I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 301

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 301

* * *

“Wow… This is seriously insane.”

“Insane, right? It’s completely insane.”

This was Daily Media, located in Jongno-gu. The articles about yesterday’s broadcast episode of 【The Great Garland】 were boasting exceptional view counts today as well.

“What is this, did Ja Seokhwan make some kind of deal with the devil?”

“His ability to stir up controversy, it seems like something along those lines.”

【The Great Garland】 had always monopolized attention as if it were natural, but this episode was different in nature. Reporter Wi let out a sigh.

“…How do you think this will end?”

Reporter Wi’s senior, who predicted first episode ratings as if possessed by a god, shrugged his shoulders.

“However it ends, it’ll be legendary.”

If it goes well, it would remain as the greatest legend in Korean drama history, and if it fails… it would still remain as the greatest legend in Korean drama history.

“This is… This, this is really… Oh my…”

Reporter Wi couldn’t find words and let out a hollow laugh. The days of living as a drama enthusiast flashed by like a panorama.

Reporter Wi, who had watched countless works, recalled yesterday’s unforgettable 【The Great Garland】.

* * *

Taejin easily obtained information about Taeseok. If you asked anyone to pick the most successful businessman in Seoul right now, everyone would immediately blurt out the three syllables “Lee Taejin” without much thought.

For such a Taejin, this level of background investigation was not difficult at all.

“Hmm…”

These were not the gentle eyes that looked at Huijae. His gaze scanning the documents was as sharp as a well-pressed shirt collar.

Taejin read the documents with one hand while tapping the desk with the other. The watch on his wrist was an expensive overseas luxury brand that supposedly only one piece had been imported domestically.

Things that Taeseok couldn’t obtain even if he tried were too easy for Taejin.

Knock knock-.

A polite knocking sound came from beyond the door.

“You’re here?”

Taejin didn’t even look at Taeseok and concentrated on signing with his fountain pen. He wore his usual smile but didn’t offer any particular words. There wasn’t even a greeting telling him to sit down or come in.

It was mistreatment he hadn’t received in a long time, but such things were familiar. It had been daily life for Taeseok as a boy.

The sight of Taejin sitting leisurely in a high-quality leather chair contrasted with Taeseok standing silently. The wide table placed between the two men seemed like a gap in social status.

It seemed as if an innate difference that could never be caught up to, no matter how hard one tried, was dividing the two men.

“Why don’t you sit down.”

“Yes.”

Taejin’s permission came only after quite a long time had passed. Taeseok sat in the chair placed in front of the table.

The sound of Taejin’s leisurely approaching footsteps was particularly hard.

“Our CEO Gi. I truly respect and cherish him so much…”

Taejin held out the documents in his hand. Then he patted his shoulder as if telling him to read it quickly.

“Why would you do such a thing? It truly breaks my heart.”

Taeseok suppressed his displeasure and took the paper he handed over.

“…What is this?”

There was an unbelievable story written there. It wasn’t something he remembered doing as something Taeseok had committed.

“What do you mean what? It’s a mistake CEO Gi made.”

It was an incident that occurred while aggressively expanding the business. It was a moment when several young workers, exhausted from excessive working hours, briefly let their guard down unable to overcome fatigue.

It was a fatal accident that occasionally happened in industrial factories. But even if it wasn’t something Taeseok intended, considering his current position, it could easily be used against him.

There were more than a few people eyeing the position in charge of relief supplies imported from the UN. If several influential figures got involved, the matter would obviously snowball.

Taeseok desperately fumbled to check the barely readable letters.

“Wasn’t it an accident? Was it intentional?”

According to the documents, it was written that Taeseok had embezzled company money to cover this up and gave it to the bereaved family.

“If you fabricate things like this, in this way.”

“Fabricate? Me?”

Taejin replied coldly with a gentle smile.

“Your way of thinking is fascinating…”

“…”

“Answer me. What reason would I, of all people, have to stoop so low as to fabricate CEO Gi’s affairs?”

At his question, as if he already knew everything inside, Taeseok clenched his teeth. His sharp jawline stood out. A heavy silence settled for a moment.

His whole body boiled with shame.

