Chapter Text
This was absurd.
A man in his mid-20s stuffing his face with kimchi jjigae and gimbap with frustrated tears coming out of his eyes was truly a sight to see in the middle of an alleyway stall in Seoul. But what could Sangwon do? He was super duper frustrated. This was maximum frustration level 100 that he did not deserve!
Sangwon was the kind of guy who believed life worked like the movies, and he thought his life was no different. He was truly optimistic about having a life of fairytale and happy-ever-after after graduating. How awfully wrong he was.
Because as he came out of the halls of his university four months ago with stars in his eyes, bagged with his bachelor’s degree, a laptop full of his never-ending romcom screenplays, and even bigger expectations after completing his 4-year university program in Film and majoring in scriptwriting, everything went to literal shit.
He thought that it was all going to be a walk in the park for him after university. Even the production house he interned for was so surprised by his skills and work ethics that they also thought of offering him a job even without a diploma! But alas, fate had other plans for him. Before he could accept their offer, he was informed that another intern had acted quicker and got the final available position. Yet, that did not deter him. He also submitted the excellent portfolio he had built for years to a couple of other production houses in Seoul, and nearby cities without fail.
And almost all of those applications led to only two things: disappointment and rejections.
Sangwon sniffed and removed his glasses that had been fogged up already due to his tears. He looked down at his almost cold jjigae, which made him bawl his eyes out more. It looked like him. Poor and weak. Damn it, everything is just not going according to plan.
The middle-aged lady who was manning the stall and who has already become a source of comfort for Sangwon placed a cold cola on his table with a sigh. “Sangwon, you are going to drive away my customers. Keep it down!”
“Aunt Eunji!” He whined, palming his mouth to stifle his sobs. “I feel like shit, auntie! Everything is just not going according to my plan!”
“Language, kid.” The older woman reprimanded him before sitting in front of him and offering him tissues. “Come on, tell auntie your worries.”
Sangwon accepted the tissues offered and blew his nose, which earned him a face of disgust from the older woman. He could not care less because being judged due to his ugly crying face is way more preferred than this… job predicament he was experiencing.
“Auntie, since my first year in university… You know how hard I have been working, right?”
“Of course. I still remember the first time you came here in your cute uniform. You were such an innocent kid then, Sangwon!” She grinned while opening the can of soda and offering it to the man.
She remembered how she set up her stall that certain day despite the bad weather forecast because she needed to amass a specific amount of money before the weekend came and pay for rent. How the forecaster had been badly mistaken because instead of the light drizzle that was expected, a torrential rain came crashing down on her stall which nearly destroyed everything.
Only nearly because, out of nowhere, Sangwon came running down the alley with a bright grin, unfazed by the heavy raindrops hitting his face. He was holding a big umbrella while trying to pull two of his friends and telling them to quickly help the “old lady” (which still ticked her off, now that she remembered it). With the help of the three then-unknown university students, they were able to immediately pack up the remaining ingredients, fold the tables, and pull her stall’s cart safely back home.
After a few weeks of Sangwon coming back to the stall to continue eating his now “favorite” jjigae from the lady, she had the opportunity to ask the reason why he helped her even if they didn’t know each other back then. Sangwon, bless his big heart, simply answered, “Huh, do I really need a reason to? It’s just because you looked like you needed help, auntie."
Aunt Eunji sighed and shook her head wistfully at the images of the past she was able to remember. “You were always with Geonwoo and Kangmin, these hardheaded kids. I always had to remind you to eat. You keep on talking about movies this and script deadlines that. You were like a broken record.”
With a pause, she continued, “But I saw how passionate you are. And I admire you kids for that.”
“And that passion did not lead me somewhere, auntie!” He hiccupped after drinking straight from the can, trying his best to let out his feelings to her favorite (stall) auntie just to ease the heaviness deep in his heart.
“I worked hard, but where did it lead me? To nothing. They said they were not open to accepting my applications because, despite my outstanding portfolio, their production houses are full. Yet I keep on hearing from my friends that they were accepted. And because of what? Their connections? Fuck that!”
“Oh my, this kid.” Aunt Eunji shook her head and held Sangwon’s hand tightly, if only to help ease his burden a little bit. Such a sweet and lovely young man who was very hardworking and who was always willing to offer his help should not experience this hardship. But what can she do? This is reality. Not everything can be served on a silver platter.
“You know that things do not always go according to one’s plan, right?” Before he could rebut, the older woman shushed him before continuing. “If you would really like to liken your life to a film, just like what you and Geonwoo have been babbling about during your times here, then maybe you are currently on the… conflict stage? Oh my, did I use that right?”
Sangwon could not help but let out a soft giggle while wiping his face carefully with the napkin that the auntie gave him. It made him realize that Aunt Eunji was right. Not everything will fall into place all at once.
“I know that you understand where I’m coming from, Sangwon. You have so many dreams in those doe eyes of yours, and someday, someone will see it. Believe me.”
