Chapter 66: The Crossroads of Fate on the 24th

Director Boo Sung-chul watched the monitor playback and suddenly turned to the assistant director.
"Which episode is the kiss scene that Kim Eun-sook added for them?"
The assistant director quickly flipped through the schedule sheet.
"Episode ten, the rooftop first kiss."
"Too late. We should stick to the eight-episode rule."
"But the kiss scene for the eight-episode rule has already been assigned to Kim Tan and Cha Eun-sang..."
The assistant director handed over the schedule sheet.
Director Boo glanced at it. "Let's hold a meeting to adjust after next week's ratings come out."
...
After filming wrapped for the day, Kang Jae-hoon stood by the roadside waiting for the van when his phone suddenly vibrated.
[Krystal Jung]: Don't forget vocal practice! See you at the main entrance of my agency at nine.
Just as he finished replying, Kim Dae-won's van came to a sharp halt right in front of him.
"The screen count for *Despicable Me 2* has been slashed from 450 to 50."
"Huh?"
Kang Jae-hoon paused as he was fastening his seatbelt.
"Why?"
"*Frozen* pulled in 1.5 million viewers in its opening week. Naturally, the better data gets, the more resources tilt toward it."
"Disney's dominance is just too strong..."
Kim Dae-won clicked his tongue.
"Who knows, maybe in two years you'll be voicing a Disney blockbuster yourself."
"I hope so."
*Despicable Me 2* was not one of Universal Pictures' top-tier IPs.
Currently, the total Korean box office was barely over 1.05 million viewers.
Compared to Disney's premium animation, its competitiveness was clearly lacking.
The red light turned on, and Kim Dae-won glanced in the rearview mirror.
"Heading straight home today, or...?"
"I need to go to S.M. Entertainment."
"What are you going there for?"
"The production crew wants me and Krystal to record the OST, and she's giving me vocal lessons."
"Krystal Jung is teaching you personally?"
Kim Dae-won almost slipped on the steering wheel. "Her dancing is decent, but is her vocal level actually enough?"
Kang Jae-hoon immediately retorted, "She's an ACE, you know!"
"Oh, defending her already?"
Kang Jae-hoon's momentum instantly dropped by two notches.
"Just stating facts."
Kim Dae-won sneered. "Still, you're right. She's more than enough to teach a tone-deaf guy like you who misses two notes out of three."
"..."
Bathed in the night, the S.M. Entertainment building looked like a glass castle, and the exterior LED screen was playing f(x)'s *Rum Pum Pum Pum* MV.
Holding a paper bag filled with banana milk and strawberry daifuku, Kang Jae-hoon stood downstairs, looking up at Krystal's figure on the screen.
Her wine-red long hair whipped across her shoulders, revealing her cold and striking features. A sharp kick stirred a gust of wind, and her subtle 11-line abs flickered faintly in the light and shadow.
She was a completely different person from the blushing girl he knew on the set.
"Ahem—"
A low cough drifted past his ear.
"Mesmerized?"
He turned his head to see Krystal standing beside him, though he had no idea when she had arrived.
Her baseball cap was pulled down very low, and the tips of her hair still carried moisture, making it obvious she had just taken a shower.
A hoodie enveloped her slender figure, making her look like a college student who had snuck out to play. There was not a trace of the fierce and dashing aura she had in the MV.
Kang Jae-hoon handed over the banana milk.
"So this is what you're usually like on stage..."
"Like what?"
"Glowing."
Krystal took the banana milk, her fingertips gently rubbing against the bottle as a small, involuntary curve formed at the corner of her lips.
"Being on stage is a job requirement. It's not nearly as exaggerated in daily life."
"You're just as pretty in daily life, though."
A single sentence sent Krystal's spirits soaring. She lowered her head to bite the straw, speaking in a muffled voice, "Let's go."
She swiped her card and pushed open the glass door, with Kang Jae-hoon following closely behind.
The corridors on both sides were plastered with posters of past idols, and LED light strips illuminated the white floor tiles to look like an icy surface. The faint scent of disinfectant mixed with the base notes of perfume drifted through the air.
