บท 210: To Reach for the Stars, or to Become One (3)
The elevator went up from the basement.
As we passed the third floor, I heard people gulp around me. I thought that we would go directly to the CEO's office, but the elevator stopped on the fourth floor. And people poured in.
"Water! Someone get me some ice!"
"Dokyung, get it together!"
That moment, I wondered if I was in an ambulance instead of an elevator. Two managers held both arms of a woman who had collapsed like a corpse. They were pretty much dragging her in. Her disheveled, curly, red hair shook.
"Let go of the bottle! Get it together!"
"I'll only be able to get it together once I drink some!"
Lee Dokyung shouted while holding the neck of a bottle. It was vodka.
They definitely looked fine at the airport.
It wasn't only Lee Dokyung. The other actors were wrecks as well. Yoon Sangah was wailing while tears and snot ran down her face. Jang Yohan was puffing smoke with a pale face. Managers and staff were doing their best to comfort them.
It was a mess. If someone saw this, they would this they were at a rehab center than an entertainment agency.
Lee Dokyung, who finally lost her bottle of vodka, flailed about.
"Give it back! Give it back!"
She fell on the floor and ended up just lying on it. She wasn't an actress. She was completely wasted.
"Move."
A man in his early forties wearing a suit with no tie pushed others out the way as he approached.
He was the Team 1 Leader, whom I had greeted only on occasion. He received the bottle of vodka from a manager and downed it instantly. Then he filled with ice water an employee brought over and handed it to Lee Dokyung.
"Here. Now bring them up."
Lee Dokyung was dragged off by the managers.
Soon, the Team 1 Leader snatched the cigarettes from Jang Yohan's lips and gestured with his chin. Another manager took Jang Yohan away. The only one left was Yoon Sangah. He approached the now sobbing Yoon Sangah. Taking a drag, he said,
"Stop crying. It's not like we didn't expect the press's reactions."
"Team leader, I-I can't breathe. Let me go to the washroom and calm down."
"Okay."
Yoon Sangah was brought downstairs by her manager. The lounge finally became quiet. Belatedly coming to their senses, employee rushed to greet the Team 1 Leader. He nodded while walking towards me. No, not to me, but the trashcan behind me.
After throwing the cigarette butt in the trash, he said to the Team 3 Leader,
"How have you been?"
"It's been fine here."
The Team 3 Leader evasively replied. The Team 1 Leader suddenly smiled before turning to me.
"I heard about your news of your success, but I couldn't congratulate you. Shall we have drinks some time?"
"That'd be great."
Nodding, the Team 1 Leader went upstairs.
The lounge was chaotic after the storm had passed. Everyone was busy trying to predict what was going on in the CEO's office. I went up to the fifth floor. The PR Team was on the battlefield. Team Leader Park and her employees were shouting into their phones.
I went into my office and turned on my computer. The actors' names were all over the real-time search rankings. Especially Lee Dokyung. She was an actor who stood at the peak in the country before going to the US, so people's reactions were more heated.
It looked like it'll be noisy for the next few days.
While I was reading articles, my door suddenly burst open. This time, it was Chief Lee Bongjoon.
"Uh, I think you should go downstairs."
"Did Team 1 go down?"
"Only the actors. But Lee Dokyung, right now…"
"Did she flop on the floor again?"
"No, she got in a fight."
In a fight?"
"With who?"
"With Son Chaeyoung."
… What the heck was this all of a sudden?
She should be busy with drama shoots these days.
"They are downstairs?"
"Lee Dokyung and her don't get along."
"Is there anyone Son Chaeyoung gets along with?"
"Like very bad. Lee Dokyung flaunted a ton about how she was going to Hollywood."
I tried to imagine Lee Dokyung, who caused a fuss while holding a bottle of vodka, and Son Chaeyoung together.
Then I gave up. It lowered my blood sugar.
When I went back down, there really was an incredible mess.
"Screw off! Did you come to mock me?!"
"No, I came to watch."
Son Chaeyoung said while munching on donuts instead of popcorn. Her face was overflowing with vigor.
"I was about to explode because of how tight the shooting schedule was, but seeing your face washed all my stress away. Do you even remember the last time you had a tight schedule?"
"Hey! I heard your drama flopped too! So you lost your commercials too!"
"… I keep getting projects. Ah, do you want a minor role in my drama?"
"You crazy bitch, you keep-!"
The managers tried to hold Lee Dokyung back as she tried to rush at Son Chaeyoung while wielding the vodka bottle. It was far from enough. The other employees retreated back like there was a contagious disease.
Chief Lee Bongjoon poked my side.
"Shouldn't you stop Son Chaeyoung?"
"Me?"
"You guys are close enough to exchange donuts."
That was a deal.
"The acting Team 2 Leader will probably stop her."
I said, looking in the direction of the vending machines. Chief Jo Byunghwan, who was the acting team leader in place of the Team 2 Leader, was shouting at someone. Ah, it was Chief Lee Janghyun. He at least looked human when he went around looking for ripe persimmons, but now he was about to croak.
"The company's already in turmoil. How could you bring Son Chaeyoung here?"
"She went straight here after seeing the news on TV. How could I have stopped her?"
"What? Stopping her is your job, bastard!"
"Then fire me."
Chief Jo Byunghwan yelled while pointing at him.
Chief Lee Bongjoon, who was watching, clicked his tongue.
"That team is becoming crazier every passing day. But Lee Janghyun, wasn't he lingering around, wanting to manage Songha? He's been quiet recently. I don't think he's the type to give up easily."
"ah, I made a promise, so I let him fill in for me once."
"And?"
