Chapter 35: Had Enough of Staring?

Assistant Yoo really wanted to ask Yoon Nam-hyuk: You didn’t scold me when I picked you up from the nightclub, and you didn’t scold me on the way home. You just kept staring blankly at a torn shirt. Then, in the middle of the night, when the entire Republic of Korea is asleep, you send me a barrage of messages scolding me and docking my bonus. What kind of logic is that?

But the president’s word was law. Assistant Yoo could only swallow his grievances and send a message to Qi Huai on KKT.

「Actor Qi, hello. President Yoon communicated with me last night, saying that your current resources are insufficient, which is a great pity for a potential actor like yourself. Please come to the 3rd-floor conference room at 2:30 PM for a resource discussion meeting for the first half of the year. We will reschedule your subsequent work. President Yoon will also be attending, so please do not be late.」

Qi Huai, upon receiving the message: “…”

[Hehehe.] The System suddenly let out a suggestive giggle. [Host Oppa, you’re disliked by President Yoon again~]

“Am I?” Qi Huai stared at the message.

[Are you not?] The System laughed out loud. [This is clearly to banish you to a film set to work non-stop, so he doesn’t have to see your annoying face every day, hahahahaha!]

Qi Huai looked at the System in silence until it shut its blabbering mouth. […Of course, even the smartest systems can be wrong sometimes… ha… haha…]

Qi Huai looked away.

Disliked me?

Didn’t he say he wasn’t angry…

The meeting time arrived in a flash.

Qi Huai casually threw on a white t-shirt and a thick wool cardigan, covering half his face with a wide-brimmed baseball cap, and headed to the company.

His face was indeed half-covered, but a low-key, handsome guy nearly 1.9 meters tall with slightly curly, tea-brown hair that gave him a mixed-race look—any fool could guess who he was.

Qi Huai responded to several colleagues who came up to ask for autographs and photos, finally escaping the bustling elevator. When he entered the conference room, he found it eerily quiet.

Clearly, Yoon Nam-hyuk’s presence had surprised all the employees present. Everyone was as quiet as mice; no one dared to chat or fool around, let alone try to liven up the atmosphere. It was only when Qi Huai entered that the atmosphere eased slightly.

Everyone was here.

Assistant Yoo introduced several of the attending colleagues to Yoon Nam-hyuk. By rank, these colleagues were not qualified to report directly to Yoon Nam-hyuk, but he had insisted on attending this meeting of nobodies, so Assistant Yoo had no choice but to introduce them one by one. The colleagues, trembling in their boots, all forced smiles and nodded and bowed to President Yoon.

When he got to Qi Huai’s vicinity, Yoon Nam-hyuk’s gaze clearly swept over him, but the moment their eyes met, he looked away.

“…” Qi Huai didn’t understand.

Is he angry or not?

“Actor Qi.” Assistant Yoo smiled and beckoned the boy who had just entered. “This is Assistant Xiao Si-woo, the 24-hour personal assistant the company has arranged for you. Soon, your workload will increase. Although I am your manager, I have many other tasks. If you have any miscellaneous matters, whether in your personal life or at work, you can leave them to Assistant Si-woo.”

Qi Huai stood up and shook hands with Xiao Si-woo. “Hello, Assistant Xiao Si-woo. I’m Qi Huai.”

“Hello, Qi Huai hyung,” Xiao Si-woo said quickly. “I’m 21, one year younger than you. You can just call me Si-woo.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xiao Si-woo found a chair behind Qi Huai and sat down. The System suddenly said coolly: [Wow~ a 24-hour assistant~ more like a spy~]

Woosan Entertainment was a huge company. There were at least ten, if not twenty, new artists who had joined at the same time as Qi Huai. He was the first to be assigned a round-the-clock assistant.

Not only that, as an artist personally managed by the president’s assistant, Yoo Ji-hoon, his schedule discussion meeting was also personally attended by Yoon Nam-hyuk. Since its establishment, Woosan Entertainment had had only a handful of artists who enjoyed such treatment, and none since Yoon Nam-hyuk took office.

Not to mention an artist who had been rumored to be in a scandal with him. There had been none of those either.

The staff present were working their minds overtime. On one hand, they reported and discussed, racking their brains to showcase their professional abilities. On the other, they secretly observed the relationship between President Yoon and Actor Qi, trying to catch any secret, flirtatious glances between the two.

However, to their surprise, not only did the two not say a single word to each other, but Yoon Nam-hyuk completely ignored Qi Huai. All the discussion points were handled by Assistant Yoo.

What on earth did President Yoon come here for?

A real work inspection?

Qi Huai couldn’t figure it out either.

If Yoon Nam-hyuk was angry, why would he personally attend this discussion meeting he had arranged? Didn’t that mean he wanted to see him?

If he wasn’t angry, why wouldn’t he even say a word to him, or even give him a single glance? What was this? The silent treatment? Did he come all this way just to give him the cold shoulder?

Qi Huai stared at Yoon Nam-hyuk. Yoon Nam-hyuk’s expression didn’t change, but the hand hidden under the table was clenched tighter and tighter.

What are you looking at? he thought. I shouldn’t have come to this meeting. Aish… why are there so many people! Does a schedule discussion meeting really need twenty people? The PPT is 150 pages? It even has animations on the transition slides! Wasted another 2 seconds of my life!

Still looking!

Didn’t you get enough of a look last night!

Stop staring at him!

Does this person have no sense?

Shibal!

And so, one stared relentlessly, while the other pretended not to notice, and the atmosphere reached a peak of strangeness.

Only the employees present, under a cloud of sweat, continued their passionate discussion in this atmosphere.

