I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 46 - Investment.

The mood at the table suddenly turned awkward.

I raised my head and looked at Reporter Seo.

Reporter Seo, who’d been cracking silly jokes just a moment ago, had a face gone rigid.

Embarrassment. Surprise. Confusion.

Those were the emotions I could read on Reporter Seo’s frozen face.

In that moment, some unidentifiable rush of dopamine flooded through me.

So this was how CEO Baek felt, every time she rattled me.

I raised the corner of my mouth slightly and laid on the bluster.

“Kidding, I’m kidding.”

“?”

“Come on, Reporter Seo. You’re the one who started with the silly jokes, why the face? Were you scared I might actually threaten you?”

“!”

Reporter Seo held their breath.

They stared at me like that for a moment before finally managing to speak.

“…Who jokes like that? That was vicious.”

“Was my acting good?”

“Ha! Do actor managers take acting lessons too?”

Reporter Seo forced a bright tone, but the end of it trembled slightly.

I felt the tension, but pretended not to notice and raised my glass.

Caught off guard, Reporter Seo raised their glass too.

I clinked my glass against theirs and said,

“You know the reading for The Priest in Black is closed this time, right?”

Reporter Seo nodded slowly.

“I heard. With Lee Ha-eun joining, the project’s weight class went up, and now you’re keeping it closed?”

“The director insisted on it. He says the occult side can’t afford spoilers. So the plan is to only invite Baekhak’s PR team and just take some stills on set…”

I trailed off and threw out the bait.

“I’ll get you invited to that reading, Reporter Seo.”

“!”

Reporter Seo’s eyes, still carrying tension, went wide.

“Out of nowhere?”

“Nothing sudden about it. I’m always asking you for tough favors, so I should do at least this much for you.”

At my words, the look in Reporter Seo’s eyes changed.

“Hmm… to my ears that sounds less like a gift and more like an advance payment. Am I wrong?”

“What advance payment, between us?”

I poured the whiskey we’d ordered earlier into Reporter Seo’s empty glass, in a steady stream.

“You know I like you, Reporter Seo. But every time we meet I’m asking you for something hard… so this is just a gift for that.”

The words slipping out of my mouth sounded slick as oil.

When did I get this smooth-talking?

At the same time, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘There’s no need to turn Reporter Seo into an enemy.’

Sure, they crossed a line with a silly joke now and then, but they were one of the few people I could actually trust.

Not as a friend, but as a business relationship…

there was no better partner than Reporter Seo.

So I wasn’t going to trust them, but I was going to make use of them.

As a business partner where we each just gave and took what we wanted.

In the meantime, Reporter Seo’s expression brightened all at once, and they burst out cackling.

“Fine. It’s not like I work for free. I’ve gotten plenty out of you over the years anyway, Chief Kwon.”

“Should we toast?”

“Sure. Let’s toast.”

We clinked glasses and blew away the awkward mood from a moment ago.

Reporter Seo drained their glass in one go and leaned forward.

“So all I need to look into is HB Entertainment’s Park Tae-sik?”

Their voice was starting to brim with drive.

I answered with a soft smile.

“Well… I think that much would be enough on its own.”

“But?”

“Since you’re at it, why not do all of them?”

“Huh? All the actors?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot of that kind of article lately. Korea, no longer a drug-free country.”

“!”

“It’s probably me overthinking it, but you never know. There might be more than one druggie…”

Reporter Seo’s eyes widened.

“Look at you. Chief Kwon, you’ve got a solid source, don’t you?”

I stayed silent and didn’t answer.

‘The future text named exactly one druggie.’

But pinning down which one it was proved difficult.

My guess was that the druggie was one of the supporting actors, but to widen Reporter Seo’s search beyond just Park Tae-sik, I needed to stoke their curiosity a little.

So I kept a strange smile on my lips and held my silence.

Reporter Seo watched my expression for a while, then clicked their tongue.

“Chief Kwon, why did you get so scary while I wasn’t looking?”

I’d gotten scary?

I wondered.

I’d heard plenty of times that I had a nasty look on my face, but this was the first time anyone called me scary.

Just then, Reporter Seo raised their glass.

“Okay, deal. I’ll get to work.”

My eyes curved into a smile.

“I’m counting on you, Reporter Seo.”

I clinked glasses with Reporter Seo.

Downing the fairly strong whiskey in one go, the alcohol hit me hard and fast.

My body ran a little hot. Through a hazy mind, I thought,

‘I learned a good lesson today.’

At the same time, I felt like I’d lost something.

I didn’t know what that something was, but one thing was clear.

Starting today, the person I was would change in more ways than one.

---

Asking Reporter Seo to dig around put out the most urgent fire.

