You're Quite the Comedian
"You're funny."
‘Like I said — a masterpiece, every time.’
Lee Seo-won left the theater with a wistful look on his face. Today was the last day The Child was screening, and even though it was only a re-release, he had gone back to see it three times.
‘A shame. Such a shame.’
He counted The Child among the films of his life, and he was one of the many who had been utterly captivated by its lead, the young Yoon Jae-hee. If only the boy hadn't vanished so suddenly — he would have been the very first name on Seo-won's list of people to recruit into his company.
‘I wonder where he is and what he's doing now.’
If the kid ever came back, Seo-won was more than willing to push him all the way to the top — and these days, he had more than enough power to do it, too.
‘Come to think of it, that bodyguard was at the preview screening as well, wasn't he?’
He had planned to focus on production for the time being, but something about the presence radiating from behind Cho Youkyeong had made him reach for his business card before he even realized it.
Later he'd looked the man up and found he was fairly well known online. He'd only worked briefly as a red-carpet bodyguard, and yet he'd already picked up a modest fan following.
‘No wonder my eyes kept drifting to him.’
With that kind of presence, of course people noticed. Cho Youkyeong had clearly recognized it too — that was why she kept the man at her side.
An actor's acting ability mattered, of course, but that could be raised through effort. Or patched over with editing, directing, and coaching.
But a face that grabbed the eye, that unmistakable aura — those weren't things that simply appeared out of nowhere. You had to be born with them. And that bodyguard had been.
"Seo-won, you rascal."
"Hyung-nim!"
"So this is where Lee Seo-won shows up."
When Seo-won stepped into the restaurant, the group already seated inside greeted him warmly.
"Ah, it's been far too long. Everyone's been well, I hope?"
"What kept you so late?"
"Went to see a movie. Is Young-chang hyung not coming today?"
"Judging by the fact that you're talking about that director, I'm guessing it was The Child again."
Everyone here was either someone he'd crossed paths with or at least heard of. The restaurant staff kept sneaking glances at the table, and the owner was already hunting for paper and pen, hoping for autographs.
"Whew, that Yoon Jae-hee kid — he really was something else."
"What do you suppose he's doing these days?"
"With the re-release happening, surely someone's gotten in touch with him?"
"Director Lee says no."
The conversation drifted naturally toward The Child. Lee Young-chang attended this gathering often, but he had kept faith with Yoon Jay — he intended to guard the secret until Yoon Jay chose to reveal it himself.
"Shin-woo, you don't know anything, do you?"
"Nope. Our shoots never overlapped, so I've got nothing."
If I'd known everyone would be this desperate to find him, I'd have milked it for all it was worth. Park Shin-woo tossed out the joke with a grin.
"Now then, everyone, take a fresh business card."
After The Child, the talk wandered through recent industry gossip and then into discussion of projects — at which point Seo-won abruptly stood up and started dealing out cards around the table.
"Hey, what kind of name is ‘Astra’ for a company? Is it a drug? If I'm going to be working there, someone should've named it better."
"It's Latin for ‘the stars.’ Because our Seong-ho hyung-nim here is the star the company will shine a light on."
"A guy like me isn't a star — I'm a sun, aren't I?"
"The sun is a star."
Their little comedy routine burst a few people into laughter.
This gathering — famous actors, writers, directors, producers, and investors all in one room — carried staggering influence.
Its unofficial name was the Cola Club, so called because when they met, they toasted with cola instead of alcohol.
Everyone at the table wielded considerable power in their own field, and because the group was wholesome and completely scandal-free, plenty of actors dreamed of being invited in.
"So what happens to your old company, hyung?"
"What do you think? It's over, plain and simple."
Lee Seo-won had been the head of E-West Pictures, a content studio responsible for hit after hit. He'd handed over his stake to a major corporation and pocketed an enormous profit — business journals had run story after story about it.
"I never intended to exit. They kept changing their terms on me out of nowhere, so I walked away out of sheer annoyance."
"This is what happens when the big conglomerates move in, I keep telling you. What now, though? Without you at the helm, that company's going to struggle."
"They'll figure it out."
He had no lingering attachment to the company he'd already left. Better to put that money toward producing good work.
‘And maybe it's time I raised a rookie again, for old times' sake.’
Seo-won found himself thinking of a synopsis he'd had his eye on, and before he knew it, he was matching Yoon Jay to the role — not a large part, but one that left a searing impression. Wouldn't he be perfect for it?
"A fresh start at a time like this sounds good. I've already got one uncut gem in my pocket, after all."
"Already? And here I thought I'd be your first."
