Chapter 26

Chapter 026

‘Yeah, anyway, the current Choi Moon-ho is just an employee working at the production company ‘Big Picture’, and he’s on a different team, so I probably won’t have many chances to run into him···.’

I absolutely hated the thought of getting involved with Choi Moon-ho again, but I calmed myself down by thinking that way.

After exchanging a brief greeting with Choi Moon-ho, we headed back to the meeting room.

“Now, this is Choi Sun-hwa, the head of our film production department.”

At Baek Seong-han’s introduction, the woman sitting at the meeting room table suddenly stood up.

Choi Sun-hwa had short cropped hair and a fairly sturdy build.

She greeted us in a rough voice.

“Hi.
I’m thirty this year, so just call me noona.
As long as you don’t cause any trouble, I won’t hit you, so let’s get along.”

At Choi Sun-hwa’s words, we all exchanged glances without anyone saying anything first.

“Hey, what kind of joke is that?
These kids might actually believe you.
By the way, you’re already thirty?
I guess it’s time for you to become a production manager.”

“Exactly.
The old car has to get out of the way so the new car can move.”

Choi Sun-hwa, whose boyish charm was overflowing, seemed to be close with Baek Seong-han.

She teased him by comparing him to an old, worn-out car.

“Hey, do you think I wanted to become an old car?
Enough of that.
Next is Cha Seung-jun, the deputy head of the production department.”

The simple introductions continued one after another.

Kim Ki-nam, who was the same age as me, also had the same amount of experience as I did.

Once everyone had introduced themselves, Baek Seong-han placed the contracts in front of us.

“Here, read them carefully and sign them.
And Ki-nam, I’m asking just in case, but would you like to try production accounting?”

“Production··· accounting?”

“I’ve been putting up job advertisements, but it’s not easy to find someone.
If you’re willing to do it, we can hire one more junior staff member in the production department right before filming begins.
So, how about giving it a try?”

At Baek Seong-han’s sudden proposal, Kim Ki-nam moved his eyes around as if he were troubled.

After struggling for a moment, he finally opened his mouth.

“PD-nim, I’m sorry, but··· I’m a liberal arts major···.
I’m not good at math···.
Production accounting means collecting receipts every day and recording them in the books, right?
Ugh, I really can’t do that kind of thing.
I’m sorry···.”

“Yeah, it’s okay.
I was only asking just in case.”

Baek Seong-han tried to maintain a pleasant expression, but he let out a short sigh, apparently troubled by how difficult it was to find someone for production accounting.

‘Wait, if the production accounting position is still vacant···.’

My mind began working quickly.

The image of production accounting in the late 2010s was very different from what it was in the early 2000s, which was when we were now.

In the late 2010s, production accountants had a strong image of being ‘the person holding the money’, giving them something of a position of power on set.

On the other hand, in the early 2000s, production accountants didn’t have a particularly positive image.

They were even mockingly nicknamed ‘receipts’.

But that was only because people didn’t understand the job.

Production accounting was actually the only position in film production that allowed someone to properly understand the overall situation and the detailed flow of the production budget.

Could this be considered taking advantage of a lucky opportunity?

Either way, it seemed like luck was on my side.

“Excuse me, Manager.
What if I do the production accounting?”

“Really?
You, Gibaek?”

Baek Seong-han was momentarily surprised by my sudden statement.

But after realizing that one of his worries had been solved, he tried to suppress the corners of his mouth that kept twitching upward.

“I’d really appreciate it if you would do it.
But are you really okay with it?”

I wanted to give the impression that I was sacrificing myself for everyone rather than making it seem like I actually wanted this job.

So I added a little acting.

“Well, it might be a little difficult, but someone has to do it, right?
And since I’m a science major, I should be a little better than Ki-nam at handling Excel files.”

“Yeah, yeah.
That’s our Gibaek!
Let’s keep helping each other like this from now on.”

Baek Seong-han, now in a very good mood, patted my shoulder proudly.

The area in front of COEX Megabox, where the VIP premiere of the movie ‘Eye of the Typhoon’, starring Moon Hyun-bin, was being held, was already crowded with people.

