CH 178

Dustin Evan never actually dreamed of becoming an actor as a child. In fact, he had no interest in becoming a celebrity, let alone an actor. He was just an ordinary student whose greatest goal in life was to go to the same university as his crush.



But Dustin’s life was turned upside down when his father’s business went bankrupt.



As someone who had always been easygoing and good-natured, Dustin did not immediately despair or struggle when the bankruptcy caused difficulties for his family. Thanks to his optimistic outlook on life, he never complained like his siblings despite their sudden poverty.



It was only after hearing from his parents that he could no longer attend his private school due to their financial difficulty that reality finally hit Dustin. In fact, even his older brother and sister, who were attending university, were forced to take a leave of absence as they could not get a scholarship.



In all honesty, school wasn’t that important to Dustin. So whether he had to attend some public school or quit school entirely, he had no reason to despair.



However, what mattered to him was that Selena was attending his current school.



Although he had confessed his feelings to her and gotten rejected five times, Dustin was just happy from the fact that he could see her whenever he wanted since they went to school together.



But if he left this school, Dustin and Selena would gradually become distant, and he’d get erased from her memories over time as she started living in a completely different world to him.



There was nothing more significant than that for an ordinary 16-year-old boy. Hearing that he would have to leave school was like a bolt out of the blue, incomparable to the time he was told his father’s business had gone bankrupt.



However, if there was anything interesting about Dustin back then, it was that his father had a friend who was a producer for TV shows. And this producer-friend always tried to convince Dustin to become an actor whenever they saw each other.



As he had no other options, Dustin went to see his father’s friend. He thought he would be able to earn more by starring in shows and movies instead of working part-time at a gas station, and it would make him look much more stylish and cool as well.



At that time, his father’s producer friend happened to be preparing a teen drama show and was in need of a handsome character, so he enthusiastically and eagerly cast Dustin.



He had been trying to convince his friend’s son to become an actor for so long, and the boy had finally decided to make his debut. In fact, the producer was absolutely sure the boy would become a superstar.



The show ended up being a great success.



Not only was it a success, but it also announced the birth of the actor named Dustin Evan to the world. Despite being a supporting role, the character Dustin played gained more popularity and love than the main character.



Dustin's dream of starring in a show just to pay for his school tuition was finally fulfilled, so he thought everything would work out great from now on.



With the money earned from the show and starring in a few commercials, Dustin also managed to pay for his siblings’ tuitions and also buy back their house that had been auctioned off.



They had gotten a far better result than what he had hoped for. He could continue attending school with Selena and wouldn’t look shabby or miserable in front of her.



Thus, he tried to return to his ordinary, daily life with no regrets. But what held him back was, surprisingly, his own family.



They still needed Dustin’s income to revive his father's bankrupt business, return to their previous standard of living, and also pay for his own expensive college tuition fees without working part-time or any scholarships.



Dustin could not deny the wishes of his family, who looked up at him with earnest eyes.



He also could not ignore the producer’s offer to cast him in season two after the show’s success. His father’s friend was the one who lent them a helping hand when the family was in deep trouble, so Dustin didn’t have the heart to refuse him just because they didn’t need the producer’s help anymore.



Thus, he continued to thrive as an actor, filming more shows and even movies. But in the end, Dustin didn’t get into the same university as Selena. The alcohol he drank to drown his sorrows was horribly bitter but was also his only consolation.



With Dustin’s financial aid, his father’s business was restored, and his older siblings were able to safely graduate from their prestigious universities.



When his younger brother also graduated from university and landed a respectable and stable job, Dustin’s family thanked him and told the actor he could now do whatever he wanted to do without worrying about the family’s financial stability.



This happened when Dustin was 26 years old.



Dustin’s family was relatively rational and thoughtful compared to other celebrities, whose families became money leeches and shamelessly clung to them. But Dustin’s family properly removed their fangs that were biting onto the actor—sucking his blood—and set him free, which could be called a happy ending.



However, this was only the case for Dustin’s financial support. They still turned to Dustin when they needed his name and fame, both in private and in public.



