Chapter 56: Suspicious Rising Stars
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56: Suspicious Rising Stars
Throughout the housewarming, I felt as drained as if I’d appeared on a Christie’s art auction show.
It was because I was standing there like the item up for bid rather than a bidder.
Still, I’d say this housewarming was a success.
My classmates at the arts high school seemed to be secretly looking forward to one, too, but not a chance. This is the first and last housewarming of my life. I’m never moving; I’m going to live here until the day I die.
“Honey, the furniture is a bit… lacking, don’t you think?”
“I was trying to reflect the spirit of the PicoSoft founder, who wears a ten-dollar digital watch…”
“The kimchi fridge is from Yunbyeol Electronics. Imagine how hurt our sponsor would be if she saw that.”
“Oh, right. Really? The kimchi fridge was a gift from an older relative, so…”
“Well, in that case, it can’t be helped.”
I’d have to hide that somewhere out of sight and replace everything with Baekhyun Electronics products.
Curator Han Ji-woo spoke with a gentle smile.
“The house is lovely, but the furniture is a bit desolate. Are you pursuing minimalism?”
“Something like that.”
“The sofa and TV are too small compared to the size of the living room. You’re an actress; you should study your projects while sitting on a good sofa and looking at a large, clear screen.”
Here it comes. Here it comes. Here it comes!
“If it’s alright with you, may I fill in the gaps in your interior design? As your sponsor.”
“I am simply overwhelmed by your boundless grace.”
I tried to bow my head quickly, but Han Ji-woo’s hand caught my shoulder, stopping me.
“Unless you’re in front of a crowd of fans, don’t just bow your head like that anymore. Always be haughty and confident. Aim for an impression that borders on arrogant.”
“The Curator is right. Honey, if you just equip the mindset of ‘How can I look as stuck-up as possible?’ and maintain your expression, you’ll actually end up with a face that people find attractive.”
“That’s a fresh meta-interpretation. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Lee Yu-jin, just what did you do at my mom’s restaurant? Lately, she sighs every time she sees my face.”
“What? She sighs?”
“She used to tell me how pretty I was every time she saw me, but lately, she looks at my face like she’s disappointed. She sighs and gets all teary-eyed. How are you going to take responsibility for this?”
I shifted my eyes around before apologizing.
“Maybe if we all go to the restaurant together and tell her we’re close, it’ll be okay?”
“Seeing us in a two-shot will only make her sigh more. I’m not actually asking you to take responsibility; I just want us to play sisters in a project later. This was all just build-up for that.”
Ugh, my head is spinning. I need some mental healing.
After asking for their understanding, I brought my laptop to the table and logged into LoL.
I relieved my stress by mercilessly slaughtering the trolls who dared to disturb the peace of the Rift.
Whenever I looked up, all three of them were chatting away, yet their eyes remained fixed on my face. Embarrassed, I would quickly turn my gaze back to the Rift.
If I do one more housewarming, they’re going to burn a hole right through my face…
Because they were all staring so blatantly from right in front of me, the heat in my cheeks refused to subside. It was mortifying…
Suddenly, I thought of my brother, who had been running wild ever since I allowed him unlimited photo-taking. The four of them felt strangely similar.
*
Anyway, the housewarming ended successfully.
The topic of the concert came up somehow, and all three of them promised they would definitely come to watch.
I felt a bit uneasy about mentioning it, but Han Ji-woo is my sponsor, so it wouldn’t make sense to hide it. And it would make even less sense to leave the other two out.
I have to pull off a flawless timpani performance. I’ll show them the beat of a former line infantry musician who never lost the rhythm, even amidst gunfire, smoke, screams, and death.
“I can call some employees to clean up for you if you need.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just make my brother do it.”
“I understand if you want to be alone with your family now, so I won’t insist. I ate well today.”
“I ate well, too.”
“We had fun.”
I should be the one saying that. All the food was brought by the guests, after all.
After seeing the guests off, a mountain of cleaning greeted us.
“I’m stuffed. Jang Ji-hye, want to go for a light jog?”
“We have to clean all that up first.”
“Why should we do it? Hey, little brother, shouldn’t you earn your keep?”
“Sisters, please, go enjoy yourselves. I’ll have everything spotless.”
Watching my brother start cleaning at high speed, we put on our sneakers.
We strode side-by-side through the villa complex’s garden.
