Chapter 435: Face to Face (5)

Chapter 435: Face to Face (5)

“Yeon-Ha, you gotta do this.”

When Choi Yeon-Ha heard that, she stared unimpressed at the talent agency's president. The agency president's expression was basically the Ardent Pleading Personified, but Choi Yeon-Ha wasn't moved in the slightest. That man always had a face like that, after all!

Choi Yeon-Ha crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It'll be shot on location?”

“Well, it is a Chinese production, after all.”

“Hmm. I'm not feeling it,” Choi Yeon-Ha furrowed her brow.

The agency president flinched. “Why? Why... aren't you feeling it?”

“I don't like the Chinese cuisine, for one.”

“I'll hire a private chef for you. It'll be fine with a Korean cuisine specialist tagging along, right?”

“It won't taste as good with the local produce, though...”

“What do you mean! How can I let all the delicious food you'll consume include Chinese ingredients! I'll have all the Korean ingredients delivered to you via air freight!”

That didn't improve Choi Yeon-Ha's disinterested expression. “And the production takes too long, too.”

“S-six months won't be that long, you know?”

“That's what I'm saying. Spending six months of my precious youth in China just doesn't sound appealing to me, you see...”

“That's the wrong way to look at this, Yeon-Ha! Maybe you're mistaken about something, but look! The location will be in Beijing! And Beijing is one of the biggest metropolises in the world! You've been there before, right?”

“Yes, and it's got a serious smog problem.”

“...We'll hire a private doctor, then.”

Choi Yeon-Ha slapped the top of the script on the table a couple of times while making a dissatisfied face. “And the story is so cliched and predictable, too!”

“Well, it's a TV production targeting the Chinese audience, so of course it has to be predictable and safe! That's what the general audience over there want!”

“Even so, this is...” Choi Yeon-Ha frowned, still unconvinced.

When his top actress still seemed hesitant, the agency president glanced at Han Eun-Sol. He sent a quick eye signal to Choi Yeon-Ha's manager, telling the latter to do something about this situation.

Han Eun-Sol nodded and stepped forward. “Noona, why are you being like this again?”

“Again? What do you mean?”

“No, wait. Again isn't quite right...” Han Eun-Sol sighed. “You know this is a great opportunity, noona.”

Choi Yeon-Ha crossed her arms again and leaned back in her chair. “Really? Does this look that great to you?”

“Yup. It really is a great opportunity as far as I can tell.”

“Why do you think so?”

Han Eun-Sol gulped back in nervousness. Choi Yeon-Ha's decision potentially hinged on what he said now. To make matters worse, even the agency president was here, intensely staring at him. “First of all... The Chinese market is incomparably larger than Korea's, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Being given a chance to conquer such a market is absolutely huge, you know! And you'll soon be making a killing by raising the audience's awareness of you on that side.”

“I'm not an idol, Eun-Sol. I don't have merch to hawk off, so how will I make a killing like you say?”

“You're only saying that because you don't know, noona! The fee you get for shooting one commercial in China has waaaay more digits than what you'd get in Korea! This could be your opportunity to make a real fortune!”

Choi Yeon-Ha's expression became a little more unimpressed than before. When her narrowed eyes zeroed in on Han Eun-Sol, he felt his heart tumbling down to the pit of his stomach.

'Did I... Did I slip up somewhere?'

Choi Yeon-Ha tutted softly. “Eun-Sol?”

“Yes, noona.”

“Yes, I know. We're all doing this to put bread on the table. Isn't that right?”

“...I'm sorry?”

“No, no. I get it. Well, it's not like being an actor will save lives. And even doctors will charge you money after curing you, so... It's not like I'm doing God's work or something like that, right? It's so dumb to not care about money and stuff, am I right?”

“Eh? Noona, uh... That's not what I...”

“However! Don't you think you're too hung up on money? Don't you think so?”

“What? What's wrong with this offer? Wait, are you looking down on this project because it's Chinese?”

“Obviously not. But look! This role is literally whoring myself out for some quick cash!”

“...Eh?”

