Chapter 640

Less than five minutes after Han Yeoreum collapsed, the extension phones on the desks of KBC’s Drama Department and the employees’ cell phones all began ringing like crazy at the same time.

“Director! The CP’s calling!”

“What exactly was her condition when she collapsed at the airport? Was she conscious?”

“The advertisers are asking whether it was just overwork or if there’s something wrong with her health!”

<Code Name: Time Seven> wasn’t just another Wednesday-Thursday drama. Of all the dramas KBC had put out since <The Great Garland>, it was the one they had invested the most effort into,

“No!”

In other words, it was the most expensive drama.

There was the overseas location shoot, the fees for Ja Sokhwan’s protégés, and on top of that, Han Yohan and Han Yeoreum. The production cost per episode was astronomical.

The moment Han Yeoreum successfully broke into the American market, advertisers had gone wild trying to invest in <Code Name: Time Seven>.

News of her collapse broke just as PPL deals worth billions of won were pouring in and prime-time ad rates were soaring, so the KBC director chose to go see Han Yeoreum rather than remain at the broadcasting station.

Because before anyone knew it, <Code Name: Time Seven> had stopped being called by its eight-character drama title.

It was called this instead.

Han Yeoreum’s drama.

“How are you feeling?”

“Ah, yes. I’m perfectly fine now.”

“If there’s anything you need, just tell us right away. If you’re uncomfortable or feeling unwell, KBC can really support you with anything—anything at all. There’s absolutely no need to feel burdened.”

To the KBC director, the huge needle currently stuck in Han Yeoreum’s arm looked as though it had been driven straight into his own heart.

“Mister, you’re so noisy you’re going to make her feel worse. You’re not even the MBS mister, so why do you talk so much?”

“Ah, Unni!”

“That can happen, that can happen. Mm. Yes. If you tell us right away when something makes you uncomfortable like this, then we can give immediate feedback. Good.”

Even as he spoke, the KBC Drama Department director busily scrutinized Han Yeoreum’s condition. There was almost a desperate edge to his expression.

“Huh? Director?”

The instant Han Yeoreum’s manager and the doctor entered, the KBC director prayed with all his might inside his head.

‘We’ve already filmed far too much and poured an enormous amount of money into this production if something goes wrong now we’re finished please O god of media who protects Korea let KBC endure until the very end against the clutches of those wicked American OTT services like NetHolics....’

And just as he wished.

“The detailed examination shows it’s simply overwork. You should be able to leave once the IV is finished. Avoid stress, and as much as possible, drink plenty of water, sleep a lot, eat a lot. Work less.”

The KBC Drama Department director clutched both cheeks and gasped for breath.

“Mister. You heard him, right? He said not to stress her out, so hurry up and leave.”

“Ah, Unni!”

“Of course, of course, I should go. It’s about time I left. I was already wondering when I should be going, you know? Then, our leading actress. If there’s anything you need, anything you want to eat or have, anything you want to do. Even if there’s just something you don’t want to see or something you don’t want to do, tell us anytime. Don’t feel burdened, just say it! If Director Gal is too noisy, I’ll shut his mouth for you, and if you don’t like Writer Ma’s bob haircut, I’ll take clippers and shave it right off!”

“Director Gal’s vocal cords still haven’t recovered yet....”

With a brilliant smile, the KBC Drama Department director said,

“Tell me anything. Anything at all! Think of us as your home, your family. KBC will unconditionally, completely! Do everything in our power to support you.”

He had officially declared himself Han Yeoreum’s lackey.

* * *

“Hey! Han Yeoreum!”

“Are you okay?”

Choo Gaeul stormed into Han Yeoreum’s hospital room, dragging So Dami, Director Jang, and Writer Pi along with her.

Han Yeoreum, pale-faced and sipping juice that Dok Gomin was holding to her lips, smiled and waved.

“My goodness, what on earth happened.... Yeoreum, are you okay?”

“Stay lying down. Stay down.”

Director Jang and Writer Pi looked ready to cry as they stared at Han Yeoreum, but Choo Gaeul was different. Thanks to the vocal exercises she diligently did every day, her shout was even more piercing than before.

“If you felt like you were going to collapse, you should’ve said something! Why did I have to find out you collapsed through a news article?”

Because, truthfully, she felt ashamed for having been a little jealous of Han Yeoreum’s breakthrough in America.

“This is what happens when you work nonstop without ever resting!”

Everyone nodded at Choo Gaeul’s words.

