EMTM 02

Chapter 02

The following morning.

Su-i barely managed to shake off Jin-suk, who had been making a scene and insisting that they go straight to the agency after leaving the hospital, and came to Yu-na’s home.

She needed to learn about this girl.

Of course, Yu-na’s past had unfolded inside her head like a film being played frame by frame, but it wasn’t clear. She could only guess at what had happened from vague images and emotions.

She had expected to leave Yu-na’s body when she woke up that morning.

But she was still there.

She tried sitting quietly and meditating. She even tried going berserk and headbanging, but she couldn’t get out of Yu-na’s body.

It would have been better to keep wandering the afterlife.

The thought that she might end up living in this girl’s body for the rest of her life sent a chill through her.

Whether it was a month, a year, or ten years, if she couldn’t leave this girl’s body of her own accord, she couldn’t simply sit around doing nothing.

She had no idea what the future held, so Su-i had no choice but to come up with a plan.

Yu-na’s home was a very small, modest apartment.

Even though she had spent ten years working in the entertainment industry, Su-i had never imagined that she would live in an apartment that was practically falling apart.

Had all the money Yu-na earned so far gone straight to Jin-suk?

What a frustrating, pathetic girl.

She had been unable to say a single word in protest and had tried to end her life as if that were the only way out.

Su-i suddenly felt stifled and let out a small sigh.

Su-i had always lived by saying whatever she wanted to say and speaking her mind whenever she felt like it.

Of course, that personality had often caused her disadvantages. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, when gender discrimination was severe, people genuinely believed that a household would fall apart if a woman dared to raise her voice.

But what era was this now?

Although Su-i had ended her life twenty-five years ago, she had vaguely witnessed the changes in the world through her blurred vision and muffled hearing.

And yet a submissive woman like those one might have seen in the twentieth century still existed.

Su-i looked around the apartment with a hollow feeling.

The kitchen looked as though Yu-na hadn’t even bothered to cook herself a proper meal.

‘She really must have hated living. Sigh.’

Still, perhaps because Yu-na had a neat personality, her clothes and belongings were organized properly, so the apartment itself wasn’t messy.

On the living room table was a neatly arranged drama synopsis titled 《Surviving Fanatically》.

The back of the synopsis was filled with small, meticulous handwriting, almost like a diary.

One sentence in particular caught Su-i’s eye.

「Jenny and I probably don’t suit each other, right? I want to become Jenny.」

‘Jenny?’

It was the name of a supporting lead character in the drama.

Jenny was a singer with a decadent image, completely unlike Yu-na, whose image was pure, delicate, and beautiful.

‘Did she want to play this role?’

Even if she had been forced into this line of work, perhaps this had been a dream she had desperately wanted in her own way…

Su-i thought about it.

‘All right. I’ll take this on, for starters.’

Perhaps Su-i had been possessed into this body to save the life of a twenty-five-year-old woman who had lived such an unfortunate life.

She didn’t know how long she would remain in Yu-na’s body, but now that she had possessed a human body, she couldn’t simply sit around and do nothing.

And if Yu-na ever returned, Su-i wanted to make sure she could live comfortably and happily.

Why?

If she had to answer, Su-i could simply say that she had been a wandering soul with nothing to do in the afterlife. Spending that boring time doing something like this wasn’t exactly a great loss.

Su-i picked up a mirror and carefully examined Yu-na’s appearance.

Her long, silky black hair fell all the way to her waist. Her smooth, delicate skin and large, round eyes were exceptionally clear and luminous.

Her features were harmonious overall, giving her a peculiar charm that naturally made anyone looking at her smile.

‘I have to pretend to be Yu-na as much as possible. But can I actually pull that off?’

Su-i was already worried.

If anyone discovered that she had been possessed, things would become troublesome.

She had to move as carefully as possible without being discovered, but Su-i and Yu-na had completely opposite personalities.

Fortunately, Jin-suk didn’t seem particularly suspicious.

And judging from the call history on Yu-na’s phone, apart from the agency president and Jin-suk, Yu-na didn’t seem to have anyone close to her.

