Chapter 17
Actually, Cha Ji-yeon had called her daughter earlier and invited her to the filming set, but the girl had flatly refused, saying it was no fun at all.
Her teenage daughter, still at the peak of her rebellious phase, didn’t seem to care about her mother’s feelings.
I wanted to spend time with her daughter and show her what a great job I was doing… but instead, Deok-su looked at Cha Ji-yeon on the phone with his daughter in a complicated way.
His daughter had just woken up and reacted quite grumpily to the sudden video call.
“…Why?”
“Su-hye-ya, do you know who your mom is with right now?”
“…Who?”
Even with the tone that dripped like ice, Cha Ji-yeon managed a smile.
When Ryu Gang-hyeok took the phone from her, he wore his fan-friendly smile and waved.
“Hello. Ryu Gang… no, I’m the Signature leader, Cast.”
…
The silence stretched through the speaker.
Then…
“Kyaaaaaaa! Mom! You’re lying! You’re lying!”
She quickly covered her face and peeked out from under the blanket.
Her face peeked through a gap and was flushed like red bean paste.
Cha Ji-yeon burst out laughing from behind, and Ryu Gang-hyeok gently soothed the girl while continuing the call.
Ryu Gang-hyeok handled the conversation with the smooth skill of a trainer.
‘His talent for dealing with fans is incredible.’
Only now did Deok-su understand why Ryu Gang-hyeok had been so confident.
It also explained why Signature had been able to reach this point.
Deok-su watched Ryu Gang-hyeok skillfully draw out the conversation and stood there dumbfounded…
“Ah, senior.”
Cha Ji-yeon lightly grabbed Deok-su’s arm.
Her eyes wouldn’t meet his directly.
“I must have misunderstood you, Deok-su. I thought you couldn’t get tickets and would bring Cast instead…”
“You didn’t even ask for my favor.”
Smack.
Cha Ji-yeon lightly patted Deok-su’s back.
“You’re pretty good with words. Anyway, thank you. Keep today’s schedule. If you ever need my help, just say so. I can even get you roles.”
Seeing her confidence, Deok-su just smiled.
About two hours later, Ryu Gang-hyeok stood with a middle-school girl.
The shy, blushing middle-school girl was Shin Su-hye, Cha Ji-yeon’s daughter.
Ryu Gang-hyeok handled the constant questions from Shin Su-hye and occasionally took photos when the staff asked.
The moment Ryu Gang-hyeok was momentarily freed was when he went to the bathroom.
Standing next to Deok-su, he looked slightly tired.
“Because of me, I can’t even take a break… Sorry. Later…”
“It’s because of Min-hye.”
Standing side by side, Ryu Gang-hyeok continued.
“Yesterday she said she finally feels sure what she wants to do.”
“Ah, she’s going that way?”
Ryu Gang-hyeok nodded.
His little sister had been drifting between debut and exercise. But after being mentored by Kim Deok-su, she seemed to have found her path.
Ryu Gang-hyeok washed his hands and spoke again.
“If it weren’t for you, Deok-su, Min-hye would have just drifted until she got old. Thank you.”
“I couldn’t even make enough money. Still…”
“Min-hye says she’ll get everything back when you shine again. You really know how to earn money.”
“Make sure to tell her I’ll come collect.”
Deok-su shrugged.
There was no such thing as free in the world. Or rather, free things were even scarier.
The short break ended.
Ryu Gang-hyeok, watching the filming again with Shin Su-hye, stared carefully at a pot held by a member of the art team.
Shin Su-hye tilted her head at the unfamiliar object.
“Is that soy paste?”
“Looks like it. Product placement?”
Lee Hui-yeon answered in an awkward tone, since she was standing with them.
“That… you’ll understand when you see it. Ah, I have to get ready.”
Lee Hui-yeon rushed to her car after something occurred to her.
After the setting was complete, Deok-su stood in the center.
Watching the actors’ rehearsal, Shin Su-hye whispered.
‘But L’Vyu is weird…’
‘Oppa L’Vyu.’
‘Ah, does L’Vyu oppa really have a personal specialty? His voice and normal voice are totally different when acting.’
Ryu Gang-hyeok was surprised too.
When he heard about My Hwarang, he thought it was just because he practiced a lot.
But the voice then and now were completely different.
