Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Unseen Filmography
Yu Yeon-seo returned to his seat and immediately looked through Lee Hui-seo’s filmography. He realized she hadn’t been in the entertainment industry for very long. But she had appeared in quite a few films and dramas.
‘Now I see why my brother and I are workaholics.’
It might be genetic. Yu Yeon-seo looked for a way to watch Lee Hui-seo’s works.
“...Hmm?”
Short clips were available on places like MyTube, but they weren’t on any VOD services, and there was no trace of them on OTT platforms. What’s more, there was no record of cable channels ever rebroadcasting any of her works.
Yu Yeon-seo pressed a button on his chair. Cha Yun-ho, who had been in another room, opened the door and approached him.
“You called, Director?”
“Do you know where I can watch my birth mother’s works?”
Cha Yun-ho was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Well… you probably won’t be able to see them.”
“Why not?”
“I remember the rights being sold to a third party.”
“...You mean our company doesn’t have them either?”
When Yu Yeon-seo asked again, Cha Yun-ho seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking.
“Actually, on the Vice Chairman’s orders, we once tried to reacquire the rights to the works she appeared in.”
Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes widened. He knew Choi Yu-jin and Lee Hui-seo had been close friends, but he hadn’t realized the depth of her devotion. No matter how much he pushed her away, Choi Yu-jin always came back, and while the rest of the family worried about him going to therapy, she had secretly looked after Yu Eun-ho.
This was why the brothers didn’t want to suspect Choi Yu-jin of being ‘the Head’. Both of them were certain it wasn’t her.
“But it didn’t work out, I take it?”
“No. We couldn’t find the person who bought the rights.”
“I see.”
As Cha Yun-ho returned to his post, Yu Yeon-seo tapped his index finger on the armrest. Was it thanks to the Insight perk? When Cha Yun-ho mentioned a third party, only one person came to mind.
‘Could it be my father?’
A memory suddenly surfaced for Yu Yeon-seo. It was around the time Yu Geon-min, who had been investigating his wife’s suicide, was brought back to his senses by the Chairman’s scolding. It was a few days after young Yu Yeon-seo had decided to hide the fact that he was seeing afterimages of Lee Hui-seo.
‘Should I review the memory again?’
Yoon Ho-young was a nuisance, but he was now used to not showing he was in pain. He summoned Beta and pulled up the memory from that time.
[...Dad?]
[Oh, huh? Yeon-seo, you’re here?]
Yu Geon-min hastily turned off the screen and stroked his son’s hair. Young Yu Yeon-seo looked around the room with curiosity. Everything in the room was covered with cloth. The walls were, too. He hadn’t realized it when he first downloaded the memory, but looking at it now, it was a space that preserved Lee Hui-seo’s belongings and posters from her time in the entertainment industry.
[What is this place?]
[Um… It’s Dad’s secret base. I’m not coming here anymore, so I just wanted to see it one last time.]
[Why?]
Yu Geon-min looked around the room slowly, his face on the verge of tears.
[Because if I keep looking, I think I’ll keep remembering.]
He had believed she was not the kind of person who would leave him behind like that. That was why he had tried so hard to uncover the truth of the incident. But he had two sons left behind by the person he cherished. He couldn’t afford to neglect his sons any longer.
[It’s time for bed now.]
Yu Geon-min picked up Yu Yeon-seo and carried him out into the hallway. Then, Yu Geon-min locked the door to that room.
Reviewing the memory, Yu Yeon-seo confirmed that the room still existed in his grandfather’s mansion.
‘I can probably watch them if I go there...’
The room at the end of the hall on the third floor of the main house. I’ll have to go in secret. He needed to analyze and study Lee Hui-seo’s habits and what kind of clothes she usually wore.
‘And when I get back to Korea, I need to create a routine.’
Using the drama’s promotional schedule as bait was too weak. There were too many people, making it unclear if that bastard had even been in the same space... He also didn’t forget to establish a regular routine to make Min Seong-cheol come to him.
“Young Master, how was your flight?”
“How was it? Same as always.”
Even after arriving in Europe, the Chairman’s fussiness continued. Behind the two secretaries trailing Yu Yeon-seo, a group of men in crisp suits followed. The gazes of passersby were drawn to him.
He sighed deeply and gestured with his head toward the bodyguards behind him.
“When do you think this will end?”
“Well, knowing the Chairman, I’d say it’ll go on for a few more months.”
“Right?”
He then looked at Cha Yun-ho. Even while scurrying to keep up, Cha Yun-ho’s eyes were glued to his tablet.
“What’s the schedule for today?”
“There’s a GV event for ‘Filicide’ and ‘The Scent of the Wind.’ Tomorrow is the official photocall for both films.”
The schedule was packed since he planned to get in and out quickly. Cha Yun-ho reeled off his schedule without a hitch.
“And after the film festival, there’s a gathering with the production companies.”
He was here as the lead actor of ‘Filicide,’ the producer of ‘The Scent of the Wind,’ and the CEO of JSENM. The responsibilities of a person in charge were quite numerous. Maybe I should have asked them to send someone else.
‘No, since I’m here, I should try doing it all.’
Choi Yu-jin seemed really pleased with his response that he would handle it while he was there, and she had taken care of various things for him. He felt bad about letting down her expectations.
After getting ready at the hotel, he immediately attended the GV event for ‘The Scent of the Wind.’ Meeting Director Cheon Seong-min for the first time in a while, Yu Yeon-seo gave him a light hug.