Yu-na’s lonely life without even any friends was pitiful, but for Su-i, it was fortunate.

It meant there was less chance of her being exposed.

Just then, Yu-na’s phone began to ring.

It was probably Jin-suk, waiting downstairs at the apartment.

She was no longer the pure, delicate, obedient Yu-na.

She was Jeong Su-i now.

And the thought of overturning everything Yu-na had been unable to do actually made her excited.

It was a musty, antiquated space where it seemed like dust would fly into the air with the slightest movement.

There was nothing but an old desk and a sofa, while posters of Im Yu-na were plastered all over the walls in place of wallpaper.

This shabby place was Yu-na’s agency office.

The agency president and Im Jin-suk were sitting on the sofa, while Su-i sat opposite them.

Su-i carefully studied the man who was supposedly the agency president.

Apparently, whenever she faced someone she knew, vague memories related to that person surfaced from Yu-na’s mind.

Lee Hwan-su.

He was Im Yu-na’s manager and the president of The Ollim Entertainment.

He seemed no less greedy or money-hungry than Jin-suk. If anything, he might have been worse.

“You’re telling me that our girl, the face of an idol group, is appearing in an adult film, and this is all the signing bonus she gets?”

They spoke to each other as though Su-i, sitting directly in front of them, didn’t even exist.

“As I told you, Yu-na’s image has been damaged quite a lot. Have you ever seen her say more than a word when she appears on variety shows? She’s even lost her exclusive shampoo commercial now. And the production company for this movie has no intention of increasing the signing bonus. You asked for far too much, Madam.”

“Are you sure President Lee isn’t taking a cut in the middle?”

“Madam. We’ve been together for ten years. It hurts to hear you say that.”

“Then give me those documents. I’ll check them myself.”

“You wouldn’t know what any of it means even if you looked. So don’t bother…”

“President Lee, if you keep doing business this way, Yu-na and I won’t renew the contract. You know there’s only one week left on the contract, right? Do you really think I’m going to renew it again?”

At Jin-suk’s words, Lee Hwan-su gave a strange smile.

“Madam. I’ve taken care of our Yu-na for the past ten years. How many suicide incidents has she had? What about the scandals and rumors? I was the one who stopped all of that and made Yu-na what she is today. Rumors about her even having a psychiatric history have spread throughout the industry. Her image has been worn out and ruined. She needs to escape from that image now.”

Su-i clicked her tongue silently at the conversation between Jin-suk and President Lee.

‘So changing her image means making her shoot an adult film?’

With only a week remaining before the contract expired, President Lee was even bringing up Yu-na’s weaknesses. It seemed obvious that he had anticipated a situation like this and had already begun laying the groundwork.

There was a one-hundred-percent chance he would threaten to leak only the dirtiest rumors about Yu-na to the press.

People like that existed in every era.

Come to think of it, Jin-suk only cared about money and seemed completely incapable of judging a situation like this.

Seriously, Yu-na was surrounded by people who were eager to exploit even those around her.

“Let me see the contract.”

Su-i crossed her legs and spoke while sitting in the most relaxed posture imaginable.

Judging from Lee Hwan-su’s snake-like eyes as he tried to take advantage of her, there was no doubt the existing contract was a mess as well.

She needed to see it for herself.

Lee Hwan-su stared at her incredulously.

“Yu-na? What did you say?”

“The contract.”

“I’ll discuss that with Madam. Why don’t you go outside?”

At the way Lee Hwan-su spoke to her as though she were a child, Su-i’s eyes turned ice-cold.

Apparently, Yu-na hadn’t even been treated like a person here.

And whenever he spoke to her like that, Yu-na probably couldn’t even utter a protest before obediently leaving.

‘Still, I need to act as much like Yu-na as possible. Like Yu-na.’

Su-i spoke obediently enough that even she was worried he might take her for a complete pushover.

“I’m the one who signed the contract, so I don’t understand why you’re talking to my mother instead.”

“Im Yu-na! What’s gotten into you? All of a sudden? What are you going to do with the contract?”

