The LED lights attached to the ceiling illuminated every corner of the spacious office. The office had a clean structure without unnecessary decorations. The system air conditioner attached to the ceiling was suppressing the office heat at an appropriate temperature, and outside the window, a park with lush greenery spread out. It would be the only resting place for tired eyes.
“Who’s the new employee?”
“I’m Im Seungun, who’ll be taking on the road manager position for actor Gi Siyoung from now on.”
“Ah, welcome. Come in.”
“Do well. Have you done this kind of work before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Then let’s have a welcome party after you’ve adjusted. You’ll probably be busy learning the work right away anyway, right?”
“Seungun-ah, your seat is here.”
“Ah, yes.”
On the pure white desk, only a small-sized cactus, a thin laptop, a Bluetooth mouse and several new ballpoint pens, and a flowerpot were neatly placed. In the meantime, the other managers threw a word each at Seungun. Seungun wasn’t one who couldn’t understand the words they were throwing. Saying they’d have a welcome party after he’d adjusted—wasn’t that meaning there’s no need to waste time and money on someone who’ll quit soon, so let’s wait and see for a bit?
“…….”
Seungun sat down and opened the laptop. Though clean, the laptop keyboard with signs of use had some scratches. He pushed aside the cactus, a plant suitable for a road manager who couldn’t stay attached to the office well due to occupational characteristics, and while the laptop was fully turning on, he opened the desk drawers in order.
They were all completely empty. The only trace of the last person who used it was a very small piece of plastic created while tearing open a chocolate bar wrapper. That plastic was stuck to one side of the bottom. As he was scraping off the thin piece with his fingernail, someone spoke to him.
“Seungun-ssi, if you go over there, there’s a break room. When you’re hungry, you can take out salads, snacks, or bread from there. There are also various types of coffee capsules, so recharge your caffeine anytime. No wait, instead of this, let’s go together.”
“Now?”
“If you go to the company cafe on the first floor and show your employee ID, they’ll give you a tumbler for free. The company introduced it saying they’re doing a movement to reduce disposables, and it’s definitely effective. The problem is that everyone carries around the same thing so it gets confusing whose is whose, but these days everyone decorates their tumblers to their own taste so it actually worked out well.”
The first impression of the employees he’d work with in the future was good. Seungun was confident that even if he combined all the places he’d worked and would work in the future, he wouldn’t be able to work in an office with an atmosphere as pleasant and lively as this place. He walked side by side next to the employee from another team who was showing him the way.
“Do well from now on. The beginning is tough, but if you endure, it becomes endurable again. A position opened up today, and now it’s filled with a person like this.”
“Ah, the person who quit?”
“You know?”
The employee asked while opening the break room door.
“Earlier. I heard the conversation with Director Kang-nim.”
The break room decorated in white tones was clean and comfortable. There was already someone else inside, and that person was making coffee while wearing a headset.
“What do you want to drink? Iced Americano? Latte? Do you happen to drink decaf?”
“I’ll have an iced Americano. I don’t care about caffeine.”
“Then me too, iced Americano. Anyway, that guy deserved to quit. He couldn’t get his act together whenever he saw female celebrities and couldn’t even support his assigned actor. The type who only drinks the kimchi broth, you know. He was a guy with an inflated ego.”
The employee stuck out their tongue as if they’d heard something funny.
“Anyway, Seungun-ssi, do basic physical fitness management too. This work is all about stamina anyway.”
“What kind of person is Siyoung-ssi? It seemed like he’s worked with Myeongwoo sunbae for a long time.”
“Rather, Gi actor is on the gentle side. Really, if you’re in this industry, you meet all kinds of human groups. Psychopaths with shitty personalities, narcissists you don’t even want to deal with. Self-centered supremacists… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. But compared to those, that actor seems like a gentleman.”
“I see.”
“They said it’s better to curse to your face, calling you a bastard or whatever.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
The employee wearing headphones suddenly interjected into the two people’s conversation. Flipping one side of the headset that had been covering both ears behind their ear, they looked this way and opened their mouth again.
“You can’t shake your leg next to him, can’t play music, and if you breathe loudly, he’s bothered by the breathing sound too. Then if Gi Siyoung even sighs quietly, you start censoring yourself wondering what you did wrong again, and it makes you anxious… They said it’s better to be in charge of a celebrity who’s less popular but full of humanity. Working with that person feels like being a transparent person, a space orphan.”
“Hey. But there are people like Myeongwoo-ssi too. Anyway, people who can endure will endure and those who can’t won’t.”
“That makes sense too.”
The employee wearing the headset agreed. The savory coffee smell slowly spread through the pleasant break room. The employee who filled ice from the water purifier handed coffee to Seungun. Seungun thanked them and politely declined the paper straw the employee offered.
