Episode 158: An Unexpected Encounter (2)
Jeollabuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do.
One of the sacred mountains of the nation spanning these three provinces: Jirisan.
Chae Suhyuk was sitting in the spacious backyard of an old traditional house located at the foot of the mountain.
“Suhyuk, why do you keep checking your watch? You’re not a kid who needs to poop. Do you have an appointment or something?”
The person speaking to Chae Suhyuk in a playful, complaining tone was his cousin brother.
His cousin usually claimed he didn’t use dialect, and while his speech was extremely close to standard Korean, traces of regional flavor still seeped into certain words. Normally, Chae Suhyuk would have chuckled at that, but right now he couldn’t.
“Yeah. I do. It’s something pretty important.”
He focused solely on carefully yet as quickly as possible wiping the moisture off the organic ritual vessels placed in front of him.
Chae Suhyuk had always found the family tradition tiresome. The custom, passed down through generations, stated that ‘ancestral rites are originally performed by the men of the family,’ so the men handled everything from preparation to cleanup. But at this moment, he couldn’t even think about that.
‘Thirty minutes left.’
Only about thirty minutes remained until the promised time.
He knew all too well that he couldn’t leave this spot until every single ritual vessel piled up like a mountain in front of him was packed back into the wooden storage box. So Chae Suhyuk simply moved his hands mechanically, repeatedly working the dry dishcloth.
And then,
“This should be enough. Good work, everyone.”
Once the men of the Chae family, who had passed the strict inspection of his stern uncle, groaned and stood up while clutching their knees, Chae Suhyuk immediately dashed toward the annex building on one side of the old house.
“What’s with that guy? He said he had an appointment, so why is he going to Grandma’s room?”
While his cousin tilted his head in confusion at Chae Suhyuk’s unusual behavior,
Chae Suhyuk sprinted across the main hall, flung open the sliding door—which, despite its age, made almost no creaking sound—and jumped inside.
“Grandma!”
“Mm.”
“Should I massage your legs for you?”
“You just finished the big ancestral rite, so you must be tired. Go rest. Grandma is fine.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Alright then.”
The white-haired old woman nodded at her beloved grandson’s offer, which she had no reason to refuse. Chae Suhyuk promptly sat down beside her.
He began diligently massaging her legs. After a short while,
“By the way, Grandma.”
Chae Suhyuk carefully brought up his real purpose that he had been hiding.
“Can I watch some TV?”
He had no choice.
In his family home, there were only two TVs in total: one in the main house’s living room and one here in the annex.
However, the TV in the main living room only aired programs suited to the elders’ tastes, which was completely useless to Chae Suhyuk.
The only place where he could watch what he wanted without interference was right here in this annex.
“TV? Our little puppy is interested in ancestral rite food now?”
“Hehe.”
The grandmother, realizing that her grandson’s cute antics hid another motive, chuckled softly.
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“Thank you!”
As soon as permission was granted, Chae Suhyuk quickly grabbed the remote, changed the channel, and then moved his hands back to her thin calves.
Of course, Chae Suhyuk felt some pangs of conscience knowing this wasn’t purely an act of kindness, but he also expected that guilt wouldn’t last long.
He knew his goal wasn’t something that matched the so-called ‘elderly taste,’ but he could make this deal because he knew his grandmother would be an exception.
After all,
“Grandma will like it too.”
“Really? Then shall we see what our puppy’s taste is like?”
Because it was none other than Madam Cho Soon-deok who had sparked Chae Suhyuk’s interest in the industry he was now part of.
And soon the title of the program appeared.
“One Hit Lover…? The title sounds a bit old-fashioned?”
“But it’ll still be fun. I watched the filming myself.”
“Really? Then the story changes. But it’s two hours long? Will your hands be okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. I won’t be doing it alone.”
“Hmm?”
Even though she was a grandmother who could usually see right through her grandson’s intentions, this time Cho Soon-deok could only tilt her head in confusion.
Chae Suhyuk didn’t resolve that question right away, but fortunately the wait wasn’t very long.
The closed sliding door slid open once more, revealing another grandchild of Madam Cho Soon-deok.
“Grandma.”
“Mm. Sua. My, you’re dressed up so prettily. Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes. There’s an elementary school reunion.”
Chae Sua answered her grandmother politely and modestly, then called Chae Suhyuk’s name in a slightly cold voice.
“…What are you doing, Chae Suhyuk? You said you had something to tell me, so why are you here with Grandma?”
“Oh. Come massage Grandma’s legs too, Noona.”
“…Did you not hear what I just said? I have a reunion.”
“Yeah. If you’re going, then go. But I already told you clearly. Don’t complain later.”
From Madam Cho Soon-deok’s perspective, it was an interesting situation.
She could tell there was something between her two grandchildren that she didn’t know about.
What could it be that made her grandson so confident her beautifully dressed granddaughter would give up going out?
‘Still, Sua won’t fall for it, right?’
She thought her granddaughter’s personality wouldn’t be swayed by such words, but the card Chae Suhyuk held was far bigger than Madam Cho Soon-deok had imagined.
“No way… Is it ‘that’? There was nothing on the café page.”
“Of course not. Hyung said he wouldn’t post it because it’s a surprise.”
“Really?”
“Ah, if you’re going, go quickly. It’s starting soon.”
