Chapter 1045: Princess and the Maid (5)

Inside the KBC studio, Ahn Yoo-Ra stared at my phone with her face drained of all color.

President Yoo Myung-Min had begun his exposé during a live broadcast on Entertainment Oddities TV, the one-million-subscriber MeTube channel run by former comedian Ahn Joong-Sang.

-Ahn Yoo-Ra's claim that she's never had plastic surgery is a complete lie. Back then, I spent over a hundred million won and had the operation performed by surgeons who worked exclusively on celebrities. That's why no one ever found out.

The revelation that Ahn Yoo-Ra had undergone plastic surgery sent shockwaves through the room. For years, Ahn Yoo-Ra had been celebrated as a natural beauty and had monopolized countless beauty endorsements.

Ahn Yoo-Ra's entire body trembled. That single statement alone could leave her liable for contract penalties worth billions of won.

Speaking in disbelief, the channel host asked.

-But Ms. Ahn Yoo-Ra even showed photos from thirty years ago on a morning television program. She presented pictures from her school days as proof that she was naturally beautiful. How do you explain that?

As if he had been expecting the question, Yoo Myung-Min answered immediately.

-They were fabricated.

-What?

-They were made by taking school photos of a beautiful woman named Moon Soo-Jung from elementary, middle, and high school, then compositing Ahn Yoo-Ra's face onto them.

-But... Photoshop didn't even exist back then.

-There were specialists in Japan who could manipulate film negatives. I paid one of them a great deal of money to do it.

I already knew Ahn Yoo-Ra had undergone plastic surgery. However, I hadn't known how those fake photographs had been created. The staff on set, everyone watching the livestream, and even I couldn't help but be stunned.

Then Ahn Joong-Sang asked another question.

-You said the original person in those photos was an actress named Moon Soo-Jung. Are you referring to the actress who played the villainous Court Lady Choi in Queen Jeonghee? The one who's a brilliant actress and walks with a slight limp?

-That's right.

-She's certainly not unattractive, but I wouldn't have called her a stunning beauty...

At that moment, Yoo Myung-Min reached into his pocket, pulled out an old wallet, and carefully removed a laminated ID photo.

-This is Ms. Moon Soo-Jung when she was a first-year high school student, before the accident.

The girl in the photograph had a slender face, large monolid eyes, and a gentle smile. She was an elegant beauty.

-Wow... She was incredibly beautiful back then.

-Yes, she was.

-This is honestly so shocking that I don't even know what to think anymore. But if that's true, why has no one discovered this until now?"

-Because Ahn Yoo-Ra isn't her real name.

-I'm sorry?

-Ahn Yoo-Ra's real name is Ahn Nam-Mi. She dropped out during her first year of high school after I pulled her out of a tiny branch school with fewer than twenty students. After that, she underwent plastic surgery and even changed her name. Naturally, no one would know.

As one shocking revelation followed another, whispers spread throughout the studio.

"That guy's unbelievable. Is he with the FBI or something? He completely reinvented her."

"He said a hundred million won, huh? No way. Looking at her, I'd say it cost several hundred million. She must've had some seriously wealthy sponsor."

"Ahn Yoo-Ra... Is she some kind of spy or something?"

"Wait. Ahn Nam-Mi? Isn't that the name of a rice variety?"

"Yeah, I think it's the kind used for nasi goreng[1]."

Only then did Ahn Yoo-Ra snap out of her daze. She shot to her feet and screamed at everyone around her.

"Shut up! If you don't want to die, then shut the hell up!" After yelling at the staff, she lunged toward me, trying to snatch my phone away. "Turn it off! Turn that off!"

Nevertheless, I simply raised the phone high above my head. After all, I already knew Yoo Myung-Min's revelations were only just beginning.

Then Yoo Myung-Min spoke again.

-Ah... There's one more thing I absolutely have to tell everyone.

-There's more you want to reveal?

-Yes. There's another reason Yoo-Ra spent the past ten years making sure Soo-Jung only received maid roles.

