Chapter 18
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Offer for Camu
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Scene.18
Writer Kim. Offering up Camu means….
“A cameo?”
Seong-hui, who had been continuing the negotiations, stared wide-eyed.
‘This guy knows a surprising amount.’
Kang Man-dong's first impression was, how should I put it?
A kind-hearted farmer?
A slightly meddlesome pension owner?
That was exactly the image he gave off.
But he kept making her reconsider that assessment.
“Listening to you, Writer-nim, it seems I was being a bit unreasonable.”
Unreasonable, well. Seong-hui had been the one to push first. She'd let that slide.
“It also feels like I'm holding Camu hostage to bundle in a role.”
Whoa, he even knows about bundling? This guy. I'm starting to get suspicious about his past career.
“Rather than one or two clumsy roles, having a fresh face appear in each episode doesn't seem so bad either.”
Well, that's true. It's better than cramming in a useless character and watching the drama go off the rails.
‘But cameos are supposed to be just for buzz. If the cameo becomes the main goal, it’ll distract the viewers!’
But she couldn't bring herself to outright refuse.
‘A cameo is a nice-to-have. If it happens, great; if not, oh well. Should I just accept for now?’
Once a name is in the script, it's set in stone, but a cameo can be used as the situation allows.
“And as for using the farm as a filming location.”
Seong-hui waited for his next words without rashly speaking up. Every time she responded, she felt like the negotiations were getting derailed.
“The actors, the film crew, and you, Writer-nim, will all need proper lodging rather than some official residence. Right?”
“I suppose... that's true?”
“Then, I'd have to cancel all existing reservations and pay for the breach of contract.”
Kang Man-dong looked at Seong-hui as if to say, ‘I'm right, aren't I?’ It was a point Seong-hui had been worried about herself, so she subtly averted her gaze.
“Is that all? Camu has never once canceled a reservation in its entire history, so the damage to our image would be fatal.”
“...”
“I can't just offer filming cooperation for free. I'd have to receive a reasonable fee. And looking at the script you brought, Writer-nim, it seems I'd have to give up the main house as well.”
Seong-hui shrank in on herself like a child who'd broken a precious jar.
“And it's not something that will be over in a day or two. Am I right?”
Since when? Kang Man-dong's impeccably polite tone had become much shorter than it was at the beginning.
“No answer.”
“Y-... Yes, you're right.”
“Right. This isn't just a simple matter of cooperating with a film shoot or not.”
“Yes...”
“To you, Writer-nim, I might have just looked like some run-of-the-mill old guy who plants a few grapevines and makes a living off of guests.”
“No! It's a misunderstanding.”
Startled, Seong-hui shook her head.
“Well, in any case. You understand that this isn't such a simple matter, right, Writer-nim?”
“Yes....”
Every word he spoke was true, and Seong-hui's voice shrank to the buzz of a mosquito.
“My farm and pension would have to endure a drop in image. Add to that the material losses from not being able to accept other guests for a while. On top of that, I'd have to give up the main house for filming cooperation. And since it's not just regular tourists but a drama shoot, I'd have to pay no small amount of attention to it until the work is done.”
“...”
“In your estimation, Writer-nim, how long would the filming at Camu take?”
“Uh... well. At least a month.”
“A month, you say.”
Kang Man-dong wiggled his fingers as if flicking an abacus. Then he stopped and looked at Seong-hui.
“Let's set everything else aside. I'll just talk about the basic costs.”
“Yes....”
“Five two-story pensions. Ten single-story pensions. Five premium pensions. Three royal-class ones. The main house is impossible to price, so let's exclude it for now.”
Huh? There were this many pension buildings?
Seeing Seong-hui's puzzled expression, Kang Man-dong let out a small chuckle.
“Writer Kim.”
“Yes.”
“The place you stayed, Writer Kim, was the first pension building ever built here at Camu. That's why it's close to the main house.”
“So you're saying...”
“Didn't you see the buildings around the farm? You should have seen quite a few here and there.”
“I saw them, but...”
“That's all Camu. And I don't know how many crew members and actors will be coming, but did you really think the pension buildings right next door could accommodate them all?”
“...!”
“Anyway, if we do the math... it comes out to roughly 9,000 euros.”
Nine thousand euros? How much is that in Korean won?
“In Korean won, that would be about 12 million.”
Huh? 12 million won? That's cheaper than I thought.
Seong-hui, who had been incredibly tense, brightened up at the lower-than-expected price.
It was a bit more expensive than location fees for a pension in Korea, but considering this was a foreign country and it was the price to rent out all of Camu, it even seemed cheap.
As Seong-hui's expression brightened, Kang Man-dong clicked his tongue lightly.
“Seeing your face, I think you're misunderstanding something. That's the price per day.”
“What!!?”
