The Side Job That Opened the Door
“When?”
“This Friday evening. It’s in Gangnam. Can you make it?”
“As long as it’s not too late, I should be fine.”
“It’s 7 p.m. If you leave work right away, you should be able to get there.”
“Oh, good. I can make that.”
“Then let’s meet then. I’ll send you the exact place by text.”
“All right. Sounds good.”
After we finished eating and stepped outside, Team Leader Han Su-a pointed at the cafe.
“I’ll buy the coffee as a thank-you.”
“Ah, in that case, I won’t refuse.”
“What would you like?”
“I’ll have an iced Americano.”
“Wait a moment.”
Before I knew it, instead of a meal with Park Assistant Manager, I had a dinner appointment with Team Leader Han.
Honestly, eating with a superior outside work hours was uncomfortable enough that I wouldn’t have done it even if I’d been paid to.
But after talking for a bit, our chemistry was weirdly good.
How should I put it? The “texture” of us as people felt similar, so instead of the usual awkwardness I felt around a boss, I actually felt a strange sense of camaraderie.
Still, Park Assistant Manager was probably going to feel left out.
But he’d understand.
Looking at how he was doing, it wasn’t even the sort of situation where I could have made the offer in the first place.
I’ll buy him a meal later, then.
Even if it wasn’t a blog sponsorship, I had enough room in my budget now to treat him to a drink.
Side jobs really are the best.
Once my pockets felt full, my whole mood seemed to loosen up with them.
***
Friday evening.
In front of Sushisakawaru.
“This really is a sponsorship?” Team Leader Han Su-a asked anxiously. “This place looks expensive. Do they even hand out free coupons to restaurants like this...?”
Her pupils were shaking hard.
Was I dragging her somewhere unreasonable?
Was I trying to treat my boss to something?
Or was this because she was interested in me as a man?
Either way, it would’ve been awkward.
And if you looked at her outfit, it was just her usual office wear.
Which meant she hadn’t been thinking about a date or being entertained in any romantic sense at all.
She looked at me carefully and asked, “Assistant Manager Kang. I thought this would just be a light meal to build team spirit and that sort of thing...”
“It’s a sponsorship.”
“Pardon?”
“I run a blog.”
I told her the truth so there wouldn’t be any misunderstanding.
“They offered a sponsorship through there.”
“Oh?”
“Actually, I was planning to go with Park Assistant Manager, but he’s out of his mind over coins right now. And it would be awkward to eat for two by myself. So I thought I’d come with you instead, Team Leader. You really don’t need to worry about it.”
Since I was afraid she might start suspecting something again, I even showed her the sponsorship email.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry.” Team Leader Han pressed her hands together, looking genuinely apologetic. “I went and misunderstood...”
“It’s fine. It really was free, so don’t worry about it.”
“Then let’s go in.”
“Yes!”
When we entered the restaurant, a narrow but comfortable space welcomed us.
“Please wait a moment, and we’ll have your meal ready right away.”
The chef greeted us politely.
“Oh, this is nice.”
She swept her gaze around the interior once, then opened the alcohol menu first.
“Would you like a beer? Draft beer is the best at omakase places like this.”
Then she added, a little embarrassed, “Oh, and I’ll buy the drinks.”
She’d misunderstood, and I was the one being treated, so the excuse was more than enough.
“Sounds good.”
“Two draft beers, please.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare them right away.”
Not long after, a glass of Asahi draft beer arrived, white foam bubbling over the top.
“I’ll enjoy this.”
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
We clinked glasses lightly and then drank in the cold beer.
Ah, this is good...
Even when you drank the same draft beer, it somehow tasted better in an expensive place like this.
“We’ll bring the pickles out shortly.”
“For the appetizer, we’ll have Japanese steamed egg custard.”
“This one is aged flounder sashimi. If you’d like, please try it with a little salt.”
“Here’s the sushi. We’re starting with sea bream. The seasoning’s already balanced, so you can eat it right away.”
“Is the rice amount all right for you?”
Noticing that I was left-handed, the chef even carefully adjusted the direction of the sushi when placing it in front of me.
They go this far?
They weren’t charging this much for nothing.
But unlike me, who kept marveling at everything and fumbling around, Team Leader Han seemed used to a high-end restaurant like this.
Starting from her base salary, her incentives were probably absurd too, so she’d likely had plenty of experiences like this.
Every time a dish came out, she took a photo.
And next to us, someone’s using a DSLR.
Click, click. The person was taking photos with a camera the size of a chunk of stone, and from the look of it, they seemed to have come here on sponsorship too.
I felt oddly shabby just using my phone.
“Oh, that angle is great.”
But Team Leader Han looked at my phone screen and burst out admiringly, “We’re using the same phone, so how does it manage to capture so much atmosphere?”
“It’s just a photo, really.”
“No, seriously. Is this the difference that comes with being a blogger?”
She smiled brightly and asked, “By the way, Assistant Manager, if it’s okay, could I take a look at your blog too?”
“...There aren’t many posts.”
“I’ll subscribe.”
“It’s just a hobby, so it’s fine. It’s a little embarrassing, too.”
I politely turned her down.
“I’ll tell you once it gets bigger.”
“Aha, all right.”
The blog was a kind of private space.
If people at work found out, I might not be able to write as comfortably as before.
And since I still had so few subscribers, that made it embarrassing too.
***
It was a new experience, and it was fun.
There was just one exception.
“About that ad. Wasn’t it a little too politically colored? I didn’t really like that part. The charm of an advertisement is that it should blend in subtly...”
