Top Management

"Is Jung Sunwoo's list real or what?"

In the W&U outdoor smoking garden.

Team Leader 2 flicked his cigarette ash as he grumbled.

"People always ask that first thing when I meet them outside. It’s so tiresome. I keep saying I don’t know, that even though we’re in the same company, I’m clueless, but nobody believes it."

"It’s true that we lost the Spy contract. Remember the uproar when Lee Bongjoon was outmaneuvered by Cho Soo-young?"

"But when he was setting up City Jungle, he was all over the production and distribution companies, really putting in the effort. It's odd that he just brushed off Spy without trying."

"It’s his own fault this time. Must have hurt his pride."

Listening all this while, Jo Byunghwan suddenly joined in.

"What pride does a manager have? If his actor is about to lose a role, he should chase it down and beg to get it back. The young guy acts so stiff as a team leader, not caring about seniors or anyone else at the company."

"Exactly. His attitude is the problem, I tell you, his attitude."

"You should be more humble and kind to those around you when you’re doing well. Who knows how long that will last? Later when he’s down and out, who would want to help him?"

"Did I mention this? I asked Jung Sunwoo something once, and he told me to mind my own business and get back to work. It really hurt."

"Anyway, he’s always been pampered by the company for being good at his job. Even now, everyone praises him because of that damn Jung Sunwoo list. Must be nice, living it up."

Someone crushed their cigarette in the ashtray, lowering their voice.

"Even the boss seems to really favor Jung Sunwoo."

"Not just seems, he totally does. Didn’t you hear? When Jung Sunwoo returned from receiving the City Jungle award, the boss personally picked him up from the airport. I mean..."

"There are rumors he got shares in the company too. Is that true?"

"At this rate, he’ll be a director and then an executive before we know it."

"Hardly likely..."

An awkward silence followed.

After the team leaders excused themselves for work.

Jo Byunghwan remained alone, continuously smoking. With each cigarette, the space between his furrowed brows filled with a gritty emotion like the ash itself.

***

"How do you think it looks?"

Im Joowon stood askew, gazing at the full-length mirror.

Clad in a blue linen shirt and a tightly tied barista apron, his face sharply trimmed from days of toil matched perfectly with his newly dyed jet-black hair.

The scenario’s Lee Yeojoon seemed to step right out from the pages.

The appearance was now beyond reproach.

"It looks good?"

Relieved by my comment, he let out a sigh of relief.

Watching him as if checking a homework assignment, the director, Sung Uimin, and the staff also relaxed their shoulders, their faces pale from tension.

We should have a feast of beef if the audition goes well.

"But..."

As Im Joowon stood almost inside the mirror, I spoke.

"You seem a bit tense right now."

"Not really?"

"Indeed you are."

"Ah, Director. Do I look nervous to you? Sister, do I seem nervous?"

He turned to director Sung Uimin and the staff, almost defensively.

"Yes."

"Totally. You become all observant when you're nervous."

Struck by the blunt comment, Im Joowon slumped onto the sofa.

After guzzling down cold water, he even began to tremble.

"Actually, it’s been a long time since I auditioned for a director who either has no interest in me or dislikes me. Lately, whenever I receive a light invitation to audition, the atmosphere has been warm..."

Flushing from wounded pride, yet clinging to me like a lifeline, he looked up.

"Director, what if I fail this audition?"

"That’s unlikely. I made sure of it."

To fetch him, what lengths I hadn’t gone to.

Astonishingly, this single comment relaxed Im Joowon’s expression.

Seeing his face, I offered in the gentlest tone I could muster.

"The director values an actor’s image most, so don’t worry and just focus on making a good first impression. With your current look, there’s no way the director won’t like you."

"Really?"

"Yes. And Seo Jijoon already knows he'll be filming with you. He’s looking forward to it."

"!"

Im Joowon's eyes, which had been flickering, suddenly stilled.

I had thought about the worst-case scenario.

If director Lee Chang-in meets Im Joowon and still insists on casting Bae Myungjin, perhaps a more forceful approach might be warranted.

Not that

 I'd threaten Lee Chang-in outright.

Maybe, persuade him indirectly through the investment and distribution company.

Or appeal to his sentiment by putting CEO Do Hyeong-tae forward, since the production company might not be able to pay rent if this movie flops. Safe persuasion, perhaps.

If not, ideally, it wouldn't go this far, but...

Make sure Bae Myungjin couldn’t film at all...

Such were the variety of solutions I had been considering, all ultimately unnecessary.

Fortunately.

Lee Chang-in lacked resolve.

"Hello, Director."

"..."

"Director?"

"Ah! Oh, sorry, yes, Im Joowon. Oh..."

Director Lee Chang-in, as if dazed, struggled with his words.

Even as he shook hands and exchanged greetings, his eyes persistently scanned Im Joowon from head to toe, clearly liking the image before him.

The days of effort were well rewarded.

"Ah, Joowon, you look much more handsome in person, not that you don’t on screen, but really, the camera hasn’t captured you fully. If I had filmed you like this, ah, why didn’t I notice before..."

"Thank you. I prepared a lot to make a good impression on you today."

"You prepared to see someone like me? Just come comfortably next time. Even in rags would be fine. Let’s meet casually next time."

Im Joowon glanced my way.

I nodded lightly, signaling that it was fine.

A triumphant smile spread across his face.

Perhaps because I had been too focused on The Accomplices, but overlaid on Im Joowon's face, I saw Lee Yeojoon, rejoicing at having gotten what he wanted.

And by then,

The audition was as good as over.

Though it had felt more like a private fan meeting from the start.

