IJLMT 18

Chapter 18…..

“After the success of Nova Girls, and now with actress Lee Jua joining as well… isn’t our team doing way too well these days? Won’t the other teams complain that only we’re getting all the bonuses?”

“But I heard Lee Jua… she’s really difficult to deal with. Won’t it be tough to handle her? Remember, two years ago she had a huge fight with a production company because she didn’t like the script and even quit a sitcom halfway through.”

“The part leader will be handling her. He’ll figure it out somehow.”

“Seungmok, you’re not planning to just ride on the part leader’s achievements, are you?”

“Of course not. I’ve got to head down to Cheongju this afternoon anyway. Better get going soon…”

The mood in Management Team 3 wasn’t bad. In fact, it seemed better than usual. A rookie manager suddenly acting as part leader, and yet no one had any complaints? How could that be?

‘They don’t really think I’m some underworld boss, do they?’

As I sat there confused, Team Leader Jo Minsu called me into the meeting room. Wasn’t he displeased? But when I glanced at his face, he was smiling with an oddly pleased expression.

‘Strange… why does everyone seem fine with this?’

“Part Leader Yoo Hyunjae.”

“Please just call me Hyunjae. The title is a bit embarrassing…”

“What’s an underworld leader doing being embarrassed about something like that?”

“…Is that rumor something you spread, Team Leader?”

“Heh, as if. People just speculated that way. You’ve shown us something, haven’t you?”

Actually, it was all Onion’s doing! The only thing I see is Onion! But if I said that, they’d just think I was crazy.

“At 10:30, Im Yujoo will be here, and at 12:30, Lee Jua will come. With Yujoo, you’ll finalize her appearance in Chalk and Spear. With Jua, you’ll set her activity plans moving forward. Scripts are already pouring in for her. You’ll ask for her opinion, judge what’ll succeed, and then plan accordingly.”

“What’s the company’s stance? Usually for someone at Jua’s level, headquarters sets the vision—‘this actor should take this project’—and we just negotiate, right?”

“True. But Part Leader Yoo Hyunjae is an exception. The CEO said no one should interfere with your decisions.”

“…What?!”

The pressure was insane. Just what kind of person was I to Lee Jongmok? They want me to decide everything?

“And you won’t intervene, Team Leader? From our team’s perspective, this is major.”

“I’ll be there, but I won’t interfere. Once you decide, all I’ll do is push the contract forward.”

Jo Minsu looked oddly excited.

‘Master Yang… I’m counting on you.’

At this point, I had no choice but to rely on the Onion bracelet. When I make a bad choice, it gives off a stench. A good one, it smells fragrant. That way I can manage. The bracelet won’t tell me everything, but I’ll wring out the rest somehow!

This was the part I considered my strength: the mentality I’d honed back in the AMD days, constantly getting beaten down. Whether you do well or not, when you get criticized, you just take it. Bang your head against the wall long enough and eventually, something gives. Even if nothing does, the people criticizing pause, thinking, Ah, that really was their best effort.

If you don’t bang your head, people assume, This bastard was lazy, that’s why the result’s so poor.
But if you keep at it, they think, Well, if that’s their best, nothing can be done.

I sniffed the air, trying to ready myself.

“Curious how it’ll go? Neither will be easy. Yujoo—she’s kind and gentle, but her main job is singer-songwriter. She’s acted in dramas a few times, but she’s picky about her image. She’s rejected at least three pretty good roles. She hates cruel, depressing, or violent stuff. Chalk and Spear is basically an experimental genre piece from Watchflex—so it won’t be easy to persuade her. Honestly, I don’t get why you’re pushing this project. But the CEO told me to trust you, so I’ll stay out of it.”

Chalk and Spear is cruel, depressing, and violent. Yet in the Onion’s vision, Yujoo seemed to be enjoying herself in the role… so what convinced her?

“And Jua… that’ll be another beast altogether. You know her filmography. Awards galore. Her dramas exported to Europe and Southeast Asia, massive hits. Her pride is through the roof.”

Jo Minsu handed me the scripts that had come in for her.

“The company recommended surefire blockbusters, but she rejected them. Then out of the blue, she’ll take a role in some tiny indie film she likes. Total headache. Her last manager even developed stomach ulcers. Our company’s stance and hers always clash, and the poor manager gets crushed in between.”

“Team Leader, are you trying to scare me right now?”

“Haha… you noticed? It feels great not having to make the decisions myself this time.”

He chuckled and patted my back, treating me friendlier than before.

“Im Yujoo has arrived.”

A team member announced it. Soon, the door opened and Yujoo entered. I swallowed hard. We’d grown closer, but work was work.

“Hello. Oh, Hyunjae oppa, congrats on your promotion! I brought you a gift.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I thought about getting you a watch, but that might feel like pressure to wear it. So I got you something to eat instead.”

She handed me a slim, long shopping bag. Inside was liquor.

Ballantine’s 30 Year? I didn’t even know they made a 30. I’ve only seen the 21.

“But you wanted me to look at a script?”

“Yeah. Want to read it? It’s called Chalk and Spear. It’s about—”

“I’ll do it.”

The moment she took the script, she agreed. Jo Minsu’s eyes went wide.

“Didn’t you say you hate cruel, depressing, violent stories? At least read it before deciding.”

