Chapter 16: The Struggles of a Writer. (2)
“What? You two know each other?” Kim Min-ho gaped, incredulous, as they called each other by name.
“Damn it, what the hell…” he muttered, then pointed at Baek Seung-woo. “Hey! Are you doing this or not? Speak!”
Baek Seung-woo stood, bowing to Kim Si-woo. “I’m not doing it. Sorry, Si-woo.”
The other men followed suit, standing and refusing Kim Min-ho’s orders.
“If hyungnim’s not doing it, I’m out too,” one said.
“Same here!” another chimed in.
Snorting at their defiance, Kim Min-ho pulled out his phone and made a call.
“Fine, that’s how you want to play it? Guess I have no choice.”
Ring, ring.
“Hey, hyungnim, the guys aren’t listening. Yeah, yeah. Hold on. Oi, big guy, take the phone.”
Baek Seung-woo grabbed the phone Kim Min-ho thrust at him.
“Yes, this is Baek Seung-woo.”
- What’s going on? I told you to keep that guy happy. You know how much money he spends here.
“He wants us to beat up my friend.”
- Friend? What friend?
“My college friend. We even had drinks together recently…”
- Sigh… can’t you work something out?
The caller was the club’s owner.
“He’s a tough one. I don’t think it’ll work,” Baek Seung-woo replied.
- Fine, fine. You’re done for the night. Go home.
“Thank you, boss.”
Handing the phone back, Baek Seung-woo watched as Kim Min-ho, rejected even by the owner, furiously hurled his phone against the wall.
Crash!
“Damn bastards!” Kim Min-ho shouted. “Fine, whoever makes this punk kneel gets 100 million won!”
He resorted to money to solve the problem.
“100 million?” one of the men echoed.
Even for friends, 100 million was tempting, and the men’s eyes—except Baek Seung-woo’s—began to waver.
“First come, first served. I’m only paying one of you, so make him kneel now!”
Spurred by the promise of a reward, the bouncers, minus Baek Seung-woo, prepared to charge.
“Sorry, hyungnim!” one shouted.
Thud!
A punch landed with a sickening sound—but it wasn’t Kim Si-woo’s face. It was Kim Min-ho’s. As the bouncers lunged, Kim Si-woo, who’d been ready to bolt, grabbed a wet towel, wrapped it around his hand, and struck Kim Min-ho’s face.
“Ugh!” Kim Min-ho, unprepared for the blow, staggered and fell.
“Kyaa!” the women screamed, fleeing the room.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kim Si-woo slipped out. The sparse second floor made his escape easy.
“Huff… huff…” he panted, catching his breath outside.
Bzzz.
His phone vibrated, and Shim Ji-young’s name flashed on the screen.
“Oh, crap!”
Checking the time, he realized the 30-minute mark he’d set had just passed, recalling his words: “If I don’t contact you in 30 minutes, call the cops.”
He hurriedly answered to check if she’d reported anything.
“Noona! Did you call the police?”
- No, I was about to if you didn’t pick up.
“Phew… thank god. I’m heading to the car now.”
- Okay.
Relieved it hadn’t escalated to a movie-like police call, Kim Si-woo shuddered at the thought of a worse scenario. He hadn’t realized Kim Min-ho was this unhinged when he decided to come to the club. It was reckless.
‘All because of my stupid pride…’
As he berated himself, Baek Seung-woo, who’d also escaped, approached with an apology.
“Sorry, man. It’s usually just errands, not this…”
“Don’t sweat it, punk. Come with me.”
Understanding Baek Seung-woo’s position, Kim Si-woo treated him as usual.
“Why?” Baek Seung-woo asked.
“Why? I need a witness, dumbass!”
To prove Kim Min-ho tried to harm him, Kim Si-woo needed both the recording and a witness. He had no intention of publicizing the incident, though. With the movie’s release approaching, it wouldn’t help, and technically, Kim Min-ho was the one who got hit, making him the bigger victim. Kim Min-ho likely wouldn’t report it either—filing a report would risk exposing his own actions.
“At least I didn’t break his nose, so it’s fine, right?” Kim Si-woo mused, hoping makeup could cover any bruises, as a broken bone would be harder to hide.
Arriving at Shim Ji-young’s car, the door slid open before he could knock, and she rushed out to check him.
“You okay? No injuries?”
Her concern felt like that of an older sister.
“I’m fine. Let’s talk in the car.”
“Okay… who’s the guy behind you?”
“Oh, my friend. Also a witness to this mess. You remember our bet, right?”
Baek Seung-woo, unfazed by Shim Ji-young despite seeing celebrities often at the club, climbed into the van. Kim Si-woo recounted everything: Kim Min-ho’s fake friendliness, forcing him to drink whiskey, ordering the bouncers to attack, and how he’d punched Kim Min-ho and escaped. Shim Ji-young, furious, started smacking his back.
“Ow! You idiot! You should’ve called me or the police! And you hit Kim Min-ho and ran? Are you crazy? What is this, a movie?!”
“Argh! Stop hitting me!”
“You deserve more!”
Her slaps stung so much that Kim Si-woo wondered if getting beaten by Kim Min-ho would’ve hurt less. After calming down, Shim Ji-young cursed Kim Min-ho in a steadier tone.
