“But… you work better than I expected.”
“Yes.”
“Have you done this kind of work before?”
“First time.”
“Then how are you moving so smoothly without any training?”
“……”
“I mean, your methods are a bit aggressive, sure — but your fundamental attitude is really solid. Even with what happened this time, provocative as it was, you actually saved face for Sinju when he could’ve ended up taking all the blame and getting torn apart for it.”
“……”
“From what I heard before, you haven’t been out long. How?”
That was what Director Cha had been wondering about this whole time. The handover had been rushed and incomplete, and it was strange how someone managed to avoid the beginner’s mistakes — things like how this industry operated, the mindset required, what to prioritize — and carry themselves like a veteran instead.
“There was someone in my cell who’d embezzled company funds.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Apparently he’d been a manager for over twenty years.”
Moon Heesung continued simply and plainly. In other words — his cellmate had been an experienced career manager.
“…Ah…… haha.”
The unexpected answer drew a baffled laugh out of Director Cha.
“I asked him to teach me.”
“……”
“He refused, and I followed him around for a year.”
“……”
“I learned until I got out.”
Moon Heesung carried on with composure, unlike Director Cha, who was momentarily at a loss for words.
“My practical experience is weak, but I know the theory well.”
The self-assured delivery made Director Cha burst out laughing in spite of himself. In the past few years, there was only one career manager with over twenty years of experience who’d been sentenced for embezzlement that Director Cha knew of. The man was famous in the management industry — more than famous, he was a cut above Director Cha himself when it came to producing stars. His reputation had crumbled spectacularly after the prison sentence, of course, but of all places, those two had to have crossed paths there — it was almost unbelievable.
“Would that be Director Seo from Star-N Entertainment?”
“That’s right.”
“Ha… you learned from quite a remarkable person.”
At one point, nearly every star out there had passed through that man’s hands at least once. He was also an older brother figure to Director Cha, and a friend of the current company Representative. If he’d just never embezzled — or at least never gotten caught — he’d have set up his own company by now and be living very comfortably.
“I was lucky.”
Director Cha couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he nodded at the casually delivered answer. Lucky, or talented — hard to say which.
“Right. That clears things up for me.”
There were still more things he was curious about, but he knew pressing further was a matter of trust and propriety, so he stopped there. He already had people looking into things, and it wouldn’t be too late to ask after the results came in.
“Sinju will have security watching over him regardless, and Sinju’s schedule has been pushed back due to health reasons, so there shouldn’t be anything requiring you to move separately this week. Starting next week the assignment changes, so you can just report to that side.”
“Yes, understood.”
The curt yet respectful reply seemed to satisfy Director Cha, and he left. But despite Director Cha’s words that he was free to clock out, Moon Heesung kept watch in front of the hospital room until the early hours of the morning. Even the security guard standing there like a post eventually asked if he wasn’t going to leave. Moon Heesung said he already had, and then stayed on for quite a while longer. At one point he even stood guard in front of the room while the security guard stepped out to use the restroom.
Either way, Moon Heesung had nothing to do whether he clocked out or not. He’d figured from the start that when he got out, there would be only one thing to do.
Stay by Yoo Sinju’s side. Whether he clocked out or not, he thought of that as his only job. He had nothing else to do anyway. It wasn’t about earning money, and he had no desire to enjoy life. Just that one thing. Just to pay the price for the promise he hadn’t kept to Sinju.
**
Discharged after two days, Sinju went about his usual routine as if nothing had happened. Drinking with acquaintances, attending gatherings, burning through the drugs he’d enjoyed. Less because he wanted to, more because it felt like he had to. Things had to be the same as before Moon Heesung came. Otherwise… it would feel like he was being influenced by the man.
Waking early to the quiet of the morning, Sinju lay in bed for a long time unable to get up. The moment he opened his eyes, it came back to him again. The sight of Moon Heesung collapsed and sleeping anywhere on set like a vagrant. The warmth of the man who had grabbed him when he collapsed and breathed air back into him.
For the past few days, he’d been making invisible efforts not to think about it. He drank harder, threw himself more aggressively into debauchery — attending the regular gatherings and burning drugs. He liked the way his mind deteriorated when he used. He liked how everything sharp turned hazy, how his consciousness unraveled so easily. It wasn’t about the pleasure. Sinju found satisfaction in watching himself break down in self-destructive ways. He liked how everything vivid faded out.
