Chapter 186
A Lookalike?
‘This is less satisfying than I thought...’
To be honest, I don’t think I enjoyed it much back then either. In the past, I needed something to soothe my sudden bursts of anger, so I just threw money around, calling it a donation to the less fortunate.
I was greedy for money back then, so watching myself throw away cash with my own hands had a strangely calming effect.
‘I was pretty tame, for me.’
Back then, public opinion of Yu Yeon-seo was at an all-time low, so the reaction wasn’t positive.
He ignored his loudly ringing phone until he finally gave in to his cousin’s persistence.
“What is it?”
(Bro! Hey! If you were going to do something like that, you should’ve done it with me!)
Park Seon-woo, apparently used to having his calls ignored, got straight to the point. The news traveled fast. He must have seen the eyewitness accounts circulating on social media. Yu Yeon-seo let out a light sigh.
(Bro, where are you now?)
“Heading home.”
(I’m nearby, let’s meet up! Where are you exactly?)
In truth, Yu Yeon-seo found it awkward to meet with Park Seon-woo and had been trying to keep his distance. With the list of suspects for ‘the Head’ narrowed down to his two uncles, he didn’t feel like facing his cousins. It wasn’t because they were the children of his mother’s killer—the children were innocent—but because he didn’t want to drag them into any trouble.
“No, I’m going home.”
(Aw, come on! You didn’t even come to my graduation, so let’s meet up!)
“...You graduated?”
Has it been that long already? He’s graduating before me? A strange feeling washed over Yu Yeon-seo. He himself hadn’t graduated yet, having taken semesters off due to his schedule.
(Wow, how can you be so indifferent?)
“Try fainting a few times yourself. See if you have time to think about anyone else.”
Yu Yeon-seo said, rubbing his tired eyes. It was his way of telling him to cut the call short since he wasn’t feeling well. His relatives already knew something was wrong with his health, and after how much his aunts had fussed, his cousin probably had a rough idea too.
Park Seon-woo gasped. He knew something was wrong with his cousin’s health. But that wasn’t the immediate problem. He glanced at his screen. The chat was flooded with question marks and crying emojis. How was he supposed to handle this?
(Oh, uh... you did?)
Park Seon-woo replied awkwardly. Something felt off... Yu Yeon-seo narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re streaming right now.”
(Uh... well, yes...)
He’s only telling me this now? Yu Yeon-seo’s voice dropped.
“That just gives me another reason not to see you. Right?”
(Ah, wait... Bro!)
“I’m hanging up.”
I should avoid getting involved with him from now on.
[Hello. This is the variety team from S Broadcasting. Is this the MyTuber, ‘Lee Yoon-seo’?]
[Would you be interested in appearing on our show? It would be great promotion for your channel...]
Lee Yoon-seo, a self-proclaimed MyTuber, social media influencer, and currently the internet’s hot topic, was thrilled by the casting call.
[You’d be on the talk show as the guy who looks like Yu Yeon-seo... Would that be possible?]
The show’s concept was too good to refuse. After all, he had gone viral, for better or worse, because of his connection to Yu Yeon-seo.
Yu Yeon-seo on Sudden Cash Giveaway: “I Was in a Bad Mood, So I Just Helped the Less Fortunate”
└Helping the less fortunate lololol
└I mean, compared to Yu Yeon-seo, I am less fortunate, so I wish he’d stuff some cash in my pockets.
└I heard he’s inheriting a chunk of Yu Chang-ho’s fortune soon.
└└That’s just the first installment because of taxes. He’ll probably get a lot more later.
└└└Awesome.
└So if I want to get lucky, do I have to camp out at a second-floor cafe in a busy district now?
‘How should I copy this?’
He didn’t have the money to throw real cash, so toy bills would have to do. He immediately ordered the cheapest money gun he could find online and looked for other articles about Yu Yeon-seo.
Yu Yeon-seo’s Connections at LA Charity Event Become a Hot Topic... A True ‘Royal Family’
Yu Yeon-seo Denies Health Scare Rumors on Social Media
His only interest was Yu Yeon-seo. Thirsty for attention, he had first thought of associating himself with the actor a year ago, thanks to a comment on one of his social media posts.
└Whoa, you look like Yu Yeon-seo.
└└Oh, you’re right lol. A one-second Yu Yeon-seo.
He had intentionally edited his photos to look more like the actor, but that was the first time anyone had noticed. After that, he began to seriously doctor his pictures to look identical to Yu Yeon-seo.
