A Little Prettier Today
Kwon Chan’s back was being dug into by Reporter Seo, and before long he found a lead and called me.
According to Reporter Seo, K-One wasn’t currently dating just one woman.
He was secretly seeing three women at once.
I knew his private life was filthy, but I never dreamed he’d be brazen enough to juggle three women simultaneously. I let out a bitter laugh.
This much, I almost have to respect.
They said the most diligent people in the world were cheaters, and K-One really was something else in every sense if he was dating three women at the same time.
I went straight to Reporter Seo with a question.
"Do the women he’s seeing know K-One is stringing them along, Reporter Seo?"
Reporter Seo spoke to me in a voice that sounded a little angry.
My eyes widened slightly.
Reporter Seo is angry?
He was a fossil who had rolled through the entertainment industry for years. For someone who rarely showed emotion unless something was truly unusual, this was a rare display.
But after going to the scene and hearing the story firsthand, I could see why.
I put a cigarette between my lips and muttered,
"What a piece of shit."
Reporter Seo, standing beside me, exhaled a plume of smoke and answered in agreement.
"I’ve been covering entertainment for ten years, and I’ve never seen garbage like that before."
"Are there more victims besides the woman you mentioned?"
"I need to look into it more, but... honestly, do you think she’s the only one?"
Reporter Seo frowned as though just thinking about it made him sick.
"A guy who filmed his girlfriend and blackmailed her? There’s absolutely more victims."
I slowly lit my cigarette.
Once the nicotine hit, the fog in my head, the dull ache of dizziness, started to clear.
That gave me room to think the situation through, and soon I was frowning right along with him.
So a successful singer-songwriter was blackmailing women he was dating with video footage and forcing the relationships to continue?
Who would believe a story like that if they heard it?
I myself could barely believe it, and I was standing in the middle of the real thing. But this was happening now, and right now a victim was still suffering because of it.
She’d discovered he was seeing multiple women, asked to break up, and then was blackmailed with a video into continuing the relationship against her will.
If there are more victims, who could they be?
Chances were, it would be the other two women he’d already been confirmed to be seeing. At that point, I understood how K-One had managed to date three women at once.
He’s really garbage.
And that garbage had tried to do the same thing to one of my artists.
For the first time in a while, I felt disgust and anger rising together, and I said to Reporter Seo,
"We need to change the plan a little, Reporter Seo."
He flicked ash from his cigarette and answered,
"Suddenly?"
"If we drop the article carelessly, I think it’ll trigger a second round of harm against the victims."
"...Fair enough. From what I can see, K-One’s fandom is pretty vicious."
I shook my head.
"The fans aren’t to blame. They probably had no idea this was what he was really like."
"Ah, sorry. I just got pissed off all of a sudden and snapped without thinking."
Reporter Seo let out a long sigh instead of smoke, looking thoroughly frustrated. Watching him, I opened my mouth again.
"Let’s make this bigger."
"You mean this case?"
"Yeah. From where I’m standing, the issue is to smash K-One so fast and so thoroughly that the other side can’t mount a defense."
Reporter Seo nodded.
"So the victims won’t have to suffer any second harm. That’s what you mean?"
"Exactly. So let’s hold off on the exposé a little longer."
Reporter Seo puffed out his lips like a duck and grumbled.
"Ugh, I get it in my head, but waiting makes my chest feel clogged."
"Don’t worry. It won’t be that long."
I put out my cigarette.
"Next week."
With that, I resolved to dance a gleeful sword dance for the first time in a long while.
"When K-One is getting the brightest spotlight of his life, let’s shove him straight into the bottom of hell. Until then, Reporter Seo, gather a few more of the victims he’s done this to."
After the first round of K-Singer-Songwriter ended, filming immediately began for the second round.
Inside K-One’s studio, Park Ga-eul and K-One, the owner of the studio, were talking about their respective self-written song concepts and melodies.
Watching that through the main camera, PD Hwang Deok-gu shouted, "Cut! Great work, both of you!"
At his cue, K-One turned and said, "You worked hard today, Ga-eul."
"You worked hard too, senior."
"You were incredible at picking out melodies today. You really taught yourself entirely on your own, right?"
Park Ga-eul nodded expressionlessly.
"Yes. I’ve never studied it separately."
"So this is what they mean when they say genius, huh? I’m suddenly jealous, haha."
K-One grinned brightly as he joked.
Some of the writers watching him from the sidelines covered their mouths and murmured among themselves.
"Wow, look at K-One smiling."
"He’s melting, seriously. Now I get why his fans call it an angel smile."
