Chapter 74
Chapter 74
I see, it’s because of my background.
To the writers, directors, and actors who had never worked with him, Yu Yeon-seo was an enigma. Rumors about his foul temper and unpredictable behavior had spread like wildfire, growing more exaggerated with each telling.
An outlandish rumor even circulated among staff members that making eye contact with Yu Yeon-seo would get you blacklisted from the entertainment industry.
“Hey!”
“Hyo-jun.”
Just then, an actor close to Park Seung-hwan came over and greeted him warmly. Go Hyo-jun, two years Park Seung-hwan’s junior, had starred in a film last year that drew in ten million viewers. He was one of the top actors, well-known and immensely popular with the public.
“Man, you got really tan.”
“Yeah, I had a great vacation for the first time in a while.”
“Right. I’ve been enjoying your variety show, too.”
The story was that Park Seung-hwan had agreed to film ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ on a whim after getting an offer from PD Lee, right when he was craving a long-overdue vacation. It had been a lucky break for PD Lee.
Park Seung-hwan, who had been laughing and catching up with Go Hyo-jun, turned his head.
“You know who this is, right?”
“Of course. Hello, Yeon-seo.”
Feeling he couldn’t just sit there with so many eyes on them, Yu Yeon-seo stood up and took Go Hyo-jun’s outstretched hand.
“Yes, hello.”
“I really enjoyed your drama.”
“Thank you. I enjoyed your movie as well.”
Yu Yeon-seo’s infamous rudeness was said to spare no one, senior or junior... So when he acted politely, contrary to the rumors, Go Hyo-jun’s eyes lit up.
“By the way, I’ve never seen him take care of a junior actor like this. Except for Yun-jeong and Su-ho.”
“Is that so?”
“They call him the Demon.”
Wasn’t he usually a friendly guy? Yu Yeon-seo tilted his head. Park Seung-hwan had given him a disapproving look at the variety show cast meeting, but his attitude had changed after that.
“Is that true?”
“Hey, that’s an exaggeration.”
Since they were a family living together for a month, he had actively suggested they meet up for meals a few times. Had Park Seung-hwan not taken the initiative, they probably wouldn’t have all gotten this close.
“Anyone would think I terrorize the younger actors.”
Go Hyo-jun glared at Park Seung-hwan. Park Seung-hwan, who came from a theater background, was notorious for giving his juniors a hard time. And Go Hyo-jun had usually been on the receiving end.
Park Seung-hwan chuckled and patted Yu Yeon-seo on the back.
“He pretends not to be, but this kid is really kind.”
“Me?”
Did I hear that right? The others listening nearby widened their eyes. My god, calling the entertainment industry’s biggest asshole ‘kind’. Even Yu Yeon-seo himself was staring as if to say, What kind of bullshit is this?
Park Seung-hwan saw the bewildered look on Yu Yeon-seo’s face and smiled faintly. Truthfully, he’d initially felt ashamed for judging him based on the nasty rumors and had tried to be nice, but the more he got to know him, the more he saw what a genuine person he was.
The Yu Yeon-seo on the island was a different person from the one in the rumors. He was polite and pretended not to care, but he was very considerate. He would even step in to help with things that weren’t his business just because he was bored, and he was surprisingly good at them.
This guy isn’t the type to suck up to the upper class... Did he really take a liking to him?
Even Go Hyo-jun, listening right in front of them, started to see Yu Yeon-seo in a new light, noticing how different Park Seung-hwan’s attitude was compared to how he treated other juniors.
“Well, that’s even better. To be honest, I was intimidated after hearing all the rumors.”
Yu Yeon-seo wasn’t flustered and just smiled faintly. There was no malice in Go Hyo-jun’s words. It was better this way—upfront and without pretense.
“Now that I see it, the long hair suits you well. We’ll see each other at the script reading.”
“Okay.”
Go Hyo-jun hadn’t just come over to say hello. He was scheduled to film ‘People Who Lack’ with Yu Yeon-seo. After Go Hyo-jun left, other actors who had been cautiously watching from nearby began to approach, one by one.
“Hello.”
“Oh, you’re here?”
Park Seung-hwan greeted his juniors with ease. An unusual number of people were gathering around them.
Is it because of Seung-hwan?
