Chapter 378
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 378
“Ah, do idols not smoke?”
Min Ji-heon murmured softly as he took a step forward. His hair, likely styled for the photoshoot he had just finished, swayed slightly in the late autumn breeze.
“Why are you here, Senior? I thought you were busy.”
“Me? A staff member contacted me saying there was a company dinner. I was on my way home and figured I’d stop by to see you, Ho-yun.”
Switching back to formal speech, he gave a bright smile. He scanned me from head to toe as I remained silent, then tried to coax me.
“It’s boring here, isn’t it? Want to head out?”
“I would think you’d be tired of me swearing at you by now, Senior.”
“Ahaha.”
Though he chuckled, Min Ji-heon’s eyes remained fixed on me. I had a rough idea of what that look meant, so I shoved my phone into my back pocket and crossed my arms.
“Really, why are you here?”
“……”
“Are you worried I’ll find out you personally changed the script?”
For a moment, Min Ji-heon’s smooth brow furrowed.
“…Who did you hear that from?”
“I wonder.”
Looking troubled, he rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long sigh.
“If it made things uncomfortable for you, I’m sorry.”
Seeing him look uncharacteristically dejected was an eyesore.
Out of habit, I clicked my tongue inwardly and changed the subject.
“Forget it. Why did you do it?”
“Do I really have to say it out loud for you to know?”
Min Ji-heon dodged the question, but the reason behind his actions was plain to see.
It was his way of being considerate.
It was unexpected, considering he hadn't spared me a single thought during our previous drama filming.
As I shrugged, Min Ji-heon hesitated, his mouth hovering open before he finally spoke.
“……So, do you really have to appear in this, Junior?”
“Of course. You want me to back out now?”
Do you think 10,000 IRIX points is pocket change?
Besides, as of today, the negotiations between WH Entertainment and the production company were finalized. Unless there was an extraordinary reason, it was past the point of backing out.
“You should be more worried about yourself, Senior.”
At this point, he was the one with more to lose.
Before the Moon Wanes was certainly a mainstream work with a good balance of comedy, but it wasn't a drama that lacked emotional depth. Even from a brief glance at the script, the role of ‘Won Jae-wook’ that Min Ji-heon had taken on seemed incredibly difficult. He was a gray character who blurred the lines between good and evil—at times like an innocent child, and at others, infinitely cruel and rational.
It even included flashy action scenes, meaning he’d be put through the wringer.
Furthermore, there was the subject matter. Exorcism. It might be different for another actor, but this guy actually saw strange things.
“Are you worried about me?” Min Ji-heon asked, tilting his head slightly.
Instead of answering, I glared at him with enough intensity to convey a string of curses. Min Ji-heon flinched, pulling his upper body back, then continued with a slight smirk.
“Haha, well… what can I do? I have to do it. An actor shouldn't be picky about their roles, right?”
If that’s what he thought, then fine.
I gestured for him to follow me back into the restaurant, but he didn't seem interested in joining the dinner. He pulled out his phone and stayed put. Instead, returning to his usual self, he murmured in a sing-song voice.
“…Well, if you’re so insistent on making a cameo, who am I to stop you? Work hard, Ho-yun. Try to squeeze out a single, perfect tear~.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
“I have a feeling you won’t be able to, though….”
I let out a short laugh.
“It’ll be a piece of cake.”
I turned around with confidence. With my experience from Unknown Actor Tycoon and the short acting lessons I was scheduled to take at WH Entertainment before filming, I was certain there would be no problem.
I realized that was pure arrogance the very next day, thanks to a cold remark from the acting teacher.
“You’re not getting it at all.”
“……”
Son of a…
The tears wouldn't come.
* * *
I struggled in the training room for over two hours, but my eyes remained embarrassingly dry.
The talkative acting teacher tried various methods to help, but none yielded results.
“…Hmm, why isn't it working? It’s so simple. Even most aspiring actors can do this….”
“The future of the Korean entertainment industry is bright, then. To think aspiring actors are so full of sensibility.”
“Even people as dry as a withered branch in winter can do it….”
The teacher took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and spoke with a look of grim determination.
“Alright! Let’s try to revive the emotions from deep within your heart. I’m sure it’s not an area that’s completely blocked off for you, Ho-yun. Let’s approach it step by step, starting from your oldest memories!”
Is this a hypnosis session?
Suppressing the urge to scoff, I followed his instructions for now.
“Think of the last time you cried.”
“……”
“…Don’t tell me you can’t remember?”
When I remained silent, the teacher started pacing frantically.
“No way, it’s that bad?! And you’re working in this harsh entertainment industry?! Stop joking and try to remember, something recent! There must be at least one instance!”
“…When I yawned?”
“That doesn't count as crying!”
How heartless.
If crying could solve everything in this industry, I would have walked around weeping every day. In reality, the moment you show tears, you’re immediately moved to the top of the list of people to be looked down upon and discarded.
Sighing as if he had given up, the teacher scratched the back of his head.
“Phew, I had high expectations for you, Ho-yun… I really enjoyed watching Please Take Care of the Camera.”
