I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 33 - A pleasant, disbelieving laugh.

Right.

Something about it felt off.

The Busan International Film Festival was one of the top three film festivals in Korea.

It didn’t make sense that neither I nor Seok-du hyung knew an actress winning Best New Actor at a festival like that.

‘Unless she was some completely unknown actress who’d shown up out of nowhere like a comet, I should’ve at least heard the name of any halfway decent rookie.’

And now, from the profile file in front of me, I could see exactly why neither Seok-du hyung nor I had known Choi Go-eun existed.

[Name: Kim Go-eun]

[Stage name: Choi Go-eun]

[Age: 18]

The corner of my mouth curled up.

‘Not an adult actress, but a child actress?’

No wonder neither Seok-du hyung nor I knew her!

Seok-du hyung might be well-connected in the industry, but his network didn’t stretch far enough to cover an unknown rookie child actress.

‘But to run into Choi Go-eun like this…’

Should I call this good luck?

‘No, I think this is more like good timing.’

The word “butterfly effect” came to mind again.

Team 1, blown up because of Team Leader Kim Seong-hun.

Choi Go-eun being mixed in among the celebrities torn loose from Team 1 wasn’t so much luck as it was a current I’d made myself.

In that moment, my raw nerves eased off, just a little.

Instead, feeling my energy spike, I started going through Choi Go-eun’s profile file.

‘Eighteen years old. Debuted… two years ago, huh.’

But she’d only done one project since debuting.

A bit part as an extra in a web drama was the entirety of Choi Go-eun’s filmography.

‘Even for a child actress, isn’t that filmography way too thin?’

Had she been neglected?

It didn’t make sense, but it was possible.

‘Team Leader Kim Seong-hun scooped up celebrities without any regard for sense, and even A-list actors got passed around between Team 1’s road managers. A child actress, well…’

I clicked my tongue briefly and scanned Choi Go-eun’s profile photo.

Looking at her looks alone, she was a warm-featured high schooler who hadn’t quite lost her baby fat.

Charitably, a face that would grow into pretty. By industry standards, ordinary.

I tapped my fingers on the table.

‘If a future text bothered sending this, there’s got to be something to her…’

But just from the profile paperwork, nothing about her jumped out at me.

Just then, Seok-du hyung rapped the whiteboard hard.

“All right, all right, enough sizing things up. Let’s start sorting this out.”

Seok-du hyung pointed at Chief Kim, the most senior road manager on Team 5.

“You all know these names aren’t free just because they’re up for grabs, right? We’ve got to compete with the other teams, so to keep our own picks from overlapping as much as possible, we need to sort it out on our end first. Chief Kim, starting with you, call out one name each you want to bring over.”

Chief Kim, the most senior on Team 5, answered as if he’d been waiting for this.

“I’ll take Cheon Woo-yeong.”

“!”

The chiefs who’d been listening closely let out groans.

“Wow… I was thinking about Cheon Woo-yeong too.”

“Hey, Chief Kim! Isn’t grabbing such a good one right off the bat a bit much?”

“Quiet, you punk! If it bugs you, go get more seniority than me.”

“Ugh, at this rate all the good ones are going to get snatched up.”

“If Cheon Woo-yeong’s off the table, should I go for Im Hyeon-seong or Choi Ji-hyeon instead?”

The conference room turned rowdy and loud in an instant.

In the middle of the chaos, Team 5’s road managers eyed each other, waging a fierce battle of reading the room.

I crossed my arms at ease and muttered.

‘There’s no way anyone else wants to take Choi Go-eun, right?’

Nah.

Who’d be crazy enough to want an unknown child actress?

I waited leisurely for my turn to come.

The order that had started from the chiefs came around to me quickly.

Seok-du hyung looked at me and tipped his chin.

“Who are you picking, Chief Kwon?”

I’d already made up my mind, so there was no hesitation.

“I’ll take Choi Go-eun.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Choi Go-eun. Choi Go-eun.”

“………………?”

Seok-du hyung blinked.

The road managers and chiefs at the meeting tilted their heads too.

