Genius Manager Who Hears Voices - Chapter 109



Only Krnovel

Episode 109

Sizzling.

“Wow~ As expected, the best beef is the beef that someone else buys for you. This is the first time I’ve ever had Korean beef that’s so soft and melts in my mouth, haha.”

Two people who threw away the ramen they were boiling and came to eat beef.

Kim Jae-han, who achieved rapid social advancement with two thousand won packages of ramen, was very satisfied and was practically sucking them up.

“Oh, really. In that case, shouldn’t you have just ordered raw beef? If someone saw you, they’d think you were eating beef for the first time in your life.”

“I told you, this is your first time? This is the first time I’ve had such juicy and expensive beef, this is my first time. Hehe, when would I ever get to eat something like this if it weren’t for my talented and wealthy brother? Yes? Thank you, my brother? Hehehe.”

Now that I think about it, I think this is the first time I bought Kim Jae-han a meal after things went well.

There were many times when I wandered around the entertainment industry knowing nothing, but thanks to Kim Jae-han, I learned a lot.

Now, Heesung has connections, but back then, there were none.

I asked a lot of questions and received a lot of help about how the entertainment industry works, how to deal with situations like this, etc.

As I thought about that, I realized that I should treat this guy, who seemed to be possessed by a spirit, better.

“Auntie! Please give me two more sets for this group.”

“A, a set? Two sets?! Hey, then the cost of the meat alone is almost 1 million won… … ?”

“Why, do you think you can’t eat it all? Should I just order one set?”

“What the heck! It’s so embarrassing to say such things! Oh, I’ll eat well, my statue! Thank you so much~!”

“What? Why are you suddenly speaking like this?”

Kim Jae-han said, chuckling, as if he found it funny.

“No, I’ve been watching an old drama lately. It’s called , and in it, the youngest daughter speaks like this. It’s actually kind of addictive. It just sticks in your mouth.”

“? But why does only the youngest daughter speak differently? If you’re four sisters, don’t you all live in the same house?”

“Because the family was poor, we had no choice but to send our youngest daughter to the countryside to be raised by her grandparents. But she’s so energetic and cheerful that she’s a scene stealer. She might cry if she were left alone, but she doesn’t and just runs around the countryside. As you watch, you secretly find yourself waiting for the scenes where she appears.”

Heeseong answered nonchalantly, saying that the drama PD said all sorts of things.

“That’s the setting, so of course it is. It’s not like the child really was separated from his parents. Why would a drama PD get so immersed in something like that?”

“You seem like a person who has absolutely no sensitivity. Hey, that’s how it is for everyone in this line of work. How can you make a drama without even that?”

In the meantime, Kim Jae-han picks up two dots and puts them into his mouth at once.

Heeseong asked while placing the newly ordered assorted set on the grill.

“But why are you suddenly watching old dramas? Since you have so much free time, did you decide to go back in time? Because you’ve already watched all the recent dramas?”

“This kid. Dude, I’m so busy right now because I’ve got my next project lined up. I’m going to the writer’s studio every day and getting worked up over script revisions, and my brain’s about to go crazy. And I don’t know anything.”

“But did you have time to watch dramas?”

“No, that’s not it. Ari suddenly came to see me a few days ago. She came to the broadcasting station alone without a manager.”

Heeseong nodded his head and asked at the name he heard for the first time.

“Ari? Who is that?”

“Oh, it’s not her real name, it’s her name in the drama. There’s that girl I just mentioned, the girl who played the youngest daughter in . Her name in the drama is Ae-ri. Lee Ae-ri.”

“Oh, that actor came to the broadcasting station? So you ended up watching the drama?”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, but I think you’ve changed a lot from the image I had in mind. Well, it’s been over a dozen years already, so that’s to be expected.”

If I had played a child role back then, I would be about the same age as Kim Jae-han or Hee-sung now.

“But why did you suddenly come to the broadcasting station? Without a manager?”

“I heard that you don’t have a manager. You’re not currently affiliated with any company. After hearing that, I looked it up and found out that you really haven’t appeared in any works in the meantime? For over 10 years.”

“More than 10 years? Why? Did you give up on your dream of becoming an actor?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come back to the broadcasting station. That happens often. When a child actor becomes too popular, that image becomes fixed and they often have a hard time when they transition to being an adult actor. No matter what they do or how they act, that image is strongly engraved in the viewers’ heads.”

This phenomenon is especially noticeable when there are catchphrases or the role has a strong character.

It is a concern for all actors who started out as child actors, and it is also something that must be overcome in the process of becoming an adult actor.

“That’s why there are cases where they take a long hiatus. Since it’s a period of rapid growth, they think that it’s actually advantageous for their image to change physically. Of course, there are also academic issues.”

