Season 2: Chapter 96. My Job (2)
Ju-Hyeok's father always used to say, "The company isn't there to teach you anything. It's for you to figure things out yourself. Navigate through it with your own agency."
Being the head of a company himself, he often imparted lessons related to corporate life.
For instance, he would say, "Don’t act recklessly. If you do that in society, you'll be immediately shunned."
When he used the word “company,” it could easily be replaced with “the world” and the meaning wouldn’t change. It was a universal truth that one should live life and make their own choices.
He often said, "You won't lack anything in life if you listen to your parents well."
That was true too. His mother's friends who visited would always say, “Ju-Hyeok is tall, handsome, graduated from a prestigious university, and even works at Ah-Sung... There's really nothing more you could wish for.”
Where was the falsehood in this? It was all true. It all held true unless one decided to nitpick and scrutinize every detail. Anyone questioning this would be considered overly sensitive or odd.
That was the scary part about these statements. One couldn’t realize it at first.
The dust of life would silently accumulate over time. It would pile up, thicken, and harden into a mountain. Then, it could no longer be casually dusted off. One would need bulldozers and dynamite to remove it.
Ju-Hyeok was an intelligent person. He had recognized this enormous mountain of dust in his consciousness and didn’t just idly sit by.
He didn’t abstain from action even though it was late. From a certain point onward, he would immediately get rid of even the smallest speck of dust whenever he spotted it.
The contradiction was evident.
The “you” in, "You won't lack anything in life," didn’t refer to Ju-Hyeok, but to his mother. It wasn't Ju-Hyeok who wouldn’t lack anything in life. It was his mother who raised a son like Ju-Hyeok.
Indeed, Ju-Hyeok's experiences resonated with this. Whether he attended a prestigious university or worked at Ah-Sung, his life never improved. The life of Kim Ju-Hyeok was only getting better in the eyes of others. Only his nameplate became fancier and the owner of that nameplate was always his parents.
Ju-Hyeok revisited his father's words.
“The company isn't there to teach you anything. It's for you to figure things out yourself. Navigate through it with your own agency.”
“Don't act recklessly. If you do that in society, you'll be immediately shunned.”
To live with agency and not act recklessly... Both statements were true. However, combining them led to another meaning, ‘Be an autonomous robot.’
A robot that didn’t need to be instructed every time and could intuitively fulfill its owner's wishes. Whether or not the speaker intended this, it turned into this message.
Ju-Hyeok had already been thinking this way about five years into his corporate life, particularly during the last year. Negating and modifying everything he had been told to create a new version of himself.
“Attend a private high school. Then do as you wish.”
“Get into a prestigious university. Then you can do as you please, but not until then.”
“Apply to graduate schools in the U.S. Don’t think about anything else. Do you even realize how many households can provide this kind of support?”
“You have to get a job. Once you're in society, you can start your own business.”
“After that, do as you please.”
A bitter smile spread across Ju-Hyeok's lips.
‘Is the next step marriage?’
Ju-Hyeok had ignited a long fuse, but the fire would eventually consume everything. He chose to leave home without any plans. Honestly, he didn’t have any plans to begin with.
He never planned on being a manager. He didn’t even know what that entailed. He just went to a comfortable friend who was living alone.
Coincidentally, that friend happened to be the one who ignited the spark in Ju-Hyeok. Ju-Hyeok felt indebted to him, so he hoped for Sang-Hyeon’s success and naturally became his manager.
It was late, but Ju-Hyeok finally started following his dreams (or at least something resembling a dream). He started to heal as he pursued his own goals. Of course, he hadn't fully healed yet. After blowing up the mountain that built up inside him, dust and dirt inevitably scattered everywhere. It would take ages to clean.
Eventually, he would clear everything and even his fuse would completely burn out. In the end, things would naturally come to pass. As if to test the current Ju-Hyeok, this question suddenly came up.
"Hey, Ju-Hyeok. What are you doing these days? And who was that lady earlier?" the senior manager repeated his question.
Ju-Hyeok bit his tightly closed lips.
‘But this is my reality now.’
He decided to accept it. To start from the bottom again, to embrace the new self he created, or rather, was still creating. He decided to speak up boldly.
Kim Ju-Hyeok, having emerged from his father's shadow and the halo of Ah-Sung, now stood as a wholly independent person.
‘Let's not fumble. Say it in one go.’
He took a shallow breath and said it outright, "I’m Sang-Hyeon's manager."
No one regarded being a manager as a grand profession. Sometimes there were news stories about the managers of entertainers being mistreated or squeezed dry, but hardly any about them achieving significant feats.
Plus, their earnings were well-known. Even managers with some exposure in the media made less than employees in big corporations like Ah-Sung. Such a comparison was almost offensive because of the huge difference.
Ju-Hyeok didn’t earn a high income either. He made as much as Sang-Hyeon used to at Ah-Sung and refused to take any more. Not because of pride, but because it simply didn't make sense for a manager like him to earn that much yet. He hadn’t rightfully earned that amount. It was just charity given out of pity.
He just stopped living off his parents' charity. Now, he couldn't allow himself to accept charity from Sang-Hyeon.
