“Hello!”
The next day, I walked onto the filming site with a bright smile.
“Seo Hoyun-ssi, you look like you’re in a great mood. Something good happen?”
“Ahaha! It’s because I get to see the camera director so early in the morning.”
“Seriously, without that brazen face of yours you’d be a corpse. Today’s the scene where you meet your younger brother, right? I’ll shoot it spectacularly. Look forward to it.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The more time passed, the more ridiculous the opinions spreading online about me became. Maybe because of that, every staff member I ran into greeted me even more warmly.
Right behind me, the manager was restless the whole time, busy gauging my mood. It seemed WH Entertainment had tried to quietly settle things by contacting Lee Kangseok, but it hadn’t gone well.
When the manager insisted he’d demand the company respond more strongly, I stopped him with a shake of my head.
“Just leave it alone.”
“But they keep posting things like this?!”
On the phone screen he shoved in front of me, Lee Kangseok’s personal Stargram account was open. He had uploaded nothing but black images with captions like, “Even if it’s hard, I just have to work hard.” or “What an unfair world.”
Indirect snipes aimed at me.
“Wow, this place is a real MSG buffet.”
“Hoyun-ahhh...”
I grinned at the sight of the manager’s twisted face.
Every time Lee Kangseok uploaded one of those half-assed emotional appeals, the public spun endless stories comparing me and him.
[Seo Hoyun, didn’t his eyes look intense from the start?]
[LOOOOLLL But seriously, his role as Kim Wooho totally feels like the type who’d go against seniors without hesitation.]
[They say actors are all about image management, right?]
A tiny minority clicked their tongues and asked why Kangseok kept posting the same nonsense, but the majority debated about where my so-called “missing manners” had gone.
And though I hadn’t told the manager, Kangseok had even managed to get my number somehow and sent me texts.
[Lee Kangseok: Seo Hoyun-ssi]
[Lee Kangseok: You know the longer this drags on, the worse it is for you, right?]
[Lee Kangseok: If you admit your mistake as a junior and apologize now, I’ll generously forgive you as a senior.]
Naturally, I ignored them.
If not for his personality, he’d be a natural-born actor. Where does he even come up with these gems of lines?
In any case, the more he raged, the better it was for me.
The more attention, the more I became the center of the conversation. And once I was there, the types who made a living off exposing celebrities’ private lives would rush in like vultures to dig out the truth.
Others looked at me with pity, but instead, I only felt excited and entertained.
The rewards are sweet too.
Finish your first shoot.
Get your first broadcast out.
Appear on a variety show.
Achieve 10% ratings, and so on.
Quests kept chaining one after another, and thanks to that, I was stacking up points nicely.
Dding!
[Seo Hoyun-ssi really seems like the kind of person who’d survive even if he were stranded on a deserted island...]
Flicking away the nonsense notification, I stepped out of the waiting room—
“Hello, Seo Hoyun-ssi!”
The actor playing Kim Woohyung greeted me brightly.
“Wow, we finally get to shoot together!”
“Ah, hello.”
Shin Heechan.
A rookie actor climbing up through a path similar to mine, active in web dramas.
Even back when I was a PD, I’d heard of him here and there. With his approachable, friendly face, he had a good reputation among the public too.
“These days... um, are you doing okay?”
Glancing around cautiously, he hesitated.
“...Since that person is Min Jiheon sunbae’s fan, rookie actors filming with him often... go through something similar.”
“Yes.”
“It seems worse this time, so I was worried...”
With his eight-shaped eyebrows furrowed, Shin Heechan cast a glance at me.
“...I guess it’s because you’re close with Min Jiheon—”
“I’m not close.”
“...Ahaha, ha... Anyway, I just hope you don’t let it get to you too much.”
He scratched his slightly flushed cheek, smiling sheepishly.
Something about that expression felt strangely familiar, and I found myself staring at Shin Heechan’s face.
“Everyone on set knows you’re a good person, Seo Hoyun-ssi. And these things fade naturally with time.”
...It was uncanny how much he reminded me of the role itself.
Before he could think I was being weird, I quickly looked away and twisted my lips into a smile.
“Thank you.”
“Wow! Hyung, you’ve got strong mental fortitude.”
