Possessed by a Spirit
It was finally over. The long shoot that had begun in the summer of last year had at last come to an end, and Black Bride, the film starring Seo Tae-jun and Lee Ha-eun, was now on the verge of release.
The film led by Baekhak’s marquee star.
Chances were, Black Bride would be the project that carried our entire year, the most important job Team 6 had on its plate.
No, not just Team 6. It might be Baekhak’s most important project, period.
After all, this was Lee Ha-eun’s film.
Failure wasn’t acceptable, and settling for break-even wasn’t an option either.
It had to become a hit worthy of her name and reputation.
Maybe my thoughts had leaked into the room, because the moment Black Bride came up, a hard tension began to settle over everyone at the table.
“Choi Cheol, how’s Seo Tae-jun’s schedule looking?”
“Ah... right now, he’s finished filming and went to Bali for a short vacation. After he gets back, his first schedule is a newspaper and magazine interview!”
I tapped my fingers against the table.
While we’re handling this promotion push, I should start locking down Tae-jun’s appearances too.
I quickly narrowed down a list of variety shows, radio programs, and YouTube channels that would suit Seo Tae-jun, then gave Choi Cheol his instructions.
“Choi Cheol, call Tae-jun and check whether there are any variety shows or radio programs he wants to go on, or any promotion programs hosted by acquaintances in the industry that he knows about. Knowing his personality, he’ll probably want to appear on his friends’ shows first.”
“Yes, sir. Understood, Team Leader!”
“Put the list together and bring it to the next meeting, and tell Tae-jun to stop by the company once he’s back from vacation.”
I turned and met the eyes of Jeon Hyeong-u, Lee Ha-eun’s manager.
“How about Lee Ha-eun’s schedule, Hyeong-u?”
“Uh... for now, tomorrow morning she’s scheduled to attend a public benefit event at the Nakii headquarters. In the afternoon, she has to go to a Seoul fashion show hosted by Chanel, and after that she’ll take an evening flight to Jakarta for an overseas fan meeting...”
Jeon Hyeong-u rattled off the packed schedule without even pausing for breath.
The managers listening to him gradually started to widen their mouths in disbelief.
Quietly listening to Lee Ha-eun’s murderous schedule, I cut him off partway through and raised a hand.
“She’s done filming, but there’s no vacation plan?”
“I’ve been discussing it with Lee Ha-eun, but it’s not easy with all the backlog in her schedule, Team Leader.”
“Still, no one can work all the time. Have her handle only this week’s schedules, and since next Friday through Sunday can be adjusted, tell Lee Ha-eun I’ve blocked that time out for her.”
Jeon Hyeong-u’s eyes widened.
“Uh, is that okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Even if Lee Ha-eun says she doesn’t want to, force her to take a break. Rest is nonnegotiable.”
“Um... yes, sir. Then I guess I’m on vacation too, Team Leader, hehe...”
When Jeon Hyeong-u tossed out the joke in his shameless way, I laughed and shot back, “Should I make it a permanent vacation?”
“Whoa, Team Leader... where did you learn a mean line like that?”
“Learn it? From the bad team members who always try to skip work. It came naturally.”
After that little exchange with Hyeong-u, the stiff atmosphere in the meeting eased up a little.
We moved naturally to the next topic.
“Ye-ji, how are the To.Any members’ schedules looking?”
Lee Ye-ji, To.Any’s manager, cleared her throat once and began her report.
“Right now, Chae-i and Daon have offline events scheduled for next week, and K-Singer-Songwriter, which Ga-eul is appearing on, still has two weeks’ worth of filming left!”
“So once those two weeks of filming are done, it’ll move into live broadcast for the main show?”
“Yes! The currently scheduled live broadcast filming is in March, Team Leader!”
March. That meant there were two months left, at least on paper, but it didn’t feel as roomy as it sounded.
And the biggest problem, K-1, still hasn’t been solved either.
In that sense, it was about time to start cleaning up the K-Singer-Songwriter side of things too.
“Ye-ji, I’ll go to next week’s recording.”
