Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Film Professionals’ Night
Yu Yeon-seo Attends Busan International Film Festival Opening Ceremony
[Photo] Yu Yeon-seo, Red Carpet Visuals
...Actor Yu Yeon-seo walked the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the Busan International Film Festival. He was invited not as an actor, but as a representative of a sponsoring company.
└ What’s with the hair? Is it for his next role?
└ Wow, the Director, damn.
└ I live for Yu Yeon-seo looking this sharp ㅠㅠ Film your next project soon, please ㅠ
└ His style is insane ㅠㅠ
As Yu Yeon-seo, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit with a coat draped over his shoulders, entered the opening ceremony venue, a familiar voice called out to him.
“Yeon-seo!”
It was the members of ‘Welcome to the Guest House’.
“How did we all end up meeting here?”
“Have you been well?”
Park Seung-hwan, Choi Jun-yeong, Lee Yun-jeong, and Jin Su-ho were also participating as actors in submitted films.
“All we need is I-jun and the gang would be all here.”
“He’s in the military, right?”
“Hasn’t been long since he enlisted, has it?”
Their gazes turned to Yu Yeon-seo. Just as public opinion was worsening with the reignition of his personality controversy, the members of One Seven, whose contracts with AST Entertainment had ended, began to speak out one by one.
One Seven’s I-jun and U-hyeon Fail to Renew Contracts with AST Entertainment... Confess Feelings on Social Media
‘Sudden Departure’ Yu Yeon-seo Secretly Invested in One Seven for 7 Years
└ ???
└ Is this for real?
└ Holy crap.
└ So he wasn’t a traitor after all.
What is this? Hadn’t he already compensated them enough for his departure? Doesn’t this mean he wasn’t a deserter? Why had One Seven remained silent all this time? The blame shifted as questions arose, suggesting they only spoke up now that their contracts with the agency were over.
A few hours later, all of it was buried under photos of “The Imperial Seal” team’s reward vacation, posted by the online comment team Chairman Yu had unleashed, and Yu Geon-min’s financial blitz, which was practically an aerial bombardment.
“Such a pointless thing to do...”
“Why? I thought it was nice to see.”
It was only relatively buried, not extinguished. AST Entertainment, which had already lost its cash cow with One Seven’s failure to renew their contracts, responded that the claims were groundless.
But Im Seung-hyeon wasn’t one to let it slide. While investigating with Baek Seo-jun, he handed over data to Halo Media proving that AST Entertainment had embezzled Yu Yeon-seo’s investment funds. Manager Park and CEO Han, having found a juicy story, gleefully engaged in media play.
- Seriously, who gives that much money for 7 years?
They never got the support they deserved and only had a sleeper hit by chance, but he just got hate for being a ‘traitor’ㅠ
└ fr
└ Isn’t this an agency problem, not a One Seven problem?? Why did they embezzle the money?
└ I just saw this;; So he left the group but still fulfilled his duty to the members, and he got all that hate for it?
└└ It’s not even a duty, ffs. Who shells out that much money? He’d already left and wasn’t even at the same agency.
- But the power-tripping thing is true, isn’t it?
└ There’s no proof for any of the power-tripping allegations.
└ They’re just trying to tear him down now that he’s famous from The Imperial Seal lol
└ Honestly, can’t he be like that?
└ His actual fans are just like, ‘Yeah, that’s our actor,‘ so it has no effect lol
- Yu Yeon-seo is a saint.
Even the fans who used to stan them as one group held a grudge, blaming Yu Yeon-seo for their faves not making it big, and attacked him, but he never said a word all this time.
└ If it were me, I would’ve started media play the moment I sent the money.
└ Considering Yu Yeon-seo’s attention-seeking personality, he did a good job keeping that buried. He must have really not wanted it to get out.
Ultimately, the situation grew more chaotic as a wave of sympathy formed for Yu Yeon-seo, who was now seen as the victim of a witch hunt.
‘I don’t like this image.’
Can’t I just remain the attention-seeking, third-generation chaebol actor I’ve always been? That’s much more comfortable... Yu Yeon-seo sighed, looking at his acquaintances who were teasing him about being embarrassed.
