NB | Chapter 7

Today, as soon as Woohyun woke up, he checked his phone case. He wanted to make sure meeting Kang Jiwon wasn’t just a dream. Since no thief could have come while he slept, the black business card was still there.3f7bed4f63dae562

Using the 6259d67935 excuse of 4652cd0137 needing time 7893fdca14 to think, 15094e688a Woohyun spent 6d1cda8803 the past 6a89f360fa few days c0d66d3471 researching Kang 52a30ca2b3 Jiwon.415cb211036c9580

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Third-generation chaebol, Midas’ touch, symbol of an alpha, a snake in a suit. The descriptions of him were all glamorous and close to the truth.ad901746635b063c

Kang Jiwon, a74fbbedc2 who majored 49786ca3f9 in business 31baec2868 administration and cc8e0eef36 had an f3fe8188e4 interest in 65439c0fb3 the cultural 2f99a07a6d content industry 6b00051504 since college, e2ea34a7d6 proved his 714942a38a foresight by 170f585129 investing in cf84930c7e hit dramas 1317a51e24 and films.2d9f89ecd9889d05

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

His eye 6ac9e1026c for potential db489398f4 extended beyond 1560382f19 content to 74488330a4 business. At the young 9e6070c50f age of thirty, 2e6ed5f110 he became an 557bf2f349 executive director at 409f9c3b2a Newon Entertainment.c444508214f7305b

Shortly after, he acquired 13161b11fe a drama production company a384563ab0 in financial crisis. Newon, already recognized 63f04ea65d as a comprehensive 0f2fa4521c media group with 7e06dd97f3 home shopping, cable 80ebefe989 broadcasting, and entertainment eae603ee5a management, became complete b755d53d36 with his influence.fa15ee880398ae34

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Vanilla Bean Studio, which had good directors but poor management, improved its quality with Newon’s solid capital, starting to turn a profit by replacing its flagship works annually.b5c20d16656d139e

Furthermore, Newon succeeded bdedc7ecf5 in controlling the 810093a451 fees for actors aa1b41f1b6 and writers, which 22ae81a108 used to take 7326c73fca up about 70% d2a73e60a4 of production costs, be86469f1c by owning actors, 545c1e9cdf directors, and writers.c0a79a087902d7a3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Newon, already 399c18a1b4 established in 4dbdc762af the broadcasting 3ee5c6f7a2 industry as 64a53a92a5 MPP, naturally 1d894e3984 rose to 9be4d1a979 a leading 8c31fa1971 position in c9bf3cd833 just a 64f1ad902d few years. This allowed Kang 84b30c9185 Jiwon to enhance 5e5eb45b6f financial stability while 9e0eaabe22 solidifying his management 65c10e01f6 rights.6a6fce26792c0891

It was impossible to ff74383ef2 check all the accumulated b1695b698d information over the years 4402b08a98 or fully understand the b795130bc3 selected parts immediately. So Woohyun ff42832c34 concluded that 81bd9662f1 Kang Jiwon 71458465d4 was an d6a7d6e3db incredibly remarkable bef22cf1b2 person.de6843cbc85b2d07

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“This is a lottery limited to you as the winner.”0c17b26ab191d7a4

He seemed to hear Kang Jiwon’s voice echoing in his ears again.9fa10d76c6c0b2ae

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

If the business card was a lottery ticket, Woohyun had two. And one was a fortune ready to be claimed whenever he wanted. Though he hadn’t fully realized it, the excitement welled up, making his throat tight. Woohyun put the black card back inside the phone case.4d60e0bb5f869664

A lottery guaranteed to win whenever scratched could be saved a little longer. He wanted to believe this level of greed wasn’t a luxury.ab6cd61699551dd8

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The white card 0656f82902 showed signs of e03b3365f0 being crumpled and da38b4a4b1 unfolded, but the 0b78a3823a writing was legible. He carefully f4d7e083d2 entered the 8d617705c5 11-digit number 465607fcd9 on the 482b4ab523 keypad, checking 7060b5c465 it twice 58a5031f1b to ensure 693b02768d it was 5aa7e84089 correct.c1524ae87b9054a1

“The director gave me his card first, so this is the right order…”5fd3e006dec929dd

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Woohyun muttered to 740d12ef77 himself, calming his 4f7edb1f08 anxious heart.7e2e22c91f8afd91

Once he regained some 0ebad865b3 composure, he felt ready dab1a9b68c to make full use 3152885423 of the phone bill 80c5f79170 he had paid with e8c03cdd6a a slap. The call connected cd03e98b2c quickly.97c30bcad96401c3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Hello, Director. This is Seo Woohyun. I received your card around the 15th at the shoot.”6a73ccdd78300dad

