Chapter 9

Hwang Dong-jun, who was fastening his seatbelt in the driver’s seat, glanced at me.

“You’re really confident, right?”

There was still a trace of doubt in his eyes.

What was this?

Where had all that confidence he showed back in the office gone?

So in the end, he wasn’t actually certain I would get the role.

Maybe he had only talked big because of the situation.

Well, it made sense.

So far, neither I nor rather, Han Seo-jun had shown any real results.

“Of course I am. Why would I talk that confidently if I wasn’t? How would I deal with the embarrassment afterward?”

“…Right?”

Only then did Hwang Dong-jun grin.

The car slowly pulled out of the building.

Night had already fallen outside.

Neon signs were beginning to light up one by one in the storefront windows along the street.

By now, my conversation with Team Leader Joo Tae-hwan had probably spread throughout the entire company.

Hwang claimed everyone kept things quiet, but there had been two employees in the office.

There was no way our conversation hadn’t already been posted in some company group chat.

Lee Hwa-young had probably heard about it too.

So why had I boldly bet that I would win the role even knowing everyone would hear about it?

Simple.

Because I was sure.

As both an idol and an actor, I had attended countless auditions.

I had stood on stages and before judging panels more than a thousand times.

In those situations, judges usually maintained poker faces.

Officially, they said it was because their reactions could influence the applicant’s performance.

But the truth was different.

Most judges believed they held all the power.

So no matter how talented an applicant was, they rarely showed it.

They enjoyed the feeling of authority.

I have the power to choose you or reject you.

That feeling.

Audition survival programs on television were different.

Those exaggerated reactions existed for entertainment value.

In ordinary auditions, however, the most you got was a slight eyebrow movement or a small lift of the head.

And all the first-round finalists this time were top-tier idols.

The ten people who reached the second round were already extremely skilled.

The differences between them were tiny.

At that level, the results were decided by the smallest margin.

That was another reason the judges’ reactions tended to be subtle.

And then I appeared last.

The most important parts of this audition were obviously singing and stage performance, not acting.

Then suddenly an actor showed up.

This won’t be worth watching.

Let’s finish quickly and go home.

The judges had probably thought exactly that.

But the moment I started acting on stage, their expressions changed instantly.

When I began singing the assigned song, one of them covered their mouth in shock.

When the choreography started, the middle-aged man sitting second from the right nearly fell backward out of his chair.

He had been the only judge maintaining a poker face.

Even he couldn’t hide his reaction.

After the performance ended, I could tell from their faces.

They were going to choose me.

Because I had delivered:

Brilliant acting.

Powerful vocals.

Dynamic choreography.

And all of it was completed by Han Seo-jun’s unreal visuals.

“Still…”

Hwang Dong-jun spoke while watching the road.

“If things don’t work out this time, you’re leaving the company with me. Got it?”

What was that supposed to mean?

I could understand why I might leave, but why him?

“Why would you leave?”

“You seriously have to ask?”

He casually answered while turning left at an intersection.

“I mean, if I fail, I’m basically finished. But Team Leader Joo said you’re practically the best manager in the company.”

“Hah.”

He laughed.

“Even so, at my age, you think I’m going to spend my time dealing with that crazy—”

He swallowed the rest of the sentence and glanced at me.

“You think I want to spend my life cleaning up after someone like her?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

The Lee Hwa-young I remembered and the Lee Hwa-young of today felt like completely different people.

Anyone who didn’t know her past would simply see her as a difficult, selfish witch.

“You and I will go out and make it on our own. Understand?”

“Really?”

“Would I joke about something like that?”

“…!”

“I haven’t lived my life carelessly. Do you really think I can’t find a decent role for my actor?”

He looked surprisingly confident.

“There’s a new drama starting on TvM. You know the lead role that Ha Joo-young lost because he couldn’t manage his weight?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there’s still a pretty good supporting role available. We can start by auditioning for that.”

“Sounds good.”

Seeing me answer so easily, he laughed.

Meanwhile, the scenery outside began to change.

Quiet residential neighborhoods appeared first.

Then the size of the houses gradually became absurd.

Mansions the size of palaces lined the streets.

Walls as tall as fortress ramparts blocked the view.

After driving around one enormous wall, Hwang Dong-jun stopped in front of a massive iron gate.

“We’re here.”

“Thanks. I’ll call a taxi when I leave.”

“…Really?”

His brows furrowed slightly.

“You’re not just going in, saying hello, and coming right back out?”

“…!”

Avoiding his gaze, I stepped out of the car.

Before turning around, I let out a quiet sigh.

Then I adjusted my expression and leaned down toward the open window.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I’ll take care of getting home myself. I’ll call you when I get back.”

“…Okay. Fine.”

He nodded and waved before focusing on the road again.

Soon, his car slowly disappeared into the distance.

I stood before a gigantic gate decorated with patterns that looked like ancient Egyptian designs.

I wonder what kind of world is waiting for me inside.

Honestly, it didn’t matter.

Even if something huge was waiting.

I wasn’t the real Han Seo-jun.

I had no real connection to these people.

To me, this place was simply another stage.

A new stage.

All I had to do was adapt to the situation and improvise well.

I’d already researched this family through online articles.

I’d memorized their faces from photographs.

I had compared those images with the few pictures stored in Han Seo-jun’s phone and pieced together the relationships.

Now it was time to step onto the stage.

I reached out and pressed the intercom.

A moment later—

Click.

The gate unlocked.

The performance was beginning.

I tightened my core and steadied my breathing.

***

I had entered confidently.

But I didn’t even get a chance to properly see the stage.

To be honest, I was practically rejected at the entrance.

I never even saw Han Seo-jun’s father.

Not even his older brother.

