The Manager Hides His Regression (9) – The Actress Kim Si-a
Days had passed since the incident at the filming set. In the office of the JS Entertainment CEO, Lee Jong-seok sat across from Kim Si-a, the two of them facing each other with serious expressions as they talked.
“Si-a, why are you acting like this… Kang Minhyuk that guy still isn’t even officially hired yet…”
Headache was coming on.
Why was this guy so stubborn today?
Up until now Kim Si-a had been so obedient, but she suddenly had this sharp edge to her that made no sense at all.
“I want Kang Minhyuk assigned as my dedicated manager…”
“Why? Yeongcheol is right there, Yeongcheol! Kang Minhyuk wasn’t even on site that day, was he?”
“…”
“Why don’t you like Yeongcheol? Then just tell me. Only then can I actually do something about it!”
I was going insane. This frustrating kid had been silent for hours, only repeating the same demand: assign Kang Minhyuk as my dedicated manager.
“Can’t you just switch him?”
“Si-a, when you work, reasons and justifications are necessary.
I know you don’t like Yeongcheol, but Yeongcheol needs to know the reason too, otherwise how is he supposed to fix his behavior and grow?
If you just replace him for no reason, only resentment will build between the two of you…”
Of course, managers were fired left and right for a single line from an actress.
Justifications and reasons? They weren’t important.
The actress’s feelings were the reason and the justification.
But Lee Jong-seok didn’t want to do that.
If they both ended up with hurt feelings in this tight-knit world and walked away, trouble would blow up later.
“It’s best when both sides part ways cleanly. Like a man and woman.”
Kim Si-a listened in silence to the CEO’s words. When she realized it wouldn’t do, she calmly began to talk about that day’s events.
“Chief Kim Yeong-cheol… or Yeongcheol-oppa, I can’t work with him anymore. He doesn’t take care of me at all.
And… he keeps ordering me to pour drinks for the directors every time.
I can do everything else, but I can’t stand that one thing…”
The moment she opened her mouth, Lee Jong-seok’s face gradually hardened.
From what he’d heard so far, he could guess the situation… he’d seen this kind of thing before.
Of course, care could be neglected when busy… but there was one thing he absolutely could not accept.
Treating the actress he was responsible for like a cheap bar hostess at a drinking party.
That went against the CEO’s core beliefs.
After rejecting countless sponsor offers and sexual bribes to reach this point, this Yeongcheol bastard had fouled everything up.
“You… can you take responsibility for what you said? Are you sure?”
“It’s true…”
“Did Kang Minhyuk… that guy was there that day too?”
“Yes, PD Park Ji-ho stopped Minhyuk-oppa from overturning the situation.”
His fist trembled.
Even a one-day manager had gotten that angry, but the guy who had worked under him for years was acting like this?
Swallowing the wave of humiliation, Kim Si-a could no longer meet his eyes.
“Bring Kim Yeong-cheol here.”
The secretary waiting outside immediately called Yeongcheol to the CEO’s office. When the door opened and Kim Yeong-cheol walked in, he bowed with a fake smile, but the CEO’s furious roar froze him in place.
“Kim Yeong-cheol! You bastard! What the hell are you doing?!”
“N… no?”
“You’re telling our actresses to pour you drinks?!”
“P-please calm down, CEO-nim… I-I was misunderstanding… misunderstanding!”
“Misunderstanding my ass! Are you a normal person or not?!”
The CEO’s shout, filled with pure anger, echoed through the office.
Manager Jeong Man-sik jumped in alarm when he heard it.
“Hey… what happened at the filming set with Kang Minhyuk?”
“That… um…”
When he spilled the details of that day to Jeong Man-sik, the manager’s face drained of all color.
He knew.
What the CEO hated most and what he guarded against most closely.
“Shit… trouble’s here…”
‘Trouble, huh. Looks like my kid’s getting fired~’
“You piece of shit! You had trouble and didn’t report it?”
“I’m sorry…”
“Hah… fine. Whatever. You wouldn’t understand anyway…”
You wouldn’t, would you? I know you’re the same kind of traitor as me.
What you’ll do from now on… the bastards who’ll follow you.
I’m going to chew them all up and spit them out~?
Since Yeongcheol was the starter, expect great things, you bastard!
