episode_0086

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Well, that’s just how it is.”

The bond between the two had been going on for quite some time.

Because of that, Choi Da-woon had a rough idea of who Hong Geun-sik was.

In his eyes, Hong Geun-sik’s recent actions towards Seo Yi-soo seemed odd.

“I understand that Seo Yi-soo is a talented actress. But, does that justify why the teacher is giving her so many opportunities? It’s beyond just mentoring. She’s already surpassed the standard, and the teacher isn’t the type to do things for the greater good.”

Hong Geun-sik wasn’t a bad person.

But he wasn’t a saint either.

He had achieved great success as a renowned actor, but in his personal life, he was just an ordinary person striving to fulfill his desires within socially acceptable limits.

Moreover, no matter how much of a master Hong Geun-sik was on the acting stage, spreading opportunities like this was somewhat excessive.

Choi Da-woon couldn’t understand Hong Geun-sik, which is why he asked such a serious question.

And to him, Hong Geun-sik responded with a deep smile.

With a nostalgic, reminiscing gaze, he spoke.

“Actress Seo Yi-soo. You’re good at acting. Your talent is remarkable.”

“Well, yes.”

“However, there’s still a crucial aspect lacking in that actress.”

“A lacking… aspect? Like acting skills?”

“Haha. That’s just a minor aspect. It’s something that can be filled over time, like skills.”

Like playing a game of twenty questions.

Instead of giving a direct answer, Hong Geun-sik hinted around the conversation.

It wasn’t Choi Da-woon’s preferred style of conversation.

Seeing his frustration, Hong Geun-sik finally opened up.

“Desire.”

“…”

“She lacks desire. Actress Seo Yi-soo. Like the character she’s currently playing in . There’s no intense desire lurking within her.”

“What do you mean…”

“Observe her on set. Even though the spotlight is always on me, she shows no signs of discontent. That’s what I mean by a naturally shining friend.”

Choi Da-woon still couldn’t grasp what Hong Geun-sik was trying to say.

“…”

Facing him, Hong Geun-sik fell silent for a moment.

Gradually, emotions began to show in his gaze.

“It’s about being an actor.”

The two were looking at each other.

That’s why Choi Da-woon could intuitively feel the emotions rising in Hong Geun-sik’s gaze.

It was…

“You have to want to shine.”

Desire.

Hong Geun-sik’s desire.

The desire he had nurtured and cultivated for a long time.

And the color of his desire was quite…

“More than anyone else. Wanting to shine even a little more than now. Wanting to stand in a place where you can shine. You have to desire that. To achieve that desire, you have to struggle desperately. It may seem excessive. Sometimes you have to go to such lengths, even if it looks pathetic.”

It had a rather uncomfortable shade.

An overpowering desire could make the viewer uncomfortable.

“Those who become the most shining actors by paradoxically becoming ugly for the sake of shining. Later on, you’ll see that they’ve become the most brilliant actors.”

Hong Geun-sik now recalled a deceased actress who was once his co-star.

She wanted to shine more than anyone else.

She even abandoned her own child for that.

Living ruthlessly and viciously for her own desires.

And as a result, she reached a level so high that even someone like Hong Geun-sik couldn’t dare to look up to her.

Hong Geun-sik.

He remembered the admiration he felt towards that actress.

He recalled the longing he felt while acting alongside her.

Both of them were emotions that were now lost and unattainable.

The actress who used to evoke emotions is no longer in this world.

“I am giving opportunities to Seo Yisoo actress beyond her limits for a reason.”

Hong Geunsik suppressed the desire that strongly emerged in his eyes and smirked.

“Why do people act? It’s all because of their desires. I, more than anyone else, desire to shine as an actor.”

Hong Geunsik spoke about his desire.

“I want to act with an actress who shines more grotesquely and disgustingly than anyone else. If I do that, I can shine a little more than I do now.”

“….”

Choi Daeun had known Hong Geunsik for a long time.

But the raw and unfiltered side of Hong Geunsik to this extent was a new aspect even for Choi Daeun.

So, Choi Daeun couldn’t say anything in response to Hong Geunsik’s desire.

Hong Geunsik put on a smile that seemed kind and pure but also somewhat grotesque on his closed lips.

“And, I recently discovered someone like that. An actress with a limitless potential to shine. But unfortunately, that actress may not be aware of her desires.”

“So what can I do? I can only teach her desires.”

“I will continue to give Seo Yisoo actress opportunities to shine. People easily become addicted to the prey they keep receiving.”

“So I will teach Seo Yisoo actress about desires.”

Meanwhile.

“….”

Shin Jihu was looking at his phone in a corner of the filming set with a somewhat stiff expression.

He had recently asked his father’s secretary to investigate Hong Geunsik.

The results had just arrived.

And Shin Jihu was extremely surprised after confirming it.

“Oh, here you are. Shin Jihu’s manager.”

“….”

Hong Geunsik approached Shin Jihu.

