Chapter 311
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 311
August was a great month to be a total menace.
“Gasp! Did you see this?”
Other months that were also great for being a menace included July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, October, and February.
《Idol Boy Group ‘Today’ Under Suspicion of Drug Use?!》
《‘Assaulting a Civilian’—D.go’s Yoo Hyuk from Today, Shocking CCTV Footage!》
“Is he insane?!”
“Whoa, I really liked Today’s songs. I listened to them every day...”
First, I cleared away the group that had been looking down on Seong Ji-won.
[Subject: Exposing the true nature of Yun Hee-eon.
…—I dated Yun Hee-eon for a long time, but he constantly met other women.
He told me I was the only one, that I was different from the others.
I was such a fool for believing those words and pouring my money into him…
(Omitted)
…He would even make up lies to badmouth idols or juniors he didn’t like.
Seeing him smiling shamelessly on TV still makes my hands shake—…
(Remainder omitted)
└ How many of these exposure posts is this now? LOL. Just how many girls was he seeing at once? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Is this a series now?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Damn, it’s a parade of ex-girlfriends coming forward.
└ Congratulations on breaking the all-time K-pop scandal record this year.]
“What?! Yun Hee-eon got caught too?!”
“Wow… that’s a total turn-off.”
And I took care of that little pest who kept pestering us as a bonus.
《Entertainment Ghost Agency ‘Company A’ Exposed… Fraudulent Contract Terminations with Minors?》
《Double-Contracting Scams Targeting Aspiring Celebrities on the Rise!》
I also cleaned up the absolute trash of a scammer who had been tormenting Jeong Da-jun.
On the other hand, I was doing just fine, same as always.
[What do you think about a male cat named Seo...?]
My fans were also as consistent as ever.
“Why is the atmosphere so grim lately?”
“I know, right? The entertainment industry always has scandals every other day, but lately, there’s a massive headline every single day.”
The staff were whispering among themselves about the heavy headlines popping up day after day.
“Hello.”
I walked onto the set with a bright, refreshing smile on my face.
“Seo Ho-yun, you look like you’re in a great mood today. Why such a cheerful greeting?”
“The weather is just so beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Haha, Ho-yun, you’re the vitamin of our drama, the vitamin! It’s so good to see you looking so bright.”
Ding!
[Vitamin, my foot.]
[Are there vitamins in this world that kill you if you ingest them?]
They say bitter medicine is good for the body.
I silenced the system window with a sharp glance and kept walking.
“Hyung, hello~!”
Just then, Shin Hee-chan, who spotted me first, waved his hand vigorously in greeting. Ha Seo-yeon, who was beside him—likely practicing their chemistry—gave a slight nod as well.
“I’m really looking forward to today’s shoot!”
Shin Hee-chan’s eyes were sparkling like Jeong Da-jun’s in front of a snack.
“I seriously feel like I’m at a concert every time you’re in a scene, hyung!”
“Ahaha, aren’t you praising me a bit too much?”
I laughed and played humble, but it was only natural.
Even if my skills were merely 'decent' for an idol, they were more than enough to play the role of an idol as an actor.
“My goodness, Ho-yun! Did you take lessons somewhere?! You’re such a good dancer! This is insane, seriously!!”
Whether it was dancing.
“Seo Ho-yun’s vocal tone is so sweet. His pitch and rhythm are like a machine!”
Whether it was singing.
“No, how do you find the camera so perfectly? I really thought you were a pro idol!”
Even down to his camera eye contact.
Everything was perfect.
The system window kept blaring notifications calling me a legendary swindler, but I had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Hyung, if you could act like this, why were you so shaky on the first day~?!”
“……Hahaha.”
I couldn’t exactly tell him it was because I’d been blindsided by a version of Ju Woo-seong I wasn’t used to and a Ha Seo-yeon who looked way too much like my ex-girlfriend.
Fortunately, humans are creatures of habit.
After struggling for a few days, I was able to find my original pace.
I smiled at Shin Hee-chan, who was rolling his round eyes in curiosity, when Director Ju called for me.
“Ah! Seo Ho-yun, welcome! Over here, quick! I’ve been waiting for you~.”
The sharp gazes of the other actors landed on me for a moment before flickering away.
