Chapter 15
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Translator: Diva
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Perfect Manager
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“Huh? You’re saying you’ll lower the conditions?”
Why go that far?
As Heo Kyung-hoe thought that, Ha Eun-rae grinned and said,
“There’s a PT instructor I’ve had my eye on, and he’s great at driving too. He can drive, do personal training, and he’s even sociable and hardworking. Can I work with him? He’d basically be a welfare benefit all on his own.”
Ha Eun-rae looked Heo Kyung-hoe straight in the eye.
He was a little taken aback by her attitude, so utterly different from the other rookies who fumbled around without any confidence.
In this industry, even fairly big actors often lacked social savvy, so they’d hem and haw during negotiations and get scammed left and right because they didn’t know how the world worked. And here was a rookie actress handling it like this.
Heo Kyung-hoe felt pleased on the inside.
They’d said she hadn’t lost her nerve at all during the audition and had kept up a great conversation with Min Se-ui the whole time. She was a rookie with real guts.
But that was that, and this was this.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have the capacity to hire a new manager right away…”
“Staff costs are supposed to be covered by the agency, right? I’ll deduct three months of my new manager’s salary from my settlement.”
“Do you even know what that means?”
Heo Kyung-hoe let out a hollow laugh.
There was no way a rookie actress’s immediate earnings could cover three months of a road manager’s salary.
In other words, it was tantamount to saying she’d work for free for several months.
“I know. I’ll just live without money for a while.”
But Ha Eun-rae didn’t hesitate for a second.
Watching her, Heo Kyung-hoe sighed once more.
“Ah, really… I wasn’t going to say this… You mind if I drop the formalities? We’re eating now anyway.”
“Sure.”
Ha Eun-rae nodded.
It’d actually help them get closer faster.
“…You’re the real deal. Actors aren’t supposed to move people with their heads, but with their hearts.”
“What does that…”
“You’re doing great.”
Heo Kyung-hoe said it with a grin.
“Let’s meet the guy first. If he’s really as good as you say…”
He said something that’d probably get him chewed out by Executive Director Jang again.
“We’ll hire him as your road manager.”
“…!”
Way better conditions than expected!
Ha Eun-rae’s eyes went wide.
* * *
The next day.
Hong Jong-ho showed up at CEO Heo’s office.
Heo Kyung-hoe’s first impression of Hong Jong-ho was this:
‘Can those shoulders even fit through the door?’
But once Hong Jong-ho made it safely(?) inside, these words slipped between Heo Kyung-hoe’s lips.
“…Feels like I owe the bank money or something. At least it’s not loan sharks.”
“Pardon?”
“You wouldn’t happen to be… applying for road manager?”
At Heo Kyung-hoe’s cautious question, Hong Jong-ho stood at sharp attention and replied.
“Yes, sir. Name’s Hong Jong-ho!”
Hong Jong-ho had already made up his mind.
Money or no money, he wanted to do work that made his heart race.
The moment he’d seen Ha Eun-rae’s acting, his head had filled with the desire to keep watching that sparkling performance forever.
‘Of course, I haven’t quite matched her muscle mass yet, but I promised to get it done by the end of the year—’
Meanwhile, Heo Kyung-hoe tilted his head at Hong Jong-ho’s ultra-disciplined tone.
How on earth did they think this guy was manager material?
‘He wouldn’t even fit in the driver’s seat.’
That’s what Heo Kyung-hoe was thinking when a knock came from outside.
Judging by how soft the knock was, he knew exactly who it was.
“Oh, Kyung-bin. Come in.”
Seo Kyung-bin entered at Heo Kyung-hoe’s words.
With extremely careful movements.
“What’s up?”
“Um, the script that just came in…”
Seo Kyung-bin trailed off softly, then flinched upon spotting Hong Jong-ho.
“Oh, uh, no need to be startled. This is your new man—”
“The chicken breast cabbage wraps you gave me before.”