Plenty of actors whose contracts with their agencies had just ended were planning to move over to Seo-won's company. It had only been founded a few months ago, but it was set to grow fast.
"So — this gem of yours. Who is it? Anyone we'd know?"
"You know that bodyguard Cho Youkyeong's been carting around lately?"
"I think I've heard······"
"I do."
It helped that Cho Youkyeong was such a heavyweight. With her fingers in investment, production, and distribution rights, she was not a woman to be taken lightly.
"The one who's been making the rounds in the news these days?"
"That's him. Speaking of which, Min-jae — you had your share of grief back then too, didn't you?"
"That much comes with the territory."
Kwon Min-jae was another child actor whom Cho Youkyeong had frequently paraded around the industry, making introductions and leaving his mark. Naturally, a good number of the rumors surrounding him had been ugly ones.
But outsiders believed the filthy, lurid gossip at face value, while anyone who'd been around this business a while took one look and thought, ‘If he's Cho Youkyeong's pick, he's going to blow up soon’ — and started reaching out to book him before the wave even crested.
Sure enough, Kwon Min-jae had outlasted the rumors and risen into the top tier of actors in his thirties.
"So, did anything actually get discussed between you two?"
"No. All I did was hand over a personal business card."
"Ha, then he might not even call, hyung. If all he's done is bodyguard work, how would he know what your name is worth?"
Someone outside the industry wouldn't grasp the weight of Lee Seo-won's name. But while running E-West Pictures, he had quietly reigned as the undisputed apex of casting for top-tier male actors.
He had such a knack for matching actors to roles that the studio eventually let him handle actor management alone, and word that ‘a project had Lee Seo-won attached’ was enough to make investors line up at the door with money in hand.
"If he recognizes me at all, that's already luck. Call it destiny."
"There he goes with the destiny talk again."
And now that man was building a production and management company, preparing for a brand-new start. If Yoon Jay never called, no great loss — plenty of others were already lining up to sign with him.
Yet despite himself, Seo-won found himself checking his phone far more often than usual.
At last, with perfect timing, the screen lit up, and he broke into a wide smile. An unknown number — but he had a good feeling about this.
"······Well, well. Guess this one's lucky too."
‘Not bad, seeing him again.’
Having landed the meeting almost immediately, Lee Seo-won watched Yoon Jay take a sip of coffee with ramrod-straight posture.
Was the impeccable posture just habit? That complicated look in his eyes — the kind that made you want to ask about his story without meaning to — was also rather appealing. He'd photograph beautifully, Seo-won thought.
"From what I hear, you've been getting plenty of casting offers from agencies. So where does my call rank?"
"You were the first."
"Really?"
Unexpected. Seo-won had assumed the man had shopped around at a few of the big agencies before working his way down to him.
"Your card was the only personal one, which made you stand out — and there was a recommendation from someone I know."
"Someone you know, hm······ Someone who understands this business, I take it?"
"Yes."
A little of the wind went out of his sails, but Seo-won conceded that having a helpful connection right out of the gate was its own kind of luck.
"And what have you heard about me?"
"That you have excellent connections, and a sharp eye for casting."
Yoon Jay had heard from Park Hyun-ah that while the boy's father was famous for his eye for projects, Lee Seo-won was famous for his eye for casting.
Which was exactly what Yoon Jay was looking for. A company that chose projects well — one that ran its own production arm and had deep investor relationships and connections to match.
"I don't know who this person of yours is, but they certainly know their stuff."
Something in Lee Seo-won's manner reminded Yoon Jay of someone he'd known in his past life.
‘That gentleman — the one who became a US senator, if I remember right······’
Men like this had clear goals and unshakable confidence, which meant they'd achieve everything they set out to. Getting tangled up with him in business would be a fortunate connection — one that could lift them both.
"Since you already know a bit about me, I'll say it plainly: I'm confident I can put you, Yoon Jay, into the right project starting right now. Making the most of that opportunity, though — that's on you. Can you handle it?"
"Let's find out."
He couldn't yet confirm whether his fear of the filming camera still lingered. But he had already committed to returning, and he'd decided to charge straight through it head-on.
"I like a straight answer. Three years. Sign with me for exactly three years."
"So I'll have that long to win you over, then."
"That's right. Not that I plan to throw you off a cliff, mind you. I intend to see that you get all your basic training, at the very least."
In other words: plenty of chances at first — but if the talent didn't show up to match the expectations, he'd be cut loose without mercy.
Holding out hope only to snatch it away was the crueler game, but Yoon Jay signed with Lee Seo-won's brand-new company, Astra, without a moment's hesitation.
