Chapter 5
“······Look at you.”
The corners of President Kang Sang-mi’s mouth curled up.
Kim Deok-su was the infamous rich kid that everyone knew.
It was common for him to cancel schedules to buy limited-edition items and disappear overseas.
There had even been times when fans tried to touch his designer clothes and he had raised his fist more than once.
Something about simply organizing it as a show-off felt off.
“······well, fine. But what about security if I move into a place like this?”
“Worrying about security now would be a luxury.”
“Are you a scaredy-cat who’s actually quite bold? Do you want to taste the kind of milk that makes the neighbors’ kids clean up? Anyway, Tteok-su, I have one last question. Are you investing in land anywhere······”
“It was all spent on repaying debts. Would you like me to show the transaction records?”
Deok-su’s tone carried real emotion, and President Kang Sang-mi closed her mouth.
Kim Deok-su was rough around the edges, but he wasn’t the type to lie.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally relaxed her shoulders.
“······fine. Our Tteok-su, I’ll believe you this once. It’s worth running a story on. Our gossip writers have been all over Signature lately with dating rumors and such. It’s been so annoying. I need to vent some stress.”
President Kang Sang-mi hummed a tune as she waved him away.
Deok-su was about to leave when something occurred to him and he turned back.
“Um, President. Can I perhaps take lessons······?”
“Lessons? What kind of lessons······ training?”
President Kang Sang-mi tilted her head.
Kim Deok-su wanting training.
The same guy who had skipped practices and cried about not wanting to learn dance for albums.
“According to the contract, the company has an obligation to provide training if the agency requests it.”
“I’d like to receive training.”
“I’m surprised every day. All right. But I’m curious—what kind?”
“If possible, I’d like to hear all of it.”
Since he would be staying at the company for the time being, it was time to build his skills and competitiveness.
President Kang Sang-mi laughed lightly at his request.
“Sure. Tell the management team.”
“Thank you.”
President Kang Sang-mi stared at Deok-su as he left.
‘He died and came back different. Strange ambitions.
People don’t change, but this feels odd.’
Deok-su closed the office door and paused for a moment.
He let out a long sigh.
‘This is where it begins.’
It was an odd feeling.
Since he was an idol now, he had no desire to live the life of a nobody like his father.
His goal was simple: the top. Nothing else.
The trauma his father left had begun to sharpen Deok-su.
* * *
The morning after his meeting with President Kang Sang-mi.
Ding-dong.
Someone had come to Deok-su’s house.
When Sang-mi opened the door, the woman in front of the entrance bowed ninety degrees.
“Ah, ah, hello. This, this is Lee Hui-yeong, the new manager assigned to Senior Deok-su.”
The woman named Lee Hui-yeong was trembling far too much.
Deok-su let her into the house and Jeong-mi comforted her.
“Calm down. I’m not going to eat you.”
“Yes! It’s not like that······ heeik!”
Watching Hui-yeong sob with tension, Deok-su sighed.
‘The company must have spread quite a few stories about Kim Deok-su?’
Deok-su personally made the tea while Jeong-mi soothed the newcomer.
She was a three-month-old rookie.
Normally she would have been learning the driving job while picking up on manager duties, but somehow she had been assigned as Deok-su’s exclusive manager.
After listening to her story, Deok-su shook his head.
‘······The company must see Kim Deok-su as that much of a headache. No manager would want this.’
Deok-su felt grateful just for being offered a manager.
The young manager with the new car was cautious as she discussed the schedule.
“O, today there’s a practice schedule. Um, since I don’t know Senior L’Vyu’s schedule yet, I adjusted it to your schedule, Teacher, but is it okay?”
“It’s fine. And about the senior, call me Oppa. Exclusive, right? I’ll be easy on you too.”
“Eh? That’s······”
A manager was closer to an idol than anyone else.
Even if they sometimes received back slaps, they often shared ten or twenty years together.
Even as a rookie, Deok-su decided to get close to her.
Meanwhile, Hui-yeong grew even more cautious.
‘Be careful. If it goes wrong even a little, he starts cursing.’
‘He’s slept with several girls too.’
‘He ordered strawberry-banana-mango and made faces when the banana-mango wasn’t served. He’s not human.’
······
The bad-mouthing of the senior managers echoed in her ears.
‘If that’s how it is, they should have left.’
She hadn’t said it out loud, but it was on the tip of her tongue.
‘She’s wary of me.’
Deok-su noticed her large eyes trembling and changed direction.
Making her comfortable came first.
“You’ve heard many rumors about me, haven’t you? That one manager was a coffee spiller, another had coffee poured on his head······”
“That’s······”
“Tell me honestly.”
“······heeik.”
Hui-yeong was close to tears.
“I’ll be clear—nothing like that will happen from now on.”
“······yes?”
“It’s hard to believe right now. But I promise. Right now it’s hard to believe, but I promise.”
Hui-yeong blinked in a daze.
‘······Is he really changing?’
Someone else felt a quiet hope. Jeong-mi listened quietly.
But she didn’t show it.
She was his loving son, but also the one who had disappointed her greatly.
She simply hid those feelings and saw off her son to the company.
Deok-su rode in the car driven by Hui-yeong toward the company.
“The company has this kind of car too?”
The two people in the car were driving a kei car.
Deok-su found it strange.
Idols with managers usually drove minivans or vans. Even if they didn’t, they used sedans.
“It’s my car. D, does it feel uncomfortable?”
“It’s my first time riding a kei car.”
