Become a Star

“Should I say that I feel relieved because I’m good at acting or apologize for the misunderstanding?” Woo-Jin asked.

“It’s because Oh Ha-Na is young. Aside from her experience and acting skills, I’m sure she’s inexperienced when it comes to acting out a love scene since she’s only acted with her peers. Honestly, she is pretty young to be able to handle your acting, Woo-Jin,” Kang Ho-Soo said.

Aside from talking badly about Oh Ha-Na, he understood what she was going through. Oh Ha-Na’s acting was flawless, but it was also true that she was falling behind in the acting competition against Woo-Jin. Still, her acting was very natural when she acted out Yoon Hwa-Eun, who couldn’t pull herself together because she was overwhelmed by Prince Myeong-Hwan’s love. But Woo-Jin found out that Oh Ha-Na was actually swept away, making this situation funny yet sad.

“It’s a good thing for her that she didn’t meet the real Prince Myeong-Hwan,” Woo-Jin said.

Oh Ha-Na wouldn’t be able to accept Prince Myeong-Hwan’s fierce love that was like a raging storm. Woo-Jin felt relieved because it seemed like they did an excellent job at changing it to a gentle and sparkling love at the last minute. Oh Ha-Na might’ve labeled Woo-Jin as a stalker if they hadn’t done that. Being misunderstood as being in love was better than being labeled a stalker.

“But was it that shocking to speak for Lady Park? It’s strange how that was more shocking, don’t you think?” Woo-Jin doubted Oh Ha-Na’s reaction, so he asked Hwang Yi-Young.

“You were really scary when you filmed with Lady Park. No, you were really cold to the point that if the real Lady Park were here, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“That was nothing. I was more….”

Woo-Jin abruptly cut himself off mid-sentence. Prince Myeong-Hwan was actually cold and uninterested in his wife, Lady Park, to the point that he didn’t remember her name.

Just because it happened in his past life didn’t mean that he remembered everything. It was similar to not remembering your neighbor’s name even after hearing it. It was a situation where Woo-Jin couldn’t remember clearly and Prince Myeong-Hwan didn’t remember the name of his second wife. That was how indifferent he was towards his wife. In the movie, his attitude towards Lady Park was very refined, but his attitude towards her was actually way worse.

“How could he forget his own wife’s name…?”

Woo-Jin was shocked by the fact he had just found out. For the first time, he realized that while Prince Myeong-Hwan was wandering around because he was crazy in love, his wife had remained in her position all by herself.

When the thought suddenly popped into his head, Woo-Jin stood up from his seat.

“I’m going to go make a call.” Woo-Jin grabbed his phone and walked behind the main building as his face suddenly turned serious.

—Oh, Woo-Jin.

After hearing his mother greet him happily, Woo-Jin asked a question about the comment his mother made that one day.

“Mother, while you were reading Red Enemy, you said there was a role that you were bothered by, right?”

—I did.

“Was that Prince Myeong-Hwan’s wife?” Woo-Jin asked his mother. He wanted to check this because if it was Lady Park’s role that had bothered her, his mother would be able to understand her feelings the best.

—Yes… that’s right. Maybe it’s because I put myself in her shoes, but for some reason, I felt sorry for her. Imagining how his wife lived all by herself after the prince died made me really sad. Thinking about how she watched her husband’s back and then lived by herself from such a young age made me feel bad for her.

Unlike today, it was a time when having a social life wasn’t allowed. Having the title of the first wife was the only thing that remained for her since she had no children and no one to rely on for the rest of her life. Park Eun-Soo recalled Kang Hye-Min, who she met a few days ago, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

—Like other people… I’m sure she didn’t have a future she could dream of. I wondered if she blamed herself every day for not being loved and thought something was wrong with her. If that did happen, her life was probably hell.

