Possessed 10 Million Actors - Chapter 116

At the team leader’s words, everyone lowered their heads.

Seeing the team members’ hesitant reactions, the team leader shrugged and said, “If you all don’t want to do it, the most skilled senior should handle it. Manager Seo?”

“…Team Leader, aren’t you the most skilled senior here?”

“I know you’re busy.”

At the team leader’s words, Manager Seo covered his face with his hands.

In reality, from the moment such a discussion arose, he had an uneasy premonition that he would end up taking on this task.

“Whoa, sorry for being a bit late. The previous call ran long.”

At that moment, the representative of Dolphin Excursions, Go Seokwoo, entered. As he came in, the employees adjusted their postures.

Go Seokwoo looked around at the peculiar atmosphere in the meeting room and asked, “What’s going on? Why is the mood like this?”

“Well, everyone is a bit reluctant to deliver the news about the non-renewal to KL Entertainment.”

“Oh, really? Why?”

“Well… you know.”

“Because they have nasty personalities?”

As if wondering why they’re bothered by such things, Go Seokwoo reacted surprisingly lightly. The employees chuckled at the unexpected response from the CEO.

The CEO’s reaction seemed to suggest that there might be a solution.

“Well, what can you do? You have to tell the truth. After all, you can’t avoid putting soybean paste on the rice because you’re afraid of the maggots, right?”

But in reality, there wasn’t much of an alternative.

“And don’t worry about that kind of thing. Are we the ones who care about what the advertiser thinks, or the ones who care about what the agency thinks?”

Though Go Seokwoo deliberately spoke lightly, the employees couldn’t bring themselves to laugh.

As the heavy atmosphere continued in the meeting room, he sighed and shook his smartphone.

“Well, okay. I’ll personally call the manager in charge of actor Kwon Seokhoon and talk to him.”

“…”

“If I’m getting paid more than you guys to solve these kinds of problems, then fine.”

The CEO’s impressive words brought a glint to the employees’ eyes. Among them, the one most moved was Manager Seo.

“…CEO!”

***

“So, does this mean our Seokhoon is no longer the Pizza King model?”

The head of KL Entertainment’s actor division growled into his cell phone. Currently, he was on a call with Go Seokwoo, the CEO of ‘Dolphin Tour’.

Trying to calm the head of the division, Go Seokwoo spoke.

[Manager, I apologize for contacting you so abruptly. We’re also quite awkward about Pizza King’s sudden decision.]

“It’s not just awkward. CEO, Pizza King has been doing ads with Seokhoon for five years through Dolphin Tour. Why would they suddenly want to drop him?”

[I mentioned it earlier, but Pizza King’s side… we really had no choice.]

The repeated “we had no choice” response only fueled the anger of the head of the division.

‘Those bastards, “had no choice” my ass. There must be a reason for this.’

Suppressing the urge to curse, the head of the division spoke.

“Sigh… I understand. I won’t ask for the reasons then. Instead, please tell me who the celebrity is that Pizza King is trying to promote as their model, other than our actor. I need to report it to the CEO, as we have to consider who will be used as the Pizza King model.”

[Um… that’s also difficult to disclose. It’s not confirmed yet. I apologize.]

Even with this, the head of the division gritted his teeth and said.

“No, Mr. CEO. If you say you can’t reveal the reason for removing our actor and also can’t disclose who’s replacing him, how am I supposed to handle this? Why are you doing this when you’re someone who knows everything?”

[Haha… I apologize, Director. Do you think I would personally contact you in this awkward situation?]

“…”

[Please understand generously this time and next time, I will definitely offer you a really good advertisement. I promise.]

It had a tone of apology, but strangely, the Division Head felt that Highstone’s words were somewhat slick.

Perhaps it was because he was feeling upset, and that’s why it sounded insincere.

[Oh, Director, I’m sorry. I have an urgent meeting… I’ll contact you again.]

Go Seokwoo finished saying what he wanted to and hung up the phone.

The director of Division 3 had nothing more to say, but he felt incredibly bitter at being on the receiving end.

“X, darn it!”

Bam!

Director 3 threw his cell phone on the desk. With the impact, the cell phone bounced off the ground and landed in front of the sofa.

The fallen cell phone on the ground hit someone’s foot who was sitting on the sofa.

It was none other than Kwon Seokhoon, an actor from Division 3 of KL Entertainment and the model for ‘Pizza King’.

“….”

Kwon Seokhoon picked up the cell phone from the floor with a vacant expression. Then, like a limp doll, he walked over and politely handed it to Director 3.

“X, darn it, orphan bastard. Hey, who told you to pick this up for me?”

Director 3 glanced at him with an annoyed look. Then, with a lot of force on his forehead, he spoke with a rough voice.

“Do what you’re told properly. Stop doing this nonsense. Just because you’re such a moron, it doesn’t mean the ads we got for you were easy to secure!”

