Pen and Paper Translations

Go Sangwoo could not sleep properly for days.

Pounding heart, anxiety, anticipation.

It had already been several days since Director Gyeong Chanhyeon said he would persuade Lee Junseong.

The fear that maybe he had failed to persuade him.

At the same time, the thrill that the person who recognized the dream he had hidden out of embarrassment because it was too big was Director Gyeong Chanhyeon.

All kinds of emotions mixed together so that whenever he tried to fall asleep, his eyes flew open again.

“Oppa, are you very tired?”

Seeing that Go Sangwoo was driving because of her schedule, Kwak Yeonji asked.

The dark shadows under his eyes that had not been there before made her uneasy for no good reason.

It made her feel sorry to see him forcing his eyes wide open so he would not doze off.

“Huh…? No. I am fine.”

“Ugh, pull over on the shoulder.”

“No, really, I am fine.”

“We only just barely got our break. I do not want to die because you fell asleep at the wheel.”

At her words, he gave an awkward smile and pulled the car onto the shoulder.

They switched seats and Yeonji took the wheel.

Holding the wheel with one hand, she smoothly merged back onto the road and asked,

“Oppa, is something hard right now? We have been busy lately, but you seem too exhausted.”

“Ah, it is nothing.”

At a red light, she stopped the car and studied his face properly.

She was surprised to see his cheeks looking a bit hollow under those big eyes.

“If nothing is wrong, are you sick? Ever since you met Senior Chanhyeon you have been falling apart. You even lost weight. Are you eating?”

“Losing weight is good, is it not? I have been working out lately.”

“That is new. When I kept telling you to exercise, you said men should be a little chubby.”

He grinned and replied,

“It is because of Director Gyeong and Junseong. They are the same age as me, and seeing they were working out hard even in France… it made me feel like I should too.”

“That… ah, never mind.”

She knew that on the day before the screening, the fitness center had been filled with the sounds of Gyeong Chanhyeon dying under Cinematographer Park Jinsu’s grip.

And that he had begged Park Jinsu to spare his life.

But she felt she should not say it, so she let her words trail off.

He did not notice, and after a quiet moment of thought he slowly spoke.

“Yeonji.”

“Yes?”

“You have five months left on your contract with Pureum.”

“That is right.”

Pureum Entertainment.

She had been with that agency for quite a long time.

When she first came, they assigned managers and treated her like a star, but as her standing faded year by year, the only manager left was Go Sangwoo.

So Yeonji felt especially grateful to him.

He was the only one who never let go of hope and kept patting her shoulder, saying things would work out.

“Will you go somewhere else?”

“Would that not be best? Somewhere with strong support that does the job well.”

She glanced at him as she answered.

“Yes, that is right. Anywhere would be much better than Pureum.”

At that, she frowned a little and said,

“That is kind of disappointing. Should you not be trying to keep me?”

“Huh?”

“Is it not professional pride for a manager to keep their stars? I am a star actress now. You should at least pretend to try!”

She looked at him playfully, and he gave a sheepish smile as if he felt sorry.

“I have no face to ask you to stay. What has Pureum ever done for you?”

When she was cast as the lead in <Jawol> for whatever reason, Pureum Entertainment released no press at all.

It was the marketing team at Seonghyeon Production that worked hard to promote her, while Pureum showed no reaction to the attacks aimed at Kwak Yeonji.

He even went to see Pureum’s president, but the reply he got back was brutal.

“Even if that girl pops now, there is nothing in it for our company. Do not waste effort on an actress who is going to leave soon. Sigh… you want to get on Heyum Entertainment’s bad side? That Gyeong Chanhyeon? Did he not just get lucky with two films? We have Lee Seobin, so why Kwak Yeonji?”

The president belittled her and sneered.

With little time left on her contract, Pureum did not even seem inclined to try anything.

In this business you do not do things that do not make money, but the situation itself disgusted him.

And that was nothing compared to what happened after she rose.

Telling him to get a renewal no matter what, even by holding a weakness over her, the president’s behavior reeked so badly it made him want to retch.

“The company may not have done anything, but just being assigned to you was lucky for me. I got the role in and became a star because of you.”

She gave a bashful smile and tapped the steering wheel with her finger as she spoke.

He looked at her with concern.

“But who says you are a star? If you say that already…”

“Once I shoot this soju ad today, I am a star. Only the hottest stars shoot those, right?”

“If you say that already…”

“Can I not even joke? Your problem is you are too serious about everything.”

Ring.

At the sudden ringtone, he fumbled around for his phone, then pulled it from deep in his right pocket.

The name on the screen was Director Gyeong Chanhyeon.

As soon as he saw it, he glanced sideways at Yeonji.

“Not going to answer?”

“Huh…?”

“What, oh! Did you get a girlfriend? Is that why you are embarrassed? Come on, we have known each other for…”

“Hold on.”

After a brief hesitation, he picked up.

Yeonji would be leaving Pureum anyway.

“Yes, Director Gyeong.”

She flinched at the unexpected name, surprised enough that her body gave a little jerk as she drove.

“Yes. Is now a good time to talk?”

