Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Meeting with a Master (1)
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A few days later, on a Friday night.
An Airbnb near Yangjae Citizens' Forest.
“Wow! Byeongjong, you're a great cook.”
Yoon Byeongjong was in the kitchen, putting on a show as he prepared lobster sashimi and grilled steaks.
I knew cooking was a hobby of his, but it seemed like he'd set aside this day to truly show off his skills.
“Hoo hoo hoo. I've been honing my skills just for today!”
Rokhui, Writer Kim Yeon, and I sat at the bar-style table, sampling each dish Yoon Byeongjong served.
“You're good.”
“Heh heh heh, if even the picky PD Jo is praising it, I guess it's edible. I thought I was going to die of exhaustion after going to Noryangjin and back this morning!”
Live lobster, 1+ Hanwoo steak, and even pasta with a gravy-based sauce.
The combination of high-end ingredients and Yoon Byeongjong's skill resulted in a meal that was, without exaggeration, far better than what you'd find in most restaurants.
“Writer Yeon, I've been really enjoying your latest work. I was amazed at how you came up with that kind of material from ramen. Your work is also incredibly funny.”
“Oh? PD Hyunsoo, you're reading my work too? Ahaha, this is an honor for my family.”
We started with light talk about our work and began sipping on wine.
I had become somewhat known to the public, and the other three were Greenhouse webtoon artists, so we were occasionally recognized outside. It was the first time we'd rented a place like this for a year-end party, and the novelty made it quite enjoyable.
“I really liked that scene in your recent work, the one where the protagonist chops the villain with the side of his hand, bam!”
The conversation slowly ripened. We started with trivial topics, and as the wine started to take effect, our discussion grew more serious.
In the midst of it, I brought up a little about my own work.
My concerns about the final episode, and my worries about marketing.
I mentioned it hoping I might get some ideas, since everyone gathered here was a writer.
“The final chapter is always tough. How about this? You could direct it so the tree roots from his last painting gnaw away at Van Gogh's heart. Like the roots are creeping up from the ground, inching him toward death. Every time his heart is eaten away, his body loses color and slowly turns black and white.”
“Oh. That's good.”
“If it were me, I'd try this.”
They were all writers, through and through.
Each one of them excitedly unleashed their imagination, pouring out ideas for Chapter 13.
There were quite a few inspiring thoughts among them, so I jotted them down on my phone as we talked.
“Thank you, everyone. This will probably be a great help.”
“So, if the game's a huge hit, are you treating?”
Yoon Byeongjong nudged my side as he spoke, and I replied with a faint smile.
“If I make it big, you think I'll stop at just one treat?”
“True! Our Hyunsoo is a generous guy, he wouldn't let it slide.”
“I don't plan on letting these ideas you've given me slide, either.”
“Huh?”
At that, I grinned and pulled a neat, yellow paper envelope from my pocket, handing it to Byeongjong.
“What's this?”
“Go on, open it.”
“Ooh?”
Inside were tickets for the licensed musical 'Wicked,' which was currently running in Korea.
“Wow, this is amazing. Hyunsoo, it's the performance with Jeong Seoha and Ok Miyeon! These are incredibly hard to get. How did you manage it?”
A true prime-time performance, with the two most popular actors, in the VIP seats that sell out the fastest.
Writer Kim Yeon, recognizing its value, asked me with sparkling eyes.
“I was trying hard to get tickets because I wanted to see it with Rokhui, and I thought of you two, so I got some more. They're for Christmas Eve. If you're free, please join us.”
“Wow, wow! Thank you so, so much, Hyunsoo. I've been dying to see a performance with this cast! I'm so, so excited!”
At this small gift, Yoon Byeongjong blinked, seemingly confused by the situation, while Writer Kim Yeon was giddy, like a child who'd just received a birthday present.
Rokhui and I met each other's gaze and smiled faintly.
“I'll treat you to dinner before the show that day, too. I know a good French home-style restaurant nearby.”
“Oh, home-style? There's a place that serves that?”
“Yeah, I did some research beforehand, and there's one right near there.”
Truthfully, when I came to this gathering today, I had planned to tell everyone about the problems I was facing from the start.
It's very common for writers to have heated discussions about each other's stories.
However, in a game company, the number of people who handle stories is very small, and most are specialized in game scenarios, so their thinking can be rigid.
Getting feedback from people with proven storytelling abilities in their respective genres for the price of a few VIP tickets and a dinner was nothing short of a steal.
‘Besides, with Wicked, we'll have more to talk about after seeing it.’
There was also a reason I chose Wicked for the performance.
The fact that Wicked is based on the fairy tale 'The Wizard of Oz' gave me hope that it would provide some inspiration in terms of art and direction—and while I wasn't sure if it would be the case, the original work also deals with 'dreams' to an extent. The fact that it was a creation that completely reinterpreted the original was another major reason I thought it might spark something.
Just as I had gotten inspiration for my work after going to an escape room with this group for the first time, I was hoping this experience would also be a positive input.
‘Well, even if that doesn't happen, we can just count it as having enjoyed a good show.’
After lifting the mood, I decided to be a little more direct.
“Well, now that I've bribed you, may I ask one more question?”
“Of course! I find talking about this stuff fun. Honestly, I love to ramble on even without gifts like this, hehe.”
This time, I asked for their opinions on how to handle marketing with a small budget of 100 million won.
Ideas ranged from my original plans, like distributing free clients to streamers and using social media, to a pre-sale method that felt like crowdfunding, releasing limited edition packages and merchandise.
