Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 9

Next up, we have more news on the popular idol group Mixxing Mix! Their new single, 'Fantastic' has been climbing the charts for the past few days and fans on social media have been jumping on the dance trend.

Siwoo furrowed his brows, flipping to the next page. His mom had left the TV on before she left. He glanced up for the remote, but it was on the other side of the room. Unable to take his eyes off the book, he decided to just focus harder instead of putting it down.

We have fresh new photos of Haejun Park, arriving from his trip from Paris. As always, the actor rocked a simple yet stylish airport look. And according to sources, the whole outfit he wore is currently out of stock nationally!

Siwoo glanced up from his book and looked at the TV screen in front of the bed. In it was the image of a tall, muscular figure walking out of the airport. Crowning the chiseled body was a handsome face that pierced through the screen. Dressed in a simple white shirt and distressed jeans, a black tattoo on his left arm was peaking through the sleeves.

As a celebrity, Siwoo was used to seeing handsome and pretty faces all the time. But Haejun Park had a face that was hard to forget. Siwoo pondered about why and agreed with himself that it was probably the fierce eyes that never failed to leave an impact.

Aside from the countless scandals, it's amazing how Haejun Park continues to reign at the top! Fan's are speculating that he might be back in the country to film the sequel to his previous blockbuster, 'Calculation X'...

Siwoo stood up and reached out for the remote. He turned off the TV and sat back down to continue reading, sighing to himself.

Must be nice to have an endless number of chances... he thought.

Haejun Park was notorious for being cold and straightforward. There had been countless accounts about his temper on set, with his fans and in his personal life. For example, his co-star once exposed him by tweeting:

Filming my most recent drama, I've learned a valuable lesson. Sometimes it's perfectly fine to judge a book by its cover.

This alone was enough for everyone to understand who she was referring to, but things took a crazy turn when Haejun Park replied to the tweet with:

I agree.

Haejun Park was the type of celebrity that just walked forward with no reluctance. He did what he wanted to and whatever he felt like. And the world would gossip, discuss and jeer about him, but couldn't hate him. That was because, Haejun Park was also the type of celebrity that never let the people forget what he was. He was an actor, and when it came to his job. No one could complain about his talent and work ethic.

Siwoo imagined working with someone like him and shuddered. He didn't think he could ever handle the cold criticism and blazing eyes staring down him, on top of trying to act for the first time.

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On the second day of reading, Siwoo was at home with a bowl of salad in front of him. He picked at the vegetables with his chopsticks as he turned the page slowly. He was already more than halfway through the book and still couldn't stop reading. Something about the book made him feel all sorts of emotions. Of course, during the parts where Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were physically intimate, he couldn't help but graze over the descriptions away from the scenes. But aside from the surprisingly small portion of romantic moments... the rest of the story didn't feel too foreign to him.

He had even taken the time to look online at scenes from the previously made dramas, webtoon, donghua and cosplays. Seeing the characters in motion, he got a better sense of how everything would look and feel. The plot and characters were definitely growing on him, but there was still a lingering feeling inside him that questioned if he was going to be able to pull this off.

The more he read and the more he found out about the franchise, the more worried he got. What if he got even more hate for butchering the role of Xie Lian? If done wrong, there was a very high chance that his anti-fans would go wild. They were sitting there literally waiting for him to mess up...

Siwoo put down his food and slowly made his way into his bedroom and looked at the small mirror on the wall. If this was a couple of years ago, he would have had no doubt about pulling off Xie Lian. He had been the definition of graceful, kind and perfect. But what was he the definition of now? All there was left of him was the empty shell with the same pretty face... But inside, he wasn't so sure he was the same person anymore. He was called the Narcissus of K-pop, and he wondered if his acting would be enough to break him free from that name.

The way his heart dropped when he found letters written in pig's blood on his doorsteps... to the way his confidence shattered when their videos and songs were filled to the brim with hateful curses and dislikes. The way no one even took a second to believe him when he tried to set things straight. How much it hurt, because he had had no doubt that his fans would believe him if he spoke up. The realization that the world was just a place that was ready to swallow him whole if it had the chance.

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On the third day he was on the last volume, sitting in the hospital by his dad. Xie Lian was fighting Jun Wu, and the battle was at its peak.

"What are you reading?"

Siwoo looked up in surprise. His dad had woken up.

"It's a book... of the drama I'm going to be acting in", he said. He slightly tilted the book downwards, so his dad didn't see the cover. Of course, his dad didn't miss this small gesture.

"What's the book about?" he asked.

"It's just a Chinese online novel that got popular a few years ago..." Siwoo murmured.

"Which channel is it going to be on?"

"It's going to be on Netflix, actually..." he said. His dad looked up in surprise.

"That's good, right?" his dad asked.

Siwoo hesitated before he decided he would begin by explaining the plot when his dad spoke up again.

"Ever since I woke up from this accident, I've been wanting to tell you this..."

Siwoo looked up.

"I know the last few years have been difficult for you... And there was a part of me that wanted you to quit." His dad's voice cracked a bit before he coughed and continued. "I couldn't bare to see you in so much pain... But I hope you know I'm glad I didn't tell you to."

Siwoo's heart felt warm. It had been a while since he had spoken with his dad like this.

"Thanks dad... I'll do my best", he said.