Chapter 157

Interestingly, the public's gaze was kind and warm towards one person but freezing cold towards the other.

Since Chae Woo-Ra was only 3 months younger than Chae Woo-Jin's biological sister Chae Woo-Hee, people could guess their family circumstances from the clues. In fact, the small rumor that had gone around saying that Chae Woo-Ra was the granddaughter of the Rome Law Firm's CEO Park Hyun-Man only fortified their assumptions.

The situation was like a family drama TV show with illegitimate children and inheritance issues. So naturally, people were greatly intrigued and excited to watch the situation unfold, but most of them also showed some disdain towards one person in particular.

The villain of the story was automatically selected as Chae Woo-Ra. She usually bragged about being born rich and had a completely different lifestyle than her half-brother. Woo-Jin used to be harassed for being too skilled and was almost forced to get a sponsorship by the CEO of his old agency because of his unremarkable family background.

Compared to Chae Woo-Ra, who was raised in a wealthy family and lived an easy life, Chae Woo-Jin had faced countless adversities to reach where he was today. Even if one didn't want to compare or judge them, the differences were far too significant to go unnoticed.

In particular, the speculation that Chae Woo-Ra's cat 'Peanut' — which was said to have died after she had raised it for 12 years — was actually Chae Woo-Jin's 'Woo-Sa' was an irrefutable truth. Chae Woo-Ra had already spread the story of her cat's death on TV and on social media. There was too much evidence pointing at her that she couldn't deny anything.

"Is Woo-Hee doing okay?" Hyun-Min asked Woo-Jin.

Even though Woo-Hee and Woo-Ra were both technically his friend's sisters, Hyun-Min couldn't help but show favoritism to the former and worry about her first.

"Surprisingly, she seems to be enjoying this situation," Woo-Jin replied.

Woo-Hee secretly held grudges against her biological father. Although she claimed that she didn't care about him anymore, it appeared that countless untold emotions had piled up deep in her heart. Additionally, she didn't feel competitive towards Chae Woo-Ra purely out of friendly rivalry either.

"She's directing her competitive spirit towards her studies while relieving stress by listening to people's reactions and gossip about that household. Woo-Hee says that the world is beautiful... because... pffft... karma exists...."

Woo-Jin couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out laughing as they walked before finally taking a deep breath and sighing.

Woo-Hee's dream was to become a just and fair prosecutor, and it seemed she would mercilessly punish her flesh and blood for their crimes without hesitation. Well, to be more precise, she was being even more ruthless and unforgiving as she was the victim in this specific case.

Woo-Jin was honestly a bit shocked to learn that Woo-Hee had been secretly harboring anger deep in her heart because he believed that his sister was completely indifferent and cold towards their paternal family.

"Maybe it's a good thing her anger exploded now instead of being kept locked inside for longer," Woo-Jin commented.

Rather than being unaware of her own boiling emotions and letting them pile up forever, Woo-Jin was relieved that Woo-Hee had allowed it all to burst out into the open. However, he was still worried about his sister's emotional state.

"It is a good thing. This was an issue that needed to be addressed at least once. She needs to let out her true feelings before moving on. I was worried for her since the current situation isn't the ideal one I had in mind, but I'm glad she's using her overflowing emotions to fuel herself positively," Hyun-Min said.

"It's thanks to our parents. They're taking good care of her."

In the end, anger was still an overflow of mostly negative emotions. Thus, Woo-Jin's family was paying extra attention so that Woo-Hee didn't get hurt or feel hollow on the inside. Fortunately, his younger sister was raised with lots of love and had grown into a woman who could share that love with others in turn. Moreover, his parents watched over Woo-Hee so that her anger was dealt with properly.

"But...."

"There's a but?" Hyun-Min asked.

"Seems like the filming the day after tomorrow will interfere with everything."

Although his parents were taking care of his sister, the filming of Life Depicted was an issue Woo-Jin had to take responsibility for.

Even though the shooting day was set for the day after tomorrow, Woo-Jin had no idea what to do on camera and could only spin his pen around in his hand in thought, desperately racking his brains for ideas.

"Did you ask the other two how they filmed theirs?" Hyun-Min asked.

The following Friday was the airing date of the first episode, so Woo-Jin couldn't postpone the shooting any longer. As there were no solutions to Woo-Jin's predicament, Hyun-Min advised his friend to copy off of others.

"I did. Senior Yoon Seong-Hwan will use his career to his advantage and demonstrate his acting and outlook on life. On the other hand, Senior Park Mi-Hyun decided to show the viewers how an actress without a job can have fun at home."

"Seems like their personalities don't really overlap with yours."

"So what if they don't overlap? It doesn't change how I have nothing to show," Woo-Jin exclaimed.

"Just peel and eat some mandarins on camera."

