Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 40 Some things are harder than climbing over a wall.

December 20th, 6:30 AM. Su Yu was woken up by his phone vibrating. The sound didn't seem like a notification tone; it was more like someone was drilling into his temple.

Three words from Cai Xiubin popped up on the screen: "I've arrived."

Su Yu stared at the words, his head pounding. Had this girl gone mad? Leaving at 5:30? He rolled out of bed, his bare feet hitting the cement floor. The bone-chilling coldness shot up his spine, instantly dispelling any sleepiness.

Reaching the sink, the person in the mirror had a jawline as sharp as a freshly sharpened knife, dark and brooding eyes, and a menacing air of someone who hadn't slept. He splashed a handful of cold water on his face, shivered, and looked at his disheveled reflection in the mirror, thinking: Well, another day of being a "life mentor" and "nanny."

As I pushed open the company door, a chill mixed with the crispness of the early morning hit me. Cai Xiubin had become a statue, standing motionless at the door.

She wore a gray hoodie, her ponytail was tied so tightly it could be used as a self-defense weapon, and she was carrying a shopping bag that was bigger than half her body, so tight that her fingers were red.

The morning light slanted in from the east gate, making her look like a fairy who had mistakenly wandered into the mortal world—if you ignored the two dark circles under her eyes that resembled smoky makeup.

"What time did you get up?" Su Yu took out his keys to open the door, his tone carrying three parts helplessness and seven parts headache.

"5:30." Her voice was hoarse, as if she had swallowed a handful of sand.

"Are you rushing to catch an early flight or what? Even the morning market around here isn't open yet."

"My mom says that seaweed rice rolls need to be made in the morning to be fresh; leftovers won't do, they're for those who hate someone who's been away all night." She said matter-of-factly, as if it were a universal truth.

Su Yu glanced at her, said nothing more, opened the drawer, and tossed the apron with a cartoon cat print over her. "Put it on. Don't let your shabby attitude get on my new shirt."

Cai Xiubin caught it, put it on, and clumsily tied a crooked bow behind her back. Su Yu pulled out the folding table from under the table. The iron legs made two "click-clack" sounds when they were spread open, which were particularly jarring in the morning silence, like some kind of battle horn.

"First step, cook the rice. One cup of rice and one cup of water, got it?"

"Got it!" she shouted like a primary school student answering a question in class, afraid of being kept after school if she was even a second too slow.

Watching her rinse the rice and add water, her fingers swirling in the water, splashing droplets all over the table. The sunlight shone directly on the back of her hands, making the water droplets sparkle like scattered diamonds.

Su Yu leaned against the table, looking at her lowered eyes, and the inexplicable irritation in his heart strangely subsided a little.

"Su Yu, don't look at me," she suddenly said, her ears turning red at a visible speed.

"How do you know I'm looking at you if you're not looking at me?" Su Yu drawled out, completely at ease.

"I saw it out of the corner of my eye! Your gaze is too intense!"

"Oh." Su Yu didn't say anything more, just looked at her with eyes like hooks.

The rice was cooking; it would take forty minutes. Cai Xiubin sat listlessly by the window, staring at the potted plant on the windowsill.

That thing actually survived Su Yu's "torture," and its leaves were a size bigger than last week, vibrant green, completely out of place in this dilapidated semi-basement.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"Do you think anyone will remember Ahn Go-eun after the third episode airs?" she asked cautiously, drawing circles on her knee with her fingers until her fingernails turned white.

"People already remembered it from the second episode."

"That's Ahn Go-eun, not Chae Soo-bin." She lowered her head, her voice muffled. "People like that character, not Chae Soo-bin who works at a convenience store and can't even pay her rent."

Su Yu walked over and sat down opposite her. Between them was a folding table piled high with ingredients: carrots, cucumbers, pickled radishes, and seaweed, all laid out like a feast.

"You played An Gaoen. Remembering An Gaoen is remembering you. Just like everyone remembers this plant because it grows well, but you're the one who watered it." Su Yu pointed to the plant, her tone certain.

Cai Xiubin didn't reply. After a moment of silence, she whispered, "Su Yu, I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid the last eight episodes will be a disaster. Everyone says the first eight episodes are great, but if the last eight are a flop, all the good stuff in the beginning will be for nothing. It's like... like this pot of rice; if even one grain is burnt, the whole pot has to be thrown away."

Su Yu didn't speak, but reached out and took the carrot in front of her, placing it on the cutting board. He then took a fruit knife from the drawer, its blade flashing coldly in the morning light.

"Watch closely."

With a swift stroke, he sliced ​​the carrot, thin as paper, translucent, revealing the grain of the cutting board beneath. One slice, two slices, three slices. Three slices, identical, of uniform thickness.

