Chapter 210: Look at this and quietly get lost, okay?

[Hello. I’m Phoebe Taylor.]

[My name is Yu Myeong.]

The short, extremely thin woman carried a camera bag that looked almost too large for her small frame.

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she observed Yu Myeong, as if measuring him.

Sure enough, even outside the camera frame, there was something about him that naturally drew people’s attention.

An actor was an actor, after all.

Exactly the kind of person paparazzi like her would love.

[You’ll be handling my close coverage for the time being, right? I look forward to working with you.]

"Reporter," huh... Is he mocking me?

Seeing his kind smile, malice suddenly surged inside her.

The more someone pretended to be kind, the darker they usually were inside.

The strange request had come to her the previous week.

It was a paid close coverage assignment.

Follow our actor around for a while.

...What’s the intention?

He’s been hit with too many rumors. Think of it as a counterattack.

The face of that crookedly smiling company president clearly contained something familiar to her.

He had attached a condition:

Any articles based on the information she obtained had to receive his approval before publication.

That was when Phoebe immediately sensed it.

His actor suddenly became famous and he can’t control him anymore. He’s trying to find some weakness through me.

He was exactly the kind of shady person she expected.

But he was still too naive to play in this industry.

When he handed her a contract stating that any information or photos obtained while following Yu Myeong could only be released after the agency’s approval, Phoebe signed it while laughing inwardly.

A contract?

What paparazzi actually cared about something like that?

Especially when he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. What does he take Phoebe Taylor, who never lets go once she bites, for?

A freelance paparazzo.

Someone who investigated celebrity scandals and sold them to whoever offered the highest price.

When she first entered this industry, people often looked down on her because of her small and delicate appearance.

But Phoebe was relentless.

Her obsessive investigations, never letting go once she locked onto a target, and her provocative writing style had gotten her involved in lawsuits several times.

Now even other paparazzi shook their heads at her persistence, calling her “Pit Bull Terrier.”

She had survived in this industry through sheer stubbornness.

I was already thinking about digging into him since he’s been so hot lately, and now he threw the fishing line at me first. Heh.

Approval?

She could shove that where the sun didn’t shine.

If she found a story worth selling, she was always ready to sell it wherever she wanted.

Of course, she could sell it to that suspicious looking president too.

If he could offer more money than all the other buyers combined, that was.

Actors are still human in the end. They’re all the same. Everyone has some dirty corner somewhere. I’ll expose every last bit of yours.

She smiled brightly and shook Yu Myeong’s hand.

 Act 2.

The first filming of the development section began from Scene 29.

Time had jumped forward four years.

Crackle. Crackle.

[This is the headline news for April 18, 1997. An unexplained explosion has occurred in the Fremont district of Seattle. This marks the seventeenth unexplained explosion incident this year, and the government believes it to be the work of a terrorist organization and is currently investigating. Citizens across the United States are expressing fear over the indiscriminate bomb attacks occurring nationwide—]

The camera was looking at a mirror.

A man reflected in the blurred surface.

The hand reflected in the mirror rose to his ear and removed his earphones.

Perhaps because it had been playing through the earphones, the news sound abruptly disappeared the moment they were removed.

Using that as a signal, the screen spun around and revealed As.

The end of the protagonist’s point of view.

The adult As, appearing on screen for the first time in the actual film, overflowed with an almost suffocating level of charm.

Definitely... there’s something captivating about him. He really is something special.

But just as Phoebe was thinking that she wasn’t sure whether he truly possessed outstanding acting ability, a chilling voice came from behind her.

[Hey, Phoebe. What brings you here? Did you find yourself a new target?]

Oh my god.

This crazy guy...

Derek McCurdy.

He was famous among paparazzi for many reasons.

First, because he created an enormous number of scandals, earning himself the nickname “a walking article vending machine.”

Second, because no matter how complicated his private life became, his acting quality was so undeniable that his position as an actor never wavered.

Third, [N O V E L I G H T] because he himself did not seem particularly bothered by scandals.

And yet...

The thing that truly elevated his infamous reputation was that, occasionally, he would pick one person and absolutely destroy them.

A paparazzo who had suffered from him and ended up paying a massive fine once shouted at him in frustration.

Derek’s answer had become legendary.

Why me?! There are more than a dozen paparazzi following you!

Because you’re ugly. Looking at you every time annoys me.

The paparazzo reportedly broke down crying afterward, asking whether being ugly was a crime.

Phoebe suddenly realized she was wondering whether she had put on makeup today and clenched her teeth.

[Just normal, healthy reporting.]

[Phoebe Taylor? Yeah, right. Even a passing dog would laugh. Wait, don’t tell me you’re following Yu Myeong? I don’t know how you got onto the set, but don’t waste your time and go home. That kid is the real deal.]

[The real deal... I know he’s attractive, but I’m not sure about his acting.]

Derek laughed as if he found that ridiculous.

[Watch the next scene. My filming isn’t for a while either, but I came here today because I thought this scene would be interesting. Watch it quietly, then leave, okay?]

 [Skipping Scenes 30 through 38. Moving to Scene 39 chroma key filming!]

Studio One.

Because of scheduling conflicts for studio usage, Scene 39, which they filmed first, was As’s flashback scene.

From the day As held Hetty’s hand, the two began dating.

They entered the same university, and due to As’s persistent pursuit, eventually began living together.

Then one day, Hetty discovered a massive Excel file on As’s computer.

