The Birth of Haesung Entertainment
Haesung Entertainment. Chapter 12. Haesung Entertainment.
Lee Hye-ri was a theater addict. At the very least, she attended every Friday. On more relaxed weeks, she would show up on both Saturday and Sunday. Her love for acting ran that deep.
It was possible because it was something she genuinely loved, beyond mere professional duty. But now, she hadn't set foot in Daehak-ro for an entire month.
This wasn't just because she was busy. It was closer to obsession. She didn't smoke, but if she had to choose, she'd rather quit smoking than stop visiting Daehak-ro.
Just how remarkable and noble was that? Excluding truly hectic periods, it was undoubtedly an unprecedented event in human history.
The day she watched Woo Dan-wol's performance, Lee Hye-ri wrote her resignation letter and founded a new company. It was truly insane.
She had been a team leader at E-Doon Entertainment, one of the top three agencies in South Korea. The salary was excellent, and the position came with widespread recognition. Yet she had bolted from the company to build her own.
Its name was Haesung Entertainment. It was the first word that had come to mind when she first saw Woo Dan-wol.
She rented a building and devoted herself entirely to work until she could properly equip the office. It was no exaggeration to say she worked all day, every day. She ran around to every place her feet could take her, getting involved in everything.
It was the culmination of ten years of know-how. Now, all that remained was to recruit actors who would work under the company. In truth, several people had reached out to her personally.
But Lee Hye-ri had politely turned them all down. There was one person she wanted to recruit first. And so, after a long time, she stepped foot in Daehak-ro again.
However, she had no idea.
"Excuse me..."
"Yes?"
"When does the male actor who used to perform here usually go on stage?"
"I'm not sure..."
She hadn't known that the man she had set her sights on wouldn't always be there. Before the performance, the person introducing the cast was a woman she didn't recognize. The nameless boy had become a girl. What an absurd turn of events!
They had really cut it off. The heavens truly were indifferent.
Of course, from Lee Hye-ri's perspective, it was even more baffling. It was rare for an actor to be suddenly replaced in the middle of a theater company's run. The profiles posted for ticket promotion and on reservation sites had reflected that as well.
Should she call it good luck? After asking a few more staff members, she quickly learned the answer.
"Ah, you mean Senior Dan-wol...?"
"Yes! That's him! The Nameless Boy!"
"Ugh, yes... He was kicked out after that day."
"Why?"
"Ah, please don't ask for the reason. But I think you can probably guess."
Lee Hye-ri's expression crumpled. Normally, if it was a personal matter or some other issue, they would explain it together. Even to an outsider, they were hiding it like this? Something about it felt fishy and dirty.
She decided to handle the theater company's affairs later. For now, finding Woo Dan-wol was the top priority.
Finding someone in South Korea was truly difficult. Even for those who dreamed of becoming celebrities, it was common for people to abandon their acting dreams overnight.
Just as she was feeling overwhelmed by the task of locating him...
"Huh...?"
The CEO of Haesung Entertainment had found her person.
What on earth was this? Why was the actor she was looking for floating around in a spam text? Well, he was certainly handsome. They had straight-up used a photo of a man sitting on a cafe terrace.
The first thing that came to mind was that it was illegal, but private gambling itself was already illegal in Korea. Since they were already committing a crime, what did violating portrait rights matter?
Lee Hye-ri saved the photo and immediately began googling. The world had become so convenient these days that you could search using images instead of words. And there it was—the solution to the puzzle that had refused to unravel.
When she clicked on the first title that appeared, she learned the drama's name and why it had become such a hot topic.
Maybe the timing had been bad. Lee Hye-ri, whose job involved checking entertainment news every day like clockwork, had been so focused on work for the past month that she had temporarily set the news aside. And there it was, reported in plain sight.
"Okay."
Whatever. She had found the clue. Now all she had to do was track him down and make her pitch.
And that was exactly what Lee Hye-ri was best at—rolling up her sleeves and going out into the field herself. Now that she knew about the drama, finding him would be a piece of cake. It made sense. She was someone who had survived more than ten years in this industry and risen to become the team leader of a major agency known for its good reputation. No, she should say she was now the CEO of Haesung Entertainment.
After the script reading ended and he arrived home, Woo Dan-wol let out a long, endless sigh. The reason was the incident that had just occurred on the subway. He knew it made no sense, but what could he do about something that had already happened?
"Young man."
"Yes...?"
A woman who looked to be in her fifties—no, sixties?—somewhere between auntie and grandmother—had spoken to him. The reason was none other than to get his number.
He had tried to politely decline, but he realized her aura was anything but ordinary. In the face of this unbelievable reality, curses nearly spilled from his lips. He was about to appear in a drama and become a public figure. Bad social skills toward fans or others would act like poison.
Even before such calculations, Woo Dan-wol found her terrifying. The average height of women in this world was quite tall. A staggering figure close to 170 centimeters. Yet they didn't look grotesque or monstrous.
Proportionally, they rivaled models from his previous life. The average woman walking down the street had a model-like height. But he had come to realize it wasn't all good.
"Give me your number. I'm asking nicely."
"Ah, yes. Yes..."
An aging grandmother was taller than Woo Dan-wol. The pressure she exuded was no joke. She clearly belonged to the category of people who looked unstable at first glance. Refusing outright would be the worst move.
In times like these, giving in was the best option. First, to avoid further conversation. Second, because she had spread both arms wide, clearly signaling she wouldn't move unless he gave her his number. And third...
"I won't move until you give me your number!"
"Here, here. I gave it to you."
It was the first time in his life Woo Dan-wol had seen eyes that looked like they truly intended to do something to him. The overwhelming gaze made his past self—who had been called a manly man—look pathetic by comparison.
Once he gave her the number, she returned to her seat with a satisfied smile. It was like a scene from a horror movie.
Since the subway wasn't crowded, the auntie—no, grandmother—who had been heading back to her seat turned her head. She lifted her smartphone and called the number he had just given her. A ringtone sounded on Woo Dan-wol's phone. The moment he answered, she heard his voice, nodded with a satisfied laugh, and hung up.
He got off at the next stop and ran for his life. It was truly terrifying. Woo Dan-wol once again keenly felt that this was a gender-reversed world.
Back to the present.
Having returned to his room, Woo Dan-wol felt genuine anxiety for the first time. Even his younger sister had left the house, saying she had plans.
The fact that the grandmother already had his number made his body tremble like a leaf in the wind.
At that moment, a text message rang. It was her.
......
Praying desperately that it wasn't her, he sent a reply.
The other person's icon showed the ... indicator. Meaning they were typing. About two minutes passed.
Should he block her? Change his number? No, what should he do? Woo Dan-wol's mind, soaked in fear, couldn't function properly. For now, he decided to use the life skills he had accumulated over twenty-five years.
He had deliberately waited five minutes before sending it, hoping her feelings would cool down. But the reply came back immediately.
"Fuck... Ji-hoon-hyung..."
Woo Dan-wol finally couldn't hold back the curse. To the point that he even called out the name of his former road manager from his previous life. He was now truly feeling the desperate need for an agency.