SDM 8

There was no personal energy evident in Baek Sang-hyun’s acting. It was clean and flawless acting. An explosion of emotion without the need for any exaggeration or restraint. He perfectly executed the role of the protagonist who blows off the head of a zombie extra and rescues his younger brother.

Seong-woon was very familiar with Sang-hyun’s acting, but had to swallow his bewilderment inwardly. There was no question of whether he was okay or any support expected after the scene where Seong-woon falls after being hit by a bat; they didn’t even make eye contact.

Whether Sang-hyun knew about Seong-woon’s confusion or not, he greeted each passing staff member, remembering their names and asking about their well-being. So that was the Sang-hyun that Seong-woon knew.

“Young master, did you hurt your palm?”

“Huh? Ah…”

It seems Seong-woon slightly scraped it when bracing his fall to the ground. It was just the surface skin peeled off, but manager Hyeong-seok went to grab the first aid kit like lightning.

“I’m alright.”

Seong-woon belatedly said that he was alright, but Hyeong-seok had already gone to a place where Seong-woon’s voice could not be heard.

Just as Seong-woon was looking down at the slightly bleeding wound and wiping away his hand, Sang-hyun suddenly turned to look back and their eyes met. The corners of Sang-hyun’s mouth slightly raised, it was a clear sneer.

What was there to sneer at? The honorific “young master”? The manager making a fuss over something that could hardly be called an injury? Or Seong-woon’s very existence being overprotected by the manager?

Seong-woon quickly turned his head to look away and stood up. Shaking off his confused thoughts, he entered the waiting room and sat down, at which point the manager who brought the first aid kit poured disinfectant onto his palm.

“I said I’m alright.”

“The chairman would be heartbroken.”

This body may have a weak heart, but his immune system wasn’t weakened. He wouldn’t die from that kind of wound. Of course, his physical strength was pretty abysmal. It was as if he could see his HP bar depleting.

“A small wound can become a big one.”

“Yes.”

In times like these, it was faster to wrap things up by just agreeing compliantly. Seong-woon nodded obediently and just watched Hyeong-seok’s hands deftly applying the bandage.

“By the way, young master, you acted really well.”

“…Did I?”

“I was amazed. How do you even act action scenes that well? The director was full of admiration.”

To the extent of admiration, huh. Well, the other person was Baek Sang-hyun after all.

As drama fans say, the so-called ‘chemistry’ is incredibly important in acting, and it’s not limited just to romance.

Anyone who acts can definitely feel it – that acting with certain people is just really easy. And that’s precisely what triggers ‘chemistry’.

While Seong-woon can now tolerate even blatant overacting since he’s been at it for so long, among his peers Baek Sang-hyun was the only one who made acting feel this effortless.

At the manager’s sincere admiration, Seong-woon just nodded with a blank mind.

“But did something happen between me and that actor Baek Sang-hyun?”

“Yes? No…”

Truly nothing had happened. As Seong-woon slowly lost in thoughts without realizing it, the makeup artist approached and began peeling off the special makeup that was stuck all over him.

“Young master, I’ve prepared a caramel frappé. Would you like it?”

“…A frappé?”

“Yes.”

“No, I’ll have an Americano…”

“Pardon?”

Seong-woon never even touched sweets during his lifetime. It was to maintain his body shape, and luckily sweet things also didn’t agree with his taste buds.

Thinking he spoke as if suffering from memory loss or a body swap, Seong-woon tightly sealed his lips, prompting the manager to let out a short sigh and speak sternly.

“You can’t have caffeinated drinks.”

“Doesn’t a frappé have caffeine?”

“No. It’s made with just milk and non-caffeinated syrup.”

“I see…”

Sipping on the thick, icy sweet concoction of syrup and milk that was sweet enough to numb the tongue, Seong-woon squinted his eyes. The makeup artist flinched, thinking it was from the makeup removal.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”

“No, I’m alright.”

“Let me know if it hurts.”

