The light of dawn pierced through the windows, the darkness in the room enveloping the rays and seemingly pulling them in.

The objects hidden in the shadows gradually revealed their silhouettes. Then, as the room brightened, the consciousness of the man lying on the bed got clearer.

He looked a little tired and lonely as he sat up and rubbed his eyes with a finger. Directing his attention to the gap between the curtains, he peered out the window with an exhausted gaze. He saw a dense forest of buildings, like a world made of sharp, square lines that could take your breath away just by looking at them.

The man’s exhaustion was almost tangible as he got out of bed with heavy footsteps to start a new day. He poured himself some instant coffee and took a sip with habitual movements, smiling after tasting the bitter drink. A faint smile quickly formed on the corner of his lips, giving off the feeling that the man had a slightly clearer mind and had regained some energy.

Holding his mug in his right hand, he walked towards the grand piano in the living room with an energetic spring in his steps. He then pressed the piano keys one at a time with his empty hand. The fatigue enveloping him vanished into thin air, and a languid aura emanated from him.

He put his mug down on the decorative table and sat on the piano bench before beginning to play in earnest. The piano piece that gently shook the morning air awake was ‘Liebestraum’ by Liszt.

The warm steam rising from the mug appeared to spread everywhere, riding alongside the musical melody throughout the room. There was no scent coming from the screen, but those watching the scene couldn’t help but get immersed in the coffee’s strong aroma.

***

{What am I doing right now…}

Ilya clicked his tongue, disappointed in himself for looking up Chae Woo-Jin’s commercials.

It hadn’t been long since the actor’s debut, so there weren’t many films or series in his name. In fact, apart from a single TV show, all the projects he took part in were movies. Thus, Ilya was able to watch and appreciate all of Chae Woo-Jin’s works within a few days.

Although he hadn’t seen as many projects as he wanted, Ilya had watched enough to get a feel for the Korean actor and understand him a bit. Nevertheless, Ilya still wanted more information on Chae Woo-Jin, as though he was frantically searching for something. So, he ended up watching the variety shows the actor appeared in. And when he finished those, he moved on to the commercials that starred Chae Woo-Jin.

Ilya felt pathetic and bitter seeing his behavior. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was clearly aware of what he was looking for in the actor. He had a glimmer of hope that he might find something familiar in Chae Woo-Jin’s conduct, and simultaneously, he also considered these expectations to be trivial and ridiculous.

{You should know better than anyone that it’s impossible, Ilya.}

He spoke to himself, trying to convince the conflicting thoughts in his mind, but that couldn’t stop his actions.

There were often moments when the boundary between reality and imagination blurred when he was writing. Ilya was in a similar state right now, even though he wasn’t holding a pen. It was possible that he was too hopeful and had expectations that could never be met in reality.

In fact, Ilya hoped and wished that some surreal miracle would happen to him as well. However, Ilya’s expectations were both clear but also vague. He knew- no, he was certain of what he was looking for. He just didn’t know in what form he wanted it to appear.

Yet, the small doubts sprouting in his mind had created this situation, and he already knew how the story would end at this point. Even if he was a novelist who lived and earned his money using his imagination, he had no vain dreams. He didn’t expect a plotline that only appeared in fantasy novels to ever happen to him. All he wanted right now was to dream a little, even for just a short moment.

After he was done checking out Chae Woo-Jin’s commercials, all that was left were the magazines and photobooks. By checking and confirming everything, Ilya was going to put an end to his vain dreams and delusions. Although the happy and excited feelings he had felt the past few days would become a bit bitter, he just had to console himself that it was worth it.

{Hm?}

Ilya frowned as he examined Chae Woo-Jin’s pictures in the magazines.

As he leaned on the table and flipped through the pages, he found a familiar shadow in Chae Woo-Jin’s appearance. Ilya looked through the photos in the magazines as well as the portrait prints several times. His eyes grew wider when he saw a specific ‘image’ of Chae Woo-Jin that he hadn’t seen in the movies and shows.

A fantastic and wonderful miracle that could not be investigated was approaching him now.

***

Selena looked at her secretary as she held the report she had requested. The list of candidates was much shorter than what she was expecting. Nevertheless, the secretary stood proudly and fearlessly even though they knew Selena’s gaze wasn’t approving.

