Forest of Flowers (1)
And so Woo Dan-wol became the first actor signed to Haesung Entertainment. As he toured the office building, he nodded in quiet admiration. A six-story structure. Though it was rented, the refined interior and its location in the heart of Seoul were undeniable advantages.
But was it merely flashy on the surface? Not at all.
The necessary spaces and welfare facilities were all properly in place. In fact, it was obvious they had cut corners on outward appearances. Yet nothing about it felt shabby or bland.
The more he saw, the more Woo Dan-wol realized just how capable Lee Hye-ri truly was. The entertainment industry was full of people bursting with passion but lacking real skill. From that perspective, her abilities matched her drive perfectly.
Even as a newcomer, he knew how difficult it was to rise to team leader at a major agency. You needed broad connections. You had to be good with people, yet never let yourself become a pushover. In the end, you had to deliver real benefits to the company.
“A stylist will be assigned for now…”
“What about the road manager?”
“I tried to find a man if possible. It proved a little difficult.”
Woo Dan-wol was twenty-four. Lee Hye-ri was twenty-nine. With a five-year gap between them, they had already agreed to drop the formal speech. Lee Hye-ri wore a thoughtful expression before asking carefully.
“If you’re all right with it, I’d like to take the role myself.”
“You, CEO? Would that be okay?”
“Yes. There are people who can handle the rest. The company can run without me for a while.”
It was a small, personal desire on Lee Hye-ri’s part. In any field, newcomers were adorable. And this wasn’t some raw stone—it was a jewel already perfectly polished. What veteran could possibly resist?
So she wanted to watch Woo Dan-wol’s growth up close. Even though they had only signed the contract today, she wanted to see every moment of his acting and his meteoric rise with her own eyes, even if it meant serving as his road manager.
“Is there any project you want to do?”
“All of them.”
She flinched. The moment the topic turned to acting, his face lit up and his eyes came alive with such intensity that even she—who was known for her own passion—was taken aback. It was a good thing. A very good thing.
“I like that attitude. For now, let’s clear the schedule you already have… Let’s do this well.”
“Thank you, CEO.”
“Hearing you call me CEO feels strange. I was always just the team leader.”
A natural smile spread across her face. Maybe it was that slightly dense look of his. He was undeniably handsome, but when his face was blank, he looked like he was simply spacing out.
Yet the instant the word “acting” reached his ears, that expression would snap into vivid life. To Lee Hye-ri, the contrast was incredibly endearing. It made him feel like a dear younger brother.
The two of them sat in the CEO’s office for a long while, talking about acting. They laughed, chatted, empathized, and occasionally even argued. But more than at any other time, both of them wore bright, refreshing smiles.
“It’s already this late…”
“Wow. I didn’t even notice the time flying.”
“I know. I should head home soon.”
“I’ll drive you. I am your road manager, after all.”
“Thank you, Noona.”
“Noona…?”
Perhaps because they had grown more comfortable, the word slipped out the same way he used to address his stylist in his previous life. Woo Dan-wol glanced at her, worried he had made a mistake, but her reaction was far from anger or discomfort.
“Even though you’re the CEO… calling you Noona feels a bit much, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, no. I may be the CEO, but right now I’m your road manager. I like it…”
As they walked out of the building, Lee Hye-ri’s expression grew complicated. She had gone to all-girls middle and high schools before entering the industry.
Naturally, she had never had any male friends. At best, her circle consisted of company colleagues and subordinates.
How long has it been since someone last called me Noona?
The word echoed warmly in her chest. They were bound as company and actor, as CEO and employee.
Yet human relationships could not be defined by titles alone. Feelings developed. Emotions could overturn professional boundaries.
As CEO, maintaining proper distance would be the correct choice. But since he was the actor who would carry the company into the future, becoming personally close couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? Between a company with vaguely favorable conditions and his previous one, anyone who didn’t obsess over money would choose the side they felt closer to.
Having rationalized it to herself, Lee Hye-ri decided to accept the title. Lost in thought, they soon arrived in front of his house.
“Noona, thank you for the ride.”
“Ah, yes! Of course…”
He bowed neatly. How could anyone have such bright manners? His character was flawless. Lee Hye-ri felt once again that leaving her old company had been the right decision. Only…
“Noona, Noona…”
On the drive back to the office, Lee Hye-ri murmured the word to herself. How many times in her life had she heard it? The fact that she couldn’t remember suggested it had been fewer than the fingers on one hand.
It was an ordinary title, yet it lingered in her heart for a long time. A small smile played on her lips the entire way back, and the drive to the company felt strangely pleasant.
“Time for overtime!”
Taking care of him and properly establishing the agency as a real force would require hard work starting now. She had to grow stronger and rise even higher.
Three days later, the first shoot for Forest of Flowers began.