Woo-Jin closed his eyes as he listened to his mother’s words of sympathy. His past life had made Lady Park’s life a living hell, and for some reason, he felt he knew who Lady Park was in this life, causing him to suddenly be out of breath. Similar to realizing who Lee So-Hyun was, Woo-Jin suddenly remembered who his wife was in his past lives.

Just like with Lee So-Hyun, there were many connections with her. There was a time when the three lived in the same era, and there was also a time when they met separately and formed a relationship. While Lee So-Hyun was the person he loved, she was always either his wife or fiancee. However, it wasn’t a marriage or an engagement that he wanted. They always had a respectful and polite relationship until he got acquainted with Lee So-Hyun. The problem always occurred after falling in love with Lee So-Hyun because he treated Lady Park coldly and considered her a hindrance just for existing in that spot.

Just realizing this didn’t mean that he suddenly had other feelings for her. He felt terrible for her, but that had happened in his past lives. Since the beginning, he never loved her, so he didn’t feel guilty about betraying her, but more than that, the mistake he made was in his past life, and the hell she experienced was also in her past life, not her present life.

However, Woo-Jin was shocked that he had done the same thing he despised so much in his past life.

Love was a valuable and great feeling. Whether it’s religion or principle, people considered love as the most important feeling, but in Woo-Jin’s past lives, he hurt the people around him while chasing after his love. Even if it was a family that wasn’t made with love, it was his duty to protect them, but Woo-Jin, in his past lives, abandoned that duty by neglecting and leaving his family every time. Just like Woo-Jin’s biological father.

Even if the situation during that time, whether legally or socially, was one where people weren’t as criticized for their responsibility and ethics, it couldn’t be used as an excuse because he didn’t like himself.

Woo-Jin changed as life went on, and it was the same for Lee So-Hyun and probably the same for Lady Park as well. To be honest, she became more depressed, less confident, and longed for love even more.

“I guess the three of us have an ill-fated relationship,” Woo-Jin mused.

It was a relief that Lee So-Hyun had no regrets towards Woo-Jin and actually tried to keep her distance because she felt uncomfortable. As someone not interested in celebrities, she instinctively rejected him and just recognized him as senior Hyun-Min’s friend. On the other hand, Woo-Jin was always worried about her, even though she was uncomfortable around him. “I guess I felt really sorry without realizing it.”

Kim Tae-Hwa, or Lady Park, he really wanted to end his relationship with her within this lifetime. Although he hadn’t caused any trouble, he hated feeling indebted to her all because he remembered his past lives, and moreover, this feeling of self-hatred was a feeling he needed to avoid even more. However, with the newly realized emotion, he had the courage and a good enough reason not to make the same mistake again.

If there was one thing he wanted, it was to date the person he loved and marry her, and if the day came where their love died, he vowed not to get involved in an exhaustive craze like he did in his past lives.

This sick and twisted relationship between the three people would be perfect once they all went their separate ways, and this life was his only chance to prove that.

Oh Ha-Na was another person shocked by Lady Park, so she needed to have a long talk with Director Yoon Seon. After experiencing it a few times, the staff wasn’t interested in why she was crying. Woo-Jin didn’t know what kind of conversation they had, but contrary to what he was worried about when he saw her again, she looked fine, no, it was a problem because she was too fine.

“I know for sure that you don’t like me, oppa, so I apologize about that. But, my feelings for you were real, oppa. And I also liked… kissing you. So how about we make our relationship official this time?” Oh Ha-Na asked.

***

“I don’t want to,” Woo-Jin answered.

After immediately taking two steps back from Oh Ha-Na, Woo-Jin shouted with determination, and after seeing his firm attitude, Oh Ha-Na spoke while pouting.

“You’re too stiff, oppa. You can speak casually since it’ll be better if we got to know each other,” she suggested.

“It’s fine. I’m not interested in dating, and since we’re here to work, we should just work, and I shouldn’t speak so casually since you’re my senior,” Woo-Jin said.

