CH 241

Kang Jin-Ho sighed under his breath.

How could he not, when Choi Yeon-Ha made good on her threat and had set up camp in the staff break room? She was clearly unwilling to leave, and it couldn’t be clearer than that. Even though no one spoke to her, she entertained herself plenty well enough.

She took selfies, played games on her phone, and... As if keeping herself occupied like this was an everyday thing for her, Choi Yeon-Ha displayed no sign of discomfort or awkwardness even though Kang Jin-Ho didn't pay any attention whatsoever to her.

Unable to watch this any longer, Ju Yeong-Gi stepped into the staff room to ask Choi Yeon-Ha. “Miss Choi? Are you okay alone? Were you always this... adept at keeping yourself occupied like this?”

“Yes,” Choi Yeon-Ha replied with a cool shrug of her shoulders.

“How? There has to be a ton of people dying just to hang out with you, right?”

“Actually, I don't have anyone.”

“...Don't mind me asking why?”

“Hmm, I wonder myself. For some reason, I don't have anyone in particular that I can refer to as a 'friend.’ When I was younger, I had filming commitments to fulfill, so there wasn't much time to hang out with other kids my age. And when I got older, people seem to find it hard to approach me.”

Ju Yeong-Gi grew visibly uncomfortable. “Uh, that... sounds a bit too personal to share...?”

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, no. Please don't misunderstand. I'm good at keeping myself occupied not because of that, but all thanks to my job. When I'm on the film set, it's fairly common to wait around six hours to shoot my next scene, you see? That's when I learned how to keep myself occupied.”

Ju Yeong-Gi nodded in acceptance at that explanation. Indeed, he recalled seeing something similar in a behind-the-scenes entertainment program some time ago. In it, celebs usually stayed inside vans or trailers parked outside the film locations during their downtime.

Although it didn't make much sense to him that a protagonist was often left alone unattended for six hours or more, Choi Yeon-Ha herself said that was the case, so who was he to argue?

Ju Yeong-Gi asked her another question, “Oh, so you play games on your phone when that happens?”

“No, I usually sleep.”

“...?”

“But, if I sleep for too long, my face will get a little swollen, and that will mess up the scene, you see? When that happens, I have to get the swelling down, and the trick is to...”

Ju Yeong-Gi's expression progressively crumpled as he listened to Choi Yeon-Ha sharing her know-how on methods to reduce the swelling of her face.

'This woman... She really is a weirdo, isn't she?'

As mentioned before, Ju Yeong-Gi basically had no interest in the world of celebrities. Even then, he had heard about Choi Yeon-Ha's name. That was how famous she was. But, as it turned out, such a big fish was actually an airhead. Moreover, it felt like this preconceived image Ju Yeong-Gi had of the entertainment world had shattered into a million pieces by this revelation.

'...Oh, well. Even Eun-Yeong is totally different from her TV personality and her real self, so what does it matter?'

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Ju Yeong-Gi shook his head, then asked Choi Yeon-Ha again, “Okay, so… Why are you staying here doing basically nothing, Miss Choi?”

“Well, I have a business with Mister Jin-Ho.”

“...Oh, you mean that thing about him becoming an actor?”

“Yes, that one.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded unhesitantly. Her eyes remained uncluttered and unblinking.

Ju Yeong-Gi grandly groaned. “Excuse me, but Miss Choi? I'd like to offer you a piece of advice as someone who knows the human being named Kang Jin-Ho pretty well.”

“Okay?”

“Being an entertainer is—well, how should I put this—that's a job you can take on only if you have the knack for it, am I right?”

“Well, normally, that's what people believe.”

Ju Yeong-Gi muttered ruefully, “But the 'Kang Jin-Ho' I know doesn't have any knack for it, you see? Actually, you can say the problem is with how extremely boring and unfunny he is. You know what I mean?”

Choi Yeon-Ha wordlessly nodded.

“Don't you agree that you're trying to achieve the impossible by dragging someone like that into the world of acting, Miss Choi?”

Ju Yeong-Gi's concerned-sounding question was replied to by the brightly-smiling Choi Yeon-Ha. “Who do you think knows this profession the best? Me or you, Mister Ju?”

“Well, uh...” Ju Yeong-Gi faltered a little, unable to answer.

The smile on Choi Yeon-Ha's face became unreadable. “Having a knack for it will help, of course. It'll be a huge boost in your survival in this profession, after all. However, Mister Jin-Ho doesn't really need that kind of a knack, you see?”

Ju Yeong-Gi cocked his eyebrow. “Because he's good-looking?”

“...!” Choi Yeon-Ha suddenly clamped her mouth shut and hesitated.

“Aha! I knew it!” Ju Yeong-Gi cried out.

“N-no, wait! It's not entirely about that!”

