soo silently shrugged, insinuating that he didn¡¯t know CEO Jang¡¯s intentions or decisions.?


    ?


    ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t believe that CEO Jang would just sit still and do nothing while other agencies tried bringing in Lee Hyung-Jin. In fact, the CEO had cooperated with Woo-Jin¡¯s plans since he wanted Lee Hyung-Jin to join DS.


    ¡°He might¡¯ve had similar thoughts as you,¡± Hyun-Min said as he lifted another spoonful of the broth.


    His tone sounded like he had achieved spiritual enlightenment and knew everything about the world.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan and Woo-Jin had the same intentions when helping Lee Hyung-Jin, but that didn¡¯t mean they had shared every little detail about their plans. Since everything related to the company was being dealt with by CEO Jang, Woo-Jin had no idea how things were proceeding within the agency.


    However, Woo-Jin knew that CEO Jang would not remain a mere onlooker when it came to Lee Hyung-Jin unless there was a good, profound reason.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even come to see Hyung-Jin hyung for a while out of consideration for him. You didn¡¯t want the truth about Hyung-Jin hyung to be buried or distorted because of your presence. Wouldn¡¯t it be a similar reason for the CEO? If he truly cared about Hyung-Jin hyung, he¡¯d let Hyung-Jin hyung join the agency he really wanted to join and not bother him by inviting him into DS. He wants hyung to join an agency he can truly be comfortable with and rest inside after all the hardships he went through,¡± Hyun-Min explained.


    He then wondered whether CEO Jang planned on reaching out when Lee Hyung-Jin had nowhere else to go and tried to analyze CEO Jang¡¯s intentions.


    If the CEO was as open-minded and good-natured as he had been told by Woo-Jin, Hyun-Min assumed this would be CEO Jang¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°You might be right¡­.¡±


    CEO Jang complained most about wanting to bring Lee Hyung-Jin into the agency, so it was strange that he hadn¡¯t done anything so far.


    But once Woo-Jin listened to Hyun-Min¡¯s explanation, he could somewhat understand the CEO¡¯s intentions. If you truly cared about someone, you wouldn¡¯t have the foolish thoughts that you were omnipotent and were the only one who could save them from their peril.


    Right now, CEO Jang simply wanted Lee Hyung-Jin to be at peace, and that was his priority.


    As Woo-Jin agreed with Hyun-Min¡¯s assumptions and showed a positive opinion of the CEO, Lee Hyung-Jin subconsciously leaned forward with a curious gaze.


    Everyone knew that DS was a good agency. However, Lee Hyung-Jin thought it was out of his reach and hadn¡¯t even considered applying there.


    The fact that CEO Jang saw him in a good light was surprising, but never even in his wildest dreams could Hyung-Jin imagine that the CEO of DS greatly cared about him, according to Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Is the CEO of your agency trustworthy?¡±


    Hyung-Jin didn¡¯t think Woo-Jin would say bad things about his agency¡¯s CEO while on camera, but he couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity and asked the question.


    ¡°He can be a little inflexible at times, but he¡¯s a good person. He doesn¡¯t play around with human lives at the very least,¡± Woo-Jin replied.?


    ?


    ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that he can be quite difficult to deal with¡­.¡±


    In fact, the CEOs of TM and Hyung-Jin¡¯s old agency didn¡¯t say many good things about Jang Soo-Hwan of DS.


    They said that he was born rich and didn¡¯t adhere to the rules of this industry.?


    ?


    ¡®Those people believe they¡¯re living in palaces way up high in the sky.¡¯?


    ?


    Hyung-Jin¡¯s former agency¡¯s CEO saw Jang Soo-Hwan and the celebrities at DS as elitist people. Hyung-Jin had rephrased that as ¡®being difficult to deal with.¡¯


    ¡°He can be difficult to deal with indeed. He¡¯s so worrisome and constantly tells you not to do this and that, that something¡¯s too dangerous, etc. He has the tendency to be overprotective while trying to maintain his dignity. But the best thing about him is that he¡¯s humane, so sometimes I  find him quite cute actually¡­. Oh, please edit that last part out.¡±


    Woo-Jin turned to the production crew and made a cross with his arms. He then laughed and explained that CEO Jang may be upset to be called cute as he¡¯s always trying to appear stern.


    But unsurprisingly, Woo-Jin felt like this funny scene would still be aired despite his request.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have any other agency in mind, consider joining ours,¡± Woo-Jin suggested.


    ¡°I can only join there if you invite me first.¡±


    ¡°It seems our CEO lacks courage right now, so try reaching out to him first, hyung. Our CEO may not be the pretty girl you want, but I assure you, he''ll welcome you with open arms.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin laughed out loud from the bottom of his heart for the first time in a while at Woo-Jin¡¯s joke.


    He began to ponder whether he really should take the first step instead of waiting for the other side to act first, just like how he had to muster up a lot of courage when he first left his tiny apartment.


    ¡°But I want to continue doing small performances in parks or in small stage halls for the time being,¡± Hyung-Jin said.


    He didn¡¯t even dare think about performing in a large concert yet. He wanted to improve his skills by performing at a small scale for now.


    Above all, Hyung-Jin had to relearn how to approach people and interact with them due to his many scars. He was afraid that if he joined an agency right away, they¡¯d make him appear on various shows and chat with people without a say in the matter.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. You should know that our CEO doesn¡¯t like sending his artistes on TV shows,¡± Woo-Jin reassured Lee Hyung-Jin.


    ¡°Oh right, that¡¯s true.¡±?


    ?


    The biggest reason other agencies hated DS was that they appeared snobbish and desperate when compared to DS since they cared so much about appearing on TV.


    ¡°Please invite me as a guest to one of your gigs in the future, hyung.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that sounds good,¡± Hyung-Jin agreed to Woo-Jin¡¯s request.


    Hyung-Jin felt like he hadn¡¯t smiled while hopeful for the future in a long time.


    In a period where time only seemed to repeat on loop for him, and the future always looked sad and bleak, he had never thought a day like this would finally arrive.


    Hyung-Jin grabbed his soju cup and swallowed its contents.


    ¡°You sure drink lemon soda like soju,¡± Woo-Jin commented.


    Lee Hyung-Jin refilled his cup of soju with more soda.


    ¡°I decided to quit drinking. I realized that if I kept drinking at home and it became a habit, I¡¯d really become an alcoholic.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin now drank water or lemon soda in a cup for soju when he felt thirsty, just like how you¡¯d suck on candies when quitting smoking.


    ¡°A warm bowl of ox bone soup with beef slices and lemon soda. Nothing else can top this in the world!¡± Lee Hyung-Jin exclaimed.


    Moreover, he loved having a relaxed conversation with people he was comfortable around.


    Lee Hyung-Jin used to drink the bitter soju and get hammered just to forget how good having company felt. He missed this sort of connection and used to drink his sorrows away.


    ¡°But right now, I¡¯m worried about the upcoming winter. I hope the weather will be warmer this year. It was so cold last winter.¡±


    Contrary to Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s words, last year¡¯s winter was exceptionally warm. So warm that the forecast said it was extremely unusual weather conditions day after day. People were worried about a snow drought since it never snowed, but that winter was unbearably cold to a certain someone.


    ¡°Winter needs to be cold. Only then will the spring that follows feel exceptionally warm,¡± Woo-Jin pointed out.


    After a strangely warm winter, the following spring always felt cold, regardless of the actual temperature.


    The chilling breeze of the flowering season felt sharp and piercing on the skin like a cold winter gale. A warm winter essentially robbed people of a proper spring.


    But Hyun-Min suddenly argued back.


    ¡°No, spring is still spring no matter how cold it is, just like how winter is still winter regardless of the temperature. The reason people wish for a cold winter is to see the snow. I wonder when the first snow[1] will fall this year.¡±?


    ?


    As the only person at this table with a romantic partner, Hyun-Min was already looking forward to the first snow.


    Woo-Jin frowned as he knew how Hyun-Min had made a promise with his girlfriend to meet at a specific location on the day it started to snow, no matter where they were or what they were doing.


    He told Lee Hyung-Jin the story and added how annoyed he was by Hyun-Min for constantly babbling this and that about the first snow.


    ¡°He¡¯s always making a fuss about how he wants it to get cold for the first snow.¡±


    ¡°But this winter needs to be warm. I¡¯m already concerned about my heating bills¡­.¡±


    Hyun-Min looked up at the sky and suggested a compromise at Hyung-Jin''s realistic and financial concerns.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll wish that it¡¯ll get super cold on the day of the first snow and then warm for the rest of winter for your sake, hyung.¡±


    Hyun-Min wouldn¡¯t give up on the first snow until the very end. The serious atmosphere soon brightened as everyone laughed.


    ¡°The first snow is quite nice. Maybe I should write a song about that.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin took out a notebook and started jotting down lyrics as he had a sudden rush of inspiration. Woo-Jin quietly watched him write the lyrics until he began humming them to a melody.


    ¡°I¡¯m not waiting for winter. I¡¯m waiting for the first snow. I¡¯m not waiting for you. What I¡¯m longing for is a white warmth known as the first snow.¡±


    The soft and friendly voice infused the song with a warm winter smell. It was a very mellow and beautiful humming tune for something he had improvised at the moment.


    ¡°Oh~! I love it. You should compose the song,¡± Lee Hyung-Jin commented.


    The lyricist really liked the song Woo-Jin had come up with.


    Although the lyrics he had written could sound very lonely, the song Woo-Jin had created was bright and warm. Hyung-Jin liked how the warmth he was looking for was perfectly imbued in the song.


    The song was completed as the co-creators harmonized together, slowly complementing each other¡¯s shortcomings.


    The warm ox bone soup warmed the body, the cool lemon soda quenched the thirst, and the song they made together gave joy to the people¡¯s hearts.


    They couldn¡¯t prepare for winter any better than this. Today, they felt like they would be warmer and cozier this winter compared to the previous year.?


    ?


    1. There is a romantic superstition in Korea that if one witnesses the first snowfall with someone they like, eternal love will blossom between the two. ?

 CH 165

    On the day when the final results of the bar exam was announced, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name was on the list of examinees that had passed. Now that the uncertainty turned into reality, people were curious to know the actor¡¯s future course of action more than ever.?


    ?


    Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t have to wait long before finding out Woo-Jin¡¯s intentions. People were able to find out Woo-Jin¡¯s intentions that very same evening through the broadcast of Life Depicted.


    The ending scene from episode one was aired again, but this time with the part which had been previously edited out.


    ¡ªWhat do you plan on doing if you pass the final round of the bar exam?


    ¡ªI will¡­


    Chae Woo-Jin could not readily answer the director¡¯s question. But after a moment of self reflection, he faced the camera with determination and steadily spoke his intentions.


    ¡ªIt was my mother¡¯s long-standing wish that I take the bar exam and become a judicial officer. But that isn¡¯t my wish. As you know, I¡¯ve always wanted to become an actor.


    Chae Woo-Jin answered as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Although mother and son had different opinions, fortunately there was no conflict between them.


    ¡ªBut to be honest, there was a time when I resolved to give up my dream for a stable job instead. If I hadn¡¯t coincidentally gotten the role in Death Hill, there¡¯s a good chance I would¡¯ve actually quit the entertainment industry.


    After he left TM, Woo-Jin once thought that it might be better to settle down realistically than to pursue a dream.


    ¡ªBack then. I thought that I could live a moderately happy life if I gave up on certain things. This time too, I briefly considered whether I should enter the Judicial Research and Training Institute[1] if I passed the bar exam.


    Chae Woo-Jin paused and stared into space, organizing his thoughts.


    Woo-Jin always pondered a lot about the future. He had a single destination, but there were many paths he could take to get there. Some time ago, Woo-Jin had even told himself that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take a break at some point before continuing on.


    At one point in time, Woo-Jin even had a fleeting thought that he might gain the public¡¯s attention by passing the bar exam on his first try. Since he was still an unknown actor back then, he wanted to cling onto any form of hope.


    Recently, he had seriously considered joining the JRTI if it would help him to fulfill his dream.


    It was not uncommon for celebrities to have unexpected jobs and qualifications alongside their careers in the entertainment world. Woo-Jin wondered if anything would change if he became one of them.


    Some celebrities paused their careers for a few years to focus on their other jobs. Similarly, Woo-Jin also considered pausing his career as an actor to enter the JRTI, as long as the time he spent there would help him grow.


    ¡ªBut just because a flower has bloomed doesn¡¯t mean that spring has arrived.


    All four seasons were beautiful, each with different hues of colors, but spring gave off a truly cozy and happy sensation. There was no need to read between the lines when someone said they wanted to live in a spring full of flowers.


    ¡ªSpeaking of flowers, it reminds me of the path of flowers idiom[2].


    Woo-Jin nodded at the director¡¯s words.


    ¡ªThe path of flowers I wish to walk down isn¡¯t located over there[3], so I have no choice but to give up on it.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s words were metaphorical, but the determination behind his words was clear.


    ¡ªDon¡¯t you find it a bit regrettable, though?


    Although they didn¡¯t know the results of the bar exam yet, the director asked the question based on the premise that Woo-Jin had passed.


    In fact, even if Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t appointed to an office, spending two years to obtain a lawyer¡¯s license seemed worthwhile, even at the expense of taking a break as an actor.


    ¡ªI assure you that I will never regret my decision. My goal has always been firm and unchanging. But whenever I affirm my determination like this, I always end up admiring my mother.


    ¡ªYour mother?


    ¡ªNo matter what happened, I just couldn¡¯t let go of my dream. But my mother decided to abandon her own dream in return for my happiness.


    The hope in her heart to see her son happy had given birth to the dream to see him successful. But since the wish originated from hope and not ambition, Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t burdened by it and only felt his mother¡¯s love from it.


    ¡ªNo parent can win against their child.


    The director commented. But Woo-Jin quickly corrected the statement.


    ¡ªThere¡¯s no winning or losing between family. I simply think of it as my mother understanding and accepting me for who I am. That, or she just gave up on me a long time ago.


    Woo-Jin chuckled, saying that the last part may actually be the truth.


    Rather than being greedy, Woo-Jin planned on achieving the things he wanted to do one at a time. Woo-Jin wanted to do many things, but there wasn¡¯t enough time for everything. He just couldn¡¯t give up on two years of his life for a single lawyer¡¯s license.


    ¡ªBut if you receive a question about this during your interview¡­ No, if this scene airs on TV, won¡¯t it affect your chances of passing the exam?


    The director asked. No one knew if the show would have an influence on Woo-Jin¡¯s results.


    But the director indirectly asked Chae Woo-Jin about his intentions while calculating the schedule for the broadcast in his mind. Woo-Jin reacted with indifference when he was asked whether he cared if this scene was aired.


    ¡ªSince it was once a job I wanted to entrust my dreams to, it¡¯s only natural that I want to do my best and pass the exam. But I will not lie to myself or to anyone else.


    Woo-Jin could avoid a tricky situation by saying he hasn¡¯t decided on which career to pursue yet. In fact, his maternal grandfather and those around Woo-Jin had advised him to do so.


    But Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to go that far just to pass the exam. Although no one could say for sure if his words would affect the results, he didn¡¯t want to lie to himself and behave in such an ugly manner.


    Maybe it was just bravado and vanity since he had given up on that path already.


    Nevertheless, Chae Woo-Jin ended up passing the exam just like he wished. At the end of the newest episode of Life Depicted, there was an interview with Woo-Jin that the crew had hurriedly filmed on the very same day.


    ¡ªHow do you feel now that you¡¯ve passed??


    ?


    ¡ªPretty good. I¡¯m happy about it.


    ¡ªDo you really not regret your decision?


    It was only natural for the director to ask the question again. Obviously, he had imagined what he would¡¯ve done in Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s place.


    Although he was satisfied with his current work, the director would definitely be flustered and probably resign or take a leave of absence to earn a lawyer¡¯s license.


    ¡ªMy mother cried when she heard the news that I passed.


    Chae Woo-Jin paused for a moment. Everything that had happened so far flashed through his mind like a slideshow. His mother was crying because she was happy, but also because she was sorry for making her son go through such hardships by studying for the exam despite knowing it would end up being meaningless.


    ¡ªShe was happy but apologized to me and¡­ told me to follow my own path from now on. My mother clearly acknowledged my work as an actor for the first time!


    Woo-Jin was far happier about his mother¡¯s recognition than his exam results.


    He already knew long ago that his mother supported his career and tried her best to tolerate it. And these days, she even felt affection towards his fans and had seen several times how her son enjoyed the fame.


    She had told him to work hard and that she supported him, but it had never cheered Woo-Jin up. Perhaps he had sensed the regrets and lingering feelings remaining deeply inside his mother¡¯s heart.


    But finally, his mother had completely relieved the burden and sorrow in Woo-Jin¡¯s heart.?


    ?


    ¡®Now go down your own path. Don¡¯t look back or worry about us. We won¡¯t look back either. We¡¯ll support you so that your dreams can become reality.¡¯?


    ?


    Needless to say, that was the first time Chae Woo-Jin had smiled so joyfully on the show.


    ***


    The happy Chae Woo-Jin turned into a gloomy Chae Woo-Jin the very next day.


    The actor was at a loss for words as he stared at the four hundred photobooks piled up before him.


    Their original plan was to print and sell two hundred copies. However, there were more than twice as many copies as initially planned. Woo-Jin coughed for a moment and glared at Hyun-Min.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to explain yourself.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we decide to manufacture the photobooks so that there¡¯s a net gain of two thousand won per copy?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But while designing, I got greedier and greedier about the quality of the cover and the paper used. So obviously, the materials cost increased. But we¡¯re in a situation where we cannot sell the photobooks at a high price. The printing company is a place I frequent so they went easy on the fees, but we still needed to print four hundred copies to hit our initial estimated gains.¡±


    No matter how blinded he was to get higher grades for the assignment, Hyun-Min¡¯s pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to produce and sell half-baked, low-quality products.


    Moreover, his friend''s reputation was on the line, so Hyun-Min ended up increasing the quality of the photobooks, which in turn increased the production costs.


    ¡°How are we supposed to sell all this?!¡± Woo-Jin exclaimed


    ¡°They¡¯re photobooks of the one and only Chae Woo-Jin! Do you seriously think people won¡¯t buy them?¡±


    ¡°Still, four hundred is too much!¡±


    Woo-Jin started worrying about how they were supposed to sell all the copies by themselves.


    ¡°We can also pressure acquaintances into buying them,¡± Hyun-Min said.


    ¡°Who are we going to pressure? We¡¯re being openly filmed for a show, so it¡¯s not like we can lie to the professor or anything.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Those cameras are here because of you so don¡¯t get mad at me. And what¡¯s so bad about forcing people into buying these? The filming crew here could just buy a couple of copies for us. We¡¯re all in this together, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Hyun-Min clenched his fist with a bright smile while turning to the production crew for Life Depicted. Unfortunately, his fist looked more like a show of intimidation than to inspire unity.


    Hyun-Min wondered how many copies he could get rid of by making these people buy some. He then turned to Hwang Yi-Young as a last resort.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± She asked skeptically.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t sell them all, please advertise these for us.¡±


    ¡°Me? How?¡±


    ¡°If you leak the information to Woo-Jin¡¯s fancafe, I¡¯m sure selling four hundred copies will be a piece of cake.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young thought it was a good idea and agreed to Hyun-Min''s pragmatic request.


    It would be a shame if Woo-Jin¡¯s fans missed this great opportunity to buy their idol¡¯s photobooks.


    ¡°How could we use the fans just to get some extra points?!¡±


    But Woo-Jin objected. Although he didn¡¯t mind making a photobook with his own pictures, he couldn¡¯t bother his fans and be a nuisance to them just to get sales.


    ¡°You already became a horrible celebrity ever since you agreed to sell your pictures for mere school grades! How much worse can this be?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin grabbed his chest in pain at Hyun-Min¡¯s comeback. Hwang Yi-Young consoled him, saying that his fans would love buying the photobooks instead of feeling burdened.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who came up with the photobook idea first!¡± Woo-Jin desperately cried.


    ¡°This is why it¡¯s common knowledge that you should find a good partner to come up with a business plan.. Don¡¯t worry too much. We¡¯ll only do that if we don¡¯t sell out this weekend. If you don¡¯t want to get your fans involved, get in the suit.¡±


    Hyun-Min spoke firmly as he handed Woo-Jin the bear mask. Woo-Jin had no choice but to somehow sell all four hundred copies throughout the weekend.


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t allowed to show his face during the sales, so he had to wear the bear costume and promote the products just like when he sold the soap bars.


    In the past, Hyun-Min felt sorry for Woo-Jin whenever the latter had to wear the costume.


    But now, no such emotion could be seen in Hyun-Min¡¯s eyes. There was only the will and determination to sell all four hundred photobooks. Otherwise, they would be in the red.


    ¡°But on the bright side. If we manage to sell all these, we¡¯ll be getting 400 thousand won each. According to my investigations, that should get us around the top of the class in terms of earnings. Let¡¯s not waste time and only think about our grades!¡±


    Hyun-Min patted his friend on the shoulder and asked Woo-Jin if he didn¡¯t plan on getting a scholarship this time around. The prospect of getting a scholarship greatly inspired Woo-Jin and he finally began showing some enthusiasm. The master knew all too well the methods to manipulate his bear.


    ¡°By the way, do the books have an ISBN[4]?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, our club president registered a one-man publishing house. I got it through there. I¡¯ve paid all the proper taxes to make and sell these photobooks, you know.¡±


    There was no reason to go so far for a simple university assignment. However, unlike the soap bars, these photobooks used Woo-Jin¡¯s face and name.


    If his anti-fans tried to make a fuss about the photobooks, they would have no excuses. So Hyun-Min received an ISBN through the publishing house to avoid that scenario.


    Kang Ho-Soo hadn¡¯t even considered that possibility, so he gave Hyun-Min a thumbs-up and praised him.


    ¡°He¡¯s good at everything except for trading stocks.¡±


    Woo-Jin said so in order to praise his friend, but the stock-incompetent¡¯s face grew cold at the actor¡¯s words.


    Woo-Jin quickly put on the bear mask to protect himself just in case a fist came flying in his direction. He was very quick-witted when it came to such things.?


    ?


    1. Abbreviated as JRTI. ??


    ?


    2. Path of flowers/flower road (??) is an expression that signifies success. So when you say you want someone to walk down a path of flowers, you want them to be successful. It is similar to a red carpet in concept. ??


    ?


    3. Over at the legal-judicial industry, in case it wasn¡¯t clear in context. ??


    ?


    4. The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 166

    Chapter 166?


    ?


    Once again, Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min set up their stand on the terrace in front of the coffee shop and waited for customers.


    The photobooks were individually wrapped in plastic so that people couldn¡¯t see their contents. But a dozen photos were enlarged, printed, and displayed at the front. The photobook''s cover was a picture of Woo-Jin from behind, walking barefoot on grass, with the title My Life, Your Depiction.


    It was taken from the title of the show Woo-Jin was currently filming and also signified that he was working together with Hyun-Min.


    Although the entire backstory behind these photobooks would be aired on TV, they still added a detailed explanation at the end of the photobooks, accompanied by Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s autograph.


    He would¡¯ve preferred signing each copy individually, but since the photobooks were planned to arrive this morning and had to be sold immediately, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have the time to do so.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not selling soap today. I quite liked them after buying some last time and wanted to buy more.¡±


    One customer came running at them as soon as they saw the teddy bear costume, expecting more soap to buy. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t hide their disappointment at the presence of the new products.


    They glanced at the photobooks with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s pictures and simply shook their head dejectedly. Unfortunately, their first guest wasn¡¯t Woo-Jin¡¯s fan.


    Woo-Jin was stupefied as the customer left empty-handed, and Hyun-Min slapped his own forehead.


    ¡°Not off to a good start,¡± Hyun-Min commented.


    Unable to speak because of the bear mask, Woo-Jin acted like he was looking in the distance, feigning indifference.


    ¡°Oh! When did Chae Woo-Jin even release a photobook?¡±


    A voice rescued them from their disappointment, and Hyun-Min quickly put on his business smile. He explained the product¡¯s origin enthusiastically with a lot of hands gestures.


    ¡°To be more precise, Chae Woo-Jin had his friend make this personal photobook for an assignment at university. You can think of this as an event where you get to see him in a completely different light than usual.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Now that you mention it¡­.¡±


    Only then did the customer look at Hyun-Min¡¯s face and recognize him. Hyun-Min then nodded in response with a grin.


    ¡°Yes, my friend is indeed that Chae Woo-Jin. We made these with the pictures I took and¡­.¡±


    Hyun-Min directed his attention to the large pictures and humbly mentioned that those were the worst photos among those in the book.


    It may be far-fetched to say, but the customer was somewhat able to gauge the mood and content of the photobooks with the displays.?


    ?


    The atmosphere exuded by the piano-playing Chae Woo-Jin and the Chae Woo-Jin peacefully smiling while sitting on the street ground couldn¡¯t be any warmer and homely. As a fan of the actor, there was no need to waste time, and the customer immediately took out their wallet.


    ¡°Yes, this is how it should be! The first sale bodes good luck for the day!¡±


    Hyun-Min shouted as he discarded the memory of the actual first customer who left empty-handed after a few questions. Even Woo-Jin was excited by the sale of a single copy and danced around in his costume.


    With a renewed sense of confidence, Woo-Jin grabbed the display picture where he was drinking sikhye with a towel wrapped around his head in Leia buns and left the terrace, stepping onto the streets.


    By showing the photo to passers-by and advertising the goods, people who were going to walk past started showing interest.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bear~!¡±


    But today, there were especially many families with children on the streets. Every kid¡ªranging from toddlers to elementary school students¡ªflocked around Woo-Jin with twinkling eyes when they saw the bear costume.


    They climbed on his back and jumped around to pluck the rose on his ear. Two kids were clinging onto each of his legs, making it difficult for Woo-Jin to take a single step forward.


    He barely managed to separate himself from the children and sat on a chair next to the stand to catch his breath. But suddenly, one customer¡¯s words made his breath come to a halt.


    ¡°But that bear''s sitting pose looks oddly similar to our Genie.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, is that how it looks? Oh my, what an amazing coincidence!¡±


    Hyun-Min denied the claim immediately out of surprise. However, that awkwardness only amplified the suspicion of the customer.


    Hyun-Min was Woo-Jin¡¯s friend and was selling photobooks they had made together, so it was strange that Hyun-Min was the only one present here.


    No, technically speaking, this mysterious teddy bear was also with him, so Hyun-Min wasn¡¯t alone. Moreover, the presence of cameras and a crew that appeared to be filming a show solidified their suspicion into certainty.


    In order to clear the doubts, Woo-Jin put his hands on his waist and pretended to laugh out loud as though he had heard something hilarious.


    He then started doing a grasshopper dance and other stupid dances¡ªsomething Chae Woo-Jin would never do¡ªand tried to appear as ridiculous as possible.


    ¡°Hey, after saying ¡®Genie this, Genie that¡¯ every single day, does every man in the world look like Chae Woo-Jin to you now? Why would that uncle[1] bother to wear that suit and dance around like a fool? He could just show his face and ask you to buy the photobooks if he were really Chae Woo-Jin,¡± the customer¡¯s friend rebutted.


    As the customer claimed that the bear was Chae Woo-Jin, her friend shook her head in disappointment. Since the friend¡¯s statement sounded reasonable, the customer¡ªwho was Woo-Jin¡¯s fan¡ªeventually agreed and changed their mind. Looking at the bear acting foolish, it didn¡¯t seem like Genie after all.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re right. If he showed his face, we could sell out in no time¡­.¡±


    Hyun-Min did not confirm nor deny the bear¡¯s identity but only lamented about their situation.


    They had only sold 27 copies in the last hour, so Hyun-Min could only grieve about how bleak their future looked. He thought that the photobooks would quickly sell out if he said they were Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s photobooks, but these were harder to sell than soap bars.


    The soap bars had a lower starting price at three thousand won in the first place. Thus, it was less burdensome on the customers¡¯ wallets compared to the nine thousand won photobooks. Moreover, customers were sending them suspicious gazes as these products weren¡¯t official goods.


    Fortunately, those who recognized Hyun-Min from the show trusted him and bought a copy.


    ¡°Did you say it was a school assignment? It would¡¯ve been nice if you sold these with Genie since you made them together,¡± the customer commented.


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t because the CEO was against it.¡±


    Hyun-Min sighed and complained about how if they couldn¡¯t sell all these, their grades were done for. At those words, Woo-Jin¡¯s fan raised her head and spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy a few more copies.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t. Woo-Jin¡¯s CEO was also against that. He ordered us to sell only one copy per person to prevent the photobooks from being resold as premium goods later on.¡±


    Hyun-Min muttered that the CEO was a horrible person even though he initially had a good impression of him, to which the fan also sighed with Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Then we should post something on the fancafe. In fact, you should¡¯ve advertised this event on the fancafe since we would¡¯ve been ecstatic about it.¡±


    The customer would¡¯ve totally missed this event if she hadn¡¯t coincidentally decided to walk down this street today. Thus, she bluntly complained to Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s no fun.¡±


    Hyun-Min winked and smiled mischievously.


    Woo-Jin had objected to the idea of using the fans since it was rude, but Hyun-Min also had no desire to bet everything on the fans from the get-go. That option was their last resort. Only by suffering through hardships could one achieve incredible exploits and become a legendary hero.


    Although he constantly whined about the low sales, this was a new and interesting experience for Hyun-Min and Woo-Jin. They were having a lot of fun on this adventure despite the hardships.


    But as he looked at the pile of photobooks that didn¡¯t seem to shrink at all, Hyun-Min started to get more and more anxious.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t your friend going to buy one?¡± he asked, turning his gaze to the girl next to the customer.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan,¡± she replied.


    The friend who had come with Woo-Jin¡¯s fan shook her head shyly but proudly. To be more precise, she liked Chae Woo-Jin, but not enough to buy a photobook with her own money.


    ¡°You jerk, didn¡¯t you buy that Vesta photobook without hesitation before?¡± the customer poked fun at her friend.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re at a disadvantage against Vesta since it¡¯s one vs. eight!¡± Hyun-Min exclaimed.


    Vesta was a popular idol group that filled in the spot Blue Fit had left behind as they lost their reputation. Not only did all the members have great skills and looks, but they were eight in the group. With such a configuration, the group was tailored to target a large variety of tastes and preferences, appealing to all audiences.


    Hyun-Min muttered about how they were at a disadvantage and shook his head with a sad gaze. The customer¡¯s friend couldn¡¯t make eye contact with him and looked aside but noticed something interesting.


    ¡°That uncle is really enthusiastic about this.¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fan and Hyun-Min both turned their heads at those words. At the other end of their gazes was a breakdancing teddy bear with pictures in both its hands.


    ¡°Hey, stop calling him an uncle. Are you two the same age?¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fan complained to her friend and then asked Hyun-Min while pointing at the bear.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my friend.¡±


    ¡°See? But it seems like he also participated in the assignment. He¡¯s very enthusiastic about this.¡±


    ¡°Rather than calling it enthusiasm, I¡¯d say he¡¯s lost half his mind.¡±


    The bear was afraid of having his true identity figured out and tried his best to act weird, but he had gone way too far. That desperate performance was created through Woo-Jin¡¯s tenacious will to keep his identity secret.


    ¡°Aw~ How cute. Take a picture with me, uncle!¡±


    The friend called out to the bear and approached him, seemingly not having heard Hyun-Min¡¯s conversation with the customer.


    But the enthusiastically breakdancing bear heard the friend clearly. He clearly heard a female voice calling him ¡®uncle.¡¯


    ¡°Aaaaand it looks like the remaining half of his sanity was also lost.¡±


    Hyun-Min shook his head as he saw Woo-Jin slowly collapse on the spot.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s really discouraging whenever you¡¯re called ¡®uncle.¡¯¡± Hyun-Min explained.


    He recalled the first time he was called as such, back when he was serving in the military and had a shaved head.


    ¡°Ah, I totally understand. I was so shocked when an elementary school kid called me aunty in the past.¡±


    The customer felt sorry for the person inside the costume, as her friend kept shaking the bear on the ground to take a picture with it.


    Instead, she poured her apologetic feelings along with her support for Chae Woo-Jin into an earnestly written post on Wish Baragi to advertise the photobooks.


    And the results of her actions began to show within dozens of minutes.


    Fans flocked to the stand to buy the unofficial photobook Chae Woo-Jin had made with his friend.


    Surprised by the sudden crowd of customers and fans, Woo-Jin suddenly became the mascot and was busy doing tricks and taking pictures with people.


    But in the end, he stood by Hyun-Min¡¯s side and exchanged the photobooks for money instead.


    As the copies quickly dwindled, Woo-Jin¡¯s fans stopped paying attention to the uncle in the bear costume. They were busy trying to buy one of the few copies left, so they didn¡¯t even have the brainpower to acknowledge the teddy bear hanging out around them.


    That Saturday, all four hundred photobooks were sold in exactly six hours.


    The sales were stagnant for the first two hours, so it would be more precise to say that they had sold all the copies in more or less four hours instead. They were selling roughly 2-3 copies per minute in the end; thus, the salesmen¡¯s physicality was practically nonexistent at this point.


    ¡°I¡¯m totally spent¡­.¡±


    Hyun-Min muttered as he leaned back on his seat before lowering his gaze. Woo-Jin was conked out on the coffee shop¡¯s breakroom floor, barely having removed the mask. Hyun-Min didn¡¯t dare wake up his friend as his soft breathing resounded.


    Even Hyun-Min was exhausted, so he couldn¡¯t imagine how grueling it was inside that thick, hot, and heavy costume. But the stack of money on the desk put a smile on Hyun-Min¡¯s face.


    Woo-Jin had said that he would donate his earnings, but there was no need for Hyun-Min to do the same. In other words, half of today¡¯s profits belonged to him.


    ¡°That was a great assignment!¡±


    His grades aside, it was nice to have more money in his hands. It was totally worth exhausting 110% of his energy today.


    But for some reason, he felt like all the money would be lost on failed stock investments before long.

 CH 167

    Chapter 167?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was on his way back from working out at the gym late in the evening. Suddenly, a shadow jumped out on the street in front of his house, and he hurriedly stepped on the brake.


    Woo-Jin got nervous as he had some enthusiastic fans who occasionally found their way to his house. Although he respected and loved his fans, those who came all the way here never really had good manners. It was inappropriate to meet them in such a situation, and it would¡¯ve been even worse if an accident had happened just now.


    Woo-Jin rubbed the back of his sore neck because of the sudden stop before looking outside. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t seem to have hit anyone.


    But then, a rough sigh of dismay left Woo-Jin¡¯s mouth.


    A man stood tall in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s car, wearing jeans and a sweater with a cap pressed down. No matter how many times Woo-Jin rechecked, the man receiving the full power of the headlights on the dark evening street was Blue Fit¡¯s Lee Yeon.


    Woo-Jin did not leave his car and honked first. But his adversary barely even flinched and stood tall, showing his determination in wanting Woo-Jin to exit the vehicle.


    The face under the cap did not belong to the pretty boy inside Woo-Jin¡¯s memories. Lee Yeon had lost so much weight that his jawline was razor-sharp, and his cheeks were sunken. His white, dry lips were chapped and cracked.


    Woo-Jin hesitated for a moment and tapped the steering wheel with his finger.


    He could avoid Lee Yeon, but the latter would definitely follow him nonetheless. Additionally, Lee Yeon could jump in front of the car again, so it wasn¡¯t a reasonable solution.


    Woo-Jin glanced at Lee Yeon from head to toe, then backed his car and parked it on the side of the street. Thankfully, Lee Yeon stood still and waited on the spot as it seemed he had understood Woo-Jin¡¯s intentions.


    As Woo-Jin got out of the car and approached him, Lee Yeon faltered and took several steps back towards the sidewalk until he finally stopped.


    He had bravely leaped in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s car, but Lee Yeon hadn¡¯t thought his plans through and showed a weak, fearful look.


    Woo-Jin stood quietly in front of the tense Lee Yeon.


    Thus, they silently faced each other for a while. All kinds of thoughts and emotions may have crossed Woo-Jin¡¯s mind, but there was no expression on his face.


    Therefore, Lee Yeon¡¯s gaze slowly lowered and kept going down until he could only stare at his feet. He didn¡¯t have the guts to maintain eye contact with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°What is someone who should be in the hospital doing here?¡± Woo-Jin asked bluntly.


    Although Lee Yeon had only suffered a cut on his head in the accident, his body and strength were deteriorating due to malnutrition. Moreover, he showed early symptoms of alcoholism.


    Thus, he was supposed to be recuperating at the hospital for a while. So Woo-Jin wondered why this sick patient was here.


    On the other hand, Lee Yeon¡¯s mind was a mess. There were so many things he wanted to say that he had no idea where to begin.


    ¡°This is all your fault¡­.¡±


    Lee Yeon¡¯s words came out a bit fumbled, potentially because of his alcoholism.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all my fault.¡±?


    ?


    Lee Yeon raised his head in surprise. He was expecting Woo-Jin to deny his claim, but the latter simply concurred.


    ¡°If you can only have peace of heart by thinking that way, feel free to do so. I don¡¯t care about it. It¡¯s just your own opinion.¡±


    Lee Yeon bit his lips at Woo-Jin¡¯s indifferent response.


    He didn¡¯t hate Woo-Jin in the beginning.


    On the contrary, he wanted to be on good terms with Woo-Jin, the main vocalist, and have the group succeed. That was until Min Si-Hoo became jealous and forced Lee Yeon to pick a side in the conflict.


    ¡°Your bullying wasn¡¯t my fault. So do I have to be punished for it? If only you had defended us and said that Min Si-Hoo was the only bully, things wouldn¡¯t have gone this far!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But then why didn¡¯t you go easy on me back when I was being harassed? If you had, I would¡¯ve been grateful to you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­. I didn¡¯t have any power¡­. But you have the power to save me now.¡±


    Woo-Jin laughed at Lee Yeon¡¯s mumbling. He didn¡¯t say aloud how Lee Yeon had plenty of ¡®power¡¯ when he punched Woo-Jin back in those days. Woo-Jin thought it would be dirty to twist the other¡¯s words like this.


    ¡°I¡¯m also powerless. I¡¯ve never had any power to save you, hyung, whether in the past or now,¡± Woo-Jin stated.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me! If only you had told us who your father and grandfather were, we wouldn¡¯t have done those things to you. You were mocking and playing around with us!¡±


    Even in this situation, Lee Yeon brought up Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father and maternal grandfather, which showed what these people thought of Woo-Jin. They only saw the value and benefit of Woo-Jin¡¯s background and the people behind him rather than his value as an individual facing the world alone.


    ¡°Do you seriously believe that you are worth the time and energy to be played around with?¡±


    If Lee Yeon really thought that Woo-Jin had suffered their punches and kicks in an attempt to mock them, then Woo-Jin had nothing else to say. Lee Yeon would truly be hopeless.


    It wasn¡¯t even worth his time to continue this pathetic conversation with this drunkard. Woo-Jin clicked his tongue and was about to turn around when Lee Yeon¡¯s voice held him back.


    ¡°Your cousin came looking for me. The one called Yi-Yeon like my name¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin faintly frowned at those words. He could sense the strong anger and deep shame in Lee Yeon¡¯s voice.


    Perhaps the humiliation and contempt he suffered from a person sharing his name made it even worse for Lee Yeon to endure. Moreover, the fact that the person in question was Woo-Jin¡¯s cousin seemed to play a big role in it.


    ¡°You told him, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lee Yeon asked.


    ¡°Tell him what?¡±


    ¡°Tha-that I had a sponsor¡­.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°As if.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you didn¡¯t. How else could your cousin happen to investigate me? The CEO told me that you knew everything from the start¡­.¡±


    It appeared that CEO Kim Seok-Hyung had driven the wedge between the two with misinformation. There was a lot of room for misunderstandings in this amazingly arranged situation, which left a bitter taste in Woo-Jin¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°I already told you. You and the other members aren¡¯t impressive enough to be worth the trouble. And I¡¯m not some incredible figure who can make the prosecution office do my bidding. To be honest, if only CEO Kim hadn¡¯t tried to make me fall into that trap, nobody would¡¯ve known the truth. So it¡¯s a real pity it ended up getting out in the open.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­!¡±


    ¡°So, do you feel relaxed now that you¡¯ve blamed everything on me?¡±


    At Woo-Jin¡¯s question, Lee Yeon shuddered and retreated several steps until he eventually bumped into the wall of some house and stopped.


    Now that he had a place to lean on, he could barely stand still on his trembling legs.


    Woo-Jin spoke to Lee Yeon, who was clenching his teeth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be real. All of this happened because of your decisions, hyung.¡±


    At the very least, Lee Yeon should be resenting the person who pushed his back and forced him to do what he didn¡¯t want. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t understand why Lee Yeon was trying to vent his anger on him, who was just another victim.


    Woo-Jin and Lee Yeon had simply made different choices in the same situation.


    Although they were met with different results, in the end, it was true that the two had been exploited by despicable people and suffered from it.


    However, Woo-Jin escaped from their trap, while Lee Yeon sank deeper and deeper into the quagmire along with the others.


    But now, it was as if Lee Yeon was kicking a fuss about how Woo-Jin didn¡¯t come along with him and follow those despicable people.


    By shifting the responsibility and blame onto Woo-Jin, Lee Yeon was also cursing him for being the only one left unharmed.


    It didn¡¯t seem like Lee Yeon would understand no matter how much Woo-Jin explained that everything was a result of his own choice, in the end, so Woo-Jin silently stared at Lee Yeon dead in the eyes.


    They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. The frustration swirling around in Lee Yeon¡¯s eyes was also transferred to Woo-Jin¡¯s heart.


    Then, Woo-Jin immediately recognized the new emotion that wasn¡¯t in Lee Yeon¡¯s eyes before. He had seen it many times before. No, to be precise, he had seen them many times in his past lives.


    Those were the eyes of someone ready to die. It was clear that Lee Yeon had decided to take his own life.


    ¡°You always make the worst choice until the very end, hyung. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to kill yourself?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Lee Yeon raised his head and glared at him. The craze that seemed to be extinguished instantly returned to his eyes.?


    ?


    ¡°What do you know? Who do you think you are to say anything? Do you know how miserable I am right now?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I know. If you die like this, you¡¯ll be miserable for a long time, hyung.¡±


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t mean that Lee Yeon¡¯s emotions would remain after death and continue feeling miserable. He meant that the press would narrate his birth, accomplishments, and death, only to conclude it as a miserable life in the end.


    Although Lee Yeon would not feel it personally, his miserable life and death would be brought up on TV every once in a while, even after it was forgotten over the years.


    The trembling Lee Yeon sat down on the spot and grabbed his head with both hands. He didn¡¯t know where everything had started to go wrong.


    Everyone around him said that he had fallen into this hell because of Chae Woo-Jin. They pitied and sympathized with Lee Yeon, saying that he was a poor victim who naively fell into Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s trap.


    So Lee Yeon planned to kill Chae Woo-Jin and kill himself afterward.


    CEO Kim Seok-Hyung informed him of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s address and the date of his bar exam interview. CEO Kim even provoked Lee Yeon even more, saying that the latter¡¯s life was only going downhill while Chae Woo-Jin was rising above the skies.


    Thus, Lee Yeon drank all night long and waited in front of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house until morning. He had made up his mind. He¡¯d kill Chae Woo-Jin and die as well.


    But at the last minute, he unknowingly spun the steering wheel and avoided Woo-Jin¡¯s car, crashing into the wall.?


    ?


    ¡®You¡¯re just a shit for brains who can¡¯t even die properly.¡¯?


    ?


    Min Si-Hoo looked down at Lee Yeon and sneered when he came to visit a few days back. Min Si-Hoo was currently preparing to study abroad.


    Even though they were in the same situation¡­. No, even though Min Si-Hoo was the culprit behind everything, he always had room to breathe whenever the same problems plagued them and quickly found an escape route.


    Their manager only sighed as though they felt frustrated by Lee Yeon and didn¡¯t even bother coming to visit anymore. In fact, as it became known that Lee Yeon was being investigated for sponsorship issues, those who used to visit slowly stopped showing up.


    When Lee Min-Soo realized that he had gotten into more trouble because of Lee Yeon, he came to the hospital room and wreaked havoc before leaving.


    Meanwhile, the TV Lee Yeon happened to watch was overflowing with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s commercials. His radiant and beautiful appearance took over the screen. The admiration and honor that Lee Yeon used to have¡ªand should¡¯ve received in the future¡ªhad all gone to Chae Woo-Jin.


    Lee Yeon¡¯s throat was dry, and his hands trembled, so he secretly left the hospital and bought alcohol at a convenience store.


    However, the advertisement poster of Chae Woo-Jin on the store¡¯s wall annoyed him even further. Even though Lee Yeon was drinking to escape from reality, Woo-Jin seemed to be mocking him while leisurely holding a cup of coffee.


    Moreover, the students who happened to enter the store were talking about Chae Woo-Jin and the latest news about the actor. They supported Chae Woo-Jin, who had passed the bar exam yet chose his own path in life with firm conviction. Their voices carrying envy and admiration struck Lee Yeon¡¯s ears and endlessly echoed in his mind.


    The students also talked about the recent episode of Life Depicted. It seemed that the photobook was a very hot topic within the group of friends.?


    ?


    They described how they were upset about not being able to buy the photobook Woo-Jin had made with a friend for a school assignment and how they were only able to appease their frustrations through the photos posted online but still regretted having missed the sale. Their words were all filled with love and affection for Chae Woo-Jin.


    However, there was only one thought going through Lee Yeon¡¯s mind.


    ¡®The love and fame Chae Woo-Jin is receiving was originally mine.¡¯


    An unhinged Lee Yeon bought a fruit knife and left the convenience store, seemingly having lost his mind.


    And now, he was standing in front of Chae Woo-Jin himself.


    All he had to do now was take out the knife from his inside pocket and kill Chae Woo-Jin, then kill himself afterward. So why was it so difficult to follow through?


    There was a steep cliff just one step behind him. The wind blew strong and kept pushing him towards the edge. So why was he still resisting like this? What lingering feelings did he still have?


    Lee Yeon suddenly came to the realization that he wanted Chae Woo-Jin to stop him from killing himself.


    If so, that would become his one and only reason to keep on living in this world.


    The other members of Blue Fit and CEO Kim only seemed to want Lee Yeon to die. He felt suffocated like everyone was grabbing him by the neck and shaking him.


    But it appeared that Chae Woo-Jin also didn¡¯t plan on preventing him from committing suicide, and a cold wind swayed inside Lee Yeon¡¯s chest. Wasn¡¯t it normal to stop someone when they were trying to commit suicide?


    Lee Yeon kept asking himself why Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t stop him despite originally being such a nice person.


    ¡°Is there a knife or something in there?¡± Woo-Jin asked straightforwardly.


    ¡°¡­!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been stroking that area of your chest for a while, and now you even put your hand there. Why? Do you plan on stabbing me with that knife and killing yourself afterward? But that¡¯s too bad. It would be different if I didn¡¯t know, but I¡¯m not so weak that I¡¯d just let myself get stabbed now that I¡¯m aware.¡±


    Despite all appearances, Woo-Jin was still an actor who filmed all his action scenes without a stuntman. Moreover, he went to the gym every day to get in shape and was learning martial arts for the role he would start filming in January. There was no way he¡¯d be hit by a knife swung around by some drunkard.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even feel sorry for me? How can you say such things to a person who is about to kill himself?¡±


    Lee Yeon tried to flip over the situation and turn Woo-Jin into the story''s villain. But the latter simply responded coldly.


    ¡°I do feel sorry for you. But this world is overflowing with people in much more miserable situations than you, hyung. In spite of that, those people don¡¯t think of escaping reality by killing themselves.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m different from them! I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m Lee Yeon from Blue Fit!¡±


    Blue Fit, the source of his honor and success. The pride that he was a member of Blue Fit kept Lee Yeon alive.


    But it was also the chain that tied him down and made his life a nightmare.

 CH 168

    Chapter 168?


    ?


    ¡°You can¡¯t compare my misfortune to those people¡­ Who do you think I am? Do you know how many fans stayed up for days and nights outside just to see me? How much they loved me¡­?¡± Lee Yeon whined.


    His popularity was around the middle among the members of Blue Fit. Lee Yeon had many of his own fans, though not as many as Min Si-Hoo and Lee Min-Soo.


    But now that so much had changed in a year, it was hard for him to accept the change.


    ¡°Just because you were happier than others before doesn¡¯t make you more miserable than them now,¡± Woo-Jin said bluntly.


    The weight of happiness differs from person to person, and it was the same for the weight of misfortune. However, that didn¡¯t mean that these weights were directly proportional to each other.


    Moreover, these weights weren¡¯t comparable. Other people¡¯s misfortunes might seem similar, but one always feels that their own misfortune was a little heavier than others¡¯.


    ¡°I know and have known people who have been far worse off compared to you. But that doesn¡¯t mean anything to you. Your own misfortune isn¡¯t invalidated when I tell you about their¡¯s.¡±


    Telling a depressed person that there were many others who were more miserable than them was the most meaningless and terrible way to comfort them.


    ¡°If you want my sympathy, you came to the wrong place. Just like how the misfortunes of others cannot comfort you, my sympathy cannot make you happy either,¡± Woo-Jin stated.


    He wanted to tell Lee Yeon to find someone who actually cared about him and ask for comfort instead, but right now, it seemed pointless to say so.


    If Lee Yeon had someone like that in his life, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared in front of Woo-Jin like this tonight.


    The idol who was once loved by countless people had no place to seek comfort. Thus, he came to find the object of his anger instead. He had come with a knife in his inside pocket to murder Woo-Jin. But Lee Yeon didn''t have the courage to follow through with his initial plan and simply fell on his butt.


    And Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t kind enough to give such a person any sympathy.


    All he could do in this situation other than sighing was to go home and wait for the next day to come. Even if this was the last time he ever saw Lee Yeon, there was no reason for Woo-Jin to feel responsible or guilty about it.


    But what prevented Woo-Jin from leaving the scene was the sorrow he couldn¡¯t help but feel. Lee Yeon had once been a senior whom he respected and followed. They dreamed the same dreams, were once colleagues, and prayed for each other¡¯s success.


    Woo-Jin knelt on one knee and gazed into Lee Yeon¡¯s eyes.


    All signs of intelligence and sanity had disappeared from those drunk, hazy eyes, leaving behind only instinct and hatred. It didn¡¯t seem possible to approach Lee Yeon with a rational explanation to convince or appease him.


    Lee Yeon had given up on life, but he didn¡¯t have the courage to take the final step. He only had the desire to die; he was nothing but an empty shell.


    ¡°If you want to die, then die. If living is hard and waking up every morning is painful, then how can you sleep peacefully at night? But¡­¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had committed suicide several times during his past lives. In fact, Prince Myeong-Hwan¡ªWoo-Jin¡¯s past life that played in the movie¡ªwillingly walked to his death, which could also be counted as suicide.


    Perhaps he lacked humanity in his past lives, as he never hesitated whenever he had made up his mind to die. That was how difficult and unbearable life was for him.


    Thus, Woo-Jin could understand Lee Yeon¡¯s feelings of yearning for death to some extent.


    Of course, the present Woo-Jin regretted his foolish actions which led to his deaths, but there was one thing he was glad about.


    ¡°I just hope that you don¡¯t regret it while drawing your very last breath, when you leave this world all alone, hyung¡­¡±


    During all the lives where Woo-Jin had given up on living, he had never once regretted his decision at the very last second. At the very least, he had hope that death would be better than life.


    But what if someone came to regret their decision at the very last second, right before their life came to a close?


    Although it had never happened to Woo-Jin, he was terrified just from imagining it.


    Woo-Jin wondered how terrifying and painful death would be at the end if he regretted his decision at the very last second when there was no chance to turn back.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Lee Yeon had a hard time properly understanding Woo-Jin¡¯s words as he wasn¡¯t composed. However, his eyelids fluttered at the loneliness of the word ¡®alone¡¯.


    Lee Yeon believed that death was his only way out as he had no future, but he was also afraid to die alone. That was why he had come here to die with the subject of his anger, Chae Woo-Jin.


    However, Lee Yeon did not have the strength, ability, or even the courage to kill Woo-Jin.


    ¡°What does it mean to die¡­?¡±


    He had been imagining death for the past few days, but now, Lee Yeon questioned what it really entailed.


    He just imagined death as an escape route where he could rest comfortably with no worries. Nobody would mock him or ignore him there; a peaceful state of comfort.


    ¡°It¡¯s like how you don¡¯t know how the weather will be tomorrow. You will never learn how the book you used to read ends. You will never see how the people you love grow old. That is what happens to you when you die, hyung.¡±


    The shock, anguish, sorrow, and longing after death belonged to the living, not the dead.


    ¡°I understand that it¡¯s difficult. But hyung, how about trusting yourself at least once in your life?¡± Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    Lee Yeon looked up at Woo-Jin blankly, as though he couldn¡¯t understand what the latter was saying.


    ¡°All the choices you¡¯ve made until now are ultimately choices you made because you didn¡¯t believe in yourself. So how about this time, just this once, you trust yourself and live on? Don¡¯t assume that the future is bleak and hopeless just because your present life is worse than the past.¡±


    Although Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t come up with hypotheses or what-ifs about his past lives since they had already happened, he tried to imagine the lives that could have potentially been prosperous if he hadn¡¯t given up and chosen death.


    Surprisingly, all those hours and years he never got to experience seemed like a waste, and he missed the past. Woo-Jin felt no personal compassion for Lee Yeon, but he did sympathize with the idol due to his previous experiences.


    ¡°They say the weather will be really nice throughout next week.¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke as he put his hand inside Lee Yeon¡¯s clothes. He ignored the startled and bewildered Lee Yeon and simply took out the fruit knife from inside the jacket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping this for now. Do you know how pretty the sky looks these days in the morning? It¡¯s extremely beautiful. You should definitely check it out tomorrow, hyung.¡±


    Lee Yeon closed his eyes at those words. Woo-Jin watched Lee Yeon for a while, before he stood up slowly and walked to his car without looking back.


    Even after he started the engine and disappeared into the long, dark street, Lee Yeon sat there with his back against the wall for a long time.


    ***


    Woo-Jin looked at his news feed as soon as he woke up in the morning. Fortunately, there were no unsavory articles to be seen.


    Even after a few days passed, there was no news about Lee Yeon. When Woo-Jin secretly asked Kang Ho-Soo about the idol, the manager told him that Lee Yeon had disappeared from the hospital a few days ago which sparked an uproar.


    ¡°But he showed up unsteadily the next day and seems to be receiving proper treatment without any complaints now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Woo-Jin said


    ¡°Indeed. Do you know how difficult it was to prevent the article about the accident from being published? That bastard should just stay quiet and get himself treated. That¡¯s the only way he can be helpful.¡±


    Woo-Jin quietly patted Kang Ho-Soo on the back. That sort of intense reaction wasn¡¯t quite like the manager¡¯s usual behavior.


    Woo-Jin kept his mouth shut about how Lee Yeon had come to see him a few days ago. He thought it would cause an unnecessary ruckus. Woo-Jin usually had nothing to hide from Kang Ho-Soo, but this was a difficult topic to bring up.


    The same could be said for CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. So when the CEO summoned Woo-Jin to the office, he was extremely nervous. Fortunately, the CEO had another matter to discuss with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°LL sent us a revised script this time.¡±?


    ?


    CEO Jang said that LL-Studio had modified the script of Guardian Angel and handed the new version to Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Have you read it?¡±


    ¡°I did. Jin¡¯s background was expanded and his content in the main story increased. He also has more lines now. It¡¯s obvious that they made these revisions just to tailor the character to you.¡±


    CEO Jang¡¯s tone and expression showed that the script was modified in a favorable way for Woo-Jin.


    Originally, it wasn¡¯t known where the character ¡®Jin¡¯ came from, so there was an obvious need for some changes. Now that ¡®Jin¡¯ was supposed to be Korean, the writers needed to modify the content to better suit the new version of the character.


    ¡°And we came to the agreement to shoot some scenes in Korea.¡±


    ¡°In Korea?¡±


    ¡°Apparently there was a place which caught the director''s liking when he went sightseeing last time. I think they intend to give a strong Korean image and feel to the character. Still, most of the shooting will be done in the US, so stay on your toes!¡±


    Woo-Jin nodded earnestly to Jang Soo-Hwan, who was worried for the actor.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin was about to grab the script from Jang Soo-Hwan, but he hesitated for a moment. Woo-Jin flinched as he thought the CEO found out about his recent confrontation with Lee Yeon.


    Even though Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t told anyone, there were so many paparazzis these days that he didn¡¯t know if anyone had accidentally witnessed the scene.


    In fact, the car accident involving Lee Yeon was also secretly photographed by a paparazzi from afar.


    Their original purpose was to take a picture of Chae Woo-Jin leaving his house for the bar exam interview, but they unexpectedly caught the big incident on camera.


    But since Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to get into another scandal involving Blue Fit, the agency had to buy the photo from the paparazzi at a huge price to prevent it from getting published. It was impossible to hide the traffic accident completely from the media, but they were able to prevent Woo-Jin¡¯s involvement from spreading to the public.


    All of this was possible thanks to Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s hellish and strenuous efforts, so it was understandable that he would constantly grind his teeth in frustration whenever the name ¡®Lee Yeon¡¯ was mentioned.


    Be it by his fans or the paparazzi, Woo-Jin was constantly being watched. He had to always be careful about his actions.


    However, it was impossible for Woo-Jin to control the actions of others.


    This time around, Woo-Jin was very anxious that a picture of him with Lee Yeon was taken that night. Fortunately, CEO Jang brought up a different topic.?


    ?


    ¡°We got a request for you to star in a commercial¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t film any more commercials now.¡±


    People say that one has to seize the opportunity when it arrives, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t feel the need to this time. While some people filmed dozens of commercials in one go, Woo-Jin thought he had already filmed more than enough right now.


    Moreover, in his case, he didn¡¯t stop at just starring in the commercials. He always had to use the sponsored goods as well, so having extra products in his hands right now would only be a burden for Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s what I thought you¡¯d say. But the problem this time is the client,¡± CEO Jang said.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Barenjeong Foods.¡±


    Before he even got a chance at feeling relieved that his meeting with Lee Yeon was still a secret, Woo-Jin froze at those words. Those were words he couldn¡¯t have imagined even in his wildest dreams.


    Woo-Jin could only blink continuously, so CEO Jang kept explaining with an awkward smile.


    ¡°That man wants to cast you as the model for a new line of products that Barenjeong is releasing soon. Did he perhaps contact you personally beforehand?¡±


    Woo-Jin barely managed to shake his head at the CEO¡¯s question. He hadn¡¯t received a single call or message from him.


    In fact, his biological father hadn¡¯t contacted him once even after Chae Woo-Jin was revealed to be his son.


    ¡°I seriously don¡¯t know that that person is thinking.¡±


    Woo-Jin had no idea whether the man was making small, shy steps towards a path of reconciliation with his son, or whether he only saw this as an opportunity to do business.


    ¡°Just ignore it,¡± Woo-Jin said firmly.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father was a creative but self-righteous and arbitrary person in his memories. The man knew no shame. He thought that he had no reason to feel ashamed of anything as his actions were always just and sincere, thus he was always self-confident even when surrounded by people¡¯s gazes.


    It was difficult to understand his actions and decisions through common sense.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s trying to initiate contact by doing business with me. Tell him not to even dream about it.¡±


    If there were people who only made the worst possible choices, there were also people who were simply the worst, period.?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 169

    Chapter 169?


    ?


    The Golden Dragon Film Festival was a festival for filmmakers.


    It was a ceremony to evaluate the films released over the past year as well as encourage and boost the confidence of the filmmakers.


    However, filmmakers were not the only ones enjoying the festival.


    Viewers who loved movies and fans of the actors starring in the films also gathered there. Thus, the people preparing the film festival had to go all-out in consideration of all these different people.


    Workers of various professions worked extremely hard together for many days just for this day.


    But it wasn¡¯t difficult just for the organizers. The month of November was like a war for the actors¡¯ beauty stylists and fashion coordinators because of the Great Eastern and Golden Dragon Film Festivals.


    Since the two film festivals were held a week apart, the stylists were competing with one another with bloodshot eyes like there was no tomorrow.


    The short time their actors stood on the red carpet, and the podium was a timeframe that determined victory or defeat for the entire war for the stylists and coordinators.


    But no one was more desperate than the actors who had to be armed and stand at the very frontlines of this war.


    ¡°Please! Can¡¯t you give us Louis D.L.¡¯s suit you recently procured?¡±


    ¡°How many times do I have to tell you? I don¡¯t have it anymore. I only got to see it for a day as well before sending it to the recipient.¡±


    ¡°Who else in Korea could be more worthy of wearing Louis D.L.¡¯s suit than our Park Min?¡±


    Park Min¡¯s fashion coordinator made a small protest to stylist Park Si-Yeon. They had come all the way to see the stylist after having heard that the work of the designer Louis D.L. had arrived in Korea. However, Park Si-Yeon had a rather regretful expression and explained that the suit was no longer in her hands.


    Although Louis D.L. wasn¡¯t well known in Korea, he was a world-famous designer for men¡¯s wear.


    He was not famous in Korea because his works weren¡¯t publicly available since they were expensive, hand-crafted masterpieces only available in very small quantities. Nevertheless, Louis D.L. was praised worldwide as a designer who expressed the male body in the most elegant yet sensual way.


    Thus, men who knew of his prominence all wanted to wear one of his clothes at least once in their lifetimes, even if they had to wait for years just to get their hands on one outfit.


    However, each piece of clothing was so expensive that the general public could never afford it. In fact, that was also the case for celebrities.


    Although it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for celebrities who earned billions or tens of billions of won per year to pay the price, even they would hesitate to pay 10 million won for a single outfit. Of course, it would be a different story if they got a sponsorship and didn¡¯t have to pay for the clothes, but that was a hopeless wish.


    Instead, there were rare cases where famous stylists made a direct order to the designer and purchased custom clothes.


    Louis D.L. was one such designer. He strictly followed the principle of customizing his creations according to the client and did not produce clothes for an unspecified client, let alone the general public.


    Although he usually did not accept requests from stylists, he could not cut off and sever the connection with specific people working in fashion. He occasionally accepted requests from stylists he was close with and received one order at a time.?


    ?


    There were also cases where Louis D.L. provided new designs to world-famous stylists as a sample. It usually happened on a whim when he wanted to experiment and challenge himself using people with good physiques like models and celebrities as a basis.


    And a few days ago, the news spread that Park Si-Yeon had acquired a new, masterful outfit made by Louis D.L.


    Whatever the case was, everyone assumed that Park Si-Yeon was considering sponsoring someone and giving it to them as she had a Louis D.L. suit.


    ¡°Are you aware that our Park Min will be presenting an award at this year¡¯s Golden Dragon Film Festival? We will be sure to promote you a lot to make the sponsorship worthwhile. You definitely won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    ¡°Let me correct you. Louis D.L. isn¡¯t at a level where he needs publicity, and neither do I.¡±


    Park Min¡¯s fashion coordinator flinched at Park Si-Yeon¡¯s displeased response and immediately apologized.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I said something strange because of my agitation. Nevertheless, our Park Min is a model who won¡¯t sully the honor of his designers and stylists. He will assimilate the clothes better than anyone else and delight you with a beautiful appearance.¡±


    Seeing the sincere apology, Park Si-Yeon responded with a slightly softer tone.


    ¡°I think you have misunderstood something. I was merely a delivery woman this time around.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Louis D.L. wanted to gift the clothes to someone and asked me to be the middleman between the two, and I accepted his request.¡±


    Louis D.L.¡¯s work this time was a suit he designed after being inspired by an actor in a film he saw that deeply touched him.


    But for the actor in question to wear the suit Louis D.L. designed, he had to know the actor¡¯s measurements. However, as a sentimental and romantic person, Louis D.L. couldn¡¯t send a calculated message to the person and say, ¡®I want to gift my work to you, so please send me your measurements.¡¯


    Presents were supposed to be prepared in secret and brought out as a surprise while going ¡®Ta-dah!¡¯ Moreover, it was weird to inform the person in advance about the gift when it would take him several months to handcraft it all.


    So when Louis D.L. was having a hard time deciding his next course of action, he miraculously remembered Park Si-Yeon, who he had met through an acquaintance some time ago.


    He assumed that as a stylist for a famous Korean celebrity, she would be familiar with his muse.


    And as a matter of fact, she did meet his expectations. Park Si-Yeon happened to be working as the stylist of Louis D.L.¡¯s muse. The news delighted the designer, and he took on the job of designing a suit for his muse.


    ¡°I simply gave Louis the measurements and delivered the finished product. So please just leave me alone now. Do you think you¡¯re the only person who came running to me begging for the suit?¡± Park Si-Yeon asked.


    Opportunities to see Louis D.L.¡¯s artworks were not common. So when Park Si-Yeon showed the finished suit to some close people working in the fashion industry, a rumor spread around.


    When people started begging for the suit with their big mouths, she was disappointed in their behavior and got angry at the annoying people who wouldn¡¯t stop bothering her during such busy times.?


    ?


    ¡°Then who was the one to receive the gift?¡±


    Park Min¡¯s fashion coordinator asked one last question as they didn¡¯t want to go back with empty hands and deal with the actor¡¯s outburst.


    ¡°What will you even do with that info? Don¡¯t be too obsessed with things that belong to others. After all, it¡¯s Park Min we¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m sure many people want to sponsor him.¡±


    Park Si-Yeon responded indifferently. From companies for luxury goods to fashion designers, plenty of people were standing in line to sponsor Park Min.


    She already had her hands full, having to choose the clothes and accessories of the actors she was in charge of so that their styles didn¡¯t overlap with other actors. As a stylist, it wasn¡¯t easy to deal with designers on behalf of the actors, so the arrangement with Louis D.L. this time was time-consuming.


    And above all else, if she didn¡¯t hurry up and acquire the shoes she wanted, she would be unable to get the right sizes.


    In the case of famous stars, they each prepared and monopolized at least three to four outfits in advance, even if they didn¡¯t wear most of them on the day of the film festival.


    Naturally, the shoes had to be prepared according to each outfit. But because one person took several shoes, the most common sizes quickly went out of stock.


    Smaller shoes would hurt the actor¡¯s feet, but they could potentially trip and fall over on the red carpet if they wore a larger pair. Thus, it was a pain in the butt to quickly find shoes of the right size that matched the outfits.


    This was the time period when stylists had to be faster than ever on their feet. However, too many people had their eyes stuck on a moving bus that wasn¡¯t even their ride.


    Park Si-Yeon waved her hands and shooed Park Min¡¯s fashion coordinator away, saying she didn¡¯t want to be bothered anymore. The coordinator couldn¡¯t say anything in response and silently left the shop with no results.


    Their vision got blurry as they worried about how to explain the situation to Park Min.


    The coordinator would¡¯ve actually preferred it if someone else had gotten the suit first because they were one step faster. If so, Park Min would get annoyed but blame his bad luck.


    But if he learned that Louis D.L. had personally made the suit as a gift for someone, Park Min would become furious and order them to find out who it was.


    ¡°Should I lie to him¡­?¡±


    That was a terrible idea. If Park Min found out later that he had been lied to, all kinds of objects would be thrown at the fashion coordinator.


    In the end, they simply sighed and shook their head as though they were very familiar with this kind of situation. Compared to other actors, Park Min received sponsorship offers from a lot more brands, so the fashion coordinator didn¡¯t have to run around as much trying to secure outfits and shoes for the actor. However, their work-life was still very laborious, as the most difficult task was to satisfy Park Min.


    ***


    When attending a film festival, accessories were as important as the clothes the actors wore. The actors had to utilize personal collections or receive sponsorships to stand out more than others.


    In the case of famous celebrities, companies and designers would compete against each other to sponsor them. On the other hand, actors who did not have such fame would spend the weeks before the festival anxiously as their confidence took a nosedive.


    But interestingly, it was the same situation for companies and designers.?


    ?


    The more famous the company or designer was, the more stars chose their products. But if no one chose a certain brand, the company couldn¡¯t sponsor anyone even if they wanted to. In these cases, the companies had to follow the celebrities around, begging them to wear their products and pay for advertising fees as well.


    Thus, the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. That was a law of human society that applied to every country around the world.


    ¡°Did you say that Kwon Eun-Mi prepared two sets of clothes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but both outfits are yellow and have similar designs, so I think we can just match them with the same accessory. Also, it seems Oh Ha-Na is going to wear a sheer dress[1] with black lace.¡±


    The designer team at ¡®Gaon¡¯ was also working tirelessly in preparation for the film festival. Since the company was relatively new, there was no other event better than this to promote the brand.


    Therefore, the teams began working a month before, designing and crafting several accessories matching the styles of the actors they were assigned to. All they had to do now was select the accessories that matched the actors¡¯ outfits the best.


    The design team led by Park Eun-Soo was in charge of Chae Woo-Jin, Kwon Eun-Mi, and Oh Ha-Na, who had all starred in Red Enemy.


    ¡°Should we go with the diamonds and yellow sapphires to match Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s outfit? The Rivi¨¨re necklace[2] should be a good fit since it¡¯s an off-the-shoulder dress.¡±


    Most people responded positively when Park Eun-Soo asked her team members their opinions. They had researched Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s tastes in advance and had prepared a necklace made with the jewels the actress liked.


    Fortunately, the design of Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s outfit and the necklace matched perfectly.


    Additionally, people raised the opinion that they should focus more on earrings and hair ornaments rather than a necklace for Oh Ha-Na since she would be wearing an outfit with a Sabrina neckline.[3]


    Oh Ha-Na was short, and her outfit was going to be a mini dress[4], so there was a high possibility that she would go for an updo hairstyle.


    They then decided to go with pearls for the main jewelry to highlight the actress¡¯s elegance and grace instead of going for a glamorous, showy look.


    ¡°What if Chae Woo-Jin puts a boutonni¨¨re[5] on his suit¡¯s lapel[6] since it¡¯s been the trend recently?¡±


    Once they had sorted out their thoughts on Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Ha¡¯s accessories, Ryu Na-Ye brought up the topic of Chae Woo-Jin with sparkling eyes.


    Unlike the actresses, Chae Woo-Jin had not given the design team information about his outfit. However, since men¡¯s suits all somewhat followed the same basic design, they were almost done deciding what accessories to prepare for the actor.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ The fabric is far too good for that.¡±


    At Park Eun-Soo¡¯s response, the other team members turned to her with twinkling eyes. They had long known that the team leader was the CEO¡¯s wife, but it was recently revealed that she was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother, which caused a huge sensation in the company.


    In particular, Ryu Na-Ye, who had been very open about being a big fan of Chae Woo-Jin, was shocked for several days afterward.


    She was ecstatic but also shy and so embarrassed that she couldn¡¯t even look Park Eun-Soo in the eyes properly.


    If she thought back, she had basically been squealing ¡®I love your son so much!¡¯ every single day to her team leader.?


    ?


    But one day, Chae Woo-Jin suddenly appeared at the design team¡¯s office.


    Park Eun-Soo had left behind some important documents and had asked Chae Woo-Jin, who happened to be at home, to bring them to her as an errand.?


    ?


    ¡®It¡¯s nice and convenient to be able to send you on errands like this. I didn¡¯t dare do it before because I was afraid we¡¯d get discovered.¡¯?


    ?


    As she received the documents from her son, Park Eun-Soo looked refreshed and spoke joyfully. Chae Woo-Jin then greeted the designers in the office and went out for lunch with everyone as well.


    Ryu Na-Ye had obviously met Chae Woo-Jin before when filming commercials and doing photoshoots.


    However, she always had to be cautious about her behavior since they had met as business partners where she was a designer who represented the company. Her superiors and bosses were present on set as well, so she couldn¡¯t openly express her feelings and had to maintain a professional and calm attitude.


    However, when Chae Woo-Jin visited the office, he was like a cheerful and curious child who had come to play at his mother¡¯s company. Now that they weren¡¯t meeting as business partners, they were definitely more casual and comfortable with one another.


    In fact, it was possible that the documents were simply an excuse and Park Eun-Soo wanted to provide an opportunity for the team members who were fans of Chae Woo-Jin to see her son.


    Now that Ryu Na-Ye thought about it, every time the company was filming a commercial with Chae Woo-Jin, Park Eun-Soo had always sent Ryu Na-Ye instead of the others to the film set. Ryu Na-Ye could feel the thoughtfulness and generosity in her team leader¡¯s actions and words.


    ¡®So this is what it¡¯s like to be a successful idol geek!¡¯


    Ryu Na-Ye had become a celebrity on Wish Baragi after she accomplished something that all geeks and fans of celebrities dreamt of doing but was virtually impossible to achieve.


    Though, needless to say, her fame couldn¡¯t beat that of the one and only ¡®Jin-Hee''s Mom.¡¯?


    ?


    1. A dress made with sheer fabric, see-through fabric, often used for summer clothes, underwear, and lingerie. ??


    ?


    2. A Rivi¨¨re necklace is a necklace fully made of gemstones of the same variety that are usually the same size and shape. It looks like a chain of jewels around the neck. ??


    ?


    3. A Sabrina neckline is a wide neckline that goes horizontally across the collarbone, so there¡¯s not much space to wear and show a necklace. Also called a bateau/boat neckline. ??


    ?


    4. If you search up mini dress in Korean, the dresses are not the typical short skintight western mini dresses. They¡¯re closer to a short aline dress you might wear to a prom, wedding, or party. ??


    ?


    5. A boutonni¨¨re is a floral decoration, typically a single flower or bud, worn on the lapel (the front, folded flap of cloth) of a suit/tuxedo, usually for special occasions like proms, funerals, and weddings. Nowadays, a pin is worn more often than flowers on business suits. ??


    ?


    6. See reference for Boutonni¨¨re. ?

 CH 170

    Park Eun-Soo had commented about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s outfit, which was still a mystery to everyone. Thus, the members of the design team inevitably got excited and curious.?


    ?


    ¡°What fabric was used for the suit?¡± Ryu Na-Ye asked.


    ¡°Vicuna fabric,¡± Park Eun-Soo responded.


    ¡°Vicuna? No wonder it¡¯s so expensive¡­.¡±


    Vicuna was known as the world¡¯s most expensive fabric. If a craftsman did the cutting and sewing by hand, a single outfit could easily cost far more than a car.


    These days, many clothes were made in factories with blended Vicuna fabric, but from Park Eun-Soo¡¯s attitude, it didn¡¯t appear to be the factory-made kind.


    Even Ryu Na-Ye thought that putting pins or flowers on clothes of such incredible quality was a crime against humanity.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to give up on the boutonni¨¨re.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, but let¡¯s do that next time. I don¡¯t have the courage to alter that suit.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo shook her head in dismay and fear as she remembered when she first saw the suit.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go with cufflinks and a watch for him.¡±


    ¡°A watch? Even if Chae Woo-Jin is our model, hasn¡¯t he received plenty of sponsorship offers from famous luxury watch brands?¡±


    Accessories and ornaments were the main goods produced at Brisingamen, while watches were only a second priority. So unless the company collaborated with a proper watch brand, their watches weren¡¯t good enough to be worn by someone of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s caliber.


    Although they could ask him to wear their watches in his daily life, the team members thought it would be unreasonable to request him to wear their watch at a famous film festival. Thus, they voiced the idea of removing watches from the list of accessories for Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°He¡¯ll wear what he¡¯s given, so no need to worry about that.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo answered with conviction, and the other team members started clapping subconsciously. Just now, she was overflowing with charisma as her aura as a team leader, and a mother merged into one.


    So this was what it meant to call a mother for help.


    Soon, the meeting ended, and everyone started packing up when Park Eun-Soo called Ryu Na-Ye.


    ¡°There were a few leftover copies, so I brought them here. You can share these with those who want one in the team.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo handed over a few copies of the photobook Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min had made the other day. Back then, all four hundred copies were sold at the booth in front of the coffee shop. However, the people in their surroundings also wanted one, including Woo-Jin¡¯s family, so they reprinted fifty photobooks later on.


    Park Eun-Soo brought five of those copies to work and handed them over to Ryu Na-Ye, telling her to share them with their team members. In fact, it was the exact number of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans on the team, including Ryu Na-Ye.?


    ?


    ¡°Really?! Are you really giving these to me?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t take them all.¡±


    As she accepted the photobooks and held onto them, a shining star fluttered in Ryu Na-Ye¡¯s eyes.


    The day the photobooks were being sold, she happened to be away in the countryside. Ryu Na-Ye couldn¡¯t wait to go back and buy a copy herself, but the photobooks had been sold out by the time she returned to Seoul.


    To rub salt into the wound, the process of the photobook¡¯s creation aired on Life Depicted the previous week. Seeing how it was produced, Ryu Na-Ye couldn¡¯t help but feel upset, frustrated, and regretful.


    These photobooks had a different meaning and value compared to magazines or other photobooks. Those were all about choosing a concept and writing a story through the photos as the model played an act. However, these photobooks contained the real Chae Woo-Jin in his purest, unedited form.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s personality was clearly visible in each and every picture, creating a friendly and warm atmosphere.


    The fans could easily imagine how the actor behaved in real life through the photos, and they were ecstatic as the photobook also contained old, faded pictures of Chae Woo-Jin from his middle and high school days.


    Although Ryu Na-Ye didn¡¯t actually get to see the pictures in person, she could easily sense the atmosphere conveyed through the photos she saw online and the message behind them.


    Fans could sense how much Chae Woo-Jin trusted his friend through his relaxed smile toward the camera, his annoyed expressions, as well as his lack of awareness of the camera at times.


    In any case, the process of how these two friends made the photobook was aired on TV, so Ryu Na-Ye was able to appease her disappointment a little.


    The way Woo-Jin was told to play the piano by his friend but gave up and let his emotions explode while playing a world-famous piece and lamenting his own fate was like a scene from a movie.


    Similar to how people wanted Woo-Jin to act in a historical film when he was revealed to be Hanryang Doryeong, his fans now wanted the actor to play a pianist next.


    However, the scene that shocked the fans the most was the one where Woo-Jin wore a bear costume and sold the photobooks.


    The broadcast from the previous episode only showed a vendor in a bear costume selling soap bars, but that was more than enough to make assumptions. They were assuming that the bear, who was zealously gathering customers¡¯ attention while selling photobooks this time, was actually Chae Woo-Jin himself.


    Ryu Na-Ye also saw that bear a lot in posts on the fancafe. The bear was dancing so earnestly to attract people that it kept drawing in people¡¯s gazes. Moreover, it was said that the bear listened to all the customers¡¯ requests when taking photos together and even acted all cutesy!


    People didn¡¯t know where such a funny bear had come from and posted their thoughts and photos on the fancafe. They expected it to be another of Woo-Jin¡¯s friends helping out with the assignment, but only through the broadcast did they learn that it was actually Chae Woo-Jin himself.


    The fans who missed the sale started panicking and felt regretful, but so did those who did, in fact, manage to get a copy in person.


    The only people who were somewhat content were those who had taken pictures with the bear. Those who had been distracted by the photobooks and totally ignored the bear had to lie down and take deep breaths to calm themselves. They all felt deeply regretful for being unaware that they had shared the same air and space with Chae Woo-Jin, albeit for a short instant.


    ¡°I now have a photobook of my own¡­ It even has an autograph!¡±?


    ?


    Ryu Na-Ye exclaimed while stroking Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s signature on the bottom right of the front cover.


    ¡°Team leader, let us work together for eternity. I will bury my bones inside the company building!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit¡­ Gosh, you made me imagine it.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo then tried to take back the photobook she had given Ryu Na-Ye with a troubled look. Knowing that the team leader was messing around, Ryu Na-Ye grinned cheekily and held onto the photobook tightly before turning around and running away.


    Thus, the newest celebrity on Wish Baragi had gained another special item and a fun story to tell today.


    ***


    The first day of the Golden Dragon Film Festival, one of the biggest events in the film industry, finally dawned. All kinds of journalists and people of the press gathered at the Cultural Center alongside fans who had come to see their favorite actors in person.


    As the actors got off their cars and walked down the red carpet, their fans loudly shouted out their names, losing their voices in the process.


    Although it would be nice to make eye contact with their idols, they simply wanted to show their support and instinctively wanted to express their feelings out loud.


    Whenever a new car arrived in front of the red carpet, people also enjoyed guessing who would exit the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s a black sedan this time. They probably came alone.¡±


    Actors who starred in the same movie often came in the same vehicle, usually in a van. However, considering it was a single black sedan this time, it was highly likely for only one actor to be inside.


    ¡°Who hasn¡¯t arrived yet?¡±


    ¡°Around two-thirds of actors are here already¡­. Ah~! It¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin!¡±


    As soon as the fan realized that Chae Woo-Jin had stepped out of the car, they simply screamed out loud as their instinct told them to. In fact, all kinds of shouts and cries reverberated from all over the place.


    The moment he took his first step on the red carpet, bright bursts of light flashed in front of him, and reporters from various entertainment channels called out to him louder than anyone else.


    As he walked forward, Woo-Jin greeted everyone he made eye contact with. Kim Woo-Hyung, whom he had met on Street Date two months ago, was among them. Being the first familiar face Woo-Jin saw, he gladly took the initiative to approach the reporter first.


    ¡°Good to see you again, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. You look exceptionally handsome today.¡±


    As Kim Woo-Hyung stated, Woo-Jin was wearing a deep black suit today. The outfit nicely clung to his body and created a beautiful yet stoic silhouette while making his long legs stand out even more. Furthermore, the line that descended from his shoulders to his waist created a very sexy ambience.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°First of all, congratulations on being nominated for Best Actor. How do you feel today?¡±?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin returned the greeting, Kim Woo-Hyung did not let go of the opportunity and handed the actor a rose while asking a question.


    Woo-Jin cheerfully received the rose and stood in place to converse with the reporter.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one with great news. I heard you¡¯re getting married.¡±


    Kim Woo-Hyung was embarrassed when Woo-Jin returned the congratulations but also brazenly invited the actor to his wedding.


    ¡°If I win the Best Actor award tonight, I will definitely attend that wedding, no matter where I am that day.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡±


    ¡°Should we make a promise with these conditions?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, can¡¯t we change the condition to Red Enemy winning the Best Picture award instead?¡±


    It was common knowledge that Chae Woo-Jin was unlikely to win the Best Actor award. No matter how successful a movie was, no matter how perfect the actor¡¯s performance was, there was no way they¡¯d give the Best Actor award to someone who had only been acting for two years.


    On the other hand, there was a great chance that Red Enemy would win the award since it had already won the Best Picture award at the Great Eastern Film Festival the previous week.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s no fun. I¡¯d rather change it to if I win a prize at all in the second half of the award ceremony.¡±


    Woo-Jin was nominated for both the Best Actor and Most Popular Actor awards in the second half.


    But he believed that he didn¡¯t stand a chance at winning either of them. The Most Popular Actor award wasn¡¯t decided by the judge but rather by the general public. They could vote online or by calling the festival planning team.


    However, 60% of the votes came from overseas, so no matter how many votes Woo-Jin got from Koreans, it would be pointless if the fans overseas didn¡¯t vote for him.


    Thus, the system was advantageous to hallyu stars who already had fanbases internationally.


    Woo-Jin had no fans abroad who would vote for him as he had yet to enter the international market. Therefore, the Most Popular Actor award was just as out of reach for him as the Best Actor award.


    ¡°All right, deal!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Kim Woo-Hyung unexpectedly agreed to the new conditions pretty quickly, so Woo-Jin asked back in surprise.


    However, he realized that they had to go this far, at least to become a topic of conversation and start some gossip, so Woo-Jin readily accepted the deal as well.?


    ?


    He then continued walking down the red carpet with Kim Woo-Hyung behind him when he recognized more reporters.


    Because of the recent incident, Woo-Jin treated reporters indifferently and apathetically for a while. As they flinched in fear at his gaze, Woo-Jin held out his hand first to reconcile and mend their relations.


    It was strategically advantageous to make peace with journalists at the right time rather than staying hostile for too long.


    In the recent incident, the reporters were in the wrong, while Woo-Jin looked like a powerful, authoritarian figure to them, which was why they were cautious around the actor. But it wasn¡¯t good for this situation to continue for long.


    The strength of reporters lies not in their impartiality but in the pen they hold. The power of the words they write is far scarier than the actual truth.


    So, when maintaining a slight advantage in a power struggle against the press, it was good to start reconciliation and show a generous, forgiving behavior.


    As Woo-Jin approached them first and greeted them with a smile, he could hear a sigh of relief among the nervous reporters.


    Thanks to Woo-Jin¡¯s smile, they were able to capture some good pictures. Thus they had no reason to refuse the hand of peace and compromise.


    Consequently, the bloody feud between the actor and the press came to an end.


    After shaking hands with them, Woo-Jin turned to his fans and waved as they cheered for him. Coincidentally, the petals of the rose in the hand he was waving started falling, creating an impromptu rain of flower petals.


    Unaware of the red petals in his hair, Woo-Jin stood in front of the step-and-repeat[1].


    But as soon as he saw the Bareunjeong logo on the backdrop, Woo-Jin barely managed to hide the displeasure on his face.


    He controlled his facial muscles as much as possible while recalling the film festival from last year. He clearly remembered Bareunjeong not being one of the sponsoring companies for last year¡¯s Golden Dragon Film Festival.


    The logo was positioned right next to Woo-Jin¡¯s face. If one looked at the photos taken at the step-and-repeat, one would see Woo-Jin and Bareunjeong¡¯s logo side by side.


    Those who didn¡¯t know the backstory wouldn¡¯t think much of it, but those who knew of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s circumstances would interpret it in a completely different manner.


    Woo-Jin was greatly annoyed by things like this.


    There was no sincerity at all, and the company was blatantly making thorough, calculated actions with the intention of spreading gossip and bringing the scandal back up naturally.


    Woo-Jin was surprised by the sudden ambush in this situation where he could not complain or react about it as he would stand out.


    Nevertheless, he maintained his calm with an indifferent expression.?


    ?


    1. a backdrop on which a promotional logo is displayed in a repeating design, used as a background against which people, especially celebrities attending an event, are photographed. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 171

    With an indifferent look on his face, Chae Woo-Jin ignored the logo and smiled at the camera with his most beautiful and brightest smile. It was one of his lethal moves taught by Hwang Yi-Young, which he had practiced countless times in front of the mirror. Hwang Yi-Young had once told Chae Woo-Jin that if he smiled like that, people would focus on his face while ignoring his surroundings. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Woo-jin did his best to put on an act, in the hope that people wouldn¡¯t notice the logo in the backdrop. He hoped it was effective, even if it was just for a moment.?


    ?


    ***


    After the first segment of the event was over, Woo-Jin went to the bathroom during the short break. Someone next to him tapped him on the shoulder while he was washing his hands, so Woo-Jin turned his head to the side. It was Yoon Seong-Hwan; he looked glad to see a familiar acquaintance for the first time in a while. Woo-Jin bowed and greeted him, while shaking the water off his hands.


    ¡°Hello. It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°Yeah it has truly been a while.¡± When Yoon Seong-Hwan held out his hand, Woo-Jin hurriedly wiped his wet hands on his pants. He suddenly remembered what Hwang Yi-Young had told him before, and paused for a moment. She had emphasized that he should be careful when wearing this outfit, but it was already too late.


    ¡°Congratulations on winning the award earlier.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity you didn¡¯t get the Best New Actor Award, but at least you won it during the Great Eastern Film Festival. And more importantly, you were nominated for the Best Actor Award.¡±


    Woo-Jin won the Best Supporting Actor Award for Finding the Lion in the first segment. His character, Park Kwang-Heon, was such a hit that he won the award even though he had barely appeared in a few scenes. On the other hand, Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t nominated for the Best New Actor Award in the Golden Dragon Film Festival. This was in contrast with him winning the Best New Actor Award for his role as Prince Myeong-Hwan at the film festival a week ago. Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t nominated at all for the same award category at the Great Eastern Film Festival.


    If Woo-Jin had been nominated, he would certainly win that award, so it was somewhat disappointing. Woo-Jin was really looking forward to it as well because his seniors had mentioned that it was an award which actors could only receive once in their lifetime, which made it all the more precious. Since Woo-Jin was invited to both film festivals, he had the huge desire to win the Best New Actor Award at both festivals.


    Interestingly enough, Woo-Jin was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Golden Dragon Film Festival, instead of the Best New Actor Award. Since the criteria for the Best New Actor Award in each film festival every year was rather vague, there were cases where actors were nominated after participating in a few movies. Thus, there were several actors like Woo-Jin, who had been nominated for the Best New Actor Award two years in a row.


    On the other hand, the Golden Dragon Film Festival gave Woo-Jin the honor of being nominated for the Best Actor Award instead of the Best New Actor Award. It was an honor as an actor in the second year of his career, but it was a nomination without any actual benefits, because he was the perfect candidate for the Best New Actor Award with his level of acting experience.


    Regardless of how unprecedentedly well-received his rendition of Prince Myeong-Hwan was, or how impressed the film critics were, realistically speaking, it was impossible for Woo-Jin to win the Best Actor Award. It wasn¡¯t a matter of his acting skills ¨C his age and the lack of experience were obstacles preventing him from getting the award. Acting skills and the film itself were not the only criteria for determining the winner at film festivals.


    Several reviews in the newspapers had mentioned that Chae Woo-Jin would definitely win the Best Actor Award if he had filmed Red Enemy three or four years from now, so it was a pity. He didn¡¯t get nominated for the Best New Actor Award, and he wouldn¡¯t be getting the Best Actor Award either, so Woo-Jin was left with nothing. Hence, that was why Yoon Seong-Hwan said it was a pity he didn¡¯t get nominated for the Best New Actor Award. However, despite being a relatively new actor, Woo-Jin had already been nominated for the Best Actor Award, and that was definitely an achievement worth celebrating. ?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, the Best Picture Award will go to Red Enemy. This is an indisputable fact.¡± Kim Woo-Hyung [1] didn¡¯t blindly declare that they would be getting the Best Picture Award for no reason.


    ¡°Thank you for your kind words.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not just saying that ¨C I mean it. When I was watching Red Enemy, my heart started pounding really hard. It¡¯s been a while since I felt that way while watching a movie.¡± Yoon Seong-Hwan tapped against his chest with his hand, as he relished in the afterglow of his movie experience once again.


    Perhaps he had seen his own reflection in the life of Prince Myeong-Hwan ¨C a person who was crazy about the arts. This was because the fundamental mindset of people who lived their lives being crazy about a particular thing was always the same, regardless of the era and circumstances. Hence, Yoon Seong-Hwan was very fond of Woo-Jin, who had been called a ¡®monster¡¯ ever since he debuted.


    Yoon Seong-Hwan put his arm around Woo-Jin¡¯s shoulder. He whipped out his phone and said, ¡°Since we ran into each other like this, let¡¯s take a photo. My daughter is a fan of yours.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Ji-A?¡±


    Woo-Jin thought about Yoon Seong-Hwan¡¯s daughter and smiled. Yoon Ji-A was currently in elementary school; she was a very lively and cute child.


    ¡°Taking selfies in the bathroom is the best after all!¡± Yoon Seong-Hwan was satisfied with the photo taken against the white tiles in the background with the bathroom lighting. He looked good in the photo, considering the fact he had taken it with Chae Woo-Jin. He remarked that the dignity that came with age stood out in the photo, and was secretly pleased about it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal together someday.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m really looking forward to it, so please keep your word.¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll contact you soon. You didn¡¯t change your phone number, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll call you in a few days. By the way, why are you so tense? We¡­¡± Yoon Seong-Hwan paused mid-sentence.


    Woo-Jin was baffled by his reaction, but he gradually came to a realization that there was something strange between them, and instantly blushed. ?


    ?


    ¡°We¡­¡±


    ¡°I think this is the first time we¡¯ve met each other in person.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t have your mobile¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never given it to you, so you don¡¯t have it.¡±


    They just met each other for the first time today, and didn¡¯t even have the chance to exchange phone numbers.


    ¡°But why are we so familiar with one another?¡±


    They had never met each other before, but since they had both appeared on Life Depicted, it seemed as though they had become a lot more familiar with one another than they would with other people. The reason Woo-Jin knew about Yoon Seong-Hwan¡¯s daughter, Ji-A, was because he had seen her on TV. Since they kept seeing each other on TV, and were cast members of the same show, both of them ended up being under the illusion that they were closely acquainted, without actually seeing each other in person.


    ¡°Shall I give you my phone number?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡±


    Yoon Seong-Hwan held back his laughter as he passed his phone to Woo-Jin. This was a common occurrence among celebrities. Even though they had never met, they would often mistakenly act like close friends, before turning around and doing a double take.


    Woo-Jin keyed his number into Yoon Seong-Hwan¡¯s phone and laughed as well. When he attended the Golden Dragon Film Festival last year, he remembered looking around, feeling amazed by the actors he had seen for the very first time. Today however, he felt a sense of familiarity, as though he had known Yoon Seong-Hwan for a long time. Hence, Woo-Jin was amazed at how much things had changed.


    Yoon Seong-Hwan and Chae Woo-Jin said their goodbyes; the former went into one of the stalls, while Woo-Jin left the bathroom as he was done. They were currently taking a break after completing the first segment, so a lot of people were going to the bathroom. Woo-Jin saw a couple of familiar faces, as well as people he hadn¡¯t seen before, but he greeted everyone he met. Hence, he took longer than expected to get into the hallway from the bathroom.


    Woo-Jin picked up the pace and this time, he ran into someone he actually knew. The other party noticed Woo-Jin as well, and stopped in his tracks while frowning. Woo-Jin wanted to say a brief hello before walking off, like what he usually did, but Park Min approached him slowly before standing in front of him. He glared at Woo-Jin from head to toe with an angry look in his eyes.


    ¡°Hello.¡±?


    ?


    Since Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t avoid him any longer, he decided to take the initiative and greet Park Min. He tried his best to be polite to avoid getting criticized by Park Min, but it created a rather tense ambience. Everybody in Korea knew that Park Min spared no effort to hide his hatred for Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had more presence and displayed better acting skills as compared to Park Min in the movie they had shot together. Additionally, Woo-Jin¡¯s drama had superseded his drama, which was aired at the same time slot on a different channel. Thus, it was only natural for Park Min to hate him.


    People would normally hide these feelings, but it was a shame that Park Min couldn¡¯t do it. Even during interviews, whenever Woo-Jin¡¯s name was mentioned, he would react negatively. Journalists often instigated these reactions by baiting Park Min, and he always ended up taking the bait without considering his image, even though they were minor remarks that could easily be disregarded. Park Min was already acting that way in front of journalists and reporters, so how much worse would he be when it was just the two of them?


    Park Min was known for openly swearing in public after a couple of drinks. Hence, there were several occasions where Park Min¡¯s acquaintances ended up becoming the informants of the articles written about him. Hence, it was hard for Woo-Jin to be oblivious about Park Min¡¯s hatred towards him.


    Even right now, Woo-jIn was conscious about the gazes around them, so he didn¡¯t forget to smile gently and straighten his back and shoulders. He shouldn¡¯t look dispirited, but he shouldn¡¯t look too arrogant either. In any society, seniors and juniors within a field were both co-workers and rivals. Being regarded as rude wouldn¡¯t do Woo-Jin any good, but he had to fight for himself too.


    ¡°So you were the one they gifted it to.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Forget I said anything.¡±


    There were two fern leaves intersecting one another on the collar of Woo-Jin¡¯s suit. It was Louis D.L.¡¯s logo. Since Park Min had never seen this design before, it was evident that it was newly launched. Even though many people felt that most suits looked similar regardless of design, the designs of suits were as trendy as women¡¯s wear, and there were distinct differences across brands.


    As soon as Park Min saw Woo-Jin¡¯s suit, he noticed it was the suit that Louis D.L. had recently gifted someone. Park Min wasn¡¯t aware of it, and had even asked his stylist to swing by Park Si-Yeon¡¯s place to request it. Thinking about that made him infuriated. He had no choice but to attend the film festival because of the awards, but this humiliation made Park Min feel extremely awful.


    Park Min brushed against Woo-Jin and deliberately tried to shove Woo-Jin with his shoulder. However, Park Min got pushed aside instead. Chae Woo-Jin had been constantly working out, so his body was made up of firm muscles despite looking slim and lean. A shoulder nudge couldn¡¯t do any damage to him, and Park Min was the one who suffered instead. When Woo-Jin asked if he was okay after seeing him lose his balance and stumbling backwards, Park Min became furious.


    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been standing still ever since I saw you though.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin casually tilted his head and responded, Park Min shut his mouth and pointed a finger at him. Regardless of how snobby he was, he couldn¡¯t help but notice the gazes of the people passing by in the hallway.


    Additionally, Park Min¡¯s sponsor owed Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather a great deal, so she told him to get along with Woo-Jin. Park Min turned around and left in a huff without saying a word, and walked towards the elevator. He came to the festival for the sake of the award, and his category had already ended. He didn¡¯t have a reason to stay here any longer. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin said a simple goodbye to Park Min, while facing back. Anybody looking at them would naturally think that Park Min had picked a fight with Chae Woo-Jin again. Even though it was true, it didn¡¯t help that Park Min had a bad track record. People were quick to assume the worst, and looked at him in a bad light. It was no secret in the entertainment industry that Park Min was indeed jealous of his successful junior. It all boiled down to his character as to whether or not he could hide that jealousy.


    ¡°What took you so long? Don¡¯t tell me you cried because you won the Best Supporting Actor Award?¡± As soon as Woo-jin sat down, Oh Ha-Na asked him softly out of curiosity. Perhaps Kwon Eun-Mi, who was sitting to the left of Woo-Jin have heard Oh Ha-Na¡¯s words ¨C she frowned and glared at Oh Ha-Na.


    ¡°Is that directed at me too?¡±


    Today, Kwon Eun-Mi won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Seol-Ha. Although they acted in the same movie and won the same award, the movie they had won the award for was different, so they laughed it off together while giving the acceptance speech. The crew members of Red Enemy had even beaten the crew members of Finding the Lion to it and gave Woo-Jin flowers first.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    Oh Ha-Na grumbled in a cute manner about how jealous she was of the two of them for winning an award.


    ¡°Still, I told you to watch your mouth in crowded places. You still can¡¯t hold yourself back from shooting your mouth off.¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi looked to her left and right before chastising Oh Ha-Na as softly as possible.


    ¡°Okay, understood. You always single me out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I care about you. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll slip up one day.¡±


    ¡°There you go again. I¡¯m an experienced actress~!¡±


    ¡°I told you to stop bringing that up!¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi asked Oh Ha-Na how her years of experience as a sheltered actress would help her in difficult situations in the future, and clicked her tongue. Oh Ha-Na thought about how she had shot herself in the foot by bringing it up, and kept quiet. She smoothed out the creases at the hem of her dress for no particular reason, and sighed after looking at Kwon Eun-Mi. ?


    ?


    1. Reporter of Entertainment Report ?

 CH 172

    Chapter 172?


    ?


    ¡°Unnie, your dress is beautiful. I wanted to wear an off-the-shoulder dress too¡­. Doesn¡¯t my dress make me look too prim and proper?¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi was wearing a light yellow gown that completely exposed her shoulders. The gown fluttered in the wind on the red carpet, allowing the curves of her body to be seen; she looked like a work of art. Her dress fluttered to the back with every step she took, like butterflies dancing, creating a dreamy vibe. She looked so beautiful in that dress that she even captivated fellow women.


    On the other hand, even though Oh Ha-Na wore a mini dress that fell above her knees, it was long-sleeved. She felt the design of her own dress was rather old-fashioned. The accessories they wore were different as well. Her necklace adorned with yellow sapphires and diamonds was very glamorous and beautiful; her matching set of drop earrings and hair accessory made up of several pearl pendants was very pretty as well, but they seemed too modest in contrast with Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s accessories.


    Of course, even though she knew matching such a fancy necklace with her outfit and appearance would look rather funny, it was only natural for people to compare her to Kwon Eun-Mi. There was already chatter about Kwon Eun-Mi being one of the best-dressed celebrities at the Golden Dragon Film Festival. Fortunately, people spoke positively about Oh Ha-Na as well, but most of them said she was cute. She was very disappointed as she was going for the mature look.


    ¡°I got compared to you because we walked on the red carpet together.¡±


    Today, Oh Ha-Na and Kwon Eun-Mi arrived together and walked down the red carpet with one another. Originally, Woo-Jin was supposed to make an entrance with them and walk down the red carpet with the two women on each side, just like their current seating arrangement, but something cropped up earlier. He was supposed to shoot a commercial the previous day, but it got rescheduled for today because of an issue with the piano used as a prop. Thus, it became hard for him to meet with both of them in time.


    He shot a coffee commercial earlier today. Since he had played the piano for the viewers in one of the episodes of Life Depicted, they decided to follow that concept and reflect it as it is in the commercial. An invigorating cup of coffee in the morning and relaxing piano music went very well together, creating a nice ambience. The ambience Hyun-Min wanted to capture was recreated by Woo-Jin in the commercial instead.


    Woo-Jin had to walk down the red carpet alone because of the commercial, but more people were in favor of that instead. Of course, male and female fans each had their own opinions, but the majority of the people preferred seeing Chae Woo-Jin make a red carpet entrance alone without the two beautiful women on each side.


    ¡°We each have our own charm ¡ª it¡¯s not like either one of us looks bad. I think you look extremely cute today, though?¡± Kwon Eun-Mi¡¯s compliment instantly made Oh Ha-Na¡¯s cheeks turn red.


    ¡°Not you too, unnie~!¡±


    Oh Ha-Na looked secretly pleased, while Kwon Eun-Mi looked delightfully at her. Sitting in the middle, Woo-Jin had now completely given up. It wasn¡¯t the first time both women had done something like this, and for some reason, their relationship seemed to have gotten better with each passing day. It wasn¡¯t a bad thing, but Woo-Jin was amused to see women build their friendships in such a manner.


    When they met one another, they were quick to compliment each other. However, because they looked at each other with gleaming eyes, he was initially slightly skeptical of their relationship. Previously, he had heard something about it from Hwang Yi-Young, so he had honestly thought there was something more to their relationship.?


    ?


    However, after seeing a recent interaction between his sister and her friend, he came to the realization that it was not a strange phenomenon. Even though it had only been a few days since they last saw each other, his sister and her friend hugged each other and acted as though they hadn¡¯t seen each other in years. They even started the conversation by talking about how the other party had become so pretty and proceeded to exchange all kinds of compliments with one another, causing anyone listening to their conversation to cringe.


    From Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, Woo-Hee¡¯s friend hadn¡¯t changed much from the last time he saw her. There was frankly nothing else to comment about her appearance, apart from the fact she looked ordinary. However, Woo-Hee acted as though she had just seen the most beautiful girl in the world that had taken her breath away.


    Knowing his sister, he knew she wasn¡¯t faking it. Woo-Jin figured that perhaps she was blinded by her affection for her friend. Just like how people regarded the person they loved as the most beautiful individual in the world, it seemed like Woo-Hee found it hard to find any shortcomings in a friend she was fond of.


    After that incident, Woo-Jin had gotten used to the relationship between Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Na, but that didn¡¯t mean they had always gotten along well with one another. There were moments when Kwon Eun-Mi would ruthlessly criticize Oh Ha-Na ¡ª like what she did a while ago, leading to fights. They had once fought so badly, as though the world was going to end. It caused the mood on set to be so tense to the point it seemed like they had been transported to the era of the Cold War. And then, sometimes, both of them would link arms with one another the very next day. Thus, Woo-Jin would let them be regardless of what they talked about.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to have a conversation when you¡¯re sitting this far apart? Should we switch seats?¡± Since Woo-Jin was sitting in the middle, it wasn¡¯t easy for the women sitting on either side to talk to each other. They leaned forward and talked to each other while maintaining eye contact, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t move as he was sandwiched between them. Hence, it seemed like Woo-Jin was better off switching seats with one of them.


    ¡°Oh my! You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll fill you in on the details later on, unnie.¡±


    It seemed that they had already covered various topics thus far, but both of them felt a little disappointed for not being able to continue with their conversation. Looking at Oh Ha-Na, Woo-Jin suddenly thought of the past. He could still vividly remember how she looked when she confidently asserted that Kwon Eun-Mi had a sponsor. However, seeing as both Oh Ha-Na and Kwon Eun-Mi ended up being so close that they were practically joined at the hip, Woo-Jin found it fascinating. ?


    ?


    ¡°Do you still think Kwon Eun-Mi has a sponsor?¡± ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had once asked her this question when both of them were alone during the promotional event in one of the cities after the movie had been released. He had only asked because he was rather amused to see the both of them becoming closer with one another, as opposed to how they were back during the production days, but Oh Ha-Na grabbed him by the collar. ?


    ?


    ¡°Say that again, and you¡¯ll pay for it!¡± ?


    ?


    The person who had originally said it became mad at Woo-Jin instead. She seemed angry upon hearing the ridiculous rumor and appeared to deny having said that before in the past, so Woo-Jin simply went along with it quietly.


    However, judging from the things Kwon Eun-Mi hinted at from time to time, Woo-Jin had an inkling that she might have already known about Oh Ha-Na¡¯s thoughts, as well as what she had said. Word spread around fast, so it was inevitable for Kwon Eun-Mi to learn about it. Nonetheless, Woo-Jin felt she sincerely adored and cared about Oh Ha-Na, so he arrived at the conclusion that Kwon Eun-Mi was a person with a bigger heart than he thought. Needless to say, it was evident that the relationship between both women was so strong that his thoughts and evaluations had no influence over it.


    Even though they said they would continue their conversation later on, Kwon Eun-Mi and Oh Ha-Na resumed talking to each other once again, with Woo-Jin sandwiched between them. All three of them sat together, but Woo-Jin felt a little lonely, so he decided to focus on the second segment of the event that was about to start.


    As he watched a K-pop girl group perform at the halfway mark of the film festival, Woo-Jin suddenly thought of Chae Woo-Ra. He wondered if Berry Rose would¡¯ve performed here today if nothing had happened. From what he had heard, based on her character, she most likely would¡¯ve refused to perform in front of fellow celebrities, so he didn¡¯t think he would be seeing her here.


    He knew it was unfair of him to project the negative feelings he had towards his father onto her. However, not seeing her at this very moment made Woo-Jin very happy. He wanted to refrain from inevitably running into her by chance. That was a little self-centeredness on Woo-Jin¡¯s part, as well as close-mindedness that was hard to overcome. This was the same feeling he had when he saw Bareunjeong Foods¡¯ logo in the backdrop earlier today.


    After the girl idol group¡¯s performance was over, Woo-Jin quickly brushed these unpleasant thoughts aside. Even though his head was occupied with all kinds of thoughts, Woo-Jin smiled and clapped his hands on autopilot. Whenever the award recipients gave their speeches, he would give an enthusiastic response. He nodded as they gave their speeches, hoping he would be able to stand there one day and make his own speech.


    When he won the Best New Actor Award at the Great Eastern Film Festival last week, as well as the Best Supporting Actor Award in the first segment today, Woo-Jin¡¯s speeches were rather dry. Since he had expected himself to receive an award to a certain extent, he had prepared his speech in advance. However, the more he wrote, the more long-winded his speech became, so he gave the standard speech ¡ª he thanked everyone and said he would work hard.


    He had even chastised himself as he walked down the podium, and he probably would only be getting his next opportunity the following year. But, as he listened intently to the other acceptance speeches for the sake of reference, he realized that experience was something that couldn¡¯t be disregarded.


    As he watched other people receive their awards, it was now time for the Popularity Award category, for which Woo-Jin was nominated. ?


    ?


    ¡°In my opinion, the meaning behind the Popularity Award is very significant. That is because it is an award bestowed by the public. It gives actors a sense of accomplishment different from the one derived from evaluations of veterans of the entertainment industry and critics. Let us take a look at the male actor nominees for the Popularity Award.¡±


    Each time the host called the names of the actors, their faces would appear on the big screen above the stage, one after another. Woo-Jin looked on unenthusiastically as his name and face appeared on the screen. It was akin to looking at this moment through someone else¡¯s eyes. Hence, he was half-dazed as he listened to the names of the award nominees.


    Woo-Jin had shot a commercial in the morning, and as soon as it was over, he went straight to the film festival. Additionally, Red Enemy would most likely win the Best Picture Award, so he had to stay till the end, even though he was tired. Woo-Jin held back his yawn and hoped that time would quickly fly by.


    ¡°I will now announce the winner of the Popularity Award. Hmm, I see. I like this actor a lot as well.¡± Choi Sun-Hye still looked as beautiful as ever in her forties. She smiled beautifully when she saw the name on the card.


    ¡°The winner of the award is¡­Red Enemy¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin clapped enthusiastically when Choi Sun-Hye called out a very familiar name. He looked at the big screen on the stage, feeling a little envious. The faces of the other nominees disappeared, leaving one person¡¯s face on the screen. Woo-Jin saw himself clapping enthusiastically on the screen; he tilted his head slightly because he didn¡¯t know why they were showing his face. The more clueless Woo-Jin looked, the louder the applause grew. Oh Ha-Na couldn¡¯t take it any longer and nudged him with her forearm.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting up?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She just called out your name.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Woo-Jin asked, pointing at himself. As soon as the camera captured his gesture and showed it on the screen, laughter erupted everywhere. Only then did Woo-Jin look around before looking up at the screen again. He got up from his seat and verified the current situation with Kwon Eun-Mi.


    ¡°Did she call my name earlier?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she did.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, though. I didn¡¯t get up for nothing, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you she did call your name.¡±


    Kwon Eun-Mi pushed Woo-Jin from the back out of frustration. Woo-Jin staggered slightly and made his way to the aisle before walking toward the stage. He couldn¡¯t believe what was happening and was confused. After thinking about it, it seemed as though Choi Sun-Hye had indeed called out his name.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, stop wandering about over there, and please make your way to the stage.¡± Woo-Jin was still hesitant ¡ª he confirmed the situation once more with Kang Min-Ho, who was seated somewhere else, so Choi Sun-Hye called out to him. After Kang Min-Ho confirmed his doubt and Choi Sun-Hye called out to him, Woo-Jin finally stopped hesitating and went up to the podium.


    ¡°Why did you take so long to make your way here?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting my name to be called.¡± When Woo-Jin had a look of disbelief on his face, Choi Sun-Hye showed him the card she was holding in her hand. After seeing his name on it, Woo-Jin smiled bashfully.


    Woo-Jin had to make his speech after receiving a bouquet of flowers and the award, but he hadn¡¯t prepared any speech. He had roughly prepared his speech earlier for the Best Supporting Actor Award by borrowing bits and pieces of the conversation with the host. But that wasn¡¯t the case this time around. Since he couldn¡¯t reuse his speech, he was at a loss for words.


    ¡°I¡¯ve said everything I wanted to say earlier, so I can¡¯t think of anything right now. First of all, I would like to say I¡¯m sorry because I didn¡¯t expect to receive this award.¡± Woo-Jin first apologized to the host and the staff members behind him for taking some time to go on the stage.


    ¡°Director Yoon Seon said this to me when I was hesitant about taking on the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan: ¡®I want to give Prince Myeong-Hwan and the countless other Prince Myeong-Hwans in this world a taste of spring. Just as he said, Red Enemy had given me the gift of spring and allowed me to blossom like a flower.¡±


    Woo-Jin looked down at the trophy in his hand. He was momentarily lost in reminiscence.


    ¡°I started acting because I wanted to make myself happy. I think that perhaps Prince Myeong-Hwan also lived his life in pursuit of happiness, just like me. But right now, his life brings joy and sadness to us. That¡¯s what I want too. I hope that my acting will not be a source of joy for only myself but also for everyone else. I will do my best and strive to become such an actor. Thank you! Oh, and Mr. Kim Woo-Hyung, please send me an invitation. I will definitely attend your wedding.¡±


    After his speech, Woo-Jin thought about his promise to Reporter Kim Woo-Hyung on the red carpet and shook his trophy. Even though he had made that promise because he wasn¡¯t expecting himself to win an award in the second segment, he was more than happy to keep it.

 CH 173

    As soon as Woo-Jin was done with his speech, the sound of applause erupted so loud that it made his ears ring, and the trophy in his hand felt heavy. But, as unexpected as it was, time went by very quickly after winning the award. Before he knew it, his heavy body felt light, and the entire time his heart was beating happily. And everything became perfect the moment The Red Enemy won the Best Picture Award during the final highlight of the film festival. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin thought about the first time Prince Myeong-Hwan from The Red Enemy came into his life. He had avoided him out of his rejection of his past life, as well as the fact that Prince Myeong-Hwan was a narcissistic person. Since it was his past life, he was confident he knew Prince Myeong-Hwan better than anyone else, thereby creating a prejudice. However, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know a lot about his present self. He had no clue how Chae Woo-Jin would be tomorrow, but would it be different from his past lives?


    While portraying Prince Myeong-Hwan, he saw a side of his past life he didn¡¯t know about before. And he came to feel sorry for Prince Myeong-Hwan and became fond of him. Even though Woo-Jin had been getting into character while he acted, he saw the role as something he had to portray; he had never genuinely loved it.


    He considered it an exciting challenge only because he saw acting as the main subject and regarded the role as just a tool for acting. And then, as he portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan, he reflected on himself and learned how to understand and love. He conveyed these feelings to the role he was portraying as well.


    Woo-Jin was very familiar with Prince Myeong-Hwan from The Red Enemy, and it was the door that opened up a new world. Thus, receiving the award for his role as Prince Myeong-Hwan in The Red Enemy was very meaningful to him. He didn¡¯t know if he was happy because he had received an award, or that he had received recognition, or both, for that matter. But, as one famous actress said, it was a beautiful night.


    ***


    Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t understand why he had won the Popularity Award. He was very curious whether he had any fans abroad who voted for him.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? You¡¯re very, very popular abroad.¡± Woo-Jin had a doubtful look on his face in response to Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s reply.


    Hwang Yi-Young was dumbfounded after seeing how Woo-Jin acted as though he had just heard the most ridiculous thing ever. She proceeded to show him an international site for his fan club. There were detailed translations of the awards Woo-Jin had received the day before, as well as the details of his speeches. The fans who had mastered Korean because of their love for Korean celebrities had added subtitles to the videos and shared them.


    The most popular video clip from the Golden Dragon Film Festival was the one when Woo-Jin won the Popularity Award and clapped his hands while staring blankly at the screen, even though his name was called. Woo-jin had then proceeded to point at himself in disbelief. His fans thought it was very adorable.


    Under the video where Woo-Jin asked Kang Min-Ho, his co-star from his drama last year, if he had indeed won the award because he didn¡¯t believe the ladies sitting next to him, dozens of comments from his fans could be seen, saying, ¡®I voted for you, Genie!¡¯


    On top of the posts about the film festival, there were plenty of other posts where fans summarized the recent episode of Life Depicted and shared their opinions in detail. Since they were all written in Chinese, Woo-Jin could read them without any difficulty. ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Having learned the piano for 15 years, I can guarantee you that Genie has what it takes right now to become a professional pianist.


    ©¸ Not just a professional pianist ¡ª regardless of what he does, it feels as though he has been a professional in that field for at least a decade. Frankly, it feels longer than that, but I¡¯m only saying a decade because he looks too young and beautiful. ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C That teddy bear is really cute. The fans who were there that day must have been very upset for failing to recognize Genie. If I were them, I¡¯d become sick after finding out the truth.


    ©¸ Some fans did recognize him, just that Genie and his friend used a smokescreen strategy to throw them off. That was how the video of the awful dance came about in the first place. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to connect the person dancing in such a manner to the elegant Genie.


    ©¸ He looked so cute and pitiful when his body became all limp from exhaustion and when he slept on the floor, snoring away. By the way, what does ¡®ajossi¡¯ mean? I don¡¯t really know much Korean ¡ª I merely watch the videos. Why did Genie look so shocked when he heard someone say that to him? Since that part is from yesterday¡¯s episode, there aren¡¯t any subtitles yet, so it¡¯s making me feel extremely frustrated.


    ©¸ ¡®Ajusshi¡¯ means uncle. So it¡¯s completely understandable why Genie was shocked. ?


    ?


    Many people had shared their thoughts on the site. Perhaps, these fans abroad had watched the previous day¡¯s episode in real-time. Those fluent in Korean had also translated bits and pieces of the episode for the fans who were frustrated due to the lack of subtitles. ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C By the way, who is the singer Genie met on the streets? I really liked the song Genie was listening to while he was sitting on the road. Please tell me the name of the singer and the title of the song! Also, I don¡¯t know what they were talking about at the restaurant, but I liked how warm the ambience was.


    ©¸ The singer''s name is Lee Hyung-Jin, and the title of the song is Comma. You can¡¯t download it yet as it hasn''t been released, but there are many videos of him singing it live. Additionally, if you knew about his pitiful situation, you wouldn¡¯t think of it as warm. Of course, the friendly and gentle ambience was genuine, and it was nice to look at nonetheless.


    ©¸ I¡¯ll put a link here ¡ª do check it out if you want to learn more about Lee Hyung-Jin. I¡¯ve always been a fan of Lee Hyung-Jin. I¡¯m very glad the truth about him has been revealed, and I love how Genie is fond of Lee Hyung-Jin, and stood by his side, protecting him. I hope Lee Hyung-Jin joins Genie¡¯s agency.


    ¨C¨C What was the song Genie sang at the restaurant yesterday? Why is it so good?


    ©¸ Lee Hyung-Jin wrote the lyrics, and Genie sang it on the spot. It¡¯s so good, right? His fans on the Korean site are going crazy over it too. Everybody wants the song to be officially released as soon as possible. I heard Lee Hyung-Jin is currently in the same agency as Genie! From what I¡¯ve heard, Lee Hyung-Jin mustered up his courage and got himself a beautiful woman(?).[1]?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was shocked to see that the fans abroad knew so much about Lee Hyung-Jin. Despite the distance and language barrier, they kept the fandom going strong and constantly engaged in fandom activities. He was very impressed by their passion and drive. ?


    ?


    After meeting with Woo-Jin, Lee Hyung-Jin mustered up his courage and took the initiative to make a trip to DS¡¯ headquarters. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was thrilled and welcomed him with open arms. ?


    ?


    ¨C¨C Congratulations on winning the Best Supporting Actor Award, as well as the Popularity Award, Genie. I hope that my vote for the Popularity Award made a slight difference. Even though you didn¡¯t win the Best Actor Award, you have plenty of opportunities in the future to get it. I¡¯m always rooting for you from afar.


    ©¸ Genie hasn¡¯t gone abroad to meet his fans from other countries. Why doesn¡¯t Genie ever come here when other actors have done so?


    ©¸ I know, right? If he doesn¡¯t come, I¡¯ll go to Korea to see him! I¡¯ll be going to Seoul for my next vacation!


    ©¸ Even though it¡¯s such a shame, we have to be understanding. Genie just completed a difficult and arduous exam. He needs a break. He had been so busy preparing for his exam that he wouldn¡¯t have thought about going overseas. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fans abroad knew everything about him in detail; their ability to gather intel was so remarkable that it made Woo-jin nervous. He was afraid that his disgrace would travel beyond the seas if he made a mistake here in Korea.


    ¡°They sure are¡­.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of where they are or their nationality, fans are all the same.¡± Woo-Jin agreed with Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s sentiment and became very curious about one thing.


    ¡°I get that I have fans from other countries, but how did they come to know about me? Frankly, our drama didn¡¯t have much success overseas.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t extremely popular, but its reception wasn¡¯t bad either. Back then, The Blue Castle¡¯s Master was trending abroad initially, but the hype died down shortly after. Instead, people took a liking to City of Shadows. More importantly, Lee Min-Soo from Blue Fit appeared in the drama.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±?


    ?


    At that time, Blue Fit was more popular than Chae Woo-Jin overseas, after all. Naturally, it all started when the fans abroad watched the drama because of Lee Min-Soo. Lee Min-Soo didn¡¯t appear at the beginning of the drama, so the fans were more inclined to watch The Blue Castle¡¯s Master. They were completely uninterested in City of Shadows. The fans abroad only started paying attention to City of Shadows upon Lee Min-Soo¡¯s appearance in the drama.


    However, Chae Woo-Jin caught the eye of the people who were clearly watching the drama for Lee Min-Soo. The scene where Chae Woo-Jin and Lee Min-Soo had their private encounter in the middle of the night, with the moon in the background, sealed the deal. Within the dreamy atmosphere, Louie looked sad and beautiful, but he also showed his cruel nature as a killer. At some point, people had fallen in love with him. Lee Min-Soo¡¯s presence had disappeared, leaving behind only the person portraying Louie, Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Also, the behind-the-scenes videos have become a hit on YouTube. How do you think the American director, Rayford, came to know about you? He had even come all the way to Korea to cast you in his upcoming movie.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young looked at Woo-Jin with a pathetic look on her face and questioned why he couldn¡¯t judge how popular he was abroad based on that fact alone. Then, she remarked that smart people surprisingly tended to be very simple-minded in several aspects and clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Have you also forgotten that Glooming Day had won the Best Picture Award, along with Best Arts Award overseas? After watching the movie, Louis D.L. liked you so much that he gifted you a suit and even invited you to the next fashion show!¡±


    Reflecting on everything that had happened, the series of events in Woo-Jin¡¯s life had truly captured the essence of the phrase ¡®a blessing in disguise.¡¯ When Woo-Jin leaped from one building to another during the action scene, it shocked quite a number of people, and they were upset with him as a result. However, Woo-Jin gained a lot of benefits because of that very scene. He had won the approval of fellow men in Korea, and people abroad had regarded him as a true professional, thereby giving him the opportunity to increase international recognition.


    That was the same for Glooming Day. The movie had earned the reputation of becoming a box office flop even before it was released, but it was ultimately very well-received at film festivals overseas. People also got to learn who Chae Woo-Jin was because of that, even though he wasn¡¯t the main lead.


    ¡°It¡¯s very surprising and strange to me.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people are talking about how The Red Enemy has been very well-received in the U.S. ever since it was released last week. I was wondering how well Korean historical films would fare in America, but I guess it was well-received because of the beautiful cinematography and, of course, your beauty.¡±


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t bother looking at every single article, so Hwang Yi-Young told him about the reviews the movie had gotten overseas. However, Woo-Jin looked at her as though she was a mythomaniac.[2]


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°Okay, got it.¡±


    Hallyu stars had become increasingly popular in East Asia, so it made sense for fans in these countries to know about him. Woo-Jin had also read an article about how The Red Enemy had been well-received in the U.S., but there were plenty of articles like that. The media tended to overexaggerate whenever a domestic film was released abroad, so he was no longer fooled by them. Instead of blindly listening to what other people were saying, it was best to ignore them and work hard.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. You¡¯re good at English. Why don¡¯t you read the articles for yourself?¡± ?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young expressed her indignation and told Woo-Jin to listen to her, but Woo-Jin waved her off. He checked the time and got up. He had martial arts training today. In the added scenario, Jin was a swordsman and a Taekkyeon[3] expert. Even though swordplay and martial arts were vastly different from each other, Rayford had the idea of amalgamating them because he happened to see a group of Taekkyeon practitioners during his trip and instantly fell in love with the art.


    Fortunately, Woo-Jin had been taking Taekkyeon classes since last month, before the scenario had been revised, because they had contacted him in advance. He hadn¡¯t encountered it in any of his past lives, so it was a martial art that was very unfamiliar to him. Nonetheless, it was worth learning.


    The soft and gentle movements looked simple, but its speed and lethality when attacking were beyond imagination. It was rather showy, so Woo-Jin wondered if that was why Rayford fell in love with the art.


    As he slowly prepared for the movie, it was now winter in a blink of an eye. ?


    ?


    And finally, it was the first day of production of Guardian Angel. Even though he couldn¡¯t join them initially, Woo-Jin let everyone know about his new challenge via an article. ?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    A new season was coming for him.?


    ?


    1. Note that the person who wrote the comment isn¡¯t very good at Korean, hence the direct translation. The original phrase refers to the idiom, ¡®none but the brave deserve the fair.¡¯ In other words, Lee Hyung-Jin found success (aka getting into DS) because he was brave enough to approach DS first. ??


    ?


    2. A person who¡¯s obsessed with lying or exaggerating. ??


    ?


    3. It is a traditional Korean martial art. ?

 CH 174

    Guardian Angel, LL-Studio¡¯s upcoming film, will be their third production. Due to the unprecedented success of their previous two films, it was only natural for their next production to be in the spotlight. More importantly, this film would be used to determine whether their success thus far was purely luck, or that the glory they had achieved was due to their abilities. ?


    ?


    Hence, the public¡¯s focus was on the storyline of the movie which they had painstakingly prepared, as well as the production process and the cast members. Firstly, Guardian Angel was about guardians protecting their respective continents. The meaning of ¡®guardian angel¡¯ in the movie had a more expansive definition than its original meaning ¨C it referred to beings who were extremely significant. Nobody knew their origins, but it was supposedly implied that they were the representatives of ¡®God¡¯, working under his orders.


    In other words, the ones who were chosen to be the guardians of their respective continent had to protect it until they died. Even though they were tasked with ¡®protecting¡¯ their continents, depending on the nature of each guardian, the methods used differed from one another.


    Some guardians actively participated in human affairs and meddled with history, while others simply watched from the sidelines.The guardians adopted different stances depending on the level of protection they had set, and whether they saw humans as objects that needed their protection, or entities that were self-sustaining. Although they had become guardians, it was a phenomenon that occurred because there was no one regulating and governing the guardians.


    When the guardians sensed that the end of their lives was closing in on them, they would have to look for their successor to take over their duties. The guardians¡¯ thoughts and will were not reflected in this process ¨C the next guardian would simply show up. The former guardian didn¡¯t have the power to select their successor.


    A word that easily captured the essence of this process was ¡®identify¡¯. The guardians¡¯ job was to identify who their successors were, and train them. That was how they had become guardians themselves as well. If a guardian¡¯s successor became a full-fledged guardian, and felt that they had fulfilled their duty, the previous guardian would then meet their demise. It was the moment where they were born as humans and died as guardians. It was a system only guardians knew ¨C humans had no knowledge of it.


    One day, an unforeseen phenomenon occurred in the world of guardians. The guardian of North America suddenly died before his successor had been named. To be precise, he was murdered. In a world where humans were oblivious of the existence of guardians, it meant that there was a possibility that other beings with special abilities existed as well.


    However, in a one-one setting, only a guardian could defeat another guardian. In other words, the guardian of North America was killed by more than one individual. This incident was a wake-up call for the other guardians. Nonetheless, their first task was to select and train the next North American guardian to fill the vacant spot left behind by the former guardian.


    Guardians were the chosen ones ¨C it was as though it was their destiny to be guardians. Thus, it was not difficult to identify a successor. The issue however, was that they had to hand down the duties and train the new clueless guardian within a short period, while not forgetting that the new guardian was once a human being, who still believed he was a human being.


    Normally, guardians and their successors naturally developed a sense of kinship, and formed a teacher-student bond. However, this time the circumstances didn¡¯t allow for that kind of relationship to foster. The other guardians were in a hurry to teach the new guardian in the absence of emotional connections, so they met with difficulties right from the beginning.


    Furthermore, it didn¡¯t help that the new North American guardian was a daredevil. He was a young man beyond the control of the refined and cultured guardians who had lived for hundreds of years. The guardian of South America was the first guardian to oversee him because of their close proximity; he gave up in less than a month. Thus the main character, Robert, traveled across Europe and Africa before paying the guardian of Asia, Jin, a visit. And that was the premise of Guardian Angel.


    This movie consisted of a mixture of various cultures based on the nationality of each guardian and the different continents. They had to add an element of fantasy in order to make it more mystical and interesting. This depended on the competence of the producer and screenwriter, Hugh Miller and Rayford. If they continued doing what they had been doing thus far, they would definitely be able to show the viewers a whole new world. Hence, the burden of anticipation ended up falling upon the cast members.


    A world-famous star, Dustin Evan, took on the role of Robert ¨C the guardian of North America. With his blonde hair and brown eyes, the 28 year old young star was a very charming actor. The combination of his bulky physique and beautiful looks that sparkled surprisingly created a polished image, and he was very good at expressing his emotions through his facial expressions. ?


    ?


    Additionally, the other cast members might be rookies on the international stage, but they were all big stars who were already famous in their own countries. It was like breathing a breath of fresh air to see them being cast in the same movie. The anticipation of seeing how these actors would wow the viewers with their acting was part of the fun of waiting for the movie to be released.


    However, like the calm weather in the eye of the storm, despite the excessive attention from the public and media, Guardian Angel¡¯s filming site was cut off from the rest of the world.?


    ?


    Today was the first day of shooting for Woo-Jin where he would act as the guardian of Asia, Jin. He would be meeting Robert for the first time in his first scene. At the director¡¯s cue, the look in the actors'' eyes changed. Hugh and Rayford had put a lot of effort into casting the actors, and they had extraordinary acting skills.


    ***


    As soon as Robert opened the gate and arrived at his destination, the guardian of Africa, Dwayne, turned around to look at him and said cautiously.


    {You truly have to be careful this time around. This guardian has lived the longest among all of us, and we highly respect him. If you act recklessly and treat him like how you treated us, it won¡¯t end well for you.}


    {Regardless of what you say, he¡¯s just an old geezer.}


    The tone of Robert¡¯s voice was extremely lighthearted; however, he couldn¡¯t help but have a stiff expression. While Robert was going about his typical day one day, a man suddenly showed up and told him that he was now the guardian of North America, and led him into a strange world.


    Robert was puzzled, but initially it wasn¡¯t all that bad. From the moment he became a guardian, he would live for hundreds of years without aging, and that seemed like a dream come true. Additionally, Robert now possessed more power than he ever imagined. Nobody would hate that.


    In Robert¡¯s eyes, the guardians who had lived for hundreds of years were monsters. Their immense abilities and knowledge, as well as their inflexible way of thinking, and outrageous obstinacy drove Robert insane.  They were just a bunch of old geezers he couldn¡¯t communicate with. They weren¡¯t just old ¨C they were monsters that became stronger as the years passed, so it made him feel even more troubled. That was also the reason why Robert walked on eggshells after seeing Dwayne frown and glare at him after hearing the inappropriate term ¡®old geezer¡¯. Robert mumbled to himself.


    {Okay. fine. I¡¯ll be polite! That¡¯s why I studied hard to learn Korean!}


    Since several other guardians had warned Robert that Jin from Asia was different and told him to be careful and be respectful, Robert had even studied hard to learn Korean in order to impress Jin. That was because the other guardians reacted positively when he spoke in their languages. ?


    ?


    {What¡¯s so hard about that?}


    Robert had a lot of complaints, but all the guardians he had met so far were outstanding, so he put up with them while showing a defiant attitude. The guardians took turns dealing with him while shaking their heads, but that was the same for Robert. They were merely occupied with teaching Robert ¨C they didn¡¯t try to understand why he was confused. They sat by and looked on, leaving him to his own devices, and treated him like an adult.


    This wouldn¡¯t have happened if the former guardian of North America was still around to guide and give him time to properly learn the ropes. It couldn¡¯t have felt good seeing these guardians looking pitifully at him. Robert was here today as a result of his defiant acts towards the guardians, which might have been because he was unable to handle the humiliation.


    However, Robert¡¯s eyes darkened now that he was about to meet the difficult guardian of Asia, whom the other guardians revered. The person he would be meeting this time around was none other than the leader of the group of arrogant guardians.


    {What¡¯s wrong?}


    Dwayne suddenly stopped walking; Robert looked at him with a puzzled look on his face.


    {From this point onwards, you¡¯ll have to go alone.}


    Robert blinked. He couldn¡¯t understand the blunt response.


    {Jin wants to meet you alone. Just the two of you.}


    Dwayne conveyed the details of the telepathic conversation he had with Jin to Robert, and nudged him from the back as he took a step back. Dwayne was full of smiles, and there was no hesitation in his actions. It was as though he was happy to be freed from Robert.


    {You¡¯re doing it again! You¡¯re talking among yourselves!}


    Guardians could communicate telepathically with one another regardless of space and distance. However, Robert had yet to unlock that ability. The guardians said it was because he hadn''t opened up his mind yet, but Robert couldn¡¯t understand what they meant by that, so it made him feel left out.


    {You should at least tell me where to go, no?!}?


    ?


    Robert was currently standing in front of a strange house; there was a stone wall behind him and he was facing the house while standing in a place which he presumed to be a garden. It looked like one of the traditional houses in this country, which he had looked up before coming here, but it was a small and modern two-story house.


    {These people don¡¯t know how to be considerate anyway! Everyone just does whatever they want¡­ugh!}


    Robert grumbled to himself; he was startled when the front door suddenly opened on both sides. He looked around, and studied the surroundings before carefully walking through the door. There was another door at the end of the short hallway. However, there was no need to worry about where to go, since the door opened on its own without giving him any time to think.


    Just as he was about to confidently walk through the door, a transparent barrier blocked his way, as though it was rejecting him.


    {You opened the door for me, so why are you blocking my way?}


    Robert banged his fist against the transparent barrier, and tried to push against it with his body in an attempt to get inside. However, the invisible obstacle was still there. He couldn¡¯t get in, even though he could see what was on the other side of the barrier. Despite being described as crude and careless, Robert had the greatest physical strength out of all the guardians, but even his sheer strength couldn¡¯t shatter this transparent barrier. Truthfully, physical strength was not the solution.


    Just then, Robert saw a pair of slippers floating before his eyes. As soon as he laid eyes on them, the slippers slowly descended and landed gently on the floor. Robert took off his shoes and put on the slippers before placing his right foot through the barrier carefully.


    After he successfully placed his foot through the barrier without any difficulty, Robert managed to enter the barrier, and stepped into the living room like it was nothing. Even though the structure of the house was very unfamiliar, Robert had already gotten used to this place after taking a quick look around. He had learnt to quickly adapt to the unfamiliar cultures of the other guardians when he visited their homes. Robert clamped his mouth shut and nodded. A look of great resolve could be seen on his face.


    {Where do I go now?}


    Before he could finish speaking, the sliding door on one side of the spacious living room slid open. Robert entered without hesitation, and was greeted by a young man standing by the window. As soon as Robert saw the young man, he subconsciously pressed his hand against his chest because it felt very heavy.


    The young man looked just like a scholar because of how his neat hair that was combed to the back, without a single strand of stray hair out of place, as well as his pair of expensive-looking silver-rimmed glasses. Dressed in a tie and a gray vest, he looked like an aristocrat.


    {Is he an aristocrat as well?}?


    ?


    The guardian of Europe, Angelica, came from a German aristocratic family. She was born and raised as a noblewoman. Thus, she was very inflexible and fussy. She couldn¡¯t even put up with Robert for a full week ¨C she threw in the towel after five days. She hated how messy and uncouth he was, as well as his loud voice, so she shipped Robert off to Africa immediately.


    Thinking about his experience with her gave him a throbbing headache, so Robert shuddered whenever he met an aristocrat.


    Am I going to be kicked out again after a few days?


    However, the problem was that this time he had nowhere to go. Robert still had a lot to learn. If he got kicked out again, it would be the end of the road for him. Just imagining it was frustrating. This time around, Robert had to do whatever it took to impress him.


    Robert approached the young man with an innocent smile on his face. The young man was evidently the guardian of Asia; he only looked like he was in his early twenties. He looked so young and beautiful ¨C his beauty was so unreal that he looked just like a painting. Perhaps it was because of his clothes, but it seemed as though a gray shadow was hovering around him for some reason. Like¡­


    {Just like a black and white photo. Ah, that¡¯s not it! Hmm!}


    Even though Robert didn¡¯t know how long he would be staying here, it wasn¡¯t good to be hated. As much as Robert had a lot to learn, he still wanted to get along with Jin, even if it was just a little. Thus, Robert tried his best to make an effort and acted out of character.


    ¡°Hullo. Mi name is Robert Palmer.¡±


    After introducing himself in Korean with a heavy accent like how he had practiced before, Robert smiled brightly and looked at the guardian of Asia. He seemed very proud of himself. It was his first time introducing himself in the other party¡¯s native language, so he wanted his efforts to be recognized.


    {You have bad pronunciation, just speak in English.}


    However, all he got in response was not a compliment but cold ridicule.


