Become a Star

Is she not coming?

Woo-Jin checked the time and took a sip from a bottle of cold water. He thought the park would be rather empty on a weekday morning, but there were unexpectedly a lot people –– people walking their pets, a middle-aged woman wearing a sun hat while brisk walking, a middle-aged man repeatedly hitting his back against a tree [1] while grunting, and a married couple who were using the exercise equipment incorrectly.

“They’re going to break their joints at this rate…”

Just as the nosy Woo-Jin was about to intervene, someone else stepped in and no one was hurt. Even though they taught them the right way of using the equipment, the married couple snapped back, and said they knew how to use the equipment as well.

“I did the right thing by not interfering.”

Woo-Jin felt ashamed for no reason and looked up at the April sky. It was a sunny day with crisp and clear air, so it seemed as though people had been waiting for such a day before going to the park. Thus, Woo-Jin adjusted his hat several times, even though he was sitting on the bench in a corner.

The person he was supposed to meet didn’t come, and there were a lot of people in the park, so Woo-Jin became increasingly anxious as time went by. It seemed like a long wait, but in reality, it had only been fifteen minutes past the scheduled time. However, because Woo-Jin was ten minutes early, he felt as though he had waited for a long time.

Woo-Jin looked at his watch and smiled awkwardly. He mentally prepared himself not to feel disappointed, even if today’s meeting was fruitless. Woo-Jin could understand even if the other party decided to not show up today. She was reluctant to meet with him to begin with, but Woo-Jin managed to persuade her otherwise. Even if she were to change her mind at the last minute, there was nothing he could do.

As soon as the brisk-walking middle-aged woman walked past him, Woo-Jin subconsciously lowered his head and pretended to adjust his hat. A young man sitting on the bench in a park wearing a hat while doing nothing might have looked suspicious, so the middle-aged woman suddenly picked up her pace.

Woo-Jin quickly straightened his back as he felt like he looked too suspicious. Just then, a shadow was cast over him. Woo-Jin slowly lifted his head and looked up; the person he had been waiting for was standing before him.

“Ah, hello.”

When Woo-Jin stood up in a hurry and took off his hat to greet her, Kang Hye-Min waved and told him not to do that, as she sat down next to him.

“I’m the one who asked to meet here, so there’s no need for you to be so formal.”

Even though Woo-Jin had asked to meet today, Kang Hye-Min was the one who decided on the time and location.

“I’m not a fan of stuffy places, so I asked to meet here, but I regretted it afterwards. Should we go somewhere else instead?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m fine with this place.” Woo-Jin answered firmly with both his hands on his knees. The conversation was rather awkward because Woo-Jin didn’t know the appropriate way of addressing Kang Hye-Min, so he avoided it entirely. The same applied to Kang Hye-Min as well, so she sat there awkwardly while facing in front.

Woo-Jin only learned about Kang Hye-Min after the Lee Yeo-Rin incident, when he heard about the details from CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. The Lee Yeo-Rin incident during the live broadcast of Charge! Open the Door was completely unexpected. Even though the incident was unexpected, the media responded in a very systematic way.

Amidst the sudden influx of information, as the person who was directly involved, Woo-Jin was rather flabbergasted after learning how everything unfolded. He had never imagined that anything like that would happen. He found out something that both his parents and even his maternal family didn’t know about, so naturally Woo-Jin assumed CEO Jang Soo-Hwan was the one who orchestrated everything. But contrary to his expectations, he found out about Kang Hye-Min from Jang Soo-Hwan instead.

CEO Jang learned about Kang Hye-Min when she became the biggest shareholder of TM, but he didn’t interact with her. However, as soon as the Lee Yeo-Rin incident was broadcast live, Kang Hye-Min took the initiative to reach out first. She gave him all the information and materials that she had already prepared in advance, and CEO Jang Soo-Hwan merely carried out the plan that had been laid out.

After finding out the full story, Woo-jin felt he had to do something, so he contacted Kang Hye-Min. In any case, Woo-Jin felt that thanking her for her help seemed like the right thing to do. However, he didn’t know what to say when he met her in person, so it was awkward.

