Chapter 86: Round Two (7)
After letting out a long sigh, Kim Si-woo slowly opened his mouth.
“You know Choi Do-hyun, right?”
“Yes.”
“His manager came to the broadcasting station a few days ago.”
“What? Why?”
The moment Choi Do-hyun was mentioned, Soo-yeon’s expression had stiffened—
But when his manager was brought up, she looked genuinely confused, unable to predict the connection.
“He came and said this— That not just Choi Do-hyun, but other actors in the same agency can’t get any work.”
“Ah…”
Both of them understood the situation in their heads.
The ones who did wrong were not the other actors— It was Choi Do-hyun.
But what bothered Si-woo was this:
If their reputations had been good? If they had behaved well?
Would the broadcasting stations have turned their backs on them this harshly?
And on the flip side:
If my influence were weaker than his? What would have happened then?
These thoughts kept circling.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Oppa.”
Seeing him lost in thought, Soo-yeon hurriedly spoke.
“Wrong? If I had done something wrong, at least I could apologize…”
Si-woo then explained the real reason his mind had been tangled.
“So… I started wondering. Would the people around me stay by my side if I suddenly couldn’t write good scripts anymore? If Do-hyun had more influence than me this time—how would things have turned out…?”
“I… I would stay.”
With her hands clenched tightly, she said it with determination.
Seeing her like that, Si-woo let out a faint smile.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
He reached out and gently patted her head.
“I mean it. As long as you don’t do anything dangerous… anything else is fine with me.”
The success had come too quickly.
Too suddenly.
And because of that, fear had crept in.
There was no guarantee his next project would succeed.
He felt like a sandcastle—something that could collapse at any moment.
“Well… does it even matter? I’ve made enough money anyway. Maybe I should take a trip abroad.”
“With me?”
Soo-yeon answered his muttering as if he was talking to her, making Si-woo stare at her incredulously.
“No. You have work. Your schedule isn’t even finished.”
“That’s true but… if I stop accepting new work now—”
“We’re here. Go on in. Say hi to your grandmother and the little one for me.”
“Okay… Oppa, you get home safely too. And don’t worry. Even if you tell me to leave, I’ll stay by your side.”
“Yeah. And thanks for the perfume. I’ll use it well.”
After dropping Soo-yeon off and returning home, Si-woo found Shim Ji-young still there.
“Oh, son, take Ji-young home too. Hoho.”
“Yes.”
“Well then, Mother, I’ll come again soon.”
“Sure, take care.”
Again without complaint, Si-woo headed out with Ji-young.
“Si-woo…”
“Yes.”
Her voice carried even more worry than before.
“Is something really going on?”
“…I’ll tell you in the car.”
“Alright…”
They walked silently from the house to the car.
Once they reached it, Si-woo opened the door and asked,
“Did you walk here?”
“No, I asked my manager to drop me off.”
“And how were you going to get home?”
“I figured I’d just take a taxi… but your mother told me to wait.”
“Haa… Alright, please put your address in.”
Hearing him, Ji-young entered her home address into the navigation.
“I’ll head out then.”
The car started moving.
“Okay… so what is it? You said you’d tell me in the car.”
Five minutes passed in silence, only soft music playing— Then Ji-young finally broke the quiet.
Not wanting to explain the entire situation with Do-hyun from the beginning, Si-woo asked bluntly:
“Noona, if I said I’m quitting writing scripts… would that be the end between us?”
“What? You’re quitting? What happened?!”
Her voice rose in shock, making Si-woo realize his wording was wrong.
He corrected himself.
“I mean… if I weren’t a scriptwriter— Would you still treat me the same way you do now?”
“…What? Did you seriously just say that?!”
“You heard me.”
“So what—you’re asking if I’m only nice to you because of your scripts? You think I’m that kind of garbage?”
“To be honest… didn’t you act friendly at first because you needed a hit project?”
At Kim Si-woo’s question, Shim Ji-young’s words got stuck in her throat.
Thinking about it carefully— When she first approached Si-woo, she had indeed been aiming for something.
If a famous actress like herself became friendly with a rookie writer,
She could earn his favor and maybe secure a good role.
She really had thought like that at the start.
So when Si-woo directly hit the sore spot, she couldn’t answer right away.
“I… well, that’s….”
Maybe that was true at first.
But not anymore.
She didn’t know exactly when it changed.
Was it when he saved her from drowning?
When he shielded her from Kim Min-ho?
When he looked at her not as “celebrity Shim Ji-young” but simply as a person?
She didn’t know when it happened,
But one thing was clear: Now, she wasn’t being kind to Si-woo because of his scripts.
“Haa… Until a moment ago my head was full of negative thoughts. But thinking about it again, I guess it’s just natural. Why would a top celebrity like you treat someone like me—an ordinary guy—kindly from the start unless it was for that reason? If I were you, I probably would’ve done the same.”
“No, Si-woo—”
“Same with Se-yeon, Ji-hyun, and everyone else, right? People only meet each other when there’s something to gain.”
As the conversation grew increasingly strange, Ji-young hurried to stop him.
“Wait, just listen to me—”
“No. So this time, I’m thinking of taking a break. I said three months, but… it might end up being longer.”
“What?”
“I realized I climbed up too fast. I think that’s why I’ve been feeling anxious.”
For a moment, Ji-young thought it made sense.
Even celebrities got anxious when they shot to fame too suddenly.
Afraid of losing their popularity, they often pushed themselves to the point of breaking.