“Yu-seok is so nice. You told him to clean all that by himself, and he just told us to go rest without a single complaint.”
“He’s getting paid.”
“Still.”
“He’s my brother, but it’s a fact that he’s living an easy life by leaning on his older brother.”
“Brother? Again?”
“The Peter Pan inside me is acting up right now. Let’s pick up the pace a bit.”
“Huff, puff… Yu-jin, Yu-jin, you really should go to the Olympics for track and field. Otherwise, it’s a loss for our country’s medal count.”
“I can’t. If I play sports, I’ll destroy the league.”
This body, which has received all sorts of blessings from a divine being, has such incredible physical stats that if I actually committed to a sport, I could produce world-class performances.
And I don’t mean by female standards—I mean by male standards.
If someone like me competed against women, the league itself would be at risk of being deleted. That’s why I don’t do sports.
However, I’ve been seeing a lot of foreign teenage boys in the communal garden lately.
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Lee Yu! Vous courez tous les jours ici?”
(Hello, Yu? Do you run here every day?)
I pretended not to understand.
“Ciao, Lee Yu! Oggi fai jogging molto presto, eh?”
(Ciao, Yu! You’re jogging very early today, huh?)
I pretended not to hear.
“Hey, Lee Yu! Good morning! You look energetic today!”
I pretended not to understand this one, either.
“صباح الخير يا لِي يُو! هل تحتاجين إلى ماء؟”
“おはよう、イユさん!今日も走ってるんですね!”
I really had no idea what those last two were saying.
French and Italian felt like hearing a regional dialect, so I could partially grasp the meaning, but Arabic and Japanese were Greek to me.
“Did an international high school open nearby? Why are there so many foreign students lately?”
“It’s like they’re all waiting for you to come out for a jog and then swarming out at once.”
“Seeing as they live in this villa, their families must be filthy rich, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Why? Do they look like budding confession-attackers?”
“Yeah, a little. It’s creepy.”
There were plenty of CCTVs and security guards patrolling the complex 24/7, so I couldn’t exactly drag them somewhere dark and beat them up.
*
Today was the day of the official event for Hwan’s Torch.
I attended wearing a pair of reasonably wide cotton pants and a solid-colored T-shirt.
Filming isn’t the end of it. Is this the weight of a 700-million-won appearance fee?
They paid the campaign fees separately. As expected of a global corporation, they were reasonable.
It was a handshake and autograph session, but the minor team was excused from handshakes and only did autographs.
“How can that physique belong to a minor! She’s taller than me! Just let me hold her hand once!”
“Sir, please step this way. You’re disturbing the other guests.”
I had a good time watching people get dragged away by security for trying to grab my hand.
“What should I write under the signature?”
“C-could you perhaps write, ‘From your future wife’?”
“There, all done.”
I wrote, ‘From the future champion,’ and handed it back. Without even changing my expression.
This was the only way to get through the line quickly.
“Actress Yu-jin! There’s a rumor that your black hair is dyed and your original color is silver. Is that true?”
“It’s naturally black. I’m Korean.”
“B-but you don’t look Korean! You’re a total elf from Norse mythology!”
“Yes, yes, I’m a native Korean. From the Jeonju Lee clan.”
“A descendant of Yi Seong-gye! That’s why you’re so good with a bow! When will you take on an elf archer role?”
“I’m sorry. Next person, please.”
The line… the line isn’t getting any shorter.
Am I even going to be able to go home today?
The two child actors on my left and right were looking at me with envy, but if they were in my shoes, they wouldn’t feel that way at all.
If it weren’t for these steel forearms gifted by a god, they would have been paralyzed by now.
*
Lee Yu-seok, dressed in a suit, was watching the area around Lee Yu-jin with hawk-like eyes as she focused on the fan signing.
He was prepared for the possibility of some crazy anti-fan hiding somewhere to launch an attack.
O Goblin Guardian protecting the Golden Dragon’s lair, now is the time to fulfill your mission.
The other actors had finished their signings long ago, but the line in front of Lee Yu-jin showed no signs of ending.
The event manager approached Lee Yu-seok with a troubled expression.
“Manager, what should we do? This doesn’t look like it’s going to end. Should we cut it off at a reasonable point?”
“No. We’ll keep going until my sister says she’s done.”
“I’m just worried she might get a cramp in her arm muscles.”
