The Manager Hides His Regression 4: Kim Si-a, the Actress (Part 3)
Honestly, Si-a noona didn’t do anything right either.
Continuously messing up takes up everyone’s time here. And the lead actress not having the script memorized properly— this is clearly Si-a noona’s fault.
*But that crossed a line… She’s not some young lady…*
Kim Kyung-tae. That bastard…
I already knew he was a total scumbag, but I never expected it to go this far.
It seems this crazy guy has been living in the 90s all by himself, and the cameras everywhere don’t scare him at all.
I’ve seen plenty like that in this industry.
Those jerks who lingered in the barbaric era of the past.
*By the way, where did Si-a noona even go? She’s worrying me sick…*
I was in such a hurry to follow her that I rushed out, but I couldn’t see her anywhere.
If anyone heard me calling her name, I’d be done for.
She’s an actress, after all, and stirring up gossip is the last thing she needs…
Right now, the only option was to chase her down on foot.
“Hah… hah… hah… where’d she go…”
Even though the weather was chilly, sweat poured down my face.
Damn… My suit, which Si-a noona prepared for my first day, was soaked through from the sweat.
My shoes, polished to a mirror shine, had worn down to nothing after just one day of running.
But that didn’t matter.
My actress… our Si-a noona must be crying somewhere right now.
As her manager, I couldn’t stand to see her like that.
Was this really my devotion paying off?
I finally found her sitting alone on a bench in the corner of the empty park, weeping pathetically.
“Si-a noona…”
But I couldn’t approach her. No… I didn’t move.
“Uwah… uwah… uwaeeeek! Haa… haa.”
That was because she was shaking her hands wildly, darting behind a tree and vomiting up yellow bile.
Fuck… She had been stressed out this much?
This wasn’t her first time.
The director yelling at the top of his lungs, and the manager who vanished the second the clock struck.
She clearly hadn’t received any care at all in this shoot.
*Si-a noona, I’m sorry. But I can’t keep doing this…*
Damn it… My resolve to live without being a coward because of bastards like him is shattered…
I pulled out my phone, covered my mouth, and snapped a photo of her crying.
In my previous life, my role at this company was janitor— cleaning up after celebrity scandals, blocking dirty secrets.
I know all too well how many ways people can be turned into idiots…
*To fix this, we have to clean up the scene first.*
If she gave up here, it could backfire on both of us.
She had to become a responsible lead who finished the shoot despite the hardship.
Make people feel sorry for her… make the public side with her.
I steeled my heart and approached her as she cried by the tree.
“Si-a noona…”
“Mm…? Minhyuk-ssi…”
Damn… Looking at a woman’s tears is the worst thing.
Not just any woman— a beautiful one’s tears…
“Here. First, dry your tears.”
I handed her a neatly folded handkerchief and calmed her down.
“Thank you… Minhyuk-ssi.”
“Dry your tears first… You should fix your makeup. It all melted because of the tears.”
“…What?”
“We still have to finish shooting~”
She glared at me fiercely, eyes blazing, and yelled when I told her to go back to the set.
“I’m not going! I can’t go!”
It seemed our actress was throwing a tantrum.
*That won’t do.*
If she couldn’t endure this much, she wouldn’t survive in this brutal entertainment world.
She’s a two-year-old actress now. She needs to shed the rookie vibe and become a real actress.
“Then, shall I call it quits? Tell her the actress Kim Si-a said she couldn’t shoot?”
“…I’m not going.”
“Kim Si-a, are you joking? Do you know how many people are waiting here? From the lighting crew to the entire shooting team, prop team, costume team… easily over seventy people. Then there’s our manager team, the assistant actors playing extras, and all the other actors… that’s over a hundred people. And because of you, Kim Si-a, how many people are standing around waiting?”
Her face stayed stone-still under my storm of criticism.
…
She had nothing to say. The delay from not memorizing lines was huge.
She needed to know how much time and money went into making one person shine.
“And you can’t handle just that? You give up because the director yelled at you once? Is Kim Si-a stupid? If you don’t want to memorize lines, just stick them somewhere visible! Write them on signs so people can see!”
I knew she was messing up the lines.
She probably didn’t even want to look at the script.
The director doesn’t yell, but he won’t help, and no one scolds him…
I would have hated looking at the script too. But she had to do it.
A lead actress who carries a drama has to at least try to memorize the script!
But I was wrong… she didn’t want to look at the script.
—She suddenly stood up, grabbed my collar, and clung to me like she was leaning on me for support.
“What do you know? What do you know! Why do you think I didn’t try? You think I’m a fool for only trusting your face and not working hard?”
“What…?”
