Chapter 157: An Unfortunate Girl (4)
“Uh…”
Suddenly, Kim Ji-hyun stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Kim Si-woo.
Caught off guard by the abrupt hug, Kim Si-woo tried to push her away, but Kim Ji-hyun had no intention of letting go—she pulled him even closer.
Thanks to that, Kim Si-woo ended up inhaling the soft, subtle scent of her perfume to his heart’s content.
“Um… Ji-hyun-ssi?”
“Just a moment. Let me stay like this for a second.”
“Sigh…”
His already complicated mind felt even more tangled.
How long had they stayed like that…?
Eventually, seeming satisfied, Kim Ji-hyun finally released him and returned to her seat.
“How’s that? Feeling a bit better?”
She asked with a bright smile, but Kim Si-woo rubbed his throbbing temple as if his headache had worsened.
“…Actually, my head hurts even more now.”
“Huh? W-Why?”
Seeing her flustered and blushing at his response, Kim Si-woo quickly changed the subject.
“So… is <Peerless Joseon> still sailing smoothly? I haven’t heard much about it lately…”
“Of course it is. CBS has been promoting it nonstop, and the distributor is pushing hard too. Signing with a Korean distributor seems to have worked out really well.”
“That’s a relief. I can already guess how it’s being received overseas…”
“Ah… yeah.”
Just as Kim Si-woo had expected, reactions abroad were lukewarm.
Especially in China and Japan, there were even talks of banning the film.
“With this, the commotion in Japan should calm down a bit.”
Before the movie’s release, Kim Si-woo had been called a traitor in Japan for secretly producing the film there and for his connection with Arimura Noa—but now public opinion had completely flipped.
“By the way, you’re already preparing another movie, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that part of why you’re feeling down?”
“If you want to put it that way, yeah.”
“Who told you to go around being so nice to everyone?”
Kim Ji-hyun’s words carried a knowing tone, making Kim Si-woo flinch slightly.
“…Well, that’s part of your charm, Writer-nim.”
Fortunately, she didn’t press any further.
“Anyway, next time come to me. I won’t tire you out.”
“Don’t you remember how things were back then?”
“Ah… I have nothing to say to that…”
Mentioning the past instantly made Kim Ji-hyun deflate.
“Even thinking about back then still makes me dumbfounded…”
“I’m sorry. I was blinded by jealousy… and I was young.”
“You’re still plenty young. You’re barely in your early twenties—how can you say things like that?”
“That’s true. But give it a few more years and I’ll get even prettier, you know? My baby fat hasn’t gone away yet. So grab me before you regret it.”
“No—why does the conversation always end up here?”
“I’ve always been heading in this direction, haven’t I? Hehe.”
After chatting mindlessly with Kim Ji-hyun, Kim Si-woo’s mood improved considerably. He finished his coffee and stood up.
“Shall we get going?”
“Are you heading home?”
“No. I’m going to my parents’ house today. Get in—I’ll drop you off.”
“Yes!”
Kim Si-woo let Kim Ji-hyun into the car and drove her home.
Thanks to Kim Si-woo’s initial casting decision, she had risen to her current position—her home was a luxurious high-rise residential-commercial complex in Samseong-dong.
“Nice place.”
“It’s not as nice as yours, Writer-nim. And I still have some mortgage left.”
“Ah… then take care going in.”
“Writer-nim!”
“Hm?”
Just as he was about to leave, Kim Ji-hyun suddenly grabbed him.
“I have some worries too… Would you mind listening?”
“Hmm…”
Normally, he should have gone straight home, but he couldn’t bring himself to brush off Kim Ji-hyun after she had comforted him so sincerely.
“Alright then.”
In the end, Kim Si-woo followed her into her apartment and sat quietly on the sofa, waiting.
“Just a moment…”
Kim Ji-hyun rummaged through the fridge and kitchen shelves, pulling out various ingredients. In no time at all, she had prepared a single appetizer.
“Come on over.”
When she finished cooking, Kim Ji-hyun called him to the table. Kim Si-woo walked over and saw a plate piled high with shrimp—gambas al ajillo.
“Gambas?”
“Yes! I love shrimp.”
“Well then, thanks for the food.”
After the chicken from earlier had settled, Kim Si-woo picked up a shrimp from the gambas al ajillo with his fork.
“So what’s your worry?”
After eating one shrimp, Kim Si-woo asked about her concern.
Kim Ji-hyun scratched her head for a moment before cautiously opening up.
“I… I think I have a stalker.”
“Huh? If that’s the case, you should tell your agency… Wait, more importantly—you have a stalker and you’re still going to the movies alone?”
“I did mention it to the agency, but since the stalker hasn’t actually done anything, there’s nothing they can do… And I’ve never actually seen the person. I just get this creepy feeling sometimes. Like someone’s secretly watching me… I thought maybe I was imagining it…”
At the word “stalker,” Kim Si-woo’s expression turned serious.
He had only ever heard about such things—never experienced them himself.
In truth, it was almost strange that he hadn’t encountered one sooner.
Surrounded by successful celebrities, it would have been more surprising if there weren’t at least one or two stalkers floating around.
“So you’ve never actually seen them, but you keep getting goosebumps like someone’s secretly watching you?”
“Yes.”
Realizing that Kim Ji-hyun genuinely had a serious concern—not just an excuse to spend time with him—Kim Si-woo felt a little embarrassed and decided to help.
“I’ll help you.”
“How…?”
With some time still left before production on the next movie began, Kim Si-woo planned to catch the stalker within that window.
Police involvement in stalker cases was limited.
More precisely, it often didn’t help at all.
In some cases, it could even agitate the stalker further and escalate into something worse.
“We need to throw out bait. Something the stalker would find irresistible.”
“Bait?”
