As the box office buzz showed no signs of waning, Chuseok holiday was approaching.
By the end of this holiday, movie industry insiders predicted that our movie’s viewership would exceed six million.
With a few fortuitous circumstances coming together, the momentum wasn’t slowing yet.
Meanwhile, for films like Revenge that had already seen their peak, the number of screens was gradually decreasing.
And the screens that Revenge lost started moving over to our side, boosting our movie’s viewership.
Frankly, at this point, the competition between Revenge and Code Number: 7 could safely be considered a win for us.
The real question we had now was whether this movie would surpass ten million viewers.
“Still, that might not be easy. We’ve got a big one coming soon.”
The company believed that if our movie continued to bring in audiences at this pace, we might achieve ten million viewers by the end of October.
However, according to my memory, a major Hollywood superhero movie will be released around that time in Korea.
If its schedule moves just a bit and it lands in November, we might have a shot at ten million. Given the situation as it stands now, there’s a strong possibility our movie could drop just before reaching ten million.
The incoming series, a highly anticipated superhero blockbuster with a massive local fanbase, will undoubtedly result in our side’s screen count dropping drastically.
And continuing to push despite reduced screens isn’t really feasible either.
If we still maintain popularity despite fewer screens, then there is still some hope, but…
“That’s expecting too much. Everything has its time.”
Thus, we already set the expectation of the movie reaching ten million to the side.
Given the record number of viewers we have compared to the competition like Revenge, we were already in a satisfactorily good position.
During the Chuseok holiday where all the actors were on break, an unexpected cold wind was blowing through the company.
Even I had trouble understanding how this situation arose.
“…How can this possibly happen?”
“…I have no comment on this.”
All I could do was offer some comfort to Moon Suyeon who looked flustered.
“Honestly, how did it come to this?”
The matter unfolded like this:
Just before our movie’s release, at a private screening for industry professionals, Heavenly Yuah and Moon Suyeon met my parents and made a strong promise to visit our family home during Chuseok.
Since it was a promise involving them and my father, I had no intention of standing in the way.
I felt it would be fine for the two of them to get closer to my parents, as I wasn’t planning on pursuing relationships with other women anyway.
Unforeseen complications, however, quickly arose:
“Hahaha, Olivia Cheon Lady has invited us to the United States.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, I’ve always wanted to meet Olivia Cheon Lady. I wasn’t able to meet her because she was under special care until very recently. Now that she’s healthier, it feels wrong to deny her invitation.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“Well, let’s take this chance and have a little vacation. With how well both my son and daughter are doing recently, I think it’s only fair that I enjoy a bit of relaxation too.”
“That’s natural. Enjoy your trip and come back rejuvenated.”
Lady Demon Queen, who restored the health of my father through bone marrow donation, had now invited both of my parents to the U.S.
Without any other relatives or religious duties, the idea of an American vacation had become a compelling incentive for the two.
Our father, who tends to be broad-minded and open, could not turn down the invitation of finally meeting the person whose bone marrow donation helped him regain his life.
Ordinarily, Demon Queen would come to Korea, but because prolonged travel was still challenging for her, my father decided to head to the U.S.
“So, could you please convey this to them? Heavenly Yuah and Suyeon were going to visit, weren’t they?”
“…Yes, but…”
“Yes yes, trust me as your son. We will connect again later. Someone’s visiting me unexpectedly.”
“Wait, who would visit at this hour, Father, Father??”
And just like that, in a very casual manner, Father handed the two responsibilities over to me.
Part of why I’m now explaining the situation to Moon Suyeon and having to deal with her grievances stems from this instruction from my father.
“What? Yu-a, is this legitimate? How can both of them suddenly go to the U.S.? To meet Olivia Cheon??”
After throwing a little tantrum with me, Moon Suyeon now questioned Heavenly Yuah.
She suspected that Heavenly Yuah might have pulled some strings to whisk the parents away to the U.S.
But Heavenly Yuah appeared even more confused than Moon Suyeon.
“I’m also caught off guard. I heard nothing of this.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’m equally bewildered.”
Looking at Heavenly Yuah’s confusion, it appears genuine. She typically doesn’t lie about such matters—she either does or does not.
If so, this was completely Lady Demon Queen’s unilateral decision.
“However… I also have business to attend to in the U.S.”
“…Is that so?”
“What? Are you implying otherwise?”
“No, I’m being serious. There are certain issues I must resolve on the other side.”
