‘Manager hyung, maybe he actually has a sixth sense….’
He said there would be a call.
I did not expect a call would really come looking for me.
Though it is because it was Kang Chaheon.
“Why is your expression like that?”
“No, well… what expression do I have?”
“Like you are looking at a person with an incredible amount of free time.”
Correct.
How did he know?
‘Maybe everyone except me has some kind of intuition?’
I am the one who received a special ability from the heavens.
Yet it feels like the people around me are the ones riding the blade.
“I did not exactly think that… I just wondered why Mr. Kang Chaheon would bother coming all the way here when he must be busy. By the way, how did you find such a quiet place?”
An out-of-the-blue message from Kang Chaheon about a nearby cafe.
The very first thought that came to mind was…
‘Should I not be inviting him to the house?’
That was it.
If someone like Kang Chaheon shows up at a cafe, how are we supposed to deal with the aftermath?
I even remember how we struggled with the constantly swelling crowd during the free hugs that were a pledge for Gwiro.
No wonder the staff focused first on crowd control rather than promotion.
But the cafe was quiet, unexpectedly.
Of course it was.
There were no customers other than Kang Chaheon.
“I rented it.”
I wondered how he picked a place like this, and a simple answer came back.
“Oh, that was an option.”
Seeing Rowoon’s pure amazement, Kang Chaheon clicked his tongue as if dumbfounded.
“What on earth do you take me for? Even looking at me, is that the only thing you are curious about?”
“Well…”
Then what am I supposed to be curious about?
“Right now you are thinking I came to hang out because I have nothing to do.”
“No, well, I did not exactly think that.”
In truth, I did.
But if I said that, it was obvious he would start pestering me again.
“Sigh… what am I even doing trying to talk with you?”
“So why did you come? If you even rented a cafe, do you have… something to say?”
Instead of answering, Kang Chaheon brought up something off the wall.
“Do you know how many people want to contact me privately?”
“How would I know…?”
Why is he suddenly asking that?
Is this a flex about connections?
Is he trying to mock me, who was practically blacklisted in the industry?
‘If it is that, he really does not need to remind me.’
I already know very well.
As Rowoon sipped his drink with a slurp and darted his eyes, a deep sigh burst from across the table.
“Let us not even talk. Forget it.”
Kang Chaheon let out another heavy sigh.
I had no idea why.
“Let us be clear about this. I was not the one who called you out.”
“Pardon?”
“…Can you stop looking at me with a face that says ‘what nonsense is that’? There is someone who kept pressing me to meet you, so I contacted you on their behalf.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You.”
“Who?”
“Do you remember PD Han?”
“Who?”
“PD Han. Variety.”
At the keyword “variety,” my memory surfaced at once.
‘Was this the famous variety PD that my manager hyung said we should turn down even Director Lee Jinmyeong’s offer as soon as he heard the name?’
Not only did every show they made become a smash hit, they were famous for shooting a cast member’s recognition vertically upward.
A star PD called the Midas touch of variety.
“Why would that person want me?”
Some time ago, Kang Chaheon had personally come to the company and passed along a message about PD Han.
“Why do you ask. I told you they wanted to use you and me as a pair on a variety show.”
“Was that not just talk?”
“…What do you even take me for? Do I look so idle that I would personally go all the way there just to pass along empty words?”
“Well…”
Rowoon furtively rolled his eyes to the side.
If I give him the wrong handle here, life gets hard.
“Either way the main is you, Mr. Kang Chaheon. Was it not just to stick me in to round out the cast?”
“What? What kind of ridiculous thought is that?”
He looked even more dumbfounded than before.
“No, think about it. Why would someone like that use me? We just filmed a movie together, and I probably look like the only person who seems on decent terms with you, so they want to lure you in through me.”
“…What is with this guy? Are you really Lee Rowoon?”
“I told you I was not.”
“That is true. Is that why?”
His gaze narrowed and swept over Rowoon.
“Now you do not grasp the situation in the opposite way…”
He clicked his tongue as if people could be this extreme.
“Did your manager feed you some weird talk or what?”
“Huh? Why bring that up?”
“You have eyes and ears too. Are you not noticing anything different?”
“Ah.”
Slurp.
Taking another drink, Rowoon rolled his eyes.
‘What is this, anyway? It is good.’
It tastes like that tangy toothpaste flavor: bitter yet sweet, and delicious.
“Well, it is better than before, but there is still a long way to go.”
The manager always filtered for good reactions to tell Rowoon.
With Taewoon’s first and second commercials hitting it big, it was true his stock was rising day by day as the manager said.
However:
“Riding on KCH’s back to get famous, acting so full of himself at fifty, how does he headline for TW, lol, is there something going on.”
