Chapter 111: Incidents and Accidents (2)
Chapter 111: Incidents and Accidents (2)
Actor Lee Sang-soo was a serious, powerhouse actor.
Seo-yeon had no intention of letting the connection they had formed on Star Fisherman simply fade away.
There was one primary reason for that.
‘Director Jo Bang-woo’s movie.’
He was the father of Director Jo Min-tae, the man Seo-yeon had formed a bond with as a child.
Production for his film was set to begin early next year.
Seo-yeon wanted to appear in that movie alongside Lee Sang-soo.
‘Director Jo Bang-woo’s films aren't bad at all.’
He had secured decent investment, and the director himself had poured his soul into it, treating it as his final chance.
It was a disaster film, a genre not often seen.
The subject matter was quite fresh, and the protagonist was fairly charming… or so the later reviews claimed.
However…
“Episode 14 of Dream Future airs tomorrow.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“It’s the last episode where I appear properly as Jo Ha-rin.”
To be precise, it was the episode where she faced off against Song So-ha for a spot in the finals. In that episode, Song So-ha would defeat Jo Ha-rin and advance.
“I’d really like it if you watched it.”
“Haha, of course I should. I actually caught a bit of it recently, and it was quite watchable.”
Calling it "quite watchable" was actually high praise coming from him.
After all, Dream Future was not the kind of drama that suited Lee Sang-soo’s tastes at all. He had only watched it out of a pure desire to see Seo-yeon’s acting.
“And…”
Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should say it now.
But soon, she shook her head.
‘Even if I try to persuade him with words now, it’ll just go in one ear and out the other.’
Lee Sang-soo’s heart had almost completely left the acting profession. All that remained was a tiny ember fueled by lingering regret.
Seo-yeon knew that stoking that fire had to come first.
“I hope to see you again soon.”
“Ah, certainly. If you ever want to go fishing again, just say the word.”
“Ayy, Senior. Fishing is for old fogies like us.”
“What do you mean? I’m telling you, Miss Seo-yeon has talent!”
Watching the older men banter, Seo-yeon quietly shifted her gaze toward a young man who was barely managing to keep his composure amidst the lively atmosphere.
*
“Ji-woo, your acting was good today.”
Shim Cheong-seok said as he patted Pyo Ji-woo on the shoulder.
He was glad she could finish the play on a relatively high note before leaving the theater troupe.
“But it would be better if you broadened your range of colors. Right now, everything is just one shade.”
“I-I’ll work on it.”
“Right. Well, you have talent, so you’ll get there in no time.”
Pyo Ji-woo let out a sigh of relief.
The fact that Shim Cheong-seok ended his critique with just that meant her performance today was actually decent. If he hadn't liked it, it was in his nature to grill her for two or three hours straight.
“Ah. Also.”
Just when she thought it was over, Shim Cheong-seok spoke up as if he’d remembered something.
Pyo Ji-woo tensed up, wondering if more criticism was coming.
“Someone is waiting for you, so head on out.”
“Pardon?”
Someone waiting for her?
It was a bit awkward to admit, but Pyo Ji-woo had a very narrow social circle. The only person who would come looking for her was…
“Hello.”
“…”
Ju Seo-yeon.
The girl who had stopped her when she was about to walk down a dangerous path was waiting outside the theater. Instead of the school uniform she had seen her in before, she was wearing a breezy summer uniform.
“So…”
After moving to a nearby cafe, Pyo Ji-woo stared at Seo-yeon.
Her appearance was as eerily beautiful as the last time they met.
“What brings you here so suddenly?”
A calm gaze met hers. To be honest, even Pyo Ji-woo, who had plenty of nerve, found herself flinching under Seo-yeon’s stare.
‘Was it Cha Seo-ah?’
She heard Seo-yeon had appeared in Dream Future, but she hadn't seen that. She had, however, seen The Chaser.
Pyo Ji-woo was quite a fan of thrillers.
Seo-yeon’s acting in that movie had been enough to make even Pyo Ji-woo feel intimidated.
Perhaps because that image lingered, sitting across from Seo-yeon now felt strangely burdensome.
Besides, why had Seo-yeon come to find her in the first place?
‘Isn't she doing quite well lately?’
The Chaser, then Dream Future.
Recently, she had been steadily building her public profile through Star Fisherman.
Perhaps because of Seo-yeon’s success, even Shim Cheong-seok seemed to be seriously considering properly entering the entertainment industry, something that had been discussed before.
“Ji-woo Unnie.”
“Y-yeah?”
“How do stalkers usually target their subjects?”
“?”
Wait, why are you asking me that?
She had followed Min Seo-ho around for a bit, but…
“I don’t really understand that kind of psychology, so I wanted to get some advice from an expert.”
“I-I wasn't exactly doing 'stalker' stuff, you know?”
“?”
Seo-yeon looked at Pyo Ji-woo as if wondering what on earth she was talking about.
Pyo Ji-woo felt wronged.
She had just wanted to act with him, so out of pure intentions, she had put in some effort to participate in the plays he was in. She hadn't followed Min Seo-ho around to see every single thing he did.
‘Was she a moderate stalker?’
Seo-yeon thought as she looked at Pyo Ji-woo.
Come to think of it, for a stalker, she had been quite late to find out about Min Seo-ho’s two-timing.
Of course, to say she was just obsessed with acting, she had been rather tenacious in certain aspects.
‘Maybe her way of thinking is just different. She is a pro, after all.’
Seo-yeon brushed it off. She was the one who had come for advice, wasn't she?
“Ahem. Usually, they start by investigating the places the person visits frequently…”
This was basic stalker behavior that even Seo-yeon could guess.
“And then?”
“Sometimes they try to get close to people associated with the target to get information.”
