Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Suyeon’s mouth was hurting from having to smile so much . She took a sip of water as she stretched her jaw a little bit . After her first miniseries with the K broadcasting company ended, she immediately received another job offer . The K broadcasting company was recently losing views to the S broadcasting company, which was why they were in a rush to start a new miniseries .
Suyeon looked to her right . That was the main character’s seat in the announcement table, a spot she couldn’t even dream of sitting at . She thought she was getting some attention initially, but in the end, all of the attention s.h.i.+fted over to the main character . As a ‘rising star’, she couldn’t hold a candle to the real thing .
“Mr . Kang, you’re asking such an embarra.s.sing question . ”
The man talking right now was a male actor, the one actor who managed to grab the attention of all the women in the country . The romance drama he starred in held incredibly high ratings and the thriller movie he starred in later in the year gathered up to six million viewers . The man, who had just reached his thirties, was pretty much the ticket to success for just about any drama or movies right now . The K broadcasting company had somehow managed to cast the man in spite of his popularity . Also, there was one more person .
“It feels odd coming here now, I can’t get used to it . Honestly, I need a shot of soju in me before I can really get going . ”
The actress who clearly didn’t have a filter on her mouth . She managed to become a star a few years ago by demonstrating her ma.s.sive talent as a side character in a movie . Her fame didn’t last, though . She immediately turned her attention to shooting commercials, people insulted her for her greed back then . Not anymore . After she earned her money through commercials, she turned her attention to independent films .
By that point, she didn’t give a d.a.m.n about money and acted exclusively in the films that caught her attention . Just a while ago, she starred in a film about a gay character . The film got blasted by Christian media, but all of Korea back then got into a heated debate about whether or not gay love was right . The woman acted in a ton of films afterwards, but she didn’t appear on TV shows or dramas . Suyeon still remembered reading her saying ‘to the guys that tried to tempt me with money… f.u.c.k you,’ on a magazine interview .
Ahn Joohyun .
The woman was finally going to appear on television once again . Suyeon didn’t have a problem with it . As long as the woman didn’t harm her in any way, she didn’t care . But, as soon as Suyeon heard that she was going to be in this drama, she did everything she could to get a role here . Joohyun was a woman who always brought controversies . That meant that there was a higher chance that Suyeon’s name would appear on mainstream media alongside her . Not only that, the main character was the most popular male actor of the year . This drama was too tempting to be ignored .
“Hahaha, you’re very liberal about your views as I expected, Ms . Joohyun . ”
“Liberal? No way, I’m just rude . I still remember what your company wrote about me . Ahn Joohyun, dragged down into becoming a CF queen . Her acting? A tragedy of an actress who chases money . That was the t.i.tle, wasn’t it?”
The reporter who had initially asked a question froze up . Not even the people in the VIP seats had a very bright expression on them . Right now, only the general audience was laughing at what Joohyun said .
“You should’ve at least expected this much if you were from that news company . ”
“ . . . . . . . ”
“Write whatever you want . You’re going to write about how I’m a barbarian with no manners this time, aren’t you, Mr . Reporter?”
The reporter started looking around himself nervously . Given his reaction, he was probably fresh in the business . That could only mean one thing . The senior reporters of the company all knew how Joohyun would act towards them, so they sent a newbie as a sacrificial lamb .
“Hahaha, please don’t get so surprised, Mr . Reporter . ”
A comedian host tried to intervene right then . The other actors tried to make the situation a little better by smiling, but the reporter in question couldn’t even lift his head .
“How is it? It’s very easy to make a person look like an idiot, isn’t it? I’m confident in my work . How about you, though? Do you take pride in insulting people like that?”
Joohyun froze up the hall yet again . Suyeon was astounded . It was essential for actors to be able to deflect a situation that could go awry . After all, actors should never get on the bad side of reporters, but Joohyun didn’t care . The woman said whatever she wanted, there was probably no one else in the entire country who was like her .
That alone indicated success in the business . At least, as an entertainer .
“Ms . Joohyun, please don’t get so aggressive, you’re scaring me . ”
Only when the male actor said something did Joohyun sigh and stop . The woman would’ve probably kept going until she chased that reporter out the hall if someone didn’t stop her . Suyeon noticed the reporters typing away busily in the background . No matter what Joohyun said, these people would continue making a living out of insulting actors . They would probably write something with a t.i.tle along the lines of ‘there’s an actress who bullies newbie reporters?’
Suyeon did her best to put on a calm smile . There was a high chance the reporters would stop asking questions to the main characters after getting bit like this by Joohyun . That meant she had a chance to get the attention to herself again . If she did well here, she could get herself on the t.i.tle as well . Something like, ‘an arrogant actress and a humble one’, maybe?