The great actor Park Seung-hwan had the skills and filmography an actor should possess, and his network was just as extensive, so he was certainly a good person to know.
There’s something else.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
Wow, Yu Yeon-seo is actually acknowledging people.
Should I go over and make an impression?
Everyone was greeting Park Seung-hwan before pointedly trying to strike up a conversation with Yu Yeon-seo, who was sitting next to him.
I see, it’s because of my background.
Before attending the awards ceremony, he recalled what Manager #6 had written in the ‘Yu Yeon-seo File’.
(Announced he wouldn’t attend the awards ceremony because there were too many pests.)
(As if he gets invited to that many anyway.)
The ‘pests’ mentioned here were probably the moths drawn to the flame of his background. That must be why the actress in the white dress he’d seen during the memory synchronization had been overly friendly to him...
I remember being asked to introduce someone to my brother.
It was something the other model had said to him when he was shooting a commercial for a new brand launched by a Juseong subsidiary, as a favor to his younger aunt’s husband. Of course, I’d gleefully unleashed my hellfire mouth on them, asking why on earth I would do that.
In truth, there were actors who weren’t like that. The ones who had worked with him and knew his foul personality didn’t even glance in his direction.
There were also people who had little interest in the background Yu Yeon-seo possessed. These were the genuine ones. People who were at the top and had more than enough talent of their own.
“Yeon-seo, this is the director I shot a movie with.”
“Hello, Director.”
Even among some directors, Yu Yeon-seo was someone to be avoided. It wasn’t just his terrible personality; his destructive acting ability could break his scene partner’s immersion. But now, his personality seemed to have improved, and he had proven his changed acting skills with ‘Dreaming’ and ‘White Tiger’, so there was no reason not to get close to him.
Something felt off.
He hadn’t even done many projects since entering this body, but all the actors he’d met had been kind and affectionate toward him.
Weren’t there other difficult people in the entertainment industry, even if not to Yu Yeon-seo’s extent? In fact, there were rumors that Jo Yu-mi from ‘Dreaming’ didn’t have the best personality, yet she had tried to act like a close older sister to him. It was all because of Yu Yeon-seo’s background.
I don’t care.
Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly. He wasn’t so dense that he couldn’t distinguish between pretense and sincerity. Whether they were friendly to his face and cursed him behind his back, he intended to happily use this background to his advantage.
After a short wait, the Baeksan Arts Awards began. Having gained some connections with Park Seung-hwan’s help, Yu Yeon-seo took Lee Tae-gyeom’s advice to at least clap and not sit there like a statue, becoming an excellent clapping robot.
(The Baeksan Arts Award for Best New Actor in a Film goes to...)
The Best New Actor award went to Park Min-woo, who had his first leading film role in ‘White Tiger’. Yu Yeon-seo stood up and applauded. Before heading to the stage, Park Min-woo looked over at the actors’ section, saw him, and smiled brightly.
“Yes, uh... First, to my parents who always support my path, and to my agency family...”
Holding a small bouquet and a trophy, Park Min-woo continued his speech, stammering slightly.
“And to Director Park Ho-jin of ‘White Tiger’, and Han-gyeol. I also want to express my gratitude to Yeon-seo, who helped me so much while I was playing Park Ji-won. Thank you!”
The camera panned to Yu Yeon-seo, who was sitting in his seat.
Why is he mentioning me?
What help did I give? He won it because he was good. Yu Yeon-seo smiled awkwardly and clapped.
[Baeksan Arts Awards] Best New Actor, Park Min-woo
Park Min-woo of ‘White Tiger’ Wins Best New Actor in Film, Yu Yeon-seo Gives Standing Ovation
The congratulatory performance was by One Seven. Coincidentally, Lee Han-gyeol of ‘White Tiger’ was also present at the ceremony as a nominee for the Best New Actor award.
Six men, changed into stage outfits, danced and sang to the music. If the original owner of this body hadn’t left the group, he would have been up there dancing and singing with them.
“Our youngest is doing well.”
Yu Yeon-seo gave a small nod at Park Seung-hwan’s comment. After seeing Kim I-jun smile like a fool while breaking machines, watching him dance on stage with such an intense gaze felt strangely different.
Despite it being a performance by a top idol group, very few people were clapping. In fact, the members of the ‘Guest House’ cast, who were clapping and singing along, stood out even more.