Deok-su realized his mistake and quickly changed the subject.
“Will I be charged for gas?”
“Ah, no. I only use it for commuting······”
“It’s business use when you drive me. We’ll go together later. I’ll cover the gas.”
Hui-yeong looked at Deok-su with puzzled eyes.
‘Does an idol know about these administrative procedures?’
The idols she had seen were mostly ignorant of such matters. She had assumed it was because she managed idols, but Deok-su’s words were unexpected.
After driving for a while, Deok-su asked,
“You mentioned meeting with the acting teacher today?”
“Yes. Professor Kim Hyeok-jung. Why?”
“What kind of person is Professor Kim Hyeok-jung?”
He was a successful fifty-something actor with a wide range from historical to modern dramas.
Deok-su had seen him as a supporting actor before, but never spoken directly.
“He’s a professor at Juwon University’s Department of Theatre and Film. He was assigned as the acting teacher for JMT because of his close relationship with the head office. Senior also received training from him······”
“Oh, right. It’s been so long I was a bit fuzzy······ I hope I don’t do anything rude.”
Deok-su felt a pang but pushed on like a slippery eel. There was no need to mention memory loss.
Fortunately Hui-yeong continued without suspicion.
“He has a great sense of pride in acting. He’s gentle but strict with students and juniors. He’s strict with training too. The idols who’ve received training have mixed feelings about it.”
“He sounds reliable.”
“Yes. If you don’t meet the standard or aren’t satisfied, you’re dropped, no matter the penalty. The company doesn’t complain if the teacher says to drop you.”
Deok-su steeled his resolve.
Reliable people didn’t always make things easy.
‘I’m taking acting lessons······’
Acting of all things.
What would his father think of his current self······
It was an odd feeling.
But since he had decided to do this, he was determined to do it properly.
The company arrived twenty minutes before the training session.
In the empty training room center, a camera and monitor were set up.
‘But what am I supposed to prepare for?’
Arriving early had been good, but he had no idea what to do before acting.
As a supporting actor, he had only memorized angles on the squad leader’s instructions.
Deok-su stood dazed around the camera when the door opened and a middle-aged man entered.
“What’s this, suddenly a lesson was scheduled and······ Kim Deok-su?”
“Nice to meet you.”
The middle-aged man looked at Deok-su with curiosity. He was Professor Kim Hyeok-jung of Juwon University’s Department of Theatre and Film and the acting teacher for JMT Entertainment.
“Living so long, you’ve seen everything. The latecomer comes this early. Who are you?”
“I’m Kim Deok-su, Teacher.”
“Well, that’s fine. But why acting class? Did the company shove you out?”
The remark would offend anyone, but Deok-su stayed calm.
“I came to learn properly.”
“All right, just watch and listen. I’ll check your voice.”
Kim Hyeok-jung smirked and stood beside Deok-su.
Deok-su had taken acting lessons with Kim Hyeok-jung several times. His attitude in class had been the worst among all students.
Skipping was the baseline, fighting was optional, and laziness was standard.
He was a madman who acted on impulse like an old idol.
Deok-su had tried to teach him a lesson a few times by slapping his cheek, but he was worthless garbage who didn’t even deserve to be slapped.
If Kim Hyeok-jung had known Deok-su was coming, he would have refused.
‘He’ll probably quit after a little while.’
When Deok-su stood relaxed, Kim Hyeok-jung placed his hands on his neck and chest.
“Say anything.”
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Kim Hyeok-jung’s hands moved from Deok-su’s chest and belly to his neck.
Kim Hyeok-jung, who had tried to make Deok-su speak again, shook his head as if he had known this would happen.
“What kind of singer squeezes his voice like that? It sounds metallic. Don’t use your belly and chest?”
“Sorry.”
“Of course. What do you expect from Kim Deok-su. All right. Let’s try something else.”
Even Deok-su thought Kim Hyeok-jung was going through the motions.
It was sad that memory loss couldn’t be used as an excuse.
Kim Hyeok-jung took a one-person play script from his bag and handed it over.
It was a one-person play where the king complained to his ministers and people on the day before being driven from the throne.
“The role of the king?”
“It’s for practice. The content is simple. Five minutes. Read it.”
The two-person play was simple.
It was a script turned into a one-person play of a day in the life of the king, who ruled his subordinates by day and was driven out by a coup.
He had to show both the king’s dignity and the wretchedness of being deposed, which was not an easy role.
‘This is my first time saying lines out loud.’
After a brief tension of saying lines for the first time, Deok-su read the script with all his energy.
Kim Hyeok-jung had known Deok-su had no intention of teaching.
Kim Deok-su’s legacy stood in Deok-su’s way today.
The five minutes passed quickly.
Kim Hyeok-jung, timing it with a stopwatch, snatched the script from Deok-su.
“All right, stop. Do it casually and comfortably.”
How had Kim Deok-su lived like that.
But the person standing here was not Kim Deok-su but Yu Ji-hyun. The responsibility for the result was Ji-hyun’s.
Deok-su gathered his voice and spoke his first line.
“I, the king······!”
The thick voice that suddenly burst out made Deok-su instinctively cover his mouth.
It was a voice full of dignity that he had never used before.
‘What, what the hell?!’
Kim Hyeok-jung’s eyes widened too.
It was just one line, but it sounded like a real king.
But something was wrong.
Human voices had limits. Yet the voice that came out was too different from Deok-su’s.
‘What kind of voice is this?!’
Regardless, Deok-su was in panic.