episode_0099
by adminThe next morning. Deer-Go Eunbi’s house.
Freak Kim Seon-ah and Monkeying were sprawled on the floor, fast asleep. Or rather, it looked like they had completely passed out.
The reason was simple.
They had been drinking until the wee hours of the morning and collapsed.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
Monkeying is originally an internet-addicted unemployed person, and Freak is a legally unemployed person who became free after submitting her resignation. Deer could easily call them to her house because she was essentially off work as soon as she turned off her VTuber broadcast.
The result of all those factors combined? It was a complete mess.
These days, the three of them enjoyed drinking and dancing every day.
…Still, their philosophy was that they were having fun in a wholesome way compared to others. They weren’t running around clubs and hooking up with random guys, and they certainly weren’t playing with fire.
“Ugh…”
The first one whose eyelids started to flutter was Freak Kim Seon-ah. Her phone, which she had placed on her lower abdomen while sleeping, was vibrating.
Kim Seon-ah, with her eyes half-open, checked her phone.
“… ”
She spaced out for a moment.
“…?”
And then tilted her head slightly.
“…!”
She immediately sat up straight and jumped up.
Her eyes were wide as if they would roll right out of her head. She couldn’t believe the number of notifications on her phone.
[ 99+ Missed Calls ]
[ 99+ Messages ]
“What, what is this? What’s going on?”
Did something big happen?
She prided herself on having lived a law-abiding life, but she was still trembling. She had never experienced such a commotion before, and now it was all contained on her phone.
However, Kim Seon-ah’s trembling soon subsided.
“Huh? Looking closely…”
Because she realized something. There was a pattern to the contacts.
‘Every single contact is from StarCatch?’
The pattern was simple. Every single contact left on her phone was from her previous workplace, ‘StarCatch.’
‘Are they asking me to hand things over to the new employee? What is it?’
It’s a common occurrence in difficult workplaces. Even after you quit, they suddenly contact you and ask you to teach the new employee how to do the job.
But Kim Seon-ah soon shook her head.
‘No. If it were something like that, they wouldn’t be so urgent. That means something huge has happened, something beyond comparison…’
After checking a few messages, the cause became clear.
Several articles were attached.
[ Special Task Force 808, Kim Yuhan’s Identity is ‘Lee Suan’ ]
[ Rookie Actor Lee Suan? Only an Unknown Profile. ]
[ Who is the Youngest Reporter to Correctly Predict Kim Yuhan’s Identity? ]
“Huh!”
And she was startled.
Kim Yuhan’s identity, it really was a guy named Lee Suan?
So Sua’s words were true?
While Kim Seon-ah was blankly trying to grasp reality, Monkey and Deer had somehow wandered over while drinking water.
Kim Seon-ah’s commotion was loud enough to wake them up.
“What’s wrong? So early in the morning.”
“Yeah. What are you looking at so intently? Your eyes are wide.”
Kim Seon-ah first showed them the Special Task Force 808 teaser.
“See that guy playing Kim Yuhan here? Lee Suan.”
“Yeah. He’s really handsome.”
“He seems familiar? Does that mean we’re soulmates?”
Ignoring Deer’s nonsense, Kim Seon-ah told the two of them in detail about what she had been through.
How she had been considering quitting StarCatch, the scoop that Sua had hinted at during that time, and that Lee Suan was Sua’s friend.
“…That’s what happened. He’s a close friend of Sua’s.”
“Hmm.”
The two of them nodded for now.
But they soon encountered a reasonable question.
“Something’s weird.”
The first one to break the silence was Monkeying.
“Where else would Sua have friends besides us?”
“… ”
Even the two of them found that very reasonable. Kim Seon-ah unconsciously scratched her head.
“Thinking about it, that’s true. We’re used to Sua because we’re her friends, but most people were really frustrated when they first met her. There weren’t many people who could put up with her. Unless they were saints…”
That was the truth.
They had once included acquaintances of Monkeying and Deer in order to gather people to play games together, but everyone reacted the same way after playing games with Sua.
─ Eunbi, is she doing that on purpose?
─ Why does she sound so angry when she talks? Even though she’s the worst.
─ Guys, it’s a misunderstanding. Listen.
It was always Sua’s group chat that cleared up the misunderstandings.
…Sua made a friend?
Kim Seon-ah nodded.
“Well, that’s what she says. They’re very close friends.”
That’s when it happened.
“…Maybe it’s not just a normal friendship?”
Deer stroked her chin.
“If the feelings between them transcend friendship, it’s somewhat understandable. For example, love. If they’re wearing rose-colored glasses where even flaws look like strengths?”
“…?”
It was such a ridiculous statement, but the very absurdity made it sound somewhat plausible.
“… ”
Soon, everyone seemed to be subtly agreeing.
That’s because it’s not like Sua is unattractive.
No, to be honest, she has a very attractive appearance. The three of them, being women, are just sometimes slow to notice it.
The three of them could feel it deeply even during their short time with Sua in Busan. The number of gazes and the size of the desire that were directed at Sua were immense.
So Sua was a somewhat mysterious being.
A being who found it difficult to make ‘friends’ but easy to make a ‘boyfriend’? A romantic relationship can just be about wanting each other’s physical intimacy. The problem is…
“I’m worried.”
…All they ever worry about is Sua.
Kim Seon-ah scratched her head after hearing Deer’s words.
“Hearing you say that, I feel like things have changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like we’ve come to cherish Sua. In the past, we used to have the exact opposite reaction when romance stories came up. What sins did Sua’s future boyfriend commit in his past life? That’s what we used to say.”
“…That’s because we didn’t know about her savant syndrome back then.”
