Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Master
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This body has already stared up at who knows how many unfamiliar ceilings.
'Did I drink...?'
Before I could even wonder whose house this was, the memory hit me—getting punched in the jaw and blacking out.
Holy...
Everything else was fine, but my face? Absolutely not.
I wiggled my jaw around to test its function.
"...Ah, eh, ee, oh, oo."
I opened wide.
Chewed a few times.
Shook it every which way.
Thankfully, it seemed to be working fine.
Now I had to check if it looked okay on the outside.
"Oh, Gyeowol's awake?"
"...How am I doing?"
Thanks for bringing me here.
How'd the shoot go?
Which hospital is this?
All those were luxuries.
My condition came first.
Even if my self-test came back clean, a doctor's opinion might differ.
"Good news—they said you're fine. Not so much passed out as... deeply asleep."
"...?"
Deep sleep, even in a situation like that.
I wasn't some sleepwalking machine...
"Oh, and they said not to move around too much yet. Lie down a bit longer. Here, mirror."
Yoo Jun-seung suddenly showed surprising tact by handing me a hand mirror.
I snatched it and checked my appearance.
Fortunately, nothing seemed wrong with my looks.
No matter the angle, the time, or the light, it was just beautiful.
I inspected the spot where I'd been hit closely—no bruise, no scratches.
Thank goodness. This body must be blessed by the gods.
Only after confirming everything was intact did I remember the extra actor playing the bodyguard.
"...What happened to that guy?"
"Who, the one who hit you?"
"Eh, that sounds a bit off. Let's call him the guy who made a mistake."
"The one who hit you" made it sound like I'd been abused by a violent boyfriend or something.
Better to frame it as someone who slipped up.
No scar on my face or anything, so it was just a mistake—a simple mishap we could move past.
When our timing went off, the panic in his eyes was genuine.
Not some assassin sent by jealous actresses envious of my beauty.
"He got an earful from the director, but I don't know what happened after. Kim Gyu-jin Executive's still on set handling things anyway."
"I hope you didn't go too hard on him. Mistakes like this happen plenty in action shoots."
"...If your reaction had been a split second slower or the punch a bit deeper, your jaw might've been wrecked?"
"The fact that I'm fine now is what matters, and... later, once he makes it big, imagine Jeong Gyeowol forgiving him on air despite what happened, saying it helped him keep acting. Wouldn't that make for a great story?"
No idea if it'd play out that way.
But you never know with people.
We could use the company's pull to bury him.
A few lines about hitting an actress on set would send anyone plummeting.
But ruining one person like that gains me nothing.
Better to let him owe me a debt.
"...Gyeowol, you..."
"Pretty cool, right? Amazing personality, huh? Honored to share the screen with such a great actress?"
In truth, I wasn't that noble.
But as an actress, my image and reputation were mine to manage.
Sometimes even I admired how well I crafted it.
"You just sounded exactly like our CEO..."
"...?"
Was that a compliment or an insult?
He had his mouth slightly agape in a "wow," nodding and even clapping.
It rubbed me the wrong way, oddly enough.
Time to give him some work.
"What about the shoot? Gotta redo it, right? When do we head back?"
"Dunno... I came with you in the ambulance, so let me check."
"You've had a rough time too, Manager. Thanks. Eaten yet? I can stay alone—go grab some food."
"Nah, can't leave you solo in the ER. We'll eat after discharge."
Lousy with paperwork, but loyal.
A bit curt and cold on the surface, but paired well with Kim Gyu-jin Executive's stellar handling skills.
Problem was what happened if Kim Gyu-jin ever left.
Cross that bridge when we got there.
Time passed.
By the time the IV ran dry...
Kim Gyu-jin Executive arrived.
We were transferring to a hospital in Seoul.
I was fine, the docs said I was fine, but he wouldn't hear it.
Shoving a healthy patient into a hospital bed?
This wasn't some locked-up psych ward scenario...
How many hospitals even took fake patients anyway?
This one was one of the Big 5.
"...We can just walk into a place like this without a reservation? When I'm not even sick?"
"Handled the admission while we were heading up to Seoul."
