Become a Star

Perhaps it was because they were in the same age group, but Giorgio and Ilya secretly harbored jealousy toward one another and were incredibly competitive.

Giorgio had received all of Lansky’s affection and inherited his assets just for being his grandson. Ilya, on the other hand, had gained Lansky’s attention and trust due to his brilliant talent. The types of affection the two received were vastly different, and they each had their place in Lansky’s heart. Nevertheless, Giorgio and Ilya were envious of what the other had that they didn’t.

Maybe it was because they would never be able to receive the form of love that the other had experienced. Whatever the case, the greater their longing for Lansky, the more obsessed they grew over what they couldn’t have.

{I’d rather get locked up in the mansion than be helped by that bastard… Wait, don’t tell me the password is February 9th?}

What Giorgio was most worried about was whether the password was a number related to Ilya. All the passwords in the safe house were the birthdays of artists Lansky liked. Considering that the previous password for the last door was Rembrandt’s birthday, his theory was a possibility.

Just before Lansky’s death, the artist he loved most was Ilya. This was despite the fact that Ilya’s first work was criticized as garbage in the literary world. To add to this, he was just a novice who only started getting recognition with his third work.

When you took Ilya’s current skill level and achievements into account, it was clear that Giorgio’s grandfather indeed had an excellent eye for talent. This development inevitably led to Giorgio admiring his peer while simultaneously envying him.

Giorgio had visited many places with Lansky from an early age. He attended the meetin/.gs where many prominent figures gathered while sitting on his grandfather’s shoulders or laps. In fact, he had been the closest person to the renowned Don Lansky and saw the latter’s true face from up close. After all, he was the don’s most beloved grandchild and heir.

Yet, from a certain point onwards, the name Ilya started coming out of his grandfather’s mouth quite often. On top of this, when his grandfather showed interest in this remarkable genius and the entertaining things he wrote, he smiled in a way that Giorgio had never seen before.

The moment he saw that smile, Giorgio didn’t like Ilya at all.

{You need to check it sooner or later. Try pressing 0209.}

Despite obviously knowing Giorgio’s feelings, Selena still teased him. Giorgio’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his daughter, who was clearly being spiteful since he had opposed her marriage. When his daughter grew emotional, Giorgio didn’t know how she would behave. She would either become a disaster or create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone.

{Do you want to make a deal?} Giorgio asked.

{That came out of nowhere.}

{If you find out what the password is, I’ll let you marry Dustin.}

{That’s such an unfair deal! And when did I ever say I wanted to marry Dustin?}

Selena had let out this exclamation because she wasn’t even dating Dustin yet. In her mind, marriage was still an issue for the distant future. Furthermore, she then asked why he couldn’t just give his permission now if all it took was a simple password to change his mind.

{This isn’t just a simple password. I don’t ever want to have to go to that bastard Ilya for help. Even if I did, he probably wouldn’t tell me unless I go to him personally and butter him up. Then he’ll start bragging and act all victorious before finally giving up the password.}

Giorgio Consccia’s honor was on the line in this matter. Giorgio had never kneeled to anyone, and he couldn’t bear the thought of lowering his head to someone. That was the reason why this one little password could affect Selena’s marriage.

{Still, at least I’m giving you a chance. At this point, I could be considered a very considerate father.}

For Giorgio, it was a show of great benevolence to give Selena one last chance instead of just calling in experts to help. Since they had been talking about his grandfather, Giorgio was struck by a whim and decided to give his daughter a chance just as his grandfather had done for him.

Giorgio joyfully smiled as he saw his daughter’s face begin to contort even more.

{But what if Teacher gives me the password just so I can marry Dustin and spite you, Dad?} Selena asked this with a sullen expression. She had learned from a young age that the enemy of an enemy could become an ally.

{You may think that you know Ilya very well, but I’ve known him for over forty years. He doesn’t care about upsetting me by making a boy I don’t like into my son-in-law.}

Giorgio stood from his seat and gently placed a finger on Selena’s forehead, rubbing her frown away. He was preventing his daughter from unknowingly getting wrinkles at a young age.

{Sweetie, these are our radiant and beautiful memories. They’re stories so precious to us that we’d even steal other people’s time to go back and live in the past. We’re the type to hold tightly onto what we have and flail around so that others can’t take it from us. So there’s no way Ilya is interested in seeing me depressed in the future.}

{Will Dustin make you depressed, Dad?}

Giorgio’s heart shook for a moment at the sound of his daughter’s gloomy voice. His first marriage—which was a marriage of love—had gifted him Selena and two sons. Although the married couple later grew fed up with each other and became their worst enemies, the marriage could be considered successful as they had birthed three lovely children.

At the time, Giorgio had also gotten into many disputes with his father over the marriage. Without his grandfather’s approval, Giorgio would have never been able to marry her, and his grandfather had only consented because he adored his grandson. Alas, even though they had managed to get married after so many hardships, it all ended up being meaningless. Thus, Giorgio thought that love wasn’t that significant.

