Chapter 73
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Arrival of a Star
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Scene.73
OST Music Video
Yu Han-seong, who had thrown the farm into an uproar by collapsing, shot up in surprise.
“The… The edit!”
Even in his sleep, he'd been muttering, "The edit... the edit," and now he woke up saying the same thing.
Two people dozing off beside his bed, Kim Seong-hui and FD Lee Ji-eun, startled and looked at Yu Han-seong.
“CP-nim!”
At first, he looked bewildered, as if he couldn't figure out where he was or what he was doing, but after spotting the IV drip in his arm, he let out a sigh. "Phew..."
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Huh? Oh…”
“Really! Work is important, but you should've taken care of yourself while you were at it! If you just drop dead, what's the point of the drama or anything else!”
Kim Seong-hui glared at Yu Han-seong, her face flushed with anger.
Averting his gaze from Kim Seong-hui's fierce glare, Yu Han-seong cleared his throat, "Ahem," swallowed dryly as if his throat was parched, and wiped his lips.
FD Lee Ji-eun, who had been watching cautiously from the side, quickly brought him a cup of water.
“Oh. Right. Thanks.”
After carefully moistening his throat, Yu Han-seong gasped for air as if he could finally breathe again and looked around.
“So, what happened to me?”
“You don't remember? You nearly kicked the bucket this morning while showing us the edited footage. They said you just toppled over like a rotten log.”
“I did?”
“Yes, yes. You, CP Yu Han-seong.”
Kim Seong-hui replied curtly, rolling her eyes.
“What about the edit?”
Lee Ji-eun answered promptly.
“PD Lee Hye-jin is working hard on the first cut.”
“What are you doing here? What about the shoot?”
“Well, there's the matter of you collapsing, sir. And both the cast and crew are on edge. The director declared a two-day break.”
“What? One day would've been enough. Why two?”
“If someone else collapses, it might not be two days but a whole week!”
Lee Ji-eun chimed in, agreeing with Kim Seong-hui.
“Writer-nim is right. Besides, thanks to how hard we've been working, we have a good number of episodes banked.”
“What's everyone else doing?”
“They're all resting. It's the first break in almost twenty days. Oh! And we're all having dinner together tonight.”
*Twenty days, he thought. But we split the crew into four teams and worked them like crazy. In terms of time, it was like shooting nearly two months' worth of footage.*
“Tonight?”
“Yes. The President said everyone's been working so hard.”
“I feel like I'm just causing trouble for the President.”
Yu Han-seong looked embarrassed.
“Anyway, now that I've seen you're awake, I should get going. We have someone new joining us today.”
“Oh, right. Jennifer! What time is it?”
Yu Han-seong tried to sit up as if he'd completely forgotten.
“Hey! I told you not to move. I'll take care of it. You should take this chance to get some proper rest, CP-nim. You need to recharge so you can finish the rest of the schedule.”
Kim Seong-hui pressed down on Yu Han-seong's shoulder.
“There's the OST issue and a lot of other things to discuss. But in this state…”
“I'll handle the basics. Don't worry and just focus on getting better.”
After leaving with FD Lee Ji-eun, Seong-hui asked about Jennifer's arrival time.
“It's 3 o'clock now. So… around 6? I think she'll arrive around then.”
“At the airport?”
“No, she'll arrive at the airport around 4. You know the person who handles the driving for us. The taxi driver.”
“Oh, Mr. Alain?”
“Yes. He went with Director Choi Pil-yeon.”
“Director Choi?”
“Apparently, the CEO of Jennifer's agency, Line Art, used to be at TNT. They seem to know each other.”
“Right. That's good. When she arrives, please bring her to one of the front tables. I'll let the President know we have extra people.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
Seong-hui headed toward the main building and approached Man-dong, who was preparing dinner.
“Oh, the actors are here too.”
Seong-hui greeted Han Mi-ra and Yeon Jeong-suk when she saw them.
“The President said he was preparing Korean food. We figured we'd be more help than the others here.”
Kang Man-dong nodded at Yeon Jeong-suk's words.
“Thanks to you two, preparations are going smoothly. Hahaha.”
Seong-hui smiled at the warm atmosphere before speaking to Kang Man-dong again.
“President-nim.”
“Oh, Writer Kim.”
“We have someone new joining us today.”
“Oh? Should I add more tables?”
“No, not that many. Her staff can sit at another table, but I was wondering if you could make room for two more at the main table.”
“That's no problem, we have plenty of space. But who is it? This person who's coming.”
Seeing Kang Man-dong's curious expression, Seong-hui took his arm and gently pulled him aside.
“You know what I mentioned the other day.”
“The other day?”
“Yu-hyeon's blind date. The three women.”
“Ah. So, is it Jin Seo-yeon? The one who majored in dance…”
Kang Man-dong said, as if he remembered, but Seong-hui shook her head.
