Chapter 218: Imaginary Couples (1)

On the set of the film Spokesperson, Yang Han-Sik, played by Hwang Je-Woong, buried himself deep into a couch and lit a cigarette.

Huu.

He let out a long stream of smoke. He had not expected to be defeated in the general election. However, the thing he had expected the least was for Na Ji-Yang, the protagonist of Spokesperson?played by Kang Ra-Eun, to be newly elected to represent a district.

“To think the girl, who merely used to speak Congressman Jo Seok-Hun’s words for him, would rise to the same position as me.”

Several wrinkles formed on Han-Sik’s face. The other minor characters and extras in the same room as him were too tense to even do anything. He sighed once again. The room was so silent that one could hear the actors’ anxious quivering of eyeballs.

Han-Sik had many enemies, and Ji-Yang was no doubt his most representative one. He had been the one who had completely destroyed her father’s life in the political world. Ji-Yang had stepped foot into the world of politics solely for the purpose of revenge. She had taken so many slow but sure steps for that revenge that she was now so close for even Han-Sik to feel discomfort.

However, Han-Sik was by no means an easy opponent to defeat. Just like Kim Han-Gyo, who the character had been inspired by, he immediately laid out his next plan. There was one thing that one needed to do before going on the offensive against someone.

“Investigate as much as you can on Na Ji-Yang. There is no such thing as a person with no skeletons in their closet.”

“Yes, Congressman.”

“I’ll have to give that girl a taste of how difficult politics can be,” Han-Sik said while raising one of the corners of his mouth.

His expression was filled with so much malice that it even gave Ra-Eun, who was watching from behind the cameras, goosebumps.

‘I’ve thought this many times, but he really is the spitting image of Kim Han-Gyo.’

Ra-Eun was not talking about appearance; Je-Woong’s manner of speaking and actions were exactly the same as those of Han-Gyo.

‘How do you expect me not to get excessively immersed in my role?’

Her private emotions certainly played a part in it, but it was also because the actors around her were far too good in their performances. Although it was a good thing for the film, it wasn’t only good in terms of Ra-Eun’s personal standards.

Director Seo Yong-Mun exclaimed through a megaphone in satisfaction, “You’re on a roll today, sunbae!”

“When have I ever not been?” Je-Woong replied wittily.

The staff members burst out laughing. Contrary to the character that he was currently portraying, Je-Woong had a great sense of humor, and he always livened up the set. He had returned back to his original self as soon as the cameras were off.

Je-Woong jokingly asked while stretching, “Director Seo. My scenes are over, so why don’t you let me leave early?”

“You’re not done yet, sunbae. You still have Scene #21-3 left.”

“Eh? I’m in that scene too?”

“Didn’t Screenwriter Kim contact you last week that they added a line from you in that scene?”

The screenwriter in question furiously nodded next to the director. Then, Je-Woong smacked his lips in disappointment.

“Man, I was trying to make some free time for myself. Mission failed, I guess.”

“That’s a no go, sunbae. It’s an important scene,” Director Seo said while smiling bitterly at the playful Je-Woong.

“You’re way too meticulous, Director Seo.”

“What were you going to do with that free time?”

“I bought myself a new bike, so I was thinking of taking the baby out on a drive down the coastal road.”

Je-Woong was widely known in the entertainment industry as a motorcycle fanatic. Even experts outside the entertainment industry saluted his greed for collecting motorcycles of all sorts of different shapes and sizes.

“Bikes are good and all, but make sure to always drive safely. Okay, sunbae?” Director Seo advised.

“You’re saying the same thing as my wife, Director Seo.”

Je-Woong had never expected to be nagged by someone else other than his wife, much less at his workplace. Ra-Eun held in her laughter as she witnessed their chemistry.

‘Those two get along well together.’

She knew she had made the right choice to cast Je-Woong for the role of Yang Han-Sik.

***

Ra-Eun woke up late in the morning and went out to the living room while roughly fixing her hair with her hand. Seo Yi-Jun, who had been watching TV, flinched in surprise at the sight of Ra-Eun’s vulnerable self.

“Noona. Are you perhaps... Not wearing anything underneath?” he asked.

Ra-Eun was wearing a T-shirt large enough that it looked like she was wearing nothing underneath. Ra-Eun laughed at his nonsense and slightly lifted up her shirt.

“I am, moron.”

A short pair of dolphin shorts came into Yi-Jun’s view. Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes as she witnessed Yi-Jun’s change in expression.

“Are you disappointed that I’m wearing pants?” she asked.

“No, of course not.”

Ra-Eun laughed again as Yi-Jun answered in a cold sweat. She sat down on the couch a distance away from him. She smelled very nice despite having just woken up.

Yi-Jun asked while stealing glances at Ra-Eun a few times, “Are you hungry?”

“I am. Why, you're gonna make me something?”

Seo Yi-Seo had gone to help out at their parents’ cafe this time after Yi-Jun, so she was currently away from the house. Ra-Eun had unintentionally ended up temporarily living alone with a man, but she did not care all that much. Although Yi-Jun was a man, he was her friend’s little brother.