However, his daughter was about to go down that same meaningless path. Even though Giorgio knew it was pointless, it pained his heart to see his daughter’s sorrowful expression. Looking back, his grandfather had probably allowed him to get married because he felt the same way as Giorgio did right now.

{I’m worried that he’ll cause you pain and make you cry because of it.}

The weight of the sins and blood on the Consccia’s hands wasn’t something to be underestimated. Ordinary people were incapable of bearing the weight and sometimes turned to resent and curse their loved ones.

As Selena’s father, Giorgio couldn’t help but worry that Dustin would one day gaze upon her in the same way that her mother once looked at Giorgio. Nevertheless, Giorgio took the risk of making a deal. If Selena was desperate enough to successfully convince the stubborn Ilya, then he had to acknowledge her feelings as her father.

Giorgio then told his daughter what his grandfather had once told him.

{Everything will be fine. Even if you fall to hell, I’ll be by your side.}

Selena closed her eyes at her father’s words.

Heaven was just too far for them to reach.

***

Woo-Jin found himself not in hell but in Korea, where a fierce wave of cold wind was raging. He shuddered as a chill ran down his spine.

{You’re super popular, aren’t you?}

Dustin spoke to Woo-Jin with a surprised glance as they sat inside the car driving to Seoul. He seemed somewhat tired because of the crowd at the airport that was holding signs and excitedly shouting Woo-Jin’s name. However, the Korean actor just snorted at Dustin. Considering how the paparazzi followed Dustin everywhere and his fans were spread throughout the world, Woo-Jin could not hold a candle to him.

{I’m nothing compared to you.}

Woo-Jin wasn’t so surprised by the fans this time as he had experienced the same thing back when he was leaving for LA. But seeing how the crowd was larger than when he departed, he could tell that it wasn’t just Woo-Jin’s fans who had come to see them.

{Did you not see all your fans in the crowd as well?} Woo-Jin asked.

{I saw them, but they were spread out thinly among your fans.}

As someone who always scrutinized the fans first whenever he went somewhere, Dustin pretended to sulk because of the few fans he had at the airport. Woo-Jin then replied with a bitter face, reminding him that they were in Korea.

{In other words, this is my home base. It would be problematic if I lost against you in my homeland.}

{When I went to Japan two years ago with a Japanese actor I had worked with, there were more fans waiting for me.}

Two years ago, Dustin went to Japan to promote his new movie. Even though the Japanese actor he had co-starred with was fairly famous in his home country, most of the people at the airport were Dustin’s fans. In addition, right now, Dustin’s popularity was higher than it was back then.

{You’ve lived a fancy life.} Woo-Jin commented.

{Those were the good days.}

{Come to think of it, it’s your first time in Korea, right?}

{It is. I’ll be in your care here.}

Dustin was staying in Korea for about twelve days, but his schedule wasn’t jampacked. Despite all the interviews and shows he had to attend to promote the movie, he also had a considerable amount of free time. Since Director Rayford had boasted so much about his trip to Korea, Dustin’s expectations were sky-high right now.

{Unfortunately, I’ll be even busier than you since I need to attend a wedding and go to a concert as well.}

{A wedding? Is one of your friends getting married?} Dustin asked.

{No, it’s someone I met through work. We made a promise about it.}

Woo-Jin had to attend reporter Kim Woo-Hyung’s wedding because of a promise he made. He had said that he would go if he won an award during the latter half of the Golden Dragon Film Festival.

Thankfully, the wedding date coincided with the free time in Woo-Jin’s schedule, so he would be able to attend with no problems. Moreover, he was planning to participate in Lee Hyung-Jin’s concert as a guest since he had also promised to do this.

{A Korean wedding… Can I go with you?}

Even though it was a stranger’s wedding, Dustin was curious as the word ‘wedding’ itself thrilled him.

{Korean weddings aren’t very interesting. It’s just relatives, friends, and acquaintances from work who get together, hold a ceremony, and eat a buffet.}

After the ceremony, there would be a congratulatory song and some events, but it wasn’t the party-ish wedding that Dustin was expecting.

{Most importantly, the groom is a reporter from the entertainment industry, so there will be a large number of celebrities and broadcasters attending. If you’re unlucky, you might even get interviewed by the groom on the spot.}

When he heard this, Dustin became even more enthusiastic, and his desire to attend the wedding grew stronger because he thought it would be great fun. In the end, Woo-Jin didn’t reject the idea either because he thought Kim Woo-Hyung would welcome Dustin with open arms to his wedding.

{Stop wasting time thinking about someone else’s wedding and go get married yourself!} Woo-Jin spat out.

{Weren’t you the one who told me never to get married?} Dustin grumbled with a sullen expression.

