Chapter 51. Camping and Friends (2)

"Sure, Su-yeon, what's up? Did you eat lunch?"

Yeon-woo answered the phone as naturally as possible to make the other person feel at ease.

However, Su-yeon's response didn't come, and a few seconds of silence passed.

***

Jung Su-yeon, sitting on a bench at the subway platform.

The call connected, and soon after, Ryu Yeon-woo answered the phone.

- Sure, Su-yeon, what's up? Did you eat lunch?

The warm voice came through the phone.

When she heard the warm voice of her "friend," the strange calmness that had enveloped her when she left the office building crumbled.

Tears threatened to spill out as she listened to the warm voice of her friend.

She took deep breaths to suppress the tears and opened her mouth.

"…Yeon-woo, are you in the middle of filming?"

- You must have something on your mind. Where are you?

Su-yeon was speechless at Yeon-woo's immediate response.

"No, I just called."

- Wait a moment.

***

Yeon-woo instinctively sensed that Su-yeon was crying from the subtle tremor in her voice.

This sudden call to someone other than family in such a situation meant she had a problem she couldn't handle alone.

"Wait a moment."

Yeon-woo muted the call and quickly explained the situation to Ma Seok-do.

"Really? I love being around people. I brought a lot of meat today."

Yeon-woo bowed in gratitude to Seok-do and picked up his smartphone again.

"Su-yeon, where are you?"

- …Yongsan Station.

"Any other schedule today?"

Yeon-woo told Su-yeon to wait there for a moment, ended the call, and walked to a corner of the campsite.

"Min-su, I'm really sorry, but I have a personal favor to ask."

- That's my job as a manager. What is it?

Min-su, who was doing office work at the LN Entertainment building, was eager to leave.

Yeon-woo explained the situation briefly.

- Yongsan Station? It's right next door. Got it. Send me the campsite address.

Min-su immediately set off and picked up Su-yeon, who was standing alone at Yongsan Station, and drove to Incheon.

Ma Seok-do and Ryu Yeon-woo met Min-su's car, which arrived in less than an hour, at the parking lot.

"Mr. Ma, hello."

"Ah, Min-su. Do you need to go back to the office? Come and have some meat first. I brought a lot."

Seok-do, who genuinely loves being around people, was delighted to see more people at the campsite.

"Ah, I'll call the office and come back in a bit. Taking care of the actors is the manager's duty, right? Haha."

Min-su, who didn't want to go back to the office, and Seok-do, who enjoyed the hustle and bustle, were a perfect match.

"Are you here, Su-yeon?"

"Yep. Hehe."

While riding in Min-su's car, Su-yeon had time to sort out her thoughts and calm down her emotions. She felt embarrassed about crying over a random call and laughed awkwardly.

Su-yeon bowed to Ma Seok-do.

"Senior, hello. I'm Jung Su-yeon, who played a young role in 'Sunshine.'"

"Really? Wow, you were that kid? You've grown so much."

Ma Seok-do shook hands with Su-yeon.

Su-yeon talked about how Seok-do used to buy ice cream for her every day from the local supermarket during the rural filming of 'Sunshine.'

Although the movie was a commercial failure, it was a memorable work for Seok-do, who had suffered through the summer filming the role of a detective investigating in a rural village.

Seeing familiar faces at the campsite, away from the city, made Su-yeon feel as if the dirty events of the morning had washed away.

"Let's go, then. We still need to set up the tent quickly."

The four of them entered the campsite, chatting amicably.

"Wow, where did you practice setting up tents?"

"Haha, just a knack."

Seok-do and Min-su were amazed at how quickly Yeon-woo set up the tent.

Yeon-woo, who could even set up a large military winter tent in no time, found setting up a camping tent to be a piece of cake.

"I'm a camper too, so I can't just sit around."

Seok-do rolled up his sleeves and started lighting the fire pit.

"Is there anything I can help with, Mr. Ma?"

"Ah, Yeon-woo and I will handle it today, so Su-yeon and Min-su, just relax."

Still, they didn't just sit around and started organizing the meat and other food ingredients from the ice box.

Yeon-woo, who had already set up two tents, approached.

Seeing Yeon-woo, Su-yeon felt a bit better and said,

"I've never done this before. It's exciting."

"What, camping?"

Su-yeon nodded.

"Not just camping, but spontaneous things in general. And coming out to play with friends."

"You can do that a lot in college. That's what college life is about."

Yeon-woo smiled at Su-yeon.

"Let's go somewhere in the countryside with my friends when we get the chance."

"Sure, I'd like that."

Yeon-woo thought it would be fun to go with Jun-su, Sung-sik, and Hong Yu-ri as well.

"Ah, I forgot to buy soju."

Min-su got up from his seat.

Yeon-woo smiled at Min-su.

