I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 17 - How about that guy?

Chungmuro’s rising newcomer.

I’d settled on Choi Su-hyeon as the man in the affair, but it was a hunch with no hard proof.

‘Seo Tae-jun could break my prediction and be the one.’

I needed something more certain.

Decisive evidence that would pin the affair on Choi Su-hyeon.

So I decided to work late and went to the bar in Cheongdam-dong I’d set as the meeting place.

Reporter Seo, sipping a drink off in one corner, waved a hand.

“Well, Chief Kwon. It’s been a while.”

Seo Ji-hun, team leader of TP’s entertainment desk.

A gossip hound with a name in this business.

We’ve known each other since my rookie road days and we’re close, and I got help from Reporter Seo over Director Kim Jang-hoon last time.

“I’m not late, am I?”

“I only just got here myself. Will you have a cigar?”

Cigars aren’t to my taste, so I declined.

“A man who likes cigarettes that much, and I can’t work out why he hates cigars.”

Reporter Seo shrugged and poured a liquor I couldn’t identify.

Liquor isn’t especially to my taste either, but turning that down too felt like too much, so I threw it back in one go.

I felt the heat rush up through my throat.

Across from me, Reporter Seo puffed at the cigar and said,

“Right, the drink’s in you, so start showing your cards.”

“Give me time to pick at the food, at least.”

“Oh, come on, you’re really dragging it out today.”

Reporter Seo grumbled but pushed the fruit plate over.

I bit into a piece of kiwi I’d never spend my own money on.

Mm.

Good.

“All right, say something. What is it, that you’re stalling like this?”

A sideways look at Reporter Seo’s face showed real impatience.

That was interest enough.

I bit into a strawberry and tossed it out.

“An affair.”

“!”

“It isn’t confirmed. Call it a source.”

Reporter Seo’s face flushed in an instant.

“Wow…. a work of art right from the start. Don’t tell me it’s Baekhak’s side?”

“It would be, wouldn’t it?”

“Heh heh…and the aftertaste is so good. So who’s the guy you suspect?”

I’d thrown out enough chum.

Instead of circling, I went straight to the point.

“Choi Su-hyeon, Seo Tae-jun.”

“!”

“One of those two, the ones Baekhak signed as free agents recently, looks like he’s having an affair.”

Reporter Seo’s eyes trembled.

“Wow…. shit….”

Reporter Seo couldn’t speak for a moment, then said in a voice rougher than before,

“That was worth dragging out, Chief Kwon.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“Whew…! So, what do you want from me for telling me this source?”

What else.

A request to do the legwork for me.

Again I tossed the offer out, careless.

“A background check on the two of them, inside a week. Possible?”

“A week? Ooh…. that’s a bit tight.”

“In exchange, I’ll give this one to you, Reporter Seo.”

The look in Reporter Seo’s eyes changed.

“Really? If you change your story later, I’ll be angry.”

“Have you ever seen me say a thing twice when I’m doing business?”

“Heh heh…. this is why I like our Chief Kwon.”

Reporter Seo raised a glass.

I raised mine with it.

-Clink!

Eating alongside the drink kept the liquor’s particular heat from rising as much.

Reporter Seo trickled fresh liquor into my glass and said,

“But it looks like you’ve already got a rough guess, Chief Kwon.”

“About what?”

“Which of Seo Tae-jun and Choi Su-hyeon did it. If you’re handing me a table already set like this, it’s because you’ve got a solid source, isn’t it?”

There’s a reason they call Reporter Seo a gossip hound.

Too quick at reading a room, far too quick.

Reporter Seo smiled a slanted smile.

“Personally, I hope it’s Seo Tae-jun. The crown prince of romance becomes the crown prince of affairs! Kyah…I could boil ten more stories out of that one source.”

If it were him, I’d have made the board bigger too, wouldn’t I?

But my gut was pointing at Choi Su-hyeon, and that’s why I’d come to meet Reporter Seo.

I poured liquor into Reporter Seo’s empty glass and said,

“I think it’s Choi Su-hyeon.”

“Oh? What’s the reason?”

“Baekhak isn’t stupid.”

“?”

A question mark rose on Reporter Seo’s face.

“Baekhak…. isn’t stupid?”

“Right. They must have burned at least a few billion won signing Seo Tae-jun. You think Baekhak didn’t run a background check?”

“!”

“Drugs, maybe not, but an affair is easy to get caught at. It takes two people together to do it.”

Beyond that, the timing of the affair being caught bothered me.

