Chapter 128
Chapter 128
There’s Someone Like Me?
After skimming through the data for a while, Baek Seo-jun saw the name on his phone screen and let out a smirk.
“Hey. You’re not busy?”
(You got the files, right?)
“I’m looking at them now. Man, did you have to go this far?”
Plus, it was easy to read, as if a secretary had organized it all neatly. Couldn’t I get a guy like this working under me? he thought with a sigh. All he had were people sucking up to him because he was the police commissioner’s son, and the colleague next to him was just looking for a fight...
“For now, just focus on your own work. I’ve got some free time lately, so it’s fine.”
(...Did you hear something from my brother?)
Baek Seo-jun furrowed his brow at the suspicious tone. He stood up and headed for the emergency staircase.
“Did you think I wouldn’t hear about it? I’m his best friend, you punk.”
(It’s not that serious.)
“You might not know this, little master, but even if you’re not close, you worry when your family gets sick.”
Hearing this, Yu Yeon-seo scowled. How old does he think I am, treating me like a kid? But he had no choice but to shut his mouth at Baek Seo-jun’s next words.
“I’ve known him for over ten years, you know? This is the first time I’ve ever seen him so on edge.”
(...)
“Think of it as payback for what you did before.”
What I did before... Yu Yeon-seo realized he was talking about the time right after he discovered Lee Hui-seo’s body. In the midst of that chaos, Yu Eun-ho had thought his brother shouldn’t have to see that, which was why he didn’t want his younger brother involved in the search for the culprit this time.
Did he tell him that, too? They must be really close. Yu Yeon-seo decided to change the subject.
(The person in the video I found, what happened to them?)
“I’ve been looking into it for the past few days, but I lost them midway.”
(What?)
“The way they skillfully avoided CCTV and dashcams, it doesn’t seem like their first time. Anyway, leave this to the police.”
Yu Yeon-seo agreed. Honestly, having Baek Seo-jun on the case was convenient. Juseong’s information network was formidable, but matters requiring official authority took a long time.
(Do you have any leads?)
“I do. Why now, of all times...”
(You mean, why now?)
“Yeah, it’s not like this is the first time you’ve been a hot topic. To be blunt, even when you debuted, a truckload of people would have recognized you.”
As Lee Hui-seo’s son, how could they not? The fact that Yu Yeon-seo was the one who first discovered her tragic death wasn’t much of a secret. Back then, there were no proper press guidelines, and reporters held considerable power.
So, in reality, his popularity from his debut was more due to the interest in Lee Hui-seo than in Yu Yeon-seo himself... As Baek Seo-jun was thinking this, he suddenly lifted his head as if he’d realized something.
“Maybe you’re not the reason... maybe the cause is something else.”
Baek Seo-jun found someone in the list of employees who had died relatively recently. The record said it was due to a chronic illness, but he hadn’t gone to the hospital to confirm it himself.
There were other things he hadn’t had time to investigate yet. Even if the person themselves was clean, were their families? For instance, suspicious money transfers into their accounts... He’d been too busy to check properly. Now that he was settled in his position, Baek Seo-jun decided to fully utilize his father’s backing and spoke with confidence.
“I have a lead, so for now, you just do your thing.”
(Let me know as soon as you find anything.)
“If I get your brother’s permission.”
(Am I a kid?)
After Yu Yeon-seo’s snappy retort, Baek Seo-jun returned to his desk, immediately gathered his materials, and prepared to leave. Gwak Chi-hun, sitting next to him, pushed his chair back and watched Baek Seo-jun with suspicious eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m heading out.”
Since the other guy had been hostile first, Baek Seo-jun didn’t bother being polite either.
As Baek Seo-jun hurried out, Gwak Chi-hun gritted his teeth at his back.
“Cocky bastard...”
Some people struggle their whole lives just to get this position, while others are born with a silver spoon... He glared at the exit Baek Seo-jun had left through for a long moment before making a call.
“You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”
After hanging up with Baek Seo-jun, Yu Yeon-seo was brought back to his senses by the makeup artist’s words.
“Yes, something a little annoying came up.”
“I suppose it is your busiest time, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
He was busily enjoying the popularity of ‘The Imperial Seal’. The flood of offers for commercials, interviews, and photoshoots was so endless that Lee Tae-gyeom and Manager Park had to rack their brains to pare them down. Even after selecting only the most lucrative and image-enhancing jobs for him as an actor, there were still quite a lot.
I think I could be a little busier.
Because of this, he discovered an unexpected benefit in the past few days: his busy schedule allowed him to sleep soundly without worrying about the hallucinations. As he caught up on sleep, he was also able to break free from the obsession of catching the culprit. Not that he planned to leave everything to Baek Seo-jun and his brother, of course.
“Yeon-seo.”
“Aunt.”
Anyway, the list of commercials included a fashion brand run by his younger paternal aunt, who had taken over from his grandmother. The unexpected appearance of the owner on the set caused a stir among the staff. Did they not tell anyone she was coming?
“Why do you look thinner every time I see you?”
“I look the same to me.”
“What do you mean, the same?”
Yu Yeon-seo let out a hollow laugh as his aunt stroked his cheek. He’d been sleeping soundly because he was busy, and with Yu Eun-ho by his side, he hadn’t skipped any meals. In fact, he was in better shape than before... but it seemed that wasn’t enough for his doting family.
“Hey!”
“...Why is he here?”
He asked grudgingly. His aunt, Yu Seon-yeong, just smiled warmly and said it was part of their marketing. Marketing? Him? He frowned as his cousin came rushing toward him.
“Why are you here? Did you come to play?”
“Nope! I’m here as an influencer. I came to shoot a behind-the-scenes video for the commercial.”
“You?”
