[English title]
Lee Hui-yeong asked Oh Ju-young for a moment of understanding and stepped outside briefly with Deok-su.
“One of the marketing methods that sponsors and advertisers want most is airport arrival and departure photos… Well, no one knows that better than you, oppa.”
“I also know they’re the most expensive photos.”
“How could you just offer that so casually? And it’s not even a major company…”
It was the first time Lee Hui-yeong had ever rebuked him, yet Deok-su remained calm.
“It also means my image is recovering little by little. She’s the first one who came to me.”
“Still, this is too naive. It’s not like they’re a brand on the level of Burberry or Chanel…”
“Think about it. My image is only going to keep improving from now on. Right?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“Then isn’t it okay to play the fool a little right now? I’ve done whatever I wanted until now. I should take some losses. And the small loss I take today will return as much greater profit later.”
Lee Hui-yeong stared at Deok-su in a daze.
In truth, she already knew.
That it was better to give a little more now and build a good reputation in the industry.
She had simply been checking what was realistic because she didn’t know exactly what Deok-su wanted.
On the contrary, she was surprised that Deok-su had brought it up first.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was thinking about the person named Kim Deok-su. He’s so different from the one I first met…”
“After everything you’ve been through with me, you’re only realizing it now?”
After wrapping up their conversation, the two returned inside.
It hadn’t been a long time, but the iced Americano in front of Representative Oh Ju-young was nearly empty.
She swirled the ice with her straw for a moment before speaking.
“…I thought it over. The conditions are good. Wearing only our clothes at the airport for a whole year… But then I thought again—will L’Vyu even have official schedules that take him to the airport? And with Signature’s current situation being so unstable, it’s hard to call him an actor yet…”
“He could go more than ten times. How can anyone predict an entertainer’s future so recklessly?”
At the implication that it was an empty promise, Lee Hui-yeong drew a clear line.
“It’s all or nothing…”
“If he does go to the airport, our side will bring in the reporters. At this point, I think it should be enough to satisfy you, Representative…”
Lee Hui-yeong threw out the final condition.
The decision now rested with Representative Oh Ju-young.
She smacked her lips, then closed her eyes. She knew that no further concessions were possible.
Representative Oh Ju-young took documents out of her bag and extended her right hand.
“All right. Please take good care of us for the next year.”
“Thank you.”
“Just to be safe, I’d appreciate it if you could make sure to do at least one airport photo. I’ll also prepare the most suitable outfits every week…”
“I’ll do my best to make it at least three.”
When Deok-su showed such confidence, both Oh Ju-young and Lee Hui-yeong blinked in surprise.
But it wasn’t a bad thing.
Nothing looked more pathetic than someone without confidence acting weak and frail.
The contract was successfully signed.
Representative Oh Ju-young said she would come in person every Wednesday with the clothes.
“I’d like to talk with the stylist in charge… When can we meet?”
When Deok-su and Lee Hui-yeong smiled awkwardly, Oh Ju-young let out a sigh.
“…For the time being, I suppose I’ll have to coordinate with Manager Lee. Still, it would be better to have a stylist. I know L’Vyu has a great body frame, but a stylist is essential to bring out his full potential.”
Deok-su smiled sheepishly while Lee Hui-yeong could only laugh awkwardly.
My Hwarang, the OBC Monday-Tuesday historical drama racing toward its second half, had suddenly been swept up in controversy.
…
…
Bang!
Ham Seong-rak, managerial director of Gooreum Entertainment, slammed his fist on the desk.
Ju Eo-ryeong, Han Gyu-yeong’s manager standing in front of him, flinched.
“Why aren’t you blocking trash articles like this!?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Save your sorry for when you actually do your job properly! Ha… Where the hell is that bastard Han Gyu-yeong right now?”
“He’s at a club…”
Director Ham Seong-rak pressed hard on his temples.
That L’Vyu guy was calling in acting coaches every day for training, yet this one was grinding against women at a club…
But he was not the kind of incompetent director who only got angry and did nothing.
“Tell the boys not to leave Gyu-yeong’s side… Let’s put out the urgent fire first.”
After sending the manager out, Director Ham Seong-rak picked up the phone and dialed somewhere.
