Presence
Kang Jaeha’s takeaway from the déjà vu he saw in Yoon Dayeon was this:
"I asked to see Dayeon because I wanted to show her my script."
"Director... really?"
"Mm. I'd made up my mind since I saw Gyeollo. There’s a role I want to give you."
The moment Yoon Dayeon’s déjà vu screening ended, Kang Jaeha snapped back to reality and muttered inwardly.
No one was going to be calling her washed-up.
Of course not. Until recently, the future had been a bleak one that even included an erotica film, but this déjà vu was an entirely different tomorrow. More importantly, the man in that vision, the one Yoon Dayeon had called Director, was a face Jaeha knew too.
Director Yu Giltae.
Yu Giltae, one of the country’s master directors. A celebrated veteran with a filmography that included not only billion-ticket blockbusters but awards from renowned overseas film festivals as well. His nickname was the Gentleman of Chungmuro, which suited his soft personality.
That master director had handed a script to washed-up Yoon Dayeon. And he had done it in person.
When a director of that caliber met an actor one on one to offer them a work, it meant there was real interest. At that point, it became hard to call Yoon Dayeon washed-up, a nobody, or yesterday’s news.
Jaeha looked at Yoon Dayeon’s back as she stood in the audition room.
The déjà vu I just saw wasn’t clear on when it happened, but it can’t be too far off.
Master director Yu Giltae had mentioned Gyeollo, which Yoon Dayeon was auditioning for now. That meant the future he had seen couldn’t be too distant. At most, sometime within the year. And there was one more thing he could predict: Gyeollo must turn out pretty well. Otherwise Yu Giltae wouldn’t have singled it out like that.
Then a calm male voice spoke.
“Manager Kang Jaeha.”
It was Han Taeseong, seated beside him. In a low voice, almost a whisper, he murmured to Jaeha.
“You’ve corrected Yoon Dayeon’s attitude remarkably quickly.”
Jaeha answered with a bored note in his voice.
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“You didn’t?”
“No. Yoon Dayeon was already stubborn.”
He meant she had a strong core. Han Taeseong gave a small snort and turned his eyes back toward Yoon Dayeon.
“Right. So stubborn she was on the verge of snapping.”
“...”
“The fact that you brought her this far without breaking her. That’s worth praise.”
After watching Han Taeseong for a moment, Jaeha spoke. Half probing, half watching for his reaction.
“Including Yoon Dayeon, the artists assigned to Team 4 look like they were gathered there just to be broken.”
What he meant was that “recycling” was probably just a pretext for Team 4. To be blunt, he was close to certain. They were all being watched. Jaeha himself hadn’t cared either when he was still soft in the past, and had only heard rumors about Team 4.
It had been enough to think there was such a place.
Back then, Jaeha had been busy just keeping his own head above water. It wasn’t hard to understand why the company would watch over Team 4, over washed-up people and nobodies. In another world, Jaeha had run mercenary companies with hundreds of members.
Once an organization grows large enough, it naturally has to choose and focus. Capable people are nurtured, incapable people are discarded.
You can’t embrace everyone.
Especially not in entertainment, where trends and everything else change by the minute. It is glamorous, but merciless. Leon Entertainment had far more rising stars than has-beens, and every company in the industry poured money into the products that could still make a profit.
Broken or worn-out merchandise gets thrown out.
Every entertainment company had a Team 4. The only difference was whether they gathered those people in one place or scattered them elsewhere.
Soon after Jaeha’s words, Han Taeseong looked at Yoon Dayeon and answered in a low voice.
“You mean Team 4 was made to be neglected.”
“That’s how it looks to me.”
“Maybe. Sometimes neglect is exactly what’s needed. Employees, executives, artists.”
His expression was peculiar. Jaeha didn’t push further. Well, Leon Entertainment hadn’t been built through a round of cards, had it? Whether Han Taeseong had come out of curiosity, to look at potential, or to judge him, his current attitude didn’t matter much to Jaeha.
Use everything that can be used.
The greater Han Taeseong’s curiosity grew, the better for Jaeha. Right now, it was as though he were dipping into the man’s pockets. He would recycle Han Taeseong’s money, and when the damaged product regained its shine, he would take it.
For now, that’s enough.
Whatever the case, Yoon Dayeon’s role in Gyeollo was confirmed. She would be playing a supporting role, the part of Jung-hee. By then, after finishing his conversation with Director Kwon Seongmin, Yoon Dayeon came back. She stood not in front of Han Taeseong, but in front of Kang Jaeha. Jaeha glanced up and saw that she was wearing a fairly pleased expression.
Her face practically said, How was that? I did well, right?
With an aura that demanded praise, Jaeha’s mouth curved faintly.
“Congratulations. Want me to pat your head?”
“What are you talking about? You could just say I did well. Why would you pat my head?”
“Yoon Dayeon did it herself. Praise yourself. You did well.”
“...”
When Manager Kim Daeyong and An Jihee applauded sincerely, Han Taeseong simply watched Yoon Dayeon in silence.
