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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: An Uninvited Guest
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‘About Han-byeol. What does his father do? You said you’re close. Director Jin, you must know.’
Hae-yeong suddenly recalled her conversation with Tae-gon. Her brow furrowed slightly.
“Why did I say that…?”
The moment Tae-gon asked the question. She had remembered Yeon-joo’s request to hide the father’s absence, and Hae-yeong, as if possessed, had blurted out an answer without thinking.
‘His father runs an animal hospital.’
She could have just said he was an ordinary office worker, but at the moment she was about to answer, Dr. Joo had suddenly popped into her head, and the nonsense just slipped out.
“This is driving me crazy. Ugh, why did that CEO have to ask something like that all of a sudden?”
*Sigh.* Hae-yeong let out a short sigh as she retraced her memory. A nagging sense of unease kept creeping in, but she couldn’t pinpoint it, leaving her feeling frustrated.
Then, she remembered the sight from a little while ago: Eun-seong walking away, holding Han-byeol’s hand. Their steps in sync, his affectionate gaze… He was a born actor, so he was probably just immersed in his role as Han-byeol’s father, but in that moment, he truly looked like the boy’s dad.
“...This isn’t the time for this. What am I thinking?”
Hae-yeong picked up her phone and called Dr. Joo.
“Hello? Seonsaengnim, it’s Director Jin. Are you at the hospital?”
─ *Yes, Isanim. I’m at the hospital. Is something wrong?*
“No, it’s not about work. It’s Han-byeol’s first day of shooting today. To celebrate, I was thinking of having a little party at his place afterward, and you’re in the same neighborhood. I wanted to invite you to come over.”
─ *What? Ah, me? To Han-byeol’s house?*
“Yes. Would that be uncomfortable? I’ll be there, and, well, Yeon-joo would like it too.”
As she specifically emphasized that ‘Yeon-joo would like it too,’ a loud clatter came from the other end of the line.
“Seonsaengnim, are you alright?”
─ *Ah, yes. A chair just tipped over. I’m fine.*
How startled must he have been for a perfectly fine chair to tip over...?
Hae-yeong could sense Dr. Joo’s flustered excitement and let out a small laugh. She ended the call after suggesting a simple samgyeopsal party.
Dr. Joo was so openly showing his interest, but she wondered if their dense Yeon-joo had any idea.
“I hope those two get together soon. I’m getting impatient for them.”
Hae-yeong hummed to herself, thinking about grilling samgyeopsal at Yeon-joo’s house for the first time in a while after the shoot. Just then, Ju-mi, a staff member from Tae-gon’s agency, glanced around before approaching Hae-yeong.
Hae-yeong’s expression quickly hardened, suspecting she had pawned off her chores on Yeon-joo again to slack off.
“Isanim, are you busy?”
“No. Why?”
“I have something I’m curious about.”
At Ju-mi’s question, Hae-yeong arched an eyebrow, gesturing for her to speak.
“It’s about Go Yeon-joo. How was she hired? I heard you knew her from before?”
Hae-yeong gave her a strange look as she suddenly brought up Yeon-joo’s name. In response, Ju-mi put on a self-righteous expression.
“Why bring up Go Yeon-joo all of a sudden?”
“I was just a little curious. I’ve been watching her for a few days, and it seems like she doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the staff.”
“In what way?”
“You know the type. The ones who kind of pull rank because they’re older? A bit of an inferiority complex?”
Hae-yeong took a sip of her warm coffee. It was a signal to continue.
“She boasts a ton about her son debuting, too. And she bosses me around, telling me to do this and that just because I’m younger. I think Go Yeon-joo is the kind of person who disrupts the team’s discipline.”
“Is that so? I see.”
She took another sip of coffee. As Hae-yeong stared at her, saying nothing more, Ju-mi gave a bashful smile and tucked her hair behind her ear as if trying to be cute.
“There are a lot of people like that. They act one way to your face and another behind your back. She was speaking about you quite carelessly, too. You didn’t know that, did you?”
“Aha. Of course, I wouldn’t know. How could I know what’s said behind my back?”
“Exactly. She’s always calling you ‘Eonni, Eonni,’ and subtly showing off her connection to you in front of everyone. I just thought you might not know what kind of person Go Yeon-joo really is. I wanted to tell you. To be careful.”
“Ah, be careful. I see. Being careful is good. I should really be careful.”
Hae-yeong made a noncommittal sound, its meaning hard to decipher. Looking at Ju-mi, who was still smiling affably, Hae-yeong mirrored her with a gentle smile of her own.
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“The other day, Go Yeon-joo was aggressively clinging to Actor Im Eun-seong. She even locked the dressing room door.”
Hae-yeong, who had been about to turn away, froze in place. As Ju-mi started tidying up the area as if she hadn’t said anything significant, Hae-yeong walked over to her.
“Ju-mi. What did you just say?”
*
The shoot started and stopped, then started and stopped again.
They filmed the same scene dozens of times from different angles, and it was hard to maintain one’s energy without considerable mental fortitude.
As time went on, it was clear that Han-byeol’s stamina was dwindling. His concentration wavered, and he started making mistakes more often.
He was a child and a novice, but in front of the camera, everyone was an actor. If you weren’t ready, you kept going until you were. If you were ready, you kept going until it was perfect. The camera’s red light kept rolling.
The acting coach from Changrok coached Han-byeol periodically, making him practice even during breaks, as the shoot neared its end.
After finishing his scenes for a while, Han-byeol entered the dressing room. His already pale face seemed even whiter.
Eun-seong, who had waited even after his own scenes were done, approached him.
“One Star. You okay?”
“Yes… Huh? Yes.”
