9
**Chapter 9 (Part 1)**
"Wow! They finished filming in a single take? That means your acting was incredible!"
That sounded like the opening line of a drama.
Whenever you watch a drama, there's always that "main character's friend" who starts an episode by summarizing what
happened previously with a line just like that.
"Hana. Lower your voice a little first."
After glancing toward the entrance, I quietly spoke so only Hana could hear.
"So what? There are barely any other customers here."
"It's still a public place."
We were currently at a comic café near Sinchon Station.
After seeing my message saying filming had ended much earlier than expected, Hana couldn't contain her curiosity and
came looking for me.
Her final exams were just around the corner.
If the two of us stayed together in my tiny goshiwon room, there was no way either of us would get any studying done. So
we searched for a place where we could talk, study, and even enjoy a little date together, and ended up here.
"Besides, we're in a private room."
Hana narrowed her eyes.
"Nice try. No."
As she quietly leaned closer, I held up my palm to stop her.
"Hmph. It's not like I'm some puppy begging for snacks."
"You're not?"
"...Anyway, what happened?"
There honestly wasn't much to tell after that.
"The filming just ended early. They said they'll let me know today's schedule for the next shoot."
Ah.
There was one more thing.
"They said they want to introduce me to CS Entertainment."
I took a business card from my wallet and showed it to Hana.
"Huh? That's Manager Choi's card."
The card belonged to Choi Younggil, a manager at CS Film.
"We'd like to introduce actor Kang Jihoo to CS Entertainment. Would that be alright?"
It's a little embarrassing to say it myself, but apparently my acting today left quite an impression.
Manager Choi Younggil wanted to connect me with CS Entertainment, the talent agency under the same CS Group.
"Oh, and could you give me actor Kang Jihoo's contact information? I'll pass it along to CS Entertainment first so they
can contact him sometime today."
Judging by that, it didn't sound like a casual offer.
"That's great! I was worried because you still don't have an agency."
Hana's face immediately brightened.
She must have been genuinely worried about me going to filming alone without either an agency or a manager.
"CS Entertainment is good. I'm not saying that just because it's my family's company. It's one of the top agencies in
the industry."
"Hmm..."
I already knew that.
But even so, there was something that made me hesitate before signing with CS Entertainment.
"Is it because of my dad? You're worried he'll hear about it?"
"...Yeah."
Since I was talking to Hana, there was no point hiding it.
Her father was both a director of CS Media and the CEO of CS Film.
CS Entertainment wasn't directly under him, but it belonged to the same corporate group and the same industry. There was
no guarantee news about me wouldn't eventually reach him.
"Then should I tell my aunt in advance?"
"Uh... your aunt?"
Hana's aunt.
Yoo Euiju.
The only daughter among the four sons and one daughter of the CS family, and the current CEO of CS Entertainment.
"I don't think we need to tell her beforehand."
"There's no reason to hide it either. It might actually be better to be open from the start. Aunt's on my side."
She had a point.
Chairwoman Yoo Euiju was the only member of the Yoo family who had ever shown me genuine kindness.
"She could even tell the employees not to let Dad hear about you. Anyway, you can trust her."
"Hmm... Alright. I'll think about it."
In my previous life, having an agency had never been that important.
Whenever filming started, I practically lived on set, so I barely needed a road manager.
Even when I wasn't filming, it was the same.
All I did was stay home reading scripts.
There wasn't much anyone needed to take care of.
At most, I received help with styling and makeup.
Everything else...
Hana handled for me.
"This time... it'll be different."
To be continued.