Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Is There Anything You Can’t Do?
Just because he had started preparing for his next project didn’t mean his schedule was completely empty. The hit drama of 2021 was ‘The Imperial Seal.’ As such, the demand for Yu Yeon-seo remained steady. He cherry-picked the most lucrative commercial deals that wouldn’t tarnish his image.
‘Though it doesn’t amount to much.’
Chairman Yu, silencing the opposition from his daughter and sons-in-law, proceeded with organizing his assets as planned. He promised his grandchildren substantial shares but stipulated that they had to handle the taxes themselves. This, in turn, made Im Seung-hyeon busier, not Yu Yeon-seo.
‘Baek Seo-jun will take care of the investigation into the culprit.’
Now that the outline of the ‘tail’ had been revealed and he was keeping himself busy, he could let go of his obsession.
If he had been alone, he probably wouldn’t have been able to escape his psychological issues until the culprit was caught. In that case, his long-desired acting career would have been put on hold indefinitely, leaving him in a state of limbo.
The TV, which he had turned on to clear his mind, was showing a news report on the results of the newly implemented anti-stalking law.
“Only now…”
He clicked his tongue.
‘If we investigate step by step, we should be able to reach the top.’
Just uncovering the identity of the stalker, who had previously been nothing more than a formless suspicion, was quite hopeful. As he settled his thoughts, he turned his head at the sound of the keypad on the door lock.
“Lee Tae-gyeom, you here?”
“I’m here.”
Even without filming, the latter half of the year was packed with award ceremonies. Yu Yeon-seo hosted the JMA, organized by JSENM, but declined to attend all the other minor award shows despite being nominated.
“What are these?”
“Your awards.”
Yu Yeon-seo gave a cursory glance at the trophies Lee Tae-gyeom had brought. They were all for popularity or a Best Couple award with Shin Ye-won from ‘The Imperial Seal.’ There were even awards from ceremonies in their first year or ones he had never heard of.
He wasn’t particularly moved. While he did desire awards, what he truly wanted was a leading actor award from one of the three major, long-standing, and prestigious film festivals, not some popularity prize.
“...But have there always been this many award shows in our country?”
“It’s all about selling tickets, I bet.”
They book idols with strong fandoms to perform and tack on actor awards as well. They nominate actors in the hopes that they might show up, which would be a bonus.
“Let’s take a picture with this one, this one, and this one. They’re from the more famous shows with a lot of fan participation.”
“Sure, whatever.”
While an actor’s best way to communicate is through their next project, Yu Yeon-seo was also quite active on social media. After his 2018 car accident, during which he’d gone silent, his 2021 had been just as eventful.
The film and drama he participated in had grown in stages, and just as he began to receive increasingly positive reactions, he faced pushback from all sides. In the midst of that, a sudden trip to the emergency room had made everyone’s heart sink. Then, he made a spectacular comeback with ‘The Imperial Seal.’ His fans had been on a rollercoaster, alternating between hot and cold baths.
‘No wonder Im Seung-hyeon was ignoring someone’s calls.’
It seemed he had been constantly pestered by Im Hye-ju, who supposedly held a high position in Yu Yeon-seo’s fan club, Love Letter. In any case, that’s why he was meekly following Lee Tae-gyeom’s instructions. A little fan service couldn’t hurt, right?
“Hey, how do I look?”
“What are you talking about… Oh, you cut your hair.”
Lee Tae-gyeom, who had scowled at the abrupt question, realized its meaning was related to ‘Filicide.’ Previously, even with bangs, his forehead was slightly visible, and he would style his hair to be half-up or completely slicked back. Now, his bangs were all down, covering his eyebrows.
How is he handsome even with a shaggy mop of hair? Annoyed by his own envy, Lee Tae-gyeom deliberately shot back.
“The bangs certainly make you look a lot younger. Why don’t you try on a school uniform while you’re at it? Do you have one?”
