Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: The Rice Truck Incident
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I got a heaping plate of food and followed behind Senior Oh Ji-hwan into the tent, where bright light was streaming out.
The lively atmosphere inside, full of nonstop laughter, froze solid in an instant.
Senior treated it like no big deal as he took Yu-na's plate and moved forward.
"Jun-seo, follow me over here. Manager, come on too."
Even though he seemed embarrassed, he played it cool as best he could.
We sat down facing Senior Oh Ji-hwan, and In-cheol beat Yu-na to the punch by plopping down right next to me.
That left Yu-na sitting beside Senior Oh Ji-hwan.
"Uncle! Can I eat now?"
"Yeah, kiddo. Go ahead."
"Hehehe. Thanks for the meal!"
Senior nodded and watched as Yu-na had already started digging in.
She gripped her spoon firmly, stuffing her mouth with rice and getting food all over her face—it made her look like a kid who'd gone days without eating.
"No one's gonna steal it from you, so slow down. You'll get a stomachache."
"Yeees. Nom nom."
Yu-na's eating was so adorable that a smile crept onto my face automatically.
He caught my dad smile and turned his gaze to us.
"Jun-seo, eat more if it's not enough. Got it?"
"...Yes."
"Manager, dig in plenty too."
"Got it."
With that, Senior picked up his spoon and started eating.
Alright, time for me to eat too?
I scooped up some rice and brought it to my mouth. The bulgogi and pork stir-fry that the ajumma had piled high when serving.
The texture was tender, not chewy at all.
And the seasoning was perfectly balanced—not too salty.
"This is really good."
"Right? The pork stir-fry here is the best. Total rice thief."
After that, conversation died down.
We all bowed our heads and focused on the food in front of us. About halfway through, when my stomach felt decently full—
I felt eyes on me from right across.
Senior Oh Ji-hwan was gazing at me with a pleased smile.
"All done? You can have more."
Did I eat too frantically?
I cleared my throat with a cough.
"Um, I've got a question. What's the title of the drama you're in this time?"
Senior Oh Ji-hwan answered kindly to my question.
"It's called [Opal Rejuvenation]. Pretty unique, huh? The protagonist—there are two of them, actually. They get young again, then back to normal, repeating it a few times. That's the main plot."
Just hearing a brief rundown of the drama's story had me hooked. So, was Senior the protagonist?
"What's your role?"
"You remember that guy who greeted you earlier? He's... me in my rejuvenated form. Sort of a protagonist, I guess."
As expected.
My hunch was right.
"Ah, so this is your first drama lead—"
Rustle!
A middle-aged man with a wild explosion of hair burst into the tent that served as the cafeteria, panting hard. I stopped mid-sentence and stared at him.
'Looking for someone in a hurry?'
His eyes scanned around and locked onto mine. Instantly, a thick salesman's smile spread across the middle-aged man's face.
Stride. Stride. He wove past the staff and headed straight for our table.
"Oh! Hello there. Lee Jun-seo, actor. What a pleasure to meet you like this. I'm Director Cha Yong-jin."
Did he rush here out of breath just to greet me?
"Heh heh. Jun-seo, you gonna just stand there? Better return the greeting."
I snapped to and stood up, grabbing Director Cha Yong-jin's hand.
"Hello, Director Cha Yong-jin. I'm actor Lee Jun-seo. Thrilled to meet you too."
"Ahaha! Really? I've watched every single drama you've been in, without missing a one."
"Th-thank you."
My first impression of the director was...
He sure talked a lot.
Even now.
He was going into excruciating detail about his thoughts on the drama where I'd had a supporting role...
My ears were starting to hurt.
"You're incredible, Lee Jun-seo. Ahaha! How do you change up the vibe so completely with every role?"
"Ahaha... Thanks for the praise."
"Other actors carry over vibes from past roles, making it hard to immerse—"
"How about we wrap this up?"
Scrape!
Senior Oh Ji-hwan and In-cheol stood up from their seats. They gathered the leftover food into one spot and stacked the plates together.
In-cheol took the plates.
Pat pat!
Suddenly, Yu-na came rushing over and buried her face in my chest.
"Daddy, let's go home now, okay?"
At Yu-na's whine, I glanced subtly at Director Cha Yong-jin.
"Ah! I got so excited to meet you that I nearly slipped up. Lee Jun-seo, hope we cross paths again under better circumstances."
I shrugged my shoulders lightly.
"...Same here, Director."
The next morning, a day later.
Searching my name on the internet brought up ridiculous articles.
Check out the ones that popped up this morning.
[Lee Jun-seo Appears at 'Opal Rejuvenation' Drama Shoot in Han River Park! Eats at Rice Truck and Bails.] [Was the Reason Lee Jun-seo Showed Up... Just Craving the Set's Rice Truck?] [Lee Jun-seo Shows Up Gaunt in Han River Park. Does He Just Go Around Eating Well?]
