THE ONLY reason Wonyoung became interested in acting was because he was handsome.
And, well, as someone poor, the only form of entertainment he could afford was watching TV. Fortunately, his younger cousin loved watching dramas. Hence, his uncle couldn’t nitpick at him by saying their electricity bill increased because of him.
To be honest, it shouldn’t matter since I’m the one paying the bills anyway.
When he was in high school and only had one part-time job at the convenience store, he would only buy groceries. He didn’t like hearing from his uncle and auntie that he was just "another mouth to feed," after all.
But now that he was a university sophomore, he was able to get more part-time jobs since he was able to make his own schedule. Aside from working at the convenience store, he also took tutoring jobs. During the weekends, he would work in a bar as a waiter.
In the end, he ended up paying for their household’s bills instead of "lending" money to his uncle. His uncle would always end up using the money to gamble instead of paying the bills.
That’s why I just pay the bills, then tell them I have no money left.
Haaah.
I really want to be an actor soon.
Thanks to his face and toned body, he had started bagging modeling gigs that paid well.
Being in the Theatre Club helped a lot because many members are connected to the entertainment industry.
Wonyoung thought it would be easy for him to stand out.
Aside from his handsome face, he was pretty good at acting, too.
It helps that Bae Gayoung likes playing by making me reenact her favorite scene from whatever drama she’s currently obsessed with.
So, he was confident that he’d make it as an actor someday.
That was until Wonyoung saw Yun Dujun act on the stage for the first time.
It was for a play called ’ Suspicious Classmate .’
Yun Dujun played the role of a cheerful and ’dumb’ high school senior who was actually a secret spy from North Korea. The character’s mission was to kidnap the grandson of the President attending the same school.
It was a lighthearted play with an angsty ending.
Yun Dujun’s character died because he chose to save his target instead of handing him over to North Korea.
The play was a hit not only because the script was good.
It’s because Dujun Sunbae-nim played the role of a ’silly’ high school student well. Plus, the switch-up was crazy when he started acting like the young North Korean soldier that he was. That showed Sunbae-nim acting range. From silly to cold. Crazy. Sunbae-nim is crazy good!
Wonyoung couldn’t forget how cute and funny Yun Dujun was while acting his role as a dumb high school student who was amazed by South Korea’s modern technology.
The audience would burst out laughing every now and then.
But, at the end of the play, everyone left the theatre crying.
Yep, Dujun Sunbae-nim was born to be a top star.
***
"HOOBAE-nim, you look silly."
Aigoo.
Wonyoung looked in the rearview mirror and saw how puffy his eyes were. "It’s Sunbae-nim’s fault. Your acting was too good. It’s as if you’ve become the real Min Dae."
That was the name of the character Yun Dujun played in Suspicious Classmate .
"You’re overreacting," Yun Dujun said indifferently, his eyes glued to the road while driving. "I actually messed up my line twice."
"I didn’t notice. I’m sure most of the people in the audience didn’t, too."
"Still, my acting was far from perfect."
"Sunbae-nim, can’t you just say ’thank you’ after I praised you?"
"That’s what I do when other people praise me. But I thought I could openly discuss these things with you. After all, you’re also an aspiring actor like me."
"I don’t think I have the right to criticize your acting, Sunbae-nim. After watching your play tonight, I realized how big the gap is between us when it comes to acting."
"That’s not true," Yun Dujun said, his voice a little warmer than usual. "I like your diction, Hoobae-nim. The way you say your lines always gets me. You can play any character well because you can speak the way they should be speaking naturally."
Oh.
It was rare for Yun Dujun to talk that much.
And it was rarer for the Alpha to sing praises.
Now I’m shy.
Shy but happy.
"Thank you for saying that, Sunbae-nim," Wonyoung said, still feeling a little shy. "You gave me a reason to keep acting."
"Were you thinking of quitting?"
"I realized I wasn’t as good as I thought I was."
After watching you act, that is.