* * *
“She’s a tyrant, that one . ”
“Right you are . ”
Moonjoong and Chulmin were a little surprised at how bold Joohyun was . Personally, Moonjoong was a fan . As he grew up in his early years, he was stuck under the a.s.sumption that women had to be lady-like . That is, quiet, obedient, and unseen . But the more he acted, the more he thought about the nature of humans and the more he realized that that a.s.sumption itself was inhumane .
“It’s odd . You need money if you want to even begin to speak like that,” Chulmin noted bitterly .
“You know, that sounds really unrealistic coming from someone as rich as you . ”
“d.a.m.n it, can’t you agree with me for once?”
Moonjoong scanned the actors for a second after teasing his friend . On the table were eight actors that were getting fairly popular recently . Usually, the producers would only bring the main characters to a place like this, but the side characters were here as well . They probably wanted to show that even their side characters were famous people .
“You see that kid at the edge of the table over there?”
“I can . ”
“That’s the kid that Junmin said was particularly smart . Suyeon, I believe . ” “Smart . ”
Moonjoong thought of the word as he looked at the girl . The girl had a nice first impression, but when Junmin said someone was smart, that didn’t mean a good thing at all . Whenever Junmin introduces a friend, he refers to them as a ‘good person’ .
“She’s someone who can take advantage of scandals very well . ”
“Ah, smart in that sense?”
“I heard there are quite a few people who fell for that smile of hers . She’s a vixen, that one . ”
“She must have quite the dream . ”
“Indeed . Personally, I’m afraid of young ones like her . ”
“Haha, don’t worry . She’s probably not even interested . ”
“You fool, I might look like this, but I’m a president . ”
“Oh dear, so you qualify to play with the younger girls, is that it?”
“No, I mean… You know what I mean . ”
Moonjoong knew well that Chulmin loved his wife more than anyone else . A long time ago, an actress approached him with vicious intent and the man had promptly cut ties with her right then and there . Chulmin was like a stone, unchanging and unrelenting .
“Ah, I forgot to say . Joohyun and Suyeon over there are both going to appear in that movie you’re going to be in . ”
“You’re already casting? What if I say no?”
“That’s a problem for my future self . ”
“I see that side of you never changed . ”
“Anyway, let’s go to the civic hall next after this event ends . We can take a look at the young kids acting while we wait for our next meeting . The director in question is coming from Seoul right now, so everything should fit quite nicely . ”
Moonjoong nodded . It looked like this event would be over soon anyhow, the actors were already starting to take group pictures .
“Thank you . ”
“Please pay a lot of attention to our drama!”
When the comedian MC announced the end of the event, the general audience started flocking to the exit . Moonjoong and Chulmin tried to blend into the crowd and exit quietly . But unfortunately, someone recognized them .
“Oh, Teacher!”
A man ran over to say h.e.l.lo to Chulmin . Chulmin smiled and extend his hand, making the man grab it and bow again .
“This is the program director for our drama . ”
“Aha . ”
The program director looked up to take a look at Moonjoong this time . Moonjoong responded with a smile and the man’s jaw dropped like a rock .
“Would you happen to be Mr . Yoon Moonjoong?”
“Oh, you recognize an old man like me? What an honor . ”
“Sir! I know this isn’t really the place to say this, but I was a ma.s.sive fan . You’re the one who made me want to get into this business to begin with . ”
The man shook Moonjoong’s hand firmly . Moonjoong smiled slightly, so there was someone who still remembered him after all . He thought he was past all the attention-seeking habits back in the old days, but he clearly didn’t shake off all of it .
“If you told me, I would’ve put you in one of the VIP seats . ”
“No, no . We were just dropping by since we had the time . Don’t worry . ”
“At least a meal, then . . . ”
“We have somewhere to be, actually . ”
“May I ask where…?”
“The building right next door . Just to say hi and to cheer on the young folk a bit . ”
“Ah! Is it the high school compet.i.tion?”
“Yes . ”
“As expected of you, Teacher . You care quite a bit about raising the next generation . ”
The production director looked touched, Moonjoong couldn’t help but smile inside . They were only going there to kill time, but somehow a greater meaning was attached to it . It didn’t look like Chulmin was going to correct the man, either .
“Would it be alright if I could join you?”
Right then, the actors started walking towards them . Why wouldn’t they? Their director was talking so intently with someone at the entrance .
“These are our actors, sir . ”
By the looks of it, most of the actors with the exception of the younger ones all recognized Chulmin . They all bowed in greeting .
“Dear, dear . I caused too much commotion when I was just dropping by, didn’t I? We’ll take our leave now, so take care . ”
Chulmin clearly didn’t want to cause a commotion . Moonjoong was of the same opinion, so they tried to leave as quickly as possible .
“Can I follow you, Teacher?”
“Eh? There’s no need, though . ”
“It’s a great chance to meet talented younglings . Plus, I don’t want to send the two of you off just like this . Please, sirs . . ”
The man told the actors that he would be leaving before walking out the door . The actors said their farewells to the three men with a confused expression before taking their leave . All except two of them .
Suyeon and Joohyun .