These days, Lee Hui-yeong was in a good mood.
The SNS she had been diligently managing was finally starting to show results.
On top of that, Kim Deok-su was shining brightly in the drama and turning public opinion in their favor. At this rate, all talk of withdrawing from Signature or calling him a good-for-nothing seemed destined to disappear.
Lee Hui-yeong uploaded photos of Deok-su wearing the outfits that Representative Oh Ju-young had personally coordinated.
Whenever she uploaded the outfit photos, Representative Oh Ju-young would always call.
“…The sponsored products are definitely selling well. If I’d known this would happen, I should have signed him as a model.”
“I feel good about it too. I’ll pass your message on to him.”
“Please do. At this rate I’ll get rich quick. Dinner’s on me next time.”
After ending the call, Lee Hui-yeong headed to the director’s office with the regular report.
She felt anxious every time she went to the director’s office.
Just by reading the atmosphere, she could immediately tell what the company thought of Kim Deok-su.
A nuisance. An abandoned child. No contract renewal. And so on.
Lee Hui-yeong understood it perfectly.
But she believed that with the current trend, the company would change its mind.
However…
“…They’re telling him to leave My Hwarang?”
Manager Director Lee Gwang-yong’s words left Lee Hui-yeong stunned.
“OBC contacted us a little while ago. They said there’s no reason for Mihyeonrang to appear anymore.”
“I don’t understand. If that’s the case, they should have contacted me. Why would they go to you, Director…”
Slap—
Director Lee Gwang-yong struck the desk with his palm.
“Why do you think? External pressure. Gooreum Entertainment apparently lodged a strong complaint with OBC. They claimed Kim Deok-su’s acting was severely interfering with Han Gyu-yeong’s performance…”
“Director, does that even make sense? And our agency is going to bow down to a place like Gooreum Entertainment…”
“Gooreum is also one of the top four agencies. There’s no need to escalate things unnecessarily.”
Lee Hui-yeong was dumbfounded.
The companies had already settled the matter between themselves.
Director Lee Gwang-yong approached her.
“These things happen in this industry. Your job is to make sure Kim Deok-su accepts it without too much shock…”
“No. I can’t do that.”
Director Lee Gwang-yong calmly admonished the fuming Lee Hui-yeong.
“Gooreum Entertainment yielded a spot they worked hard to secure. The Music Trend broadcast from Shukai TV in Japan. You know it, right?”
“It’s the debut stage for singers going from Korea to Japan.”
“They gave that up. Our ANG kids will debut on that stage this month.”
Lee Hui-yeong was speechless.
In the end, they had sacrificed Kim Deok-su and gained something else in return.
She looked at Director Lee Gwang-yong with eyes colder than ever before.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
Lee Hui-yeong walked out without looking back.
“…She has real talent. I need to separate her from Kim Deok-su as soon as possible.”
Unlike when she had gone up to the director’s office, Lee Hui-yeong now felt completely drained.
It all seemed like her fault.
Tears welled up from guilt.
After gathering herself for a moment in the empty break room, she picked up her phone.
She called PD Cho Hyung-deok, Writer Na Mi-yeong, and other contacts, digging around everywhere, but there were no clear results.
…How can I face oppa?
Lee Hui-yeong barely suppressed the first sense of failure she had ever felt and headed to the training room where Deok-su was practicing.
Deok-su, who had been practicing alone, was reading the script.
Lee Hui-yeong closed her eyes tightly outside the door, then opened them and faced Deok-su with the calmest expression she could manage.
“…Oppa.”
“Hui-yeong, what’s wrong? You don’t look well.”
“You… you probably don’t need to practice this anymore… Ah.”
As she spoke, a tear slipped from Lee Hui-yeong’s right eye.
Deok-su was startled and hurriedly handed her a tissue.
Wiping her tears, Lee Hui-yeong told him everything she had heard as calmly as possible.
“…So that’s what happened.”
“I’m sorry. I should have stopped it somehow…”
Deok-su shook his head.
There was no way a single manager could stop something the companies had decided together.
“Are you okay?”
“…What about you, oppa?”
“I’m angry. But being angry won’t change anything. I just have to accept that this is my current position.”
Unlike Lee Hui-yeong, who couldn’t swallow her resentment, Deok-su was composed.
