Chapter 39: Dumbbell Wall-Pin

When Kang Jae-hoon pushed open the apartment door, the motion-sensor light in the foyer flickered to life.

Lee Sung-kyung sat on the sofa, shredding boiled chicken breast into thin strips. On the television, the new drama starring "Ratings Queen" Gong Hyo-jin, *Master's Sun*, was playing.

"Did you listen to my radio broadcast?"

He bent down to change into his slippers. "The PD said the ratings broke records."

"Who listens to noise while working out?"

"..."

On the screen, the male and female leads were in the midst of a standoff, and Gong Hyo-jin happened to snap the word "Liar."

The soft sound of the refrigerator opening and closing was jarringly clear. Kang Jae-hoon stared into the cold light cast by the fridge, fine lines appearing between his brows.

With a dull thud, he turned and leaned his back against the refrigerator door.

"Sung-kyung-ah."

"Speak."

Lee Sung-kyung didn't even lift her eyes, continuing to shred the chicken.

"I'm going to eat."

When Lee Sung-kyung finally looked up, Kang Jae-hoon’s silhouette covered two-thirds of the television screen. Her gaze traveled up his shirt, eventually settling on his eyes, which were deliberately filled with feigned intensity.

"But I can't eat without you."

His voice, deliberately lowered to a bass-heavy register, mixed with the hum of the refrigerator compressor, giving the sentence the tragic flair characteristic of a morning soap opera.

Lee Sung-kyung expressionlessly pulled out a wet wipe to clean the meat scraps from her fingertips, the "click" of the food container lid sounding like an exclamation point.

As she stood up, her yoga pants accentuated her taut leg muscles. She took two or three long strides into the bedroom.

Kang Jae-hoon stared at the closed door and scratched the back of his neck.

Didn't Yoo In-na say...

Before he could figure out what had gone wrong, his pupils suddenly contracted—

The door swung open with even greater force, and Lee Sung-kyung charged back out, wielding the purple dumbbell he had given her a few days ago.

"Sung—wait—"

Kang Jae-hoon stumbled back, knocking over the trash can. As his back hit the cold wall, the dumbbell grazed his earlobe and slammed into the wall, shaking the painting in the foyer until it hung crookedly.

"Thud!"

"If you dare speak in that greasy tone again—" Lee Sung-kyung grabbed his collar and yanked him down, "—I’ll use this to crack open your head and see if it's filled with gutter oil!"

Kang Jae-hoon’s Adam’s apple bobbed under her grip. Lee Sung-kyung’s eyelashes were sharply defined in the backlighting, and the tiny flame of the foyer light danced in her pupils.

"I, I'm sorry..."

He raised his hands in surrender, forcing an ingratiating smile.

"Smiling?"

Kang Jae-hoon immediately straightened his lips, smoothing out the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes.

"..."

Lee Sung-kyung released him with slightly less force than she had used to grab him, leaving his collar wrinkled like dried greens. She turned and pulled open the fridge, the empty shelves reflecting her furrowed brows.

"Couldn't you tell me the fridge was empty?"

"My schedule has been too packed lately..."

"You deserve to eat garbage."

The refrigerator door slammed shut. Lee Sung-kyung righted the trash can and pushed the food container toward him by an inch.

"Feed the cat."

"But the calico cat doesn't eat—"

"You eat it."

Kang Jae-hoon picked up a fibrous shred of meat. The fishy, dry taste reminded him of accidentally eating expired hardtack. He snuck a glance at Lee Sung-kyung’s tense profile and forced himself to chew with the blissful expression of a Michelin-star critic.

The blue light from the TV illuminated his puffed-out cheeks, making his swallowing motion look like a slow-motion sequence.

"Spit it out if it tastes bad."

"It's delicious."

Kang Jae-hoon gulped down half a glass of ice water to wash down the meat stuck in his throat. "At least it was shredded by Sung-kyung herself."

On TV, Gong Hyo-jin was crying in a downpour, the sound of the rain drowning out Lee Sung-kyung’s soft hum.

Lee Sung-kyung stood up, fished a bottle of black pepper from the back of the cabinet, and tossed it. The arc of the bottle landed precisely in Kang Jae-hoon’s lap.

"Sprinkle some on to hide the smell."

"Sung-kyung-ah—"

"Don't speak while eating."