But despite her explanations, she is raising more suspicions by announcing her own trip to the U.S.
It’s all rather absurd. What’s really going on here?
“Regardless, I will be making a quick trip to the U.S.”
“Yes, please take care.”
“Remember, don’t do anything reckless while the office is empty, Suyeon. Maintain fair play.”
“No, how can you talk about fair play in this situation? Where’s the conscience in that?”
“I’m not joking.”
With that, Heavenly Yuah gave me a cryptic remark and left for the U.S.
“You’ll soon have cause to thank me.”
It was a truly surreal situation.
“What is going on?”
As a result, I was left at the company with a frustrated Moon Suyeon.
With Heavenly Yuah traveling to the U.S., so did her guard detail.
Since the actors had no scheduled plans during the Chuseok holidays, many employees from Flame also took vacations. While the entertainment industry operates year-round and the office couldn’t be left entirely empty, there were only a few staff members present—barely enough to say it was functioning.
As for someone like Nam Hyun-ho, who only showed up whenever he felt like it, he wasn’t relevant to begin with.
But then something else, entirely unexpected by Heavenly Yuah, occurred.
Yang Yuli and Yang Misu decided to return to the orphanage, completely clearing the office and the lounge floors.
It wasn’t clear whether this was Moon Suyeon’s wish or Yang Yuli’s decision, but we couldn’t stop them when they expressed a desire to greet the principal during the Chuseok holiday.
The floors that had until now been mostly used by the actors are now being occupied exclusively by me and Moon Suyeon.
“In that sense, Siwoo, you’ll need to help keep my spirits up.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
After the initial shock of the parents flying off, Moon Suyeon gradually regained her composure.
Come to think of it, this could also be considered a good opportunity for Moon Suyeon.
She may have lost the chance to make a good impression on my parents, but now we were unexpectedly alone together.
Heavenly Yuah likely didn’t expect this turn of events.
After realizing this, I myself was a bit nervous.
Moon Suyeon, who was like a seasoned new employee, might be more aggressive and tough in these situations compared to Heavenly Yuah.
If Moon Suyeon boldly entered my room… could I say no?
My thoughts got increasingly complicated.
“Alright, so what do you want to do?”
Swallowing a hard lump in my throat, I asked Moon Suyeon.
Today, her smile seemed more tantalizing than usual.
And then she said…
“Let’s go to my studio and help me record some music.”
“…Record music?”
“Yes, the music.”
She suggested that we work on music, an idea so unexpected it made my mind spin.
Why would she bring up music in a situation like this?
Is Miss Sky really letting such a golden chance slip away?
“Actually…”
“Yes?”
“You remember, don’t you? You listened to my compositions, we gave each other feedback, adjusted the scales, and harmonized our notes.”
“Ah… yes, we did.”
“It was immensely enjoyable. It felt like what it might be like to find a true kindred spirit in music.”
“Yes, it was pleasant back then.”
She was referring to the old times when I could still understand musical notes.
When I listened to and played her compositions with my seven-string zither and harmonized with her pipa, we played together.
It was one of the few peaceful times in my martial forest life.
If that was a cherished memory for her, she was suggesting we recreate something similar.
Her suggestion caught me off guard. Did I think too poorly of her to expect anything else?
“Alright, let’s do it. Let’s go to your studio now, I’m curious about the music from the renowned Luna.”
“You would? Then let’s go.”
Back then, I was a scholar with decent musical knowledge.
However, I wasn’t familiar with the music in this world.
I was certainly in no position to critique the world-class compositions of hers.
But what she likely desired wasn’t professional critique.
She simply wanted me to sincerely listen to her music and offer honest feedback.
She desired honest and straightforward exchanges of opinions in a simple and candid way.
Of course, I can do that much.
It will be an interesting exercise to revisit those memories.
Her seemingly pure suggestion turned out to be less sinister than I anticipated…
“Hmhm~ Alone in an empty practice room with just the two of us~ electrifying and heated party~”
“…What, that’s not…”
“Yes yes, just humming a tune…”
Hmm, this should be fine, right?
For some reason, her swaying hips look a lot more alluring today as she walked ahead.
Thinking back, she’s been good at her roles.
Sometimes you wonder why she’s not a fox with how cunning she can appear.
Thinking to myself, “Ah, Moon Suyeon is indeed Moon Suyeon,” I quietly followed her into her personal studio.
—
Though this story has ended here for now, the continuation awaits further unfolding.