“Yes. It is fine.”

“I persuaded Junseong. I think we can get ready to start the new agency together.”

At the words coming through the receiver, he looked over at Yeonji.

She could not hear what was being said and looked like she was dying to know.

“Haha… that is great.”

“Yes. The future you spoke of, let us draw it together.”

He dipped his head slightly as if the director were right in front of him.

“Yes, Director. Thank you, truly. I will succeed somehow, no matter what.”

After a few more words, he hung up. Yeonji looked like she had no idea what the conversation had been.

“What was that?”

“Uh… I am going to be an agency CEO.”

She stared at him, as if she could not process what she had just heard.

“Did I hear that right? An agency CEO? Like a Pureum-type agency?”

“Yes.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Uh… that is how it turned out.”

He told her what he had discussed with Gyeong Chanhyeon.

An agency that would handle every field, from actors to idols.

An agency founded to spread the name of the Republic of Korea across the world with overseas expansion as its aim.

After hearing that, she frowned slightly, as if she did not understand.

“Does that even make sense? I mean, does an entertainment company with that as its purpose even exist here? Saying the aim is entry into America…”

“We will do it. Definitely. Somehow. As much as Director Gyeong believes in me, I will.”

Seeing him clench both fists, she shook her head.

“A zealot has arrived.”

But she was also one of the people who believed in Gyeong Chanhyeon.

She must have remembered what he said on the bus to Cannes, and she gave a small laugh.

Seeing her laugh, he laughed with her, then looked at her with a serious face.

“By the way, would you…”

“If you are going to talk, finish the sentence.”

Since he had trailed off, she spoke in a tone that sounded expectant.

“It is not formed yet, but would you consider signing with our agency? We will treat you on a completely different level than that Pureum president. I think we can have it set up before your contract expires.”

“Until yesterday you called him President, and now he is that guy?”

He chuckled awkwardly, then looked at her and felt sure.

Someone like Kwak Yeonji could rise much higher than where she was now.

In his eyes, she was an actress with enormous potential.

That was why he had never let go of the thread of hope.

But telling that to a president was meaningless.

He was a lowly manager.

Most people saw him as nothing more and nothing less than that.

Except for Gyeong Chanhyeon.

“I will do everything Pureum never did for you. Once the contract ends, move over right away.”

“Then do I have to call you President now instead of Oppa?”

“What do you mean, President…”

“Hey, a president needs to have some gravitas. Can this soft tofu of a man do well?”

Smiling contentedly, she looked at him.

She had used the words soft tofu, but she knew.

That he was the classic type of soft on the outside, firm on the inside.

“Anyway, congratulations. President Go.”

---

A few days later.

Junseong, Go Sangwoo, and I gathered at Seonghyeon Production to discuss the new agency we would form.

After hearing Sangwoo’s passionate discourse on culture for himself, Junseong seemed completely convinced.

“Were you always that good at talking?”

Every time Sangwoo spoke, he nodded and said it was not an entirely nonsensical dream.

As a result, the company name would be “GO Entertainment.”

Although Junseong vehemently opposed it, I took Sangwoo’s side.

By a vote of two to one, the new agency’s name was set as the very agency I knew in my head as Go Jinhun’s.

“Uh… about Yeonji. She can sign with the new agency, right? Her contract with Pureum is about to end…”

“Of course. We would be thrilled.”

Things with Junsik hyung were already wrapped up, and if we brought in Kwak Yeonji as well, we could make the company much better known from a publicity standpoint.

While I was thinking that, Sangwoo seemed to find me a bit intimidating and watched my face carefully.

“Ah, and should we drop honorifics now? Since you and Sangwoo are friends. I think it would be good if you and I got along like friends too.”

“Right. Drop them. We are going to see each other for a long time anyway. Maybe we will be lifelong business partners.”

At that, Sangwoo scratched the back of his head with a shy smile.

“If you are uncomfortable, later…”

“No, not at all. Haha, let’s do it.”

“Then let’s. Sangwoo-ya.”

“Uh… yeah, Sanghyeon…”

He only managed to say my name timidly and then clammed up.

When speaking of his ambitions his eyes had shone, but otherwise he seemed almost a quiet person.

“GO Entertainment.”

We had only taken the first step. No one knew what would happen next.

But one thing I could be certain of.

We had advanced the timeline for a global Korean Wave by at least ten years.

I was smiling at that thought when Sangwoo spoke with a hint of hesitation.

“Ah… and I think I am going to change my name soon.”

“Huh? Change your name?”

Looking at him, Junseong asked.

“Yeah… my late grandfather came to my mother in a dream. Haha.”

“So what are you changing it to?”

“Go Jinhun. Haha… call me Jinhun from now on.”

At last I heard the name of the person I knew who would hold up a pillar of Korean culture.

Thanks to the Korean Wave he even appeared on CNN for interviews, that very Go Jinhun.

When I heard the name, a smile spread across my face on its own.

“Why is he the one changing his name, but you are the one smiling?”

“Is the name strange…?”

Looking uneasy, Go Jinhun asked me.

“It is because it is such a good name. Jinhun. Let’s be close from now on.”