And Si-woo wasn’t even a celebrity—
Yet celebrities treated him like a star.
For someone who had been a normal person until recently, The pressure must have been overwhelming.
“We’re here. Go home safely.”
At some point they had reached her place, and Si-woo unlocked the door.
“Oh… okay. Get home safely.”
“Yes.”
Still unable to understand what had just happened, Ji-young stepped out of the car in a daze, And Si-woo drove off.
“What… what was that? He got upset by himself, then suddenly became okay again?”
In the end, the only thing she learned was why he wasn’t doing well lately.
***
Two days after Ji-young and Soo-yeon visited Si-woo’s house—
Choi Do-hyun, drunk, was angrily calling someone.
The person he was chewing out was the director of his movie.
“That’s why actors get chewed up! It’s because of directors like you!”
—What did you say, you punk?
Beep—
Do-hyun hung up before the director could finish and dialed again.
This time: The production company that paid rookie actors less than minimum wage.
After several calls, Choi Do-hyun finally arrived at his next destination:
The front of Siwoo Film’s office.
“This is it?”
He tugged on the front door—Locked.
While he stared at the door in confusion, someone spoke behind him.
“Excuse me? Oh? Choi Do-hyun?”
It was Lee Yoo-jin, returning from lunch, spotting him standing at the entrance.
“You work here? You’re one of their actors?”
“I’m not an actor, but yes, I work here. And what brings you…? Ugh— the smell of alcohol.”
She grimaced as the strong smell hit her.
“Is Kim Si-woo inside?”
“Why? If you’re going to come here, you should at least sober up first.”
“What’s going on!”
Other actors and staff were entering behind her and raised their voices the moment they saw him.
“Choi Do-hyun? Get out.”
“I don’t know how you even have the nerve to come here. Get lost. Now.”
“Hey, bring some salt—salt!”
They were practically dragging him out.
“That bastard caused our writer so much stress.”
“Yeah, judging by the alcohol smell, he probably spewed all that nonsense at the writer while drunk too!”
Their hostility wasn’t limited to the staff— Even the actors showed the same attitude.
Up until now, most actors took Do-hyun’s side. He genuinely cared about their welfare.
But here— Choi Do-hyun was a public enemy.
“Aren’t you all actors?”
“We are.”
Do-hyun spoke to the people pushing him out.
“Are you being treated properly when you work?”
“What? Proper treatment? Pffft— hahaha!”
At Choi Do-hyun’s question, everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Is this guy actually a comedian? Ugh, forget it. Let’s go in—my legs hurt.”
The Siwoo Film members ignored him and walked inside.
Do-hyun followed right behind them.
“Hey! Why are you coming in with us?!”
“Call Kim Si-woo.”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Then talk to me. Right here.”
As the situation began to escalate, Lee Yoo-jin quickly stepped in to calm everyone.
“Fine. Thirty minutes max.”
“Fifteen is enough.”
“Everyone else, go to practice. Choi Do-hyun, come this way.”
Yoo-jin led Do-hyun into Si-woo’s office and began speaking with him.
“Before we start—why are you here? Did you come to bother the writer again?”
“…”
“So that is the case? I don’t know why you’re doing this, but our writer is a really good person, you know?”
“…So, how did you handle the actors’ contracts?”
“Why? Are you worried our writer won’t pay his actors properly?”
“It’s not just writers—directors, companies, investors… most of them are like that.”
“Here.”
Yoo-jin handed him the standard contracts, a breakdown of expenses paid to the actors over the past month, and documents detailing their activities.
“What is this…?”
Looking over the papers, Do-hyun rubbed his eyes, thinking he had misread something, and checked again.
“This… is real?”
“Yes.”
“Then what does he gain from this? Isn’t he supposed to be making money?”
“Who knows…? He said that even if he didn’t pay them this money, he wouldn’t suddenly go broke. And with his YouTube revenue now, he can easily cover everything anyway.”
“…”
The conditions were far better than entering a major agency as a trainee.
Most aspiring actors worked part-time jobs after graduating, joined theatre troupes with passion-pay, or spent money on lessons at acting academies.
Truth was, more actors spent money than earned it.
Most faded into obscurity because of financial issues.
But here— Siwoo Film provided a base salary, acting opportunities, and full support for their needs.
For new or unknown actors, it was a dream job.
Even Choi Do-hyun found himself intrigued.
“When’s your next shoot?”
“Why?”
“I need to see it myself.”
Without warning, Do-hyun left the office, scanned a calendar on the wall, and checked the date.
“…Two days from now. Fine, I’ll see you on set.”
He left Siwoo Film just like that, and Yoo-jin stared at the door he exited with a baffled expression.
“Guys, go buy salt. We need to sprinkle it.”
“Yes!”
Naturally, they didn’t forget the salt.
***
Meanwhile, on Do-hyun’s way home, his phone rang furiously.
“What, hyung?! Why?!”
—What did you do this time?!
It was his manager, Baek Seung-heon.
Baek had been desperately trying to clean up the chaos Do-hyun caused,
But another disaster had already happened.
The investors and director had called the company to complain.
Of course, the company apologized and then shifted the blame onto Baek.
“Hyung… let’s quit the company.”
—What did you just say, you brat? That’s it. We’re settling this today.
“Okay. I’ve got things to say too. Come to my place.”
—What? …Fine. See you soon.
Hearing Do-hyun say for the first time that he had something to say,
The furious Baek Seung-heon was caught off guard and ended the call.