“I heard you helped me out a lot in this incident. Thank you so much.”

Even though Woo-Jin was prepared to deal with Lee Yeo-Rin, he was unaware that Kim Hye-Ryeong was supporting her from behind the scenes. Thus, Woo-Jin didn’t know if there were any other unknown variables lurking in the background. With Kang Hye-Min’s help, he was able to clear up any misunderstandings the public had of him within a few hours, which drove Kim Hye-Ryeong into a corner instead.

“Since this is personal, I’m not doing this out of pure altruism. Hence, it’s not something deserving of any gratitude. Well, just think of me as an ally with a common enemy.”

Perhaps Kang Hye-Min felt awkward to be thanked for what she had done, so she awkwardly fiddled with the bag on her lap.

“Regardless of whether you’re an ally or not, since you helped me out, it’s still something I should thank you for.”

Kang Hye-Min didn’t do it because she wanted something in return, so Woo-Jin wanted to express his gratitude.

“You resemble Park Eun-Soo a lot in the sense that you’re both very upright and uncompromising. Your appearance and personality too. I’m really…glad.”

As Kang Hye-Min looked at Woo-Jin’s face which resembled his mother’s, Kang Hye-Min said she was glad but at the same time, she felt an indescribable sadness. While it was good that Woo-Jin didn’t take after Chae Mu-Seok, looking at the face that bore no resemblance to her son made her feel bitter and sad.

If Woo-Jin had any physical traits that were similar to Woo-Young, she wouldn’t have been so calm as she would’ve been overwhelmed with emotions. She was glad she didn’t show this side of herself to other people, and thought that it was sad because she couldn’t imagine how much Woo-Young would’ve grown if he were still alive today.

“By the way, have you ever met Lee Yeo-Rin?”

“Why would I meet her?”

There was no need for Kang Hye-Min to meet her in person to inform her that Kang Hye-Min knew what they were up to.

“In that case, who is ‘that woman’ whom she was referring to?”

After finding out that the mother Lee Yeo-rin was referring to was Kim Hye-Ryeong, Woo-Jin was curious about who ‘that woman’ was. SInce she was so malicious and hostile towards that person, it didn’t seem like it was just plain crazy talk. Lee Yeo-Rin kept her mouth shut about it during the police investigation, and since the police didn’t think it was an important matter, they glossed over it.

“It’s Park Eun-Soo.”

However, Kang Hye-Min gave a prompt reply, as though it wasn’t something that was difficult to figure out.

“My mother? She treated Kim Hye-Ryeong with so much respect and called her ‘mother’, there’s no way she would be so hostile towards my mother.”

“Kim Hye-Ryeong must have brainwashed her by telling her that she approves of her, but Park Eun-Soo hates her and is against your relationship with her. It would’ve been easy for her to make Lee Yeo-Rin focus all her resentment on Park Eun-Soo.”

And if a scandal were to break out, the public would be inclined to think that Park Eun-Soo had single handedly destroyed a woman’s life.

“Did Kim Hye-Ryeong think this mission of hers would be successful?”

“Even if it wasn’t successful, such gossip isn’t good for celebrities. Not only does Kim Hye-Ryeong hate you, she’s equally jealous of you as an actress. The people who don’t believe in you would not change their minds until the very end, even if you have the perfect explanation. She wanted to use those people to tarnish your reputation. Even if Kim Hye-Ryeong gets caught, you’ll end up distancing yourself even further from your father because of her, and to her, that is the greatest success.”

If Woo-Jin was forced to date Lee Yeo-Rin because of pressure from the media and public, Kim Hye-Ryeong would gloat over it. If Woo-Jin were to vehemently deny their ‘relationship’, it would’ve given him the image of a bad guy, and everyone would think badly of him.

Kim Hye-Ryeong also tried to spread fake news about Chae Woo-Jin being on good terms with his paternal family so as to exploit the hatred he had for his father to get what she wanted. In Kim Hye-Ryeong’s opinion, it was a risk worth taking in more ways than one.

