Chapter 9: Unemployed Shut-In. Becomes a Writer? (9)
Kim Si-woo’s mind was flooded with negative thoughts about Kim Min-ho after hearing his snide remark.
‘Why’s that jerk picking a fight with me again? I’d love to wipe that smug look off his face.’
Those thoughts slipped out naturally.
“Sigh… if you weren’t a celebrity, you’d have been beaten to a pulp on the street.”
“What did you say, you punk?” Kim Min-ho, his face flushed from drinking, stormed toward Kim Si-woo’s table, visibly agitated.
“Hey, come here!”
Snorting and pointing, Kim Min-ho provoked further, but Kim Si-woo doubled down.
“You’re already here, so why keep yelling for me to come? Are you even an actor? How do you memorize lines with that brain?”
“Stop it, Min-ho! Si-woo, you too!” Shim Ji-young intervened, grabbing Kim Min-ho’s wrist to stop him, but he roughly shook her off.
“Kyaa!”
“Noona!” Kim Si-woo leapt up to catch Shim Ji-young as she stumbled.
“You little…”
Despite Kim Min-ho towering over him, Kim Si-woo’s presence felt more intimidating. As the tension threatened to escalate into a physical fight, Shim Ji-young called for Kim Min-ho’s manager, and others rushed to separate them.
“Manager! Where’s Kim Min-ho’s manager?”
“Writer, please calm down.”
“Min-ho, let’s go.”
Kim Min-ho was dragged out of the restaurant, while Kim Si-woo returned to his seat, trying to cool off.
“Ugh… what a mood killer…”
He set down the piece of meat he’d picked up and scratched his head.
“Writer! What happened?” Kim Ji-hyun, arriving late, rushed over to him.
“Ji-hyun, why’re you so late?” Shim Ji-young asked.
“Sorry, sunbaenim. I forgot my phone at home…”
“No, it’s fine. If you’d been here, it might’ve been an even bigger mess.”
“What happened…?”
Shim Ji-young recounted everything, from Kim Min-ho’s initial provocation to the recent incident, leaving Kim Ji-hyun shocked.
“It almost turned into a huge fight.”
“Seriously… I’m just glad no one got hurt,” Kim Ji-hyun said, assuming Kim Si-woo would’ve been the one beaten up due to his pushover image. Unbeknownst to her, Kim Si-woo’s athletic prowess was near professional-level. A security major in college, he’d trained in various martial arts and could easily overpower someone like Kim Min-ho, who only knew acting. Though, ironically, he’d graduated from a different department.
Oblivious to this, Kim Ji-hyun moved to sit beside him, concerned he was hurt emotionally.
“Writer, are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. No big deal. Haha. Sit, have some meat—it’s ready.”
The scowl on Kim Si-woo’s face vanished, replaced by a bright smile at Kim Ji-hyun’s arrival.
“Wow, Kim Si-woo, really…” Shim Ji-young muttered.
“What? Noona, sit down too. Let’s finish eating.”
“Uh… sure.”
The others at different tables, as if the fight never happened, returned to their meals. Shim Ji-young and Kim Si-woo resumed discussing the new script.
“So, it’s about a mother avenging her daughter’s suicide?”
“Yeah. I know it’s another revenge story, but I couldn’t think of a better action plot to fit your image change.”
“That’s fine. I’ll know more when I read it tomorrow.”
Kim Ji-hyun, unable to join their conversation, just watched them with wide eyes, glancing back and forth.
“Are we leaving Ji-hyun out too much?” Shim Ji-young asked.
“Ji-hyun, want to know what we’re talking about?” Kim Si-woo added.
“Yes!”
She’d picked up that they were discussing a project, and as an actress, she was naturally curious.
“I wrote a new script at Ji-young noona’s request, and I just finished it today. That’s what we’re talking about.”
“What? Wait, when did you write it?”
“About two months.”
Kim Ji-hyun clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. Kim Si-woo waved it off, downplaying it.
“It hasn’t even been reviewed yet.”
“Still, in just two months… No wonder you look so worn out…”
With Kim Ji-hyun marking the third person to comment on his appearance, it was clear he looked rough. Afterward, he kept drinking the soju Shim Ji-young and Kim Ji-hyun poured for him.
***
The next afternoon
Kim Si-woo woke up after a rare deep sleep—or rather, he’d passed out from drinking. Just as he tried to go back to sleep, his phone rang.
“Ugh… who is it?”
Grumbling, he checked the screen.
“Oh… what’s up?”
[Lovely Ji-young Noona]
“Hello?”
- What’re you doing? You coming or not?
“Oh, right, the salon!”
- What? You just woke up?
“Yeah… sorry. It’s been a while since I slept so well.”
Shim Ji-young sighed, telling him to take his time. Kim Si-woo quickly got ready, went downstairs, and knocked on the door of her van. It slid open, revealing Shim Ji-young’s annoyed expression.
