Chapter 33
Hye-yeong walked up to Da-eun with a contemptuous laugh.
“Oh my, Da-eun! How’s your leg?”
Whatever the outcome, seeing Kang Da-eun injured gave her a certain satisfaction. She knew the leg had healed after the ongoing filming, but she asked anyway, just to poke at her.
Ha-jeong tensed up, as if to protect Da-eun. Hye-yeong snorted at the sight of her.
So what? I moved meticulously; there’s no evidence. Only Kang Da-eun, who locked eyes with me when she fell, might have her suspicions, but that’s all they are—suspicions.
After getting off the elevator, Hye-yeong didn’t walk past but stood right beside Da-eun.
“What’s this? Why no greeting?”
Her calculation was that Da-eun couldn’t ignore her with President Hong present. After all, his company was investing a hefty sum.
But Da-eun just gave a slight nod and stepped into the elevator. President Hong cleared his throat awkwardly, showing his displeasure.
“I told you she lacks social skills. Let’s go, Oppa.”
Hye-yeong briefly let her gaze linger on Manager Moon Ki-jeong before heading to the CEO’s office.
The news that they were splitting off into a separate corporation was so refreshing. It had grated on her that they were still under BM Company and receiving benefits. Even if they weren’t getting much, Hye-yeong felt President Hong Moo-seok’s investment funds were being spread too thin.
“Ah, President Hong! You’re here?”
As soon as they entered, CEO Bae Yong-seop hurriedly stood up to greet them.
The deeper Hye-yeong’s relationship with President Hong grew, the more noticeably his attitude toward her changed.
CEO Bae’s secretary rushed over, took Hye-yeong’s bag, stored it carefully, and guided her to a plush sofa.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have the specialty signature blend. And for our President Hong, something sweet—a Cafe Mocha.”
She gave the order haughtily, and the secretary bowed and left. She had ordered drinks from the specialty cafe across the crosswalk; the secretary was probably running there, sweating bullets.
“As expected of our Hye-yeong. How did you know exactly what Oppa wanted to drink?”
President Hong sat close to her and whispered. It was slightly annoying, but Hye-yeong smiled warmly, leaning on his shoulder.
“If I don’t know, who would?”
Even if he was bothersome at times, a single comment like this made it worth it, considering all that fell into her lap because of him.
“Here, the script.”
CEO Bae handed over the script, which President Hong immediately passed to Hye-yeong.
“Oh my! Oppa, you’re the best!”
See? This is why I don’t hold back on the flattery. Hye-yeong’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the script now in her hands.
“Showwindow: The White Paper” was a romantic comedy by a writer whose works guaranteed success whenever they aired.
Hye-yeong had pestered President Hong for days, begging him to get her a role once she heard the script was being circulated. It had finally happened.
Her co-star was none other than Won Min-woo, the nation’s sweetheart.
Won Min-woo hadn’t just become explosively popular upon his debut; he had maintained his top-star status for years with a steady stream of hits.
Hye-yeong had landed the female lead role in this drama.
“The best? You earned this. Director Kim said the writer liked Hye-yeong’s acting.”
Not long ago, under the guise of a video audition, she had performed and submitted a short scene from the script. The female lead characters typical of this writer or Director Kim were predictable.
But still, isn’t it savvy to give credit to the other person at a time like this?
“Aigoo, it’s all thanks to you, Oppa.”
She said it coyly, narrowing her eyes slightly. She saw CEO Bae swallow a sigh as he watched.
I don’t know why he’s like that. Isn’t this good for CEO Bae too? Hye-yeong snorted inwardly and flipped through the “Showwindow: The White Paper” script.
“I love the smell of a new script!”
CEO Bae, who had shaken his head briefly, sat on the sofa opposite and cautioned Hye-yeong.
“Filming starts in two weeks, so prepare thoroughly. Diet more, memorize the script perfectly.”
“CEO-nim, if I were the type to be lazy, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
Hye-yeong narrowed her sharply upturned eyes and shot him a look. Perhaps because she mixed in aegyo so it wasn’t entirely unpleasant, CEO Bae just let out a hearty laugh.
Annoying CEO Bae. Does he think I don’t know how to handle my own business?
But Hye-yeong was desperate for success, and it galled her that she couldn’t freely show her irritation to the CEO in such situations.
Who does he think he is? What does he have besides more money than me?
As Hye-yeong pouted, President Hong tapped the back of her hand.
“CEO Bae. Trust our Hye-yeong. Aigoo, did that upset you? Unacceptable. Oppa will buy you a bag today! Let’s go to the department store!”
Hye-yeong had been poor since childhood, which made her obsessed with money and success.