-What other reason could there be? Ms. Ahn Yoo-Ra always said she gave those roles to help a struggling actress make a living.

-No. That wasn't it.

-It wasn't?

-Ahn Yoo-Ra was simply venting the deep jealousy she'd always felt toward Moon Soo-Jung.

-Jealousy?

-Yes. Thirty years ago, before Yoo-Ra had plastic surgery, she appeared in Royal Court playing a palace maid named On. At the time, Moon Soo-Jung played a princess.

-So it was the exact opposite of now.

-That's right. Back then, Yoo-Ra hadn't undergone surgery yet and was still using the stage name Sung Joo-Hee. Because she was playing a maid, the staff treated her poorly on set. She held a grudge because Soo-Jung, who was playing the princess, didn't help her. Even though Soo-Jung was also young and a rookie herself, with no authority to speak up to the staff. Then, decades later, she deliberately kept giving Soo-Jung maid roles as revenge. It was as if to say, 'Now you become the servant and see how it feels.'

-No way... What kind of insane... Ah, sorry. Well, this isn't network television, it's MeTube, so I guess I can swear a little... Damn it. I don't care if this gets demonetized. What the hell! Is she even human? If she had to take her anger out on someone, it should've been the staff!

-Exactly. When you think about it, maybe that was just an excuse. Perhaps it was the jealousy she'd been harboring toward Moon Soo-Jung all along. Back then, Soo-Jung was actually far more popular and was affectionately known as 'Princess Soo-Jung.'

-Wow. That's even more despicable.

For the past ten years, Ahn Yoo-Ra had proudly shown off her "friendship" with Moon Soo-Jung on countless morning television programs, building a warm public image that earned her one endorsement after another. Even her role as Queen Soheon, King Sejong's wife, in Queen Jeonghee had benefited from that image.

And now, it was all being exposed as something born from decades-old jealousy.

The viewers watching the livestream, the staff standing around us, and I could only stare in stunned disbelief.

Just then, Kwak Hye-Jin standing beside me glared at Ahn Yoo-Ra and muttered through gritted teeth, "What a fucking bitch."

It was crude, yet no one could think of words that fit better.

As fingers pointed at her from every direction, Ahn Yoo-Ra finally broke. Unable to endure any longer, she desperately cried out for her talent agent.

"Yong-Ki! Yong-Ki, where are you?!"

Then, Park Yong-Ki, who had been standing quietly off to one side of the set, looked over at her blankly and answered flatly, "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? We have to leave! Hurry up and lead the way!"

"I don't want to."

"What?"

"That livestream already has over seventy thousand live viewers. My Kk Talk's blowing up because every corporate marketing department seems to have seen it. They're all talking about canceling your endorsement contracts, and every LT advertisement has already been pulled. Can't you read the room? You're finished in this industry."

"Finished? Who says I'm finished? Park Yong-Ki! Do you have a death wish?"

That was the last straw. Park Yong-Ki exploded. "The only one who's finished is you. Oh, and from now on, deal with your own problems. I'm not your talent agent anymore."

Ironically, the time celebrities needed their talent agents most wasn't when everything was going well. It was when everything fell apart, because talent agents were the ones who stepped in front of the bullets for them. However, after years of being treated like dirt, Park Yong-Ki had finally abandoned her too.

Just then, Park Yong-Ki's phone rang.

"Heh. Looks like someone's still looking for you, even now."

After checking the caller ID, Park Yong-Ki curled the corner of his mouth into a smirk before answering on speakerphone. A rough middle-aged man's voice immediately boomed through the speaker.

-Hey, Park Yong-Ki! Why isn't my wife answering her phone?

"I'm not your wife's talent agent anymore, so watch how you talk to me. Asshole."

-What?

Caught completely off guard by Park Yong-Ki's sudden change in attitude, Ahn Yoo-Ra's husband was left speechless. Still, he didn't hang up.

-Stop talking nonsense and put my wife on the phone right now!

"Just say whatever you've got to say. Ahn Yoo-Ra's standing right here."

