Chapter 61
Chapter 61
The Yu Yeon-seo File
Manager Park trudged over and placed a file in front of Yu Yeon-seo. The stack of A4 paper bound together was considerably thick.
“Don’t say anything after you read it.”
“If it’s well-written, I won’t say a thing.”
As Yu Yeon-seo picked up the file and placed it on his lap, he narrowed his eyes at the three men, who all looked troubled.
“Well, it’s just…”
Yu Yeon-seo snapped his head around to look at Lee Tae-gyeom. Didn’t you say there was nothing?
“No… there’s no cursing in it. Really.”
So there was no cursing, but there was other stuff? They were all in on it. Yu Yeon-seo scoffed and opened the file.
‘I don’t care if they cursed or not.’
What happened in the past wasn’t my doing… Besides, the only reason he wanted to see this file was to find out if he could learn about the original body’s life without memory synchronization.
(This file originated from Halo Media and is passed around once a year to forewarn the recipient of Yu Yeon-seo’s rather fickle and foul personality…)
‘Why does it start so dramatically?’
Judging by the handwriting, which suggested an older person, it was clearly written by CEO Han. But why write it by hand when he could have just typed it… And what’s with the content?
“Th-there’s nothing special in it.”
CEO Han pretended to look away, but he kept glancing at Yu Yeon-seo as he read the file.
(Why do I have to write this?)
(I don’t want to work.)
There really was nothing special.
(This is shit, I can’t do it. I have experience working at other agencies, and I’d rather be in charge of idols. It might be physically demanding, but it would be better for my mental health. I quit.)
They could have at least given a reason before quitting. Yu Yeon-seo turned to the next page.
(This is number 5. Not sure why I’m number 5, but I’ll do my best.)
(I heard about it from Manager Park beforehand, but it’s fine so far. He’s actually been quiet.)
Yu Yeon-seo looked at Manager Park. It was just a casual glance, but Manager Park, feeling preemptively guilty, avoided his gaze and whistled.
(He’s suddenly putting me through boot camp. Is he always like this?)
(Seems like he’s in a pretty good mood today. Gave me money to buy food.)
(No, wait, now he’s suddenly angry?)
The incomprehensible complaints continued. It was less of a handover manual and more like a diary. Wasn’t this just a file for venting stress?
(This is number 5. I can’t do this, it’s disgusting.)
First “shit,” now “disgusting”… The handwriting was even messy, showing just how much they’d hated it. Yu Yeon-seo kept turning the pages.
(Number 6. Reason for rejecting the W brand invitation: the clothes looked cheap.)
(Isn’t W brand a luxury label with items costing millions of won? Anyway, it’s probably best to avoid anything related to W brand from now on.)
(Number 7. The actor’s preferred coffee bean is Yemen Mocha Matari. Hand-drip. Ice must be exactly five cubes.)
(There are no shops that carry these beans, so I’ll have to brew it in advance and put it in a tumbler. Did I come here to be a manager or a barista?)
(Anyway, be warned, if you mess this up, he gets incredibly angry and makes you do it again.)
There was some useful information, at least. This part was even highlighted with a fluorescent marker, but besides that, most of it was just lamenting Yu Yeon-seo’s sudden fits of anger and irritation.
(Number 12)
(He’s damn handsome, though.)
Number 12 was Lee Tae-gyeom. He looked up at Lee Tae-gyeom.
(The actor seems to particularly dislike rainy weather.)
(I think he hates the color white. To be precise, white clothes? We were at a commercial shoot, and the other model was wearing a white skirt. He suddenly got angry and told her to go change.)
Oh… so he did do some work. Of course, what followed was a stream of complaints about his rotten personality.
(I got so pissed off I left him on the side of the road. I quit.)
(What if I get sued?)
(To the nth manager who will read this file after me.)
(Run.)
Yu Yeon-seo let out a smirk and closed the file.
“Interesting.”
“I-it is?”
CEO Han, Manager Park, and Lee Tae-gyeom, who had been watching him nervously, breathed a sigh of relief. Others might have said his personality had changed and wondered if he’d finally turned over a new leaf, but these three, at least, had not forgotten the old Yu Yeon-seo and remained on their guard.
“I won’t need this anymore, so I’ll take this file.”
He could see why CEO Han and Manager Park had been so protective of it. It was supposedly a report for handover purposes, but it was just a file for badmouthing Yu Yeon-seo. It wasn’t my doing, so it doesn’t bother me that much...
‘Or maybe I am a little offended…?’
Yu Yeon-seo frowned.
“S-so, should we set up the meeting?” CEO Han, still unable to give up on the variety show, asked tentatively.
“Sure.”
CEO Han pumped his fist in excitement, and swept up in the mood, Manager Park and Lee Tae-gyeom also rejoiced without knowing why. Amidst the celebration, Yu Yeon-seo’s mind was elsewhere.
‘The highlighter…’
Towards the last pages, the frequency of highlighted sections decreased, replaced mostly by exposés on the creative ways Yu Yeon-seo had thrown tantrums and abused his power.
Does that mean his personality worsened over time?
‘Could this be related to seeing Lee Hui-seo’s hallucination?’
Yu Yeon-seo tapped the file with his finger, lost in thought.
The production team for JSTV’s “Welcome to the Guest House,” set to air next year, began preliminary meetings with the cast before their departure.
“By the way, what are your thoughts on Yu Yeon-seo joining the cast?”
“Yeon-seo?”
Jin Su-ho’s eyes widened.
“Is he okay?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
The words had slipped out unconsciously. He shook his head and quickly changed the subject.
“I think it’s great. We had good chemistry during ‘Dreaming’.”
“Really?”
