Guard Trouble and Go Boards the Size of a Field
(Cheon Yua. Representative Ju.)
While Representative Joo Seokcheon handled the bulk of Flame Entertainment's internal operations since taking his post as CEO, there were still matters that occasionally required Cheon Yua's direct touch.
For instance, the recent problem with the guards' misconduct.
They were currently working under Flame, but they were officially members of the S&M Guard, and the matter stretched all the way back to S&M headquarters. It wasn't something a mere CEO could carelessly meddle in.
Which meant that Cheon Yua was the only person in the company who could put in a word with S&M's head office — in other words, it had to be her.
"This is an utter mess."
Looking over the report, Cheon Yua couldn't help but groan.
Not one thing in it was acceptable. The fact that it had taken a full three days for the report to reach her desk after the incident occurred. The fact that one of the guards had picked a fight with an affiliated actor. And the fact that racially charged remarks had been thrown around in the process.
She understood that the guards were floundering — she had previously lived as a shut-in at home, and now she was eating, sleeping, and working in the building, which meant far more contact with outsiders. But that was no excuse for how disheartening this all was.
"So. You're telling me a guard actually got into a sparring match with Siwoo? Is this a joke?"
"Apparently so."
"And this was three days ago... but Siwoo is perfectly fine?"
"He won. Baek Siwoo did. He was the one who requested the spar in the first place, in fact."
"What even is this now."
The guard who had squared off against Baek Siwoo was no slouch — a seasoned veteran who had spent years grinding through the Navy SEALs.
And yet Siwoo had been the one to challenge him. And he'd even won.
At this point it was practically a comedy sketch.
"What went wrong? No, never mind — I can guess. They escort me during meals and acting practice, so it has to be the dawn workouts, right? If that's the problem, why don't the guards just exercise at the same time as me?"
"That would be because of your workout attire, miss..."
"What is this, the Joseon Dynasty? I'm covered head to toe. What on earth is the problem?"
Representative Ju swallowed his words.
Privately, he wanted to argue that those leggings — fully clothed or not — were far more dangerous than moderate undress ever would be. But it was obvious the effort would be wasted.
Cheon Yua simply could not tolerate anyone suppressing or restricting her. Dragging this conversation out would only sour both their moods.
"And racial slurs, on top of that... is everyone out of their minds? Most of Flame's staff are Korean, and these people pull racial discrimination here?"
"Captain Rick has reported to headquarters and says he'll personally arrange the guard's immediate repatriation."
"Obviously. Rick should take responsibility too. Honestly, I'd love to ship the lot of them back while we're at it..."
"That would be difficult, as you know."
She knew the guards thought of nothing but her protection. Still, this incident had crossed a line.
Racial discrimination against anyone was unacceptable — but the target had been Baek Siwoo, of all people.
If Siwoo took genuine offense at this and decided to go home, it would spell disaster for her as well. She was only just beginning to gather clues about the nightmares. Under no circumstances could she let him slip away now.
"Ha. Fine. File a formal protest, through and through. Tell them if this happens one more time, I won't be holding back either."
"Understood. I'll report as much."
"And send a separate message to Captain Rick. Tell him to fix his reporting chain from the ground up. Fine, they're S&M personnel — but they're living in Flame right now, aren't they? Why did this report take so long to reach me?"
She was well aware that headquarters resented her being out in Korea at all, and that they harbored little goodwill toward Representative Ju either.
But as long as the guards were living in the Flame building, routing reports through this office was plain common sense. The fact that this one had arrived three days late made it clear it had been filtered through headquarters first — and she had no intention of tolerating that sort of outrage going forward.
"And tell them to leave Siwoo alone. If this happens one more time, they can spar with me instead."
"...I'll pass that along."
And so, roughly, the guard situation was settled.
A formal complaint would be hurled at S&M Guard headquarters, while Rick, the leader of the dispatched guards, would receive a separate warning. With Cheon Yua issuing the warning personally, the guards would hardly be able to act with the same reckless abandon as before.
Except one problem still remained — how, exactly, to manage Baek Siwoo, who was flailing about like a stray mongrel.
Even if he wasn't working on a production at the moment, what kind of actor spars with his own security detail?
And the fact that he'd come out without a single scratch, hale and hearty as ever, was somehow even more absurd. No matter how she turned it over, the man was not operating with an ordinary mind.
Then again — that was presumably how he'd ended up assaulting a senior actor mid-shoot, wasn't it?
She couldn't claim not to understand the feeling, having a somewhat similar episode in her own past. But the man clearly needed managing.
"From the look of things, the guards are more necessary for Siwoo than for me. He hasn't assembled a team yet, has he?"
"No, we're scouting candidates, but nothing is urgent yet, so we're being deliberate. Baek Siwoo is an important asset in many respects."
"Then assign one of the guards as his manager. As for a coordinator... Seojin would be perfect."
"Seojin with you, miss—"
"I have Leia, don't I? One person is plenty to handle me on set."
After a moment's consideration, Cheon Yua decided to attach one of her own long-serving coordinators to Baek Siwoo.
The woman was sharp-eyed and quick-witted; she'd move fast to smooth things over before anything could blow up. And if something strange did happen, she was the trustworthy sort who would never let a word of it leak outside. In other words, exactly the kind of person Siwoo needed at his side.
From Cheon Yua's perspective, Baek Siwoo had become nearly as important as she was — spending her own people on him cost her nothing at all.
