“Thank you for your work.”

“It must have been hot. Thank you for your work. It’s about time it gets a little cooler too.”

“You don’t say.”

The manager came over to Giwoo, who was waiting outside the store while looking after his fans. Jeonga looked at her watch and watched them. This man showed her what manners were until the moment the interview ended. Although many people thought that young actors would act polite, in Jeonga’s experience, that wasn’t necessarily the case. If they were just young, then maybe, but people like Giwoo, who had achieved success at such a young age, would show a hint of arrogance. Hitting on her after the camera turned off was on the cute side. There was an actor who pointed at a fan standing behind him and asked the staff to remove the ugly girl. That actor usually had the ‘young master’ image, but Jeonga was still flabbergasted by that image. Although the interview with that person ended on a smiling note, she would sign into that actor’s anti-fan café. Regarding this area, Giwoo was exceptional in both skill and attitude among his peers. Not only that, his background as well. She wondered who the modern version of a prince on a white horse would choose as his woman. Jeonga briefly imagined what it would be like if it was her.

“I’ll say goodbye to the producer.”

“Ah, okay.”

He even went to the producer, who was outsourced for this single program, and did a handshake. Producers would sometimes be treated like invisible people, but Giwoo even said goodbye to the staff he met along the way. It felt like a polite attitude was engraved into his body rather than him being hypocritical. This man was perfect from his toes to his soul.

“I have an appointment I must attend, so allow me to take my leave. Thank you for the interview. I had it easy thanks to your help.”

“It puts me at ease to hear those words. See you next time, whether it’s an interview or a get-together.”

Jeonga lightly shook hands with Giwoo. He got in a car with the manager and opened the window to wave at the fans. A flock of high school girls followed the car that drove away.

“Miss Jeonga, good job.”

“You too, producer. Are you going to the next shoot?”

“Don’t even mention it. I’m going to have to go to Haenam[1]. Apparently, someone peculiar lives there, and morning TV programs love those kinds of people. I have to do things like that to feed my kids. Miss Jeonga, you’re going home, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, since I’m done with work here. It’s been a while since work ended early.”

“It’s thanks to that fellow Kang Giwoo. I couldn’t find anything worth scrapping while the camera was rolling. The editing is going to be easy.”

“Looks like Mr. Kang put in some effort so that you can have it easy, producer. He’s a good man, isn’t he?”

“Miss Jeonga, you interested in him? You rarely show any interest after an interview.”

“He’s charming. He looks after people and he smiles at people. Who would say no to him?”

“He’s a good guy alright. It must not be easy to maintain an upright attitude as a new actor for so long.”

“That must be his nature. Someone who was born gentle.”

“Maybe.”

The producer turned around to his crew, who were putting away the equipment.

“Miss Jeonga, you should go. I need to wrap things up here.”

“Yes, producer. Thank you for your work today.”

Jeonga undid her watch and stretched her arms out.

* * *

“Hyung, turn the volume down a little.”

“Okay.”

Manager Kim reached for the volume dial but had to turn the wheel abruptly due to a tow truck that cut into the lane. The tow truck honked its horn repeatedly as it switched from the first lane to the fourth lane. Fucking bastard - he cursed. He calmed his heart down and took his foot off the brakes.

“Giwoo, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry about that, some lunatic just cut in front of me.”

Ever since he saw a tow truck that drove in the opposite lane during the middle of the night, he couldn’t consider the drivers of tow trucks human. They must either have two lives or have a screw or two loose in their heads. Even though a crash would mean they would die as well, those tow truck drivers didn’t seem to know such a simple fact. He suppressed his disgust towards tow trucks as he kept driving. If this was his personal car, he would have caught up to the tow truck and shouted at the guy but not only was this his company car, Giwoo was riding on it as well. If there was trouble in the drama schedule because of a traffic accident, who would take responsibility for that? Manager Kim tried to calculate how much he would have to compensate for Giwoo’s loss of time before giving up.

He heard a sound behind him. It was Giwoo, who had snapped his book close. The heavy sound from the hard-cover book snapping shut got on his nerves. Manager Kim looked at Giwoo’s expression. He was smiling, yet not smiling.

“The volume.”

Manager Kim felt stifled as though he just got stung by a bee in the middle of his throat. He quickly turned the volume down. He had forgotten about it due to the tow truck cutting in. It should have been around 10 minutes since Giwoo mentioned it. He had not listened to Giwoo’s words for ten whole minutes.

“Hyung.”

“...Yes.”

“Mind your own business, okay? You’re not usually like this.”

“Sorry. That tow truck suddenly cut in….”

“I know, you reacted well to that. Even I thought that the truck was moving around dangerously. But you know? I told you to turn down the volume, and that was about ten minutes ago. Avoiding the tow truck is good. I saw it as well. It’ll become a very big accident if you crashed into it while trying to turn down the volume. But you are done with that. The tow truck left, and your hands became free again. Was it so hard to reach out to the volume dial again?”