Given Reporter Seo’s nature, once they sank their teeth into prey they never let go, so they were bound to turn something up.

But I had no intention of leaving the whole thing to Reporter Seo.

Finding a druggie wasn’t easy work, and this kind of investigation moved faster the more people worked on it.

Right then, a decent idea came to me.

‘Should I set a trap?’

Working in this industry, you hear all kinds of rumors.

Some of those rumors were about druggies.

‘They say people who do drugs have this habit of pushing whatever they’re on onto other people.’

I didn’t know if that habit came from guilt, or from some twisted urge to drag someone else down with them.

But if it was true, I could probably build a decent mousetrap out of it.

The problem was how to set it…

“Chief.”

“…Yes?”

“Eat some meat while you think.”

Ga-eul, sitting next to me, suddenly held out a well-grilled piece of meat.

I blinked for a moment, then obediently took it and ate it.

Ga-eul smiled shyly and held out a cup of water.

“It’s hot, so drink some water.”

Caught off guard, I took the cup.

Rei, watching from across the table, shouted.

“Hey! Ga-eul unnie! You stole my job!”

Nova, sitting next to her, put on a sly look.

“Looks like Park Ga-eul-ssi just took away the one bit of presence our Rei had left.”

“Chief! Eat some of my meat too!”

Rei hurriedly wrapped a lettuce wrap and held it out to me.

A creeping feeling crawled up my spine.

The memory I’d half forgotten resurfaced: the wrap squad from two dinners ago.

‘The next day I had such bad indigestion it wasn’t even funny…’

This time, to avoid repeating that mistake, I split Rei’s wrap in half and ate it.

Meanwhile, Lee Ye-ji and Seol Chae-i, who had been picking at the meat I grilled while just staring at a tablet PC, shouted.

“Whoa, no way!”

“Nova unnie! The challenge video we filmed is number three on the trending videos!”

“What!? Really? How are the comments?”

“There’s a lot of talk about Ga-eul unnie.”

“Ugh, come on, leave Ga-eul out of it! She’s a total superstar right now!”

Ga-eul, grilling meat next to me, frowned.

“What superstar, there’s no superstar here.”

“Oh really? Weren’t you our genius lyricist and composer?”

Ga-eul glared at Nova, eyes flashing.

But apart from the maknae Seol Chae-i, Nova had no equal.

Even under Ga-eul’s sharp glare, Nova just burst out cackling and kept needling her.

“That girl! Acting like she doesn’t care when she loves it! You think I don’t know you search your own name every night before bed!?”

Ga-eul finally got up and charged at Nova.

Nova let out a cartoonish cackle and ducked behind me.

I couldn’t help letting out a short laugh.

“Nova-ssi, quit teasing Ga-eul-ssi. You’ve been at it all day.”

“But Chief! I don’t even want to tease her, look at this girl’s face! She secretly loves this kind of attention!”

I snuck a glance at Ga-eul’s face, and it had gone red as a carrot.

Hm… so Ga-eul could make a face like that too.

In the meantime, Nova, finally caught in Ga-eul’s grip, got dragged off.

I flipped the meat and said,

“Anyone want more meat?”

“Me!”

“I want more too, Chief!”

“Let’s grill pork belly this time, pork belly!”

It had been quite a while since we hit number one on the music charts.

But Twenty and I kept missing each other’s schedules and putting off the get-together.

Twenty had been running around packed with events and stages, so busy there was no helping it.

And I had a mountain of my own work too, between The Priest in Black and Multicultural.

So today, I’d barely managed to scrape together the time for a small get-together.

Normally we’d have gone to a barbecue place, but since enough people recognized Twenty by now, we went with the members’ wish to eat comfortably and were grilling meat at the dorm instead.

‘Anyway, the kids seem totally fine with it.’

Honestly… I’d been a little worried.

After the article broke and Twenty hit number one on the charts, Ga-eul had drawn far more attention than the rest of the members.

Idols were people too, after all, and when one member suddenly started doing well, even the best relationships could turn awkward.

But it seemed my worry had been for nothing.

“Superstar Park Ga-eul! Kyahahaha~”

“S, stop teasing me!”

“But like Nova unnie said, aren’t you a superstar, Ga-eul unnie?”

“Facts! You’re totally a superstar, Ga-eul unnie!”

Forget envy or jealousy, these kids were just genuinely committed to teasing Ga-eul.

Watching the scene while I grilled the meat… the nerves I’d had on edge over the druggie eased, melting away.

‘Nice to see.’

Was this why people got into idol fandom?

Just watching them was healing, somehow. Ahem.

Just then, Lee Ye-ji-ssi, monitoring footage of the members’ stages with bloodshot eyes, shouted.

