"As befits a Yong Ent sprout, she's set to come out as a tremendous scene-stealer, you see. You do know our Yong Ent is where scene-stealers gather, don't you?"
"A scene-stealer? You said she was the lead."
"Yes."
Yes? Sang-ik tilted his head. He seemed thoroughly confused about whether she was the lead or not. His face said it would be a real problem if she wasn't.
"It's actually a small role, but once it's released, hers will be the hottest reaction of all. I guarantee it."
"Ah. I'll go back in and ask my senior about the schedule."
That meant no. To give Chae-eun name recognition, an exclusive interview is necessary too. But there's no reporter anywhere who would make time for a bit part in a one-act drama.
Getting acquainted with Sang-ik had been the main goal today, so I decided to leave it at this.
"All right, Reporter Gil. Please ask, and then give me a call."
"Manager Lee. Have you heard anything about the casting for 'Racing Heart'? It goes head-to-head with 'Love in Bloom' from the midpoint on, so I'm curious. I haven't gotten to write an exclusive yet, so I thought, just maybe."
A bastard I'm glad to find unchanged. There can't be anyone as easy to handle as Sang-ik. If I just toss him material for an exclusive, Sang-ik will become my loyal hands and feet.
"Of course. I'll keep a close eye on things and quietly let you know, Reporter Gil. You and I joined at about the same time, and it looks like we'll keep seeing a lot of each other. They do say there's no bond in this business as precious as a reporter and a manager who grow up in it together."
I picked out only the words that would melt sweetly in Sang-ik's ears. In no time Sang-ik, excited as a child, was even reeling off his wishes.
"I hope I get to do the interviews with Yong Ent's actors later on, too. I came back with it all settled that I'll interview every one of the leads once 'Love in Bloom' finishes its run, you see. They're all such hot names, I can't wait."
Swelling with anticipation, Sang-ik grinned.
But Sang-ik. This is no time to be smiling. 'Love in Bloom' is fated to sink beneath the sea without ever getting to bloom.
The work that fills that gap and goes head-on against 'Racing Heart' is Writer Son Yu-rim's thriller melodrama, 'Loner'. This is about when casting for Writer Son's work would be getting under way, too. I'd reeled Sang-ik in this far.
I got up from my seat to go and meet Writer Son.
***
"What brings you all the way out here? I was so surprised when you said you were coming, you know. Honestly, the mobility of managers is something else."
Writer Son's studio was in Ilsan. When I pressed cookies bought on the company card into her arms, Writer Son smiled brightly.
"It's that Chae-eun keeps saying how grateful she is to you, Writer Son. And I keep thinking of you too."
"Oh my, saying things a person could misunderstand, just like that? Why would you think of me?"
"Your next work, Writer Son. 'Loner'."
"Your intel is good, San-woo. How did you find out? There hasn't even been talk of a time slot yet."
My intel is good, I'll admit that myself.
"If it's in development at KBC, a time slot is a hundred percent certain. Aren't you about to start casting?"
"I can't keep up with you. Pitching already, like this."
"Our Chae-eun wants to be in your work too, Writer Son. She says even if it's a small role, as long as it's your work she'll give it everything, no matter what."
"Oh my, how reassuring. I'll give you the script, so be sure she auditions. We're holding auditions starting with the supporting roles."
That's Writer Son for you. Fair beyond words. So when she said not to forget her, was that simply something nice to say?
Writer Son handed over a bundle of scripts that had been sitting on her desk. They were the scripts up through episode 4.
"Absolutely no leaks. Chae-eun will be auditioning for the role of the younger sister, Yi-jin, and I'm giving you these specially so she can get a feel for the flow."
It's been worth coming all this way.
"We'll come perfectly prepared."
"The truth is."
I'm only saying this because it's you, San-woo. Having stalled a little like that, Writer Son looked at me.
"It won't be easy, San-woo."
"Sorry?"
"Noh Jeong-ah got in touch asking for that role. The production company and the station have all but pre-selected her, too. But I dug in and said she had to audition no matter what. Since you came all this way, I'll give you that much of a tip."
