Chapter 50: A Manager’s Warning

A faint flicker of hope sparked within Cha Moon-gyu, but Bae Da-ro’s gaze, fixed upon him, was utterly cold and devoid of emotion. Cha Moon-gyu quickly extinguished that hope.

“……Tell me, what did you hope to gain by saving me? Was someone else behind this, instructing you to rescue me?”

Seo Yeon-ho was so deeply immersed in Cha Moon-gyu’s emotions that he forgot he was merely reading a script. Regrettably, these were Cha Moon-gyu’s last lines permitted by the script.

“Oh! Han Tae-young’s new manager is really good. He’s like an actor.”

Lost in the lingering sentiment, Seo Yeon-ho flinched, snapping back to reality.

“He’s not just ‘like’ an actor; isn’t he already one? He’s just not famous yet.”

Another staff member from the makeup team playfully nudged the one who had just praised Seo Yeon-ho.

“Oh dear, how rude of me. My apologies, Actor-nim.”

“I’m not an actor……”

“I noticed it yesterday too, but doesn’t Actor-nim have an amazing voice? It’s a low tone, but the pronunciation is so clear it just draws you in. I think he could be a professional voice actor for narrations.”

“Excuse me……”

“Quiet!”

Seo Yeon-ho desperately wanted to tell the staff to stop calling him ‘Actor-nim’. He’d accepted being mistaken for an extra, given his actions the day before. However, hearing himself called an actor stirred a deep-seated aversion within him.

Yet, the staff rarely gave Seo Yeon-ho a chance to speak. Though this time, it wasn’t a staff member who interrupted him, but Choo Gi-hoon.

As the staff fell silent, the makeup room grew quiet. Seo Yeon-ho tried to seize the moment to voice what he’d been meaning to say, but he couldn’t open his mouth. Choo Gi-hoon was staring at him with a face like a judge at an audition.

“Just one question.”

“……Ah, yes.”

“When you read Cha Moon-gyu’s lines, your tone was different from the script. Why was that?”

Seo Yeon-ho inwardly flinched. He was taken aback that Choo Gi-hoon had accurately grasped the script’s atmosphere, even though it wasn’t a scene he was in.

“It wasn’t intentional. As I was reading, I began to wonder if Cha Moon-gyu truly didn’t recognize Bae Da-ro…… I suppose my own thoughts inadvertently seeped in. I apologize.”

Seo Yeon-ho, bowing his head, did not see the peculiar gleam that flashed in Choo Gi-hoon’s eyes as he watched him.

“He’s useful. It wasn’t hubris to try and test his skills in front of me.”

Choo Gi-hoon muttered something indecipherable to himself, then slapped the armrest of his chair.

“The apology is unnecessary. Just keep reading the script.”

Seo Yeon-ho looked at Choo Gi-hoon with a puzzled expression. He had expected to be scolded for not reading the script properly, so it was surprising that he had let it pass without much comment. Was he being lenient because it was a mistake made by an ordinary person?

‘What does it matter? As long as I don’t get yelled at, it’s fine.’

Seo Yeon-ho calmed his racing heart and refocused on the script. However, even as his eyes scanned the words, the content wouldn’t register. This was because Choo Gi-hoon had dragged a chair next to him and sat down.

“I told you to read the script, why aren’t you reading? Am I bothering you?”

Seo Yeon-ho didn’t answer, offering an ambiguous smile instead.

“Oh, really? I’m bothering you? There’s absolutely no need to be bothered by me.”

“Stop spouting nonsense and come over here. After being so overbearing, how can you tell him not to be bothered?”

Han Tae-young pulled the chair with one hand, returning Choo Gi-hoon to his original spot. Due to Choo Gi-hoon’s considerable weight, the chair legs scraped against the floor with a roar like construction noise.

“Are you showing off your strength to your senior?”

“It’s you, Senior Choo, who likes to show off your strength, not me.”

“When did I ever show off my strength?”

“You’re always posting boastful pictures about increasing your lifting weight, aren’t you?”

“Ahem! That’s just a bodybuilder expressing their sense of achievement.”

“That *is* showing off your strength. You seem to think something else is. Now, considering your age, stop thinking about increasing weight and just increase your reps.”

“Don’t lecture me just because you lift a little more than I do. Those who easily succeed because of their age and physique always mistakenly think they’re good at exercising.”

Choo Gi-hoon grumbled, then his eyes sharpened as he spotted Seo Yeon-ho reflected in the mirror.

“Junior, how much do you lift for your ‘big three’?”

Seo Yeon-ho initially thought he was addressing Han Tae-young, calling him ‘junior’. However, Choo Gi-hoon’s gaze was fixed on Seo Yeon-ho. Seo Yeon-ho answered, half-doubting if the question was truly for him.

“I don’t exercise at the gym……”

“You don’t work out?”

“Actor-nim, aren’t you going to get your makeup done?”

As Choo Gi-hoon started to turn around again, a staff member spoke up.

“Hmm, hmm. No, I just thought it was a waste that this junior has such good physical condition but doesn’t work out…… I was going to offer to teach him if he didn’t know how.”

“That’s being nosy.”

Choo Gi-hoon fell silent at the staff member’s firm reply. He didn’t seem to be so narrow-minded as to argue why it was nosy.

“Han Tae-young, your setup is complete. You’ve worked hard.”

While Choo Gi-hoon was bickering with the staff, Han Tae-young’s makeup was finished. Han Tae-young thanked the staff and left the makeup room. Seo Yeon-ho quickly gathered his belongings to leave as well.

“You all worked hard.”

“Wait a moment, junior.”