***
The first week was busy receiving handover of Gi Siyoung’s overall schedule, usual movement routes, and basic contact information that should be fundamentally known as a manager. He thought he’d be deployed to the field right away, but in reality it wasn’t that easy. He had to commute to the office and learn from A to Z.
In the company garage, there were countless vehicles belonging to registered actors. Gi Siyoung’s vehicles existed by type, and one of them was outstandingly larger than other vehicles. The ceiling was high and unlike ordinary vehicles, the interior was all remodeled to allow comfortable movement.
The spacious recliner seat was no different from a bed if you laid down with the backrest fully reclined. The several buttons inside the seat were for massage functions. Inside the car, not only a personal refrigerator but also a folding table and television were installed. For Seungun seeing such a car for the first time, it was a tremendous other world.
Even if he put his hands together and looked inside from the outside, the pitch-black tinting allowed nothing. As if that wasn’t enough, short curtains hung on all the rear seat windows. The driver’s seat went without saying. A high-quality speaker was provided in the center, and there was a large screen cum navigation system so you could watch anything anytime.
Seungun spent half a day understanding the car structure he was seeing for the first time in his life. He touched this and that, got a feel for it, and drove around the neighborhood here and there with that huge vehicle.
“Put personal belongings here. You can just use what’s here however you want.”
“Yes.”
Myeongwoo opened the console box lid. Miscellaneous items were all shoved in there. Snacks to eat when hungry, wet wipes, portable toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, perfume, dry shampoo, anti-drowsiness gum, lighter, etc. Even birthday cake candles were at the bottom. They seemed to be items Myeongwoo had put in one by one.
“If you look inside the passenger seat glove box, there are even disposable underwear and such, so if you need them, you can take what’s here and change into them. And this is a printout with all the contact information for the staff currently filming, right?”
“Yes.”
“When you need to connect directly, use this line.”
Myeongwoo pointed toward the trunk and spoke without even a moment to breathe.
“Put the clothes to wear before filming, clothes to wear during filming, and clothes to wear when returning home separately with covers on and hang them in the back of the van.”
“Siyoung-ssi must be extremely clean.”
“He’s just a clean guy, that’s all. Ah, and when driving, there won’t be anything to bother the person in the back. See this partition? This is always kept up. It also has a noise blocking function, so even if we’re chattering while he’s reading the script, it won’t be heard in the back, so don’t worry.”
“Yes.”
“When Siyoung has something to say to us, he’ll lower the partition himself, so you don’t need to lower it before that.”
“Understood.”
“Coffee is usually regular size with three shots, large size with five shots. No matter what happens.”
Seungun took notes diligently.
“Yes, regular with three shots, large with five.”
“And of course, what I’m about to say is obvious but…”
Myeongwoo said while scratching the bridge of his nose.
“Absolutely no acquaintance boarding. Sometimes bastards without sense secretly drive around with their family or friends, but if you get caught doing that, it’s immediately *kkeuk*!”
Myeongwoo made a gesture of cutting his own throat with his hand.
“Not at all. That won’t happen.”
“Thanks for being so definite. Whenever you have time, absolutely don’t forget to clean the interior, okay? And since Siyoung dislikes unfamiliar smells, don’t use anything with a strong scent as much as possible. Oh right, did you say you smoke?”
“No. I’m a non-smoker.”
“Right. I think you said that at the interview. Good. And…”
Myeongwoo made clicking sounds with his tongue against the roof of his mouth and looked around to see if there was anything more to explain. He’d spent time finishing the general handover at the office. However, the role of road manager wasn’t simply about memorizing things like in the office.
A road manager had to become the actor’s eyes, ears, and hands in the field. Though he had no sense of how the new recruit would handle work, Myeongwoo really wanted to work with someone for a long time this time.
“When you think about it yourself, are you the type with a strong ego?”
“Ego?”
“Yeah… This is a bit hard to say but… people with strong pride can’t endure this work for long.”
Seungun understood and let out a faint groan. He seemed to know what Myeongwoo’s words meant.
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Okay. If you have questions while working, ask as much as you want. You can call anytime.”
Myeongwoo had often seen senior managers bossing around or bullying newly arrived recruits like their own limbs or being territorial, as if they themselves were some celebrity. Of course, he’d also experienced it. That’s why he’d made a resolution not to become that kind of senior.
Though it wasn’t because of him, Myeongwoo patted Seungun’s shoulder without much expectation this time either because of employees who couldn’t endure and fell out without exception.
“Well then, I’m counting on you. Go up to Siyoung’s place and come back. I’ll go buy coffee.”
Myeongwoo made a V-shape with his lips and smiled.
