Chapter 76: Coincidence?
I moved from the annex to the main building. I couldn’t get used to the new environment and got out of bed.
As I wandered aimlessly in the hallway, I heard a loud noise from Grandpa’s study and headed that way.
“We’re closing the case.”
“Father!”
Through the gap of the open door, I saw Grandpa and Dad confronting each other.
Yoo Gunmin glared at Chairman Yoo with bloodshot eyes.
“He’s not the one to go. You know that, Father.”
“Gunmin, let it go.”
“There must be a reason!”
“Until when!”
Chairman Yoo, who had been holding back, shouted.
“Until when are you going to do this!”
The circumstances of the case had already concluded that Lee Heeseo committed suicide, but it wasn’t over because of Yoo Gunmin’s insistence to investigate further.
“I have to do it until I catch the culprit!”
“The culprit, yeah. You said it well. Who is the culprit?”
Yoo Gunmin closed his mouth. He had been clinging for a long time, but he still couldn’t find any clue of the culprit. He was the only one who thought there was a culprit in the first place.
“Just a little, just a little more and I’ll find it…”
“It’s not a joke to waste police resources with your stubbornness. You know that, right?”
As if it wasn’t enough that the rumors surrounding Lee Heeseo’s death were getting out of control, the media was also bashing the chaebol for wasting police resources.
The stock price was going down because of Owner Risk. It was no use dragging it on.
“Do you not see how the kid had another seizure when we searched the scene?! Stop it!”
And because of the re-investigation, countless police officers and detectives had been coming in and out of the annex, causing Yu Yeon Seo, who had just been discharged from the hospital, to collapse again.
“But…”
“Don’t talk back and listen to your father!”
Chairman Yoo stood up abruptly. Despite his old age, he had a formidable presence in front of his son, who didn’t back down.
“You’re neglecting your company work and hanging on to the case. I understand that. I do! But what about Eunho and Yeon Seo? Are you going to leave them alone like that?”
“That’s…”
Yoo Gunmin tried to say something, but shut his mouth at the scolding mixed with metal.
“If their mother went like that, shouldn’t you, as their father, take care of them so they don’t feel the absence of their parents!”
“…”
“Yeon Seo became like that and the whole family worked hard to help him. But what about Eunho?”
Chairman Yoo was busy dealing with Owner Risk. Park Geumju was suffering from depression and could barely take care of herself.
Yu Eunho, who had told him to take care of his younger brother first, was only eleven years old. He was a child who needed protection.
“Do you know what Eunho has been doing by himself all this time?!”
Chairman Yoo’s daughters also had their own busy jobs and children to look after, but they still came to visit whenever they had time. But while they should have filled the gap left by their parents, Yoo Gunmin was chasing a phantom culprit and had no time for them.
“Uh…”
Yoo Gunmin felt dizzy as if he had been hit in the head by his father’s yell.
It was true that he had neglected his children while pursuing his wife’s suicide case.
“Heeseo, she committed suicide. Let it end with that!”
Chairman Yoo grabbed his son’s shoulders, which had noticeably lost weight, and spoke desperately. He wanted to end the case for the sake of his son, who was hanging on to a hopeless matter, as well as his grandchildren who were left behind.
“Those who are alive have to live!”
He was afraid that his son would follow his daughter-in-law and make an extreme choice. Chairman Yoo looked at his son’s eyes with a sincere expression.
Tears streamed down Yoo Gunmin’s eyes. He knew it was forced. But he couldn’t believe that he had done nothing to drive his wife to suicide. He wanted to believe that someone had killed her.
“…I understand.”
I, who was watching through the crack of the door, ran away from there as if I was escaping. I felt suffocated by the heavy atmosphere.
‘It’s all because of me.’
It was all because of me that Dad was suffering like that, that Hyung was alone at home, and that Grandma hated me.
I went back to my room and buried myself under the blanket. Even now, the white hem that showed its presence in the air…
‘I have to keep it to myself.’
No one can know.
<Random memory synchronization completed, synchronization rate 33.58%>
“Ah…”
I coughed up blood again due to the aftermath of the memory synchronization. I wiped my mouth roughly with my sleeve.
‘I feel sick.’
It wasn’t because of the aftereffects. I felt dizzy because the emotions I felt at the time were conveyed vividly.
The me in 2207 was a soldier who had been through a lot, so I didn’t take the original’s emotions lightly. But being swept away by someone else’s emotions was not a simple matter to think about.
‘I might really get swept away…’
I couldn’t get my mind straight because of the endless depression, despair, and guilt.
Come to think of it, he warned me before that pushing the memory synchronization to the limit could put me at risk of being entangled with the original’s emotions.
‘I have to be careful.’
I struggled to get up with my body aching all over.
By the way, why did the original doubt Lee Heeseo’s suicide? Just because his father said it was suspicious? No, at that time, Yoo Gunmin didn’t want to believe that Lee Heeseo had made an extreme choice, so he insisted that there was a culprit.
‘There must be something else…’
The most likely hypothesis was that the young Yu Yeon Seo saw the culprit when Lee Heeseo had the accident. But the original hadn’t shown any decisive memory that would make him suspicious yet. I guess I need to increase the synchronization rate a little more.
I tried to calm my complicated mind and went outside. I got used to the long hair that had bothered me a few days ago.
“Sir.”
“Mr. Im Seunghyun, long time no see.”
Im Seunghyun, who had returned to the field after a long time, was standing next to the van. He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but a casual outfit. It was because I told him not to wear a suit that was uncomfortable.
