Another reality. Another person's world. Park Haseong, a man scraping along at rock bottom, struggling just to make money. Kang Woojin, who had taken hold of his life. And the sign language of the woman Woojin had just witnessed.
[Honey, I'll stay here and keep this child company. The party is too boring.]
At that moment, a cold wind brushed across Kang Woojin's face. His senses were functioning perfectly. Naturally, they were Park Haseong's senses, which meant they were Woojin's as well.
Maybe it was because of the cold weather. As he watched her sign, two emotions rose inside him. They were emotions laced with a harsh sense of reality, one so cold that there was no trace of warmth in it.
The first was profit and loss.
'Would staying here benefit me? Wouldn't it just be a waste of time?'
To people of high social standing, this would be nothing more than a brief amusement, something to laugh off and forget. But to Kang Woojin, crushed under debt like gravity itself, it was a fight that felt tied to life and death.
In the end, everything came down to money.
'Can I make money right now?'
The second emotion was discomfort.
The middle-aged man with the pompadour hairstyle streaked with gray looked, to anyone's eyes, like the head of a chaebol family. The woman who seemed to be his wife stood beside him. How much wealth did they possess? Tens of billions, no, even trillions would not have been an exaggeration.
But Kang Woojin—or rather, Park Haseong—did not even have one million won in his bank account.
In other words, here, Kang Woojin was no different from livestock.
That was exactly how he felt.
'Damn it, why am I in such a rotten mood for no reason?'
It felt just like the suit he was wearing now. As if he were nothing more than a decorative piece dressed up for a moment's appearance. Revulsion welled up in him. His insides twisted like nausea. Damn it, this ill-fitting suit only made him feel more out of place.
No one had said it out loud, but Kang Woojin's self-worth had fallen all the way to the bottom.
Everything about Park Haseong was like this.
A defeatism so rotten it practically gave off a stench.
His insides were like a landfill overflowing with decay. The smell of rot constantly spoiled his mood. His outlook was negative. Everything looked disadvantageous.
Then, beautiful classical music reached Woojin's ears. It must have been coming from the party hall. The sky was too clear, too bright.
But Kang Woojin alone felt like his face was darkening.
It was right then.
"Hmm, what do you think?"
After hearing his wife's request, the middle-aged man spoke in a low voice.
"My wife seems to have taken a liking to you. What do you think? Could you stay with her until this event is over?"
His tone was soft, and there was even a faint smile on his face. Was it the ease of someone born into wealth?
Hearing the question, Woojin lightly scratched his chin and studied the woman's face. She, too, wore a faint smile. If the word elegance were given human form, would it not look something like her?
Elegant, dignified, composed, refined.
What else?
As he stared openly at the woman, Woojin pulled himself back to his senses. Staying with her would not be difficult, but he was technically working right now.
Think.
How could he turn this situation to his advantage without ruining it? Could he earn more than his hourly wage?
Park Haseong—or Kang Woojin—was not someone who lacked wit or resourcefulness.
Fine, whatever. Leave the rest to the rich bastard and let me show a little of how I really feel.
"I can do it, but as you can see, I'm working right now. If I leave my post, it might cause some inconvenience."
"Hmm, no, no. Just tell me whether you want to or not."
"...If you smooth things over with the manager, I think it should be fine."
"You want me to handle it? That's not difficult. Good. I'll take care of it. Then can you work hard for me? Hmm?"
The middle-aged man adjusted his perfectly tailored suit as if he were about to wrap things up. Right then, after swallowing hard, Kang Woojin stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"Thank you. But I didn't expect I'd end up using sign language today."
The middle-aged man quietly studied Woojin's eyes from up close, his smile deepening. There was cunning in his gaze, but also a subtle charisma.
"Young man, I like your eyes."
"What?"
"Desperate people are better than cunning ones."
Had he really been desperate?
Woojin felt vaguely unsettled, but the middle-aged man paid it no mind and pulled out his wallet.
"Hmm, I think this way will be cleaner. I'll buy your sign language skills and your time."
He took out two bills from his wallet and stuffed them into Woojin's suit jacket pocket.
"Take good care of my wife. And don't make eyes at her."
"...Understood."
With a grin, the man signed behind Woojin's head toward his wife.
[Have fun. I'm just curious—don't tell me you've fallen for this guy?]
Still smiling, the woman signed back in reply.
[Go back to work now.]
[Alright. I'll text you.]
The middle-aged man patted Woojin on the shoulder a couple of times, then turned away. Left alone with the woman, Woojin watched as she sat back down and tapped the empty chair in front of her with her right hand.
It was an invitation directed at him.
[What are you doing? Hurry up and get back to work.]
What exactly was going on here?
