Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 28

Drama and Movie Adaptations (1)

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Just then, a knock sounded, and the door opened. Noh Joong-man gestured languidly.

“Finally here. Let’s eat first, then we can talk.”

Along with the next course, all the liquors the restaurant had were brought in on a tray.

Traditional wine, ginseng soju, makgeolli [Korean rice wine], and pear blossom wine… A lineup that could easily lead to someone being carried out if mixed.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so pick what suits your taste. You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”

Park Geon scanned the bottles and said indifferently, “I’ll have what you’re having, Director.”

“Then pear blossom wine it is. I have it every time I come here; it goes really well with the food.”

The glasses clinked. Noh Joong-man refilled his glass and clasped his hands together.

“When I first saw you, I knew you’d make it big, Park Geon.”

“Is that so?”

“I have an eye for talent.”

“Not so much with that manager and idol, though.”

There was a barb in his words. If the person in charge needs something from someone below them, that person doesn’t just remain below them.

“A CEO isn’t a god. If I could see the future, I wouldn’t have gotten involved, but weeds mistaken for rice have to be pulled out, even if belatedly.”

Noh Joong-man refilled his own glass and swirled it slowly. Then, looking at the shimmering liquor under the light, he asked, “Park Geon, do you like movies?”

“I only like fantasy when I watch them.”

“Movies only deal with stimulating subjects, but this industry is often worse. All the dirty things you can imagine happen here. What your brother experienced is mild in comparison.”

“Are you saying it was unavoidable?”

“No, I’m saying you don’t know what might happen in the future. Cutting off a manager who caused trouble is easy, but popular actors are valuable revenue streams. They’ll desperately protect them from getting even a scratch, let alone handling them.”

Roman is known for its strict internal management.

They protect artists embroiled in false controversies to the end, but when the truth comes out, the agency releases a statement without flimsy excuses.

It’s easy to guess where that internal regulation came from.

“The conversation went off track. When I first saw you, Park Geon, I thought you were like me.”

“Like you?”

“You don’t seem like an actor, and though you wore a uniform, you weren’t a soldier. You felt like a mercenary. Extremely realistic and practical.”

Park Geon cut another piece of sirloin.

“I wasn’t like this before, but I think I changed after serving in the military.”

“That’s why I was a little worried. This isn’t a place that operates on that kind of system.”

“The entertainment industry, you mean?”

Noh Joong-man nodded.

“Ranks are divided by fame and connections, and if you have neither, you’ll suffer losses in legal and dirty ways. Injustice and absurdity are the rules of this scene. The weak being trampled is as natural as on a battlefield.”

Even while listening to the story, Park Geon didn’t seem particularly worried.

That was the same indifferent attitude he had when Oh Gwi-joon assaulted his brother, even when he stormed into the heart of a major entertainment company.

“I guess I can’t do things the way I did there.”

“The way you did there?”

“Ah, just talking to myself.”

Just as CEO Noh Joong-man was about to say something, a direct question flew in.

“What can you do for me?”

Finally, the main point came out. The real reason both sides had dismissed everyone else and asked to meet alone.

Noh Joong-man spread his large palm.

“Almost everything you need, Park Geon.”

“Everything?”

“It’s funny for me to say it myself, but… there’s a rumor about me. That I’m a former loan shark with ties to organized crime, and that I grew the company by burying people.”

“You don’t seem like that.”

CEO Noh Joong-man raised one eyebrow.

“Why?”

“You don’t smell like blood. And you don’t have the hands of someone who’s beaten people.”

“Haha, it’s refreshing to hear that. I wish other people would recognize it too…”

Noh Joong-man smiled and continued, “But, I can do everything except that.”

“Except what?”

“Public opinion warfare, scheming, power games with broadcasting stations and other major agencies, retaliating against unfair treatment of affiliated artists—all of that.”

Bottomless black eyes and faded brown eyes met in the air.