The first thing they try to get is the phone number. If it changes, they find out immediately and send a text like, ‘Oppa, did you change your number?’
“There are cases where they break into a house to steal a personal seal to fill out a marriage registration… or they throw themselves in front of a celebrity’s moving van to get hit…”
“…”
“N-no! I didn't do anything like that!”
“Like that,” she says.
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes at Pyo Ji-woo.
See, you know all about it.
Regardless, the information Seo-yeon was getting from Pyo Ji-woo was about the stalkers that plagued celebrities—the so-called ‘sasaeng fans.’
The starting point that had driven Thundust toward ruin.
‘Actually, it wasn't just the sasaeng fans that were the problem.’
She thought of Liam, whom she had seen not long ago. An idol who seemed constantly discouraged. It was proof that his agency wasn't taking good care of him.
Thundust.
The attack by sasaeng fans.
The discord between members.
Those pieces of information flashed through Seo-yeon’s mind.
Liam.
Kim Ho-seung.
She didn't know his idol name, but she knew his real name. He was someone who would later quit being an idol and debut as an actor.
And quite a successful one at that.
‘But it took a very long time for him to get to that point.’
She remembered him hitting it big just a few months before her previous life ended. Considering the timeline, that was more than five years away.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t go meddling in things like that recklessly,” Pyo Ji-woo said, watching the deep-in-thought Seo-yeon.
Even though Pyo Ji-woo had been the one meddled with before, she couldn't help but worry.
“The thing is, we’re short on actors right now.”
“Huh?”
Seo-yeon didn't elaborate further to the confused Pyo Ji-woo. There was no point in saying more anyway.
‘Since Hwang Min-hwa left, Nova Ent will be stumbling for a while.’
She could have said she would just fill that gap herself, but…
‘It would be good if even one more talented actor joined.’
Nova Ent needed to grow for Seo-yeon to have more advantages in her future projects.
More importantly, in her past life, Nova Ent had only ever reached the B-list, even at its peak.
‘If I’m going to do this, I might as well aim for the A-list.’
The reason Seo-yeon had chosen Nova Ent wasn't for any other reason. It was because she was confident she could elevate any agency to the top tier.
In that sense, Nova Ent, where she could have a significant say, was better.
‘At least to the level of RY Ent.’
She hoped it would grow at least that much. Seo-yeon was highly competitive, after all.
*
“Y-you stay put. It’s dangerous.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I’ll go find out, so you just wait right here.”
“Fine, then.”
In the end, after hearing Seo-yeon out, Pyo Ji-woo decided to step up herself, and Seo-yeon agreed to wait quietly.
It was probably better for an expert to handle it rather than a novice like herself.
‘It’s not like something is going to explode right away.’
There was still some time. She might have misremembered something, so it was right to be cautious.
And just in case…
“This is a wooden sword.”
“?”
“Because if you stab someone with a steel blade, they’ll die.”
“You can die from being hit with a wooden sword, too! Besides, I have no intention of fighting, okay?”
Well, Pyo Ji-woo would know how to use it properly. Even if she had to face a sasaeng fan, Pyo Ji-woo wouldn't lose if she had a sword in hand.
With that thought, Seo-yeon headed to the convenience store she visited every Tuesday.
“…?”
The clerk’s reaction was different from usual.
For a while, perhaps due to the influence of The Chaser, the clerk’s pupils would shake whenever Seo-yeon appeared.
“A-ah, hello.”
But now, her reaction had softened significantly. In fact, she seemed to strangely want to talk more.
It was the same at school.
“O-oh, hi?”
“You’re early today too!”
Rarely, her classmates would initiate greetings with her.
Just as Seo-yeon was thinking she should ask Lee Ji-yeon for the reason…
“Dream Future was so good yesterday. I really wanted you to advance; it was such a shame.”
The class president, Gil Da-hyeon, approached her with a bright smile and struck up a conversation.
Only then did Seo-yeon realize.
‘Ah, is it because of Episode 14 of Dream Future that aired yesterday?’
The episode where Jo Ha-rin tested her skills against Song So-ha.
Excluding the ending, it was the final episode of Seo-yeon’s appearance in Dream Future.
What she had intended only to improve ‘Cha Seo-ah’s’ image had brought about a much larger reaction than she had anticipated.
“…A drama OST project?”
And mostly in a direction Seo-yeon hadn't expected at all.
*
“Hah, that damn Dream Future.”
Drama director Kim Il-soo sighed as he tossed aside the documents he had received today.
Now that Dream Future had achieved great success as a ‘youth drama,’ it seemed KMB wanted to produce another similar work.
They even seemed to want to use that rookie writer, Min Se-hee, for the script.
However, Kim Il-soo was not pleased with this situation.
He was fundamentally ill-suited for soft, fluffy dramas like Dream Future. The dramas he directed were mostly cynical and often served as social commentaries.
“High schoolers as protagonists again? Dream Future just got lucky.”
He had a lot he wanted to say.
However, it seemed a high-ranking official in the drama department had taken a liking to that girl.
“Was it Ju Seo-yeon…?”
A young actress who had been making headlines lately. She certainly possessed the qualities that would catch the eye of the higher-ups.
“Episode 14, right. They said today was her last appearance.”
He planned to binge-watch all the episodes of Dream Future he had missed. He had stopped after Episode 4.
Episode 1 had been decent, but after that, it felt like a mediocre drama. So he hadn't watched past the fourth episode.
But wasn't she an actress who might appear in his upcoming drama, Sky Garden?
The actress’s side had said they were reviewing the offer positively, so…
“Well, let’s see what she’s got.”
Recalling the intense image of Cha Seo-ah from The Chaser, he calmly began watching Dream Future.
He didn't stop once, not until the sun rose the following morning.