Chapter 47: STAR POWER
"I PERSONALLY believe that everyone can be an actor, but not everyone can be a star," Wonyoung said. At this point, he was just talking out loud. He wasn’t necessarily talking to An Baekya, so he spoke without waiting for the kid’s response. "I’ve always thought that acting skill is a mix of innate talent and the result of training and practice. But star quality is something that you are just born with."
"Star quality?"
"There are famous actors whose talent isn’t as great as their popularity, and yet they remain on top," Wonyoung explained. "It’s because their charisma makes up for what they lack as an actor. After all, no matter how good at acting you are, it’s no use when people don’t want to watch you."
"Appa, you’re not just talking about an actor’s visuals, are you?"
"No, of course not. No matter how much of an eye candy an actor is, if they suck at acting, you’ll eventually get tired of watching them. But if an actor has both the talent and the charisma to draw in viewers, then they are guaranteed to succeed. Talent and charisma— those two qualities come hand-in-hand. And that’s why I believe that a star is both born and made. You need charisma to stand out, but you need talent to stay in this cut-throat industry."
Wonyoung didn’t know if the life that he had in the ’normal’ world was real or not.
But he experienced being a top actor there.
Hence, he had met different types of actors with varying sets of strengths and weaknesses.
Sadly, talent isn’t enough to be a successful actor.
In fact, sometimes, even charisma wasn’t enough.
You also need connections.
"I didn’t get to become an actor because Yun Yuhyun blocked all the acting opportunities that came my way."
Wonyoung clenched his hands tight, feeling bad for An Baekya.
As the person who gave birth to Yun Yuhyun, he felt ashamed of how his son had turned out in the ’novel.’
Moreover...
Dujun Sunbae-nim, just how did you raise Yun Yuhyun?
"All I could back then was watch Yun Yuhyun reach my dreams— watch him become the star that I wished to be," An Baekya said bitterly. "I know that Yun Yuhyun had worked hard to be the good actor that he was. He actually did it out of spite because he hated it when people attributed all his success to Yun Dujun-ssi."
Right.
Wonyoung nodded because he could picture the public criticizing Yun Yuhyun for being a nepo baby.
It’s true, though— my son is a nepo baby since his Alpha father is a veteran actor.
Plus, Kang Chunja— Yun Dujun’s mother— was also a veteran actress.
Oh, yeah.
Dujun Sunbae-nim is also a nepo baby.
The public didn’t know yet that Yun Dujun was Kang Chunja’s son.
If I remember correctly, it’s Kang Chunja’s choice to keep Dujun Sunbae-nim’s identity a secret from the public. Plus, Dujun Sunbae-nim didn’t want people to find out that he’s the illegitimate son of the owner of Naville Corporation.
Wonyoung’s train of thought was interrupted when An Baekya started talking again.
"Even though Yun Yuhyun worked hard to reach his Hollywood star status, everything still came easy for him because of his privilege. He was lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family. Lucky enough to have fathers who were both excellent actors. It was as if he was really born to be a star."
Oh, An Baekya was really bitter about Yun Yuhyun’s luck, huh?
To be fair, that was understandable.
"But I refuse to acknowledge that Yun Yuhyun was born a star. Because if I do, then I’m afraid I’ll get discouraged. After all, if that’s the case, then there’s no way I’m going to win against him with just my talent."
Ah, so that’s what this talk is all about.
Wonyoung completely understood the child’s feelings, though.
After all, I wasn’t born a star either.
"Appa, have you ever envied Yun Dujun-ssi?" An Baekya asked curiously. "Yun Dujun-ssi was also born a star, after all."
Right?
"Dujun Sunbae-nim is one of the rare ones who has both the acting prowess and the charisma to be called a star," Wonyoung said, sounding like the fanboy that he was. "He was born handsome and tall. Plus, he came from a wealthy family. His mother is a veteran actress, so he had access to all the resources he needed to hone his acting skills. As a result, he was already a polished gem even before the entertainment industry found him."
"Appa, you’re a real fan of Yun Dujun-ssi, huh? You don’t have to answer my question earlier. I can tell that you don’t envy him at all."
"It’s not that I don’t— my admiration for Sunbae-nim is just greater than my envy. And maybe because I have a ’loser mindset.’"
"’Loser mindset?’ What kind of mindset is that?"
"I’m confident that I’m a good actor, but I live my life knowing that someone out there is always better than me. Plus, I’m already content as long as I can support myself with acting," Wonyoung said, laughing to himself. "I’m not overly ambitious, and that’s probably why I could admire Dujun Sunbae-nim, even though I envy his talent."
"I can’t do that, Appa," An Baekya said bluntly. "I don’t have the heart to admire Yun Yuhyun— I’m going to crush him with my acting in this timeline."
Aigoo.
"Appa, can you teach me how to act?"
"Me?" Wonyoung asked, pointing at himself like an idiot. He couldn’t help it because he was really surprised. "But Dujun Sunbae-nim is better than me..."
"I don’t think so," An Baekya said while shaking his head. "Yun Dujun-ssi only knows how to play dark characters. He’s either doing noir, playing a psychotic character, or dying in a melancholic romance drama."