“Who’s Choi Go-eun?”

“…Looking at the profile, she’s a child actress?”

“Uh, wait? Chief Kwon? You’re really taking Choi Go-eun? No backsies!”

“Huh? He’s taking her?”

“Hey, Chief Kwon. What’s this, sudden hipster syndrome?”

Hipster syndrome, my ass.

With all the decent names already gone from earlier turns, a Busan International Film Festival Best New Actor title was more than good enough.

Meanwhile, Seok-du hyung tilted his head, looking like he didn’t get it.

“Really, Choi Go-eun… you’re going with her?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Seok-du hyung looked at me with an expression like he had plenty to say.

But conscious of the eyes around him, he soon turned away and carried on with the rest of the meeting.

“Looks like we’ve roughly settled on a direction, so Team 5’s pushing forward with this lineup. Anyone have an issue with that?”

Team 5’s road managers agreed with their silence.

Seok-du hyung clapped his hands.

“Chief Kwon, stay. The rest of you can head out.”

The managers, for whom time was money, scrambled up from their seats and filed out of the conference room.

Watching them go, Seok-du hyung whipped his head around.

“What’s going on with you this time?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why leave the decent names alone and go for Choi Go-eun? This is the one you asked me about earlier on the roof, right?”

Instead of answering, I gave an innocent smile.

Seok-du hyung’s brow furrowed.

“If you don’t want to answer, say so with words, you punk! Don’t just smile like that!”

Seok-du hyung let out a heavy sigh.

“Whew… fine. Let’s let the Choi Go-eun thing go for now. But Kwon Chan. Why are you standing out so much these days?”

“How am I standing out?”

“You know people are talking about you among the chiefs and managers these days, right?”

My eyes went slightly wide.

“People are talking about me?”

“That’s right, you punk! You stand out way too much! Starting with Queen of Joseon, and now Twenty, which you’re handling, blowing up too!”

“…Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not bad exactly, it’s just that you stand out too much. You’re supposed to push forward at a reasonable pace, but you’re out here running a solo race.”

At Seok-du hyung’s words, I found myself nodding without meaning to.

‘True, I have been standing out a bit lately.’

Maybe that’s why.

Lately, every time I dropped by headquarters, the back of my head prickled again.

‘Even just Team 5’s own road managers and chiefs, for that matter.’

The junior ones I couldn’t say, but I could feel the chief-level road managers, seniority piled up to the max, subtly keeping an eye on me as a rival.

‘Does that mean I’ve risen to their level?’

Even so… that felt like a lot of guarding against me, didn’t it?

Was there some other reason?

Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from beyond the conference room door.

“I’m from the CEO’s secretarial office. Could I come in for a moment?”

“!”

Both Seok-du hyung’s shoulders and mine jolted, hard!

‘… Why is the CEO’s secretarial office looking for us?’

Frowning, I turned it over quickly in my head.

Was it because of Twenty’s chart standing?

Or did they have business with Seok-du hyung?

Meanwhile, Seok-du hyung composed his startled expression and answered.

“Yes, yes! You’re welcome to come in.”

The conference room door opened, and Secretary Kim from the secretarial office appeared.

“Team Leader of Team 5, is Chief Kwo— Ah. You’re right here.”

Damn it.

It was me they were looking for, not Seok-du hyung?

Just as my expression froze without me meaning it to, Secretary Kim smiled brightly.

“I’m here to get your signature for the handover of the Mercedes the company’s providing you this time.”

“?”

“Here, sign right here, and sometime today, at Gangnam XX Motors…”

…huh?

Blinking like an idiot at Secretary Kim’s words, I slowly turned my head.

There was Seok-du hyung, unable to hide his shock.

A low groan escaped my mouth.

‘Ah…’

Right.

I’d completely forgotten.

That the brand-new Mercedes Baekhak had arranged for me was arriving today or tomorrow.

And of all times, the gift had to arrive right now?

I turned my head.

“……………….”

Beyond the open conference room door.

Every single employee in the management department was staring this way, faces full of shock.

“….Chief Kwon got a car from the company??”

Sniff.

This is bad.

