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Chapter 33
“Th-this is insane…”
The moment Sara heard what Hyun said, she literally grabbed the back of her neck and staggered.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind, making her head spin.
If what Sara said was true, then this wasn’t just some minor accident. It was a major incident.
Serious enough to become grounds for terminating the contract.
“Are you sure about that?”
He asked with all his heart hoping that it wasn’t true, but the answer he received was utterly certain.
“I’m sure.”
“Who did you hear it from?”
He didn’t know how she had found out, but from the company’s perspective, this was something they absolutely couldn’t simply overlook.
“Who do you think I heard it from?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know—ah. The executive director was here just a moment ago.”
He suddenly remembered the person who had just left the hospital room.
If it was Executive Director Yoon, there was no doubt he would have known about it, so it wasn’t strange that the information had reached Sara’s ears.
“I was going to let it go if possible. But you dragged Eun-young into this?”
“Haaaa…”
Hyun let out a deep sigh as though the ground itself had collapsed beneath him.
The moment Eun-young had been dragged into this, Sara had no intention of letting the matter slide.
“I don’t know how powerful Kang Doo-hyun is, but how long do you think he’ll keep protecting Kim Se-yeon? Representative Park, you really need to come to your senses. I’m only telling you this in advance because we’ve known each other for so long. Normally, you know I’d just go straight at her without even giving her a warning.”
“I know. I know, but… How can we terminate the contract? Sigh. Do you have any idea how complicated the interests involved here are?”
“Do whatever is easiest for you, Representative Park. I can’t work at the same company as that woman.”
Sara spoke softly, even giving him a generous smile.
That only made Hyun’s expression waver even more.
He bit his lip repeatedly before shaking his head.
“All right. Then, first, I’ll contact Kim Se-yeon. Whew.”
A sigh mixed with irritation escaped him involuntarily.
In the end, he stood up without even managing to properly organize his thoughts.
“Sorry, but I’m going to leave first.”
Unlike when he had first arrived, Hyun left the hospital room with a haggard face.
<How Long Will Korea’s Poor Drama Production Environment Continue to Take Pride in Actors’ Injuries?>
News spread throughout the broadcasting industry that Seo Sara, who was giving a passionate performance in the drama Rock Star, had collapsed from overwork on set.
Seo Sara currently plays Chae Min-seo, the villain in Rock Star, a character who possesses exceptional singing ability but is consumed by jealousy and an inferiority complex toward the protagonist, Oh Bit-na, played by Kim Se-yeon.
Then, on the 15th, Seo Sara suddenly collapsed while filming a shoot that had continued for more than twenty hours.
She was immediately transported to the nearest hospital emergency room, where examination results determined that she was suffering from exhaustion caused by overwork.
Her agency, Lesa Entertainment, released a statement saying:
“Although the actress has not yet fully recovered, we will do our utmost to ensure that she returns as soon as possible so that filming will not be disrupted.”
In response, one netizen left a concerned comment:
“Is there really so little flexibility in the filming schedule that someone who collapsed from overwork has to return so quickly?”
The problem appears to stem from the fact that, unlike countries where pre-production has become commonplace, Korea’s drama production environment operates almost in real time.
The practice of producing incomplete scripts based on viewer reactions after each episode is a representative example.
As a result, it has become almost an accepted rule that both lead and supporting actors are expected to endure injuries even when they occur during filming.
There were several reasons why the current system had become this way…
“Stop staring at your smartphone and get some sleep. You said you couldn’t sleep properly at the hospital.”
Mirae glanced at Sara through the rearview mirror as she drove.
Sara looked over the article she had been reading again, but there was no mention of Kim Se-yeon.
“What are we going to do about filming?”
“What else can we do? We’ll probably have to cancel the broadcast. You can’t appear, and Kim Se-yeon is stubbornly refusing to show up for some reason. How is the director supposed to film the drama? If I had to guess, his insides are probably burning up right now.”
“Didn’t Director Kwak call?”
“Call? He even came all the way to the hospital.”
“Huh? When?”
“Last night. I told him you were sleeping and sent him back. Oh, and that orange? Director Kwak brought it.”
“Why did you send him away? You should’ve just told him to come up.”
“You think Director Kwak came just because he was worried about you?”