“Oh! We’re out of ssamjang for the wraps, guys!”

My eyes went a little wide.

‘A chance to smoke.’

I’d already been craving nicotine anyway.

I sprang up from my seat and answered.

“I’ll go out and buy some.”

“Huh? You will, Chief?”

“Yeah. I could use some fresh air too.”

Ga-eul, still busy punishing Nova, suddenly raised her hand.

“I’ll come with you, Chief.”

My shoulders, in the middle of grabbing my cigarettes, flinched.

“…I can go by myself, you know?”

“I want some fresh air too. And I feel like ice cream.”

I turned my head and looked at Ga-eul’s face.

Her eyes curved into a smile, but underneath it I could see an unbendable stubbornness.

…Damn it.

Guess the cigarette would have to wait for next time.

In the meantime, Ga-eul put on a bucket hat and a mask and fell in beside me.

I brushed my hair back and said,

“Fine, let’s go together.”

Thinking about it… right.

Smoking with the kids around wasn’t really a great look.

Maybe I should just quit while I’m at it…

With that idle thought, I headed to the convenience store with Ga-eul.

---

The dorm, with Chief Kwon and Ga-eul gone.

Nova crossed her arms and muttered.

“Seriously, that girl. Why’s she sticking to Chief like glue today of all days?”

Seol Chae-i, next to her, scolded her.

“That’s because you keep teasing her so much.”

“Whatever. Was I the only one teasing her?”

“We only do it now and then, but you teased her all day.”

Nova’s expression turned serious.

“It’s fun though. Isn’t Park Ga-eul’s reaction fun to you guys too?”

Rei, chewing away at her meat, shot her hand up.

“Ga-eul unnie’s reaction is hilarious.”

“Heh heh… I’ll tease her again when she gets back.”

“Quit teasing her already! She’s not a kid.”

“Shut it! Ga-eul’s my comfort toy, so I’ll do what I want with her!”

Just as Seol Chae-i shook her head, Lee Ye-ji, staring at the tablet PC, suddenly shouted.

“Kyahahaha, guys!”

“You scared me! What’s with that laugh, unnie?”

“Look, look at this!”

At Lee Ye-ji’s shout, the members gathered around one by one.

“What is it, unnie?”

“We, we’ve been nominated!”

“What? Nominated for what?”

Lee Ye-ji threw both arms up and shouted.

“We’re up for first place on SBC’s Show Music!!!”

At Lee Ye-ji’s shout, the Twenty members stood stunned for a moment before belatedly shouting back.

“We got nominated for number one!?”

---

The next day.

After finishing the get-together with Twenty, I went to work at a cafe near Hapjeong Station instead of Baekhak’s head office.

“So what’d they say, Ye-ji-ssi? Did we really get nominated for first place?”

[“Yes! I just got off the phone with PD Choi Ho-cheol from Show Music! to check, and it’s really true! He said he’d also give us a later performance slot this week!”]

I’d thought that hitting number one on the charts made a music-show number one worth aiming for, but nominated this fast?

I held back a grin threatening to leak out and said,

“Since this’ll be our first stage since getting nominated for a music-show number one, talk to Director Choi Jeong-eun and put together a good stage concept.”

[“What!? M, me alone, Chief…?”]

“Of course. You’re Twenty’s manager, Ye-ji-ssi.”

[“…Can I really pull it off?”]

“You don’t even need to do it well. Just discuss it with Director Choi Jeong-eun and put together the stage concept, that’s all.”

[“I’ll give it a try, Chief!”]

I lifted the corner of my mouth in a grin and wrapped up the call.

‘Things are going smoothly on Twenty’s end.’

Number one on the music charts, followed by a music-show number one nomination… wasn’t this basically the royal road route?

The typical hot girl group.

In idol-industry lingo, so-called first-tier.

And among those, there was a route to becoming a top-tier idol group.

‘Number one on the charts right after debut, then number one on three or four music shows. Album sales matter too after that, but… this was usually the textbook route.’

And right now, Twenty was walking the exact same route those first-tier idols once had.

Of course, their fandom’s actual influence still lagged behind not just first-tier but even second-tier idols… but that was a problem time would gradually solve.

‘Once we hit number one on a music show, the fandom would grow by leaps and bounds again.’

The tension I’d had on edge over the druggie eased again, melting away thanks to Twenty.

I let out a pleasant sigh and headed back into the cafe.

Hemming and hawing.

Director Kim Jun-su, fidgeting with his fingers, startled and quickly bowed his head.

I sat down across from Director Kim Jun-su and said,

“Sorry, Director. It was a call I needed to check on, so I rushed to take it.”

“N, no… it’s fine, Chief.”