“I’ll read it. But this is a script you chose, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard I was approached for the lead in Fragments. But honestly, I liked Director Park Woosik. If I’d been cast, I probably would’ve done it. And then what? Waste my time, ruin my career, wreck my mood. But you blocked that, oppa. Since you gave me that time back, I’ll spend it here.”

What? That was way too easy. I hadn’t even banged my head yet.

“Then… shall I proceed as confirmed?”

When Jo Minsu asked, Yujoo replied, “Go ahead.” From entry to confirmation, not even five minutes.

“Oh, but oppa. After that radio show, you know a lot of variety shows want us together, right?”

“I know. But we’re both busy, so scheduling is hard.”

“What about a talk show? Like Star Behind.”

She wants me on TV again?
But the Onion bracelet released fragrance. And since she was offering so willingly, I couldn’t just refuse with, I don’t like crowds.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Yes! Then we’re done here? I’ll head out.”

“Okay.”

I saw her to the office door, then returned.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

Jo Minsu clicked his tongue.

“She accepted way more easily than expected.”

“Exactly. Makes it seem like I was just scaring you earlier. You know how stubborn she used to be? Even the division head came to cajole her, and she wouldn’t budge.”

“Yujoo? Really? From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t seem like that at all.”

“Seems she only acts that way in front of you… you two don’t have something, do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Good. Just be careful so no rumors start.”

And then—

“Lee Jua has arrived.”

A team member announced. Her meeting was scheduled for 12:30, but the time was only 10:45. Nearly two hours early.

“…Quite an entrance.”

The door opened.

Feels like meeting a game boss.

“I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I just had some time and thought I’d take a quiet look around the office. Didn’t want to disturb anyone.”

“Haha, I see. Welcome. Thank you again for choosing to contact our company first.”

Jo Minsu smiled his business smile. The moment I met Jua, I understood instantly why her last manager got ulcers.

She said she just wanted to look around quietly? As if anyone could ignore a top star actress—the very face of the Korean Wave in Southeast Asia and Europe—wandering the office. Everyone must have scrambled, terrified she’d switch companies.

But the funny thing was… she seemed to mean it. Not with an attitude of you need me, so flatter me, but genuinely.

“Are you busy? If you’ve got work, you can do that first. I even brought a book to kill time.”

She waved a book at me—Killing Cats, with a brutal-looking cover. Like Jo Minsu, I forced on a business smile.

“No, it’s fine. I finished early. No problem.”

“Oh? Was that meeting with Im Yujoo? I ran into her on my way in.”

“Yes.”

Jua twisted her lips, clearly displeased.

Watching her, I thought, So this is a top star’s aura. She was stunning. Unbelievably so.

But words for describing beautiful people are all the same. Small, slim face. Long, slightly wavy hair. Clear features. Great figure. All clichés. None of that could capture her. She was different.

Not even dressed up—just jeans and a loose knit sweater. Casual. Yet she radiated dignity. Even someone who knew nothing of her career would sense immediately how special she was.

And she knew Sora? No way they were college classmates—she was from Gosu University, not Jungseo. And how could anyone meet someone like her and forget? Even passing by would brand her in memory for decades.

I didn’t get it. So I stuck to the basics.

“It’s an honor to meet you. The weather’s still chilly, isn’t it? I heard you just got back from Taiwan, so it must feel especially cold.”

Before any negotiation, you need ice-breaking. Weather talk is standard.

“Well, so-so. Tell me, is there some rule here that everyone has to speak formally in the meeting room? Or do you really not remember me, Hyunjae?”

Right away, a fastball. She brushed aside my weather talk with a single so-so. My palms were damp with sweat.

I glanced at the Onion bracelet, but nothing. Neither fragrance nor stench. So this wasn’t a crisis or an opportunity yet? But what if I said I didn’t remember and she exploded?

What then? Lie? Say I did remember? I’m not against lying per se, but experience told me lying here would only make things worse.

“I must apologize. If I’d ever met someone as beautiful and charismatic as you, I couldn’t possibly have forgotten. Perhaps there’s been some mistake…”

She sighed loudly and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Ha… stop lying, Hyunjae.”

Her tone and expression suddenly changed.

“What?”

I was being honest—so why call it a lie? Wasn’t it that I forgot her? But no—that wasn’t the part she called a lie.

“Beautiful and charismatic? If you really thought so, you would’ve dated me instead of Sora. Remember how I chased after you, and you coldly ignored me?”

“…What?!”

“Why do you keep going, ‘What? What?’ I’m right, aren’t I? You never thought much of me. That’s why you forgot my face.”

I wondered if I was hallucinating. Was this a dream? She once chased me? No way. I wasn’t shameless enough to dream things like that.

Back in the AMD days, my happiest dream was just lazing in bed all day. That was my idea of luxury.

To be sure, I pinched my thigh hard. It hurt like hell.

Jua continued:

“I didn’t know you became a manager. Saw it in the news. You really haven’t changed at all.”

Jo Minsu stared at me, jaw dropped. His eyes said:

What the hell are you, really?

“Anyway, just watch, Hyunjae. I’ll prove how amazing I am.”

And at that moment, a violet flower bloomed from the Onion ring.

—

“Hey, Hyunjae. Just say it straight. I’m amazing, right? Better than Im Yujoo, aren’t I?”

Her flushed cheeks, eyes brimming with tears… On screen, Jua in an elegant gown stared at me intently.

That dress… is this some kind of awards ceremony?

She shouted:

“Look at me now! Tell me properly, out loud!”