Rebirth: King to Superstar

Yo guys. I made a small.mistake with the names in the last chapter. The name of the girl who looks like his wife is not Bye-Su. It is Hye-Su. A total mistake on my part. I corrected it in the last chapter. So I'm just giving you guys a heads-up so that you won't get confused. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

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As soon as the old man said those words Hye-Su came running out of the room and tried to retort, "But that is totally unfair, grandfather. It was him who made a mistake this time and I only did what I did after I tried to ask him what his problem was and he just tried to touch me. It was all his mistake." Shooting a stinky eye towards Joon-won who stopped applying the cream after she rushed in. 

The old man looked at his granddaughter and said, "Even if it was his mistake, I told you before. You will not lay a hand on anyone until it's either in the ring or a very threatening situation. You could have just backed off a little to avoid his hand and just call the cops for harassment earlier. But you took action instead. So apologize." Joon-won grimaced when he heard the sentence about the cops. 

Hye-Su just stared at her grandfather for a minute before turning towards Joon-won and saying, "Sorry." 

Joon-won just gave her a small nod, and she turned towards the old man before saying, "Are you happy now? Now don't bring up the topic of the tournament. I'm going back into the room. Also, it's going to be time to close up soon, you should send this guy away and go back to work." Before she walked back inside the room. 

The old man turned towards Joon-won and said, "Alright come here young man, you can't reach the backside to apply that ointment. Let me help you." Joon-won wanted to refuse, but before he could, the old man already squeezed out a little of the ointment into his finger.

Looking at how dead set the old man was on helping him, Joon-won just scooped a bit to his side and turned his back on him. The Old man looked at Joon-won's back and said, "Well it looks like my granddaughter used quite a bit of strength and also chose a bad place to throw you on." Joon-won just gave him a small nod.

The old man seemed like an expert in it as he skillfully applied ointment onto his back. After helping him with it Joon-won slowly wore his shirt again and wanted to quickly leave. But the old man didn't seem like he wanted to let him leave as he started a conversation he couldn't really get away from.

"So you like my granddaughter? Is this what the youngsters these days call love at first sight? I mean, you did just see her today, right? Or are you some stalker?" 

Joon-won noticed the old man's voice turn a little too serious at the end and quickly shook his head before replying, "Not at all. This is the first time I ever came to the town and these mountains. This is also the first time I saw her. I had no idea there was even a noodle shop until the receptionist at the cottage I stayed at told me. Trust me, I am not that weird." 

The old man continued to look at him for a minute before signing on with relief and said, "Oh, that's a bit of relief. I'll take your word, young man, as it looks like you didn't lie. But if I know you lied, I'll break all the bones you got in your body." With a small smile on his face, making Joon-won nods again.

"So, what do you do, young man? Did you come to the town for a trip?" 

Joon-won shook his head and replied, "No, I came here for work. I work in the film industry and so I came here for the shooting which is happening in the town." 

The old man nodded and exclaimed a little, "Ah! So you work in films? Both I and my granddaughter don't watch many films, only once in a while. I think it's been over a year since I watched one. What do you do in the film industry? Are you an actor?" 

Joon-won thought for a second and replied, "I can't say I'm a bonafide actor yet. This movie is going to be my first role in the industry and it's also a pretty small role. So I'm only just starting on my dream. The dream is to become a big actor and have people come to watch a film only for me." 

Joon-won had no idea why he was having this conversation with the old man. The old man seemed kind and very caring too and was also very easy to talk to. So the conversation was just going on as he replied to the old man's questions. But he also hoped that he could get to know a little more about Hye-Su. But he can't just ask the man about his granddaughter. That would just make him more suspicious.

The old man laughed and replied, "That's a really big goal you have there, young man. I hope you achieve it." Making Joon-won nod. Joon-won turned and looked at the room a little before he turned back after hearing the old man again.

"Anyway, my name is Roh Jum. Her name is Be Hye-Su, and she is a martial artist. What don't you want to know about my granddaughter's name?" He said his and her full name before asking him when he noticed Joon-won's shocked face. Joon-won sas shocked at how the old man told about his granddaughter to a random stranger.

"I mean, I want to know. But I'm a random stranger. Isn't that kinda bad?" Joon-won asked, confused. He would have thought the first old man was pranking if it wasn't for the serious face.

The old man laughed hearing Joon-won and replied, "That fact that you said that makes me feel like my judgment isn't wrong. And I'm not giving you much information either. I just told my granddaughter's name and what she does. That's all. You won't be getting much more information from me either." And as soon as he said that, Hye-Su walked in and said to the old man.

"Why aren't you going back to work yet and why isn't this guy gone yet? What are you both talking about?" 

Roh Jum laughed and just said, "We aren't talking about anything and I was just about to go back to work, too. Also, help this young man go down. I mean, he is injured and can't walk down with all the back pain he has. You can go back home directly. I'll come back with the other workers." Hearing him, Hye-Su whipped her head towards Joon-won as if blaming him, but the old man sent him a wink as if telling him this was the chance.

Joon-won had a small smile seeing the old man's wink as Hye-Su turned towards the old man and said, "But why should I go down with him? Can't you just let one of the guys go back home early instead so that they can take this guy down? I want to spend more time with you before I go back tomorrow morning." 

Roh Jum shook his head as he walked towards the door connecting to the shop and said, "No, I want you to take him down as you are responsible. Also, I can't just let one guy go home early and keep the others to work, I'll lose my image in front of the workers. Plus, don't you need to pack your things? Just go back to the village early and start packing. I'll be there in an hour or two. Help the young man by carrying his back. Ok?" And walked out. 

Hye-Su just looked at the door before turning around and grabbing Joon-won's bag from the floor. She turned to him and said, "What are you looking at? Let's go. I don't want to get scolded again because of you." Joon-won stood up and followed her out of the store. 

Both of them slowly walked down the mountain as Joon-won looked at Hye-Su beside him and asked slowly, "How about we introduce ourselves? We got off on the wrong foot. It was my mistake to stare at you like that. So let's just talk normally. Alright? I'm really sorry?" He was very careful with his words and didn't forget to admit that it was his mistake, hoping that it would help the cause a little.

Hye-Su stopped and looked at him, but just as she was about to speak, Joon-won's phone rang and it was Min-Seok. He really wanted to cut the call, but Hye-Su noticed it and said, "Just answer the phone. It's your dad after all." Before she continued to walk.