Chapter 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4
Back then, Eun-seong was often at Yeon-ju's studio apartment.
"When we get married, we should get a robot vacuum," Eun-seong had said while cleaning her place, and Yeon-ju had laughed in agreement.
They were having a casual conversation—wondering what to eat for dinner, deciding if they should head to a cafe to finish their assignments—when Eun-seong's phone rang.
"It's the CEO. Hold on."
"Hello?" Eun-seong stopped cleaning to answer the call from his agency. It was Tae-gon, the CEO who had managed him since he started college.
"Yes, CEO."
As Eun-seong spoke comfortably on the phone, Yeon-ju turned her attention back to her assignment. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her as she lay on her stomach, poring over her schoolwork.
"Yes, I can talk."
Her dress had ridden up, and Eun-seong gently pulled it down before placing his hand on her fair thigh. He squeezed it gently, then slowly slid his hand higher.
Yeon-ju squirmed, telling him to stop, but he rarely did once he started teasing her.
"Pardon?"
Suddenly, his hand froze.
Yeon-ju, who hadn't been paying much attention to the call, turned her head at the dazed sound of his voice, her eyes widening in concern.
Eun-seong slowly closed and opened his eyes, lost in thought for a moment before his lips parted slightly. Ah. A loaded sigh escaped him. Sensing something major was happening, Yeon-ju sat up straight.
"So, I... No, the movie..."
Unable to finish his sentence, Eun-seong just stared at her. Seeing his eyes frozen in utter shock, Yeon-ju’s own lips parted.
The CEO's highly excited voice boomed through the phone. Even without her ear to the receiver, she could hear him clearly.
It was news about the independent film Eun-seong had shot last year. It had been released earlier this year and was now nominated at a prestigious film festival in the United States.
─ Eun-seong! We did it! We finally made it, you punk!
Eun-seong and Yeon-ju just stared at each other, blinking in disbelief. The news was so sudden, so overwhelming, that it took them a long moment to process what was happening.
─ Eun-seong! We hit the jackpot! It's a massive hit!
When reality finally sank in, Eun-seong dropped his phone. He caught Yeon-ju as she lunged at him with a joyful squeal, embracing her tightly as he gasped for breath.
"Oppa! Oppa, congratulations!"
A nomination for the Best Actor Award in the independent film category at the Independent Spirit Awards.
It was the first-ever nomination for Korea.
* * *
The world turned upside down overnight. Eun-seong was dazed by the sudden deluge of public interest and attention.
It wasn't a movie he had filmed hoping for box office success or fame. He didn't have that kind of recognition anyway; it was just an opportunity the CEO had secured through personal connections, a way to add another line to his portfolio.
Since it wasn't a commercial film, the then-unknown Eun-seong had agreed to a low fee. He played the role of a schizophrenic patient plagued by auditory and visual hallucinations.
The film, which had zero expectations, became the first Korean film to be nominated. As if on cue, invitations poured in from dozens of other film festivals. With the words "Korea's first" attached to his name, his life was completely transformed.
Until yesterday, the world didn't even know a person named Im Eun-seong existed. But once the articles broke, his name was plastered all over the main pages of every major news site. He hadn't even won, but the nomination alone was a historic first for the country and more than enough to command the spotlight.
Time flew by, and the day of Eun-seong's evening flight arrived. Around lunchtime, Yeon-ju visited the agency at Tae-gon's request.
"Ah, Yeon-ju's here? It's been a while."
"Yes. Hello, CEO."
Though it was called an entertainment agency, their lack of capital meant it was just a tiny, ten-pyeong office in a basement. Yeon-ju took a seat on a secondhand sofa as Tae-gon wrapped up several phone calls before sitting down himself.
Yeon-ju set down the bouquet of flowers she had bought on her way over.
"Congratulations, CEO."
"Ah, yes. Thanks, Yeon-ju. Whew, I'm losing my mind because of Eun-seong."
Tae-gon casually tossed the beautifully wrapped bouquet she'd so carefully selected onto his desk and sat on the sofa.
Tae-gon had never been a warm person, but today there was a distinct coldness about him. A seed of anxiety quickly sprouted in Yeon-ju's chest.
"Yeon-ju. The reason I called you here is because I have something to say."
Tae-gon rubbed his palms together as if preparing to broach a difficult topic. Yeon-ju swallowed hard.
"I thought you two dating was fine. But that was only when Eun-seong was a nobody."
"..."
"Yeon-ju. You've had your fun. Now, it's time to let Eun-seong go."
"What?"
"You've seen him. He's a star now. A star. Eun-seong is about to get bigger than you can possibly imagine."
Seeing panic cloud her wide eyes, Tae-gon sighed and tossed a file from his desk onto the coffee table.
Inside, a calendar was packed with Eun-seong's schedules.
"Take a look. This is all for Eun-seong. And this is after we filtered out as much as we could."
