A Man With a Story

Wow, you say you want to see him on TV, and it actually happens. As Yoon Dojun smirked to himself, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Dojun. What did I tell you?"

"About what?"

"Your half-brother. I told you to be careful around him."

Yoon Dojun frowned. His groupmate Ji Yeonwoo had never trusted the half-brother who had materialized out of nowhere at the funeral.

The guy's loaded, and suddenly a half-brother crawls out of the woodwork? Isn't he after the inheritance? And Yeonwoo's suspicions had been dead certain. Suddenly announcing an entertainment debut — plenty of industry people had come to the funeral, so wasn't he obviously scoping out an angle? That was why he'd said his piece.

At the time it had been such utter nonsense that Dojun had ignored it — but what? Careful?CAREFUL? Dojun let out a hollow laugh of pure disbelief.

"Ha! Yeonwoo-hyung, why don't you spend less time worrying about other people's families and actually memorize the choreography? You screwed up again, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Since when have you ever given a damn about me, huh?"

Yoon Dojun's eyes went wide as he stared Ji Yeonwoo down.

Objectively speaking, it was a situation worth worrying over — but wasn't this crossing the line into meddlesome? "Hey. Do you not realize I'm saying all of this for your own good?"

"That's exactly my point — how is it for my good? Are you my lawyer? My asset manager? Go do something constructive with that time. Vocal practice, maybe······."

"Are you seriously dissing my skills right now?"

"Dissing? I'm dissing them straight to your face."

"Hey!"

Ji Yeonwoo insisted the guy was a freeloader latching onto his family's connections, trying to become an idol without the talent to back it up. And look — wasn't that proof right there? Snagged a supporting role in a single stroke.

"Jay-hyung never got a thing from our mom, though."

"You've known your half-brother for what, a few months? Aren't you trusting him way too easily?"

"No! Jay-hyung is······!"

"What!"

Because that brother of mine already came home from Cannes with the top prize, that's what? A first for Korea! The youngest winner in history — a record no one may ever break!

But since Jay himself was reluctant to make it known, Dojun couldn't spill it either. Hence the crushing frustration.

"Yoon Dojun. No matter what, he's still your older brother. Watch your mouth."

"Yes, hyung. But honestly······."

"Enough!"

"No, even taking his side into account, that bastard talks such—"

"Yeonwoo. You quit the excessive meddling too. Dojun knows how to take care of himself."

It fell to their leader to mediate, as it did every day, between the two perpetual bickerers. Yoon Dojun flipped Ji Yeonwoo the middle finger.

"Y-you······!"

"Hey! That's enough!"

While they fought, Yoon Jay had come to the family home at Park Hyun-ah's invitation.

"Oppa, what are you up to?"

"You're here?"

Jay smiled and welcomed Yoon Dohwa.

With Park Hyun-ah swamped by her writing projects, Jay had been stepping in to lift his sister's spirits — taking her to a lovely café in Paju, the movies, karaoke, the like.

Maybe it's the second debut? He looks so much more at ease these days.

Thanks to that, the half-brother who had grown so much closer since the filming of The Garden of Evil now radiated a gentle warmth. He had always been kind, but there used to be something untouchable about him — the way he was now was far better.

Yoon Dohwa sat down across from Jay.

"Whoa, the script came out. But why a drama and not a movie?"

When Jay told her about his phone call with Dojun, Dohwa's expression shifted, ever so subtly.

"So Dojun whined about it? What exactly did he say?"

"Something about how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once I get famous fast, he's going to······ what was it — deliver 'justice'? Teach them a lesson, things like that."

"Huh. Him?"

"Wonder where he picked that up."

Well, fair enough, she supposed. A half-brother appearing out of nowhere — isn't he after the inheritance? Why debut in entertainment all of a sudden — is he leaning on his late father, or on Park Hyun-ah the drama writer? Sure. Those were the kinds of things he'd hear.

And Dojun had been clinging to Jay so devotedly lately; being talked about like that had to sting. Jay sank into a worried silence.

That crazy······ how does a no-filter little Maltese like him manage to play the victim?

But Yoon Dohwa saw it differently. Dojun? That kid can't stand hearing garbage like that without charging straight in. He's only biting his tongue for image management since debuting — he is not the type to sit there and take it.

"Could he be catching grief because of me?"

"Oppa, you don't need to worry about that."

"Still. He's a bit, you know — delicate."

The Dojun Jay had come to know since arriving in Korea: forcing a smile like everything was fine, then crying that he missed Dad. And wagging his tail without an ounce of wariness for a half-brother who'd appeared out of nowhere. Was someone that guileless really safe in this industry?

Yoon Dohwa's jaw dropped clean open. Dojun, delicate? DELICATE?

"Oppa. He's really fine. Trust me — I was born in the same litter as him."

Regardless, the little brat was infuriating. Dohwa did her best to smother the look of disgust.

"Dohwa, have you been hearing anything strange too?"

"Our kids won't stop screaming about how cool you are, Oppa. You've already got fans."

"Yeah?"

"For real!"

Seeing him laugh like he didn't quite believe her, Dohwa hastily piled on more.

It was no accident she'd been the first to spot Jay on that red carpet. Her twin brother was handsome too, sure, but her members had gone on — how does one family produce oppas that good-looking — and declared themselves jealous of her. She'd deleted every mention of Dojun from her memory the instant she'd heard them, but she did relay that the members had been genuinely thrilled by the news of his debut as well.

"Right. Thank you."

"It's the truth, though······."

"But you don't need to be out anywhere today?"

Dohwa shook her head.

We only just started; getting tangled up in something now would do no one any good.

Prematurely detonating the news wouldn't help anyone. But she and Dojun were already established idols — better to let the half-brother build some fame first, and set things off later, when the moment was right.