You could feel his soul had been drained. Eun-seong patted Han-byeol’s shoulder and said.
“You did great, so why the long face?”
“I don’t know. I’m not happy with it. I did better when I practiced alone.”
“Right. You can’t be satisfied just because you did well. If you don’t try harder, you’ll only end up as a cosmic superstar.”
Han-byeol, barely listening, squirmed. He then shuffled to the side of the sofa and patted the empty spot next to him.
Eun-seong raised an eyebrow.
“What? You want me to sit here?”
“Stop talking to me. I’m tired, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know the feeling. Be careful, you won’t even have the strength to lift a spoon when you get home.”
Eun-seong plopped down and glanced at Han-byeol. The boy’s pale face worried him, and he fiddled with the chocolate in his pocket.
*Sigh… I don’t just give this to anyone…*
*I haven’t even eaten it myself because I was saving it…*
“You might not realize it, but your blood sugar is dropping, so eat this.”
Here. As Eun-seong offered the chocolate, Han-byeol looked at it, then pulled out an identical chocolate from his own pocket.
“I have one too.”
“…Where’d you get that?”
“My mom gave it to me yesterday.”
*Go Yeon-joo… Regifting, are we…*
*Ahem.* Eun-seong cleared his throat quietly, unwrapped his chocolate, and popped it into the boy’s mouth. The boy took it without hesitation, and his eyes started to roll back as he blinked slowly.
He looked completely drained.
“Hey, One Star. Snap out of it. You have to go home.”
“Later… I’m going with Mom and Aunt Hae-yeong.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Later… Grandma, Mom, and Aunt Hae-yeong… we’re going to grill samgyeopsal…”
The boy’s words trailed off.
“Ah. Samgyeopsal sounds good.”
Eun-seong muttered under his breath, and Han-byeol, as if trying to finish his thought, mumbled weakly.
“The animal hospital doctor, too… at our house… we’re gonna grill together…”
“Hey. One Star. One Star. Open your eyes. What are you saying? Who’s going? Where?”
Eun-seong shook the shoulder of the half-asleep Han-byeol. The boy’s head lolled back and forth, his eyes drooping.
“Come on, wake up. You have to finish what you were saying before you fall asleep. Who’s coming? Where?”
“Ah… samgyeopsal… sleepy…”
“Hey. Hey, One Star. I’m dying here. Your sleepiness isn’t the problem. One Star.”
“I don’t know… I’m gonna sleep…”
Han-byeol’s head dropped onto Eun-seong’s lap. Suddenly finding himself a pillow, Eun-seong let out a small groan.
The moment he lay down, the boy was fast asleep. He must have been tired. It was his first shoot; how exhausting must it have been?
…But that’s not the point! Why on earth is Dr. Joo grilling samgyeopsal with them!
“Hah…”
Eun-seong let out a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling. So they’re already at the stage of visiting each other’s homes, is that it?
Gently stroking the boy’s hair, Eun-seong muttered to himself.
“One Star. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
“Hnngh…”
“You see, it’s tradition. When a lead actor works with a child actor, they make a home visit. You know what a home visit is, right? It’s very important. You get it, right?”
“Hnngh…”
“Right. You understand perfectly. Around the first shoot, it's customary to do a home visit, check out the environment, you know, do a little background check on the family. It's something you have to do. It’s written in the revised South African Performance Act, blah blah blah. You wouldn’t know, but since I’m a global star, I respect the laws of every country.”
The boy was sound asleep, but Eun-seong continued.
“Of course, I’m not exactly thrilled about it either, but what can I do if that’s the law? I have no choice. Today seems like the perfect day for a lead actor to fulfill his home visit duties for the child actor. What do you think?”
“Zzz… zzz…”
“Right. So you’re good with it. Then we’ve reached an agreement. To be precise, *you* invited *me*. And I had no choice but to accept.”
Eun-seong continued to stroke the sleeping child’s hair as he finalized the one-sided agreement.
“One Star. You just keep sleeping on my lap. I’ll go eat some samgyeopsal later.”
“…”
“I’ll give you one last chance. If you don’t want me to come, say so in three seconds. Onetwothree.”
“…”
“Thanks. Sleep well.”
Han-byeol was deep in slumber. Having forcibly obtained Han-byeol’s consent, Eun-seong raised one corner of his mouth, congratulating himself on the successful arrangement of a home visit.
A moment later, Hae-yeong and Yeon-joo entered the dressing room. *Shh.* Eun-seong signaled for them to be quiet, as the child was asleep. Yeon-joo’s eyes widened.
“Thank you, Eun-seong. We’ll take Han-byeol now.”
As Hae-yeong came forward to pick him up, Eun-seong shook his head. It was a signal that since the boy fell asleep on his lap, he would take responsibility.
“He’s sleeping so soundly, let’s just leave him be.”
“But you need to go home, Eun-seong.”
“Well, Han-byeol was begging me not to go, so I ended up staying.”
*Huh?* Hae-yeong’s eyes shot open, and Eun-seong, with a perfectly composed face, looked at Yeon-joo.
“I heard you’re having a party to celebrate Han-byeol’s first shoot.”
“Ah? What? Baeunim, how did you know that?”
“Han-byeol invited me, so I couldn’t possibly refuse.”
“Ah… I see…”
Yeon-joo and Hae-yeong’s mouths fell slightly open. Han-byeol, meanwhile, was oblivious, lost in dreamland.
Eun-seong smiled as if he were doing them a great favor.
“How could I possibly miss a celebration for the boy’s first shoot? I suppose I’ll go.”
As he finished speaking, he effortlessly lifted the child and stood up.
“So, where is it? Han-byeol didn’t tell me that part.”
It was the perfect alibi.
