Chapter 50: The Wrap-up Party
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“Brother, we have to be the last ones.”
Jin Suho gave a troubled smile at the words of his stylist, Lim Minji.
“Why are you so obsessed with that? We can just go in whenever we arrive.”
“No, we can’t.”
His manager turned his head sharply and looked at Jin Suho.
Jin Suho flinched his shoulders at the sudden movement.
“Do you think our actor, who always entered last, will lose his spot to Yoo Yeon Seo? That’s ridiculous.”
“Brother, this is a matter of pride.”
Jin Suho sighed as if he couldn’t stop them.
The actors who appeared in ‘Dreaming’ were walking on the red carpet laid for the wrap-up party and entering the restaurant.
“What about Teacher Lee Seonja?”
“She said she doesn’t like this kind of thing and went in first. Look, there.”
Lee Seonja was being showered with flashes.
The red carpet was a way to measure popularity and win the battle of aura. You had to enter last.
The manager and the stylist were burning with determination.
“I don’t care at all. Let’s go.”
“Tsk, stay still.”
Jin Suho felt awkward because the wrap-up party was delayed because of his schedule.
He was tied up in the van by his family’s resistance and couldn’t do anything.
“I’ll go and scout first.”
He’s so nice, I have to take care of him. The manager said in a serious voice and got out of the van. He looked for the staff in charge of the red carpet order.
“When can our actor Jin Suho enter?”
“Well… that’s…”
The staff pointed to one side with an awkward face. Lee Taegyeom was standing there with his arms crossed and a smug smile.
Lim Seunghyun, who was wearing a suit, had his hands in his pants pockets next to him. It was Lee Taegyeom who told him to do that.
“So, how did you know that the young master had amnesia?”
Lim Seunghyun whispered to Lee Taegyeom.
He remembered how Lee Taegyeom had given hints to Yoo Yeon Seo during the last script reading.
The only people who knew about Yoo Yeon Seo’s memory loss besides his family were the CEO and the director of Halo Media, and Lim Seunghyun.
Lee Taegyeom had just brushed it off as ‘he changed his personality a bit’ and didn’t explain much to him.
It was probably because he had left Yoo Yeon Seo on the road and ran away before, so he didn’t want to talk about it.
Lee Taegyeom had also been silent and just worked because of that reason.
“It’s obvious when you look at her.”
“Since when?”
“Almost from the beginning?”
Lee Taegyeom rolled his eyes.
She said she had grown up after the accident and gave him a lot of money, so he swallowed his pride and came back, but she had changed too much.
She was like a different person.
‘How hard did she hit her head?’
But does a person’s personality change like that when they hit their head?
That’s where his suspicion started.
“I knew it when you whispered to her every time she stuttered.”
“Really?”
“She may have a shitty personality, but she’s really smart. If you had to tell her such trivial things, I thought, oh, she has a problem here. And that was it.”
Lee Taegyeom tapped his temple with his index finger.
He saw Lim Seunghyun’s stiff expression and added in a hurry.
“I didn’t tell anyone, really. I’m her manager, so I have to keep it, but other people won’t know, right?”
Lim Seunghyun relaxed his expression as if he understood.
“I may not be well-educated, but I’m quick-witted.”
Honestly, it was a perfect job except for Yoo Yeon Seo’s dirty personality.
Yoo Yeon Seo had made a scene at the agency, saying ‘lend my manager to another actor?’ so he didn’t have to run around for other actors on his days off and could rest well.
“But does her personality change that much just because she lost some memory? Wouldn’t her original nature remain? She doesn’t seem to be a blank slate either.”
“I don’t know, I’ve never lost my memory.”
“I wonder if she’s actually a decent guy by nature. Nah, that can’t be.”
Lee Taegyeom shook his head and muttered to himself.
Lim Seunghyun raised one eyebrow as he listened. That was a pretty sharp remark.
“By the way, is that guy Jin Suho’s manager?”
“Yeah, he is.”
Lee Taegyeom unfolded his arms.
“Hello, are you Yoo Yeon Seo’s manager…?”
“Oh, yes, are you Jin Suho’s manager?”
Lee Taegyeom smiled with a squeak and greeted Jin Suho’s manager. His lips trembled as he made an ill-fitting gentle smile. He had copied the smile that Lim Seunghyun had hooked him with.
Lim Seunghyun swallowed his laughter. He looked like a chihuahua showing his teeth…
“Excuse me, when will Yoo Yeon Seo enter…?”
“Last.”
“What?”
“Our actor has a fatal disease that will kill her if she doesn’t enter last.”
He quickly turned serious and said shamelessly. Jin Suho’s manager was dumbfounded.
“But still…”
Lee Taegyeom turned his head and looked at Lim Seunghyun.
“Secretary, who is the investor of this drama?”
“It’s our young master.”
Lim Seunghyun followed his lead for now.
Jin Suho’s manager looked at Lim Seunghyun.
He thought he was the director of the agency because he followed Yoo Yeon Seo around, but he was a secretary?
Does Yoo Yeon Seo have a personal secretary?
“Who’s the one who paid the huge appearance fee per episode for the lead actors right away?”
“It’s our young master, of course.”
The appearance fee was usually paid after the broadcast, but ‘Dreaming’ was different.
The production company, which was a subsidiary of JSENM, followed the special order of the vice president and paid right away according to Yoo Yeon Seo’s claim that money matters should be strict.
They paid equally to the staff and the lead actors, even the extras.
“But Jin Suho has a name value…”
The manager’s words were cut off by Jin Suho, who had been listening to the conversation.
“Stop it, let’s just go first.”
“Huh, when did you come…”
“I’ll go in first.”
