Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Smiling?
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Smiling?
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack.
The rhythmic sound of high heels rang out, steady like a metronome set to about 80 BPM.
A woman around 170 cm tall, her feet arched high in heels, extended legs that were dizzyingly stunning with every step.
Her jet-black hair, cascading down to her waist, swayed and flowed behind her backless dress with each stride.
Rose-petal red lips, a beautifully sculpted face, and a single beauty mark punctuating the corner of her mouth.
Even behind her sunglasses, people instantly knew who she was.
"Isn't that Han Woo-hee...?"
A woman pinched the side of a man who stared blankly at the celebrity's retreating figure, her eyes flashing with fury after a brief moment of shared excitement.
Dizzying in every sense. Han Woo-hee drew in gazes like a black hole with every step.
The hotel lobby buzzed with murmurs from every corner, but her steady gait showed no hint of disruption.
Instead, she leisurely slipped off her sunglasses and offered a casual nod to those around her.
Gasps of admiration erupted from men everywhere, and the women nearby began shooting sharp glares—right as Han Woo-hee vanished from sight.
At the event hall entrance, the staff recognized her and opened the door to the script reading room.
"Thank you."
Her soft, velvety voice lingered in the staff's ear long after, and Han Woo-hee flashed her a smile.
A familiar reaction. The expected one.
Han Woo-hee savored the dazed breaths of those who stared at her in awe, inhaling deeply like fine wine, before stepping into the script reading room.
"Hello, sunbae!"
"Ah, hello?"
"Sunbae, hello!"
The actors already seated shot to their feet, greeting her warmly.
"Oh my. Don't stand up. You're making me feel awkward. It's great to see everyone."
In the hotel lobby or among fellow celebrities, she was always the star—the one who shone brightest, with the most talent, and the greatest beauty.
She had no reason to lose her composure.
Or so she thought...
Until she spotted a man rising slowly from one side of the table.
"......?!"
Han Woo-hee froze in shock. Every cell in her body buzzed with electric prickles from her toes to the crown of her head.
"Hello, sunbae. I'm actor Jung Woo-jin."
"......"
It felt wrong to simply call him handsome. She'd seen plenty of good-looking guys, but this face was something else entirely.
No words came to mind to describe it.
The pinnacle of beauty?
She had originally planned to collect Jung Woo-jin as another trophy, but ridiculously, the first emotion that hit her upon seeing him was...
Jealousy. Pure, vivid jealousy.
Han Woo-hee stared silently at him even after his greeting, creating an inexplicable tension. The other actors fidgeted, watching the two anxiously.
Thankfully, veteran actors Kim Myung-hee and Son Cheol-soo entered the room, snapping her back to reality for quick greetings.
"Heh heh. Some unexpected faces here. Well, let's have a good time working together."
"Oh, sunbaenim! What are you saying? We're the ones who should be asking!"
As all the actors sat and chatted amiably, Han Woo-hee remained quietly silent.
Out of sight, she gnawed at her nails under the table, her leg jittering uncontrollably.
She felt uneasy. Afraid she might not be the brightest star here. Angry at that dazzling talent called 'appearance' possessed by this Jung Woo-jin guy.
So angry she'd peel the skin off his face if she could.
Suddenly locking eyes with Jung Woo-jin, Han Woo-hee felt chills rack her body.
'Smiling...?'
My heart pounded.
Skin still firm and elastic even past thirty. Facial lines so refined they could only be called delicate, and deep eyes that exuded a thick aura from any angle.
In her early-twenties film <Yeonseo>, she had flaunted fresh, pure beauty. Now, she radiated sultry yet innocent allure.
Without thinking, my lower body stiffened and swelled.
A B+ grade talent appearing right from the start was a first. Three conditions attached? Also a first.
What talent did she possess? What could I covet? And once I took it all, what would she look like as mere spoils of war?
I wondered.
"Heh..."
A thread of ecstasy slipped through my gritted teeth—I couldn't hold it back.
Since our eyes had met anyway, I flashed Han Woo-hee a brilliant smile.
Infused with delight, toward my prey.
Once executive director Son Jung-hoo entered the script reading room...
The real reading began.
With only the main cast present, no extra sound equipment was used.
The gathered reporters and staff fell silent. Amid that quiet, the actors lightly delivered their lines.
But since it wasn't a purely serious film, chuckles broke out at the humor spots here and there.
The reading flowed in a perfectly balanced atmosphere—weighty yet light.
"I've tried everything. I was too scared to go to a hospital, but I visited shamans known for their skills in different regions and even contacted so-called occult experts."
"But in the end, I realized it. Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun. I have to live a different life each day of the week."
"I can barely remember what I originally looked like. Just a few photos prove I once lived that way—my true self is nowhere in the world anymore. I don't know. Who I am. Which face is the real me."
With the film emphasizing the protagonist's inner changes, the early parts featured plenty of actor narration.
And then.
The time came for Jung Woo-jin's seventh persona: the 'handsome man,' revealing his daily life.
Jung Woo-jin stared into empty space with hollow eyes and spoke.
"You like how well we click? How'd you know I had worries? Ha..."
The room held its breath after his deep sigh, laced with profound loneliness despite company, waiting for what followed.
"It's nothing. I just asked the bartender. To serve drinks with his left hand to customers who come with troubles. In the end, I don't know you, and you can't understand me."
His self-mocking tone felt like words to himself—repeating that he couldn't be understood.
In the end, he turned his head with eyes of utter resignation. In everyone's minds, the image formed: 'Hyun-seong' slipping away while the woman from a one-night stand slept.
A debauched man cycling through new women weekly for sex, yet that hollow, pained gaze made people want to embrace him.
After the [Inner Beauty] script reading wrapped...
The reporters, heeding the production manager's request, opened their laptops right there to write articles. Female reporter Kim Sung-hee included.
Tap, tap-tap.
"This is huge..."
Her headline read:
- The visuals and acting are explosive. The script reading for the second-half megahit everyone’s watching, [Inner Beauty].
The [Inner Beauty] team announced filming would start post-reading, kicking off full promo.
Meanwhile, in a secluded spot at the hotel restaurant, director Son Jung-hoo and the cast gathered for a cast dinner.
Han Woo-hee slipped into the dining room, subtly gauging the mood, and sat right next to Jung Woo-jin as he took his seat.
She gave him an eye smile and said, at the perfect angle practiced thousands of times in the mirror.
"Your acting was great today. I mean it."
Her voice rang with sincere warmth.
At the same time, unseen by all, she slid her hand under the table—just barely grazing his thigh with the faintest touch.
Han Woo-hee was confident.
The rumors floating around the industry about her? She knew them all.
She just didn't care.
No, she liked it. Male co-stars who heard those rumors always approached warily at first.
But even knowing everything—even knowing what kind of woman she was—they inevitably fell when she turned on the charm. She loved watching those fools crumble.
Did they think they were different?
Like the 99% of small-time investors who lose money in stocks, entering with the arrogant illusion that 'I'm different.'
Those who believed they could monopolize Han Woo-hee's affection all ended up as sacrifices to stroke her ego.
And Jung Woo-jin would be no different.
'Failure isn't in my vocabulary.'
Han Woo-hee subtly shifted her hand on his thigh toward his groin.
But then.
Tap.
Jung Woo-jin's hand casually brushed hers away without a change in expression. Han Woo-hee widened her eyes and stared at him.
And she read the clear emotion in his eyes.
An annoyed glare.
"......?!"
Grind.
Han Woo-hee clenched her teeth hard.
It was just like the expression she wore—the feeling she had—when she ruthlessly rejected men.