Chapter 80
What Do You Want to Know?
Filming for People Who Lack continued.
Even Yu Yeon-seo, who had delivered a performance exceeding expectations in Lee Tae-o’s first appearance, couldn’t escape the director’s summons.
“Hold on a second.”
His character interpretation was good. But was his acting perfect? That was debatable. At the director’s call, Yu Yeon-seo went over to the monitor.
‘It’s good as it is, but...’
The director, Son Jang-hun, stroked his chin, lost in thought. There were times he had to hold back on the directing he wanted to do, conscious of the original work. He was quenching that thirst through his acting direction.
The casting for People Who Lack focused more on how well the actors fit the original characters than on their acting skills. After all, acting could be improved with direction, but a person’s face and aura couldn’t.
However, there was a limit to how much Ahn Hyeon-seong’s acting could be elevated through direction, as he was still a rookie. Due to time constraints, some things had been overlooked. But Yu Yeon-seo followed his direction immediately, which made the director greedy for more.
“Yeon-seo, can you act a bit more unhinged? Like you’re on the edge of a cliff, teetering precariously.”
“…I’ll try.”
“Good. We still have a while before the next scene, so get some rest.”
Moreover, he liked that Yu Yeon-seo nodded without complaint. The lead, Ahn Hyeon-seong, on the other hand, held his head high and stiff as if he’d eaten something disagreeable.
‘Anyone watching would think their roles were reversed.’
The industry’s most notoriously ill-mannered actor had suddenly become compliant, while the rookie actor had come down with a case of “star syndrome” and was nowhere to be seen on set... The director sighed as he watched Ahn Hyeon-seong finally arrive on location, having been waiting in his van.
Yu Yeon-seo plopped down into the chair emblazoned with his name. He leaned his head back, almost lying down, and covered his face with his script.
‘There’s a limit to what I can do with ad-libs.’
The director had praised his unpredictable, spontaneous actions. But his usual way of speaking and his subtle mannerisms needed to be more different. He had to be crazy, but not in a way that looked like a disability.
‘Lee Tae-o and I have something in common.’
One driven mad by sleep deprivation, the other driven mad by hallucinations.
Moreover, they shared complex feelings about their mothers. The reason Lee Tae-o was deprived of sleep in People Who Lack was closely tied to his mother in the story, Yoon Ji-yeong, played by Ryu Hye-gyeong.
Yoon Ji-yeong, the final villain of the story, had used Lee Tae-o as a test subject. Having failed to acquire the abilities the protagonist was supposed to have, Lee Tae-o was abandoned and deeply hated the mother who had made him this way.
What about the real Yu Yeon-seo? Didn’t he resent Lee Hui-seo, who remained as a hallucination, still tormenting him?
‘How has the original owner of this body been living?’
Just as Lee Tae-o suffered from anger management issues, wasn’t the real Yu Yeon-seo similar?
(Suddenly threw things and got angry. Told me to get lost, so I decided to get lost forever. I’m really quitting.)
(Flew off the handle on set for interrupting his thoughts. It was tough cleaning up the mess. Director Shin Hyo-won likes whiskey, so keep that in mind for the next time the actor throws a fit.)
The anger, the abuse of power mentioned in the ‘Yu Yeon-seo File’, and his infamous foul temper, known even to the general public.
He suspected it was a personality disorder caused by the hallucinations, which led to behavior that ruined his reputation in the entertainment industry.
In that case….
‘Should I push the synchronization to its limit again?’
<Not recommended.>
Beta interjected. Yu Yeon-seo was tempted for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Relying on memory synchronization was not good. Besides, the side effects of pushing it to the limit were too severe. During the White Tiger incident, Im Seung-hyeon and Lee Tae-gyeom had picked him up and taken him home, but there was no guarantee it would happen that way again.
“Yeon-seo. Want to run lines later?”
“Yes, Auntie.”
Lost in thought, Yu Yeon-seo answered dismissively. Ryu Hye-gyeong’s eyes twitched for a moment, but he paid it no mind. He treated her strictly as a fellow actor on the same project, as if he had no interest in Lee Hui-seo’s idol days.