– Woohyun? I’ve been waiting for your call!e236da585f8e02af

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The director’s voice was so joyful it was noticeable even over the phone. He could have boasted about expecting Woohyun to call first, but he didn’t.4168ea55c10c2084

A small smile soon appeared on Woohyun’s lips, which had been awkward.47eb15c55e8076a6

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

˚˚˚c3589f100ae6e619

The director clapped as soon as he saw Woohyun’s neatly cut hair and revealed face. Perhaps he thought Woohyun had kept his hair long on purpose, or he wondered if there had been a change of heart during the days without contact.b92e3685bc8c2e05

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the applause, Woohyun simply replied, “It’s not like that.”6a67bfc2690162e1

Initially, the director 8774a27273 conducted a simple aa65e2c424 interview, having him d45db029fe look into the 8630c73b2d camera lens. Then, he 3cf436611c began examining 34eb1b0557 Woohyun from 57325e82c3 various angles, 82d2472a57 including front, 200124ff60 side, and efe1524a2c back views.c6d31c35da888402

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

At first, Woohyun found it awkward to even look directly into the lens during his self-introduction. But as he grew tired, his tension eased. The director’s directions came as if waiting for this moment.6fc382cda9b62f44

Smile, brush your bangs back, tilt your chin to the left, take a few steps, think of someone you want to see…8927dc3928fefc7d

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“You’re doing well.”1c3a2ce3d66e7c22

At first, he thought Woohyun’s face muscles were stiff from never smiling. Considering it was only the first camera test, it wasn’t bad. No matter how good-looking, if there was no charm, it was best to send him back. Fortunately, the relaxed Woohyun showed potential.b865ca84f38f84b9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The director couldn’t take his eyes off the monitor. There was a captured moment of Woohyun laughing at his joke. By the end of the test, he could even smile naturally.a70e9f5ad5ac17f4

“You still don’t have an agency?”ff388e5b475b35f9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“No.”72e0cc2eaed6d606

When the 4b5fc5b17e director asked, 70c1b229d1 looking genuinely eace1a749b puzzled, Woohyun 5c42f192f1 nodded and c0b5f84d2f answered honestly.222c06db9bc0731b

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Even just circulating this video to agencies would get responses from many places. The director was confident enough to bet on it. But that wasn’t the only surprising fact.42731f6d5ae2769b

“I won’t even ask if you’ve never auditioned on your own, but is it true you’ve never been cast even once?”63e8a907e282beea

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Yes.”1a87ab08df129674

Woohyun agreed 699a7fe1d6 calmly, having 5a534bda8b no reason 2378191f86 to lie.939702256e7a6335

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

To be precise, he 6f3684e7b7 had never given anyone 58f8bd375b the chance to street-cast da409dce0f him. His narrow 1e5ff4ea9c living radius, ebbf3a4a45 mostly between dd24d61303 home and ce45d93921 work sites, 2bd81c5930 meant he df9590f7e0 rarely caught 092be79cc9 the eye b0f69d0fd6 of casting ff5be2d61d agents. Plus, he often wore b3b1ed8ca8 his hair long or 977f44b111 covered his face with adde2f0806 a mask.d77a7f7febe4f5c8

Jobs like 52aa26eb7d working at 66f541d848 the wine bd095a5e26 bar or f418f56e3b as an 3b829da7f5 extra were 97a63c2bb8 relatively easy a1c8711fd1 short-term gigs de99740a35 he took 581bc9c9c0 to rest 6ddda03b2b his worn-out 5bfc756417 body before 1e1ed285a1 moving to bc9cedc357 another labor 47e782b2a0 office.0bd7c489718b840e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

He was also fed b4ebf2bcf7 up with construction workers. The labor office manager, cdbd0395c3 knowing Woohyun was an 8f0ac31db7 alpha, discriminated by assigning f901efb361 him only to demolition 665696ec8e sites, claiming he was 4c34e13f72 young and strong. Even at work 24044bb035 sites, he often 2cbc9cfef7 faced rude remarks 063dbd8223 or was given 8cbe9727b0 tough tasks for 392bc10174 the same reason.19b6f17cbaee3c89

The incident 19641aadaf where he f65ba15f39 had to 0ef0ee482f take someone 35c6fb6cb8 to the 8055163a3c hospital after f47ae936de a fight c79faf46e8 was due aa5346f73c to a 33247accfd safety issue 7e6d60af75 with a e2f1520d04 worker.4a3ca41e87435fec