"It’s not just his smile that’s pretty. Watching him sing today, I thought my eardrums were melting too!"
Park Ga-eul, who had accidentally overheard the writers, thought, Is that what they call smiling prettily?
Honestly, she wasn’t sure.
His mouth was smiling, but K-One’s eyes had been shamelessly stealing glances at her thighs for a while now.
Keeping her expression in check, Park Ga-eul stood up.
"I’m going to rest for a bit first, senior."
"Why not rest here?"
"Sorry. I’m more comfortable being alone."
At her blunt answer, K-One let out a heavy sigh.
"Ga-eul, isn’t that a little cold?"
"Pardon?"
"I’m trying to get closer to you, but you keep putting distance between us, so it’s a little embarrassing."
Park Ga-eul’s expression turned awkward.
"I’m not trying to put distance between us, senior."
"Oh, then did your manager tell you not to get close to male entertainers?"
"...What?"
"You know."
K-One suddenly scrunched up his face and mimicked someone.
"That manager with the ugly look on his face. Did he tell you not to get close to me?"
Park Ga-eul’s face chilled.
"Senior, it’s not like that, so please don’t imitate him."
"Ah, did that bother you? Sorry."
Park Ga-eul turned away without answering.
Watching her back, K-One snorted a laugh.
"What a bitch. So prickly."
He muttered it under his breath, then slowly turned his head.
The songs he had just worked on with Park Ga-eul were laid out before him.
K-One closed his eyes for a moment and replayed the melody she had composed.
It sounds familiar.
And melodies that sound familiar are usually good melodies.
After all, the most important thing in popular music is that it’s easy to listen to.
The melody Park Ga-eul had just written fit that exact mold.
A good melody you’d find yourself humming again and again.
K-One’s expression shifted with surprise.
I thought she only had the looks, but she’s pretty good at music too.
His greed started to stir.
What kind of music would come out if this melody were properly refined?
Just then, Team Leader Kim Su-ji appeared.
"What are you thinking about so hard?"
"Oh, noona. You’re here?"
"Yeah. Did filming go well?"
K-One lifted the corners of his mouth.
"Noona, listen to this once."
Team Leader Kim Su-ji tilted her head.
"What is it? A melody you came up with while filming this time?"
"Yes. Listen and tell me what you think."
She put on the headset K-One handed her.
Before long, a buoyant melody spilled through the headphones.
An acoustic guitar led the track, then a familiar layered melody started tickling the ears.
Team Leader Kim Su-ji, who had been listening intently, widened her eyes.
"Oh, this is really good."
Carefully observing her reaction, K-One stroked his chin.
"You really like it?"
"Yeah. You’re saying this is a melody you just came up with?"
Team Leader Kim Su-ji asked with expectant eyes.
In response, K-One dragged out his answer.
"Well, you could say that."
"Wow... K-One."
With a grin, Team Leader Kim Su-ji gave his shoulder a light tap.
"Seeing it like this, you really do look like a genius singer-songwriter. If this song gets edited well, it could blow up, don’t you think?"
At her words, K-One fell into thought.
It could blow up, huh...
Well.
He wasn’t sure it would.
A melody alone didn’t make every song beloved.
But a sense of instinct was quietly creeping up on him.
If he added a voice to this melody, wrote lyrics for it, and performed it perfectly, it felt like a genuinely good song could be born.
A lyrical love song.
The kind of song that immediately came to mind when you thought of a singer-songwriter.
And love songs were exactly what K-One sang best.
By now, he had already decided the song’s concept based on Park Ga-eul’s melody, and he was licking his dry lips with his tongue when Team Leader Kim Su-ji handed him a coffee and said,
"Starting this week, SAG’s publicity team is going to push out a ton of articles about you."
Snapped out of his thoughts, K-One tilted his head.
"Why would they suddenly write articles about me?"
"The next round uses viewer voting."
"Ah, so they’re helping with promo articles?"
Team Leader Kim Su-ji explained in an energized voice.
"Right now, public sentiment and the pre-vote numbers both look overwhelmingly in your favor, but you never know. Park Ga-eul has more fandom support than you’d think, and if Baekhak starts pushing in earnest, things could change."
K-One snorted.
"Please. What variables? Am I going to lose to a rookie?"
"You never know. You... actually, never mind."
"Hey, what do you mean, stop mid-sentence?"
Team Leader Kim Su-ji glanced around cautiously.
"Because it’s not exactly a pleasant thing to hear."
"Why? Did I get attacked by bad comments or something?"
