Chapter 34
Chapter 34
But I’m Really Yu Yeon-seo;;
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But I’m really Yu Yeon-seo;;
As he was awaiting the first shoot for “Virtual Reality,” Yu Yeon-seo welcomed the year 2019.
<Random Memory Synchronization Complete. Synchronization Rate: 18.25%>
In the bathroom, of all places.
“Ugh...”
Even though he kept it weak to avoid straining his body, coughing up blood had somehow become a daily routine. And it wasn’t as if the memories he gained were useful. This time, it was just a short snippet of being in a class at school.
‘This feels awful.’
At some point, whenever he synchronized with a memory, his heart would start pounding strangely. It wasn’t a pleasant flutter, but the kind of jolt you get from a jump scare in a horror movie.
Staggering to his bed, Yu Yeon-seo turned on his phone to distract himself.
(Im Seung-hyeon) Young Master, I wish you a Happy New Year.
(Slave) Yo, happy new year.
The messages had arrived right after midnight. Im Seung-hyeon was one thing, but he was surprised Lee Tae-gyeom would bother with such things.
(Park Min-woo) Yeon-seo! Happy New Year!
Park Min-woo, who he’d gotten close with since “White Tiger,” contacted him regularly, even if Yu Yeon-seo’s replies were half-hearted. There was only a two-year age difference between them, but Min-woo was far better at being friendly and taking care of those around him.
The rest were perfunctory, copy-pasted greetings from people in the industry. The fact that they contacted him at all was probably because of the powerful background he had.
<Master, I wish you a Happy New Year.>
<In 2019, how about you try some of the entertainment that didn’t exist in 2207? A trip might be nice as well.>
Yu Yeon-seo let out a deflated sigh at Beta-9’s words. Its human studies must be going well these days.
‘I’d have to know how to have fun in the first place to actually do it...’
In 2207, there was a pathetic lack of entertainment. The occasional trip to the surface was for hunting disgusting monsters and securing resources, not for taking a trip when you could barely see through the sandstorms. That was unthinkable.
‘I never realized I was such a homebody.’
Besides, people couldn’t gather in large groups, so his social circle was small. The most he ever did was drink tasteless alcohol at a bar and play poker... and gambling wasn’t his thing. Kang Jin-hu’s greatest pleasure had been holing up in his shoebox of a home and watching media from the past.
‘I do want to see the ocean, though.’
He was, in fact, confident in his ability to have fun alone. Judging by the original owner’s personality, friends? He was one hundred percent sure he didn’t have any. But what was the point of seeing the winter sea? It’s not like he could go in.
Yu Yeon-seo turned over. The world was spinning even while he was lying down.
‘Come to think of it...’
He might not have friends, but he had fans. Yu Yeon-seo went to his official fan cafe. His personal social media was visible to non-fans, and more importantly, there were too many comments from foreigners for him to have a casual chat with his fans.
-To our Letters, Happy New Year.
-To our dear actor and all the Letters, Happy New Year!
-I hope we see a lot of our actor this year, but his health comes first.
└Rightㅠㅠ I just hope he doesn’t get into another accidentㅠㅠ
Yu Yeon-seo clicked on a suitable board and hit the “write post” button, only for a dry pop-up message to inform him that his user level was too low to post. The boards he could view were also limited.
[Introductions] Hello. This is Yu Yeon-seo.
It’s my first time here. Happy 2019 New Year to everyone.
The cafe seemed pretty active even at this hour. How many comments would he get? He refreshed the page in anticipation.
└?
└Moderator, please delete this.
This wasn’t the reaction he expected. He refreshed the page again.
“Huh?”
You have been banned from the official Yu Yeon-seo fan club [Love Letter].
I got kicked out of my own fan cafe. How! Forgetting the aftereffects of the memory synchronization, Yu Yeon-seo shot up. He tried to rejoin, but he couldn’t since he had already been banned.
He stared blankly for a moment before heading to another fan community. It was anonymous and anyone could post, but it had moderators who were good at blocking trolls who crossed the line.
‘Should I try writing with a bit more sincerity?’
The post on the cafe was a bit too short.
-Hello, this is Yu Yeon-seo.
I’ll be returning to school this year, so it might be difficult to see me in many projects..
Happy 2019 New Year. Thank you always.
└?
└Bullshit.
└How dare you use polite language?
