Chapter 83: Keep living.
“Is it here?”
The producer and writer got out of the car and looked up at the building. There was an officetel like this in Yonggang-dong. It was right in front of the Han River, and its exterior walls shone as if it had just been built.
“Are you still filming now?”
Muyoung got out of the car and looked at the camera. The red light indicating that filming was still in progress was blinking.
“Then I’ll just stop by the convenience store for a moment. I need to eat dinner soon.”
“There’s one on the first floor of the building, right?”
“Yes. Not only a convenience store, but also a laundry, a side dish store, a gym, a hair salon, everything is in there. I don’t go out much on my days off. It’s all connected by the elevator.”
I was just answering their question, but it felt like I was unintentionally promoting my house. Muyoung felt embarrassed, stopped by the convenience store, and then went upstairs to his house.
Squeak-
“Wow.”
“Come in comfortably.”
A wide-open view. Since it was a high-rise, the Han River and the bridge beyond were clearly visible. And how much sunlight was pouring in!
“The house is really nice. Do you live here alone?”
“I live almost like I’m living with a friend.”
“Is that friend the landlord?”
“No, the landlord is someone else. Sit down. I’ll bring something out.”
A young man of only twenty years old is living in a house like this! No matter how much he’s freeloading, it’s a real shock.
“Can we broadcast the house?”
The writer asked Muyoung discreetly for his opinion. He had sensed that the house was much more luxurious than expected. If they broadcast this, the reaction would be quite hot.
“……? Yes! Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have invited you. As long as you make sure to mention that I’m freeloading, it’s fine.”
Muyoung didn’t know what the problem was. He just smiled and nodded. Gyeongmin, who was watching him, took him to the corner and whispered.
“Are you really going to be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“There are a lot of people who don’t like to see others living well. I’m just worried that you might get some malicious comments or something…….”
Gyeongmin trailed off.
He had completely forgotten what kind of personality his actor had, who only smiled. He looked so innocent, but his mental strength was so strong that it was sometimes enviable and even scary.
“It’s okay. There will be people who like it just as much.”
“Yeah. Well, if it becomes a topic, it will be helpful.”
“What would you like to eat, hyung?”
“Never mind that, go do the interview. I’ll take care of this.”
Muyoung handed the manager a coffee and stepped into the living room.
And now, it’s time for a full house tour! Since they had cleaned up in advance because guests were coming, it looked even cleaner and more spacious.
‘I should help them out like this.’
In fact, since I had helped the ghost’s spirit find peace, it was as good as paying my dues. Besides, it wasn’t free housing; it was a legitimate compensation from Dr. Martel!
‘But the sense of security that a good house provides was really helpful.’
They say that among food, clothing, and shelter, shelter is the most important. That seemed to be exactly right. No matter how hard and tiring it was, as soon as I came here, the fatigue disappeared and I felt comfortable.
“The loft ends here. So, where should we do the interview?”
“The view from the living room earlier was really nice.”
“Yes. Then let’s do it there.”
Now that it’s a good house without ghosts, I hope they watch TV and a good new owner appears. Muyoung sat by the window and chatted, pretending to do an interview, until a beautiful sunset appeared in the background.
Time passed like an arrow. From unfinished recording work to poster shoots, and script practice with the actors, the days went by in the blink of an eye.
“Ugh. I’m tired.”
Muyoung lay down, almost completely exhausted. It felt like he hadn’t slept more than three hours a day for several days. Muyoung mumbled as if he were drunk. Gyeongmin took off his socks.
“No matter how tired you are, wash your face before you sleep.”
It’s fortunate that his skin is so good; if he neglects it even a little, he’ll have to go straight to a dermatologist. Along with plastic surgery and dentistry, that place is a real money pit.
Ring. Ring. Ding ding!
The phone lying at Muyoung’s feet, who was lying face down, rang incessantly. Judging by the different sounds, it seemed like everything from DMs to text messages was coming in.