"He said that Son Chaeyoung was better than Songha and left."
Chief Lee Bongjoon's expression turned odd. His lips opened as if to say something, but a grim voice sounded out from the stairs.
"Why is it so noisy?"
The Team 1 Leader came down from the stair landing. The murmuring employees shut their mouths. Son Chaeyoung and Lee Dokyung stopped what they were doing and looked over at him. The Team 1 Leader looked around the lounge as he asked,
"Where's Sangah?"
"Chief No, who followed her, isn't picking up. We sent a road manager to look for them."
A Team 1 employee, who I wasn't familiar with, replied. At the same time, someone added while stuttering,
"Uh, Yoon-Yoon Sangah's over there though?"
"Where?"
"Over there."
His finger pointed to the TV. Everyone's gazes gathered there. The flat screen still played the entertainment gossip program. And Yoon Sangah was among them.
Surrounded by reporters and holding onto an interview mic.
-Then you're saying that your agency pressured you into going to the US?
-Yes, I personally thought it was too early to go to Hollywood, but the CEO and team leader were quite persistent. I couldn't refuse their proposal. I only did what they told me to do for the past few years in the US.
Oh my god.
The scuffle between Son Chaeyoung and Lee Dokyung wasn't the problem.
Yoon Sangah was dropping bombs on live TV.
-And when you mentioned you were forced to act in a nude scene…
-I received a casting offer for a new US cable channel TV show, and the role only had nude and sex scenes. I told them that I couldn't do it multiple times, but they said I had to if I wanted to raise my popularity…
Miserable tears poured from Yoon Sangah's eyes. The camera zoomed in on her wet eyes.
-Then you must have a grudge on your agency.
-Yes, it's because of them, that my life as an actor is ruined.
Yoon Sangah wailed again. Her cries echoed throughout the lounge. Everyone simply looked at the TV with dumbstruck expressions. The PR Team on the fifth floor screamed indecipherable swears.
"… I guess she still thinks she's in Hollywood."
The Team 1 Leader said from behind. He frowned as he waved his hands.
"Contact the legal team."
"Ah, yes!"
The Team 1 employee quickly acted after receiving his orders.
The Team 1 Leader disappeared into his office, and the employees, finally coming to their senses, caused an uproar.
Chief Lee Bongjoon blankly mumbled,
I guess we won't be able to hold a get-together today."
"… I guess so."
*
The legal and PR team acted quickly to settle the matter. They sent out articles explaining the situation. This wasn't an incident we wanted to drag on since Yoon Sangah's interview was quite far from the truth.
The W&U denouncing public quickly turned their gaze at Yoon Sangah.
However, separate from the truth, W&U and Yoon Sangah continued to be mentioned in articles and by the public. W&U received a strong blow to their image after failing to enter the US market, while Yoon Sangah became known to have been afflicted with 'Hollywood' disease.
If Yoon Sangah wanted to gain popularity through incidents like in Hollywood gossip girls, then she definitely succeeded.
Well, unlike Hollywood, one couldn't live off gossip.
CEO Baek Hansung and the Team 1 Leader wouldn't stop with just an explanation.
Anyways, while the company was busying putting out fires, things were progress quickly on my side. We continued auditioning for City Jungle, and my spot amongst judges constantly became newsworthy.
These were crazy days for various reasons.
However, there was a day where my idle thoughts were completely washed away.
Reading.
Whenever I saw Lee Songha and Nam Joyoon act in the basement, I became absorbed by it like I was on drugs. It was to the point where I forgot whether they were practicing or if it was real. Scenes that made me tense as I read them swallowed me whole when I watched them.
I finally took a deep breath after seeing the last scene.
It was already well into the night when I checked the time.
"Let's stop here for today."
I handed the two of them water and towels. Lee Songha ignored my hand and stood up. Her shoulders and back moved flexibly like an animal's beneath her sweat-soaked t-shirt. This was the result of the fitness trainer and martial artist director.
"I'm going to wash my face to recover."
She said in a monotone voice before leaving the practice room.
This was something we experienced every time. It took a while before Lee Songha returned to her normal self after completely immersing herself in her role. She was like this for every project she worked on, but it seemed to take a particularly long time with City Jungle.
"Amazing."
Nam Joyoon said while catching his breath.
"Songha?"
"I could match her back during Alive, but I can't keep up with her this time."
Bringing his head back, he covered his face with a towel. His shoulders and chest heaved.
Maybe it was because he was on a strict diet to make the paper-weak figure of an artist, but his already impoverished and faint appearance grew even fainter.
"I'm worried that I will be too behind. I need to at least act the part of the lead."
"No need to worry. You're doing great."
"Then that's a relief."
Nam Joyoon said with a quiet laugh.
"I still wonder why you picked me. Especially when I'm reading with Songha. I don't think I'll be able to act like her even if my life depended on it."
"I received some sort of revelation that Songha must act."
To be honest, I saw the future.
"And I was shocked for different reasons when I met you. You were totally my type."
Nam Joyoon laughed at the joke at the end.
"Also… you hold a special meaning to me."
I mumbled before changing the subject.
"I saw a ton of actors while holding auditions, and there really were a lot of people who were great at acting. However, I didn't receive any revelation, like with Songha, nor was as shocked as when I saw you. I guess my preferences are high class."
"Oppa, your preferences are what? What's high class?"
Lee Songha came back with water still dripping. She had come with hurried steps.
Her immersed role was completely gone, and she was Lee Songha from head to toe.
Soon, laughs warmed the practice room.
Fall was really short.
Winter was even shorter. Spring seriously passed in a breeze.
At some point, we were finally approaching summer again.
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