Where Dreams Gather - 2
Just as he had said.
Big Plan D really was a dreamlike investment project.
Seonwoo Taek stood beside the display and said, “During the course of this investment project, a weekly broadcast budget of one billion won will be provided. There will be no interference whatsoever in how that budget is spent, just as things stand now.”
“?!”
The four of them were startled in their own ways.
Baek Su-cheol’s mouth dropped open, and Seo Eun-hwa, who had ended up revealing her real name first on Danhwi’s side, widened her eyes.
“One billion won...?”
“That’s incredible.”
And then there was Kang Do-dam.
She stared at the letter D, then shyly scratched her cheek. Every time her eyes met Seonwoo Taek’s, she had this itchy urge to act like she already knew him.
So she ended up holding her teacup with both hands and watching him anxiously for no reason. When she heard the name of the domestic corporation, she honestly thought her heart had fallen straight out of her chest.
...It must have been Boss who named it.
He must have told Big Man.
...
Big Plan D...? Really, really, he decided on that because he listened to me? A project this huge? He persuaded Big Man? He went to all that trouble?
...Why?
Why am I...
that important?
She wanted to ask that.
But now was not the time.
I should ask later.
...But if I ask him directly, wouldn’t that be a little weird?
As she put off her curiosity and fluttering heart for the moment, there was someone else in the group who was even more shocked.
One billion won a week.
The person most shocked by that was Jo Tae-sik, the representative of Studio Romance. Of everyone in the room, he was the one who had been most sensitive to budgets.
He trembled all over with a shiver of disbelief.
I didn’t do anything, and they’re already giving us the budget first...?
Studio Romance had just been ripped out from under Arc Network and suddenly absorbed through an acquisition, which was confusing enough. Now his mind was going blank under a shower of capital on top of that.
Big Plan D.
As expected of Big Man’s company,
the way it handled things was truly big.
Without meaning to, he found himself comparing it to his former patron.
...Arc Network...
If it had been Team Leader Jeong, she would’ve made us draft a quarterly budget proposal, send it up, and then maybe given us only fifty percent after a long delay.
Small...
How many times had he thought that?
But this man was willing to inject a full one billion won from the start. He didn’t even ask what it would be used for, let alone question it. It was business done with real nerve.
His former patron was already a blur in his mind.
Jeong Yu-ri?
Who was that again?
...
Still, alongside the exhilaration, he also felt a little afraid.
Jo Tae-sik was already the representative of a company that had once been swept up in a storm. So even amid these dazzling conditions, he wanted to check whether there were any poisonous clauses hidden inside them.
Just in case, just in case...
For his own survival, he asked carefully, “You mean one billion won a week? Not a quarterly budget or an annual budget?”
“One week. It will be executed promptly at 7 a.m. every Monday.”
“G-goodness... And the budget we’re already receiving under the Big Plan name for operating costs and support funds? Is that included in this amount?”
“No. That is separate.”
Seonwoo Taek answered firmly.
“The Big Plan support projects, partner companies, and network infrastructure will all be provided independently of this proposal. The number of supported groups will expand in the future, but for the two companies present here, I promise firm support.”
“I-infrastructure...?”
“I’ll show you the details on the screen.”
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a crumpled ten-thousand-won bill. Everyone around him tilted their heads.
“What is that?”
“A ten-thousand-won bill?”
...
Seonwoo Taek hesitated for a moment. Then, looking a little sheepish, he put his hand back in his pocket. His face remained expressionless, but there was a faint trace of embarrassment in it.
This time, what he took out was a white wireless remote.
“I pulled out the wrong thing. I was looking for the remote.”
...
...
...
...
As an awkward silence settled over the room, he quickly pressed a button on the remote.
Click.
The screen, which had just moments ago displayed the large words Big Plan D, now filled with a long list of company names. Record production, merchandise, distribution, accounting, promotions, broadcast relay centers, even a 3D studio...
Pointing at it, Seonwoo Taek explained, “These are the twenty partner companies on the screen, along with the small cultural facilities scattered across the country, plus the relay centers and studios.”
“...and?”
“You’ll be free to cooperate with all of them as you plan your projects going forward. Both the budget and the production costs will be covered by Big Plan.”
...
Baek Su-cheol and Kang Do-dam stared blankly.
Then Jo Tae-sik’s face went deathly pale. Since he had worked alongside a major conglomerate before, he understood the scale of this infrastructure faster than anyone else.
It’s only a little smaller in scale. It’s basically like they tore out an entire production division from Arc Network and brought it over here... If they really wanted to, they could turn major regular broadcasts into a factory line...
Oh dear.
Oh dear.
What in the world is this...
“Huuuh.”
His eyes went dark from the sheer impossible scale of it all, and the chairman-in-name-only was reduced to stone.
Leaving the petrified Jo Tae-sik behind, Seo Eun-hwa cautiously raised her hand. She had been rubbing her palms against her clothes over and over ever since earlier.
“Um, Director?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Ah, ahhh...! First of all, let me introduce myself. I’m Danhwi, a VTuber under Studio Romance, part of Romantic Drive. My real name is Seo Eun-hwa.”
“Yes, Ms. Eun-hwa.”
“Anyway...”
