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Chapter 20
The editing meeting had just wrapped up when Lee Hyun stopped in the corridor.
From the pocket of his freshly fitted gray suit, his phone buzzed briefly.
“Are you free this Saturday? If it’s okay, let’s have dinner that evening.”
“……”
The corners of his still lips curved faintly.
“Let’s meet at seven. I’ll book the restaurant.”
“Okay, I’ll leave it to you then.”
The reply remained as businesslike as ever.
‘So… still not recognizing me?’
Maybe it was too soon.
Not that time mattered. As long as she remembered him in the end.
He could sense that her demeanor toward him had softened, little by little, compared to the first time they met. That was a good sign.
Hyun resumed walking.
Just as he turned the corner, someone came rushing from the opposite side.
“……”
They stopped a hair’s breadth before colliding.
“Oh—scared me. It’s the anchor himself.”
It was reporter Na Hyun-woo.
They weren’t close. Hyun only knew that Hyun-woo, a junior by a few years, had transferred to the Industry Department’s business team some time ago, covering conglomerates.
“You’re just getting back now?”
“Yes, I met a source over lunch. Oh, right—aren’t you filming some variety show these days?”
“I am.”
“I was shocked when I heard. STB must be desperate. Their Saturday variety shows have been flopping so badly, they’re dragging in anyone with name value.”
Hyun asked casually,
“Is that so? Who else did they bring in?”
“There’s quite a few. Jung Hee-seo, and—well, in a negative way—Yoo Hae-rin too. They really went for shock value. I mean, if it’s noise marketing, at least make it a mild miscast. But this is just…” He laughed awkwardly.
Glancing at Hyun’s expression, Hyun-woo leaned in.
“But really, how is Yoo Hae-rin on set? She doesn’t act arrogant?”
“No. She doesn’t.”
“Really? Doesn’t boss the staff around?”
“You seem awfully interested in that actress.”
Hyun-woo chuckled sheepishly.
“I’ve just heard so many things. Rumor even says the PD didn’t want her, that it was forced from above.”
Hyun looked down at him.
So this was the talkative Industry Department reporter his junior had mentioned.
‘Loose lips find me sooner or later. Faster than expected, though.’
“Where exactly are you hearing these things?”
“Company dinners. You know how it is—people say all sorts. One of my acquaintances knows the industry well, said there was some outside pressure. Just in passing, though. Just in passing.”
“Ah, hello there.”
A few other reporters walked up, looking haggard with dark circles, clearly just off work.
“What are you two talking about? Seeing you with the anchor like this is rare.”
“Look at you, panda eyes. Go fix your makeup. What a mess.”
“You think I have time to worry about that? I’m dead on my feet after chasing sources.”
“And that attitude is exactly why you’ve got no manners.”
Hyun-woo grimaced and shook his head while the others exchanged glances.
“Anyway, I hear her abusive behavior is the real her. You should keep an eye on it too, Anchor. Let us know sometimes…”
“Abuse? You mean Yoo Hae-rin?”
“Yeah. She’s on that variety show now, right? They say even the casting was shady.”
“Where do you even hear this stuff, senior? I actually found it entertaining.”
“So entertainment value is all that matters to you?”
Hyun interjected.
“Tell your acquaintance this: the casting issue isn’t true.”
“……Wait, then that story about her being picked by a fan… was that actually you, Anchor?”
News spread fast.
“Ha, so it wasn’t true then, senior. Honestly, sometimes you believe these rumors way too easily.”
“I’m just saying, that’s what I heard. It wasn’t from an unreliable source either…”
Hyun-woo fumbled, trying to cover himself. Hyun, who had been quietly observing, added,
“Be careful. Passing along what you ‘just heard’ can cause real damage.”
“Y-yes…”
“And shave.”
“Seriously, senior, you do need a shave. You look rough today.”
“God, get off my back! Just go home already!”