As it turned out, Han Seo-jun was an unwelcome guest whose very existence was denied by this family.

The moment I entered through the front door after crossing the beautifully maintained garden, two security guards blocked my path.

They escorted me to a guest lobby.

A few moments later, a woman introduced as my “mother” appeared.

She looked absolutely nothing like Han Seo-jun.

She was a complete stranger.

After dismissing the guards, she turned her cold gaze toward me.

“How dare you come here?”

Her voice was sharp and threatening.

The disgust in her eyes made it look as though she were staring at a parasite.

What was this?

Wasn’t this supposed to be her birthday party?

Hadn’t he at least been invited?

I smiled politely.

“…I came to wish you a happy birthday, Mother.”

“Happy birthday?”

Her brows immediately narrowed.

Her eyes blazed with anger.

“And who exactly is your mother?”

“…!”

The atmosphere in the guest lobby instantly froze.

“Who’s here?”

A young woman appeared in the doorway.

The moment she saw me, one corner of her mouth twitched.

It looked as though she was trying very hard not to laugh.

I bowed slightly toward her over the older woman’s shoulder.

She barely suppressed a chuckle.

The older woman spoke again.

“You could’ve just shown your face to Butler Hwang and left. Why did you come inside? Who here welcomes you?”

“Butler Hwang? There wasn’t anyone there.”

I answered calmly.

“What?!”

“Oh, and the drama I appeared in starts airing this week. I also wanted to greet Father and tell him about it.”

I smiled innocently.

Not mockingly.

Not provocatively.

I wasn’t the real Han Seo-jun anyway.

If ties with this family were cut, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

I simply needed to understand the relationship between Han Seo-jun and these people.

If I was going to succeed as an actor, I needed to know whether they might try interfering with my career.

“Haa…”

The woman crossed her arms as if she had suddenly understood something.

“You must have heard something somewhere, but your father wasn’t the one who told the director to sabotage you.”

“…”

Talk about a guilty conscience.

I hadn’t even asked.

Yet she volunteered the information herself.

“You still seem to think you’re somebody in this family, but your father doesn’t care about you at all.”

Her eyes were filled with ridicule.

“He already offered you enough inheritance money to live comfortably for the rest of your life if you’d just stay quiet. Why can’t you understand that?”

“…”

“Why can’t you just sit still and breathe? You don’t have a brain in your head, but you keep acting like you’re somebody important.”

She exploded in irritation.

At that moment, the younger woman leaned over and whispered something into her ear.

After glaring at me one last time, the older woman stormed out.

Now only the younger woman and I remained.

A strange light appeared in her eyes.

“It’s been a while, little brother.”

Unexpectedly, she spoke warmly.

“I told them some guests were looking for Mom.”

Ah.

So that was what she’d whispered.

“There are lots of Mom’s friends and business associates here. That’s why she’s extra tense today.”

She sounded completely casual.

“Everyone here already knows who you are. They just don’t want to openly acknowledge it.”

She smiled faintly.

Of course.

Han Seo-jun was the son Father had brought home from another woman.

Neither his stepmother nor his half-sister had any reason to welcome him.

“But what’s this? Usually you just let Butler Hwang know you came and leave.”

“I wanted to tell them about the drama I filmed.”

“…Ah!”

Her eyes lit up.

“I know. I watched the trailer because I heard you’d be in it.”

She studied my expression carefully.

“But you weren’t there.”

“…”

“The one-minute trailer. Even extras appeared briefly, but you didn’t. I watched it several times.”

“Obviously. Mother had it edited.”

One of her eyebrows rose.

“…Ah.”

Then she nodded.

“Mom once saw you on television and nearly had a fit.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to stop her from watching TV from now on.”

“What?”

She burst out laughing.

“Wow. You’re so different today. At first I thought it was just your clothes, but even your eyes have changed.”

She looked me up and down.

Naturally.

A completely different person was standing inside this body.

“We were never especially close, but we still spent time together when we were younger, remember? I took you to my school and introduced you to my friends.”

“…”

“You were incredibly popular with them. I was proud to call you my little brother.”

She smiled nostalgically.

“And when you were in high school and asked me whether you should accept that modeling offer, I was the one who encouraged you. I told you someone that handsome could become an actor easily.”

Then her expression darkened.

“After that… when things became difficult for you, I was too busy with my residency training to pay attention. I’m sorry.”

The apology caught me off guard.

Before I could respond, her eyes grew moist.

She lightly punched my arm.

“It’s okay.”

“Then why are you talking so formally to me? Whenever something upset you, you always started speaking politely. You did it on purpose to make me feel guilty.”

She pouted.

So that was how it worked.

If what she said was true, then Han Seo-jun had at least one ally in this family.

Unless she was simply hiding her true intentions.

I’d figure that out later.

“Still, today you really got Mom good.”

She smiled again.

“Director Kim sent Mom a video. She played it during breakfast before the guests arrived. She was so excited, telling everyone to watch how terrible your acting was.”

Mischief sparkled in her eyes.

“But the moment the video started, the atmosphere completely changed.”

She laughed.

“I was shocked. Everyone was. We were all speechless. I never imagined your acting could improve that much. How did you become a completely different person overnight?”

She paused before continuing.

“And when you got hit by the truck at the end, Dad jumped out of his seat. You used a stunt double, right? It looked so real.”

“I did it myself.”

I answered casually.

“…Really?”

Her eyes widened.

She stepped closer and grabbed my hand.

“I knew this day would come. You always said you’d become the best one day. I’ve been worried about you for so long, but now… it’s okay. I’m so proud of you.”

“I haven’t even succeeded as an actor yet.”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“This is already enough for me. Thank you.”

Holding my hand, she gently shook my arm.