Cha Woo-ju's Emotions
"Why did you do it? Why, even after you knew the truth, did you never cast me aside?"
"What are you talking about?"
At Cha Woo-ju's quiet question, Chairman Cha lifted his head and looked at the young man standing before him.
"Why, even knowing I wasn't your son—even knowing I was the illegitimate child of your unfaithful wife—did you never abandon me? Your blood doesn't run through my veins!"
"······."
At Yeon-woo's words, Chairman Cha simply gazed out the window in silence.
"And Jae-il hyung—you assigned him to watch over me because you were worried after I ran away from home, didn't you? Why? Why don't you hate me?"
"Why would I hate you? You said my blood doesn't run through your veins."
At his father's words, Cha Woo-ju fell silent.
"Just because my blood doesn't run through you doesn't mean the boy who sat on the bicycle I pushed, laughing so brightly, simply ceases to exist. The day your mother died, watching you cry as if the world itself were ending—my heart tore open, and I understood. Whose blood it is doesn't matter. You are my son."
At Chairman Cha's words, a storm of tangled emotion surged through Cha Woo-ju's chest.
His love for Summer.
Longing for his mother, and rage.
Grief for his father, and pity.
Everything crashed together at once, and Yeon-woo's face shifted second by second, each emotion surfacing fully and distinctly—until his features twisted and tears burst free in a sudden flood.
Then came the cry.
"Why didn't you ever tell me—when I was rebelling, when I was going off the rails! Not even once? If you had, I wouldn't be—right now, so, so sorry that—!"
Yeon-woo's fierce performance, shouting as the tears poured and every feeling spilled out, was so overwhelming that even his scene partner, Lee Sang-jung, felt his own eyes well up.
He shoved back the table in front of him, surged to his feet, and pulled Cha Woo-ju into his arms, patting his back.
"···No father wants to wound his child."
In his father's embrace, Cha Woo-ju broke down completely.
"I wanted to leave you everything before the truth could come out and the relatives started threatening your place in the succession. That's why I opposed you. I always loved the modeling work you did, and the way you laughed and chattered with your friends while selling clothes—Jae-il reported all of it to me."
Waaah—!
His body had long since outgrown his father's, but Cha Woo-ju clung to him and wept like a child who had fallen off a bicycle.
And his father simply kept stroking his back.
"Okay! Cut!"
Waaaah!
The soul-draining intensity of the performance sent every staff member roaring with cheers and applause that shook the set.
"Whoa. Did you see Yeon-woo's face? His expression changed every single second. You could feel every one of those complicated emotions."
The camera director, who had been marveling with every second of footage, spoke up.
"Ha. Suddenly I miss my son."
"You're not even married."
"That's exactly why I miss him."
Yeon-woo's performance was so powerful it made people long for sons they didn't even have.
"He's a real monster. He's smart, too. With that face, and that acting ability."
Han So-hyun shook her head as she looked at Yeon-woo, who still hadn't fully recovered from the scene.
"Doesn't he seem taller than when he first started the drama? Like, three centimeters taller?"
Son Jin-uk measured Yeon-woo against his own hundred-eighty-four-centimeter frame.
"I want to learn acting from him now."
An Jun-ho tried to imagine whether he could ever express emotions shifting that rapidly with such precision—and promptly shook his head.
"All right, that wraps morning shooting. One take, done in a single shot. Great work, everyone."
"Great work!"
With that, the morning shoot concluded, and once Yeon-woo had collected himself, he headed for the lodging LN Entertainment had provided for the production.
Arriving at the lodging, Yeon-woo searched up the press conference and teasers that had been uploaded to YouTube.
The fact that searching his own name online actually returned results still felt strange—and at the same time, it made him feel as though he truly was living a new life.
"Surely there aren't hate comments already."
His heart fluttered with a strange unease as he scrolled through the comment reactions.
Expressing emotion had become easier, and his personality had brightened compared to his previous life; somehow, it seemed his heart had grown more tender as well.
With so little footage released, public interest hadn't yet grown large—but the sparse hate comments that cropped up like beans in a drought were quickly buried.
He'd heard that once you become a celebrity, you end up searching your own name dozens of times a day. Yeon-woo never imagined he'd be one of them, and he resolved that for the sake of a long career, he would have to restrain himself.
After resting for a good while at the lodging, Yeon-woo decided to visit the afternoon set—he wanted to repay the senior actors who had come by that morning just to cheer him on.
"Hmm. It's not like I have a shooting schedule. Better to just go alone."
He still hadn't signed a formal contract with LN Entertainment, and he didn't want to impose on the company that was already accommodating him—so he decided to take the subway.
He lived in Daejeon now, but as a Seoul native of over forty years across his previous life, Yeon-woo stepped outside with a light heart.
The distance from the lodging to the set in Sangam wasn't that long; he figured he'd arrive in no time. But from the moment he reached the subway platform, he ran into trouble.
