NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 68
[20XX MBN Acting Awards] Best Couple Award Lee Yeon-jae♥Han Se-young, Reenactment of Heart-Wrenching Iconic Scene!
―08:31 The Legend Begins
└Even watching it again, it’s insane. Seriously;;;
└I had no interest in Lee Yeon-jae even when he was all the rage last year, but watching this gave me chills. I turned it on without much thought and have been stuck watching it for 30 minutes.
└Beep beep. It’s normal.
―I can’t understand actors anymore. How can the person at 06:43 and the person at 08:31 be the same? Do actors switch personalities with a blink?
└I’m a ‘Drama Fan’ and I think Lee Yeon-jae is top-notch; it’s not easy to immerse yourself like that in such a situation.
―But didn’t Lee Yeon-jae have an accident not long ago? His face looks so fine that I forgot for a moment.
└It’s not a good thing, so let’s not mention it.
―Could it be a script? Honestly, actors also have a stance, so I don’t think they’d make them act so recklessly. Maybe they heard about the award in advance and prepared?
└Except the second sentence is wrong. Last year, they made a male actor act cute.
└LOL, right. They made Kang Eden act cute, so asking for a few lines shouldn’t be hard.
└They say it was an impromptu acting situation. Han Se-young confirmed it on XStar.
[Title: Han Se-young XStar]
Summary in 3 lines:
1. The broadcaster didn’t inform them about the award in advance. They only knew they were nominees.
2. The acting request was spontaneous. Lee Yeon-jae’s line adaptation was also spontaneous. Han Se-young’s ad-lib was also impromptu.
3. The future of South Korea is bright. These child actors will dominate.
―It’s amazing how Lee Yeon-jae quickly captured and immersed himself in the emotion, and how Han Se-young matched the ad-lib without any hesitation.
―Did you see them holding hands when Lee Yeon-jae received the Rookie Award? The kids are so cute, LOL.
―Please, I wish they would star as the main leads in a drama… their visual combination is amazing.
―By the way, is Lee Yeon-jae’s beauty for real? LOL, pretty and handsome.
└It’s my first time seeing a selfie taken by Yeon-jae, and it’s too beautiful. ㅠㅠㅠ sob sob
└Seriously, he’s like a living DiCaprio.
└The comment above; DiCaprio is alive;
[Title: LOL, did you all see Lee Jung-hyun’s story?]
LOL, they must be really close. ㅠㅠ I welcome this friendship….
I hope they film a movie as a father and son or as an uncle and nephew….
―The conversation is hilarious LOL. ‘Yeon-jae, why is Jin-bae “Hyung” and I’m “Senior Lee Jung-hyun”?’
└Yeon-jae’s reply is also funny ㅠㅠ ‘Stop being clingy,’ LOL, what kind of way is that to speak to a senior?
└LOL, it’s also funny that Lee Jung-hyun captured and posted it himself.
―There’s a movie where Yeon-jae calls Lee Jung-hyun “Dad.” I’ve seen it. (Just throwing it out there with the Seo Dong Yo technique.)
* * *
―You thought of Bi-hyuk at that critical moment? I’m really touched….
“Yes. That’s right.”
―You’re incorrigible~! How could you make it so obvious?
What the heck.
But from my mouth came the automatic response, “Yes. That’s right,” like a robot.
It was only after repeating the same response about ten times that a normal conversation began.
―Park Ha-do was going crazy. I heard she called all her relatives yesterday, making a fuss that she’s ‘Park Ha-eun.’
“Really?”
It would have been a big problem if it hadn’t been mentioned.
If it weren’t for the host, I probably wouldn’t have brought up their names.
I scratched my eyebrow awkwardly.
The conversation, accompanied by a silly laugh, shifted to Oh Seung-hyun wanting to apologize to me.
―That’s funny. What apology? Surely you’re not going to accept it, right? If you really do….
“No, I won’t. Calm down.”
Why is he so angry?
I was puzzled as the voice over the phone grew increasingly rough.
“There’s no need for you to be upset. I already said I don’t need an apology, so don’t worry about it.”
―How can I not worry? So, you’re not planning to see him in the future, right?
“Hmm? That’s not it….”
A strange building came into view.
The car slowly came to a stop, and soon the vibrations ceased.
I nodded to Manager An Jin-bae, who was looking at me after turning off the engine.
“I’m meeting him in 10 minutes.”
―……What?
“Bi-hyuk, I’ll call you back in a bit. I’m a bit busy right now.”
―No, hey! What do you mean….
I hung up without hearing the rest of his words.
I knew it wasn’t polite, but I was really too busy to explain further to him.
“Actor. Before you get out, you know what to do if anything happens―.”
“I’ll call you right away. But you’ll be at the next table anyway. Don’t worry too much.”
“How can I not worry? He pushed someone onto the road. Actor, don’t let your guard down. People like him think differently from us.”
That’s true. I didn’t come here unprepared either.
But knowing the meaning behind his words, I nodded diligently.
I got out of the car with Manager An Jin-bae, who still had a concerned expression, and arrived at a café.
When we opened the door and entered, only a lonely bell greeted us.
The café was rented out on the condition that all the staff had gone home, so there was no one else but us.
Except for those who flinched and looked this way at the sound of the bell.
“Hello.”
“Oh? …Yes, hello.”
I approached Oh Seung-hyun, who had a very tense expression, and greeted the adult next to him first.
