Life, Once Again!

Chapter 932. Crank Up 4

Choi Hoseon calmed her breathing in front of the door. There was nothing on her that the person on the other side of the door could nitpick about. She had chosen the most plain clothes from her luggage to wear and prepared some fruits according to the senior’s tastes. She also did not forget that the senior only drank brand-name carbonated water. She lightly knocked on the door before waiting. If she knocked again because there was no response from the other side, a pillow might get flung at her. It would be fortunate if it was a pillow too. If what entered her hands was an ashtray, that ashtray would fly right at her. Fortunately, there was a response asking who it was.

“Senior, it’s me, Hoseon. I prepared a light meal because you didn’t seem to have eaten breakfast.”

“Come in.”

Hoseon pushed open the door and went inside. She saw Lee Miyoon watching the sea from the balcony. She quickly scanned the room. A wine bottle with the cork missing was placed on the table and dirty wine glasses rolled on the floor. The duvet was unkempt and the carrier was still sealed. She first picked up the glass and placed it on the table before unpacking the food she brought.

“Senior, would you like some sandwiches? It was pretty decent with some fruit.”

She couldn’t use any assertive words. This senior was someone who would nitpick with speech. If she spoke without thinking, she would receive a sharp reprimand instead.

“Can you give me some water?”

Senior Lee just reached her hand backwards. Hoseon quickly poured some water and placed it in her hand. She chewed on the water like she would bread before finally standing up from the chair on the balcony.

“So you remember what I drink.”

“As a junior, it is natural for me to remember the preferences of a senior. As for the sandwich, there’s one with ham and one without. Which one would you like?”

“Give me the one with ham. I want something filling.”

Hoseon placed the sandwich on a small plate before giving it to senior Lee. After having a taste of the sandwich, senior Lee told her to sit next to her. That was her way of saying that they should eat together, and they were also the words that Hoseon had been waiting for.

“Is everyone else doing well?”

“I think they’re a little bored without you around, senior.”

“Damn girl. I can see that they’re overjoyed to not see me. But still, that makes me feel better. Would you like some wine?”

“I’ll pour some for you.”

She brought two wine glasses from on top of the fridge and poured some wine. As grape wine was sweet and sour, she would never even touch it usually, but she had to pretend to enjoy it since she had to look good in front of the senior. Other people would shun the idea of coming to meet this senior, but Hoseon thought differently. It was true that she wasn’t someone to befriend deeply, but this senior possessed power. She not only had influence over the producers and the writers, but she was also one of the rare few who could directly contact the head of the drama department. She was afraid of this senior and it wasn’t like she didn’t want to put some distance, but more than that, she wanted to become closer to her and become a cherished junior to acquire the wings known as ‘Lee Miyoon.’ Life started and ended with connections, did it not? Just like how the fruits of labor were sweet, she was bound to get some good stuff if she endured.

She listened and responded to senior Lee’s words like a doll that would clap at the flick of a switch. She even smiled and agreed with words that she inwardly didn’t agree with. It was only hard at the beginning, but after getting used to it, she could smile voluntarily. If their future could be promised just by listening to some grumbles of an elderly, anyone would do this.

“I’ll introduce you to a film director next time.”

“No, senior. That’s not why I’m doing this.”

“What do you mean you’re not? I can see it in your eyes. But heck, obvious girls like you are much better. At least much better than those who deceive until the very end and backstab at the end.”

Perhaps she was drunk, but senior Lee started lamenting about her own situation when she would usually never talk about herself. Was she conned or something? While Hoseon felt curious, she stayed quiet as though she had heard nothing. The change in her emotions was like a squall. One of this senior’s specialties was to retract her smile like nothing and suddenly start roasting people, no?

Senior Lee was patting her head saying that Hoseon was a good junior, but then she abruptly jumped up from her seat when she heard her phone. Hoseon had a glimpse of her eyes, and they were sharp to the point that they freaked her out. She had the same eyes as the day she slapped Han Gaeul’s cheek with her bag. Hoseon instinctively felt that she would not get anything good by staying here. She had been reading other people’s moods for 10 years and knew that this was the time to run away.

“Senior, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Senior Lee just waved at her without even looking at her. That was probably her way of being considerate. It was also a warning that she would smash her if she said one more word. As she was closing the door, she heard a sharp screeching voice,

“So what, you’re saying you can’t do anything or what! I want that bitch in Japan and the men below me to….”

She wanted to listen some more, but she immediately closed the door. If she kept listening, perhaps a slap like Han Gaeul wouldn’t be the end of it. She started sweating profusely. As she had done all she could, she decided that she wouldn’t come anywhere near this place until the end of the trip.

