1
"Want some coffee?"
"No, thanks."
"This is expensive stuff."
"It isn't to my taste."
"......I already brewed it, so drink it anyway."
Division Director Kang Young-jin's tone turned brusque.
He had personally prepared coffee for Jo So-hee, who had finally come to visit, yet she rejected it without appreciating the gesture.
He felt hurt.
But Jo So-hee was not trying to tease Division Director Kang Young-jin.
"I'm really fine. You know I don't drink much coffee when I'm between shoots."
"Is that so?"
"Mister. Has it been a while since you worked on set?"
"When would I have time to visit sets? So? Do you like that Park Geon-ho fellow?"
Division Director Kang Young-jin quickly changed the subject.
He had urgently assigned Park Geon-ho at Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju's request, but he was worried about whether Park would get along with Jo So-hee.
Instead of answering, Jo So-hee gave a broad smile.
"What? Is he all right?"
"He's not bad."
"Whaaat? You really like him?"
"He passes for now. Of course, I'll have to watch him a little longer."
"Huh......."
Just as everyone had a type they found attractive.
Artists also had an image of the manager they wanted.
Some wanted a diligent manager.
Some wanted a quiet manager.
Still others wanted a manager who would spend time with them even outside their schedules.
Jo So-hee was no different.
She did want a little more than most artists.
But her demands were not impossible to understand.
At the most basic level, her manager had to be diligent, but she disliked managers who had nothing to offer beyond diligence.
She preferred someone quiet over a chatterbox, but she also disliked managers who were impossible to communicate with.
The same applied to their private relationship.
Because she had no friends, she needed a manager who would stay with her outside her schedules, yet the person also had to know how to maintain the right distance.
She was 21 years old.
She had been born with a secret surrounding her parentage and raised by a mother who had once been a celebrated actress.
She had worked without a meaningful break since debuting at 15. For a rising actress already cast in miniseries lead roles, those conditions were perfectly reasonable.
The problem was that finding such a manager in this day and age was not easy.
A was quiet and diligent but had no sense for the work.
B was quiet and capable but valued life after work.
C got along well with Jo So-hee personally but was late about once a week.
D, who lasted nearly two months with her, complained that the workload was excessive compared to the salary and moved to another company.
Even Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju complained that if Jo So-hee were not her cousin, there had been countless times when she would have smacked her.
Kang had assumed that no one except a relative like Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju would ever be able to accommodate Jo So-hee, but.......
Park had passed.
This was a girl who never offered even empty praise when Kang occasionally found himself playing her manager, a role he had never expected to fill. Yet she had declared Park acceptable after one day, no, after barely a couple of hours.
"Do you consider a manager's height too?"
"Height? Hmm. Taller is better than too short. But being too tall can be uncomfortable too."
"Right?"
"About as tall as Geon-ho? It's nice because he blocks people's eyes without overdoing it. How should I put it? I feel as though I'm being looked after."
"And you didn't feel looked after when you went around with me?"
"You were...... comforting, Division Director. Like walking around with my uncle?"
"That's enough, you brat."
Division Director Kang Young-jin pouted.
Jo So-hee had probably meant it as a kindness.
But all he heard was that he was too short to look dependable.
"Oh, why are you being like that again? You're a little giant."
"A giant is a giant. Why add little? And I'm not that short, all right? I'm fairly tall for my generation."
"I knooow. When you wear shoes with a bit of a heel and add three-centimeter lifts, you're over 180 centimeters, aren't you?"
"......Did you come here to make fun of me?"
"I wasn't planning to stop by, but Geon-ho said that since we'd come all the way to the office, shouldn't I at least see you?"
"So you only came because he pushed you into it?"
"That too. I was here anyway."
Anyone who already disliked Jo So-hee would have clicked their tongue and thought, Of course, the moment they heard this.
Rising star C in her early 20s: supposedly talented and beautiful, but arrogant and completely self-centered.
They would recall the rumor sheet that anyone with even a casual interest in stocks had probably encountered.
But Division Director Kang Young-jin felt the affection buried within her offhand remarks.
Jo So-hee did not have private conversations with people she disliked.
She had been famous for her stiff-necked pride since her days as a child actor.
After joining Wooju Entertainment, she had made full use of the power that came with being its marquee star.
How many people could someone like Jo So-hee speak with so comfortably?
Excluding her family, Kang could probably count them on one hand.
'Deputy Team Leader Ahn Hye-ju is family too, when you get down to it. So there's me and maybe her stylist.'
Jo So-hee might like Park Geon-ho, but Kang had no intention of letting him into that circle yet.
"By the way, is something going on with Deputy Team Leader Ahn? Did something happen that I don't know about?"
"It's something you know about."
"Your mother?"
"Mom has been having a hard time lately. I'd like to stay by her side, but she doesn't want me to."
"Not just your mother. The whole country would be disappointed."
"More than half of them are probably my anti-fans?"
"So are you taking a short break to care for your mother?"
"Hye-ju unnie has worked hard taking care of me too. I was thinking of working with you for about six months, but...... it looks like I've found a good manager?"
For an instant, Division Director Kang Young-jin felt two opposing emotions.
The phrase working with you made his heart drop.
Then, after a short pause, he felt hurt when she said she had found a good manager.
If the two emotions had been evenly matched, his expression would have turned complicated.
But the fact that the initial panic had quickly changed into relief told him he could live with feeling a little hurt.
"Manager Park Geon-ho will receive his official appointment tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mister."
"There's no need to thank me. I'm the grateful one."
"Hmm......?"
"What is it?"
"You were teasing me, weren't you?"
"You're imagining things."