“You said the filming period is at least a month. That comes to about 360 million. On top of that, to cover the penalty fees for canceling reservations, we'd have to double it. So, 720 million.”
“Then the rental cost alone is...”
“1.08 billion. Even if we round down, you'd have to pay at least that much.”
“Uh....”
“This is why I couldn't just say yes or no. Filming cooperation? In Korea, if you secure a location, you can find lodging nearby, and since the country is small, people can even commute from home. But you're not going to commute from here to Korea, are you?”
“Well... that's right.”
“It's not just about the money. You, Writer Kim, were forcing me to give up Camu's image as well. You're not a child, Writer Kim. I trust you fully understand what I'm saying.”
The cost, which far exceeded her expectations, was a problem, but the realization that even if they could pay it, Camu would have to sacrifice the trust it had built over the years, left Seong-hui speechless.
‘Spending 1.08 billion won just on location scouting? The broadcast station would call me crazy.’
She could vividly picture the face of Chief Producer Yu, screaming in a rage.
An overseas location shoot doesn't just involve accommodation costs. The airfare to get here alone couldn't be ignored.
“Writer Kim. Writer Kim? Writer Kim!”
“Gasp! Yes? Yes. Yes.”
“You seem very surprised.”
“Well... Yes. To be honest, I never imagined it would be this much.”
To think she had just shown up and demanded he hand over Camu without knowing any of this. How absurd must she have seemed from Kang Man-dong's perspective?
Realizing she had been acting like a petulant child, throwing a tantrum each time, Seong-hui was flooded with shame.
‘Wait a minute. Then all that talk about roles and a blind date... it was just an excuse to say no.’
He'd said he wanted to see his son's girlfriend and whatnot, but the real reason lay elsewhere.
“If that were all, I wouldn't even bring it up.”
“There's more?”
“You're not coming all the way to Malta just to film at Camu, are you? You'll need to shoot at nearby tourist spots too. And looking at the script, quite a few incidents take place. For that, you'll need filming permits from the city, and vehicles to transport the crew. Goodness. It's a mountain of work.”
Seong-hui deflated like a popped balloon. Hearing him lay it all out, she realized that securing Camu wasn't the end of it.
‘I’ve never filmed a drama overseas before.’
The farthest she had ever gone for a drama shoot was Jeju Island.
“So, all that talk about adding roles and cameos was just a pretext for refusing, then.”
“Not at all. Why would that be a refusal for the sake of refusing?”
“...?”
“It means I'm willing to agree to this enormous undertaking for something so small in return. I'm starting to see you're not very quick on the uptake, Writer Kim.”
“Huh? Huh? Huh?”
Seong-hui could only repeat the confused sound, as if asking what he meant.
“Now, this is where it really begins. Listen carefully to what I have to say.”
The shrunken Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong with an expression that said, ‘From now? Is there more?’
Kang Man-dong glanced at Seong-hui, gauging her reaction, before continuing.
“So, I was wondering, do dramas get investments like movies do?”
“What? Investments?”
What is he talking about now?
Seong-hui blinked at the sudden talk of investment.
“The 1.08 billion for Camu's location fee. I'm saying I'll provide the location without taking that money.”
“...!”
At Kang Man-dong's words, Seong-hui shot up from her seat.
“Are... Are you serious? The filming location, free of charge.”
“Not free of charge. I'm proposing we treat it as an investment.”
A location fee of 1.08 billion! Depending on the exchange rate, it could fluctuate a bit. Let's call it 1.1 billion.
‘If he's willing to cooperate without taking a single won...’
There was no reason to refuse an investment like this.
He called it an investment, but this was practically free.
‘If I can't film at Camu, my script will lose its impact.’
Seong-hui fidgeted with her fingers and looked at Kang Man-dong.
“Really...?”
“Do I look like someone who jokes about such things?”
Kang Man-dong nodded.
Kim Seong-hui, who had been pale as a corpse, regained her color.
‘Wait a minute. He was hesitant to even rent it out for money. And now he's offering up Camu for just a blind date for his son?’
A chilling thought flashed through Seong-hui's mind.
‘With conditions like these... does this mean I have to give up supporting roles, minor roles, and even cameos?’
Seong-hui spoke cautiously.
“The roles...”
“I'll concede on that as well.”
“...?”
“I don't care if they're roles or cameos. A minimum of three. More would be even better.”
“Really?”
“However!”
There it was again. That damned ‘however’!
“If you just focus on filling the numbers and bring me some woman with a twisted personality, I'll be very disappointed in you, Writer Kim. Do you understand what I mean?”
“...”
“No answer.”
“No, sir. Not at all. I'll search through all my second cousins and distant relatives to find you women with sound character. I swear!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm. If you're willing to go that far, Writer Kim, then I can't just stop here either.”
“Huh? Is there more?”
Of course, there is. The real deal starts now.
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