Chapter 01
The Worst Scandal
“The biggest festival in South Korea! The 202X Baekho Arts Awards! And the winner of the prestigious Grand Prize is…!”
As a grand, suspenseful tremolo filled the air, the presenter opened the envelope. After sweeping her gaze across the audience, who sat holding their breath, she smiled and parted her lips.
“Congratulations to Do. Da. Hee!”
Bang—!
Confetti burst into the air alongside a blast of compressed air. Amid thunderous cheers and applause, the woman rose from her seat and walked onto the stage, her face overcome with emotion.
Cradling a heavy golden trophy and a bouquet of flowers in her arms, she stood before the microphone at center stage, looking deeply moved.
“The reason I’m standing here today is all thanks to you. I will continue to do my very best, wherever I am and whatever I’m doing, to repay you for all the love you’ve shown me. I love you all.”
After calmly delivering her acceptance speech in a trembling voice, she took a step back. Every small gesture, from the way she bowed to the audience to the grace with which she moved, radiated the elegance befitting a Grand Prize-winning actress.
She gazed out at the audience, who showered her with congratulations, and smiled brilliantly. At that very moment, a sparkling tear rolled down the corner of her eye, making her look as beautiful as a scene straight out of a drama.
Do Da Hee.
She had debuted as a child actress at the age of fourteen and achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Grand Prize at a music awards ceremony when she was eighteen. Balancing singing with acting, she had steadily built an impressive career, cultivating an image as one of the most hardworking and well-behaved celebrities in the industry. Every project she chose became a hot topic, and the sales of brands she endorsed often skyrocketed.
Now, having finally claimed the Grand Prize for acting as well, she had once again proven her worth. Naturally, year-end entertainment news was filled with articles about Do Da Hee, just as it had been every year.
She was flawless in every way. Do Da Hee was, without a doubt, the undisputed top star whom everyone acknowledged.
Some hailed her as the greatest star South Korea had produced in the twenty-first century, predicting that the “Do Da Hee Syndrome” would continue for years to come.
But just a few days later, the worst scandal imaginable erupted—one that no one could have anticipated.
“SHOCKING! Top Star Do Da Hee Revealed to Be the Person Who Drove Fellow Actress Yoo Min Ah to Her Death!”
“The Two Faces of Hallyu Star Do Da Hee Exposed in Yoo Min Ah’s Suicide Note!”
“Top Star Do Da Hee! A Fall from Grace with No Wings!”
The reputation of Do Da Hee, a top star who had maintained her position at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry for years since her debut, came crashing down in less than half a day.
“[According to the results of the police investigation, top star Do Da Hee, who has enjoyed immense popularity, is reportedly responsible for driving fellow actress Yoo Min Ah to her death, causing a major public outcry. The police are currently investigating the case based on a suicide note discovered at the mansion where Ms. Yoo was found collapsed. They are expected to summon Do Da Hee for questioning in the near future…]”
“[Actress Yoo Min Ah, who reportedly attempted suicide after being unable to endure the abuse of a fellow actress any longer, is currently in a coma. The agency representing actress Do Da Hee, who has been identified as the alleged perpetrator, has strongly denied all accusations. However, public criticism of Ms. Do shows no signs of abating…]”
The entire country was in an uproar over the scandal. No matter which channel one turned to, the news was dominated by reports about Yoo Min Ah’s suicide attempt, allegedly caused by Do Da Hee’s abuse of power.
“Haah, what are we supposed to do? How about holding a press conference right away?”
“Do you want to see what happens if we invite reporters under these circumstances? Why would we stir up even more trouble?”
“Then what are we supposed to do?! We can’t just sit back and watch Da Hee’s career go down the drain!”
“I don’t know either. I’ve been working in this industry for over twenty years, but I’ve never seen anything like this before…”
Lee Man Hae, the head of Da Hee’s agency, had an extremely positive and pleasant personality. Unfortunately, he was also timid. When faced with a situation this difficult, he had no idea what to do. All he could manage was to watch Joo Young, who was fuming with rage, and anxiously pull at his hair.
Unable to bear watching Da Hee sit there in a daze for days on end, he abruptly stood up.
“This won’t do. I’ll go out and buy something, anything. Manager Kim, try to comfort Da Hee while I’m gone. At this rate, she’s going to fall apart completely!”
After CEO Lee left, Joo Young let out several heavy sighs before approaching Da Hee.
“Da Hee. Now that it’s just the two of us, tell me honestly. What happened between you and Yoo Min Ah at the awards ceremony? Hmm?”
Da Hee’s eyes narrowed as she recalled the day of the Baekho Arts Awards ceremony.
Do Da Hee and Yoo Min Ah. The two had debuted around the same time and were the same age, so they had always been brought up as rivals and compared against each other.
Officially, they were known as friendly colleagues of the same generation. In reality, however, they had very little personal contact.
They had never competed against each other in dramas airing in the same time slot, nor had they ever appeared in the same production.
Of course, when it came to popularity and talent, Do Da Hee had always been a step ahead of Yoo Min Ah.
When both actresses were nominated for Best Actress in the Drama category this year, most people had predicted that Do Da Hee, rather than Yoo Min Ah, would take home the award.
And the results had gone exactly as expected. Do Da Hee had made headlines by winning two awards—the Popularity Award followed by the Grand Prize—while Yoo Min Ah, who had gone home empty-handed, quietly faded into the background.