Hoseon placed the empty plates on the cart in the corridor before leaving the hotel. She couldn’t see anyone from the drama team as it was free time until dinner. It seemed that everyone had formed groups and headed to nearby tourist spots. Just as she was wondering what she should do to kill time, she saw Gaeul walking over to the hotel.

Why was she upset? Hoseon recalled the conversation she had with Gaeul about an hour ago. She told her to work things out with Kang Giwoo, but Gaeul stood up from her seat as though she couldn’t be bothered to talk about it. That was Hoseon’s way of being considerate of her, but her response was lukewarm, which made her feel strange. Giwoo should be more than worthy of her, yet Gaeul was feeling that he wasn’t enough?

Kang Giwoo, who dressed up well and always had a kind smile on his face, was one of the hottest topics that would always come up when actresses gather. There were many who said that they fell for the gentle side that he showed during shoots. Many of the female staff were the same. It was just that since he was such a decent man, everyone thought that he must have a lover, and even if he didn’t, they would just admire him from afar because reaching out to him was too burdensome for them. He was the grandson of YM Group’s chairman after all. During the last get-together, Hoseon asked him what he thought of older women as dating partners as a joke. Giwoo said that he would love to have an older lover who would act cute for him. That ‘noona’ figure might not be Hoseon herself, but she still felt shaken.

“Gaeul, did something happen?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You don’t look good.”

“Maybe I stayed under the sun for too long. I should go inside and get some rest.”

She really didn’t look good, so Hoseon didn’t hold her back and told her to get some rest. Was she on her period or something? Ever since the hot fight with senior Lee, Gaeul received attention and love from the whole drama team, but Hoseon didn’t think that it was that good. It was true that senior Lee’s personality was flawed enough that she deserved a scolding, but she was a sniper after all. A great senior that no new actors would even dare look at. She might be feeling unjustified that she got hit on the cheek, but there was something called karma, so Gaeul must have done something wrong as well. Heck, even taking a hundred steps back, Hoseon could understand why she snapped at senior Lee, but she didn’t think well of the fact that Gaeul did not go to her later to make up with her. In the world of actors, hierarchy was pretty important.

The reason Korean people placed importance on class years in college and debut years in the entertainment industry was all to maintain a strict hierarchy. There were some actors that said that lining people up according to generations was a product of the past, but Hoseon believed that there were advantages and disadvantages. If there was no hierarchy, the bond between seniors and juniors wouldn’t be as strong, and the warm affectionate tradition of supporting the seniors and leading the juniors would disappear. There were both advantages and disadvantages to this tradition, so just dismissing it as something bad was childish.

In that sense, the fact that Gaeul did not apologize was definitely a mistake on her part. She might feel like she’s something because everyone raised her to a pedestal, but in the long term, this would act as a detriment to Gaeul. She wouldn’t be able to say anything to a junior much younger than her in the future because she had done the same. If she wants respect, she should know how to bend, but maybe because she got so popular at such a young age, it looked like she knew how to take care of herself, or maybe it was her innate personality.

Hoseon wanted to give her a scolding as a senior, but she honestly didn’t have any courage to say anything to her when she thought back to the scene when Gaeul went back against senior Lee. She could smile so coldly in front of senior Lee. She probably wouldn’t even scoff if Hoseon herself said anything to her.

“I want to be popular too.”

She subconsciously grumbled. Ultimately, she was just envious of Han Gaeul. That bold personality of hers, that soul-stirring acting skill, and a charming set of facial features to top it off – did God not consider ‘average’ when he made people? It was too unfair. What was she supposed to do with such a powerful girl right in front of her eyes? The only thing she felt was a sense of inferiority, and the only thing that decreased was her self-confidence.

While she had lived a decent career where some people would acknowledge her, she could only sigh whenever she tried comparing Han Gaeul to her in just one year. Hoseon was a lot older too and had debuted a lot earlier. Whether it was skill, appearance, personality, courage, or even the interest of men, Gaeul was superior in every way, so she probably felt like life was worth living. It would be great if Hoseon shared just a little bit of those.

She stopped thinking about such useless things and looked around the nearby stores. She desperately needed some sweet fruit juice. There was nothing better than fruit juice to soothe her iffy feelings.

Just as she was walking to a front store, she saw Kang Giwoo walking over while covering his hand with the other. If Han Gaeul was a regional rain, it was a huge typhoon this time. He looked like he had just heard that his family had gone bankrupt. Hoseon rushed over to Giwoo in a heartbeat. She was worried about him.

“Giwoo, what happened?”

Giwoo flinched and raised his head before making a gentle smile. How good was this boy? It was likely that his kind personality to not want to inconvenience others made him retract his worries.

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you listen to me for a little?”

Hoseon watched as Giwoo approached her and just nodded ardently. She didn’t know the specifics, but the smell of perfume that tickled her nose was really good.