By Zephyria 
Until the food and drinks arrived, we passed the time talking about our current projects. It was superficial conversation. As expected, Jeong Seong-won was a man of excellent manners who made conversation flow smoothly. He wasn’t the type of successful senior who only talked about himself.
However, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Everything could be a hidden agenda.
Once the food was served and we’d shared our first drinks, Jeong Seong-won spoke first with a worried expression.
“What happened?”
Looking at Song Hyun-soo, who couldn’t answer readily, he carefully added.
“It’s about Joo-ho Sunbae… isn’t it?”
“Ah, how did you know?”
Jeong Seong-won placed his wine glass on the table with a bitter smile, as if he had expected it.
“I’m also affiliated with Look Planning, and I’ve known the representatives and Joo-ho Sunbae since we were young… so I have a general idea. You could say I’m half an insider. So, you can talk freely.”
Song Hyun-soo, who had been hesitating, pretended to have a dry throat and, as if unable to speak, downed the wine in his glass in one gulp before opening his mouth.
“Somehow, I… seem to have gotten caught up in a fight between Joo-ho Sunbae and his parents.”
“Caught up? How did you get involved, Hyun-soo-ssi?”
“You know I’m staying at Seohae hyung’s house right now, right?”
“I heard that last time.”
“Joo-ho Sunbae and his parents were fighting loudly at Seohae hyung’s house.”
“At that house?”
“I thought the conversation was going strangely. It turns out Senior’s parents were misunderstanding… our relationship in a strange way.”
Jeong Seong-won waited for the rest of the story with a serious expression, as if he knew nothing at all, or rather, as if he were almost shocked.
Was it acting, or was it real?
His expression was still hard to gauge.
“Actually, Joo-ho Sunbae and I signed a contract as actors. Right now, it’s a personal contract with Senior, with the condition of officially joining Look Planning later.”
“Ah… so that’s how it was.”
“That’s why he was helping me with this and that, and looking out for me. But Senior’s parents misunderstood it as… us dating or something.”
“……”
“And I’m not even a woman.”
At the added remark, Jeong Seong-won’s expression shifted subtly. But it was only for a fleeting moment.
“Honestly, I’m scared.”
Song Hyun-soo’s voice trembled slightly as he hung his head.
“I feel like I’ve gotten caught up in something too big for a nameless actor like me…”
A movie is a lie. Fiction.
But an actor must act out truth through that fiction.
That was what we were told incessantly from acting school.
That genuine acting that moves the audience’s hearts can only come when an actor breathes their own experiences and emotions into the fiction of a script. Song Hyun-soo had heard the same thing from both Director Jung Joon-hee and Yoon Joo-ho.
So, Song Hyun-soo added truth to his acting.
“Joo-ho Sunbae has only ever been good to me. He offered me a contract when I was unknown, and let me stay at his place when I had nowhere to go… I really don’t want to be a burden to him, and I’m scared. I don’t know what to do…”
“So, you really have no relationship with Joo-ho Sunbae?”
Song Hyun-soo nodded a couple of times in response.
“As far as I know, Joo-ho Sunbae has been dating women all along.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Jeong Seong-won, who seemed to be fumbling for his thoughts as if something was amiss, chuckled sheepishly and confessed.
“Honestly, I thought Senior had a special feeling for Hyun-soo-ssi too.”
“It’s true that he treats me well. That’s why I want to repay him somehow…”
“But it’s not the kind of relationship the representatives are thinking of?”
I’m a man, and Senior is a man. Why would their imagination go there? Song Hyun-soo looked at Jeong Seong-won with a genuinely puzzled expression. And he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have left Senior’s house in the middle of it all.”
Jeong Seong-won slowly sipped his wine, buying time.
Did he really not know, or was he currently engaged in an acting battle with Jeong Seong-won here? Song Hyun-soo still wasn’t sure.
But whatever it was, he had no intention of dropping his act.
Jeong Seong-won put down his wine glass and spoke.
“I’ll try to explain that part well to the representatives.”
“Really?”
Jeong Seong-won smiled faintly, seeing Song Hyun-soo’s face light up with hope.
“It’s not a difficult thing to do.”
“And don’t worry too much. The representatives won’t block Hyun-soo-ssi’s path over something like that.”
“It’s not just me, but after seeing the atmosphere that day directly. I’m worried about Joo-ho Sunbae too.”
