“Haa, haa—”
Someone must have reported us, because the police swarmed the abandoned house we were staying in, forcing me to flee through the window in a hurry.
“Hey, where’d all the kids go?”
“Those brats are always the problem.”
I was hiding under the wall when I heard the voices of the police searching for me.
“They’re like cockroaches when they run. They disappear at the speed of light.”
“Yeah, cockroaches. They’re society’s cockroaches.”
‘Cockroaches.’
Their words stuck in my ears.
“Looks like they’ve already bolted.”
“Forget it. Even if we catch them, they’re just kids—slap on the wrist punishment, and it’s more hassle than it’s worth.”
Juho immediately understood why the kids there hated the police.
‘Yeah, they’re all the same kind of people after all.’
He’d held onto a faint hope that people who studied and worked for justice might be different, but that illusion shattered in an instant.
Before long, the police left, and the hidden Juho trudged out.
“Ah…….”
A stinging sensation made him look at his arm— he’d scraped it while escaping, and it was bleeding.
“It stings…”
As he examined the wound, the scattered kids began to gather again.
“Ptoo! Damn it~ Who ratted us out?”
“Definitely that grandma upstairs. I knew it.”
“That old hag… Should I just set her house on fire or something?”
“Kuhaha! Hey, kid, no way—this neighborhood’s the best we’ve got.”
They’d been fleeing for their lives with their tails between their legs just moments ago, but now they were cackling like it was nothing.
It was absurd, but Juho said nothing, just fiddled with his injured wound.
“Hey, let’s go. Today’s a bust, so we’ll crash at the PC bang for the night.”
“Damn— I stayed up all night yesterday just to get a good sleep here.”
“Hey, Chae Juho, you wait here until things quiet down, then contact us.”
Juho quietly nodded.
In this place, he had no choice but to do as they said.
“Ah~ That kid doesn’t even talk.”
“Leave him be—he does what he’s told. We need at least one like that.”
“Yeah, I thought he’d cry and run off right away, but he’s lasted pretty long.”
“That kid’s got no home anyway. Heh, his folks dumped him ages ago, so he’s gotta hang on here at least.”
They thoroughly ignored Juho, treating him as beneath them.
“Hey, you lost your promotion match the other day, right?”
“Damn— Don’t even bring that up. It pisses me off.”
“You’re the one who sucked, but you blame others.”
“Hey! Who said I sucked! It was because it wasn’t my keyboard and mouse that day.”
Even late at night, they chattered loudly as they slipped out of the alley.
Watching their backs, Juho wore an unreadable expression.
***
“Cut!”
Incheol called cut and turned his gaze away from the supporting actor to Hyunjae.
“What was that? What happened all of a sudden?”
Hyunjae’s eyes had changed dramatically from before, leaving Incheol both pleased and surprised.
‘What’s with this guy?’
He’d known Hyunjae had talent from the start, but to switch it up in one go like that?
Honestly, Incheol had pointed it out just to see how far Hyunjae could push himself.
“How did you change it so quickly?”
It was definitely different from before.
Where it had been simply a ‘passive delinquent’ earlier, now Hyunjae expressed Juho’s wildly fluctuating, complex emotions through his eyes alone.
“My manager hyung helped me.”
Hyunjae, buoyed by Incheol’s praise, puffed out his shoulders proudly as he boasted.
“Your manager?”
“Yeah, he introduced me to the perfect person.”
“I don’t know who it is, but thanks to them.”
To Hyunjae, who’d only dealt with rural folks and industry people, Dongha was an incredibly fresh character.
‘So people like this exist.’
It hit him all at once how to act, and he reflected on how he’d only understood Juho superficially before.
“Keep that feeling—put the emotion just in your eyes, and let’s jump straight to the scene where Juho steals something for the first time and heads back.”
Seeing Hyunjae exceed expectations fueled Incheol’s enthusiasm.
“Stick to the script here…….”
“Should I show a bit more emotion?”
“Yeah.”
Some say the charm of independent films is their simplicity and subtlety, but Incheol didn’t think so. That was too niche.
‘If no one watches it, it’s not a movie—it’s a video diary.’
That was Incheol’s creed, unchanged even now as he made independent films.
He wanted people to see it somehow, and he had no interest in making a boring movie.
“Our investor’s really impressing me today.”
“Ah~ You’re calling me that again.”
“You’re doing a no-guarantee appearance like top stars do—of course I’m grateful.”
Hyunjae had returned his entire fee to Incheol, which upgraded the shooting equipment a bit and added a few more outdoor scenes.
“It’s nothing…….”
“If this film succeeds, I’ll pay you back double—no, tenfold.”
Hyunjae just smiled at Incheol’s words, his expression saying he didn’t expect that much.
“I’m serious—promise.”
“Okay. Make sure you keep it~”
“In return, you gotta do well too.”
“Of course!”
“Then let’s go again. But don’t make it too obvious!”
“Yes!”
Directions that might baffle anyone else, Hyunjae understood perfectly and continued acting.
“Ah…… haa.”
With trembling hands shoved in his pockets, he hung his head low and walked quickly, as if someone were chasing him.
When a person emerged from a side alley, he jumped in fright and stumbled back.
