Entertainment Life With A Camera

Chapter 192

A dirty world that only looks for handsome men.

“Are you not going to drink more?”

“I have work tomorrow.”

President Min escorted Lee Byung-hun to the outside of the bar. He spoke with a cigarette in his mouth.

“Do you want one?”

“No, I quit.”

“When?”

“A while ago.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

President Min put the cigarette pack in his pocket. Lee Byung-hun quit smoking? He looked at him with a curious expression, and Lee Byung-hun chuckled.

“The kids told me to quit smoking for my health, they nagged me so much.”

“Wow.”

The kids that Lee Byung-hun, who had no children, was talking about must be his singers. And most likely, it was Awi.

Lee Byung-hun chewed a gum instead of a cigarette.

“But why is President Jung acting like that these days?”

“What do you think? He got high on yen and got cocky. He held back well. But he’s still someone we’ll see in the same industry, he shouldn’t have gotten into a fistfight.”

President Min shrugged his shoulders. Lee Byung-hun frowned as he remembered what he had heard earlier.

“But President Jung has a point to some extent.”

“What did you say?”

Lee Byung-hun raised his voice, and President Min showed his hands and gestured him to calm down.

“These days, the groups tend to stay together, but even so, the contract extension is usually three years, so the group’s lifespan is at most ten years.”

“…”

“You know how talented your kids are, but that doesn’t mean they’re popular. Well, the group and the kids are both popular, but it’s also true that one of them is overwhelmingly popular.”

Lee Byung-hun groaned.

Ian had been getting attention since his debut thanks to his natural face. So it was also true that the other members received less attention relatively.

“Don’t you think the guys have ambitions? They want to be more recognized as celebrities. ‘Why is that guy doing so well by himself when I’m in the same group’ Don’t you think they really never thought that?”

That was the same for our kids, but President Min added. Lee Byung-hun looked at him in surprise.

“Did your kids say that too?”

“Some of them seemed to have… low self-esteem.”

He founded his company later than Lee Byung-hun. It was such a small company that he treated Luna Girls like family since they were trainees, and they also relied on President Min. So he could hear more honest stories from his singers.

“Anyway, you’re not going to keep the kids for just ten years, right?”

“Of course not… I want them to last as long as possible.”

There were more groups that maintained their status steadily these days, but the idol ‘groups’ in Korea had a short lifespan since the old days.

There was one exception case that had been releasing albums steadily for over 20 years even though they belonged to different companies, but that was only one group.

In reality, the lifespan of today’s idol groups was ten years. Like Black Rusher, they only maintained their group name while doing individual activities, which was practically no different from disbanding.

“Try to balance them well so that the others don’t feel left out. It’s not an easy job, though.”

President Min smiled bitterly.

“Your driver is here, I’m going in.”

“Okay.”

Lee Byung-hun headed home in his car, chewing over what President Min had said.

“It’s hard, it’s hard.”

***

Jasper Dyke, opens up about his anti-Korean controversy… “It was a thoughtless remark when I was young… I’m sorry for causing trouble to the fans”

Lee Byung-hun snorted. You were talking shit and now something blew up on you.

He closed the internet news window and leaned back on his chair.

“Sigh…”

Lee Byung-hun licked his dry lips and rubbed his hands. He kept thinking about what President Min had said yesterday.

He had said it proudly in front of him, but he didn’t know everything about his singers’ feelings, so he was unsure.

‘I hope they renew their contracts, but…’

It had been only four years since they debuted, so renewing their contracts might be a premature thought. But he had already failed to renew the contract with Black Rusher, so he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

‘What conditions should I offer them to stay…’

The popularity of Awi’s members was not declining, and they had their own color and bond as a team. As the head of the agency, he didn’t want to lose them.

‘But if they want to leave, I’ll have to let them go.’

Sometimes, when the contract expiration date of a celebrity came, there were agencies that played all kinds of media games.

They would season the news with statements like ‘This celebrity has already renewed their contract with our agency’, but if it turned out that the celebrity had ‘already finished negotiating with another agency’, they would change their attitude and badmouth the celebrity with their weaknesses or hire a reverse viral company to do dirty things.

‘I want to keep them so much that I feel like doing that…’

It was not only Ian, but also the other members.

‘Ah, I still have a long way to go. I don’t want to be a burden to the kids’ future.’

Lee Byung-hun valued each individual’s choice. If he heard that Kim Young-hyun wanted to move to another agency because he had something personal he wanted to try, like he did before, he would send him off with regret but also support.

‘But I’m glad they get along well with each other…’

Maybe because they were close, they could part ways beautifully for each other’s success. He got up from his thoughts and looked for the remote.

“What channel was TVM?”

Today was the day that Kim Joo-young appeared as a guest on ‘Rural Life’.

***

It wasn’t just Lee Byung-hun. The other members of Awi also finished their busy schedules and ran to the underground parking lot as soon as they got off the van.

“Hey, hurry hurry hurry!”

“Remote! Where is it!”

“Hyung, it’s here! I’ll turn it on!”

Park Jin-hyuk, who opened the door of the dormitory roughly, ran to the living room with a hop. The other members followed him, and Kim Joo-young was the one who closed the door.

They had planned to watch it together later on VOD, but it turned out that ‘Rural Life’ was a late-night program that aired at 11 p.m.

“Joo-young! What should we order? I’m hungry!”

“Come on, we can watch the broadcast later.”

“There is no later for us. Only now.”

“Wow, Joo-hyuk hyung, that was so cool just now.”

