Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 20

Time passed, and it was already October.

The High Dream filming was progressing steadily.

Since my scenes hadn’t been scheduled yet, I was leisurely spending my time at school.

However, I was starting to worry about something.

‘I should start looking into it soon.’

That "something" was an agency.

With High Dream, the pay and everything else didn’t really matter since I was still considered a rookie. But for future projects, there would be signing bonuses and complicated contracts involved. Handling all of that on my own would be tough.

‘Should I really join ST Entertainment?’

At this point, ST Entertainment, where Kim Yu-ryun was signed, seemed like the best option.

Having someone you know, and someone who was a top actor in the industry at that, would make any minor issues disappear quickly.

‘But I should think this over carefully.’

However, I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions. Typically, actor contracts last at least five years, so it was best to make a cautious choice.

“Hey, you guys! I told you to study, but none of you did, huh?”

While I was lost in thought, my homeroom teacher, Jang Bo-seok, walked into the classroom.

“Your midterm exam results are out, you lot!”

“Aaaargh!”

He brought with him the disastrous news.

Hearing the collective groans, our teacher laughed, seeming to enjoy the students’ misfortune.

“You should’ve studied more instead of just complaining that things didn’t go well.”

Then, out of nowhere, his gaze landed on me.

Clap, clap, clap.

Suddenly, he started applauding.

What’s going on? What’s this about? I was confused for a moment.

“But hey, it’s all good. The top student in the school came from our class—Kim Dong-hoo! Come on up here!”

Speaking in a clumsy dialect, the teacher called me up.

‘Wait, I’m the top student in the whole school?’

Me, who often skips school?

“Our class president got the highest score in the entire school, raising our class average. Give him a round of applause!”

Hold on a second, why am I the class president?

I gave Min-hyuk a questioning look, and he immediately started explaining.

“When you weren’t at school the other day, we all just decided to make you the class president.”

By the way, I’m the vice-president since I’m your manager.

“...What the heck are you talking about?”

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry about it. We all agreed.”

How can I become class president when I’m not even at school often?

Before I could voice my objection, the entire class erupted into applause.

It was just the way things were back then.

In those days, it was common for a teacher to single out a student and have the class congratulate them, a kind of public execution.

Maybe they wanted to celebrate with me?

Vrr, vrr, vrr.

It had been a while since [Sims - The Real Life] sent me a message.

But this time, it was different.

Before, it was just a simple text message. This time, it came in the form of news articles.

-[CyberQA Breaks Down? "Several Managers at Team Lead Level Quit, Including Division Heads."]

-[Choi Seok-ho’s Challenge! "A Space Solely for Actors," Declares Veritas Management’s CEO.]

And then, one headline caught my eye.

-"The First Actor is an Unknown Rookie? ‘A Monster That Shines Brighter Than Anyone,’ CEO Choi Seok-ho’s Confidence Shines."

Wait, are they talking about me?

At the same time, in an office in Bundang.

The place was buzzing with preparations for a new opening.

“Careful with that! Please place it down slowly!”

Amongst the chaos of moving PP boxes back and forth, a man directing the placement of the boxes was rushing around without even wiping his sweat.

“That sofa goes over there! Yes, yes! And the vase, place it here!”

As he watched the office slowly come together, the man felt a swirl of emotions.

‘I wasn’t planning on striking out on my own so soon.’

Although it’s common for managers at the director level to think about starting their own agencies, very few actually take the plunge.

It’s because there’s too much to lose.

You have to recruit actors, compete against the company you left, and most importantly, you become "just another guy," without the backing of a large corporate name.

All the people who used to bow and scrape in front of you now expect you to do the same for them. Under the CyberQA name, everything was a given, but now it wouldn’t be so easy—people would feel the difference.

Still.

“No matter what, treating managers like money-making cogs is wrong.”

That much was clear.

CyberQA’s actions were akin to firing the entire server management team just because there hadn’t been any server issues for a few years.

So I just quit.

Out of sheer disgust.

And at the same time, I made a resolution. I was going to create a company that treated both actors and managers with the respect they deserved.

But the problem was, though I left with that grand plan, I didn’t have any actors to recruit.

More accurately, I had some, but they disappeared.

‘CyberQA...’

That once-familiar corporate giant was now just someone else’s company.

And that giant had crushed my small one-man agency before it had even begun.

Honestly, I hadn’t been completely unaware that this might happen.

But I believed I could still recruit a few rookie actors.

“...Please place that chair here. It’s the CEO’s chair, after all.”

With the office completely empty except for the workers, Choi Seok-ho’s voice grew slightly somber.

He had sunk all his money into this office for a fresh start.

He had even maxed out a loan to make the investment, and now the space felt overwhelmingly empty.

Could there be a sadder story than this?

“If only a rookie actor would just drop out of the sky.”

Yeah, if that happened, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

Choi Seok-ho slapped his cheeks lightly.

Get a grip, Choi Seok-ho. You can do this.

You’re a lucky guy, after all.

You can do this—if you hit the ground running, recruiting actors won’t be a problem.

‘That’s right, I’m lucky.’

The fact that I managed to rent this office in the first place was already a stroke of luck.

A 7-story commercial building, in a prime location with a large parking lot.

And a landlord who didn’t raise the rent.

‘According to rumors, he made a fortune betting on the World Cup.’

As if that could be true. That’s ridiculous.

November.

The end-of-term exams and winter vacation were slowly approaching.

The weather was getting colder now, and a once-iconic outdoor brand in Korea was making a comeback.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen a North Face jacket.’

Back then, it was almost as if every teenager was wearing a North Face jacket.

The craze had been so intense, it was borderline obsession.

‘I couldn’t even wear one back then, even if I wanted to.’

The North Face jacket, affectionately nicknamed "No-pa," wasn’t something you could wear just because you had money.

It was like a status symbol.

It was an exclusive item worn by the so-called "iljin," and if your social ranking wasn’t high enough, you could even get it stolen.

But as for me...

‘Luxury brands are still the best.’

“I’m Gil Gil-dong, a rookie reporter at Daily Happy Online Media. Is it you?”