“I did the job you entrusted me with.”
“You did well.”
Im Seunghyun had been working in the office for the tasks that I had ordered him to do. He had supported various things while I was on the island, and also managed the assets.
Im Seunghyun stopped for a moment and looked at my face closely.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
It was ironic that he asked me that as soon as he checked my complexion.
Did it show? I looked fine when I checked the mirror in the elevator. But it wasn’t bad that someone cared about me, so I smiled lightly.
“Oh, I have a headache.”
“Mr. Taegyeom, let’s go to the hospital.”
It was weird that both the secretary with a serious face and the manager who nodded earnestly said that I should go to the hospital just because I had a headache. I waved my hand as if I was annoyed.
“It’s not that bad. Did you confirm the deposit?”
“Yes, didn’t you give too much?”
“I had to do that much for saving the kid.”
I patted Im Seung-hyun’s shoulder a few times as he opened the car door for me and slipped inside.
I knew he was doing this because he wanted to, but it still felt awkward. He smiled faintly, knowing that I was paying him well for his gratitude, and got into the passenger seat.
“Hey, don’t just take care of your secretary brother, take care of me too.”
“You brought me all crappy scripts this time.”
“Ah, shit…”
I could see Lee Tae-gyeom pouting his lips through the rearview mirror. Was he trying to get my attention by tilting his head up like that? It was neither cute nor appealing. I turned my head away as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have.
“Is there no way to choose a good work? Give me some hints.”
“Well… I just don’t feel it, you know?”
Since the synchronization rate exceeded 30%, I didn’t need to use the automatic mode anymore. I just followed my instincts and picked the synopsis that caught my eye. I would make full use of my original’s eye for works.
“Coffee.”
“Here.”WAA
Lee Tae-gyeom quickly handed me a tumbler.
Today was the script reading day for ‘The Deprived People Season 2’. I arrived a bit early and nodded to the actors who were already waiting.
“Hello.”
I walked in and sat down as if I was in my own room.
‘Huh?’
But the face of the person sitting next to me was familiar. I had only skimmed through the script, so I didn’t check who else was cast for the sequel. I was going to film with this person?
‘This is interesting…’
Was it a coincidence? How did we end up meeting like this?
I wondered how I could use this opportunity and smiled first.
“Hello, senior.”
“Oh, yeah.”
The actor who answered dryly lifted his head and looked at me. I saw his shoulders stiffen and my smile widened.
‘He really looks like him…’
The actor, Ryu Hye-kyung, stared at my face blankly and then came to her senses. She shook my hand that I offered.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah.”
I already had a strong presence, but when I acted friendly, which I never did, everyone’s eyes were on me and Ryu Hye-kyung.
‘Why is he acting like this? I heard he got better, but was that true?’
Ryu Hye-kyung also knew the rumors about me. She was flustered, but she didn’t show it and smiled.
“Sit down. We’re going to be siblings in the work anyway, so just call me casually.”
“Should I?”
I was happy that she approached me first. I sat down and glanced at Ryu Hye-kyung.
‘Let’s get along for now.’
Ryu Hye-kyung was a member of the 4-member idol group ‘Twinkle’, and a colleague of Lee Hee-seo’s idol days.
The other two members had retired from the entertainment industry, and Ryu Hye-kyung was the only one who was still active as an actor.
‘She must have a lot of memories of him…’
Did they live in the same dorm? I wondered what Lee Hee-seo was like in his idol days, and who he interacted with. I would dig into it when I had a chance.
‘But who is that person who is staring at me like he wants to kill me?’
A cross-eyed actor from the opposite side was staring at me as if he wanted to drill a hole in me.
Even if they were uncomfortable, they were all actors, so they should have been good at hiding it. But seeing him act like this, there must be something going on. I raised my right hand slightly. Lee Tae-gyeom, who was waiting behind me, rushed over.
“Who is he?”
Lee Tae-gyeom whispered softly, already knowing who I was talking about.
“Choi Jae-won, the actor you called a piece of trash.”
“Really?”
“Hey, can you just let it go this time?”
“We’ll see.”
My original had accumulated a lot of grudges. Maybe I should catch him one day and clear them all up. I swept back my hair that was falling down.
‘But there must have been a reason for that.’
It wasn’t like my original would call him a piece of trash for no reason. In my mind, my original’s image had been upgraded from ‘just a crazy guy’ to ‘a crazy guy with a story’.
“Ah… please. Don’t provoke him.”
Lee Tae-gyeom, who backed away, muttered as he clenched his teeth at the sight of me waving my hand at Choi Jae-won.
“Why?”
Im Seung-hyun didn’t understand Lee Tae-gyeom. He was an actor who wouldn’t cross paths with him often, whether by role or by rank. He was not someone to worry about.
“If he gets mad like that, it all comes back to me.”
“Really?”
The managers who had gone through the ‘Yu Yeon-seo file’ had quit because of his dirty personality.
If the celebrity they were in charge of had a bad personality and caused trouble to others, the busy person was the manager. They had to apologize and clean up the mess for the celebrity who caused the accident.
The same was true for the victims. They couldn’t say anything to the celebrity himself, so they vented their anger on the manager below.
“You’re his manager anyway, can’t you just ignore him?”
“I can’t help it. Managers are always… here to clean up things like this.”
“I see.”
Lee Tae-gyeom sighed deeply. Im Seung-hyun looked at him with curiosity and smiled. He was not a manager, but a secretary. He was looking forward to seeing how Choi Jae-won would react.
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