“Ah, you will, Chief Manager?”
“Yes. For now, I want you to focus on supporting Chae-i full-time.”
“Yes, understood, Team Leader!”
After that, I checked the schedules for Choi Go-eun and Kwon Hyeon-bin as well, then wrapped up the meeting.
“Thanks for sitting through the meeting, everyone. Go ahead and get back to your work.”
“You worked hard too, Team Leader.”
“Ah, Hyeong-u, stay behind for a moment. I want to talk to you.”
Jeon Hyeong-u, who had been the first to head for the door, stopped at my words.
“Is this about Lee Ha-eun’s schedule, Team Leader?”
At his question, I glanced sideways to make sure the other managers had all left, then answered.
“...It’s not about the schedule. How’s Lee Ha-eun been lately?”
“You mean Lee Ha-eun’s condition?”
“Overall.”
Jeon Hyeong-u slowly scratched at his chin. Watching him, I felt a chill of tension run down my spine.
What on earth has that woman been doing lately that she hasn’t contacted me even once?
After that night, I had made a point of erasing Lee Ha-eun from my mind.
But after something like that, how was I supposed to forget?
Her face had come to me so often at night that I’d lost sleep more than once.
And yet, unlike me, things on Lee Ha-eun’s side had been far too quiet.
She’s not the kind of woman who stays quiet. What is she doing, being this still?
Yes. I could accept the quiet.
What was definitely strange was the complete lack of contact.
Then Jeon Hyeong-u spoke.
“Hmm, she seems to be in a pretty good mood lately.”
...A good mood?
He meant Lee Ha-eun was in a good mood?
“She hasn’t complained at all about going to schedules since Christmas.”
My eyes widened.
“No complaints about going to schedules?”
“Yes. Well, she used to grumble, but these days she’s been humming while she goes.”
“...Anything else change besides that?”
“Uh, besides that...”
Jeon Hyeong-u looked awkward.
“She’s been reading books.”
“What?”
“Every time she’s in transit to a schedule, Lee Ha-eun has been reading books lately, Team Leader.”
...What had I just heard?
Stunned, I hurried to ask, “L-Let me get this straight. Lee Ha-eun’s new hobby is reading?”
“I don’t believe it either, but surprisingly, that really is Lee Ha-eun’s new hobby.”
“...What kind of books?”
“Well... the title is a little unusual.”
Jeon Hyeong-u scratched his cheek and answered, “The Courage to Be Disliked.”
My pupils shook violently.
“Of all things, she’s only reading books like that among essays? What kind of trouble has Lee Ha-eun gotten into recently, Team Leader Kwon?”
***
The next day, on the ride to Blue Pine Production to meet director Park Jun-seo of Black Bride, I fell deep into thought.
Lee Ha-eun is reading books?
Essays, even? Was that supposed to make sense?
As a man who prided himself on knowing her better than anyone, it was hard to believe.
Of course, Lee Ha-eun wasn’t someone who never read at all.
Surprisingly, she had a fairly heavy reading load.
Then again, she was the sort of person who treated reading scripts as a hobby.
But why essays, of all things?
That was where the disbelief started.
She was the woman with the strongest pride in the world.
And that woman was reading essays, books meant to teach you how to listen to other people?
...My brain simply couldn’t make it fit.
And why is the title of the essay she’s reading specifically The Courage to Be Disliked?
Was she planning to cause some kind of trouble?
Was she studying in advance how to be disliked less? But what kind of trouble required her to start reading essays she’d never normally touch?
I didn’t know. Her personality was too hard to pin down to predict what she might do.
Then the car briefly slowed in a traffic jam. I turned my head and glanced at my smartphone.
“...Should I call her?”
But if I did, what was I supposed to say? If I asked why she’d been reading essays lately, would she answer honestly?
A weak sigh slipped out of me. It was rare that thinking about Lee Ha-eun didn’t make things complicated, and lately it had been especially bad.
But what bothered me most was the fact that I couldn’t see her.
“Hah, damn.”
