Chapter 2. White bear
In his previous life, the person Ren trusted the most was his manager, White bear.
When Ren was in high school, he was scouted by an entertainment agency, and that's how he met White bear.
It was also the start of his career in the entertainment industry.
White bear's real name was Dong Shu, but everyone liked to call him White bear because of his bear-like physique.
They worked together for two years in the agency that scouted him, but the agency became bankrupt in the third year.
Nine out of ten entertainment agencies would barely last longer than five years.
Not only the entertainment companies, but the actors and directors also found it hard to last longer than five years.
That's why the entertainment industry is very intense. It is basically a place where only the strong wins.
After the agency went bankrupt, Ren decided not to join another agency and focus on theatre to improve his acting.
White bear joined another agency, and that was how they parted as a manager and actor.
Although they were no longer a manager and actor, they still met frequently. They will meet at least once a month.
That's why Ren smiled when he saw White bear calling him.
Even in his past life, White bear had called him. At that time, White bear was unfortunate, and he had invited him for a meet-up.
"Hello, have you been well?"
-Don't talk about being well. I am distressed right now. Want to meet up?.
Ren smiled when he heard the nostalgic voice on the phone.
"I have an appointment."
-Appointment? Did you get a role in a movie?
"Yeah, although it's a small role."
-Really? Congratulations. You really are doing well. So, can I come with you?
"You? Don't you have your job."
Although Ren knew what had happened to him, he still asked as to not create any suspicion.
-I, I was fired.
"Why??"
-You know I'm a little dimwitted. The others don't like me. They didn't want to work with me.
Ren knew that White bear was assigned to a girl group, but the girl group had many problems.
Due to internal fighting, they had separated, and the agency blamed White bear for it.
That was the reason he was fired.
-So, can I come with you? I know it would be troublesome but….
"You can come."
-Really?
"Yeah, did you have any breakfast.
-No, I haven't eaten yet.
"Then, come to my house first."
-Ah, I will be there in 10 minutes.
The phone ended with that and Ren smiled, thinking about the past.
Even In his previous life, White bear had called him lamenting about the fact that he was fired and asked him to go to the shoot together.
Ren had obviously agreed, and they went to the shooting location together.
There, they were told that the script had changed and Ren had been given a completely new script.
White bear was really infuriated by that and had even gone to argue with the director. In the end, Ren only acted for a few minutes, and the director had said that he too was incompetent for the role.
Ren and White bear had then left the set with disappointed expressions and drowned in alcohol that night speaking about all of their sorrows.
White bear had then said that he wanted to be his personal manager, so they worked for the next 5 years together.
White bear was really good in his job, and he had managed to snatch various roles for Ren. Still, it was only because of his inability that he wasn't able to do those roles very well.
His acting was mediocre at best.
After that, White bear had gotten married, so he had to find a stable job for his family. He wasn't able to stay as Ren's manager forever.
Ren still remembered White bear's crying face when he had decided to leave him.
'Sorry, sorry, Ren. I, I wasn't able to be with you forever. Forgive me….'
He had cried a pool that night. He looked more like a lover than a manager.
Although White bear had stopped being a manager, they still stayed in contact.
They had only stopped talking to each other when White bear had gone to live in Japan with his family since he found a job there.
White bear had only found a new job because of his family. Ren knew more than anyone else that how much White bear liked being a manager.
'In this life, I have to succeed, at least for the people who care about me.'
Ren thought that as he glanced outside his window. The wind was blowing, and the sun was shining in the sky.
* * *
Just like he had said, White bear reached Ren's house in 10 minutes.
"Aunty, how are you?"
He entered the house and tried to greet Ren's mother with a 90-degree bow, but he was unable to do that because of his big stomach.
"Welcome. It's been so long since you've been here."
His mother laughed and greeted him enthusiastically. She was already acquainted with White bear as he had visited his house often.
"Please have this."
He tried to hand over a box of apples to his mother.
There were around 40 apples in that box and anybody could see that they were heavy, but for White bear, it was light.
If his mother really received that box, then she would surely break her back.
That's why Ren received the box in her stead.
'This is so heavy...'
"I'll have breakfast ready soon, so please wait here." His mother said to White Bear.
"No, Aunty. We have to go to the filming site soon."
"We have plenty of time to eat. Take off your shoes and come in."
Ren said as he chimed in the conversation.
"Okay, then I'll turn off my car engine and come back. I thought we were leaving right away."
White Bear was in a hurry to turn back and hit the front door.
Thankfully, his big stomach got in the way, and he didn't hit his face.
"Whew, luckily I have an 'airbag', and I didn't hit my face. Hehehe."
White Bear laughed while looking at Ren and his mother as he pointed at his stomach.
"Your friend is so cute."
After White Bear went out, his mother said to Ren to with a smile.
Ren smiled after hearing that. White bear was always like that, nobody hated him because of his attitude.
Although there were occasionally people who tried to take advantage of him, they were just in the minority.
White Bear came back after turning off his car.
They sat at the dining table as his mother started serving him food. The food was already ready, and his mother had to just reheat it.
"Aunty, your food is still the same. So tasty!!"
White bear enthusiastically complimented his mother, as she smiled back at him.
"There is more food. So, tell me if you need more."
White bear was always good at socialising.
He was good at greeting people and had a great personality, so even if there was a bad director or producer, he could quickly get closer to them.
With his naive smile and ability to cry unpredictably, he was able to persuade people quite well.
That's how he had managed to get many roles for Ren.
After his mother left the kitchen to do laundry, Ren and White bear started talking about their daily lives.
"What happened? Why were you fired?"
When Ren asked that question, White bear just sighed and said.
"You know the idol group that I was working for? They disbanded, and the company blamed me for it."
"You can't be fired for just that, right?"
Ren asked a question that he hadn't requested in his previous life.
If he thought about it carefully, White bear was an excellent manager. The agency wouldn't have fired a talented person without reason.
In his previous life, he hadn't ask much about it as White bear didn't like to talk about it, but Ren always felt that the reason behind him being fired was something else.
Just like he had thought, White bear had a troubled expression on his face after hearing Ren's question. He stared at Ren for a while and said with difficulty.
"You are right. Well, actually it's because of my senior in the company."
"Your senior?"
"Yeah, I don't know if it's because of my appearance or he just didn't like me, but he always harassed me and always liked to slap my face whenever he would be angry."
"Your senior is a piece of shit."
Ren said in an aggravated tone. He didn't know that White bear was harassed in his company.
White bear nodded at Ren's words and continued.
"Recently, he was in a bad mood as the singer assigned to him was caught in a sex party. For fear of getting fired, he pushed all the blame on me."
White bear lowered his head as he spoke the last words.
"Didn't the other employees tried to help you or something?"
"No, my relationship in my workplace is not that good. They all feared me because of how I look."
Ren confirmed something after hearing White bear's words. He at first thought that only the senior that was a piece of shit, now he felt that the whole company were a piece of shit.
'I will surely help him get revenge.'
Ren thought as he looked at White bear. He knew that White bear was kind, that's why people occasionally took advantage of him.
White bear was someone who had helped him a lot previously. He can't let him suffer this injustice.
Although he was too weak to do something currently, he was sure that he will help White bear take his revenge one day.
"It's already 10. Didn't we have to reach the set before 11."
As he was in his thoughts, White bear reminded him of the time as he pointed on the clock on the wall.
"Yeah, let's go."