Chapter 17: The Character Between Two Men.

Surprisingly, it didn’t feel sincere at all.
At least, that’s how Yoojun felt.

It was obvious that these were words she would never have said if Yoojun hadn’t told her to stop with the f*cking attitude and beg properly yesterday.

But what was even more annoying than Sayoung’s attitude was the imagination that had arbitrarily filled his mind due to those words, which lacked any sincerity.

The image of Sayoung, with her gentle face and slender body, kneeling before him, crying and pleading, came to mind.

Unfortunately, because he had seen the drama character with Yoon Sayoung’s face crying and clinging to some female lead yesterday, the imagination was overly vivid and specific.

Yoojun tried to erase the image of Sayoung kneeling at his feet, begging him to accept her.
Fortunately, the actual sight of Sayoung staring at him with a shameless face was so annoying that he was able to cut it off before the image deepened and became more explicit.

“…I’m sorry.”

Just like yesterday, without knowing what she was sorry for, Sayoung immediately apologized as soon as Yoojun showed a hint of displeasure.
Suppressing the urge to yell at her to stop with the empty apologies because it was annoying, Yoojun spat out different words.

“I have no intention of going back on my word. So let’s just hear about what you plan to do from now on.”

“Yes…”

“First of all, are you okay with it being known that you saved me and are staying at the hospital under my arrangement, Ms. Yoon Sayoung?”

Sayoung didn’t answer right away and was lost in thought for a moment.
It was only natural that the answer wasn’t easy.

Even if she didn’t want it, it was a fact that would eventually be revealed, but how this was disclosed would determine the path Sayoung would walk in the future.

If she was going to back down now.
Whether it was because she was scared to take revenge on Han Jaewoo, or because she was lazy, or because she felt her life was too precious—if she was going to stop here anyway, she could just pass this off as a minor incident, a coincidence.

If she was really going to force a loud revenge that dragged in even Kim Yoojun, this would be the first shot of a warning to Han Jaewoo.
It was like putting a pen to paper that couldn’t be erased once written, and breaking a glass bottle that couldn’t be put back together.

So Yoojun was willing to give Sayoung enough time.
It wouldn’t be a bad ending if Sayoung just gave up and backed down here.

If that happened, Yoojun, too, could just turn back without having to worry about this and that, and erase the existence of Yoon Sayoung from his life as he had before.

But it wasn’t long before Sayoung answered.

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

“……”

“If possible… the bigger and louder it’s known, the better.”

Sayoung didn’t hesitate.
She had no intention of backing down.
On the contrary, she wanted to move forward even more fiercely.
Yoojun unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists.
It was because his fingertips were tingling for some reason.

“And then?”

Yoojun asked immediately, as if possessed.
Seeing as she answered without hesitation like this, there was no way she didn’t have a concrete plan.

‘What kind of plan has she made?’
‘What kind of path she had created, risking life and death?’

‘And what exact role would he play in it, and what kind of acting would he do?’

Yoojun’s heart began to beat as if he were facing a new work, a very experimental one, and therefore, one he liked.

Sayoung opened her mouth.

“Summer Solstice.”

“……”

“It’s your next project, Mr. Kim Yoojun.”

Yoojun’s eyes wavered.
He couldn’t help but be flustered.

The news that Yoojun had been cast in the movie <Summer Solstice> was information that had not been revealed to the public until now.
It was because the surprise announcement that Kim Yoojun would be playing the lead role was planned to be the main means of promotion later on.

Even if it was confidential, he hadn’t thought the secret would be kept perfectly, but at least the security wasn’t so lax that someone like Yoon Sayoung, who had been completely disconnected from the entertainment industry for years, could find out this fact.

Even among Yoojun’s company staff, only the CEO and Yoojun’s manager officially knew this fact.

The fact that Yoon Sayoung was a person who had returned from the future once again came to mind vividly.
The future, which he hadn’t been curious about because he hadn’t believed it, suddenly filled Yoojun’s mind.

Yoojun had a particular affection for this project.
It was the work of a director and writer he respected, and it was his first historical drama challenge.

On a minor note, he was also looking forward to it as an opportunity to deliver a refreshing slap to the back of the heads of those who were nitpicking at him with absurd claims that he was in a slump.

‘Was it a success?’
‘Had I grown even further with this work?’
‘Had I reached a higher position?’

Yoojun was by no means a purist who didn’t care about results or public evaluation as long as he gave a performance he could be proud of.
Yoojun considered it important not only to create a work he could be satisfied with, but also to achieve good results with that work.

Earning more money, gaining greater fame, and receiving the support of more fans were also things he couldn’t give up.
There was no reason to give them up, and he didn’t think of them as trivial or vulgar desires.
Yoojun wanted to reach the highest position he could with his acting.

