"...I like you."
"..."
"No, I don't think I could have helped liking you."
Yu Myeong was flustered when he heard Su Yeon's confession.
Had he really not noticed?
He hadn't. Truly.
He didn't think he was particularly oblivious, but she had never shown the slightest sign of it.
Beneath the dim glow of a streetlamp, she leaned her back against a wall.
She bit her lip lightly and fell into thought.
Then, with her gaze fixed somewhere deep in the dark alley, she began speaking, as though pulling something long buried out of the darkness.
"When I was little, I read a lot of books. Most romance novels follow the Cinderella formula. The heroine has a hard life, then some man swoops in and saves her, and she falls head over heels for him. Whenever I read those stories, I used to complain. What if the guy who saved her wasn't her type? Sure, the male lead is always handsome, but being handsome and being someone's type aren't necessarily the same thing."
An oddly unrelated story following such a sudden confession.
Yu Myeong couldn't even breathe as he listened.
"But... that's not how it works. The romance novels were right. Popular story structures really do contain universal truths.
You're standing somewhere cold and dark, and suddenly light pours in. A strong arm reaches down and pulls you up. You look into that person's eyes. Do they have double eyelids? Are their forearms muscular enough? Is their fashion sense neat and stylish?
You can't see any of that. Not at all."
Little by little, he understood what she was trying to say.
"So I just couldn't help liking you. It wasn't a choice. It wasn't something I decided to do or not do. It was inevitable. And besides, you're amazing, aren't you? You're an incredible actor, your voice is wonderful, you're gentle when you need to be gentle and firm when you need to be firm. How could anyone not like you?"
And he understood why she was rambling on about things she didn't need to say.
Before her feelings became obvious enough to make things awkward, she was voluntarily paying her taxes.
Trying to make it into something ordinary.
Trying to say that falling for him was only natural.
That she'd get over it soon.
That he shouldn't feel burdened by her or start avoiding her.
Watching Su Yeon force herself to sound cheerful, Yu Myeong was overcome by a deep sense of pity.
How can someone so beautiful have so little confidence?
Yu Myeong thought Su Yeon was beautiful.
How could he not?
In his previous life, he had been her fan.
Just imagine it.
Meeting the younger version of a star you admired.
Watching every step of her journey—the struggles, the growth, the moment she bloomed into a true actress.
How could that not seem precious and beautiful?
On top of that, they shared something in common: both had struggled against circumstances they could never overcome through their own strength alone.
And seeing her survive a trauma horrifying enough to make anyone shudder, seeing her seize the hand he had offered and pull herself out with all her strength—it was impossible not to feel proud of her.
He had been the one to drag an injured child out of the water.
Of course he worried she might fall back in.
Of course he wanted to keep watch over her.
His only regret was wondering whether he should have anticipated that her feelings would become this.
Though even if he had known, he could never have chosen not to save her. Not to care for her.
"So... since it's just gratitude and admiration turning into affection, it'll settle down soon. I couldn't help liking the male lead, but I'm not the heroine."
"Su Yeon."
"I'm really okay. You don't need to feel burdened or try to comfort me—"
The thing he needed to tell her was the honest truth.
"I... have someone I'm waiting for."
"..."
"Not someone I simply like. Someone I respect. Someone I support. Someone I need to wait for. That person is standing inside a tunnel with no visible end right now. Just like you used to be."
At Yu Myeong's words, Su Yeon's eyes, which had been pretending calmness until now, trembled.
"I could help you. But I couldn't help that person. Even now, all I can do is wait. Whether they find the exit or turn back toward the entrance, when they finally come out, I want to tell them they've worked hard."
"..."
"If there hadn't been someone I was waiting for, your feelings would have made me happy. Because you're truly beautiful and wonderful."
He wanted her to become more ambitious.
He wanted her to understand how valuable she was.
How desirable she would be to anyone.
So instead of saying the obvious words—that his feelings or lack of feelings could never determine her worth—he chose to say this.
A faint blush spread across Su Yeon's cheeks.
"Thank you... even if you're only saying that."
"I mean it."
"I should go inside now. I'll sort out my feelings myself, so don't start keeping your distance from me on purpose."
"All right. Get some rest."
Only now seeming to feel embarrassed, she turned and ran inside.
Yu Myeong watched until she disappeared from sight.
His feelings regarding Se Ryeon were only half the truth.
The other half remained buried in his heart.
Even if it hadn't been her... it wouldn't be possible right now anyway.
June, 2006.
Three and a half years had already passed since the seven-year promise he made with Miho.
Yu Myeong folded his fingers one by one.
One.
Two.
Three.
And the last finger never fully bent.
From a window overlooking a winding alleyway too steep even for taxis to climb, illuminated unevenly by scattered streetlights, Su Yeon watched his retreating figure grow smaller and smaller.
So there really was someone he liked...
Ever since he became somewhat famous, Yu Myeong had always looked after her on her way home.
When he had time, he did it himself.
When he didn't, he asked Ho Cheol to do it instead.
And on nights like this, he always walked her all the way home, even though cars couldn't reach the neighborhood.
Usually while nagging her like a mother about how she needed to move somewhere else.
He was right.
She needed to move.
The tiny room perched on the hillside was something she'd rented in a hurry after her mother attacked someone with a knife and she could no longer stay in their old neighborhood.
The money left over after clearing out the old house had been left in her mother's account.
Even as a protected psychiatric patient, there were still expenses—snacks, outside medical visits when she got sick, and countless other small costs.
The allowance-like salary she had received from her agency while working as a model had been pitifully small.
She had never successfully completed a single assignment, so she had never received any settlement payments.
She survived by combining that salary with part-time jobs.
She didn't particularly resent that life.
But...
She looked at the wall.