“Oh, really? It didn’t sound that way to me, though?”

“I'm telling you, that's not true,” Choi Yeon-Ha testily replied, even as her cheeks blushed a little. Of course, she couldn't deny the fact that Kang Jin-Ho's incredible looks played a huge part in her desire for him to become an actor.

If Kang Jin-Ho were a Deity of Acting but without his striking looks, Choi Yeon-Ha would have never been interested in him. Generally speaking, a great acting performance could only shine through when luck played its part by linking you with a meaty role and an excellent director. However, Kang Jin-Ho possessed a certain 'destructive power' that rendered all those factors irrelevant.

'However, that's not the whole story!'

Choi Yeon-Ha recalled the scene Kang Jin-Ho shot with her by the seaside. She was curious about the result of his performance on screen and sought out a copy of the dubbed edit, and then—well, the conclusion she drew from that was exceedingly simple.

'...Yup, he's gonna create huge waves.'

Those minutes she had spent watching the footage were indescribably precious moments that taught her how much impact 'sound' could have in setting up an atmosphere. As soon as Kang Jin-Ho's stupidly terrible textbook reading session was erased from the footage, he also erased his co-star from the scene. The atmosphere he exhibited was so absolute and overwhelming that all the leading young actors in the Chungmuro scene wouldn't even be able to come close.

Only those actors thought to have reached the zenith of acting could create such an atmosphere with their performances, but Kang Jin-Ho only had to stand still in one spot to do that. It seemed all so natural to him.

Choi Yeon-Ha leaned closer. “Can't you help me by persuading Mister Jin-Ho? I promise you, he'll become a huge star. Then, he won't even have to bother with a pizzeria like this.”

Ju Yeong-Gi could only wryly smile at that. “...Actually, he doesn't have to run this joint, you know.”

“I'm sorry?”

“Nah, don't mind me.” Ju Yeong-Gi shook his head before continuing, “In that case, why aren't you seriously persuading him? You know, instead of camping out here like this?”

Choi Yeon-Ha pouted. “You know persuasion won't work on Mister Jin-Ho.”

“...Huh.”

“The only thing I managed to perfect while working in this profession is my power of wits, you see? Such as... How bad is the personality of this director? How sly and cunning are they? Would he sexually harass me? In that case, how should I fight back... That sort of thing.”

“S-sounds like you have always had it rough, Miss Choi.”

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled softly. “I think I've developed an eye to discern people after years of minding such things, you see? And when I took a look at Mister Jin-Ho with my discerning eyes, I could tell that no amount of persuasion would work on him.”

“...Wow, your eyes are scarily accurate.”

“If you try to persuade him, he'd only pretend to listen. If you threaten him, he'd fight back even harder. However, being all cute and friendly won't work on him, either. And my looks don't work as well…”

Ju Yeong-Gi crossed his arms and slowly nodded in agreement. “Mm…”

“So, the only method left is to cling onto him pitifully and rouse his sympathy. That's it. He's the type who can't behave harshly toward people in distress... I think?”

Ju Yeong-Gi blinked his eyes. “Huh. Sounds like you can start your own criminal profiling agency, Miss Choi.”

Choi Yeon-Ha sagely nodded. “If I go in too strongly, I might get my butt kicked. However, if I were too wishy-washy, he might not even think about me. So, the only thing I can do at this point is to just cling onto him like a desperate leech and whine away until he hears me out. That's why I'm here.”

"...Hmm." Ju Yeong-Gi suddenly found himself in a serious dilemma. Was this woman scary-smart, or just gobsmackingly dumb? Choi Yeon-Ha displayed a bone-chilling level of accuracy in reading people, yet the conclusion she arrived at was a bit… off-kilter.

After clearing his throat, Ju Yeong-Gi narrowed his eyes and asked a serious question, “Do you think Jin-Ho will change his mind even if you do that?”

“Well, I admit the odds are pretty low, but it's still better than doing nothing, don't you agree?”

Ju Yeong-Gi started thinking that the premise of this conversation was rather odd. “...By the way, is Jin-Ho even worth all this trouble? No matter how much I think about it, I just can't see him as the type of person who would succeed as an actor, you know?”

“I’m not surprised. People usually can't objectively evaluate close acquaintances around them, after all.”

“Is that so? Then, what did the director say? That one from the TV show Jin-Ho was involved in?”

Choi Yeon-Ha replied without any change to her expression, “Never show your face in this profession ever again! Something of that nature.”

“...Huh.” Ju Yeong-Gi blinked his eyes. He was convinced now—Choi Yeon-Ha was definitely a moron. “...Don't you have any pride as a top actress?”

“Pride, you say?” Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head as if her failure to understand was worse than Ju Yeong-Gi's ignorance. “Does your heart swell with pride by working as a waiter in a pizzeria?”