Jin Suho bowed his head to Lim Seunghyun and Lee Taegyeom and stepped on the red carpet.
“We won.”
Lee Taegyeom made a V sign with his hand and held it out to Lim Seunghyun.
“But is it important to enter last?”
“It is. The director told me to secure it. He said you have to appear last to survive…”
Is it like a political fight in the company? Lim Seunghyun was getting a lot of attention from the owner’s family lately, so he was the target of both rivalry and interest from his colleagues.
He thought he would be kicked out soon because he was in charge of Yoo Yeon Seo, but he suddenly received the favor of the owner’s family and the chief.
He must have been quite nervous.
“Hey, it’s our Jin Suho’s turn. Last.”
“Did you finally do it?”
Yoo Yeon Seo sighed as if he was bored.
Actually, he didn’t care about the order either, just like Jin Suho.
“Anyway, good job.”
I should be grateful that they did this for me… Yoo Yeon Seo got out of the van.
***
“What are all these?”
“These are the wrap-up party supports.”
It was different from the old days when the actors and staff would just have a small wrap-up party at a barbecue restaurant.
Nowadays, the actor fandoms were becoming similar to the idol fandoms.
Yoo Yeon Seo pushed aside the bouquet and opened the nicely wrapped paper bag.
It was wrapped with stickers related to the drama, and Yoo Yeon Seo’s paper bag had a print of Chunbaek with silver hair.
“How did they prepare all this…”
He opened the velvet box tied with a ribbon and found a crystal plaque inside.
Yoo Yeon Seo had insisted that only people who had more money than him could support him, but his fans didn’t give up and used a trick.
They pretended to be fans of the drama or movie gallery and proceeded with the support.
It was already notorious that Yoo Yeon Seo’s fandom was vicious, and Jin Suho’s fandom had a huge number and firepower, so the support competition was fierce.
“The fans prepared a lot of gifts for you!”
The wrap-up party host was the actor who played the role of Lee Minseong.
He had a very talkative personality, unlike his desperate acting when he found out about his parents’ death.
After Lee Minseong’s brief introduction, everyone chatted loudly and grilled meat.
“Please eat a lot.”
“Are you not eating, Suho?”
“I’m eating while grilling.”
Jin Suho didn’t let go of the tongs and diligently served meat to the actors at the same table.
“So, you said you’re going to record a Chunbaek version for the AI speaker?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds fun. Do you need Dr. Yang Juhee?”
“No.”
Yoo Yeon Seo gave short answers, but Jo Yumi was so happy that she clutched her stomach and fell over. She had already drunk a few glasses.
But it was better than this than being avoided by people who heard the rumors and felt awkward.
“Yeon Seo.”
“Writer!”
Jung Dahee also moved around the table and was very active.
Jung Dahee called Yoo Yeon Seo, but Jo Yumi answered instead.
“The production company seems to be considering season 2, what do you think, writer?”
“Well… I left some room because of the production company’s request, but I have something else I want to write.”
Jung Dahee had gone from a self-doubting aspiring writer to a respectable writer.
She said she would probably win the lawsuit against writer Hwang Mijeong.
“That’s good.”
Yoo Yeon Seo spoke before putting the glass to his mouth and took a sip of alcohol.
It was a good thing anyway.
If Jung Dahee wrote another good work, could I claim credit for raising her?
“All this…”
“Is it thanks to me? I know, so just eat.”
She had heard embarrassing words in front of her face more than once or twice.
Yoo Yeon Seo sent Jung Dahee to the director’s side and turned his head.
Jo Yumi was smiling happily.
“What?”
“Yeon Seo, you’re totally different from the rumors. Why did they spread like that, Suho?”
“I don’t know… It’s amazing.”
Jin Suho also sparkled his eyes.
“I actually came here with a lot of determination because I heard you were the lead.”
“Now you can’t trust the rumors.”
Are they teasing me?
Yoo Yeon Seo frowned and pushed the meat to Jin Suho and Jo Yumi.
“Just eat.”
I take back what I thought earlier, it’s better to be cold and distant with the rumors.
Then, he noticed Lee Seonja getting up from the next table.
‘Lee Seonja worked with Heeseo…’
She played Heeseo’s mother in ‘Under the Persimmon Tree’, and ‘Under the Persimmon Tree’ was the work Heeseo filmed before retiring.
He tried not to care, but he couldn’t help looking.
Yoo Yeon Seo watched Lee Seonja’s back as he went out to smoke and hesitated, then sighed heavily and got up from his seat.
There were Lee Seonja and some staff smoking in the smoking room.
“Teacher.”
“Do you smoke too?”
“No.”
Yoo Yeon Seo didn’t avoid the place even though he frowned at the smell of cigarettes.
Lee Seonja looked at him with a strange expression and lit a cigarette.
“You have something to say to me.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Yeon Seo stared at Lee Seonja’s eyes with a stiff expression.
“First of all, I apologize if I was rude to you when I was in ‘Doll’. I’m sorry.”
She remembered the displeased expression Lee Seonja had during the script reading.
She tried to be nice to Yoo Yeon Seo for some reason after that, but she still had to clear the grudge from before.
Even if she couldn’t remember it.
“Oh, don’t do that. I already forgot.”
“Are you accepting it?”
“I accepted your apology. Stop it.”
Lee Seonja was surprised and dropped the cigarette in her mouth.
Yoo Yeon Seo had been rude, but not enough to receive such a serious apology.
“Did you follow me to apologize?”
“Actually… I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my mother who passed away…”
Lee Seonja dropped the cigarette in her hand in shock.
“Heeseo… you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Is it okay to talk about it?”
“Yes?”
Yoo Yeon Seo raised a question mark.
What did he mean by that?
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