— Today’s the start of the location shoot, right?
A call came in the morning and Director Cha’s voice came through.
“Is it.”
— Just woke up?
“Woke up a while ago. Getting up now.”
— God, you should’ve left by now!
“Anyway. What do you want.”
Switching it to speaker and turning on the shower, Sinju ran cold water over his face first.
— Manager’s been changed, like you wanted.
Sinju flinched involuntarily. But he kept his voice indifferent, not letting it show. This is the same man who was making a fuss to wait just a little longer.
“…Already?”
— Thought it’d take a bit, but the timing worked out. Someone’s contract renewal just fell through, so I pulled them in right away. Double the salary, of course.
“You made it sound like it’d take… some time.”
Sinju added the words with deliberate nonchalance.
— Fortunate that Manager Moon stepped down without a fight too, really.
At that, Sinju seized up briefly again with a short twitch.
“…Without a fight?”
— At first he was being intense, like it had to be you or no one. But if you hate someone that much, what can you do.
“……”
— Anyway, I worked hard to talk someone reluctant into it, so be decent to them. Actually, I won’t even ask for decent. Just… moderate. Okay?
Director Cha kept nagging insistently, but Sinju was barely listening, drifting into his own thoughts for a moment.
— If I hear another manager is quitting because of you, I swear… Sinju, are you listening?
Director Cha raised his voice, pressing again at the silence. Sinju blinked himself back to attention and answered reluctantly.
“…Fine, hang up, I need to shower.”
— Yeah. Go do well. You don’t have time to be this relaxed. There are kids gaining on you every single day. If you don’t want to get overtaken, you need to hold your ground.
Not a single wrong thing said, but Sinju felt nothing. Was it because he had no more ambition left, or because he’d achieved what he wanted — in a different sense altogether? He couldn’t summon the will. And somehow, hearing that Moon Heesung had stepped down without a fight made him feel oddly deflated.
He’d acted like no amount of stubbornness on my part would make him budge. Hearing that he’d backed down easily — something in him went slack. No wonder it had been quiet even long after pickup time had passed.
“…Of course.”
Maybe plain curiosity, or maybe he just wanted to hang around me since I’m famous.
No way to know what’s going on inside someone who keeps their face that unreadable.
Standing under the shower, Sinju laughed at himself and ran a hand down his face. He chuckled quietly to himself — and then suddenly, with sharp irritation, hurled the shampoo bottle across the room. Then everything else he could see and grab, he threw that too. He even yanked the showerhead out of its holder to throw it — but the cord snapped it back with a recoil and it smacked right into his foot.
“Ow!”
Clutching his foot and rolling, Sinju curled in on himself right there. That large body went small and still. Whether it hurt that much, he stayed like that for a long time, unable to move.
**
“Hello, senior.”
Having drunk too much the night before as well, Sinju rolled his stiff neck and strolled onto the set at a leisurely pace. This shoot was a film location down in the countryside. The thought of being stuck out in the sticks for several days made his body ache, but he also found himself thinking that fooling around recklessly back in Seoul wasn’t particularly enjoyable anymore either.
Today, once again arriving later than usual in his unhurried way, there was one actor who made his presence particularly felt. A junior from the same agency currently filming alongside him. Sinju was the lead, and this actor playing the supporting lead was a rising star hot on Sinju’s heels. Three or four years younger than Sinju, not quite as handsome but with a compelling presence that had directors throughout the industry sending him love calls. He was also a member of the gatherings Sinju frequented. They were the sort who knew each other’s business well enough, and the junior was the one carrying a one-sided competitive streak toward Sinju.
“Hello is a bit much. Didn’t we just see each other yesterday?”
His name was Park… what was it again.
“Still, I should greet you properly. Did you get home alright last night?”
He had a soft image but a murky edge underneath. He was the type who’d been rolling around with a girl and a guy on each arm the night before too. It wasn’t that Sinju had been paying attention to him deliberately — it was Seo Jaeha who’d been stuck to Sinju all night talking up the other person, namely Park Ian. How Park Ian was always fixated on Sinju, always talking about him behind his back. Beyond that, they’d crossed paths a handful of times at most. The type Sinju didn’t particularly remember or feel any need to think about.