"Hmph. Just you wait."
"Wait for what? Did you come into this office and do nothing but praise me?"
Rumor had it that even Division Director Kang Young-jin was powerless in front of Jo So-hee, but that was somewhat exaggerated.
Division Director Kang Young-jin was one of the few people who said what needed to be said to her.
"More importantly, are you really all right with taking that supporting role?"
"Why? Are you worried it'll hurt my status?"
"Of course I am. You'd do well in any role, but plenty of people will use this to tear you down."
When Jo So-hee landed the first leading role of her career in <Our Year>, which had ended early that year.
People who did not know better whispered that Wooju Entertainment had used its influence to secure the role for her through sheer luck.
But looking at Jo So-hee's filmography, her leading-role debut had actually come a little late.
During her child-actor years, Jo So-hee had appeared in four dramas and two films.
After becoming an adult, she secured three supporting-lead roles in succession: the mystery courtroom thriller <White Blood>, the 30-episode weekend drama <Our Family>, and <Our Year>, the series that introduced the world to youth star Jo So-hee.
And all three productions surpassed ten percent in the ratings, proving that Jo So-hee could draw an audience.
Kang had hoped she would cement her place as a female lead this time.
Yet Jo So-hee refused to take the easy path again.
"Hye-ju unnie said she'd negotiate a contract on the level of dual leads?"
"On the level of dual leads. That doesn't mean you'll be paid more. Your fee will be similar to your last production or a little lower."
"Use some of your influence, Mister."
"Deputy Team Leader Ahn has to finish the contract negotiation herself. Do you think the other side would sit quietly if I stepped in?"
"By the other side, do you mean Icon?"
"Don't underestimate Icon. It may not be one of the top five agencies, but it's still a major agency."
It was not quite on Wooju Entertainment's level.
But Kim Hye-rin's agency, Icon Bridge, was also one of South Korea's leading entertainment companies.
It had built a new headquarters five years ago and completed a stock listing three years ago, rapidly increasing its weight in the industry.
It was obvious that Icon Bridge would use Jo So-hee's casting as leverage to raise Kim Hye-rin's fee.
"The articles are already out, so they won't be able to overturn the whole thing. But they'll insist that Kim Hye-rin is the female lead."
"I don't care. Let Hye-rin unnie have it."
"Kim Hye-rin's name will be listed first too."
"Mister. My name was listed second in my last production too."
"Hmm? Second? Not first?"
"I appeared with Do-hyeon oppa."
"Ah....... Min Do-hyeon was in it too, wasn't he?"
After <Our Year> ended, people said that Jo So-hee had carried the entire production.
But before the broadcast, most of the attention had focused on the male lead, Min Do-hyeon.
Min Do-hyeon was a member of Soulix, the flagship boy group of Neo Paragon Entertainment, or Neo for short, one of South Korea's five largest agencies.
He was the main vocalist, but was even more famous for looks that overshadowed the group's center.
When Jo So-hee's casting was announced after Min Do-hyeon's, articles poured out about a clash between two visual prodigies.
In the end, however, it was Jo So-hee who devoured the screen.
"Min Do-hyeon was in it, yet I can't remember him. Min Do-hyeon doesn't have the kind of face anyone forgets easily."
"You've always liked pretty women, Mister."
"What are you talking about? That was a compliment. A compliment! Min Do-hyeon is handsome and a decent actor, but he's no match for our So-hee. That's the compliment!"
"Oh my, is that what you meant? I didn't knooow. Be that direct with your compliments from now on."
"Good grief. Seriously. Does Park Geon-ho know you're like this?"
"Geon-ho? Hmm....... Who knows? Maybe he does?"
Jo So-hee smiled brightly.
It had only been for an instant, but he had definitely called her beautiful while taking the photo with her fan.
"Anyway, this isn't the same as it was with Min Do-hyeon. Back then, it was your first leading role, so you needed Min Do-hyeon's name recognition. Not anymore. What are you lacking compared to Kim Hye-rin?"
"A lot. I'm younger, and my career is shorter."
"Sigh. So-hee? You aren't going to act like this on set too, are you?"
"Of course not. Why wouldn't I look forward to acting with Hye-rin unnie?"
It had only been one day since Jo So-hee was cast, yet articles were already framing it as Kim Hye-rin versus Jo So-hee.
Two of the first names anyone mentioned when discussing beauty and acting ability among actresses in their 20s were appearing together, so the reporters had to be delighted.
But Division Director Kang Young-jin considered it a contest whose outcome was obvious before it began.
Kim Hye-rin was a fine actress who had risen through a solid filmography.
But Jo So-hee was...... simply a monster.
"Please, I'm begging you. Go easy on her. Easy. Understood?"
"Honestly, Mister. How can anyone go easy when acting?"
"For you, 80 percent—no, 70 percent—is more than enough."
"Do you think my acting is too much too?"
"So-hee. If an ordinary person collides with a professional fighter, they get knocked flat. You can't compare your future scene partners to the teachers who worked with you as a child actor. Those people had been acting for 30 years. The actors you'll face from now on are only starting to build their filmographies, aren't they?"
"Hmm....... I understand what you're saying, but honestly, I don't know."
"Was my explanation difficult?"
"No. I don't understand why I should hold back. Wouldn't it be inconsiderate not to do my best?"
For a moment, Division Director Kang Young-jin was left speechless.
Telling Jo So-hee not to do her best when she was promising to do exactly that struck him as inherently contradictory.
But he could not simply let her do as she pleased either.
People already said she acted however she pleased without any consideration for her scene partners. If she went further, it could shake the value of the Jo So-hee brand.