SDM 23
by Soraii“Chae-yoon… Let’s not do this and go out instead, okay?”
“Yeah. Aunt gave us invitations to a production announcement. Let’s go see that.”
The twins sitting on his bed had been repeating variations of this phrase all morning behind his back. Meanwhile, Seong-woon was working on homework he hadn’t finished yesterday.
Just a month from the start of the semester, Seong-woon was so stressed from studying that he thought he might be going bald, but thankfully, Sang-hyun’s constant teaching wasn’t in vain, and he had improved enough to solve example problems on his own.
During that time, although Sang-hyun occasionally made sarcastic remarks, he had become much less hostile than before. Even so, compared to when he was “Jeon Seong-woon,” the level of kindness seemed to be less than 10%.
“I need to do my homework.”
“What do you mean ‘homework’!”
“And I have to attend lectures in the afternoon…”
“Just skip it.”
“I can’t.”
“Then what about after school? The production announcement is at 6 anyway. Let’s watch that and go eat. I want to eat beef after so long…”
“I have to go to a study group meeting.”
“Why do you need to do that now?”
As successful artists in the ruthless art industry, they couldn’t understand the mind of an ordinary student. Whether their success was bought with money or came from innate talent, he wasn’t sure. Mentioning the idea of buying success with money reminded him of that damn “pulling strings” comment again.
“By the way, did I get into university through a donation?”
“Huh?”
“…Just curious. I don’t think I studied that hard.”
“Did someone say that to you?”
“No, just… There seems to be this thing about asking if someone pulled strings with the chancellor to get in…”
“Who told you that you?!”
Judging by their overreaction, it seems they really did pull some strings to make him get in. As their similar faces suddenly pressed close, Seong-woon backed away.
“…Did you really do that?”
“Why would we put in so much effort merely to get into a Korean university? If anything, we’d make a donation to get into an overseas university fair and square.”
“Right! You could have gotten into Yale with a donation!”
As if they would have let him go abroad anyway. With how worried they are, even adding CCTVs in the room, would they have allowed him to set foot in the far-off American continent? Seong-woon chuckled as he solved the last problem and put a period.
So did they pull strings or not? As Seong-woon stared at them blankly, Ho-yoon sighed and waved his hand.
“You really took the college entrance exam to get in. It was a tough competition through regular admissions.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, really. We didn’t even intend to send you to that school in the first place… If anything, the school contacted us to confirm if it was really our Ryu Chae-yoon who applied.”
Whether it was a tough competition or not, it’s really ridiculous that someone smart enough to get into the top department of a domestic university is struggling this much with a first-year mandatory course. Not drinking, not gaming, not going out, just studying. It felt like the rigid mind was finally loosening up a bit, and there was a sense of gradual improvement.
Ha-yoon, who briefly glanced over Seong-woon’s practice problem solutions, pointed at one of the problems.
“Isn’t this accounting? You could just ask Brother Chang-yun. I heard he was a genius in economics studies.”
“I’ve already finished the homework.”
“Then can we please go to the production announcement in the evening?”
“No, I told you I have a study group to meet up with…”
“You can skip for a day.”
“I need to study.”
“Why?”
Come on, why are you like this when a student wants to study? If I don’t get over 80 points on the midterm exam, it’s game over, and both your sister Ryu Chae-yoon and Jeon Seong-woon will end up dead.
“They’re going to show the first episode there. It’s Director Shin Seong-ok’s new work…”
“Who did you say?”
“Director Shin Seong-ok! This time at RBS…”
“I’ll go.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll go.”
Seong-woon immediately turned on his phone and searched for Shin Seong-ok. He was a director Seong-woon had consistently worked with since his teens, and one of the few who didn’t show much aversion to Jeon Seong-woon, whom even his parents were wary of. He occasionally gave him small roles and never looked at him with malice, leaving a good impression on Seong-woon.
He received many love calls from the film industry but consistently made dramas, and thanks to him, Seong-woon was able to live without starving. Shin Seong-ok created works full of love for humanity and was the director of the drama “Scars,” which Seong-woon had watched countless times. Come to think of it, “Scars” also starred Baek Sang-hyeon.
“It’ll be interesting.”
“Huh? What will?”
“The work that sister wants to go see at the production announcement.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah, haven’t you looked at what it’s about?”
“Ah, well…”
Pushing aside the awkwardly smiling Ha-yoon, Ho-yoon stood squarely in front of Seong-woon.
“She just wants to go out with you! She’s just using this as an excuse!”
“Ah, I see…”
“…Well, anyway, we’ll come to your school when your lecture ends, Chae-yoon.”
“Okay.”
To think I didn’t even know Director Shin Seong-ok’s new work was coming out because I’ve been so busy…
Seong-woon headed to school, embracing his excited feelings.
Despite wearing a mask, hat, and even glasses, it wasn’t enough to hide his identity. Seong-woon neatly ignored the cameras and gazes following him and sat in the back of the large lecture hall.
It would probably be better to sit in front to understand the lecture better, but that would disrupt the class, so he chose to sit in the back. He now understood why Baek Sang-hyun came in just before class started and sat at the very back.
For some reason, no one sat in the seat next to Seong-woon, as if it was recognized as Sang-hyun’s. Wondering why Sang-hyun hadn’t arrived even though it was almost time to start, Seong-woon checked his phone messenger. There was a message in the study group chat.