There was still an hour before the premiere began, but the entrance with the red carpet was constantly being flooded with camera flashes from fans and reporters.

‘Where the hell is Seung-jun hyung?
He isn’t answering his phone either.’

While I was repeatedly calling Cha Seung-jun on my cellphone amid the crowd, I spotted Gil Bo-young entering through the theater entrance.

“Noona, Bo-young noona!”

I happily waved both arms at Gil Bo-young.

Soon, Gil Bo-young noticed me and awkwardly approached.

“Ah, Gibaek.
Have you been well?”

“Yes.
Have you been doing well too, noona?”

“I’m··· doing okay···.
Ahem···.
Seung-jun oppa hasn’t arrived yet?”

“I’ve been calling him constantly, but he isn’t answering.”

“Ah··· I see.”

There was an awkwardness in Gil Bo-young’s answer that was different from usual.

I suspiciously glanced at her.

Just then, my cellphone vibrated.

It was Cha Seung-jun.

Cha Seung-jun told me that his mother had slipped on the stairs and was currently in the hospital.

Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured, but he wouldn’t be able to attend the premiere.

After hanging up, I explained the situation to Gil Bo-young.

“I’m glad she wasn’t seriously injured.”

“Yeah.
There’s still some time before the movie starts.
Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”

“Uh··· then, shall we?”

As we headed toward the coffee shop inside the theater, I subtly tried to figure out whether I had done something wrong to Gil Bo-young at the wrap party.

“Noona, we didn’t even get to properly say goodbye at the wrap party···.”

“Gibaek!
Please, please, can you forget what happened at the wrap party?!”

Gil Bo-young suddenly asked me to forget what had happened that day.

Unable to understand, I asked again.

“What?
What do you mean···?”

“I was drunk, but I didn’t black out or anything···.
So I remember everything I did to you that day···.
So please···.”

Gil Bo-young’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato, apparently embarrassed just by remembering it.

‘Ha.
Then, is it because she acted cute around me and all that?’

I couldn’t help but smile because I found Gil Bo-young adorable like that.

“I thought it was something serious···.
Noona, you weren’t embarrassing at all.
You were really cute.”

“Hey, you’re teasing me, aren’t you?
Cute, my ass···.”

Just as Gil Bo-young blushed again and glared at me,

“Bo-young unnie!”

A young woman with an unusually glamorous appearance for a college student quickly approached Bo-young.

‘Huh?
It’s actress Han Hye-joo···.’

Han Hye-joo was also a former child actress like Gil Bo-young.

However, rather than dramas or movies, she appeared on variety shows more often than one would expect from an actress.

She also appeared in a surprisingly large number of commercials compared to her reputation.

Her reputation in the industry wasn’t particularly good either.

Perhaps because of the rumors that she came from a wealthy family, everyone seemed to go out of their way to please Han Hye-joo.

Maybe that was why she didn’t seem particularly serious about acting.

“Uh··· Hye-joo.”

For some reason, however, there was a hint of wariness in Gil Bo-young’s expression when she looked at Han Hye-joo.

“Did you come to the premiere too, unnie?”

“Yeah.
Hyun-bin oppa is appearing in it···.”

“Ah··· that’s right.
I had forgotten.
My father is close with Director Shin, so I came to greet him on my father’s behalf···.”

Her characteristic drawn-out way of speaking gave her words a strangely condescending feeling.

“But you didn’t come alone···.
Ah, a companion?”

Han Hye-joo turned her gaze toward me and openly looked me up and down.

‘Tch.
So this woman was rude even back then.
I guess you could say she’s been consistently the same.’

In 2014, I had once met Han Hye-joo to cast her as the lead actress in a movie I was involved in producing at the time.

Of course, she ultimately wasn’t cast, but I hadn’t had a particularly good impression of Han Hye-joo back then.

“But unnie··· I heard you appeared in a movie recently?
I think it was some kind of independent film···.
Even though you had a long hiatus, you’re still Gil Bo-young.
To think your comeback project would be an independent film···.”

