Chapter 97 (1/2)
Act 5
Thousands of people flocked to downtown Guangzhou, China.
“Oh my god!”
“He’s here! He’s here!”
“Where? Where? Oh! It’s him!”
When the middle-aged actor got out of the long black sedan, people started to yell and cheer. They had all immediately come to Guangzhou to see him in person, despite the tragedy in Beijing. He waved at the people. The place filled with loud cheers.
His name was Hwang Jun-peong. He was a Chinese actor and a popular Hollywood star. One magazine even mentioned him among the hundred most influential figures in the world. He was almost forty, but he was unbelievably handsome. His body was like a sculpture with perfect body proportions. And his acting was superb. It was impossible to compare with other actors. Those facts made everyone enthusiastic about him.
“Mr. Hwang! I am your fan!”
“Please give me your autograph!”
“Can I take a picture with you…?”
Hwang Jun-peong shook each hand that reached out to him.
“Thank you. I can’t give you an autograph because of the schedule. But you can take as many pictures as you want.”
“Thank you!”
“How should I pose… Oh, I look more handsome from this angle…”
Hwang Jun-peong took photos with about ten people around him. While doing so, one man who looked like a reporter stuck a microphone in Hwang Jun-peong’s direction.
“Mr. Hwang! You said you would donate all of your proceeds from the movie Desperado to the families of the Beijing disaster. Is that true?”
Hwang Jun-peong looked a little embarrassed at the question, then replied, “Yes. That is true.”
“Wow!”
“Nice!”
People cheered out at Hwang Jun-peong’s response. He smiled with embarrassment and opened his mouth again.
“The Beijing disaster was really heartbreaking. I personally knew Lin Zhuming, so I felt great regret.”
“Then, Mr. Hwang. How about—”
“That’s all for now. I’m sorry.”
Hwang Jun-peong refused continuous questions from the reporter and turned. He made a gesture to his manager, a young woman in her mid-twenties who quickly came over to him.
“I’m tired, let’s get inside.”
Hwang Jun-peong waved several more times to the fans, then whispered to his manager. The manager nodded and began to restrain the crowds that blocked the road with the help of the company staff. With much difficulty, Hwang Jun-peong finally managed to enter the building lobby. He went straight to his penthouse at the top of the building.
Flop—
He loosened his tie and laid it on the couch. The manager approached him and said, “If you need anything, please call me. I’m sure you are tired so please get some rest.”
“Just bring some girls.”
The manager was surprised by Hwang Jun-peong’s raw request. She has only recently become his manager and she could not adjust to Hwang Jun-peong. Before, he seemed like a gentleman who could not ignore the plight of the poor. But now he looked like a completely different person. It was as if two people shared one body. When the manager hesitated, Hwang Jun-peong opened his eyes wide and smiled.
“Do you want to do it?”
“No. No, sir.”
The manager hurriedly bowed and left the room. Hwang Jun-peong watched the manager leave and clicked his tongue.
“Tut. She is too slow.”
Hwang Jun-peong got up and walked to the window. There were a lot of people just below the tall building. Thousands of them were all gathered to see him.
“Seeing from this high, they look like ants,” Hwang Jun-peong muttered. He remembered the conversation with the reporter and laughed. “Idiots.”
“You look like you’re having fun.”
Hwang Jun-peong quickly turned his head to view the new speaker. A stranger now sat on the couch.
“…Who are you?” Hwang Jun-peong asked in a low voice.
He narrowed his eyes. He could tell this stranger was not a stalker or something who liked to dig him up. If he was a stalker, there was no way he could not notice him.
“I’m a fan,” the stranger said.
“Are you kidding?”
“An anti-fan is still a fan, isn’t it?”
He was not Chinese. Hwang Jun-peong assumed he might be Japanese or Korean. He looked young. Hwang Jun-peong thought for a moment and then asked with a light smile, “Are you Kim Su-hyeun?”
“Am I that famous? Everybody notices me.”
“I’ve heard your name a lot. I am your fan, too.”
“You mean anti-fan?”
“Ha-ha. Yes.” Hwang Jun-peong coolly laughed.
He walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. The refrigerator was filled with a variety of drinks including bottled water, soda, and bottled beer. Hwang Jun-peong took a beer and threw it at Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun caught the bottle.
“Let’s have a drink,” Hwang Jun-peong suggested.
“I didn’t come here for a drink.”
“Well. I think you came here because you found out everything, right? It will be our last time, so this will be fine.”
Su-hyeun looked at Hwang Jun-peong for a while, then removed the bottlecap.
Gulp—
Because of the tense situation, he could not enjoy the taste of the beer.
“I heard a lot about you. It was splendid. And I wanted to meet you once,” Hwang Jun-peong said.
“But you couldn’t, because your face was too well known. Not like me.”
“So, how much do you know?”
“Everything about you.” Su-hyeun shook the half-empty beer bottle. “It was funny. Donating money for the people you murdered? Did you say you felt sorry and heartbroken?”
Shatter—!
Su-hyeun strengthened his grip. The bottle broke and beer spilled over the table.
“Is that deception?”
Su-hyeun stared at Hwang Jun-peong with a ghastly gaze. Hwang Jun-peong twisted his lips.
He opened his bottle and answered, “Because it’s funny.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the best play, isn’t it? I mean the acting.”