And now it was the next turn. Director Kwon Seongmin announced it.
“An Jihee, please come up.”
An Jihee, who had been clapping, jerked and sprang to her feet.
“Yes!!”
As she walked forward, she shot Kang Jaeha a fierce look. The meaning was obvious enough: I’ll do well!! Han Taeseong, who had been looking at Yoon Dayeon, now started watching An Jihee with real interest, and Director Kwon Seongmin asked her carefully once she stood before him.
“Um... An Jihee, do you have a role in mind?”
An Jihee shook her head so fast her bobbed hair fluttered.
“Ah, no! Any role is fine with me!”
“Was there no part you felt especially drawn to?”
“They were all good. Really. Even the passing extras.”
“...Thank you.”
“Huh? N-no, no, I’m the one who should thank you!”
An Jihee was rigid with nerves. She couldn’t help it. This was her first time auditioning as an actress. Soon, at Director Kwon’s request, she began.
“Then let’s see the free performance you prepared.”
An Jihee swallowed hard and tied her short hair back again. In that instant, her eyes changed. There was a fitting despair in them.
“...Can’t you think it over again? You and I were different, weren’t we? But we still did well together.”
Her gaze settled somewhere in the air. Her voice, which had started to tremble, carried a growing urgency.
“I. I remember even the little things, but you forgot them so quickly. I was clumsy, and you were meticulous. I smiled easily, but you were expressionless. I was- I was stupid, but you were smart.”
Gradually, An Jihee’s emotions heated up. The heart she had been trying so hard to keep calm began to boil over. That was the feeling she gave off.
“Your face when you got angry. That annoyed look. Your tired voice. That feeling of boredom. It’s okay, I liked all of it. Then and now.”
She laughed. The laugh twisted strangely in her throat.
“I like it, okay? I like it! Why- why am I the only one saying things like this again! Do you know you’re a total son of a bitch? Not just any son of a bitch, but a trash son of a bitch!”
The overflow of emotion exploded. Like a volcano going off with a bang.
Yoon Dayeon puckered her lips. Under her breath, she was already grumbling, What is this? She’s really good. Meanwhile, Director Kwon Seongmin, who had adjusted his glasses, was...
“...”
He was tasting a different kind of emotion than he had with Yoon Dayeon.
A slightly rougher vibe. Did she even build that into the performance on purpose? If so, she’s seriously insane.
Of course, if he judged strictly by acting skill, Yoon Dayeon was superior. Her performance had the richness of experience behind it, while An Jihee’s was thinner in tone but stood out for its raw, almost first-job-in-life emotion.
A person who would get nervous even if she dropped a pen.
That was why Director Kwon naturally began thinking of a role that would suit her, and he whispered to Jeong Taewoo, seated beside him.
“CEO. An Jihee is perfect for the role of Ji-su.”
“...I see that.”
“If we go ahead and decide the female lead, Ji-su, from Gyeollo right here and now—would that be all right?”
As if there were no issue at all, Jeong Taewoo smiled gently.
“If the director decides it, then that is how it is.”
“Thank you.”
Gyeollo was a story about women driven to the gutter. In that story, Ji-su was the female lead. After Yoon Dayeon, Director Kwon Seongmin...
...went ahead and decided the role for An Jihee, who had finished her performance.
“I’d like you to play Ji-su.”
An Jihee’s eyes went round.
“Huh? Me? Ji-su is the female lead.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
For a moment, her brain seemed to stop working, and then she asked again, struggling to make sense of it.
“...M-me? I’m the female lead?”
Some time later.
At the Gyeollo audition, with Leon Entertainment’s actors brought in, both roles were decided. Ji-su and Jung-hee. The female lead and a supporting role. The core parts of Gyeollo. But Director Kwon made the decision on the spot.
Of course, Director Kwon had not given a thought to Leon as a backdrop. The acting from the two actresses had simply been that excellent.
When An Jihee returned to her seat, she was bouncing with shock and joy.
“Manager-nim! I-I’m the female lead!”
Surprisingly, Yoon Dayeon was the first to congratulate her.
“Your acting was good. You must have practiced a lot, huh?”
“Ah, yes! Thank you, senior! Congratulations to you too!”
“I’ve got experience, so if I couldn’t get it, I’d have run away.”
In the conversation between the two women, Manager Kim Daeyong didn’t clap too hard. Of course he was happy. He had simply noticed Yoon Dayeon’s mood.
It was a strange picture.
That was what Jaeha muttered inwardly.
A former wash-up with plenty of experience, Yoon Dayeon, got the supporting role. A nobody like An Jihee, who had only just begun acting, got the female lead.
It was exactly the picture Jaeha had aimed for.
It has to be like this.
For Yoon Dayeon to awaken, she had to be the supporting role, not the female lead. And it had to be the role of Jung-hee, no exceptions. That was why Jaeha had singled out only Yoon Dayeon’s part. By contrast, he hadn’t told An Jihee anything at all.