Though he already called me hyung, he belatedly asked if it was okay to do so, then trailed after me everywhere.
A bit like Jung Dajun, maybe.
“Anyway, let’s do well with today’s shoot!”
“Likewise.”
Today’s scene was the long-awaited reunion between Kim Wooho and the younger brother he had desperately been searching for.
[In front of XX Department Store.
On their way to the Gangwon-do shelter, Min Hanjun’s group was surrounded by infected. While fighting them off one by one, a familiar voice rang out from somewhere.]
“Over here!!”
Among broken windows and collapsed buildings stood a department store with all its showcases shattered.
Just after loosing an arrow and yanking Min Jiheon back to stop the infected from reaching him, a loud shout from behind hit my ears.
[It was Kim Woohyung’s voice. Kim Wooho’s gaze wavered.]
“Over here! Quickly, this way! If you space out even for a second, you’ll die!”
I saw Shin Heechan, encouraging the stragglers and helping them flee. After sending off the last person and about to run himself, an infected lunged at him from behind.
His eyes widened in shock—
Pak!
“Ugh—hah, hahh...”
The infected’s head exploded, blood spraying everywhere.
Through the crimson haze, Shin Heechan saw me, panting harshly.
“...H-hyung.”
He sat down, stunned, calling out to his brother. I dropped to one knee to meet his gaze.
As if to reconfirm this was real, my trembling hand clenched once into a fist before I forced myself to speak casually.
“You idiot, seriously...”
Then, tossing my bow roughly to the ground, I crawled closer to him on my knees.
“Can’t break that habit? Why the hell are you helping others instead of running first?”
“...Hyung?”
My hand moved on its own.
Tracing from his face, eyes, nose, lips—checking if he was hurt anywhere.
Shin Heechan called me again, his tone uncertain.
“...Is it really you, hyung?”
Only after making sure my brother was safe did I rub my face with both hands and let out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah. It’s me, you little shit.”
Thinking things were going decently, I waited for Shin Heechan’s next line.
“...Uh, uh...”
But only nonsense came out.
Glancing up, I caught him darting a panicked look at PD Jeong.
“Cut!”
In the end, PD Jeong stopped the take. But instead of calling out Shin Heechan, who had missed his line, he summoned me.
“Seo Hoyun-ssi, one moment.”
PD Jeong had been monitoring. Beside him, Min Jiheon stood there disheveled, munching on ice cream.
“It doesn’t feel much like Kim Wooho.”
“...Sorry?”
“Ah, I wasn’t the only one who felt that, right?”
Looking at the replay, there didn’t seem to be any particular issue. But at Min Jiheon’s comment, PD Jeong nodded in agreement.
“Seo Hoyun-ssi.”
As I frowned at him, PD Jeong spoke cautiously.
“I want to ask you something. Don’t take it the wrong way.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“...Do you... have a kid?”
“...Excuse me?”
What the hell kind of question was that to throw at a 25-year-old rookie actor with his whole future ahead of him?
“A hidden child, maybe... or perhaps one you had to raise due to circumstances.”
“......”
“Or a nephew?”
As my face grew darker, PD Jeong gave an awkward laugh.
“I just thought I should ask, you know... In this industry, all sorts of things happen. You understand, right? It felt so real, I thought maybe it came from personal experience.”
He tapped the script against the monitor screen.
“Then isn’t that a good thing?”
“The direction is a bit off. ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) The emotions are too heavy.”
He singled out the part where I stumbled over myself, touching Shin Heechan’s face.
“In the script, Kim Wooho and Kim Woohyung are only two years apart. But look here—on screen it feels like a man finding the child he lost decades ago.”
“......”
Finding the child he lost decades ago...
I couldn’t say a word, blindsided by a flaw I hadn’t even realized myself, while he continued his explanation.
“The brothers’ bond is of course affectionate. They lost their parents in their early twenties, so they only had each other to rely on.”
“...Yes.”
“But still, it’s within the frame of an ordinary sibling relationship. If you overdo it, viewers will feel burdened or awkward. Keep that in mind as you act.”
“...Understood...”
Burdened, huh...
“Let’s take a short break and dial it back. It’s the final stretch, I know it’s tiring, but let’s push through a little longer.”
“...Thank you.”