“Yeoreum, at least cut down on your monitoring time. I saw on the news that being on the internet after one in the morning is really bad for you. Who the hell stays online until dawn anyway?”

“You still do that? I thought it was just because you were a rookie back then....”

“Yeoreum. I’ll get you some medicine from the Korean medicine clinic Director Gong goes to. Apparently their medicine works really well. I go there too, and now they won’t even take you unless you’re a regular. That’s how good they are.”

When it came down to the conclusion, everyone’s opinion was unanimous.

“So once this is over, get some rest!”

Han Yeoreum changed the subject.

“Gaeul, you even put some thought into your outfit when coming to visit me today, huh? Pretty lipstick too?”

“Hey!!!”

Choo Gaeul smacked Han Yeoreum with the bouquet she had brought. Of course, she controlled her strength so the flowers wouldn’t get damaged.

* * *

“I-Is this the right place?”

“There are a lot of people around the hospital room.... This has to be it.”

“Jeongyun Unni. You stand in front. You’re the most famous out of all of us.”

“Why are you even comparing things like that?”

Kim Ilhee, Lee Youngju, and Park Sehee had also come to visit Han Yeoreum. Tak Jeongyun, clutching a gift in her arms, tried her best to give off a celebrity aura as she noticed people glancing over and recognizing her.

“Oh. You Unnis came? You’re busy, so how did you make it all the way here?”

“Hey, damn it. What are we busy with?”

“You have a play tonight.”

“You remember that?”

Han Yeoreum smiled casually despite her pale face. But not one of them believed what they saw.

Han Yeoreum was better at naturalistic acting than people who had spent ten years grinding away in theater.

Even after pushing herself to the limit and collapsing, Han Yeoreum could easily fool people by acting as though she was perfectly fine. Just as all four women were about to glare at her,

“I remember because I said I’d go. But I can’t make it this week anymore, so maybe next week? I think that’s the earliest I can go. My schedule got a little tangled up.”

“Don’t come!!!”

“If the T-fany Princess says she’s coming, you’re supposed to say, ‘Yes, please come.’ Don’t tell me you’re still ‘hazing’... me...?”

She shut them up in a way that made it impossible for them to tell her not to come, and all their faces turned red.

Then a commotion came from outside.

“What is it...?”

“Is someone coming...?”

It didn’t seem to be an ordinary person. It almost felt as though the sound of camera shutters was drawing closer and closer. The door opened, revealing—

“What the heck?”

One of the Three Great Actresses.

Hong Suryeon.

“You were all gathered here waiting just to see meee....”

Hong Suryeon swept into the hospital room and merely brushed back her hair once, and every single Unni froze.

“No. Unnis, you came to see me.... Hurry up and look back over here.”

“Uh. Yeah....”

But their eyes remained fixed on Hong Suryeon’s face.

Even reporters who saw celebrities every day had trouble looking away from that face, so I understood.

Behind Hong Suryeon, her manager waddled into the room carrying an enormous present. It sure looked like she had brought that thing for me.

“....”

“You’re speechless because I’m too beautiful again today, riiight? I understanddd.”

No. It was because I thought I knew exactly what the present in her manager’s arms was.

“Take the framed picture back.”

“What the heck! Don’t say something so ridiculousss! You won’t get better without thisss! Looking at my face improves blood circulation, relieves fatigue, reduces pain, beautifies your skin, and even emits negative ions, and anyway, it has effects beyond anything you could ever imagineee!”

Wait. Was she really allowed to talk about this stuff in a university hospital like she was advertising the benefits of a germanium bracelet? There was obviously no medical evidence whatsoeverrr....

“Hang it somewhere you can see it best right awayyy! Don’t you know why you collapsed? Your blood Suryeon concentration was too lowww! Stupidstupidstupid!”

As expected, the present really was a framed selfie of Hong Suryeon.

‘I’m getting discharged tomorrow! Where the hell am I supposed to hang that thing?!’

I had to stop that gift from entering my possession at all costs. My materialistic calculator rapidly worked out the correct answer.

“A photo can’t capture your actual beauty... Not even one ten-thousandth of it....”

“One hundred-billionth, riiight?”

“Yes. Anyway, about that much.... So just seeing your face right now completely cured me. I’m being discharged tomorrow. All thanks to the miracle performed by the GoddessofBeautyHongSuryeon.”

“Hooong. Of course it diddd, right? I really am beautifulll....”

Apparently satisfied with my answer, Hong Suryeon casually sat down and took the strawberry-flavored doughnut Kim Ilhee had been holding.