The wallpaper was peeling from the corners, wrinkled and sagging.
A shabby room so small that when she lay on the tiny bed, her feet touched the edge of the desk.
It looked just like her.
That was why, today, she had never intended anything beyond the confession itself.
Not even the smallest selfish hope.
Because he was far too extraordinary.
Far too amazing.
Someone who simply didn't suit her.
She only wanted to avoid becoming awkward with him, even if it meant crushing what little pride she had left.
She wanted him to cut away the feelings she could no longer hide.
But she also wanted him not to turn away from her because those feelings burdened him.
Contradictory emotions she couldn't even explain tangled together in a chaotic knot.
Haaa...
Thanks to Yu Myeong's recommendation, Su Yeon had been offered a contract as Bad Enter's third actor.
When the intimidating Team Leader handed her the contract, her eyes had nearly popped out of her head.
"The terms seem suspiciously generous, don't they?"
"Y-Yes..."
"We're offering them because we believe you'll become an actress valuable enough to justify them. And we're fully prepared to invest whatever support is necessary to make that happen."
The moment she signed, they promised her a room in a highly secure agency-owned apartment building.
A manager.
A stylist.
Carefully selected projects that would help her grow.
Treatment incomparable to what she had received from her previous agency.
And yet she had asked for time to think.
Being in the same orbit as Yu Myeong made her incredibly happy.
But the more often she saw him, the more afraid she became that he would discover her feelings.
And that someday those feelings would create distance between them.
Then today, on the final day of the production, she made her decision.
Confess before he noticed.
Cut away any foolish hopes before they had time to grow.
Sign with Bad Enter.
Become an actress as remarkable as he was.
And someday, if only inside a drama, meet him as the male lead and female lead...
And achieve a love story there.
That was the greatest selfishness she could allow herself.
If there hadn't been someone I was waiting for, your feelings would have made me happy.
She knew he wasn't leaving her room for hope.
His words about waiting for someone had been too firm.
It was comfort.
A reassurance that she wasn't worthless.
A gentle rebuke directed at the habit of self-deprecation she still carried, even after he had pulled her out of her trauma.
Because you're truly beautiful and wonderful.
An excessive expectation that she should never stop where she was.
That she should become someone truly beautiful and wonderful.
The certainty in his voice, as though he had already seen the future version of her, drove her forward like a whip.
You really are impossible not to love.
Thump.
Thump.
She listened to the sound of her heartbeat.
Accepted that her feelings were unavoidable because he was the sort of person anyone would fall for.
Accepted that even if those feelings would never be returned, she would never regret meeting him.
And promised herself that she would become the beautiful and wonderful person he believed she could be.
But just for today...
She decided to listen to her heart's complaints about an impossible dream.
The night slowly deepened.
"Yes! I'm completely back to normal!"
Those sparkling eyes.
For someone who had been performing intensely until three days ago, he seemed absurdly energetic.
Pretending not to notice, Yu Seok changed the subject.
"Seol Su Yeon came in yesterday and signed the contract."
"Oh, that's great. Congratulations."
"Why am I the one being congratulated? Seol Su Yeon has become a good actress, but if it weren't for your recommendation, I probably would've offered her to Good Enter instead."
"It'll be a good hobby for you. Probably more than me."
"Hmm... I doubt that, but we'll see."
Yu Seok explained that Su Yeon would soon move into company housing and spend the next two or three months resting while participating in the agency's actor development program.
Yu Myeong looked particularly relieved when the move was mentioned.
Yu Seok carefully observed him, searching for any trace of ulterior motives behind the excessive concern he showed toward Su Yeon.
He found nothing.
"When is Ryu Shin leaving?"
"In two weeks."
"Hmm... that's soon."
"He's not the type to drag his feet once he's made a decision."
"...Aren't you disappointed?"
Hugo Viard.
As a film enthusiast, Yu Seok had naturally heard the name.
A genius director who had shown interest only in Ryu Shin rather than Shin Yu Myeong...
Leaving aside the fact that he couldn't understand it, hadn't Yu Myeong been disappointed?
"Mr. Ballon contacted me yesterday and asked to meet. I didn't think much of it, but he seemed almost apologetic while explaining Hugo's reasoning."
"...And?"
"He said Hugo believed there was nothing left for him to teach me. That I'd already passed the stage where someone could guide my growth."
Praise so extreme it was almost dizzying.
Yu Myeong delivered it in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, as though it were nothing special.
Yu Seok was the one whose heart started pounding.
"Do you agree with that?"
"Yes."
The answer came without the slightest hesitation.
Yu Seok burst out laughing.
When it came to acting, Yu Myeong possessed neither arrogance nor humility.
Every so often, that aspect of him set Yu Seok's expectations ablaze.
The contrast between that uncompromising confidence and his usual gentle, composed personality was enough to make a person's heart race.
Of course, Yu Myeong had his reasons.
He possessed fifteen years of experience.
Fifteen years spent studying countless theories and trying to improve his craft.
He probably knew more acting theory than Hugo Viard did.
After all, he even knew the theories that wouldn't exist until ten years later.
And as for practical experience, he already had the sharpest and most extraordinary teacher imaginable right beside him.
There was no need to seek another.
He was simply happy that Ryu Shin had found a good mentor.
Someday, when they worked together again, both of them would have grown even further.
"So what's my next project, Team Leader?"
He and Yu Seok had made a bet about Late Goryeo, Early Joseon reaching ten million viewers.
Yu Myeong had lost.
And the stake had been the right to choose his next project.
He wasn't upset about losing.
He trusted Yu Seok completely to select a project that suited both his condition and his goals.
But when Yu Myeong asked, Yu Seok flashed a mischievous grin.
"Your next project is..."
"...?"
"I'll decide in six months."
"What?"
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