An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 271

271. #49 – Miscasting (4)

Kim, the manager, glanced at the car clock, surprised by my words.

“At this hour?”

“Yeah.”

It was after sunset, but I was certain the higher-ups would still be at the office.

I knew they had an advertising meeting scheduled for late this afternoon.

They wouldn’t have left yet.

I wanted to confirm the reason for all this before the day was over.

Why they had created this situation.

Kim, the manager, raised his eyebrows and asked, “What’s going on?”

He saw my serious expression in the rearview mirror.

*Screech-*

He immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road.

To go to the company instead of home, we had to go in the opposite direction.

Kim, the manager, turned to face me.

I started to ask him about the details.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], there were so many WG Entertainment actors at the script reading today. I mean, a lot of WG Entertainment actors were cast in this movie.”

I was going to check with Kim, the manager, before meeting with the higher-ups anyway.

He knew more about the company’s internal affairs than I did.

He frowned at my words.

“Did you know about this too, Hyung?”

Kim, the manager, sighed in response to my repeated question.

It didn’t seem like he was completely unaware.

But it didn’t seem like he knew everything either.

Sensing his ambiguous attitude, I leaned forward.

“Hyung, what’s going on? Explain it to me.”

Kim, the manager, pressed his lips together tightly and swallowed a sigh.

“Well… I’m not entirely sure either.”

“Yeah, tell me what you do know.”

“The team leader mentioned it at the meeting last time. Since you’re the lead, they might put some of our company’s kids in supporting roles.”

I raised my eyebrows and asked Kim, the manager, who seemed to have some knowledge of the situation.

“You knew all along, Hyung?”

He shook his head.

“No. It was mentioned, but it wasn’t confirmed. They said they’d let me know when it was confirmed, but there was no word after that, so I thought it had been canceled. So I didn’t bother telling you.”

I nodded.

“So… there’s a situation where they were trying to forcibly cast company actors using my name.”

“That’s right….”

Kim, the manager, kept fidgeting with his fingers, looking embarrassed.

Kim, the manager, was probably the most uncomfortable right now.

It seemed like he hadn’t intentionally hidden it from me, but it looked like he had.

And since I was angry at the company, he couldn’t tell them, either.

Besides, I didn’t want to blame Kim, the manager, or direct any of this anger towards him.

It wasn’t Kim, the manager, who orchestrated this.

“Hyung, I understand. I’ll have to talk about it.”

“The actors’ casting?”

“Yeah. At the script reading today… ha….”

Remembering that time, I was furious that I was at the center of this miscasting.

“First, I need to go to the company. There’s a big meeting this afternoon, so everyone should be there, right?”

He checked the time and nodded.

“Yeah. They should still be there.”

“Let’s go to the company.”

* * *

WG Entertainment.

The car stopped under the large sign.

*Screech-*

Before heading to the parking lot, I got out as soon as the car stopped at the entrance.

“Hyung, I’ll get off here first.”

“Hee-sung…!”

Despite Kim, the manager’s call, I opened the door and headed to the lobby.

There was no time to hesitate.

If I delayed any longer, I wouldn’t be able to meet the higher-ups.

It didn’t matter who the higher-up was.

I just wanted to ask about this.

Whether what I was thinking was right, and if so, why they had done this to me without saying a word.

The team leader who told Kim, the manager, about the meeting…

I wasn’t going to meet him.

A head of department?

No, I went straight to the floor where the CEO’s office was located.

When would I have time to go up one by one and check?

Without hesitation, I went straight to the CEO’s office.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I was greeted not by CEO Park, but by the secretary sitting in front of the CEO’s office.

I pointed to the CEO’s office and asked her.

“Hello, I’m Jin Hee-sung. I’d like to see the CEO.”

At my words, she stood up and shook her head.

“Ah… I’m sorry. The CEO is out for a while.”

“Did he leave work?”

“No. He went out for a while to take care of some business nearby. He said he’d be back, but is it urgent?”

She looked at my face and asked with a serious expression.

No wonder, a celebrity who came to see the CEO without an appointment.

Moreover, his face was flushed, so she must have thought something had happened.

I nodded.

“Yes, when will he be back? I’ll wait here.”

She checked the time.

“He’ll probably be back within an hour. If you tell me what’s going on, I’ll pass it on to the CEO.”

“Please tell him that I’m wondering why WG Entertainment people are all over the movie ‘Turntable’. He’ll know then.”

She wrote down my words in her diary.

“Yes, I’ll tell him right away.”

“Thank you.”

I thanked her and sat down on the chair in front.

Not even 10 minutes passed.

*Ding-dong-*

The elevator arrived on the CEO’s floor.

At the sound, I jumped up and prepared to greet CEO Park.

“Where’s Jin Hee-sung?”

The person who got out of the elevator asked the secretary.

The person was not CEO Park, but Executive Director Choi.

The secretary reached out and pointed to me.

“Over there….”

“Oh, you’re here. Did you find the CEO?”

