Episode 3
Episode 3
Swallowing dryly, Cha Seonhu chose one week later.
A popup appeared.
[You can currently set the date up to ‘The Next Day.’ If you succeed in the mission, you can view up to ‘2 Days Later.’ Will you perform the mission?]
Without hesitation, Cha Seonhu pressed ‘Yes.’
[Mission: Pass the Audition. If you pass the audition, along with a modest reward, you will be able to check up to ‘Two Days Later.’]
He stood there in a daze until the popup disappeared, and Cha Seonhu felt as though he had seen something unreal.
But soon another popup appeared.
[Would you like to select a date?]
He selected the next day, July 11th, and the Byeolstagram screen changed instantly.
At the top of the feed was the controversy regarding veteran actor Im Byeonggwan’s illegal gambling.
"Ah. He was famous for liking gambling..."
He vaguely remembered it being noisy around this time due to a gambling scandal.
He returned after about a year of self-reflection but went back to illegal gambling a few years later.
"We even worked on a few projects together."
It wasn’t a fond memory.
Completely absorbed in gambling, he had arrived on set long after the promised time.
And having come to the set, he didn’t particularly act diligently; he just went through the motions.
Even so, he was good at acting and specialized in memorizing lines quickly, so PDs kept seeking him out.
If the news about Im Byeonggwan comes out tomorrow, everything will be certain.
"If this is real..."
Then Cha Seonhu had obtained an enormous cheat key in his hands.
He had memories of seven years, but they were faint because he hadn’t paid much attention to things unrelated to projects.
But if there was an SNS that showed the future, such faintness wouldn’t be a problem.
"I think I could utilize this in various ways?"
Various ways to utilize it flashed through his mind, and just as he was about to search to confirm one of them.
He felt someone standing in front of him and raised his head.
There stood Dokgo Byeonggi, someone Cha Seonhu never wanted to face again.
The things he had done flashed by like a panorama, and Cha Seonhu clenched his teeth.
‘So this is what it feels like to have your teeth chatter.’
But like an actor, Cha Seonhu put on a puzzled expression outwardly.
Anyway, he needed Dokgo Byeonggi for now to meet Park Mijeong.
He smiled a friendly smile and held out a business card.
"Hello. I’m Dokgo Byeonggi, CEO of Black Hole Entertainment."
"Ah. Hello. I’m Cha Seonhu."
"Cha Seonhu, that’s a nice name. Seonhu, have you signed a contract yet?"
"A contract? Ah, are you asking if I have an agency?"
He knew perfectly well what the question meant, but deliberately feigned innocence.
‘Right now I have to be an innocent actor who knows nothing.’
Until the day he gained enough power to pay them back, he had to wear this mask of innocence.
Because that mask would become the snare that entangled Dokgo Byeonggi.
Cha Seonhu’s intentions took hold properly, and Dokgo Byeonggi replied, drooling over the appetizing prey.
"That’s right. I heard you acting outside earlier, and you were very good. If you don’t have a company, I’d like to sign you."
"A contract?"
Cha Seonhu deliberately made his eyes sparkle as if he had heard an enticing story, and Dokgo Byeonggi took it as a sign that his words were working.
"Yes. Of course, I don’t mean right away. Why don’t you come visit our company first?"
I have to go.
Because Park Mijeong is there.
*
One week later.
Cha Seonhu stood in front of the building that housed the Black Hole Entertainment office.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been here."
The building itself was old but well-maintained and clean.
"It really felt like an undervalued blue-chip stock."
Three years later, redevelopment was decided for this place, and the building value soared to the sky.
The problem was that only the building was an undervalued blue-chip stock; Black Hole Entertainment was truly a trashy place.
He had made the grave mistake of confusing the image of the building with the image of the company located there.
"Dokgo Byeonggi really has a good head on his shoulders."
What was more annoying was that this had been one of Dokgo Byeonggi’s strategies.