“Don't tell me... You haven't even read the script?” Choi Yeon-Ha reached out to the half-discarded script on the table, then unhappily shook it. “I have zero dialogues, practically uninvolved in major plot points, and all I do is basically just sit there and smile all the time. Isn't this just a token character in that case?”

“...Really? But, uh... Wouldn't that be even better for you? You can't speak Mandarin, anyway.”

Choi Yeon-Ha furrowed her brow. “Forget it. I have zero interest in signing on to a role like this.”

She pushed her chair back and got up to leave. The agency president jumped up in alarm and hurriedly reached out. However, Choi Yeon-Ha expertly withdrew her hand just in time to avoid being grabbed.

“Y-Yeon-Ha, I'm telling you, this is a major opportunity!”

“Yes, I know. I know this is big. But that doesn't matter since I'm still not interested.”

“N-no, wait...!”

“If that's all, I'll excuse myself first. Call me again when you find a better role for me. And... At a bare minimum, I'd prefer you read the scripts first before calling me.”

With that, Choi Yeon-Ha unhesitantly turned around and walked out of the office. The agency president fell down to his chair while holding his head. “Gimme a freaking break...”

Han Eun-Sol could only sit there, his lips clamped shut in this awkward and uncomfortable situation. What was he supposed to do here? Since he got paid by the agency, Han Eun-Sol had to stick to the agency president's opinion, but a manager's job description made that far trickier than it sounded. Beside the monthly paycheck, a manager like Han Eun-Sol didn't have any other connection to the agency president, so he was bound to grow more loyal toward the talent under his care.

“Hey, Eun-Sol... No, wait. Manager Han.”

“Yes, president.”

“In your opinion... Why is she doing this?”

“...”

“I mean, seriously! She's supposed to be an actor, right! At the very least, shouldn't she actively make movies and TV shows and whatnot! That's her job, right?! Sure, Yeon-Ha has always been rude and fussy, but at least she'd quickly move on to her next role after wrapping up the last one, so... Just why is she so unwilling, Manager Han?”

Han Eun-Sol's lips parted only to clamp shut again.

The agency president narrowed his eyes. “Wait. You know something, don't you?”

“...”

When Han Eun-Sol kept his mouth shut, the agency president leaned closer and stared seriously at Choi Yeon-Ha's manager. “Listen, Manager Han.”

“Yes, sir.”

“This is your workplace.”

“...”

“If you wanna be loyal to your talent, fine. Go independent with that girl after our contract runs out. I'm not gonna stop you. I can't stop you even if I want to, anyway. However, at the very least... As long as you get a paycheck from this place, and as long as Yeon-Ha is contracted to this agency, you're supposed to answer to me. That is the right thing to do here. That's what is expected of you, too. Am I wrong?”

“No, sir. You're correct.”

“So? If you know something, spill it. Why is Yeon-Ha acting like that?”

Han Eun-Sol's head faltered as if he was thinking about something before suddenly shooting up to his feet. “Sir!”

“Eh?”

Han Eun-Sol muttered in a serious tone. “Sir, if I want to stay loyal to both the agency and my talent, I believe spilling the beans to you is not the right way.”

“...Eh? What are you going to do, then?”

“I'll try to convince her, sir.”

“Convince...?” The agency president cocked an eyebrow. Did this guy say he'd convince Choi Yeon-Ha to change her mind? Really? “You think you can do it?”

“I'll do my best, sir. And if I fail, I'll tell you everything. However, that will be after I do everything in my power to persuade noona first. Please believe in me and wait for a few more days.”

The agency president leaned back in his chair and took a deep drag of his cigarette. “...So, can you do it or not?”

“I can do it, sir.”

“Got it. I'll leave this matter to you, Manager Han. I'll 'forget' about this matter until you come to speak to me again in a few days.”

“Thank you, president.” Han Eun-Sol bowed deeply, then quickly left the office.

Now left alone, the agency president groaned loudly to himself.

'There's definitely something going on here, but...'

The agency president mused that maybe he should have someone investigate this.