Chapter 19
“Ah, no, it wasn’t like you deliberately tried to deceive me. Perhaps I was careless with my words…”
“So that’s the extent of trust you had in me.”
“What?”
“I understand now that Seo Dongjin didn’t have much affection for the role of Yeonwoo. I’ll be taking my leave.”
‘That’s not true!’
As Kim Doyun turned away without hesitation, Seo Dongjin hurriedly ran up to stop him.
“You’re blaming me, aren’t you? Damn it, I knew it! It’s just as I thought. To you, there’s no shortage of actors. You won’t miss someone like me, who’s been breaking his back analyzing scripts and swimming every day. You’ll forget about me soon enough.”
“……”
“Why can’t you say anything? At least—damn it—shouldn’t you at least apologize?!”
Kim Doyun looked at Seo Dongjin for a long moment before finally opening his firmly closed lips to speak.
“There was once an actor I knew.”
“……”
“They said they couldn’t stop crying for days because they wanted to act so badly.”
That actor was none other than Seo Dongjin.
The actor who became a top star through A Summer’s Cantabile, dominating the drama industry and becoming a central figure of the Korean Wave.
When it was later revealed that Seo Dongjin had been secretly donating, fans were ecstatic.
A handsome actor and a philanthropic angel?
Fans idolized him, believing he had been born with a silver spoon and raised with love.
Until photos from his past as a nightclub promoter surfaced online.
He had claimed that his father was strict, his mother was an artist, and his parents had strongly opposed his acting career. But this narrative was torn apart, and he became a subject of ridicule.
[“I’ll take any role, just give me a chance. I’ll do anything. If I can’t act, I’m just trash. I have no family, no nothing!”]
Years later, a broken Seo Dongjin came to Kim Doyun. He reeked of alcohol and cigarettes, and the brilliance of his former self had completely disappeared.
Yet, Kim Doyun put him back in front of the camera.
The reason was simple.
Seo Dongjin, who had said he couldn’t stop crying because he wanted to act so desperately, had one specific role that Doyun wanted him to play.
It was a supporting role—a con artist who betrayed even his benefactors for money and success, meeting an unapologetic and composed demise in the end.
Kim Doyun accepted the truth of Seo Dongjin’s lies about his past.
‘He probably wanted to hide it. That’s understandable.’
Everyone has at least one secret buried deep within them. Everyone has nights when they lie awake thinking, Why did I do that back then? and feel the urge to bury their face in their hands with regret.
When Doyun spoke with Seo Dongjin, he realized that Dongjin didn’t regret his past as much as he regretted boasting about being born with wealth and love.
So Doyun had told him:
[“Then you won’t act arrogant anymore, right? Why not transform completely into a villain?”]
The opportunity Doyun gave was met with Seo Dongjin’s gratitude, expressed through his acting.
Seo Dongjin transformed into a bewitching con artist, captivating everyone and leaving them in awe.
“Seo Dongjin really is an actor,” viewers had praised his performance.
After returning to the past, Doyun had ignored Seo Dongjin’s lies to fans and viewers because he believed in his talent.
No one but Seo Dongjin could play the fisherman’s son, Yeonwoo, in A Summer’s Cantabile.
And as a man, an actor, and a human being, the story of the fisherman’s son who gambled everything for the most precious love resonated with Seo Dongjin’s life.
Although living a false life, Seo Dongjin would move countless viewers with his remarkable performance in A Summer’s Cantabile.
That conviction had driven Kim Doyun to ensure Seo Dongjin’s casting.
Recalling his past, Kim Doyun spoke softly.
“Acting… I don’t know much about it. I’m not an actor, after all. But the words of an actor who said they couldn’t stop crying because they wanted to act moved me deeply.”
“……”
“They said that while their entire life was a lie, the one time they were truthful was when they were acting. That’s where I found trust. I thought you shared that same sentiment, Seo Dongjin.”
Seo Dongjin trembled, as though struck by an arrow in his heart. He couldn’t breathe.
Though he knew the reason, he feigned ignorance, shrugging as he asked.
“Maybe I misunderstood. Isn’t that right, Mr. Seo?”
Seo Dongjin, still unable to catch his breath, looked at Kim Doyun with trembling eyes.
‘He knows about my past.’
How had he found out? Not even his agency’s CEO knew about it. Even more shocking was that despite knowing, Doyun had still wanted him to play the role of Yeonwoo.
Not the poor orphan who worked as a nightclub promoter to make ends meet, but the actor Seo Dongjin.
The eyes evaluating him only as an actor.
And the expression that seemed to ask how much he truly, desperately wanted to play Yeonwoo.
That was enough. Enough to trust and follow this person.
“N-no, you saw me correctly. Then, um… what should I do now?”
Seo Dongjin’s voice trembled as he asked.
“If you truly want to play Yeonwoo in A Summer’s Cantabile, wait patiently. And be more desperate than you are now.”
“…If I wait with a truly desperate heart, will that be enough?”