“I think advertising is the purest form of commercial art. It’s not just about mise-en-scène, but about shaping people’s perception...”
“This industry is always so slapdash, anyway. It may look polished on the outside, but on the inside everything is just compromise after compromise.”
Except for the beginning, almost the entire hour and a half was spent talking about work.
I hadn’t exactly expected a date, but I hadn’t thought the meal would end up being filled with business talk like this either.
She really is serious about work.
At this point, she was a true professional career woman.
Not someone who adjusted her work-life balance so she could live comfortably like me, but someone who seemed to live for work itself.
Come to think of it, that was probably why she was already a section chief and TF team leader despite being only one year older than me.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“I enjoyed it too.”
Still, between the two of us, we’d each had three beers, six draft beers in total.
The catch was that the bill for alcohol alone came to 72,000 won.
As promised, Team Leader Han paid for everything.
“It feels like the tail is bigger than the body.”
“No, not at all. We ate well for pretty cheap, all things considered.”
With the buzz of a pleasant drink settling in, I cautiously suggested a second round.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m actually supposed to take a train home to my parents’ place tonight.”
She checked her watch as she spoke.
“If I stay any longer, I might miss the train. I’m taking my mother to the hospital early tomorrow morning, so we already planned to go together.”
“Oh, then that can’t be helped.”
“I’m not saying no because I don’t want to go. It really was already scheduled.”
Even after I said it was fine, she insisted on showing me her hospital reservation schedule.
“I’ll buy you a drink next time to make up for today.”
“Yes. Sounds good.”
“And I’m not saying that just to be polite. I mean it.”
Looking at her eyes, it was almost as if she was determined to set a date soon.
“Understood.”
“I’m heading out first!”
Team Leader Han waved and headed for the subway.
That feels a little disappointing.
I’d just gotten pleasantly tipsy, and then it stopped all at once.
Maybe I should grab a drink somewhere near home?
On purpose, I got off one station away.
I was strolling along the night streets, looking for somewhere to drink, when—
“You can’t come in here.”
A man wearing a shirt that said STAFF spread both arms and blocked the way.
Far off in the distance, I could see a cluster of cameras, lights, and broadcasting equipment gathered together.
“No, we’re just passing through.”
“Yes, but we’re filming right now.”
“Did you rent out the whole road or something? This is a public street.”
“We have permission.”
“Nobody said you could block civilians from walking through.”
“...Well, th-that’s true, but...”
“We’re late too, you know? Babe, let’s just go through.”
“Yeah.”
A few people slipped past the staff member’s control.
I stood a little farther away and watched.
They’re filming a movie?
Over there, a tall, slender man stood out dramatically from the rest.
Even in the middle of the night, with just one light on him, he was shining. Actors really were actors.
Maybe I should just watch for a bit.
It wasn’t like they were stopping people from looking, only from passing through.
Ding!
Suddenly, a notification popped up.
Four-Character Talent Unlocked.
“...Huh?”
I wondered if I’d read it wrong.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
“...Are you telling me to be an extra or something?”
Rank: B+
Passive Effect: When acting out a specific situation or character, immersion and charisma increase dramatically.
(This talent can be upgraded.)
The rank isn’t bad.
And on top of that, like an echo bouncing off a keyboard, the fact that it could be upgraded was definitely a plus.
“I don’t have any desire to become famous, though.”
Ever since I was a kid, I’d never once wanted to stand out.
Even when the school held a festival, I was naturally content just watching.
And even when the whole class performed something together, I preferred the back rows.
“Acting, huh...”
Maybe if an opportunity came to me by accident, that would be one thing.
I had no intention of applying for it on purpose.
Let’s just go home.
I quickly turned around and headed back.
***
“So, like this...”
Click.
“Second post, complete!”
Before the emotion from the sushi omakase had even faded, I’d intended to rough out a draft.
But once I actually started writing, the whole thing was finished in just an hour.
This is easier than I expected.
An hour of work for two servings of sushi omakase worth 120,000 won in total.
This is better than translating.
No, it was better than my actual job.
No wonder everybody’s trying to become a power blogger.
I was still only a beginner, so it ended at sponsorships for now.
But if the rank went up, I’d apparently start getting sponsorships for electronics like phones and TVs.
And they even paid writing fees per post.
I’m looking forward to the next hotel one.
That booking was a little backed up, so we were going at the end of the month.
I’d worried I might have to use annual leave, but fortunately it could be booked as a Saturday night stay.
Maybe I should do some translating this weekend?
I had a manuscript from before.
The deadline was still far off, but it seemed fine to start working on it now.
Tap, tap, tap.
As I was in the middle of translating for a while, when my concentration started to slip, I unconsciously hit Alt-Tab.
Acting
Rank: B+
It wasn’t a low rank, but I still felt reluctant to leave it sitting there unused.
Seeing the filming set earlier did look kind of fun.
I even wanted to take a look at celebrities I’d only ever seen on TV.
When I searched online, there was more information than I’d expected.
Leads, supporting roles, regular bit parts, image bit parts.
There were more roles than I’d thought.
“But I don’t really want to audition.”
This was an expert’s field from the start.
I just want to see what a studio looks like and maybe get an autograph from a celebrity or two, right?
So I kept searching, and what came up was...
“Extra work?”
I didn’t even need acting practice.
There was no training or preparation process at all.
“They pay this much?”
And if filming ran late, the hourly rate would go above 20,000 won.
Maybe I should go, just to see a celebrity once?