Without even checking the amount of money in his pocket, Kang Woojin had no choice but to sit down and talk with her. The time he spent with the woman passed more quietly than expected, without much incident.
[How are your parents?]
[They've passed away.]
[I'm sorry.]
[No, it's alright.]
[So are you alone now?]
[Yes. What about you, ma'am?]
[Me? I have the husband you just saw, two sons, and a daughter. But why did you learn sign language?]
"My mother had a disability. So I learned it from a young age."
It was nothing more than a simple exchange of background information and small topics.
How do you usually spend your time? Why do you work here? What have you been thinking about lately? What kind of food do you like best? Things like that.
It was all very ordinary conversation, yet strangely enough, the woman seemed to enjoy it. She laughed often. Maybe it was because her laughter sounded so bright that Woojin himself found the conversation enjoyable too.
Was it because he was using sign language again after so long?
Or because it reminded him of his mother?
"Haseong-ssi, you're the same age as my eldest son. My eldest lives on his own too, so I don't get to see him very often... Maybe that's why I feel this strange sense of familiarity with you."
Who knew.
There was no need to find an exact answer.
Time passed incredibly quickly.
The sky gradually darkened. Around then, the woman's phone vibrated. Soon after, she held out her hand to Woojin with a smile, asking for a handshake. She also signed something encouraging. Then she left her seat.
Only after she had completely disappeared did Kang Woojin slip a hand into his suit jacket pocket and check the money the middle-aged man had given him.
"...Damn."
Two one-million-won checks.
In other words, two million won.
Good grief. Throwing around money that easily. He would have to work like hell for a full month to make that much. Well, to people like them, it was probably nothing more than scraps of paper.
What was interesting was this—
"What?"
There was also a business card. It belonged to the middle-aged man.
Why had he given him his card?
Kang Woojin's heart started beating faintly.
Because a crack had appeared in his monotonous daily life.
──────────
The background and time changed.
Late at night, in his cramped studio apartment, Kang Woojin sat in front of his laptop and began searching for information about the people he had met that day.
As expected, they belonged to a chaebol family.
An elite family. A life so far above him it was like they belonged to a different world altogether. But while going through old articles, Woojin found something interesting.
It was about the middle-aged man he had met that day, the one with the slicked-back pompadour.
No—
Chairman Yoon Jeongbae.
In the past, Chairman Yoon Jeongbae had carried an unusual nickname.
"Male Cinderella."
It was the story of an ordinary man who married into a chaebol family by becoming the son-in-law of the eldest daughter. That had been Chairman Yoon Jeongbae's past, and the chaebol heiress Woojin had met that day was that very woman.
Her name was Yoo Hyeonji.
"...So that means the real power belongs to the woman? The chairman is just a puppet?"
Well, maybe things were different now.
Who cared?
Either way, to Kang Woojin, all of it felt like something out of a novel. Lying down in his narrow studio apartment, he glanced at the two-million-won checks and the business card he had received that day.
The important thing was the card.
Why had he given it to him?
There had to be a reason.
Woojin stared blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts tangled in a knot. The best option was obvious.
Reach out first.
And yet, for some reason—
"Ah, damn it, isn't this just going to drag me into trouble again?"
A strange anxiety crept over him. It felt like standing right before Pandora's box. It was oddly unsettling, yet at the same time, it felt like a quiet opportunity.
Reason told him to ignore it.
Instinct kept urging him to make contact.
Woojin's gaze fell again on the two-million-won checks.
Money.
Ah, screw it, let's just call it money.
In the end, the very next day, Woojin sent a text to the number printed on the card. The message was simple.
"Thank you for the money."
That same night, Chairman Yoon Jeongbae called him.
"Where do you live?"
The chaebol chairman arrived in front of Kang Woojin's—no, Park Haseong's—studio apartment. In a daze, Woojin climbed into the luxury sedan. Yoon Jeongbae sat in the back seat. He looked somewhat disheveled, without his jacket, his tie loosened, and his shirt slightly undone. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him.
Looking out the window, he spoke in a low voice.
"It was the first time."
Tense, Woojin tried to take in his surroundings. The inside of the car was quiet except for the engine, while the driver's seat held only the driver's silhouette and the faint smell of cigarettes.
Woojin swallowed hard.
"...What was?"
"My wife behaving like that."
"Oh."
"She talked about you the whole way home, you know? A woman who normally doesn't show much emotion was smiling all the time."
A cold woman?
Woojin frowned slightly. Yoon Jeongbae grinned and met his eyes.
"Your debt is just under a hundred million won."
"Are... are you talking about me right now?"
"Yes. Your parents left you nothing but burdens. Must have been hard. That's why you work yourself to death like this, right?"