“She was supposed to be the one, but a small problem came up.”
“A problem?”
“Have you ever heard of those 'debt-too' scandals?”
“Debt-too? What's that?”
Kang Man-dong tilted his head as if he'd never heard the term before.
Seong-hui briefly explained what it meant.
“What's that about? It's not that girl, Jin Seo-yeon's, fault, is it?”
“Technically, no. But when it becomes a big issue, it makes things awkward for her to work. It is a family matter, after all.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Instead of helping, they just cause trouble. Sometimes it feels like family can be worse than strangers.”
Seong-hui nodded as if she agreed with Kang Man-dong's sentiment.
“Anyway, because of that, someone else is coming. By any chance, do you know someone named Jennifer?”
“Is she American?”
“Hahaha. No, that's just her stage name. She's a singer active in Korea. The role Jin Seo-yeon was supposed to play wasn't that significant anyway. It was a character added to accommodate the blind date lineup for you, President-nim.”
“Aigoo. I told you I'm sorry about that. Don't worry about it anymore.”
“Well, it's meaningless now, but… anyway. There's also the matter of the drama's OST. We've decided to shoot a music video to go along with the footage.”
“Not bad. But I'm not really on the production team, so why are you telling me all the details? You could've just said you need a couple of extra chairs.”
“Ah… I guess so?”
Seong-hui gave a hollow laugh, as if realizing she'd been rambling on and on.
“Looks like the promise you made to me is still weighing on your mind.”
“Aish. I said I'm sorry.”
“Hahaha. I'm just kidding.”
“Anyway. I'll take good care of her when she arrives. I just need to handle her lodging assignment and show her around, right?”
“Yep! I'm counting on you. Oh, where is my head? About the lodging…”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“She's a musician, so she said she'd prefer a quiet place.”
“Is that so?”
Kang Man-dong scratched his head, his expression saying, *'Well, then. It can't be helped.'*
“The other buildings are all occupied. I guess I'll have to open up the premium building.”
When Kang Man-dong mentioned the premium building, Seong-hui looked a bit hesitant.
“It's fine. It's empty anyway. It's better if someone who needs it uses it.”
“I appreciate you saying that. It's great, but… I'm not sure how the other actors will feel.”
“An upgrade?”
“Yes. They're a proud bunch.”
“Proud of what? The whole blind date thing is off the table now anyway.”
His original plan had been to put the actresses who got along with Yu-hyeon in that building and have his son manage the pension.
He'd schemed a bit, thinking that putting them in the same space would help them get closer, just like seeing each other often does. But there was no need for that anymore.
“Well. That's true.”
Seong-hui, who was essentially an accomplice in the scheme, shrugged as if to say there was nothing to be done about it.
“Okay. I get it. Go on and get back to work. If it looks like the mood is turning sour, I'll read the room and take care of the other actors too.”
“Yes. I'll leave it in your hands, President-nim.”
***
Jennifer had been in a foul mood ever since boarding the plane, causing not only CEO Im but also the accompanying staff to walk on eggshells around her.
CEO Im deserved it, given his part in this, but the staff were being cautious out of consideration for Jennifer, knowing how much she had wanted a break after her last tour.
It wasn't as if Jennifer was oblivious to the atmosphere.
While she felt CEO Im deserved to stew and suffer a bit, seeing her staff also being so careful because of her attitude, she finally waved the white flag.
“Everyone, stop it.”
As Jennifer let out a deep sigh and decided to clear the air, CEO Im breathed a sigh of relief, while the staff let out sighs of sympathy.
If she were like other celebrities, with a warped personality prone to power trips, it might have been different. But she was famous for taking good care of her staff, so not a single person disliked her or found her difficult.
“Whatever the reason, it's true what the CEO said—this is a new opportunity. I'll finish this professionally.”
“Right. Let's do that. Professionally!”
“But.”
“…?”
“After this project is over, I'm taking a full six months off. I'll travel. And maybe think about a new album while I'm at it.”
“Of course. I promise! Let's do that.”
CEO Im chuckled heartily, claiming that was his plan all along.
After passing through arrivals and exiting the airport, someone called out to CEO Im.
“Hey, Im Han-sol!”
“Huh? Director Choi!”
Im Han-sol shook Choi Pil-yeon's hand with a pleased expression.
“My, my. To think Director Choi himself would come out to meet us.”
“Aigoo. Of course, a lowly director like me has to come out and greet you. After all, the esteemed CEO of Line Art and Miss Jennifer have come all this way.”
Choi Pil-yeon bantered playfully before turning to greet Jennifer.
“I'm Choi Pil-yeon from TNT. I've always been a fan of yours, Miss Jennifer. It's an honor for my family to finally meet you in person.”
Jennifer let out a small laugh at Choi Pil-yeon's flattery and bowed politely.