At that moment, Ahn Yoo-Ra tearfully shouted toward the speakerphone. "Honey... I'm at KBC. Please come pick me up. Even my talent agent's abandoned me, and all the staff are glaring at me... I'm scared..."

Then, Ahn Yoo-Ra's husband burst into anger.

-Oh, shut the hell up. It disgusts me that I ever lived with someone like you. I'll have the divorce papers sent over immediately, so that's that. I'll be the one raising Min-Yung.

"Honey!"

-Don't 'honey' me. No wonder Min-Yung never looked a damn thing like you. If I hadn't confirmed she was mine with a paternity test, I would've left you a long time ago. Damn it. Anyway, I'll see you in court.

Click.

The moment the call ended, Ahn Yoo-Ra collapsed on the spot.

Thud.

Yet despite seeing her lying there unconscious, no one stepped forward to help. What they had just heard had been too shocking.

In the end, I was the one who took out my phone and made the call.

"Hello, 119? This is the main studio at KBC..."

***

I returned to Hoop Entertainment. After parking in the underground garage, I headed up to the president's office.

Waiting for me inside were former Yoo Entertainment president Yoo Myung-Min, President Kang Gam-Chan, and Park Hong-Cheon, Chief Secretary of LT Hotel.

When Yoo Myung-Min saw me, he slowly struggled to his feet and walked toward me with heavy, weary steps. "Chief Jung. I've finished the interview, just as you asked. I'll be going now."

After Kang Gam-Chan approached him with my request, Yoo Myung-Min had followed him without a single complaint and agreed to expose everything.

Kang Gam-Chan had found his cooperation puzzling, but because of the bitterness he had carried for so many years, he chose not to ask why. To him, Yoo Myung-Min was still the man whose relentless demands thirty years ago had been the primary cause of the traffic accident that left Moon Soo-Jung injured.

"Thank you for everything. LT Hotel has agreed to take responsibility for looking after you from now on, so please don't worry and take care of yourself."

"Very well. I understand."

Park Hong-Cheon stepped forward to escort Yoo Myung-Min out. Then, Yoo Myung-Min suddenly stopped. Instead of leaving the office, he turned to look at Kang Gam-Chan.

Kang Gam-Chan asked bluntly, "Do you still have something to say?"

Yoo Myung-Min gazed at him for a long moment before speaking quietly. "Gam-Chan... I'm truly sorry for driving you so mercilessly back then. And... I'm sorry for the accident that happened because of it. It may sound like an excuse, but at the time, I genuinely believed that was the only way to survive."

Caught completely off guard by the apology, Kang Gam-Chan frowned. "What are you trying to do now? Ask me to forgive you after all this time?"

"How could I possibly ask for forgiveness? I don't have the right. I simply wanted to apologize. And if you've spent all these years blaming yourself over what happened to Soo-Jung... don't. It was all my fault. I also wanted to apologize to Soo-Jung herself, but I don't have the courage to face her. So I'd appreciate it if you could apologize to her on my behalf. I can't undo the past, but I hope today's interview eased at least a little of her pain."

Kang Gam-Chan stared at him in disbelief. Then something seemed to dawn on him. His voice grew quiet.

"...Don't tell me. Are you terminally ill?"

"For someone who's committed as many sins as I have, I've lived long enough."

Kang Gam-Chan flinched. There was only one way to interpret those words. He really was dying.

"...How long do you have?"

"About six months, they told me."

At last, Kang Gam-Chan understood. Yoo Myung-Min hadn't agreed to today's interview so readily because he suddenly grew a conscience. Standing at the end of his life, he had simply wanted to lessen the weight of his sins, if only a little.

Only then did Kang Gam-Chan finally understand why the man had followed him without resistance. He stood there silently, looking at Yoo Myung-Min.

A long silence filled the room.

Finally, Kang Gam-Chan let out a deep sigh before slowly opening his mouth. "Soo-Jung's leg can be repaired with surgery. She may never be completely back to normal, but she'll be able to walk properly again. Her face can also be restored to some extent."