The writer looked at Jin Su-ho, surprised. During a preliminary meeting with another actor on the casting list, she had been rebuked with, ‘I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard plenty about his terrible personality… Are you sure this is okay?’
There was even one person who flat-out said they wouldn’t do the show upon hearing Yu Yeon-seo was cast.
“The drama shoot was quite long, wasn’t it? You still call him ‘Yeon-seo-ssi’…”
“Yeon-seo seems to be very good at separating his personal and professional life. So you don’t have to worry.”
Watching Jin Su-ho reassure them instead, the writer and PD looked at him with touched expressions. As expected of an actor who had risen to the top in such a short time, his personality was excellent.
‘Putting them together would make for a great picture…’
The PD smiled, pleased.
And finally…
“Hello.”
“Hello, Yu Yeon-seo.”
Yu Yeon-seo entered the meeting room. Behind him were a man in a hoodie who looked like his manager and another man impeccably dressed in a suit. That must be the rumored personal assistant of Yu Yeon-seo.
“I’m the writer, Seo Hye-won.”
“I’m PD Lee Jae-hak.”
Yu Yeon-seo shook the production team’s offered hands with an indifferent expression and sat down.
“PD Lee, what’s your relationship with my CEO?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, he was begging me to be on this show. I figured you two must be close.”
The easy way Yu Yeon-seo struck up a conversation gave them a premonition that this would be a good start. PD Lee replied with a smile.
“We’re close friends from our university days.”
“Ah… that explains why he was desperately pleading with me to join, saying he’d lose face with you otherwise.”
“He said that? He told me not to worry, that he had already secured your appearance…”
Yu Yeon-seo smirked. CEO Han had a bit of a penchant for bluffing.
“May I ask you a few questions?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Have you ever stayed in a guest house when you’ve traveled?”
Having never really traveled in the first place, Yu Yeon-seo gave a bored reply.
“No.”
PD Lee and writer Seo Hye-won opened their mouths as if they understood. Right, he was a third-generation chaebol. Why would he stay in a guest house, sharing a room with strangers? He’d be too busy staying at the finest hotels. Still, they asked one more question out of courtesy.
“So you usually stay in hotels…?”
“Hmm, I think I stayed at our villa.”
“A v-villa…”
Yu Yeon-seo spoke nonchalantly, recalling a childhood memory of going to the beach with his family. PD Lee and writer Seo Hye-won stammered.
Of course, Juseong’s background was incomparably vast, but Jin Su-ho, who came from a similarly well-off family, had worked part-time jobs and even stayed in guest houses, thanks to his educator parents’ philosophy that he needed to gain social experience. But Yu Yeon-seo was, as expected, Yu Yeon-seo.
“How do you manage your meals when you’re at home?”
“Someone comes and cooks for me.”
“Ah… I see.”
Writer Seo was at a loss for words. PD Lee followed up with another question.
“So you’ve never cooked for yourself?”
“Well… does heating up a ready-made meal count? Ah, that’s just reheating, isn’t it? No, I haven’t.”
His speech was curt, yet his manner of speaking was strangely not offensive.
“So you’ve never done any cleaning or laundry either?”
“Why would I do that?”
There were people to do it for him.
The production team fell silent at Yu Yeon-seo’s expression, which suggested he was genuinely asking because he didn’t know.
‘Ah, I might be able to do laundry.’
He’d learned how from an internet search after coughing up so much blood. Of course, he’d only done it a few times before stopping. It was better to just throw away the blood-stained towels, clothes, and carpets than to wash them. After all, he had more money than he knew what to do with.
“Well… you have read our proposal, right? It’s about genuinely running a guest house in a resort location…”
“Yes.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to adjust?”
“It’ll work out somehow.”
At his truly thoughtless reply, writer Seo struggled to hide her unease, while PD Lee held back a laugh.
‘This will make for great scenes for us, but… the other cast members are going to have a hard time.’
If he lacked life skills this much, Yu Yeon-seo’s share of the work might fall on the other cast members. PD Lee fell into deep thought, wondering if they should cast more guests or change the rules.
“Kim I-jun of One Seven also responded positively to our casting offer…”
“And?”
“Won’t you be uncomfortable?”
Why would I be? Yu Yeon-seo raised an eyebrow. They had already cleared up their old misunderstanding, so was there any reason to be uncomfortable?
“If he’s fine with it.”
If anything, it would be One Seven who would be uncomfortable.
At Yu Yeon-seo’s answer, writer Seo looked up in surprise.
‘Are they on good terms? Did they make up already?’
The production team had asked Kim I-jun the same question during his preliminary interview a few days ago.
[If he, Yu Yeon-seo, is okay with it.]
And Kim I-jun had given the exact same answer as Yu Yeon-seo.
“But are they a top group?”
“Welcome to the Guest House” was a variety show where Korea’s most renowned top stars would run a guest house on a quiet foreign island. While Yu Yeon-seo was still a bit early in his acting career to be called a top actor, his buzz and influence were top-tier in Korea, so he was included.
“One Seven? Yes, well… they shot up after their song went viral again. Nowadays, they’re considered one of the big four boy groups.”
“Oh…”
So that’s why Lee Han-gyeol landed a lead role right after one short drama, and why the back-end payments came in steadily on time despite their whining and pleading… Was this Im Seung-hyeon’s skillful management? In any case, that was good news.
‘I have something to ask them, too.’
The time he had gone on his own to say he wanted to debut as an idol was July 2010. He was 18.
Judging from the ‘Yu Yeon-seo File,’ the original Yu Yeon-seo’s personality had only worsened over time. So, what was he like when he was younger?
‘I’ll stop once it hits exactly 30%.’
Since he had decided to stop the memory synchronization, he figured it was better to collect fragments of the past from other sources.