It was attached with adhesive, so it did sting a little when she took it off, it definitely wasn’t painful enough to complain about. Seong-woon pushed away the famous franchise drink that did not suit his taste at all and exhaled.

He wanted to drink a cool iced Americano. He was already feeling stuffy, and drinking something like that made his throat feel even more constricted.

After fully removing his makeup, Seong-woon greeted everyone he passed on his way out of the set. As he got into the car, he felt his tension easing and his body relaxing. He had been holding on with mental strength, but it seemed like his physical stamina was finally giving in.

As Seong-woon looked out the slowly moving window, he thought of Sang-hyun, whom he had met today.

After waking up in this body and confirming the death of ‘Jin Seong-woon’, Seong-woon had been quite worried about the very kindhearted Sang-hyun. The man was so caring that he kept vigil at the funeral of someone he wasn’t even close to, making Seong-woon wonder if he had been shaken by his own death.

Of course, Seong-woon was sure that he was not the person who meant that much to Sang-hyun. They only worked on one project together, Sang-hyun was the lead and he was only a supporting actor.

After the project ended, Seong-woon never contacted Sang-hyun first because he didn’t want to be called friendly to a popular actor, but Sang-hyun would occasionally call or send him messages. But that was probably something he did for everyone, not just Seong-woon.

“Did something happen between the two of them?”

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like Sang-hyun would treat someone that way, even a newcomer. Wasn’t he kindhearted even to Seong-woon, whom everyone glared at with disgust?

That emotion he saw today… he hoped he had misread it. Wasn’t it too presumptuous of him to freely analyze others’ feelings just because he was familiar with such dark, gloomy emotions?

“Manager.”

“Yes, young master.”

Manager Lee Hyeong-seok looked a little disappointed at being called manager. Seong-woon looked at him for a moment, wondering what that meant, and then burst into laughter.

“What did I used to call you originally?”

“…You called me ‘Hyeong-seok hyung’.”

Ryu Chae-yoon probably wasn’t that good of a boss, or even a protected one, but Manager Lee Hyeong-seok still wanted to be called hyung in a friendly way.

“Didn’t I have a really bad personality?”

“No! You…just had a hard time when your stamina was low. Everyone likes you, Young Master.”

“I see…”

It does seem that way. Everyone loves Ryu Chae-yoon to an almost unbelievable degree that makes one wonder how a person could be so adored.

“Hyeong-seok hyung. Did I perhaps have some matter with actor Baek Sang-hyun?”

“Huh? You weren’t, young master….”

“No, not today. Before that.”

“Huh? Why suddenly that…”

“Just wondering if you knew anything.”

“…There was nothing.”

The way he says it makes it sound like there definitely was something.

“Really, you’ve never met him.”

Now he says this like the truth. So there was some matter, but they never met in person? That’s really strange.

“The acting today was really great. The chairman will be pleased.”

Seong-woon didn’t understand the complex corporate system of conglomerates, but he knew that both his father and mother were referred to as chairmen of large companies. So, everyone collectively called Chae-yoon’s parents ‘chairmen.’

While the soul isn’t Ryu Chae-yoon’s…still, since it’s a scene created through Chae-yoon’s face and body, they may be pleased.

Anyway, it looks like the quest was successful, but when will the reward called ‘Reassignment of Reincarnation Management Committee Personnel’ come? Surely the term “appearance” doesn’t mean all the way until broadcast, right? He had already dismissed that idea from the 7-day deadline.

As soon as he finished thinking, a blue window slowly came up from the corner of his vision.

Congratulations!

You have succeeded in the quest.

Reincarnation Management Committee personnel have been reassigned.

Couldn’t it be more polite. A simple congratulatory message trailed off with flickering graphic particles, before different text emerged.

Quest 2

Audition for a role.

Reward: Partial reveal of Ryu Chae-yoon’s wish

Deadline: D-31

Failure will return you to the Branch Point.

Implementing the Soul Adjustment Project…