Chapter 113: The Battle for Tae-ha

Han Yun-seong, Lee Seok-hyun, and Seon Min-gi.

The fan meeting venue fell into a state of chaos at the appearance of the three men.

While the fans, Taecho, expected at least one of the three to show up, almost none of them anticipated that everyone would appear.

It wasn’t just Taecho.

In truth, Tae-ha hadn’t expected all three of them to attend the fan meeting as guests either.

Back when the surprise guests were being cast, Tae-ha had been deep in thought. He wondered who would be best to invite to the fan meeting. However, he couldn’t easily reach a conclusion.

To Tae-ha, all three of them were equally precious people.

It would have been easier to choose if Taecho particularly liked one of the three more than the others, but that wasn’t the case. Taecho also held a similar level of affection for all three.

For that reason, it was incredibly difficult for Tae-ha to select just one person.

Yet, it wasn’t a situation where he could invite all three of them.

This was because the number of surprise guests needed for the fan meeting, which consisted of Part One, Two, and Three, was only two. Even then, one person had already been chosen: Kang Sojeong.

Ultimately, Tae-ha only needed one more surprise guest.

Thus, a choice was necessary.

As his worries deepened, a thought occurred to him.

‘But… there’s no guarantee that all all three of them will even be able to appear as surprise guests.’

Certainly, Han Yun-seong, Lee Seok-hyun, and Seon Min-gi were all extremely busy.

In Lee Seok-hyun’s case, he was struggling to handle various schedules, including advertisements, due to the success of the recently released film *Ghost Ship*. It was close to a miracle that Kang Sojeong, who appeared in the same project, was even able to adjust her schedule to participate in Tae-ha’s fan meeting.

Han Yun-seong’s schedule was also incredibly tight. He was currently in the middle of filming a movie. Moreover, because the project involved many overseas locations, he couldn’t have forced his schedule to align even if he wanted to.

Even if he luckily had a gap in his schedule, he would likely need to recharge his exhausted energy, so there was a high probability he would decline Tae-ha’s proposal.

Finally, Seon Min-gi was the one among the three who seemed most likely to accept Tae-ha’s offer. He was currently resting and reviewing his next project after finishing the filming of the drama he chose for his domestic comeback. Furthermore, since Tae-ha had appeared as a surprise guest at his own fan meeting, he likely felt the need to repay that favor.

Excluding Seon Min-gi, it felt as though the other two would not be able to participate in Tae-ha’s fan meeting due to time constraints.

Therefore, Tae-ha felt much more at ease as he called the three of them one by one in order of age.

First, Seon Min-gi’s answer was exactly as Tae-ha had expected.

“If you’re asking so earnestly, I have to accept. When is it? What do I need to do?”

“It’s on a Saturday fifteen days from now at the 50 Handball Stadium. You don’t need to prepare anything separately; I think you just need to attend the talk show in Part Three.”

However, the responses from the remaining two, Lee Seok-hyun and Han Yun-seong, differed from Tae-ha’s expectations.

“Oh! A fan meeting! Of course I have to go. It’s my little brother’s event.”

“I’ll go. I can probably make time for a day without much trouble. I’ve finished most of the difficult filming.”

The two people he thought would decline due to their busy schedules both readily agreed to appear as guests at Tae-ha’s fan meeting.

Consequently, Tae-ha couldn’t help but be flustered. As it stood, he was in a situation where he had to have all three of them appear together for the talk show in Part Three.

In the end, Tae-ha had to bring up the following:

“It’s not just you coming, Brother. So-and-so and so-and-so are coming too. Will you still be okay with that?”

He had mentioned the other people attending the talk show to the three of them. Tae-ha had brought it up thinking they would decline because it might be uncomfortable.

However…

“…, So, it’s a showdown.”

“Oh? This sounds like it’ll be fun.”

“I see. Well, it can’t be helped.”

None of the three had any intention of backing down. Instead, they strangely seemed to be looking forward to today’s fan meeting.

And that was the process leading up to this four-way meeting that no one had anticipated.

***

Finally, the three surprise guests took their places on stage.

Tae-ha, Han Yun-seong, Lee Seok-hyun, and Seon Min-gi were gathered in one spot.

Seeing this, An Ji-yeon spoke up with a smile as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“To think I’d see such a sight in my lifetime. This is a picture that makes me feel like I could die today without any regrets.”

At An Ji-yeon’s words, Taecho let out a burst of laughter in agreement.

Sensing that response, An Ji-yeon directed a question to Tae-ha.

“How do you feel, Actor Kang? Three of the Republic of Korea’s top actors have gathered like this to celebrate your first fan meeting. Isn’t it a profound feeling?”

Tae-ha nodded honestly and spoke.

“It really does feel strange. I didn’t know I’d see the three of them together in this place.”

“Didn’t you invite them, Actor Kang?”

“I did invite them… but honestly, I didn’t know all three would readily agree to come. They even knew the others were coming. Yet, they insisted on being here.”

At Tae-ha’s remark, the fan meeting venue heated up. Everyone was curious about why three top-tier actors wanted to come to Tae-ha’s fan meeting so badly.

Like a good moderator, An Ji-yeon immediately asked about that part.

“Alright. Then I think it would be good to meet today’s surprise guests one by one. First, I’ll talk with the youngest of the three, Actor Han Yun-seong. Hello, Actor Han. Please greet everyone in Taecho.”

“Hello. I am Han Yun-seong, the actor who built a bond with Tae-ha while working on *Critical Point* and *Virus*.”

“I heard you’ve been incredibly busy lately due to movie filming, and that you even turned down a casting offer for *An Ji-yeon’s Salon Trip*. Yet, you made time to come to Actor Kang’s fan meeting today. What could be the reason for that?”

