Chapter 115: The First Rejection

The day after the secret pool party on Jeju Island, to which only VIP guests were invited.

Kevin had been standing in front of Grace Kim’s bedroom door since early morning. Grace usually liked to sleep in, so if she wasn’t awake yet, there could be problems with her morning schedule. Since they had worked together for a long time, she would usually understand if he entered her room for the sake of the schedule.

'She took an extra emergency key from me yesterday.'

Kevin had a vague idea of what that meant. Despite being a Hollywood top star, Grace was the type to approach a man she was interested in directly rather than standing on her pride. Currently, she was infatuated with an unknown Korean drama writer named Lee Junghyuk. Kevin had seen her ignoring her acquaintances to spend all her time with Lee Junghyuk at the party yesterday, so he assumed she had given him the key to her room.

However, to appear on Jimmy Ference’s talk show on NBC tonight, they absolutely had to board the 10:00 AM flight from Jeju Air. To make that happen, he had to drag her out of the room and head straight for the airport, even if he had to force her.

'If he’s still with that man, things might get awkward, but what can I do?'

Kevin knocked cautiously on the door and called her name.

"Grace?"

Unexpectedly, Grace’s voice immediately drifted from inside the room. "It’s open, you can come in."

Relieved, Kevin opened the door and entered the bedroom. Grace was already in the middle of applying light makeup and was fully dressed, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

"I’ll head out as soon as I touch up my makeup."

Kevin looked around awkwardly before catching her eye in the vanity mirror. "Did that man leave already?"

"Who? I was the only one here."

"Oh, come on, Grace, you don’t have to hide it from me. You took that extra key yesterday to give to Writer Lee Junghyuk, didn’t you?"

"Ah, that? I did give it to him."

If he had received the key from Grace, the two of them surely should have spent the night together. Yet, seeing no sign of the man, it seemed Lee Junghyuk must have left early in the morning without Kevin noticing.

"He must be an early riser, seeing as he left this early."

"Ha. Kevin. Let’s stop talking about that."

Noticing Grace’s unusually gloomy expression, Kevin sat in a nearby chair and asked seriously, "Did something bad happen? What’s wrong?"

"Lee Junghyuk... he actually didn’t sleep in my room. He just left."

"Good heavens, is that true? You were really in this bedroom alone last night?"

"Yes. Honestly, the man is like a rock. We hung out until late at night, drinking and talking, but then he just called a taxi for himself in the early morning and left."

Grace stood up from the vanity and slowly spun around, as if asking him to look at her. Wearing a pink tartan check linen shirt over a white crop top paired with light blue jeans, Grace looked as fresh and beautiful as a wholesome cowgirl from the Texas plains.

"Tell me honestly, do I look bad lately?"

"Oh, Grace. No way. If you look bad, every other actress in this industry should just retire."

In truth, Kevin had been with Grace since her rookie days and viewed her more like family, so he didn’t look at her romantically. But putting that aside and looking at her objectively, Grace was a woman any man, regardless of being from the East or West, would find attractive.

'That’s why even the famous Timothy chased after her.'

The scandal between Timothy Framel, hailed as the most beautiful actor of the 21st century after Leorio, and Grace Kim had been hot news even in a place as chaotic as Hollywood. Timothy had famously looked at women as if they were stones, leading to rumors that he might be gay because he hadn’t had a scandal for so long. Only the staff at Grace’s and Timothy’s agencies knew that Timothy had been so smitten by Grace's charms that he had followed her around every day for a while.

'And Grace was rejected? By a man?'

In all the dating history Kevin had witnessed, Grace had always been the one to do the rejecting; no man had ever pushed her away. Just how much self-control and stubbornness did this Korean man, Lee Junghyuk, possess? It was understandable why Grace, who had been rejected by a man for the first time since her debut, kept sighing as she fixed her makeup with a dejected face.

"I knew he was unusual, but I never imagined you’d be pushed away, Grace. That Lee Junghyuk has incredible self-control."

"That’s why I want him even more."

"I have to admit, he has a remarkable mindset."

Grace put on her sunglasses and grabbed her mini-bag, signaling she was ready to go.

"So, are you going to keep dating that writer?"

"Of course. Don't you remember? Do you know how much I cut my guarantee just for this date?"

"I know. Though I couldn't understand it at the time."

"Just wait and see. By the time filming ends, he won’t be able to live without me."

"Now that’s the Grace Kim I know. I have the car waiting downstairs. Shall we go?"

A short while later, Grace Kim and her entourage emerged from the pool villa. Soon, a line of black vans began racing down the road toward Jeju Airport.

After his fourth date with Grace on Jeju Island ended, I was preparing to head back out again, even though I had only returned to my studio apartment in Yeouido a few hours ago. I was concerned that I was spending more time out lately than writing, but today's schedule was just as important as my date with Grace. I drove my car with a body still heavy from exhaustion.

Click

"Phew."