"Hey, isn't that the guy? You know—the one from that drama teaser, the one with the link that said the serialization looked interesting."
"Is it? Faces like that aren't exactly common. I think you're right."
It was only a teaser, and he truly hadn't expected anyone to recognize him already.
If he'd known, he would have worn a hat or a mask—at least one of the two.
As a cluster of people murmured among themselves, a girl in a school uniform approached and asked for an autograph.
"Oppa, you're Ryu Yeon-woo, right?"
"Ah—hello."
Startled that the young fan had even gotten his name exactly right, Yeon-woo signed her phone screen with a grateful heart.
So this is how autographs work these days—digital.
Once one person got a signature, a few more who had been hesitating came forward.
The first broadcast hadn't even aired yet, but thanks to the young fans who recognized him, he found himself holding an impromptu mini signing session—taking photos, giving autographs—and two subway trains had already come and gone.
He was grateful he'd prepared a signature in advance, just as Teacher Jeong Cheol-min had advised. Otherwise he might have been stuck wondering whether to use the crude scrawl he used for payments in his previous life.
After that little episode, Yeon-woo boarded the subway, felt the sidelong glances of the passengers around him, and arrived at Sangam Station.
That was when Jeong Cheol-min called.
"Yes, Teacher. Ah, we shot that scene. Hahaha. No, not at all."
This morning's scene was one he and Jeong Cheol-min had been practicing steadily ever since receiving the later scripts.
Of course, he couldn't rehearse the emotions every single time—but the training that taught him to hold multiple shifting feelings at once had allowed him to fully unleash them on set and create the scene.
The real MVP was, as always, Jeong Cheol-min.
"Yes, I'm heading to the set right now. This morning some of the other seniors came by just to cheer me on, even though they weren't shooting. Yes, I'll call you again."
Hanging up, Yeon-woo entered the set.
The moment he stepped inside, a staff member who recognized him immediately came over.
"Oh! What, Yeon-woo's back?"
"Yes, Director Jeong. Sitting around at the lodging was too boring."
It was the sound director, whom he'd grown close to by now.
Yeon-woo had become friendly with most of the on-set crew, directors included.
"Everyone—Yeon-woo's back."
At Director Jeong's words, the staff on set looked over and applauded.
"I didn't say much earlier because I figured you needed to settle your emotions, but that was the best, Yeon-woo!"
"Yeah, that's right. Great work."
Even after Yeon-woo had left, a few staff members had been clustered in small groups talking about the morning shoot, and now they praised him.
Because they still saw the endearing Yeon-woo as so young, watching him pull off such an intensely emotional scene must have felt all the more dramatic.
Under the cascade of compliments, Yeon-woo scratched the back of his head and bowed in every direction.
"Thank you!"
I can't just stand around like this.
"I'll be right back!"
Wanting to give everyone energy for the remaining shoots, Yeon-woo went to a nearby café, bought coffee, and carried it back.
His father, Ryu Cheol-ung, had taken half of Yeon-woo's appearance fee and deposited it into Yeon-woo's own account, so money wasn't a concern.
His parents had said they'd hold onto the other half and give it to him when he became an adult. Yeon-woo had told them that was fine—and that going forward, he would always set aside half of whatever he earned for them.
When his parents tried to refuse, insisting their two salaries were more than enough, he countered that they should live comfortably without money worries from now on and accept their son's filial duty.
The parents who once fretted over a dark-faced, rebellious son—the painful weak spot of the family, bullied at school—now teared up wondering when he had grown up so much.
He'd even given pocket money to So-hyun, who had grabbed both his arms and shaken him, demanding to know why she wasn't getting any.
His little sister had been delighted, saying she was going to buy the backpack that was trending these days.
Yeon-woo was happy to be growing little by little as an actor, but he was even more grateful that he could feel happiness from his family in these small, ordinary moments.
He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away.
After distributing the coffee to the rest of the staff, he waited on set until he heard the "Okay" signal, then approached the actors and the director.
"Oh, what's this, what's this. Woo-ju, why'd you come back? You came to see your noona, didn't you?"
"Of course. Haha."
"Yeon-woo. I'll enjoy the coffee."
"Yes, hyung."
Son Jin-uk grinned as he gave the coffee Yeon-woo had handed him a little shake.
"I'll enjoy mine too, Yeon-woo-ssi. How's the acting going? Are you having fun?"
Director Kim Han-su addressed Yeon-woo—who was young enough to be his son—with his usual impeccably polite speech.
"Yes, Director. I'm enjoying it so much. Our set has a pretty good atmosphere, right? I feel lucky to be debuting on a set like this."
"Mm, the chemistry among all of you is so good that it's a bit more warm and lively than the average set. Hahaha."
Director Kim Han-su nodded as he answered, then looked around at the lead actors.
"Since we're all gathered here, I have something to announce."