“You might not know it now, because you haven’t fully jumped into the game. But as you climb higher, there will come a time when ability alone isn’t enough. Think of the agency as insurance for that time.”

“Why me?”

Noh Joong-man stroked his prominent brow bone with his long fingers.

“I have a knack for seeing people. It’s gotten me this far, and I haven’t seen many people like you.”

“I’m pretty ordinary.”

“No, you’re not ordinary. You’re not very interested in money, acting, or popularity. It’s like you’ve come to this industry… to find something.”

Without answering, Park Geon carefully picked up a piece of the half-eaten sea bass dish and brought it to his mouth.

Noh Joong-man raised one finger.

“Just one year. After that, you can start your own agency, go to a bigger agency, whatever you want. And if you want to terminate freely within that year, I’ll naturally let you go.”

Being able to leave whenever you want.

Few new management companies guarantee free termination. It’s a clause that an actor can’t help but be tempted by.

Moreover, the typical contract period for a rookie is three to five years. It’s practically better treatment than a top actor.

“You don’t want me to go to a big agency, do you?”

“You don’t miss a thing, do you? Do I have to lay my heart bare for you to be satisfied?”

Both knew that they couldn’t deceive each other with ordinary rhetoric. Noh Joong-man smiled.

“You’re just testing the waters now, but that’s only until your next project. Soon, lion cubs and dinosaur cubs alike will flock to you. I don’t want to have someone I picked stolen by them.”

“Even at a loss?”

“Because I believe in the Park Geon I saw. Even if you stab me in the back and leave as soon as you join, well, it’s a cheap price to pay for learning that my judgment has rusted.”

The food was still there, but Park Geon didn’t eat any more.

He just stared at the knife on his plate with a seemingly reminiscent look.

Noh Joong-man wrapped up the conversation.

“You’ll need time to think. Let’s stop here for today, and later through your brother…”

“No.”

A low, firm voice flowed out.

“I’ve made up my mind. Let’s end it here.”

*

Roman Entertainment Headquarters, Director’s Office.

“It must be settled by now.”

Baek Ha-ni muttered casually. In place of the director, who had briefly stepped out to take a call, Chief Yoo Joon-il asked, “What’s settled?”

“The CEO. He must be trying to scout someone again.”

Today’s schedule, Baek Ha-ni’s contract renewal with Roman, concluded at a level that both sides were reasonably satisfied with.

One year with the same conditions. A decent renewal for both Baek Ha-ni and Roman.

Yoo Chief looked puzzled and checked his phone schedule.

“Scout what… No, but how do you know where the CEO went?”

“You knew I had a renewal meeting today, but only the director came out. Besides, Jeongwol, that tasteless restaurant, is the CEO’s hideout. If there’s someone he’s eyeing, he calls them there and shoves a contract in their face.”

As the scathing assessment continued, Yoo Chief suddenly noticed something suspicious.

“So, how did you know where the CEO went? Did he tell you directly?”

“No. I asked Secretary Seo.”

“I knew it. If the CEO finds out you’re squeezing Chan-young again…!”

“Squeeze what? Am I a chicken?”

“Hey, Baek Ha-ni!”

Yoo Chief, alarmed, looked around, but Baek Ha-ni retorted confidently.

“And what if I did squeeze? Are you going to kick me out like the Wow Kids? Putting on a serious face and saying, ‘I guess we can’t go together anymore’?”

“You’re really… Ugh, I can’t live long if I’m with you. Don’t ever say that in front of the director.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be coming here anymore anyway.”

Top actresses rarely engage in external activities, but among them, Baek Ha-ni is notoriously reclusive.

She never appears on variety shows and adheres to extreme hermitism when she doesn’t have a schedule.

Jin Ji-yoo, who appears on various programs when her works are released and frequently attends celebrity invitation events, has the opposite style.

‘So, is that why they don’t get along?’

Jin Ji-yoo and Baek Ha-ni are well-known rivals among entertainment industry insiders.