And so, under Cheon Yua's direct orders, Baek Siwoo's team came together in the blink of an eye.
Team Leader Seo at the helm, one guard, one coordinator. Every last one of them hand-picked through Cheon Yua's influence.
"So then — how have you been faring lately?"
"Ah, the nightmares? Fine. I haven't had a single one since I moved into this building."
"I see. You did look to be in good condition, so I suspected as much."
With the official business more or less settled, the conversation drifted into a catch-up talk. It was only natural — Cheon Yua had moved into this building for a purpose, after all.
And Representative Ju was every bit as sensitive about this particular matter as she was. He wanted to know exactly where things stood.
"The nightmares are completely gone. There's definitely something about Siwoo."
"Is that so?"
"Though the strange dreams I keep having are a bit unnerving."
In the time since following Baek Siwoo into this building, Cheon Yua had not suffered a single nightmare.
Do you have any idea how joyous that was? Having finally escaped them, she had no desire whatsoever to return to those days of being tormented night after night.
Except there was one problem — in place of the nightmares, she kept having these strange dreams.
To be sure, it was a trivial matter compared to the nightmares, not even worth comparing. But it was undeniably odd.
Every single dream featured Baek Siwoo. That, too, seemed less than insignificant.
And the contents themselves were all utterly incomprehensible.
"What sort of dreams?"
"Hmm... well, last night, for instance."
"Yes?"
"I dreamed I was playing Go. I was wearing one of those Chinese martial robes straight out of a wuxia film, playing Go. With Siwoo."
"Is that so? But I understand you can't actually play Go, miss..."
"Exactly, that's what's strange about it. And that wasn't even the end of it. We weren't just playing an ordinary game of Go..."
That was the day she'd spent a pleasant afternoon playing soccer with Baek Siwoo.
That night, she met him in her dreams.
A dream in which she, clad in black martial robes, played Go against Baek Siwoo.
Her playing Go at all — a game she couldn't even grasp the rules of — was strange enough. But what truly defied belief was that the game itself was nothing ordinary.
They were playing on a Go board the size of an athletic field, using stones the size of a grown person.
"Wait — how does one even play Go with stones that enormous?"
"Well, you know how it is in wuxia movies. Objects floating in midair."
"Ah — Void Object Manipulation?"
"Yes, that. That's how I was moving the stones. I mean, honestly, what even is that?"
"...Well, it is remarkable."
"That's not all. Out of nowhere, I got angry and blew the entire Go board to pieces."
"I believe you just described that board as the size of an athletic field?"
And that was the true highlight of the dream — enraged, she had simply annihilated the board on the spot.
Good heavens. It wasn't a missile, for goodness' sake. How was such a thing even possible?
A so-called supreme grandmaster, the kind people whisper legends about?
Apparently the dream version of herself had been no ordinary master of the martial world.
"It's absurd, I'll admit. But it's still worlds better than the nightmares."
"That's a relief. Though — are you truly comfortable living alongside Baek Siwoo?"
The nightmares vanishing thanks to Siwoo's presence was unquestionably a good thing.
But it also meant this arrangement would have to continue for the foreseeable future, which was the sticking point. Cheon Yua was every bit as fastidious as her outward bearing suggested, and that worried him all the more.
Representative Ju himself had been pouring considerable effort into staying on her good side, after all.
"Yes. It's good."
"Good?"
But her answer was simply "good." Not merely "it's fine" — good.
He had never once heard her hand out such a generous assessment, and it caught him slightly off guard.
"How should I put it. When I'm around Siwoo, I just feel... enormously at ease. I can't explain why. I'm simply comfortable."
"Ah. Is that so."
That Cheon Yua seemed more at ease with a man she'd only just met than with him — who had endured years in her service — stung his pride a little, but he let it wash over him and moved on.
If Siwoo kept her comfortable, she could hold out in the current arrangement for quite some time. Nothing was certain yet; this was going to be a long campaign. If she'd been uncomfortable around him, it would have been a catastrophe. This was far better.
"So, about that. I've decided it's about time to start looking for my next project."
"Excellent."
"And for Siwoo, too."
"Ah, of course. Has his acting practice wrapped up?"
"Yes — far faster than expected. He exceeded what I imagined. These days it's practically the two of us learning from each other."
"...That is impressive indeed."
Representative Ju himself acknowledged Baek Siwoo's potential, but this was Cheon Yua — famous for having the pickiest eye for acting in the business. For her to praise him this lavishly...
A truly delightful miscalculation. The stone he'd picked up in passing had turned out to be a diamond.
"We'll scout projects. And through Team Leader Seo, we'll also search for a role for Siwoo to take on."
"Ideally the same project, if possible. Not that I intend to force anything, of course."
"We'll look into it."
It would be a considerable challenge.
Directors, producers, and writers clamoring for Cheon Yua were endless, but her eye for projects was so discerning that she rarely settled on a role easily.
And in this case, with her returning to acting after a yearlong hiatus, she was certain to be even more exacting.
Still, keep searching and something would turn up eventually. His job was simply to find a script that would please her and report back.
The choice would ultimately be hers anyway, so there was nothing to worry about there.
"Though it would be just perfect if the project could take Baek Siwoo as a key supporting lead."
That said, Siwoo's contract stipulated he would choose his own projects, so the company couldn't pressure him. They could extend an invitation — but if he refused, there was nothing to be done.
Though Representative Ju remained firmly convinced that no actor alive would turn down a project Cheon Yua had chosen.