Han Yun-seong spoke with his characteristic bright smile.

“No matter how busy I am, if Tae-ha calls, I have to come. My wish is to reunite with Tae-ha and work on a project together again. You can just think of it as me coming here as a sort of flattery.”

“Ah. That kind of feeling. But hearing that makes me curious. I believe you’ve worked with Actor Kang both as an actor and as a Writer. If you work together next time, in which capacity would you like to work with him?”

“Hmm. Since Tae-ha is the best both as an actor and as a Writer, it’s hard to choose between the two. I’ll just say I want to work with the Tae-ha who does both.”

“I see. That was Actor Han, who gave high praise to Actor Kang as being the best in both acting and writing. Next, we’ll greet Actor Lee Seok-hyun. Hello, Actor Lee.”

Lee Seok-hyun responded to An Ji-yeon’s greeting with a lively voice.

“Yes. Hello. I am Lee Seok-hyun, who appeared with Tae-ha in his only film appearance, *Killer × Killer*, which set a record by surpassing 10 million viewers.”

“First of all, congratulations, Actor Lee. *Ghost Ship*, where Actor Kang made a cameo appearance recently, also surpassed 10 million viewers, right?”

“Yes. Luckily, it received love from many people. I get the feeling that anything involving Tae-ha just becomes a huge hit.”

“I heard you were extremely busy because of *Ghost Ship*. I’m curious how you made the time to be here today.”

“It’s the same as Actor Han Yun-seong. I’m incredibly busy, but if Tae-ha calls, I have to come.”

“Ah. Does Actor Lee perhaps have some kind of ulterior motive toward Actor Kang as well?”

“It’s similar. Unlike Actor Han Yun-seong, I’ve never appeared in a project written by Tae-ha. I’d like to grab an opportunity if possible.”

“Ah. This is a bit of a plot twist. I thought the three of you came here today out of a heart that cherishes Actor Kang like a real younger brother. It’s shocking to find out everyone has other intentions.”

When An Ji-yeon added her playful remark, boos poured out from the audience, and Lee Seok-hyun spoke up in a fluster.

“Hey, now. That’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that I don’t think of Tae-ha as a real brother. In fact, among the three of us here, I probably cherish Tae-ha like a real younger brother the most.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, the sharp gazes of Han Yun-seong and Seon Min-gi, who had been maintaining poker faces, fixed on Lee Seok-hyun.

Taecho, who was watching the scene, erupted into cheers as if they had never been booing in the first place. They sensed that the atmosphere had heated up because of Lee Seok-hyun’s bombshell statement.

An Ji-yeon also felt this and enjoyed it before speaking to continue the program.

“Great, Actor Lee. Thank you for the bombshell. The atmosphere has become very heated thanks to you. Moving on with this momentum, we’ll now meet Actor Seon Min-gi. Hello, Actor Seon. Please give us a greeting.”

“Hello. I am Seon Min-gi, the actor who filmed *Heureojeo Itdeon Saramdeul* with Tae-ha.”

“Earlier, Actor Lee said that he is the one who thinks of Actor Kang the most like a real brother. I’d like to hear your opinion on that, Actor Seon.”

Seon Min-gi answered with his characteristic sharp glint in his eyes.

“He can think that way. Everyone is free to have their own thoughts. However, if I were to say one thing, it’s that I didn’t come here today expecting anything from Tae-ha. As soon as Tae-ha mentioned the fan meeting, I naturally decided I should attend and simply came here. I think this explains who cherishes Tae-ha the most.”

A heavy blow from Seon Min-gi.

Lee Seok-hyun, who had been hit squarely by that blow, fiddled with his forehead.

At the same time, immense cheers erupted from Taecho.

Because of that, a victorious smile naturally appeared on Seon Min-gi’s lips.

However, that smile didn’t last long. It was because Han Yun-seong, who had been observing the situation, brought his microphone to his mouth.

An Ji-yeon quickly gave Han Yun-seong the floor.

“Oh. Actor Han. You have something you want to say. Great. Go ahead.”

“Senior Seon Min-gi told an interesting story, but my thoughts are actually different. They say ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Senior Seon Min-gi, like me, had the chance to work with Tae-ha twice, but you gave that up and worked in the United States. That choice wasn’t wrong, but to say you cherish Tae-ha the most after that — isn’t that a contradiction? Above all, I hope you remember who most recently worked on a project with Tae-ha.”

A counterattack from Han Yun-seong, who everyone thought was mild-mannered because of his constant, kind smile. Seon Min-gi’s expression crumpled for a moment at that counterattack.

Ultimately, Seon Min-gi couldn’t hold back and refuted Han Yun-seong’s point.

“You said we did two projects together, but among those, *Critical Point* is a project where Tae-ha appeared as a Supporting Actor. I wonder if it’s right to count that as a full project together. Also, Tae-ha and I danced and sang together recently at a fan meeting. I don’t think either of you two has had an experience like that.”

The atmosphere went beyond heated and became agitated. At this point, even An Ji-yeon, who had been purely enjoying herself, couldn’t help but be flustered.

Tae-ha also felt that things couldn’t go on like this and was about to speak up to intervene.

However, one step ahead of him, Lee Seok-hyun raised his microphone and shouted.

“Don’t ignore my sincerity! I’ve even gone to a sauna with Tae-ha!”

A silence began to flow along with Lee Seok-hyun’s shout.

After a long silence, Han Yun-seong and Seon Min-gi both spoke up without hesitation.

“How was it?”

“Was it good?”

The battle for Tae-ha.

It was the moment the winner suddenly tilted toward Lee Seok-hyun.