Chapter 8

**All-Round Entertainment Life Bible Chapter 8 (8/280)**

***

After riding the Line 4 all the way down and transferring to Line 2 at Sadang, I was on my way home. To my surprise, not only was my sister with me, but So-hwa was there too.

“D-Do you live in our neighborhood...? No, do you live here?”

“What’s with that awkward formal tone? This kid lives in Daehak-dong. You have to go up the hill.”

‘Daehak-dong...’

It’s known as the civil service examination village, located in Sinrim-dong, Nokdu Street.

With students preparing for various exams, they naturally settled there for food and lodging, and it eventually became known as the civil service examination village.

‘She’s been close by all this time.’

Seoul is so small... I was thinking this when I felt a slight vibration from my sister, who was standing next to me.

“Sister, did you get a call?”

“Hm? Oh, Mom? I’m on my way home. With Cheon-ho.”

While my sister was on the phone, an awkward silence fell between So-hwa and me.

‘I’ve never been this quiet with her before.’

The silence was broken only when my sister finished her call.

“I have to go first. Hae-na might be looking for her mom. Cheon-ho, can you take So-hwa home?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I can walk home in no time.”

“Nothing’s fine. It’s past ten, and you have to climb a long hill. This kid might look like this, but he’s not a weirdo.”

“What? You and I look a lot alike, you know?”

“Shut up. You have to take her home.”

So, after dropping my sister off at Sinrim Station, we walked side by side, maintaining an awkward distance.

So-hwa suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, Mr. Ahn, do you really work at a broadcasting station?”

“Yeah. I work at JWN.”

“Wow. Are you a PD or a writer?”

“No. I work in media communications... Ah, in the PR department. Broadcasting PR.”

“Amazing...”

It’s the first time I’ve met someone who works at a broadcasting station. Teacher Jeon Yeo-jin is so cool. You look great on stage, but you don’t perform anymore. I want to become an actor as soon as possible...

After a while, I asked So-hwa, who was chattering away.

“Why do you want to become an actor?”

So-hwa, who had paused for a moment, replied.

“Our restaurant is always busy, so I’m often alone and get bored... I signed up for after-school activities at school, and that’s when I first saw a play.”

“?”

Seeing that I was listening without responding, So-hwa smiled and continued.

“The actors were so amazing. I wanted to try acting too. But I didn’t know how... So I saved my allowance and went to see plays.”

“...Was that Yeonu (煙雨)?”

“Yes!”

So-hwa, who answered cheerfully, pointed to a building ahead.

“We’re here. That’s Mom’s Hand Taste Civil Service Exam Restaurant. This is my home. Thank you for taking me home.”

“...You’ll make it.”

‘This time, for sure.’

“You’ll become a great actor.”

“Yeah, right.”

‘I’ll make sure of it.’

Watching So-hwa, who turned and bowed with a shy expression, I made a promise.

This time, I’ll make sure you can focus solely on acting as you wish.

Step by step,

When variables arise.

That moment is when the human mind works most intensely.

‘Maybe I should revise my plan a bit.’

Last night, after the sudden reunion with So-hwa, I couldn’t sleep.

I had planned to take everything I needed from JWN over the next two years and look for opportunities.

But the premature meeting with her made me re-evaluate everything.

‘At the end... So-hwa was 36, and I had been here for 20 years.’

Still 18.

A high school student, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I had anticipated a reunion, but meeting So-hwa at this time was not part of my plan.

‘No, to be precise, I never even thought about meeting her.’

In reality, I knew nothing about her during this period.

Especially not that she would be so close...

‘This time, I wanted to meet her at the right moment, not as a mediocre manager but as a proper management company president, to support her properly...’

Feeling a sense of regret for not being prepared, but since it had already happened, there was nothing I could do.

I shook my head to clear my useless thoughts.

‘Regret is regret, but for So-hwa, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

The most important thing for an actor is undoubtedly talent and opportunity.

Some might argue for charm instead of talent, but I don’t think so.

‘Charm without talent is an illusion.’

Many stars are loved for their charm, but only a few survive long-term.

A true star, not a fleeting one.

To be a shining actor for a long time, talent is essential.

In that sense,

‘So-hwa’s talent is definite. It’s like an unscratched lottery ticket.’

It’s not just because of the evaluation from my sister.

I’ve already seen So-hwa’s future and talent.

It took a long time for her to make a proper debut, but everyone witnessed her brilliant acting talent.

‘It was a few years after we met...’

Before the regression, I met So-hwa in her late twenties, but she only became known to the public in her mid-thirties.

‘At that time, I didn’t have any expertise either.’

Though she was a good actor, she was tired from a long period of obscurity and feared the world outside the stage. I, on the other hand, only knew broadcasting PR and was a novice at nurturing actors.

It took a long time for our immature aspirations to come true.

‘But we eventually succeeded.’

Her overwhelming acting skills, which could dominate the screen with just a cameo appearance.

That’s not all!

At 36, Park So-hwa easily overcame the biggest weakness for female actors—age—and immediately gained attention.

This means her talent for acting was exceptional.

‘Moreover, this time, age won’t be a weakness.’

What’s needed is just a few opportunities to polish the unrefined gem.

‘What methods are there?’

Several options came to mind.

The first is to quit my job and become a personal manager for the new actor, Park So-hwa.

‘A personal manager, a personal agency... No, it’s not possible now.’

Without much thought, the answer “No” immediately came to mind.

Of course, there are entertainers who work without managers.

Some have only one manager.

‘But not everyone can do it.’