“My sister can do this all day. Just leave her be until she says she wants to stop.”
For several hours, Lee Yu-jin signed autographs mechanically without shedding a single drop of sweat, without her complexion changing once, and without showing any signs of fatigue.
The fans, who had initially been marvelling at Lee Yu-jin’s face, were now horrified by her iron-clad stamina.
“Whoa, how many hours has it been now?”
“Doesn’t her body ache? How can she stay in the same posture like that without even stretching once?”
“Her stamina for studying must be insane, too. If she’d just focused on studying, she would’ve gone to Korea University.”
“I heard she did all her own action scenes, and now I believe it. What is up with that stamina?”
“Wow, her face is so small, yet her eyes, nose, and mouth are perfectly placed. It’s truly a marvel.”
“The camera really can’t capture Yu-jin’s real-life appearance. Seeing her in person is insane.”
“The Ministry of Culture needs to designate Lee Yu-jin as National Treasure No. 0 right now!”
Lee Yu-seok pretended to strictly monitor the order while inwardly beaming at the fans’ praise.
The greater the praise for his sister, the more abundant the salary crumbs he could scavenge would be.
If only we could do something about her clothes, we could make the fans even crazier. I swear, I wake up in the middle of the night just thinking about how wasted her fashion sense is.
Lee Yu-jin never wore clothes that emphasized her fit.
Even now, she was wearing a no-brand unisex outfit.
Because she insists on clothes like that, Ji-hye gets unfairly cursed at by fans asking what she’s doing with the styling.
His heart fluttered when he thought of the unworn Hermès clothes rotting away at home.
“Manager Lee Yu-seok, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, hello.”
After exchanging nods and handshakes with a man in his 40s wearing a sharp suit…
“Regarding the offer for the Yunbyeol Phone CF I contacted you about last time… I came by to see if you’ve given it any positive thought.”
“My sister is a bit burdened by the idea of consuming her image through CFs so early on. She seems afraid of being criticized as a rookie who’s only interested in making money through commercials.”
“No, who would dare spread such rumors about Actress Yu-jin? Fans would love to see her looking pretty in a CF.”
It wasn’t the truth, but Lee Yu-seok smoothed things over with a polite excuse.
My sister is going to film a Baekhyun Phone CF later.
How could she film a CF for a competitor’s phone when her agency’s CEO and sponsor was the daughter-in-law of the Baekhyun Group?
*
Lee Yu-jin’s grueling fan signing event finally came to an end.
The fans, unable to watch any longer, had tearfully and voluntarily dispersed.
“Our Baby Elf is going to die at this rate! Everyone, scatter! Stop lining up!”
“Everyone, what if Baby Elf gets sick of this and never holds a signing event again? What then? Huh?”
Unaware of the situation, Yu-jin was inwardly cheering with her arms raised, happy that she could finally go home.
The fans gathered outside the restricted line all pointed their phones at Yu-jin as she passed.
Yu-jin gave them a light wave with an elegant eye-smile before stepping into the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, where the driver was waiting with the door open.
The door closed slowly and automatically with a soft whir, and the car pulled away.
It was the silhouette of a top star that no one could deny.
*
[Title: Yu-jin uses a Baekhyun Phone, too!]
└ Isn’t she carrying a Baekhyun Phone because she’s already slated for a CF? She probably uses an Apple Phone when no one’s looking.
└ 99.99% of high school girls these days use Apple Phones.
[Title: Yu-jin watching LoL World Championship highlights on a Baekhyun Phone on set]
(Photo of Lee Yu-jin actually watching LoL highlights on YouTube on a Baekhyun Phone.jpg)
└ Why is this real?;;;;
└ My oldest daughter asked me to buy her a Baekhyun Phone, and a budget model at that. I was so moved, thinking she’d finally grown up…
└ What is Baekhyun Electronics doing? Why haven’t they snatched her up for an Elf Phone CF yet?
└ An elf watching LoL matches on a Baekhyun Phone?? God, how much more are you going to make this oppa’s heart flutter? Huh? Huh?
A fire had broken out in the Baekhyun Electronics PR office.
The Vice President called the PR Team Leader and scolded him.
“I mean, what are you doing? Why haven’t you secured the CF yet? If we lose the CF to Yunbyeol Phone or Apple Phone, is the PR team going to take responsibility? Huh? Huh?”