Chapter 57. Love

At the same time, at Eight Media Entertainment headquarters.

Scenarios were scattered messily on the table, and a young man was reading one with a serious expression.

His handsome features were well-proportioned without being overly exaggerated, giving him a clean-cut image.

This young man is Jin Yohan, who has been building his acting spectrum step by step since his debut as a child actor and is now considered a top-tier actor among the next generation.

"Director, I want to do this project."

Jin Yohan handed the script he was reading to the man sitting in front of him.

"Huh? This one? Yohan, you're on a roll now, wouldn't it be better to take a movie role?"

Yohan glanced over the other scripts scattered on the table.

His expression was one of dissatisfaction.

"The content is really good. I really want to do this role."

"Is that so? If you want to do it, you should. At your current momentum, what role could you not handle?"

Jin Yohan, who started acting at a young age and has 12 years of experience, has moved through several agencies and is now with a company that respects his opinions as an actor the most.

He's been soaring in popularity, recently winning the youngest acting excellence award at the Korean Arts Awards, surpassing Son Jin-wook.

Unless it's a role that completely clashes with his image, it's rare for a PD or writer to turn down Jin Yohan, who is practically a box office guarantee.

Director Han Young-ho confidently skimmed through the script and said,

"Then I'll contact them soon. Where is this project from? Huh? KBC Channel 1? That's surprising."

***

U Seong-sik, who had apparently practiced driving, skillfully drove the minivan to a cottage in Gapyeong.

When they stopped at a rest area, his friends tried to stop Yeo-woo from getting out.

"Hey, if you go out, there'll be chaos. Just stay here."

Seong-sik and Jun-soo got out to buy snacks.

Suyeon, holding a toothpick with a baked potato, turned to Yeo-woo with a mouth full of food.

"It's fun."

"Really?"

Yeo-woo, who finally looked her age and was bright among her peers, felt secretly pleased.

Suyeon quickly became friends with Yurim, sitting next to her and chatting happily.

Yeo-woo poked Jun-soo, who was sitting next to her.

"How did it go?"

"What, what?"

Jun-soo, who knew but asked anyway.

Yeo-woo nodded at Yurim, who was sitting next to him.

Jun-soo finally sighed and slowly took something out of his pocket.

The velvet exterior made it look like a jewelry box.

'A ring?'

Yeo-woo mouthed the question so Yurim wouldn't hear.

Jun-soo shook his head and carefully opened the jewelry box, revealing a simple necklace inside.

'Not a bad design. I thought he'd confess via text, but Jun-soo is classic.'

Yeo-woo smiled and patted Jun-soo's shoulder.

Seong-sik's car had entered a quiet countryside and stopped in front of a clean, standalone cottage.

"Yay! We're here."

"Seong-sik, good job driving."

Yeo-woo massaged Seong-sik's shoulders, which were tense from driving.

"Come on, let's unload the luggage!"

At Jun-soo's call, they opened the trunk and carried the boxes to the cottage's front door.

"I'll go get the key from the owner!"

Seong-sik ran across the gravel courtyard to the owner's house behind the cottage.

***

Kim Joo-hyung, a classmate of Yeo-woo at Korea University's Department of Economics, was helping his grandmother run a cottage during the winter break.

"Ugh, why isn't it working? It keeps buffering."

He tapped his smartphone, which was streaming Netflix, out of frustration.

Joo-hyung, who had suppressed his cultural life during his exam period, started with Yeo-woo's works and immediately booked tickets for 'Spring Lovers' the next day, becoming a movie enthusiast who enjoys all genres.

Ding-dong.

"Ah, you must be here."

Joo-hyung opened the front door with the cottage key for the guests.

"Hello."

"Ah, yes. Are you Seong-sik? The barbecue fee is extra."

Joo-hyung explained the cottage rules and handed over the key.

Seong-sik took the key, promising to keep the place clean.

"At least they don't seem like troublemakers today."

Yesterday, some uncles came and drank all night, vomiting in the corner of the small room and leaving, which was a nightmare.

"Ah, I need to bring extra bedding."

Knock-knock.

Joo-hyung knocked lightly and entered the cottage.

"Guests, the bedding provided is for four people, so this... Ah?"

Joo-hyung was surprised and pointed at Yeo-woo as he put down the bedding.

"Hello."

Yeo-woo greeted him lightly, thinking, 'It's rare to see a male fan so surprised.'

"What? Who's here?"

Friends who were putting food in the refrigerator in the kitchen came out to the living room.

"Are you Yeo-woo?"

Seong-sik frowned at Joo-hyung, who was pointing at Yeo-woo.

"Even if this friend is a celebrity, it's a bit much to speak so informally..."

Seong-sik's words made Joo-hyung flustered, waving his hands and saying to Yeo-woo,

"Ah, no, I mean, Yeo-woo, I'm Joo-hyung from the same department at university."

Yeo-woo's face lit up as if something clicked.

"Ah! From the university department? You're the one who sometimes called to inform me of updates..."

"Yep! That's right."

Seong-sik, who had been glaring at Joo-hyung for the sudden informal speech, finally relaxed.

"So, you're Yeo-woo's classmate?"

"Yep. We've talked a few times."