(Hello! You really look like the actor Yu Yeon-seo! Would it be okay to feature you in our ‘Card Issue’ as the ‘Yu Yeon-seo lookalike’?)
The Hot Guy on In★gram, Gaining Fame as a ‘Yu Yeon-seo’ Lookalike
He was being used as clickbait to promote their channel, but Lee Yoon-seo didn’t mind. Various issue-focused channels began sharing his photos, promoting him.
As his account gained more exposure, his social media followers skyrocketed. He rode this wave, securing various sponsorships and inserting ads into his MyTube channel.
└Oh, he kinda looks like him.
└A little? Like, 0.3 grams worth?
└Isn’t this edited? The Photoshop is so obvious lol.
└He’s the most similar out of all the Yu Yeon-seo lookalikes so far.
└Doesn’t look like him at all lol.
The attention made his actions even bolder. He had already become Yu Yeon-seo himself.
His name wasn’t originally Lee Yoon-seo either; he had legally changed it to be similar to Yu Yeon-seo. He wanted to change his family name too, but since his parents were a Lee and a Park, he had to let it go with some regret.
-But aren’t the comments about Yu Yeon-seo pretty good lately?
I know the actor himself is getting better at his main job, but where did all the haters go?
└I heard Juseong manages the online reputation of the third-gen chaebols, especially Yu Yeon-seo.
└└For real?
└└└Yeah. Chairman Yu Chang-ho gave special orders to clean up useless rumors since all the third-gen kids are famous.
└Wow, Chairman, please catch all the malicious commenters, dammit.
└How do you know that? Are you an insider?
└They should’ve done this sooner. T_T It was so forced how he became the nation’s most disliked person just for being a bit bad at acting.
└└An actor needs to be good at acting lol. What about him getting lead roles because of his silver spoon?
└└└Mr. Chairman, over here!!!
‘Is that so?’
After seeing the rather insider-like comment about Juseong monitoring everything related to Yu Yeon-seo, he deliberately pretended his channel had been deleted and then restored.
Y___Yoonseo
Ah, my MyTube channel suddenly got suspended. T_T Why? Is someone trying to keep me in check?
He posted a message implying that Juseong Group was trying to suppress him for gaining attention as a Yu Yeon-seo lookalike.
I look so much like Yu Yeon-seo that even a major corporation is taking notice and reaching out. Isn’t that amazing? He insinuated that he might even be generating more buzz than the real Yu Yeon-seo.
└What a load of bullshit lol.
└So damn shameless.
└Isn’t he embarrassed to live like this?
└This guy is so creepy T_T
└Personally, I feel a bit sorry for him... trying to live as someone’s lookalike... It’s like he doesn’t exist in his own life. T_T So pathetic. T_T
└Yu Yeon-seo’s fans must be suffering.
He no longer cared about these kinds of comments. He had already become Yu Yeon-seo. And the money he’d earned from all this clickbaiting was substantial.
Getting his hands on money made him more and more shameless. This is all because I’m so great. People get jealous in such extreme ways. He refreshed the portal site.
‘What’s this?’
It was an article that had just been posted.
MyTuber Park Seon-woo ‘Flustered’ by Yu Yeon-seo’s “Fainted a Few Times” Comment
Yu Yeon-seo, Who Denied Health Scares, Says Otherwise on Cousin’s Stream, Netizens ‘in an Uproar’
└Fainted? Did he say fainted?? I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?
└Why would he faint? T_T
└This is so worrying T_T
└Yeon-seo, don’t be sick T_T T_T T_T
He highlighted a headline from another article.
‘A sickly handsome man... I like it.’
Right, they say fans of actors love to see blood, sweat, and tears... I should check myself into a hospital soon. I’ll make a note of that.
After meticulously reviewing nearly every article and community reaction about Yu Yeon-seo, Lee Yoon-seo closed his laptop with a satisfied smile. Tomorrow would be his fifth broadcast appearance as the ‘Yu Yeon-seo lookalike’.
“What should I wear for the show?”
I need to style myself to look as much like Yu Yeon-seo as possible... I should stop by the salon tomorrow and ask them to make my makeup a little paler. He looked in the mirror and struck a pose like Yu Yeon-seo. His older sister watched him, a strange look on her face.
He didn’t have a next project lined up, but he still had to diligently follow through with his existing commercial contracts. Yu Yeon-seo decided to finish all these schedules before leaving for the European film festival.
“How are you feeling? Here’s some coffee.”
“The same as always... What have you been up to while I was gone?”
