Chapter 25 : Returning in Style

“You haven’t left yet?”

“For a rookie, you wrapped up pretty fast.”

“Were you… waiting for me?”

It seemed like Hyungyu had been waiting for me in the parking lot this whole time.

“We still have some unfinished business to talk about, don’t we?”

“Uh… I live in the countryside, so I need to catch a train.”

“Let’s go. I’ll drive you to the station.”

There was no reason to refuse his offer, so I quickly climbed into Hyungyu’s car.

“You usually ride the staff car?”

“Yes. I do have a license, but I don’t have my own car yet.”

“Then yeah, you’ll need a proper agency.”

That was the last thing Hyungyu said.

After that, silence fell between us, and I didn’t try to break it.

We drove the rest of the way to the station without saying a word.

“We’re here.”

“Um…”

I was about to bring up the contract before we parted ways, but Hyungyu beat me to it.

“When’s your next shoot?”

“In three days.”

“Then let’s meet here again on that day.”

“Excuse me?”

“Get off the train and come here. We’ll handle the paperwork then.”

That soon?

He hadn’t really seemed all that interested in me, so I was a little surprised.

“Well then, take care.”

And with that, Hyungyu left, saying only that we’d meet again soon.

When we met again, Hyungyu brought me to his company.

The office was tucked into the third floor of a villa in a residential neighborhood—small, but neat and tidy.

“You’re here, boss.”

“Yeah. Say hi. These are our staff.”

“Hello.”

There were three employees gathered inside the office.

“Wait! Are you… Thewin?!”

One of the female staff recognized me.

“Haha, yes. Hello. I’m Jung Hyunjae.”

First Jaehoon, now her.

Just how widely did that cosmetics ad spread?

No one in my town even knows about it.

“Oh my god! Boss~!”

The woman clapped her hands over her mouth and shouted to Hyungyu.

“You startled me. What’s with the sudden outburst?”

“I even follow you on Stargram!”

“Really? There’s not much there, so it must be boring. But thank you.”

As the excited staff member began bouncing in place, Hyungyu stepped in to calm her down.

“This isn’t a fan meeting. You two can talk later. The CEO’s office is this way.”

He led me to a room labeled “CEO’s Office.”

“Sit here.”

Once I settled onto the sofa, he placed a document envelope in front of me.

“You’re not a minor, but even so—take your time, talk it over with your parents, and don’t rush the decision.”

Hyungyu was clearly different from Hyeongchul, who had tried everything to rush me into signing.

“Okay.”

“But can I ask you something?”

I nodded, indicating he could ask whatever he wanted.

“Why did you choose our agency? There are plenty of better ones out there, and I heard you got quite a few offers too.”

So what the staff said about my networking wasn’t a lie.

He already knew about the contacts I’d received.

“That’s true. I did hear from a number of places, but none of them really felt like the right fit.”

After the incident with Hyeongchul, and considering his agency was just a tiny operation, I didn’t expect to get much attention—but somehow, some companies still reached out.

“Then what made you think we were the right fit?”

“Do you remember how we first met?”

“Of course. How could I forget that?”

Hyungyu smiled faintly, as if reminiscing.

“I want someone who would go that far for me.”

“What, you want me to storm into another audition and land myself on a blacklist again?”

I didn’t plan on wasting time.

I needed an agency that would throw their full weight behind me.

And Hyungyu, who used to run a one-person agency with Yoo Hyera, seemed like the perfect match.

“Yes, if that’s what it takes.”

My answer made him burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! I knew you were something else the last time I saw you. You’re a real piece of work.”

It could’ve sounded like an insult, but the lively expression on his face made it clear he meant it as praise.

“Do you know why I waited for you back then?”

“Because… you thought I had potential?”

It had surprised me when I found out he’d waited, but I figured maybe he had an eye for talent.

“No. No matter how good-looking someone is, I don’t scout people without seeing them act first.”

It’s true my standards had gone up after working with my last agency’s top talent, but Gongjun wasn’t completely hopeless as a rookie actor.

If he had been, I wouldn’t have made it home after the first shoot.

“Then why did you wait for me?”

“Only two people ever looked me straight in the eye and asked me to make them a star. You were one of them.”

“Who was the other?”

I had a good guess, but I waited for his answer anyway.

“Yoo Hyera.”

Just as I expected.

“She’d just graduated high school when she came up to me and said, ‘Make me a star.’ I didn’t even know what to say at the time.”

His expression changed as he mentioned Hyera.

It wasn’t the look of a manager talking about his talent.

It felt more like a fan reminiscing about their favorite celebrity.

“The moment I saw you, I was reminded of Hyera.”

“I want to be like her someday.”

Someone like Yoo Hyera—now that was a worthy goal.

One anyone would acknowledge.

“Pffft! Do you even know what kind of person she was?”

At my words, Hyungyu let out a dry chuckle.

“People think there’s an actual ranking chart just because they say someone’s A-list or B-list.”

“Even if there’s no official chart, we all know who’s at the top.”

It was something I’d realized after stepping into this world—people are obsessed with being number one.

Sure, acting is subjective, and it can’t be quantified by a score.

But people still tried to line everyone up based on things like popularity votes, number of advertisements, how many Best Actor awards someone had won, and more.

“I’ll go with the best option you know.”

“Oh boy, we’ve really brought in a nutcase this time.”

Even though Hyungyu said it like he was exasperated, he didn’t seem to dislike me.