“Come to think of it, that scene from our pre-meeting was cut, wasn’t it?”
“You did that, didn’t you, Yeon-seo?”
Yu Yeon-seo, seated between Park Seung-hwan and Lee Yun-jeong, gave a slight nod.
The first episode of ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ began with the cast meeting. It showed them awkwardly meeting for the first time and dividing up their roles.
-The ’93-liners ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-The dorm story is cute lol
-Yu Yeon-seo was in One Seven? I never knew
-But weren’t Yu Yeon-seo and One Seven on bad terms?
Only the scene revealing that Yu Yeon-seo had secretly invested in One Seven was completely cut.
“It wouldn’t do them any good for that to be revealed.”
The first thing he did upon returning to Korea was to ask PD Lee to edit out that scene. PD Lee had pleaded, asking if it was really necessary, but Yu Yeon-seo had been firm.
“Are you sure about that?”
Even Jin Su-ho, who had been eavesdropping from the side, looked at Yu Yeon-seo with his head lowered.
Even if he hadn’t said anything, a request to edit it out would have come from One Seven’s agency, AST Entertainment.
“I wasn’t looking for recognition. It’s all in the past.”
Yu Yeon-seo shrugged. Just then, the camera focused on him and Park Seung-hwan. They instantly changed their expressions, putting on gentle smiles.
Why should it be broadcast as if I did something amazing? It’s enough that the people involved know.
[Young Master, I’ve been told Oh Beom-su has left AST Entertainment.]
[Did he leave on his own?]
[That’s the official story, but he was likely fired.]
He had gotten back the embezzled money and received a direct apology from the CEO. Revealing the truth wouldn’t change the fact that One Seven was still under AST Entertainment.
[They’re just cutting their losses.]
[That’s what I think as well.]
If it were revealed that Yu Yeon-seo had invested in them, One Seven’s miraculous comeback success story would be tarnished.
And later, even if a controversy arose about the embezzled funds, they would have just pinned it all on Oh Beom-su and swept it under the rug by saying the problematic employee had resigned.
[Im Seung-hyeon, you did a good job.]
[Is there nothing more to be done?]
[You’ve shaken them down thoroughly, so that’s enough.]
[Then I’ll just secure a bit of leverage over them and conclude the matter.]
He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Im Seung-hyeon’s idea of ‘a bit’ entailed. In any case, he had righted the wrong of being taken for a fool, so he decided not to get involved any further.
Jeong Da-hee, the writer of ‘Dreaming’, was nominated for the screenplay award, but she lost out to more formidable senior writers. Still, she looked thrilled, touched just to be nominated.
(The nominees for the Baeksan Arts Award for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama are...)
The screen changed to show short clips of the five nominees’ performances.
(Commencing debug.)
(Get out of here. Before I have to force you out.)
Dreaming, Yu Yeon-seo
After the scene of Chunbaek aiming a gun, a five-way split screen appeared, with a suited-up Yu Yeon-seo occupying one of the boxes.
I’m not going to win anyway.
It wasn’t that he lacked confidence; the competition was just too fierce. Last year had been a year of exceptionally good productions.
The presenter opened the envelope and announced the winner. Yu Yeon-seo did not stand up.
“That’s a shame.”
“There’s always next time.”
Instead, Lee Yun-jeong and Park Seung-hwan, who were sitting beside him, comforted him almost excessively.
I’m really fine, though.
No, am I not fine? Yu Yeon-seo furrowed his brow, feeling a slight sense of frustration. He thought it was a feeling belonging to the body’s original owner.
(The Baeksan Arts Award for Best Actor in a TV Drama...)
(Congratulations, Jin Su-ho.)
As expected, the Best Actor award went to Jin Su-ho. The nearby actors stood up to congratulate him. Yu Yeon-seo was among them.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Jin Su-ho smiled and walked onto the stage. Watching his back, Yu Yeon-seo was reminded of his own past when he had been nominated for a rookie award.
I’m not fine, after all.
Feeling a hint of bitterness, Yu Yeon-seo was inwardly surprised. So I have a desire for awards, too?
Maybe I should aim to win next time.
I don’t want to go home empty-handed again. As he applauded Jin Su-ho, who had finished his acceptance speech, Yu Yeon-seo’s ambition burned within him.