Chapter 74

My grandfather slapped his knee and pointed at me.

“Sae-i, you rascal! My granddaughter’s got quite an eye — a real treasure of an eye!”

“…… What?”

I blinked, dazed. My grandfather kept laughing, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Wherever did you dig up a find like this! That look in his eyes could put the veteran actors I watched in my younger days to shame!”

“Th-then……”

“He’s in! No — forget passing, this is a windfall!”

My grandfather sprang to his feet and clapped me on the shoulder.

“My granddaughter’s got a sharp eye, a sharp eye indeed! At this rate I could hand the investments over to you entirely!”

“……!”

“Secretary An! Put a support team together right now. This boy — no, Mr. Woon Seong-ha — give him the best of everything, training through casting. We need to prove my granddaughter’s eye wasn’t wrong!”

I turned to Seong-ha, still dazed.

The tension had drained out of him, his face gentle again, and he scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.

My grandfather’s approval.

It wasn’t simply praise for Woon Seong-ha’s acting.

Saying he could trust me with investments meant he’d acknowledged me as having the qualities of a true member of the group — the granddaughter of a man once called a genius at making money grow.

A swelling, overwhelming joy rose in my chest.

I turned a wide smile on my grandfather, and on my best card of all.

Once his excitement settled, my grandfather sank back into the sofa and reined the mood back in.

“Now, sit. Let’s have some tea while we talk.”

He lifted his teacup and tossed out, almost casually, to Woon Seong-ha,

“Ah, and don’t worry too much about your grandmother. I’ve already had a word with the hospital director — she’ll be looked after without wanting for anything until she’s fully recovered.”

“…… What?”

Seong-ha’s eyes, tense only moments before, went wide. As he stared blankly at my grandfather, his lips trembled.

The moment he realized it was my grandfather who’d quietly pulled strings behind the scenes, he shot up from his seat.

Thud.

“……!”

Seong-ha dropped to his knees on the floor without a moment’s hesitation. No one had told him to; he did it before anyone had time to be startled.

“Thank you…… Thank you so much, Chairman.”

“Well now, look at this boy.”

“I’ll never forget this kindness as long as I live, and I’ll repay it. Whatever you and Sae-i ask of me, anything at all……”

“Now, now! What kind of talk is that!”

I stared at Woon Seong-ha, my mouth falling open.

You’re kneeling right now?

I was speechless with shock, inwardly.

Who was Woon Seong-ha, after all?

In my first life, he’d been an actor famous for his pride, a lone wolf who never flinched even in front of chaebol families.

When my grandfather’s agency, Wave Actors, had reached out to him, he’d turned them down flat, without hesitation.

There’d been only one reason.

He hadn’t wanted anything to do with a family that included Joo Su-yeon.

And now that very man was kneeling of his own will before Chairman Joo Tae-baek — Joo Su-yeon’s own grandfather — offering his thanks.

You’re this taken with my grandfather……?

No, this isn’t just being taken with him — this is practically handing over his soul.

It struck me all over again just how much the future I’d changed had swerved off course.

That one choice — saving his grandmother — had broken down even the unbending pride of Woon Seong-ha.

“Now, a man shouldn’t go dropping to his knees so easily. Get up and sit down.”

My grandfather looked flustered, but it was clear he didn’t actually mind the desperate sincerity Seong-ha had shown.

At my grandfather’s gesture, Seong-ha finally sat back down. But his eyes were far brighter and clearer than before, deep respect shining in them.

“Yes, I like the makings of this one. My granddaughter picked well.”

My grandfather chuckled, pleased, then rubbed his chin as if something had just occurred to him.

“Let’s see. You’re in the same class as Sae-i, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you must be in the same class as our Su-yeon too?”

“……”

At that, Seong-ha’s shoulders went stiff.

Oh no…… that’s the one nerve you shouldn’t touch.

Oblivious, my grandfather laughed heartily and pressed right down on it.

“She should be in that class too. The two of you being classmates, are you close?”

“……”

In an instant, the air in the room turned ice cold.

The color drained from Seong-ha’s face. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

I drew in a sharp breath.

Grandfather……

Close? She was the one who ambushed him with a confession, shut him out, mocked him over his family’s circumstances, and even made sure he couldn’t eat.

Seong-ha couldn’t answer, his lips only moving without sound. It had to be an impossible spot for him, caught between two bad choices.

As the silence stretched on, my grandfather’s brow creased in confusion.

“…… Hm? Why aren’t you answering?”

In that brief silence, only Woon Seong-ha’s and my eyes darted uselessly back and forth, with nowhere to land.

I had to break that suffocating quiet.

My grandfather clearly had no idea, but for Seong-ha, the question was no different from torture.

He could hardly lie and say, “We’re close,” in front of the grandfather of the very girl who’d treated him like vermin and tormented him — nor could he blurt out, “Your granddaughter is garbage not worth associating with.”

I have to step in.

I was just about to open my mouth—

“…… Ha ha.”

Seong-ha got there first, forcing the stiff corners of his mouth up into a grin.

“Yes. We’re in the same class, so I know her by sight. But…… we haven’t really talked much.”

“Hmm? Really? Even in the same class?”

“Yes. Su-yeon’s quite popular, with a lot of friends.”

“Oh ho……”

“She might find me a bit much to deal with. We also run in different circles.”

Seong-ha went on carefully.

“So, Chairman, could I ask one favor?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. If you happen to see Su-yeon at home, please don’t bring up anything about me first. I’m worried she might feel uncomfortable because of me……”

It was a perfect response.

Instead of blaming Joo Su-yeon, he’d lowered himself and dressed it up as consideration for her.

At the same time, it was a shrewd answer that headed off, before it could even start, the uproar Joo Su-yeon would make if she found out about any of this.

My grandfather, none the wiser, nodded along.

“Well, well, you think things through, I see. Yes, our Su-yeon can be a bit high and mighty.”

“……”

“All right, understood. For your sake, I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

Seong-ha bowed his head once more. My grandfather, looking satisfied, drained his teacup.

But I saw it — the bitter smile that flickered across Seong-ha’s face as he lifted his head.

…… You idiot.

A corner of my chest throbbed with ache.

Woon Seong-ha had just swallowed down his own unfairness.

He’d shielded Joo Su-yeon, who’d insulted him, and even in front of her own grandfather he kept up appearances, quietly burying what churned inside him.

It must have been because he’d put the mood of the room, and his respect for the man who’d saved his grandmother, ahead of his own pride.

How frustrating……

I clenched my fists tight. That look of his was far too familiar.

It overlapped with my own past self, the one who’d had to silently endure contempt.

Back then, I’d believed my uncle was helping me, and I remembered my past self, scrambling so hard to look good in his eyes.

Woon Seong-ha was probably a boy who’d learned to endure before anything else.

I, who’d had a similar experience, could tell exactly how much resentment he was swallowing behind the praise of being “so mature for his age.”

Under the table, where no one could see, I gently patted the back of Seong-ha’s hand as he smiled that bitter smile.

Not as “you did well to endure it,” but as comfort that said, I know everything — you’re not alone.