“Ha…”
Soon something happened that truly surprised Madam Cho Soon-deok.
Her granddaughter, who had her hair beautifully set like silk, roughly messed it up with her own hands, sent a message to someone on her phone, and then plopped down across from Chae Suhyuk with her legs placed between them.
“When does it come on?”
“Around the last five to ten minutes?”
“Are you kidding me?!”
Her surprise only added to her curiosity.
The two grandchildren bickering was almost a daily occurrence, and victory had always belonged to Chae Sua.
But right now, the scale was clearly tipping toward Chae Suhyuk, who was smiling slyly.
“Sua. If you’re staying, go get some persimmons and apples.”
“Yes, Grandma.”
At her grandmother’s timely mediation, Chae Sua left her seat for a moment. Having gained an unexpected source of entertainment, Madam Cho Soon-deok turned her gaze toward Chae Suhyuk, who was smiling triumphantly at his sister’s drooping shoulders.
“My my, it looks like our Sua has become a fan of someone.”
“Yes. The hyung I’m in charge of. He’s really handsome.”
“Ah, that friend. Yes, I’ve seen him. He definitely looks talented. So is that friend appearing in this drama?”
“Yes. When he comes on, I need to post something on the community. Hehe.”
“Then… there’s no need to watch the full two hours from the beginning, right?”
“Ah, well… someone from our agency is also appearing… so I’m watching for that too.”
“Hmm.”
A strange exclamation escaped at the end of the mixed dialect spoken by someone who had grown up on the border between Yeongnam and Honam.
Her long years of experience had allowed her to see that her grandson was hiding something.
She didn’t press him about it, partly because she sensed that what he was hiding was on a different level from her granddaughter’s, and partly because she was quite delighted by the two grandchildren’s playful antics rather than the drama itself.
‘If Noona does well, Yujin-hyung will be able to sing even better songs… and even if not, I hope Noona does well too…’
Unaware of his grandmother’s inner thoughts, Chae Suhyuk simply thought that while watching the commercials. When Chae Sua returned with a tray full of apples, pears, and persimmons, the timely commercials ended.
And a short while later.
Among the somewhat well-known actors on the screen, the appearance of a rookie actor who did not lose his light pulled out a hidden instinct from Cho Soon-deok, who had been enjoying her grandchildren’s antics.
“What is this. My my… He looks so young, but his acting is incredibly good. Watching him makes me feel youthful again. His face is handsome too. If he doesn’t go down the wrong path, he’ll become really big.”
Cho Soon-deok, who had been massaging her calves, ignored that and leaned forward with her legs crossed, her eyes sparkling like stars.
It was the reaction from his grandmother that Chae Suhyuk had half expected and half hoped for.
“Suhyuk, what is that boy’s—no, that actor’s name?”
At the question from his grandmother, who had once been called the ‘Silver Screen Star’ and had retired from official events nearly twenty years ago but still hadn’t lost interest in trends, an industry senior, Chae Suhyuk spoke the name in a low voice.
“Woo Zia. It’s Woo Zia, Grandma.”
***
Some people saw it by lucky timing.
Some saw it thanks to help from family.
Some saw it belatedly through reports from those who had watched it first (or those who had been waiting only for that scene).
Quite a few people were able to witness Han Yujin’s not-quite-deviation, but unfortunately there were clearly those who could not.
‘Ha, a cameo? Suddenly?’
Woo Hye-yeon was one of those unlucky people.
Even though it was a holiday, she couldn’t just rest. Because of a schedule—an economic gathering held to commemorate Chuseok—she only managed to check the posts uploaded to the fan café after the event had ended. As soon as she got in the car, she immediately ordered a return.
Unfortunately, the special nature of the holiday continued to hold Woo Hye-yeon back until the end.
The drive home, which normally would have taken less than thirty minutes, more than doubled due to the roads being packed with vehicles.
Because she hadn’t even come out to her closest secretary.
It might have been inevitable that Woo Hye-yeon, who had been watching the street outside the window where LED lights were beginning to shine instead of starlight, ran straight to the study before the front door even closed.
But.
Woo Hye-yeon, who had been staring intently at the screen on the study wall in anticipation of another side of her favorite, was not looking at Han Yujin.
“…!”
Instead of the appearance of Han Yujin she had been waiting for while stomping her feet inwardly without showing it outwardly, Woo Hye-yeon covered her mouth, unable to speak, and her gaze coincidentally landed on the exact same place that Han Yujin’s gaze was directed toward on the screen.
The playback of the drama 1 Hit Lover clip on the screen stopped.
After the round rewind arrow, in the slightly darkened shadow, Woo Hye-yeon stared for a long time at the face that captured her eyes. Without even realizing how much time had passed, she slowly lifted her phone with difficulty.
And then,
“I need you to look into one person for me.”
She ended up giving an order to a subordinate who had already left work—an action she would never have taken normally.
Of course, her loyal secretary asked for the target with slight surprise rather than annoyance.
Fortunately, there was no need to search for the name separately.
It was clearly written on the title of the video.
“The name is Woo Zia. She’s an actress. Look into everything from her birth to where she is now and what she’s doing.”
The voice of Woo Hye-yeon as she gave the order was trembling ever so slightly, though no one would notice.
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