If possible, Woo-Jin wanted to keep his distance even while talking formally to each other, so he treated her like his senior.

“But!”

“We’re here to work, so let’s work, senior!” he shouted.

His determined answer shocked Oh Ha-Na, which caused her to cry again. However, her chronic tears weren't scary weapons anymore. Now that she had lost her weapon, Oh Ha-Na could no longer be Woo-Jin’s counterpart.

***

Woo-Jin, dressed in a purple suit with wavy hair, looked around the cafe with an ambiguous look.

He was making a guest appearance in a movie after receiving Song Jae-Hee’s request, but the filming location just happened to be at Dinky Coffee. It was the place that Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min visited often and the same cafe that Kim Tae-Hwa worked as a part-timer.

Through the last drama, it seemed like this place got sponsored after getting in touch with the entertainment industry.

Thankfully, Kim Tae-Hwa wasn’t here. According to the story he had heard from Hyun-Min after she passed the first round, she quit her job here and worked a few high-paying private tutoring sessions while using the premium she received from passing the first round of her bar exam. Considering that, Woo-Jin wondered why such a smart lady was so obsessed with such exhausting emotions and lived a difficult life.

“It’s because of me… no, it’s because of Lee Hoo.”

Woo-Jin was about to immediately understand and reflect on it but quickly blamed Prince Myeong-Hwan. After making Lee Hoo the bad guy and returning as the innocent Chae Woo-Jin, he headed to the second floor. The staff didn’t allow any customers on the second floor since it was used as the film set. Inside the empty cafe, a few tables were used by the extras, staff organizing their equipment, and Song Jae-Hee, sitting by herself. She was sitting at a famous yet competitive spot because of the beautiful scenery outside the window. When Woo-Jin quietly sat next to her, Song Jae-Hee looked away from the window and greeted him happily.

“I heard you went through something difficult.”

“Did you already hear the rumors?”

As soon as Woo-Jin sat down, Song Jae-Hee mentioned the situation with Oh Ha-Na while suppressing her laughter.

“No, I found out after CEO Jang asked me about Oh Ha-Na. Even if she was a child actress, I’ve never worked with her, so there’s no way I would know anything about her,” she explained.

There weren’t any nasty rumors going around in the industry. All they said was that Oh Ha-Na cried easily and was a stubborn person. However, people wouldn’t rebuke her since she started off as a child actress and slowly made her way to becoming an adult actress. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had only asked Song Jae-Hee because he wanted to hear her personal opinion.

“But you already know, right? That this is just the beginning.” When Song Jae-Hee asked that question, Woo-Jin was dusting off his shoulder, so he looked at her while doing that.

“Couples that fall in love at first sight while filming and then end up getting married are the ones that have a beautiful ending. There are far more couples than the public knows who date and break up while acting as lovers, but that’s nothing. If I were to tell you my experience, a married man who’s famous for being in a devoted relationship called me saying that he wanted to have a one-night stand with me,” Song Jae-Hee said.

Woo-Jin was so shocked by what she told him that he couldn’t say anything. A married man saying that was morally wrong, and when he imagined a married woman doing the same thing to him, Woo-Jin got goosebumps.

“There are people who can’t distinguish between acting and reality that they get so excited and instantly fall in love, and there are others who get into a physical relationship while filming, and once that’s done, they just go their separate ways. When that happens repeatedly, some just enjoy it. Basically, they’re using acting as an excuse to enjoy that physical relationship,” she explained.

At first, people like Oh Ha-Na misunderstood the situation because they were immersed in the acting. But as it gradually repeated, they started to enjoy that situation and even started gambling.

“They plan to make their partner fall for them by seducing them, and once the filming ends, they abandon them. Some people also show that off as some kind of trophy,” she said.

“Up until now, I….”

Song Jae-Hee clicked her tongue when Woo-Jin reacted as if he couldn’t believe it because he had never seen anyone do that before.