I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 15 - The weekend.

A text from the future came flying in.

-“Shocking Exposé” The entertainment empire: an affair between a famous Baekhak actor and a mystery woman!

-[HOT ‘Pick’] It isn’t that movie theaters flopped, it’s that films that deserved to flop flopped? A homegrown occult film has passed 5 million admissions!

But this time there wasn’t one, there were two.

Two futures that hadn’t happened yet had come flying in.

‘An affair? An occult film?’

The provocative words stirred my interest.

But my head, on the other hand, showed no intention of working.

The fatigue built up over the last few days of incidents and accidents had burst on me at this meeting with CEO Baek.

I thought for a moment, then turned off my smartphone.

‘Let’s rest.’

I’ve run too hard.

What I needed now was rest.

Luckily tomorrow was the weekend.

I left work early and slept deeply.

I lounged around without even washing my face, then binged the dramas and films I was behind on.

When my body started feeling stiff, I got up off the bed and went to the neighborhood bathhouse.

Steaming myself in the sauna and sweating it all out, it felt like my dried-out skin was coming back to life.

Resting two days like that, playing and eating, I felt my body and my mind both recharge.

“Good.”

Now it’s time to work again.

I took the wheel and set off for the Sangam training center.

---

Thanks to Twenty, whose midway inspection is coming up soon, I drove to the Sangam training center instead of Baekhak’s head office.

Taking in the still-cool summer wind, I hummed without meaning to.

“Hmm~hmm~.”

People really do have to rest when it’s time to rest.

After a good weekend of rest my condition was good, too good.

“Having to work as much as I rested is rough…. but there’s nothing for it.”

The messages from the future, Twenty’s midway inspection, the bet with CEO Baek….

A lot of things have ended, but a lot of things have started too.

It felt like this was a good time to sort it all out once.

“The most urgent one is the texts from the future?”

The texts from the future that came this time are two.

Surprisingly, the first of them was hinting at an “affair”.

‘An actor Baekhak signed had an affair with a married woman….’

Two people naturally came to mind.

“Seo Tae-jun, Choi Su-hyeon.”

Seo Tae-jun, the crown prince of romance.

Choi Su-hyeon, the newcomer Chungmuro has its eye on.

Those two are the only actors Baekhak has signed recently.

I scratched my chin without meaning to.

“Tsk…. the scale’s getting bigger.”

Choi Su-hyeon aside, if Seo Tae-jun, the man they call the crown prince of romance, had an affair….

The fallout from this one would match the Director Kim Jang-hoon case.

‘Because the crown prince of romance becomes the crown prince of affairs.’

The problem here is that Team 5 is about to take on Seo Tae-jun, who might be that crown prince of affairs.

Because Team 5’s leader, Seok-du hyung, is straining every nerve to bring Seo Tae-jun in.

“The bigger problem is that he’s trying to hand that possible bomb, Seo Tae-jun, over to me.”

So confirming that Seo Tae-jun is not the crown prince of affairs matters a lot, but….

Whatever whim the texts from the future run on, they sent only the headline and not the body of the article.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t tell which of Seo Tae-jun and Choi Su-hyeon had the affair.

‘If it’s like this, I think I’ll have to run around and find out myself.’

After thinking a moment, I nodded.

“For now, the affair goes on keep.”

It’s a problem I can’t look into in my current situation anyway.

In that case there was no reason to rush.

Naturally I turned to the second text from the future.

“An occult film going to 5 million….”

If the first text from the future is a troublesome problem, the second was an interesting one.

An occult film at 5 million.

That’s a remarkable admission count in the current climate.

‘And an occult film in particular going past 5 million admissions is genuinely surprising.’

The problem is that this one came as a bare headline too, so I don’t know the film’s title.

Still, it was better than the affair message.

Because on the script side there’s a route I can check right now.

I dug through my contacts and called Seok-du hyung.

“Seok-du hyung.”

[“Yeah, our Chief Kwon.”]

“Is there anything in the occult genre among the scripts going around lately?”

Seok-du hyung sounded bewildered.

[“Looking for scripts is fine, but what’s with the occult genre?”]

“I watched The Exorcist and The Conjuring while I was resting yesterday.”

At my rough excuse Seok-du hyung let out a suspicious laugh.

[“What’s this? Are you already looking for a script for actor Seo Tae-jun?”]

Hmm.

You don’t know that yet, do you?

Because actor Seo Tae-jun might be the crown prince of affairs, not the crown prince of romance.

[“Hey, hey, still, why occult? Would occult work in a market like this?”]

“I’m just looking. If you have time, gather up some occult scripts for me.”

[“You brat, sometimes it’s like you’re the team leader and not me?”]

“I’m hanging up.”

I hung up and sank into thought again.

All right, the messages from the future are done, and….

What’s left is Twenty’s midway check?

Issues kept blowing up so I couldn’t get to the Sangam training center, but when I talked to Director Choi Jeong-eun on the phone the work pace didn’t look bad.

‘She said the part distribution was almost done and the album lineup was nearly reorganized around the double title track, so….’

