That Guy's Kind of a Charmer, Isn't He?

The fact that I hold authority is an internal matter. Outside the company, that title means nothing. That's why I treated Baek Sungwook and Gyeon Seongcheol differently.

Out here, things are simpler.

Who do I belong to? Who am I here to support? That's all that matters.

Grade 7 or intern, Chief Aide or otherwise — none of it counts. Being a manager is no different.

"You're the one putting on airs. Approaching an actress who's under contract. Clinging to her even when she's made it painfully obvious she wants nothing to do with you. Is it because your own actor is a fish you've already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠landed? You toss them aside and start waving a new rod around. Is that simply how managers behave once they make Team Leader? Telling themselves their actor was always theirs?"

"...What? The fuck? Where did this clueless piece of shit even crawl out of?"

The threat of him stepping closer actually put me at ease. At the very least, I wouldn't be getting hit here today. It wasn't that I was afraid of taking a punch. I just didn't particularly enjoy it.

Threats. Intimidation. Setting the mood.

As an aide, I had focused primarily on policy and on supporting Assemblyman Choi Giseok across the board, but I'd managed the district office fairly thoroughly as well. After all, a National Assembly member only wins by collecting the votes of the people in that district.

And the threshold of a lawmaker's district office is lower than most people think. Every kind of person in the world walks through that door.

The ones you really have to watch for?

The ones who show you with their hands, not their mouths.

Ah... that really was terrifying. Another dizzying memory surfaced without warning. It was quite a while ago, but there had been a time I'd caught someone pouring gasoline in front of the district office. He'd been so casual about it that at first I'd wondered why he was spraying water on the ground. The terror attack on Assemblyman Choi Giseok — the first time I'd ever received the Ghost's help — had been the same kind of thing.

Someone charging at you screaming Die! is making a threat. Someone who actually intends to kill you just comes at you with a knife.

The Ghost was getting chatty, rambling on out of fear. But what was I supposed to do with a ghost this easily frightened?

"Equipment check done?"

"Yes."

"Check the prop placement one more time. Nothing that flares on camera."

"Got it."

"Pre-set the camera angles too."

"Yes, sir."

The area around us suddenly grew busy, and the crew began taking up positions nearby as well. With almost perfect timing, the camera director spotted Gyeon Seongcheol and me and called out.

"Huh? Manager Gyeon? What are you doing over here?"

"Ah... hahaha... Aigoo, Director. Me, well... haha..."

Gyeon Seongcheol couldn't seem to find an answer, so he tried to laugh it off. I stepped in to tidy things up, pointing at the card he'd been clutching in one hand this whole time.

"He insisted on buying coffee for everyone here, and I was in the middle of trying to talk him out of it. I told him it wasn't necessary — it's not as though there are only one or two people on this set — but he wouldn't hear of it."

"Huh? Coffee? Ah... you're that new manager for Actress Ha who's been around for a while now?"

"Yes. I've been so busy getting my bearings I haven't had a chance to introduce myself. Assistant Manager Lee Jaewook, Nine Entertainment. A pleasure, Director."

I bowed to the camera director, glancing sideways at Gyeon Seongcheol as I did.

The look on his face said, What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Perfect. The best time to press an advantage is when the other person is still stammering. Their reactions go sluggish for just a moment.

"I think our round of coffee last time has been sitting on his conscience."

"Aigoo, why would you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even worry about that? Forget it. We all get our own coffee anyway, so don't give it another thought."

"No, wait... Director..."

I cut Gyeon Seongcheol off just as he was scrambling to collect himself.

"Daisy, just up the street? He says the lattes there are so good he absolutely has to get those. I offered to go with him, since carrying that many would be a handful, but he said if he's the one paying, why should we share the credit — and that he'd go alone."

"Aigoo, I was about to say you really don't have to go that far... but if you're offering, we're not about to turn it down twice."

The camera director's booming laugh drew people in one by one. They hadn't even gotten a cup in their hands yet, and they were already firing off thank-yous.