“It will. Also, take this.”
Kim Doyun handed him a script.
“This is the revised script.”
Actor casting was officially considered off the table, so there was no reason for Kim Doyun to hand him the revised script.
Seo Dongjin accepted the script with both hands, as if it were a treasure.
“Thank you.”
“It’s been revised to make it much easier for you to perform.”
“…Yes!”
Seo Dongjin turned to head toward the swimming pool.
Knowing that Doyun was watching him, he decided to demonstrate his desperation, even if it meant humiliation.
He reached into the trash can.
‘Ugh! My arm won’t reach.’
The public trash can was too deep, so he had to bend over awkwardly to fish out the swimming gear.
Dusting off the dirt clinging to the items, Seo Dongjin sprinted toward the Jamsil swimming pool.
‘That level of determination will suffice.’
When an actor becomes passionate about their role and immerses themselves fully, the drama comes alive.
Dongjin might do an even better job as Yeonwoo than in the previous timeline.
‘Now, all that’s left is to wait.’
Although the casting was officially void, it was just a pause in the process.
This year’s early heatwave required the production to move quickly.
By nature’s law and seasonal timing, Seo Dongjin would undoubtedly become the lead.
Just then, Eun Jihoon’s future news materialized in the air.
[With unprecedented high temperatures recorded, the east coast surpasses 30°C. Despite being early May, beachgoers have already arrived to enjoy the sea…]
‘Yeah, I already knew that.’
Smiling faintly, Doyun continued walking.
***
“Am I raising a college-aged son now? I can see discarded socks, but I can’t seem to find Kim Doyun’s face anywhere?”
As he entered the front door, Go Dongsoo’s nagging voice greeted him. Doyun chuckled and replied.
“Am I married now? Did I suddenly get a wife?”
“Ugh! That just gave me chills.”
Clad in shorts and a t-shirt, Dongsoo shivered dramatically as he munched on dried pollack with a can of beer.
Since the male lead for the movie was finalized, he seemed more relaxed these days.
Three cats darted across the living room, chasing after each other, while tangled fur rolled around like tumbleweed.
Despite being a culinary genius, Dongsoo had no interest in cleaning.
The kitchen sparkled, but the rest of the house was a chaotic mix of cat fur and sand.
Usually, Doyun kept the place clean, but his recent busy schedule left everything untended.
“Phew, I can’t breathe.”
Every breath tickled his nose with cat fur.
“If you breathe through your mouth, you’ll end up swallowing even more fur. Want a beer? The kimchi fridge is packed with them.”
“I’ll pass.”
Doyun grabbed the TV remote, tuned into a rerun of a recently concluded drama, and sat on the couch.
He needed to scout staff who might be taking a break after finishing a drama—art directors, musicians, cameramen, and editors.
Cinematographers and editors, in particular, were essential for elevating the quality of the drama.
As he flipped through channels, a commercial edited by Jiseonju flashed on the screen.
[Hey! Why does the air in our house taste so good?]
A cheerful girl took a deep breath, inhaling the air particles into her nose.
A boy visiting a friend’s house glanced toward the screen, addressing the viewers directly.
It felt as though the ad targeted countless parents watching TV in their living rooms.
The boy spoke with envy.
[Mom, what about our house?]
‘How many cuts did they piece together for such a short commercial?’
The ad was a masterpiece, seamlessly blending frames at a meticulously controlled pace.
‘I need to hire Jiseonju as the editor, no matter what.’
As he made this resolution, Dongsoo spoke up.
“Should we buy an air purifier too?”
“Did you wash your feet? Something smells funny.”
“It’s because it’s time to express Whitey’s anal glands.”
So the smell was from the cat?
Watching Doyun edge away from Whitey, Dongsoo chuckled.
“I don’t know, I think I’m getting addicted to the smell.”
“Not alcohol-addicted?”
“Beer doesn’t count as alcohol.”
Dongsoo crumpled his empty beer can like a sheet of paper, showing off his strength.
“Maybe I should enter a beer-drinking contest. You should stop drinking. You’ll get cancer.”
“What nonsense.”
Then again, even in Doyun’s previous life, Dongsoo was alive and well, so maybe drinking beer didn’t cause cancer after all.
As Dongsoo grabbed another beer from the kitchen, he asked, as if he just remembered something.
“Oh, right! Yoonho said that Hwang Changsoo transferred to your company. Have you run into him yet?”
Their academy classmate Park Yoonho worked as an FD at the broadcasting station, so he must have heard the news first.
Doyun responded indifferently.
“Probably, yeah.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I ran into him briefly. He broke his arm, so I doubt he’ll be working anytime soon.”
“Broke his arm? You did that, didn’t you?”
“Why would I do such a thing? I didn’t even lay a finger on him.”
All he did was gently kick a golf ball toward the charging Hwang Changsoo.
Raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, Doyun dismissed the accusation. Dongsoo squinted at him.
“Yep, you definitely did it. You didn’t use your hands; you used your feet.”
—
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