After catching up and sitting in nearby seats, Park Seung-hwan, who was next to him, spoke with a smile.
“I enjoyed the drama. Time for a movie now, right?”
“If a script I like comes along, I’ll do it. Whether it’s a drama or a movie.”
“Still, movies are where it’s at, aren’t they?”
Park Seung-hwan gave him a thumbs-up. Ah, Park Seung-hwan was a true movie purist, having only appeared in films since his debut. Some people like him, even without ill intent, had an underlying tendency to look down on dramas...
“I’m not thinking about it for the time being.”
“Why, are you sick?”
At that question, Yu Yeon-seo’s body tensed.
“Why is there talk about me being sick?”
“I heard you weren’t in good condition while filming the drama.”
“That rumor spread? Even to you guys?”
“Gossip spreads fast in this industry, you know? Especially when the subject is you.”
“Tsk.”
Why is everyone so interested in me? Annoyed, Yu Yeon-seo clicked his tongue.
“But are you really sick?”
“It’s nothing like that. I just wasn’t feeling my best, and the staff made a fuss... Since I’m funding it and have a title at the production company, they’re being overly cautious around me.”
“Aha, because you’re a big shot?”
They nodded and let it go, but only Jin Su-ho watched Yu Yeon-seo with a suspicious gaze. He deliberately ignored it.
“Hey, Yeon-seo. You should do a movie with me.”
“What is it?”
“To put it simply... you and I would have a grandparent-grandchild relationship.”
Yu Yeon-seo frowned. Park Seung-hwan was too young to play the grandfather of a grown grandson. He was also well-maintained and looked younger than his actual age. Wouldn’t a father-son relationship be more fitting?
“Isn’t the age gap too wide?”
“The synopsis was so good, I said I’d do it with makeup. The technology for that has gotten a lot better these days.”
“Oh...”
A synopsis that caught the eye of the triple ten-million-viewer actor, Park Seung-hwan. A glint of interest appeared in Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes.
“You’re going to the ‘Film Professionals’ Night,’ right?”
“I am.”
“I’ll explain the details there.”
“Are you pitching it? That project.”
Park Seung-hwan nodded. If the offer came to me first, bypassing even Choi Jun-yeong and Jin Su-ho, it must be about investment, right?
“For now, don’t do that.”
I’ll take it all for myself. As Yu Yeon-seo grinned, Park Seung-hwan’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter.
“Haha! That works for me.”
Even with makeup, there would be a limit to how old Park Seung-hwan could look, so they would likely need special effects on screen. That meant higher production costs, which was exactly what Park Seung-hwan was hoping for when he approached him. Of course, the fact that Yu Yeon-seo had ticket power and was a good actor with a decent personality was also a factor.
After the opening ceremony, Yu Yeon-seo explored the film festival with Cha Yun-ho and Im Seung-hyeon trailing behind him.
“Gasp, it’s Yu Yeon-seo!”
“I’m a fan!”
He provided fan service, signing autographs and taking pictures with those who recognized him. He watched a submitted film that Cha Yun-ho had pre-booked tickets for and waited for the Q&A session with the director and cast.
“Even at Q&A sessions, there are so-called villains famous enough to be considered the big three among film fans.”
For Yu Yeon-seo, who was new to this kind of film festival, Cha Yun-ho chattered on relentlessly.
“What are they like?”
“It’ll be more fun if you know what to look for.”
The first type: ‘I enjoyed the film.’
“First of all, I enjoyed the film.”
“Look. That director isn’t a pushover...”
This type would try to win an argument with the director, insisting that the theme and the mise-en-scène didn’t match and demanding to know why they were used. A director who wasn’t glib might get dragged along, but that wasn’t the case this time.
“It seems the questioner didn’t watch the film properly. Are you sure you watched it correctly?”
Laughter erupted from all around. The questioner mumbled and sat down. Then came the second type.
“Hello. I’m a film major at a university in Seoul...”
This type of person spoke with a nuance of, “I noticed this much, so did you, the director, write it that way intentionally?” They also used the opportunity for self-PR, emphasizing that they were a film major.
Next, during the Q&A session with a famous foreign director... the third type Cha Yun-ho had mentioned appeared.
