Chapter 304
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 304
《Shocking! Lee Kang-seok’s Abuse of Power Scandal Revisited》
《Patch Obtains Lee Kang-seok’s Text Messages… The True Face of a Star》
《Rumors of Lee Kang-seok’s Power Tripping Proven True》
Articles regarding Lee Kang-seok spread like wildfire.
「[Exclusive] Disclosure of Text Messages Between Lee Kang-seok and Staff Member A
‘Patch’ has obtained Lee Kang-seok’s mobile phone and recovered the deleted messages.
Lee Kang-seok: Do I really have to teach you every little thing? Are you putting your incompetence on display?
Staff A: You mentioned last time that you disliked it, so I did it that way...
Lee Kang-seok: So now you’re blaming me?
Staff A: No, I’m sorry.
Lee Kang-seok: Just call the CEO yourself. And quit soon. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you’re forced out…
(Omitted)
….」
The rest of the messages were filled with endless slander and criticism of others, more than enough to plunge the public into a state of shock. It was the complete polar opposite of the image Lee Kang-seok had maintained.
[Lee Kang-seok… this is shocking. He pushed such a gentle and shy image, this is a total dealbreaker..]
[They say there’s never a quiet day in the entertainment industry, and it’s true… Guess I’m taking down my Lee Kang-seok poster ^^;;]
[Ugh, leaking texts, what a joke. Patch acts like they’re some kind of detectives when they’re just doing illegal sh*t lol. It’s a celebrity’s private life, just leave it alone.]
└ [Imagine calling abuse of power ‘private life.’ What a take.]
└└ [No, but this actually is an invasion of privacy;;]
[LOL I feel a bit bad for him… but maybe he should’ve treated the people around him better. How do you even get your texts with staff leaked? He basically outed himself.]
While some felt that even for reporters, this was crossing a line, Lee Kang-seok’s popularity plummeted faster than the debate could settle.
「—Messages with Seo Ho-yun, presumed to be Rookie Actor B, were also found.
Lee Kang-seok: Seo Ho-yun-ssi.
Lee Kang-seok: Wouldn’t it be better for you to admit your mistake and apologize now?
Lee Kang-seok: I’m telling you this as your senior in life and as a senior actor.
The messages were marked as read, but there was no reply.
Lee Kang-seok: Hello?
Lee Kang-seok: Hello??
In the subsequent messages, even the ‘1’ indicating an unread message did not disappear.
Thus, ‘Patch’ concluded:
It appears Seo Ho-yun blocked Lee Kang-seok.」
A follow-up article even published the logs of the messages Lee Kang-seok had sent to Seo Ho-yun.
[LMAO Seo Ho-yun’s personality is f*cking hilarious.]
[My actor is one with his character. Kim Woo-ho is Seo Ho-yun and Seo Ho-yun is Kim Woo-ho XDDDD]
[The fact that he didn’t even bother replying is the funniest part LMAO]
From that point on, a re-evaluation of Seo Ho-yun began.
[Seo Ho-yun’s temper is actually legendary..]
[Honestly, I get why Seo Ho-yun ignored him… I’d be creeped out too if Lee Kang-seok kept clinging to me like that lol. Lee Kang-seok seemed to really like Min Ji-heon too… poor guy..]
[There are actually a lot of videos where Ji-heon looks uncomfortable around Lee Kang-seok lol]
└ [In the Dead at Hope behind-the-scenes, he seems to give Seo Ho-yun a lot of attention, so maybe he’s just shy with others..]
[But hasn’t it still not been proven whether Seo Ho-yun stole Lee Kang-seok’s role or whatever? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire...]
└ [Excuse me, have you seen his acting?]
└└ [What are you even saying to an actor whose Kim Woo-ho clips easily hit a million views these days? lol]
Though some still questioned the unresolved suspicions, their voices were quickly buried by other posts.
[Title: I’ve been saying Seo Ho-yun is a good person for a while now.
I’m posting this again because I was ignored or cursed at back then.
Seo Ho-yun is a truly good person.
I worked briefly as a part-timer on the set of Dead at Hope, and Seo Ho-yun was someone who always smiled and greeted the staff first.
I heard rumors from others that the atmosphere was tense at first because of rumors he was a ‘parachute’ hire, but that’s all nonsense.
Just look at Dead at Hope now… Seo Ho-yun is Kim Woo-ho. No one else could have done it.
Anyway, even with the grueling filming schedule, I never saw him show any signs of irritation… and when the staff struggled with moving equipment, he’d be the first to step up and help… (Ah… I did see him look troubled during the smoking scenes. Eventually, the PD decided to handle it all with CG.)
