Chapter 2 – Dream (2)

I was able to gently comfort Lee Ji-yeon, who was rolling around while hugging me and seemed to have no intention of getting up, and get her ready for work.

… This is a bit confusing…

The original plan was to wake up Lee Ji-yeon, move quickly, pick up the Shining Boys, and then go pick up Lee Ji-yeon again… But…

“… “Come with me, I’ll wait for them to come out.”

Her plan fell apart when Lee Ji-yeon of the world said that she would wait for her juniors.

On the way down to her parking lot, I could see how happy Jiyeon Lee was as she waited for her elevator, humming her song.

She is known as a polite and kind celebrity on set, but her real personality is a little different.

With her meticulous and calculating style, she likes to do things as she pleases.

By making good use of her position in the company, an atmosphere of understanding was naturally created within her CG entertainment company, even if Jiyeon Lee was a bit out of touch.

I took Lee Ji-yeon and parked the car at Shining Boys’ accommodation nearby.

When I called her leader, Inseok, she was already ready and came down quickly.

After a while, In-seok was about to get into her car and froze when he saw Ji-yeon Lee sitting in her passenger seat.

Jiyeon Lee looked at her room mirror and said her greetings.

“Hello, juniors.”

“… Hello!”

Inseok seemed to be embarrassed for a moment, but she immediately came to her senses, greeted him loudly, and got into the car.

Inseok, who always sat in the front seat, quietly took a seat in the very back seat.

She got on first, and probably heard Inseok’s greeting. The rest of the members also got on, left their greetings to Jiyeon Lee and took their seats from the inside.

On the way out of the parking lot quietly, the guys who like to talk so much were quiet today, as if Jiyeon Lee was paying attention.

Thanks to this, only the radio that I habitually turned on was loud.

*

Working with Jiyeon Lee sometimes reminds me of when she first started working as a manager.

When she was younger, there was a time when Lee Ji-yeon lined up something of hers on my desk at school.

“… What is this?”

“The business cards I received this time.”

Jiyeon Lee said that this was a business card she had been receiving recently.

Various business cards lined up on the desk.

The number of business cards Jiyeon Lee received was much greater than I knew.

When she counted with her eyes, she could see more than ten.

I spoke to Jiyeon Lee while looking through the names on her business card.

“···So, where are you going?”

Jiyeon Lee answered my question as if it was obvious.

“Of course we should choose together, right?”

I didn’t think much of Jiyeon Lee’s words and thought it would be okay to think about it together.

Then suddenly she took out a few of her business cards and threw the rest of her business cards away to the corner of her desk as if she didn’t need them.

I asked, looking at the three business cards in Lee Ji-yeon’s hand.

“···Why did you leave that out?”

She said, handing me three business cards in her hand.

“Here… Out of these three, which do you like best?”

Even though I was embarrassed when I was told to pick everything, I started to think seriously because it was Jiyeon Lee’s job.

Actually, I wasn’t very interested in the entertainment industry.

It was at the level where everyone knew just the name of a big agency.

However, all the business cards Lee Ji-yeon was holding were names I did not recognize.

“Hmm… It’s a company that not everyone knows about.”

Jiyeon Lee said it was okay and told her to take her time. She quietly brought a chair and took a seat next to her.

Jiyeon Lee spoke casually even though it was her own business.

“They are all good companies, just choose what you feel like.”

“···It’s a company you might go to, how can you even choose…”

She let out a small laugh and leaned back in her chair.

“It’s okay, so feel free to choose.”

As Jiyeon Lee said, while looking at the business cards carefully, one business card caught my eye.

The name written nicely and the CEO’s name stamped in large letters felt very cool.

“···Here, CG Entertainment? The CEO’s name is cool and nice.”

“CG enter…, Okay.”

Jiyeon Lee took out the CG entertainment business card, gathered the remaining business cards, and threw them away in her trash can.

I wondered if it was okay to choose like this. Not long after, she entered into the entertainment industry by negotiating with the CEO and hiring me as her manager.

Since Lee Ji-yeon was known to be pretty since she was young, everyone thought it was natural for her to debut in the entertainment industry.

But not me.

Although the most important things in society are school ties, regional ties, and blood ties, hiring high school students without any qualifications was a huge task at the time.

