Chapter 14
Chapter 14
An Old Habit
Park Hyeon-jeong had taken a liking to teaching Yu Yeon-seo. First, his personality was meek, unlike the rumors, and he had a talent for absorbing everything like a sponge, along with a strong drive to succeed.
Once he started practicing, he wouldn’t leave the practice room until he was satisfied. She’d even run into him once after he’d pulled an all-nighter. Thanks to that, Yu Yeon-seo’s vocalization and pronunciation had improved considerably.
‘He takes after his mother in that respect.’
Lee Hui-seo was a real firebrand, too. That passion she had—subduing staff who dismissed her as just another pretty face from an idol group with her acting skills, and pestering Park Hyeon-jeong to study her character all night. Lee Hui-seo’s efforts were a significant reason for the success of A Happy Farewell.
Lost in thought for a moment, Park Hyeon-jeong crossed her arms and carefully observed his walk.
‘If only he’d taken lessons sooner, his image wouldn’t have hit rock bottom…’
However, there was one thing that bothered her.
“Who were you trying to portray with that walk just now?”
“A homeless man on the verge of starvation, looking for food.”
“It looked like it. And before, it was a drug dealer shot and on the run, right? You expressed it well, but…”
Yu Yeon-seo nodded.
His imagination was specific, and his portrayal wasn’t bad. So much so that it was hard to believe he was the same Yu Yeon-seo known for his terrible acting. But the things he tried to portray... were generally dark. As if he were someone who had only ever seen such things.
‘A chaebol heir portraying the dregs of society this well?’
It’s better to be good at one thing than to be bad at everything. But if he only tries to portray such dark things, he’ll stray from his desire to ‘play a variety of roles.’
“Yeon-seo... you seem to be weak with ‘ordinary’ things overall.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Yeon-seo gave an awkward smile. Park Hyeon-jeong was right on the money.
“What you’re trying to portray is so... hopeless. Why did you choose characters like that?”
“No particular reason.”
“Hmm…”
As Park Hyeon-jeong narrowed her eyes, Yu Yeon-seo averted his gaze.
In the society of 2207, which had barely survived near-annihilation, the people he encountered were all like this. Sallow faces that never saw the sun, lives predetermined without freedom from birth, monsters that occasionally descended from the surface—it was a society without hope for a better future.
“Your immersion is good. Your imagination is good, too.”
He had consumed past media thousands, tens of thousands of times, constantly wondering, What if I were in that situation? If it were me, I would have done it differently. As a result, his immersion and imagination developed naturally.
‘Still, it’s not entirely hopeless.’
Yu Yeon-seo clenched and unclenched his fist.
“But you’ll need to develop your powers of observation more. You’re returning to school next year, right?”
“Yes.”
He had made a promise to his grandfather, so he had to graduate properly. Besides, he was curious about what a normal college life was like.
“Then, observe the students around you. At your age, you’ll get offers for many roles like that.”
Yu Yeon-seo nodded.
“When you go to a nearby restaurant, watch the staff, watch the office workers eating. Even when you’re in the car, don’t just rest—watch the people walking on the street. What does that person do for a living? Why does that person look upset? Did they have a fight with a customer?”
Park Hyeon-jeong fired off the words like a machine gun, not even pausing for breath.
“Observe and study constantly. You can even invent a character for them on the spot. Then, make that your own.”
Just then, his phone alarm rang. It was the signal that his acting class was over.
“That’s all for today.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Yu Yeon-seo bowed his head deeply. Park Hyeon-jeong left the practice room without a second glance. As a successful theater and musical actress, even finding time to teach Yu Yeon-seo was a tight squeeze.
“You done?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Lee Tae-gyeom, once again Yu Yeon-seo’s manager, inwardly marveled at the strangely subdued young man.
‘Damn, his personality really has changed. How hard did he hit his head?’
It was like something out of a drama. In any case, it was a good thing for Lee Tae-gyeom. The thought of going back to being a manager for that old, temperamental Yu Yeon-seo had made his future seem bleak.
“If your seatbelt’s on, I’m heading out.”
Yu Yeon-seo felt a sense of unease. Im Seung-hyeon, who would normally be in the passenger seat, was nowhere to be seen.
“By the way, where’s Im Seung-hyeon?”
“He said he was stopping by the company.”
“Really?”
He leaned back against the seat, thinking nothing of it.
The martial arts director and stunt actor trainees at the Supreme Action School stopped what they were doing and began cleaning diligently.
“Who’s coming that has us cleaning this hard?”
“Yu Yeon-seo is coming.”
“What?”
The trainees murmured among themselves.
“That Yu Yeon-seo? Why is he suddenly coming here?”
“His next project must be an action film.”
Negative opinions about Yu Yeon-seo were rampant on internet forums, but that didn’t mean everyone disliked him.
In fact, those less familiar with fandom culture often envied Yu Yeon-seo’s privileged background and his life of doing whatever he pleased, looking at him with admiration.
“I was a huge fan of Lee Hui-seo when I was young.”
“Me too. I heard Yu Yeon-seo is really handsome. Are we finally going to see him in person today?”
Moreover, people in the industry didn’t see it too negatively, since a chaebol’s hobby created jobs for them.
“But do we really have to bust our asses like this just because one Yu Yeon-seo is coming?”
“His acting is terrible. You think he can even keep up with the class?”
“I bet he won’t last an hour.”
“Me too.”
But of course, there were also those who were jealous of Yu Yeon-seo’s privileged birth and looked down on him with scorn and ridicule.
“Hello.”
Just then, Yu Yeon-seo opened the door and walked in. Everyone at the action school stopped what they were doing and stared blankly as he entered.
‘He’s... polite, at least.’
‘His face is so small.’
‘He looks amazing in person…’
‘He’s in pretty good shape. Does he work out?’
