Chapter 81: Round Two (2)
When Si-woo went down to the Siwoo Film practice room, Lee Yoo-jin was waiting by the entrance with a thick stack of papers.
“You’re here?”
“Where are the kids?”
“They’re waiting inside.”
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
Together, they opened the practice room door—and inside, all the Siwoo Film actors sat stiffly, eyes locked on Si-woo with nervous anticipation.
“Alright… let’s begin.”
Si-woo and Yoo-jin took seats at the prepared table.
“Who wants to go first?”
At his question, the actor sitting furthest to the left—Choi Ha-rang—raised her hand.
“I’ll go first.”
“Good. We’ll start with the female supporting role. Ha-rang, begin whenever you’re ready. And I’ll say this again: this isn’t practice. This is the real thing. There won’t be a second try.”
“Yes!”
The reminder that there would be no second chances made everyone swallow hard.
“Then I’ll begin.”
“Go ahead.”
The playful, joking actors they normally were had vanished—replaced with sharp, serious concentration.
Choi Ha-rang stepped forward to the center, took a moment to settle her emotions, and began her performance.
“Hey—sir! I’m telling you, this time it’s real, okay? I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Please, just trust me once! Please?”
She was portraying Park Yeon-soo, the female support character in the new drama Celebrity Secret Rescue Team.
A former idol who had once been tormented by malicious comments, Yeon-soo is saved by the protagonist—and from then on devotes herself to helping him prevent other celebrities from taking their own lives.
Her natural personality was bright, mischievous, and somewhat chaotic, yet when it came to singing and dancing, she showed a stark, professional seriousness—a strong contrast that was part of her charm.
When Ha-rang finished her acting, Si-woo quietly wrote down her score, then asked:
“Are your singing and dance pieces ready?”
“Yes!”
Yoo-jin played the track she had prepared in advance.
Ha-rang began singing and dancing in rhythm—performing to a current idol group’s song.
Her skill level was clearly high.
So she really did train as an idol… she’s on a different level.
She wasn’t at the level of top-tier dancers or vocalists, but she held her own in both categories convincingly.
“Huff… huff… thank you.”
“Well done. Next.”
Si-woo proceeded to evaluate each actor one by one.
Their acting was generally strong—it was expected from actors with formal training.
But this role required more than acting.
Because the drama involved singing and dancing scenes, candidates needed a basic competency in both.
Some actors had great acting but weak singing/dancing.
Others had solid all-around talent but didn’t match the visual image of the role.
By the end:
“The female supporting role is decided.”
Only one person matched acting + singing + dancing + image perfectly:
Choi Ha-rang.
“Let’s quickly finish selecting the male supporting role.”
“Yes.”
Unlike the female role, the male supporting role did not require singing or dancing.
The male character, Park Jae-ho, was a police officer—the protagonist’s friend who had just passed the police exam and joined a precinct.
He constantly grumbles about the protagonist’s frequent emergency calls, but always shows up to help.
“Alright, let’s begin the male supporting role auditions.”
One by one, the male actors stepped forward and performed.
The role was a fairly straightforward police character.
Unlike the female role, the image for this character wasn’t narrowly defined.
As long as the acting was solid, most candidates could fit the part.
Which created a new problem—
“Competition for the male role is fierce.”
“No kidding.”
After the auditions, Yoo-jin voiced exactly what Si-woo was thinking.
Si-woo clicked his pen repeatedly, deep in thought.
“Let’s send the kids home first.”
“Yes.”
Yoo-jin notified the actors that results would be sent by text, then dismissed them.
“They’re gone.”
“Good. Let’s decide.”
The two sat down again, carefully reviewing their notes.
A supporting role in a major network drama.
For a rookie actor, there was no greater opportunity.
Because they knew how important this chance was, neither Si-woo nor Yoo-jin could choose lightly.
“This is exhausting… maybe I should just give up…”
“What? What do you mean by give up!!!”
At Si-woo’s sudden comment about quitting, Lee Yoo-jin shot to her feet in shock.
“No, I just said it because choosing is too hard.”
“E-even as a joke, please don’t say things like that… You scared me. You’re the kind of person who might actually do it!”
“Maybe… But more importantly—why do you keep switching between polite and casual speech? You bounce back and forth nonstop.”
“I-I don’t know… it just happens…”
“Alright, do whatever’s comfortable for you. I was just curious if there was a reason.”
After another hour of discussion, Si-woo and Yoo-jin finally selected the male supporting actor.
“Whew… finally done. I’ll call the ones who passed myself. You notify the others.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“Good work today. This is a bonus.”
Si-woo took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Yoo-jin.
“What? For me?”
“You’re the one doing the real work all the time. Buy some nice clothes or a bag, get something good to eat, or save it. Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Y-Yes…”
When Si-woo left the room, Yoo-jin opened the thick envelope—and inside were stacks of shimmering 50,000-won bills.
“H-how many…?”
Two hundred bills.
“Ten… million won?”
It was an enormous amount for something he casually called a bonus.
But Si-woo had a purpose: he didn’t want Yoo-jin to be looked down on anywhere.
In this industry, people judged you instantly by what you wore.
***
A Few Days Later
Si-woo called the two selected actors—Choi Ha-rang and Lee Jae-goo—and both could barely stop thanking him over the phone.
And today, Si-woo had yet another interview lined up.
This time, it was for Hong Soo-yeon’s manager position.
“I feel like I’ve been doing interviews and auditions nonstop lately… I’m exhausted.”
“You should rest, Oppa. Aren’t you working too much?”
“…Says the girl who sleeps less than six hours a day.”
“Really? Do I?”
