Chapter 10
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Translator: Diva
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: In This Life, Oscar Instead of Husband
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“I’m gonna reshoot that today. Film it. With me.”
“Huh, now?”
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“Heh heh. What’s with this? Fine, I’ll do the filming, and I’ll post it on my account?”
“Yes.”
“Sweet!”
The cinematographer finished setting up the equipment with an excited grin on his face.
Filming soon resumed.
And naturally, Ha Eun-rae absolutely killed it in this shoot too.
* * *
Whoa…… So many massive things happened today.
I felt more drained mentally than physically, so I just flopped face-first onto the bed.
Ye-reum had a drinking thing tonight and said she’d be late.
If she gets wasted, guess I’ll have to go pick her up……
I was pulling my phone out of my pocket to text Ye-reum when a business card tumbled out.
[Naru Stage]
This card was straight from Seo Kyung-bin himself.
“Uh…… that…… Y-you don’t have an agency yet……”
“Ah, yes.”
“Uh……”
Then he chucked the business card at me.
“L-looking for rookie actresses……”
……The lines were super abbreviated, but the message got across loud and clear.
So Naru Stage was going all out on casting rookie actresses.
Come to think of it, Seo Kyung-bin was with Naru Stage.
“If you’re up for auditions, call……”
He couldn’t quite finish the sentence.
Anyway, for a total introvert like Seo Kyung-bin to go this far out of his way.
“Your acting was incredible.”
After we shot the first meeting scene, Seo Kyung-bin had come up to me looking all pumped.
I’d been worried he’d see me as too flashy and get competitive, but nope—he was fired up, saying he needed to prep even harder.
“I-I’ll make sure I don’t drag you down……”
Hard to tell if he’d actually finished or not.
“You’re already way too good.”
No cap. The second the camera rolled, Seo Kyung-bin turned into a whole different person.
But the praise made his neck turtle right back into his shell, so I decided to ease up on the compliments.
Still, him going as far as offering an audition meant he was into my work.
“It’s all thanks to me. Member-nim.”
Hong Jong-ho’s people skills had helped too, much as it pained me to admit.
I grinned at the Naru Stage business card.
If Jeon Se-yeon was the first button on my new acting life, Naru Stage would be the second.
And now it was time to use a search right for the third.
Something that’ll get a reaction right away at my level. A gig that’ll net me even more search rights.
This time, a music video.
* * *
Naru Stage’s CEO, Heo Kyung-hoe, rolled his tired neck.
He might’ve been the CEO on paper, but he was pounding the pavement himself to scout talent for their tiny ten-person outfit.
He’d hit up Daehakro sometimes, binge-watching indie and big films till his eyes burned, poring over every single application that came in.
With the company so small, actors were priority one.
Especially after that hot mid-tier actor bailed last year and nearly tanked them—they had no choice but to go all-in on rookies.
“I know CEO Heo hustles hard. That’s why I signed on—you took great care of me back when we worked together. But you get it. I’m not young anymore, and drama gigs are all connections. Naru Stage, though……”
Didn’t need to hear the rest.
We got no pull ‘cause we ain’t got the actors.
It stung to lose a longtime collaborator, but he couldn’t cling. He got the guy’s side.
And that’s when Heo Kyung-hoe got it.
Can’t keep betting on vets anymore.
Time to find and build rookies.
Lately, Seo Kyung-bin was making waves as an indie darling and building some name recognition, but no lucrative CF deals yet.
SNS fandom was growing quietly, sure, but variety shows……?
Impossible to even talk to the guy.
Variety might be buzzworthy, but shoving Seo Kyung-bin out there went against every fiber of his being.
And if our Kyung-bin has a panic attack and keels over, the agency’s actor roster hits zero……
That’s why he’d been scouting rookies like a man possessed lately, but nothing clicked.
The promising ones were already getting calls from bigger shops.
And their polite nos were all the same.
“Naru Stage is still too green. As a rookie, it wouldn’t be great for either of us……”
Couldn’t argue from their angle.
Rookies needed that big-agency muscle.
Agencies with A-listers could sneak their talent into projects easy.
But that kinda leverage had its pitfalls too.
Just like idols from the same powerhouse all blending into one—actors ended up as cookie-cutter “planned” stars.
And shady agencies? They’d fake resumes or spin shady backstories.
Heo had bailed on his old gig over exactly that crap.
Kim Byung-ho, who’d spun off <Kanna> from the same place, didn’t seem to give a damn.
Heo stared at one actress in a YouTube web drama clip.
Name’s Kang Ye-ji.
Her personal SNS? Textbook managed rookie vibe.
Outfits screaming poised and brainy, topped with just the right touch of luxury bling.
All staged.
He clocked the playbook from his old company in a heartbeat.
Even the “rich girl” flex to reel in followers.
Kim Byung-ho’s tricks never change.
Prime bait for the guy.
Byung-ho’d dazzle her with big promises till she danced to his tune.
Force her into skin flicks or wacky variety bits.
Once she popped off, trash her rep to lock her in forever.
Straight out of the old company’s greatest hits.
But big agencies treated it like standard ops.
Heo had started Naru Stage to buck that system.
To be a real stage for actors to shine.
Except right now, Seo Kyung-bin was their only horse—so every meeting ended the same.
“Seo Kyung-bin’s solid. But we’re hurting for women right now. You know the drought on 20s actresses. Scout one already.”
Tell him something he didn’t know!
Every producer was dialing agencies ‘cause talent was scarce.
That’s why he was busting his ass!
It was right then, as Heo rolled his stiff neck and shut his eyes—
“CEO!”
Executive Director Jang Hee-ja burst in.
“CEO, you didn’t check the email I sent? New rookie audition tape.”
“Rookie? Why email? We only do paper apps with headshots.”
Too many edited reels out there, so they stuck to written submissions with photos.
“Seo Kyung-bin recommended her.”
“Kyung-bin? He’s got actor buddies?”
With that personality?
Jang caught the unspoken bit and nodded knowingly.
“As if. Tell him to hang with friends on a day off, he shows up at practice anyway.”
“Exactly.”
Heo nodded and pulled up his inbox.
“Get this—he handed our card to his co-star. Manager says she crushed on set.”
“Our Kyung-bin’s always crushing it.”
The second he opened the attachment, Heo’s half-asleep eyes went wide.
“Nah, not Kyung-bin.”
Catching his reaction, Jang flashed a sly smile.
“Ha Eun-rae. That’s actress Ha Eun-rae. Face and aura on another level.”