Gil Bo-young’s expression instantly became cold.

But Han Hye-joo continued saying whatever she wanted without caring about her expression.

“No, I’m only saying this because I feel sorry for you, unnie···.
I heard you still don’t have an agency either.
Should I talk to my agency about you?”

That was when it happened.

My cellphone suddenly rang loudly.

I quickly answered it and deliberately spoke in a loud voice so that Han Hye-joo could hear.

“Ah, Director!
Yes?
Right now?
Wasn’t the meeting originally tomorrow?
Ah, you suddenly got a business trip?”

<Director?
Hey, Min Gibaek, what the hell are you talking about?>

Actually, from the moment Han Hye-joo started mocking Gil Bo-young’s comeback project, I had secretly texted Cha Seung-jun, asking him to call me urgently so I could get Han Hye-joo away from her.

“Ah, you really want to see me before you leave?
Yes, I’m currently with actress Gil Bo-young.
Then, we’ll come over there.”

<Are you crazy?
You suddenly texted me asking me to call you.
Is something wrong?>

“Ah, yes.
We’re in Samseong-dong, so I think we can get there in thirty minutes.
Yes~.
See you soon.”

I hurriedly hung up and looked directly at Gil Bo-young.

“Noona, I think we’ll have to watch the movie another time.
It looks like we have to leave right now.
Director Park Jun-beom wants to see you immediately.”

Gil Bo-young was initially confused by the sudden situation.

But at some point, she seemed to understand my intention and naturally continued acting along with me.

“Oh my, really?
Then I guess it can’t be helped.”

Watching this, Han Hye-joo raised the corners of her mouth and spoke to Gil Bo-young.

“Unnie, are you going to be in Director Park Jun-beom’s movie?”

Her tone openly expressed disbelief.

“No.
It hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Director Park really wants to cast Bo-young noona.”

“Ha··· really?
But who is he?
Unnie, did you get yourself a personal manager in the meantime?”

“He’s not my manager.
This friend is···.”

Gil Bo-young hesitated for a moment.

She seemed unsure of how to introduce me.

Or perhaps she was simply being careful about introducing me to Han Hye-joo.

Realizing what she was thinking, I stepped in and settled the situation myself.

“Ah, no.
I’m part of the production staff for Director Park’s upcoming movie.”

“You’re part of the production staff for Director Park’s upcoming movie?”

Han Hye-joo looked slightly surprised.

Perhaps she assumed that someone working on Director Park’s movie wouldn’t lie.

So she didn’t say anything more.

“Hye-joo, it’s been a long time since we met.
It’s a shame I can’t even have a cup of coffee with you.
Well, I’ll get going first.
See you next time.”

After saying a brief goodbye, Gil Bo-young quickly left the area.

I escorted her and left the theater as well.

Only after getting into her car parked in the underground parking lot did Gil Bo-young seem to regain her composure.

She let out a long sigh before speaking.

“Thanks for earlier···.
I was actually really uncomfortable there···.”

“I’m pretty quick at picking up on things.
You’re pretty quick too, noona.
I gave you a signal, and you caught it immediately.
Haha.”

Worried that Gil Bo-young might feel embarrassed, I joked around first.

“I made it way too obvious earlier that I felt inferior to Hye-joo, didn’t I?
I couldn’t even control my expression···.
If I go home like this, I’ll be kicking my blankets all night···.
Sigh···.”

Gil Bo-young let out an adorably cute sigh.

In a way, I found it admirable and even cool that Gil Bo-young openly revealed the feelings she probably wanted to hide.

“Don’t worry.
I was blocking Han Hye-joo’s view of you in the middle, so she probably didn’t notice anything.”

“But because of me, you couldn’t even watch the movie, and I even made you tell a pointless lie···.
What should I do?
I’m really sorry.”

Gil Bo-young lowered her shoulders dejectedly.

I simply smiled at her as if there was nothing to worry about.

“You don’t have to be sorry, noona.
I’m going to make that lie become the truth anyway.”