“Is this your first time going to Korea, Brand?”
“Yes, it is. I had to have a reason to go to the East. Originally, I’m an animation director!”
Crunch, crunch—
Brand, the director of Mission Possible 4, muttered while chewing on potato chips.
He had originally been an animation director, but this time, he gave in to Tom Cross’s persuasion and became the director of Mission Possible 4.
Of course, it was a huge success. But for Brand, who liked staying at home, being a movie director was tough.
Even the spectacular filming made him sweat, and he often couldn’t even eat properly because of the preparation and research.
The filming of Mission Possible 4 was so exhausting that his body weight, which used to exceed 100 kg, had dropped to two digits.
Now that the movie was released, Brand thought he could finally rest.
But now, Tom Cross, the lead actor, wanted to go to a small country in the East for a special screening.
This guy, who performs dangerous stunts without any safety measures, clearly had a different brain structure.
As he got older, he grew healthier, and he was smiling on this flight too.
“Anyway, I’m never filming a live-action movie again. Especially not action films!”
“Hahaha! Why are you saying that, Brand? Stop eating those damn potato chips.”
Tom Cross snatched the chip bag from Brand’s hands and crunched on the chips.
Brand sighed deeply and pulled out some chocolate from his bag.
“So, is that girl really that amazing? Is she worth flying all this way for?”
“She is amazing. It was a miracle that I found out about her. I thought she had disappeared, but now she’s grown up and making movies.”
“You’re talking about Mr. Bong’s film, right? I know him well.”
“Yes. If it hadn’t been for his film, I probably wouldn’t have watched it. But coincidentally, she’s in his movie.”
Tom Cross watched Hereheart purely by chance.
Bong Jun-young was a director with some international recognition.
He wasn’t as big as the Hollywood masters, but he was a rising star.
The fact that only a million people watched it at the North American box office wasn’t a high number.
But because it was Bong Jun-young, that was about as much as he could have expected.
Anyway, that’s how Tom Cross learned about the girl’s screening, miraculously.
“The footage from the past surprised me too. How could a child think about jumping off a building at such a young age?”
“Exactly. I still find it a mystery. I really wanted to meet her and talk to her. I think this opportunity will help me understand just how extraordinary she is.”
“That’s a true Mission Possible. A girl who escaped from kidnappers by jumping off a building.”
Beyond the airplane window, the Asian continent began to appear below.
The quiet, small country known as the Land of the Morning Calm—South Korea.
Tom Cross couldn’t wait to meet the girl, Siyeon, who was quietly waiting in that tiny land.
“To think there’s another crazy person like this on Earth. Probably only Tom and that girl could be like this.”
“Well, I decided to hang off a plane without safety equipment in Mission Possible 3 because of that girl.”
“That was really crazy. If you had let go of one finger, you would’ve been skydiving.”
“Hehe. That was a really fun experience.”
The plane from the US landed on Korean soil.
“Whoosh, whoosh.”
Today was the special screening for Mission Possible 4.
In other words, it was the day Tom Cross and I would meet.
I had already prepared and was waiting for Jaeyoung to come pick me up.
I also had all the posters from the Mission Possible series.
I planned to get Tom Cross’s autograph on every single one of them.
It was the first time I would get someone’s autograph.
I never really understood the whole celebrity autograph thing before, but somehow, today, I was doing it.
Hehe…
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Take care.”
I received a message from Jaeyoung and left the house.
The cinema for the special screening was nearby.
It was a rare opportunity, so many people were gathered.
I went through the designated entrance and into the waiting room.
This time, I was supposed to go up on stage during the Mission Possible
4 event, talk to him, and enjoy the rest of the screening.
“Ah, hello. Siyeon?”
When I entered the waiting room, a white man with sagging cheeks greeted me.
He was alone in the room and spoke to me in English.
Knowing multiple languages was a basic skill for an assassin.
I responded fluently in English, which I had studied beforehand.
“Yes, hello. Are you from the Mission Possible 4 team?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Brand Bard, the director of Mission Possible 4.”
He extended his hand, and we shook hands firmly.
“Wow. Your handshake is as strong as Tom’s. No wonder he’s worth paying attention to.”
“Is that so? But isn’t this my waiting room?”
“That’s right. Actually, I was eating a special burger from McDonald’s Korea in my waiting room, but Tom took it away and told me to stop eating. So now, I’m trying to eat snacks I bought from a Korean store, but even those were taken away. He kept taking my food, so I had no choice but to run away and end up here. Sorry about that.”
“Ah… I see.”
I wondered what the story was, but he was just a pig.
He looked like a typical overweight person who quickly lost weight.
He seemed to have been tormented by Tom Cross quite a bit until now.
“Hmm. I think you’ll be able to meet Tom on stage. He has an interview with the Korean media in 10 minutes, and after that, the stage greeting will start. Sorry, but can I stay here until he goes for the interview? I can’t let go of this hidden double bulgogi burger just yet. Haha.”
“Yes, of course.”