He strode towards me, and I nodded.

“Yes, I’d like to talk to the CEO.”

“I heard it’s because our company’s actors are in ‘Turntable’, right?”

“Yes.”

He tilted his head towards the elevator.

“If that’s the case, talk to me. Let’s go to my office.”

I followed him.

Following the silent distance, I soon arrived at a small room downstairs.

“Oh, sit comfortably.”

Executive Director Choi seemed to have quickly adapted to Korean WG Entertainment, exuding a lot of ease.

This was the second time I had met Executive Director Choi.

The first time was when he first came to work at WG Entertainment, and we exchanged brief greetings.

He was older and held a high position.

It might be natural for him to speak informally to all the celebrities.

I didn’t intend to argue about this either.

“I just talked to the CEO, and he said I could talk to you.”

“So you know about this too, Executive Director?”

At my question, he raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

“Of course I know.”

He sat with his legs crossed, tilted his head, and blinked.

I frowned as I looked at him.

“Executive Director Choi, did you put WG Entertainment celebrities in supporting roles in ‘Turntable’?”

Executive Director Choi stuck out his lower lip and shrugged.

As if to say, ‘So what?’

“So?”

I frowned at his attitude.

I straightened my back and said in a low voice, “I signed a contract as the lead, and if you’re putting actors in using my name, you should have at least told me. Why did you do that without consulting me?”

“Consulting?”

He chuckled.

“Why would I need to consult you when the company is doing such a thing… And did this cause any harm to Hee-sung?”

“Yes, those actors….”

Executive Director Choi interrupted me, stood up, and raised his voice.

“Hee-sung is an actor. We are an entertainment company. That’s all. What harm could it do?”

When he finished speaking, I swallowed a sigh and complained.

“You shouldn’t just randomly insert actors, you should at least find actors who fit the characters. If this is released as is, there will definitely be talk of miscasting.”

He tilted his head.

“The company should have analyzed what roles the characters require and what kind of actors should be cast. Isn’t that the company’s role?”

“That’s up to Director Chun to decide on the roles.”

“No. You’re just pushing all the supporting actors in without any consideration….”

Executive Director Choi closed his eyes and held out his palm to cut me off.

“I understand what you’re saying. Something difficult must have happened at the script reading today, right?”

“It’s not just difficult.”

He sighed with his eyes still closed.

I was still angry at his attitude.

No, my anger was boiling over even more.

“This is just using my name to do business.”

“Hey, don’t say it’s using your name to do business. Why are you talking like that?”

“Executive Director, I split the profits with the company 7 to 3. That’s 30% for the company to thank me for my work, not to use my name to do business like this.”

When I finished speaking, he cleared his throat and stood up.

“Okay, as you said, 30%. That means the company should do its job, right?”

“Yes.”

“We take a few percent from all the actors for their hard work. So giving those actors jobs, using your name to plug in other actors from the agency, it’s all within the realm of the agency.”

“The agency should promote them on their own, why are you using my name….”

Executive Director Choi raised his voice.

“What’s my name and your name in the same company? The company is managing the actors, so why are you…!”

The voices between Executive Director Choi and I gradually rose, and just as sparks were about to fly.

“What’s going on? It’s so loud that I can hear it outside?”

The door burst open and CEO Park entered.

“Ah, CEO.”

Executive Director Choi stood up and bowed.

CEO Park pulled Kim, the manager, who was next to him, and said, “Kim, the manager, take Hee-sung away for a while to cool off and come up to the CEO’s office. And Executive Director Choi, follow me right now.”

* * *

“Oh, Hee-sung’s here?”

As I entered the CEO’s office, there was CEO Park, greeting Executive Director Choi and me, who were sitting with our lips pressed tightly, with a bright face.

“Yes.”

“Sit down quickly.”

At his call, I took a seat next to Executive Director Choi.

CEO Park tried to lighten the atmosphere with a good-natured smile.

“Oh my, why are you blushing and raising your voices in the same company? It’s nothing.”

At his words, Executive Director Choi, who had been looking down, glanced at me and said, “I’m sorry about earlier. I got carried away and raised my voice.”

With a sudden apology, he smiled and naturally nudged my arm.

He opened his mouth again.

“And I’m sorry for putting supporting actors in Hee-sung’s work without consulting you.”

I didn’t answer and asked CEO Park.

“CEO, I heard that there may be more WG Entertainment actors among the roles that didn’t come to the script reading today, is that true?”

CEO Park stretched out his hands and turned the conversation as if to mediate.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Executive Director Choi is apologizing.”

“Yes, I understand, but what I’m curious about is the actors who are coming in as supporting roles in ‘Turntable’….”

Before I could finish speaking, he smiled and opened his mouth as if to gloss over it.

“Executive Director Choi has apologized for that, and it’s already happened. Let’s move on this time, and from now on, Executive Director Choi shouldn’t put actors in Hee-sung’s work without saying anything. Got it?”

I distorted my face at his absurd mediation.

“…Yes?”