episode_0087

Despite being engulfed in internal conflict over his feelings towards Seo Isu, Shin Jihu remained indifferent to such matters.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care at all.

Hong Geunsik kept his word.

He provided numerous opportunities to Seo Isu.

He brought her work through various connections.

He constantly mentioned Seo Isu in interviews and on personal social media.

At this point, industry insiders and the public couldn’t help but notice that Hong Geunsik had his eye on Seo Isu.

Naturally, Seo Isu’s fans were thrilled.

– Hong Geunsik seems to really like Seo Isu.

– Seriously, a newcomer who receives praise from a top actor… What on earth is going on?

– It used to be tough because there weren’t many opportunities for Seo Isu. But now, there’s no shortage of them.

– I’m just happy to see Seo Isu on TV a lot.

Under Hong Geunsik’s support, Seo Isu was rapidly making a name for herself in the public eye.

She was showcasing how brilliant she was.

How charming she was.

And how incredibly talented of an actress she was.

All of this could be attributed to Hong Geunsik.

However, Hong Geunsik’s greatest contribution to Seo Isu was something else.

It was her essential ability as an actress.

Her acting skills.

On the set of “Colleagues,” under the direction of Director Choi Daun, the filming was tough but progressing smoothly.

Not only did Director Choi Daun’s directing skills play a role in this, but also the lack of flaws in the actors and staff involved.

After all, it was a project that even Hong Geunsik was a part of.

Everyone on set could be considered top 1% talent in the industry.

And…

“Wow…”

“I knew Hong Geunsik was amazing, but…”

“What’s up with Seo Isu?”

Seo Isu was impressing these talented individuals with her acting.

***

With Jang Hoon raiding the hideouts of the kidnapping organization alongside Naju to find his daughter.

A mysterious thug, Han Seonyul, lurking around Jang Hoon with unknown intentions.

And a patrol officer, Bae Soyun, who wasn’t a detective but paying attention to the strange events happening in this city, starting to track Jang Hoon’s footsteps.

Jang Hoon encounters the victims who were held captive during the fight against the kidnapping organization.

And he is shocked by the tragedy they faced.

Jang Hoon realizes that the evil doctor who amassed a huge fortune by cooperating with the kidnapping organization.

But…

Even so, he had never directly harmed the victims who were kidnapped.

It was only after his daughter ended up in the same situation as the victims that he faced them and realized how deeply involved he had been in the evil deeds.

Jang Hoon eliminates the kidnappers who attacked him and ultimately rescues the victims.

However, receiving the tearful gratitude of the victims only torments him.

“What… What have I done?”

To himself, a scumbag, why are they thanking him?

Where does he even have the right to be grateful?

After all, he was just like them.

No. From the perspective of being a more cowardly villain, he might be worse than the kidnappers.

The once unwavering,

Resolute villain Jang Hoon is thrown into confusion.

His firm, active heart wavers.

And to him…

“Sir.”

Naju speaks.

“Colleagues”

#Chapter 81

– Night Alley

I looked at Jang Hoon, who was holding his head.

I saw his once steadfast, active heart wavering.

And seeing that…

I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry.

Hadn’t Jang Hoon committed his misdeeds without any guilt until now?

Hadn’t he shown no interest in how much suffering his victims and their families had endured because of his actions?

Like this.

The daughter became a victim.

I couldn’t quite understand the weight of the evil deeds I had committed until I became the family of the victim.

If I had been someone who could empathize to that extent, I shouldn’t have committed those evil deeds in the first place.

If I was someone lacking in empathy to the point of committing evil deeds, I shouldn’t be suffering now.

That’s what I thought.

“….”

But what does my opinion matter?

After all, I am a passive person.

I have given up resisting fate.

I don’t even desire to change the things that come my way.

That’s all I am.

So.

“What have I been doing?”

I decided to continue accepting the things that came my way one by one.

“Sir.”

I reached out to the seemingly ridiculous Jung-hoon and placed my hand on his shoulder.

I wanted to convey the warmth of my hand to him and calm him down.

