荡媚公熄乱文合集

Chapter 45: If You Understand, You Should Respond, Shouldn’t You?

“Our star actor is here.”

“Are you going to do that too, Director?”

“Well, it’s true. By the way, did you watch the trailer?”

“Yes.”

I nodded my head obediently.

I may be acting calm now, but at home, I was hitting refresh every ten seconds to check the comments.

‘…Honestly, it’s a bit unnerving.’

The trailer for <Peaceful Chaebol Life> surpassed 500,000 views in less than a day.

Considering the average view count for drama teasers is around 300,000, it’s an incredibly high number.

It even made it to the trending videos, so the view count is still increasing in real-time. At this rate, reaching a million views is more than possible.

Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere on set was generally bright. Everyone seemed to sense a big hit coming. Director Kang In-ho’s face also bore a constant relaxed smile…

‘Not at all!?’

Contrary to my expectations, Director Kang In-ho’s face was completely pale. His eyes were somewhat dazed, like a madman.

Director Kang In-ho tried to force a smile, but his stiff lips trembled.

‘…Is that for cold sweat?’

I wondered why he had a towel around his neck, and it turned out he was sweating so much that his hair looked drenched.

“…Are you okay?”

“No, not at all. Not even a little bit.”

His reply was absurdly firm. I asked if he was sick, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“He’s under a lot of pressure.”

The answer came from elsewhere. Jung Ha-rin, who spotted us from a distance and approached, sighed deeply while looking at Kang In-ho.

“Honestly, we thought it might get around 100,000 views. Even that would be amazing for the first day. But this far exceeded our expectations.”

“But isn’t this a good thing? Being in the spotlight means good news for us.”

“The problem is that the expectations are too high. If viewers feel the trailer was the peak, we’re done for. And for us, it’s basically…”

Tap, tap, tap-

Even while talking, Jung Ha-rin was wiping the cold sweat off the dazed Kang In-ho. Her genuinely pitying expression was a bonus.

However, the most ridiculous part was Jung Ha-rin’s appearance. She was wearing round glasses and hair rollers, something you’d never normally see. Dark circles extended heavily beneath her eyes.

It was clear she hadn’t slept for several nights. It didn’t seem like the right time for her to be worrying about others.

“By the way, how’s the script…?”

Creak-!

The moment she heard the word “script”, Jung Ha-rin turned her head like a broken robot.

Her unfocused eyes rolled, then suddenly gleamed as she glared at me.

If this scene were captured on camera, it could appear in a horror movie without any edits, it was that eerie.

“The script? Hahaha… Yes, I need to write it. The script. I have to write it… I’ve been sitting in front of the keyboard for twenty hours a day… Why isn’t there more content? Hehehe.”

“…”

Seeing these two completely out of their minds, I realized today’s shoot wouldn’t go smoothly.

If I said the wrong thing here, it would probably only make things worse, so I quickly turned away.

I found a suitable spot as usual and sat down to memorize my lines, but a man suddenly appeared and disrupted all my plans.

“Oh! Isn’t it our superstar, Kang Woo-ju-nim?”

The man, with his arms wide open and making somewhat excessive gestures, was Choi Ji-hwan, the protagonist of <Peaceful Chaebol Life>.

After a fierce struggle, he pushes away Kang Joo-heon, the villain in the story, and achieves a typical narrative where he wins the love of the female lead. Like Park Soo-bin, he also used his real name for the role.

‘It seems like he didn’t like the trailer much.’

Unlike the playful greetings from Park Soo-bin or Director Kang In-ho earlier, his tone was unmistakably sarcastic.

Well, it’s understandable. His screen time in episodes 1 and 2 was cut by more than half due to sudden script changes, and he lost his presence in the main trailer.

‘Choi Ji-hwan must be very upset.’

A rookie actor.

In other words, someone who barely snagged a lead role after a long period of anonymity, only to have a parachute newcomer come and take away his screen time.

I can’t deny that I got the role through connections.

Of course, Writer Jung Ha-rin and Director Kang In-ho wouldn’t have revised the script for such petty reasons.

‘I can understand how he feels.’