Once the Division Head’s midway check next week is over, there wasn’t much on Twenty’s side to touch.

‘Put a bit more care into the debut showcase… and meet the music show PDs to sort out the schedule, and that should be it?’

Strike while the iron is hot.

Once the work at the training center was done, stopping by the broadcasting station didn’t look like a bad idea.

I sorted the whole situation out and nodded.

“This is doable.”

Maybe it’s the positive mindset from resting well over the weekend.

The situation is a bit tangled, but I wasn’t annoyed and it wasn’t a bother.

If anything, thinking about the results waiting on the other side of these events, my expectations swelled.

“Let’s run at exactly this tension until Twenty debuts.”

I shrugged and got out of the car.

I headed for the 24-hour cafe I always stop at whenever I come to the Sangam training center.

I made every drink an americano and ordered a few salt breads for a snack.

While I waited for the takeout, “Queen of Joseon” came to mind.

“….”

In the short silence a moment’s hesitation went past.

I scratched my head once, then searched “Queen of Joseon”.

-SBC’s “Queen of Joseon”, this week’s ratings up 2.4%↑, the episode that raises viewers’ expectations…

Episode 6 rating 16.5%.

Peak rating 17.4%.

The peak rating had dropped, but the average rating went up again.

‘Is it because this episode was a buildup episode?’

Going by the comments, that seems to be it.

-This kind of pacing is tastier, actually.

-Right…it had been running too hard, heh. Taking a breather now and then matters too.

-Ah T_T so curious. Next week Her Majesty’s going to land one big satisfying hit, right??

-Without Queen of Joseon there’s no tomorrow.

-How am I supposed to wait until next week?

-Been a while since a drama where even the frustrating stretches taste good!

The fans’ reactions aren’t bad.

If anything, the mood was one of waiting for the next episode.

Right then I got curious.

“How high will it go.”

The rating CEO Baek Ji-won predicted was 20%.

The rating I predicted was 25%.

And going by the trend running now.

“25% looks easily possible?’

It looked closer to my prediction than to CEO Baek Ji-won’s.

---

It’s a trivial thing.

But once a person turns positive, even one trivial thing puts them in a good mood for no reason.

My prediction beat CEO Baek Ji-won’s prediction?

The prediction of that legend of the business, CEO Baek Ji-won?

Fooling around the way I never normally would, I headed to Recording Studio 3.

Something pitch-black in a human shape waved a hand.

“…. You’re here. Chief Kwon?”

It was Director Choi Jeong-eun, dark circles down to her chin.

“Are you all right?”

“No. I’m not all right.”

“That’s why I brought some coffee. Drink while you work, Director Choi.”

Director Choi Jeong-eun started sucking at the coffee I handed her like a baby.

Meanwhile a familiar voice came from the booth.

“Oh! Chief!”

It was the Twenty members, in short sleeves now that the days are getting hot.

The corner of my mouth lifted without meaning to.

“Are the re-recordings going well?”

“Yes. We got an okay sign from the Director right away today.”

Ga-eul, answering for them, went slightly wide-eyed.

“…. But Chief.”

“Yes?”

“Did something good happen?”

“?”

“…. Today of all days, you’re kind of sparkling?”

At Ga-eul’s words my eyes widened a little.

…. What’s this.

Does going to the sauna over the weekend show that much?

Just then Director Choi Jeong-eun, downing the coffee like water of life, shouted,

“Oh! Isn’t that what’s got you in a good mood, Chief Kwon?”

“Sorry?”

“‘Queen of Joseon’ is an absolute frenzy right now! Aren’t you in a good mood because of actress Lee Ha-eun?”

The Twenty girls’ eyes went round.

“…..Sorry?”

“………Huh?”

“…………Hm?”

A low silence settled over the recording studio.

“……………”

Coming to my senses late, I hurried out an excuse.

“Ah, I was her former manager, but it was a brief stretch…”

The Twenty girls came charging at me!

“Whoaaaaaaaa!!”

Ah, too late.

“Ch, Chief!!! I’m a real Lee Ha-eun fan!”

“You were really Lee Ha-eun’s former manager?”

“Wow….is actress Lee Ha-eun really that pretty?”

“I, I saw the article! Lee Ha-eun’s former manager’s name was…Kwon Chan!”

“That you were…actress Lee Ha-eun’s former manager…”

“Incredible…”

Questions pouring in with no room to breathe!

I let out a heavy sigh without meaning to.

‘Director Choi Jeong-eun, why bring up something so pointless…ugh.’

Maybe it’s because “Queen of Joseon” is a hit.

Everywhere I go these days, questions like this pour in.

Is Lee Ha-eun pretty….

Is her temper really that foul…

Things must be good for you these days thanks to Lee Ha-eun!

Well, it’s true that I’ve benefited from Lee Ha-eun, but honestly I’d rather not bring it up.

That’s why I’d kept it from the Twenty girls on purpose…

And Director Choi Jeong-eun ruined it.

‘Reading the mood, I don’t think I can just let this pass?’

What do I do about this?

Just as the situation got a little awkward, Ga-eul raised a hand.

“…Doesn’t that make you a really impressive person, Chief?”

