Become a Star

When Ilya saw that money had been delivered in the mail for the book, he laughed. The book was originally meant to be a gift, so even if Woo-Jin didn’t pay for it, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ilya had calculated that it would have made more financial sense for the customer to return the old book, which he had already read, instead of paying the full price for a new book.

Along with the money, there was a note enclosed in the envelope as well. The customer wrote that he couldn’t personally return the book because he had to fly back to his country, so he decided to mail the money for the book instead. Each letter was written very neatly; Ilya didn’t know anyone who had handwriting like this.

{He was an actor, huh?}

Ilya placed the note down before furrowing his brows slightly as he read Colin’s report on his investigation. Chae Woo-Jin being an actor wasn’t the issue. What irritated Ilya was the part written in the report about him excelling at acting.

The demeanor and reactions displayed by the customer from a few days ago seemed so authentic that Ilya found it hard to believe it was all a lie. The customer was indeed a tad dramatic, but when he said he was possessed by a ghost, the way his eyes trembled with fear, as well as his anxiety-filled voice, made it seem like he was telling the truth. Hence, for a brief moment, Ilya felt as though he had truly witnessed his customer in the midst of a strange episode.

Yet, what if it was just an act?

Ilya was confused about what he had seen and heard. Of course, there was a possibility the customer was telling the truth, but Ilya didn’t forget the expression on his face, which kept changing after Ilya asked who he was when the customer looked up at him.

{The look in his eyes showed that he recognized who I was.}

Ilya could only be certain of this after replaying the scene over and over again in his mind. The customer didn’t know who the owner of the bookstore was during his first visit. It was the same story the second time he went there, and this didn’t change at the beginning of his final trip either –– he treated the bookstore owner just like every other regular customer had. The customer evidently didn’t know anything until Ilya asked him who he was.

Only after observing and studying Ilya’s facial features had the look in his eyes changed as though he had come to a sudden realization. Perhaps that was the very moment when the customer realized who the owner of the bookstore was. However, the customer was flustered for only a brief moment; he started making a fuss shortly after, changing the ambiance with his story about ghosts.

As the scene and conversations from that day played in Ilya’s head like a video, he picked up on the things he had missed one by one.

{The scribbles and my birthday… Who could that person have been?}

Ilya wanted to know if it was truly Lansky’s soul that day or if the customer knew something and was just making fun of him. In truth, he wished he could meet Lansky even if he were in the form of a ghost. Everything that could be found online regarding Lansky was either about how cold-blooded he was or brutal historical events centered around him.

These online results were meaningless because that was not the Lansky who Ilya knew. He was cold and not very affectionate, but he loved culture and art more than anyone else. He even spared no effort to provide financial support for unknown artists that had no chance of becoming successful.

“Ilya, even if you don’t receive public recognition, you’re already a great writer to me.”

That was what Lansky said after reading Ilya’s first published work. He had a gentle smile on his face as he said this, and this smile became the driving force that allowed Ilya to press on and continue writing despite the harsh judgment he received from critics. Ilya had very few pleasant memories of the past, and he didn’t have many memories to look back on in the first place. Even then, Lansky was a constant father figure to him. Ilya always had a reason for being unable to ever give up.

{Look into his filmography.}

All Ilya had was time, so he wanted to enjoy every production the customer had been in. Since the customer had read Ilya’s novel, it was Ilya’s turn to appreciate his work.

***

The moment Selena saw the awkward look on her secretary’s face, her sixth sense told her exactly who had stopped by for a visit. She nodded, indicating there was no need for an answer, and simply went into her office.

Giorgio was sitting in Selena’s chair, looking through some documents. When he saw his daughter, he gave her such a broad smile that wrinkles formed around his eyes. Despite him turning the ripe age of sixty this year, he was physically stronger than most young men and had a handsome face that showed no signs of aging.

Although he was dating someone thirty years younger, they looked surprisingly good together; people didn’t find it strange or uncomfortable looking at them. Even Selena was taken aback at first. It wasn’t that the woman looked older than she was; her father was the one who looked young for his age.

{What brings you to this neighborhood? You don’t even like the smell of the breeze here.}

{We came here because my darling said there are as many ghosts as angels in LA and that she wanted to have her very own horror experience.}

There were unexpectedly a lot of haunted mansions in LA, so many places had their own ghost stories and became tourist attractions. In essence, he was saying he traveled to LA with his girlfriend and came to see his daughter while he was here.

