Chapter 189
Chapter 189
So, Who Is It?
“Afternoon Cafe” postponed its scheduled broadcast to air the “Yu Yeon-seo Look-alike, Lee Yoon-seo” special first. Producer Park had wanted to hint at Yu Yeon-seo’s appearance in the trailer, but he resisted, keeping it a total secret to make a bigger splash during the live show.
“Today’s guest on ‘Afternoon Cafe’ is the MyTuber and influencer Lee Yoon-seo, known for being a Yu Yeon-seo look-alike. He’s shared his struggles with living as a ‘Yu Yeon-seo look-alike’ rather than as himself... In this episode, a special guest is scheduled to make a surprise appearance. Be sure to watch it live!”
-What a joke.
-So annoying ㅠㅠ If you’re a Yeon-seo fan, you know that guy is totally toxic, right?
-Plus, the haters use Lee Yoon-seo to bash him ㅠ It pisses me off.
-Why doesn’t the Chairman sue the guy? For defamation or something.
-Who is this guy to keep getting on TV?
└And they write so many articles about him. Are they that desperate for news?
└FR, you’re not supposed to feed the trolls, but shows keep inviting him on. Ffs, he’s not even interesting.
As expected, the reactions before the show were not good. People who already disliked Lee Yoon-seo flooded the network’s message boards with complaints, asking why they kept giving him airtime.
-Ugh, so boring.
-I’m not even a Yeon-seo fan, and this is so annoying ㅠㅠ
-But why do they keep teasing that Yeon-seo will show up? What’s with this editing?
-Let’s start a petition to cancel the show.
-People still watch Afternoon Cafe? Why? lol
Until the beginning of the broadcast, most reactions were along the lines of “this is boring, I’m changing the channel.” The production team must have anticipated this, as they edited Lee Yoon-seo’s interview segment down to almost nothing.
(And now, a surprise guest has arrived who is a perfect match for our guest today.)
And as Producer Park’s voiceover played, Yu Yeon-seo walked into the cafe. His face was blurred, making him unrecognizable, but the production crew panned across his entire body with a flashy caption.
-??
-Yo, that looks like the real deal.
-No way.
-Is Yu Yeon-seo really coming?
└That’s insane.
-Ah, f*ck, why a commercial break now?
His physique, which couldn’t be hidden even with a blurred face, and the fleeting sound of his voice made those who hadn’t yet changed the channel stare at the screen, thinking, Could it be? And when the long commercial break ended and his face was revealed, they gasped.
(Gasp... Could it be... the real Yu Yeon-seo?)
(Hello.)
-OMG you guys, Yu Yeon-seo is on the show!
└For real?
└Whoa.
-Hey, Yu Yeon-seo is on right now~!
-Look how styled he is lol. Damn, he’s so handsome.
Some even reacted by saying the “Afternoon Cafe” production team must have scouted him in advance to knock Lee Yoon-seo down a peg, noting the hairstyle that the commercial shoot staff had paid special attention to.
(Yun-seo is speechless, isn’t he?)
-Yo, when you put them side-by-side, they’re in completely different leagues lol
-Look at Yun-seo’s straight face lmao. Even you can see it’s not the same, right?
Every time Lee Yoon-seo sought attention by claiming to be Yu Yeon-seo’s double, fans would say things like, If only they could put them together, that guy would finally shut his mouth. If they’re going to have him on a show, they should just cast the real one too. And now, the real one had appeared.
As news spread, others tuned in, and the real-time viewership for “Afternoon Cafe” skyrocketed.
(“You don’t look much like me.”)
(“Didn’t you come here to cash in on that title?”)
And after hoping for so long that his agency and Chairman Yu would respond, seeing the actor himself verbally destroy the guy made the fans who had been tormented by Lee Yoon-seo cheer.
-Whoa, so satisfying.
-This is it!!
-It’s been a while, spicy Yeon-seo ㅠㅠㅠ I missed you ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-His showmanship is insane lol
After Yu Yeon-seo’s appearance, “Afternoon Cafe” broke its own viewership records, and all talk of cancellation died down for the time being. Unsurprisingly, Yu Yeon-seo topped the weekly buzz rankings.
-But yesterday’s Afternoon Cafe was a bit much.
-Lee Yoon-seo is basically a civilian, and it really looked like the producers and Yu Yeon-seo were intentionally trying to bury him. I didn’t like it.