“For Kim Hye-Ryeong, her greatest nightmare would be for you to open your heart to your paternal family and inherit their fortune, so she wanted to find a way to stop it from happening.”

“Is that what I have to do in order to seek revenge on her? That’s very easy.”

“Are you going to do that?”

“For some reason, you seem to welcome the idea.”

Woo-Jin thought that Kang Hye-Min would’ve been very against the idea of him reconnecting with his paternal family, but she responded to his question with delight, so Woo-Jin was rather taken aback. Kang Hye-Min had remained composed the entire time, but her eyes were shining brightly at this moment.

“Because that is the best way to get revenge.”

“But I’ll be doing what that person wants instead.”

The person Woo-Jin was referring to was his biological father, Chae Mu-Seok. Between his father and Kim Hye-Ryeong, if Woo-Jin had to pick who he resented more, it would be the former. After all, he was the one who betrayed his wife and neglected his children and duties as the head of the household.

“No, it’s also an opportunity for you to take everything away from that person.”

The source of Chae Mu-Seok’s power ultimately came from his wealth. If he had his wealth taken away from him, he would be nothing more than an ordinary man.

After Woo-Jin’s paternal grandfather collapsed, most of the Chae family’s fortune went to Chae Mu-Seok, but his grandfather still retained a huge percentage of the shares. It wouldn’t be a bad start if Woo-Jin were to receive those shares in return for reconnecting with his paternal family, on top of receiving some shares from Chae Mu-Seok as well.

“Their family would never give any shares to girls. The reason why Woo-Ra is so wealthy at her age is because whenever Kim Hye-Ryeong talked about transferring shares, Chae Mu-Seok would give her real estate properties instead since he couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. And if he were to divorce Kim Hye-Ryeong, do you think Chae Mu-Seok would live alone? He will undoubtedly remarry again, and nobody knows what will happen then.”

If Chae Mu-Seok were to remarry and have a son, the interest he currently had in Woo-Jin would vanish immediately. If that were the case, he would live comfortably, enjoying life to the fullest. If Woo-Jin were to go on a mission to prevent that from happening, Kang Hye-Min was ready to help him actively.

“Please go ahead and do it.”

“But!”

“If I were to do that, it would feel good during that moment, but I would have to devote the rest of my life to the company in return. I don’t think that’s considered revenge if I end up being unhappy.”

Woo-Jin could take everything from Chae Mu-Seok and destroy it, but he couldn’t help but think about the employees of Garam and Bareunjeong, as well as their families. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy the livelihoods of innocent people because of his family conflict. It was a person’s duty to not start something that they didn’t plan on taking responsibility for to the very end. Chae Mu-Seok couldn’t fulfill his duties and do the right thing, but Woo-Jin couldn’t be the same as him and do the same thing.

“Ah…”

Judging from Woo-Jin’s words alone, Kang Hye-Min could feel how much he liked his current job. Money nor revenge wasn’t important to him. Realizing how simple and selfish her thoughts were made her feel ashamed.

“I’m sorry. I was too caught up thinking about myself.”

“It’s okay. It’s normal for everyone to think this way. I know I’m a little different.”

“You just have different values. I did the same thing in the past, but once again, I am making the same mistakes.”

For a moment, the expectations she placed on Woo-Jin were no different from those which she placed on Woo-Young back then, when she was blinded by greed to make him the heir of the Chae family’s fortune. It was difficult for a person to change, even though they had already lost the most important thing to them because of worldly greed.

“Hence, I decided to use this opportunity to use my stage name, Choi Woo-Jin, instead of Chae Woo-Jin.”

After Choi Min-Woo had legally adopted Woo-Jin, his paternal side of the family didn’t approve of Woo-Jin changing his last name. When they tried to use Kim Hye-Ryeong’s sponsor broker scandal to strike a deal with the Chae family, Chae Mu-Seok said he would get a divorce with her. Thus, Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather was very flustered. He even lashed out at Chae Mu-Seok, whom he had once considered the most ideal son-in-law, and called him a madman.