“Actor Qi’s performance in Director Ahn Yonghe’s film was very good. Although the film hasn’t been released yet, it has already generated good word-of-mouth within the industry. Director Lee Seung-yoo’s The Witch’s Law has already aired two episodes. Actor Qi’s IG followers must have increased by tens of thousands, right? The audience has noticed him, and his popularity is rising. Many directors and screenwriters are very interested in collaborating with him.”

“There should be variety show offers after the mini-series ends, right? The schedule for the second half of the year can’t be too full. We need to leave some free time.”

“Isn’t Director Yoo’s drama still missing a second male lead? The character is likable, and the screenwriter is very famous. Let’s have him audition for that too.”

“Should we wait a bit for this month’s arrangements?” Director Oh, who was in charge of organizing the meeting, suddenly said to Assistant Yoo. “I heard Director Baek Se-won is preparing a new film. The script has been in the works for two years. He likes to use new actors, right? It might be an opportunity. We can send someone to communicate with him.”

“Has there been any news about auditions?” Assistant Yoo asked. “Although Director Baek Se-won works closely with RC Entertainment, if there’s an opportunity, we definitely shouldn’t miss it.”

“Ne,¹” Director Oh nodded. “I just heard the news last night. Assistant Yoo, please wait for me to confirm.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Baek Se-won?

Qi Huai paused at the name.

Although this person was not mentioned much in the comic’s summary, for Qi Huai, who had long since memorized the original plot, this name was extremely familiar.

The famous director Baek Se-won, one of the most acclaimed and commercially successful directors in the Korean entertainment industry. His film, Evil Plan, was the beginning of the ill-fated relationship between the protagonist shou, Baek Soo-kyung, and Attack Dog Number Five, Eun Chul-woo.

It was a film that combined violence, crime, suspense, and multiple twists, and it became a huge hit immediately after its release. The male lead was Attack Dog Number Four, Kim Min-kyung—playing Seo Sang-hyuk, a down-on-his-luck police officer who never gave up fighting against dark forces.

In the original comic, the up-and-coming Baek Soo-kyung, with the full support of Choi Min-jun and Park Seok-jin, participated in the film’s audition. He was favored by the director for his clean and tenacious temperament, outstanding acting skills, and difficult personal experiences, and successfully won a good role—Song Hyun, a young journalist who assisted the protagonist in his fight against the evil forces.

During the filming process, the serious, meticulous, and passionate rookie actor Baek Soo-kyung was forced to maintain an ambiguous relationship with the male lead, Kim Min-kyung, while also attracting the attention of RC Entertainment’s chairman, Eun Chul-woo…

[Based on my understanding of manhwa,] the System cleared its throat, [a conservative estimate would be some ‘two-on-one’ sandwich cookie plots here. If we’re making wild guesses… one, two, three… a four-on-one, I’d say~]

If it was a two-on-one, it would be Kim Min-kyung x Baek Soo-kyung x Eun Chul-woo. A pure, lamb-like rookie actor, a roguish Best Actor, and an entertainment industry chaebol—a cliché but classic pairing.

If it was a four-on-one, it would be Kim Min-kyung x Eun Chul-woo x Baek Soo-kyung x Choi Min-jun x Park Seok-jin. The number of raw ingredients was almost enough for an army stew—a chaotic, free-for-all hotpot.

Fortunately, he had been one step ahead and sent Choi Min-jun away. Qi Huai pinched the bridge of his nose. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep an eye on so many people.

…After all, he couldn’t even figure out Yoon Nam-hyuk alone.

From what the staff were saying, this Director Baek Se-won was currently a contracted director for RC Entertainment. If he wanted to be in this film, Yoon Nam-hyuk might not be able to help much.

He had to fight for the opportunity to participate himself. Auditioning was one way. If not auditioning…

Should he approach Baek Se-won the same way his original self had approached Ahn Yonghe? Or would it be better to get to know Attack Dog Number Five, Eun Chul-woo? Or go through Kim Min-kyung?

Qi Huai was lost in thought. Yoon Nam-hyuk was also spacing out. As the only two important figures in the discussion meeting, neither of them was paying attention.

Qi Huai was thinking about how to get into the film.

Yoon Nam-hyuk, on the other hand, was regretting his decision to attend the meeting. I shouldn’t have come, he thought. I have many other things to do, things I must obtain.

The gossip about him and Qi Huai was already everywhere. If this continued, it might really play into his older brother’s hands… He wasn’t worried about the management rights of Woosan Entertainment. His father wasn’t stupid enough to hand over a profitable business to his older brother to squander.

But it was precisely because Yoon Tae-min wasn’t stupid that he was using that thing to threaten him. Just a little longer… wait until I find my mother’s last memento. Then it will be time to think about matters of the heart.

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s brow furrowed deeper as he thought. The staff members who had been speaking eloquently gradually fell silent.

Assistant Yoo, reading the room, asked, “President, was there something wrong with what everyone was discussing just now?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk couldn’t answer a single word. He cleared his throat. “…I need to think about it more. Organize today’s meeting minutes and send them to me. I’ll make a decision after I’ve reviewed them.”

Assistant Yoo: “Then this meeting…”

“That’s all for today’s meeting. Thank you all for your hard work. Director Oh, please order some afternoon tea for everyone.” With that, Yoon Nam-hyuk stood up and left.

Director Oh, whose name had been remembered, quickly stood up and said loudly, “Thank you, President!”

Qi Huai watched Yoon Nam-hyuk’s hasty departure, stunned by his resolute demeanor and his rather unpleasant expression.

He’s angry again?

Is he a pufferfish?

He thought for a moment, then followed him out.

He still wanted to get to the bottom of what happened last night.

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¹Ne (네): The formal Korean word for “yes.”