Chapter 250: Invitation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 250: Invitation
The counseling sessions were quite helpful. They were especially effective in putting the Spark kids at ease. The boys seemed greatly relieved that I was receiving professional help.
Even though I hadn't mentioned the suggestion to reduce my workload, I found that the comeback had been pushed back when I arrived at UA.
Knowing how cutthroat the music market gets at the end of the year, I asked if it was really okay to delay the comeback, but no one answered. I felt a little lonely.
I reset my negative emotion perception rate to the level it was when I first regressed. I decided never to touch it again. Relying on it felt like it was turning me into a shell of a person.
UA decided to handle the claim for damages against Hong Un-seop, and I received a separate settlement from the company as well.
In Hong Un-seop's case, he had intentionally fed me problematic food despite knowing about my allergy. Since it happened within the company and all the evidence was there, I heard the compensation amount was expected to be quite high. At the very least, he’ll have to cough up dozens of times what he earned at UA.
I even had security personnel assigned to me for external schedules. Once things around me were somewhat settled, my mind felt more at ease.
As I sat on the sofa organizing my diary, Kang Gi-yeon approached and asked, "What did they say at counseling?"
"To live selfishly."
Even though I don't think of myself as a particularly altruistic person, Kang Gi-yeon nodded.
"You really need to do that, Hyung."
"Me?"
I’m a totally selfish person. Even now, I’m only part of this team as an idol to satisfy my own personal desires.
"Am I not the selfish type?"
"You?"
Kang Gi-yeon looked at me as if I were talking nonsense. Lee Cheong-hyeon, who was standing nearby, let out a hollow laugh.
"If you were a selfish person, the Berion hyungs wouldn't like you as much as they do."
It sounded like a compliment, but his eyes were incredibly sharp. That brat—he still seems to hold a grudge over the fact that I speak informally with the Berion members.
While I was looking for a way to escape Lee Cheong-hyeon's piercing gaze, a message arrived on my phone. I grabbed it as if I’d found a savior.
However, instead of a savior...
[Gu Ja-han Sunbae]
[I-wol-ssi]
[Do you happen to have any free time?]
...I received a message from an unexpected person.
[Me]
[Hello, Sunbae-nim. What's the matter?]
I sent the text, but the reply didn't come immediately.
By the time I finished practicing harmonies for the pre-release track with the boys, a response had arrived.
[Gu Ja-han Sunbae]
[There's something I'd like to consult you about.]
What could he possibly... want from me?
To be honest, I didn't give a damn about Gu Ja-han’s request.
But Spark is an idol group with a comeback scheduled for next month. I figured if a single counseling session could get an established actor to post a promotional message on his social media on our comeback day, it would be a bargain.
CEO, are you watching? I’m working this hard to save on Spark’s marketing costs.
So please, give Min Ju-gyeong-nim a raise so she can bring in more of her acquaintances.
Gu Ja-han and I decided to meet at his house. There were many interests at play here.
First of all, the Spark members weren't going anywhere near the UA staff areas at the moment.
Furthermore, it wouldn't look good if I, the only member of Spark with acting experience, was seen going to Gu Ja-han’s agency.
I wasn't keen on meeting in public either. After all, it hadn't been that long since I collapsed in a crowded meeting room. I wasn't sick, but I decided to play it safe until the comeback.
That left either the Spark dorm or Gu Ja-han’s house. I couldn't bring myself to make the five boys uncomfortable just to host my guest, so I had no other choice.
— If it's more comfortable to meet at UA, I can go there.
"No, thank you. We're currently in a bit of a standoff with our agency."
— Oh?
After I vaguely signaled my reluctance to meet at UA, Gu Ja-han readily sent his manager to pick me up.
Thanks to that, I had the experience of riding in someone else's car to someone else's house. I had informed Manager Chan-yeong in advance.
Gu Ja-han’s reaction when he saw me after I took off my hat and mask was quite intense.
"I-wol-ssi, are you sick?"
"My manager said the same thing. I'm perfectly fine."
"Your complexion doesn't look fine at all..."
He then clamped his mouth shut.
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"
"I just had a health checkup recently."
"What did they say at the hospital?"
"They told me to make an appointment and come back."
"Doesn't that mean something's wrong?"
"It's better than them telling me to come in immediately."
Gu Ja-han frowned at my words.
"Is UA overworking their idols? Is that why things are tense?"
"It's nothing like that. What I said over the phone was half-joking."
"Fine, just sit down for now."
I gave a small bow and sat in the chair Gu Ja-han pulled out for me. The dining table was laden with food—dishes I didn't even know the names of.
"If you haven't eaten yet, please eat first before we talk."
"Do you think I prepared all this just to eat by myself?"
"I'm on a strict diet."
"Does UA really tell you to diet even after seeing your face?"
No, they actually tell me to eat.
But when I think about the fansite masters struggling to edit my jawline, I prefer to manage it myself...
"I'm an actor too. We're in the same boat when it comes to managing ourselves, so don't worry and eat."
Gu Ja-han pushed a plate of food toward me.
I couldn't even begin to guess what kind of massive favor he was going to ask for to go this far.
Gu Ja-han’s cooking was surprisingly delicious. Since we didn't have much to talk about, I just focused on eating.
Oh, we did do a belated self-introduction of sorts.
— I-wol-ssi... you said you're in your early twenties, right?
— Yes, I'm twenty-one.
— That really feels like a lie.
Yes, it is a lie. If I hadn't regressed, I'd be thirty by now.
Wait, would I have made it to thirty? I probably would have died before then.
— Did you always want to be an idol, I-wol-ssi?
— It was an unexpected career path.
