Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (3)
Charlie Kang was reading a newspaper. The Secret Journal. It was one of those typical tabloid rags rampant in Hollywood—a malicious outlet that made its living by blowing up baseless rumors from god-knows-where and selling them to the public daily.
And lately, Sion Lee had been a star fixture in its pages. It wasn't necessarily because he was constantly doing terrible things. While Sion had certainly been spiraling down into the abyss recently, he had always been prime prey for the yellow press. He possessed a fiercely loyal fanbase, which was matched only by an equally passionate horde of anti-fans, meaning anything he did drew massive attention.
Today, however, there was no room for excuses. They had actual photos of him at the donut shop.
“...Yi-siony?”
Charlie chewed on the filter of an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he stared at the bed. Sitting there was Sion Lee, who had vanished like the wind the day before and was now gracing the front page of this very rag. Still dressed in his hospital gown, Sion had been staring out the window for a while now, wearing a strangely subtle expression.
“I never imagined I'd have to track my own actor's schedule through the Secret Journal.”
“You're actually believing a tabloid? You've really hit rock bottom, Charlie,” Sion replied smoothly, meeting his gaze.
“Then who is this handsome guy in the photo, surrounded by a crowd of people?”
“That's me. Eating a donut. It's a bit blurry because it was taken from a distance, but yep, definitely me. I look good.”
“Oh, right! Absolutely! It says here that you were eating a plain donut, then suddenly stood up and returned your tray! You returned a tray?! That's impossible! You didn't call over an employee, drop the tray on the floor, and tell them to 'take this and get the hell out of my face'?!”
“Well, yeah, because it was a donut shop. And thanks for painting me as a complete sociopathic piece of trash, Charlie.”
“...It says you even said thank you?”
“I can say thank you. I literally just said it to you.”
Ignoring Sion's retort, Charlie kept reading, his eyes suddenly widening in sheer disbelief.
The notorious teen heartthrob was spotted at a local donut shop, behaving... abnormally polite? Eyewitnesses claim he cleaned up after himself and even shook hands with fans!
“You? To your fans? Why?” He stared at his actor in utter shock. Sion, fully understanding why Charlie was reacting this way, looked away, feeling a twinge of self-loathing. All I did was thank a clerk, and this is the reaction? If I actually go through with the charity work I have in mind, he might literally faint.
“Did you drink yesterday?”
“No, I didn't! ...Well, technically I did, but...”
“Okay, let's put the drinking aside. But you thanked a clerk? It wasn't code for something like, 'Thank you for giving me millions in ad contracts, you pathetic part-time peasants,' right?”
“Oh, you have an overactive imagination, Charlie.”
“Oh, really? Let's see if the rest of this is delusion or reality... 'A crowd gathered, but he managed them calmly, shaking hands and signing autographs.' Are you really okay? You're not depressed, are you? They say if someone's personality suddenly flips, you should screen them for mental illness.”
“I'll give you the exact same answer, Charlie.” Charlie Kang certainly had a vivid imagination. He would have made an excellent tabloid reporter.
“No, seriously! Otherwise, none of this makes sense! This article even suggests you might have been high, but I know better! There's no way you had the time to score anything!”
“...Thanks. For believing I'm not the type to do drugs.” Sion could only offer an awkward chuckle, feeling a bit embarrassed. Still, talking to Charlie helped him piece together his hazy memories and clearly grasp how the eighteen-year-old Sion Lee was perceived by the world at this point in time.
A former child star turned young, reckless brat who did nothing but drink and cause trouble. A punk who coasted entirely on his looks, self-destructing daily even as he stood at a critical crossroads where he needed to transition into adulthood and build a serious career.
And then, that face got ruined, and he plummeted straight to rock bottom. As if reading Sion's thoughts, Charlie spoke up at the perfect moment.
“It's a miracle you're in one piece. What would we have done if you'd been seriously injured in that crash? Especially your face. We're right in the middle of a packed schedule you need to pull through.”
“Schedule? What schedule?”
“Promoting your movie, of course. The movie. Deadly Summer Camp, which just came out.”
“...Ah. That.”
“Are you seriously smoking weed? Between the drinking last night and this, why can't you remember a single thing?”
“No, I'm not,” Sion muttered in weak protest, but Charlie's words dragged a deeply unpleasant memory to the surface.
Deadly Summer Camp. The final film actor Sion Lee had shot before his face was ruined in his youth. Like most of his previous projects, it was a massive commercial success, but critics absolutely slaughtered it. Most importantly, it was the very film that had secured him his third win at the Golden Raspberry Awards.
Damn it, I forgot about that. Sion felt his face burn so hot he thought his heart might burst. Was this what they called irrational shame? No, it wasn't irrational at all. Even when he had tried to make a comeback as an actor after his face was ruined, that was the one film he could never bring himself to watch sober.
I had to down a whole bottle of tequila just to force myself to sit through it.
“Sion?”
“Ah, yeah. Yes, Charlie.”
“You have an interview tomorrow. On the radio show, the Fun Fire Freak Show.”
“...I'll need to prepare for that.”
“Yeah, you definitely do. I've already handled the discharge paperwork, so just stop by the billing department to check out and head home. I have to go make some calls to the press outlets. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning.”
“The press?”
“Why do you think your accident yesterday hasn't hit the news yet?”
“Because my savior, Charlie, spent the whole night bowing and scraping to everyone,” Sion replied, looking away again out of guilt. Charlie stared at him for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“I was worried sick, kid.”
“Thanks, Charlie. I'll behave from now on so you don't have to worry.”