"See that? Steady, precise, and without hesitation. Chopping vegetables is like acting; the more afraid you are of cutting your hand, the more likely you are to cut it."

Cai Xiubin stared at the three carrot slices without saying a word.

"You acted well in the first eight episodes because you were serious. As long as you stay serious in the next eight episodes, it won't fall apart. And even if it does," Su Yu paused, a sly smile playing on his lips, "I'll take the blame. I'm the screenwriter, I'll take the fall."

She took the knife, her fingers gripping the handle so tightly they turned white. She made one cut—thick. Another cut—still thick. The third cut—thinner, but terribly crooked, one end thicker than the other.

Su Yu sighed, stood up, walked behind her, and reached out to grasp the hand holding the knife. Her hand was cold and trembled slightly in his palm, like a frightened cat.

"Relax. Chopping vegetables isn't fighting; you don't have to fight the carrots to the death."

"I can't relax with you standing so close." Her voice trembled slightly, and her breathing became erratic.

Su Yu didn't back down. His chest pressed against her back, and he could clearly feel her heartbeat, each thud striking his chest. His hand was still holding hers, guiding her hand as he sliced ​​through the carrot. Thin shreds of carrot emerged evenly from the cuts, as fine as strands of hair.

Her ears were so red they looked like they could drip blood, the redness spreading from the tips to the base of her ears, clearly visible in the morning light.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"Did you do this on purpose?"

"Deliberately what?"

"Standing so close on purpose... that's indecent."

Su Yu released her hand, took a step back, and said calmly, "Chopping vegetables is a skill. I can't see clearly from a distance, and I'm afraid you'll cut off your finger to make soup."

Cai Xiubin suddenly turned around to face him. The distance between them was less than half a step, so close that they could count each other's eyelashes. She tilted her head back, staring into his eyes, as if trying to see through him.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"You said last time that Ahn Go-eun was thinking in the car—if Kim Do-ki reached out to help her tuck her hair, would she dodge?"

"Um."

"So, who were you thinking of when you wrote that sentence? Was it An Goeun, or that idiot who stole a lollipop at the convenience store?"

The company was so quiet that you could hear the rustling sound of Yoon Shi-yoon turning the pages of a script upstairs. The sound was like background noise, highlighting the ambiguity of the moment.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a pale patch of light on the floor, which stretched between the two men like a dividing line between Chu and Han.

"I was thinking of you," he said, his voice not loud, but clear and undeniable, like a pebble thrown into a deep well.

Cai Xiubin didn't speak. Her fingers were still gripping the knife, the tip pressed against the cutting board. She put the knife down with a soft "click".

"So, do you want to reach out now?" she asked, her voice as soft as a feather, yet carrying a desperate courage.

Su Yu reached out. Not to grab the knife, nor to tuck her hair, but to cup her face in his hands. Her cheeks were burning hot, like steamed buns just taken out of a steamer, unbelievably soft. Her breath caught for a second, and her pupils dilated slightly.

The distance between the two people went from half a step to zero.

As she tiptoed, her ponytail swayed behind her head. Her lips touched his, and Su Yu tasted the strawberry.

It wasn't a lollipop, but the lip balm she'd applied that morning—it was sickeningly sweet. Her hand gripped his collar tightly, her knuckles white, as if afraid he'd run away, or perhaps to confirm his presence.

The company was eerily quiet. The sound of Yoon Shi-yoon flipping through scripts upstairs had stopped. The green plants on the windowsill shone brightly in the morning light. Sunlight streamed in through the glass window, falling on them and casting their shadows on the floor, overlapping and indistinguishable.

She stepped back first. Her face was as red as a boiled shrimp, the redness spreading from her neck to her forehead. She lowered her head, staring at her toes, not daring to look at him.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"Does this... count as a kissing scene? Should we yell 'cut'?"

"Yes, but I didn't call 'cut'."

"So, are you going to write it into the script? Will it be considered a work injury?"

Su Yu reached out and tucked her stray hairs behind her ear. When his fingers touched her earlobe, she flinched but didn't flinch.

"I won't write it. Because it's Cai Xiubin's, not Ahn Go-eun's. Ahn Go-eun isn't that stupid; she wouldn't ask if it counts as a work injury after kissing someone."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were full of light, as if someone had lit two tiny light bulbs in her pupils, dazzlingly bright.

"When will Cai Xiubin's scenes be written?"

"Wait until you finish playing Ahn Go-eun."

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

Eight episodes. One month.

"It's been too long."

Su Yu lowered his head and kissed her forehead, like a stamp, or some kind of promise. "Then let's wait. Anyway, you can't run away; the rent hasn't been paid in full yet."

She bit her lip, turned around, picked up the knife, and continued chopping vegetables. The carrot shreds were as thin as strands of hair. Each slice was clean and crisp, her hand no longer trembling.