"Not bad comments, but people are saying things because you’ve been coming into this round so aggressively."
Team Leader Kim Su-ji clicked her tongue.
"There are even people writing articles about that, so for now don’t look at the internet. We’ll make sure our side backs you up properly, so you just focus on making the song, K-One."
At her words, K-One slowly shifted his gaze back to Park Ga-eul’s melody.
So all I have to do is make a good song, huh...
Didn’t that mean he just had to make the song somehow?
K-One weighed the possibilities.
The other side had a rookie, and the justification would be reasonable enough.
Since this was a collaborative project, he could always say he was inspired by it.
Baekhak’s agency was a concern, but SAG was SAG too.
No matter how big Baekhak was, it wouldn’t be able to raise its voice over SAG.
As he pieced the situation together one by one, K-One murmured slowly,
Is there any reason not to take this?
No, it wasn’t even taking it.
He had merely been inspired by another person’s creation.
But he couldn’t deny there was risk.
If I use this song, it’ll end up too similar to Park Ga-eul’s melody no matter what.
Given the fundamental difference in fandom support and the way his own side’s victory in the second round now seemed assured, there was no reason for K-One to take an unnecessary gamble.
But it pisses me off.
He thought of Park Ga-eul, who kept her distance from him.
No matter how warmly he talked to her, no matter how casually he approached, she kept putting up a wall. It didn’t look like there was any future in getting involved with her.
That fact irritated his pride.
Shit, a rookie thinks her face can carry her, so she’s putting up walls?
By then, annoyance was starting to build in K-One.
And then, listening to the song Park Ga-eul had composed, a thought came to him.
If I can’t have it anyway, shouldn’t I just give it back?
If plagiarism accusations were going to happen either way, whose side would public opinion take?
K-One’s mouth moved.
"Yes. I’ll work hard on the song."
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
"I’ll turn out a result you can see for yourself, so trust me and wait, noona."
The second round of K-Singer-Songwriter was just around the corner.
With articles flooding in, viewers’ reactions were heating up.
In particular, the matchup between Park Ga-eul and K-One in the second round drew the most attention.
K-One had the largest fandom among all the contestants on K-Singer-Songwriter.
Park Ga-eul, who had unexpectedly shone in this round and attracted a huge wave of new fans.
The audience was in an uproar over the showdown between the two.
Watching that flow, I felt the stage being set.
K-Singer-Songwriter had already crossed 10 percent in ratings and become this year’s most successful variety show.
Now a bigger stage was being built, one that would change the race for victory in that competition program.
For that one moment, I had been laying the groundwork steadily.
But when I looked closely, the stage around me wasn’t only about K-Singer-Songwriter.
The return of the top actress was officially confirmed.
The film industry was now in chaos for a different reason: the queen was coming back.
As still cuts from Black Bride were uploaded to Lee Ha-eun’s Instagram, which boasted ten million followers, the buzz only accelerated.
Film and variety.
The decisive moment was right around the corner that would determine, in plain terms, the quarterly performance of Team Six.
To keep from being swept away by that current, I held my center and took the next step.
Top actress Lee Ha-eun.
Her variety-show outing was about to begin.
I stepped into the set of the nation’s beloved variety talk show Hello with Seo Tae-jun and Choi Cheol.
"Hello, Actor Seo."
"How have you been, senior?"
"Haha, I’ve been well. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Actor Seo, and you look even brighter than before."
Seo Tae-jun was chatting with Baek Seo-hoon, the main MC of Hello.
Leaning against the wall and watching him, I murmured slowly,
"I didn’t know Seo Tae-jun knew Baek Seo-hoon too."
Choi Cheol, standing beside me, looked at Baek Seo-hoon with an amazed expression.
"I was surprised too, sir. When I asked where he wanted to go for promotional schedules, he said Baek Seo-hoon MC right away."
At his explanation, I asked lightly,
"Is Seo Tae-jun easy enough to handle, Choi Cheol?"
"He’s good."
"So he doesn’t cause trouble or anything?"
"Yes, sir! At first he was pretty prickly, but now he’s actually really good to me!"
Well, Seo Tae-jun was the type to grumble with his mouth but shower people with affection once he got close to them.
You could say he was the sort who loved his own people fiercely.
Just then, Seo Tae-jun finished talking with Baek Seo-hoon and walked over here.
Blue jeans and a denim jacket.
Today’s outfit made him look like a youth star from the 1990s, and he wore that style, which could easily have looked dated, with complete confidence.
Seen like this, he really was a convincing visual actor, though his one flaw, as always, was that mouth of his.
