Chapter 30: Ready to Soar (7)
Kim Si-woo’s eyes widened at Shim Ji-young’s disheveled hair.
“Noona, your hair…?”
“Oh… this?” she said, touching it.
“Did you fight someone?”
“Yeah… whoever wrote that script,” she quipped.
Her mention of the script jogged his memory—her character’s fight scene. “Oh, right. So, shooting’s done?”
“Yup. Fixing this mess will take longer, though. By the way, I got you a hangover remedy and some porridge. Eat up.”
“Thanks,”
He said, wincing from his pounding headache. He downed the remedy and sipped the lukewarm porridge.
Shim Ji-young watched him intently. “Did I mess up last night?” he asked.
“Huh? No, you passed out as soon as you hit the room. Why?”
“You’re staring like I did something wrong.”
“Nah, just thought the porridge might be cold.”
He mentioned preferring lukewarm food, and she smiled.
“Such a kid. Can’t handle spicy stuff either, huh?”
“Nope,” he admitted.
“Figures.”
She kept watching him as he finished the porridge and stretched, loosening his stiff body.
“Finally feeling human. How long did I sleep? Or did I just pass out?”
“Could be either,” she teased. “After you left, the directors drank for hours before crashing.”
She recounted the night’s events, nagging him with concern.
“Next time, pace yourself. You’ll ruin your health.”
“How? They’re so enthusiastic, saying they like me,” he said.
He knew they wouldn’t bother with him if they didn’t care. Their attention was a rare opportunity, but he wondered, ‘Is it worth risking my life? I might end up in the afterlife from alcohol poisoning.’
Shim Ji-young sighed.
“How are you gonna survive this industry being so soft?”
“Soft? I’m pretty tough when I need to be,” he protested.
“You?” she said, unconvinced.
“Yep.”
She didn’t buy it, her eyes skeptical.
“Just take care of yourself.”
“Got it!” he replied.
Dragging his heavy body outside, he saw the crew dismantling equipment. Park Woong-deok spotted him first.
“Hey, Kim! You’re up! How’s the body?”
“Legs are shaky,” he admitted.
“Ha! Shaky already? We’re heading to Seoul for an afterparty. You’re coming, right?”
The word ‘afterparty’ made Kim Si-woo want to retract everything he’d just said to Shim Ji-young. ‘He’s doing this on purpose. I swear I’ll kill him…’
Of course, he didn’t act on it.
“Haha…”
When he only laughed, Park pressed, “So, you’re coming, right? Right, Kim?”
“Hey, stop trying to kill the kid!” Shim Ji-young and other actors jumped in.
“Yeah, he’s been out cold all day. Don’t you feel bad?” one said.
“Watching him is exhausting—imagine how he feels,” another added.
“Hic.”
Kim Si-woo fake-cried, covering his mouth, touched by their support.
“You’re all ganging up to kick out the old man,” Park grumbled.
“Who’s the old man? You’re the head of the house!” Shim Ji-young shot back.
“Fine, I lose. Guess it’s just us directors drinking tonight,” Park conceded.
With the island shoot and cleanup done, they returned to Seoul for another party. New faces joined, including Jung Se-yeon, who arrived mid-party despite her packed schedule.
“Writer-nim! You okay? I heard you fell in the water! Your face is half gone—are you sure you went to the hospital?” she fussed, inspecting him.
“He jumped in to save me,” Shim Ji-young corrected. “You misheard.”
“Huh? I thought he fell in too?”
“No, I fell. He dove in to save me,”
Shim Ji-young explained, adding that his haggard look was from drinking with the directors.
Jung Se-yeon nodded.
“I’ll get revenge for you tonight!”
“No, Se-yeon, don’t!” Kim Si-woo pleaded.
“What? I don’t lose at drinking!”
She declared, fearless, unaware of the directors’ monstrous tolerance.
“Noona!” Kim Si-woo called to Shim Ji-young.
“Yeah!” she replied.
In perfect sync, they agreed: Jung Se-yeon had to be stopped.
“Se-yeon, come here, eat with us,” Shim Ji-young urged.
“Yeah, join us over here,” Kim Si-woo added.
Kim Si-woo and Shim Ji-young dragged Jung Se-yeon by the arms to a corner.
“Hey! Let go!” she protested.
Using sheer force, they successfully saved her from the directors’ drinking gauntlet.
***
Time passed, and the filming of Don’t Forget neared its climax.
“Why did you do it?”
Han Ye-ri (Shim Ji-young) asked, having drugged and kidnapped Kim Ye-ji, tying her to a chair in an abandoned construction site.
Waking up, Kim Ye-ji quickly grasped the situation, tears welling as she pleaded,
“Who… who are you? What did I do? If it’s money, I’ll call my parents—just please let me live!”
“Why did you do it?”
Han Ye-ri repeated, her voice heavy.