The rice was ready. Cai Xiubin opened the rice cooker, and a wave of steam rushed out, blurring her face. She used a rice paddle to fluff the rice and put it in a large bowl to cool.

"Make the vinegar. Vinegar, sugar, and salt in a 3:2:1 ratio."

Cai Xiubin carefully poured the contents using a measuring spoon, as if conducting some kind of precision experiment. Su Yu watched from the side, unable to suppress a laugh.

"Su Yu, are you this precise when you write scripts?"

"Writing a screenplay is an art, cooking is a science. Art can be passionate, but science must be rigorous."

She smiled, poured the prepared vinegar into the rice, and mixed it well with a rice paddle. Then she laid out the seaweed. She placed the seaweed on the bamboo mat, and Su Yu reached out to help her hold down a corner.

"Remember, the rough side should face up so the rice sticks. Just like people, you need to be thick-skinned to seize opportunities."

"I've got it."

She used a rice spoon to spread rice on the seaweed. This time, she spread it evenly, neither too thick nor too thin, with neat edges. Su Yu watched her, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

"You've made progress."

"Of course. A good teacher produces outstanding students." She couldn't suppress the slight upturn of her lips.

She added the ingredients. She neatly arranged the chopped spinach, carrots, cucumbers, pickled radishes, and egg crepes, as if she were setting up some sacred ceremony.

"Roll it up," Su Yu said.

She grasped the edge of the bamboo curtain and rolled it forward. With just the right amount of force, neither too fast nor too slow. Once rolled, she opened the curtain. A perfectly rolled seaweed rice roll, the seaweed intact, the rice not spilled out.

She stared at the seaweed rice roll, stunned.

"It's done?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"You'll only know once you cut it open."

She picked up the knife and started cutting. The first cut, it didn't fall apart. The second cut, it didn't fall apart. The third cut, still no falling apart. After cutting, she arranged the pieces neatly on a plate, all uniform in size.

Su Yu picked up a piece and took a bite. She chewed it twice. She stared at him, her fingers gripping the edge of her apron, her knuckles turning white.

"Is it tasty?"

Su Yu chewed a couple more times, deliberately drawing out his words: "Hmm...not bad. Better than last time. Last time it was a 'biological weapon,' this time it's 'human food.'"

She smiled, her eyes crinkling like crescent moons. She took a piece from the plate and put it in her mouth, chewing as she did so, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"I did it."

Su Yu reached out and wiped away the single tear that hadn't yet fallen from the corner of her eye. "Yes. You did it. You don't have to work the night shift at the convenience store anymore."

In the afternoon, Shirley sent me a message.

Oppa, I saw the news. Is episode 3 of "Model Taxi" airing this week?

Su Yu replied: [Yes. Sunday.]

Sulli: [Is the female lead you wrote about, Chae Soo-bin, very popular right now?]

Su Yu stared at the line of text, his finger pausing on the screen for a moment.

[Not bad. Just starting out. A promising talent, just a bit slow.]

Shirley: [And you? When will you become famous?]

Su Yu: [I don't use fire. Fire is for actors; I create fire. I'm the one handing out the matches from behind.]

Shirley sent an eye-rolling emoji. Su Yu didn't reply.

In the evening, Su Yu received a call from Li Ying'en.

"I've finished writing the last eight episodes, I'll send them to you tomorrow." Lee Young-eun's voice was tired, as if she had just finished a marathon. "Su Yu, are you sure Ahn Go-eun won't end up with Kim Do-ki in the last eight episodes?"

"Sure."

"You'll get cursed to death by the audience. The kind of people who send you razor blades."

"Let them criticize. It's not like I haven't been criticized before. It's necessary for the plot; they can't be dating all the time, they have to do something productive."

Lee Young-eun sighed. "Fine. You're the boss, you call the shots. Anyway, if I get razor blades sent to me, they'll be sent to you."

He hung up the phone. Cai Xiubin leaned over from the side. "Who called? A debt collector?"

"Screenwriter. The last eight episodes are finished."

Are Ahn Go-eun and Kim Do-gi together?

Su Yu looked at her. "Guess."

She rolled her eyes. "Su Yu, you're so annoying. Can't you just give me a straight answer?"

It's 7 p.m. in the alley.

Yoon Shi-yoon, dressed in all black, stood in front of the low wall. Su Yu leaned against the wall, holding her phone, the flashlight beam shining on the wall. Cai Xiubin squatted beside her, eating her half-eaten seaweed rice rolls while watching.

"You practice this every night?" she asked, a piece of food still stuffed in her mouth. "What's wrong with this wall?"

"Yeah. There are a lot of wall-climbing scenes in the last eight episodes. Audiences like to see action scenes, not us playing house here," Su Yu said.

