The reading site, which I arrived at about thirty minutes early, was even more chaotic than last week.
I immediately looked for Kim Hyemi, who was restlessly pacing nearby as if she was anxious.
With a sigh, Kim Hyemi brushed back the strands of hair that fell across her forehead; her complexion was pale, obvious at a glance.
“Author.”
“Ah, Yeohu.”
Remembering our agreement at the last afterparty to drop formalities, Kim Hyemi called me more comfortably.
“Is something wrong? Things seem a bit more hectic than last time.”
“Well, this morning Ju Taegang’s father passed away, so it looks like it’ll be difficult for him to attend the reading today.”
“Ah…”
“Haah. Something like this happens all of a sudden. Life is unpredictable. Anyway, for today’s reading, the director will read Ju Taegang’s part, and tomorrow we’ll all go to the funeral hall together.”
“Would it be alright if I went too?”
Kim Hyemi nodded, as if to say she understood my feelings.
“Of course. No one would mind. I think all the main and supporting actors, the director, and I will go. Ju Taegang never seemed to have a hard time, but he must have been suffering inside, right?”
Kim Hyemi gave a bitter smile.
News about a celebrity’s parents or those around them often spreads even when they don’t want it to.
The same goes for the news of a parent’s passing or illness.
In Ju Taegang’s case, since almost nothing was known about his family, people speculated that his family lived overseas or that he came from wealth.
‘But judging by what I heard yesterday, that didn’t seem to be the case.’
On top of that, there were even false reports from certain media outlets claiming that his parents had committed fraud.
Ju Taegang usually ignored rumors and speculative articles about himself, so people thought he’d do the same this time, but for this particular matter, his side responded with unusual firmness.
People interpreted his strong response as, “Only this article was false, and all the previous rumors must have been true, so he didn’t respond before.”
But I could understand Ju Taegang.
‘Family matters are important.’
Luckily, starting with this episode, Han Serang had a lot of lines, so it wasn’t a big issue.
The reading continued without Ju Taegang and ended without problems.
Still, the lead couldn’t be absent for all the remaining readings, so ultimately, Ju Taegang would have to come for things to truly proceed.
The next day, everyone headed to the funeral hall for Ju Taegang’s father.
Ju Taegang greeted us warmly.
“You’re here? Yeohu and Yunwoo, you came too.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, all of you, for coming.”
“No, you’ve been through a lot.”
“This is what I should do. Please, come inside and have something to eat.”
Ju Taegang’s voice sounded more normal than usual.
But he was a great actor, and his eyes, so red and swollen it was almost embarrassing to see his earnest performance, showed just how much he had cried alone.
“That must be his mother. She looks really tired.”
Jung Yunwoo said as he spooned up some yukgaejang.
The atmosphere in the funeral hall wasn’t as somber as I’d expected.
It was thanks to Ju Taegang, who diligently greeted each guest. Maybe because of his fame and status, the place was packed with mourners, and there were many reporters outside as well.
“Let’s just eat, chat with Taegang a bit, and then quietly leave.”
The director said this and took a big spoonful of yukgaejang.
He also said that at a funeral, the best way to help is to eat well and just stay at your seat without saying much.
‘I wonder how many people came to my funeral.’
Or maybe I regressed before I even had a funeral.
I wasn’t the warmest person, so I didn’t have many close friends.
Even those I did spend time with eventually all left my side.
No, actually, I was the one who drove them away.
So, in the end, I must have died alone.
If only the system would at least tell me why I died, would it really be such a problem? What a heartless system.
…Even as I cursed it, I didn’t look much more compassionate, tossing aside the main quest the system so benevolently gave me with a “screw this.”
Anyway, I hope Ju Taegang will be okay after this.
Will something change because of this?
“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
“Yeohu, there are a lot of reporters on this floor, so use the one on the second floor. There’ll be fewer people up there.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Just as the director said, there weren’t any reporters up on the second floor, and the restroom line wasn’t long like it was downstairs.
As I was finishing up in a stall and about to leave, I overheard someone at the sinks talking about Senior Ju Taegang.
“Taegang-sunbae, he’s the chief mourner, huh.”
“He’s an only child, right? Of course he would be.”
If they’re calling him “sunbae,” they must be mourners on Ju Taegang’s side.
Did they come here because it’s a less crowded bathroom for celebrities?
“He should’ve treated people better before. Don’t you think? If you ask me, once the funeral’s over, he’ll run straight to the club.”
“Hey, come on.”
“What do you mean, ‘come on’? Don’t you remember back when we were rookies, all the crap that sunbae said? When he couldn’t get out there, all he did was curse people out, and now that he’s successful, look at him pretending to be some saint. Damn, anyone would think he’s the best in the world.”
“What’s all this about pretending to be clean? If you look at his SNS… he just lives his life. And you should cut down on your swearing too. What if someone hears you?”
