Chapter 225: Definition of Talent

The day after saving Kang Eun-Gi, Mom finished her health checkup and received a lot of scolding from the doctor.

He explained there was a lot of inflammation in her stomach and she needed to be careful. Mom was advised to manage her diet well from now on and to eat properly.

Thanks to this, Lee Yeon-Sil who was listening to the results of the checkup with us started scolding Mom with her eyes wide open. "Mom! I'll manage your diet from now on. Okay?"

The doctor nodded and replied, "Please eat three meals a day on time and keep your mind at ease to avoid stress. If the stomach ulcer keeps recurring, it could lead to stomach cancer. Let's start with Helicobacter treatment today."

There was no need to wait a week for the detailed test results because the endoscopy results were clear.

Lee Yeon-Sil didn't stop nagging and Mom frowned while covering her ears.

It was at that moment that the schedule regarding Mom's death was being deleted from the planner.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: November 11, 2024]

-01:00 p.m.

(Deleted Schedule: St. Mary's Hospital Funeral Hall, 1st floor. Sister Michaela, my mom. Died in peace.)

'

No way. Could Kang Eun-Gi have been the key?

'

Thanks to saving Kang Eun-Gi, Lee Eun-Sil decided to live with Mom for the time being and she could now nag at Mom from right beside her. Consequently, I was able to prevent the death of my mom which I so desperately wanted to stop.

At the moment when the tangled threads of fate unraveled, the thing I regretted the most in my life also disappeared.

I could feel once again how absurdly interconnected fate was.

'

It was a good thing I decided to save him,

' I thought.

If I hadn't saved Kang Eun-Gi, terrible things that I dared not imagine might have happened in succession.

Thanks to this, I could bid farewell to Kang Eun-Gi with a relieved heart.

***

Kang Eun-Gi, who was about to turn himself in, patted his belly after eating hot budae-jjigae[1]at the budae-jjigae restaurant in front of the prosecutor's office.

And beside Kang Eun-Gi stood five men in suits. They were Kang Eun-Gi's subordinates who would turn themselves in together.

"Take care. Don't worry about us, son," Mom said to Kang Eun-Gi.

"Be careful in there, oppa," said Lee Yeon-Sil with longing eyes.

"Contact us when you get out," I told him.

After receiving Mom, Lee Yeon-Sil, and my send-off, Kang Eun-Gi smiled with a relieved expression. "Thanks, Mom. And you too, Yeon-Sil. Hurry and go back inside."

After saying goodbye to us, Eun-Gi gave instructions to the so-called 'combat unit' lined up behind me.

"You guys go inside too. We'll all get caught if we stay out here."

About 20 subordinates were lined up behind Choi Dong-Hyuk and Lee Soo-Chan, who were tasked with cleaning up the organization after Kang Eun-Gi was gone.

The moment Kang Eun-Gi turned around, the combat unit members bowed deeply and said, "Hyung-nim! Please come back safely!"

Although we were 100 meters away from the prosecutor's office, there was a high chance of encountering a prosecutor nearby.

Because of this, Kang Eun-Gi got annoyed. "We're not gangsters anymore. Stop doing those kinds of greetings."

The combat unit members stood up with awkward expressions at Kang Eun-Gi's scolding.

"And consult with Yoon-Ho for entertainment business matters while I'm gone. Got it?" Kang Eun-Gi added.

Choi Dong-Hyuk and Lee Soo-Chan who were in charge of cleaning up nodded. "Yes, hyung-nim!"

At that moment, Choi Dong-Hyuk and Lee Soo-Chan bowed their heads to me. "Please help us take good care of everything, hyung-nim."

I just nodded slightly due to Kang Eun-Gi's irritation.

"I won't say much because I pretty much already know everyone here. I know quite a bit about management, so call me anytime if you have any questions. But if your old habits return, I won't let it slide," I told them.

These were the kids who grew up with me in my childhood. Eight were from Angel Orphanage, and the rest were from nearby orphanages. They had all experienced getting scolded by me at least once for misbehaving.

Seeing the subordinates hesitating and fidgeting made Kang Eun-Gi burst out laughing, and the combat unit awkwardly scratched their heads.

Especially Choi Dong-Hyuk and Lee Soo-Chan, who seemingly had been trained separately by Kang Eun-Gi, were exceedingly polite.

Kang Eun-Gi's entertainment company was now renamed as Reverse Entertainment. Alcohol supply would be called Reverse Distribution and construction would be called Reverse Construction.

After hearing the company name symbolizing being reborn, I said I would help as much as possible.

"Alright then. I'm off," Kang Eun-Gi bade farewell.

After asking me to look after things, Kang Eun-Gi went into the prosecutor's office with his subordinates.

***

Lee Yung-Jin volunteered to take Mom and Lee Yeon-Sil to Gwangju as he had some work to do there anyway.

