Chapter 73
Chapter 73
The Awards Ceremony
“An awards ceremony?”
“(Yeah, you’re going this time, right?)”
The awards ceremony Lee Tae-gyeom was talking about meant attending as a nominee.
“Did I not usually go to these things?”
“(You barely went, except for your debut. Because you didn’t want to.)”
The original Yu Yeon-seo had often attended music awards as a presenter, but he’d skip acting awards even when he was nominated.
-Why doesn’t Yu Yeon-seo show up at awards ceremonies?
└We don’t know either
└Saw an interview before where he said he just didn’t want to go
└└Huh, really? Is that even allowed?
└└└It is for Yu Yeon-seo
-It’s kind of funny though lol He doesn’t show up because he knows he won’t win
So many people try so hard just to get nominated
└True
└But the projects he chose were all good, if you ignore his acting lol
└└Truly a devil’s talent in a different sense
His acting skills were abysmal, but he unfortunately had a great eye for projects, so he was consistently nominated.
-Will Yu Yeon-seo, the professional awards ceremony skipper, attend this year?
└Probably not. He doesn’t show up if he thinks he won’t win lol
└Wow, the competition for Best Supporting Actor is insane;;
└Still, his drama and movie last year got good reactions, so he’ll probably show up this time
└Right, his reputation has gotten better too
However, after the accident, his changed demeanor had raised people’s expectations. It had reached a point where serious debates were held on whether Yu Yeon-seo would attend the awards ceremony.
Yu Yeon-seo headed to the study, a room he’d barely visited. Inside a display case were a few trophies, all for ‘Best New Actor’ and ‘Popularity’ awards. Not a single one was from a prestigious ceremony.
‘Of course not. He was up against Jin Su-ho.’
While Yu Yeon-seo’s agency, Halo Media, was using the ‘rookie’ excuse and media-playing with justifications that he’d improve with experience, Jin Su-ho had captivated audiences with his acting alone, right from his debut project.
“I’m not going to win anything, so why go?”
Yu Yeon-seo said, sounding indifferent.
He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the drama category for ‘Dreaming’ and in the film category for ‘White Tiger’. However, so many hit dramas and films had been released last year that his chances of winning were slim.
Lee Tae-gyeom sighed. He’d heard those same words back when he was the 12th manager.
“(Hey, what do you mean you won’t win anything? ‘White Tiger’ might be a long shot, but you have a chance with ‘Dreaming’.)”
“Su-ho will probably get it. They’re not going to give both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards to the same drama, are they?”
“(That’s true, but...)”
“Why, did Manager Park insist I go this time?”
“(...Yeah. He said you’ll be winning a lot more from now on, so it would be good to go and get used to the atmosphere.)”
‘Dreaming’ had aired on JSTV, not a public broadcast network, and JSTV didn’t have a year-end drama awards show like the public networks did. So, this would be his first acting awards ceremony since inhabiting Yu Yeon-seo’s body.
‘It probably won’t be much different from a music awards show...’
Still, it was better than staying at home. Yu Yeon-seo told Lee Tae-gyeom he would go and ended the call. He glanced at the trophies in the display case before leaving the study.
‘Awards ceremony, an awards ceremony...’
He still didn’t know if the original owner of the body was greedy for awards. But for the current Yu Yeon-seo, awards weren’t important.
He wanted to experience various lives by acting in different projects, more so than receiving awards. Preferably in even better works.
‘Though that seems to have faded recently...’
He found himself focusing more on Yu Yeon-seo’s life than on his dreams from his time as Kang Jin-hu. Perhaps it was because he was already living another person’s life in another’s body, thus fulfilling his old dream...
“Ugh...”
The floating apparition of Lee Hui-seo likely played a large part in it. Yu Yeon-seo covered his mouth with his hand and rushed to the bathroom.
The next morning, the memory synchronization coincidentally brought up the memory of the original owner attending his first awards ceremony after his acting debut.
‘Is the original owner’s consciousness still here?’
At this point, he began to suspect that the original owner’s soul was involved in the automatic memory syncs. Otherwise, how could such a perfectly timed memory surface...?
<The probability of that is extremely low.>
‘Really?’
<Yes, it is a coincidence.>
What a coincidence it was.
‘Do what you want.’
