Come Back

Even though he didn’t receive any entertainment in order to get the role, Choi Hong-seo’s voice became quiet for no reason. It was because he knew that unlike Ja-gina Hyun-soo, who had been dragged here by the famous CEO, Jeong Ji-in was not an actor who received work through entertainment.

I felt ashamed of Jeong Ji-in even though I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to, and I envied Jeong Ji-in who was free and had no weaknesses.

“If this job goes well, this life of being dragged around will be over. Who knows, maybe Choi Hong-seo will walk the red carpet at Cannes? Haha…”

Cannes, red carpet… Choi Hong-seo snorted as he uttered those words, thinking that they didn’t really suit him. It was like the nonsense of a maggot swarming in a cesspool, yearning for a butterfly with pure white wings.

What kind of shitty situations await me once I enter that door?

Dozens, hundreds of times, I wanted to turn around and run away. I wanted to tell the world that Choi Hong-seo was a prostitute, that he was a rag. I wanted to tell him that we should both die. There were hundreds of days when I wanted to end things by telling President Myung to do whatever he wanted.

But I couldn’t do that. How did I get here? How did I hold on? I couldn’t give up here, even if it was just because it was a pity. The end was starting to come into view. That’s what I believed.

To reassure Jeong Ji-in, who was looking at him with concern, Choi Hong-seo tried to appear light-hearted.

“I don’t know why you called me today, but… maybe the director wanted to see you too? You… don’t look for work by going to places like this, the boss knows that. Maybe they wanted to see you.”

And as brightly as he could, he added, smiling like a foolish younger brother, so that Jeong Ji-in would be reassured.

“It would be nice if we could work together, right?”

Jeong Ji-in was one of the few people in the world that Choi Hong-seo liked, and he meant it.

@

Director Kang Woo-hyun’s reception room was decorated with furniture and art pieces by famous designers, giving it the atmosphere of a gallery lounge.

There were six or seven people sitting on the sofas around a large, heavy table. Director Kang Woo-hyun, the famous president of UB Entertainment, a senior actress who had been cast in Cream Mansion before Choi Hong-seo, and the rest were clearly VIPs who held the purse strings.

“Director, my name is Ji-in Jeong, an actor from UB. Hello, I am Ji-in.”

President Myung first introduced Director Kang to Jeong Ji-in, who was meeting him for the first time.

“Hello, Director. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Um, yes, nice to meet you. But I’m seeing you for the first time as an actor.”

“Yes, like Hongseo, I don’t have any experience in movies yet. I’ve only appeared in dramas.”

At the explanation of the famous CEO, Director Kang sat on the sofa and carefully examined Jeong Ji-in’s face.

“The mask is nice. Is there a place where you can cut it?”

“None. It’s clean.”

This time again, it was President Myung’s answer.

While President Myung was trying hard to sell Jeong Ji-in to Director Kang, Choi Hong-seo was standing next to him like a mannequin and smiling.

The time of ‘choice’, when you dress up nicely, put on elaborate makeup and hair, smile brightly in front of rich people sitting comfortably on the sofa, and wait for them to make a choice.

Even though her name and face were known and she was now a fairly popular actor and idol, the situation hadn’t changed much since she first stepped foot into the host bar. She was still a ‘product’ waiting to be ‘chosen’.

Two of the VIPs were faces that Choi Hong-seo was vaguely familiar with.

The famous CEO had basic information about the VIPs who were hanging around the high-class entertainment industry. When he was called to a party or entertainment, he would sometimes train his employees to recognize important people in advance so as not to make mistakes.

The man, who looked to be in his mid-fifties, was the CEO of a large construction company affiliated with a large corporation, and Choi Hong-seo had already greeted him in various places. He was a man who quite liked hanging out with celebrities regardless of gender, but there was a rumor that he didn’t even look at ‘products’ over twenty-five. The middle-aged woman next to him was one of the family members of a conglomerate that operated a department store and several foundations.

“I’ve only seen him in passing a few times, but he’s the son of a famous CEO.”

The one who showed interest in Jeong Ji-in and intervened was the president of a construction company.

“Your eyes and lips are sexy. How old are you this year?”

“I’m thirty-one, sir.”

Choi Hong-seo smiled bitterly to himself as he thought that the famous CEO who answers every question is like a host bar madam.

