Chapter 52: The Heart Behind the Large Allowance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: The Heart Behind the Large Allowance
I woke up to find myself an actress with a debut work that had hit the five-million-viewer mark.
People are truly strange.
It wasn’t even exclusive theater content; you could watch it cheaply on Netscreen, yet they still went all the way to the cinema to see it.
‘Are people just loaded? Or do they usually spend this much on culture?’
As someone whose only cultural expenditure consisted of buying League of Legends champion skins, this was beyond my comprehension.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] Congratulations. How does it feel to be a five-million-viewer actress right from your first project?
[Me:] I’m still dazed. It’s all thanks to you, Writer. Thank you.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] You’ve been getting offers for jokbal, bossam, and suyuk franchises, haven’t you?
[Me:] Gasp, how did you know?
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] I knew it.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] Don’t you dare accept them. Doing food commercials like that will only lower your status.
[Me:] Understood.
This was advice from the person who had built my current bank balance. I had to etch it into my very bones. Besides, I had no intention of doing any CFs yet.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] I’ll take my time with the production of Season 2, so don’t feel pressured and enjoy your break.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] Oh, by the way, the Quarter 1 broadcast on MBS got a great response, so they’re doing reruns.
[Me:] That’s good news.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] You might end up walking the red carpet at the MBS Year-End Awards Ceremony, so be prepared.
[Writer Jung Yoon-ah:] You’ll have to wear... an evening dress, right?
[Me:] ??????
Wondering what on earth she meant, I hurriedly searched the internet and was struck with horror.
‘You mean if I’m invited to the MBS Year-End Awards, I have to wear something like this?’
Absence. I was definitely going to be absent.
‘She’s just getting ahead of herself. They’ll give the awards to other people. I’ll just watch comfortably from home.’
But why did my chest feel so chilly...?
*
I didn’t look up the reactions to the work or my character on the internet.
I didn’t even visit my fan cafe except to post thank-you notes for the tributes.
“Yu-jin, Yu-jin! The fans are dying to send more tributes, so they’re all clamoring for you to start your next project. They’re telling you to film Season 2 immediately.”
“Noona, the kicker is that even the fans can’t agree on which Quarter should be the basis for Season 2.”
As Netscreen released a statement saying, “We will decide the Quarter for Season 2 by gathering public opinion,” the viewers were practically at each other's throats.
‘I’m sure this is a collaboration between PD Jang and Writer Jung. They’re definitely enjoying this.’
“Noona! They say suyuk is selling like crazy right now! Not just in Korea, but overseas too!”
“Suyuk with geotjeori is the ultimate combo. That’s a fact even recorded in the Goguryeo Subakdo murals.”
“Yu-jin, Yu-jin... Goguryeo... that’s right, isn’t it?”
Today was the day of the gathering at Grandfather’s house.
Mom’s Carnival came to pick us up, and my brother and I got ready to head out.
“Have a safe trip.”
“If a stranger comes by, don’t open the door. Call the police immediately.”
“Pfft, do you think I’m a kid?”
While taking the elevator down to the parking lot, I ran into another resident of the villa.
She was a pretty woman who looked to be in her early thirties, and she flinched when she saw me.
I gave a slight nod of greeting and focused on my phone.
I could feel her gaze flickering toward me repeatedly, which felt a bit prickly.
‘Did she watch Hwan’s Torch, or is she just reacting to my face?’
Even before I became an actress, I’d experienced people flinching upon seeing my face more than once or twice, so I couldn’t tell which it was.
I decided to just stay quiet.
Fortunately, the woman didn’t speak to me until we went our separate ways.
“That neighbor just now, she recognized you as the actress Lee Yu-jin. I saw her searching for you on her phone.”
“It’s comfortable since she didn’t act like she knew me. Is this the etiquette of ultra-high-end housing residents?”
“Even fourth-generation chaebols live here. If you make a fuss just because a neighbor is famous, it only lowers your own class. Rich people are very prideful about that sort of thing.”
True. If she lived in a villa worth over 10 billion won, she must be incredibly wealthy herself.
We got into the Carnival and arrived at Grandfather’s house in Samseong-dong with Mom and Dad.
Thump, thump, thump! Crash!
“Unnie! Unnie! I cried! I cried because it was so sad seeing you eat suyuk!”
“Yu-jin Noona! Why are you so pretty?”
“Noona! Noona!”
“Unnie! Unnie!”