“Who cares? All the mourners on sunbae’s side are on the first flo— Jeez, don’t slam the door like that!”
“Sorry.”
I couldn’t tell who they were by their voices, so I made a big show of opening the door and checked their faces.
‘Hmm.’
As expected, they were unfamiliar faces.
‘Judging by how they talk and the fact that they’re fully made up even here, they must be in the same industry.’
When I went to wash my hands next to the man who had been talking so energetically about Ju Taegang, the two of them started glancing at me nervously.
One even muttered, ‘Did that guy hear us?’ so I handed him a tissue and answered as well.
“Yes, I heard. I guess Senior Taegang’s personality wasn’t that great, huh?”
“What the—You listened in? Aren’t you going to introduce yourself or anything? That’s rude, you know.”
“Sorry. I didn’t think you’d be curious, since I’m just a newly debuted rookie actor. I’m Jeon Yeohu.”
When I extended my hand first and smiled brightly as I apologized, the guy seemed to relax and finally laughed as well.
“Oh, really? Is that so?”
“Senior’s reputation really isn’t that good, is it? I haven’t worked with him for long.”
They must have thought I’d be upset by their gossip, but after a moment of embarrassment, they started talking excitedly again.
Hmm.
Ju Taegang sure is popular. In this sort of way.
He could have managed people better, couldn’t he?
Well, if he had, he’d have more close juniors; but as far as I know, even before regression, that wasn’t the case.
“I’m telling you, people are just quiet now because he’s a top star, but honestly, I don’t like him much.”
He shrugged his shoulders. The trash talk went on for five whole minutes, and the friend who kept talking began to look more and more pale.
I just listened silently, and when I finished wiping my hands with a tissue and tossed it in the trash, I asked,
“You said earlier that senior used to badmouth others too—is that true?”
“Oh, definitely. That bastard, he went around talking trash about everyone. Didn’t he badmouth staff, too?”
“Hey, that was just because the staff messed up the schedule. He didn’t even really curse, just said don’t do it again—”
“Whatever, hey! Why should a celebrity act like a jerk? If you’re making that kind of money, you should learn to control yourself. Don’t you see me, living with my temper in check?”
…Is that really control?
“All those rumors about him have a reason, you know? You can tell just by looking at him. That bastard only got lucky he didn’t get sued. If he were just a regular person, he’d be caught by now.”
Well, that’s not entirely wrong.
But.
“That doesn’t mean you have to talk so much trash about him.”
Given how he’s talking so energetically about him in the bathroom, he’s not any better himself.
At my words, he ground his teeth.
“No way. Everyone should know. That guy’s a jerk. It’s not like I’m saying anything wrong.”
“You’re right. I should spread the word about seniors, too. Badmouthing the chief mourner at a funeral doesn’t seem very good either, does it?”
“…Wow, I thought you were nice, but you’re just nuts, aren’t you? You said you’re a rookie? Do you have any connections? What agency are you with?”
“No, I don’t have an agency yet.”
“Then you probably haven’t done any real work. I’ve even modeled and filmed two commercials!”
The way he yelled reminded me of a duck quacking.
To make matters worse, he spat as he shouted.
I had to wash my hands again, though I’d just washed them.
Ah…
Gross.
Sure, the spit was gross, but honestly, I couldn’t see how this guy was any better than Ju Taegang, whom he so passionately hated.
It reminded me of something Ju Taegang once said at a drinking party.
“It’s my own fault. I act like I have it all together and talk big just to cover up how lacking I am.”
What was the Ju Taegang I saw really like?
Would he really talk to staff that way? And if he did, would he not regret it?
And…
Even if none of it was true, was Ju Taegang a good person?
‘Honestly, no.’
If he were a good person, there’d be a truckload of positive stories about him instead of all these rumors.
Like Jung Yunwoo, whom I knew before I regressed.
Then does that make Ju Taegang a bad person?
If he were truly awful, wouldn’t he go through life never acknowledging his own faults—like this guy in front of me?
Like this guy.
Even before my regression, and now too,
I could never define people who were ambiguous.
Back then, I considered everyone who fell into this ambiguous category to be evil and pushed them away.
I thought they’d only be trouble and had nothing to do with my life.
But now.
With another chance given to me.
Maybe I could choose differently?
At least, right now.
“In my opinion,”
Ju Taegang seemed more decent than this guy.
“I think, as a person, Senior Ju Taegang is better than a senior who causes a scene at a funeral.”
As I bowed politely and tried to leave, the man grabbed my shoulder. But since he stepped too quickly on the wet restroom floor, as soon as he touched me, he slipped, hit his nose on the bathroom floor, and crashed down spectacularly.
“Ah, shit!!”
What a one-man show.
I clicked my tongue once and walked out of the restroom.
‘Let’s never cross paths again.’