“What’s going on, hyung?”
“Should I check it?”
“Yes. I can’t move at all.”
When Gyeongmin looked at Muyoung’s phone, he exclaimed, “Ah-” and then checked his own phone as well.
“Today’s the day. The day the documentary airs.”
“Is it already that time? But what’s with the phone?”
Still lying face down, he mumbled. But there was no answer. Muyoung peeked out and looked at Gyeongmin. He seemed so serious, his eyes fixed on his phone.
“Hyung?”
“It’s number one.”
“What is?”
“Viewership ratings and real-time searches.”
At those words, Muyoung slowly sat up. What did I just hear?
“It’s the first time a rookie entertainer special documentary has achieved the highest viewership rating in the same time slot. The momentary viewership rating went up to 16% as well.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“But-”
Zziiing. Zziiing.
Just then, Gyeongmin’s phone rang. It was President Na Geumdong. He pressed the call button and put it on speaker.
“Yes, boss. I’m with Muyoung right now. We just finished our schedule and came back.”
-No! Then you didn’t watch TV?
“Actually, I forgot that it was airing.”
Gyeongmin glanced at Muyoung awkwardly. No matter how busy he was, as a manager, he should have taken care of it.
-Muyoung’s part is huge. It’s an hour-long show, and I think he took up about 40 minutes of it.
Idols, models, comedians, etc. Among so many rookies, that’s almost like having a monopoly, isn’t it?
-And why is Muyoung’s house so nice? I’ve only heard about it, but I didn’t know it was this good. Wow. I’m seeing the reactions coming in online right now.
It was true.
The top real-time search term was proudly Ha Muyoung’s full name, followed by ‘Yonggang-dong officetel’, ‘Ha Muyoung’s house’, ‘Ha Muyoung’s house price’, ‘Yonggang-dong Han River view’, ‘facial expression acting’, and so on.
“What, what is all this?”
Muyoung watched the screen in bewilderment. It was strange and dreamlike to see his name plastered all over the portal he saw every day.
-And the facial expression acting Muyoung showed while reading the script, that was almost all included without any cuts!
It was probably thanks to Director Lee Yujin’s influence.
After all, he was the lead in a drama that was about to air soon, and the documentary was made partly to promote it.
Moreover, there were famous idols next to him. The narrative of an unknown rookie actor standing alone among them seemed to pique people’s interest.
“Wow. This is a good thing, right?”
-Of course it is! Idiot! Are you kidding me? Can we do a video call? I’m dancing right now!
Articles and comments poured in like desert sand, endless with every refresh. Hundreds, thousands at a time.
-Have you seen Ha Muyoung act? How can a person’s face move like that? I thought he was a decent actor, but he’s insane.
-I’m so excited for <You are a Star, I am a Star>! Ha Muyoung is the lead. Song-a, Pyo Lai, and Romin are in it too. The lineup is amazing!
-It’s a showbiz drama.
-From what I saw of the reading, it’s not something to be dismissed as just a showbiz drama. By the way, how does a rookie live in a house like that? His family must be rich. A golden spoon ㄷㄷ
-Didn’t you watch the documentary? He’s freeloading with a friend.
-Having such an acquaintance is also a blessing.
-What’s the market price of an officetel in Yonggang-dong? The house is really nice!
The reaction was noisy. Even though I was just reading the text, I could feel it. Muyoung lay down and checked people’s reactions.
“It’s fun.”
I wonder how long it will take for it to come up on IPTV? I’ll watch it later when it comes out. Not only DMs, but even friends I hadn’t heard from in a while were texting me.
“But the funniest thing is that if I turn off my phone, my life is pretty much the same.”
And whoosh! Muyoung threw his phone aside as if he were tired and lay down. Everything’s good, but first, I need to get some sleep.
“Wash up and sleep!”
“Oh. Right.”
Muyoung shuffled to the bathroom, and Gyeongmin followed him.
