Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 065
Chapter Title: Upgrade (1)
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“……Pardon?”
“It seems like if I leave you alone, Mr. Yeonwoo, you’d never bother eating properly.”
That was true enough. His days and nights had flipped, making mealtimes all over the place. And since he wasn’t the type to obsess over food anyway, skipping meals whenever it got annoying had become routine.
“You need stamina to excel at your main job.”
“But this feels a bit much……”
“It’s better to start managing things now. Don’t worry, Mr. Yeonwoo. I’ll take care of you.”
And just like that, he found himself enjoying an unexpected feast of nourishing dishes.
“How’s the taste? Not bad, right?”
“……It’s delicious.”
You could tell it was the work of a master chef just by looking at it. There was no way it could taste bad.
“Eat slowly, bit by bit. You can leave some if you want.”
“Yes……”
Once the meal was done, Kwon Sung-hyun flashed a smile on his handsome face.
“How was it? Not bad, right? You have to build the habit of eating your meals properly. Even so, there’ll be times when your schedule doesn’t line up, so try to eat regularly whenever you can. It might not feel natural at first, but that’s okay. I’ll keep looking after you from now on.”
His beaming smile was radiant enough to captivate anyone.
But to Yeonwoo, it was different.
‘Somehow, it feels a bit overwhelming…… No. Actually, this is an opportunity.’
Not just anyone, but Kwon Sung-hyun—the undisputed top star in the industry. No scandals, no rumors, and everyone who’d worked with him couldn’t stop praising him. Hadn’t Yeonwoo himself been constantly amazed while filming the drama together?
Stamina management. A chance to learn from a top actor who’d held the number one spot since debuting as a child actor.
It was a little—okay, a lot—intimidating……
‘But it’ll definitely help.’
If he could gain even a fraction of Kwon Sung-hyun’s massive fame, just how far would that influence reach?
And how much Harvestable Lifespan would come with it?
The thought alone was dizzying.
‘Yeah. This is an opportunity I have to seize.’
If word got out, others might die of envy.
Passing up the chance to observe a top star’s self-care routine up close would be a shame.
“Got it.”
His deliberation was brief.
Kwon Sung-hyun smiled in satisfaction at Yeonwoo’s response.
“Good choice.”
***
“The manager position will be vacant again for a while.”
Yeonwoo looked puzzled at the casual remark.
“Is something going on?”
He’d heard from Manager Kwon Sung-hyun that they’d hired a new rookie manager not long ago.
—Sung-hyun wasn’t thrilled about it…… But their resume was solid. Their major and specs…… Anyway, they said they’d train them and assign them as your dedicated manager soon.
And now it was vacant?
“You knew I opposed the hire?”
“I vaguely heard something like that.”
He’d heard that Kwon Sung-hyun had insisted on handling it himself, leaving the company execs clutching their necks in shock. Since he was a direct employee of the company, they couldn’t really complain, so they’d just suffered in stunned silence……
“That guy was a spy.”
“A spy…… what?”
“Total sleaze. You know A Enter?”
“A Enter……”
He’d heard the name before. As he tried to dredge it up from fuzzy memory—
[That’s where Min Yerin’s with, right?]
The Child Spirit perched on Kwon Sung-hyun’s head beat him to it.
Now it clicked. Even Min Yerin had asked him to stop by her improved agency sometime.
“Yeah. That agency was infamous for being shady back in the day. I thought they’d cleaned up recently……”
He was smiling, but that smile had a chilling edge.
“I’d already been keeping an eye on him. The aura clinging to him was filthy and sticky. Caught him red-handed trying to steal your info, Mr. Yeonwoo.”
“What kind of era is this…… That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s old-school stuff, but it works. They use the info to blackmail through family…… or sell private lives. With a few reporter contacts, spreading rumors is a piece of cake.”
“I thought that only happened in movies……”
“Sometimes reality’s wilder than fiction.”
Fair enough. If anyone had no room to talk, it was Yeonwoo. Wasn’t he the king of living in an unreal world?
[Whoa. A spy, though? That’s wild. There’s all kinds of stuff out there……]
The most wondrous being in the room—the talking sparrow ghost, Child Spirit—chimed in.
“Of course…… it’s not like I particularly wanted to manage you myself, Mr. Yeonwoo.”
Why did that feel like the real answer?
But then.
“Pardon? You’ll manage me personally? You, Kwon Sung-hyun?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to take it easy for a bit anyway. Seems like no ordinary person could keep up with you, Mr. Yeonwoo. Better if I handle it directly for now. And something more interesting than acting has come up……”
The mutter at the end was barely audible, but the part about taking it easy rang clear.
Suddenly, he had a top star as his manager.
