After driving for about thirty minutes, he arrived at a quiet cafe in Namyangju. It was a typical suburban cafe: a green forest, a view of the Han River, grass, and cats.

It was a friend’s cafe Taeseok often used for quiet meetings.

Wearing his hat low, Taeseok nodded towards the counter as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. His friend, who had reserved the entire second floor, waved back briefly.

Director Lee Hong-seok was already there, waiting.

[Star Icon]

“Mr. Seo Taeseok, what did you just say…?”

Director Lee blinked, wondering if he had misheard.

When Taeseok’s manager contacted him last night, he felt like he had used up a decade’s worth of luck in one go. Seo Taeseok was interested in their drama.

Contacting Taeseok for a role seemed like a luxury too far to even dream about. It was unbelievable. He hardly slept, wondering what to do about the already cast Cheon Ji-hyeok, and how to match the guarantee. He only managed to doze off at dawn. Struggling to keep his heavy eyelids open, he asked again.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“You said a supporting role, Director.”

Taeseok spoke politely.

“Have some coffee. The coffee here is good.”

Even the simple act of drinking coffee was picturesque. If a camera had been set up, it could have been a coffee commercial right there. The view of him sipping coffee in the sun-drenched background was breathtaking. For a moment, the director was mesmerized.

‘Wait. A supporting role?’

Seo Taeseok, the undisputed top actor of South Korea, had secluded himself for two years, declaring a time for introspection and recharge.

An actor hailed as a complete genius, combining talent and effort. Directors who worked with him unanimously praised him. An actor who delivers ten times what is asked, never making the production fee seem wasted.

And now, Seo Taeseok was saying he would play a ‘supporting role’ in Lee Hong-seok’s drama.

The production company would probably try to kill the director for this. Or perhaps, the fans would have already beaten him to it.

“Mr. Seo Taeseok, a return after two years as a supporting role doesn’t make sense.”

Director Lee gulped down his coffee and continued. He had quickly calculated in his head.

“Please take the lead role of Kim Min-jun.”

He decided swiftly to reassign the role of Cheon Ji-hyeok. However, Taeseok replied with a disapproving smile.

[Translated to the best of my ability while preserving the line breaks and format of the original text.] “Kim Min-jun’s role is already decided as Cheon Ji-hyeok. How can I take it away, disregarding ethics?”

“But…”

“I’ll take the role of Lee Hyun-jun. That’s the role meant for me.”

He finished speaking and gave a brief, somewhat dry laugh. He looked slightly leaner, which only made his appearance more striking. He was undeniably perfect for the lead role of Kim Min-jun.

Anxiety was burning him up inside, leaving his lips dry.

“No, how can Seo Taeseok play a supporting role? Let’s find another way together…”

Director Lee pondered if the supporting character Lee Hyun-jun was that attractive. He was a minor role, a college senior who briefly appears and vanishes, not greatly influencing the story. Just a regular supporting character.

He was, however, described as extraordinarily handsome, a businessman running a venture company, with a brilliant mind and intellectual charisma, and also a hopeless romantic. Thinking about it, the character did seem to have its charms.

“Ah!”

Director Lee suddenly slapped his knee.

“We’ll modify the script. If you must play that role, we’ll increase the part significantly and make it a drama with two leads. We’re pre-producing, so we have some flexibility.”

Praising his own brain for the sparkling idea, Director Lee smiled. Taeseok just listened quietly. His silence felt almost like an affirmation, so Director Lee added,

“Our writer is Choi Yeoreum. I’m not saying this because she’s my junior, but she really is a talented person. She has an excellent sense for scriptwriting and works incredibly fast. Even if the initial schedule is slightly delayed due to script modifications, we’ll handle it. It won’t take long.”

This seemed to be the only solution beneficial for everyone.

But as Taeseok remained silent for a long time, Director Lee anxiously scratched his nails. He hoped Taeseok would accept.

“…Not bad.”

“Right?”

Relief surged within him.

“But there’s a condition.”

“Sure, tell me. It must be about the fee. We’ll try our best within our budget…”

“It’s not that.”

Taeseok spoke with a low and clear tone.

“The usual fee for a supporting actor will do.”

Director Lee’s jaw dropped. This was almost like saying he wouldn’t take any payment.

“I want the writer to be unaware of my participation. At least for a while.”

Taeseok’s voice was deep and composed.

[Star Icon]

A month later, at the production announcement of “Hold My Hand.”

Taeseok arrived quietly after the event had started. Hong Manager blabbered something, but Taeseok was too deep in thought to listen.

He thought of Yeoreum.

If she had left, she should have never returned, or if she did return, she should have lived quietly in hiding. The moment her name fluttered into his ears, she had already become inescapable.

“The journalists will go crazy, Taeseok.”

“…”

“There hasn’t been any scandal or issue recently. Your entrance will be the scoop of the year. It’ll be the talk of the town.”

“…”

“You look sharp today. Make sure to get photographed a lot. You’re looking extremely sexy.”

“…”

“Boring guy. I’m off.”

After Hong Manager grumbled and left, Taeseok stood at the door, ready to be greeted by a storm of flashes and cheers. However, what he was curious about was the gaze of one woman.

Yeoreum would be behind this door.

This impulsive choice was his decision, just as her disastrous departure was hers.

Two years ago, she had her way. Now it was his turn.

“Welcome back, Choi Yeoreum, to my hunting ground.”

Pushing the door handle forcefully, Taeseok opened the second act of their story.

[Translated to the best of my ability while preserving the line breaks and format of the original text.]