The adult male, who resembled Oh Seung-hyun, looked momentarily surprised and then awkwardly returned the greeting.
He then nervously moved to the table where Manager An Jin-bae was sitting.
“It’s been a while. Honestly, I’m not curious if you’ve been well, so I’ll get to the point.”
“……Yes.”
As soon as I sat down facing Oh Seung-hyun, I started talking.
His voice, mumbling and barely audible, already seemed defeated.
But that was none of my concern.
Since our conversation wouldn’t be overheard by the other table unless we shouted, I glanced at Manager An Jin-bae, who was watching us intently, and then began to speak slowly.
“Did you plan to push me onto the road? Or was it spontaneous?”
“…….”
“Just to let you know, I already know what you told the police. Tell me the truth, not that. I’m genuinely curious.”
My tone wasn’t particularly harsh, but Oh Seung-hyun trembled with each word I said.
His reluctance to answer was frustrating, but I maximized my patience and waited.
After about a minute, his response was not what I had hoped for.
He started with a cliché apology about how he thoughtlessly hurt me.
The words were so predictable they might as well have been written on paper.
Boring, but I endured listening to his deliberate speech.
“Okay. So, was it spontaneous or premeditated?” I asked, and he responded with a pathetic sniffle.
Why are you crying?
“Seung-hyun. Is my question difficult? Don’t you understand?”
“Sniff… sob… no, I’m sorry, it’s just….”
“You came toward me intending to push me. Or did you suddenly decide to do it?”
There’s a saying that patience can prevent murder.
But after repeating the same question three times, I was met with sobbing.
It was ridiculous.
I’m the one who should be crying, but he’s the one bawling.
Glancing at the next table, I saw Seung-hyun’s father itching to come over.
‘Ugh, this is a headache.’
Whether Seung-hyun had planned to push me onto the road was crucial.
This was because of Mist, who refused to speak about the ‘sticky something’ that suddenly appeared.
It was necessary to determine if Seung-hyun’s act was 100% his own doing or influenced by fate.
Either way, I wouldn’t treat him differently, but I needed to know.
But why was he crying?
My head throbbed.
Getting an answer was a priority, so I held back, but I was at my limit.
Abandoning my previously calm expression, I spoke harshly.
“Hey. Stop acting.”
“…? Sniff, what?”
“Stop pretending to cry.”
“Sniff, I-I’m not pretending to cry―
.”
“You know I heard you mumbling, ‘I’ll cry as soon as I meet Lee Yeon-jae tomorrow,’ before you slept last night.”
The crying stopped instantly.
His expression froze, making for an amusing sight.
“……You were in my room―.”
“I didn’t install any cameras or bugs.”
Cutting him off, I provided the expected answer, making his expression stiffen further.
His face asked how I knew.
It wasn’t like you talked to anyone; you mumbled to yourself. I know because Mist told me.
“Th-then….”
“If you tell me, I’ll explain how I knew.”
“…….”
“I’ll ask one last time. Was it premeditated?”
Silence descended on the table.
I counted the seconds in my head.
Fortunately, Seung-hyun didn’t cross the final line.
“It wasn’t planned. Honestly, I had a few plans to mess with you that day, but everything went wrong… I got so angry that I wanted to hit you.”
“…….”
“It’s true! It’s hard to believe, but I only thought of hitting you a few times, not pushing you. It was like I was possessed….”
Seung-hyun’s voice trailed off as if he knew his excuses sounded pathetic.
I mulled over his words and nodded.
There didn’t seem to be any more useful information from him.
When I acted as if I was about to leave, Seung-hyun urgently asked.
“I-I told you, so you tell me. How did you know?”
His face was full of fear.
Who knows, maybe that’s an act too.
I was tired. Seeing someone who lied all the time made me miss Mist even more.
At least when Mist hid something, it showed on his face.
“Seung-hyun. I’ve thought about it.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t think you hate me solely because of Ha-eun.”
“What are you suddenly….”
“I think you hate the idea of me being more ‘useful’ than you. Right?”
Being useful is the same as being valuable.
People must prove their value with every action.
Whether it’s approaching someone they like or showing off in front of friends.
No one pays attention to the words or actions of someone who isn’t valuable.
“Anyone would be mad realizing they’re not better than someone else they looked down on. I understand. Inferiority is a feeling anyone can have.”
“Hey, do you have to talk like that?”
His face twisted angrily, as if he hadn’t been crying.
I laughed at him.
“You wanted to know how I knew. So I’m telling you. I’m more useful than you.”
“Stop with the wordplay―.”
“Oh! I almost forgot. Watch your knee tomorrow at 3.”
“What?”
Seeing Seung-hyun’s furrowed brow, I grinned.
It wasn’t really funny.
But annoying characters always laughed like this in the dramas.
“Tomorrow your knee’s going to get wrecked.”
“What are you saying―.”
“Right! There’s another one at 5. Let’s see, was it the head? Or the forehead? I’m not sure. Ha ha!”
Seung-hyun looked at me like I was crazy.
That really made me laugh.
I exaggerated my light laugh and stood up.
“You’ll find out tomorrow. You have my number, right? You’re quite interested in me.”
“…….”
“Call me tomorrow night. If I’m bored, I might answer.”
I wanted to tease him a bit more, but I refrained and turned my back.
As I was leaving with Manager An Jin-bae, I heard him shout curses from behind.
It felt surprisingly good.