"Mom, come back up when the checkup results are out. Okay?" I told her.

"Got it."

I continued, "And Yeon-Sil, you come up with her. Your baby should have their regular checkups in Seoul."

"I will. By the way, oppa, you're quite the nagger too," Lee Yeon-Sil teased me.

Mom smiled. "Didn't you know? He's a real nagger. Did you see those younger guys watching their manners in front of him earlier? He must have nagged them so much,

tsk tsk.

"

Lee Yeon-Sil agreed with Mom. "Didn't he also use his fists sometimes?"

I responded with an innocent expression. "Yeon-Sil, I barely hit them. And Mom, who says I nagged them? I just gave a little advice for their own good."

"Is that what you call nagging? Two more of those and they'd have a seizure, son," my mom teased me.

I had no way of winning with Mom and Lee Yeon-Sil teaming up.

I looked at Lee Yung-Jin in the driver's seat and told him to start driving quickly. "Yung-Jin, drive safely and please take them away quickly before they nag some more."

Lee Yung-Jin scratched his head and said, "Sure, don't worry."

After reassuring Mom and Lee Yeon-Sil that I'd visit soon, I bade them goodbye.

As soon as Lee Yung-Jin's car left, I went straight to the company and meetings for

In the Name of God

and

Master of Mukbang

, which were two weeks away from their broadcast dates. Soon, it was time to leave work.

"Everyone, let's put down what we're doing and go home for today," I announced.

Every staff member was in a great mood since it had been a while since we could leave work on time at 6 p.m.

***

"Oppa, we're here."

In the first-floor living room, four members of Cherry Blossom and Haru were sitting in a circle, wearing sweatpants and trimming bean sprouts.

"What are you guys doing here? You still have more than two weeks of vacation left."

Woo Yeon-Hee laughed while peeling the skin off the bean sprout heads. "Resting at home was making us antsy. Also, we couldn't just leave Eun-Ah and Sae-Ri alone at the dorm so we came back out of worry."

Even though it was a month-long vacation, Eun-Ah didn't go home and Sae-Ri came back after three days to go to school.

Yang Eun-Bi trimmed the bean sprout tails beside me and nodded. "Yes, I couldn't leave Sae-Ri alone. You know she's a troublemaker. Who knows what she'll do while we're gone?"

Plop.

Perhaps because she was feeling a bit guilty, Sae-Ri broke the bean sprout she was trimming in half and said, "Wh-what are you talking about? I was busy studying! Eun-Ah unnie, say something!"

Eun-Ah defended Sae-Ri. "Sae-Ri's right. Although she spent most of her time asleep."

Sae-Ri looked indignant. "No! If you say it like that, it sounds like I did nothing but sleep!"

Watching the bickering girls made me realize that Cherry Blossom had certainly regained their energy.

I went up to my room, changed into comfortable clothes, and joined them in trimming the bean sprouts.

We finished trimming bean sprouts by evening and Jung In-Ji made bean sprout soup for dinner.

I couldn't help but let out a gasp of admiration as I ate the bean sprout soup made thoroughly with poached eggs and boiled squid.

After the meal, I brought up the topic I had been waiting to discuss. "Guys, I've arranged for you to appear in the fifth episode of

Master of Mukbang

. It's just a cameo role, so don't worry too much."

Woo Yeon-Hee tilted her head in confusion. "But I've never had any acting lessons."

"It's fine. All you have to do is just eat," I replied.

In the script for the fifth episode of

Master of Mukbang

, it was stated that the tonkatsu restaurant Haru visited was a favorite spot of Cherry Blossom. Cherry Blossom would appear as cameos in that episode and simply eat tonkatsu silently during the recording.

At that moment, Sae-Ri asked, "Yoon-Ho oppa, don't we have any lines?"

"Lines?"

"Yes!" Sae-Ri exclaimed as her eyes sparkled with a desire to act.

As far as I knew from my memories of my past life, Sae-Ri's acting was terrible. But I thought it would be better for her to be evaluated by others than to hear it from me.

I turned to Haru and said, "Haru, can you give me the script?"

I handed the script Haru brought to Sae-Ri and suggested, "Why don't you try reading the lines of the vegetable-selling lady in scene 17?"

"You're asking me to play an old lady?" Sae-Ri asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "Yep. An actor can't only play the roles they want, can they? And this is just a test, so don't feel too pressured. I'll ask the PD for some lines for you if you pass the test."

The easiest way to check if someone has a talent for acting was to make them play a character completely different from themselves.

After a moment of hesitation, Sae-Ri confidently said she could do anything. "Okay. Ahem!"

While Sae-Ri memorized the lines with the script in her hand, the rest of us moved to the sofa and waited for her performance to begin.

A short while later, I turned on the recording function on my phone and asked, "Sae-Ri, are you ready?"

