Robert returned home after a strange day.
After showering, he sat blankly, chewing on oatmeal boiled in milk for dinner, when Susan, who was sitting across from him, asked.
“Did something happen?”
“…”
When Robert continued to chew as if he hadn’t heard her, Susan stared at him, finding it odd.
“Knock knock. Hello? Robert?”
“Ah… huh? Did you call me?”
“I asked if something happened. You’ve been spacing out ever since you got home from work.”
At Susan’s question, Robert swallowed what he was chewing and spoke.
“A movie director visited today.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Director Gyeong Chanhyeon, the one you like.”
Susan’s eyes widened at Robert’s words.
“What…? What did you say? Gyeong Chanhyeon? Really?”
“Seeing you react like that makes me wonder if I should have even mentioned it.”
Though Robert grumbled, he looked at Susan with loving eyes as he spoke.
“Did Director Gyeong Chanhyeon really visit?”
“Yeah. As soon as I got to work, I saw a car in the parking lot, so I went over. Director Gyeong Chanhyeon, still half-asleep, stepped out of the car. Isn’t it strange? At first, I thought….”
Susan put down her spoon and leaned in toward Robert, asking.
“As soon as you got to work? At that time, in the Burger Emperor parking lot…?”
“Yeah. I’m telling you.”
“Ah.”
Susan let out a sigh as if she had realized something, then shook her head.
“You’re teasing me again, aren’t you? That makes no sense. No way.”
“No, it’s true. He said he’s my fan.”
“He said he’s your fan…?”
Susan looked at Robert with an expectant expression.
“Why? What?”
“Huh?”
Susan tilted her head at Robert’s reaction.
“Isn’t this the timing where you tell me it was a lie?”
“I’m telling you it’s true…?”
“The buildup is a bit long this time. Not funny.”
Susan looked at Robert’s face playfully, as if she had been fooled by this abuse of acting skills more than once or twice.
“Ha, it’s true. I swear.”
However, as she realized he had never dragged it out this long before, Susan’s expression froze instantly.
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
“No, so not only did he come, but he’s actually your fan?”
“Yeah. I told you.”
Susan gulped and studied Robert’s expression.
It was definitely the truth.
He wasn’t the type of person to drag out a tasteless joke for this long.
“But why did he visit?”
“It seemed like he came because he’s a fan. He said he wanted to have a chat.”
“…”
Susan stared intently at Robert.
Of course, he was a good husband now.
But just a few years ago, his state had been disastrous and horrific.
Fans had turned their backs on him because of that.
Just as she thought there couldn’t possibly be any fans left, Director Gyeong Chanhyeon had suddenly approached him.
Thinking there was definitely something to this, Susan looked at Robert and thought.
‘An opportunity has come for Robert. A chance to let the world know that he has truly become a human being again.’
It was certainly no coincidence that Gyeong Chanhyeon approached Robert.
Robert’s acting ability was, without a doubt, the best.
Believing that a chance to put Robert back on the screen had arrived, Susan composed her breathing and spoke to him.
“So, did you really just talk?”
“Huh?”
“He didn’t mention anything else, right?”
At Susan’s words, Robert chuckled and said.
“He said he was thinking about offering me a movie.”
“And your answer?”
“Well, I told him not to even think about it. It’s a bit much to choose an actor based on fan heart, right? Especially since my criminal record is so colorful.”
Robert grinned.
“This is a joke, right?”
“No.”
“Isn’t this too good of an opportunity? The director is Gyeong Chanhyeon!”
Taken aback by the unexpected reaction, Robert put down his spoon, looking flustered.
“Huh?”
“You’ve completely quit the drugs now. You quit drinking too. Then, once more….”
“You know my reputation. I don’t want to see a young director’s dreams shattered because of me. And since he says he’s my fan, there’s no need to make him walk a difficult path. Just cheering me on is enough.”
The comfort Robert received from Gyeong Chanhyeon alone meant a great deal.
His words saying it was a relief that he had quit the drugs.
The relief reflected in Gyeong Chanhyeon’s eyes as he said it.
Remembering that, Robert chuckled and picked up his spoon.
“Why is it a difficult path?”
“Once we start filming, do you think the reporters will stay quiet? You know how it is.”
It was something he had already experienced years ago.
The movie had failed, but Robert had to endure constant attacks from reporters.
[Robert Penn. Did he come to the set to do drugs? What kind of eccentricity will he show this time?]
[Lack of respect for the Hollywood industry. Is the rogue Robert starting filming?]
[Robert Penn. Is the convict returning?]
Robert was fine.
Even if he received harsher criticism, he was willing to endure it.
However, thinking that the movie might fail because of him, he didn’t have the confidence to work with Gyeong Chanhyeon.
“Think about it more for now. Don’t just let it go like that. That’s not like you.”
A few days later, Gyeong Chanhyeon showed a partially written script to Lee Junseong.
“A detective…? Not a psycho killer?”
“Yeah. But not an ordinary detective.”
Lee Junseong smelled money as he appreciated the script.
The beginning was a scene where a detective catches and interrogates a criminal.
“I like guys like you. Acting all high and mighty outside, but probably just eating lasagna made by your mom at home. You guys have a common smell. You know that smell that’s disgusting but you think of it once in a while?”
The very first scene was an interrogation.
Lee Junseong slowly savored the sequence where the detective delivers unique lines to the criminal.
‘A detective who intentionally gets under criminals’ skin…?’
It wasn’t that he was trying to provoke them on purpose.
It was just that the character itself was someone who could make people irritated.
The lines looked very difficult to pull off.