‘Right, so you’re not going to make this easy, are you?’
Ryu Hye-gyeong, a sly veteran of the entertainment world, sensed Yu Yeon-seo’s intention and stared at him intently.
‘It would be better for you to spill it first.’
Yu Yeon-seo, sensing her inner thoughts, responded with a smile.
“Good work today.”
After finishing the day’s shoot, Yu Yeon-seo changed his clothes and headed out of the studio.
“Yeon-seo, do you have a moment?”
Ryu Hye-gyeong’s scenes had finished thirty minutes ago. The fact that she was still here meant she had been waiting for Yu Yeon-seo to finish filming.
‘Has she changed her mind?’
Yu Yeon-seo glanced at his watch and said.
“Yes, for about twenty minutes.”
“That’s enough.”
“Lee Tae-gyeom, go to the car and start the engine.”
Lee Tae-gyeom glanced back and forth between Yu Yeon-seo and Ryu Hye-gyeong before heading to the car without a word. Since he wasn’t told to leave, Im Seung-hyeon followed behind Yu Yeon-seo.
“Are you just going to let your manager stay?”
“Manager? Ah… he’s not my manager.”
“What?”
Yu Yeon-seo shrugged.
“My secretary. From Juseong’s Strategic Planning Office.”
Ryu Hye-gyeong’s eyes widened. Juseong’s secretarial office was famous, but the Strategic Planning Office was even more so. Perhaps because the Chairman’s friend and secretary, who acted as his right-hand man, was the head of the department, all sorts of rumors surrounded it.
‘All of South Korea’s information gathers in Juseong’s Strategic Planning Office.’ ‘There’s nothing Juseong’s information network can’t do. Finding someone’s weakness is child’s play.’ Rumors like these were rampant. Naturally, being part of the Strategic Planning Office came with an elite image.
‘There’s some exaggeration, but the rumors aren’t entirely baseless.’
What mattered was that Ryu Hye-gyeong believed them. That’s why he had revealed Im Seung-hyeon’s affiliation.
“If he’s from the Strategic Planning Office…”
“Since you’re well aware, this should be easy.”
Having dated men from wealthy families quite a bit, she must have heard plenty about Juseong. He gazed at Ryu Hye-gyeong’s face, which looked as if her soul had left her body.
“You must have done a background check on me.”
“Yes.”
Yu Yeon-seo was brazen about having investigated her. After all, he wasn’t the one who needed to back down; she was.
It wouldn’t have been a superficial background check. He probably had enough dirt on her to force her into retirement.
Staring blankly, Ryu Hye-gyeong let out a small sigh. She had miscalculated. She should have just given him what he wanted and put him in her debt.
‘I didn’t want to go this far either.’
Grasping and exploiting people’s weaknesses didn’t suit his nature. But he was in a hurry. The frequency of Lee Hui-seo’s hallucinations was increasing.
“Fine, what do you want to know?”
“You already know. Let’s stop pretending.”
Raising both hands as if to surrender, Ryu Hye-gyeong spoke with a weary face.
“Alright, stories about Hui-seo… what can you give me? I can’t just tell you for free.”
To be calculating her own gain even in this situation was, in a way, remarkable. Yu Yeon-seo turned on his phone and showed it to her. He had already prepared a tempting bait through Im Seung-hyeon.
“President Kang Geun-cheol of Sanbo Group. He’s a distant relative of mine. And as it happens, he’s single, having recently divorced.”
Sanbo Group was a conglomerate ranked 8th in the business world, and President Kang Geun-cheol was a major figure poised to become the next chairman. He was in a completely different league from the men Ryu Hye-gyeong had dated.
“I’ll arrange a meeting. Under the guise of a chance encounter.”
“…”
“This should meet your high standards, Auntie. And seducing him will depend on your skills, won’t it?”
Just a chance encounter—it was his way of saying this was all Ryu Hye-gyeong was worth to him.
“Fine. I understand.”
Exhausted, she leaned her back against the wall. Yu Yeon-seo smiled leisurely.
‘Truthfully, I can’t do any more than this.’
