WeTried Translations
Translator: uglyidol
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Top Star by Only Playing Villains ◈
Chapter 13: Backed by Three Powerhouses
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Today was a day with no filming for <The Last Clue>.
I headed to a high-end beef restaurant in Gangnam with Seongsu.
I had a meal appointment with D&P Entertainment's President, Park Dong-pyeong.
“Wow... Seongsu, I've never been somewhere this nice before.”
“You'll get used to places like this soon enough, Hansol.”
It was an upscale beef restaurant that only accepted reservations.
When we entered the private room, President Park Dong-pyeong of D&P Entertainment was already waiting for us.
“Oh! President Park! You got here first?”
“Yeah. I had an appointment nearby, so I arrived a little early.”
After giving Seongsu a brief pat on the shoulder, President Park offered me a handshake.
“Nice to see you, Hansol. It’s been two years since we last met in person.”
“H-hello, President Park! It’s good to see you again!”
Squeeze.
His heavy palm enveloped my smaller hand.
President Park Dong-pyeong of D&P Entertainment.
He had started as a top actor’s road manager before rising to become the head of a company. He was a self-made legend in this industry.
The last time I’d seen him had been two years ago, when I first signed with D&P Entertainment.
Why had someone known for being so busy suddenly asked to see me?
I couldn’t help feeling extremely nervous as I sat across from President Park.
But...
“Let’s eat first. I’ve already ordered a course meal. Is that all right with you, Hansol?”
“Y-yes... Of course it is...!”
After that, President Park simply ate quietly without saying much.
Sizzle.
‘...This is delicious.’
The beef the server grilled for us was incredibly good.
From sliced raw beef appetizers to beef tongue, skirt steak, hanger steak, chuck flap, flap meat, flat iron steak, ribeye, short rib, and brisket.
It might have been the best beef I’d ever eaten in my life.
The blissful flavor of the beef melted away my nervousness like snow, and my chopsticks began moving faster.
Once I’d filled myself with beef, President Park looked at me fondly and spoke.
“Hansol, did you enjoy the meat?”
“Yes...! It was really delicious...!”
It was still daytime, so none of us drank alcohol.
President Park poured himself some cola instead and spoke.
“I’ve heard a lot of praise about you from Director Park Yeong-won. It seems your potential has finally fully blossomed through <The Last Clue>.”
“Ah...”
“You’ve had a hard time spending the last two years as an unknown actor. I wanted to treat you to a nice meal.”
So today’s meal had been arranged to celebrate me.
‘This is a little touching...’
Feeling grateful toward him, I lowered my head.
“It’s all thanks to the company supporting me so well. Thank you, President Park. Today’s meal was truly the best.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I hope you’ll like the dessert I have for you as well.”
“Pardon? Dessert?”
Thud.
President Park placed a stack of papers in front of me.
Tilting my head, I looked them over and couldn’t help flinching.
“This is...”
“It’s an exclusive contract with D&P Entertainment.”
“But I’m already signed with D&P Entertainment...”
“I’d like to revise the terms of your existing contract.”
“...!”
Contract revisions.
They weren’t common in the entertainment industry.
What was even more surprising was the content of the revised contract.
“...The revised terms are extremely generous.”
“We’re simply offering you fair treatment.”
When I signed with D&P Entertainment two years ago, the contract term had been five years, with a 4:6 revenue split.
Naturally, I received four while the company received six.
At the time, I was a complete rookie who had never appeared in a project. The only thing I had going for me was praise from my acting academy.
Since agencies generally covered most of a rookie actor’s training, management, and promotional expenses, rookie actors’ revenue share tended to be low.
The exclusive contract I’d signed with D&P Entertainment back then had been a typical standard contract for a rookie actor.
But the revised contract said...
‘A 7:3 revenue split...?’
It listed a 7:3 split, treatment normally reserved for at least mid-career actors.
The contract term remained the same, but my share had risen sharply from 4:6 to 7:3.
I couldn’t help being bewildered by this unbelievable contract.
No, I couldn’t understand it.
‘...This contract benefits only me, doesn’t it?’
I was already under an exclusive contract with D&P Entertainment.
I had signed a five-year contract, and two years had passed, leaving three years on it.
Unless I paid a penalty, I would definitely remain with D&P Entertainment for at least another three years.
So why was the company suddenly raising my revenue share?
The generosity was so great that it started making me suspicious instead.
Then...
Perhaps reading my expression, President Park spoke in an even tone.
“D&P wants to work with you for a long time, Hansol.”
“...For a long time?”
“Yes. If you sign this contract, D&P Entertainment will have the right of first negotiation with you.”
The right of first negotiation.
It was the right to discuss terms and negotiate a contract before anyone else when an existing contract expired.
In other words, when my current contract ended, I would have to sit down and negotiate with D&P Entertainment before talking with any other agency.
“You can consider the 7:3 split an expression of our sincerity toward you. If we can win your favor, then a 7:3 split is not a waste at all.”
“...”
“We believe you’ll become an even more exceptional actor in the future. Let’s stay with D&P Entertainment until the end. We promise you the best treatment until the day your acting career comes to an end.”
D&P Entertainment was a company I was deeply grateful to.
Even when I had spent two years struggling as an unknown actor, D&P had never given up on me and had continued providing training and support.
But...
“...President Park, to be honest, I’m not that interested in the revenue split.”
I couldn’t make an emotional decision about a company that might be with me for the rest of my life.
“If D&P Entertainment wants to stay with me for life, I need another condition.”
“Another condition? Please, tell me anything.”
Who in the world disliked money?
A revenue split? Of course, a higher one was better.
But there was another condition I wanted from my company above all else.
“From now on, I plan to take mostly villain roles.”
“Hmm... Please continue.”
