Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Why Is Hyung Here?
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Why is hyung here?
"Huh? Who... did you say?"
A remark that slipped out before I knew it.
Ha Yu-ra responded with an equally dumbfounded look, repeating herself.
"Actor Lee Sung-min. It looks like they're discussing his casting inside right now."
No, why is hyung here?
In this situation that made the words crawl right up to my throat, I couldn't help but feel genuinely perplexed.
Lee Dong-cheol PD's new project.
Reply, 1989.
A sweet romance centered on college students born in '89. It was the work that truly put Lee Dong-cheol PD—already well-received for the "Ha Yu-ra Han-seo ver. The Queen Dowager, Sovereign of Deception" from my past life—on a solid trajectory.
In that sense, the project's success was somewhat guaranteed...
But regardless, the cast felt a bit lacking due to Lee Dong-cheol PD's still-middling name value and ZTVC's limited pull.
Ha Yu-ra was still the lead, but Yoon Tae-young, who had played a key named role in the previous work, was out due to personal scheduling conflicts.
Park Chan-su was participating as a lead-level supporting actor at least, but honestly, he was someone who got middling reviews as an actor.
The rest were mostly rookies or lesser-known actors, and I remembered that while it ultimately did well, the ratings struggled at first because of that.
But... why the hell is Lee Sung-min really showing up here?
He never even appeared on ZTVC, let alone in Lee Dong-cheol PD's works, in my past life.
Hell, at this point in time, he was supposed to be "just a corpse" originally...
As I stood there with a question mark practically floating over my head amid these unresolved doubts,
Seon-hwa, who was clinging to my side, cautiously tugged at my hand.
"Mom. Does that uncle make dramas with us too?"
"W-Well... I'm not sure, but probably not?"
"Why? Does Seon-hwa hate that un.cle?"
Ha Yu-ra asked the question with oddly emphasized weight on the word "uncle."
Hearing that, our daughter answered with utmost sincerity.
"Yeah, I hate him. I gave him a carrot before the fire, but he didn't eat it. The Beasts oppa ate theirs."
"Ah... the carrot..."
"...Daughter?"
"! Oh. I wasn't supposed to say that."
Caught off guard by the unexpected exposure of the "unauthorized carrot disposal," I placed my hand on our little girl's head.
"Uh... Mom. See, it was like... unavoidable? Like inflation or something?"
"It was an unavoidable situation, sweetie."
"R-Right, that! The un.avoidable situation... and the fire happened right then too..."
Our daughter spouted some utterly messy excuse that somehow seemed half-right and half-wrong.
I responded by smiling and gently ruffling our beloved princess's hair.
"Really? Well, if that was the case, no helping it..."
"Heh... hehe... R-Right? It was unavoidable..."
"Then since the unavoidable situation is over now... how about carrot fried rice for dinner tonight?"
"N-No...!"
A mother's loving death sentence.
Watching my daughter's face drain of color, I let out a soft sigh tinged with pity for her picky eating habits.
At that moment,
Ha Yu-ra, who had been wearing an awkward smile through the whole scene, spoke up with a look of relief.
"Well, anyway, it's good news. With Lee Sung-min joining, the casting is basically done."
"True, but... I just don't get it. Yeo Hyo-min unnie showing up out of nowhere was already weird enough, and now Actor Lee Sung-min too..."
"...Hmm. You really have no idea?"
"Pardon?"
Ha Yu-ra gave a slightly puzzled reaction to my words.
Seeing me still floating a question mark, she soon wore a meaningful expression and chuckled lightly.
"Hehe, no... it's nothing. No need to help out the competition."
"...?"
With that, Ha Yu-ra sat in a nearby chair, her face noticeably lighter.
I sat down too, hoping things inside the office would resolve smoothly.
All while slowly stroking our daughter's head, who still looked like the world was ending from the carrot threat.
The two sat facing each other.
They sipped idly at cups of ice water, drop by drop.
In their minds, a single thought bubbled up simultaneously.
What the hell is this guy...
doing here?
Lee Sung-min, last year's grand prize winner and top-tier actor.
Yeo Hyo-min, the "strong woman" with her muscular build, a variety show big sis with massive fame.