The younger cousins were even more rowdy than usual today. After I laid down the law for a bit, they finally settled down.
My aunts and sisters-in-law welcomed me with awkward smiles.
“Oh my, Yu-jin, things really do get quiet the moment you arrive. The kids were making such a fuss asking when you’d get here...”
“I went to the theater to see it. IMAX. You came out looking really beautiful. Congratulations.”
“Are you filming Season 2?”
“Yes, I have to earn money...”
I also saw Uncle Guk-shin for the first time in a while.
He was still dressed as shabbily as before, which made my heart ache.
“Yu-jin, I enjoyed the show. Do you know how shocked I was when I heard you’d debuted?”
“Ahaha... That’s just how it turned out.”
“I knew it was a good idea to do that camera test for you that day.”
“Pardon?”
“Your uncle is just proud.”
I realized it in that moment.
‘Uncle thinks I decided to debut as an actress because of that.’
Since the timing was similar, it was an understandable misunderstanding from his perspective.
I was briefly overcome by a mischievous urge to shatter his pride, but...
‘No. He’s the one who gave me a 3-million-won allowance when I had nothing. I shouldn’t return grace with enmity.’
“You filmed it well. Thank you.”
I decided not to drop the brutal truth-bomb: ‘You filmed me like some crazy idiot trying way too hard to look pure and pretty...’
As always, but especially today, the relatives’ attention was focused on me.
The little cousins clung to me, refusing to leave my side for a second, while the adults were curious about my future path.
“For now, I think I’ll continue acting while attending school. I’ll be in Season 2 of Hwan’s Torch, but I don’t know when production will start yet.”
“Haven’t you received a lot of CF offers?”
Since I didn’t know the details, I looked at my brother.
As if he’d been waiting for this, he started blabbing.
“Food, insurance, clothing, shoes, medicine, perfume, cosmetics, sporting goods—there are over thirty major proposals in right now.”
“Wow, Yu-jin really has become a top star.”
“Oh, and an offer for a Yunbyeol Phone CF came in too.”
Hearing "Yunbyeol Phone" suddenly made me think of Baekhyun Group.
Curator Han Ji-woo had sent a short text congratulating me on hitting five million viewers, and my reply was the only contact we’d had recently.
“Yunbyeol Phone? Wow, if you’ve got an offer for the number one phone in the business world, that says it all.”
Currently, in Korea, Yunbyeol Phone holds a 42% market share, Baekhyun Phone 40%, and Apple Phone 18%. I didn’t know that, but my brother told me.
“Noona! Noona! Grandfather wants you in the study!”
“Got it. You guys stay here.”
“No! No! I want to be with Noona!”
“I’m going to stick right to Unnie!”
“Unnie! You’re sleeping over today, right? Right? Please sleep with me, please!”
Leading the parade of trailing cousins, I went to the study and knocked cautiously.
“Come in.”
“Yes. Your granddaughter, Lee Yu-jin, is entering.”
Last time, he gave me a villa worth 13 billion won. What would it be this time?
‘Crazy. How long has it been since you got a 13-billion-won house, and you’re already thinking about what else you’ll get? Get a grip, you rower.’
I lightly scolded myself internally and sat politely by Grandfather’s side.
“...”
Today, Grandfather was staring at me particularly intently. To a slightly embarrassing degree.
“Yu-jin, since you were young, I’ve given you more allowance than the other children.”
“I have etched that grace into my bones and soul.”
“I’m not asking for a thank-you. Do you know the reason why?”
How could I not know?
But how could I say it with my own mouth?
“It was because you were pretty.”
“Th-thank youuuu...”
Aaaagh! Even Grandfather! Are you all trying to kill me with shame?!
He was the only one in our entire clan who hadn't used the shame attack on me, but today he betrayed my trust.
“I did it because you were so pretty that I feared wicked temptations would approach you.”
“...”
So it wasn’t a shame attack.
I believed in you, Grandfather.
“It was my own kind of safety net. I thought if you received a large allowance every time you visited, you wouldn’t fall for wicked temptations.”
So that’s why he gave me millions in middle school and upgraded it to tens of millions in high school.
Oh, man.
He really didn't need to worry about that at all.
“By any chance, giving me the Hannam-dong villa after finding out I was becoming an actress was also...”
“Are there not so many wicked men among those in business? My heart was pounding, wondering if they would make foul proposals, offering a hundred million or a billion for a night. That’s why I did it.”
“...”
“Is it true that your appearance fee this time was 700 million won?”