Ju-Hyeok knew he had to move on his own and start a business if he wanted financial growth, but even that had yet to take off.
At the moment, he had nothing better to offer in terms of his career or social reputation to the people in front of him. In fact, he was way behind now. No wonder they all looked surprised to see the once-admired ace in this state.
"Manager?"
"Is it like some part-time job?"
Some of them couldn't even comprehend it or pretended not to.
Ju-Hyeok didn't flinch and shy away from their puzzled and sarcastic looks.
"I’m a streamer's manager like an entertainer's manager."
"!"
They all fell silent once he firmly clarified it.
He continued as if he wanted them to remember this moment, "I planned this fan meeting and I've been with him almost from the start. I'm also thinking of starting a company in the future."
‘Mark this beginning well. When I shine later, don't forget this start.’
"Ah..."
"Wow... Tough job, mate."
"You really can’t know the world..."
They couldn't understand the weight of Ju-Hyeok's decision, all the considerations and choices he had made. They would inevitably have to make the same choices too one day.
They didn’t seem to care now, but Ju-Hyeok would be impossible to ignore once he shone later. Only then would they take notice like how they did now with Sang-Hyeon.
In an attempt to dispel the awkwardness, the employees laughed and asked, "If you're the manager, Ju-Hyeok, can we also get in there?"
"Oh, me too! Me too, Ju-Hyeok! Can I go in too!?"
To that, Ju-Hyeok cheerfully replied, "No."
***
After their former colleagues from Ah-Sung left, more than half of the fans in the queue had already passed through. Sang-Hyeon had taken well over a hundred photos by now.
Ju-Hyeok sat at an empty table in a corner on the first floor to catch his breath.
"It's tough."
He buried his face, not so much out of fatigue, but out of a wish to stop seeing the world for a moment.
"... Why did I have to unnecessarily tell them that I'd start a company?"
He was still too impatient and regretted the tail end of his statement. He should have just said he was a manager. That was who he was right now, but he went on and talked about starting a company and being with Sang-Heyon from the start...
Wasn’t it like floundering and saying, "I'm not a regular manager!"
They most likely noticed.
"Or maybe it was right to say it after all?"
"Well done."
Surprisingly, a response came from somewhere. Someone sat next to him and patted his back. It was Ji-Ah.
Ju-Hyeok asked with his head still down, "Are you saying that because you know something? Or are you talking about something else? What’s well done?"
"Just everything. Today was perfect," she replied.
‘Ah, she was talking about the fan meeting.’
The comment still comforted him.
"Of course, my videos rocked too..."
Ju-Hyeok raised his buried head and looked at Ji-Ah.
"...?"
For a moment, he forgot what he wanted to say.
Ji-Ah looked at him quizzically and tilted her head, "What are you looking at me like that for? Can't I show off a bit?"
"No, it's not that."
"?"
"You look very pretty today."
He was being sincere. Was she always this beautiful?
Ji-Ah's face flushed as he stared at her. The heart-pounding silence was filled with laughter.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Nonsense just automatically comes out."
Ji-Ah laughed again.
"Do they teach you pickup lines at prestigious universities?"
"There’s no need to learn that. It comes naturally. Just naturally."
Like the many fans present, they also chatted and laughed together.
"I dressed up a bit because they said they would introduce us today."
"A bit?"
"Yeah, just a tiny bit. Haha."
Despite the noisy bar, their voices sounded surprisingly clear as if they were whispering gently into each other's ears.
"What should we do when we’re introduced? I'm not good at that kind of stuff."
"Who knows? The star is Sang-Hyeon, anyway. We're just nuts. Peanuts. That's all we'll be."
"I suddenly became a peanut? Why?"
"That's all that's left."
“Haha.”
As Ju-Hyeok listened to Ji-Ah's laughter, he suddenly wondered.
‘Who did I meet earlier?’
Surprisingly, he couldn't even recall who his former colleagues were. He knew the manager, but who else was with him...? Working at Ah-Sung felt like something from a year ago. Then, he even forgot that he had forgotten.
"... What was I thinking about?"
In any case, only the beautiful woman in front of him filled his vision and mind. He didn’t need anything else at the moment.
Then, a voice came.
"Alright! The last fan, number 100, has finished getting their autograph! Now, everyone, please take your seats. We'll serve you chicken, beer, and cola! Everything!" the MC shouted from the balcony on the second floor.
"Also, you can shoot arrows with Sang-Hyeon in the meantime at the mini archery range! The arrows are blunt, so it's safe even for drunk shooting. Enjoy a one-on-one archery date with Sang-Hyeon─"
"Wow!"
The word “date” elicited a thunderous cheer from the fans. Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok exchanged glances with a smile. The response was good.
"Now, now! Before that! Sang-Hyeon couldn’t have done all of this by himself! Those who know, know! The colleagues who helped to make all this come true with Sang-Hyeon! Let's take some time to introduce them!"
Now? Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah froze and just looked at each other.
However, the MC didn't give them any time.
"Come out! Ju-Hyeok! Ji-Ah!"