Chapter 105: Effective Use of Connections (3)
Very often, people would name celebrities when they were asked who their ideal type of partner was, and Kang Ra-Eun used to be one of them. She... no, back when she was still a ‘he,’ there was only one person who fit that description, even after one, five or even ten years.
Lee Si-Ahn. She had well-defined facial features, a slender body, a pretty face, and many more charms to her. What Ra-Eun loved the most about Si-Ahn was her smile; her perfect teeth that showed when she smiled, and her laugh that made anyone who heard it happy.
There was a time when Ra-Eun had completely fallen for her charms, to the point that she wanted to marry a woman like Si-Ahn. However, a woman like that wouldn’t appear before her eyes so easily.
‘That’s probably why I've been single all my life.’
Ra-Eun almost laughed self-mockingly while thinking of her life that she had spent with no particular relationship with any woman. However, she did her best to maintain her composure since such an action would be extremely disrespectful in front of Si-Ahn in their first meeting.
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Kang Ra-Eun.”
“Hello, sunbae!”
Ra-Eun was momentarily surprised by the word ‘sunbae,’ but she was indeed older than Si-Ahn and had debuted earlier than her. Although she was only older by a few months, she was still her senior. Ra-Eun felt extremely weird being called sunbae by her dream girl.
Si-Ahn continued, “I really enjoyed your drama. I’d been captivated by how pretty you were in it, but you’re even prettier in person!”
Si-Ahn’s eyes were fixed on Ra-Eun; it was possible that she also had a preference for beautiful people like Rita. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun felt extremely troubled that her dream girl was staring at her so fixedly.
“Please sit here. I’ll bring you the menu right away.”
Rita and Ra-Eun took their seats in the corner of the restaurant as Si-Ahn instructed. Ra-Eun scanned the restaurant interior and noticed it was a very small restaurant with only six tables. There were no signs that customers had come.
‘We must be their first customers.’
Despite it being dinnertime, the restaurant’s business was far from being good.
Rita knew exactly the circumstances of this restaurant, so she said to Ra-Eun, “Let’s eat as much as we can here today.”
Ra-Eun hadn’t been able to eat what she had wanted because she needed to maintain her figure for the movie shoots. Her personal trainer would have been furious if she had heard Rita, but...
‘It’s fine as long as I don’t get caught.’
The culprits just needed to stay quiet. Also, Ra-Eun couldn’t help herself when Si-Ahn would be serving her food.
‘I can’t pass up on this opportunity.’
She decided to overeat for once in a while.
***
Ra-Eun was met with unexpectedness as she ate. She had expected the food to be mediocre since there weren’t many customers, but...
“It’s way more delicious than I’d expected.”
The food fit Ra-Eun’s tastes perfectly. Rita also considered this place a must-visit restaurant.
“Yeah, the food’s really good here.”
“Why are there so few customers, then?”
The food was good, and the part-timer Lee Si-Ahn was extremely pretty. Ra-Eun couldn’t understand when there were so many positive factors for the place to be bustling with customers. However, there was a clear reason.
“It’s probably because it’s in a bad location,” Rita mentioned.
Ra-Eun strongly agreed with her. It was extremely difficult for a customer to find the place unless they were actively searching for it. The only thing the restaurant could rely on was the customers’ word of mouth, but that took far too much time.
‘And there’s no guarantee that would work out well either.’
It was unfortunate. However, there was something even more unfortunate. Rita called Si-Ahn over while they were having their meal.
“Si-Ahn, come take a seat,” she said as she gestured to the seat next to her.
Si-Ahn gently sat next to Rita after getting their approval. She was even prettier up close, as expected of Ra-Eun’s ideal type for over ten years of her life. Rita seemed to be trying to create an opportunity for Ra-Eun and Si-Ahn to get acquainted with each other now that they were here.
“Ra-Eun, I told you before that Si-Ahn used to be a singer and then switched over to acting, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
Si-Ahn would become a relatively famous actress in the future. However, she would experience years of being unknown by the public. Ra-Eun knew very well that Si-Ahn would be unknown for a very long time because she was her fan. There was a clear reason why she wasn’t able to rise to stardom.
‘She entered the wrong agencies.’
One or two things would go wrong in every single agency that she contracted with. Hence, she would waste her time for a very long time because her agencies wouldn’t give her their support. The same went for the agency that she was currently in.
‘She really should transfer to a different agency before it’s too late.’
Ra-Eun would be able to support Si-Ahn the best she could if she transferred to GNF Entertainment. Chief Jung would take good care of her if Ra-Eun put in a few good words to him. However, it was too abrupt to bring up such a topic during their very first meeting; they were not close enough yet.
‘I need an opportunity.’