“Hmm….”
Thinking that the protagonist could too easily become unlikeable, Lee Junseong frowned at the script, where the scent of money felt ambiguous.
“The script itself is good, but I’m worried the character might become too unlikeable. He’s a detective, but he looks sleazier than the criminals.”
“Is that so?”
“Wasn’t that the intention?”
At Lee Junseong’s question, Gyeong Chanhyeon sat in his chair and looked at his script.
“The person in my head looks charming rather than sleazy when saying these lines.”
“If played well, he’d be charming. Hmm… I wonder who would be a good actor with enough skill to pull this off… Who is the person in your head?”
“Robert Penn.”
“What?!”
At Lee Junseong’s shout, Gyeong Chanhyeon shook his head and said.
“But I can’t use Robert Penn anyway. He says he has no intention of doing movies. I met him in person and heard it all.”
“You met him in person?”
Not only had he met Robert Penn in person, but he had even helped clean the store; Lee Junseong looked at Gyeong Chanhyeon as if he couldn’t believe it.
However, Gyeong Chanhyeon’s gaze was fixed outside the window.
Seeing him look out the window so wistfully, Lee Junseong asked.
“Is Robert Penn your first love or something? Why is your gaze so sorrowful? Are you learning acting these days?”
“I’m just disappointed.”
It was the first time in a long while that Lee Junseong had seen Gyeong Chanhyeon so lifeless.
He tried to think why he cared so much about him, but he couldn’t figure it out.
“Anyway, I’ll reach out to actors who might fit. Whether it’s Paul Morrison or whoever, as long as it’s a male actor in his 30s or 40s with the acting skills to back it up, right?”
“Sure. I’m going back to work now.”
Leaving those words behind, Gyeong Chanhyeon walked out with slumped shoulders.
“What’s wrong with him….”
Lee Junseong watched his retreating figure, feeling that Gyeong Chanhyeon’s atmosphere had changed.
Then, feeling curious, Lee Junseong looked up James’s number on his phone and called.
—Yes, CEO Lee. What can I do for you?
“James. How have you been? It’s about Chanhyeon.”
—Director Gyeong?
“Yes. I heard he met Robert Penn. Where is that located?”
—Do you want to meet him too, CEO Lee?
Lee Junseong hesitated for a moment.
“Yes. Chanhyeon has been a bit strange lately. I wondered if I could find the reason by seeing Robert Penn….”
—Director Gyeong is strange?
“He seems a bit different. And it happened exactly after he met Robert Penn.”
—Hmm… Yes. I’ll text you the location.
“Yes. Thank you.”
As soon as he hung up, Lee Junseong frowned at the message that flew in.
‘Burger Emperor.’
Five years ago.
It was the rival franchise to the burger shop where he used to work.
The smell of patties suddenly rushed back into his memory, and Lee Junseong shook his head.
“Ugh, of all places?”
For a few days, Robert immersed himself solely in work.
“Whew….”
After the lunch peak time ended, as he sat in a chair to take a short break, an employee spoke to him.
“Boss, are you okay? Your complexion is terrible. Aren’t you working too hard lately?”
“Well. I’ve always worked hard.”
“Hmm… no… especially after Director Gyeong Chanhyeon visited….”
“Fred. Let me rest for a bit. Okay?”
“…Yes.”
When the man who usually lived for jokes suddenly became serious, the employee scratched the back of his head awkwardly and went back to grilling patties.
“Sigh…”
A cold war with his wife, Susan.
Thinking of the frozen atmosphere at home, where only the gunfire was missing, Robert covered his face.
‘Why are you avoiding it by blaming others? Whether the movie gets criticized because of your casting is a problem for Director Gyeong Chanhyeon to handle, not something for you to worry about. You don’t know if this is a great opportunity. If it’s a Gyeong Chanhyeon movie, you must, absolutely must appear in it!’
Robert had given no answer to these words.
As a result, he hadn’t had a proper conversation with Susan for several days.
He tried to focus on work to relieve this burden, but the weight didn’t lift easily.
“Boss!”
The employee who had left feeling discouraged earlier called out to Robert.
“What?”
“Someone is looking for you. An Asian man.”
“What?”
“It’s not Director Gyeong.”
The employee spoke and returned to his spot, and when Robert stepped out of the kitchen, a man he had never seen before was standing there.
“Hello.”
A neat suit and a watch that looked quite expensive.
A cleanly dressed Asian man greeted him first with a smile.
“Who are you?”
“I am Lee Junseong, CEO of Seonghyeon KMD Pictures.”
“…”
At the name of the production company he had seen on Gyeong Chanhyeon’s business card, Robert closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“I think this conversation might take a while. Do you have a moment? I’d like to go outside and talk.”
Robert looked at the clock.
3 P.M.
The peak time had already passed.
“About what?”
“About Director Gyeong Chanhyeon.”
“What?”
Robert blinked with a puzzled expression.
The meeting a few days ago was the first and last time, and now, out of the blue, the company CEO had come to talk about Gyeong Chanhyeon.
Wondering what the situation was, Robert pondered for a moment on what to do.
“If you’re busy, I can make an appointment and come back.”
“Ah, no. I’ll just change my clothes and come out.”
When Robert came out wearing clothes of flamboyant colors, Lee Junseong struggled to hold back his laughter.
Extreme primary colors and terrible fashion sense.
Even a strange hat that didn’t suit his face at all.
“What?”
“Ah, nothing. Haha. Let’s go.”
Robert, seemingly satisfied with his clothes, naturally followed Lee Junseong outside.
T/N: RDJ came back in the film industry with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
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