But that’s as far as it goes.

It’s not like I can hug him to comfort him or apologize for it. So, I behaved as I always do.

I kept my eyes fixed on the script without reacting at all. This character image suits me perfectly at times like this.

“······.”

Squeeze-

Through my peripheral vision, I saw Choi Ji-hwan clench his fist tightly.

He probably wouldn’t punch me, but my behavior had clearly irritated him. Even though he was the one who provoked me first.

“Kang Woo-ju-ssi.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Isn’t it common courtesy to at least look at each other when having a conversation?”

Swoosh-

Finally, I lifted my eyes from the script and turned to Choi Ji-hwan. Contrary to his earlier words, he flinched when our eyes met.

I turned back to the script again, implying he could leave if he had nothing more to say.

Angrier, Choi Ji-hwan trembled slightly and continued speaking.

“You’re very different from what the rumors say. Sunbae-nim.”

“······.”

Sunbae-nim, huh.

I get it now.

With that one word, I understood where Choi Ji-hwan’s confidence came from. This guy is from the same department as me.

‘…This damned university is useless in real life.’

The gap in our graduation years must be only one or two. If he passed an audition right after graduation, it could be up to three years.

Depending on military service and other factors, we might have crossed paths on campus a few times.

But I don’t remember him. I barely kept in touch with a handful of juniors.

‘It’s probably the same for him.’

Given how he was being all polite recently, it’s clear he didn’t know who I was.

But I’ve recently risen to fame on social media as the “Cafe Guy”, and hit it big with the drama trailer. Someone from our department must have recognized me.

I don’t know Choi Ji-hwan’s circle of friends, but seeing us in the same project probably prompted someone to contact him.

‘…It probably wasn’t good news.’

Otherwise, Choi Ji-hwan wouldn’t be glaring at me with such burning eyes. He might think he found my weak spot.

“Haha, now you’re finally looking at me properly. Your acting skills are so great that I can’t understand why you were an unknown.”

“······.”

“Yesterday, I had drinks with some classmates. We were watching the trailer together, and someone recognized you, Sunbae-nim. I only remembered after they mentioned it.”

As I continued to stare silently, Choi Ji-hwan, thinking he had guessed correctly, began to chatter away with a bright smile.

“Call sunbae. He never attended department drinking parties, but if someone called him after it ended, he’d come running like a ghost. That’s why we called him that.”

“······.”

“And then he got on the bad side of the professors and senior members of the academic society, couldn’t attend classes properly, and eventually ran off to Daehak-ro without graduating, right?”

That was half true.

There were various reasons, including my father’s cerebral hemorrhage, and the need to earn tuition and living expenses to graduate.

‘In a way, I did run away.’

At that time, I had many thoughts while watching Seo Ju-heon, who lived a dazzling life completely opposite to mine, despite being the same age.

I thought that if I could get on stage,

If I was given just one chance,

I would quickly be in the spotlight.

‘Reality was harsher than that.’

In a world filled with people who had good educational backgrounds, looks, and even came from wealthy families, how many places would want a high school graduate with no connections?

Moreover, without any proper acting lessons, what did I have that was better than others?

‘I only realized that after actually getting on stage.’

I played the role of a stand-in for a multitasker, thinking it was my chance, but I completely ruined the performance.

Though I had memorized the lines and actions perfectly, my overall expressiveness was lacking. I can still vividly remember the cold stares of the audience.

‘Well, it made me snap out of it.’

I halved my already meager living expenses. I also cut down on sleep to practice more.

I practiced acting in front of the mirror until I passed out, and once I regained consciousness, I practiced again.

Even while working as a designated driver, if the customer fell into a deep sleep, I would practice being a secretary on my own.

All those efforts accumulated one by one, creating the person I am today. Of course, without Kim Eun-ha, I might not have seen the fruits of my efforts.

“And now, that person managed to seduce an innocent chaebol…”

“Choi Ji-hwan.”

Maybe that’s why.

I can laugh off insults directed at me, but when Kim Eun-ha’s name is mentioned, my patience quickly wears thin.

Thud-

Eventually, I closed the script I was reading. Then, I silently stood up and glared at him.