Just like that day when he was first invited to his house, like that moment when he witnessed Huijae’s wedding photo, smiling brightly as another man’s wife.

He had the illusion that everything was crumbling down.

“I’m not such a heartless husband that I would do such terrible things to someone my wife cares about.”

Taejin cruelly and precisely pointed out Taeseok’s current position.

To the frozen Taeseok, Taejin spoke gently.

“I just thought our CEO Gi might not know, so I informed you.”

Taejin let out a short sigh. It was an expression that this was the end of his business. At the refined dismissal, Taeseok rose from his seat.

“Ah. If it comes to the point where you have to give up the sewing factory, give me a call. As you know, my wife has a tender heart… I’ll pay the highest price possible. Considering CEO Gi’s hard work all this time.”

“That won’t happen.”

“I also think you’ll handle it well on your own.”

Behind Taeseok, who had grabbed the door handle, Taejin spoke with emphasis on each word.

“Just in case. Just maybe. Our CEO Gi might make another mistake.”

It was an order to give up his feelings.

Don’t nurture, confess, or let those impure feelings be discovered.

* * *

Taeseok gripped the steering wheel of the luxury car. Then he pressed the accelerator like crazy.

It felt like a landmine had exploded in his head. It seemed like shell fragments were flying around, scratching his heart. Taeseok’s eyes reddened. He felt the illusion of being dropped back into the middle of a battlefield. His feverish vision blurred. He couldn’t see properly ahead.

Screech-!

Taeseok, who had roughly parked his car in front of the office, strode up the stairs.

There had been so many things that happened before securing a position at the top. But still, it hadn’t been difficult or lonely at all.

Because he thought that if he just reached up there, you would be there.

Taeseok’s dress shoes stepping on the stairs glinted sadly. The polished cowhide only looked shabby.

He wanted to become a wealthy man. He wanted to become an accomplished man.

Because… only then could he become the man by your side.

He realized much later.

“Are there ハナビ(fireworks) here too? In Naichi, we always had them in summer.”

That what you said that day was fireworks.

A corner of the sky that you could only watch from afar because no one would take you. He wanted to pluck that out and give it to you…

Every time the fireworks burst with a bang, he fought through hell with the yearning to see that face warmly illuminated in crimson light.

Now you have a man who will take you to see fireworks.

Truly wonderful, who loves you deeply, and…

A different man who is not me.

Bang!

Taeseok, who had roughly opened the office door, approached his business partner with wide strides.

“Taeseok, why, do you have some problem?”

White documents scattered over his face, which looked dumbfounded.

“Explain this.”

Without reading the documents, he immediately grasped the situation.

“That, I, I was trying to handle it alone somehow… Taeseok, wait, listen to me for a moment.”

As if he knew that such a day would come someday.

Taeseok recalled a certain time from his attitude.

“Taeseok!”

“…If it’s not urgent, don’t bring up other matters. I’m busy.”

“Well, oh my…”

“Get out.”

“…Alright. I’ll handle it myself…”

Taeseok’s fists trembled with rage. Why hadn’t he noticed sooner? Disgust rose within him at his own incompetence.

It felt like every blood vessel in his body had expanded. Each cell was pounding frantically.

“How did I come this far, with what feelings! What feelings have I lived with all this time!”

He couldn’t reach it. No matter what he did, as long as Gi Taeseok was Gi Taeseok, he absolutely couldn’t reach it.

That fact filled him with despair.

“I was wrong a hundred, a thousand times. Taeseok. I…”

The business partner who had knelt before the furious Taeseok pleaded with a desperate face.

“I was scared. Scared of going to prison. The baby is about to be born, and I was scared my wife would have to raise the child alone, without a father, without me…”

It couldn’t be undone. Realizing this, Taeseok swept everything off his desk with his hand in a fit of rage.

An expensive American-made lamp shattered, documents scattered, and his nameplate rolled on the floor.

Everything that had become a mess resembled Taeseok’s life.

* * *

Knock knock.

At the light knocking sound, Taejin smiled.

“Come in.”

His expression was quite different from when he had dealt with Taeseok earlier. The man who entered the office was carrying a document envelope.

“Did the matter get resolved well?”

“Thanks to you.”