I watched the back of Jeong Man-sik as he fled the scene in a panic, quietly picking up the recorder.
*
*
*
“CEO-nim… I only did it to appease Director Kim. Si-a, say something…”
Despite Yeongcheol’s desperate groveling, Kim Si-a’s gaze remained icy.
“You ran away from that filming set that day, didn’t you?!”
“W-what…?”
“You ran because you heard the director yell at you… what am I supposed to do about that?”
“That day oppa was also…”
It was ridiculous. Even after the fact he hadn’t mentioned that he had left the set.
Yet this ungrateful bastard was bringing up that day’s events now…
But sadly, it was Yeongcheol who spoke first, stepping ahead of Si-a’s opening mouth.
Seeing her lips part, he desperately tried to cut her off and poured out his excuses.
“And… pouring one glass of alcohol for the director we worked with together? What’s the big deal?”
“That one glass of alcohol could turn into something else later.
That one glass could become your bed and a sponsor, did you not know?”
“I know! I know all of that too. But when the actress couldn’t memorize her lines and the director got angry, couldn’t a glass of apology be offered?! Si-a, if you have a mouth, say something!”
“…”
Kim Si-a clenched her teeth and stayed silent.
She hadn’t run away, and she had no desire to make excuses.
She also couldn’t bring herself to repeat Director Kim’s abusive rant in her own mouth.
“Look, it’s not like I wanted to do that, CEO-nim.
Our Si-a, you really should stop Director Kim’s mouth from spreading rumors!”
Seeing Si-a bow her head in silence, a smile spread across Yeongcheol’s face.
He thought he had finally seized control of the situation.
“Haa… even still, actresses have pride. You shouldn’t have made them pour drinks…”
Yeongcheol’s actions looked reasonable, so the CEO’s voice began to soften.
“I know, but CEO-nim, that day on set was really serious, wasn’t it?”
“No… oppa was…”
“That’s right, Si-a. That day you ran away, so I suffered so much…”
He kept reminding her that she had been fleeing to avoid giving him the floor.
Since she was the one who ran, the timid Si-a had no choice but to stay quiet.
‘The one who did wrong should receive punishment, and the one who did right should receive reward…’
He kept pinching her and making the situation worse.
I couldn’t just stand there.
Hiding among the people wandering in front of the CEO’s office, I listened to their conversation.
Quietly pushing them aside, I grabbed the doorknob of the CEO’s office.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
“That bastard… what are you doing?! That’s my thing!”
Of course, the crowd outside the CEO’s office stared at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t care.
I was the clueless, obedient new manager who followed orders without question…
–BANG! Without a backward glance at their shocked faces, I opened the CEO’s door.
“CEO-nim! I have something to report… are you in the middle of a meeting?”
I bowed politely, giving an innocent look as if I had no idea what was going on.
The people in the CEO’s office stared at the uninvited guest with blank expressions.
*
*
*
“Kang Minhyuk… oh, so that’s you. You were there that day too. Welcome, welcome.”
“CEO-nim, that won’t be necessary. The matter is already closed…”
Yeongcheol tried to shut my mouth in a panic when I suddenly appeared, but that was impossible.
Why had I come here?
‘This oppa is looking at me so cutely… if you went through that, you should have spoken up properly.’
I gave a soft smile to Si-a’s dazed expression, then pulled the recorder from my pocket.
“Ah… CEO-nim, it’s probably better to listen to this first.”
“What is this…?”
“I turned it on just in case I missed any important instructions or words… but it seems the site audio from that day got recorded too.”
–Click. I pressed play, and every abusive rant Director Kim had made that day poured out.
[You bastard! Are you seriously trying to ruin our drama?! How many times is this now!
Even have a mouth and you won’t speak! Why aren’t you memorizing your lines?!]
[You’re really too much… what the hell are you doing to the actresses? Pouring drinks at a bar with that pretty face instead.
Why are you killing my career here?! Do actresses not being able to act make sense? Why are they even here if they’re just going to be bodies!]
“…”
A deathly silence fell over the CEO’s office… no, it froze solid.
Especially Kim Yeong-cheol’s face, which turned deathly white as if he had seen a ghost.
He never imagined these words would come out.
He thought he had just caused some trouble while he was away and that Si-a had run off.
“Kim Yeong-cheol… you bastard… you’re going to pay for Director Kim’s anger…?”