Baek Sang-hyun: I’ll be missing today’s class and study group.
Park Si-hoo (Group Leader): Where are you going, senior?
Baek Sang-hyeon: I have something scheduled.
Park Si-hoo (Group Leader): Ah, have a good time.
Baek Sang-hyeon: Yeah, thanks.
Ah, he’s not coming today…
Seong-woon, who momentarily felt a bit disappointed and shook his head. To think he’d raise his intimacy level so quickly just because of a few kind interactions. He really has a broad mind, in a bad way.
Seong-woon listened to the lecture, barely managing to raise his concentration, which had dropped by more than half. The professor’s lecture, based on many case studies, was quite worth listening to. But strangely, it felt like time passed faster when Baek Sang-hyun was there… Maybe because there were no watchful eyes beside him.
“Chae-yoon!”
As soon as he left the lecture hall, the twin siblings and manager Hyeon-seok were waiting. As Seong-woon was dragged away with his arms held by Ha-yoon and Ho-yoon, he took out his phone and left a message in the study group chat.
You: I won’t be attending the study group today either.
Park Si-hoo (Group Leader): Yeah, I saw you being dragged awayㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
You: Yes, my brother and sister want me to go somewhere. I’ll see you next week.
The three of them were tightly squeezed in the back seat. Why like this… It’s not like they only have one car, they could split up or have one manager get out and sit in the front seat.
“…It’s cramped.”
“It’s fine because Chae-yoon is thin.”
“I’m uncomfortable.”
“We’ll be there soon. Soon.”
They’re completely unaffected. No matter how annoyed or angry he gets, the twins don’t listen to him at all. Seong-woon sighed softly and tried to sit as comfortably as possible.
How fickle the human body is. In the past, he had sold his car and always used public transportation, but now he’s complaining about sitting in the middle of the spacious back seat of this large car.
“Want to switch seats?”
“You said we’ll be there soon.”
“Hyeon-seok will step on it.”
“I won’t be stepping on it, but Hun-jin says he’ll try his best.”
The road manager, who had been quiet, was suddenly put on the spot. With a determined look, Hun-jin started the car and skillfully navigated through the complicated Seoul roads.
“Where’s the production announcement?”
“Yeouido Grand Hotel.”
Ah, that hotel that lives off production announcements from Yeouido and Sangam broadcasters. Seong-woon had been there a few times too, and it’s famous for its bad finger food. Giving up on the idea of eating anything at the production announcement, Seong-woon reconfirmed the dinner menu.
“We’re having beef for dinner, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve already arranged it.”
Meat is precious. Seong-woon nodded and scanned the Yeouido skyline filled with tall buildings. He used to frequent Yeouido so much that he wore down the threshold, but now it feels unfamiliar after not visiting for a few months.
“Let’s fix your hair and face a bit before we go.”
“Is it that really necessary?”
“You’re a celebrity, you know.”
“I just had one minor role…”
“Yeah, a minor actor with 6 million followers.”
“……”
Ryu Chae-yoon’s SNS had indeed surpassed 6 million followers a few days ago. Lately, he had been working hard on improving his selfie skills, uploading a few selfies whenever he has spare time at school, and also posting photos taken by Hyeon-seok. Each time he did, he could see the followers rapidly increasing.
“I guess Chae-yoon was destined to be a celebrity. People just flock to you.”
Seong-woon agreed with that. While some people can’t attract a single fan no matter what they do, others naturally draw people without doing much. How ironic.
“We’re not standing on the photo wall, right?”
“No. We’re just regular guests, don’t worry about it.”
Since he had shown his face on screen once, he should at least have his hair and makeup done. Celebrities shouldn’t appear in public without makeup if they can help it. Even Jeon Seong-woon, who didn’t have many fans, always took care of his skin makeup and eyebrows. He even regularly applied tinted lip balm. Sitting in a chair at a salon not far from the hotel, Seong-woon awkwardly had his makeup done. He couldn’t get used to the shower of compliments and gentle care.
“Your skin is so beautiful. You hardly need any photo editing, right? Your eyebrows are so even too.”
“Haha.”
“How is your lip so pale I’ll just apply some clear lip balm.”
Awkward situations should be glossed over with a smile. As Seong-woon smiled lightly, the staff applied flawless skin makeup and lightly brushed his nose tip and chin, saying they’d add some shading in case he gets photographed.
“You have such thick hair too?”
The whole family seemed to have abundant hair. Even the middle-aged father didn’t have an M-shaped hairline, so this seemed to be another family trait.
“It’s so thick that I shave the inside in summer.”
“Oh my, you really do.”
Ho-yoon, sitting next to him, lifted his hair to show. Indeed, about half of the inside of his hair was shaved. The top hair was covering it like a lid.
“Should I shave mine too? It’s so annoying when hair ties break when I tie my hair up.”
“Shave some. It’s super cool.”
“But it shows when you tie your hair up.”
“That’s why you add some scratches there as a fashion statement.”
“Oh. Lightning shape?”
“Not bad, right?”
Listening to the siblings’ idle chatter, Seong-woon followed the staff’s instructions, closing and opening his eyes, then tightly shutting them again in the hot air from the hair dryer.