But could that really be considered the result of abuse of power? Surely not.
“Nothing happened. I only exchanged a brief greeting with Min Ah when we ran into each other in the hallway outside the waiting rooms.”
“Then what the hell is going on? Her suicide note says you abused your power. It says you hurled vicious insults at her. It even says you told her to go die. Don’t tell me Yoo Min Ah deliberately wrote all that just to screw you over?”
“I don’t know either. Why Min Ah did that… I really don’t know.”
“Wow. This is driving me insane.”
Regardless of whether the allegations were true, the mere fact that Da Hee had become embroiled in the scandal was enough to send public criticism soaring. And when reports emerged that Yoo Min Ah’s condition was deteriorating and she remained unconscious, all the blame was directed at Do Da Hee.
There was only one option left for Da Hee.
“Manager Kim. I’ll cooperate with the investigation.”
“What?”
“No matter how much I think about it, I haven’t done anything wrong. I can’t keep taking all this abuse when I’ve done nothing to deserve it. I’ll face the police investigation with my head held high and clear my name of every accusation.”
She couldn’t keep cowering forever. Considering how vicious and viciously judgmental the entertainment industry could be, the fact that she had managed to work peacefully for more than ten years was practically a miracle. But she couldn’t let everything she had built collapse in a single moment like this.
Even if she had fallen into hell itself, she had to find a way to climb back out alive.
Firmly resolved, Da Hee clenched her trembling hands into fists.
After two consecutive days of heavy snowfall, the airport was quieter than usual, with announcements of mass flight cancellations filling the terminals.
After a grueling nineteen-hour flight, the man arrived in Korea. The moment he stepped outside, a fierce winter wind swept over him, making his eyebrows twitch.
A thin shirt and jeans, without even an outer coat.
Jang Geon Woo stood there in clothes completely unsuited to the season and let out a faint chuckle. He had spent years living in hot countries, and since this was his first return to Korea in nearly twenty years, he had simply forgotten how bitterly cold Korean winters could be.
With no other clothes to change into, he adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and climbed into a taxi waiting outside the airport.
“Where would you like to go, sir?”
“Please take me to the Taesan Trading headquarters in Cheongdam-dong.”
Soon, the taxi left the airport and merged onto the road. Beyond the window stretched an entirely white landscape.
The man had little recollection of ever seeing this much snow, even during his childhood. Gazing out at the scenery, his eyes grew thoughtful.
“Does it snow this much every winter in Korea?”
At the low voice of his passenger, whose appearance made him seem rather unapproachable, the driver, who had been keeping his eyes on the road, glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
Geon Woo was still looking out the window.
“Well, of course it snows in winter, but it’s rare to get this much snow. That’s what they said on the news, anyway. Apparently, we’ve had the heaviest snowfall in over a hundred years.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“Do you live abroad, by any chance? You seem so amazed by the snow that I figured this might be your first time in Korea.”
“I grew up in Korea when I was young, but I don’t remember seeing much snow.”
“Ahh, I see. Well, you picked a good time to come back. You’ll get to enjoy all the snow you want. Though the traffic’s pretty bad right now. Wonder if there’s been an accident up ahead…”
Come to think of it, the taxi, which had been crawling along for some time, had now come to a complete stop. Muttering that traffic shouldn’t be this bad at this hour, the driver asked,
“Sorry, sir, but would you mind if I turned on the radio for a moment? I want to hear the latest traffic updates.”
“Go ahead.”
The sound of the radio filled the otherwise quiet car. Meanwhile, traffic gradually began to move again.
“[Cloudy weather is expected to continue through Friday, with snowfall forecast across the country this weekend. Please take precautions in advance to prevent snow-related damage…]”
“They say it’s going to snow again. Good grief, it just keeps coming and coming.”
“[And now, some entertainment news. Actress Do Da Hee, who has recently sparked controversy over allegations of abusing her fellow actress Yoo Min Ah, has agreed to undergo police questioning…]”
“[Do Da Hee, whose public image has suffered a devastating blow as a result of this incident, has voluntarily withdrawn from the drama she was filming, while the release of a movie she had already finished shooting has been postponed indefinitely. She is also facing the possibility of paying tens of billions of won in advertising contract penalties…]”
Click—!
“Good grief, how many days has this been going on? It’s not even good news, yet all I ever hear is Do Da Hee this, Do Da Hee that. Tsk!”
Apparently fed up with hearing the same reports repeated on every channel, the driver abruptly switched off the radio.
“Who is Do Da Hee?”
“You don’t know any celebrities? The TV keeps going on about how she’s this incredibly famous global star, but I guess that’s all just hype.”
“Oh, I’m not interested in that sort of thing at all.”
“She’s a really pretty actress. And I think she sings well, too. She even won the Grand Prize for acting at the end of last year. But get this—apparently, she bullied a fellow actress so badly that the woman tried to kill herself.”
“She drove a colleague to the point of death? Is it a murder case?”
“Not exactly. The other actress apparently tried to commit suicide because of her and ended up in a vegetative state, or something like that. Anyway, the biggest star in the industry has gotten herself into a massive scandal. What kind of example does that set for all those kids who idolize celebrities? The world’s really going to the dogs these days.”
As the driver continued grumbling about how all sorts of unbelievable things happened in this world, Geon Woo turned his gaze away, his expression indifferent.