Vrrrm.
“You’re hopeless. Did you bring the script?”
“Here. But someone kept pouring me drinks…”
As Kim Si-woo handed Shim Ji-young the printed script, she ignored his comment, flashed a delighted smile, and dove into reading it.
“Hello, Writer.”
“Oh, hello!”
“Alright, unnie, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
After greeting Shim Ji-young’s manager, they headed to a small hair salon in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam, Seoul. Shim Ji-young didn’t take her eyes off the script the entire ride.
“Just sit still today,” she told Kim Si-woo.
“Huh?”
At the salon, the modest interior and staff welcomed them warmly.
“Oh, Actress! Welcome!”
“Hey, hi. I made a reservation—where’s the head stylist?”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Shim Ji-young exchanged familiar greetings and asked for the head stylist.
“Actress Shim, you’re here?” the head stylist said.
“Don’t call me that, it’s cringey! Anyway, take good care of this guy today. He’s going to be famous.”
“Hm? A rookie actor? Though he looks pretty worn out…”
“Pfft!” Shim Ji-young burst out laughing at the comment about Kim Si-woo looking “worn out.”
“Hey… noona?” Kim Si-woo gritted his teeth, glaring at her.
“Oh, sorry, I couldn’t help it. He’s not sick, just tired, so make him look good,” she said, stifling her laughter.
“Got it. Come this way,” the stylist directed.
“Okay…” Kim Si-woo followed.
Seated, the head stylist examined his hair and asked about his preferred style.
“Nah, just cut it however.”
“You sure? I’ll do whatever I want then.”
“Go for it.”
With no one special to meet, Kim Si-woo didn’t care about his hairstyle and left it to the stylist. For some reason, the stylist’s eyes lit up with determination, barking orders to the staff.
“Here we go again, that stylist obsession,” Shim Ji-young muttered, shaking her head as she read the script.
It was a stylist thing—sometimes, when a client casually mentioned going home to sleep after a haircut, it felt like a challenge to their craft. They’d pour their heart into styling to ensure the client didn’t just waste a good look on sleep. The head stylist, ignited by Kim Si-woo’s indifference, was no different.
‘What’s happening… this is kinda scary…’ Kim Si-woo thought, unnerved by the intensity.
Meanwhile, Shim Ji-young, engrossed in the script, got goosebumps.
‘Did he really write this in two months? I knew he was good after Revenger, but this is…’
She glanced at Kim Si-woo, who looked tense.
‘How did he only discover this talent now?’
‘And why’s he so nervous?’
‘If he showed even half the confidence he had with me or Kim Min-ho, he’d be so much more charming.’
‘Well, a big success will probably change that.’
Though she hadn’t finished reading, Shim Ji-young was already convinced. This film would be a hit. The script was engaging and gripping. Her next steps were clear.
While she made calls, two hours passed, and Kim Si-woo’s shaggy hair transformed into a sleek, permed style—far beyond what a 50,000-won local salon could achieve.
“What do you think? Looks good, right?” the stylist asked.
“Yeah…” Kim Si-woo replied sincerely, genuinely impressed.
Satisfied with his reaction, the stylist smiled proudly and turned to Shim Ji-young.
“Unnie, should we do makeup too?”
“Yeah, go all out.”
“Wait, makeup? For a guy?” Kim Si-woo protested, starting to stand.
“Men wear makeup these days. Sit still,” the stylist said, playfully smacking his shoulder.
“Fine…” He gave in, figuring he could wash it off at home.
But instead of home, he found himself at a photo studio.
“Uh… noona?”
“What?”
“Why photos…?”
“You look like you’re always cooped up at home. We got your hair and makeup done—going straight home would be a waste. Days like this call for photos, don’t they?”
“Uh… yeah.”
He couldn’t argue. The hair and makeup had cost nearly a million won. Going home now would be like throwing that money away.
‘They put a ton of product in my hair…’
Reluctantly, he followed Shim Ji-young’s lead, taking ID photos and various shots, including some with her.
“Send the files to my email,” she told the photographer.
“Yes, Actress.”
Kim Si-woo thought they were done and headed home, but he was wrong. It was just the beginning.
After the studio, they visited a designer Shim Ji-young knew to order custom business cards for Kim Si-woo, then hit a department store, where she bought him a luxury suit.
“Isn’t this… too expensive?” he asked.
“Think of it as payment for the script.”
“But we haven’t even signed a contract. What if it flops?”
“If it flops, I won’t blame you. That’d mean my instincts were off, and I’m a bad actress.”
Her resolute tone made Kim Si-woo feel both grateful for her trust and anxious about the possibility of failure.
Fully styled—hair, makeup, photos, business cards, and a suit—Kim Si-woo’s final stop was Shim Ji-young’s agency, Triple Actors.