Chapter 72
Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 72
“Hyung. Now—.”
I stopped speaking as I exited the representative’s office.
“…? Hyung?”
I had been about to suggest going home, but I couldn’t.
Manager An Jin-bae, who I was going to speak to, wasn’t there.
He said he’d be waiting out front, but he was gone.
As I hesitated in front of the representative’s office, Chief Han, who was looking through some documents in the secretary’s office, spoke to me.
“Why? Do you need something?”
“Do you know where Jin-bae hyung is? He said he’d be waiting here.”
“He didn’t tell me anything. Try calling him.”
When I took out my phone, I saw that in the ten minutes I had been talking to the representative, Noh Bi-hyuk had sent me over thirty messages.
What’s up with him now?
I ignored them for the time being and contacted Manager An Jin-bae first. He replied, asking if I could come to Conference Room 8.
Since I had been there several times, I replied that I understood and was about to move when Chief Han, busy with his documents, casually spoke up.
“Right. It’s Yeon-jae’s birthday today, isn’t it? Happy birthday.”
“Pardon?”
Chief Han’s words snapped me out of my daze like cracking ice.
Oh, right. It’s my birthday today.
I had been so absorbed in practice that I had forgotten.
Actually, even when I was in the orphanage, it was always the teachers who reminded me first.
I awkwardly thanked him and headed to the conference room, my thoughts running wild.
Hmm… I’m not usually that perceptive, but…
‘They must be preparing a birthday party, right?’
It was strange that someone who usually stuck to my side when we were outside had let me go in alone.
Come to think of it, we had seaweed soup for breakfast. How did I not notice that?
There was a high probability that when I opened the conference room door, confetti would burst out in a surprise celebration…
‘What should I do?’
The problem was, I didn’t know what kind of expression to make.
I shouldn’t react too indifferently, right? But it would be awkward to pretend to be surprised.
Unsure of what to do, I hesitated in front of the conference room door for a while.
‘…Forget it. I’ll just pretend to be surprised.’
Before I could change my mind, I knocked and quickly opened the door.
Inside the conference room, where I had prepared myself thoroughly…
“In conclusion, ah, Yeon-jae is here.”
“Hi, Yeon-jae~.”
“You’re here? Just wait a moment. We’re almost done.”
They were in the middle of a meeting.
“So, is this enough for the press release request?”
“Yes. Also, don’t forget to contact Hales and ask them to feature it exclusively. And targeting—.”
I slowly closed the door as I watched Manager An Jin-bae and the Team 1 staff fervently discussing the meeting.
Then, I quietly sat down among the pile of chairs stacked behind the table.
“…….”
This is embarrassing.
I felt so humiliated that I almost laughed.
‘At this point, it’s not just drinking kimchi soup ahead of the meal, it’s like taking out a loan to buy it.’
Trying to hide my embarrassment, I sat quietly, but my body twisted with discomfort.
Is this another symptom of being a celebrity?
In the midst of this, I was relieved that Mist couldn’t read my thoughts.
Lost in all kinds of random thoughts, I suddenly realized that it was too quiet around me.
“…?”
When I looked up, the people who had been enthusiastically meeting just moments ago were now staring at me, frozen.
They looked as if they had seen a ghost, staring behind me with serious expressions. Instinctively, I turned around.
“Surprise~!”
Pop! With the sound, confetti rained down on my head.
Other Team 1 staff members stood with smiling faces, holding a cake.
As I stood there dumbfounded, the seated employees abandoned their meeting and ran over.
“Happy birthday~, Yeon-jae!”
“First birthday since joining us.”
Happy birthday messages poured in from all around.
Then, the lights went out.
The only light came from the candles on the cake in front of me.
“Happy birthday to you~ dear Yeon-jae~.”
The discordant birthday song started, lacking any harmony.
I just stood there, staring blankly, showing no reaction.
Then someone urgently patted my back, warning me about the dripping candle wax, so I ended up blowing out the candles in a daze.
“Wow, that harmony was amazing.”
“Oh my, look at him frozen! Were you surprised?”
“Success! We should have been actors too.”
Laughing heartily, the staff came over. I felt someone carefully brushing the confetti off my head.
“Were you very surprised, actor?”
Seeing Manager An Jin-bae smiling softly, I couldn’t help but feel the tension in my mouth release.
As my eyes slowly closed and then opened again, a big smile broke out involuntarily.
“Haha!”
When laughter escaped my mouth, the staff’s eyes widened.
“Really… I was surprised. Thank you all.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen you laugh so freely. It’s satisfying.”
“It’s not the reaction I expected, but it’s good in its own way.”
What reaction did you expect? Of course, it was crying. You’re such trash. The chattering continued noisily around me.
When asked if I had forgotten it was my birthday, I answered honestly that I only realized it a few minutes ago when Chief Han mentioned it, and the staff clicked their tongues.
“Seriously, Chief Han… Could you be any less coordinated?”
“Hey, it would’ve been better if he had forgotten.”
Even seeing their grumbling, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Shaking my head with a lingering smile, I said,
“No, it’s perfect now. This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had.”
“…….”