It was the day of an additional shoot for the commercial, and he met Lee Tae-gyeom for the first time in a while.
“Just following Manager Park around, taking meeting notes, and filtering the gifts that come for you...”
“Really?”
Lee Tae-gyeom was contracted as Yu Yeon-seo’s exclusive manager, so he didn’t have to work with any other celebrities at the agency. But he was voluntarily coming in to learn the ropes?
Thinking he would have just been fooling around, Yeon-seo gave him a surprised look. Lee Tae-gyeom scratched the back of his head awkwardly and changed the subject. The weather was quite nice.
“I heard today’s shoot is at a house. Perfect for getting some natural light in the garden.”
“...Hey. Is it possible for someone to find out about a shoot like this if they were determined?”
Even if he pressured Park Gyeong-won and Yang Hong-sik to find out who ‘the Head’ was, there was still Min Seong-cheol. He wanted to catch everyone involved in Lee Hui-seo’s murder.
It’s because of that stalker... Lee Tae-gyeom, who had grown quite perceptive, immediately knew who Yu Yeon-seo was talking about.
“Well... if word gets out that they’re filming with you, wouldn’t there be some staff member dying to show off?”
“I suppose...”
“But why do you ask?”
Yu Yeon-seo didn’t answer right away, lost in thought. This was the guy who had infiltrated a drama set just to get close to me. Would a plan using me as bait still work?
“Because I think your guess was right.”
Lee Tae-gyeom dropped the bagel he was eating.
“...Really?”
“That stalker bought information about the ‘Snake’ filming location and ran into me.”
“Whoa, holy shit, that crazy bastard...”
Goosebumps rose on Lee Tae-gyeom’s arms. A stalker who wasn’t content with the mother and was now obsessed with the son—he had to be completely unhinged.
“So if you see anyone suspicious at the shoot today, just grab them.”
“Hmm, I think they chose a secluded house specifically because you draw such a huge crowd... but okay, I got it.”
Catch that psycho... It was scary, but Im Seung-hyeon would be at the location too, so he nodded for now.
Arriving at the set, Yu Yeon-seo was met with a familiar welcome.
“Gasp...”
“...Wow, for real.”
People covering their mouths and gasping the moment they saw his face—it was a familiar reaction. Yu Yeon-seo raised the corners of his lips and bowed his head.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello! Wow, you’re even more handsome in person!”
Yu Yeon-seo was seated in the powder room, showered with compliments about how his face needed no makeup, then changed his clothes and listened to an explanation of the commercial’s concept.
“Hey, Tae-gyeom. Go get some coffee.”
“...Hot?”
“Whatever.”
Yu Yeon-seo rarely drank coffee from outside. This was probably a signal to check the surroundings. Lee Tae-gyeom went outside with Im Seung-hyeon and looked around. It was the middle of a residential area, so there was no one around besides residents.
“How was America?”
“Same as always.”
“What about... that incident?”
“Detective Baek is handling it well. I think they’ll catch him soon.”
“Wow, really?”
A real suicide... He had learned the full story of the incident, but he still couldn’t believe it. While chatting about this and that with Im Seung-hyeon, he was startled by a voice calling him from behind.
“Oh my, aren’t you Yu Yeon-seo’s manager?”
“Yes?”
He carefully observed the person who had spoken to him. Back when he was learning the ropes by following Manager Park to meetings, he had seen her at a variety show meeting for another Halo Media actor, not Yu Yeon-seo.
“Writer Ryu from S Broadcasting?”
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, I’m here for a commercial shoot nearby...”
“A commercial shoot? You mean, for Yu Yeon-seo?”
Was it his imagination, or did Writer Ryu’s eyes just flash? Lee Tae-gyeom took a step back.
“Yes, but... what are you doing here?”
“As it happens, we’re filming at a rented cafe nearby. Then perhaps...”
“If you’re asking for an appearance, the answer is no.”
“Aww, you’re sharp. Can’t you at least mention it to Yeon-seo? The guest we have today is actually a Yu Yeon-seo lookalike...”
“A lookalike?”
Is she talking about that distorted-looking guy? Lee Tae-gyeom was about to say, but he clamped his mouth shut. No matter what, a manager shouldn’t say such things in front of a writer...
(That bastard is so damn annoying! He doesn’t even look like him, but he’s using my actor for clickbait. He’s asking for it!)
(Isn’t your company going to do something about it?)
(Oppa? Say something.)
(Oppa!)
Im Seung-hyeon, who had been pestered about this by his sister, couldn’t control his expression and scowled deeply.