“What are you talking about? I don’t know anything!” Kim Ye-ji cried.
But they both knew the truth. Kim Ye-ji knew Han Ye-ri was Han Seul-gi’s mother. Han Ye-ri knew Kim Ye-ji was acting.
“Stop pretending. You’re not leaving here alive,” Han Ye-ri said coldly.
“Please… save me,” Kim Ye-ji begged.
“Enough!”
Han Ye-ri’s suppressed emotions erupted.
“My daughter, Han Seul-gi! You killed her, you bitch!”
She lunged, strangling Kim Ye-ji.
“Gkk… please…”
Kim Ye-ji gasped, still pleading despite choking.
“Bring her back! Bring my daughter back!”
Han Ye-ri screamed, not demanding death but resurrection.
Thud.
Kim Ye-ji’s knee slammed into Han Ye-ri’s side.
“Phew! Damn, I almost died,”
Kim Ye-ji spat, freeing herself from the ropes. She unleashed her own pent-up emotions, a genius girl who’d suppressed everything clashing with a grieving mother. The raw intensity was chilling.
“Proof I killed her? Got any? Huh, you bitch?” Kim Ye-ji sneered. “Mother and daughter, both pathetic.”
“How… the ropes…” Han Ye-ri stammered.
“Untied them. Should’ve broken my legs instead,”
Kim Ye-ji taunted, her expression shifting as she mentioned Han Seul-gi.
“Oh, what did she say back then? Begged me not to tell her mom about the bullying?”
“Die!”
Han Ye-ri roared, and a brutal fight ensued—hair-pulling, scratching, punching, a raw, unglamorous brawl that felt painfully real.
“Huff… huff…”
Despite her training, Han Ye-ri struggled against Kim Ye-ji’s surprising stamina.
“That’s all you got, ajumma? Just die like your daughter then,”
Kim Ye-ji mocked.
“You brought me here to kill me, right? No CCTV, no consequences. But my bodyguards will find me soon, so maybe I’ll just send you to prison.”
Her chilling smile grew as she plotted Han Ye-ri’s torment.
“Kidnapping, attempted murder, plus extras—how’s that? Thinking of the bitch who killed my daughter living free burns you up, doesn’t it? Too bad, you’ll be watching my news from prison. I might even send you letters…”
Before she finished, Han Ye-ri, catching her breath, charged again. But the balance had tipped.
“No use! You’re done!” Kim Ye-ji sneered.
“Ugh…”
Han Ye-ri regretted not disabling her earlier with a weapon. Her unbroken streak of successful revenge had made her careless.
As despair crept in, an opportunity arose. During their struggle, Kim Ye-ji tripped on a loose floorboard, stumbling. Seizing the moment, Han Ye-ri summoned all her strength and shoved her toward the railing.
“Ajumma, you’ll die too!” Kim Ye-ji screamed.
“Let’s die together!” Han Ye-ri shouted back.
“You bitch!”
Kim Ye-ji cursed as they tumbled over the railing.
Falling, Han Ye-ri felt peace, as if her daughter embraced her.
“No! I can’t die! After everything I’ve endured, I’m finally free!”
Kim Ye-ji screamed, her desperate will to live contrasting her suppressed past.
Clang.
But Han Seul-gi wasn’t ready to meet her mother yet. Han Ye-ri’s clothes caught on a protruding pipe, halting her fall. Kim Ye-ji barely clung to Han Ye-ri’s leg.
“Goodbye,” Han Ye-ri said coldly.
“No! No! I was wrong! I’ll confess everything, live in atonement—just save me, please, ajumma!” Kim Ye-ji begged.
“Too late.” Han Ye-ri kicked her face without hesitation. “I’ll kill you no matter what!”
Kim Ye-ji fell to the ground below. The scene ended with Han Ye-ri hanging on the pipe.
“Great work, everyone!”
“You nailed it!”
The two actresses, who’d been fighting ferociously, embraced as if nothing had happened.
Only one day of shooting remained.
Shim Ji-young felt an odd emptiness. She’d poured everything into this masterpiece, but it didn’t feel as fulfilling as expected. Perhaps it wasn’t about creating a defining work but about giving her all, delivering her best performance in a film that captured it fully.
After tomorrow, it was up to the crew. All she could do was trust them and wait.
Her doubts lingered only until Don’t Forget premiered. The film marked a turning point, dividing her career into before and after, soaring her to heights she’d waited twenty years to reach.
_____________________________________________
TL Note — Regular chapters will be updated 5 chapters per week on the site.
If you want to read ahead, join my Patreon for early access:
Plus Tier: 7 chapters/week per novel (21 total)
You don’t need to pay extra for my other novels —
• Poseidon Doesn't Like Greek and Roman Mythology and
• Dream Breaker — they’re included in the same tiers.
Link — https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls?utm_source=search
If you want to read this novel, just check the collection under “Genius Writer.”
_____________________________________________