When I expressed my gratitude and let out the rest of my laughter, a strange silence fell.
Before I had a chance to feel puzzled, a staff member put a hand on my shoulder and spoke seriously.
“Yeon-jae, you shouldn’t go around laughing like that.”
“Pardon?”
“Tsk, I can already see the future… Manager, just carry Yeon-jae around. Otherwise, he’ll get kidnapped.”
“I agree.”
After the jokes subsided, we shared the cake that the staff had bought.
It was very sweet but delicious.
As I was eagerly eating the cake, Manager An Jin-bae came over with a large box.
When I squinted my eyes, wondering if it could be, a box big enough to fit a small child was placed in front of me.
“This is your birthday present, actor.”
“Hyung. I clearly told you to stop spending money on me—.”
“No! Mine is in the car. This is from your fan club.”
“Pardon?”
Manager An Jin-bae urgently corrected me, and I was momentarily dumbfounded.
On the box pushed toward me, in neat handwriting, was written, ‘from. Lee Yeon-jae Fan Club, Biyeon.’
“My fans….”
“Yes. Your fan club sent it. Please open it!”
Manager An Jin-bae urged me, completing the words I couldn’t utter.
In a daze, I fumbled with the wrapping paper and slowly opened the box.
Inside, it was filled with shining things.
“Wow, look at the effort they put in.”
“Huh. I wanted that too.”
Staff members peeking from behind exclaimed softly when they saw the box’s contents.
As they jokingly teased me about becoming a true superstar, I forced a smile.
By then, the laughter had completely left my face.
My mind was full of questions.
‘Why?’
I understood Manager An Jin-bae and the staff.
I was an actor belonging to their company.
But why would people I don’t even know, who don’t know my face or name, do this for me? For no reason?
‘Do I deserve to receive this?’
The discomfort crept up from my toes, stiffening my body.
I tried to smile consciously, but it didn’t work.
Manager An Jin-bae, noticing my expression, subtly led the staff out of the room.
“Do you not like the present?”
He cautiously asked once we were alone.
“Pardon? No, it’s not that.”
“Your expression wasn’t good. Feel free to be honest.”
Seeing his calm and familiar eyes, my tangled thoughts abruptly halted.
“…I just don’t know if I deserve to receive something like this.”
Hearing my voice, I realized I had spoken unconsciously.
“Why do you think that?”
“They have no reason to give me a gift.”
“A reason? Liking the actor is the reason.”
“That kind of….”
There can’t be a reason for that.
I cut off the words that were about to follow consciously.
An inexplicable anxiety began to surface.
It felt like the ground beneath my feet was weakening, ready to collapse at any moment.
As I clenched my fists, Manager An Jin-bae, noticing, sighed so softly it was almost imperceptible.
Then he smiled gently.
“Have you ever received sponsorships while you were in the orphanage?”
“Ah… yes, I have.”
“It’s not exactly the same, but think of it as something similar. Sponsorships are also acts of kindness without any specific reason.”
Blinking my eyes, I slowly nodded. I see.
Actually, even the sponsorships weren’t because of me but thanks to people who cared for unfortunate children….
I thought this wasn’t much different.
It was a gift for the actor, not for me.
Yeah, now it made sense.
“Do you get it?
You don’t have to think too hard about it.”
“Yes. I understand. Thank you.”
When I answered with a clearer voice, his watchful gaze finally left me.
Once I regained my composure, I carefully took out the well-wrapped gifts one by one.
They suggested taking photos for the record, so we arranged everything and spent time taking pictures.
In the afternoon, I briefly met Noh Bi-hyuk.
He grumbled that he would be really mad if I ignored his calls again and tossed an envelope into my arms before leaving.
After returning home, I quietly organized the gifts.
I neatly placed the gifts from fans and those from Noh Bi-hyuk and Manager An Jin-bae in a corner of my room.
After stacking the items neatly, I was about to start practicing, but my attention kept wandering.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this….’
I had a lot to do, but strangely, my body wouldn’t move.
As I stared endlessly at the gifts, there was a knock, and Manager An Jin-bae entered the room.
“Actor, if you’re okay with it, would you like to write a post on the fan cafe?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re going to upload the photos on our official account, but it’s different if the person themselves writes something. It’s okay if you don’t want to.”
“No, I’ll do it. How should I go about it?”
I couldn’t just accept the sponsorship and do nothing in return.
Writing a post was no big deal.
I spent several hours writing a post with the account Manager An Jin-bae had set up.
Only then could I lie down on the bed with a clear mind.
* * *
On January 15th at 10 PM, a new post appeared on Lee Yeon-jae’s fan cafe.
It was a post directly written by Lee Yeon-jae himself.
Since Manager An Jin-bae had already contacted the fan club president and set up the account, there was no doubt about its authenticity.
Despite this, the comment section was filled with question marks.
—????? Did I just see what I think I saw?
—I wanted to see a review of the gift, not read a thesis….
—Damn it, my actor’s post feels like my professor’s lecture
—Daughter, what are you reading~? A 38,000-character review post~ with 28 photos attached
The excitement didn’t die down the next day either.
Eventually, the incident spread to other communities in no time.