Chapter 137
Translator: uly
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Another One! (2)
[Eh? Yeonwoo-ya. What’s that guy mumbling over there?]
A voice so small it was barely audible. But in no time at all, it turned into an unexpectedly booming shout.
“……That bastard Kwon Seong-hyeon!”
[Is that jerk calling our actor a bastard right now?]
Dongja-ryeong’s eyes darted around wildly.
“You, you’re yelling so rudely at who right now?! Were you just threatening me?!”
Someone had said it once before. A cornered rat will bite a cat. Just like how a frightened animal lashes out with the loudest roar.
The man seemed to be trying to erase the memory of cowering behind Yeonwoo even for a moment, shouting even louder than before.
“With Kwon Seong-hyeon backing you, you think a has-been senior like me is an easy target? Huh?! You little punk, you think you can strut around just because you landed one good sponsor?! This industry’s going to shit because talentless hacks like you get ahead on connections!”
The man’s voice was loud enough to make the quiet shop reverberate.
It felt deliberate, like he wanted everyone to hear.
“Senior.”
“What, now I finally look like a senior to you?!”
“You’d better watch your mouth.”
“You gonna sic your sponsor on me to bury someone like me?! Easy enough since you got shoved straight into a lead role! Kwon Seong-hyeon’s a has-been now, thrashing around desperately so he doesn’t get weeded out?!”
There was a flaw in the man’s words, right from the start.
First off, the premise was completely wrong.
[Is he nuts? Our actor’s so busy—has-been? Has-beeeeen? What a psycho. Who does he think he is, badmouthing our actor like that?!]
Kwon Seong-hyeon had never once been a has-been. Step outside right now, grab anyone on the street, and ask—they’d all say no.
Second.
‘Sponsor? He doesn’t mean Woo Do-gyeom, does he?’
Kwon Seong-hyeon had introduced him to Woo Do-gyeom?
‘Those two would lose it if they knew.’
Their relationship was far too hostile for any kind of introduction or favor like that. Kwon Seong-hyeon, who acted like such a gentle lamb, was the one guy who always bared his teeth at Woo Do-gyeom.
If Kwon Seong-hyeon heard this man’s nonsense, even that sweet guy might snap.
“What, got some inferiority complex or something?”
Yeonwoo tossed the words out casually.
The man reacted like a fish flopping on dry land, hypersensitive.
“W-what?! What nonsense is that? Why would I envy a has-been like Kwon Seong-hyeon…….”
“Ah, Senior.”
A cold voice cut off what he was about to say.
“Making up lies and passing them off as truth—that’s called a rumor, you know. To me, it sounds like a particularly vicious one. Do you know what defamation is? Kwon Seong-hyeon’s busy, sure, but I’m pretty sure he could squeeze in a lawsuit.”
The man flinched at the word “lawsuit.”
But he didn’t back down. Instead, he yelled like he was lashing out wildly.
“You, didn’t he get you into his agency? And right after, you snagged a movie lead role? Word is, the Blue King backed it so you got shoved in there. Kwon Seong-hyeon’s washed up, so he’s using you to latch onto the Blue King to claw his way back, right? I knew that has-been was getting desperate and dirty because no one would touch him anymore!”
[Whoa…… How does his brain even work like that? I wanna crack open his thought process and take a peek.]
The man’s words weren’t complete lies.
But they were twisted in such a malicious, cunning way.
Getting into the agency. Landing the movie lead. The Blue King being the main investor.
All facts.
But.
‘Got me in……? Sure, but the nuance is way off.’
Not to use him, absolutely not. If anything, Kwon Seong-hyeon had pulled out all the stops to get Yeonwoo to sign with the agency. Honestly, it even felt excessive at times.
It didn’t add up as some scheme to skim off the top.
‘The lead role was at Director Ji’s request.’
True, there was no formal audition, but that was entirely the director’s call. The role had been tailored for Yeonwoo from the start.
And the Blue King’s investment came after Yeonwoo joined.
‘How the hell does his mind jump to that conclusion?’
Yeonwoo fully agreed with Dongja-ryeong. He wanted to dissect the guy’s thought circuits.
Maybe that’s why his obsessive thoughts clung to him so thickly—because he was so warped.
‘But it’s too much.’
There were limits. The man’s delusions had crossed them by a mile.
Too far gone to dismiss as mere fantasy in one twisted head.
This was dangerous.
Yeonwoo’s instincts were ringing alarm bells.
‘Penalty.’
Kwon Seong-hyeon was a sanctuary.
Letting his name get dragged through the mud like this was absolutely risky. Just half a year ago, he’d gotten a penalty for a nobody impersonating Kwon Seong-hyeon.
Half a year. No more, no less.
‘If I hadn’t luckily saved Kwon Seong-hyeon back then…….’
He’d have been done for, no doubt.
That incident taught him something.
Sanctuary. Kwon Seong-hyeon was one you didn’t touch.
Why the System was lenient with him, Yeonwoo didn’t know. Kwon Seong-hyeon probably didn’t even know the System existed, so asking was pointless.
But one thing was clear: Kwon Seong-hyeon was deeply tied to the System’s progression.