“You didn’t have to come…”
“Of course I had to. We missed each other in the States, after all.”
No matter how close Director Cheon and Yu Yeon-seo were, it was rare for a high-ranking executive from a production company to personally attend a film festival. It was a way of showing just how important Director Cheon was, and how much they anticipated his film.
“It’s good to see you like this, but…”
Director Cheon observed Yu Yeon-seo, who was coughing lightly. He was a master who had seen and worked with almost every famous actor in Korea. He could tell Yu Yeon-seo was acting even with his eyes closed.
“Are you not feeling well?”
“...I guess I can’t fool you, Director. It’s nothing too serious.”
Realizing Director Cheon had spoken with conviction, Yu Yeon-seo held up his hands.
“Actually, my body is fine, but I have some things on my mind.”
“You do?”
“Yes, there’s still an important matter I haven’t finished yet.”
This year, I will catch Min Seong-cheol and ‘the Head’. And I have to get my daily life back to normal. That was the only thought in his mind.
“So, does it look like that matter will end well?”
“Yes, I think it will be over soon. Anyway, you should feel honored that I put that important matter aside to come here.”
“What? Haha!”
Director Cheon laughed heartily at his jest. After a short wait, the GV event began. Yu Yeon-seo sat at the very end, silently listening to the questions and answers. Director Cheon was consistently invited to Cannes and had a large following of enthusiasts, so the audience was passionate.
“I have a question for the director.”
Almost no questions came to Yu Yeon-seo. After all, ‘The Scent of the Wind’ was Director Cheon, Hong Min-a, and Lee Min-jun’s stage.
“I know the person on the far left is the representative of the production company… but are you an actor? I don’t think I saw you in the movie…”
As the GV event was nearing its end, a question-like comment was directed at Yu Yeon-seo. He picked up the microphone.
“Participating in one of Director Cheon’s films is an honor for any actor. I actively lobbied to gain that honor myself, but…”
“Lobbied? That could be misunderstood.”
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t chosen by the director.”
The questioner’s laughter could be heard.
“Instead, please go see ‘Filicide,’ which is playing in the next theater. I’m the lead in that one. You’ll be able to see my handsome face on the big screen.”
“Hey, this guy?”
Director Cheon exclaimed in mock surprise, and the audience chuckled. And so, the GV event for ‘The Scent of the Wind’ ended on a pleasant note. Next up was ‘Filicide’. Having already received many questions in the U.S., answering was not difficult. The audience’s questions were also quite similar.
“I was deeply moved by the scene where the grandson hugs his grandfather’s legs and begs him not to go. How do you act so well?”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“By any chance, when you acted that scene, did you draw from your own experiences?”
But he received an unexpected question. He had been asked how he acted in that scene before, but never a question like this. Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly.
“It seems the questioner is very interested in me. Are you perhaps a fan of mine?”
“Yes. I’ve seen your entire filmography.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t watch my older works… My acting back then was a bit…”
A few people laughed at his banter. There are more people interested in me than I thought… It was a question that caught him off guard, but he had anticipated it to some extent.
Juseong is a global corporation, and the incident surrounding the family was a well-known fact to anyone who enjoys gossip. Information about him was already translated on his wiki page, and a simple search brought everything up.
‘How should I answer this...’
In truth, he had always avoided questions about that incident. He had even instructed that any related questions be removed from pre-interview questionnaires. Moreover, there were Korean reporters here who would drop everything to focus on anything related to Yu Yeon-seo.
‘Wait, maybe I can use this?’
He picked up the microphone again.
“To be honest, yes. That’s right. That’s why it took me a long time to break out of character even after filming ended due to emotional immersion.”
“I see. I apologize if my question was rude.”
Perhaps because they saw Yu Yeon-seo’s hesitant expression, the questioner quickly apologized. Yu Yeon-seo waved his hand, signaling it was okay. I hope this story reaches Korea and gets to Min Seong-cheol’s ears.
“I guess I should have learned foreign languages sooner. How are you so good at them?”
“It’s basic.”
“If that’s basic, then what am I?”
Park Seung-hwan, who had finished the GV event with him, stared at Yu Yeon-seo as if he were a monster. At first, he had cut off a questioner speaking in clumsy English, which made him wonder, ‘What’s with this guy?’ But then he was amazed when Yu Yeon-seo asked for the questioner’s country of origin and immediately replied in their native language.
At that stare, Yu Yeon-seo shrugged.
“I’m a genius, after all.”
“Oh, please.”
Park Seung-hwan wrapped an arm around Yu Yeon-seo’s neck and squeezed gently. He had been worried, but he felt relieved seeing him answer so nonchalantly.
Yu Yeon-seo and the ‘Filicide’ team went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. As they sat down and continued their conversation about the movie, Director Kim Jae-ho stared intently at an old man at the table next to theirs.
“Isn’t that Director Benjamin Price?”
“Where?”
It was a name Yu Yeon-seo had heard of. He was Director Kim Jae-ho’s role model, a man who had achieved record-breaking success in both commercial and art films and now dominated the American film industry with his own ‘Price Films.’
“I think that’s him.”
“Would it be rude to go over and say hello?”
“Should we at least try to talk to him?”
Just as Yu Yeon-seo was about to get up from his seat, the man from the other table stood up and started walking toward them.