    {You can call me Jin.}


    Robert felt even more ashamed and depressed when he heard how accurate and perfect Jin¡¯s English was ¨C he sounded just like a news anchor. ?


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 175

    {This is why I hate aristocrats.}?


    ?


    For a modern American man like Robert, aristocrats were simply characters from fiction books. However, he learned about them in great detail over the past couple of months. The guardians themselves had become aristocrats, kings, and gods after spending hundreds of years living on earth, even if some of them weren¡¯t born into nobility. Perhaps, rather than hating the concept of aristocracy, Robert probably hated the guardians¡¯ lofty authority and their hypocrisy.


    {Take a seat.}


    Jin pointed to the sofa and offered Robert a seat. Robert sat down on the sofa, and Jin stared at him with folded arms. Feeling pressured by his gaze, Robert sat there awkwardly and looked around the room.


    The bookshelves lining the walls were packed with books, and judging from the desk next to the window, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that they were in Jin¡¯s study. Strangely enough, all of the guardians loved reading.


    {Would you like some tea?}


    Robert immediately nodded while frowning. Jin was Robert¡¯s last chance. Being thrown out by Jin didn¡¯t mean he would be stripped of his position as the guardian of North America, but he knew better than anyone else that it would make him a sloppy person who hadn¡¯t learned anything.


    Additionally, the former guardian of North America was murdered, and Robert himself was less competent than him at his current level of skills. Under these circumstances, his future looked even more bleak and dangerous. He might be a daredevil, but that was predictable to a certain extent. Thus, in order to impress Jin, he nodded even though he didn¡¯t want any tea. He hated tea with a passion because of Angelica, but he was expecting the tea culture in the East to be different from Europe.


    As soon as Robert responded, Jin picked up the pot on the desk he was leaning against and swirled it twice. The pot seemed to already have water inside ¡ª the sound of boiling water was heard, and water vapor rose from the pot. Even though it wasn¡¯t his first time seeing a guardian do that, Robert would blink and stare in awe every time he saw it.


    Robert couldn¡¯t control his power yet, so he would make the mistake of either shattering the pot or freezing it. Looking back, the defining moment that prompted Angelica to kick him out was when he burned her favorite tea set, charring it. As soon as the water boiled, Jin placed the pot down and took out a stick of instant coffee. Robert had only tried black tea and some unknown dried tea leaves that were boiled with water; he carefully observed Jin¡¯s actions with a curious look in his eyes.


    Jin tore off one end of the instant coffee stick [1] and poured it into a teacup, followed by hot water. He stirred it with a spoon and gave the cup to Robert. The teacup floated in the air, just like the slippers did earlier on, and gently landed on the table in front of Robert. Meanwhile, Jin poured two servings of instant coffee into his own cup.


    Robert held the teacup with a doubtful look and sniffed; he hesitated after smelling the beverage before taking a sip carefully.


    {It tastes so good!}


    It tasted different from the black tea that smelled like herbs. Instead, it was clearly like coffee. Robert loved the sweet taste so much that he blew on the hot coffee as he drank it. As Robert hastily downed the beverage, he looked at Jin sipping on the coffee elegantly and realized he had made a mistake. Strangely enough, the guardians had always nitpicked about formalities and manners and reprimanded him while correcting his posture.


    This time around, he took the initiative to sit up straight before Jin nagged him. However, even though Robert was slouching right now, Jin didn¡¯t make any comment. If it had been another guardian, they would have been lecturing him or flinging objects toward him right away. Robert felt it was strange that Jin wasn¡¯t doing anything about it, so he asked.


    {Are you not going to nag me?}


    {If I do, will it fix the problem?}


    {I¡­.}?


    ?


    Robert scratched his cheek and frowned. He was well aware of his own problem, but it was rather difficult to fix it. Correcting a 26-year habit in one day wasn¡¯t an easy feat.


    {There¡¯s plenty of time. And that¡¯s the issue.}


    {I beg your pardon?}


    {So, there¡¯s no need to be nervous. You¡¯re a guardian from now on, and nothing will ever change that fact. Posture? Speech? You became a guardian in spite of the way you are, so what good are all these things?}


    Nobody had said these words to Robert before, so he widened his eyes when he heard them. Robert thought Jin was a straightforward guardian with a lot of common sense. He was very different from the stories Robert had heard from the other guardians. Hence, Robert even questioned if the person standing in front of him was truly the guardian of Asia.


    {Are you really the guardian of Asia? Are you someone else by any chance¡­?}


    The guardian of North America had been murdered by some unknown group, so he wondered if this had been the case here as well. He wondered if the real Jin had been murdered and the individual standing before him was an impersonator.


    {Even if I¡¯m an impostor, there¡¯s no way out for you. What can I do to someone this weak? Ah, what else can you do apart from dying?}


    After being disregarded by Jin, Robert couldn¡¯t control his temper and became furious. Robert gathered a golden ball of energy in his right hand; his body then faded and teleported in front of Jin. He reached out his hand and tried to grab Jin¡¯s neck. However, Jin thwarted his attack with a small gesture. The golden light surrounding his fist scattered, throwing Robert onto the floor. However, the position Robert was in made it seem as though he was bowing and kneeling on the floor.


    {Children shouldn¡¯t be disrespectful towards adults.}


    The guardian of Asia valued manners and etiquette. He might not care much about the other things, but he couldn¡¯t tolerate being disrespected.


    {Ugh, what¡¯s going on?}


    {If you¡¯re not smart, you should at least be sensible. Or be competent enough to offset that.}


    {Honestly, Every single one of you has a bad temper¡­can¡¯t we talk after you release me?}


    He felt constrained because he couldn¡¯t move his body, but the position he was in was very humiliating in itself.


    {I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t learn how to apologize when you had done something wrong when you were little, right?}


    {Ah, okay. I¡¯m sorry, so release me now!}


    Since Robert couldn¡¯t lift his head, he groaned and pleaded with Jin.?


    ?


    {Respectfully.}


    {I mean, I¡­!}


    {Respectfully.}


    {....}


    After hearing Jin repeat the same word, Robert now understood what Dwayne meant when he told him to be careful and watch his behavior. Even though Jin wasn¡¯t picky and didn¡¯t fuss over formalities like the other guardians, he seemed like a person who couldn¡¯t tolerate being disrespected.


    {I¡¯m sorry.}


    {You don¡¯t sound remorseful.}


    {I¡¯m truly sorry. Please~!}


    It was getting unbearable because his neck was forcefully bent against his will. His sense of pain had become duller as compared to how it was when he was a human because of his newfound strength and abilities, but it didn¡¯t mean he felt no pain at all. Additionally, the other party was known to have the greatest strength and abilities as the guardian who had lived the longest.


    Robert was writhing in pain; as soon as he apologized, Jin relaxed his face and released the pressure he had placed on Robert¡¯s body.


    {F*ck you, it hurts like hell!}


    As soon as Robert rubbed his neck and blurted out a thoughtless remark, he realized he had made a mistake, so he studied Jin¡¯s face. However, Jin didn¡¯t seem to care about his foul mouth. Robert looked at Jin elegantly sipping on his coffee as though nothing had happened, and spoke.


    {Will I ever become as strong as you?}


    Even though what Jin did wasn¡¯t a big deal, the victim was well-aware of his strength. The other guardians had subdued him in similar ways, but Jin was the first among them to perfectly subdue him like he did earlier. Robert could sense Jin¡¯s power because of this slight difference. Instead of using words, Jin showed Robert he was the guardian of Asia by displaying his skills once.


    {It¡¯s not entirely impossible.}


    Robert was expecting him to say something along the lines of, ¡®You want to become like me? The audacity!¡¯ but he received an unexpected response instead, so his face turned red.


    {Really? How can I become like you?}


    Robert asked earnestly. Jin looked at him and replied with a gentle smile on his beautiful face. ?


    ?


    {You just have to die and be reborn into a strong and powerful body like mine.}


    Robert had a blank look on his face for a moment. He clenched his fists and burned with a fighting spirit. The energy glowing with golden light that had disappeared earlier started to circulate in his fists once again.


    {Sit down.}


    {Yes, sir!}


    Robert then proceeded to sit on the sofa with his hands on his knees as though nothing had happened. Jin looked at Robert and pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. He served Robert some coffee and kindly gave him some taffy.[2]


    ***


    {Cut!}


    Director Rayford¡¯s cue marked the end of Woo-Jin¡¯s first filming session. The scene didn¡¯t have any action in particular. They were able to start shooting after rehearsing earlier and end it without having any bad takes.


    {Hey, that was awesome, my friend!}


    The actor playing Robert, Dustin, went up to Woo-Jin and raised his fist. Woo-Jin clenched his fist as well and gave him a fist bump.


    Having been in the U.S. for two weeks, both of them had become very close as Woo-Jin had been traveling to and fro to practice the action scenes with Dustin on set. Since the actors of the movie came from various countries, it was said that the production crew selected people who did not discriminate or had any prejudices against people of other races as much as possible during the casting process. Thus, the world-famous star, Dustin Evan, was friendly to Woo-Jin when they met each other for the first time.


    Naturally, that didn¡¯t mean that everything had gone smoothly from the beginning. Woo-Jin and Dustin were about the same height. Dustin thought the handsome Woo-Jin was younger than him for quite some time. Hence, he even laughed at the director and asked where he found a high school student to cast in his movie. After all, it was difficult to determine Asians¡¯ age by looking at their faces.


    When he found out later that Woo-Jin was only five years younger than him, he couldn¡¯t believe it and exclaimed ¡®Oh my god¡¯ in one corner. He grumbled about how he truly thought Woo-Jin was a high school student. Woo-Jin was also shocked after hearing those words. He looked in the mirror and pondered for a long time, wondering how he could have been mistaken for a high school student. He didn¡¯t have a small build, and neither did he look young, so he was quite concerned, not knowing how Dustin came to that conclusion.


    Dustin apologized to him after that, saying he was fascinated by his youthful looks because of his bright and clear skin. Failing to get a headstart because of that, Dustin chose alcohol for his next attack. He suggested drinking together and having a good time since Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t a minor, but ultimately, he used it as a chance to brag about his alcohol tolerance level. Woo-Jin wanted to end it with some wine, but Dustin recommended whiskey instead, and it changed to vodka at some point. They drank a copious amount of alcohol that truly seemed enough to kill a person with the amount they consumed.


    If it were just the two of them, Woo-Jin could have found a way to get out of it, but it was a celebratory party held to welcome him. Since they rented the entire bar, and the production crew and other actors were present, he was forced to stay till the end as the party was held for him. The circumstances made it hard for him to come up with excuses and leave halfway. He didn¡¯t know how he managed to consume every single drink that was offered to him.


    Woo-Jin had to use the mental cultivation technique to maintain his sanity as he drank. He didn¡¯t even like alcohol in the first place. Whenever he left halfway to go to the bathroom and used the mental cultivation technique for a short time there, it neutralized the alcohol in his body, allowing his body to become lighter. The technique rapidly broke down alcohol in his body and discharged the impurities in the form of urine.


    Because of this, Dustin¡¯s attack of making Woo-Jin drunk at all costs backfired. Looking at how Dustin was completely drunk and passed out with a pathetic look in his eyes, Woo-Jin clicked his tongue. And then, he sat next to Dustin¡¯s limp body and took a selfie as evidence. ?


    ?


    The next day, Dustin¡¯s eyes shook violently for a brief moment when he saw the photo of himself melting into the sofa and Woo-Jin smiling at the camera with a clear gaze next to him. Dustin had sat next to Woo-Jin right from the beginning. He had continued offering drinks to Woo-Jin and saw him drink with his own eyes, so he roughly knew how much Woo-Jin had drank the day before. Hence, when he next saw Woo-Jin, he exclaimed that Woo-Jin was the real deal.


    He acknowledged Woo-Jin¡¯s drinking skills and started calling him his friend from that day onwards. Even though Woo-Jin hated it and rejected him, Dustin liked that he found a drinking buddy who could drink well. Naturally, it was a one-sided claim on Dustin¡¯s part.


    {Let¡¯s drink to celebrate us finishing the shoot smoothly.}


    {No.}


    Even though they had a five-year age gap, it didn¡¯t matter who had seniority here in America. Perhaps, that was why Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t as polite and civil as he was back in Korea and had a tendency to be a little more comfortable with the other party.


    {You¡¯re hurting my feelings with that firm rejection.}


    {You disinfect your wounds with alcohol so often, so what¡¯s there to worry about?}


    Even though Dustin didn¡¯t drink daily, from Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, Dustin was dangerously fond of alcohol. Nonetheless, since they were in the midst of shooting a movie, his alcohol intake had been reduced to a great extent.


    Dustin started out as a teen star and had now grown into an internationally recognized actor. Woo-Jin came to learn that he used alcohol as a way to relieve stress. Perhaps that was why Kang Ho-Soo told him it was fine to be friends with him, but it would be good to keep some distance from him.


    Dustin had a cheerful disposition; he had chosen alcohol as his panacea in the Hollywood jungle. He liked to drink, but he enjoyed hanging out with a group of people very much, so his drinking problem showed no signs of improvement. Even though he wasn¡¯t a non-functioning alcoholic or a drug addict, the moment he couldn¡¯t live a day without alcohol, it would lead him to his downfall at any moment.


    {I really don¡¯t like to drink alcohol.}


    Even if Kang Ho-Soo hadn¡¯t expressed his concerns, Woo-Jin was firm in his tastes and preferences. Regardless of how famous the other party was, he flatly rejected him.


    {But you¡¯re so good at drinking, though?}


    {Just because I¡¯m good at drinking doesn¡¯t mean I like it. Do you want to go to a cafe with me instead?}


    As soon as Woo-Jin suggested going to a cafe to have a cup of americano, it was Dustin¡¯s [3] turn to have a serious look on his face.?


    ?


    1. Previously, Jin offered him tea, but here he¡¯s making instant coffee. It was left as the original was written. ??


    ?


    2. Jin was subtly telling him, ¡®f*ck you.¡¯ The term ? ?? means ¡®f*ck you,¡¯ and it¡¯s directly translated as ¡®eat taffy.¡¯ Note that Korean taffy (yeot) is a traditional confectionery. ??


    ?


    3. The raws had this as Robert, but since Robert is Dustin¡¯s character, I believe it may be a typo. ?

 CH 176

    {Is this how you feel every time I ask you to drink with me?}?


    ?


    {Maybe?}


    As soon as Woo-Jin answered in the affirmative, Dustin said he understood and waved him off. The best thing about Dustin was that he gave up very quickly and didn¡¯t hold any grudges.


    {By the way, you have a lot of friends, but why do you only think about drinking whenever you see me?}


    {I have many friends, but nobody stays sober enough to take care of me.}


    Dustin became very drunk on the first day, but Woo-Jin took care of him and brought him to his manager. That incident seemed to have left a deep impression on Dustin. It made sense considering he had quite a number of drinking escapades with friends and acquaintances where they took photos of his drunk self and sold them to broadcasting stations that covered entertainment news, as well as tabloids.


    For some reason, he developed some sort of strange trust in Woo-Jin that allowed him to comfortably drink to his heart¡¯s content and become drunk.


    {Why don¡¯t you get a girlfriend instead?}


    When Woo-Jin suggested to Dustin to get a girlfriend if he wanted to have a drinking partner he was comfortable around, Dustin¡¯s cheeks suddenly turned red.


    {What¡¯s with this instant reaction?}


    Woo-Jin looked at Dustin with a suspicious look and took a step back to distance himself from him.


    {Don¡¯t misunderstand! It¡¯s not what you think.}


    {What¡¯s there to misunderstand? Besides, even if that¡¯s not the case, it¡¯s kind of suspicious that you¡¯ve been hanging around with me a lot lately.}


    Dustin often put his arm around Woo-Jin¡¯s shoulders and showed physical affection towards him at times. However, once Woo-Jin became suspicious of him, there were more than one or two things that seemed suspicious.


    {That¡¯s because bromance is popular these days!}


    As friendship and platonic touch between men had gained popularity among women, agencies secretly encouraged it ¡ª as long as it was done in moderation. Having two beautiful young men standing next to each other alone was enough for women to feast their eyes, so what would happen if they became friends with one another? Nothing could create a better synergy effect than this.


    Since it was a world where actors deliberately pretended to be good friends to make their movie a success, Dustin tried his best to befriend Woo-Jin. ?


    ?


    {More importantly, there¡¯s a girl I like.}


    {Really? Then you should meet with her. Why do you always pester me to drink with you?}


    Woo-Jin lectured him, saying they had been too busy these days for him to have enough time to spend with the girl he liked and questioned how he even had time to drink.


    {She doesn¡¯t want to meet me in private¡­.}


    Even without hearing the details, it was obvious to Woo-Jin that it was an unrequited crush.


    {Have you confessed to her?}


    {Maybe twelve times? Or thirteen times. But she rejected me every single time.}


    {Ah¡­I get why you drown yourself in alcohol now.}


    If confessing his feelings to her repeatedly was representative of how much he liked her, Woo-Jin understood why Dustin had been drowning himself in alcohol.


    {In that case, drink with me today.}


    {Understanding why and drinking with you are two different things. But I''m rather curious about the woman who did this to you.}


    A person¡¯s feelings might not be dependent on the other party¡¯s qualifications, but Dustin was quite a good catch. Aside from the fact that he drank too much, he checked the rest of the boxes ¡ª he was a good-looking and successful man with a pleasant personality and also came from a good family. He was considered a perfect man[1].


    {A perfect woman who is beautiful, successful, comes from a good family, and has a solid educational background!}


    There was another qualification Woo-Jin left out in his evaluation of Dustin ¡ª his educational background. However, Dustin had also left something out.


    {What about her personality?}


    {....}?


    ?


    Dustin couldn¡¯t answer that question, so Woo-Jin patted him on the shoulder. Then, Woo-Jin looked troubled and asked him a question.


    {Is it okay for you to tell me something this personal?}


    Woo-Jin felt it was too dangerous for a Hollywood star to talk about his unrequited love with a person he had only met less than two weeks ago. Dustin debuted in his late teens and had now become a world-famous star who everyone knew by name. Hence, Woo-Jin was concerned about whether or not it was okay for him to tell a random person about his private life.


    {In any case, everyone knows about my one-sided crush ever since ten years ago, so it¡¯s not exactly a secret.}


    {It¡¯s my first time hearing about your unrequited crush, though?}


    The story about Dustin¡¯s ten-year unrequited crush was big enough to be published. However, Woo-Jin had never seen any articles or entertainment news on TV talking about it prior to his conversation with Dustin.


    {Well, if anybody were to say anything bad about her, they would end up like this.}


    Dustin made the throat-slitting gesture while saying that media companies would be in hot water if they were to mess with her. That alone was enough for Woo-Jin to have a rough idea of what the woman he liked was like without having to dig deeper. On the other hand, the story of Dustin having an unrequited crush on the perfect woman (apart from her personality) for ten years was also rather pitiful.


    {Don¡¯t drown your sorrows in alcohol just because you don¡¯t stand a chance to be with her.}


    {How can you say that I don¡¯t stand a chance! I¡¯m going to become successful and confess to her again!}


    From Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, he was already a successful star, but Dustin seemed to be aiming higher.


    {Did she say she was going to give you a chance when you become more successful?}


    {....}


    {Stop drinking after today, and start working hard tomorrow onwards.}


    {So let¡¯s drink¡­.}


    {I don¡¯t have an unrequited crush, unlike somebody, so I¡¯ll get going now. See you.}


    Even though Dustin was five years older than Woo-Jin, it seemed as though he was younger than Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin was worried about Dustin being lonely and was concerned about him liking and trusting people too easily. Although Dustin was loved by many people, Woo-Jin hoped he would heal from his emotional wound of failing to win the heart of the person he liked and pick himself up again. Woo-Jin was against his method of resorting to alcohol to soothe his pain, so he refused to hang out with him. ?


    ?


    When Dustin started drinking, he would drink copious amounts of alcohol with absolutely no self-control, so Woo-Jin found it fascinating whenever he showed up on set the next day on time, looking fresh. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know if it was because Dustin was healthy, that his body was evidently doing a good job breaking down the alcohol, or that he had taken extra care to manage himself in a foreign place. Hence, even though Woo-Jin felt sorry for Dustin, he didn¡¯t get caught up in worrying about him.


    In truth, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have time to worry about other people right now. He was under a lot of pressure as his entry into Hollywood had been promoted extensively in Korea. If the movie became a flop or if he barely appeared in the movie because his scenes had been edited out, it would be rather embarrassing for him, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t sleep much these days.


    Fortunately, the worries of the people around him were unfounded ¡ª Woo-Jin adapted more quickly to Hollywood¡¯s production system than expected, and he got along well with others.


    Since he was an American in one of his past lives, it wasn¡¯t that difficult for him to adapt. Even though economics and science had made astonishing progress, and mindsets and knowledge had become broader and deeper than before, some things still didn¡¯t change. Each country, race, and region had its own unique disposition. Their identities didn¡¯t change easily, regardless of how much time had passed. By understanding and accepting this, living abroad wasn¡¯t as difficult as one would think.


    Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young were worried about Woo-Jin subconsciously being selective in who he talked to, as he had the tendency to do that, but their worries were unfounded. Instead, Woo-Jin embraced the American culture and became more like them to the point it surprised the two of them. He found pleasure in socializing with people and enjoyed his freedom. Compared to how he had to constantly pay attention to his surroundings in Korea, he was presently out of the public eye, so he felt more comfortable and free. Hence, he often showed his easygoing and carefree side to the people he met instead of being formal.


    In fact, Woo-Jin struggled more to adapt to Hollywood¡¯s filming environment rather than interacting with people. After all, Korea could not be compared to Hollywood in terms of scale and amount of resources. Even though the lax system they operated on was enviable, Woo-Jin did indeed struggle to adapt to it.


    There were scenes where miniature models and CGI were used to create backgrounds, but the production crew would create the actual thing on set in real life if necessary. The ten-story high structure was overwhelmingly big, and its minute details made it seem realistic. It was a system that allowed actors to act to their hearts¡¯ content because of the abundant capital and technology, except being surrounded by dozens of cameras created an environment that slightly hindered his ability to be immersed in the acting.


    They surrounded the set with cameras because they wanted to shoot the movie in 3D. Still, Hollywood¡¯s system was different from Korea''s. Here they shot individual actors¡¯ scenes separately, while in Korea, they shot the scenes based on a storyboard that had already been established, which played a part in making it hard for Woo-Jin to adapt. Moreover, since Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know how it would be edited, he had to try his best to act well even in scenes where his character was not within the frame.


    Needless to say, he didn¡¯t act half-heartedly in any of his scenes in Korea either, but he was bound to feel twice as anxious when filming a scene without knowing how it would be edited. The environment and system might have been different, but it didn¡¯t change the essence of acting. As long as an actor worked hard and had fun, they would be able to act regardless of where they were. In truth, there was nothing more important than that.


    On days when Woo-Jin had no scenes to shoot or when he had free time, he would leave the hotel and spend his time walking down the streets or sitting in a cafe. Since the place was filled with tourists, he often met other Koreans and tourists from Asia, but nonetheless, he enjoyed quite a high degree of freedom during his leisure time compared to what it was like in Korea.


    ~


    Today, Woo-Jin paid a visit to Hollywood Forever Cemetery; it was located fairly close to the hotel. Apart from contemplating death and immortality, he had no other reason for visiting the burial site of notable figures within the film and culture industry.


    After reading the script and studying Jin''s character, Woo-Jin became interested in his almost-immortal life. Jin had lived the longest out of all the guardians, but his exact age wasn¡¯t specified in the script. It only stated he had lived longer than the other guardians, who had lived for more than 300 or 600 years.


    ¡°I wonder what it feels like to live for so long¡­.¡± Woo-Jin muttered softly as he looked at the tombstones and statues around him bearing familiar names. Since it wasn¡¯t specified, he simply assumed Jin was someone who had lived for a thousand years. He imagined what thoughts he would have and what kind of mindset he would adopt if he had lived for that long.


    Perhaps, out of all the people in the world, Woo-Jin was the best to know how it felt. Since he remembered 999 of his past lives, a thousand years was nothing in comparison. However, remembering his past lives and living for a long time was clearly different. Regardless of how many memories he had, it was unreasonable to compare them to the weight of time that had gone on continuously. If Woo-Jin''s memories weren¡¯t separate memories of his previous lives but memories of one continuous life, then what?


    ¡°That¡¯s awful.¡±?


    ?


    Being born as a human in the beginning and having a life close to immortality wasn¡¯t something he thought the mind could handle. As such, Woo-Jin thought he was somewhat remarkable and felt a sense of superiority. Being able to have a clear mind despite remembering all 999 of his previous lives was proof of strong willpower and high self-esteem.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a god, like Jin?¡±


    In Guardian Angel, the guardians were akin to gods of each continent. They were beings who were born as humans and died as gods. So in some ways, the storyline had a fair bit of religious overtones.


    Woo-Jin felt embarrassed for seeing himself as someone on the same level as a guardian, so he looked around and laughed to himself. Kang Ho-Soo was following him quietly from behind; he simply let him be despite Woo-Jin¡¯s strange behavior.


    Woo-Jin looked around the cemetery and sat on the grass where he could see the tombstones. Kang Ho-Soo kept some distance from him and sat down as well. On days when Woo-Jin was very troubled over character analysis, it was Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s job to keep his distance and not disturb him. Because of that, Woo-Jin was able to quietly construct Jin¡¯s life without worrying about his surroundings.


    Jin must have had a family in the beginning, but because he became a guardian, he had to part ways with them and lead a completely different life. He certainly would have loved a person before, through the course of his long life, and he must have experienced moments of despair because of that as well.


    How did he endure every moment of despair and become the current Jin?


    The script didn¡¯t have a detailed storyline, so Woo-Jin had to depend on his imagination. When he unleashed his imagination, a story appeared in his mind, just like when he wrote his novel last year.


    Jin was born into a happy family and became a guardian when he was in his early twenties. After that, he parted ways with his family, but he didn¡¯t stop caring about them. He must have watched over them from afar, protecting them, and secretly cried to himself as he watched them take turns to leave this world. And at some point, he could no longer call anyone his descendants and stopped visiting them altogether. As time flew by, he became more and more distant from them in terms of the degree of kinship. When reality couldn¡¯t keep up with the memories and attachment, it was only natural that the bond with his descendants gradually disappeared.


    How would an individual gradually change after being alone for a very long time?


    That was Woo-Jin¡¯s main concern today.


    If an individual had lived for a thousand years, would they be interested in every moment? Or would human beings and the world become nothing but worthless to him? According to the script, both didn¡¯t seem applicable to Jin.


    Jin didn¡¯t give up on his boring life ¡ª he kept up with the changing times and had always actively enjoyed life. He was very different from Angelica, who was struggling because she was tired of life after living for only 600 years. Perhaps, that was why Jin had lived longer than anyone else.


    Even though the other guardians shook their heads and gave up on Robert, the difference separating Jin from them allowed him to accept Robert and properly guide him. However, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t understand why Jin was this way. After imagining himself living for more than a thousand years, Woo-Jin felt it was more awful than great, so Jin¡¯s carefree disposition didn¡¯t make sense to him.


    The relationship between Jin, the teacher, and Robert, the student, played a huge part in Guardian Angel. There was a reason why Dustin brought up ¡®bromance.¡¯ As such, the relationship developed between the two people made the movie more interesting, and the combination of two completely different individuals was expected to be the highlight of the movie.


    Was Robert a fascinating and interesting individual to someone who had lived for so long? Or was he someone special, out of all the people Jin had met thus far? If so, what was the reason? Depending on the criteria he set, the portrayal of his relationship with Robert would be slightly different.?


    ?


    1. The actual term used here was ???, short for ?? ??? ??, which literally means the child of mom¡¯s friend. Mothers always compare their children to their friends¡¯ children, hence the term ??? is used to describe someone who¡¯s perfect. ?

 CH 177

    This was why Woo-Jin made a trip to the cemetery today. He wanted to look at the traces of the departed ones who had made a name for themselves, and contemplate more deeply about life and death, in hopes of getting a deeper understanding of Jin. ?


    ?


    ¡°Hey, what the hell are we doing at a cemetery during our vacation!¡± ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was startled when he suddenly heard someone speaking in his native tongue. He turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw two young men, who appeared to be in their early to mid twenties. They were talking about their vacation. The cemetery was one of LA¡¯s attractions, so it wasn¡¯t rare to see tourists there. However, it was his first time seeing Koreans today. ?


    ?


    ¡°This is the final resting place of famous people.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I want to meet celebrities who are still alive ¨C not the ones who have already been buried six feet under. Besides, who are these famous people?¡±?


    ?


    When the unhappy friend grumbled as he pointed at the tombstones and busts here and there, the young man who wanted to visit the cemetery simply scratched his head. As he looked at the names written on the tombstones, he couldn¡¯t find anyone he knew. Apart from Hollywood stars, most foreigners didn¡¯t know much about American movie producers or screenwriters. To these two young men, this place was nothing more than a cemetery where strangers were buried. ?


    ?


    ¡°Still, we came all the way here, so let¡¯s take a photo. Since the background is pretty nice, this camera that I bought for myself will get to see the light of day.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°The background is pretty nice? I hope there won''t be any ghosts behind us in the photo.¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°What are you, a child? It¡¯s daytime and there are so many people around us. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡±?


    ?


    They were not the only tourists in the cemetery; there were quite a number of other people there. The friend who was complaining also felt that this cemetery didn¡¯t have the usual gloomy ambience that ordinary cemeteries had, and that the relaxing vibes of this aesthetically pleasing space was not bad, so he sat down to take a photo. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was sitting quite far away from them. He craned his neck and looked at the young men. Woo-Jin felt a little envious of them for traveling together. The experience of having good times and fighting with a close friend during a trip would certainly become an irreplaceable memory. ?


    ?


    Seeing fellow Koreans alone made Woo-Jin feel alive in this place, which was quiet and empty just moments ago. In Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes, regardless of how many people there were in the cemetery, they didn¡¯t have as much presence as these two young men. Even though they were clearly strangers, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t regard them as such. While they had no relationship to him, he had formed a small connection with them with these people whom he had met by chance. The one thing Woo-Jin had in common with them was that they came from the same country, and that was what gave their connection meaning.  ?


    ?


    ¡°Jin must have felt the same way about Robert ¨C a fellow guardian who would be living together with him for a long time, even though they were of different races.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked at the two young men as they diligently took photos, and a smile crept across his face. Even though they traveled to a distant country together and grumbled over their difference in opinions, it was nice to see both of them enjoying this moment. Although they had different thoughts and personalities, the friendship that was formed from their common points had a weight to it that couldn¡¯t be disregarded. It was not a superficial relationship.?


    ?


    ¡°Hmm, maybe I should drink with Dustin.¡± ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin currently had a good impression of Dustin, but in reality, they had nothing in common. It didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea to spend some quality time with him and talk about their characters. As such, their drinking session was unavoidable. ?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it when it happens! So what if they¡¯re immortals who have lived for a long time? They also won¡¯t know what tomorrow will bring.¡± ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his bottom before stretching his arms. He wondered if there was anything different about being a guardian. Just like how Woo-Jin was worried about the future, it seemed like these guardians didn¡¯t know what would happen tomorrow either. Both the past and the future were important, but ultimately, they were living in the present. ?


    ?


    He wondered if a person would kill themselves if they were to live for a thousand years, clinging onto the past and ruminating on old memories. If one cherished the people who were currently in their lives, instead of harping on remembering people from the past, it would be worth living for a long time. Cherishing the present didn¡¯t mean one had stopped loving the people who had departed. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin came here to think about death, but life was more important. People honored the dead because their lives were meaningful. And they had spent their lives outside this cemetery. ?


    ?


    Perhaps Jin felt the same way ¨C life wouldn¡¯t be boring or dreadful if he cherished the present moment he was living in more than the weight of 1000 years worth of memories. ?


    ?


    The two tourists were still taking photos; Woo-Jin looked at them with a satisfied smile on his face. He had an affectionate look in his eyes, as though he was looking at his younger brothers; he even craned his neck and watched them as they took photos. Woo-Jin stretched and yawned, feeling at ease.?


    ?


    When Woo-Jin left the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, he had absolutely no idea he had been captured in the background of their photos while looking like that. ?


    ?


    *** ?


    ?


    {Genie?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin went to a cafe to buy a cup of americano on his way back to the hotel. As he was leaving, a woman recognized him and grabbed his arm. As soon as Kang Ho-Soo took a step forward with a slight frown on his face, she was startled and quickly released Woo-Jin¡¯s arm. ?


    ?


    Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s intimidating appearance was effective in America as well. Wherever he went, his intimidating aura made people cower. ?


    ?


    {Who are you?}?


    ?


    Judging from the fact that she called him ¡®Genie,¡¯ he already knew the answer. Woo-Jin¡¯s fans called him by his nickname, ¡®Genie¡¯, which became known in foreign countries as ¡®Genie Chae¡¯. Hence, if a foreigner called him ¡®Genie¡¯ right away, it also meant that they recognized him as an actor. ?


    ?


    Nevertheless, Woo-Jin asked who they were because he found it intriguing. Even though people in the movie industry and other Asians recognized him in America, it was unexpected that many Americans recognized him as well. Whenever this happened, he would double check with them. ?


    ?


    {I watched The Red! After watching that movie, I became your fan.}?


    ?


    The Red was the English title of ¡®Red Enemy¡¯ in the U.S.. Since it was a historical film, there weren''t many expectations because the culture and history were unfamiliar to Americans. However, the movie achieved an unexpected success that was unprecedented among Korean films. ?


    ?


    The Red was clearly just a movie about the story of a foreign country to Americans, but the feelings of sympathy evoked by the movie, as well as the impression it made, outweighed the unfamiliar background context, leading to its unexpected success. ?


    ?


    More importantly, many viewers had said that the main character, Prince Myeong-Hwan, had captivated their hearts. His elegant posture while he painted and did calligraphy; his back view when he walked in the shadow of the moon; and not forgetting the Geonmu he performed at the end of his pitiful life, all these scenes moved the hearts of the audience. They might not have known about the detailed historical facts and Korean culture, but when it came to understanding a person¡¯s life, there weren¡¯t any films or shows that shook their hearts as much as this movie. ?


    ?


    The funny thing was that some people watched the movie expecting it to be R-rated because of its title. Even though the movie was completely different from what they had expected, a lot of them ended up enjoying it. Hence, more and more people naturally took an interest in the actor that portrayed Prince Myeong-Hwan, Chae Woo-Jin. ?


    ?


    Aftering searching for him online, the first videos they chanced upon were the ones uploaded by his fans, who called him ¡®Genie¡¯. Thus, they naturally started calling him ¡®Genie¡¯ as well, even though the name ¡®Woo-Jin¡¯ wasn¡¯t that hard to pronounce. ?


    ?


    {I heard you were shooting a movie in Hollywood, but I didn¡¯t expect myself to run into you. Oh my goodness. Autograph, autograph!}?


    ?


    The woman claiming to be Woo-Jin¡¯s fan was at a loss of what to do next ¨C she turned around with her back facing Woo-Jin in excitement. She only had a small clutch with her. so she didn¡¯t have any paper for him to sign his autograph on. That was why she turned around and asked him to sign his autograph on the white T-shirt she was wearing. Woo-Jin also searched his pockets for a pen because of her sudden request, but to no avail. ?


    ?


    ¡°Here.¡±?


    ?


    Next to him, Kang Ho-Soo took out a thick magic marker from his suit jacket and gave it to Woo-Jin. He always carried that marker with him just in case Woo-Jin needed to sign an autograph at any time and place. Woo-Jin took the marker from him, and he was momentarily in awe of Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s meticulousness. ?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin signed on the T-shirt in Korean, the fan smiled brightly as she tried to look at the back of her T-shirt. Even though she couldn¡¯t take a good look at it, the letters that she caught a glimpse of made her feel proud and happy. ?


    ?


    Even though she became a fan of Genie, she had almost no opportunity to see him in person because they lived in different countries. It had been a few days since she started wandering around the area in hopes of seeing Woo-Jin, after hearing the news about him shooting a movie in Hollywood. ?


    ?


    {Genie! Take this opportunity to settle down in Hollywood!} ?


    ?


    That statement stemmed from her own desire to run into Genie like she did today, as well as her support for Genie¡¯s success. Woo-Jin knew how she felt, so he simply smiled without giving a response. She seemed dazzled by how bright and beautiful he looked - she clasped her hands together, while her heart fluttered. ?


    ?


    Since she was openly expressing her emotions without holding herself back, Woo-Jin acted a little more enthusiastic than usual. Hence, after taking a photo with his fan and parting ways, Woo-Jin felt rather thrilled. ?


    ?


    ¡°It''s always very fascinating whenever I meet a non-Korean fan in the U.S..¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I find it even weirder that you find it fascinating.¡±?


    ?


    After The Red became a hit in the U.S., more and more people became interested in Woo-Jin, who would be appearing in Guardian Angel. Since Woo-Jin was not the first Korean actor to enter Hollywood, the public was generally rather welcoming of this newcomer. ?


    ?


    Due to the interconnected network, the exchange of information became more and more rapid, so the number of people who knew about him had exceeded his expectations. This meant that Woo-Jin''s days of walking along Hollywood comfortably were numbered. Thus, Kang Ho-Soo wanted Woo-Jin to enjoy himself as much as possible while he still could, and tried his best not to interrupt Woo-Jin¡¯s day out. ?


    ?


    ¡°At this rate, we might soon be hounded by the paparazzi.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of scary.¡± Kang Ho-Soo shook his head immediately and frowned after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words. ?


    ?


    Seeing how the paparazzi hounded Dustin had already made Woo-Jin and Kang Ho-Soo break out in sweat. Whenever Dustin left the set, the paparazzi would swarm towards him, like a scene from a zombie movie. That was one of the reasons why Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to hang out with Dustin alone. He was afraid of being swamped with the paparazzi together with Dustin. ?


    ?


    Even in Korea, the media-backed paparazzi have emerged recently. But they weren¡¯t as bad as the paparazzi in Hollywood. It wasn¡¯t simply a matter of being able to handle the Hollywood paparazzi¡¯s ¡®attacks¡¯. They had no morals, let alone etiquette and conscience. The stars standing before their cameras were nothing more than mere commodities. ?


    ?


    ¡°One thing I¡¯m certain of is that Hollywood is scary because of the paparazzi.¡±?


    ?


    Contrary to the desire of the fan he had just met earlier, Woo-Jin had no intention of settling down in Hollywood. Even though Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t be hounded by that much paparazzi as compared to Dustin, he didn¡¯t want to live in another country. But it would be a different story if it was for a production. ?


    ?


    ¡°Still, this is the best place for you to become a world-famous star.¡± ?


    ?


    Kang Ho-Soo expressed that it wasn¡¯t a bad idea for Woo-Jin to sign a contract with an agency here, and continue to be active in Hollywood. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had also started to look for an agency in the U.S. just in case new opportunities came knocking at the door. Kang Ho-Soo was afraid of the paparazzi, but he was preparing to overcome his fear with a strong determination for the sake of Woo-Jin, who was on his way to becoming a global star. ?


    ?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the fan we ran into earlier? Guardian Angel hasn¡¯t even been released yet, but she already knew who I was because of a Korean movie.¡± As soon as Woo-Jin got cocky and talked about how there was no need to be obsessed with Hollywood in order to become a world-renowned actor, Kang Ho-Soo subconsciously laughed. ?


    ?


    ¡°Strangely enough, this reminds me of the day LL-Studio sent in their offer. Who was the person putting face down on the desk and stamping his feet?¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°I know, right? Who was that?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin smiled bashfully, thinking about the time when he misunderstood Hugh and Rayford and assumed it was a hidden camera prank, and how he became flustered when he received their offer. He could make remarks about hating the paparazzi and how Korea was great only because he was currently shooting a movie in Hollywood.  ?


    ?


    {Ah!}?


    ?


    While Woo-Jin was walking and talking to Kang Ho-Soo, he didn¡¯t watch where he was going and bumped into a passerby¡¯s shoulders. As soon as Woo-Jin hurriedly apologized, the other party smiled and nodded before walking off. ?


    ?


    {Hold up!} ?


    ?


    {What¡¯s the matter?}?


    ?


    As soon as the man whom Woo-Jin bumped shoulders with suddenly stopped, his girlfriend walking next to him asked quizzically. ?


    ?


    {Wasn¡¯t Genie the person who bumped into me?}?


    ?


    {Really? I didn¡¯t see his face because I was busy looking at you.}?


    ?


    {It¡¯s definitely Genie! There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t recognize his face.} ?


    ?


    The man exclaimed in excitement after failing to recognize Genie earlier. The pair of lovers were fans of Genie, or rather, Chae Woo-Jin. They happened to watch Glooming Day and became fond of Chae Woo-Jin. Recently, they had been obsessed with The Red. His girlfriend intentionally booked a flight to LA for their vacation after learning that Genie was shooting a movie there. They didn¡¯t expect to see him, but as luck would have it, it really happened. ?


    ?


    They stopped hesitating, and ran towards Genie, who was walking into the distance. ?


    ?


    {Genie!}?


    ?


    As soon as they lifted both arms and waved to Woo-Jin, while calling out to him, Woo-Jin stopped walking and turned around. After taking a good look at him, they were certain he was their Genie.

 CH 178

    Dustin Evan never actually dreamed of becoming an actor as a child. In fact, he had no interest in becoming a celebrity, let alone an actor. He was just an ordinary student whose greatest goal in life was to go to the same university as his crush.?


    ?


    But Dustin¡¯s life was turned upside down when his father¡¯s business went bankrupt.?


    ?


    As someone who had always been easygoing and good-natured, Dustin did not immediately despair or struggle when the bankruptcy caused difficulties for his family. Thanks to his optimistic outlook on life, he never complained like his siblings despite their sudden poverty.?


    ?


    It was only after hearing from his parents that he could no longer attend his private school due to their financial difficulty that reality finally hit Dustin. In fact, even his older brother and sister, who were attending university, were forced to take a leave of absence as they could not get a scholarship.?


    ?


    In all honesty, school wasn¡¯t that important to Dustin. So whether he had to attend some public school or quit school entirely, he had no reason to despair.?


    ?


    However, what mattered to him was that Selena was attending his current school.?


    ?


    Although he had confessed his feelings to her and gotten rejected five times, Dustin was just happy from the fact that he could see her whenever he wanted since they went to school together.?


    ?


    But if he left this school, Dustin and Selena would gradually become distant, and he¡¯d get erased from her memories over time as she started living in a completely different world to him.?


    ?


    There was nothing more significant than that for an ordinary 16-year-old boy. Hearing that he would have to leave school was like a bolt out of the blue, incomparable to the time he was told his father¡¯s business had gone bankrupt.?


    ?


    However, if there was anything interesting about Dustin back then, it was that his father had a friend who was a producer for TV shows. And this producer-friend always tried to convince Dustin to become an actor whenever they saw each other.?


    ?


    As he had no other options, Dustin went to see his father¡¯s friend. He thought he would be able to earn more by starring in shows and movies instead of working part-time at a gas station, and it would make him look much more stylish and cool as well.?


    ?


    At that time, his father¡¯s producer friend happened to be preparing a teen drama show and was in need of a handsome character, so he enthusiastically and eagerly cast Dustin.?


    ?


    He had been trying to convince his friend¡¯s son to become an actor for so long, and the boy had finally decided to make his debut. In fact, the producer was absolutely sure the boy would become a superstar.?


    ?


    The show ended up being a great success.?


    ?


    Not only was it a success, but it also announced the birth of the actor named Dustin Evan to the world. Despite being a supporting role, the character Dustin played gained more popularity and love than the main character.?


    ?


    Dustin''s dream of starring in a show just to pay for his school tuition was finally fulfilled, so he thought everything would work out great from now on.?


    ?


    With the money earned from the show and starring in a few commercials, Dustin also managed to pay for his siblings¡¯ tuitions and also buy back their house that had been auctioned off.?


    ?


    They had gotten a far better result than what he had hoped for. He could continue attending school with Selena and wouldn¡¯t look shabby or miserable in front of her.?


    ?


    Thus, he tried to return to his ordinary, daily life with no regrets. But what held him back was, surprisingly, his own family.?


    ?


    They still needed Dustin¡¯s income to revive his father''s bankrupt business, return to their previous standard of living, and also pay for his own expensive college tuition fees without working part-time or any scholarships.?


    ?


    Dustin could not deny the wishes of his family, who looked up at him with earnest eyes.?


    ?


    He also could not ignore the producer¡¯s offer to cast him in season two after the show¡¯s success. His father¡¯s friend was the one who lent them a helping hand when the family was in deep trouble, so Dustin didn¡¯t have the heart to refuse him just because they didn¡¯t need the producer¡¯s help anymore.?


    ?


    Thus, he continued to thrive as an actor, filming more shows and even movies. But in the end, Dustin didn¡¯t get into the same university as Selena. The alcohol he drank to drown his sorrows was horribly bitter but was also his only consolation.?


    ?


    With Dustin¡¯s financial aid, his father¡¯s business was restored, and his older siblings were able to safely graduate from their prestigious universities.?


    ?


    When his younger brother also graduated from university and landed a respectable and stable job, Dustin¡¯s family thanked him and told the actor he could now do whatever he wanted to do without worrying about the family¡¯s financial stability.?


    ?


    This happened when Dustin was 26 years old.?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s family was relatively rational and thoughtful compared to other celebrities, whose families became money leeches and shamelessly clung to them. But Dustin¡¯s family properly removed their fangs that were biting onto the actor¡ªsucking his blood¡ªand set him free, which could be called a happy ending.?


    ?


    However, this was only the case for Dustin¡¯s financial support. They still turned to Dustin when they needed his name and fame, both in private and in public.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, it was true that his family had returned his freedom. But unfortunately, the 26-year-old Dustin had nothing else he wanted to do now.?


    ?


    He used to study seriously as he had a clear goal of getting into the same university as Selena.?


    ?


    But even if he tried to continue his studies now, Selena had already graduated. All Dustin wanted was to make some memories with her and spend time together in the same space, not to become her junior.?


    ?


    Moreover, acting ended up being really fun for him and matched his aptitudes. He enjoyed his job and grew greedy for more roles and character.?


    ?


    For the first time in his life, Dustin had dreams for himself and not anyone else.?


    ?


    To be honest, Dustin had only gained popularity during his debut, thanks to his attractive appearance.?


    ?


    His light brown eyes matched his blonde hair and shimmered gold, leading people to call him ¡®Sunshine.¡¯ In addition, his tall, slender stature and handsome appearance managed to garner popularity that overwhelmed the actor playing the main character.?


    ?


    Although he wasn¡¯t gifted at acting, his first performance wasn¡¯t bad enough that the flaws could be overlooked. Considering that he had been thrown onto the battlefield without any training, the results were pretty good, which boosted Dustin¡¯s confidence in his acting.?


    ?


    Afterward, his hard work and self-confidence were the ingredients that made Dustin Evan as he was today. Every time he finished a project and moved on to the next one, he kept showing better skills and performances. Thus his popularity soared in proportion.?


    ?


    Dustin wasn¡¯t satisfied with some parts of his career, but his success and achievements so far weren¡¯t so bad.?


    ?


    But inversely proportional to his success as a celebrity, Dustin began to feel emptier inside day after day.?


    ?


    Dustin had sacrificed¡­ no, that may not be the right word. Dustin had given up on what he wanted the most in the world for his family.?


    ?


    But at some point in time, his family began to ignore him. In fact, they sometimes actively tried to avoid hearing anything about Dustin Evan.?


    ?


    After graduating from prestigious universities and joining the upper classes, Dustin''s siblings had successful social lives. Soon afterward, they started ignoring Dustin¡¯s words and opinions and ridiculed him.?


    ?


    If Dustin got involved in some incident, they treated him as a wasteful and prodigal child, reproaching him as they felt ashamed of being related to him.?


    ?


    ¡ªBe sure to keep your schedule free next Friday evening. We¡¯re hosting a party where political and business figureheads will gather to talk about the development of Southern California. You should help out as a member of our family.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, they always looked for him and used family as a reason to get him involved whenever he would be useful in improving their public image.?


    ?


    Dustin placed a hand on his forehead and frowned as he answered the call from his older brother as soon as he woke up in the morning.?


    ?


    If Dustin Evan attended the party, that alone would be enough publicity for the event. His older brother had invited him to the party to use the media as a means to announce the event¡¯s objective and easily collect donations.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m not going! More like, I can¡¯t go! Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m busy with a new project right now?}?


    ?


    ¡ªYou¡¯re busy but still have the time to hang out with those pieces of trash? One of your friends blackmailed us into buying a photo of you drunk and lying next to the trash bin yesterday. Was his name Ralph? He said he¡¯d sell the picture to the press instead if we didn¡¯t pay him. How can all your so-called friends be so¡­.?


    ?


    Shocked by his brother¡¯s words, Dustin forgot what he was about to say and bit his lips. Ralph was a very close friend he trusted.?


    ?


    Even if all his other friends did such things, Dustin didn¡¯t want to believe in the betrayal of a close friend he thought would never behave in such a way.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t lie to me. I know Ralph better than anyone else. He wouldn¡¯t do that.}?


    ?


    ¡ªGo check for yourself if you think it¡¯s a lie. Then, I¡¯ll be seeing you next Friday, alright??


    ?


    As soon as he hung up, his brother sent a picture where Dustin seemed to be drunk and sleeping while hugging a trash bin.?


    ?


    Although Dustin had no memories of such a thing, his clothes were the same as the ones he had worn two days ago. And that evening out, the one friend who had stayed with Dustin until the very end was Ralph.?


    ?


    After answering his brother¡¯s call while lying in bed, Dustin jumped out and quickly called Ralph when he saw the photo.?


    ?


    Dustin wasn¡¯t someone who kept his worries locked away in his heart and overthought too much. He would rather tackle the issue as soon as possible.?


    ?


    ¡ªHey~! What¡¯s up, buddy??


    ?


    Ralph greeted Dustin cheerfully as he answered the phone. Dustin was slightly relieved by his tone but explained the situation nonetheless.?


    ?


    {I heard something weird from my brother just now. He says that you asked for money in return for a picture.}?


    ?


    ¡ªOoh, that? I took that picture because it would make for good and fun memories, but then realized it would be a waste to do nothing with it. So I thought it was time for your brother to repay his debts since he only became so successful thanks to the money you earned after all.?


    ?


    {If my brother owes a debt to anyone, it¡¯s me he needs to pay back. So why are you the one receiving the money?}?


    ?


    ¡ªC¡¯mon, you¡¯re already so rich. That money is more valuable to me than you since you¡¯re rolling in cash in Hollywood. Just think of it as me getting revenge on your brother as your friend.?


    ?


    Ralph proudly reported to Dustin. But as he listened to his friend¡¯s story, Dustin slowly closed his eyes.?


    ?


    There were two sides of himself fighting fiercely in his heart. On one side, he wanted to believe in his friend¡¯s words, and on the other was furious at that ridiculous and preposterous statement.?


    ?


    {My brother said that you¡¯d sell the picture to the press if he didn¡¯t buy it.}?


    ?


    ¡ªGeez, he actually said all that? There are plenty of photos like that online already, so one extra wouldn¡¯t hurt anybody. People would just laugh at it once and move on. But even so, I contacted your brother[1] before the press because I was considerate to you. Aren¡¯t you grateful??


    ?


    Ralph spoke as though he was in a very good mood. He happily told his own side of the story, unaware that his words became daggers that stabbed Dustin in the back.?


    ?


    ¡ªSo let¡¯s meet up today with the others again. It¡¯s hard to gather people since you don¡¯t like having women around, but I¡¯ll do my best to get them to come.?


    ?


    {Sorry, I¡¯m busy filming a scene until late today, so I can¡¯t come.}?


    ?


    ¡ªThen tomorrow¡­.?


    ?


    {We¡¯ll see. My schedule is pretty packed starting today.}?


    ?


    Ralph¡¯s voice, which had been loud and excited the whole time, slowly faded away at Dustin¡¯s reply. He then grumbled and said they¡¯d have fun without Dustin and hung up first.?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s friends really liked hanging out with the actor. When they were around Dustin, beautiful women approached them first, and Dustin always paid for the food and drinks.?


    ?


    Moreover, when they posted a picture with him on social media, they gathered a lot of attention. So parties with Dustin were always fun. Everyone always made time to come along and tried to make Dustin drink. The accidental remarks or information Dustin leaked under the influence of alcohol were always opportunities for his ¡®friends¡¯ to make money.?


    ?


    Selling photos or information to the press and Dustin¡¯s family earned them a lot each time.?


    ?


    But even if everyone behaved as such, Dustin believed Ralph wouldn¡¯t be like them. He was certain that Ralph wasn¡¯t that kind of ¡®friend.¡¯?


    ?


    Ralph might have been simply copying the others without feeling guilty about it or didn¡¯t want to be the only one to make a loss if he didn¡¯t do it since everyone else was.?


    ?


    But either way, Ralph had betrayed Dustin even if he was unaware of it.?


    ?


    {I really shouldn¡¯t see him for a while.}?


    ?


    Yet, Dustin didn¡¯t argue or get furious and chose to avoid Ralph for now.?


    ?


    Whenever he started filming a new project, Dustin tried his best to avoid alcohol as much as possible. But if he did, his friends and acquaintances always invited him out to drink.?


    ?


    That said, Dustin wasn¡¯t naive enough to be unaware of their schemes.?


    ?


    In fact, it wouldn¡¯t make sense that he didn¡¯t notice their intentions and actions when pictures of Dustin sleeping made their way online, especially when stories he had only told his friends were published in news articles as ¡®leaks from a close acquaintance of Dustin Evan.¡¯?


    ?


    Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t push his friends away and kept seeing them as a means to endure and survive.?


    ?


    {People may say that I¡¯m just a privileged person making a big deal out of a first world problem, but¡­.}?


    ?


    Right now, Dustin was in a precarious situation.?


    ?


    At first, he had started acting with the impure intentions of making money fast, but he now enjoyed it as a lifelong profession.?


    ?


    But now, he wondered whether the difficulties and hardships he suffered were because of the people in his surroundings. In that case, he could simply push those people out of his life and never see them again, but his heart didn¡¯t allow him to do so.?


    ?


    Ironically, Dustin¡¯s problem was that the people who hurt him were the same people who were his source of comfort.?


    ?


    Dustin tried to heal the wounds inflicted by humans with the help of other humans, but he was always met with stinging betrayal.?


    ?


    Nevertheless, Dustin still wanted to hope and trust people.?


    ?


    {I should hang out with Genie from now on.}?


    ?


    Looking back on his past, Dustin decided to stay away from most people for the time being and chose to be with Chae Woo-Jin instead.?


    ?


    1. The raws say ¡®You contacted your brother,¡¯ but the author probably made a typo. ?

 CH 179

    In actuality, the trust Dustin had in Woo-Jin was incomprehensible, considering how they had met each other just recently.?


    ?


    One of the reasons was Dustin¡¯s impactful and memorable first impression of Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    When he first saw Woo-Jin, Dustin wondered whether it was humanly possible for anyone to be so pure and wholesome.?


    ?


    Although Woo-Jin¡¯s neat and beautiful appearance had also played a part in the first impression, Dustin felt like Woo-Jin was very well-behaved and frank when observing him. Thus, he felt comfortable and at peace when they were together.?


    ?


    But the biggest event that made Dustin have faith in Woo-Jin happened the day after the Korean actor¡¯s welcome party.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin showed Dustin a selfie he had taken with a dead-drunk Dustin from the previous night and warned the American actor not to drink too much when he can¡¯t hold his liquor.?


    ?


    Then, Woo-Jin deleted the photo in front of Dustin¡¯s eyes.?


    ?


    When asked why he had deleted the photo, Woo-Jin flatly replied that he had no reason to keep a picture that wasn¡¯t very pleasant to see.?


    ?


    Actors often considered photos taken with Dustin valuable, as those were always well-received by the general public. But those also exerted considerable influence within the entertainment industry because it proved that one had strong connections with a famous celebrity.?


    ?


    Therefore, many stars posted pictures of them with Dustin on their social media to garner attention even though they weren¡¯t really close with the actor in real life.?


    ?


    In other words, a photo with Dustin could be used for publicity, even if the latter was drunk in it.?


    ?


    ¡°I don¡¯t use social media.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a waste of your time?¡± Dustin asked Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just too lazy.¡±?


    ?


    Dustin was impressed by Woo-Jin¡¯s concise answer and thought it was cool that he didn¡¯t scheme around and try to forcibly make connections with influential figures.?


    ?


    After that incident, Dustin started chatting with Woo-Jin, talking about stories that everyone knew and cleverly mixing in some pieces of information that only Dustin knew. However, the conversations and topics the two talked about never spread around to other people.?


    ?


    Needless to say, it was possible that Woo-Jin had told people that weren¡¯t in Dustin¡¯s surroundings and that he was just unable to check them.?


    ?


    But he never heard any rumors or gossip about the things he told Woo-Jin, so Dustin decided to trust him. In fact, Dustin¡¯s weakness was that he trusted and depended on people way too easily. So while he was trying to be careful and wary in his own way, Dustin still decided that Chae Woo-Jin was a good friend and tried to get closer to him.?


    ?


    Friendship was like a business to Dustin, after all. It was like an adventure of a lifetime. If one didn¡¯t invest in anyone because they were afraid of the risk, they would never gain anything.?


    ?


    Currently, Dustin¡¯s ¡®friendship funds¡¯ were on the verge of bankruptcy because he was investing in too many people. Thus, he needed a restructuring, a new method. If he failed this time as well, it would hurt him a lot, but even so, he didn¡¯t want to despair and be discouraged.?


    ?


    Humans had always represented hope for Dustin. He didn¡¯t want to live life by giving up hope, so he always looked straight ahead and walked forward without running away.?


    ?


    And the second thing Dustin liked most after people was social media. He was often hurt by malicious comments, but he couldn¡¯t give up on it because he received more comfort, consolation, and praise than hate. Social media and alcohol were outlets and a refuge for Dustin.?


    ?


    Thus, he often posted photos on social media, even during projects, showing the progress of the film and his relationship with the other actors. And unsurprisingly, he posted a picture taken with Woo-Jin on his social media this time around.?


    ?


    The photo was a selfie Dustin took with Woo-Jin in the background, reading the movie¡¯s script. Dustin left the caption, ¡®Genie won¡¯t play with me,¡¯ along with the photo.?


    ?


    Not long after he uploaded the picture, strangers who did not usually come to his social media started paying it a visit. Although they left comments in English, most of them were Woo-Jin¡¯s fans from Korea.?


    ?


    There were also quite a few Americans and people of various nationalities, of course, but they all had one thing in common ¡ª they were fans of Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    They were happy to finally see Woo-Jin again after a long time. Many were consoling Dustin yet asked him to still look after Woo-Jin, and some people endearingly requested the actor to post more pictures of a similar style in the future.?


    ?


    The fans wanted more photos of Woo-Jin because the actor did not use social media, and the staff members who had followed him to Los Angeles were not posting a lot of news or pictures on the fancafe as they were being cautious.?


    ?


    Previously, Dustin couldn¡¯t understand why his friends constantly tried to gain attention online by posting pictures with him.?


    ?


    But now that he had the same experience but on the receiving end, he realized that it wasn¡¯t such a bad feeling either.?


    ?


    It was interesting to see the various reactions of people who weren¡¯t his own fans but a co-star¡¯s. He also felt the warm and welcoming friendliness of the fans in love with Woo-Jin. The attention and goodwill he received from another person¡¯s supporters felt unusually thrilling.?


    ?


    The fans of Dustin¡¯s previous co-stars had not been very fond of him. In the case of male co-stars, the fans didn¡¯t like Dustin as he overshadowed them, while for female actresses, the fans felt like Dustin was being rude when ignoring them.?


    ?


    It was only natural that Dustin ¡®ignored¡¯ his female co-stars since he had publicly stated that he had a one-sided crush on someone from a young age, so he didn¡¯t see his female co-stars as women in that sense.?


    ?


    Dustin drew a clear line with the actresses even in private to avoid any misunderstandings or scandals, but his attitude offended the actresses¡¯ fans instead.?


    ?


    Thus, the goodwill he received from Woo-Jin¡¯s fans was rather fresh and special.?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s eyes got slightly watery as he imagined his fans behaving the same way to others.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fans showed affection and goodwill for just a single picture he had taken without much thought and even thanked Dustin for uploading it. Dustin¡¯s heart ached as he imagined his own fans also behaving the same way when someone else uploaded a picture of him.?


    ?


    With a renewed sense of love for his fans, he posted a message stating exactly what he felt later that night, only to flail around in bed the next morning in embarrassment.?


    ?


    However, the reaction from his fans was good. The content of his message was quite shameful and cringeworthy as he had written it in the dark of the night when he was overflowing with emotions and sentimentality. Yet, since it was basically a message about his realization and gratitude towards his fans, no one criticized his post.?


    ?


    So when Dustin tried to erase the message as soon as he woke up in the morning, his manager actively and eagerly stopped him. Thus, Dustin didn¡¯t have a choice but to leave it as is since his fans also appreciated the post.?


    ?


    However, his actions caused another repercussion. Dustin¡¯s fans misunderstood that he had been able to express his gratitude and write sensible messages to his fans as a result of his friendship with Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    The fans who had always wanted Dustin to make a true, reliable friend welcomed the two¡¯s friendship with open arms. And in consequence, Dustin and Woo-Jin¡¯s fans started having good relations with each other.?


    ?


    Now, all that was left was for Dustin and Woo-Jin to actually become real friends.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t thrown away that shirt? Wait, scratch that. Why on earth did you bring it all the way to LA?!¡±?


    ?


    Dustin was on his way to visit Woo-Jin before they started filming when he heard a voice shouting in an unfamiliar language. Even though he couldn¡¯t understand the words, he could guess from the atmosphere that Woo-Jin¡¯s fashion coordinator had gotten angry and was scolding him.?


    ?


    ¡°Look at the people¡¯s reaction! They¡¯re insulting me, asking why your fashion coordinator still hasn¡¯t thrown away that shirt.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s coordinator despaired as though the world was ending and slumped down on the table, pretending to bawl her eyes out.?


    ?


    In front of her was Woo-Jin, staring blankly into the air with an embarrassed look and a forced smile.?


    ?


    {What¡¯s going on?}?


    ?


    The atmosphere was dark, but judging from Woo-Jin¡¯s expression, it didn¡¯t seem to be a serious situation. Nonetheless, seeing the coordinator¡¯s attitude, it was clear that something embarrassing had happened.?


    ?


    ¡°Listen to this! Our Woo-Jin wore this shirt again. He wore this dirty t-shirt with paint stains and wandered around LA, only to get photographed by a tourist and get an article published about it!¡±?


    ?


    Although Hwang Yi-Young could understand English to some extent, she could only talk in short sentences, so she gave up entirely on explaining the situation in English and rapid-fired her words in Korean at Dustin.?


    ?


    Even though he couldn¡¯t understand her, Dustin looked at the laptop she was showing him and saw an article with pictures of Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    In the photos, Woo-Jin was wearing a white t-shirt with a cardigan wrapped around his waist, yawning in some and staring blankly forward in others while leaning his head forward.?


    ?


    {What¡¯s wrong with these? Were you caught secretly staring at some women in bikinis or something?}?


    ?


    {No, the clothes I¡¯m wearing in those pictures are pretty old, so people are telling me to buy some new outfits.}?


    ?


    A few people visiting the Hollywood Forever Cemetery took some pictures and later found out that Woo-Jin was standing behind them, visible in their photos.?


    ?


    Moreover, they were uploading their pictures on their social media in real-time, so one of Woo-Jin¡¯s fans recognized the actor on their posts and raised some suspicions.?


    ?


    Since they had used a high-quality camera, the image resolution was good enough even when they zoomed in on the photos.?


    ?


    And sure enough, once they zoomed into the background of the image, Chae Woo-Jin was standing there as expected.?


    ?


    It was a funny coincidence that Chae Woo-Jin, who was filming a movie in Los Angeles, was photographed there. But rather than the actor¡¯s presence becoming a hot topic, the clothes he was wearing became a bigger issue.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had brought the ugly t-shirt that the ¡®The Slipper Young Man¡¯ was wearing all the way to the US and wore it on his outings. Those who knew of that incident could easily recognize it.?


    ?


    At first, people were just surprised he hadn¡¯t thrown it away yet and found it remarkable that he had taken it to the US. But not long afterward, they started complaining about Woo-Jin¡¯s fashion coordinator, Hwang Yi-Young, who had followed the actor to the US, and asked why she was making him wear those old clothes again.?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young had nothing to do during the movie''s filming because the production staff took care of everything for Woo-Jin, from his makeup to his costumes.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, she had accompanied him to LA to make him pay attention to his casual clothes and activities outside of filming.?


    ?


    However, the day Woo-Jin visited the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, an idol Hwang Yi-Young had once worked with was holding a concert in LA. So she decided to attend the event and help out with the preparations and clean-up after the concert since she was already there. But when she returned later that evening, this article had spread online, falsely accusing her of being bad at her job, which frustrated her.?


    ?


    {If you aren¡¯t contracted to a brand, it shouldn¡¯t matter what clothes you wear in your daily life, right?} Dustin asked.?


    ?


    {That¡¯s exactly my point. That shirt is so comfortable¡­.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin responded with a smile as Dustin took his side in the argument. Suddenly, Hwang Yi-Young raised her head from the table and glared at him.?


    ?


    ¡°Wear comfortable clothes at home! I was getting praised for your outfit at the airport, but now everyone has already forgotten about it and turned their backs on me!¡±?


    ?


    The style of Woo-Jin¡¯s clothes at the airport when leaving for LA was quite a sight. That December day, he wore a long, black, open coat with a white, knitted top with a round neckline and a black, buckle-style belt.?


    ?


    Every time Woo-Jin took a step, the hem of his coat flapped backward, and his slim waistline was displayed to the world, which overall had an attractive sexual appeal to it.?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young felt wrongly accused as she started getting insulted despite being a hardworking fashion coordinator.?


    ?


    {You were in the wrong.} Dustin changed his mind.?


    ?


    {Do you even understand what we¡¯re talking about?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin asked suspiciously as Dustin suddenly took Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s side.?


    ?


    {I didn¡¯t get the details but got the rough idea. But above all else, whenever I make a mistake and Ellen gets angry, she has that exact expression. And when I look back on it later on, she was almost always right.}?


    ?


    Ellen was Dustin¡¯s fashion coordinator. Dustin then added that things never went wrong for him whenever he listened to Ellen¡¯s advice.?


    ?


    Once everyone teamed up and blamed Woo-Jin, he finally relented and promised Hwang Yi-Young to throw away that t-shirt when they returned to Korea.?


    ?


    ¡°Why not throw it away now?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I feel bad throwing it away in a foreign land¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young was dumbfounded as Woo-Jin was acting like he was being forced to abandon his pet animal during a trip overseas.?


    ?


    ¡°That shirt must be made in China anyway! Fine, then. Why don¡¯t you fly to China and throw it away over there since it¡¯s where the shirt was born?¡±?


    ?


    At Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s words, Kang Ho-Soo, who had stood quietly this whole time without a sound, finally burst into laughter.?


    ?


    ¡°And why are you laughing?! You should¡¯ve paid more attention to Woo-Jin¡¯s outfit since I wasn¡¯t there!¡±?


    ?


    Hwang Yi-Young turned to Woo-Jin¡¯s manager and exclaimed.?


    ?


    At that time, Kang Ho-Soo didn¡¯t think Woo-Jin¡¯s t-shirt was problematic and he still didn¡¯tknow why she was making such a big deal out of it.?


    ?


    He felt that it was unreasonable of Hwang Yi-Young to criticize him and tell him to take better care of Woo-Jin¡¯s attire, as it wasn¡¯t part of his job as a manager.?


    ?


    Feeling wrongly accused, Kang Ho-Soo was about to talk back to her, but Dustin tapped him on the shoulder.?


    ?


    {From my experience, things will stay troublesome for a long time if you refute her now.}?


    ?


    Kang Ho-Soo glanced at the fervid Hwang Yi-Young and closed his mouth shut.?


    ?


    In the short moment when everyone stood silently, Dustin stepped forward and spoke to Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    {Genie, when we¡¯re done filming today¡­.}?


    ?


    {No.}?


    ?


    {I¡¯m not going out drinking. I decided to stop drinking alcohol until the end of the shoot, so I won¡¯t cling to you anymore.}?


    ?


    {Now that''s good news. I¡¯ll cheer for you from the sidelines!}?


    ?


    {If you¡¯re gonna cheer for me, do it from the frontlines instead.}?


    ?


    Although he had proudly declared that he wouldn¡¯t cling to Woo-Jin anymore, Dustin had no choice but to do that right now.?


    ?


    For the time being, he needed an excuse to refuse to meet his friends, but he also needed someone to spend time with to appease his loneliness.?


    ?


    Thus, Dustin asked Woo-Jin to hang out together after they were done filming for the day.

 CH 180

    {Didn¡¯t you say you wouldn¡¯t cling onto me anymore?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m not clinging to you. I¡¯m simply making a request.}?


    ?


    Dustin chuckled like a child, claiming that no one could stop him once he started pestering someone.?


    ?


    {So you won¡¯t see any of your friends until we¡¯re done filming the movie?}?


    ?


    {Yep, because I felt like I was going to make another mistake. That wouldn¡¯t be good for the movie¡¯s publicity either,} Dustin replied.?


    ?


    For now, he was trying to avoid his friends, as seeing any of them would just make him furious. The suspicions and disappointments accumulated in his heart over the years had been stored away with a tight lid. But now, they were about to burst open all at once.?


    ?


    So while Dustin was avoiding his problems instead of facing them, it was best to keep his distance when his emotions were still haywire.?


    ?


    Only after Dustin promised several times not to drink alcohol did Woo-Jin nod and accept his request.?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin only kept his end of the promise a few days later.?


    ?


    The schedule of one of their co-stars had gotten complicated, so he had to film a few scenes ahead of time, keeping him very busy for a while. But Dustin was also working tirelessly for three days and nights that he didn¡¯t even have the leeway or energy to feel lonely during that time.?


    ?


    Nonetheless, once they got a break after three grueling days, Dustin called Woo-Jin out as he couldn¡¯t endure it any longer.?


    ?


    {One of your fans told me not to make you drink alcohol.}?


    ?


    At Dustin¡¯s sudden remark, Woo-Jin stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the actor.?


    ?


    He was well aware that his fans were asking questions and digging for information from Dustin since Woo-Jin didn¡¯t use social media. However, he didn¡¯t know that his fans had even made such requests to Dustin. Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he asked back.?


    ?


    {How on earth have you been living so far that rumors have spread all the way to Korea that you¡¯re a drunkard?}?


    ?


    {In this industry, you start being called an alcoholic when just a couple of pictures where you¡¯re drunk spread on the internet,} Dustin stated.?


    ?


    {Putting the others aside, you drink much more frequently than the pictures of you that surface online, so that excuse doesn¡¯t apply to you.}?


    ?


    {Geez, you can be so cold sometimes.}?


    ?


    Although Woo-Jin had a kind and friendly impression, he could be pretty cold and indifferent. He didn¡¯t react to superficial behaviors such as flattery, acting cute, or overreacting. But as long as someone treated him with sincerity, he would also behave sincerely, something Dustin quite appreciated about Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    {But why the hell do you drink something so foul? You should drink the instant coffee instead!}?


    ?


    Dustin took a sip of the Americano Woo-Jin had ordered, frowned in disgust, and then recommended the instant coffee he loved.?


    ?


    The first time Dustin tasted the instant coffee being used as a movie prop, he fell in love with the taste and got an entire box after asking Woo-Jin for some.?


    ?


    {You¡¯re in no position to criticize the taste of Americanos. No matter how disgusting you think it is, at least it tastes better than alcohol. Why do you even drink something so bitter?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {I also have no idea. The first time I drank alcohol, it tasted so bitter that I vomited and made a fuss about it. But from a certain point onwards, it started tasting pretty good.}?


    ?


    {People say that you become an adult when alcohol starts tasting sweet and tasty,} Woo-Jin commented.?


    ?


    He stared at Dustin carefully, then slowly shook his head.?


    ?


    {I feel like you were insulting me in your head just now,} Dustin grumbled.?


    ?


    {It wasn¡¯t a compliment, but it wasn¡¯t an insult either.}?


    ?


    As they continued chatting, Woo-Jin looked outside the coffee shop window they were sitting next to.?


    ?


    He observed over twenty paparazzi waiting outside. Seeing those people holding their cameras like weapons and aiming them at the shop entrance, Woo-Jin could somehow understand Dustin¡¯s feelings about human interactions.?


    ?


    {Even though I think you¡¯re pathetic sometimes, I also admire you when I see those people outside. How do you endure being in the spotlight constantly?}?


    ?


    {You don¡¯t endure it. You can only give up. But the most difficult thing is when¡­.}?


    ?


    Dustin paused. But then, he didn¡¯t finish his sentence and shook his head.?


    ?


    His last remaining pride didn¡¯t allow him to say aloud that he was having a hard time because of his family and friends.?


    ?


    {But you¡¯re also really popular in your homeland. Aren¡¯t you used to these kinds of situations already? You always seem so surprised when you see paparazzi around,} Dustin asked.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s not this bad in Korea. They usually take pictures secretly from a distance.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin brought his hands to his eyes and pretended to be looking through a pair of binoculars. He taught Dustin about the Korean entertainment world as the American actor was curious about it.?


    ?


    Then, the conversation somehow naturally shifted to their movie¡¯s plot.?


    ?


    {About the scene we filmed yesterday, your acting when Jin almost killed Robert was incredible.}?


    ?


    The scene Dustin was talking about was the moment when Jin accidentally attacked Robert when getting ambushed by a group of mysterious assailants.?


    ?


    Jin had been alone for nearly a thousand years and wasn¡¯t used to fighting ¡®alongside¡¯ someone else. So he didn¡¯t pay attention to his surroundings and used a wide-range attack, almost slicing off Robert¡¯s head in the process.?


    ?


    Jin¡¯s eyes trembled as he noticed the thin line forming on Robert¡¯s neck as blood seeped out.?


    ?


    It was a very brief moment but an important scene that showed how Jin and Robert¡¯s relationship had evolved. When Dustin later checked the footage, he was moved to the extent that he sniffled as his nose got red.?


    ?


    The emotional change within Jin, who only regarded Robert as a fun conversational partner, could be felt so clearly that it was only natural for Robert¡¯s eyes to also change as he noticed Jin¡¯s gaze.?


    ?


    Dustin was shocked by how he had been unintentionally influenced by Woo-Jin¡¯s acting during the filming. He was well aware that one actor¡¯s acting could influence their co-star as there was a mutual exchange of emotions.?


    ?


    But this was the first time Dustin had experienced it firsthand.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s amazing how one gaze can replace so many lines and show the change in the relationship between two characters so dramatically,} Dustin commented.?


    ?


    He had watched The Red before Woo-Jin arrived in the United States, something he never told the Korean actor.?


    ?


    Since Dustin¡¯s character, Robert, would be spending most of his time in the movie alongside Jin, he wanted to know more about Chae Woo-Jin, an actor he was unfamiliar with. So when he learned that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s movie was released in the cinemas in the United States, he went to watch it with no prior knowledge about the story.?


    ?


    He was expecting it to be an erotic movie because of the title, but by the time he finished watching it, he realized that there was no sexual connotation in the title at all.?


    ?


    In all honesty, after watching the movie, Dustin fell in love with the actor named Chae Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    Even though it was in a language he didn¡¯t understand at all, and even though he usually hated having to read subtitles, he could not take his eyes off the screen as he was afraid he would miss one of the lines.?


    ?


    Despite being unfamiliar with the culture and having no knowledge of Korea¡¯s history, Dustin had no problem understanding and accepting the film''s content. That was how good the editing and translation were. But most importantly, the main character was just so charming.?


    ?


    It was the first time Dustin¡¯s heart shook because of the main character while watching a movie.?


    ?


    In his eyes, Prince Myeong-Hwan was a hero who didn¡¯t lose out compared to the superhero movies trending in Hollywood these days. Although the movie was a biography that depicted the heroism of a single person, the content was sufficiently descriptive and beautiful to entertain its audience.?


    ?


    Films like this were rare in Hollywood today. If there were movies of a similar style, it was painfully obvious that they were produced simply to win awards at film festivals. Moreover, something those kinds of movies had in common was that they weren¡¯t entertaining.?


    ?


    On the other hand, The Red managed to stay interesting and fun. The audience mirrored the emotions of Prince Myeong-Hwan as they laughed, grieved, raged, and despaired alongside the character.?


    ?


    Thus, highly empathetic people felt a strange sense of catharsis when the movie was over as they got physically and emotionally exhausted.?


    ?


    Dustin first watched the film as a spectator and then watched it a second time as an actor, trying to evaluate the movie from an objective point of view.?


    ?


    Needless to say, the first watch was more than satisfactory.?


    ?


    However, in the latter situation, Dustin was enveloped in a complex, inexplicable emotion, a mixture of envy and desire. How could someone act so well at that age??


    ?


    Dustin was also envious of how this Chae Woo-Jin had the ideal conditions and circumstances to play the perfect role for him.?


    ?


    But alongside those feelings of envy, the anticipation of getting the opportunity to film a movie with such a great actor kept Dustin awake at night in excitement.?


    ?


    However, when he finally met Chae Woo-Jin, he was not the person Dustin had seen in The Red.?


    ?


    The passionate man full of restrained madness was nowhere to be found, and all there was in front of Dustin was a man who was so gentle and polite that Dustin had a hard time adapting to Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    It was terrifying, so to speak.?


    ?


    Even though Dustin was an actor and knew better than anyone else that Woo-Jin was acting in The Red, the moment they met each other, he was looking for Prince Myeong-Hwan in Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    But he couldn¡¯t find any trace of the prince. Their personalities did not have anything in common, and even their appearance looked different at first glance. To be more precise, Dustin thought that Woo-Jin was a high schooler.?


    ?


    If someone asked Dustin if he could pull off the same feat, he would have no choice but to shake his head in embarrassment.?


    ?


    Even though they both were actors, Woo-Jin seemed so distant and out of reach from Dustin¡¯s grasp that he got grumpy and said Woo-Jin looked too young.?


    ?


    Dustin tried to look for aspects where he could win over Woo-Jin and ended up challenging the latter to a drinking contest. But even then, he was completely annihilated.?


    ?


    In the end, Dustin became infatuated with Woo-Jin and ended up in a state where he was proactively approaching the Korean actor to get to know each other better.?


    ?


    Just like with Selena, Dustin was weak against the people he liked, which now included Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    {Could you come over here for a moment?}?


    ?


    Dustin pulled out his phone and sat with his back against the coffee shop¡¯s window, beckoning Woo-Jin to come closer. They took a picture with the table between them and the view outside the window as the background.?


    ?


    The shop¡¯s window was a magic mirror, so people couldn¡¯t see the duo from outside. But the paparazzi could be clearly seen in the photo¡¯s background.?


    ?


    Since they were sitting on the second floor, they could clearly see the entire road, and the paparazzi came out really well in the image.?


    ?


    {Are you going to upload that on your social media again?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {Yep! ¡®The people disturbing my date¡¯ is the caption I¡¯m going with.}?


    ?


    {Gross!}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin shuddered at the word ¡®date¡¯ but did not stop Dustin¡¯s actions.?


    ?


    When Dustin first uploaded a picture of Woo-Jin and commented about their interactions, the public¡¯s reaction was so positive that the filmmakers and Dustin¡¯s agency encouraged him to continue doing so.?


    ?


    By the way, the filmmakers in question were Hugh and Rayford.?


    ?


    They said it was always good publicity for a movie¡¯s cast to get along very well and urged Woo-Jin and Dustin to continue portraying a friendly relationship online.?


    ?


    ¡°It may be realistically impossible, but you can use us as your role models!¡±?


    ?


    Director Rayford chuckled happily as he placed his arm around Hugh¡¯s shoulder. But the latter¡¯s face was completely twisted in disgust.?


    ?


    Seeing their interaction, Woo-Jin tried to take Dustin¡¯s phone to delete the long message he had posted on his social media.?


    ?


    However, the filmmakers¡¯ earnest request to keep things as is, put some pressure on Woo-Jin. And most importantly, when he was told that their fans had absolutely loved it, Woo-Jin lost strength in the arm with which he was trying to take away Dustin¡¯s phone.?


    ?


    {This dirty and corrupt business world!}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin gulped down his Americano to calm his burning and raging guts.?


    ?


    Films were projects that could flop even with a great director, great actors, and an interesting premise.?


    ?


    Although it was the same in every film industry, people in Hollywood did not hesitate to use any methods to achieve a box office success since the production costs per project were enormous.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had nothing to say as the people with common sense were actively encouraging Dustin¡¯s actions, and he lost the will to resist.?


    ?


    But what Woo-Jin found the weirdest was Dustin.?


    ?


    {Aren¡¯t you too enthusiastic and too much on the offensive?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {Is that how it looks to you?}?


    ?


    {Yeah, a lot.}?


    ?


    It was plainly obvious to anyone that Dustin was infatuated with Woo-Jin at first glance. Dustin liked people and was prone to feeling lonely, so it was understandable that he wanted to be friends with Woo-Jin.?


    ?


    However, there was a subtle difference between the pure friendship Dustin wanted and the bromance that the filmmakers wanted between the two.?


    ?


    Would any man enjoy being forced to pretend to have a good friendship and bromance with another man??


    ?


    Well, apparently, Dustin happened to be such a man, as he was enjoying their situation quite a bit.?


    ?


    And when Woo-Jin wondered whether Dustin had gone through a similar experience in the past, he learned that it wasn¡¯t the case. Dustin¡¯s friendships were mainly led by the consumption of alcohol and a lot of wasteful money-spendings.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin heard that Dustin and his previous co-stars always tried to pretend to be friendly with each other. Still, their relationship eventually turned awkward and sour because of their competitive spirit.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin then wondered whether Dustin was behaving in such a friendly manner because he was expecting some benefits from Woo-Jin, so he bluntly and openly asked Dustin about it.?


    ?


    But surprisingly, Dustin paused for a moment, thinking to himself, before hesitantly explaining his situation as though he acknowledged the strangeness of his actions.?


    ?


    {Although it never worked out, I tried dating other girls to try to forget Selena,} he explained?


    ?


    {Selena? Oh, that one-sided crush of yours?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin tilted his head in confusion at the sudden and abrupt change in topic but nodded as he quickly caught on. Dustin checked their surroundings once more before continuing his explanation.?


    ?


    He clarified how Selena worked in Los Angeles for a job related to Hollywood and that he still saw her from time to time.?


    ?


    {But even when I pretended to be friendly with other women, she only ever told me to do my best with them.}?


    ?


    {Seems like she really isn¡¯t interested in you,} Woo-Jin said bluntly.?


    ?


    {There¡¯s no way! I¡¯m sure she has at least a bit of interest in me. About this much? No, this much¡­.}?


    ?


    Dustin made a ten-centimeter gap between his thumb and index finger but gradually narrowed the width with a hesitant face as he got more and more uncertain.?


    ?


    In any case, Dustin denied Woo-Jin¡¯s words, saying that she seemed to have at least a tiny bit of affection for him.?


    ?


    {Let¡¯s assume you¡¯re right. But why are you talking about Selena when I asked you about us?}?


    ?


    {Well, if I can¡¯t make her feel jealous by getting friendly with other women, I thought, why not try it with men¡­.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin stared intently at Dustin, who was staring back with a na?ve expression and twinkling eyes, before sighing and turning his head away.?


    ?


    ¡°You¡¯re such a¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Unable to understand Woo-Jin¡¯s words, Dustin continued the discussion by showing his social media as he thought his explanation had been insufficient.

 CH 181

    {Look, look! Selena used to comment on my posts and respond from time to time. But she hasn¡¯t done that ever since I wrote that message about you and uploaded it,} Dustin exclaimed as he showed Woo-Jin his phone.?


    ?


    {Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence, and she¡¯s just busy these days. Or maybe she¡¯s lost all interest in you?}


    Dustin¡¯s face slowly crumpled as though he was about to cry the longer Woo-Jin spoke. It felt like he would start bawling his eyes out at any moment, so Woo-Jin had no choice but to comfort him in the end.


    {I don¡¯t know what she does, but if she¡¯s in the film industry, it might be that she¡¯s just really busy with the Academy Awards next month.}


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know anything about Selena, so he randomly blabbered something believable, to which Dustin¡¯s eyes shone with hope for a moment.


    But the light in his eyes disappeared immediately, and he shook his head with a sullen look.


    {Selena works for a company that just sponsors the film festivals, so she¡¯s not particularly busy at this time of the year. She has never been so indifferent towards me.}


    {Then maybe she¡¯s dating someone now?}


    Woo-Jin spat out some words without much thought, but before he could even finish his sentence, Dustin despaired as though he was witnessing the end of the world.


    Dustin really was born to be an actor since he could change from being perfectly normal to despairing in an instant. In any case, Woo-Jin gently consoled the heartbroken man.


    {Well, who knows? Maybe you¡¯re right. She might not have been jealous when you were trying to date other women because she noticed you weren¡¯t being sincere about it. But since you¡¯re being genuinely affectionate towards me¡­.}


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t finish his sentence out of embarrassment. But Dustin smirked and nodded in agreement with Woo-Jin¡¯s words. Because of how pure and honest Dustin was, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but open up his own heart in the end.


    {How can I help you out?}


    Soon enough, Woo-Jin extended a helping hand, albeit figuratively.


    He was in no position to help anyone right now, but because he had experience dating someone, he could understand Dustin¡¯s feelings a little.


    Unless they had experienced it before, one could not understand the desperation and zeal Dustin felt that he¡¯d grasp at straws.


    Woo-Jin leaned forward and beckoned Dustin to approach with his hand. Dustin also leaned forward until they were face-to-face and answered Woo-Jin¡¯s question.


    {I¡¯ve been thinking to myself for a long time about why Selena won¡¯t accept my feelings.}


    Dustin sniffled lightly as though he was offended by his own words.


    {And there can only be one answer to that! She doesn¡¯t see me as a man because she¡¯s known me since childhood.}


    They were 10 years old when they first met, so they had known each other for roughly 18 years.


    {I don¡¯t know about that. If we went with that logic, you shouldn¡¯t see Selena as a woman either. Wait, no, my bad. I was wrong. Don¡¯t cry!}


    As Dustin¡¯s deep [1]brown eyes got watery, he looked like a young boy with a wounded heart.


    Woo-Jin silently pondered as he looked at him. Maybe Dustin was right.


    Dustin started his career in his teens, so people didn¡¯t really remember him as childish or cute as other child actors.


    However, he did look lively and youthful, reinforcing his image as a boy. In fact, Dustin¡¯s nicknames were ¡®Sunshine¡¯ and ¡®Dreaming Boy.¡¯?


    ?


    Despite his age, Dustin retained his innocence and looked cheerful and pure, so women called him their eternal little brother.


    Even though he was a drunkard and everyone knew that he loved alcohol, his image was never tarnished. The reason was that he always fell asleep when drunk; thus, he never caused any real trouble.


    He never did anything scandalous while drunk. All he did was go out, drink with friends, get drunk and fall asleep wherever he was, which didn¡¯t really create a bad image.


    He had a pretty good reputation compared to other celebrities who caused scandals with their chaotic personal lives and drug addictions.


    In that sense, if this were South Korea, Dustin would be considered the nation¡¯s cute and endearing younger brother.


    No matter how handsome he looked now, those who had seen him since his teenage years still looked for the innocent young boy in him.


    And maybe Selena was thinking that way too. In fact, women had polar opposite opinions about men who needed to be looked after that varied from one extreme to another.


    {Are you certain she¡¯s interested in you?}


    This was the most important issue above everything else. Not only was it foolish to shoot your shot when there was no target, but there was nothing more exhausting and disgusting than having someone constantly clinging onto you even though you weren¡¯t interested in them.


    They could basically be considered stalkers.


    However, Dustin was very confident in his gut feeling about this matter.


    {It¡¯s not my imagination. She really does like me. It¡¯s just that she doesn¡¯t see me as a man¡­.}


    That was the most important issue, but Woo-Jin decided not to refute Dustin and moved on to the next subject.


    {What¡¯s her personality like?}


    {She has always been mature and calm since a young age. She can be a bit cold, but she¡¯s very rational and righteous, so she can¡¯t tolerate it when someone is being harassed for no reason. Isn¡¯t she so cool?}


    {If that¡¯s how you see her, then it must be true. But what do you mean by righteous? Did you fall in love with her when she confronted you and said she¡¯d never forgive you as you were harassing someone?}


    Although Woo-Jin thought it was unlikely, considering how kind-hearted Dustin was, he could imagine such a situation happening during their school years.


    He could see the scene in his mind. A boy who had gone astray, falling in love with a righteous girl and turning over a new leaf. Woo-Jin grinned in satisfaction as he watched it play out in front of his closed eyes.


    {No, it was actually the opposite. Selena was the one who rescued me from my friends when they were harassing me. Despite how I look now, I used to be quite short and weak when I was younger. She suddenly appeared in front of me and saved me like a hero of justice. She was so freaking cool!}


    Dustin laughed cheerfully as he recalled that day, but Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t laugh along.


    It was a somewhat typical story where one couldn¡¯t stay back when seeing others being harmed. But Woo-Jin could never have imagined that Dustin was the victim.


    Dustin had a very kind personality and was quite muscular right now, so he couldn¡¯t imagine the American actor going around getting beat up.


    {Selena saved you? Not the other way around?} Woo-Jin asked for clarifications.


    {Yeah. Selena kept me by her side and always protected me afterward.}


    {For how long? I mean, she couldn¡¯t have kept protecting you forever.}?


    ?


    {Hmm, I think she stopped when I suddenly grew taller and the other kids couldn¡¯t mess with me anymore,} Dustin replied.


    Woo-Jin became certain after hearing Dustin¡¯s answer. He had finally found the last piece of the puzzle to solve the mystery behind Selena¡¯s actions.


    Woo-Jin then asked Dustin to see his social media to confirm his suspicions.


    Even though social media was meant to be seen by people, there were definitely some personal and private aspects. But Dustin took out his phone and showed his profile with no hesitation.


    Woo-Jin checked each and every one of Dustin¡¯s posts over the past month.


    There were so many comments on each post that Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t find Selena¡¯s. But Dustin was able to find them immediately and kept pointing them out to help the Korean actor.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s purpose was to check Selena¡¯s usual reactions to Dustin¡¯s posts and see when she stopped commenting on his social media.


    Dustin¡¯s social media was mostly filled with posts about his friends ¡ª who he met that day, who he hung out with, and all kinds of similar stories.


    Although she didn¡¯t always comment, Selena occasionally wrote Dustin some advice as she worried about him, such as ¡®don¡¯t drink too much¡¯ or ¡®I hope you find a friend who will truly take good care of you.¡¯


    She definitely cared for Dustin, but her comments reflected the affection and love of a thoughtful sister who worried for her younger brother.


    And from a certain moment onwards, Dustin started posting pictures with Woo-Jin and writing about the progress of the movies.


    In reality, Dustin did continue drinking during that time, but he didn¡¯t show such signs and didn¡¯t mention any drunk stories anymore.


    The comments on his posts also got a lot more positive. Needless to say, people were still posting malicious and hateful comments, but they had definitely decreased in number compared to before. Most people were supportive and cheered for Dustin on his social media nowadays.


    ¡°If I were your older brother, I would feel very relieved seeing your social media now.¡±


    {Hm? What did you say?}


    As Woo-Jin spoke in Korean, Dustin tilted his head in confusion and curiosity as he wanted to know what Woo-Jin had said.


    {There¡¯s nothing to nitpick or nag you about.}


    {Were you trying to find an excuse on my social media to nag me?}


    ¡°No, not me but your ¡®sister.¡¯¡±


    Woo-Jin turned to Dustin with a dark gaze.


    According to his hypothesis, Selena was feeling relieved and not jealous right now.


    She worried whenever Dustin hung out with bad friends and drank himself to sleep pathetically. But since Dustin was doing well recently, she had no reason to nag him anymore.


    Dustin couldn¡¯t be more wrong about Selena¡¯s feelings than he was now. How was Woo-Jin supposed to fake a bromance with such an idiot?


    {Upload the photo you took of us just now and write the caption exactly as I tell you.}


    Dustin followed suit, despite not knowing Woo-Jin¡¯s intentions.


    He wondered why Woo-Jin wanted to write such a caption, but Dustin still acted as Woo-Jin instructed with a confused face. Seeing the naive expression on his face, Woo-Jin could somewhat understand why Selena cared for Dustin so much.?


    ?


    ¡°If she¡¯s feeling relieved now, we need to make her worry about you again.¡±


    Woo-Jin needed to know how exactly Selena felt about Dustin first and foremost.


    He had to figure out whether she was just treating Dustin as a boy she had to look after or whether she was hiding complicated feelings deep inside her heart.


    In order to do that, they needed to provoke her.


    ***


    Hugh Miller didn¡¯t visit the film set frequently.


    He had the belief that a screenwriter should not visit the set and intervene in the filming process more than necessary. It was the on-site staff and actors¡¯ job and responsibility to breathe life into the words the screenwriter had written in the script.


    As a screenwriter and producer, Hugh did everything he could to ensure the production flow was smooth while ensuring that the director¡¯s independence was not compromised.


    However, it was extremely important for him to visit the set once in a while to check the progress, discuss the details with the director, and make sure they were all on the same page.


    Today was one of those days.


    He met with the actors, talked about the characters, answered some questions, and inspected the set. He also didn¡¯t forget to carefully check the props and backgrounds to see whether there were any differences from what had been arranged.


    {Those two have weirdly been getting along these days.}


    Rayford suddenly spoke in a quiet voice next to Hugh as he pointed toward Woo-Jin and Dustin.


    {You told them to get closer even if they had to force it.}


    At Hugh¡¯s blunt response, Rayford flailed his hands to show that wasn¡¯t what he meant.


    {I was expecting this to happen for Dustin, but it¡¯s Genie who surprised me,} Rayford explained.


    Dustin seldom gave up on someone once he started liking them, even if they had some flaws. He was very loyal to people, making him the perfect target for swindlers and liars.


    On the other hand, while Rayford didn¡¯t know much about Woo-Jin, he did know that the Korean actor wasn¡¯t the type to easily place his trust in someone.


    Although he was fundamentally polite and kind, that didn¡¯t mean he opened up his heart to anyone.


    It was quite obvious that Woo-Jin kept a reasonable distance from people he didn¡¯t get along with when interacting with them. In fact, it was evident in the way he treated Dustin before.


    During their first meeting, Dustin felt somewhat competitive against Woo-Jin, but he also treated the Korean actor with basic goodwill and kindness.


    However, Woo-Jin never expanded his comfort zone and drew a clear line between the two. He always stood right on the line and kept an appropriate distance from Dustin.


    The reason behind his actions was obvious. No matter how good of a person Dustin was, the friends he hung around with had a lot of problems. And no matter how much someone cherished Dustin, it was concerning how he drowned himself in alcohol with no restraint.


    Rayford had cast Dustin as no one was more suitable for the role of Robert than him. But seeing the actor¡¯s personal circumstances, the director was getting quite anxious.


    Dustin was facing issues that he should¡¯ve experienced ages ago when he was rising as a successful young actor. What¡¯s more, at a time when he felt skeptical and doubtful about his family and friends as a successful global star, Dustin only thought about escaping from reality through alcohol, which was pitiful to watch.?


    ?


    Thus, even though Rayford had asked Woo-Jin to hang out with Dustin more, he still pondered about his request a lot.


    Two feelings were clashing inside of Rayford. He worried that Woo-Jin would get caught up in Dustin¡¯s problems but also trusted the Korean actor to handle the global star appropriately without being swayed or shaken.


    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for his alcoholism, Dustin was one of the few good people in Hollywood, so it was quite regrettable how this flaw was holding Dustin back.


    As Hugh and Rayford had initially expected, Woo-Jin behaved in a friendly manner with Dustin but also kept his distance.


    But Rayford pointed out that their relationship seemed to have changed a few days ago.


    {You might not notice it since you haven¡¯t seen them in a while, but Genie has been keeping Dustin by his side and taking care of him. Would you believe me if I said that Dustin hasn¡¯t drunk any alcohol in ten days?}


    {Seriously?}


    Although it seemed like a mediocre achievement for most people, it was an extraordinary feat for Dustin.


    Speaking of which, there were no photos of Dustin being drunk and carried to a car or a picture of him squatting asleep in the corner of a party hall in the recent entertainment news and gossip magazines.


    With a new sense of awe, Hugh examined Woo-Jin and Dustin once more.


    Now that he was observing them closely, he started to notice the small details he had missed at first. It was difficult to explain in detail, but Woo-Jin was definitely the one in charge, with the initiative in their relationship now.


    Dustin was like a loyal dog who nodded his head to everything Woo-Jin said. In fact, his face looked much brighter and more cheerful than before.


    {They¡¯re getting along really well.}


    {Right? Don¡¯t they remind you of us?}


    {¡­}


    {At the very least, the way they create beautiful scenery just by standing side-by-side is just like us with our good looks and charisma.}


    Hugh was about to violently slap away his friend¡¯s hand resting on his shoulder but stopped when he heard the rest of Rayford¡¯s sentence.


    {For once, I agree with you.}


    As Hugh and Rayford fell deeper down the rabbit hole of narcissism, the staff members signaled that they were ready to shoot.


    {Alright then, let¡¯s get started!}


    The people making preparations in their respective areas began to gather in one place at Rayford¡¯s call.


    {Ready? Action~!}


    Once they received the director¡¯s signal, the actors continued creating a new story in the world created by the staff.?


    ?


    1. Previously in Ch 178, Dustin¡¯s eyes were described as light brown eyes, but here it¡¯s described as ?? ?? which is deep brown. We have kept it as it was written in the raws. ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 182

    Robert sat backward on the chair and rested his chin on the backrest, staring at Jin reading an old book in front of him.?


    ?


    Jin¡¯s house was relaxing to stay in as there were no antiques other than books.?


    ?


    Every object he came across in the other guardians¡¯ houses was an artifact with immense historical and cultural value. The guardians cherished all their antiques, ensuring their precious treasures didn¡¯t get damaged by anything or anyone.?


    ?


    However, there were very few antiques in Jin¡¯s house, who was said to be the oldest living guardian. In fact, it was full of expensive, modern items produced in recent years.?


    ?


    Thus, Robert once again had to be careful of his every action not to damage anything.?


    ?


    {Do you not have any antiques in this house other than books?} he asked Jin.?


    ?


    {Why, will you sell them if you find some?}?


    ?


    {Why do you have to be so overbearing every time you open your mouth?}?


    ?


    {I¡¯m an antique myself, so any other items don¡¯t hold any value to me.}?


    ?


    Robert frowned deeply at Jin¡¯s blunt response.?


    ?


    {Speaking of which, why don¡¯t guardians have family names? Everyone just uses their first names. Did people not have family names back in the day?} Robert asked.?


    ?


    Jin put down the book he was reading. He raised his glasses with his middle finger and stood up from his seat.?


    ?


    He slowly walked to the desk and leaned against it. His gaze, full of kindness and sorrow, met Robert¡¯s, then Jin answered his question.?


    ?


    {Do you know what is the very first thing you forget when you become a guardian?}?


    ?


    {Your family?}?


    ?


    {No, your birthday. And from a certain point onwards, you forget your age.}?


    ?


    There was no reason for someone to cut ties with their family when they became a guardian. However, in most cases, the guardian willingly decided to leave their family as time went by because of their unaging appearance. But even so, they could always return and secretly watch over their family whenever they wanted to.?


    ?


    As someone who loved his family, Robert was somewhat relieved by Jin¡¯s explanation.?


    ?


    {But as the years pass, your family leaves you behind, and their descendants become strangers who have nothing to do with you anymore. As a result, guardians gradually start forgetting their family names as well. From that moment onwards, our only remaining value is that of being guardians.}?


    ?


    Upon hearing Jin¡¯s next words, Robert¡¯s eyes widened in shock.?


    ?


    He felt sullen as he recalled the guardians who became obsessed with antiques and relics after forgetting everything about themselves.?


    ?


    {How did you endure those times, Jin?}?


    ?


    {There¡¯s no need to endure. You just have to enjoy it like this!}?


    ?


    Jin grabbed the book he was reading and shook it. Robert was disgusted by the idea of reading books and shook his head with a frown.?


    ?


    {That looks so boring. Just look at the cover! How is it fun to read something like that?}?


    ?


    {Spirits of Solomon. It¡¯s a story about the 72 demons Solomon imprisoned.}?


    ?


    {Demons? So is it a horror story? Those are nice. What¡¯s it about?} Dustin asked curiously.?


    ?


    {Nothing much. Solomon imprisons the 72 demons in a brass jar and throws it into a deep lake. However, the Babylonians think there¡¯s some kind of treasure inside and break it open, releasing the demons back into the world.}?


    ?


    The book Jin was holding looked like an ancient book even at first glance. Robert was fascinated by how the people of ancient times also enjoyed reading horror stories and asked more questions.?


    ?


    {So where do the demons run off to? Seeing how thick the book is, it must be a story about a hero showing up, defeating them all, and saving the day, right?}?


    ?


    At Robert¡¯s innocent curiosity, Jin¡¯s lips hooked up on one side, and he raised his glasses again with his middle finger.?


    ?


    Robert always grumbled whenever Jin did that because it felt like Jin was flipping him off.?


    ?


    {They are described as demons, but no one truly knows whether they are actually demons. There have always been people behaving arrogantly and impudently just because they were somewhat unique and stronger than others since ancient times. Humans may see them as demons, but for us guardians, they would¡¯ve probably been slightly unusual humans. But there is a high probability that we would have treated them as dangerous variables that needed to be quarantined and separated from the others.}?


    ?


    Robert did not quite understand what he meant despite Jin''s lengthy explanation. Nevertheless, Jin did not give up and further explained the details to his young disciple.?


    ?


    {But even if they were insignificant beings to us guardians, what if they studied their enemies and trained for a long time? What would happen if they passed on their knowledge and skills to their children and descendants to this day?}?


    ?


    {They would¡¯ve become extremely strong.}?


    ?


    {That¡¯s right, they¡¯d be really strong. Just like these people.}?


    ?


    Jin answered and turned his head towards the window.?


    ?


    Simultaneously, the window shattered, and small shards of glass scattered in the air.?


    ?


    As the person closest to the window, Jin moved his position with teleportation. He then swept away all the shards spinning and flying through the air with a single hand gesture.?


    ?


    However, the house suddenly started shaking, and the books on the shelves were launched forward by some supernatural force and began getting ripped to shreds in the air.?


    ?


    White pieces of paper scattered like snow, and mysterious assailants clad in black rushed in through the window.?


    ?


    {Ackk! I thought you said this house was safe!}?


    ?


    Robert[1] was surprised by the attack and hid behind Jin¡¯s back, complaining to the latter. Back when they had been attacked on the street, Jin had assured Robert that his house was the safest place in the world as it had a barrier protecting it.?


    ?


    {Seems like it wasn¡¯t.}?


    ?


    {How can you say something so irresponsible?!} Robert exclaimed.?


    ?


    {I¡¯ve never been attacked here, so I thought it was safe.}?


    ?


    Jin was as composed as ever despite the situation taking an unexpected turn. Robert then urged him to do something about the assailants.?


    ?


    Back when they were attacked the first time, Robert could deal with these enemies one-on-one, but not an entire group at the same time.?


    ?


    {How long do you plan on getting protected by an old man like me? Go on and fight them, youngster.}?


    ?


    Jin kicked Robert¡¯s butt forward and looked at their surroundings.?


    ?


    His house was small, and his study was even smaller. It would be difficult to fight a great number of enemies in such a narrow space. Jin had to figure out a different way to face them as he had nearly killed Robert the other day.?


    ?


    As Robert fought on the frontlines, Jin put his hands together.?


    ?


    The blue energy that flowed out from his fingers grew bigger and bigger. The energy then flew towards the wall, enveloping it in a thin layer. Finally, the energy began to sway, pushing the wall further and further back. The narrow room was greatly enlarged instantly, making the fight much easier.?


    ?


    {How long are you just going to watch us from behind?}?


    ?


    Robert could simply place his trust in his current strength and fight his foes barehanded. But unlike him, the mysterious enemies were all wielding long, black b¨­ staves with strange patterns drawn in red lines.?


    ?


    And strangely enough, each time they attacked using those weapons, a red light seeped out of the pattern.?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t a bright and beautiful red, but a cloudy dark red. The color reminded Robert of blood, and every time a staff touched his body, he shuddered in disgust.?


    ?


    It didn¡¯t just feel unpleasant. If you looked closely, you could see golden energy leaving Robert¡¯s body and getting absorbed by the dark red patterns each time the staves hit him.?


    ?


    {Ooh~! So that¡¯s the logic behind those.}?


    ?


    Jin was quietly watching from behind before he smiled mischievously as though he had realized something. He then shook his right hand in the air once.?


    ?


    Instantly, a sword of flickering blue light appeared in Jin¡¯s hand.?


    ?


    It was finally time for him to run wild.?


    ?


    {Now, it¡¯s time for you to pay the price for ruining those books.}?


    ?


    Jin stepped forward as he gently treaded on the torn paper.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    {Cut!}?


    ?


    Once the director signaled the end of the scene, Dustin clenched and opened his fists as he complained.?


    ?


    {Why am I the only one fighting barehanded?! Give me a weapon too!}?


    ?


    Dustin ran up to Hugh and begged him to revise the script.?


    ?


    {That¡¯s why we give you a gun later on!} the screenwriter exclaimed.?


    ?


    {I only get it when the movie¡¯s almost over. If you¡¯re gonna give it to me anyway, do it now.}?


    ?


    Dustin was envious of Woo-Jin¡¯s beautiful and awe-inspiring appearance with the sword and wanted something similar for himself.?


    ?


    {Last time, you saw Genie doing martial arts and said it was super cool, so I listened to your request and modified the script to add a scene where Robert learns how to fight from Jin.}?


    ?


    {But I don¡¯t look as cool as him when I do it.}?


    ?


    As Dustin mentioned, there were many differences in Woo-Jin¡¯s and Dustin¡¯s movements, even though they were both practicing taekkyeon[2].?


    ?


    It was partly because Woo-Jin had learned from a master practitioner for several months, while Dustin had hastily learned it recently. But whatever the reason, the way their bodies moved was truly different.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin¡¯s taekkyeon was flexible and fluid, like flowing water, while being lightning-fast and flashy. On the other hand, Dustin was like a stiff sportsman.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked incredibly cool practicing barehanded martial arts, and the way he fought with a sword was also extremely charming.?


    ?


    In The Red, Woo-Jin¡¯s swordsmanship style was a showy yet subtle sword dance. But the way he handled the sword with integrity and discipline in Guardian Angel was like a true swordsman, which sparked admiration as well as jealousy in Dustin¡¯s heart.?


    ?


    {But only a little. A teensy-weensy bit.}?


    ?


    Dustin suddenly said an excuse out loud to the oblivious Woo-Jin as though he felt guilty for feeling jealous in his mind.?


    ?


    {I think I finally understand the feelings of the actors who worked with me before.}?


    ?


    {What do you mean by that?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin nonchalantly asked Dustin while they watched the staff members clean up the set for the next shoot.?


    ?


    Currently, the set of Jin¡¯s study had actually gotten enlarged by using wheels under the wall. However, the set was still somewhat narrow to film an action scene, so they pushed back the wall a bit further to widen the study compared to the scene they had just finished. Needless to say, they repositioned the props accordingly to match the proportions so that nothing would seem off on-screen.?


    ?


    {Many actors complain that the spotlight is solely focused on me when we appear together, so it¡¯s not easy to get along with them.}?


    ?


    No matter how good Dustin¡¯s personality was, it was difficult for him to reach out to those who saw him as a competitor and bared their fangs. At that time, Dustin couldn¡¯t understand why they were overreacting so much, but having worked with Woo-Jin, he was somewhat convinced now.?


    ?


    {How sickening of them.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin answered indifferently as he continued looking around the set.?


    ?


    {Are you saying I¡¯m sickening too?}?


    ?


    Even though it was to a different degree, Dustin also felt jealous of Woo-Jin, so the Korean actor¡¯s words became a dagger that pierced him in the heart.?


    ?


    Only then did Woo-Jin turn away from the set towards Dustin.?


    ?


    {The really sickening people never admit their feelings with their own mouths. They just pathetically express themselves through their behavior.}?


    ?


    {That sounds like you¡¯ve also experienced similar situations a lot.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked back at his past for a moment at Dustin¡¯s statement.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had always been lucky with the people he met and befriended. In fact, he was still close to Kang Min-Ho[3] and they contacted each other frequently. The only unpleasant relationships he had in the entertainment industry were those with Blue Fit and Park Min.?


    ?


    He had come this far in the industry with a joyful heart, thanks to the people who cared and trusted Woo-Jin to the point of being excessive.?


    ?


    {No, I¡¯ve met such good people throughout my life that it almost feels like a dream.}?


    ?


    {What?! Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m most jealous of you.}?


    ?


    {And the best coworker I met recently is you,} Woo-Jin said.?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s nose turned red for a moment. Apparently, he was moved by Woo-Jin¡¯s words. No one had ever told him something quite like that.?


    ?


    As one would expect, Dustin had often heard people call him a good guy or praise his personality.?


    ?


    But that was something Dustin only heard from them when he did them a favor or when they got popular or richer thanks to him.?


    ?


    No matter how stupid he was, he could notice that those praises weren¡¯t sincere and were filled with empty words.?


    ?


    Thus, he couldn¡¯t help but get emotional at Woo-Jin¡¯s words since he hadn¡¯t done anything for the Korean actor. In fact, he was the one receiving help from Woo-Jin these days.?


    ?


    {Genie, you really are¡­.}?


    ?


    Unfortunately, Dustin couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. A male voice interrupted the deeply-moved man and the shy, young man looking somewhere else out of embarrassment.?


    ?


    {Sorry for interrupting your sentimental discussion, but it¡¯s time for us to rehearse.}?


    ?


    The next scene was an action scene, so there were a lot of preparations the actors had to do before filming to match their movements and timings. Woo-Jin and Dustin were shaken awake by director Rayford¡¯s words and quickly rushed toward the set.?


    ?


    {Isn¡¯t their friendship beautiful like us?}?


    ?


    Rayford patted Hugh on the shoulder and spoke as they watched the backs of the two young men running to the set.?


    ?


    {My answer will change depending on what you¡¯re referring to.}?


    ?


    Hugh needed clarification on whether Rayford meant ¡®beautiful like you and I¡¯ or ¡®beautiful like our friendship.¡¯?


    ?


    {Of course, I mean beautiful like our looks!} Rayford exclaimed.?


    ?


    {Well¡­. You¡¯re not wrong.}?


    ?


    Hugh stroked and nodded with a proud look at his friend¡¯s reply.?


    ?


    Friendship could only be maintained when the people involved had something in common. One¡¯s friendship would last forever as long as they had something in common that didn''t change, even with different personalities, races, and nationalities ¡ª just like a certain duo of filmmaking friends and their narcissism.[4]?


    ?


    1. The raws say ¡®Dustin¡¯, but considering how this is a movie scene with the characters, the author probably mixed up the names. ??


    ?


    2. A traditional Korean martial art characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movements and using hand & feet techniques to trip and throw your opponents. Also uses kicks, hands, knee and elbow strikes, pressure point attacks, joint locks, headbutts, and grapples ??


    ?


    3. The main actor in City of Shadows. ??


    ?


    4. The last bit was added to reflect the comical nature of the nature as well as matching how 181 ended with their narcissism ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 183

    Ilya Turner is an emblematic American literary author with a record of winning all three major literary awards worldwide. As the pride of Americans and the recipient of their love, Ilya was known for his love and care for humanity in his works across the board, despite his pragmatic yet articulate words.?


    ?


    But ironically, Ilya Turner was very temperamental and did not enjoy human interaction. Those who met Ilya were confused because of the sense of disparity between the author¡¯s works and his actual personality.?


    ?


    That was why some critics evaluated Ilya Turner¡¯s works as a ¡®confession for being unable to love humans.¡¯?


    ?


    Even Ilya¡¯s supporters could not refute that comment. Just like how people only saw what they wanted to see, there were many who said that Ilya and his novels should be seen as separate entities.?


    ?


    However, since Ilya hated people, he rarely appeared in public. So most people imagined and fantasized about what the author was like behind his mysterious veil.?


    ?


    The literary industry further promoted the mysticism to protect Ilya Turner¡ªan American asset and treasure. The more Ilya was shrouded in mystery, the more his works would sell and be loved by people all over the world.?


    ?


    {Have you thought it over?}?


    ?


    Ilya frowned at the rude guest who came to visit the shop today as well. Ilya didn''t like the guest''s attitude and bold demands. It reminded him of creditors and loan sharks.?


    ?


    {Why should I think it over?} He responded.?


    ?


    {You like to think deeply about things.}?


    ?


    {You don¡¯t want me to just think it over. The truth is, you¡¯re shamefully forcing me to make a decision. Don¡¯t pretend otherwise.}?


    ?


    Ilya leaned back on the sofa and turned off the radio.?


    ?


    The music that played from the old radio turned even the trendiest of songs into old-fashioned songs because of its outdated hardware. Surrounded by books on all four sides of the room, Ilya¡¯s expression was so dry that one would expect his facial movements to make the crunching sound of dead leaves.?


    ?


    {Teacher, your favorite piece of work will be made into a movie. Plenty of your other works have already been adapted onto the big screen, so I don¡¯t understand why you keep refusing this one.} The visitor said.?


    ?


    Ilya sneered and looked out the window. Unlike the usual noisy street with sounds of people walking by, this place was as quiet as a graveyard.?


    ?


    {If you don¡¯t understand why, then you don¡¯t even have the right to make this request.}?


    ?


    {Indeed, I don¡¯t understand. After all, it¡¯s not like Confession of White was published under your name.}?


    ?


    The novel Confession of White was Ilya¡¯s only novel which he published under the pseudonym L. Dm¨ªtri. In truth, this one novel earned him several times the royalties of the other novels he wrote in his lifetime combined.?


    ?


    Like what the guest had mentioned, Ilya¡¯s favourite novel was Confession of White. Of course, the royalties weren''t the reason behind his love for the novel.?


    ?


    Even though he had only ever written literary works, Confession of White was a novel that Ilya wrote by pouring in the anger, twisted violence, and guilt which he kept hidden deep inside of him.?


    ?


    The novel was made up of an unintentional arrangement of words and sentences that Ilya vomited on paper for days and nights throughout an entire month, as he had no other ways to express the bottled up emotions inside him that threatened to burst out one day.?


    ?


    In a certain way, it was the most unprofessional and sloppy piece of written work he had ever made, but it was also a confession that showed the true side of the novel¡¯s author, the man named Ilya Turner.?


    ?


    He had to publish the novel that was born from the eruption of his emotions because of how much he loved it.?


    ?


    On the other hand, another side of him didn¡¯t want anyone to read this shameful confession, and it dominated his feelings.?


    ?


    Thus, Ilya didn¡¯t publish it under his real name and released it under a pseudonym.?


    ?


    L. Dm¨ªtri was an author whom no one had ever seen or heard of, so Ilya was somewhat relieved when releasing it, as he thought no one would read it.?


    ?


    However, contrary to his wishes, Confession of White became a bestseller just two years after it was published.?


    ?


    A famous actor mentioned in an interview that he had recently read this novel and shared his opinions on it. The attention that the novel received was proportional to the actor¡¯s popularity, and Confession of White quickly turned into a world-famous piece of artwork.?


    ?


    ¡®I want to tear that bastard into little pieces and murder him, and even that won¡¯t be enough.¡¯?


    ?


    Despite making Ilya¡¯s novel a world-class bestseller, the author wanted to kill the actor instead of thanking him.?


    ?


    From that day onwards, Ilya never watched any movies or show which starred the actor in question.?


    ?


    It would be ridiculous to say that the novel became a world-class masterpiece only because a single actor recommended it. The high-quality content and beautiful sentences were what led to a rise in popularity after the initial attention, but Ilya still condemned that actor and blamed him for everything.?


    ?


    Even ten years after the novel¡¯s release, the world¡¯s curiosity about the mysterious author L. Dm¨ªtri did not diminish. The content was dreamy yet cruel, and there was no way that such a sorrowful novel could be the work of a complete newbie and unknown author.?


    ?


    Thus, people began to act like detectives and did some investigations by tracing the authors belonging to the publishing house that had released Confession of White, and making a list of every single writer who could potentially be L. Dm¨ªtri.?


    ?


    Needless to say, Ilya Turner was also on the list. However, most people were skeptical and didn¡¯t believe that Ilya and L. Dm¨ªtri were the same person.?


    ?


    First of all, their writing styles were very different. Those who did not know much about the mysterious author Ilya Turner believed that he¡ªwho writes texts containing warmth and love for humanity¡ªcould not write such a radical and brutal thriller.?


    ?


    Furthermore, those who knew Ilya also denied the speculation. They claimed that although Ilya was cynical, he was also very rational.?


    ?


    At first glance, madness surged out of Confession of White to such an extent that people suspected the author was on drugs.?


    ?


    It was a work driven by fear and a storm of emotions. But at the same time, it was very dreamy. The sentences were beautiful and the composition of the content was perfect.?


    ?


    Other than the perfect composition, Confession of White had no other similarities with Ilya¡¯s works which were warm, rational, and level-headed.?


    ?


    Furthermore, Confession of White and Ilya himself had nothing in common except for the fact that they shared a common hatred for humans.?


    ?


    Perhaps that was the most important and essential clue that linked Ilya to Confession of White, but people could not see the trees for the forest. They were deceived by the forest¡¯s greenery and could not see the trees along with the animals that ran wild inside it.?


    ?


    Although he did not publish the novel under his own name, it was a well-known fact that the piece of work which Ilya loved most was Confession of White.?


    ?


    Even if it hadn¡¯t been as popular and the royalties were minimal, Confession of White would still have been Ilya¡¯s most cherished and precious piece of work.?


    ?


    {Teacher, It¡¯s your own belief that once an artwork leaves the author¡¯s hands and is released to the world, it awaits a new birth. That¡¯s why you never objected whenever a movie proposal came up thus far.} The guest commented.?


    ?


    {That¡¯s because Confession of White is L¡¯s work, not Ilya¡¯s.}?


    ?


    For some reason, Ilya spoke as though he and L were separate personalities. As though the guest understood Ilya¡¯s sentiments, the guest was unable to conceal the sorrowful expression that appeared on the guest¡¯s face.?


    ?


    {You wanted to shout out your feelings so much that you published it under L¡¯s name. You wanted someone to read it and notice your feelings. Do you know why Confession of White is so popular? Because it¡¯s relatable and people empathize with it. Everyone has emotions that they keep buried in their hearts. They were able to empathize with the main character and express their anger and pain through Lloyd, which greatly shook their hearts. You are not the only person in the world with a wounded heart, Teacher.}?


    ?


    Ilya¡¯s eyebrows trembled at the guest¡¯s words. There was a trace of hostility and vigilance in his eyes.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t presume that you know how I feel.}?


    ?


    {How would I dare to do that? I am simply conveying the feelings of those who love Confession of White and making a request of you. Please allow us to adapt it into a movie.}?


    ?


    Ilya snorted as though he found the guest¡¯s earnest request to be absurdly ridiculous. In truth, there were as many people who opposed the movie adaptation of Confession of White as there were people who supported it.?


    ?


    They were worried that if the adaptation went wrong, it would end up as a bland horror-thriller film.?


    ?


    Those who supported the adaptation wanted to capture the beautiful fantasy and Lloyd¡¯s appearance with their own eyes. But even these people thought that if the film studio was unable to reach their expectations, they shouldn¡¯t make the movie. Yet, the guest was subtly ignoring those opinions and tried to convince Ilya.?


    ?


    {Seriously, if you weren¡¯t his great-granddaughter, I would¡¯ve kicked you out a long time ago.}?


    ?


    {As if. You wouldn¡¯t have let me inside in the first place.}?


    ?


    Her words were misleading. This was a place where anyone could freely come and go. In fact, if someone wanted to take a rest while walking by, they could come in to take a break.?


    ?


    However, it was highly likely that this visitor would¡¯ve been unaware that the owner of this place was Ilya Turner. She would have simply walk past the shop just like all the other customers.?


    ?


    {At least you¡¯re aware of it.}?


    ?


    {The reason why I respect Great-grandfather is because of you, Teacher. After all, I was only able to read your works thanks to him.}?


    ?


    As she smiled brightly, Ilya saw a familiar and nostalgic face from her expression. They couldn¡¯t continue this tug-of-war of a conversation forever. Ilya also felt the need to make a decision soon, so he asked with a lethargic voice.?


    ?


    {If you end up adapting it into a movie¡­ do you have any plans on how to make it?}?


    ?


    {We have some filmmakers in mind. We will invest and provide 100% of the necessary funds for the film, so you don¡¯t have to worry about the production lacking money or interference by sponsors.}?


    ?


    {I¡¯m not talking about the filmmakers. Lloyd. I was asking if you have an actor who will play the role of Lloyd.}?


    ?


    {We¡¯ll find someone eventually¡­}?


    ?


    {Not eventually. First, find Lloyd. You seem to think that the battle is over once you get the copyrights, but that¡¯s only the beginning. I will never leave the role of Lloyd in the hands of someone who is unworthy and unreliable. So instead of wasting your time trying to convince me, find someone whom I¡¯ll have no choice but to acknowledge and bring him to me. That way, you¡¯ll impress me and maybe change my mind.}?


    ?


    Ilya¡¯s announcement was a half-acceptance. It was the first positive response he had given to her in two years.?


    ?


    However, Ilya knew that it would be nearly-impossible to find someone suitable to act as Lloyd, so he was making a triumphant face in his mind.?


    ?


    He felt like he had finally found a way to escape the two years of torment.?


    ?


    Ilya thought there was no need for further discussions and urged her to leave. The latter stood up with a regretful expression as she wanted to chat a little more with him.?


    ?


    {By the way, Selena.}?


    ?


    {Yes?}?


    ?


    Ilya called out to her as it seemed like he had something to ask her before she left.?


    ?


    {How is Giorgio doing these days?}?


    ?


    {Father is the same as usual. He¡¯s always cheerful and even got himself a new girlfriend recently. Thankfully, she¡¯s older than me this time.}?


    ?


    In response to Selena¡¯s answer, Ilya shook his head. What he wanted to know wasn¡¯t that sort of private and casual catch-up. Ilya couldn¡¯t care any less whether Giorgio found new lovers after getting three divorces.?


    ?


    {You know very well what I¡¯m asking about.}?


    ?


    {If it¡¯s about that¡­ He hasn¡¯t figured it out yet. He¡¯s being even more cautious now that he only has a single chance left. Teacher, can¡¯t you just tell him the password since you know?}?


    ?


    {Why should I?}?


    ?


    Selena secretly smiled at Ilya¡¯s cold reply. The subtle rivalry between her father and her teacher was born because of her great-grandfather.?


    ?


    And now, it had become a battle of pride where both sides refused to yield or back down.?


    ?


    {Father doesn¡¯t want to get help from you, Teacher. If you want to harass him, you should just tell him the password. Then he¡¯ll toss about in bed for months with a sense of defeat.}?


    ?


    Selena kindly taught Ilya the method to see her father writhe in emotional agony. Giorgio was impeccable as a businessman, but as a father there was more to be wished. In fact, he was a nuisance.?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t that she hated her father. As a matter of fact, she loved him. But Selena wanted him to come to his senses now.?


    ?


    Her father needed to experience failure in his life at least once. Although most people would consider three divorces as a stain on their lives, they weren¡¯t considered a failure for her father as he had wished for the separation.?


    ?


    {I wonder. Who¡¯s pride and honor would that knock down exactly?}?


    ?


    Ilya¡¯s last whisper was so faint that Selena couldn¡¯t hear it. When she perked her ears, Ilya beckoned for her to leave again.?


    ?


    Selena had to put aside her feelings of regret and leave Ilya¡¯s shop.

 CH 184

    {Make me a list of male actors in their twenties or thirties who are incredibly talented at acting.}?


    ?


    After walking past the street lined with various stores, Selena arrived at a parking lot and opened a car door. As she got inside, Selena immediately gave orders to her secretary.?


    ?


    {Should I include Dustin Evan in the list?}?


    ?


    The secretary asked seriously as soon as Selena got settled in the car. Not only did she know of Selena and Dustin¡¯s relationship, but Dustin Evan was one of the best actors in his twenties in the US.?


    ?


    However, Selena sighed as soon as she heard that name.?


    ?


    {No, don¡¯t put that nuisance on the list. He doesn¡¯t have the image I¡¯m looking for, and his acting skills aren¡¯t up to the standards.}?


    ?


    {Then, I will select the actors and make a list based on your evaluation of Mr. Evan.}?


    ?


    The secretary responded that she would look for actors who would give better performances than Dustin Evan. Selena nodded in agreement.?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t that Dustin was bad at acting. He just couldn¡¯t reach Ilya¡¯s expectations.?


    ?


    Most importantly, Dustin¡¯s healthy and cheerful image didn¡¯t match Lloyd, the main character of Confession of White.?


    ?


    Furthermore, Dustin¡¯s acting was not outstanding enough to overwrite his cemented image.?


    ?


    Selena told her secretary to exclude Dustin since his compatibility was somewhat questionable to play the main character. Still, in truth, they would only be able to find a handful of actors in their twenties or thirties with better acting skills than Dustin.?


    ?


    She tried to think of some candidates at the top of her mind but quickly shook her head. There was no way Ilya wouldn¡¯t have considered those actors already. Nevertheless, to convince her, he advised Selena to find an actor to play Lloyd, signifying that the actors she had thought of were already a miss.?


    ?


    The task of finding an actor, first and foremost, wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Selena had a foreboding that it might even be more challenging than getting the rights from Ilya.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t search for just English-speaking actors. Look into the European and Asian industries as well,} Selena said.?


    ?


    She was then about to add that they should look not only for famous actors but also lesser-known people, along with those acting in theaters and musicals. However, Selena closed her mouth without a word. If they went that far, the range of actors they would have to check would be too broad. So, for now, that would remain as their last resort. They had to focus on the main candidates first.?


    ?


    {Is there a specific image you want from the actor?}?


    ?


    On the other hand, the secretary seemed to want to reduce the scope of the investigation even by a little because it was still too vast right now.?


    ?


    {A young man in his twenties or thirties with a beautiful appearance, but with pale skin as white as possible so that he looks sickly but sharp. We want him to look like he could be brutally cruel at one moment, but the next second makes the audience feel sympathetic for him.}?


    ?


    Selena explained her image of Lloyd. It was very difficult for her to define and describe the main character of Confession of White.?


    ?


    He was tough to pin down because of his wide range of emotions. Behind Lloyd¡¯s vulnerable look hid a violent beast, so he couldn¡¯t be judged by his appearance.?


    ?


    Strangely enough, even though he was a human with the face of an angel making a deal with the devil, the readers couldn¡¯t help but feel pity and love for Lloyd.?


    ?


    {Basically, a sickly yet beautiful and tender beast.}?


    ?


    But if Selena had to summarize the character in a single sentence, there was nothing more accurate than this. And even though she hadn¡¯t said much, those who had read Confession of White would easily understand the meaning.?


    ?


    {Ah! Could it be Lloyd?}?


    ?


    {Shush!}?


    ?


    Even if the driver and secretary were the only ones who could hear her, Selena planned to make this a highly confidential subject.?


    ?


    {It took a lot of effort and Teacher Ilya¡¯s cooperation to get this rare opportunity. You must be as careful as possible,} Selena warned them.?


    ?


    {I understand.}?


    ?


    The secretary did not know that Ilya Turner was actually L. Dm¨ªtri. Thus, she understood Selena¡¯s statement as Ilya acting as the intermediary between Selena and L.?


    ?


    However, the secretary already had a hard time breathing. They had the burdensome task of finding an appropriate Lloyd while being pressured by the two big shots of the literary world¡ªIlya Turner and L. Dm¨ªtri.?


    ?


    Seeing her secretary sighing in despair, Selena chuckled and pulled out her phone. They still had a long way to go, but it felt like she had overcome a hurdle today.?


    ?


    Now that she had some spare time, Selena was reminded of Dustin and went on his social media for the first time in a few days.?


    ?


    He seemed to be doing fine recently, but she still had to check it out every once in a while to feel truly relieved. According to what she had heard, he didn¡¯t attend parties these days and was doing well, but she couldn¡¯t know for sure.?


    ?


    Selena didn¡¯t feel good about constantly nagging Dustin on his social media every time she opened it either.?


    ?


    However, she couldn¡¯t help but meddle when she saw Dustin since he seemed more immature than her younger brother, who was only ten years old. So when she suddenly realized that she was acting like a nagging older sister, she stopped commenting on Dustin¡¯s social media and even stopped checking it entirely nowadays.?


    ?


    {Hm?}?


    ?


    Selena tilted her head when she saw the posts uploaded while she hadn¡¯t been checking Dustin¡¯s social media.?


    ?


    Needless to say, Dustin hadn¡¯t been meeting his frivolous friends, nor did he drink alcohol. Instead, he seemed to have become very close with the Asian actor, his co-star in their latest film.?


    ?


    The people Dustin called his friends were people from his school days whom he had stayed in contact with to this day. As the friends of friends started joining them, the group only grew larger and larger. However, Dustin¡¯s friendships with each person became shallower as time went by.?


    ?


    Selena also knew a bit about Dustin¡¯s friends from school, but they weren¡¯t close enough for her to judge them.?


    ?


    All she knew was that they were wealthy enough to attend a prestigious private school and were moderately smart people. It was also true that their friendship with Dustin used to be sincere, and there was no reason to doubt them in the past.?


    ?


    However, as the years went by, Dustin was the only one to have maintained his innocence to this day.?


    ?


    There were obviously some people who were good friends to Dustin. However, many others were hanging around Dustin and ruining his life. Examples of such ¡®friends¡¯ were: a failed businessman who tried to start a business as soon as they graduated from university, an unemployed carefree person, a person with a bankrupt family business, and a person with a messed-up personal life from constant marriages and divorces. ?


    ?


    As she watched Dustin¡¯s old friends clinging onto him and gnawing away at the innocent young man, Selena got upset and worried for him, which in turn got her angry at herself.?


    ?


    So just as she felt like she needed to keep her distance from Dustin, he started hanging out with someone other than his existing group of friends, a piece of news she welcomed with open arms.?


    ?


    Dustin was popular and well-received by older actors but had no friends among the male actors of his generation as they weren¡¯t at ease and were cautious of each other.?


    ?


    So if Dustin got close to an unfamiliar oriental actor, she had no reason to interfere with them as long as this stranger was a decent human being.?


    ?


    Needless to say, that was only the case if this person indeed was a decent human being and was worthy enough to be Dustin¡¯s friend.?


    ?


    {What¡¯s going on?}?


    ?


    However, when reading Dustin¡¯s posts now, Selena felt an inexplicable sense of unease.?


    ?


    The first thing that felt off was a photo of Dustin in a coffee shop with paparazzi in the background. Selena often got sick of paparazzi as well whenever she saw them hanging around Dustin. So nothing felt wrong with Dustin taking a picture leisurely inside the shop with the paparazzi outside.?


    ?


    ?


    ?


    The caption didn¡¯t make much sense at first glance. It was just a joke that this ¡®Genie¡¯ saw the paparazzi as a horde of zombies and wanted to throw Dustin as a sacrifice to run away on his own.?


    ?


    But it left a bad taste in Selena¡¯s mouth.?


    ?


    {Who does he think he is to use Dustin as a sacrifice? Besides, isn¡¯t he a horrible friend if he¡¯s thinking of escaping alone?}?


    ?


    And now, she was imagining the situation in her head. As Selena got more and more irritated, she moved on to the next post with a sigh.?


    ?


    All of Dustin¡¯s posts were pictures and stories with this person called Genie.?


    ?


    It was good news that Dustin was enjoying himself every day while filming, but Selena could see his dependence on this Genie increasing in intensity by the day.?


    ?


    <I¡¯ve been learning Taekkyeon from Genie recently, and I¡¯m getting beat up every day. Behold my proud battle scars.}?


    ?


    Selena ended up cursing when she saw the photo of the dark bruise on Dustin¡¯s forearm he had proudly uploaded. The secretary jolted in surprise and turned around to ask if she was okay.?


    ?


    Selena waved her hand at her secretary, telling her not to disturb her. She then glared at her phone screen and violently spat out.?


    ?


    {Why on earth would you beat him up?!}?


    ?


    Selena got even more upset because everyone else seemed happy about it in the comments.?


    ?


    She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes when some people said that men had to get into physical fights to create a true bond at times.?


    ?


    Selena was unaware that Dustin¡¯s social media was now overflowing with Woo-Jin¡¯s fans and that Dustin¡¯s original fans enjoyed how he portrayed himself as though living under Woo-Jin¡¯s tyranny. So, naturally, she felt upset and vexed on her own.?


    ?


    This Genie guy didn¡¯t seem like a bad person, but for some reason, she worried that Dustin was getting too dependent on him. She couldn¡¯t trust Dustin as he was a poor judge of character.?


    ?


    {Wait, no. He isn¡¯t a poor judge of character since he likes me. The problem is that he¡¯s only ever been a good judge of character once in his life.}?


    ?


    Selena indirectly complimented herself and pondered deeply. She then remembered that Dustin trusted people far too easily and pressed her temples with both hands as though in distress.?


    ?


    If she were to think of any issues in her smooth-sailing life, they would be her father and Dustin. She had given up on her father long ago, but she could never abandon Dustin.?


    ?


    Selena still hadn¡¯t forgotten the promise she had made with the cute little boy with the golden aura.?


    ?


    That promise made her the person she was today and gave her the strength to endure every hardship.?


    ?


    {He really is a handful.}?


    ?


    Selena clicked her tongue and called Dustin. She had plenty of things to tell him as it was their first time talking in a long while, but she only had one goal this time. Dustin¡¯s new friend needed to be investigated.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin scratched his ear as it got itchy for some reason. In fact, he felt slightly chilly even though it was warm inside the film set.?


    ?


    He then draped the cardigan he had left on the chair over his shoulders. He had to look after himself and not get sick because there was a big difference in temperature during the day and the evening.?


    ?


    {Genie~!}?


    ?


    {Over here!}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin loudly replied to Dustin¡¯s call and sighed.?


    ?


    How had things developed in such a way that he worried this grown man would fall over while running up to him? Dustin was very skilled at making someone care far too much about him.?


    ?


    {Genie, big news!}?


    ?


    {Is it Selena?}?


    ?


    {How did you know?!}?


    ?


    {What else could make you so excited and happy other than her?}?


    ?


    Dustin smiled shyly at Woo-Jin¡¯s response before bringing over a chair and sitting down. He was excited like a high school boy getting dating advice from an experienced friend.?


    ?


    {Did she finally leave a comment on one of your posts?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {Way better than that! She finally called me for the first time in a month.}?


    ?


    {Oh, in a month¡­?}?


    ?


    For some reason, the more he listened to Dustin¡¯s story, the more Woo-Jin felt like his friend¡¯s unrequited love was hopeless.?


    ?


    {Yeah, yeah! She asked to meet up the day after tomorrow.}?


    ?


    {You made plans to meet up?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin rejoiced and waited for Dustin¡¯s following words as there still seemed to be a bit of hope remaining.?


    ?


    {That¡¯s right! My father¡¯s company is hosting a party this Friday. We decided to see each other there. Goodness, I wasn¡¯t planning on attending, but I have to go now.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had been listening seriously but now sat up straight and turned his head away. He wondered why Dustin was so excited about meeting at a company party as though it were a romantic date.?


    ?


    It appeared that Dustin had very low standards and no fantasies about romantic relationships. Woo-Jin patted the man-child on the shoulder, pitying him.?


    ?


    {You don¡¯t have anything scheduled on Friday evening either, do you?} Dustin asked.?


    ?


    {Why me?}?


    ?


    {You need to come too.}?


    ?


    {Thanks for the invitation, but I¡¯d rather not.}?


    ?


    {No, Selena wants to see you and told me to bring you along no matter what. Will you come with me?}?