With a deep sigh, I stepped out of the car and arrived at a familiar hospital. It was the Agape Urology Clinic, run by my childhood friend, Chang-su. The sign reflected Chang-su’s ambition to support the love of others through the self-sacrifice of looking at other people's genitals for the rest of his life.

Anyway, thanks to the heads-up Chang-su had given me, I was able to bypass the registration desk at the grandly named Agape Hospital and go straight into the consultation room. The room was somewhat dimly lit for some reason, making me feel as calm as a believer entering a cathedral.

Chang-su, wearing a black dress shirt under his white doctor’s coat, asked me in a solemn voice.

"What brings you here in person, Writer Lee Junghyuk?"

"Why are you suddenly using formal speech?"

"Haha. My friend, whom I fed and looked after during our college days, hasn't contacted his only friend since becoming famous. It feels a bit awkward, you see."

Looking at Chang-su as he feigned disappointment, I pulled the corners of my mouth down and made a sound.

"Sigh, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to Sung-jae’s villa with me. I guess that won't work out?"

"Sung-jae? You mean Actor Lee Sung-jae’s villa, the one where you said there was an amazing fishing spot?"

"But since you said it’s awkward now, I guess I can’t invite you."

Chang-su beamed as if he had never said a word, grabbed my hands tightly, and shook his head vigorously.

"Oh, come on, friend. I was just joking. How have you been? Everything okay?"

"I’ve had a few things happen. That’s why I’m here."

"What happened?"

I told Chang-su the fresh story from just yesterday. I explained how I was invited to a pool party on Jeju Island by a famous top star, Grace, and how we had a great time swimming, eating barbecue, and drinking cocktails. While I was talking, Chang-su scratched his thinning hair and asked in a voice dripping with envy.

"Who did you go with? Was it Jiwon?"

"It wasn't Jiwon. Just listen."

"Ugh, you lucky bastard."

I described how a romantic atmosphere developed as we shared our inner thoughts and life stories. Chang-su, listening to the anonymous story of what was about to happen under the blue night sky of Jeju as the alcohol kicked in and the night deepened, asked me.

"So why did you come to Seoul? Was she not your type?"

"No, she’s a very famous actress, though I can't reveal her name."

"Then what? Did some urgent business come up?"

I lowered my voice cautiously and spoke to Chang-su.

"As you know, I have that very common, not-at-all-fatal condition that about 30% of middle-aged Korean men suffer from, right?"

"Yeah, erectile dysfunction doesn't exactly threaten your life."

"...Chang-su. I don't think I can get it up again."

That was it. Honestly, it wasn't like I acted like a stiff, traditional nobleman when Grace seduced me yesterday. I was actually tempted to just close my eyes and let myself get swept up in that movie-like scandal for one night. I had asked my precious friend, who had been on strike for a long time, if he wanted to work for once. But he seemed like he hadn't cooled his anger yet and showed no sign of ending the strike.

Well... that’s what happened. Recalling last night made me feel wronged, and my words unintentionally became a rant.

"I mean, since I’m a writer, I spend most of my time sitting, my sleep patterns are unstable, and also..."

"I get it, so stop, you jerk."

Chang-su stood up and cut me off. "I’ll talk to the administration office and get you some especially effective medicine."

Chang-su walked over to me, shook his head, and patted my shoulder. "I take back being envious. Ahem."

After receiving a three-month supply of Chang-su’s special erectile dysfunction treatment, I walked out of the hospital with my head hanging low.

A few days later.

Im Seong-hee and Jeong Tae-mi visited the studio apartment for the first time in a while. Since starting their respective projects, the two of them had mostly been traveling between the studio provided by God Media and the office.

"What brings you both here?"

"Does something have to happen for us to visit? We just came to see your face, Writer."

Im Seong-hee’s hands were full of homemade side dishes.

"Oh, you don't have to keep bringing these things."

"It seems like you haven't been eating well since you've been living alone, Sir."

"Since you're here, let's all have dinner together. I'll order whatever you want."

For the first time in a long time, we set a grand table away from the desk. We turned on the TV in the living room and had a bustling dinner. Before eating, Jeong Tae-mi asked as she saw me opening a pharmacy bag and taking medicine.

"Writer, are you sick? Why do you have so much medicine from the hospital?"

Jeong Tae-mi asked with a worried face as she looked at the medicine bag on the kitchen island.

"Oh, that... it’s just, you know, vitamins. Chang-su gave them to me. Haha."

"Hmm, well, as long as you aren't sick. You have to take care of your health. You know that, right?"

"Of course. Hahaha. Ha... ha..."

Just as the awkward questions were coming, everyone's attention was drawn to a news report flowing from the TV.

[At 8:00 PM today, Korean time, news has arrived that Director Bong Chan-ho, who won four awards at the Academy Awards last year, has been nominated as a finalist again and has once again won the Best Director award. This is the fourth time in history and the first for an Asian...]

The news reaching us was about the giant of Asia and the director of The Mugunghwa Flowers Have Bloomed, which was the competitor to my upcoming work, The Traveler. It was the news of Director Bong Chan-ho becoming the first Asian to win two consecutive Academy Awards.