I spoke to him.

“Sir. It’s not just about regretting at times like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sir, you have to save your daughter. Maybe something good can come out of it. By trying to save your daughter, you can also help other victims.”

“….”

“If you think of saving your daughter as also paying off your own sins. Wouldn’t that be better?”

I spoke comforting words to the still confused Jung-hoon.

“And, it would be nice if you could find my younger brother too.”

“….Is that so.”

Jung-hoon’s wavering eyes found their place.

He was determined to save his daughter with his own hands.

And at the same time, to atone for his own sins.

He was once again igniting such a favorable active desire.

I had to lead him to that point, but even considering that, his emotional recovery was quite fast.

It was a moment when I realized that he was a different type of person from me.

“Well, for now, that should be enough.”

Jung-hoon was indeed an active person.

Realizing that, I suddenly became curious.

At the end of our story.

What choice would the active Jung-hoon make?

“….”

“Why are you suddenly silent?”

Jung-hoon asked me as I got lost in thought.

Instead of answering right away, I continued my thoughts a little further.

I am different from Jung-hoon.

I am a passive person.

I am not someone who desires to make a change.

So.

Whatever choice he makes.

I will simply have to endure whatever comes my way.

Whatever it may be, no matter what.

With that thought in mind, I smiled at Jung-hoon.

“Just. Let me have some other thoughts for a moment.”

I smiled softly at him.

***

The actors watching the confrontation scene between Seo Yisoo and Jung-hoon murmured.

“Seo Yisoo.”

“….?”

“Your acting has improved a lot in a short time. It was already impactful, but your skills have improved tremendously.”

“It’s a difficult scene. This scene marks the point where Jung-hoon starts relying on me psychologically. At the same time, I have to hint at some kind of twist for Na-joo.”

“That’s right.”

“You express all of that with just your facial expressions.”

As they admired…

Seo Yisoo’s acting had become unrecognizably good.

Someone said sarcastically.

“That’s inevitable. Hong Geun-sik is always teaching her acting.”

“Really. I’m so jealous. What kind of luck does Seo Yisoo have?”

“That’s true.”

As they chatted, Hong Geun-sik was giving acting advice to Seo Yisoo whenever he had the chance.

Seo Yisoo’s acting was different from others.

It was based on playfulness.

Even without consciously realizing it, a virtual personality built on playfulness moved and acted on its own.

However, ultimately controlling that virtual personality was Seo Yisoo herself.

As her acting skills and knowledge increased, the playful personality evolved into a more suitable form for acting.

In this way…

Hong Geun-sik was changing many things about Seo Yisoo.

The transformation was based on Hong Geun-sik’s desires.

And so, things were progressing actively and dramatically.

With Seo Yisoo’s sudden increase in schedule, the time they spent together doing small things had decreased.

And in the midst of that.

“This is really. It’s a shame.”

Hong Geunsik couldn’t help but express his regret towards Seo Yisoo.

Beside him, Choi Daun asked in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“Seo Yisoo, the actress. She’s surprisingly good at acting.”

“Yes.”

“No matter how much I provoke her, she doesn’t understand desire.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Not too long ago, I directly asked her out of frustration. And do you know what she said?”

“……”

Instead of adding a comment, Choi Daun stared at Hong Geunsik with a serious expression.

To which Hong Geunsik chuckled and said, “She says she has a lot of desires. She wants to eat tteokbokki, she wants to eat a lot of mango bingsu. And she wants to hang out with Shin Jihu.”

“…”

“And she thinks that’s desire. Haha.”

If it were Seo Yisoo, it would be typical of her.

Hong Geunsik found Seo Yisoo’s lack of desire frustrating, but he didn’t feel hopeless.

“Well…. I’ll keep teaching her. It won’t take long. People can’t live without desire forever. And especially in the final scene of ‘Naju,’ you can’t shoot it properly without understanding desire.”

“That’s true.”

The scenario for ‘Partners’ was written by Choi Daun.

But the only part where Hong Geunsik had an influence was in the highlight scene of ‘Naju.’

