The Price of Stardom

“I don’t have a sponsor, and I don’t have any backing. But thanks to you, I at least got to wear a luxury dress. Thank you.”

Lee Eun-jae is a stunning but completely obscure rookie actress trapped under a parasitic, abusive manager at a nameless agency. Despite her natural talent and a body that went viral online as anonymous “girlfriend material,” she is relegated to gritty, faceless extra roles—or worse, pressured into exploitative casting-couch demands.

When a major coffee commercial shoot turns out to be a malicious trap designed to force her into a skimpy bikini, Eun-jae draws a hard line. She will gladly strip her soul bare for a legitimate acting role, but she refuses to sell herself to the industry’s corrupt “sponsor” culture. Her defiance leaves her physically assaulted, cornered, and facing the immediate ruin of her career.

Enter Kim Woo-gyeom.

As the elusive, shockingly handsome co-CEO of Delight—one of the nation’s top three entertainment conglomerates—Woo-gyeom is a cold, calculating force who usually stays entirely out of the spotlight. Intrigued by Eun-jae’s fierce pride and heartbroken dignity, he steps into the dressing room to offer her a dangerous lifeline.

Loosening his tie, the corporate titan makes a chilling, seductive proposition:

“You say you don’t have a sponsor or a backer? Then I’ll be your sponsor. Bring me your current contract. No matter how much the penalty fee is, I’ll pay it all and bring you over.”

Forced to choose between career oblivion and a devil’s bargain with a powerful billionaire, Eun-jae must step into the high-stakes, ruthless world of elite entertainment. Can she survive the glitter and the gossip when her ultimate backer is the most dangerous man in the industry?