And as if on cue, his phone buzzed against the tabletop, which signaled an incoming call. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Geonwoo, one of his closest friends from university. The last time they talked was a week after their graduation because his friend had been busy at his new job at Grid Pictures, a well-known production house where he did his internship.
Despite his hesitation, he tapped the answer button and waited for his friend's loud shout before pressing the phone over his ear.
“Awon, my handsome friend!”
Aunt Eunji chuckled. Even though the phone was not on loudspeaker, she was able to hear the obnoxious voice of one of the kids he missed so much. Not wanting to bother Sangwon, she stood up and dusted her hands clean with her apron before returning to the counter.
“What is it, idiot?” He sighed, doing his best to finish his jjigae despite its coldness and the separated oil from the broth. A beggar can’t be a chooser. Plus, his auntie worked hard for this!
“You dumbass, I got good news for you!”
Even from miles away, he could feel Geonwoo vibrating with excitement through the phone. “Is there even good news for a poor guy like me?”
“Say thanks to your Papa Geonwoo who submitted your portfolio to Grid Pictures then! That poor guy will surely not be poor anymore after getting a job in our company.”
Sangwon froze, not noticing his chopsticks slipping into his bowl with a splash.
“W-What? Stop joking around, Geonwoo!”
“Who said I was joking?” A pause. Sangwon could hear some shuffling from the background, like Geonwoo was fixing some papers. “I gave your portfolio to my colleague here because there is currently an opening in our section. And apparently, the position is very promising. He told me that you’ll likely be hired as long as you attend the interview this Friday!”
After a quick rundown with his friend regarding the schedule of the interview and what he needed to prepare beforehand, Sangwon lowered down his phone and continued sitting for a few minutes in stunned silence. Even though he was able to talk with his friend about the whole thing, he was still in disbelief of what just occurred.
A loud bang resonated inside the restaurant.
“Sangwon, stop banging your head on the table!”
Fuck, that hurt. He thought. So this was real? Did I finally make it?
Finally, a big opportunity just got served in front of him. The scripts he sacrificed himself for had finally landed in the right hands. This was Grid Pictures - one of his dream production houses. And if they deem his scripts worthwhile and give him the green light, then these four fucking months of pure torture were totally worth it!
For the first time in weeks, hope finally started blooming inside Sangwon’s heart. Holding his phone tighter, he couldn’t help but feel that maybe, just maybe, this is where his story finally began.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
This must be some kind of sick joke the universe was playing on him.
Today was his scheduled interview for the scriptwriter position at Grid Pictures. He woke up early, prepared himself smartly, ate breakfast (which he did not usually do), and stepped foot inside the marble floors of Grid Pictures 30 minutes before his scheduled interview to not fuck up anything today. Everything must be in tiptop shape, including his mental state, before this interview because this was literally a life-and-death situation for him.
At exactly 9:00AM, a man went to get him from the lobby while he was still marveling over the interior design of the building. He could not help but daydream of his future as an employee walking down the lobby and seeing the glass walls and movie posters lining up the halls every single day. He was thrilled as fuck.
Too lost in thought while following the man whose name was Anxin, he was not able to initially hear the words “personal assistant” and “demanding client” until they arrived in front of a room labeled as ‘ALD-1 Artist Agency - Studio 1'.
“I think we are going inside the wrong office?” Sangwon carefully straightened the baby blue polo shirt that he decided to wear today and laughed nervously. It was only then that he realized some of the phrases that Anxin had been explaining to him since he arrived. He must have heard things wrongly. He thought it must have been his nerves.
Yet, he couldn’t be more mistaken, as the boy who had been giving him instructions since he arrived turned around with an exasperated expression. “I have been an employee here for two years. I’d have memorized the studios and offices here by now, don’t you think, Mr. Lee?”
“Mr. Zhou, was it?” Once he received a nod, he continued. “As far as I remember, I was applying for the sriptwriter position for Grid Pictures.”
“What are you saying?” Anxin tutted and lifted the portfolio that was with him. There, on the front page, was his picture, so it was not a mistake - it was really his writing samples and resume. “This was given to me directly by the receptionist from a certain... Mr. Kim Geonwoo. And ALD-1 Artist Agency is directly under the care of Grid Pictures. You have applied for a personal assistant position, Mr. Lee.”
Sangwon wanted the ground to swallow him whole already. Fucking hell, Kim Geonwoo!
Before he could retort and try to retract his application, the younger man was already pushing open the door of the studio and pulling him inside.
And he could feel his jaw dropping because there, in the middle of the room, was a man who was wearing his sunglasses, accompanied by the infamous scowl that held their country in a chokehold.
It was none other than South Korea’s Stone Cold Golden Boy, Lee Leo, who was now looking at him straight in the eye with his piercing gaze.
God fuck, his story had just taken a plot twist he never thought was coming.