"Is that so? That's wonderful."

Relief spread across former Yoo Myung-Min's face.

"And... if Soo-Jung agrees after I speak with her, let's arrange another meeting soon. When that time comes, apologize to her yourself."

A faint smile appeared on Yoo Myung-Min's face. "Thank you... Gam-Chan."

"Don't thank me. Unlike you, I'm the kind of person who does what needs to be done, no matter how angry I am."

"That's exactly why I'm thanking you. You learned under a piece of trash like me, yet you still grew into a good man."

"..."

"Money mattered, but people mattered more. I didn't realize that until my company collapsed and I found myself staring death in the face. And among everyone who ever worked under me... you're the only one who turned out to be a decent human being."

"..."

"Thank you for not becoming someone like me. I truly mean that."

At Yoo Myung-Min's quiet confession, Kang Gam-Chan's expression became impossibly complicated.

A moment later, Yoo Myung-Min turned to me and smiled as well. "And Chief Jung. Thank you for giving me the chance to see Gam-Chan again... and apologize."

I shook my head. "No, thank you for making the difficult trip."

He had been a man who had done terrible things and failed to keep up with the times. Yet, faced with his approaching death, he sincerely regretted everything he had done. That was why I asked Kang Gam-Chan to meet him.

Even before my regression, Yoo Myung-Min had personally come to Hoop Entertainment to apologize shortly before his death. Of course, back then, things hadn't ended the way they had today. Still, I was relieved that this time the outcome had been different.

I arranged this meeting not only to bring down Ahn Yoo-Ra, but for Kang Gam-Chan's sake more than anything.

Just then, Kang Gam-Chan quietly spoke. "I'll walk you downstairs."

He gently supported the frail Yoo Myung-Min. Together with Park Hong-Cheon, the three of them left the president's office at Hoop Entertainment.

I followed behind while checking Everyday.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: December 10, 2021]

-3:00 p.m.: Former President Yoo Myung-Min. Obituary.

Just as before, the date of Yoo Myung-Min's death remained unchanged.

But at least because of this meeting, it seemed that the old wound Kang Gam-Chan had carried in his heart had finally begun to heal.

***

Two days passed. Every news outlet was filled with articles about the intertwined lives of Moon Soo-Jung and Ahn Yoo-Ra.

[The Reversed Fates of a Princess and a Palace Maid.]

[Veteran Actress Ahn Yoo-Ra (Real Name: Ahn Nam-Mi)'s Double Life.]

[Moon Soo-Jung Overcomes Her Past and Begins a New Challenge at Hoop Entertainment.]

[Ahn Yoo-Ra (Real Name: Ahn Nam-Mi) Faces Lawsuits Worth Tens of Billions from Advertisers.]

[Ahn Yoo-Ra Announces Retirement and Begins Divorce Proceedings. What Lies Ahead?]

Every article about Ahn Yoo-Ra was generating enormous public attention. As a result, I found myself dealing with an unexpected request first thing that morning.

Writer Lee Ji-Yeon had come over during breakfast to tell me she wanted to write Moon Soo-Jung's story into a drama.

"Yoon-Ho, I'd like to turn Ms. Moon Soo-Jung's story into a drama. You're okay with that, right?"

However, she wasn't the only one. Writer Kim Soll-Ip wanted the same thing.

"Mrs. Lee is already working hard on Land of Happiness, so I'll write Ms. Moon Soo-Jung's story instead."

Lee Ji-Yeon immediately bristled. "Soll-Ip! I thought you were struggling to finish your current project. Why are you jumping into this?"

"I'll finish that later. I want to write this first."

Just as the two of them began bickering, Writer Han Woo-Ju, who had come with them, timidly raised a hand and joined the conversation.

"I've already finished writing Hwaranjeon... so I actually have time to write it too..."

Lee Ji-Yeon glared at the other two, practically fuming. "I raised a couple of tigers. I should've crushed you two before you got this big!"

