Chapter 125: I Will Serve You Politely
TL: Aniea
“Winning a Best Actor or Grand Prize within a year… Considering that you're a rookie, Kang Woo-ju ssi, it would be difficult with just <Peaceful Chaebol Life>.”
“I think so too.”
“Then the best option would be to push forward the filming and release of the movie you mentioned before. How far along was it again?”
“I actually contacted the director separately yesterday. He said the pre-production is almost complete. But there are difficulties securing costumes and filming locations…”
Hmm-
Kim Eun-ha let out a low hum. Despite having had a good night’s sleep and starting the meeting early in the morning, a solution was not easily in sight.
Since award ceremonies aren't held every month, even if filming starts immediately, it was questionable whether the film could be released within the year.
“It would be a relief if the period Chairman mentioned extends to next year, but we should prepare for the worst-case scenario. We must bring it forward within this year.”
“Of course, I agree with you, but...”
It's a realistic problem.
No matter how much money you have, you can't increase or decrease physical time.
Even if, miraculously, pre-production ended today and filming started right away, the average filming period alone is about one to three months.
And to make matters worse, the genre of the film is ‘action’ and ‘noir’. Compared to a slice-of-life drama, each scene takes twice as long to shoot.
“And if we consider post-production as well…”
Adding CG and editing, rating reviews, securing theaters, etc. If we include all the post-filming work, we’d have to allocate at least a year.
‘Honestly, it's close to impossible.’
Chairman Kim Seok-ho had drastically lowered the standards, but the initial criteria were just too high. This is also clearly a mission impossible.
No, thinking about it now, it might actually be more realistic to get rich overnight with cryptocurrency.
“I’ll help with that part.”
“You will, Eun-ha ssi?”
“Securing a grace period from the Chairman is very important to me too. I’ll contact the director directly and have the group invest in this film at the corporate level.”
“......!!”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise at Kim Eun-ha’s bold decision. Certainly, if she steps in front, the production period can be drastically compressed.
First, with direct support from Mirae Department Store, the budget becomes more generous, and this lowers the difficulty of casting actors and production staff significantly.
Not only that, but just like during the drama shoot, various brand sponsorships for costumes and locations would follow almost automatically.
“If you do that for us, we could wrap up pre-production right away. We might even start filming in as little as one to two weeks.”
“I think I can also help with the rating review and theater distribution. I gained some leverage while preparing for the entertainment acquisition.”
“…CEO-nim!!”
She's not some genie from Aladdin’s lamp, but seeing Kim Eun-ha solve the seemingly impossible problems one after another brought tears to my eyes.
For a while, I had gotten so used to her that I had momentarily forgotten, but her abilities far exceeded that of the average person.
When Kim Eun-ha uses her power, connections, and wealth, most things, like now, become a free pass.
“Since we’re on the topic, be ready to sign the official contract as well. The company acquisition and internal restructuring were completed a few days ago.”
“Oh, then I get a manager too?”
“How about Team Leader Kang Dae-ho?”
“Excuse me?”
I unconsciously repeated the question at the overly familiar name. Swallowing my disbelief, I asked cautiously.
“…Who?”
“Team Leader Kang.”
“The head of the security team?”
“Yes.”
Kim Eun-ha nodded calmly as if wondering what the problem was. I squinted my eyes at her and opened my mouth.
“Why?”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No. It's not that. It's just… Team Leader Kang Dae-ho is already busy managing the security team. And now, suddenly, he's going to be my personal manager?”
“He’s currently head of the security team, yes, but before I hired Secretary Yoon, he also handled my secretary duties. I can vouch for his capabilities.”
“Still…”
This just doesn’t feel right.
To Kim Eun-ha, who lost her parents early on, Team Leader Kang Dae-ho is like a father figure.
He's not even that eloquent, so just imagining him sticking by my side 24/7 was already making it hard to breathe.
“Since we need someone to guard you anyway, if there's someone who can handle the manager duties as well, of course we should ask them.”
“What about the people who were originally working?”
“Succession of employment wasn't part of the acquisition terms. I can't go into detail, but we cut out all the rotten parts without hesitation.”
“.......”
Well, that makes sense.
The whole company was acquired to save time and money during the establishment process. There’s no reason to bring along people who aren’t competent.
Unless you're a middle manager who survives on connections in this field, most replaceable roles like road managers would have been cut.
“Is Team Leader Kang Dae-ho okay with this? Not that I'm looking down on the job, but being a manager is definitely no easy task.”
“He volunteered.”
“Excuse me?”
“We were looking for someone on the security team to take on the role of your manager, and Team Leader Kang personally raised his hand and volunteered.”
“...Did he say why?”
“Of course. He said since he's getting older, he should pass on the team leader position and raise a successor before it’s too late.”
Hoo hoo-
Kim Eun-ha chuckled as if she found it amusing. She’s too sharp not to know what Team Leader Kang Dae-ho is really thinking.
No, actually, it didn’t even seem like Kang Dae-ho was trying to hide his intentions. He outright declared he’d be keeping a close watch on me.
‘…As if people’s eyes on me weren’t sharp enough already.’
Maybe he had picked up on the strange atmosphere that had recently developed between me and Kim Eun-ha, but Kang Dae-ho’s gaze had gotten more intense.
Of course, maybe I was just feeling guilty and imagining it, but people's intuition tends to be surprisingly accurate.
‘Even his hits have gotten harsher.’