{When did I ever say that?}

{You said I shouldn’t get married to Selena. That’s basically the same thing for me!}

{You can’t even date her, so what’s the point of thinking about marrying her?} Woo-Jin asked.

{You, you’ve been acting suspiciously recently.}

Dustin crossed his arms and glared at Woo-Jin. He had noticed that Woo-Jin’s attitude had subtly changed after meeting Selena at the party. Previously, Woo-Jin would cheer for Dustin and support him whether or not there was any hope of being with Selena. But now, he was blatantly urging Dustin to give up on her.

Woo-Jin couldn’t tell Dustin about his past life even if the latter was upset, so he sighed and tried to take a more fundamental approach.

{The moment I saw her, I immediately realized that Selena loved you. She definitely loves you. She doesn’t treat you like a friend or like a little brother but as though she loves you. It was obvious even to the eyes of a total stranger.}

Dustin’s face lit up like the sun at Woo-Jin’s words. He really was befitting the nickname ‘Sunshine.’

{But she’s Selena Consccia.}

{Do you also hate the Consccia family? Our director trembled just from hearing the Consccia family name,} Dustin said.

{It doesn’t matter whether I hate them or not. Why won't she accept your confession even though she obviously loves you? Try to understand her circumstances.}

Seeing how Dustin got depressed at Woo-Jin’s words, it seemed that he had predicted this problem to some extent. {I know that I’m undeserving of her.}

Woo-Jin almost nodded as a reflex and barely managed to hold his head back. Now was the time to be Dustin’s friend, not Selena’s great-grandfather.

{That’s not what I mean. No matter how innocent and upright the Consccia seem to be, they are people who work in the shadows. Selena is trying to protect you so that you can continue shining under the sunlight as you are doing now.}

Even if he felt like Dustin wasn’t deserving of Selena, Woo-Jin didn’t lie to him. Woo-Jin felt like a great-grandfather should not get in between the two lovers. If he truly cared for his great-granddaughter, he would not use lies to blindfold and separate them. The two of them had to learn the truth and make a decision for themselves.

{You two aren’t undeserving of each other at all. You simply think that you’re undeserving of each other.}

Dustin’s eyes widened as he’d never thought of it that way. The reason why he’d always give up and take a few steps back whenever Selena turned him down was that he felt he was undeserving of her.

{All the evil deeds that were committed under the name Consccia…}

Woo-Jin paused and held his breath for a moment. The evil deeds in question were primarily carried out by Lansky, so this matter couldn’t be taken lightly.

{They remain a stain on the Consccia family to this day, and people evaluate them through those standards. Now, this doesn’t mean that the Consccia family today is perfectly innocent and pure like a white handkerchief. If you were to get married to Selena, the image that is affecting and harming the Consccia would then be applied to you, impacting your career. Moreover, the Consccia will get unnecessary attention since an international star like you is getting married to Selena.}

The Consccia had built an empire of their own that no one could ignore and had lived successfully so far. No matter what they had done in the past, they now had wealth and power through an upright business, which is why Dustin’s father also wanted his son to get with Selena.

However, these motivations overlooked the fact that Dustin was an actor who made money and lived through his popularity with the public. Selena, on the other hand, knew how much Dustin valued his work. So, it was obvious she wanted to protect it for him. She didn’t want to become a stain on Dustin’s career and ruin it.

{If you two can’t overcome this issue, you will forever live as parallel lines.}

{Parallel lines… That’s so sad,} Dustin said sorrowfully.

As he patted the depressed Dustin’s back, Woo-Jin felt slightly bitter. Although the American actor didn’t quite meet his expectations for his great-granddaughter’s husband, he was a kind and good man. Selena would surely be happy if she could live with such a person as her lifelong companion. Was there anything more important in a person’s life? This was the same reason why Lansky had allowed Giorgio’s marriage. He simply wanted his grandchild to be happy.

{It would be nice to let go of our calculators sometimes and live life without calculating our every move. The problem between you two is that you care too much about each other.}

{Why do you keep switching from being all negative about it to being supportive?!} Dustin exclaimed.

{Probably because I like you a lot more than I thought I would.}

It was a ridiculous answer, but it was more than enough to put a smile on the depressed Dustin’s face.

{Show me your resolve to never lose that smile until the end, no matter what happens. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to convince Selena.}

Woo-Jin wasn’t too surprised to learn that Giorgio had divorced his wife, whom he had loved so much. Lansky had somewhat expected this outcome when he permitted their marriage. Love rarely lasted forever, while marriage was a reality.

“But it was too cruel to take away his chance to be happy just so that he didn’t get hurt.”

Even though he had a lot on his mind, Dustin heard Woo-Jin muttering to himself in his mother tongue again, and he grumbled, saying that he should learn Korean during his stay here.

Woo-Jin thought that he would also like for this young, brave, and kind man to be given an opportunity to be happy. If it were Lansky, he would definitely have given this imperfect young man a chance.