  *

“Choi Ji-hwan.”

Swoosh-

As Kang Woo-ju’s cold voice echoed, the surrounding air froze. Along with it, Choi Ji-hwan’s lips dried up instantly.

That’s acting.

It had to be.

– Kang Woo-ju, isn’t he a bum?

– Yeah. I heard he even worked at a hostess bar at night.

– Haha, he’s just using his skills to become a kept man, isn’t he?

The conversations I had with my university friends last night flashed through my mind. Kang Woo-ju, who suddenly rose to fame from obscurity, was a perfect topic for gossip.

– Yeah, that sunbae was famous since university. He would never be seen at gatherings, but if girls got drunk, he’d show up like a ghost and take them away.

– Right. I heard from another sunbae too. They said to be really careful about Kang Woo-ju. But look at him brazenly showing his face around.

– Hey, don’t ever mention this elsewhere. Apparently, recently the sunbaes and professors got in touch with everyone, telling them not to talk about Kang Woo-ju anywhere. They even paid them off?

– No way, really?

Truth and lies cleverly intertwined, and the rumors about Kang Woo-ju grew.

Thanks to this, the jealousy and envy growing unconsciously in Choi Ji-hwan’s heart awakened.

– No wonder…

– Why, Ji-hwan, what is it?

– Yeah, you’ve seen him up close, tell us.

– Actually, he got into this drama through connections. The other day, someone came to the set claiming to be his girlfriend, and the director and head writer stood up and greeted her.

– Crazy… Was the rumor true?

As the conversation continued, Choi Ji-hwan’s admiration for Kang Woo-ju’s acting began to distort in his mind.

The beef dinners and meals he had treated them to were all reinterpreted as bribes, and eventually, Kang Woo-ju was reduced to the image of a parachute actor covering his lack of skill with money.

‘It must have been like that…’

Gulp-!

But what was this overwhelming pressure he was feeling now? Forced to look up at Kang Woo-ju due to their height difference, Choi Ji-hwan screamed internally.

Looking into those pitch-black pupils, as endless as the universe, felt like staring into a poison-filled swamp.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

It felt like his soul was being completely sucked into some unknown force, eventually to be devoured.

Choi Ji-hwan wanted to turn and run away immediately, but his entire body was frozen, and he couldn’t even move his eyelids at will.

‘What kind of person has eyes like this…?’

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

Just as he was about to faint, mesmerized by those murderous eyes, someone reached out to save him.

“Ji-hwan-ssi! Woo-ju-ssi! It’s almost our turn! Don’t practice alone, come quickly!”

Park Soo-bin, who was standing a bit away, waved brightly and called out to them. She seemed to think the two were practicing together.

Gasp-!

Though it was a misunderstanding, it provided some relief for Choi Ji-hwan. As he panted heavily, Kang Woo-ju, who had been looking down at him, slightly lowered his head.

Making sure Park Soo-bin couldn’t see his mouth, he whispered in an emotionless voice.

“Choi Ji-hwan-ssi.”

“Y-Yes!?”

“I don’t care what you think of me. However, if your loose lips cause any disruption to my plans, you’d better be prepared.”

A dark shadow loomed over Choi Ji-hwan’s head, choking him. Even without physical contact, he felt suffocated.

“Stop lingering around me so annoyingly.”

“······.”

“If you understand, you should respond, shouldn’t you?”

“Ah…!”

So tense that he couldn’t even speak, Choi Ji-hwan nodded desperately.

Only then did Kang Woo-ju turn around and walk toward the filming set as if nothing had happened.

Choi Ji-hwan could only stare blankly at his retreating figure.

‘…Is that really just acting?’

It would be more believable to say his entire university life was an act. Maybe he was secretly the son of a chairman…

“Ji-hwan-ssi! Hurry up!”

“I-I’m coming!”

Choi Ji-hwan’s thoughts were cut short by Park Soo-bin’s urging. He managed his expression and hurriedly ran over.

Thanks to that, Choi Ji-hwan didn’t realize that the words Kang Woo-ju had just uttered were all lines from <Peaceful Chaebol Life>.

*****