Entertainers who work alone without a management company or manager are usually professional MCs or variety show hosts.

Most of them only have to handle fixed schedules and don’t need to invest much in appearance management.

‘But.’

Even professional MCs or variety show hosts, when they become popular and get regular program offers, eventually join a small management company.

‘Actors who work alone...’

They often exist, but they are usually life actors.

So-called public recruitment talents from the three major broadcasting stations, who mainly play supporting roles, or veteran actors with long careers.

‘Even they give up solo activities when they get a main role.’

One of the things I found strange when I first entered the entertainment industry was the number of staff accompanying actors.

It was hard to understand how a single actor could move with a team of five or more people.

‘I thought, why do they need so many staff in such a small waiting room...’

After visiting a few drama sets, I finally understood the reason.

‘It was obvious.’

Dramas are produced on a schedule that defies imagination.

Moreover, every moment of production, even those not captured by the camera, incurs costs.

And the largest portion of these costs is the lead actor’s fee.

‘The reason actors need to produce the best results in the shortest time possible.’

To do this, someone must take care of everything outside of acting.

This is why it becomes impossible to work alone once an actor reaches the main or supporting role level.

‘But we’re not ready yet, neither I nor So-hwa.’

So-hwa is still a girl dreaming of becoming an actor, and I am a one-year veteran in the broadcasting industry.

‘If I had regressed a few years later, it might have been different.’

Now, I have no network or financial foundation.

Moreover,

‘There’s no trust.’

If a management company and an actor have a symbiotic relationship for mutual benefit, a manager and an actor are like two sides of the same coin.

Though I met So-hwa through my sister, to her, I’m just a middle-aged man who works at a cable broadcasting station.

‘From a representative to a middle-aged man...’

I realized I needed to build a relationship step by step.

‘Ultimately, someone needs to take care of So-hwa until I can leave JWN.’

So, the second option that came to mind was to place So-hwa in a good management company and nurture her.

A company that can provide a proper acting teacher and help her progress step by step as an actor...

‘There isn’t one.’

To be blunt, there are no good management companies for aspiring actors in this industry.

‘This option is rejected. So, what’s left...’

The third option.

Find a trustworthy person to take care of her.

I will do my best to support her financially and emotionally, but who can I trust to take care of So-hwa...?

‘Until the moment I leave JWN, having extracted everything I can...’

A few faces flashed through my mind.

“This is probably the best option...”

Thump—

“Cheon-ho!”

Han-na, who had been running around, jumped onto my bed, where I had been lying and thinking all morning.

“Oh, our little darling. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah! Grandma says it’s time to eat!”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Lifting the child, a burst of laughter smoothed out the complex thoughts in my head.

‘Don’t rush it.’

It had only been a week since the regression, and everything was going well.

***

Monday afternoon, 3:00 PM.

Cafe First Place.

Cafe First Place, located in a corner of the JWN building’s first-floor lobby, is essentially another meeting room.

Reserving a meeting room for small-scale meetings of two or three people is often cumbersome, so many employees use the cafe.

‘Hmm—’

Im Mi-so, who had secured a seat at First Place, sipped her grapefruitade and stared intently at the person in front of her.

“Once again, I apologize for not consulting the Channel Marketing team beforehand.”

“Shouldn’t you have said that before you said it?”

“I’m truly sorry.”

The man, who was more composed than his reputation suggested, did not frown at her cold response but repeatedly apologized politely.

He had recently caused a stir at a drama wrap party by speaking out against the production company’s representative, earning the label of “madman.” A few days later, he shook up the drama casting meeting.

‘It’s amazing.’

How did he know? Holding a grapefruitade, which he always drinks, in his hand, Cheon-ho immediately apologized when they met.

The reason for the apology was, of course, the casting meeting for “Your Home.”

At the “Your Home” staff meeting, he had proposed, “Please include our media team and the channel marketing team in the pre-production stage,” without giving any prior notice.

‘Our team leader was grinding his teeth that day.’

Although similar, broadcast PR and broadcast marketing work together for a common goal.

They aim to package the program they are responsible for to sell it as well as possible, with PR suggesting the direction and marketing creating content that matches that direction.

‘In any case, he’s my partner.’

Therefore, if Cheon-ho, the main PR person for “Your Home,” aims for active promotion, Im Mi-so, the marketing person, must keep up with the pace.

‘I thought he was just being loud without telling me, but seeing him apologize first... He’s not as crazy as the rumors say.’

Since she was assigned as the dedicated marketer for “Your Home,” she would have to work with him for at least a few months. She felt relieved.

It wasn’t that she was swayed by a single glass of grapefruitade.

“Really, I’m sorry again—”

“It’s a joke. I don’t know what the higher-ups think, but I like it.”

Cheon-ho, who had been bowing deeply, raised his head at her unexpectedly warm response, which was a stark contrast to her initial cold greeting.

“Isn’t that right? Our marketing team isn’t a vending machine. It’s better to participate and proceed together than to hear them say, ‘Get this, make that’ after they’ve already decided everything.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Please work with me. Mr. Cheon-ho. Ah, in our team, we use ‘nim’ (honorific) for all colleagues. If you find it inconvenient, we can change it.”

“No, I appreciate it too. Ah, Ms. Mi-so.”

Shaking hands with Cheon-ho, Im Mi-so asked a question she had been curious about.

“So, what did you want to discuss with me before the casting meeting today?”

This morning, Cheon-ho had greeted her via the company messenger and asked about her afternoon schedule.

The reason