Lee Hui-yeong felt dazed.
The current Deok-su felt like a middle-aged veteran who had been in the industry for decades.
“Sometimes I really don’t know about you, oppa… You seem like you don’t know this industry at all, yet sometimes it feels like you know it too well…”
Deok-su flinched inwardly.
His body had spent nearly ten years at the very bottom of the filming set as a background extra.
After experiencing every hardship imaginable—on the ground, in the air, even in space—this level of absurdity was nothing.
Of course, he still felt regret.
After all, it was the place that had given him his first chance to stand as an actor.
“Let’s give up any lingering hope that the company will support us. I need to move more proactively too.”
“Understood. I’m also going to stop thinking of myself as tied to JMT.”
“You don’t have to be that extreme.”
“I don’t want to see something like this ever again. I don’t want to just take it lying down…”
Vrrr—
Just then, Lee Hui-yeong’s phone rang.
After excusing herself, she answered. It was PD Cho Hyung-deok from My Hwarang, whom she had called earlier.
After greeting him, Lee Hui-yeong switched to speakerphone.
“…I’m truly sorry. I wanted to keep going with Deok-su until the end.”
“It’s all right. Thank you for saying that.”
“It’s not empty words. These days, it’s rare to see a rookie with that level of immersion. At first I had some prejudice because he was an idol, but…”
At PD Cho Hyung-deok’s praise, Deok-su scratched his cheek.
“You can always call me again next time.”
“Of course. Ah, the reason I called today… Are you free next week by any chance? It’s a set shoot…”
At the word “schedule,” both Deok-su and Lee Hui-yeong’s eyes widened.
A few days later, the two were on the set of the OBC morning drama Elegant Love.
“Oppa. Are you really okay with this? Taking on a role like this…”
“It’s fine. It’s not like I have the luxury of being picky right now.”
Leaving behind Lee Hui-yeong’s worried gaze, Deok-su stepped onto the set.
Veteran actor Im Tae-sik, who had arrived early, and the supporting actors were already checking their movements.
“Hello, sir.”
“Wow, so this is the friend cast as Jeong In-seong? Park PD, isn’t this casting absolutely perfect?”
Im Tae-sik lightly patted Deok-su’s shoulder as he bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
PD Park Hee-yeol, who had been talking with him, spoke up.
“Kim Deok-su, welcome.”
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’ll work my hardest.”
“I have high expectations. See you in a bit.”
PD Park Hee-yeol, pleased by Deok-su’s spirit, headed toward the monitor area.
Lee Hui-yeong asked while ironing the burgundy suit hanging on the rack.
“Oppa. Are you sure this role is all right?”
“What could possibly be wrong with it?”
“Still… roles like this can affect advertisements and your image…”
“Rehearsal starting!”
The assistant director’s loud voice rang out.
Deok-su put on the burgundy suit Lee Hui-yeong had ironed and patted her shoulder.
“Isn’t it better to do it well and get cursed at?”
The short rehearsal ended quickly.
Once everything was fully set, red lights turned on across the cameras.
“Ready, action!”
Deok-su narrowed his eyes and shoved the chest of the supporting actor in uniform with his finger.
“The person who gives money to bastards like you is my father. No matter how much you study or try, you’ll only ever end up licking the soles of my feet.”
“……”
Starting with PD Park Hee-yeol wearing a headset, everyone on set widened their eyes.
Deok-su’s words had grabbed everyone by the back of the neck.
Even though it was acting, the supporting actor’s eyes filled with tears, and even the cinematographer unconsciously let out a curse.
Crazy. He’s completely insane.
PD Park Hee-yeol cheered inwardly.
Just as Senior Cho Hyung-deok had said, Kim Deok-su was properly crazy.
…
…
My Hwarang, approaching its finale, was suddenly caught in an unexpected scandal.
Surprisingly many people believed the unverified tabloid rumors.
And on top of that…
Public opinion toward Han Gyu-yeong deteriorated rapidly.
Because of it, the offers that had been coming in steadily suddenly dried up, creating a major crisis in his career.
But Han Gyu-yeong remained unchanged.
He still had plenty of money, and there were still quite a few people who flattered him for being a celebrity.