Anyone could see he looked guilty, like he’d done something wrong.
“Hey!”
A loud voice echoed through the alley, and Hyunjae stopped, slowly turning around.
The moment he saw the face of the person calling him, his eyes widened.
***
“Cut! Okay!”
And so, the shoot proceeded smoothly.
K Broadcasting Station.
“Hahaha, of course. In my opinion, you’ve got plenty of potential.”
Yongmin showered the man in his forties sitting across from him with effusive praise.
“R-Really? Back in my twenties, I did hear that my looks were unique and my acting was pretty good…….”
“Ah~ If I’d met you back then, you’d be walking the red carpet by now. What a shame.”
“Hahaha, n-no, not at all.”
The man didn’t seem to mind the slick talk; he wore a shy expression, but his lips were curled up in a broad smile.
“Cold hard truth: You’re not young anymore.”
“That’s true……!”
“But that could actually be an advantage. A fresh face in his forties—rare in Korea.”
As if this weren’t his first rodeo, Yongmin skillfully continued, and the man listened, entranced.
“I hate to brag, but this is my specialty. You know Jung Hyunjae, the one rising fast these days?”
“Ah~ The rookie actor from ‘Rural Three Meals’?”
“Yeah, I cast him and launched him myself.”
“Really?”
Mentioning Hyunjae, the hottest rookie right now, made the man’s eyes sparkle.
‘Reeling in a guy like this is nothing.’
Yongmin could already picture the next reaction.
“I’m too busy to check much these days, but I practically raised him.”
“Wow~”
Seeing the genuine admiration, Yongmin puffed up and cautiously broached the main topic.
“So, if you sign with our company, there’s one thing you’ll need to do…….”
“What is it?”
“You know that stuff about paying to join an agency is old-school, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But acting lessons are separate.”
“Acting…… lessons?”
The unexpected mention of acting lesson fees made his eyes go round.
“Haha, you think you’ll audition without any lessons? Even top actors take acting classes.”
The tone, laced with mockery as if the man knew nothing, made the aspiring actor feel small, forcing him to nod.
“Ah…… Yeah…….”
“We’ve got an affiliated academy, so you can register there. Once that’s done, we’ll shoot your profile and start prepping for auditions.”
“Uh, but how much is the academy fee…….”
“Think around 6 million won per month.”
“6 million won?”
He’d guessed acting academies were expensive, maybe 500,000 won, but 6 million a month shocked him.
“Why so surprised? That’s standard these days. It includes one-on-one lessons and audition coaching.”
“Ah…… But 6 million seems too expensive…….”
“Ha— How do you expect to act without investing even this much?”
Yongmin, who’d been all smiles, turned cold.
“No, it’s not that—it’s just more than I thought…….”
“What, you think I’m scamming you with acting lesson fees? I’m offering to nurture you based on talent alone, with nothing in it for me—and this is how you act?”
“That’s not what I meant……..”
The warm atmosphere chilled instantly, and Yongmin crossed his arms, leaning back as if to say, “Do what you want if you’re not interested.”
“I was planning to take you to greet a director I know after signing— that’s why I suggested meeting at the broadcasting station today…… But if it’s uncomfortable, we don’t have to.”
“A director?”
Broadcasting station, director. Hearing the words he’d dreamed of made 6 million won seem payable.
“Ahh, no. I need the acting lessons.”
“Right? Things like acting classes are self-investment—no need to skimp. One CF later, and it’s profit.”
“Haha, yeah.”
“You’re about to sit on a pile of money soon—let’s not get hung up on petty cash and make things awkward.”
The mood warmed up again, and Yongmin excused himself for a quick call, stepping away.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll send over a mark soon. Shake him down good and sign him up for a year’s pass.”
-Don’t worry. That’s easy. By the way, you got some talent?
“I had no idea there were so many guys who can’t read the room? Acting, my ass…… And who would suspect a scam at a broadcasting station? They all believe it, every single one.”
Yongmin exploited people’s psychology to run scams at the broadcasting station—not directly asking for money, but indirectly fleecing them by making them pay for acting lessons.
-Yeah, who’d suspect? Once we introduce them to the PD we’ve prepped on our side, they’re all hooked. Heh.
“Ah…… This place is perfect, though…….”
It was ideal for scamming. But there was one hitch.
-What?
“Jung Hyunjae hangs around here lately—makes me uneasy.”
-Ah~ The one you used to manage?
“Yeah, he’s a total psycho and rude as hell, but now he’s MCing a music show, so he’s in and out constantly.”
He’d spotted him in the lobby by chance last time and hid quickly, but it still nagged at him.
-Who cares, man? What does he know about what you’re doing? Hey, if you run into him and greet him, it’s a win for us!
“Yeah?”
– Totally~ Hey, remember that 36-year-old loser last time? He sent an acting video—hilarious! I burst out laughing. I’ll send it now—check it out.
His friend’s words eased his irritation.
‘Yeah, if I run into him, I’ll greet him and flaunt the connection.’
Sometimes people didn’t believe words alone and needed proof—a show of familiarity would make fooling them even easier.
And exactly a week later, he ran into Hyunjae at the broadcasting station.