Half of it vanished in a single bite.

“Hooong. It’s deliciousss.”

“That was my get-well gift.”

“You dummy! Of course it was a gift for meee! It’s an offering to the Goddess of Beautyyy.”

Perfect.

I turned to Kim Ilhee, who was still staring at Hong Suryeon as though hypnotized.

“Ilhee Unni says she really, really wants to take that framed picture home.”

And dumped it on her.

Bang!

“Kiddo.”

And suddenly, the hospital room became even brighter.

At Yoo Jiuk’s unexpected appearance, all the Unnis who had been mesmerized by Hong Suryeon until a moment ago immediately shifted their gazes.

“You really sick?”

Yoo Jiuk stylishly held out an enormous bouquet of bright red roses with one hand. The Unnis whispered quietly.

“Yeoreum, were you close with Yoo Jiuk...?”

Yoo Jiuk answered for me.

“Of course. You know what kind of relationship we have.”

No. What kind of relationship do we have?

A perfectly ordinary senior-junior relationship, isn’t it?

“You must be really close....”

This is literally the third time we’ve met. Since when did we become close?

Yoo Jiuk’s sense of personal distance was beyond my comprehension. He grinned under everyone’s gaze.

“You like Oppa that much?”

“...What?”

“You went all the way to America and got lovesick over me.”

Just as I desperately tried to shake my head because of the strange looks the Unnis were giving Yoo Jiuk and me,

“You dummy! Obviously she couldn’t sleep because she missed meee!”

Hong Suryeon threw a full-powered punch at Yoo Jiuk.

“You little brat, hitting your Oppa.... Obviously she collapsed from the pain of experiencing first love for the first time. Don’t you know who Oppa is?”

“Nothing can even compare in front of the Goddess of Beautyyy.”

I signaled with my eyes to the staff standing near Yoo Jiuk.

‘Drag him out....’

Because I was suddenly overwhelmed by the ominous feeling that those two would settle in and spend the entire day playing around in here.

Fortunately, the staff were professionals and obediently began dragging Yoo Jiuk away.

“Oppa, but if you stay, my heart might keep pounding so hard I won’t be able to sleep again. You’re right, of course. I’m just saying.”

“Right. Just having Jiuk come here must already make her heart feel like it’s going to explode, so staying any longer would make it even harder for her. Jiuk definitely is her first love, but you know?”

“Everything our Jiuk does is right, of course—but maybe we should think about it just a liiittle more? It’s already sooo good if you just keep doing what you’re doing, but, you know? There’s that thing a first love has to show. That thing!”

“That’s right. Something only Oppa can show.”

Who decided he was my first love...?

At those words, Yoo Jiuk raised one of his sharply arched eyebrows. Then he gave a languid smile.

“Well. Actually, I was thinking the same thing.”

That was Yoo Jiuk.

One of the Three Legends.

“As expected of Oppa!”

Still an idiot.

“Suryeon, should we get going too?”

“What the heck. I want to stay longerrr. I haven’t even properly shown her my beautyyy!”

“Suryeon’s beauty is close to a lethal dose today. It’s dangerous for humans.”

“My beauty is like botulinum toxin. Whatever shall I dooo?”

Thank goodness.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Kiddo. Oppa will come again tomorrow. Well... I can’t take complete responsibility for you, but surely I can do this much.”

“You’ll want to see me the moment you open your eyes tomorrow, riiight?”

At their declaration that they would come again tomorrow, I made up my mind.

‘I absolutely have to get discharged in the morning.’

* * *

[C]

[O]

[L]

[L]

[APSED!!!]

This time, it was the <Code Name: Time Seven> team.

Director Gal seemed to have been hit incredibly hard by my collapse. He kept bouncing up and down as he flipped through the sketchbook one page at a time.

He smacked his head against the hospital-room ceiling several times, but he didn’t seem to feel any pain. Every piece of fruit in the basket hanging from his wrist escaped and rolled across the floor.

[DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!]

[COULD THERE BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR INNATE TRUE QI!!!]

‘How do you read that? Innate... true....’

I narrowed my eyes, trying to sound out the Chinese characters Director Gal had written.

“Innate True Qi... It means the fundamental life force and energy that a person is born with, inherited from their parents.”

“You know a lot about it, Sunbae.”

“Somehow or other. More importantly, are you feeling any better?”