Mirae snorted as she turned the steering wheel to the right.
“Then why?”
“He’s afraid you’re going to quit the drama. You were originally supposed to leave after Episode Five, but they kept dragging your appearance out until now. Frankly, even if you quit right now, there wouldn’t be a problem under the contract.”
“But we received the contract again back then.”
“There were some details that needed to be adjusted, so we went back and forth a few more times, and it got delayed. But who could’ve imagined things would turn into this mess?”
Mirae added that, in a way, it had worked out for the better.
Now they would be able to negotiate much more favorable terms when signing the contract.
“What about Kim Se-yeon?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even care. I’ve been in this industry for a long time and I’ve met plenty of nasty people, but I’ve never seen anyone as malicious as her.”
Mirae, who had generally treated Kim Se-yeon gently because they were actresses under the same agency, had apparently reached her limit after hearing the full story and was taking a firm stance this time.
“Fine, let’s say spreading rumors to reporters was something we could overlook. There have always been people who did that kind of thing from time to time. But how could she actually go to Director Choi and do something like that? Is she even human?”
“Exactly.”
“Does she think putting you down like that will make her rise?”
“Exactly.”
“The consequences are eventually going to come back to her. Why doesn’t she realize that? Jeez.”
Throughout the entire drive home, Sara agreed with everything Mirae said.
Especially the part about consequences.
As for that part, Sara intended to make absolutely certain that Kim Se-yeon received what was coming to her.
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the apartment parking lot.
Mirae unloaded Sara’s belongings while continuing to voice her concern.
“Are you really going to be okay by yourself?”
“Yeah. I’m really fine. The doctor said so too. The tests showed nothing wrong. And it wasn’t even a serious injury to begin with.”
“What about food? Should I at least prepare something for you before I leave?”
“No. I’ll take care of myself. Ah, seriously, sis. I’m really fine.”
“I’m worried about you. Ju-young said the parking lot was practically covered in blood. Do you know how shocked I was when I heard you had fainted?”
“It couldn’t have been that bad. Sis, I’m really okay. You must be tired from taking care of me too, so hurry home.”
“What did I even do to take care of you?”
Sara firmly refused to let Mirae accompany her all the way upstairs, parting ways with her in front of the elevator.
In truth, there was another reason Sara had used every excuse she could think of—saying she was tired and wanted to be alone—to prevent Mirae from coming upstairs.
[Don’t skip your meals.]
A short note with those warm words was attached to a shopping bag hanging from the doorknob.
It was exactly the same as the photo she had received by text several hours earlier.
Sara grabbed the shopping bag and hurried inside.
“Looks like porridge.”
It smelled quite savory.
Of course, it wasn’t because of the porridge Seung-tae had sent that Sara had prevented Mirae from coming upstairs.
Sara half-tossed the container of porridge onto the dining table and searched through the shopping bag.
“Found it!”
What she had been looking for was a document elegantly titled:
‘Investment Proposal for the Film Tosa (Working Title).’
Sara’s eyes sparkled like someone who had just received the script for her first leading role in a movie.
Without even taking off her coat, she stood there and read through the entire document.
The terms were extraordinary.
With conditions like these, it was the sort of offer one could expect only for a film packed with top-tier S-list actors or directed by a famous filmmaker.
Sara grinned from ear to ear and immediately made a phone call.
Today, in particular, the call connected as soon as she dialed.
Sara’s voice was bright and cheerful with excitement.
“Mr. Seung-tae! I just checked it. Thank you so much. Is there anything you want to eat? What do you like? This time, I’m really going to buy you a meal.”
[Who is this?]
“Ah…”
Hearing an unfamiliar woman’s voice, Sara became slightly flustered and pulled the phone away from her ear to check whom she had called.
Unless her eyes were deceiving her, the number definitely belonged to Seung-tae.
“Excuse me, but isn’t this Yoon Seung-tae’s phone?”
[It is. But who are you, and how do you know this number?]
The woman’s voice sounded more curious than hostile.
Sara couldn’t bring herself to answer hastily.
Their relationship still hadn’t been completely defined, so the situation was rather ambiguous.
Fortunately, the very person who could put an end to Sara’s dilemma appeared.
[Why are you answering someone else’s phone?]
[How am I someone else? I’m about to be…]