Hyun-Min joked that people would still watch the show just to watch Woo-Jin eat some mandarins. He encouraged his celebrity friend to use this opportunity to try it out for fun.

"Mandarins are expensive these days," Woo-Jin replied.

Hyun-Min snorted at his friend's absurd reaction. Rather than rebuking Hyun-Min for the stupid suggestion, Woo-Jin's response was that the fruit was expensive. In other words, Woo-Jin had already considered the same idea before.

"Sheesh, don't pretend you're broke with the money you make," Hyun-Min said in exasperation.

"Someone's grumpy today."

"It's because I decided to give up on buying TM's stocks."

Hyun-Min had once hoped that TM's stock would decrease due to the Blue Fit incident. However, things did not go as expected, which greatly disappointed him back then.

But with the current situation, Hyun-Min had the same expectations, saying that things would go differently this time around. In other words, there was only a single reason for which Hyun-Min would give up on TM's stocks again.

"It didn't go down again?" Woo-Jin asked.

"Others were also buying the stocks, and there was no sign of it going down. I think the CEO of TM is gonna change sometime soon."

Woo-Jin was not surprised by the lack of fluctuation last time, but it seemed someone was planning something big by buying all of TM's stocks.

Since someone was recklessly buying everything without calculating their profits, it was unlikely that an outside power was intervening, but rather someone on the inside was trying to take over the company.

"They're all so organized and efficient that lowly, powerless people like me don't have the time to do anything."

As Hyun-Min complained, Woo-Jin finally asked a question he had been pondering for a long time.

"But have you made any money through stocks so far?"

Woo-Jin was curious whether Hyun-Min had ever profited from it. Although Hyun-Min often talked about his investments and expressed his interest in the stock market, Woo-Jin had never gotten any news about the end results.

"Right now, my main priority is my studies. Someone I consider my mentor suddenly appeared one day out of the blue and got...."

"I heard that Seok-Cheol recently made quite a bit of money through stocks."

"Are you seriously comparing your friends with each other? Nothing else in the world hurts people's feelings more than that." Hyun-Min complained.

"So basically, you didn't earn anything."

Hyun-Min stood silently as he couldn't refute or deny anything. Woo-Jin could do nothing for his friend other than patting him on the back in consolation. However, Woo-Jin realized that he should just ignore anything Hyun-Min had to say about stocks from here on out.

"I also had several opportunities to profit! But I just let them pass."

Woo-Jin sent a pitiful gaze at his friend's desperate claim, which only made Hyun-Min lose his temper faster.

"Hey! I would've also made a lot of money if I had bought Garam and Bareunjeong Foods' stocks."

"What are you talking about?" Woo-Jin asked.

"Do you know how much their stock has increased since it was revealed that you were their CEO's son?"

"I don't have anything to do with them."

"That's your own opinion. Other people don't think the same." Hyun-Min enthusiastically emphasized that people thought differently from Woo-Jin.

Although the world was rapidly changing, Korea's mindset that blood relations mattered most could not be changed so easily.

"You're not just a celebrity. You're extremely competent as someone studying business and administration and taking the bar exam. Then, your maternal family is also at the helm of the Rome Law Firm. Even if you say that you won't take part in the management of the companies, the name value of 'Chae Woo-Jin' is so big that people believe they won't make any losses when investing in those companies." Hyun-Min explained.

Just like how choosing the suitable model for s had the effect of increasing sales, it was only natural that the stocks of Garam and Bareunjeong Foods would rise because of Chae Woo-Jin's identity as the CEO's son.

"Similarly, Brisingamen's stocks have also risen considerably."

Hyun-Min had already predicted the rise of these stocks but didn't want to use his friend's familial circumstances to his advantage and make money.

"You idiot! There's no way they'll continue rising now, but if a similar opportunity ever comes, don't hesitate to buy them. I'll allow it." Woo-Jin rebuked his friend.

He preferred having Hyun-Min earn money thanks to him rather than other cunning businessmen. But despite Woo-Jin telling Hyun-Min not to worry about such trivial matters in the future, the latter reacted indifferently and spoke.

"I'm not that desperate."

Hyun-min's principles and values would not allow him to use a friend's personal problems as a means of profiting. However, instead of being moved, Woo-Jin mocked his friend.

"Would someone that's not desperate cling onto TM's stocks like it was their lifeline?"

"That's because my mentor seemed interested in the entertainment industry... Anyways... Why haven't you been going to your favorite singer's gigs recently?"

Hyun-Min changed the topic as there was nothing he could say. As someone who knew even the most minor details about Woo-Jin, it was easy for him to change the flow of the conversation with his friend.

"These days, it's more helpful for him if I don't go."

"Why? Thanks to your press conference, the topic of Lee Hyung-Jin has been popping up frequently, but in a good way. Wouldn't it be better if you went and fully vouched for him at a time like this?"