"I like your acting, Hoobae-nim," Yun Dujun said in a calm and gentle manner. "Can’t that be a reason for you to stay?"
If you ask that with such a lovely face and warm tone, then...
"Totally— that is plenty of reason for me to stay, Sunbae-nim."
"Do you like me that much, Hoobae-nim?"
"I like your face and I admire you as an actor, Sunbae-nim. If someone I look up to says he likes my acting, then I should work harder to impress him more."
"Good. Let’s work hard together until we get cast in the same project, Hoobae-nim."
"Yes, Sunbae-nim," Wonyoung answered politely, pausing for a moment before he asked a question. "Sunbae-nim, don’t get me wrong, okay? I know that you just have a resting bitch face."
"A resting what ?"
"I’m just saying that you always look mean and annoyed, Sunbae-nim. So, I wonder if you’re truly happy when you’re acting. And that makes me wonder why you chose this path."
"It’s simple: acting allows me to study emotions that I really don’t understand."
"You don’t understand emotions, Sunbae-nim?"
"Yeah. Most of the time, I don’t understand why people get happy, sad, angry, etc.," Yun Dujun explained nonchalantly. "That’s why acting is fascinating to me. It allows me to experience emotions that I don’t get to experience normally."
Oh.
Was it apathy?
Or some sort of mental disorder?
Wonyoung was afraid to ask sensitive questions, so he hesitated.
Before he could gather the courage to ask, Yun Dujun had already changed the topic.
"That and because my mother used to be an actress, so she kind of influenced me early."
"May I know who your mother is, Sunbae-nim?" Wonyoung asked curiously. It was so interesting that he had already forgotten the question he wanted to ask earlier. "I’m a fan of old dramas, so maybe I’ve seen your mother in one of them."
"Kang Chunja."
Wonyoung covered his mouth with his hands when he let out a soft gasp. "The legendary Kang Chunja-nim is your mother, Sunbae-nim?"
"You know her?"
"Sunbae-nim, your mother is the original Nation’s First Love. She doesn’t have a single flopped drama, or movie. Plus, she’s also the original CF Queen even before the word ’CF Queen’ was invented. Kang Chunja was everywhere."
"How do you know that when you weren’t even born yet when my mother was active?"
"I told you— I’m a fan of old dramas. That means I’m also a fan of veteran actors."
"So, do you know why the legendary Kang Chunja left showbiz?"
"Of course! Kang Chunja-nim got pregnant with a chaebol’s son. It was a big scandal back then because the chaebol was already a married man with a child..." Wonyoung trailed off when the realization hit him. "Oh."
Oh, no.
"You got one thing right and one thing wrong," Yun Dujun said calmly. "My father isn’t a chaebol. Yes, he owns Naville Corporation— the one operating Naville, our country’s biggest online platform. But we’re not a chaebol family. Our company is fairly new compared to the biggest conglomerates in the country."
Aigoo.
That was true, but Naville Corporation was still huge.
Naville is practically the G**gle of South Korea!
It was the biggest internet portal and search engine in the country.
Plus, Naville also offered a comprehensive range of platform services, including webtoon!
’Naville Webtoon’ is now a global online platform for artists all over the world.
Wow.
"Sunbae-nim, you’re rich rich ."
"Not chaebol rich. We’re a quasi-chaebol at best."
"Is there a difference?"
"If you meet a chaebol like Lee Heeju, you’ll know the difference between my family and his."
"Who’s that?"
"One of the heirs of the company that made your phone and laptop."
Wonyoung let out a gasp again. "Junsung Group?!"
Yun Dujun just nodded. "Anyway, that’s the thing you got wrong. But you’re right about my mother being a mistress."
Aigoo.
"I’m an illegitimate child of Chairman Yun Hyuk," Yun Dujun said casually. "My father and my older brother hate me and my mother. But they support us financially, so we live in luxury even without their love."
That was confusing.