    ?


    {Why me?}?


    ?


    As he asked Dustin, Woo-Jin quickly realized what was going through Selena¡¯s mind and nodded to the request. The reaction he was expecting from her was what had caused this demand. If Selena truly cared for Dustin and worried about him, she would want to know what kind of person Woo-Jin was.?


    ?


    Moreover, since she knew Dustin¡¯s personality better than anyone else, her concerns would pile up like a mountain as she saw him constantly clinging to Woo-Jin on his social media.?


    ?


    Thus, this proved that she cared about Dustin in some way, at the very least.?


    ?


    However, the most important task was to figure out what kind of ¡®care¡¯ this was. If she considered Dustin like a younger brother that she had to look after, just like Woo-Jin felt, then Dustin would be bedridden with a broken heart in the future.?


    ?


    {So, Friday, was it?}?


    ?


    Therefore, Woo-Jin was also very curious about Selena. He wanted to know what kind of person she was and what she thought of Dustin.?


    ?


    As he answered Woo-Jin¡¯s question, Dustin was already like a prince making his merry way to the party.?


    ?


    His appearance made him look like a live-action Disney prince, but his behavior made him look like a low-class servant in some Korean historical drama.?


    ?


    Though, it didn¡¯t matter whether he was a prince or a servant as long as the story ended in a happy ending.

 CH 185

    Hwang Yi-Young was excited about Woo-Jin getting invited to an American high-society party, but it was highly likely that Woo-Jin would be nothing more than a wallflower there. Hence, Woo-Jin had to calm her down and explain how he ended up getting invited to the party, as well as his reason for going. ?


    ?


    Despite the growing interest in Woo-Jin in the United States these days, along with interview requests and the occasional paparazzi stalking, Woo-Jin was still akin to a mere soldier standing right before a huge castle. ?


    ?


    ¡°Nevertheless, you¡¯re the most good-looking one!¡± Hwang Yi-Young gave Woo-Jin a thumbs up when she saw him all dressed up. From Woo-Jin¡¯s point of view, Dustin was evidently much more handsome than him in the eyes of Americans, but he kept his mouth shut because he didn¡¯t think there was a need to disappoint Hwang Yi-Young any further by being too much of a realist. Woo-Jin had a clear reason to attend the party, so everything else didn¡¯t matter to him. But¡­. ?


    ?


    {Why are you escorting me?}?


    ?


    {I invited you, so naturally, I have to take you to the party.} ?


    ?


    Because Dustin acted like it was the most natural thing, Woo-Jin was momentarily confused and mistakenly got into his car. ?


    ?


    {I¡¯ll get you home safely after the party as well. You worry too much.} ?


    ?


    As soon as Kang Ho-Soo followed behind in another car, Dustin felt sad and grumbled. While he was at it, he became unnecessarily fired up and was determined to escort Woo-Jin perfectly from start to finish. ?


    ?


    {Save the kindness and courtesy for her.}?


    ?


    {....} ?


    ?


    Dustin thought Woo-Jin would have liked that, so his face fell when he received such a response from him instead. As soon as Woo-Jin sensed something amiss and raised his eyebrows, Dustin mumbled under his breath and felt self-conscious. ?


    ?


    {Stop hesitating and spit it out.}?


    ?


    By now, Woo-Jin already understood Dustin to a certain extent; as soon as Woo-Jin gave him a little nudge, Dustin started telling him the story about a past incident. ?


    ?


    {Well, I was going to confess to Selena a few years ago, but I became very thirsty because I was so nervous¡­so I kept drinking wine.} ?


    ?


    What happened next was simple ¡ª Dustin became drunk, and Selena safely escorted him home. ?


    ?


    {She was really reliable and cool.}?


    ?


    That was Dustin¡¯s anecdote of being perfectly escorted home. Woo-Jin wondered why he was so earnest about escorting him, and for some reason, it seemed like he wanted to try it himself this time around. To be precise, it felt like he was rehearsing what he wanted to do for Selena.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know how to react, so he simply turned his head away and looked out the car''s window. He was barely controlling his lips that kept twitching and even covered his mouth. In any case, it seemed like the prince wasn¡¯t here ¡ª he was waiting for the princess in the castle. And right now, the person sitting next to Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t a prince or a servant but a princess riding a pumpkin carriage.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The politicians and businessmen gathering today with Southern California¡¯s development in mind was ultimately a luxurious excuse to collect political donations. After discussing local businesses, if the businessmen and politicians wanted to help each other develop the region, they would need money after all. ?


    ?


    The businessmen had a good reason to sponsor these politicians ¡ª for the sake of developing the region, and the primary purpose of the party was to raise awareness for the cause and collect donations for specific politicians. ?


    ?


    Thus, Dustin and quite a number of other stars in the entertainment industry attended the party today. Nothing was as effective as having famous celebrities ease the tense ambience that gatherings like that usually had. It was also a natural way of attracting public attention. Needless to say, there were also people that actively participated because of their political beliefs. Unlike Dustin, they were enjoying the party very much. ?


    ?


    {Where is she?} ?


    ?


    {The star of the party always arrives late.} ?


    ?


    Both of them arrived at the party on time, but on the other hand, Selena said she was planning to come late and only meet with Dustin before heading back.?


    ?


    {Your brother¡¯s glare is getting more intense by the second. Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m fine. You should go over and talk to him.}?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s older brother had been glaring at them, so Woo-Jin pushed Dustin and told him to go over to his older brother. However, Dustin hesitated and continued hovering around Woo-Jin out of the sense of responsibility he had towards him and his reluctance to go over to his brother. ?


    ?


    {I¡¯m tired of being glared at because of you.}?


    ?


    In any case, Dustin¡¯s role at the party had already been decided. When they first arrived at the party, Dustin had introduced Woo-Jin to his older brother. However, he simply turned around and walked away after glancing at Woo-Jin without greeting him. It was uncertain if it was because of his prejudice against Dustin¡¯s friends in general or that he was racist towards Asians, but Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t particularly happy about his behavior either. ?


    ?


    Woo-JIn also wasn¡¯t feeling comfortable with Dustin feeling anxious and apologetic about his brother¡¯s rude attitude. Seeing how his brother¡¯s arrogance was showing that he didn¡¯t care whether he was giving Dustin or his friends a hard time, it was better if Dustin went over to his brother instead of being glared at by such a person. ?


    ?


    Nonetheless, despite his constant resistance, Dustin ultimately had no choice but to approach them after his father beckoned him. ?


    ?


    {See you!}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin happily sent Dustin away and scanned the surroundings with ease. He found an empty table, so he brought some food over and sat there to have his dinner. The bartender recommended some light wine to Woo-Jin, and he enjoyed the party by himself, unaffected by the surroundings. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin carried himself so confidently and naturally that it was hard to believe it was his first time attending such an event. Hence, the people around him didn¡¯t find it strange to see him sitting by himself. Far from becoming a wallflower at the party like he had initially expected, people occasionally recognized him and spoke to him, so Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have time to feel bored. ?


    ?


    Knock knock.?


    ?


    Just as Woo-Jin was about to drink his wine after saying goodbye to a fan, someone knocked on the table he was sitting at. When he looked up, he saw a tall and unique lady with long black hair and violet eyes looking down at him. As soon as Woo-Jin saw her, he could tell she was Selena. ?


    ?


    {Chae. Woo. Jin?}?


    ?


    She was the first American here to call Woo-Jin by his actual name instead of ¡®Genie.¡¯ He glanced at Dustin and saw him standing next to his father with a glum look. It seemed as though he hadn¡¯t known about her arrival. It seemed like a sticky situation that was hard to get out of. ?


    ?


    {Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.}?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin got up from his seat and took the initiative to reach out his hand for a handshake, she shook his hand and introduced herself. ?


    ?


    {You seem to know who I am somehow.} ?


    ?


    {For the same reason that you know who I am.} ?


    ?


    Selena smiled calmly after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s response. She didn¡¯t seem to care what Dustin told his friend about her. ?


    ?


    {Since you¡¯re a friend of a friend, I¡¯ll call you Woo-Jin from now on. Feel free to call me Selena too.}?


    ?


    Selena was friendly, but Woo-Jin found it rather suspicious that she allowed him to call her by her first name instead of her last name, even though they had just met each other for the first time today. ?


    ?


    {A friend of my friend isn¡¯t my friend, though.} ?


    ?


    {Ultimately, it¡¯s all for the sake of our friend.} ?


    ?


    Selena sat gracefully across from Woo-Jin while hinting that she wouldn¡¯t be talking to him right now if not for Dustin. She gathered her long black hair to the back and tied it; her hairstyle was very simple. She wore a white blouse with laces on the sleeves and a long black skirt. She looked very neat and elegant, as though she had come to the party directly from work. Even though she wasn¡¯t wearing a fancy dress or jewelry, she stood out more than any other woman here at this party. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin seemed to have a rough idea of what Dustin meant when he habitually pointed out how cool she was. Strangely enough, the way she took a glass of mineral water from a waiter that was passing by and drank it in a dignified manner and her arrogance that disregarded other people¡¯s gazes didn¡¯t get on his nerves. Even though she was just as arrogant as Dustin¡¯s older brother, she had a different type of elegance while Dustin¡¯s older brother just made him feel uncomfortable.?


    ?


    She was born with that arrogance and didn¡¯t fundamentally look down on others ¡ª she was simply very well-aware that she was superior. Woo-Jin could sense she was not an ordinary lady from the way she firmly waved off the people who recognized and tried to approach her. ?


    ?


    {Do you like drinking alcohol?}?


    ?


    As she drank the glass of water, she looked at the wine glass in front of Woo-Jin before asking him that question. ?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t like it, but I¡¯m better at holding my liquor as compared to Dustin.}?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or bad thing.}?


    ?


    {Dustin says it¡¯s a good thing because he would have someone who can take care of him.}?


    ?


    {Dustin¡¯s other friends take care of him too, though.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin only knew Dustin drank with his friends ¡ª he didn¡¯t know they sold his photos or used them to get what they wanted. Thus, he didn¡¯t understand Selena¡¯s cynical reaction for a moment. Even though it was very brief, she noticed the baffled look on his face. ?


    ?


    {I heard you¡¯re teaching Dustin martial arts. What was it¡­Tae- Taekwondo?}?


    ?


    {It¡¯s Taekkyeon, not Taekwondo. It¡¯s a traditional Korean martial art, but it¡¯s not a bad idea for Dustin to use this opportunity to learn it. Even though he tends to shoot a lot of action scenes, his body is rather stiff.}?


    ?


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s criticism, Selena had a solemn look on her face, like a parent whose child had just been criticized. ?


    ?


    {What¡¯s wrong with our dear Dustin? People have only said he was good at acting out action scenes. It¡¯s my first time hearing about his body being stiff.}?


    ?


    Selena used the word ¡®our,¡¯ a term of endearment that had been given a lot of meaning in novels and dramas, without any hesitation[1]. Woo-Jin held back his laughter and chose his next words carefully. ?


    ?


    He wanted to tell her that it was all because of remarkable cinematography and editing work, but because it was too honest, it might seem like he was putting Dustin down, so he held his tongue. ?


    ?


    {I can tell you worry a lot about Dustin.}?


    ?


    {Of course. We¡¯re friends, after all.} ?


    ?


    She responded to Woo-Jin¡¯s remark without hesitation as her eyes instantly lit up with affection. ?


    ?


    {Likewise, as his friend, I''ve been very worried about him recently.} ?


    ?


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words, Selena knew something must have happened to Dustin recently, so her face fell. Judging from the look on her face and her reaction when he talked about Dustin, Woo-Jin could tell that the affection she had for him was beyond that of a friend. ?


    ?


    {There¡¯s only one thing Dustin is concerned about. Since we¡¯re on this topic, do you not plan on becoming more than friends with him in the future?}?


    ?


    {That¡¯s a rude question.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin was very direct, prompting Selena to openly express her displeasure towards him. ?


    ?


    {I know it¡¯s a rude question, but I won¡¯t apologize for it. Frankly, I have no intention of arguing about whether you¡¯re torturing him by giving false hopes or that you¡¯re looking out for him like a little brother. It¡¯s not something I want to get involved in. Nevertheless, I¡¯m only asking as Dustin¡¯s friend for his sake. I just hope you can take him a little more seriously.}?


    ?


    Even though they got to know each other through work, Dustin was evidently a good person. There was no reason for Woo-Jin to hesitate to be friends with such a person. And ever since they became actual friends, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t hesitate to be a good friend to him to the best of his abilities. ?


    ?


    Selena looked at Woo-Jin calmly and frowned. Since she hadn¡¯t made a judgment on Woo-Jin, he could sense her scrutinizing him. ?


    ?


    {Does asking me for a favor change anything?} ?


    ?


    {It¡¯s better to assume it¡¯s not going to make a difference and not trying at all.} ?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t know about that. If I¡¯m offended, it won¡¯t do any good for Dustin.} ?


    ?


    Selena asked Woo-Jin in a reproachful manner what he would do if she distanced herself from Dustin because of him. ?


    ?


    {It¡¯s okay because I know you wouldn¡¯t get mad at Dustin just because of me.}?


    ?


    From Selena¡¯s point of view, Woo-Jin¡¯s friendship with Dustin was just a fleeting one. She clearly respected others, so there was no way she would abandon Dustin just because of Woo-Jin.  ?


    ?


    {I get where you¡¯re coming from, but I guess you didn''t think about my position and how I feel, huh?}?


    ?


    {Why do I have to do that? Dustin is my friend, not you.} ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt that Selena¡¯s vague statement about her position was the biggest issue. Of course, even though she said that she rejected Dustin every time he confessed his feelings to her, her actions afterward were vague. ?


    ?


    A clumsy display of concern and affection could also become the power that dominates the person with stronger feelings for the other. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t make any sense for her to maintain their current relationship while making no effort to hide her blatant affection towards Dustin, that everyone could tell. ?


    ?


    {I would never see Dustin in a different light because of you, just like how you wouldn¡¯t judge Dustin differently because of me. That¡¯s how certain I am about the people I cherish deeply. I respect my friend''s friend, but I¡¯ll hate them if they give my friend a hard time.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin made sure Selena knew what was important to him, and similarly, she also wanted to make sure he knew how she felt about Dustin. ?


    ?


    {I know that as much as you cherish Dustin, you don¡¯t want to hurt him. But he¡¯s an adult. Don¡¯t trap him in the ¡®young dreamer¡¯ image that everyone expects of him. It¡¯s not normal for him to think of alcohol as the only solution to soothe his emotional wounds. Am I wrong?}?


    ?


    It should be natural for him to become ¡®an adult who dreams¡¯ instead of ¡®a young boy who dreams.¡¯ If he refused to grow because he was afraid of the pain that came with the process, who would be more harmed? Dustin himself, or the people who cherished him??


    ?


    1. Koreans tend to use the word ¡®our¡¯ (??) in place of ¡®my¡¯ in an affectionate way. For example ¨C ?? ?? means my dad, but the direct translation is ¡®our dad.¡¯ The closest translation in English is ¡®our dear ____.¡¯ ??


    ?


    Favorite

 CH 186

    Chapter 186?


    ?


    {When did you get here? I would have slipped out of there sooner had I known you were here.}?


    ?


    Dustin suddenly appeared out of nowhere, totally unaware of the serious ambiance between Woo-Jin and Selena. As he was being introduced to people and greeting others, he glanced over at Woo-Jin from time to time. However, he was caught up in an important conversation for a while, so he noticed Selena¡¯s arrival belatedly. As soon as he saw her, Dustin prepared to take his leave, and his father didn¡¯t stop him from leaving either. He knew his son was going to see Selena and not the insignificant Asian actor. In fact, he was rather supportive of it and hoped for the best. He even patted him on the shoulder and told him to go.?


    ?


    {I just got here not too long ago. Your friend happened to be alone, so we greeted each other first.}?


    ?


    {Already? I was planning to introduce you to each other, though.}?


    ?


    {Well, you can always officially introduce us to each other once again. It¡¯s not a big deal.}?


    ?


    Dustin was upset that he missed the opportunity to introduce them to each other, so Woo-Jin told him he wanted him to be officially introduced to Selena. But then again, Selena had only told him her first name and hadn¡¯t told him her last name yet. Earlier, when she told him to call her by her first name, she wasn¡¯t even that polite to him. ?


    ?


    {Shall I do that? I love introducing my favorite friends to each other.}?


    ?


    Perhaps he was excited to see Selena for the first time in a while, or he was elated that his favorite people were finally meeting one another, but Dustin was delighted, and he kept grinning. Woo-Jin and Selena looked at him and sighed at the same time. They made eye contact with each other at that moment, and a strange bond of sympathy was formed between them.?


    ?


    There was nothing wrong with introducing his friends who weren¡¯t acquainted with one another and hoping for them to get along. In fact, they could sense the good intention that came from his pure heart of wanting his favorite friends to become closer to one another. ?


    ?


    However, that was a very one-dimensional thought. One should be very careful when it came to introducing friends to each other, as well as business partners. It was only possible when the trust was the foundation of these relationships, or else the person in the middle could very well be betrayed by both sides. ?


    ?


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve been betrayed a couple of times before when playing the middleman¡­.¡±?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin subconsciously mumbled in Korean again, Dustin grumbled about it while Selena had a strange look in her eyes. Judging by her expression and attitude, it felt as though she understood Korean.?


    ?


    {In that case, let me introduce him. His name is Genie, and he¡¯s from Korea.}?


    ?


    {It¡¯s Chae Woo-Jin. Or simply Woo-Jin.}?


    ?


    ¡®Genie¡¯ was just a nickname ¡ª it wasn¡¯t his real name. Selena already knew his name was ¡®Chae Woo-Jin,¡¯ and more importantly, if he simply stood by and said nothing when others introduced him by his nickname, it would be akin to abandoning his identity. So after Woo-Jin corrected him, Dustin introduced him again as ¡®Woo-Jin Chae.¡¯?


    ?


    {And this is my childhood friend¡­Selena Consccia.}?


    ?


    There were many things Dustin wanted to add after the word ¡®friend,¡¯ but he just gave a brief introduction of Selena after hiding a lot of emotions during his slight hesitation. ?


    ?


    {I finally know your last name. Miss Consccia¡­Consccia?}?


    ?


    {Yeah, even her last name is so cool, right?}?


    ?


    {Is it that Consccia by any chance?}?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t know which Consccia you¡¯re referring to, but my last name is indeed Consccia. I am Selena Consccia, chairman of the Consccia Cultural Foundation.}?


    ?


    A delighted look flashed across Selena¡¯s face when she talked about her last name and profession. People always had the same reaction whenever she revealed her last name. They were in awe of the last name, ¡®Consccia.¡¯ Even those who didn¡¯t know the weight of the name weren¡¯t much different after learning about it. ?


    ?


    In that sense, Dustin was the only person who remained the same despite its reputation. Selena wanted to have a calm and genuine conversation with Woo-Jin, so she deliberately left out her last name when they first met. Of course, as a foreigner, there was a chance Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t heard of the name. But judging by his current reaction, she was glad she didn¡¯t reveal it. ?


    ?


    {If that¡¯s the case, your father¡­.}?


    ?


    The reverence and fear people had for the name ¡®Consccia¡¯ was because it symbolized the godfather of the mafia, who had once represented New York. And they were presently known to be a family that owned an arms company called ¡®Orlando.¡¯ Despite knowing her identity, the media couldn¡¯t talk about Dustin¡¯s one-sided crush or publish any photos because she was a member of the Consccia family. Even though Woo-Jin guessed she was from a prominent family, he had never imagined her to be a Consccia. ?


    ?


    {If you¡¯re asking who my father is, he¡¯s Giorgio Consccia.}?


    ?


    Giorgio Consccia was the head of the Consccia family, and being his eldest daughter alone was her shield and weapon. Even though she followed her mother and lived in LA with her after her parents had gotten a divorce when she was 10 years old, she wasn¡¯t on bad terms with her father. She kept her father¡¯s last name and would spend her vacations living in New York. Every time she was in New York with her father, he would persuade her to live with him. ?


    ?


    The only person holding her back and making her hesitate was her friend, who was akin to a ray of sunshine; it had nothing to do with which parent she would live with. Selena couldn¡¯t leave LA because of a precious certain someone who always wanted to be happy. However, Selena¡¯s affection for him was nothing compared to Woo-Jin¡¯s shock right now. ?


    ?


    Even though ¡®Consccia¡¯ was not as common as ¡®Kim,¡¯ ¡®Lee,¡¯ and ¡®Park¡¯ in Korea, it wasn¡¯t used exclusively by one family, so Woo-Jin was hoping she was not an immediate relative of the Consccia family he had in mind. But as luck would have it, Selena was Giorgio¡¯s daughter. ?


    ?


    Regardless of what kind of family Consccia was or what type of work they did, it had nothing to do with Woo-Jin. Meeting the descendant of a person who was once the godfather of the mafia was nothing to be afraid of, just that this situation took a funny turn because Woo-Jin was Lansky Consccia in his most recent past life. Giorgio, in particular, was none other than the grandson of Lansky Consccia, a child whom Lansky loved more than his own children. ?


    ?


    After seeing his grandson get married, Lansky passed away before he could see his great-grandchild. Perhaps, if Lansky had lived a few more years, he would have been able to hold Selena in his arms. As soon as Woo-Jin imagined these little things, his heart started pounding uncontrollably. ?


    ?


    They were just things that had happened in his previous life. Like it had always been, it was a relation from a separate life that had nothing to do with Woo-Jin. Rationally speaking, it meant nothing ¡ª just like how Lee So-Hyun and Kim Tae-Hwa were only people from his previous lives; they had no power to influence Chae Woo-Jin. ?


    ?


    However, in Lee So-Hyun and Kim Tae-Hwa¡¯s case, he had met them again and formed a separate connection with them in this life. Thus, he was able to separate his emotions from his previous lives when interacting with them. There was no reason for him to get emotional or be agitated.?


    ?


    Needless to say, from time to time, Woo-Jin would think about Giorgio, his grandson from his previous life. It was only natural because he was the person who meant the most to him out of everyone from his previous life who was still alive. However, they were no longer related by blood. Just because he had the memories of his previous life didn¡¯t mean that their relationship would continue in his current life; looking at his photos didn¡¯t elicit any special feelings either.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin could find out how the Consccia family had changed and grown after Lansky¡¯s death by searching Giorgio online. However, he was only interested in Giorgio. As for the Consccia family, even though he knew Giorgio had three sons and two daughters, he didn¡¯t wonder about their names or how they looked. To put it bluntly, there were just strangers to him.?


    ?


    As soon as Woo-Jin calmed down slightly, he looked at Selena in a new light. He realized how much she resembled Lansky and wondered why he couldn¡¯t recognize her initially. Giorgio created the foundation and was currently contributing to the cultural field in accordance with Lansky''s will. He had successfully left the mafia business and transitioned the family business into an arms business, just like what Lansky pushed for back then. Giorgio, also known as the true heir of Don Lansky, perfectly converted the family business, moving it from the shadows and into the light. And that was the new reform of the Consccia family. ?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin knew the essence of the Consccia family better than anyone else. Even though the outward appearance of the Consccia family had changed over the past 30 years, their framework remained more or less the same, just that the people who had ruled America¡¯s underground economy had entered the public eye. Just because they were paying taxes and doing legal transactions for a change, it didn¡¯t mean the monsters underground loved sunlight. ?


    ?


    In that sense, Woo-Jin felt that Dustin was a great person. Perhaps Selena¡¯s background wasn¡¯t important to him. Loving someone wasn¡¯t a sin, but the other party was simply not good for him. Selena Consccia had the worst ¡®qualifications¡¯ for someone like Dustin, which would be of no help to him. That was when Woo-Jin understood why Selena couldn¡¯t accept Dustin¡¯s feelings and gave him a chance. She knew it all too well. Just imagining what would happen to the golden boy if he were entangled with the monstrous Consccia family alone was awful enough. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin believed that birds of the same feather flock together, so he wanted to oppose their relationship as a friend hoping that Dustin¡¯s innocence wouldn¡¯t be tainted. Opposing it wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect, not that he had the right to do so in the first place. But for some reason, he wanted to interfere. ?


    ?


    {Over my dead body!}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked straight at Dustin and exclaimed. He truly couldn¡¯t approve of their relationship. He wondered who would allow their great-granddaughter to date a man like Dustin, who was popular with women and loved to drink. To Selena¡¯s family, Dustin was a man who was not qualified enough to date her. In truth, Selena was too good for Dustin.?


    ?


    ¡°Huh?¡±?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin¡¯s stream of consciousness flowed naturally, Woo-Jin widened his eyes in surprise because of the thought that had just crossed his mind. He was still opposed to their relationship, just like he was initially, but before he knew it, his attitude when evaluating the two had changed strangely. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had a realization after Dustin and Selena stared at him upon hearing what he had just said, albeit not knowing what he meant. From the moment he found out Selena was Lansky¡¯s great-granddaughter, his rational mind and standards were thrown out the window. He could no longer see her as a woman his friend had a one-sided crush on. Instead, Woo-Jin was evaluating Dustin with a cold look in his eyes, exclaiming, ¡®I¡¯m against this marriage!¡¯ to the two people who hadn¡¯t even started dating each other. ?


    ?


    In other words, he was absolutely against Dustin marrying his great-granddaughter.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The streets of LA were very different from what Woo-Jin remembered 30 years ago. A lot of buildings still stood in the same plots, but they were now used for something completely different. ?


    ?


    ¡°This used to be a red-light district in the past¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Lanksy resided and operated mainly in New York, but he had visited LA several times before. He loved the freedom that was unique to the place, as well as its cultural diversity. However, out of the people he had to meet in LA, one of them in particular always brought Lansky there. He wanted to show off his booming business to Lansky, who had left the prostitution business because of his mysophobia while taking over the family business. He also wanted Lansky to see how much money prostitution brought in, intending to change his mind. ?


    ?


    At that time, Lansky demeaned prostitution by calling it an unprofitable and unrefined business because he felt that revealing his mysophobia was akin to losing. Even though he wasn¡¯t exactly wrong, it hurt the other party¡¯s pride. Lansky¡¯s resistance created an even bigger desire to bring him to the red-light district. ?


    ?


    He was a tough and crude man. Lansky would be greeted by the strong smell of unrefined cigars and whiskey whenever he was close by, and standing next to him gave him a headache. Thus, Lansky cut off his finances such that he wouldn¡¯t have to see him ever again. ?


    ?


    In reality, his main source of income was drugs; prostitution was nothing more than a means for him to distribute these drugs. Lansky first got rid of the people who made drugs for him and blocked off all the channels that allowed his supplies to go through. The downfall of the man who ruled this street had once turned this place into a lawless zone. As the area was out of control, the individuals controlling the street changed daily. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin remembered Lansky casually drinking wine as he watched the chaos from afar. At that time, the colorful neon signs and atmospheric jazz music filled the street; he had a couple of good memories on this street, where the stifling scent of cheap perfume paralyzed his sense of smell. ?


    ?


    Nevertheless, meeting Selena greatly influenced his decision to visit this place. Meeting her, reflecting on Lansky¡¯s life, and searching for his memories in LA naturally guided him toward this place. Since so many years had gone by, this place had changed significantly. Hence, he was able to visit with a light heart. ?


    ?


    This area was no longer a red-light district but a cultural street where old buildings allowed people to reminisce about the past. The interesting thing was that the Consccia Foundation was the one that changed this place. To be precise, it was a project Selena constructively pushed for after becoming the chairman of the board. ?


    ?


    {She¡¯s capable.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin subconsciously had a proud look on his face as he looked at the once lawless street that used to be LA¡¯s Harlem but was now a shelter for poor artists. Woo-Jin stopped in front of a building after walking past cafes and restaurants, unknown stores selling clothes and old antiques, small art studios, and workshops. Unlike the other buildings with several small stores on the first floor, this entire first floor of this building was a bookstore. ?


    ?


    ¡°Fianc¨¦.¡±?


    ?


    Back then, it used to be a bar named ¡®Fianc¨¦.¡¯

 CH 187

    Fianc¨¦ used to sell alcohol and women, and on top of that, they also sold anything that their customers wanted. It was even said that there was nothing in the world which could not be bought at Fianc¨¦. Throughout all his visits and time spent on that street, Lansky had only bought a person once ¨C it was his first and last time. To be precise, he had bought an 11 year old boy. ?


    ?


    ¡°L¡­¡±?


    ?


    The names of the children who were born to the women that worked in the red-light district were very pathetic. In each store, these children were named alphabetically in the order they were born. After they had gotten to Z, they would start over from A again. The street was full of children with the same names who were born in different stores. ?


    ?


    The repetition of cycling through A to Z was also representative of their future. These children couldn¡¯t leave their birthplace and were forced to lead the same lives as their mothers. It was no wonder that their eyes looked lifeless. ?


    ?


    Like most people who visited the street, Lansky wasn¡¯t interested in these children. The only person he was interested in was L. L was a very interesting boy. His interest in him eventually led him to purchase L from Fianc¨¦¡¯s boss. Money was the most convenient way to settle things in Fianc¨¦, and Lansky was willing to pay for L. ?


    ?


    Come to think of it, L was one of the reasons why Lansky wanted to completely reform this street. As L grew up, Lansky wanted to erase the traces of his past out of consideration for him, and also as a gift to him. The place that was associated with someone¡¯s miserable past had now been converted into a bookstore. ?


    ?


    The bookstore was a place where used books were bought and sold; it was filled with the smell of old books. As soon as Woo-Jin stepped into the store, he was greeted by a different scent. The smell of cheap perfume and whiskey was no longer there, and Elton John¡¯s songs were playing on the old radio, instead of the sultry voice of a mediocre singer crooning lyrics that had no meaning. ?


    ?


    Even when a customer entered, the owner was still leaning back against the comfortable-looking sofa with his eyes closed. He appeared to be in his sixties. However, seeing how his fingers were tapping to the rhythm of the music, Woo-Jin knew he wasn¡¯t sleeping. Since the owner wasn¡¯t paying attention to the customers, Woo-Jin looked around the bookstore with ease as well. ?


    ?


    As he carefully walked between the bookshelves and even through the gaps between piles of books, Woo-Jin gradually walked deeper into the store. After a while, Woo-Jin found himself standing in front of a wall that was covered in bookshelves. This area of the bookstore was originally a part of Fianc¨¦. Lansky had only walked all the way into the corner of Fianc¨¦ once. That was because he had heard that a pistol owned by the last emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, was there.  On one hand, he wondered how such an artifact found its way there. But on the other hand, it made sense because it was Fianc¨¦ after all. ?


    ?


    However, the funny thing was that instead of the emperor¡¯s beautiful pistol, it was the words written in the corner of the wall that caught Lansky¡¯s eye. The poetry-like words were scribbled at the bottom, in an inconspicuous part of the wall. ?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s probably somewhere around here.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin squatted down and tried to get a rough estimate of where the words were. The words written by an 11 year old boy on the wall without using pens or pencils ¨C just from the blood from his finger. Even though the spelling and grammar were inaccurate, he could still understand the meaning behind those words. The boy¡¯s desperate cry still lingered in his mind. ?


    ?


    {Are there any books that you¡¯re looking for?}?


    ?


    The bookstore owner appeared out of the blue and stood next to Woo-Jin, looking down. However, he wasn¡¯t looking at Woo-Jin ¨C he was looking at the place where Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze was fixated at. ?


    ?


    {No, I was just looking around¡­}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin became conscious of the owner and reached his hand out towards the bookshelf. In the squatting position, he lowered his gaze slightly and pulled out a book from the area where the scribbles used to be. The title of the book was Confession of White; it was printed in white against the black background of the book¡¯s cover. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin knew this novel. He had attempted to read it several times before because it was very famous, but he couldn¡¯t get past a third of it every time. The novel was too emotionally draining, and the protagonist¡¯s lunacy was too difficult for him to accept, so Woo-Jin gave up on it. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wondered why he picked that book out of all the books, but he didn¡¯t put it back on the shelf. This was because he felt that compared to his past self, he had the capacity to read it now. As Woo-Jin got older, he became more experienced. As such, he became more accepting and understanding as well. To put it bluntly, in his previous life as Lansky, he had seen and experienced things that were much more terrible than what was written in the novel, so there was no reason for him not to read it. ?


    ?


    {This book is not for sale.} ?


    ?


    {Didn¡¯t you put it on the shelf because you wanted to sell it?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked up at the bookstore owner because he was curious as to why he would place a book he didn¡¯t want to sell in the store, but his gaze was fixated on the book. ?


    ?


    {Does everything in the store have to be for sale?} ?


    ?


    {You have a point, but you should keep the valuable things that aren¡¯t for sale separately. Because there may be other customers like me.}?


    ?


    Since Confession of White was placed in an obscure location, customers would not have noticed it. It was the same with L¡¯s scribbles 50 years ago. However, Lansky saw the scribbles, just like how Woo-Jin found the book. Thus, there was no guarantee that nobody would come across it and pick it up. ?


    ?


    {So, you want to buy it?}?


    ?


    The owner of the bookstore looked at Woo-Jin for the first time after hearing his words. The moment he looked into his cold gray eyes, Woo-Jin felt chills, as though he was hugging a cold-blooded animal. ?


    ?


    {No.}?


    ?


    {...}?


    ?


    {I¡¯ll read it here instead.} ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin sat down and asked to be excused. He had plenty of time, and he thought it would be a waste to buy a book he wasn¡¯t going to finish reading. The owner looked at Woo-Jin and turned around without saying anything. Even though he wasn¡¯t selling the book, he had given Woo-Jin his unspoken consent to read it here. People who came to the bookstore often spent their time browsing books like that, so it seemed like the owner didn¡¯t mind. ?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin flipped to the first page of the novel while ruminating about how he felt back when he was reading Confession of White in the past, he mentally prepared himself. However, as he read the introduction of the book, Woo-Jin felt like something had changed. ?


    ?


    In the past, he had read the translated version of Confession of White. Reading the original version of the book felt completely different. The book he was reading was written in English, which was the native language of the author. The details in the original version were expressed in a crueler and crazier manner as compared to the original version, causing him to feel sick in the stomach as well. ?


    ?


    Even though Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t understand why people were crazy about the novel, he continued reading it. Perhaps, the biggest change here was the person who was reading the book, Woo-Jin himself. Before he knew it, he reached the part of the book where he gave up previously. Woo-Jin lifted his head to catch his breath. He noticed the ceiling light was brighter now than when he first walked into the store, and he looked at the time. Three hours had passed by in a blink of an eye. He couldn¡¯t look outside because there weren¡¯t any windows, but judging from the time, it was already dark. Time flew by quickly without him realizing it as he was so absorbed in the book. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had to put down the book because it was late ¨C not because he didn¡¯t want to read it. While putting the book back onto the shelf, Woo-Jin felt it was a shame he had to stop reading, and he wanted to continue. ?


    ?


    {Can I read this again the next time I swing by?}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin told the bookstore owner that he couldn¡¯t make it tomorrow, so he would come again in a few days¡¯ time, but the bookstore owner didn¡¯t respond to Woo-Jin¡¯s question; he simply closed his eyes and kept still. Woo-Jin then bade him goodbye. ?


    ?


    {See you. I¡¯ll come again next time.} ?


    ?


    Instead of playing Elton John¡¯s songs, the radio behind the owner was now playing Sarah Brightman¡¯s Nella Fantasia. ?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    On Woo-Jin¡¯s second visit to the bookstore, he looked up at the sign before he entered. After returning to the hotel the other day, he realized that he didn¡¯t know the name of the bookstore. So this time around, he looked for its sign. ?


    ?


    Interestingly, the name of the bookstore was a specific date. Perhaps, February 9th was a special and meaningful day for the owner. When Woo-Jin entered the store, the owner was sitting in the chair with his eyes closed and the radio on once again. ?


    ?


    {Hello, I¡¯ve come once again to read the book.}?


    ?


    There was still no response from the owner, but Woo-Jin walked past him and went inside. He picked up Confession of White and continued reading it. Since he came here again to read the book, it might have been better if Woo-Jin bought it to begin with. ?


    ?


    Whenever people said they were going to the bookstore to read a book, others often reacted in the same way, calling it a waste of time. Woo-Jin agreed with them. Traveling to and fro was a waste of time, and sitting and reading a book on the floor of the bookstore was uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he did it anyway because this space was so perfect. ?


    ?


    The old Fianc¨¦ was no longer here. And neither was L nor Lansky. Being here allowed him to see the world that had changed with time. Reading Confession of White was just an excuse to confirm that Lansky no longer existed in this world. There was no better place to stop the memories of the dead from eliciting emotions. ?


    ?


    As time went by, Woo-Jin was left with about a third of the book. He got up and put the unfinished book back onto the shelf. He then picked up a random book on another shelf. He felt bad for going to the bookstore just to read a book, so he felt that he should at least buy something. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin bought a random used book for $3 and visited the bookstore again a few days later. ?


    ?


    {...?}?


    ?


    The owner looked at the small basket that Woo-Jin was holding out to him and frowned. The small basket was filled with chocolates with colorful wrappers. ?


    ?


    {Today is my last day here ¨C I¡¯ll be flying back to my country tomorrow. This is a token of gratitude from me, and today¡¯s date is February 9th as well.}?


    ?


    The production wasn¡¯t complete yet ¨C there were still ten days worth of shooting left to do in Korea, and he had to come back to LA after that. However, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t think he was going to visit the bookstore ever again, so he prepared some chocolates for the owner as a way of saying goodbye. It was almost Valentine¡¯s Day, and just like the name of the bookstore, today is February 9th. Thus, Woo-Jin purposely prepared chocolates. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin placed the basket on one end of the counter and went inside to read again, leaving the owner behind. The owner was as still as a stone statue. Fortunately, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have a lot left to read, so he would be able to finish reading today. It certainly felt different from the time he read it when he was a child. ?


    ?


    Back then, Woo-Jin found it difficult to read the novel because he interpreted the text as it was and imagined it in his head. But now, he kept asking himself ¡®why?¡¯ the entire time he was reading it. ?


    ?


    Why did Lloyd have to be so insane and wretched? ?


    ?


    Being an albino, Lloyd couldn¡¯t adapt to the ways of the world and was ostracized. But that reason alone was not good enough for Woo-Jin. Perhaps he was innately insane, or he was a criminal that was a byproduct of his environment. ?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin flipped page after page, the more he read, the more thoughts and questions he had. As he reached a deeper understanding of the book, he started having his own interpretations and theories. And with only one chapter left, the novel finally exposed Lloyd¡¯s feelings to the readers. ?


    ?


    [I wanted color too.]?


    ?


    With red eyes, pale skin, and white hair, Lloyd only wanted to be of the same color as everyone else. But his hands that were stained with other people¡¯s blood were still pale and white. Through the book, the readers learned in a gruesome manner that color didn¡¯t change anything. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin closed the book; his mind was in a daze and he couldn¡¯t do anything, so he stayed like that for quite some time. He held the book tightly with both hands and turned his head around to look at the bookshelf he was leaning against. The red letter on the wall behind the bookshelf that had disappeared came to mind. ?


    ?


    {I am not L. But nobody even calls me by that name.} ?


    ?


    At that moment, a black shadow loomed over Woo-Jin. When he looked up, he saw the owner standing right before him silently. The owner¡¯s face was always cold and expressionless, but his face was very contorted right now. ?


    ?


    {Who¡­are you?}

 CH 188

    L was born in a bar called Fianc¨¦. It was located on a street called ¡®Consolation of Angels.¡¯   ¡®Consolation of Angels¡¯ and ¡®Fianc¨¦¡¯ were beautiful and romantic words, but in reality, there was no love nor any angels in a place with such beautiful and romantic words in its name. ?


    ?


    L¡¯s mama was a prostitute who worked in Fianc¨¦. She wasn¡¯t able to get through the day without drugs and alcohol and would get panic attacks. Whenever that happened, young L would walk on eggshells and try to calm her down, but it wasn¡¯t easy. Even though she became as emaciated as a skinny old tree because of consuming drugs and alcohol instead of having proper meals, a child like L didn¡¯t have the strength to subdue her.  ?


    ?


    Ultimately, the guards outside would enter the bar after noticing the commotion going on inside and beat her till she became unconscious; only then did mama calm down. It was accurate to say that they had blindly beaten her up till she passed out, even if she was calm. ?


    ?


    That was the kind of world young L knew. He didn¡¯t have any complaints in particular because he thought everyone else lived like this. Then, one day, his mama couldn¡¯t get up in the morning, so the guards wrapped her up in a sheet and carried her out. Even when he saw that, he calmly thought that it must have been their turn ¡ª just like the other mamas from Fianc¨¦ that disappeared one day and could no longer be seen. ?


    ?


    Just like that, without knowing the meaning of death, L drily said goodbye to his mama. He cried briefly for a day or so, but since he was in a hurry to have a meal right away, he helped out with the chores in the bar, and the day was over before he knew it. L didn¡¯t know the words ¡®longing¡¯ and ¡®sorrow.¡¯ He had only realized Fianc¨¦ was a strange world after watching TV. ?


    ?


    When he was little, he couldn¡¯t get close to the TV because of the older children. When the older boys and girls watched their shows, the younger children were responsible for doing their chores. And then one fine day, when these older kids suddenly vanished from the bar, the younger children took over the TV. ?


    ?


    Unlike the other children who fell in love with the cartoons and TV series they were watching for the very first time because of how entertaining they were, L realized the difference between Fianc¨¦ and the outside world and began to have doubts. ?


    ?


    After getting to know the world within TV shows, L started questioning ¡®why?¡¯ These were the doubts L had never had up until now, and they kept bothering him. Whenever he asked the people around him why they were different from the people he saw on TV, the answer he got in return was that cartoons and TV shows were different from reality. The families that appeared in the TV shows couldn¡¯t be found at Fianc¨¦. The other children at Fianc¨¦ didn¡¯t wonder why they were different, even though it was a fundamental question. ?


    ?


    One day, L heard a drunk customer say that the entire truth of the world could be found in books, so he went to look for all the books lying around in the bar. However, he had to give up because he couldn¡¯t read the books¡¯ contents. Since L¡¯s birth wasn¡¯t registered, he didn¡¯t go to school, and naturally, he didn¡¯t know how to read and write. ?


    ?


    Thus, he would fight with the other children over the TV so he could watch educational shows, and he would also carry pieces of torn newspapers with him and ask people about the words on them, one by one. If the adults couldn¡¯t be bothered to teach him, he would also run small errands for the older boys who knew how to read and write in exchange for lessons from them. ?


    ?


    And so, L learned how to read and write. And after reading the books, he came to the realization that he had no future; not just himself, but all the children who were born on the street called ¡®Consolation of Angels¡¯ shared the same fate. The girls would follow in their mamas¡¯ footsteps, and the boys would either become guards or gangsters that sold drugs. That was only possible if they could survive till adulthood. ?


    ?


    ¡°L from the store next door died yesterday. A month ago, L from the store at the end of the alley had also disappeared. It¡¯ll probably be your turn this time around.¡±?


    ?


    K said to L carelessly one day. They didn¡¯t say that to scare him or out of hatred for him. They were simply talking about what happened to the Ls from the other stores recently, among the incidents that happened every day. They weren¡¯t advising him to be careful, nor was it a statement made out of concern. They were just saying goodbye in advance because it was L¡¯s turn this time around. These children were emotionless like that, and they meant nothing to one another. ?


    ?


    After hearing those words, however, L couldn¡¯t bring himself to act like it was nothing. Now that he knew what death was, L wanted to live. He hated the fact that his name was L, and it made him feel so afraid at the same time. He lived day after day, terrified of what tomorrow would bring. Hence, he lived in anxiety, worried that someone would call his name by any chance. ?


    ?


    One day, he came to realize the fact that nobody called him by his name. Instead, people called L and the other children in Fianc¨¦ ¡®hey¡¯, ¡®you,¡¯ or ¡®little boy (or girl).¡¯ Nobody called him by the name his mama used to call affectionately when she was in the right state of mind, back when she was still alive. Even K only mentioned his name in passing once when they asked, ¡®You¡¯re L, right?¡¯ and that was all. ?


    ?


    It was funny how nobody called him by his name, yet he was afraid of being called. Once he realized that, he wanted to hear someone call him by his name affectionately, just as his mama did. ?


    ?


    [I am not L. But nobody even calls me by that name.]?


    ?


    L cut his finger when he was picking up pieces of a broken bottle, and it bled. He squatted in one corner of the bar and scribbled on the wall. Since he didn¡¯t have a pen or a piece of paper, the dirty walls of the bar became his makeshift paper, and the blood flowing from his wounded finger became his pen. ?


    ?


    He rejected the name ¡®L¡¯ out of his desire to live while missing his mama a lot; she was the person who used to call him by that name. L thought it would be his turn this time around and that he would die, just like his mama did, before becoming an adult. In L¡¯s eyes, he had no future ¡ª until February 9th, when he was 11 years old. ?


    ?


    ¡°Are you L?¡±?


    ?


    On February 9th, while L was running a small errand in the kitchen, a guard came up to him. L trembled, thinking his time to go had finally come. He couldn¡¯t even lift his head when he was summoned before an elderly man decked in luxurious clothes that had never been spotted in Fianc¨¦ before. ?


    ?


    When the elderly man asked L if that was his name, L bit his tongue and closed his eyes. The guard couldn¡¯t hold himself back and tapped him from the back, so he forced himself to nod his head. ?


    ?


    ¡°L.¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°...?¡±?


    ?


    However, the elderly man simply said L¡¯s name. L thought it was a little strange, so he lifted his head and looked at the elderly man. The strands of gray in between his black hair looked rather stylish and elegant. When L looked at him from afar, he thought he was an old man because of his gray hair, but upon closer look, he didn¡¯t look that old. ?


    ?


    When the elderly man made eye contact with L, his purple eyes sparkled like jewels. L had never seen anyone with such clear and sparkly eyes before, so as soon as he stared blankly at him, the elderly man smiled and pointed to the wall. ?


    ?


    When L looked in the direction of where the elderly man was pointing, he saw his own scribbles on the wall. L felt terrified as he shrugged his shoulders. Judging from the contorted face of the boss that was standing next to the elderly man, the scribbles on the wall seemed to be an issue. ?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯ll scrub it off.¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°Of course, you will!¡± ?


    ?


    Upon hearing L¡¯s confession, the owner huffed and raised his voice at him. However, he soon became quiet as soon as the elderly man raised his right hand slightly. L instinctively knew the elderly man was someone significant; with a servile look on his face, he asked for forgiveness. ?


    ?


    ¡°L.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°...¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°L.¡±?


    ?


    Instead of getting mad or forgiving him, the elderly man kept saying L¡¯s name, so L initially wondered what he was doing. However, even though he said it in a way that lacked warmth or affection, strangely enough, a warm feeling rose up from within, causing tears to flow from his eyes. ?


    ?


    The heat continued rising upwards and escaping from his eyes. As his tears rolled down his cheeks, without even thinking about wiping them away, L looked up at the person who called him by his name, which no one else had called in a while since his mama passed on. ?


    ?


    L continued nodding as he cried. If he were to die, either way, this moment, when someone called him by his name, seemed to be the happiest moment of his life. It was a death void of loneliness; in fact, in the imagination of the 11-year-old L, it was the best way he could leave this world.?


    ?


    ¡°How much is this child? I¡¯ll take him along with this.¡± ?


    ?


    On closer inspection, L could see a very fancy and beautiful pistol in the elderly man¡¯s hand. The elderly man showed it to the owner; he told him he would take L in and asked him to calculate the total amount. ?


    ?


    L didn¡¯t know what was going on; even when he looked around, no one paid any attention to the young child. Judging from the look of delight on the owner¡¯s face, it certainly seemed like something bad was about to happen. Nothing good ever happened to the children of Fianc¨¦ whenever he made a good deal. ?


    ?


    The elderly man beckoned the depressed L to come closer to him. He didn¡¯t want to, but he was afraid he would kill him right then and there, so he hesitantly walked over to him. The elderly man¡¯s face looked solemn and terrifying up close. The elderly man got up from his seat. His frame seemed extremely huge to L, causing the intimidated L to bow to him. The elderly man lifted L¡¯s chin and looked him in the eye. ?


    ?


    ¡°Today is the last day you¡¯ll be known as L. So from now on, you¡¯re no longer L.¡± ?


    ?


    It was his last day being known as ¡®L¡¯ ¡ª the name he had rejected. As such, the elderly man became the last person to call him by that name. Ever since the day the elderly man took his hand and left Fianc¨¦, L had a future. ?


    ?


    Every year on February 9th, Ilya would spend the day feeling a little excited while reminiscing about sad memories. The luck and opportunity that he chanced upon for the first time had changed his life. He received proper education and was able to enjoy life as a human being. ?


    ?


    ¡°Why did you go to that place and bring me home?¡±?


    ?


    Ilya hesitated a lot before asking Lansky this question. Lansky had brought him back from Fianc¨¦ and financially supported him, but he was not a pleasant or easy man to get along with. Ilya wanted Lansky to be a father or a grandfather figure, but ultimately, he was more like a god to Ilya. On the other hand, in Lansky¡¯s eyes, Ilya was just one of the aspiring artists he supported. ?


    ?


    Ilya didn¡¯t have a lot of opportunities to meet with Lansky; the latter was always so busy that they could only have dinner together on Ilya¡¯s birthday or on special days like when he got into college as the top student. ?


    ?


    Ilya was now a college student; he felt excited and happy throughout their meal. Thus, he could get past his mental barrier and ask the question he had always wondered about.?


    ?


    ¡°Because you were the only child I knew by name in that place.¡±?


    ?


    Ilya found it difficult to understand whether knowing a child''s name was a reasonable justification for saving them. He had always been a bright child and had always shown results that exceeded expectations. As soon as he had a puzzled look on his face, it perhaps prompted Lanksy to briefly reminisce about the past, so he had a slight smile on his face. ?


    ?


    ¡°You were the first child on that street to say he wanted to live. I had no choice but to save you when you pleaded with me to save you.¡± ?


    ?


    ¡°All I did was cry back then, though?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Is that so? Then I must have had no choice but to do that because you were too loud.¡±?


    ?


    Lansky shrugged and focused on cutting the meat. Perhaps, it seemed difficult for Lansky to give a reasonable explanation about the events of that day as well. Nevertheless, his somewhat capricious choice turned out to be a miracle for Ilya, and Lansky had never regretted his decision. ?


    ?


    {Then that¡¯s all that matters.}?


    ?


    Ilya knew how proud and happy Lansky was because of him, so he thought that was good enough. Even though Lansky died before he could see Ilya rise to fame and become a full-fledged writer, he loved Ilya¡¯s work very much. ?


    ?


    Ilya had always thought he should return the favor. In truth, he wanted Lansky to love him like a son or a grandson, but that would be asking for too much. The only person Lansky ever loved was not his wife, whom he had spent decades with, nor his many children and grandchildren; among his family members, that one person he loved wholeheartedly was his grandson, Giorgio. He was the only person who was special in Lansky¡¯s eyes.?


    ?


    Ilya was confident that Lansky loved and cherished him as well. Even though Lansky¡¯s affection for Ilya couldn¡¯t be compared to his affection for Giorgio, as someone who was known for being cold and aloof, Lansky did indeed care unusually more about Ilya, as compared to the rest, ?


    ?


    Naturally, he knew part of it was pride and joy stemming from being the guardian of the talented Ilya, but Lansky also had affection for him. ?


    ?


    {Nevertheless, you were a father to me.}?


    ?


    In terms of age, it was more apt to say Ilya and Lansky had a grandparent-grandchild relationship, but Ilya had always thought to himself that Lansky was his only father. Thus, Ilya regarded February 9th to be his birthday. It wasn¡¯t just how he felt ¡ª legally speaking, it was his birthday as well. Ilya didn¡¯t know when his actual birthday was, as his birth wasn¡¯t registered. There were no records or anyone left in this world to remember it, so Lansky set the date they met as his date of birth. It was the birth of his new life and the day he truly came to life. ?


    ?


    People often said that birthdays became meaningless as one got older, but Ilya always felt jittery and happy at the same time whenever February 9th came around. Hence, even though Ilya hated people, he would become a little more forgiving on that day. ?


    ?


    {I¡¯ll just take it as a birthday present.}?


    ?


    Ilya took a piece of chocolate from the basket he had gotten from the customer and put it into his mouth. He liked the bittersweet taste in his mouth when he ate a piece along with a sip of coffee. Naturally, his gaze shifted to the inside of the bookstore towards where the customer walked. It was an area where most of his customers didn¡¯t hang around, so he thought there was something unusual about that customer.

 CH 189

    The customer walked right inside, as though he already had a predecided destination, right from the beginning. For some strange reason, it bothered Ilya. He noticed that the customer was looking at the area where the scribbles used to be that day. Furthermore, the book he had chosen was Confession of White. ?


    ?


    Ilya, and even the customer, had troubled looks on their faces. Judging by the look on his face, it was evident that the customer didn¡¯t really want to read it. Confession of White was an acquired taste, so many people either hated it or had given up reading it. Thus, the customer¡¯s reaction was quite common. ?


    ?


    Ilya mocked the customer when he said he was going to read the book there before leaving, but he came back a few days later. On his second visit to the bookstore, he bought a book because he felt bad for reading the book at the store without buying anything, but as luck would have it, the customer happened to pick Ilya¡¯s third novel. It was the last of Ilya¡¯s official book releases that Lansky had read. Even though the customer wasn¡¯t aware of it, he most definitely triggered Ilya¡¯s memories of Lansky. ?


    ?


    Looking at the clock, it was almost time for the customer to be done with the book. The customer said he would be going back to his home country tomorrow, and since he gave him chocolates as a gift, Ilya wanted to give something back in return. Ilya got up from his chair and thought he should gift the customer the copy of Confession of White he had been reading.?


    ?


    The copy of Confession of White he placed in that spot had no special meaning, apart from the fact that it was the first edition. Even then, he still had several other copies of the first edition left. The only important thing was that Confession of White was placed in that spot. Nothing else mattered. Ilya wanted to do something nice for someone on a day like this, even though the other party might not know the author of Confession of White had personally given him the book. ?


    ?


    Just as he expected, the customer was left with the book''s last chapter. Ilya quietly leaned his back against the bookshelf across from the customer and carefully observed him. The customer¡¯s everchanging facial expressions were telling of how he felt about the book. ?


    ?


    After reading the last chapter, the customer had a vacant look on his face, as though he was in shock. As an author, Ilya felt a strange sense of satisfaction witnessing that. However, the feelings of encouragement soon turned into shock. ?


    ?


    {I am not L. But nobody even calls me by that name.} ?


    ?


    The customer muttered as he stared intently at the spot where L scribbled those words 50 years ago. Right now, the only person in this world who knew those exact words was Ilya himself. Naturally, the people in Fianc¨¦ back then would have read those words, but judging by their age, they would most likely be dead by now. They weren¡¯t famous words worthy of being passed down to their descendants, and they were probably nothing but meaningless scribbles to these people. There was no reason for them to pass on these words to a young person like that customer. ?


    ?


    More importantly, the customer¡¯s gaze was fixated on the exact location of the scribbles, as though he knew where they were. ?


    ?


    {Who¡­are you?}?


    ?


    Ilya asked as he stared at the customer, who lifted his head after sensing his presence. He immediately wanted to grab him by the collar and ask, ¡®Who exactly told you about the past that only ¡®we¡¯ knew?¡¯?


    ?


    However, he realized that people couldn¡¯t do anything when they were too flustered. As agitated as Ilya was, the customer was equally baffled ¡ª he looked back at him with a startled look. At first, he didn¡¯t seem to understand why Ilya had such an intense reaction. The customer¡¯s eyes were full of doubt; he carefully studied Ilya¡¯s face, and suddenly, there was a rush of emotions. ?


    ?


    There was a mixture of confusion and embarrassment on the customer¡¯s face; he looked like he was struggling with some intense emotions, but he quickly calmed himself down. He looked as though he didn¡¯t know what was going on and tilted his head to the side before responding to him with another question. ?


    ?


    {When you asked me who I was, were you asking for my name?}?


    ?


    {The words you uttered a while ago ¨C¨C how did you know about it?} ?


    ?


    {What did I say?}?


    ?


    With an innocent look on his face, the customer blinked. He acted as though he didn¡¯t understand what Ilya was saying. He looked so convincing that Ilya thought he could become an actor right away if he was acting dumb. ?


    ?


    {Didn¡¯t you say, ¡®I am not L. But nobody even calls me by that name.¡¯?}?


    ?


    {Really? Did I really say that?}?


    ?


    The customer got up to his feet and made a fuss. He asserted that he genuinely didn¡¯t know anything and covered his face with his hands as he trembled. ?


    ?


    {I don¡¯t think I was being possessed by a ghost again, was I? Did this place used to be an old cemetery by any chance?}?


    ?


    Because the customer kept yelling and kicking up a fuss, Ilya was beside himself as well. Right now, fear was written all over the customer¡¯s face; he wrapped his arms around himself and looked around, saying he was getting goosebumps. And he kept muttering under his breath like he was talking to himself. ?


    ?


    {You¡¯re probably not going to believe me, but I¡¯ve been like this since a long time ago. There were times when I spoke gibberish without my knowledge, as though I was possessed by something. Nevertheless, it didn¡¯t happen ever since I came to America, so I felt relieved to know that I wasn¡¯t a good fit for American ghosts, but that wasn¡¯t the case! Did I really say something strange?}?


    ?


    {I heard it clearly with my own ears.}?


    ?


    {Damn it! It happened again!}?


    ?


    Ilya took a couple of steps back while the customer ripped his hair out in distress. The customer seemed to be telling the truth, judging by how desperate and agitated he was. When he was collecting data and materials for his novels, Ilya had heard stories of people possessed by ghosts. It was a fascinating topic, so he had even taken time out of his schedule to investigate the causes and symptoms of this phenomenon separately. Thus, what Ilya was hearing from the customer was nothing new to him. ?


    ?


    {I can¡¯t stay any longer because I¡¯m scared. Thank you so much for letting me read the book here. You seem to be doing well, so it makes me very relieved.}?


    ?


    The customer didn¡¯t give Ilya a chance to interrupt or stop him; he grabbed Ilya¡¯s hand and shook it as he rambled on. And then he looked at Ilya for a moment with a smile that felt familiar for some reason before saying goodbye for the last time. ?


    ?


    {I won¡¯t be able to come here again. Please always be healthy and happy. And happy birthday.} ?


    ?


    Ilya hesitated for a moment after hearing the sincere well wishes. And by the time he came to his senses, the customer was already leaving the bookstore. Ilya remembered he was going to give the book to the customer in the first place, so he was about to stop him from leaving, but he paused. ?


    ?


    {Birthday?}?


    ?


    He clearly wished Ilya a happy birthday. Even Ilya Turner¡¯s fans didn¡¯t know his birthday was February 9th. He had never officially revealed when his birthday was, so nobody knew the exact date unless they were personally acquainted with him. The customer might or might not have known that the owner of the bookstore and Ilya Turner were the same person, but at the very least, he knew it was his birthday, and he even wished him. ?


    ?


    This time around, Ilya was creeped out. Was that customer really possessed? If so, whose spirit was it? ?


    ?


    {Colin!}?


    ?


    {Yes!}?


    ?


    {Follow the young man who just left and find out who he is.}?


    ?


    Ilya called out to the secretary, who was always hovering around him on standby. He didn¡¯t like him, but Selena insisted on giving him a secretary. He was usually in the inner part of the bookstore and was barely noticeable, so Ilya would also forget about his existence from time to time. Ilya often wondered why he had to keep someone of no help around, but the day when he could put him to good use had finally come.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin ran out of the bookstore; he didn¡¯t know what brought him back to the hotel. After seeing all the sweat on his forehead, Kang Ho-soo was shocked and asked if he was okay, but he waved him off, saying he was fine. ?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s been thirty years, so it¡¯s only normal that I can¡¯t recognize¡­.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin never thought the owner of the bookstore would be Ilya. Only after he saw those gray eyes staring at him did he recall how the younger version of him looked 30 years ago, albeit barely. After imagining him without his gray hair and removing each and every wrinkle from his face, Woo-Jin saw the face of Ilya Turner that he knew. ?


    ?


    ¡°He should just live comfortably as an author and write. Why is he even running a bookstore there?¡± ?


    ?


    Ilya Turner, the novelist Lanksy loved so much and was confident was the greatest achievement of his life, was running a used bookstore. And it was at Fianc¨¦¡¯s old location at that. Be it questionable taste or that he had overcome the past and was currently enjoying the old memories, there was no way of finding out as Woo-Jin was not Ilya himself. ?


    ?


    ¡°Looks like I brought this with me.¡± ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin looked down at the book he had been holding tightly since he was at the bookstore. He was at a loss for what to do. The moment he recognized Ilya, he was so focused on acting that he didn¡¯t realize he was holding the book. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin sat on his bed and stared intently at Confession of White. Perhaps, Ilya had personally placed the book there. ?


    ?


    ¡°L. Dimitri¡­.¡±?


    ?


    L¡¯s mother was of Slavic descent; when Lansky was picking out a name for him, he was somewhat torn between Ilya and Dimitri. In the end, Lansky left the decision to L himself, and he picked Ilya. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t expect the name that didn¡¯t get picked at that time would be used as a last name in this manner. It was a perfect fit. ?


    ?


    There was too much raw emotion in Ilya¡¯s early style. After reading a rough draft he had written, Lansky pointed it out and told him a couple of times to fix it. He said that if the author showed too much emotion, the reader would feel tired and wouldn¡¯t have time to think because they would be too busy trying to keep up with what he had written. ?


    ?


    Ilya¡¯s writing gradually became cleaner and more refined, so Lansky was pleased, making him feel proud. Even though he didn¡¯t get to see Ilya at his peak as a writer, he was proud of him. That was how confident Lansky was of Ilya¡¯s success as a writer. He completely trusted and supported him without the slightest doubt or unease.?


    ?


    Thus, he had forgotten about it, but the writing style in Confession of White was similar to that in his early days. Just that it was more sophisticated and different in the sense that he acquired the ability to touch the hearts of the readers by injecting his own feelings into the protagonist. But it was evidently Ilya¡¯s writing without a doubt. ?


    ?


    Confession of White captured the same feelings Lansky felt when he saw L¡¯s scribbles back in the day. Confession of White was the world viewed through the eyes of the lonely and confused boy, who was filled with anger. ?


    ?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know back then, but he must have struggled a lot.¡± ?


    ?


    Ever since Ilya met Lansky, he had always been smiling, so Lansky assumed he was doing well, regardless of his past. He concluded that Ilya had no reason to be dissatisfied because he led a comfortable life and lived in an environment where he could study to his heart¡¯s content. ?


    ?


    The only things Woo-Jin knew about Ilya were what he had felt and seen via Lansky. Ilya Turner was so mysterious that there was no way of knowing anything about him outside of Lansky¡¯s memories of him. Hence, Woo-Jin was surprised to see Ilya had written a novel like Confession of White, but on the other hand, he understood his reasons for writing it as well. ?


    ?


    The Lansky back then would never have understood, but the present Woo-Jin could sympathize with the loneliness Ilya must have felt. An 11-year-old would have needed affection more than money and a good environment. From what Lansky remembered, Ilya¡¯s eyes were always full of anticipation and affection for him. Ilya always wanted Lansky to pay attention to him; his affection was different from the kind of affection Lansky had for him in the beginning ¡ª Lansky had only thought of him as a good student and a ward he was proud to be a guardian of. ?


    ?


    ¡°What should I do with this book?¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have the courage to revisit the bookstore. He held Confession of White tightly with both hands and pondered for a long time. I could return it via mail, but he wanted the book for some reason. He couldn¡¯t easily let go of this novel, which was potentially a letter and confession to Lansky from Ilya. In this sense, it was very troublesome. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had very little affection for people in his previous life, so he was very good at severing ties and making connections with ease. However, Woo-Jin had started to love his family and understand people more, so he couldn¡¯t bring himself to be as heartless as Lanksy was. Because he knew the other party¡¯s feelings, he wanted to return those feelings. Even though he was no longer Lansky, he wanted to understand him to the best of his abilities and embrace him.?


    ?


    Selena best represented Woo-Jin¡¯s current feelings. If the actual Lansky had been alive, it was doubtful that he would have the same family love for his great-granddaughter the way Woo-Jin felt about Selena right now. Perhaps, she was a little more special because she was his great-granddaughter ¡ª the first child of his beloved grandson, but he was sure that was all there was to it. As such, Lansky and Woo-Jin were completely different. ?


    ?


    Nevertheless, with the memories of his past life as Lansky, and his current personality and feelings, he was embracing his family in his past life. It was different from the rest of his other past lives, after all, considering that it was the life before his current one, so the people related to him were still alive. Since he ran into them like this, it was hard for him to block out all emotions. ?


    ?


    Interestingly, the affection he felt for Selena was absent when it came to his half-sister, Chae Woo-Ra. The simple reason was that Selena was Giorgio''s child, the grandson he loved so much. ?


    ?


    ¡°Who the parent of the child is matters so much, huh.¡± ?


    ?


    As of now, his feelings for Giorgio couldn¡¯t be compared to how he felt about his biological father. That was the same with Ilya, who was always on his mind. ?


    ?


    Woo-Jin slipped Confession of White into his suitcase. He subconsciously muttered an excuse to himself about sending Ilya money for the book instead of returning it.

 CH 190

    Chapter 190?


    ?


    When Ilya saw that money had been delivered in the mail for the book, he laughed. The book was originally meant to be a gift, so even if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t pay for it, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. Ilya had calculated that it would have made more financial sense for the customer to return the old book, which he had already read, instead of paying the full price for a new book. ?


    ?


    Along with the money, there was a note enclosed in the envelope as well. The customer wrote that he couldn¡¯t personally return the book because he had to fly back to his country, so he decided to mail the money for the book instead. Each letter was written very neatly; Ilya didn¡¯t know anyone who had handwriting like this. ?


    ?


    {He was an actor, huh?} ?


    ?


    Ilya placed the note down before furrowing his brows slightly as he read Colin¡¯s report on his investigation. Chae Woo-Jin being an actor wasn¡¯t the issue. What irritated Ilya was the part written in the report about him excelling at acting. ?


    ?


    The demeanor and reactions displayed by the customer from a few days ago seemed so authentic that Ilya found it hard to believe it was all a lie. The customer was indeed a tad dramatic, but when he said he was possessed by a ghost, the way his eyes trembled with fear, as well as his anxiety-filled voice, made it seem like he was telling the truth. Hence, for a brief moment, Ilya felt as though he had truly witnessed his customer in the midst of a strange episode. ?


    ?


    Yet, what if it was just an act? ?


    ?


    Ilya was confused about what he had seen and heard. Of course, there was a possibility the customer was telling the truth, but Ilya didn¡¯t forget the expression on his face, which kept changing after Ilya asked who he was when the customer looked up at him. ?


    ?


    {The look in his eyes showed that he recognized who I was.} ?


    ?


    Ilya could only be certain of this after replaying the scene over and over again in his mind. The customer didn¡¯t know who the owner of the bookstore was during his first visit. It was the same story the second time he went there, and this didn¡¯t change at the beginning of his final trip either ¨C¨C he treated the bookstore owner just like every other regular customer had. The customer evidently didn¡¯t know anything until Ilya asked him who he was. ?


    ?


    Only after observing and studying Ilya¡¯s facial features had the look in his eyes changed as though he had come to a sudden realization. Perhaps that was the very moment when the customer realized who the owner of the bookstore was. However, the customer was flustered for only a brief moment; he started making a fuss shortly after, changing the ambiance with his story about ghosts. ?


    ?


    As the scene and conversations from that day played in Ilya¡¯s head like a video, he picked up on the things he had missed one by one. ?


    ?


    {The scribbles and my birthday¡­ Who could that person have been?}?


    ?


    Ilya wanted to know if it was truly Lansky¡¯s soul that day or if the customer knew something and was just making fun of him. In truth, he wished he could meet Lansky even if he were in the form of a ghost. Everything that could be found online regarding Lansky was either about how cold-blooded he was or brutal historical events centered around him. ?


    ?


    These online results were meaningless because that was not the Lansky who Ilya knew. He was cold and not very affectionate, but he loved culture and art more than anyone else. He even spared no effort to provide financial support for unknown artists that had no chance of becoming successful. ?


    ?


    ¡°Ilya, even if you don¡¯t receive public recognition, you¡¯re already a great writer to me.¡± ?


    ?


    That was what Lansky said after reading Ilya¡¯s first published work. He had a gentle smile on his face as he said this, and this smile became the driving force that allowed Ilya to press on and continue writing despite the harsh judgment he received from critics. Ilya had very few pleasant memories of the past, and he didn¡¯t have many memories to look back on in the first place. Even then, Lansky was a constant father figure to him. Ilya always had a reason for being unable to ever give up. ?


    ?


    {Look into his filmography.}?


    ?


    All Ilya had was time, so he wanted to enjoy every production the customer had been in. Since the customer had read Ilya¡¯s novel, it was Ilya¡¯s turn to appreciate his work. ?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    The moment Selena saw the awkward look on her secretary¡¯s face, her sixth sense told her exactly who had stopped by for a visit. She nodded, indicating there was no need for an answer, and simply went into her office. ?


    ?


    Giorgio was sitting in Selena¡¯s chair, looking through some documents. When he saw his daughter, he gave her such a broad smile that wrinkles formed around his eyes. Despite him turning the ripe age of sixty this year, he was physically stronger than most young men and had a handsome face that showed no signs of aging. ?


    ?


    Although he was dating someone thirty years younger, they looked surprisingly good together; people didn¡¯t find it strange or uncomfortable looking at them. Even Selena was taken aback at first. It wasn¡¯t that the woman looked older than she was; her father was the one who looked young for his age. ?


    ?


    {What brings you to this neighborhood? You don¡¯t even like the smell of the breeze here.} ?


    ?


    {We came here because my darling said there are as many ghosts as angels in LA and that she wanted to have her very own horror experience.}?


    ?


    There were unexpectedly a lot of haunted mansions in LA, so many places had their own ghost stories and became tourist attractions. In essence, he was saying he traveled to LA with his girlfriend and came to see his daughter while he was here. ?


    ?


    {I¡¯m guessing she still doesn¡¯t know that being with you is horrifying in and of itself?}?


    ?


    Selena sat in the chair in front of her desk that was meant for visitors and mocked her father. Even though Giorgio was not as notorious as her great grandfather, he wasn¡¯t easy to deal with either. After being ridiculed by his daughter, Giorgio laughed cheerfully and nodded. ?


    ?


    {She¡¯s still young, so she doesn¡¯t know much about the world. Well, I like that about her, though.} ?


    ?


    He remarked that they were akin to the kind Salvation Army when being compared to the Red Mafia[1]. In Selena¡¯s opinion, he was in no position to make that statement as someone who had personally done business with the Red Mafia. ?


    ?


    {Are you going to introduce me to my fourth mother soon?} ?


    ?


    {No way! Ten years ago, I realized the truth ¡ª there are so many beauties in this world.}?


    ?


    Selena yawned softly upon hearing her father talk about the truth he had attained after ending his third marriage a decade ago. ?


    ?


    {Therefore, I¡¯m speaking from experience when I tell you that you can date whoever you want, but when it comes to marriage, you have to marry someone you¡¯re compatible with.}?


    ?


    Giorgio might have been smiling, but he was looking at his daughter with a cold glint in his eyes. Selena was yawning out of boredom with her hand covering her mouth before she stiffened. She stared at her father with her purple eyes and gave him a silent warning. Selena didn¡¯t want him to say anymore, but her wish was mercilessly crushed by her father¡¯s next words. ?


    ?


    {Dustin is a good boy, but he¡¯s too famous. If the boy was incompetent or someone insignificant, I could put up with it. However, he shines too brightly. He unnecessarily lights up his surroundings, and we don¡¯t need that kind of light in our lives.} ?


    ?


    Giorgio clicked his tongue and added that it would be too exhausting. His first marriage was with the woman he loved, but it didn¡¯t last beyond 15 years. His second marriage was a political one ¨C¨C it ended when his wife¡¯s business collapsed. As for his third marriage, he married a kind and beautiful woman because he was lonely and somewhat felt obligated to have a wife. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the worst marriage out of the three. ?


    ?


    As a result of all these marriages, Giorgio didn¡¯t place much meaning on the concept itself. Still, he didn¡¯t want to interfere with his children¡¯s marriages. All of them were smart and capable enough to manage their own lives, so there was no reason for any of them to pursue a political marriage. If his children were to end up being with someone who wasn¡¯t good enough for them, it would be fine in his book, as long as his children were satisfied. If things didn¡¯t end up working out, they could always get a divorce and call it quits without worrying too much. ?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t approve of Dustin Evan. His qualifications, character, etc., weren¡¯t the issue. His biggest flaw was that he was too famous. ?


    ?


    {Due to the nature of our business, it won¡¯t do us any good to be in the spotlight.}?


    ?


    {To be precise, it¡¯s not ¡®our¡¯ business, but yours. The foundation is above board, and we don¡¯t do anything shameful.}?


    ?


    {So, is that the method you''re putting all your effort into for the financial independence of the foundation?}?


    ?


    Giorgio smiled as he pointed to the documents he was reading before Selena entered the office. The Consccia Foundation utilized financial support from the arms company Orlando to maintain itself. Since the foundation centered around donating to needy artists and supporting cultural projects rather than making a profit, they had no choice but to rely entirely on Orlando¡¯s financial support. ?


    ?


    However, things gradually changed when Selena became the chairman of the foundation. She paid close attention to investing and was able to gradually increase the foundation¡¯s financial independence. At this rate, the foundation would most likely be self-sufficient in ten years and would be able to survive without Orlando¡¯s financial support. ?


    ?


    It was encouraging to see how capable his daughter was, but her intentions were so obvious that it made Giorgio laugh. Since it felt as though her father had read her mind, Selena threw a tantrum and denied what he was insinuating.?


    ?


    {Dustin is just a friend. Have we even dated each other?}?


    ?


    {Did anyone say anything about that? I¡¯m not against you dating Dustin ¨C¨C if you want to date him, by all means, go for it. Just don¡¯t get married. Is what I¡¯m saying that hard for you to understand?}?


    ?


    Even though he tried to act as natural as possible and hid his true feelings about the subject, each and every word he spoke pierced Selena like a dagger. ?


    ?


    {Did you crack the password?}?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t change the subject.}?


    ?


    {I¡¯m not trying to change the subject. I¡¯m asking because I¡¯m truly curious.}?


    ?


    However, Selena wasn¡¯t like her brother. After being attacked, he would be intimidated and perhaps even hide out of fear. She, on the other hand, was the kind of person who would find out what hurt the other party the most and use it to attack them (verbally) to make her feel slightly better at the very least. ?


    ?


    As expected, Giorgio¡¯s face hardened immediately after hearing his daughter¡¯s counter-attack. ?


    ?


    {If you can¡¯t crack it, just ask Ilya for help. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯ve been struggling for 25 years by yourself instead of asking the person who knows the password.}?


    ?


    Selena teased her father with a sympathetic look on her face as she spoke in a sympathetic tone. As someone who ran a cultural foundation and who was close friends with an actor, her acting was improving day by day. Giorgio became agitated and emotional the moment Selena mentioned the password and Ilya. ?


    ?


    Lansky had several safe houses back when he was alive, among which was a mansion where he kept collections of old books and paintings that he particularly cherished. The building itself was a vault and an art museum that was remodeled to store his collections perfectly. Thus, he paid a lot of attention to security and placed a password at every entrance. ?


    ?


    Giorgio visited the mansion after Lansky¡¯s death; he cracked the passwords one by one and went inside. However, he failed to crack the password at the most central part of the mansion. This was where all the items were kept. It wasn¡¯t that he forgot the password, Lansky had changed it without Giorgio¡¯s knowledge, and he didn¡¯t get a chance to tell his grandson about it.  ?


    ?


    After suffering from a cold in his old age for a couple of days, it developed into pneumonia, and Lansky died within a week. It was a death so sudden that neither Lansky nor his family had seen it coming. His condition had deteriorated rapidly, making it difficult for him to breathe. Thus, it was impossible to have a proper conversation with him as he kept coughing. He didn¡¯t get any chance to tell Giorgio the password to the safe house because there was no time. ?


    ?


    More importantly, it wasn¡¯t the right place or time to even think of talking about something like that when this happened. It was a topic nobody had discussed, such that even Giorgio himself had only recalled the safe house five years after his grandfather¡¯s death. ?


    ?


    Even though Giorgio followed his grandfather¡¯s wishes, in truth, he wasn¡¯t very interested in art and culture. Hence, he only saw his grandfather¡¯s collections as nothing more than expensive items. However, he had good memories of the time his grandfather showed him around back when he was little. It was nice to hear the stories behind each painting and book, as well as anecdotes about how the items came into his possession. ?


    ?


    Giorgio¡¯s grandfather was no longer with him, but he decided to go to the safehouse to relive the memories and emotions of that time. And that was when he unexpectedly met his defeat at the last hurdle. Initially, he keyed in the birthday of the artist his grandfather loved the most, but it was incorrect. ?


    ?


    He was certain that had been the password, but it seemed as though Giorgio had changed it to a different combination without telling him. For his second try, he carefully contemplated his options before entering the date his grandfather acquired the old book he cherished. Yet, his efforts only resulted in a ¡®beep¡¯ sound. ?


    ?


    He had already used up two out of three attempts. If he were to get it wrong for the third time, the mansion would be completely sealed off. Those who were inside would be locked in, and nobody would be able to enter. But that didn¡¯t mean the password was absolutely impossible to crack. Since the device and its system were designed forty years ago, it could easily be dismantled with the help of the latest equipment and experts. ?


    ?


    However, Giorgio wasn¡¯t trying to crack the password because he wanted his grandfather¡¯s collections ¨C¨C he just wanted to keep the memories he had with his grandfather intact. His grandfather didn¡¯t give him the password just so he could have his collections. Giorgio felt that relying on experts to crack the password was akin to destroying those memories. Thus, he wanted to crack it by himself.?


    ?


    As a result, he hadn¡¯t attempted it for the third time in more than twenty years. In truth, even when he got it wrong on his second attempt, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal to him. However, the entire ordeal grew escalated because of Ilya Turner. After hearing about it from Selena, Ilya laughed at him and said that he knew what the final password was. ?


    ?


    The story of how that happened was simple. In order to inspire Ilya for his creative work, Lansky often invited him over to the mansion. Thus, he naturally knew what the password was. In the later years of Lansky¡¯s life, he enjoyed spending a great deal of time with Ilya as they had a common interest, unlike his grandson, who wasn¡¯t interested in art. ?


    ?


    {Initially, grandpa told me the reason and story behind each password. Even then, every time he keyed in the password, I would turn my head away out of courtesy. Naturally, I didn¡¯t even know he changed the final password! Can you believe the audacity of that fella, who brazenly stared at grandpa as he keyed in the password? And then he tries to get smart with me?} ?


    ?


    {He probably looked because great grandpa gave him permission to do so.}?


    ?


    The more agitated Selena¡¯s father was, the more calmly she refuted him.

 CH 191

    Perhaps it was because they were in the same age group, but Giorgio and Ilya secretly harbored jealousy toward one another and were incredibly competitive. ?


    ?


    Giorgio had received all of Lansky¡¯s affection and inherited his assets just for being his grandson. Ilya, on the other hand, had gained Lansky¡¯s attention and trust due to his brilliant talent. The types of affection the two received were vastly different, and they each had their place in Lansky¡¯s heart. Nevertheless, Giorgio and Ilya were envious of what the other had that they didn¡¯t. ?


    ?


    Maybe it was because they would never be able to receive the form of love that the other had experienced. Whatever the case, the greater their longing for Lansky, the more obsessed they grew over what they couldn¡¯t have.?


    ?


    {I¡¯d rather get locked up in the mansion than be helped by that bastard¡­ Wait, don¡¯t tell me the password is February 9th?}?


    ?


    What Giorgio was most worried about was whether the password was a number related to Ilya. All the passwords in the safe house were the birthdays of artists Lansky liked. Considering that the previous password for the last door was Rembrandt¡¯s birthday, his theory was a possibility.?


    ?


    Just before Lansky¡¯s death, the artist he loved most was Ilya. This was despite the fact that Ilya¡¯s first work was criticized as garbage in the literary world. To add to this, he was just a novice who only started getting recognition with his third work.?


    ?


    When you took Ilya¡¯s current skill level and achievements into account, it was clear that Giorgio¡¯s grandfather indeed had an excellent eye for talent. This development inevitably led to Giorgio admiring his peer while simultaneously envying him.?


    ?


    Giorgio had visited many places with Lansky from an early age. He attended the meetin/.gs where many prominent figures gathered while sitting on his grandfather¡¯s shoulders or laps. In fact, he had been the closest person to the renowned Don Lansky and saw the latter¡¯s true face from up close. After all, he was the don¡¯s most beloved grandchild and heir.?


    ?


    Yet, from a certain point onwards, the name Ilya started coming out of his grandfather¡¯s mouth quite often. On top of this, when his grandfather showed interest in this remarkable genius and the entertaining things he wrote, he smiled in a way that Giorgio had never seen before.?


    ?


    The moment he saw that smile, Giorgio didn¡¯t like Ilya at all.?


    ?


    {You need to check it sooner or later. Try pressing 0209.}?


    ?


    Despite obviously knowing Giorgio¡¯s feelings, Selena still teased him. Giorgio¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at his daughter, who was clearly being spiteful since he had opposed her marriage. When his daughter grew emotional, Giorgio didn¡¯t know how she would behave. She would either become a disaster or create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone.?


    ?


    {Do you want to make a deal?} Giorgio asked.?


    ?


    {That came out of nowhere.}?


    ?


    {If you find out what the password is, I¡¯ll let you marry Dustin.}?


    ?


    {That¡¯s such an unfair deal! And when did I ever say I wanted to marry Dustin?}?


    ?


    Selena had let out this exclamation because she wasn¡¯t even dating Dustin yet. In her mind, marriage was still an issue for the distant future. Furthermore, she then asked why he couldn¡¯t just give his permission now if all it took was a simple password to change his mind.?


    ?


    {This isn¡¯t just a simple password. I don¡¯t ever want to have to go to that bastard Ilya for help. Even if I did, he probably wouldn¡¯t tell me unless I go to him personally and butter him up. Then he¡¯ll start bragging and act all victorious before finally giving up the password.}?


    ?


    Giorgio Consccia¡¯s honor was on the line in this matter. Giorgio had never kneeled to anyone, and he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of lowering his head to someone. That was the reason why this one little password could affect Selena¡¯s marriage.?


    ?


    {Still, at least I¡¯m giving you a chance. At this point, I could be considered a very considerate father.}?


    ?


    For Giorgio, it was a show of great benevolence to give Selena one last chance instead of just calling in experts to help. Since they had been talking about his grandfather, Giorgio was struck by a whim and decided to give his daughter a chance just as his grandfather had done for him.?


    ?


    Giorgio joyfully smiled as he saw his daughter¡¯s face begin to contort even more.?


    ?


    {But what if Teacher gives me the password just so I can marry Dustin and spite you, Dad?} Selena asked this with a sullen expression. She had learned from a young age that the enemy of an enemy could become an ally.?


    ?


    {You may think that you know Ilya very well, but I¡¯ve known him for over forty years. He doesn¡¯t care about upsetting me by making a boy I don¡¯t like into my son-in-law.}?


    ?


    Giorgio stood from his seat and gently placed a finger on Selena¡¯s forehead, rubbing her frown away. He was preventing his daughter from unknowingly getting wrinkles at a young age.?


    ?


    {Sweetie, these are our radiant and beautiful memories. They¡¯re stories so precious to us that we¡¯d even steal other people¡¯s time to go back and live in the past. We¡¯re the type to hold tightly onto what we have and flail around so that others can¡¯t take it from us. So there¡¯s no way Ilya is interested in seeing me depressed in the future.}?


    ?


    {Will Dustin make you depressed, Dad?}?


    ?


    Giorgio¡¯s heart shook for a moment at the sound of his daughter¡¯s gloomy voice. His first marriage¡ªwhich was a marriage of love¡ªhad gifted him Selena and two sons. Although the married couple later grew fed up with each other and became their worst enemies, the marriage could be considered successful as they had birthed three lovely children.?


    ?


    At the time, Giorgio had also gotten into many disputes with his father over the marriage. Without his grandfather¡¯s approval, Giorgio would have never been able to marry her, and his grandfather had only consented because he adored his grandson. Alas, even though they had managed to get married after so many hardships, it all ended up being meaningless. Thus, Giorgio thought that love wasn¡¯t that significant.?


    ?


    However, his daughter was about to go down that same meaningless path. Even though Giorgio knew it was pointless, it pained his heart to see his daughter¡¯s sorrowful expression. Looking back, his grandfather had probably allowed him to get married because he felt the same way as Giorgio did right now.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m worried that he¡¯ll cause you pain and make you cry because of it.}?


    ?


    The weight of the sins and blood on the Consccia¡¯s hands wasn¡¯t something to be underestimated. Ordinary people were incapable of bearing the weight and sometimes turned to resent and curse their loved ones.?


    ?


    As Selena¡¯s father, Giorgio couldn¡¯t help but worry that Dustin would one day gaze upon her in the same way that her mother once looked at Giorgio. Nevertheless, Giorgio took the risk of making a deal. If Selena was desperate enough to successfully convince the stubborn Ilya, then he had to acknowledge her feelings as her father.?


    ?


    Giorgio then told his daughter what his grandfather had once told him.?


    ?


    {Everything will be fine. Even if you fall to hell, I¡¯ll be by your side.}?


    ?


    Selena closed her eyes at her father¡¯s words.?


    ?


    Heaven was just too far for them to reach.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    Woo-Jin found himself not in hell but in Korea, where a fierce wave of cold wind was raging. He shuddered as a chill ran down his spine.?


    ?


    {You¡¯re super popular, aren¡¯t you?}?


    ?


    Dustin spoke to Woo-Jin with a surprised glance as they sat inside the car driving to Seoul. He seemed somewhat tired because of the crowd at the airport that was holding signs and excitedly shouting Woo-Jin¡¯s name. However, the Korean actor just snorted at Dustin. Considering how the paparazzi followed Dustin everywhere and his fans were spread throughout the world, Woo-Jin could not hold a candle to him.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m nothing compared to you.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t so surprised by the fans this time as he had experienced the same thing back when he was leaving for LA. But seeing how the crowd was larger than when he departed, he could tell that it wasn¡¯t just Woo-Jin¡¯s fans who had come to see them.?


    ?


    {Did you not see all your fans in the crowd as well?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {I saw them, but they were spread out thinly among your fans.}?


    ?


    As someone who always scrutinized the fans first whenever he went somewhere, Dustin pretended to sulk because of the few fans he had at the airport. Woo-Jin then replied with a bitter face, reminding him that they were in Korea.?


    ?


    {In other words, this is my home base. It would be problematic if I lost against you in my homeland.}?


    ?


    {When I went to Japan two years ago with a Japanese actor I had worked with, there were more fans waiting for me.}?


    ?


    Two years ago, Dustin went to Japan to promote his new movie. Even though the Japanese actor he had co-starred with was fairly famous in his home country, most of the people at the airport were Dustin¡¯s fans. In addition, right now, Dustin¡¯s popularity was higher than it was back then.?


    ?


    {You¡¯ve lived a fancy life.} Woo-Jin commented.?


    ?


    {Those were the good days.}?


    ?


    {Come to think of it, it¡¯s your first time in Korea, right?}?


    ?


    {It is. I¡¯ll be in your care here.}?


    ?


    Dustin was staying in Korea for about twelve days, but his schedule wasn¡¯t jampacked. Despite all the interviews and shows he had to attend to promote the movie, he also had a considerable amount of free time. Since Director Rayford had boasted so much about his trip to Korea, Dustin¡¯s expectations were sky-high right now.?


    ?


    {Unfortunately, I¡¯ll be even busier than you since I need to attend a wedding and go to a concert as well.}?


    ?


    {A wedding? Is one of your friends getting married?} Dustin asked.?


    ?


    {No, it¡¯s someone I met through work. We made a promise about it.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had to attend reporter Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding because of a promise he made. He had said that he would go if he won an award during the latter half of the Golden Dragon Film Festival.?


    ?


    Thankfully, the wedding date coincided with the free time in Woo-Jin¡¯s schedule, so he would be able to attend with no problems. Moreover, he was planning to participate in Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s concert as a guest since he had also promised to do this.?


    ?


    {A Korean wedding¡­ Can I go with you?}?


    ?


    Even though it was a stranger¡¯s wedding, Dustin was curious as the word ¡®wedding¡¯ itself thrilled him.?


    ?


    {Korean weddings aren¡¯t very interesting. It¡¯s just relatives, friends, and acquaintances from work who get together, hold a ceremony, and eat a buffet.}?


    ?


    After the ceremony, there would be a congratulatory song and some events, but it wasn¡¯t the party-ish wedding that Dustin was expecting.?


    ?


    {Most importantly, the groom is a reporter from the entertainment industry, so there will be a large number of celebrities and broadcasters attending. If you¡¯re unlucky, you might even get interviewed by the groom on the spot.}?


    ?


    When he heard this, Dustin became even more enthusiastic, and his desire to attend the wedding grew stronger because he thought it would be great fun. In the end, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t reject the idea either because he thought Kim Woo-Hyung would welcome Dustin with open arms to his wedding.?


    ?


    {Stop wasting time thinking about someone else¡¯s wedding and go get married yourself!} Woo-Jin spat out.?


    ?


    {Weren¡¯t you the one who told me never to get married?} Dustin grumbled with a sullen expression.?


    ?


    {When did I ever say that?}?


    ?


    {You said I shouldn¡¯t get married to Selena. That¡¯s basically the same thing for me!}?


    ?


    {You can¡¯t even date her, so what¡¯s the point of thinking about marrying her?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    {You, you¡¯ve been acting suspiciously recently.}?


    ?


    Dustin crossed his arms and glared at Woo-Jin. He had noticed that Woo-Jin¡¯s attitude had subtly changed after meeting Selena at the party. Previously, Woo-Jin would cheer for Dustin and support him whether or not there was any hope of being with Selena. But now, he was blatantly urging Dustin to give up on her.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t tell Dustin about his past life even if the latter was upset, so he sighed and tried to take a more fundamental approach.?


    ?


    {The moment I saw her, I immediately realized that Selena loved you. She definitely loves you. She doesn¡¯t treat you like a friend or like a little brother but as though she loves you. It was obvious even to the eyes of a total stranger.}?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s face lit up like the sun at Woo-Jin¡¯s words. He really was befitting the nickname ¡®Sunshine.¡¯?


    ?


    {But she¡¯s Selena Consccia.}?


    ?


    {Do you also hate the Consccia family? Our director trembled just from hearing the Consccia family name,} Dustin said.?


    ?


    {It doesn¡¯t matter whether I hate them or not. Why won''t she accept your confession even though she obviously loves you? Try to understand her circumstances.}?


    ?


    Seeing how Dustin got depressed at Woo-Jin¡¯s words, it seemed that he had predicted this problem to some extent. {I know that I¡¯m undeserving of her.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin almost nodded as a reflex and barely managed to hold his head back. Now was the time to be Dustin¡¯s friend, not Selena¡¯s great-grandfather.?


    ?


    {That¡¯s not what I mean. No matter how innocent and upright the Consccia seem to be, they are people who work in the shadows. Selena is trying to protect you so that you can continue shining under the sunlight as you are doing now.}?


    ?


    Even if he felt like Dustin wasn¡¯t deserving of Selena, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t lie to him. Woo-Jin felt like a great-grandfather should not get in between the two lovers. If he truly cared for his great-granddaughter, he would not use lies to blindfold and separate them. The two of them had to learn the truth and make a decision for themselves.?


    ?


    {You two aren¡¯t undeserving of each other at all. You simply think that you¡¯re undeserving of each other.}?


    ?


    Dustin¡¯s eyes widened as he¡¯d never thought of it that way. The reason why he¡¯d always give up and take a few steps back whenever Selena turned him down was that he felt he was undeserving of her.?


    ?


    {All the evil deeds that were committed under the name Consccia¡­}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin paused and held his breath for a moment. The evil deeds in question were primarily carried out by Lansky, so this matter couldn¡¯t be taken lightly.?


    ?


    {They remain a stain on the Consccia family to this day, and people evaluate them through those standards. Now, this doesn¡¯t mean that the Consccia family today is perfectly innocent and pure like a white handkerchief. If you were to get married to Selena, the image that is affecting and harming the Consccia would then be applied to you, impacting your career. Moreover, the Consccia will get unnecessary attention since an international star like you is getting married to Selena.}?


    ?


    The Consccia had built an empire of their own that no one could ignore and had lived successfully so far. No matter what they had done in the past, they now had wealth and power through an upright business, which is why Dustin¡¯s father also wanted his son to get with Selena. ?


    ?


    However, these motivations overlooked the fact that Dustin was an actor who made money and lived through his popularity with the public. Selena, on the other hand, knew how much Dustin valued his work. So, it was obvious she wanted to protect it for him. She didn¡¯t want to become a stain on Dustin¡¯s career and ruin it.?


    ?


    {If you two can¡¯t overcome this issue, you will forever live as parallel lines.}?


    ?


    {Parallel lines¡­ That¡¯s so sad,} Dustin said sorrowfully.?


    ?


    As he patted the depressed Dustin¡¯s back, Woo-Jin felt slightly bitter. Although the American actor didn¡¯t quite meet his expectations for his great-granddaughter¡¯s husband, he was a kind and good man. Selena would surely be happy if she could live with such a person as her lifelong companion. Was there anything more important in a person¡¯s life? This was the same reason why Lansky had allowed Giorgio¡¯s marriage. He simply wanted his grandchild to be happy.?


    ?


    {It would be nice to let go of our calculators sometimes and live life without calculating our every move. The problem between you two is that you care too much about each other.}?


    ?


    {Why do you keep switching from being all negative about it to being supportive?!} Dustin exclaimed.?


    ?


    {Probably because I like you a lot more than I thought I would.}?


    ?


    It was a ridiculous answer, but it was more than enough to put a smile on the depressed Dustin¡¯s face.?


    ?


    {Show me your resolve to never lose that smile until the end, no matter what happens. Otherwise, you¡¯ll never be able to convince Selena.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t too surprised to learn that Giorgio had divorced his wife, whom he had loved so much. Lansky had somewhat expected this outcome when he permitted their marriage. Love rarely lasted forever, while marriage was a reality.?


    ?


    ¡°But it was too cruel to take away his chance to be happy just so that he didn¡¯t get hurt.¡±?


    ?


    Even though he had a lot on his mind, Dustin heard Woo-Jin muttering to himself in his mother tongue again, and he grumbled, saying that he should learn Korean during his stay here.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin thought that he would also like for this young, brave, and kind man to be given an opportunity to be happy. If it were Lansky, he would definitely have given this imperfect young man a chance.

 CH 192

    <On February 14th, celebrity reporter Kim Woo-Hyung got married at Garam Hotel.


    Unfortunately, the main character of the day was Chae Woo-Jin, who attended as a guest. He was there to keep the promise he made with Kim Woo-Hyung at the Golden Dragon Film Festival last year and congratulated the bride and groom.


    It is worthy to note that Chae Woo-Jin was accompanied by world-famous star Dustin Evan. The duo is currently filming a movie together and have already shown off their friendship through Dustin Evan¡¯s social media, but it was unexpected that they would attend a wedding together.


    Kim Woo-Hyung was busy interviewing his guests as a reporter instead of the groom. So needless to say, Chae Woo-Jin and Dustin Evan had a hard time getting away from him.


    ¡®He followed me here because he was bored. There is no profound meaning behind his presence today. I just brought him with me because I wanted to take this chance to show him the Korean wedding culture.¡¯


    Chae Woo-Jin answered as such when Kim Woo-Hyung asked why he had come with Dustin Evan.


    ¡®But there are so many couples around. We¡¯ll have to leave soon.¡¯


    Since the wedding was on Valentine¡¯s Day, Chae Woo-Jin laughed awkwardly as he was conscious of his surroundings.


    Nevertheless, he stayed until halfway through the after-party. It¡¯s rumored that Dustin Evan also stayed behind with Chae Woo-Jin and happily hung out with the other guests even though they couldn¡¯t communicate very well with one another.


    Red Enemy (The Red) in which Chae Woo-Jin played the role of Prince Myeong-Hwan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this time, and it is gathering a lot of attention as a strong candidate for the award. Chae Woo-Jin, who is currently filming Guardian Angel, says that once the filming in Korea ends, he plans on leaving for Los Angeles to attend the film festival.


    In the meantime, Dustin Evan has succeeded in winning the hearts of Koreans with his bubbly and cheerful demeanor atypical for a world star. He is currently staying at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house instead of a hotel, which shows off their close friendship.


    The details of the wedding and the behind-the-scenes stories recounted by those who attended Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding will be talked about in detail in the Entertainment Report airing this week.>


    ¡ªWhat on earth! How could they end the article here? Hurry up and release the stories about Chae Woo-Jin and Dustin. Let us know about their tight-knit friendship!


    ©¸Kim Woo-Hyun¡¯s wedding was exclusively filmed by Entertainment Report, so there are no photos circulated online yet, and the reporters who didn¡¯t enter the ceremony don¡¯t have any details either. All we can do is watch the show.


    ¡ªWhy would two guys even go to a wedding together? Are they dating each other? Disgusting.


    ©¸You¡¯re the disgusting one! You don¡¯t even have a single friend to go out with and here you are, writing troll comments from the corner of your tiny room.


    ¡ªThe people who attended Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding are posting photos of Dustin on their social media. Go check those out.


    ©¸I just saw them. The only thing I could see was a tragic scene where Dustin¡¯s beauty completely overshadowed our Korean celebrities. Thankfully, Chae Woo-Jin was there to counterbalance Dustin, so we were able to keep our pride as Koreans.


    ©¸Honestly speaking, when looking at the photos, Chae Woo-Jin and Dustin seem to be complete nuisances to the wedding. In the group photo, they stood on the groom¡¯s side and the bride almost seemed disappointed they weren¡¯t next to her. Let¡¯s not even mention the groom¡¯s face¡­


    ©¸Still, the bride was smiling so brightly at though she was the queen of the world. Even I would react like that.


    ¡ªAgain, they¡¯re making a fuss again. Why did the article have to say that the movie is a strong candidate for the award? They could have just written that it was nominated and left it at that. If it doesn¡¯t receive the award, will they comment on the limitations of Korean films or something like that?


    ©¸They always lift you sky-high when praising you, but also trample on you with all their might when they find the chance to. Even if they can¡¯t openly look down on Chae Woo-Jin, they can always word things differently to convey the same meaning.


    Kim Woo-Hyung got married on the evening of Valentine¡¯s Day. If one got married on such a special day, it seemed like they would never forget their wedding anniversary for the rest of their lives.


    Dustin seemed quite impressed by the idea of having a wedding on the day of love and even started planning his future wedding.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get married on Valentine¡¯s Day as well.¡±


    ¡°That means you won¡¯t be able to get married for the rest of this year.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, I think Christmas is a better day for a wedding.¡±


    ¡°True, it¡¯s better to hold a wedding on a day that celebrates someone¡¯s birth instead of another¡¯s death[1].¡±


    ¡°I know, right?! And I bet you still won¡¯t have a girlfriend by then[2], so come hang out at my wedding instead of worrying about finding a date.¡±


    When Woo-Jin first saw the date of Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding, he thought it would be quite problematic for people with a significant other to attend. They probably had plans to spend that day with their lover, so having to attend another person¡¯s wedding in the evening would make it quite awkward for them.


    In particular, celebrities who were dating someone in secret probably cursed Kim Woo-Hyung quite a bit behind his back.


    However, with no lover to be with on Valentine¡¯s Day, Woo-Jin attended the wedding with a very light heart.


    Dustin alluded to that and rejoiced ¡®innocently¡¯, saying that Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have to worry about anything on his wedding day, which was planned to be on Christmas.


    Woo-Jin glared at him from the side. His eyes were questioning whether Dustin was cursing him with misfortune, but the latter was too busy swimming in happiness while imagining his wedding with Selena that he didn¡¯t notice the piercing gaze.


    But when Woo-Jin actually went to the wedding, there were actually many guests who had come with their spouses or lovers. It was quite a shameful situation to be standing with another man among all the couples.


    Moreover, since Woo-Jin was with Dustin Evan, they were attracting a lot of attention from their surroundings.


    But as someone who was accustomed to such gazes and enjoyed interacting with people, Dustin alone had a great time. He even worked his personal interpreter, Woo-Jin, to the bone as he couldn¡¯t communicate with the other guests.


    Thus, the two of them had to stick together throughout the wedding and were described to have a ¡®tight friendship¡¯. As opposed to the depressed Woo-Jin, his fans were happy and ecstatic after reading the article.


    Although the two actors showed a close relationship on social media, many people doubted and wondered whether if it was purely a contractual relationship for the sake of the movie.


    However, the fact that Dustin was staying at Woo-Jin¡¯s house rather than a hotel and attended private events with the Korean actor was proof that the two were actually close.


    While Woo-Jin¡¯s fans cared about his career becoming international, they cared more about Woo-Jin having genuine friendships with people rather than dry, business relationships.


    In fact, the fans especially liked how Woo-Jin was being himself and how comfortable he was around his friend in Life Depicted and always wished for the actor¡¯s happiness. Somehow, they didn¡¯t mind if he didn¡¯t succeed as an actor. They simply wished that Woo-Jin would grow up healthily and happily from now on.


    {Why is it so cold here?! Oh, it¡¯s a photo of me. What does the article say?} Dustin asked.


    After spending the beginning of February in LA with moderate and lukewarm weather, Dustin had yet to get used to the cold weather in Korea. He wrapped a scarf tightly around his neck as white puffs of air escaped through his lips. Nonetheless, he quickly noticed his picture and begged Woo-Jin to translate the article he was reading.


    {It¡¯s about the wedding we attended yesterday. Many people are surprised that we went there together.}


    {Aah, I¡¯ve never been to a wedding that was as fun as yesterday''s.}


    Dustin was so happy and entertained the whole time that it was pointless of Woo-Jin to worry that the actor would be bored during the wedding.


    And even Woo-Jin burst out laughing when he saw the groom carrying a microphone around, interviewing his guests. He had also enjoyed the wedding as the venue was beautiful and the food was delicious.


    {By the way, who was the man we met in the elevator yesterday?}


    After the wedding, Woo-Jin¡¯s mood took a nosedive because of a middle-aged man he met in the elevator on their way home.


    Considering the atmosphere as they conversed and how Woo-Jin didn¡¯t introduce him, Dustin clearly felt that his friend was in a bad mood.


    Woo-Jin had been considerate of Dustin throughout the event. Whenever they met someone, Woo-Jin always introduced them to Dustin as he didn¡¯t speak Korean. Although Woo-Jin sometimes mumbled to himself, he never conversed with people fully in Korean while ignoring Dustin.


    But on their way out, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t even introduce the man to him and even exuded a cold and indifferent atmosphere.


    Yet, seeing how Woo-Jin politely bowed to the middle-aged man as they got off the elevator, it didn¡¯t seem like he was someone the actor could flat-out ignore.


    Although Dustin was curious, the atmosphere around Woo-Jin was so dreary that he wasn¡¯t able to ask about it yesterday and only managed to bring it up now.


    {Someone I knew when I was younger,} Woo-Jin answered.


    {Was he acting like you two were close even though you really aren¡¯t?}


    {Something like that.}


    {That sounds really tiresome.}


    {Yeah.}


    Despite his curiosity, Dustin instinctively stopped asking questions. He understood Woo-Jin¡¯s feelings to some extent as he himself also had met such people and had such relationships in his life.


    A staff member called Dustin to check his makeup. He got up and patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder before leaving.


    {Thanks, that makes me feel better.}


    Woo-Jin expressed his sincere gratitude to Dustin. As a global star, Dustin had more experience than him at being used and betrayed by others.


    Even if they didn¡¯t talk for long, they could understand each other through their gazes and expressions, which was comforting.


    In truth, the person who Woo-Jin had met in the elevator yesterday was an acquaintance from his biological father''s side.


    The man served as his biological father¡¯s right-hand man in the business department and was currently the Korean branch manager of Garam Hotel. In fact, Kim Woo-Hyung had chosen Garam Hotel as his wedding venue.


    Halfway through the after-party, Woo-Jin and Dustin were on their way back when a staff member led them to an elevator for VIP use only. Since Dustin immediately got on the elevator without hesitation, Woo-Jin had no choice but to get on as well.


    But when the elevator stopped on its way down, the person who got on was CEO Lee Seok-Woo.


    He pretended to have waited for the elevator and got on, and acted as though he had only just recognized Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had no choice but to greet Lee Seok-Woo since he once called the man ¡®uncle¡¯.


    What Woo-Jin found funny and ridiculous as he bowed to him was that he had met Lee Seok-Woo at an event the previous year.


    At the time, Lee Seok-Woo hadn¡¯t recognized Woo-Jin at all. The way he arrogantly looked at Woo-Jin as they shook hands was his typical way of looking at celebrities whom he considered lowly.


    But yesterday, the old man acted as though that had never happened and patted Woo-Jin on the back, encouraged him, and acted as if they were close.


    ¡°Have you heard of what happened to your grandfather? You should contact him more often since he¡¯s not feeling well. Even if you were quite young back then, you still remember how he used to care for you, right?¡±


    Lee Seok-Woo cunningly mentioned Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal grandfather. Since he had mentioned Woo-Jin¡¯s blood-related grandfather who was recuperating in France after collapsing, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t openly ignore or refute the middle-aged man.


    Although Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t heard the news when he was still out of touch with his paternal family, Woo-Jin had recently learned from the people around him that his paternal grandfather could no longer freely move the right side of his body after a stroke.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal grandparents never behaved terribly to their grandchildren. Although they were strict and had very traditional mindsets, they cared for both Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee without showing favoritism, unlike their biological father.


    However, they made their daughter-in-law, Park Eun-Soo, take responsibility for their son¡¯s affair. They scolded their daughter-in-law while saying that their son wouldn¡¯t have cheated on her if she had properly fulfilled her duties as a wife.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s grandparents were generous people, but only to their blood relatives. Even when Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee followed their mother and left the house, they were cynical and scornful, saying that it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that the children belonged to the Chae family in the end.


    After their parents got divorced, Woo-Jin and Woo-hee went to visit their grandparents several times.


    Park Eun-Soo had no intention of severing the relationship between her children and their grandparents just because she hated her ex-husband.


    However, after several visits, Woo-Jin refused to go see his grandparents anymore. He felt that if he continued to visit them, the good memories he had in his mind would disappear and he would start hating them.


    Just like how his grandparents cared more about their son than their daughter-in-law, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee cared more about their mother than their grandparents. His grandparents had made a choice, and so did he.


    Thus, they each lived out their own lives without contacting each other for a period of time. But now that the situation had developed like this, Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal family was now trying to reconnect and fix their broken relationship.


    Until Woo-Jin got off the elevator and parted ways, Lee Seok-Woo never brought up Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father. He only talked about his grandparents and the good old days. The man was behaving exactly like his biological father and approached Woo-Jin in the same manner.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t so surprising considering that Lee Seok-Woo had worked with his father for decades.


    Birds of a feather really did flock together.


    In that sense, Woo-Jin looked back on himself and his relationships. Kang Ho-Soo had once judged that Woo-Jin liked bright and cheerful people, and Woo-Jin¡¯s close friendship with Dustin proved it.


    {Are you ready, Genie?}


    Woo-Jin got up at the sound of a staff member calling out to him.


    The production team had arrived a few days before Woo-Jin and Dustin, and had been preparing for filming. Meanwhile, the actors were only able to start filming today due to jet-lag and interviews.


    The first scene they were going to film in Korea was where Jin and Robert got attacked by monsters suddenly while they were walking in the city center of Seoul.


    1. Some theories say that Valentine¡¯s Day originates from when Saint Valentine was executed back in the Roman Empire. Look it up for more information. ?


    2. Christmas is considered a holiday for couples in Korea, sort of like Valentine''s Day. ?

 CH 195

    {I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but could you sign a few autographs for me later tonight if you have time?} Woo-Hee asked Dustin.


    {My autograph?}


    {Yes! My friends asked me to get yours if possible.}


    {Wait, your friends said they didn¡¯t need my autograph. So why are they asking for Dustin¡¯s?}


    Woo-Jin was dumbfounded when Woo-Hee asked Dustin for an autograph on her friends¡¯ behalf.


    Woo-Hee didn¡¯t like when her friends asked for her brother¡¯s autograph, but fortunately, aside from a few people, most of them were not obsessed with getting one. Yet, when it came to Dustin, Woo-Hee and her friends¡¯ reactions differed considerably in comparison.


    {They can get your autograph whenever they want, either way, Oppa.}


    Woo-Hee snorted and replied that her friends wanted Dustin¡¯s autographs now since they didn¡¯t know when he¡¯d ever come back to Korea.


    {So I¡¯m a captured fish¡­}[1]


    Woo-Jin spoke in a dejected manner, causing Dustin to burst out into the happiest, most hearty laughter he¡¯d had all day. Sadly, there was another person in the household who treated Woo-Jin like a captured fish.


    {Dustin, is there anything special you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?}


    {I¡¯m good with anything. Everything you make is so delicious, ma¡¯am.}


    {Oh my, how flattering!}


    Woo-Jin was speechless for a moment as he watched his mother care only for Dustin and not her own son. In fact, even if he was right beside her and said, ¡®I¡¯m here too,¡¯ she¡¯d just keep her eyes on Dustin and simply reply, ¡®I know.¡¯ As of recent, his mother had been coming home from work earlier than usual to prepare Dustin¡¯s dinner and snacks.


    His father sneaked up to the astounded Woo-Jin and asked quietly, ¡°When is your friend going back to his hotel?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll probably stay at our place until he leaves Korea.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate to hear.¡± Woo-Jin¡¯s father¡ªanother captured fish of the family¡ªshook his head with a grim expression.


    When Woo-Jin returned to Korea, Dustin accompanied him and visited his home to greet Woo-Jin¡¯s family. Yet, his visit was prolonged as he ended up staying at his friend¡¯s house that evening and the following days. He much preferred the homely atmosphere at Woo-Jin¡¯s house to the dreary and lonely hotel room.


    Woo-Jin did not force Dustin to go back to the hotel either. Knowing him, Dustin would definitely be unable to overcome the gloom on his first day in a foreign land, and there was a high chance he¡¯d start drinking. Moreover, he was certain that Dustin would be restless because of the conversation they had in the car on their way to Seoul. Woo-Jin was far too concerned to leave his friend alone in a hotel room.


    Woo-Jin felt a strange sense of duty and responsibility toward Selena and Dustin, and he kept the latter by his side to take care of him. Most importantly, the fact that Dustin had booked a room at Garam Hotel also played a part in Woo-Jin¡¯s actions. After attending Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding, Woo-Jin wanted to distance himself from that place as much as possible, so he gave up on sending Dustin back to his hotel.


    ¡°He¡¯s weirdly popular with the women of our house.¡±


    Woo-Jin shook his head as he watched Dustin drink the juice his mother had prepared. In his mind, Selena was included among the ¡®women of our house.¡¯ This strange thought process felt very natural inside Woo-Jin¡¯s head.


    ***


    Ever since he signed a contract with DS, Lee Hyung-Jin had been continuously holding small concerts. However, the album that he¡¯d written and composed had become so successful that people wanted him to increase the scale of his shows. There was far too much demand for small-scale concerts to suffice, leading to a ticketing war online.


    Therefore, Lee Hyung-Jin inevitably had to change the location where his concerts were held and move to a more sizable concert hall. Finally, after increasing the number of spectators per session and changing the contents of the shows to make them more entertaining, Woo-Jin was invited as a guest singer to the first big concert Lee Hyung-Jin held.


    Woo-Jin had already mentioned how he wanted to perform at Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s concerts on the show Life Depicted, so people didn¡¯t find his presence strange or bizarre. Nonetheless, when Woo-Jin stepped on stage as a surprise guest without prior notice, there were countless gasps of shock among the audience.


    People sitting in their seats grew excited and stood up to check whether the man before them was truly Chae Woo-Jin. Since the actor was in the middle of filming a new movie, they hadn¡¯t expected him to appear at the concert at all. This was a marvelous surprise for everyone.


    ¡°Our surprise guest today is Chae Woo-Jin! Take a seat. Before you start singing, let¡¯s chat. It¡¯s been a long time since we last spoke,¡± said Lee Hyung-Jin, offering Woo-Jin a seat.


    Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s concerts were static, where the performer could sing while seated and chat with the audience between their songs. However, when special guests like Chae Woo-Jin attended, the concert became a talk show regardless of its original structure.


    ¡°Hello, everyone. I am Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s always so polite every time I see him.¡± Lee Hyung-Jin spoke with a chuckle as Woo-Jin greeted the audience and bowed at a 90-degree angle before sitting. The host¡¯s voice and laughter created a carefree and composed feeling.


    He wasn¡¯t the lively and cheerful Lee Hyung-Jin that he had been back in the days. Instead, his current atmosphere felt steadfast and calm, as though he had grown up into a true adult since those old times. Furthermore, a few months ago, his desperate appearance resembled a candle in the wind. In his current state, not even the slightest hint of this past could be seen.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m nervous right now. It¡¯s my first time performing at a concert, so I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to do. Do I just sit here and sing?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to sing later, so don¡¯t be in such a rush. Even if this is your first concert, seeing how you¡¯ve performed on the King of the Masked Singers, you¡¯ll get used to it soon.¡±


    ¡°I was hiding my face behind a mask then.¡±


    Woo-Jin pointed at his face and explained that he felt more comfortable thanks to the mask he was wearing at the time.


    ¡°Let me start off by congratulating you for filming a Hollywood movie and for Red Enemy¡¯s nomination for an Academy Award. At this point, someone like me can¡¯t even feel envious of you anymore, just amazed,¡± Lee Hyung-Jin remarked.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that. Who knows, maybe you¡¯ll be nominated for a Grammy Award next year.¡±


    ¡°Haha, you can¡¯t just start making things up for the future.¡±


    ¡°I mean, who would have ever thought that we¡¯d be standing together on a stage like this a few years ago?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    A few years could change everything. In fact, Lee Hyung-Jin would have never imagined that he¡¯d be in a place like this until a few months ago. To add to this, back then, he never thought that he¡¯d be so close with Woo-Jin, a junior from TM.


    ¡°Have you ever thought of releasing a music album? Personally, I think Woo-Jin¡¯s singing talent is far too valuable to be left untouched,¡± Lee Hyung-Jin asked.


    ¡°Will you write songs for me if I do?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, winter is already over now, so I don¡¯t have to worry about my gas bills anymore. I can only write good songs when I¡¯m really desperate for money.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯ll get warm soon. You¡¯ll need to earn money for the air conditioning,¡± Woo-Jin replied. Then, he clenched his fists and encouraged Lee Hyung-Jin to try his best.


    Ever since he returned to Korea, Woo-Jin had been participating in countless interviews where he had to talk about his newest movie. So, it was a breath of fresh air to openly chat about various other topics with Lee Hyung-Jin, such as self-care and opinions on music.


    As his tension was relieved, Woo-Jin soon sang ¡®The Wind That Blows From You,¡¯ the OST from City of Shadows he had performed himself. Afterward, he also sang a duet with Lee Hyung-Jin. For this, they chose the song they had produced together called ¡®First Snow.¡¯


    Although the appropriate season had already passed, the song ¡®First Snow¡¯ they co-produced was released as a digital single and received a lot of love from the public this winter. Furthermore, the internet went wild when the first snow of the season arrived, wondering whether Hyun-Min was able to properly meet his girlfriend on that day, as he mentioned on the show Life Depicted.


    After the concert ended, Woo-Jin met up with Hyung-Jin and Hyun-Min for the first time in a long while. They had been watching the performance from the audience.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve brought your American friend along. I thought I would be able to see him today since he accompanied you to Kim Woo-Hyung¡¯s wedding. What a pity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I also wanted to see his so-called handsome face.¡±


    When Lee Hyung-Jin brought Dustin up, Hyun-Min nodded along and remarked while subtly grinding his teeth.


    ¡°He¡¯s busy today. He has an interview and a photoshoot with a magazine publishing company from Hong Kong. Though, why does your voice sound so resentful?¡± Woo-Jin asked Hyun-Min.


    ¡°My girlfriend doesn¡¯t care about you and treats you like a pebble on the ground, but when it comes to this Dustin or whatever his name is, she told me to get his autograph no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Again with the autographs¡­.¡± Woo-Jin unintentionally frowned and grumbled at Hyun-min¡¯s response.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s fans acted as though they only cared about him. They were somewhat fond of Dustin, the foreign celebrity, but only because he was friends with their Genie. On the other hand, the people around Woo-Jin, including his family, treated Dustin like a superstar. He could see that they were amazed and excited to see the actor they only saw in movies and TV shows in person. So when Woo-Jin saw them treat Dustin like an actual celebrity¡ªsomething they didn¡¯t do to him¡ªhe felt oddly restless and uneasy.


    ¡°Well, the value of something will always be in direct proportion to its rarity and accessibility in our society.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin was quietly listening to Woo-Jin¡¯s complaints when he spoke with a serious expression. As someone who had ridden the rollercoaster of popularity before, he understood Woo-Jin¡¯s feelings very well. Lee Hyung-Jin had experienced the change in attitudes of the people around him as his value as a celebrity changed.


    Of course, Woo-Jin¡¯s situation was different from Lee Hyung-Jin¡¯s situation. In any case, as a celebrity, it was only natural for him to be sensitive to the reactions of those around him. It was normal for a celebrity to realize the true extent of their popularity through the attitudes of those closest to them in their everyday life. Moreover, one¡¯s family tended to show a more indifferent and nonchalant reaction in general.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s true. It¡¯s not like I need Woo-Jin¡¯s autograph,¡± Hyun-Min said.


    ¡°I wonder who it was that planned to profit by selling my autographs and making people pay to hug me?¡±


    Last year, Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min sold soap bars and photobooks as part of their university assignment. However, during the project, Hyun-Min seriously considered selling Woo-Jin¡¯s autographs and hugs to make quick and easy money. So, when Hyun-Min dared to make light of Woo-Jin¡¯s autographs, the latter snorted and poked back where it hurt.


    ¡°Tell me, did you use that money for a successful investment?¡±


    Hyun-Min always dreamed of becoming the Korean Warren Buffett, and he¡¯d said that he would invest the profits he earned into stocks. By now, the results of his investments should¡¯ve become apparent. Unsurprisingly, judging by the expression on his face, things hadn¡¯t gone well.


    ¡°Again?¡±


    This time, Lee Hyung-Jin was the one to make a remark. He didn¡¯t know much about Hyun-Min, but based on what he had seen on TV and the conversations the two of them had, he knew that Hyun-Min had a great deal of information about stocks. However, because the outcomes were always poor, he judged that Hyun-Min¡¯s luck¡ªor the lack thereof¡ªoverpowered his skills and knowledge.


    ¡°Does your mentor know about your failures? You know, the one you said was your role model.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t even know I exist.¡±


    When Hyun-Min revealed that he just one-sidedly respected and followed her teachings, Woo-Jin and Lee Hyung-Jin didn¡¯t even want to waste their breath sighing, simply laughing in response.


    ¡°Who on earth is she? Has she published a book on stocks or something? Point her out to me so that I can read it.¡±


    Woo-Jin was curious to see who she was. If Hyun-Min revered her so much, she couldn¡¯t be some ordinary person. Hyun-Min had mentioned his mentor several times previously, but Woo-Jin still didn¡¯t know who she was.


    ¡°As if. She¡¯s just an ordinary person. She used to be a housewife, but she became famous as every company she invested in grew exponentially. She¡¯s known as ¡®The Hand of Midas,¡¯ and she¡¯s now a big player in the stock market. But you know what? Turns out she¡¯s not that old. Oh! She became the largest shareholder of TM this time around and changed the CEO.¡±


    Woo-Jin and Lee Hyung-Jin became interested in the last topic Hyun-Min brought up and perked their ears. They had heard that the new CEO of TM didn¡¯t actually own the company, but they didn¡¯t know the detailed inside story behind the change. So, the two former TM trainees were curious to learn more about the subject.


    ¡°You mentioned before that TM seems to be going all out in preparation for something big, right? It seems that was her handiwork. By the end of last year, she suddenly showed up at the general shareholders¡¯ meeting and passed a bill that dismissed the previous CEO and appointed the current representative. At the same time, she stated that she would actively help the prosecution with all sponsorship-related investigations, condemning Kim Seok-Hyung in the process.¡±


    Although the trial was still ongoing, Kim Seok-Hyung¡¯s future was bleak. He sold his stocks to reach an agreement with Woo-Jin¡¯s advertisers, making it difficult for him to make a comeback through TM later in life.


    Most notably, the new CEO decisively kicked out all the celebrities who had sponsors, all to redevelop TM. They then handed over any company data related to those sponsorship issues to the prosecution. As a result, the prosecution gained the justification to proceed with their work as initially planned.


    This case did not end inconclusively like other sponsorship scandals of the past. Many people were arrested for violating prostitution and bribery laws. Woo-Jin was shocked when he first saw the list of arrested people, as there were even high-profile figures who held power large enough to shake the nation.


    1. There''s an idiom in Korean that goes, "One doesn''t give bait/food to a captured fish,¡± meaning that one loses interest in a fish they''ve captured since they already own it, and move onto the next fish to catch. So Woo-Jin is complaining about how his sister and her friends don¡¯t care about him since he''s so accessible to them and not a rarity anymore. ¡®What am I, chopped liver?¡¯ Would be the closest English saying, but since it doesn¡¯t hold quite the same meaning or nuance, it was decided to keep the original phrase. ?


    Favorite


    NEXT CHAPTER

 CH 193

    Chapter 193?


    ?


    Story-wise, the scene they were filming today took place before the attack on Jin¡¯s house. Since Jin was fighting on the streets, he would face the enemies with his Taekkyeon instead of a sword. As such, Woo-Jin¡¯s Taekkyeon instructor personally went to the filming location and gave the actor some advice.?


    ?


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you use your fist or elbow for the Hang Jeong Chigi[1]. You just need to attack boldly by grabbing the opponent¡¯s nape and striking them behind the neck as though you were crushing them. As for the Hwal Gae Purigi[2], it would be best to use the back of your hand[3]. It makes you look cooler.¡±?


    ?


    The instructor focused on Woo-Jin¡¯s movements and the feeling he exuded on film. Moreover, the director wanted him to find the best angle to make Woo-Jin appear as breathtaking as possible. Therefore, the instructor checked the monitor several times and did not hesitate to make Woo-Jin repeat his movements to engrave the feeling and position he had to maintain when fighting in his mind.?


    ?


    By the time the actors finished rehearsing and were about to start filming seriously, the other side of the street was bustling with onlookers. Having already adapted to the country and its cultures, Dustin waved his hands at the interested audience. His showmanship was so impressive that Woo-Jin thought he should take some lessons from Dustin. However, Woo-Jin then watched as the director checked the time before grabbing Dustin by the collar and dragging him back to the set.?


    ?


    Today¡¯s scene was an important part of the movie. In it, Robert complains that it¡¯s too suffocating to stay at home all day, so he and Jin walk around town when they get attacked by their enemies for the first time. Although Jin was bored of sightseeing, Robert was constantly looking around, curious about the unfamiliar streets and cultures. Since that was Dustin¡¯s actual sentiment, no acting was needed to portray Robert in this scene.?


    ?


    As the movie¡¯s filming progressed, Woo-Jin realized that Dustin truly was the perfect actor for the role of Robert. Although their character and personality weren¡¯t quite the same, they had similar auras that were unique to each and every person. Dustin¡¯s cheerfulness blended in with Robert¡¯s naivety, which was advantageous for his performance.?


    ?


    Dustin would definitely have a hard time playing a gloomy character later in his career. Nonetheless, at the moment, his personality was highly beneficial for him. And since the synergy between Jin and Robert was better than he had expected, Woo-Jin was able to naturally get close to Dustin off camera despite their age gap. In that sense, Woo-Jin always felt grateful to Dustin for their friendship. And perhaps Jin felt the same way towards Robert.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    {Why can¡¯t I use telepathy?} Robert asked with a frustrated expression as he took a big bite of the ice cream he¡¯d just bought on the street.?


    ?


    {Don¡¯t be so impatient. It¡¯s not a useful skill anyway.}?


    ?


    Jin wore a dull expression, and he placed a hand over his eyes to block the annoying sunlight. It was pretty exhausting to accompany this energetic young man as someone older. He also found it interesting how Robert could be so entertained by this unchanging and boring street.?


    ?


    In the meantime, Robert was upset by Jin¡¯s answer as he sounded like a privileged elite who was indifferent to the common people.?


    ?


    {Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re a poor teacher that I¡¯m not able to learn it?} Robert said.?


    ?


    {That could be true.}?


    ?


    {Ooh~! Are you acknowledging your incompetence?}?


    ?


    The proud guardians never admitted their own mistakes or shortcomings. Even when they lost to Robert in a debate, they always stayed stubborn until the very end. With this in mind, he was quite surprised by how easily Jin nodded and agreed to his statement.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m such a genius that I learned it in a couple of days. So, I don¡¯t have the ability to understand and teach mediocre commoners like you.}?


    ?


    Robert¡¯s expression darkened at his mentor¡¯s ridicule. Suddenly, Jin stopped in his tracks. As Jin looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back, Robert sensed the serious air around him and inspected their surroundings.?


    ?


    Jin then grabbed Robert by the collar and, without any warning, moved his disciple¡­?


    ?


    {Aah~! My ice cream~!}?


    ?


    ¡­who unintentionally dropped his ice cream.?


    ?


    As soon as the two disappeared, a huge fireball fell and exploded like a bomb where they just stood moments ago. The street soon turned chaotic in a mere instant.?


    ?


    People were running away screaming. Some couldn¡¯t move from their spot because of the shock and fell on their butts, covering their heads. Others were reporting the incident as they thought a gas pipe had exploded, and some were blindly watching the scene as smoke rose from the flames.?


    ?


    Thanks to the mayhem, no one noticed that Jin had grabbed Robert and vanished in an instant.?


    ?


    This short scene was followed by another, which had to be filmed one block away.?


    ?


    Jin did not bring Robert to the road they were previously but instead took him to a quiet street with barely anyone in sight. There was still plenty of time left until the bars and restaurants got filled with customers.?


    ?


    {Ugh, my neck¡­ I can¡¯t breathe¡­}?


    ?


    Since Jin dragged him along by the collar, Robert groaned as he got strangled by his shirt. Once Jin let go of his clothes, Robert exhaled loudly and stumbled around, unable to regain his balance. However, he instinctively turned his body and rolled to the side as a chill ran down his spine. A mysterious group of people in black showed up out of nowhere and split the air where Robert had been standing using their black clubs. If he were even a single step late, he would¡¯ve gotten clobbered by those weapons.?


    ?


    {What¡¯s with these randos in black?} Robert asked.?


    ?


    {They¡¯re probably the people we¡¯ve been investigating.}?


    ?


    Looking at the dozen or so mysterious assailants surrounding them, Jin speculated that they were those who had murdered Robert¡¯s predecessor. His gaze then settled on Robert and their enemies one after another, and he clicked his tongue. Although the enemies were smart to attack Robert now while he was still weak, they had made the terrible mistake of overlooking Jin, who was accompanying him.?


    ?


    {You should¡¯ve asked the guardian first if you wanted to hit the child.}?


    ?


    Jin took a step forward and made the first move. Even though he was facing several people alone, he fought effortlessly and could not be pinned down. As it was Robert¡¯s first time seeing Jin fight, he got distracted for a short while, but soon enough, he shook his head and ran into the chaotic battle.?


    ?


    {How dare you ignore me!}?


    ?


    Robert was confident that he wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone in terms of brute strength. He punched his way through his foes, sending them flying. Robert was a crude fighter who had no use for any techniques or martial arts. Each time his fists flashed forward and landed on a target, he exuded a cool yet attractive charm.?


    ?


    Meanwhile, Jin was showing off his splendid martial arts next to Robert. He approached his enemies with light and nimble footwork, kicked their knees, and grabbed them by the neck to push them back. Then, Jin hit the clubs with a backhand, shattering them with a cracking sound. Taking advantage of his opponents¡¯ bewilderment, he slammed their faces in a circular top-down motion with the palm of his hand and struck them in the nape with his elbow.?


    ?


    {Ack!}?


    ?


    {Cut!}?


    ?


    However, Woo-Jin¡¯s opponent screamed in pain as his elbow slammed down. Woo-Jin had been too forceful in his strike as if he were in a real battle. This also shocked Woo-Jin, and he stopped his movements to check on the other actor¡¯s condition. When he rolled down the back of the actor¡¯s shirt, he found that the nape of their neck was already swollen red.?


    ?


    {I¡¯m really sorry. I made a mistake when controlling my strength.}?


    ?


    It was the first time Woo-Jin had hurt someone while acting, so his mind was empty from the shock. As soon as the medical team rushed in and gave the actor a warm compress, he made a slightly relieved face; it appeared that this had caused the pain to subside somewhat.?


    ?


    {Shouldn¡¯t you go to the hospital?} Woo-Jin asked.?


    ?


    The actor moved his head around, seemingly checking his neck¡¯s state. Although it was aching, it was only because his muscles were sore. There was nothing wrong with his bones.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s not bad enough to stop filming.}?


    ?


    After putting a pain-relief patch on his neck, the actor affirmed that it was okay to continue the shoot. Despite failing to control his strength, Woo-Jin knew that he hadn¡¯t hit hard enough to cause a severe injury. Yet, he couldn¡¯t move on so quickly when he was the assailant and had caused this accident.?


    ?


    The actor had gotten injured because of him, so Woo-Jin thought it would be too shameful to resume filming without getting the wounded party adequate treatment. He was about to suggest the actor take a break, but the latter¡¯s eyes clearly showed an unyielding refusal. Woo-Jin held himself back and shut his mouth when he saw that desperate and earnest gaze.?


    ?


    He had once seen a similar gaze to the one in front of him. A similar situation had occurred in the past when Woo-Jin was injured while filming City of Shadows, but the circumstances and outcome were different back then.?


    ?


    At that time, Woo-Jin stopped filming and went straight to the hospital. The stuntman who had injured him said that he had waited extremely anxiously for Woo-Jin to return to the film set as time ticked by slowly. He was worried that Woo-Jin had gotten gravely injured and that he would ask the stuntman to be excluded from the scene because of this mistake.?


    ?


    However, the situation was reversed today. Woo-Jin was the assailant, yet the victim was still extremely anxious. Even if the wounded actor went to the hospital, the filming would not get delayed, and the crew would not wait for him. The staff would exclude him and continue filming the scene with another extra.?


    ?


    The positions and circumstances of extras were the same everywhere, no matter what country or system they lived in. Needless to say, in this current situation, the actor wouldn¡¯t have any financial troubles as the hospital fees would be paid for, and he would still get paid for participating as an extra. Yet, it was no easy feat for an extra to find a role where his face showed while simultaneously also serving to fight one of the supporting characters in a Hollywood movie.?


    ?


    Woo-Jin nodded, enduring the bitter taste in his mouth as he understood the actor¡¯s fear of being replaced at any time. The only thing Woo-Jin could do right now was to quickly finish filming the scene with the least amount of bad takes possible.?


    ?


    As they were about to resume filming, Woo-Jin attempted to settle his agitation. He tried to bring out the unique calm and restrained atmosphere that ¡®Jin¡¯ had. Rather than fighting his enemies as though it were a life-or-death situation, he decided to fight with one hand behind his back. He would leisurely knock out his opponents one at a time with his remaining hand as if he were merely chasing and catching some flies.?


    ?


    {Ready? Action!}?


    ?


    At the director¡¯s signal to resume filming, Woo-Jin took a deep breath.?


    ?


    Seeing his colleagues collapsed and groaning on the ground, one enemy who hadn¡¯t been injured yet began to chant a spell with a stiff expression. Jin calmly watched the enemy as they attempted to counterattack. ?


    ?


    Although there was nothing more foolish and unrealistic than giving one¡¯s opponent the time and opportunity to attack, Jin wanted to see what hidden cards his foes had. Moreover, he was confident that he would win no matter what card the enemy drew. Jin¡¯s plan and confidence were evident by the expression on his face, so once Robert noticed his mentor¡¯s attitude, his body relaxed as he also watched their final enemy prepare his spell.?


    ?


    As this strange, incomprehensible language poured out of the enemy¡¯s mouth, a dark red light emanated from the club he was holding, revealing a magical pattern engraved on it. Unfortunately for him, the enemy was unable to complete the spell. A woman in a pure white suit suddenly came crashing down from the sky and stood on the enemy¡¯s body.?


    ?


    {Angelica?}?


    ?


    {Medusa?}?


    ?


    The woman who suddenly fell from the sky, defeated the enemy, and stood on him was the Guardian of Europe, Angelica. Her black hair fluttered in the wind in a way that almost made it appear like it was alive, so Robert associated her with the mythological creature with snakes for hair, Medusa. It was a soft murmur, but Angelica glared at Robert with a fierce gaze. It looked like she heard his remark.?


    ?


    With Angelica¡¯s arrival, one of the injured enemies staggered behind her, barely standing straight as he pulled out a magic scroll. He tore the scroll, and the bodies of the unconscious assailants instantly vanished into a puff of black smoke. It seemed they had decided to retreat rather than continue fighting now that three guardians had gathered.?


    ?


    Needless to say, the person lying under Angelica¡¯s feet also turned to smoke and vanished. Once the body she was stepping on disappeared, Angelica leaped forward and approached Jin.?


    ?


    {Was that magic? There used to be a group of humans who used something like that in the past.}?


    ?


    Ignoring Angelica, Jin showed interest in the scroll-wielding enemies. Considering the pattern drawn on the black clubs, this organization unexpectedly had a lot of skills and talent.?


    ?


    {If I had seen him go through with the spell until the end, I would¡¯ve figured out the principle behind their magic. But a certain someone ruined it for me.}?


    ?


    Instead of thanking her, Jin treated Angelica as a hindrance. Robert coyly nodded his head next to him. Although he didn¡¯t know the exact details of their current situation, Robert¡¯s face showed that he did not appreciate anything Angelica did.?


    ?


    {Why bother checking something like that? It¡¯s just a waste of time,} she replied to Jin¡¯s taunt.?


    ?


    Angelica was someone who looked down on her opponents, so she didn¡¯t care much about what weapons or abilities these enemies wielded.?


    ?


    Robert pouted, appearing frustrated by her. It seemed like they did not get along back when he was living with her.?


    ?


    {But why are you here?} Jin asked.?


    ?


    {Because of this situation. There were simultaneous attacks all around the world yesterday. None of us guardians were severely injured, but we couldn¡¯t get in touch with you, Jin. That¡¯s why I came to check on you personally. It looks like their attack here was a bit late compared to the others.}?


    ?


    {They probably couldn¡¯t find the location of my house because of the barrier.}?


    ?


    Robert was silently listening to Jin and Angelica¡¯s conversation when he tilted his head in confusion and asked, {Why couldn¡¯t you contact him? It should be easy with telepathy, no? Does it not work when the distance between you two is too vast?}?


    ?


    1. Hang Jeong Chigi (????) is a move in Taekkyeon where you grab your opponent by the nape and make them bend over to strike them in the back of the neck. ??


    ?


    2. Hwal Gae Purigi (?????) is a move in Taekkyeon where you whip/strike your opponent with the back of your hand while keeping the hand open. ??


    ?


    3. This does not quite make sense as I believe the only way to do hwal gae purigi is using the back of the hand, yet the instructor is telling Woo-Jin that it would be better to use the back of his hand, however I left it as the original was written. ?

 CH 194

    In the past, Dwayne had told Robert that the guardians used telepathy to communicate with one another at long distances as they lived on different continents. And so, Robert was offended quite often and would make sarcastic comments about how the other guardians excluded him while they spoke to one another telepathically. Nevertheless, putting aside his personal feelings, Robert worried that if Angelica couldn¡¯t contact Jin, then there might¡¯ve been some sort of interference or problem with their telepathic communication.?


