Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 69

The Unprecedented Tag Team Match (1)

* * *

Early the next morning.

A post was uploaded to a private online community mainly for management officials and broadcasting station staff.

Title: This school bullying controversy didn’t even last 24 hours

Content: The official statement, support from colleagues, and even a fourth-generation chaebol [a wealthy, family-owned conglomerate] came out in less than a day to end the controversy.

\u2500The actor is suspiciously lucky with people…

\u2514Right \u314b\u314b The actor is just standing still, but everyone around him is covering for him

\u2514\u2514Roman is doing a good job

\u2514\u2514Wasn’t the response almost immediate with Lee Jang-mi too?

\u2514\u2514\u2514Yeah, it seems like the actor himself has a sense for when he’s about to fall

\u2500I didn’t expect Jin Ji-yu to do a live broadcast for Byun Hwi-seung and Seo Hee-do \u314b\u314b\u314b\u314b

\u2514He must be good to the people around him

\u2514\u2514He’s carrying every project he’s in by the collar, how can anyone dislike him… They say he’s practically Superman on set

\u2500But what about Jin Gyu-il? Is it really just a personal connection?

\u2514It’s a justified investment. CVN hasn’t been able to secure writers and actors since last year, and there’s been collusion among broadcasting stations and checks from large agencies.

\u2514\u2514The checks are intense \u314b\u314b How can a member of the National Assembly come and attack a 3% specialized channel?

\u2500??? : Assemblyman, you have to earn your keep

\u2500So, is Park Geon going to film a CVN project?

\u2514Well… I don’t think he can do anything alone with a lack of manpower…

\u2514\u2514It’s 100% going to be a fight between the top 1, 2 and the rest \u314b\u314b\u314b\u314b I can see it already

*

A dimly lit bar in Hannam-dong.

A tall shadow walked down the stairs leading to the basement.

Whether he had rented the entire place, there were no other customers except for a man in a suit at the end of the bar. Only an elderly bartender was wiping glasses.

As Park Geon sat down next to him, Jin Gyu-il, the head of the headquarters, slid a glass of whiskey on the rocks over.

“It’s been a while. Has it been ten years?”

“About that.”

“I was thinking while waiting, we didn’t have many conversations during the year we spent together. It’s a shame.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’ve probably forgotten everything anyway.”

Even though they were meeting after a long time, there were no warm greetings like asking what they’ve been up to or saying how glad they were to see each other.

It’s better to add even a word of constructive business talk than to waste time on unnecessary pleasantries.

“I’m glad it ended well.”

“Thanks to you, I ended it sitting down.”

A faint displeasure lingered in his words. As Park Geon gulped down his whiskey, Jin Gyu-il refilled his glass.

“Did I do something unnecessary?”

“No, I’m indebted to you. And to others.”

Jin Gyu-il didn’t miss the change in Park Geon’s expression at the mention of ‘others’.

The ice in the glass clinked as it melted.

“It can’t be helped. Whether it’s business or entertainment, the higher you go, the more enemies you have. It’s not like they’re shooting real guns, but it might be worse than in the military.”

Park Geon chuckled briefly at the mention of the special forces.

“So, did you call me to join hands and intercept common enemies?”

“That’s right. I’m asking for your help.”

Jin Gyu-il, who readily admitted it, gestured, and the bartender brought a new bottle of whiskey and placed it in front of them.

“You may or may not know, but… my father sent me here two years ago. He meant to give me as much support as possible, so I wouldn’t get pushed around by my wolf-like brothers and complete a new business entirely.”

“It must have been difficult.”

“How difficult would it be to take away someone else’s rice bowl? I’ve been watching for about a year, securing good actors and laying down funds to expand the market. So, I was about to throw my cards when…”

“I happened to come out?”

Jin Gyu-il also emptied his glass in one go.

“Yeah. If I didn’t know at all, I wouldn’t have been able to pretend I didn’t see it. I made a bit of a fuss to repay my old debt.”

Park Geon, who was staring at him intently, said,

“Tell me the conditions.”

“Conditions…?”

“Why you need me, what I need to do, and how far the reward can go.”

Jin Gyu-il raised one eyebrow. ‘Is he really an actor?’ There are many special forces \u51fa\u8eab [出身, origin/background] around him, but this atmosphere is definitely not it.

What should I say… It feels like a business partner who came to a meeting, not a problem solver from a company who is discussing a mission.

‘Just as I expected.’

It’s neither the way businessmen talk nor the style of broadcasting officials, but this is better. The longer the negotiation with the person you need to build trust with, the more counterproductive it becomes.