Yu Yeon-seo became the original owner at that moment, glancing around the inside of the awards ceremony.
(White Mountain Arts Awards, Nominee for Best New Actor)
On the large screen, short clips of the nominated actors’ performances played.
‘Wow... I can’t watch this.’
Yu Yeon-seo was first. His wooden, stiff body and his clumsy, borderline destructive, monotone acting were a sight to behold. He could feel the people sitting nearby trying to hold back their laughter.
Last, of course, was Jin Su-ho. Even in the short clip, it was clear his performance was extraordinary, to the point that it overshadowed all the previous nominees.
‘This is a lost cause.’
Even though he already knew the result, he was completely immersed. This must have been what the original owner felt at the time.
The presenter stood at the microphone, and on the five-way split screen, Yu Yeon-seo and Jin Su-ho each occupied a box.
“Yes, the White Mountain Arts Award for Best New Actor goes to...”
Honestly, hoping for an award with his past acting skills was just shameless. Surely the original owner wasn’t expecting it, was he? No, surely not...
“Congratulations, Jin Su-ho.”
When Jin Su-ho’s name was called, it felt as if a taut string had snapped, and all the tension drained away.
‘He was actually expecting it?’
The original owner... he’d harbored such vain hope... Regardless, the real Yu Yeon-seo was struggling to maintain his expression, clapping half-heartedly at Jin Su-ho’s back as he walked toward the stage.
‘Ah...’
The trophy looked familiar. Come to think of it...
‘Lee Hui-seo won the Best New Actress award here.’
The White Mountain Arts Awards, established in the 1960s, was South Korea’s oldest and most prestigious awards ceremony. Lee Hui-seo had won both the Best New Actress and Best Actress awards there.
He had secretly coveted the award his mother had received.
‘His opponent was just too good.’
It wasn’t just his acting; his luck with the competition was terrible. Besides Jin Su-ho, the other nominees were also actors who had established themselves and were still active. Lost in thought, Yu Yeon-seo looked up when the person in the next seat tapped his arm.
“Yeon-seo, what a shame.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t be too discouraged. You’ll get better results next year.”
Judging by the original owner’s unfamiliar reaction, he wondered why this person was acting so friendly when they weren’t even close.
The person with the fake smile was a rather familiar actor. But someone he hadn’t seen recently. In the present year of 2020, he had retired due to charges of illegal propofol use.
‘A white dress...’
Yu Yeon-seo frowned deeply. A white silhouette lingered in the air like an afterimage, and his gaze was drawn to it.
His body instantly stiffened, and his heart pounded unpleasantly. Even though the ceremony was still in full swing, Yu Yeon-seo stood up and fled outside as if escaping.
But to others, it looked like he was storming out in anger because he didn’t win the award.
And that moment was immortalized in a press photo.
After vomiting blood from the aftereffects of the memory sync, Yu Yeon-seo looked up the articles from that time and let out a hollow laugh.
Yu Yeon-seo Storms Out, Dissatisfied with Not Winning?
White Mountain Arts Awards, Yu Yeon-seo Suddenly Leaves His Seat... “No Manners,” Netizens React Coldly
Yu Yeon-seo’s Award Ceremony Etiquette Controversy, Agency Remains Silent
└Ah, this is a bit much;;;
└He’s got no manners lol
└Why leave during a senior actor’s acceptance speech of all times
└Did he really expect to win?
Well, he couldn’t exactly say he saw an apparition of his hanged mother in the dress of the actress next to him. Yu Yeon-seo turned off the screen and lay down on his bed.
The original owner hadn’t skipped awards ceremonies because he knew he wouldn’t win. It was because his body would rapidly deteriorate if he saw anything that reminded him of Lee Hui-seo.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said I’d go.’
There’s bound to be at least one person in a white dress at this ceremony, too. He sighed.
Yu Yeon-seo irritably pushed back his constantly falling hair.
“Ugh, it’s so annoying.”
“Should I ask the hair stylist to tie it up a bit?”
“Yeah.”
The day before the awards ceremony, Yu Yeon-seo had gotten hair extensions. This was because Lee Tae-o in the original ‘People Who Lack’ had long hair that reached his shoulders. As expected of someone so handsome, any hairstyle suited him as if it were his own.
“Hey, it’s almost our turn.”
There were many formidable senior actors, so he didn’t insist on a particular order for the red carpet this time.
