Chapter 17
“So which is it, a manager or a team leader?”
The reaction came from both in front of me and behind me at the same time.
“What the hell is this guy talking about? I don’t even know him. Anyway, I was going to be the one to quit this shitty theater troupe first!”
When Lee Da-young shouted,
the man whose wrist I was holding yelled just as loudly.
“I was already planning to fire you today! Nothing but complaints, day after day! I can’t work with an asshole like you, ruining the whole atmosphere and everyone’s mood!”
“Yeah. You jerk-off army bastards can live like that forever and rot on the streets.”
What a vicious curse.
Lee Da-young really did run off without looking back.
I chased after her.
“Hey, Ms. Lee Da-young. No, Da-young.”
When I called out to her as if we were close, Lee Da-young, who’d been running at full tilt, stopped in her tracks.
“And who are you?”
An ordinary woman might have been flustered, or at least a little scared.
But Lee Da-young wasn’t.
I liked that about her.
How should I put it?
Ah, this woman was strong.
Because she was strong.
I felt like I could just fuck her, and if I had an opening, I’d make up any excuse to get her into bed.
[Not bad.]
“I protected you. Can’t I at least get a thank-you? Besides, I might be the one who changes your life.”
“What the fuck are you talking about……”
She did have a foul mouth.
No, she was definitely a rough-tempered woman through and through.
“Who asked you to protect me? Fuck, I’d have felt better if he’d just slapped me right there. And who the hell are you to go on about changing my life?”
“You’re right about that. But have you ever thought about becoming an idol?”
“I’m an actress, you asshole. What do you mean, an idol? You just popped out of nowhere.”
“If you debut as an idol, you’ll definitely succeed. Hmm. No, wait.”
I grabbed Lee Da-young by the wrist and asked,
“What is it you want to do? Let’s start there.”
“Didn’t anyone teach you not to grab a woman you don’t know by the wrist?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lee Da-young tried to kick my shin in self-defense, but unfortunately, I easily blocked that too and pressed her again.
“You’re one of the toughest women I’ve ever met. And I’m not exactly weak, either.”
“Ugh.”
“Just tell me. It won’t cost you anything. No, wait. If I hear you out and persuade you to debut as an idol, I’ll be the one making money. I’m doing this to make you filthy rich.”
“I don’t need money.”
“Huh? You’re the first person I’ve met who says they don’t need money.”
At my slightly mocking remark, Lee Da-young knitted her brows again, apparently getting worked up.
She was fucking beautiful.
At least when it came to looks, I had to admit she was S-grade or higher.
“It’s not that I don’t need money at all. In this day and age, you can get by if you earn the bare minimum. I just want to act. To give satisfying performances in satisfying works.”
“So you’re going to keep joining B-grade theater troupes like this and repeating the same routine? Like you said, those troupes are just kids playing around. And with your personality, you’d cause a scene wherever you went. Unless you started your own troupe.”
“……”
“But that’s impossible, too. Who’d accept you with that kind of personality?”
“So what? It’s none of your fucking business. If I work hard, it’ll pay off someday.”
That was a mindset you’d expect from a child.
Sure, hard work doesn’t lie.
But there was a slight catch to that saying. Hard work only ‘usually’ doesn’t lie.
Hard work can lie, too.
Especially in this day and age.
The problem was, stubborn people like her wouldn’t give in even with a knife at their throat.
How was I supposed to get this woman to give in?
Should I just go ahead and pounce on her for real?
[I’ll give you some special advice here. Whatever else, finding a talent like Lee Da-young was your achievement, Master.]
Oh.
[The answer is very simple.]
[Have her meet Han Hye-eun. Then you’ll get what you want, Master.]
Huh?
What?
That’s really all it takes?
The answer was so simple it left me dumbfounded.
I could hardly believe that alone would be enough to bring this foul-tempered woman over to my side.
“Hey, do you like Han Hye-eun?”
At that moment, Lee Da-young flinched.
“I’m a fucking die-hard fan.”
What the hell was a ‘fucking die-hard fan’?
I couldn’t help chuckling.
“Want to meet Han Hye-eun?”
Lee Da-young’s eyes went wide.
For the first time, the viciousness vanished from her eyes.
* * *
More than seventy percent of the people wandering around the theater were couples.
Even those who’d come alone were fidgeting with their phones or killing time with earbuds in, pretending to be at ease.
But among them, I saw one woman sitting alone in the dark, staring blankly into space.
Like an orphan abandoned by her parents.
She sat there dazed, with no real light in her eyes.
It was Eun Hee-ju.
She was sitting all alone on the chair I’d told her to rest in, doing nothing but breathing.
“Ha, seriously.”
The sight was ridiculous, but it also made me feel kind of good.
How should I put it?
It made me think she really did only listen to me.
It was amazing to think there was actually someone like her in the world.
“Honestly, she’s something else. Can she really not manage without me?”
I was muttering that and about to head back to Eun Hee-ju when,
I saw a man approach her first and hold out his phone.
Seeing that suddenly put me in a bad mood.
Eun Hee-ju gave the man a small shake of her head. It was slight, but her refusal was clear.
But the man wouldn’t give up and held out his phone again.
Eun Hee-ju didn’t even look at him.
“Oh. You’re back.”
“Yeah, I’m back.”
When I answered a little irritably, Eun Hee-ju looked at me to gauge my mood. The man seemed unsure what to do for a moment, then quickly moved away.
“What was that asshole’s deal?”
“Oh. He asked me for my number. But I don’t have a phone, so I turned him down.”
It wasn’t an answer I liked very much.
“If you had a phone, would you have given him your number?”
Maybe that was the first time I’d shown Eun Hee-ju a slightly irritated side of myself.