    ?


    {Oh, I was getting a lot of spam messages recently, so I muted it¡­} Jin said.?


    ?


    {What?} Robert asked, confused.?


    ?


    Robert¡¯s question reminded Jin of something, and the latter took out his phone. Spanning throughout the entire morning, he had received dozens of missed calls from Angelica and the other guardians.?


    ?


    {Come to think of it, it would¡¯ve been faster to ask you telepathically.}?


    ?


    Angelica bumped her right fist on the palm of her left hand, seemingly having forgotten about that option until now.?


    ?


    {Then what about intercontinental telepathy?} Robert asked.?


    ?


    As Robert obsessed over telepathy, Jin shook his phone in front of him and answered indifferently. ?


    ?


    {Why bother using that when we¡¯ve got smartphones now?}?


    ?


    In fact, Jin and Angelica ridiculed Robert and called him primitive for not using modern technology. And thus, Robert felt like a complete fool once he remembered that when he first became a guardian, he¡¯d thrown away his phone in the hope of one day using telepathy.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    {Cut! Okay!}?


    ?


    As soon as the director gave the signal, Woo-Jin ran to the actor he had injured earlier.?


    ?


    {Are you alright?}?


    ?


    {It stings a bit, but it¡¯s fine.}?


    ?


    The actor rubbed his neck and smiled bashfully. Woo-Jin suggested he go to the hospital with Kang Ho-Soo. Fortunately, the actor had no other scenes to film today, so he didn¡¯t resist the suggestion.?


    ?


    {I still don¡¯t know your name even though we¡¯ve been working together. It¡¯s nice to meet you; I¡¯m Chae Woo-Jin.}?


    ?


    {Oh, I¡¯m Lex. Lex Baker.}?


    ?


    Lex grabbed Woo-Jin¡¯s outstretched hand and shook it, smiling a bit more relaxedly this time.?


    ?


    Then, Woo-Jin watched as Lex departed with Kang Ho-Soo to go to the hospital. Director Rayford approached and reassured Woo-Jin, stating that the production crew would take responsibility for the injury so he didn¡¯t have to worry too much.?


    ?


    {But he got injured because of me.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to become someone who would simply leave a wounded actor to the production team and forget about it, even if the injury wasn¡¯t severe. His parents had repeatedly taught him that a person¡¯s attitude towards their co-workers was what made the foundations of who they were. It appeared as though their teachings had become fully ingrained in Woo-Jin¡¯s mind.?


    ?


    {It¡¯s quite cold here in Seoul.}?


    ?


    Someone approached Woo-Jin and spoke as she wore a blanket over her shoulders, shivering in the cold. It was Irene, the actress playing Angelica in the movie. She was wearing a pure white suit, which made the people watching her feel chilly. Yet, now that she was covered with a blanket, that frigid feeling disappeared instantly.?


    ?


    Due to her weak constitution, Irene¡¯s physical condition often changed alongside the weather. Even though she didn¡¯t even flinch when the crew blew wind in her face to make her hair flutter, as soon as the camera switched off, Irene immediately started shivering as if she were suffering from a terrible illness.?


    ?


    {Cough, cough, I¡¯ll head back to the hotel now.}?


    ?


    With her expression clearly displaying her currently indisposed state, since there were no more scenes left for her to shoot today, Irene left the film set without any hesitation. Although she didn¡¯t have a serious disease, her body¡¯s innate health and stamina were rather weak, so she got ill whenever she went overseas to film her movies.?


    ?


    Aside from Woo-Jin and Dustin, she was the only guardian who had to film in Korea. She didn¡¯t have many scenes to shoot here, so she could shorten her stay significantly by filming them back to back. However, her body would not be able to keep up with such a busy schedule, so her stay was extended.?


    ?


    Irene had still not adapted to the jet lag yet, and she returned to the hotel with a haggard face, entirely at odds with how she appeared while acting just now. The reason why she was able to head back this early was that her schedule was booked quite loosely. Luckily for her, she had no interviews or commercials to participate in until later on during her time in Korea.?


    ?


    In the following scenes they had to film, Jin would chase after their enemies as they attempted to flee in a car. Yet, most shots would be performed by Woo-Jin¡¯s stuntmen, and he only had to take part in a scene where he stood on top of the car and did some stunts.?


    ?


    Since he had some time to spare while the staff members prepared the car, Woo-Jin decided to approach the fans who were watching the film set on the street. As he got closer, the fans grew excited by the unexpected situation. They started waving their hands and cheering for Woo-Jin, shouting his name. On the side, Dustin was already signing autographs for the onlookers there, but as the crowd began to yell, he became startled.?


    ?


    {Geez~! You¡¯re so popular wherever you go.}?


    ?


    Woo-Jin had said that his high popularity in Korea was only natural since it was his homeland, the place where his fanbase was largest. However, in Dustin¡¯s eyes, Woo-Jin¡¯s popularity in the United States was quite monumental as well.?


    ?


    Even though he was new to the scene and most people in the US were unfamiliar with him, more and more people were starting to recognize Woo-Jin thanks to the success of The Red. And for the countless Asian tourists who were visiting Los Angeles, Woo-Jin was already a superstar.?


    ?


    Although Dustin was just as famous as Woo-Jin, if not more, wherever he went, even he started to grow a bit tired of Woo-Jin¡¯s unimaginably immense popularity among Asians. This observation was an obvious one since whenever Dustin and Woo-Jin were together in public, most Asians flocked to the latter. Thanks to this phenomenon, Dustin finally learned what it was like to feel impatient and to be envious of someone.?


    ?


    Above all else, his envy consistently showed itself every time he witnessed Woo-Jin¡¯s acting. Dustin was restless and distressed, as he felt like he was falling behind the Korean actor. While he understood why Woo-Jin was more popular than him among Asians, the fact that he was falling behind as an actor performance-wise filled him with a sense of shame.?


    ?


    Before coming to Korea, Dustin had opened up and confessed these feelings to Selena once. He explained that, for the first time, he was feeling the inferiority complex and jealousy that his previous co-stars had felt towards him.?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not the greatest actor in the world.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°I-I guess that¡¯s true.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°Yes. But that¡¯s okay because you¡¯re the greatest actor in my heart. I like you a lot¡­ as an actor.¡±?


    ?


    Thanks to that single exchange, Dustin no longer felt any jealousy toward Woo-Jin ever since. It was impossible for all the actors around the world to share the same level of popularity, nor did they act in an identical manner.?


    ?


    They each had their own acting styles, and everyone pursued the path that best fit them as actors. Whether Selena¡¯s comment was truthful or not, Dustin was able to put aside his anxiety thanks to her support. He now watched his Korean friend¡¯s great popularity and excellent acting with a light, joyful heart.?


    ?


    Even if no one showed up to watch, Dustin would happily go up on stage and perform as long as Selena attended the show. In fact, the opposite situation would be a nightmare he didn¡¯t even want to imagine.?


    ?


    After getting acknowledged by Selena, Dustin gained a lot of confidence in his acting. Now that Selena had said she liked him¡ªalbeit as an actor¡ªthere was nothing in the world that could hold Dustin back.?


    ?


    As Woo-Jin crossed the crosswalk at the filming site and approached the onlookers, people flocked to him like tiny magnets. Although he had security guards around him, Woo-Jin was still approachable since the scary manager Kang Ho-Soo wasn¡¯t around him like he usually was.?


    ?


    When people were about to get on the road, Woo-Jin hurried onto the sidewalk. By spending his days with Dustin, Woo-Jin had honed his fanservice techniques and was now more comfortable and familiar when meeting fans. As he was signing autographs and taking selfies, he noticed a familiar face in the crowd and unintentionally called out to them.?


    ?


    ¡°Oh! Wish Baragi¡¯s lunch box girl!¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin recognized one of the members of Wish Baragi who had delivered lunch boxes to the staff members and actors on the set of City of Shadows. He even remembered their name, but he pretended as if he forgot it so as to not sadden the other fans by calling out to a single person. As expected, the individual involved was delighted when Woo-Jin recognized them, but the people around appeared quite jealous.?


    ?


    ¡°I¡¯m also a part of Wish Baragi!¡±?


    ?


    A few other people raised their voices, stating that they were also members of the fan cafe. Woo-Jin smiled and asked whether they were having a get-together today. In this way, he continued talking to the group of fans around him instead of one person specifically.?


    ?


    ¡°Did you enjoy watching us film?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get to see much. There¡¯re too many staff members around the set.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I also had a hard time getting used to having so many crew members around at first. But aren¡¯t you all cold? Why are you wearing such light clothes today? What if you get sick?¡±?


    ?


    ¡°But the weather¡¯s really nice today!¡±?


    ?


    In response to the crowd¡¯s answers, Woo-Jin looked up at the sky.?


    ?


    Indeed, it was considerably warmer than the day he had first returned to Korea from his flight. It seemed Woo-Jin had just gotten used to the warm winter in LA. Moreover, Woo-Jin had apparently gotten brainwashed at some point by the production crew and actors since they constantly stated how cold they felt. Based on the warm sunlight shining down, he could sense that spring was approaching.?


    ?


    ¡°I must return to the set now. Be careful on your way home, and I¡¯ll see you all next time. I will try to remember as many people here as possible next time.¡±?


    ?


    Woo-Jin felt bad for only recognizing one fan, and he gestured to everyone around him, promising to remember them next time. In fact, he was quickly observing everyone¡¯s faces, trying to memorize them. Interestingly enough, there were already a few faces he recognized, whether for good reasons or bad. Before, he simply pretended as if he didn¡¯t see them.?


    ?


    A wave of regret rushed within Woo-Jin as he turned around and returned to the set after receiving the staff¡¯s signal to resume filming.?


    ?


    ¡°Kyaa! He remembered my face even though it¡¯s been over a year!¡± The girl exclaimed.?


    ?


    ¡°Yeah, he must have a really good memory,¡± her friend commented.?


    ?


    She wasn¡¯t the only member of Wish Baragi that went to the set of City of Shadows. Furthermore, back then, she often stood behind the other members because of how shy she was. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that Woo-Jin would remember her.?


    ?


    Perhaps she had gotten too excited, but the girl stepped backward without paying attention to what was behind her.?


    ?


    ¡°Kyaak!¡±?


    ?


    She was only able to take a few steps back before she tripped over the feet of the person behind her. And maybe her luck was terrible today, but someone even spilled their cold coffee over her head.?


    ?


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±?


    ?


    It wasn¡¯t an Americano but a caf¨¦ latte with syrup, so her hair quickly became sticky. Even though she had stumbled to the ground and had a sticky drink poured on her head, the fan couldn¡¯t hold back her laughter. The joy of meeting Chae Woo-Jin and getting recognized by him seemed to outweigh these minor misfortunes.?


    ?


    ¡°Why are you laughing in this situation? Anyways, the person who spilled their coffee on you disappeared. They didn¡¯t even apologize!¡±?


    ?


    ¡°There are so many people here. They probably got pushed around, spilled it on me accidentally, and left without even realizing what had happened.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°You think so? I remember seeing the woman behind you holding a coffee cup right before you fell.¡±?


    ?


    ¡°If she was right behind me, then I must¡¯ve tripped on her feet. Maybe they also stumbled when I fell.¡±?


    ?


    The fan treated this situation as a common occurrence and lightly brushed it off since many people were gathered in one area. In fact, she considered herself lucky because the scarf around her neck had caught most of the coffee, so her clothes hadn¡¯t gotten damaged.?


    ?


    As the fan used a handkerchief to wipe the coffee off her hair, a woman watched from afar, holding a coffee cup before throwing it to the ground. The little coffee remaining in the cup spilled out and stained the street, but that was of no importance.?


    ?


    Chae Woo-Jin had crossed to the other side of the street and was no longer visible as the staff members surrounded him. The woman was somewhat happy to have seen his face up close and heard his voice, but their time spent together was far too short.?


    ?


    She was disappointed and upset that she had to share his limited time with so many other people. Nevertheless, it was reassuring that Woo-Jin had recognized and smiled at her during the short instance when their gazes met.?


    ?


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of that stupid bitch.¡±?


    ?


    She was certain that Woo-Jin had pretended not to recognize her because of all the people watching him. If it were just the two of them, Woo-Jin would¡¯ve definitely hugged her tenderly and caringly. The woman suppressed her anger as she imagined such a scene in her mind.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    In the next filming session, Woo-Jin performed many detailed action stunts, such as jumping on top of a car while striking a cool pose, breaking the window with his fist, and pulling the driver out of the vehicle, to list a few.?


    ?


    Although each scene was short and brief, the way they connected each element was extremely important as the movie¡¯s quality depended on it. There were many quick shots with close-ups of the actor, so it was important that Woo-Jin immersed himself in his role for short bursts of time.?


    ?


    Once they were done for the day, Woo-Jin got dinner at a restaurant and returned home at an appropriate time with his friend. They were greeted by the sight of Woo-Jin¡¯s sister running up to Dustin.?


    ?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be busy these days?¡± Woo-Jin asked in Korean.?


    ?


    Woo-Hee had achieved a perfect score on the CSAT, just as she had hoped. However, the exam this time appeared to be easier than it was in the past. As such, there were over a dozen people around the nation who achieved perfect scores.?


    ?


    Her achievement ended up being lessened somewhat, but her true goal was fulfilled when a single article was released in the press, stating that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister had received a perfect score on the CSAT. Unfortunately, now that she had become Woo-Jin¡¯s underclassman at his university, there were a lot of gatherings and meetings for freshmen she had to participate in these days.?


    ?


    {You shouldn¡¯t talk in Korean in front of a guest who doesn¡¯t understand the language.} Woo-Hee reprimanded her brother.?


    ?


    She then apologized to Dustin for her brother¡¯s inconsiderate and insensitive behavior. Seeing how she was grinning to herself happily, Woo-Jin started wondering whether she truly was his younger sister or if an imposter had replaced her.

 CH 196

    ¡°Anyway, now that TM¡¯s CEO has changed and all the data was handed over to the prosecution, many people were exposed and caught in the crossfire.¡± Hyun-Min explained.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t most of the culprits been revealed to the public by now?¡±


    The curious Lee Hyung-Jin asked Hyun-Min, who was talking as though there were still some inside stories that had not been revealed to the public yet.


    Many people had gotten arrested and were on trial because of this case, so Lee Hyung-Jin wondered whether there was anyone left who hadn¡¯t been exposed yet.


    ¡°It¡¯s because most of the people who got exposed are from the political world. There are still quite a lot of wrongdoers in the corporate and business side of things. But it seems the prosecution isn¡¯t involving them yet, especially the brokers. They seem to be glossing over the actual brokers.¡±


    As Hyun-Min spoke, he discreetly glanced at Woo-Jin. The latter wore a bitter smile as he realized that Hyun-Min was referring to Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father¡¯s current wife, Kim Hye-Ryeong, when he talked about the brokers.


    ¡°Where did you find all this miscellaneous information?¡± Woo-Jin asked his friend.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a wide circle of contacts.¡±


    In hindsight, there were many avenues that could have been Hyun-Min¡¯s sources. Although he wasn¡¯t directly related to the political and business worlds, if his parents and extended family members were taken into consideration, he could easily find out the gossip going around behind the scenes.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the brokers had the connections and power to defend themselves.¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke while gazing at his friend, silently conveying the message that he knew who the broker in question was. Hyun-Min received the message, raised an eyebrow, and scratched his cheek.


    This specific topic was something they should discuss between the two of them, but for some reason, the subject was brought up while they were with Lee Hyung-Jin, so Hyun-Min was choosing his words carefully.


    ¡°I heard that they¡¯re considering a divorce.¡±


    ¡°¡­?!¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise. Hyun-Min continued speaking with a bitter expression.


    ¡°Turns out married couples also cut their tails from one another.¡±[1]


    Although the information hadn¡¯t spread to the public yet, there were already rumors circulating behind the scenes claiming that Kim Hye-Ryeong was the main broker behind this sponsorship scandal.


    If Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father Chae Mu-Seok remained passive in this situation, he too would be treated as an accomplice. So there was nothing better than a divorce to cut off his relationship with her and pretend to be an innocent bystander in the case.


    ¡°What are you two talking about? I feel like you started and ended a discussion about some important topic that I don¡¯t know about.¡±


    Lee Hyung-Jin grumbled and complained that he also wanted to be in on the gossip. Instead of answering, Woo-Jin changed the subject and thanked Lee Hyung-Jin, saying he had fun today and that he would like to perform with him again if the opportunity ever arose in the future.


    ¡°I¡¯m always open to having you on stage again. The problem is that someone is always so busy.¡± Lee Hyung-Jin replied.


    ¡°He sure is. Today is also my first time seeing him after some time. By the way, where¡¯s your next filming location? There are all kinds of theories and speculations online because the media hasn¡¯t mentioned it.¡± Hyun-Min asked.


    ¡°Why do you want to know? Will you come to find us to get Dustin¡¯s autograph?¡±


    Woo-Jin was not in a position to reveal the next filming location, so he just teased Hyun-Min instead.


    There were way too many people gathered at their first filming site, so the production crew put an embargo on the press about their next location.


    Needless to say, people would naturally notice them when they were preparing to film, so even if no articles were released, they would be unable to prevent a crowd from gathering on the site. However, that didn¡¯t mean they had to go around advertising the location to everyone either.


    ***


    This time, the location was at an open, public space so it would be difficult to prevent a large crowd from approaching. No matter how cold of a winter day it was, it was difficult to escape the public¡¯s eye if one was filming at Haeundae Beach[2].


    {It¡¯s pretty warm here.}


    Dustin spread his arms wide, basking in the warm sunlight and the cool breeze.


    The scenery behind him was like a beautiful painting, where the wide sea extended to the horizon and seagulls flew in the blue sky. Judging by the clicking sounds here and there, it seemed the staff were enthusiastically taking pictures of the landscape.


    Woo-Jin squinted and looked up at the sky. It was a very sunny day with clear skies, which didn¡¯t fit the scene that they were going to be filming today, a scene where the guardians faced the wrath of Mother Nature.


    Fortunately, most of the background in this scene would be produced using CG, so it was possible to shoot on site regardless of the weather conditions thanks to the latest filming technology and techniques.


    Nonetheless, the actors had the difficult task of acting with the unsuitable scenery. They had to pretend to worry about how to handle a large tsunami while frowning at the clear sky and calm waves.


    The content of today¡¯s shoot was a scene where Robert becomes aware of his true role as a guardian.


    A huge tsunami caused by an earthquake threatened to hit apartment complexes and downtown areas close to the beach. As the tsunami gradually approached the coast, Jin remained calm and composed unlike the shocked Robert.


    Jin believed in the principle that guardians couldn¡¯t get involved in wars caused by humans and that they should not intervene with the laws of nature.


    In fact, it was the same for most guardians. If they intervened in a war and implicitly stood on their homeland¡¯s side of the conflict, they risked biasing the world¡¯s history, and affecting the future of humanity.


    Thus, the guardians remained silent during intercontinental wars. If they acted carelessly, they also risked offending the other guardians and starting a ¡®true war¡¯.


    It was the same with nature. Human warfare and nature had quite a few similarities.


    If an outside, unnatural force¡ªsuch as guardians¡ªintervened in the actions of nature, who knew what kind of butterfly effect it would cause? If they prevented a disaster at one location, they couldn¡¯t just turn a blind eye to the sacrifices and deaths that could occur at another place. But that also didn¡¯t mean they could run around the world, saving people one at a time.


    Needless to say, they would still try to reduce the damage as much as possible and use their powers to help people. However, they had no intention of stopping nature¡¯s wrath that came in the form of a natural disaster, such as a tsunami.


    Instead, they would evacuate people and do their best to prevent buildings from collapsing.


    But Robert couldn¡¯t agree with their methods. He insisted that if he saw the waves coming from afar, he had an obligation to stop them since he had the power.


    This was the first time Jin and Robert had a real, big disagreement.


    {Are you going to do nothing and let everyone die miserably, even though you have the power to stop it?} Robert exclaimed.


    {Our powers are not meant to be used to break the laws of nature.}


    {Then why do we exist? What¡¯s the point of having power that can¡¯t be used to protect others? Why do guardians exist then?!}


    Despite not knowing how to fully utilize the powers he held, Robert shook off Jin¡¯s hand that was holding onto his arm and walked towards the sea. Even though he didn¡¯t know how to stop such a big tsunami, he recklessly crashed into it with his entire body.


    Blood escaped through his tightly closed lips and even more spurted out of his nose. The golden energy emanating from his trembling fingertips caught and blocked the waves, but to no avail. Robert didn¡¯t have enough power to stop nature¡¯s wrath. The waves smashed through the shining barricade and swallowed up the broken golden fragments.


    As despair replaced the stunned look on Robert¡¯s face, Jin shook his head in resignation and approached his disciple, standing by his side.


    {Watch carefully. These are the consequences of your actions.}


    Jin held up his sword with a voice which was colder than ever. In fact, it was so cold his aura alone could freeze the sea water.


    He thought he needed to give Robert a reality check at least once, and to engrave the meaning of a guardian¡¯s power and their role in his disciple¡¯s mind.


    Thus, Jin raised his sword.


    Jin raised the blade high before swinging it down towards the sea. The blue streaks of light flowing out of his sword tangled with the waves and drop by drop, the sea began to freeze over.


    As the tidal wave soaring high in the sky froze, Jin pointed his sword forward at the sea and pierced through the wall of ice.


    The sword stabbed into the frozen sea, creating thin blue fissures that spread throughout the surface. Each time the blue sea cracked with fissures that shone in a brighter shade of blue, the ice slowly broke off with crackling sounds.


    The scene of the frozen tsunami fragmenting created a spectacle which resembled a small blue flower¡¯s petals dancing and scattering in the air.


    In the meantime, the earthquake¡¯s influence gradually weakened and the waves that followed were just bigger and rougher compared to usual, and they gradually subsided.


    A bright smile spread on Robert¡¯s face as he watched the large tsunami vanish. The passion of a pure and wonderful young man ended up saving the lives of countless people.


    But his smile didn¡¯t last for long.


    {The force that created the tsunami couldn¡¯t handle our obstruction and rebounded towards the other side of the sea, towards Japan.} Jin explained.


    {What? Then we should go there and¡­}


    Robert was about to head to Japan immediately when he stopped himself. If they went to Japan and blocked the tsunami there, then what would happen here?


    {If we stop the tsunami there, the force will rebound again and head back here. Or it may go to some other place nearby. Of course, if we repeat the process and continuously block the tsunamis, the seismic wave will weaken and gradually disappear. In fact, the rebound heading to Japan right now will be much weaker than it was here. But still!}


    Jin¡¯s lips that had been forming a cold smile twisted.


    {By saving the humans, all the damage caused by this disaster will be absorbed by the environment.}


    {But that¡¯s inevitable. Our job is to save humans¡­}


    At Robert¡¯s na?ve answer, Jin gazed at his disciple with a slightly sad expression.


    {It¡¯s not humans that we must protect. Saving humans is not our top priority.}


    {What do you mean by that? Then what is it that we¡¯re protecting?}


    Jin closed his eyes at Robert¡¯s question. Soon, he opened them again and gazed over the horizon before quietly answering.


    {We protect Earth from humans¡­ We abandoned our mission just now.}


    Generally speaking, guardians also protected and defended humans.


    However, if nature and humanity came into conflict and forced them to pick a side, the guardians would protect nature and defend the planet without hesitation.


    Robert had been joyful and excited about being a guardian thus far. However, at this exact moment, his dreams and fantasies were completely shattered. Simultaneously, he came to an important realization. He finally realized why those mysterious people were attacking them and throwing their lives away to kill the guardians.


    Those people were protecting humans from the guardians.


    ***


    As soon as they finished filming the scene, Dustin waved his hand inland. Habitants of the area had gathered by the side of the road behind the white, sandy beach. When they saw Dustin, they waved back at him.


    Currently, Dustin and Woo-Jin were standing on a platform that had been built under the surface of the ocean. It was a device specifically installed to film scenes of people walking on the ocean while they were performing different actions.


    Thus, it looked like they were standing on the sea from a distance. The splashing and swaying waves and seagulls flying in the blue sky painted a beautiful picture with the two actors at the center.


    However, if one looked closely, their shoes and pants were soaking wet, and they had a hard time moving their heavy legs.


    {They probably don¡¯t realize what we¡¯re doing, do they?} Dustin asked bashfully.


    Woo-Jin laughed out loud and nodded.


    {They¡¯re probably wondering what we¡¯re doing out here. All they can see is two guys talking to one another and one of them is attacking the sea with a sword in hand. Rather than that, wipe off that nose bleed of yours already.}


    Dustin wiped off his fake blood with his sleeve after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s remark. Even though the people watching them were far away, the scene they were filming today looked very boring and silly without the cool CG.


    {I want the movie to be successful so that we can film a sequel. But considering how the guardians were written, I¡¯m really worried.}


    Dustin pointed out the imperfections and contradictions of the guardians as he stared at the movie¡¯s screenwriter¡ªHugh Miller¡ªwho was standing on the sandy beach.


    Judging by the contents of Guardian Angel, there was a high chance that there would be many sequels, thus creating a series.


    However, Hugh didn¡¯t comment about this subject. It seemed that the producers would proceed with a second movie depending on the success of this first one.


    It could be seen as prudence, but it also made them look unreliable as their attitudes showed a lack of self-confidence.


    {If you¡¯re thinking of filming a sequel, then this first movie is already a partial success.} Woo-Jin said.


    If an actor like Dustin¡ªwho rarely cared much about his projects¡ªwanted to work on the sequel, then the movie¡¯s production and planning teams had already passed their biggest hurdle.


    {Is that what it means? Well, I guess you¡¯re right. These guardians don¡¯t look very reliable and seem somewhat delicate, but that makes me want to continue watching them.}


    A hero had to be strong and firm by nature, but Guardian Angel did not have such a character.


    This story was like a game of Jenga, where a bunch of wooden blocks are stacked up and get pulled out one at a time until it collapses. The further one got into the story, the more restless and nervous they felt. But when everything finally collapsed, it felt refreshing.


    {People create and revere heroes from their human point of views. If you think about how the guardians ultimately want a world that doesn¡¯t need heroes for the future, then their actions become clear.} Woo-Jin explained.


    The guardians didn¡¯t want to become heroes. They didn¡¯t want to be the winners of the game, so they figured that if it collapsed, then they could just start over again.


    This aspect of their character changed their imperfections into carefreeness that radiated a lot of charm.


    Because of that, Woo-Jin admired Hugh Miller as a screenwriter. To put it simply, the movie struck a good balance between many issues and plot points: the conflict between the guardians and their enemies, the conflict between a young disciple who wanted to be a hero and his mentor who didn¡¯t want to be a hero, and the conflict between what one desired to protect and what had to be protected.


    If any one of those points crumbled, then the entire movie¡¯s structure would collapse. Thus, Hugh and Rayford¡¯s sense of balance that kept the structure firm and solid was outstanding.


    As Director Yoon Seon once said, if the production team made a proper foundation, then the actors could play and mess around with the structure to their heart¡¯s content. It was a blessing for an actor to be able to meet and work with an excellent production team.


    {Still, since Robert dreamed of becoming a hero, Jin must¡¯ve been a real mentor and hero to him.} Dustin commented.


    Woo-Jin turned his gaze away from the sea and looked at Dustin as he continued talking.


    {Robert was blessed to have met Jin, but I was also blessed to have met you. Of course, you¡¯re not my hero but my friend.}


    Dustin held out his right hand to Woo-Jin.


    Today was the last time they would film a scene for Guardian Angel together.


    It was unclear whether the two actors would have an opportunity to star in another project together in the future. Nevertheless, this picturesque scene would most likely remain in their memories forever.


    {Likewise, I was blessed to have met you.} Woo-Jin said as he shook his friend¡¯s hand.


    Sometimes, it was harder to be remembered as a friend as compared to being remembered as a hero. And there was no greater compliment than telling a coworker that meeting them was a blessing.


    Such words were the seeds of happiness for every actor.


    1. An idiom that goes ¡°cutting off [one¡¯s] tail¡±, which means someone is severing their connection with another person because they don¡¯t want to be accused of any wrongdoings, even though they were an accomplice/also a perpetrator. ?


    2. Haeundae Beach (???) is an urban beach in Busan, South Korea, which is one of the country¡¯s most famous and popular beaches. It¡¯s open year-round and holds various festivals throughout the year. ?

 CH 197

    The light of dawn pierced through the windows, the darkness in the room enveloping the rays and seemingly pulling them in.


    The objects hidden in the shadows gradually revealed their silhouettes. Then, as the room brightened, the consciousness of the man lying on the bed got clearer.


    He looked a little tired and lonely as he sat up and rubbed his eyes with a finger. Directing his attention to the gap between the curtains, he peered out the window with an exhausted gaze. He saw a dense forest of buildings, like a world made of sharp, square lines that could take your breath away just by looking at them.


    The man¡¯s exhaustion was almost tangible as he got out of bed with heavy footsteps to start a new day. He poured himself some instant coffee and took a sip with habitual movements, smiling after tasting the bitter drink. A faint smile quickly formed on the corner of his lips, giving off the feeling that the man had a slightly clearer mind and had regained some energy.


    Holding his mug in his right hand, he walked towards the grand piano in the living room with an energetic spring in his steps. He then pressed the piano keys one at a time with his empty hand. The fatigue enveloping him vanished into thin air, and a languid aura emanated from him.


    He put his mug down on the decorative table and sat on the piano bench before beginning to play in earnest. The piano piece that gently shook the morning air awake was ¡®Liebestraum¡¯ by Liszt.


    The warm steam rising from the mug appeared to spread everywhere, riding alongside the musical melody throughout the room. There was no scent coming from the screen, but those watching the scene couldn¡¯t help but get immersed in the coffee¡¯s strong aroma.


    ***


    {What am I doing right now¡­}


    Ilya clicked his tongue, disappointed in himself for looking up Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s commercials.


    It hadn¡¯t been long since the actor¡¯s debut, so there weren¡¯t many films or series in his name. In fact, apart from a single TV show, all the projects he took part in were movies. Thus, Ilya was able to watch and appreciate all of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s works within a few days.


    Although he hadn¡¯t seen as many projects as he wanted, Ilya had watched enough to get a feel for the Korean actor and understand him a bit. Nevertheless, Ilya still wanted more information on Chae Woo-Jin, as though he was frantically searching for something. So, he ended up watching the variety shows the actor appeared in. And when he finished those, he moved on to the commercials that starred Chae Woo-Jin.


    Ilya felt pathetic and bitter seeing his behavior. As much as he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he was clearly aware of what he was looking for in the actor. He had a glimmer of hope that he might find something familiar in Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s conduct, and simultaneously, he also considered these expectations to be trivial and ridiculous.


    {You should know better than anyone that it¡¯s impossible, Ilya.}


    He spoke to himself, trying to convince the conflicting thoughts in his mind, but that couldn¡¯t stop his actions.


    There were often moments when the boundary between reality and imagination blurred when he was writing. Ilya was in a similar state right now, even though he wasn¡¯t holding a pen. It was possible that he was too hopeful and had expectations that could never be met in reality.


    In fact, Ilya hoped and wished that some surreal miracle would happen to him as well. However, Ilya¡¯s expectations were both clear but also vague. He knew- no, he was certain of what he was looking for. He just didn¡¯t know in what form he wanted it to appear.


    Yet, the small doubts sprouting in his mind had created this situation, and he already knew how the story would end at this point. Even if he was a novelist who lived and earned his money using his imagination, he had no vain dreams. He didn¡¯t expect a plotline that only appeared in fantasy novels to ever happen to him. All he wanted right now was to dream a little, even for just a short moment.


    After he was done checking out Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s commercials, all that was left were the magazines and photobooks. By checking and confirming everything, Ilya was going to put an end to his vain dreams and delusions. Although the happy and excited feelings he had felt the past few days would become a bit bitter, he just had to console himself that it was worth it.


    {Hm?}


    Ilya frowned as he examined Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s pictures in the magazines.


    As he leaned on the table and flipped through the pages, he found a familiar shadow in Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance. Ilya looked through the photos in the magazines as well as the portrait prints several times. His eyes grew wider when he saw a specific ¡®image¡¯ of Chae Woo-Jin that he hadn¡¯t seen in the movies and shows.


    A fantastic and wonderful miracle that could not be investigated was approaching him now.


    ***


    Selena looked at her secretary as she held the report she had requested. The list of candidates was much shorter than what she was expecting. Nevertheless, the secretary stood proudly and fearlessly even though they knew Selena¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t approving.


    {There aren¡¯t many good-looking men in their twenties or thirties who are exceptional actors around the world.}


    The secretary¡¯s face was haggard. Over the past month, they had been working on this critical task assigned by their boss. There was no guarantee that the results would be proportional to the effort put into writing the report, but they had done the best they could. And that was the reason why they could confidently respond to their boss, who had yet to read the report.


    {First of all, I looked into the actors that the Confession of White¡¯s fanbase recommended or desired. Then, I checked the works of the best actors in every country to create that list. Although there aren¡¯t many candidates, they are the cream of the crop quality-wise.}


    The number of names on the candidate list was small, but each one was carefully selected. The secretary definitely hadn¡¯t neglected their work. No matter how wide the breadth of their search was when selecting candidates, there were only a few actors who could meet the stringent conditions and have the required skills.


    There were probably more young, handsome, and incredibly talented actors around the world who were still unknown to the general public. However, the secretary could look for those people after the candidates on today¡¯s list were eliminated.


    {Hm?}


    A total of six candidates were selected by the secretary. But interestingly, all six actors were people Selena knew well to some extent.


    The results were so predictable and obvious that she wasn¡¯t surprised by them. In fact, it would be strange if the actors Selena wanted weren¡¯t already top stars. If there were people who met the harsh conditions she had set but were still unknown to the world so far, that could only mean that they were very unlucky in life.


    What was somewhat unusual was that two of the six candidates were Asians. One of them was someone Selena knew personally. She tapped her desk with her finger as she read the name and looked at the picture of Chae Woo-Jin.


    Lloyd¡ªthe protagonist of Confession of White¡ªwas only described as an orphan and a person with albinism. There was no mention of his exact race or place of birth. As long as Ilya allowed it, casting an Asian for the role of Lloyd would be no problem.


    Furthermore, there were quite a large number of fans of Confession of White who speculated that Lloyd was adopted from a foreign country and was a person of color. Therefore, there wouldn¡¯t be many objections if they cast an Asian for the role of Lloyd.


    Most of all, no matter who they chose for Lloyd, the actor would inevitably have to wear makeup to portray the character¡¯s pale skin. As such, Selena told her secretary to select the candidates without regard for their race or origins. In any case, seeing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name on the list felt refreshing to her.


    After meeting Chae Woo-Jin at the party, Selena deliberately searched for The Red and watched the movie. She had previously heard the film¡¯s title from the extremely favorable online reviews, but she had put off watching it because of her busy schedule.


    In terms of enjoyment, The Red was by far the best movie she had seen in recent times. No, there was no need to set a time period. It was the best movie she had seen, period. She was confident that the film would make a name for itself in the history of motion pictures, and she wasn¡¯t the only one to think so. Others in the film industry agreed with her.


    The Red was able to receive such a high rating from the public and critics because everything in the film was perfect, from the script, editing, cinematography, costumes, and soundtrack, to the actors. Everything was maintained at an ideal balance without any shortcomings.


    Yet, what stood out the most was the male protagonist. In Selena¡¯s case, she knew Korean to some extent, so she could easily follow the story, but even those who didn¡¯t understand Korean had no difficulty watching the film and empathizing with the protagonist. The actor¡¯s performance was so excellent that the language barrier was broken through.


    As she watched the movie, Selena was confused about whether the protagonist and the person she had met at the party were indeed the same individuals. She honestly couldn¡¯t see any traces of the actor himself throughout the film.


    Objectively and subjectively speaking, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance was handsome enough to move people¡¯s hearts regardless of race and age. Still, it was noteworthy to mention that while people watched the film, the audience was so deeply engrossed in the character that they only noticed the actor¡¯s spectacular appearance after the movie ended and they had come to their senses.


    How many people around the globe could act so well at that age?


    Although Selena didn¡¯t know every single actor that existed, it would be difficult to find another young actor who, like Chae Woo-Jin, could fascinate and mesmerize people purely with his acting skills, transcending language, and appearances.


    Frankly, Selena was curious to find out how Chae Woo-Jin would portray Lloyd if he were to take on the role. However, now that she saw him on the list, while she did think that it was only natural for him to get nominated by her secretary, she also felt slightly reluctant to choose him since the results felt a bit too obvious.


    {Will Dustin ever become such a skilled actor?}


    Selena felt sorry for Dustin as her thoughts suddenly shifted from Chae Woo-Jin to her friend. She cheered for Dustin and supported him as he grew more and more serious about his acting, yet she couldn¡¯t help but notice the things he was lacking.


    Nevertheless, she was still delighted to see Dustin struggle and overcome his inferiority complex against Chae Woo-Jin to become a better actor. Dustin always opened his heart to Selena, unafraid to show his shame, weaknesses, and thoughts. Thus, Selena couldn¡¯t help but find him lovable and endearing.


    {Marriage¡­}


    Putting aside her feelings for Dustin, Selena had never seriously considered marriage in her life. She had once witnessed a couple¡¯s love fade and their relationship collapse with her own eyes. It was when her parents got divorced during her childhood.


    Thus, Selena was always afraid that she and Dustin would end up the same way. Rather than be hated by the person she cared about the most and who shone brightest in her eyes, Selena thought it would be the safest and happiest option for her to remain as his friend forever.


    However, Chae Woo-Jin argued that her thought process didn¡¯t take Dustin¡¯s happiness into account. He reproached Selena for making Dustin unable to grow and remain a naive child. Yet, it was possible that she was a foolish adult who couldn¡¯t do anything or make any decision because she was afraid of getting hurt.


    These days, Selena wondered whether the fairy tales that went ¡®and they lived happily ever after¡¯ could truly be considered happy endings. In retrospect, the most joyful moments that Selena¡¯s father ever had in his entire life were when he was with her mother. After the divorce, she never saw her father smile as happily as he did back then. So even if the good times were limited and had to come to an end, Selena started thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to experience such sweet moments at least once.


    {Oh!}


    As she was thinking of Dustin, Selena suddenly got a call from the man himself. Recently, he had been more proactive than before, frequently calling her first. It was quite different from the past, where he¡¯d approach her and then leave for a long time.


    {Hello?}


    ¡ªSelena! Are you going to the after-party today?


    She was momentarily puzzled by Dustin¡¯s sudden question as she answered the phone.


    When she asked herself what party was taking place today, her secretary, having heard Dustin¡¯s voice on the phone, leaned over with a smile and whispered ¡®Oscars.¡¯ The party Dustin was referring to was the after-party of the Academy Awards.


    {Oh~! I¡¯ve been so busy with work lately that I forgot today was the Oscars.}


    ¡ªWhat? Does that mean you can¡¯t attend?


    Dustin¡¯s voice was riddled with disappointment. Selena smiled softly and picked up the candidate list for Lloyd that was sitting beside her. It would take a lot of time for her to watch and review the listed actors¡¯ works starting today. Moreover, she wasn¡¯t even in the mood to leisurely attend a party.


    {Yeah, it seems so. Have fun at the party.}


    ¡ªHow am I supposed to have fun without you when I can¡¯t even drink alcohol?


    {You can enjoy the party with your friend.}


    ¡ªI think Genie¡¯s going to be very busy today and won¡¯t have time to chat with me.


    Dustin indirectly hinted that Chae Woo-Jin was likely to win an award today. Putting aside her objective evaluation of Woo-Jin, Selena was a fan of The Red and wanted the movie to win an award, so she nodded as Dustin spoke.


    {Wish him luck for me. But are you okay?}


    Dustin didn¡¯t get nominated for an award because he had no films released the previous year. However, even if there were, the chances of him getting an Oscar nomination were slim. Although Chae Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t been nominated for an individual award, Dustin couldn¡¯t be too delighted to watch Woo-Jin¡¯s movie receive an Oscar when he had never gotten one.


    ¡ªSelena.


    {What?}


    ¡ªThanks.


    Selena tilted her head confusedly as Dustin¡¯s words didn¡¯t make sense in the context of their conversation.


    ¡ªI¡¯m really happy that the person I fell in love with is you.


    Selena¡¯s face instantly turned bright red at Dustin¡¯s surprise attack.


    ¡ªI¡¯ll do my best so that you can trust me more.


    {What are you suddenly talking about?}


    ¡ªWhat I mean is I¡¯ll work harder so that you don¡¯t have to worry or be afraid to love me anymore.


    Despite Dustin¡¯s clear answer, Selena couldn¡¯t come to her senses. After they hung up, she sat dumbfounded and surprised, wondering what the hell Dustin had eaten to suddenly act like this. Yet, the tip of her lips twitched, and Selena couldn¡¯t resist the big smile forming on her face. She held her cheeks with her hands and grumbled to herself.


    {Even though I promised to protect him¡­}


    A young Selena had once sworn to protect Dustin as she hid the small boy behind her back. Her oath was still in effect to this day, and it seemed it would last for a long time into the future.

 CH 198

    Woo-Hee put on her shoes and was about to leave the house when their family helper asked, ¡°Where are you going? You¡¯re not watching the awards ceremony?¡±


    ¡°I made plans with a friend.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pity. You should leave after watching your brother receive the award if you can.¡±


    Woo-Hee smiled awkwardly, avoiding any eye contact with the lady. It seemed there were no doubts in her mind that Red Enemy would receive the award.


    ¡°Well¡­there¡¯s been no confirmation yet as to whether or not it will receive the award.¡±


    ¡°What! Everyone is saying that Red Enemy will be getting the award, though?¡±


    Their helper wasn¡¯t the only one who assumed Red Enemy would win the award ¨C¨C a lot of people seemed to act as though it was a given that Red Enemy would get it. Woo-Hee found their attitudes towards the award ceremony interesting but also worrisome at the same time.


    The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, had always garnered public attention, and that was particularly true this year. Unlike the previous ceremonies, even those who were typically uninterested in the event watched it live this time around. Perhaps, it was because a Korean movie was nominated.


    Just being nominated in and of itself piqued the public¡¯s interest, which in turn became anticipation. And gradually, the anticipation turned into conviction. Presently, the public was watching the awards ceremony with pride ¨C¨C just like how they felt when the Korean national team won an international competition.


    That was the result of a combination of various factors: the pride they had for Red Enemy, a movie that enjoyed unprecedented success in Korea, as well as their faith in Actor Chae Woo-Jin. This was piled on top of the already-existing anticipation the public had. Additionally, thanks to the media blindly singing praises for it, people took it as a given that Red Enemy would be getting the award. While Woo-Hee understood their feelings, nobody could accurately predict the outcome of the awards ceremony.


    ¡°Auntie[1], please don¡¯t get your hopes up. It would be nice if Red Enemy won the award, but I heard that the other movies nominated this year are equally outstanding, so the competition is very fierce.¡±


    ¡°Still, I heard it was a hit in America.¡±


    ¡°The award isn¡¯t given to movies just because they¡¯re a box office hit.¡±


    One of the films that had been nominated was directed by a two-time Oscar winner. As such, it was proof that his style was in line with what the Academy was looking for, so nobody could truly say who the winner would be in the end.


    ¡°And I can¡¯t watch it because I¡¯d be constantly nervous until they announced the winner of their category.¡±


    Even if that weren¡¯t the case, Woo-Hee would¡¯ve been waiting in anticipation as well, so she couldn¡¯t watch other countries¡¯ award ceremonies as leisurely as she had previously. Although he hadn¡¯t been nominated for an individual award, if a movie that Woo-Jin starred in won an award at a famous film festival, it would be meaningful in more ways than one.


    While he had won several awards domestically and internationally, it would be his first time winning an award at a world-famous film festival, so it was nerve-wracking even for the people watching it. There was no other reason for Woo-Hee to intentionally make plans with a friend at this time of the day. Perhaps the helper understood how Woo-Hee felt as she smiled gently at her and told her to have a good time with her friend.


    Honk honk!


    Woo-Hee was a short distance away from her house when she heard the sound of a klaxon horn[2] from a car parked on the roadside, causing her to stop momentarily. However, the white luxury sedan and its license plate seemed unfamiliar. As soon as she looked away and started walking, the driver of the car honked urgently at her.


    Woo-Hee eventually stood still after hearing the unusually loud sound in the quiet residential street. The car she just walked past then rolled forward and stopped next to her. Woo-Hee was wary of this unknown car, and she took a few steps back. As she did this, the rear window rolled down.


    ¡°You know who I am, right?¡± A girl looked out of the car and asked. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses that were so huge they covered a third of her face.


    For some reason, she looked familiar, but Woo-Hee couldn¡¯t seem to put her finger on who exactly the girl was, so she became even more guarded.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am?¡±


    It was clear that Woo-Hee had asked who the girl was because she didn¡¯t recognize her, but the girl took off her sunglasses and stared at Woo-Hee, as though she was dumbfounded by that question.


    After seeing the girl¡¯s small and pretty face, Woo-Hee finally recognized her.


    ¡°Ah, Chae Woo-Ra?¡± Woo-Hee had only seen Chae Woo-Ra on TV, so she looked somewhat unfamiliar in person. However, she was still recognizable without her sunglasses.


    Woo-Hee nodded indifferently, which caused Chae Woo-Ra to frown and pout. Their encounter was entirely different from what she had imagined; it was so dull that Chae Woo-Ra felt disappointed.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little too unenthusiastic?¡±


    ¡°What kind of reaction were you hoping to get from me?¡±


    ¡°I was expecting you to look shocked or grab me by the hair. Something like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve watched too many makjang dramas.¡±


    ¡°People always talk about makjang dramas when they have nothing to say.¡±


    After hearing Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s cold reply, Woo-Hee simply agreed and nodded. If one were to think about it, incidents wilder than those in makjang dramas were rather common in real life. Right now, this moment between the two girls could indeed create a stimulating scene in a drama. For one to start talking about dramas while in a terrible situation was nothing but an absurd way to avoid the situation.


    ¡°By the way, are you saying you came here to grab me by the hair?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that. You¡¯re so crude.¡±


    Woo-Hee was speechless after seeing Chae Woo-Ra cover her mouth, looking appalled. She shook her head and wondered who was the one who spoke to the other person first. More importantly, Woo-Hee didn¡¯t like how she was standing outside the car talking as the other party sat inside. It felt as though they were in a historical film, where Chae Woo-Ra was a lady in a palanquin, and she herself was a servant following next to her.


    ¡°Sure. ¡®Crude¡¯ me has plans, so I¡¯ll get going. Run along now, and be on your way.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Let¡¯s talk.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there for us to talk about?¡±


    ¡°We have a lot to talk about.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about.¡±


    While Chae Woo-Ra was feeling flustered because of Woo-Hee¡¯s extremely clear-cut answer, Woo-Hee checked the time and walked off. As soon as she did that, the car inched forward slowly and matched her pace. Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s head remained stuck out of the car¡¯s window as she continued talking.


    ¡°How can you be so cold? Since I took the initiative to look for you, shouldn¡¯t you show some sincerity too!¡±


    ¡°Sincerity? What kind of sincerity are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Look at what you¡¯re doing! Even when you¡¯re talking, you disregard the other person and simply look ahead as you walk. You have no manners, you¡¯re crude, and you have no common sense.¡±


    As they were conversing, Woo-Hee came to the realization that the tone of Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s voice was different from others. She felt as though she was dealing with the young lady from the noble family that chastised Hyangdan[3].


    ¡°If you want to talk to me that much, you can always get out of the car and walk. Like I¡¯ve said, I made plans, so I¡¯m busy.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get in the car instead? I¡¯ll take you to your destination.¡± Chae Woo-Ra showed Woo-Hee the stilettos she was wearing and suggested that she get in the car instead.


    Woo-Hee stopped in her tracks and subtly scanned her surroundings. It was a relatively empty street with hardly anybody around in the first place, but a few people passed by occasionally. And most of them recognized Woo-Hee as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister who lived in the area.


    She was concerned about how the current situation looked ¨C¨C a car matching the speed she was walking at, coupled with Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s presence. If other people caught Woo-Hee together with Chae Woo-Ra, it would lead to a massive scandal and gossip like no other. Additionally, Chae Woo-Ra was currently sticking her head out of the window. Others might not recognize her if she were still wearing her sunglasses, but right now, she was practically begging for people to notice her identity.


    Woo-Hee didn¡¯t see the need to contemplate any further, so she told the driver where she was headed and quickly got into the car. Chae Woo-Ra was certain that Woo-Hee would put up a fight about getting into the car, so she seemed very surprised. Yet, as soon as Woo-Hee sat down, the first thing she did was text someone else first. It made Chae Woo-Ra feel as though she was being disregarded, which caused her to grow upset once again.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling my friend that I¡¯m going to be late because I¡¯m meeting with you.¡± As though she had read her mind, as soon as Woo-Hee immediately gave her an explanation, Chae Woo-Ra quickly relaxed her sullen face.


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    As soon as she sent the text, Woo-Hee lifted her head and looked at Chae Woo-Ra. She had just sent a text to her friend to inform her that she was currently with Chae Woo-Ra, in case of an emergency. So if anything were to happen, Chae Woo-Ra would become the prime suspect. By telling Chae Woo-Ra about it, she was giving her a hint as a way of warning her, but unfortunately, it flew right over her head.


    ¡°But if you¡¯re late, so be it. Do you have to tell your friend about every little detail? Aren¡¯t you going above and beyond to be considerate to them?¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra had never been considerate towards anyone; she couldn¡¯t understand Woo-Hee¡¯s actions. To be precise, it was more like she had no friends to text in the first place.


    ¡°If you put yourself in their shoes, would that make you happy?¡±


    ¡°Unreasonable? What kind of unreasonable demands did I make?¡±[4]


    After hearing the nonsensical question, Woo-Hee shot a glance at Chae Woo-Ra and asked what she was talking about. She wanted to know how ¡®putting yourself in other people¡¯s shoes¡¯ turned into ¡®making an unreasonable demand,¡¯ but Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t give her a chance to do so and continued speaking.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say much. I¡¯ll start by telling you why I came to look for you first. My parents are getting a divorce.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And?! How can you be so indifferent towards our dad?¡±


    It would be a different story if Chae Woo-Ra were talking about her mother, but since they shared the same father, Chae Woo-Ra felt it was Woo-Hee¡¯s duty to be concerned about this piece of news. Woo-Hee laughed mockingly in response.


    ¡°He¡¯s your father, not mine.¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra instantly flinched the moment she heard Woo-Hee¡¯s cold reply, but she quickly agreed with her; she didn¡¯t want to share her father with Chae Woo-Hee either. If she had to share her cold-hearted father, the man that never said a kind word to her, she wondered what she would even have left.


    ¡°As someone whose parents divorced previously, the only advice I can give you is that there¡¯s nothing we can do. It¡¯s their lives, and getting a divorce isn¡¯t always the worst thing ever.¡±


    ¡°So they can just get married and divorce as they please? They should take responsibility if they have a child, no?!¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra had benefited the most from her father¡¯s previous two divorces. Her words were full of contradictions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still expecting your father to be someone who takes responsibility for his children after seeing what happened to my brother and me?¡± Woo-Hee pointed to herself and asked. Chae Woo-Ra kept her mouth shut.


    ¡°And your parents are the ones getting a divorce ¨C¨C why did you come looking for me? What do your family matters have to do with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    In truth, Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t want to drop by to see Woo-Hee like she had done earlier today either. More importantly, it hurt her pride so profoundly that she wanted to cry, but she was holding back her tears right now. It was very unlike her to act like this.


    ¡°Can you help me tell Woo-Jin oppa to do me a favor? Tell him to tell my dad not to get a divorce. He will listen to what you say, right?¡±


    She bit her lip as she hesitated with a flushed face. It clearly revealed how disgraceful she thought this current situation was.


    ¡°Why should I do that? We have no obligation or right to interfere with your family matters. Don¡¯t you think this favor of yours is too absurd?¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do! At this rate, what do I do if my mom and dad really get a divorce!¡±


    ¡°Our parents got divorced when we were at a much younger age, and we turned out fine.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you and I are the same?¡± Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s insensitive words almost made Woo-Hee lose her patience, but she took a deep breath and calmed herself down.


    ¡°I understand how you feel and why you¡¯re grasping at straws, but there¡¯s no reason for me to put up with your tantrums.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s too much of you to equate me with straws. Don¡¯t you have any self-respect?¡±


    Woo-Hee sensed something amiss this time around as well, so she stared at Chae Woo-Ra. She couldn¡¯t tell if Chae Woo-Ra said that as a joke or if it was her unique interpretation of a common idiom.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about actual straws¡­ah, you know what? It¡¯s fine. Just take care of your family matters, and don¡¯t come to us with unreasonable requests.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m doing this because I want to! If I don¡¯t, my mom.¡­¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra tried to make a rebuttal, but she decided to keep her mouth shut instead. As soon as she pouted, the quick-witted Woo-Hee had a rough idea of why she asked them for help.


    ¡°Did your mom tell you to plead with us for help?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Even though she didn¡¯t answer the question verbally, Woo-Hee could gather the truth based on how Chae Woo-Ra bit her lips.


    ¡°Tell her our answer is ¡®no.¡¯ She already used her child like this fourteen years ago. What else does she want? That¡¯s what I want to say to her.¡±


    It was difficult for Woo-Hee to understand the mind of someone who had their daughter request such a thing from her half-sister when they didn¡¯t have a good relationship or any form of sibling love between them.


    ¡°Do you think she won¡¯t use her child a second time after using her once?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with this honesty?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already been exposed, so I don¡¯t want to continue acting out of character. I¡¯ve cried and screamed and even tried playing the part of a filial daughter for the sake of fulfilling my goal.¡±


    The melancholic ambiance disappeared once Chae Woo-Ra dropped any pretense she¡¯d previously held and removed her proverbial mask. She looked despondent just a while ago, but she currently had a brazen and arrogant look on her face. This sudden change stunned Woo-Hee. For a person to change their attitude so drastically was quite a talent. Indeed, not everyone had what it took to be an actor.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do well even as an actress.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that several times before, but I don¡¯t want to be an actress because it¡¯s too much work.¡±


    To be precise, she had to give up being an actress because she couldn¡¯t memorize the script, but there was no need for her to elaborate on that.


    ¡°Frankly, I don¡¯t like that my mom and dad are getting a divorce, but does it make any sense for me to beg you just because of that?¡±


    In Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s opinion, it didn¡¯t matter if Woo-Hee fulfilled her request. Above anything else, she hated that she was forced into a position where she had to plead with Woo-Hee. If she were Woo-Hee, she would never help them, and she¡¯d simply gloat over their misfortune instead.


    ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t like it either. But why are your parents getting a divorce? Did your father cheat again?¡±


    It was one thing for Chae Woo-Ra to suddenly show up and plead with Woo-Hee to stop her parents¡¯ divorce, but Woo-Hee felt they wouldn¡¯t be getting a divorce out of the blue, so she asked Chae Woo-Ra for an explanation. Almost immediately, Chae Woo-Ra smirked.


    ¡°My dad¡¯s never single ¨C¨C he¡¯s always seeing someone. And also, the person asking for a divorce now is my dad, not my mom.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking if he¡¯s trying to kick out his wife again to make room for the new woman.¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra gazed at the disgusted look in Woo-Hee¡¯s eyes and calmly responded, ¡°My dad isn¡¯t the type of person who can love someone enough to kick his wife out just because of her.¡±


    Instead, he was someone who didn¡¯t have what it took to make an effort or have the sincerity to hold onto his wife as she divorced him.


    Woo-Hee barely had any memories of her father, apart from those pertaining to her childhood. However, unlike Woo-Hee, Chae Woo-Ra had lived with her father for a long time, so her assessment of her father was accurate. In truth, even Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t know the exact reason behind their divorce this time around. One day, things in their house just started to break, and her mother kept screaming every day.


    ¡°I worked so hard to get here, and now you¡¯re abandoning me! I gave up my youth and dreams because of you, and I¡¯ve done so much for you!¡±


    Her father responded to her mother¡¯s screams in an elegant voice, void of all emotions.


    ¡°I took it as begging, but it seems like you''ve comforted yourself by thinking of them as sacrifices.¡±


    Even though Chae Woo-Ra didn¡¯t like her father and found him difficult, she had always admired him. She envied his elegance, intellect, as well as his natural confidence, and she wanted to model herself after him. Hence, she intentionally imitated him and acted arrogantly; she even tried to mimic his movements.


    Yet, the moment she saw her father¡¯s attitude toward her mother and heard the tone he used to speak to her, she realized she could never be like him. She was constantly haunted by an inferiority complex from being an illegitimate child, and even when she put this aside, she learned that she could never be like her father.


    There were things she simply couldn¡¯t imitate even if she tried. She didn¡¯t like how her mother obsessed over everything and was constantly temperamental, but she came to understand her a little more that day. If anyone had to deal with a person like her father, they had to act in the same way he did. Unfortunately, her mother couldn¡¯t become like her father either. His natural disposition and arrogance were impossible to recreate and difficult to imitate. Thus, there was no way of resisting a person like that apart from yelling and screaming.


    1. ¡¯Auntie¡¯ here is used as a polite term to refer to a middle-aged woman ¨C¨C not that she is related to Woo-Hee. ?


    2. It¡¯s an old horn used in older vehicles that makes a ¡®honk'' sound rather than a ¡®beep¡¯ sound that modern vehicles make. ?


    3. This is a reference to Chunhyangjeon, one of the most well-known love stories and folk tales. There are film adaptations of it. ?


    4. This conversation doesn¡¯t sound as natural in English, but in Korean, ???? means putting yourself in other people¡¯s shoes, which was the phrase Woo-Hee used. The word ?? itself could mean force(d), or in this case, ??? ??? means making an unreasonable demand. Being an entitled airhead, Chae Woo-Ra most likely didn¡¯t understand what ???? meant or had never heard of it. ?

 CH 199

    Just because Chae Woo-Ra came to understand her mother didn¡¯t mean things suddenly got better for her. She spent a few days struggling in despair. Her father was a separate entity that was disconnected from her, while her mother was the wrong answer to her problems and someone she never wanted to be like.


    In the midst of it all, Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother browbeat her into visiting Chae Woo-Jin. She told her that even though they were only half-siblings, they were still related by blood, so he would listen to her. She then instructed her daughter to plead with him to convince her father not to get a divorce.


    Chae Woo-Ra might be arrogant and impudent, but she wasn¡¯t that shameless. She had nothing left apart from her pride. So, though she couldn¡¯t latch herself onto him and beg, she blindly said yes to her mom, just like how she normally responded when she didn¡¯t have a clue what was happening.


    In truth, she agreed because Woo-Jin felt like an older brother to her, and he really was her biological brother in reality. Yet, this didn¡¯t make things any better. She felt ashamed, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to see him face to face. Thus, her mother yelled and told her to grab him by the leg or something and beg him.


    Despite Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s efforts to explain that she couldn¡¯t meet with Chae Woo-Jin as he was currently shooting a movie in the US, it was pointless. To add to this, when he briefly returned to Korea before leaving for America again, things deteriorated even more. Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother became increasingly hysterical with each passing day. Ultimately, she couldn¡¯t overcome her mother¡¯s constant badgering and decided to go to Chae Woo-Hee instead of Chae Woo-Jin.


    She appeased her mother by using the excuse that Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t in Korea and that it was more effective to convince her father by taking the roundabout approach via Woo-Hee. Although Chae Woo-Ra said this, she didn¡¯t have any expectations. She only picked that option because meeting with Woo-Hee was strangely less burdensome than meeting with Woo-Jin.


    Chae Woo-Ra had already predicted the obvious outcome, so she came looking for Woo-Hee with the mindset that it would be great if she were to accede to her request, and if she didn¡¯t, there was nothing she could do about it. Thus, she didn¡¯t feel disappointed when she heard Woo-Hee¡¯s response.


    Chae Woo-Ra found it amusing that her encounter with Woo-Hee wasn¡¯t as difficult as she had previously expected. Though they had lived together for a few days when they were little, she had almost no memory of it, so it didn¡¯t count. She¡¯d thought that she would be angry with her half-sister and harbor hatred toward her when they met her for the first time, but unexpectedly, it wasn¡¯t that bad. Even Chae Woo-Ra was taken by surprise. In her vague memories from when they were young, the little girl hiding behind her brother was Woo-Hee.


    It seemed as though Chae Woo-Ra was being unreasonable because she was very jealous of Woo-Hee and wanted to torment her by making things difficult. Despite several years passing, her negative feelings towards Woo-Hee didn¡¯t diminish, and her competitive streak was still as strong as ever. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to like Woo-Hee because her family constantly compared the two; even the public compared them! When it came to her feelings toward Woo-Hee, she was definitely leaning toward hatred.


    Yet, fascinatingly, she was more comfortable around Woo-Hee than she was around other people. Since Chae Woo-Ra had already revealed her true colors, there was no need for her to force herself to be civil and polite in front of Chae Woo-Hee. It seemed like she would only make a fool of herself if she were to continue keeping up the pretense in front of someone who had already seen through her act.


    On the other hand, she didn¡¯t want Chae Woo-Jin to see this side of her. Since he was her biological brother, it suddenly became difficult for her, and she felt ashamed of her situation. The way she felt towards him differed from what she felt towards Chae Woo-Hee. Perhaps, to her brother, Chae Woo-Hee was someone he was very comfortable around, a person who he could bear his heart to. This was something that he couldn¡¯t do with Chae Woo-Ra.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky.¡±


    Chae Woo-Ra unintentionally uttered those words. She felt embarrassed after revealing the emotions she was struggling to control, but she tried her best to hide her feelings and maintained a nonchalant attitude.


    ¡°Do you need me to console you?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear what you just said. I¡¯m also going to pretend I didn¡¯t hear your earlier request, so let¡¯s wrap it up here. Also, if you or your mother visit my brother, we won¡¯t put up with you any longer.¡± Woo-Hee firmly warned her, and as she did so, the expression on her face instantly changed into a terrifying one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass on the message. But right now, my mom doesn¡¯t care about anything or anyone else, so I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s capable of doing next.¡±


    ¡°What exactly does your mother like about that person to cause her to refuse to let go of him?¡± Woo-Hee looked disgusted as she continued to say that she would never accept someone like him, even if he were her biological father. To Chae Woo-Ra, this reaction was something she wasn¡¯t familiar with, and it shocked her.


    The concept of marriage that Chae Woo-Ra was acquainted with was more of a calculated transaction rather than an institution based on mutual affection between both parties. Her parents¡¯ relationship had always been one where her mother was constantly struggling with no bargaining chips while she chased after her father. Thus, she could somewhat understand her mother¡¯s attitude as she prepared for a divorce. These recent events made her wonder where her mother could even find another person as wealthy and successful as her father.


    ¡°Perhaps wealth and honor?¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s so lame.¡±


    Woo-Hee was deeply disappointed because she¡¯d thought there was something more meaningful between the two parties. Initially, she¡¯d believed that she would be able to learn about her biological father¡¯s charms that she wasn¡¯t aware of, but ultimately, it was nothing more than the generic plot of an ordinary drama.


    Woo-Hee¡¯s indifferent response had taken Chae Woo-Ra by surprise instead. She widened her eyes as though she had just heard a new theory that had never crossed her mind. Her mother looked more glamorous and beautiful than anyone else; she seemed just like a dazzling jewel next to her father.


    Isn¡¯t living like that the only way to enjoy life to the fullest? Naturally, everyone wanted to live like that instead of rolling around in the dirt like a pathetic pebble. Chae Woo-Ra thought about how Woo-Hee had the audacity to say it was ¡®lame¡¯ and wondered how she could downplay it as something trivial.


    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re special or something?¡± Just a while ago, Chae Woo-Ra unintentionally let it slip that she was envious of Woo-Hee, and now she was taking her mother¡¯s side, at least in terms of emotion.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m working hard so as not to be called ¡®lame¡¯ by others. Is there a problem with that?¡± Woo-Hee replied in a dignified manner as she looked out of the window. Then, seeing that the car had almost reached her destination, she grabbed her bag. Even though Woo-Hee had a feeling that the driver had taken the long route, she arrived comfortably and earlier than the original meeting time.


    ¡°Coming to me must have been a difficult step for you to take. Nevertheless, I think you¡¯re a filial daughter. If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t have even tried.¡±


    Of course, Woo-Hee¡¯s mother wouldn¡¯t make her do something like this, but even if she did, Woo-Hee wouldn¡¯t have been able to go through with it. For a person to carry out such a shameless act, even the greatest determination and courage wouldn¡¯t suffice. Woo-Hee was reminded once again that celebrities didn¡¯t think like normal people, just as she expected.


    ¡°However, let¡¯s not see each other ever again if possible.¡±


    Although their encounter was not as bad as she had expected, Woo-Hee didn¡¯t want to hear about that family¡¯s affairs in such a manner. Rather than being thrilled by the news that her biological father was filing for a divorce from his wife, Woo-Hee was more worried about how the crazy aftermath would affect her family. Nonetheless, thanks to their encounter, she got to know what went on in their mind, so it was quite a fruitful meeting.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    Woo-Hee gently waved and said her farewell. As soon as she left the car, she walked off in a hurry so as to avoid being grabbed from behind. Chae Woo-Ra stared blankly at her as she walked off and tilted her head.


    ¡°Does she think everyone¡¯s like her?! In any case, what¡¯s so difficult about commuting by car to see her? Still, she¡¯s¡­concerned about me, huh,¡± she muttered softly.


    Yet, Chae Woo-Ra then remarked bluntly that the words ¡®difficult step¡¯ was used to describe people in Woo-Hee¡¯s situation, as they didn¡¯t have a chauffeur or a car. However, she wasn¡¯t offended or unhappy because nobody had been concerned about her lately. Hence, what Woo-Hee said next about not seeing each other ever again fell on deaf ears.


    This misunderstanding created by the words ¡®difficult step¡¯ came about because of a certain someone¡¯s lack of comprehension skills.


    ***


    As someone in her early forties, Kim Hye-Ryeong had taken such good care of herself that she looked like she was only in her early or mid-thirties based on her face alone. She kept her hair tied up without a single strand of stray hair in sight, and her choice of accessories and makeup gave her an elegant fashion style. Perhaps it was these factors that attributed to it, but in spite of how young she looked, the vibe she gave off made her seem older than she actually was. Thus, people were surprised in more ways than one when they found out how old she was.


    While people would tell her that she had great skin and no wrinkles despite her age, they also often mentioned that she dressed a little older than her actual age. This was the outcome of worrying incessantly about her outfits out of fear that people would call her shallow because she used to be a celebrity.


    As the wife of Chae Mu-Seok, the CEO of Garam and Bareunjeong Foods, she had always tried her best to look flawless. And although being an actress in the past didn¡¯t make her any less respectable, she couldn¡¯t overcome her inferiority complex and always pretended to be a virtuous and elegant lady.


    ¡°I¡¯ve worked so hard to get here¡­ Divorce?¡± It was so absurd that she felt suffocated, even though she was breathing.


    She met Chae Mu-Seok for the first time when she was in her early twenties, shortly after debuting as an actress. Back then, he was a man whose life was so perfect that he felt bored. And so, he became interested in Kim Hye-Ryeong as a way to deviate away from his usual lifestyle and ended up falling in love with her.


    For quite some time, he believed what he felt for her was love, but a year or two was enough for him to break out of that illusion. Even so, their relationship dragged on only because of her efforts and hard work. She relieved Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s boredom, and even when he dated other women, she didn¡¯t get jealous. Everything revolved solely around him.


    In her own way, she was able to establish herself as an important figure in his life by fulfilling his needs that were not met by his previous wives. Other people might mock her, but she was proud of herself for gambling her life and winning the jackpot, but then this happened.


    ¡°What about Woo-Ra? Have you heard from her?¡±


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong massaged her temples with both hands after hearing the response. She couldn¡¯t understand how things got to this point. It was said that people who worked hard would be rewarded, so she felt indignant that such justice did not materialize for her.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone who works as hard as I do.¡±


    She was not religious, but she still lamented about how the heavens were indifferent to her plight. And then, she bit her lip before she realized her mistake and began to look for a handheld mirror. She only put the mirror down after checking for any smudges on her lipstick or marks on her lip.


    Even when she was at home, she wore a lace dress that fell to her feet and accessorized herself with jewelry, looking like a countess from a movie that was set in Europe. Despite molding her outfits and living according to her husband¡¯s taste and preferences, it was never enough to capture his heart.


    Nonetheless, Kim Hye-Ryeong was able to become Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s wife because his second wife was inadequate in many ways. If she had been up against his first wife, Park Eun-Soo, she would have been ousted.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, there¡¯s a call for you from Nice.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong was already in a foul mood, and since the call was coming from someone who could add fuel to the fire, Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s secretary had a grave tone. It was only natural for Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s face to contort as she took the phone from her secretary, who was walking on eggshells.


    ¡°Oh, my. Mother! What are you doing at this hour? Did something happen to father by any chance?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong checked the time. Right now, it would be very late at night in Nice, France. Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s voice subconsciously became higher in anticipation. Since her mother-in-law called this late, she was hoping something might have happened.


    ¨C¨C You sound as though you¡¯re hoping something terrible has happened.


    ¡°Of course not, mother. I wouldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll feel sad if you misunderstood me and took my words the wrong way.¡±


    Even though Kim Hye-Ryeong said those words in a sweet and charming voice, she looked very annoyed, and her face was contorted like a dueoksini[1].


    ¨C¨C I¡¯ll cut to the chase. How much longer is he going to let Woo-Jin do as he pleases?


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Despite knowing what her mother-in-law was talking about, Kim Hye-Ryeong tried her best to act like she was unaware. Since her mother-in-law knew what her intentions were, she also spoke bluntly without elaborating anything.


    ¨C¨C It only gets harder and harder to quit when he becomes that famous, so it¡¯s time for him to leave the entertainment industry and learn business management. How can he waste his time like that?


    ¡°He has no interest in that, so what can we do about it? Although he passed the bar exam, he gave up pursuing a career in that field and continued being an actor. You¡¯re expecting a little too much from him. The most important thing is that he¡¯s happy, regardless of what he does.¡±


    ¨C¨C Are you sure you¡¯re not saying that because you don¡¯t want him to learn?


    ¡°Oh my goodness! You always make me out to be a bad person. Does it make you feel better? It was the same situation when it came to Woo-Young. I made him learn horseback riding, but Woo-Ra took horseback riding lessons as well. However, you made it sound as though I did that intentionally to put him in harm¡¯s way. Do you know how shocked I was when I heard that?¡±


    Despite the sharp retort from her daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law simply snorted. Since she hadn¡¯t been dealing with Kim Hye-Ryeong for just a year or two, she didn¡¯t believe anything her daughter-in-law said at all, as she knew what kind of person she was. Thus, when her grandson, Woo-Young, died in a horseback riding accident, she didn¡¯t trust her daughter-in-law in any capacity. Her distrust was so great that she even conducted a separate thorough investigation. Ultimately, it was ruled an accidental death, but she was still suspicious of Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    According to the spy she planted in her son¡¯s house, the process of her daughter-in-law suggesting horseback riding to Woo-Young was not without obstructions. At the very least, Kim Hye-Ryeong wasn¡¯t involved in the accident back then, but she wondered if something like that would have eventually occurred because of someone¡¯s interference, just that it happened in advance. If that were the case, Kim Hye-Ryeong was very lucky ¨C¨C she got what she wanted without doing anything.


    ¨C¨C If you¡¯re trying to provoke me by bringing Woo-Young up, you¡¯ve succeeded. If you feel so indignant because of that incident, you can show your sincerity this time around. If you take responsibility and invite Woo-Jin over, nobody will doubt your sincerity.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come if I ask. When you badmouthed his mother, he cut off all ties with his grandparents. What do you expect me to do?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong criticized Chae Woo-Jin. She even sarcastically said that he was someone who only thought about his mother, and even if they were to invite him over, it would only cause trouble in the family.


    ¨C¨C He lost his temper back then because he was young. He¡¯s more mature now, and he¡¯s at an age where he needs to start having a sense of responsibility for his roots. He¡¯s old enough to know what¡¯s good for him, so it¡¯ll be very different from how it was before. Nevertheless, Woo-Jin is staying far away from his father¡¯s house because of you. Mu-Seok couldn¡¯t be against his return, so aren¡¯t you the one who keeps obstructing him?


    Kim Hye-Ryeong secretly smiled when she heard her mother-in-law¡¯s words. A few years ago, information and details about their family affairs had begun to make their way to her in-laws in France. As soon as this happened, Kim Hye-Ryeong started replacing the employees that her mother-in-law hired one by one.


    It seemed as though her efforts had paid off, and the results were finally showing. When she realized that her mother-in-law wasn¡¯t aware of the conflict between Chae Mu-Seok and her, as well as their pending divorce, she felt less anxious.


    Her mother-in-law had mistakenly thought that her daughter-in-law was in charge of their family affairs instead of her son, who didn¡¯t care about the family¡¯s matters. Kim Hye-Ryeong thought she was a cunning old woman, but she seemed to have lost her edge as she grew older and became less sharp. How could she not know what her own son was like?


    Chae Mu-Seok had already been making preparations and taking methodical steps to bring Woo-Jin into the family business a long time ago. It was just that Chae Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t care less about their family affairs, so it was nothing but empty talk. However, judging from how Chae Mu-Seok didn¡¯t even take a second look at the young, beautiful, and intelligent surrogate mothers Kim Hye-Ryeong painstakingly vetted, it seemed as though he still hadn¡¯t given up on Chae Woo-Jin.

 CH 200

    Even after going through several in-vitro fertilization procedures, Kim Hye-Ryeong still failed to conceive. And as a matter of fact, Chae Mu-Seok was reluctant to have a child with her. Ever since Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s unsuccessful attempts, he started fooling around with other women. He already had a child with a mistress before, so there was no reason to believe he wouldn¡¯t do it again. More importantly, Chae Mu-Seok knew that, unlike his other wives, Kim Hye-Ryeong had no choice but to raise another woman¡¯s child with no complaints.


    And so, she decided to look into surrogate mothers, thinking it was a better option as she¡¯d be the one in control. Since the surrogate mothers were selected after going through a stringent vetting process, Chae Mu-Seok didn¡¯t oppose the idea initially. However, when he learned about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s existence during the crucial period of all times, Chae Mu-Seok acted like someone who had just managed to worm his way out of an onerous task.


    There was no guarantee that the child conceived with the surrogate mother would be a boy, and there was no reason to have an illegitimate child when he already had a capable child named Chae Woo-Jin.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s efforts to somehow conceive a son she could call her own were futile. She was even forced to get a divorce because of the sponsorship incident, so she felt as though her whole world was crumbling down.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really know your son that well, huh? Do you think he¡¯ll listen to anything I say? Just give up on Woo-Jin, please. I will give you a healthy baby boy very soon.¡±


    ¨C¨C Ha! You don¡¯t have to. Having one defective child in the family is more than enough.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s mother-in-law openly assessed her daughter as a defective product. In stark contrast to how they treated their daughter-in-law, Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s parents were extremely kind and caring grandparents to their grandchildren. However, this didn¡¯t apply to Woo-Ra.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the case in the beginning. Although they hated that an illegitimate child lowered the family¡¯s dignity and tainted their honor, they didn¡¯t treat her harshly. Yet, as Woo-Ra got older, they realized that she was different from their other intelligent grandchildren, and after that, they immediately began to treat her coldly.


    In addition to being less competent than the other grandchildren, she was the child of Kim Hye-Ryeong ¨C¨C the woman they weren¡¯t even fond of in the first place. Thus, she fell out of their good graces. They already had a perfect finished product, so they didn¡¯t even bother hiding the fact that they didn¡¯t want other defective goods like Woo-Ra.


    ¡°Did I make that defective product all alone?!¡±


    ¨C¨C There¡¯s a reason why there¡¯s only one defective child in the family. This is why people say it is important for men to marry a woman with good qualities. I guess you¡¯re unaware that people have been spreading malicious gossip about us because a person like you somehow ended up marrying into our family. I feel embarrassed and apologetic towards my in-laws too. Oh, well.


    Her mother-in-law¡¯s last remark set off Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s proverbial detonator. Her parents-in-law had never treated her biological parents as their in-laws; her mother-in-law always referred to them as ¡®they¡¯ or ¡®your parents.¡¯ This treatment wasn¡¯t too different for Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s second wife as well. Even though they treated them with more respect than Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s biological parents, they never saw them as equals, and they didn¡¯t even try to hide it.


    The only people they acknowledged as their in-laws were the parents of Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s first wife, Park Eun-Soo. Despite those in-laws hating the Chae family with a passion, Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s parents still sided with them and said that their reaction was only natural. They still perceived Park Eun-Soo to be their daughter-in-law.


    Fortunately for Kim Hye-Ryeong, Park Eun-Soo had gotten remarried. If she hadn¡¯t, it was evident she would¡¯ve posed a significant threat to her. Unfortunately, Kim Hye-Ryeong could only rely on herself for years and lived in agony for a long time. Seeing how Park Eun-Soo¡¯s son constantly spelled trouble for her, Kim Hye-Ryeong was certain she had an ill-fated relationship with both mother and child.


    ¡°Your beloved Park Eun-Soo was practically the one who brought me into your family. In that case, everything must be her fault, huh? Indeed, you¡¯re right to say it is important for men to marry a woman with good qualities.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong quoted her mother-in-law¡¯s words when she said the wife was to blame for her husband¡¯s affair before mockingly adding that it was ultimately because of Park Eun-Soo that she was able to marry into the Chae family.


    ¨C¨C A malignant person like you only says spiteful things. I wonder if anything ever goes well for you.


    ¡°It won¡¯t do the Chae family any good if nothing goes well for me. You seem to often forget that I, Kim Hye-Ryeong, am the daughter-in-law of this family, so it¡¯s very concerning. You should get tested for dementia just in case. Also, I have power and authority, unlike a certain someone, so on that note, I¡¯m going to hang up because I¡¯m busy. If anything happens to father, you may call me then.¡±


    ¨C¨C You!


    Kim Hye-Ryeong didn¡¯t wait for her mother-in-law¡¯s response and simply pressed the button to end the call. Then, she threw the phone at her secretary.


    ¡°From now on, tell her I¡¯m not home whenever she calls.¡±


    Since Kim Hye-Ryeong didn¡¯t pick up her calls whenever she called her cell phone, her mother-in-law had started calling the landline at some point. When she called her son, he wouldn¡¯t listen and simply gave her half-hearted responses, so she decided to call her pushover daughter-in-law.


    Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s parents didn¡¯t raise him well, resulting in him being the person he was today. Kim Hye-Ryeong wondered about the type of person who¡¯d expect their daughter-in-law to deal with the consequences of their son¡¯s poor upbringing. Additionally, they were undeserving of a distinguished daughter-in-law, yet they looked down on her. It was unsightly to see them acting so self-righteous despite being such snobs.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong drank the glass of cold water that her secretary had brought over and wondered why her mother-in-law had called at this hour. It was very late in Nice; the time difference between France and Korea was seven hours. Of course, for people who couldn¡¯t sleep through the night, it was early in the morning. Yet, her mother-in-law had a tendency to go to bed and wake up late because of her ill husband. Generally, she never would have been awake at this hour.


    While Kim Hye-Ryeong was thinking about why her mother-in-law was awake or why she even called, she turned on the TV because something came to mind. She¡¯d only pressed the remote control a few times before Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face immediately appeared on the screen.


    The scene of Chae Woo-Jin walking down the red carpet switched to when he was sitting in the Dolby Theater shortly after, clapping. And the caption below stated, ¡®Red Enemy starring Chae Woo-Jin won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.¡¯


    ¡°They ended up getting the award, huh?¡±


    When she heard people talk about how Red Enemy would most likely win the award, she mocked them, saying they were fussing over it for nothing. But in the end, they had been right, so she frowned.


    In the video where Director Yoon Seon was holding the Oscar in one hand and giving his acceptance speech, the thrilled hosts and panelists of the broadcast kept making one comment after another.


    ¨C¨C Although our films have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film every year, they have never made it to the finals, right?


    ¨C¨C Yes, this is the first time. Unlike the other prominent film festivals, we have never won a single award at the Oscars prior to this, so today¡¯s award will be significant for Korea¡¯s film industry. In particular, it is proof that people all over the world can appreciate our historical films as well.


    ¨C¨C Indeed, we make good movies.


    At the Academy Awards, even though films were not judged solely on commercial viability but also on their cinematic quality, they used Hollywood as a yardstick. And when it came to Hollywood, commercial viability was important. Winning the Academy Award meant that Korean films were appreciated in America, and so this then led to increased anticipation that the film could be a commercial success.


    While this wasn¡¯t necessarily the case for every film that won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, there was no need to pour cold water on such a happy occasion. More importantly, in Red Enemy¡¯s case, it became a hit in the US as well, so things ended up working out.


    However, the public¡¯s excitement was not limited to the film¡¯s box office success and film festival awards. Chae Woo-Jin was beloved on the red carpet and at the pre-awards party, and this was all captured on video and aired in Korea. This footage had the greatest impact on the people in Korea.


    To further explain, despite constantly hearing about Red Enemy¡¯s success and Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s popularity in the US on TV and in the media, the public found it hard to believe. It might have been a different story if Chae Woo-Jin had appeared on a famous talk show in America, but most people felt that it was hard to determine how Americans felt about him through just a few interviews. Since the media always hyped things up and oversold trivial things, people thought they were just exaggerating the facts.


    Naturally, he was the most popular in Korea and Asia, but they were skeptical about whether or not that would be the case in America as well. Yet, after witnessing the crowd and cameras for themselves with every passing moment on the red carpet, they realized they had underestimated Chae Woo-Jin.


    Contrary to his fans¡¯ concerns about him being a wallflower there, Chae Woo-Jin acted like he was the most comfortable person on the red carpet. He was receiving as much attention as any of the biggest stars there, and it was evident that he was truly enjoying himself. As a young actor, Chae Woo-Jin might have gotten overly excited or intimidated by the ambiance, but he was calm and carried himself with the same poise as an actor with decades of experience. This was in direct contrast to other actors that were invited to the awards ceremony for the first time, who looked confused or overly excited.


    ¨C¨C How can he be so relaxed and confident?


    ¨C¨C His calm and upright character play a part as well, and he has good posture. Even when he''s standing, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s posture is so great that one of his nicknames is ¡®handsome bones.¡¯ He doesn¡¯t slouch at all and stands straight, so people say his beauty extends all the way to his bones.


    Although the hosts were feeling excited and were laughing amongst themselves, quite a few members of the older crowd could relate to what the hosts were talking about. Those who were more elderly shared the notion that Chae Woo-Jin was smart and capable, but they also tended to see him as a foolish celebrity. Since he was still young, they felt sorry for his courage which stemmed from his ignorance about the world.


    However, even though he was interacting with famous people on the international stage, he didn¡¯t flinch at all. In fact, he was the one taking the lead. Witnessing that allowed the older people to see him in a new light. He wasn¡¯t young and ignorant ¨C¨C he did everything perfectly, which made them feel as if he wasn¡¯t lacking in anything.


    There were many moments throughout the awards ceremony where Chae Woo-Jin was caught on camera. It was inspiring to see the moment that the film won the award, but it made people excited to see how elegant, confident, and amazing he looked.


    However, Kim Hye-Ryeong had just turned on the TV; she couldn¡¯t understand why people were making a fuss over the film winning one award.


    ¡°Did he win the Best Actor Award? It¡¯s just the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and yet people are creating such a big fuss. This is why people are not making progress. How pathetic!¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong didn¡¯t need to watch anymore, so she turned off the TV. She tossed the remote control somewhere, feeling nervous because she understood why her mother-in-law was still awake at such a late hour.


    Perhaps, her mother-in-law shared the same sentiment as her, that winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film was not a big deal. However, they both came to different conclusions. Her mother-in-law must have been worried that Chae Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t quit the entertainment industry now that he had become so famous. She desperately wanted him to stop being an actor as soon as possible so he could take over the family business. Her desire for this was so high that she even called Kim Hye-Ryeong despite her hatred towards her.


    On the other hand, although Kim Hye-Ryeong downplayed the achievement, she couldn¡¯t help but secretly feel jealous. Chae Woo-Jin was currently enjoying everything Kim Hye-Ryeong once dreamed of as an actress. She knew better than anyone that it was a great achievement that couldn¡¯t be disregarded.


    How many actors in Korea left the industry without winning a single award at a domestic film festival? As for Kim Hye-Ryeong herself, she had only received the Best Rookie award and a few other minor awards. Even then, it only happened because of the huge efforts made by her agency behind the scenes. Still, that alone solidified her reputation as an excellent actress up until now.


    After looking into it, Kim Hye-Ryeong learned that Chae Woo-Jin had won the awards based on his own abilities and not his agency¡¯s efforts. Since DS¡¯s CEO Jang wasn¡¯t the type to pull strings behind the scenes, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s value and prospects undoubtedly stemmed from his skill.


    Luckily for her, Chae Woo-Jin was on a roll as an actor and had no interest in his father¡¯s family business. Nevertheless, Kim Hye-Ryeong was still annoyed and upset. She simply hated all the achievements Chae Woo-Jin had attained. It pissed her off even more after comparing him to Woo-Ra.


    Originally, Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s plan was to groom Woo-Ra into a talented singer-songwriter. She was rather skilled at singing, so she wanted her daughter to make a debut as a solo artist before sending her to a college that specialized in music.


    However, there was an issue. Regardless of how many classes Woo-Ra was put through, she just couldn¡¯t learn how to read sheet music. In the end, she debuted as a singer in a K-pop girl group, and after she gradually gained popularity and had adjusted to the entertainment industry, her next step was to try to release a solo album and establish herself as a singer.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong started this mission with the hope that Chae Woo-Ra would make it big within the entertainment industry and easily get into a college. However, the controversy about her being an illegitimate child had made it impossible for that to happen.


    Nonetheless, she was relieved that Chae Woo-Ra could still enter the middle to upper-tier colleges via the special admissions route that was available to celebrities. However, that relief was short-lived when Chae Woo-Hee attained a perfect score on the CSAT and was accepted into Korea University, causing people to compare both girls to one another.


    Her husband had been against the idea of Chae Woo-Ra making a debut in the entertainment industry since the beginning, but she managed to convince him. He had grown angry with her, saying she made his entire family suffer in humiliation because of the gossip.


    Additionally, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family was currently in possession of the evidence that incriminated Kim Hye-Ryeong as a sponsorship broker and had increasingly put pressure on her. They told her condescendingly that they would let it slide this time around, but because of the rumors, she hadn¡¯t been able to attend any social gatherings of late.


    When the secret was exposed, the people in her social circles turned their backs on her and started severing ties. Ironically, her husband was the first person to take action. That was because he found a substitute named Chae Woo-Jin, and if he could get his hands on him right away, all his problems would be resolved.


    Due to his divorce from Park Eun-Soo, Chae Mu-Seok struggled for a period of time as his business and connections to Rome had been cut off. Now that he had overcome those problems and was financially independent, he would be able to spread his wings and expand even further by regaining his old connections with Chae Woo-Jin by his side.


    ¡°Now I¡¯ve reached a point where there¡¯s nothing I can do¡­.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong had to let go of the marriage immediately. She tried to do that, but she couldn¡¯t adapt to the circumstances like Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother did. Hence, she tried to create some sort of weakness to destroy them, but her plans fell through as well. Instead, she was constantly hearing complaints from the woman who tried to connect with Chae Woo-Jin back then[1].


    The moment she learned about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family, the woman told her that a chill went down her spine. She then went on to harshly criticize Kim Hye-Ryeong for trying to ruin her life, completely burning any bridges they once shared. The whole situation was so ridiculous because, just a while ago, she¡¯d been lamenting about how it was a pity she didn¡¯t get to connect with Chae Woo-Jin all those years ago.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the crude one? And yet she has the audacity to criticize me?¡±


    In truth, Chae Mu-Seok wasn¡¯t aware of what Kim Hye-Ryeong was up to. He was focused on restoring his business and getting over the setback caused by his divorce from Park Eun-Soo, so he didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to pay any attention to her. To be more specific, he didn¡¯t care what she was doing outside.


    And then, while he was in the process of establishing Bareunjeong Foods, he only started paying attention to her because of the aid her connections gave him. Subsequently, he soon learned about Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s business dealings, and he began to place more emphasis on her usefulness rather than his affection for her. She was akin to a business partner.


    Therefore, when her father-in-law collapsed from a stroke and moved to France, Kim Hye-Ryeong started going on the offensive and took over the house. In any case, regardless of her choice, none of it mattered to Chae Mu-Seok. All that mattered was which side had greater use and would be more helpful for his business. As such, one day, he unintentionally told his aide that he regretted getting a divorce from his first wife, and Kim Hye-Ryeong overheard it by chance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that the first one is intrinsically important. The first one is always valuable, but I didn¡¯t know that before. Be it wives or other things, the second one and any that follow it will always be just a substitute. That¡¯s how it is with replacements ¨C¨C it¡¯s not a pity to abandon them at any moment.¡±


    Since he was someone who made such a statement, he was planning to abandon Kim Hye-Ryeong without any regrets. Now that Bareunjeong Foods was as successful as he¡¯d hoped, her connections had become his connections. He had already established himself as a solid business partner without needing Kim Hye-Ryeong as the middleman.


    In other words, he didn¡¯t need her anymore. Because of that, Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s decision was swifter and more relentless than ever. Yet, that didn¡¯t mean she had the intention of leaving empty-handed. Kim Hye-Ryeong still had many years ahead of her. She felt it was too unfair if she were to just lose everything here.


    1. The sponsor. ?

 CH 201

    After the Academy Awards ceremony ended, several afterparties were held all over LA. Among them, the Vanity Fair Oscar Party was known for having the highest attendance rate of celebrities, including today¡¯s Oscar winners. Woo-Jin attended the party with Director Yoon Seon after the awards ceremony was over.


    Even though the Academy Awards received attention from all over the world and was trending online, ultimately, all that remained in the public¡¯s minds was the Best Actor and Best Picture awards. The awards given to the staff and supporting actors were meaningful and of great honor to both the individuals themselves, as well as the key figures in the industry. However, they were forgotten by the public a few hours later, leaving only the recorded events behind.


    What captured the attention of the public was the fancy clothes worn by the actors and celebrities, as well as the behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the afterparties. Regardless of whether they were nominees or winners, it was a celebratory party where members of the film industry could enjoy themselves. However, only people who weren¡¯t involved in this year¡¯s award ceremony could enjoy the joyous side of the party.


    Aside from the award winners, it was a day where filmmakers and actors went on a hiatus, and those who were participating in films that were scheduled long after the ceremony could feel at ease, as they weren¡¯t nominated this time around.


    The people whose movies were released recently but failed to make the cut, or those who stood a high chance of winning an award but ultimately failed, felt bitter while experiencing an influx of thoughts and emotions. Because of their ego, some smiled brighter than usual, acting as though nothing had happened; some displayed flamboyant behavior, while others set the tone for the evening in one corner, criticizing the Academy committee for being closed-minded, and pointed out their flaws.


    On the other hand, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t belong to any of the aforementioned categories. He was able to enjoy the party with Director Yoon Seon with ease. It was an undeniable fact that Director Yoon Seon contributed the most to The Red winning the Best International Feature Film award. He had won awards at various international film festivals, and surprisingly had many close friends within the film industry in Hollywood.


    Just like how it felt as though Chae Woo-Jin himself was the one receiving an award at the Oscars in Korea, in LA, it seemed as though Director Yoon Seon was the recipient of the award. Even though being a box office hit in the U.S. was a major factor behind The Red winning the award, Director Yoon Seon¡¯s fame and reputation helped as well. Even if people didn¡¯t know much about Director Yoon Seon, most of them would respond with an ¡®Ah~!¡¯ when others mentioned the name of his productions.


    Woo-Jin accompanied Director Yoon Seon to the party and the latter introduced him to the Hollywood celebrities he didn¡¯t know. Just like how the movie was a big hit, Woo-Jin was equally popular. Woo-Jin received a lot of attention from others, especially since he was shooting a movie directed by Rayford this time around. So even though it was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time meeting these people, their conversations were endless.


    {Rayford is a great director to work with.}


    {That¡¯s because you had Hugh to keep him in check. If you had to deal with that knucklehead in a one-on-one setting, it would have been a different story.}


    {Excuse me??}


    The producer that made a remark about Rayford had prior experience working with him. As soon as he shook his head while recalling the past, the person standing behind him exuded a gloomy aura. However, the producer either had a lot he wanted to get off his chest, or maybe he was simply an impolite person as he stared straight at Rayford¡¯s face and continued badmouthing him.


    {Touch your heart and think about it! Hugh had a difficult time mediating when you picked a fight with the sound supervisor back then!}


    {That¡¯s only because that incompetent fella was about to ruin our movie!}


    The producer simply shook his head in response to Rayford¡¯s angry reaction. The movie in question was LL Studio¡¯s first film. As such, they were very prudent, and the production process was very intense. Thus, the slightest difference of opinion had always led to fierce arguments.


    {And he won the award for Best Sound Editing today. On that note, this conversation ends here.}


    Rayford pouted at Hugh for teasing him.


    {Jerk!}


    Their first film was ultimately a success, but every single day throughout the production period had been akin to being at war. Rayford and Hugh were in a state of heightened anxiety back then because of the anticipation of their first film as well as the uneasiness caused by the uncertainties.


    When the veteran sound producer disregarded Rayford¡¯s opinion, the ticking time bomb within him exploded. Fortunately, the rational Hugh intervened and managed to appease both parties. If he hadn¡¯t done that, it might have turned into a criminal case that would go down in the history of the film industry.


    In any case, they became a well-known enemy duo in Hollywood because of that incident.


    {Genie, can we talk for a moment?}


    Woo-Jin had been quiet the entire time because he found these behind-the-scenes anecdotes interesting. While he was listening, Hugh snuck up to him and whispered in his ear. He was so careful and subtle that no one else noticed him doing that. Woo-Jin shot Director Yoon Seon a glance and slipped out, following behind Hugh.


    It was hard to find a place to have a secret conversation at a noisy party. In fact, the act of them going somewhere quiet together could have led to misunderstandings instead. Hugh sat down in an area where there was a moderate amount of people present, but was not so quiet that people around them could overhear their conversation. He waited for Woo-Jin.


    {By any chance, are you free two days later?}


    Hugh immediately asked the question as soon as Woo-Jin approached him. Currently, Woo-Jin still had a couple of additional individual scenes left to shoot, as well as a photo shoot. When Woo-Jin replied that he wouldn¡¯t be free that day, Hugh seemed nervous and asked if he had time three days from now instead.


    This time around, Woo-Jin nodded instead of replying to him. As soon as he nodded, Hugh finally looked at ease and smiled.


    {But is there a reason why I have to set aside some time that day?}


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s question, Hugh realized he had only been focused on asking Woo-Jin if he was free without giving him any details. He blushed and answered bashfully.


    {To be honest, there¡¯s someone who wants to meet you.}


    {Me?}


    {That¡¯s right! Oh my goodness, they became a fan after watching your movie, and contacted me, saying that they have to meet you no matter what. Thanks to you, I got to talk to them directly on the phone!}


    Judging by how Hugh was so excited over a mere phone call, Woo-Jin could guess the other party was no ordinary person. Unfortunately, Woo-Jin knew from experience that he had to be especially cautious in such situations.


    {I¡¯m grateful towards them for thinking so highly of me, but do I really have to meet them?}


    {Of course! One of their works has been made into a movie as well, so it wouldn¡¯t hurt to meet them. In fact, it would irrefutably be the greatest honor of your life to meet them.}


    Initially, Hugh had a look on his face that seemed to suggest he couldn¡¯t understand why Woo-Jin was reacting like that. But soon, he realized Woo-Jin didn''t know who ¡®they¡¯ were. In that case, it would¡¯ve been easier to persuade him by revealing the identity of the person, but Hugh didn¡¯t do so.


    {Since you speak so highly of them, they must be a significant figure. Who exactly could they be?}


    {About that¡­you¡¯ll know when you meet them. I¡¯m sure you know them too.}


    Hugh was about to answer Woo-Jin¡¯s question, but he stopped himself in time and gave a vague answer. It seemed as though he had promised the person to keep it a secret from Woo-Jin. Instead of giving a direct answer, Hugh responded in a way that implied the person in question was so famous that everybody knew the mysterious person. He then explained to Woo-Jin that they were so famous, if people were to spread rumors about it or if the media publicized it prior to their meeting, it wouldn¡¯t do either party any good.


    Even though Woo-Jin believed in Hugh, he didn¡¯t know how his agency would react. The news of him meeting with a famous person spreading to the media could worsen their relationship from the get go.


    However, the more cautious Hugh acted, the more wary Woo-Jin became. Perhaps, Woo-Jin¡¯s concern could be seen all over his face; Hugh sighed and vouched for that person.


    {I guarantee you that there¡¯s absolutely nothing weird or sketchy about this meeting. I swear upon my name.}


    Seeing as Woo-Jin still had his reservations and was hesitant to give an answer, Hugh was frustrated. He whispered in desperation.


    {I¡¯m not asking you to meet them just so I can get an autograph. I already have their autograph! I¡¯m not as desperate as I appear to be. I¡¯m just doing this because I feel sorry for you, since you don¡¯t have their autograph.}


    {Autograph?}


    {Their autograph is so valuable that I¡¯m not ashamed to pass it down as a family heirloom!}


    {Since you¡¯re praising them so much, it¡¯s making me more and more curious about who they are.}


    {If you¡¯re curious, you have to satisfy your curiosity!}


    After looking at Hugh¡¯s desperate eyes, which were comparable to Puss in Boots¡¯ sad eyes, Woo-Jin suddenly became even more curious. Judging by how much Hugh respected that person, and had even mentioned their work being made into a movie, Woo-Jin guessed that the person was either a famous screenwriter in the film industry, or a critically-acclaimed novelist. Thus he had high expectations.


    Woo-Jin wondered if ¡®that person¡¯ wanted to make contact first because they were thinking of casting him in their next movie. Hence, he agreed to meet them three days from now. Hugh told him he would take care of the time and location of the meeting and was pleased, despite the cumbersome process.


    {Genie, I spent a long time looking for you. You¡¯ve been with Hugh the entire time, huh?}


    As soon as Dustin arrived at the party, he got dragged around by others. He barely managed to slip away and ran around looking for Woo-Jin. While Woo-Jin was hanging out with the producers and veteran actors, the other young celebrities grabbed Dustin and tried to get him to drink, but he rejected them and kept thinking of excuses to get out of drinking with them.


    Nevertheless, Dustin didn¡¯t actively look for Woo-Jin because the latter seemed to be enveloped within a stuffy atmosphere at first glance, as he was the only young man there. Dustin wasn¡¯t patient enough to listen to boring conversations on a day like this. However, Woo-Jin suddenly disappeared. Dustin was surprised and went around looking for him.


    {Hugh, I¡¯ll be borrowing Genie for a bit.}


    {We¡¯re done talking, so go hang out with the other young people. You youngins¡­}


    Hugh was shocked at himself for calling Woo-Jin and Dustin ¡®youngins¡¯; he shuddered and sat down on the closest chair. The shock of realizing he was now at the age where he called people in their twenties ¡®youngins¡¯ tormented him.


    Leaving the middle-aged Hugh who was in anguish behind, Dustin dragged Woo-Jin along as he spoke cheerfully. The vitality of the young man, who had a fun life ahead of him, was contrasted with the depressed Hugh, making the former seem even more radiant.


    {Let¡¯s take a picture! I¡¯m waiting for Mac right now.}


    Mac Smith was the professional photographer at the photobooth who took the pictures of the people at the photobooth. Now that most of the attendees had their pictures taken, he wanted to take a break, but Dustin told him to wait for a moment as he would be bringing Woo-Jin over, so Dustin picked up his pace as he walked.


    {I¡¯ve already taken a photo with Director Yoon Seon earlier, though?}


    Woo-Jin had already taken a commemorative picture with Director Yoon-Seon. Although there wasn¡¯t a rule that forbade a person from taking multiple photos, Woo-Jin gave an unenthusiastic response.


    {You didn¡¯t take one with me, though. There¡¯s nothing more important than that!}


    Dustin was as lively as a young boy. After hearing his response, Woo-Jin grinned and followed him. The word used by Hugh, ¡®youngin¡¯, was better suited for the young Dustin than Woo-JIn. Aside from the fact that he liked drinking and was popular among women, Dustin was the perfect man for his great granddaughter.


    ***


    An antique chair was placed in the middle of the photobooth; the backdrop of the photobooth was a panel with an arabesque pattern reminiscent of the Middle Ages. The background went very well with Mac Smith¡¯s unique dark and gloomy style.


    {I call dibs on the chair!}


    Dustin sat down on the chair first. As soon as he sat down, he elegantly crossed his legs and pointed to his right with his chin.


    {You stand here and assist me. Today, I¡¯ll make a special exception and allow you to stand on my right.}


    Dustin sat with his elbows resting on the armrests, with his hands clasped together. He looked just like an emperor during the age of monarchy. It seemed like he wanted to take a photo with Woo-Jin that was based on a random concept he came up with on the fly. Since they were posing as two characters of different social classes in the photo, it was possible for the other party to be offended if they weren¡¯t close friends. They could have fun and take such a photo without putting much thought into it only if they viewed each other as equals.


    Just like Dustin had thought, Woo-Jin¡¯s ego wasn¡¯t bruised by his suggestion. Woo-Jin thought it was fun as well, so he positioned himself in a way that made Dustin the focus of the photo.


    In the picture he had taken with Director Yoon Seon, the director sat on the chair, while Woo-Jin sat on the armrest. They were posing just like a father and son pair. It was one of those photos that could be found in every local photo studio


    Since Woo-Jin had already taken a pre-planned photo earlier, it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to try a new concept this time around. Instead, the concept Dustin had in mind was slightly modified. Dustin wanted to be a king, but Woo-Jin had something else in mind.


    Instead of standing next to Dustin, Woo-Jin stood behind the chair. While keeping his friend¡¯s wishes in mind, he positioned himself. And then, he bent down slightly and covered Dustin¡¯s eyes with his hands.


    {Oh?}


    Dustin was taken by surprise; Woo-Jin brought his face closer to his ear and looked into the camera, with a wicked smile on his face. This scene prompted anyone looking at it to imagine a schemer whispering deceitful sweet talk into the lord¡¯s ears, while covering his eyes. Woo-Jin had a smirk on his face as he stared straight into the camera, as though he was giving a warning to an unwitting accomplice who had discovered his secret. The manipulator standing behind the person who believed himself to be a strong and powerful king was another king in the shadows.


    Mac pressed the shutter button very naturally, capturing the photo that was based on the concept that the two actors had come up with. Even Dustin¡¯s contorted eyebrows were perfect. He was startled after Woo-Jin covered his eyes out of the blue.


    The photo was too good to be used as just a commemorative photo of the afterparty. Mac was convinced that the photo would most likely become one of the most iconic photos of this year¡¯s Oscars, if it was uploaded to the internet.


    Favorite

 CH 202

    {Oh, god. What did you do?}


    All Dustin wanted was to look like a cool king, and as soon as Woo-Jin¡¯s hand stopped covering his eyes, the first thing Dustin did was run over to Mac to take a look at the picture.


    {Oh~! It turned out well!}


    Even though it wasn¡¯t the concept he had in mind, the picture they took was rather nice too. In all honesty, as long as the photo looked good, that was all that mattered to Dustin.


    {For some reason, this picture makes it seem like the two of them working together is enough to destroy a country or two.}


    {There¡¯s always a cunning person like that behind a foolish king.} Woo-Jin succinctly explained the background context of the picture.


    Focusing on the picture, Dustin zoomed in on his face on the camera¡¯s screen and scrutinized it. Although his eyes were covered, he liked how his contorted eyebrows and forehead emphasized the sinister feel of the photo. Furthermore, the vile look on Woo-Jin¡¯s face and eyes as he whispered into Dustin¡¯s ear was so terrifying that it sent chills down his spine.


    {You make a pretty good villain yourself.}


    If you put aside his acting skills, Woo-Jin looked so kind and honest that Dustin thought he wasn¡¯t suited to play a villain, but clearly, that wasn¡¯t the case. The eyes that gazed into the lens of the camera looked truly wicked, like a secretive conspirator. The person who wielded and enjoyed the absolute power that originally belonged to the king was none other than the individual controlling him from behind. The conspirator portrayed by Woo-Jin might seem vicious, but he also came off as being stronger beyond any measure.


    Their photo turned out so well that it could even be used as a poster for a movie. In fact, Dustin even asked Mac to send him the picture; that¡¯s how much he liked it. Once he received it, he immediately sent it to Selena. It was his way of bragging and reassuring her that he was having fun without drinking. In addition, the photo was also a refreshing shock to the other people who shared the preconceived notion that Woo-Jin was not suited to take on villain roles.


    ***


    Dreams come at night when one sleeps, and they vanish in the morning when the sun comes up. It was a simple fact Woo-Jin should have known. As soon as he entered the VIP room of the 3-Star Michelin restaurant, Woo-Jin realized his dream was truly futile. He looked at the closed door wistfully, wishing he could follow the now-departing waiter that had led him here.


    {So, we meet again.}


    Ilya had always been unfriendly towards Woo-Jin whenever the latter dropped by the bookstore, but this time around, he greeted Woo-Jin with a delighted look on his face and a cheerful voice. This was incredibly uncharacteristic for the bookstore owner Woo-Jin knew. Instead, Ilya was acting like the person Lansky was familiar with, which made Woo-Jin feel flustered. It felt like he was behaving that way because he knew something, so it instantly sent chills down Woo-Jin¡¯s spine.


    Kang Ho-Soo had accompanied Woo-Jin today. After sitting down, he peered at the man in his sixties that was looking at Woo-Jin. He then glanced at Woo-Jin with a quizzical expression on his face as though asking if he knew this man. Woo-Jin had no choice but to nod his head.


    ¡°I met him by chance, and somehow we¡¯ve crossed paths again.¡±


    Woo-Jin forced a smile and greeted Ilya. {Hello. I¡¯m surprised to see you again here.}


    {My thoughts exactly. I didn¡¯t know at that time that I would be this interested in you. I suppose you never know what will happen in life. How long are you going to stand there like that?}


    As soon as Ilya gestured to the seat in front of him, Kang Ho-Soo mouthed the words ¡®Who is he?¡¯ to Woo-Jin. For a moment, Woo-Jin agonized over how he should introduce Ilya. He was caught in a difficult situation ¨C¨C he didn¡¯t know if he should introduce him as the owner of a used bookstore or tell the truth and introduce him as Ilya Turner, the novelist.


    {Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Ilya Turner.}


    Ilya didn¡¯t understand Korean, but he could make a rough guess as to what was going on judging from the looks exchanged between Chae Woo-Jin and his manager, as well as their facial expressions. Hence, Ilya took the initiative to satisfy Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s curiosity.


    {Ah, Ilya Tur¡­ner?}


    People knew Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Hermann Hesse¡¯s names, even if they weren¡¯t interested in literature. That was the same for Ilya Turner¡¯s name. As someone who left his mark in the history of modern literature, more often than not, even people outside of the field had heard of him. This was especially true since one of his novels was made into a movie, which he had received the Palme d¡¯Or[1] at the Cannes Film Festival for. Thus, Kang Ho-Soo was familiar with his name.


    To add to this, Kang Ho-Soo wasn¡¯t so detached from the cultural world that he didn¡¯t know the man who was currently known as the living godfather of culture. More importantly, he was also a fan of Ilya Turner.


    ¡°The¡­ The¡­ You¡­ How did this happen! Seriously?¡±


    Generally, people had an image in their mind whenever they heard the name ¡®Ilya Turner.¡¯ They would picture a man standing with his arms crossed, leaning back against a packed bookshelf. Ilya Turner didn¡¯t like revealing his face, so even if he were to do an interview, pictures weren¡¯t taken most of the time. If he needed to have his photos taken, he would insist on taking a full-body shot against a wide background to ensure his face looked small. From some point onwards, pictures taken using bookshelves as a background became Ilya Turner¡¯s symbol.


    This meant that it would be difficult for the public to recognize Ilya Turner in a normal setting, regardless of how many photos they had seen of him. Kang Ho-Soo was no exception to this. Despite the actual person standing right before him, he couldn¡¯t be certain if he was the same Ilya Turner in the photos. The only thing he could do was become overwhelmed with emotions, excited about seeing Ilya Turner in person, and stutter.


    As he looked at Kang Ho-Soo, to a certain extent, Woo-Jin could understand Hugh Miller¡¯s reaction three days ago when he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement. If Woo-Jin weren¡¯t Lansky in his previous life, he would¡¯ve undoubtedly reacted in the same way as the two of them right now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain things to you later.¡±


    As soon as Woo-Jin knew the person he was meeting with today was Ilya Turner, Woo-Jin suddenly felt burdened from Kang Ho-Soo accompanying him. His vision, in particular, was going dark as he imagined the conversation they would have today.


    {I¡¯ve already heard about it in advance, but does he have to accompany you?}


    Ilya pointed out Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s presence as if he had read Woo-Jin¡¯s mind. Regardless of how much Hugh vouched for Ilya and reassured Woo-Jin, since Kang Ho-Soo was in the dark about who he was meeting today, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t attend the meeting unescorted. Hence, he asked for Ilya¡¯s understanding in advance, and Kang Ho-Soo escorted him there.


    {No, of course not! I¡¯ll take my leave now, please don¡¯t worry about me.}


    {I¡¯m sorry for reserving a separate table for you to eat by yourself.}


    Seemingly anticipating Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s reaction, Ilya had made a separate dinner reservation for him. And despite the fact that he was openly hinting to leave them alone, Kang Ho-Soo was so starstruck that he viewed everything with rose-tinted lenses. He even saw it as an act of consideration on Ilya¡¯s part, and he looked at him with kind eyes.


    Notably, Woo-Jin seemed to know Ilya Turner personally for some reason, and his expression didn¡¯t have any signs of animosity. After studying Woo-Jin¡¯s face, Kang Ho-Soo came to the conclusion that while he may be feeling awkward, he didn¡¯t appear unhappy to see Ilya.


    If Woo-Jin had shown any signs of reluctance, Kang Ho-Soo would¡¯ve reacted differently, even if the other party was the Ilya Turner. The most important things to Kang Ho-Soo were Woo-Jin¡¯s opinions and safety; even the novelist he admired was no exception.


    However, Woo-Jin subconsciously revealed he was fond of Ilya Turner, although it didn¡¯t seem like he was aware of it. After he saw Woo-Jin¡¯s expression that he only showed around people he liked, Kang Ho-Soo promptly took his leave.


    Once Kang Ho-Soo left, Woo-Jin sat down as well and studied Ilya¡¯s face. His mind was filled with many thoughts about how to interpret this unexpected meeting, and simultaneously, he was happy to meet with Ilya again like this. The affection he had for Ilya was the same affection he felt when he met Selena.


    It was evident that Lansky acknowledged and liked Ilya Turner a great deal. Yet, because of his indifferent personality, he didn¡¯t recognize the affection he had for Ilya, the boy whom he had supported from an early age, and watched him grow.


    Lansky would¡¯ve been elated if he had personally seen how Ilya had developed over time into a fantastic writer. He was Lanky¡¯s child, whom he was very proud of; there wasn¡¯t a more accurate way for Lansky to describe Ilya. However, that didn¡¯t mean Woo-Jin enjoyed being here. He wondered how Ilya discovered who he was. Furthermore, he also wanted to know why he had called Hugh to set up this meeting. After all, he had no connections with Hugh.


    {How did you find me?}


    {How did you know I was Ilya Turner?}


    {Know?! I had not the slightest clue who you were before you told me just a while ago.}


    Without thinking about it, Woo-Jin instinctively feigned ignorance.


    {You may be good at acting, but you¡¯re a terrible liar. I might not know much about acting, but I know exactly how you looked at me that day. You didn¡¯t know who I was initially, but you recognized who I was after that, didn¡¯t you? Don¡¯t take a novelist¡¯s insight too lightly.}


    A novelist who wasn¡¯t observant or didn¡¯t have the ability to infer wouldn¡¯t be able to attain the success Ilya had today. In addition, the current Ilya was not the young man Lansky once knew ¨C¨C he was now older, and on top of being competent, he also enjoyed a high degree of social success. He was also so imaginative that it had become extremely difficult for someone to go against him.


    Woo-Jin made a few mistakes earlier. When Ilya introduced himself to Kang Ho-Soo, he erroneously acknowledged him too quickly. He should¡¯ve acted surprised alongside Kang Ho-Soo, feigning ignorance until the very end. And he had been too complacent, disregarding Ilya¡¯s curiosity.


    His actions during their last encounter before today were enough to raise Ilya¡¯s suspicions. With Ilya¡¯s current abilities and resources, he had the capacity to investigate the background of a stranger that walked into his bookstore, especially since Woo-Jin had recently appeared on various media platforms. As such, it wouldn¡¯t have been too difficult to find the actor if Ilya were to chance upon his face on any of those platforms.


    No, in fact, Woo-Jin shouldn¡¯t have come here in the first place. The problem was that he took the bait with the hopes of being cast in a movie possibly written by someone important.


    {Thank you for the birthday wish and gifts that day.}


    The chocolates Woo-Jin gave him that day inadvertently became a birthday present.


    {Ah, yes¡­}


    After looking at Ilya¡¯s eyes, it seemed as though he had believed Woo-Jin¡¯s excuses to a certain extent that day. Even if Woo-Jin wanted to ask how he could believe such absurd words, there was only one way out for him right now.


    Reviewing what happened that day, it seemed as if Ilya was rather interested in the supernatural. Rather than believing in it, he enjoyed the process of breaking it down with reason and logic. If he had already decided to look deeper into this mysterious situation, Woo-Jin had no way of stopping him.


    The best defense was a good offense. Woo-Jin realized that blindly avoiding it was not the best tactic, and at the same time, he gave a closer examination of his thoughts and feelings. Just because it was his past life, it didn¡¯t mean it was something he could avoid forever. More importantly, Woo-Jin had the desire to continue his relationship with Ilya, and this wasn¡¯t because he became a great writer.


    It was similar to how Lansky called L by his given name in his previous life. The little boy¡¯s small hand had strangely caught his attention. Back then, Lansky was more concerned with the child¡¯s bruised hands and chapped skin instead of Emperor Nicholas¡¯ beautiful gun that he was holding.


    He was a child who wanted someone to call him by his name but was afraid to be called. Lansky was well-aware of how Fianc¨¦ operated, perhaps more so than anyone else. He knew exactly what it meant to have one¡¯s name called over there. If an adult called a child by their name, that meant they had been exchanged for money from that day onwards.


    I¡¯m not L, but no one even calls me by my name.


    Lansky detected fear and loneliness in that short sentence. The insignificant words written in the little boy¡¯s messy handwriting stirred the emotions within him, prompting him to call the young child with small hands by his name. The child appeared to be around the same age as his grandson, but he was skinny and inconspicuous, a sharp comparison to his grandson¡¯s plump and lovely cheeks.


    Through his grandson, Giorgio, Lansky learned how lovable a child could be, but on the other hand, Ilya made Lansky realize how fragile a child could be. As a result, Ilya was the first person to receive Lansky¡¯s charity out of pure compassion for the vulnerable, without looking at his potential value or the possibility of him attaining success.


    However, strangely enough, the Ilya sitting before him still evoked the same emotions in Woo-Jin as he had when he was little. Instead of small and bruised hands, his hands were now wrinkled and lonely.


    What would have happened if Lansky had been more affectionate back in the day? Woo-Jin felt that it would¡¯ve been nice if he had occasionally treated Ilya like a grandchild or son instead of a child he was sponsoring. This thought caused an apologetic feeling to form.


    As Woo-Jin was reading Confession of White, these feelings intensified because he could sense the alienation and loneliness Ilya must have felt back then. On behalf of Lansky, Woo-Jin felt a strange sense of guilt and pity towards Ilya.


    Just like how it was with Selena, Woo-Jin realized it was getting harder and harder for him to turn a blind eye to the people that were connected to Lansky. It wasn¡¯t necessarily about getting anything or doing something for them. He didn¡¯t intend to purposely visit them, but he didn¡¯t want to go out of his way to cut off all ties with them.


    Instead, Woo-Jin was determined to hide the fact that he was Lansky in his previous life. Ilya was a special case, but if the average person had heard the story about him being possessed by a ghost, they would¡¯ve called him crazy.


    When Selena stared at him somewhat repulsively, it frankly made Woo-Jin upset.


    {There must be a reason why you want to meet with me.}


    Woo-Jin said to Ilya as though he was insinuating something. As much as he decided not to blindly avoid it, he was determined to answer as honestly as possible in his own way.


    1. The highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. ?

 CH 203

    {What¡¯s the rush? Let¡¯s eat first before discussing anything.}


    Ilya had personally made the reservation at the restaurant, and he had already picked out what they would be eating ¨C¨C the dish recommended by the head chef. When he asked Woo-Jin if there was any food he disliked, the latter shook his head.


    Fortunately, Woo-Jin had nothing in common with Lansky. This was only natural since they each had an entirely different body and personality, resulting in varying tastes and preferences when it came to food, as well as habits. Thus, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have to act cautiously in front of Ilya, so he could be at ease. Without any hesitation, Woo-Jin ate the lamb, something Lansky hated back when he was alive.


    It was possible that Ilya had been using this meal to test Woo-Jin, but the conversation between them was still as enjoyable as it used to be back in his previous life.


    {I was running a background check on you, and I somehow ended up looking into all the productions you¡¯ve been in.}


    {Yes, I heard. Hugh said you ended up becoming a fan.}


    {I said they left a deep impression on me ¨C¨C I didn¡¯t say I was a fan.}


    {Ah, I see.}


    In a way, perhaps Woo-Jin subconsciously had high hopes prior to this meeting, which caused him to grow somewhat disappointed when he heard Ilya¡¯s response. For some reason, it was funny because it seemed as though their roles were reversed in his current life. Back then, whenever he heard Lansky¡¯s criticisms, Ilya reacted in the same way Woo-Jin did.


    {Was what I said that funny?}


    As soon as Woo-Jin unintentionally smiled after reminiscing about the past, Ilya asked quizzically. He initially had a sullen expression, but then he started beaming brightly, looking very happy. For those around them, such a happy expression even elevated the spirits of anyone who saw it.


    {No. I suddenly thought of one of your novels that I read.}


    {The one you recently read?}


    {No, the one I read when I was little.}


    Most of the time, rather than reading books for the content itself, young people often did so because they believed it would be beneficial for their schooling or would boost their image. Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t much different from these people, but he enjoyed reading Ilya¡¯s novels very much. The one thing Lansky and Woo-Jin had in common was that they liked Ilya¡¯s work.


    {I¡¯ve liked your work for a long time now.}


    {It must have been difficult for you to read them at a young age, right?}


    {I only understood the words after I revisited the novels when I was older. At the time I first read them, I simply fell in love with your writing style and the mood created in your writing. I just liked all of your novels back then.}


    Ilya¡¯s lips twitched after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s reply as he attempted to hold himself back from laughing. That was because he remembered how Woo-Jin reacted when he picked up Confession of White at the bookstore. Judging from the candid look on his face that suggested he had gotten the wrong book, it seemed as though he didn¡¯t like all of his work.


    After replying to Ilya, Confession of White came to Woo-Jin¡¯s mind as well, and he thought to himself: ¡®Except that.¡¯ He then paused when he saw Ilya looking at him, the latter trying his hardest to hold back his laughter.


    {Why are you laughing like that?}


    As someone who had to hide the truth, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but be sensitive toward the other party¡¯s actions and reactions.


    {Well, I was simply reminded of the past as well.}


    Ilya casually replied, making Woo-Jin feel incredibly frustrated because he didn¡¯t know what the man was thinking or how much he already knew. If he were to ask him directly, Ilya would give the answer he had prepared beforehand, so he could only ask a roundabout way, but he felt antsy.


    {My writing isn¡¯t easy for children to read, though. You have a peculiar taste.}


    {Your writing style was so neat that it was easy to read. At that time, I couldn¡¯t see the social criticism or irrationality hidden within the text. I just thought the plot was interesting.}


    When he was little, he simply assumed the main character was a good person and that everyone who opposed him was bad. He also believed that the moral of the story always ended with the main character¡¯s victory. However, after he re-read the novel as an adult, he found that the main character in Ilya¡¯s novel was not a good person. Nonetheless, he wasn¡¯t an evil person either, so it caused the readers to have mixed feelings.


    However, one thing was for sure. Ilya, the author, viewed the protagonist with a warm gaze, although it wasn¡¯t clear if he was a good or a bad person. It was akin to a father looking at his child.


    On the other hand, in Confession of White, readers were inclined to feel that the protagonist, Lloyd, was struggling alone. Throughout the book, the writer¡¯s stance and emotions toward Lloyd are cold and cruel. At some point, this causes readers to sympathize with Lloyd after seeing how he was rejected and didn¡¯t receive any love from the author.


    {But the feeling I experienced when reading it as a child wasn¡¯t particularly bad either.}


    Be it Ilya¡¯s novels or L¡¯s novels, Woo-Jin acknowledged and cherished all the feelings they had evoked when he read them for the first time.


    {You¡¯re correct. There¡¯s no right answer when it comes to writing, so the feelings that formed when reading those books as a child were probably not wrong. So, in that sense, how were the other authors¡¯ writing? For instance, Confession of White! Was that the first time you read it?}


    Ilya brought up Confession of White as a topic of conversation, almost like he was talking about someone else¡¯s work.


    {It was my first time completing the book. In the past, I always gave up on reading it halfway through, but this time around, I read it to the end.}


    {You finished reading it this time? The text remained the same, so the person reading it must have undergone a change.}


    {I simply grew up and became an adult.}


    {It¡¯s a sad thing to become an adult who force himself to do things he doesn¡¯t like.}


    {I¡¯m not yet an adult who¡¯s patient enough to force myself to put up with something I dislike. It¡¯s just that I saw a part that I hadn¡¯t seen before, so I read it.}


    {Something you hadn¡¯t seen before?}


    Before Ilya knew it, his eyes were gleaming as he put down his fork and rested his chin on his hand, awaiting Woo-Jin¡¯s next words. Perhaps this was something that everyone knew, but Ilya always reacted with that expression every time he was being evaluated by others.


    Woo-Jin was briefly conflicted about whether he should reveal that he knew Ilya was the author of Confession of White or continue feigning ignorance. However, since Ilya pretended he was unaware, he had to keep it a secret as well.


    {The introduction was truly brutal, which initially made me think it was just a gory book, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from reading it because of the beautiful writing style. Yet, the protagonist is almost psychopathic. As we approach the climax of the novel, Confession of White makes me picture the scenes, and since it was all blood and gore, I couldn¡¯t handle it. Hence, I really don¡¯t know the author¡¯s intentions. Frankly¡­I thought the author was a strange person when I first read it.}


    Ilya smiled after hearing what Woo-Jin said. There were rumors about the author of Confession of White being a drug addict, as well as all kinds of criticism, so Woo-Jin¡¯s evaluation was nothing.


    {Originally, I thought it was a gore novel before thinking it was a fantasy novel. And then, at some point, I wondered if it could be a family novel. Can a story filled with murders even be a family novel?!}


    Woo-Jin truly wanted to personally ask the author, ¡®How could you write something like this?¡¯ However, he simply shrugged it off with an indifferent look on his face.


    {The author must have jumbled everything together when he wrote it.}


    {No! What I¡¯m trying to say is that the more you read, the more you discover new aspects of the novel. It¡¯s somewhat like a treasure hunt; it¡¯s amazing how the author¡¯s hidden meanings throughout the book jump out at you every time you read it.}


    Although Woo-Jin was praising him, Ilya wasn¡¯t smug or embarrassed. That was because he had often heard a lot of different evaluations from people comparing L. Dmitri to Ilya in the past. The readers of both authors often fought as they analyzed the two authors; it was as if they were fated to be drawn to each other. The fans of the two authors were aware of the other party and would often compare the two. Burning with a competitive spirit, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to witness the conflicting fans badmouthing their opposition.


    Ultimately, Ilya was the victor. After all, he had written countless novels and won several awards, whereas L. Dmitri was up against Ilya with only one published novel. In any case, regardless of the conclusion, Ilya wasn¡¯t bothered by it. As such, no matter what he heard, he was calm.


    {In a way, it¡¯s a simple principle. More often than not, a hundred sheets of manuscript paper isn¡¯t enough for someone to write down their thoughts. Yet, if I were to publish something like that, it would be boring, and nobody would read it, but if it were compressed to one page, people naturally wouldn¡¯t understand what I¡¯m thinking. Since it was originally one hundred pages, much content would be lost, and many interpretations could be gathered from the shortened work.So, for every different reader or for those who¡¯re re-reading it, varying understanding of the book would exist. And I always respect my readers¡¯ opinions.}


    Ilya had always argued that anything the author wrote no longer had anything to do with the author¡¯s thoughts. This mindset of his surfaced once again. It was also the topic of conversation he once had with Lansky. Ilya merely repeated the advice Lansky often gave him back then.


    Woo-Jin barely managed to stop himself from saying, ¡®Indeed, a writer shouldn¡¯t inhibit the readers¡¯ imagination,¡¯ because Lansky had often said that to Ilya as well. After almost slipping up and making a huge mistake, Woo-Jin deliberately responded in a way that differed from Lansky.


    {But if a writer manages to fully convey their thoughts to their readers with certainty, wouldn¡¯t that be considered skilled writing? Ah, with the exception of Confession of White, of course. Most literature isn¡¯t as remarkable as Confession of White, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessarily a good thing to make every reader have a different opinion. For example, although there are literary differences in your work, the ideas and themes that flow throughout the novel are clear.}


    {That¡¯s because I¡¯m proficient at writing.}


    Woo-Jin was about to subconsciously nod his head, but he stopped himself once again. The Ilya that Lansky knew was a slightly depressed young man who agonized a lot over his writing. It took quite some time to appease his bitterness after receiving harsh criticism for his first work. Needless to say, after that, he started to gain recognition and soon became a world-renowned novelist. Thus, it was only natural for him to have such confidence, but it was also unfamiliar at the same time. Woo-Jin had only known the old Ilya Turner, so he was not accustomed to his current self at all.


    {You¡¯re right.}


    In his response, Woo-Jin¡¯s voice seemed to lack power behind it. This was because he had writing experience as well. Since he had experienced how difficult it was to write and receive the public¡¯s recognition, he understood Ilya¡¯s confidence and was envious of him. The situation seemed to be the opposite of his previous life, so Woo-Jin wondered if he was truly astonished at how things had changed.


    {By the way, why are you so disheartened?}


    {Frankly¡­}


    Woo-Jin confided in Ilya and told him a secret he had never told anyone else before. He had a desire to listen to Ilya¡¯s advice, and he wanted to form a new relationship with him based on the current situation where their positions had changed.


    {I¡¯ll only know after reading what you wrote, but if you can¡¯t communicate your ideas to your readers and they hate it, can¡¯t you just fix it?}


    Woo-Jin was filled with indignation when Ilya told him to simply fix the issues if they¡¯d been clearly identified.


    {If that were the case, I would¡¯ve become a writer just like you! Even though I know what I want in my head, I can¡¯t get past the issues. Is there any other way to get the readers to understand while simultaneously maintaining my own style?}


    {There is.}


    {Really?}


    {You just have to write well. Regardless of what you write or which writing style you adopt, you just have to make it so that it¡¯s impossible for the readers to put your writing down.}


    Woo-Jin suddenly came to the realization that this was why he couldn¡¯t communicate with successful people. Ilya advised others to use the method he had used to attain success; if that had worked, everybody in this world would have become successful. Notably, people who were born with natural talents and worked hard had a tendency to view the mediocrity of other people as incompetence.


    {The Confession of White that you mentioned earlier is a suitable example. Even though you didn¡¯t like the storyline and you didn¡¯t understand the protagonist, you still ended up reading it. Exceptional writing has power that goes beyond taste.}


    Ilya was subtly bragging about himself. He seemed to be in a great mood, but on the other hand, Woo-Jin was depressed because of his dissatisfaction that stemmed from being unable to refute Ilya.


    {I¡¯m not even hoping to write something that amazing.}


    {I don¡¯t know what the standard of ¡®amazing¡¯ work is, but a good piece of writing is one that is read by many people.}


    Good writing or great writing- this was none other than the first criteria of a masterpiece. In the process of captivating readers¡¯ hearts when they first read the piece of literature, a masterpiece would be born.


    {When are you leaving for your country?}


    {In a week¡¯s time.}


    After pondering for a moment upon hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s response, Ilya made an unexpected suggestion.


    {If you have time, let¡¯s have another meal like this before you fly back home. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to read what you¡¯ve written.}


    Naturally, Woo-Jin wanted to meet Ilya again, so he was happy to do so, but he was shocked that Ilya wanted to read what he had written.


    {Really? Will you actually do that?}


    {It¡¯s not a big deal.}


    In truth, Ilya was indifferent about it, but Woo-Jin knew better than anyone else that it was not an


    {By the way, when did you learn Korean?}


    {Huh? I never learned Korean.}


    {Oh? So how are you going to read my novel- ah!}


    Since Woo-Jin was fluent in English, Ilya had assumed his novel was also written in English.


    {Was it written in Korean?}


    {Of course. I¡¯m Korean¡­ But if you give me some time, I¡¯ll translate it into English and show it to you.}


    Due to his schedule, Woo-Jin wouldn¡¯t be able to translate it immediately, and the translation itself would require a great deal of time. Despite this, Ilya readily accepted. Thus, they naturally exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses.


    {Is there really nothing else you¡¯d like to ask me?}


    There were many things they talked about today, and they also asked each other questions. Yet, he didn¡¯t interrogate Woo-Jin as expected. Time flew by as they spoke about the various movies and dramas Woo-Jin had acted in, as well as Ilya¡¯s novel. Hence, Woo-Jin asked Ilya if there was something he didn¡¯t get to say because of the lack of time.


    {Didn¡¯t you already tell me back then? I believed what you said and decided just to interpret it however I like.}


    {But that¡¯s¡­}


    This reply terrified Woo-Jin, and he started sweating. If he didn¡¯t state something explicitly, he wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out what Ilya was thinking, so he had no choice but to be careful in his actions. Alas, before he could do anything, Ilya patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder as if to suggest it wasn¡¯t a big deal, so Woo-Jin had to let go of this matter.


    Favorite

 CH 204

    ¡°What did you talk about?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo asked curiously, his eyes sparkling. He had eaten his meal at the table Ilya reserved for him. As expected, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan in Korea also insisted on being updated on the situation, so Woo-Jin told them the story of how he met Ilya.


    ¡°The owner of the used bookstore you visited was Ilya Turner?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo thought about how he questioned Woo-Jin, asking, ¡®Why do you have to go all the way to the bookstore just to read a book instead of simply buying it?¡¯ His face paled as he also remembered how he joined forces with Hwang Yi-Young and tried to persuade him not to go.


    ¡°Anybody can just walk into a bookstore and meet Ilya Turner, huh?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo remarked that not everybody could be so lucky, feeling a bit disheartened.


    ¡°Fortunately, we clicked with one another, so it was easy to communicate.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t difficult for Woo-Jin to explain how he met Ilya, but it was a different story altogether to talk about the strange bond they shared. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t tell Kang Ho-Soo about the ghost story he gave Ilya. He only said that regardless of generation and nationality, they became friends because they could communicate with each other.


    They had been reunited again after so many years, and despite belonging to different generations now, the connection they shared was special. And Ilya was still the same as before, thereby triggering Woo-Jin¡¯s memories of his past life, and this increased the affection he had for Ilya.


    In order to keep his new friendship with Ilya going, Woo-Jin had to pay extra attention and watch himself. Even though he and Lansky didn¡¯t have the same habits or taste in food, Woo-Jin tried his best not to make Ilya suspicious of him by slipping up and behaving similarly to Lansky.


    When Woo-Jin talked to Ilya, he was reminded of the things he did with him in his previous life, so more often than not, he would naturally try to keep these activities going. He had to be careful not to accidentally talk about things that happened in the past. However, he was unexpectedly ambushed in a different way.


    {Do you not like cherries?}


    Woo-Jin inquisitively asked as he saw Ilya picking out the cherries from his salad and placing them on one side.


    {I hate them with a passion. I used to smell the artificial cherry scent a lot when I was little, so I became sick of it. I hate any fragrance that smells similar to it now.}


    Ilya¡¯s biological mother wore a cheap cherry-scented perfume back when she was still alive, and he truly despised it. The scent dominated the memories he had of his mother, so he stayed away from anything related to it.


    {I thought you liked cherries because you ate them.}


    {I don¡¯t hate how cherries taste; I simply don¡¯t eat them because I don¡¯t like their scent. But when did I ever eat cherries in front of you?}


    Ilya asked, pointing his fork at the cherries he placed to one side. This was the third time Woo-Jin had eaten a meal with him, and it was also their first time having cherries as part of their meal.


    {Ah, about that¡­}


    {That¡¯s strange. Up until now, I¡¯ve only ever eaten cherries in front of one person.}


    Lansky was mostly indifferent toward people, and he had a hard time grasping what others liked and disliked. He had a tendency to buy or recommend something he personally appreciated, thinking others would enjoy it too.


    Ilya had never turned Lansky down whenever he bought cherries for him. It wasn¡¯t that he was scared ¨C¨C instead, he was thrilled because nobody had ever cared or given him anything before. He felt ecstatic at that moment, so there was no reason for him to reject the cherries.


    There had been quite a few times where Lansky felt proud after seeing Ilya enjoy himself eating those cherries. Perhaps, to him, that was a pleasant memory of Lansky, but judging from how it didn¡¯t change his feelings about cherries, it seemed that events from one¡¯s childhood had the greatest impact.


    {I see. How could I have been mistaken?}


    Today, for the first time, Ilya brought up the incident that occurred at the bookstore.


    {I¡¯m guessing the ghost told you everything, including the smallest details, huh? I specifically avoided going to places like the cemetery or haunted areas for your sake, but it seems like it was pointless.}


    Woo-Jin thought he was in the clear as long as he was careful. And yet, he ended up unintentionally revealing to Ilya that he knew him. He quickly thought about information pertaining to Ilya Turner that was publicly known, but there was nothing about his eating preferences. There was no logical reason that he should know about it.


    {It wasn¡¯t just now ¨C¨C I saw it that day at the bookstore. It was only for a fleeting moment, but it was like a video. It¡¯s possible that I was mistaken about what I saw that day.}


    {Like a video?}


    Woo-Jin thought to himself: I can finally come up with an excuse for that day. So, he replied enthusiastically.


    {Yes! It¡¯s not that I get possessed by a ghost all the time. I simply saw your life via someone else¡¯s eyes.}


    {Someone else¡¯s eyes¡­}


    As soon as Ilya muttered while stroking his chin, Woo-Jin gulped. While he was nervous, worrying about Ilya¡¯s next question, the latter nodded.


    {Interesting.}


    And without asking any further questions, they moved to a different topic. Oddly enough, rather than Ilya, Woo-Jin was the one who felt that there was something strange about the other¡¯s response, and he started to grow anxious. It was like playing a game of tag ¨C¨C he was confident he had hidden well, but the tagger had no intention of searching for him whatsoever. The person that was hiding was so frustrated that he wanted to plead with the tagger to find him.


    {Aren¡¯t you curious about who the ghost is?}


    Ultimately, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t restrain himself any longer and brought up the topic again.


    {Of course, I¡¯m very curious. But for some reason, I figured you wouldn¡¯t exactly tell me the truth, so I didn¡¯t ask.}


    {Do I sound like I¡¯m lying to you? If that¡¯s what you believe, I would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d have more questions instead, though.}


    A slight smile appeared on Ilya¡¯s face. His clear and wise eyes made it seem as though he knew what Woo-Jin was hiding.


    {It¡¯s always easy to be suspicious of an actor¡¯s sincerity, especially one so skilled.}


    And on that note, until the day Woo-Jin went back to Korea, Ilya didn¡¯t ask any more questions about this topic.


