An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 274

274. Episode 50 – Responsibility (2)

I tilted my head, noticing Chief Kim’s sigh.

After sharing the joyous news about his upcoming marriage and becoming a father, the first thing he mentions is worrying about his job.

Confused, I asked,

“Why is that?”

He replied with a wry smile.

“It’s about money, what else?”

“Ah….”

A father now.

Becoming the head of a household is, of course, a joyous occasion, but…

Naturally, immense responsibility comes with it.

And among the burdens of that responsibility, ‘money’ undoubtedly holds a significant place.

It was obvious.

There are so many important things in life, like health and happiness, but…

We can’t ignore the economic aspect.

Of course, money can’t buy everything, like health, happiness, or family, but…

It’s true that without money, it’s hard to secure even the bare necessities.

Moreover, the need for financial stability increases exponentially when you’re no longer living alone, but have a family.

And especially when your child is born.

I’ve never experienced being married or being a parent in Jin Hee-sung’s body, but…

I’ve witnessed it countless times over my 10,000 years of life.

The importance of ‘money.’

Chief Kim crinkled his nose and downed his drink.

“Honestly, a manager’s job… isn’t exactly lucrative, you know.”

I couldn’t give him a straightforward answer.

I knew.

His annual salary and the monthly pay that Chief Kim received.

I didn’t know the exact amount down to the last digit, but I roughly knew the salary range in this industry.

WG Entertainment is one of the larger agencies in the entertainment industry.

And Chief Kim has experience, so his salary is higher compared to other managers.

Even so, it wasn’t comparable to the salary of a regular employee at a large corporation.

An actor’s job can sometimes mean starving when you’re not earning money, but…

When a project hits big and you rise to stardom, you can earn more in a year than a regular office worker earns in a lifetime.

Of course, I’m still an actor trying to reach stardom.

Knowing Chief Kim’s salary, I try to take care of him whenever I can.

Nevertheless, he needs a fixed and stable monthly income.

I knew that feeling all too well.

I’m relatively well-off in this life as Jin Hee-sung, an actor.

But there were times in my 10,000 years of life when I struggled financially and went hungry.

Well, I overcame that and lived well, too.

Knowing Chief Kim’s heart, I could deeply empathize with his worries.

I refilled his empty glass and said,

“Being a manager isn’t about the immediate future, but about looking ahead. It’s a long game.”

He nodded at my words and replied,

“That’s right. You have to start as a road manager and work your way up.”

A road manager doesn’t have fixed working hours.

They move according to the schedule of the celebrity they’re in charge of, so their working hours are naturally irregular.

Actors, in particular, can be on location for days or weeks at a time.

And there are many overnight shoots, so the manager, who has to be with the celebrity, also ends up working away from the office.

There’s no clear division between day and night, and business trips to the provinces become a way of life.

After gaining experience as a road manager and getting promoted.

You can only have regular working hours when you become a team leader or higher.

Because from then on, you’ll be commuting to the company office instead of being the celebrity’s personal manager.

The only comforting thing I could say to Chief Kim was ‘promotion.’

If he gets promoted to team leader, his salary will naturally increase.

And he’ll live a more comfortable life with fixed working hours.

“Hang in there a little longer, hyung [older brother/male friend], while looking forward to a promotion.”

He didn’t answer, but just raised his glass.

Clink-

Our glasses clinked, and the liquor sloshed over.

Chief Kim drank it down and exhaled a breath full of alcohol.

“But as you know, it’s not easy to get promoted in our company.”

I nodded in agreement.

As a major player in the industry, WG Entertainment already had quite a few team leader-level managers.

Moreover, employee benefits were good and salaries were relatively high, so the turnover rate was low.

In other words, road managers like Chief Kim need to be promoted to team leader, but there aren’t many openings.

So they were quite selective with manager promotions.

I looked at Chief Kim, raised the corners of my mouth, and threw out a joke.

“Hyung, if I rise in the ranks, wouldn’t having Jin Hee-sung as your managed career be a good qualification for promotion?”

He burst out laughing at my words and waved his hand dismissively.

“Hee-sung, I’d have to quit being your manager and get promoted after you retire.”

“Ah… that’s right. Hyung has to stay with me, right?”

“Of course. You can’t do without me, you rascal. Haha.”

I smiled and laughed at his jest.

We laughed and clinked glasses for a long time.

And so, our bottles began to pile up one by one.

Looking at Chief Kim, I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape with the alcohol.

I understood Chief Kim’s difficulties all too well, but…

Like his joke, I thought I couldn’t do without Chief Kim.

A person who had already become like a real brother, or even more.

I wanted to continue this entertainment life with Chief Kim.

So, my worries deepened in proportion to his concerns.

I was afraid that Chief Kim might hand in his resignation due to economic and time constraints.

Even if he wanted to be with me.

It was only natural that he could do so when faced with reality.

Because he was a husband and father who had to take responsibility for his wife and child.

Before choosing reincarnation.