It was as if Yu Yeon-seo existed in a different world from everyone else. Behind him, Lee Tae-gyeom came struggling with a large shopping basket. It was filled to the brim with sports drinks.
“I wasn’t sure how many people would be here, so I bought a lot just in case. Please, have some.”
“Oh... yes, thank you.”
“Aish... I’m the one who did all the work.”
Lee Tae-gyeom grumbled, and the person standing nearest to him took the basket.
Yu Yeon-seo slowly surveyed the interior of the action school. A converted construction site with a cool, high ceiling and mats stacked in layers. Ropes hung down one wall, perhaps for rappelling practice, and the air was thick with the smell of sweat, as if everyone had just finished working out.
‘Nice.’
The original Yu Yeon-seo would have been disgusted, calling it dirty and musty, but to the current Yu Yeon-seo, it smelled of life, and it put him in a good mood.
“Mr. Yu Yeon-seo, hello.”
Someone approached him from behind. He had a rather lean but solid, fat-free build, with strong, fierce features. His experience was evident at a glance.
“I’m Park Seong-jin, the martial arts director who runs the Supreme Action School.”
“Hello. I’m Yu Yeon-seo.”
Yu Yeon-seo took the hand Park Seong-jin offered and shook it. He could feel hard calluses.
“While you’re training here, I’ll be instructing you personally.”
“You’ll be teaching me yourself, Director? You don’t have to. I’m a beginner.”
When Yu Yeon-seo spoke so affably, the people nearby stared at him with wide eyes.
Huh, is this really the Yu Yeon-seo from the rumors? But why does his manager look so surprised?
“That’s why I’m paying extra attention. We can’t have you getting hurt.”
In truth, the enormous tuition fee Yu Yeon-seo was paying was also a factor.
‘If he gets hurt, it’ll be a bigger headache for us.’
Director Park Seong-jin had actually intended to refuse Yu Yeon-seo. He hadn’t wanted to cater to a fussy rich kid. But as it happened, the action school was short on operating funds at the time, so he reluctantly accepted him.
‘If I put him through some intense training, he’ll probably quit soon enough.’
He gave a look to a junior martial arts director. The junior director, understanding his intention, nodded.
“Alright! Let’s start training!”
He clapped his hands, and the directors and trainees moved in perfect unison. Standing among the people lined up in rows, Yu Yeon-seo looked at Director Park Seong-jin.
“Since it’s your first time, just follow us for the stretches, and then we’ll move on to the basic routine. It’s okay if you’re clumsy.”
“Okay.”
Yu Yeon-seo took a spot at the very back. His eyes filled with anticipation. Just like acting class, we’ll probably start with some light exercises, right?
“One! Two!”
And so, under the junior director’s command, the intense stretching began.
They did a variety of exercises like sit-ups, planks, and squats. Even the experienced trainees were panting and sweating, yet Yu Yeon-seo didn’t give up.
‘What? He’s holding up well?’
Director Park Seong-jin’s expression changed. What he emphasized most to the trainees while running the action school wasn’t physical strength, but willpower. Those who struggled but refused to give up and followed through to the end became his junior directors and were still active in the field.
‘This changes things.’
The Yu Yeon-seo of the rumors would have thrown a fit, asking why he had to do such training and calling them crazy, but this one was gritting his teeth and enduring it. Director Park Seong-jin gestured to the junior director leading the exercises to stop.
<Master, are you alright?>
‘I can still handle it... This body is even more of a wreck than I thought.’
When Yu Yeon-seo came into this body, his top priorities were memory synchronization and physical conditioning.
The original Yu Yeon-seo had only built a body for show; it wasn’t at all practical for real combat. So, he had followed the training routine from 2207 without missing a single day. Though it was still impossible to bring it to the level of his body as Kang Jin-hu.
“Alright! That’s it for stretches! Take a five-minute break, then we move on to basic moves!”
“Yes, sir!”
Everyone collapsed to the floor, Yu Yeon-seo included. Lee Tae-gyeom, who had been watching from the back, handed him a towel and a drink.
“Wow, you’re holding up well.”
When he was his manager before, he knew Yeon-seo went to the gym regularly, but even Lee Tae-gyeom hadn’t expected him to keep up this well. In that short time, Yu Yeon-seo had already downed a whole bottle.
“Alright! Five minutes are up! Back on your feet!”
Yu Yeon-seo groaned as he pushed his heavy body up.
“One!”
“Hah!”
The trainees shouted loudly as they kicked. Yu Yeon-seo got into his stance.
“Two!”
“Hah!”
Following them, Yu Yeon-seo also shouted loudly with the trainees and extended his right leg into the air.
‘What the…’
Director Park Seong-jin, watching from the back, widened his eyes. His movements... had no wasted motion.
“One!”
“Hah!”
Moreover, with each repetition, Yu Yeon-seo’s movements seemed to become more precise and sharp.
‘...Did he learn some kind of self-defense?’
The moment Director Park Seong-jin unconsciously reached out to touch Yu Yeon-seo’s shoulder, Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes flashed sharply.
Yu Yeon-seo whipped his body around and struck Director Park Seong-jin’s arm twice. He then grabbed his wrist, pinning it behind his back to restrain him. It all happened in a flash, in less than a few seconds—a concise and clean maneuver.
“Huk…”
The subdued Director Park Seong-jin gasped in surprise, and the commotion drew the eyes of the junior directors and trainees toward them.
“Wh-what was that?”
“Did Director Park just get taken down?”
“What just happened?”
The murmurs brought Yu Yeon-seo to his senses, and he released his grip. He gave Director Park Seong-jin’s shoulder a gentle pat.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
It’s been a while since I’ve moved my body so intensely. An old habit just came out. You shouldn’t have come up behind me like that.