"...Wow."
This... was major agency power?
This... was how they treated actresses?
Truth was, it was just money talking.
A night's stay cost over a million won—like a hotel suite.
Sure, if bigwigs from business or politics needed it, there might be a wait.
But today, smooth sailing.
"But... I really am fine... Might be healthier if you just gave me the hospital bill money."
"This is coming out of the drama production's pocket. Like admitting someone after a car crash."
...Wasn't that the issue? Piss off the production, and no more dramas for me?
But he said it was a steal for them anyway—no worries.
"The article'll say fainting from injury and accumulated fatigue."
"An article for this?"
"We could push a news spot if you want. KS could sue over this."
"...Oof. Sounds brutal."
An actress suing over a minor on-set injury?
Blacklisted for life.
"Whoa, article's already up."
Yoo Jun-seung, geeking out over the fancy room, shoved his phone at me.
[Jeong Gyeowol Transferred to Hospital After Injury on Psychometry Her Set, Fainted from Injury and Overwork Symptoms—'No Major Harm, Will Rest a Few Days.']
Incredibly... incredible.
Speed like a highway crash with a private tow truck on scene.
Today felt like living in a dream world.
First action scene where I led.
Nailed it perfectly, but accident at the end.
ER, VIP room in a top hospital, now an article.
Didn't this put me in the ranks of successful actresses?
'Actually been itching since that roadside fansign.'
As we chatted over the article...
Knock knock—
A doctor entered.
And shockingly...
"...Huh?!"
"Doing well?"
"Master?!"
"...Master? You know her?"
My running mate.
The legend who created that "tell 'em you're the national soccer team doc if a guy teaching workouts approaches" joke.
The Spartan instructor who knew my physical limits better than I did and pushed me to the brink.
The bad master who'd ghosted without a number and excommunicated her disciple in a single day.
"Long time no see. Didn't know you were an actress back then. Sorry."
"...I wasn't an actress then... Wait, that's not the point... You're a doctor here? No, that's not it either—why'd you leave without giving me your number...?"
"Oh, things were hectic then..."
"...After that, I went to the Han River looking for you."
"Huh? I went sometimes too. Timing must've been off."
What cosmic joke was this?
Running into my long-lost master here, of all places.
If not for that bodyguard actor nearly shattering my jaw, we might never have reunited.
"But... you gonna keep calling me Master? Kinda embarrassing."
"...Why not?"
"Just call me sis. Name's on the badge—Im Ha-young."
She pointed to her nametag, closing the distance fast.
Ha-young sis? Now I was embarrassed.
"...Y-yeah."
She smirked at me, then explained my condition and treatment.
Jaw fine, just fatigue and stress buildup—get some nutrients via IV and rest easy.
Seeing this old connection after so long lifted my spirits. Stress? Gone.
Ready for discharge.
'Honestly, it's overwhelming.'
Imagine a regular citizen crashing in a 5-star royal suite on someone else's dime.
Fun at first, but the unease builds.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Two days passed.
In that time, the production CEO, drama team, castmates...
Countless folks dropped by with flowers, fruit, drinks.
The huge room now felt cramped.
More would just wilt, rot, or go flat.
Hospital bills ticking daily.
Too much for small-time Jeong Gyeowol.
Kim Gyu-jin Executive couldn't take my nagging and approved discharge.
True to fake-patient form, I headed straight back to set.
Redo the scene halted by the accident.
They'd shot non-Gyeowol scenes while I was admitted.
Felt awful messing up everyone else's schedules over me.
Thankfully, the bodyguard actor wasn't fired.
But he couldn't even meet my eyes. Apologies? Maybe three hundred.
His state made one-take impossible; we split it into multiples.
Still racked up about twenty NG's.
Even my top-tier personality started wondering if we needed a swap.
Then Yoon PD dragged him off for a talking-to, and he came back transformed—nailed the action.
Shoots rolled on as usual.
Action school: all injuries from lack of noooooort.
Atelier: family vibes for a bit.
Before I knew it, Nomen's crank-in loomed.
Felt distant when we signed.
Blink a few times, and here it was.