Two weeks from now means the accident blew up right after the signing, and even if word of mouth hadn’t spread, a tip sheet should normally be going around.

‘Seo Tae-jun’s level, no less, and there’s no tip sheet?’

It means the man in the affair isn’t big enough for a tip sheet to circulate.

So I’d pinned Choi Su-hyeon as the culprit, and Reporter Seo agreed with me.

“Wow…. granted. That does make sense.”

Reporter Seo made a smacking sound.

“But if it’s Choi Su-hyeon, the scale is a bit of a letdown.”

“Still, you never know, so look into Seo Tae-jun as well.”

Reporter Seo clinked a glass and said,

“Whichever of the two it turns out to be, I’ll push it all to you, Reporter Seo, so dig hard.”

---

Reporter Seo never lets go of prey once bitten, so the evidence of the affair will turn up one way or another.

With the headache of the affair handled, I could put myself fully into Twenty.

For a week I went in and out of the head office and the training center and worked without a break.

Booking stages, drawing up the schedule table for later….

Literally home, company, home, company, over and over.

It’d be a lie to call the process enjoyable…. but it wasn’t especially hard either.

“It’s interesting.”

Right.

That’s exactly the word.

Even without being enjoyable, it was interesting.

This process of making a star with my own hands.

This process was so interesting.

Still, my body got tired sometimes, and each time, “Queen of Joseon”‘s ratings lifted me back up.

-SBC’s “Queen of Joseon” breaks the 20% ratings mark! Top star actor Lee Ha-eun, a new record after all….

“Queen of Joseon” episode 8 crossed the 20% ratings mark.

The early momentum was good, so everyone had expected a hit, but hardly anyone had expected 20% in only eight episodes.

At that moment the looks pouring my way changed.

“Wow…aren’t ‘Queen of Joseon”s ratings all-time level?”

“Ugh…I’m a little jealous. It blew up too big.”

“At this level Team 5 gets a whole performance bonus, doesn’t it?”

“Or that guy, Chief Kwon, might take the bonus by himself.”

“Sure…. the article said he’s the one who recommended the ‘Queen of Joseon’ script to Lee Ha-eun.”

When the first-broadcast rating came out, everyone congratulated me.

But people’s hearts are a fickle thing….

Once the success went past a certain line, a few jealous ones appeared.

It was funny, and oddly it felt good.

Being envied means my ability is being recognized.

Time passed like that, and it was right in front of me.

“Twenty’s midway inspection.”

The time to be paid back for the last month of work had come.

---

I hadn’t set an alarm, but my eyes opened on their own.

Half asleep, I went into the bathroom and showered.

I usually wear my hair down, but today I slicked it neatly back with pomade.

The days were warming up, so a full suit felt like too much for the weather.

I put together a clean semi-formal outfit and checked the time. Seven in the morning.

Early to be going in, but today there’s no helping it.

It’s the day of Twenty’s midway inspection.

I turned on my fully charged smartphone and called the rookie road, Lee Ye-ji-ssi.

[“…Yaawn. I picked up.”]

“You were worried so much, but you got up on time, Ye-ji-ssi.”

[“I pretty much stayed up all night to hold on…”]

“Since you’ve held on this far, hold on a little longer. Did you pick up the Twenty kids?”

Rookie road Lee Ye-ji answered through a yawn.

[“Yes. They’re gathered in the pickup van.”]

“You got the concept hair and makeup photo references from Director Choi Jeong-eun, right?”

[“Yep! I’ve got them ready.”]

“Good. Drive safe, and once the girls are done with hair, makeup and styling, come straight to the training center.”

Having confirmed there was no problem on Lee Ye-ji’s end, I took the wheel myself.

I ran the wide open roads at a good clip and got to the training center.

I bought two iced americanos at the cafe I always stop at, then smoked a cigarette.

The nicotine drove off the sleepiness and put my slack nerves on edge.

“Hmm….”

I let out a long breath and muttered.

Feels like the eve of a storm.

The quiet of a city not yet awake stirred up the tension.

But it’s exactly the right amount of tension.

We prepared a lot, sure, but going too loose is no good either.

I put out the cigarette and muttered.

“Right…after doing this much, shaking makes no sense either.”

Have some confidence.

You did your best, idiot.

After lifting myself up, I headed for Recording Studio 3.

Director Choi Jeong-eun, in a two-piece suit, was busily sorting through the materials.

“Director Choi.”

“Oh? You’re here, Chief?”

“Yes. Here, coffee.”

Director Choi Jeong-eun brightened and grumbled at the same time.