Director 3 spewed baseless words without structure or reason. However, in response to such words, Kwon Seokhoon just bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

“You, you lacking bastard.”

After spitting out another round of curses at Kwon Seokhoon, Director 3 leaned back in his chair and asked,

“Are you practicing acting? The audition for ‘The Most Painful Fate in the World’ is less than five months away, you know?”

“Yes.”

“Prepare properly. If you make a fool of yourself like me and the 4th and 5th Directors, I’ll expose your sister’s videos and pictures to the reporters.”

“…Yes.”

“Oh, and when you’re outside, try to maintain a decent image. If I hear rumors about you having some trouble, you’re dead, got it?”

“…Yes.”

Kwon Seokhoon continued to respond with a simple “yes,” as if he were a doll programmed to say only that.

Director 3 observed Kwon Seokhoon with a gaze that resembled how a wicked stepmother would look at her stepchild.

“Seokhoon, why don’t you develop any affection even after more than seven years? Am I the one at fault?”

“…No.”

“Don’t give me that ‘no.’ Are you cursing me in your mind?”

“…No.”

Continuing to speak with little strength, Kwon Seokhoon was glanced at by Director 3 as if he were insignificant.

“Oh, right. As the contract is approaching its end, we will continue with the terms as before. Any issues?”

At the mention of the contract, Kwon Seokhoon’s face twitched for the first time.

However, it was short-lived. Kwon Seokhoon weakly nodded in agreement.

***

In the OS Entertainment headquarters, it has been a while since the ‘Kang Jinseok Team’ meeting.

“Sir, please review these documents.”

Sunho Jang handed over a thick stack of documents. It seemed like there were more than a hundred pages.

Accepting the documents, Kang Jinseok asked, “What’s this?”

“These are the advertising offers that have come in for you. As you can see, they are quite diverse.”

Until now, the only ad Kang Jinseok had filmed was for ‘Maserati,’ but he had consistently received various advertising proposals. However, he hadn’t felt the need for more money, and he was focused on his projects, so he hadn’t taken on additional advertisements.

“There are financial sector ads and public service announcements, among others. It’s quite diverse.”

“Wow…”

“Filming a public service announcement before getting even busier might be helpful for your image. There are many interesting concepts, not necessarily limited to public service announcements. Take some time to look through them.”

“Can I do things the way I want?”

“Of course.”

Jang Sunho nodded and stood up from his seat.

“I’ll make a quick call and be right back.”

“Sure!”

As Jang Sunho made a call, he slowly left the room.

Actually, the fact that Jang Sunho showed me means that any proposal would be a good one.

Still, I couldn’t just skim through them, so I checked carefully.

“Have you made a decision?”

At that moment, Jang Sunho entered the room again and asked, “I haven’t decided yet. I’ve seen them, but nothing has really caught my eye. Considering that all the proposals are from outstanding companies, it’s a bit challenging.”

“I see. In that case, may I suggest a few? I’ve picked some ads that I think would suit actor Kang Jinseok’s image to some extent.”

“Yes, please!”

As I nodded approvingly, Jang Sunho took some documents and returned shortly afterward, handing me a few sheets.

“These are the ads I recommend: a ‘Pizza King’ TV commercial and a YouTube ad.”

‘Pizza King…’

‘Pizza King’ holds significant memories for me. During my time in the orphanage, we would have it at every birthday party, and it was also where I had my first job after leaving the orphanage. I worked in the kitchen making pizzas part-time. The owner was incredibly kind and would occasionally treat us to a whole pizza.

Among the brands I’ve encountered, it was the one I liked the most.

“Compared to other pizza franchises, Pizza King is known for its affordable prices, yet the quality and taste are top-notch, earning high praise from consumers. It’s considered a brand with great value, and even in terms of packaging and menu design, it has a premium feel. It’s currently competing for the top spots in brand reputation…”

Jang Sunho explained his reasons for recommending Pizza King for about a minute.

Despite my own positive memories associated with Pizza King and Jang Sunho’s endorsement, there was an issue.

‘Here… Isn’t Kwon Seokhoon an ambassador for Pizza King?’

As I contemplated various thoughts, Jang Sunho noticed my expression and asked, “Don’t you like Pizza King? You seem to have a somewhat displeased look.”

“Yes? Oh… no. I like Pizza King. I used to work there part-time, and I have only good memories. However…”

Uncertain of how to express my thoughts, I hesitated before calmly continuing, “Right now, Kwon Seokhoon is doing the Pizza King ads. If I were to take it, it might feel like I’m taking it away from him. It just makes me uncomfortable.”

“Do you have a personal relationship with Kwon Seokhoon?” Jang Sunho asked, tilting his head. It might have been just a casual question, but I found myself momentarily speechless at Jang Sunho’s inquiry.

‘A personal relationship?’

Kwon Seokhoon might not know me well, but he was quite significant to me.

“Kwon Seokhoon is…”

As I spoke slowly, Jang Sunho seemed genuinely surprised.

“He is my role model.”