“I tried! I stayed up three days straight, only reading the script! Even then, even then, what am I supposed to do when it doesn’t work!”
Is that logic? She read the script for three days. How is failing to memorize lines supposed to make sense?
Clearly, that doesn’t make sense.
I understood the reason from the way she muttered.
“Yeah… actually, I’m an idiot. I read it for three days straight, and my head goes white just thinking about her. Hic… hic… huweeeeek.”
“Si-a noona…”
“Hic… hic. I really am an idiot… huweeeek!”
She cried like a child with everything she had been through, hugging me tightly.
“Why… why is my head turning white…?”
“Huweeeek… I’m scared… every time Director Kim yells, I’m scared… people say it’s okay, but I feel too sorry and scared… I worry the shooting atmosphere will turn bad because of me… I’m too scared.”
I just stroked her back as she hugged me, with nothing to say.
She knew, but it wasn’t arrogance. She was just too sorry.
*That’s why she ran off on impulse.*
If she disappeared, there’d be no reason for the atmosphere to turn bad, and no need to waste their time.
“Then, if you write the lines smaller in a place no one can see, even if your head goes white, just look at it and…”
“Don’t! If it gets out that a rookie can’t act, it’ll be bad!”
“Who says that? Who’s the crazy one who says that?”
“Kim Young-cheol’s manager. He’s been saying that doing that will make people see you in a bad light.”
Haa… this idiot.
It sounds right at first glance…
There are probably people who don’t like a two-year-old actress sticking notes in the script.
*But… letting her get to this point and ignoring it is wrong!*
This is completely backward. What changes if I don’t do anything?
Anyway, since the rumor that she can’t memorize lines is already out, we have to help her act better and avoid more NG.
Just doing nothing won’t change a thing…
*Where did this idiot learn all this and make me memorize every legal term?*
Of course, it’s only a problem if someone is naturally born with a good head.
At least Si-a noona isn’t that kind of person.
Ultimately, Si-a noona got traumatized because of Kim Young-cheol’s useless management and the arrogant Director Kim’s directing.
Trauma…
Now that I think about it, it was strange.
She was scared of loud voices, and strangely she got angry at Kim Young-cheol…
Yeah… she didn’t just not try.
The arrogant director and the incompetent manager turned Si-a noona’s efforts into nothing.
The money and time wasted wasn’t because she tried too little. It was because of their incompetence.
I let her lean on me, then gripped her hand tightly.
“Let’s go. Si-a noona!”
“I really can’t… I can’t do it…”
“Si-a noona, I get it now. It’s not your fault. Just trust me once and come back to the set!”
“No… me.”
—She stepped back, turned around, and stared straight into my eyes.
Believe in me. If you believe in me, I will definitely make you the greatest actress… in the greatest position.
For you, and for me… I kept thinking that as I stared straight into her eyes.
“Really… I can believe you?”
“Worse things can’t happen now. Just look at me. No matter what anyone says, what they yell— just look into my eyes, okay? You can do it, right?”
“Ah, got it… I’ll do that.”
For some reason, the power in my voice made her nod and squeeze my hand harder.
I’ve been grinding in this industry for years…
If I can’t handle one two-year-old actress, then I’m the real idiot.
Si-a noona must have been feeling something weird too.
A manager I just met today is shaking her like a toy.
But what can I do? If I don’t believe in me, who else will?
We rushed back to the van, received a quick makeup touch-up, and took a short break.
Before Choi Ko-di could confirm our clasped hands…
“Oh my! You two… what? Why are you holding hands…”
—She snapped her head up fast, quickly loosened our hands, and urgently covered Choi Ko-di’s mouth.
“Th-that’s just for a moment because Si-a noona was dizzy…”
“Yeah… I was a little dizzy…”
Seeing the slightly hurt look on Si-a noona’s face, Choi Ko-di narrowed her eyes and let out a strange smile.
“Hehe… don’t worry about us two. I’m super heavy on the inside~ Haa… the spring breeze is blowing even in our company…”
“Ah, no, Choi Ko-di, it’s nothing like that!”
“What do you mean nothing? ~ You two look really good together~ Actually, I’ve been suspicious since earlier.
A manager who fell for an actress and jumped into the industry… Haa… that’s too romantic…”
“No, that’s not it! Si-a noona, say something! This is going to be big!”
“… ”
But Si-a noona only blushed and didn’t offer any excuse or words.
*Is this like something happened? But is Si-a noona really sick? Why is her face so red?*
I’ve been grinding in the industry for years… I’ve blocked a few scandals.
A fool who doesn’t know anything about women… a clueless love expert.
That’s me! The manager who hid his regression—Kang Minhyuk.