Chapter 157: Treasure Box
And as time passed—
The counter where Ha Muyoung and Kim Sungmok’s signatures hung.
The front door of the store that appeared on the hidden camera had a ‘Closed’ sign hanging on it. Contrary to what the words meant, the inside was bustling with customers.
“Come on! Let’s fill our glasses!”
The director sitting at the center table shouted, holding up a glass of soju. The already full glass of soju was filled with a yellowish light.
“Muyoung, want a drink?”
“Well, I—”
“He can’t drink because of his schedule tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Just one glass, just one, please. Thank you.”
Muyoung laughed, holding the glass of alcohol filled by the lighting director. There were still the mountains of post-recording and CG left, but at least the on-site filming was well wrapped up.
Since there were so many people who needed to gather, the wrap party was hastily set for today.
The director stretched out his right hand and cleared his throat. Next to him sat Team Leader Kang Ok-kyung as well.
“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard.”
“Whoa! The director’s going to say a few words!”
“Our actors and production team, who ran up mountains, rolled in caves, and nurtured the building! Thank you for following along so well, and though there’s still some finishing work left, I believe it will go smoothly!”
He had just started opening the alcohol, but it seemed like he was already drunk. Muyoung smiled and picked at the side dishes.
‘Hmm. It’s incomparable to when it was a hidden camera.’
The food melted in his mouth. It was definitely a famous restaurant. Before the bitter soju came in, it sweetly heated up his taste buds.
“We’re really grateful for everything!”
“Whoa! Us too!”
“Lead actor Muyoung, give us a toast!”
“Huh? Me too?”
“Of course! You’re paying for the dinner today!”
“The person paying should do it for the full experience!”
“Alright! Muyoung, give us a toast!”
The director handed Muyoung the bottle with a spoon sticking out of it. Muyoung, wiping his mouth, stood up. People raised their hands towards him, waiting for the toast.
“Um… I was very lacking. But thanks to our production team and actors, I think I was able to act a little. Thank you all, and I hope you stay happy and healthy. May The Only Building Owner be a huge success!”
As Muyoung led the cheer, dozens of people responded loudly.
“Huge success!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Clink!
The sound of glasses clinking echoed pleasantly.
Muyoung also laughed, clinking glasses with the people sitting around him.
“Eat a lot!”
The gift certificates would surely come in handy.
It seemed like everyone had skipped dinner, as the requests for “More meat and alcohol!” didn’t stop.
Instead of drinking, Muyoung carried the soju bottle and went around the tables.
“Writer, have a drink. Thank you so much for the great script. It was an honor.”
“Oh my, what are you talking about? I’m more grateful.”
“Give me a drink too, Muyoung!”
“Sound Director, you’ve worked especially hard, so I’ll give you some food too. Ah—open up.”
“Ahaha! I’ll take beer!”
And he said goodbye to each staff member, regretting that they had to part ways. They were ending with a promise to meet again someday.
“Wow! So good!”
The alcohol went down smoothly with the meat. Exclamations poured out from everywhere, and soon the store was as hot as a frying pan.
‘Hmm. Should I go buy it now?’
A drinking session without chocolate milk would be disappointing.
Everyone’s faces were flushed as the atmosphere heated up. It was obvious that hands would be lacking, so he looked for Ko Gyeongmin, but he was nowhere to be seen. Did he go to the bathroom?
“Where are you going?”
Squeak—
Jin Seo followed him out. Muyoung just shrugged and looked around.
“The manager’s not here.”
“He went out to take a call earlier. Why?”
“Chocolate milk!”
“……Let’s go together. There’s a convenience store across the street.”
“Okay.”
It was early morning, and the roads were quiet. Except for the occasional passing taxi, everything was silent.
“But are you really friends with Kang Bora?”
“Bora? Yeah. Why? Want an introduction?”
There had been dating rumors twice. They said it wasn’t true, but who really knew? Jin Seo observed Muyoung’s expression and shook her head.
“Never mind.”
Whoosh—
The two stood in front of the red light. A taxi smoothly passed by. Muyoung was humming and enjoying the early morning air.