"Isn't that... a little harsh?"
"Too harsh? Then let me improve your mood. What if I paid off your debts and found you a job too? Say... five million won a month?"
What the hell is this lunatic even talking about?
Woojin felt irritation and curiosity mixing together.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Too little? Fine, let's make it six million. The job is simple. You just have to become my wife's secretary."
Crossing his legs, Yoon Jeongbae rubbed his chin and smiled.
"Secretary sounds nice, but really, it's no different from being a servant. Be her conversation partner, keep her entertained, eat with her, go shopping with her. Other than when she's sleeping or when she doesn't need you, you'll always stay by her side. Even your days off will be decided with her."
"...?"
"Naturally, you'll live in my house. There are plenty of rooms."
Murmuring that, Yoon Jeongbae leaned closer and whispered,
"The goal is simple. Make my wife trust you blindly."
Woojin's eyes widened. His heart pounded like it would burst. He wanted to throw open the door and run immediately. That was his instinctive reaction.
But from somewhere deep inside him, something foul-smelling rose up again.
"...I'll do it."
That was Kang Woojin's voice.
Or rather, Park Haseong's.
"I thought it was a shortcut. Like some prank of fate that would become a turning point in my life."
But it was the beginning of a disaster.
──────────
Around noon that same day.
The place was a small theater called Cloud Theater near Hongdae Entrance. It was called a small theater, but the building itself was actually fairly large. Inside the three-story structure, there was a café, a simple brunch space, a mid-sized performance hall, and several waiting rooms, as well as an outdoor parking lot.
It was more than large enough to host all kinds of events.
Not only performances, but also plays, various events, and even celebrity fan meetings were held there. Usually, it was rented out by the hour, but today, Cloud Theater had been reserved for the entire day.
The one who had booked it was a film production company.
It was the Leech team.
There was still about two hours left before the audition schedule was set to begin. Normally, they would not have gone this far, but considering the level of actors participating in today's audition, renting out the entire theater was only natural.
It was a matter of consideration.
For actors in the very top ranks down to A-list stars, individual waiting rooms were a basic necessity.
The Leech production staff knew exactly which actors were attending, but the actors themselves had no information whatsoever about their competitors. That was for the best. Otherwise, awkward situations would have been unavoidable. Of course, there was no way to prevent competitors from crossing paths entirely, but they were at least trying to minimize it.
In any case—
Thunk!
Even though it was still early, a white van pulled into the outdoor parking lot of the small theater. It was clearly a celebrity vehicle. A moment later, the rear door, which had remained closed and quiet until then, slid open, and a woman wearing a short khaki padded jacket stepped out.
She had long hair falling to her chest and a beauty mark beneath one eye.
It was Hwalin.
Holding a thin file in one hand, she looked up at the rather large small-theater building in front of her.
Whew—
She let out a quiet breath. Her chubby manager and staff approached her. The manager spoke first.
"I guess because it's Director Ahn Gabok's project, even the audition scale is huge. They rented out the whole theater."
As she started walking, Hwalin gave a small shrug.
"This isn't some ordinary audition. It's not the kind of thing you could casually hold in a film office or agency."
"True. But is Kang Woojin really coming as one of the judges? Hwalin, are you okay with that? No matter how I think about it, that sounds rough."
"Shim Hanho sunbae-nim will be there too. If Woojin-ssi is there—no, if Kang Woojin-ssi is there, I actually feel more at ease."
"Ha... I don't know."
"Whether I succeed or not, when else am I ever going to get another chance to experience a project like this?"
Hwalin's answer was full of ambition.
'At first it was because of Woojin-ssi, but now that I'm actually here, I really want to do well. Whew, but I'm so nervous. It'll be okay. Once I see Woojin-ssi's face, I'll probably calm down a bit.'
With those thoughts in mind, she and her team entered the theater building. It was still quiet.
As she walked toward the elevator, Hwalin asked her manager,
"Oppa, which waiting room was ours again?"
"Room 2-B. It should be on the second floor. Let's go."
"Okay."
Her chubby manager pressed the elevator button.
And that was when it happened.
"······Hwalin?"
A familiar female voice came from the entrance. Hwalin and her team all turned at once. Five or six people were standing there. At the very front was a woman in a long white padded coat. She was tall, with long straight hair.
It was Hong Hye-yeon.
The moment Hwalin saw her, her eyes widened. Hong Hye-yeon was wearing much the same expression.
That was only natural.
Neither of them had known.
Soon, Hong Hye-yeon looked at Hwalin with wide eyes and asked,
"You... are you here for the audition too?"
With her lips parting slightly, Hwalin asked back,
"Unni, you too?"