The reason was obvious.
I approached Director Ju with a calm expression.
“Seriously, I’ve never had such a hard time finding the emotional flow as I have with this project. Seo Ho-yun, what do you think about this scene?”
Director Ju pointed to a section of the script and asked me.
I had simply been giving Shin Hee-chan some casual advice when he came to me for help regarding Jeong Da-jun’s character, but Director Ju happened to overhear us. After asking me a few questions, things had escalated to this.
Since then, whenever the actors’ performances didn’t meet his expectations, the director would call my name.
A director’s affection often determined how charming an actor appeared within the camera frame, so it was no wonder people were looking at me with daggers in their eyes.
“If you look at the scene where he’s on the phone with the character Lee Hyuk, you’ll see that while Ji Yeong-won is kind, he has very clear boundaries. If someone crosses them, he cuts them off instantly. He looks soft, but he’s surprisingly cold-hearted.”
Well, not that I cared.
They were people I’d never have to see again once I fixed the errors anyway.
“Is that so? Doesn’t that feel more like Seong Ju-hyeon’s character?”
“If you look at how he takes care of the cast members, or the Seong Ju-hyeon-centric episodes that come later… he’s very kind. There was a reason he acted sharp during his first appearance.”
“Oh, that makes sense too. Your character interpretations are always spot on!”
Director Ju, giving me a thumbs up, flipped through the script before looking up at me.
“Then, what about PD Seo Ui-yeong over there? What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“……Eh?”
“I don’t really remember.”
“……Eeeh?”
When I, who usually answered everything like a vending machine, suddenly started playing dumb, Director Ju tilted his head in confusion.
‘But seriously, it is strange.’
The more I participated in Shining Star and the more we filmed, the stranger it felt. The fact that Kim Seong-hyeon, Seong Ji-won, Kang Yi-chae, and Jeong Da-jun had all gathered at Daepasung to form a single group.
In the drama, the characters presumed to be them gained popularity quickly through a survival competition and easily secured a foothold for success.
There was no guarantee this story was based on the truth, but judging by Please Take Care of the Camera or Dead after Hope, which had targeted me, the probability was high.
“Ah! Right, some investors suggested it might be nice to sprinkle a bit of romance on PD Seo Ui-yeong, so with Kang Ji-sung……”
“Investors are important, but I believe a solid narrative is more crucial. I trust Writer Lee will handle that well on her own.”
“……Uh, yeah. Right.”
When I indirectly signaled that I didn’t want to discuss it further with a smile, Director Ju scratched his chin and agreed a beat late.
“Well, I suppose. It might be a bit awkward to force romance in now. It was mostly a joke anyway, so relax! Hahaha.”
“……Ahahaha!”
‘That was a terrifyingly unfunny joke.’
Seriously, does romance put food on the table?
I replaced the retort I couldn’t say out loud with a laugh.
Director Ju, who was walking away with his script rolled up, suddenly turned back and patted my shoulder.
“Oh, right. Another coffee truck arrived in your name today, Seo Ho-yun. At this rate, you’re going to become the King of Food Trucks.”
“……Haha, the King of Food Trucks… right.”
I had been trying my best to ignore the coffee truck that was already sitting prominently on one side of the filming location.
But because Director Ju kept pushing me to go show my face, I was forced to head over.
In the past, they had come from The Dawn members, Im Hyeon-su, or Ju Woo-seong, but lately……
“Greetings.”
……This guy was the culprit.
Min Ji-heon was leaning against the truck with his sunglasses on, wearing a spiteful grin. He slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose with his long fingers and greeted me.
“‘Archery Kitty Seo Ho-yun, good luck with filming’……”
I read the text on the large panel standing there. The message was truly a sight to behold.
“How is it?”
“Are you okay after writing something like this?”
“Ah, I’ve always had a strong stomach.”
The way he was smirking made it clear he’d searched the internet and picked the most annoying thing he could find.
Including today, this was already the third time Min Ji-heon had provided catering.
I hated it even when he sent them with normal messages like ‘Min Ji-heon supports you!’ or ‘Actor Seo Ho-yun, all the way to Best Supporting Actor!’