“I was so out of it. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t keep apologizing. You make me look like the bad guy here. I’m just saying that we should each do what we should. I never treated you badly over the past six months, have I? I really want to continue riding the car that you’re driving. You are good with work, and you don’t get on my nerves. I would love to have someone who works well by my side. I hope you understand how I feel.”

“I will watch out from now on.”

“You should. Or else, I would have no choice but to look for another manager.”

Manager Kim nodded heavily. Six times. That was the number of times Giwoo had switched out his manager over the six months before him. Among the managers, it was called the two-out system. Watch out - the moment a manager hears these words for the second time, they would be relieved of their exclusive manager duties.

Giwoo was known for not bothering his managers. He would frequently do the things that managers had to do as well. All the managers before him shared the opinion that Giwoo was respecting them for their work. Their treatment was good, and his attitude was good as well. Yet such a person did not hesitate for a single moment when switching out a person in a job.

What manager Kim felt after being put in charge of Giwoo was that Giwoo was a good man. The rumors were true. He did not treat people strictly, and he watched out for the managers, even for trivial things. However, the chill in his eyes as well as the lack of emotions in his words that he showed from time to time made him couldn’t help but wonder if Giwoo really was a good person when he considered those two things.

Manager Kim looked at the rearview mirror and smiled. He made eye contact with Giwoo. It didn’t matter if he was a good man or not. What was important was for him to do his best to not get fired from his position. The position of Giwoo’s manager was worth it.

“But hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Didn’t I tell you on your first day? That you should look forward when you drive. Especially when I’m on my phone.”

The next day, manager Kim had to hand his job over to the next manager. He was notified that he was to take care of another idol. Giwoo hadn’t contacted him at all.

* * *

There were sounds of classical music. Giwoo woke up from bed. He could hear the door closing. The cleaning lady this time had good comprehension. She turned on the music at just the right time and left his house without making so much as a single footstep sound.

He came out to the living room and had a look at his stuff. The cleaning lady hadn’t even gone near the things that he told her not to touch. The slight layer of dust was proof of her loyalty. An obedient dog had to be rewarded. He took out two bills from his wallet and put them under the clay doll next to the TV. She had cleaned both what could be seen and what could not be seen. This cleaning lady seemed good enough that he didn’t have to concern himself with her for a while. A dog that realized that it could eat delicious food after working would not become lazy after all.

He sat on the sofa and picked up a script. As it was the script for a medical drama, it was filled with medical jargon. He muttered the medical terms that he couldn’t get used to pronouncing as he walked around the living room. The fact that he chose a medical drama as his comeback work was a challenge for him. He had already proven himself with romantic historical dramas, so he had to show people that he could digest modern dramas as well. The producer in charge of this drama was skilled, and the writer, while she was just an old-ass woman, was also a frequent hitter. He was sure that this piece would consolidate his brand value as Kang Giwoo.

“Don’t treat interns like tools! You might see us as little chicks, but I came here after doing all my studies. I may not have cut up as many people, but….”

After saying the line in a passionate manner, Giwoo looked up at the clock. It was 1 p.m. He quenched his thirst with some water before going to the gym in front of his house. He did warm-ups with the trainer before going on the treadmill. He was planning to run until his lungs felt like bursting at multiple intervals. As he was thinking of doing an action film for his next piece, there was a need to raise his stamina right now.

“Set your posture straight and manage your breathing. Your torso is leaning forward too much. Watch out.”

The trainer, who could be called one of the best in the country, was also a long-time partner of Giwoo’s. Giwoo thought that the best needed to be treated with the best things. The car he presented to the trainer should be in the parking lot of the gym right now. A treatment that fits one’s skill. That was the motivation that made the gears of society turn the right way.

“Okay, that’s enough. But hey, are you planning to do a marathon or something?”

“If necessary. Do you think I should? I think it’ll be a good experience.”

“You’re quite hardworking alright. Other actors don’t even visit the gym on their break periods.”

“I should come frequently if I want to manage myself. I hate my body falling out of shape. It feels rather despairing if things don’t go the way I expect them to.”

His clothes were drenched in sweat. He felt like his lungs were going to burst before they felt like they shrank up. Fatigue overwhelmed his entire body, but the sense of achievement was even bigger. He had to achieve what he needed to. Giwoo lived the past 25 years like that and would continue to do so. Everything within his eyes moved according to his will and according to order. His body and his mind were not exempt from those rules either. He was always perfect and always clean. The pleasure that a delicately-structured life gave him was higher than any drug.

He spat out a long breath and was planning to switch to doing weights. Just then, a man wearing a hood walked on top of the treadmill while rotating his wrists. Giwoo wiped the sweat on his forehead and walked towards the man. He spoke to the man, who was speeding up the treadmill,

“It’s been a while since I saw you at this hour.”

“You were here?”

“I was.”

The man took off his hood. Han Maru, with a scruffy beard, was smiling.

[1] The South-western corner of South Korea.

With how many managers Giwoo switched out, I'm surprised there hasn't been rumors about his personality yet in the industry. Maybe it's the power of money.Editor's Note:Ok, so I was right. This latter half of the novel seems to be a combo between Giwoo vs Maru + Maru  & Gaeul reunion.