And so, Kim Si-woo began preparing a massive lure to draw the stalker out.
***
Meanwhile, back at the house, Hong Soo-yeon’s expression grew darker and darker as Kim Si-woo failed to return.
Her face looked as though she had lost everything. Seeing that hollow look in her eyes, even Arimura Noa couldn’t bring herself to feel resentful—despite knowing they both liked the same person.
A day passed. Arimura Noa left for work, leaving behind Hong Soo-yeon who clearly hadn’t slept a wink.
“Soo-yeon-ah. Get some rest.”
“Don’t worry about me—just go.”
“Sigh… okay. At least eat something.”
Once Arimura Noa left, the house fell into dead silence—only Hong Soo-yeon and the cat remained.
“The script… I should read the script.”
Even in the midst of everything, Hong Soo-yeon refused to neglect what she needed to do.
Even if things had gone wrong with Kim Si-woo, she had already signed the contract—she had to do this.
She was an actress now. A professional.
But the more she tried to read the script, the stranger she felt.
The words no longer felt like they were being memorized in her head—they were carving themselves into her heart.
This was the sign of a new great actress being born.
And on the day filming wrapped, everyone present would come to realize it:
Hong Soo-yeon was going to become one of the people who would lead the Korean film industry in the future.
Of course, that day was still a little ways off.
***
It had already been a full week since Kim Si-woo last returned home.
After asking Arimura Noa to take care of the cat’s food, he had spent the entire time preparing to bring Kim Ji-hyun’s stalker out into the open.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes.”
To resolve this stalker situation, Kim Si-woo personally put in some effort.
He made use of his connections in the broadcasting industry.
Through Hwang Ji-yoo, he had also pre-marked potential hiding spots where the stalker might be lurking.
“Then let’s begin.”
“Yes.”
The fact that Kim Ji-hyun kept feeling the stalker’s gaze meant one of two things.
Either the stalker knew her entire schedule…
Or he lived nearby.
Or possibly both.
Since this could escalate into a major incident, Kim Si-woo placed Kim Ji-hyun’s safety as the top priority.
Through her agency, he arranged for two bodyguards to stay by her side at all times.
Of course, they were disguised as managers…
The stalker finally revealed himself on the third day after Kim Si-woo had thrown out the bait.
By deliberately coming and going from Kim Ji-hyun’s house every day—acting as if he wanted to be seen—the stalker grew impatient and began to move.
On the third night, after finishing all her schedules, Kim Ji-hyun returned home alone. A man wearing a mask and a cap pulled low quickly followed behind her.
The moment Kim Ji-hyun arrived at her door, opened it, and stepped inside, the man behind her grabbed the door just as she was about to close it and forced his way in.
“W-Who are you?!”
When Kim Ji-hyun shouted in panic, the man removed his mask and cap, revealing his identity.
“Who am I? Your discarded former manager.”
“No… Jang Dong-hyun-ssi? Why are you…?”
The person who had been stalking Kim Ji-hyun was none other than her ex-manager, Jang Dong-hyun—the same man who had once clashed with Kim Si-woo.
“Why? Because you abandoned me and went to that bastard Kim Si-woo.”
His voice was thick with rage as he advanced threateningly. Kim Ji-hyun naturally backed away.
“Why? Scared? Don’t worry… I have no intention of hurting you. I just… just want to wash away that filthy mark that bastard Kim Si-woo left on you.”
As Jang Dong-hyun—clearly unhinged—stepped closer and closer, the broadcasting station PDs who had been waiting inside the house thrust their cameras forward, shielding Kim Ji-hyun behind them.
Flash!
The flashes went off as the CBS crew inside the apartment filmed Jang Dong-hyun.
“What the hell is this?!”
“Jang Dong-hyun-ssi, stop right there!”
As the broadcasting staff moved busily, Jang Dong-hyun finally grasped the situation and shouted.
“You… you sons of bitches!”
Even more agitated, Jang Dong-hyun suddenly pulled a knife from his pocket and took a threatening stance.
“J-Jang Dong-hyun, stop doing something you’ll regret!”
“Regret? You’re the ones who’ll regret this!!!”
“Idiot.”
“Taser. Taser. Taser.”
Just as Jang Dong-hyun raised the knife to swing, the front door burst open. Swearing filled the air as police officers fired tasers from their hands.
Thud.
Hit by the tasers, Jang Dong-hyun collapsed instantly.
In truth, Kim Si-woo—who had seen Jang Dong-hyun follow her inside from outside—had immediately called the police. Because Kim Ji-hyun was a well-known figure, the officers responded quickly and arrived at her home together with Kim Si-woo.
Multiple taser shots struck Jang Dong-hyun all over his body. The gleaming knife fell from his hand and clattered to the floor along with him.
“Get that knife away.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, the nearby broadcasting staff quickly moved the knife out of reach.
Even after being tasered, the fallen Jang Dong-hyun glared at Kim Si-woo and snarled.
“It’s… it’s all because of you! If it weren’t for you!”
“You… are you on something?”
From the situation alone, Kim Si-woo could deduce that Jang Dong-hyun had taken drugs.
The strange look in his eyes, the lack of reaction to pain, the excessive trembling of his hands, and his impulsive behavior—all were clear signs.
‘Well… the rest is up to the police.’
Now that Jang Dong-hyun had been caught, Kim Si-woo decided not to concern himself any further.
“Arrest him.”
“Yes!”
The officers recited a list of charges, read him his Miranda rights, handcuffed him, and took him outside.
As a result, the stalking crime, Kim Ji-hyun, and <Peerless Joseon> became a hot topic once again. The police’s swift response also drew attention, and the officers who arrested Jang Dong-hyun even received promotions.
With Kim Ji-hyun’s stalker issue finally resolved, time passed quickly—and the script reading date for <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy> was set.