The man who had investigated Taeseok’s background gently placed the document envelope he was holding onto Taejin’s desk.

“This doesn’t seem like something I asked for.”

“I prepared this gift on my own, hoping to become closer with you, CEO.”

Taejin’s eyebrows raised questioningly for a moment. Somehow he had an intuition that he shouldn’t open this envelope right now.

“No matter how much CEO Gi searches and searches, he won’t be able to find it… But you never know what might happen in life.”

He had heard before that Taeseok was investigating Taejin’s background. But he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

There wasn’t much that could come out even if that guy investigated him.

“…”

But after reading the documents, Taejin’s face turned pale.

Taejin had been confident that he had lived his life fulfilling his calling.

He had acted without hesitation to do what those who had much could do for those who had little.

“…Thank you. You may go.”

After dismissing the man, Taejin covered his face with one hand and sighed.

Though he didn’t want to believe it, the first page of the documents he held read:

[Korean Recruitment Plan]

At the end of the plan from over 10 years ago, two seals that Taejin knew well were clearly stamped.

One belonged to Hanamura,

The other one was…

His father’s.

-???

-No way, this is crazy

-Call Gaksital, you bastard

-Is this psychopath out of his mind

The community exploded. Director Ja was driving the viewers relentlessly, as if telling them never to let their guard down until the very end.

Aetami couldn’t overcome the shock and sat there with her mouth agape.

As soon as today’s episode ended, all communities were in an uproar.

Viewers who had been hit by an insanely fierce storm cried out desperately for salvation, clinging to a single raft.

“Th-this…”

Just like this.

“Give us a proper ending, you fucking bastard!”

* * *

IP 85.152 still hadn’t recovered from the shock. 【The Great Garland】 gallery was in a state no different from being bombed.

[The Great Garland Gallery]

[How are they really going to handle the ending? The writer-director has definitely lost it]

How are they going to fix this

Anonymous (17.1777) Can this even be salvaged?

Anonymous (42.2) What the hell, does Heejae have some pro-Japanese curse or something? Every single one is a Japanese collaborator

ㄴㅇㅇ(175.20) Fact: If you lived that well during that era, you were definitely a Japanese collaborator…

Yeah (3.11) It would have been cleaner and better to just kill off Taejin…

[It seems like… we’re screwed]

We’re totally screwed

Anonymous(23.45) My thoughts exactly

Anonymous (18.133) I still want to trust the director though. If they want to keep living in Korea, they probably did well.

Anonymous(59.9) There’s more than just one or two K-dramas that have collapsed like this lol ah fuck, what a waste of time

Come to think of it, Taejin’s father had joined hands with that Hanamura. Despite having nothing to regret.

“Actually, Taejin’s family has the upper hand over Hanamura…?”

A decent person wouldn’t buy the daughter of a pro-Japanese collaborator who sells at a high price.

Realizing this sent chills down her arms. She had been fooled by the well-crafted image all this time. Taejin had been a picture-perfect husband after all.

Seeing such a kind and refined man, she had believed without doubt that his father must also be an upright person.

“It wasn’t just a simple in-law relationship…”

Marriage was simply the way they could gain the greatest trust from each other. They had bound Huijae and Taejin together to keep their promise of secrecy until the end.

“To think that a second male lead created with such care would be completely ruined…”

This was an unprecedented disaster in Korean drama history.

“He should have just had an affair…”

IP 85.152 checked the reactions of the Gi-Yeon couple supporters who were celebrating.

[Oh I knew it from when they gave the role to that child actor lol]

[Forget about the happy couple, get lost, it’s time to stop dating]

[Yeah your Taejin is going to hell, come back in 4 weeks after the divorce is finalized]

The reaction in the Great Garland gallery was naturally flowing toward Huijae having to divorce Taejin and choose Taeseok.

“Of course…”

The moment Huijae chose to stay by Taejin’s side, her beautiful growth process would be completely twisted.

No matter which direction it went, one side would definitely collapse.

“But is this really the end?”

IP 85.152 recalled the image of Taejin she had seen so far. She couldn’t let their first meeting, where he politely asked Huijae for her name, be shattered like this.

“No.”

IP 85.152 decided to trust the psychopath.

“I’m definitely watching until the ending.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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