{There aren’t many good-looking men in their twenties or thirties who are exceptional actors around the world.}

The secretary’s face was haggard. Over the past month, they had been working on this critical task assigned by their boss. There was no guarantee that the results would be proportional to the effort put into writing the report, but they had done the best they could. And that was the reason why they could confidently respond to their boss, who had yet to read the report.

{First of all, I looked into the actors that the Confession of White’s fanbase recommended or desired. Then, I checked the works of the best actors in every country to create that list. Although there aren’t many candidates, they are the cream of the crop quality-wise.}

The number of names on the candidate list was small, but each one was carefully selected. The secretary definitely hadn’t neglected their work. No matter how wide the breadth of their search was when selecting candidates, there were only a few actors who could meet the stringent conditions and have the required skills.

There were probably more young, handsome, and incredibly talented actors around the world who were still unknown to the general public. However, the secretary could look for those people after the candidates on today’s list were eliminated.

{Hm?}

A total of six candidates were selected by the secretary. But interestingly, all six actors were people Selena knew well to some extent.

The results were so predictable and obvious that she wasn’t surprised by them. In fact, it would be strange if the actors Selena wanted weren’t already top stars. If there were people who met the harsh conditions she had set but were still unknown to the world so far, that could only mean that they were very unlucky in life.

What was somewhat unusual was that two of the six candidates were Asians. One of them was someone Selena knew personally. She tapped her desk with her finger as she read the name and looked at the picture of Chae Woo-Jin.

Lloyd—the protagonist of Confession of White—was only described as an orphan and a person with albinism. There was no mention of his exact race or place of birth. As long as Ilya allowed it, casting an Asian for the role of Lloyd would be no problem.

Furthermore, there were quite a large number of fans of Confession of White who speculated that Lloyd was adopted from a foreign country and was a person of color. Therefore, there wouldn’t be many objections if they cast an Asian for the role of Lloyd.

Most of all, no matter who they chose for Lloyd, the actor would inevitably have to wear makeup to portray the character’s pale skin. As such, Selena told her secretary to select the candidates without regard for their race or origins. In any case, seeing Chae Woo-Jin’s name on the list felt refreshing to her.

After meeting Chae Woo-Jin at the party, Selena deliberately searched for The Red and watched the movie. She had previously heard the film’s title from the extremely favorable online reviews, but she had put off watching it because of her busy schedule.

In terms of enjoyment, The Red was by far the best movie she had seen in recent times. No, there was no need to set a time period. It was the best movie she had seen, period. She was confident that the film would make a name for itself in the history of motion pictures, and she wasn’t the only one to think so. Others in the film industry agreed with her.

The Red was able to receive such a high rating from the public and critics because everything in the film was perfect, from the script, editing, cinematography, costumes, and soundtrack, to the actors. Everything was maintained at an ideal balance without any shortcomings.

Yet, what stood out the most was the male protagonist. In Selena’s case, she knew Korean to some extent, so she could easily follow the story, but even those who didn’t understand Korean had no difficulty watching the film and empathizing with the protagonist. The actor’s performance was so excellent that the language barrier was broken through.

As she watched the movie, Selena was confused about whether the protagonist and the person she had met at the party were indeed the same individuals. She honestly couldn’t see any traces of the actor himself throughout the film.

Objectively and subjectively speaking, Chae Woo-Jin’s appearance was handsome enough to move people’s hearts regardless of race and age. Still, it was noteworthy to mention that while people watched the film, the audience was so deeply engrossed in the character that they only noticed the actor’s spectacular appearance after the movie ended and they had come to their senses.

How many people around the globe could act so well at that age?

Although Selena didn’t know every single actor that existed, it would be difficult to find another young actor who, like Chae Woo-Jin, could fascinate and mesmerize people purely with his acting skills, transcending language, and appearances.

Frankly, Selena was curious to find out how Chae Woo-Jin would portray Lloyd if he were to take on the role. However, now that she saw him on the list, while she did think that it was only natural for him to get nominated by her secretary, she also felt slightly reluctant to choose him since the results felt a bit too obvious.