Compared to the solemn, stubborn voice he remembered, the current one was endlessly light and gentle, so his fist rose by itself.
“I can tell you practiced a lot.”
A sudden presence made Ryu Gang-hyeok startle.
It was Cha Ji-yeon, fresh from finishing her makeup.
“Ah, Mom! You startled me.”
Cha Ji-yeon stroked her daughter’s hair and turned her gaze toward the filming set where Deok-su was.
“His pronunciation, breathing, and reactions are all good. He still doesn’t look tired at all. Senior Hyung was the acting teacher at JMT, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“So… that’s why his fundamentals were solid. He must have practiced a lot. Nowadays idols can’t practice that much because they don’t have time…”
…
After the rehearsal ended, the filming began immediately.
Veteran actor Im Jeong-hae held up the pot the art team had prepared, and Deok-su’s mouth lifted slightly as if asking, “When did I do that?”
“…You ruined my daughter’s life like that… Are you going to just sit there?”
“We only enjoyed the day together. Well, maybe that day is very precious to old people like you.”
“Old people? Yeah, I am. You… you throw red bean paste on me…”
Im Jeong-hae scooped a full pot of red bean paste and slammed it onto Deok-su’s face.
‘Yikes!’
‘Whoa!’
Ryu Gang-hyeok and Shin Su-hye froze solid.
Deok-su’s handsome face was ruined, and the smell of red bean paste filled the air.
‘Ah, no! Kim Deok-su! Calm down!’
Kim Deok-su had an odd quirk.
He couldn’t stand anyone touching him or anything getting on him.
Especially his face.
Deok-su’s face, covered in flowing red bean paste, twisted with intense anger.
“You crazy old lady…!”
Deok-su pushed Im Jeong-hae away.
Even though it was only a light push, Im Jeong-hae’s exaggerated fall was so dramatic that some staff even looked startled.
“Hey! Kim Deok-su! Stop!”
The moment Ryu Gang-hyeok rushed into the frame, a voice came through the megaphone.
“Cut. Good. Next.”
Ryu Gang-hyeok, who had entered the frame, froze for a moment.
“Ah, ahaha…”
Deok-su lightly patted Ryu Gang-hyeok’s shoulder that had intruded into the frame.
At the same time, the PD and staff started laughing, holding their stomachs.
“No making-of today?”
“It’s a perfect scene, but a shame it’s missing.”
Even PD Park Hee-yeol seemed disappointed there was no making-of.
Deok-su wiped his face with towels from Lee Hui-yeon and the art team and kept laughing.
“Teacher. Do you think our acting is okay? Intruding just to stop us…”
“Deok-su caught it perfectly. Even your friend was startled.”
Im Jeong-hae winked at Deok-su and Ryu Gang-hyeok before turning away.
Ryu Gang-hyeok shook his head with his hand over his face.
It was comedy to others, but to him it was a heart-fluttering moment.
Deok-su patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about things like this in the future. You won’t cause accidents because of me.”
…
Ryu Gang-hyeok looked at Deok-su toward PD Park Hee-yeol.
Kim Deok-su’s back looked much broader than Ryu Gang-hyeok knew.
Deok-su and PD Park Hee-yeol checked the monitor together.
Red bean paste dripped from Deok-su’s face. The PD seemed to know why he had approved it.
But the area where it hit wasn’t quite to his liking.
Im Jeong-hae had deliberately aimed slightly off Deok-su’s face out of consideration.
It didn’t sit well with Deok-su.
“…Can we do it one more time?”
“What? It’s good now. You want to hit it again?”
PD Park Hee-yeol’s eyes widened, but Deok-su remained calm.
“Thankfully it didn’t get on the clothes. Just redoing the makeup should work… right?”
…
“Hmm. Let me ask the teacher first, and let’s try changing the direction a little. This director, can we use this line?”
The sound director gave an OK sign with his finger.
Im Jeong-hae was surprised but accepted when told it would be done one more time.
A hardworking junior striving for better results was always a joy to watch.
“You crazy old lady… You are that crazy old lady. You… you throw red bean paste on me…”
Splat—
Im Jeong-hae hit Deok-su’s face with red bean paste again.
More this time, and straight on.
The smell of red bean paste filled the set, but of course a perfect shot came out.
‘Deok-su has changed. He’s become a completely different person.’
Kim Deok-su’s appearance on the filming set today was shocking to Ryu Gang-hyeok in many ways.
