Want Me to Tell You Why He's Like That?

"Want me to tell you why he's like that?"

"So that's why he said he was going to a funeral..."

"Da-eun's reaction was no joke either."

He had already told the three of them the truth — that he was Yoon Jae-hee. And with the photos already making the rounds, denial was no longer an option.

"Yes, well... we did work together once."

"But you told us before you were ex–Navy SEAL. So what—"

"That's true as well."

He admitted it while carefully sidestepping the details. The three men didn't press him. They'd done plenty of digging of their own while Yoon Jay was flying back to Korea.

So that's why... no wonder his body was covered in scars.

Kwak Dohyun, for his part, had been obliged to attach a special condition to every production meeting Yoon Jay attended from the very beginning: the actor has extensive scarring across his torso; any shirtless scenes will require body makeup.

"Then the medals, too...?"

"They look impressive, but they're nothing special. Think of it as guaranteeing yourself a good plot in the cemetery."

"You call that nothing special?"

Everything I looked up said otherwise... And according to Han Jin-woo, he'd given the reporters camped out at Incheon Airport the slip and flown out through the American air base at Osan instead. Since when was that something an ordinary person could do?

"So. The real question is what we do about it."

Some of the questions had been pure curiosity, but with the broad facts confirmed, Lee Seo-won now turned the matter over in his mind, his eyes sharpening.

"You only just trusted us with your old name. You have no intention of milking this for publicity, do you?"

"Correct. So here's my thought... what if we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply don't respond at all?"

"With an ordinary story, it would blow over on its own eventually. But LIS... the investigation into them is still very much alive, isn't it? Korea took heavy losses too. You know that, Jay."

"Yes. I know."

It was that attack, after all, that had brought him and Jung Seung-woo together in the first place.

"One of our own staff members just lost a younger cousin to that terror attack... I heard it ended very badly."

"...I'm sorry to hear that."

"In any case, I doubt this dies down in a hurry."

So it won't vanish overnight... In America, Jayden's people were already rolling out one plan after another to put him in the spotlight. The ripples would reach Korea soon enough.

"Then I suppose I should take a little time off."

"That's probably for the best. Take your time picking your next project."

"So our hyung's been sentenced to a reflection period, huh."

Only then did Han Jin-woo rise and move to the seat beside Yoon Jay, where he cheerfully took up the tongs and started grilling meat.

"Honestly, hardly any of the synopses that came in recently were any good anyway."

"You think so?"

When a production company liked a synopsis and the age range and image were a rough fit, they shotgunned it to every agency in town.

Yoon Jay, a rising star in full ascent, received every male-lead-in-his-thirties script that existed. Those were first triaged between Lee Seo-won and Kwak Dohyun.

What survived the filter — solid production houses, directors and writers whose names carried weight — was what Yoon Jay chose from.

"The synopses written with you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠specifically in mind, ever since Soldiers K, have been almost nothing but ex-military characters or action-heavy roles. And after what came out today, that's only going to get worse. Getting boxed into an image like this isn't good for you, is it?"

"I don't mind going in as a supporting role. Even a small part would be fine."

He had no particular hunger for lead roles. As long as he could act, that was enough. At that answer, Kwak Dohyun let out a hearty laugh.

Who on earth would stick a man like this in a bit part? He was already proven — in popularity and in craft.

"You remember that drama we shortlisted a while back? I floated your name to them, just lightly."

"Ah, yes."

"Well, when I mentioned you might come aboard as a supporting lead, the lead actor apparently had a full-blown fit."

"...Why, though?"

Even with his recent fame, Yoon Jay was still a rookie who hadn't shown the industry much of anything. There was nothing there to feel threatened by.

"Your stock's climbed too high, hyung. Or it could be that he's being outclassed in the face department."

"My money's on the latter. That lead actor's got a nasty streak of sour grapes."

"I say both. Either way, the investment and the timeslot only materialized because of that lead actor in the first place, so the production company and the broadcaster are pretty lukewarm about the whole thing."

Lee Seo-won's eyes gleamed. He was a man with the power to give his actors whatever they wanted to do.