“That Kim Min-ho is a complete psycho…”
“Well… if he’s smart, he won’t report or sue. He’s got way more to lose than me.”
“You’re right about that…” Shim Ji-young nodded.
“And don’t worry. Even if he tries to sue, there’s no evidence,”
Kim Si-woo said, pulling a wet towel from his pocket.
“I wrapped my fist in this when I hit him. There won’t be any trace of me on his face.”
Shim Ji-young, seeing him proudly display the towel, lost any urge to keep smacking him.
“Fine… I lost. You win. Good job,” she said, exhausted.
Too tired to argue, she told her manager to drive to a nearby hotel, and they arrived quickly.
“I booked a room for you. Go sleep with your friend. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”
“Thanks. So, I won the bet, right?”
“Ugh! Just go!” Shim Ji-young snapped.
Kicked out of the van, Kim Si-woo entered the hotel room, showered, and collapsed onto the bed. Turning to Baek Seung-woo, sprawled beside him, he spoke casually.
“Hey, Seung-woo.”
“What?”
“You think you’re fired from the club now?”
“Dunno. I’ll have to talk to the boss.”
“If you get fired, let me know. I’ll help you out.”
“Nah, I’m good, punk.”
Kim Si-woo was sincere, but Baek Seung-woo brushed it off as a joke.
“By the way, you said you got a job at a security firm. Is the club part of that? Pfft.”
Baek Seung-woo chuckled and shared his story. After graduating, a professor from the security department recommended him to a security firm. While working, he was scouted by the club’s owner, who took a liking to him during a gig.
“Scouted, huh? So you ended up as Kim Min-ho’s errand boy? Hahaha!” Kim Si-woo teased.
“Yeah, jerk. That money bought your drinks, so shut it. Weren’t you unemployed until recently?”
“Thanks, punk. I’m a writer now, so don’t get cocky.”
Their banter continued late into the night.
***
The next day, surprisingly, nothing happened. Well, except for the audition hell awaiting Kim Si-woo.
At 7:30 a.m., after breakfast, his phone rang with Shim Ji-young’s name. He answered in a weary voice.
“Hello?”
- Be downstairs in 30 minutes.
“…”
- Answer!
“Fine…”
Hanging up, Kim Si-woo sighed deeply, threw on yesterday’s clothes, and got ready.
“Yo, I’m heading out,” he told Baek Seung-woo.
“See ya.”
“If you quit the club, let me know. I’ll treat you to a full-course meal.”
“Get lost.”
“Pfft.”
Stepping outside, Shim Ji-young’s van pulled up to the hotel entrance.
“Hello,” he greeted the manager.
“Hi.”
Climbing in, he saw Shim Ji-young looking as exhausted as he felt.
“You look tired, noona.”
“Try being my age…”
“Haha…”
At the audition venue, Han Seung-jin and Kang Jin-soo looked equally drained, likely from drinking long after Kim Si-woo and Shim Ji-young left.
“Everyone’s here? Let’s do this,” Han Seung-jin said.
“Yeah…” Kim Si-woo mumbled.
The auditions ran differently today. Candidates skipped introductions and went straight to performing, which some actors might’ve resented for limiting their chance to shine. But it was necessary—the judges would’ve collapsed otherwise.
Still, they didn’t skimp on evaluations. Judging purely on acting without knowing backgrounds or resumes made the process cleaner. Two more days passed, and the grueling auditions finally ended.
Over 3,000 applicants, but fewer than 10 would land major or supporting roles, with under 30 including extras.
“Picking from these is gonna be tough…” Kim Si-woo muttered.
Even after the auditions, some roles had multiple strong candidates.
“How about we each pick our favorites? Or discuss here?” Han Seung-jin suggested.
- Let’s pick separately.
Everyone agreed.
“Alright. Ji-young, you take these. I’ll handle those. Jin-soo, you get those. And the rest…”
“That’s me,” Kim Si-woo interjected.
Han Seung-jin gave a thumbs-up and a wink.
“Exactly! Send your choices by text as soon as possible. Now, let’s go home.”
Finally, time to return home. After three days away, Kim Si-woo was beyond exhausted. Shim Ji-young’s manager had provided fresh clothes, sparing him from wearing the same outfit, but he just wanted to rest at home.
In the car, Shim Ji-young spoke first.
“You know Revenger premieres this week, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You going?”
“Nope. No way. I don’t want to see that psycho’s face.”
She nodded, understanding.
“Have you thought about who to cast?”
“Nah, I’ll look over the options at home. Why’d the president dump so much on me?”
“He trusts and respects you. Probably feels guilty for his harsh words on the first day too.”
“Sigh… if he’s sorry, he should do it himself.”
But Han Seung-jin’s assignments were strategic. Shim Ji-young got roles closely tied to her character. Kang Jin-soo handled minor but visible parts. Han Seung-jin took roles without his agency’s actors for fairness. Kim Si-woo got everything else.
As they talked, they reached Kim Si-woo’s place.
“Let’s hit the department store sometime, future famous writer.”
“Sure, noona. Thanks for everything. Get home safe. You too, manager.”
A week later, as Shim Ji-young predicted, Revenger was a massive hit, and Kim Si-woo was quickly becoming known as a rising star writer.
TFTC really enjoying this!
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