“Alright, I'll trust you one last time. We Koreans have to stick together.” With a faint chuckle, Charlie finally walked out of the hospital room. Once outside, he couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. Something's off.
The usual Sion would have told him to shut up and get lost, shutting down the conversation entirely. That was the Sion Lee that Charlie Kang remembered up until yesterday. Ever since his mother—the only anchor holding his soul together—had passed away, Sion had lived as if he had nothing left to lose, throwing everything away.
How long has it been? Since they had finished a conversation without shouting at each other? Charlie knew this was how normal people behaved, yet he found himself deeply moved nonetheless.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Sion Lee let out a long sigh, completely unaware of Charlie's emotional state. “Whew.”
In his past life, the exact opposite had unfolded. By the time he finally regained his senses months after the accident, he had already lost almost everything. His looks were the biggest loss, but his money and reputation had vanished along with them. The public remembered Sion Lee as a drug addict who had crashed his motorcycle—a far cry from the actual truth—and breach-of-contract lawsuits from movie studios had piled up like mountains.
After draining his life savings to settle those debts, Sion had transcended anger and slipped into absolute futility. He had shut himself away in his house, wasting ten whole years of his life.
But now, things are different. His greatest asset and talent—his face—was perfectly intact. And I know every single mistake I made in the past.
Charlie Kang. The head of CK Agency, whom Sion had worked with until the very end of his previous life. Charlie had always looked out for Sion, even outside of business, constantly repeating that "Koreans have to stick together." But after his face was ruined, Sion had ignored Charlie's desperate pleas, paid the penalty fees to terminate his contract with CK Agency, and cut off all contact. Ten years later...
I heard he died of overwork, leaving behind his wife and kids. Hearing that news back then had left a heavy, suffocating ache in Sion's chest. That was why, despite his initial confusion upon waking up in the past, he was genuinely thrilled to see Charlie again. He resolved to work his hardest this time to ensure Charlie wouldn't meet that same tragic end. He would do it for the sake of the one man who had stood by him until the very end.
And the first hurdle on that path was right in front of him. First... I need to watch that movie again. To do that, Sion had to summon the same grim resolve he had when he gave his very first lecture on White Lies.
A cap, sunglasses, a mask, and a hood pulled low. On Hollywood Boulevard, people dressed like that generally fell into two categories: A famous actor, or a drug addict. Since that look only drew unnecessary attention anyway, Sion walked down the street wearing nothing but a simple zip-up hoodie. As expected, people barely spared him a glance.
Yesterday was just an anomaly. He had been wandering around in a hospital gown in the middle of the night. People probably stared because he looked like an escaped mental patient, only to realize who he was. But now, it was different. Sion blended seamlessly into the warm California climate.
Palm trees rose between clusters of low-rise buildings. He could easily distinguish the tourists lugging heavy bags, the casually dressed locals, and the industry insiders who possessed an entirely different look in their eyes.
...This is so surreal. It still hadn't fully sunk in. It was 1990, and he had actually traveled back in time. But looking at the movie posters plastered all over the streets, he had no choice but to accept it.
Ghost, Home Alone, Pretty Woman, Total Recall, Die Hard 2, and even Back to the Future Part III. Some had already left theaters, while others were currently screening.
These movies... are playing in theaters right now. The old, nostalgic scenery played out in real-time before his eyes. The colors, which had faded to gray in his memories, were now incredibly vivid. Whether Sion had returned or not, the hands of this rewound world kept ticking forward.
After walking among the posters for a while, Sion stopped in front of a theater. Deadly Summer Camp was currently playing.
Just looking at the poster makes me want to pass out. The poster depicted a young man and woman running hand-in-hand from a killer. Since he was the young man in question, he had to steel himself to suppress the sudden urge to vomit.
“...Alright.” Suppressing a desperate craving for vodka, he bought a ticket for the earliest showtime. A peculiar scent wafted through the theater lobby.
Nostalgia. Dim lighting. Sofas with red vinyl seats that looked on the verge of peeling. For some reason, theaters in this era always felt like circus tents. Patrons bought popcorn and sodas, waiting around until the show started before filing into the auditorium. He could feel the familiar flutter of anticipation that used to accompany those moments.
It was especially true back then. With no streaming services and nothing but low-resolution CRT televisions at home, going to the cinema was the most popular and accessible form of entertainment. Couples, families, and solo viewers—a diverse crowd streamed into the theater and took their seats. Moments later, the lights dimmed, and the projector cast its beam onto the massive screen. The studio and distributor logos flashed by, and the opening sequence began. Sion leaned back in his seat and watched.
“...”
Deadly Summer Camp was a PG-13 teen slasher. As the title suggested, it was a simple story about a group of high schoolers who go camping and run into a killer, but it had carved out a massive audience by leaning heavily into its clear selling points: sex and violence. Much like Friday the 13th, the movie opened with a couple on the verge of getting intimate in the woods.
[Are you sure nobody comes out here?]
[I told you, yeah. You're so beautiful, I can't help myself.]
[Mmh...!] After a brief, passionate kiss, the girl asked anxiously.
[Are you... are you really sure? I feel like someone's watching us.]
[Who would come to a run-down campsite like this? There's literally no one here but us!] The boy's hand slid up the thigh of her skirt. It was a scene designed to make any innocent teenager swallow hard.
[And besides, everyone else is probably so wasted they can't even stand up straight by now.] The boy's hand began to slither like a snake. The camera followed its path. As his hand slid up her thigh to pull down