Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Memory Synchronization
Begin memory synchronization.
“Hey, I heard you got called over by Yu Yeon-seo.”
Thanks to the generous production budget, the staff’s meal times and breaks were quite relaxed.
Any project Yu Yeon-seo joined had a different level of funding from the start, making it a set many staff members hoped to work on.
As for Yu Yeon-seo’s power trips, you just had to be unlucky to get caught in one, and he didn’t bother the junior staff. So, the relationship among the staff was pretty good.
“Hey, you know what I got from Yu Yeon-seo?”
“Whoa, an envelope.”
“How much is in it?”
The staff members, who had been eating their lunch boxes, put down their chopsticks to peek inside the envelope Yu Yeon-seo had given him. The crisp bills weren’t the smaller denominations, but a thick wad of the largest ones.
“Why did he give you this?”
“He said we should use it to grab some drinks together later.”
“I heard the lighting team got one yesterday, too. Ah, if I had gotten it, I would’ve kept all the money for myself.”
“That’s why I got it. How about some pork belly and soju tonight?”
“Sounds great.”
White Tiger takes place almost entirely within the confined space of a warship. Consequently, a major advantage was that filming was mostly done on a pre-built set, eliminating the need to move between various locations.
“Oh right, Hyeong-tae. You worked on one of Yu Yeon-seo’s dramas before, right?”
“Yeah, I worked on `Our Moment`.”
“Was he always like this? He’s so different from the rumors I heard.”
“He wasn’t like this before.”
The man called Hyeong-tae still couldn’t forget how Yu Yeon-seo had been on the set of `Our Moment`.
[Do you really think your script would have ever seen the light of day without me?]
[Yes! I’ll admit that! But the contract also stated that you would leave everything to the writer’s discretion! The rights to the story belong to me!]
[Hah, enough! This isn’t working. Let’s replace the writer.]
[Fine! Go ahead! ‘Lead Actor’s Power Trip Gets Writer Replaced with Four Episodes Left!’ That’ll make for a great rumor!]
[You think I’m afraid of some stupid rumor? If this whole thing falls apart, who do you think loses more? Fix the script. I’m the lead.]
But the writer didn’t back down. What was the point of getting it produced if the lead actor’s performance was going to ruin it? The writer, who was overly concerned with the show’s success, grew anxious as the ratings dropped, even if the work might be praised for its quality later on.
“It was insane. He took his anger out on the writer and picked on Go Hyeon-tae. And the director, probably just happy to have his debut project, just stood by and watched the fire from across the river.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s real. Seeing him act like this here, I thought he was a completely different person.”
“True, his acting has improved a lot.”
“And he even returns greetings now.”
“He didn’t even acknowledge greetings before?”
Back then, it was Park Hyeong-tae himself who had tried to stop the fight between the writer and Yu Yeon-seo. Yu Yeon-seo had even threatened him, asking why he was interfering, saying he’d remember his face and make sure he could never set foot in this industry again.
“Huh? But that’s strange...”
“What is?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
But it was strange when he ran into him on the set of White Tiger. Even though he’d seen his face up close and greeted him, Yu Yeon-seo had simply returned the greeting and walked past as if he didn’t know him. It was too soon to have forgotten; wasn’t `Our Moment` the project Yu Yeon-seo had worked on right before his accident? Not even a year had passed.
“There’s no smoke without fire. Those rumors couldn’t have come from nowhere.”
“I heard he cussed out another actor, calling him a vulgar bastard.”
“Oh, him? What was his name... Isn’t he doing pretty well these days?”
While Park Hyeong-tae was lost in thought, the other staff members mulled over the rumors about Yu Yeon-seo. Then, the staff member who had received the envelope of money spoke up.
“He might be a bit of a jerk, but isn’t he a good guy?”
“Nah, he’s probably just managing his image.”
“That’s my point. He’s actually managing it. Yu Yeon-seo.”