“Do you need anything else to drink or eat?”

“No… I’m fine.”

“…”

A suffocating, awkward silence settled between me and Director Kim Jun-su.

It’s not like my job makes me bad at socializing…

so why was every meeting with Director Kim Jun-su this awkward?

‘Tch… this is only our second meeting and it’s still awkward.’

The cause, well… to be honest, it was on Director Kim Jun-su.

He read my mood so hard that I ended up reading his mood right back.

‘Seriously, does a Baekhak business card carry that much weight?’

I got that the Baekhak name carried real weight for a rookie director, but at this point wasn’t this less reading the mood and more just being scared?

I kept my expression from souring and forced myself to speak.

Choi Go-eun had suddenly gotten stuck covering someone’s part-time shift and said she’d be about thirty minutes late, and the two of us couldn’t just sit there looking pathetic that whole time.

“Director Kim, have you worked out a shooting plan?”

Startled by my question, Director Kim Jun-su answered.

“Uh… I do have a candidate location in mind, for now.”

“Where is it?”

“B, Busan’s Gamcheon Culture Village, I’m thinking.”

Gamcheon Village?

A place name I knew well, since Busan was my hometown.

Feeling a bit of interest rise in me, I asked.

“That’s the art village the city of Busan pushes, right?”

“Y, yes, that’s right!”

“Is there a reason you picked Gamcheon Village as the location?”

For the first time, Director Kim Jun-su explained without stammering.

“…Well, to show the reality of Choi Ji-seon’s family, Multicultural’s protagonist, a hillside neighborhood felt right. But if the mood comes across too gloomy, it’ll drag the whole film’s mood down…”

I listened closely to his explanation and nodded.

‘This part of him, I actually like.’

Whatever else he lacked, Director Kim Jun-su clearly had ego and passion for his work.

‘Right… as long as a director has passion for the work, who cares about social skills?’

Just then, having finished his explanation, Director Kim Jun-su spoke first and said my name for the first time.

“…By the way, Chief Kwon.”

“Yes?”

“That… what should we do about the production budget?”

My eyes went a little wide.

“Ah, right. We’ll need to find an investor first.”

“Yes… we can’t start production without securing the budget…”

“Do you have a budget range in mind?”

“Well, factoring in the actors’ pay and renting cameras and equipment, at the very least…”

“At the very least?”

Director Kim Jun-su squeezed his eyes shut.

“T, twenty million won, I was thinking!”

Twenty million? As in 20 million won?

I found myself stroking my chin.

‘Do short films really cost this little to make?’

In the meantime, Director Kim Jun-su suddenly blurted out.

“I, I think I could manage it on ten million won if I scrimp hard enough!”

“…It’s a short film, sure, but can you actually make a movie on ten million won?”

“I, it might be a bit tight, but I’ll make it work!”

At his answer, I crossed my arms.

‘Ten million is out of the question.’

Let’s see… should I set the budget at the twenty million he mentioned earlier?

I was mentally narrowing down a few small investment firms that only backed short films

when a thought suddenly struck me.

‘…Wait, couldn’t I just invest myself?’

Well, look at that.

I unfolded my arms and started running the numbers.

‘The indie-film revenue model: festival screenings and art-house theaters.’

There were also small side options, like selling the rights to NutTube.

And… Multicultural was aiming for the Busan International Film Festival.

‘Choi Go-eun needs to win Best New Actor.’

If Choi Go-eun won Best New Actor, the film would pull in a decent audience, and if it took any other award besides that, there’d be prize money too.

Add it all up, and a twenty-million budget could turn a pretty tidy profit.

My eyes lit up.

‘This is worth investing in.’

I’d already put off buying real estate, so my lottery-winnings account was just sitting there doing nothing.

In the middle of that, an investment of about twenty million won… honestly, wasn’t it worth a shot?

‘If the pieces line up, this doesn’t look bad at all.’

Of course, this wasn’t something to decide hastily.

After thinking it over for a moment, I quietly threw out some bait.

“Don’t worry about the production budget, Director.”

Director Kim Jun-su’s eyes went round.

“Uh… is Baekhak going to invest?”

“Well, that would work too, but…”

I trailed off and laid out the thought I’d just had.

“If the production cost is around twenty million, I was thinking I’d just invest in it myself.”

“!”

“After reading the script, I figure I could put this much in myself, and as long as we draw up a solid contract, wouldn’t that actually work out better for you than taking Baekhak’s investment…”

My words got cut off midway.

At that moment, a voice both familiar and unfamiliar reached my ears.

“Why would you invest money in this project, Chief?”

I turned my head, and Choi Go-eun, leaning against the cafe entrance, was staring at me with a startled expression.