A Top Star Walks In

It was Cha Gye-won, the lead actor of this film.

I was seeing him in person for the first time, and he was just like he appeared on screen—no, he was far more exquisite than any screen could capture.

I wasn’t exactly small myself, but standing next to a man who was nearly 190cm tall made me have to crane my neck.

The forehead beneath his swept-back hair was smooth and flawless.

“I enjoyed the coffee earlier. I came to say hello.”

Cha Gye-won offered his hand with a beaming smile.

The hand I shook in a daze was incredibly firm.

“Ah, no. It was nothing.”

A man who already looked like a literal sculpture was now smiling and greeting me, making the entire surroundings seem to brighten.

Part of it might have been because I’m gay, but this was a face that could make even a stone’s heart flutter.

“Aren’t you going to give me a business card?”

At Gye-won’s words, I fumbled busily through my pockets.

Opportunities to give out cards—or requests for them—had dwindled so much that I didn’t have a single business card left in my wallet.

“A card. Ah, a card…. What should I do? I don’t have one on me right now.”

“Give it to me next time, then.”

With a soft smile, Cha Gye-won straightened my scarf and turned away.

********************************************

“……What is this?”

“I’m sorry, CEO….”

Despite saying she was sorry, she handed over the contract without hesitation.

Her fingertip pointed to the contract period.

It was a sign that her time with the agency was coming to an end.

“What am I supposed to do if even you act like this? You know you’re the only actor we have left. Please, Seong-ah.”

“Exactly! What kind of company only has two actors to its name?!”

“Just a little longer, please? We’re on our way up now. You’re about to start a drama soon, too.”

“I’m sick to death of hearing that. What do you mean ‘up’? We can barely cover the cost of costumes. I’m thirty now. How much longer do I have to keep playing minor roles?!”

“I’m already talking to the drama production company about your casting, so….”

“What’s the point if you’re just talking endlessly? Do you think I don’t know it’ll fall through again?”

Seong-ah stormed out of the office in a rage.

It seemed Tae-mi’s departure to a new agency had triggered her as well.

“Ha. Seriously.”

I buried my face in my hands.

Of all things, both their contracts were ending at nearly the same time.

Yet, I couldn’t even hold onto them.

How could I hold anyone back when I hadn’t even been able to support them properly?

My current age is thirty-two.

I was twenty-eight, four years ago, when I fell for the persuasion of my ex-boyfriend and college senior, Kim Seung-ju, and started this partnership.

He was a man who was as clever and silver-tongued as he was handsome.

‘Dammit. I’m such a sucker for a pretty face.’

Enchanted by that face, I had believed everything he said.

By the time I realized how strange it was that Baek Yi-seo was listed as the representative and that all company funds were secured only in my name, he had already vanished.

They say handsome people act their price and ugly people act their fool, but that man had done both in spades.

Vrrr. Vrrr.

A phone vibrated on the desk.

It was a number from a loan shark.

These people contacted me like clockwork the moment the end of the month approached.

Out of all the places Kim Seung-ju could have chosen, these were the worst of the lot.

I flipped my phone over and buried my face on the desk.

Knock. Knock.

I flinched.

My thin shoulders trembled as I sat with my head down.

‘Did they come here because I didn’t pick up?’

I had paid every cent of the interest up until last month, so how could they do this?

I knew they were unreasonable thugs, but a wave of sorrow washed over me nonetheless.

“CEO?”

However, the voice that reached me was too low and husky to belong to a debt collector.

“Huh?”

Cha Gye-won.

When I lifted my head, the actor Cha Gye-won was standing by the door, leaning against the frame in a crooked posture.

Startled, I scrambled to my feet.

“Cha Gye….”

“You don’t seem happy to see me. Everyone else I meet is usually thrilled.”

He walked in, his eyes locked onto mine.

The way he sat leisurely on the sofa was languid.

“No! It’s not that I’m not happy. It’s just. Why are you here….”

Did I do something wrong yesterday? Or was it Tae-mi?

No, even if someone did something wrong, would an actor come here personally?

I fumbled about, unable to find my bearings.

Cha Gye-won coming to my office? It was unthinkable.

“Ah. I was thinking of joining this place.”

“Uh…. You’re already inside.”

Snicker.

“No. Your company. I want to join it.”

An awkward silence filled the office.

Well, perhaps I was the only one feeling awkward.

Cha Gye-won still had an expression full of composure.

“Pardon…?”

“Don’t you recruit actors here? Or am I just not good enough as an actor?”

The way he spoke while resting his chin on his hand, pretending to worry, felt surreal.

“No!”

Not good enough?