“May I ask the director a question directly in French?”
This type was a bit better than the previous ones. But Yu Yeon-seo had to hold back his laughter. The person asked something in French, but the grammar was so clumsy that anyone who understood the language couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it’s just that the way that person is speaking is strange.”
“Ah, of course, you’d understand, Director.”
This type could be seen at any Q&A session. An interesting variation was someone who once made the absurd proposal of asking an actor to star in their graduation film.
Soon, they moved to a hotel and found the scenario market, which was only accessible to industry personnel. At some point, a JSENM employee had attached himself to Cha Yun-ho’s side.
“What is it?”
“I was just wondering if there was anything that caught the Director’s eye.”
“The staff will do a fine job of looking.”
“Still, it would be better if you picked one, Director.”
Yu Yeon-seo’s eye for projects was acknowledged even by industry insiders, so the employee was carefully trying to read his mood.
“Is that so?”
He thought little of it and looked around the venue. Numerous production companies were holding meetings, and various production houses and webtoon and web novel platforms were manning booths to sell their IPs.
‘I wonder what that project Seung-hwan mentioned is...’
Lost in thought, Yu Yeon-seo absentmindedly picked things up and put them down. The problem was that the employee misunderstood his gesture and hastily exchanged business cards with the other party.
There were also short films and independent films that hadn’t been left in his memory storage. Yu Yeon-seo watched them with considerable enjoyment. And then, finally, he entered the ‘Film Professionals’ Night,’ an event only for invited personnel.
“It’s Yu Yeon-seo.”
“No way...”
So Dong-hyeon from Gusang Films was also present. Hearing the commotion near the entrance, he guessed that Yu Yeon-seo had arrived.
‘I’m not going down alone.’
His own position at the production company was precarious, and he burned with hatred for Yu Yeon-seo. It was So Dong-hyeon who had first fanned the flames of the power-tripping controversy, though it hadn’t gone well.
“Psychopathic bastard...” he muttered after taking a sip of water.
How could he be so normal after his own mother died like that? Through a contact of a contact of a journalist, he had managed to obtain half of Yu Yeon-seo’s psychiatric records.
At first, he had expected to find a predictable result. That the shock had rendered him unable to speak, or that he had cried. So Dong-hyeon had planned to exploit that. But the records showed the complete opposite. The psychology of a perfectly normal child, one who showed no signs of having faced a traumatic event.
‘There’s no point in revealing this now.’
Public opinion of Yu Yeon-seo was already solid. But, at the very least, he could ruin his mood, couldn’t he?
“Mr. Yu Yeon-seo. Hello.”
He approached with a smile, hiding his twisted thoughts. Yu Yeon-seo instantly identified him by his voice.
“Ah, from Gusang Films... who were you again?”
“I’m So Dong-hyeon.”
“I don’t think we’re on terms to be shaking hands and smiling like this, are we?”
As Yu Yeon-seo spoke with a relaxed smile, the corner of So Dong-hyeon’s mouth twitched. He quickly composed himself and opened his mouth.
“I’ve acquired something interesting. Would you like to see it together?”
“What is it?”
Yu Yeon-seo snatched the envelope So Dong-hyeon was waving tauntingly and scanned the records inside.
“Where did you acquire this?”
This guy is a good person, isn’t he? Giving me such useful material to learn about the past Yu Yeon-seo... As Yu Yeon-seo’s expression hardened, So Dong-hyeon smirked unpleasantly, thinking he had landed a blow.
His own precarious position and his anger toward Yu Yeon-seo, the one who had created the situation, left him unable to think straight. He wanted to show him these records to ruin his mood, no matter what.
Suspected antisocial personality disorder.
Yu Yeon-seo raised an eyebrow at the final entry.
‘Me?’
Me, who blamed myself for my mother’s death just for telling that madman where she was? Did this diagnosis come about because I lost my memory from the shock?
‘Back then... Grandfather probably would have said to spare no expense to treat the child.’
Surely the world isn’t filled with only good doctors. It could have been a ploy to drag out the counseling sessions using a child as an excuse. Anyway, that wasn’t the important part. These records were not something So Dong-hyeon could have ever obtained legally.