“Ugh…do you know I didn’t sleep a wink?”

“Lee Ye-ji-ssi said exactly the same thing.”

“Ugh! It isn’t even the showcase, so I don’t know why I’m this shaky….”

“Don’t be too tense. You prepared hard, didn’t you?”

Director Choi Jeong-eun let out a heavy sigh.

“The preparation was perfect. But you know how it is, Chief. On the day of a test you get uneasy for no reason you can name….”

“I know. But shaking too much is bad in its own way.”

“If only I had a heart of steel like yours, Chief, I’d want for nothing….”

“I’m shaking too. It looks like you’re all set, so I’ll go do a last check on the stage setup.”

I headed for the small stage room I’d booked.

Sound, the state of the stage, the Division Head’s seat.

Beyond that I carefully checked the final album Director Choi Jeong-eun had newly edited, the photos, and the materials the Division Head would look at.

Last, I checked the Division Head’s route through the room and nodded.

“I’ve done everything I can do.”

Right.

This is as far as a manager can go.

I took out my smartphone and checked the time. Two hours had slipped past already.

I turned and headed for Practice Room 3.

The Twenty kids’ voices came through from beyond the practice room.

The corner of my mouth lifted without meaning to as I opened the door.

The practice room lights blocked my view for a moment.

“Chief!”

With the familiar voices, my sight came back bit by bit.

The Twenty kids, a hundred and eighty degrees from usual, stood there.

“Aaaah, Chief!”

“Hellooo….”

“Chief, I, I’m so nervous!”

Startled, I muttered.

‘Were these girls always this pretty?’

Of course I’d thought they were pretty normally too.

But right now, how do I put it….

They were genuinely beautiful.

In their stage costumes with hair and makeup done, Twenty was shining.

I swallowed dryly without meaning to and muttered.

‘Are you insane, Kwon Chan?’

The midway inspection is right there and your eyes are wandering!

Get a grip, idiot!

A whipping from myself brought back the mind that had run off for a moment.

I cleared my throat once and opened my mouth.

“The Division Head will be here in ten minutes.”

The Twenty kids, mid-complaint, froze solid.

Seeing them like this, I could feel that every one of them was tense.

I kept my mouth shut for a moment and thought.

How do I take some of the tension off them.

After hard thought, I put out the first words.

“I know you’re afraid of making a mistake.”

“?”

“It’s the Division Head’s inspection, so of course you’re nervous. But….”

I trailed off, then put weight behind it.

“If that ruins the stage and you don’t get to show what you’ve really got, wouldn’t that be unfair?”

The Twenty kids’ shoulders jolted.

I kept going without a pause.

“Even if you slip, I’ll cover for you from the side…”

The end of the sentence shook a little without meaning to.

“Don’t be scared, go out and have fun. Right now, this stage is exactly that kind of stage.”

I finished and looked at the Twenty kids’ faces.

Less tense than a moment ago.

Nova was the first to speak.

“…. Chief, you promised.”

Nova, back to her usual self, grinned wide.

“That you’ll cover for us if we mess up, that’s a real promise!”

“Yeah. I definitely heard it too.”

“Then even if we make mistakes…. that is okay, isn’t iit?”

No…Rei?

That isn’t what I said.

Rei has a slightly off-in-her-own-world streak, and her line threw me, but the mood had definitely loosened.

“Right! Our debut is confirmed anyway!”

“Even if you slip, just do it like always.”

“Let’s go enjoy it, like the Chief said.”

A laugh slipped out of me.

Right, this is Twenty.

Just then Lee Ye-ji-ssi threw the door open and appeared.

“Chief!”

I read the situation and got up.

“Take good care of the girls, Ye-ji-ssi.”

“Yep! Don’t worry!”

I straightened my clothes and hair quickly, then headed for the lobby entrance.

I joined Director Choi Jeong-eun, who’d come out ahead and was waiting, and a black sedan pulled up right on time.

Feeling the tension rise again, I asked myself.

‘Did I do my best, with no regrets?’

Yes, I did my best.

Then is there any reason to shake?

Like what I told the Twenty kids a moment ago, all I have to do is enjoy it.

With the corner of my mouth up, I bowed to Division Head Park Yu-hyeon.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon, hands clasped behind, asked,

“Did you prepare well, Chief Kwon?”

“I think I’ve done everything within what I could do.”

“How do you feel today?”

I answered without exaggeration.

“I think it’s the best, Division Head.”

A faint curve drew itself at the corner of Division Head Park Yu-hyeon’s mouth.