Chapter 37
Chapter 37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Actress Jeong Soyul (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A top star knows how to naturally draw people's eyes.
That's why stars must always watch their behavior, no matter where they are.
It was the basic posture she valued most as a star.
She could never show an unsightly side to anyone.
Image was a star's face.
And that face was their lifeline.
So even at university, outside her official schedule, she carried herself with the utmost poise she could manage.
Of course, she added just a touch of everyday casualness to avoid looking too contrived.
Jeong Soyul knew better than anyone how to style herself without a stylist.
And no one could ignore Jeong Soyul in her full makeup.
The moment she stepped onto campus, she swallowed a sigh amid the flood of stares.
She should be used to the constant attention by now.
Yet the men's blatant gazes of desire still made her skin crawl.
Gazes from men who weren't on her level.
They reminded her of Hwang Jun-ho's leering eyes from the set, when he'd tried to push that shady after-party on her.
It was disgusting.
She knew it.
A man's desire toward a woman was natural.
But knowing that didn't stop the instinctive revulsion.
'What a hassle.'
She glanced at the men staring at her.
Those who met her eyes quickly looked away or bowed their heads.
They didn't even dare approach, so why stare?
Still, as a woman, it boosted her self-esteem a bit.
She could feel she was an outstanding woman.
Still in her prime, and it was certainly helping her hold onto her top-star status.
And then she arrived at the lecture hall.
The lecture hall she'd come to because her manager uncle insisted she finish her degree.
Deep down, she wanted to quit, but he'd convinced her it would help her image and acting career.
Whether the degree directly improved her acting was debatable.
But it would positively impact the various issues that came with her image and career.
"Just one more year."
Then she'd graduate.
Meeting the requirements made it easy.
Even the minimum credits would do.
All that mattered was having a Yeonsung University degree.
As she entered the lecture hall, everyone fell silent and stared.
It was only natural.
There was no one in this space who could overshadow her.
That's when Jeong Soyul's eyes caught one person.
A man who glanced at her briefly before turning back to his own work, as if uninterested.
This hulking guy with a physique that overwhelmed ordinary people was neatly organizing notes on his desk, in a way that didn't match his looks.
Not everyone is drawn to stars.
Of course, some people hate stars.
Everyone has their tastes.
No matter how beautiful the woman or handsome the man, if it's not your type, your interest fades naturally.
She was the same way.
But still.
'What is it?'
For some reason, it irked her.
What was it?
It felt like he was ignoring her?
Shouldn't there at least be a flicker of curiosity?
But the man sitting there alone acted like she didn't exist.
His indifferent back seemed to say:
-You're nothing special.
She tore her gaze from him and looked for a seat.
Everyone was focused on her.
Groups of students sat hopefully, praying she'd join their spot or circle.
Haa.
Sitting there would make the whole class uncomfortable.
They wouldn't focus on the lecture; they'd just stare at her.
It was just a general elective.
The kind where it didn't matter.
But that attention bothered her.
Except for one person.
The hulking man sitting alone like a remote island showed no interest in her.
It piqued her curiosity, and she thought sitting next to him would be comfortable, so she took the seat beside him.
The moment she sat.
"Hoo~."
The big guy suddenly heaved a huge sigh, shoulders shuddering.
Aha.
So that's how it was?
You pretended not to notice to get my attention?
I figured as much.
Not many people don't like me.
A healthy guy in his twenties would naturally pull stunts like this to get noticed.
Her bruised ego swelled back up.
Of course, separately from that.
It disgusted her.
Doing something so sleazy just to get attention.
And revealing his true colors the second she sat.
So she called him out.
"What the hell. You bitch."
"That's your delusion."
"I'm not interested in you."
"If I were, I'd at least jerk off for you or something?"
The barrage left her head ringing.
This guy's insane.
This man is completely insane.
She absolutely couldn't get close to him.
"Wh-what...?"
She needed to say something.
But his glaring eyes overwhelmed her; no words came out.
Everyone had loved her until now.
No one had ever cursed her to her face like this.
Of course, online trolls spewed vitriol at her plenty.
Criticizing her acting, hating on her for no reason, or harassing her sexually.
Trolls were like mosquitoes—the higher you climbed, the more vicious they got.
Of course.
They were just mosquitoes, no matter how venomous.
Even the most notorious ones bowed and scraped when sued and dragged to the police station.
-I'm sorry. I won't do it again.
Like pathetic losers, heads low.
Cowards hiding behind anonymity to trash celebrities.
That's why she saw the hate aimed at her as utterly beneath notice.
Only weak dogs bark loud.
She couldn't understand fellow celebrities who crumbled under hate comments.
Didn't they have the resolve for that?
If you get love, you prepare for the hate too.
Those guys are losers.
That's why you ignore them.
She'd thought that for sure.
Yet this overwhelming presence cursing her right here—she couldn't resist at all.
"If you're not gonna do it, shut up. You're fucking annoying."
Blatant sexual harassment and curses.
She could go straight to the police, and it'd be justified.
Why couldn't she speak?
"If you're unhappy, leave. I was here first."
She watched him focus on the lecture the moment the professor entered, like nothing happened.
Even after she sat back down beside him, he stayed calm, absorbed in class.
As if.
She wasn't even there.
No.
'That's a face that says he doesn't care even if I am.'