-The hate Lee Yoon-seo is getting after the show seems way over the top.
└I was a little uncomfortable too.
└Welcome, Yun-seo.
└Why blame Yeon-seo lol? The producers were the ones who edited it weirdly.
└Is this that ‘justice warrior’ thing?
└fr, that Lee Yoon-seo guy seems genuinely mentally unstable, isn’t the hate too much?
-I thought Afternoon Cafe was super satisfying lol
-If you list all the crap Lee Yoon-seo has pulled, Yu Yeon-seo should have sued him for defamation ages ago.
-In fact, he was pretty tame with his roast. Is this the same Yu Yeon-seo I know? lol
└Still, basically saying “please hate on this guy!” on broadcast isn’t right, is it?
└I enjoyed it. I get why the fans missed the spicy Yu Yeon-seo lol
└Honestly, if I were Yu Yeon-seo, I would’ve cursed him out to his face lol
While the online communities were filled with conflicting opinions about him, Yu Yeon-seo arrived at the airport to depart for Europe.
He had expected Lee Yoon-seo to ride the wave of sympathy and post a tearful video on MyTube, but... Lee Yoon-seo had been strangely quiet since then.
Could someone have already dealt with him?
There were many who could have. There was Yu Geon-min, who was keenly interested in news about his son; there was Chairman Yu and Park Geum-ju, who secretly controlled public opinion. And while Choi Yu-jin seemed quiet, she had been looking out for him since his debut.
Nah, no way.
Such busy people wouldn’t go out of their way to swat a single fly. Yu Yeon-seo decided to completely forget about the Lee Yoon-seo affair. Between “The Head,” the still-at-large Min Seong-cheol, and the overseas film festival schedule, he had more than enough to worry about.
Yu Yeon-seo Departs for European Film Festival
“Filicide” Receives Barrage of Praise from Foreign Press... Will It Succeed at Cannes?
Leaving the search for “The Head” to Baek Seo-jun, Yu Yeon-seo boarded the private jet. Since he didn’t have a next project lined up anyway, he planned to attend every film festival in Europe to build connections in their film industry.
“Hello.”
“...Who are you?”
He tilted his head, looking at a man sitting in a corner seat. The middle-aged man, who had a few streaks of white in his hair, shot up as soon as he met Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes and offered a handshake.
“I’m a doctor. The Chairman sent me.”
“...Hah. A pleasure to meet you.”
It seemed even his grandmother couldn’t stop his grandfather’s fussing. To think he’d go so far as to send a doctor along. At Yu Yeon-seo’s sigh, the doctor simply smiled, not seeming the least bit offended.
“You can rest assured. I’m an acquaintance of Director Park.”
“Is that so? May I have your name?”
“I’m Yoon Ho-young.”
It seemed Park Geum-ju was the one who had chosen and sent the doctor. Yu Yeon-seo narrowed his eyes, sensing a slightly different air about him than the doctors he had seen in the States.
“Don’t tell me your specialty is psychiatry?”
“Yes, it is.”
Hah. I told them I was fine, but they sent someone anyway. Yu Yeon-seo deliberately sat far away from Yoon Ho-young.
It seemed Park Geum-ju was still concerned about him seeing visions of Lee Hui-seo. She had subtly suggested he try counseling, but he never thought she’d take matters into her own hands like this.
“You don’t need to feel resistant to this kind of counseling.”
“I know. I relied on it a lot when I was younger.”
Of course, the results hadn’t been particularly good. The files So Dong-hyeon had obtained painted a very different picture... Once all the suspicions surrounding Lee Hui-seo were cleared up, he was willing to seek help voluntarily, but not now.
Fortunately, Yoon Ho-young sat in his seat without another word, focusing on his laptop. Yu Yeon-seo leaned back comfortably in his chair and organized his thoughts.
If I can’t catch Min Seong-cheol, it’s all over...
I know he’s trying to get closer to me. We ran into each other on the set of ‘Snake’... But can I really catch him? Yu Yeon-seo shot up from his seat and sat down across from Yoon Ho-young.
“I have something to ask you.”
“Please, speak freely.”
Wouldn’t this man know the psychology of someone so deranged? Yu Yeon-seo clasped his hands, fiddling with his thumbs.
“There’s a stalker.”