Jin-suk snapped at Su-i.

But Su-i ignored her and stared straight into President Lee’s eyes before speaking clearly.

“What difference does it make if I look at it? Is it strange for me to look at it once? If you sign a contract, there are supposed to be two originals, right? But I don’t have mine.”

Lee Hwan-su stared intently at Su-i with his snake-like eyes, as though trying to read her thoughts.

But perhaps he thought that even if this frail, gentle, obedient Im Yu-na tried something, what could she possibly do?

After a moment, Lee Hwan-su turned away and said with a smile,

“Fine. Yu-na certainly hasn’t paid much attention to her contract. Wait a moment. I’ll find it and show it to you.”

Lee Hwan-su went into the office library, took out a yellow envelope, and handed it over.

The stamped contract was quite thick.

Su-i felt gloomy as she looked at the stack of documents.

‘Ah… I don’t know much about this stuff either.’

Su-i, whose life had ended at twenty-five, had never written up a contract like this before.

Reading a contract filled with complicated terminology was practically torture.

But even to her, this was practically a slave contract.

Yu-na must have been made to work day and night, doing every kind of job imaginable.

It was frightening to think she might even have been forced to attend private entertainment gatherings.

“For now, give me a copy.”

“May I ask why Yu-na suddenly needs this?”

“Am I not allowed to need something like this? When you sign a contract, there should be two originals, right? But I didn’t have one.”

“Haha. You never paid any attention to it until now.”

“Maybe I’ve finally become an adult.”

“Yes. Becoming an adult is a good thing. I suppose you’ll be able to work hard when you shoot the movie.”

Lee Hwan-su stared at Su-i with lecherous eyes and spoke mockingly.

But Su-i couldn’t take the bait.

She knew that if she let herself get provoked by every little thing, Yu-na would be the one at a disadvantage.

Just then, something on the table caught Su-i’s attention.

It was the synopsis for the drama 《Surviving Fanatically》.

She had seen it at Yu-na’s home as well.

It was a drama with a role that seemed completely unsuitable for her, yet Yu-na seemed to secretly desire it.

Su-i toyed with the synopsis as she spoke.

“I guess this drama has a pretty big investment behind it?”

“Yu-na. This isn’t something you can do. Put it down.”

Just looking at it. Why is he telling me to put it down?

Does he think he’s talking to a dog? Why is he giving me orders?

Lee Hwan-su’s curt command rubbed Su-i the wrong way.

“Why? Why can’t I do it?”

“You’ve been interested in this drama for a while now. Do you actually want to appear in it?”

“What is there that I can’t do?”

“There isn’t a role that suits your image. And you…”

“Me? What about me?”

“Let’s stop there. The leads currently being discussed are Kang Tae-hyung and Oh Ji-hye. They’re top stars, you know. They’re on a different level from our Yu-na.”

“……”

“Hwa-ja Entertainment will be taking all the roles. I’m saying there’s no role you can play.”

“Hwa-ja Entertainment?”

Hwa-ja… I have a friend named Choi Hwa-ja.

I wonder what Hwa-ja is doing these days.

Su-i suddenly missed Hwa-ja.

“Yes. You know her too, don’t you? Representative Choi Hwa-ja. She’s one of the most renowned genius composers in our country.”

Choi Hwa-ja? Is it really Choi Hwa-ja?

“Hey, Im Yu-na. What’s wrong with you? If you’re going to talk nonsense, get out!”

Jin-suk cut in and angrily reached for Su-i’s collar again.

But that wasn’t what mattered to Su-i.

“Is that Choi Hwa-ja perhaps fifty years old?”

“I don’t know her exact age, but she should be around that age. Why?”

At Lee Hwan-su’s answer, Su-i searched through her memories.

Choi Hwa-ja.

She had been the girl who once ruled Itaewon alongside Su-i.

Back then, among people in the music scene, there was hardly anyone who didn’t know the names Jeong Su-i and Choi Hwa-ja.

It must be the Choi Hwa-ja I know.

There was no doubt that crazy girl was still living her life making and singing insane songs even now.