Nevertheless, it was true that his family had returned his freedom. But unfortunately, the 26-year-old Dustin had nothing else he wanted to do now.



He used to study seriously as he had a clear goal of getting into the same university as Selena.



But even if he tried to continue his studies now, Selena had already graduated. All Dustin wanted was to make some memories with her and spend time together in the same space, not to become her junior.



Moreover, acting ended up being really fun for him and matched his aptitudes. He enjoyed his job and grew greedy for more roles and character.



For the first time in his life, Dustin had dreams for himself and not anyone else.



To be honest, Dustin had only gained popularity during his debut, thanks to his attractive appearance.



His light brown eyes matched his blonde hair and shimmered gold, leading people to call him ‘Sunshine.’ In addition, his tall, slender stature and handsome appearance managed to garner popularity that overwhelmed the actor playing the main character.



Although he wasn’t gifted at acting, his first performance wasn’t bad enough that the flaws could be overlooked. Considering that he had been thrown onto the battlefield without any training, the results were pretty good, which boosted Dustin’s confidence in his acting.



Afterward, his hard work and self-confidence were the ingredients that made Dustin Evan as he was today. Every time he finished a project and moved on to the next one, he kept showing better skills and performances. Thus his popularity soared in proportion.



Dustin wasn’t satisfied with some parts of his career, but his success and achievements so far weren’t so bad.



But inversely proportional to his success as a celebrity, Dustin began to feel emptier inside day after day.



Dustin had sacrificed… no, that may not be the right word. Dustin had given up on what he wanted the most in the world for his family.



But at some point in time, his family began to ignore him. In fact, they sometimes actively tried to avoid hearing anything about Dustin Evan.



After graduating from prestigious universities and joining the upper classes, Dustin's siblings had successful social lives. Soon afterward, they started ignoring Dustin’s words and opinions and ridiculed him.



If Dustin got involved in some incident, they treated him as a wasteful and prodigal child, reproaching him as they felt ashamed of being related to him.



—Be sure to keep your schedule free next Friday evening. We’re hosting a party where political and business figureheads will gather to talk about the development of Southern California. You should help out as a member of our family.



Nonetheless, they always looked for him and used family as a reason to get him involved whenever he would be useful in improving their public image.



Dustin placed a hand on his forehead and frowned as he answered the call from his older brother as soon as he woke up in the morning.



If Dustin Evan attended the party, that alone would be enough publicity for the event. His older brother had invited him to the party to use the media as a means to announce the event’s objective and easily collect donations.



{I’m not going! More like, I can’t go! Don’t you know I’m busy with a new project right now?}



—You’re busy but still have the time to hang out with those pieces of trash? One of your friends blackmailed us into buying a photo of you drunk and lying next to the trash bin yesterday. Was his name Ralph? He said he’d sell the picture to the press instead if we didn’t pay him. How can all your so-called friends be so….



Shocked by his brother’s words, Dustin forgot what he was about to say and bit his lips. Ralph was a very close friend he trusted.



Even if all his other friends did such things, Dustin didn’t want to believe in the betrayal of a close friend he thought would never behave in such a way.



{Don’t lie to me. I know Ralph better than anyone else. He wouldn’t do that.}



—Go check for yourself if you think it’s a lie. Then, I’ll be seeing you next Friday, alright?



As soon as he hung up, his brother sent a picture where Dustin seemed to be drunk and sleeping while hugging a trash bin.



Although Dustin had no memories of such a thing, his clothes were the same as the ones he had worn two days ago. And that evening out, the one friend who had stayed with Dustin until the very end was Ralph.



After answering his brother’s call while lying in bed, Dustin jumped out and quickly called Ralph when he saw the photo.



Dustin wasn’t someone who kept his worries locked away in his heart and overthought too much. He would rather tackle the issue as soon as possible.



—Hey~! What’s up, buddy?



Ralph greeted Dustin cheerfully as he answered the phone. Dustin was slightly relieved by his tone but explained the situation nonetheless.