Yi-Jun was in charge of food whenever Yi-Seo was away.

“I’d already gone out shopping for groceries this morning. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to eat.”

“Nothing really comes to mind in particular. I’ll leave the menu to you.”

“Okay, noona. I’ll whip something right up for you.”

Ra-Eun could tell from how Yi-Jun put on an apron that he had done this far more than just a few times. His ingredient preparation speed was also lightning fast. Ra-Eun was also confident in her cooking skills, but it was far better and more comfortable to have someone else’s sincere cooking. And thankfully, Yi-Jun’s food fit her palate just right.

Ra-Eun turned on the TV to kill time while Yi-Jun was focused on cooking. The first thing that she always checked whenever she turned on the TV was the news. Although she already knew important future events, she never forgot to check the news because she needed to check whether or not the events of the future that she knew were occurring the same way in this life as well.

The news just happened to be reporting a marijuana incident regarding a famous rapper.

‘That was huge news at the time.’

It did not end with just that one person; the incident would end up causing a massive storm as more and more famous celebrities were discovered to have been involved as well. Fortunately, none of the actors of Spokesperson?were involved in the incident.

‘Though there’s no way that I would’ve let them star in the film in the first place if they were.’

Knowledge of the future truly was handy at times like this.

‘Wait. If I remember correctly, there had been another huge incident in the entertainment industry at this time.’

Ra-Eun couldn’t recall it no matter how hard she thought. However good her memory was, it was impossible for her to recall everything; she only remembered things involving her and events that massively impacted society.

‘Fuck... What was it?’

Ra-Eun ws swept over with frustration. Her eyes were fixed on the TV screen, but her head was off somewhere else. Just then, Yi-Jun called out to her.

“Noona, the food is ready. Come take a seat.”

“Already? Okay.”

Ra-Eun’s tangled memories were not unraveling even after she sat down at the table. She could barely taste the food because there was so much on her mind. Yi-Jun was worried since Ra-Eun was in a daze unlike before.

“Is something wrong, noona?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

She was clearly lying. Yi-Jun set down his spoon and chopsticks while he was eating, and spoke in all seriousness.

“If it’s alright with you, you can share with me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to resolve it, but I can at least listen to your troubles.”

It put a smile on Ra-Eun’s face whenever Yi-Jun occasionally said something this reliable.

“Thanks, I’ll take your word for it.”

Ra-Eun wanted to be honest, but it was realistically difficult. As she was about to evade the issue, she heard a report from the news channel that she couldn’t let slide.

[Next on the news, actor Hwang Je-Woong had gotten into a motorcycle accident last Friday while driving down a coastal road.]

The fog in Ra-Eun’s head had instantly cleared.

‘Yes, that was it!’

The shock of the marijuana incident had been so massive that she had not been able to recall Je-Woong’s motorcycle accident. Ra-Eun’s smartphone vibrated as soon as the news had been reported. It was a call from Shin Yu-Bin.

‘It probably isn’t about anything good.’

She did not even need to pick up to know.

***

The shoot schedule had gotten completely messed up because of Je-Woong’s motorcycle accident. His role as the main villain in the film reflected how large his screen time was. The production team was in chaos due to the sudden accident, especially because there were still many scenes with him in it. However, there was one fortunate thing in all of this.

“I hear Je-Woong isn’t hurt badly,” Yu-Bin remarked.

Ra-Eun slightly nodded. He had fortunately gotten away with just a light fracture on his leg bone.

“What will happen to the shoots now?” Ra-Eun asked.

Yu-Bin relayed to her exactly what she had heard from the production team, “For now, they decided to postpone all scenes involving Je-Woong. In exchange, they moved up all scenes involving other actors, yours included.”

“Then I guess I’ll be busy from next week.”

“Not next week. More like tomorrow.”

Ra-Eun smiled bitterly. However, it wasn’t only bad; it meant that she would have tons of free time after that short duration of packed schedule.

“What do you want to do? Two full weeks of packed shoot schedules, and then you’ll have about a month of free time. Do you want to go on a trip?”

“I’m not sure.”

Ra-Eun had unintentionally received a month of free time on her hands. While she was thinking about what to do with it, Yu-Bin got a call. She had an unexpected expression on her face.

“Why would Director Joo call out of the blue?”

“Director Joo Seong-Won?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yeah, him.”

Joo Seong-Won was the director of the program On Duty, All Clear!. Ra-Eun had appeared on it for the sole reason of him being Kim Han-Gyo’s nephew. She was filled with uneasiness from his sudden phone call.

“Well, I should answer it,” Yu-Bin said.

“Okay,” Ra-Eun nodded.

“Hello? Yes, it’s been a while, Director... Pardon?”

Ra-Eun wondered in anxiety if he had called to ask her if she would appear in another female soldier special, but an even bigger wave had hit her instead.

“You want Ra-Eun... to get married?”