Not just Cha Seonhu, but all the celebrities who came here felt that way and made the mistake of signing contracts because they felt a sense of trust.
Even later, others couldn’t even recognize why they had felt trust looking at the company.
Only Cha Seonhu had dragged his unconscious into consciousness.
He familiarly took the elevator, pressed the button for the 5th floor, and looked at his phone.
"The controversy about Im Byeonggwan’s gambling really broke out on July 11th."
Even though it was almost a week later, it was still chaotic because of it.
Byeolstagram was truly an app that showed the future.
"An incredible weapon has fallen into my hands."
He could solve many things with this weapon, including his housing problem.
In that regard, he had something he needed to do after meeting Dokgo Byeonggi today, or rather, after exactly meeting Park Mijeong.
"Will there be one? I hope there is."
The elevator arrived at the 5th floor and the doors opened, and Cha Seonhu decided to focus on the present for now.
Because meeting Park Mijeong was incomparably more important than finding a house.
It was a small office that could fit about 10 people, but only one person was holding down the fort.
"How can I help you?"
"I’m here with the CEO..."
Dokgo Byeonggi suddenly appeared, so Cha Seonhu couldn’t finish his sentence.
"Oh my. Seonhu, welcome. Yerim, I told you we had a guest coming today."
"Did... you?"
The employee looked as if this were the first she had heard of it, but Dokgo Byeonggi didn’t mind.
"I guess you forgot because there’s so much work. This way, Seonhu. Please bring some tea."
"Ah... yes."
Leaving behind the employee’s bitter response, the two headed to the CEO’s office.
Cha Seonhu deliberately looked at the mostly empty desks, and Dokgo Byeonggi, noticing his gaze, spoke as if making excuses.
"Ah. Most of the staff are on site. They only come in when there’s work."
"Ah. I see."
Cha Seonhu inwardly scoffed at Dokgo Byeonggi, who lied so shamelessly.
Originally, it wasn’t unusual for managers to be out of the office due to the nature of management work.
But Black Hole Entertainment wasn’t like that.
‘The office is empty because there are plenty of people who quit before lasting three months.’
Dokgo Byeonggi definitely hadn’t even hinted to the employee that a guest was coming.
‘And this probably isn’t the first time either.’
Her bitter expression was saying that similar things had happened many times.
‘Back then, I didn’t notice any of this.’
Whether it was because he was looking through the eyes of a 29-year-old instead of a 22-year-old, or because this was his second time around, what he saw was different.
Not long after sitting in the CEO’s office, the employee brought tea with a forced smile.
And Dokgo Byeonggi’s full-fledged sales pitch began.
"As you can see, our company isn’t that large. But we’ve survived in this industry for 5 years, and the company has grown about threefold."
This wasn’t a lie.
It was true that Black Hole Entertainment had survived for 5 years, and it was true that the company had grown three times larger.
So wasn’t it a decent company?
No.
The only reason they achieved such results was by sucking the lifeblood of their artists.
Driving them ragged while not settling accounts on time, and not even settling them properly.
A gentle, friendly smile spread across Dokgo Byeonggi’s face.
Seeing that appearance, Cha Seonhu thought of his past self.
‘I thought he was a trustworthy person.’
Back then, he didn’t know there were many wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Or perhaps he hadn’t wanted to know.
Because at the time, Dokgo Byeonggi was Cha Seonhu’s only lifeline.
He grabbed that rope without knowing it was rotten, and because of that, he met the worst possible ending.
"I see. It’s a good company."
"I’ve talked too much about myself. Seonhu, are you currently a university student?"
"Yes. But I took a leave of absence because I wanted to act."
For a moment, Dokgo Byeonggi’s eyes glistened as he spotted an opening.
"Did your parents accept it well?"
"No. So I left home and I’m currently staying at a jjimjilbang."
"Oh dear..."
He put on an expression of deep sympathy, but it was obvious he was cheering on the inside.