The elevator chimed and stopped at the vocal practice floor.
As soon as the doors opened, a few female trainees happened to be passing by. Upon seeing Krystal, they immediately pressed themselves against the wall in a neat row and bowed, their synchronized greetings echoing down the hallway.
"Hello, Sunbae!"
Krystal gave a slight nod without stopping her stride.
Kang Jae-hoon's gaze swept over one cool and composed face.
The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail, and her bare face was as clean as freshly fallen snow. Yet, when her eyes collided with his, she suddenly widened them in surprise.
"Porcelain Doll?"
"Uncle?"
Krystal slammed the brakes on her steps, her gaze darting back and forth between the two of them.
"You know each other?"
"Ah..."
Kang Jae-hoon scratched his head and explained, "I accidentally got Yoona's jacket dirty earlier, and I happened to run into this..."
"Bae Joo-hyun," the girl whispered in addition.
"Right, there was a bit of a misunderstanding back then."
Bae Joo-hyun smiled with her lips pressed together. "Sunbae has a really good memory."
However, Krystal's sensitive little ears automatically filtered out all irrelevant plots, precisely capturing only the keyword—
Im Yoona.
She really was like a lingering ghost!
At that thought, the corners of Krystal's mouth instantly flattened into a straight line, and she spun around to walk away.
"Let's go. Practice room time is limited."
"Ah, wait!"
Kang Jae-hoon quickly caught up. After taking two steps, he turned back, pulled a carton of banana milk and a strawberry daifuku from the paper bag, and shoved them into Bae Joo-hyun's hands.
"Thanks for last time."
Krystal stood at the corner of the hallway, arms crossed as she watched this scene, her toe impatiently tapping the floor.
Bae Joo-hyun clutched the snacks with a blank expression, only hearing her companion's soft squeal after the two figures disappeared around the bend:
"That was Yoon Chan-young from *The Heirs*! Is he dating Krystal sunbae?"
...
When Kang Jae-hoon jogged to catch up, Krystal asked chillingly,
"You're quite good at taking care of people, aren't you?"
"Just habit..."
Kang Jae-hoon chuckled foolishly. "Trainees all have it hard."
"So you and Yoona unnie are already close enough to borrow jackets casually?"
"…Huh?"
Kang Jae-hoon belatedly caught a whiff of danger, his survival instinct instantly activating:
"It was an accident back then! My pants split open so I..."
"We're here."
Krystal swiped open the practice room door. In the shadows, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
So even a blockhead knows how to rush and explain.
"Let's test your range first. Sing with me starting from middle C—"
Krystal sat at the piano, her fingertips sweeping across the keys in a string of scales.
Kang Jae-hoon stood beside the upright piano, hands pressed flat against the seams of his trousers, standing as straight as an elementary school student called upon by a teacher.
"Ah—"
As soon as he hit E4, his voice cracked into vocal fry.
"Pfft—"
Krystal hurriedly covered her mouth.
"So Teacher Kang has things he's not good at, after all?"
Just as Kang Jae-hoon was about to retort, a knock sounded abruptly.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Kim Taeyeon poked her upper body in.
"Soojung, what are you do— Oh? Rich Guy Oppa?"
Rich Guy Oppa?
The moment that teasing nickname pierced his eardrum like a thorn, the smile vanished from the corners of Krystal's lips, and she heavily pressed a discordant note down on the piano keys.
"Hello, Taeyeon sunbae."
Kang Jae-hoon greeted her with a silly smile. "Are you recording?"
Kim Taeyeon smiled and replied, "Yeah, recording my third Japanese mini-album. What are you two...?"
"Special training for a drama OST."
Krystal answered first. "Since Taeyeon unnie is preparing an album, you must be very busy, right?"
Her polite eviction notice was both subtle and sharp.
"..."
Kim Taeyeon finally arched an eyebrow belatedly, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them.
"Fine, I won't disturb you..."
She took a tactful half-step back.
The instant the door clicked shut, Krystal slammed her foot down on the sustain pedal, causing the piano to emit a roaring vibration.
"Restart from La!"
The lingering echoes of the piano reverberated through the air.