I smacked my forehead.
"What kind of nonsense is this..."
Looking at the comments below the articles, everyone was cracking up.
-This reporter's gotta be an anti-fan of Lee Jun-seo, right? Lmao. Hilarious.
-Did he really just eat and dip? Too funny. Lmao.
-Look at the pic up top. Lmao. Hiding his face with the plate. Embarrassed much?
-Is his agency screwing him on contracts so he can't afford food?
└Nah, doubt it. The place Lee Jun-seo lives is insanely expensive. We couldn't even dream of it.
└Plus, tons of celebs live there. But they say they never come out. Lmao.
-Lee Jun-seo's been all over the news lately. Nonstop issues. Lmao. What's next?
-Jun-seo oppa! You're so cute!
Overnight, my image became "the actor who crashes other sets for free food."
I let out a sigh.
At least no negative backlash, but the embarrassment wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried.
'Everyone's gonna tease me when they see this...'
Should I go radio silent for a while?
Bzzz!
A call from the CEO.
Wonder what it's about today.
I picked up listlessly.
"Yes, CEO. It's Lee Jun-seo."
-Ahaha! You rascal. Kh-huh.
The moment I answered, nothing but creepy laughter poured out nonstop.
He wouldn't get to the point, just kept laughing, testing my patience. I swallowed my rising irritation and said,
"...No business? Hanging up."
-Hey, hold on, don't hang up.
"What's the deal? Just laughing."
-Come to the agency studio today. Let's do a live on your Mityube channel. About two hours. Sound good?
A live broadcast out of nowhere...
Was that issue not fully settled yet? I thought the thing with singer Yusia was done and dusted...
I gripped my phone tighter.
"Suddenly? Didn't the posts on Starlet and the fan cafe wrap up the buzz?"
-Not about that.
"Then what?"
A sigh came through.
-Remember? We made your personal channel a while back. I forgot about it too, but now it's blowing up.
What was blowing up?
Before I could ask, the CEO continued.
-I checked and freaked out. Your one and only video is flooded with comments from overseas fans. They want to see you live too.
My curiosity cleared up quick.
But I was dumbfounded.
"Is that for real?"
-Well, Mityube's easy to access overseas, right? Guess that's where the international fans gathered.
Ah, now it clicked.
The drama airing overseas right now.
[Devil's Errand Center].
I'd heard vaguely that reactions abroad were hot, with high ratings just like domestically.
"...So international fans will tune into this live too?"
-Yeah. We'll prep everything, so get here early as you can. We'll handle the content—just show up comfy.
"Got it."
Click!
After hanging up, I let out a deep sigh. This live was gonna be tougher than usual.
Overseas fans...
Gotta craft content that'll satisfy them.
Worries bubbled up unbidden.
"Daaaaddy. Hold Yu-na, pleeease."
Yu-na, freshly awake, reached for me with a whine.
She looked just like a baby.
Even though she'd be an elementary kid soon.
"Daddy. Getting up is haaard. Okay?"
"Yu-na's still a baby. Baby."
"Yu-na wants to be a baby. So hold me..."
I grinned at her cute fussing and scooped her up effortlessly.
I arrived at the agency studio alone, and staff were hustling around, focused on live prep.
"The lighting here's weak! Changed the bulb?"
"Y-yes, changing it now!"
"Hey! This screen's not showing! What's the problem?"
"Where's the file with the content list?"
"I've got it!"
I stood in place, watching the staff bustle about.
'Is this... the right place?'
The broadcast setup had changed completely.
A huge transparent window revealed computers and mics inside, with various props displayed behind.
Like a radio studio.
I hadn't mixed up the location, had I?
That thought lasted a moment.
Two familiar makeup artists suddenly grabbed my wrists.
"No time to stand around."
"Come with us quick. Just light makeup. It'll be fast."
I followed without resisting and, true to their word, finished simple makeup in a flash.
Not even 10 minutes.
"All done."
"Back to the studio."
This is pro-level...
They pushed me back to the studio, where a familiar back came into view in the distance.
Step. Step.
Up close, the CEO was barking orders at the staff.
"Hey! How many people on chat moderation?"
"Five total."
"That enough? Look at the waiting viewers. Need at least ten. Get more."
"But we don't have enough computers."
"Borrow laptops then."
I cautiously tapped the CEO's back. A voice thick with annoyance turned my way.
"Who the hell's interrupting me—"
"It's me, CEO."
His expression flipped in an instant to a warm smile.
"Ah, you're here? Hang tight a bit."
"Not pushing too hard?"
"...Hey. Take a look. You say that now?"
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and shoved it in my face.
The broadcast prep screen.
Below it, viewer count.
285,869...
And climbing steadily.
"See? Even on a weekday. Think we can slack?"