068 Melodrama on the Penthouse Floor

Back in Seoul, Yoon Eun-hui introduced Assemblyman Jung Il-young from Yeonsu-gu Eul to the Board of Directors of Yonsei University.

While Yonsei University was indeed a private institution, it did not strictly belong to any single individual and had maintained a remarkably independent spirit since its founding.

The board of directors was typically composed of alumni with high social standing; the former president of the CS Daily had served sixteen consecutive terms until finally retiring in 2013.

Yoon Eun-hui’s grandfather simply could not bear to watch it any longer—one might easily mistake Yonsei for a subsidiary of the CS Daily—and ultimately spearheaded that particular board election reform.

Although the older Yoon family and the CS Daily were connected by marriage, they held an even deeper respect for Yonsei University's founding ethos.

In addition, Yoon Eun-hui helped introduce Jung Il-young to the relevant executives at the Yonsei Medical Center.

The Board of Directors and the Medical Center were distinct entities with no direct subordinate relationship; precisely speaking, both existed to serve the institution of Yonsei University.

It was precisely because of this independent spirit that the Yonsei University Student Union possessed such substantial power, even participating in decisions regarding tuition fees for the new semester.

Yoon Eun-hui thoroughly appreciated the atmosphere at Yonsei.

Of course, people are naturally hypocritical; he would never allow such a dynamic at his own Songdo University.

Songdo University was Songdo University, Songdo Hospital was Songdo Hospital, and all sorts of other miscellaneous ventures answered directly to the Songdo Memorial Foundation.

Having completed his graduate school interview, Yoon Eun-hui simply awaited the receipt of his bachelor’s diploma and degree certificate, ready to happily embark on his master's studies.

As if he would ever fail to get in?

Applicants to Yonsei's graduate programs typically only needed to submit their application materials, followed by an in-person interview without any written exams.

Although Yoon Eun-hui had prepared meticulously, the professors simply spent half the time chatting with him about gossip as soon as they laid eyes on him, asking what it felt like to be an actor, while one female professor even smiled and asked Yoon Eun-hui for his autograph.

The professors were surprisingly adorable.

Checking off the graduate interview from his schedule, Yoon Eun-hui returned to the filming set.

Acting was wonderful; Yoon Eun-hui loved acting the most.

He had already grown quite close to his fellow cast members in the Penthouse kids' group. Yoon Eun-hui had toyed with the idea of picking someone to mess with, but unfortunately, every single one of his peers had the physique of a child, each more tender and youthful than the last.

After trying it out once, Yoon Eun-hui lost all interest—they were all just damn bros.

It was all Kwon Eun-bi's fault!

Huh?

Did Kwon Eun-bi remember to ask Kim Min-ju on his behalf when she went back?

Yoon Eun-hui genuinely wanted to know why Kim Min-ju was avoiding him. He hadn't offended her, had he?

Days had already passed, and still no news?

Yoon Eun-hui was certain that Kim Min-ju was dodging him; there was no other possible explanation.

He decided to wait a few more days, hoping Kwon Eun-bi would seize the opportunity so he wouldn't have to go track Kim Min-ju down himself—he was busy filming dramas, after all.

*The Penthouse* was airing to explosive popularity, with the ratings for each episode surpassing the previous one. Such stellar results gave everyone something to look forward to.

Like a whirlwind, the internet had recently been completely dominated by topics related to *The Penthouse*, and GIFs of various iconic scenes were spreading wildly.

Discussion surrounding the kids' group had never stopped from the very beginning.

Although the actors in the kids' group were considered quite young in terms of public perception, they were all legally adults, whereas their characters were only high school freshmen. Consequently, before the show premiered, viewers generally believed that actual underage child stars should have been cast.

However, as the plot unfolded, public sentiment flipped instantly.

For no other reason than the fact that many episodes of *The Penthouse* were rated 19+. Filled with violence, bloodshed, moral depravity, and adult themes, viewers readily declared that adults were indeed the right choice to portray these roles.

"Thank goodness they cast adult actors! If they had used child stars, it would have been a complete mess!"

