(?)
The office of Moon Entertainment’s CEO was heavy with a frosty chill.
This was due to a staring contest between the company’s only top star, Luna, and Chairman Moon.
“Exactly what do you do? You were supposed to handle it before it came to me. Is this something that had to come up to me?”
“…I apologize.”
The target of Chairman Moon’s ire wasn’t Luna but rather Luna’s manager.
The manager was being severely criticized for not properly managing the affairs of the affiliated singer.
Even amidst this hostile atmosphere, Luna’s reaction was merely indifferent.
In fact, it was more like she was provoking further.
“Exactly, what exactly do you even do? Watching out for our artists? Exploitation? That’s why there’s only me left in this company, right? Chairman Moon must be stressed. Or, maybe that’s just how you are?”
“You’re really…”
The already overly powerful Luna. Chairman Moon sighed deeply before delving into the main issue.
From Chairman Moon’s perspective, he didn’t want any breaks in activity from Luna, the company’s only source of income.
Especially not for a TV drama supporting role.
Somehow, he’d managed to delay things for a while, but now there seemed to be no avoiding a conclusion with Luna suddenly arriving at the office.
The manager was being harshly scolded because they had failed to take action by the time Luna reached the company.
“You’re really planning to do this? Why would you want to?”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“You’re supposed to be performing. We’ve already picked out the songs.”
“Ah, another one of those ridiculous songs with some suggestive dancing. All for padding Chairman Moon’s stomach?”
“What are you saying like that? You’re also a shareholder in this company.”
“Rubbish. A company that isn’t even listed on the stock market. And did that shareholding actually transfer over to me?”
“…That.”
“Whatever, doesn’t matter. I need none of it. Anyway, I just want to do this.”
“Hmm…”
Chairman Moon sighed, to which Luna appended,
“Chairman Moon, my contract only has a few months left, right? At this rate, do you think we’ll be able to renegotiate?”
But Chairman Moon had a point too.
The person who knew best that Luna could never escape this company was Chairman Moon himself.
“Actually, that’s what I was going to say. Do you think you can properly continue your activities if you leave here?”
Under normal circumstances, Luna would have let it slide, but this time she was also being firm.
“Fair enough. Thinking about it, you’re right. But still, if I just take all the blame and collapse, who do you think suffers? I’m not attached, not in the least. How about we ruin each other then?”
“…You crazy woman.”
“So, let’s settle this appropriately unless you want to die together.”
Luna stood up as if she had nothing more to say and gazed at Chairman Moon.
Her gaze was incredibly profound.
Her empty eyes, void of emotion, were so unsettling that Chairman Moon suppressed an involuntary shiver and looked away.
“Anyway, I’ll be doing this. Whether you block it or not is up to you. And, forcing me to act even though I didn’t want to was Chairman Moon himself.”
After Luna left, the CEO office was filled with a loud crash and vulgar words.
*
Meanwhile, while I was refining my acting skills at the action school, our company’s young star Miju was chosen for the younger version of Wolhee.
Despite missing out on the audition due to scheduling with myself and Heavenly Yuah, word has it that Miju’s acting was so superior that she outshone all the other children.
Though child acting tends to be all about the same level, occasionally there are prodigious talents.
Impressive, indeed; Miju was clearly doing everything thoroughly.
How could she impress all the relevant people just with a few days of lessons?
“Articles are starting to come out.”
Most roles have been cast and they’re slowly making headlines.
Heavenly Yuah, Nam Hyun-ho, and Lion—this combination practically demands headlines.
This drama, a steam punk set in Joseon, had seemed like an unworkable mix initially but is now turning into a golden combo with the inclusion of Heavenly Yuah and Nam Hyun-ho, and the investors are hungry for more.
However, it appears that Heavenly Yuah has no plans to sign broadcast contracts until the work is further along.
“Since we have plenty of production budget, there’s no need to rush. Broadcasting contracts? They’ll make room if necessary. Instead of vaguely talking about steam punk, showing visuals will provide a more intuitive approach and will probably drive up costs.”
These days, it feels like Heavenly Yuah is more passionate about this project than I am.
Is that because her own money is heavily invested?
Since scheduling wasn’t something I needed to handle, I just nodded in agreement.
“And so! Today, Wolhee is finally here!”
“Seems like she’s finally decided.”
“Yes! Finally! We’ve secured her.”
After all the other roles were confirmed, Wolhee finally found her star.
And it wasn’t just any star but the top star Yang Yuli had been after since the start.
Top star, huh?
Since no one knows who exactly it is, there isn’t much to say, but given the fuss Yang Yuli is making, her reach must be quite significant.
“Just who in the world…”
“I am curious.”
“Exactly.”
Today, the star set to take on the role of Wolhee was scheduled to visit our company.