But why?
“Team Leader. Are you angry?”
Eun Hee-ju seemed somehow pleased.
No, her expression was the same.
That was just how it felt to me.
“No, I’m not really angry. Come to think of it, you don’t even have a phone.”
“No. I don’t need one. There’s no one to contact.”
“Hmm.”
I rubbed my chin for a moment.
“Trainees at our agency aren’t allowed to have cell phones. I can’t exactly get one for you with company money. But I’ll buy you one with my own. It might be frustrating if I can’t reach you like before.”
“Ah. Yes. Thank you.”
“But you’re only saving my number in it. Got it?”
“Yes. I will. I don’t think I’ll need anyone else’s number anyway.”
Now that was an answer I liked.
“Yeah. Do that.”
“Ah. Team Leader-Manager. But did you come alone?”
“Huh? Oh. I made plans to meet someone later.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. I have some time before then, so we can watch another play, get you a phone, and I’ll take you back to the dorm.”
“……Yes.”
As I was choosing another play,
“Hm?”
Whenever a woman passed in front of me, Eun Hee-ju quietly covered my eyes with both hands.
“Why?”
“It seemed too bright.”
Then you should cover your own eyes.
Why are you covering mine?
It was so absurd I chuckled, but just let it go.
She was Eun Hee-ju, after all.
“Ah. Team Leader-Manager.”
“Yeah?”
“What do I have to do to succeed quickly?”
“You’re quite the ambitious one, huh? Hey, you’ve only just started. Why are you already talking about success? For now, just work hard at the training I tell you to do.”
“Yes……”
“For now, your job today is to watch the actors performing right in front of you and learn how they express emotions. Cry. Laugh. Get angry. Those kinds of things. Got it? Watch the audience’s reactions, too, and see which scenes bring those feelings out more clearly.”
“I understand.”
Eun Hee-ju’s answer was reassuring.
Because I’d already seen she wasn’t a girl who just answered and did nothing.
“Anyway, I should get Lee Da-young’s contract ready, too.”
“I’ll succeed quickly, Team Leader-Manager.”
Yeah, yeah.
I nodded, then fell asleep through the entire next play. And on the way to take her back to the dorm, Eun Hee-ju fell asleep too.
She’d said she hadn’t slept, but focusing through two plays in a row was impressive enough.
“Where should I go?”
After laying the sleeping Eun Hee-ju down at the dorm, I checked the time and set off.
It was time to meet Han Hye-eun and Lee Da-young.
* * *
[Nobel Apartments]
The place we’d agreed to meet was Han Hye-eun’s house.
[Kim Hyeon-woo: Hye-eun, let’s meet up today.]
[Han Hye-eun: Out of nowhere?]
[Kim Hyeon-woo: If I say meet, then meet, you bitch. What, you don’t want to?]
[Han Hye-eun: Aww, of course I’ll meet if you ask, Oppa. I just need to be ready to get pounded, right?]
As expected, my number-one fucktoy.
[Kim Hyeon-woo: I’m going to pound you plenty today. But you won’t be the only one getting pounded. I’m planning to pound someone else, too. I’m thinking the three of us.]
[Han Hye-eun: Hmm. I’m not sure whether I like that or hate it.]
[Kim Hyeon-woo: I’m trying to recruit her as a trainee, but she’s got a hell of a personality. I was hoping you could help me out.]
[Han Hye-eun: I don’t know what’s going on, but you just want me to make her your slave too, right?]
[Kim Hyeon-woo: You get it.]
[Han Hye-eun: I’m a little jealous, too. If you’re trying to recruit her as a trainee, that means she has talent.]
Han Hye-eun wasn’t exactly a good person, either.
Looking at her now, I could kind of see why she’d flopped after her first project.
[Kim Hyeon-woo: Don’t bring your personal feelings into this. Do a good job.]
[Han Hye-eun: Yes, Oppa.]
When I arrived in front of Han Hye-eun’s house,
I saw Lee Da-young waiting, fidgeting with her hair and looking like she’d dressed up.
‘She’s fucking beautiful.’
Seriously.
I’d thought earlier that she was beautiful enough to outshine most celebrities.
But Lee Da-young now was on another level.
It was even harder to understand why a girl like her had been doing B-grade acting in B-grade roles at some B-grade theater troupe.
“Let’s go in.”
“Ah. This is really Ms. Han Hye-eun’s mansion?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait. How do you know that?”
Because I fucked Han Hye-eun here.
“I was Han Hye-eun’s manager. For a little while, recently. That’s why she’s gotten back in form, too. I helped her.”
“I don’t think unnie needed your help. She would’ve done fine on her own.”
Right.
Go ahead and snarl all you want now.
Soon you’ll be moaning for me after I fuck you.
[25↑]
Ding!
When we reached the front door of Han Hye-eun’s house and rang the bell, Han Hye-eun opened the door and welcomed us.
“Ah! Come on in, Hyeon-woo Oppa.”
Just looking at her bright smile, you’d never guess she was the same woman who spread her pussy for me and barked like a dog, begging me to pound her harder.
Han Hye-eun was an actress.
“Ah. And you must be Da-young? Oppa told me about you. He said you’re a fan of mine. Ah, thank you so much. I was in a slump for quite a while, but I’ve been getting back in form lately.”
“I-I! No. I, um…… Ah, h-hello! I decided I wanted to try acting after seeing the first work you appeared in.”
“Oh, really? We’ll have to talk about that at length. Come on in. I’ve got everything set up. Do you drink?”
“I don’t really drink……”
“Come on, you have to. You can’t not drink on a day this nice. I’d be hurt.”
“I’ll drink.”
Sure.
You have to.
Alcohol and sex are inseparable, after all.