"We'll set your terms above what the other rookies get, of course."
"Then I'd better work hard."
With Yoon Jay as the agency's only actor, everything moved at lightning speed.
The day after he signed the contract, they headed straight to a studio Lee Seo-won knew well to shoot his profile photos.
"Your facial skin's so clean it makes my job easy."
"There are quite a few scars on his body, though. What did he do, exactly?"
"I was a soldier."
But could ordinary military service really leave scars like that? The stylist, adjusting his clothes, tilted her head in doubt — but the shoot was imminent, and there was no time to dwell on it.
"Shall we start with some natural poses? Relax — like you're sitting on your own couch at home."
"Sure."
Most beginners went stiff the moment a lens pointed at them, but Yoon Jay's poses flowed out effortlessly, and the photographer pulled his head away from the viewfinder with a look of pleasant surprise.
"He takes a good picture, doesn't he?"
"We barely need to direct him at all."
Seo-won, who had come along for the shoot, and Managing Director Kwak Do-hyun, who would be handling Yoon Jay going forward, watched the session with growing interest.
"Have you done this kind of work before?"
"I worked briefly as an amateur model."
"Oh. Nice. Looks like we'll be done early today."
It had been back when he was living in New York, hadn't it······ He had once stood on a runway as an Asian model for a designer brand.
He'd been paid quite well, too — though if his father hadn't helped him overcome his phobia, he would have had to cover New York's murderous rent through some other line of work entirely.
"Good grief······ When the face is this good, you can just point the camera anywhere and get a painting."
As Yoon Jay kept pace with practiced ease, the mood on set couldn't have been better.
The shoot wrapped ahead of schedule, and that evening Seo-won, Kwak Do-hyun, and Yoon Jay went out for dinner near the agency's office.
"So, Jay — what were you up to all this time?"
"Kwak, aren't you being a little too blunt?"
"Ah, don't take it the wrong way. There's been so much school-bullying controversy and old-skeleton stuff coming out these days that we like to know in advance."
"Exactly. Besides, it's standard to know your actor's particular circumstances."
The contract was already signed, after all — they were asking so that if trouble ever surfaced, they could protect him.
Yoon Jay's expression turned noncommittal. How far should he go? Maybe a certain amount of honesty was the right call.
"I was born in Korea, but circumstances came up when I was young, and I moved to the States."
"What about your education?"
"I finished high school. Nothing out of the ordinary — I just went to a regular school. Never bullied anyone or anything like that."
"The name of the school, by any chance······"
There was no way to verify the truth unless the man confirmed it himself, but Kwak figured trouble from his days abroad was harder to dig up than trouble from Korea. Better that way.
The managing director jotted down the name of Yoon Jay's high school on a slip of paper.
"If your last employer was Wings Company, you must be special forces, then?"
"I was with the Navy SEALs for just under ten years. Honorable discharge, for the record."
"Oh. Isn't that the unit that's always showing up in movies and video games?"
"He'll be great at action scenes."
That was nothing but an asset. The CEO and the managing director nodded with satisfaction, and Kwak pressed on.
"Did you keep up much of a social media presence?"
"I have an account, but it's private — just for keeping in touch with people I know."
"Mind if we take a look?"
Yoon Jay handed his phone over without a flicker of hesitation. Default profile picture, zero posts.
"Good, good."
"No activity on internet communities either, right? These days they dig up everything, even old posts on foreign sites."
"No, never."
A muggle who barely touched the internet. Excellent. Plenty of celebrities had careers torched over social media, so that was one thing they wouldn't need to worry about for a good while.
He barely drank, and as an ex-soldier he apparently exercised regularly — so his stamina would hold up on set, too.
"Any other special notes we should know? Languages other than English and Korean, or health issues we should be aware of — allergies, that sort of thing······"
"Hm······ As for languages, besides English and Korean, I'd say I speak about eight more."
"I'm sorry — what?"
"No allergies, though I may possibly have a phobia of cameras. I'd have to get on set to find out for sure······"
"Excuse me — what?"
Ten languages? Shouldn't this man be joining the Foreign Ministry or the intelligence service, not the entertainment industry?
And an actor — an actor — with a fear of cameras? A special forces veteran, that strapping a man, when he'd just taken flawless profile photos?
Seo-won and Kwak Do-hyun, frozen for a beat, burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You're quite the comedian."
"Do I not look like the witty type?"
Better to let them keep believing whatever they like. And Yoon Jay laughed along with the two of them, hearty and untroubled.