Superstar From Age 0

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 532

“I was curious too. Why did Manager Ahn pass this guy, Choi Tae-woo?”

Kim Su-ryeon said as she looked over Choi Tae-woo’s resume.

“Of course, except for this, he has some good points. He was a manager for an unknown idol group, and he worked as a security guard, so he can handle emergencies and act quickly in dangerous situations. His self-introduction letter is also impressive, but well, there’s a reason why they call it a self-fiction. But this, embezzlement is a huge flaw.”

At Kim Su-ryeon’s words, Ahn Da Ho nodded.

“Yes. I agree.”

Ahn Da Ho also thought the same at first and wanted to reject him right away, but for some reason, he couldn’t forget this applicant.

“While I was investigating, I found out that some staff members remembered Choi Tae-woo. They said he was a helpful and diligent person, so I looked into it further,”

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon, who were shaking their heads inwardly, imagining the neighbors who testified the usual appearance of the criminal, saying ‘He wasn’t like that’, ‘He was so hardworking and kind’, widened their eyes at Ahn Da Ho’s next words.

“The reputation of the agency where Choi Tae-woo belonged was not very good.”

A manager with a good reputation and an agency with a bad reputation.

They had seen and heard all kinds of things while working in the entertainment industry. This place was where unimaginable things happened.

“If the agency has a bad reputation, then… maybe we should doubt it a bit.”

“Yes. That’s why I wanted to meet him in person and hear his story. Don’t worry too much, I won’t hire him if the president and Manager Kim don’t like him.”

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon felt relieved and nodded at Ahn Da Ho’s smiling face.

***

“This is Cocoa Entertainment.”

A neatly dressed man, Choi Tae-woo, swallowed hard as he looked up at the five-story building. He had submitted his resume, but he didn’t expect to get an interview.

‘You bastard! You’ll never set foot here again!!’

The threat of his former boss was apparently just a bluff.

Well, it was almost impossible for the boss of a small agency with one unknown idol group to have any influence on ‘that’ Cocoa Entertainment.

“But the rumor seems to have spread a bit…”

Choi Tae-woo sighed lightly, recalling the time when he got fired from another agency in one day because of that rumor.

Does Cocoa Entertainment not know? If so, should he tell them in advance? If he gets hired and becomes a manager for an actor, what if that story comes out? Wouldn’t it damage the actor’s image?

‘Maybe it’s better to turn back now.’

But he couldn’t move his feet.

It was Cocoa Entertainment.

Cocoa Entertainment, which paid well and had good benefits.

“And…”

The place where Hollywood actor, Lee Seo-jun, was.

He thought of his favorite actor and looked at Cocoa Entertainment.

Then, a security guard came out, seeing Choi Tae-woo going back and forth in front of the company.

“What are you here for?”

“Ah…!”

Choi Tae-woo was startled and flustered.

He hadn’t even decided whether to take the interview or not!

He quickly opened his mouth at the increasingly sharp gaze of the security guard.

“O, oh, I’m here for the manager interview today! I’m Choi Tae-woo!”

At his words, the security guard checked the paper he was holding and smiled brightly, guiding him inside.

Maybe it was because it was Cocoa Entertainment, but the security guard looked different from other security guards.

Following the security guard, the lobby of Cocoa Entertainment was decorated with posters of Lee Seo-jun and four idol groups.

He knew the singers well, but his eyes were drawn to Lee Seo-jun’s posters.

They were the works and posters he had seen many times, but they felt completely different because they were hanging in Cocoa Entertainment.

“Please go this way.”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

Choi Tae-woo, who was lost in his fan’s mind, closed his mouth that seemed to open wide and entered the interview waiting room with the guidance.

***

“Next.”

At Seo Eun-chan’s words, Kim Su-ryeon and Ahn Da Ho flipped their papers. Many applicants had passed, and it was finally the turn of the problematic applicant, Choi Tae-woo.

The door of the interview room opened and a neatly dressed man entered. The three of them stared at the man without blinking.

He felt cold sweat running down his back at the piercing gaze of the interviewers, but Choi Tae-woo greeted them without showing it.

“Hello. I’m Choi Tae-woo, who applied for the manager position.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you. Please take a seat.”

At Ahn Da Ho’s words, Choi Tae-woo sat down on the prepared chair with a slightly stiff movement.

The interview began.

“As a manager, you will often talk to the actor about the work, do you watch movies or dramas often?”

“Yes. I like movies and dramas, so I watch them whenever I have time.”

“Do you also know a lot about the actors?”

“Yes. If I see an actor who gives an impressive performance, I also look for their next movie.”

Did he really not know the rumor about embezzlement?

The following questions were no different from the usual interview questions.

“Then, if you were to recommend an actor for the youngest son role in the current KBC weekend drama, who would you think would be good?”

“Ah, that…”

“Except for Lee Seo-jun.”

Well, it was a bit difficult.

At Ahn Da Ho’s question, Choi Tae-woo thought of the hottest KBC weekend drama and the youngest son who appeared in the drama. The role of the troublemaker's youngest son. The current actor was doing well, but there was a more suitable actor.

“I think Han Jinho would be a good fit.”

Choi Tae-woo explained the reason, talking about the characters that Han Jinho had played.

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon nodded at his calm appearance.

Most of the applicants who said they liked dramas and movies and knew a lot about the actors, but there weren’t many who could answer in such a short time.

‘There were even people who said they didn’t watch it because it wasn’t their taste.’

Ahn Da Ho kindly asked him about other actors who would suit the roles in other works, but that applicant couldn’t answer anything.