“I probably threw it away.”
“Go look for it. You might have to go on a diet like Seung-hwan.”
Impressed by the manager-like advice, Yu Yeon-seo entered the dressing room and immediately froze. Come to think of it… I have a lot of clothes.
“...Hey, help me out.”
“Damn, is your dressing room the size of my house?”
With Lee Tae-gyeom’s help, they rummaged through the dressing room and found the school uniform, which he thought he had thrown away, inside a box in the corner. It was a little wrinkled, but that didn’t matter since he was just trying to get a feel for it. Lee Tae-gyeom carefully observed him as he stood in front of the mirror in the uniform.
“It’s not that it doesn’t suit you, but… considering your character, don’t you look a bit too robust?”
It was a little tight, as if he had grown since graduation. Yu Yeon-seo tilted his head, looking at his reflection. It didn’t quite match the image of Hwang Min-jae from ‘Filicide.’
“...I guess you can’t help a naturally strong frame.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Lee Tae-gyeom pouted, taking the objective comment as self-praise. Yu Yeon-seo continued to look in the mirror, shifting his posture. He found that he could create a surprisingly different impression just by changing his stance.
‘Hwang Min-jae was a character with low self-esteem…’
His mother, his only family, had passed away, and he was subtly bullied at school for being a poor orphan. Just when he felt he had no one to turn to, he heard news of his grandfather, his last remaining family member, and immediately set off to find him.
“Whoa, what was that? Something’s different.”
As Yu Yeon-seo hunched his shoulders and jutted his head forward, changing his posture, Lee Tae-gyeom reacted instantly. Still, posture correction alone didn’t bring about a dramatic change. I’ll have to lose some weight. Yu Yeon-seo changed his clothes again.
“Hey, let’s go out.”
Staying cooped up at home reading the ‘Filicide’ script wasn’t good for his mental health.
“Where to?”
“Is there a high school around here?”
“I’m sure we can find one. Why?”
“Let’s go.”
Belatedly realizing this was for character analysis, Lee Tae-gyeom turned the wheel without a word. Before long, they stopped in front of a high school.
“There are no students. Don’t they usually get out around this time?”
“Has it been ten years since we graduated? Maybe things are different now.”
He sent Lee Tae-gyeom to check, who confirmed that the students had already gone home for the day. Yu Yeon-seo sighed.
“Is there anywhere else? A place where I can observe kids these days.”
“There’s only one place like that.”
“Where?”
“A gaming center.”
(YOU ARE DEAD.)
“Ah!”
Watching his character collapse on the screen, Yu Yeon-seo slumped back in his chair. Lee Tae-gyeom threw his hands up in a silent cheer.
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Ah… if this were a real survival situation, it would’ve been easy…”
At that mumble, Lee Tae-gyeom instinctively flinched. He had witnessed Yu Yeon-seo’s skills firsthand on the set of the variety show promoting ‘White Tiger.’
‘How am I losing to Lee Tae-gyeom?’
They had gone straight to a nearby gaming center. It was a first for Yu Yeon-seo, so he followed Lee Tae-gyeom’s instructions and sat in a corner seat.
Some students were playing loudly, peppering their speech with curses, and an employee would occasionally approach to ask them to quiet down. Yu Yeon-seo took in the scene with his eyes and ears.
[Hey, it’s a waste of the time we paid for… wanna play a round?]
It was Lee Tae-gyeom’s suggestion, born of boredom. Falling for it was his mistake. Clutching his head, Yu Yeon-seo spoke in a determined voice.
“Hey, let’s go again.”
“Fine by me. But this kind of thing is more fun with a bet.”
“Name it.”
Lee Tae-gyeom’s eyes widened at his burning desire to win. Wait a minute, this is… when else will I get a chance to beat this guy? A grin spread across his face.
“Alright… loser has to call the winner ‘boss’ for a day.”
“Start the game.”
“Get ready to call me boss.”