└If you’re Yu Yeon-seo, then I’m Jin Su-ho lol.
Huh? It got deleted again.
‘Why?’
Yu Yeon-seo held his phone for a long time, tilting his head. He felt bad about overworking Im Seung-hyeon, so he’d given him the end of the year off. The only one left was...
“Hey, Lee Tae-gyeom, what are you doing?”
(What is it at this hour?)
“You’re not sleeping anyway, you’re playing games.”
Lee Tae-gyeom, having been hit right on the mark, cleared his throat.
(So, what is it?)
“I posted on the fan cafe, but it got deleted. What’s going on?”
(Huh?)
After a moment of silence, Lee Tae-gyeom asked hesitantly, as if entertaining a wild guess.
(...Don’t tell me you just posted the text? You have to post something to prove that you are who you say you are.)
“Ah.”
(If you just post text, they won’t know if you’re a troll or the real deal. Idiot.)
This bastard. Just you wait until I get back. I’ve been too easy on you lately, haven’t I? Yu Yeon-seo pouted.
(And the fan cafe has a separate, company-managed verified actor account. I wrote it down... but I left it in the van. I’ll tell you tomorrow.)
So that’s how it was.
Yu Yeon-seo refreshed the anonymous community’s page.
-Lots of posts impersonating our guy today. You know the drill, ignore the trolls, right?
└But the impersonation is so half-assed lol.
└Yeah, you can tell they didn’t do their homework.
└Our guy would never use polite language with us lol.
Yu Yeon-seo let out a dry laugh. Was he that much of an ass even to his own fans? I still have a lot to learn about the original owner.
-But I’m really Yu Yeon-seo;;
Did I not usually come here?
└Get lost.
└Back to your own board.
└The IP looks the same as the last troll.
└If you’re really Yu Yeon-seo, post a pic.
The new post was also quickly deleted. Yu Yeon-seo became curious about how these people, so full of disbelief, would react if he proved he was the real deal.
‘Oh, but I’m not wearing a shirt right now.’
He didn’t have anything on his upper body, in case he got blood on it. Whatever, as long as his face was in the picture. The skin, pale from his blood loss, actually looked rather mysterious.
-Proof
(Photo)
I told you it’s me.
Im Seung-hyeon, who had gotten time off for the end of the year, was staying at his family’s house for a few days.
“KYAAAAAAH!”
He had been lying down to sleep when his sister’s scream startled him, making him jump up.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing!”
“Mom and Dad are sleeping, don’t scream so loud.”
Im Hye-ju didn’t answer, simply darting back into her room. Im Seung-hyeon’s older brother, who was making some ramen, shook his head.
“Just leave her. She’s always like that.”
“Really?”
“She’s... crazy about that Juseong guy, Yu Yeon-seo. She has a fit like that whenever something new drops.”
Im Seung-hyeon’s younger sister, Im Hye-ju, was a die-hard Love Letter. Not long after he had started working for Yu Yeon-seo, Seung-hyeon had casually asked her why she liked him.
[His face!]
[What about his personality? Is he nice to his fans?]
[I like him because of that asshole personality. A chaebol doing acting as a hobby? It gets me going. And you wouldn’t know, oppa, but he’s secretly a tsundere.]
She’s my sister, but she has peculiar taste. Im Seung-hyeon peeked through the crack in Im Hye-ju’s door.
‘Looks like my Young Master has done something...’
Im Hye-ju was typing furiously on her keyboard.
-Is it real?
-I’ve never seen that picture before.
-Oh no, I deleted his post without knowing it was himㅠㅠ
-Wow that picture is insane wtf
-But the desperation in his selfies is gone.
-Yeon-seo, I love you.
-Proof 2
(Photo)
I actually got kicked out of the fan cafe earlier and came here.
Anyway, Happy New Year.
Even if the desperation in his selfies was gone, his innate good looks hadn’t changed. Im Hye-ju sat there, rapidly tapping her feet on the floor as she tried to contain her joy.
“Aack!”
Watching her strange writhing, Im Seung-hyeon looked as if he were witnessing something bizarre.
‘I can never let her find out I’m the Young Master’s personal assistant...’