You can’t simply cast key actors on a whim, so we were holding a short meeting to discuss before finalizing the role.
Given the drama around casting Wolhee, both Director Bang and the other stakeholders had gathered at our company.
Curious to know who this star Yang Yuli kept praising and wanting to discuss the work and role, everyone attended.
“…Here they come.”
But out of everyone, I seem to be the one most on edge.
This is the debut of the star I’d heard about initially, but I didn’t pay much attention to.
Fact is, I’ve somewhat emptied my heart by talking with Nam Hyun-ho.
It seemed almost certain to me that someone related to Martial Forest will jump in given the world’s tendency for forced connections.
My vow was simple: no matter who appears, I will just focus on what I can do.
With figures like Heavenly Demon and Devil already gathering here, no regular ties could ruffle me.
Not to mention, the three sons of the Namgoong family have been unusually friendly towards me these days.
“Of course, my connection with Heavenly Demon doesn’t exactly equal nothing…but…”
Could the world really twist this much?
That’s a little far-fetched.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside, followed by someone entering the meeting room.
“Ta-da! Allow me to introduce you to Miss Luna, who will be playing Wolhee.”
“Oh…”
“Luna means…”
Accompanied by Yang Yuli’s flamboyant introduction, a woman with long twin tails entered the room.
Top solo singer, Luna.
As Yang Yuli had held onto this idea of “Wolhee” being her, it had been Luna all along.
“Hello, I’m singer Luna. Here, would it be better to introduce myself as actress Moon Suyeon?”
While easily laughing and hanging her coat, Luna revealed a black dress lined with red.
Her suggestive attire accentuating her figure, everyone involuntarily held their breath.
“That outfit is…”
“Wolhee primarily wears cheongsam (chipao), I heard, so I picked one up. Does it suit her?”
“…Cheongsam? That dress doesn’t look much like a true cheongsam…”
“Ah, is that so? Most of the pictures I searched showed this vibe.”
Honestly, where the heck did she search to end up with such clothing?
With her gaze, expressions, and alluring figure, Luna captivated the room in a way different from the elegance of Heavenly Yuah.
If Heavenly Yuah embodied a proud beauty, Luna had the alluring and decadent charm of a classic femme fatale. Such an outfit on her unleashed immense allure.
This alone justified the cliché story where I Myung would instantly fall for her with believable circumstances.
“Certainly with Luna…”
“Her singing and dancing are irrelevant; her acting though…”
“Luna debuted as an actress four years ago, and I’ve seen that work.”
“Even though her acting career was suspended due to her schedule, her potential was undeniable.”
“If Luna takes on Wolhee, we’ll have no need to worry about the OST.”
Luna, a seven-year solo artist.
A female solo artist at the peak of her career.
Even Lion from the hot boy band Nuclear still falls short compared to Luna.
Not only is she a prominent solo artist but her acting debut had impressed the directors with her skill. This indeed justified Yang Yuli’s efforts to pursue her.
Despite my situation, all I could manage was a heavy sigh.
“…Hao Moonzhu.”
Well, really, why is life like this?
Why specifically her here…
Hao Moonzhu Wolyeon.
For me, perhaps even more connected than Heavenly Demon.
If Heavenly Demon is a thin but long thread, Hao Moonzhu’s is a short but thick one, and a mark I can never forget.
That’s because when I first read the script, the first person who came to mind was this woman.
The story of I Myung and Wolhee was eerily similar to mine and Hao Moonzhu’s tale.
I had thought such thoughts but clenched my teeth and rejected them.
No matter how life tried to force connections, I believed I wouldn’t meet Hao Moonzhu through this script.
Good grief. If a novel were written this way, it would probably get criticized.
But reality was beyond dynamic, and there seemed to be no end to these forced connections.
“Wow, singer. Didn’t realize how famous you’ve become.”
Even after my recent research, I hadn’t come across Luna, likely because she had been on an international tour.
I hadn’t really paid attention to music, but it’s strange for such a renowned artist to go unnoticed.
It seems the lack of significant updates was because she’d been on tour for months.
For an American tour, maybe, but there were no significant updates during her Asian tour either.
Photos of Luna on stage failed to reveal her face properly, mostly focusing on her body with her hair obscuring half her face.
Had I known from the start that she was connected to Hao Moonzhu, I might have acted differently, but coming in unaware, it’s easy to just overlook.
To me, Hao Moonzhu is someone who died 20 years ago.
“Hmm.”
Through Yang Yuli, the perfect trio was formed:
The New Religion (Heavenly Demon) + Orthodoxy (Namgoong Family) + Heresy (Hao Moonzhu) – The Martial Forest assembly.
Yang Yuli continues writing her legendary script.
