“Won’t it take more than about 30 minutes? I need a favor. I missed the beginning of the play.”
Hearing a slightly longer sentence, I could catch Myeong Jeha’s distinctive voice even more clearly.
Just Myeong Jeha’s voice alone gave the lines a compelling appeal.
‘This is a point that even the top critics in South Korea have all mentioned at least once.’
A low, gentle voice that I want to listen to for a long time.
“Help me with my review, okay? We’re classmates, after all.”
Even though it was a simple request, it had a persuasive charm that made it hard to refuse…
‘If I get close to Myeong Jeha…’
The snobbish scale in my mind appeared again. On one side: thirty minutes with Han Yeoreum. On the other: Myeong Jeha, the ten-million actor, smiling and waving.
This isn’t worth thinking about.
‘There’s an absurdly easy answer, isn’t there?’
The snobbish scale quickly tipped toward Myeong Jeha.
“Then about 30 minutes.”
Of course, because it’s Myeong Jeha.
Seeing how he went out of his way to stop me while ignoring everyone else,
‘Looks like he’s not planning to focus on department life either.’
Myeong Jeha’s presence weighed even more heavily on Han Yeoreum’s snobbish scale.
Since this person has already debuted, it would be better for me to expand my network.
* * *
I sat across from Myeong Jeha at a nearby study cafe and pulled out my laptop.
“Thanks so much. Yeoreum, I would’ve been in big trouble if it weren’t for you.”
“It’s nothing at all.”
It’s only because today is the premiere, but in a few days, the press articles and blog postings that have been prepared to go viral will start to appear.
‘The beginning is just the predictable content of a romantic comedy that both you and I already know.’
If I use this to get Myeong Jeha to owe me a small favor, it’ll be to my advantage.
Since we had a seat in a room where no one else could see, Myeong Jeha casually ran his hand through his hair, taking off his hat without worry.
His light wheat-colored hair sparkled as it caught the light.
‘Even a single strand of hair is different. As expected of a celebrity.’
On top of that, the subtle scent of expensive shampoo made it even more perfect.
I think I finally understood why everyone keeps talking about Myeong Jeha.
‘If I have Myeong Jeha in my network, wouldn’t I be able to block Do Gyeoul no matter what tricks she tries?’
He probably knows a lot of directors and writers, and there are even people who would invest just because of Myeong Jeha’s name.
At the very least, it seems unlikely that I’d be left out of casting or suddenly fired the day before.
‘Alright. Let’s get close.’
I smiled as best I could to get closer to Myeong Jeha.
Myeong Jeha also met my gaze and smiled.
“I was planning to come right after my schedule, but something got on my clothes…”
Looking closely, there was a faint stain on Myeong Jeha’s shirt.
‘It must be a sponsorship item, right?’
Judging by the way he talks with the corners of his eyes lowered like that.
I gave Myeong Jeha advice as kindly as I could.
“You should go to the restroom and wipe it off. If you had wiped it quickly, the stain wouldn’t have remained.”
“Ah… the restroom in the theater was a bit far. So I roughly wiped it with the wet tissue I had in the car.”
“What are you talking about? It’s right on the right side of the basement level 1 entrance. You must not have seen it properly.”
“I got confused about the way. I thought it was the first floor. That place isn’t a theater, it’s some office… Isn’t it closed?”
He doesn’t seem like it, but he has a silly side. Is he bad with directions?
“You dummy. The first floor is a theater too. There’s only one entrance.”
I let out a light laugh and continued typing.
“What was that line in the middle? The one during the three-way confrontation. You’re ‘I’ll—next time.’”
“Do you think I like every woman just because she’s a woman? You? If you keep this up, you’ll bring aunts and insist they’re my girlfriend, huh? This is.”
Professor Geum Bitgang really knows how to make even active celebrities diligent.
Myeong Jeha meticulously wrote the review, perhaps even more carefully than necessary.
“What was it just before the ending? The line under the streetlight.”
“The fact that you care is proof that your heart is drawn. A reasonable piece of evidence.”
I answered every line Myeong Jeha asked about diligently. Looks like he didn’t really watch the play properly either.
“But, Yeoreum-ah.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s strange….”
Tak.
The sound of Myeong Jeha closing his laptop echoed unusually loudly.
What’s this? Did he finish everything already? Already?
“It’s your first time in this play, and you act like you’ve memorized all the lines…”
I stopped my fingers from typing.
‘…Did Myeong Jeha just… say what?’
Silence settled over the room.
Myeong Jeha spoke as if tossing the words out casually.
“Like someone who’s been watching that play for years.”
Having actually watched that play for years, I froze stiffly.
‘Did I just watch it? I even sold tickets and appeared as a minor role.’
Myeong Jeha spoke casually, but he was forcing an answer right now.
Across from me, I saw Myeong Jeha staring at me intently without saying a word.
‘…But I can’t say this out loud.’
Of course not. I’d be written off as crazy—who would believe me?
‘And above all….’
I instinctively knew that I couldn’t reveal the fact that I had returned to the past.
‘This is my only card. I can never play it.’
Let’s think from the perspective of an ordinary person.
‘What should I say in times like this?’
I was nervous and took a deep breath.
‘The first priority is not to show that I’m flustered.’
Let’s deliver the lines as naturally as possible.
‘Right. I’ll just think of it as acting.’
In this industry, scripts circulating around is a normal thing.
“I just roughly recalled it and told you. It probably isn’t 100% the same—”
“No. It’s 100% the same.”
And my performance of a lifetime didn’t work. Myeong Jeha immediately saw through it.
Just as I was about to retort, “How would you know that?”
Myeong Jeha and I made eye contact.
Myeong Jeha was looking at me with an expression completely different from his eyes until now. That gaze was, how should I put it…
“I know it, that play.”
He looked like a predator with its prey right in front of him.
His deep, lowered eyes focused on me as if piercing right through.
“…Did you get a script in advance or something?”
“No. How do you think I would know?”
Myeong Jeha threw a question back at me and gave a sly smile.
My heart was pounding.
‘What’s going on? Did they start producing a drama at the same time as staging this play? No, that can’t be it. I’ve never heard of that… Did someone Myeong Jeha knows write the script?’
Countless possibilities flashed through my mind.
Even though it was a trivial question, I couldn’t find an appropriate answer.
“Yeoreum-ah.”
Myeong Jeha called my name once again.
‘Until just a moment ago, I thought no voice could be as good as Myeong Jeha’s…’
Now, I was getting goosebumps. I forced myself to put on a calm expression.
Thump, thump, thump.
It felt as if the pounding of my heart was echoing in my ears.
“You know what?”
“…what.”
“You know the Blue Art Center?”
Myeong Jeha’s expression brightened radiantly as he mentioned the name of the theater where we watched the play today.
A sense of delight, as if he had truly caught me, showed on his face.
“They’re only using the basement first floor for now.”
Rattle.
My heart, which had been racing just moments ago, plummeted downward.
“Not the first floor above ground.”
“….”
“So there are two entrances.”
Myeong Jeha’s distinct, precise pronunciation pierced my ears.
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