In the past, she was treated like a child left out by the water, but after their conversation in Busan, one thing changed.
Now, she was treated like ‘my baby’ left out by the water.
…A useless and lazy piece of trash turned out to have a medical condition, and was secretly working hard to become an actor? How could they not be moved? That’s what the group chat members thought.
Of course, the person herself would be shocked to hear that. Anyway.
Deer frowned.
“…Anyway, it seems like Lee Sua listened to my words with one ear and let them out the other. I told her so many times to be careful of men.”
“I’m worried. What if a guy approached her for her body?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
That’s when Deer Go Eunbi picked up her phone.
“Huh?”
Go Eunbi soon expressed her doubts.
Shortly after, she held out her phone as if inviting the two people next to her to look at it together.
“…But what is this?”
Several article titles were on the screen.
[ Lee Sua, the Protagonist of the Busan International Short Film Festival. ]
[ Lee Sua, Japanese is no problem either. ‘I’m good at everything.’ ]
[ Overseas Rookie Who Swept the Short Film Festival Appears. ]
“…!”
The mouths of the three of them dropped open.
Only a few days.
A short gap where they shared drinks and rested. “What, what is this!”
The world had completely changed.
◈◈◈◈◈
That afternoon. StarCatch Headquarters.
Now that the ‘Busan International Short Film Festival’ had completely ended, reporters were writing non-stop.
[ ‘Busan International Short Film Festival’, Who is the Rookie Who Defeated Rookie of the Year Yang Harin to Win the Grand Prize? An Awards Ceremony Full of Upheaval! ]
Lee Sua.
For reporters, she couldn’t be a better source of material. Sua’s achievements, Sua herself, everything was just full of things that could arouse curiosity.
“Team Leader, we have a call from CT Entertainment!”
“What did they say?”
“They want us to pay more attention to the Yang Harin article! What should we do?”
“Yang Harin, my foot!”
The team leader scoffed.
“Focus only on the rookie Lee Sua! It’s obvious which side we should be on right now! Even a five-year-old could figure it out!”
Yang Harin’s achievements. 2nd place. Best Actress Award.
They were by no means bad results, but it couldn’t be helped that they paled in comparison the moment she stood next to Sua. It was only natural that all of Yang Harin and CT Entertainment’s intentions would go down the drain.
[ Director Park Joon Says, ‘I was Confident in Lee Sua as the Lead.’ ]
[ Would You Recast the Lead Role in ‘Sword’ Even if You Could? Lee Sua? ]
[ ‘Wind’ Disappeared Like the ‘Wind’. ]
[ ‘Sword’ and ‘Wind’, Contrasting Joys and Sorrows. Low-Budget Romance That Could Not Be Overcome Even with Overwhelming High Budgets. Director Jo Eui-shin’s Bitter Cup. ]
Rather, Yang Harin had become a sacrifice for Lee Sua.
As a rookie who rose by stepping on Yang Harin, Sua was properly in the spotlight. It was the result of all the reporters switching sides discreetly. No one sided with Yang Harin.
[ Smiling Widely Even With a Broken Trophy, ‘Thank You.’ ]
[ Harmony with Director Yusaku, What’s the Secret to Her Japanese? ]
Heartwarming articles poured out.
[ Stealing Attention Properly, Dazzling Exposure Summary! ]
[ A Rookie? Bold and Unconventional… ]
[ A Face Hidden Behind Her Chest? ‘She’s an Overseas Native, After All.’ ]
Provocative articles that were only meant to attract views also poured out.
But none of that mattered to Sua.
No, rather, it was good.
There was no loss. Only gains existed.
Unlike actresses who only compete with their bodies due to a lack of results, Sua’s performance was also outstanding. In the first place, the clothes Sua wore weren’t bold enough to be criticized.
Just a formal dress that fit snugly to her body.
If there was a primal sin, it existed in Sua’s body. So who could blame her? It’d be one thing if the dress was deeply cut to reveal her skin, but in reality, the area that covered her skin was the entire area.
So it was a win-win situation.
The reporters were happy because they could get views, and Sua was happy because she was enjoying the promotional effect. CT Entertainment’s measly bribes weren’t even worth mentioning.
Ah, of course.
One more thing.
[ What is the Meaning of the Hand Mirror That Lee Sua Gave to Yang Harin? ]
How a butterfly’s wings can cause a typhoon.
Currently, in online communities…
The thing that Sua did without thinking, just to get through the situation, was about to ignite.
.
.
.
.
.
Inside an all-dark room.
Crack!
There was a woman who couldn’t stand it and bit her lip. The intensity was not normal. To the extent that she would soon have to taste a fishy taste of blood.
She couldn’t put down her phone. It was Yang Harin.
“… ”
She was fiddling with community apps.
But she couldn’t actually enter any gallery and hesitated. Because the moment she entered, the moment she saw a post that twisted her insides, she felt like she would bite off her own tongue.
As a result, she was now repeating a bizarre behavior.
Swish─ Swish─ Swish─
She was just compulsively refreshing the gallery rankings.
She wasn’t going in. Just refreshing. Refreshing again.
But.
[ Real-Time Trending Galleries ]
14th. [ ↓4 Yang Harin Gallery ]
15th. [ ↑7 Lee Sua Gallery ]
Yang Harin’s patience didn’t last long.
[ Real-Time Trending Galleries ]
5th. [ ↑10 Lee Sua Gallery ]
17th. [ ↓3 Yang Harin Gallery ]
In the end, it was when Lee Sua’s gallery overtook her own gallery. Fingers moved without thinking.
Thud!
Still inside the dark room.
The images of all sorts of posts were imprinted on Yang Harin’s retina.
0 Comments