{I’m guessing she still doesn’t know that being with you is horrifying in and of itself?}

Selena sat in the chair in front of her desk that was meant for visitors and mocked her father. Even though Giorgio was not as notorious as her great grandfather, he wasn’t easy to deal with either. After being ridiculed by his daughter, Giorgio laughed cheerfully and nodded.

{She’s still young, so she doesn’t know much about the world. Well, I like that about her, though.}

He remarked that they were akin to the kind Salvation Army when being compared to the Red Mafia[1]. In Selena’s opinion, he was in no position to make that statement as someone who had personally done business with the Red Mafia.

{Are you going to introduce me to my fourth mother soon?}

{No way! Ten years ago, I realized the truth — there are so many beauties in this world.}

Selena yawned softly upon hearing her father talk about the truth he had attained after ending his third marriage a decade ago.

{Therefore, I’m speaking from experience when I tell you that you can date whoever you want, but when it comes to marriage, you have to marry someone you’re compatible with.}

Giorgio might have been smiling, but he was looking at his daughter with a cold glint in his eyes. Selena was yawning out of boredom with her hand covering her mouth before she stiffened. She stared at her father with her purple eyes and gave him a silent warning. Selena didn’t want him to say anymore, but her wish was mercilessly crushed by her father’s next words.

{Dustin is a good boy, but he’s too famous. If the boy was incompetent or someone insignificant, I could put up with it. However, he shines too brightly. He unnecessarily lights up his surroundings, and we don’t need that kind of light in our lives.}

Giorgio clicked his tongue and added that it would be too exhausting. His first marriage was with the woman he loved, but it didn’t last beyond 15 years. His second marriage was a political one –– it ended when his wife’s business collapsed. As for his third marriage, he married a kind and beautiful woman because he was lonely and somewhat felt obligated to have a wife. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the worst marriage out of the three.

As a result of all these marriages, Giorgio didn’t place much meaning on the concept itself. Still, he didn’t want to interfere with his children’s marriages. All of them were smart and capable enough to manage their own lives, so there was no reason for any of them to pursue a political marriage. If his children were to end up being with someone who wasn’t good enough for them, it would be fine in his book, as long as his children were satisfied. If things didn’t end up working out, they could always get a divorce and call it quits without worrying too much.

It wasn’t that he didn’t approve of Dustin Evan. His qualifications, character, etc., weren’t the issue. His biggest flaw was that he was too famous.

{Due to the nature of our business, it won’t do us any good to be in the spotlight.}

{To be precise, it’s not ‘our’ business, but yours. The foundation is above board, and we don’t do anything shameful.}

{So, is that the method you're putting all your effort into for the financial independence of the foundation?}

Giorgio smiled as he pointed to the documents he was reading before Selena entered the office. The Consccia Foundation utilized financial support from the arms company Orlando to maintain itself. Since the foundation centered around donating to needy artists and supporting cultural projects rather than making a profit, they had no choice but to rely entirely on Orlando’s financial support.

However, things gradually changed when Selena became the chairman of the foundation. She paid close attention to investing and was able to gradually increase the foundation’s financial independence. At this rate, the foundation would most likely be self-sufficient in ten years and would be able to survive without Orlando’s financial support.

It was encouraging to see how capable his daughter was, but her intentions were so obvious that it made Giorgio laugh. Since it felt as though her father had read her mind, Selena threw a tantrum and denied what he was insinuating.

{Dustin is just a friend. Have we even dated each other?}

{Did anyone say anything about that? I’m not against you dating Dustin –– if you want to date him, by all means, go for it. Just don’t get married. Is what I’m saying that hard for you to understand?}

Even though he tried to act as natural as possible and hid his true feelings about the subject, each and every word he spoke pierced Selena like a dagger.

{Did you crack the password?}

{Don’t change the subject.}

{I’m not trying to change the subject. I’m asking because I’m truly curious.}

However, Selena wasn’t like her brother. After being attacked, he would be intimidated and perhaps even hide out of fear. She, on the other hand, was the kind of person who would find out what hurt the other party the most and use it to attack them (verbally) to make her feel slightly better at the very least.