‘My eyes sting.’
Standing in the photo zone, Yu Yeon-seo stared into the distance, using all his strength to keep from squinting. Reporters shouted for him to look their way as their flashes went off.
-[BREAKING] Yu Yeon-seo has long hair
-Long hair for real? For his next project?
-OMG is he really doing People Who Lack?
-Crazy, I guess he’s confirmed for Lee Tae-o
-But what’s with his eyesㅠㅠ? He looks like he’s about to cryㅠㅠ
The mindset of actor fandoms is simple. Whether their favorite actor cuts or grows their hair, gains or loses weight, works a lot or takes a hiatus, everything is connected back to the question: is it for their next project?
Yu Yeon-seo’s Long Hair at the White Mountain Arts Awards, a Hint at His Next Project?
[Official] Yu Yeon-seo Cast as Lee Tae-o in ‘People Who Lack Season 2’
And this had already been arranged with the drama’s production company. No matter how famous the original work was, they couldn’t skip out on promotion entirely.
With Yu Yeon-seo, whose popularity was insane, attending an acting awards ceremony for the first time in a while and sporting a style reminiscent of Lee Tae-o, interest in ‘People Who Lack’ naturally soared.
‘Where’s my seat...’
Yu Yeon-seo furrowed his brow.
At music awards, they gave him a separate waiting room, but he wouldn’t know what it’s like here. As he glanced around, searching for his seat, someone called out to him.
“Yeon-seo!”
“Over here!”
Park Seung-hwan and Lee Yun-jeong, who had been on the island with him for ‘Welcome to the Guest House,‘ were waving.
Walking over, Yu Yeon-seo saw the name tag on the chair and let out a dry laugh.
“What is this? Is this really my seat?”
“It is. Surprising, isn’t it? Have you been well?”
“Yes, well enough.”
By coincidence, he ended up sitting next to Park Seung-hwan, Lee Yun-jeong, and Jin Su-ho.
Yu Yeon-seo unbuttoned his suit jacket as he sat down. Unlike their shabby appearance on the island, Park Seung-hwan and Lee Yun-jeong were dressed in a high-end suit and gown, with meticulously styled hair and makeup. They truly exuded the aura of top actors.
“Seeing you here feels strange.”
“I feel the same.”
“Really? How do I look? Dressed up is better, right?”
“You’re beautiful whether you’re dressed up or not.”
“You know how to say things like that?”
Lee Yun-jeong was wearing a red dress. Should he consider it a gesture of gratitude that she wasn’t wearing a white one?
At the awards ceremony in his memory, he hadn’t known anyone, but having people he knew here felt quite good.
“Su-ho! Over here!”
Lee Yun-jeong spotted Jin Su-ho and called out loudly. The gazes of those nearby were drawn to them.
Among them was Park Seung-hwan, a major actor with three ten-million-viewer films; Lee Yun-jeong, one of South Korea’s top five actresses; and Jin Su-ho, an exceptional young actor. And squeezed in with them was Yu Yeon-seo, who, despite his budding acting career, ended the game with the two words: ‘Juseong heir’.
‘Whoa, what is this...’
‘I heard they filmed a variety show together, looks like they got close.’
‘He’s smiling at Yu Yeon-seo like that?’
Park Seung-hwan, in particular, wasn’t one to openly display such camaraderie, so seeing him welcome them with a smile that could split his face meant he must have really taken a liking to his junior actors.
The individuals involved hadn’t given it a second thought, but onlookers believed a clique boasting the ultimate connections and wealth had just been born.
“Our youngest has to win an award.”
“What award would I get? Su-ho will probably win. Still, it’s good to see you, Seung-hwan.”
He hadn’t expected anything in the first place. More than an award, Yu Yeon-seo was wary of his trauma suddenly resurfacing like before.
Jin Su-ho noticed Yu Yeon-seo’s frown and whispered quietly to him.
“If you start feeling unwell again, tell me.”
“Why?”
“It would be better than you slipping out alone.”
Could it be that Jin Su-ho also remembered what happened at his first awards ceremony? It was clear he was convinced that Yeon-seo had run out not because he lost the award, but because of a serious, incurable illness that made him vomit blood.
“...I’ll see.”
It wasn’t a bad offer, so he answered curtly.