Noh Jeong-ah is a famous former child actress. Grown up, Noh Jeong-ah swapped the look in her eyes for sexy on top of looks that had stayed pretty without a dip, and made a smooth soft landing as an adult performer.
What helped that soft landing was none other than Writer Son's 'Loner'.
As things stand, Chae-eun is no match for Noh Jeong-ah. Even if I had Chae-eun take a crash course in acting, she was completely outmatched in terms of the name recognition that would drive the work's success.
Coming out of Writer Son's studio, I sat down on a bench and took out my phone.
The answer had to be in here, no matter what. And naturally, I found the answer.
'Comeback' Ivy Saves Collapsed Citizen! An Astonishing Good Deed
Will Girl Group Ivy Go From Fandom's Pick to the Public's Pick?
I made up my mind to steal this story, in which the girl group Ivy starred.
***
'What do I do if we miss each other at this rate?'
The place was overflowing with people. Inside the huge shopping mall's library, some girl group's fan signing was even under way.
Chae-eun's gaze, which had been darting around, was caught by one spot. Among the countless people, San-woo was walking toward her.
'I'll treat an attack on Chae-eun as an attack on me.'
'Well done, Chae-eun.'
Whenever CEO Park's cold eyes came to mind and a sudden anxiety took hold, it was San-woo's words that steadied Chae-eun.
It was the bit part in a one-act drama that she'd prepared for desperately, after turning down the lead role CEO Park had offered her in some nameless corporate promotional drama.
That was when Jo Du-hwan, who'd said he'd look after her on set, went back on his word as easily as flipping over his hand and all but tossed her to the newcomer San-woo.
'Du-hwan oppa has always taken really good care of me, so.'
'Just, ...please don't disturb me.'
They were words that had jumped out before she could stop them, because she hadn't wanted to be looked down on.
'No matter how I think about it, that was really awful.'
But.
'Just trust me'
To that Chae-eun, San-woo had held out a helping hand without hesitation.
Chae-eun knew very well that, if not for San-woo, getting even a shot, never mind a line, wouldn't have been easy.
Why was it that, with San-woo, she felt as though she could handle everything to come as well?
'They say my car's coming soon too. When it does, please be sure to drive me home. I can chatter without a break all the way from Seoul to Busan, you know? You won't ever get sleepy at the wheel from now on.'
The words she'd poured out in a rush, wanting to get closer, were even worse.
'What do I do if he thought I was a weird kid?'
Oh, how she'd kicked her innocent blanket night after night. For several days, Chae-eun had suffered from an acute case of loser pangs.
From the moment San-woo got in touch asking to meet, Chae-eun had been firmly resolved to set everything right.
San-woo, who'd closed the distance in long strides before she knew it, stood in front of Chae-eun.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here."
"Look forward to it. It's going to be a special present for you."
San-woo held out to Chae-eun the script he'd had in his hand.
'A special present.......'
Get a grip. Today, she had to set things right.
"Oppa, what are you doing today? If you have time, it'll be my treat, so we could go eat something good together...."
But San-woo's gaze was directed somewhere far off.
"Let's go, Chae-eun."
"......."
Chae-eun had no idea at all what lay in the place San-woo was telling her to go.
But Chae-eun began to walk with San-woo without an inch of doubt.
***
The 7-member girl group Ivy held a fan signing timed to the comeback schedule for their second album, and in that same place they saved a passerby who had collapsed, leaving behind a heartwarming story.
Having won even the public's pick as the idols who saved a life, Ivy pulled off the feat of reaching No. 1 on the music charts as idols from a small agency.
A game where chance plays a bigger part than skill. I plan to make absolutely sure that Chae-eun is the one to seize that chance opportunity.
Far off, I spotted a monk in monastic robes coming down the corridor with swinging arms. He was the main figure in the Ivy story.
"Let's go, Chae-eun."