Kim Hyun-soo, who played Bae Ro-na, and Han Ji-hyun, who played Joo Seok-kyung, both received high praise for their acting skills.

As the sole male member of the kids' group, Yoon Eun-hui faced even stricter scrutiny.

This was because fans of *The Penthouse* were divided into two distinct camps: the official couple pairing of Bae Ro-na and Joo Seok-hoon versus the faux-cest twin pairing of Joo Seok-kyung and Joo Seok-hoon.

?

As expected, the doubts Yoon Eun-hui had harbored in his heart ever since receiving the script were validated by the audience.

This damn thing really was faux-cest.

Did screenwriter Kim Soon-ok even understand how to write a story?

She understood.

She understood completely.

How could the "Godmother of Makjang" Kim Soon-ok possibly not understand?

Yoon Eun-hui had learned the outline of the next season's plot in advance. As it turned out, Joo Seok-hoon and Joo Seok-kyung were not actually twins and shared no blood relation whatsoever.

Joo Seok-hoon (the twin brother) was the son of the father (Joo Dan-tae) and his first love (Na Ae-gyo), while Joo Seok-kyung (the twin sister) was the daughter of the mother (Shim Su-ryeon) and her ex-lover (???).

Furthermore, Shim Su-ryeon and Na Ae-gyo had no biological relation yet looked identical (?); the only difference was that the person appearing in the first season was Shim Su-ryeon, while the person in the second season was Na Ae-gyo.

Na Ae-gyo was Joo Seok-hoon’s birth mother and Joo Seok-kyung’s adoptive mother, whereas Shim Su-ryeon was Joo Seok-hoon’s adoptive mother and Joo Seok-kyung’s birth mother.

Joo Dan-tae's only biological child was his son Joo Seok-hoon, while Joo Seok-kyung was his stepdaughter, and Joo Seok-kyung’s actual twin sister was none other than Min Seol-ah.

Huh?

What on earth?!

Was there anyone who understood pseudo-incest better than him?!

For a moment, Yoon Eun-hui didn't even know how he was supposed to act this out. Fortunately, he was granted some time to rest.

Yoon Eun-hui wasn't the main protagonist and didn't need to be permanently stationed on set; naturally, he would leave once his scenes for the current stage were completed and return when the next phase began.

His free time earlier had even been abundant enough for him to shoot a movie—playing that small supporting role in *The Roundup*.

Forget it, forget it.

Yoon Eun-hui temporarily pushed the makjang plot of *The Penthouse* out of his mind. There wasn't much room for him to showcase his acting in the first season, but his character was bound to explode in the second season.

All the mysteries would be unraveled in season two!

So the production team had condensed the original three-season plan for *The Penthouse* down to two seasons just to test his acting skills?

Adjusting his mindset, Yoon Eun-hui first went to sign the contract with Aunt Tian and Tian Yu-jing.

The three of them had established WK Media, successfully acquiring the Korean regional copyright for the fashion magazine *W*.

WK Media → *W* Korea Magazine Publishing House
The former held the copyright, while the latter served as the operational entity for the magazine.

Aunt Tian quickly assembled a brand-new team, inviting prominent figures from the Korean fashion scene to serve as editor-in-chief, clearly having prepared well in advance. Tian Yu-jing also joined the magazine staff.

A new chapter for *W* Korea would officially begin this December, kicking off its debut with a star-studded fashion charity gala.

The date was set for Christmas, December 25th.

The theme was straightforward and universally understood: caring for women's health, focusing on breast cancer, cervical cancer, and the like.

That wasn't something Yoon Eun-hui needed to worry about; he was simply responsible for footing the bill.

Yoon Eun-hui's already meager wallet was now completely emptied.

For a charity gala like this, the Songdo Memorial Foundation could offer some support, but acquiring copyrights, establishing the company, and covering initial startup costs had to come entirely from his own pocket.

Consequently, Yoon Eun-hui had been exceptionally well-behaved lately. Without money, all distractions vanished entirely.

Obediently adhering to the schedule he had agreed upon with Shin Yu-na, Yoon Eun-hui arrived at JYP Entertainment.