Chapter 598 (1/2)

-Do you think it’s right for me to do it?

She spoke with very little confidence, which he had never heard her frequently do before. The voice even sounded a little tragic, which made Maru cautious with saying his words.

“I want to hear your decision first.”

-I want to continue acting. I also want to stand on the same stage as you.

“I’m with you on that. There would be nothing more enjoyable than working on the same piece as you. In that sense, I’m in favor of you joining an agency. That president, while she said those words, I think she’s a good person. No, leaving aside whether she’s a good person or not, I’m sure that she doesn’t treat other people lightly. Business skills are important, but sometimes, their character is important as well. The fact that she tried to scare you might be for your sake, or maybe she had a completely different motive, but I like the fact that she didn’t try to lure you into joining with sugar coated words.”

-I feel the same. She definitely looked like someone who makes her intentions clear. I also liked how she didn’t just push a contract in my face because of the recommendation. It’s just that…

“You’re concerned about the image making that she’s talking about?”

-It’s a bit iffy. I know in my mind. This is business after all. I know that I can’t act immaturely and demand that everything is done the way I want. But I get cautious since it’s related to acting. If, and I’m just assuming here, I don’t get any of the roles that the president has picked for me, I wouldn’t be able to act at all while I’m in the agency.

“If the president is like how I think she is, then I guess it would definitely be like that.”

-That’s what I’m a little concerned about. I will hear about the details of the contract on my next visit, but I got the general content through text. Wait a sec.

She hung up for a while before calling again.

-It will be an exclusive contract, and the contract period will be 7 years. During that period, everything related to the entertainment industry has to be done through the industry, and if I make a mistake during the contract period which damages the reputation of the company, I will have to pay the contract penalty that was agreed upon at the time of the contract. She told me that that’s the most important part.

“It’s usually around 7 to 10 years. How was the atmosphere at the company?”

-It was really good. It looked like there was no barrier between the president and the employees.

“Did they not look like they were on too close terms?”

-They looked like they respected each other. It was only for a brief moment, but I felt that they were treating everyone else like coworkers.

“If you felt so, then I guess the company itself must be very good. Honestly speaking, I don’t think a ranking system is always just good or bad. If there’s a clear hierarchy, it might not bring out the proactivity of the members, but it will definitely be more efficient. If it felt like there was no order because everyone treated each other like friends, it would be a bad thing, but if you felt that they had respect for each other as colleagues, it might really be a good place.”

-If I do sign a contract, I do want to do it with this agency. I will have to know more to be sure, but I think the president is a good person as well.

“When are you signing the contract? Did you get a specific date?”

-No, but I think I should do it as early as I can.

“You talked to your mother about it, right?”

-Mom told me that I should do what I want. She’ll just go with me to the company for the contract as long as I’ve made a decision.

“She raises her child strongly. So it comes down to your decision in the end. From what I’m hearing, I think you’ve already made up your mind though?”

-Like you said, this is an opportunity after all. I won’t know when I’ll get the chance again. If I do join, I will have to start over from the basics, but that puts me at ease instead. I’m quite lacking right now after all.

“Then sign the contract. The people there are decent, and there wasn’t any bad news about that place, was there?”

-I did look it up, but I didn’t find anything.

“Hm, can you wait for a little? You said the agency was named Hwan, right?”

-Yeah.

“I’ll call you back. Give me 10 minutes.”

After hanging up, Maru sent a text message to Joohyun. What he said was pretty simple - can I ask you for the favor you promised last time?. Instead of a reply, he got a call back. It didn’t even take 10 seconds.

-It’s midnight right now.

“Sorry, I usually would have never called you at this hour, but I had no choice.”

-I was a little surprised when I got your text. You’re quite sensitive when it comes to etiquette, yet you sent a text at this hour. So, what is it that you want help with? Considering what you did for Bangjoo, I am willing to do quite a lot.

“It’s just that the information I need is hard to access as an ordinary person, so you were the only one that came to mind.”

-What is it?

“Do you know about an entertainment agency named Hwan?”

-Hwan? I do. Ahyoung-unni is there after all.

“Ahyoung?”

Maru rewinded the videotape with the remote control in front of him. He then played it back again. He looked at the woman with the confident smile and spoke again,

“Is it perhaps the Ahyoung who used to be in the theater troupe Yechoen? I don’t know her surname, sorry.”

-She is, but how do you know Yecheon?

“I met director Lee Jincheol a little while ago. I got some videotape recordings of Yecheon from him.”

-Director Lee Jincheol?

“Yes.”

-That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. I did call him a couple of times, but after something happened, we never contacted each other. Is he doing well?

“He got married and is doing well.”

-Ah, right. I heard that he got married to Jinjoo-unni. How nostalgic. It’s a place that contains my studenthood after all. But wait, videotapes? Am I in them as well?

“Yep, you’re here alright.”

-That doesn’t feel that good. Wasn’t I like… a little cocky when I was young?

“Not really. You’re completely the same as you are now.”

-That doesn’t sound like a compliment to me. Why did you get those videos?

“You know the person called Jung Haejoo, right? I wanted to have a look at her acting.”

-...Haejoo-unni, huh. Do you perhaps remember what I asked you before?

Maru leaned on the sofa as he replied,

“Yes. You asked me if I know Jung Haejoo. Well, things happened and it reached this point. Can I ask why you asked me such a question back then?”

-Because you’re similar.

“Similar?

-Yes, you and Haejoo-unni.

“In what aspect?”

-Your acting methods. You told me back then right? That when you act, there’s another self that looks at you from an objective perspective. Unni said a similar thing. She said that if she took a step back, she would see another one of herself and that acting with that girl was too much fun. This is interesting. So you ended up finding out after all.

“That’s quite surprising.”

-Speaking of videotapes, when were they taken? I remember taking quite a lot of recordings.

“I’m watching the ones taken in 1987 right now, and I received up to January 1989. There’s about sixty of them.”

-1987, huh. That’s a long time ago. How is she? The Haejoo-unni on the screen, I mean.

“She looks like a charming person.”

-What about from the perspective of acting?

“I don’t know yet. I see some things that I can learn, but nothing that amazing. Once I get to 1988, I guess I will be able to see her polished acting skills that our president fell in love with.”

-You can look forward to it. She was incredible back then.

After that, Joohyun didn’t speak for a while. Maru waited patiently. He didn’t want to interrupt Joohyun as she was reminiscing about the past.

-Hm, let’s leave the old stories here for now. You said you wanted to know something after all. Hwan, huh. It’s a good company. I’ve talked to a couple of actors who belong to that agency, and they all have high opinions about it. I’m not sure about new actors, but as far as I know, the treatment there for veteran actors is very good. Also, I heard that they weren’t nurturing new actors because they are stressing the music side. Is someone you know going to join?

“She said she might sign a contract, so I thought I’d look into it.”

-Looks like she must be important to you. If you’re messaging me at this hour.

Maru replaced his answer with a small laugh.