“I want D&P Entertainment to use all its resources to keep finding villain roles that suit me.”
To keep my evil nature suppressed, I needed to keep acting in villain roles.
I wanted to sign with a company that could continually seek out villain roles for me.
If D&P Entertainment couldn’t accept that condition...
There was nothing I could do.
Once my exclusive contract ended in three years, I would have no choice but to look for another company.
‘If possible, I want to stay with D&P Entertainment for a long time too.’
D&P Entertainment was a company with considerable connections and influence in the entertainment industry.
More than anything, it was the company where my benefactor Seongsu worked...
I also wanted to remain with D&P Entertainment for as long as possible.
That was why I could only hope President Park would accept my condition.
Then, the next moment...
“...Heh.”
President Park smiled for some unknown reason as he looked at me.
“I too found great appeal in your villain acting, Hansol. And finding good projects and roles for our actors is, naturally, an agency’s duty.”
“You mean...?”
“I’ll add a clause to the contract stating that the company will use all its resources to find you suitable roles. In fact, I brought a role to recommend to you today as well.”
“...Pardon?”
He had already brought a role to recommend to me?
Already?
President Park handed another stack of papers to the startled me.
The title written on top made me jolt in shock.
“<Hyde>...?”
“<Hyde> is looking for a new star to lead the production. I’ve already recommended you to them.”
<Hyde>.
This production, adapted and reimagined from the famous classic novel <Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde>, was unquestionably the most popular play in South Korea.
<Hyde> had a rock-solid devoted fanbase, while new audience members continued to discover it every year.
“Haha, the moment you saw the <Hyde> script, your expression visibly brightened.”
“That’s because <Hyde> is a work I really love.”
More than anything, <Hyde> was a production I loved very much.
I’d even gone to see it three times already.
‘The emotional acting where a righteous protagonist gradually falls into corruption before finally exploding... Ah, it’s art.’
If I became the lead of <Hyde>, I could perform that role myself.
<Hyde> was also the perfect production for freely unleashing my evil nature.
As its title suggested, the side driven by evil nature was the protagonist of <Hyde> to begin with.
“If you’d like, Hansol, I can arrange a meeting with the <Hyde> team. Shall I?”
“Yes, I really want to do this project.”
“Of course, the decision isn’t mine to make. I can only arrange the meeting. The choice belongs to the <Hyde> team.”
There was a reason <Hyde> was called the strongest force in theater.
The lead role in <Hyde> was coveted even by top stars.
But...
“Then let’s do this. If you’re cast as the lead in <Hyde>, you’ll sign this exclusive contract.”
“Haha, isn’t it possible I might not get the part?”
“There’s no way.”
President Park seemed already certain that I would become the lead of <Hyde>.
He looked at me with a small smile.
“If they have eyes, they’ll definitely choose you as their lead.”
* * *
<Hyde>, unquestionably South Korea’s most popular play.
A crisis had struck the <Hyde> team, whose glory had seemed like it would last forever.
The stars who had firmly held the lead role for so long had all left one after another, citing their age and the need to manage their condition.
Naturally, countless top stars expressed interest as soon as the lead role in <Hyde> became vacant, but...
Filling the void left by the former stars who had enjoyed such immense popularity would never be easy.
In particular, <Hyde>’s overall director, Min Jae-yeong, had no choice but to be deeply concerned.
“Hmm...”
He was lost in thought as he looked over an actor’s profile.
Lee Hansol.
He was not yet widely known to the public, but no fewer than three major figures had recommended him at once.
The first was President Park Dong-pyeong of D&P Entertainment.
[He is the actor who will become D&P Entertainment’s next-generation star. I guarantee his ability.]
President Park was an exceptionally trustworthy figure.
If he was willing to guarantee this actor, then Lee Hansol must certainly be worth it.
The second was Director Park Yeong-won.
[Jae-yeong, I heard you’re meeting Hansol this time? ...No need for a long explanation. You have to cast him. He’s seriously unbelievable.]
Park Yeong-won was a star director-producer with skill and discernment coveted by every production company.
Lee Hansol was the first actor Park Yeong-won had ever recommended this strongly.
Lastly, Director Noh Jeong-hyeon of <Savage Blood>.
[Thanks to that young man, I got a very satisfying standout scene in this production. He won’t be intimidated even on a big stage, and he’ll fulfill his role well. I think he would also suit the commanding charisma unique to the lead of <Hyde>. If you cast him, you probably won’t ever regret it.]
The lead of <Hyde> needed an overwhelming presence that could dominate the audience.
If even Director Noh Jeong-hyeon, a master of Korean noir, praised him directly, then actor Lee Hansol’s charisma had to be remarkable as well.
President Park Dong-pyeong, Director Park Yeong-won, and Director Noh Jeong-hyeon.
Seeing three powerhouses from their respective fields recommend Lee Hansol at once, Director Min Jae-yeong resolved that he had to cast the actor.
But...
“...This is really the actor those three recommended?”
After seeing Lee Hansol’s profile photo, doubt began to sprout in his mind.
Lee Hansol’s appearance was simply too ordinary and unremarkable.
He had the exact look of a typical extra.
“Did they accidentally switch the photo with another actor’s? Is this really Lee Hansol?”
“We checked again just in case, but this really is actor Lee Hansol.”
...Was this some kind of hidden-camera prank?
Charisma, my foot.
Looking only at the photo, Lee Hansol had absolutely no presence whatsoever.
“...Could this kid be from a rich family?”
President Park Dong-pyeong, Director Park Yeong-won, and Director Noh Jeong-hyeon.
How wealthy would someone’s family have to be to have all three powerhouses backing him?
Before his meeting with actor Lee Hansol,
Director Min Jae-yeong of <Hyde> seriously searched for conglomerate chairmen who resembled Lee Hansol.
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