"I'll enjoy this, Manager Gyeon."

"Thank you."

"You really don't have to, but if you're offering, I'll gladly take it!"

"Manager Gyeon's buying coffee for everyone today!"

"Ah... uh, yes. Hahaha..."

What an awkward laugh.

I let a faint smile show. His mouth smiled back. His eyes looked like they wanted to kill me.

You don't want these people seeing what you really are, do you? Rumors are one thing. Showing them you're actually a thug is another matter entirely. Right?

Then run. What are you standing around for? Go buy the coffee.

Of course he is. That's exactly how he treated Ha Eun-yul. How he treated me just now — backing someone into a corner and forcing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an answer, forcing a move. Doesn't feel so good when you're on the receiving end, does it? But you can't not do it, either.

That kind of thing? I'm good at it. Very good.

The set of the drama Melancholy Romance.

"Let's take ten."

At the main PD's word, the crew and the actors all drew a long breath in unison. Then they went looking for the coffees labeled with their names and took a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sip.

The camera team was no exception. Kim Suwon, the B-camera operator, sat down beside the camera director with a steaming latte in his hand.

"I was wondering why anyone would drink a latte... but it's actually pretty good?"

"Is it?"

"It is. Coffee always tastes better when it's free."

At that, camera director Hyeon Jongdeok gave a slight jerk of his chin toward somewhere off to the side.

"That one's the real deal. A genuine article."

"Ha Eun-yul? Is she really all that? She's pretty, sure, but her acting's still a bit lacking, isn't it?"

Hyeon Jongdeok let out a laugh like air escaping a punctured balloon.

"You planning to direct now instead of being a DP? What does an actor's performance have to do with you? If they take the camera well, that's enough."

"It's not like you can just slice those things apart with a knife, you know. You know that."

"You crazy bastard. Now you're trying to lecture a DP. You want to go head to head with me?"

"I'm just saying, that's all. Just saying..."

At Kim Suwon's pained mutter, Hyeon Jongdeok looked back toward Ha Eun-yul, who was checking her script. It was only a ten-minute break, so she had stayed on set rather than retreating to a waiting room or a car.

"Not Ha Eun-yul. The one behind her. The manager."

"The manager?"

"Yeah. Looked like he was having some trouble with that Gyeon Seongcheol character, so I casually stepped in. Next thing I know, he'd sent Gyeon Seongcheol on a coffee run."

Kim Suwon lifted the cup in his hand.

"This?"

"That."

"That's impressive. Manager Gyeon's not in a good way, you know? He puts on the decent-guy act, but anyone who needs to know already knows."

"Exactly. That's why I jumped in to help the kid out. Ended up getting used instead."

Kim Suwon studied Hyeon Jongdeok's face. Getting used wasn't exactly a glowing review.

And yet.

"A real piece of work just landed at Nine Entertainment."

"You seem to like him."

"Not bad. He's entertaining, at least. We got free coffee out of it. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"There's a reason, kid. You don't need to know."

Kim Suwon's gaze drifted again, settling on the manager standing quietly behind Ha Eun-yul — Lee Jaewook.

"Manager Gyeon isn't the type to let this go. Is that guy going to be okay...?"

Hyeon Jongdeok wasn't in any position to help, and even if he had been, he had no intention of stepping in. Watching a fire from across the river, watching a fight — that was the kind of rare entertainment you couldn't buy if you tried.

Filming on Melancholy Romance had wrapped, and they were in the car heading to Ha Eun-yul's house.

Ha Eun-yul kept hesitating over something, and only when the navigation announced they had arrived did she seem to make up her mind and open her mouth. She kept her tone as cold and composed as she could manage.

"Why did you do that earlier?"

The new manager, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror, turned in his seat to look at her.

"You looked tired."

What is with this person?

Strange didn't even begin to cover it. At first, the fact that he seemed so uninterested in her — unlike every other manager and industry person she'd dealt with — had sparked a genuine curiosity. But when that indifference stretched from two days to a week and then past ten, she'd simply decided that was just the kind of person he was.