Sae-Ri said she had memorized the lines and placed the script on the floor. Then she sat with her legs crossed as if she were a grandmother at Andong Market, holding a fly swatter in her right hand and waving it around.

'

That's a nice start,

' I remarked inwardly.

I asked Haru to act along with her when she began to wave the fly swatter. "Haru, can you be her scene partner?"

Haru nodded. "Sure, hyung."

Haru approached Sae-Ri and started acting as a customer.

『Ma'am, how much is a bundle of green onions these days?』

When Haru asked, Sae-Ri replied with a triumphant expression.

『Young. Man. A bundle of green onions costs twenty-five. hundred. won』

'

Huh? What did I just hear?

' I wondered.

Sae-Ri spoke in a strange tone that combined modern Korean with Chinese intonation.

'

Was Korean such a melodious language?

' I thought to myself.

Even Sae-Ri seemed to find something odd as her face turned red.

At that moment, I called out "Cut" immediately. "C-cut!"

The Cherry Blossom members started giving their critiques right away.

"You sounded like a robot. And the language you spoke didn't sound Korean but rather Chinese," Eun-Ah remarked.

Sae-Ri hung her head in response to Eun-Ah's blunt comment.

Yang Eun-Bi added, "I felt like I was listening to an audiobook. This is what you sounded like: A bundle of green onions costs twenty-five hundred won. Twenty-five hundred won."

Yang Eun-Bi's remark with her finger wagging made Sae-Ri's face turn even redder.

Woo Yeon-Hee tried to comfort Sae-Ri. "But you sing so well, don't you, Sae-Ri?"

Her words were gentle, but the implied message was to give up on acting.

Sae-Ri puffed her cheeks like an angry pufferfish and turned her body away. "I'm not acting!"

Even though she said she wouldn't act, it was clear she couldn't. But I couldn't say that out loud.

Instead, I focused on cheering Sae-Ri up. After all, Sae-Ri had her own talents even if it wasn't acting.

"Don't be too disappointed, Sae-Ri. So what if you can't act well? You're an amazing singer. I'll get you some original soundtrack and single tracks to participate in pretty soon, so cheer up," I comforted her.

Sae-Ri cautiously turned her head. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes."

However, the dispirited Sae-Ri didn't attempt acting again. She returned to the sofa, nestled into Woo Yeon-Hee's arms, and whined, "Unnie, my acting career is over."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Sae-Ri, but isn't it a bit of a stretch to say it's over when it hasn't even started?" Woo Yeon-Hee replied honestly.

Sae-Ri pouted and grumbled at Woo Yeon-Hee. "Then you try it, unnie! Acting is really hard."

"I have no intention of acting," Woo Yeon-Hee added.

"Still. You all have to try!" Sae-Ri insisted.

It seemed like Sae-Ri wanted everyone to share in her embarrassment, which made Woo Yeon-Hee and Yang Eun-Bi flinch.

But I was curious, too. I knew Eun-Ah was successful as an actress and Sae-Ri as a singer in my past life, but I still didn't know much about the talents of the other two.

I thought for a moment and said, "I agree. Since we have to do the cameo acting anyway, let's consider this an experience and try it."

Unwillingly pushed into it, Woo Yeon-Hee and Yang Eun-Bi began to memorize the script.

But when they actually started acting, an unexpected result emerged.

'

They're quite good,

' I thought.

Woo Yeon-Hee played a calm lady and Yang Eun-Bi portrayed a straightforward lady at the market. Though they weren't acting prodigies like Miso or Haru, they didn't seem to have any noticeable weaknesses.

'

They'd be good in musicals and voice acting,

' I thought.

With her good vocal delivery, Woo Yeon-Hee could do musicals. And Yang Eun-Bi, with her distinct personality, could do voice acting.

Sae-Ri looked at the two's acting with an incredulous expression. "Why are they both so good?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Yeah, right?"

Looking like she was searching for a last ally, Sae-Ri asked Eun-Ah to act. "Now it's your turn, unnie! Go on, try it."

I had to stifle my laughter at Sae-Ri's urging.

'

Sae-Ri, sorry to disappoint you but Eun-Ah is the best at this,

' I remarked inwardly.

But Sae-Ri, not knowing this, clasped her hands together nervously.

Without a choice, Eun-Ah took her place in front of Haru with a resigned look.

"Eun-Ah, you got this," I cheered her on.

When I encouraged the nervous Eun-Ah, she let out a deep sigh and said, "Okay, I'll try my best."

Haru and Eun-Ah faced each other and got ready.

"Alright, shall we start then? Ready~ action!"

When Haru began acting, Eun-Ah responded with her lines.

At that moment, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes out of astonishment.

Eun-Ah's acting was beyond imagination.

1.

Korean fusion stew that incorporates American style processed food such as spam, sausages, canned baked beans, and sliced cheese ☜