Han Yohan poured bellflower-root honey tea from the tumbler he had brought into a cup and handed it to me. It was pleasantly warm, and the moment I took a sip, I felt my whole body relax.

‘Back when I was doing <Unfair Deal>, Shin Seojin used to brew tea like this for me too.’

The difference was that, unlike Shin Seojin, Han Yohan really did have completely innocent intentions.... After going to America and having my body and soul steeped in glamour and materialism, I felt as though the taste of bellflower-root honey tea was washing it all away, and a peaceful smile spread across my face.

“...I’m glad you look well.”

But what was that about? Jo Eunnara was looking at Han Yohan and me with a strange expression as she spoke.

‘Right. Jo Eunnara is soft-hearted and worries a lot, after all.’

She had grown up under Eun Baekhap, and she herself was known as an icon of misfortune. And now the lead actress had collapsed?

‘That must be genuinely terrifying for her.’

I gave Jo Eunnara a reassuring nod.

“Right. I feel great.”

My physical condition was better than ever.

The IV was seriously incredible, and I’d secretly done some monitoring earlier. Along with the massive buzz over Han Yeoreum collapsing, anticipation for my next project was going completely insane. Thanks to that, my energy hadn’t merely recovered to 100%. It was at 120%.

“I really feel great!”

But did she not believe me? I’d told her twice that I felt great, yet Jo Eunnara’s expression still wasn’t looking any better.

“Did you hear about the T-fany PPL?”

“What?”

“T-fany agreed to sponsor a necklace for our drama. We had to create a scene that wasn’t originally there, but whatever. I don’t really know, but apparently when people read my scripts, all they can do is marvel? Something like that?”

Ma Eungyo handed me the revised script for <Code Name: Time Seven>. I quickly checked the pages she had given me.

The T-fany sponsorship alone was enough to make my heart race, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity about what kind of scene she had created to give the necklace symbolic meaning.

The way Ma Eungyo had newly written the cross necklace as a link between the two of them was almost frighteningly brilliant.

I wanted to get back to the set as soon as possible.

A place that made my heart race more than the flight to America, more than the red carpet, more than the rooftop overlooking the billboards of Times Square.

The set where Han Yeoreum belonged.

* * *

Han Yeoreum’s hospital visit unexpectedly turned into something resembling a broadcasting-industry gathering.

“No, Yeoreum was the pride of our broadcasting station, and she’ll continue signing projects with us and remain our greatest pride for years to come!”

“You’re making your intentions way too obvious.... That heavy implication of ‘Come straight back here the moment you finish your KBC project’ is practically dripping off you....”

“Director So is righttt. Putting pressure on a sick person is a little too much to brush off as variety-show banterrr.”

“Exactlyyy.”

“Yeoreum, are you all right? I was very worried when I heard you collapsed, hoho.”

MBS Drama Center director Lee Saerok, Director So Yesol, <EmBubu>’s Gam Dajeong, and even their staff had come, and Hwang Boseok himself had made an appearance as well.

[THIS KID IS MASTER’S PRIDE]

[NOT THE BROADCASTING STATION’S PRIDE!!!]

“As one of the Ja Sokhwan Kids, don’t you think tying the Ja Sokhwan Baby down to a single broadcasting station is a bit much?”

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

“Well. I heard you weren’t in good health, and I happened to be passing by, so I stopped in. Don’t feel burdened. The director of this hospital is my high school senior, so if you need anything else, tell me.”

The SBC Drama Department director came too.

“I only came because Teacher said he wanted to visit, and as his junior and disciple, it was only right that I accompany him while I was at it. Teacher bought the humidifier and throat lozenges too.”

“Oh dear. What are we going to do with you being sick, hm?”

Veteran voice actor Lee Yongcheol and Jeon Woojeong from <Funny Bunny Harmony> came too.

“What a fuss.”

And then Geum Bitgang arrived, making everyone stand up.

“That’s right. I’m making a fuss, so please tell my company that too. They’re trying to keep me hospitalized for several more days.”

“Back in my day, we worked ourselves to the bone on set while getting IV drips in between.”

Before I knew it, the <Code Name: Time Seven> team had completely settled into Han Yeoreum’s hospital room.

Maybe they were just happy to see one another after so long, but they refused to leave my side, embodying that insane slogan they were always shouting: ‘We are one.’

Han Yohan was peeling apples from one of the gift fruit baskets and serving them to the visitors.

‘So he’s acting like he’s the legal wife, huh....’

Even if I wanted to pretend I hadn’t noticed, there was no way I could.