Dokgo Byeonggi’s methods were quite obvious but worked well.
When a child says they want to become an actor, most parents oppose it.
Because they think only those with talent, luck, and background can have the job of an actor.
Therefore, those who dream of becoming actors inevitably come into conflict with their parents, and many want to leave home due to such conflicts.
Such people were precisely Dokgo Byeonggi’s targets.
The young, those who didn’t know much about the industry, and those who wanted to leave home because their parents opposed their dreams.
He would coax such people into contracts and offer them a room in his own house as if bestowing some great favor.
‘If things go well, he sucks up all the money earned; if not, he abandons them.’
In his past life, things hadn’t gone well for Cha Seonhu, so he had been abandoned.
Then the moment things started going well, he latched on again and sucked him dry.
‘When I decided to leave the company to stop being a pushover, he drowned me in fake news.’
Not knowing Cha Seonhu was sharpening his blade, Dokgo Byeonggi spoke with feigned sympathy, excited.
"If it’s alright, why don’t you stay at my house for the time being, regardless of whether you sign the contract?"
In his past life, Cha Seonhu had been moved by those words and signed with Dokgo Byeonggi, then moved into that house.
Now that he could see right through him, he felt the urge to spit but barely suppressed it to pay him back double.
"Thank you very much for the offer, but I’m fine."
"Still, how can you keep staying at a jjimjilbang?"
Cha Seonhu felt nauseated by the concerned gaze.
‘CEO Park Mijeong, when on earth are you coming?'
Just then, the door burst open without a knock, and Park Mijeong entered.
Surprised by the sudden situation, Dokgo Byeonggi raised his voice needlessly.
"Park Mijeong, we have a guest. What do you think you’re doing without knocking..."
Park Mijeong grabbed him by the collar, so Dokgo Byeonggi couldn’t finish his sentence.
It probably wasn’t just the collar that made him shut his mouth.
Killing intent flowed from her eyes.
"One who sells what cannot be sold, and enjoys what cannot be enjoyed."
Though overwhelmed by her momentum, Dokgo Byeonggi barely spoke, conscious that Cha Seonhu was there.
"What are you talking about?"
"It’s the Dong-A Ilbo’s assessment of Lee Wan-yong in 1926. Lee Wan-yong enjoyed a 3,000-pyeong house, land several times the size of Yeouido, and even power, but what have you enjoyed? No, what are you trying to enjoy by living like that?"
A smile crept to the corners of Cha Seonhu’s mouth.
‘I’ve missed this.’
Normally Park Mijeong was easygoing, but when she snapped, she would suddenly change and always get angry while talking about historical stories.
It wasn’t to show off her knowledge but a habit of hers from when she had been a history major.
Releasing his collar as if pushing him away, Dokgo Byeonggi fluttered like a paper doll and automatically seated himself on the sofa.
Park Mijeong put her hand in her pocket, and Dokgo Byeonggi cowered, wondering if something terrifying would come out.
But what came out of her pocket was none other than a letter of resignation.
"It was filthy meeting you. Let’s never meet again."
With those final words, Park Mijeong left the office.
Dokgo Byeonggi, his face pale white, was briefly out of it, and seeing that, Cha Seonhu snickered inwardly.
Just as Dokgo Byeonggi, having barely come to his senses, was trying to continue speaking with a forced smile.
"CEO. I have to go to my part-time job, so I think I should get going now."
"Ah... is that so?"
Before he could add anything, Cha Seonhu bowed and quickly left the office.
"Hahaha. This is extremely entertaining."
It had been hard trying to keep looking at that nauseating face, so he felt he had come at a good time.
He saw Park Mijeong entering a convenience store near the building, and Cha Seonhu immediately moved his feet.
Park Mijeong tried several times to open the drink lid, but failed due to her trembling hands.
Cha Seonhu approached, opened the lid, and held it out to her.
"Manager Park Mijeong. Please become my manager."