"Seriously, who dresses a guy for the weather like this? These ripped jeans are freezing me to death."
I let out a long sigh.
"It’s a studio show anyway, so the heaters are on."
"Even for an indoor show, cold is still cold."
"Honestly, I’ll bring you a blanket later."
At my jab, Seo Tae-jun shot me a sidelong glance.
"Team Leader Kwon."
"Yes, Tae-jun."
"You’ve got something on your mind?"
I tilted my head.
"What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
"It’s been a while since I saw you, and your face looks completely dead. Something happen?"
At Seo Tae-jun’s words, my eyes widened.
My face looks bad?
Without thinking, I touched my face.
I could feel skin that had grown rough from lack of sleep.
Come to think of it, I had been working late a lot lately.
First Black Bride, which had finally entered full promotional mode, and now the second round of K-Singer-Songwriter, which was right around the corner.
The results of the projects most important to me were about to come in.
But the thing that had been wearing on my mind, of course, was that piece of trash K-One.
Figuring out how to shove him into hell with no escape route had kept me up more than a few nights.
Still, at least it’s worth it if the results come out right.
Once today’s filming was over, the countdown would begin in earnest.
The countdown to the train ride straight to hell that would send K-One crashing down there.
The corners of my mouth lifted.
"Hmm, I do have something on my mind."
"What is it? Tell me."
"That Seo Tae-jun doesn’t listen to me?"
"...You haven’t seen me in a while and you’re still going to act like that, huh?"
As I naturally changed the subject and chatted with Seo Tae-jun about the backlog of things we’d missed, an FD came up and said, "Actor Seo! It’s time for makeup!"
At that, Seo Tae-jun stood up.
"I’ll be back, Team Leader Kwon."
"Get your makeup done nicely."
"What kind of man has pretty makeup done?"
Still grumbling, Seo Tae-jun followed the FD out.
Choi Cheol naturally moved too, going after him to assist.
Watching them, I stretched and muttered,
"He’s right, I do feel kind of tired."
Hmm.
Once today’s shoot ended, I’d need to rest a bit afterward.
Tomorrow would be busy again, so maybe a sauna in the evening wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Then I sensed a stir at the studio entrance far away.
Turning my head naturally, I felt the tiredness from a moment ago vanish.
"It’s Lee Ha-eun!"
Top actress Lee Ha-eun.
The main guest on today’s Hello had finally appeared.
I could feel everyone’s eyes turning toward her.
And at the same time, my heart began to pound.
-Thump, thump.
When I saw her again after two weeks, she was even prettier than usual.
The actress wore a thin lavender knit top and a white flared skirt, giving off a warmth I’d never quite seen from her before.
Spring hadn’t arrived yet, but looking at her, I had the strange illusion that it already had.
Men and women alike couldn’t take their eyes off her.
As I looked at the actress who had drawn everyone’s attention just by walking in, I thought to myself, How can someone be that pretty?
It was a feeling I had every time I saw her, but today she was truly beautiful.
People say women become prettier when they’re in love. Was that true for Lee Ha-eun too?
Then who exactly was she in love with?
I let out a silent, crooked laugh and kept stealing glances at her.
The actress, having captured everyone’s attention, kept turning her head as if she were looking for someone.
Seeing that, I felt a happiness I couldn’t quite put into words, a rush of dopamine filling me from my toes to the top of my head, and I slowly spoke.
"Lee Ha-eun."
At my call, the top actress who had been looking around turned this way as if by magic.
Her eyes, meeting mine, locked onto me.
I straightened my back from the wall I’d been leaning against and walked toward her, who had stopped in place.
Perhaps she hadn’t expected me to come to her first, because Lee Ha-eun’s eyes widened slightly.
The corners of my eyes curved a little.
Look at that?
So Lee Ha-eun could make a face like that too?
Then, all at once, a thought struck me.
Come to think of it...
Wasn’t this the first time I’d ever gone to her first?
Usually it had always been Lee Ha-eun who came to me first.
But today, for the first time, I was the one walking toward her.
While I was still surprised by the change in myself, Lee Ha-eun called my name.
"Kwon Chan."
I lifted my head and looked at her.
Lee Ha-eun’s eyes were shining so brightly it was almost overwhelming.
Her lips were curved in a pleasant smile too, and I could feel vividly just how good her mood was right then.
The color of that feeling came through so clearly, so pleasantly, that a smile touched my own lips as well.
In that state, I spoke from the heart.
"Lee Ha-eun, you look especially pretty today."
Lee Ha-eun’s expression sank at once.