According to what she'd heard through stylist Lee Yujeong, he was a gaming shut-in, a hikikomori, something along those lines. She'd figured he just wasn't used to dealing with people.

It has been more comfortable lately, thanks to that.

Pretending to be cold. Pretending to be distant. Pretending to be a grown-up. At least in the car, she hadn't had to keep stacking those pretenses. Of course, he barely spoke at all, so it wasn't perfectly comfortable — only relatively so.

"I'm fine, so I'd prefer you didn't step in like that next time."

That was the conclusion she and Lee Yujeong had reached together. Being able to rest in the waiting room had been a relief, yes. But another part of her had been on edge the entire time, wondering when that door would open and Gyeon Seongcheol would come in talking about how great his company was, how impressive the dramas they were investing in were, all of that.

She spoke coldly, and in the same breath tried to hide the worry that she might have hurt his feelings. That was when Manager Lee Jaewook opened his mouth.

"Rest in the waiting room next time too. I'll make sure no one gets in. I'll stay outside. Watching the set is actually pretty entertaining — and I ought to be learning the production side of things anyway."

"...Ah."

This man. She understood now why he felt so strange. What it was that had been so strange about him.

He had a talent for scratching exactly where it itched. When she wanted a certain distance, he held it with precision. She hadn't even said she was itchy, and he scratched anyway. No — even granting the scratching, how? She'd thought she was hiding it well. Had he noticed?

Her thoughts were starting to pile up when he spoke again.

"When I need to come in, I'll knock twice. Knock-knock. Like that."

"...Why twice? Is it some kind of signal?"

"The postman always rings twice, they say. There's no doorbell, so I'll knock. Twice."

Ha Eun-yul fought desperately to keep a laugh from slipping out. What kind of nonsense was that, at a time like this? And a joke only middle-aged men told, delivered without so much as a change in expression.

"That's a thriller, isn't it? A crime of passion... an affair... that kind of thing?"

"So you have seen it."

"Ah..."

She couldn't find a reply, and she had the sinking feeling she'd been pulled into his pace and failed at keeping up the act. It was all getting rather awkward.

"Have a candy."

He was doing it again.

That was when Lee Yujeong, who had been watching quietly, stretched out a hand.

"I can have one, right?"

"Then two."

As if he'd performed a magic trick, Lee Jaewook's hand slipped past Lee Yujeong's, went forward, and came back — and the lollipop had become two.

"...Let's go, Eun-yul."

Lee Yujeong snatched both candies and opened the car door.

"Unnie."

"Don't look at me."

"Walk with me. Why are you going so fast by yourself? You want me to run? Look all unseemly? I'm an actress, you know."

Only then did Lee Yujeong stop. She turned to look at Ha Eun-yul, and the rear end of the departing car caught her eye.

"That guy's kind of a charmer, isn't he?"

"What is?"

"Be careful. He's your worst match. That's a face that bewitches people and sucks them dry."

"...I was grateful, actually. No — really grateful."

"That's exactly why he's your worst match. You're already a little gone on him, aren't you? You'll trust him, go all soft, and then what? You going to get blindsided again? And even if he doesn't stab you in the back — what if you trust him and he just disappears? You going to bury yourself in a hole again? Is that what you want?"

"..."

Ha Eun-yul's face fell at once. Lee Yujeong added a reasonably objective assessment.

"He's better at the job than I expected, though."

"Right?"

"Yeah. Watching him peel off that leech Gyeon Seongcheol was honestly pretty impressive."

It wasn't just that he'd peeled him off. On set, Manager Gyeon Seongcheol hadn't even had a gap to speak to Ha Eun-yul. Lee Yujeong didn't know how he'd done it, but the man had been frantically busy hauling coffee the entire time...

She cut the thought short and held out one of the candies to Ha Eun-yul.

"Take it. I got it for you, so eat it or throw it away, I don't care."