“Yeah, shut up.”
Flipping off the seat next to him, Yu Yeon-seo stared intently at the monitor, focusing on the game. But he was no match for the seasoned player, Lee Tae-gyeom.
“Ah!”
“Damn, Yu Yeon-seo, you’re… terrible at this!”
Lee Tae-gyeom, about to speak as he would to his usual gaming buddies, hastily corrected his words. Gotta draw the line somewhere.
‘Whoa, that was a close call.’
Yu Yeon-seo had taken a tactical approach, popping out from a location Lee Tae-gyeom hadn’t expected. But aiming a real gun was different from aiming one in a game. His shot missed, giving away his position.
Lee Tae-gyeom shot up from his seat, placed his hands on his hips, and looked down at Yu Yeon-seo smugly.
“Well, you ready to call me boss?”
“Ah… this is so humiliating.”
“Hurry up!”
“Hey, wait. I need… a moment.”
“What moment do you need? You need to learn to swallow your pride.”
Annoyed by Lee Tae-gyeom’s flushed, joyous face, Yu Yeon-seo covered his forehead and stalled for time.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
Just then, three of the gaming center’s employees cautiously approached them. They placed a tray on Yu Yeon-seo and Lee Tae-gyeom’s desk. It was laden with food.
“We’re huge fans… Please have this while you play…”
“Ah, thank you. You take cards, right?”
“No, it’s on the house!”
The employee exclaimed, seeing Yu Yeon-seo rummaging through his pockets. He couldn’t just ignore their kindness, but getting it for free felt a bit awkward… Yu Yeon-seo scratched the back of his head and spoke.
“Really? Then… should we take a picture?”
“Yes, yes!”
“I’m a really big fan!”
“Thank you.”
Yu Yeon-seo took off the mask and hat he had on and ran a hand through his hair. The employees stared at him, dazed. After expertly taking a selfie with them, Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly.
“We’ll enjoy the food.”
“Yes! Please come again!”
The three employees, blushing to their necks, scurried back to their posts, stomping their feet in excitement.
“Ahh! What do we do!”
“This is insane, I have to post this in the group chat!”
“Hey, don’t post it now. Let’s do it later. A crowd might gather.”
“Good idea.”
The commotion caused a few people nearby to get up and look in his direction.
“Holy crap, it’s Yu Yeon-seo.”
“Whoa, crazy…”
“Is that a person? He’s so damn handsome.”
“Should we ask for a picture too? We could sell it to the girls in our class.”
They murmured among themselves, gawking at Yu Yeon-seo’s face. Lee Tae-gyeom, who had been standing there feeling deflated by the sudden shift in attention, quietly sat back down.
‘What is this…?’
He had won the game, but… he felt strange. At this point, the only thing he could hold onto was his victory in the bet.
“...Hey, aren’t you going to call me boss?”
“Eat this, boss.”
“What? Gack…”
Yu Yeon-seo shoved a piece of fried chicken into the mouth of his boss-for-a-day.
“Hey, is that any way to treat your boss?”
“The deal was only to call you boss. There was no condition about respecting you as one. You son of a bitch, boss.”
“Wha-what? Son of a bitch?”
“What? I called you boss, didn’t I? Should’ve been more thorough with the terms of our contract.”
Just when I thought he’d been quiet lately. As expected, that hellfire mouth of his hadn’t gone anywhere. Wait, I’m the one who won, so why does it feel like I lost? Lee Tae-gyeom stared blankly into space, looking as if his very soul had been drained.
He’s almost as fun to tease as CEO Han. Yu Yeon-seo, who had burst out laughing at the sight, suddenly whipped his head around to look at something.
“...You should’ve used those reflexes in the game, little bro.”
“Tsk, boss. Shut up and eat.”
“Oof…”
Shoving more food into Lee Tae-gyeom’s mouth, he narrowed his eyes.
‘What was that?’
Something had felt off.