"Better for who? Me or Hyung-Jin hyung?" Woo-Jin asked.

Being supported by Chae Woo-Jin could improve Lee Hyung-Jin's public image. If someone extended a helping hand to another when no one believed in the latter anymore, it would greatly motivate them. Moreover, it would remind the public to look back and check the truth once again.

"My part in the story is done. From now on, Hyung-Jin hyung needs to find his way on his own. Only then will the public remember him as Lee Hyung-Jin, the singer, independent from me."

"You really do care about Lee Hyung-Jin a lot."

"Because he's my favorite singer."

Woo-Jin did not want to step forward and become Lee Hyung-Jin's savior. All he did was make people doubt the facts they believed as the truth, then discreetly take his leave from the scene. From now on, when the real truth would get revealed one at a time, Lee Hyung-Jin had to play his role as the protagonist of his own story.

Woo-Jin didn't want to openly help him out by his side. That would only satisfy Chae Woo-Jin, and in the long run, would make Lee Hyung-Jin owe him a debt. Woo-Jin didn't want to form a relationship based on debt with Lee Hyung-Jin.

"So unfortunately, I need to step out of the picture to let the public see Hyung-Jin hyung's brilliance."

"You know you sound super arrogant right now, don't you? Are you worried that he'll be overshadowed if you stand next to him?" Hyun-Min asked.

"You said so earlier. People now look at me with greed, even though nothing has changed in the person known as Chae Woo-Jin. Think back on the things So-Hyun told you as well."

Chae Woo-Jin hadn't changed at all. He was still an actor and an examinee preparing for the bar exam interview.

However, people viewed him and valued him differently now that his maternal and paternal families' circumstances were revealed. The fame, power, and wealth people envied about him belonged to his maternal and paternal families, not Woo-Jin. Even though he would not inherit a single piece of the families' possessions, the public was getting the wrong idea about Woo-Jin due to a small misunderstanding.

Naturally, the existence and presence of Woo-Jin's maternal family was of help, but it was not an absolute power he could rely on.

Lee So-Hyun had cast Woo-Jin aside because he was shiny but still nothing more than a pebble. And in fact, that hadn't changed to this day. It was just that people's vision of him had morphed into something new just because Woo-Jin's background and environment had slightly changed.

"Diamonds were just shiny stones at first as well."

The essence and nature of things didn't change in life. What changed was the people's views that attributed a certain value to it. Woo-Jin didn't consider himself a diamond, but he wanted to tell people that no one could accurately predict what a shiny stone could become in the future.

Thus, if he stood by Lee Hyung-Jin's side right now, Woo-Jin would be the center of attention, and people would try to assign a value to Lee Hyung-Jin with his connection to Woo-Jin in mind.

They would mistake that Lee Hyung-Jin's brilliance actually came from Woo-Jin, and the actor couldn't allow himself to be a hindrance to those he loved. He was slowly learning how to care for others and acting to help them in their journey through life.

Suddenly, Woo-Jin turned a new and fresh gaze towards Hyun-Min. Although he had always been grateful for Hyun-Min's care and concerns, Woo-Jin had been taking them for granted as they had been friends for so long.

But if the situation were reversed between him and Hyun-Min, Woo-Jin would behave just like the current Hyun-Min, so the celebrity never doubted his friend. Woo-Jin finally realized that this relationship was a precious and sparkling friendship that could never be replaced. Since the two's thoughts and feelings were always the same, Woo-Jin hadn't been aware of it thus far.

This kind of trust and love often slipped out of people's hands in life, never to be found again. In fact, it had happened countless times to Woo-Jin in his past lives.

Woo-Jin felt deeply grateful to Hyun-Min for being by his side since he was but a mere stone buried in the dirty earth. Whether Woo-Jin was a pebble or a shining gemstone, Hyun-Min had always stayed with him and gazed at him with the usual glow in his eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hyun-Min asked.

As Woo-Jin fell into deep thoughts and stared at his friend with a profound gaze, Hyun-Min shuddered, hugged his arms, and retreated a few steps to put some distance between the two.

"I just felt grateful to you."

"Want me to buy you some mandarins?" Hyun-Min pretended to take out and open his wallet while sending suspicious glances at the actor. Woo-Jin let out a genuine chuckle as he watched the embarrassed Hyun-Min.

Woo-Jin would never have found a friend like Hyun-Min if not for the latter's great personality, hard work, and perseverance.

"I think I know what I need to do now."

If Woo-Jin had truly not changed, he just had to show that unchanged image to the audience. He wanted to show the brilliance of a stone that had yet to become a gem to those who would recognize reality as is.

It was now Woo-Jin's turn to show the same effort, and faith Hyun-Min had in the pebble called 'Woo-Jin' to the public.

He had finally figured out how to film his Life Depicted.