Park Seon-woo put his hands on his hips and said triumphantly.
“I have 3 million subscribers, you know.”
“What has the world come to.”
“What has the world come to? Come on. I’m a big deal.”
“And what percentage of that do I own?”
Park Seon-woo didn’t answer and just giggled. Yu Yeon-seo’s contributions had played no small part in his channel becoming a ‘huge deal’.
“How are you feeling?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? I’m fine.”
“But you were out of it for days back then...”
“Be quiet.”
Yu Yeon-seo glanced at the people around them and answered through gritted teeth. It would be troublesome if rumors about his poor health spread any further. He’d heard that talk had already started during the filming of ‘The Imperial Seal’ because he often had nosebleeds and sometimes had to leave the set abruptly...
Though that was mostly Lee Tae-gyeom’s fault.
Because his manager followed him around with such a grave expression, there were even occasional whispers that he wasn’t just unwell but had a serious illness.
In any case, he didn’t want the rumors to grow. When it came to work, people naturally preferred someone healthy; who would want to work with someone who was sick? Besides, there was nothing wrong with his body.
Yu Yeon-seo tilted his head as he watched Park Seon-woo get his filming equipment ready.
“But are you alone? Where’s your friend?”
“Oh, him... he’s job hunting. And I came alone to prevent spoilers.”
Park Seon-woo’s expression darkened at the mention of his friend, but only for a moment. Looks like something happened. Yu Yeon-seo pretended not to notice.
“Alright, done.”
The way he set up the camera and checked the screen by himself looked quite professional.
“By the way, when do you graduate?”
“I still have one semester left.”
He’d been steadily attending, although he’d had to repeat a cycle of attending one semester and then taking a leave of absence due to his schedule. It was getting difficult to postpone it any longer.
Surely this won’t continue until next year, right?
By then, the popularity of ‘The Imperial Seal’ will have cooled down. He thought complacently.
“We’ll resume filming now.”
“Okay.”
The short break ended, and filming resumed. Yu Yeon-seo was modeling for a meticulously crafted line made in collaboration with a famous foreign designer. It was a project Yu Seon-yeong was staking everything on. Park Seon-woo said something to his camera, then aimed it at Yu Yeon-seo as he filmed.
“He’s so handsome.”
“You’re going to get a picture later, right?”
“Of course.”
Park Seon-woo overheard the staff whispering. Everyone had dropped what they were doing to watch the shoot when they heard Yu Yeon-seo was there. Feeling a sense of pride, he scurried over to Yu Yeon-seo as he came out after changing clothes.
“Hey, what are you doing after this?”
“I have another schedule to get to.”
“Another one? You really are busy.”
In reality, it was less of a schedule and more of a personal errand.
“You’re not planning to go straight to the film set, are you?”
“Yes. Why?”
I know where they’re filming, so what’s the problem? Yu Yeon-seo tilted his head.
Cha Yun-ho, Yu Yeon-seo’s secretary at JSENM, smiled gently at his boss. Inwardly, he thought, As expected of someone from the owner’s family, he doesn’t understand the difficulties of his subordinates.
“Well... if you, the director, show up, it could be seen as putting pressure on them.”
“Ah, I suppose it could look that way.”
He recalled how the staff had been thrown into a fluster when his aunt had unexpectedly shown up on the set just a while ago.
In the pre-production stage, the production company and investors naturally have a lot of sway, but once filming begins, the director holds the power on set.
But for a director from the company that’s also the investor, producer, and distributor to suddenly show up on set? It would inevitably be pressuring. He’d even heard that some directors consider it an abuse of power when a production company brings investors for a tour...
“Director Lee will probably like it, but he’ll still feel a bit burdened.”
Lee Jeong-hun’s film, which had progressed at lightning speed, was also in its final stages of shooting. This was all possible thanks to the immense capital behind it. Perhaps because of that, Lee Jeong-hun’s favorability toward Yu Yeon-seo was rising by the day.
“Hmm... should I wear a disguise then?”
“Pardon?”
“Anyway, let’s go.”
Of course, he wasn’t the type to listen just because Cha Yun-ho tried to stop him. After hastily putting on a baseball cap and a mask to disguise himself as a production staff member, Yu Yeon-seo headed to the set of ‘However’, the movie Lee Jeong-hun was filming.
“Let’s go one more time.”
Since they were in the middle of filming, no one noticed the stranger’s arrival. Yu Yeon-seo found a spot in the corner and quietly observed the shoot. The actor on screen was alone. But he was acting toward a pillar as if his co-star was standing right in front of it. This was due to scheduling conflicts between the actors.
Come to think of it... filming was pretty convenient for me.
During pre-production, everything had been arranged around Yu Yeon-seo. His co-stars’ schedules were adjusted to make it easier for him to act. But since I invested the money, isn’t this much acceptable?
“Just a moment.”
Lee Jeong-hun, who had complained about his script being stolen, looked quite the part of a director now. He heard that Director Cheon sometimes came by to give advice on filming...
Right, there’s Director Cheon, too...
Director Cheon’s movie would also start filming soon. Yu Yeon-seo had proposed observing the shoot as a condition of the contract, which Director Cheon had initially refused, taking it as a form of pressure. However, once he understood Yu Yeon-seo’s unconventional terms and his intention—a desire to improve his acting—he had readily agreed.
If I’m observing that, when will I have time to catch the culprit?
As he grew anxious, he felt a white figure shimmering before his eyes. He shook his head vigorously.
“Okay.”
After Lee Jeong-hun’s “okay” sign, the actor returned to his spot with a tired face. He took the water his manager handed him, but after a sip, he scowled deeply.
“Hey, can’t you do your job right?”
What’s this, someone like me? Yu Yeon-seo watched them with interest.