“A 16-episode series with a leading role, the biggest scale including the first and second half of the year. Lastly, I heard you value viewership and recognition more than guarantee, is that right?”

“Roughly similar. What about award ceremonies?”

“From this year, we’ll be holding awards every year. If you lead the drama and grow the channel, you’ll sweep everything from the grand prize to the small ones.”

Park Geon looked down at his glass and muttered.

“There’s a lack of talent compared to the budget.”

It was a sore spot, but if it’s a weakness that everyone knows, it’s not a big problem.

“That’s why I need you. There’s a writer in negotiation, but money alone won’t move them. You need to secure a center of gravity, whether it’s an actor or production team, so other words will stick.”

“You can bring the work too?”

“Of course, Writer Young Do-eun’s historical drama was being shelved due to production costs. If that comes to us, we can have a head-on match with KBC.”

Park Geon gestured, as if telling him to explain more, and Jin Gyu-il threw his trump card.

“A 50 billion won ‘Hyperion’, DG and Joinus will put their affiliated celebrities in it. Simultaneous exports to China, OTT [Over-The-Top media service, like Netflix]… it seems like it will be launched with a bang. If you add up all the lobbying money thrown back and forth, it’ll be much more than the production cost…”

Park Geon’s lips moved for the first time.

“You’re saying we should ruin that.”

“Yes, as miserably as possible.”

The two alumni took turns raising their glasses and drinking. Without even mentioning whether it was an acceptance or rejection, Park Geon suddenly said,

“A personal request.”

“What is it?”

“Put people on our filming set, actors, production team, and all related personnel. If you chase the stalker in reverse, you’ll find a den of weasels. It’s difficult for me to get away because of filming.”

From the moment the article is published, all kinds of behind-the-scenes maneuvers and mud fights are a predetermined course. Vicious paparazzi disguised as reporters will also be rampant in various places.

Jin Gyu-il nodded as if it were natural.

“There are more capable people in the planning department of the headquarters than in the entertainment division. Should I send what I find to the agency?”

“No, to me.”

“Huh?”

Park Geon emptied another glass. Even though he drank strong vodka like water, his complexion was calm.

“Give it directly to me. Don’t tell anyone else.”

For a while, only the sound of music flowing from the LP record and the clinking of the bartender cleaning the cups could be heard.

Jin Gyu-il tapped the edge of the glass with his finger.

“Violence is not allowed, you know that.”

“I know that.”

“If you do it, you’ll give them justification. If necessary, rather from this side…”

“I’ve realized something.”

A relaxed voice cut him off.

“I used to think that if someone hit me, I just had to endure it, but that’s not it. Make sure you know, Head Jin. When someone hurts you, the people around you get hurt too.”

Jin Gyu-il closed his mouth. The alumni were not even thirty years old yet, but his words contained the self-deprecation of a department head who had been rolling in the front lines for decades.

‘…What on earth did he experience in the military?’

The actor, who didn’t even pour the remaining whiskey into his glass and drank it straight, stood up.

As he stretched his back, his head barely brushed the light in front of the bar. Was he this tall? Jin Gyu-il, who was looking up at him again, heard a short declaration.

“I can’t live after being hit three times.”

*

After Park Geon left, Jin Gyu-il waved his hand to dismiss the bartender.

He turned on the phone, which had been muted throughout the meeting, and messages were piled up.

[Second Hyung [Older Brother]]: I just saw the interview

[Second Hyung]: You crazy bastard… what the hell was that you did calling the reporters?

[Second Hyung]: Please don’t disgrace the family

[First Hyung [Older Brother]]: Come in before it gets too late. Father wants to have dinner together.

[First Hyung]: The eldest daughter of Lee Do Construction that I sent you before, if you’re okay with it, he said he’ll set a date for you to meet.

The messages from his own flesh and blood were not even half as welcome as the alumnus he hadn’t seen in 10 years.

“…Fucking family.”

Jin Gyu-il deleted all the messages and loosened his tie.

Park Geon seemed to have forgotten, but he still remembered. The eyes of the guy when Kim Jong-seung’s father, the one who was a councilman, slapped him in the face when he came to school.

‘Weak justice is worse than injustice.’

After hearing the news that he was suspended, he asked the secretary’s office to investigate out of half curiosity.

He also remembered losing interest after seeing a firefighter father and a foreign car dealer mother… a family with nothing special.

The boy who experienced violence becomes an adult. He tasted the bitterness of society early on, so I thought he could no longer live as a good person…

He didn’t break at all.