For the first time, Woo Dan-wol rode in a van instead of taking a taxi or public transportation. The feeling was refreshingly new. It hadn’t even been a few months since he had woken up in this unfamiliar world, yet here he was, traveling to a set in a private van. The exceptional treatment brought a satisfied smile to his face. Of course, the main reason for that smile was the script in his hands.
“Dan-wol, we’re almost there. You’re not feeling carsick, are you…?”
“I am, but it’s fine.”
He was only human, so of course he felt motion sickness. Still, he focused hard enough to endure it. Watching him, Lee Hye-ri’s mental stack of Our Dan-wol is the best grew once again. Whatever the situation, good was good.
“We’re here. I’ll introduce you to the stylist as well.”
“All right.”
Woo Dan-wol entered the makeup room first. Given the character’s delicate image, makeup was crucial. And the stylist from Haesung Entertainment possessed skills so outstanding they seemed almost suspicious.
“You’re Dan-wol, correct?”
“Yes, hello…”
It was a man. Moreover, one year younger than Woo Dan-wol. An ordinary-looking guy. The kind of face that reminded him of his previous life? The fact that he was rather short seemed to emphasize that this was indeed a gender-reversed world.
However, his gaze felt burdensome. It wasn’t the simple joy of meeting someone new.
“His face is insane…”
He was the ultimate face enthusiast, and on top of that, a total eccentric. Those weren’t the eyes of someone looking at a person. They belonged to someone with unshakable values in his field—more like a nurse seeing a beautifully veined arm and wanting to draw blood, or a gamer spotting a long line of minions and itching to wipe them out with one skill.
It was a look close to raw desire. The urge to quickly mold this wonderful material and birth his own masterpiece.
“Sit down!”
“Yes…”
Thanks to Seong Ji-hoon’s endless chatter, Woo Dan-wol’s expression gradually darkened. In contrast, the work itself flowed without a single snag.
“Whoa…”
“As expected, your base tone is so light… anything would look good on you.”
Woo Dan-wol was impressed. Truthfully, he had been a little worried at first. This was a gender-reversed world, after all. He had feared they might apply heavy makeup or styles he simply couldn’t pull off.
“Right, I’m Seong Ji-hoon. I’m twenty-two, so feel free to speak casually.”
“Uh… sure.”
A man who put the job before self-introductions. Stylist Seong Ji-hoon. They said eccentrics attract eccentrics. Birds of a feather. This terrifyingly skilled man was undeniably a little off-kilter.
“As expected of Ji-hoon.”
“Noona…?”
Was it really no big deal? Woo Dan-wol’s expression grew more serious. A brief wave of regret hit him, but then he saw his own face in the mirror and pushed the thought aside.
The man sitting before him was perfect. That is, the villain of Forest of Flowers. Kang Min-hyeok.
Chilling? No—the better description was delicate and powerless. A villain who looked weak would create the opposite effect.
Because he had to stand against justice, he needed to radiate a vicious, scheming aura. That would be correct for a typical crime procedural. But Kang Min-hyeok’s role in Forest of Flowers was different.
To the characters inside the drama—not the viewers—Jin Da-yeon saw him as an ordinary man.
The fact that he was a ruthless psychopath was information only the audience possessed. That truth would bring both tremendous anticipation and a deeply serious atmosphere. Because over the course of the broadcast, it would drastically change Jin Da-yeon’s psychology.
Once the makeup was complete, Woo Dan-wol stood up. His manager and CEO, Lee Hye-ri, looked at him curiously.
“Bathroom break? There’s still thirty minutes until filming. You’ve got time.”
“No. I want to go greet everyone.”
“Ah, the director?”
“Something like that.”
Woo Dan-wol stepped out first. After exchanging a few words with Seong Ji-hoon, Lee Hye-ri quickly followed. She intended to do more than simply assist him—she wanted to go around introducing herself with a polite Please take good care of our actor.
But the moment she stepped outside, her feet stopped dead. The scene before her eyes had frozen her in place.
“Hello. I’m the new actor Woo Dan-wol.”
“Hello.”
“Hello, I’m the new actor…”
Lee Hye-ri’s mouth slowly fell open. Her eyes trembled. She rubbed them immediately.
“Am I dreaming?”
Her actor was greeting people without anyone telling him to. Images of the existing male actors flashed through her mind.
Hadn’t they only gone to greet the writer and director after reluctantly begging, as though they were doing everyone a favor? That was the common delusion among rising actors. They acted like they were already somebody, noses in the air, being difficult.
Occasionally tactless female actors behaved that way, but most male actors did it as well. What was even more ridiculous was the society that tolerated such behavior.
“Please take good care of me.”
“Yes. I’m Woo Dan-wol. Please take good care of me.”
Yet here he was, greeting every single staff member, even the minor actors with only a few lines, bowing and asking them to look after him.
Watching the scene, Lee Hye-ri felt an emotion she could not put into words. Something that resonated deep inside her heart.