In that sense, Yoojun was hoping that this project would become an important turning point for him to advance one step further.

It was only natural to be curious about the result.

“How…”

“……”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

Yoojun was about to ask how she knew, but instead answered readily.
If the answer that would come from Sayoung’s mouth was already decided, there was no need to waste more time by asking.

Instead, Yoojun asked ‘So?’ with his eyes.
Sayoung blinked once slowly, as if by habit, and then opened her mouth.

“The rival of the character ‘Kang Moojun’ that you’re playing, ‘Kang Moosung’… Han Jaewoo will be cast in that role.”

“…What?”

“Maybe it’s already been secretly confirmed, just like yours, Mr. Yoojun.”

“What kind of bullshit…!”

Yoojun momentarily got excited and raised his voice, but managed to control his emotions.
A flush of heat spread through his body, and his mind began to work quickly.

Yoojun had definitely heard that the writer had an actor in mind for the role of ‘Kang Moosung’.
He even knew who that actor was.

It goes without saying that his satisfaction with the co-star, who would play a role more important than the main character in the movie, had also played a part in his decision to choose this work.
And that actor was not Han Jaewoo.

“They definitely said they were going to cast Lee Mingyu…”

Yoojun said, looking at Sayoung without hiding his suspicious feeling.
Sayoung shrugged her shoulders lightly without any particular explanation.

It was an unknowable thing why that action made him trust her words more than any explanation or proof.

“Huh… I see.”

Yoojun accepted Sayoung’s words after a long while.
Setting aside his dislike for Han Jaewoo, it wasn’t a bad choice.
From the producer’s point of view, it was a better choice than Lee Mingyu, who was recognized for his acting skills but lacked public appeal.

Although the person Han Jaewoo was unpleasant, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was a good actor.
The popularity he had would be a benefit, not a detriment.

‘How much of a shock would it have been if he had encountered this news later without having heard it from Sayoung first?’

Yoojun, who sent his condolences to his future self with a deliberately playful attitude, asked again.

“So?”

He had a thought that the stage had been set brilliantly.
‘Yoon Sayoung had decided to get revenge on Han Jaewoo, and had come to use me as her tool, and as it happened, the two of us are going to appear in the same movie?’
‘What more perfect environment could there be?’

So Yoojun became even more curious.
‘On this wonderfully prepared stage, what role would Sayoung cast herself in?’

Facing Yoojun’s silently rising anticipation, Sayoung spoke.

“I know there’s a role called ‘Seo Danwoo’ in that movie.”

The moment he heard that name, Yoojun held his breath.
‘Seo Danwoo’ was a role that played a part as important as Kang Moosung in the movie Summer Solstice, a being who received the affections of both the main character ‘Kang Moojun’ and his rival ‘Kang Moosung’, and drove the events to an even more extreme end.

“Don’t tell me…”

Yoojun uttered, as if groaning, and Sayoung smiled like a fragile wildflower on the roadside.

“Yes. I’m going to take that role.”

****

Even if it hadn’t been completed by death, if the previous life could be expressed as the ‘past life’.

Sayoung would probably never forget the intense shock she felt when she saw the movie <Summer Solstice> in that so-called ‘past life’.

The shock of the moment she had encountered the character ‘Seo Danwoo’ in the movie.

Although she had temporarily put it down for the person she thought held greater value in her life than acting, it by no means meant that her passion for acting had disappeared.

When Jaewoo was a little more established, and the time came when his pride was no longer hurt because of her, she wanted to start acting again at any time.

Countless opportunities would have already passed, she might have had to start again from the bottom, and perhaps even starting again wouldn’t be easy, but she thought she would be happy just by trying.
And Sayoung had thought that day would come soon.

But her relationship with Jaewoo, far from getting better, had only worsened as the marriage continued.

Sayoung, caught in that vortex, had gradually castrated all her other desires except for Han Jaewoo.
From a certain point on, she no longer even thought about wanting to act.

The movie <Summer Solstice> was a particularly daunting work for Sayoung.

Every time Han Jaewoo publicly gave interviews saying he had chosen this project because he wanted to act with Kim Yoojun, Sayoung was gripped by an unidentifiable anxiety and bit her nails.

Looking back, human senses were truly amazing.
At that time, she still didn’t know exactly what kind of personal feelings Jaewoo had for Yoojun, yet her heart had been anxious only at the name of Kim Yoojun among the many actors that came out of Jaewoo’s mouth.

Until then, Sayoung, who had monitored all of Jaewoo’s works, had uncharacteristically hesitated to watch that movie with her own eyes.

And in that movie she had finally faced, Sayoung had met Seo Danwoo.