“Welcome.”
The employee at the front desk of PAN Entertainment smiled as she greeted him.
Han Seongtae returned the greeting with a smile and stepped into the elevator.
He had come to the company to discuss matters related to his autograph event.
Murmur, murmur.
The hallway was noisy with voices spilling out of Actor Team 2’s office.
“…You can’t suddenly show up and do this.”
“You can’t come here and expect to get your way just by being stubborn!”
Who had arrived to cause such a commotion?
Han Seongtae tilted his head and cautiously opened the office door.
A man wearing a Hawaiian shirt was talking with Jung Dusik.
‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.’
Han Seongtae’s thoughts became complicated as he looked at the familiar man’s back.
“Oh, Seongtae-ssi. You’re here?”
Han Seongtae smiled and nodded at the employee who spoke beside him.
Thud, thud.
Before he could even finish exchanging greetings, the man who had been speaking with Jung Dusik approached him.
The man drew close before he knew it and stared intently at Han Seongtae.
Han Seongtae recognized the man standing with his weight on one leg and chewing gum.
‘That’s Lee Seunghyeon.’
He was one of Korea’s greatest actors and one of PAN Entertainment’s flagship stars. To Han Seongtae, he was an extremely senior actor.
“Hello, sunbaenim. I’m actor Han Seongtae!”
“…….”
Lee Seunghyeon did not respond to Han Seongtae’s greeting.
One corner of his mouth rose as he stared straight through him.
“This guy?”
Han Seongtae’s eyebrows twitched at the incredulous way he said it.
‘Come to think of it, Lee Seunghyeon’s reputation wasn’t particularly good.’
Lee Seunghyeon had two nicknames.
Because he acted so well, people called him the “Possessed Actor.” Because he also had the temperament of a wanderer and a crazy bastard, he was known as the “Wandering Eccentric.”
Lee Seunghyeon was impossible to understand or predict.
He had disappeared in the middle of filming before and had even resurfaced after vanishing for more than a year.
When he said he wanted to experience the wild and lived like a wild man on a deserted island for half a year, people were still talking about it ten years later.
“You don’t look interesting.”
That was the end of Han Seongtae’s first encounter with Lee Seunghyeon.
Han Seongtae could only let out a disbelieving laugh as he watched him leave the office.
He knew the man was strange, but this exceeded anything he had imagined.
“Seongtae, I’m sorry. I should’ve contacted you first, but he appeared without warning, and everything became chaotic.”
“It’s all right, hyung.”
It was obvious that Jung Dusik had been overwhelmed dealing with Lee Seunghyeon.
Han Seongtae could completely understand how he felt.
“Department Head Min has a meeting, so she won’t be able to come.”
Jung Dusik spoke as soon as they sat down in the conference room.
Min Najung had been too busy to make time, so she had entrusted the decision-making authority to Jung Dusik.
Han Seongtae was not particularly bothered that the department head could not attend.
The venue and date for the autograph event had already been decided, and they could handle everything that followed without her.
“You remember what I told you by text, right? We rented a small theater. We’ll accept exactly one hundred people.”
“One hundred sounds like the perfect number.”
“Yeah, the stage is quite good too. We’ve settled on the date, and I’ve finished talking with the company that will provide security that day.”
“You worked hard. Thank you for taking care of everything, hyung.”
“Who else would look after my actor if I didn’t? Oh, and about the merchandise you said you’d pay to produce yourself. I looked into some companies and sent you a link by text, so check it.”
“Thank you. I’ll check it now.”
The link Jung Dusik had sent led to the website of a company that manufactured props and merchandise.
It could produce both masks and lenticular cards. A satisfied smile appeared on Han Seongtae’s face after he entered the website and checked the quality.
“This place looks good. I think they can make things the way I want.”
“I checked several companies, and this one was the best. The others were all expensive, but they didn’t look as though they would make the products properly.”
“This does seem like the only place we can trust with it. The prices aren’t bad either.”
Han Seongtae intended to make one hundred masks and one hundred lenticular cards.
Producing them at the quality he wanted would normally cost a considerable amount, but the company Jung Dusik had found was quite inexpensive.
It also offered discounts for bulk orders, which made the deal seem even better.
“I checked in advance. The masks are ten thousand won each, and the cards are thirty thousand won each.”
“That isn’t bad. I had budgeted ten million won, but it won’t cost nearly as much as I expected.”
“We’ll have to call again to learn the details, but I don’t think I’ll find anywhere better than this.”
They selected the merchandise supplier almost immediately.
While Jung Dusik wrote down what they had discussed, Han Seongtae frowned at an inexplicable feeling that something was missing.
It would be nice to have one more item besides the masks and lenticular cards.
“Oh, hyung. Let’s make a keychain too.”
“A keychain? Based on what?”
“You know the Grim Reaper character from Baeknyeoncho. I think it would make a good keychain.”
“They’ll love it. What fan wouldn’t?”
Han Seongtae’s suggestion was immediately accepted.
With that, the merchandise for the autograph event was firmly decided.
The meeting ended quickly, and all that remained was to return home.
As Han Seongtae gathered his belongings, he spoke to Jung Dusik, who had been looking at his smartphone for some time.
“Hyung, are you seeing someone?”
“Huh?”
“You haven’t been able to put down your phone this whole time.”
“Oh, it’s the CEO. He knows you came to the company and wants to have dinner with us.”
“Let’s go.”
“Are you sure? Won’t it be tiring?”
“I’m fine. You know I have plenty of stamina. For your sake, it’s better for me to maintain a good relationship with the CEO too.”
“I really did luck out with my little brother.”
Jung Dusik smiled and nodded.