She doted on both of them, yet she always said things she didn't really mean.

Knowing that, Jung In-Ji let out a quiet chuckle as she set bowls of mountain vegetable bibimbap on the table with Haru. "Enough arguing. Eat first. We're having mountain vegetable bibimbap this morning[2]."

When Jung In-Ji scolded her, Lee Ji-Yeon seized the opportunity. "Unnie, help me out. Yoon-Ho always listens to you."

At that moment, Jung In-Ji smiled. "Oh dear, look at me. I forgot the cheonggukjang[3]. I'll go get it."

Making it abundantly clear that she had no intention of getting involved in their squabble, Jung In-Ji hurried off to the kitchen.

Watching Lee Ji-Yeon resume bickering with the other writers, I decided it would be best to leave the final decision to Moon Soo-Jung. After all, between her leg surgery, facial reconstruction, and rehabilitation, it would be at least a year before she could return.

Even amid the lively atmosphere, however, Miso sat quietly at the table with a gloomy expression.

Today was the premiere of Missing – The Lost Ones. There would be stage greetings afterward. She had been so excited yesterday because all of her classmates' parents were coming, and I promised to go too. But now, she looked rather sad.

"Miso, what's wrong?" I asked.

Before Miso could answer, Yoo-Jin spoke instead. "Miso's desk partner is transferring soon. That's why."

Miso let out a small sigh and nodded. "Yes. My desk partner is moving to Namhae this week, Uncle Yoon-Ho."

Miso had cried her eyes out when she left kindergarten. Now, she was losing a friend before even finishing first grade. It was no wonder she was heartbroken.

"In that case... Miso, how about we invite your friend over and hold a little farewell party?"

Miso looked up at me, her eyes sparkling. "Really? We can do that?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

Miso bowed politely. Normally, she would have been bouncing around in excitement. Yet somehow, her spirits still hadn't lifted.

Wondering why, I looked at Yoo-Jin.

Yoo-Jin said, "Actually... Min-Ji's mom is the first-grade parents' association president, but she's leaving, so someone has to fill the vacancy. The other parents were planning to appoint the vice president automatically, but Ham Hye-Mi's mom, who's the auditor, insisted they hold an election instead."

"And what does that have to do with Miso?"

"Hye-Mi bullies the other kids in class. Even though they're only first graders, she copies her mom and treats the children differently. That's why Miso's so worried. She's afraid that if Hye-Mi's mom becomes the parents' association president, Hye-Mi will get even more arrogant and bully everyone even more. She's been wondering if there's any way to stop it."

First grade didn't have an official class president. Instead, the children took turns serving as the class representative for one week at a time. According to Yoo-Jin, whenever Ham Hye-Mi had been the class representative, none of the children had liked it. That was why Miso wanted to stop Ham Hye-Mi's mother from becoming the parents' association president.

The idea was so innocent it almost made me laugh. I was about to tell her I will speak with the teacher and make sure Ham Hye-Mi couldn't keep picking on the other children. Then Yoo-Jin looked me straight in the eye.

"So... Oppa..."

Her expression was unusually solemn. It looked as though she were acting out a scene from Hwaranjeon, where the queen candidates fought ruthless political battles to claim the throne.

Thump. Thump.

My heart began racing and my mouth suddenly felt dry. Whenever Yoo-Jin looked at me like this, it always meant she was about to say something serious.

Just as I was about to tell her I didn't want to hear it, Yoo-Jin spoke first. "So... for Miso's sake... and for the first graders at Cheonho Best Elementary School... I think I need to run for first-grade parents' association president. So oppa, please help me win the election."

'What? Top star Jung Yoo-Jin is running for elementary school parents' association president?'

1. Nasi Goreng ☜

2. Mountain Vegetable / Wild Vegetable bibimbap is made with a variety of foraged wild mountain greens and herbs such as aster leaves, bracken fern, bellflower root. ☜

3. Cheonggukjang is extra fermented soybeans, so it's extra stinky ☜