Episode 89: Debut Team (3)
To be perfectly honest,
I had already expected that Zia would eventually end up under BNW.
‘Lee Ahjeong isn’t called the “Seo Yoonje of the acting world” for nothing.’
The one thing every actor and actress in the future “Lee Ahjeong division” (BNW) has in common is that they were unknowns until Ahjeong spotted them and handed them an opportunity worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Since Ahjeong herself said, “I want to act alongside Zia,” it was only natural to assume that if Zia kept acting, BNW would be the one to manage her.
But the timing is way, way too fast.
Both the recruitment and the debut.
‘Zia… is going to be the lead in Ahjeong-sunbae’s music video…?’
Music videos generally come in two types:
1. Performance-focused, showing off the album’s world-building through mise-en-scène,
2. Story-driven, unfolding a narrative that fits the song.
Lee Ahjeong’s music videos are almost always the latter.
Not only are there hardly any songs in her discography (after debut) that suit pure performance, but more importantly, she can always cast any actor she wants because she herself is already an A-list actress.
How many times have people said, “They got this insane cast just for a music video?”
And now that very opportunity has landed right in front of Zia.
“Before we go any further, Director Song, you should introduce yourself. These two haven’t met you yet, right?”
“Ah, my apologies. I’ve heard so much about Yujin-ssi from Ahjeong that I unconsciously felt like we were already close. Nice to meet you, Yujin-ssi. I’m Song Tak.”
Right—Song Tak. That was the name.
The man who began his career as Lee Ahjeong’s manager and eventually became the CEO of BNW—a major agency even though it’s technically a MyWay subsidiary.
Because the “face” of the company, Lee Ahjeong, is so overwhelmingly famous, most people only know him by reputation. He hands me his business card with a smile.
[MyWay Entertainment]
[Management Team]
[Director Song Tak]
The title is the same as Bong Cheol-jin’s—“Director”—but since he oversees MyWay’s absolute VVVIP, Lee Ahjeong, he’s far from an ordinary director.
“This is the card I should be using now, but… for Yujin-ssi, I think I need to show you the other one.”
Proof that he’s no ordinary director follows immediately after.
[BNW Entertainment]
[CEO Song Tak]
Seeing the new business card makes the weight of the opportunity coming Zia’s way hit me even harder.
“BNW…”
I unconsciously mutter the name.
“Yes. Short for Brand New World. It’s going to be Ahjeong’s new nest.”
“Hmm. Yujin-ssi isn’t very surprised? Did you already know? Who told you?”
Song Tak answers my mumble with a brief explanation, and Lee Ahjeong adds in her usual playful tone.
“Well, considering the size of sunbae-nim’s team and the fact that everyone expected you to go independent with a one-person agency sooner or later… though I figured it would still be a subsidiary of MyWay, not a complete split.”
“Why did you think that?”
“If sunbae-nim were going fully independent, neither I nor the Hylliy seniors would still be in that building.”
“You figured it out from that? This is exactly why I hate quick-witted old souls. There’s no fun in teasing you.”
It’s just an excuse I threw together to cover the fact that I accepted BNW’s existence too naturally, but luckily it seems to have worked.
Thanks to Lee Ahjeong keeping the mood light the whole time, the slight discomfort I was giving off seems to have faded a bit as well.
“Yes. As Yujin-ssi guessed, BNW is indeed a MyWay subsidiary. So you don’t have to worry about Yujin-ssi’s music activities. Ahjeong’s music will continue to be handled by MyWay.”
While Lee Ahjeong makes an OK sign with her thumb and index finger,
“But your guess about it being a one-person agency was wrong. As long as MyWay continues to handle Ahjeong’s music activities, having the staff who move to BNW only take care of half her workload would be a waste of manpower, wouldn’t it?”
“So BNW will be an agency that specializes in actors. And Zia will be the first—no, technically the second—talent we take on.”
“I know it sounds like I’m bragging, but… we’ve accumulated quite a bit of know-how working alongside Ahjeong. BNW may not be officially launched yet,” Song Tak adds with a smile, “but we’re confident.”
I know very well that it won’t take long for that confidence to become reality.
Which means—if this proposal to cast Zia in Love Fortune’s music video and bring her into BNW is truly sincere—then Zia’s acting debut will be a royal road that won’t lose even an inch to Polaris’s debut in my previous life.
The fact that Song Tak is being this proactive also proves that this isn’t just Lee Ahjeong’s personal whim; it’s the unanimous decision of the entire BNW camp.
So now I have to ask.
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
The “help” Lee Ahjeong mentioned earlier.
I can think of two possibilities.
“Do you want me to convince Zia? Or… do you want me to hide the fact that we’re dating?”
If it’s the former, I’ll gladly do it.
All the textbook arguments like “She’s an adult, how can I interfere with her career path?” became meaningless the moment I encouraged her to act in the first place.
More than anything, I know there is currently no better option for Zia than BNW.
If she decides to keep acting, signing with BNW isn’t something that needs persuading; it’s the absolute top priority.
The problem Is the latter.
I already know full well that, for a rookie actress, having a boyfriend is rarely a plus.