The moment I saw her, I knew An Jihee would eat up the female lead.
An Jihee fit the female lead of Gyeollo perfectly.
Then.
Han Taeseong, who had been watching the audition, slowly stood up. He offered the two actresses a quiet congratulations.
“You both worked hard.”
He didn’t forget to greet Director Kwon Seongmin and the Gyeollo team either.
“I’m sorry for dropping in so suddenly again. Thank you for letting me watch the audition.”
“Ah, no, not at all!”
Han Taeseong gave a small bow and left the room. Just before heading out, he glanced once at Kang Jaeha, but didn’t speak. Seeing that, Lee Chanhoo stretched lazily and murmured,
“He’s somehow... insanely nice.”
Jeong Taewoo, who looked a little disappointed to see his role model leave, replied,
“That’s how he gets away with running Leon. He built it himself, too. He’s got serious influence in the industry.”
The employees waiting in the hallway gathered around Han Taeseong after he came out of the audition room. His secretary spoke first.
“CEO, how was it?”
Han Taeseong answered the question with another question.
“Did you bring the Gyeollo script?”
“Yes. It’s in the car.”
With both hands shoved into his pockets, Han Taeseong stepped into the elevator. Then he thought of Kang Jaeha.
So the “real” one had been pretending to be the “fake” all this time. Still, he’s useful for now.
Meanwhile, inside the audition room, Director Kwon Seongmin was briefing Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee on several things. It was about the simple Gyeollo schedule ahead.
“After the audition, we’ll be doing the script reading pretty soon. It’s a bit tight, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
About forty minutes later, Kang Jaeha and the Leon team could be found at a nearby samgyeopsal place. It was a modest little celebration party. There was no alcohol, but everyone was drunk on the mood and inhaled pork belly like their lives depended on it.
“Hahaha! Dayeon! Jihee! Congratulations to both of you, seriously!!”
Only then did the stout Manager Kim Daeyong clap freely with relief. Jaeha, on the other hand, was serious.
Right now, I need to give my all to the samgyeopsal. If it gets cold, the taste drops.
As Jaeha stuffed a huge bite into his mouth, Manager Kim suddenly pointed at him.
“Then! A few words from Manager Kang Jaeha, who handled this Gyeollo project!!”
He couldn’t speak. His mouth was full of wrapped meat. Seeing that, Yoon Dayeon exclaimed in admiration.
“What are you, a squirrel? How big did you wrap that thing? Are you saving it in your cheeks to nibble on later?”
An Jihee was amazed too.
“Wow, Manager-nim, you really like samgyeopsal.”
Obviously. Who didn’t like samgyeopsal? Jaeha chewed the wrap with a casual expression, and once he had some room in his mouth, he said briefly,
“For now, let’s focus entirely on the samgyeopsal.”
After that, once the Gyeollo audition ended, Munbak Film officially announced the selected actors the next day, on the afternoon of the 9th. Since it was a short film and there weren’t many actors, they called each person individually.
Within Leon, things were quiet about Gyeollo.
It wasn’t exactly a major event to them.
Still, Team 4 leader Jang Hyeongsu was happy without a hint of annoyance.
“Oh, so Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee both got picked?”
He gave Jaeha a thumbs-up.
“Jaeha. You made something happen as soon as you arrived.”
Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee signed their contracts with the Gyeollo side two days later. Wednesday, the 11th. A lot of contracts moved that day. Not only Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee’s contracts, but also the official agreement between MEG and Natdaljib’s Cheongyeon Studio.
And the investment money was paid as well.
Gyeollo had already gone over 50 million won, and on the 12th, one day after the contract, 1 billion won was injected into Natdaljib. Following Gyeollo, Natdaljib too...
“We’re restarting production immediately. We’ll be moving faster than usual. We’ll make sure the investor is satisfied.”
Production was back in motion. Looking at Director Hong Manseop with his eyes blazing, it seemed he planned to push even harder than before.
Then the next morning, Friday the 13th.
Just after arriving at Team 4 and letting out a long yawn, Kang Jaeha’s phone rang. The caller was Munbak Film on the Gyeollo side.
“Yes, this is Kang Jaeha.”
From the other end, Jeong Taewoo announced the decision.
“We’ve set the script-reading date for Gyeollo. It’ll be next Tuesday, the 17th.”
That was when it happened.
Hello, Kang Jaeha.
The second month’s pension of 700 million won will be paid out.
And then.
-Buzzz.
The phone gave a brief vibration.
-[Deposit / 700,000,000 won]
700 million won had been credited.
With a crooked smile, Jaeha suddenly had this thought.
Using Leon is one thing. But if I think about the time it’ll take to build it up... taking Leon over might be fine too.
He recalled the lines the woman’s voice had given him.
She said not to quit or get fired. She never said I couldn’t swallow it whole.
The starting point was Team 4. Standing there, Jaeha looked up. Toward the CEO’s office. In other words, he looked at Han Taeseong.
For now, it’s better if that old man stays CEO.
Later, it was simply a matter of changing the president.