“Yes?”

Choo Gi-hoon gestured for Seo Yeon-ho to come closer. As Seo Yeon-ho approached, Choo Gi-hoon extended his phone.

“Punch in your phone number.”

‘Why does he want my number? Is it because I’m Han Tae-young’s manager, so he wants to have it? But I clearly said earlier that it was temporary……’

‘Surely he won’t actually contact me? Even if he does, I can just say I quit being a manager.’

As Seo Yeon-ho was entering the number, the phone suddenly vanished from his hand. Han Tae-young, who had returned to the makeup room at some point, had taken it.

“I was wondering why you weren’t coming out, and it turns out you were being a pushover. Why are you even bothering with that old man?”

Han Tae-young deleted all the numbers Seo Yeon-ho had entered, then tossed the phone back to Choo Gi-hoon.

“Senior Choo, from now on, if you have anything to say to Seo Yeon-ho, do it through me.”

Seo Yeon-ho was pulled out of the makeup room. Han Tae-young’s actions somehow felt like a manager blocking a scout from another entertainment agency. Yet, despite being temporary, Seo Yeon-ho was the manager, and Han Tae-young was the actor.

Han Tae-young, holding Seo Yeon-ho’s hand firmly, only spoke after they had walked a considerable distance from the makeup room.

“Are you a child? You’re not new to social life, so why are you so unguarded? What if you just hand out your number to anyone just because they’re famous?”

“I didn’t give him my number because he’s famous.”

“Do you know how ignorantly that man works out? If you work out with him, your knees might give out. No, you’ll definitely damage your body and grind your cartilage.”

Han Tae-young gave a litany of reasons why Seo Yeon-ho shouldn’t associate with Choo Gi-hoon, trying to scare him. While there might have been some exaggeration, it didn’t sound like a complete lie. Choo Gi-hoon’s physique, even to Seo Yeon-ho who knew little about fitness, was extraordinary. To maintain such a body at that age would require brutal effort. And people who achieved something through such effort often liked to impose their standards on others.

“Even if Choo Gi-hoon contacts me to work out, I won’t meet him. I don’t have time for things like the gym.”

“What if you do get time?”

“I just said I won’t have time.”

“But what if you do?”

‘Why doesn’t he listen to a word I say?’

Seo Yeon-ho frowned, looking up at Han Tae-young.

“Even if I did get time, as you say, it would be the same. I’d either take on another part-time job or sleep, not go to the gym.”

“It’s true, you do have a rather tenacious side when it comes to money.”

Han Tae-young uttered words that made Seo Yeon-ho want to punch him, then slung an arm around his shoulder.

“……!”

His heart gave a small thud. Seo Yeon-ho deliberately hardened his expression and nudged Han Tae-young’s arm away.

“What’s that for? Why are you acting chummy?”

“Choo Gi-hoon’s management company, the contract terms are bad.”

Han Tae-young lowered his voice significantly, as if sharing a secret.

“And?”

“If you join just for the fame, you’ll definitely get screwed over, so don’t even look at it if Senior Choo tries to tempt you, you blockhead.”

Seo Yeon-ho couldn’t understand Han Tae-young, who was looking at him with a frustrated expression. What reason would he have to join Choo Gi-hoon’s company that would warrant such a personal warning?

‘Is Choo Gi-hoon’s company looking for a manager?’

But Seo Yeon-ho had no intention of being a manager. It wasn’t a high-paying profession, so why would he ever get a job at a management company?

‘What a strange guy, anyway.’

Seo Yeon-ho wished he could peer into Han Tae-young’s mind. He didn’t seem stupid, but he said so many things that contradicted his earlier statements.

“But seriously, you really have no intention of working out?”

He had just thought Han Tae-young wasn’t stupid, but it seemed he was. Seo Yeon-ho had just said he would never work out, and he had already forgotten.

“No.”

Seo Yeon-ho shot Han Tae-young a disdainful glance and shrugged his arm off his shoulder.

Han Tae-young was a fool, but a fool who acted damn well.

****

Han Tae-young and Choo Gi-hoon—no, Bae Da-ro and Cha Woong-jae—stood facing each other, captured in a two-shot on the monitor.

“Scene 13, Cut 4, Take 1. Roll.”

*Clack!*

As the red light on the camera illuminated and the sound of the slate echoed, the set fell deathly silent. Even the sound of swallowing felt conspicuous amidst the tense atmosphere of the crew and attendees, with PD Go Woo-seung whispering, “Ready, Action.”

“You ignorant fool!”

Choo Gi-hoon roared, his voice like a winter storm. The easygoing demeanor of a neighborhood uncle, who had been recommending exercise earlier, was nowhere to be found.

“To think that after all that escaping, you only sought out Gu Gi-tae? You are as short-sighted and impulsive as ever.”

Choo Gi-hoon, now embodying Cha Woong-jae, expressed his fury, the scars on his face twitching. Bae Da-ro, who had been missing, had reappeared alive before him. It wasn’t as if he was under witness protection by the prosecution, as rumored, but the current situation was just as dire for Cha Woong-jae. His right-hand man, who knew all of Cha Woong-jae’s corruption and weaknesses, had defected to a rival organization.

“If you reject the tail of a dragon and become the head of a snake, do you think anything will be different? Without my help, you cannot climb as high as you wish!”

Bae Da-ro watched the impassioned Cha Woong-jae with suspicious eyes. Cha Woong-jae had just discovered that his loyal dog had betrayed him. Instead of raging and cursing, which would have been appropriate, he was merely talking about how Bae Da-ro would regret it, which struck Bae Da-ro as odd.