“A drama writer I know asked me about Seo Yisoo actress. He seemed quite interested…”

He was once again offering a big opportunity to Seo Yisoo.

“….”

And Shin Jihu looked at Hong Geunsik with a very unfamiliar gaze.

No… On the contrary, he looked at him as if he was familiar.

“Sir.”

“….”

Shin Jihu called Hong Geunsik ‘sir’ and Hong Geunsik closed his mouth that was about to speak.

Then, after a while, he spoke to Shin Jihu again.

“Do you remember me? It was so long ago, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“In fact, it’s still vague. It was too long ago. And it was too brief.”

Shin Jihu had no memories with his mother.

She left for the entertainment industry right after giving birth to him.

But he had memories with her ‘friend’.

– Are you Shin Jihu? I’m a friend of your mother.

When he was very young, a man approached him, introducing himself as his mother’s friend.

Feeling sorry for the abandoned young Shin Jihu, he used to talk about his mother from time to time.

Although the meeting was very short, it was an unforgettable memory for Shin Jihu.

The information given by the secretary was about that man.

It was Hong Geunsik.

Shin Jihu looked at Hong Geunsik.

“Did you approach Seo Yisoo because of me?”

“Why would I do that? In fact, you don’t mean much to me. Just a friend and colleague I admired… Just the son of Jung Sunhwa.”

“Then why…”

“You know. The reason I used to visit you occasionally before was out of sympathy. To abandon a child. Even if it’s for acting, Sunhwa was too much.”

“But. Seeing Sunhwa, who abandoned her child to pursue acting, become an actor of an unreachable level, my thoughts changed.”

Long ago.

Hong Geunsik approached Shin Jihu out of sympathy.

But then, my thoughts changed, and I no longer went to find him.

“I realized that a person can’t have everything. You need priorities. You need to take care of the most valuable things first. The rest, the other things…”

Hong Geun-sik looked at Shin Ji-hoo, who was one of his mother’s ‘other things’, and said, “You need to take care of the most important things first. Only then, if you have the capacity, can you reach out for the rest. But if you don’t have the capacity and miss out, then that’s just unavoidable.”

Looking at the other side of the filming set, Hong Geun-sik saw Seo Yi-soo. In front of the camera, she was acting and shining brightly. It was clear to anyone that she shone the most when she was acting, that was her way of shining.

“Ji-hoo, I’m not approaching Seo Yi-soo with ill intentions, or giving her opportunities. On the contrary, I genuinely have good intentions towards Seo Yi-soo. I hope that actress shines even brighter than she does now. Yes, like… your mother.”

Like her mother.

There was a wish that Shin Ji-hoo had for Seo Yi-soo, to shine like her mother. Hong Geun-sik was expressing the exact same wish.

“I will create the fastest and most certain path for Seo Yi-soo to shine. But for that to happen, Seo Yi-soo herself must desire to shine the most. Ji-hoo, I hope you cooperate as well. So that Seo Yi-soo doesn’t look elsewhere, but stays true to her desire to shine as an actress. You are her manager, after all.”

Shin Ji-hoo is from a chaebol family. The world of chaebols is so fierce and ruthless that it can make the entertainment industry, likened to a jungle, feel like child’s play. Shin Ji-hoo was a person who grew up in that world.

Therefore, if Hong Geun-sik had tried to manipulate Seo Yi-soo in any way, she could have easily handled it with ill intentions.

But…

Though the direction was twisted, Hong Geun-sik was only acting kindly towards Seo Yi-soo.

He still was.

Perhaps Hong Geun-sik had noticed the relationship between Seo Yi-soo and Shin Ji-hoo on the day they first met.

So, his final words were ultimately this:

To Shin Ji-hoo.

To Shin Ji-hoo, who was one of his mother’s ‘other things’.

This time as well, he was telling Shin Ji-hoo to remain as Seo Yi-soo’s ‘other things’.

Nothing else, just to do so for Seo Yi-soo, the shining actress.

So…

Shin Ji-hoo.

Could not come up with any rebuttal to Hong Geun-sik, who was speaking on behalf of his wish, the ‘answer’ to achieve that wish.

He was just confused.

Seo Yi-soo shining like her mother.

Seo Yi-soo not being unhappy like her mother.

Two conflicting wishes were colliding.

“Shin Ji-hoo!”

Lost in confusion, Shin Ji-hoo snapped out of it when he heard Seo Yi-soo’s voice.

“Uh… Seo Yi-soo.”

Looking around, Hong Geun-sik was nowhere to be seen.

Seo Yi-soo looked at him and said sincerely, “Were you watching me? Acting.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Hehe. How was it? Did I look okay?”

Seo Yi-soo, tilting her head towards Shin Ji-hoo, asked, as if asking for praise and a pat on the back.

Praising Seo Yi-soo and patting her head.

It was something Shin Ji-hoo always did.

But Shin Ji-hoo…

“…”

“Shin Ji-hoo?”

I couldn’t reach out my hand easily.

It felt like something heavy was hanging on my arm, making it impossible to resist.