Chapter 4
***
Back when she was in her first year of middle school, perhaps.
That was around when Shin A-young started “acting.”
It wasn't because of some dramatic incident.
If anything, it was the sort of thing that clung to you and dragged on.
It started with a video.
— [No matter how close you are, that was still fucking rude.]
A video of her father, Shin Jin-seop, swearing while on the phone with a junior, had spread across the internet.
Because her father had always presented himself as a kindhearted person, the backlash was all the worse.
— [Ha... They kept trying to shove down our throats that he had a good personality and was a great actor, or, failing that, that he had good proportions. I thought the whole country was filming a hidden-camera prank on me, but it's finally over...]
— [Shin Jin-seop is a case of excellent image-making. He wouldn't have gotten that big otherwise. He just got lucky with his agency.]
— [He made a huge show of doing volunteer work and fed it to the press, then disciplined his juniors behind the scenes lololol.]
“......”
Vicious comments about a side of her father she had never seen before.
Reading them made Shin A-young's stomach churn.
One mistake was all it took for people to tear you apart.
It didn't matter how trivial the mistake was.
Most people were just waiting for an excuse to drag you down.
“What are you doing, sweetheart?”
Her father acted as though nothing was wrong on the surface.
Yet she could see the exhaustion hidden beneath it, etched beneath his eyes.
“......No, it's nothing.”
Shin A-young hid her phone behind her back.
At the very least, she shouldn't become a burden.
So.
‘Don't show them your weakness.’
There was no shortage of people looking to seize on every little thing and drag her down.
She had managed to keep that up until now.
But then.
That momentary lapse in vigilance.
“......Ah.”
The moment she swore, she heard the sound of a sneeze.
Following the sound, she found a male student crouched nearby, holding his breath.
‘He knows. He knows. He knows.’
What should she do?
At that moment, Shin A-young's mind began to go blank.
She couldn't think straight.
This wasn't a problem that would end with her alone.
A child was a mirror of their parent. Her own downfall would mean tarnishing the reputation of her actor father.
‘If I can just shut him up somehow.’
Fortunately, there were no other witnesses.
If she could stop him here, it wouldn't turn into a major problem.
Having reached her decision, Shin A-young immediately took action.
“......I have a favor to ask. Could you pretend you didn't see what happened this time? If you do, then in return—”
What should she do for him?
Money or something else, if it was within her power......
“Yeah, sure.”
At the answer that came back so readily,
“......Huh?”
Shin A-young's composure broke once again.
That made twice in a single day.
‘That easily......?’
Things had gone far too smoothly, contrary to what she'd expected.
“Class is starting. Let's hurry.”
Lee Seung-ho returned to the classroom as the bell rang, acting as though nothing had happened.
“......”
...Was that really enough?
Paradoxically, the fact that things had gone so easily only heightened her anxiety.
Maybe he had some ulterior motive.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Her spiraling thoughts spawned new anxieties and raised one hypothesis after another.
Lee Seung-ho had said he was there to eat, but she couldn't be certain that was true.
...There was no harm in being cautious.
‘I should keep an eye on him after all.’
From then on, Shin A-young kept watching Lee Seung-ho's every move.
She watched him as much as possible, both during class and during the breaks.
She could feel the people around them watching, but she had no room to worry about every little thing right now.
‘He doesn't seem to be planning to spread a rumor. Not yet, anyway.’
Lee Seung-ho's behavior was perfectly ordinary.
Other than going to the bathroom, he never went anywhere. All he did was sit at his desk and doze.
What on earth did he want?
She felt as though she might find out if she got a little closer.
“All right, for the time being, we'll be doing group assignments.”
Group assignments.
A pointless group period where the students gathered and killed time chatting.
‘This is it.’
This was the perfect opportunity.
Shin A-young's eyes lit up at the chance to keep Lee Seung-ho under close surveillance.
“A-young, let's work on the assignment together.”
At the mention of a group assignment, Jinuri came straight over.
Shin A-young didn't think that was a bad idea. If there was anyone she was at least somewhat close to, it was Jinuri.
They had grown close while working together as class president and vice president last year.
“You too, Sol.”
“Huh? I don't wanna work with you because you're so intense......”
Lee Sol mumbled, subtly avoiding her gaze.
Jinuri narrowed her eyes at that.
“Don't cause trouble for the other kids. Get over here while I'm asking nicely, okay?”
“Nooo......”
Watching the two of them, Shin A-young steeled her resolve.
She should tell them first.
No matter how close they were, since she intended to bring someone into their group, she needed the team members' permission.
“Nuri. There's someone I want to bring along. Is that okay?”
“Huh? You?”
Jinuri cocked her head at the request. Maybe it was because Shin A-young never usually did anything like this.
“Would that be a problem?”
“No, it wouldn't, but...... Sure, do whatever you want.”
“I'll be right back.”
Convincing Lee Seung-ho wasn't difficult.
He was sitting blankly at his desk, as though he had no intention of forming a group.