My affection for Chief Kim was strong back then, too.

But even though I liked Chief Kim as a person, I never worried about the future with him.

Because I was going to live in Jin Hee-sung’s body for only 10 years anyway.

But now the situation has changed.

Until the day this life of Jin Hee-sung ends.

So, I have to live in this body until Jin Hee-sung dies….

For me, who had never thought about or prepared for the future.

Now, I have a life where I have to worry about and prepare for the future, not the past.

* * *

I thought about it for days.

But I couldn’t solve the problem about Chief Kim alone.

No matter how much experience I have, I can’t come up with the right answer for everything.

So, I wanted to seek advice from someone who had more experience in the entertainment industry and more experience with managers than I did.

It’s not a problem with a definite answer, so I can’t find a solution right away, but at least I wanted to be a celebrity and a younger brother who could help Chief Kim.

I was overflowing with gratitude for him.

And the entertainment senior I thought of was my girlfriend, Song Yu-na, who had already risen to stardom.

“What is it? Ask me anything you’re curious about.”

Song Yu-na said to me with her arms crossed and her eyes raised.

I smiled at the sight and replied to her.

“Yes, senior. I have something I’m curious about in my entertainment life.”

She held back her laughter at my teasing and crossed her legs.

Then, she opened her mouth with a confident pose.

“Okay, a successful senior has to tell you. What is it?”

I asked her with a serious face.

“What happens to managers in the future?”

She tilted her head as if she hadn’t expected the question.

“Not oppa [older brother/male friend], but the manager’s future?”

“Yeah, usually they start as road managers and get promoted to team leader, then they commute to the office and their salary increases.”

Song Yu-na unfolded her arms and legs and focused on my words.

“That’s right. But it’s not easy to get promoted to team leader. Especially since it’s harder to get promoted in our company.”

It was as I knew it.

In other words, it’s not easy for Chief Kim to be promoted to team leader.

“Then do managers just stay road managers forever? Their salary isn’t great, and it’s hard on them time-wise.”

Song Yu-na nodded and replied.

“Unless a manager aims to be promoted to general manager within the company… you can’t expect much.”

“Haa….”

I sighed, thinking of Chief Kim.

She snapped her fingers and said to me.

“Or, independence!”

“Huh?”

“It’s a route that everyone knows, but not everyone takes easily. Leaving the company and becoming independent.”

“Ah… independence. Starting your own company isn’t easy. Especially since there are so many large entertainment companies, it’s hard to survive….”

She shrugged and said to me.

“But I think that’s the best route. Building a lot of connections while working as a road manager and then starting your own entertainment company.”

“Of course, it’s a good route. But it’s realistically difficult.”

I had also lived as a manager in my 10,000 years of life.

So, I understood Chief Kim’s life even more.

Of course, it was so long ago that I couldn’t fully understand his feelings.

I didn’t struggle or get tired in terms of finances back then.

Was it because my salary was good?

That was definitely not the case.

However, I only had a 10-year validity period, so I just ended up rotating several celebrities as a road manager.

When a celebrity moves companies or requests a manager change.

The manager’s celebrity changes.

In other words, if I say I can’t work with Chief Kim and ask for a manager change.

Or if I have to move companies, Chief Kim will become another celebrity’s manager.

But what if I leave the company in a state of trouble?

Even if it has nothing to do with Chief Kim, the blame will surely be directed at Chief Kim, who was the manager.

Then it wouldn’t be easy for Chief Kim to get promoted even if I’m not in the company.

“Why, did something happen to Chief Kim?”

Seeing my dark expression and the questions so far, she thought something had happened to Chief Kim.

At Song Yu-na’s question, I briefly explained the situation.

“No, nothing happened. I’m just worried about hyung….”

After pouring out the story for a while, Song Yu-na nodded and fell into thought.

“That’s right. That’s actually a manager’s lifelong concern.”

“Yeah, I really want hyung to do well. Even if he’s not my manager….”

She chuckled at my words and nudged my shoulder.

“But oppa, you can’t do without Chief Kim.”

“That’s also true. There’s the time we’ve spent working together.”

Song Yu-na crossed her arms and stared into space.

It was Chief Kim’s concern, but she seemed to want to help in any way she could with this worry that was also my concern.

After biting her lip for a while, she opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Usually in this situation, this seems to be the best way?”

At her words, I straightened my back and moved a step closer to Song Yu-na.

“What way?”

“The best route I talked about earlier!”

“Independence?”

“Yeah. Chief Kim starts a new agency.”

At her words, I hesitated, making a tsk sound.

“That’s the best way, but… can hyung really go out and be independent right now? Hyung has worked for a long time, but he still doesn’t have the connections….”

Song Yu-na raised her eyebrows as if she didn’t understand me.

“Chief Kim becomes independent and starts an entertainment company, and oppa signs with that company. As a *soseok yeonaein* [所属 연예인, affiliated celebrity]!”

Then, all the pieces of my thoughts seemed to fit together.

“…That’s not bad?”