“A, um…”
You shouldn’t even open your mouth… what excuse are you going to make this time~
I pretended to be clueless again and cut Yeongcheol off.
“Ah! Chief Kim Yeong-cheol wasn’t there that day, so he probably doesn’t know.”
“What…?”
“Chief Kim Yeong-cheol left because he was busy that day… haha, the site cleanup that day was really tough.”
“You… you say you did the site cleanup that day…? You’re telling the truth?”
“Yes. Minhyuk-oppa ran all over the set that day, apologizing to every single person… if it weren’t for me…”
“Tch, I’m just a useless manager who stepped on the ground… if I were oppa, I couldn’t have stayed there anyway.”
“No. I remember it clearly. How much sweat you shed that day… how much you ran around.
CEO-nim, that’s why I want Kang Minhyuk as my dedicated manager. I don’t care about experience or anything.
I just want someone who can shed sweat for me… someone willing to work hard.”
‘Of course I’ll work far better than you, oppa.’
–Slam. Hearing Si-a’s words, the CEO slumped into the sofa, his energy drained as he stared blankly at Yeongcheol.
Yeongcheol, unable to meet the CEO’s eyes, trembled like an aspen leaf.
“Kim Yeong-cheol… manager.”
“Y-yes!”
“Get… get out.”
“W-what?”
“Don’t act like a loser. Leave when you can still speak nicely. Seriously… hey Yeongcheol. What the hell is this?”
“H, just once… please spare me, CEO-nim…”
It was beyond anger. If you were going to be vicious, at least act decisively…
Or at least act a little humanely…
Yeongcheol couldn’t manage even one subordinate or take care of actress care.
p>He had abandoned the site control entirely…
In other words, as a manager… as a person… he was completely disqualified.
“I don’t need people like you in my company. Get out right now. And don’t even think about setting foot back here…”
Finally, at the CEO’s icy last warning, Yeongcheol staggered out of the office like a corpse.
“Haa… Si-a, I’m sorry. I misjudged the person. It’s all on me.”
“No, it’s fine… I just haven’t told you yet. Well…”
“No, Minhyuk… if only you get assigned as my manager, that’s enough, right?”
“Yes. That’s all I need.”
The CEO nodded in agreement and immediately handed me a contract, formally hiring me as Si-a’s dedicated manager.
“Then we still have to talk about the contract. Si-a, can you step aside for a moment?”
“Yes… CEO-nim, thank you. I’m grateful for your trust…”
Even Si-a bowed slightly and left her seat.
The CEO pressed me with a cold voice.
“Hey, Kang Minhyuk. Why did you only bring this recording file now? You weren’t new to this side, were you?”
Anyway, this guy was sharp on the uptake…
And his unflinching, fiery personality when cornered… that was unchanged too.
“Haha… CEO-nim… I’ve been earning hospital bills for my mother until now, then immediately applied right after military discharge.
As for the recording file… that’s why Manager Jeong Man-sik scolded me earlier for not listening, so I reported it to the CEO right away.”
“What? Man-sik said…?”
“Yes. He said something like, ‘Did you make a mistake or what?’ so I reported it to you immediately.”
“Hoo… you idiot. You shouldn’t record things like this carelessly, you know?”
“I’m sorry. I did it to make sure I didn’t miss anything… I wanted to do well… I’m sorry!”
I stood up quickly and bowed deeply. His fiery gaze slowly softened.
“Tch! I’ll handle this myself… from now on, be careful. Don’t do things like this.”
“Yes… but CEO-nim… what about Director Kim? Are you just going to let him be?”
“I’ll have to for now. With this alone, I can’t do anything.”
“But if I just leave him like this, he’s sure to do something…”
“Watch the timing quietly for now… but kid, why are you so curious?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. Then I’ll take my leave, CEO-nim!”
The CEO let out a dry laugh at my awkward expression.
“Leave if you want~ Don’t get so curious. Take good care of Si-a.”
I have to take good care of her, hyung… but I can’t leave Director Kim alone.
Since I got rid of Yeongcheol, it’s Director Kim’s turn now. The bastard’s turn is next.
The face of Kang Minhyuk as he left the CEO’s office had returned to the cold, calculating expression of his past self, not the clueless new manager he had pretended to be.