“Can’t I just use eye drops?”
“I heard the director is Kang Jeong-gun; there’s no way. He’s the type to cut the entire scene rather than use fake tears.”
Director Kang Jeong-gun, who was in charge of Before the Moon Wanes, was notorious for being a perfectionist.
There were rumors that he had mellowed out since moving from the film industry to long-form dramas, but his fundamental nature hadn't changed.
His nickname was ‘Kelp’—not because of the food, but because he would grill actors until he got the perfect shot, constantly shouting, “Again, man!” (Dashi, ma!).
I’m screwed…
I thought I just had to record high Nutube clip views with a special appearance, but the deeper I dug, the harder the quest felt.
As I considered giving up on the acting route and brainstormed other ways to boost views, the teacher let out another sigh.
“And above all, you’re filming with Min Ji-heon. You absolutely cannot be a burden to him! Every moment he’s on camera must be perfect!”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Every actor dreams of working with Min Ji-heon at least once. Didn't you feel that while filming Please Take Care of the Camera?!”
“Ah, right, right.”
I tried to brush him off with half-hearted agreement, but the teacher showed no signs of stopping.
“—He’s a monster whose skills only grow! That’s why anyone who’s even dipped a toe into acting knows just how incredible he is. How does he keep improving?!”
I pretended to listen while flipping through the script. I tried to squeeze some moisture from my eyes by thinking about my pitiful situation—having to practice acting and listen to this while busy preparing for year-end stages.
Naturally, not even 0.1ml came out.
“…Ji-heon was born different! He’s a total genius! Oh! And Ho-yun, did you know this?!”
“Yes, I know.”
I answered in hopes he’d shut up, but it had no effect. He continued undeterred.
“He’s mysterious now, but early in his career, he did interviews quite often! There was an anecdote about how he started acting—aren't you curious?!”
“Not interested.”
“Gasp! It’s practically a legend?!”
Surprised by my indifferent attitude, he began the story anyway.
I had already heard the reason he started acting from the man himself, so I tried to ignore the information that was essentially zero-value to me. But then, a certain phrase caught my ear.
“—They say when Min Ji-heon was young, he used to talk to thin air so much!”
“……What?”
When I finally showed a proper reaction, the teacher got even more excited and slapped his knee.
“It wasn't explained in detail, but it said he went to the hospital with his parents for quite a while because of it.”
“……”
“And after some time, he confessed to his parents that it was all acting! He got in a lot of trouble for the prank, but he said all of that became the foundation for who he is today… My god, isn't he a genius?”
……I don’t think that’s it.
As the teacher showered Min Ji-heon with praise, I felt a sickening sensation in my gut.
I lost the will to practice further and put down the script. The teacher, who had been chatting away happily, narrowed his eyes and poked me in the side.
“But how did you get close to Min Ji-heon?”
“We’re not that close.”
“Oh, stop lying. Min Ji-heon is famous for not meeting people outside of work. But he seems to see you quite often.”
How did he even know that?
At this point, I couldn't tell if he was an acting teacher or a Min Ji-heon superfan.
“After Daepasung was acquired by WH Entertainment, I had the absolute, absolute, absolute honor of briefly looking over Min Ji-heon’s acting. Though it was more like I was the one learning from him, haha!”
“Right….”
“Anyway, back then, I saw him cooped up in the practice room, totally immersed. I knew then that he was someone who would succeed no matter what—!”
I checked the time on my phone and was about to toss the script into my gym bag when a strange word caught my ear.
“Oh, wait. I did see him meet someone who wasn't his manager during that time. Just once. It was a woman….”
There are moments like that.
When something seemingly insignificant gnaws at you and gets under your skin.
“It—it was a coincidence, a coincidence! I’m not a stalker! I just happened to see him talking to someone at a cafe while passing by!”
Seeing my expression, the teacher stepped back and waved his hands dismissively.
I let go of the zipper and stood up straight.
“…When was this?”
“Well, let’s see. Hmm, it was during the peak of the university festivals, so around May?”
A dormant memory surfaced, and my heart began to beat a little faster.
“What did she look like?”
“Uh… her? Why do you ask?”
“I thought she might be someone I know.”
“Ah……”
He had been blabbering useless information until now, but he became hesitant when I asked a direct question. He answered vaguely.
“Umm, she looked quite young… and she was pretty enough to be a WH trainee… Did she have a mole under her eye? Ah, I remember Min Ji-heon calling her name while on the phone. It was a bit unusual… Jeong….”
The more I heard the description, the colder my mind became.
“Jeong… Cheong… what was it? Cheong-gi? Hahaha, like an air purifier? What a name!”
“……”
“…Why, why are you looking at me like that? You’re scaring me.”
Son of a bitch.
Leaving the bewildered teacher behind, I let out a hollow laugh.
Min Ji-heon, you bastard.
Jeong Cheong-yeon.
The person he met was the trainee I encountered right before I was swept into Unknown Actor Tycoon—the last person I saw before coming to this world, the one who had poured curses upon me.
It was definitely her.