---

That evening.

Seok-du hyung and I took the Mercedes the company had gotten me out for a drive.

“Wow! This is killer, killer! What is even going on? The company just gives you a car? A Mercedes, no less!!”

This guy’s fussing over it more than I am.

But actually riding in the brand-new Mercedes…

the fuss was warranted.

‘Wow, the interior’s this nice?’

Mercedes hadn’t earned its spot at the top of Germany’s big three for nothing.

The exterior was one thing, but the interior was on a whole other level.

A luxury that never went overboard, the kind that just naturally pleased the eye.

In a ride quality nothing like the K5’s, Seok-du hyung and I pulled up at our usual samgyeopsal place.

“No alcohol, since we’ve got to drive.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not about to have you calling a designated driver on the same day you got your new car.”

Sitting across from each other, we toasted with cider and cola instead of soju, then laid thick slices of samgyeopsal on the grill.

Sizzle, sizzle.

It was as the sound of the samgyeopsal cooking made me smack my lips without meaning to.

Seok-du hyung, who’d been staring quietly at me for a while, murmured, out of nowhere,

“All right, tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“What do you think! Why did the company get you a Mercedes?”

I mulled it over while grilling the meat.

Should I tell him or not.

But it seemed fine to tell Seok-du hyung.

He was someone who even knew the secret about Team Leader Kim Seong-hun, after all.

“Because Queen of Joseon blew up.”

“…Queen of Joseon?”

“Yeah. Queen of Joseon.”

Seok-du hyung’s eyes went wide.

“So, so you got this car instead of a bonus or performance pay?”

The corner of my mouth curling up a little, I explained the full story.

Baekhak, reeling from the Kim Seong-hun mess.

Queen of Joseon, blowing up right at that moment.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon, gifting the Mercedes on CEO Baek Ji-won’s orders, to make sure the reward landed properly.

Having heard my whole story, Seok-du hyung let out a burst of admiration.

“Well… now that I hear the whole thing…”

Trailing off, Seok-du hyung’s expression turned sour.

“Some luck was involved, sure, but you earned that Mercedes.”

“Right?”

Seok-du hyung smacked his lips.

“Ugh… it’s a good thing and all, but… this is a bit…”

“What now.”

“No, I mean, you’re in for some headaches.”

“Why would I have headaches?”

“Told you already, didn’t I? You’re standing out in every direction right now.”

“You did.”

Seok-du hyung let out a heavy sigh.

“So I think things have gotten pretty tangled up because of it…?”

“Why would things get tangled up?”

“Why do you think! Because Team 1’s team leader spot is open now, you punk!”

“!”

“With the spot empty, someone’s got to be promoted into it, and you think the chiefs right underneath aren’t going to lose their minds over it? Honestly, a chance like this doesn’t come around often.”

Both my eyes went wide.

‘…Right. It’s not a chance that comes around often, is it?’

A team leader position at a place like Baekhak wasn’t a spot you could reach just by racking up seniority.

Luck and skill.

Both had to line up together for anyone to climb into that seat.

Meanwhile, Seok-du hyung kept explaining.

“Over that spot, the chiefs are checking each other out like crazy right now. Word from the Division Head’s office is they might bring someone in from outside, but that’s not likely.”

Seok-du hyung looked at me and tipped his chin.

“And in the middle of all that, our Chief Kwon here, huh, standing out like this, what do you think happens?”

Now that I understood the full picture, the corner of my mouth curled up a little.

“What, they’re on guard against a chief who hasn’t even hit a year yet?”

“Well, look at you? Getting confident, huh?”

“No, it’s just funny. Watching out for a first-year chief.”

“It’s not funny, you punk! Our own team’s a bit easier on you since you’re on the same side, but the other teams are already talking about needing to knock you down a peg.”

“That bad?”

“That bad. Queen of Joseon, Twenty… and on top of that, word’s already spread that the company gave you a car this time. You think the chiefs eyeing the team leader spot wouldn’t watch out for you?”

Seok-du hyung gave me some serious advice.

“Office power struggles are scary, Chan. This turns straight into office politics.”