“Muyoung.”
When she called him, Muyoung turned his head.
“If you’re not seeing anyone, will you go out with me?”
Jin Seo’s sudden confession. It was a sincere feeling, borrowing the courage from the alcohol.
Muyoung, thinking he might have heard wrong, tilted his head, then realized and exclaimed,
“Whoa!!”
“Hey!”
The perfect reaction, with eyes wide like a rabbit’s and stumbling backward. At that sight, Jin Seo shouted with laughter. What was that reaction?
“I like you.”
If she were to list all the reasons, it would be endless.
He probably doesn’t know. That Muyoung himself is quite a charming person.
“So I want to date you. Even after this project ends.”
Muyoung just blinked and looked at Jin Seo, slowly opening his mouth. He seemed to be dividing and subdividing the second, thinking about what to say. The first words out of his mouth were—
“Thank you.”
And the words that followed were—
“But…”
But. Jin Seo, pretending not to notice her slightly trembling heart, clenched her molars.
It was all because of the alcohol. Because of the alcohol, she confessed impulsively, and because of the alcohol, something welled up inside her.
“Right now, I don’t plan on dating anyone. The happiness I get from work is already overwhelming, and if another kind of happiness comes, I feel like I’ll suffocate and die.”
“What kind of strange thing is that.”
The two smiled faintly at the same time.
“Jin Seo, thank you so much. It’s my first time being confessed to.”
“What? No way.”
It was truly the first time someone said they liked Ha Muyoung as a person, not as the actor.
So this is what it feels like to be loved romantically. Muyoung held out his hand to Jin Seo and greeted her.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I realized there’s such a feeling. Your words made me feel like I’m a bit of an amazing and cool person.”
Jin Seo looked down at his hand.
She called him an idiot in her mind a few times, but he was really this clueless. How many guys like you are there in the world? She grumbled sullenly.
“You’re already amazing and cool.”
“Whoa. Awesome.”
“So, you need to keep being like that. Since you’re the guy I like, you need to match up. Got it?”
“Yes, sir! Got it.”
“And don’t do drugs or screw up.”
“Haha. You too.”
Jin Seo lightly held Muyoung’s hand. It felt like tears would burst out, but strangely, they didn’t.
Maybe it was because of the rejection, which was a problem with the situation, not the person.
“Thanks for everything.”
“Me too. Good luck with your audition.”
At that moment, the light turned green.
When Muyoung looked ahead, Jin Seo turned her back.
“You go buy the chocolate milk. I don’t feel like going into the convenience store together after being rejected. And let’s not let this affect our work. We’re both professionals, right?”
“Jin Seo.”
Jin Seo, walking away quickly. Muyoung lightly called out to her. And he shouted with certainty,
“You’re going to do great! For real!”
The flower petals told me so.
Jin Seo just peeked back, smiling. And she quickly walked back into the restaurant building. She would probably be gone by the time he stopped by the convenience store.
Muyoung kept looking at her back until the light flickered, then crossed the crosswalk.
‘Whoa.’
Ha Muyoung’s first confession.
Everyone declared their love online, but to have someone say it in person like this was truly surprising.
‘I’m a person who’s loved.’
It was a very surprising emotion and experience, Muyoung thought, standing in front of the convenience store. And he placed his hand on his chest, realizing,
‘It’s a new feeling and emotion.’
Something he might not have known was buried in the depths of the sea.
As he lived on, he would probably experience other secret emotions. It felt like when a treasure box opens, the light coming out of it would make the world brighter and wider.
‘Then, when acting, I can go deeper…’
He would be able to empathize with the character.
Muyoung, holding his pounding heart, opened the convenience store door.
The part-time worker, sitting idly, recognized him and jumped up.
Ding—
“Oh? Ha Muyoung? What brings you here?”
Muyoung, with a flushed face, took out his card. And in a very good mood, he shouted,
“Chocolate milk!! Give me all of it!”
“Even if you don’t drink, staying up all night is tiring.”