Since I was a student, there were many restrictions, so normal work was impossible, but with CEO Choi on my back, I started learning how to be a manager.

It wasn’t until much later that I found out how Jiyeon Lee entered CG entertainment and why she was able to take me with her.

As she drove while reminiscing about the past, she arrived at the shop.

I let Lee Ji-yeon and her kids in first, then parked her car and followed her in.

Today, Shining Boys each have their own personal schedules, so it is impossible for me to take care of them alone.

As I entered the shop, I said hello to the hairdressers I often saw and was familiar with, and then contacted the company in advance to bring in other road managers.

Soon other people arrived, and Jangwoo, who was watching me give instructions to the managers, opened his mouth.

“Hey… “Look at how dependable our people are, don’t we need to appoint a chief now?”

He smiled moderately and said to Jangwoo, who was laughing heartily.

“… What does the manager…, I want to become a team leader quickly…”

The youngest Jinwoo, who was listening to the conversation next to Jangwoo, added a strange tone and laughed.

“Choin-hyung is the manager? Sangmin, who was passing by, would laugh.”

Inseok, who was waiting on the other side, shouted to Jinwoo.

“Hey! What is that tone of voice? “Let me know too!”

Sangmin said as if he was pathetic after seeing Inseok cheering on Jinwoo.

“Inseok hyung, that’s only used by Internet addicts. Ignore it because you’re treated like a weird kid.”

Inseok turned around, looked at Sangmin curiously, and said.

“… Sangmin, how do you know all that? Maybe you too…”

“It’s not right?”

“Ah! What! “I just don’t know…”

The guys who had kept their mouths shut in the car became quiet after coming to the shop and started talking non-stop.

Seeing his lively appearance made me laugh for no reason.

“···Wow.”

I was laughing heartily at these guys talking excitedly among themselves, and for some reason, the back of my head started to tingle.

When I glanced back, I saw Jiyeon Lee doing her hair and looking at me blankly.

I met Lee Ji-yeon’s eyes, was startled, and spoke to her for no reason.

“···Jiyeon, Director Choi said he would take you there today.”

She was looking at me without answering.

… What is it?

When Lee Ji-yeon doesn’t like something about her, she has a habit of looking away without saying anything.

He’s probably thinking deeply.

Just as I was about to leave to avoid her gaze and avoid touching her, Jiyeon Lee opened her mouth.

“···Chief Choi isn’t coming today?”

She flinched a little at the cold tone, but she continued her words calmly.

“···Director Choi came earlier…”

“… I guess not?”

She clearly didn’t like something because she cut her off in a calm voice.

According to her experience, dealing with her like this was not good.

It is best to quietly avoid her place.

“···Then, let me contact you.”

Jiyeon Lee was still staring at me.

She slowly got up and moved her seat to avoid Lee Ji-yeon’s gaze and called Director Choi.

She rang a few times, and then she answered the phone.

[Oh, Mr. Superin! I was trying to call…, Sorry! I don’t think I can go today.]

“···Yes?”

… Again?

In the morning, I left Jiyeon Lee and was about to pass on the work again.

[I’m sorry, something suddenly came up somewhere else, so I don’t think I can go…, Give the remaining person to Jiyeon!]

“···Yes, I understand.”

[Thank you, thank you for your hard work!]

Director Choi must have been really busy, so he hung up the phone in a hurry.

I turned around cursing Director Choi in my mind and made eye contact with Jiyeon Lee, who was still looking at me.

Jiyeon Lee, who was looking at me coldly, smiled brightly.

*

Originally, the plan was to leave Lee Ji-yeon and Shining Boys to other managers and run away to her office, but…

In the end, she followed Jiyeon Lee.

Unfortunately, the other managers had already stuck to their schedules, so I was the only one free.

“Heung…”

She was reading her script, humming as if she was in a good mood.

Looking at Lee Ji-yeon like that, she was sighing.

As I was watching the staff moving in perfect order, a staff member approached me from over there.

“Jiyeon, is it okay if I start filming?”

“Yes, I will go.”

Seeing Jiyeon Lee stand up with a slight smile upon hearing the staff’s words, it seemed like she was accurately maintaining the concept of her polite personality.

“Choin, I’ll be taking pictures soon, so are you watching?”

“···Yes.”

She smiled at my answer and followed her steps toward the set.