Ultimately, after much negotiation, they received the Chae family’s consent with regards to Woo-Hee’s adoption and changing her last name. Even though Chae Mu-Seok acted as though he was forced into making such a decision, the truth was that he couldn’t be happier to sign the consent form as he feared that Woo-Hee might try to fight for his inheritance. Woo-Hee wasn’t greedy or eyeing his wealth at the moment, but he didn’t know if she would change her mind when she got older, so he wanted to cut off all ties with her while she was still young and ignorant.

“Even if it’s just a stage name, I think they’ll still strongly oppose it.”

“Regardless of what they do, that person won’t get anything from me.”

Woo-Jin decided to look at the long run. Even if it was a struggle right now, Woo-jin would have the upper hand in time to come. He would never give Chae Mu-Seok what he wanted, and if he was in a hurry, he would have to look elsewhere for a solution.

This wasn’t revenge or anything like that. Woo-Jin simply didn’t love him.

Kang Hye-Min covered her mouth and chuckled at Woo-Jin’s indifferent response. Come to think of it, it was a rather delightful way of punishing Chae Mu-Seok as well.

As soon as the ambience became a little more light-hearted, Woo-Jin took out a notebook and pen from his bag, as though he had remembered something.

“Right! Can I have your autograph please?”

“My autograph?”

“My friend’s a fan, no, he insists that you’re his mentor.”

Hyun-Min was the first person Woo-Jin thought about after hearing that Kang Hye-Min was the biggest shareholder of TM. The person his friend thought of as a mentor ultimately turned out to be Kang Hye-Min. Woo-Jin was amazed by how they were all connected like this. Since they met, Woo-Jin wanted to get her autograph for his friend.

“By any chance, are you referring to the friend that appeared on TV with you? The one who invests in stocks.”

Kang Hye-Min seemed to have watched the episode –– she immediately guessed who Woo-Jin was talking about.

“Yes.”

“Is he planning to work in that field after he graduates?”

“He’s not doing it as a job, but I think he’ll keep investing in stocks as a hobby.”

“I personally think it’s better not to dabble in stocks. The exchange of information is fast-paced, and it’ll be a struggle if you don’t have good instincts. It’s fascinating. The big players have already taken all the good stuff and you’ll just be left with the leftovers.”

Kang Hye-Min firmly advised against trading stocks even as a hobby.

“I heard you were just an ordinary housewife before you started investing. How did you become so successful?”

Woo-Jin had briefly heard her success story from CEO Jang Soo-Hwan. It was very surprising. Even for someone who had formally studied in that field, it was difficult to succeed in such a short period of time like what she did. There was a reason why Hyun-Min made a huge fuss about her being a mentor.

“I received a huge amount of alimony.”

“Huh?”

“The logic is the same for most things, but it is particularly important when it comes to investing in stocks, the quality of information and data you get varies depending on your investment. And the higher the investment, the higher the risk, but you get higher returns as well.”

Naturally, having a lot of money didn’t guarantee access to the best information and data. Picking out the right information from a sea of data was talent in itself, and for Kang Hye-Min, it was an easy task.

“But even if your friend has a lot of money, tell him not to dabble in stocks. He doesn’t have the latent instinct, and without luck, he won’t make it far when dabbling in stocks.”

“I will definitely let him know. Still, please give him your autograph.”

Woo-Jin said that Hyun-Min would be disappointed by the blunt advice he got from his mentor, so he would use the autograph as a way to comfort him. After hearing that, Kang Hye-Min awkwardly gave Woo-Jin her autograph. Making her signature bigger than usual and signing it on a clean notebook felt weird as she was used to signing it on trading floor contracts.

“Celebrities are really good at this.”

“Probably because it’s our job.”

“By the way, how’s your wound?”

“There will be a scar, but fortunately it’s on my palm, so it’s fine.”

Even though it wasn’t a deep cut, he grabbed the knife hard when he was trying to stop Lee Yeo-Rin from hurting herself, so the wound became bigger, and he had no choice but to get it stitched up. It was done by a plastic surgeon, but there would still be some scarring.

1. It’s a workout that’s popular among the older population in Korea. ☜