An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 89

#18 – A More Suitable Person (4)

Jin Hee-sung received notification that his meeting was canceled.

A week prior to that.

Manager Lee, sitting in the driver’s seat, glanced at the rearview mirror.

“Young-hoon, when should I have the script for your next project ready?”

At his question, Baek Young-hoon tightly closed his eyes.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], you can just prepare it and let me know. Give it to me anytime.”

“Okay, I’ve got it ready. I’ll show it to you when we get to the company.”

Manager Lee nodded.

Baek Young-hoon slightly opened his eyes and spoke.

“Right, hyung. Is Jin Hee-sung looking at the script at the company?”

“Probably. I heard he comes every day to read the script and practice acting.”

Manager Lee snapped his fingers as he spoke about Jin Hee-sung.

“Ah! Young-hoon, you know Power Balance, right?”

“Of course. But why that all of a sudden?”

“I heard Jin Hee-sung is going to do an advertisement for them.”

At Manager Lee’s words, Baek Young-hoon’s expression instantly hardened.

“No, Jin Hee-sung is doing it?”

“Yeah, I think they just started having meetings. Or maybe they already had the meeting?”

Baek Young-hoon twisted his lips with a look of disbelief.

“Do you think Jin Hee-sung fits the image of a sports brand?”

At his words, Manager Lee shook his head.

“Well… now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem to fit.”

“Right, that kind of image suits me better.”

At Baek Young-hoon’s words, Manager Lee laughed heartily.

“Haha, that’s right. Young-hoon, you’re perfect for that kind of thing.”

At Manager Lee’s words, Baek Young-hoon straightened up.

Even though the seatbelt was tightly fastened, he leaned forward as much as possible, bringing his face close to the driver’s seat, and spoke.

“Hyung… then we shouldn’t be sitting here, right?”

“Huh?”

Manager Lee tilted his head.

He immediately snapped his fingers and smirked.

“Are you saying we should take it?”

At his words, Baek Young-hoon also grinned and leaned back in his seat.

“It’s not taking it, it’s finding the right owner.”

Then, with his arms crossed and a sly expression, he looked out the window.

“I can’t stand Jin Hee-sung doing better than me.”

The car drove for a while and then stopped briefly.

Manager Lee quickly got out of the car and made a phone call.

Baek Young-hoon watched him with a satisfied look.

Back in the car, Baek Young-hoon asked Manager Lee.

“Hyung, what did they say? Did you confirm it?”

“Yeah, it looks like they’re planning to sign a contract for 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] for 6 months. But it’s not signed yet.”

Baek Young-hoon stared into space, calculating in his head.

Manager Lee was doing the same.

“This condition is good, but to take it, we need to go lower.”

At his words, Baek Young-hoon nodded.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah, Young-hoon.”

“Look, shouldn’t I be the one to film the advertisement before Jin Hee-sung?”

Baek Young-hoon looked straight into Manager Lee’s eyes and continued.

“If I do well, you’ll continue to be a successful manager, right?”

His tone was very gentle and soft.

Like persuading a child.

Manager Lee raised his eyebrows.

“Of course. No manager would dislike their actor doing well.”

“Then, hyung. Let’s get the advertisement.”

“I’d like that too, but then we’d have to go lower than what Jin Hee-sung is contracting for…”

Before Manager Lee could finish, Baek Young-hoon cut him off.

“Hyung, I told you, I don’t care about the money. I just need to take Jin Hee-sung’s.”

“…….”

“There’s nothing I’m worse at than Jin Hee-sung, right?”

Baek Young-hoon’s eyes were burning fiercely.

At that, Manager Lee bit his lower lip and nodded.

They continued talking for a long time, as if debating.

Soon, Manager Lee hurriedly answered a call from the company.

As soon as he hung up, a sly smile appeared on Manager Lee’s face.

“Young-hoon, let’s go to the company and have a meeting right away. I think we can get the advertisement.”

“Is that what the company said?”

“Yeah, it seems like the higher-ups want you to do the advertisement more.”

Baek Young-hoon twisted his lips at Manager Lee’s words.

“See? I’m definitely better than Jin Hee-sung.”

Then, he pointed his chin forward and shouted.

“Let’s go to the company and talk about it quickly.”

“Yeah, I need to see Chief Kang right away.”

***

Knock knock.

Manager Kim knocked fiercely on the door of the department head’s office.

He opened the door and spoke in front of Chief Kang.

“Chief.”

“Oh, Manager Kim, what’s going on?”

He leaned back in his chair and looked at Manager Kim.

“I came because of the advertisement.”

Chief Kang seemed to understand the meaning at once, raising his eyebrows and getting up from his seat.

“Sit down. Let’s sit down and talk.”

They walked to the sofa and took their seats.

Coffee was immediately placed on the table.

“Drink up.”

Manager Kim wanted to argue loudly right away.

But it was impossible for Manager Kim, as a manager, to shout at Chief Kang, who held the position of department head at HS Entertainment.

“Yes.”

Manager Kim took a sip of the coffee in front of him.

Chief Kang also picked up his teacup with his legs crossed.

“So, you came all the way here because of the advertisement?”

“Yes, as you know, I heard that the advertisement deal for actor Jin Hee-sung was reported last week.”

Manager Kim put down the coffee he was holding on the table and continued.

“But I heard that the advertisement was passed on to Baek Young-hoon. You know about that, right?”

At Manager Kim’s words, Chief Kang showed no signs of surprise or embarrassment.