“W-well, no...”

“In that case, why should I be proud of what I do? I'm just doing my job, just like you. I don't believe being an actress is any different from other professions.”

It seemed that Choi Yeon-Ha had interpreted the old saying: 'all professions are equally honorable' in the wrong way.

“I believe we're not supposed to express pride in our chosen profession that way, but by doing our utmost best in what we do,” said Choi Yeon-Ha. “And from where I stand, the best thing I could do for my work is to rope in Mister Jin-Ho to act opposite me in my next project.”

“Even if Jin-Ho clearly states he's not interested in it at all?”

“He'll come around eventually. Since I'm going to bite and cling onto him like crazy until he says yes.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded in determination.

Ju Yeong-Gi powerlessly turned his head. “You heard her, right?”

“...Mm.” Kang Jin-Ho walking past the staff room groaned. His head faltered just as powerlessly as the sound of his groan.

“Seeing how someone as pretty as her is camping out here just for you…” Ju Yeong-Gi sighed loudly. “...How should I put this? I can't tell if you're one lucky son of a gun or a bloody luckless doofus. Whatever, you take care of this mess, okay?”

“Sure thing.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

Ju Yeong-Gi patted Kang Jin-Ho's shoulder as a gesture of pity before heading over to the dining area.

“Excuse me, but...” Kang Jin-Ho was about to say something, but his phone suddenly started ringing. He took it out and frowned slightly at the caller's name visible on the screen.

'What's going on?'

The name on the screen was Kang Eun-Yeong. He answered the call only to be surprised by an urgent, loud cry.

- Oppaaaaaa!

Kang Jin-Ho's expression stiffened in an instant. The urgency in her voice indicated that she wasn't playing around. She genuinely sounded scared. In addition, Kang Eun-Yeong's ear-piercing scream was punctuated by loud thuds and bangs, which stabbed sharply into Kang Jin-Ho's ears.

“What's the matter, Eun-Yeong!”

- Oppa! Help! I'm...! Kyaaaaaah!

Her ear-piercing scream rang out once more, and it was accompanied by the distinct blare of a car horn before being followed by another loud thud. The nonstop swearing coming from the driver had already mixed into the dizzying chaos of noise, too.

Kang Jin-Ho silently listened to the chaos before calmly speaking to his sister. “Eun-Yeong, where are—”

Drop!

However, the call suddenly ended before he could finish his question. Kang Jin-Ho coldly glared at the phone for a second before sharply turning his head in Choi Yeon-Ha's direction. “Where is the filming location?”

“...I-I'm sorry?”

“I'm asking you, where is the filming location Eun-Yeong went to today?”

“A-ah, that. It’s, uhm, it's in Sokcho.” Choi Yeon-Ha involuntarily stuttered after being subjected to Kang Jin-Ho’s glare.

The 'Kang Jin-Ho' she had seen and interacted with until now was someone who... who might harbor an icy dagger in his heart but would act calm and gentle on the surface. That seemed to be the case when he previously interacted with Kang Eun-Yeong and Choi Yeon-Ha. He was a typical case of an iron fist in a velvet glove, a big softie who preferred not to whine and badmouth other people if he could help it. But now?

This Kang Jin-Ho was like a completely different person. All he did was frown a little and glare at Choi Yeon-Ha, but those actions still possessed a certain something capable of making one's heart freeze and tumble to the pit of their stomach.

In fact, it could make one shudder involuntarily with their toes curled up from genuine fright!

Kang Jin-Ho took off his apron, tossed it on the table, and hurriedly turned around. Ju Yeong-Gi and Park Yu-Min were already standing next to him.

Ju Yeong-Gi growled angrily. “You want me to go with you?”

“No. I'll handle this on my own. Take care of the things this side.”

“Don't worry about that,” said Ju Yeong-Gi with a firm nod.

Park Yu-Min urgently asked, “Will Eun-Yeong be okay?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't reply and quickly headed to the exit.

“Jin-Ho, I'm gonna contact Chief Jo just in case. Answer your phone when he calls you!” Park Yu-Min shouted from behind Kang Jin-Ho.

“Got it!” Kang Jin-Ho replied while rushing outside the pizzeria's doorway.

Clink!

The doorbell's chime rang out. Ju Yeong-Gi watched the back of his friend disappear from view while muttering in a grave tone, “Which motherf*ckers dare to…?!”

Choi Yeon-Ha still couldn’t figure out what was going on, so she asked a question with her voice still trembling from shock. “D-did something happen to Miss Eun-Yeong? What is happening, you two?”

“What do you mean what, Miss Choi?” Ju Yeong-Gi growled lowly. “Those punks are about to get f*cked, that's what.”

Certain people in this world were off-limits and should never be provoked.