Seo Eun-hwa cleared her throat and said, “What we’re supposed to do is inbang, right? We’re not supposed to film some seasonal drama or movie or anything, are we?”
“It is inbang. And if you’d like to produce dramas or films with the budget provided, you’re welcome to do that as well.”
Seo Eun-hwa’s delicate eyebrows bent slightly.
“W-we’re VTubers, you know...?”
“A drama with VTubers in it is fine too.”
“What about a movie?”
“If you’re confident.”
“And the budget?”
“One billion won a week. It will continue to be provided. That should be enough for a short film, or even a seasonal drama if you choose to plan one.”
“What about anything else?”
“You’re free to do anything.”
“Anything?”
Seonwoo Taek raised one hand slightly and said, “Anything that is clearly criminal or violates the rules of the broadcast platform is out. This must remain a project for you, not merely a budget meant to test the limits of money.”
“Anything.”
“Yes. Aside from that, anything is possible. You may allocate every budget item yourselves.”
“Anything.”
“Yes, anything.”
...
Seo Eun-hwa smiled faintly.
“What if we suddenly all went to a quarry, set off fireworks, and filmed an AR tokusatsu piece? ROI and all that aside, that kind of project would just cost a fortune and make us a laughingstock.”
“If you’d be satisfied with that.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You could buy a building. Set off fireworks. Fly drones. If it comes to it, you could even film an AR tokusatsu piece in a quarry.”
“So it really is anything...”
As she murmured the words, Seo Eun-hwa’s mouth fell open. Her neat teeth showed in a flash, and her eyes behind her glasses were shining too.
Unlike her hopeful expression, what came out of her mouth was a practical line of reasoning.
“Does Big Plan actually gain anything from this? If we, who are directly affiliated with Big Plan, don’t pursue profit, wouldn’t that be a problem?”
...
At that, Baek Su-cheol, Jo Tae-sik, and Kang Do-dam all flinched. It was enough to make their heads snap up from the thoughts they’d been bowing over.
...!
...!
...!
Seo Eun-hwa’s question was, in fact, the essential one.
They had all wondered the same thing on the way here.
What, exactly, was Big Man investing in this for?
And Do-dam, adding a slightly different thought, looked on.
Romantic Drive being directly under Big Plan is true, but... hasn’t Boss known us longer on this side? Big Man said he agreed after hearing about me too.
The word directly that Seo Eun-hwa had used.
It was a little.
Just a tiny bit.
Annoying.
But she also felt too petty to show it.
So Do-dam stopped at a slight pout.
Seo Eun-hwa’s question was important.
And so Seonwoo Taek answered.
“Profit isn’t necessary.”
“Then what is?”
“Leave meaning behind.”
“Meaning?”
He looked at Do-dam.
At the same time, the other three pairs of eyes focused there too.
...
“!”
With everyone suddenly looking at her, Do-dam’s face reddened a little.
“?!”
Uncharacteristically, she stumbled over her words a little too.
“W-why, why, why...?”
Seonwoo Taek gave a silent nod. Then he murmured, softly, dream.
...!
Do-dam heard it. She understood what Seonwoo Taek had meant to say. A smile slowly came to her lips.
...
Boss trusts us.
Boss,
Seonwoo Taek,
and Big Man...
They believed that if it was the four of them, they would create something meaningful out of it.
Even if they were only VTubers.
Even if they were only gamers.
They were being trusted to make something meaningful.
...Okay.
Do-dam grinned. With a hint of moisture in her eyes, she tapped her chest twice. It was playful, but it also meant: trust us and leave it to us.
Seonwoo Taek gave a faint nod.
Their gazes crossed.
...
...
Beside them, Seo Eun-hwa watched with curious eyes.
...
Mostly at Seonwoo Taek.
And then she said, “Could it be that the D in Big Plan D stands for...”
“?!”
At those words, Do-dam’s face turned bright red. She flailed her hands as if trying to explain something.
“H-hey, that’s...”
“Was it taken from the Drive in Romantic Drive? Like a plan to support free and lively broadcasting, the way you’d drive a car?”
“Eek...?”
Do-dam’s head whipped around. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her lips jutted out too.
It was the posture she took when she was truly offended.
...
No.
This girl?
She’s been stealing Big Man and Boss from me since earlier...?
But her cold reason advised otherwise.
There was no justification yet for her to vent that anger.
Damn it. Romantic Drive being directly under Big Man is a fact, so I don’t even have a comeback.
Still, a firm conviction sat in her head. A conviction rooted in everything she had experienced while living and getting to know them together.
It’s about dreams.
...
The direction he was looking toward was undoubtedly the stage where we stood.
...
...Hmph.
Whatever Seo Eun-hwa’s name was.
She would never be told the real meaning of D.
That was what Do-dam decided.
With that tiny resolve tucked inside her, the investment briefing, now gathered with four guests, shifted into a warm and friendly atmosphere. As they ate together, that cozy mood only deepened.
Seo Eun-hwa smiled while cutting into her steak.
“By the way, Director, you’re a pretty free-spirited person, aren’t you? You really prefer a setting this informal.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. It’s a lot of fun.”
Do-dam’s head turned again.
“Eeeh...?”
That girl...?
And at that very moment, the insane VTuber project run by the two companies, burning through one billion won a week, began.