Not the marketing playbook of a major game company, but the playbook of webtoon artists who have to solve every problem on their own.
Because of that, quite a few brilliant ideas emerged about areas I was unfamiliar with.
In the middle of this, Yoon Byeongjong clapped his hands as if he'd just remembered something and continued.
“Hmm. Using a commissioned webtoon for promotion would be pretty effective. But my art style and Yeon's don't really match your work. Rokhui, couldn't you do the promotional webtoon?”
“I'd love it if Rokhui did it, but since we're dating, it's a bit difficult for me to ask that of her.”
“Why?”
“It's a company expense. I have to pay a proper outsourcing fee, and it's not right to entrust that to someone I'm dating.”
To be honest, just as Byeongjong said, it wasn't that I hadn't considered having Rokhui handle POD's promotional webtoon.
In fact, Rokhui had consistently given me her opinions on POD, and she was one of the most skilled artists in Korea for this style of work.
But in this case, a conflict of interest would arise.
The company is already full of piranhas waiting to tear me apart at the first sign of weakness. Making a choice like that would be no different from pushing the project off a cliff.
“Agh. Companies are so complicated. Can't you just simply assign work to someone who's good at it?”
As Yoon Byeongjong tilted his head in frustration, Rokhui, who had been listening, responded.
“No, Hyunsoo is right about this. I'm busy with my own work, and I think I'd feel bad if people were whispering behind our backs.”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so, Rokhui.”
And so, that discussion came to a close.
Afterward, we all cleaned up together and then spent the time playing board games we had brought.
Yoon Byeongjong, who enjoyed board games whenever he had a spare moment, had carefully selected them, so we lost track of time having fun.
As the night deepened.
*Vrrrrrr!*
A call came in for Yoon Byeongjong.
“Hello? Oh, hello, CEO!”
Yoon Byeongjong, whose tone was usually as light as a feather, suddenly gripped the phone with both hands and replied in a polite voice.
It was obvious he was talking to someone important.
Byeongjong gestured briefly and stood up, then went into an empty room and talked on the phone for a while.
About ten minutes passed.
Yoon Byeongjong, seemingly finished with his call, approached us timidly with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Um. If it's okay with everyone, would it be alright if I invited one more person to join us? They said they're nearby, and they're a pretty hard person to meet.”
“Huh? Who is it?”
Writer Kim Yeon asked Byeongjong, her brow slightly furrowed.
We had rented this room to hang out by ourselves, so she was probably wondering what he meant by suddenly inviting someone else.
Well, I thought it was a bit much, too.
“Uh, Greenhouse CEO Shin Hoyoung and Writer Han Sanghyeok were having a drink nearby, and they called to wish us a happy new year. It just so happens they're in the area.”
“CEO Shin and Writer Han?”
“Really?”
The moment they heard that, Writer Kim Yeon and Rokhui replied in unison, surprised.
‘Those are some big names. Too big to just ignore.’
That was because the two people Yoon Byeongjong mentioned were figures that anyone in the webtoon industry, or even in the content business in Korea, would know.
CEO Shin Hoyoung, the stuff of corporate legend, who had propelled Greenhouse, once pushed aside by Origin in the webtoon industry, to the number one spot, spinning it off as a subsidiary and serving as both the president of Greenhouse Webtoon and a director at the parent company.
And Writer Han Sanghyeok, who had swept various comic awards with works like *Hell Island*, *Brave King*, and *Remaker*, and became the first Asian to win the Grand Prix at Angoulême in France, making him indisputably the top figure in the Korean comics industry today.
They wouldn't want to pass up a golden opportunity to meet two people you couldn't just meet whenever you wanted.
‘Well. And if I play my cards right, I might be able to make something good come of this.’
For a moment, I could feel the other writers glancing at me.
I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.
“I'm fine with it. I've always wanted to meet them both if I ever got the chance.”
“Oh, really? Then I'll call and tell them to come over?”
As I readily agreed, Byeongjong beamed and made another call.
Before the two arrived, we tidied up the place a bit, then sat down and waited, trying to calm our pounding hearts.
About thirty more minutes passed.
*Ding-dong!*
The doorbell rang, and Yoon Byeongjong scrambled to his feet and opened the door.
There stood a middle-aged man in his fifties with glasses and a neat appearance, and a handsome artist in his mid-thirties.
One was holding a bottle of whiskey, the other a Baskin-Robbins ice cream box; it seemed they were late because they'd stopped to buy them.
“Ah, it's been a while, everyone! To think we'd meet again like this before the Writer's Night event.”
“Ah, hello, CEO! Writer Han Sanghyeok!”
We guided the two to the table, accepted their gifts, and sat down together, engaging in light conversation.
It seemed the two had met nearby for a new project planning meeting, and when Yoon Byeongjong's name came up, they had coincidentally called him.
The conversation was mostly among the comic artists, so there wasn't much room for me to chime in. I was wearing a slightly awkward smile, looking for a chance to join in, when suddenly...
“Excuse me, but are you by any chance PD Jo Hyunsoo?”
“Ah, yes, I am.”
Writer Han Sanghyeok was staring intently at me, his eyes twinkling as he spoke.
I gave a simple reply, and he suddenly extended his hand toward me.
And.
“Ahaha, wow, meeting you like this feels like seeing a celebrity. It's amazing. I've been a huge fan of your games for a long time!”
“Oh, really?”
“Of course! I've even seen the ending of Forgotten Andersen's Story four times. Haha! If you don't mind, could I ask for a handshake?”
The great Han Sanghyeok had made an offer I never expected.