Kang Jae-hoon stared at Krystal's taut profile and suddenly asked,
"Do you hate Taeyeon sunbae?"
The fingers on the keys paused.
"No."
Krystal immediately denied it. "I just think practice time is precious."
"Then just now..."
"Do you really like the nickname 'Rich Guy Oppa'?"
Krystal suddenly interrupted Kang Jae-hoon, turning her head to look straight into his eyes.
Kang Jae-hoon was taken aback by the question.
"It's just a title..."
Krystal pressed an accented note with her fingertip.
"You're Hwang Jung-min sunbae's disciple, a Chungmuro reserve actor. Why should you be labeled with a cross-dressing gag tag?"
Kang Jae-hoon froze.
He had never thought about it that way—
Variety show effect, topicality, audience memory points, aren't these things artists are supposed to play along with?
Yet the serious look on Krystal's face caused a soft, collapsing cave-in somewhere in his heart.
"Got it."
Kang Jae-hoon suddenly reached out and ruffled the top of her hair.
"If anyone calls me that again, I'll just say..."
Krystal lifted her chin, strands of hair slipping through his fingers.
"Say what?"
"Say that our Boa will get mad."
"..."
A blush surged across Krystal's cheeks. She swatted his hand away, nearly springing off the piano bench in the process.
"Who, who is your Boa! This is a vocal lesson now!"
She turned around in a fluster, her fingers randomly mashing a string of out-of-tune notes on the keyboard in an attempt to mask her runaway heartbeat.
"Continue practicing!"
Krystal ordered fiercely, "No pitch-flattening this time!"
"Ne~"
Kang Jae-hoon stood straight obediently, like a straight poplar tree.
Krystal sneaked a peek at him through the reflection on the polished piano lid—
His focused profile looked exceptionally handsome under the warm lighting, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with the scales as he clumsily yet earnestly hummed along to her melody.
Outside the glass door, Kim Taeyeon, who had eavesdropped on a few lines of their conversation, shook her head and walked away.
Kids these days...
She took out her phone and sent a KakaoTalk message to Im Yoona:
[That stray cat you raised seems to have been targeted by a little tigress.]
Just as Taeyeon walked a few steps, her phone vibrated.
Incoming call: [Yoona]
She answered, and Im Yoona's laughter-laced voice came through the receiver:
"Unnie, what stray cat and little tigress?"
Kim Taeyeon pouted.
"Your Kang Jae-hoon-ssi is currently undergoing 'vocal special training' with Soojung in the company practice room."
"?"
"I just shouted 'Rich Guy Oppa,' and Soojung almost nailed me to the wall with her stare."
"…If unnie were asked 'Where did your eyebrows go?' I'd glare at them too."
"......Ya!"
Kim Taeyeon instantly flared up.
"Just kidding~"
Im Yoona's voice was as gentle as melting honey. "How did they end up practicing vocals?"
"They said it's special training for a drama OST."
Kim Taeyeon glanced back at the tightly closed practice room door, faintly catching Kang Jae-hoon's out-of-tune singing and Krystal's suppressed, amused corrections from inside.
"As for the vibe... it's pink enough to bubble."
A director's shout suddenly came from the other end of the phone: "Yoona-ssi! Get ready for the shoot!"
"Coming right up!"
Im Yoona acknowledged, her speaking speed suddenly picking up:
"Taeyeon unnie, you should really tell Jessica unnie about this situation."
"Mwo? Jessica?"
"Remember to use the tone of 'Your Soojung is being bullied.'"
Before the call hung up, Taeyeon could still hear Im Yoona's gentle voice apologizing to the crew:
"I'm sorry, I'll be right..."
Kim Taeyeon stared at the darkened screen and suddenly burst out laughing.
"This girl..."
She turned toward the elevator, her fingertip sliding across her KakaoTalk contact list until it stopped on the chat box for [Jessica].
[Your Soojung is being pestered into teaching vocals by a male actor from the cast of *The Heirs*.]
[Right now, the two of them are locked in a practice room alone.]
[That guy even touched her head and said, "Our Soojung-ah."]
The moment the send button was pressed, a prompt immediately appeared above the chat box: [The other party is typing...]