The alumnus who was kicked out of school for trying to stop the violence was still trying to help others. He was as hard as a stone from what he had been doing.

He couldn’t be more reliable as an ally.

If this fight is won, CVN and C&J Entertainment will take off at once. The enemies will taste a miserable defeat.

Jin Gyu-il raised his glass and lightly bumped it against Park Geon’s glass, which he had never toasted.

“Let’s have a celebratory drink after we’ve smashed everything.”

*

What are the conditions for a so-called ‘hit work’ [a very successful project]?

First is the director.

Second is the writer.

Third is the actor.

Here, whether the production team comes first or the actor comes first is like the relationship between the chicken and the egg.

If there is a famous director, actors are eager to join, and top actors, on the other hand, receive love calls from famous PDs [Production Directors] or writers who want to work together.

Among them, what is certain is when two or more of those three come together… or when a good writer has a great work.

So, writer Young Do-eun was suffering from love letters from all kinds of people these days.

-Writer, this is PD Lee Seong-woon from MBS. Have you decided where you will work on your next project?

-Do you have time? This is CP [Chief Producer] Kim Joo-hyuk from YTS, I’m wondering if I can set up a meeting.

-Hello, writer Young Do-eun. I happened to come across the scenario you wrote this time…

Looking at the broadcasting stations that are contacting her, they are diverse. MBS Wednesday-Thursday, JNBC Monday-Tuesday, KBC and YTS weekend.

Most of the love calls come from PDs who are somewhat high-level, or people who are already CPs.

“Writer Young, don’t you trust me?”

PD Jong Seung-tae, who is in front of her now, is also a guy who forcibly came to the studio. He is excellent in skill, but has the disadvantage of trying to flirt with every actress who enters the filming and shoot romance.

“I’ll do it great. Or what, do you want to go to Na Jong-mo or Choi Chang-guk? The people from JNBC all have a lack of stamina.”

“I told you that there is no place where we are properly talking yet. I just want my work to come out well.”

“Then it’s MBS. Did you hear the news that KBC is putting in 50 billion won? Terrestrial should be caught by the same terrestrial. Cable bastards without roots…”

“My debut was on cable.”

PD Jong Seung-tae took out a large handkerchief and blew his nose.

“That’s because Writer Young is good. You should know that it’s better to wear a red skirt if possible.”

What’s even more frustrating is that it’s difficult to exclude even such a brazen guy if you look at the conditions alone.

Young Do-eun’s worries deepen.

The lump of meat that these hyenas want is the scenario she has.

The work came out great. ‘Butcher and General’, she invested a whopping 5 years in this scenario.

Of course, it was written while working on other works, but wasn’t it a guy that she put in that much effort for?

‘…I can’t shoot it anywhere, absolutely.’

Since it’s a historical drama, promotion is important, the director who will shoot it is important, and from the lead to the supporting roles… even the balance of the staff of the production company and the broadcasting station is important.

She has seen countless times the dramas that should have been in the ranks of masterpieces plummeting due to such adversities as a production company with a lot of money but unable to work, or, conversely, a planning company with good actors but repeatedly engaging in power games and ego battles from casting.

When Writer Young was silent, Jong Seung-tae started talking again.

“Writer Young, I can shoot that great. You know that most PDs can’t stand historical dramas, right? The moment one directing or mise-en-scène [the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play or film] becomes ridiculous, the life of the work ends.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And since the words came out, how many guys are coming all the way here and putting in effort like me…”

“Excuse me, PD.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t talk down to me. I told you I didn’t want to meet you today, but you stubbornly came all the way up here. If I want to work with you, I’ll contact the company, so please stop nagging and get out. Because of you, PD, I can’t even drive towards MBS.”

PD Jong Seung-tae’s face turned red and he went out. Only after the thumping footsteps faded away did Young Do-eun grab her hair and groan.

“Augh, I’m going crazy…”

At that time, the phone rang again.

[CVN Shin Myung-cheol Deputy Manager]

This time it’s from CVN. I remember them as a persistent human who sold even their headquarters manager, a newly established conglomerate that would do everything if they just came.

‘This place is too small.’

She wouldn’t go to a channel that was half-failed, but was it because she was suffering from a half-witted guy until just now?

She impulsively answered the phone, which she wouldn’t normally answer.

“I answered the phone, this is Young Do-eun.”

And a few minutes later.

Writer Young Do-eun’s expression changed while holding her phone.

“…Yes? Who set up a meeting?”

* * *