Pfft.
That was true.
Sunbae-nim did play bright and cheeky characters at the beginning of his career, but not anymore.
It was as if Yun Dujun were allergic to happy characters or happy endings.
"Plus, I genuinely like your acting, Appa. I like your style more," An Baekya said, smiling. "So, I want to learn from you, Appa. Please teach me how to be a great actor like you."
Aww.
Wonyoung didn’t have the heart to say ’no’ when An Baekya was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
Not that he didn’t want to.
In fact, I think it’s going to be fun.
"I’ll be honored to be your acting mentor, Baekya."
An Baekya smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Appa."
Ah, he looks like he’s in a good mood now.
So, Wonyoung used that opportunity to ask the thing that had been bothering him all this time. "Baekya, do you know if I physically abused Yun Yuhyun when he was young?"
***
"DADDY, YOU’RE BACK!"
"Yeah, I am. Your papa bought you hotteok," Yun Dujun said indifferently, slightly furrowing his brows when he noticed Yun Yuhyun’s puffy eyes. "Did you cry?"
"Yes, Daddy," Yun Yuhyun said casually, his eyes glued to the paper bag that contained the hotteok the kid was craving. "I helped An Baekya practice with his acting. He gave me the character of a bullied orphan. The script says I have to cry, so I cried."
Ah.
I thought An Baekya made him cry again.
Anyway, Yun Dujun didn’t find it strange that Yun Yuhyun helped An Baekya with practicing his lines.
He would often practice reading his lines out loud in front of his son.
So, Yun Yuhyun grew up watching him rehearse his lines. The child got curious in his scripts, and that was how his son learned how to read at only three years old.
Yeah, my son is a genius.
Plus, ever since Yun Yuhyun learned how to read, he would often help Yun Dujun practice by exchanging lines with him, acting the part of the actor interacting with the character he was playing.
That was how Yun Dujun started teaching his son how to act.
But Yuhyun doesn’t look that interested in acting— he just likes spending time with me.
Having said that, Yun Yuhyun still had the potential to be a good actor if he wanted to.
"Very well," Yun Dujun said, handing the paper bag to his son. And then he patted the child’s head gently. "It never fails to amaze me how quickly you cry, Yuhyun-ah."
"It’s not hard to cry, Daddy. I just reminded myself of the time you broke your promise about going to the resort park with me. Then I got sad and cried."
Ahem.
My son holds grudges.
"Yuhyun-ah, I heard you already asked your papa to live with us," Yun Dujun said, changing the topic. He then bent got down on one knee to meet his son’s eye level. "Thanks to that, your father finally agreed to be my manager."
"Did I do well, Daddy?"
"Yes, you did well," Yun Dujun said, praising his son. "We’ll go to Finland after your graduation."
Yun Yuhyun’s face instantly beamed.
"But just because we’re going to Finland doesn’t mean you’ll get the Northern Lights. Yuhyun-ah, no one can guarantee that we’ll see the Northern Lights once we’re there. So, don’t cry if we don’t see it."
"I won’t cry, Daddy. I’m sure we’ll see it, anyway."
"What makes you so confident?"
"I just know, Daddy."
Haaah.
My son will definitely cry if we don’t see the Northern Lights on our visit.
Fortunately, Yun Dujun had already come up with a solution.
"I’ll make a reservation at the resort that you want, then we’ll go to Santa Claus Village."
So, in case the Northern Lights don’t appear during our visit, my son will get distracted by visiting Santa Claus’ official hometown.
And that was a good call.
Yun Yuhyun smiled and nodded eagerly. "I wanna go to Santa’s house, Daddy!"
"Yes, we’ll go there."
"Thank you, Daddy!" Yun Yuhyun said excitedly, wrapping his arms around Yun Dujun’s neck. "I can’t wait!"
"Let’s bring your papa and An Baekya with us."
"Oh. They’re coming with us?"
Yun Yuhyun sounded so disappointed.
I already expected this, though.
Yun Dujun stood up while carrying Yun Yuhyun in his arms. "I’ll bring you to the amusement park this weekend," he promised his son. "Just the two of us."
As expected, it was enough to make Yun Yuhyun cheer while clapping his hands.
And, just like that, his son was in a good mood again.
"By the way, Yunhyun-ah."
"Yes, Daddy?"
"Is An Baekya good at acting?"
"No, Daddy," Yun Yuhyun answered while shaking his head. "It’s obvious he’s just reading his lines from a script. I’m better than An Baekya!"
"Of course, you are. You are my son, after all," Yun Dujun said, nodding. "Don’t ever lose to An Baekya— especially when it comes to your papa’s attention."
"Yes, Daddy," Yun Yuhyun said while nodding eagerly. "If I listen to Daddy, will you spend more time with me?"
"Sure, I’ll do that."
I’m on vacation anyway.
To be honest, Yun Dujun knew he was petty for pitting the kids against each other.
But he couldn’t help it.
For some reason, he didn’t like An Baekya.
I feel like something bad will happen to my family if I don’t get that child out of the picture.
***
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