And now this clown was trash-talking him?
That meant……
‘We can’t let this slide.’
And there was something even more bothersome.
Penalty aside……
‘What the hell does this guy even know about Kwon Seong-hyeon to yap like that?’
Kwon Seong-hyeon was a bit odd, sure. Un-starlike in his casualness, picky in a weird way, but overall warm and easygoing. Even prickly Dongja-ryeong liked him, which said a lot.
Fanboying aside, it wasn’t some magic key. Dongja-ryeong was an aged ghost with real insight—if the real thing disappointed, he’d drop the act in a heartbeat.
‘Come to think of it, he shared his lifespan with me and cleared a penalty too. Annoying as he is, it’s not out of malice.’
A bit naggy, sure, and he dragged people around.
But that didn’t mean anyone could slander him willy-nilly.
‘If there’s complaining to be done, it should come from me.’
Not from some irrelevant nobody. If anyone was gonna yap, it’d be him.
‘Though, thinking about it, I don’t really have much to complain about either.’
On the big stuff, like saving his life. On the small stuff, like handling food, clothing, shelter—all things Yeonwoo would’ve skimped on alone. Taking care of it all was genuinely thoughtful.
It felt like more than enough repayment for saving his life. Kwon Seong-hyeon insisted otherwise, but whatever.
One thing was certain.
‘He’s not someone you toss around lightly like that.’
If there’s roasting to be done, I’ll do it. His thoughts felt a bit twisted, but probably just his imagination.
“Am I wrong?! If you think so, then refute it! Glaring like you’re gonna hit me. Is that what Kwon Seong-hyeon taught you?!”
Annoying.
Yeonwoo’s brow furrowed.
“What’s wrong? Can’t handle the truth, huh? Hey! Get your head straight. Don’t let a has-been like Kwon Seong-hyeon suck you dry! Looks like snagging one lead role puffed up your ego. Seats grabbed like that burst quick, you know?! Like with Kwon Seong-hyeon!”
Kwon Seong-hyeon at the end of every sentence. Kwon Seong-hyeon.
Screaming it at the top of his lungs grated too.
This was basically yelling for everyone to hear, wasn’t it?
Customers at a private spot like this weren’t riffraff.
Well, except for the nobody in front of him.
But big shots coming and going hearing this crap could be a problem.
“Senior. Or whatever you are.”
The man had been yelling triumphantly, gaining confidence bit by bit.
But as Yeonwoo spoke softly, that confidence shriveled fast—his shoulders hunching.
“Hah……? After all that, you’re still defending Kwon Seong-hyeon? Figures. No one hanging with that guy’s normal. Rotten from the start, can’t tell trash from treasure, clinging to a has-been…….”
Still bluffing, but he was clearly cowed.
Watching him, Yeonwoo recalled one of his status traits.
And slowly opened his mouth.
“The definition of ‘has-been’ I know seems pretty different from yours, Senior.”
No. Kwon Seong-hyeon had never been a has-been even once.
‘I can still hear Manager Lee Gyu-han begging for even a CF shoot. What? Has-been?’
Drama follow-ups aside, synopses flooded in from everywhere.
Sure, Kwon Seong-hyeon’s side rejected them all, so he looked idle.
“‘Has-been’ should be for people like you who can’t do anything, right? You know the difference between ‘won’t’ and ‘can’t,’ don’t you? Or maybe not?”
Yeonwoo’s eyes curved gently.
The man looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Calling a working actor like Kwon Seong-hyeon a has-been? You must be something else…… I’m new to this, so I don’t know your name yet, Senior. Mind telling this junior what it is?”
In other words.
‘Let’s see how big a deal you are to talk like that.’
The man got it—his obsession-clouded face flushed briefly.
“Hah…… A damn rookie talking back…… Hey, think carefully. You think protecting that guy will make him grateful?”
He’d be extremely grateful. Probably look at him with eyes sparkling ten times brighter than usual.
“Too late when you’ve been sucked dry and regret it? I’ve seen plenty like you in this industry!”
“Yeah, well…… No need for you to worry about that.”
Too generous to even call him senior anymore. The word was wasted on trash like this.
“Hey. You don’t get it, so think again…….”
“No need. More importantly, if I were you, I’d start watching my step from now on.”
His tone was gentle, but the air grew heavy.
“I’d be pretty pissed if crap like that rumor I just heard starts spreading.”
“……Pissed? What’re you gonna do about it.”
“Who knows.”
A smile rose on Yeonwoo’s lips.
It looked innocently kind at a glance.
But the man on the receiving end looked like his throat was being strangled.
“Probably make things really tough for you, wouldn’t it?”
“What’re you suing me for? You’re a rookie, so you don’t get it, but dragging names like that isn’t good. It’d backfire on Kwon Seong-hyeon, actually? How do you survive in this industry without knowing that? Think your sponsor’s got your back forever?”
He kept up the lecture stubbornly.
Pretending calm, but his trembling voice and wandering eyes made it laughable as advice.
“Sorry to disappoint, but lawsuits aren’t viewed that badly these days. You must not have gotten the update yet?”