    ***


    Both Ilya and Woo-Jin frequently exchanged emails even after the latter returned to Korea. The recent topic they were focused on was Woo-Jin¡¯s writing. As soon as Woo-Jin returned to Korea, he devoted himself to his academics and focused on translating his novel into English in his spare time.


    After translating a fair amount, Woo-Jin emailed the translated chapters to Ilya, who would then read them before they shared their opinions with one another. Ilya didn¡¯t evaluate or criticize Woo-Jin¡¯s writing; he only talked about the story and the protagonist, and if he didn¡¯t understand any difficult sentences, he would ask Woo-Jin for clarification. By explaining those parts to Ilya, Woo-Jin was able to fix the loopholes in his story and organize his sentences better.


    {It¡¯s not bad for someone¡¯s first time writing.}


    After establishing the framework of his story and removing unnecessary details, new sentences were formed. With Woo-Jin¡¯s thoughts added to it, his lively and fluid sentences started to form the foundation of his writing.


    Ilya printed and read Woo-Jin¡¯s novel; he gave a generous evaluation. Even though the genre was different from his, when compared to Ilya¡¯s first work, Woo-Jin¡¯s writing could be considered to be superb.


    {I can see the writing style of some famous authors everywhere, but I was like that too.}


    This was the first time Ilya had examined another person¡¯s writing in detail. Of course, when he read novels by other authors, he always analyzed every sentence and learned their strengths and weaknesses, but he had never actually spoken with the authors themselves. Sometimes, publishers would request that he evaluate new authors they were trying to promote, but Ilya would reject them.


    It wasn¡¯t a particularly challenging task, but it reminded him of the days when Lansky read and evaluated his work, so he preferred not to do it. This was because he didn¡¯t want to share the feelings he experienced when, after reporting his exam results, his heart would pound as he waited for his father to either lecture or praise him. Even if he was put in a situation where he had to evaluate others, it wasn¡¯t easy for him to open his heart.


    {What are you focusing on?}


    {You¡¯re here again?}


    When Selena visited Ilya, he was organizing Woo-Jin¡¯s writing that he had been reading and set them aside.


    {Are you working on something new?}


    In the past, he used to write on a manuscript paper, but these days, he switched over to printing out his drafts on A4 paper before editing it. When Selena saw him, Ilya was wearing glasses and holding a pen in his right hand, so naturally, it was misleading.


    {No.}


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s firm answer, Selena sat down in front of him. The look on her face suggested that she was disappointed, but there was nothing she could do. After all, when compared to other writers, Ilya was more active in his work. As such, there was no need to feel anxious just because he didn¡¯t publish anything new for three years. Instead, Selena took a handful of papers out of her bag.


    {I selected the candidates for Lloyd¡¯s role in accordance with what you mentioned before. I also included an Asian candidate, so just to be cautious, I wanted to ask if that¡¯s okay with you.}


    {Even a smart kid like you occasionally asks silly questions, hm?}


    A sense of relief washed over Selena after receiving his tacit consent. She held out the thinnest file she had brought with her.


    {These are the people I¡¯ve shortlisted as Lloyd, along with their profiles.}


    Two out of the six people selected by Selena¡¯s secretary were eliminated, leaving only four candidates behind. Ilya was planning to look through the documents first, and if any of them didn¡¯t make the cut, he would choose new candidates in their place.


    {Man, there aren¡¯t any fresh faces.}


    Ilya took a look at the first two candidates. Judging by his expression, it seemed as if he had expected these actors to be selected. There was no way you wouldn¡¯t think of these people when shortlisting candidates. And in Ilya¡¯s mind, he had already eliminated them.


    However, the third candidate was an actor he didn¡¯t know. He was British, he looked rather well-groomed, and the aura he exuded was acceptable. His gleaming eyes seemed to express Lloyd¡¯s crazy inner self well. Although Ilya didn¡¯t know anything about his acting skills, just based on appearance alone, he appeared quite similar to how he envisioned Lloyd.


    Selena smiled to herself as she watched Ilya stare at the actor¡¯s profile for quite some time. After all, that was the candidate she favored.


    {Oh?}


    After looking at the last candidate, Ilya¡¯s reaction changed. Once she saw Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name and photo, Selena studied Ilya¡¯s facial expression with a strange glint in her eyes. Up until the end, Selena felt very conflicted about shortlisting Chae Woo-Jin as a candidate. Due to his excellent skills as an actor and the productions he¡¯d been in, if she hadn¡¯t met him, she would have shortlisted him immediately without any hesitation.


    Yet, she just had to meet him in person, and after seeing his bright and upright vibes, she couldn¡¯t really imagine him as Lloyd. She was well aware that his acting abilities were so great that he could accurately portray a character that was entirely different from his image. However, regardless of how outstanding an actor he was, there was often controversy over an actor¡¯s skills whenever they took on a role that didn¡¯t match their image.


    Confession of White was a project Selena desired for the sake of the Consccia Foundation¡¯s new goal. She was prudent in her actions, and she couldn¡¯t take reckless risks. Selena was very unsure about him, to the extent that she only decided to shortlist him with much consideration after looking at the picture Dustin took with him at the afterparty.


    {What¡¯s wrong?}


    {For some reason, it seems like I need to consider this carefully.}


    {I¡¯m sorry?}


    {About the movie you mentioned, for the first time, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea.}


    {Really? Is there anyone you¡¯re leaning toward among these actors by any chance?}


    Selena¡¯s heart was pounding, wondering if Ilya was in favor of making Confession of White into a movie, as he had been opposing it for the longest time.


    {Well, me liking him and whether or not he¡¯s a suitable fit to play Lloyd are two separate things entirely.}


    Ilya tapped his fingers on his desk. He added with a solemn expression that he always drew a clear line between public and private matters. Selena didn¡¯t think that was the case, but getting him to waver by itself was a huge change and achievement. She absolutely could not let this opportunity slip through her fingers, so she continued to push for it.


    {If you feel uneasy about it, why don¡¯t we hold casting calls?}


    Ilya seemed to be agonizing over it, so Selena suggested the plan she had come up with before visiting him.


    {Casting calls?}


    {Yes. Even if they¡¯re all amazing actors, you can¡¯t be certain they¡¯d do well as Lloyd. After the audition, if they¡¯re not suitable, we can always look for a new Lloyd.}


    Every single day was precious; sitting in a chair and agonizing over it was not the solution.


    {Casting calls, huh¡­}


    Ilya was agonizing once again, but unlike him, Selena was already busy preparing for the casting calls in her mind. This was a production that was precious to both of them in different ways. They could not give Lloyd¡¯s part to just any person. They had to be put to the test.


    Favorite

 CH 205

    Reporter Kim Gwang-Sik from Daily Patch stared blankly at the cigarette smoke escaping through his lips. Even though he had been living like this for several years now, he still hadn¡¯t gotten used to it. He didn¡¯t become a reporter to experience such a lifestyle. Yet, the misery that separated ideals and reality was very humbling.


    Whenever Kim Gwang-Sik handed someone his business card that stated ¡®reporter,¡¯ he would blush. He wasn¡¯t quite sure whether it was because of a sense of pride or shame. Still, the fact that he was a reporter for a decent media company in the entertainment industry was something to be proud of.


    He stood with a straight back and put on airs as he displayed his business card to those who did not know what his job entailed. Yet, the truth was that he chased after celebrities, secretly taking pictures of them.


    Having finished his cigarette, Kim Gwang-Sik rubbed it into a paper cup to put it out. This time, a sigh escaped through his lips instead of smoke. Although the day had only just started, his eyes were sunken, and his body was stiff. He wished time would fly by, but the minutes and seconds ticked past exceptionally slowly.


    Suddenly, his stomach grumbled. Kim Gwang-Sik reflexively reached into his bag and rummaged through it before retrieving a piece of bread. Despite it being late in the morning, he had just woken up after drinking all night, and he needed to rush to work. So, this was meant to be his breakfast.


    As he munched on the stale bread, he connected his camera to his laptop and checked the video footage from the previous night. The camera had been filming a particular family¡¯s house from midnight to now.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of filming like this?¡± he complained.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡ªthe celebrity he was following around¡ªusually left the house in a vehicle through the garage, so Kim Gwang-Sik had no opportunities to capture the actor¡¯s face. Whether he left in his private car or the van driven by his manager, Chae Woo-Jin was already in the vehicle when he exited the house. The reporter could not even see the actor¡¯s shadow, let alone his face.


    The only thing he ever managed to photograph or film was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s younger sister, who didn¡¯t own a car. However, he couldn¡¯t withdraw and stop monitoring the house. He had managed to coincidentally capture a certain incident in the past, so he didn¡¯t want to give up.


    In fact, the car accident caused by Blue Fit¡¯s Lee Yeon was a huge scoop. Unfortunately, he had to give up publishing the full story behind the accident because Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s agency and TM proactively prevented him from doing so. But had he been able to release it, the story would¡¯ve caused a huge sensation in the entertainment industry.


    It was an incident that could make Blue Fit¡¯s fans¡ªwho still hated Chae Woo-Jin¡ªshut their mouths. Yet, be that as it may, DS didn¡¯t want to make a big deal out of it. Seeing how they ended up buying the photos and videos from him, it appeared Chae Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to be associated with Blue Fit at all.


    Although Kim Gwang-Sik understood their circumstances, he was distressed because it felt like he had abandoned his job and duty as a reporter and had become a simple photographer. Nevertheless, he ended up with some extra funds in his pockets, and it was quite enjoyable to know something that others weren¡¯t aware of.


    In the future, once enough time had passed, he planned to consolidate all of the material and information he¡¯d gathered and publish a book about them. Without this sort of dream, he would have no reason to continue working for the company while going through all these hardships.


    Ever since last summer, in place of his home or office, Kim Gwang-Sik had been spending more time on the rooftop of the house across from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s home. His job was to spy on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house 24/7 with cameras and equipment installed on the roof.


    Originally, he would sit inside a car and wait for Chae Woo-Jin, hoping for lady luck to bless him. Since the actor lived in a residential area with a high concentration of wealthy people, there were no tall commercial buildings around. Furthermore, it was unimaginable that someone would lend their rooftop to a reporter who was stalking a celebrity. Yet, by some miraculous coincidence, the landlord of the house across from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s was a friend of Daily Patch¡¯s owner.


    Just like how rich people got along and lived in the same neighborhoods, it was only natural for people with similar amounts of wealth to be friends with one another. As such, the landlord wasn¡¯t friendly with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s father but was close with Daily Patch¡¯s good-for-nothing owner.


    In fact, they were so close that the landlord let Kim Gwang-Sik use the room on the roof, something that the previous landlord had built to be used as a break room. Although the previous landlord had used it in this way, the current one didn¡¯t see the tenants using the rooftop room, so it had been empty and kept closed this entire time.


    In any case, the way the current landlord treated those beneath him was the same as Daily Patch¡¯s owner. Birds of a feather really did flock together. But thanks to them, Kim Gwang-Sik''s work environment could make a significant upgrade from a car in an alley to a room on a rooftop. Thus, he didn¡¯t curse and get irritated as much as he used to.


    It was clear that he had taken the lead over other media companies and reporters just by securing such an amazing location where he could see the gate to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house and the road in front of it. In addition, he couldn¡¯t deny that his bonus had increased.


    ¡°Why won¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin become independent from his parents? He needs to live alone to bring women home or something.¡±


    Relationships or sex scandals were the best way to create a big scoop, but unfortunately for Kim Gwang-Sik, Chae Woo-Jin lived an upright and honest life.


    Sometimes, when he followed Chae Woo-Jin through the city, there were quite a number of women in his surroundings. However, they were all staff members or fans of the actor. Furthermore, when he interacted with his fans, Chase Woo-Jin was just so respectful and uninteresting that the reporter didn¡¯t even feel like taking pictures.


    ¡°A celebrity should get drunk and cause some trouble to become a true celebrity. That¡¯s why they need to become independent from their parents. Please move into your own place, Chae Woo-Jin, and have some beep or get in a relationship or something!¡±


    Kim Gwang-Sik censored the 18+ words himself and concluded that Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t getting with women because he still lived with his parents.


    ¡°Well, now that I¡¯ve heard that, I really shouldn¡¯t become independent from now on.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! A man should live on his own and-¡±


    Kim Gwang-Sik instinctively responded to the voice behind him before he froze. Very few people had come to the roof so far. The tenants avoided the reporter and wouldn¡¯t make any attempts at conversation when they saw him. It was possible that the landlord had instructed them to do so.


    Kim Gwang-Sik slowly turned around, his neck creaking like a rusted machine. When he saw the person behind him, he was so startled that he gasped in shock. There, right before his eyes, Chae Woo-Jin was standing behind him as firm as a boulder with his head held high, staring intently at the reporter¡¯s camera and laptop.


    ¡°Mister Ch-Ch-Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, good morning. It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin greeted Kim Gwang-Sik, whom he had not seen while he was in America.


    ¡°H-How did you¡­ No, when did you even leave¡­?¡±


    The video feed had still been running throughout the morning before Kim Gwang-Sik arrived at the rooftop, and in it, there had been no video of Chae Woo-Jin leaving the house. The man who was supposed to be at home was standing right in front of him, so naturally, the reporter was stunned and thought he was losing his mind.


    ¡°I got in the car as the housekeeper left for the supermarket.¡±


    Rather than taking his car or the van, Chae Woo-Jin had left the house in the housekeeper''s car when they went out for groceries. Thus, when Kim Gwang-Sik saw the housekeeper¡¯s car leave the garage, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.


    ¡°As I thought, this was the correct location,¡± Woo-Jin commented.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°When you sold the photos to my agency, I was curious to know where and how you had taken them. There aren¡¯t any high-rise buildings in the neighborhood, and I doubted anyone would allow a reporter to use their house for this purpose, but it seems I was wrong.¡±


    As Woo-Jin spoke while looking around, Kim Gwang-Sik¡¯s hands grew moist with sweat. Now that Chae Woo-Jin had caught him, he didn¡¯t even want to think about how the actor, Daily Patch¡¯s owner, and the landlord would remove him in the near future.


    He couldn¡¯t even stop Woo-Jin from picking up his camera as he watched in shock, only managing to stutter a few words.


    ¡°I-I-I didn¡¯t allow you to touch that camera.¡±


    Kim Gwang-Sik didn¡¯t think that telling Chae Woo-Jin the camera was expensive would convince the actor, so the reporter simply said this and closed his mouth, struggling to swallow his saliva.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware. But it¡¯s a different story if there is a video of my family inside.¡± Woo-Jin argued.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Just like how I shouldn¡¯t carelessly touch your camera, you shouldn¡¯t be filming other people without their permission.¡±


    Kim Gwang-Sik was scared by how indifferent and emotionless Woo-Jin¡¯s voice was, so a sigh subconsciously escaped his mouth. But on the inside, he was cursing the actor, calling him a cocky little bastard. If he had gotten married earlier, he would¡¯ve had a child Woo-Jin¡¯s age.


    Nevertheless, Kim Gwang-Sik was sly and could understand the situation quicker than anyone else. If it were your ordinary celebrity, he would¡¯ve gotten arrogant and proudly shouted back at him, talking of the people¡¯s right to know more about the celebrity or something along those lines. However, Chae Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t your average celebrity; he had a terrifying family background.


    ¡°You¡¯ve filmed a bunch of things, huh.¡±


    Woo-Jin clicked his tongue as he looked through the videos stored in the camera, fast-forwarding through it to save his time.


    ¡°The thing is, there are so many things about Mr. Chae Woo-Jin that the people want to know¡­.¡±


    In the end, Kim Gwang-Sik couldn¡¯t hold back and spoke about the public¡¯s right to know about celebrities, an argument that every reporter constantly used.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t publish an article in the end, did you? If you really cared so much about the people¡¯s right to know, then you should¡¯ve enforced and fought for your beliefs.¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke as though mocking the reporter, who could no longer hold back himself. Although his lifestyle was quite shameful, Kim Gwang-Sik still had some pride. With that said, he had only gained that pride by bullying less famous celebrities. That attitude had subconsciously become a habit of his.


    ¡°That¡¯s because DS prevented me from releasing the information to the public! It¡¯s not like we enjoy seeing the information we worked so hard for getting glossed over like that. ¡°


    At first, Kim Gwang-Sik was startled, shameful, and restless. However, now he was slowly revealing his true colors. He believed that no matter how rich or successful his opponent was, he could ruin their lives with a single scandal.


    Kim Gwang-Sik always bragged about the number of celebrities whose careers he''d ruined. In fact, he''d go so far as to say that amount couldn''t even be counted on both hands. He was somewhat worried about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal family, but it wasn¡¯t as though he was a lawyer who was trying to get into the Rome Firm. As long as he only spread truths to the public, he wouldn¡¯t be in danger like others who spread fake news.


    In the worst-case scenario, if he got pressured by authorities and superiors above him, Kim Gwang-Sik wouldn¡¯t hesitate to pay a fine for his actions. It was with this resolve that he had taken a job like this. As long as he only dealt with facts and truths within the proper limits, there was nothing and no one he had to fear.


    Thus, he did not need to cower or lose his dignity before Chae Woo-Jin. All he had to do was claim that he was filming the street in front of the house with the landlord¡¯s permission and that he only happened to coincidentally film Chae Woo-Jin leaving the house or something.


    ¡°Is that so? I thought that your only goal was to make money, seeing how you sold the pictures to our CEO,¡± Woo-Jin responded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on reporters! Despite the great sense of duty that we bear while working hard, we¡¯re office workers who can only listen to their company¡¯s orders! How are mere office workers supposed to go against their superiors? If we make a wrong move and get fired, how are we meant to earn a living? Do you think that we make hundreds of millions of won like you do whenever you film a commercial?¡±


    Woo-Jin laughed at the agitated reporter¡¯s burst of anger.


    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s funny. Normally, celebrities should be the ones earning money by getting photographed or recorded by others. But when we¡¯re photographed by reporters, you earn the money while the celebrities get canceled.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Ehem! Y-You shouldn¡¯t always look at the negatives. Many people also willingly ask us to publish articles about them.¡±


    For celebrities, it was often said that malicious comments from the public were better than no comments at all. Thus, not every celebrity hated getting photographed by reporters. Even Woo-Jin benefited from such articles when he had just debuted, so there was nothing he could say to that. However, back then, there was an agreement between both parties. If a reporter spies on the celebrity, then that is a non-negotiable matter that relates to their privacy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at the world just from your point of view. Try to widen your-¡±


    Kim Gwang-Sik was about to preach about the relationships between reporters and celebrities, but Woo-Jin cut him off by raising his hand.


    ¡°Is the video on the camera everything you¡¯ve recorded?¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, that¡¯s¡­.¡±


    Without waiting for Kim Gwang-Sik¡¯s lengthy reply that beat around the bush, Woo-Jin placed the camera down and browsed through the laptop¡¯s files. After finding the videos organized by date in a folder, he opened some and quickly skimmed through them.


    ¡°Found it.¡±


    Woo-Jin went over a specific recording several times, checking it repeatedly. Then, he finally smiled, revealing a toothy grin.


    Kim Gwang-Sik had been about to approach Chae Woo-Jin to see what footage the actor was interested in, but he stopped dead in his tracks. The bloodthirst and viciousness oozing from the handsome actor¡¯s beautiful face froze the reporter¡¯s body. It was like a scene in some fantasy novel where the master martial artist overpowered people with merely his aura and gaze.


    Kim Gwang-Sik stood still and mumbled, unsure of what to do. In the meantime, Chae Woo-Jin took out the USB drive he had brought with him and copied the entire folder of videos.


    ¡°What are you doing with someone else¡¯s computer right now? I didn¡¯t give you my permission to do that.¡±


    ¡°There is a video I need. And it¡¯s not like you received my permission to film me like this.¡±


    ¡°Hah! What do you even mean by that? I was only taking some shots of the street. Do I need Mr. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s permission whenever I want to record a street in Korea?¡±


    The reporter was taunting him to find out what kind of video Chae Woo-Jin was after.


    Kim Gwang-Sik had attempted to recall the footage several times, but he couldn¡¯t remember seeing anything that could cause the actor problems. So, he suggested they negotiate with each other to find out what Chae Woo-Jin was looking for. Needless to say, he could later check the video Woo-Jin had opened and inspect the footage, but it would be of no use if the reporter didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind the content.


    ¡°How could you break into someone else¡¯s house and steal their computer files just because you¡¯re a little famous?!¡± Kim Gwang-Sik exclaimed.


    ¡°Then write about it.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Write an article about this incident. We won¡¯t stop you this time.¡±


    Woo-Jin turned back to Kim Gwang-Sik and shook the USB drive in his hand with a bright smile.


    After telling the reporter he would make good use of the files, he left as quickly as he had arrived. He didn¡¯t threaten or argue with Kim Gwang-Sik to try getting the man to stop filming him. Instead, he just spoke a few unpleasant opinions, did what he had to do, took what he needed, and left like the wind.


    Although Kim Gwang-Sik had spoken arrogantly, he was somewhat afraid of the situation escalating. If there had been an altercation between the two, the expensive equipment on his desk could have been broken. Yet, he was never approached about this incident, even after a few days.


    No one seemed to know that Kim Gwang-Sik had been caught by Chae Woo-Jin. It was a given that the actor didn¡¯t make any complaints, but even DS stayed silent about it.


    ¡°Why are you being so generous to me¡­?¡±


    Or at least, that¡¯s what he wanted to ask Chae Woo-Jin if they ever met again. However, soon afterward, Kim Gwang-Sik had to come down from the rooftop for other reasons.

 CH 206

    Woo-Jin had been aware of Kim Gwang-Sik¡¯s presence for a while now. On the night that Blue Fit¡¯s Lee Yeon visited Woo-Jin and got in the car accident, someone had taken pictures of the incident. By studying these photos, anyone could figure out where they had been taken from unless they were an idiot.


    Initially, Woo-Jin was under the impression that no one was aware of that night when Lee Yeon had visited him after deciding to commit suicide. Yet, a picture of their interaction was taken, and even CEO Jang Soo-Hwan ended up hearing about it.


    For anyone who viewed the pictures, it would be impossible to figure out the actual context just from the photos and videos alone. The only things people could see were Lee Yeon visiting Woo-Jin, the two men sharing a conversation, and the figure of Lee Yeon staring blankly into space when Woo-Jin had left.


    Either way, this little information was enough for people to invent a story about the interaction. It was only a matter of who the reporters would portray in a positive light and who they would attack. However, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan didn¡¯t want to tie Woo-Jin down to someone who was already done for. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t need to improve his image with articles. Thus, CEO Jang simply silenced the press with money.


    In the end, CEO Jang¡¯s actions were beneficial to Lee Yeon. The idol had hit rock bottom, and he couldn¡¯t possibly fall further. Now, Lee Yeon wanted the public to forget him as soon as possible and for the media to be indifferent to him. As such, CEO Jang had given him the greatest gift imaginable.


    On the other hand, Woo-Jin was severely scolded by his boss. Afterward, he carefully studied the photos and managed to get a rough idea of where the cameraman was hiding. But at that point, Woo-Jin had partially given up.


    It wasn¡¯t like the reporter would leave because Woo-Jin told him to. Instead, he¡¯d just change locations and film him in a more secretive manner. Now that Woo-Jin knew where he was, it would be better just to leave the reporter alone and behave carefully when he left his house. And yet, despite planning on leaving Kim Gwang-Sik be, Woo-Jin ended up having to go to see him for a certain reason.


    When Woo-Jin returned to Korea after filming his scenes in the US, he resumed his daily life at home. With that said, his everyday life was very different from what the average person would experience. Still, compared to his life in America, his days in Korea were peaceful and were almost akin to the first vacation he had taken in a while.


    About ten days had passed since the start of the new semester. Woo-Jin was now a senior at university. He had fewer classes than before, so he had plenty of free time these days. Many of his friends had taken a year off, while other seniors had returned to school after a gap year and filled in those empty positions, so Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know most of the students in his year. Since he didn¡¯t have close friends to hang out with, he ended up with more free time.


    Hyun-Min also considered taking a year off for a while to reconsider his course and career, but after a lot of deliberation, he ultimately decided to continue his studies since he wanted to go to graduate school afterward.


    During Woo-Jin¡¯s absence, Hyun-Min attended class in his stead, took detailed notes, and recorded the professor¡¯s lectures. In doing so, his interest in studying grew, and he started to enjoy the activity.


    Compared to his friends and other seniors who were pondering their future career paths, Woo-Jin was able to spend his time relatively leisurely. He had also experienced a period where he was fiercely debating over his future, though the timing was earlier. Thus, he tried his best not to get in their way.


    As a result, Woo-Jin ended up spending most of his free time at home. A majority of this time was devoted to translating his novel into English to show Ilya or watching TV from the sofa with Woo-Sa on his belly.


    Yesterday was also such a day.


    ***


    Woo-Sa was sleeping on Woo-Jin¡¯s stomach when he pricked his ears up at the soft piano melody that awoke him. As he heard this, Woo-Jin also turned to the table where Woo-Hee¡¯s phone was ringing.


    The call had arrived while his sister momentarily left the room, having gone up to the second floor. He planned on ignoring it and remaining where he was, but the phone continued ringing over and over.


    It didn¡¯t appear as if Woo-Hee was coming down anytime soon, and the phone continued to ring for what seemed like forever. So, Woo-Jin stretched his arm out and picked up the phone. If someone wasn¡¯t answering their phone, you could call them again later. Who on earth would continue ringing like this? The dumbfounded Woo-Jin only wanted to check the caller¡¯s name on the phone.


    Yet, the first thing he saw when he picked up the phone was Dustin¡¯s face. Woo-Hee was using a picture taken with Dustin as her wallpaper. All her wallpapers were photos of Dustin, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t avoid seeing him even if he didn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she embarrassed by this?¡±


    Woo-Jin briefly looked at Dustin¡¯s face with a disgusted gaze before his attention was caught by the caller¡¯s name.


    [Dumbass]


    Woo-Jin jumped up from his seat but sat back down. Surprised by this sudden movement, Woo-Sa got off Woo-Jin¡¯s belly and laid on his thighs.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Dumbass?¡±


    When Woo-Hee finally returned from the second floor, Woo-Jin handed her the phone and asked about the caller. He became cautious and wary for a moment, wondering if it was one of the people who had been begging Woo-Jin to introduce them to his sister before.


    ¡°Just some girl without a brain and with no sense of shame,¡± Woo-Hee replied.


    ¡°So it¡¯s a girl?¡±


    Woo-Jin¡¯s voice softened a bit. If it was a woman, then it couldn¡¯t be those men from before.


    ¡°Why? You¡¯re okay if it¡¯s a girl bothering me?¡± Woo-Hee asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s much better than a shameless guy bothering you.¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re all equally annoying.¡±


    Woo-Hee sighed as her ringtone continued to echo throughout their conversation.


    If the caller really bothered her, she could¡¯ve blocked her before nicknaming her ¡®Dumbass.¡¯ However, considering how Woo-Hee hadn¡¯t done so, it seemed the caller wasn¡¯t someone his sister truly hated.


    After spending some time contemplating, Woo-Hee finally chose to answer the phone. ¡°Why are you calling me again?¡±


    When his sister responded in a blunt and annoyed tone, Woo-Jin wondered about the caller¡¯s identity. Woo-Hee was the type of person to ignore the call if she was that irritated, but here she was, answering it despite her annoyance.


    ¡°If someone doesn¡¯t answer their phone, isn¡¯t it common sense to think they¡¯re busy with something else and call another time?¡±


    Woo-Hee clicked her tongue as she saw the three missed calls on the phone.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a freaking tsundere! Geez, you sure know how to use Japanese slang, considering how bad you are at Korean¡­ I¡¯m not praising you!¡±


    Seeing Woo-Hee beating her chest in frustration, Woo-Jin thought to himself that they seemed to be having fun.


    ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t have to worry about this Dumbass, Woo-Sa,¡± Woo-Jin remarked to the cat.


    Although he didn¡¯t know who the caller was, seeing how Woo-Hee continued to chat on the phone, Woo-Jin thought he didn¡¯t have to worry anymore. He didn¡¯t meddle with his sister¡¯s interpersonal relationships when she was in high school, so there was even less of a reason for him to get involved now that Woo-Hee was a college student.


    And so, Woo-Jin picked up Woo-Sa from his lap and laid back down on the sofa.


    ¡°Are you busy, Woo-Jin?¡± The housekeeper cautiously approached the man slouched on the sofa with his cat and asked.


    ¡°Not at all. Do you need help with something?¡±


    Although there were two women doing the housework, Woo-Jin sometimes helped them out when there was some heavy-lifting to do. The housekeeper smiled at Woo-Jin¡¯s instinctive question and shook her head. For some reason, she had a solemn look on her face, so Woo-Jin wore a serious expression as well.


    ¡°Remember how we did a big cleanup of the house two days ago?¡± she asked Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    While Woo-Jin was away at the Awards Ceremony and doing additional filming in the USA, his mother decided to change the house¡¯s interior. It wasn¡¯t a monumental project, but after she finished changing the interior, she decided to hire a house cleaning service. She then entrusted the house to the cleaners two days ago since it was already time for a spring cleanup.


    ¡°Quite a few people came over that day, so Miss Kim and I were busy preparing their meals and snacks. To be honest, that¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t check each and every person one at a time.¡±


    Although Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know what she was going to say, the housekeeper started with an excuse and asked for his understanding since there was a reason behind her actions.


    ¡°My mother was also home that day since she took a leave of absence; you two are not responsible for anything.¡±


    Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were not home at the time, but their mother was present, so the housekeepers couldn¡¯t be blamed no matter what had happened. No one in this house would be so unreasonable with them.


    ¡°Still, the madam had left the second floor in my care.¡±


    ¡°Did some valuables disappear?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    He couldn¡¯t remember any valuable objects disappearing over the past two days, though.


    ¡°The valuable items are all here, but.¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    It was quite common for Woo-Jin¡¯s belongings to disappear wherever he went. Hwang Yi-Young had gotten angry and even gave his fans a warning, but it was futile. Uncontrollable people were everywhere. With that in mind, Woo-Jin took the situation lightly. He assumed that one of the cleaners had realized this was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house and secretly took a couple of his belongings.


    ¡°But we¡¯ll still have to complain to the company, so please write down a list of the missing items,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    ¡°I made a complaint this morning, but the company said that their workers weren¡¯t the ones behind the disappearances. It seems they maintain strict management over their people since they work with many wealthy homes. If a bad rumor about the company spreads after they make a mistake, then they¡¯ll obviously have no jobs in this town afterward. However, as I spoke to the company, they mentioned something strange.¡±


    The true subject that the housekeeper wanted to bring up was here.


    ¡°When the people from the cleaning company entered the house that day, apparently a young lady tagged along with them naturally and without hesitation. The team leader asked her if she worked at our house, and she said yes.¡±


    ¡°A young lady?¡± Woo-Jin repeated.


    The only people working at Woo-Jin¡¯s house were two middle-aged aunties and an uncle who came to manage the garden twice a week. Woo-Hee was the only person in this house who could be called a young lady, but she wasn¡¯t home that day. And even if she were home, there was no reason for her to tell them she worked here.


    ¡°When I heard that, I also distinctly remembered a cute-looking girl inside the house. I assumed she was one of the cleaners, and I presume Madam thought the same.¡±


    Woo-Jin was shocked to hear that someone had entered their house freely without raising any suspicions. Rather than blaming anyone, he felt like he had been stabbed in a tiny gap in his armor that he wasn¡¯t aware existed. Woo-Jin was especially surprised by the girl¡¯s crafty yet bold actions that took advantage of the chaotic house-cleaning day.


    ¡°I am quite suspicious of that lady,¡± the housekeeper stated.


    ¡°What are the missing items?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°One of them was the box with the items that could be thrown out; the one that you prepared a day before. The other was one of the photobooks you made with your friend Hyun-Min.¡±


    Except for the photobook, all the items that had disappeared were things that were going to be thrown away anyway. Thus, it was only natural that no one was aware of their disappearance nor cared enough to check. However, the housekeeper noticed the abnormality this morning when she was sorting the trash to take out the bins.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m missing something too.¡±


    After finishing her call, Woo-Hee had been quietly listening to their conversation from the side when she suddenly remembered something and raised her hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re missing something too?¡± Woo-Jin asked in surprise.


    ¡°Yeah! Remember the box that I use to collect all the sticky notes I get from you? It disappeared as well. I thought a cleaner confused it with garbage and threw it away.¡±


    Occasionally, when he had something to tell her, Woo-Jin would write messages on sticky notes and stick them on either the door of his sister¡¯s room or the refrigerator. It was a habit he had gained and kept from the days he didn¡¯t have a phone when he was young.


    Woo-Hee started keeping them in a small box at some point because she didn¡¯t want to throw them away. In this era where people didn¡¯t write letters anymore, it was nice to have handwritten notes like these for some reason.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that we put the items we were disposing of in cardboard boxes and put them aside. Before the cleaners started working, we clearly told them that there was nothing to discard aside from those boxes. So, there¡¯s no way they threw something away accidentally.¡±


    The housekeeper guaranteed that the cleaning company could not have thrown something away by accident. In other words, it could only have disappeared if someone stole them with malicious intentions. Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee¡¯s expressions turned solemn. It almost sounded absurd to say that a stranger had broken into their house while it was defenseless, and no one was aware of it, but they couldn¡¯t deny it now.


    ¡°Although it was a special case this time, we should be more careful from now on. Was the woman caught on our security cameras?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°I checked the footage, but she turned her face away whenever she was in their field of view. It was as if she had been aware of each camera¡¯s location in advance.¡±


    Sometimes, a few people who claimed to be Woo-Jin¡¯s fans came to the house or loitered in the area. These people had even gone through the garbage bags at times, so the housekeeper only put the trash outside right before the pickup truck arrived. Those people would¡¯ve been well aware of the positions of each security camera installed outside the house.


    ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case for the exterior cameras, the ones inside the house must''ve seen her.¡±


    When Woo-Jin brought up the cameras situated at the entrance and the living room, the housekeeper shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s why this is a serious situation. It¡¯s like she knew their positions well in advance. She kept showing her back to the cameras the entire time. Whenever she had to walk past one, she¡¯d walk sideways or backward. I just checked the footage and got goosebumps all over my body because of that,¡± the housekeeper said.


    Woo-Jin initially thought that it was simply the actions of a bold and shameless fan. But the more he listened to the housekeeper¡¯s story, the more their situation seemed grave and alarming.


    ¡°At first, I thought I was being too paranoid, but after listening to the cleaning company and checking the cameras, I don¡¯t think we can turn a blind eye to this issue.¡±


    The disappearance of a box of trash could be overlooked, but having worked in this house for a few years, the housekeeper could make a clear distinction between regular fans and crazy ones. Furthermore, she knew from experience how reckless and unhinged the latter could be, so she couldn¡¯t let this issue go.


    Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee took the housekeeper¡¯s words seriously and went to check the security camera footage as well.

 CH 207

    Become a Star


    As expected, the moment Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee checked their security cameras¡¯ footage, they were at a loss for words.


    The trespasser clearly knew the locations and positions of each camera and hid her face from each of them.


    It would be understandable if she did it with the cameras installed outdoors, but she also knew the positions of the cameras indoors. As the housekeeper had guessed, it probably wasn¡¯t the woman¡¯s first time inside the house.


    ¡°How did she get inside last time?¡± Woo-Hee asked.


    ¡°She must¡¯ve mixed in with other people like she did this time. I assume the first time she came, it was just to scout around the house. After a few months, the footage will get erased, and unless she does something that stands out, we wouldn¡¯t be checking the footage like today.¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    They had invited many people to the house on several separate occasions over the last two years, such as their parents¡¯ birthdays or work-related parties.


    Back then, the number of invitees was large every time, so they had to hire more housekeepers and party helpers during the event.


    This lady-thief in question could¡¯ve been one of the extra helpers, or she could¡¯ve secretly infiltrated alongside the invitees like what she did this time.


    Woo-Jin and the others had only been careful and wary of fans who came in front of the house to see him. But they didn¡¯t imagine one of them would barge inside in such a manner.


    At this stage, it was highly likely that the woman was already known as a crazy fan inside the agency, and Woo-Jin had probably seen her face before.


    However, it was difficult to accurately identify the women with the security camera footage. Moreover, this was only their assumption; there was no solid evidence incriminating the woman.


    ¡°I wish I could at least see her face¡­ Ah!¡±


    Woo-Jin suddenly remembered another security camera that they had.


    Technically, it wasn¡¯t a camera they had willingly installed, but it was a camera that was basically fulfilling the same work as a security camera.


    The camera in question was installed on the roof of the house across the street.


    Looking at the photos and videos that had been taken from that camera in the past, the image quality was very sharp even when zoomed in from far. The quality of the security cameras couldn¡¯t hold a candle to it.


    As soon as he remembered, Woo-Jin was about to head to the house across the street, but he refrained from doing so as it was already late in the afternoon.


    Thus, their investigations ended the following day when he went to visit Kim Gwang-Sik and checked his camera¡¯s footage in the late morning.


    Funnily enough, when Woo-Jin went to the house after putting on a hat and told the tenant that he had come to meet the reporter on the roof, they opened the door for him immediately.


    The person who answered through the intercom opened the door while grumbling in annoyance, saying that Woo-Jin shouldn¡¯t have forgotten the keys to the house.


    Perhaps they had mistaken Woo-Jin for another reporter who worked in the same company as Kim Gwang-Sik.


    When the person opened the door without properly checking the visitor¡¯s identity, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. It appeared as though every house in the neighborhood, including his, didn¡¯t check their visitors properly.


    Oftentimes in movies and shows, the villains broke into the protagonist¡¯s house and made a mess. Thus Woo-Jin often wondered why the people inside the house kept opening the door to let the villains inside. But it appeared as though reality wasn¡¯t that different from fiction.


    Although Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t a villain who had come to make a mess, it appeared as though generally, security guards tended to slack off since several people worked in the homes of wealthy people.


    In the footage he got from the reporter on the roof, Woo-Jin saw the woman in question and laughed out loud.


    He had found a familiar face among the people from the cleaning company who entered his house.


    Furthermore, the woman frequently appeared in the footage on other days.


    She came to Woo-Jin¡¯s house more often than anyone else and was recorded wandering around the area for hours.


    But she wasn¡¯t the only one. After viewing the footage, Woo-Jin realized that while it was to a smaller degree, many people were wasting their time in front of his house.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s address had spread online and his neighborhood was easy to access since there were only houses. Thus, his fans kept coming here, hoping for an opportunity to meet Woo-Jin by chance.


    ¡°Should I really move out and live alone?¡±


    Any tree can be chopped down after ten swings[1]. But when the subject changes from a tree to a person, then one¡¯s actions can turn into a crime.


    Moreover, in reality, one can be fined if they chop down the wrong tree or damage the surroundings in the process.


    ***


    ¡°Hey, Yeo-Rin! Did you hear the news about Chae Woo-Jin moving out?¡±


    Hearing the words of a friend who also worked part-time at a cosmetics store, Lee Yeo-Rin replied that she already knew with an expressionless face.


    As she changed her clothes after the end of her shift, her friend was stunned by Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s answer.


    ¡°The article just came out, so I thought that even you wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°He moved out three days ago. The article was simply released late.¡± Lee Yeo-Rin said.


    ¡°Wow~! Is there anything you don¡¯t know when it comes to Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    Even though they were both fans of Chae Woo-Jin and were members of Wish Baragi, Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s intel on the actor was truly on a different level.


    She got information on the actor before anyone else, and she sometimes knew very personal news that wasn''t public, which often surprised her friend.


    ¡°But why are you quitting? Didn¡¯t you say you needed the money?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got more than enough now.¡± Lee Yeo-Rin replied.


    ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t need a lot to begin with. I only needed a bit to become independent because I hate living with my older sister.¡±


    Considering that she was a student who had taken a year off to try to become independent and had been working part-time, Lee Yeo-Rin sounded strangely confident.


    Suddenly, the t-shirt that Lee Yeo-Rin changed into caught her friend¡¯s attention. The white t-shirt was clean but seemed old and the neck area was stretched which made it look unsightly.


    In addition, the sleeves were stained with navy blue paint. But most of all, the shirt looked baggy on Lee Yeo-Rin as though it was a man¡¯s shirt.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that shirt?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s my boyfriend¡¯s. He was going to throw it away, so I took it instead. It¡¯s really comfortable to wear.¡±


    ¡°You have a boyfriend?¡±


    The friend was surprised at Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s words. She had known Lee Yeo-Rin for two years, and it was her first time hearing about a boyfriend.


    Lee Yeo-Rin grinned, exuding a sense of comfort and relaxation that she only started displaying recently.


    She used to be short-tempered and irritable, but had become more easygoing over the past few days and started to laugh more often. Perhaps it was the influence of her boyfriend.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin answered confidently as she wore her cardigan over the shirt.


    She moved quickly as though she was late for a date with her boyfriend. She hurried and grabbed her bag out of the locker, and a book fell out of it.


    ¡°Oh my god! How did you get that?¡±


    The book that fell out of Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s bag was ¡®Life Together¡¯, the limited edition photobook that Chae Woo-Jin had made with his friend.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you super upset because you hadn¡¯t gotten one back then?¡±


    Compared to the high demand, the photobooks were produced in very small quantities. Thus, when people put them up for sale, the photobooks would be sold immediately even with a premium price tag. In other words, it was extremely difficult to obtain one without an insane amount of luck.


    At that time, Lee Yeo-Rin was at her parents¡¯ house in the countryside, so she missed Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s photobook sale just like her friend.


    ¡°And isn¡¯t this Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s autograph?¡±


    Although there were Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s autographs inside the photobooks, it was only a print of his signature.


    However, this one had a large hand-signed autograph on the cover that was signed with a thick pen. It was like the photobook that the designer from Gaon posted on Wish Baragi, saying that she received it from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s mother.


    It was quite obvious that these versions were printed separately and given only to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s relatives and friends.


    Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s friend quickly opened the cover and checked the first page. As she expected, the front page said ¡®second edition¡¯.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t even sold on the internet regardless of how much people offered. How on earth did you get this?¡±


    Normally speaking, the second prints of a product should be less valuable than the first. However, for this photobook, Chae Woo-Jin had printed a second edition to distribute only to the people close to him. In other words, the second editions had a special meaning behind them which greatly increased their value. Moreover, his autograph was engraved directly and personally on the cover.


    The friend couldn¡¯t understand how Lee Yeo-Rin had obtained this when she couldn¡¯t even get the first edition.


    Then, she suddenly came up with the thought that Lee Yeo-Rin might be close with one of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s friends or relatives.


    Maybe that was why she was so quick to get information on Chae Woo-Jin.


    However, Lee Yeo-Rin gave an unexpected answer.


    ¡°My boyfriend gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°He gave you this?¡±


    In a matter of minutes, the friend heard about Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s boyfriend twice, even though this was the first time she had heard of him in years.


    Out of curiosity, she wanted to ask more about this mysterious boyfriend, but Lee Yeo-Rin snatched the photobook back from her friend and put it away in her bag, claiming that she was busy.


    ¡°Are you going to see your boyfriend now?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±


    With a profound look on her face, Lee Yeo-Rin left the break room with a particularly imposing posture. She left her friend behind, who grumbled about also wanting a boyfriend.


    ¡°Wait! I feel like I¡¯ve seen that shirt somewhere before¡­¡± the friend suddenly exclaimed to herself.


    She had definitely seen the navy blue stain on the left sleeve before.


    ¡°Ah, the Slipper Young Man!¡±


    There was no way any member of Wish Baragi wouldn¡¯t know about the t-shirt Woo-Jin was seen wearing when he was the Slipper Young Man.


    He was even photographed while wearing it in Los Angeles recently, which caused his fashion coordinator Hwang Yi-Young to be criticized.


    Chae Woo-Jin deserved to wear only the best clothes in the world for the rest of his life, so why was she making him wear that old and dirty shirt?


    ¡°I heard he threw it away for sure this time around¡­ Geez, there¡¯s no way.¡±


    She shook her head and assumed that Lee Yeo-Rin had taken her boyfriend¡¯s shirt and made the exact same stains on it.


    Even the friend remembered the stain¡¯s pattern and could draw it from memory, so of course Lee Yeo-Rin would be able to recreate the shirt.


    The friend shook her head as pointless thoughts crossed her mind.


    Even if the circumstances seemed to align a little too perfectly, having too much imagination could be considered delusional.


    ***


    Although he complained that the studio apartment was far too big for someone who was going to live alone, Woo-Jin moved into a flat prepared by CEO Jang Soo-Hwan at everyone¡¯s behest.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s parents initially voiced their objection when he said he wanted to live alone. However, they had no choice but to allow it after hearing his explanation.


    Fortunately, the car accident Lee Yeon had caused in the past and the recent trespassing issue had not caused any major incidents. But that didn¡¯t mean that similar issues would not happen again.


    The biggest problem was that they couldn¡¯t always prevent similar issues from happening in the future. There were too many family events organized at home, and many people could come and go during those occasions.


    Since people could see Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face just by getting past a single fence wall, many fans loitered around the house with the hopes of meeting him. Thus, Woo-Jin¡¯s parents couldn¡¯t stop him since he wanted to escape to a secure place for a while to discourage such fans.


    The atmosphere in the living room turned cold when Woo-Jin¡¯s parents heard that the problematic woman in question had also entered Woo-Hee¡¯s room, and their faces turned grim.


    As this couldn¡¯t be allowed to continue, the family decided to reinforce their home security while Woo-Jin was away since this was still Woo-Jin¡¯s main home. They were able to reach this agreement without any disagreements.


    But the topic of where Woo-Jin would live ended up being a problem.


    His parents were of the opinion that this was the perfect opportunity for Woo-Jin to buy a house.


    To this day, Woo-Jin saved the earnings he got from starring in movies, shows and commercials without spending them. Thus, the opinion of buying a house on this occasion prevailed.


    But then, Woo-Hee intervened and claimed that buying an entire building would be a better investment.


    And now, their parents were searching for buildings with good security and a great view that was worth investing in even if they were a bit too pricey. The actions of his family puzzled Woo-Jin.


    His plan was to find a place to escape to for a while, not to find a place to own and live in for the rest of his life.


    Once this situation was somewhat sorted out, Woo-Jin wanted to return to his parents¡¯ home or to take his time to search for a house to purchase.


    Right now, it was most important to leave this house as soon as possible, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t afford to take his time to carefully select a house to buy.


    His parents had to regretfully give up on the idea of buying at this point, but they started looking for places to rent while carefully considering the rent and deposit fees.


    Woo-Hee was on the side, punching numbers in the calculator while saying that paying a monthly rent was far too much of a waste.


    Since everyone in the family had different opinions, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan came up with an alternative solution: to have Woo-Jin live in a studio apartment owned by the company.


    It was located in a building owned by the company where they rented the studios to their affiliated celebrities. In fact, the members of an idol group had been living there just recently. Now that the studio apartment was vacant, CEO Jang lent it to Woo-Jin.


    The studio¡¯s security was already proven to be good enough for idols to live in.


    Without a security card, one could not use the elevator, and a security guard was always on standby in the parking lot to thoroughly manage the incoming and outgoing vehicles.


    The building was known for preventing any trespassers, even the infamous sasaeng fans.


    Depending on the size of the apartment, the furniture available inside was different from floor to floor. But there were only two apartments on the top floor¡ªthe penthouses¡ªand Woo-Jin now lived in one of them.


    And most of all, there was a special elevator for the penthouses that was exclusively for its residents.


    ¡°No one will be able to trespass here, right?¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke solemnly as he gave a penthouse-exclusive elevator security card to Kang Ho-Soo.


    1. An idiom in Korean that means anything is possible, that one shouldn¡¯t give up when confronted with failure and persist until they succeed. ?

 CH 208

    ¡°Still, don¡¯t let your guard down,¡± Kang Ho-Soo told Woo-Jin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone can get all the way up here. Although it¡¯s impossible to regulate everyone coming and going from my parents¡¯ house, this place has a limited number of people accessing it.¡±


    At his parents¡¯ house, many people would show up whenever events were organized or during construction work, so it was difficult to inspect and verify everyone¡¯s identity. On the other hand, no one would ever come to this studio apartment except for Woo-Jin''s family and the people from his agency. At most, there would be AS[1], mail carriers, and food delivery workers, but it was impossible for them to hide from Woo-Jin and trespass in his apartment.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I wanted to see what living alone is like. Otherwise, I was only planning on moving out of the house when I got married in the future.¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke casually as Kang Ho-Soo worried for him. As a matter of fact, Woo-Jin would not have moved out without the recent trespassing incident. Yet, that didn¡¯t mean he felt grateful to the extreme and toxic fan who was acting like a stalker.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better just to apply for a restraining order?¡± Kang Ho-Soo asked.


    ¡°Although she crossed the line, she¡¯s a fan first and foremost. It¡¯s a little too harsh to go that far because of one mistake. We should give her a second chance.¡±


    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re just enticing and luring her in so that she gets trapped in a quagmire.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m drawing a line between us and giving her a chance so that she can become aware of her limits. However, if she crosses this line once more, then she¡¯s no longer my fan,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    Rather than wasting her youth clinging to an unachievable dream, it was best to give her a reality check. It may sound a bit harsh, but Woo-Jin wanted her to abandon her futile fantasies as soon as possible and stay true to reality.


    ¡°I want her to be rational, reasonable, and smart.¡±


    Unfortunately, Woo-Jin¡¯s hopes did not come true.


    ***


    Woo-Jin was leaving his apartment when he glanced at the door to the other penthouse. He had a new neighbor moving next door to him.


    A few days ago, a notice had been posted asking for Woo-Jin¡¯s understanding since it would be noisy and inconvenient today due to the new furniture being brought inside. Despite this, it was much quieter than expected, so Woo-Jin had forgotten about the new neighbor until he stepped outside his door and saw the sign again.


    He was curious about this new neighbor, but CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had told Woo-Jin he didn¡¯t need to be friendly and could just mind his own business without worrying about them. Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t even greeted his previous neighbors, so there was no reason for him to behave differently this time. He decided to become an unchanging axis in this harsh world and have a stable core.


    Ever since that reporter had been allowed to use the rooftop across from his parents¡¯ house to monitor him, Woo-Jin had grown wary of his neighbors. He had no delusions or false hopes about becoming close friends with the other resident.


    Yet, as he was dilly-dallying, Woo-Jin missed his opportunity to be a truly cold-hearted neighbor.


    ¡°Hello! Do you live next door?¡±


    The elevator opened, and a woman got off with a box in her arms. As she was behind Woo-Jin, she only saw his back as she greeted him.


    Woo-Jin was looking at the apartment when he heard the voice and turned around. When the woman saw his face, her eyes opened wide in surprise, and she shouted, ¡°Are you¡­ Chae Woo-Jin? Are you actually Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    The woman called out his name several times and confirmed his identity, apparently in complete disbelief. Woo-Jin greeted her politely.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I assume you¡¯re my neighbor who¡¯s moving in today?¡±


    Woo-Jin tilted his head slightly as he watched the lady¡¯s surprised expressions. Her startled, excited face was subtly out of balance and was unsettling to look at. In addition, her facial expressions were unnatural and had some swelling here and there, making it appear awkward overall.


    ¡°Oh my god~! I never thought I would be neighbors with Chae Woo-Jin. What should I do? I¡¯m not wearing any makeup right now!¡±


    The girl almost seemed like she was about to cry since she couldn¡¯t hide her face, her hands busy holding the box. Woo-Jin noticed that she was actually wearing light makeup and that her face wasn¡¯t quite entirely bare, but he pretended not to have seen it.


    ¡°What a fateful coincidence! I hope we can be friends from now on!¡±


    Placing the box on the floor, the woman held out her hand. He had no particular reason to refuse, so Woo-Jin reciprocated the handshake. In all honesty, needing to behave properly to uphold his image as a celebrity was quite annoying in situations such as this.


    ¡°My name is Lee Yeo-Rin. I¡¯ll be in your care from now on.¡±


    ¡°You already know my name, but I am Chae Woo-Jin. Likewise, I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    He wanted to ask her whether she was living with her family, but Woo-Jin stopped himself. If they started asking personal questions, they would inevitably become closer and better acquainted. Woo-Jin personally did not want this, so as soon as they finished their greetings, he said goodbye and got on the elevator.


    After entering the elevator, Woo-Jin turned around as the elevator doors began to close. Through the slowly narrowing crack between the doors, Woo-Jin was watching Lee Yeo-Rin bow her head when a chill ran down his back. He had just realized that the face he was looking at seemed familiar.


    The impression she gave off and her appearance had subtly changed, so he hadn¡¯t recognized her immediately, but he had known her face for a while. She was always present in places where his fans gathered, and she sometimes approached him and touched his body. There was even a time when she was caught trying to steal one of Woo-Jin¡¯s belongings.


    Her face had also been caught on camera by the reporter Kim Gwang-Sik. She was the one who had sneaked into his house alongside the cleaning company. The reason he couldn¡¯t recognize this woman right away was that her face had changed.


    Her skin had improved a great deal, and it seemed as if she had taken excellent care of it. Furthermore, her eyes had gotten larger and her nose sharper. Moreover, her teeth were arranged straighter than before and were whiter as well.


    The unnatural sensation Woo-Jin felt from Lee Yeo-Rin was because of her plastic surgery and dental laminates. Her image had changed drastically. Her face was already pretty before, but her now-big eyes and tall nose made her look like a frigid beauty.


    In the past, she had a unique charm, but now she was an outstanding beauty. But interestingly, it was a type of attractiveness that could be commonly seen on the streets. It was as if a gorgeous, unique-looking actress had gotten plastic surgery to become a common beauty like a mass-produced doll.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this.¡±


    Woo-Jin had given her a chance to redeem herself, but instead, she took it as an opportunity to upgrade herself and appear before him again. He had overlooked the fact that it was easier to move into a studio apartment than it was to get a house in a residential area if you wanted to become Woo-Jin¡¯s neighbor.


    Furthermore, now that they had become neighbors, he would be much more accessible to her compared to when he lived in his parents¡¯ house. Even if the apartment price or the monthly rent were high, as long as she wasn¡¯t having financial difficulties, she would deem it money well spent since she could stay so close to Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Is she actually planning on going through with this?¡±


    Woo-Jin shook his head as it seemed he would have to increase the security cameras within his studio as well as the exterior of it. He wondered what she was planning to do by following him all the way here, but his question was too innocent. It was naive to expect her to behave more decently and appropriately now that they were neighbors.


    ***


    ¡°Are you headed somewhere? A broadcast?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way to meet a friend. Oh, there¡¯s no need to worry; I don¡¯t tell anyone that my neighbor is Chae Woo-Jin. If I did, my friends would come over to my place every day and crowd it just to see you, and I won¡¯t tolerate that.¡±


    Woo-Jin stayed silent after his one-word answer, but Lee Yeo-Rin continued talking by herself.


    He thought it was a coincidence at first, but whenever Woo-Jin walked out of his apartment, she always left hers as well and talked to him. She acted as if it were their first time meeting and none of their past interactions had occurred. So, Woo-Jin did the same and pretended not to know her. He felt that if she knew he recognized her despite the plastic surgery, she would be delighted. And he wanted to avoid pleasing her at all costs.


    As Woo-Jin calmly faced forward without even glancing at her, Lee Yeo-Rin rummaged through her bag without ending her monologue. Yet, all of a sudden, she tripped over nothing and started falling toward Woo-Jin. Unfortunately for her, the actor quickly retreated and avoided any physical contact.


    ¡°Ack! Could you help me up, please?¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin fell to her knees and asked for Woo-Jin¡¯s help pitifully. Most people would listen to the request of a delicate beauty asking for their help, but Woo-Jin simply inquired indifferently and bluntly, ¡°Is it bad enough that you can¡¯t get up on your own? Then, I shouldn¡¯t lift you recklessly. Should I call 119[2]?¡±


    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s not that serious.¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin stood up on her own and whined that her knees hurt, but Woo-Jin just watched coolly.


    They both got on the elevator, and Woo-Jin headed to the underground parking lot. Once the elevator arrived, he got off and was followed by Lee Yeo-Rin. However, she didn¡¯t move after that and stayed by the elevator door. She watched Woo-Jin¡¯s back as he got further away, standing still as if her leg was hurting too much to be able to walk well.


    Woo-Jin approached a van and got in, finding Kang Ho-Soo waiting inside as he muttered a complaint to the actor. ¡°I really should move in with you.¡±


    According to their investigations, Lee Yeo-Rin did not own a car. Thus, it was plainly obvious why she had come down to the underground parking lot despite this. In fact, she was still tenaciously staring at the van that was driving away right now.


    As he kept an eye on Lee Yeo-Rin through the rear-view mirror, Kang Ho-Soo wore a tired expression as if he was utterly fed up with everything. However, Woo-Jin was also fed up with Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s complaints, and he had a similarly exhausted look. He was enjoying living alone, leisurely making the most of his time and privacy. So when he imagined living with Kang Ho-Soo, he already felt suffocated.


    ¡°What do you think about moving somewhere else?¡± Kang Ho-Soo asked.


    ¡°What if she follows me there too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Speaking of which, that woman really is quite strange.¡±


    ¡°She definitely isn¡¯t right in the head,¡± Woo-Jin remarked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. According to our investigations, there is no chance that she has the financial capability to rent an apartment here, let alone a penthouse. The same goes for her parents.¡±


    Needless to say, the monthly rent and maintenance expenses of this apartment building were exorbitantly high.


    Woo-Jin thought to himself for a moment when his expression abruptly grew awkward. From his reaction, it appeared as if he had come to a certain realization. Seeing this, Kang Ho-Soo solemnly asked for the actor¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°We stopped our investigations after we reached this far, but what do you think? Should we look deeper into her?¡±


    ¡°We should respect others¡¯ privacy just like how I want my privacy to be respected,¡± Woo-Jin replied.


    ¡°But our speculation could be wrong.¡±


    ¡°What speculation? I didn¡¯t make any speculation.¡±


    Woo-Jin feigned ignorance as he spoke. Kang Ho-Soo felt betrayed since he now appeared to be the villain of the story.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how she got the money to move here. Her motivation is the problem, though.¡±


    Yet, at this point in time, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t have possibly imagined that these two points would be deeply linked with each other.


    ***


    Today, Woo-Jin had an interview on an internet broadcast that DS had created and operated on their own. It was called DSTV, and the celebrities of the agency took turns getting interviewed or hosting some programs. The broadcast was aired in real-time, so the viewers could communicate with the host and guest using the chat.


    In other words, it was an independent broadcast managed by DS for fan service.


    ¡°Today~ we finally have Mr. Chae Woo-Jin on the show! I mean, how can it be so difficult to get Mr. Chae Woo-Jin on DSTV? It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    The interviewer today was Lee Jin-Ah, a reporter famous for her wittiness and clear pronunciation despite how rapidly she spoke. She tended to be a bit pushy and ask celebrities to show off some personal skills on camera, but before the interview had started, the agency had asked her to refrain from doing so today.


    ¡°Look at how fast the chat is going now that you¡¯ve appeared, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. It¡¯s going by so quickly that I can¡¯t read anything the viewers are saying.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re telling you to stop talking so much and begin the interview already.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?!¡±


    This was what the one message that happened to catch Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes had said. Lee Jin-Ah made an exaggerated sorrowful face and pretended to cry, waving the cue cards in her hand at the camera.


    ¡°Everyone, this is also my first time meeting Mr. Chae Woo-Jin in person today, so I ask for your understanding.¡±


    ¡°Is it our first time? Why do I feel like we¡¯ve met a few times already?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    ¡°I did go to the set of City of Shadows before, but you weren¡¯t present that day. Rumors say that you were afraid of me forcing you to show off your skills and ran away.¡±


    ¡°Oh~! Your visit that day overlapped with my recording session for the OST. I guess I was lucky.¡±


    Woo-Jin laughed as he remembered how Kang Min-Ho was forced to do the ¡®Did you make kongnamul muchim~!¡¯ gag[3] and how the scene was aired on tv.


    ¡°And we did see each other a few times when we crossed paths at the award ceremony, but even after I called your name loudly, you always just walked away.¡±


    Lee Jin-Ah reenacted with her fingers how quickly Woo-Jin had walked past her. The person in question then made a pinky promise to reply and talk to her next time.


    ¡°How do you like it here? We decorated this place specifically for you, but do you like it?¡±


    Woo-Jin looked around the area with a renewed sense of awe.


    The wall behind him was decorated with frames containing enlarged photos of scenes from his movies and TV shows. However, the biggest frame stood out the most and caught his attention. It was the picture Woo-Jin and Dustin had taken together at the wedding after-party not long ago.


    ¡°Why is that picture so abnormally large? It¡¯s a bit embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°It is the most recent picture of you, after all. And there are two incredibly handsome men in it, which is always a plus.¡±


    The chat instantly flooded with messages at Lee Jin-Ah¡¯s explanation, and most of them seemed to agree with her opinion.


    ¡°Oh? Someone asked whether you would allow Dustin and your sister to get married if they wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Who on earth asked that? Please get rid of such worthless and useless thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Is it really a useless thought?¡± Lee Jin-Ah asked.


    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s no way it would ever happen. And if such a tragedy did occur somehow, it would be over my dead body.¡±


    Dustin was already slightly lacking when it came to becoming the husband of Woo-Jin¡¯s great-granddaughter, so it was unimaginable and unacceptable for him to marry his little sister. However, the chat responded by remarking that someone of Dustin¡¯s status was more than satisfying enough. Most prominently, they commented that Woo-Jin was acting unusually stern considering how the two superstars were close with each other.


    1. We aren¡¯t quite sure what AS is, but based on the context, we believe it¡¯s apartment security or employees from the agency ?


    2. 119 is the Korean emergency hotline like 911 in the US. ?


    3. This had previously appeared in chapter 68. Kongnamul muchim (??? ??) is a Korean soybean sprout side dish. It was a famous line used by comedian Lee Ju-Il back in the 80s. ?

 CH 209

    ¡°Dustin is too popular with women because of how handsome he is and how nice he is to his friends. I don¡¯t plan on making her unhappy![1]¡± Woo-Jin said.


    ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re on this topic, may I ask what type of standards you have for your potential brother-in-law?¡± Lee Jin-Ah asked.


    ¡°The couples¡¯ opinions are most important, but it has to be someone with a good personality. In addition, I would accept him if he is a prominent figure, has the ability to support his family, is faithful to his loved ones, has good physical and mental health, has similar hobbies as my younger sister, is a good cook if possible, has a good sense of humor, and likes cats¡­.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait! That¡¯s way too specific. Aren¡¯t you talking about your own ideal partner now?¡±


    ¡°No, I just hope that my sister will meet someone who¡¯ll be able to fulfill these small hopes and wishes,¡± Woo-Jin answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s not small at all. Will your sister ever be able to get married?¡±


    Everyone unanimously started to pity Woo-Hee and her fate of remaining single. If Dustin¡ªa world star¡ªwasn¡¯t worthy enough to become Woo-Jin¡¯s brother-in-law, then who else could ever reach his standards?


    Woo-Jin was the only one who couldn¡¯t comprehend the others¡¯ reactions and was making an expression that said, ¡®what? I¡¯m not wrong.¡¯


    ¡°Speaking of which, are you in a relationship right now, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time, nor have I found the right person to be in a relationship.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, people are asking whether you¡¯re actually dating several people simultaneously but simply putting on a front.¡±


    ¡°Well, if there hasn¡¯t been a scandalous article about them yet, then I¡¯m really not seeing anyone,¡± Woo-Jin remarked.


    ¡°True, the number of paparazzi following you around these days is no joke. Is that why you moved out and became independent from your parents?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. I felt sorry for constantly bothering my family after a certain reporter recommended that I move out and become independent. He said that if I did this, I could date people freely, cause a scandal, and give him interesting stories to write about.¡±


    The people watching the broadcast instantly started pouring out malicious comments aimed at this unknown reporter. Most of the viewers were Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans, so no one was surprised by how sensitive they were about the actor¡¯s dating life.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean they unconditionally opposed the idea of Woo-Jin dating someone. As long as she was smart, beautiful, wise, and good-natured, then she was always welcome to get together with the actor.


    Reading the messages in the chat, Lee Jin-Ah joked that Chae Woo-Jin and his fans were the same when it came to finding prospective partners for their loved ones.


    ¡°People say that it almost seems like you¡¯re living life a second time, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°A second time? What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°It means that you seem to remember your past life or something along those lines. It¡¯s an expression people use to describe someone who excels at anything and everything they do.¡±


    Although he was only in his early to mid-twenties, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting showed insight and life experience that was unimaginable for his age. In fact, his performances didn¡¯t feel like an act or mere imitations. It was as if he had actually lived out his roles, to which the audience couldn¡¯t help but watch in awe. Furthermore, not only was he an excellent actor, but he could also do anything skillfully, which led to the theory that he was living life a second time.


    Lee Jin-Ah¡¯s explanation had hit the mark. Yet, rather than panicking or looking shocked, Woo-Jin simply shook his head with a slightly melancholic and gloomy expression.


    ¡°Once isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lee Jin-Ah asked.


    ¡°A person needs to live nine hundred and ninety-nine times to finally become somewhat mature, so there¡¯s no way a second chance at life would make much of a difference.¡±


    Woo-Jin spoke as if he knew this from experience.


    After visiting the United States, he had grown a great deal. Before, he would not have been able to say something like this even as a joke, but now he could do it with a smile. But in all seriousness, Woo-Jin truly didn¡¯t believe that one or two past lives were enough to make someone mature or improve their overall abilities.


    If Woo-Jin only remembered his most past life, Lansky¡¯s, and not the other ones, then he wouldn¡¯t be the Woo-Jin he was today. In fact, his life would¡¯ve gone in a much more negative direction. By remembering numerous past lives, he was able to balance them all out and avoid becoming obsessed with a particular one.


    ¡°You speak as though you actually remember your past life.¡± Lee Jin-Ah commented.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious, seeing how I haven¡¯t matured yet?¡±


    In response to Woo-Jin¡¯s answer, the chat was filled with crying emojis and messages along the lines of ¡®if you¡¯re not mature, then what am I?¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t easy to find and pinpoint the interesting, relevant messages in the chat since it was scrolling by so quickly. Yet, rather skillfully, Lee Jin-Ah was able to find the important questions that people were most curious about.


    ¡°You¡¯ve played a variety of characters so far, but what kind of role would you like to play next?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It hasn''t been too long since I finished filming my most recent project, so I don¡¯t have any plans right now. Is there any type of content or character you¡¯d like to see me play?¡±


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t all that picky with his roles, so he asked the fans instead what they wanted from him. Prior to this, he had always played roles that he wanted to take on. As such, it didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea to do what the fans wanted from him at least once. However, the responses that quickly stormed the chat were so uniform that Woo-Jin had no choices or options to pick from.


    ¡°A dark melodrama¡­ That¡¯s not bad, but are these people actually my fans? I hear that your average fan doesn¡¯t like seeing their favorite actor in kissing scenes. So why is everyone doing this to me?¡±


    Woo-Jin was disapproving as he read the new messages flooding the chat. In an instant, the chat was covered in descriptions of 19+ content. At first, they were simply referring to some melodrama scenes, but as people started writing detailed descriptions of what they wanted, the genre gradually shifted to erotica.


    ¡°People are saying¡­ ¡®we¡¯re your fans,¡¯ ¡®if we can¡¯t do it with you personally, then we¡¯d rather see you do it with another actress on screen.¡¯ Someone says¡­ ¡®there¡¯s nothing more beautiful than a skin-colored screen¡¯¡­ Damn, these people sure know what they¡¯re talking about.¡± Lee Jin-Ah observed as she read the chat.


    ¡°It seems there¡¯s many who gained this knowledge from watching melodramas.¡±


    As Woo-Jin spoke, the chat was covered in ¡®lol¡¯s,¡¯ ¡®lmao¡¯s,¡¯ and laughing emojis.


    Within the chat, some messages written in English could often be seen. When she would see these, Lee Jin-Ah would point at them and ask Woo-Jin to interpret for her. Since this was an internet broadcast, it was easily accessible even from abroad. Thus, there were several languages mixing in with Korean in the chat.


    ¡°That¡¯s not English; it¡¯s French. They said they became a fan after watching Death Hill and hope to see me at Cannes next year.¡±


    After translating the message, Woo-Jin then replied in French, ¡®Thank you. I hope to see you at Cannes next year too.¡¯


    ¡°Turns out the person who¡¯s most knowledgeable was actually by my side. Oh! That one¡¯s in English, right?¡±


    Lee Jin-Ah was admiring Woo-Jin¡¯s French pronunciation when she pointed at a foreign language that showed up between the words of praise in the chat.


    ¡°They¡¯re asking what I think about the role of a murderer, and if I can, they also want me to perform as one. That¡¯s an interesting request among all the demands for melodrama in the chat. Maybe they didn¡¯t get swayed by the crowd since they can¡¯t read Korean,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    As a way of being considerate to any foreigners watching, the broadcast had been translating Woo-Jin and Lee Jin-Ah¡¯s conversation into simple English, Chinese, and Japanese in real-time with subtitles on the screen. By doing so, foreigners were able to roughly understand and follow the content of the broadcast.


    ¡°A murderer? Haven¡¯t you already played that role in City of Shadows?¡± Lee Jin-Ah asked.


    ¡°Louie was a killer, and this viewer is asking about an ordinary murderer.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those the same thing?¡±


    ¡°A killer kills as a job. A murderer does it as a hobby.¡±


    In response to Woo-Jin¡¯s answer, Lee Jin-Ah said she was scared and rubbed her upper arms with both her hands. Killers and murderers were both horrible people, but the latter was a bit more vicious and terrifying.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Louie was a gentle and kind killer, so I feel like the audience didn¡¯t reject him as much because of that.¡±


    ¡°That was why I was quite worried back then. A person whose job is to kill people shouldn¡¯t garner sympathy. And Louie wasn¡¯t gentle; he was just insensitive since he lacked emotions. Someone like that can never be a good person. The only difference is whether he enjoys killing or not. However, in the end, he still doesn¡¯t respect or acknowledge human lives and kills people, which makes him a bad person regardless.¡±


    Lee Jin-Ah seemed to understand Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation, but she couldn¡¯t quite get the difference between murderers and killers.


    ¡°Then, could you act like a murderer right now? That way, we can compare it to Louie.¡±


    Woo-Jin laughed awkwardly at Lee Jin-Ah¡¯s request.


    This sudden request caused him to be a bit perplexed as he didn¡¯t know what he should do to play a murderer without any given setting. He couldn¡¯t just put on a scary and vicious expression; he had to imagine and create his own character.


    ¡°That was a huge jump from acting in a melodrama to suddenly playing a murderer,¡± Woo-Jin remarked.


    ¡°You can¡¯t exactly perform a melodrama properly here. Though, I wouldn¡¯t mind being your partner for such a scene.¡±


    Lee Jin-Ah straightened her posture and said she was always ready if Woo-Jin needed a romantic partner to act out a melodramatic scene.


    ¡°Then, I will try to act out a murderer whose hobby is killing people.¡±


    Seeing Woo-Jin choose the other option immediately without thinking twice, Lee Jin-Ah turned her head and clicked her tongue. The chat was now filled with clapping emojis.


    ¡°You do this even though you people were asking for melodrama just moments ago!¡±


    Lee Jin-Ah complained to the viewers who had been asking for a melodrama scene before changing their minds.


    While Lee Jin-Ah read the chat and entertained the audience, Woo-Jin quickly brainstormed his murderer character. Although he had spoken boldly, playing a murderer who was different from Louie required complex emotional acting. To maximize their differences in a short period of time, he needed to exaggerate the portrayal and also needed a short story behind the character.


    When Woo-Jin thought of a murderer, the image that immediately popped into his mind was Lloyd from Confession of White. After he returned to Korea, Woo-Jin read Confession of White once again and focused on analyzing Lloyd¡¯s psychology this time.


    He thought that it might be at least slightly useful in helping him understand Ilya¡¯s feelings. As a result, he naturally ended up thinking of Lloyd when he tried to imagine a murderer. In his mind, it wouldn¡¯t be that poor of an idea to portray Lloyd if he didn¡¯t have any other reference to think of, but Woo-Jin also felt like it wouldn¡¯t fit this situation.


    During this performance, Woo-Jin wanted to play and emphasize a human being who should never be pitied or sympathized with, whether it be a killer or a murderer. However, no matter how terrible of a person Lloyd was, he could not be easily hated. His flaws won the readers¡¯ sympathy, his beautiful looks grabbed their hearts, and his anger was understandable, making his character far too attractive and endearing to hate.


    Although he wanted to attempt the portrayal, the burden of the role itself and the anxiety that he wouldn¡¯t be able to play Lloyd properly fought against this desire. In the end, Woo-Jin decisively gave up on Lloyd as he did not fit the situation. Instead, Woo-Jin took a few of Lloyd¡¯s scenes and backstory and used them to create the history of the new character he was going to portray.


    After pondering for a moment, Woo-Jin lowered his head. Lee Jin-Ah turned to the camera and put an index finger to her lips.


    Though it was impossible for the viewers to disturb Woo-Jin since they weren¡¯t physically present, most of the people watching the live broadcast swallowed their saliva at this very moment. The chat that was endlessly scrolling slowed down gradually as well.


    Woo-Jin kept his head down and held his two hands together, wiggling his fingers. The busy hand movements seemed to show his nervousness as he exuded an uneasy feeling. Then, Woo-Jin suddenly raised his face to the camera, and the viewers froze.


    The murderer they had imagined was a person with a vicious aura and a cruel gaze.


    When people thought of a murderer, most of them envisioned a serial killer. They visualized the eyes of the criminals who appeared on the news, wearing masks to hide the rest of their faces. The bloodthirst and calmness that exuded from their murky eyes aroused fear. The acting that people expected from Woo-Jin did not deviate much from this image in their heads, but then, Chae Woo-Jin raised his head and destroyed everything that they had predicted.


    With eyes that tilted upwards, he bore a smile so beautiful that it bewildered everyone. They couldn¡¯t comprehend the passing of time and simply stared at the actor blankly. At that moment, however, Woo-Jin¡¯s red lips twitched as though he were about to say something, and the viewers¡¯ mouths dried.


    They couldn¡¯t understand how he could be so lovely and endearing. If Woo-Jin ever requested anything with that expression, they would want to grant it unconditionally, no matter what he was asking of them. He was like a delicate and weak little animal that they needed to protect. Just as butterflies approached flowers without prudence, the viewers subconsciously brought their faces closer to their screens.


    ¡°I thought you were a butterfly, but you¡¯re an ugly and disgusting caterpillar. You¡¯re no fun at all.¡­¡±


    At that moment, Woo-Jin spoke to an imaginary person before him and laughed. He stopped scratching the tip of his fingers with his thumb, and his brows increasingly contorted in annoyance.


    His face¡ªwhich was pure and beautiful at first¡ªbecame entangled with anger and resentment. It resembled the whining of a child whose playtime was interrupted, as well as the anger of an adult who got disappointed by an object he was excited about.


    Woo-Jin was losing his temper towards this fictional person standing in front of him as his face morphed into a crazed expression. His anger grew like a wildfire and gradually changed to bloodthirst. The process of transformation from an angel¡¯s face to an insane murderer¡¯s was clearly captured on camera.


    Yet, at some point, Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes sparkled, and he smiled refreshingly as though he had found the solution to his problem. The initial sweet and lovely smile could be seen on his face again, but it didn¡¯t fill the viewers¡¯ hearts with adoration anymore. In fact, it shook their hearts in a completely different way.


    They were overtaken by fear and despair. The chat did not load a single message for a few minutes afterward. They weren¡¯t even enraged at this murderer, nor did they have any desire to bring this criminal to justice.


    They were drowning in an absolute terror that could not be resisted.


    1. The Korean sentence was ?? ???? ?? ? ???? which is directly translated to: Do you plan on making her suffer/heart break. So the implication is that because Dustin is too popular with women, his wife would become jealous and unhappy and Woo-Jin has no intention of having his sister suffer like that. ?

 CH 210

    <Currently, rumors are circulating in Hollywood that Confession of White will be adapted into a movie.


    For a long time now, there have been numerous reports that the novel would be made into a movie. Yet, each time, the projects were canceled as there was no way to get in touch with the author. The CEO of the novel¡¯s publishing company had a direct line of communication with the author, and they¡¯d expressed L. Dm¨ªtri¡¯s strong skepticism toward movie adaptations in the past. Thus, it was widely believed that it would be the same case this time around.


    However, a source inside the industry testified that things would be different this time. Rumors stated that Ilya Turner has decided to come forward on the author¡¯s behalf and help with the film¡¯s production. According to these statements, L. Dm¨ªtri entrusted Ilya Turner with all the rights needed for the project.


    Having been suspected of being L. Dm¨ªtri in the past, Ilya Turner¡¯s appearance was meaningful in several ways. Just like how L. Dm¨ªtri remained hidden behind a veil of mystery, Ilya Turner was famous for his reluctance to appear in public. It was unthinkable for Ilya Turner to step forward like this for another author¡¯s novel unless they were personally acquainted and close.


    Despite how notorious the two authors¡¯ fanbases were for being at odds with each other, this incident has revealed that the two individuals in question actually share a friendship that goes beyond simple acquaintances.


    Although Ilya Turner could be L himself, many people shared the opinion that it was improbable. And now that such speculations weren¡¯t being expressed anymore, it seemed that Ilya Turner was no longer reluctant to openly reveal his friendship with L. Dm¨ªtri.


    Details of the film¡¯s production were yet to be released.


    However, the producers and Ilya Turner said that the casting of ¡®Lloyd,¡¯ the protagonist of Confession of White, was the most critical factor in the adaptation. Thus, the producers stated that they planned to prepare a large-scale audition for the role.


    - Do these people plan on ruining the novel I love?! Please don¡¯t adapt it! I¡¯m begging you!


    ©¸I disagree with you. I really want to see Lloyd with my own eyes. Even the fantastic paintings Lloyd created can be reproduced well enough with today¡¯s technology.


    - To sum it up, they¡¯re looking for an actor who can play the role of Lloyd. I¡¯m not too worried about the filmmaking process. Instead, I¡¯m anxious about the actor.


    ©¸Here we go again, you Confession Mothers-in-Law[1]. Just let the director do their job and make the movie as they please. Whenever someone adapts something into a movie or show, the fans of the original work constantly complain and ruin the adaptation. And even though it¡¯s their fault the production wasn¡¯t successful, they look down on it self-righteously. You people really don¡¯t have a conscience.


    ©¸But either way, the movie will be made in the United States, so it¡¯s pointless for us Korean fans to be complaining about it since they won¡¯t listen to us. And I¡¯m sure the fans of the original English novel will complain even louder than us.


    - Aren¡¯t fans of the Confession of White novel known for not joking around and being dead serious about everything? They¡¯re famous for messing with Ilya Turner and butting heads with his fans, but even though they end up losing, they still pretend that they won in their heads. Anyways, my condolences in advance to the actor who will be cast as Lloyd. I bet that the Mother-in-Laws in the United States will grab their guns and storm the actor¡¯s home if they¡¯re not satisfied with the movie. Rest in peace.


    ©¸I¡¯d say the novel¡¯s fans in the USA are somewhat similar to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans.


    ©¸Nah, I¡¯d say that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fanbase is similar to Ilya Turner¡¯s. L¡¯s fanbase is akin to thugs that roam around and pick fights with everyone they come across, but Ilya¡¯s fans are usually amicable and polite. However, if someone picks a fight with them, they battle to the death in a bloody war and come out victorious. That¡¯s why L¡¯s fanbase has never lost to anyone except Ilya¡¯s fans.


    ©¸Then who would win if Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans and Ilya¡¯s fans duked it out?


    - Confession of White? What¡¯s that? And who is Ilya Turner? Is he famous?


    ©¸Dude, don¡¯t be like this and go to a library at least once in your life.


    The United States wasn¡¯t the only country excited about the rumor of Confession of White¡¯s film adaptation. The entire world was waiting anxiously for more news.


    Every time a similar story spread in the news in the past, the movie producers always tried to become the scoop of the century just for the project to be canceled when they were unable to get the original author¡¯s consent.


    However, the rumors that Ilya Turner would step forward and serve as the bridge between the producers and the author raised people¡¯s expectations. The public thought that things would be different this time around. Unfortunately, not everyone welcomed the news with open arms. People were worried about how the filmmakers would recreate the novel¡¯s unique atmosphere and Lloyd¡¯s charm.


    Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to Lloyd¡¯s casting audition, raising both expectations and concerns at the same time.


    The detailed schedule and conditions for the audition had not been revealed yet, but some actors were already preparing. Furthermore, a certain source in the industry caused a stir when they remarked that L. Dm¨ªtri had never confirmed Lloyd¡¯s race in the novel. In other words, Asian actors could also play the role of Lloyd.


    In fact, among the fans of the original novel, a significant percentage of the fanbase supported the idea that Lloyd was someone of Asian ethnicity. So, while the news didn¡¯t surprise fans of Confession of White, it did sprout some hope inside the hearts of Asian actors around the world. Thus, the novel¡¯s popularity grew exponentially with young male celebrities around the world.


    ¡°Goddamn, why on earth is this book so difficult to understand?¡±


    ¡°Just be like me and give up. Life is much more comfortable this way. Besides, do you seriously think you¡¯ll get an opportunity to audition for the role?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?! Village¡¯s Do-Ya auditioned for a role and was cast in a Hollywood movie last time, that bastard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s tall and handsome. He wasn¡¯t chosen for his acting skills. The bastard didn¡¯t even have many lines despite all the scenes he appeared in.¡±


    In others¡¯ eyes, these two men were already successful idols. However, human greed had no limits. Yi-Sak¡ªan idol of the group ¡®Delios¡¯¡ªcouldn¡¯t help but get nervous when he saw his rivals making their way into Hollywood. He wanted to audition for the role of Lloyd if possible, but Confession of White was just too difficult for him to understand.


    He had heard that it was a fictional novel, but it was much harder to read than most literary works. The violent and brutal descriptions were tolerable, but the rhetoric and flowery language were incomprehensible. He had to look up new words in the dictionary constantly to read the novel.


    Joon-Ha had given up on auditioning for the role for quite a while now. In his eyes, Yi-Sak¡¯s effort and hard work were ephemeral and vain. One of the reasons he quit reading the novel was because of the many challenging words, but also, when he looked up the content of Confession of White online, Joon-Ha realized that they weren¡¯t cut out to play the protagonist in the adaptation.


    ¡°The fans of the novel are no joke. They¡¯re even threatening people, saying that they¡¯ll pay close attention to the audition¡¯s results and protest if they¡¯re not satisfied with the actor,¡± Joon-Ha remarked.


    ¡°Still, don¡¯t you think my appearance is fitting? Lloyd is described as weak yet beautiful, so aren¡¯t I good enough to play him?¡±


    Yi-Sak supported his chin with the back of his hand and smiled sweetly at Joon-Ha. Truly, his fair skin and cute face weren¡¯t all that bad.


    However, regardless of his appearance, a singer and an actor exuded different atmospheres and auras. That was why singers had a hard time getting along and synergizing with their co-stars when acting for the first time. Yi-Sak was also in an ambiguous position. While he wasn¡¯t horrendous, he was somewhat lacking as an actor.


    Needless to say, it couldn¡¯t be denied that his skills and attractiveness had significantly improved since his debut, thanks to the agency¡¯s complete care and attention, leading to an increase in popularity. Thus, Yi-Sak was in charge of having the good looks in Delios, and he was excellent at his job. Nevertheless, he did not have the dominating aura and charisma that an actor needed on screen.


    Besides, Confession of White¡¯s Lloyd wasn¡¯t a role that could be played simply with one¡¯s appearance. He wasn¡¯t just a pretty guy who looked gentle and garnered sympathy.


    ¡°I gave up on finishing the book, but honestly, you¡¯re not¡­.¡±


    Joon-Ha was in the middle of stating his mind when he suddenly stopped, staring blankly in one direction with his mouth wide open.


    Yi-Sak followed Joon-Ha¡¯s gaze and made the same expression as his friend. They watched incredulously as someone approached them. They both came to realize what it meant when people described someone as ¡®shining bright.¡¯


    ¡°Hello!¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin greeted them cheerfully when their gazes met. Joon-Ha stuttered and asked the actor in return, ¡°W-What brings you here?¡±


    They were currently at DS Caf¨¦. It was a building with a caf¨¦ where people could sit and eat or drink, and it also acted as a store that sold the goods and products of celebrities belonging to DS. It was owned by DS and used for its artists, similar in concept to DSTV.


    Although it was created to become another source of income for the agency, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had prepared this caf¨¦ for the purpose of promoting his artists and communicating with the fans. As such, he recommended that his artists go to the caf¨¦ whenever they had free time. Even if the celebrities didn¡¯t interact with the fans there, it was helpful and provided more than enough happiness for the fans to see their favorite celebrity sitting nearby.


    Yet, in return, there was a rule that fans could not go up to the artists and ask for autographs or photos unless the artist suggested it first. Thus, it was a system where celebrities could come and relax comfortably, while fans were satisfied just by watching them. In addition, the artist could also chat with fans and sign autographs whenever they felt like doing so.


    In the end, celebrities often came to the caf¨¦ with a carefree mind. They could relax here as people didn¡¯t bother them requesting pictures or autographs, and they didn¡¯t get insulted whenever they refused someone¡¯s request.


    However, most people who came to DS Caf¨¦ ended up being K-Pop idols and their fans. Idols were used to fan culture and would actively communicate with their fans, so they made excellent use of this opportunity at the caf¨¦ to strengthen their bonds with their fanbase.


    Moreover, the building didn¡¯t only have a caf¨¦ but also all kinds of indoor amusement facilities where people could enjoy themselves. And so, this was the best playground for young and energetic idols who didn''t usually have much free time.


    For that same reason, Yi-Sak and Joon-Ha from Delios also frequented DS Caf¨¦. Many people recognized them whenever they went out, but unlike most public places, there were no fans constantly asking for autographs here. It was nice to have a place like this to rest and relax when they had some free time in between their busy schedules.


    There had been an instance where someone was humiliated after nobody recognized them at the caf¨¦, but at the very least, Delios was famous enough not to be subjected to the same experience. Still, even they had rarely seen Chae Woo-Jin in person.


    Although they were part of the same agency, they scarcely saw each other as they were active in different fields. They never participated in the same broadcast, and while Delios often visited the main office to practice and record songs, Chae Woo-Jin only went there to meet the CEO.


    They had greeted one another a few times before, but they lacked any opportunity to get to know the other party properly. This was why the members of Delios and Chae Woo-Jin weren¡¯t comfortable together yet. Most of all, since Chae Woo-Jin had become a celebrity among celebrities, they were surprised to see him purely through coincidence.


    ¡°The CEO recommended that I come here whenever I have time.¡±


    When he wasn¡¯t busy with work, Woo-Jin was faithfully fulfilling CEO Jang¡¯s request to show his face on DSTV and come to the caf¨¦ occasionally.


    ¡°I-I see. Do you wish to sit here?¡±


    The dumbfounded Joon-Ha looked at the seat in front of him before raising his head and asking Woo-Jin. It was already an honor to have Woo-Jin greet them first, so in his disbelief, he was unsure whether the actor was actually trying to sit with them.


    ¡°I was going to join you two since there were no other seats, but is it a bother?¡±


    Joon-Ha looked around the caf¨¦ when he heard Woo-Jin¡¯s words. Indeed, there were no other empty seats. The celebrities sitting at the other tables looked at Joon-Ha and Yi-Sak enviously.


    ¡°Not at all! Please take a seat.¡± Joon-Ha gestured at the seat before him with both hands and urged Woo-Jin.


    However, unlike the welcoming Joon-Ha, Yi-Sak was unable to raise his head and look at the actor properly. He could only glance at Woo-Jin secretly. Even as Joon-Ha had a casual, light-hearted conversation with Woo-Jin, Yi-Sak didn¡¯t join them and only fiddled with the book in his hands.

 CH 211

    At this point, Woo-Jin realized that something was off, and he glanced at Yi-Sak. Since the latter had been secretly looking at the actor, their gazes met. Things were fine up till now when suddenly, Yi-Sak jolted and trembled.


    ¡°Did I do something that made you uncomfortable?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Although they were around the same age and had debuted at similar times, they weren¡¯t close enough to talk casually yet. Woo-Jin had made sure to be polite to them, but he now wondered whether he had done something that made Yi-Sak uncomfortable. Joon-Ha also tapped his friend¡¯s arm to ask why Yi-Sak was acting so strangely.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the reason. It¡¯s because I saw it.¡±


    Yi-Sak hesitated before finally speaking his mind, as it could lead to a misunderstanding if he remained silent.


    ¡°Huh? What did you see?¡±


    ¡°I saw your acting in the DSTV interview a few days ago¡­ sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°I ended up watching it yesterday before going to sleep, so¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin could only awkwardly chuckle as Yi-Sak described how he had a nightmare all night long from Woo-Jin¡¯s acting. The only reason he¡¯d seriously performed the role of a murderer was that people had asked him to, but the reaction afterward was a stark contrast from what he initially expected.


    After his performance, Lee Jin-Ah just sat in her seat, frozen solid as she stuttered over her words, unable to make proper progress through the interview. The chat remained silent for a while before all kinds of messages popped up at once like an explosion. It was full of comments about what the viewers had just seen, from jokes like how some people punched their monitors because they were so terrified to people confessing that their love for Woo-Jin had wavered for a moment.


    If they had seen Woo-Jin¡¯s performance in a movie or show, the viewers would have admired his acting skills. They would¡¯ve recognized the character on the screen as someone separate from Chae Woo-Jin. However, this new performance terrified them because Woo-Jin had been smiling until just moments ago before he abruptly showed them his performance. And so, the audience was unable to distinguish fiction from reality.


    Lee Jin-Ah¡¯s condition was even worse than the viewers¡¯ as she had been sitting right next to the actor, but since they were near the end of the interview already, she managed to end the broadcast properly. Yet, the more critical problem was that a clip of Woo-Jin¡¯s acting had been edited and uploaded on the internet.


    After that incident, the way people treated Woo-Jin changed significantly. There was a great divide in the behaviors of those who saw the performance and those who hadn¡¯t. Whenever Woo-Jin got on an elevator, anyone who¡¯d been waiting with him didn¡¯t get on, and some who were already inside left, being careful not to meet Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze. One time, the actor lightly bumped into a senior at university, but the latter ended up apologizing excessively to Woo-Jin.


    His situation was similar to other actors who were the villain in a movie but got kicked out of restaurants and other establishments in real life. These kinds of events repeated themselves over and over. Still, when people cursed at the actor or kicked them out, that meant there were those who were still willing to stand up to him. But in Woo-Jin¡¯s case, people were so afraid that they avoided interacting with him altogether.


    It was the first time he had been ignored to such an extent since his debut.


    Still, Woo-Jin thought the other celebrities would be fine around him, but it turned out he was wrong. Yi-Sak¡¯s reaction was the same as the general public, which bewildered Woo-Jin. When he saw the members of Delios on TV, they seemed like pleasant people, so Woo-Jin thought they would still laugh and joke around with him even if they had watched the clip.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that scary, though¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin muttered an excuse. Even CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had reprimanded him, saying that he should¡¯ve held back instead of wasting his skills unnecessarily. Yet, Woo-Jin thought he didn¡¯t deserve such a scolding.


    ¡°It really was that scary¡­ sir!¡±


    Yi-Sak rebutted Woo-Jin''s words.


    Woo-Jin and Yi-Sak were the same age, so the latter would typically have spoken casually with the actor. However, today, he kept adding ¡®sir¡¯ at the end of his sentences. Yi-Sak felt that if he acted too casually with Woo-Jin, then the terrifying gaze that kept appearing in his nightmares would be directed at him in reality.


    Woo-Jin was trying to relieve Yi-Sak¡¯s stress and trauma since the idol couldn¡¯t even make eye contact with him. As he did so, the book under Yi-Sak¡¯s hands caught Woo-Jin¡¯s attention. These days, he had witnessed a lot of people reading Confession of White here and there. Even those who had no intention to audition for the role were reading the book since it had become a hot topic recently.


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t I less scary than that novel? I ended up closing the book and taking many breaks when I was reading it before because of how scary it was.¡±


    Having found a topic they could all discuss, Woo-Jin exaggerated his experience a bit. He thought his acting was bearable compared to Lloyd¡¯s terrifying character in the book, but he had forgotten one tiny detail.


    ¡°At least Lloyd is pitiful¡­ sir.¡±


    Yi-Sak smiled cheerfully before he slowly remembered that evil face and added another ¡®sir¡¯ at the last moment. Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was engraved in his head. The dramatic change in Woo-Jin¡¯s expressions in that video stimulated even greater fear in him. Yi-Sak even started wondering whether a real murderer would look like that.


    Perhaps a true murderer¡¯s face would show no signs of malevolence at all, seducing their victims with beautiful smiles and reassuring them as they hunted their prey. Yi-Sak wondered whether the devil was a being that normally hid among ordinary people and only revealed its true nature in times of weakness.


    Yi-Sak couldn¡¯t help but admire Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting, which made him feel these emotions from a simple, short clip.


    It was Yi-Sak¡¯s dream to be an actor, and he looked alternately between Confession of White in his hands and Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Would you like to have this book¡­ sir?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Weren¡¯t you reading it?¡± Woo-Jin asked as he saw the bookmark stuck about a third of the way through the book.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure why, but I feel like I won¡¯t need this anymore.¡±


    Joon-Ha stared at Yi-Sak for a moment, astonished by what his friend had said. He was surprised to see Yi-Sak give up on Confession of White so easily, knowing how much effort the latter had put into understanding the novel. Every time Yi-Sak saw a word he didn¡¯t know, he always looked it up in a dictionary.


    However, Joon-Ha then looked at Chae Woo-Jin and nodded as if he knew how his friend felt. While he couldn¡¯t understand Yi-Sak¡¯s reaction because he hadn¡¯t watched the video, Joon-Ha acknowledged Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills.


    Every actor in the world knew that they were only auditioning for the role of Lloyd to develop themselves and grow as an actor. In reality, they were aware that there was no hope of getting cast. In terms of probability, Yi-Sak believed there was no actor in South Korea who could compete with Chae Woo-Jin for the role of Lloyd.


    Who on earth could ever beat the Chae Woo-Jin?


    ¡°Read it even if you don¡¯t feel the need anymore. I also kept giving up part way through, but when I finally finished it, I thought it was truly worth the time and effort. And, if possible, read the original version and not the translated one. The translation uses a lot of difficult words and flowery rhetoric and doesn¡¯t properly capture the realistic expressions of the original.¡±


    ¡°You mean the original English version? I can¡¯t read English well enough!¡±


    Yi-Sak jumped in surprise at Woo-Jin¡¯s advice. He was sulking so much that he even started to speak casually with the source of his nightmares. He knew simple words in English, but not enough to read an entire novel. In fact, he was at the level where he needed a dictionary just to read a book in Korean.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you reading the book to audition for the movie?¡± Woo-Jin inquired.


    ¡°I was¡­¡±


    ¡°Since the movie will be produced in the United States, the audition and filming will be conducted in English, though.¡­¡±


    The language one spoke was an immensely vital aspect of acting since emotions needed to be processed and conveyed to the viewers. Most of all, the movie would be filmed and released in the United States, so if the actor performed with clumsy pronunciations and speech, the film would not be able to avoid criticism and disapproval from the original novel¡¯s fans.


    Of course, it was likely that the actor would fail at the auditions before such a thing could happen, though.


    Yi-Sak and Joon-Ha¡¯s eyes widened at this revelation. They had wrongly speculated that the actor for Lloyd would be able to perform in Korean since the protagonist could be Asian.


    ¡°If Lloyd spoke Korean, then that would completely ruin the original novel more than anything else.¡±


    Yi-Sak and Joon-Ha finally got a reality check when Woo-Jin told them the production team would never allow such a situation to occur.


    One of the reasons why Village¡¯s Do-Ya passed the auditions for a Hollywood movie was because he was handsome and tall, but the most important reason was that he spoke excellent English.


    A high level of proficiency in English was necessary just for a supporting role in an American movie, so there was no way the production team would choose a lead who was terrible at English.


    ¡°Ah, oh¡­.¡±


    ¡°Told you it was hopeless from the start.¡±


    Joon-Ha had long since given up on auditioning for the role, and he teased Yi-Sak smugly, apparently ignoring the fact that he¡¯d also held onto such vain hopes not long ago.


    The audition craze made the hearts of many idols and actors flutter with hope and expectations, but many of them ended up despairing soon afterward.


    ***


    Selena¡¯s gaze was sharp and cold as she stared at Ilya. Her eyes had always been full of respect and admiration, but for the first time, they were filled with dissatisfaction and complaints.


    {You escalated the situation far too much.}


    {What are you talking about?} Ilya feigned ignorance.


    {The audition. I didn¡¯t want the situation to develop like this.}


    When she initially offered the idea of holding an audition, Selena intended to secretly test the four actors that had been nominated.


    However, Ilya spread the news about the audition and promoted it extensively with the use of his connections in the industry. Now, the situation had intensified too much to announce that they had already nominated a few actors for the role and that the audition was only for them.


    Most importantly, the atmosphere and opinions that the Confession of White fans was showing were quite threatening. They were fans of L. Dm¨ªtri and secretly considered Ilya Turner a rival to defeat. It was possible that this was why they didn¡¯t want to acknowledge and recognize Ilya as the person in charge of the film¡¯s production. They even harbored suspicions that Ilya was trying to ruin the movie on purpose.


    It was strange and incomprehensible why they were so hostile towards Ilya Turner despite not even knowing who L. Dm¨ªtri was. Yet, it was also quite amusing. No one considered the possibility that Ilya and L were the same people.


    Some individuals shared the opinion that Ilya could not write a challenging and experimental novel like Confession of White. They were proud of L. Dm¨ªtri, who had shaken the global literary industry with a single book.


    Funnily enough, L¡¯s fans were the only group of people that dared to slander Ilya Turner, a writer who was loved by people in the US and around the world. Perhaps they considered Ilya to be L¡¯s rival.


    And so, to no one¡¯s surprise, L¡¯s fans lost their minds when it was announced that Ilya Turner would participate in the production of Confession of White¡¯s movie adaptation. They then officially asked the CEO of the novel¡¯s publishing company to confirm Ilya¡¯s involvement, as they knew L. Dm¨ªtri personally.


    The fans were suspicious that there was some sort of misunderstanding or that an outside force had pressured L into allowing Ilya¡¯s involvement.


    ¡°Ilya and L have always been good friends.¡±


    With this testimony, the entire chaotic situation came to an end.


    There was no reason to refute the fact that L¡ªthe writer they worshiped¡ªtrusted Ilya and had him manage the adaption in his place. Instead, the fanbase kept a wary and doubtful eye on the film¡¯s production, carefully monitoring everything. This was now a situation where the fans wouldn¡¯t let any issues pass and would nitpick everything.


    As such, Selena couldn¡¯t announce that they had already secretly selected the candidates for the role and would hold an audition with only them. If she did, the entire fanbase would erupt in an uproar.


    When making a live-action adaptation of an existing work, there was bound to be some troubles and complaints if the production team didn¡¯t embrace the current fans and acknowledge their presence. Even when the movie was released, the fans would protest about every minor detail and belittle the film, giving it poor publicity.


    As a producer, she had to take the fans¡¯ opinions into account, whether she liked it or not. Yet, the issue was that she couldn¡¯t do every single thing the fans wanted.


    There was not a single case where an adaptation had gone well and received positive scores when its production was swayed and influenced by the original fans. The best way to make an adaptation was to make the fans trust the creators and eagerly await the completed work. However, because of Ilya¡¯s actions, everything went wrong from the very start.


    {How could you create such a mess when you haven¡¯t even signed the contract?}


    {Contract this, contract that¡­}


    Ilya frowned as Selena kept annoying him about the contract when all he needed to do was sign the piece of paper.


    Currently, his agency and Selena were negotiating the terms and conditions, but the contract would be signed soon. Considering how he had refused and avoided her for the past several years, things were advancing quite speedily right now.


    {Now that it¡¯s come to this, we have no choice but to hold a large-scale audition to satisfy the fans.} Selena grumbled.


    {Then you should just do that. Why are you so flustered?}


    {Was there any actor among the candidates who caught your eye?} She asked.


    There was no reason for him to create such a commotion for no reason. Selena scowled at him insolently. Ilya was definitely scheming something.


    Favorite

 CH 212

    {You look very displeased.}


    {I¡¯m curious about your intentions.}


    {Wouldn¡¯t it be more meaningful if the role was earned after struggling for it? If we say that we held an audition and decided on the actor who would be portraying Lloyd, will those idiots acknowledge him? In my experience, they will never accept our choice.}


    Out of everyone, Ilya suffered the most at the hands of L¡¯s fans; he was well aware of what they were like. No matter how reasonable and honest they were, L¡¯s fans would never trust them, nor would they be satisfied with any choice they made. Ilya could confidently say that even if they were to immediately cast whoever the fans recommended, they would change their tune in an instant and nitpick the actor¡¯s flaws, finding fault with everything.


    {There¡¯s no guarantee they will acknowledge the outcome of the auditions.}


    {Who wants their acknowledgment? I want everyone else¡¯s recognition except for theirs. Their thoughts and feelings don¡¯t matter. On the contrary, the more stubborn they are, the more we need to find a perfect cast for them to see.}


    Even though they were his fans in a sense, Ilya was cold towards them. However, Ilya Turner¡¯s fans weren¡¯t treated any differently. He was fair and treated people equally by being indifferent and frigid to everyone.


    {In that case, did I do something unnecessary?}


    Selena pointed out that the draft of shortlisted candidates was now pointless, but Ilya shook his head. After all, he was the one who told her to find actors to portray Lloyd in the first place.


    {No, the list you provided was very useful. It played a significant part in making me waver. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m suddenly curious about whether or not he can compete for Lloyd¡¯s role with several other actors under the same conditions and emerge victoriously.}


    {As expected, you must have already had an actor in mind.}


    Selena guessed that the actor Ilya had in mind was either Edwin Rucker or Chae Woo-Jin. After looking at the list of actors, they were the only two people that caused Ilya to show a reaction and attract his scrutiny.


    {In any case, that doesn¡¯t mean anything changes as a result.}


    As Ilya had mentioned before, he had no intention of showing favoritism to anyone. Instead, he stripped Woo-Jin of the opportunity and put him to the test.


    {You closed off the easy way out and opened up an arduous path for him, huh?}


    Selena wondered what Ilya was thinking, getting the people who had already won half the battle to go through a difficult test.


    {This is how you raise children to be strong.}


    Selena was momentarily speechless after hearing Ilya¡¯s response. Ilya had never loved anybody enough to start a family, and he wasn¡¯t a huge fan of children either. His view on education didn¡¯t seem like the best idea. Selena briefly felt sorry for Edwin and Chae Woo-Jin, but ultimately, it had nothing to do with her, so she soon forgot about it.


    Selena was constantly reminded of her father whenever she spoke with Ilya. She came to a new realization and smiled bitterly. Both Ilya and her father couldn¡¯t love others deeply; she realized they were leading different yet similar lives.


    {Do you still have no intention of letting him know the password to that place?}


    This was the first time she had asked Ilya about the password ever since her father proposed a wager with her. In the past, she had asked the same question casually several times before. Yet, now that she was actively thinking about it, it was difficult for her to bring it up to him. She wanted to ask him calmly, but she was strangely concerned about the anticipation in her voice.


    {Isn¡¯t it funny for me to agonize over whether or not I should tell him when he hasn¡¯t even formally asked me about it?}


    Selena smiled awkwardly because he had a point. Selena played the middleman, telling both sides of the story to the two of them, but her father had never formally asked Ilya for the password as if he was going to look for the answer alone. Ilya didn¡¯t bother dealing with that arrogance.


    Although it was her great grandfather¡¯s property, Selena had no authority over this matter. Thus, her question couldn¡¯t be regarded as a formal request. Despite the fact that they weren¡¯t at the level of pleading with Ilya, her father hadn¡¯t even formally asked him for this favor, so Ilya had no obligation to come forward and take the initiative to tell him the password. Needless to say, Ilya himself wasn¡¯t too enthusiastic about it either.


    {You haven¡¯t been there ever since great grandpa died, have you?}


    {I¡¯m not that shameless to go in and out of a place whenever I want without its owner present.}


    {Still, you have a lot of memories there. Don¡¯t you miss that place?}


    {The building itself isn¡¯t what I¡¯m longing for. It¡¯s probably the same for your father.}


    This was why Giorgio wasn¡¯t that desperate to figure out the password to the safe house.


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s words, the look on Selena¡¯s face suggested she didn¡¯t seem to agree with him. If it weren¡¯t that important, he wouldn¡¯t have told her he would give her permission to marry Dustin if she were to get ahold of the password.


    Today, Ilya was kind towards the doubtful Selena.


    {Longing comes from the heart; we just need an excuse. This excuse is a channel that allows us to long for something to our hearts¡¯ content without feeling ashamed. It can be a house, a collection, or a person. As long as we don¡¯t uncover it, we can always enjoy imagining what¡¯s on the inside.}


    {I don¡¯t know. I feel that both you and my father are overthinking this and making it more complicated than it is.}


    Selena didn¡¯t really know what it felt like to long for something. She knew the meaning of the word and the general feeling, but she had never been caught up in that emotion. Selena never lost sight of who she wanted to see, and she also never parted ways with the person she cherished. In that sense, not knowing how it felt to long for someone was a blessing.


    However, judging from her father and Ilya¡¯s situations, longing didn''t necessarily seem to equate to sadness. Although they would miss that particular individual for countless years, there was a time when things were splendid for them, and they were certainly happy back then. Nevertheless, Selena felt it was a little sad that their hardened hearts couldn¡¯t long for something or someone as much as they wanted.


    Recently, however, Ilya wasn¡¯t his usual self. He seemed energetic and cheerful. Perhaps that was why he¡¯d become more active when it came to the movie production of Confession of White, in addition to being easier to converse with as well. Before this behavior change, he used to chase Selena away whenever she came to see him, but nowadays, he enjoyed getting ahold of Selena and was more than happy to talk with her.


    According to what she had heard from her father, Ilya used to appear almost elated whenever he was around her great grandfather, so she wondered if this was how he looked back then. Clearly, Selena couldn¡¯t be compared to her great grandfather, but she was hoping this moment would be something Ilya would reminisce about and long for in the future. And Selena gladly accepted this moment as something she would yearn for in the future after years had gone by.


    ***


    The dream audition for existing actors, or those who were dreaming of becoming an actor, was about to take place. Midas Agency was in charge of overseeing the auditions. They¡¯d sent an official letter to their various branches located all over the world, asking each of them to nominate one actor as a candidate. In the letter, the most critical point was that candidates who passed the first round got a chance to participate in the final round of auditions in the United States.


    Within Asia, Midas Agency had branches in Korea and Japan, and they each quickly scheduled auditions and started preparing for them. The auditions held in each branch didn¡¯t take nationality into consideration, but the auditions in Korea and Japan would be held on the same day to prevent people from applying twice.


    It was also announced that both branches would be sharing the applicants¡¯ information with one another, so people who applied to both places would be eliminated upon discovery. Hence, apart from those within Korea or Japan, actors from other countries started calculating their odds, contemplating which branch to apply to.


    The statistics that were announced after the application period ended were rather unexpected ¨C¨C more than 300 people applied to the branch in Korea, while more than 1,000 people applied to the one in Japan.


    It seemed as though there was an unexpectedly high level of competition in both places, but the number of applicants was no more than any regular movie¡¯s casting call. In reality, the quantity could be seen as low for the first round of auditions, considering it was for the main character of a sensational Hollywood movie.


    Most of the people auditioning in Asia were actors from Korea, Japan, and China. There were plenty of male actors in these three countries, but surprisingly, only a small number of them took up the challenge and signed up for the audition. There were several reasons, but ultimately, the biggest obstacle was language. In order to make the movie as accurate to the original novel as possible, Lloyd had to speak English. Many actors had no choice but to give up on their dreams because of that prerequisite.


    Furthermore, there was an age restriction ¨C¨C actors who were not in their twenties or thirties were ineligible. In addition, only experienced actors who had been in more than one production were allowed to apply; it did not matter if they played the main character or a supporting character. Aspiring actors weren¡¯t given the opportunity. Although there was backlash about how these people were deprived of this chance, it was inevitable, as the filmmakers wanted a seasoned actor instead of a fresh face.


    Several actors felt pressured because the high expectations surrounding the movie were too much for them to bear. As a result, there were cases where actors didn¡¯t even bother making an attempt and simply gave up after analyzing and evaluating their acting skills. It was a decision made to protect their ego, as they didn¡¯t want to feel disheartened because of the other prominent actors around them. As such, some of the actors who were expected to apply failed to do so as well.


    However, what was truly surprising was that quite a few Korean actors had chosen to apply to the branch in Japan for the audition. In hindsight, there were significantly fewer applicants in Korea than in Japan, thereby breaking the initial expectation that there would be approximately the same number of applicants at both branches.


    There were a few rumors that this was because some of these Korean actors were trying to walk on eggshells around each other and decided to go to the other side, while others said the phenomenon occurred because these actors were trying to avoid a strong contender in Korea.


    In fact, most of the applicants weren¡¯t even hoping they would get to the final round. Many of them simply wanted to get through the first round of auditions at the branch they applied to because that alone would give them the opportunity to be recognized as a young male actor with unrivaled acting skills in Asia.


    Hence, those who would do whatever it took to pass were on the edge of their seats. They were quick to act, and they tried to maintain their advantage over others. As soon as they received the information that the top contender had applied to the branch in Korea, they immediately applied to the branch in Japan without hesitation.


    The vast disparity between the number of applicants in both Korea and Japan was the result of actors from other countries sharing the same thoughts. They were only trying to avoid one person, but they ended up facing more intense competition.


    ***


    The audition was conducted over the span of three days in numerical order, with an applicant¡¯s number being assigned randomly. Three people would step forward at a time and stand before the panel of judges. They would be tested on their acting skills, and a screen test[1] would be conducted as well.


    For this audition, a script would not be given to the applicants in advance. So, the actors didn¡¯t know what they would be tested on until they stood in front of the judges. In that sense, people assumed that the actors who auditioned on the first day would be at a disadvantage, but that was just speculation.


    The competition was fierce, so the actors that had gone first didn¡¯t give the others any details about the audition. Even if an actor from the same agency had an audition the next day, they kept their mouths shut despite the pleas and threats from the CEO of their agency. That was how desperate and ambitious everyone was.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s audition happened to be on the third and final day. Throughout this time, he had been waiting for his turn in the waiting room with the other applicants, lacking any information about the audition. The people around him merely threw one furtive glance after another at him, and nobody spoke to him directly or greeted him.


    Chae Woo-Jin was the main culprit behind the low number of applicants in Korea. Having to audition on the same day as him was a great burden for these actors. Even the most famous actors wouldn¡¯t be happy in a situation like this.


    ¡°Damn it. Of all days, why do I have to audition on the same day as him? Won¡¯t I just embarrass myself by being compared with him?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t let me be in the same group as him; I¡¯m begging you.¡±


    ¡°Ack! I didn¡¯t even think about that! Do you know what Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s number is?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be this nervous if I knew. It¡¯s going to be my turn next. What should I do?¡±


    The other actors couldn¡¯t go up to him and ask, and as their number approached, their anxiety grew, and they felt like they were going insane. Every time a number was called, everyone¡¯s eyes would turn to Chae Woo-Jin. If he stayed still, those whose number was called would rejoice while the rest grew even more nervous.


    1. A screen test, otherwise known as a camera test, reveals how the actor will look on-screen. It typically involves filming shots of the actor performing scenes from a script in front of a movie camera. ?

 CH 213

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Park Min? He sure has guts for someone with those acting skills.¡±


    ¡°Still, he has improved a lot recently. But Park Min even speak English well enough to pass this audition?¡±


    Even though Park Min was older and had been in the industry longer than these actors, they didn¡¯t bother to address him respectfully. Furthermore, Park Min was known for disregarding actors who joined the entertainment industry as idols, so the two actors didn''t have a good impression of him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. His pronunciation in his first few dramas was not that good, but it¡¯s something that can be easily solved by taking some private lessons. To be honest Do-Ya, regardless of how much Park Min has improved, his acting seems to be worse than yours?¡±


    Even though he was a fellow competitor today, Do-Ya from Village grinned after receiving a compliment from his friend that was sitting beside him.


    The truth was that Park Min had nothing going for him except for his appearance, but he was no longer the same person he used to be. He had taken good care of himself, so he didn¡¯t look like someone who was in his thirties from a glance. Still, his good looks couldn¡¯t be compared to the vitality and youthful look that actors in their twenties had. One could learn a lot about things that mattered to an actor just by looking at Park Min.


    ¡°In fact, I¡¯d rather be in the same group as Park Min. At the very least, I can destroy Park Min with just my acting skills. Today¡¯s audition will be a success.¡±


    Despite naysayers dissuading him from pursuing a futile dream, Do-Ya took up the challenge and auditioned for a role, which gave him the chance to break into the Hollywood scene. His character barely had a few lines to begin with, but many people thought the script was revised as he couldn¡¯t act. It was extremely difficult to break preconceived notions about how idol-turned-actor celebrities were bad at acting.


    Thus, even if Do-Ya didn¡¯t get his desired outcome today, he wanted the judges who happened to be the major figures within the film industry, to acknowledge and recognize him as a good actor. At the very least, he wanted them to acknowledge that he was a better actor than Park Min.


    ¡°Next candidates, please standby. Number 257.¡±


    ¡°Here. I¡¯m number 257.¡±


    Do-Ya raised his hand and answered after hearing his number being called out by a staff member who was in-charge of the roll call.


    ¡°Number 258. Number 258, are you present?¡±


    Regardless of how many times they called the next number after Do-Ya¡¯s, there was no response. Thus, the staff member crossed out number 258 with a pen. There were surprisingly a lot of no-shows, especially for foreigners who had given up because of a conflict in their schedule.


    ¡°Number 259.¡±


    When Do-Ya saw Park Min raising his hand abruptly after his number was called, a peculiar smile crept across his face. He even said a short prayer to thank the god that helped him. As they exchanged glances for a brief moment, the disregard for the other party, as well as relief, was apparent in their eyes. They both viewed each other as easy competition.


    ¡°Number 260.¡±


    When the last number of the person in their group was called, Do-Ya and Park Min turned around and looked at the same time. After taking a look at the person who raised his hand after his number was called out, both of their faces contorted.


    Only a few seconds had passed since Do-Ya said his prayer of gratitude, and now he had to plead with the god whom he prayed to. The three actors were escorted to the waiting room before entering the audition hall.


    ¡°Number 257, Mr. Yang Do-Ya.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Pff!¡±


    When Do-Ya¡¯s legal name was called along with his number, Park Min couldn¡¯t hold himself back and burst out laughing. Do-Ya glared at Park Min after his clear display of mockery. Park Min remained unfazed by Do-Ya¡¯s glare, and responded when his name was called.


    ¡°Number 260, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    This time, Park Min became the one who was glaring at Chae Woo-Jin. For some reason, they seemed to have a dog-eat-dog relationship.


    ¡°Please come forward and pick one each.¡±


    The staff member pointed to a box with a hole on top that was big enough for a hand to fit in. According to the explanation, L. Dmitri wrote three new scenes for the audition this time around. Each scene was numbered, and the actors would receive the script that corresponded with the number they picked, and they would be given ten minutes to memorize the script.


    They were also told that if they were to pick the same number, they would be judged based on the same script. Do-Ya prayed that he would pick a different number from Chae Woo-Jin; he picked number three, while Park Min and Chae Woo-Jin both picked number one.


    After seeing the outcome, Do-Ya smiled, while Park Min¡¯s face stiffened. Meanwhile, Chae Woo-Jin sat still with an expressionless look.


    Even before the battle started, tension was high in the air . They were each given exactly ten minutes to study the script that corresponded with the number they picked. Do-Ya had read Confession of White ten more times; he confidently flipped to the first page after receiving the script.


    Even though the scripts were newly written, since the story was still the same as the original novel, Do-Ya expected himself to be able to memorize the lines without much difficulty, as the lines should have been similar.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Do-Ya looked at the cover of the script and looked at its contents again. ¡®Confession of White¡¯ was clearly written on it, but the lines were totally unfamiliar. L. Dmitri didn¡¯t write new scripts based on the book ¨C¨C the contents were completely new. It was even more difficult because there were absolutely zero stage directions.


    The script only contained the name and lines of the characters; Do-ya was flustered. It was difficult for him to comprehend the situation without understanding the context in addition to the lack of stage directions. However, reading the original novel did help as he could roughly guess the story.


    ¡°Ten minutes is up.¡±


    As soon as time was up, the staff member promptly collected the scripts from the three of them. Since there were no stage directions, the lines were short. It was easy to memorize the script, but it was difficult to grasp Lloyd¡¯s psychology and behavior. It was a big ask for them to understand the contents and memorize the lines in just ten minutes.


    ¡°You may enter.¡±


    After their ten minutes was up, the previous group had finished their auditions. As soon as the staff member led them into the audition hall, they could see five judges waiting for them, apart from the staff member overseeing the auditions and the cameraman.


    ¡°We¡¯ll start with number 257, Mr. Yang Do-Ya. Scene number three.¡±


    Do-Ya was first based on numerical order . The clapperboard in front of his face slammed down before disappearing. It was suffocatingly quiet; while everyone¡¯s gazes were on Do-Ya, he started portraying the Lloyd he had been studying.


    {Huff puff!}


    Do-Ya struggled as he gasped for air, as though he had been running non-stop. He wiped his dry lips, and his eyes gleamed when he raised his head. The glint in his eyes suggested he was an intelligent person. His eyes darted around and after confirming that nobody was chasing him, he heaved a sigh of relief.


    {I gave you the happiness you wanted.}


    Do-Ya lifted his fingers and looked at them at eye level. His long and slender fingers chose to paint instead of playing the piano. It was the hand that held a brush, instead of the hand that was pressing down on the piano keys. That was what his mother, or third adoptive mother to be precise, once wanted him to do. And he just painted a portrait of her with this hand.


    {My mother always said I have to be a nice person when I grow up, but frankly, I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to be a nice person. So, why are you crying so much when I gave you what you always wanted?}


    Do-Ya talked to himself and laughed maniacally. This scene depicted Lloyd¡¯s first murder, which was not in the original version of Confession of White. The first person he ever murdered was his third adoptive mother.


    Lloyd was a painter who made a living by painting portraits. His works were popular because of his dynamic and realistic painting style. As he became fairly well-known and famous, he received more and more requests from wealthy people to paint portraits. And he ended up crossing paths with his mother in one of these mansions.


    Because of the sickly Lloyd¡¯s hospital bills, she was in so much distress that she wanted to give him up for adoption. However, her plans fell through because her husband was adamantly against it. And then one day, as soon as her husband turned blind due to an accident, she couldn¡¯t take it any longer and asked for a divorce. Just like that, his mother left the house, and ended up living happily in a luxurious mansion with an ugly husband with a belly, and children that looked as awful as him.


    The moment she found out Lloyd was the painter who came to paint their family portrait, her trembling face was truly a sight to behold. However, in an elegant voice, she quickly pretended not to know who Lloyd was and turned a blind eye; she took care of her husband and children, and showed off how much of a happy family they were in front of Lloyd.


    Lloyd¡¯s complicated thoughts, and the act of him painting that scene before his eyes on the canvas wasn¡¯t described in detail in the original novel ¨C¨C it was merely glossed over with a few lines.


    This time, Ilya took special care in writing this script for the audition. Only those who had a deep understanding of the novel could act it out naturally, so it was a great script to judge the actors with.


    {Hahaha, it looks as though my hands are covered in red paint. What a relief.}


    Lloyd looked down at his hands and laughed in a deep voice, sounding just like a beast.


    Do-Ya took notice of Lloyd¡¯s lunacy that was obvious after the murder, even though the latter was normally weak. He also highlighted that the character was smart enough to thoroughly clean up after the murder. Thus, Do-Ya¡¯s version of Lloyd was a character that was an exquisite combination of cold rationality and lunacy. Do-Ya had managed to express the process of Lloyd¡¯s killer instinct awakening, as well as how he fell into lunacy after murdering his adoptive mother, very well..


    When Do-Ya finished acting out his part, the judges were busy evaluating his performance and gave him a score without saying a single word. It was a discouraging scene for the nervous Do-Ya, as he thought the judges would have asked him questions after he was finished.


    He felt like it was a pity he didn¡¯t get to put the answers he had ambitiously prepared beforehand, but he had to leave after being directed by the staff member. Nevertheless, in order to leave a good impression on the judges, Do-Ya bowed to each and every one of the five judges even when they weren¡¯t looking. And then, one of the judges lifted his head and gave him a slight smile.


    ¡°Number 259, Mr. Park Min. Please get ready. Scene number one.¡±


    After Do-Ya¡¯s scene was over, Park Min¡¯s name was called as he was next in line. Park Min had been sitting on the chair on the side while watching Do-Ya as he acted. With a confident look on his face, he stood in front of the clapperboard. As soon as he heard the sound of the clapperboard slamming, he opened his eyes.


    Park Min and Chae Woo-Jin both picked scene number one. The scene was an event that happened earlier before Do-Ya¡¯s scene, in which a moment of conflict arose between Lloyd and his adoptive mother when they met.


    {How can you be smiling like that?}


    People usually told Park Min that he had bad English pronunciation, but he was very different today. The first scene had the most lines, yet he memorized it entirely in ten minutes. He recited his lines smoothly and accurately.


    Park Min portrayed Lloyd as a pitiful person who was tired of living. Previously, Do-Ya portrayed a cold and lunatic Lloyd. This time around, Park Min portrayed a pitiful and fragile man. Perhaps that was why one of the judges teared up while watching his performance.


    As soon as Park Min had finished acting out his part, none of the judges asked any questions, just like what happened with Do-Ya. The judge that was wiping her tears away hesitated for a moment, but she quickly lowered her head and gave her evaluation.


    ¡°Next, number 260. Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. Scene number one.¡±


    As soon as Park Min stepped down, the staff member called out Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s number and name. Do-Ya and Park Min simultaneously thought that Chae Woo-Jin was a lucky person. Even though they were each given ten minutes to read the script, the extra time that was given why the previous person was acting couldn¡¯t be disregarded. And since he could watch and refer to the other actors¡¯ performances, they felt it was natural for the last person to act to have the biggest advantage.


    Because of that, they couldn¡¯t help but feel resentful towards applicant number 258 who was absent today, even if they didn¡¯t know who it was. The two people had absolutely no idea that Woo-Jin was so busy worrying about his own acting that he didn¡¯t have time to pay any attention to them. Unlike Woo-Jin, who ignored them earlier, the duo focused all their attention on him and watched him like a hawk as soon as he started acting.

 CH 214

    Right from the beginning, instead of standing in the middle of the hall, Woo-Jin stood slanted by a wall with his arms crossed, with his left shoulder against it.


    {How can you be smiling like that?}


    It was the same script, but Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was completely different from Park Min¡¯s. Park Min looked at his adoptive mother with a resentful gaze while on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was distinctly different ¨C¨C he squinted his eyes as they tracked somebody''s movements. His eyes were filled with scorn and scrutiny. The way he observed that person was akin to the sharp gaze of an artist, who was scrutinizing their model.


    {If you force yourself to smile like that, what would that make us? You have to smile more happily. Only then would we be rewarded for being abandoned.}


    At that moment, Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze shifted downwards after feeling someone tugging on his pants. A broad smile crept across Woo-Jin¡¯s face as he looked at the cute and delicate being. He stopped leaning against the wall and knelt down on one knee, seeming as though he was making eye contact with the child.


    Woo-Jin was imagining a child standing right before his eyes. The child found Lloyd¡¯s appearance fascinating; he grabbed Lloyd¡¯s white hair with his fingers while saying it was pretty. At that moment, Woo-Jin leaned his head forward, and his body stumbled.


    His adoptive mother came running from afar and tried to stop the child, but there were already several strands of white hair in the child¡¯s hand. Woo-jin stared at it for a brief moment before gradually shifting his gaze upwards.


    {What a nice child. He¡¯s obedient, and healthy¡­}


    His adoptive mother flinched after hearing Lloyd¡¯s words, and grabbed the child by his shoulders. Lloyd could see the anxiety in those guilty eyes.


    {It must be nice.}


    Lloyd lost interest in the child; he got up and looked down at his adoptive mother, who was now shorter than him.


    {You must be happy to have a healthy child.}


    After hearing what Lloyd said, his adoptive mother stammered and said some well-wishing remarks, saying that he looked healthy too. After being certain that she wanted to shake off her guilt, Lloyd stroked the back of his neck and replied in an indifferent tone.


    {Yeah, life can be rather tough.}


    At that moment, Lloyd looked at his adoptive mother in a way that seemed to suggest he had came to a realization of some sort. He had been smirking and mocking her the entire time, but he suddenly put on a serious demeanor. His dull eyes became lively and started sparkling, like a child waiting for candy.


    [You have to live a long and healthy life.}


    In my painting. Lloyd muttered softly to himself. He smiled brightly, as though he had found the answer to a difficult question.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd was very different from Do-Ya and Park Min¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t overflowing with emotions, and he had an unexpectedly bright personality. He was exuding the pride he had as a young and promising painter, and his character was very solid and meticulous.


    Even while he was talking to his adoptive mother, he was casually patting the head of the child who was clinging onto his leg while scrutinizing his adoptive mother¡¯s every movement with a very sharp and emotionless gaze. There was something about Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd that was very different from the other actors ¨C¨C he didn¡¯t express his love or hate to his adoptive mother, nor did he express his lunacy.


    After Woo-Jin was done acting out the script, none of the judges asked him any questions as well. Some of them seemed as though they wanted to ask him some questions, but for the sake of being fair to the other actors, they soon shook their heads and let it go. There were still slightly more than 80 actors left at this point. Not only was it arduous to ask each and every one of the applicants questions, they were also afraid that asking only a selected few would cause rumors to spread.


    The judges had agreed beforehand not to ask any questions during this round of auditions. In any case, they were only looking at appearance and acting skills in the first round and not the thoughts of the actors while they acted. This would only be evaluated in the final round. Hence, the judges tried their best to suppress their curiosity.


    While evaluating an actor¡¯s performance without knowing their intentions might be questionable, the judges had decided to fully evaluate them based on their performance. They had reached a consensus that it was the way to evaluate these actors fairly.


    ***


    Even after the audition was over, the battle among the actors didn¡¯t end. In fact, they were now on the battlefield where the prelude to a full-fledged war would commence. Perhaps, this was the battlefield where the most heated and calculative battles between actors would take place.


    ¡°Why did the top three contenders have to be in the same group, and audition on the same day?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? Can¡¯t we just give Chae Woo-Jin the highest score and call it a day?¡±


    Two of the judges nodded and agreed with Choi Min-Hwan. Just then, the only female judge, Kwon So-Hyun, raised an objection.


    ¡°He may have the highest score, but the runner-up, Park Min, is only one point behind. I think we have to be careful in situations like these.¡±


    ¡°If you put it that way, isn¡¯t it also a pity for second runner-up Do-Ya? Since the top three are each one point apart, shouldn¡¯t we reconsider?¡±


    After hearing what these two judges said, the three other judges were at a loss for words because the scores of the three actors were so close to each other. This only happened as the judges that gave the lowest scores to the other applicants gave Park Min and Do-Ya perfect scores, and they gave Chae Woo-Jin a score that was slightly below average.


    ¡°In the first place, didn¡¯t you give Chae Woo-Jin an absurd score?¡±


    The actors were judged solely based on three criterias ¨C¨C acting, appearance and English pronunciation. Kwon So-Hyun ultimately gave Chae Woo-Jin a low score for his appearance.


    ¡°That¡¯s because of his pronunciation. I mean, how can someone who is good at English have such bad pronunciation? On the other hand, Park Min¡¯s pronunciation is so accurate, and he sounded so refined, no? An actor representing Korea minimally have that much class.¡±


    Choi Min-Hwan was so taken back by Kwon So-Hyun¡¯s response that he dropped the pen he was holding.


    "Lloyd is from the hood in LA. Chae Woo-Jin took that into consideration, and spoke in an LA accent that people in the hood used, as well as their lingo.¡±


    That was one of the reasons why Choi Min-Hwan gave Chae Woo-Jin a high score. His acting was impeccable, but it was amazing how he took into consideration even the minute details when he acted.


    In truth, acting in English itself was already too overwhelming for the other actors, and they used an accent that was not even close to how LA natives sounded. On the other hand, Chae Woo-Jin spoke so naturally and with such ease that it seemed as though he was born and raised in LA.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    The surprised judge asked for confirmation. It seemed as though he wasn¡¯t aware of that either.


    ¡°Yes! Even though it can¡¯t be accurately translated into Korean, if you look at the original script, a lot of the phrases used by Lloyd was frequently used by the people from the hood in LA. However, if Lloyd were to speak elegantly in English, it would be odd.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun snorted in response to Choi Min-Hwan¡¯s criticism


    ¡°In any case, there¡¯s no way a Korean actor is going to be cast for the part. We¡¯re just holding an audition as a formality, so we should send an actor that¡¯s worthy of representing Korea.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun continued to push for Park Min to be chosen, while disregarding the importance of mimicking the native LA pronunciation. The one person who knew why she went out of her way to support Park Min turned his head around and sighed. He didn¡¯t know how she was picked as a judge, but her existence itself spelled disaster for the rest of the judges.


    ¡°Which actor does a better job at representing Korea other than Chae Woo-Jin?¡±


    One of the judges could no longer hold himself back and expressed his annoyance, and the judge who supported Do-Ya, Park Han-Young, refuted back.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Chae Woo-Jin already successful enough? Even if we don¡¯t pick him this time, he¡¯ll still be successful. So why are you pushing so hard to pick him? Let¡¯s just forget about Chae Woo-Jin, and nurture a growing sprout. Do-Ya has appeared in a Hollywood movie before, and he¡¯s still young, so the possibilities are endless. On the other hand, Park Min is no longer in his prime. Isn¡¯t he like a sun that¡¯s slowly setting?¡±


    ¡°A sun that¡¯s setting?! That¡¯s harsh to someone who¡¯s only in his mid-thirties. To put it bluntly, when it comes to being a Hallyu star, the other two have nothing on Park Min!¡±


    ¡°To be precise, Chae Woo-Jin is the one who¡¯s trending these days.¡±


    In other words, Chae Woo-Jin was at the center of the recent K-wave. Additionally, Chae Woo-Jin was not only popular in Asia, he was also popular in America and Europe ¨C¨C in contrast with Park Min, who wasn¡¯t able to expand his fanbase beyond Asia.


    ¡°But Do-Ya has a huge fanbase too.¡±


    ¡°His fanbase is nothing compared to Park Min¡¯s. How much more are you going to interfere in this?¡±


    While Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young were arguing with one another, the other three judges sat there with their arms folded, and looked pitifully at the two of them.


    The CEO of the Korean branch of Midas Agency, Choi Min-Hwan, massaged his forehead. For the sake of a fair evaluation, apart from himself, the other four judges were recommended by the people within the film industry. However, Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young seemed to have different intentions.


    The other judges subtly favored other actors over the rest as well, but they weren¡¯t as obvious about it. Needless to say, the actors they favored weren¡¯t good enough to make it to the top three. In contrast, those two judges gave ridiculous scores to the applicants right from the start, lowering the average score. They justified the scores they gave with all kinds of excuses, but since each person had a subjective set of standards which they judged these actors by, nobody could say anything about it.


    It wouldn¡¯t have mattered if they were equally strict across the board. However, these two judges showed blatant favoritism on the final day. They gave perfect scores to Do-Ya and Park Min respectively, and gave a low score to Chae Woo-Jin, as though they had made a prior agreement about it.


    Choi Min-Hwan suddenly remembered the rumor about Park Min having a sponsor. Judging from how Kwon So-Hyun was acting, he had a rough idea of what was going on. Even though Choi Min-Hwan was in charge of the Korean branch of Midas Agency, it was an international company and he wasn¡¯t aware of the inner workings of the entertainment industry as he mainly worked abroad.


    Hence, apart from the people he was closely acquainted with, Choi Min-Hwan picked the rest of the judges based on their credentials. Kwon So-Hyun was originally a businesswoman, but she had been boosting her power and credentials within this industry by investing in entertainment companies ever since a few years ago. And now, she was serving as the chairman of the Cultural Foundation, which was how she ended up being chosen as a judge.


    If one were to take a closer look, Park Min¡¯s pronunciation in English had improved. And even though he picked the first script with the most number of lines, he had it all memorized and acted it out perfectly, so there was something suspicious about it.


    Even though the script for the audition was released on the day itself, any of the judges could have easily gotten hold of them prior to the audition, which would have given Park Min a day¡¯s worth of time. That was enough time for him to study the script and to make his preparations. There was clearly a reason behind Park Min¡¯s excellent performance.


    ¡°Putting everything aside, I think Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s portrayal of Lloyd was inaccurate. I didn¡¯t experience any sympathy for him like I did when I was watching Park Min¡¯s performance. He also lacked Do-Ya¡¯s intensity, rendering his acting dull and uninspiring.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun, the only judge who cried while watching Park Min¡¯s audition, disparaged Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting.

 CH 215

    ¡°I think so too. He didn¡¯t even show as much resentment and anger towards his adoptive mother as Do-Ya and Park Min did.¡±


    For the first time, Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young sang the same tune.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd was neither gruesome nor was he conflicted with love and hatred after killing his adoptive mother; his version of Lloyd was a meticulous and cynical painter. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd stared at his adoptive mother like how a painter stares at his model. As he imagined what his final painting would look like, he felt delighted. There wasn¡¯t a hint of an angry murderer anywhere.


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t his acting perfect? Unlike the other actors that were busy reciting their lines, he even acted out the minute details like he was doing a monodrama. Even though there was clearly a line by the adoptive mother about how the child seemed to be fascinated by his white hair, most of the actors simply ignored it and stood there without doing anything, right?¡±


    Park Min had also acted out the part where the boy tugged on Lloyd¡¯s hair, but he did it while standing up. Chae Woo-Jin was the only person who got down on his knees and faced the child at eye level. More importantly, when the child grabbed his hair, he managed to exquisitely act out the complicated facial expression while his head was lowered. He managed to capture Lloyd¡¯s annoyance, as well as the fact that he didn¡¯t particularly dislike the playful child.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t interpretations very diverse when it comes to acting? I personally think Chae Woo-Jin merely had a different interpretation from the other two.¡± Aside from Choi Min-Hwan, the other two judges were actively in favor of Chae Woo-Jin. The actors they were originally in favor of fell short and were all out of the running. Hence, they were able to fulfill their duty as judges by giving their evaluations from a very objective perspective.


    ¡°It has been said that Confession of White will be remaining true to the original novel, so how could he interpret it differently!¡±


    ¡°In that case, you¡¯re against giving Chae Woo-Jin the highest score only because he¡¯s not staying true to the original nove, Chairman Kwon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡±


    After seeing Kwon So-Hyun''s firm response, a subtle smile appeared on Choi Min-Hwan¡¯s face as he pulled out a new script from his bag. The audition script received from headquarters originally included very detailed stage directions and footnotes written by L. Dmitri. However, all of those details had been removed from the scripts that were used for the auditions. What was left were only the characters¡¯ lines. Although the details had been removed to allow the actors to study and freely interprete Lloyd¡¯s psychology,  it was also to see how much the actors understood Lloyd.


    ¡°Here are the scripts from headquarters.¡±


    Choi Min-Hwan handed out the original scripts to the four judges for the first time.


    ¡°If you had something like these, you should¡¯ve shown them to us earlier.¡±


    A quick glance was enough to see how detailed the stage directions were. This made Kwon So-Hyun mad. She displayed her frustrations at not being able to get her hands on it sooner, as Park Min would¡¯ve done a better job with the help of the original script.


    ¡°It was the headquarters'' policy. Please read it first.¡±


    Choi Min-Hwan might have said that, but the executive that looked at the original scripts together with him had urged him not to disclose them to the judges. Unlike Choi Min-Hwan, who was clueless about the inner workings of the film industry in Korea, the executive was certain that the scripts would be leaked if the judges had seen the original.