Yu Yeon-seo’s “Vampire-like” Proof Shot on Fan Community Becomes a Hot Topic
Yu Yeon-seo Leaves New Year’s Greeting for Fans... with a Languid Selfie from Bed
This era really makes an article out of anything. Yu Yeon-seo had spent the early morning hours hanging out with his fans. It felt pretty good to see them react with joy to him posting a single vowel. So this is how cult leaders are made.
Sipping the coffee Lee Tae-gyeom handed him, he walked into the venue for the script reading. He habitually greeted a supporting actor in front of him.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello... huh!”
The actor seemed shocked that the Yu Yeon-seo had greeted them first. As soon as Yu Yeon-seo entered, reporters began rapidly clicking their shutters.
‘The atmosphere is completely different from when I walked in.’
Yoon Ha-neul, who had a supporting role, struggled to maintain his composure. This was Yu Yeon-seo’s first drama since the accident, so a lot of reporters were present.
“We will now begin the script reading. First, let’s introduce our director and writer...”
“Hello, I’m Hwang Mi-jeong, the writer of ‘Virtual Reality.’ It’s an honor to be working with such a wonderful director and cast. This work is my first attempt at SF fantasy...”
Hwang Mi-jeong stood up and introduced herself with a relaxed smile. He had told Jeong Da-hee to string her along as much as possible, but perhaps because she was in front of reporters, her ability to control her expression was on par with an actor’s.
‘Or maybe she’s just confident she can easily beat someone like Jeong Da-hee.’
That was even more annoying. When his turn came, Yu Yeon-seo didn’t even stand up as he picked up the microphone.
“Yu Yeon-seo.”
There was no lip service about what role he was playing or how he would do his best. But it was a conciseness that was permissible, because it was Yu Yeon-seo.
“Let’s begin.”
The assistant director turned the page of the script. Since today’s reading was for promotional purposes, they were only going to run through key scenes from the first two episodes.
Yu Yeon-seo sat back comfortably and flipped through his script. His posture, which could seem arrogant, made people lower their already non-existent expectations.
“I am Shin Ryu-won, the memory solver who will bring the chairman out of his coma.”
But at Yu Yeon-seo’s stable tone and clear pronunciation, a few people lifted their heads to look at him.
“How are you going to wake him?”
“We have our own way. Ma’am, do you enjoy games?”
Reacting to the other actor’s line, Yu Yeon-seo casually tilted his head and delivered his own.
‘What? Is that really the same monotone Yu Yeon-seo?’
‘He sounds natural.’
The reporters’ hands moved faster.
“Manager, don’t I have too little screen time?”
“You think so?”
“I’m not happy about this... can’t you ask them to increase my part?”
“But it’s writer Hwang...”
“Just try talking to them.”
During a short break, Yoon Ha-neul urged his agency’s manager. He was burning with a competitive spirit towards Yu Yeon-seo, still unable to forget the humiliation he had suffered from him in the past.
[Tsk, how vulgar...]
That’s why he had eagerly snatched up the supporting role when he heard Yu Yeon-seo was starring in “Virtual Reality.” He couldn’t win with his background, but he was confident he could easily win with his acting. He planned to build up his presence as a supporting actor who outshone the lead, just like in “Our Moment.”
‘Like a few acting lessons would change anything. He’s not the same monotone Yu Yeon-seo...’
But watching the reading today, he felt his plans might go awry. His previous acting had been so wooden that even a slight improvement had a dramatic effect.
‘And why is my part so small?’
It was practically a one-man show for Yu Yeon-seo. They had probably deliberately increased his screen time to curry favor with him, the largest investor. To protect their own interests, Yoon Ha-neul and his agency manager looked around for someone.
“Director! And the production team lead, you’re here too.”
The production company and an actor’s agency don’t usually interfere with a project’s content unless it’s something extremely sensitive.
However, if an actor complains to their agency and asks for a change, the actor’s agency sometimes gets involved.
And the moment one side intervenes, their attitudes change. The splendid dance of politics between the production company, the director, and the agency begins.
“But the script is under writer Hwang’s authority.”
“That’s why I’m asking you, my dear manager, to have a word...”
“But we can’t wait for a script revision right before we start filming...”
A subtle war of nerves: the production team lead representing the writer, the director sticking to his own style, and Yoon Ha-neul’s manager trying to secure more screen time.
‘Doesn’t matter to me. I’m planning to bolt anyway.’
And Yu Yeon-seo, who had been secretly listening in, walked away with an indifferent expression.