Lately, as promised before, I had been learning martial arts under Team Leader Kang Dae-ho.
It was so intense that I sometimes wondered if it was just disguised as training but was actually beating me up.
These days, I’ve come to realize, ‘So he was actually going easy on me before’, as I get struck so precisely that it wakes up all my senses.
‘If Team Leader Kang really becomes my manager...’
Brrr-
Just imagining it for a second made me shiver. Not only would I be unable to catch up on sleep during travel, but I’d also feel guilty if I ever had to ask him to run an errand.
Puhuhuhu-
Maybe reading the conflicted expression on my face, Kim Eun-ha suddenly smiled. She laughed so hard that her eyes turned watery.
“Do you dislike Team Leader Kang that much?”
“…How could I? It’s the opposite. How could I dare ask my teacher to take the wheel? I’d rather go around alone.”
“You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you?”
“Please don’t tease me so much.”
Hehehe-
Even though I gave her a disgruntled look, Kim Eun-ha found it so amusing that she laughed for a while before continuing.
“You don’t need to worry so much. I knew you’d feel that way, so I politely declined. Seo Baek-ho ssi will be your manager.”
“Seo Baek-ho ssi...”
Seo Baek-ho is a member of Kim Eun-ha’s security team. Under Team Leader Kang Dae-ho, along with his peer Han Yeo-ryeong, he’s considered a top disciple.
With his heavy presence reminiscent of Kang Dae-ho, having him by my side would feel very reassuring.
‘And he's surprisingly attentive.’
Since we were both training under Team Leader Kang, we saw each other quite often.
Each time, he’d always come prepared with drinks or snacks and was very thorough with time management. He even scheduled everything in 30-minute blocks.
Han Yeo-ryeong, with her easygoing and impulsive personality, found him a bit stifling, but she often benefited from his incredible preparedness.
“If it’s him, I’m relieved.”
“Oh my, you’re way too happy. I’m going to tell Team Leader Kang later.”
“Don’t be so childish.”
“Don’t be so childish~”
“......”
Kim Eun-ha mimicked my tone in a weird way. Watching her, I let out a bitter smile inwardly.
She seemed to be in an unusually good mood today. Since her smile was pleasant to see, I decided to leave her be for now.
“Well, anyway... I’ll speak to the director myself. I’m sure if he hears about you, Eun-ha ssi, he’ll come running barefoot.”
“Mm-hmm. Leave that part to me.”
Hmph-hmph-hmm-
Kim Eun-ha nodded with a hum in her voice.
Thanks to that, I could finally relax a bit. With her help, I should be able to finish the screening before the next award ceremony begins.
“More importantly, Woo-ju ssi.”
“Yes?”
“I said all that, but even if we meet with the director and start coordinating, it will still take at least one or two more weeks before filming begins.”
“Mm. That makes sense.”
“If it were up to me, I’d tell you to rest at least until then. But unfortunately, there’s a mountain of work waiting to be done.”
“What kind of work?”
“You need to shoot the department store model campaign.”
Ah-
Kim Eun-ha looked at me as if to ask if I had forgotten, and I quickly waved both hands in denial.
In truth, so much had happened in the last few days that I had momentarily forgotten, but I had no intention of letting that show and giving her something to hold over me.
‘...Right, we made that bet.’
Before the theater production began, I had made a bet with Seo Jun-woo over the department store’s main model position.
It wasn’t like sports where someone scores points, so it had been hard to determine a winner. But surprisingly, Seo Jun-woo had admitted his loss first.
-Just looking at the audience’s expressions, I can tell. You were definitely the star of this stage. As promised, I’ll yield the department store model spot.
-Are you really okay with that?
-Why act like it’s a big deal? The contract period isn’t even that long anymore. Even if they ask me to renew, do you think the CEO-nim would accept it? More importantly...
-Hm?
As Seo Jun-woo trailed off uncharacteristically, I looked at him with a questioning gaze, and he grinned mischievously and said,
-Are you sure you’re okay?
-Okay with what?
-.......
Kuk-
Unable to answer right away, I watched as Seo Jun-woo let out a laugh.
Afterward, he patted my shoulder a couple of times like he was wishing me good luck, then suddenly spoke with a serious look.
-Next time, I’ll win.
With a line that sounded like it came straight out of a shounen manga, Seo Jun-woo walked off. But because his expression was so serious, I couldn’t say anything in response.
Thanks to that, I stood there blankly, watching his back as he walked away.
“Woo-ju ssi.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
The voice calling me brought me back from my thoughts. In my line of sight, I saw Kim Eun-ha’s face staring straight at me.
“Eugh... Well, the meeting did go on for a while. Since we’ve covered most of the important topics, let’s wrap it up here and follow our schedules.”
“I’ll give you a ride to the department store.”
“It’s fine. You must be busy.”
“No, not really at the moment...”
As I tilted my head, trying to recall today’s schedule, Kim Eun-ha raised one corner of her mouth.
“You’re starting swimming practice today too, aren’t you?”
“...Please forget about that.”
“Unfortunately, I have a good memory.”
“Hoo. Then I’ll just have to resolve it physically.”
“Hmm? What do you- Eek!”
With a sudden burst of energy, I lunged at her as if I was about to tackle her and lifted her up from below.
“I’ll politely escort you to the training room.”
“W-Wait...!? Woo-ju ssi!?”
Without giving her a chance to struggle, I carried her in my arms like a princess and began walking forward.
*****
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