As expected, Giorgio’s face hardened immediately after hearing his daughter’s counter-attack.

{If you can’t crack it, just ask Ilya for help. I don’t know why you’ve been struggling for 25 years by yourself instead of asking the person who knows the password.}

Selena teased her father with a sympathetic look on her face as she spoke in a sympathetic tone. As someone who ran a cultural foundation and who was close friends with an actor, her acting was improving day by day. Giorgio became agitated and emotional the moment Selena mentioned the password and Ilya.

Lansky had several safe houses back when he was alive, among which was a mansion where he kept collections of old books and paintings that he particularly cherished. The building itself was a vault and an art museum that was remodeled to store his collections perfectly. Thus, he paid a lot of attention to security and placed a password at every entrance.

Giorgio visited the mansion after Lansky’s death; he cracked the passwords one by one and went inside. However, he failed to crack the password at the most central part of the mansion. This was where all the items were kept. It wasn’t that he forgot the password, Lansky had changed it without Giorgio’s knowledge, and he didn’t get a chance to tell his grandson about it.

After suffering from a cold in his old age for a couple of days, it developed into pneumonia, and Lansky died within a week. It was a death so sudden that neither Lansky nor his family had seen it coming. His condition had deteriorated rapidly, making it difficult for him to breathe. Thus, it was impossible to have a proper conversation with him as he kept coughing. He didn’t get any chance to tell Giorgio the password to the safe house because there was no time.

More importantly, it wasn’t the right place or time to even think of talking about something like that when this happened. It was a topic nobody had discussed, such that even Giorgio himself had only recalled the safe house five years after his grandfather’s death.

Even though Giorgio followed his grandfather’s wishes, in truth, he wasn’t very interested in art and culture. Hence, he only saw his grandfather’s collections as nothing more than expensive items. However, he had good memories of the time his grandfather showed him around back when he was little. It was nice to hear the stories behind each painting and book, as well as anecdotes about how the items came into his possession.

Giorgio’s grandfather was no longer with him, but he decided to go to the safehouse to relive the memories and emotions of that time. And that was when he unexpectedly met his defeat at the last hurdle. Initially, he keyed in the birthday of the artist his grandfather loved the most, but it was incorrect.

He was certain that had been the password, but it seemed as though Giorgio had changed it to a different combination without telling him. For his second try, he carefully contemplated his options before entering the date his grandfather acquired the old book he cherished. Yet, his efforts only resulted in a ‘beep’ sound.

He had already used up two out of three attempts. If he were to get it wrong for the third time, the mansion would be completely sealed off. Those who were inside would be locked in, and nobody would be able to enter. But that didn’t mean the password was absolutely impossible to crack. Since the device and its system were designed forty years ago, it could easily be dismantled with the help of the latest equipment and experts.

However, Giorgio wasn’t trying to crack the password because he wanted his grandfather’s collections –– he just wanted to keep the memories he had with his grandfather intact. His grandfather didn’t give him the password just so he could have his collections. Giorgio felt that relying on experts to crack the password was akin to destroying those memories. Thus, he wanted to crack it by himself.

As a result, he hadn’t attempted it for the third time in more than twenty years. In truth, even when he got it wrong on his second attempt, it wasn’t that big of a deal to him. However, the entire ordeal grew escalated because of Ilya Turner. After hearing about it from Selena, Ilya laughed at him and said that he knew what the final password was.

The story of how that happened was simple. In order to inspire Ilya for his creative work, Lansky often invited him over to the mansion. Thus, he naturally knew what the password was. In the later years of Lansky’s life, he enjoyed spending a great deal of time with Ilya as they had a common interest, unlike his grandson, who wasn’t interested in art.

{Initially, grandpa told me the reason and story behind each password. Even then, every time he keyed in the password, I would turn my head away out of courtesy. Naturally, I didn’t even know he changed the final password! Can you believe the audacity of that fella, who brazenly stared at grandpa as he keyed in the password? And then he tries to get smart with me?}

{He probably looked because great grandpa gave him permission to do so.}

The more agitated Selena’s father was, the more calmly she refuted him.

1. Or otherwise known as the Russian Mafia. It is a collective of various loosely-associated organized crime syndicates from the former Soviet Union, formed in the 1960s and 1970s. ☜