Leaving the noisy scene behind, Hyun walked back to his office.
He’d found his messenger.
Now it was time to trace that rumor back to its source.
“Here, have some.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Inside Code Entertainment’s break room, Garam slid a coffee across the table to Hae-rin’s manager.
Back in the day, Garam always saw him at shoots because Hae-rin was there. But ever since she outgrew child acting, it had been ages since they crossed paths.
“How have you been? Did you join our company?”
“Yeah, I’m working as a manager here now.”
He was in his mid-forties by now, wasn’t he? Time flew too fast.
Garam sipped his customized Strawberry Milk Pang-Pang through a straw.
“I thought you were still at Yeongwon.”
“Oh, I left that company ages ago.”
A shadow crossed the man’s smile.
“Do you still keep in touch with Hae-rin?”
“With Hae-rin? No, not really these days.”
“Oh… You even call her ‘Hae-rin-ssi’ now? You two used to be closer.”
“I’m a little shy, you know.”
Like when you meet relatives you haven’t seen in years and suddenly act formal.
It had been a long time since he contacted her personally. Plus, calling her formally in front of Hyun had made it stick.
“After that incident, she cut off contact with everyone. Said even her friends were getting flak.”
“Ah, I see…”
When the article “Yoo Hae-rin’s Manager Abuse Scandal” broke, the child actors’ group chat had exploded.
But even as messages piled up, Hae-rin stayed silent. Then, when the confession article came out, she simply left the chat.
‘After that, the group just fizzled out.’
He had often wondered how she was doing, but never heard a thing.
‘Even when I texted her, she never replied.’
It was as if she wanted to disappear entirely.
‘She must’ve felt guilty. But I never blamed her…’
Two years ago, Garam logged into Upstagram and thought he was dreaming.
The comment section under Hae-rin’s latest post was a warzone. All because he’d written, “Work hard on your shoot.”
‘So many people wanted to “see my face” to curse me out. I don’t even remember now.’
He’d shrugged it off, but clearly she hadn’t.
And now—
“You still care about her, huh? Well, you were her manager for a long time.”
The manager toyed with his takeout cup and nodded.
“For a very long time. When Yeongwon first started, it was tiny. Hae-rin was the only actor. Her father worked at the company, and that’s how I became her manager.”
“Really? She was the only one?”
“The CEO saw her acting and decided to nurture her talent.”
He continued,
“A lot of kids joined because of her. The company moved to a bigger building. Honestly, she built that place.”
Garam hadn’t known that. He’d only noticed when the company suddenly grew.
“I owed her a lot. I really wanted to stay with her… but things turned out…”
“……”
Garam’s childish curiosity stirred.
He’d meant to vent about Min-ju ignoring him, but now that Hae-rin’s name was out, he couldn’t hold back.
This was a question he’d swallowed for years.
“Hyung, you know I can keep a secret, right?”
“…Are you sure about that?”
“Of course! Remember when you planned that surprise cake for her birthday? I never spoiled it!”
“Oh, right. Now I remember.”
Garam dropped his playful act and grew serious.
“If you don’t mind me asking… Can I ask you something? I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Go ahead. Ask anything.”
“Did you read that abuse article about her?”
“Yeah… I read it.”
Garam quickly pulled it up on his phone.
“Here. From the start, I was curious. It says the victim was a longtime manager.”
“Yes, that’s what it says.”
“But a friend who shot a pictorial with her back then asked me when her manager changed. Hae-rin told her it was that very day. Yet within a week, this abuse article came out.”
The accusations listed weren’t the kind you rack up in a week.
Just from the reconstructed chat logs, it looked like at least six months of torment.
“I wondered if maybe you quit and then exposed her. But the article says the victim worked until the very day before.”
“……”
“So who was it? Who’s the supposed victim?”
“……”
“This article’s a lie, isn’t it?”
The manager slowly nodded.
“Yes. The article is a lie.”