    When he saw Kwon So-Hyun today, Choi Min-Hwan felt he had done the right thing by heeding his executive¡¯s advice.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    Out of the three scripts, the judges started off by reading script number one; each and every one of them made either sounds of admiration or groans of disappointment.


    ¡°It¡¯s shockingly in line with Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting, right?¡±


    ¡°Could it have been leaked by any chance?¡± Kwon So-Hyun, of all people, was the first to suspect that the scripts had been leaked, so Choi Min-Hwan laughed.


    ¡°If you¡¯re doubtful, you can look into it. Including myself, there are only three people in Korea who have read the original scripts, so it¡¯ll be easy to investigate. Actually, while we¡¯re doing that, why don¡¯t we investigate if anyone else has leaked the other scripts for this audition?¡±


    After hearing Choi Min-Hwan¡¯s words, the other three judges looked at Kwon So-Hyun in unison; they had been secretly suspicious of her too.


    Kwon So-Hyun disregarded the gazes that were focused on her; she feigned generosity by saying she had faith in Choi Min-Hwan, and took a step back.


    ¡°Lloyd¡¯s urge of murdering his adoptive mother when he laid eyes on her was not driven by a twisted love and hate that stemmed from being abandoned.¡±


    Instead, Lloyd understood the rationale behind her decision because he was smart enough to comprehend it, or perhaps he was old enough to understand how the world worked. Lloyd wasn¡¯t a lunatic who craved unconditional love. Similarly, he wasn¡¯t a crazy killer right from the start either.


    ¡°There¡¯s a line in the original novel that goes something like ¡®I understand her, but the guilt she feels is nauseating. The more apologetic she feels, the more we become sinners¡¯.¡±


    Some people had interpreted this as Lloyd¡¯s love and hatred towards his adoptive mother. But to be precise, rather than being angry, he was more caught up in the fact that his pride was hurt. He hated how she always treated the weak and how she looked at people who were pitiful.


    His adoptive mother also had the arrogant mindset that they had become even more miserable because she left them, and Lloyd found that absurd. Thus, Lloyd wanted to gain the upper hand over her. More importantly, she wasn¡¯t even happy. How dare she have the audacity to pity others when she herself was unhappy?


    How can you be smiling like that?


    There was desperation in Park Min¡¯s voice, which was mixed with love and hatred, when he recited this line. On the other hand, Woo-Jin said it in a mocking tone. That was circumstantial evidence pointing to the fact that Chae Woo-Jin had a better understanding of Lloyd¡¯s psychology.


    His adoptive mother made Lloyd realize that they weren¡¯t miserable because she abandoned them, they had a hard time because there were so many people like her. Lloyd hoped that by getting rid of people like her one by one, only people who were upright would remain.


    Hence, Lloyd did everything in his power to plan his first murder. Using his artist¡¯s instincts, he treated his adoptive mother as a model, and worked on capturing the happy life she wanted in the painting. He accepted his mother¡¯s lecture about becoming a good child, and made her happy. It was an act of anger and spite ¨C¨C it had never been an act of affection.


    In Lloyd¡¯s eyes, his adoptive mother was an enemy that isolated him from the world, and she was nothing more than a hindrance.


    ¡°I thought Chae Woo-Jin had a new interpretation, but in reality, it seems like he fully understood the original story.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Frankly, I gave Chae Woo-Jin a high score because he acted in a way that was completely different from the other actors. After seeing similar performances for three days, it was new and refreshing.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, all of the other actors either portrayed a scary killer, or they portrayed a pitiful person while looking pretty.¡±


    ¡°Even so, they were all inspired by someone else¡¯s acting. They were a far cry from the original to the point it was embarrassing for us to watch, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The other judges either agreed with Choi Min-Hwan¡¯s words or just smiled. Most of the actors they had seen auditioning over the last three days had mimicked Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s killer character from the drama that was aired not too long ago. An interesting thing to note was that even the actors from other countries were not very different.


    Even though Do-Ya and Park Min tried their best to do something new, they couldn¡¯t escape from the clutches of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s influence. Regardless of how many times they had seen the video clips of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s acting, they subconsciously thought about mimicking his eyebrows and lips.


    Ultimately, they had no choice but to give them a low score. This was why Chae Woo-Jin had the highest score even though Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young gave him low scores. Despite their inability to comprehend Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd, the fact that the acting that he displayed was perfect aided their decision.


    The judges thought that Chae Woo-Jin had a different interpretation of Lloyd because he couldn¡¯t possibly recreate the same killer character that he was already famous for during his audition. However, judging from the contents of the original script, his interpretation and directing skills were perfect.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too predictable if we pick Chae Woo-Jin! Why are we holding auditions if there are no new challenges? And what kind of actor follows the script? Doesn¡¯t Park Min¡¯s new interpretation of the script reveal his years of experience as a veteran actor?¡±


    ¡°Are you contradicting what you said earlier?¡±


    When it was pointed out that she had clearly said she was against giving Chae Woo-Jin the highest score because his acting wasn¡¯t true to the original novel, Kwon So-Hyun acted like she didn¡¯t hear it and said something else.


    ¡°Taking Park Min¡¯s contributions to the Korean entertainment industry into consideration, I think he¡¯s entitled to bonus points.¡±


    ¡°Anybody who hears this would think Park Min is an old man. We¡¯re not picking the winner for an achievement award. How can you say that at an official audition that is conducted by a company? Are you evaluating actors just for show? This is a simple matter of giving the first place to the actor with the highest score.¡±


    ¡°How can you decide based on the score alone when it comes to acting! We need to cultivate a young promising actor with a bright future like Do-Ya in order to develop Korea¡¯s cultural enterprise!¡±


    Ultimately, their arguments went back to square one. It was pointless to show them the scripts containing the stage directions, and it was also pointless to suggest selecting the actor based on their scores.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s call the three of them here again and have another round of auditions.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young smiled rigidly after hearing Choi Min-Hwan¡¯s suggestion. Meanwhile, the other judges didn¡¯t even bother holding back the smirk on their faces.


    Would Do-Ya and Park Min outperform Chae Woo-Jin the second time? Regardless of how much one thought about it, the answer was ¡®no¡¯.


    ¡°Let¡¯s reschedule it then¡­¡±


    ¡°No. We can just summon them right here, right now. I told them to keep their schedules open this afternoon just in case. In other words, if need be, they have time to go through an additional screening process.¡±


    Choi Min-Hwan didn¡¯t expect something like this to happen, but in the event there was a difference in opinions, an additional screening would be required. Thus, he made preparations for it just in case.


    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for saying this, but I hope nobody will use their phone or leave this place before the three of them get here. Even though I trust all of you, wouldn¡¯t it be good for us to not create any unnecessary misunderstandings?¡±


    Choi Min-Hwan looked at the judges while holding up the scripts. It wouldn¡¯t require much time for any of them to relay the stage directions and footnotes in the original scripts. If someone were to do that under the pretext of using the bathroom, it would be difficult to make a fair judgment.


    ¡°I agree. We shouldn¡¯t have any misunderstandings among us. Let¡¯s all wait for the actors to get here.¡±


    ¡°I like the idea of a do-over. Frankly, I regret giving Chae Woo-Jin such a low score, so I¡¯m glad we¡¯re doing this again.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Now that I think about it, I feel the same way. Should I give him a perfect score this time around, like some people?¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young flinched after hearing the other judges¡¯ words that had underlying meanings, and they realized a do-over wasn¡¯t such a good idea. The three judges had already made up their minds, and it was doubtful that they would give Do-Ya and Park Min a better score than they did the first time around.


    Even Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young themselves were planning to give Chae Woo-Jin a lower score this time around, so there was no telling that those judges wouldn¡¯t do the same to Do-Ya and Park Min. If that were to happen, Do-Ya and Park Min would be more than one or two points behind Chae Woo-Jin. In other words, not only would they not get first place ¨C¨C they could lose everything.


    Kwon So-Hyun and Park Han-Young were now standing at the crossroads between keeping the current score and having a do-over. From other people¡¯s point of view, it was not a big deal, but to the two of them, it was as though they had to make the greatest decision in the world.


    It was so pathetic, but the other three judges couldn¡¯t mock them, so they feigned ignorance in unison, as though they had agreed to do that beforehand.


    Choi Min-Hwan sighed and ended up facepalming. If it were possible, he wanted to turn back time to the day before he picked those two judges.

 CH 216

    The director of Confession of White had been decided ¨C¨C Pharrell Bob. He was a director who was said to captivate not only the hearts of fanatics but also the general public, having created several eccentric and fantastical works. He was indeed one of the few talented people who were both artistic and successful, and all of his films were box office hits.


    When it was announced he would be directing the film, both critics and fans of the original novel alike responded positively. They remarked that there was no need to worry about how Lloyd¡¯s bizarre and wondrous abilities would be portrayed.


    Pharrell Bob announced that they would only be holding auditions for Lloyd¡¯s part. As for the other roles, they already had other actors in mind. He also expressed that they would be casting them after having a discussion with Ilya Turner.


    In response, Ilya Turner stated he would only be involved in Lloyd¡¯s casting and added that any other matters would fall under the director¡¯s purview. It was as though L. Dmitri was indirectly saying that Lloyd¡¯s casting was his most significant concern.


    Nevertheless, even though Pharrell Bob asked Ilya for advice on the casting, the latter passed the baton to the director and told him to do as he pleased. This was the same reaction Ilya previously had when Selena approached him to talk about making his novel into a movie.


    Ilya honestly thought that aside from Lloyd, it didn¡¯t matter who portrayed the other characters. He wondered if the director would be able to take care of the rest on his own. His heart was sincere up to this point.


    ***


    {Of all people, why does it have to be Ian Essery?}


    Less than a week after Ilya¡¯s interview, where he said that he respected the director¡¯s opinions and that he would give him as much authority over casting matters as possible, Ilya raised his voice at Selena. To add to this, Ilya had even turned down Pharrell Bob¡¯s request for assistance initially.


    {There aren¡¯t any other actors who are as fitting as him when it comes to portraying¡­ Albert.}


    Selena was usually always firm and decisive, but in this situation, she avoided Ilya¡¯s gaze and answered with difficulty.


    Albert was the second most important character in Confession of White. In the novel, he was Lloyd¡¯s adoptive father, as well as the sole witness and the one who provided Lloyd¡¯s only refuge. And, as soon as Ian Essery was cast as Albert, Ilya became furious. Similar to how he didn¡¯t like people in general, Ilya didn¡¯t particularly hate anyone either. Yet, there were a select few he harbored animosity towards.


    Ian Essery was the actor that introduced Confession of White to the public during an interview. This was the source of Ilya¡¯s murderous rage toward the man, and it was also the reason he despised him so much that he didn¡¯t watch any of the films he appeared in. Ironically, however, Ian ended up being cast in the movie adaptation of his own work, which was absurd to Ilya.


    For a long time, Ian had always wanted to take on Albert¡¯s role if the novel were to be adapted into a film. His wish had come true, but it was a disaster for Ilya. Yet, since Ilya had been ignoring Ian Essery, he didn¡¯t even know about the interview.


    {Can¡¯t we just pretend the film adaptation never happened?}


    Ilya brought up canceling the movie production immediately, taking barely any time to contemplate the matter. Instead of coming forward and telling everyone that he was absolutely against Ian Essery being cast as Albert, Ilya thought it would be better to make L. Dmitri appear to be the most fickle person in the world. In any case, L. Dmitri¡¯s true identity hadn¡¯t been revealed, so Ilya irresponsibly thought that regardless of the criticisms people hurl at L., it wouldn¡¯t matter.


    {Unfortunately, the results of the first audition have already been announced. You made quite a stir for the film adaptation, so it would be too difficult for us to call it off. Three people were selected in the United States, and the other Midas Agency branches had six, making for a total of nine people.}


    Selena handed a stack of documents to Ilya, telling him canceling the movie production was out of the question. These papers contained the results of the first round of auditions held by the Midas Agency.


    Hiccups often occurred throughout a movie production, but now that they¡¯d even held auditions internationally, they would lose all credibility if they dropped the adaptation altogether. It would be a severe blow to the Consccia Foundation since they were the main investors and the ones overseeing the production. They would be blamed for taking things too far, and as the chairman of the foundation, Selena would have to shoulder the responsibility.


    One by one, Ilya reluctantly flipped through the documents that Selena handed over to him, but he looked amused shortly after. Four out of the nine applicants were actors Selena had chosen in the first place. Additionally, Ilya wasn¡¯t aware, but two of the actors she had eliminated were on the list as well, proving that Selena¡¯s secretary had done a great job.


    {Nothing unexpected happened in the end.}


    {We¡¯ll only know once we find out who the finalist is.}


    It was not yet known if things would take an unexpected turn or if the outcome would be as anticipated.


    {So, are you really thinking of dropping the movie?}


    Ilya didn¡¯t answer Selena¡¯s serious question. He glanced down at the list of applicants that passed the first round and waved her off as though he was annoyed. He liked the applicants, so it was a sign for him to set aside the Ian Essery issue for the time being.


    However, Selena wasn¡¯t relieved. In fact, she became even more anxious. If the actor Ilya referred to as ¡®child¡¯ didn¡¯t get Lloyd¡¯s part, she didn¡¯t know if he would change his mind about the movie again. Ilya had a calm and rational personality in his own way, and yet, he couldn¡¯t help but have the temperament of an artist.


    Whenever he made impromptu decisions on a whim, he didn¡¯t even think about the consequences. He was never criticized because the people around him always took care of things and sided with him. It would be the same in this instance. Even if the movie production were canceled, the Consccia Foundation and Selena would face more criticism than Ilya.


    {Regardless of the outcome of the auditions¡­}


    {From the beginning, this adaptation was something I started after making up my mind. Ian Essery was an unexpected variable, but if something like that were to happen again, I¡¯d just have to ignore it.}


    Ilya glanced at Selena and smiled magnanimously. She was also worthy of being called a ¡®child.¡¯ While he did find how demanding Selena was annoying at times, she was one of the few people he was generous towards.


    Just as much as anyone else, Ilya didn¡¯t want to get Selena in trouble or make her have a hard time. Despite how much he disliked Ian Essery, he had no intention of putting Selena on the spot in any case. Expressing his feelings by throwing a monkey wrench into their plans was enough to make him feel satisfied.


    {Why are there so many things at the back of my mind the older I become¡­}


    {I¡¯m sorry?}


    {I¡¯m saying the older you get, the weaker your mind becomes.}


    Selena didn¡¯t think that was the case, but just like a true Consccia, she was adept at hiding her thoughts. Yet, she couldn¡¯t fool Ilya ¨C¨C someone who had dealt with Lansky. Even when compared to the devilish Giorgio, she was like an open book. And Ilya knew how to snap Selena out of her poker face.


    {By the way, did the friend you mentioned attend the audition? Didn¡¯t you say he was rather famous?}


    Ilya tapped his fingers on the list of applicants that passed the first round. After Ilya asked what happened when he didn¡¯t see the actor on the list, Selena shook her head with a disappointed expression. Dustin also went to the audition, but it seemed as though he was somewhat lacking and did not meet the cut.


    According to the judges¡¯ comments, they said he had fought hard until the end, but unfortunately, he was eliminated. They also mentioned that he had been dropped because of his bright and cheerful image, rendering him a poor fit to portray Lloyd. As such, it wasn¡¯t because his acting skills were insufficient. Selena shared the same sentiment, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel saddened.


    {He still needs a great deal of improvement.}


    {Even though he needs improvement, I¡¯m guessing he must be a close friend, seeing as how he has a friend like you who thinks this way of him.}


    Ilya looked at Selena¡¯s face with a faint smile. It seemed that the era of the new generation had arrived. The fact that he was starting to wonder about the future they would create made Ilya wonder if he was truly old. He suddenly felt the need to let go of the Lloyd he had been holding on to and embrace the new Lloyd created by the next generation.


    Instead of aging disgracefully, obsessed with the pain and lingering feelings of the past, for some reason, assuming a supporting role and watching over the new era created by the next generation was his mission now. As a writer, he would still be writing a story about this fresh era, but perhaps the content would be different from before. Hence, he hoped that the children in his upcoming story would be happy.


    ***


    After much struggle, the Korean branch announced that Chae Woo-Jin had passed the audition, but the public saw it as an expected outcome. Rather than disagreeing with the results, people were surprised by the fact that Park Min was only one point behind Chae Woo-Jin. They didn¡¯t think Park Min had done well; they believed he would¡¯ve never obtained that score without the help of a corrupted judge. They knew the difference between Chae Woo-Jin and Park Min, so the difference in their scores was something they couldn¡¯t comprehend.


    The people on Park Min¡¯s side weren''t expecting such a reaction, as they had excessively used the media to manipulate public opinion from the start. While Park Min was under heavy fire, Village¡¯s Do-Ya was receiving peaceful attention from the public. People didn¡¯t understand why he was only two points behind Chae Woo-Jin, but most of them assumed he had gotten the score because of his skillful performance during the audition.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! They¡¯re only saying that because they don''t know Do-Ya¡¯s uncle was one of the judges!¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young was looking at articles that described the audition and the public¡¯s reaction. As she beat her chest, she said she was going to explode from anger.


    All¡¯s well that ends well, but when Park Min¡¯s agency published an article about how it was a pity he failed by only one point, Do-Ya also joined in and used the media to shape how the public viewed him. Even though it was natural for Park Min to get criticized, the fact that Do-Ya slithered through the gap and rose to the surface made her feel sick to her stomach. Additionally, her fury grew exponentially after CEO Jang Soo-Hwan told her about the relationship between Do-Ya and one of the judges.


    ¡°To be precise, he isn¡¯t his biological uncle, but he¡¯s close enough to Do-Ya¡¯s father for Do-Ya to call him ¡®uncle.¡¯¡±


    As soon as Woo-Jin corrected Hwang Yi-Young, her eyes smoldered with anger, and she snapped at him.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, are you disregarding the friendship between men? If the judge is close friends with his father, he¡¯s considered an uncle to Do-Ya! Don¡¯t you know that friendship is thicker than blood?¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young wasn¡¯t wrong when she said that people had closer connections with the family they chose than those they were linked to merely by blood.


    However, in Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion, Do-Ya¡¯s acting wasn¡¯t bad. At the time, Woo-Jin was so immersed in Lloyd¡¯s role that he didn¡¯t pay attention to Do-Ya and Park Min when they acted out their parts, but there was nothing he could do to block out their voices and the sounds they made. Do-Ya was adept at expressing emotions through his voice, panting as he spoke while running away. When he heard their voices without looking at the two people¡¯s faces, Woo-Jin felt that Park Min paled in comparison when delivering his lines.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t there to see the other actors¡¯ auditions, so I can¡¯t comment on them, but at the very least, his acting was better than Park Min¡¯s. It doesn¡¯t make sense that he had a lower score.¡±


    The reason behind these odd scores was that Kwon So-Hyun was conscious of the threat Woo-Jin posed, so she was going to lower his score before the audition even began. Since she had to give Chae Woo-Jin a lower score, she also knew that Do-Ya couldn¡¯t have done better than Woo-Jin, so Do-Ya also started with an even worse score. One or two points were significant enough to control the outcome of a situation when it was such a close fight.


    ¡°If they give you 2 out of 5 for appearance, you¡¯re done. Are we not going to publish an article about this?¡±


    In the entertainment industry, where people had a conflict of interests, nobody expected auditions to be conducted fairly. Yet, Hwang Yi-Young didn¡¯t expect them to be so openly biased in such a publicized audition. She understood that it was an opportunity of a lifetime, but she felt they were too greedy.


    Hwang Yi-Young was frustrated by how Park Min and Do-Ya were using the media to sway public opinion using their audition scores, so she wondered if they should do something about it too.


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason people are looking deeper into the situation. It¡¯s because they¡¯re aware of these facts.¡±


    While organizing Woo-Jin¡¯s schedule, Kang Ho-Soo tried to appease Hwang Yi-Young and told her to calm down.


    Park Min had made the mistake of arousing people¡¯s curiosity by commenting on how narrow his defeat was and using the media to influence the public. In truth, everybody was well-aware of his subpar acting skills. The only thing he had going for him was his appearance, but he was overshadowed by Chae Woo-Jin in that aspect as well, so it made people question why he still received such a high score.

 CH 217

    In the end, even the judges who had been staying silent were hounded by the media for interviews. Perhaps Kwon So-Hyun was walking on eggshells ¨C¨C she declined to be interviewed; Park Han-Young glossed over the questions and gave vague answers; the Korean branch manager of Midas Agency, Choi Min-Hwan, had no choice but to say positive things about the audition, but the other judges had no reason to do so.


    <There was a judge who gave Chae Woo-Jin a low score for his ¡®bad pronunciation¡¯ when he used a hood accent even though the character, Lloyd, came from the hood in LA. Initially, the judge criticized him for not analyzing the work properly, but as soon as it was revealed that it was true to the original script, the judge chastised him for not trying something new and called him a parrot. The judges had a hard time because this judge was being unreasonable.>


    <The judge that gave Chae Woo-Jin two out of five points for his appearance gave Park Min a perfect score. I can¡¯t comment on those scores as appearance is subjective, but it seems as though the judge was treating the audition as some sort of lifetime achievement award. It was a situation in which the scores were obviously different, even if it was just by a point, but the judge kept insisting that we should take into account Park Min¡¯s hard work and contributions which he has made to the entertainment industry, and insisted on picking him. It¡¯s interesting to note that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s contribution equaled to that of Park Min, but the judge simply disregarded everything he has done.>


    Similarly, Park Han-Young also rigged the scores and insisted on picking Do-Ya over Chae Woo-Jin, but he did that to give the opportunity to a promising actor. He didn¡¯t give a bunch of bizarre excuses like what Kwon So-Hyun did. Since Kwon So-Hyun kicked up a huge fuss, Park Han-Young, who made a relatively less impactful impression on the public, was spared from being attacked.


    When the interview was released, people started digging for information about the judge who supported Park Min. And then, the rumor that had been secretly circulating for quite some time about how Park Min had a sponsor started surfacing again. It had yet to be revealed that the sponsor was the judge herself, but there were rumors speculating about how she might have something to do with the high score.


    ¡°In any case, there must be a couple of journalists looking into Park Min and Kwon So-Hyun. Wouldn¡¯t one of them publish a major story this time?¡±


    Since they were currently in the middle of a controversy, it was the perfect time for the journalists to publish an article. Kang Ho-Soo remarked that he wouldn¡¯t let the opportunity slip through his fingers if he were a journalist.


    ¡°Park Min¡¯s agency or Kwon So-Hyun will prevent the story from getting published anyway.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯ll be a different story if there¡¯s someone who will offer more for it to be published.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    After quietly listening to Kang Ho-Soo, Woo-Jin seemed to have realized something and exclaimed in admiration. He had heard rumors about Park Min having a sponsor since a long time ago, but he only found out who she was recently via this incident. And after putting the pieces together with the information he learned about her, Woo-Jin seemed to know what Kang Ho-Soo was getting at.


    As soon as Hwang Yi-Young showed that she still didn¡¯t understand what he was trying to say, Kang Ho-Soo explained it to her in simple terms.


    ¡°Kwon So-Hyun¡¯s ex-husband.¡± Only then did Hwang Yi-Young nod, seemingly understanding what he was getting at.


    Kwon So-Hyun was currently in the midst of fighting with her ex-husband for custody of their child. After getting a clean divorce, Kwon So-Hyun had custody as their child was a minor, but her ex-husband filed a lawsuit against her when she denied him visitation rights. However, according to CEO Jang Soo-Hwan, he had become really angry when he later found out about their affair, and that there was a story behind his actions.


    ¡°Nothing beats a scandal when it comes to winning a court case.¡±


    ¡°She could always claim that they dated after the divorce, though.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun was single after the divorce, and Park Min was single as well, so even if a scandal broke out, it could easily be countered by saying they were dating.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if they were photographed together before the divorce took place.¡±


    Kwon So-Hyun got divorced two years ago, but her sexual relations started with Park Min prior to that, so it was a classic case of ¡®nobody knows what will happen in the future.¡¯ The story would become even more interesting if they were photographed leaving a hotel or either one of their houses in the morning or evening. Any journalist or paparazzi with such a photo would currently be in a happy situation.


    ¡°It would be useless if Kwon So-Hyun pays more.¡±


    If a scandal were to break out, Kwon So-Hyun would be the one who would suffer the most, so she would undoubtedly do everything in her power to prevent it from happening. Hence, the sum of money involved would naturally increase. Thus, that was why Hwang Yi-Young was skeptical about Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll make a deal with Kwon So-Hyun.¡±


    However, Woo-Jin shared a different view from Hwang Yi-Young.


    Previously, the journalist covered up Lee Yeon¡¯s car accident because of money. If he were to cover it up, he could blackmail both DS and TM for money, but if he were to publish the article, he wouldn¡¯t get any money from either party. He would simply feel proud for getting a scoop and call it a day.


    However in this case, both sides were equally wealthy; the journalist would stand a lot to gain financially from either side. Hence, it was an opportunity for the journalist to enjoy the best of both worlds ¨C getting a scoop, and making financial gains. If Kwon So-Hyun¡¯s ex-husband refused to make a deal with the journalist, it wouldn¡¯t be too late for them to switch sides and go to Kwon So-Hyun.


    However, Kwon So-Hyun¡¯s ex-husband probably would not miss this golden opportunity. As a journalist who was making a deal, it was better for him to maintain good relations with both sides, and sowing a greater discord before making the most lucrative deal with one person. And so, it would be difficult for Kwon So-Hyun to prevent the untimely article from being published.


    ¡°Anything is possible.¡±


    Park Min wouldn¡¯t put himself in a precarious situation after seeing the journalists that were tailing him. He had been harassed by journalists for such a long time that he might have acted cautiously in the first place to avoid being caught. Additionally, if the journalist had a good relationship with Park Min or Kwon So-Hyun, there was a high possibility that they would let their affair blow over quietly.


    ¡°In any case, I don¡¯t like those people at all.¡±


    Park Min and Kwon So-Hyun were tainting the entertainment industry with their dirty deeds. Since people like them continued to succeed, others would eventually follow suit. Other people would adopt the mindset that they would be losing out if they didn¡¯t do the same thing.


    Woo-Jin had competed fairly but he still ended up being entangled with Park Min and Do-Ya, so Hwang Yi-Young felt it was humiliating for Woo-Jin. If Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t as popular as he was right now, or if the situation was a little worse, he would¡¯ve failed the audition regardless of how good his acting was.


    In Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s eyes, Woo-Jin was the best. But there might have been another actor who went through what Woo-Jin went through and vanished after being  sacrificed in this manner.


    ¡°What power do I have to protect our dear Woo-Jin?¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young wanted to let the whole world know the audition¡¯s inside story, but as a staff member working with Chae Woo-JIn, there were things she could and couldn¡¯t do. In order to do what she could, Hwang Yi-Young searched ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯ on the internet to get a feel of the public¡¯s opinion on the matter, and tried her best to correct the inaccurate information posted by others.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    After typing out ¡®Chae Woo-Jin¡¯, Hwang Yi-Young saw ¡®Chae Woo-Jin T-shirt¡¯ under related search terms. She became flustered and tapped Woo-Jin¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, take a look at this.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Woo-Jin thought she saw a problematic article, so he took a look at Hwang Yi-Young¡¯s phone. However, it was someone¡¯s social media page ¨C¨C not a news article.


    There was a photo of a woman wearing a T-shirt that was rather familiar. Her face had been mosaicked, and judging from the quality of the photo and its composition, it seemed as though it had been secretly taken in a cafe.


    <This person is at the very least a diehard fan of Chae Woo-Jin. How did she come up with the idea of cosplaying in that outfit?>


    ¨C¨C She isn¡¯t cosplaying as him, she¡¯s simply wearing it. Regardless of how much I like Chae Woo-Jin, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d wear that. She¡¯s really something.


    ¨C¨C That¡¯s the T-shirt, right? He wore that T-shirt in LA previously and caused a stir among his fans! There are a lot of stories about the T-shirt, so it¡¯s meaningful to the fans in more ways than one, but that¡¯s too much.


    ¨C¨C I think all of you guys are even more incredible. I mean, it¡¯s just an ordinary T-shirt, and yet you recognized it.


    Someone posted a photo of a woman wearing the same T-shirt Chae Woo-Jin wore back when he was the Slipper Young Man. It was a T-shirt with many anecdotes, but Woo-Jin had received complaints about it because it was stretched out and it looked shabby, so some people had urged him to throw it away. Every single one of his fans undoubtedly knew of its existence.


    There were items that had become popular because they had been worn by celebrities, but that T-shirt was something nobody would wear, including his biggest fans. Even if it was something men commonly wore, it was absolutely not something women would recreate to wear.


    Right now, the opinions on social media were divided ¨C some said the fan had gone overboard, while the rest said it was rather cute.


    ¡°This is the same T-shirt, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It may or may not be the same T-shirt¡­¡±


    He had worn that t-shirt for many years, but it was hard to make a definitive judgment just by looking at the photo. Woo-Jin was more amazed by the people who could tell it was the same T-shirt just by looking at the photo.


    ¡°You can¡¯t underestimate the sharp eyes of fans. They are people who can find out who their favorite celebrities are dating by looking at the dolls and things in the background of selfies. Even with my untrained eyes, I think it¡¯s the same T-shirt too. It¡¯s not even an imitation, it¡¯s the actual thing!¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young had suffered a lot of humiliation because of this T-shirt, so there was no way she couldn¡¯t recognize it. And there was another reason behind her confidence.


    ¡°The silhouette of this person! It¡¯s definitely that girl.¡±


    It was difficult to make out the face of the girl sitting on the chair because it was both mosaicked and a photo of her side profile. But as soon as Hwang Yi-Young saw it, she could tell the girl was Woo-Jin¡¯s neighbor. Hwang Yi-Young knew this because she scrutinized her every time they met, after Hwang Yi-Young found out that she was the stalker and the prime suspect who stole Woo-Jin¡¯s trash.


    ¡°Even today, she glared at me as though she really wanted to kill me when I happened to look away.¡±


    Whenever Woo-Jin had work, Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young made it a point to go up to escort Woo-Jin out. Every time that happened, Woo-Jin¡¯s neighbor would also leave the house and take the elevator down together, so she often ran into Hwang Yi-Young.


    When Woo-Jin was facing forward, the two women behind him would wage a war with one another by exchanging glances that only women would recognize. Because of their relationship, Hwang Yi-Young now had her eyes on the neighbor. Now, she was able to recognize her from afar just by looking at her back view.


    ¡°In any case, the actual T-shirt is in her hands. It makes no sense for her to make a copy of it to wear it. That must have been why she stole it in the first place.¡±


    Hwang Yi-Young looked at the photo that was posted on social media while clicking her tongue, but she couldn¡¯t just laugh it off. The agency was also taking this matter seriously, so she was worried about Woo-Jin living alone. Thus, Hwang Yi-Young got Hyun-Min to stay with him. That was her way of ensuring Lee Yeo-Rin wouldn¡¯t get the chance to meet with Woo-Jin alone.


    However, this couldn¡¯t drag on indefinitely. While Woo-Jin went to America for the audition, the agency was planning to relocate him again. This time around, they were looking for a house for Woo-Jin to move into as secretly as possible. Initially, Woo-Jin also wanted to confront Lee Yeo-Rin head on, but because of the unexpected audition schedule, he held it in and put it off.


    In some sense, this was the last chance he was giving to Lee Yeo-Rin.


    ***


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s T-shirt started trending and ultimately climbed up to the first spot in the real time search. As time went by, the testimonies of those who knew who she was started surfacing one by one. People also talked about how she was originally Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fan, and that she said it was a T-shirt which her boyfriend was going to throw away. On the other hand, some people also said her boyfriend was like a saint. It was an interesting anecdote that lingered in people¡¯s minds.


    ¡°She¡¯s here again.¡±


    As soon as Hyun-Min heard the doorbell, he ran over to take a look at the intercom, and said to Woo-Jin with a fed-up look on his face.


    Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t leave the house alone because of Lee Yeo-Rin. Ever since Hyun-Min moved in, he had gained a lot of freedom. Since they had the same classes, they went to school together, so it was perfect. At times like these when Lee Yeo-Rin came knocking on the door, Hyun-Min dealt with her as well. It was also fun for Hyun-Min to live with his friend in a spacious house away from his parents'' watchful eyes, and it was nice to live close to school.


    Lee Yeo-Rin however, was more horrifying than a midsummer horror movie, as she rang the doorbell every night. In truth, Woo-Jin had no complaints about living here apart from this problem.


    ¡°Why does she ring the doorbell every night at 10 P.M.? Is she testing out Pavlov¡¯s theory of Classical Conditioning or something?¡±


    ¡°Ask her what she wants this time.¡±


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s request, Hyun-Min narrowed his eyes and looked at his friend.

 CH 218

    ¡°Do you really want me to say that while you hide behind the door?¡± Hyun-Min clicked his tongue when he saw Woo-Jin hiding behind the open door with his head sticking out.


    Hyun-Min greeted Lee Yeo-Rin whenever she showed up at their door, and she always had a different reason for ringing the doorbell every time. Once, she claimed to have made too much food, and the other time, she said she needed help changing one of the lights in her house. There was also the time when she asked them to take a look at her computer because it was acting weird. She only did that at 10 P.M. when Woo-Jin was at home.


    Every time she rang the doorbell, Hyun-Min would either tell her to throw away the leftovers, or inform the management office about her light as they would change it for her, or to call technical support because he was not great with computers either. He would say it in a friendly tone, but he never opened the door. Nevertheless, Woo-Jin seemed to be afraid of something and always hid behind the door.


    ¡°My body instinctively hid itself, what can I do about it?¡±


    The doorbell continued ringing as Woo-Jin came out from behind the door with an awkward look on his face and walked towards Hyun-Min.


    ¡°Does she think we¡¯re friends because we¡¯ve been nice to her?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible. We¡¯ve been too civil with her all this while entire time.¡±


    Hyun-Min replied to Woo-Jin¡¯s question, affirming his thoughts and completely turned off the intercom.


    As soon as the sound of the doorbell that was ringing throughout the house disappeared, both of them simultaneously looked relieved. Even though they didn¡¯t open the door and turned off the intercom, her presence alone was rather burdensome, and created a lot of pressure for them.


    ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you preparing for the audition?¡±


    In a bid to take their minds off Lee Yeo-Rin, who was standing outside their door, Hyun-Min changed the topic and asked Woo-Jin a pointless question.


    ¡°I am in the midst of preparing for it.¡±


    Woo-Jin lifted up the copy of Confession of White in his hand, which he had been reading since a while ago. Woo-Jin was also currently on a strict diet. He said goodbye to the body he worked hard to create for Guardian Angel, and was currently abstaining from food in order to create a skinny and fragile-looking Lloyd for the audition. Hyun-Min clearly knew about it, so Woo-Jin replied in a way that suggested he didn¡¯t know why Hyun-Min asked that question.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Are you not going to analyze the films that your other competitors appeared in? You need to know your enemies well in order to formulate a countermeasure.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be helpful to know what their acting style is, and how they act?¡±


    ¡°But they weren¡¯t acting as Lloyd in their previous films.¡±


    If they were actors who acted in the same way for all their roles, then there was no need for Woo-Jin to worry about them. Woo-Jin wondered if it would be of any help if he were to look into their acting styles.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what other people do. Knowing their acting style doesn¡¯t improve my acting, and not knowing doesn¡¯t put me at a disadvantage in portraying Lloyd. More importantly, I¡¯ve already seen all the films they¡¯ve appeared in without going out of my way to look for them.¡±


    None of the actors that passed the first round of auditions were rookies. There wasn¡¯t any drama such as the birth of a rookie with an inspiring story and whatnot. The actors who had been selected were so famous for their top-notch acting skills that it could only be said that the outcome of the auditions was obvious and predictable.


    Perhaps, that was the reason why Woo-Jin had already seen almost all of their previous works. He was already so familiar with their acting styles that there was no need for further analysis. He could picture some of their portrayals of Lloyd to a certain extent, and he couldn¡¯t imagine some of the other actors¡¯ versions of Lloyd. He didn¡¯t have to worry about the actors belonging to the first group, and it was a waste of time to review and analyze the works of the actors belonging to the second group.


    ¡°Is that so? Fair enough¡­but even if you can¡¯t beat the rest, you have to beat Tenno Terua!¡±


    ¡°Is this some kind of match between Korea and Japan?¡±


    Woo-Jin passed the first round of the auditions in Korea while the actor Tenno Terua passed the auditions at Midas Agency¡¯s Japanese branch. Tenno Terua was a child actor, and an actor with experience shooting films across various genres, including experimental films. As a good-looking mixed-race actor with outstanding acting skills, he had quite a number of fans in Korea as well.


    However, the audition was considered a competition. With a Korean actor competing against a Japanese actor, it was only natural for the atmosphere to be as intense as that during a match between Korea and Japan. There were a lot of encouraging posts stating that it was fine if Woo-Jin didn¡¯t pass the final round of the auditions, but he had to beat Tenno Terua.


    Because Park Min and Do-Ya revealed their scores to the public while using the media to sway public opinion, people became aware that the auditions were akin to a game where actors were ranked based on their scores.


    ¡°Recently, instead of telling me to pass the audition, a lot of people have been telling me to beat other actors.¡±


    Even though Dustin himself didn¡¯t pass the first round, he still congratulated Woo-Jin from the bottom of his heart after hearing he had passed. However, towards the end of their phone call, Dustin told Woo-Jin to beat Christopher Eggers at all costs, revealing the resentment he had towards his rival.


    It seemed unlikely that the good-natured Dustin would say something like this just because he didn¡¯t pass the audition. Woo-Jin thought that they either weren¡¯t on good terms to begin with, or that something must have happened during the audition.


    Unfortunately, Christopher Eggers was one of the actors Woo-Jin was wary about. Woo-Jin hadn¡¯t the slightest clue about his acting.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not confident?¡± Hyun-Min raised his eyebrows and asked after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s complaint. The match between Korea and Japan was already happening in his mind, so he couldn¡¯t condone his friend being in distress.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to say that instead of telling me to beat one person, it¡¯s far more effective to cheer me on and tell me that I¡¯ll get Lloyd¡¯s part.¡±


    In the first place, Woo-Jin auditioned for the role because he truly wanted to play Lloyd¡¯s character. It wasn¡¯t because he wanted fame, or that he had the competitive spirit and desire to beat any one of the other actors. He merely had the strong desire to portray Lloyd, and he had no intention of giving in to anyone. Woo-Jin was truly going to do his best at the audition. Hence, he definitely had a reason to beat his competitors even if nobody asked him to.


    Be it the people who saw it as an extension of a match between Korea and Japan, or people like Dustin who was cheering Woo-Jin on because of their personal feelings, they ultimately didn¡¯t care about the outcome as long Woo-Jin he beat the people they hated. In their opinion, it would be great if Woo-Jin were to pass the final round, but even if he didn¡¯t, all he had to do was to beat Terua and Christopher.


    However, Woo-Jin¡¯s goal was to defeat more than just one or two actors, which was why he didn¡¯t know how to react whenever people told him he had to beat so-and-so. Even though he was more audacious than he was in the past, he still didn¡¯t have the guts to confidently say that he¡¯d beat them all and pass the audition.


    ¡°Hold up. What¡¯s that sound?¡±


    Hyun-Min was startled by the sudden sound of music playing in the quiet house, so he went to take a look at the intercom. Fortunately, it was turned off and there wasn¡¯t any sound coming from it. After being harassed for so long, it was easy to mistake a cell phone¡¯s ringtone for the doorbell.


    ¡°It¡¯s my phone. Why is Ho-Soo hyung calling at this hour?¡±


    Feeling worried, Woo-Jin quickly answered his phone because more often than not, calls that came late in the evening were rarely ones with good news.


    ¨C¨C Woo-Jin, are you okay?


    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m fine. Did something happen?¡±


    As soon as Woo-Jin answered the phone, Kang Ho-Soo hurriedly asked if he was okay. His voice sounded tense with a sense of urgency. Woo-Jin¡¯s voice sank, thinking something bad had happened without his knowledge.


    ¨C¨C Are you sure nothing¡¯s wrong? Where are you now?


    ¡°I¡¯m at home of course.¡±


    ¨C¨C Somebody from the management office called and said something seemed to have happened to you, though?


    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m clearly at home¡­ah! I know what¡¯s going on. I¡¯ll deal with that first and call you back.¡±


    As soon as Woo-Jin hung up the phone, he turned on the intercom that was previously turned off. The anxious faces of Lee Yeo-Rin and an employee of the management office appeared on the brightly lit screen as they kept ringing the doorbell. The sound of the doorbell rang loudly within the quiet house.


    The management office was given Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s phone number as the emergency contact. They were supposed to contact him right away if anything were to happen, and it seemed like they had utilized it for the very first time today.


    Hyun-Min wondered what was going on, so he walked over and stood next to Woo-Jin, before looking at the screen on the intercom.


    ¡°She¡¯s really pulling out all the stops.¡±


    As soon as he saw what was going on, Hyun-Min could guess what had happened. He got angry and opened the door forcefully.


    ¡°Ah, you were home after all.¡± As soon as the staff from the management office saw Hyun-Min, the staff member looked relieved.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°This lady over here said something must have happened in the house. I called from the management office, but there was no answer, so I came up to make sure everything¡¯s okay.¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin was not a mere visitor ¨C¨C she was also a resident living in a penthouse just like Chae Woo-Jin, so the staff couldn¡¯t disregard her words. She knew Chae Woo-Jin was undoubtedly at home, but regardless of how many times she rang the doorbell, no one answered the door, so she cried and asked for help. The management office was also in a state of panic.


    ¡°This lady has been ringing the doorbell every night, so I turned off the intercom because it was too noisy.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    After hearing the angry Hyun-Min¡¯s explanation, the employee from the management office glanced over at Lee Yeo-Rin with a look that suggested the employee understood what was going on.


    As there were many celebrities living here, the employee was very experienced when it came to dealing with their fans. Even though something like this had never happened before, there wasn¡¯t a rule that banned fans from being residents.


    As soon as Hyun-Min said that, Lee Yeo-Rin refuted with an unhappy look on her face that seemed to suggest that she had been wrongfully accused.


    ¡°What are you talking about! Everything was normal whenever I swung by here every day, but today I couldn¡¯t get ahold of any of you so I was shocked. And what if you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s fine! I can¡¯t leave until I make sure that our dear Woo-Jin is safe and sound.¡±


    The nuance of Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s words was rather bizarre, so the employee felt a prick of conscience and had a guilty look on their face. Lee Yeo-Rin casually called Woo-Jin ¡®our dear Woo-Jin¡¯ in a friendly way, and judging from what she said about coming to their house every day, the employee wondered if there was something going on between them. The employee also wondered if Woo-Jin was pretending not to know her because they had broken up after dating for some time. There were times when former lovers would show up to kick up a fuss, so the employee wondered if this was one of those cases.


    However, Lee Yeo-Rin happened to be a resident, so the employee was in no position to blindly stop her or kick her out. Regardless of the reason behind the dispute among residents, it was always difficult for employees of the management office to intervene. Hyun-Min also felt the same way and was about to argue back, but Woo-jin appeared and stepped forward, while pulling Hyun-Min behind him.


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, but you¡¯ve gone too far today. You ring the doorbell every day at 10 P.M., asking us to change the lights, or to fix this and that. We¡¯re on the verge of going insane as well. You may be our neighbor, but I hope you¡¯ll maintain a little decorum and respect our boundaries. Would we have turned off the intercom if things hadn¡¯t gotten this far?¡±


    ¡°Woo-Jin!¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s eyes trembled as though she was in shock, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Her tears flowed down every time she blinked; she looked very sad and pitiful to people who didn¡¯t know what was going on. Even Hyun-Min felt a little guilty towards her for a moment for treating her so harshly.


    ¡°Everyone who knows me knows my name, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s kind of rude for you to call my name like that as a neighbor? Please be respectful, then only will I will be respectful to you as a neighbor. Until then, we will treat you just like every other stalker that loiters outside our house.


    ¡°Stalker? How can you say something so harsh!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something that you yourself know best.¡±


    After holding back his emotions as much as possible and bluntly advising Lee Yeo-Rin, Woo-Jin looked at the management staff.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing you so much trouble. You must have been very startled, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Chae Woo-Jin always greeted the employees whenever he ran into them, and apologized to them for dealing with his fans that came all the way here. He had also taken care of a myriad of things in the management office. Even the employees always praised him daily for being a very polite and kind young man.


    Chae Woo-Jin was not the only celebrity who was currently living here. There were other celebrities who used to live here in the past. However, the employees had never seen any celebrity as polite and self-aware as Chae Woo-Jin. He was so nice that even the employees of the management office were worried that a kind person like him wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the jungle-like entertainment industry.


    Even though his attitude towards Lee Yeo-Rin was very cold, he became polite when he shifted his gaze towards the employee, despite still feeling angry. Judging by that, the employee could tell that Chae Woo-Jin was absolutely not a pushover.


    Favorite

 CH 219

    Few people could control their emotions and restrain themselves to this extent, especially the elderly.


    ¡°If she does something like this once more in the future, please ignore her. Today¡¯s the last time I¡¯ll put up with her actions as her neighbor. We¡¯re not close enough for her to be knocking on my door every day; you can verify this if you want. I¡¯ve tolerated her this entire time, and her actions have only become worse and worse, so there¡¯s nothing I can do either.¡±


    Woo-Jin discreetly pointed toward the security camera. Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s actions were probably captured on the management¡¯s security cameras, so he told the staff member to check it out. Then, he said goodbye to the employee and took his leave. While he did so, he gave a slight nod to Lee Yeo-Rin out of politeness. However, he was exuding a dark aura, warning the woman that this would be the last time he would deal with her.


    As the front door closed behind him, the embarrassed management staff cautiously spoke to Lee Yeo-Rin.


    ¡°It seems that nothing is wrong with him, so you can rest assured and return to your room.¡±


    Although she was acting pitifully earlier, she now exuded a cold aura as if she were standing in the middle of a field during a blizzard. The employee didn¡¯t want to be near her anymore, so he quickly said his farewell and got on the elevator.


    Lee Yeo-Rin was the only one left in the hallway, silently staring at Woo-Jin¡¯s front door.


    ¡°Oi, she¡¯s still standing outside! What do we do?¡±


    Woo-Jin explained the situation to Kang Ho-Soo on the phone and returned to the living room when Hyun-Min let out a loud exclamation. He was checking the security camera installed outside the flat. Hyun-Min showed the screen to Woo-Jin, bearing an exhausted expression from being fed up with everything.


    ¡°What if she stays there until tomorrow morning?¡±


    ¡°We just confidently walk past her. What else are we supposed to do? No one asked her to stand outside my home,¡± Woo-Jin replied bluntly.


    ¡°But what if she attacks you with some weapon?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡±


    Woo-Jin shook his head, saying that he wasn¡¯t so weak as to let Lee Yeo-Rin attack him. He also added that an event like that would never occur in Korea.


    ¡°There¡¯s always a first for everything. And celebrities are sometimes attacked by their anti-fans in Korea, you know? Don¡¯t act all tough! What if she turns into your anti-fan because of today?¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter if Lee Yeo-Rin stopped being a stalker and became an anti-fan, but Hyun-Min was worried that she might maintain her extreme obsession and grow more aggressive. Thus, he scolded Woo-Jin, saying the actor should¡¯ve gone easy on her.


    ¡°She would¡¯ve behaved like that forever if I didn¡¯t do something. And only time will tell whether she becomes more aggressive or starts using other methods from here on out,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    ¡°Still, don¡¯t provoke her or anything.¡±


    ¡°The apartment where I¡¯m supposed to relax is now a place I want to avoid because of that woman. What else was I supposed to do? If tolerating her isn¡¯t going to make things better, then I have no choice but to go all out.¡±


    Woo-Jin was careful with his every action, and he tolerated most of Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s behavior because he was a celebrity, but the woman interpreted it as the green light to worsen her conduct.


    When he heard the woman talk to the management as though she had some sort of relationship with Woo-Jin, he made up his mind not to turn a blind eye anymore. Since his agency was looking for a new place for him to stay, he was just going to put up with her. However, if strange rumors started circulating in the management office, then things would get out of hand.


    And if something happened at a later point, there was a possibility that the employee would appear in an interview on TV with a voice changer and blurred face, saying something like:


    The atmosphere that day was strange between the two. It was like they had gotten in a big fight or had broken up only for the woman to come back clinging to him. I didn¡¯t think Chae Woo-Jin could be so heartless to his ex.


    Woo-Jin could imagine that the interview would roughly go like this, which was why he couldn¡¯t remain passive anymore. Since Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t going to be a resident at this apartment complex for much longer, it was possible that the staff member wouldn¡¯t side with him. It was best if Woo-Jin spread the story that he had no choice but to move out because of that woman and create an alibi for himself.


    ¡°I just hope she doesn¡¯t do anything and stays quiet while I prepare for the audition. That¡¯s what she would do if she were truly my fan.¡±


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t consider that woman to be his fan right now. But at the very least, if she had a functional brain and honestly cared for him in her heart, then he hoped she wouldn¡¯t start anything before the audition.


    Unfortunately, his ominous predictions had always come true so far. Lee Yeo-Rin was determined to show Woo-Jin her worth by selecting the worst possible choices.


    ***


    <I found a strange social media account today by coincidence. The account was only made a few days ago, but the people¡¯s reactions to it are no joke. I¡¯m just posting about it here in case those on Wish Baragi hadn¡¯t seen it yet.


    At first, I thought she was some weird attention seeker, but the contents of her posts are all quite noteworthy.


    I think it¡¯s the same woman who was photographed wearing Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s t-shirt before. The sticky note that says, ¡®I prepared breakfast for you. Make sure to eat it!¡¯ and the study notebook all have the same handwriting as our Genie. And the selfie she took on the bed has the same background as Genie¡¯s room that was shown on TV before.


    There¡¯s too much evidence and proof here. I think that Genie getting in a relationship is unavoidable, and I¡¯m not against it either. But don¡¯t you think this is unacceptable? The woman seems a bit frivolous and too careless with her actions. She doesn¡¯t give off a good feeling. Doesn¡¯t she know that it¡¯s a critical period for Genie these days? I¡¯m really upset about this.>


    With that single post on Wish Baragi, the fancafe was almost completely burned to the ground in the ensuing chaos. Even those who already knew about the social media account but remained quiet joined the debate.


    If one reviewed the posts carefully, the shirt she was wearing was clearly Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s. The same went for the handwriting, and the room in the selfie was definitely the same as what was shown on the variety show before.


    Another picture was uploaded during the discussion. This time, it was in an unfamiliar room, but the drawing that Woo-Jin had personally created was hanging on the wall. At first, people thought that Woo-Jin had perhaps gifted her the painting, but the interior showed that it belonged to a man. Furthermore, the items and objects that could be seen were the same as the ones in Woo-Jin¡¯s room on the TV show.


    Soon enough, people heard the news that the interior of Woo-Jin¡¯s house had changed since the show¡¯s airing due to some interior construction and renovations earlier this year. In other words, the newly uploaded photo was likely to be in Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s modified room.


    In the meantime, the woman in question continued to upload photos relating to Chae Woo-Jin on the social media account one by one. Every time someone in Wish Baragi objected to the speculation and tried to prove everyone wrong, she uploaded a new picture that supported the claims as if she knew everything that was happening in the fancafe.


    And so, it reached a point where people started assuming she was a member of Wish Baragi as well. The problem was that this didn¡¯t end with Wish Baragi.


    A reporter in the entertainment industry wrote an article about this issue, saying something along the lines of ¡®an interesting story has been spreading online.¡¯ The reporter was always on the lookout for hot topics and scoops on social media and the internet, so they discovered the rumors pretty quickly.


    The article was written and published less than an hour after the fancafe was first informed about the controversial social media account. This was why Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young had no time to respond or explain anything in the fancafe. They had been too busy preparing for the trip to the US and Woo-Jin¡¯s audition.


    Hwang Yi-Young only found out about the situation after the article was published. She was hurriedly trying to grasp the entire situation while Kang Ho-Soo informed Woo-Jin of the news.


    ¡°So the situation ended up getting out of hand,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    ¡°Based on the date that the first post was uploaded, it seems she started doing this the day after hearing our conversation.¡±


    ¡°Is this my fault?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say this was going to happen either way since she took these pictures in advance,¡± Kang Ho-Soo replied.


    They thought that Lee Yeo-Rin had only stolen some items when she sneaked inside Woo-Jin¡¯s house. Yet, seeing how she could afford to take selfies back then, it was clear that she was far more daring than they had anticipated.


    She had also cunningly used the notes Woo-Jin had written to Woo-Hee as a guise to pretend they were notes between two lovers. Thus, she had clearly stolen the sticky notes with the purpose of doing this from the beginning.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s room was revealed during the filming of Life Depicted, and he was even shown studying, so there was no way his fans wouldn¡¯t recognize his handwriting. In addition, Lee Yeo-Rin posted pictures from both before and after the interior renovation, so she was insinuating that she was close with the entire family and had been frequenting the house for a long time.


    ¡°She uploaded something again.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo frowned and sighed, seemingly sick of the entire situation. He had constantly been monitoring Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s social media account. This time, she had posted a clip of the interview on DSTV where Woo-Jin said he didn¡¯t have a girlfriend. However, there was a caption under the clip which didn¡¯t exist before. She had written, ¡®I won¡¯t cry. I understand and care for him.¡¯


    ¡°What kind of bullshit is this?!¡±


    Woo-Jin had been patiently watching thus far when he suddenly jumped from his seat and trembled. Lee Yeo-Rin had given him goosebumps, and not in a pleasant way.


    ¡°She writes like a middle school girl going through puberty¡­.¡± Kang Ho-Soo remarked.


    ¡°Please tell me people don¡¯t actually believe that I¡¯m dating this type of woman!¡±


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t concerned about a potential scandal at the moment. Rather, he was more worried about being misunderstood as someone who¡¯d date a woman with such childish posts. He would detest being seen as such.


    ¡°Unfortunately, there¡¯s too much evidence that supports the idea. Many people believe her right now.¡±


    In fact, some were even cheering for the ¡®couple,¡¯ although they were a scarce few. Others criticized the woman, saying that uploading such posts wouldn¡¯t help Chae Woo-Jin at all, while another group of people fought back and denounced Chae Woo-Jin instead. They argued that he shouldn¡¯t hide the relationship like a coward and make his girlfriend write such things and that a real man should openly reveal the truth.


    ¡°What should we do? Should we start by writing an article denying the rumor?¡±


    They first needed CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s instructions before doing anything, but Kang Ho-Soo asked Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion first.


    ¡°Is there really a need to do that? She handed us the evidence of her trespassing in my house, so we should report it to the police.¡±


    There was already enough evidence of Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s trespassing with the footage from the security cameras and the reporter Kim Gwang-Sik¡¯s camera. They could even add the housekeeper and the cleaning company¡¯s testimonials to back their evidence. They could claim that they initially weren¡¯t sure if it was Lee Yeo-Rin since she had gotten plastic surgery but were finally certain after this incident.


    ¡°First of all, we should get her posts removed,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.


    ¡°Even if there really is nothing going on between us, if we publish articles denying it and take down her posts, people will become more suspicious of us. Let her do as she wants. She¡¯s old enough to know that she needs to pay for her actions.¡±


    Although this could be considered a scandal, Woo-Jin was relaxed and showed no sign of anxiety or impatience. Sensing Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s doubtful gaze, Woo-Jin smiled and spoke.


    ¡°This is nothing compared to the sponsorship scandal. Besides, even when there are relationship scandals these days, the people involved just make the relationship public and continue dating. Nothing happens to them.¡±


    From Blue Fit¡¯s physical abuse, their use of Woo-Jin¡¯s voice in their songs, to the sponsorship incidents, Woo-Jin had already experienced plenty of hardships in just a few years that people would normally never experience in their lifetime. Compared to those incidents, this was nothing of concern.


    And these days, even when there were scandals, the celebrities just admitted the truth immediately and continued their relationships. After this, the fans seemed to watch over them and give up on protesting. Most importantly, Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s popularity had a firm foundation and wasn¡¯t at a level where it would get shaken by one little scandal.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like my career will take a fatal blow just because she does stuff like this for a few days, right?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Kang Ho-Soo pondered before nodding in response. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans had trodden through all kinds of storms. They wouldn¡¯t be shaken in a matter of days just because of this woman¡¯s posts.


    Furthermore, the reporters were only writing about the controversy. They weren¡¯t siding with Lee Yeo-Rin yet. Reporters always had to be careful when writing about Chae Woo-Jin. He also had substantial international popularity, which tended to give him some protection. In fact, there were even some articles that treated Lee Yeo-Rin like a crazy fan.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I just wanted to take down these posts because they¡¯re unpleasant to read,¡± Kang Ho-Soo said.


    ¡°If we give her a warning, she¡¯ll probably distort it and say we pressured or blackmailed her and tattle about it online.¡±


    Judging by Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s attitude so far, it didn¡¯t seem like she would give up so easily. Woo-Jin had once heard that a celebrity had a stalker for over a decade and only reported it to the police when the stalker broke into their house because they couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.


    Meanwhile, Woo-Jin had debuted just a few years ago, yet Lee Yeo-Rin had already trespassed through his house and had even moved into the apartment next to his. If things had escalated this much already, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t imagine how much of an ¡®upgrade¡¯ her actions would have after ten years.

 CH 220

    Woo-Jin had no intention of enduring and tolerating this exhausting situation simply because he was afraid of the public¡¯s eyes and opinions.


    And there was no guarantee that a second or third Lee Yeo-Rin wouldn¡¯t appear in the future.


    He needed to act cunningly and inform the general public once and for all of how he dealt with stalkers. Thoughtlessly forgiving a stalker was the same as condoning their actions, nothing more, nothing less.


    Woo-Jin ruffled his hair with both hands and closed his eyes.


    Even if he didn¡¯t do anything today, he felt like he would catch Lloyd¡¯s depression like a contagious disease.


    ***


    Since Chae Woo-Jin and his agency did not publish any articles refuting the rumor, people slowly started to treat the contents of the social media posts as the truth.


    People brought up a past interview where Chae Woo-Jin mentioned that if he were in a relationship, he would care for his partner as much as possible and not disclose their identity. Therefore, many people were quite against Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s behavior and criticized her.


    It was true that anyone would want to brag if they had a boyfriend like Chae Woo-Jin, but many people thought Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s actions weren¡¯t proper and advised her to take down her posts.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s fans did not criticize Lee Yeo-Rin thoughtlessly as there was no official announcement on the actor¡¯s love life, but neither did they acknowledge her fully. Instead, most people showed a reserved attitude, observing the situation carefully.


    If the woman often went in and out of the house, she must know Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents personally. Thus, the fans couldn¡¯t recklessly treat Lee Yeo-Rin negatively.


    On the other hand, many fans noticed that DS and Chae Woo-Jin were strangely quiet about the whole situation.


    Even Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young, who were in direct communication with the fans on Wish Baragi, were completely silent.


    And Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s close relatives or friends of relatives on the fancafe, such as Jin-Hee¡¯s Mom and Gaon¡¯s Designer, made no comments about the controversial social media account.


    A member on Wish Baragi who sometimes gave legal advice briefly remarked to those who were being doubtful on the fancafe that ¡®they probably haven¡¯t brought this issue up because it isn¡¯t even worth mentioning.¡¯


    Amid this situation, a quick-witted person asked a specific question.


    Putting aside the fact that there were no pictures of the woman with Chae Woo-Jin, they asked why she had no photos of the new apartment the actor had moved into recently.


    The question stemmed from their curiosity, as they thought that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s girlfriend would normally visit the new apartment if she often came by the house as well.


    As soon as the question appeared on the fancafe, Lee Yeo-Rin took a picture of the landscape view from her living room balcony.


    Not long ago, a few photos were uploaded on Wish Baragi as the view that was most likely visible from Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s new apartment.


    It was a collection of photos posted online by people living in the same building as the actor, although they were on different floors from the actor. The elevation difference could be seen when people compared those pictures with the apartment''s old sales document photos. As Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s landscape almost completely matched those pictures, people couldn¡¯t doubt her much longer.


    ***


    A day after the social media account of the woman who was expected to be Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s girlfriend became a controversial topic, TV broadcasts gradually started mentioning it.


    Their tones were cautious as they remarked that they couldn¡¯t make a conclusive opinion yet, but they described and explained each photo posted on the social media account in great detail.


    Some panelists even spoke as though they sympathized with and understood the woman in question.


    ¡°As a matter of course, she¡¯s friendly and close with everyone in the family.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong gracefully drank her tea when she softly clicked her tongue. Reporter Hwang Joon-Hee of The Goryeo Ilbo, whom she had known since her acting days, heard the sound and pulled out her voice recorder.


    The two of them had met for the first time in a long while and were about to start the real discussion in earnest after having finished their meal.


    ¡°Does that mean Chae Woo-Jin is still in contact with his paternal family?¡± Hwang Joon-Hee asked.


    These two used to talk casually with each other in the past. But after Kim Hye-Ryeong married Chae Mu-Seok, they started speaking politely and treading around one another carefully.


    While they had known each other for a long time, Kim Hye-Ryeong rarely met the reporter these days since she now belonged to the upper class.


    Usually, they only met up like this whenever Kim Hye-Ryeong wanted to use the press for her own goals.


    Thus, even Hwang Joon-Hee didn¡¯t know much about Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s personal life.


    However, their relationship had probably lasted so long because Kim Hye-Ryeong never forgot about Hwang Joon-Hee and took care of the reporter from time to time.


    Today, they were meeting up after Kim Hye-Ryeong had contacted Hwang Joon-Hee first.


    Although there were atrocious rumors about the woman circulating these days, Kim Hye-Ryeong was still the first lady of Bareunjeong Foods with a lot of power in her hands. Moreover, Chae Mu-Seok wanted to divorce her through a mutual agreement instead of taking it to court, so she persistently clung to her husband until now, not letting him cut her off.


    It was unlikely that she wanted to explain and defend herself to the reporter right now since the rumors were slowly fading away. She had no reason to rekindle the fire.


    Then, the only reason she would want to see the reporter had to be about Chae Woo-Jin, so Hwang Joon-Hee came to meet her with high expectations.


    And unsurprisingly, the story that came out of Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s mouth was about Chae Woo-Jin and the young lady at the center of the scandal.


    ¡°He can¡¯t stay in touch with us openly because he doesn¡¯t want to offend his mother, but one can¡¯t forget their roots. Woo-Jin is only human; he can¡¯t ignore his father¡¯s wealth. He¡¯s an extremely ambitious kid. The general public just doesn¡¯t know him well enough to know that. As long as everything goes well, both Garam and Bareunjeong will become his, so why would he let go of such an opportunity with his own hands?¡±


    ¡°Then how is Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s relationship with your husband?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously good. I was even surprised by how well he adapted to his father and indulged him after Woo-Young left us. He really was born to be an actor.¡±


    Hwang Joon-Hee nodded at Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s explanation.


    There was no way Chae Woo-Jin had no ounce of greed in his heart. Garam Hotel and Bareunjeong Foods were mid-sized companies with strong capital. And most of all, the CEO Chae Mu-Seok was able to defend his management rights with the stocks he owned.


    He was a great man who had no plans of coming down from the top ranks of the annual ranking of the richest people in Korea. In fact, he had maintained his position in the upper ranks for several years now. And his eldest son was Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°He started getting in touch with his father at some point and even visited our house a few times with that lady alongside him. But you can¡¯t tell anyone else about this, alright? I don¡¯t think his mother knows about it yet.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong squinted her eyes. Reporter Hwang Joon-Hee nodded eagerly in response.


    ¡°His mother is quite pitiful. She doesn¡¯t even know what her son is doing behind her back. If this fact were to spread to the public, Woo-Jin would claim he¡¯s never done something of the sort and feign ignorance. I¡¯d become the villain of the story and be branded a liar.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong then wiped the corner of her eyes with her handkerchief, remarking that no one in the world would believe Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s stepmother.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then wouldn¡¯t there be at least one anonymous informant who would back your claims?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°Plenty more than that! All the people working at our house have eyes and ears as well, you know?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong smiled slyly as she claimed she was brimming with anonymous informants to back her claims.


    ¡°Then why did the lady suddenly start behaving like this online?¡± Hwang Joon-Hee asked.


    ¡°Who can say for sure what happened in the relationship between a man and woman? They seemed to be dating pretty seriously, but I think Woo-Jin lost interest recently. That¡¯s why she¡¯s upset. She even came to me crying, saying that he used to behave like she was the only person in the world that mattered to him, but now that the honeymoon period ended, he¡¯s really scaring her. And there¡¯s nothing I can do for her.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong spoke with sorrow, saying that a stepmother had no way to persuade her stepson.


    ¡°When I see Woo-Jin, I realize that the apple really doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree. His relationships with women are so complicated.¡±


    ¡°Are they complicated? I¡¯ve never heard anything like that.¡±


    Rather, people in the entertainment industry said that Chae Woo-Jin was like a monk. When Hwang Joon-Hee disagreed with her, Kim Hye-Ryeong snorted.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you people don¡¯t know how cunning he¡­.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong couldn¡¯t finish her words. Hwang Joon-Hee, sitting in front of her, was also dumbfounded and stared at the woman with her mouth open ¡ª the woman who had suddenly appeared behind Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    Hwang Joon-Hee was so engrossed in her conversation with Kim Hye-Ryeong that she hadn¡¯t noticed the stranger enter the room where only the two of them were sitting. But that wasn¡¯t all. This middle-aged woman had poured water on Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s head.


    ¡°What on earth?!¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong shouted out loud as she had no idea what was happening to her. She was in utter shock as the water was suddenly poured on her head in the middle of their discussion.


    She leaped up from her seat and looked around to see what was happening when she found the woman standing behind her.


    ¡°Who on earth are you?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong shouted sharply at her, deducing that the woman was the culprit behind the water pouring incident.


    But she stopped yelling loudly. While she didn¡¯t recognize the woman glaring with piercing eyes, the face seemed somewhat familiar.


    ¡°Who do you think you are to do this to me? Do you know who I am? Do you have a death wish?¡± Kim Hye-Ryeong shouted.


    ¡°But you already killed me,¡± the woman said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already killed me.¡±


    Only when Kim Hye-Ryeong heard the cold voice whispering dryly did she realize who her adversary was.


    ¡°Kang Hye-Min?¡± Kim Hye-Ryeong asked.


    She was Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s second wife and the deceased Chae Woo-Young¡¯s biological mother.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong hadn¡¯t recognized her immediately because of her frizzy hair and how much older Kang Hye-Min looked compared to her actual age. But she soon realized who it was due to the familiar voice.


    The face had significantly changed, but Kim Hye-Ryeong had seen that gaze and heard that voice drenched in resentment during Chae Woo-Young¡¯s funeral.


    ¡°It¡¯s you? And are you still saying stuff like that? You¡¯re the one who ran away, leaving your child behind, because you cared more about money. You should¡¯ve held him tight and close to you if you loved him so much. Why come and attack me like this? Did I kill Woo-Young or something? No, he died because of you. So why didn¡¯t you die alongside him or leave the house miserably with your child like Park Eun-Soo did? Don¡¯t shift the blame on me, you crazy bitch!¡±


    As soon as Kim Hye-Ryeong finished stating her mind, Kang Hye-Min slapped her loudly across the cheek.


    ¡°You bitch, you don¡¯t even understand who¡­!¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong couldn¡¯t continue as she was slapped again. When she wiped her nose with a finger, she noticed her nosebleed and glared at Kang Hye-Min with hatred.


    She was Kim Hye-Ryeong. The Kim Hye-Ryeong, who would hit people and smash objects yet not tolerate or accept any suffering of her own, not even the tiniest of scratches.


    ¡°You¡¯ve lost your mind. Know your place, you¡­.¡±


    She was cut off again as Kang Hye-Min¡¯s hand slapped her cheek.


    ¡°Keep talking. I¡¯ll slap you every time you open your mouth.¡±


    ¡°You bitch!¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong raised her hand to fight back, but Kang Hye-Min grabbed her wrist and immediately subdued her. Her grip was strong even though she was all skin and bones. Kim Hye-Ryeong couldn¡¯t free herself.


    ¡°Let go! Let go, you bitch! Do you think you¡¯ll be fine after doing this to me?!¡±


    ¡°Sue me if you want. That¡¯s what I want the most, actually.¡±


    ¡°Kyaak!¡±


    Kang Hye-Min twisted the wrist in her grasp and threw Kim Hye-Ryeong to the floor. She was wearing a confident expression as though she sincerely hoped to be sued.


    She even started giggling like a crazy person, saying that things would be fun if she actually got sued.


    As the situation and atmosphere took a strange turn, Hwang Joon-Hee slowly got up from her seat.


    She put her voice recorder and notebook in her bag and was about to leave the place in a hurry. She didn¡¯t want to get involved with this crazy middle-aged woman. But unfortunately, her wish didn¡¯t come true because the madwoman suddenly snatched the bag.


    ¡°Who are you? Stop, what are you doing?!¡±


    Hwang Joon-Hee asked Kang Hye-Min as she trembled. The latter¡¯s grip was just too strong for her to keep a hold of her bag.


    Kang Hye-Min then took out the voice recorder in the bag and glanced at the reporter with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°Me? Didn¡¯t you hear what that bitch was saying?¡±


    Kang Hye-Min took the recorder and put a check of one million won in the bag before throwing it back to the reporter.


    ¡°If you want to sue me too, feel free to do so.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t take that! Do you think money solves all your problems? Hey, stop! And I can only sue you if I know who you are!¡±


    For Hwang Joon-Hee, the stolen voice recorder was far more important than the million won. The content recorded in it was far more valuable than this check.


    However, the opponent¡¯s gaze was too sharp and terrifying for the reporter, and she wouldn¡¯t dare stand up against the madwoman. Despite Hwang Joon-Hee¡¯s complaints, Kang Hye-Min was already making her way toward the exit when she stopped and glanced behind her at the woman on the floor.


    ¡°Know your place, you bitch.¡±


    Kang Hye-Min returned the words Kim Hye-Ryeong was trying to tell her moments ago. As soon as she said so, liveliness and energy returned to her face. Contrary to her first impression, she now looked much younger and somewhat beautiful.


    A pleasant hum escaped her mouth as if she now had a newfound reason to live.

 CH 221

    What people needed most to understand others was empathy and information.


    In that sense, Kang Hye-Min did not understand Park Eun-Soo. How could she live such a peaceful and carefree life?


    These worthless and brutish people were yapping all kinds of falsitudes to ruin her life, but Park Eun-Soo couldn¡¯t even see that and continued living carefreely.


    In Park Eun-Soo¡¯s defense, Kang Hye-Min had also led a peaceful life until she was attacked. Moreover, when she herself thought she was safe, the warnings and advice of the people around her fell on deaf ears. Kang Hye-Min simply dismissed them as the useless worries of oversensitive people.


    However, after suffering and learning more about the truth, Kang Hye-Min could only watch over the situation surrounding Park Eun-Soo with frustrations and restlessness.


    Thus, she gave up on trying to persuade or understand Park Eun-Soo and put all her energy into dealing with Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    Kang Hye-Min¡¯s specialty was collecting information and using it to understand the situation and predicting outcomes.


    She had discovered this new talent of hers after the divorce, which led to her making her own achievements.


    Through this, she had been trying to get back her precious son by rising the ranks, but unfortunately, he was no longer in this world.


    Truthfully, even if her son were alive, Kang Hye-Min wouldn¡¯t have been able to get him out of that household. Although she had been dreaming of an impossible future and hadn¡¯t been acknowledging reality, she was happy back then since she had hope of living with her son.


    But now, her hope was gone and all that was left was boiling vengeance.


    Despite her personal success and growth which she was proud of, it was not enough to destroy that family¡¯s huge fortress. All she could do was to slowly carve a hole in the sturdy wall and continuously throw eggs at the fortress meaninglessly to vent her anger. Kang Hye-Min realized what it meant for someone to wake up day after day, unable to kill herself, and continued to live her days lifelessly.


    Then one day, she met Park Eun-Soo. Since then, her life started changing little by little.


    When she saw Park Eun-Soo living happily unlike herself, Kang Hye-Min was envious, but at the same time she felt relieved more than anything else. She was also relieved that she still had the emotional capacity to feel vicariously satisfied through another person¡¯s happiness rather than feeling envious.


    Kang Hye-Min vowed time and time again to herself that she could not become a monster to fight against the monsters. Now, her only dream was to go to heaven where her son would surely be. So, she hated the idea of becoming a monster and having to lose hope all over again.


    It wasn¡¯t so bad to watch over another family living their happy lives from a distance. Kang Hye-Min would deal with Kim Hye-Ryeong herself, so Park Eun-Soo could just continue living happily.


    However, the more information about Park Eun-Soo¡¯s family and Kim Hye-Ryeong she gathered, the more worried and anxious Kang Hye-Min became.


    When she found out what Kim Hye-Ryeong had attempted to do to Chae Woo-Jin a few years ago, Kang Hye-Min¡¯s anxiety began to spike.


    That was also the day her nightmares began to change.


    At some point, the face of her son lying in the coffin had changed into Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face. Although she cursed the distastefulness of her nightmares, Kang Hye-Min was worried it might be a premonitory dream.


    She then reiterated and struggled to control her emotions, telling herself that she didn¡¯t have such an ability. Even on the night before her son¡¯s death, she had had a very happy dream. Thus, she didn¡¯t believe in her damned dreams anymore as they made reality worse.


    Her nightmares were nothing more than an excuse for her to reignite her will to live in the mornings and to remind herself of her goals.


    But she couldn¡¯t ignore her heart that was growing increasingly anxious. Kang Hye-Min started buying TM¡¯s stocks as a means to attack Kim Hye-Ryeong, which made the news and rumors in the entertainment industry more accessible to her. Thus, she naturally ended up hearing news on Chae Woo-Jin on a daily basis.


    Considering that he was her son¡¯s older brother, it was only natural for her to feel attached to him despite them being basically strangers. As her emotions intensified by the day, her nightmares kept feeling more and more like premonitory dreams.


    Thereafter, she changed her tactic from just keeping an eye on Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s surroundings to actively monitoring her. Kang Hye-Min kept a close watch on where the woman went, who she met, and what they talked about.


    And today, she finally found the answer to the question that had been constantly bugging her.


    ¡°So this is what she¡¯s been up to?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong met people to formulate her schemes at a limited number of places. Garam Hotel or the building she owned had good security, but those places were too crowded and far too conspicuous.


    Thus, Kim Hye-Ryeong aimed for reliable and secure places that were remote with not many people around.


    Unfortunately for her, most of those places already belonged to Kang Hye-Min.


    In fact, Kang Hye-Min had bought a certain restaurant a year ago. It was the same restaurant where Kim Hye-Ryeong and the reporter Hwang Joon-Hee met today.


    Even though she bought the entire building alongside the restaurant, she deliberately had the previous owner¡¯s name used as the surrogate owner. Since the restaurant owner¡¯s name hadn¡¯t changed, Kim Hye-Ryeong continued using the facility with her guard down. Therefore, Kang Hye-Min was able to watch and listen in on the woman¡¯s conversations even while she was in the private rooms.


    Today, Kang Hye-Min was watching Kim Hye-Ryeong like any other day with the secret camera in the room and was listening to their conversation in real time.


    But she ended up intervening and causing a mess because she couldn¡¯t hold back her anger.


    She should have stayed patient and held back to continue her preparations for the future, but she couldn¡¯t do so.


    But at the very least, she felt refreshed and enjoyed her time in the room.


    To Kang Hye-Min, Kim Hye-Ryeong was a subject of fear. Just by standing in front of her, she would cower and lose her spirit. Even at her son¡¯s funeral, all she could do was to shout at her and glare.


    If she had ripped off some of the woman¡¯s hair or slapped her across the face like she did today, then the resentment in her heart would¡¯ve been alleviated a little bit.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve done this way earlier.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong was just a human made of flesh and blood after all. Getting hit hurt and they both bled when injured, so Kang Hye-Min wondered what she had been so afraid of until now.


    To be honest, the opponent she feared most was actually Chae Mu-Seok. His shadow was always cast on Kim Hye-Ryeong, making it seem like she was the giant monster in the darkness.


    ¡°Then I should get rid of the shadow first.¡±


    It was only after the divorce that Kang Hye-Min finally realized what kind of person Chae Mu-Seok was. She also realized that Kim Hye-Ryeong was not a threat if she was separated from Chae Mu-Seok.


    The problem was if it was feasible. But now, the clues were starting to show themselves little by little. Even though there was such a big incident today, Chae Mu-Seok kept silent and wasn¡¯t making a move.


    Under normal circumstances, Chae Mu-Seok wouldn¡¯t have let Kang Hye-Min go unpunished for her actions today. He would¡¯ve given her a warning, and perhaps gone even further, attacking Kim Hye-Ryeong. It would be done not out of love or affection for his third wife, but because his pride was injured and the displeasure arising from Kang Hye-Min attacking one of his people.


    But now, no matter what happened to Kim Hye-Ryeong, Chae Mu-Seok didn¡¯t care anymore.


    ¡°Like what you said, it¡¯s my fault that I couldn¡¯t protect my son. I¡¯ll admit it. But that doesn¡¯t make your sins disappear.¡±


    Kang Hye-Min muttered as she looked at the wall covered in photos and documents about Kim Hye-Ryeong which she had obtained during her investigations.


    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly pay for my sins, so you should also pay for yours.¡±


    If Kang Hye-Min was at fault for being unable to protect her son, then she just had to do it properly this time around. There was no need to make the same mistake a second time, once was more than enough.


    Till now, she had only thought of destroying her enemies, and never once had she thought of protecting someone. Now that such an idea sprouted in her mind, Kang Hye-Min started having hope again.


    She wouldn¡¯t change her behavior, but her mindset and outlook on the world had changed as her self-confidence increased.


    Her clock¡ªwhich had stayed frozen for years¡ªfinally started to move again as the seconds ticked by.


    Kang Hye-Min smiled softly as she looked at the photo of Kim Hye-Ryeoung with a certain young lady. She had a lot of work to do from now on. The first thing on her to-do-list was to prevent the reporter whom Kim Hye-Ryeong had met today from writing an article on Woo-Jin.


    She was certain that she now had more power than Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    ***


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan felt a special affection towards DSTV and DS Caf¨¦.


    That¡¯s because he saw it as a means for artists to communicate with their fans, to feel comfortable around them, and empathize with the public.


    People in the same industry often criticized Jang Soo-Hwan for selfishly pursuing his own ideologies with DS. They interpreted his effort to not infringe on his artist''s creativity as an expensive hobby that was a waste of money.


    They often spoke loudly behind his back, saying things like ¡®won¡¯t you affect our image by acting like that?¡¯


    Management and administration was not all about making profits, but it was also where one¡¯s ideals differed from the outcomes. Jang Soo-Hwan had no intention of persuading people whose ideals were different from his own.


    But he didn¡¯t want the general public to have the same misunderstanding and have a bad bias towards the artists of DS.


    Jang Soo-Hwan thought that it was his duty and mission to make happy artists who were close with both their fans and the public. Allowing the artists to receive their love, instead of remaining as artists who satisfied Jang Soo-Hwan and his ideals only.


    So his method of allowing his artists to reach out to the public was DSTV and DS Caf¨¦.


    The artists were also happy to interact freely and directly with the public outside of the existing media. Although they were grateful for CEO Jang Soo-Hwan¡¯s overprotection so far, it had honestly been quite frustrating and suffocating. Thus, this was a welcome change.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean the artists liked all the shows on DSTV.


    Charge! Open the door was the most popular show on DSTV, but it was also the most hated show by the artists which they were reluctant to take part in.


    The show was about the hosts picking a random artist affiliated with DS¡ªwhether through a lottery or spinning a wheel or any other method¡ªand rashly going to the house of whoever was picked with a camera filming live.


    Whenever the show airs, they would broadcast for a few minutes the selection process that was filmed beforehand, then change the scene to a live camera where the MC presses the doorbell to the lucky(?) winner¡¯s house. From then on, the broadcast is continuously filmed in real time.


    Thus, on the days the show aired, the viewers didn¡¯t know who the episode¡¯s protagonist was until 10:05 PM.


    The selection process of the protagonist had to be recorded in advance, but the artists affiliated with DS disliked the show because it was carried out in secrecy until the film crew had reached the protagonist¡¯s home.


    Some artists wore their makeup in advance on the day''s which Charge! Open the door aired just in case they got selected. But the selection process was so random that sometimes, the artists who were chosen the previous week got selected again and ended up being taken by surprise as they had their guards down. Thus, the show earned a lot of resentment from the artists.


    But since the show was run by the company, they couldn¡¯t refuse the film crew and it was no use complaining to the producers.


    Fortunately for them, the show only aired once or twice a month as it was an internet broadcast and was different from regular TV broadcasts. Most of all, the fans loved the show so much that the artists couldn¡¯t voice their complaints.


    ¡°Please let us in. We¡¯re going live very soon.¡±


    One of the hosts of Charge! Open the door¡ªOh Young-Hee¡ªbegged the security guards who were blocking them at the lobby with a cutesy voice. But they remained stone-faced without any reaction, so she turned her head and pouted.


    ¡°Please come over here so that we don¡¯t get in their way.¡±


    After hearing the film crew¡¯s story, an employee from the management office guided them towards the elevator dedicated to the penthouses. There were very few people that ever came this way, so the commotion wouldn¡¯t bother anyone.


    ¡°This is a program that is managed by Mr. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s agency, so there won¡¯t be any problems if you let us inside.¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon, another host of the show, spoke in place of Oh Young-Hee and tried to persuade the staff member with a gentle smile.


    Although he has yet to become a nation-wide popular MC, Kim Hak-Cheon was famous enough that most people recognized him.


    Whenever he appears somewhere with a camera, he usually gets a free pass as most people would let him in. This was the first time in a long time where Kim Hak-Cheon was nervous about entering a building and had to beg people for the broadcast.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but if you are a visitor, you cannot use the elevator without the resident¡¯s permission. You should contact Mr. Chae Woo-Jin directly rather than asking me to let you in.¡±


    The staff didn¡¯t even know about Charge! Open the door let alone DSTV, so this situation was equally awkward and problematic for him.


    Kim Hak-Cheon and Oh Young-Hee were both popular MCs that he liked. But following the company rules was far more important than this broadcast for the employee.


    Unfortunately, Kim Hak-Cheon had his own share of rules to follow as well.


    ¡°This is a surprise broadcast, so we can¡¯t let Mr. Chae Woo-Jin know we¡¯re coming even if it¡¯s a few minutes in advance. The highlight of this show is when we press the doorbell and the artist is forced to open the door in a panic.¡±


    The goal of this broadcast was to capture the artist¡¯s panicked expression on camera. Even if they didn¡¯t open the door immediately, the bewildered voice and panicky atmosphere through the intercom was still the highlight of the show.


    They couldn¡¯t contact Chae Woo-Jin in advance to give him time to prepare. Thus, they had to find another way to get on the elevator without notifying the actor.

 CH 222

    They could still ring the doorbell from the lobby instead of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s front door. Hearing his bewildered voice over the intercom would be the same no matter where they heard it from.


    However, the time it took for the film crew to ride the elevator up was enough for the actor to wash his face and change his clothes.


    There were also quite a few artists who washed their faces and got changed before opening the door, but there never was enough time to wipe off all the moisture on their hair. And sometimes, they would even wear their shirts or pants inside out or backwards.


    All of these amazing shots were made possible because the artists panicked due to the sudden visit, so the producers and film crew had no intention of giving Chae Woo-Jin any leeway.


    Because they couldn¡¯t compromise on the fun and surprise, the film crew and co-hosts discussed their options.


    The joy they felt when the dart landed on Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s name on the spinning wheel had disappeared by now, and everyone was anxiously eyeing the clock.


    ¡°The broadcast will begin in five minutes.¡±


    At the beginning, the broadcast would air the clip of the MCs spinning the wheel with all the artists¡¯ names and throwing a dart at it, but that would barely fill five minutes of the runtime.


    In other words, they had less than ten minutes left until the camera went live.


    They would then have to ring the doorbell to enter Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s home, but it seemed impossible right now.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we contact Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s manager?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll probably tell Chae Woo-Jin about it immediately.¡±


    ¡°What if we ask him to keep it a secret for the broadcast and the audience¡¯s entertainment?¡±


    ¡°Well, not a single manager has kept it a secret when we contacted them so far.¡±


    When the show first started airing, the managers always promised they would keep the secret, but they ended up contacting the artist in advance so that they had enough time to prepare. Thus, the film crew now went to the artists¡¯ houses without informing anyone at all.


    However, today would be the first time that they would be unable to make it to the front door because of such strict security measures.


    ¡°How about contacting CEO Jang instead?¡±


    ¡°Ooh~! But does anyone here have his contact information?¡±


    As Oh Young-Hee shared a good idea, Kim Hak-Cheon exclaimed in admiration before putting on a straight face again, asking the producers around them.


    Unlike the MCs who belonged to other agencies, the production crew were full-time employees of DS.


    However, there was no way an ordinary employee would know the CEO¡¯s number. And unfortunately, no one would answer even if they called the main office since it was almost 10 PM.


    After pondering for a while, the producers decided to give it a try, and called one of their superiors.


    Time passed slowly, and the pre-recorded part of the show started airing online. At this rate, the pre-recorded part would end and the camera would go live while they were in this situation, though this in itself could end up being an entertaining and interesting episode in and of itself.


    ¡°What if Mr. Chae Woo-Jin sees the broadcast and comes down to get us?¡±


    ¡°That would be entertaining in its own way.¡±


    This was an internet broadcast, so they were free to change the show¡¯s style and format as they pleased. Their higher-ups wouldn¡¯t really warn or punish them for the episode¡¯s awry progress.


    This was a broadcast where improvisations, originality, and having fun were the most important virtues. So while the crew was nervous, there were no real concerns about having to take responsibility for mistakes.


    ¡°Uh-oh, the pre-recorded part is ending soon. We have no choice but to go live soon.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten in touch with the CEO yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. We¡¯re going on standby now.¡±


    One person was continuously calling people while another was counting down until the camera went live, so Oh Young-Hee and Kim Hak-Cheon had no choice but to fix their clothes in preparation.


    When the director finally gave the sign to begin filming, Kim Hak-Cheon spoke up first with an embarrassed expression.


    ¡°Today¡¯s charge will most likely end up as a failure. We haven¡¯t gotten through this gate yet.¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon pointed to the staff member and the security guards blocking the elevator door. Oh Young-Hee pretended to cry a bit before speaking as well to help out her co-host.


    ¡°They say that we cannot enter unless we get permission from Chae Woo-Jin himself. I didn¡¯t want to prove to our viewers that this show was real in such an uncool manner.¡±


    ¡°I just hope that Mr. Chae Woo-Jin doesn¡¯t come downstairs after seeing the broadcast. Have you gotten in touch with the CEO yet?¡±


    As Kim Hak-Cheon deliberately put some pressure on the producers, Oh Young-Hee spotted someone nearby and pointed at them.


    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t he Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s manager?¡±


    Oh Young-Hee shouted when she saw a well-built man entering the lobby.


    Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s manager was quite famous among people in the entertainment industry and fans alike for his manners and sweet name that greatly contrasted with his appearance. They say that his overbearing and striking appearance remains in people¡¯s memories longer than some celebrities.


    Kang Ho-Soo was heading towards the penthouse elevator when he heard someone calling him, and he stopped in his tracks.


    As soon as he saw the crew with broadcast equipment and Kim Hak-Cheon next to them, he checked the time.


    Kang Ho-Soo instantly realized the circumstances and approached them quickly.


    ¡°Did you land on Woo-Jin today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, so we needed some help to get inside. We¡¯re so lucky to have found you.¡±


    Since they had met like this, the crew could just go upstairs alongside the manager. It was a win-win situation for them since they could also stick to Kang Ho-Soo and prevent him from calling Chae Woo-Jin.


    But Kang Ho-Soo shook his head with a regretful expression in response to Kim Hak-Cheon.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work out today.¡±


    ¡°Does he have some unexpected plans? Or does he need to head outside? We¡¯re fine with whatever it is. This isn¡¯t a regular broadcast, so we don¡¯t need to fill in the runtime completely. We can adapt to any situation, so please let us film him even if it''s just for a few minutes.¡±


    The episode today would be considered a success as long as they could invade Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s home and capture his bewildered face, so the MC tried to persuade Kang Ho-Soo no matter what.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem¡­¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo answered vaguely before momentarily pausing.


    If he hesitated or refused to answer, then people would start speculating and misunderstand Woo-Jin¡¯s current situation.


    Since the actor was going through a relationship scandal now, people would start imagining all sorts of things if he suddenly prevented them from entering and filming Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s home.


    But reality wasn¡¯t as beautiful or romantic as what the public thinks.


    Today, Woo-Jin had sued Lee Yeo-Rin but she had yet to be contacted about it. To be more precise, they had sued the owner of the controversial social media account for trespassing and theft based on the evidence and testimonies they had collected thus far.


    As it hadn¡¯t been announced to the press yet, Lee Yeo-Rin was still kept in the dark. But nevertheless, she started standing outside Woo-Jin¡¯s front door an hour earlier than usual and had been acting violently.


    Ever since she started uploading photos on the account, she became much bolder and behaved as if she lost all sense of reason. After seeing both the cheers and criticisms from people online, she had completely fallen for the illusion that she truly was Woo-Jin¡¯s lover.


    Now, Woo-Jin had reached a stage where words couldn¡¯t be used to communicate with Lee Yeo-Rin anymore, so Kang Ho-Soo had no choice but to intervene. He didn¡¯t even want to imagine going upstairs with the camera right now when the situation was so chaotic.


    ¡°I did hear that Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is busy preparing for the audition these days among many other things. So I guess it would be best to cancel today¡¯s broadcast.¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon was quick-witted. He had instantly judged that the situation upstairs wasn¡¯t suitable to have a live camera around, seeing how Kang Ho-Soo had arrived at such a late hour and was being so hesitant.


    Although Kim Hak-Cheon had spoken in a nice manner and called the charge a failure, Kang Ho-Soo could guess what the MC was imagining.


    Just like he thought, the worst-case scenario was upon them.


    Rumors of Woo-Jin¡¯s love affair were circulating as the social media account became a hot topic, so anyone could guess why one couldn¡¯t go to his house during this time.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that he could just take them upstairs since Lee Yeo-Rin was currently banging on the front door and wreaking havoc, which wasn¡¯t an appropriate scene to broadcast live.


    Neither option was good enough, and this wasn¡¯t a matter where a single manager could make the decision.


    ¡°Excuse me, I finally managed to get in touch with CEO Jang, but he wants to talk with Manager Kang.¡±


    A producer held the phone tightly with both hands and carefully handed it to Kang Ho-Soo. It seemed that talking to CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had taken a toll on him. The apparent exhaustion and embarrassment in his behavior was quite funny, but no one laughed at him since they understood his stress.


    ¡°Yes, this is Kang Ho-Soo.¡±


    Everyone was surprised by Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s calm attitude when he answered the phone. Even though the camera was running, it was being broadcasted live, the MCs and the production crew all exclaimed ¡®oh!¡¯ in awe. In fact, there was a flash of respect in the eyes of the producer who had handed over the phone.


    In addition, as Kang Ho-Soo quietly listened to Jang Soo-Hwan, he even shook his head and spoke back to the CEO.


    Even though he was just a manager and not even an executive of the company, it was shocking to see Kang Ho-Soo say ¡®no¡¯ to CEO Jang Soo-Hwan.


    However, as an employee of the CEO¡¯s company, Kang Ho-Soo had no choice but to do as he was told in the end in order to earn his salary.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo answered bitterly with a sigh as he hung up the phone and spoke to Kim Hak-Cheon.


    ¡°I will cooperate with the broadcast.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°But things won¡¯t look great when we head up, so you should prepare yourselves to some extent.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo looked up for a moment before answering in resignation.


    ¡°Right now, there¡¯s a stalker in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s apartment making a fuss.¡±


    The production crew was delighted by CEO Jang¡¯s permission, but they all did a double-take at Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s revelation.


    However, Oh Young-Hee missed the point and was infuriated at the wrong thing and asked back.


    ¡°No way! They didn¡¯t let us inside no matter how much we begged them but they let a stalker enter?¡±


    Oh Young-Hee¡¯s eyes widened and she turned to the management staff who had been blocking their path, glaring at him. She watched him suspiciously, wondering whether the staff was just pretending to be hard at work and strict with the rules since he was on camera, while being pretty easygoing in reality.


    ¡°The thing is, she¡¯s not an outsider. She lives here as well, so they can¡¯t stop her.¡±


    As Kang Ho-Soo answered Oh Young-Hee, the management staff¡¯s eyebrows rose as he understood who Kang Ho-Soo was referring to.


    He was the one who had gone up to the penthouse after Lee Yeo-Rin kicked up a fuss at the management office the other day.


    That same day, he returned downstairs and remembered Woo-Jin telling him to check the footage of the security camera installed above his front door. When he checked it, he was at a loss for words.


    When Chae Woo-Jin first moved in, he requested for the security camera to be installed so that it would capture everyone who came and left the apartment.


    His request was quite odd, as other celebrities who lived in the same building always asked to have the cameras near their entrances removed to protect their privacy as much as possible.


    The employee doubted that Chae Woo-Jin had expected this kind of situation. Nonetheless, he could guess that the actor had suffered enough at the hands of stalkers to completely give up on his private life.


    Unsurprisingly, the camera footage showed Lee Yeo-Rin visiting Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s house every evening and ringing the doorbell.


    It was truly horrifying to see her constantly ringing the bell and sometimes just staring at the front door while doing nothing.


    She would somehow find out whenever Chae Woo-Jin went out, and would leave her flat as well to take the elevator with him and follow him down to the underground parking lot. She¡¯d even cunningly try to make physical contact with Chae Woo-Jin by tripping and falling down on purpose, acting as though it was an accident.


    Thus, he could easily guess who Kang Ho-Soo was talking about.


    ¡°Oh no, is she acting like that again?¡±


    As the management staff asked, Kang Ho-Soo sighed and nodded. Either way, the press would find out by tomorrow that Woo-Jin had sued the owner of the social media account.


    CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had decided to let everyone know that Lee Yeo-Rin was a stalker living in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s apartment through the broadcast.


    If Woo-Jin was broadcasted having to deal with this stalker live online, there would be no need to hold a press conference to explain himself later on. Furthermore, it would help dispel any doubts the public may have in their minds. Most of all, if a similar incident happened again in the future, people would always start off by doubting the rumors and not believe any fake news.


    Lee Yeo-Rin was making a fuss by herself in front of Woo-Jin¡¯s front door, so CEO Jang instructed Kang Ho-Soo to deal with her appropriately while revealing her true nature online. However, Kang Ho-Soo was nervous. He wasn¡¯t even an actor, so how was he supposed to trick Lee Yeo-Rin to expose her true nature in front of the camera? He had no confidence in successfully pulling off the plan.


    ¡°Should I head up with you?¡±


    ¡°No. Since she¡¯s still a resident of this building, you¡¯d end up in trouble. I will deal with this situation myself.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo refused help from the management staff and entered the elevator.


    The crew of Charge! Open the door followed behind him, but the heavy atmosphere weighed on everyone¡¯s shoulders inside. Even the eloquent Oh Young-Hee was keeping her mouth shut out of uneasiness.


    However, the main MC Kim Hak-Cheon could guess why CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had allowed them to go upstairs with the cameras rolling.


    If the broadcast was blocked in such a situation, then a storm of rumors would wreak havoc in the entertainment world, so the agency had no choice but to keep charging.

 CH 223

    ¡°It seems like the stalker is quite famous around here considering that the management office knows of her as well.¡± Kim Hak-Cheon remarked to Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right.¡±


    The MC started asking questions. After all, he couldn¡¯t just stand around silently while they were on a live broadcast.


    ¡°What exactly is happening upstairs right now?¡±


    ¡°The stalker comes to Woo-Jin¡¯s apartment around 10 PM every night and rings the doorbell for trivial requests, so he disabled his interphone recently. However, earlier this evening, Woo-Jin told me she had been banging on the front door and shouting. I told him not to leave his apartment and came here to deal with her myself.¡±


    ¡°This sounds a bit dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It is. She seems to think that she¡¯s Woo-Jin¡¯s lover. Why are there so many people claiming to be his girlfriend these days?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon and Oh Young-Hee exchanged glances at the nuance in Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s words. He had indirectly denied that the woman on the social media account was Woo-Jin¡¯s girlfriend.


    ¡°Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is just too popular. Even I¡¯d want to go around and tell people I¡¯m his girlfriend,¡± Oh Young-Hee said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a crime, you know?!¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon exclaimed this, but Kang Ho-Soo responded bluntly as though it didn¡¯t matter much.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t severe enough to be a crime.¡±


    ¡°What kind of environment have you lived in so far to not consider that a crime?!


    As Kim Hak-Cheon asked in a stupefied tone, the elevator arrived at the top floor.


    ¡°In that kind of environment.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo spoke, and as soon as the doors opened, he ran towards the spectacle occurring right in front of him. The MCs and production staff got off and followed the manager, but it didn¡¯t take long for them to stop and stare blankly at what they were witnessing. Even though they were told that a stalker was making a fuss in the hallway, what was unfolding before their eyes was clearly different from what they¡¯d been told.


    Chae Woo-Jin was grabbing a woman by the wrist and holding her hand high above their heads while another man was behind her, restraining her shoulders and arms. However, the woman was holding a knife, and blood was flowing down Woo-Jin¡¯s hand as he kept her wrist in place.


    ¡°119! Somebody call 119!¡±


    ¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t we call the police first?¡±


    Despite being surprised by the sudden appearance of the crowd standing behind Kang Ho-Soo, Hyun-Min shouted at them with a serious expression.


    ¡°Just call both of them!¡±


    A crazy knife-wielding woman was wreaking havoc, and someone had gotten injured, so both an ambulance and the police were necessary on site. Yet, right now, their greatest priority was to stop Kang Ho-Soo from attacking Lee Yeo-Rin.


    ¡°Hyung! Hyung, no! Stop! She didn¡¯t attack us; we were trying to stop her from injuring herself!¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo was about to break Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s left wrist, but he stopped when he heard Hyun-Min¡¯s explanation.


    Now that he thought about the situation, it was strange how Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min were outside when he¡¯d told them not to open the door no matter what. Even if Lee Yeo-Rin had a knife and started swinging, no one would get hurt if her targets were safe inside the apartment.


    ¡°We were keeping an eye on her through the security camera when she suddenly took out a knife and placed it against her neck. So, we ran out as fast as possible to stop her and got cut a little in the process. She didn¡¯t mean to attack us.¡±


    Woo-Jin had a conflicted expression as he clarified the situation to his manager. No matter how much he hated someone, he couldn¡¯t just sit by and watch them get hurt.


    Kang Ho-Soo noticed a thin, shallow wound on Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s neck, and he stopped trying to attack the crazy woman. Instead, he now readied himself to defend against the knife.


    ¡°Why are you always acting so cold when you¡¯re actually worried about me? Why were you pretending not to love me?¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin complained to Woo-Jin, questioning him as though she couldn¡¯t understand his behavior.


    ¡°Excuse me? Isn¡¯t it weirder to do nothing when someone is trying to kill themselves in front of you?¡± Woo-Jin exclaimed.


    ¡°No, you love me. You love me even though you constantly deny it. Are you that afraid of what the public thinks of you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more afraid of you than anything else.¡±


    This exchange had occurred once before Kang Ho-Soo and the others even arrived, so Woo-Jin¡¯s face was riddled with exhaustion and irritation. Nevertheless, Lee Yeo-Rin lamented that his attitude was too indifferent and aloof, acting as if her entire world was collapsing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be saying. Why on earth are you doing this to me? Actually, I know why, but don¡¯t you realize that behaving this way doesn¡¯t help you at all?¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    There had been numerous normal routes that Lee Yeo-Rin could¡¯ve taken to express her affection, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t understand why she¡¯d selected the most extreme choices every time. It was unlikely that she¡¯d ever be able to date him even if she behaved reasonably, but she would¡¯ve at least kept her dignity as his fan, and he would¡¯ve respected her.


    ¡°You said we¡¯d go together next time. You said you¡¯d be with me everywhere except for heaven, that you can¡¯t even smell any other flower now, and that you¡¯d dedicate your life to me. So why do you keep pretending that I¡¯m a stranger?¡±


    ¡°What? When did I ever say that?¡±


    Her explanation was so absurd and ridiculous that it dumbfounded Woo-Jin. He subconsciously loosened his grip on her wrist, and Lee Yeo-Rin immediately tried to cut her own throat again. Fortunately, Kang Ho-Soo stopped her in time, preventing a bloodbath from occurring.


    ¡°Woo-Jin, step aside! Please excuse me.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo pushed Woo-Jin aside and grabbed Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s wrist, asking for her forgiveness. He then grabbed the other hand that Hyun-Min had been holding. With this, Kang Ho-Soo had easily subdued Lee Yeo-Rin despite two men previously struggling to hold her back.


    ¡°City of Shadows and Red Enemy!¡± Oh Young-Hee shouted.


    ¡°What?¡± Kim Hak-Cheon asked.


    ¡°What she said just now. I was wondering what she was talking about at first, but those are Mr. Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s lines in his movies, series, and commercials.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­!¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon also recalled the lines and nodded affirmatively as Oh Young-Hee pointed them out.


    At first, he thought Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s words had some hidden meaning behind them, but they were just his lines in the works Kim Hak-Cheon had seen. Although the phrases were quite clich¨¦, there was nothing better to whisper in a lover¡¯s ears. Even now, the stalker argued and spoke as if Chae Woo-Jin''s words to his character''s lovers were directed at her. She yelled and asked why he hadn¡¯t kept his promise, why he didn¡¯t meet her even when she came to his front door.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    After leaving Lee Yeo-Rin in Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s care, Woo-Jin was sighing as he inspected the injury on his hand when Oh Young-Hee approached him and took out her handkerchief. Fortunately, the cut wasn¡¯t severe. However, blood wouldn¡¯t stop pouring out from the wound since he¡¯d been tightly holding Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s wrist. As Oh Young-Hee wrapped the handkerchief around the open wound, the cloth quickly turned dark red.


    ¡°Who on earth is that woman? Have you been treating me this way because of her?¡±


    Oh Young-Hee was a notably famous television host, but Lee Yeo-Rin did not recognize her. The stalker glared at Oh Young-Hee with bloodlust in her eyes, trying to swing her knife at the MC. Needless to say, Kang Ho-Soo maintained a strong and firm hold on her, so Lee Yeo-Rin couldn¡¯t do anything.


    In the meantime, the management staff and security guards that Hyun-Min had called arrived to help. They inspected the scene before taking Lee Yeo-Rin towards her room with the help of Kang Ho-Soo.


    ¡°Won¡¯t the people in that room complain about the noise if you take her there?¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon asked a pragmatic question. He was worried that the neighbors would complain because of Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s shrieks echoing in the hallway.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. That¡¯s her apartment,¡± Hyun-Min explained.


    The MCs and film crew¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. They knew a bit about real estate, so Lee Yeo-Rin had to be somewhat wealthy if she were living in that penthouse. Yet, despite her wealth, the woman was acting so pathetically and living such a shameful life, stalking her favorite actor. They even started suspecting whether or not she had moved here to be with Chae Woo-Jin.


    ¡°She followed Woo-Jin here after he moved into this apartment,¡± Hyun-Min confirmed everyone¡¯s suspicions before walking toward Woo-Jin and checking on his friend. Unlike his usual self, Woo-Jin¡¯s face was worryingly pale.


    The team of Charge! Open the door were also concerned about the actor¡¯s state, and they rushed to him. They had forgotten that they were broadcasting everything live and were in a state of confusion. Nonetheless, the video jockey didn¡¯t forget his duty and captured Woo-Jin¡¯s haggard face on camera.


    Chae Woo-Jin had become skinny and pale. He had lost a lot of weight, and his face was thinner than before. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and comfortable sweatpants. Since he had no time to put on shoes during this dire situation, he was barefoot. Right now, he was leaning against the wall with his head laid back to rest a bit. He gave off such a pure appearance that he resembled a young boy.


    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    Alas, the words that escaped his mouth completely destroyed that pure and elegant image of his.


    ¡°Gimbap, ramen, pork feet¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Having come back to check on the actor after entrusting Lee Yeo-Rin to the management staff and security guards, Kang Ho-Soo suddenly shouted. Although Woo-Jin rarely ate those types of foods in general even when instructed to do so, after going on a diet, he now had cravings. Kang Ho-Soo then kindly consoled Woo-Jin.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hospital first. You¡¯ll be fine when you get some nutritional supplements.¡±


    ¡°I feel like everything will be fine once I eat some pork belly. I even lost some blood, so pork belly would be the perfect treatment¡­.¡± Woo-Jin muttered.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the closest hospital again?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo pretended not to have heard him and asked Hyun-Min. As Hyun-Min was about to answer, the elevator dinged and opened again. Everyone turned to the door, wondering if more guards had come to help them, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, police officers and paramedics got off the elevator and approached.


    ¡°We received a report about a knife attack.¡±


    The officers looked around and spoke, and Kang Ho-Soo stepped forward to explain the situation to them.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t quite a knife attack. There was a person who was trying to harm themself while the other attempted to stop her, but they both got injured in the process.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to investigate to confirm that.¡±


    The officers couldn¡¯t judge whether it was self-harm or assault toward any of the parties yet. Kang Ho-Soo understood the officers¡¯ careful attitude and promised to provide security camera footage to help with the investigation. Meanwhile, the paramedics noticed Woo-Jin¡¯s bleeding and approached him first.


    ¡°Please check on her before tending to me. She got a small cut on her neck, but I think the wound opened and got worse as she fought back earlier,¡± Woo-Jin said.


    Initially, the tiny cut hadn¡¯t bled at all, but when Lee Yeo-Rin tried to attack Oh Young-Hee and started to struggle after being stopped, the wound had opened up, and blood was flowing down her neck now.


    Most importantly, Lee Yeo-Rin took priority over him since she needed to be checked both physically and mentally. She didn¡¯t seem to have any family or friends in the area who could look after her right now, and it was urgent to prevent her from harming herself again.


    ¡°But who called the police and paramedics?¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon suddenly asked and tilted his head in confusion, sensing something strange. He hadn¡¯t seen anyone here making a phone call, and he hadn¡¯t done so either. Although Hyun-Min had told them to call 119 and 112,[1]  everyone was so shocked and dumbfounded that no one actually ended up calling the emergency services. Even Hyun-Min had only contacted the management office to ask for help.


    Everyone shook their heads, denying their involvement.


    ¡°Then who reported it?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it was the viewers.¡±


    The answer came from the producer who moderated the chat during the live broadcast. She explained that she had been too distracted and hadn¡¯t checked the chat until now, but when the producer finally read through it, she saw that the chat had descended into chaos. The viewers were frustrated by the film crew''s inaction during the emergency and reported the incident themselves.


    However, since there were over a hundred thousand people watching the live broadcast, many of them had reported the incident simultaneously. The entire nation was in chaos as people called emergency services everywhere. In fact, it was possible that this place was the calmest and quietest location in the country right now.


    ¡°What viewers?¡±


    Woo-Jin was still unaware of the situation, and he asked this with a tired voice. Although they had never met in person yet, he was familiar with Kim Hak-Cheon and Oh Young-Hee, so Woo-Jin greeted them casually before making another inquiry.


    ¡°Come to think of it, what brings you here?¡±


    He thought that perhaps they had come to see another person in the building but had stopped by to visit him as well. However, as Woo-Jin scrutinized the area, the film crew and the general atmosphere seemed awfully familiar.


    ¡°Are you headed somewhere for a broadcast?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are currently filming Charge! Open the door.¡±


    ¡°I see. Good luck with your¡­.¡±


    Suddenly, Woo-Jin stopped leaning against the wall and straightened his body, scanning his surroundings again. Only then did he notice the DSTV logo on the camera, and he quickly remembered today¡¯s date.


    Woo-Jin was well aware of what kind of broadcast Charge! Open the door was. He had forgotten about it since he was so occupied with Lee Yeo-Rin, but if it weren¡¯t for her, Woo-Jin would¡¯ve been waiting anxiously for the broadcast to begin tonight.


    ¡°So, um¡­ The person you¡¯re, uh, filming today is¡­.¡±


    Woo-Jin slowly pointed at himself with half-certainty, and Kim Hak-Cheon could only smile apologetically and nod.


    ¡°Then, that camera must be filming me live right now¡­.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Kim Hak-Cheon confirmed.


    Woo-Jin quickly looked at his current state, starting with his injured hand. He also checked his clothes and bare feet. With this, Woo-Jin stared blankly at the camera again before quietly turning around. He then ran into his apartment with swift and hurried movements, a stark contrast from how he was grumbling and complaining about being hungry moments ago.


    1. 119 is the ambulance and emergency service while 112 is the police ?

 CH 224

    ¡°Huh? Huh? Mr. Chae Woo-Jin!¡±


    Even before Kim Hak-Cheon could reach out and grab the actor, Chae Woo-Jin quickly opened his front door and hid inside the apartment. His actions contrasted with how he had been grumbling about being hungry moments ago.


    ¡°That idiot. He¡¯s been staying home all day today and didn¡¯t even wash his face.¡±


    Hyun-Min slowly approached and explained his friend¡¯s strange behavior.


    They had no class today, so Woo-Jin had no reason to wash his face since he was just lazing around the house all day.


    Hyun-Min gently rubbed his eyes as he spoke.


    ¡°I did wash my face this morning!¡±


    Woo-Jin shouted from behind the door. He was listening and watching the people outside through a small gap in the door even after entering the apartment. Hyun-Min shrugged with an indifferent look and responded.


    ¡°Then come on out already. You need to go to the hospital and the police station for the investigation.¡±


    Most of the incident had been broadcast live online, so even if it wasn¡¯t on TV, the police would have no choice but to take the matter very seriously.


    But before Woo-Jin went to the police station for their investigations, he urgently needed to go to the hospital to get treated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you pork belly on the way home.¡±


    ¡°Gimme a minute.¡±


    The door closed firmly this time, and Woo-Jin headed further inside his apartment.


    He had confidently shouted that he had washed his face, but it appeared he didn¡¯t have the confidence to stand proudly in front of the camera and viewers in his current state.


    ¡°What did you say you¡¯re gonna buy him?¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo suddenly appeared from behind and asked Hyun-Min in an overbearing tone.


    ¡°I just said I¡¯d buy food. I never said I¡¯d let him eat it, though.¡±


    A startled Hyun-Min hurriedly shook his head sideways. His cheeks vibrated as though he were on some electric massager.


    It seemed that Woo-Jin, who had been eating greens almost exclusively these days, would only be able to get some nutritional supplements today without any meat.


    The character of Lloyd looked frail and weak, so Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t consume a lot of calories and exercise. Otherwise, he would look too healthy even if he were physically lean.


    Therefore, he had no choice but to lose weight by limiting his food intake and not exercising.


    As someone who had never gone on a diet before, if someone asked Woo-Jin when was the most challenging period in his career, he would confidently answer ¡®right now.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t because of the stalker, the scandals, or the acting. The most challenging part was the diet.


    ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you broadcasting live right now? Shouldn¡¯t you be talking and commenting a lot as the hosts?¡±


    Hyun-Min avoided Kang Ho-Soo¡¯s deathly gaze and turned to the MCs and film crew, who were staring blankly at their surroundings and not progressing with the show.


    ¡°We¡¯re not strong enough mentally to host the show properly in this situation.¡±


    Oh Young-Hee trembled as she recalled Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s gaze when the latter glared at her earlier.


    Although they were still in the same space, the MC felt relieved now that the police officers had arrived.


    ¡°But everyone seems more relaxed about this than I expected.¡±


    Kim Hak-Cheon remembered Hyun-Min as Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s friend who had appeared on a TV show in the past. Thus, the host secretly tried to interview the friend on camera.


    Although he was mentally weak, he could do anything if it were for his job.


    ¡°This is the first time someone got injured, but similar incidents have happened in the past already. So you can just imagine it as us filming horror movies every single day for these past few days.¡±


    Hyun-Min then proceeded to sarcastically ask why he would move out of his perfectly good home and live in such a place. As he complained about his recent life, Oh Young-Hee nodded along exaggeratedly. Although she had said something along the lines of having weak mental strength, she too would continue working for her job when the perfect opportunity was handed to her on a silver platter.


    ¡°Woo-Jin moved out of his parents¡¯ house because the stalker trespassed their home and stole some of their belongings. He was afraid that something similar could happen again and that his family would be in danger. So he moved to this new apartment to avoid his stalker but instead ended up living closer to her than ever.¡±


    Hyun-Min spoke and clarified Woo-Jin¡¯s situation even though he hadn¡¯t been asked anything. And so the co-hosts were able to continue the broadcast with some ease in this complicated situation.


    If they interviewed Chae Woo-Jin right now, they would be criticized for being too heartless and cruel, so it was a relief for the production crew that Hyun-Min was here to replace Woo-Jin for a moment.


    However, the momentary peace was broken when the police asked Lee Yeo-Rin to follow them to the station to write up a statement.


    ¡°Who are you to tell me to follow you?! Who sent you here in the first place? Did that woman send you here to disturb us? I won¡¯t go. I won¡¯t follow you no matter what! Call his mother. Woo-Jin¡¯s mother acknowledged our relationship! She also provided me this apartment and blessed us, so who are you to disturb us?! That woman ordered you to get in our way, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin struggled against the cops holding her, but to no avail. She then screamed and declared that she wouldn¡¯t let them be for this matter and that she¡¯d sue them all.


    Woo-Jin happened to leave his apartment at this exact moment after having washed his face and quickly changed his clothes. Needless to say, he heard the commotion and Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s claims.


    ¡°What¡¯s that about my mother?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She allowed us to be together, so what are you so anxious about? Are you still afraid of that woman? Mother will take care of the woman bothering us, so don¡¯t worry about anything.¡±


    Lee Yeo-Rin continued spouting gibberish as she got dragged away by the officers. Woo-Jin then turned to Hyun-Min, asking whether his friend knew what the stalker was talking about.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? She¡¯s just crazy in the head and spouting nonsense.¡±


    ¡°But who does she mean by ¡®that woman?¡¯¡± Woo-Jin asked.


    Even if Lee Yeo-Rin had fallen into the illusion that Woo-Jin¡¯s mother had acknowledged their relationship, he had no idea who Lee Yeo-Rin meant when she shouted ¡®that woman¡¯ with such hatred and malice.


    ¡°Why are you taking her so seriously? If she¡¯s been having an imaginary relationship with you, then there must be rivals in her mind as well.¡±


    If she firmly believed that Woo-Jin¡¯s lines in his movies and series were addressed to her, then Lee Yeo-Rin would most definitely have some imaginary rivals as well. She needed an enemy to defeat, just like how there were very few TV series and movies with no antagonists.


    ¡°Maybe she was talking about me?¡±


    Oh Young-Hee, who had been misunderstood by Lee Yeo-Rin earlier, touched her chin as she pondered before speaking in a serious tone.


    Considering how Lee Yeo-Rin was about to attack her with a knife, her theory didn¡¯t sound ridiculous.


    ¡°That could be it.¡±


    Surprisingly, everyone agreed simultaneously as Oh Young-Hee¡¯s hypothesis was somewhat convincing.


    And the viewers who were watching everything live all over the country were screaming at their screens and frowning, exclaiming, ¡®that can¡¯t be!¡¯


    The chat was asking them to put aside such stupid thoughts and stop making a gag out of this. But unfortunately for them, the people on the scene who had seen Lee Yeo-Rin''s vicious gaze in person took Oh Young-Hee¡¯s theory seriously.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wash your face properly? This is such a sloppy job. Oh, you even wore your shirt inside out.¡±


    While the others pondered seriously, Hyun-Min pointed to Woo-Jin¡¯s wet and dripping bangs while also noticing the tag behind the actor¡¯s neck.


    Woo-Jin rechecked his state before silently sneaking inside his apartment again.


    The moment he went through the doorway, the last shot of Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s face caught on camera showed a blush as he no longer had a poker face.


    That evening¡¯s broadcast of Charge! Open the door achieved the highest viewer ratings of the entire show and even perfectly captured the celebrity¡¯s bewilderment as the producers had intended.


    ***


    <Who is this ¡®mother¡¯ that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s stalker, Miss A, spoke of?>


    A shocking incident that astonished people around the country occurred last night. DSTV¡¯s Charge! Open the door was visiting actor Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s apartment when they unintentionally live-broadcasted a scene where a stalker was being stopped from harming herself.


    After checking the security footage, the police concluded that Miss A (Female, 24) was indeed trying to injure herself and that minor injuries were inflicted on both parties when Chae Woo-Jin and his friend Mr. B tried to stop Miss A.


    It is said that Chae Woo-Jin returned home during the night after getting treated at the hospital and getting investigated at the police station.


    The actor says he has no intention of taking legal action against Miss A since the injury was inflicted in an unavoidable accident.


    However, he submitted the security camera footage as evidence and reported Miss A as a stalker for her behavior towards Chae Woo-Jin every day.


    Interestingly, during the course of this incident, a surprising piece of information was revealed.


    It is said that Chae Woo-Jin already reported someone yesterday for trespassing and theft in his house. The trespasser is supposedly the owner of a social media account that has been a hot topic for the past few days.


    Apparently, a mysterious thief broke into Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s home earlier this year. That day, the thief stole some items the actor planned to throw away alongside a box of notes he had written to his younger sister for years.


    They judged this crime to be the work of a stalker rather than a simple thief.


    However, the actor could not report the incident as it was difficult to identify the culprit on their security footage.


    But after inspecting the photos uploaded on this social media account and confirming that the stolen items and notes were featured in the pictures, Chae Woo-Jin speculated that the account¡¯s owner was the problematic stalker and reported it.


    Surprisingly, during the police investigation, it was revealed that the account¡¯s owner and Miss A were the same person.


    The police then judged that these two cases were linked and considered it one big case, announcing that they planned to investigate Miss A in depth.


    However, one issue still needs to be explored from a different perspective.


    This starts with the question of who is the ¡®mother¡¯ that Miss A spoke of during the live broadcast last night.


    Chae Woo-Jin himself, as well as the viewers, obviously thought of the actor¡¯s biological mother. But some doubts shall now be raised regarding this topic from here on out.


    People have dismissed Miss A¡¯s words as a lie or a mental problem, but I can¡¯t help but doubt those hypotheses when I recall a specific scene I witnessed a while ago. This issue needs to be addressed because of the existence of Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    As many people already know, Kim Hye-Ryeong, a once-famous actress, is currently married to Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father. Not long ago, I saw Kim Hye-Ryeong but didn¡¯t manage to talk to her as she was conversing with someone else. Thus, I regretfully kept my mouth shut.


    However, after watching the broadcast yesterday, I thought that Miss A looked somewhat familiar, so I looked up the photos I had taken that day.


    Because of my habit as a reporter to instinctively taking pictures when seeing a celebrity, I also had pictures of the day I had seen Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    And as I thought, the person sitting with Kim Hye-Ryeong was indeed Miss A. Their friendly atmosphere as they conversed cheerfully showed that they had met more than a couple times.


    Therefore, I wondered if the ¡®mother¡¯ that Miss A was talking about was actually Kim Hye-Ryeong, so I inquired Chae Woo-Jin about this matter. In response, Chae Woo-Jin replied that he had not met his biological father and Kim Hye-Ryeong since he was 11 years old.


    Thus, it is highly doubtful whether the stepmother of this estranged relationship would have the right to get involved with her stepson¡¯s love life, even if she is his biological father¡¯s wife.


    Therefore, I hope the speculation that Kim Hye-Ryeong is the ¡®mother¡¯ Miss A mentioned is merely a foolish reporter¡¯s misunderstanding.


    Among the many articles published like crazy since dawn, the one that created an extensive discussion and debate was an article that raised doubts about the relationship between Kim Hye-Ryeong and Lee Yeo-Rin, whom they called Miss A.


    Most of all, the subject that drew particular attention was the part where Chae Woo-Jin said he hadn¡¯t met Kim Hye-Ryeong since he was 11 years old.


    After Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents divorced when he was eleven, his biological father remarried. But he got divorced again a few years later and got married to his third wife, Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    Thus, the claim that Chae Woo-Jin had last met Kim Hye-Ryeong at the age of eleven held many meanings.


    No matter how dense one was, one could easily guess that Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s biological father and Kim Hye-Ryeong had a relationship since the actor was eleven or even before.


    Simultaneously, opinions began to appear as to whether Chae Woo-Ra¡¯s mother, who wasn¡¯t known to the public, was actually Kim Hye-Ryeong, and whether she was the reason behind Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s parents¡¯ divorce.


    Additionally, it became known that the social media account owner was Lee Yeo-Rin, and no one believed her to be Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s girlfriend anymore.


    Those who had witnessed the havoc Lee Yeo-Rin had caused the previous evening in real-time were horrified by the craze in her eyes and her desperate voice. In fact, these viewers still had chills today when thinking back on that broadcast.


    Since it was a live broadcast, her face hadn¡¯t been censored, and the VJ was so confused at the beginning that he made the mistake of capturing Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s face on camera very clearly.


    As a result, people who knew Lee Yeo-Rin personally made their testimonies, and the scandal that she was Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s lover was dismissed as an absurd rumor.


    But after the first article questioning the relationship between Lee Yeo-Rin and Kim Hye-Ryeong was published, many follow-up articles that supported the theory started getting released one after another, as though they had been lying in wait for the opportune moment.


    <An informant from the hospital where Miss A had plastic surgery said, ¡®Miss A was brought to our hospital by an associate of Miss Kim Hye-Ryeong, our long-time customer, and they even paid for the surgery.>


    <Interview with the actual owner of the building where Miss A currently lives. ¡®I have never met A in person. There was a separate contractor, and they were the ones who made the deposit and paid the monthly rent for the apartment. I even heard they convinced the apartment¡¯s previous tenant to move out by offering a large sum. It was revealed that the actual contractor was Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s secretary.>


    In addition, there were interviews with people who used to work at Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal family¡¯s house a long time ago and even interviews with employees who had recently quit.


    They tried to talk as little as possible, but they all unanimously said that Chae Woo-Jin was not seen at the house after his parents¡¯ divorce.


    They emphasized that Chae Woo-Jin had maintained a completely severed relationship with his paternal family.

 CH 225

    As the afternoon progressed, the articles that were published on the internet slowly disappeared one after another.


    Some got deleted, and others were moved to places that were difficult to locate unless someone deliberately searched for the article.


    Although it seemed like the person who was trying to hide the articles was successful, too many people had already read them, which was a great achievement for both the reporters and publishers.


    The one-sided information stimulated the public¡¯s imagination and reasoning which in turn molded their opinions into one general consensus.


    In this case, there was far too much evidence pointing towards Kim Hye-Ryeong, and the situation had basically escalated into a witch hunt.


    People still didn¡¯t know who Lee Yeo-Rin meant by ¡®that woman¡¯, but there was no doubt that the ¡®mother¡¯ she had mentioned was Kim Hye-Ryeong.


    People could easily guess that Kim Hye-Ryeong did not have good intentions when she encouraged Lee Yeo-Rin, paid for her plastic surgery, and rented the apartment.


    ***


    ¡°Do you have any excuses for causing the situation to escalate this far?¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok reproached his wife, but Kim Hye-Ryeong shouted back as she showed her red, swollen cheek.


    ¡°Is that all you have to say after seeing this face? Shouldn¡¯t you be asking me where and how I got injured and whether if I¡¯m okay?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong was more afraid than happy to see Chae Mu-Seok, who had returned home for the first time in a few weeks because of her actions.


    She tried to act pitiful as she showed her swollen cheek.


    ¡°Should you be proud of getting beat by outsiders?¡± Chae Mu-Seok asked.


    Normal couples worried for one another as a method of communication. But these two weren¡¯t a normal couple. Even before the divorce talks, Chae Mu-Seok wasn¡¯t someone who took care of his wife¡¯s health or worried about her.


    However, he was someone who would get revenge if others were to look down on him or his people. However, considering his current indifferent attitude, it seemed like he wouldn¡¯t behave in such a manner this time around.


    ¡°You really are past your prime now. To think that you¡¯d go around getting beaten by Kang Hye-Min.¡±


    The fact that he wasn¡¯t doing anything despite knowing the culprit behind his wife¡¯s injury showed that Chae Mu-Seok no longer considered Kim Hye-Ryeong as one of his people.


    ¡°Are you saying that despite knowing who hit me? It was your ex-wife! How can you be so carefree when she went crazy and hit me after a stupid misunderstanding?! Look at her now. Wouldn¡¯t you also hate it if she went around telling people that she¡¯s your ex-wife?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong indirectly told her husband to keep a leash on his ex-wife and control her actions.


    Kang Hye-Min had gone completely crazy as a result of their encounter.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong had too much to lose if she faced that madwoman who had nothing to lose.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. She¡¯s become such a big shot that even I find it difficult to deal with her now.¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok smirked a little as he replied.


    He didn¡¯t know that Kang Hye-Min had such skills. He thought she was merely a docile, unmotivated and modest woman.


    Chae Mu-Seok used to evaluate Kim Hye-Ryeong on a higher level than his second wife back then. He believed the latter had more value as a wife, so he went through a second divorce without any lingering attachment to Kang Hye-Min and immediately forgot about her after the breakup.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re the most unqualified out of the three.¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok looked down on Kim Hye-Ryeong as if she were pathetic and useless, before smiling and shaking his head.


    He had personally chosen her as his wife, so if he insulted her now, he would be insulting himself.


    Chae Mu-Seok didn¡¯t consider divorces as failures in one¡¯s life.


    But the moment he admitted that his choice was wrong, it would be the same as acknowledging his failure.


    He didn¡¯t feel ashamed of breaking up with someone if he no longer held any affection for them and didn¡¯t want them clinging onto him.


    However, if he became disappointed by his wife¡¯s incompetence and foolish behavior and was forced to have a strategic divorce, then it would degrade his honor and dignity.


    There was nothing more foolish than being patient and suppressing one¡¯s thoughts and emotions during their life simply because they were afraid of others¡¯ judgements.


    Setting aside the change in his feelings, Chae Mu-Seok could not stand his wife¡¯s uselessness which caused him to realize that he had made a mistake.


    The feeling intensified when she made him remember the opportunities he had missed because of her.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong claimed that his business had flourished and overcome the hardships thanks to her, but Chae Mu-Seok wouldn¡¯t have experienced such hardships if he hadn¡¯t divorced Park Eun-Soo in the first place.


    Rather, it was more humiliating having to cover up Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s actions and mistakes.


    Even though Chae Mu-Seok became disillusioned by Kim Hye-Ryeong during the few years they lived together, he hadn¡¯t divorced her back then because he didn¡¯t want to admit that he had made the wrong decision.


    However, if he continued pushing back their divorce, then the small mistake could snowball into the failure of a lifetime, so Chae Mu-Seok had to make a decision now. Most importantly, he had nothing to gain from having Kim Hye-Ryeong by his side anymore.


    Her womanly charms and worth as a business partner were practically nonexistent.


    ¡°I thought you were instant ramen. Bad for my health but delicious nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°Instant ramen?! How could you say such a thing to your wife?!¡±


    ¡°Can you not read between the lines? I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re actually something even worse than instant ramen.¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s face burned red at Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s words. No one could say anything in response if Chae Mu-Seok was casually obliterating their self-esteem.


    As she stood there stuttering, Chae Mu-Seok frowned and continued bluntly.


    ¡°Turns out you¡¯re just rotten food.¡±


    ¡°Right back at you!¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you match your words with your actions? If you really want to criticize me, why don¡¯t you sign the divorce papers first? At the very least, my words and actions are always consistent.¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok was asking for a divorce because he didn¡¯t want to live with rotten food anymore. Thus, he was telling her to sign the divorce papers as soon as possible if she didn¡¯t like him either.


    It was not uncommon for a married couple on the brink of divorce to curse at each other.


    However, Chae Mu-Seok believed that if one didn¡¯t want to get a divorce, then they had no right to criticize their partner or to point out the partner¡¯s faults. If they knew of all their partner¡¯s shortcomings and yet still wanted to live with them, then they had to keep their mouths shut and endure it for the rest of their marriage.


    ¡°Of course, I have no intention of giving up on divorcing you regardless of your actions.¡± Chae Mu-Seok remarked.


    ¡°Do you seriously think I¡¯ll divorce you that easily?¡±


    ¡°Is that why you caused this situation?¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok had been thinking about his relationship with his son for a long time.


    His own parents were getting impatient and told Chae Mu-Seok to bring Woo-Jin into the family as soon as possible, but he had a different plan.


    In this era where people lived up to a hundred years old, Chae Mu-Seok was still healthy and vigorous.


    Be it Garam or Bareunjeong Foods, he was confident that he could manage it himself for the next few decades.


    He had no reason to choose his successor immediately, and there was no need for Woo-Jin to learn how to manage a business quickly. If Woo-Jin had no talent to lead the companies, then Chae Mu-Seok could place a proxy and let them do the job instead.


    He had no intention of allowing even the slightest possibility of destroying the kingdom he had build up over the years by having an incompetent man sit in his throne.


    And he had no intention of lowering his head to reconcile with Woo-Jin, who detested hearing about his biological father.


    Who Chae Mu-Seok was aiming for right now was the child that Woo-Jin¡¯s wife would birth in a few decades once his son got married.


    It would be more efficient to personally educate a child from young one step at a time rather than a boy who had recklessly grown up outside the family. Raising a grandchild from scratch would increase the probability of raising a successful businessman.


    However, it would be difficult to achieve his plan if his current relationship with Woo-Jin continued as it is.


    Chae Mu-Seok had decided to narrow their distance little by little over time. He was going to slowly improve Woo-Jin¡¯s opinion of him throughout the years, and if Woo-Jin ever got in trouble, he would step up to help his son.


    He didn¡¯t need to be friendly with Woo-Jin. As long as his son realized the wealth and value of his paternal family, Woo-Jin would lower his head first and might even approach his father since blood was thicker than water.


    However, Kim Hye-Ryeong sent a crazy stalker into Woo-Jin¡¯s life and worsened the situation, ruining Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s plans. Thanks to her, Woo-Jin¡¯s hatred and vigilance towards his paternal family increased.


    ¡°What on earth were you thinking when you did such a stupid thing? Why did you send that crazy bitch to his side!¡±


    ¡°Why not? Even I managed to become the wife of such a prestigious family, so why can¡¯t that child do the same? She goes to a prestigious university and is a smart girl, so why don¡¯t you like her?¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong wore a bitter smile as she gently probed her husband¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°Are you serious right now? I understand that you¡¯re trying to smear Woo-Jin¡¯s reputation, but if you¡¯re gonna do it, do it properly. Look at the trouble you got yourself into!¡±


    Since they were a married couple, even Chae Mu-Seok got involved and had his honor smeared because of Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s actions.


    ¡°It must be Park Eun-Soo and her rich family who schemed everything. They must have prepared everything from long ago to ruin me! They investigated my background, my relatives and the people who worked in my house on purpose! Please save me, darling. If you abandon me, those people won¡¯t leave me alone. I won¡¯t interfere in whatever you do from now on. I¡¯ll simply live quietly and not stand out at all. I¡¯ll be like a dead person to society.¡±


    She was already being attacked despite holding the position of Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s wife, even if they got divorced, everything she had done so far would be uncovered and Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s reputation would be forever ruined.


    ¡°Think of what would happen to Woo-Ra if I¡¯m ruined. She¡¯s the only child left by your side. Think of your daughter. Please don¡¯t do this to us. How could I ever fight back against Rome?¡±


    ¡°Why do you think Rome is behind this incident?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obviously because¡­¡±


    No matter how much she thought about it, Park Eun-Soo and her family were the only ones with the financial and political power to put Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s wife in such a predicament out of malice and resentment.


    ¡°There is another woman who has a grudge against you.¡±


    As Chae Mu-Seok stared at her swollen, red cheek, Kim Hye-Ryeong subconsciously stroked her left cheek as her eyes widened.


    Come to think of it, Chae Mu-Seok had said that Kang Hye-Min had become a big shot that even he had a hard time to deal with.


    At first, Kim Hye-Ryeong thought he was talking about how crazy Kang Hye-Min had become, and thought that her husband was reluctant to deal with such a madwoman since he didn¡¯t know what she would do. But if he had meant it literally¡­


    ¡°Indeed, it was Kang Hye-Min who previously gave all the data on you to the prosecutors through a proxy CEO when she became the largest shareholder of TM, and she¡¯s also the one who leaked the information about your actions to the media this morning.¡±


    ¡°H-How did she¡­¡±


    Kim Hye-Ryeong shook her head in denial, asking herself how such a feeble and crazy woman could do that. She simply couldn¡¯t understand how such a lowly woman ¡ª someone who used to squirm under Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s shoes like a dying earthworm ¡ª could obtain such power.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say so? You¡¯re the most unqualified one out of all three. Oh, come to think of it, you¡¯re not even rotten food. You¡¯re just a lowly insect that can only survive by leeching off of others.¡±


    Park Eun-Soo and Kang Hye-Min had chosen to live their own lives rather than live under Chae Mu-Seok, and they had proudly overcome their hardships and achieved their goals. He didn¡¯t find them particularly charming as women, but in terms of character and talent, no one could stand up to the two women¡¯s splendor.


    ¡°H-How¡­ How could you say something like that to me¡­ You asshole!¡±


    ¡°Do you know the difference between the two of us? At least I don¡¯t deny that I am evil.¡±


    That didn¡¯t mean Chae Mu-Seok had regretted his life. He simply knew and acknowledged that he was evil and lived his life accordingly while honing his skills. He didn¡¯t feel guilty about anything and didn¡¯t blame others.


    He was responsible for all his evil deeds, and there was nothing to be ashamed of about that.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I can mercilessly cut down anything and anyone that gets in my way. But is there anything that you can do?¡± he asked his wife.


    What Chae Mu-Seok hated most in this world were incompetent losers.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even defend yourself or attack others properly without me. Even I would feel ashamed about that, but the problem is that you have no sense of shame at all.¡±


    Chae Mu-Seok clicked his tongue. Kim Hye-Ryeong had collapsed to the floor in shock and was clinging onto his pants. He tore her away from him and left the room.


    He then spoke to the butler waiting in the living room as he gestured to the bedroom with his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you an hour, so get rid of the woman and all the objects in that room.¡±


    He had spent his days at a hotel recently because of how bothersome it was having to talk to Kim Hye-Ryeong, but now, it was Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s turn to leave.


    The beautiful castle he had built and proudly showed off was on the brink of collapse. He had to replace the things inside to fix the cracks. But if there truly was no hope for his castle, then he just had to destroy it and build everything from scratch again.


    Life had always been like this for Chae Mu-Seok. Nothing was easy, but nothing was too difficult either.


    Destiny had always been on his side, and the gods always loved him.

 CH 226

    Is she not coming?


    Woo-Jin checked the time and took a sip from a bottle of cold water. He thought the park would be rather empty on a weekday morning, but there were unexpectedly a lot people ¨C¨C people walking their pets, a middle-aged woman wearing a sun hat while brisk walking, a middle-aged man repeatedly hitting his back against a tree [1] while grunting, and a married couple who were using the exercise equipment incorrectly.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to break their joints at this rate¡­¡±


    Just as the nosy Woo-Jin was about to intervene, someone else stepped in and no one was hurt. Even though they taught them the right way of using the equipment, the married couple snapped back, and said they knew how to use the equipment as well.


    ¡°I did the right thing by not interfering.¡±


    Woo-Jin felt ashamed for no reason and looked up at the April sky. It was a sunny day with crisp and clear air, so it seemed as though people had been waiting for such a day before going to the park. Thus, Woo-Jin adjusted his hat several times, even though he was sitting on the bench in a corner.


    The person he was supposed to meet didn¡¯t come, and there were a lot of people in the park, so Woo-Jin became increasingly anxious as time went by. It seemed like a long wait, but in reality, it had only been fifteen minutes past the scheduled time. However, because Woo-Jin was ten minutes early, he felt as though he had waited for a long time.