“I admit he did okay in Ear, haha. But? Does that mean he is fit to headline? Is that not a bit much.”
“Did he get a sponsor or something, otherwise how did he land a top tier ad right away.”
‘There really is still a long way to go.’
Starting from the point he landed Taewoon’s ad, yes there were good reactions, but the opposite reactions were also stoked.
‘If I think of it as a transitional phase where perceptions are changing, it is not impossible to understand.’
There was honestly nothing to be done about this.
Wishing that all the bad press would vanish instantly and only good words would remain would be shameless.
‘It is better to change things step by step like this. If you clamp mouths shut and then it explodes later, it is even more troublesome.’
I told the agency too.
Unless someone is blatantly spewing profanity or spreading severe rumors or fabrications, leave it be for now.
You cannot fix things by silencing negative opinions.
The better I do, the more those voices will gradually diminish.
‘Public opinion forced into shape is meaningless. The voices that defend you voluntarily have to grow.’
The dislikes now are, in short, a kind of gauge.
They are an indicator of how to proceed.
“Hey. You are doing well.”
“Yes. I will do well.”
“No. Not in that sense.”
When Rowoon nodded meekly, Kang Chaheon raked his hair in frustration.
The neatly set hair was mussed.
The strange thing was, even so, that handsome face was still handsome.
“You are doing well.”
“…Sorry?”
Maybe he ate something bad?
Rowoon quickly glanced at Kang Chaheon’s cup.
He was drinking the beverage he had recommended as tasty.
Is there some poison plant in there, not mint?
“Stop looking at me like someone who ate something inedible.”
He really was quick-witted.
“You did well in this ad too.”
“…Thank you?”
Praise from Kang Chaheon. That was rare.
“Wow, he really does not believe me. Hey. Do you think I hand out praise like this often?”
“Probably not?”
Given that personality…
I nodded, understanding why he has no friends, and Kang Chaheon raked his hair again.
“Right. What am I even doing trying to talk with you. Sigh… Now you have become frustrating in a different way.”
He gulped his drink and spoke.
“PD Han saw that ad too. Called me right last night.”
I did not know what a commercial had to do with PD Han.
With a sigh, he explained.
“They have an amazing intuition. They got a feeling. If they do not get you now, there will not be another chance.”
“No way.”
I do not know why he is saying such pleasant things today.
“Compared to the old you, who strutted around full of yourself with nothing to your name, this is definitely better… but this is maddening in its own way. Anyway. The one who called you out is PD Han. They will be here soon.”
“Here? Now? …Really?”
“Yes.”
I wondered why he blew money to rent a cafe for the two of us to meet.
Apparently this was the reason.
‘Is this for real?’
I thought it was just a polite, flattering line.
“Hey.”
“…?”
“Let me say this in advance.”
He wore a slightly pensive expression.
“Do not get swept up too much. Do not get dragged in.”
“Sorry?”
“They are the type who could swallow someone as meek as you whole. So hold on to your senses tight.”
“…?”
“You look like the type who would get pulled in even if you do not want to. That is what worries me.”
No sooner had he finished saying that …
Ding-a-ling.
The chime on the door rang clear.
In a cafe rented out entirely, there was only one possible visitor.
It was PD Han.
“Sigh… You really do live long and see everything.”
A woman with a homely impression and big glasses entered the cafe carrying piles of bags.
Then, the moment she saw the two of them, she stood there and uttered something incomprehensible.
“Do you know how hard I worked to see this two-shot. You really have to live long to see life.”
“Is that what you say the moment you see our faces, PD Han?”
“Oh, right. Yes. Of course. Hello? I am Han Yeju. Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee Rowoon. You look much better in person than on screen. The real-life version is better.”
A torrent of breathless greetings poured out.
Dazed, Rowoon shook hands with PD Han.
“Thank you for the compliment…?”
“Come on, that is not a compliment. How could the truth be a compliment? I only ever speak the truth.”
With that mind-spinning reply, she pulled something from the big bundle.
They were several handy cams of various kinds.
In an instant, several handy cams were set up at various angles.
“Oh, it is an occupational disease. Please understand. I get anxious if there is no camera.”
If it is really a disease, it must be a serious case.
The arrangement showed a doggedness that left practically no blind spots anywhere.
When I came to my senses, I found myself already trapped among PD Han’s cameras.
“You may have heard from Mr. Kang Chaheon, but it is only proper that I state it formally, right? I was in a hurry and wondered what to do, but meeting you directly and saying it is the right way.”
Eyes shining, PD Han spoke.
“Mr. Rowoon. Will you shoot a variety show with me?”
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