“I've heard a lot about you. That you're my CEO's senior.”
“Well, I was, once upon a time. But the tables have turned now. He's a proper corporate CEO. Hahaha.”
After the friendly greetings, Choi Pil-yeon led CEO Im's group toward the cars.
Jennifer and her manager got into one car, the support staff into another, and Choi Pil-yeon and Im Han-sol rode together in the remaining vehicle.
As soon as the car started moving, Im Han-sol's expression turned serious.
“Let's be honest, shall we? For you to come all the way out here to greet us, Director Choi, you must want something.”
“Always so impatient. You haven't changed.”
Choi Pil-yeon looked as if to say, *We just left, and you're already getting down to business without even giving me a chance to breathe?*
“You know my personality.”
“Fine. You're right. I came for a reason.”
Im Han-sol looked curious.
“It's nothing major. I heard you're planning to shoot a music video, mixing it with scenes from the drama.”
“CP Yu has a loose tongue, I see. Did he really just blab that to a director from a rival company? To be precise, they've agreed to support the filming for the drama's OST and a personal track Jennifer has been working on.”
“Pfft.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“It's just funny hearing you talk about 'rival companies,' Han-sol.”
“Wow, are you looking down on me? I'm not the Assistant Manager Im I used to be.”
“I'm not looking down on you.”
Choi Pil-yeon waved his hand, dismissing the idea.
“I just thought 'partner company' would be more accurate than 'rival company'.”
At the mention of a partnership, Im Han-sol's stiff expression softened slightly.
“Then you should have said so from the start, instead of letting me misunderstand. Anyway, what is it?”
“You know Ye-rim, right?”
“Of course. The President's daughter. I saw her when she was just a little kid. Time really flies.”
“You've probably seen the articles in Korea, but because of this drama, Seon-yeong's position has become a bit… awkward.”
Hearing Choi Pil-yeon's words, Im Han-sol let out a chuckle, seeming to understand what he was getting at.
“You mean you have a reason to push her as the 'next Choi Seon-yeong'.”
“She was basically the face of our acting division. But now her image has been tarnished by all this.”
“So you need to put up a new sign with Ye-rim's name on it, and you need something to generate buzz. Is that it?”
Choi Pil-yeon gave a short nod in response to Im Han-sol's words.
“This drama was a good opportunity, but with Lee Ha-na and a Hollywood star also in the cast, her slice of the pie has gotten a lot smaller.”
“Still, I'd think it's better than your average drama.”
“True. It's a hundred times better than an average drama. But if we can have the best of both worlds, why not?”
“Jennifer's music video?”
“So? Think you can pull some strings? If this goes well, TNT might even invest separately. I heard you're preparing to go public at the end of the year. Building up some hype and increasing investment beforehand wouldn't be a bad idea, I think.”
“So that's what you meant by 'partner company'.”
Im Han-sol thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Well, it's not a bad offer. But there's something you should know, sunbae-nim.”
“What's that?”
“About the music video.”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“I can't touch it.”
“Huh? What do you mean? If the CEO can't touch it, who's in control?”
“Jennifer.”
“Jennifer?”
“Yes. You know it too, sunbae-nim. The company was about to go under, and Jennifer saved it.”
“So she has full creative control over her work.”
“That was the promise. If it weren't, she'd probably be working at TNT, not Line Art.”
Choi Pil-yeon smacked his lips at Im Han-sol's words.
Because when Jennifer first appeared on the scene without an agency, TNT was the first to approach her.
However, due to creative differences, their paths didn't align.
They believed that no matter how talented someone was, they couldn't succeed in the music industry without proper management.
Jennifer's demand for complete creative freedom was unacceptable to the self-proclaimed experts at TNT.
It wasn't just TNT; other agencies felt the same way.
But then Im Han-sol, who was cornered at the time, accepted her terms and sealed the deal.
To put it simply, now everyone, without exception, regretted that decision.
They had all been fumbling in the dark while a diamond that shone brightly on its own was right in front of them, and as a result, they were now stuck watching a once-in-a-generation genius artist from across the river.
Even with the gap between being an actor and a singer, the industry consensus was that Jennifer's value would soon elevate her to legendary status.
And recently, she had started showing interest in an acting career, becoming a multi-talented figure.
“Well, this is… awkward.”
Choi Pil-yeon looked at Im Han-sol, his eyes asking if there was really no way.
“Well, I'll mention it to her, but it's best not to get your hopes up. And more importantly…”
“…?”
“Everything Jennifer said has been right. I learned that meddling clumsily just makes a mess of things.”
“So a genius is a genius, huh?”
“Come on. You of all people should know better. She's the genius of geniuses.”
“True. The Billboard charts are no joke.”
A Korean singer. And a female solo artist at that. To this day, Jennifer was the only one who had reached that spot.