    Woo-Jin looked at his watch and smiled awkwardly. He mentally prepared himself not to feel disappointed, even if today¡¯s meeting was fruitless. Woo-Jin could understand even if the other party decided to not show up today. She was reluctant to meet with him to begin with, but Woo-Jin managed to persuade her otherwise. Even if she were to change her mind at the last minute, there was nothing he could do.


    As soon as the brisk-walking middle-aged woman walked past him, Woo-Jin subconsciously lowered his head and pretended to adjust his hat. A young man sitting on the bench in a park wearing a hat while doing nothing might have looked suspicious, so the middle-aged woman suddenly picked up her pace.


    Woo-Jin quickly straightened his back as he felt like he looked too suspicious. Just then, a shadow was cast over him. Woo-Jin slowly lifted his head and looked up; the person he had been waiting for was standing before him.


    ¡°Ah, hello.¡±


    When Woo-Jin stood up in a hurry and took off his hat to greet her, Kang Hye-Min waved and told him not to do that, as she sat down next to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who asked to meet here, so there¡¯s no need for you to be so formal.¡±


    Even though Woo-Jin had asked to meet today, Kang Hye-Min was the one who decided on the time and location.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of stuffy places, so I asked to meet here, but I regretted it afterwards. Should we go somewhere else instead?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine with this place.¡± Woo-Jin answered firmly with both his hands on his knees. The conversation was rather awkward because Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know the appropriate way of addressing Kang Hye-Min, so he avoided it entirely. The same applied to Kang Hye-Min as well, so she sat there awkwardly while facing in front.


    Woo-Jin only learned about Kang Hye-Min after the Lee Yeo-Rin incident, when he heard about the details from CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. The Lee Yeo-Rin incident during the live broadcast of Charge! Open the Door was completely unexpected. Even though the incident was unexpected, the media responded in a very systematic way.


    Amidst the sudden influx of information, as the person who was directly involved, Woo-Jin was rather flabbergasted after learning how everything unfolded. He had never imagined that anything like that would happen. He found out something that both his parents and even his maternal family didn¡¯t know about, so naturally Woo-Jin assumed CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was the one who orchestrated everything. But contrary to his expectations, he found out about Kang Hye-Min from Jang Soo-Hwan instead.


    CEO Jang learned about Kang Hye-Min when she became the biggest shareholder of TM, but he didn¡¯t interact with her. However, as soon as the Lee Yeo-Rin incident was broadcast live, Kang Hye-Min took the initiative to reach out first. She gave him all the information and materials that she had already prepared in advance, and CEO Jang Soo-Hwan merely carried out the plan that had been laid out.


    After finding out the full story, Woo-jin felt he had to do something, so he contacted Kang Hye-Min. In any case, Woo-Jin felt that thanking her for her help seemed like the right thing to do. However, he didn¡¯t know what to say when he met her in person, so it was awkward.


    ¡°I heard you helped me out a lot in this incident. Thank you so much.¡±


    Even though Woo-Jin was prepared to deal with Lee Yeo-Rin, he was unaware that Kim Hye-Ryeong was supporting her from behind the scenes. Thus, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t know if there were any other unknown variables lurking in the background. With Kang Hye-Min¡¯s help, he was able to clear up any misunderstandings the public had of him within a few hours, which drove Kim Hye-Ryeong into a corner instead.


    ¡°Since this is personal, I¡¯m not doing this out of pure altruism. Hence, it¡¯s not something deserving of any gratitude. Well, just think of me as an ally with a common enemy.¡±


    Perhaps Kang Hye-Min felt awkward to be thanked for what she had done, so she awkwardly fiddled with the bag on her lap.


    ¡°Regardless of whether you¡¯re an ally or not, since you helped me out, it¡¯s still something I should thank you for.¡±


    Kang Hye-Min didn¡¯t do it because she wanted something in return, so Woo-Jin wanted to express his gratitude.


    ¡°You resemble Park Eun-Soo a lot in the sense that you¡¯re both very upright and uncompromising. Your appearance and personality too. I¡¯m really¡­glad.¡±


    As Kang Hye-Min looked at Woo-Jin¡¯s face which resembled his mother¡¯s, Kang Hye-Min said she was glad but at the same time, she felt an indescribable sadness. While it was good that Woo-Jin didn¡¯t take after Chae Mu-Seok, looking at the face that bore no resemblance to her son made her feel bitter and sad.


    If Woo-Jin had any physical traits that were similar to Woo-Young, she wouldn¡¯t have been so calm as she would¡¯ve been overwhelmed with emotions. She was glad she didn¡¯t show this side of herself to other people, and thought that it was sad because she couldn¡¯t imagine how much Woo-Young would¡¯ve grown if he were still alive today.


    ¡°By the way, have you ever met Lee Yeo-Rin?¡±


    ¡°Why would I meet her?¡±


    There was no need for Kang Hye-Min to meet her in person to inform her that Kang Hye-Min knew what they were up to.


    ¡°In that case, who is ¡®that woman¡¯ whom she was referring to?¡±


    After finding out that the mother Lee Yeo-rin was referring to was Kim Hye-Ryeong, Woo-Jin was curious about who ¡®that woman¡¯ was. SInce she was so malicious and hostile towards that person, it didn¡¯t seem like it was just plain crazy talk. Lee Yeo-Rin kept her mouth shut about it during the police investigation, and since the police didn¡¯t think it was an important matter, they glossed over it.


    ¡°It¡¯s Park Eun-Soo.¡±


    However, Kang Hye-Min gave a prompt reply, as though it wasn¡¯t something that was difficult to figure out.


    ¡°My mother? She treated Kim Hye-Ryeong with so much respect and called her ¡®mother¡¯, there¡¯s no way she would be so hostile towards my mother.¡±


    ¡°Kim Hye-Ryeong must have brainwashed her by telling her that she approves of her, but Park Eun-Soo hates her and is against your relationship with her. It would¡¯ve been easy for her to make Lee Yeo-Rin focus all her resentment on Park Eun-Soo.¡±


    And if a scandal were to break out, the public would be inclined to think that Park Eun-Soo had single handedly destroyed a woman¡¯s life.


    ¡°Did Kim Hye-Ryeong think this mission of hers would be successful?¡±


    ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t successful, such gossip isn¡¯t good for celebrities. Not only does Kim Hye-Ryeong hate you, she¡¯s equally jealous of you as an actress. The people who don¡¯t believe in you would not change their minds until the very end, even if you have the perfect explanation. She wanted to use those people to tarnish your reputation. Even if Kim Hye-Ryeong gets caught, you¡¯ll end up distancing yourself even further from your father because of her, and to her, that is the greatest success.¡±


    If Woo-Jin was forced to date Lee Yeo-Rin because of pressure from the media and public, Kim Hye-Ryeong would gloat over it. If Woo-Jin were to vehemently deny their ¡®relationship¡¯, it would¡¯ve given him the image of a bad guy, and everyone would think badly of him.


    Kim Hye-Ryeong also tried to spread fake news about Chae Woo-Jin being on good terms with his paternal family so as to exploit the hatred he had for his father to get what she wanted. In Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s opinion, it was a risk worth taking in more ways than one.


    ¡°For Kim Hye-Ryeong, her greatest nightmare would be for you to open your heart to your paternal family and inherit their fortune, so she wanted to find a way to stop it from happening.¡±


    ¡°Is that what I have to do in order to seek revenge on her? That¡¯s very easy.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to do that?¡±


    ¡°For some reason, you seem to welcome the idea.¡±


    Woo-Jin thought that Kang Hye-Min would¡¯ve been very against the idea of him reconnecting with his paternal family, but she responded to his question with delight, so Woo-Jin was rather taken aback. Kang Hye-Min had remained composed the entire time, but her eyes were shining brightly at this moment.


    ¡°Because that is the best way to get revenge.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll be doing what that person wants instead.¡±


    The person Woo-Jin was referring to was his biological father, Chae Mu-Seok. Between his father and Kim Hye-Ryeong, if Woo-Jin had to pick who he resented more, it would be the former. After all, he was the one who betrayed his wife and neglected his children and duties as the head of the household.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s also an opportunity for you to take everything away from that person.¡±


    The source of Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s power ultimately came from his wealth. If he had his wealth taken away from him, he would be nothing more than an ordinary man.


    After Woo-Jin¡¯s paternal grandfather collapsed, most of the Chae family¡¯s fortune went to Chae Mu-Seok, but his grandfather still retained a huge percentage of the shares. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad start if Woo-Jin were to receive those shares in return for reconnecting with his paternal family, on top of receiving some shares from Chae Mu-Seok as well.


    ¡°Their family would never give any shares to girls. The reason why Woo-Ra is so wealthy at her age is because whenever Kim Hye-Ryeong talked about transferring shares, Chae Mu-Seok would give her real estate properties instead since he couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with her. And if he were to divorce Kim Hye-Ryeong, do you think Chae Mu-Seok would live alone? He will undoubtedly remarry again, and nobody knows what will happen then.¡±


    If Chae Mu-Seok were to remarry and have a son, the interest he currently had in Woo-Jin would vanish immediately. If that were the case, he would live comfortably, enjoying life to the fullest. If Woo-Jin were to go on a mission to prevent that from happening, Kang Hye-Min was ready to help him actively.


    ¡°Please go ahead and do it.¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°If I were to do that, it would feel good during that moment, but I would have to devote the rest of my life to the company in return. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s considered revenge if I end up being unhappy.¡±


    Woo-Jin could take everything from Chae Mu-Seok and destroy it, but he couldn¡¯t help but think about the employees of Garam and Bareunjeong, as well as their families. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to destroy the livelihoods of innocent people because of his family conflict. It was a person¡¯s duty to not start something that they didn¡¯t plan on taking responsibility for to the very end. Chae Mu-Seok couldn¡¯t fulfill his duties and do the right thing, but Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t be the same as him and do the same thing.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Judging from Woo-Jin¡¯s words alone, Kang Hye-Min could feel how much he liked his current job. Money nor revenge wasn¡¯t important to him. Realizing how simple and selfish her thoughts were made her feel ashamed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was too caught up thinking about myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s normal for everyone to think this way. I know I¡¯m a little different.¡±


    ¡°You just have different values. I did the same thing in the past, but once again, I am making the same mistakes.¡±


    For a moment, the expectations she placed on Woo-Jin were no different from those which she placed on Woo-Young back then, when she was blinded by greed to make him the heir of the Chae family¡¯s fortune. It was difficult for a person to change, even though they had already lost the most important thing to them because of worldly greed.


    ¡°Hence, I decided to use this opportunity to use my stage name, Choi Woo-Jin, instead of Chae Woo-Jin.¡±


    After Choi Min-Woo had legally adopted Woo-Jin, his paternal side of the family didn¡¯t approve of Woo-Jin changing his last name. When they tried to use Kim Hye-Ryeong¡¯s sponsor broker scandal to strike a deal with the Chae family, Chae Mu-Seok said he would get a divorce with her. Thus, Woo-Jin¡¯s maternal grandfather was very flustered. He even lashed out at Chae Mu-Seok, whom he had once considered the most ideal son-in-law, and called him a madman.


    Ultimately, after much negotiation, they received the Chae family¡¯s consent with regards to Woo-Hee¡¯s adoption and changing her last name. Even though Chae Mu-Seok acted as though he was forced into making such a decision, the truth was that he couldn¡¯t be happier to sign the consent form as he feared that Woo-Hee might try to fight for his inheritance. Woo-Hee wasn¡¯t greedy or eyeing his wealth at the moment, but he didn¡¯t know if she would change her mind when she got older, so he wanted to cut off all ties with her while she was still young and ignorant.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s just a stage name, I think they¡¯ll still strongly oppose it.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of what they do, that person won¡¯t get anything from me.¡±


    Woo-Jin decided to look at the long run. Even if it was a struggle right now, Woo-jin would have the upper hand in time to come. He would never give Chae Mu-Seok what he wanted, and if he was in a hurry, he would have to look elsewhere for a solution.


    This wasn¡¯t revenge or anything like that. Woo-Jin simply didn¡¯t love him.


    Kang Hye-Min covered her mouth and chuckled at Woo-Jin¡¯s indifferent response. Come to think of it, it was a rather delightful way of punishing Chae Mu-Seok as well.


    As soon as the ambience became a little more light-hearted, Woo-Jin took out a notebook and pen from his bag, as though he had remembered something.


    ¡°Right! Can I have your autograph please?¡±


    ¡°My autograph?¡±


    ¡°My friend¡¯s a fan, no, he insists that you¡¯re his mentor.¡±


    Hyun-Min was the first person Woo-Jin thought about after hearing that Kang Hye-Min was the biggest shareholder of TM. The person his friend thought of as a mentor ultimately turned out to be Kang Hye-Min. Woo-Jin was amazed by how they were all connected like this. Since they met, Woo-Jin wanted to get her autograph for his friend.


    ¡°By any chance, are you referring to the friend that appeared on TV with you? The one who invests in stocks.¡±


    Kang Hye-Min seemed to have watched the episode ¨C¨C she immediately guessed who Woo-Jin was talking about.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Is he planning to work in that field after he graduates?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not doing it as a job, but I think he¡¯ll keep investing in stocks as a hobby.¡±


    ¡°I personally think it¡¯s better not to dabble in stocks. The exchange of information is fast-paced, and it¡¯ll be a struggle if you don¡¯t have good instincts. It¡¯s fascinating. The big players have already taken all the good stuff and you¡¯ll just be left with the leftovers.¡±


    Kang Hye-Min firmly advised against trading stocks even as a hobby.


    ¡°I heard you were just an ordinary housewife before you started investing. How did you become so successful?¡±


    Woo-Jin had briefly heard her success story from CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. It was very surprising.  Even for someone who had formally studied in that field, it was difficult to succeed in such a short period of time like what she did. There was a reason why Hyun-Min made a huge fuss about her being a mentor.


    ¡°I received a huge amount of alimony.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The logic is the same for most things, but it is particularly important when it comes to investing in stocks, the quality of information and data you get varies depending on your investment. And the higher the investment, the higher the risk, but you get higher returns as well.¡±


    Naturally, having a lot of money didn¡¯t guarantee access to the best information and data. Picking out the right information from a sea of data was talent in itself, and for Kang Hye-Min, it was an easy task.


    ¡°But even if your friend has a lot of money, tell him not to dabble in stocks. He doesn¡¯t have the latent instinct, and without luck, he won¡¯t make it far when dabbling in stocks.¡±


    ¡°I will definitely let him know. Still, please give him your autograph.¡±


    Woo-Jin said that Hyun-Min would be disappointed by the blunt advice he got from his mentor, so he would use the autograph as a way to comfort him. After hearing that, Kang Hye-Min awkwardly gave Woo-Jin her autograph. Making her signature bigger than usual and signing it on a clean notebook felt weird as she was used to signing it on trading floor contracts.


    ¡°Celebrities are really good at this.¡±


    ¡°Probably because it¡¯s our job.¡±


    ¡°By the way, how¡¯s your wound?¡±


    ¡°There will be a scar, but fortunately it¡¯s on my palm, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Even though it wasn¡¯t a deep cut, he grabbed the knife hard when he was trying to stop Lee Yeo-Rin from hurting herself, so the wound became bigger, and he had no choice but to get it stitched up. It was done by a plastic surgeon, but there would still be some scarring.


    1. It¡¯s a workout that¡¯s popular among the older population in Korea. ?

 CH 227

    ¡°Let me take a look at it.¡±


    ¡°The wound can¡¯t be seen because it¡¯s covered by the bandage, but the doctor said it was     nicely stitched up. Not to mention, it¡¯s located above the life line[1], so my life line¡¯s now longer than it used to be.¡±


    Woo-Jin jokingly said that while showing her the bandage that was placed over his life line. His life line was originally broken in the middle, but it had become connected because of this incident. He didn¡¯t believe in palmistry, but whenever he told other people about it, they would laugh and say it was a good thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    As expected, Kang Hye-Min responded in the same way, os Woo-Jin burst out laughing. A soft smile appeared on her face when he started laughing.


    ¡°Woo-Young¡¯s life line was especially short. Hence, I often beat myself up whenever I think about how he left the world so early because he was born that way. So It¡¯s really a good thing that yours became longer.¡±


    Not knowing how to react, Woo-Jin smiled, and quietly lowered his head. She looked so sad that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to offer some sloppy words of consolation. Kang Hye-Min was now in her forties; there were already stands of gray hair sparsely distributed all over her disheveled hair. The fine wrinkles on her lackluster face made her look perpetually sad even when she remained still.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to dampen the mood by saying things like that, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Flustered, Kang Hye-Min apologized to him. She had unintentionally blurted out her thoughts because it was something that had always been on her mind, but because it seemed as though she ended up making the ambiance weird between them. In her experience, people weren¡¯t exactly a fan of depressing stories like these in general.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine with it. He¡¯s my younger brother after all.¡±


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words, Kang Hye-Min¡¯s eyes crinkled as she smiled. It was strange to hear Woo-Jin say the words ¡®younger brother¡¯. After imagining how they would have gotten along as brothers if the two of them had met each other, Kang Hye-Min immediately shook her head.


    If she were to think of Woo-JIn, then it was better that they had never met. Learning about the death of his younger brother would have a different weight to it if he had actually met instead of hearing in passing the death of a brother he had never met.


    Kang Hye-Min¡¯s death caused the people alive great pain and suffering but it was a mother¡¯s greed to want more people to remember her son. The memory of the dead became heavier and more difficult to handle the more it was shared among others. It wouldn¡¯t necessarily bring her comfort just because there was more sadness in this world. Kang Hye-Min didn¡¯t want Woo-Jin to be as sad and angry as her.


    ¡°Can I ask you for a favor?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll do my best to help you as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± Woo-Jin readily responded. Kang Hye-Min smiled warmly at him.


    ¡°Please be happy.¡±


    Just like he said earlier, she hoped he would choose to live happily for a long, long time instead of getting revenge that would only give him a short-lived happiness.


    ¡°Be healthy and live a long life until you become a happy old grandpa, and live happily ever after ¨C¨C just like what people say in old tales. I¡¯m asking you for a favor as the mother of your younger brother.¡±


    The relationship between Woo-Jin and Kang Hye-Min was very ambiguous. If she hadn¡¯t divorced Chae Mu-Seok, then legally speaking she would have been his stepmother. But since that was no longer the case, they didn¡¯t have a relationship where they could address one another using a specific title. But at the very least, Kang Hye-Min was certain they were a little closer than average acquaintances, and so she asked him for a ¡®favor¡¯.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking you for a favor, though.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let me ask you for a favor too.¡±


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s words, Kang Hye-Min could guess what he was going to say.


    ¡°Please be happy, and become a healthy and happy grandma. I¡¯m asking you for a favor as the older brother of my younger brother, mother.¡±


    They were already closer to each other than just average acquaintances but Woo-Jin took it a step further. The title ¡®mother¡¯ was not only used to address one¡¯s own mother ¨C¨C it was also used to address a friend¡¯s mother, and the owner of a store one regularly frequented, but the word ¡®mother¡¯ that came out of Woo-Jin¡¯s mouth when he addressed Kang Hye-Min felt a tad heavier and more affectionate.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve heard anyone call me ¡®mother¡¯.¡±


    Woo-Young had been an outgoing and intelligent child. However, Kim Hye-Ryeong had already been living in their house before he had learned to speak. She ended up becoming his stepmother, and so, he matured too quickly. Thus, the young child couldn¡¯t comfortably use the word ¡®mother¡¯ around his own mom and called Kang Hye-Min ¡®mother¡¯ in secret, while grabbing the hem of her clothes to show his affection.


    ¡°Anyway, things have been a little better these days as compared to before.¡± Kang Hye-Min smiled awkwardly as she ran her fingers through her hair with both hands.


    Just as Woo-Jin had been happily working hard at his job, she had been occupied with plotting her revenge against Chae Mu-Seok and Kim Hye-Ryeong, and enjoying herself a little more lately. Even though she wasn¡¯t happy yet, now that she had tried her hand at seeking revenge, she discovered she had an aptitude for it, and found it fun. Others said Kang Hye-Min was wasting her life away because of her obsession with revenge, but she was now doing her best to lead a happy life in her own way.


    ¡°Despite how everything looks, my goal is to go to heaven. I never live my life carelessly. It sounds ridiculous coming from me, right?¡±


    ¡°No! My goal is to go to heaven too. I accumulated a lot of bad karma from my past lives¡­¡±


    When Kang Hye-Min heard Woo-Jin quietly mentioning his past lives, she laughed out loud for the first time today. In fact, it had been a few years since she laughed out loud.


    ¡°Where did you hear that from? Did you visit a fortune teller or a monk?


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°There must be reincarnation since you mentioned past lives. I hope something like that really exists.¡±


    She longed for reincarnation not for herself, but for her son. She wanted him to be born to a nice home with good parents that showered him with love and to live happily.


    ¡°Oh dear, you¡¯re a busy person, and yet I¡¯ve been holding you up for far too long. You have to go to America soon, right?¡±


    Woo-Jin was leaving for America the day after tomorrow for the audition. Kang Hye-Min nudged him in the back and told him to go home.


    ¡°Let me send you home.¡±


    ¡°I drove here. And I¡¯ll be staying here a little longer. It¡¯s a shame to go home just like that on such a nice day.¡±


    Sitting under the blue sky and a blossoming tree, Kang Hye-Min was full of energy for the first time in a while. Woo-Jin got up, and just as he was about to remove his hat to bid her goodbye, Kang Min-Hee grabbed his hands and stopped him.


    ¡°I may not look it, but I¡¯m your fan. I hope you¡¯ll act in a lot of good films and dramas in the future. And tell your friend he must not dabble in stocks.¡±


    While digging for information, Kang Hye-Min had grown to like Actor Chae Woo-Jin. She said goodbye to him, looking more comfortable and at ease than when they first saw each other.


    While staring at his back as he walked away, she suddenly realized it had been a long time since she looked at the back of someone leaving without feeling lonely.


    After receiving Woo-Jin¡¯s phone call, even after arriving here long before the scheduled time, she kept hesitating over whether to meet him or not. It had been a while since she cared about her own appearance, and in the midst of feeling sad and afraid, she came here nonetheless because she wanted to meet him at least once.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we got to meet.¡±


    She was glad to learn that her son¡¯s older brother and her favorite actor was kinder and nicer than she expected. Even though his face didn¡¯t resemble her son¡¯s, she was pleased to know they were similar in that aspect. Although other people might mock her for it, little joys like these allowed her to take a breather.


    It seemed eventually, there would be a day she when would be happy. She hoped that as she grew older with each passing year, she would naturally become a happy old grandma at some point.


    ***


    <I only saw the article when I got home after a long day at work, but oh my goodness! It said that Genie will be acting under the stage name ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯ from now on! So I was right after all! He¡¯s indeed Choi Woo-Jin.


    If I have to be really honest, I was the first one who told everyone his name was ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯! I¡¯ve been holding my breath the entire time because what I did went down as the most shameful incident in the history of Wish Baragi. To think the day I come clean on my own has actually come.


    However, I¡¯m not happy since this happened thanks to Kim Hye-Ryeong and the BRJ CEO. Kim Hye-Ryeong might have been the one who orchestrated the entire thing, but birds of the same feather flock together and marry each other. I felt so sorry for Genie when I saw his skinny face, but I guess those people didn¡¯t even possess that kind of sympathy.


    Ah, as I¡¯m writing this, I just got reminded of that day when Manager Kang was so heartless towards Woo-Jin too. I hope the audition is over soon so our dear Genie can eat some pork belly. The audition is happening in five days, right?>


    ¨C¨C I¡¯m sorry, but who¡¯s the BRJ CEO you¡¯re talking about?


    ©¸ The CEO of Bareunjeong, Chae Mu-Seok. Genie¡¯s father is CEO Choi, and that Chae fella is simply ¡®BRJ CEO¡¯. Speaking of which, the funny thing is that the BRJ CEO and Kim Hye-Ryeong are getting a divorce. Why are they even separating? They should just spend their lives together since they¡¯re the same type of people.


    ¨C¨C The process of Genie becoming Choi Woo-Jin is a huge struggle. Nevertheless, I hope it becomes his legal name one day, instead of just a stage name!


    ¨C¨C Depending on the outcome of the audition, he might not be able to eat pork belly for a couple of months even after it¡¯s over. We should send him some black garlic this time around.


    Wish Baragi actively welcomed the news about Woo-Jin using ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯ as his stage name. The members also rehashed the past and recounted what happened back then to the newer members who weren¡¯t aware of Wish Baragi¡¯s dark history, with regards to the name, ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯, and bragged about their foresight.


    As for the shocking Lee Yeo-Rin incident, they talked about how Woo-Jin said he would never settle with her out of court, so the fans felt relieved, as though they were drinking a refreshing cup of soda. Whenever they thought about the celebrities who withdrew the lawsuits because of the negative impact on their image, it made them feel frustrated. They were glad that wasn¡¯t the case with Chae Woo-Jin, just that there was insufficient evidence to convict Kim Hye-Ryeong with a crime as all she did was pay for Lee Yeo-Rin¡¯s rent, and sponsored her to get plastic surgery.


    Although Kim Hye-Ryeong approached Woo-Jin¡¯s stalker, Lee Yeo-Rin, first, she escaped the clutches of the law with a ridiculous excuse that she wanted to introduce her to him because she thought they were compatible. However, the people in the entertainment industry and her business circles felt it was hard for her to get out of the divorce because of this incident.


    Even before the incident happened, they were already separated. This incident handed Chae Mu-Seok a justified reason for divorce on a silver platter. The general consensus was that it was probably the worst punishment Kim Hye-Ryeong could ever get.


    On the other hand, Lee Yeo-Rin was having a hard time evading a prison sentence because of the solid evidences against her ¨C¨C her social media posts that she personally uploaded, as well as the clear CCTV footages that captured her sneaking into Woo-Jin¡¯s parent¡¯s house, along with all the indecent acts she committed. In a way she might have been a pitiful mentally ill person who was instigated by Woo-Jin¡¯s stepmother, but thanks to Charge! Open the Door, nobody had even a shred of sympathy for her.


    The fans who were once former stalkers of Woo-Jin also vanished at a certain point; there was a possibility they themselves would receive the same treatment as Lee Yeo-Rin because they strongly felt this time around that Woo-Jin would absolutely show zero tolerance when there was a problem.


    They clearly witnessed Woo-Jin¡¯s firm stance when they saw how he stopped Lee Yeo-Rin from harming herself, but he didn¡¯t forgive her. More importantly, they were very shocked to see how unsightly Lee Yeo-Rin looked on TV when the entire episode was broadcast live. They felt even more afraid because they wondered if that was how they looked in the eyes of others, especially Woo-Jin.


    The lesson they learned via the Lee Yeo-Rin incident was the most effective shock therapy. Meanwhile, ordinary fans that watched the live broadcast felt sorry for Woo-Jin, who was very calm at the time. It made them wonder how much he had suffered on a daily basis that he was unfazed by such an episode.


    As a result, a clear intolerance towards sasaeng fans had clearly been established among his fans. Nonetheless, the fans held themselves back to the best of their abilities for the sake of Woo-Jin¡¯s upcoming audition. Since Woo-Jin had once mentioned that he loved the law, his fans also believed in the law, and decided to wait.


    Even though there were so many things they wanted to say, it was now time for them to show their devotion towards him, instead of flying into a rage. In the same vein, Woo-Jin¡¯s fans had been focusing their energy on studying English these days because of the rumors about the fans of the original novel (Confession of White) wielding a lot of power.


    If Woo-Jin ended up getting Lloyd¡¯s part, they were worried those fans might heavily nitpick on him and thus, they thought English was essential if they wanted to defend Woo-Jin. Another reason was that they wanted to pass on information about Woo-Jin to the U.S. movie review sites when Guardian Angel was released.


    ¨C¨C Everyone! I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s written by the American unnie, but in any case, I found a novel  that appeared to be written by someone like her. I¡¯m sure all of you know about the photo of Genie and Dustin that they had taken together at the Academy¡¯s afterparty. She wrote something based on that, and it was really interesting to read. Genie is a villain in the story, but I recommend it because it¡¯s a fantasy novel with a vast worldview and the political enmity was meticulously fleshed out. From an ordinary fan¡¯s point of view, it somehow felt as though it was written by a veteran author.


    ©¸ I read the novel too. But what¡¯s even more amazing is that she had even added a video montage that¡¯s based on the novel. Fans from the West are truly something else in terms of scale and detail regardless of what they do. Seeing all these contents from the American newbies these days makes me really happy.


    With the influx of fans from America, English had become a language Woo-Jin¡¯s fans needed to know in order to read and watch the contents they created. Particularly, Woo-Jin had been in LA in recent months, so there were many photos and anecdotes from fans who happened to be in that neighborhood. As true fans in the age of globalization, they never took the mindset that knowing at least one or two languages was a basic requirement as a joke.


    After winter comes spring. While Woo-Jin was not in Korea, they were now approaching the perfect season for studying. And two days after Woo-Jin left for America, the Korean entertainment industry was in turmoil once again. There was never a peaceful day in that industry. The scandal about the relationship between Park Min and his sponsor, Kwon So-Hyun, broke out, along with her affair.


    ***


    There were only nine applicants in the second round of auditions for the main character of Confession of White, so the auditions were all held on the same day. However, it was announced in advance that additional auditions might be held in the future depending on the circumstances.


    The judges this time around were Pharrell Bob, a critic recommended by the Consccia Foundation, an employee of Midas Agency, Ian Essery ¨C¨C a.k.a. Albert, who would be acting alongside Lloyd in the movie, and last but not least, Ilya Turner ¨C¨C just that Ilya decided not to sit with the judges; he wanted to watch the footage of the actors¡¯ performances on the screen in a separate and isolated space.


    Ilya didn¡¯t want to sit in the same place as Ian Essery for personal reasons, and as one of the key figures running the auditions, he made this decision out of consideration for the actors, as they might feel burdened by his presence.


    To put it bluntly, Ilya Turner was an author whom everyone loved and respected in America, aside from L. Dmitri¡¯s fans. The burden of acting in front of someone like Ilya was too much for young actors to handle. Even Ian Essery couldn¡¯t speak coherently and trembled when he met Ilya in person, so they didn¡¯t need to see it for themselves to know what would happen if these young and inexperienced actors were to act before Ilya. Whether one had read his novels or not, to native English speakers, Ilya was someone who only appeared in biographies.


    {You didn¡¯t call me at all huh? Not even once. Let¡¯s see how good you are.}


    {Who?}


    Selena was watching the footage of the audition while it was ongoing together with Ilya, and asked out of curiosity after hearing him grumble.


    1. Referring to one of the four major lines on one¡¯s palm. It¡¯s believed that the longer one¡¯s life line is, the higher one¡¯s longevity will be. ?

 CH 228

    Selena barely heard Ilya muttering very softly to himself, grumbling about somebody not calling him. She was curious about the person''s identity who had the audacity to do that.


    {Some guy who only texts.}


    Needless to say, the person Ilya was referring to was Woo-Jin.


    After they were done evaluating the seventh candidate, the name of the next candidate, Tenno Terua, was heard through the speaker. And the ninth and final candidate was none other than Woo-Jin.


    After passing the first round of the auditions, Woo-Jin informed Ilya that he would not be calling him for the time being until the final round was over. After that, he only sent him a few texts from time to time to give his regards, and even after he arrived in LA, he merely sent a text message to let him know of his arrival.


    As Ilya was a judge, Woo-Jin deliberately kept a distance from him to prevent people from spreading unnecessary gossip. When Woo-Jin told Ilya he didn¡¯t want people talking about unfounded speculations on how he passed the auditions because of his personal connection with Ilya, the latter had a good laugh. He was very curious as to whether Woo-Jin said it out of confidence or naivety, and he was finally able to confirm it today.


    {He¡¯s bi-racial, but his pronunciation was a little off.}


    When Terua had finished acting out his part, Ilya evaluated his acting as though he had been waiting to do so. Terua was rather good-looking, but even though he was speaking in English, there were some words Ilya couldn¡¯t understand.


    {Even though he¡¯s bi-racial, his mother is French, and he was born and raised in Japan.}


    {I thought his accent was rather unique. So there¡¯s a tinge of French accent thrown into the mix. It would¡¯ve been better if he had acted in Japanese. What a pity.}


    {He¡¯s good at acting out emotional outbursts. But in terms of acting out a normal everyday situation, there are times when he gets overly emotional. More importantly, the biggest issue with him is his strange accent, which is a mixture of both Japanese and French.}


    That was the biggest reason Selena had removed Tenno Terua from the list of shortlisted candidates handpicked by her secretary. Terua showed an emotional performance today. He knew very well that it was his strength. For people like Ilya who weren¡¯t aware of Terua¡¯s usual acting style, it would appear to be a good performance that would likely receive a high score.


    Nevertheless, the issue with Terua was his strange English pronunciation. It simply wasn¡¯t good enough for them to cast him in an American film. And thus, he was ultimately eliminated.


    {Next up, Chae Woo-Jin.}


    {It¡¯s not Chae ¨C¨C it¡¯s Choi.}


    {I beg your pardon?}


    {It¡¯s Choi. A few days ago, he announced that he would be using Choi Woo-Jin as his stage name from now on. It¡¯s been rectified on his application form too.}


    Ilya showed Selena the form that was in front of him. She didn¡¯t know as she mindlessly skimmed through the form, but his last name was certainly rectified. However, judging from what Ilya said earlier, it didn¡¯t seem like he knew about it from the form itself. He either heard it from Woo-Jin himself or someone else, but both options didn¡¯t seem plausible considering his personality.


    Selena instantly knew which actor Ilya liked. She didn¡¯t know how it happened, but the movie production was ultimately able to proceed smoothly because of Chae Woo-Jin. Knowing that all too well, Selena was glad she wasn¡¯t a judge. Since she knew how Ilya felt, if she had been a judge, she would have certainly found it hard to evaluate Choi Woo-Jin objectively.


    On the other hand, she felt it was unfortunate at the same time because she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about what to do if he were to fail the audition.


    ***


    After Christopher Eggers was done with his audition, he left the venue via the door he entered from instead of the exit. He bumped into Tenno Terua, whose name had just been called. He instantly wiped his shoulder with a handkerchief that had bumped into Tenno Terua as though something dirty had touched him.


    Terua was so caught up in the audition that he failed to notice this as he was in a hurry to get inside. Christopher momentarily stared at his back view and gnashed his teeth for no reason.


    {Those dirty yellow monkeys climbed all the way up here without knowing their place.}


    Woo-Jin was waiting for his turn with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes when he heard those words coming from in front of him. With reddish-brown hair and black eyes, Christopher was looking down at him with a scornful look in his eyes.


    {A white monkey isn¡¯t clean either.}


    Woo-Jin crossed his arms and legs and made a sarcastic remark.


    {What the hell did you just say?}


    {You stink.}


    {What?}


    {Your mouth and body stink. Do you not take a shower? You dirty bastard.}


    With his arms still folded, Woo-Jin tilted his head and looked up at Christopher. His eyes were filled with pity and disgust. Unlike Christopher''s baseless, racist remarks, Woo-Jin was looking at him as though he was filthy and disgusting. Christopher subconsciously checked to see if he actually had a body odor; he paused what he was doing and snarled.


    {You¡¯re lying through your teeth! You Asian monkeys are always lying whenever you open your mouths anyway. And you¡¯re so shameless at that. How dare you try to audition for Lloyd¡¯s part with that skin color of yours? Brazen bastards.}


    His voice was soft compared to the grim expression and menacing aura. His attitude was such because he knew his remarks were too inappropriate for others to hear. In other words, he was truly a despicable guy, who knew what he was doing was wrong, but still did it anyway.


    {I¡¯m paler than you.}


    Christopher was briefly at a loss for words after hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s short and bold rebuttal. He had eyes as well, so he knew for a fact that Woo-Jin had clearer and brighter skin compared to his flushed and tanned skin. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t even find a single freckle on Woo-Jin¡¯s face.


    For today¡¯s audition, instead of dressing up according to the actors¡¯ own image of Lloyd, the candidates were asked to not wear any makeup. The restriction was placed to enable the judges to clearly look at their facial features and accurately verify if they had any scars and blemishes. Thus, Woo-Jin and Christopher were both bare-faced at the moment.


    However, even though they were both not wearing any makeup, Woo-Jin¡¯s bright and blemish-free face was so distinctly different from his own face that it was meaningless for him to find fault with his skin color. In fact, it seemed like it would backfire on him instead because of the possibility of being criticized for being worse than the Asian that he looked down on.


    Since there were other people present, he couldn¡¯t raise his voice. Nonetheless, simply walking away like that would hurt his pride, so he couldn¡¯t tolerate it. Just then, Woo-Jin¡¯s neat and luxurious outfit caught Christopher¡¯s eye. Thinking he could use it against Woo-Jin, Christopher looked him up and down before mocking him.


    {Is this your take on Lloyd? Indeed, when will such an opportunity come knocking on the door for someone like you? You want to use this opportunity to stand out in front of the director even if you fail, right? Oh my, what¡¯s that black thing on your nails? You¡¯re such a dirty bastard indeed.}


    As Christopher talked, he noticed the dark red stain on Woo-Jin¡¯s nails and burst out laughing.


    {What¡¯s the point of wearing the nicest clothes in your closet? You should thoroughly wash your nails.}


    Despite being mocked by Christopher, Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t bothered by him and proudly stroked his shirt instead.


    {My outfit looks good, huh? I bought it at Fashion Town for 70 dollars just for today¡¯s audition. As expected, it¡¯s so well-designed that it looks just like a luxury suit, no?}


    {You just keep lying, huh. How can it only be 70 dollars!}


    Regardless of how Christopher looked at it, it looked just like a luxury suit from Italy, so he laughed at the absurdity of it all. Woo-Jin grinned after hearing what he said while fixing the hair around his ears with both hands. Woo-Jin then got up from his chair with a very satisfied look.


    He was one centimeter taller than Christopher. Just like how a slight difference separates luxury goods from the rest, the one-centimeter height difference created a huge gap between the two of them. Looking directly into Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes that were slightly looking down at him, Christopher was momentarily shocked and took a step back.


    Up until now, he had been looking down at him from above; he had never looked straight into Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes. Even when Woo-Jin closed his eyes or looked up, his eyes were covered by his eyelashes, so he couldn¡¯t take a proper look at his eyes.


    However, there was a playful and mischievous look in his eyes right now; he seemed like a lunatic whose emotions constantly fluctuated from being emotionally unstable. Unbridled emotions poured out of those eyes, and looking at them alone made him feel suffocated.


    {This is why one shouldn''t talk to people who don¡¯t know anything about art. Where did you find these shabby clothes?}


    Woo-Jin frowned because looking at Christopher wearing his white T-shirt and old jeans alone annoyed him.


    {Shabby?! Do you know how much my clothes cost? A country bumpkin like you don¡¯t even know what limited edition apparels are¡­.}


    As he was talking, Christopher shut his mouth halfway after seeing the look on Woo-Jin¡¯s face. He was smiling so brightly at him with a smile so beautiful that it gave him goosebumps. Looking at it alone was breathtakingly fascinating, but he was afraid he would get devoured if he were to get too close.


    He couldn¡¯t understand how looking at one person could bring about emotions that were completely different.


    {You¡¯re very noisy. Like a frightened dog [1].}


    {....}


    {But you can¡¯t bark anywhere. Or you¡¯ll die.}


    Woo-Jin whispered in Christopher¡¯s ear as if he was telling him a secret no one else knew. He placed both hands into his pockets and shook his leg. He looked just like a total gangster. When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, it seemed like he had a gun in his hand, so as soon as Christopher subconsciously backed away, Woo-Jin took his hand out of his pocket and gently waved his empty hand.


    {Don¡¯t worry. How can a frail man like me beat up a bastard like you without any weapons? Isn¡¯t that so? But I¡¯m a little curious. If we meet again the next time around, will you still be breathing then?}


    Christopher¡¯s legs suddenly felt weak and wobbled when Woo-Jin said they would meet again if he was still alive, as though he was trying to leave a lasting impression on Christopher.


    Rather than feeling frightened by Woo-Jin¡¯s words, he was more focused on how the aura Woo-Jin exuded was truly like that of a murderer. The playfulness in his voice was terrifying         ¨C¨C he was taking murder so lightly, like a child enjoying playing a game.


    Goosebumps started appearing on Christopher¡¯s forearms, and his body began to tremble. He couldn¡¯t swallow his spit, and the saliva pooling in his mouth started dripping from his mouth.


    Just then, a staff member called out Woo-Jin¡¯s name. In the brief moment when he glanced over at the employee before shifting his gaze back to Christopher, the aura surrounding Woo-Jin changed immediately.


    {Looks like it¡¯s my turn now. Thank you for talking to me. I managed to squeeze some practice in towards the end because of you.}


    {Oh, what?}


    Woo-Jin said a simple goodbye to the confused Christopher. He had turned into an entirely different person as he walked towards the audition hall. The murderer Christopher met earlier was nowhere to be found.


    ***


    Woo-Jin stood in front of the judges as the final candidate of today¡¯s audition. It might seem as though it was more advantageous for him because he had more time than the other actors, but there wasn¡¯t a huge difference. Midas Agency had distributed the scripts solely used during the auditions among the actors at different times according to their numerical order. Therefore, the actors were given the same amount of time to read, practice, and memorize their lines.


    He might have been given a little more time to contemplate things, but since he had already spent a lot of time worrying about the role, giving him just a few more hours didn¡¯t change anything.


    The audition hall was pretty much the same everywhere ¨C¨C the judges sitting on their chairs, the camera, the employees that facilitated the audition process, as well as the space prepared for the actors to act out their scenes ¡ª nothing was that much different just because they were in a different country.


    However, there was something special today.


    A no. 20 canvas used for portraits and some painting tools were placed in the center of the audition hall. Judging by where they were placed, it was definitely a stage for them to act. As expected, as soon as the employee pointed to the front of the canvas, Woo-Jin stood in front of it and faced the judges.


    {Choi Woo-Jin, you have read the script that was handed to you an hour ago, right?}


    {Yes.}


    {In that case, paint a portrait of Albert on the canvas behind you.}


    {Albert?}


    {You can just pretend to paint the portrait. We want to see you act out the circumstance that led to Lloyd doing a painting of Albert, as well as the process, so please act out that scene.}


    They assigned him a task and asked him to act out the scene as he pleased.


    As they handed him a script used solely for the audition, he assumed they would be evaluating based on the delivery of his lines within the script. But the script turned out to be a hoax.


    Lloyd had the ability to take the color from a person¡¯s body and use them like paint to recreate the exact same thing in his paintings. The color of other people¡¯s hair, eyes, and blood was akin to paint, which he used to paint a picture. The unchanging colors were clearer and more vibrant than any paint and were truly beautiful. And the person from whom he took away their colors had their hair and skin turn white, just like Lloyd.


    However, it wasn¡¯t that important. Imprisoning a person¡¯s soul within a painting was his truly amazing yet terrifying ability. And so, the soul of the first person Lloyd imprisoned within a painting belonged to his adoptive mother.


    His soulful paintings emitted a strange aura. Depending on the backstory of the painting, looking at them made one feel fearful, sad, or happy, as though those emotions were flowing out of the painting. That was Lloyd¡¯s unique way of painting, which nobody could imitate. Thus, people were crazy about his paintings.


    That was why Lloyd never painted Albert, as he was afraid he would make the mistake of trapping his soul within the painting by accident.


    Lloyd painting a portrait of Albert? Be it why it happened or the circumstances behind it, he had to imagine them all by himself without the help of a script and act it out.


    As soon as he heard what Director Pharrell said, Woo-Jin took off his outerwear first. He removed his suit jacket, set it aside, and folded his sleeves three times. He then took off his shoes and stood barefoot in front of the canvas.


    The canvas was new and clean, but looking at the damp brushes and paint splattered all over the floor, Woo-Jin could easily guess that the other actors also painted on the canvas. They were probably given the same assignment as Woo-Jin. It seemed like they were planning to judge the actors¡¯ acting based on how they interpreted the same situation differently.


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t think too much about it and squeezed a tube of red paint onto the palette. He was going to get himself into character and go into the situation thinking like Lloyd instead of coming up with a story like he did when he was improvising in the waiting room during his face-off with Christopher.


    Woo-Jin dipped his brush in the red paint and quickly began to paint on the canvas. It was a portrait of a man painted with fast strokes that were void of any hesitation. Although it was painted with just one color, red, the light and shadows were well-painted such that anybody could quickly tell whose portrait it belonged to.


    1. ??? can refer to puppy/dog, but it can also mean son of a bitch. ?

 CH 229

    {Ah, it¡¯s Ian.}


    {We instructed him to draw Albert, that¡¯s why he drew a portrait of Ian. But he¡¯s really good at painting. He managed to capture his subject¡¯s characteristics perfectly and painted it in just five minutes.}


    {Shh!}


    The judges that were chatting while watching Woo-Jin paint quickly kept their mouths shut when Pharrell put his finger to his mouth. They were so enamored by the portrait which Woo-Jin painted that they had forgotten that they were in the midst of evaluating his acting.


    Woo-Jin painted the portrait using only red paint. It was the face of Ian, or Albert, who was smiling happily. The brush strokes were bold and dynamic; it truly felt like it was Lloyd¡¯s painting technique that was described in the text.


    ***


    As soon as he had roughly painted the general shape of his subject, Lloyd put down his brush. He carefully touched up the areas that weren¡¯t satisfactory with his fingers. Whenever he couldn¡¯t portray what he wanted with the brush, Lloyd would use his fingers. Thus, Lloyd¡¯s nails and the skin surrounding them were always stained with oil paint.


    {I should have painted it sooner.}


    Perhaps there was something about it that wasn¡¯t to his liking; Lloyd scratched his head nervously as he anxiously paced back and forth in front of the canvas.


    {If I had known this was going to happen, I would have painted it earlier. What¡¯s the point of painting him now? Albert isn''t inside this painting¡­}


    Albert passed away a few days ago. Lloyd didn¡¯t know his father would die so suddenly ¨C¨C he was powerless to stop it. If he had been there, he certainly would¡¯ve been able to capture Albert¡¯s soul in his painting.


    Lloyd looked at the other paintings that were hanging in the studio.


    {All of you are here¡­why is he the only one who¡¯s not here?}


    Lloyd¡¯s eyes were always wavering with emotions be it in a moment of madness or anxiousness. But now, they were empty and void of all energy, as though his soul had escaped.


    {All of you are still living even after death, so why is he the only one who is truly dead?}


    Lloyd suddenly picked up a box that was lying around next to the canvas and randomly put his brushes and tools in it.


    {Now that there¡¯s no one to tell me I did a good job, what¡¯s the point of having all these things? You praised me even when I showed you paintings of dead people, and you said you could feel their warmth, didn¡¯t you? By any chance, are you watching right now? This is the kind of person your son is. You did this to me!}


    Lloyd giggled as he pointed at the paintings that were hanging around his studio with both hands. The studio was filled with clamoring paintings of trapped human souls; it was another hellhole in itself.


    Lloyd was sitting on the chair; his strength had left his body, and the box of painting tools fell from his fingertips. He left the brushes on the floor as he gasped for breath. Behind him was a portrait of Albert¡¯s face painted in red.


    {This is all I¡¯m capable of doing. Without stealing colors and souls from people, my painting is so bland and ugly¡­ You turned a piece of crap like me into a painter.}


    Lloyd flew in a rage just a while ago, but now, his face was drained of all energy and vitality as he despaired. He was in despair because of the grief of losing his father, and even his self-esteem as a painter had crumbled. He realized how ugly his paintings were without the human soul, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to trap another person¡¯s soul within Albert¡¯s portrait.


    {I wanted to become an actual painter. I wanted to become an actual son. I wanted to become a decent human being, but why didn¡¯t you give me the chance to do that? You always did as you please, father! You don¡¯t care about someone like me. Was I¡­a son to you?}


    The despair in Lloyd¡¯s eyes engulfed his mind, but the artist¡¯s passion that was as strong as his desire to be loved remained. Lloyd lowered his head slowly and picked up the box and brushes. However, instead of shoving the brushes in haphazardly like he did before, he meticulously arranged them one by one.


    {Even though the painting looks like this, even though this is as good as I can ever be, I¡¯m a painter. I¡¯m the best painter you¡¯ve ever acknowledged.}


    Lloyd returned the box of painting tools back on his work desk, and took a brief look at Albert¡¯s painting.


    {I will make you, who raised me as a painter, great. That¡¯s my way of loving you.}


    Lloyd turned his head slightly, revealing his side profile. A broad smile gradually crept across his face. Lloyd was at a new turning point in his life. The glint in his eyes sparkled once again. Lloyd was more beautiful and radiant than anyone else; he had reawakened as a painter who called upon death.


    ***


    In a short span of time, Woo-Jin managed to express Lloyd¡¯s sadness, despair and frustrations as a painter, as well as the lunatic killer in him as he mourned over Albert¡¯s death. His ever-changing facial expressions, along with the look in his eyes, were diverse, and more importantly, the ambience that captivated the audience was overwhelming. He was so good at expressing emotions that acting out facial expressions alone was enough for him to convey Lloyd¡¯s emotions. In truth, rather than saying Woo-Jin was good at expressing emotions, it was more accurate to say that Lloyd himself was present in the audition hall during that period of time.


    While the other judges were flailing their arms over Woo-Jin¡¯s performance, Ian was excited to act as Albert in front of Lloyd. Pharrell was one of the judges who was at a loss for words. He barely came to his senses and coughed, easing the heavy ambience within the audition hall.


    {Your outfit looks good. Is there a reason why you picked that suit?}


    The judges would share their evaluations of his acting afterwards among themselves. Pharrell also asked Woo-Jin the same question that he asked the other actors. Out of all the actors that auditioned today, only two people, including Woo-Jin, wore suits. The rest were dressed in casual and comfortable clothes. If he had dressed in a way that best suited the image of Lloyd in his head, there must have been a reason.


    {From the beginning of the novel, Lloyd was portrayed as a successful painter, but it has been mentioned several times that he was a very thrifty person because he had experienced poverty as a child. However, one can easily infer his sensuous and sophisticated taste from the scene where the author describes the interiors of his house, as well as the scene where he describes the clothes in his closet when Lloyd was preparing to go to the funeral.}


    It was mentioned in the novel that Lloyd wore a loose white T-Shirt with a pair of dirty jeans back in the past when he was struggling. During his poverty-stricken childhood, it was obvious what the appearance of a young boy, with a blind father and no one else to take care of him, would be like. Even though there wasn¡¯t a part in the novel that specifically described how Lloyd felt at the time, he was someone who was very sensitive to the opinions of others, as well as their evaluations of him.


    (Hence, I felt that he wouldn¡¯t like the clothes he wore as a child, because people used to tease him about it. And while he didn¡¯t want to look weak or be disregarded by others, that wasn¡¯t his personality. Therefore, he would¡¯ve most likely dressed like a grown-up in order to express his true self.}


    Woo-Jin added that since Lloyd couldn¡¯t splurge, he would¡¯ve bought the nicest clothes that showed others how sophisticated and tasteful he was at the lowest possible price.


    Ilya was listening to Woo-Jin¡¯s response via the monitor. He blinked for a moment before scratching his neck.


    {Honestly, you just wrote it without giving it much thought, right?}


    Ilya coughed in response to Selena¡¯s question.


    {As a writer who always supports the imaginative minds of my readers¡­}


    In truth, the reason why he rarely talked back was that he didn¡¯t have time to think about such minute details when he was writing. But after listening to Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation, it seemed right, so he didn¡¯t try to give other justifications.


    For reference, the other actor who wore a suit, Edwin Rucker, said the same thing as Woo-Jin in as he talked about how  Lloyd was a successful painter. However, he was different in the sense that he wore an expensive suit, citing the aesthetic sense of a successful painter as his reason.


    {However, I can see that Choi Woo-Jin had done the most research on Lloyd. He took into consideration that the shoes Lloyd wore to the funeral were so tight that he wore them with the back folded in, and showed up wearing a suit and sneakers. More importantly, he was painting while barefoot.}


    In the novel, the author had mentioned in passing that Lloyd wiped the paint off his bare feet on a towel on the floor as he was painting. Woo-Jin didn¡¯t miss that detail and expressed it the way it was.


    Apart from him, none of the other actors had painted barefoot. Some of them might not have known about it, but it didn¡¯t seem plausible that none of them were aware of it since it was a piece of information they could get from analytical materials that were posted on websites related to Confession of White.


    While focusing on the script that was used for the audition, people would tend to forget what they knew when they were being thrown a curveball. Since they were flustered and busy focusing only on their task, they made the mistake of leaving out the essence of the character.


    This was the difference between a person who had merely memorized everything, and a person that not only fully understood, but was also familiar with the content. The script given to them was one of the devices used to distinguish both types of people, and Woo-Jin easily passed the test.


    After hearing Selena¡¯s evaluation, a smile briefly appeared on Ilya¡¯s face. But Selena missed it as she had only been staring at the monitor, and maintained her usual poker face.


    {But he seemed to have expressed Lloyd¡¯s feelings for Albert differently from the other actors. The other actors relied on Albert and resented his indifference, and struggled because of it, while Choi Woo-Jin was very affectionate.}


    Woo-Jin also resented Albert and yelled at him to take a good look at him, but he looked so desperate and pitiful that it was saddening. Without responding to Selena¡¯s evaluation, Ilya turned on the microphone that was connected to Pharrell''s earphones and spoke.


    {Ask Choi Woo-Jin why Lloyd didn¡¯t kill Albert.}


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s question, Pharrell raised his eyebrows while feeling puzzled. It was only natural for Lloyd not to kill Albert; he was Lloyd¡¯s father ¨C¨C the center of his world, and the sky that allowed him to stand on the ground. Lloyd wasn¡¯t insane enough to kill someone like that. However, Pharrell had no choice but to deliver Ilya¡¯s question word for word.


    {Why didn¡¯t your Lloyd kill Albert?}


    After hearing Pharrell¡¯s abrupt question, the other judges wondered what he was talking about. They all turned to look at him, as though to ask ,¡®Why did you ask a question with such an obvious answer?¡¯.


    {Because he hoped that there may be more opportunities.}


    However, Woo-Jin answered the stupid question earnestly, and his answer was not what any of them were expecting.


    {Huh?}


    {Lloyd¡¯s greatest fear was his father finding out his secret. He was engulfed by his fear of being abandoned if his father were to know of the murders he had committed and his unique abilities. He must have thought about killing Albert before a day like that actually came. Maybe he also thought that Albert would be happier living in a painting.}


    Woo-Jin dismissed the preconception that Lloyd would never kill Albert. Perhaps Lloyd had been tempted to do it on several occasions.


    {Lloyd didn¡¯t know what eternal parting brought upon by death was like. So to him, death was like a game which he took very lightly. Even though he was closer to death than anyone else, Lloyd didn¡¯t know much about it.


    He imprisoned the souls of the people he had murdered in his paintings, and enjoyed himself by observing them every day. Even if they weren¡¯t aware of him, it didn¡¯t matter. They were merely playthings, and he prided himself on allowing them to continue living in his paintings out of the kindness in his heart.


    Thus, he could¡¯ve mistakenly thought that his father¡¯s death would be similar to that. The death in the minds of the readers had a different meaning from how Lloyd felt about death. Lloyd didn¡¯t see it as an absolute farewell ¨C¨C he simply dismissed it as a one-sided continuation of life where the dead weren¡¯t aware. Parting with someone via death wasn¡¯t scary.


    But what he  wanted from Albert was so clear that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill him. Albert cherished Lloyd, but he was someone with a great sense of duty towards the child whom he had adopted. And to Lloyd, Albert was his only refuge and loving father, so the feelings they had for each other were very different.


    {If Albert didn¡¯t have any expectations of him, Lloyd would¡¯ve probably killed him ¨C¨C not because he hates him, but because he loves him so much that he wants Albert to be comfortable. But Albert would give Lloyd the gift of hope every once in a while. Lloyd had always wanted his father to love him perfectly, and if he waited a little longer his dream might have come true. He couldn¡¯t give up on it. That was why he didn¡¯t kill him. Because he wanted to be loved.}


    Death was just a game to Lloyd, and he didn¡¯t understand the sorrow of those who had lost their family. In his eyes, Albert was his only family member, and up until he lost everything, Lloyd was arrogant and heartless.


    {Are there any questions you¡¯d like to ask the author?}


    Every single one of the candidates was asked the same question. The actors responded with all kinds of questions, but the judges didn¡¯t ask this question because they wanted to answer the questions the actors had in mind. They merely wanted to know what the actors valued most in the novel.


    {Did Albert truly not love Lloyd?}


    However, Woo-Jin¡¯s question sounded like he was casting doubt on the most obvious fact that followed after Pharrell¡¯s earlier question.


    {Didn¡¯t Lloyd lose his way because he wasn¡¯t loved?}


    Although Director Pharrell wasn¡¯t the author, he answered the question with common sense. However, that didn¡¯t answer Woo-Jin¡¯s question.


    Everyone had a different way of loving others, and Lloyd didn¡¯t spend enough time around other people to know that. He had only lived with Albert in a confined space, surrounded by his peers who teased and bullied him. And he somehow ended up learning how to relate to people with the help of TV shows and movies.


    To Llyod, human emotions were very simple and straightforward. And he didn¡¯t have enough life experience to distinguish the subtleties of emotions beyond that.


    {If a person who doesn¡¯t know how to love met a child who has never been loved, would things have been different? I don¡¯t know if emotion is something that can be easily understood, but I wonder if Albert had feelings that even he himself wasn¡¯t aware of.}


    {What a beautiful dream.}


    Director Pharrell dismissed Woo-Jin¡¯s speculation as a romantic, but unrealistic hypothesis. It was a storyline that was like that of a typical drama, and it didn¡¯t suit an unconventional novel like Confession of White.


    Albert dreamed of becoming a painter when he was young. Despite his talent, he had to give up pursuing his dream because of the harsh environment he was in, and so, he actively supported Lloyd to become a painter. Using the compensation from his accident, Lloyd was able to receive an education in art. The readers concluded that Albert gained satisfaction by living vicariously through him.


    {Albert couldn¡¯t see it, but he always said he could feel good vibes coming from Lloyd¡¯s paintings. He told Lloyd he was the best painter in his eyes. Lloyd took it as a cursory compliment, but perhaps Albert liked everything Lloyd painted because it was painted by his beloved child.}


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation, Selena thought it was a plausible theory. Since the novel was viewed solely from the perspective of the narrator, Lloyd, Albert could have had different thoughts and feelings, as they weren¡¯t revealed to the readers.


    However, since Ilya was the author, it was better to abandon that fantasy.


    {Beloved child you say. It¡¯s too idealistic¡­sir?}


    Selena paused for a moment, and turned her head to ask Ilya for his thoughts, but tears were streaming down his face as he sat there, staring blankly at the monitor.

 CH 230

    No two people would experience the exact same feelings even when looking at the same thing. But anything outstanding and remarkable would always capture one¡¯s heart and attention. Even though there was a difference in their feelings, people instinctively knows a good thing when they see one, and nobody could deny it.


    But it''s a different story when it comes to acknowledging it out loud. Particularly when the consequences intersected with one¡¯s own belief. It could mess with one¡¯s head.


    {Choi Woo-Jin was good, but¡­}


    The abrupt change of his last name was confusing for a while, but people quickly got used to Woo-Jin¡¯s new last name. Daniel Hunts naturally referred to him as ¡®Choi Woo-Jin¡¯; he was a cultural critic that was recommended by the Consccia Foundation as a judge.


    Having mixed feelings and feeling more confused than anyone else, he acknowledged Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills with a bitter look on his face. Even though there were nine actors, none of them could match up to Choi Woo-Jin. Unlike the actors who acted out extreme emotions on the surface, Choi Woo-Jin expressed a very wide range of emotions.


    It wasn¡¯t the case where the other eight actors who took part in the audition were bad at acting. They did well enough and adeptly showed the inner workings of the character in their performances and proved that they were deserving of high praise ¨C¨C at least up until he watched Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s performance. In truth, Daniel even felt sorry towards Woo-Jin for evaluating the performances of the other eight actors together with him.


    However, he couldn¡¯t impulsively pick Choi Woo-Jin to play Lloyd. It wasn¡¯t because he had personal connections with the other actors, nor was he a white supremacist who felt that Lloyd had to be a White man. He simply couldn¡¯t shake off the mindset that Lloyd from White Confession had to be an American.


    From the very beginning, he had found it hard to comprehend that an actor from another country would be playing the main character of a film that represented America. Thus, he strongly opposed the method that was currently used to conduct the auditions.


    There were several complaints questioning why they were auditioning foreign actors for a movie that represented America. Daniel didn¡¯t hide his thoughts on it, and as soon as the plan for the auditions was announced, he acted aggressively to criticize it.


    Nevertheless, the Consccia Foundation still recommended Daniel Hunts as a judge. It was evident that if he became a judge, he would do his best to prevent foreign actors from being selected. As an investor, the intentions of the Consccia Foundation might seem questionable on the surface. But if one were to dig a little deeper, they¡¯d know it was an effort on their part to reduce potential future conflicts that might come up as much as possible.


    There were quite a number of Americans who shared the same sentiments as Daniel Hunts, especially those who had never read Confession of White before. When they heard the plan for the audition, their first reaction was to question ¡®Why?¡¯. Even though they didn¡¯t know the content of the book, they knew its title, so there was also a lot of resentment towards the fact that foreigners were auditioning for a role that an American was supposed to take.


    The Consccia Foundation selected Daniel as a judge after taking those people into consideration. It might have been a condition that was extremely unfavorable and unreasonable towards the foreign actors, but if they were to pass the audition, there was no better advertising than this. As someone who protested the most as compared to anyone else, Daniel giving them a passing score in itself was a very symbolic move.


    {Choi¡¯s performance was outstanding, but doesn¡¯t Edwin Rucker look more like Lloyd?}


    Lina Owen quietly supported Edwin Rucker after looking at the speechless Daniel. Lina Owen was the director of Midas Agency; she simply couldn¡¯t let go of the idea of Lloyd being a White man. This all happened because Choi Woo-Jin did remarkably well, and not because the other actors couldn¡¯t act.


    Edwin Rucker had the best performance out of the other eight actors, and his appearance was the closest to Lloyd¡¯s. The nationality of the actors didn¡¯t matter to her ¨C¨C she placed the greatest emphasis on their appearances, in the sense that they had to look as close to Lloyd as possible.


    Daniel and Lina had already made it clear what their judging criteria were in the many interviews they had with the media. And Ilya actively recommended the two biased people as judges. As the person pulling the strings behind the scenes, Ilya quietly laughed after hearing what they said.


    {He¡¯s English, isn¡¯t he? Choi Woo-Jin is a better choice.}


    Since Edwin Rucker was not an American, Daniel argued that acting was more important than appearance.


    {Still, Edwin¡¯s mother is American.}


    Lina appealed to Daniel by pointing out the traits he looked for in an actor. She didn¡¯t care if Edwin and Choi Woo-Jin were Americans or not. On the other hand, the most important factor to Daniel was that be it White or Asian, they had to be an American, and the candidate who fufilled both their conditions was Edwin Rucker.


    As expected, Daniel¡¯s eyes started shaking violently after hearing Lina¡¯s words, so everybody could clearly feel how he felt about it.


    {If Christopher had stepped up a little more, we wouldn¡¯t be in this position¡­}


    Nevertheless, he blamed Christopher for the disappointment he currently felt. Christopher was the best actor among the American candidates. Unfortunately, he paled in comparison to not only Choi Woo-Jin, but also to Edwin. Ever since Daniel saw the list of final candidates, he had more or less expected this outcome, but now that the audition was over, the outcome was even more disastrous.


    Daniel had considered Christopher to be a great actor, but there wasn¡¯t enough depth in his acting. He was good at acting out emotions at extreme ends of the spectrum, but not so much inbetween it. His acting was worse than Tenno Terua, who fortunately was the first to be eliminated because of his pronunciation.


    As a result, he ultimately decided to go with Edwin, who had a slight connection to the United States. However, Daniel and Lina were not the only judges there. And the other two judges had different opinions from them.


    {In other words, both of you have no objection when it comes to Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s acting, right?}


    {I¡¯m very satisfied with Choi¡¯s appearance. Out of the nine actors, wasn¡¯t he the only one who looked so beautiful, with almost no blemishes on his face?}


    {That¡¯s right. Rucker¡¯s cold image seemed to go well with Lloyd at first, but Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s fragile yet beautiful appearance certainly stood out. Frankly, Lloyd isn¡¯t a character that has only one fixed image, right?}


    Director Pharrell and Ian agreed. The two judges were satisfied with Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s acting and appearance. Meanwhile, Daniel and Lina were sticking with their stubborn ways, and were simply frustrated and annoyed.


    If they had nitpicked on Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s performance, the other judges would have suspected they had ulterior motives, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Since it was a hill they were willing to die on, it made it harder to get through to them.


    {I have no complaints about Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s acting. I acknowledge he¡¯s a great actor who captivates anyone the moment they lay eyes on him, but isn¡¯t Confession of White a film that represents America? Throwing the symbolism away undermines the work. But since our actors have a lot of shortcomings, Edwin is our best option.}


    {Objectively speaking, I¡¯m well-aware that Choi Woo-Jin is better looking. But image is important. Lloyd as an Asian? I¡¯ve never once thought of him as an Asian man! And i¡¯m not the only one who thinks this way.}


    The opinions of the readers who supported the hypothesis of Lloyd being Asian weren¡¯t important. In any case, that was merely one of the many hypotheses out there, and many people, including Lena Owen, had naturally assumed that Lloyd was White.


    {After seeing Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s performance, I can¡¯t imagine any one else as Lloyd, though?}


    {It¡¯s the same for me. When I watched his performance, I thought about how I¡¯d like to work with him as well. Why can¡¯t you consider things for the greater good of the film, instead of obstinately sticking to your own views? I love Confession of White more than anyone else, and in my opinion, there isn¡¯t an actor as good as Choi Woo-Jin for Lloyd¡¯s part.}


    Strangely enough, a tense confrontation ensued between the two pairs of judges over their difference in opinions. Even though they gave the actors a score when they were evaluating them earlier, after watching the final candidate¡¯s performance, the scores were rendered meaningless.


    Even Daniel and Lina had given Woo-Jin the highest score. He was no longer an actor who was graded and ranked. The two judges merely had their own outrageous criteria and insisted on eliminating Choi Woo-Jin, while pushing for Edwin to be selected as he was the best among the remaining actors.


    {What are your thoughts on this, sir?}


    Director Pharrell suddenly asked Ilya for his opinion. They had momentarily forgotten about his existence because he had been so quiet. In this intense two versus two situation, Ilya could end this tedious debate if he took either side.


    As a director, his desire to work with Choi Woo-Jin was stronger than anything else. But he had also prepared himself to accept the outcome if Ilya were to pick Edwin. This was how much he valued the opinion of the author he respected.


    Since the other judges felt the same way, all four of them shifted their gaze to Ilya together. They were hoping that Ilya would share the same opinion as them, but even if it wasn¡¯t the case, they were able to accept Ilya Turner¡¯s decision and give up because the decision came from him.


    Ilya had been silently listening to the judges¡¯ arguments. As soon as all their eyes were focused on him, Ilya tapped on the table with his fingers without saying a single word. The judges were frustrated by his slow actions, but at the same time, they were looking eagerly at him as though he was their one and only savior who could solve their current predicament.


    {If you really want my opinion, the actor I choose is Choi Woo-Jin.}


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s words, two of the judges smiled, while the other two looked like they were about to break down.


    {But I think the other two judges¡¯ opinions are also valid. People¡¯s expectations and the symbolism of Confession of White cannot be disregarded.}


    This time around, the reactions were reversed ¨C¨C the smiling and contorted faces were switched around. Ilya didn¡¯t pay any attention to their reactions; he calmly continued saying what he wanted to say.


    {Hence, my suggestion to all of you is to hold a final round of auditions and pit Choi Woo-Jin against Edwin Rucker, while dressing them as Lloyd.}


    Ilya paused for a moment and looked at the judges. His gaze fell upon Ian last; it was colder than usual, but his voice remained calm and soft.


    {Mr. Essery becomes Albert and acts alongside each of them. If appearance is that important, we have to see who resembles Lloyd the most. And more importantly, wouldn¡¯t it be important to see how they act together with Mr. Essery as well?}


    While acting was important, if they didn¡¯t emit Lloyd¡¯s aura even after applying makeup, it would naturally be the reason for eliminating them. It was a suggestion that couldn¡¯t be said to be unfair to anyone until they were dressed as Lloyd.


    Even though the way the final round of auditions would be conducted didn¡¯t mean much for Daniel as he was someone who valued nationality, it sounded tempting to Lina. By dressing Choi Woo-Jin and Edwin up as Lloyd and comparing them, she would be able to clearly appeal to them what she had been asserting the entire time. Lina was very much in favor of it; after giving her approval, Daniel ultimately agreed.


    They couldn¡¯t change their nationality anyway. Since it was impossible for him to fight for an American actor whose acting skills were lacking, it was better to do everything to ensure they would pick the best out of the two actors. Daniel felt that if Edwin were suited to play Lloyd, it would shake off his remaining hesitations. Pharrell and Ian also agreed, and with that, the final round of auditions had been decided.


    ***


    Woo-Jin fulfilled all his friends¡¯ wishes when he advanced to the final round with Edwin Rucker. Since there were only two men standing in the final round, it naturally meant that he had beaten Tenno Terua and Christopher Eggers. But Woo-Jin had no time to concern himself with that since the final round of auditions was scheduled on the very next day.


    Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young didn¡¯t mess with Woo-Jin¡¯s state of mind by not informing him about the reactions of the general public back home. Everyone was happy and cheering him on, as though they themselves were the ones advancing. But even that could be burdensome to Woo-Jin. In particular, the people who were rooting for Tenno Terua had even higher expectations of Woo-Jin.


    It had been a very long night for the candidates, their fans, and the judges. Dressing as Lloyd was the most important part of the final audition. Thus, the makeup wasn¡¯t done by the actors themselves, but by a special makeup team hired by the production crew.


    Since they had already concluded their discussions with regards to Lloyd¡¯s makeup, the team proceeded without any hesitation despite the sudden unforeseen situation. And to ensure fairness, Woo-Jin and Edwin were dressed as Lloyd in the same fashion as much as possible. Because of that, they had to sit next to each other in the same place to get their makeup done.


    Since they had to be in the same room for several hours, Woo-Jin greeted Edwin first. Edwin returned the greeting with a simple nod and an expressionless face. Even though it was rude, it didn¡¯t feel like he was disregarding or discriminating against him, unlike what Christopher did. Edwin was a cold person who had no interest in others to begin with, so he seemed to regard being acquainted with a fellow competitor as a useless waste of energy.


    Shortly after, Woo-Jin stopped paying any attention to him too. The ambience might be awkward, but that was the most comfortable way for them to be around each other. The makeup artists were the only ones busy moving around the silent actors.


    The actor who would be playing Lloyd would be bleaching their hair and dyeing it white when they had to shoot the movie. But since it was just an audition today, the makeup artists used a one-time color wax and spray to make their hair white. Their faces and visible skin were also painted with white cream and powder before being fixed in place with a setting spray.


    If they were to simply paint the entire face white, it would be hard to distinguish their facial features, so their faces would look very flat. Thus, the makeup artists prevented it from happening by using shading techniques.


    After they were done with the makeup, the two actors wore red contact lenses, as well as the outfits that were prepared by Midas Agency. Both of them wore suits to the audition the day before, but now, they were wearing the exact same pair of old and shabby jeans, coupled with a stylish T-shirt. They looked just like twins, but their personalities were distinctly different.


    {I feel like I know what the outcome is going to be, even before watching their performances.}


    One of the makeup artists muttered softly as they watched the two actors head towards the audition venue.


    {Shall we bet on it?}


    After hearing someone¡¯s suggestion, the makeup team became excited and made a betting book. However, no bets were made that day.


    ***


    Once again, Ilya and Selena were watching the auditions on a monitor in a separate location.


    {Wouldn¡¯t watching the auditions in person allow you to make a more accurate judgment?}


    Thanks to Ilya, Selena was able to watch the judging process in real time, even though she wasn¡¯t a judge. It was good for her, but she thought that watching the actors¡¯ performance in person would help Ilya make a more accurate judgment.


    As Ilya didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for the actors who auditioned yesterday, he had a reason to judge from a separate location. There were only two candidates left, and if they had a mental breakdown because they were too conscious of Ilya¡¯s presence, that would be an even bigger problem.


    {Unless it¡¯s a play, what you see on the screen is more important than anything else. I¡¯m trying to judge that aspect. Besides, even if I sit there, it¡¯s the same if I¡¯m monitoring their faces from an angle where I can¡¯t see.}


    In any case, the audience would be watching the edited footage that was filmed using the cameras. In the event their faces and acting looked different in real life and on screen, the latter was more important to a movie star.


    At first, what Ilya said made sense. But to Selena, who had witnessed him crying the day before, it sounded like an excuse. It was only for a very brief moment ¨C¨C he quickly regained his composure and wiped his tears, so it was a scene that seemed like an illusion, making Selena question if it really happened.


    She thought it was fortunate that the other people didn¡¯t get to see that, and she also wanted to know what triggered Ilya¡¯s emotions. But it was probably someone else¡¯s job to figure that out. Most importantly, the energy she felt from him today was clear and peaceful. Selena welcomed this positive change, as it was her first time seeing him like this.


    {Unfortunately, it seems like Choi Woo-Jin looks worse on screen as compared to real life. Isn¡¯t it disappointing?}


    {Nothing can be done about it because it¡¯s his destiny. We¡¯re not just judging Choi Woo-Jin alone today.}


    Selena had a meaningful look on her face after hearing Ilya¡¯s normal response.


    {Indeed, Rucker¡¯s fate today depends on how much better he looks on screen as compared to Choi Woo-Jin, who looks worse on screen compared to real life.}


    All the judges were focused on whether or not Edwin Rucker would outshine Choi Woo-Jin in any aspects during today¡¯s audition. Whether Daniel and Lina could win the other judges over also depended on how well Edwin fared today.


    {Oh, it¡¯s starting now.}


    The moment Ilya spoke, Choi Woo-Jin and Edwin Rucker entered the audition hall, both dressed as Lloyd.


    Favorite

 CH 231

    Director Pharrell grinned when he saw the two Lloyds entering the audition hall. There was no need to ask any questions ¨C¨C he had already come to a conclusion. However, he tried his best to maintain his composure and spoke casually.


    {Have you taken a good look at the script today?}


    With a slight smile on his face, Director Pharrell talked about the script that had been given to Woo-Jin and Edwin while they were getting their makeup done. He was also curious about the actors¡¯ reactions to what happened the day before.


    However, both of them had a blank look on their faces as they responded with a simple ¡®yes¡¯ to his question. Pharrell was slightly disappointed - their reaction seemed to suggest it didn¡¯t matter to them whether they were judged based on the script or improvisation like yesterday.


    {Today, we¡¯ll be judging based on the scripts that were distributed earlier. However, Ian will be acting alongside you as Albert, so it won¡¯t be a one-man performance.}


    Woo-Jin and Edwin didn¡¯t care how they conducted the auditions, but it seemed like they weren¡¯t expecting Ian to act with them because for the first time, they showed a proper reaction. Both of them were slightly excited about acting alongside Ian. Even if they were to fail the audition today, the fact that they have experience acting with Ian would be a great asset to them.


    {We will now decide on the order.}


    There were only two candidates, so the order was quickly decided via a simple game of rock paper scissors. Woo-Jin threw out ¡®scissors¡¯ while Edwin threw out ¡®paper¡¯, thus beating him. Up until now, Woo-Jin had been the last to perform during the auditions, but this time, in the final round, he was first.


    Naturally, Edwin was second. He went to sit in a chair that was placed near the judges. He had given off a cold and solemn aura to begin with and dressing him as Lloyd only made that aura stronger. Even when he wasn¡¯t doing anything, it felt as though his body was exuding cold air.


    There was nothing awkward about him sitting next to the judges, given the current circumstances. Before the audition commenced, the production team had asked Woo-Jin and Edwin if they would like to watch the other person¡¯s performance. It gave them the opportunity to watch their opponent¡¯s performance so they wouldn¡¯t have any doubts about the outcome. And naturally, Woo-Jin and Edwin wanted to watch each other¡¯s performances.


    Dressed as Albert, Ian sat on a chair, showing his side profile to the judges. There was a horrendous painting reminiscent of hell in front of him. Woo-Jin stood between Albert and the painting, facing the judges. He tapped on the floor with the tip of his shoe. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t maintain his balance properly, so he was standing there unsteadily. His performance started the moment he opened his mouth.


    ***


    {What do you think?}


    Even while Lloyd was looking at the floor with his head lowered, he glanced at Albert¡¯s facial expression. Like a child who was showing his parent a report card with bad grades, Lloyd seemed anxious, but he still had a mischievous look in his eyes. He looked so adorable that he looked younger than his actual age.


    {Even though I can¡¯t see it, I always get good vibes from your paintings, so it puts me in a good mood.}


    Albert stretched out his right hand and gestured as though he was caressing the painting that was out of reach. Seeing how Albert looked proud and happy, Lloyd made a face that was difficult to describe. Hearing the compliment made him happy, but Albert¡¯s words felt empty at the same time. Lloyd¡¯s lips wobble as though he was about to cry at any given moment. He then turned his head around and muttered.


    {You¡¯re lying.}


    It seemed as though Albert had heard what he said; he responded earnestly.


    {I didn¡¯t entirely lose my sight. I can see a little here and there.}


    Albert lifted his head and moved his face around looking for the direction of the light. Even then, he could only see a little light. It wasn¡¯t a miracle where he could make out the shapes of objects.


    {What did you draw this time around?}


    {The sea ¨C¨C fish swimming in the blue sea with rolling waves, and birds flying in the sky. It looks so peaceful that it looks like your boring everyday landscape.}


    Lloyd described the corpses rolling around in the sea of blood, and crows flying above them as the image of a peaceful sea.


    {I can tell it¡¯s beautiful just by imagining it. You must have felt at peace, right?}


    After hearing Albert¡¯s words, Lloyd took a brief look at his painting. The painting was entirely painted in red; it was painted with the color stolen from the blood of his models. Out of all the colors a human possessed, Lloyd liked the red color from blood the most. This was because it had a wide range of shades, ranging from clear and transparent shades of red, to dark red and murky black.


    Their souls were trapped in the bodies floating within the red sea, clamoring for help ¨C¨C a noise that could only be heard by Lloyd. It was so noisy that Lloyd looked annoyed for a moment.


    {No. I painted it because I wanted to find peace.}


    However, unlike his facial expression, Lloyd¡¯s voice was calm and gentle. Having lived with Albert, he learned how to hide his feelings even while expressing them freely.


    {The world is too noisy.}


    The cries of the souls were still audible, so Lloyd covered his ears with both hands. Even though Albert couldn¡¯t see the painting, he could instantly sense Lloyd¡¯s uneasiness via his small action.


    {Are your eyes hurting? You¡¯re wearing sunglasses, right?}


    It seemed as though Albert had mistaken his act of covering his ears for him touching his eyes. Albinos tended to have poor eyesight, so they could easily go blind if they were careless. Thus, they had to take extra care of their eyes. Fortunately, Lloyd had good eyesight, but it was better to be safe than sorry, so Albert always nagged and prepared a pair of sunglasses for him.


    {If I paint while wearing sunglasses, the colors will turn out weird.}


    {Even if you don¡¯t wear them while painting, you have to keep them on at other times. By the way, did you hurt yourself? Why do you smell like blood?}


    As Lloyd was absentmindedly covering his ears, he flinched and lifted his arm to sniff it. Even then, the only thing he could smell was the strong smell of oil paint.


    In truth, Lloyd had gotten so used to the stench of blood that no matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t distinguish the smell of paint and blood. If he did indeed smell like blood, it might have been because of the painting he had completed the night before.


    Lloyd got down on one knee before Albert and looked up to his father. The gentleman was usually indifferent and only concerned himself with paintings, but he was very sensitive and quick-witted at times. His unwelcomed concern during troubled times always made Lloyd tremble with anxiety.


    {Yes, I hurt myself. I bled a lot yesterday because I hurt myself, but I guess I¡¯m still bleeding.}


    Lloyd examined Albert¡¯s face; his eyes were shrouded in fear that his father might have noticed something. At the same time, he looked at Albert with a sharp gaze, on the off chance the latter might have sensed something amiss.


    The murderer that was as fragile as a butterfly was trembling with anxiety, but his eyes were burning brightly, unable to hide his cruel nature. Unless Albert was really blind, anyone who looked into with the eyes of a murderer thoroughly examining them would be stricken with fear.


    {Hang on!}


    Ian couldn¡¯t tolerate Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze any longer and jumped out of his seat. Even though he had continued to act as a blind man who couldn¡¯t see in front of him and sat still with an unfocused gaze, it didn¡¯t mean he really blind. He could still see, after all, he was just pretending to be blind. Although he forcefully blurred his vision, he couldn¡¯t avoid Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze when it was staring right into his eyes. And it felt as though his gaze was piercing through his soul, so Ian was so scared that he stopped breathing.


    {I¡¯m sorry. I feel suffocated all of a sudden¡­}


    Ian couldn¡¯t possibly tell everyone that he avoided Woo-Jin¡¯s gaze because he was scared. He kept hitting his chest that was perfectly fine.


    {Are you okay? Should I pat you on the back?}


    As soon as Woo-Jin approached Ian to pat him on the back out of concern, Ian flinched and backed away. He continued opening and clenching his fist to hide that it was trembling, but seeing how his entire body was shaking, it was pointless.


    The other people should have been startled by Ian¡¯s abnormal behavior, but they just looked at Ian and Woo-Jin quietly. Edwin and the other judges completely understood how Ian felt since they were a few meters away from Woo-Jin and yet their bodies had stiffened up because of his acting.


    Even though Lloyd¡¯s voice was infinitely submissive and fragile, his eyes and face were filled with madness and cruelty that couldn¡¯t be described. As such, the weight of Lloyd¡¯s gloomy emotions came onto him very strongly.


    It wasn¡¯t just cold or cruel. While he was exuding a rational and intellectual aura, he revealed Lloyd¡¯s anxiety and weakness while expressing his wild emotions, without any filter, with just one glance. It seemed as though one would know how pitiful yet terrifying an unstable person could be just by looking at him.


    ***


    {His acting isn¡¯t that great.}


    Ilya looked at the flustered Ian and mocked his acting skills. He was unhappy that Ian abruptly stood up in the midst of acting, thereby ruining Woo-Jin¡¯s audition, but Ian seemed to have backed off because of his inability to keep up with Woo-Jin due to his poor acting skills.


    {I don¡¯t think it has anything to do with poor acting skills. I think it was inevitable because Mr. Essery¡¯s eyes are fine in real life. Regardless of how much he tries to act like a blind man, he can¡¯t help the fact that he¡¯s not actually blind.}


    However, Selena disagreed with Ilya. Ian Essery was an actor who had won the Best Actor Award at Cannes, as well as the Oscars. Rather than saying he was swept away by Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s acting and was unable to handle it, Selena viewed it as Ian feeling terrified by what he had seen. Any ordinary person couldn¡¯t help but react in such a manner.


    Even though viewing the footage on the monitor was slightly less impactful, Selena¡¯s body shivered as though it was submerged in the winter sea. Even though she was used to her father¡¯s intimidating stares, Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes at that moment were too much for Selena to handle.


    Although Giorgio was a caring father, he was essentially at the top of the food chain. Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd was similar to her father; he had the eyes of another predator ¨C¨C they were the eyes of a crazy beast, and it reminded her of the eyes of a lion that was trapped within a cage she saw in the zoo once.


    The oppressed lion was locked up in a cage and had suppressed his instincts. All that was left was its ferocity, and its status as the king of the jungle was nowhere to be seen. Longing for affection, the lion¡¯s eyes that were fixated on its keeper were tragic, with its cruel nature hidden within them.


    Selena had unintentionally looked straight into those eyes and had nightmares for several days after. Thus, she understood how Ian felt.


    {But as an actor, you have to overcome that. Saying he can¡¯t help what he sees because he¡¯s just acting as a blind person is nothing but an excuse.}


    {Pretending to be blind is just acting. If Choi Woo-Jin were in his shoes, it wouldn¡¯t be any different anyway.}


    {In that case, shall we make a bet?}


    {Make a bet?}


    {If Choi Woo-Jin reacts in the same way Ian did when roles are reversed, then what you said is true.}


    The crux was whether or not Ian could recreate the same look Choi Woo-Jin had in his eyes. If he couldn¡¯t do that, it would mean that his acting skills were lacking. However, Ilya felt that an actor as successful as him would be able to closely mimic Choi Woo-Jin. Regardless of how much he hated Ian, Ilya knew how good he was at acting.


    {He¡¯s an actor who¡¯s capable enough to closely mimic another person¡¯s acting after seeing it once.}


    It was uncertain whether it was a compliment or mockery; Ilya looked at Selena as though he was insinuating something. Selena hesitated for a moment. Ilya smiled slightly as she briefly pondered over what the bet could mean.


    {There¡¯s no need to read too much into it. I¡¯m only suggesting it because it seems fun.}


    {What do you want to bet on?}


    However, Selena couldn¡¯t take anything involving Ilya lightly. Ilya¡¯s thoughts were always complicated and nothing was ever easy with him. She had to know if this bet was an adventure to throw Choi Woo-Jin another curveball, or if Ilya wanted to get something from her via this bet.


    {If you win, I¡¯ll give you the password to that place.}


    Ilya bet something unexpected after pondering for a moment. He was referring to the password for the safe house. Selena was subconsciously surprised because she thought Ilya knew about her bet with her father with regards to the password.


    {Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? And I have nothing to bet.}


    If Ilya was betting the password to the safe house, she had to bet something equally big. But unfortunately, Selena didn¡¯t have anything like that. Ilya didn¡¯t want money, and neither did he covet fame or power.


    However, Ilya felt the same way.


    {There¡¯s nothing worth betting between us, but you¡¯ve always been curious about the password to that place. If I have to reveal it someday, I¡¯d rather tell you the password than your father. Instead, if you lose, you have to buy me a delicious meal.}


    He couldn¡¯t keep the password a secret forever. It was a pity nobody currently had access to the place, and Ilya didn¡¯t want it to be torn down by the professionals. He didn¡¯t know when that day would come, but when the day he had to reveal the password arrived, it would be his gift to Selena.


    However, the bet itself was meaningful right now. There was nothing he wanted via the bet ¨C¨C he merely wanted to make things difficult for Ian and see how good Woo-Jin¡¯s acting skills were.


    As soon as Selena nodded her head slightly, Ilya grabbed the microphone that was connected to the earpiece inside Director Pharrell¡¯s ear.


    ***


    After receiving the difficult task from Ilya and being put on the spot, Director Pharrell sighed. He wondered if Ilya wanted to torture people by creating difficult obstacles every time. Nonetheless, he reluctantly stopped Ian and Woo-Jin from proceeding with their performance.


    {This time around, let¡¯s swap the roles of both parties.}


    Ian paused after hearing the unprecedented suggestion, wondering if it was because he had made a mistake. Director Pharrell tapped on the earpiece in his ear to let him know it was Ilya¡¯s suggestion.


    {It may not be easy to convey the feelings fully because of how you¡¯re currently dressed, but please swap your roles and start over from scratch. Instead, Ian, please reenact Choi¡¯s acting earlier on.}


    Director Pharrell didn¡¯t say anything else to Woo-Jin. In other words, he meant to tell him to show them his own acting, regardless of what the role was, and that regardless of the role he played, he would ultimately be judged on that, and just because the role had changed, it shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly.


    Dressed as Lloyd, Woo-Jin momentarily adjusted his white hair while looking at Ian. Looking at the strands of gray hair among his black hair, as well as his wrinkled face, it seemed a little hard to think of Ian as Lloyd. The same applied to Ian, so when their gazes met, they laughed awkwardly.


    However, the two actors soon sorted out their emotions and started acting again in their new roles.

 CH 232

    {What do you think?}


    Ian demonstrated Woo-Jin¡¯s earlier acting exactly the way it was. Even though he was dressed as Albert, it wasn¡¯t awkward at all ¨C¨C it felt as though he was Lloyd himself. Thus, Woo-Jin, who was now portraying Albert, continued reciting his lines smoothly.


    {Even though I can¡¯t see it, I always get good vibes from your paintings, so it puts me in a good mood.}


    Woo-Jin was sitting on a chair, looking in the direction of the painting. His gaze was focused on one place for a while before shifting to other places in the next moment. Nobody could tell what those eyes were looking at; it looked as though he was cross-eyed, and his pupils were empty and hollow.


    Whenever Ian recited Lloyd¡¯s lines, Woo-Jin would move and stretch his head towards him and pivot his ear to hear him a little better.


    {Even if you don¡¯t wear them while painting, you have to keep them on at other times. By the way, did you hurt yourself? Why do you smell like blood?}


    Rather than asking out of concern, Woo-Jin pressed for an answer. He reached his hand out and felt around Ian¡¯s face.


    {Yes, I hurt myself. I bled a lot yesterday because I hurt myself, but I guess I¡¯m still bleeding.}


    Ian reenacted the exact look on Woo-Jin¡¯s face earlier, which frightened him. Imitating someone else¡¯s acting didn¡¯t make him feel humiliated. In fact, if he weren¡¯t able to accomplish that, he wasn¡¯t worthy of being an actor, and that pride itself was dominating him. He was mad at himself for being afraid of Woo-Jin, and that anger was also currently helping him portray Lloyd.


    Because of that, the hearts of other people watching him sank. His acting was certainly not as good as Woo-Jin¡¯s, but it was good enough to create a strong impact. No matter how many times they had watched this scene, they couldn¡¯t get used to it.


    However, Woo-Jin was calm in the face of Ian¡¯s terrifying look. No, he was fired up with a slightly different emotion.


    {You didn¡¯t hurt your hand by any chance, did you?}


    Woo-Jin cupped his hands around Ian¡¯s face; he was feeling worried, wondering if he had hurt his hand.


    Lloyd was angry with his father for only being concerned about his hands instead of wondering where and how he got hurt and how serious his injuries were. He crankily shoved Albert¡¯s hands aside and got up.


    Lloyd turned his back on Albert while the latter reached out his hand towards him. Albert was at a loss. He spread out his fingers and then cowered repeatedly. He then lifted his hand with an expressionless face. While staring blankly in front of him, several emotions flashed across Albert¡¯s face momentarily.


    It was the face of a flustered foolish adult who didn¡¯t know what to do because he was overwhelmed with grief over his incompetence and concern for his son. However, he soon had a firmer look on his face. It was a tangible change that stemmed from the hope that his son would become a strong person instead of a weak person like himself.


    Woo-Jin portrayed Albert¡¯s feelings according to his interpretation without saying a single line and only using gestures and facial expressions. He didn¡¯t look anything like the lunatic killer he portrayed earlier on ¨C¨C he was just an old and miserable middle-aged man who made the foolish choice of putting up a wall between him and his son because of his pitiful fatherly love.


    ***


    {Thank you very much. Next, Edwin Rucker. Please get ready.}


    Director Pharrell announced the end of Woo-Jin¡¯s audition. However, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t act out the entire script because of Ian, so he felt it was a shame that it ended like this. He came to audition as Lloyd but only portrayed Albert until the end. Hence, Woo-Jin looked back at Director Pharrell and asked.


    {What about the unfinished portion of Lloyd¡¯s part? I¡¯d like to finish acting out the rest.}


    {That¡¯s fine.}


    Director Pharrell smiled at Woo-Jin and responded that what he did was sufficient. He wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that way; as soon as the other judges also gave a slight nod, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t insist any further and had to back down. He sat down on the chair Edwin was sitting on earlier, feeling rather unpleasant.


    The awkwardness disappeared as soon as Edwin started acting. Since people usually had high praises for Edwin¡¯s acting, this was an excellent opportunity for Woo-Jin to see what his acting was like for himself.


    A few minutes after Woo-Jin waited in anticipation for Edwin to portray a different version of Lloyd, his face became distorted. Edwin Rucker often portrayed intellectual characters because of his cold aura, but he had been an actor with very diverse acting skills since his early years as an actor. Woo-Jin had high expectations as he didn¡¯t know how he would portray Lloyd.


    However, Edwin¡¯s current version of Lloyd was extremely familiar. It was similar to the Lloyd Woo-Jin portrayed earlier. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same as Ian¡¯s, but the acting style was strangely similar.


    {Wait a minute! I¡¯d like a do-over.}


    Perhaps Edwin felt it too ¨C¨C he raised his hand abruptly halfway through acting and requested a do-over.


    {What do you think?}


    Edwin started acting again, and his own version of Lloyd could be seen at a glance this time around. His Lloyd wasn¡¯t as adorable as Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd at the beginning of his performance, but Edwin displayed his charm, which was the cold aura that was unique to him.


    However, it only lasted for a short moment. At some point, Edwin started imitating Woo-Jin¡¯s acting again. Worst of all, he was well aware of his acting. Thus, he couldn¡¯t tolerate it every time he recited a line and couldn¡¯t move on to the next line smoothly.


    {Damn it!}


    Edwin couldn¡¯t finish reciting his lines; he got up from his seat and tousled his hair with both hands. Coincidently, it was the same part Ian had stopped at earlier. However, he couldn¡¯t continue acting for an entirely different reason.


    {I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t go any further.}


    Edwin¡¯s perpetually cold face was covered in sweat. As a result, his face was already dirty because his makeup smudged everywhere. His contorted face was on the verge of tears at any moment, so none of the judges were mad at him. They knew that the person who was currently having the hardest time here was none other than Edwin himself.


    As an actor, it was difficult for Edwin to continue putting up with himself for imitating Woo-Jin¡¯s acting, so he apologized to the judges before leaving the audition hall. Whether it was because he had a hard-nosed personality, just like the rumors said, or he couldn¡¯t tolerate being here any longer because he felt embarrassed, it was a matter no one else could fathom but himself.


    {Uh¡­ uh!}


    Lina Owen was the most aggressive of all the judges when supporting Edwin. She stuttered in embarrassment, but she didn¡¯t try to stop him from leaving either. The judges were not upset by his insolent behavior of quitting the audition halfway and leaving. Instead, it was a situation where they had to be worried about Edwin.


    Nobody could speak easily. Edwin just had to watch Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd twice, including the one portrayed by Ian. Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was so intense that it still lingered in his head, and he watched Ian¡¯s performance right after Woo-Jin¡¯s, so it was hard for him to act properly.


    But that didn¡¯t mean he was in a position to blame anyone. Perhaps, even if Edwin didn¡¯t watch Ian¡¯s performance, he would have still found it hard to portray other versions of Lloyd as his mind was occupied with Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd. While it was a shame that things would¡¯ve been better had Edwin acted first, it was unlikely that the outcome would¡¯ve changed significantly.


    Director Pharrell tried his best to maintain his composure and spoke to Woo-Jin.


    {We have no other choice but to end the auditions here. We¡¯ll inform you of the results afterward via your agency.}


    Since they had conducted an interview yesterday, they didn¡¯t conduct another one today. Even if they did, it was pointless as they¡¯d be interviewing Woo-Jin alone since Edwin left. As the situation took a strange turn, Woo-Jin had no choice but to leave the audition hall without saying a word.


    ¡°This is so unsettling¡­.¡±


    Seeing another candidate leave halfway was never a pleasant thing. Woo-Jin was looking forward to receiving the results after following every step of the process and competing fairly. This felt somewhat empty.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I have an absolute advantage over him, so I can¡¯t celebrate yet.¡±


    Just because Edwin didn¡¯t finish his audition, it didn¡¯t mean that Woo-Jin was confident he had the upper hand. Woo-Jin was well-aware that auditions weren¡¯t always fair.


    Judging from what happened with Park Min and Do-Ya at the audition, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t think it was an issue unique to Korea. Regardless of how fair they tried to judge the actors, the judges were still human beings after all, so personal reasons and standards played a huge role in affecting their judgment. Thus, it was hard to guarantee the results with just one¡¯s performance alone.


    More importantly, if there were other criteria apart from acting skills, the judges had enough reasons to fail him. Woo-Jin already knew what the criteria were after watching two of the judges¡¯ interviews. He shook his head because there was nothing he could do about it. He just wanted to rest today without thinking about anything.


    {Is it over? What would you like to do about the makeup? If you¡¯d like to remove it, you may head towards the waiting room. If you¡¯d like to leave immediately, you may head straight to your accommodation without going anywhere else.}


    As soon as Woo-Jin left the audition hall, two employees waiting for him pointed to the two doors and explained.


    The door leading to the waiting room was on one side ¨C¨C he had to head there if he wanted to remove his makeup. And on the other side was the door leading to the passageway, where actors that had completed their auditions used to exit. The front door was used by the judges and staff members, as well as people from Midas Agency, so many people were using it. The door at the back only had an emergency exit and elevators along the long passageway.


    Thus, if he wanted to leave the venue without removing his makeup, it was recommended for him to go directly to the underground parking lot via the back door. Lloyd¡¯s makeup wasn¡¯t a secret, but it was good to avoid any media exposure in advance.


    Woo-Jin chose the latter because he wanted to take a bath first instead of removing his makeup. Even if he were to remove his makeup here, he didn¡¯t have the proper tools with him, so all he could do was wash his face. Instead of being surrounded by people and removing his makeup in a slipshod manner, he¡¯d rather use the time to get back to his accommodation as quickly as possible.


    {In that case, we¡¯ll tell your staff members to wait for you in the underground parking lot instead. And here¡¯s a hat.}


    As though they had already known Woo-Jin¡¯s answer, the employee spoke eloquently and even handed him a hat they had prepared in advance. Woo-Jin left via the back door, wearing a hat to cover his hair and eyes to a certain extent ¨C¨C even though it wasn¡¯t a perfect disguise.


    As he waited for the elevator to go down from a higher floor, he suddenly heard a strange sound.


    *Sobbing sounds.*


    Woo-Jin looked around after hearing the intermittent sounds of someone sobbing and realized they were coming from behind the emergency exit door. However, he didn¡¯t intend to head in that direction or open the door as he could guess who the person on the other side of the door was.


    As soon as he heard the sound of the elevator, the sobbing sounds from within the emergency exit stopped abruptly. Watching the doors of the elevator opening, Woo-Jin¡¯s heart grew heavy as well because he understood how Edwin felt ¨C¨C he couldn¡¯t bring himself to cry in front of the staff members waiting downstairs, so he hid there and cried instead.


    In Edwin¡¯s case, he wasn¡¯t bothered about whether or not he would fail the audition. Just like how there were roles suited for him and others that didn¡¯t, he couldn¡¯t always be good at acting. If it was just a bad day, he would merely feel sad about not having luck on his side, and that would have been it, but imitating someone else¡¯s acting was simply horrendous because there was no justification for it.


    Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t conceited by the fact that he was the reason behind Edwin¡¯s predicament; he was simply thankful he wasn¡¯t the one crying over there.


    Woo-Jin looked at Ian and realized how circumstances could change at any given moment within this industry. Today, he wasn¡¯t the actor Woo-Jin looked up to and liked. Woo-Jin might or might not have been expecting too much, but Ian¡¯s acting was dry and disappointing. It felt as though he was looking at a clock that had stopped.


    It was a world where you¡¯d fall behind and be overshadowed by others if you did nothing and remained the same. It was a providence that even Ian, who had stopped progressing at a certain point, couldn¡¯t avoid. But, regardless of how the results would turn out to be, it was only the beginning ¨C¨C not the end.


    ***


    As soon as the judges reconvened after the auditions ended, Daniel and Lina¡¯s mixed feelings were written all over their faces. That was because they could no longer insist on casting only White Americans. From the moment Choi Woo-Jin and Edwin Rucker entered the audition hall for the first time, their hearts had already wavered.


    Edwin clearly had the image that was more in line with Lloyd¡¯s without makeup. He had pale skin and blonde hair that was close to silver, as well as a cold and smart-looking face. Lina argued that he could instantly turn into Lloyd with just a few tweaks here and there because of his cold appearance. It was initially convincing.


    However, as soon as they saw the two actors standing side by side in the same clothes and makeup, the judges¡¯ gazes were drawn to Choi Woo-Jin. Edwin looked like someone dressed as an albino with white skin, white hair, and red eyes, while Choi Woo-Jin looked natural, like an actual albino. His hollow and mysterious image made him look beautiful.


    The fragility emanating from his skinny body was reminiscent of Lloyd even when he was standing still. They couldn¡¯t take their eyes off him. They had a feeling that if they were to shoot the movie with him looking like that, it would look perfect with just his looks alone.


    {It¡¯s now time to come to a conclusion.}


    Ian nodded after hearing what Pharrell said. He was the first one to speak, albeit with much difficulty.


    {My opinion has not changed  ¨C¨C I still think there¡¯s no better actor than Choi. In fact, it seems like the problem lies with me instead. When I imagine myself acting alongside him, I look forward to it, but I feel afraid too. Would I be able to handle him?}


    Ian had lost his confidence. After hearing his words, aside from Ilya, everyone looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Because they had swapped roles, Choi Woo-Jin showed everyone that he did a better job than Ian when portraying the blind Albert. Ian¡¯s concerns were valid ¨C¨C he wasn''t just grumbling.


    {Other actors would be worse than Ian at handling him. Instead, it would be more convenient if someone else played Lloyd instead of Choi.}


    {Absolutely not!}


    Pharrell built up Ian¡¯s self-esteem and paid lip service to keep him around. However, Daniel seemed to have misconstrued it as letting Choi Woo-Jin go and casting another actor in his place ¨C¨C he sprung to his feet and protested agitatedly. Daniel, of all people, reacted in such a manner, so everybody looked up at him in bewilderment.


    It seemed like Daniel realized what he said only after his outburst; he blinked for a moment before smiling awkwardly and muttering an excuse.


    {It¡¯s all about acting skills when it comes to actors.}


    When Woo-Jin portrayed Lloyd the day before, it was bearable to some extent. However, after dressing up as Lloyd, he was pretty much like the real deal. He checked all the boxes ¨C¨C from his looks to his acting. He couldn¡¯t object to casting him just because he wasn¡¯t an American.


    Just imagining Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s version of Lloyd alone had already made his heart tremble with exhilaration. Thinking about casting another actor for that role was enough to annoy him. He loved Confession of White so much that Choi Woo-Jin had to be cast as Lloyd to shoot a perfect film.


    {I approve of Choi Woo-Jin as well.}


    After Daniel expressed his thoughts, Lina acknowledged Woo-Jin with much difficulty. Even though she didn¡¯t expect Edwin to break down during his performance, she had never expected Choi Woo-Jin to overshadow Edwin in terms of his appearance after they both dressed up as Lloyd.


    To be precise, it wasn¡¯t that Edwin was not a good fit for Lloyd ¨C¨C he merely paled in comparison to Choi Woo-Jin. As such, Choi Woo-Jin was better than him in every aspect; he was perfect.


    {He looked great dressed as Lloyd, and we¡¯ve all acknowledged his remarkable acting skills yesterday, but he only looks like Lloyd because of the makeup.}


    {You¡¯re wrong.}


    Ilya had been silent the entire time. He broke the silence by refuting Lina¡¯s comments.


    {It wasn¡¯t because of the makeup ¨C¨C he was already Lloyd from the moment he stepped into the audition hall.}


    {Isn¡¯t that the same thing?}


    She thought Woo-Jin looked like Lloyd as soon as he stepped into the audition hall because the makeup was done right.


    {From the way he walked to his facial expressions ¨C¨C Choi Woo-Jin was completely different from his usual self today. Rucker merely entered the audition hall dressed as Lloyd, while Choi Woo-Jin had been acting as Lloyd from the moment he opened the door. Thus, unlike Rucker, who separated the character from his getup, Choi Woo-Jin naturally left an impression on us as Lloyd.}


    Since he was looking at Lloyd, he naturally regarded Woo-Jin as Lloyd. Ilya was someone who knew Lloyd the best in the entire world and knew Woo-Jin personally as well, so only he could notice the difference.


    {Isn¡¯t the attempt to win against someone who¡¯s already Lloyd a comedy in itself?}

 CH 233

    It was impossible to satisfy everyone.


    Despite knowing that, Woo-Jin became sensitive to people¡¯s reactions and felt a lot of pressure after passing the audition. It wasn¡¯t related to his self confidence, it was more like a sense of responsibility.


    And to Woo-Jin, Ilya¡¯s reaction mattered the most. Other people¡¯s opinions weren¡¯t as important as long as Ilya was satisfied.


    Fortunately, the novelist proudly congratulated Woo-Jin as though it were his own achievement and even made an unexpected suggestion.


    {I don¡¯t think it would be appropriate for me to attend.}


    Woo-Jin was invited to dinner with Ilya and Selena where she would pay for everything because she had lost the bet. However, Woo-Jin carefully declined the offer.


    {Why does it matter when I¡¯m the one inviting you? Besides, you two have met before already. We¡¯re just having a meal together, so don¡¯t feel too burdened about it.} Ilya said.


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t feel burdened. However, he wondered what the three of them could possibly talk about if they sat at the same dinner table. He felt like the atmosphere would be quite awkward.


    There were quite a few topics he could converse about with Ilya, especially topics concerning novels and literature. But he didn¡¯t have anything to talk about with Selena apart from chatting about Dustin.


    {The meat that restaurant serves is extremely tender and delicious. I¡¯ve always wanted to introduce it to you someday. I won¡¯t say anything even if your manager wants to tag along.} Ilya explained.


    {Meat¡­}


    Although Woo-Jin had gone on a diet in a hurry to prepare for the audition, it wasn¡¯t as if he wasn¡¯t eating any meat at all. He usually had his protein intake through boiled chicken breast and lean beef cuts.


    But what Woo-Jin wanted to eat the most was fatty meat. He wanted to eat sizzling pork belly or marbled beef with a thick and delicious sauce.


    Now that he passed the audition, the rushed diet was properly planned out and changed to a long-term systematic dietary control plan.


    In other words, Woo-Jin would not be able to eat fatty meat for the next few months. However, it was clear that Kang Ho-Soo would never object to Woo-Jin having a meal with Ilya, no matter how fatty the meat was.


    {Then I¡¯ll tell Selena that you¡¯ll be coming.}


    {Ah, yes¡­}


    It felt as though Ilya knew all about Woo-Jin¡¯s circumstances even though the actor had never mentioned anything about his diet. Woo-Jin could sense Ilya¡¯s thoughtfulness as though the writer wanted to use this opportunity to buy Woo-Jin something delicious.


    {Oh, and have I told you that I¡¯m so glad you were chosen to play Lloyd?} Ilya asked.


    {This is the third time now.}


    {Is that so?}


    Rather than feeling embarrassed, Ilya made a relieved expression since he was glad he hadn¡¯t forgotten to tell Woo-Jin.


    Even Woo-Jin cheered up and felt more at ease after seeing how happy Ilya was from the bottom of his heart.


    As far as he knew, Woo-Jin could easily count the number of times he had seen Ilya express his joy openly with both hands.


    The writer was always careful and poised even when he expressed his happiness. It was quite rare to see him behave like this, and this made Woo-Jin regret not spending more time with Ilya back when he was Lansky.


    Unfortunately, the two would not be able to share a lot of time together in the future either.


    Woo-Jin had to return to Korea in a few days.


    He had simply come to attend the audition. The filming schedule for the movie wasn¡¯t properly planned out yet. The producers had only finished casting Lloyd and Albert, so the other roles still had no dedicated actors.


    And most importantly, the script had not been completed.


    It was announced that L. Dm¨ªtri was writing the script for the movie himself. In fact, the author¡¯s distinct style could be felt in the script for the audition.


    Looking at the relaxed and easygoing Ilya, it appeared as though the production was progressing smoothly for now.


    But even if things continued going smoothly, they would need another few months before filming could begin so there was no reason for Woo-Jin to reside in the U.S right now.


    So there was no reason for Woo-Jin to be in the U.S. right now. He was only visitng for about a week because of the interview.


    In other words, Woo-Jin didn¡¯t have much time to spend with Ilya. Even if he returned to Los Angeles later on, he would be too busy filming the movie.


    Therefore, Woo-Jin was looking forward to having dinner with Ilya and Selena.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he would ever have another opportunity like this in the future.


    ***


    ¡°But this isn¡¯t what I was expecting¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin looked at the people in front of him and quietly grumbled in Korean. Fortunately, Selena¡ªthe only person who somewhat understood Korean¡ªhadn¡¯t heard Woo-Jin since she was distracted by the unexpected guests as well.


    {What brings you here, father?}


    Giorgio had suddenly appeared at the dinner table which was supposed to be for Ilya and Woo-Jin only. Selena had an ambiguous, half-happy yet half-perplexed look on her face.


    Unsurprisingly, Ilya frowned deeply in disgust when Giorgio appeared before them. He simply put down his fork and turned his head to the other side.


    {I came by to say hi. I was on my way out after having dinner with Amanda when the manager told me you were here. But I didn¡¯t know you were with someone so unpleasant.}


    Giorgio was happily holding a blonde woman who looked to be in her thirties by her waist, when he glanced around the table and frowned at Ilya¡¯s presence.


    He had heard that his daughter was at the restaurant as well, but hadn¡¯t heard who she was having dinner with.


    But even if he knew Ilya was here, Giorgio would still have walked over to their table confidently. Either way, nothing would have changed.


    {When did you arrive in L.A?} Selena asked.


    {Today.}


    {You¡¯ve been coming here quite often recently.}


    {Seems like it.}


    Giorgio gestured to Amanda with his chin. The reason he was coming to L.A. so often recently seemed to be because of his lover.


    He was quite the romantic, since he was coming all the way to L.A. for a date to please his girlfriend despite hating it so much here.


    {Long time no see, Selena. You look prettier every time I see you.}


    Although this was only their second time meeting each other, Amanda greeted Selena as if they had known each other for years while gracefully waving her hand.


    Amanda looked gorgeous but exuded an air of ignorance. In fact, she truly was an ignorant and naive beauty who couldn¡¯t read the room.


    Still, she wasn¡¯t stupid. As the lover of Selena¡¯s father, she enjoyed everything Giorgio had to offer, but did not cross the line or step over the limits of her position.


    She was different from Giorgio¡¯s previous girlfriends, who behaved as though they had already become the mistresses of the Consccia family.


    Thus, Selena was conflicted on whether she should be wary of Amanda or if she should act more comfortably and carefree around her.


    But in the end, it didn¡¯t change the fact that Amanda was just her father¡¯s lover. She was simply one of the many lovers Selena had met throughout the years.


    {I hope we¡¯re not disturbing you.}


    Amanda blinked her eyes innocently as she watched Ilya who had completely turned his body away, and Woo-Jin who was awkwardly sitting still.


    {I¡¯m fine, but we haven¡¯t finished eating yet, so you might be somewhat uncomfortable.}


    Selena turned her gaze to her father, secretly telling him to leave and continue his date now that he had seen his daughter.


    Giorgio had indeed come here to check on his daughter. Ilya aside, seeing how there was a third person with them, they seemed to have met up for work. So Giorgio didn¡¯t intend to bother them for too long.


    {Oh my! Are you Genie by any chance?}


    But Amanda suddenly exclaimed as she recognized Woo-Jin. She made a fuss and tugged on Giorgio¡¯s arm.


    {He played the protagonist of the movie we saw a while ago.}


    Amanda was talking about The Red.


    Giorgio wasn¡¯t really impressed by Amanda¡¯s explanation as he had already recognized the actor as soon as he saw his face. But since Woo-Jin was going to play the protagonist of the movie his daughter was investing in, Giorgio planned on treating the actor with an appropriate amount of respect.


    {I heard you passed the audition. Congratulations.}


    Giorgio discreetly glanced at Ilya while talking about the audition. It appeared as if he knew Ilya was the author of Confession of White.


    But knowing his daughter was putting her heart and soul into making the film, he behaved respectfully towards Woo-Jin despite hating the original author.


    Woo-Jin shook Giorgio¡¯s outstretched hand and casually greeted him. The only excited and cheerful person among the five people was Amanda.


    {It would be a pity to leave right away without getting his autograph. It¡¯s also been a while since you¡¯ve seen Selena, so let¡¯s chat for a bit before leaving, Darling.}


    Without giving anyone time to object, Amanda called a server and asked for two extra chairs and a piece of paper to get the actor¡¯s autograph. The server then immediately brought in two chairs from outside the room as if he had already predicted this outcome and placed them at the table.


    As soon as their seats were prepared, Amanda quickly sat down and tapped the seat next to her with a dense and ignorant expression.


    {Sit over here, Darling!}


    The two chairs were placed between Woo-Jin and Selena.


    Amanda blinked innocently and wore a charming smile as she sat next to Woo-Jin and told her boyfriend to sit next to his daughter.


    {Just take a seat.}


    Selena quickly offered the seat to her father to ease the atmosphere as Giorgio¡¯s expression was unsettling.


    The cold air Giorgio exuded as he sat down made it feel like the room¡¯s temperature had dropped by a few degrees.


    The sudden change from his gentlemanly and friendly smile to his current state was not new to the people who knew him.


    One of the reasons why Giorgio¡¯s lovers never stayed with him for long was because they couldn¡¯t handle his ever-changing temper.


    He was whimsical. He would be gentle and kind at one moment, but could change instantly if something annoyed him for even the slightest bit. Furthermore, his powerful and pressuring aura was something that ordinary people had a hard time handling.


    Although there was no way for the temperature to literally drop, it was a fact that he could cool down the surrounding air with the aura he exuded.


    But Amanda was strangely unaffected by it. She pretended not to know anything, and smiled brightly in response.


    Selena thought that Amanda would last far longer than any of her father¡¯s past girlfriends. But now, she hurriedly turned to Woo-Jin to check on him.


    Although Ilya and Giorgio had a bad relationship, they weren¡¯t uncomfortable around each other because they had known each other for a long time. They simply hated the other, but that was it.


    However, it was Woo-Jin¡¯s first time meeting Giorgio. Thus, the actor would most definitely be uncomfortable and nervous with this situation, so she planned on apologizing to him.


    But Chae Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t paying any attention to the cold aura which Giorgio was emitting just now. He simply took a pen out of his shirt pocket to sign the paper which the server had just brought in.


    {You are so much more handsome in person!}


    Selena wondered why Amanda was making such a fuss. While she agreed that Woo-Jin was good-looking, she didn¡¯t think he was that handsome. But Selena was unaware of the fact that her beauty standards were skewed as they were based around Dustin.


    As she watched Amanda closely, Selena noticed what the woman was aiming for. Making one¡¯s partner jealous was a powerful and efficient technique that transcended time and generations.


    {She¡¯s doing something futile.} Selena muttered.


    {That¡¯s part of her charm.}


    Giorgio indifferently replied to his daughter¡¯s mutters.


    Amanda seemed to have misunderstood that Giorgio was rushing to leave after meeting his daughter because he didn¡¯t want the young and handsome Chae Woo-Jin around them.


    And she had judged that Giorgio was so irritated by Amanda¡¯s tactless behavior earlier because she was showing interest in Woo-Jin.


    {What does she plan to do if you end up punishing an innocent man because of her?}


    As far as Selena knew, her father wasn¡¯t one to punish or mistreat someone out of jealousy.


    However, if such a thing were to actually happen one day, an innocent man would end up being sacrificed. If Giorgio were to actually express his jealousy, he wasn¡¯t the type to harass his adversary a tiny bit. He would go all out and ruin the man¡¯s life.


    {Someone with a conscience could never date me.}


    Giorgio made fun of his lover with a languid voice. It seemed his anger had been somewhat subdued. Although he had whispered to his daughter, it was loud enough to be heard by Amanda¡ªwho was sitting right next to him.


    Her face instantly contorted, even though she had been frivolously expressing her fangirling side to Woo-Jin moments ago.


    Meanwhile, Woo-Jin was silently writing a message under his autograph as per Amanda¡¯s instructions. He was watching this entire scene unfold next to him but pretended not to notice anything.


    {Come to think of it, who is this?} Amanda asked.


    She received the paper from Woo-Jin and unenthusiastically folded it and put it away in her clutch bag. She then belatedly showed interest in Ilya. Having failed to take advantage of Woo-Jin, her eyes could finally see Ilya.


    {This is Ilya Turner, a novelist.}


    Although Ilya tried to stay mysterious and didn¡¯t reveal much about himself to the public, he didn¡¯t keep his identity a complete secret like his L. Dm¨ªtri counterpart. So Selena didn¡¯t hesitate and introduced Ilya to Amanda.


    {Oh! I¡¯ve heard of that name quite a lot. He must be quite famous then?}


    Amanda said in amazement, insinuating that everyone she had heard of was famous. Ilya then muttered openly as he found her pathetic.


    {This little¡­}


    {People like him always get pissed when someone doesn¡¯t recognize them.} Giorgio remarked.


    He didn¡¯t necessarily want to side with his lover, but he didn¡¯t mind doing so if it was to make fun of Ilya. Rather, the fact that Amanda only knew of Ilya¡¯s name and didn¡¯t know anything else about the writer was quite satisfying for him.


    In his case, Amanda had recognized Giorgio and proactively approached him before even hearing his name.


    Putting aside her purpose and intentions, if the two men were to be judged according to their values and worth, then Giorgio was the clear victor.


    {Can¡¯t you behave in a more respectable manner now that you¡¯re older?}


    As Giorgio giggled to himself, Ilya took the opportunity to lecture him on having class and acting more refined.


    {How can you write novels when you¡¯re so old-fashioned, Mr. Turner?} Giorgio struck back.


    {I¡¯m writing perfectly well with elegance and class, no need for you to worry.}


    {I wasn¡¯t worried, I was mocking you. But it seems mister novelist here couldn¡¯t even understand that.}


    The two men¡¯s gazes were sharp and serious as they jabbed at each other verbally. It was obvious that they held grudges against each other. Woo-Jin was somewhat surprised to see their attitudes towards each other.


    Lansky knew that the two men looked down on each other while he was alive, but he thought that it was simply because they were both awkward with words and had nothing in common.


    He had expected them to have a hard time getting along since they had very different personalities, but Lansky never knew that they were on such bad terms. Perhaps Giorgio and Ilya tried not to make it obvious to Lansky in the past, but they were now growling at each other in plain sight.

 CH 234

    But there was one thing that hadn¡¯t changed between Giorgio and Ilya: the way they quarreled while holding a proper conversation.


    If they had one thing in common, it was the way they completely ignored people whom they weren¡¯t interested in.


    It was a side effect caused by their lack of patience and courtesy to maintain a relationship.


    However, their current behavior showed that Giorgio and Ilya were unable to ignore each other despite their hate for each other.


    Woo-Jin was looking at the two through the eyes of Lansky for a moment. His lips twitched and tried to form a smile, and it took all of Woo-Jin¡¯s strength to squeeze them tight to prevent them from rising.


    Even though they had grown and gotten old, Lansky¡¯s grandchildren were still as cute as ever.


    {Please stop it, the both of you. Don¡¯t forget that we have a guest with us.}


    Although Selena had said ¡®both of you¡¯, she was fiercely glaring at her father.


    {Guest? If he¡¯s having dinner with this bastard, he isn¡¯t a guest anymore.} Giorgio remarked.


    He knew better than anyone that Ilya wasn¡¯t the type of person to dine with guests.


    Even though Ilya cared about Selena, if she brought guests without his permission, Ilya would leave the restaurant without hesitation.


    In other words, Chae Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t be called a guest, he was someone much closer to them.


    {What sort of ill fate got you involved with someone like that?}


    Giorgio realized that there was some sort of relationship between Woo-Jin and Ilya and looked at the actor with a newfound sense of interest.


    At first, he thought Woo-Jin was here simply because he had passed the audition, but the more Giorgio thought about it, the stranger it was for Ilya to be with the actor.


    {This is a good and constructive relationship rather than an ill-fated relationship.}


    Woo-Jin knew that Ilya and Giorgio¡¯s relationship was worse than he had imagined, but in his eyes, they were just two immature and unruly pranksters nitpicking at each other.


    A pleasant smile naturally formed on his face when Woo-Jin looked at Giorgio.


    {Do you even know who I am?} Giorgio asked.


    {Yes, I am aware that you are Miss Consccia¡¯s father.}


    Woo-Jin emphasized on Selena¡¯s last name to imply that he truly knew who Giorgio was.


    Giorgio was about to ask Woo-Jin how he could continue smiling like that even when the actor knew who he was, when he suddenly recalled a similar incident in the past. A long time ago, a certain boy had smiled at him in the exact same way.


    {Come to think of it, haven¡¯t you filmed a movie with Dustin as well? Is he doing well these days?}


    Since he was interested in Dustin and always researched about the actor, Giorgio knew a lot about Dustin¡¯s life.


    {We talked over the phone for a bit before coming here. He seemed to be quite depressed.}


    Dustin was overjoyed that Woo-Jin had defeated Christopher and got the part as Lloyd, but he was gloomy and depressed about not being invited to dinner.


    {Depressed? Just because he can¡¯t see you for a single day? What an amusing guy.}


    {Father!}


    Selena responded immediately to her father¡¯s words which was directed at her.


    Recently, she and Dustin had been seeing each other more frequently than ever before. In the past, Dustin used to distance himself from Selena out of consideration since she was avoiding him. But nowadays, he had kicked away that consideration and was proactively approaching her.


    And Selena did not reject Dustin¡¯s calls and advances.


    They called each other whenever they had time and met up to hang out. They were at a stage where it ambigious if they were dating or not.


    But what was clear was that Selena¡¯s feelings for Dustin were growing by the day since they saw each other so frequently.


    And at some point, her trust in Dustin had grown so strong that her fear of the future had faded.


    Giorgio¡¯s words just now implied that he was aware of the frequent encounters between Selena and Dustin.


    Selena then got angry because she could infer that her father was investigating and monitoring her actions.


    Conversely, Giorgio asked why she was getting so mad about something she already knew. In fact, he acted with even more confidence, saying that any father would monitor their daughter if they loved her.


    {Is Selena dating someone?}


    The usually ignorant and naive Amanda was quick to notice the hidden messages behind the father and daughter¡¯s conversation.


    She was always interested in topics like romance and dating, and Selena¡¯s daily life was something that raised her curiosity, so she couldn¡¯t ignore it.


    {Yes.}


    Even though she had been wondering whether they were dating or not until moments ago, Selena stared directly into her father¡¯s eyes and declared it confidently.


    She was a little apprehensive about it at first, but after hearing her own reply, Selena became more convinced about their relationship.


    Even her father was dating women left and right in the name of love, so if her relationship with Dustin wasn¡¯t considered as dating, then nothing in this world could ever qualify as such.


    {Why are you looking at me like that? You must¡¯ve expected this when you proposed that bet to me, father.} Selena spoke calmly to the bewildered Giorgio.


    It was none other than Giorgio who had first brought up the topic of marriage by using their bet as an excuse. So it didn¡¯t make sense that this was an unexpected situation since one usually had to date the partner first before getting married.


    {That¡¯s¡­! Let¡¯s talk about that when it¡¯s just the two of us.}


    Giorgio did not want to continue talking about his daughter¡¯s private life in front of outsiders.


    In particular, it was risky to continue this conversation in front of Ilya because the latter was holding the key to the results of their bet.


    However, Giorgio¡¯s wish to change the topic did not come true.


    {Oh my, is she dating someone you¡¯re opposed to, darling?} Amanda asked.


    {He¡¯s not totally against it since he gave me a condition to fulfill in order to marry him.} answered Selena in her father¡¯s stead.


    There was nothing as interesting as other people¡¯s love affairs and marriage issues. Especially so if it involved someone you treated like your own daughter, or your great-granddaughter from your previous life, or the real daughter of your boyfriend.


    And among these three, Ilya had the strongest right to voice his opinion, and he criticized Giorgio first.


    {If you¡¯re going to allow it, just let her do it. Why place a condition? You really can be stingy and annoying at times.}


    {I¡¯m doing this because I want my daughter to live a happy life, so why don¡¯t you shut up and leave our family matters to us?} Giorgio fought back.


    {And who is to set the standards of her happiness?}


    {I¡¯d acknowledge those words if anyone else said it. But don¡¯t you realize you sound ridiculous when you say that?}


    Giorgio shot back, commenting that Ilya didn¡¯t know what marriage entailed since the writer had never tied the knot. Ilya was unable to respond to that, so he just sipped on his glass of water.


    Feeling more confident, Giorgio turned to Woo-Jin since the actor was good friends with Dustin.


    {What would you do if your parents opposed your marriage?}


    {If my parents are against it, they must have a good reason for it, so I wouldn¡¯t get married.} Woo-Jin replied.


    {Right?}


    {Yes, but I don¡¯t think my parents will ever be opposed to person I love.}


    {Even if they can clearly see a miserable future waiting for you after the marriage?} Giorgio asked.


    In his past life, Woo-Jin himself had allowed Giorgio to get married despite foreseeing how it would end. The actor stared at his grown-up grandson.


    Giorgio was very different from what Lansky remembered.


    He was confident, childish and self-indulgent as usual, but his eyes were lonely and cold.


    It was true that Giorgio was cold-hearted and terrifying as a businessman, but it was frustrating to see him behave like this even when his lover and daughter were next to him.


    Giorgio never had such lonely and empty eyes when Lansky was alive.


    {Until that miserable future arrives, there¡¯s nothing a parent can do if they know the initial married life would be the happiest times of their child¡¯s life. At the very least, Dustin is someone who will do his best to prevent that miserable future from arriving with all his strength.}


    Selena¡¯s mother¡ªto whom Giorgio was married to first¡ªwas weak and kind. She was not suitable at all to live with the Consccias. And she didn¡¯t particularly try to actively become a Consccia either.


    But Dustin was different.


    His future with Selena could quite possibly end up differently. It all depended on how much effort they put in to make their marriage a success. There was no reason to be anxious or raise doubts at this point in their relationship.


    {You sure trust your friend a lot even though you haven¡¯t known each other for long.} Giorgio remarked.


    {I don¡¯t know him as well as a parent would know their child. Since you can¡¯t trust Dustin, why don¡¯t you try trusting your daughter?}


    Giorgio smiled bitterly at the cheeky young actor.


    Anyone with common sense could say such clich¨¦ words. It was always easier to make assumptions and say whatever one wanted when it came to other peoples¡¯ issues.


    But Giorgio was still reluctant about the marriage since he had heard a similar conversation in the past.


    {Then let me ask you, and try to answer sincerely. If you were me, would you allow this marriage?}


    Selena felt a strange aura from her father and stared at him from the side.


    The father she knew would never have listened to someone else¡¯s nonsense for so long.


    But surprisingly, he was having a very serious conversation with Chae Woo-Jin.


    If it were the usual Giorgio, he would¡¯ve treated Chae Woo-Jin as a lower-class citizen whom he would simply ignore.


    Her father wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would ever take other people¡¯s thoughts into consideration.


    {Of course I¡¯d oppose it.} Woo-Jin replied.


    {That¡¯s strange. Aren¡¯t you contradicting yourself? You were talking about trusting my daughter just a moment ago.}


    {I had no choice but to support Dustin as his friend. But if I were the father, I would not be able to deny the fact that Miss Consccia is wasted on him. So I do understand your objection to some extent.} Woo-Jin explained.


    {That¡¯s right. You¡¯re very sharp.}


    Giorgio wasn¡¯t objecting to the marriage just because his daughter was wasted on the man, it was just one of the reasons.


    Giorgio glanced at his daughter with affection and pride in his gaze.


    Woo-Jin finally recognized Lansky¡¯s grandson in Giorgio¡¯s current attitude. He sighed in relief and continued.


    {But¡­}


    {But?} Giorgio repeated.


    {If you have already given conditional permission, you must keep your word. I don¡¯t know what the condition is, but you must¡¯ve pondered about it for a long time before coming up with the condition with good reason and determination.}


    In other words, Giorgio could not get angry or oppose Selena dating Dustin.


    Since he had added a condition, he had basically given them the possibility of getting married.


    {I was a bit too impulsive and sentimental that day.}


    Giorgio had given his daughter such a condition because he was feeling sentimental that day after recalling his grandfather. To think that his own actions and words would come back to bite him today.


    {What on earth is the condition?}


    Ilya finally broke his silence and asked Selena as he couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity any longer.


    She hesitated for a moment, before turning to her father and smiling.


    {If I figure out the password for that place and tell him, he¡¯ll allow the marriage.} Selena replied.


    {Ah, that?}


    Having realized that he was holding the key to everything, Ilya turned to Giorgio and smirked.


    {Oh no, does it mean Selena¡¯s marriage depends entirely on me?}


    Wrinkles began to form on Giorgio¡¯s previously relaxed expression. For some reason, the tides had turned against him.


    But he was worried about how Ilya would react, so he couldn¡¯t just leave the room.


    {Will you tell me?}


    Selena asked with a slight blush.


    She always watched her manners and was respectful around Ilya. Normally, she would never have asked him the question so blatantly.


    But since her father was next to her, she was acting a little pampered and cutesy.


    Despite their arguments, she knew her father truly loved her, which increased her confidence.


    {No.}


    However, Ilya immediately refused without hesitation.


    {See? I told you this bastard would never do anything good for me.} Giorgio exclaimed.


    {What is it exactly that is good for you?}


    {That¡¯s¡­}


    Giorgio bit his lips at Ilya¡¯s question.


    Learning the safehouse¡¯s password would no longer be a good thing for him since it would allow Selena to marry Dustin.


    But if he said that out loud, he felt like Ilya would change his mind and actually tell Selena the password. Giorgio¡¯s impulsive nature had certainly made this issue into a big deal.


    As Giorgio shut his mouth reluctantly, Ilya simply ignored him and explained his thoughts to Selena.


    {I don¡¯t intend to keep it a secret forever. As I¡¯ve said before, I plan on telling you if the day ever comes when I must reveal it. But today is not that day. You¡¯re still young, so have fun dating people for now. And if you ever find someone whom you really can¡¯t live without, come back and ask me again formally. Just because you¡¯re dating someone doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll necessarily marry them, so there¡¯s no need to be in such a rush.}


    Ilya glanced at Giorgio and Amanda and sneered. The best example of a couple who would end their relationship without getting married was right in front of Selena.


    {If getting married makes you unhappy but breaking up would also make you miserable, you could just remain at the dating stage forever.}


    Selena and Giorgio were both relieved by Ilya¡¯s words.


    It was a fair bet where neither side had the advantage.


    Selena had no intention of getting married right away. She had just started a romantic relationship with Dustin, so marriage was still a long way off.


    In that sense, Giorgio also decided to turn a blind eye to their relationship as long as it was strictly at the dating stage.


    If the reason why he opposed the marriage was revealed, the two would naturally separate in the end, so it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to leave them alone for now.


    But Amanda was staring at Ilya with a glum expression.


    Perhaps she was dissatisfied by how the novelist had stated the advantages of dating over marriage.


    It seemed that her goal was not to simply remain as Giorgio¡¯s girlfriend, so she was quite frustrated by Ilya¡¯s and Giorgio¡¯s negative views on marriage.


    In the meantime, Woo-Jin was holding back his laughter by covering his mouth with his hand.


    Like father and son, Giorgio¡¯s current appearance was the same as his father¡¯s in the past. Lansky¡¯s son had objected to Giorgio¡¯s marriage and had even threatened him, but to no avail. As a last resort, he came to Lansky asking for help. And Giorgio¡¯s current state was the same as his father back then.


    But back then, Giorgio also came running to his grandfather and begged Lansky to take his side.


    In the end, Lansky sided with his beloved grandson.

 CH 235

    Woo-Jin was astonished by how much things had changed over the years as Giorgio¡¯s position had reversed.


    Considering Giorgio¡¯s personality, his objection to Selena¡¯s marriage was quite mild. Perhaps it was because he himself had a history of having his marriage opposed. That alone was advantageous enough for Selena, but he had even given her a condition to gain his approval of the marriage.


    {By the way, where is ¡®that place¡¯? Is it some kind of treasure trove? Is that why the password is so important - important enough that you¡¯d allow Selena¡¯s marriage?}


    Amanda¡¯s bad mood only lasted a short moment. Soon enough, she couldn¡¯t win against her own curiosity and asked about ¡®that place,¡¯ which apparently was the key to Selena¡¯s marriage.


    Her eyes were dazzling brightly. It appeared as if she had already determined ¡®that place¡¯ to be a treasure trove. But most of all, she was amazed by how an unrelated person like Ilya knew the password to such a precious location.


    {Something like that. It¡¯s a treasure trove full of memories these two share.} Selena answered.


    {Memories? That¡¯s it?}


    Selena could only laugh at the disappointed Amanda.


    She used to think that it was a collection of precious, rare items and treasures as well in the past. In that sense, she had the same thoughts and ideas as Amanda, so Selena couldn¡¯t blame the woman¡¯s misunderstanding.


    But Amanda¡¯s remark had offended the two involved parties.


    {This little¡­} Ilya grumbled.


    {Indeed.} Giorgio concurred.


    Previously when Ilya had said the same thing to Amanda, Giorgio had defended her, but this time, he didn¡¯t; he sighed alongside his frenemy.


    {This is why it¡¯s best to stop at dating and not go further.} Ilya commented.


    {That sounds like the excuse of someone who failed to get married in time.} Giorgio mocked.


    {Is that why you were in such a rush and got divorced three times as well?}


    Giorgio didn¡¯t feel like he could defeat Ilya in a battle of words. And since the novelist didn¡¯t seem to plan on telling Selena the password anytime soon, Giorgio stood up to leave with a relieved heart. He casually said goodbye to his daughter before shaking hands with Woo-Jin. Then, he said something unexpectedly thoughtful and respectful.


    {Although I don¡¯t really like Confession of White, I hope you¡¯ll do your best for the movie.}


    Of course, the fact that Woo-Jin was playing the main character in a movie Selena was investing in played a big role in his gentle attitude, but he was still treating the actor far too differently from how Giorgio usually would.


    As soon as they left the restaurant and got in the car, Amanda locked arms with her boyfriend and asked him.


    {You seem to like Genie quite a bit. You were unusually kind and caring today. It was nice to see different sides of you I¡¯ve never seen before.}


    Giorgio¡¯s behavior towards Woo-Jin was unfamiliar and fresh, but the same could be said of the way he treated Ilya.


    Amanda had seen how Giorgio treated his enemies several times. But today, while they seemed to be on bad terms, Giorgio spoke to Ilya without any bloodthirst or hostility. If he really regarded Ilya as an enemy, he would never have had such a casual yet inquisitive conversation. Most of all, he did not get angry even though Ilya had said things that would normally offend him.


    Amanda was certain that if she had said the exact same words Ilya had spoken today, then she wouldn¡¯t be sitting in this car right now. So, while she was curious about the relationship between the two, she didn¡¯t want to pry and in the end, only mentioned Genie.


    While Ilya was like bad company to Giorgio, he showed a strange sense of goodwill towards Genie.


    {I don¡¯t know why, but that young man reminded me of someone else.}


    {Who?}


    {That¡¯s not important. It¡¯s just that there has only been one person so far who has looked at me with that kind of gaze. Someone that who if I told you, you¡¯d just go ¡®that¡¯s it?¡¯}


    At Giorgio¡¯s answer, Amanda finally realized that she had made a big mistake earlier. She shouldn¡¯t have said ¡®that¡¯s it?¡¯ about Giorgio and Ilya¡¯s treasure trove of memories.


    But her realization had come too late. The cold aura emanating from his aloof behavior was foreshadowing a parting. She felt the crisis of a break-up from his words.


    Unlike Amanda¡ªwho found herself in trouble because of her curiosity¡ªWoo-Jin had remained silent the entire time. However, he was also plagued by a strong sense of curiosity.


    ¡°What exactly is this treasure trove of memories they have in common?¡±


    It had been a few days since his encounter with Giorgio, but Woo-Jin was frustrated because he couldn¡¯t find the answer to his question. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder about it. Despite being two people who had very little contact with each other and were rarely in agreement, Ilya and Giorgio apparently shared and cherished the same memories.


    Nevertheless, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t quite figure out what it was.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long that my memories are fuzzy.¡±


    Woo-Jin tried to guess what kind of place would hold deep meaning for the both of them, but failed to remember anything and blamed his memory.


