Tap, Tap, Tap.

Do Yoon-seop tapped his index finger on the desk, lost in thought. Just moments ago, as the call ended, he'd faintly overheard Lee Tae-gyu's mutter from the other end, and it was nagging at him.

Should he go check it out himself—'Go where?'

There was plenty of work piling up that needed handling, but he couldn't brush off the question so easily. It was that peculiar instinct. Having clawed his way up from the brutal underbelly of the entertainment jungle, his finely tuned senses were flashing yellow.

'Hmm.'

It happened sometimes.

'Feels like I'm putting more energy into this six-month contract guy than I thought.'

A stark contrast between future potential and current standing, with that eccentric behavior teetering right on the edge of comprehension. He tried to accommodate it as much as possible, but when the time and passion needed to grasp that madness started encroaching too much on what he owed to DK Entertainment's top-tier actors... that's when Do Yoon-seop usually called for Jang Team Leader.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Jang Team Leader from DK Entertainment's Planning Team 2. Even under his neat semi-formal suit, his sturdy build was evident—this was the man who could spare him the mental drain in situations like this.

"You know the actor Lee Tae-gyu we just signed."

"Yes."

"Hoshi-jeol camera test—is that next week?"

"Yes. Tuesday next week."

"I think we need to keep an eye on him until then."

"···············Understood, sir."

Jang Team Leader got it immediately. Keep an eye on him—he knew exactly in what situations, with what vibe, and toward which actors the CEO used that phrase.

And why he'd said it to him, the head of Planning Team 2, instead of the team leader.

Click.

After pocketing the few keywords the CEO had tossed his way, Jang Team Leader stepped out of the office. He dialed Lee Tae-gyu's manager.

"Yeah, it's me."

He enjoyed thick trust from the on-site managers and was adept at leveraging that trust when needed.

"Anything missing from the report on actor Lee Tae-gyu?"

Reports came in every three hours. From the first shoot, Lee Tae-gyu's manager and stylist had been sending him any peculiarities they'd spotted.

"Zoo? Yesterday? Why didn't you report that! Whether it was just killing time or whatever, I said report anything that deviates from the shooting schedule!"

Jang Team Leader's brow furrowed.

"What'd he see at the zoo? Tiger?"

He already had the keywords from the CEO.

And now two more words were added.

"Alright, forget if it's not noteworthy. Recap every conversation you've had with actor Lee Tae-gyu about the 'role' and 'shooting schedule.' Yeah, all of them."

As the call with the manager continued, Jang Team Leader's brow furrowed deeper. The moment one sentence Lee Tae-gyu had muttered at the zoo lodged in his ear.

I want to see something even more wild—

The phrase the CEO had overheard resurfaced.

Should he go check himself—

Jang Team Leader bolted toward the underground parking lot, telling the manager mid-stride,

"You have actor Lee Tae-gyu's home address? Send it to me and head out now."

A hardcore realist, he calculated the possibilities that could turn the CEO's concerns into reality and acted accordingly. He'd sensed something.

"Yeah, right now."

And so.

Screech.

Jang Team Leader pulled up in front of an officetel.

"Actor?"

"Oh."

"If I may ask, where are you headed right now?"

The manager had just run into Lee Tae-gyu, dragging a travel suitcase out the door.

"········Safari."

"········Wh···why···?"

"···········So this is part of your preparation for the [Jeong Jong] role, right?"

"That's correct."

"Maybe because I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not an actor, but I don't really see the direct connection between meeting a wild tiger and acting a role with tiger-like aura."

Inside Lee Tae-gyu's officetel. Jang Team Leader closed the Hoshi-jeol script ahead of the camera test and asked as politely as possible.

"Is acting······that tough?"

"Not necessarily."

To Lee Tae-gyu, who kept glancing at his watch.

"Just to be sure."

He bowed his head, as if to say he meant no offense.

"You're aware, of course, that it's impossible for human eyes—even yours—to emit light like car headlights, right?"

"Team Leader, I'm not an idiot. Car headlights? Come on."

"Sorry—"

"A flashlight, maybe."

"?"

For a moment, both the manager and Jang Team Leader looked up sharply.

Is this guy for real—

"I dug into historical records, and there are descriptions of people with tiger-like gazes. For example, during the Imjin War, Kim Deok-ryeong's eyes supposedly blazed with fire when angry, visible up to 10 li away."

"Hard to take all that at face value."

"Of course it's exaggerated. But the fact it's recorded that way means he had an exceptionally piercing gaze compared to ordinary people, right?"

"What about actor Kim Kwang-woo?"

Suppressing the urge to massage his throbbing head, Jang Team Leader spoke up.

"Not sure if you've seen it yourself, but our DK star Kim Kwang-woo has an insanely intense gaze once filming starts. Can't you reference that for 'exceptional aura'?"

"Sounds good."

"Ah, then I can—"

"Comparing after seeing a wild tiger would be better."

"········"

Jang Team Leader changed tack.

"Actor, so where exactly were you planning to go?"

"Here."

"That's vague. Pardon me, but the cost."

"I can scrape together what's left of my savings so far."

"········"

Abandoning persuasion, Jang Team Leader went straight for the knockout punch.

"Actor. Sorry, but the Hoshi-jeol camera test is next Tuesday. You haven't even booked the safari yet, and it looks too tight to get what you want and come back."

"Can't it be postponed?"

"Director Gu Jeong-hwan is infamous for his whims, so it's a bit risky for us."

"No way···at all?"

He got that the guy was acting-obsessed, but unlike actors, the company's top priority was minimizing future risks.

Besides.

Frankly, seeing a wild tiger or not wouldn't be fatally decisive for passing the camera test.

From the company man's view, heading abroad at this delicate timing was a bad move—too little return for the risks.

He had no choice but to bow his head.

"Please reconsider, actor."

"DK Entertainment can't even bring in a wild tiger for you."

"Sorry···"

"Too bad. I thought it was essential for passing the camera test."

"Sorry···"

Watching Jang Team Leader and the manager nod vigorously.

'Time to use it.'

Lee Tae-gyu eyed one of the dokkaebi fires in his solar plexus.

Immersing in that emotional state to gain the upper hand in persuasion—just then.

"Actor. If you really want to see a wild tiger, how about this?"

The manager ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rummaged in his bag.

A laptop. He powered it on with his phone's data, opened a browser, and started searching.

"I figure you're headed to some wild park in South Africa or China··· right? Embarrassing to call it a park when it's bigger than a few districts combined."

He hit enter and turned the screen toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-gyu.

"These days, you don't even need to go. There are places with cams on trees or under rocks in restricted wild parks or tiger habitats streaming wildlife 24/7."

Lee Tae-gyu's eyes widened as he listened.

'········Ah.'

Wait a sec.

Originally, the first dokkaebi fire he'd copied—from Do Kwang-seon—had been acquired without even meeting him in person.

Yeah. Later experiments had confirmed it.

He could pull dokkaebi fire from monitors or screens.

Live streams only, of course—

'········Why didn't I think of this?'

Lee Tae-gyu's mouth fell slightly open.

The moment he instinctively made that face toward the laptop screen the manager showed!

Crumple.

'Can I really just... get this for free···?'

Lee Tae-gyu stared blankly ahead.