Normally I was sharp and responsive, so my simple answers must have seemed odd. PD Jeong suggested we rest.
Fuck...
I crouched in a corner of the set, burying my head in the script.
The black letters meant nothing as I read them again and again. To catch my breath, I opened my phone.
Dozens of messages from my manager. Skimming past them, I pulled up a portal site and searched my name with Lee Kangseok.
As expected.
The controversy was entering a new phase.
Just as I was thinking I could profit off it—
“Seo Hoyun-ssi.”
A languid voice drifted from above.
“Want a drink?”
In Min Jiheon’s hand was a frappuccino piled high with whipped cream. When I waved it off, he shoved the straw into his own mouth and plopped down beside me.
“What is it?”
“Junior, I heard this from the head writer.”
Curious what nonsense he was about to spout, I looked up from my phone.
Since he was playing a role with wild emotional swings, he sometimes struggled, but in front of me he acted casual.
“Originally, the role of Kim Woohyung was going to be a child. About ten years younger than Kim Wooho.”
“......”
“But as they wrote the story, they needed him to tag along with me early on, to play an active part, and then there were censorship issues... In the end they changed him to an adult.”
Min Jiheon turned his face toward me.
“But just now, you acted like you already knew that original setup.”
And his eyes crinkled faintly.
“Strange, isn’t it?”
“Not really.”
“You have a younger sibling?”
Sharp as hell, this bastard.
I thought this world’s ‘Min Jiheon’ was easier to toy with, but even spoiled fish have bones.
“I do. A half-sibling. Only share about half my blood. Still, it’s fascinating. I used to hate babies, but after meeting my sibling, my thoughts changed.”
He stirred the frappuccino with his straw.
“A tiny baby, hands no bigger than a fern sprout, wiggling fingers and smiling at me... That was the first time I realized the word ‘warm’ had a literal smell.”
“Mhm.”
“Hey, take me seriously. I mean it—I felt overflowing affection for the world.”
I remembered it vividly too.
The first time I met Seo Hojin.
The day my slightly frail mother came home with a small bundle.
A scrunched-up red newborn, gripping the finger I reached out with all its might.
Blinking slowly as if recalling the moment, Min Jiheon added,
“So for me, whenever I hear someone has a younger sibling they cherish, I pay attention. It’s a bad habit—I just assume they’re a good person.”
“......”
“Your acting earlier gave me the same feeling.”
There was a hint of warmth in his gaze.
For the first time, I thought I understood why he’d started helping me back in Unknown Idol Tycoon.
Quietly listening, I let one line slip.
“...I am a good person, though.”
“Huh?”
Tilting his head, Min Jiheon then burst into laughter.
“Pfft—okay, that was funny.”
I stood and gave his leg a light kick.
“Jiheon-ah, don’t bare your teeth.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Truthfully, irritation bubbled up.
Because I had sympathized, just a little, with his story.
...Disgustingly so.
***
[About actor Seo Hoyun—
Why is he clashing with Lee Kangseok?
└ Not confirmed.
└└ Looks almost confirmed hahaha
└ In an old interview, sounds like they really did fight hahaha I just want to know how.]
[Didn’t Lee Kangseok have a super gentlemanly image?? He looked like the type who’d treat juniors well... Did Seo Hoyun just disrespect him haha]
[What pisses me off most is that my favorite drama is getting tainted by controversy. I love Kim Wooho so much, but I keep thinking of Seo Hoyun’s scandal, and it ruins the moment...
└ Why post crap like this? Nothing’s even been confirmed yet, stay neutral.
└└ Neutral my ass. People like you are the worst.]
As affection for Kim Wooho grew, focus on Seo Hoyun intensified, and the scandal burned hotter.
Old interviews, past roles, even throwaway comments from colleagues—all were inflated and circulated.
Everyone’s attention turned to how terrible Seo Hoyun was, what trashy things he had supposedly done.
At that moment—
[Anyway, someone tell me why Lee Kangseok is spamming Stargram like he’s addicted hahaha I’m dying to know how Seo Hoyun hit him with it haha
└ If you know that much, you must’ve been there on set. Still, I’m curious too]
One post set the community ablaze.
[Title: I think I know why Seo Hoyun is totally disrespecting Lee Kangseok hahaha]
The time I’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