In fact, one of the reasons I accepted the “marriage after Grand Prize” condition in the first place was precisely because of that.
But could I really stay calm and accept it if it actually happened? That’s something I can’t confidently say yes to.
Yet,
“Mmm… what should I do? Neither, actually.”
Lee Ahjeong’s answer slightly exceeds my expectations.
“Now that I think about it, Yujin-ssi, you made Zia’s existence public but kept all her personal details strictly secret. That definitely has merit. If things continue like this, people will probably whisper that she got in through connections. But you don’t need to worry about that, Yujin-ssi. Keeping it secret for a little while longer is fine, but very soon, the existence of a boyfriend or any ‘connection’ won’t matter at all. Zia has more than enough talent and charm for that.”
Of course, to me Zia is the most lovable actress in the world, but because I can’t completely remove my personal feelings, I can’t be sure others will see her the same way.
That’s why I can’t quite understand why Lee Ahjeong is so certain, so I stay silent.
“And the former… is actually the opposite.”
She drops every trace of playfulness and speaks in an incredibly serious voice.
“I want you to just… watch this time, Yujin-ssi.”
The heavy, sunken look in her eyes is one I’ve never seen even in my previous life.
***
“You’re home?”
As soon as I step inside, Zia’s bright voice greets me.
“You’re early today.”
“Yep! Unnie said she had something to do at the company, so we finished after lunch.”
“No wonder. I ran into sunbae at the office.”
“You saw unnie?”
“Just in passing. We only said hi.”
I don’t like lying to Zia, but Lee Ahjeong’s “request” had been so convincing that today’s entire meeting had to be treated as if it never happened.
“Zia tends to lean on you a little too much, Yujin-ssi. You know that, right?”
Lee Ahjeong’s voice brushes past my mind.
“I think it’s perfectly fine for lovers to lean on each other. It’s obvious you lean on her just as much. It’s not one-sided clinging; you’re both positively influencing each other’s futures while walking side by side. That’s truly beautiful.”
That is exactly the everyday life with Zia that I’ve always wanted.
“But… that’s exactly why this decision, more than any other, has to be made by Zia herself, without leaning on you, Yujin-ssi. Especially if she’s going to continue acting long-term.”
However, the possibility Lee Ahjeong raised was something I had never even considered.
“Zia’s starting point is a little twisted right now. At this moment, she’s only acting ‘because Yujin-ssi wants to see it.’ Of course, if her acting career goes smoothly, that’s fine. If one day she falls in love with acting on her own, even better. The problem is If she hits a wall before that happens. Something you started for someone else’s sake can sometimes become an even stronger motivation… but it can also be abandoned just as easily.”
I couldn’t deny it.
The despair that crushed me right before I regressed was exactly that kind of feeling.
“That’s why I want to give Zia the experience of choosing this for herself. I want her to have the trigger of ‘I want to do this,’ not ‘Yujin-ssi wants to see me do it.’ So the persuasion has to come purely from BNW.”
“But… isn’t persuasion from you and BNW basically the same thing…?”
“It’s different. Neither I nor anyone else in the world combined could ever influence Zia as much as you do. That’s just… what love is.”
Even thinking about it again, I can’t shake the feeling that Lee Ahjeong completely outplayed me.
‘Though I’m sure she didn’t mean to.’
Thanks to the regression, I had no choice but to admit she was right, so for this matter alone I had to step back and accept the role of “the pillar she can lean on when things get tough.”
“Zia-ya.”
“Hm?”
And that choice was probably the right one.
“Do you enjoy acting?”
“Huh? Um… a little?”
Watching Zia, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the script once since I got home, made me think that.
“Of course our job at BNW is to make sure nothing like that ever happens… but there’s always the ‘what if.’”
I hope, just like Ahjeong said, that day never comes.
But if an unavoidable trial does come, I suddenly wished Zia wouldn’t collapse as easily as I once did.
“How long do you want to keep doing it?”
I asked, wanting to give her a new goal that wasn’t just “achieving my dream through me.”
Tak!
“Sigh… You heard it from unnie, didn’t you.”
Zia drops the script on the table with a thud and glares at me playfully.
“Huh?”
Something’s off.
‘Didn’t she say she hasn’t told Zia yet?’
She clearly said they’d only move forward after confirming my stance.
I’m so flustered I can’t answer right away and just stammer, and Zia sighs again.
“You did hear it. I knew it. I could tell you were lying earlier.”
She mumbles, then continues,
“So you came straight here after hearing from unnie that I came home early.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, come on, don’t play dumb now that you’ve been caught. Typical Han Yujin. I was wondering why you were so quiet last night.”
“W-wait—”
“Fine, fine. Noona will pretend she doesn’t know, so go wash up quick. But not too long tonight, okay? I’m still a little tired.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Not what? It’s written all over your face. By the way, it’s weird. They say men calm down with time, but… seven, eight years still isn’t enough? Or is it because you’re still in your twenties…?”
She just pushes me straight into the bathroom.
Wait.
This is a huge misunderstanding.
No, seriously, that’s not it at all!