If Cha Gye-won wasn’t good enough, then no one in South Korea could be an actor.

He was more than just a guaranteed hit; he was the number one choice for any casting.

There were countless production companies begging him to just appear, promising to write scripts exactly how he wanted.

This was likely one of the reasons Tae-mi felt comfortable looking for a new agency.

Any movie with Cha Gye-won as the lead was bound to be a blockbuster anyway.

“Uh…. I don’t quite understand….”

I slumped down onto the sofa opposite him.

The cheap sofa had no cushioning at all.

The distance between the sofas wasn’t very wide either.

“Ah.”

As my mouth hung open in a daze, Cha Gye-won slid a long finger inside and then pulled it out.

“Why are you keeping it open like that? As if you’re asking for something to be put in.”

At the sensation of his finger touching my tongue and then disappearing, my face instantly turned beet red.

‘What was that?’

“You look like you’re about to explode.”

With the same finger he had just put in my mouth, Cha Gye-won tapped my cheek.

Everything happening before my eyes was bewildering, but because he was smiling as if he were enjoying himself, I couldn’t even voice my confusion.

It was clearly a rude gesture, but when Cha Gye-won did it, it somehow felt natural.

“Ah….”

“Aren’t you going to sign a contract with me?”

Cha Gye-won asked nonchalantly.

As far as I knew, he was twenty-seven, five years younger than me.

And yet, he felt much more like an adult than I did.

His movements, his expressions, and his entire attitude suggested as much.

“Really? You won’t?”

“No! I will! I’m doing it!”

I’ve heard I’m a bit slow, but I’m not so dense that I’d kick away a winning lottery ticket that rolled right to my feet.

Watching me declare my commitment so loudly that the office shook, Cha Gye-won tapped his foot.

“Fine. Sign here, then.”

“Pardon?”

“Sign.”

Cha Gye-won kindly tucked a pen into my hand.

Before I knew it, a contract was lying on the small table between the sofas.

“Uh…. The contract…. Why….”

Normally, it was standard for the company to prepare the contract.

An actor bringing their own contract was unheard of.

As I stood there failing to grasp the situation, Cha Gye-won tilted his chin up confidently.

He looked as if he were asking why I hadn’t signed yet.

“I’m a bit picky.”

I knew that much.

Even as the CEO of a failing agency, I was still in the same industry and had picked up a few rumors.

For instance, rumors that his family was extraordinary, that you’d be crushed if you crossed him, or that he had a chilling side despite his appearance.

But rumors were just rumors.

In this industry, those kinds of rumors were practically clean.

Even those vanished in the face of his handsome looks.

“Ah. Then I’ll give it a read.”

An actor shoving a contract in front of me was ridiculous, but I wasn’t in a position to complain.

It was Cha Gye-won. Not just anyone, but the Cha Gye-won.

I should be grateful even if he made me drink poison, let alone sign a contract.

However, with a disinterested expression, Cha Gye-won took the contract I had picked up to read and placed it back on the table.

“I’ll tell you the details later, so just sign first.”

“But….”

“You don’t want to? You said you did earlier.”

Before I could even answer his question, he took my hand and filled in the signature line.

Baek Yi-seo. My name was etched clearly at the bottom of the contract in neat handwriting.

“The contract period will last until I want to leave.”

“Pardon?”

A high-pitched sound escaped my mouth.

This wasn’t some house-playing game—how could there be such an unfair condition?

That meant he could just leave whenever he felt like it.

“Why.”

“No, it’s just. That doesn’t seem like a real contract…. Contracts usually have a set period….”

“You just have to make me not want to leave.”

“H-How am I supposed to do that….”

“You just need to listen to me. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Well….”

Cha Gye-won crossed his legs in the opposite direction, as if asking if I couldn’t even manage that.

My mouth wavered as if I wanted to say something.

No matter how I looked at it, this didn’t seem like a normal contract between a company and an actor, but the words wouldn’t come out easily.

“I’ll bring in the manager, stylist, and any other staff I need.”

“All of them?”

“As far as I know, there are no employees here anyway.”

“Yes….”

Even though I had a mouth, I had no words.

The company was currently in a state where we had to hire daily workers because we didn’t even have a dedicated stylist.

As the conversation continued, my shoulders slumped further.

“The accountant will take care of the income settlement. Don’t worry, I won’t cheat you.”

“Pardon?”

“…….”

The more I heard, the more flabbergasted I became.

It didn’t feel like Cha Gye-won was joining my company; it felt like I was being absorbed into his.

“Are you doing that on purpose?”

“Pardon? Doing what….”

“Asking me back like that.”

“Why would I ever….”

“To look cute.”