Brand smiled as he pulled a burger out from his coat.
His cheerfulness felt a bit awkward, probably because he was from a different culture.
He was exactly the kind of character you’d expect to see in an American drama. But it wasn’t a drama, it was real.
“Thank you. You saved me.”
Brand started eagerly unwrapping the burger with a big grin.
Inside was a burger packed with two bulgogi patties.
Brand quickly finished the double bulgogi burger in two bites, looking satisfied.
I blankly watched him for a moment before sitting at the vanity table to get my makeup done.
The makeup artist asked who he was, and I replied that he was an American pig.
A little while later, Brand left, and it was time for the stage greeting.
When it was my turn, I stepped out of the waiting room.
It was a very nerve-wracking moment.
I hadn’t felt this nervous even when fighting the rebel leader. Hoo.
Waaaah!
As I stepped onto the stage, cheers erupted from the audience.
I waved to the audience and took my seat in the prepared spot.
On the other side, Tom Cross nodded his head with his arms crossed.
“Nice to meet you, Siyeon. Actually, I came to Korea to meet you.”
Tom Cross spoke into the microphone.
When the interpreter conveyed his words, cheers erupted once again.
“Ah, Tom already knew Siyeon. Did you two have a connection?”
Normally, my introduction should have been next.
But because Tom Cross spoke up first, the MC smoothly changed the direction of the program.
“No. I was the only one who knew Siyeon. Was it 8 years ago? There was a famous video going around globally. ‘Amazing Korean Girl’.”
“Ah~ It’s really surprising that Tom saw that video.”
“Actually, the famous scene in Mission Possible 3, the airplane scene, was inspired by that video.”
The sound of camera shutters burst out from the audience.
The audience started to get restless.
It seemed like reporters would write articles about this.
More than that, I was surprised too.
Tom Cross knew about that video?
Somehow, it felt a bit embarrassing. I was so young back then, and I don’t think I could even jump properly.
“Siyeon, what do you think? Do you remember that time?”
“Ah… I definitely remember. But it’s a bit embarrassing that Tom knows about it.”
“Wow! Siyeon, your English skills are amazing! We don’t even need an interpreter.”
“That’s really impressive, Siyeon.”
When I immediately replied in English, everyone was shocked.
It’s funny how people are surprised by such a small thing. The people in this world are so strange.
“The reason we invited Siyeon as a special guest this time is because I want her to be in my next project.”
Ooooh—
What? Did I just hear that right?
Did Tom Cross really just invite me to be in his project?
I was so surprised that I couldn’t control my expression and said it out loud.
“Isn’t this the first time for something like this? Siyeon, what do you think?”
“Uh, I’m thrilled. It’s been my dream to be in a project with Tom.”
“I’ll definitely contact you, Siyeon.”
And then Tom Cross winked at me.
It felt nice, but also a little awkward. A middle-aged man’s wink is…
In that moment, my fan devotion for him almost disappeared, but the fact that we were working together kept me grounded.
Anyway, the stage greeting ended without a hitch, and I got all the posters signed.
I even watched the movie again, and it was still great.
After the schedule ended, I called Jaeyoung.
- “The customer is on the phone…”
But Jaeyoung’s number kept saying it was busy.
If something was going on, she would have left a message, but there was nothing.
No matter how busy Jaeyoung was, she always stuck to her schedule.
It was unthinkable for her to mix up the movie’s ending time or anything like that.
Someone so thorough couldn’t be like this…
“…Boss!”
As I was walking around the parking lot, thinking something was strange, I spotted Jaeyoung’s car.
Jaeyoung was angrily slapping the car while talking on the phone.
Her serious expression was something I had never seen before. Despair seemed deeply etched on her face.
I approached Jaeyoung.
“Boss, what’s going on?”
“Ah, ah. Siyeon, I’m sorry. Time passed. Just wait a minute. Get in the car.”
Then Jaeyoung continued talking on the phone for quite some time.
I considered eavesdropping, but decided not to.
She probably had her personal issues. Maybe she didn’t want to reveal them.
I decided to just wait a little.
I leaned back in the chair and picked up my cell phone.
But while I had put it on silent to watch the movie, there were countless missed calls from my mom, Jiyeong, and others.
“…?”
Without any time to reply to all those messages, I opened the internet.
The reason I did so was because they all seemed to be saying the same thing.
And, as expected,
The various portal sites were filled with news about me and Jaeyoung.
[The identity of actress Kim Siyeon, CEO of the one-person agency AS Entertainment, hidden behind the scenes. ‘Sweet Black member suicide incident suspect, Kim00 Producer.’]
[Is actress Kim Siyeon’s agency okay? The truth behind AS Entertainment revealed.]
[AS Entertainment. Did Kim Siyeon not know the identity of Kim00 Producer?]
[Kim Siyeon fan club ‘Siyeonhada’ in chaos. ‘We must protect Siyeon.’]
“Who…”
The signed Mission Possible poster that I was holding fell from my hands.