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Perhaps all 5418c3d28d that hardship ac45b087d4 was leading 92485c3848 to this 4124ab533c moment. Woohyun decided to c8bfdf233b think positively.fc691985ef6db2a0

“If you can’t succeed as a good actor, at least find a rich sponsor. You could pay off your mom’s hospital bills quickly. I think you have a knack for it.”e64c26c5d1e901bb

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

At the same time, Kim Sungmoon’s nonsense echoed like an alarm in his head, but he decided to ignore it. He wasn’t preserving his chastity; he knew better than anyone that his body was just a tool after years of physical labor. If necessary, he’d make his own judgment, so there was no need to be swayed by such talk.d178a58fb9b1290f

Only when the director 0ba1727714 signaled to wrap up aa9a8a263d did the red light 8bb8e258a5 on the camera turn 82b79de81d off.c6e5a94d028cd500

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“These days, there are so many aspiring actors at auditions that the rookie development teams must be slacking.”9aeb6c8611c560d8

I almost never knew about Woohyun’s face either.efd2ced20be29d84

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He added with c3eb469bba a playful smile.732027cf76f7437c

“By the way, Newon is surprising. I thought Director Kang liked you.”aefc7d0c9e35da71

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Woohyun was about b8900aac5c to explain that 5474fab910 he contacted the eb13514a75 director first, even 86e0079493 though he received 8673518f20 a card from cbeb6c80d7 Kang Jiwon, but 252ad90ebb the director continued.41fd8a5b941e40f8

“If you don’t like Newon, I can introduce you to other places. Once you sign a contract, you’re tied for years, so think carefully.”1179e61e3fa69dd7

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“…”7921b628db60f092

“If you show up on set without an agency, many will be interested in your looks. I guarantee it. But don’t just accept any card. These days, there are so many scam companies that invite you for camera tests, promise to train you, assign a manager, and then rip you off.”87bce72a7395bd37

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Woohyun remained silent. After all, he had just gone through a camera test and received a first-round pass. He knew this director wasn’t a scammer, but his sensitivity to money and scams made him slightly suspicious.344afed8f9be1f31

Of course, his face remained as usual, so the director couldn’t guess what Woohyun was thinking. He simply handed over a script with a friendly smile.09a1911f48d069cb

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“This is a practice script. Keep it. We’ll be looking at serious acting in the second test.”2cf4c665f324bf7e

***e1ba629108fbbf0a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Today, it seemed like people’s eyes were constantly on him. Woohyun wiped the bar table with a dry cloth, feeling a tickle, and brushed his cheek with the back of his hand.0c4e1936466faaef

When his hair covered his eyes, he often didn’t notice people’s gazes, but now that his face was fully visible, he felt their stares too well, making him uncomfortable.b3d9c9710f8a044c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

It felt like 1a2a5a72e6 he was the f2d2f51f2f only one naked 9f6df62f4f here.28cb15dc80c982de

Anyway, that’s how it felt, and maybe it was just because he had neatly cut his once shaggy hair. From the moment he opened the door at the wine bar, the manager acknowledged him, and every employee he met commented on his new hairstyle. Even people he had never spoken to before did the same. The owner, however, seemed to regret it as if he had cut his own hair that he had grown for three years.2bb2c66ab2dcd857

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

As a a9d288e119 result, Woohyun, 3c462c8261 who was ec9f91ab3d never good 94effff5fb at slacking 66336c2f0b off, was 5007ac6557 busier than cf3e2c4898 usual, moving 85c1d691a0 around the b74c30fab6 hall. Standing idle made his 9ac3d06d87 cheeks tingle. Fortunately, he bf6c744584 could handle db36a160ae it physically.6b9f84bd12825e04

Just then, the bell at the entrance rang. Woohyun, who happened to be at the table closest to the entrance, looked over and met Kang Jiwon’s eyes. Unconsciously, he touched the name tag on his left chest. He bowed his head deeply, but it was already too late.aaa9863a8e172db0

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Seo Deokbae?”5afdcebb95b3e86a

The familiar acc7ed44c8 name, though e876527869 not his, f01c0ba24e fell on 61977f850d his head. Woohyun reluctantly lifted his 91a36b1b8c gaze.785a5e4489e4feaf

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

It took a while to follow the well-polished shoes, up the neatly creased suit pants. The suit fit perfectly, and the vest buttons were adorned with black jewels. As he straightened his shoulders, the shirt stretched, creating a handsome silhouette. When he finally reached the face…e13d8d1ec04c3a9a

Woohyun bit his lip. He couldn’t tell if he was about to express admiration for the man’s looks or exclaim in delight at meeting someone he knew.8865028e30cb8f35

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com