At those words, the staff fell silent. The infamous troublemaker Yu Yeon-seo, who was always at the center of gossip for all the wrong reasons, was managing his image?
They turned their heads to look in one direction. Just then, Yu Yeon-seo was leaving the set.
“...If his image actually improves, wouldn’t that be huge?”
“It’d be massive.”
A great background and a good reputation to boot? Everyone would be scrambling to cast him. Of course, that thought was based on the premise that Yu Yeon-seo’s acting had improved to a watchable level.
Taking advantage of the lunch break, Yu Yeon-seo went to a little-used restroom. Seeing a ‘Cleaning in Progress’ sign nearby, he meticulously placed it in front of the door and locked it.
He placed both hands on the sink and stared into the mirror.
“Beta, begin memory synchronization.”
<Should I proceed with the synchronization at a level that won’t strain your body, like last time?>
“No.”
Yu Yeon-seo said firmly.
“Push it to the limit. As long as I don’t die.”
<That does not seem like a wise choice. Master, it is too dangerous.>
So it is a bit dangerous, huh? For some reason, a laugh escaped him.
“It’s fine. Begin.”
<As the current synchronization rate has surpassed 10%, more detailed memories can now be accessed. Therefore, the risk of being overwhelmed by the original body’s emotions cannot be ruled out. Is that acceptable?>
Yu Yeon-seo nodded.
<Beginning memory synchronization.>
“Hey, Yu Yeon-seo.”
After a brief moment of darkness, Yu Yeon-seo came to his senses and noticed something different from the previous synchronizations. So, once it’s over 10%, it shows things in the first person.
His body moved on its own.
“We’re ordering snacks, what do you want?”
“Me... rabokki?”
“A chaebol eats rabokki?”
A youthful but familiar face... It was the person who had visited him in the hospital. Kim I-jun of One Seven.
Seven people were living in the small apartment. Three bunk beds dominated the room, making it feel suffocating, and the floor was covered with yellow linoleum.
From what he’d seen in the memory synchronizations so far, Yu Yeon-seo hated small, shabby places like this. Yet, he had lived in a dorm like this. It was unexpected.
“Of course I eat it. Why wouldn’t I? My grandfather’s favorite spot is a 5,000 won grandma’s gukbap place in Seodaemun.”
“Really? I thought chaebols just ate steak all day.”
“Well, that’s also true.”
“Ugh, you’re so annoying.”
Kim I-jun shook his head. Yu Yeon-seo felt the corners of his mouth lift. Am I smiling right now?
“But our debut stage is tomorrow. Are we allowed to eat this now?”
“It’s a secret from our manager. This is our last supper. Starting tomorrow, it’s salads.”
“They say you lose weight automatically once you start the full round of music show promotions anyway.”
The face floating by Yu Yeon-seo’s head, who was lying on a bunk bed, belonged to Lee Han-gyeol.
“But why are you an idol?”
“What about it?”
“I heard you just showed up at our company one day, said you knew you could debut right away, and asked to be put in the debut group.”
“Ah, the manager told you that.”
Yu Yeon-seo clicked his tongue in annoyance, then laced his hands behind his head and fell into thought. There wasn’t any grand reason. Studying was too easy to be fun, and he was sick of his family treating him like he was made of glass.
It was a time when, by his standards, life was boring. Then he saw it: a video of his own mother, whom he barely remembered, performing during her time in ‘Twinkle’.
She sang and danced without a single change in her expression, but her movements and voice were full of life. He realized that his mother, despite pretending otherwise, was enjoying the stage. What’s so great about it? He was curious and wanted to try it for himself.
“So, aren’t you supposed to inherit the company? Why are you being an idol?”
“My brother will probably take over the company. Being an idol... it’s a decent hobby, isn’t it?”
“What, a hobby? Is that because you’re a rich kid?”
But if he answered honestly, they would definitely tease him. To hide his true feelings, Yu Yeon-seo deliberately gave a sullen reply.
“It might be a hobby to you, but we’ve put our lives on the line for this.”