“It’s a shame. Your age is not pretty, your age.”

The man swirled his glass around, licking his lips as if it was a waste, and asked the woman sitting next to him.

“It’s not your taste either, sir?”

“I like cute types like Hongseo better.”

“Hongseo is cute? I guess you haven’t seen her on stage. She’s really good at acting.”

As if to show proof that Choi Hong-seo wasn’t the cute type, the man picked up the cell phone that was on the table. The middle-aged actress across from him lightly scolded him.

“I heard that President Cho is quite bright. But isn’t Hongseo at an age that is not pretty for President Cho?”

“That’s right. I found out about him too late.”

Judging from the distance between them as they joked around, it seemed like the two were already close friends.

The author, Mr. Cho, glanced at Choi Hong-seo, who was dressed in a sleek tuxedo, and licked his lips. His gaze was like that of a fruit that had overripe and was too late to be harvested. Goosebumps ran down Choi Hong-seo’s arms.

Choi Hong-seo, who smiled as if his lips were going to cramp, naturally turned his eyes away to avoid President Cho’s gaze.

One of the remaining VIPs.

A man sitting alone on a single sofa in the upper section came into view.

There was just no information about him.

He was a person who had never entertained anyone before, and had never even been tipped off to by a famous CEO.

Early 30s, maybe? Mid 30s?

As is the case with most handsome men, it was hard to guess his age from his appearance. He seemed to be in his early thirties with a calm air, but it was also understandable to say he was in his mid-thirties and looked younger than his age… That was his face.

It was even more difficult to guess his age because of his completely expressionless face, which made it impossible to read his mood or personality.

It was a stark contrast to President Cho. President Cho was also a handsome man who was well-mannered for his age, but he did not have the same weight as the man in the upper seat.

Just by the expression on his face or the sullen manner in which he sat, President Cho could immediately tell what kind of person he was and what he wanted from this place.

But the man in the upper seat was like an inorganic painting in a frame, and no information could be read from it.

But I could tell this much. He looked much younger than the other VIPs, but he was clearly a VVIP, judging by the fact that he was sitting in the best seat. He was probably the one who had to look his best in this place today.

Choi Hong-seo became nervous because he had no way of knowing the mood or personality of such an important person.

‘Whether the movie starts or fails is up to you, so do it without making any mistakes. Today, I think… there will be a VIP reception for the first time in a while.’

The famous CEO’s warning came back to life. Maybe that man is the one I should be entertaining today.

At the moment when I was about to scratch my lower lip with my teeth due to nervousness, I met the man’s deep eyes. I tried to smile beautifully like I always did in front of VIPs, but for some reason it didn’t work. The corners of my lips were just trembling awkwardly as if they were cramping.

The man with his legs crossed and his hands clasped on his knees looked like a ruler who could see through and control people with just his gaze. He seemed to be saying that he was not at all fooled by such a fake smile, that he was using such shallow tricks. He seemed like he would twist his handsome lips and mercilessly insult me ​​at any moment.

It was scary that I had no idea what he wanted. People like President Cho were more comfortable with ‘entertainment’.

“Director, this may be a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but… I was wondering if actor Jung Ji-in would be a good fit for the role of a fellow doctor suffering from Petros Syndrome… I prepared him to show you a little bit.”

Right next door, CEO Myung was still trying to get Jeong Ji-in to appear in “Cream Mansion.”

“Mr. Myung.”

Director Kang’s mouth immediately twisted after hearing President Myung’s story.

“I know you’ve worked hard for this movie, and I rely on you a lot… but that’s just a story outside of the work itself. If you try to interfere with the work like this, it’ll be really difficult for me.”

“Interference, sir. How could I dare think of such a thing in your film?”

While President Myung was sweating profusely trying to calm down the furious Director Kang, Choi Hong-seo and Jeong Ji-in simply stood there like criminals. They stood with their hands together and stood politely, like emotionless dolls, waiting for the situation to be resolved.

“Director, please calm down. This isn’t a place where you can show your guests something like this.”

An actress who seemed to be close to Director Kang stepped forward and began to take control of the situation. Only then did the atmosphere ease a little, and Choi Hong-seo cautiously looked up.

Once again, I met eyes with the man in the upper seat. Not wanting to be misunderstood as having rudely glanced at the VIP, I immediately looked down.