The members of Awi had skipped dinner and came straight back to the dorm.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Wait a minute, we have to match this with the broadcast. Hey, Joo-young! What did you eat on the show today?”

“Just… I’ll order something.”

Kim Joo-young stared blankly at the members who were sitting in front of the TV and sighed in resignation. He opened the delivery app.

‘I hope that scene doesn’t air today.’

He tried to think hard, rolling his eyes nervously. The members who gathered in front of the TV whispered quietly so that Kim Joo-young couldn’t hear them.

“Honestly, if Kim Joo-young hadn’t told us not to watch it, we wouldn’t have come back so urgently.”

“Right? Why is he blocking our live viewing?”

“Why do you think he told us not to watch it?”

“It’s obvious, he cried there, right?”

Jo Tae-woong pretended to cry, and as expected of a former child actor, he mimicked Kim Joo-young’s expression and behavior when he cried. At that moment, Kim Joo-young shouted angrily.

“I didn’t cry, okay? You’re the one who squeezed out tears at the comeback show…”

The members flinched at the loud noise and shrugged their shoulders awkwardly. Jo Tae-woong made a brazen face and jumped up.

“Hey! What’s wrong with crying in front of the fans! I’m proud of it!”

“Nah… Just like it…”

Kim Joo-young shook his head and imitated Jo Tae-woong’s words at the comeback show in a ridiculous way.

“Hey! When did I say that!”

Jo Tae-woong ran to catch Kim Joo-young, who was not going to be caught easily. He ran away and hid behind the dining table.

“Guys, the noise between the floors…”

Lee Joo-hyuk sighed deeply. If they were the type to stop when he stopped them, they would have stopped long ago.

“Hey! Hyung! The broadcast is starting!”

Just then, Park Seo-dam spoke loudly. Jo Tae-woong quickly sat down in front of the TV, and Kim Joo-young walked over and sat next to Ian.

“Did you really cry there?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then did you curse at us?”

“That’s…”

Kim Joo-young hesitated to answer, and Ian shouted at Jo Tae-woong.

“Hey! He must have cursed at us on the show!”

“Did you really curse?”

“No!”

“Hey, hey, let’s watch the show. We can’t hear anything because you’re so loud.”

In the end, Lee Joo-hyuk had no choice but to calm down the three friends of the same age. On the screen, a brief summary of ‘Rural Life’ was playing.

“Wow, but those people are really…”

“They have no vitality.”

The rural life of the actors who represent Korea, especially the four actors who had no sense of direction and their servant Jo Min-hwan, who assisted them, were struggling to cook rice.

(Seong PD, this is really not working. Let’s call a guest.)

Jo Min-hwan, who had black smudges on his face, put down the rice scoop as if he was throwing it and sighed heavily.

(We’re going to starve at this rate.)

(Um, should we? If Min-hwan wants… How about a guest? Do you want to call them yourself?)

(Hold on. I have one person in mind… Does he have time?)

Jo Min-hwan took out his phone. Next to him, Lim Hye-ji, who was watching, sat down on the side of the wooden floor. They were friends of the same age, who had known each other since their theater days.

(Who are you going to call?)

(Ian.)

(Really?)

Lim Hye-ji widened her eyes and smiled with a blush on her cheeks. Jo Min-hwan snickered.

(What, why are you so happy? You’ve worked with him before.)

The screen briefly switched to a footage of Ian dancing on stage and acting as Kim Chun-taek in ‘The Heebin Clan’.

“Wow, they found the footage really well.”

“Right? Our fans loved that too.”

The footage ended, and Lim Hye-ji’s dreamy expression was captured on the screen.

(Of course they did. Unlike you, Ian is handsome.)

(That’s true… Hey, wait, I’m handsome too.)

(I’m on the phone, I have to tell the ladies too.)

Ignoring Jo Min-hwan’s words, Lim Hye-ji hummed a tune and went inside the house. He grumbled and called Ian.

What happened next was well known to Ian. He declined Jo Min-hwan’s offer to be a guest and recommended Kim Joo-young instead.

(Okay, it’s decided, I’ll go tell the ladies.)

(Wait a minute.)

Seong PD stopped Jo Min-hwan from entering the house.

(Let’s make them think that Ian is coming.)

(Is that okay?)

(Don’t you want to tease them a bit? They seem to be looking forward to it.)

(…That sounds good.)

Jo Min-hwan secretly wanted to see the faces of the four actors who had tormented him throughout the filming, disappointed by the arrival of someone different from the person they expected.

(But don’t we have to tell Joo-young?)

Jo Min-hwan muttered blankly, and that was the end of the day for ‘Rural Life’.

The dark sky showed the sunrise in a time lapse, and the morning of ‘Rural Life’ began.

(I have something to tell you.)

(Today, finally, a ‘special’ guest is coming.)

The actors looked doubtful at Seong PD’s words, as if they couldn’t believe it.

(Is Ian really coming?)

(Is Ian coming? Awi? My daughter is a fan…)

(He’s the one, right?)

(What do we do… Is he really coming?)

Everyone except Jo Min-hwan thought that Ian was coming and was excited. They suddenly looked for a mirror and checked their appearance. Jo Min-hwan watched them and smiled bitterly.

(Wow, I’ve never seen them like that. Did you see that, Seong PD?)

(This is my first time too.)

And then, the members who were tearing up the delivery food and staring at the screen heard Kim Hyun’s sarcastic remark.

“It’s a dirty world where only handsome guys are sought after.”

“Haha.”

Ian laughed awkwardly at that.