Recognized as a Movie Star
In the car heading to the pre-booked hotel, Seong Kang-ho asked the young PD.
"Did Suhyeon get so many fans just because they fell head over heels for his body? China’s got plenty of guys with great physiques too, right?"
"It’s not just the body... Suhyeon always hid his face with sunglasses and a beard in the drama. Korean fans already knew he was handsome, but in China, they only saw him as some action actor who’s good at martial arts. Then he shaved, revealing his face, and the Chinese viewers who were watching the drama were shocked. That’s when the reactions exploded."
"Young, handsome, ripped, great actor... Yeah, what’s not to like."
"Suhyeon’s fans are following us in cars right now... At this rate, filming’s gonna have some issues."
Suhyeon, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.
"I’m sorry. It’s my fault for causing disruptions to the shoot..."
"No way. This kind of attention will only draw more eyes to our drama. From the production side, we’re thrilled."
Due to obsessive fans doggedly tailing Suhyeon at every filming location, he barely managed to wrap up shooting before heading back to Korea the next day. The moment he returned, he got a request from Manager Park and headed straight to the office.
Park Dongju greeted Suhyeon warmly and handed over two printed A4 pages with news articles.
"What’s this?"
"The two biggest news items the company’s watching right now. Take a look."
Suhyeon carefully examined the printed articles and photos before setting them down.
"I’m grateful the fans love me so much. But these are things I already knew about."
Park Dongju let out a soft huh of laughter at Suhyeon’s words.
"Even geniuses slip up sometimes, I guess. What I wanted you to see wasn’t the article content."
"Then?"
At that moment, a thought flashed through Suhyeon’s mind, and he looked back at the headlines.
"Hmm..."
"Figured it out now, huh? Not everyone, but people are starting to see you as a movie actor. Amazing, right? You’ve never even had a single film release, and here they are calling you a movie actor."
"I see. Did the company pull some strings?"
"Not at all. In the notoriously conservative and closed-off film industry, meddling rashly would backfire. Neither the company nor BJ touched this. It’s proof of how high the public’s expectations for you are. So..."
"So?"
"We’ve coordinated with BJ to push the schedule as far forward as possible. Soon, we’ll announce that you’re starring in this blockbuster new film. Strike while the iron’s hot, as they say. Meaning it’s time for you to focus on movies over everything else."
"Understood. I’ll wrap up my ongoing commitments as quickly as possible."
"Good. I’m counting on you. And..."
"Yes, Manager?"
"The AR team wants to meet you. What do you think?"
"AR team... You mean Audio & Recording?"
"Yeah. Team Leader Jeong asked me personally to set up a meeting."
Suhyeon took a moment to organize his thoughts at Park Dongju’s words.
Originally, I planned to meet them after Murang debuted and BBG made their comeback, once I’d built enough presence. But the AR team seems more desperate than I thought. Well, it all depends on what they bring to the table. Even if it’s earlier than planned, if I don’t like it, I can just walk out.
"I’m fine with it."
"Alright. I’ll make the call, and you meet them now. Best to handle these things right away. Dragging it out just breeds weird rumors in the office with no benefit."
"Got it."
A short while later, Suhyeon met the AR team in a conference room. After brief greetings, Team Leader Jeong’s group and Suhyeon stared at each other in heavy silence.
After a long pause, Team Leader Jeong let out a deep sigh into the air and spoke.
"Hoo. What’s the point of this staring contest? The thirsty dig the well... And when you bow, bow low. Suhyeon... or Suhyeon-ssi? How should I call you?"
"Call me whatever’s comfortable, Team Leader. We’re not strangers."
"You’re not the teenager I knew back then, so I’ll go with Suhyeon-ssi."
"Yes, Team Leader. Go ahead."
"I owe you an apology on multiple fronts. Let me say it sincerely. But... can I make a few excuses first?"
"Sure, let’s hear them."
At that, a big, skinhead guy sitting next to Team Leader Jeong flushed red with anger, kicked back his chair, stood up, and grabbed Suhyeon by the collar.
"‘Let’s hear them,’ my ass... I can’t believe this. We raised this ink-fresh kid up to here, and this is the bullshit he spouts."