She had so many things she wanted to do and have, but her parents always told her to be satisfied with what she had.
“Be satisfied” sounded nice, but it was just rationalization.
Ridiculous. If you have no money, you should think about earning it, not being ‘satisfied’! No wonder they could never escape poverty.
How could they let their growing daughter shiver because they couldn’t even buy her a proper set of clothes?
She wasn’t particularly talented academically, so she wondered how she would make a living. Fortunately, she was born pretty, so gullible men, swayed by her looks, offered her this and that.
“What’s that? So I’m just a girl who melts at the offer of a bag?”
“Hey, who would think that? Huh? Oppa just wants to give you a gift. Let’s go.”
President Hong stood up and pulled her by the hand. She pretended to give in, stood up, and controlled her rising smile.
This was why Hye-yeong had chosen acting as her path.
But then, of all things! It turned out she had some talent for it. She passed her entrance exams in one go and received nothing but praise, making her think it was her calling. But after entering university, she was always compared to Kang Da-eun, which was irritating.
However, now that she had snagged President Hong, a big spender in this industry, reaching the top was only a matter of time.
Hye-yeong gritted her teeth as she thought of Da-eun’s manager and Manager Moon, as well as her own manager, Park Do-yoon, and CEO Bae Yong-seop, who all subtly treated her like some clueless rookie.
Just wait. When I reach the top, I’ll make not only Kang Da-eun but everyone who looked down on me bow their heads.
In front of the acting department at the arts college where Kang Da-eun and Noh Hye-yeong had attended.
Reporter Lee Cheol-soo met with some acting students there. They were even in the same year as Kang Da-eun and Noh Hye-yeong.
“Kang Da-eun? She was famous from the moment she enrolled. Pretty, good at acting, kind, and studious. A perfect ‘mom’s friend’s daughter’.”
But when he asked about Noh Hye-yeong, the reaction was distinctly different.
“Noh Hye-yeong? She’s a bit… She has a knack for drawing attention, I’ll give her that. But she’s kind of… grating? Though you could also say she’s shrewd.”
This time, he asked about the relationship between the two.
“Were they close?”
“Were they? From what I saw, it seemed like Noh Hye-yeong was a bit jealous of Kang Da-eun. She’d subtly undermine her behind her back.”
“Really?”
There were slight differences of opinion on this part. The reporter took meticulous notes as he asked.
“Any particularly memorable incidents? Even something small—anything come to mind?”
He was hoping for gossip, like the two of them having fought or something.
“They never fought, no. Ah, around the end of June? Just before summer break, Da-eun almost had an accident.”
“An accident?”
“She was sleeping in the department lounge, and a gas burner had been left on for hours.”
The reporter’s eyes lit up. It sounded like it could have been a suicide attempt. He gestured for them to continue.
“Luckily, a sunbae from the film department passed by and called an ambulance.”
“We have to go now.”
The students said they had class, greeted him, and went inside the building. Reporter Lee looked over the notes he’d scribbled in his notepad.
A few things stood out.
Wasn’t that around the time they were filming “Secret Writing”? He needed to look into this.
Settling on a nearby bench, Reporter Lee started making calls.
“Hmm. This is interesting.”
After checking a bit more, he found out that Kang Da-eun and Noh Hye-yeong had both auditioned for the young Lee Ju-ran role in “Secret Writing”.
He’d heard Noh Hye-yeong was subtly jealous of Kang Da-eun. And the “accident” seemed to have happened before the auditions?
He was getting a strong feeling about this.
Tsk. Reporter Lee sucked air through his teeth, snapped his notebook shut, and looked around. He couldn’t shake the suspicion that Noh Hye-yeong was behind that accident.
But.
“Suspicions alone are meaningless. I need more evidence to build a case.”
Muttering to himself, Reporter Lee saw students coming out of the acting building and decided to conduct more interviews.
Digging until I find something is my specialty anyway.
He strode purposefully toward two female students wearing the acting department group jackets, cleared his throat, and stopped them.
“Hello. Could I interview you two for a moment?”
Reporter Lee Cheol-soo handed them his business card and confirmed again that they were from the acting department.
“You’re both from the acting department, right? Your names?”
“Yoon Mi-hee, Lee Seon-joo.”
“Is it true that there was almost a gas explosion in the department lounge not long ago?”
Mi-hee and Seon-joo looked at each other and nodded cautiously.
“Does anyone know the details of what happened that day? Something feels off, so I’m looking into it.”
Hesitant, Mi-hee and Seon-joo carefully explained only the facts. The police investigation was already over, so this reporter showing up now was strange.
But the sharp-witted reporter could easily piece together the situation before and after from the minimal facts the two provided.