    Perhaps something had happened between Giorgio and Ilya after Lansky¡¯s death. If that was the case, then no matter how much he pondered about it, Woo-Jin had no way of figuring it out.


    Still, Woo-Jin felt proud of the two men as they at least had a good memory they shared with each other.


    ***


    Confession of White was scheduled to begin filming on July 4th, so Woo-Jin¡¯s life in L.A. resumed.


    Thanks to the systematic management of his diet and body, Woo-Jin¡¯s physique was thin yet sexy. Since he had the perfect body to work as a model, he got a lot of offers to model at Fashion Week in September.


    However, Woo-Jin turned them all down because of his busy filming schedule. Nevertheless, the invitations kept piling up.


    But his change in appearance did not end with just his physique. His hair was bleached and dyed white and his hairstyle was completely different. His slightly long hair was tied in a half ponytail, and fortunately, it didn¡¯t look as awkward as he had feared.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t too damaged since it was his first time bleaching his hair in his life, but Hwang Yi-Young made sure to constantly take care of his hair with hair packs and treatments. Thanks to her, the makeup team stroked Woo-Jin¡¯s hair and praised him for taking good care of it on the first day of filming.


    The makeup this time was going to look slightly different than the audition. Back then, it had been pure white, but this time, his skin tone was a pale pink. Thus, when Woo-Jin stood still without doing anything, Lloyd¡¯s loveliness was doubled compared to before.


    The made-to-order contact lenses had red pupils and dark red irises, giving Lloyd a very mysterious and mystical feeling. Once Woo-Jin wore the lenses, he portrayed Lloyd exactly as he was described in the novel: an outsider to this world, yet a lovely boy when he stood still quietly.


    Thankfully, the reactions of the other actors and staff members were great when Woo-Jin appeared on set after finishing dressing up.


    Everyone had fallen for Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance as soon as they saw him and didn¡¯t know what to do.


    {They might all run away terrified once he starts acting, so I¡¯ll just let them admire him and enjoy the sight to the fullest for now.} Director Pharrell remarked.


    {Was I supposed to hear you say that?}


    Ian smiled bitterly at those words, and Director Pharrell realized his mistake and apologized.


    {It¡¯s okay. I was able to learn a lot from that incident as well. I think I¡¯ve been too complacent because of the awards and fame I received. I¡¯ve been too arrogant.}


    Although Ian had taken it as a matter of course that he would have to give up the lead role to the younger generation as he grew older, he had never imagined that a young man would outclass him in acting. He had comforted himself, saying that he would never lose to the younger generation as long as it was only dependent on acting skills. But this time around, he had been harshly and completely defeated in a battle of skills.


    Since that day, Ian began to seriously study the character of ¡®Albert¡¯ and the novel for the movie.


    {The new makeup style is certainly better than before. Things were difficult for us, but I guess it was all for the better in the end}


    {People say that the end is the only thing that matters, but it really was absurd when I look back on the process we took to get here.}


    Originally, Lloyd¡¯s makeup was planned to remain the same as it was during the audition. Woo-Jin¡¯s appearance as Lloyd back then was so perfect that there was no reason to modify it.


    After the audition results were announced, the public¡¯s opinions and reactions were divided between those who knew Woo-Jin and those who didn¡¯t. However, there was a ruckus only because people simply didn¡¯t know much about Chae Woo-Jin.


    Even the judges who insisted that Lloyd had to be white and American had agreed with Woo-Jin¡¯s casting, so the general consensus of the public was to quietly observe the situation for a bit longer.


    And so, more and more people started going through Chae Woo-Jin¡¯s filmography and watched his past works. Most of them ended up agreeing with the audition results in the end.


    But during that period, an employee at Midas Agency caused a big ruckus. It was presumably a fan of Edwin Rucker, as they posted a picture of Edwin dressed as Lloyd on social media and complained about the results.


    It was a very beautiful picture of Edwin reminiscent of a cold-hearted Lloyd. It was unknown whether the employee had seen Chae Woo-Jin dressed up as the character, but they claimed that the screening was unfair because based on that one picture, they believed Edwin was a better fit.


    The internet was then divided into different camps, many of which were of varying opinions. Some were convinced by the picture and criticized the judges, while others claimed that Woo-Jin was probably chosen as he had given a better performance even if Edwin matched the character¡¯s appearance better, and some people said that it was unfair to doubt the judges based on one picture of Edwin and told the employee to upload a picture of Chae Woo-Jin dressed up as Lloyd as well.


    The internet was a complete dumpster fire.


    Thus, the production team had no choice but to edit and upload the footage that was filmed during the audition. They didn¡¯t want the uproar to become bigger, and they also felt like the judges didn¡¯t deserve the one-sided criticism.


    Daniel and Lina in particular could not stand the slander of Chae Woo-Jin. They had even abandoned their beliefs that Lloyd had to be white and choosen the Korean actor instead. Therefore, they strongly defended him to the public.


    However, there was no need for them to go that far, as all their problems were solved immediately with the single short video edited by the team. The scene where Chae Woo-Jin and Edwin stood together had already decided the victor and loser.


    A version of Lloyd that was incomparably better than the photo posted by the agency¡¯s employee instantly caught the public¡¯s attention. Even the original fans of Confession of White could not refute the accuracy of Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd.


    Thus, the production team was lucky to have erased all dissatisfactions and doubts that could arise throughout filming from the very beginning.


    However, the appearance of Chae Woo-Jin dressed as Lloyd rapidly caused an online sensation, creating a side-effect where his pictures were used everywhere. Even pictorials and advertisements created a character that looked similar to Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd and utilized it.


    This wasn¡¯t a bad phenomenon for the movie¡¯s promotion, but the production team was worried that even though they hadn¡¯t even begun filming the movie, Woo-Jin¡¯s image was being used too much. His image had spread too far.


    Some people even raised the opinion that once the movie was released, people wouldn¡¯t get really excited by it since everyone was already so familiar with Woo-Jin¡¯s Lloyd. Thus, the team decided to add a slight pink tone to Lloyd¡¯s white skin.


    Fortunately, the contact lenses they had used for the audition only had red irises. He was a bit more exciting and stimulating than the Lloyd described in the original novel who had red pupils and dark red irises. However, if they used the red pupils and dark red irises in the movie, they could emphasize a slightly more static and silent aspect of Lloyd.


    Most of all, it was important for the actor to be able to perform with their gaze, so they tried to maintain the actor¡¯s original iris colors as much as possible and made the lenses darker to make the color stand out a bit less. Fortunately, Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes were already black, so they could simply add a touch of red to the irises which would naturally produce dark red irises.


    Woo-Jin had also let his hair grow out, so Lloyd¡¯s hairstyle changed from the time of the audition.


    The production team had successfully transformed Lloyd¡¯s image by making these small changes, so they were relieved for now.


    Although they hadn¡¯t begun to film yet, it was clear that the current version of Lloyd would bring out the viewers¡¯ sympathy and compassion far more effectively than last time.


    Director Pharrell was irritated by the ridiculous fuss and disturbance they had gone through, but now that he saw Woo-Jin¡¯s new appearance with his own eyes, his anger subsided. The director then grabbed the megaphone.


    {Then, let¡¯s get into place. We will begin shortly.}


    The first shooting session was going to film the introductory scene of the movie.


    In the beginning of the movie, there was a short three-minute scene that would demonstrate the general atmosphere and mood of the movie. The scene was located in a beautiful white house in a middle-class town.


    They couldn¡¯t find a suitable house to film the scene, so the producers had built a perfect replica of the house in the novel.


    This house was the home Lloyd bought with the money he made from selling his paintings.


    The town was clean. Crime prevention was good, and even if a thief entered one¡¯s home, the police would quickly arrive on site. It was a picturesque place where the residents were kind to everyone, including Lloyd and Albert, no matter what secrets they kept.


    There were no children who mocked or bullied them for being albino or blind. There were only refined adults and well-educated children who knew how to suppress their curiosity. And these people were simply satisfied that their new neighbor was a famous painter.


    It was a beautiful neighborhood that was very different from where they had lived a few months ago. It was a place they could proudly bring guests and show off.


    ***


    {Is this really your house, honey? Didn¡¯t you say you painted for a job? I heard that all painters were poor, but I guess that¡¯s not the case.}


    The woman in a short skirt and flashy makeup was someone Lloyd had met in the red-light district. He didn¡¯t know her job, her age, or even her name.


    It had been several months since she had left home. She was just one of the many people wandering around the streets, so no one would search for her if she ever disappeared.


    Lloyd drove into the garage rather than parking outside his house so that the neighbors wouldn¡¯t know who Lloyd was bringing home. In fact, he had deliberately told the woman to sit in the back seats, where the windows were tinted dark.


    {Do you like it here?}


    {Yeah! My dream is to live in a house like this, so I¡¯m so happy to be here. It¡¯s all thanks to you, honey.}


    The woman had even killed someone in the past to make some cheap money. She wanted to collect money over time and buy a house like this. In fact, she probably wouldn¡¯t stop at once and would continue doing such acts in the future for the same reason.


    Her eyes flashed with greed for an instant as she watched the back of Lloyd¡¯s head as he walked in front of her.


    {Who knows? You might even live here for the rest of your life.}


    Lloyd abruptly stopped dead in his tracks and spoke to the woman as he turned around.


    He then silently mouthed ¡®it depends on how you behave¡¯ to her and smirked.

 CH 236

    The woman forgot about the thoughts she was having when she saw the man¡¯s mischievous smile and briefly imagined a certain future that could happen to them.


    The man had an odd appearance, but she liked it since it made him more attractive and unique.


    {By the way, are we going down to the basement right now?}


    {You said you wanted to see my paintings. My studio is in the basement. I need to avoid sunlight because of my weak eyes.}


    Lloyd removed his colored glasses and tucked them into his shirt¡¯s pocket. He then showed the woman his eyes.


    She used to think Lloyd¡¯s white hair was dyed all this time, but even his eyes were of a strange color.


    She didn¡¯t have the intellectual level or education to know what an albino was, so she asked a stupid question.


    {W-What¡¯s up with your eyes? Are you wearing colored contact lenses?}


    {Well, something like that.}


    They arrived at the basement door that was directly connected to the garage. Lloyd then entered the password to his studio.


    {You even have a password? You must have some pretty expensive paintings. This place almost feels like some sort of secret base.}


    The woman spoke sweetly to Lloyd with her eyes and voice soaked with curiosity, greed, and a strange sense of expectation.


    {My paintings are pretty expensive, but the password¡¯s mostly to keep my father from coming inside. As you mentioned, this place is my secret base.}


    Lloyd put his index finger to his mouth and gave the woman a secretive look before opening the studio door.


    She then smiled in return.


    {I wonder what secrets you¡¯re keeping from your dad down here,} she asked herself.


    {Things my father can never find out about.}


    {Then you absolutely shouldn¡¯t get caught. Did you set the password to something so difficult to memorize that your dad could never figure it out?}


    {Not really. It¡¯s pretty simple. It¡¯s just my father¡¯s birthday,} Lloyd answered.


    {What? Then you¡¯ll get caught super easily!}


    The woman then commented that the password was pointless and looked at Lloyd pitifully.


    Lloyd then replied calmly yet sorrowfully.


    Even though he no longer had any expectations, talking about this story always made his mouth dry and his heart to pump faster in frustration.


    {My father always uses his biological son¡¯s birthday as his password, even though he died thirty years ago. Some people use numbers related to the people they love as passwords to protect their most precious treasures because no matter how precious of a treasure it is, they don¡¯t mind being caught by that person. That¡¯s why my father doesn¡¯t know that my password is his birthday¡­.}


    It was an ironic problem. He didn¡¯t want anyone to discover his secret, especially his father. But Lloyd had set the password to the place that hid his secrets as the birthday of the person he least wanted to find out the truth.


    It was a contradictory thought process. His father could never know his secrets, but Lloyd hoped to let him know someday.


    As the door to his studio opened, the wails of souls echoed and crashed against the walls noisily.


    It was a boisterous place as usual.


    An additional scream echoing in here wouldn¡¯t change anything.


    {Welcome to my studio.}


    ***


    After finishing the first filming session without any problems, Woo-Jin went to February 9th.


    He stared at the sign for a few seconds before entering the bookstore.


    Once he stepped inside, Ilya was sitting on the high-quality sofa disguised as a counter, listening to the radio as usual.


    {Didn¡¯t you start filming today? What brings you here?}


    Ilya checked the time at Woo-Jin¡¯s sudden entrance. It was soon time to close the shop.


    His voice held a mixture of joy and reproach as he thought Woo-Jin should¡¯ve returned to his dorm since filming had ended so late today.


    {I realized something while filming the introductory scene today.}


    Woo-Jin started speaking his thoughts as he sat on the chair across from Ilya.


    {The treasure trove of memories you two have in common that was mentioned before. Is it¡­ a place where a collection of paintings and old books are stored away?}


    {That¡¯s right.}


    Ilya answered right away without showing any doubts as he was done being surprised by Woo-Jin.


    However, the novelist found it odd that Woo-Jin brought the topic up first since the actor was always reluctant to speak about Lansky or the things he knew. Furthermore, they had both started avoiding any topics relating to Lansky at some point in time.


    {Were you that curious to know where the treasure trove was?}


    {I wasn¡¯t too curious, but I did want to know what memories you two shared despite not staying in contact at all and why you two cared so much about these memories that he¡¯d even place Miss Consccia¡¯s marriage on the line.}


    {I see. And you finally figured out where it was today.}


    From Woo-Jin¡¯s story, Ilya realized that the actor already knew about the safehouse but seemed to have only realized today that the treasure trove they had spoken about was the safehouse in question.


    Ilya was curious to know what had helped Woo-Jin connect the dots. He then reflected on the contents of his novel¡¯s introductory scene, when his face brightened in enlightenment.


    {Ah, the password!}


    Albert and Lloyd¡¯s passwords were set the same way but had vastly different meanings.


    Most people wouldn¡¯t care about the passwords so much, but it was a very important yet saddening matter for a child longing for affection.


    It was a torturous password that constantly reminded the child that he would never be the first priority in his father figure¡¯s heart ¡ª that he would never be the most loved child.


    The passwords in Confession of White contained the sadness Ilya held in his heart.


    Of course, other people could reproach Ilya for demanding too much from Lansky despite not even being his biological grandson.


    Ilya also knew that.


    However, the passwords for the safehouse were always the birthdays of great artists or the days Lansky had purchased some of his favorite artworks.


    And Lansky had always told Ilya that the boy was the greatest writer in his heart.


    But Ilya began to think those words were lies when Lansky changed the last password.


    In fact, if the new password was the birthday of another artist like it was in the past, Ilya wouldn¡¯t have given it much thought.


    At the very least, if the password to one of the rooms other than the central room was set to a number relating to Ilya, he wouldn¡¯t be this sorrowful.


    {Do you know the password to that place?} Ilya asked.


    Woo-Jin hesitated to reply. If he answered the question, it would be tough to talk his way out of it.


    In fact, Woo-Jin knew that he shouldn¡¯t have come here today. If he ran out of excuses and escape routes, all he could do in the end was admit the truth.


    His plan was always to pretend not to know despite knowing it all, so he had to act ignorant until the end.


    However, as he played Lloyd today, Woo-Jin felt Ilya¡¯s sadness, jealousy, and the writer¡¯s twisted loneliness as an unloved child. Thus, the actor couldn¡¯t stand still and do nothing.


    These stories had already become memories of the past as the years went by.


    Some people could argue that complaining about one¡¯s scars was foolish and confusing since the matter was already part of the past.


    But that was from others¡¯ point of view. From the perspective of the person who had been hurt, the passage of time did not erase their pain or change the past.


    They simply got used to their scars and the pain, composed themselves, and buried them deep in their hearts.


    Knowing this, Woo-Jin had to do something. He couldn¡¯t sit still and pretend to be unaware of it all.


    If he pretended not to have noticed the scars and wounds of his loved ones for the sake of protecting his peaceful life, then he wouldn¡¯t be any different from Lansky.


    In fact, Lansky had hurt his loved ones unknowingly, so Woo-Jin would be worse than Lansky.


    Thus, he had no choice but to abandon everything and visit Ilya this evening.


    {The password is Giorgio Consccia¡¯s birthday,} Woo-Jin answered.


    Many passwords were required to enter the safe house, but Ilya¡¯s scars had to have been inflicted by the very last one.


    {Indeed, the password protecting a place where one keeps their most cherished items must have a deep meaning like that.}


    {But the man in question doesn¡¯t seem to know the password is his birthday.}


    Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have placed such a condition on his daughter¡¯s marriage. The situation had become quite ridiculous.


    On the one hand, it would hurt Ilya¡¯s self-esteem and twist his feelings to tell Giorgio that the password was his birthday.


    On the other hand, Giorgio was unaware of the truth and jealous that Ilya was the only one to know the password.


    {So, will you tell Selena the password?} Ilya asked.


    He thought Woo-Jin would definitely tell her since he was close friends with Dustin. But to his surprise, the actor immediately shook his head.


    {Miss Consccia is wasted on him.}


    {You did sound very sincere when you said that before.}


    Ilya smiled faintly as he recalled the events of that evening.


    He had used the excuse that he didn¡¯t want to see Giorgio turn his gaze away to the side, only to watch Woo-Jin closely.


    Young people of Woo-Jin¡¯s age tended to be nervous and shiver around Giorgio the first time. Or they tried to appeal to him and curry his favor.


    But Woo-Jin did not do anything of the sort.


    At first, the actor did seem awkward about Giorgio¡¯s entrance, but afterward, he smiled heartwarmingly or wore a regrettable expression while watching Giorgio.


    Woo-Jin had tried his best to hide his emotions, but it was plainly obvious in Ilya¡¯s eyes.


    {Even if Dustin is my friend, it is subjectively true that he is quite lacking in many ways.}


    {Because Selena is a Consccia?} Ilya asked.


    {No. To be honest, that is her only flaw. Her background would be completely unhelpful for Dustin, and he doesn¡¯t care much about her family¡¯s history. I¡¯m merely comparing Selena and Dustin as two individuals. To be honest, it would be extremely taxing and exhausting for a woman to marry a Hollywood star, and I won¡¯t sit back and watch that happen agai¡­}


    Woo-Jin suddenly stopped himself before finishing his sentence. He was wary of Ilya. As he faced the writer¡¯s serious expression, Woo-Jin smiled faintly and gave the excuse that he had gotten too empathetic because he had a sister and had spoken from an older brother¡¯s perspective.


    {Sure, sure. I get it. Let¡¯s go with that,} Ilya said half-heartedly.


    {We¡¯re not ¡®going with that.¡¯ It¡¯s the truth,} Woo-Jin complained.


    {I get it already.}


    Ilya chuckled lightly, and Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t help but laugh along as the situation was amusing.


    {Anyways, I have no intention of telling Miss Consccia for the moment. They¡¯ve only just started dating, so marriage is still out of the question.}


    {The right thing to do with lovers who have just started dating is to watch over them. If they want to take it further, they¡¯ll become earnest and start acting desperately by themselves,} Ilya commented.


    {But funnily enough, the problem is that there¡¯s no one better for her than Dustin either. It is a blessing to meet someone who sees only you and loves you unconditionally,} Woo-Jin added.


    It would be difficult to find someone other than Dustin who would sincerely love Selena as an individual and not as a Consccia.


    Of course, Selena was more than capable of discerning people approaching her with hidden intentions, but Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want her to live such a life where she was constantly on guard and making calculations in her head.


    {And most importantly, it¡¯s obvious that Selena loves Dustin back.}


    Despite constantly calling her Miss Consccia, Woo-Jin had begun calling her by her given name at some point.


    {That is why parents eventually lose to their children,} Ilya said.


    Woo-Jin nodded in agreement.


    No matter how much he shouted, ¡®I¡¯m against this marriage!¡¯, Woo-Jin had already recognized Dustin as Selena¡¯s partner in his heart. It was emotionally taxing on Woo-Jin to have his mind and heart stay in disagreement and conflict with each other.


    {I feel that as I become an adult, everything I say and think becomes contradictory,} Woo-Jin sighed.


    {Because the more one thinks, the more one calculates their every thought,} Ilya said.


    Adults were stubborn beings that didn¡¯t change their behavior even if their thoughts and calculations changed.


    {By the way, do you know what artworks are stored away in that place?}


    The ¡®place¡¯ Woo-Jin referred to was Ilya and Giorgio¡¯s trove of memories.


    Ilya didn¡¯t think much of Woo-Jin¡¯s sudden question and quickly recited the works he knew were in Lansky¡¯s collection.


    He couldn¡¯t ever forget them, no matter how much time had passed.


    {You¡¯ve left out a few important works,} Woo-Jin said.


    {I omitted some since I can¡¯t recite the long list of works, but I¡¯ve mentioned all the ones I consider important,} Ilya replied.


    {But you don¡¯t know what¡¯s stored inside the drawer in the center of the bookshelf of antiquated books.}


    {Ah! That¡¯s¡­.}


    Ilya finally remembered what Woo-Jin was talking about.


    The old and precious books were placed on a specially designed and crafted bookshelf, but the really old and valuable books were placed inside a box and stored away in a drawer at the center of the bookshelf.


    When Lansky was explaining about the bookshelf in the past, he tried to show Ilya the contents of the drawer, but the boy was too scared and shook his head.


    Everything he could see with the naked eye on the bookshelf was already so valuable yet fragile that his hands were trembling.


    One time, Lansky had to pull out a book and personally turn the pages one by one to show Ilya since the boy was cowardly and didn¡¯t want to touch it himself.


    {Leonardo Da Vinci¡¯s Notebooks, the Gospels of Henry the Lion, the Gutenberg Bible, and the Book of Urizen,} Woo-Jin listed.


    {Seriously? Gosh, I should¡¯ve agreed when he said he¡¯d show them to me.}


    Woo-Jin smiled at the regretful Ilya and added.


    {And there are a few more books.}


    {What are they?}


    The collection Woo-Jin had listed was enough to excite most people, so Ilya subconsciously leaned forward as he was curious to know the rest.


    {The Bard Does Not Sing, The Lake Under the Sea, and The Boy is Alive. All three books are the first editions and even have the author¡¯s signature.}


    Ilya froze and stared blankly at Woo-Jin.


    The books he had listed were Ilya''s first, second, and third works.


    During his lifetime, Lansky had a firm philosophy and beliefs about his collection.


    He didn¡¯t collect books that were simply famous. He collected his favorite works based on his completely subjective opinion.


    But because he had such a great discerning eye, most of the masterpieces in history ended up in his collection.


    Thus, considering Lansky¡¯s nature, he would never store Ilya¡¯s books in the safehouse out of favoritism simply because they were written by Ilya.


    If he didn¡¯t like the book, it would never enter the safehouse no matter what.


    {That place is where he kept the things he cherished after all.}


    And even Lansky wouldn¡¯t dare press someone¡¯s birthday as a password right before them.


    The password that protected his most cherished things needed to maintain its worth.


    Those two boys were such cherished and precious people to Lansky.

 CH 237

    The people in Lloyd¡¯s neighborhood were extremely nervous about the appearance of the killer who was causing a stir.


    People who used to take walks weren¡¯t be seen outside anymore, and they refrained from going out when they didn¡¯t have to go to work or school. People walking their pets or going to the park with their children had disappeared, leaving behind the quiet and peaceful streets.


    And it wasn¡¯t just an occurrence in this neighborhood. It was the same all over Los Angeles.


    Their reaction was inevitable, as the murderer who made the entire city tremble in fear had no specific pattern with his actions. The victims were of all races; rich and poor; beautiful and ugly; earnest and lazy; men and women; young and old.


    Thus, people were exceedingly terrified as they could become the next victim at any moment.


    Of course, like most serial murder cases, there were some characteristics that the victims had in common.


    However, it was a peculiar characteristic that only appeared after their deaths, which made people panic even more.


    A common feature of the victims was the loss of color from their bodies.


    Well, to be more precise, only one color remained in their bodies. Everything had turned white, from the color of the skin to their eyes and hair. Everything had lost their original color and became white. Even the victims¡¯ blood was transparent like water.


    Looking at the original appearances of the victims, they were all people with beautiful hair and eye colors.


    But after their deaths, people could not find any color other than white and transparency.


    These bizarre cases did not end with a simple murder. A fear that far excceded the fear of death engulfed the citizens.


    Some said it was the work of a mad scientist, while others said some mysterious entity was committing the crimes.


    At some point, the murderer was given the nickname ¡®Color Vampire¡¯. The investigators had tried their best not to give the criminal a nickname, but their efforts came to naught due to the media¡¯s influence.


    As if they knew everything about the case, the media reported even the smallest of clues to the public, but there was one thing that even they did not know about.


    The victims had another common feature that wasn¡¯t known to the public.


    Nine out of the twelve victims were models for a certain painter.


    But since it was a characteristic that wasn¡¯t shared by all the victims, the investigators handled this piece of information with caution, and focused on security and safety as much as possible.


    It was an exceptionally sunny Friday afternoon when two FBI agents came to see Lloyd. Since Albert was away at the rehabilitation center, Lloyd smiled rather pleasantly at their visit.


    {Does this mean I¡¯m a suspect?}


    Lloyd sneered at the agents who were asking for his help with the investigations and showed them around his bedroom and studio on the second floor.


    {This is a case with very little clues, so we have no choice but to carefully inspect even the smallest of clues and hints that we found. We hope you can corporate with us even if you may find it troublesome}


    {Who said I wouldn¡¯t help? There¡¯s a reason why I¡¯m guiding you like this around my home.}


    The FBI agents did not use the word suspect. The person who had painted the victims could be the murderer, but they couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that the crimes were committed by a fan of Lloyd¡¯s like in the novel and film Misery.


    If it were the latter¡¯s case, then the investigators would need Lloyd¡¯s help more than ever, so they didn¡¯t dare offend him.


    According to their research, the painter named Lloyd was as sensitive and whimsical as his weak health.


    Although he had said he would help them now, Lloyd was the type of person who would instantly shut his mouth and refuse to talk to the investigators if he was in a bad mood. The advice from the agent¡¯s profiler was to adapt and match the painter¡¯s demands as much as possible.


    The atelier was dark even in the middle of the day because of the thick curtains which were hiding the large windows, but the room felt rather cozy.


    The little sunlight that passed through the curtains softly brightened the studio, and the wind from the open windows gently swayed the curtains.


    The room was well ventilated and had a faint smell of oil paints which created an odd sense of elegance and class. Lloyd approached the portrait of an old couple he was working on and asked the investigators seriously as he touched the drawing board.


    {This elderly couple is over ninety years old, but will they be investigated as well when they die?} Lloyd asked.


    {Rather than death itself, we put more importance on how someone died, so we can only know the answer to that once their death is reported.}


    Unsure of whether Lloyd¡¯s question was a sneer or a curious concern, the FBI agent answered truthfully. Death didn¡¯t mean much to them as long as it wasn¡¯t a murder case.


    One agent was conversing with Lloyd while the other scrutinized the paintings hanging on the walls and along the floor.


    The agent only took photos of portrait paintings and wrote something in his notebook before asking Lloyd.


    {For your portrait paintings, do you have models or is it just from your imagination?}


    {I don¡¯t have a single portrait drawn purely from my imagination.} He answered.


    {Then can we get the contact information of the models?} The agent asked.


    {I don¡¯t know anyone personally, but you can ask my agency. I take requests and recruit models through them.}


    {Then did all the models for your portraits go through the agency before you worked with them?} The agent asked again.


    Lloyd hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.


    {There are a few people whom I used as models when I got inspired after seeing them on the streets. Actually, three of the murder victims who I painted were strangers that I¡¯ve never talked to. Does that count as a violation of portrait rights?}


    The confident and perverse Lloyd was now anxiously looking at the FBI agent as this was a problem which he hadn¡¯t expected. He then nervously scratched his oil-painted fingernails with his thumb.


    The agents exchanged glances and then replied that it was okay.


    {But can you tell us where you saw them and why you chose them as models?}


    {That¡¯s simple. They were people with very unique and beautiful colors. Their colors were so intense that I could never forget it after seeing them once, so I clearly remember where and when I came across them.}


    The focus in Lloyd¡¯s eyes disappeared for a moment as though his consciousness had flown far away as he recalled the past.


    A faint smile appeared on his lips as he remembered the time when he met those models and the process of painting them.


    {What exactly do you mean by beautiful colors?}


    ¡®Color¡¯ held a very important meaning in the murder cases. The relationship between the victims who had lost color and the painter who was obsessed with colors was inevitably suspicious.


    {I meant it literally. They were people with beautiful colors, so beautiful that I¡¯d want to steal it.}


    Lloyd smiled self-mockingly, pointing at his hair and skin.


    {Have you ever told that to anyone else?}


    {I¡¯ve probably said it quite often. Because of my circumstances, I was quite envious of the colors and health of my models. If you search for it, you¡¯ll probably find interviews where I say the same thing. The energy that my paintings exude is also an expression of that desire.}


    Lloyd boasted that he was a famous painter who had been interviewed with leading media outlets.


    {Interviews¡­} The agents muttered.


    Lloyd¡¯s answer had increased the list of suspects. If he wasn¡¯t the culprit, then the criminal was likely to be a fan or someone who was envious of him. Although they hadn¡¯t figured out how the criminal had murdered their victims and ¡®stolen¡¯ their colors, they seemed to be accurately closing in on the murder motives slowly but surely.


    {By the way, do you use commercial paint for your artworks?}


    The reason why Lloyd¡¯s paintings were highly regarded was because of his style combined with vivid and realistic colors. The colors were hues that existed in the world but were very difficult to express in artistic form. Moreover, they were the same colors that had been taken away from the victims. It was as if the stolen colors were painted right onto the canvas.


    {No, the dyes are made by hand. But I mix various kinds of products into basic commercial paints to make the dyes.} Lloyd answered.


    {Can you tell us what ingredients you use?}


    Lloyd¡ªwho had been cooperative with the agents all along¡ªstepped back with a frown.


    {I may be criticized for saying this, but painting is my only livelihood. There is nothing I can do other than this. And one of the reasons why my paintings are so popular is because of their ¡®colors¡¯. And I don¡¯t know how long the popularity will last, so I need to sell my paintings as highly-priced as possible¡­}


    Lloyd wept in shame as he looked elsewhere.


    His miserable childhood was somewhat well-known. The art industry had become a profit-oriented business a long time ago, so the agents couldn¡¯t criticize Lloyd for saying that he considered painting as a means of earning money. In other words, the materials for the dyes which he used were a trade secret.


    {We would never tell the public about your secret ingredients even if we knew about them, but if you don¡¯t wish to tell us, we won¡¯t force you to. Instead, we would like to take a few samples of the dyes which you used for the paintings.}


    As long as they studied the samples at a lab, they could easily figure out the ingredients used for the dye. Surprisingly, Lloyd nodded in agreement as though he hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead.


    {Do you have any unusual fans or stalkers who stood out?}


    The agent tried to ask more about potential suspects, but Lloyd shook his head with a pure expression.


    His sharp and stiff demeanor had suddenly changed into a more docile and sorrowful one. Lloyd answered all the questions to the best of his capabilities with a face that looked so innocent as if he couldn¡¯t harm a soul.


    {Are these all your paintings?}


    {No.}


    Lloyd answered right away without any hesitation.


    {I have another studio in the basement. I use it to paint a certain artwork that has a completely different atmosphere to the ones here. Would you like to head downstairs to see it?}


    Lloyd led the FBI agents to the underground atelier before warning them with a playful expression.


    {The painting here has a completely different mood to it than the ones upstairs, so you should prepare yourselves. Most of the paintings I¡¯ve been praised for recently have been drawn here.}


    Lloyd entered the password and slowly opened the door to the basement room.


    The air inside the room blew outwards and rustled his hair. Strangely enough, there was a soft breeze although there were no windows and there were only ventilation fans.


    {Ugh, what is this smell?} One of the agents groaned.


    {The smell doesn¡¯t seem to go away even when I turn on the fan. Probably because it¡¯s underground. I can¡¯t really smell it because I¡¯ve gotten used to it, but my father says that my body smells strongly of paint.}


    The smell of oil and strange chemicals lingering in the air was similar to the smell of common oil paints. As Lloyd explained that he would sometimes spend hours¡ªif not days¡ªin the basement painting, the agents looked sickened and overwhelmed.


    And when the lights in the dark underground studio were turned on, they saw a large painting occupying the entire wall in front of them.


    There was only one painting in the basement studio, and it was still unfinished.


    From a distance, the painting was a large human face. However, the hair, eyes, and skin were painted with multiple colors.


    A wide variety of colors were harmoniously mixed and matched with each other without any sense of incongruity, defining and drawing the character in the portrait.


    However, just like a gestalt[1], it was the painting of a single person when viewed from a distance. When viewed up close, each color was composed of smaller portraits. And upon closer inspection, all these people had the same face.


    {I-It seems to be a self-portrait.}


    The FBI agents stuttered as they observed the painting.


    Regardless if it was observed from a distance or from up close, all the faces on the portrait belonged to the same person.


    It was Lloyd¡¯s self-portrait.


    They were captivated by the beautiful colors as soon as they saw the picture, but at the same time, they also felt sick in the stomach because it felt like every single strand of colored hair was alive.


    {Yes, I can confidently tell you who modeled for this painting.}


    Lloyd laughed at his own joke, when the painting roared and shook at his voice.


    A world invisible to the FBI agents, a world that could only be seen and heard through Lloyd existed here.


    As he stroked a part of the painting with his finger, an agonizing scream pierced his ear.


    Despite treating it affectionately, the reaction he got in return was noisy. Lloyd sulked and turned to the agents.


    {I have no more paintings to show you after this.}


    His paintings were so popular that they were sold out whenever an exhibition was being held. Thus, all he had left at home were the paintings that Lloyd was preparing for a new exhibition. The FBI would have to look for the paintings that had already been sold if they wanted to investigate his artworks further.


    Shortly after the FBI left, Albert returned from the rehabilitation center.


    As soon as he got through the front door, Albert checked their surroundings and asked if some guests had come by. He hadn¡¯t missed the scent of strangers lingering in the house.


    {The FBI came by today.} Lloyd replied.


    {What? Why did they come?}


    For someone like Albert who had lived a difficult and powerless life, the police and FBI were naturally frightening and uncomfortable subjects. Back in the old place where the two used to live, the police was never their friend.


    {Apparently, some of the people I painted were victims of the Color Vampire. Also, they seem to have some doubts about me since my paintings have such unique hues. They tried to take the dyes I used, so I just lent them a few paintings instead.}


    Albert felt a sense of confidence and security in Lloyd¡¯s calm explanation, so he got angry at the FBI¡¯s attitude and incompetence.


    {Still, from the nuances I got from them, they seem to be more suspicious that a copycat or a crazy fan like in Misery is trying to imitate my style.} Lloyd explained.


    As Albert relied on his white cane to find his room, Lloyd walked alongside him talking about everything that had happened today.


    There was no better way to hide something than using the truth. The best lies were always mixed in with the truth.


    1. Gestalt: an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts. Basically, something that isn¡¯t just a combination of what it¡¯s made of, but rather has another meaning/sense/image/etc when seen as a whole. ?

 CH 238

    It became Woo-Jin¡¯s new daily routine to review the film footage with Ian while sharing their opinions.


    Having abandoned his pride and going back to the basics, Ian was very ambitious and full of energy. And he got along surprisingly well with Woo-Jin.


    {Albert is very easygoing if you look at him from a certain perspective. Would he still be the same if he could see?} Ian asked.


    Even though he himself was playing Albert, Ian felt like the blind man was quite sly.


    {I think he wouldn¡¯t have changed. He would¡¯ve had his suspicions and found things a bit odd, but I believe he would¡¯ve still followed the peace and calm in front of him. That¡¯s why I think the author took away Albert¡¯s sight and gave him indulgence in return.} Woo-Jin shared his thoughts.


    If Albert were not blind, he would most likely have been criticized of being guilty and Lloyd¡¯s accomplice by the readers of Confession of White.


    But his insensitivity and indifference was overshadowed by his blindness, thus he was forgiven.


    {Geez, why is the author so ruthless with Lloyd but so generous with Albert?}


    Setting his curiosity aside, Ian was secretly delighted and called out the unknown author in a friendly manner. The fact that he was acting in one of his favorite novels, and that his character was being loved and favored by the author made him ecstatic.


    {It¡¯s quite pressuring, having to play such a beloved character.} Ian commented.


    {Don¡¯t forget that Lloyd is still the main character.} Woo-Jin said proudly.


    Whether or not the author loved him, the protagonist of the story was Lloyd. Sitting right next to the Korean actor, Ian kicked Woo-Jin¡¯s chair and playfully pushed him away.


    {Try growing old and playing only supporting roles everyday.}


    {I¡¯m already playing a lot of supporting roles. I even received the award for Best Supporting Actor last year.}


    Ian was trying to tease him, but when Woo-Jin fought back and even bragged about his achievements, Ian couldn¡¯t help but burst out in laughter.


    Ian had only played main characters ever since his debut. So on the first time he had to play a supporting role because of his old age, the shock was quite considerable. Till today, he still had a sore throat thinking back on that time. His self-esteem had taken a huge hit back then. Ian had a hard time recovering after that, and even gave up on acting for a while.


    Compared to him, Woo-Jin was simply playing whichever role that interested him, regardless if it was a supporting role or not.


    Looking at Woo-Jin¡¯s filmography, he had soared in popularity as soon as he debuted. However, he played various characters within a short period of time and built his career step by step, as if he were steadily walking up stairs.


    That was probably why he had such a unwavering mind and why he wasn¡¯t impatient about his roles.


    Woo-Jin literally had no fear. Even if he took on a supporting role, he had the acting skills to overwhelm the main character at the center of the show.


    Playing a supporting role was not a failure for Woo-Jin, but rather a new attempt and adventure.


    Because of this mindset, Woo-Jin always kept his manners around supporting actors and extras. There was a sense of companionship in his attitude.


    On the other hand, Woo-Jin had boasted to Ian about being the main character just now because the two had become close enough and had gotten rid of formalities between each other.


    And no matter how much Woo-Jin bragged about being the main character, he couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Ian¡¯s entire career. He was like a puppy in front of a majestic tiger.


    {Alright, I admit it! It¡¯s really difficult to win the Best Supporting Actor award. Maybe I should aim to win that this time around.} Ian exclaimed.


    Although he had won many awards thus far, Ian had yet to win a Best Supporting Actor award among his trophies. That was why he had purposefully remarked that it was very difficult to win that award. But this time, there was a high chance that he could win the Best Supporting Actor award, so he was determined to start working on it in advance.


    {About Lloyd, don¡¯t you think it would be interesting to make him the protagonist of a hero movie? Something like an apostle of darkness who reigns in the dark alleys and embodies justice.} Ian suddenly said.


    {But isn¡¯t he already an anti-hero right now?}asked Woo-Jin.


    It was a bit boring to watch the film¡¯s footage because there was no CGI in the scenes yet. But the editing team planned to put in a lot of effort into the scenes where Lloyd used his superpowers and the scenes where he painted.


    When they imagined the final cuts in their minds, the scenes with CGI became a feast for the eye and captivated audiences despite not having cool or extravagant action sequences.


    However, Lloyd was far from an embodiment of justice, so he was not an exemplary protagonist. Instead, he was like an antihero who lived as he pleased, set his own rules, chose his victims, and took revenge on the world in his own style.


    {True that. Even though I said he could embody justice, I described him as an apostle of darkness, so he would be an antihero. Appearance-wise, Lloyd is a perfect match for the light, but he could never live there. What was the author thinking when making such a character the protagonist of his novel?}


    Ian had always been curious to know what L. Dm¨ªtri thought about Lloyd.


    The writing showed no affection or compassion towards the main character, so he speculated that the author had a similar personality as Lloyd.


    Ian could sense a little of the author¡¯s feelings through Lloyd in Confession of White, and they seemed somewhat similar to self-hatred.


    {Rather than self-hatred, I think he was envious.} Woo-Jin commented.


    {Envious? L was envious of Lloyd? But I think Lloyd¡¯s living a pretty tragic life, though¡­}


    If L envied Lloyd because he had no one else to envy, then what kind of life had the author led so far? Ian then shook his head as he didn¡¯t want to imagine such miserable circumstances.


    {Not envious of Lloyd¡¯s life but rather his personality. When we first see Lloyd, we feel sorry for his situation and feelings, but sometimes feel refreshed by his words and actions. I wonder if the author felt the same way. And at the same time, maybe he resented yet envied Lloyd because he couldn¡¯t do the same thing as him.} Woo-Jin explained.


    Ilya had never behaved like a spoiled child around Lansky.


    Because of how much he revered Lansky, Ilya had never even dared to imagine acting that way, no matter how generous Lansky was to him.


    Despite having gained fame as a novelist, Ilya still hated people. The inferiority complex he held because of the circumstances surrounding his birth played a big part in it as well.


    He had a vague fear that the details surrounding his birth and his mother would be revealed to the world.


    Ilya was not ashamed of being an orphan, and he had no qualms about the fact that he was educated with the support of the mafia.


    He had always proudly revealed that he had survived and become a novelist thanks to the support of Lansky Consccia, but always remained silent about his mother.


    The arrogant and nitpicky novelist was filled with all sorts of dark and gloomy emotions on the inside.


    Lloyd, on the other hand, always acted without hesitation despite being a coward.


    He wasn¡¯t ashamed to honestly and openly express his desire to be loved; he returned malice with malice; and returned goodwill whenever he wanted, if he wanted.


    Lloyd was Ilya¡¯s hero, his representation, as well as the object of his jealousy.


    {Maybe the people whom Lloyd killed had certain aspects of the author that he himself wanted to kill. If the self-portrait with the souls of his victims was what Lloyd wanted to become, maybe the painting was a part of the author which he wanted to throw away. That¡¯s why he passed it onto Lloyd instead.}


    Woo-Jin spoke and pointed at the painting hanging in Lloyd¡¯s basement studio. Inside each strand of Lloyd¡¯s hair¡ªwhich fluttered like the feathers of a beautiful peacock¡ªIlya had buried the darkness of his original sin.


    Lloyd was Ilya¡¯s murderer, yet he was also his savior. Perhaps at the time of writing this, Ilya had accepted Lloyd for who he was, but it was only natural that Ilya resented Lloyd, a character whom he had created out of fear and jealousy.


    {Do you happen to know L. Dm¨ªtri personally?}


    Ian didn¡¯t completely believe Woo-Jin¡¯s theory, but his interpretation was quite plausible. Woo-Jin then waved his hands in response, denying Ian¡¯s serious question.


    {I don¡¯t even know who it is. But after living as Lloyd for a few months, I started understanding some aspects of the story which I couldn¡¯t back when I was reading it.}


    They only had a few scenes left to film. Having lived as Lloyd for over three months, it was time that Woo-Jin started to understand Ilya¡¯s intentions in the story ever so slightly. It was something he never understood before.


    As he filmed one scene at a time, Woo-Jin¡¯s understanding of Ilya deepened, and he judged that he had made a good choice to become Lloyd for this movie.


    {Now, I have to hurry up and finish that painting too.}


    The interior of the newly built house was being used as a movie set.


    Woo-Jin and Ian were currently inside Lloyd¡¯s underground studio, with Lloyd¡¯s self-portrait hanging in front of them. The portrait had actually been painted by Woo-Jin himself for the movie shoot.


    The director had noticed Woo-Jin¡¯s excellent painting skills during the audition and suggested that the actor should draw the artworks personally when filming scenes where Lloyd painted. In fact, the director became even more enthusiastic about this idea when he learned that Woo-Jin was actually painting and doing calligraphy in the movie The Red.


    Woo-Jin agreed to the idea, and started to draw all the important and meaningful paintings for the movie himself.


    Woo-Jin had also started painting Lloyd¡¯s self-portrait since the beginning, so the painter whom the production crew had hired to stand in for Woo-Jin was not needed.


    Most of all, Woo-Jin¡¯s painting had almost perfectly reproduced Lloyd¡¯s style that was described in the novel. Furthermore, Woo-Jin¡¯s painting speed was so fast that his artworks were prepared quicker than the paintings that were being arranged for the movie.


    The scene where the portrait got completed was the final scene in the movie, so Woo-Jin was currently finishing up the painting.


    Lloyd confesses his desires and wishes in front of the completed portrait, but in the end, nothing changed.


    Despite wanting to have the same colors as other people, Lloyd was already dyed in his own color.


    Although he had acknowledged the unchangeable reality beforehand, Lloyd didn¡¯t given up until the very end.


    He continued to face the portrait as the scene fades into darkness. Lloyd embraces both despair and hope, and stares at it until the very last frame. Despite being unable to see his face, he was most probably making the same expression as his portrait, the same expression as the souls he had imprisoned in his painting.


    {Seriously, won¡¯t you sell me that painting?} Ian asked.


    {Seriously, you sure have unique tastes.} Woo-Jin replied.


    Ever since Woo-Jin had painted over half of the portrait, Ian started begging for it. Even Woo-Jin thought the painting was extremely well drawn from an objective point of view.


    However, the painting consisted of countless small Lloyds, or to be more precise, countless small Woo-Jins to form a single big portrait. And frankly speaking, it was quite grotesque.


    {Unfortunately, Chairwoman Consccia already wants it. She says she wants to hang it in the lobby of their Foundation building.} Woo-Jin explained.


    {Oh, aha. Indeed, it¡¯s hard to win over the Consccia. But I really want it¡­ Did she offer you a lot?}


    Woo-Jin shook his head to the regretful Ian.


    Ilya and Selena had visited the filming site two weeks ago, and they both gave good reviews about the painting. Ilya in particular turned to Woo-Jin after seeing the painting and chuckled a little. Lloyd¡¯s painting style was actually the same as Lansky¡¯s painting style, and Woo-Jin had expressed it perfectly.


    Although he had wanted to become a painter, Lansky was unable to do so. However, he never gave up on the art itself. Whenever he had spare time, Lansky drew some paintings. And whenever he was finished, he burned them himself, so not a single one remained to this day.


    But he often showed his artworks to Ilya before destroying them, so the latter knew Lansky¡¯s painting style quite well. Woo-Jin had realized that Lloyd¡¯s style which was described in the novel was exactly the same as Lansky¡¯s, so he had expressed it as it is.


    However, even Ilya¡ªwho looked alternately between the painting and Woo-Jin with a happy grin¡ªleft a comment saying ¡®it¡¯s the perfect painting to hang in your bedroom to have nightmares¡¯. The novelist then shook his head, saying that he liked the painting but would never want to own it.


    Instead, Selena took a keen interest in it since it was a prop and by-product of the very first film she had invested in. She too felt overwhelmed and didn¡¯t want to add the painting to her private collection, but wanted to hang it in the Consccia Foundation building¡¯s lobby instead.


    Although it was a prop for the movie, Woo-Jin still owned the painting as he did not hand it over to the production team. So he was free to sell it if he wanted to, and Selena had given him an offer.


    Woo-Jin had no reason to refuse hanging the painting made with Lansky¡¯s style in the Consccia Foundation building. Establishing the Art and Cultural Foundation was Lansky¡¯s dream during his lifetime, so it meant a lot to Woo-Jin as well.


    {Even if I sell it, I plan to donate the profits so the actual amount doesn¡¯t matter to me. But even if we call it Lloyd¡¯s portrait, it¡¯s still my face on the canvas. So I¡¯m too embarrassed to sell it to an individual. But that doesn¡¯t mean I can take it home either. Why don¡¯t you choose something else? I¡¯ll give it to you instead of the portrait.}


    If Woo-Jin took the portrait home, his family¡¯s reaction would be quite amusing. But he couldn¡¯t lug that huge portrait home just to have a short moment of entertainment.


    Woo-Jin¡¯s explanation made some sense, so Ian eventually smacked his lips and gave up on the portrait.


    {Or should I paint a portrait of you instead?} Woo-Jin suggested.


    {Seriously?}


    {I¡¯ll have a lot of time after we¡¯re done filming, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.}


    Ian was delighted by his offer and asked Woo-Jin to paint him using the same style as Lloyd¡¯s portrait.


    But each time Ian excitedly made more requests regarding his facial expressions and the angles of his portrait, Woo-Jin¡¯s smile gradually faded away.


    People sometimes dug their own graves. By the time Woo-Jin realized his mistake, he had already crossed the point of no return.


    In life, it was quite easy to become a pushover by your own hands.

 CH 239

    Contrary to what Woo-Jin had promised, he did not have any free time even after they were done filming Confession of White.


    First of all, he was busy submitting reports for the classes and exams he had missed because of work. And by the time he had some breathing room, the premiere of Guardian Angel was almost upon them.


    Woo-Jin had to travel to six different countries to promote the film, which would be released simultaneously around the world in early December.


    However, within a few days of the film¡¯s release, the shows they were appearing on to promote their movie became places where they were showered with countless praises. The movie was showing signs of a box office success far beyond what the producers and actors had expected.


    {Does it make you that happy?}


    Woo-Jin clicked his tongue as he looked at Dustin grinning cheerfully as he texted Selena. But the obnoxious guy started saying annoying stuff.


    {Are you jealous? Then go date someone as well.}


    Dustin and Selena had officially started dating after she had declared war on Giorgio when she was having dinner with Ilya and Woo-Jin. She had met up with Dustin the very next day and formally asked him to date her.


    Dustin then found himself in a crisis by saying ¡®but weren¡¯t we already dating?,¡¯ but it didn¡¯t change the fact that they were officially dating now.


    Unfortunately, he then faced a second crisis a month ago when he proposed they get married the upcoming Christmas. But despite having gone through all these crises, he was now acting haughty as though he was above everyone else since he was dating Selena.


    {Now that it¡¯s come to this, should we get married on Valentine''s Day next year as originally planned?}


    ¡°Goodness gracious¡­ Get a grip, dude!¡±


    As Korean subconsciously escaped his lips, Woo-Jin moved to a seat farther away from Dustin.


    Recently, Dustin was shining so brightly and joyfully that Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t stand to look at him anymore.[1]


    However, Woo-Jin had no choice but to watch over the dumb yet happy Dustin¡ªwho was living the happiest days of his life in the honeymoon period¡ªbecause they had to spend time together for the movie¡¯s release.


    Funnily enough, Selena was slowly changing to resemble Dustin more and more. Even though she used to reject Dustin¡¯s advances¡ªeither out of reflex or because of her personality¡ªfor a long time, she was now becoming bolder and more honest than anyone else.


    And the people around them were suffering because of the couple¡¯s overwhelming lovey-dovey aura.


    {On standby!}


    When the Jeffrey Show¡¯s staff signaled them, the fashion coordinators checked Woo-Jin and Dustin¡¯s attires one last time, and when given a hand signal, the two went on stage with the sound of the audience¡¯s applause greeting them.


    The host Jeffrey Howard welcomed and escorted them to the soft sofa.


    {Our guests today are our beloved guardians. Please note that we put a lot of effort into getting these two on the show together.}


    Jeffrey winked at the audience and asked for their praise. And as one would expect, the audience applauded the crew¡¯s hard work.


    {Of course, one of the guardians is still somewhat unreliable, but what else can we do? This is our fate as Americans.}


    Jeffrey gestured at Dustin as he shook his head sorrowfully. The Guardian of North America¡¯s actor shrugged and brazenly replied.


    {I¡¯m still the guardian who cares most about the humans.}


    {But all you do is care, you didn¡¯t seem to have any noteworthy abilities yet. How old will I be by the time Robert becomes a proper guardian? Will I even be alive by then?} Jeffrey joked.


    {Wouldn¡¯t there be a second movie before that?}


    {Ooh, are there plans for a sequel already?}


    {Nope.} Dustin replied.


    He then asked the audience to watch the movie as many times as possible and increase its popularity.


    There were many cases where movies that were planned to become a film series got canceled because they failed at the box office. Even Guardian Angel wasn¡¯t assured to become a film series, so if it bombed at the box office, they needed the strong support of the fanbase to potentially make a sequel.


    {Isn¡¯t it already successful? In fact, Woo-Jin Chae has perfectly secured his place as a world star with this movie.} Jeffrey remarked.


    {He¡¯s been a world star for some time already.} Dustin answered.


    He then brought up stories from when he was going around Asia and Europe with Woo-Jin to promote their movie. He commented that it was scary to experience how many fans Woo-Jin had following him around and that it was a lot more than he had.


    {By the way Woo-Jin Chae, can I just call you Genie?}


    Jeffrey had been calling Woo-Jin by his full name so far, but now he asked for permission to use Woo-Jin¡¯s nickname. Once the actor nodded, the host began talking more comfortably.


    {What¡¯s the martial art you were performing in this movie, Genie? It didn¡¯t seem like taekwondo. And these days, my daughter randomly starts practicing punches in the air while going ¡®ek ek¡¯[2] after watching the movie, even though she does taekwondo.}


    Jeffrey punched the air and went ¡®ek ek¡¯ to imitate his daughter, before laughing out loud. His child might¡¯ve been cute copying the moves, his movements were very awkward.


    Woo-Jin started explaining about taekkyeon and at the audience¡¯s request, he showed a demonstration with Dustin. The two had filmed scenes together for the movie, so they had a sequence of moves they could demonstrate in sync. Furthermore, the fact that Dustin had learned taekkyeon from Woo-Jin ended up helping out.


    However, Dustin wasn¡¯t good enough to catch up with Woo-Jin¡¯s flashy footwork and quick hands. The confrontation that appeared equal at the start slowly turned into a one-sided beating of Dustin.


    Be that as it may, Woo-Jin always stopped himself before touching Dustin¡¯s body and moved on to the next movement with a natural flow.


    The cowardly Dustin then started to cower and covered his head with his arms despite not being harmed at all. Once the demonstration came to an end, he leaned against the sofa in physical and mental exhaustion, trying to catch his breath.


    {Ladies and gentlemen, our North American guardian.}


    Jeffrey smiled bitterly as though he were about to cry. Seeing that Dustin was unable to converse at the moment, he simply continued the discussion with Woo-Jin only.


    {By the way, you¡¯ve cut your hair. Personally speaking, I preferred your latest hairstyle where it came down to your shoulders.}


    Jeffrey was referring to the hairstyle from back when Woo-Jin was playing Lloyd in Confession of White.


    In the photos taken by the paparazzi during the filming period, Woo-Jin looked very impressive and memorable with shoulder-length white hair. But today, his hair was neatly organized and Woo-Jin appeared modern and chic, just like Jin in Guardian Angel.


    {I¡¯ve stopped painting and decided to focus on being a guardian for a while.}


    {You quit being a painter? But haven¡¯t you heard that Ian is going around bragging to everybody that you¡¯re going to paint him a portrait?}


    Jeffrey expressed his concern as he joked that Ian would never forgive Woo-Jin if he didn¡¯t paint the portrait. Even without Jeffrey¡¯s comment, Woo-Jin had already been feeling pressured by Ian and could only reply with a bitter smile.


    {I¡¯m secretly still painting as a side job. Guardians do need to make money to eat and survive after all.}


    {Ah, speaking of which, do guardians engage in economic activities as well? If you look at the countless heroes we know of, they all still have jobs besides their hero activities. Their salaries vary from hero to hero, but they¡¯re still earning a living. But the guardians don¡¯t seem to work at all, yet everyone is living lavishly.}


    Jeffrey then asked how the guardians made the money to buy their houses and enjoy their hobbies. After all, being a guardian didn¡¯t mean money fell from the sky.


    {First of all, they have the inheritance left behind by the previous generation¡¯s guardians. After that, maybe they got bored living their long lives and invested in stuff or took on side jobs.} Woo-Jin replied.


    {Oh! Then money really does fall from the sky for them.} Jeffrey exclaimed.


    {There originally was a scene where Robert received the previous guardian¡¯s legacy and jumped in joy, but it was edited out.}


    Woo-Jin explained that Dustin had acted far too realistically and ended up looking lame instead, resulting in the scene being removed from the final cut.


    {Haha, ha, my acting can get quite lame at times.}


    Dustin spoke while still gasping for breath. Woo-Jin patted him on the head, telling Dustin to rest some more.


    {Right now, you look even lamer when you talk.}


    Woo-Jin and Dustin¡¯s real-life interactions seemed like an extension of the movie. Woo-Jin had the slight upper hand in their relationship as he sometimes scolded his friend, but still comforted and took care of Dustin more often than not.


    Jeffrey didn¡¯t miss the audience cheering at their interactions and sneakily asked the two actors a question.


    {Can you show us some bromance as fan service? Everyone wants to see it.}


    {Ah, I¡¯m quite confident in things like that.}


    Feeling better and refreshed, Dustin replied with a playful expression. Meanwhile, Woo-Jin quietly stood up.


    He slowly cracked his fingers one at a time as the snapping sounds echoed in the room.


    {I may have gone too easy on you earlier. Allow me to show everyone a proper demonstration this time.} Woo-Jin said menacingly.


    Having been knocked out without taking a single hit in the taekkyeon battle earlier, Dustin vehemently refused by furiously shaking both his head and hands.


    Dustin¡ªwho was about to receive a rough and twisted type of skinship while trying to do some fan service¡ªran away behind the sofa, blaming Jeffrey for his suffering.


    {Thank goodness you two get along quite well.}


    Jeffrey shrugged to the audience and cheered on their friendship. The silhouettes of a man being chased and a man chasing could be seen behind the host. The entire shot was like a humorous scene from some comedy animation.


    Woo-Jin then appeared not only on the Jeffrey Show but also on many other popular talk shows in the United States. At first, he appeared alongside Dustin but as his popularity increased, he started showing up on more and more programs on his own.


    Nowadays, even those who hadn¡¯t seen his movies knew of his name, and Woo-Jin¡¯s paparazzi photos were being sold at higher prices than anyone else¡¯s.


    ***


    Guardian Angel was a success at the box office thanks to the entertaining movie and the real-life Woo-Jin and Dustin comedy combo.


    People gradually started having high expectations for the next installment. The producer and screenwriter Hugh Miller boldly replied to the incessant questions that he would give it a thought. After listening to Hugh¡¯s interview, Woo-Jin speculated that the screenwriter had probably written the script for the second movie already.


    In recent years, Hollywood did not venture into making film series without the existence of an original work to base the story on. People also didn¡¯t invest much into unverified projects. However, the production process would become a lot easier if the public and investors adamantly requested a sequel.


    While the damage to the franchise would be huge if the next installment didn¡¯t meet the high expectations, the production team had successfully overcome their biggest hurdle.


    Furthermore, the success of the first film had raised the value of the actors of the main characters. Setting Dustin¡ªwho was already a world star¡ªaside, Woo-Jin was being offered pay that was twenty times higher than what he had signed for Guardian Angel. Even though he had only played a supporting role, he was being recruited and offered extremely high pay.


    This was the result of filmmakers greatly evaluating his performance in Guardian Angel but also because of his past works. And since Confession of White would be released soon, they were also taking that into consideration when making him an offer.


    Looking at the projects he had starred in so far, Woo-Jin turned every role he took on as the main character of the story.


    Even if his face was only shown for a short period of time as a supporting role or as a cameo appearance, his presence was immense. The actor shifted the tone and atmosphere, and subconsciously made the story revolve around his character. In spite of that, his harmonization with the other actors was flawless.


    It would have been problematic if the protagonist was unintentionally changed into a supporting role, but all the scenes he appeared in turned into exceptional masterpieces as the other actors¡¯ performances improved considerably around him. When actors appeared alongside him in the frame, they naturally melted into the scene and showed the greatest performance of their life, displaying their greatest assets to the audience. As long as the actors overcame the sense of defeat of losing the limelight to Woo-Jin, they received the opportunity of a lifetime to grow even further as actors.


    Fortunately, Dustin was the type of person to acknowledge the truth no matter how hurtful it was. He quickly accepted the fact that Woo-Jin stood out more than himself in the movie.


    He wasn¡¯t too shocked about it since he had already prepared himself emotionally back when they were going over the movie¡¯s footage. Woo-Jin¡¯s acting was so good that even he as an actor couldn¡¯t help but fall in love with Woo-Jin¡¯s performance, so it came as no surprise.


    But what did surprise Dustin was that the results were not as disastrous as he had imagined.


    In the movie, whenever he was next to Woo-Jin¡­ no, whenever ¡®Robert¡¯ was next to ¡®Jin,¡¯ the character felt vivid and alive, and his appearance shone brighter and more uniquely than ever.


    Their performances made it feel like the guardians named Jin and Robert truly existed somewhere in this world.


    {Have I always acted so well?}


    Recently, people were describing Dustin with unfamiliar phrases: surprising transformation, remarkable growth, icon of progress, etc.


    His acting wasn¡¯t bad, but it definitely wasn¡¯t good enough to be praised so extensively by the media, so even Dustin was confused in the beginning.


    But once he watched Guardian Angel, Dustin felt proud of himself and felt like he did deserve the praise. Even he could see that his acting had been excellent. His facial expressions that varied from scene to scene felt very natural as if he truly were Robert.


    Dustin speculated that the moments when he empathized with his character and acted with all his heart alongside Woo-Jin were accurately captured on camera. Watching the movie, it was apparent that Woo-Jin was an actor who raised his co-stars¡¯ aptitudes and increased the overall quality of the movie.


    For example, back when Dustin auditioned for the role of Lloyd, he had failed to go on a proper diet, so he ended up being eliminated because of his bulky physique and brilliant appearance. However, his acting skills were greatly praised.


    Dustin recalled how the judges remarked on his improved skills and complimented him. It was evident that starring with Woo-Jin had helped him grow as an actor.


    Thus, he didn¡¯t feel bad about being treated as a supporting character despite being the protagonist of the story. Dustin had already been plagued by such thoughts during the filming period, so he was immune to them now. Furthermore, if he looked at it from a different perspective, starring with Woo-Jin was a great opportunity to discover his hidden potential.


    Most of all, while he received less attention than Woo-Jin, Dustin¡¯s popularity quickly grew as people praised him for acting such a vivid and realistic character. This was the best thing that an actor could be told.


    Therefore, Dustin repeated in every interview that he wanted to work with Woo-Jin again in the future.


    Even though the exact plans for the sequel hadn¡¯t been announced yet, Dustin adamantly requested the screenwriter Hugh that he would love to act with Woo-Jin again if given the opportunity.


    1. The original sentence can be directly translated as ¡®Recently, Dustin was like a honey-coated chicken that Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t look at him with naked eyes anymore.¡¯ I assume it means that Dustin is shining/glowing with happiness (honey) while making a fuss/being noisy (chicken) ?


    2. Taekkyeon practitioners make a sound that goes ¡®ek, ek, ek¡¯ when moving in taekkyeon. It¡¯s similar to how most martial artists make short bursts of sounds when attacking or defending, but in taekkyeon, the sound is much softer and used repetitively. ?

 CH 240

    Although it was a well-known fact that Woo-Jin and Dustin were close friends in real life, it was somewhat disappointing for people who secretly hoped that a sense of rivalry would surface between the two parties after the movie was released.


    He paled compared to Woo-Jin, but the movie didn¡¯t inflict any damage on Dustin. People always said Dustin had room for improvement, so the fact that he received compliments for the beautiful portrayal of his character was a very satisfactory outcome.


    And even though he showed how hard he worked on abstaining from alcohol for nearly a year, hanging out with Woo-Jin, a person with a clean and positive image, had been more helpful in erasing his past image as a heavy drinker. Over the past few years, people used to think of Dustin as a wandering drunkard, but now, the first thing that came to people¡¯s mind was him hanging out with Woo-Jin.


    Gradually, more and more people began to share similar thoughts with Dustin. It had already been proven that the synergy between Woo-Jin and all the actresses he worked with was very high. However, this time, Dustin proved that male actors who worked with Woo-Jin could also achieve a similar effect.


    Because of that, Woo-Jin had been flooded with offers from production companies that wanted to cast him in film noirs. Scripts of various genres and storylines related to politics and specialized professions, ranging from friendships between prosecutors and criminals to gang fights, piled up in front of Woo-Jin.


    This resulted from actors actively wanting to act alongside Woo-Jin, even though they tended to be reluctant to work with Woo-Jin in the past. As a matter of fact, Woo-Jin had been popular among actresses and experienced actors, but other actors that debuted around the same time as him had avoided him like the plague.


    Even though he was the celebrity of all celebrities and the object of admiration, young lead actors hadn¡¯t want to appear in the same production as Woo-Jin. They were certain that they would pale in comparison with him. They had been terrified as they cited Park Min as an example and talked about how, despite being the main lead, he was overshadowed by Woo-Jin. But the situation was now reversed ¨C¨C they wanted to work together with Woo-Jin.


    ¡°There may be a lot of them, but none are decent enough.¡±


    ¡°When a movie becomes a huge hit, production companies continue to produce films of similar genres.¡±


    Last summer, films with bold and masculine characters were a huge hit at Korea¡¯s box office, so investors and filmmakers had been choosing to produce similar films. However, the reality was that it was difficult to produce a decent movie in a hurry according to the trends rather than producing what they had originally planned.


    Woo-Jin set aside the scripts that were piled up in front of him as there was nothing more for him to look at. He wanted to rest for the time being until Confession of White was released the following year. To be precise, he planned to polish and complete his old writings with Ilya¡¯s advice in mind.


    It might be his last work or just the beginning, but he started writing again because of his desire to complete it. And so, he had decided to bother Ilya a little. Ilya had been living comfortably by himself thus far. So, when being told this was his opportunity to take in a disciple in his later years, Ilya merely grumbled, saying it was a bother, and laughed.


    Ever since the day Woo-Jin and Ilya talked about the password to the safe house, Ilya didn¡¯t pry or ask Woo-Jin anything. His attitude towards Woo-Jin had become a little warmer than before, and he looked happier as well. Woo-Jin was also careful the entire time and walked on eggshells.


    Woo-Jin started to treat Ilya comfortably like a close friend, a teacher he respected, and a family member. He also started joking around and acting like a child around him ¨C¨C something he couldn¡¯t do in front of his parents. There were also a lot of things they hadn¡¯t really done before. So rather than regretting it in the future, the two of them chose to try everything one by one.


    Their age and positions were different from what they used to be in the past, but the most important thing was that, fundamentally speaking, nothing had changed.


    ***


    After Guardian Angel became a success, Woo-Jin spent his last winter vacation as a student in LA. On the surface, it was supposed to be his break for the first time in a while, but Woo-Jin wasn¡¯t resting or idling there either. Instead, he was completely engrossed in a creative activity.


    His daily routine was going to the hotel or bookstore to write, listening to Ilya¡¯s advice, and having discussions with him. Even if he took a break, all he did was read a book or paint. So even though they felt embarrassed about being determined to do everything they had never done before, they didn¡¯t look that much different from what Lansky and Ilya used to be.


    Firstly, Woo-Jin and Ilya weren¡¯t active people, so they refrained from roaming around and engaging in physical activities. It was normal for them to sit down and discuss through the night.


    Equipped with the knowledge he had gained from his previous life, Woo-Jin found it delightful to have someone he could talk to, which was the same with Ilya. Having a conversation with a person with high standards and intellectual wealth, who simultaneously possessed shared memories and also understood you best, was an irreplaceable joy.


    Each day passed so quickly that it felt like a pity. Woo-Jin sitting in front of the computer every day could seem pathetic to strangers looking at him, but he was engrossed in the rigorous work of creating a new world. Because of that, the only official event he attended during the entire time he was in LA was the New York Fashion Week in Feburary.[1]


    Aside from his fame and popularity, Woo-Jin¡¯s facial features and physique were well-loved by several designers. So it was no wonder domestic and international designers were dying to dress Woo-Jin in their clothes.


    One of the most successful designers among them was Louis D.L. Louis fell in love with Woo-Jin even before Woo-Jin became famous worldwide, and he had also gifted him a suit he had personally made. Louis D.L. also participated in LA Fashion Week, and when he invited Woo-Jin to his own fashion show, the latter gladly accepted his invitation.


    Since he was already in LA, Woo-Jin enjoyed the Fashion Week to the fullest by watching not only Louis D.L.''s but also the Korean designers¡¯ shows.[2] The designer Woo-Jin knew at that time was Park Hwi-Kyung. Even though Woo-Jin was rather indifferent to fashion, he liked his designs very much. Woo-Jin was not one to covet clothes, but he even wanted to buy Park Hwi-Kyung¡¯s clothes whenever he had the chance.


    Woo-Jin could simply purchase something he liked, but there was a reason why he was always looking for an opportunity. Woo-Jin was the kind of person who would wear anything when he wasn¡¯t shooting a film or show. He had a nice body, so he looked good in anything he wore. His fans felt very sorry for his fashion sense and lamented that God didn¡¯t give him everything.


    Hwang Yi-Young regularly organized his personal wardrobe and coordinated his outfits in advance, so at least that saved him from disgrace. Hence, even when he came across a designer he liked and bought their clothes, he didn¡¯t wear them immediately.


    Since he had been keeping a low profile and only spent time writing, he only looked for comfortable clothes. Furthermore, Hwang Yi-Young was not taking care of him in LA, so it was highly likely that he simply left them in the closet. As the saying goes ¨C¨C a pearl is worthless as long as it is in its shell. It applied to both people and clothes.


    ***


    Time flew by just like that, and it was finally time for him to start work again. Woo-Jin returned to Korea to shoot a commercial that he had pushed aside for quite some time and was greeted by good news ¨C¨C Confession of White was now a film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t a Korean movie, Woo-Jin was its main character, so many people congratulated him as though a Korean movie had made its way to Cannes. As Woo-Jin would be attending the Cannes Film Festival, naturally, he received a ton of sponsorship deals from companies.


    Woo-Jin had several events and parties to attend during the film festival, so they had to prepare a lot of outfits and accessories for him. The operation behind the scenes of these companies to have their own products featured at one of these events was a war in itself.


    However, apart from the products he had shot a commercial for, Woo-Jin turned down all the other companies. And he went to visit the boutique of a designer who had caught his eye during Fashion Week, Park Hwi-Kyung, He planned to wear Louis D.L.¡¯s suit during the actual film festival, but he wanted to wear Park Hwi-Kyung¡¯s clothes for the rest of the events.


    ¡°You seem to have lost some weight.¡±


    As Park Hwi-Kyung took Woo-Jin¡¯s measurements, he was worried about Woo-Jin losing more weight since the last time he saw him back in February. He had rarely seen a celebrity lose weight during their vacation. Woo-Jin was the opposite.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gained a lot more weight as compared to how I was when I was shooting the movie.¡±


    ¡°When was that?¡±


    Woo-Jin lost a lot of weight for his role as Lloyd, but after he was done shooting Confession of White, he had almost returned back to his weight at the time of Guardian Angel¡¯s release. However, he had lost some weight when Park Hwi-Kyung saw him in New York in February, and he was now even thinner than he was back in February.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t as skinny as before when he was filming as Lloyd, he had been staying in the U.S., a food paradise, during his break. So Woo-Jin¡¯s continued weight loss like this either meant he had put in a lot of effort to lose weight or he had a health issue.


    ¡°It happened simply because all I did was sit around the house, reading books.¡±


    Woo-Jin gave an adequate explanation to alleviate Park Hwi-Kyung¡¯s concerns. He couldn¡¯t tell him he lost weight because of the stress that came from writing a novel, but Park Hwi-Kyung and his employees were enervated after hearing his explanation.


    When Park Hwi-Kyung shook his head and asked if he was studying even when he was on vacation, Woo-Jin stood there awkwardly. He acted cheekily and said he was slacking off. People overestimated Woo-Jin too much.


    ¡°There¡¯s about a month left before the film festival. What are you planning to do during this time?¡±


    ¡°I plan to get my body to where it was in February.¡±


    His current state was in line with Lloyd¡¯s image, but that wasn¡¯t what Woo-Jin wanted. For the sake of having a completely different image, Woo-Jin needed to be stronger than he currently was.


    And the Louis D.L suit he was planning to wear to the film festival was tailored to fit his body from back in February, so he had to make sure his body would fit the clothes instead of the other way around. It was highly likely he would be invited to participate in the Cannes Film Festival back then, so he had already commissioned Louis D.L. to make him a suit in advance.


    After hearing Woo-Jin¡¯s response, Park Hwi-Kyung told him he would tailor the clothes bigger and make the revisions after the fitting before discussing the schedule with him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind to pick the design and fabric, so please go ahead.¡±


    Woo-Jin had nothing to do after getting his measurements taken. Hwang Yi-Young added that he would only get in the way if he stayed behind and gestured to Woo-Jin to go back and rest first.


    ¡°The parking lot is some distance from here, so you have to walk quite a bit. What do you want to do?¡±


    When they arrived at the boutique, Kang Ho-Soo dropped Woo-Jin and Hwang Yi-Young off before parking the car in the public parking lot. He scratched his head, saying the situation was somewhat ambiguous.


    As he walked from the parking lot to the boutique, there was hardly anyone on this street, but he noticed the street a block over was bustling with people. Perhaps it could be because many people, including several tourists, were flocking the street in the middle of the day. If Woo-Jin appeared there, it would become more crowded without a doubt.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll wait on this street. There are fewer people, and the weather is nice, so I can get some sun.¡± Woo-Jin told Kang Ho-Soo, pointing to the side of the street that was a short walking distance away from the boutique.


    ¡°It¡¯s a one-way street, so I¡¯ll have to make a small detour to get here from the parking lot. Will you be okay standing there alone for a bit? Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to just stay in the boutique and leave when I call you?¡±


    ¡°What am I, a child?¡±


    Woo-Jin remarked that he worried too much and nudged Kang Ho-Soo from the back before slowly making his way towards the street.


    The street on this side was so empty that if one were to walk ten minutes towards the other side, one would easily feel the difference between the downtown area and this place. Even the few passers-by that quickly walked past Woo-Jin kept their eyes on the street.


    Woo-Jin looked at the time and enjoyed his leisure walk under the spring sunlight. When he got to his destination, he stood close to the road so Kang Ho-Soo could see him. Woo-Jin slightly leaned against the lamppost and yawned a little. The spring day that came after winter had ended was so beautiful that he felt sluggish. Perhaps it was spring fever, but he felt like he was dozing off.


    But strangely, no one was in sight. The sidewalk was mainly lined with private studios and small companies. The charming little buildings were once private houses that turned into new business complexes. It was a busy hour for companies and their employees, and there were no malls around, so the street was tranquil, aside from the cars that happened to pass by.


    Thus, Woo-Jin was able to relax in the sun with his face exposed.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Woo-Jin had momentarily closed his eyes because of the languidness of the spring day. He looked up at the sky after a water droplet landed on his face. All of a sudden, it started to rain.


    If there were a cafe on the street, he would¡¯ve gone inside to seek shelter. But he couldn¡¯t even do that. Fortunately, there was a canopy above the windows on the first floor of the building behind him.


    At first glance, Woo-Jin thought it was an advertising company, so Woo-Jin simply stood beneath the canopy. The blinds at every window were closed, so people working inside the office wouldn¡¯t be able to look out of the windows. Thus, he sought shelter with ease.


    Even though it rained so suddenly, there wasn¡¯t a single person running around to seek shelter from the rain. The combination of rain pouring down on the street in the sunny weather made him feel a sense of disconnect, along with a strange silence.


    Screech, clank!


    Woo-Jin was mindlessly looking up at the sky but shifted his gaze towards where the sound was coming from.


    1. Woo-Jin flew to New York to officially participate in the New York Fashion Week. ?


    2. Woo-Jin unofficially participated in the LA Fashion Week since he was invited by Louis D.L. ?

 CH 241

    A five-ton truck could be seen barely stopping after hitting the lamppost that Woo-Jin was leaning against earlier. The lamppost was bent all the way to the ground. Woo-Jin quickly looked around and saw a man standing in a daze on the crosswalk in front of him. Perhaps, the driver of the speeding truck saw someone crossing the road and quickly stepped on the brakes.


    However, it seemed like the tires of the truck had slipped because of the rain which caused the truck to swerve into the lamppost instead. Fortunately, the driver didn¡¯t appear to be injured, and the pedestrian was also unharmed. Apart from the lamppost and truck, there were no casualties. But nobody would know what would¡¯ve happened if it didn¡¯t rain, and if Woo-jin had continued to stand there.


    As soon as the chilling scene unfolded itself in Woo-Jin¡¯s head, he shook his head.


    ¡°No. If it didn¡¯t rain, the accident wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Woo-Jin added that he would¡¯ve been fine if he had continued standing there, and felt relieved.


    ¡°The rain wasn¡¯t the cause of the accident ¨C¨C it was a brake failure.¡±


    Woo-Jin suddenly heard a voice from the side, so he turned his head and looked to the right. On a spot that used to be empty, an old gentleman was standing as he used an umbrella as a cane. There was clearly nobody there earlier.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°Fate exists, but there¡¯s no such thing as unchanging fate in this world. Anomalies created by humans and nature can sometimes change fate. Today¡¯s variable is this rain.¡± said the old gentleman as he stretched out his palm, touching the rain.


    He gave a completely unrelated answer after Woo-Jin asked how he concluded that the car accident was caused by a brake failure. Woo-Jin thought he was a strange old man, and studied him carefully. He was also worried that the old man might have lost his way because he was feeling unwell.


    However, his clothes looked neat and perfect. His sophisticated appearance was by no means ordinary, and he even exuded an intellectual aura. Strangely enough, regardless of how much Woo-Jin stared at the old gentleman¡¯s face, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t seem to register what he looked like.


    Even though he was visible, Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t remember his facial features. Woo-Jin couldn¡¯t even tell if he was White or a person of color. It felt as though he wasn¡¯t human, but at the same time, he felt familiar and friendly ¨C¨C as though Woo-Jin had known him for a long time.


    Woo-Jin stared at the strange old gentleman because rather than feeling uneasy from not knowing his identity, he felt comfortable around him.


    ¡°If you could choose what you want to be in your next life, what would you choose? For example, what would you choose between a God or a human being?¡±


    ¡°I think everybody would have the same answer to this question. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a person who doesn¡¯t want to become a God.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to become a God too?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°In that case, what is the first thing you want to do when you become a God?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­win the lottery?¡±


    Woo-Jin stopped laughing even though he was the one who said that. Why would a god need that kind of money, and even if he were to win the lottery, the prize money these days was small. Woo-Jin was also easily earning the same amount.


    ¡°Would you need money if you¡¯re a God?¡± The old gentleman asked, as though Woo-Jin had said something ridiculous.


    Woo-Jin blushed, and proudly declared that it was something human beings desired the most from God, and it was a wish he had once dreamed of as a child.


    ¡°In that case, I want world peace and the salvation of mankind.¡±


    Humans were the ones who created chaos in the world and put mankind in great danger, but they always turn to God to ask for salvation. And Woo-Jin¡¯s requests were not much different either.


    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying there isn¡¯t a God in this world.¡± The old gentleman sneered and made a cynical comment about how the world hadn¡¯t changed at all despite the wishes of humans.


    ¡°Indeed, that seems to be the case when you look at the news. If there is a God, there wouldn¡¯t be bad guys in the world, and the world would be a better place to live in.¡±


    Woo-Jin expressed his sadness after hearing the old gentleman¡¯s words. Suddenly, a thought came to mind ¨C¨C Do Gods have to take care of human beings?


    Earth and nature were more important than humans to the guardians in Guardian Angel. Gods had their own will and duties, and they could also have something more precious to them too ¨C¨C  and it didn¡¯t have to be human beings. This was all from the perspective of humans, and they themselves wished to save mankind, and they prayed for a world to live in where causality and retribution were certain.


    Human beings were judging God using their own definition of justice and thoughts. At the same time, they were asking for a salvation which they weren¡¯t able to achieve themselves to a God whose existence was uncertain.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange when you think about it. Under the premise that God exists, when human beings become gods, they ultimately want to extend their lives as human beings, and seek salvation for mankind. But if the world hasn¡¯t changed, does it mean that there aren¡¯t any gods that were once human beings, or do these human beings change their minds once they have become gods?¡±


    Strangely enough, Woo-Jin was having an unrestrained conversation with the gentleman he saw for the very first time today. Even though a major accident had just happened right before his eyes, it didn''t feel realistic for some reason, and Woo-Jin felt as though he was looking at the world from a separate isolated space. Woo-Jin had felt as if he had become a fish in an aquarium that was looking at the world, and he also had a strange feeling that the reverse was true too.


    ¡°Perhaps humans are doing much better than expected, to the extent that God doesn¡¯t feel the need to intervene.¡± Said the old gentleman as he looked at Woo-Jin with a caring gaze.


    Perhaps humans were the only ones who thought that the world was an unreasonable, unhappy and disorderly place. From God¡¯s point of view, he could¡¯ve felt that humans were a lot more upright and kinder than he had expected.


    It was uncertain if the prejudice that God was always fair and merciful had been created by humans, or that God had engraved it onto human beings for the sake of creating a certain image. But if God were crueler, merciless and more heartless than humans, it would make sense that the world was like this.


    ¡°So let me ask once again. If you could become a god, what would you want to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d do the same thing I¡¯m doing right now.¡±


    Regardless of how much he thought about it, Woo-Jin wondered if things would be any different. Acting, singing, painting, and writing ¨C¨C Woo-Jin was currently doing everything he wanted to do. The only other thing he wanted was for a lot of people to like and relate to his work. Other than that, he didn¡¯t have any other dreams.


    ¡°In that case, you don¡¯t have to become a god. Even though being a god gives you access to an all-powerful cheat code, it¡¯s only all-powerful if there¡¯s a use for it.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not an all-powerful cheat code. At least to me.¡±


    Woo-Jin didn¡¯t want to become a god, unless god was what human beings imagined him to be. How could a god that didn¡¯t understand the human heart communicate with them via art, and make art that people could relate to?


    The things that Woo-Jin wanted to do even after becoming a god were ultimately things that even human beings could do. No, it was happiness that only human beings could enjoy. Just like how the sun had its own value, while the moon and stars had their own part to play, perhaps each entity doing their respective job would lead to the most beautiful ending. And the shining star that gathered in groups was more suited for Woo-Jin as compared to the sun that was too dazzling to look at, or the lonely moon.


    Naturally, Woo-Jin had a lot of things he wanted to do if he were to become a god. Although there were a lot of things he wanted to do, judging from Woo-Jin¡¯s position and circumstances, he could ultimately do it all even if he remained human. The good thing about becoming a god was the immeasurable power, as well as immortality.


    ¡°Being a god is not necessarily a good thing¡­¡±


    Even though he could do more things and take on fun challenges every day, it wasn¡¯t a huge temptation for Woo-Jin, who had lived 999 lives.


    ¡°Think about it slowly, since the time span has increased significantly.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    ¡°Judging from how you look right now, it''s right to say that time always gives you the answer in the end.


    The old gentleman smiled and stroked Woo-Jin¡¯s hair gently. Even though he touched the rain with his right hand earlier, it wasn¡¯t wet at all. Even though Woo-Jin had never met him before, there was a warmth to him that felt very distant, rather than a feeling of rejection.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t just an old man who he happened to meet by chance.


    ¡°You can think of me as your first fan. Here comes your manager. He seems to be very shocked by the news about the accident. Take this with you as a token of apology.¡±


    The old gentleman held out the umbrella he was holding and gave it to Woo-Jin. After suddenly receiving the umbrella, Woo-jin looked at where the old gentleman was pointing towards with his chin. As soon as Kang Ho-Soo ran over hurriedly, Woo-Jin opened the umbrella and approached him, before sheltering him with it.


    ¡°Do you know how shocked I was to hear that the road was blocked because of an accident while I was on my way here? I heard that a truck had swerved onto the sidewalk, at the place where you said you¡¯d wait. I was so shocked that I called you, but you didn¡¯t pick up the phone, so I left the car behind and rushed here. My head was seriously filled with all kinds of thoughts.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo looked at Woo-Jin¡¯s unharmed body while alternating his gaze to the site of the accident nearby, feeling enervated. The accident site and the place Woo-Jin stood at earlier was only five meters away. Just imagining what would¡¯ve happened if Woo-Jin stood a little closer or if the truck had slipped a little farther was terrifying.


    ¡°So you left the car on the road and came running here?¡±


    Woo-Jin was most surprised to hear that Kang Ho-Soo had abandoned his car.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine because we¡¯re stuck here anyway.¡±


    Kang Ho-Soo parked his car as close to the sidewalk as possible in the second lane. But when he was running over to Woo-Jin, he noticed that the street was congested with cars, and they couldn¡¯t inch forward at all because the truck had slipped and swerved sideways, blocking the whole street


    ¡°By the way, did you bring an umbrella with you?¡± Kang Ho-Soo tilted his head as he looked at the umbrella Woo-Jin was holding. He wondered when Woo-Jin had been holding such a huge umbrella.


    ¡°No, the person over there gave¡­¡±


    Woo-Jin pointed to the back and looked for the old gentleman who was just there moments ago, but he was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°It¡¯s raining though, where did he go? Hyung, did you see the person over there leaving?¡±


    ¡°Was there someone there? I didn¡¯t see anyone else because I was focused on you. Anyway, it¡¯s time for us to head back to the car.¡±


    It used to be an empty street, but at some point, it started becoming busy and was now filled with people. It was uncertain whether they were people who had gotten out of their cars to check out the accident site because of the road conditions, or if they were people who were passing by to begin with.


    It was very strange how there were suddenly so many people on the previously empty street. There were hardly any cars passing by earlier on, so Woo-Jin wondered where all these cars came from after the accident. It seemed very strange to him that the quiet and empty street that seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world suddenly became full of people.


    ¡°But¡­huh?¡±


    Woo-Jin tried to recall the old gentleman from before, but he couldn¡¯t remember his face or what he was wearing. He couldn¡¯t even remember whether or not he had heard his voice ¨C¨C he only remembered that they were together, as well as the content of their conversation.


    As Woo-Jin stood there in a trance, preoccupied with a strange and indescribable feeling, Kang Ho-Soo took the umbrella from him and nudged him from the back. More and more people around them started recognizing Woo-Jin; some pointed at him with their fingers, while others cocked their heads to the side as they weren¡¯t certain if it was really him.


    Kang Ho-Soo saw how Woo-Jin seemed to be in a trance still because of shock, so he quickly brought him to the car.


    The rain stopped only after the road conditions improved ¨C¨C after the tow truck and police arrived. Woo-Jin had finally started to come to his senses. He asked Kang Ho-Soo a question.


    ¡°Hyung, if you could become a god, what would you like to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy all of DS¡¯ stocks and take over the company.¡±


    ¡°Why would a god need to take over an entertainment company?¡±


    ¡°So what if you¡¯re a god? Do gods not have things they want to do? Be it gods or humans, one is the happiest when they¡¯re doing something that they want to do. Gods have the right to be happy too.¡±


    Likewise, Kang Ho-Soo wanted world peace and justice from God. But it would have been a different story if he were the one to become a god.


    ¡°By the way, why are you bringing this up suddenly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that the weather is so nice today. Something strange happened to me just moments ago, and I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s d¨¦j¨¤ vu, or if it was a dream.¡± Woo-Jin ruminated over what happened with the old gentleman earlier.


    It was a strange experience that couldn¡¯t be explained with reason or logic. At that moment, it seemed as though God was temporarily by his side, before leaving. But even when God left, life was still as dazzlingly beautiful as before.


    ¡°I must have received quite a number of scripts during this period of time.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡±


    Because Woo-Jin said he wanted to write out of the blue, there was currently a huge pile of scripts in front of him that there wasn¡¯t even room for dust to settle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to read them once I get back from Cannes.¡±


    Woo-Jin meant that he would resume his original activities from now on. He was almost done with his novel save for a few edits. It was now time for him to slowly prepare for his next production.


    It was a process that might seem arduous and too much to handle to others. But to Woo-Jin, all of it was happiness; he couldn''t bring himself to give up even if he were to become a god.

 CH 242

    Regardless of how much of a masterpiece it was, Giorgio still wasn¡¯t a fan of Confession of White. The novel was akin to Ilya Turner¡¯s diary, and he was also offended because it seemed to contain anecdotes about his grandfather, things which he didn¡¯t know about.


    But out of all the films, Selena chose to invest in this one, so Giorgio simply couldn¡¯t disregard it. As an individual, choosing not to watch the film wouldn¡¯t affect its success at the box office. Nonetheless, he wasn¡¯t such a cold-hearted father that he would disregard the production his daughter had planned for and invested in. More importantly, his love for his daughter was greater than his hate for Ilya.


    However, after forcing himself to watch the movie, Giorgio found himself struggling to get up from his seat after the movie ended. Even after mulling over it for quite some time, he couldn¡¯t seem to comprehend what he had just seen, so he watched the movie two more times, despite his initial reluctance to watch it.


    And after watching the movie for the third time, he flew to LA.


    ***


    As soon as his phone rang, Ilya answered it immediately without hesitation. Not many people knew his personal phone number, and they wouldn¡¯t call him without a good reason. In fact, Woo-Jin was the only person who would call him without a reason. Hence, there was no need for Ilya to check who the caller was.}


    However, all of that went out the window today.


    {How did you get my phone number?}


    ¨C¨C Ah, of course it wasn¡¯t easy. Still, it was easier than stealing the CIA¡¯s top secret documents.


    After hearing Giorgio¡¯s nonchalant response, Ilya immediately frowned and asked what his purpose for calling him was. From what he remembered, it had been twenty years since the two of them last talked on the phone. Ilya wondered why Giorgio even called him since they had nothing to talk about.


    ¨C¨C Come here.


    {You tell me to go over there all of a sudden, how would I know where it is¡­ Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re referring to that place?}


    ¨C¨C Yeah.


    Ilya fell silent for a moment before saying ¡®okay¡¯. And he ended the call.


    {He figured it out in the end, huh.}


    It was an outcome he had somewhat expected. If Giorgio had seen Confession of White, Ilya thought that he might¡¯ve noticed it, because people often realized certain facts they had missed out in the novel the moment they saw it in the movie. Ilya was also able to reflect on his own emotions bit by bit, one he he hadn¡¯t fully comprehend them back when he was writing.


    When a novel gets adapted into a film, hundreds of pages of content would be summarized into two to three hours of footage. Thus, films often failed to express novels in depth. However, this time around, the movie portrayed parts of the story that wasn¡¯t fleshed out in the novel.


    The jealousy and despair Lloyd showed while he was talking about the password was truly pathetic. Ilya wanted to hide it in the novel as much as possible, so he glossed over it by expressing it curtly. But Woo-Jin unraveled and portrayed all of the complicated feelings with just one facial expression.


    Ilya felt embarrassed because he felt as though his inner feelings had been exposed, but he felt strangely comforted at the same time by the fact that Woo-Jin understood his feelings. Hence, Ilya felt it was only natural for Giorgio to figure out the password to that place. If he didn¡¯t manage to figure it out, Ilya might have been disappointed in him instead.


    Lansky¡¯s safe house was in the suburbs of LA. Even after decades without an owner, it was well taken care of, so it still looked like a clean and elegant mansion on the outside. As Ilya made his way to the inner part of the house, he would key in the passwords to the doors blocking his way one by one.


    Ilya took a moment to catch a breather in front of the last obstacle, and slowly keyed in Giorgio¡¯s birthday. His terrible fate of having to remember Giorgio¡¯s birthday for decades was ironic and hilarious. As the door opened, the first thing he saw was Giorgio¡¯s back view.


    Even though Giorgio could sense his presence, he didn¡¯t turn his head around ¨C¨C he was looking at the bookshelf that his grandfather specially made.


    {You finally figured it out.}


    {Yeah, it somehow happened.}


    Both of them looked at the bookshelf in front of them without saying a word for quite some time. Even though there were novels all around the place that would widen one¡¯s eyes, both their eyes were fixated on the bookshelf. The titles of the old books that were stored in good condition on the bookshelf alone were enough to make collectors foam at the mouth in excitement.


    Ilya didn¡¯t know the value of those books in the past; just  looking at them was enough for him ¨C¨C he didn¡¯t dare to open them. But now, he was able to pick them up without hesitation and read each and every page to his heart¡¯s content. When he was younger, he judged those books based on their monetary value, but he knew their true value now. More importantly, there was no reason for a book to exist if nobody read it.


    {I didn¡¯t like this place.}


    {I know.}


    {No, it used to be just a boring place, but there are things that have been bothering me for some time now. It probably started when my grandfather moved this collection here.}


    Originally, this collection was placed in a safe house near New York. At that time, even though it was troublesome, Giorgio used to go to the safe house with his grandfather if the latter wanted to, and he would listen to his grandfather talk about the paintings and the other items in his collection.


    Although it was boring, Giorgio didn¡¯t dislike it. It was somewhat enjoyable, and it was a happy memory. But one day, his grandfather started moving his most treasured artworks to LA, which was quite a distance from New York. Nonetheless, he came to this place with his grandfather without any complaints during the initial few visits.


    {To be precise, I think it happened ever since this book was added into my grandfather¡¯s collection.}


    Giorgio took a box out from the drawer in the middle of the bookshelf and placed it on the desk at the back. The box, along with the bookshelf, was specially made and was vintage-looking; it was optimized for storing books.


    When he opened the lid of the box, a novel titled, The Bard Does Not Sing, could be seen.


    In terms of the family business, and business in general, Giorgio was a successor who exceeded Lansky¡¯s expectations. He was well-loved by Lansky, and there were also many memories shared between them. The only things they didn¡¯t have in common were their hobbies and tastes.


    Ilya was the one who filled the void that Giorgio failed to fill, so Giorgio was jealous of Ilya because of that ¨C¨C he was like a wealthy man, who had ninety nine things but was obsessing over the one thing he didn¡¯t have. He became even more jealous when he realized that the reason why his grandfather chose to move his most cherished works of art to the newly-built safe house in LA was because Ilya said he was going to settle down in LA after graduating from college.


    His grandfather never looked happier as he kept Ilya¡¯s novel in a box that he specially made, while singing praises about it. He looked even more liberated and happy than when he was the head of the Consccia family, or when he was Giorgio¡¯s grandfather. Back then, Giorgio couldn¡¯t help but hate how happy he looked.


    {But even that became a memory over the years.}


    Even the memories of that time, when he was angry and annoyed, had become distant and faint. Before he knew it, the negative feelings had vanished, and all that was left was longing.


    Ilya ran his fingers along the rim of the box containing the book. He had already heard and knew about it from Woo-Jin, but it was a totally different feeling seeing his book here. He wanted to smile with joy, but he was also sad for some reason, so he thought for a moment about how terrible his face must have looked if he were to look in the mirror right now.


    Giorgio looked at Ilya, and wondered if he looked just like that back when he saw the door opening after keying in the final password earlier on. He tossed the envelope he had put aside earlier in front of Ilya.


    {What is this?}


    {It¡¯s the document that shows this mansion and works of art in this place belong to you now.}


    {What?}


    {Grandpa had always wanted to give you this mansion, along with everything in it. He couldn¡¯t do that because of my aunts and uncles.}


    Moving his collection to LA in the first place was part of Lansky¡¯s plan. However, he failed to give the mansion and the collection within it to Ilya while he was still alive, and neither could he include it in his will because of his greedy children. It was obvious how they would¡¯ve reacted if Lansky were to write Ilya¡¯s name on the will.


    Since Lansky had raised Giorgio to become his successor since childhood, his power and legitimacy had been firmly established. Even his own father didn¡¯t dare to challenge his authority, and the authority he had built since childhood even made his aunts and uncles surrender to their nephew.


    More importantly, Lansky didn¡¯t excuse his children if he thought they might pose a threat to his beloved grandson, and he didn¡¯t even give them the power or money to oust Giorgio in the first place.


    However, even without power, they were still Lansky¡¯s children and members of the Consccia family. Even though they were lesser than their father or nephew, they still had the means to do terrible things to the young and orphaned novelist. Although they couldn¡¯t lay a finger on him back when Lansky was still alive, they could easily deal with him after his death.


    Giorgio¡¯s second uncle, in particular, highly coveted his grandfather¡¯s collection. He had always wanted Lansky to pass on his collection to him. He even complained to the stubborn Lansky and had even gotten mad at him.


    If Lansky had left everything to Ilya, it was evident what the person, who was that angry with his father and nephew, would¡¯ve done to a mere novelist. It was likely that Giorgio wouldn¡¯t have actively protected Ilya either. But that said, Giorgio¡¯s grandfather wouldn¡¯t have wanted him to be protected and threatened his entire life too.


    Thus, Lansky couldn¡¯t give Ilya anything. Instead, he mentioned Ilya to his grandson from time to time, and told him to take care of Ilya even after his death. He wanted Giorgio to inherit this mansion, and to quietly hand it over to Ilya later on. It was an inheritance that had been meticulously planned, while seemingly disregarding Ilya''s opinion in the process.


    {Why was he so worried about me when I¡¯m living well even without anybody taking care of me?}


    Even if nobody had taken care of Ilya, he had a bright and promising future as a novelist, and there wasn''t anyone tormenting him. The aunts and uncles they were concerned about merely regarded Ilya as one of the many artists Lansky sponsored, so they didn¡¯t pay any attention to him.


    {He only said it once ¨C¨C that he wanted to give you this mansion, as well as the collection here.}


    It seemed as though Giorgio himself was vaguely aware of his jealousy towards Ilya. Hence, it seemed like he had just casually mentioned it in passing without provoking him as much as possible.


    But Lansky knew that was enough to get the job done. Once it was in Giorgio¡¯s hands, his children would no longer be able to covet this place. And whether Giorgio liked it or not, he wasn¡¯t a child who would betray his grandfather¡¯s wishes.


    This place had been forgotten for years after his grandfather¡¯s death, but as expected, Giorgio became a reliable successor. His aunts and uncles who had coveted his grandfather¡¯s legacy didn¡¯t know the exact location of this mansion, and once it was in Giorgio¡¯s hands, they had given up, knowing there was no more hope.


    The legal proceedings were carried out in accordance with the will without any interference, and all that was left was Giorgio¡¯s signature. However, he was spiteful about the fact that Ilya was the only person that knew the password to this place, so he held out for decades without signing it.


    He finally signed this document today.


    {Why? Do you feel better because the password is your birthday?}


    {Am I that petty of a person in your eyes?}


    {...}


    His silence spoke volumes. After seeing Ilya¡¯s gaze shifting away as he evaded his forthright question, Giorgio frowned.


    {I just thought you must¡¯ve had a hard time too!}


    Giorgio always saw Ilya from his own point of view. He had once thought of Ilya as someone who was eyeing his territory. He saw him as a nerve-racking competitor, and for some reason, there were times he felt as though Ilya was his grandfather¡¯s illegitimate child.


    However, his perspective turned one hundred and eighty degrees after watching the film adaptation of Confession of White. Giorgio looked at himself from Ilya¡¯s point of view. He felt Ilya¡¯s jealousy and despair, which couldn¡¯t be sensed from reading the novel alone, and learned that they was similar yet different from each other.


    In any case, as someone who was neither Lansky¡¯s child nor grandson, Ilya must have felt very insecure and terrified to be in a position where he craved for Lansky¡¯s affection.


    The fear that his only connection with this world might suddenly abandon him one day was an emotion Giorgio had never imagined. Rather than feeling superior to him, he came to understand Ilya¡¯s feelings a little more. He could no longer mock the desperation of desperate people.


    Additionally, he also understood the affection and pity his grandfather had for Ilya. Giorgio also empathized with his grandfather and understood why he had been worried about Ilya living alone in this world as a social misfit, without openly doing anything for him till the day he died.


    {From now on, everything here belongs to you. So it¡¯s up to you whether you want to give them back to society in the future, or to sell them right away.}


    Giorgio didn¡¯t care what Ilya did with them in the future as they were given to him unconditionally.


    {In that case, does it mean you won¡¯t say anything if I give them to someone else?}


    {Is there someone you have in mind?}


    Giorgio thought there was no way that would be the case as Ilya had neither family nor close friends.


    {Could someone like me even have a person I can give these things to?}


    {By any chance, are you going to give them to Selena?}


    {I¡¯m sorry, but no. Ah,         come to think of it, Selena must be very disappointed.}


    Since Giorgio figured out the password to this place, Selena¡¯s hope was dashed as she was currently dating Dustin. Seeing how Selena looked happier than before, Ilya supported her love for Dustin, but it was unfortunate.


    {I¡¯m going to keep pretending I don¡¯t know the password to this place, so don¡¯t tell her about it either.}


    {Is that a tacit approval?}


    {I want to pay it forward and give my child as much as I have received. In the future, I want my children to remember and love me the way we currently remember and love my grandfather.}


    There was no way Selena¡¯s father couldn¡¯t see how happy she was, when others could already notice it. He also wondered why it even mattered to him how trivial things like this would turn out to be in the future.


    As a father, he supported and believed in his daughter, and if necessary, he would become her pillar and shelter. Selena only needed to know that she had a father who wouldn¡¯t betray her regardless of what happened.


    In the past, Giorgio¡¯s words would¡¯ve made Ilya feel a little bitter. But now, he could smile at him. That was because Lansky''s feelings and Giorgio¡¯s concerns had reached his heart.


    {Do you believe in reincarnation?}


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s sudden question, Giorgio looked at him with a look on his face that seemed to suggest he had heard something ridiculous.


    {Novelists¡­}


    {Well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t believe in it.}


    {What are you going to do if I believe in it?}


    Nevertheless, Giorgio was a little curious because Ilya wasn¡¯t a man who would ask a useless question for no reason. Since he had already brought it up, he might as well say what he wanted to say.


    {I was wondering what you¡¯d do if he had been reincarnated as someone, somewhere else in this world.}


    It was obvious who Ilya was talking about. Giorgio turned serious for a moment, even though he had a pitiful look on his face in response to the novelist¡¯s wild imagination.


    A pleasant imagination was always enjoyable. It was meaningless because it was something that could never happen, but there were many fools in this world that would risk their lives for something even more meaningless than that.


    {On the premise that reincarnation exists, one must first have the memories of their past life, right?}


    Regardless of whether or not one believed in reincarnation, it wasn¡¯t worth discussing it without memories of the past life. Even if Giorgio¡¯s current life wasn¡¯t his first life, and that he had other lives before this one, it was meaningless as he couldn¡¯t remember any of his past memories.


    Ilya nodded instead of answering Giorgio¡¯s question.


    {In that case¡­I¡¯ll pretend not to know.}


    {That was unexpected.}


    Ilya thought that Giorgio would run to the reincarnated Lansky as soon as he found out about it. But he gave an entirely different answer instead, so Ilya was surprised.


    {He had always wanted to be free. If he didn¡¯t come to see us despite having memories of his past, wouldn¡¯t that mean he doesn¡¯t want to be associated with the Consccia anymore? I have to give him the freedom that he longed for in this life. Even if I were to find out about it by chance, I would pretend not to know until the very end.}


    Giorgio had many memories with his grandfather ¨C¨C he was confident he would recognize the person he had reincarnated into by piecing his memories together. And he loved his grandfather so much that he wanted to make his dream come true, rather than fulfilling his own desires and reliving his memories.


    {But why did you bring this up?}


    {For some reason, I think L. Dmitri will write a second novel.}


    After hearing Ilya¡¯s response, Giorgio casually guessed that he was trying to collect data and conduct an interview for his next novel. Writing as L. Dmitri instead of Ilya meant that the story would be mixed with autobiographical elements, just like it did in Confession of White.


    {I decline to have my life story written in the novel.}


    {If I write about a womanizer with a grandfather complex, what are you going to do about it?}


    Giorgio was currently dating someone new. He laughed out loud after hearing what Ilya said.


    {But stories like that are popular. It¡¯s provocative.}


    {Crude bastard.}


    Ilya rebuked the chuckling Giorgio, as he put the novel back in its place and carefully arranged the documents. Giorgio watched him in silence before speaking his mind.


    {To be honest, I didn¡¯t think you were going to accept this mansion even if I gave it to you.}


    {You¡¯re right. I probably wouldn¡¯t have accepted it in the past. Even if I accepted it, it would only become a burden, and it would be difficult to deal with in the future. I would¡¯ve been satisfied with just one visit}


    {But that¡¯s not the case. You seem extremely unfamiliar today.}


    It had been a while since Ilya¡¯s change, but Giorgio couldn¡¯t have known about it as they weren''t close with one another. Lansky¡¯s grandson was very curious as to what had caused Ilya to change so much.


    {Come to think of it, from what you¡¯ve said earlier, you seem to have someone you want to give this mansion to. Who could that person be?}


    Ilya looked around the place for a moment. There were so many memories in this place, but that particular person was the reason why this place was so precious. Ilya smiled as he thought about Lansky, who was always standing at the spot Giorgio was currently standing at. The afterimage of the past was now pervaded by a different image.


    {I do. He¡¯s someone who is best suited for this place.}

 CH 243

    Dinky Cafe opened at 10 a.m. but because this place had already become a hotspot in the area, customers flocked in as soon as it opened.


    There was a wide variety of customers, across a wide range of ages, visiting the cafe on a Saturday morning ¨C¨C from young students hanging out with their friends because there was no school, to the elderly; from people who were job hunting, to office workers that were tired even on their day off; from the unhappy or happy people, to the passersby that dropped in, and customers that had been regulars for several years.


    It was a place where many different types of people came and went in large numbers within a day. As such, there were also a lot of stories told by its customers there. The most interesting stories among them were celebrity gossip.


    ¡°Did you know that Min Si-Hoo and Lee Min-Soo fought at a bar last night? They even beat up the owner when he tried to stop them and were charged.¡±


    ¡°Who are they?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember Blue Fit? You used to like them a lot.¡±


    ¡°Ah! I remember now. But weren¡¯t they members of the same group? Why were they fighting with each other?¡±


    While people still remembered the name ¡®Blue Fit¡¯ several years later, the public¡¯s memory of the individual members had faded. Even though Lee Min-Soo had been the leader of Blue Fit and was still active as he took on minor roles in the acting industry from time to time, people had mostly forgotten about him and his name didn¡¯t exactly ring a bell immediately. However, once they remembered who he was, nobody had anything good to say about him.


    ¡°Last night, Lee Min-Soo happened to run into Min Si-Hoo at a bar, and I guess he started a fight with him, saying that Blue Fit ended up in ruins because of him. Which is true¡­ if Min Si-Hoo hadn¡¯t bullied Genie, then even if their popularity were to end up waning in the future, they wouldn¡¯t have been destroyed like that, so Min-Soo must¡¯ve been mad at him.¡±


    ¡°Lee Min-Soo isn¡¯t exactly blameless either. I heard that he played a big part in turning Blue Fit against Genie.¡±


    Even though people couldn¡¯t really remember their names, every single one of their actions lingered in their minds. This was particularly so because after some time had passed, there was an interview with TM employees and a lesser-known member of Blue Fit where it was mentioned that they had also suffered because of what Lee Min-Soo had done.


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t Lee Min-Soo studying abroad in America? When did he come back?¡±


    ¡°Studying abroad my foot! He was addicted to gambling and already squandered all the money he earned back when he was a member of Blue Fit. Since his family isn¡¯t giving him financial support, he must¡¯ve returned to Korea not too long ago since he couldn¡¯t survive any longer alone out there. According to the article, it turns out that he had stolen his mother¡¯s belongings and went to the bar.¡±


    After badmouthing Min Si-Hoo and Lee Min-Soo for quite some time, the two of them suddenly remembered the name and face of one person.


    ¡°What¡¯s Lee Yeon been doing these days?¡±


    After the sponsorship scandal, Lee Yeon had been completely kicked out of the entertainment industry. Judging from how he was one of the big celebrities within the entertainment industry, it seemed harder for the public to forgive him for accepting a sponsorship as compared to bullying and assault.


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s managing an orchard in the countryside.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s funny how he seems to be living the most stable and decent life out of all the Blue Fit members.¡±


    Presently, aside from small-time actor Lee Min-Soo and gambling addict Min Si-Hoo, one of the Blue Fit members was heavily in debt because of business failure after business failure, and another member was arrested for fraud. One could only sigh after hearing the stories of these Blue Fit members. Managing an orchard created quite a disparity between Lee Yeon and the rest of the members, but he was living the most decently and carefreely out of all the former Blue Fit members.


    The two customers remarked, ¡®In any case, what goes around comes around¡¯, and gloated over the plight of the former Blue Fit members. Just then, the owner of the cafe brought cookies over to their table.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t order any cookies, though?¡±


    ¡°We give free cookies to our first customers every day. I¡¯m a little late today because I preheated the oven later than usual. I¡¯ll refill your Americano instead to make up for it.¡±


    As soon as the cafe opened, several customers flocked in together, but these two people were indeed their first customers of the day. The free cookies that were given to the customers were best served with Americano, but since the owner was slightly late, the customer¡¯s cups were almost empty.


    The cafe owner looked into the store as he was refilling the first two customers¡¯ cups of Americano, and greeted the customers that happened to enter the cafe.


    ¡°Welcome to Dinky Cafe, ah¡­!¡±


    When the owner saw who entered the cafe, he walked up to them quickly and showed them to their seats. Their favorite table in the corner of the second floor happened to be unoccupied. It was the best seat for them because it was located between the wall and the pillar, so they could cleverly avoid other people¡¯s peering eyes.


    ¡°You seem to look younger every time I see you, sir.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t look any different from the last time we saw him, though?¡±


    After hearing Woo-Hee¡¯s words, Woo-Ra looked the cafe owner up and down with an indifferent look on her face. Her remark was cold. However, the owner already knew what Woo-Ra¡¯s personality was like, so he merely smiled and thanked her instead. Saying someone didn¡¯t look any older even though time had passed could also mean that they looked younger.


    ¡°You¡¯re not even a celebrity anymore, do you really have to go around looking like that? It¡¯ll attract more attention instead.¡±


    As soon as the cafe owner left after taking their orders, Woo-Hee chided Woo-Ra asking why she couldn¡¯t just act normal when she was out and about. Woo-Ra had left Berry Rose, declaring that she would no longer be active within the entertainment industry, but here she was, wearing a huge pair of sunglasses and a black face mask.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you keep going to places where ordinary folks frequent.¡±


    Woo-Ra had many complaints of her own too, stating that she had no choice but to cover her face because they came to a place where there were a lot of people around, with zero privacy. Even though she constantly grumbled, she followed Woo-Hee wherever she went. Besides, Woo-Ra was also a huge fan of this cafe¡¯s coffee, despite her complaints.


    Although Woo-Hee and Woo-Ra didn¡¯t see each other often, both of them would meet once or twice a month to have a meal and chat with one another at a cafe like this. The reason why they met up in the morning was that they wanted to watch Woo-Jin¡¯s new movie together.


    Guardian Angel 2 was released three years after the first movie, starring both Woo-Jin and Dustin. It didn¡¯t come as a surprise since Woo-Jin had fully established himself as a major actor in Hollywood within a few years.


    ¡°The movie¡¯s at an awkward time, so we¡¯ll need to have a late lunch.¡±


    ¡°Why did you pick such a time slot!¡±


    ¡°I barely managed to get the tickets even at this time slot!¡±


    When Woo-Hee gnashed her teeth and glared at her, Woo-Ra quietly played the innocent.


    Woo-Hee had already watched the movie after getting a ticket from her brother, but Woo-Ra insisted that they watch it today, so she had no choice but to watch it again. This was because she could see Woo-Ra pestering her about how she wanted to watch the movie, but didn¡¯t have any friends to watch it with, and that she didn¡¯t want to watch it alone.


    After Woo-Ra said she was going to get her secretary to book the movie tickets for her because she didn¡¯t know how to, Woo-Hee told her she would do it instead. However, it was difficult to find a good time slot because the movie was a huge hit, coupled with the fact that it was Saturday.


    Woo-Hee told her she should be very grateful for those tickets, to which Woo-Ra nodded meekly.


    ¡°We¡¯re graduating from college next year, what are you planning to do?¡±


    Woo-Hee¡¯s career path had been established a long time ago, but unlike her, Woo-Ra couldn¡¯t decide what she wanted to do, even though she was graduating next year. However, going to college and completing her classes up until the second semester of her senior year without a hitch, and graduating alone was a miracle for Woo-Ra.


    ¡°Bareunjeong ¨C¨C I¡¯m going to work for my dad¡¯s company.¡± Woo-Ra didn¡¯t have any plans previously, but she responded right away this time around.


    ¡°Via nepotism?¡±


    ¡°Do you think Bareunjeong is some terrible company that hires people via nepotism? And even if it was, I¡¯d reject them!¡±


    ¡°In that case, how are you going to get hired?¡±


    ¡°Special admissions for celebrities!¡±


    Woo-Hee was briefly at a loss for words. Woo-Ra couldn¡¯t tell the difference between nepotism and special admissions for celebrities.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already entered college via special admissions as a celebrity, and now you even want to use it to get a job! Besides, you¡¯re no longer a celebrity.¡±


    ¡°Ah, whatever! The only thing I know is that I have a good palate. I¡¯ll join Bareunjeong¡¯s food development team and develop some amazing new products. You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Woo-Hee had also acknowledged that Woo-Ra had a good palate. Just like how a certain character had once said the meat was cooked with persimmon because it tasted like persimmon[1], Woo-Ra had a similar ability.


    This was something that Woo-Hee learned after looking up good restaurants and eating there with Woo-Ra. Woo-Hee had been annoyed with how stingy Woo-Ra was with praises when it came to food, but she found out that Woo-Ra had a good palate. Not only was Woo-Ra able to guess the ingredients of the dish correctly, but she also managed to get the combination and proportions right, so that if one were to follow her instructions on how to recreate the dish at home, it would taste almost identical to the actual dish. Additionally, if they were to follow her suggestions and add more of certain ingredients, then the dishes would taste even better than those belonging to famous restaurants without fail.


    Prior to that, even Woo-Ra herself had no idea that her palate was that good. No, to be precise, she thought everyone else¡¯s palates were equally good, but she came to learn that hers was slightly more superior and unique.


    Hence, she had taken an interest in cooking these days and found it very fun.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show everyone my ability in one way or another, and Bareunjeong will be in my hands no matter what!¡±


    ¡°Ability¡­¡±


    There were a lot of things Woo-Hee wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut. Her ability to pick out flavors and ingredients with her palate was different from the ability to run a company, but it was a matter for that family to figure out on their own.


    ¡°By the way, I heard your father didn¡¯t remarry. Is it because you¡¯re against it by any chance?¡±


    After divorcing Kim Hye-Ryeong, Woo-Hee thought he would get married again right away, but Woo-Ra¡¯s father had been single for several years ever since.


    ¡°Do you think my father would listen to me if I were to oppose it? Well, I think he¡¯s dating some woman, but it seems like he would never get married because he has a lot of trust issues. He¡¯s getting older, and older ¨C¨C it¡¯s evident that he wouldn¡¯t have any more children even if he were to get married. It might be a different story if he were to have a son, but if he marries a young woman, he will leave the world before she does, and when that happens, where do you think our family¡¯s wealth will go?¡±


    Woo-Ra¡¯s practical concern was an accurate interpretation of Chae Mu-Seok¡¯s current fears. When he divorced Kim Hye-Ryeong, he was planning to get married immediately as well, but naturally, he had to think about the future when looking for a partner.


    To put it bluntly, unless he found a partner whom he had fallen deeply in love with, such that he was willing to give everything he had to her unconditionally without feeling a pinch, getting remarried at this age could be akin to giving away the empire he had built to another family.


    ¡°He¡¯s aging disgracefully as well, huh. Oh, someone¡¯s calling you.¡±


    For some reason, after imagining how her biological father would be growing old alone pitifully as time went by, Woo-Hee had a bitter smile on her face. Just then, Woo-Ra¡¯s phone on the table started to ring, so Woo-Hee pointed at it. Instead of answering the call, Woo-Ra responded by disabling vibration and turning on silent mode.


    ¡°It¡¯s my mom ¨C¨C I don¡¯t have to pick it up.¡±


    ¡°Did she ask for money again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! She lost one of my buildings previously, and she¡¯s asking to loan a building as collateral this time around.¡±


    It might sound harsh, but Woo-Ra thought she had kept her loyalty to her mother by giving her a building that was worth ten billion won. Presently, her father was hesitant about remarriage, but nobody knew what would happen in the future. As Woo-Ra was well-aware of what her father thought of her, she had been preparing the groundwork to be self-sufficient at any time. That was the reality, but her mother still couldn¡¯t come to her senses, Thus, Woo-Ra was now completely fed up with her.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to squander all that wealth in just two to three years though¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s obsessed with doing business. Probably because my stepmother became very successful after getting a divorce. It seems like she thought she could become just like that if she were to do the same. She should just resign to fate and get a job just like me.¡±


    After the divorce, Kim Hye-Ryeong started several businesses, but every single one of them failed. The people that had approached her also turned out to be scammers, and because someone was determined to sabotage her, everything she did ended in failure, and now she was broke.


    The reason why Woo-Ra obediently decided to work for Bareunjeong was that she came to realize a lot of things after watching her mother fail at everything she did.


    ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve been really into some punk for some reason. Ah, just thinking about it makes me annoyed and embarrassed!¡±


    As Woo-Ra was speaking, she shook her head to shake off her thoughts. Still, Woo-Hee was the only person she felt comfortable sharing such things with.


    ¡°I have nothing to say. Instead, I give you my sincere condolences.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only asking because I¡¯m really curious, but why do people have to send boring condolences[2]? Does it mean they¡¯re trying to say they want to hang out together by telling the other party they¡¯re bored?¡±


    Woo-Hee looked at Woo-Hee with a serious look on her face, telling her she had no idea why people only sent boring condolences instead of normal ones.


    ¡°Ha, let¡¯s swing by the bookstore before we watch the movie.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Woo-Hee patted the back of Woo-Ra¡¯s hand and apologized for being negligent when she should have paid more attention to it before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find Korean dictionaries with definitions that are easy to understand and Sino-Korean words. Let¡¯s not give up.¡±


    However, Woo-Ra didn¡¯t understand what she was trying to say. Nonetheless, with a blank look on her face, Woo-Ra felt happy because Woo-Hee was concerned about her.


    1. It¡¯s a reference to a very famous Korean drama back in the 2000s, called ??? (Jewel in the Palace), where the young Jang Geum, a palace girl with a remarkable palate, guessed correctly that the meat was cooked with persimmon ¨C¨C which was uncommon, and when asked how she knew the answer, she responded that she simply tasted persimmon. ?


    2. ??? ?? means sincere condolences, but at the same time ??? (???? = bored) means boring. Since Woo-Hee has a poor vocabulary, she misinterpreted what Woo-Hee said as ¡®boring condolences¡¯. ?

 CH 244

    Choi Woo-Jin ¨C¨C Walking With Him


    Biltman met with Actor Choi Woo-Jin, the guest whom we invited to grace our covers in the last month of the year. He has had the most eventful year on the 10th anniversary of his debut, and Biltman wanted to hear his honest anecdotes. However, such an excuse was just a filler used to fill the page.


    Is there truly a need for such a reason to meet with Choi Woo-Jin to have a conversation with him face to face? Meeting the person in question was the real purpose behind this interview.


    Buzzing with excitement, the place where we met Choi Woo-Jin was a cafe located in nature, away from the city center. Despite filming in a close by location up until the day before, he greeted us without showing any signs of fatigue.


    He was in this splendid place where the warm light shone in, putting the barren branches that were seen through the window to shame. He wore a stylish gray glen plaid suit with a fancy solid purple tie. The moment he stood up and held out his hand, I was reminded of the first time I met him.


    He was a young rising star back then, but he was mature and upright for his age. He was filled with radiance and warmth that couldn¡¯t be found in the darkness shown in his debut film.


    Even though years have passed, his looks and appearance did not change. He is still as upright and radiant as before, and with the passing of time, the scent of a mature adult made him even more beautiful.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] I suddenly recalled the day we first met.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Ah, it was the day I had my very first photo shoot and interview. Come to think of it, just like that day, both you and Photographer Kim Jun-Yeol are here again today.


    Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s eyes became dim for a moment. For him, it was an unforgettable memory with Biltman; and for his fans, it was the day where a rare and legendary pictorial was born.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] It felt like it just happened yesterday, but it¡¯s already been ten years. However, you haven¡¯t changed much apart from the vibe you give off. And your eyes ¨C¨C there¡¯s more depth and maturity to them.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] It¡¯s been ten years. I¡¯m now at the age where I can¡¯t claim to be twenty years old.


    His birthday was in March, so Woo-Jin said he was already thirty, he had a gloomy look on his face. Even though he appeared to look the same on the surface, The change from his twenties to thirties seemed to begin with his mind.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Speaking of age, you even played the role of a high school student in the recent drama. However, there was no sense of incongruity, so a lot of people initially mistook you for a child actor who resembled Choi Woo-Jin.


    Choi Woo-Jin unexpectedly chose a drama, titled Memories ¨C The Memory Trap, to mark the tenth anniversary of his debut. Returning to the small screen with a drama for the first time in five years, he is currently portraying a character named Kang Seok-Cheol, who has the ability to modify a person¡¯s memories.


    In the drama, Chae Woo-Jin portrays Kang Seok-Cheol up till his high school days. While he nailed the appearance of a high schooler, he also perfectly portrayed the emotions and vibe of a teenager. All without letting the viewers feel a sense of incongruity, thereby eliciting admiration.


    Choi Woo-Jin is always one step ahead ¨C¨C the moment one thinks that he has no more tricks up his sleeve, he will appear before us in a newer and more astounding form.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Did you choose this drama as a way of providing fan service to celebrate the tenth anniversary of your debut? It¡¯s a well-known fact that you love your fans very much. And acting in a drama is the most effective way for an actor to reach out to the public.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Many people see it that way, but frankly, I chose this drama because I like it.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] In that case, was the reason why you haven¡¯t acted in a drama for the past five years because you didn¡¯t come across a drama that appealed to you?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] No. There were two dramas that I really wanted to act in, but I had to let them go because of an overlap in schedules with my other contracts.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] It¡¯s my first time hearing about this. If you had revealed your interest in acting in those dramas, the production companies would have arranged the broadcast and filming schedules to fit yours.


    As soon as I asked why the broadcasting company and production team didn¡¯t do that, Choi Woo-Jin responded with an awkward look.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] The broadcast schedules of both dramas had been agreed upon with the broadcasting companies before they started casting. I was late in reading the synopses and scripts. It¡¯s absurd for them to change their schedule because of me.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Of course, but it would¡¯ve been a different story if you were the lead actor.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Once you¡¯ve come to an agreement, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to make any changes. It¡¯s a matter of principle.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] You¡¯re still as firm as ever in that regard. May I know the titles of those dramas?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I fell in love with the production after reading the synopses and scripts, but I made the decision to let them go. The production teams weren¡¯t aware of it either. Those dramas can be considered as my unrequited love, so I¡¯ll cherish them in my heart.


    Choi Woo-Jin refused to mention the names of the dramas which he had let go of. He added that it would be very disrespectful to the actors that had already starred in those dramas if he mentioned the titles in this interview.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] You can add this to the total score in your quest to become Korea¡¯s poster boy for unrequited love.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Korea¡¯s poster boy for unrequited love ¨C¨C it¡¯s been a while since I heard that.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] At some point, all the characters you played had achieved love. Either that, or there was no romance at all. Which is the case this time?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Kang Seok-Cheol is a character who¡¯s not suited for romance, but there¡¯s someone named Ma Yu-Mi, who¡¯s had a crush on him since high school. So, you¡¯ll never know. But is there really a need for romance in dramas?


    Currently, 18 out of 24 episodes of the drama that showed no signs of romance thus far had been aired, and Choi Woo-Jin dropped a major bomb. It was expected that there would be two episodes left by the time this issue of the magazine is published.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] There¡¯s no need for romance in dramas?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] It¡¯s just a personal opinion that has nothing to do with the ending of the drama.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Indeed, there hasn¡¯t been a drama with a male lead like Kang Seok-Cheol so far. He¡¯s a character who is more than capable of existing on his own without a romance storyline. But I¡¯m very curious about how his relationship with Ma Yu-Mi will unfold. Since you finished the final shooting yesterday, I¡¯m sure you know how it ends. Give me a sneak preview.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Shh! You know I can¡¯t.


    Choi Woo-Jin put his finger to his lips and shook his head. Two-thirds of Memories ¨C The Memory Trap has already been filmed and aired. Currently, they have just wrapped up filming.


    However, the production team has been working hard to prevent the contents from leaking to the public. And Choi Woo-Jin is right at the apex. The man that is keeping this secret would never show us any mercy ¨C¨C just like Kang Seok-Cheol in the drama.


    Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s character, Kang Seok-Cheol, is called Dol-Soe[1] by his friends and family, but his image and personality was nothing like his nickname. Instead, he is sophisticated and intelligent, level-headed and very self-centered; he¡¯s a character who would never sacrifice himself.


    Kang Seok-Cheol¡¯s wish is to change his name to ¡®Brian¡¯. He brazenly introduces himself to the people he meets for the first time as ¡®Brian Kang.¡¯ Ma Yu-Mi¡¯s nickname is ¡®milady¡¯; Kang Seok-Cheol was so immature that he was jealous of Ma Yu-Mi because he thought it was beautiful. So even when Ma Yu-Mi didn¡¯t take a sip of alcohol at a company get-together, he told her she wasn¡¯t allowed to drive. Kang Seok-Cheol then took Ma Yu-Mi home, but he made sure she paid him for driving her back. Be it ten or twenty years, he¡¯s the type of person who would never forget a grudge, and would one day seek revenge out of the blue and gloat over it.


    Although there are many women who are attracted to him because of his handsome looks and outstanding abilities, thanks to Ma Yu-Mi sabotaging those women¡¯s efforts, Kang Seok-Cheol mistakenly thought he is unpopular because of his name.


    However, he is so clueless that even though Ma Yu-Mi has been actively expressing her feelings for him for more than ten years, he is still unaware of it.


    Currently, the fans of the drama are divided into two factions ¨C¨C those who wish for Kang Seok-Cheol to be alone until the very end, and those who wish for him to end up with Ma Yu-Mi.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] What is your personal opinion on Kang Seok-Cheol as a character?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I think of him as an innocent person. But he¡¯s so innocent that it makes him cruel at times. Frankly, if not for that side of him, it must¡¯ve been hard for him to withstand the hurt inflicted on him, unbeknownst to him, from modifying people¡¯s memories. Personally, I hope everything goes well between him and Ma Yu-Mi, as she¡¯s someone who loves even his shortcomings.


    Choi Woo-Jin didn¡¯t see a need for romance in dramas, but he thought it would be good for Kang Seok-Cheol to end up with Ma Yu-Mi.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Exactly! There¡¯s no one like Ma Yu-Mi. I wonder if Kang Seok-Cheol erased himself from her memory.


    As soon as I brought up the scene that made many viewers upset and angry, Choi Woo-Jin smiled broadly. It was a moment where the image of Kang Seok-Cheol within him surfaced.


    Kang Seok-Cheol had erased Ma Yu-Mi¡¯s memories of him. The next day, he walked past her while whistling as though nothing had happened. He¡¯s a cruel and bad guy, who is very cool at the same time. Anybody who has watched the drama will agree with this statement.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] You''ll find out the reason tomorrow. By the time the readers read this interview, everyone who watches the drama will know why.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] This is why it¡¯s hard to talk about an ongoing drama. But it¡¯s truly been a long time since I felt scared about a drama ending. It¡¯s not just me ¨C¨C several viewers said that they don¡¯t want to part ways with Kang Seok-Cheol, and a lot of people said that the closer the drama gets to the finale, the more their hearts ache. I think that actors say goodbye to the characters from a different standpoint. How do you normally feel?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I have mixed feelings about it for sure. I said goodbye to him after shooting the last scene yesterday, but it still feels empty here.


    He continued, while stroking the area around his heart.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I can¡¯t simply put it in words, but there are times it feels like a part of me has been ripped out.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] This is surprising because you¡¯re known for getting out of character shortly after a production ends.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Just because I get out of character quickly, it doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t feel anything. The feelings of relief, loneliness and longing linger for a while before leaving. And at that moment, it would become a real farewell.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Looking at your face right now, it seems like there are still traces of Kang Seok-Cheol.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] He has an eccentric personality, so he¡¯ll probably linger for a few more days before leaving.


    The conversation with Choi Woo-Jin naturally segued into plans for his next project.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] You were recently cast as the main lead of A Fragment of Enigma.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Coughs. Ahem, ahem. I¡¯ve been offered the role, but I have yet to come to a decision.


    Even though it has been years since its publication, the news about the best-selling fantasy novel, A Fragment of Enigma, being adapted into a film has shocked the world. The producers and the director have selected Choi Woo-Jin as the male lead right off the bat, and the public agreed with their decision.


    Normally, opinions are divided when there are talks about a particular actor being cast as a main character, but this time around, everybody unanimously approved of it.


    However, as someone who was at the center of the topic of discussion, Choi Woo-Jin looked very embarrassed and troubled. Strangely, there was a boyish vibe in his shy expression as he looked out of the window.


    For some reason, rather than negative feelings of dislike, he seemed conflicted because of his feelings of embarrassment as well as some other ambiguous feelings.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Originally, the author of A Fragment of Enigma had no intention of making a film adaptation, but there were rumors that the agency and Ilya Turner persuaded him to sign the contract. Do you know anything about it?


    The friendship between Ilya Turner, who is dubbed as a literary colossus, and Choi Woo-Jin was already a well-known fact. When asked if he knew anything about the inside story behind the film adaptation of A Fragment of Enigma, Choi Woo-Jin shook his head softly.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Of course you¡¯re going to do it, right?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Well, I¡¯m turning them down respectfully because I¡¯m not ready yet.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] It may sound rude, but as a fan of the novel, I hope to see you act in that movie. Just like L. Dmitri, the author is also a famous writer without a face to his name. Judging by how his name is also ¡®Woo-Jin¡¯, it¡¯s not just an ordinary coincidence. For some reason, I have a feeling that you and the novel are connected by a deep destiny.


    More importantly, the producers and director even announced that they would plan the filming schedule around Choi Woo-Jin¡¯s schedule. Taking everything into consideration, such as the novel¡¯s cinematic quality, director, production environment, etc., A Fragment of Enigma is a movie that provides a great impetus to Choi Woo-Jin. And for the fans of the novel, there wasn¡¯t anyone else who is more suited for the role.


    However, he looked embarrassed and it felt like there was some sort of background story that we are unaware of. So I changed the subject of the conversation.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Come to think of it, there are talks about you becoming the main character in L. Dmitri¡¯s second work.


    As the author of Confession of White, L. Dmitri¡¯s second novel is a masterpiece as well. Although the film adaptation of the novel has not been confirmed yet, many people hope it will happen, and there has been a lot of buzz about it. The most solid opinion out of all of them is that Choi Woo-Jin should be the main character.


    There is even an anecdote about how the picky fans of L. Dmitri had written a letter as a group to him, telling him to cast Choi Woo-Jin as the main lead, should there be a film adaptation of the novel.


    This time, Choi Woo-Jin looked slightly excited and happy instead of embarrassed.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Even though there haven¡¯t been talks about the film adaptation yet, I want to do it if I get the chance.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Your reactions to both works are very different.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] That¡¯s the difference between a sense of burden and anticipation. Naturally, I¡¯m worried I might end up getting ahead of myself at this rate.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Regardless of the choice you make, I¡¯ll support you.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Thank you.


    Regardless of the production he chooses, or even if he decides not to do either of them, it does not change the fact that Choi Woo-Jin is already the best actor in our eyes.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Among the many surveys that was conducted at the end of the year, you were selected as the number one celebrity. Of course, that has been the case every year.


    The person you want to spend Christmas and New Year¡¯s Eve with; the person you¡¯re most grateful to be born in the same era as; a friend you¡¯re not ashamed to introduce to your parents; a son-in-law you want your daughter to bring home; the person who can get you to join a pyramid scheme, etc.. Choi Woo-Jin proudly took first place in several surveys.


    As soon as we told him about the surveys he took first place in, Choi Woo-Jin said it was very fun doing all the various surveys.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] There are a lot of photos of you with kids these days ¨C¨C Song Jae-Hee¡¯s daughter, Dustin¡¯s twin sons, as well as your friend¡¯s children.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] At some point, my friends and acquaintances have become parents.


    He remarked that time has gone by just like that and laughed in dismay. But one can tell how much he loves those children by looking at his face in those photos. The photos of him and his friends¡¯ children have been trending because of his clear affection for them.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] You¡¯re now at the age where there¡¯s a social pressure to get married.


    [Chae Woo-Jin] The average age for marriage has increased these days, so I¡¯m still safe.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Have you met anyone who makes you feel at ease around them?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Even if there is, I won¡¯t tell you.


    He has insisted on keeping his relationships secret ever since a long time ago. He shook his head without hesitation.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] If there isn¡¯t anyone, wouldn¡¯t it be okay for you to simply say there isn¡¯t anyone?


    [Chae Woo-Jin] It¡¯s easy to say there isn¡¯t anyone when it¡¯s the truth, but it¡¯ll become a trap when you find that special someone in the future. If I were to keep saying no, and then I evade the question one day, it¡¯s akin to acknowledging it. And if I were to say no when I do have that special someone, I¡¯ll feel sorry towards my girlfriend, so it¡¯s better not to make any comments now.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] In that case, are you really going to tell us a month before your wedding?


    When asked if he would ever announce it publicly, he gave a firm answer.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I¡¯ve been saying this for a very long time, so I want to keep my promise.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] You don¡¯t have to keep such a promise. Normally, we can make a rough guess by looking at someone¡¯s face, but it¡¯s impossible to tell just by looking at yours.


    In truth, even though the public might not know much when it comes to other people, there are  rumors  circulating among the reporters in the entertainment industry. But when it comes to Choi Woo-Jin, it is just silence. There is not a single rumor about him.


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I don¡¯t think anyone else has experienced as many scandals as I did. In the past few years, I¡¯ve experienced all kinds of scandals that others would only experience over the span of a few decades.


    Choi Woo-Jin was secretly proud of his scandals. What he said wasn¡¯t far-fetched ¨C¨C his private life is so well-managed that reporters complained about not having anything to write about Choi Woo-Jin, aside from his work in the entertainment industry. It was uncommon for celebrities to suffer from all kinds of scandals like he did.


    Ultimately, the incidents that turned out to be nothing but rumors were those that happened at the beginning of his career, and Choi Woo-Jin had never been the main target of rumors ever since.


    After a couple of incidents, journalists and reporters have also learned from their mistakes. They reviewed articles about Choi Woo-Jin over and over again. If the circumstances or evidence were unclear, they would not publish the article. After cross checking and examining the allegations several times, most of them turned out to be false, so several reporters simply sighed afterwards.


    Could that be the reason why? From some point on, even if Choi Woo-Jin went out with other women in broad daylight, there wasn¡¯t any scandal. Looking back, they were truly people he met via work, so his personal life gradually became dull and uneventful.


    Frankly, meeting and dating someone wasn¡¯t a big issue for him. We¡¯re not curious about his personal life, but we are interested in his acting that showed us an unfamiliar yet beautiful world.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] During your first interview with me, you said you wanted to be an actor with many names. How did that go? Did you achieve it?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] I think ten years is too short and insufficient to confidently say I have achieved my dream.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] It¡¯s short indeed. In that case, shall we talk about this again in thirty years? You¡¯ll have another interview with me when the time comes, right?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Of course. Until then, I¡¯ll do my best to maintain my spot as the number one actor whom people want to interview.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] If so, the competition will still be as stiff as ever by then.


    Choi Woo-Jin is friendly, but it wasn¡¯t easy to score an interview with him because there are many interviewers who are queuing up to hear his story. But he doesn¡¯t grant everyone an interview. For some reason, imagining how he would age like fine wine even after thirty years alone made my heart pound.


    [Lee Yoo-Jung] Do you have any last words for the readers who are reading this interview?


    [Choi Woo-Jin] Among the surveys you mentioned earlier, there was one about being grateful for living in the same era. My interpretation of it is this: being able to share a sympathetic bond on our culture with people living in the same era brings us joy. And the unique aura and appreciation for the arts of an era were created by us as a whole. Hence, I hope we can advance together at the same pace. I may be the main character in dramas and movies, but in this era, all of us are the protagonists.


    Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.


    Choi Woo-Jin was smiling brightly; he was still dreaming, just like before. And we are in his dreams as well. Hence, I was sure that our descendants in the distant future will be very envious of the era we are currently creating; of the existence of this beautiful and brilliant star that is walking with us, and next to us.


    1. Traditional name given to servants ?