Team Leader Jeong, watching in shock, shouted urgently.
"Seong-ho! What the hell? Let go of him now!"
"But Team Leader, you heard what this punk said. ‘Let’s hear it’..."
Suhyeon smiled faintly and gripped the man’s wrist with his right hand—the one holding his collar—squeezing firmly and then harder.
"...Ugh... Urk... Ack..."
The man groaned in pain and finally released the collar. Suhyeon let go of his wrist in turn and said calmly.
"Come to think of it, Speed Man hasn’t aired yet."
Seong-ho, still clutching his throbbing wrist, gritted his teeth.
"What nonsense is this punk babbling?"
"During Speed Man recording, I arm-wrestled Sunbae Kim Jeong-guk and won, but it hasn’t aired yet. If you want to test strength, I’m game anytime. Is that what you want?"
Team Leader Jeong’s face hardened at Suhyeon’s challenge.
"That’s not why we’re here. Seong-ho’s hot-tempered; forgive him. Let me apologize again. I’m sorry."
"Understood. It’s natural to get heated protecting your boss. Shall we continue?"
"Yes. Seong-ho! Sit down. If you pull that again, I’ll get really mad."
"...Got it."
Once things settled, Team Leader Jeong spoke.
"You know about that idiot distant relative of mine causing that absurd mess. I apologize sincerely for that. I even went directly to the victim to apologize. Sigh. As for my excuse... He’s a far-off cousin I barely knew. My mom asked through family ties, so I got him a manager spot at the company. You know how thankless the job is—low pay, hard work, no power. I figured he’d quit soon and didn’t pay much attention. Then... hoo..."
"I see."
"I’ve been here over ten years. People say I look cold and I’m not the friendliest, but no one’s ever called me trash. Have you ever heard rumors of me abusing trainees with my position?"
"Now that you mention it... I’ve heard you’re prickly, but never anything about harassment."
"Exactly. I hate that stuff pathologically. If someone under me did that, I’d smash them—no mercy. But that guy... sigh. He didn’t just tarnish my face; he got fired already."
Suhyeon pondered briefly before responding.
"Understood. I wasn’t going to let that slide, but you personally apologizing to the victim shows sincerity. I’ll consider it settled."
"Phew, thanks. Now, onto the other misunderstanding. My excuse: I’m just a salaryman. I follow orders from above."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard you’re pissed about the BBG members’ copyrights. Let me be straight."
"So it was an order from higher up?"
"Precisely this: You know the British recruits’ contracts differ a lot from trainee ones, right?"
"Yes, I’ve heard. Not the details."
"Yeah, I don’t know them either. What I know: Their deals are way better than yours or other trainees’, leaving the company with slim margins. So orders came down for BBG: Apply stricter rules than to regular trainees for revenue reasons."
"Hmm, I get the situation. But stealing others’ copyrights is still wrong."
Team Leader Jeong nodded silently to the man beside him.
"Min-seok, ready?"
"Yes, Team Leader."
Min-seok pulled out a laptop from his bag and started typing. Team Leader Jeong continued.
"I think you’re misunderstanding, Suhyeon-ssi. And honestly, I didn’t get it—how someone as musically gifted as you could misread this. You said you played dumb back then, so maybe... Anyway, I brought all the data. Check it yourself. No tricks—I stake AR team’s honor on it."
Min-seok finished, turned the laptop toward Suhyeon, and offered earphones. Suhyeon plugged them in and meticulously reviewed the files on screen.
To avoid disturbing him, the room fell into utter silence as time ticked by—nearly thirty minutes.
Suhyeon finally looked up from the laptop and removed the earphones. Team Leader Jeong asked anxiously.
"All those dates are accurate. Min-seok’s a programmer at heart; he’s meticulous. It’s identical to our office originals—no tampering. I swear on my daughter Hyeo-jeong’s name. What do you think now?"
"Team Leader, one question."
"Ask away. I’ll answer honestly."
Suhyeon met the tense gaze of Team Leader Jeong, who was watching him intently, and slowly opened his mouth.