What is this?

Inside were countless pieces of observational data about human behavior.

Statistics analyzing what actions were most advantageous according to human patterns.

At the end of it was a record about her.

Hetty Lamb.

Things she had said on certain dates.

Things she had done.

Detailed records of how her habits matched ordinary humans and where they differed.

The level of detail was enough to send chills running from head to toe.

She was horrified when she realized that the “optimal patterns” As had recorded and his usual “behavior patterns” matched perfectly.

Unable to believe the contents, she began following As.

That was the story beginning from Scene 39.

Studio One was the largest chroma key studio among Work Brothers’ facilities, used whenever large crowd shots were needed.

The background for Scene 39 was a “racetrack.”

Not a family friendly racetrack where people came for entertainment.

A true gambling racetrack, where serious gamblers gathered with bloodshot eyes and threw money down on bets.

Around one hundred extras were positioned appropriately on the massive green platform.

When the director arrived and picked up the megaphone, they began rehearsal according to the planned movements.

Wooooooah—

When the horses started running, everyone screamed until their throats turned red.

After the storm passed, some people screamed and cheered like mad.

Some collapsed to the ground and slammed their fists against the floor.

Someone else cursed with a flushed face as if drunk.

Somewhere else, people grabbed each other by the collars and started fighting.

In short, complete chaos.

[The fight over there looks a little unnatural. Let’s replace those people. And make that person’s costume more disheveled.]

After Kyler gave a few more instructions and turned back to the monitor, rehearsal resumed with the adjustments.

Yu Myeong approached the director after changing costumes and completing makeup.

He wore an old, dirty bomber jacket, with his bangs messed up and hanging over his eyes.

It was the perfect appearance for someone who belonged here.

[As watches carefully from the edge of the stands, then naturally begins acting the moment he blends into the crowd. Hetty’s scene of secretly watching As will be filmed separately later, so wait until then.]

Phoebe watched the scene quietly.

There was no sign of tension between the director and Yu Myeong, nor any overly friendly atmosphere with the female lead.

If the set atmosphere was bad, she could write a good article.

Now she was actually hoping Yu Myeong’s acting ability was exaggerated.

The controversy over Yu Myeong’s “acting bubble” was a common topic in gossip magazines these days.

If she emphasized that through an on site report, it might make a decent article.

But I can’t understand what kind of acting he’s trying to do at all...

Without realizing it, she looked for Derek.

She found his face at the opposite end of the set.

He seemed not to care about her at all.

Instead, he was staring intensely at Yu Myeong, who had already entered the frame.

He said this scene would be interesting. What exactly did he mean?

She discreetly pressed the miniature camera attached to her glasses.

 When As first entered the racetrack, he was exactly as usual.

Watching the people in the distance pressed against the railing with bloodshot eyes, he climbed the stands two steps at a time with light, casual movements.

A cold curiosity lingered in the eyes hidden beneath his bangs.

[Ah... humans...]

The meaningless exclamation sent a chill down Phoebe’s spine.

An announcement revealing the rankings echoed through the venue.

Cheers and screams boiled chaotically.

After watching the scene for a long time, As began walking toward the crowd.

Phoebe, following him with her eyes, soon found herself staring blankly.

What... what is this...?

The closest group consisted of people sitting higher up in the stands, drinking.

Among people swaying drunkenly and spitting out curses, As stepped inside...

[Ah... fuck. My luck is terrible again today.]

He naturally cursed as if it was something he said every day, then spat on the ground.

A slight limp in his step.

Both hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

His shoulders hunched.

His head pushed forward as he looked around.

Then his eyes lit up when he spotted the alcohol bottles, and he joined the group.

[Who the hell is this guy?]

[Come on, let me have a drink too. I went all in on that damn number two horse and got wiped out.]

[Hahaha, you’re a rookie, aren’t you? In horse racing, you look at the jockey before the horse. It’s my turn to buy drinks after winning this round, so have one. Congratulations on entering this swamp of hell.]

[Congratulations my ass.]

He snatched the glass from the man’s hand and downed it in one gulp.

Seeing that, the man grinned drunkenly and poked him in the side.

[Looks like you’ve already hit rock bottom too. First time at the racetrack though. Where were you wandering around before this?]

[...Well... I played some poker. Mahjong too.]

Phoebe was completely confused about what she was seeing.

What connection was there between the bright and impossibly charming man who had appeared earlier and this man clearly wallowing at the bottom of society?

Was he suffering from multiple personalities?

At that moment, the man emptied his glass and stood up.

He staggered away.

The man who had poured him drinks and shown him kindness watched his back for a moment, then quickly lost interest and returned to drinking.

And then, in another group...

He suddenly began cheering.

...?!

[Wooooah!! It hit! It hit! One shot at changing my life!!]

[What happened? What hit?]

[I bet five and one on a quinella (*correctly predicting the first and second horses to finish in order), and it hit!! Haha, haha, ha...]

[Wow... how many times did it pay?]

[Fo... four hundred and thirty eight times. Uh... hahaha!!]

The man who had just been cursing because he had bet all his money moments ago was gone.

In his place was a man overwhelmed by the joy of a life changing win, shouting and spilling out pure happiness.

Despite the sudden emotional transformation, his performance blended so naturally into the scene that no one felt anything strange.

What is this...?

Only then did Phoebe remember the title of the movie.

Mimicry.

He was performing “camouflage” here.