Watching this, CEO Do Hyeong-tae, sipping his coffee, clicked his tongue.

"Why hold auditions at all then?"

"The atmosphere seems alright, doesn’t it?"

At my comment, he scoffed.

"The atmosphere? The contract's already signed, you see? Chang-in is blushing over that boy. Anyway, it looks like you'll have both leads for your actor. I look forward to working with you."

"I say the same to you."

As if raising a toast, we clinked our coffee cups together.

And an hour later...

“That accursed Jung Sunwoo list. I really don’t know how the rumors spread so fast; everyone thinks I trashed 'Doctor 25 Hours'.”

“Oh dear…”

“Even my social media was plastered with that talk. They say if Team Leader Jung hands you a project, you should graciously accept it. Why would you trash it? Are you insane? Just like with 'Cat Guardian Ghost', you’re served a feast and you just suck your thumb?”

“Seriously, what’s with people tracking down an actor’s social media…”

“It’s all my fans.”

“Oh…”

“I kept saying it wasn’t me but Team Leader Jung who trashed it, but they hardly seemed to believe me.”

Lim Joowon and Director Lee Chang-in were clinking their wine glasses together, indulging freely. It all started when the director spotted wine on the cafe’s menu and ordered as naturally as water flows.

“I’m going crazy because of that Jung Sunwoo list too.”

“And why is that, Director?”

“Well, some people know I'm discussing lead casting with Team Leader Jung, and they’re all over me about why my project isn’t on Jung Sunwoo’s list. And what’s crazier…”

Director Lee sipped his wine like water, glancing at me with a very complicated look.

“As soon as they heard I was collaborating with Team Leader Jung, the distribution company started treating me differently.”

“Ah.”

“I’m not an unknown director, but I’m also not so famous that I’m expected to carry such anticipation. People didn’t think so highly of me. But unbeknownst to me, within the investor-distributor circles, my film has become next year’s most anticipated.”

“That must be a bit overwhelming.”

“I can’t sleep at night, not at all.”

The two sitting close and sharing their woes seemed perfectly in sync.

Lim Joowon, maybe, but Director Lee was still shy and aloof in front of me, yet he couldn’t have been more approachable with Lim.

Was he not shy but rather choosing whose face to be shy around?

“Team Leader.”

Lim Joowon, rising to visit the restroom, briefly leaned close to me.

With none of the nervous tension from before the audition, his face overflowed with confidence and even seemed to radiate an aura as he spoke.

“Please tell Seo Jijoon. I’m looking forward to shooting together.”

“…Yes.”

Things seemed to be going as planned, but I wasn’t sure about the on-site atmosphere.

Well, we’ll think about that when the time comes.

As soon as Lim left, I approached Director Lee, whose conversational contributions had dwindled. It seemed like the best time to bring something up.

I slid my phone towards him.

A profile photo of Jung Jaee magnified on the screen.

“Director, would you like to take a look at this person?”

“Who… oh?”

As soon as he saw the photo, Director Lee’s eyes sharpened.

He took my phone and started flipping through the images.

“This image, it’d be perfect for playing the role.”

“How about for the role of Seo Yeonju?”

The same name popped out simultaneously.

Seo Yeonju.

Though she didn’t appear much, her role was impactful.

“A new face. Is this friend being groomed by Team Leader Jung? What has she done before? Can she act?”

“Jung Jaee, she’s a girl group member, so you likely haven’t seen her in other works. She’s completely new to acting. But don’t worry about her acting; W&U doesn’t send anyone who can’t perform.”

Representative Do Hyeong-tae across from us looked somewhat bitter.

“Even so, an idol-turned-newbie…”

“Shall we take a look then?”

Director Lee suddenly suggested.

“If she’s good, we’ll go with it. The image is great. As long as she’s not terrible, we can work with her during filming.”

“…”

Representative Do exhaled a deep sigh and downed his wine in one gulp.

Still fixated on the photo, Director Lee continued.

“I tend to embed the actor’s image in my head when I write the screenplay, and actually, I wrote this role thinking of Lee Songha.”

“Songha?”

“No, I don’t mean to cast Lee Songha for such a small role. It’s just that the image I had in mind was something like hers. But this Jung Jaee doesn’t seem too bad either. Maybe because they’re from the same agency? Their images are somewhat similar.”

With that, he stared blankly at Jung Jaee on my phone.

And in his head, he imagined Lee Songha’s face.

…Are they similar?

***

I half-lifted my heavy eyelids.

The persistent vibrations next to my pillow suddenly stopped. Groping beside me, I found my phone.

10:50 PM.

After smoothly finalizing the casting for 'Accomplice', I had

 been stuffing my head with new scripts and screenplays for days. It felt like I had just closed my eyes for a moment after coming home at dawn yesterday.

Sliding the lock screen away, I stared at the display.

Seventeen missed calls. A pile of messages.

What now?

Since the Jung Sunwoo list incident, nothing surprises me anymore.

As I was about to check the messages, the phone vibrated again.

It was Im Seoyoung.

“Hey, Seoyoung.”

-Got it, got it! Keep it down! Brother, did you just wake up? Have you seen the internet, or rather, the monitoring?

Her voice poured out rapidly, sounding very serious.

In the background, the voices of Lee Songha and Eljay, and Lee Taehee mingled.

-Just calm down and do as I say. Don’t go online. If you have something like a tranquilizer at home, take one first.

Something was definitely up.

I switched the call to speaker mode and started checking the messages. The senders were varied, mostly journalists. After reading a couple, I finally understood the root of all this commotion.

That’s right, I remembered.

It had been too noisy, so I deliberately tuned out.

Today was the premiere of 'Hong Gil-dong'.

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