Then, unbelievably, a long sentence came out of Seo Kyung-bin’s mouth.
Heo Kyung-hoe blinked at the sight.
“…They were delicious. Could I get the recipe?”
Even the great Seo Kyung-bin was asking a question!
Watching that, Heo Kyung-hoe recalled Ha Eun-rae’s words.
“He can drive, do personal training, and he’s even sociable and hardworking. Can I work with him? He’d basically be a welfare benefit all on his own.”
…This guy might be the real deal too?
* * *
MV shooting day.
“Looking forward to working with you, Actor-nim.”
Member-nim had become Actor-nim.
I received Hong Jong-ho’s greeting as he pulled up to my place in the company car.
I grinned at him.
“You give good greetings.”
“…?”
Hong Jong-ho furrowed his brow at my sudden casual tone.
“We’re gonna get close from now on, right? You mind if I call you Oppa?”
“Huh? Well… sure, if you want… Then what should I call you?”
“Just Eun-rae-ya.”
“…That still feels off.”
Hong Jong-ho looked at me with confused eyes.
‘He’s such an idiot.’
I thought back to Hong Jong-ho from my past life.
It was the day I got bumped from a role I desperately wanted and ended up with a sexy supporting character that burned through my image.
I still couldn’t let go of my lingering attachment to my family back then, so I needed money.
That’s why I thought, ‘Am I just this kind of actress…? Someone who cares more about money than acting…’ I was drinking soju alone in front of my house when Hong Jong-ho somehow found out and plopped down in front of me.
“Ha Eun-rae.”
“Ha Eun-rae?”
We weren’t close enough for casual speech yet back then.
“Then I’ll call Ha Eun-rae just Ha Eun-rae. Call me Hong Jong-ho if you’re pissed too.”
“Everyone’s dissing me these days.”
It was back in the days when all I had left was grit and spite.
“Let’s throw down today, you and me.”
“If we do, you’re gonna lose…”
Hong Jong-ho fiddled with his arm, which was about the size of my waist, as he spoke.
“With booze.”
And that day, we got blackout drunk and ripped into each other’s rock bottoms.
“I know… My acting’s iffy. My career went wrong too. From the start, I went with body and face over skill.”
“Your acting’s not iffy. But how’s a tiny thing like you drink so well… hic.”
“First time drinking today.”
I snickered.
“My dad’s an alcoholic. That’s why I hate even looking at booze. If I drink…”
I gritted my teeth to hold back tears, but my vision blurred anyway.
“I might turn out like him. Never touched it, no matter how tough things got.”
That’s right.
That day was my first time ever drinking.
Hearing that, Hong Jong-ho opened up to me for the first time.
“Whenever a criminal’s on TV, I stare at their face. Wondering if they look like me.”
“What?”
“I’m an orphan. Don’t even know what my parents look like, in plain terms. So… I wonder if they might be criminals or something.”
“…!”
“But listen, Eun-rae-ya. You’re not your dad. I’m not my parents. We’re us. You said your oppa’s a piece of shit, right? Then stop calling him oppa from now on. I’ll be your oppa. Let’s be family to each other and work. I believe in your acting. Actress Ha Eun-rae, my little sis—I’ll protect you to the end.”
Yeah.
That’s the kind of guy Hong Jong-ho was.
That’s why he tried to protect me until the very end…
Even got me good casting offers when I switched to Naru Stage.
And yet I—
‘Betrayed that oppa. Twice.’
“I’ll do my best. You’re taking a chance on me, so be my manager.”
Hong Jong-ho’s face stiffened for a moment at my words, then relaxed.
He smiled faintly and opened the back door for me.
“I’ll give it my all too, Actor-nim. Or… Eun-rae-ssi.”
Yeah, our relationship can’t go back to how it was overnight.
But I’ll fix it all.
The life that old Ha Eun-rae ruined— the one who got stupid over Kim Do-woon and let him wreck it.
“Shall we get going?”