Both had overflowing star power as entertainers, and their acting chops were already legendary.
In other words, they were way too big-league to be sitting together in a mid-tier station like this.
Did their agency go under after the fire? No, even so... out of all the stations, why here? This screams troublemaker!
Lee Sung-min's unique aura easily dominated the room.
Put another way, with him there, no one else stood out.
For Yeo Hyo-min, who had come all this way to build rapport with Chae Soo-jeong and recruit her for soccer gals, this was a massive thorn in her side.
And Lee Sung-min felt the exact same.
This bro... no, unnie... here for soccer? Nah, no way. Our manly heroine wouldn't join a youth romance just for that... Probably some annoying new challenge crap... Damn. This is gonna be NG city during filming.
Setting acting aside, she seemed utterly mismatched for a youth romance, so worries came first for Lee Sung-min.
Though neither knew the full backstory, both silently harbored wariness toward the annoying presence before them.
Meanwhile,
Lee Dong-cheol PD, sweating bullets as he watched these two giants, wasn't exactly comfortable either.
Sure, he was in the head seat position-wise, but his thoughts weren't far off from theirs.
What the hell are these people... doing here?
Lee Sung-min had a connection as the son of Lee Dong-cheol's old professor, but it wasn't that tight.
He'd already been shocked when Sung-min showed up to the last dinner, but now he was declaring he'd join the drama itself.
And for some reason, Yeo Hyo-min—who'd been focusing on variety lately—had thrown her hat in too, which was equally baffling.
"Ahem... Have you reviewed the contract details?"
"Yes... It's not bad."
"Looks good to me."
"Honestly, it falls short of your standards. Are you really set on working with us?"
"Of course. Why else would we come all this way?"
"That's not the point. The key is appearing in an out... outstanding potential project."
"Thanks for the kind words, but... the genre might not suit Actress Yeo Hyo-min..."
"Wh-What's that supposed to mean? I'm a woman too! I can dream of some pink, fluffy romance!"
"S-Sorry, my mistake. If you're fine with it..."
The contract proceeded in an excruciatingly awkward atmosphere, with a fumbling vibe.
Regardless of the questions, Lee Dong-cheol PD had no reason—or ability—to refuse their participation.
It was like handing ice-cold water with floating cubes to a man dying of thirst—nitpicking the source would be foolish.
And above all, though he couldn't pinpoint it exactly, Lee Dong-cheol PD could roughly guess why this was happening.
Actress Chae Soo-jeong... Has to be her...
The Yeo Hyo-min encounter at Soccer Gals before.
Plus the rumor she saved Lee Sung-min from the fire.
No one else came to mind as the reason they were here.
Grateful deep down for this unexpected gift from the "rookie" actress he'd chosen, Lee Dong-cheol PD felt his passion for the upcoming shoot ignite even stronger.
When in life does a person feel the greatest sense of fulfillment?
When they make a fortune?
Get into their dream college?
Land their ideal job?
Different for everyone, sure. But I could say for certain.
After reincarnating—7 years... no, entering year 8 now.
The pinnacle of my life
was right here, right now.
"Got all the lyrics memorized?"
"Yes, all done."
"Great. Let's try singing it lightly then? It's just practice, so no pressure. Here, bring your mouth to the mic like this. Ah. Ah."
"Ah. Ah. Testing one-two. —Beeeeep!!!"
"Hmm... Still popping on the sound. Can someone adjust it?"
The staff bustled inside the recording booth.
At the center stood a little girl.
Our daughter, Chae Seon-hwa.
Watching her, who had—as promised—taken on the OST for this new drama Reply, 1989,
I was overwhelmed with emotion I could barely contain.
Sure, it was just a drama OST—one song out of dozens.
A small step for some. But knowing this would shake the global music world one day, the moment felt sacred, like the start of a myth.
"...Teacher, are you crying?"
"Yes..."
"...Ah... Um..."
Ha Yu-ra looked puzzled at my reaction, but I had no bandwidth for such trivia.
Right before my pounding heart,
Our daughter, Seon-hwa...
No, Plea...
grabbed the mic.