Hong Geunsik requested that the scene be modified to focus on Naju expressing her desires.

Choi Daun accepted it, thinking that it would have more impact.

“Why did I do that? I did it with Seo Yisoo in mind.”

Choi Daun anticipated.

“Well…. as the teacher said, it won’t take long.”

Soon, it would be as Hong Geunsik wished.

People are made up of what comes their way.

And Choi Daun, who had rarely been wrong in his expectations in the world of movies, believed that his expectations would not be wrong this time either.

And meanwhile.

While Choi Daun and Hong Geunsik were having that conversation.

“Ugh……”

Seo Yisoo, who had finished shooting the planned amount for the day, was staring at her phone screen with a serious expression.

“Isu, what are you doing?”

Bae Soyun, who was concerned about Seo Yisoo, leaned closer to her.

Then she tilted her head.

She looked at Seo Yisoo’s phone.

There, a game featuring a dragon designed in pixel graphics was running.

“Bae Soyun….”

Seo Yisoo, who was immersed in the game, called out to Bae Soyun with a pout.

Bae Soyun was quite taken aback by her appearance.

“Uh, Isu. Why are you like this? What’s wrong? Why are you pouting?”

“I’ve done the gacha nine times already…. but I still haven’t gotten an SR grade.”

“……Uh, really?”

“Now it’s the 10th gacha…. what if it doesn’t come out this time?”

“……Uh, just. Do the 11th gacha.”

Bae Soyun wondered why Seo Yisoo was pouting so pitifully again.

“That won’t work.”

But Seo Yisoo shook her head while pouting.

“Shin Jihu said to only do the gacha ten times a day.”

“Shin Jihu…. Your manager said that?”

“Yes.”

Bae Soyun really couldn’t understand.

There wasn’t even a function on Seo Yisoo’s phone to restrict payments.

Regardless of what the manager said, if Seo Yisoo was spending her own money, couldn’t she just spend it as she pleased?

“Oh, right. And by the way, Bae Soyun.”

“Yes.”

Still not understanding Seo Yisoo.

Seo Yisoo asked Bae Soyun with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Uh, we’re friends now, right?”

“Of course! If we’re not friends, then who are we?”

“Th-then, come this way….”

Seo Yisoo gestured for Baek Soyun to come closer and momentarily turned off the game.

Then, she turned on a photo-taking app and asked Baek Soyun, “Can we take a picture together?”

“Sure. Why make a big deal out of asking for something like that? Let’s just take the picture together.”

Baek Soyun also really enjoyed taking pictures.

The two of them stood close to each other.

They posed prettily for the picture.

Seo Yisoo had a happy expression on her face.

She was able to capture the moment she spent with the person she liked in a form that she could see again.

“Another picture to add to the album.”

“Album?”

“Yes, I’ll ask Shin Jihoo to make it into a picture.”

With that said,

She ran over to Shin Jihoo and handed him her phone.

Baek Soyun’s eyes filled with question marks as she watched.

“Hey, Seo Yisoo.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Wait…. You’re giving your phone to the manager?”

“Yes, yes. Why? Don’t worry. Shin Jihoo can unlock my phone too.”

“…He knows your pattern lock too?”

No matter how much of a manager he was.

A phone, isn’t it a device that records even the most personal parts of a person?

Handing that over to a male manager, even if their genders are different?

Baek Soyun couldn’t understand at all.

Seo Yisoo chuckled and muttered, “Hehe. I hope the picture turns out pretty.”

Smiling brightly,

Seo Yisoo thought of herself as someone who was really greedy.

She wanted to take a lot of pictures.

She wanted to fill up the album.

She hoped for moments filled with that.

Future events.

Complicated things.

Fighting and conquering with someone.

Seo Yisoo didn’t really know about those things.

That’s why she didn’t desire them.

Instead, Seo Yisoo longed for the countless moments she would have with the people she liked and the things she enjoyed.

There were so many moments she wanted to cherish that her heart felt full just thinking about them.

So it seemed like there wouldn’t be any room left for the rest.