How did Sunbae-nim’s mother become Chairman Yun’s mistress if he hates her?
Wonyoung didn’t ask back then because he thought it was none of his business...
... and that was something he would regret later.
***
WONYOUNG stopped reminiscing about the past when his phone rang.
Oh, he finally got a reply from his cousin.
<"Wonyoung Oppa, do I really have the right to see you again?">
Aigoo.
This kid can really be so dramatic sometimes.
Wonyoung immediately called his cousin since he was dying of boredom already.
"Bae Gayoung, let’s meet up."
***
"ARE you really going to divorce Bae Wonyoung?"
Yun Dujun stopped reading the book he was reading and raised his head.
Standing in front of him was Spencer Choi, the CEO of Hanbyeol Entertainment— the agency that he was currently signed to.
"What do you think?"
"No, you wouldn’t divorce Bae Wonyoung," Spencer Choi said bluntly, smiling while pouring champagne into his glass. "You’re going to audition for Director Bang’s highly anticipated drama soon, aren’t you?"
"Yes. The audition is happening in four months. I need to get ready before then," Yun Dujun said. It was one of the reasons why he decided to take a long break from acting. "Director Bang rejected me in his previous project. I won’t let that happen again."
"You must still be feeling butthurt, huh? Well, I get it. Director Bang’s previous drama became a global hit two years ago. Plus, the unknown actor that he cast instead of you has become a household name now. His fans even dub him as the next Yun Dujun."
"I don’t care about that."
"Right. It’s too early for that actor-nim to threaten your position as the country’s top star," Spencer Choi said, sipping his champagne before talking again. "Then you must still be upset with Director Bang’s comment back then. What did he say to you again?"
"He said he’ll never cast me in his drama because his trilogy revolves around love, family, and friendship. Apparently, I don’t fit the role of any of his main characters. He claimed I can’t give justice to the role of a loving husband and a doting father."
"You know, you can’t really blame Director Bang for that comment. After all, you only play noir dramas. Or those melancholy ones where either you or your on-screen partner dies. Sometimes, both of you die in the end. We’ve never seen you in a healing drama yet— and that’s Director Bang’s forte."
"I know, that’s why I have to get cast this time. His upcoming drama is the last installment of his ’ Childhood Series .’"
It was called the ’ Childhood Series’ by the fandom because of the title of each drama.
The first one was called Childhood Friends .
It’s Director Bang’s first drama that broke the internet.
The second one— the one where Yun Dujun was rejected for the lead role— was called Childhood Dreams .
It was a global hit.
And the last one would be called Childhood Sweethearts .
It’s already predicted to cause a new ’Hallyu Wave’ and sweep all the major awards in all future year-end award ceremonies.
"Are you that desperate for Director Bang’s validation?"
"I can’t accept the fact that there’s a role that doesn’t suit me."
"You really have a huge ego as an actor, huh? Your obsession with acting can be quite scary sometimes," Spencer Choi said, pausing for a moment. "Is that why you need your family to be complete? So you could practice playing the roles of a loving husband and a doting father on Bae Wonyoung and Yun Yuhyun, respectively?"
"Yes."
"Your dedication is admirable. This is why you’re the country’s top actor," Spencer Choi said while nodding approvingly. "But why did you tell Bae Wonyoung that you’re divorcing him? You should be begging him to stay with you."
"As a doting father, I can’t let my husband put another child above my own son. That ruins the family dynamic I created in my head."
Spencer Choi raised an eyebrow. "What if Bae Wonyoung gives up and accepts the divorce? Your husband looks like the type who easily gives up when things get hard, you know?"
"Not this time. I know my Hoobae-nim well," Yun Dujun said confidently, opening the book that he was reading. It was a book called ’ The Head of the Family .’ "Bae Wonyoung can’t afford to divorce me, so I’m sure he’ll contact me soon and propose a new deal."
I have the upper hand, so I’ll take advantage of that to get what I want.
***
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