“Then, what if you were the manager of Kang Jae-han, and Kang Jae-han wanted to do that role? The company is against it.”

Han Jinho and Kang Jae-han.

He didn’t know their real personalities, but they had completely opposite images. And the company was against it, so Choi Tae-woo was in trouble. And he soon raised his head.

“If it’s a role he really wants to do, I think I would try hard with him. Image is just an image, if he can create a new character beautifully, it can change.”

He wondered if it was okay to say that in front of the interviewers who represented the ‘company’, but Choi Tae-woo said he would ‘try to persuade the company’ as much as possible.

The three interviewers smiled inwardly at Choi Tae-woo’s appearance.

It would be a problem for a normal agency, but it was a good answer for Cocoa Entertainment, which was planning to give a lot of freedom to the actors.

As the questions and answers about how to support the actors continued, Choi Tae-woo’s thoughts deepened.

He had to be a supporter who could make the actor shine.

Choi Tae-woo was not shameless enough to apply for the job, knowing that he was the problem.

As the questions died down, he spoke up first.

“I have something to tell you.”

Ahn Da Ho, who was about to ask the last question, looked up.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“I have… a bad rumor attached to me. It might have a negative impact on the actor later. So I want to… give up the interview.”

The three people widened their eyes at Choi Tae-woo’s words. Ahn Da Ho asked him with a bitter smile.

“What kind of rumor is it?”

“Embezzlement. I didn’t do it, but… I had a problem with my previous company and that’s how the rumor spread.”

The interview room was silent.

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon, who didn’t expect Choi Tae-woo to say that, exchanged glances and looked at Ahn Da Ho. After a moment of thought, Ahn Da Ho opened his mouth.

“We knew about it too.”

“What?! Oh, yes… You knew. But why did you interview me…?”

Choi Tae-woo was surprised and blinked in confusion.

“I apologize for investigating you first. We needed to check you out in various ways since it’s a job that involves being with the actor all the time. While doing that, we heard some stories from some staff members and wanted to meet you and talk to you in person.”

Ahn Da Ho smiled brightly.

“They said you were a good manager who helped the staff on the scene, monitored the idol in charge diligently, and got along well with the idol members.”

“Ah…”

Choi Tae-woo closed his mouth.

There were people like that. People who watched ‘me’, not the rumor.

He felt his heart flutter at the unexpected story.

Seeing Choi Tae-woo like that, Ahn Da Ho continued.

“We also heard that your previous company was not a good one. We like you, Choi Tae-woo. So please tell us honestly. What happened?”

“That…”

He was happy to hear that they liked him, but he sighed and opened his mouth.

“The agency I used to work for didn’t pay me properly, so it was hard to keep the kids’ activities going. I had a company card, but one day it suddenly got blocked… I couldn’t starve the kids who were younger than me, so I paid with my card.”

‘They didn’t feed the kids?!’

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon, who were sincere about feeding Eun-su, widened their eyes, and Ahn Da Ho, who was sincere about feeding Seo-jun, frowned.

‘I wonder if he’s eating lunch now?’

He asked Blue Moon to take care of it, but he didn’t know if he was eating well.

While he was distracted, Choi Tae-woo’s story went on.

“They didn’t even pay for the stylist, let alone the costume fee, so I bought them clean clothes and dressed them up, even though they weren’t flashy…”

No costumes?!

“They had to go on air, so I bought drinks for the PDs with my money, and they needed a car to go to the events, so I used my car.”

A car?!

“At first, they gave me the money at the end of the month if I gave them the receipt, but the time to get the money got longer and longer. Sometimes I didn’t get paid properly either.”

Ahn Da Ho frowned.

He liked Choi Tae-woo’s gentle personality for taking care of Seo-jun, but in the entertainment industry where the weak are preyed upon, such a personality could be a poison.

He needed the guts to block the PDs who wanted to cast Seo-jun, and the decisiveness to take advantage of the situation.

Choi Tae-woo, who seemed to know Ahn Da Ho’s mind, said.

“That’s how I was doing my activities…”

He spat out heavily.

“I witnessed the parents of the kids giving money to the boss. He said he needed money to appear on the program. They weren’t all well-off…”

Choi Tae-woo sighed.

“Last time, I gave him a small amount and he barely made it to cable. 

‘Did you see it? The broadcast? Oh, terrestrial? If you want to go on terrestrial, you have to pay more. 

It’s an investment. Investment! If you go on terrestrial, the kids will be famous in no time! 

The kids have talent, but they can’t get the opportunity! 

If they get the opportunity, what’s that, Blue Moon? You know Blue Moon, right? Blue Moon is nothing! You never know when you’ll be able to appear at this price!’

That’s what he said. The kids didn’t know either, and they were shocked.”

Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon tapped their foreheads at Choi Tae-woo’s story.

The kids who sparkled their eyes and said they would pay back twice the amount that Tae-woo hyung gave them, thinking that they might make it if they did a little more, heard that story.

Their eyes died in an instant, and Choi Tae-woo, who had been holding on for the kids, exploded.

“So I couldn’t stand it and made a scene and left. I gave the money back to the parents and got the money I spent and the unpaid salary.”

“Did he give it to you easily?”

“Well… He didn’t give it easily.”

Choi Tae-woo rolled his eyes and Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon exclaimed. He looked like a pushover, but he had a punch.

‘He endured it for the kids.’

Then the story was different. Ahn Da Ho smiled.

“So he spread the rumor of embezzlement.”

“Yes. I tried to deny it, but he had more connections than me, so I couldn’t fight back.”

Choi Tae-woo smiled bitterly.