67 Getting Scouted (2/2)
Similarly, the granny also tried to reason with the young girl, ”Yeo Ri-ah, peeling onions is a tedious job, and you'll end up smelling like them too. You're still young, so you shouldn't take jobs like these, okay? It's better if you become a waitress instead.”
Hyuk frowned, ”Just focus on studying. Don't think about getting any part-time jobs. Oppa won't allow it.”
”...” Yeo Ri sulked. What is this double standards? Hyuk used to work part-time jobs when he should have been in school, but when she wanted to do the same, he wouldn't let her.
”Fine,” she finally acquiesced.
”Well, the offer still stands,” the woman said before she headed to the kitchen to relay their order.
The two sat inside the restaurant quietly as they waited for their food. Every once in a while they would glance at each other, making eye contact and looking away quickly. This repeated for a few times, making them both amused.
However, their subtle sweet interactions were broken when a stranger walked up to their table.
”Excuse me,” the man cleared his throat. ”I'm sorry to bother you, but can I have a little bit of your time? I promise it would only take a short moment.”
He pulled out a business card from within his pockets, handing it over to Yeo Ri. ”Student, do you want to be a model? Or an idol?”
Yeo Ri gingerly accepted the card with a polite smile. She briefly scanned the card. S Entertainment Agency? The name sounded awfully familiar. She could recall another similar instance. This was the second time someone from that company had given her their card, asking the very same question.
”No, thank you,” Yeo Ri politely declined, returning the card to the man. She had received so many of these kinds of business cards that she simply lost count. She didn't think she could become a good model, nor did she think she was talented enough to become an idol. As for actress... while she did have some interest in acting, it was not something she felt the need to pursue. She had never thought she would be good enough to survive in the entertainment business.
”Student, please think this through. With looks like yours, you'd be famous in no time!” The man insisted. The company was looking for new talents to recruit, and he had somehow found such a gem in this small town. He had been walking around, scouting for people the old-fashioned way, hoping to bump into someone with worth. Then, just as he was crossing the street, he saw her. Obviously, he was not going to let the chance slip past.
Hyuk frowned. This stranger b*stard dared to bother them, and then still had the guts to force Yeo Ri to do something she didn't want to do? ”Oi,” he growled.
The man snapped his head at the younger man. Realising that he was also quite good looking, he flashed a flattering smile, ”Of course, Student, you as well, have the potential to make it big someday!” He rummaged his pocket for another business card.
”Get lost,” Hyuk didn't want to waste another second listening to the man's spiel. He glared at him, leaning his body in as if he was ready to pounce.
The man was clearly intimidated from the display. He slightly backed away, ”I mean no harm, Student. It's true—”
”Get. Lost.” Hyuk's face darkened.
”Y-yes, yes. Anyways, please think about the offer and give me a call if you want to accept it. I-I'll be waiting!” The man says before scurrying away.
After the man left, Hyuk snatched the card that was still in Yeo Ri's hand away from her. ”Give it to me; you don't need this,” he frowned. What model, what idol? Just thinking about it made him incensed. He didn't want other men to look at her, and he especially didn't want her to be objectified and sexualised.
Yeo Ri smiled at his action. ”I have so many of those. I wish they'd stop coming,” she sighed.
”...This isn't the first time it happened, is it?”
Yeo Ri shrugged nonchalantly, ”I get them sometimes. Like when I walk in town, or in front of the school. Sometimes schoolmates introduce them to me because the companies contacted them through SNS,” Yeo Ri explained. ”I heard this from Min Chae, but apparently there's a fanpage of me on SNS. Isn't it funny? I'm not even a celebrity,” she chuckled. Although her tone was light, it sounded more like she was complaining to him.
Yeo Ri didn't have a social media, but people sometimes take pictures of her and uploaded them online. This would lead to the agencies discovering her, then they would send a personnel for scouting. Yeo Ri refused every time, but she had no shortage of offers. Rather, they kept coming. At some point, she had to tell them to stop uploading pictures of her without permission, and they did stop. However, they did not take down the old pictures.
Hyuk nodded in understanding. He had seen one of those pictures circulating online a while back. Of course, he didn't just sit still and do nothing; he reported the sh*t out of them and made them take the picture down. Now that he had found out one of the sources of Yeo Ri's breach of privacy, the 'fanpage' was probably going to suffer the same fate.
Silently, he began plotting his attack...