What she filmed today was an advertisement for a cosmetics brand that is popular these days.

I was able to monitor it from my side as well, and the girl I saw on the screen was so beautiful that I sometimes couldn’t get used to it.

Her short brown hair that falls down to her shoulders, her cute puppy dog ​​look, her big eyes that bend beautifully even when she smiles, and the beauty spots under the slightly drooping corners of her eyes create a strange charm.

She was truly a woman worthy of being called lovely.

However, when you look at a world like that with a straight face and a good-looking face, it’s a bit scary.

She looked at the filming that was going on happily and then shifted her gaze to the cell phone she was holding.

The moment I turned on my phone to check the accumulated messages…

Her eyes darkened.

*

When I came to my senses, I was standing in a strange place.

The sky was full of warm light, but it wasn’t dazzling.

A man was looking at the light and shouting.

“Hey! Anyway, this has crossed the line!”

[···We have to do it.]

The man became angry, swearing.

“Hey, damn it, what are we supposed to do with kids like that?”

[···They become the world’s best celebrities···.]

When I looked closely, I saw that the person talking to the man was a woman surrounded by a bright light.

The light emitted by the women was so strong that their faces could not be seen in detail.

“What are you saying earlier? Are you kidding me?”

[It is…]

“What is that! Speak up! Please, I’m dying of frustration! Ahhh!”

While looking at them, the woman slowly turned her head.

Although their faces were obscured by the light, it felt like they were making eye contact.

“If you’re going to do that, then you should do it, not those bitches!”

The man seemed very angry and continued to argue with the woman.

The woman looked away from me and said.

[···You must do it.]

“Ah! Why!! Please!!! What should I do!”

The man was very angry at the woman’s behavior of repeating the same words and took out his anger by kicking the ground.

The woman who was looking at him opened her mouth with difficulty.

[···If you don’t do it, you die.]

The man was startled by the woman’s words and asked the woman back.

“What do you mean… Why am I dying… It doesn’t make sense?”

The woman continued her speech slowly, as if responding to the man urging her to answer.

[If you cannot make yourself into a hero, a demon king, and a beloved celebrity, you will meet a bad end.]

Although I couldn’t hear the words in between, as if there was noise, I could clearly hear the story of the man dying.

The man who was listening to the woman sat down and spoke in a voice that suppressed her tears.

“… I protected the world… I saved all those monster bitches and ended the war. Furthermore, I said I did my job!! … I am having a hard time…”

When he got angry, a white-haired woman and a black-haired woman had collapsed at the place he pointed.

[···They die, but they don’t die. But you die.]

[You die and lose, but they don’t forget.]

[You become weaker, but they become stronger.]

I couldn’t understand the woman’s difficult words.

It was such a random statement.

[If they become stronger… I don’t know what they might do.]

[Once again, gather them together and make them celebrities… Yours…]

The man sighed and expressed my feelings.

“···What bullshit…, Fuck…”

Once again, the woman’s words could not be heard properly, as if there was noise.

I was even more skeptical because I felt like I wouldn’t understand even if I heard everything.

The light emitted by the woman gradually decreased.

I approached them to take a closer look.

A man was seen kneeling in front of the woman.

I wanted to get closer, but her feet seemed stuck to the floor and wouldn’t move.

The man sobbed for a while, then stopped crying and stood up and shouted.

“···Fuck it, I’ll do everything! Do it all! But please help me, this is okay!”

When I raised my head, I was able to clearly see the man’s face.

He was a young man, just like his voice, but his face had small scars here and there, and for some reason I could feel the ravages of time.

It was a face I had seen many times.

After looking at it for a while, my doubts gradually turned into confidence.

···No matter how you look at it, it resembles me.

*

“Huh!”

I woke up from my dream making a stupid sound.

I was sitting in an awkward position, probably losing consciousness while using my phone.

“Did you sleep well?”

Jiyeon Lee was sitting next to me as soon as the filming was over.

She said, looking around her because she was embarrassed that she had found out that she had dozed off.

“···I guess I didn’t get enough sleep. I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s okay, you can do that…”

Jiyeon Lee’s voice, which abruptly interrupted her, was neither low nor high.

She flinched sharply and turned her gaze towards her.

When our eyes met, cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Jiyeon Lee looked very angry.