Working with him made me respect him as a person. I don’t think there’s a single staff member who dislikes him.
He’s a truly good person.]
[Seo Ho-yun is such a good person~ ♡♡
The eye candy is insane~
And he buys us coffee trucks all the time!
Seo_Ho-yun_Autograph.png]
└ [Whoa, Kim Woo-ho!!! I’m so jealous T_T~ How are you doing??]
└ [Wait? Is that his autograph? Why is there a drawing of a rabbit?]
└└ [Yeah lol, it’s a bit strange, but all the autographs we got from Seo Ho-yun are shaped like rabbits… Well, anyway!]
Furthermore, verification posts from staff members who had worked with Seo Ho-yun began to surface.
[Why is his autograph a rabbit?]
[LMAO this actor is so f*cking unpredictable XDDDD]
[Weren’t we pushing the ‘Seo Ho-yun is a black cat’ agenda?? lol A sudden betrayal.]
[Please be careful. It’s a cat with long ears. It’s not a rabbit.]
[Our baby kitty is even kind to the staff.]
Fans of Seo Ho-yun, who had been quiet for a while, joined in, and public opinion gradually shifted in a positive direction.
[Seo Ho-yun must be the real deal. Even when he was getting bashed, there were always a few defense posts, and now they’re just pouring out.]
[The fact that staff members are posting using their real names means he’s got nothing to hide lol. His only scandal…
Making the CG team suffer because he doesn’t smoke.]
└ [LMAO that’s hilarious T_T]
[Can’t you tell just by seeing how close he is with the shy Min Ji-heon? Seo Ho-yun is definitely something else.]
Just as public interest reached its peak, a new episode of Dead at Hope aired.
It was late at night, the day Kim Woo-ho headed toward the Gangwon-do Shelter after hearing news that his younger brother might be dead.
Min Han-jun, waking suddenly from sleep, realizes Kim Woo-ho is missing and follows the faint scent of tobacco.
There, he finds Kim Woo-ho leaning against a half-crumbled wall, staring at the sky while smoking.
【Do you not think your brother, Kim Woo-hyeong, might be dead? After what we heard today….】
Min Han-jun finally voices the question he had kept buried deep in his heart.
【……Han-jun, have you ever tried archery?】
Faint moonlight seeps onto Kim Woo-ho’s face. White smoke is held between his rough lips, and the cherry of the cigarette glows particularly red at the tip.
【—Composure is vital. If it breaks, you crumble to the very end. Just like I did.】
Soon, the smoke, spreading like dawn mist, veils his pale face. Min Han-jun’s eyelids tremble weakly as he casts his gaze downward, unable to look him in the eye.
He is afraid that Kim Woo-ho might be consumed by a grief he cannot overcome.
However,
【But looking at it another way. It means as long as I don’t let myself become anxious, it’ll be fine.】
When his face is revealed again, his eyes are calm yet sharp, just like the usual Kim Woo-ho.
【People are going to believe whatever they want to believe anyway, and they’ll talk all kinds of sht about me… Tell them to fck off.】
No matter what anyone says.
He will never let the tip of his arrow waver.
【He’s probably surviving somewhere, just as tenaciously as I am.】
As if declaring his will, his fingertips turn white as he tightly grips the riser of his bow.
【…You believe that?】
【I believe it.】
In a place filled with despair, he was speaking of hope.
【Simple, right?】
The corners of Kim Woo-ho’s mouth curved into a faint arc.
The OST began to play as the preview for the next episode appeared on screen, but the audience remained trapped in the lingering emotions of that final scene.
[Seo Ho-yun is Kim Woo-ho....]
[If it were me, I would’ve been screaming from the start about how unfair it was and how Lee Kang-seok was wrong, and then I would’ve been kicked off the drama for being an eyesore.]
[Seo Ho-yun hasn’t released a single statement this whole time. Wow...
Showing it through the drama is f*cking insane.]
[The real cat... shows it through “acting”..............]
└ [Are you insane? LMAO]
└└ [Our Seo-Kitty is a brave kitty T_T hnghh]
With everything clicking into place at the perfect time, the rumors about Seo Ho-yun quickly faded into the past.
*
Today was the day we were filming the final and highlight scene.
I composed my emotions and walked in front of the camera.
[They arrived in Gangwon-do, but what greeted the survivors was not a shelter, but countless infected.
Min Han-jun carried the injured and unconscious Kim Woo-hyeong on his back, and Kim Woo-ho began to escort them as they fled. Even as people stumbled and fell all around them, they couldn’t help. The moment they stopped, they would die.]