“Is that the lesson you learned yesterday?”
“It’s experience. Experience.”
Muyoung mumbled with half-closed, sleepy eyes. Ko Gyeongmin had clearly taken him home and gone back, but how could he be so fresh coming to work again?
He was even younger than Muyoung.
“Aren’t you sleepy, hyung?”
“Actually, I slept in between yesterday. In the car.”
“Ah, so that’s why I didn’t see you.”
Muyoung stretched and threw off the blanket.
As expected, after going to the convenience store, Jin Seo had left.
Though she was very drunk, he had to imagine her final moments from the staff’s words, that she left after saying goodbye properly.
“Wash up and come out. I bought lunch boxes, so eat and let’s head out right away. And look at this while you eat.”
Ko Gyeongmin placed the backpack on the sofa.
It was a bag he used when there was a lot of stuff for schedules, but there was nothing like that today. So, it must be…
“Is it a script?”
“The company did a first round of filtering. I know you’ll choose what you want, but they hope you’ll pick from this.”
“Who’s the ‘they’ you’re talking about? Representative Yusah?”
Muyoung laughed and flipped the bag. A pile of scripts tumbled out. He rubbed his eyes and scanned them properly. First, he checked if there were any flower petals.
“Let’s see…”
“What are you looking at like you’re reading fortunes? You need to open the scripts. How can you tell from the covers?”
“I can tell. I get a feeling.”
Is there none?
Just as Muyoung was rummaging through them with a look of disappointment,
Rustle—
“Huh?”
Flower petals mixed with smoke.
A sparkle in the darkness, like a small universe unfolding. When was it? He felt like he had seen something similar before.
“A K-network drama?”
If it’s flower petals, then what’s the smoke?
Maybe it means either a flop or a hit?
Or maybe it means that with gain, there’s also loss?
Muyoung widened his eyes to understand the silent phenomenon. Ko Gyeongmin exclaimed, looking at what was in his hands. He had a keen nose for money.
“That’s good. The production company is good, and the capital is solid. The writer is also famous. It’s by Kim Onseong. They work almost like soulmates with K-network’s PD Park Sooyeon, and they’ve had quite a few hits. Most recently, The Ambition of the Wind hit 27% two years ago. It’s a guaranteed box office success.”
Ko Gyeongmin shared the information he picked up from the company with Muyoung. He raised his head.
“I heard it’s a historical drama this time.”
“Yes. Specifically, a fusion historical drama. The title is…”
The Path of the Blade
It was a work that told the story of two men, King Jungjong and Jo Gwangjo.
The first page had a brief synopsis written by the writer, which showed where his focus was.
[A man who became king carried on the backs of his subjects, King Jungjong. In a situation where royal authority had fallen to the ground due to the power of the nobles, he meets Jo Gwangjo and dreams of reform. An ideal world, the realization of kingly politics. The trust between the two men was solid, but it could not withstand the weight of power. As the blades they pointed together began to target each other’s necks… Jo Gwangjo, who grew like bamboo, and Jungjong, who feared it might reach the sky. Trust and betrayal, and a single ideal. The whirlwind of conflict between the two men will show it all.]
“…It’s a story about perspectives.”
Jungjong looking at Jo Gwangjo, and Jo Gwangjo looking at Jungjong.
It was a work that captured the perspectives they had to maintain in the midst of history.
The fierce conflict between Jungjong and Jo Gwangjo would be the fun element of the drama.
“It’s good.”
Not just good? It was very much to his liking.
But Ko Gyeongmin’s face wasn’t very bright.
“Hmm. It’s good, but—”
There seemed to be something bothering him.
“The actor being considered for the role of Jo Gwangjo is Cha Eunseong.”
“Cha Eunseong? Wow! Really?”
Crazy! Amazing! He was at the top among the top, unlike Muyoung, who was only in his second year. His looks and acting skills were unmatched.
“You don’t know Cha Eunseong?”
“Everyone in South Korea knows him.”
“His personality is terrible.”
“Huh?”
“There are widespread rumors that he’s a complete asshole.”