After all, you needed a bit of madness to survive in this world.

“Let’s just say I’ve got ambition.”

“Fine, let’s give it a shot. But before that—”

“Before what?”

As I looked at him, curious what he was going to say, he suddenly grabbed my cheeks with both hands.

“Let’s deal with this first. How did you think you were going to show up to a shoot like this?”

“W-What? What’s wrong?”

Was something wrong with my face?

“Where did you get your hair cut?”

“At a local salon.”

The grandma next door said it looked nice…

“Well, at least your skin’s not terrible… You use lip balm or sunscreen, right?”

I barely manage to apply lotion when I’m feeling motivated.

As I silently looked away, Hyungyu sighed and let go of my face like he expected that answer.

“Geez—thinking you could go on camera looking like this. You’ve got the audacity of a true rookie.”

I thought I looked okay… Was it really that bad?

“So… what do I need to do?”

“You think a ‘camera massage’ just means you show up on screen a lot? No—it’s what happens after you see your face on camera and get traumatized.”

“Oh~”

So that’s where the term “camera massage” comes from. I never knew.

“‘Oh~’ my foot. The thought of having to teach you everything from scratch makes my head spin.”

“Ah! But, can I ask to add one clause to the contract?”

“What clause?”

He had been joking around just moments ago, but as soon as I mentioned changing the contract, he got serious.

“If we can’t come to an agreement about a project, the company will follow my choice.”

“What?”

“I know, I know. It’s way too much to ask for a rookie… But is there any chance?”

Most rookies just took whatever role the agency or production company threw at them.

But I didn’t want to waste time taking on random projects that went nowhere.

“I can already tell which ones are going to succeed—what’s the point in wasting time going in circles?”

“You don’t have to worry. It only applies when we can’t agree, right? I’m confident you’ll like the projects I pick.”

After all, good projects are obvious to anyone with eyes.

“If you turn into one of those artsy types, I’m gonna kill you.”

“I’m so far from artsy it’s laughable.”

I still couldn’t believe that childlike painting at Jiwon’s villa was supposedly worth millions. Art, my foot.

“Pfft—remember those words, okay? Fine, I’m not interested in raising actors who have no eye for good scripts. And honestly, choosing wrong and getting roasted can be a valuable learning experience too.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Now I’m curious to see what you’ll pick.”

And just like that, with the clause added, my negotiation with Hyungyu was complete.

“You really thought this through?”

“Of course.”

The contract terms and percentages were all fair. There was no reason not to sign.

Hyungyu pulled a pen from the glove compartment and signed beneath my name.

Just like that, I officially became a part of Hyungyu’s agency.

“Let’s work well together from now on.”

“Same here. Now, let’s get to the shoot.”

Hyungyu stepped on the gas, and we drove straight to the filming site.

When we arrived, he got out and followed me.

“Hello!”

“Oh—Donghyuk, you’re he—uh?”

The assistant director, who was about to greet me with a smile, froze the moment he spotted Hyungyu standing beside me.

“Wh-What brings you here, sir?”

“He’s my boss.”

“B-Boss…?”

Cough! Cough!

He coughed so hard it was almost comical.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah. Ahem. You said… boss?”

“Yes. I finally signed with an agency.”

“O-Oh… and it’s… this one?”

The AD stared at us with wide eyes, still unable to believe it.

Hyungyu smiled kindly and extended a hand.

“Haha, yep. That’s how it turned out. Please take good care of Hyunjae.”

“S-Sure… Um, go ahead and get your makeup done.”

He awkwardly shook hands and quickly left—probably to spread the news to the rest of the staff.

“Is this really something to be that surprised about?”

“Think back to how we met on set. You can’t blame him.”

True. Not long ago, I’d been kicked off the shoot. Now I was striding back like I owned the place.

“There’s still one more person who’s going to be even more surprised.”

I didn’t need to say his name. We both knew who it was.

“He might actually faint when he sees me.”

“Now that would be funny.”

I could already imagine the shocked look on his face.

“Go get your makeup done. We should offer some kind of apology gift too.”

Hyungyu sent me into the makeup room, saying he’d go buy drinks.

“You’re here, Donghyuk? Sit here.”

“Okay!”

I took my usual seat.

“Hey, you lost weight?”

“I’ve been dieting. Can you tell?”

After Hyungyu scolded me last time, I started watching my weight and doing face masks too.

“Your face was already small, but now it looks even slimmer.”

“I did a mask this morning too.”

“Ooh~ good job. No wonder your makeup’s going on so well today.”

I was feeling good, proud that my efforts were paying off—when the person I’d been waiting for finally arrived.

“Hey there~”

“Huh? Beomwoo? You don’t usually come here for makeup.”

Gongjun walked into the room, greeting the staff.

“Ah—I got it done already, but I wanted a quick touch-up. My usual stylist isn’t here right now.”

“Sure, have a seat over here.”

He sat right beside me.

“It’s been a while, but you’re looking pretty worn out.”

His once fresh face from our first shoot now looked noticeably rougher.

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Never mind.”

Unlike me, who only filmed once a week, he was probably overwhelmed with work.

“But hey, those shoes—did you buy them yourself?”

“These? No, a friend gave them to me. Why?”

“No reason. Sis, I was gonna ask if—whoa!”

As he turned to talk to the makeup artist, Gongjun suddenly shouted.

“Geez, what?!”

Everyone flinched at his voice and turned to follow his gaze.

“W-Why is he here?!”