Min Ji-heon’s gaze wavered violently, but Seo Ho-yun ignored it, pulling him along and quickening his pace.
[At a path blocked by the ruins of a collapsed building, Kim Woo-ho quickly assesses the situation.
At this rate, they will all die like dogs.]
Muttering a low curse, Seo Ho-yun reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.
[Unless someone sacrifices themselves.]
He took in every detail of Shin Hee-chan’s pale face as he lay unconscious on Min Ji-heon’s back.
“…Han-jun.”
“Yes?!”
“Time to earn your keep.”
There was no way he could misunderstand what those words meant.
Seo Ho-yun tore a piece of cloth and secured a bottle filled with oil and styrofoam to an arrow. Their eyes met, and the moment Seo Ho-yun flicked the lighter, Min Ji-heon sprinted forward.
Soon, the bowstring was drawn, and an explosion erupted among the infected.
The camera zoomed in on Seo Ho-yun’s face as he emerged through the rising black smoke.
“…F*cking terrifying.”
He could no longer see even the back of the slumped Shin Hee-chan. Seo Ho-yun clicked his tongue softly and gripped the bowstring once more.
Hot flames billowed as if to touch his cheek, and for the first time, his fingertips trembled unsteadily. Sweat trailing down his forehead gathered on his incessantly quivering eyelashes.
As he squeezed his eyes shut, a drop of moisture rolled down his cheek like a tear.
Just then,
“Kim Woo-ho-ssi!!”
Hearing Min Ji-heon’s voice, Seo Ho-yun relaxed his hand and released the string.
An infected lunging right in front of him collapsed to the ground.
In Seo Ho-yun’s bewildered vision, he saw Min Ji-heon—stained with sweat and tears atop the rubble of a nearby building—frantically waving his arms.
He had come back. Along with other reinforcements.
Just like the justice-filled and upright ‘Min Han-jun’ would.
“Don’t you dare die on your own, you bastard!”
The surroundings were still swarming with infected, and the flames were burning fiercely.
Nevertheless, Seo Ho-yun smiled.
“You’re a crazy bastard, Min Han-jun.”
The blue sky was reflected in his eyes.
.
.
.
A moment later, Jeong PD shouted, “Cut!”
Simultaneously, a thunderous cheer erupted.
“Great work everyone!”
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi. You worked so hard for the final shoot!”
“Wait, what?! This was the final shoot?”
“We filmed all the later scenes in a batch last time, remember?”
Staff members holding fire extinguishers immediately rushed in to suppress the flames.
“I can’t believe he pulled that off in one take. Is it because he’s good with his body?”
“Ahaha.”
I smiled brightly as I lowered the arm holding the bow.
Afterward, Min Han-jun leaves to find a way to save more people, and Kim Woo-ho leaves to get treatment for his brother.
They part ways with only a promise to see each other again alive, and thus, Kim Woo-ho’s role in Dead at Hope comes to an end.
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi, how do you feel now that filming is over?”
Time to go back.
“I guess I’ll have less soot on my face from now on.”
“Pardon? Ahaha!”
The assistant director handed me a large bouquet of flowers.
“……Um, I’ve prepared something too.”
Accepting the flowers, I looked toward my manager.
Just like during Please Take Care of the Camera, I had prepared small gift certificates and message cards in advance.
“…Seo Ho-yun-ssi!!”
“He’s really too good of a person for his own sake….”
“Ahaha.”
As I was handing out the gifts to each staff member, a cheer suddenly erupted from behind.
“Our ratings are out! The, the peak rating is 21%!!”
“Whaaat?!”
Starting from Lee Kang-seok, the progression felt remarkably similar to the developments in Unknown Idol Tycoon.
The staff member filming the behind-the-scenes footage captured the actors and production crew rejoicing.
“Wow, what great news to hear at the end of Kim Woo-ho’s filming.”
“He’s the number one contributor!”
Jeong PD, his face flushed red with excitement, nodded vigorously and approached me.
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“There was a lot of talk and a lot of trouble, but I’m so glad the ‘parachute’ was you, Seo Ho-yun-ssi.”
Jeong PD whispered in a low voice as he patted my back. I responded with a playful smirk.
After saying goodbye to all the staff, I was heading toward the van to leave the set when—
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi.”
Min Ji-heon called out to me.
He walked beside me as if seeing me off, helping me carry the bouquet that was almost too large to hold with one hand.
Then, he murmured in my ear.
“You’re something else, really. How did you write letters to every single person in that crowd? But why isn’t there one for me?”
“I have something else to talk to you about privately.”
His expression froze instantly.
Before returning to being an idol,
It was time to dig into Min Ji-heon.