Kang Jae-hoon choked on a sneeze while twisting the cap, sending a gray mist of black pepper into the air. Hidden behind the remote control, the corners of Lee Sung-kyung’s lips curled up by 0.3 centimeters—a curve just distinct enough for Kang Jae-hoon to catch in the reflection of the television.

***

The next day.

The hashtag #KangJaeHoonBankPassword hit eighth place on the NAVER trending list.

The related thread was swarmed by night owls who had been camping out since the early morning, racking up 680,000 views.

@GyeongbukWorker: [Dad's bank password is Young-ju's birthday, T-T]

@ShatteredMintCandy: [The highlight of Yoo In-na’s hosting career; the director cutting to the *Reply 1994* BGM was absolute perfection.]

@YoonRulesTheWorld: [The voice is so smooth my legs went weak, but the confession lines were painfully cheesy.]

@MoonlightOnIce: [Cheesy to the extreme is trendy.]

@OneLeafKnowsCultivation: [My mom listened to the radio last night and insisted Kang Jae-hoon is her long-lost nephew...]

@ClearWindPlaysWithClouds: [Even if your vocal technique is top-tier, an actor ultimately needs film and TV work to establish themselves.]

@OnePunchForJaeHoon: [Is it really that hard to admit someone is talented?]

***

"According to the latest data, the negative sentiment regarding Jae-hoon has dropped from a peak of 43% to 7%."

Inside the SEM conference room, the projector beam cast sharp-edged shadows across the data reports, and the air conditioning vent emitted a low, continuous hum.

The sentiment analysis team leader pushed the report to the center of the long table, looking past her glasses toward the head of the table. "However, there is still persistent malicious commentary."

"You can't please everyone."

Kim Mi-hye took the report. "Even if you do your best, it’s impossible to satisfy everyone."

"CEO!"

A team member suddenly raised their voice. "Senior Choi Min-sik liked Jae-hoon’s trending topic!"

"What was the exact phrasing?"

The team member looked down at the press release. "'A formidable newcomer; Chungmuro has a worthy successor.'"

"That assist from Senior Choi is brilliant!" The team leader clapped sharply. "An endorsement from a veteran in the industry is more persuasive than any press release."

Kim Mi-hye frowned in thought for a moment, then dialed Hwang Jung-min.

"Did you see the trending topic?"

Hwang Jung-min’s voice came through, accompanied by the noise of a film set. "I saw it."

"Did you call in a favor from Senior Choi Min-sik?"

"Where would I have that kind of pull? Maybe he really thinks the kid has that *Oldboy* vibe."

"Then he’s doing you a favor."

"..."

After hanging up, Kim Mi-hye looked at her assistant. "Order five boxes of red ginseng drinks and send them to Choi Min-sik’s studio."

"In whose name?" the assistant asked, immediately standing up.

"Hwang Jung-min."

"Understood."

As the assistant pushed the door open, the glass door collided with Kim Dae-won, who was walking in briskly.

The two nodded politely, and Kim Dae-won headed straight for the desk.

"CEO, the Jeju Island Tourism Bureau has designated Kang Jae-hoon to record the voiceover for their promotional video."

"Specific requirements?" Kim Mi-hye didn't look up.

"Two days of filming, plus a radio commercial. The fee is at the top tier for a rookie."

Kim Dae-won pulled up an email interface. "There’s also an offer for a game voiceover—a new hero for the Korean server of *League of Legends*, Lucian."

"Riot Games?"

Kim Mi-hye finally looked up.

"Yes, it’s a simultaneous launch for the Korean version. The audition script just arrived."

Kim Dae-won played a video demonstrating the hero’s abilities.

"The Purifier. The US server hired a professional voice actor. The operations department here must have listened to the radio show last night or checked the trending topic."

"What is Lucian’s character profile?"

"An shadow hunter seeking revenge alone after his wife was imprisoned by a dark mage." Kim Dae-won zoomed in on the character background page. "The ability lines require explosive power; the ultimate needs to have the presence of 'bullets piercing through the screen.'"

"There's a risk of scheduling conflicts."

The sentiment team member poked their head out from behind a computer. "*The Heirs* starts filming in ten days, and he has to attend three promotional events for *Despicable Me 2* during that period."

Kim Dae-won checked the schedule. "We can finish it before he starts filming."

"Then take it."

Kim Mi-hye closed the report. "The Jeju project builds favor with the government, and the game voiceover expands his presence in the voice acting market."

"Understood, I’ll go reply now."