It was no exaggeration to say his schedule required him to travel the globe. There were thousands of interview requests alone, from both broadcast and print media.
"This is just the next six months, sorted by urgency. So, what do you think? Will you two even have time to see each other?"
"No... that's for us to decide. It's not your place to..."
"Why is this just a matter for the two of you? It's my problem. Eun-seong is my actor."
Goosebumps broke out all over her body.
"Yeon-ju. Let's think about this logically. You insisting on staying with Eun-seong is only going to hold him back. Are you that kind of person?"
Tae-gon subtly painted her as selfish and clingy.
To a battle-hardened industry veteran like Tae-gon, Yeon-ju, as soft and pliable as a rice cake, seemed like a naive child running in circles.
Crushing her spirit was child's play to him.
"Your boyfriend has finally gotten his big break. You can't do this to him, Yeon-ju. You know Eun-seong. If you cling to him, he's the type of guy who'll throw away his success and give up everything. Is that what you want?"
"..."
"Do you think an opportunity like this will ever come again? It's hard to soar, but plummeting takes only a second. If rumors spread that Eun-seong was practically living with his girlfriend in her studio apartment, it won't be easy for him."
Living together? We weren't doing that.
A wave of indignation washed over her, but she couldn't get a single word out. Since they did occasionally wake up together at her apartment, it wasn't an outright lie. Besides, once a sensationalized article was published, any denial would be meaningless.
Staring into his cold, unyielding eyes, Yeon-ju finally managed to speak after a long silence.
"I need to meet Oppa first."
She felt like she was just repeating herself.
"And if you meet him? What are you going to do?"
"..."
"What are you going to do? Ask him to have a secret relationship? Or are you going to tattle on me, tell him I ordered you to break up?"
Blocked at every turn, she felt a suffocating anxiety. A dull ache started deep in her chest. It was hard to breathe. The room started to spin.
Even the faint scent of the flowers smelled nauseating. Yeon-ju squeezed her eyes shut, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
"Yeon-ju. Once Eun-seong goes to America, he won't be back in Korea for a while. Companies in the US are lining up to sign him. Eun-seong becoming a global star is just a matter of time. Do you really have to be a dead weight around his neck? Do you?"
It was working. Fear was plain to see in her eyes.
Tae-gon delivered the final blow, his voice softening slightly.
It was the final nail in the coffin.
"If you still refuse to give up, I'll leak an article about Eun-seong. If he's not going to make it big because of you anyway, I'd rather ruin him with my own hands before his contract expires."
"..."
"You know, don't you? Eun-seong can't go anywhere until his contract with me ends. I'm the one who can make him successful, and I'm the one who can drag him down to hell. So mark my words and behave. Got it?"
The words were too much for her twenty-three-year-old heart to bear, echoing relentlessly in her mind.
Just as those needle-sharp words pierced Yeon-ju's chest, Tae-gon's phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he stared straight at Yeon-ju as he answered.
"Yes, yes. Where? Ah, hello. Yes, yes. Oh, what should we do? Our actor, Im Eun-seong, has a tight schedule right now, so it's difficult... Yes, yes. As for the earliest date, well, I can't guarantee anything..."
Even now, the calls to cast him were endless.
This was the flower path that had just opened for him. And realizing it was a path he had to walk alone, a path she could never join him on, Yeon-ju could only manage shallow, trembling breaths.
* * *
Yeon-ju returned home.
She felt resentful and sorrowful, but Tae-gon was right. She hated herself for admitting it, but she knew there was no other way.
She knew Eun-seong would fight to keep her until the very end. She knew that much for certain.
She had seen it happen several times with seniors and classmates from the Department of Theater and Film who had become actors—the moment one of them hit it big, their partner simply vanished from the picture.
She had even resolved that if it ever happened to them, she would be the one to let go cleanly, with grace. She had always believed he would become a star; there was no way the world would fail to recognize his talent.
She just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. She hadn't known he would soar so far away in a single bound.
Returning from her meeting with Tae-gon, she felt as if she had been left entirely alone on Earth—no, in the entire universe. No matter how hard she tried to think positively, she couldn't deny that he was right.
As she sat numbly in her apartment, messages from Eun-seong's classmates began to trickle in. Reporters were sniffing around campus, asking about his college life.
[Yeon-ju, reporters keep digging into Eun-seong's private life. Watch what you say.]
[Yeon-ju, a reporter came and asked if Eun-seong had a girlfriend, and I said no. Just letting you know.]
Her dazed mind snapped back to reality. It was like a well-orchestrated play—the students of the Department of Theater and Film were all closing ranks to protect Eun-seong's private life. It was an unwritten rule: protect your own.
Staring blankly at the messages, Yeon-ju finally blinked, her eyes closing and opening slowly.
His preparations for departure were in full swing.