Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 27

Drifting Scenario (5)

* * *

Han Young-joo, having silenced Park Yeol-ho with a large piece of apple, smiled brightly.

“It’s okay. Your dad’s just being silly. Your mom only cares that you’re both alright. Don’t worry about it too much…”

“Then let’s take a picture.”

“Huh?”

Han Young-joo blinked. Geon put down his fork and took out his smartphone.

“We only have that one photo from Sun’s college graduation. Let’s take some with the phone today, and later we can all go to a studio for a proper one.”

Park Sun, quick to catch on, joined in to set the mood.

“That’s right, Mom. Hurry and get Dad over here too. We’ll take one and put it on Hyung’s [older brother’s] official account.”

“No, what’s with all the picture taking…”

At his sons’ urging, Han Young-joo, though saying it was alright, reluctantly came to the sofa.

As the four family members sat close together, Park Geon, being the tallest, held up his phone in selfie mode.

“Taking it now. One, two.”

“Ah, wait a minute! I blinked!”

“Take a few more while you’re at it. There, your mom blinked.”

“Taking it again. One, two.”

After the commotion, dozens of photos were saved in the gallery. Park Sun, quick as ever, uploaded the new family photo to the family group chat.

The first to change his profile picture was their father, Park Yeol-ho.

“Wow, you already changed it?”

“This much is basic. Even if my body isn’t great, my senses are as sharp as any young person’s.”

“…Don’t say things that make my heart ache.”

Amid Park Sun’s tearful expression, Han Young-joo looked at the photo with a complex expression.

“Why? Did it not come out well?”

“No. I love it. Mom will keep this as her profile picture forever.”

“We’ll have to change it again! Who knows? Maybe Hyung’s next movie will be a huge hit, and he’ll get invited to film festivals and broadcasting awards shows at the end of the year and take tons of pictures with awards.”

“Ahem, don’t say things like that so carelessly. When it comes to big things, it’s important to maintain your initial mindset. You have to build steadily and faithfully, one step at a time…”

“Quiet, you. I need to talk to you later.”

Watching his family laugh and chat, Geon was momentarily lost in emotion.

The memories of this world, which he had been recalling and forgetting for twenty years, memories he didn’t want to forget, were right before his eyes.

‘This is what it was like.’

As the regressions exceeded double digits, his rationality as a modern person gradually became clouded.

The battle never ends. No matter which route he takes, his comrades die, and the residue of guilt accumulates in his blood vessels, gnawing at his nerves.

A continuous journey of endless suffering. In a life of endlessly cutting, killing, and destroying, he gradually became a killing machine rather than a hero.

-You have to go back to your family, you said you would!

-This hero’s journey has failed too. I’m going to be trapped here forever.

-Stop talking nonsense and get a grip. Hero… hey, you!

Just as he was about to forget his family’s faces, the saintess’s cry restored some of his fading sanity.

His always upright father, his mother who gave up her dreams for the sake of the family, and his younger brother who always supported him in every way, declaring himself his brother’s biggest fan…

Thinking that far, a question suddenly arose.

‘I hardly talked about myself. Did I even mention having a family in that iteration?’

After a moment of contemplation, Geon dismissed the thought.

It was a question that couldn’t be answered anyway.

Now that he had returned to Earth, crossing dimensions, the important thing was that he had reunited with everyone in good health.

“Father, Mother, Sun-ah.”

The family, who had been taking pictures on the sofa, turned to look.

Looking at the faces he would never forget again, Geon said something he hadn’t been able to say for a long time.

“I missed you.”

*

That night, a photo was uploaded to Park Geon’s Instagram.

A photo of the four family members sitting close together on a sofa in an ordinary home.

Below it was a simple sentence.

Likes 6,152 Comments 225

My beloved family.

*

“Yo, Manager Kim.”

“Manager Park? What brings you here?”

“Actor meeting. Came down while I was here, thought I’d see some faces after a long time.”

DG Entertainment headquarters, first floor.

A cafe open to those involved, headhunters gathered at secluded tables.

“Ugh, I can smell the alcohol from here?”

“Don’t even mention it. If I drink today, it’ll be ten days straight. I swear, I don’t know if I’m a headhunter or a host club player.”

The headhunter who was complaining asked his colleague across from him.

“How’s Team Leader Choi doing? Found anything good lately?”

“Found anything? I’m running around until my feet are sweating, but there aren’t any decent kids. I don’t know where they’re all getting sucked up to.”

“It’s the era of low birth rates, haha.”

“Oh please, even in the era of low birth rates, daycare centers are doing just fine.”

Jokes and complaints were exchanged. They might talk like that, but they all knew they had a hidden ace or two up their sleeves.

Diamonds in the rough with dazzling talent are buried everywhere. Their job is to discover those gems before they’re snatched away and offer them to the giants at the lowest possible price.

“Whether they’re YouTubers or creators, most of them these days have terrible personalities. Even if you sweep them up with a net, the seeds are all dried up.”

“Just stick to actors and idols like me. It’s more disgusting to cater to the tastes of celebrities-wannabe commoners who call themselves creators.”

“Does anyone want to do it? They’re just asking us to find them.”

The rough talk about the industry’s current state moved on to rookies.