After some small talk like that, the meal ended. Gu Ja-han asked as he cleared the plates, "What can I get you to drink? Coffee?"
"No."
I almost snapped. I calmed myself and said, "I can't drink coffee. Water is fine."
"I have green tea. Should I make you some?"
"I'm sorry, I can't drink that either."
Gu Ja-han looked puzzled.
"...Are you uncomfortable with me, by any chance?"
"Not at all. It's just that I can't consume anything with caffeine."
"There's caffeine in green tea?"
With that, Gu Ja-han quietly brought me some warm water.
See that, you bastard Hong Un-seop? If someone says they can't eat something, don't give it to them.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you, I-wol-ssi," Gu Ja-han began.
Does this man have anything to ask of me? He probably has more money and more influence in the industry than I do.
"Well..."
Gu Ja-han hesitated, his lips twitching as if he were about to speak. Then, what he said was...
"...Never mind."
...That was it.
"Excuse me?"
It was utterly absurd. At this point, I wondered why he had even called me here.
Spark’s career hasn't even reached 10% of Gu Ja-han’s, but this is frustrating. I came all this way when I should be focusing on practice for our comeback. Of course, no one is actually telling me to practice hard, but still.
"Please, go ahead. I can't just leave after you've treated me to a meal."
"It's just that you don't look like you're in a state to be doing favors for anyone right now, I-wol-ssi."
"I might look like this, but I'm perfectly fine on the inside."
As long as I don't leak heavenly secrets, don't ride amusement park rides, and don't eat food that causes side effects... Wait. There are actually quite a few things I shouldn't do.
I'm not sure if he believed me, but Gu Ja-han left the room for a moment and returned with two stacks of paper. They were drama scripts.
"I have to choose my next project, but I'm not sure which one would be better. Could you take a quick look?"
"I can't exactly predict future viewership ratings. Is that okay?"
"Do you think I called you here to ask that? I called you because I wanted to see which one you think would suit me better."
"Hmm."
One was a steadfast and righteous male lead, and the other was a significant villain role—someone who grew up to be self-centered due to a dark past.
This was tricky. Even though Gu Ja-han had turned over a new leaf, there was no telling if he would be a "Semi-Department Head Nam" or a "Newborn Gu Ja-han."
"Which role are you more drawn to, Sunbae-nim?"
I cautiously asked for his opinion first. If his ego was still inflated, I planned to just play along.
"They're about equal. One allows me to maintain my status as a lead actor, and the other is similar to the Ji Seong-in role, just to a different degree, so it would be comfortable to act."
Surprisingly, Gu Ja-han was quite honest. Not many people can admit they are weighing their paycheck against convenience.
"And there isn't a particular narrative that you like?"
"You can tell by looking, right? The content is similar for both."
Oh, he must have read them to the end. Back during In My Office, it was obvious he had zero interest in studying the script.
Since it felt like he genuinely wanted to hear my opinion, I started to use my brain as well.
"Do you want an honest opinion, or an opinion that boosts your confidence?"
"The former."
"Then the villain role would be better."
"Why?"
Gu Ja-han asked, resting his chin on his hand.
"First, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to aim for lead roles when the industry doesn't fully recognize you as one yet. Second, rather than trying various roles, I think it would be better to approach it with the mindset of more deeply researching a role you've already been praised for."
"You really can't sugarcoat things, can you, I-wol-ssi?"
"I can if you ask me to. But I didn't think that's what you wanted."
If Gu Ja-han got offended or told me to stop, I’d have nothing more to say. I did feel like I might have been a bit too blunt.
But...
If someone wants to change but doesn't know how, it's hard to just ignore them.
There were a few people like that at Hanpyeong Industry. People who weren't good at their jobs but didn't know how to improve, so they just flailed around.
Those people change quickly once someone nearby shows them the right way.
Some might say that observing and learning on your own is part of professional life, but it just doesn't sit right with me to not help someone when the solution is right there.
"I apologize if my remarks were out of line."
"No."
Gu Ja-han waved his hand.
"About deeply acting a role I was praised for... won't people say I'm just repeating myself?"
"Won't there be criticism no matter what role you take? Not everyone in the world shares the same standards of judgment."
"I suppose..."
"This is just my opinion, but I think it's easy for someone who has reached the top in one area to challenge something else, but it's quite difficult for someone who has only dabbled here and there to succeed."
The deeper you delve into something, the broader your perspective becomes. Take Assistant Manager Kim from the HR team at Hanpyeong Industry—he never changed departments in his life, yet he ended up handling everything from accounting to general affairs.
The role of an arrogant and cold intellectual is a common one in dramas. If Gu Ja-han masters this role, the reaction will be, "Gu Ja-han is perfect for this kind of part."
And from there, it will be easier to take on various roles derived from that—villains who are indispensable to dramas or movies, and thus must be as significant and charming as the leads.
If Gu Ja-han improves his acting skills just a bit more, by the time people start saying he's repeating himself, he'll be able to take on a much wider variety of villainous characters.
In the conservative world of Korean dramas, the protagonist must be good, but villains can be evil in all sorts of ways.
And eventually...
"I hear OTT platforms are producing a lot of experimental scripts."
"That's true."
"There's a trend of protagonists who aren't good—characters who are so excessively human that they trigger an uncanny valley effect."
"...!"
...A new path to lead roles would open up for Gu Ja-han.
"I'm asking this again in all seriousness... are you really twenty-one, I-wol-ssi?"
"Yes. Do I look that old?"
"Sigh..."
Gu Ja-han pressed his hand to his forehead. It would be a problem if an idol was already "wilting." I should start focusing more on my skincare from today.