Ra-Eun wanted to help Si-Ahn because Si-Ahn was her ideal type of girl. At that moment, Rita opened her mouth first.
“Have you thought about what we talked about last time?”
Si-Ahn looked over at Ra-Eun before answering Rita’s question.
Rita reassured her, “It’s okay. Ra-Eun isn’t a blabbermouth. Rather, she’s extremely tight-lipped.”
Ra-Eun didn’t know what was about to be discussed, but she decided to just go with it. Si-Ahn smiled as she saw Ra-Eun nodding.
“You’re referring to our discussion regarding me transferring to your agency, right?”
“Yup, exactly.”
Ra-Eun’s ears perked up. That was exactly what she had wanted to talk about. She had never expected Rita to have already talked about it with Si-Ahn.
“I personally think you have talent. You’ll succeed in whatever you set your mind to, whether it be singing or acting, but the problem is that you’re too sentimental.”
Ra-Eun tilted her head in confusion. The reason why Si-Ahn hadn’t been able to rise in popularity was sentimentality?
“Agencies are your partners, they’re not your family that’ll stick with you forever. Try to keep as much of your private feelings out of your workplace. That’s why you keep signing with shady agencies.”
Ra-Eun had finally realized what Rita meant. Si-Ahn continued to hesitate despite her senior’s assertive recommendation. Ra-Eun also did not want to watch as her dream girl signed with yet another shady agency.
‘It’s very rare, but I’ll have to take Rita sunbae’s side this time.’
She decided to provide cover fire.
“If you come to GNF, Rita sunbae will be there, and... I’ll also help you out the best I can. It’s not a bad place, so I hope you really think it through.”
Si-Ahn couldn’t help but be swayed when not one, but two people were trying their best to persuade her. She was weak to sentiments; hence, she couldn’t ignore her bond with Rita, whom she had known and been close to for a very long time.
***
“I think Si-Ahn will transfer over to our agency.”
Si-Ahn said that she would think about it, but, but Rita was certain.
Ra-Eun asked while grabbing the steering wheel, “But why are you trying so hard to bring her over to us, sunbae?”
Ra-Eun was curious about why Rita’s level of passion was far higher than when she was trying to bring Han Ga-Ae over to their agency, despite them both being her juniors. Rita told her something that was not known to the public with a bitter smile.
“You could tell Si-Ahn lives with just her mother and little brother, right?”
Ra-Eun had found out during their conversation that Si-Ahn’s father had passed away when she was little, and had grown up in difficult conditions because of it.
Rita calmly continued while looking out the car window, “That’s how I was raised too.”
She had been paying special attention to Si-Ahn because of their similar family background.
“The environment that we grew up in was so surprisingly similar that I kept getting concerned for her. That’s why I suggested she move over to GNF now that I have too.”
Rita thought that Si-Ahn would receive good support if she transferred to GNF since the agency was home to many actors.
Rita expressed to Ra-Eun who was driving, “Thanks for helping me, Ra-Eun.”
“What did I help with?”
“You helped me persuade Si-Ahn.”
Ra-Eun slightly smiled. “I should be the one thanking you.”
“You? Why?”
Unlike Rita, this was the first time Ra-Eun had met Si-Ahn, so there was no reason for her to feel thankful. However, Rita had no idea about Ra-Eun’s past life; she would understand if she knew that Ra-Eun used to be one of Si-Ahn’s greatest fans.
It was a bad idea to mention her past life, so Ra-Eun answered, “Just ‘cause.”
***
Ra-Eun visited the GNF building early in the morning because she had business there. She met a familiar face as she was waiting for Shin Yu-Bin who went to the bathroom.
“Good morning, sunbae!”
Ra-Eun’s dream girl, Lee Si-Ahn, came up and affectionately greeted her.
“Oh, what are you doing here, Si-Ahn?”
“I came to discuss some things with Chief Jung and to sign the contract.”
Things had gone exactly as Rita had expected.
“You’ve made a great decision,” Ra-Eun expressed.
“I’ll be in your care from now on, sunbae. Oh, and here...”
Si-Ahn handed Ra-Eun a small bag.
“What’s this?” Ra-Eun asked.
“They’re cookies that I made.”
“Oh, really?”
Ra-Eun opened the bag and tasted the cookies.
Crunch!
The sweetness brought the insides of Ra-Eun’s mouth delight.
Si-Ahn asked with a worried face, “How does it... taste?”
It was obvious.
“It’s super delicious.”
There was no way that the cookies made by her dream girl weren't delicious.
Ra-Eun thought, ‘I’m so glad I became a celebrity.’
If she hadn’t become one, then she would never have met Si-Ahn in person like this.
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