Come Back

“That’s interesting. Did you interpret the scene yourself?”

“yes.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor express Lebedev trying to persuade Nikolai in that way. Most actors end up giving a speech to bring out Nikolai’s passion. But Yoon Hye-an expressed it in a way that was rather pitiful, which was unique.”

“Nikolai continues to feel helpless, even while receiving the most passionate and pure love from Sasha. I thought that perhaps Lebedev could feel deep compassion for him, thinking that no joy in life could save him.”

“Um… Okay, I enjoyed it. Does anyone else have any questions?”

Fortunately, the director’s expression wasn’t bad.

“Do you like Anton Chekhov?”

This time it was a question of understanding. And before Choi Hong-seo could answer, he added aggressively.

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“I wouldn’t say I like him, but I practiced a lot of his works. I know that other actors besides me have worked on Anton Chekhov’s works a lot. He’s such a famous writer.”

There was no noticeable change in his face after hearing the answer. This lack of change rather revealed his low mood. It seemed that he did not like anything about ‘Yoon Hye-an’ standing in front of him.

It’s also relaxing to fold your fingers like Choi Hong-seo. It’s also choosing Anton Chekhov’s works like Choi Hong-seo.

“Did you know in advance that the original owner of this role was Choi Hong-seo?”

“…yes.”

“So, did you refer to Choi Hong-seo?”

“… … ”

“In simple terms, it’s asking whether you calculated that imitation would be advantageous.”

He was using quite strong language. He never raised his voice, but the discomfort he felt was clearly conveyed.

Only then did I feel the pain all over my body as I realized that he hated me.

Even though she looked like Yoon Hye-an on the outside, everything else was Choi Hong-seo. Her memories, habits, tastes, skills. Even her heart that loved someone.

From the beginning to the end. I have never seen such a cold-eyed understanding of myself.

I had never received anything but careful, warm, generous, and affectionate courting glances from him, so the pain he gave me was so unfamiliar.

“I just acted the way I felt. I didn’t imitate.”

I tried to look into his eyes and answer calmly, but my voice was shaking as I tried to suppress my sadness.

His eyes, with his lips pursed, too easily left Choi Hong-seo. As if he had no more interest or curiosity. As if it wasn’t worth it. He put down his pen, leaned back, and folded his arms tightly. And then he spoke in a flat voice.

“If no one else has any further questions, let’s move on to the designated acting.”

What sadness?

Even when her indifferent parents only responded to the money she earned, and even when she was used and threatened by a famous CEO, she never felt that way.

To Choi Hong-seo, sadness was a privileged emotion that only children who received an overflowing amount of love could feel. It was the childishness of children who had received so much love as a matter of course, to the point where they could not even allow the interest and affection directed at them to be directed elsewhere for a moment.

So, for the first time since he was born with the coldness of understanding, he felt sorrow. Because he was the only person who could make Choi Hong-seo feel sorrow.

As soon as the car pulled out of the hotel’s underground parking lot, Lee Hae-seong looked for the pack of cigarettes stored in the armrest. Lee Hae-seong’s hand, which took out a cigarette from it, was slower than usual. Like someone who was deeply engrossed in some thought, possessed.

They look alike.

I never had that thought at all.

A face shape with a soft forehead and cheeks but a sharp jawline, eyes that look gentle but also have a strong presence, skin that is transparent rather than white. If we were to compare each individual feature one by one, we could say that they are similar, but there are countless people in the entertainment industry with such features.

Hae-seong’s eyes were narrowed as he looked out the window but did not see what was there. His cheeks were deeply sunken as he inhaled the cigarette smoke more deeply than usual.

When I took a deep breath and saw my fingers folding one by one, I couldn’t keep my composure anymore. It was a long-standing habit of Choi Hong-seo, and because of that, it was a habit that was passed on to Lee Hae-seong.

It was a famous routine of Choi Hong-seo that was widely known among fans, and if you really want to be specific, it wasn’t a particularly unusual habit. When she tried to convince herself that it was something that could easily overlap, Yoon Hye-an started acting out Anton Chekhov’s works.

I couldn’t help but think that he wasn’t similar to Choi Hong-seo, but rather that he was deliberately imitating Choi Hong-seo.

Am I being overly sensitive?

The fact that Choi Hong-seo had performed Anton Chekhov’s work on the day we first met was known only to those in the reception room. The information may have leaked from one of those people, but yes, it could have been a series of coincidences.

I tried to think that way, but the discomfort didn’t seem like it would go away easily.

I was angry because that actor had taken away Choi Hong-seo’s unique personality. It felt like even his memories had been stolen, and it felt like someone had carelessly destroyed the precious cake that he had been unable to touch with a fork.

While brushing away the ashes that had already burned down by half, Lee Hae-seong opened his mouth in a tired voice.

“Sir.”

“Yes, Vice President.”

Director Kang, who was riding in the passenger seat, answered while half-turning around.

“I’m talking about actress Yoon Hye-an.”

“yes.”

“Were you close to Hongseo?”

“No, I didn’t see that person’s name on the list.”

There was no way Director Kang could have misremembered the information.

While the trial of those involved in the ‘X Group Scandal’ was in progress, Lee Hae-seong had instructed Director Kang to thoroughly investigate Choi Hong-seo and his surroundings, separately from the prosecution’s investigation. The purpose was to secure as much evidence as possible in case the trial went in a direction unfavorable to Choi Hong-seo.

Relationships with family, a few close acquaintances, and even colleagues you worked with in the past.

And he had also contacted the famous president of UB Entertainment, who was on trial while in custody. At that time, Myung Do-hoon, who had been completely betrayed by Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung and had no choice but to give information to Lee Hae-seong. He might have had the expectation that if he gave Lee Hae-seong the information he wanted, he might be able to reduce his sentence, and he might have had a desire for revenge against Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung, who he could not die alone.

‘Not all parents are the same. Parents who fight and don’t care? There are more of them than people think. When I hear from players that there are kids like that around them, I tell them to bring them. Kids who are not in the spotlight, have a half-and-half face, and just wander around without thinking about anything.’

President Myung opened his mouth like that.

He said that it was not an uncommon method in that field. There were many so-called ‘players’ who came to work on their own, but only a very small number of them were ‘sellable players’ who made real money. They did not sit around waiting to find a pearl in the mud.

‘At first, I just tell them to come hang out. Bring their friends and have a drink, sing, and hang out at the store. And if there’s someone among them that they think will make a lot of money, I treat them well. Not like a host bar owner, but like a friendly older brother. That way, I can get rid of their resistance to going to the store.’

One of the people who caught the eye of the famous CEO and seemed like he would make a lot of money was Choi Hong-seo. Unfortunately.

‘When I no longer have that much resistance to the entertainment industry, they ask me to help them temporarily, saying that they are short on players. Just ask them to fill the number of people. Since it was a favor from a close friend, I agreed to it at first because he was worried. Then I gave them the money they would have earned by serving at a cafe for a week as allowance, saying it was a thank you.’

In this way, one step at a time, we walk into a trap that has been planned and planned without even realizing it.

‘I don’t put that much effort into just anyone. I pick out the high-class kids who I can literally suck out of the VIPs. If I can definitely tell that they’re VIPs, then it’s safer to start construction. It’s not illegal, and it doesn’t seem like it’s mandatory, so VIPs prefer it. On the surface, they’re just walking into the entertainment industry on their own and rolling into their mouths, so there’s no reason for it to be illegal.’

And in the recording that Director Kang brought, President Myung added the following.

‘The child that Lee Seo-kyung took a picture of was Hong-seo.’