Glancing at the staff, the compliments he overheard were not bad.
“…At first I heard rumors and was skeptical. But in reality, he’s not as prickly and works hard.”
“Your manager is really nice. She’s a newbie, but she pays incredible attention to her celebrities. It’s rare to find someone this dedicated…”
“Gang-hyeok oppa. Is L’Vyu oppa really quitting Signature? He wants to become a full-time actor?”
Ryu Gang-hyeok’s answers to the awkward questions were always the same.
“I won’t quit.”
The filming continued.
Deok-su would have liked to stay forever, but Ryu Gang-hyeok had to leave.
On the way out, after seeing Shin Su-hye off, he said he’d go.
“Next time, let’s watch with all the other members too.”
After Ryu Gang-hyeok left, the filming continued.
Feeling her strength decline with age, Jeong-mi still climbed the hill today without fail.
Cleaning at Juwon University, located on the hill, was her job.
Her work was done, but the people she worked with were good.
The conversations in the break room were pleasantly casual.
But lately she had grown more cautious.
“Who’s that bald-headed kid?”
“She must have raised her son wrong… Her mom and son are both doing gapjil.”
“If my son did that, I’d just kick him… He looks just like a parasite skunk… Right, Jeong-mi?”
Jeong-mi laughed awkwardly, closed her locker, and sat in the narrow break room.
The staff gave her a seat and soon started laughing.
“Did you see the mother-in-law throw red bean paste on her face this morning? It’s really satisfying, isn’t it?”
“The mother-in-law called her an old lady, but she should have thrown poop instead.”
“Ah, I feel so good.”
As the daytime drama talk continued, Jeong-mi felt more and more uneasy.
Her colleagues were cursing out her son, and the situation was somehow strange—whether to get angry or not.
“Jeong-mi, what should we do if someone has a son like that?”
“W-well…”
The awkward questions continued until the review started.
“Sales suddenly skyrocketed. It’s scary. Even celebrities get cursed at, but they’re still celebrities.”
Oh Ju-young stretched.
She had been skeptical when the sponsorship contract was signed, but she was now reaping the benefits fully.
The days when Deok-su wore the Moncler-style outfit and the following few days saw clearly higher sales than normal.
“…What is this?”
Oh Ju-young scrolled through Kim Deok-su’s Instagram and found something strange.
The upload date was yesterday.
The clothes he was wearing were exactly what she had coordinated for him.
The location being a broadcasting station instead of JMT Entertainment was the problem.
According to the contract, he was only supposed to wear them when commuting to JMT…
Oh Ju-young was bewildered.
She wanted to check immediately, but unfortunately it was already past 2 a.m.
The next day, she went to see Deok-su carrying the clothes she had borrowed from him.
“I wore the outfit I liked the most among what I had. I heard you were giving it as a sponsorship… Is there any problem?”
Deok-su’s answer actually made Oh Ju-young more bewildered.
“That’s not it… The contract is different.”
“Don’t worry. We also wore the outfit that received the best reactions, so it’s fine.”
“That…”
At Lee Hui-yeon’s words, Oh Ju-young coughed.
Only now did she understand why the sales were so good.
In addition to commuting, he was uploading so diligently…
Oh Ju-young’s eyes sharpened with thought.
“Mr. L’Vyu, do you like our clothes?”
“Yes. They’re pretty and comfortable.”
“Stop with the clichéd words. I’m asking for your real opinion.”
Deok-su nodded without hesitation.
“Yes. The colors are good and the material is fine. The only regret is that there’s no hat. Hats complete the fashion look, but unfortunately there aren’t any.”
…
Oh Ju-young looked at Deok-su trying on the clothes with complicated eyes.
It was only natural to feel joy from the perspective of someone who made clothes herself, when people liked them.
She had worried about bad reviews or whatever, but those concerns had vanished.
“I’ll try to sell them more. When would be convenient for you?”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Twice a week. I’ll support it.”
Instead of blinking at Deok-su, Lee Hui-yeon, who had noticed the change, jumped in.
“Can we make a request today? We’ll contact you in advance.”
“Of course. I’ll understand if you send your staff instead.”
Lee Hui-yeon and Oh Ju-young adjusted the details again.
But at the time, they didn’t know.
That was the moment Kim Deok-su’s unique clothing brand began.