It would be a headache if his grandfather found out. All he had to do was find out where President Kang Geun-cheol was going and pass on the location.
It seemed Ryu Hye-gyeong had read too much into it, but it was also true that he had deliberately acted imposing to make her misunderstand.
“So, what should I start with? The things Hui-seo went through during her time in the industry?”
Yu Yeon-seo raised a hand, cutting her off.
“Just the key points, please. I have a schedule to keep.”
“Key points?”
He was quite curious about what she had gone through, but it wasn’t hard to imagine.
The entertainment industry of the 80s, a young Lee Hui-seo hailed as the beauty of the century. Of course, it couldn’t have all been good. Yu Yeon-seo tried to suppress the hot anger rising in his chest.
“Don’t you have anything that might interest me?”
“Well…”
Seeing Yu Yeon-seo’s unexpected attitude, Ryu Hye-gyeong, whose pride was too hurt to just back down, said triumphantly. He won’t know about this, right?
“Did you know that Hui-seo was tormented by a stalker from her debut until she got married?”
“A stalker?”
A stalker… That could be an important clue. It was the first he’d heard of it, but he forced himself to appear unfazed. Ryu Hye-gyeong would surely try to use it as leverage, so showing his hand would do him no good.
Yu Yeon-seo crossed his arms as if her information was unsatisfactory. His arrogant attitude flustered her.
“And?”
“What?”
“Is there anything else?”
After filming ended and he had obtained a crucial clue from his conversation with Ryu Hye-gyeong, Yu Yeon-seo headed to a cafe on the first floor of the JSTV building. It was the wrap party for Welcome to the Guest House.
‘Somehow, talking with Ryu Hye-gyeong feels more draining than filming People Who Lack.’
Yu Yeon-seo rolled his neck tiredly. Ryu Hye-gyeong hadn’t seen through his bluff and had agreed to tell him whenever she remembered anything else.
“Im Seung-hyeon.”
“Yes.”
“Can you investigate the stalker Ryu Hye-gyeong mentioned?”
Im Seung-hyeon stopped walking and looked at Yu Yeon-seo. He should have said he would, but the words wouldn’t come easily.
‘Why is the young master investigating her…’
Anything related to Lee Hui-seo was taboo for the Juseong family’s inner circle. It was a fact known only to the family that before the accident, Yu Yeon-seo would have seizures whenever he thought of her.
But sensing something ominous, Im Seung-hyeon felt conflicted about whether this was truly for Yu Yeon-seo’s own good.
“You must have a lot of questions, but save them for later.”
“…Understood.”
Yu Yeon-seo opened the cafe door. It wasn’t a casual wrap party. Since the show had done unexpectedly well, they were scheduled to film a short epilogue segment.
“You’re here?”
“Uncle! Yeon-seo’s here!”
As a staff member helped him clip a pin microphone to his clothes, Yu Yeon-seo frowned at the overly enthusiastic welcome from the cast.
“…What’s going on?”
Everyone had a strange expression. Yu Yeon-seo glanced at his watch. His conversation with Ryu Hye-gyeong had run long, but he wasn’t late….
“Hey, what did you do without telling us?”
“We were so surprised when we saw the news. Think you can do good deeds all by yourself?”
“Look, look at him pretending he doesn’t know.”
It wasn’t that he was pretending; he really didn’t know. Yu Yeon-seo sat down in an empty seat.
“What is it?”
“You haven’t been online? Or seen any news articles? Everyone’s talking about you right now.”
“I’ve been busy with filming lately, so I haven’t had time.”
“Wow, you really don’t know.”
Kim I-jun slung an arm around Yu Yeon-seo’s shoulder and held out his phone.
“Look at this.”
On the screen he presented was the SNS of the local guide they had met on the island. It was a picture of the guide sitting next to Raul, both of them smiling brightly.
He hadn’t seen them since they went to the hospital, so he was a little happy to see their faces. Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly.
“Looks like the kid’s healthy.”
“No, not the picture, read the text below it.”
Kim I-jun tapped the screen. As Yu Yeon-seo quickly read through the text, a dry laugh escaped him.
“…Why would he write something so unnecessary?”