“Yes, that’s right. Don’t worry. I won’t fall for the temptation of money.”
“You try having a granddaughter like yourself and see if you worry or not. I told your father to get rid of that apartment and move in here long ago, but he simply wouldn’t listen.”
He was talking for a particularly long time today.
Which meant?
‘Whoa, what is he going to give me today?’
I had a feeling. It would be something even bigger than a 13-billion-won villa.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be building up the sentiment for this long. I trusted my grandfather.
“Sign this.”
“I’ll sign it!”
“At least read it.”
“I’ll sign it and then read it!”
In case the documents ran away, I hurriedly signed first and then read the gloriously named ‘Deed of Gift.’
“It’s a deed of gift for a building. I’ll handle the gift tax like last time. There are three conditions for it to take effect: if I die, or if you get married or give birth.”
Ah, this was a bit...
Since marriage and childbirth weren't in my future, this was a gruesome deed of gift that required me to pray for my grandfather’s passing to receive the building.
I hoped this would never be activated in my lifetime.
“Why are you giving me something like this too?”
“The current market value is a bit over 400 billion won. With this, you won’t be swayed by the lures of mediocre men who think they have a bit of money.”
“...!”
I understood Grandfather’s heart.
So, he was setting up a defensive line because he was afraid I’d be swept away by a proposal from some weirdo trying to tempt me with money.
‘Ah, that would never happen. Grandfather is too much.’
Since he didn't know the truth—that I was planning to live a moderate life this time and hope for a jackpot life as a handsome man in the next—he had these worries and gave me such gifts.
“Thank you. Don’t worry. I don’t like men. Did you know? I even made the Hallyu star Kim Ho-jin retire.”
“Yes, I heard. I’m somewhat relieved because of that, but I’m still uneasy. There are some unsettling rumors starting to circulate in the business world lately...”
“Pardon? The business world?”
“You don’t need to know the complicated details. Just continue to live as you wish, purely doing what you want to do, without being swayed by others.”
As I came out hiding the folded contract in a book, my mind was a bit complicated.
‘Just how much money does Grandfather have? What does he actually do?’
Mom and Dad only ever gave me the answer, “He did a bit of real estate investment.”
“Noona! Noona! What difficult book is it today?”
“Yeah, Machiavelli’s The Prince... Ah, so the one who talked about 'divide and rule' wasn't Marx, but Machiavelli. Dammit, Ji-hye must have thought I was so ignorant.”
Thanks to Grandfather, books were piling up in the house, but the problem was that I didn't read them.
I thought I wouldn't get an allowance anymore since I was earning well, but the adult relatives gave me money just like usual.
“No matter how much you earn, a tenth grader still gets an allowance. Do you expect us to take money from you?”
“Don’t think of it as an allowance; think of it as a babysitting fee for looking after the kids.”
“Thank you. If possible, I prefer the term 'caregiver' over 'babysitter.'”
Today, the little cousins pestered me so much to tell them stories about the drama that I felt a bit more drained than usual.
*
I got a message from Curator Han Ji-woo.
[Curator Han Ji-woo:] I’d like to invite you to the gallery. Would you like to come over with Jang Ji-hye?
[Curator Han Ji-woo:] I have a gift I want to give you to celebrate the success of Quarter 2.
I thought of the management contract Han Ji-woo had given me.
A noble’s sponsorship contract, overflowing with clauses that were absurdly favorable only to me.
The lawyer my father had formally asked to review it apparently said this:
"This is a contract a minor could sign alone. It’s that one-sided."
Grandfather had said that even a minor can independently perform acts that only result in acquiring rights or being released from obligations.
Actually, I was dying to sign the management contract with Curator Han Ji-woo.
But I felt so embarrassed that I’d barely contacted her—using the excuses of playing the timpani, playing LoL, filming, and beating up my brother—that I couldn't bring myself to say it...
[Me:] Would it be okay if I visited with Ji-hye this weekend?
[Curator Han Ji-woo:] Anytime. See you then.
The real reason I hadn't contacted her often was that the damage I took from her last attack—the "You are like a star, blah blah blah" one—hadn't fully healed yet...
‘I received so many expensive Hermès items; I should give her a gift. What would be good?’
Then, the hairpin I’d used as a prop throughout Quarters 1 and 2 caught my eye.
PD Jang Hyun-soo had given it to me as a souvenir.
‘Nah, there’s no way she’d like a souvenir like that, right?’