He had intended to return home, but it seemed he could not leave immediately. Han Seongtae exited the conference room with Jung Dusik.
There was still time before dinner, so he intended to rest in the lounge. However, a voice from behind made him stop.
“Oh, Lee Seunghyeon-ssi will be eating with us too. That was why I hesitated, but I’m glad you said it was fine.”
You never mentioned that.
Han Seongtae’s expression went slightly blank.
Min Najung looked at Lee Seunghyeon, who sat across from her with his legs crossed.
As though he had forgotten she was directly in front of him, Lee Seunghyeon leisurely watched something on his smartphone.
Screeeeech!
Step on it! I said step on it!
The volume on the smartphone was turned all the way up, and the sound of a trailer compilation for Rampage filled the room.
“…….”
Min Najung silently watched Lee Seunghyeon.
She was accustomed to his selfish, unpredictable behavior.
After all, she had been responsible for managing Lee Seunghyeon for the past four years.
“So, what did you do for an entire year?”
“…….”
“You aren’t planning to wander off somewhere again, are you?”
Min Najung questioned him, and Lee Seunghyeon finally opened his mouth.
“I thought he was a boring guy, but I don’t think he is.”
His answer had nothing to do with her question, but Min Najung did not care much.
She had long since grown accustomed to Lee Seunghyeon’s abnormal manner of conversation.
“Hey, how long are you going to keep wandering around like that? Do you honestly think it makes sense to go an entire year without contacting us once?”
“…”
“I feel as though I’ve aged ten years because of you. If you’re our flagship actor, shouldn’t you at least behave like one?”
“It’s not as though I did it because I wanted to.”
“What?”
“…”
“Haah.”
Lee Seunghyeon fell silent again. Min Najung sighed and shook her head.
He was frustrating, but what could she do?
Even though he behaved however he pleased, Lee Seunghyeon was still loved.
Whenever he acted, he delivered performances shocking enough to terrify everyone watching. Who could hate an actor capable of performing beyond anything they had believed possible?
“So, what did you do? You can at least tell me that.”
“Traveled. Met some friends. That’s all.”
“That’s what you call an… Haah. Fine. Let’s say that’s true. What are you going to do now?”
When she asked about his future plans, Lee Seunghyeon held out the smartphone he had been watching.
Min Najung’s face twisted at his abrupt action.
Lee Seunghyeon paid no attention to her reaction and asked,
“What is this guy?”
Lee Seunghyeon pointed to Han Seongtae on the screen.
Min Najung sighed when she saw the intense curiosity filling his eyes.
She wondered when he would finally correct that childish habit of caring only about whatever happened to interest him.
‘I should have some herbal medicine made for Seongtae-ssi later.’
Knowing how severe Lee Seunghyeon’s obsessions could become, all she could do was support Han Seongtae from afar.
Sizzle.
Amid the uncomfortable silence, a restaurant employee turned the meat over while breaking into a cold sweat.
Jang Panseok, Lee Seunghyeon, and Han Seongtae were seated in the room.
The employees had played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would serve them. She found herself thinking that she should not have won.
She had been wondering whether she might be able to get their autographs when Jang Panseok waved his hand at her.
“I’ll cook it, so you may leave.”
“Y-yes!”
Before the CEO had even finished speaking, the employee hurried out of the private room.
Only the three men remained, and the awkward silence continued to hang over them.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ sighs, saying that the atmosphere is suffocating.]
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ says that silence itself is not bad, but this kind of silence is merely uncomfortable.]
Even the gods were dissatisfied. Jang Panseok was the first to break the silence.
“Actor Han, is everything going well with your preparations for the new project?”
“Yes. I’ve heard that the filming preparations are progressing smoothly, and the actors are currently gathering to rehearse together.”
“I have no concerns about you, Actor Han. You always perform wonderfully without needing me to say anything.”
“I’m simply grateful that you think so highly of me.”
“Whenever you need anything, you may speak to Team Leader Jung.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Han Seongtae continued speaking pleasantly with Jang Panseok.
Their conversation ranged from Youth My Way to the autograph event.
While the two of them spoke, Lee Seunghyeon said nothing and merely continued eating the meat.
Even Han Seongtae found himself wondering whether that was excessively rude when the CEO of his agency was sitting right there.
Of course, it was not something Han Seongtae needed to concern himself with.
‘Still, staring at his smartphone the whole time seems a bit much.’
As Lee Seunghyeon continued looking only at his phone, Han Seongtae could not help checking Jang Panseok’s reaction.
Lee Seunghyeon’s behavior could easily be interpreted as openly disregarding the company’s CEO.
Despite Han Seongtae’s concern, Jang Panseok did not seem particularly bothered by it.
Bzzzt.
While the awkward atmosphere continued, Jang Panseok checked his smartphone.
“Oh, what should I do? I have another appointment, so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave first.”
Han Seongtae inwardly cheered when he saw the troubled expression on the CEO’s face.
Once Jang Panseok left, Han Seongtae could also return home without hesitation.
“I’ll pay before I leave, so the two of you may eat comfortably and take your time. You should have a relaxed conversation too. It’s beneficial for actors at the same agency to become acquainted and help one another.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After Jang Panseok left, Han Seongtae slowly began preparing to leave as well.
There was still plenty of meat remaining, but eating any more in this atmosphere would probably only give him indigestion.
Han Seongtae had gathered his belongings and was beginning to rise from his seat when Lee Seunghyeon spoke.
“What the hell are you?”
Han Seongtae froze at the abrupt question.
He turned his head and found Lee Seunghyeon glaring at him with a sharp, piercing gaze.
Leave a Reply