“It’s my hobby lately. Sending coffee trucks to a close junior and watching his reaction. It’s rewarding, isn’t it?”
“You’re ruining my perfectly good day.”
“Perfect.”
I ordered a lemonade and glared at Min Ji-heon.
“So why are you here? Media play?”
“—Disguised as bonding. Well, there are some things I’m curious about regarding you, Seo Ho-yun.”
As if he were used to this level of coldness, Min Ji-heon said as he took off his sunglasses.
“Things have been quite chaotic lately. Do you know anything about it?”
Even without a subject, I knew exactly what he was referring to.
I clicked my tongue softly, took my finished drink, and started walking. Min Ji-heon followed right beside me.
“Min Ji-heon.”
I’d already gotten everything I needed from him.
There was no reason to endure the annoyance and be kind to him.
“Are you bored?”
“…Hm?”
“What, are you holding a grudge?”
Min Ji-heon blinked slowly as if processing what he’d just heard, then suddenly burst into laughter.
“A grudge? Of course not. I mean, I was a bit annoyed.”
“……”
“Thinking, ‘What kind of person is he?’… I felt a bit emotional, and my blood pressure spiked……”
He sounded pretty angry.
“Anyway, that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m just interested in you, Seo Ho-yun.”
I got goosebumps.
He was the one who dodged out of the way to stay clean while I was coughing up blood, and now he’s interested? In-ter-est-ed?
Despite my look of disgust, Min Ji-heon casually sipped his coffee.
“So, Seo Ho-yun. Did you already know Ju Woo-seong?”
One of my eyebrows twitched slightly.
Min Ji-heon, who caught that minute movement instantly, smirked.
“I’ve been observing you for a few days while sending the food trucks, and for some reason, you seem to subtly avoid Ju Woo-seong whenever you run into him.”
“I don’t.”
“Did you borrow money from him?”
I stood there with my arms crossed, waiting to see how far he’d go, but this guy didn’t know when to stop and kept blathering on.
“Ju Woo-seong seems fine, though. It feels like you’re the only one who knows him.”
“It’s because I’m his fan.”
“Wow, so you like idols~?”
“Yeah, I even collect photocards.”
I decided to respond to his nonsense with more nonsense.
At that, a soft smile played around Min Ji-heon’s eyes.
“You were acting so restless and making it so obvious, and now you’re trying to deny it. I tried to ignore it, but I just couldn’t let it slide.”
He was clearly just saying things to see how I’d react.
I stared at Min Ji-heon while crunching on the ice in my lemonade.
“Are you going to keep playing dumb? I don’t think I can.”
What do you mean you can’t?
There’s nothing in this world you can’t do.
And isn’t professional life all about pretending to know when you don’t, and pretending not to know when you do?
As I was retorting internally, I heard the assistant director’s voice from afar, announcing that filming was about to resume.
It wasn’t a scene for ‘Kang Ji-sung,’ but since I didn’t want to talk to Min Ji-heon anymore, I waved my hand dismissively and tried to leave, but he grabbed my shoulder.
“Ahhh! Okay, okay. I won’t say anything else. My bad. But you have to give me a Starstagram photo verification. I have to brag about how close we are~.”
“This guy is really doing the absolute most……”
It wasn’t like Min Ji-heon to care about every little thing like this.
He was definitely doing it to show his younger sibling. Since he was called Noeul in Unknown Idol Tycoon.
I let out a small sigh, asked the coffee truck owner for a fresh cup, and gestured to Min Ji-heon.
“Come here.”
“……Huh? Really?”
I opened the camera app on my phone, told the bewildered guy to smile, and pressed the button immediately. Then, I uploaded it to Starstagram with a short caption.
[(Black cat emoji) Meow^^]
“……”
“……”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Do you usually have a strong stomach?”
As an idol, one must always do their best for their fans, anytime, anywhere.
Seeing Min Ji-heon’s face crumpled in disgust, just like mine had been moments ago, made me feel a bit refreshed.
I turned and walked away, leaving him behind, but the conversation we’d had lingered in my mind.
‘Whatever. You live life alone anyway.’
I dug my finger into my ear and decided not to think much of it.
Thinking about our little problem child still makes my blood boil, though.
Well, what could possibly happen? It’ll be fine.
…Probably.