Jeong Seong-won refilled the two empty glasses with fresh wine.
As Yoon Joo-ho had taught him, Song Hyun-soo lightly pressed the bottom of his glass with his fingertips as Jeong Seong-won poured. Jeong Seong-won didn’t miss this gesture and glanced at it.
“Joo-ho Sunbae must be happy.”
“Why?”
“To have a junior like you, who is so pure… and wants to help him in any way.”
“……”
“When I think about it, Joo-ho Sunbae seems to have it all. Annoyingly.”
Song Hyun-soo realized.
He knew that much, at least, wasn’t an act.
He didn’t know how to explain it, but it was an actor’s intuition.
However, as Jeong Seong-won put down the wine bottle and looked up, his expression returned to being inscrutable.
He swirled his wine glass with practiced ease and sighed.
“I do think the representatives might be going a bit too far.”
“Right? You think so too, Senior?”
“Of course. He’s my son, and it’s thanks to Joo-ho Sunbae that Look Planning has grown this much.”
What was this? Was he really unrelated to Senior’s parents?
As Song Hyun-soo watched with suspicion, Jeong Seong-won took a sip of wine and brought up another topic with a worried expression.
“Because of that, Joo-ho Sunbae isn’t sleeping well these days, is he?”
“Ah… you know about that too?”
“That Joo-ho Sunbae doesn’t sleep well?”
“Yes.”
“He was like that even when he was a child actor. He always needed the TV on when he slept.”
“That’s right, he’s still like that. So he’s been like that since long ago.”
After a few more sips of wine, Jeong Seong-won seemed to remember something and rummaged through his business card holder, placing a small card in the center of the table.
“Hyun-soo-ssi, here.”
“What is this?”
“It’s the business card of the director at a sleep clinic.”
Song Hyun-soo took the small piece of paper in his hand.
“I thought it might be good to recommend it to Senior for consultation.”
“But I heard Senior really dislikes hospitals…”
“I know. Senior has been betrayed by a few doctors.”
Jeong Seong-won added an explanation to Song Hyun-soo, who was looking at the business card with an unwilling expression.
“But I really want to recommend this clinic. The director has no greed for money or fame. It’s a place only people they know go to quietly.”
“Have you been there yourself, Senior?”
Jeong Seong-won shook his head and smiled lightly.
“Fortunately, I sleep well. Instead, it’s a place recommended by someone truly trustworthy. Someone whose name everyone in Korea would know. As famous as Joo-ho Sunbae. Though I can’t mention the name.”
“So, you mean it’s a place with absolute confidentiality?”
“That’s right.”
Nodding, Jeong Seong-won even brought up an old story.
“When we were child actors together, Senior once collapsed on set. Back then, he wasn’t the top star he is now, so it didn’t make the news, but of course, everyone was very worried. The cause was sleep deprivation.”
“……”
“He’s already distressed because of the representatives, but if he can’t sleep properly, it will eventually affect his work, won’t it?”
To Song Hyun-soo, it sounded like a subtle threat.
It felt like Jeong Seong-won was trying to instill the idea that he absolutely had to take Yoon Joo-ho to this clinic to prevent him from ruining the movie shoot.
Did he believe the image of a naive rookie actor who knew nothing of the harsh realities of the entertainment industry?
I’m sorry, Jeong Seong-won-ssi, but as much as I’ve been through the wringer and hit rock bottom, I’ve climbed my way up.
“Even if he doesn’t listen to me, he might move if Hyun-soo-ssi recommends it.”
Sensing that his prediction might be correct, Song Hyun-soo looked at the business card again. Then, with the face of a naive youth who knew nothing of the world, he cautiously asked Jeong Seong-won.
“Will it really help Senior?”
At that moment, Jeong Seong-won couldn’t hide something.
The thrill of success, of having caught him.
“Of course. They say sleep is the best medicine.”
Jeong Seong-won reassured Song Hyun-soo with his characteristic gentle and kind-looking smile. It was a smile worth billions, the kind that landed him endorsements for beds and financial products.
But Song Hyun-soo didn’t miss the fleeting thrill that flashed across Jeong Seong-won’s eyes and lips before disappearing. He couldn’t completely hide it, even for a moment. He inwardly scoffed, thinking that Jeong Seong-won was still far from matching Yoon Joo-ho, even in acting.
He could be sure.
As he suspected, Jeong Seong-won’s target wasn’t him, but Yoon Joo-ho.
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