Joo-hyung would occasionally call Yeo-woo, who was on leave, through her manager Min-soo's phone to inform her of updates.

Joo-hyung shook hands with Yeo-woo.

"Nice to meet you. I've never seen you before because I went on leave right after enrolling."

"Right. Nice to meet you."

Joo-hyung scratched the back of his head and opened the front door.

"Then I'll go back to work. I'll start the charcoal for the barbecue, so let me know thirty minutes before you're ready."

Joo-hyung, who was about to leave, suddenly remembered something and closed the front door again.

"Ah, right! By the way, if... if you're not busy, could you sign a few things? My youngest aunt gave me some pocket money but scolded me for not getting your autograph."

"Of course. But I don't have paper and a pen right now..."

"I'll get them!"

Yeo-woo smiled and nodded, and Joo-hyung excitedly went to get paper and a pen.

"The world is small."

Seong-sik shrugged, and Yeo-woo chuckled.

Soon, Yeo-woo signed for Joo-hyung and spent time playing a simple card game with the kids until it got dark.

"Shall we start preparing for the barbecue?"

"I'll go tell them!"

Seong-sik put on his slippers and went out, and the friends took out the ingredients from the refrigerator.

"I'll do the prep."

Yeo-woo rolled up her sleeves and took out a cutting board and a knife.

"Wow, are we going to see the knife skills we only see on variety shows?"

Suyeon and Yurim laughed and clapped.

Yeo-woo smiled and twirled the knife before grabbing it.

"Be careful, Yeo-woo. You might hurt yourself."

"Ah, really?"

Yeo-woo laughed awkwardly as Yurim, who was watching, was startled and tried to stop her.

Holding the knife, she unconsciously fell back into the habit of playing with a hunting knife from her agent days.

"Here, give me the vegetables."

Suyeon washed the vegetables in running water and passed them to Yeo-woo.

Chop-chop-chop.

The vegetables were quickly prepared with her skilled knife work.

"Wow, that's really fast."

"Me too, I've never seen this before."

Jun-soo, who had been a close friend since high school, was seeing Yeo-woo cook for the first time, only on variety shows.

Although it was just simple preparation, Yeo-woo also made cuts in the sausages and meat to ensure they cooked well.

"Guys, the fire is ready."

Seong-sik's voice from the yard made everyone busy.

"I'll take this, and Jun-soo, can you pass the instant rice?"

"Okay!"

Working together, they soon had a well-prepared barbecue table.

"Coming here is so much fun. Thanks, Yeo-woo."

"Me too. Let's do this often."

Suyeon, who had mentioned this in the car, shyly repeated her gratitude.

At first, she was worried about her shy personality, but the kids quickly treated her like a friend, making her glad she came.

At that moment, Joo-hyung, Yeo-woo's university classmate, brought more charcoal.

"Now that the fire is going, I'll add more charcoal and spread it evenly."

Joo-hyung skillfully placed the grill and spread the charcoal, creating a gentle heat.

Then he approached Yeo-woo and whispered,

"By the way, Yeo-woo. What was the content of the project you shot with actor Ma Seok on a big boat? I'm so curious."

"Wow, how did you know about that?"

Yeo-woo was slightly surprised by the detailed information about the shoot.

"Well, I became a movie enthusiast during my university years. Fans share paparazzi photos of productions in progress."

"Ah, I see. There's a whole world among movie fans."

However, as 'Master Plan' is a twist movie, the information Yeo-woo could share before its release was limited, so she just laughed it off.

Joo-hyung, who kept asking if there was anything else needed, made Yeo-woo laugh.

'Yeah, if I had a normal university life in my past life, I would have been just like him. I would have been a movie fanatic too.'

The meat cooked well over the burning charcoal, and the night deepened.

Laughing and chatting with friends, eating and drinking, Jun-soo and Yurim had quietly disappeared.

They probably went for a walk nearby, with Jun-soo suggesting a stroll.

They returned after a short while.

"Where did you go?"

Seong-sik, who didn't catch on, asked, making them flustered and make excuses.

Yeo-woo noticed the necklace around Yurim's neck.

Seeing the innocent love of her friends, who were like her children in her past life, made Yeo-woo smile warmly.

"Congratulations."

"Ah, what? Hahaha."

"Ah, never mind. I need to clean up. I'll go do the dishes!"

Jun-soo, embarrassed by Yeo-woo's congratulations, scratched the back of his head, and Yurim, blushing, hurriedly collected the empty plates and went into the cottage.

Seong-sik finally caught on and smiled, while Suyeon, who didn't understand, tilted her head.

***

Meanwhile, not all love is innocent.

At the same time, Han Hae-won was pacing in front of the Pilates studio run by Jung Hye-min.

Investigating his death was important, but as 'Team Leader' or 'Yeo-woo' said, his current life was also his past life, so he needed to enjoy his revived life and decide what to do with his past connections.

That's why he came to the Pilates studio.

He was deeply troubled about whether to reveal his identity to his past wife and how to approach her, and he had been pacing for hours without the courage to go in.

"Ugh, what's the right choice?"

Jingle.

At that moment, the glass door opened, and Jung Hye-min looked at Han Hae-won.