"Do you want it? If we push, you get in. What'll it be?"

"No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— that would be going too far..."

"Then while we're at it, let's pick out something good enough for you to step straight into as a lead. There's no rush."

Barely a year since his debut, and he was already being talked about as a leading man. He said nothing, but polished offers for lead roles from respected directors and writers were already flooding in.

Lee Seo-won felt it was a waste for the great Yoon Jae-hee to be languishing in supporting parts. The man had already headlined a film with Intermission. It stood to reason his dramas should be no different.

"Don't worry about the press for now. I'll see to it that they're handled neatly."

"Thank you."

Having seen the breadth of the man's potential, Lee Seo-won's fighting spirit caught fire. Yoon Jae-hee — the one he'd once given up on recruiting — had come walking in the door all on his own. From here on out, he would be very busy pouring everything into supporting him.

"Honestly... finding out you're Yoon Jae-hee was shocking enough, but then a war hero on top of it..."

"You're telling me. Hyung, do you somehow live each day as thirty-six hours?"

"If there's anything else in your past more shocking than all this, give us advance warning. We'll need time to prepare our response."

Yoon Jay smiled sheepishly.

"That's everything. As for my old name — Director Lee, Vice Chairman Cho, and the three of you here. Five people in the whole world know it."

"You know what? That actually makes me happy. Is it just me?"

Han Jin-woo looked back and forth between Kwak Dohyun and Lee Seo-won. The three of them found themselves recalling their first impression of Yoon Jay.

That strangely walled-off quality he carried — and now, to be counted among the trustworthy few allowed inside those walls, was quite an honor indeed.

"We'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on."

"Oh — so that means you're staying with us?"

"Is there really any reason for me to found a one-man agency?"

"Khhk—"

The final reaction came from Lee Seo-won, who very nearly spat out the water he was drinking. He scrambled to dab his mouth with a napkin and play it off with dignity, but Kwak Dohyun and Han Jin-woo were seeing this side of him for the first time in their lives.

"I'm genuinely witnessing the great CEO unravel, all thanks to Jay."

"Ha ha... well, I'm grateful he thinks so highly of me."

It looked good, truth be told — the whole table had grown closer, warmer. The others' opinions, however, differed.

"Am I being too much? Be honest."

"Yes."

"Completely."

Lee Seo-won whipped his head around to Yoon Jay.

"If anything about the old-name situation is weighing on you — anything at all — you tell me."

"Hmm... it's not that there's nothing..."

He was still fumbling for how to answer when his phone rang. He asked the table's pardon and picked up — and Jung Seung-woo's shriek came pouring through the speaker.

The sound of Jung Seung-woo's windpipe being clamped shut by someone carried through the line. The voices that followed belonged to Wings Company's Park Chul-woo and Choi Tae-yang.

Ah.

Their consistent stonewalling infuriated the reporters, some of whom vented by publishing articles slathered in negative innuendo.

But Yoon Jay couldn't have cared less, and once Lee Seo-won joined forces with Cho Youkyung to respond from a position of strength, the storm more or less blew itself out.

Speculation threads ran rampant, and amid the noise he took his share of knocks in the less flattering corners of the internet — none of which Yoon Jay cared about in the slightest. What actually troubled him was the flood of calls from acquaintances.

"Jay!"

"It's been a while."

"Weren't you the type who never showed up to things like this?"

Still, he attended whenever his name was called. He used to restrict himself to gatherings of close friends only, but lately he'd been showing up regularly even to ones filled with strangers.

Ever since his brief trip to the United States, strange sounds had a way of creeping into his ears whenever he sat alone at home. It was simply better to pass the hours somewhere boisterous, letting the noise wear him down until he could collapse into sleep.

"Just got bored sitting around the house."

"Nothing filming for you these days?"

"I'm waiting a bit and see how things go."

"Ahh... because of all that, right?"

Kwon Min-jae and Baek Da-eun were at this gathering too. The two had grown considerably closer to him since Permafrost.

"Since we're on the subject — mind if I ask about it?"

"I can't give you the details either."