“Where were you planning to go if you moved your stuff out of here?”
Muyoung, who was brushing his teeth vigorously, paused at his words and rinsed his mouth.
“I’ll stay at Junho’s house for a while and then try to find a place to rent.”
Fortunately, the company said they would advance the settlement payment, so it was possible.
With about 50 million won, I should be able to afford a rooftop room rental in the outskirts of Seoul. Or even a semi-basement.
“But looking at my current lifestyle, I feel like I could do without a house.”
Muyoung replied jokingly.
How many days had it been since he started going out early in the morning and coming back late at night? Even Gyeongmin hadn’t gone home and had come to the officetel with Muyoung. He had to go out again in a few hours.
“I’m going to take a leave of absence from school, so there won’t be any big expenses. Don’t worry. Hyung, you should get some sleep too. Time is still passing, tick tock.”
Saying that, he flopped back onto the bed!
Gyeongmin let out a laugh mixed with a sigh and turned off the light. The quiet bedroom. He hugged his pillow and thought of Buyong.
‘If it’s this noisy, Buyong will probably hear about it too. I should contact her before I leave.’
And finally, he checked the real-time searches again.
Hehe. I can’t help but laugh. Had I ever received this much attention in my life? But Muyoung didn’t know. That this search term, ‘Yonggang-dong officetel’, would bring about certain consequences.
Zziiing. Zziiing.
Exactly one week later.
The time it took for Buyong to contact him. Muyoung, who was reading the script in the car, stared at the screen nervously.
“What’s coming has come.”
He took a deep breath and pressed the call button. Even though he wasn’t a real tenant, the landlord somehow made him uncomfortable.
“Hello. Boss.”
-Uh, Ha Muyoung! You know, that shaman I told you about last time. I need you to introduce me to him quickly. As soon as possible!
The frivolous voice was the same as ever. But the sound quality was a bit poor? It kept cutting out.
“Why is that?”
-I don’t know. Some celebrity apparently lives in that building. They showed their house on TV? Thanks to that, the house prices there have already risen by 20%. Now’s the chance, so I need to sell it quickly.
Huh? What does that mean? Muyoung checked his phone in confusion, and Gyeongmin glanced at him.
“Is that celebrity an actor, by any chance?”
-I think so? I’m in Hawaii now, so I couldn’t watch it properly, but they said he’s a rookie! I heard the news urgently because my friend lives in the apartment below. Since it’s been on the media, it’s going to keep rising…….
While other places rise by 20%, unit 2202 will rise little by little, like picking up crumbs. But how much is that? Since the amount is so large, it’s still a lot of money.
-Anyway, I need to do it quickly, so introduce me, okay?
“……Boss. That actor is me.”
-Huh?
“And the house ghost has already found peace. I should have told you in advance.”
-……Huh?
The puzzled exclamation grew louder. In the background, only the sound of waves crashing could be heard. Hawaii, nice!
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
-You said you were an employee of that, um, Dakyung’s company, right?
“Well, it was a transaction related to Dr. Martel……”
-Ah! I see! You debuted after working as an employee? Wow. That’s why they say you never know what’s going to happen in life. It’s amazing! Well, you didn’t really look like the office worker type, with your tall and handsome build.
He played the drums and flute by himself and drew his own conclusions! Boom boom boom!
“……Anyway, I’ll be leaving soon. You’ll realize the ghost is gone as you live there. If there’s a problem, contact me right away. I’ll come check. As for the luggage-”
-Oh no! Wait a minute! Hold on.
Buyong urgently interrupted Muyoung’s words. There was silence for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about something.
-So, what are your plans from now on?
“Plans? What kind?”
-Give me a PR pitch about your filmography.
Suddenly? Why? But since he asked, I’ll tell him.
“Director Jin Gyeongmun’s work,
He listened quietly and then said in a low voice.
-You. Keep living there.