Seeing the questioning look in the doctor’s eyes, he clarified that it wasn’t him being stalked, but rather that he was seeking advice for a role. He recounted the story of Lee Hui-seo, himself, and Min Seong-cheol, embellishing it appropriately.
“How unusual... For the attachment to transfer to another person...”
“How do you think one would go about catching someone like that?”
Yoon Ho-young, without any suspicion, stroked his chin and fell into thought. He would never imagine that a son was personally digging into a case that had already been closed as a suicide.
“If it were me... I would use the stalker’s fantasy.”
“How, exactly?”
“The original object of obsession. The whole incident started with that person, didn’t it?”
An idea flashed in Yu Yeon-seo’s mind. The project Min Seong-cheol followed my mother to the set for... it was ‘Under the Persimmon Tree,‘ wasn’t it?
“Take a good look. Is the messenger among these people? Yes or no?”
“I-I can’t tell just by looking like this... It’s been over twenty years...”
“Hmm, I suppose so. If you’d recognized someone, I would’ve let you go right away.”
Baek Seo-jun presented the list of Juseong’s secretarial staff, which he’d gotten through Park Jeong-ho, to Park Gyeong-won and Yang Hong-sik. He had even remembered to bring enlarged versions of their resume photos from that era so they could get a better look.
“Don’t give up just because it’s been over twenty years. Human memory can be surprisingly long-lasting, you know?”
Of course, his standard was based on Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo, who were called geniuses... But after experiencing something so shocking, it wouldn’t be easily forgotten. They might find an unexpected clue.
“Um... Let me think for a moment.”
At Yang Hong-sik’s hesitant reply, Baek Seo-jun didn’t press him further. If he showed how anxious they were, Yang Hong-sik and Park Gyeong-won might try to cut a deal.
Leaving them be, Baek Seo-jun joined Park Jeong-ho and sighed.
“It doesn’t seem like forcing them will get us anywhere, does it?”
“Right. They might point out the wrong person...”
“Were there any rumors about friction with the secretarial staff, or loud noises coming from the office?”
“I’m not sure... Why do you ask?”
“Because a suspicious person keeps showing up where we picked those two up. I think they’re looking for them, too...”
He’s probably shitting his pants right now, isn’t he? This was the person who killed Choi Nam-yun first to destroy evidence. If he found out that someone directly involved had disappeared, his anxiety might start to show.
“I’ll look into it.”
As if reading his thoughts, Park Jeong-ho made a call. Baek Seo-jun watched his back and let out a small sigh. As expected of someone higher up, he had access to much more information. Information that the Yu brothers and he could never have obtained on their own was flowing out effortlessly.
(I-I remember!)
Yang Hong-sik, who had been hanging his head, suddenly waved his hand toward the one-way mirror. Baek Seo-jun immediately entered his room.
“That is...!”
“Wait. Before you answer. You’re not just saying anything because you feel pressured, are you? I won’t listen to uncertain information.”
What do you mean? You’re the one who pressured me! Yang Hong-sik shot Baek Seo-jun a resentful look for being so inconsistent. Not that it was very intimidating.
“...He said something completely out of the blue, so it stuck in my memory.”
“So, who is it?”
“You still haven’t found them?”
“W-Well...”
“Enough! Get out! I’ll handle this myself now.”
“I-I’ll work harder!”
“Didn’t you hear me say get out?!”
Secretary Hwang had to flee the office.
“Useless bastard...”
Before the door closed, the man’s low voice sounded like a final ultimatum to Hwang Seung-jun.
What happened to Choi Nam-yun was Secretary Hwang’s doing, carried out on his superior’s orders. If he failed to produce clear results this time, he was beginning to realize that he could end up just like Choi Nam-yun.
His superior, believing an unseen enemy was threatening him, was starting to show his true colors. His determination to bury everyone involved—and among those involved was Secretary Hwang himself.
This won’t do. I have to find my own way to survive.
His boss had called him a useless, uneducated bum he’d had no choice but to take in, but Secretary Hwang harbored a hidden blade.
Who should I align myself with?
Calculating his options, he was walking quickly down the hall when he bumped shoulders with someone. He bowed reflexively.
“Oh.”
“Ah... I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right. You don’t have to apologize so profusely.”
Park Jeong-ho smiled gently and patted Hwang Seung-jun’s shoulder.
“Did something happen?”