"Wouldn't want eyewitness accounts floating around. Can I watch you rehearse?"

"Sure. Then will you read the other role's lines for me?"

"Yes!"

Jay handed over the entire script.

"Aren't you going to read along?"

"Already have it memorized. Here we go."

Before long the lines came pouring out without a single hitch. Dohwa watched, utterly entranced, then scrambled to feed him the other part.

His first historical drama, and······ he's genuinely incredible.

Watching Jay made her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ache to return to the stage herself.

Astra could easily have pushed its actors on the sheer weight of CEO Lee Seowon's connections, but it had never been the type to stand haughtily aloof like a crane, wagering everything on acting skill alone. Besides, as a rookie, Jay required a fair amount of careful image management.

Well, well. Look at this.

Lee Dahyun, team leader in Astra's marketing department, had been monitoring the swelling tide of negative community reactions of late. She posted subtly promotional comments disguised as an ordinary fan, role-played an original-work devotee in the replies, and — with characteristic meticulousness — screenshotted every comment that crossed the line or spread outright falsehoods, stockpiling evidence against the day she would sue.

"Ms. Dahyun, what are you working on?"

"Director Kwak. Welcome back from your meeting."

"Eh. Same old, same old."

Kwak Dohyun had just wrapped his tenth meeting with the Along Along production company. Jay was hardly a demanding actor, but with investment riding on him, they had to steer every negotiation toward the most favorable terms possible.

"They're already gunning for us."

"My, my. Showbiz, truly showbiz."

Glancing at Dahyun's screen, Kwak Dohyun chuckled. The more Jay got name-dropped like this, the more people would go searching "who on earth is Yoon Jay?" — and a share of them would end up stanning.

"Which side do you think it's coming from?"

"Hard to say. Plenty of parties had their hearts set on Grand Prince Muhywi."

With Lee Seowon backing the writer, pushing aggressively and even investing, the Along Along production side had responded positively. And then there had been the decisive blow: the instant the article about casting discussions went up, a foreign investment firm had thrown money at the project with no strings attached. That was how a brand-new rookie had snagged a supporting role at all.

Which is exactly what's driving the reverse viral campaign, isn't it.

Kwak Dohyun chewed over the actors whose names had been floated for Grand Prince Muhywi. Among their agencies was one recently acquired by a major corporation. Was it them? They had seemed rather fishy lately.

But really — barely through the door, and he's already pulling in investors?

It wasn't the rumored Cho Youkyung's camp either······ His curiosity had gotten the better of him once, and he'd asked, ever so casually.

"Mr. Jay, you don't happen to know anything about this, do you?"

"Hmm. Hard to say."

Jay had thought, briefly, of Rayna Yang, whom he'd glimpsed during the filming of The Garden of Evil — but it was pure speculation, so he'd held his tongue. To make the CEO himself that impatient. Yet that deliberately ambiguous expression left one wondering: maybe there really was something there? Lee Seowon, already hopelessly besotted with Jay's acting, was quietly scheming to offer ever-better support.

"In any case, you know how this needs to be handled, right? Subtle. No fingerprints."

"That's my specialty. But — could I get some source material? Old photos, perhaps······."

"I'll look into it."

"Preferably from his army days. A uniform······ Yes! Dress uniform would be perfect! Navy SEALs means he was Navy, right? Top Gun!"

Kwak Dohyun's expression turned carefully noncommittal.

Lee Seowon, the road manager Han Jinwoo, Kwak Dohyun, and Jay occasionally shared meals together. Among a table of men, army talk did come up now and then — but Jay had never once said a word about that period of his life.

It wasn't anything dangerous, was it······.

Besides, if you did the math, whole years were unaccounted for after his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠discharge — and apart from a brief stint as an amateur model, he had offered nothing at all.

"Well, he doesn't much like to talk about his service, I'm afraid."

"That's so cool, thoughhh."

Dahyun's eyes went glassy and dreamy.

It was a brand-new company with only a handful of employees. Jay, who hardly needed to, had gone around bringing everyone drinks, greeting each of them and asking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for their kind support. So polite. So handsome. And handsome. And······ well, handsome.

"I'll bet five hundred won there's a story behind it."

"Or maybe there simply isn't much to tell."

"That's good too."

Kwak Dohyun gave Dahyun a long, strange look.

"Being that much of a man of few words makes him look like he's carrying some deep, mysterious past, doesn't it? Maybe we should lean into that angle. Wait, no — you'd need material to actually work with, wouldn't you."

"Use the bodyguard-era photos. Tons of fancams survived from back then, no? There are even fansites dedicated to it now."

"We've obviously milked that already. It trended all the way onto the hot gallery."

"I-it did?"

Jay keeping quiet about himself was good, in its own way — it meant no idle rumors would spawn. But an actor's trade was image. If he had an anecdote worth boasting about, it would be nice if he shared it. Something the marketing team could quietly put to work. Kwak Dohyun stroked his chin.

"Saying nothing at all isn't ideal either······ At this rate, won't some shocking past come bursting out one day?"

"A man who looks like that — even if something shocking did surface, how shocking could it possibly be? His Hot Guy days are the worst that'll come out."

"Whaaat?"

This girl is hopelessly, terminally far gone. As long as she didn't burn her fangirl energy too hot and torch the marketing in the process. Kwak Dohyun laughed in resigned defeat.

"Tomorrow is Mr. Jay's script reading, yes?"

"It is."

"Ha. I hope it goes well."

"That much, I can guarantee."

Kwak Dohyun smiled. A rookie snagging a supporting role would rub plenty of people the wrong way; the side-eye was bound to come. But he wasn't worried. With skill like that······.

"He's going to be extraordinary."

He might just kill them all.