He didn't glance at her once during the lecture.
She couldn't understand.
How could he ignore me?
Not just anyone.
Not some average girl.
Embarrassing as it was to admit.
Anyone could see she was the top woman?
The nation's best actress, sitting right next to him?
And yet.
He ignored her?
It was absurd.
Until the class ended.
Even during the break in the middle.
He never looked at her.
Not during the lecture, and during break, he organized what looked like assignment materials.
His only trip out was a quick bathroom break.
Others couldn't focus on class, sneaking peeks at her.
Why could you?
'That initial ignoring back view was real?'
It didn't make sense.
How?
"See you next week."
Class ended.
Normally, she'd head straight home.
Today's schedule was just this one elective.
She planned to leave without greeting anyone.
But.
"Hey."
She couldn't hold back.
She wanted to hear why he'd ignored her.
She called out to Kim Jinwoo as he headed into the hallway.
"What?"
"What are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Why are you ignoring me? Do you even know who I am?"
He stared at her blankly for a long moment.
"I do. Jeong Soyul, Korea's top actress. The most famous in her twenties. You gave a stellar performance in the recently released Parasite and got rave reviews from critics. Your Star... no, Stargram followers are over 1.4 million."
See? He knew.
And he still ignored me?
He even knew the details.
Her previous works, even her exact follower count.
So he was into me.
Is that it?
You're the first to ignore a celebrity on purpose like this—a strategy to approach me?
If so, it worked.
I admit it.
Pretty clever move.
"So don't you have something to say?"
But he didn't answer.
Just stared silently.
Shocked?
Didn't expect me to approach first?
And then.
"Goodbye. See you next week."
He turned away.
Wait.
Just like that?
"Wait."
She called him back again.
"Hoo, fine, you win. Okay. You successfully ignored me on purpose to get my attention, so you don't have to—"
"What the fuck are you talking about, bitch."
The double curse stunned her.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to eat. Why keep blocking me?"
"......"
Wait.
What?
You cursed at me over something as trivial as lunch?
"You into me?"
"Are you crazy? Why would I be into you...?"
"Then why'd you call me? You like getting abused or something? You seemed thrilled when I called you a bitch earlier."
"A-are you joking right now?"
It was ridiculous.
Why did I call you over?
Because of your ignoring act, your ploy to crave my attention.
Who are you making out to be the weirdo?
You know who I am...
Jeong Soyul glared at Kim Jinwoo, fuming.
"Sorry, but I'm not so free that I'd chat with a girl who's not into me."
"......"
"Looks like you called me out on purpose to get my attention."
Seeing her eyes, Kim Jinwoo stepped closer.
"If you want my attention that bad, at least jerk me off."
He was truly insane.
She'd dismissed his earlier words as nonsense.
Too absurd; must've misheard.
But he'd meant it all along?
"A-apologize! Right now!"
"Apologize?"
"Yes! You just insulted me."
"Haa."
"I-I'm calling the police."
As she reached into her bag for her phone, Kim Jinwoo grabbed her wrist.
"Hey, Jeong Soyul."
"L-let go!"
"I should be the one calling the cops."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Right? I was just quietly trying to go eat, and you stopped me."
"......"
"I'm the victim here. Can't even eat lunch on time because of you."
Ridiculous.
What did her calling him have to do with this?
This was clear sexual harassment...
"You called me because I didn't show interest. You're pissed because I didn't stroke that fragile actress ego of yours."
Somehow, she couldn't retort.
"Am I wrong?"
It wasn't wrong.
She had called him precisely because he showed no interest during class.
His indifference kept nagging at her, so she'd snapped first.
She'd misunderstood.
"Isn't it wrong to call someone uninterested and waste their time?"
Kim Jinwoo had zero interest in her, yet she'd forced him to stop.
Her fault.
"So who’s at fault? The one who held back a hungry person? Or the one who spat out heated words?"
Clearly, the harasser was wrong.
But hearing him.
For some reason.
It felt like she was the one who'd messed up.
Did I mess up?
Holding back someone uninterested in me.
Was that such a big deal?
"You messed up. I'm the victim here, right?"
"......"
Yeah.
I was wrong.
Shame flooded her.
Despite believing she had to maintain perfect poise and mindset as a top star, she'd committed a faux pas.
"What should you do now?"
"S-sorry. For... stopping you..."
Kim Jinwoo smiled at her apology.
At least that was a relief.
No need to call the police.
"I'll forgive you specially. But you buy lunch instead."
"...O-okay, just don't report..."
"I won't. Image is important for actresses."
That was close.
Jeong Soyul kept picking fights, and I got too heated.
'Not everyone's a pervert like Han Chae-ah.'
Without the item I'd gotten before, I'd really be in deep shit.
I watched Jeong Soyul blankly listening to and obeying my words.
The bitch who'd been raging about reporting me just moments ago was now watching my face carefully.
A bit deflated, thinking her own mistake was worse than harassment.
Sexgram really is something.
That arrogant bitch turned so meek.
But I'm a little pissed.
Thinking about it, she started the fight.
You made me waste one of my precious 3-use items.
Fucking bitch.
Now that I have the chance, I need to milk it properly.
[Get a Pretty Sucker to Buy Lunch 1/1]
📍 Description: A follower disrupted Admin's precious lunchtime. Extract fitting compensation.
I even got a new daily quest.