{I heard something weird from my brother just now. He says that you asked for money in return for a picture.}



—Ooh, that? I took that picture because it would make for good and fun memories, but then realized it would be a waste to do nothing with it. So I thought it was time for your brother to repay his debts since he only became so successful thanks to the money you earned after all.



{If my brother owes a debt to anyone, it’s me he needs to pay back. So why are you the one receiving the money?}



—C’mon, you’re already so rich. That money is more valuable to me than you since you’re rolling in cash in Hollywood. Just think of it as me getting revenge on your brother as your friend.



Ralph proudly reported to Dustin. But as he listened to his friend’s story, Dustin slowly closed his eyes.



There were two sides of himself fighting fiercely in his heart. On one side, he wanted to believe in his friend’s words, and on the other was furious at that ridiculous and preposterous statement.



{My brother said that you’d sell the picture to the press if he didn’t buy it.}



—Geez, he actually said all that? There are plenty of photos like that online already, so one extra wouldn’t hurt anybody. People would just laugh at it once and move on. But even so, I contacted your brother[1] before the press because I was considerate to you. Aren’t you grateful?



Ralph spoke as though he was in a very good mood. He happily told his own side of the story, unaware that his words became daggers that stabbed Dustin in the back.



—So let’s meet up today with the others again. It’s hard to gather people since you don’t like having women around, but I’ll do my best to get them to come.



{Sorry, I’m busy filming a scene until late today, so I can’t come.}



—Then tomorrow….



{We’ll see. My schedule is pretty packed starting today.}



Ralph’s voice, which had been loud and excited the whole time, slowly faded away at Dustin’s reply. He then grumbled and said they’d have fun without Dustin and hung up first.



Dustin’s friends really liked hanging out with the actor. When they were around Dustin, beautiful women approached them first, and Dustin always paid for the food and drinks.



Moreover, when they posted a picture with him on social media, they gathered a lot of attention. So parties with Dustin were always fun. Everyone always made time to come along and tried to make Dustin drink. The accidental remarks or information Dustin leaked under the influence of alcohol were always opportunities for his ‘friends’ to make money.



Selling photos or information to the press and Dustin’s family earned them a lot each time.



But even if everyone behaved as such, Dustin believed Ralph wouldn’t be like them. He was certain that Ralph wasn’t that kind of ‘friend.’



Ralph might have been simply copying the others without feeling guilty about it or didn’t want to be the only one to make a loss if he didn’t do it since everyone else was.



But either way, Ralph had betrayed Dustin even if he was unaware of it.



{I really shouldn’t see him for a while.}



Yet, Dustin didn’t argue or get furious and chose to avoid Ralph for now.



Whenever he started filming a new project, Dustin tried his best to avoid alcohol as much as possible. But if he did, his friends and acquaintances always invited him out to drink.



That said, Dustin wasn’t naive enough to be unaware of their schemes.



In fact, it wouldn’t make sense that he didn’t notice their intentions and actions when pictures of Dustin sleeping made their way online, especially when stories he had only told his friends were published in news articles as ‘leaks from a close acquaintance of Dustin Evan.’



Nevertheless, he couldn’t push his friends away and kept seeing them as a means to endure and survive.



{People may say that I’m just a privileged person making a big deal out of a first world problem, but….}



Right now, Dustin was in a precarious situation.



At first, he had started acting with the impure intentions of making money fast, but he now enjoyed it as a lifelong profession.



But now, he wondered whether the difficulties and hardships he suffered were because of the people in his surroundings. In that case, he could simply push those people out of his life and never see them again, but his heart didn’t allow him to do so.



Ironically, Dustin’s problem was that the people who hurt him were the same people who were his source of comfort.



Dustin tried to heal the wounds inflicted by humans with the help of other humans, but he was always met with stinging betrayal.



Nevertheless, Dustin still wanted to hope and trust people.



{I should hang out with Genie from now on.}



Looking back on his past, Dustin decided to stay away from most people for the time being and chose to be with Chae Woo-Jin instead.



1. The raws say ‘You contacted your brother,’ but the author probably made a typo. ☜