“Want to work together?”
“Huh?”
Lee Seung-ho looked a little flustered.
Fortunately, he didn't refuse.
‘Let's keep watching him like this. I don't know what he wants, but...... He'll tell me eventually.’
And that prediction became reality before long.
Lee Seung-ho approached her.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
So this was how it was going to turn out.
There was no way he was just going to let it slide.
The real “negotiation” was about to begin.
“......”
The two of them returned to the rooftop—the place where they had first run into each other.
This time, Shin A-young checked more thoroughly to make sure there was no one around.
Good. There's no one here.
She was the first to speak.
“......You do want something from me after all, don't you?”
But Lee Seung-ho's expression was different from what she'd expected.
His face showed bewilderment, or perhaps disbelief.
“What the fu—Ahem. What are you talking about?”
Is he pretending not to know?
Shin A-young had no intention of backing down. She wanted to settle this decisively here.
“That's what I thought, too. It didn't seem like you only wanted me to keep your secret.”
“So that's why you've been following me around since earlier?”
Shin A-young's shoulders flinched.
Had he noticed her watching him?
Still, she quickly composed herself and acted nonchalant.
“......I haven't been following you.”
“At least make your lies a little less obvious.”
He saw through that one immediately, too.
Shin A-young pressed her lips together slightly.
Other than her parents, had anyone ever seen through her acting this completely?
Probably not.
It was as if he could read her thoughts.
Lee Seung-ho asked in a subdued voice,
“And what if you do want something? Were you going to pay me?”
“If that would make you keep your promise.”
“...Huh, seriously?”
Lee Seung-ho looked tempted for a moment.
Of course, it didn't last long.
He soon came to his senses and cleared his throat with a “ahem.”
“...Forget it. What do you mean, money? It's not even your money.”
He seemed a little disappointed, but he didn't really look like he wanted it.
The more that happened, the deeper Shin A-young's confusion grew.
What on earth did he want?
“Do you want something other than money?”
“No, I mean, I said I wouldn't tell the other kids about what happened earlier, didn't I?”
“Then what do you want? You aren't just going to let this go, are you?”
“Sigh......”
He lifted his head slightly, narrowed his eyes, and opened his mouth.
“...Hey, you fucking bastard. I said I won't tell anyone.”
“??”
Shin A-young wondered if she had misheard him.
He had just... cursed at her, right?
“...Hic.”
A hiccup escaped her before she knew it.
It was the first time anyone had ever cursed at her so directly.
She was a little...... No, she was very flustered.
“Phew......”
A deep sigh escaped his lips.
Soon, Lee Seung-ho's face returned to its usual calm. He looked as though nothing had happened.
“There. We're even now, right?”
“Huh?”
“If the rumor about you gets out, then you can spread a rumor that I swore at you.”
“......What does that mean?”
Shin A-young couldn't understand what he was saying.
Weren't their positions different?
There was a huge difference between falling from a high social reputation and not having one to begin with......
“What a joke. Are you some kind of celebrity or something?”
Lee Seung-ho said it as though he had read her thoughts.
Shin A-young's face flushed bright red.
“......”
His words weren't wrong. No, they were accurate.
She had acted as though she were a celebrity, refusing to show even a single flaw.
A celebrity might need to make that kind of effort, but she wasn't one.
She was merely an actor's daughter.
“......So that's it, isn't it? You just can't trust my promise on its own?”
Lee Seung-ho replied in a voice tinged with a sigh.
“That's, well......”
Honestly, that was true.
There were no cheap secrets in this world.
She would feel more at ease if he wanted something in return.
“Yeah, I can understand that. In this day and age, it's dangerous to trust someone too much.”
Lee Seung-ho nodded as though he understood.
“But when you think about it, isn't that how it is? Say I spread the rumor. Honestly, would the kids believe you, or would they believe me?”
“......That......”
It was a blind spot she hadn't considered.
Had she been that desperate?
Maybe she had been frantic because an act she'd maintained for years had been exposed.
“......”
She calmly considered what Lee Seung-ho had said.
Shin A-young was someone who understood her own position well enough.
Most likely, more people would listen to her than to him.
That was the conclusion she reached.
“There. So it's settled, right?”
“Uh, yeah......?”
“Is it settled? Answer me.”
“Mm-hmm......!”
Shin A-young's head bobbed stiffly up and down.
Lee Seung-ho lightly patted her shoulder.
“It might make you look a little cheap, sure...... But people swear sometimes. Why worry about something like that?”
Lee Seung-ho's gaze was ordinary.
He didn't look disappointed or surprised by her true self.
He looked at her as though it was perfectly normal.
He gave her the same gaze he gave everyone else.
There was none of the expectation or subtle goodwill she was used to seeing.
In front of him, Shin A-young wasn't an actor's daughter. She was simply herself.
“......”
Because that really was all there was to it.
That made three times today.
“Ha, haha......”
Her act began to come undone a little.