“With your workload ramping up, it’ll help to learn health management or flexible scheduling now. You’ll have a manager eventually, but…… It’s easier if you learn it yourself. Managers just assist—they’re not you. They can only watch from the sidelines and don’t know your exact condition.”
Managers were support at best. The lead was always the actor.
“Of course, if you’re okay with it, I could handle all that for you.”
It veered off track mid-sentence.
“No, that’s fine. I can’t take up your valuable time like that, Kwon Sung-hyun.”
The guy was probably 100% serious.
If he announced a retirement on a whim……
‘And I get hit with another Penalty…… Game over.’
The mere thought was horrifying.
Kwon Sung-hyun chuckled briefly at Yeonwoo’s firm refusal, then pulled out a large shopping bag by the sofa.
[‘Drama Main OST Production Proposal’?]
The Child Spirit, peeking out, read the top line first.
“Is this work?”
It looked thick and hefty.
Kwon Sung-hyun smiled.
“Yeah. Reason you need regular meals and management, Mr. Yeonwoo.”
[Yeonwoo doing an OST? Like the background music that plays?]
“There’ve been tons of offers beyond that. CFs, dramas, variety shows, movies—you name it. Especially movies; I filtered some solid synopses.”
[Ooh…… You sounded just like a real manager there, Actor-nim!]
“Of course. This is basic if I’m taking care of you, Mr. Yeonwoo.”
Somehow, the lavish nourishing feast from earlier came to mind.
“You’re not saying I have to do all of these, right?”
The stack was no joke. Even Kwon Sung-hyun’s large hand couldn’t grab it all at once……
‘Did I just get baited……!’
The vibe screamed crisis.
Thankfully, Kwon Sung-hyun shook his head with a laugh.
“No way. You’d need ten bodies for that. Ah, but with your ten lives, Mr. Yeonwoo…… That might actually……”
It started strong, then derailed into nowhere.
“I just pick?”
“Yeah. I picked out the promising ones. Didn’t know your tastes, so I didn’t filter by genre or type.”
Relief at not having to do them all.
Flip!
Yeonwoo skimmed the pile.
On top was the OST, followed by scripts and synopses stacked neatly below.
But as he looked, one thing stood out.
‘Oddly, the drama and movie roles all lean one way?’
Maybe because of the Grim Reaper role in *Dear My Ghost*. Most were cold, stoic types.
[Cold boss…… Cool friend helping the protagonist…… Ruthless chaebol heir…… How’d our Yeonwoo turn into an ice man?]
The Child Spirit hopped from Kwon Sung-hyun’s head to Yeonwoo’s and asked.
“Who knows……”
Yeonwoo felt it too. A few were different, but 90% matched that image.
“Most people don’t know you well yet, Mr. Yeonwoo. They see potential but don’t want risks. So they stick to what they’ve confirmed.”
“But won’t that mean only these kinds of roles keep coming?”
“Exactly. That’s why so many actors get typecast.”
The macho tough-guy icon A-ssi. The kindly grandpa specialist B-ssi. The backstabbing villain C-ssi who made you suspicious in every role.
Examples abounded.
“Could be comfy roles, but once an image sticks, others don’t come.”
“Doing the same roles forever sounds boring……”
“Glad you think that way, Mr. Yeonwoo.”
“Huh?”
At the out-of-left-field response—
“Ambition’s good. It’s a driving force to become a better actor.”
“But it’s not all bad. Carving out a unique niche no one else can fill is one path.”
Being the face of a specific image meant owning that role.
Irreplaceable.
You couldn’t cover every image, but you’d be the best in that lane.
“Not bad, surprisingly. Builds a ‘trust her with this’ rep. Great for diehard fans.”
Similar roles or not—both had pros and cons.
“I picked ones that work either way. See anything you like, Mr. Yeonwoo?”
Kwon Sung-hyun’s eye was sharp. Minus the similarity, the content was gripping.
“If it were you, Kwon Sung-hyun, what would you pick?”
“Depends on priorities.”
“How so?”
“Need money? CFs. Fame? Movies or dramas. More specifically…… Want variety? Skip 90% of these. Quick fame? Go for them.”
“And the other 10%?”
“That’s long-term thinking.”
Kwon Sung-hyun’s eyes crinkled smoothly.
“Less flashy than repeats, but stacking them up isn’t bad.”
“You didn’t say what you’d choose.”
“Caught me?”
“That smile won’t work.”
“Guess I need to try harder.”
“So, what would you pick?”
“Me……”
His long finger tapped one spot.
“I’d go with this.”
Yeonwoo blinked in surprise.
It was the last thing he’d expected.
“This is…… a romance?”
“Right. Romance movie. Open ending, not even a happy one.”
Romance. Open ending.
Hardly mainstream.
But Kwon Sung-hyun was dead certain.
“And it’s the kind that’ll give you wings, Mr. Yeonwoo.”