Instead, he looked at Manager Kim with a gentle face.

“I know.”

“No, how can this happen right before the contract? I need to know the reason, so I came to see you.”

“Hmm… the reason…”

Chief Kang took his back off the chair and pulled his body forward.

“I heard that Baek Young-hoon and Manager Lee lowered the advertisement price for Power Balance.”

“How can they steal from each other like this within the same company? This is not ethical.”

Chief Kang, who had been listening to Manager Kim’s story, finally sighed briefly and nodded.

“Listening to Manager Kim, I can understand why you’d be upset.”

He closed his eyes tightly, opened them, and continued.

“I’ll call Manager Lee and give him a stern talking-to.”

“Yes, I think Manager Lee is at fault in this case, no matter how I think about it.”

Chief Kang nodded at Manager Kim’s words.

Then, he picked up the teacup again and replied.

“Okay, drink it before it gets cold.”

“…Yes.”

After that, they drank coffee without saying a word.

Manager Kim carefully opened his mouth to him.

“Then, can we reschedule the advertisement contract meeting?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chief Kang tilted his head.

“What are you talking about? Baek Young-hoon has already changed all the contract conditions.”

Chief Kang had just said he would warn Manager Lee.

And Manager Kim’s eyes darted around in confusion at the story that Baek Young-hoon would do the advertisement as it was.

“Is that it?”

At his words, Chief Kang shrugged his shoulders.

“Then?”

Manager Kim straightened his posture and raised his voice.

“No, we had the advertisement stolen from us, so shouldn’t we restore it to its original state?”

“Hmm… but Power Balance has already decided to work with Baek Young-hoon. It’s hard to overturn that again.”

Manager Kim frowned at his words.

“No. We have to overturn it.”

At his confident words, Chief Kang’s lips slightly curved upwards.

“Oh, Manager Kim. You were just talking about being in the same family. Are you really going to do that to each other?”

Manager Kim looked as if he had been hit in the back of the head and let out a sigh with his mouth wide open.

“Chief!”

Despite his shout, Chief Kang leaned back on the sofa and raised his eyebrows with a calm face.

“Don’t tell me you’re doing this because Hee-sung didn’t renew his contract back then?”

In the end, Manager Kim’s voice, which had been holding back, rose.

Chief Kang shook his head with a gentle face, unlike his expression.

“Hey, there’s no such thing.”

With that calmness, Manager Kim’s resentment grew more and more.

He answered with a heavy breath.

“If not that, then there’s no explanation. How can you take away an advertisement that you’ve already secured like this? How can you let that pass!”

Even as Manager Kim shouted in excitement, Chief Kang didn’t bat an eye.

“There’s no such thing. It sounds like I favor Baek Young-hoon and hate Jin Hee-sung, right?”

“Aren’t you?”

Chief Kang raised his lips.

“No. They are all just artists. To me, they are neither more nor less. I think Manager Kim is misunderstanding something.”

Manager Kim frowned.

He could tell at once.

Chief Kang’s true feelings.

Even if he said that, there was only one reason.

Just because he didn’t renew his contract, he simply threw Jin Hee-sung out of his sight.

Even the dog next door knew that was the reason.

But Manager Kim could only sigh at Chief Kang’s words, who kept pretending not to know.

“Chief Kang.”

“Speak.”

In the end, Manager Kim jumped up from his seat in a fit of anger.

He looked at Chief Kang, who was sitting down, and said.

“Even though I belong to HS Entertainment, I don’t think this is right.”

At those words, Chief Kang put down the coffee he was holding on the table.

Thud.

Then, he got up from his seat, looked straight into Manager Kim’s eyes, and opened his mouth.

“Then… what are you going to do?”

“…….”

Chief Kang put his hand on Manager Kim’s shoulder and twisted his lips.

“Just stay still. Let it go. I’ll take good care of Manager Kim.”

***

“What?”

I couldn’t hide my surprise at Manager Kim’s words.

“It seems like Baek Young-hoon and Manager Lee talked to the higher-ups directly.”

Manager Kim’s face turned red and blue.

“They lowered the advertisement price and increased the contract period.”

I gritted my teeth at his words.

Even though I was half-expecting it.

I expected that Power Balance, not Baek Young-hoon, would request Baek Young-hoon as the model.

No, maybe I wanted to believe that.

The expression Baek Young-hoon had when he was cast as the lead in the drama last time.

After that day, I felt that Baek Young-hoon was somehow cold, and I thought he would do something once.

But I didn’t know it would be stealing an advertisement like this.

Manager Kim clenched his fist as if it would burst and muttered.

“That Manager Lee is crazy….”

“No, hyung. Baek Young-hoon… I thought that guy was up to something. In the end, I knew he would do something like this once. But I didn’t know he would steal an advertisement instead of a role.”

I bit my lip, thinking of Baek Young-hoon’s pretentious smile.

And Manager Kim sighed repeatedly and closed his mouth tightly.

Several minutes of silence followed.

Manager Kim turned his head, looked at me, and said.

“Hee-sung, I’ll try to get it back somehow.”

I already knew that he had gone to a team leader in the public relations team.

And even to Chief Kang, who was not easy to visit.

I knew that this was my job, and that I was the subject that Baek Young-hoon wanted to take away so much.

I shook my head at his words.

“No. I’ll do it.”

At my words, Manager Kim opened his eyes wide and raised his eyebrows.

“How are you going to do it?”

Our eyes met.

I looked at Manager Kim and raised my lips.