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Join the ServerThe drama script reading comes to an end.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the moment when people exchanged pleasantries and packed up to leave.
But today, the set is suddenly buzzing with activity.
The reason is the actors’ agency managers.
Throughout the reading, they had been quietly texting their companies, carefully watching the situation, and the instant it ended, they rushed toward Yejun, shoving business cards into his hands.
“Hello, this is YM Entertainment.
Our company is very interested in you as an actor.
If you have time, we’d love to set up a meeting to discuss the terms in detail.”
“I’m a manager from SG.
Our director is actually on the way here right now.
Do you happen to have some time at the moment?”
In the blink of an eye, nearly ten business cards are laid out in front of him.
Completely stunned, Yejun can only gape at the unbelievable sight unfolding before his eyes.
Just a short while ago, I was kicked out of my agency.
Nine years ago, when he landed two small drama roles back-to-back, Daehwa had showered him with flowery words, acting as if his success was guaranteed and pushing through a contract immediately.
As a rookie, there was no signing bonus.
Later on, he heard that even rookies sometimes received one, and that those were the actors agencies truly invested in.
Actors like him, who joined with no advance and only trusted the company’s name, were given a few chances before being quietly shoved into underground practice rooms and forgotten.
Even among the cast here, aside from the young detective role, every other actor was a seasoned professional with ten to twenty years in the industry.
Many of their agencies were major companies recognizable by name alone.
Managers shout over one another, desperate to secure an appointment on the spot.
The one who rescues Yejun from the chaos is Su-il.
“Alright, alright.
Let’s stop trying to hustle a kid who doesn’t know anything yet and give him some breathing room, huh?”
With someone other than Lee Sooncheol—the actor with the highest authority present—stepping in, the managers reluctantly back off, smacking their lips in disappointment.
Still, none of them forgets to leave a final word.
“Please save my number—the one at the very bottom.
We really want to work together!”
“Our director said he’ll come personally on the first shoot day.
Let’s talk briefly then.”
Eventually, Su-il physically pushes through the managers, hooks his arm around Yejun’s, and pulls him free.
“What are you doing, kid?
Tense up and follow me.
If you get dragged off by them, you’re done for.”
“Ah—yes.”
After leading him back to his seat, Su-il looks at Yejun and grins.
“Damn, you’ve got some chops.”
“Thank you, seni—
Um… is it okay if I call you senior?”
“Senior, my ass.
Just call me hyung.”
“…..”
Calling someone hyung when they’re more than twice your age feels a bit much.
Su-il, easygoing as ever, lets out a hearty laugh and pats Yejun on the back.
“It’s fine, you punk.
If Lee Sooncheol likes you, then being brothers with me isn’t a problem.
Go on, try it.
Say ‘hyung.’”
“…Hyung.”
“That’s it.
Sounds good.
So, what now?
You got another schedule?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You good with alcohol?”
Sung Su-il’s love of alcohol is legendary.
He’s known for saying he loves booze more than anything except his family.
There’s only one reason he’d ask about someone’s schedule.
I’m… drinking with Sung Su-il?
It’s something Yejun has never even imagined, not even in his dreams.
This is a man who debuted in theater in 1989—before Yejun was even born—and began acting on television as part of the first public-recruited class in 1991.
He may be a gentle kitten in front of Lee Sooncheol, but elsewhere, he’s a veteran actor who bows to no one.
Su-il mimics raising a glass.
“Let’s have a drink, yeah?”
“A-Are you serious?”
“Do you get drunk on fake drinks too?”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“I’m buying.
There’s a bossam place nearby I’ve been going to since I was young.
How about it?
Makgeolli and bossam with your hyung tonight?”
“Yes, senio—
No, hyung.”
“Haha, good!
Then we’ll take my car.
Hey, manager!
Bring the car around.”
At that moment, someone lightly taps Yejun on the shoulder.
Turning around, he sees Jung Il-hwa, a senior actress in her forties who had been sitting farthest from him during the reading.
“Ah, senior.”
“Your name is Yejun, right?”
“Yes!”
“Your acting was good.
Really memorable.
Let’s see each other often.”
His chest pounds violently.
The actors he’d only ever seen on TV are talking to him as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
This isn’t a dream… right?
Il-hwa winks and waves as she leaves.
Su-il throws an arm around Yejun’s shoulders and laughs.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah—yes!”
Meanwhile, Jihoon glares at Yejun’s retreating back, his jaw trembling with rage.
Even after all the actors and staff leave, Jihoon remains seated.
Suddenly, he kicks the table hard and shouts.
“f*ck!”
Startled by the falling table, Jisoo jumps to her feet while the managers behind them rush to restrain him.
“Jihoon!
The seniors are still nearby!”
“f*ck, let go!
Let go!”
“Lower your voice, idiot!”
Breathing heavily, Jihoon barely manages to restrain himself.
With eyes blazing, he stares at the closed door and grits his teeth.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.
Drink some water and calm down.”