The difference between your appearance before entering elementary school and your appearance after becoming an adult is bound to be enormous.

Most people won’t recognize you until you say, “Who am I?”

Then, it was said that the image transformation was naturally successful.

“But actually, this kind of thing rarely happens, so I find it a bit strange. It’s been a long time since I became an adult.”

At those words, Heeseong put down the tongs and asked back.

“It’s been a long time? How old are you?”

“You’re already twenty-five? I heard you were an elementary school student when you were filming . I thought you were younger.”

“Twenty-five? Why didn’t you resume your activities as soon as you became an adult? You’re an actress, so there’s no issue with military service.”

Most male actors who started out as child actors tend to go to the military and return quickly.

As I said before, it would be killing two birds with one stone if I could resolve the military issue while intentionally taking a gap period.

On the other hand, it is common for actresses to resume their activities before becoming adults.

Even if you are only a high school student, you can take on completely different roles than when you were a child actor, and in that way, you can gradually get closer to a leading role.

But, at the age of 25, you don’t even have a contract with a company, let alone any activities.

I think he was trying to give up on this business altogether.

“When I asked him, he just smiled bitterly and said that’s what happened. But then again, people are just so instinctive. Seeing that he even changed his name, I thought something must have happened in the meantime.”

“You changed your name? What did you change it to?”

“Her original name was Choi Ah-young, but she changed it to Choi Yoon-won. She said she changed it for personal reasons, but I wonder if there were other reasons behind it, considering she stopped all acting activities after Ae-ri.”

“Hmm.”

“Whatever it was, it took a lot of courage to come to a broadcasting station alone for the first time in almost 20 years without a manager. You even auditioned alone with just a script.”

“Audition? That guy?”

Kim Jae-han nodded.

“I think she applied for an audition that our senior was holding. I saw her in the hallway on my way to see it, and she nodded and said she would take good care of me since I was wearing my employee ID. That’s how we chatted about this and that and that’s how I found out that she was Ari.”

“I heard you’re starting your next project soon, hyung? It was fate that we met like that, so try using you in your project. But since you were a child actor who even had a mega hit, your acting skills should be pretty good. You must have prepared a lot for the audition.”

Kim Jae-han let out a short breath, saying, “It’s not like I haven’t thought about that before.”

“We’ve already talked about it. But there’s no set date. We’ve already contacted the script and are currently working on revising the script with the writer, so there’s no way to guarantee when production will begin. It could even be pushed back by a year or two. It could just be giving us false hope.”

“What’s the point of asking for hope again? That guy probably keeps auditioning for other projects. He probably won’t just be waiting for your project.”

Of course, it won’t be smooth sailing as there has been a long hiatus.

Having a successful hit can be an advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage.

There will be an expected acting ability and image, and if it doesn’t match that, there will inevitably be a cold reaction.

So, it may actually be more advantageous for a new actor with nothing to do.

“Um, um, so what I’m saying is, Heesung… … ? There’s one thing I did without telling you, on my own. Do you think you can understand this hyung’s feelings?”

Kim Jae-han put down the chopsticks he was holding tightly in his hand and let out an unexpected comment.

I can’t understand why my eyes keep blinking and why the corners of my mouth keep twitching, as if I have dry eye.

Hee-sung asked with a frown, feeling as if he had an ominous premonition.

“What? If something big happens, I won’t pay for this meal. Since you ate all the meat, you’ll have to pay for it too.”

“Hey! That’s that, and this is this! With something lethal to eat!”

“What is it? Tell me quickly. What did you do without telling me?”

Kim Jae-han kept opening and closing his lips at those words.

He soon confessed what he had done.

“… … What? You gave my number to Choi Yun-won? Why?”

“No, it’s heartbreaking that he goes to auditions alone without a manager. If he were a completely new actor, it might be different, but he’s an actor with past experience. I think that alone must have taken a lot of courage.”

“So what does that have to do with my number? Are you asking me to be that guy’s manager or something?”

Kim Jae-han nods his head slightly at those words.

Heeseong couldn’t help but have a bewildered expression.

“I’m saying this because you’re in Korea right now and you don’t have any artists you’re working with. And that’s the condition of your contract. It’s that you have to pay after the fact. That’s why I thought it would be okay!”

“Ha, there really is no solution. I thought I would finally get some rest after going all the way from Saudi Arabia to the US. But I’m making things difficult for people.”

A situation where even if you refuse or don’t do it, you can’t help but feel uneasy.

As I watched Kim Jae-han smiling bashfully, I felt like my head was spinning.

Genius Manager Who Hears Voices