I put an arm around Chae-eun's shoulders and made her walk forward. The closer we drew to the monk, the more the figures of the people around us stretched out long, as if only the monk, Chae-eun, and I were left in the space.
The monk's eyes and mine met head-on. And then.
Thump. His knees buckled, and the monk collapsed spread-eagled on the floor.
"......."
I ran forward, knelt at the monk's side, and placed my interlocked hands on his chest without hesitation.
It was the CPR I'd practiced for today. I straightened my arms vertically and pressed down with my weight behind them, and in my head I began to count.
One, two, three, four, five, six.......
By the time I'd counted to thirty, sweat had started pouring from my forehead. When Chae-eun came up beside me with a shocked look, I shouted.
"Chae-eun. Do the rescue breaths!"
"...What?!"
To Chae-eun, who looked back and forth between the monk's face and mine with no idea what to do, I shouted for rescue breaths once more, all while putting my strength into my hands and compressing the monk's chest.
"Hurry!"
"Yes... Yes!"
Chae-eun flung her bag aside and sat down next to me. Her hands, trembling hard as they wandered in the air, came to rest on the monk's face.
Pinching the monk's nose shut with one hand, Chae-eun propped up his chin with the other and blew a strong breath in through his opened mouth. Chae-eun had just blown in two breaths.
"C-cough!"
When the monk coughed out a breath and regained consciousness, Chae-eun raised his upper body.
Voices burst from the people around us, things like oh my, what a relief, and Namo Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
While I was wiping away the sweat pouring from my forehead and catching my breath, the mall's management staff came running with a defibrillator.
"Are you all right?"
"I am safe, thanks to these people here."
The monk looked at Chae-eun and me and gave a benevolent smile. Perhaps because the fan signing had just ended, I saw the seven members of Ivy passing by us, escorted by their bodyguards.
The monk went off to the hospital with the paramedics who'd arrived.
And once the cloud of people who'd flocked over had scattered too, Chae-eun and I sat down against the mall's wall and caught our breath.
"Chae-eun, are you okay?"
"......."
A single stream of tears ran down from the eyes of Chae-eun, whose face had gone white. She must have been badly shaken.
"Good work. Chae-eun."
"Oppa, now let's go together... and eat, something good."
"Hello, I'm Kim Dae-hui, a reporter with NTN. Could I have a word with you?"
Just then, a man with a camera in tow thrust a microphone out in front of us.
"Waaaaah."
As if a cue had been given, Chae-eun began to cry, her shoulders heaving. Whatever it was that made her so sad, the sight of her crying like a child tugged at my heart too.
When the camera turned toward Chae-eun's face, I took a step to the side.
Everything was going according to my plan.
Man in His 70s in Cardiac Arrest at COEX... Saved by Citizen Out Shopping
<Anchor>
A man in his 70s suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed at a large shopping mall in Seoul, and his life was saved with the help of citizens.
Reporter Kim Dae-hui met with them.
<Reporter>
A corridor in the 'COEX Seoul' shopping mall.
A man in his 70s wearing monk's robes suddenly collapses to the floor.
At that moment, a man and a woman coming from the opposite direction swiftly lay the collapsed man flat on the floor and begin CPR without hesitation.
After about 1 minute of continued CPR, the man opens his eyes and sits up.
Mall staff also arrive on the scene with a defibrillator, but the man has already regained consciousness.
[Chae-eun / Citizen: I was shopping when an elderly gentleman suddenly fell in front of me. I was startled and ran over, and after that, I don't even know what state of mind I was in.]
The citizen says she moved on instinct to help. The man who collapsed is a monk from a nearby temple, who takes heart medication for angina, so a rapid response after he lost consciousness was crucial.
[Chae-eun / Citizen: I'm glad the gentleman has recovered his health. I hope he stays healthy for a long time.]
The man, having regained consciousness, was taken to a nearby hospital and had recovered enough to be discharged right after only a simple examination.
[Jagang / Man who collapsed: Thanks to them, it feels as though I am living once more. I will pray that they are reborn in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood.]