The irony made Si-woo sigh. He slept more than Soo-yeon did, yet she was the one telling him to rest.
“Anyway, the most important thing today is your opinion. If you like someone, say so. If you don’t, say you don’t. Understand?”
“Yes!”
A little while later, the first candidate—someone introduced by Kim Si-woo’s younger brother Kim Seung-oh—arrived at the Siwoo Film office.
“Yoo-jin, take them in one by one in the order they arrive.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“This way, please…”
Si-woo entered his office with the first candidate.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello!”
Kim Si-woo asked her name, checked her résumé, looked over her profile, and asked various questions to gauge whether she could handle manager duties well.
One by one, candidates came in.
By the time the fourth candidate entered, Si-woo noticed she was smaller in height but solidly built—clearly someone with an athletic background.
“Hello. My name is Chae Yu-hyun.”
“Hello, please have a seat.”
He found her application and scanned through it.
Unlike the others, her qualifications were minimal—only a standard driver’s license.
But something else caught his eye.
She was the only current third-year university student, and her awards list was staggering.
Up until high school, she had won gold medals in nearly every competition and had even been selected as a national reserve athlete.
“Your awards are impressive… Are you no longer competing?”
“Ah… I had an injury. My skills have dropped too much for me to continue professionally.”
“I see… But with this kind of background, wouldn’t becoming a coach or opening your own gym be better?”
“I want to make a lot of money right now.”
“Very honest. Then… how do you plan to handle university? You’re still a third-year student.”
“If you choose me, I’m even willing to withdraw from school.”
Si-woo looked at Chae Yu-hyun once, then turned to Hong Soo-yeon.
He signaled for Soo-yeon to ask questions, but she shook her head—asking questions to someone older than her seemed too intimidating.
“Actor Hong Soo-yeon next to me is twenty, so she’s younger, but she’s still an actress. There will be many situations where the manager must watch over her. Will that be okay?”
“Yes! Absolutely.”
“If you ever mistreat her or look down on her, I can fire you on the spot.”
“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind.”
After a few more questions, Si-woo handed her an envelope.
“This is your interview fee. Thank you for coming all the way to Seoul during the semester.”
“Um… does that mean I failed?”
“No. This is separate from that. You came through my brother’s introduction, so I’m giving this to you personally. Just use it to treat yourself to something good.”
“Thank you.”
When the tenth interview ended, Si-woo found that among them all, the fourth candidate—Chae Yu-hyun—stood out the most.
“Yu-hyun left the strongest impression… Soo-yeon, who did you like the most?”
“I also think Ms. Chae Yu-hyun would take care of me the best.”
“If your manager ever stops looking after you or mistreats you, you have to tell me right away. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Si-woo worried that the kind-hearted Soo-yeon might get pushed around.
He had already witnessed firsthand how Kim Ji-hyun had been neglected by her own manager despite being extremely popular at the time. If that could happen to Ji-hyun, there was no guarantee something similar wouldn’t happen to Soo-yeon.
“I’ll go with Chae Yu-hyun, then. Let’s head home for today.”
“Yes, Oppa.”
Much later, Si-woo would look back and feel genuinely relieved that he chose Chae Yu-hyun as Soo-yeon’s manager.
***
Time passed, and the editing for Si-woo’s movie “Idol” progressed quickly. Meanwhile, news arrived that Choi Do-hyun’s film had also finished shooting.
Si-woo was currently with Director Park Woong-deok inside the editing team’s workspace.
“You want the release date pushed back?”
“Yes.”
Park Woong-deok immediately understood that the reason was Choi Do-hyun.
“Is it not possible?”
“Fine. Delaying it a little won’t change anything. But you know you’ll have to make up for it on your end, right?”
For Park, postponing the release was no big issue.
If anything, doing this favor would allow him to ask even more from Si-woo in return.
Si-woo agreed to attend all official events—press screenings, stage greetings, everything—and went outside.
“Now… I need to go buy a car.”
He had hired Chae Yu-hyun as Hong Soo-yeon’s manager.
The moment she was hired, she packed her bags and immediately moved to Seoul. Si-woo arranged a small one-room studio near Soo-yeon’s home for her.
And today, they were going to choose Soo-yeon’s future ride.
“At times like this, you use your connections.”
Si-woo called the friend he once bought a car for—the friend who now owed him a lifetime of drinks—Jung Dong-sik.
“Hey, you busy?”
—Kind of? Why?
“What do you mean why? I’m buying a car.”
—What car? Did you suddenly get into the hobby of collecting cars?
“Yeah right. I’d rather spend that money on beef.”
A moment later, Si-woo explained he needed a van, and Jung Dong-sik began calling his contacts nonstop, eventually finding the best used van available.
Si-woo took Soo-yeon and Yu-hyun to the used car lot Dong-sik recommended, where a dealer was already waiting.
The dealer confidently presented a black van, claiming nothing better existed on the market.
Chae Yu-hyun climbed into the driver’s seat, adjusting and testing the positioning with experienced precision.
“How is it?”
“It’s nice.”
“I like it too!”
Yu-hyun smiled, satisfied, and Soo-yeon beamed happily from the back seat.
“Then we’ll take this one.”
Si-woo paid in full on the spot and immediately sent the van to a maintenance shop for a thorough checkup—better safe than sorry.
The more tasks he checked off his list, the more his laziness started creeping back.
‘But seriously… when is Choi Do-hyun’s movie going to be finished? I’m waiting to crush him, but at this rate I’ll collapse before that. Once this is over, I can finally rest…’
Now that everything was prepared for his revenge, the waiting itself was driving him insane.