“?”

“To be in charge of someone like actress Lee Ha-eun you’d have to be a manager with ability, right?”

Just an ordinary remark.

But this ordinary remark, surprisingly, changed the mood.

“Huh…..?”

The Twenty girls’ eyes opened round.

“Oh…does it work out that way?”

“Sounds right, doesn’t it?”

“Our manager is the Queen of Joseon’s manager…?”

Director Choi Jeong-eun chimed in from the side.

“However you look at him, he didn’t have the aura of an ordinary chief. But girls, you know what?”

“What is it, Director?”

“Chief Kwon is younger than me!”

“…. What? Really!?”

“Ugh, I was shocked when I heard it too. How is that air of his 28 years old?”

The subject changed naturally.

Blinking like an idiot, I turned my head and looked at Ga-eul.

Ga-eul, hard at work steering the subject away, happened to look over at the same time.

Right then this girl Ga-eul…

Smiled a shy little smile like a puppy.

-Thump!

…My heart dropped.

That’s not a figure of speech, it really did!

‘Is this girl an angel?’

No, maybe she really is an angel?

Seeing her smile that prettily, she was definitely an angel!

Feeling my chest go warm, I muttered,

‘Right. Of the seasons, autumn is the best.’

Stage name Ga-eul.

Real name Ga-eul is the best.

---

Once the commotion was over, a quick meeting with Director Choi Jeong-eun started.

“It’s going smoothly.”

Director Choi Jeong-eun said, sucking down her coffee.

“So smoothly that…. it feels like something’s going to blow up at the end?”

Meaning it’s going well.

Director Choi Jeong-eun’s actual output was impressive.

She’d changed the album lineup over to a double title track in under a month.

‘Director Choi Jeong-eun isn’t only strong on passion, she has ability.’

Someone like this can be a little prickly and it’s fine.

Nodding, I brought up what I’d come to the center for today.

“Division Head Park Yu-hyeon will be coming to the center next week.”

Director Choi Jeong-eun’s eyes jerked.

“…. For the midway inspection, right?”

“Yes. So please lead the girls well, Director.”

Director Choi Jeong-eun nodded with a careful expression.

“My livelihood’s on the line too, so I’d better lead them well. Ugh…no going home this week either.”

When the meeting ended, the rookie road, Lee Ye-ji-ssi, showed up with good timing.

I pulled out the corporate card I’d gotten from Seok-du hyung.

“Buy something good with the girls and Director Choi Jeong-eun.”

“Oh! Thank you! But what about you, Chief?”

“I’d like to eat with you, but I have a lot to do.”

“The girls have been going on about when they’ll get to eat with you…. hmm.”

“Next time I’ll definitely set the time aside. Sorry.”

Once I’d handed over the corporate card too, it seemed everything I had to do at the training center was done.

I drove straight for the SBC broadcasting station.

Not long after, I saw the idol fans occupying the front of the SBC station.

“Ah, I’m hungry. Should we go eat lunch?”

“Are you crazy? We don’t know when the oppas are coming, what food!”

“Ooh! The vans are coming over there! Isn’t that Hi-Teen?”

“Kyaaaaah! Oppa! Look over here!”

Wow.

Nothing’s changed here, is it?

Fans gathered to watch a music show stage.

Fan photographers with bazooka lenses hammering the shutters.

Entertainment reporters who haven’t put in their years yet were scribbling in notebooks.

Back on a site I hadn’t been on in a while, my heart started to beat a little faster.

Screech-!

I parked in the underground lot and headed not for the station but for a nearby cafe.

“One mint choco latte and one iced americano…. ah, and pack up a few macarons too.”

After ordering, I checked the time.

One in the afternoon.

Time for people who’ve had lunch to want something sweet.

‘Good timing, isn’t it?’

Everything feels like it’s flowing along today.

I lifted the corner of my mouth a little without meaning to and headed for the SBC station.

“April still isn’t here!?”

“No, we should be wrapping up the pre-recording, and it makes sense that a team still hasn’t shown up?”

“Get on the phone with Double A’s manager, fast!”

“Has the camera director gone off for a smoke again? Where on earth is he!”

I passed through a corridor full of shouting and screeching and reached the music show set.

Off in the distance, a man in his early thirties with shaggy hair and a prickly look was flapping a script.

“Haa…these people are unbelievable. Hey! Beg me all you want! There’s a set number of slots, so how am I supposed to do whatever I like with them? Beg all you want, I can’t put them on! So stop bothering me!”

Wow…SBC music show PD Choi Ho-cheol.

His temper hasn’t died down yet.

Seeing him line the rookie roads up in a row and thrash them, if anything he feels fiercer than before.

Carrying the takeout coffee and the macaron set, I walked up to PD Choi without a sound.

“PD Choi.”

“Oh my god, you scared me!”

PD Choi Ho-cheol turned his head irritably.

“Who is this…”

PD Choi Ho-cheol met my eyes and his went wide.

“…. Huh? If it isn’t our Star Kwon!”

The music show PD who’d been hounding managers like rats a moment ago broke into a wide smile.