Red Swan, who recently debuted under DG, actress Kang Ah-jin, a former child actor who joined C&J, Joinus’s ambitious project 4Kings, and Park Geon, who led ‘Dog of Seoul’ to hit status.

“Park Geon? Is that guy still a free agent?”

“I heard he’s practically Roman’s [a major entertainment agency]. CEO Noh has his eye on him and is raising him carefully.”

One of the headhunters pretended to know.

“No. I talked to one of the managers recently, and they said no one has been able to meet the actor yet. Only the manager came out, listened to the conditions, and that was it. If he was really Roman’s, wouldn’t he have at least met with those agencies?”

The headhunters’ expressions changed. In the current market, Park Geon is a mouth-watering blue chip.

A surprise rookie debuted and achieved a whopping 20% viewership rating on cable.

Even though there were other leads, it can’t be denied that he was a key part of the buzz.

He has a fandom, a unique look, and, most of all, the fact that he’s from a non-celebrity background is an appealing factor.

They thought he would go with his brother, who used to be a Roman manager, but if he still doesn’t have an agency…

Contrary to what they were thinking, the headhunters each added a word.

“He’s already got a bad case of celebrity disease. How big of a hit could he have had?”

“He wants to go with a mega-agency. Before filming his next project, he’s trying to raise his value as much as possible and get cast in a highly anticipated project.”

“It’s understandable to be greedy. He’s from a non-celebrity background, after all.”

At that moment, the distinct sound of dress shoes approached the table.

“Having fun talking, in someone else’s company?”

A man in a navy suit with gold-rimmed glasses, with an impression that you wouldn’t get a drop of blood even if you stabbed him.

The pungent scent of skin lotion wafted over. His towering height, the vest stretched taut under his suit, made him look more like a professional businessman than an agency employee.

A cold gaze swept over the faces of the people beyond the compressed glass.

“Don’t you have work to do? These days, every company’s scouting reports are terrible. I don’t know if there aren’t any good guys, or if the guys looking for them are useless.”

It was an excessive outburst, but the person who said those words was in a position to do so.

The peddlers, who had to present their goods while saying, “Please take a look,” could only tremble at the tyranny of the magistrate.

“…Oh, is it that time already?”

“Then see you again. I’ll get going first, Team Leader.”

As the headhunter who had spoken first awkwardly packed his things and got up, the others scattered busily.

The youngest entertainment planning director in DG.

A rising powerhouse in management.

A young Midas famous for making every entertainer he touches a success, Cha In-hyuk turned his head halfway.

“Report.”

The female secretary standing two steps behind him briefed expressionlessly.

“Confirmed, he is not affiliated with Roman. He is close enough to Seo Hee-do to go to the Meredith headquarters, and he has not been seen at Roman since the Oh Gwi-joon manager incident.”

“He must have met outside. What about Joinus and C&J?”

“None. They seem to be waiting and watching a little longer.”

“Contact him lightly first. Check around to see if he’s the type to cause trouble.”

The female secretary bowed her head.

“Understood, Director.”

“Ah, and.”

The cool, handsome eyes narrowed.

“Find out if that raccoon Noh Joong-man has really set his sights on him. If they’re colluding to raise his value, I’ll take this opportunity to stab him.”

*

Dosan 대로 [Dosan Avenue] in the heart of Seoul, the Michelin 3-star restaurant ‘Jeongwol,’ where even reservations are difficult.

Two men sat facing each other in the VIP room on the 5th floor, which requires reservations two months in advance.

“······.”

The expression of the employee who finished serving showed a hint of regret.

One was an unfamiliar face, and the other was a face they knew well… no, a face they wanted to know.

After the employee, who stubbornly glanced at Park Geon one more time, slowly left, CEO Noh Joong-man started.

“I was surprised. That actor Park Geon asked to meet first.”

“I apologize for contacting you so late. I thought it was polite to meet when I had some free time after the drama ended.”

“No, that’s better.”

‘Because we’re both busy.’ CEO Noh muttered and then asked as if he suddenly remembered.

“Is it okay that your brother didn’t come? I feel bad for both of you, and I wanted to treat you to a meal together.”

“I prefer to work alone. I just told him that I had a meeting with the CEO today.”

The actor excludes the manager from the meeting with the agency CEO.

That means he has something to say that isn’t the manager’s business, something he doesn’t want to tell his brother.

A faint smile appeared on CEO Noh Joong-man’s lips.

“I’m glad to hear that. I chose a place I know. Do you like Korean food?”

“Yes. I eat everything except things with wings.”

“······?”

CEO Noh, who tilted his head for a moment, also started eating.

‘Jeongwol’s’ main courses are Korean beef sirloin and bulgogi [thinly sliced marinated beef]. Today, sea bass and sea bream were also added.

Whether the rumor that he was a big eater had spread that far, the main and side dishes came out endlessly.

Noh Joong-man, picking up a piece of bulgogi, said.

“You eat well.”

“I do.”

“Is that the secret to your health?”

Park Geon shook his head.

“No. If ordinary people ate like this, they would get gastritis or stomach ulcers.”

“It seems so. I asked a creator at the company, and they said that eating too much isn’t good for your health.”

They both knew what the main point was, whether he had made up his mind or whether he would listen to the conditions, but the topic kept going around in circles.

The one who made the first move was Park Geon.

“So, why did you give me your number?”