Three seconds later—
[Jessica Jung]: Location. Now.
...
At 11:00 PM that night,
the piano music in the practice room came to an abrupt halt as Krystal closed the piano lid.
"Let's call it a day here."
Kang Jae-hoon rubbed his throat.
"Teacher Soojung, did I improve?"
"Upgraded from a car accident scene to..."
Krystal tilted her head to think. "A minor rear-end collision?"
Kang Jae-hoon: "..."
The moment Krystal pulled open the practice room door handle, the cold hallway wind carrying the scent of perfume rushed over them—
Jessica Jung was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, her fingertips impatiently tapping against her elbow.
"Unnie?!"
Krystal's pitch spiked abruptly, her body instinctively blocking the door gap.
"Why are you here?"
"Passing by."
Jessica's gaze locked past her younger sister's shoulder onto Kang Jae-hoon, who was busy packing up his sheet music.
"I heard someone needed vocal guidance?"
Kang Jae-hoon stood frozen in place holding the banana milk paper bag. "Good evening, Jessica sunbae..."
"Hmph."
Jessica let out a cold snort, her red lips parting slightly: "Kang—"
Krystal suddenly lunged forward, wrapping both arms around her sister's waist to forcefully pivot her direction.
"Let's go home!"
"Ya! Little Soojung, let go of me!"
Jessica's high heels scraped a sharp sound across the floor as she was dragged toward the elevator with the strength of a wrestling competitor.
"I haven't finished talking yet!"
"Talk next time!"
"Next time? There's a next time?!?"
Jessica's screech echoed down the hallway, startling a few trainees into peeking out in terror.
"Ya! Put me down!!!"
Kang Jae-hoon stood in place, pinching the wrapper of the leftover strawberry daifuku Krystal had given him, watching as she half-dragged and half-pulled her older sister into the elevator.
In the last second before the elevator doors closed, Jessica, seeing that escape was hopeless, made a throat-slitting gesture toward Kang Jae-hoon with the unmistakable mouthing of:
"You're dead."
"..."
The hallway returned to quiet.
He pulled out his phone and, after a moment of hesitation, sent a KakaoTalk message:
[Thanks for the vocal lesson today. Be careful on your way home.]
Five minutes later, Kang Jae-hoon's phone vibrated.
[Krystal Jung]: I'm having a birthday party on the 24th. Are you free to come?
"The 24th?"
He flipped through his phone calendar—it was the broadcast day for episode 06 of *The Heirs*.
[Kang Jae-hoon]: Unless something unexpected happens, yes.
As soon as the message was sent, the other party replied instantly:
[Krystal Jung]: No gifts allowed! Just show up!
Followed quickly by another text:
[Krystal Jung]: ...Also, don't take what my sister said just now to heart.
...
As Kang Jae-hoon stood at the entrance of S.M. Entertainment waiting for his van, his phone suddenly vibrated.
[Lee Sung-kyung]: Returning to Seoul from Tokyo on the 24th.
Just a few brief words, but they made him stare at the screen blankly for several seconds.
The 24th.
Krystal's birthday party.
Lee Sung-kyung's return date.
The night wind swept fallen leaves past his feet as Kang Jae-hoon looked up at the lights of the S.M. building—
A window in one of the practice rooms was still bright, likely housing that porcelain doll he had met twice, sweating for her debut.
—How should he reply?
Say "I'll pick you up at the airport"?
But Krystal's party would most likely be in the evening.
Say "I might not make it to the birthday party"?
Yet Lee Sung-kyung hadn't even asked about his schedule.
Amidst his hesitation, the van slowly pulled up in front of him.
Kim Dae-won rolled down the passenger window.
"What are you daydreaming about? Get in!"
"..."
The Seoul nightscape outside the car window sped backward, neon signs dragging long streaks of light across the glass.
Kang Jae-hoon stared at his own reflection—
On the left was the sheet music Krystal had handed him, and on the right was the text message sent by Lee Sung-kyung.
He suddenly recalled something Hwang Jung-min had once said:
"The hardest part for an actor isn't playing the character; it's playing the life outside the script."