Rivals? They’re closer to mortal enemies.

It’s common for actresses to dislike each other, but the two of them are extreme.

The anecdote of them grabbing each other’s hair and fighting during a Guam trip that CEO Noh sent them on as a special vacation two years ago has become a legend passed down through the company.

Just thinking about that glorious occasion makes my head throb.

‘It was just a gruesome bikini fight.’

Expensive faces were scratched by nails, and slender limbs were bruised here and there.

After that, the two were quiet for a while, even superficially. Like rivals who realized it wasn’t easy to win with brute force.

Instead, the fight broke out elsewhere. Competition erupted for every job—advertisements, dramas, movies—leaving only the PR staff to die.

In that situation, what if even a top actress comes?

‘…It’ll be a disaster.’

Baek Ha-ni glanced at her wristwatch. The watch wrapped around her wrist was a Chanel Première Velvet, a luxury line with an impressive black leather strap.

“Anyway, if any breaking news comes out, tell my manager to contact me. No matter who comes in.”

“Breaking news? What breaking news?”

Baek Ha-ni looked at Yoo Chief as if he were utterly lacking.

“What have you heard so far? The person who’s newly joining this damn house.”

“So, what makes you so sure…”

“Ah. And tell PR Team Leader Gong that if he ignores me again, I’ll go and turn things upside down.”

That’s not a threat but a statement of fact. In the early days of her contract with Roman, Baek Ha-ni was literally a crazy woman incarnate in the present world.

No matter who the opponent was or where the place was, she charged like a rhinoceros if she felt bad.

She stormed into the CEO’s office, threw coffee at the team leaders, and tormented the director, causing all of Roman’s employees and actors to avoid her.

‘Except for a few.’

Those few were scheduled to return soon after completing their overseas schedules. A smile appeared on Yoo Chief’s face.

‘If the CEO really brings in a new face… there will be interesting combinations.’

Perhaps seeing his face, Baek Ha-ni put on her fur vest with a displeased expression.

“Disgusting. Why are you smiling like that?”

“What do you mean disgusting to a person? I just thought of something fun.”

“Never mind, I feel even worse.”

As Baek Ha-ni got up, the door to the director’s office opened, and Director Lee Sang-cheol entered.

Director Lee looked at Baek Ha-ni with surprise, as if he had seen a mythical animal.

“Oh, what brings you here? Didn’t you leave yet?”

“I’ll leave when you get out of the way, Director.”

“Okay, okay. Go in quickly… Oh, and I got a call from the CEO. He’s going to sign a new actor.”

Baek Ha-ni, who was turning her body as if she didn’t even want to brush shoulders, stopped abruptly.

“Who is it?”

“It’s confidential. Check the article when the official announcement comes out.”

Immediately, her well-groomed eyebrows shot up.

“Director, I’m Baek Ha-ni. Are you going to treat me like this right after I renewed my contract?”

That’s practically extortion, but Director Lee Sang-cheol is a veteran among veterans who has gone through road manager, team leader, and chief positions.

He casually stuck his thumb in his belt and replied smoothly.

“Actress Baek Ha-ni, internal contract information cannot be disclosed to anyone other than executives. If you feel wronged, buy company stock and become a major shareholder.”

“I’ll count to five. One, two, three…”

“Oops, I’ll go first. It’s almost time for the kids’ schedules to end.”

It’s best to run away in situations like this. As soon as Yoo Chief quickly slipped out, he began to hear something breaking from behind.

“Hey, nameplate! Nameplate! That was ordered with natural mother-of-pearl!”

It’s not a one- or two-day occurrence, and the person who provoked her will take care of it. Moreover, Baek Ha-ni’s tantrums often erupted at team leaders and chiefs rather than road managers or stylists.

He’s obtained even high-level information… It’s worth spending half a day with a grumpy actress under the guise of contract renewal.

Yoo Joon-il Chief, who was gleeful, scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Wait a minute, so who’s coming?”

*