"Min-su, take it easy. Su-yeon and I will go to the supermarket nearby and get it."

"Ah, you two are adults now, so you can buy alcohol, right?"

"Haha, that's right. It's a good time to use our IDs."

Yeon-woo pointed in the direction with his finger.

"Yeon-woo, there's a supermarket about 200 meters from the campsite entrance."

"Okay, I don't drink much, so I'll get three bottles."

Seok-do nodded, saying that would be perfect.

Yeon-woo gestured to Su-yeon and walked to the campsite entrance.

As they left the campsite, the sun was setting, and the streetlights were starting to come on.

They walked in silence for a while.

Su-yeon spoke first.

"I went to the office today."

Yeon-woo listened silently.

Su-yeon narrated the events of the day as if telling a story about someone else.

Yeon-woo listened quietly, feeling both angry and sympathetic.

'Just a young friend who just turned twenty… No, that's not my place to say.'

Yeon-woo was no stranger to the immoral practices in the entertainment industry.

Having worked as an agent, he had seen countless ugly and dirty things.

Danger zones, slums, cities occupied by anti-government groups.

Having seen numerous hells, he was perhaps angry at a predictable story because he now had feelings and the concept of friendship, unlike his desensitized past.

The only thing he could do for her right now was to commiserate with her, so he nodded along and then gently asked,

"Is the story about wanting to be an announcer still valid?"

"Um, I think so."

Su-yeon, who had been acting for a long time since her young role, said she didn't feel much enthusiasm, possibly due to her mother's influence.

However, she loved being in front of the camera and, being interested in current affairs, had always admired announcers.

Before they knew it, they were in front of the supermarket.

Su-yeon suddenly stopped.

"Huh? Why?"

Yeon-woo asked, looking at Su-yeon.

"Yeon-woo, look at that."

Su-yeon pointed across the street, and Yeon-woo saw his own face.

A full-body panel of Yeon-woo and posters on the glass wall of the ST Telecom store.

"Oh, that's me."

Su-yeon read the slogan on the poster.

"As long as you don't stop, it's okay even if you change direction."

Su-yeon looked back at Yeon-woo.

"…Is that true for me too?"

Yeon-woo smiled at Su-yeon.

"Of course."

They bought three bottles of soju from a small supermarket run by an elderly woman and headed back.

"Why didn't they check our IDs? Do I look old?"

"Maybe. Haha."

Su-yeon's steps felt lighter as they returned to the campsite.

When they arrived at the entrance, Yeon-woo handed the bag to Su-yeon and said,

"I have to make a quick call, so go ahead."

As Su-yeon walked away, Yeon-woo took out his smartphone.

Ring.

The signal tone sounded, and soon the call connected.

- Yeon-woo, what's up?

Kim Joo-sung's voice came through the phone.

"President, I didn't expect to contact you so quickly, but I called just in case."

Yeon-woo briefly explained what Su-yeon had experienced today to Kim Joo-sung.

- Ah, you mean Jung Su-yeon from 'Spring Lovers.' Hmm, PlusTen is run by Byun Hak-gyu...

Kim Joo-sung chuckled.

- She's grown a lot, from someone who was barely visible at the bottom. I was planning to take care of some other matters, but I can move this up.

Kim Joo-sung said he would take care of the remaining contract and respect her desire to become an announcer, and might offer her an acting contract later.

"Thank you so much, President."

- No, I truly despise such people.

Yeon-woo thanked Kim Joo-sung again and ended the call, then entered the campsite.

Meanwhile, in the LN Entertainment office, Kim Joo-sung, who had received Yeon-woo's call, opened a drawer and stared at it for a while.

A photo of a woman in the drawer.

He closed the drawer with a bittersweet expression.

Kim Joo-sung, a legendary figure in the entertainment industry who started as a manager and built an entertainment company, had a story that no one knew.

During his time as a manager, he had fallen in love with an actress he was in charge of.

However, the actress, who had been forced to entertain and was continuously blackmailed, made a bad choice and ended her life.

Since then, Kim Joo-sung had struggled to build a transparent and clean company, and steadily grew it into the current LN Entertainment.

After a long moment of closing his eyes to compose himself, Kim Joo-sung opened them fiercely.

"Such a despicable person... I'll definitely take care of it."

***

"Come on, we're about to go live."

While Yeon-woo and Su-yeon were on their errand, Ma Seok-do had already started the fire and was grilling the meat.

He adjusted the tripod so that only he and Yeon-woo were visible on the screen, considering Su-yeon and Min-su.

Yeon-woo, sitting opposite Seok-do, looked at the grill.

"Wow, Seok-do, it looks so delicious."

"I'm quite good at grilling. Haha."

Seok-do put down the tongs and adjusted the smartphone on the tripod.