“When does the scene where I beat the shit out of Jang Wei and arrest him come out?”
“Uh…
They clash once in episode three but he escapes, then he’s arrested in episode four.
Why?”
Jihoon bites his lip.
“I get to beat him until he’s a pulp, right?”
“Well… yeah, but—
Hey, don’t tell me you—”
Jihoon throws his bag aside.
“Let’s go to the action school.
I need to practice.”
One of the managers, who catches the bag reflexively, asks nervously.
“Jihoon… you’re not thinking of doing something stupid, right?
That’d be a disaster.”
“Doing what?”
“Haha… right.
That kind of thing shouldn’t happen.”
“People get injured all the time training at action schools.
Getting hit a few times during actual filming is normal, isn’t it?”
“…..”
The sound of Jihoon grinding his teeth is audible.
“That f*cking bastard.
I swear I’ll kill him.”
Arms crossed, Jisoo looks at Jihoon coldly.
“Oppa.”
“What?”
“What are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean, what do I do?!”
Her eyebrow twitches.
“Do you not remember humiliating yourself in front of all those actors?
It wasn’t just you—
People were saying the Daehwa CEO has gone senile.
Managers from other companies heard everything.”
Jihoon freezes.
Blinded by rage over everyone siding with Yejun thanks to Lee Sooncheol, he hadn’t thought this far.
This wasn’t just personal embarrassment.
It was a stain on Daehwa’s reputation.
He kicks the overturned table again and shouts.
“f*ck!
So what?!
Are you trying to provoke me right now?!”
Cursing under his breath, Jihoon storms out.
Jisoo’s manager, tense in case of another outburst, finally exhales in relief once he’s gone.
“Why’d you say that?
He was already furious.”
Jisoo stares at the door.
“Oppa, you know how fast rumors spread in this industry, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Other agency CEOs have probably already heard about this.
They’re probably laughing their heads off.”
“…..”
“And of course, our CEO will hear about it too.”
“Ha… this is insane.”
“And did you see the look Lee Sooncheol gave Jihoon?
Like he was absolutely pathetic.”
“…Yeah, I saw.”
Recalling how she’d instinctively agreed when Jihoon mocked Yejun, Jisoo grimaces.
“This is going to leak somehow.
And if it does, I’ll get dragged down with him.
What do I do?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”
“Don’t you remember?
When he was putting Yejun down, I backed him up.”
“That barely counts.”
“Depends on who’s watching.
And we’re from the same company.”
“Hmm… fair point.”
“Tch.
This is annoying.”
After a moment of thought, Jisoo clenches her fist.
“Oppa.
You have Sung Su-il’s manager’s number, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It looked like they were going out drinking.
Track the location.”
“The place?”
She sighs.
“The one at fault needs to bow first.
If we stay still, Jihoon will get destroyed—and I’ll go down with him.
I need insurance.”
“Got it!”
As the manager hurriedly pulls out his phone, Jisoo exhales.
“f*ck… Lee Jihoon, you idiot.”
***
Bang!
“What did you say?!”
Less than ten minutes after the reading ends, the news reaches Song Minsu.
His face turns beet-red as he bellows.
“Where the f*ck is Lee Jihoon right now?!”
Kim Sun-woo, the general manager reporting to him, sweats nervously.
“According to his manager, he went straight to the action school.”
“That son of a b*tch.
Tell him to come in immediately.”
“But he went to practice—”
“Practice my ass!
Tell him to get his ass in here right now!
He smeared shit all over my face and thinks he can practice?!”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
As Kim Sun-woo rushes out to make the call, Song Minsu sweeps everything off his desk and collapses into his chair, grabbing his hair.
“f*ck… of all people, Lee Sooncheol had to say it.”
Gossip is routine in this industry.
But coming from Lee Sooncheol—a legendary actor—
In front of the director and the writer, at a script reading no less—
Being labeled a senile CEO who can’t recognize talent.
“That stupid bastard, Lee Jihoon.”
He kicks the desk again, lights a cigarette, and exhales roughly.
Normally, he never smokes in the office.
But in his fury, he cracks a window and keeps puffing.
Kim Sun-woo returns, sees his reddened eyes, and says nothing.
Perhaps thanks to the cigarette, Song Minsu calms down slightly.
He lowers his voice.
“Manager Kim.”
“Yes, sir.”
“About Ma Yejun.
When I ordered you to get rid of him.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you stop me?”
“…..?”
What the hell is this guy talking about?
Song Minsu points at him with the cigarette.
“Do you think I, the CEO of a company this big, can personally evaluate every actor’s skill?!
That’s why you’re in that seat!
Nine years.
Nine years of honing his craft—
And the moment he leaves, he gets recognized by someone like Lee Sooncheol!
That means he showed promise even back then!
Even if I told you to drop him, shouldn’t you have stopped me?!
Why did you just stand there, you bastard?!”
Kim Sun-woo’s face crumples instantly.
I knew it.
f*ck.
It’s my fault again.
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