Yoon Shi-yoon took a few steps back, sprinted, braced himself against the wall, turned his body to the side, stepped over, and landed. Steady, light, almost silent, like a black cat. Chae Soo-bin applauded.

Yoon Shi-yoon turned back, dusted off his hands, and looked at Su Yu with a hint of provocation in his eyes. "Su Yu, you come here. Don't just talk the talk."

Su Yu handed the phone to Cai Xiubin and walked to the wall. He took a few steps back, sprinted, braced himself against the top of the wall, and flipped over. He landed unsteadily, stumbled, and almost fell flat on his face, but luckily managed to grab the wall.

Cai Xiubin laughed so hard she almost flew out of her hand, the seaweed rice roll in her hand nearly flying away. "Hahahaha! Su Yu, you're no good either! Was that a warm-up? You almost died from the heat!"

Su Yu dusted off his hands, his expression unchanged, and gave Yin Shiyun a cold look: "The wall is too slippery. Besides, someone was laughing next to me, which affected my performance."

Yin Shiyun crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, adding a casual remark: "Su Yu, admit it. Your strength is writing scripts, not scaling walls. Your sense of balance is worse than that stray cat's." He pointed to a stray cat grooming itself in the corner.

"If you're so good, then you do it." Su Yu ignored him and turned to look at Cai Xiubin.

Cai Xiubin stood up and walked to the wall. She looked at the wall, then at Su Yu, and finally at Yin Shiyun.

"I can't get over it. My legs are too short."

"Give it a try. Short legs are no excuse, a short heart is," Su Yu said.

She took a few steps back and ran over. She lost her balance and crashed into the wall, bouncing back with a dull thud. Su Yu reached out to pull her up, but she lost her footing and fell into his arms, the impact making his chest ache.

The alley was dark, with only the light from cell phones. Yoon Shi-yoon, with his back to them, pretended to look at his phone, but his shoulders were shaking, and he muttered under his breath, "It's an eyesore. It's really an eyesore. If this wall could talk, it would have called the police already."

Cai Xiubin didn't let go. Her face was buried in his chest, her voice muffled.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

"After filming the last eight episodes, are you going to start writing a new script?"

"Um."

"Write what?"

"Writing about you. Not Angoun, but you."

She looked up at him. The streetlight at the alley entrance shone on his face, making the contours of his brow bone and nose particularly distinct, and the shadows in his eyes were unfathomable.

"When you're writing, could you write a character who doesn't have to jump off buildings, climb over walls, or get beaten up? I want to play a normal person."

Su Yu smiled, running his fingers through her hair. "Okay. I'll write a script where you play the company president. The kind who sits in his office drinking tea, whose daily work consists of counting money and yelling at people."

"And what about the salary?"

"You'll still get paid. Bring your own tea. After all, you're the boss, you should be aware of that."

She smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and released him.

"Yoon Shi-yoon, you can turn your head now. Does the wall look nice?"

Yoon Shi-yoon turned around, expressionless, but her eyes clearly showed she couldn't bear to look. "I didn't turn my head. I was looking at the wall. The texture of this wall is much deeper than your faces."

"Eat your seaweed rice rolls, that'll shut you up." Su Yu grabbed a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Su Yu returned to the semi-basement.

He pushed open the door and went inside. Water was still dripping from the ceiling. Drip, drip. The sound was amplified infinitely in the quiet night, like a countdown. He took the black hoodie out of the bag and hung it on the headboard. He touched the fabric; it was much better than his old one—soft and warm.

My phone lit up. Cai Xiubin had sent me a message: "What time tomorrow morning?"

"Seven o'clock. The company."

"So early? Aren't you supposed to be writing a script? Don't screenwriters always stay up all night?"

"Writing a screenplay doesn't require getting up early. But you need to practice jumping off buildings. The early bird catches the worm, so you, the early bird, have to get up early."

She sent an eye-rolling emoji, then added, "Su Yu, was today's seaweed rice roll really delicious?"

Su Yu stared at the words. Moonlight streamed in through the half-open window, casting a pale, patchy white light on the floor.

"It's really delicious. A hundred times better than the ones from convenience stores. The ones from convenience stores are machine-made and cold. Yours are made by people, they're warm, and they have... a strawberry flavor."

She replied instantly: "You're lying. That's the smell of lip balm."

"I'm not lying. You applied the lip balm too, so it smells like you."

She sent a smiley face. Then she sent another message: "Goodnight, Su Yu."

Su Yu replied with two words: "Good night."

He placed his phone beside his pillow and closed his eyes. Someone was playing music outside the window; he couldn't make out the lyrics, just a slow, drawn-out tune. The ticking sound continued.

But tonight, he didn't find the noise so bothersome.