Office politics, huh… True enough.

Thinking back to the whole Kim Seong-hun affair, it wasn’t a problem I could brush off easily.

But I wasn’t worried.

I muttered while grilling the meat.

“So what if some other chief’s watching me.”

Right.

What was there to fear from a fellow chief’s guard?

I’d survived being watched by Team Leader Kim Seong-hun, of the number-one-performing Team 1.

Honestly, being watched by a fellow chief… I didn’t even bother worrying about it, let alone care.

“Well, look at you? All you’ve grown lately is your swagger, kid.”

Instead of answering Seok-du hyung’s jab, I handed him a well-grilled piece of samgyeopsal.

It might sound like a joke right now, but… yeah.

‘If the picture with The Priest in Black comes together properly.’

The outcome of the management department’s power struggle would already be settled.

In my overwhelming favor.

Besides, it was only because I’d been keeping my true personality suppressed since joining the company.

I don’t back away from a fight someone else starts.

“If they want to come at me, let them come.”

If anything, I’m the type to pick the fight myself.

“Though they’d better be ready for it. You know how I am, hyung. I might not pay back a favor, but I always pay back a grudge, with interest.”

The moment I said that with the corner of my mouth curling up, Seok-du hyung flinched, startled.

“Wow… you little devil.”

Seok-du hyung let out a hollow laugh.

“That nasty temper of yours, you’re not even bothering to hide it anymore?”

I just smiled without a word.

Seok-du hyung didn’t know it, but I’d stopped hiding this nasty personality of mine a while ago.

---

The next day, after coming into work, I went up to the rooftop smoking area.

“Seok-du hyung was right, all right.”

The glances pouring my way weren’t ordinary.

Especially from the chief-level road managers like me.

I clamped a cigarette between my lips and muttered.

“Well, I guess I have been standing out a bit.”

Twenty… Queen of Joseon.

Even I could see that my recent moves couldn’t help but stand out.

But what was I supposed to do when circumstances just kept dragging me forward?

One thing after another kept pushing me forward from behind, so what did they expect me to do about it?

As I grumbled, tapping ash off my cigarette, my phone rang.

I checked the caller and let the corner of my mouth curl up.

“Yes, Tae-jun-ssi.”

-Where are you?

“On the rooftop smoking area right now.”

-Should I come up there?

“No. I’ll come down. Let’s meet at the management office.”

I stubbed out my cigarette and muttered.

“Well, office politics are office politics… I wonder if Seo Tae-jun-ssi has prepared something.”

Today was the day of my meeting with Seo Tae-jun.

It was time to see if Seo Tae-jun had made good on the bold promise he’d made a week ago, to bring back a finished Kang Ji-hu for The Priest in Black.

‘If the Kang Ji-hu Seo Tae-jun-ssi worked up just clears a certain line, the rest is on me to talk Director Park into it…’

I hoped the performance Seo Tae-jun had prepared would clear that line.

Only then could I actually do something for Seo Tae-jun.

Having finished that thought, I headed down to the management office.

The office, calm just a moment ago, was in disarray.

‘Why’s it so hectic? Did something happen again?’

Tilting my head, I looked for Seo Tae-jun, who should have arrived at the office by now.

Just then, at the spot where all the management staff’s eyes had gathered, I spotted a familiar face.

“Chief Kwon?”

Sharp, striking features.

Long, lanky limbs.

And… a shaved head?

“… Huh??”

Seo Tae-jun’s trademark comma bangs were gone!

I was so startled I found myself holding my breath.

Meanwhile, Seo Tae-jun, having come up to me, ran a hand over his newly shaved head and said,

“Have you been well?”

I barely managed to open my mouth and speak.

“Tae-jun-ssi, your hair…”

“Ah, this? Kang Ji-hu’s bald, so I shaved it all off…”

Trailing off, the corner of Seo Tae-jun’s mouth curled up.

“How is it, does it suit me? Looking at your face, seems like shaving it was the right call.”

A disbelieving laugh burst out of me.

“Huh?”

It was a disbelieving laugh in the very best sense.