When Yoon Jay answered with a deliberately enigmatic smile, Kwon Min-jae and Baek Da-eun clamped their mouths shut.

There was a faint sting of disappointment, too. The bond they'd forged while hunting down that stalker had given the three of them a sense of solidarity, and having a line drawn like this — here, of all places — felt a little cold.

"There are things I'm obligated to keep confidential. That's all."

"Ah... well, if that's the situation, nothing to be done about it."

He couldn't just ignore the look on their faces, so he let a hint slip. These two had ties to him that ran deeper than most — fellow child actors from the same era, people whose paths had crossed his back when they were young. And they were, simply put, good people.

The three of them had settled at a separate table and were deep in conversation when someone came strolling over.

"Is this the guy?"

It was Go Sung-hyun, an actor in his late thirties. Yoon Jay had heard about him secondhand — a man who placed great stock in debut seniority and the sunbae–hoobae pecking order.

"Good to see you, sunbae-nim."

"Ah, right, sorry. I'm your hyung, so I can speak comfortably with you, yeah?"

The apology came belatedly, but there was precious little remorse in it.

"Of course. Whatever's comfortable, sunbae-nim."

"So — was what the articles said actually true?"

Yoon Jay simply smiled. Even that alone set Go Sung-hyun's teeth on edge, though he was careful not to show it. What galled him was the way every scrap of attention had been sucked toward Yoon Jay by all this news.

"What's so impressive about any of it? You're an actor now. You ought to be thinking about leaving behind good work, not chasing attention with stories like that. Don't you think?"

"You're absolutely right, sunbae-nim."

Yoon Jay genuinely, sincerely agreed with him. He was already sick to death of people who wouldn't let him do the acting he loved and did nothing but pry into his past.

Go Sung-hyun, reading nothing but respectful deference in that handsome, composed face, cleared his throat with an awkward ahem.

"You debuted last year, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Hah. A green little fledgling from last year, showing up at gatherings like ours. Times sure have gotten easy, haven't they?"

What is that supposed to mean? The corner of Yoon Jay's mouth dipped ever so slightly. Kwon Min-jae cut in beside him.

"Why, is debut seniority everything now? In this business, popularity isn't something you get to ignore either."

"Well, sure, that's true. Anyway, Min-jae — you're all right with this?"

What is that supposed to mean. Yoon Jay stole a glance at Kwon Min-jae.

Min-jae answered with an easy, placid smile. But there was something distinctly off about his voice.

"Hyung. I don't think that's the kind of thing you should be saying to someone's face."

By raw debut years, the true elders in this room were Kwon Min-jae and Baek Da-eun, both of whom had worked as child actors in the early 2000s. Had Yoon Jay never hidden his past, he would have outranked even the two of them.

"Hmm. Maybe I was a little out of line?"

Go Sung-hyun was not a man you could afford to slight — not when seniority was his whole religion. The gap in debut years was one thing, but in acting ability and name recognition alike, there had never been a contest.

"Want to step out and get some air?"

"Sure."

Having landed his jab, Kwon Min-jae watched Go Sung-hyun drift off to another ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠table to scratch at the ego of some more docile junior. In the meantime, Min-jae drew Yoon Jay aside and out of the room.

"Go Sung-hyun. That guy's a piece of work, isn't he?"

"He's not so bad I can't stomach him."

"I wish I could be as unbothered as you are."

Min-jae sighed and muttered that if he'd known that man would be here, he'd never have called Jay out — and never have come himself.

All of the breezy hyung, hyung jocularity from inside was gone; his voice had gone thoroughly businesslike. Feeling Yoon Jay's eyes on him, Min-jae spoke again.

"Curious?"

"Yeah."

"It's not something he can help. It just comes out of him."

"Call it social survival, I suppose."

"I guess."

Kwon Min-jae heaved a long sigh, muttering something about how even this felt like a wound to his own pride — and then he began.

"Want me to tell you why he's like that?"

"Isn't it because it sticks in his craw, watching my past get all this attention?"

"It's not that simple. Well — that's part of it, but..."

Then what is it? Yoon Jay waited for his answer.