{Will Dustin ever become such a skilled actor?}

Selena felt sorry for Dustin as her thoughts suddenly shifted from Chae Woo-Jin to her friend. She cheered for Dustin and supported him as he grew more and more serious about his acting, yet she couldn’t help but notice the things he was lacking.

Nevertheless, she was still delighted to see Dustin struggle and overcome his inferiority complex against Chae Woo-Jin to become a better actor. Dustin always opened his heart to Selena, unafraid to show his shame, weaknesses, and thoughts. Thus, Selena couldn’t help but find him lovable and endearing.

{Marriage…}

Putting aside her feelings for Dustin, Selena had never seriously considered marriage in her life. She had once witnessed a couple’s love fade and their relationship collapse with her own eyes. It was when her parents got divorced during her childhood.

Thus, Selena was always afraid that she and Dustin would end up the same way. Rather than be hated by the person she cared about the most and who shone brightest in her eyes, Selena thought it would be the safest and happiest option for her to remain as his friend forever.

However, Chae Woo-Jin argued that her thought process didn’t take Dustin’s happiness into account. He reproached Selena for making Dustin unable to grow and remain a naive child. Yet, it was possible that she was a foolish adult who couldn’t do anything or make any decision because she was afraid of getting hurt.

These days, Selena wondered whether the fairy tales that went ‘and they lived happily ever after’ could truly be considered happy endings. In retrospect, the most joyful moments that Selena’s father ever had in his entire life were when he was with her mother. After the divorce, she never saw her father smile as happily as he did back then. So even if the good times were limited and had to come to an end, Selena started thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad to experience such sweet moments at least once.

{Oh!}

As she was thinking of Dustin, Selena suddenly got a call from the man himself. Recently, he had been more proactive than before, frequently calling her first. It was quite different from the past, where he’d approach her and then leave for a long time.

{Hello?}

—Selena! Are you going to the after-party today?

She was momentarily puzzled by Dustin’s sudden question as she answered the phone.

When she asked herself what party was taking place today, her secretary, having heard Dustin’s voice on the phone, leaned over with a smile and whispered ‘Oscars.’ The party Dustin was referring to was the after-party of the Academy Awards.

{Oh~! I’ve been so busy with work lately that I forgot today was the Oscars.}

—What? Does that mean you can’t attend?

Dustin’s voice was riddled with disappointment. Selena smiled softly and picked up the candidate list for Lloyd that was sitting beside her. It would take a lot of time for her to watch and review the listed actors’ works starting today. Moreover, she wasn’t even in the mood to leisurely attend a party.

{Yeah, it seems so. Have fun at the party.}

—How am I supposed to have fun without you when I can’t even drink alcohol?

{You can enjoy the party with your friend.}

—I think Genie’s going to be very busy today and won’t have time to chat with me.

Dustin indirectly hinted that Chae Woo-Jin was likely to win an award today. Putting aside her objective evaluation of Woo-Jin, Selena was a fan of The Red and wanted the movie to win an award, so she nodded as Dustin spoke.

{Wish him luck for me. But are you okay?}

Dustin didn’t get nominated for an award because he had no films released the previous year. However, even if there were, the chances of him getting an Oscar nomination were slim. Although Chae Woo-Jin hadn’t been nominated for an individual award, Dustin couldn’t be too delighted to watch Woo-Jin’s movie receive an Oscar when he had never gotten one.

—Selena.

{What?}

—Thanks.

Selena tilted her head confusedly as Dustin’s words didn’t make sense in the context of their conversation.

—I’m really happy that the person I fell in love with is you.

Selena’s face instantly turned bright red at Dustin’s surprise attack.

—I’ll do my best so that you can trust me more.

{What are you suddenly talking about?}

—What I mean is I’ll work harder so that you don’t have to worry or be afraid to love me anymore.

Despite Dustin’s clear answer, Selena couldn’t come to her senses. After they hung up, she sat dumbfounded and surprised, wondering what the hell Dustin had eaten to suddenly act like this. Yet, the tip of her lips twitched, and Selena couldn’t resist the big smile forming on her face. She held her cheeks with her hands and grumbled to herself.

{Even though I promised to protect him…}

A young Selena had once sworn to protect Dustin as she hid the small boy behind her back. Her oath was still in effect to this day, and it seemed it would last for a long time into the future.