“Aren’t you a bit young to be betting your life on something? If you fail, just do something else.”
“Once you sign the contract, you’re tied down for seven years. If we don’t make it big in that time, our lives will be in limbo. A golden spoon like you wouldn’t get it.”
“I guess not...”
Yu Yeon-seo didn’t say that he actually could understand.
Then, his vision suddenly went dark. After a few seconds of blackness, he opened his eyes to find himself in a different place.
A chaotic scene that looked like the backstage of a concert venue. Disheveled clothes and hair after finishing a performance. The sweat-drenched members were all crying.
“You’re crying just because we had our debut stage?”
“Sob... A-Aren’t you, going to cry?”
“No, is this something to cry about?”
Among them, Yu Yeon-seo was the only one not crying. He crossed his arms and snapped at them. Despite his sullen words, his inner feelings were quite different.
A strange feeling welling up in his chest... Right. This was happiness. Yu Yeon-seo was pretending not to be, but he was thrilled about their debut.
“You, hic... you don’t know because your training period was short... how long we’ve waited for this...”
“You heartless jerk. Just because you’re a chaebol.”
Everything is because I’m a chaebol. Who was the one putting up a wall, calling him a chaebol all the time? Yu Yeon-seo pouted. Is this... sulking?
“Stop crying and let’s go home. We have a music show tomorrow. Hey, Park Ju-won. You should be handling this.”
“You... sob... calling your hyung... ‘hey’...”
“Follow me. You can’t just keep bawling here.”
“Waaaaah...”
“Wow, you guys are driving me crazy.”
The One Seven members, still crying, followed Yu Yeon-seo like little ducklings. Yu Yeon-seo looked back at them and let out a dry laugh. It was absurd, but he found it a little fun.
His vision went dark again.
“Han-gyeol! Yu Yeon-seo is making a greasy smile reading his fan letter!”
“No, I’m not!”
This memory synchronization was mainly composed of memories from Yu Yeon-seo’s time with One Seven. Occasionally, there were memories from his middle and high school days as well.
Even though he attended a school for the children of the elite, his classmates were divided into two groups: those who acted overly friendly on their parents’ instructions, and those who kept their distance, feeling he was on a completely different level.
“Still, I think our group got a lot more recognition because of you.”
“I know.”
“Ah, don’t just admit it right away! It’s so annoying!”
“Why the sudden outburst?”
In contrast, the members of One Seven were some of the few peers who treated Yu Yeon-seo without any barriers.
And those days seemed to have been quite... happy.
<Warning, your body’s fatigue has reached its limit.>
‘A little longer. Keep going.’
<Due to your body’s condition, accurate memory synchronization cannot be maintained. Memories will become jumbled.>
His vision blurred and shook, as if a videotape was being fast-forwarded.
“Who does Grandfather think he is, interfering with my life!”
“Who are you, mister?”
“...In exchange for me leaving, I’ll get you an investment in the company. But only until the members’ seven-year artist contracts are up.”
“An unidentifiable psychological problem...”
His world spun as if he were floating through space. He was in a state where he couldn’t discern any clear memories. There was nothing to gain from this. Just as Yu Yeon-seo was about to tell Beta to disengage the synchronization...
“Do you really think your mother committed suicide?”
What?
<Danger to the body detected. Disengaging memory synchronization.>
‘Wait...’
<Master, I cannot continue any longer.>
His vision went dark again.
When he came to, he was back in the restroom on the White Tiger film set. He collapsed to the floor, keeping his face over the sink as a wave of nausea washed over him.
“Ugh!”
After spitting up blood, he tried to support his weakened body, only to slump over the sink again. His vision was stained red by the blood he had coughed up. It felt as if someone had hacked his entire body with a knife. The pain was excruciating, like his insides were being pierced by a pipe.
“Uuup...”
If Lee Hui-seo didn’t really commit suicide... then what?
“Murder?”
Was her death... made to look like a suicide?