A dry laugh escaped my mouth.
“So now I’m dying to let it show that I like her, huh?”
...Damn it.
Honestly, unbelievable.
Not only did I like the actress I managed, I was even saying I missed seeing her outside of work?
At that point, I started to wonder how much lower I was going to sink.
So I threw the phone I’d been fidgeting with as far away from me as I could.
But my head still kept circling back to Lee Ha-eun.
Essays were essays, but why the hell wasn’t she contacting me?
Normally, after something like that, wouldn’t it be natural to get anxious and call?
She had stared at me that day like she wanted to devour me alive, and then, as if nothing had happened, there was no call at all. What was that supposed to mean?
My worries kept looping, one after another.
Then, before I knew it, I muttered, “No way... is she giving me the cold shoulder right now?”
...The thought that suddenly surfaced sent a shiver down my shoulders.
“I’ve really lost it.”
What cold shoulder!
Was that even the kind of thing she’d do?
I shook my head hard and forced myself to stop thinking about it altogether.
If I didn’t, I felt like I’d keep thinking about Lee Ha-eun forever.
Fortunately, Blue Pine Production came into view ahead. I got out of the car at once and headed up to the company where Director Park was waiting.
“Ah, Chief Manager Kwon!”
Park Jun-seo, the director of Black Bride, and Choi, the team leader from Blue Pine Production, had been waiting at the door and greeted me warmly.
“Have you been well, Director Park Jun-seo?”
“I’ve been well. Have you been well too, Chief Manager Kwon?”
Without saying a word, I held out my new business card. Choi Team Leader blinked in surprise and shouted, “Huh? Kwon, you got promoted to Team Leader?”
“Somehow, yes. Ah, well, it’s not a real promotion yet. It’s temporary.”
Choi Team Leader burst out noisily, “Temporary or not, a Team Leader at Baekhak is a huge deal! You’re probably the fastest one I know among all the Baekhak managers I’ve met. At this rate, you’ll shoot straight up to Director in one go, Team Leader Kwon!”
At his joke, I turned away with an embarrassed look, and Director Park was watching me with bright, heated eyes.
It was the look of a mathematician who had just solved an impossible equation, and I found myself tilting my head in confusion.
Why is he looking at me like that over my promotion?
I was curious, but I didn’t dwell on it. We sat down, exchanged a few casual remarks, and naturally work came up.
“By the way, Team Leader Kwon, when do you think would be a good release window for the film?”
“Has the edit already been finished, Director Park?”
“Haha, not yet. But since we’ve been working on it here and there since last November, at this pace I think we’ll be done by around March.”
Director Park leaned forward.
“After talking with the distributor, we’ve been assigned slots in May and August. Which month do you think looks better, Team Leader Kwon?”
Hearing that, I slowly folded my arms.
“If we’re only looking at the month, wouldn’t May be a little better?”
“Yes, that’s right. We can aim for the spillover effect from the holiday period. But... there’s a promising World title lined up among the May releases.”
World’s promising title?
Thinking it over, I suddenly widened my eyes.
“If it’s World...”
“Yes. The End of Days series is scheduled for release.”
At Director Park’s words, I clicked my tongue softly.
So World is opening an End of Days film in May?
World, one of the most famous distributors and production companies in Hollywood.
One of the mega-studio’s flagship IPs that dominated the film industry was the End of Days series.
I read in the news that this new End of Days film alone had a production budget of $100 million.
In terms of scale alone, it was the kind of monster hit that couldn’t fail.
When a film of that size showed up in the industry, people called it a natural disaster, and that natural disaster had, unfortunately, announced it was landing in Korea in May.
“If the End of Days series is set for May, wouldn’t August be better?”
“That’s true. But even in August... the release lineup isn’t especially favorable.”
August wasn’t good either?
What on earth was coming out there?
“In August, Twin Ghosts is scheduled for release.”
A low sigh slipped from my mouth.
“Twin Ghosts?”
“Yes. In the occult-horror space, it’s considered a classic. The previous installment didn’t do very well, fortunately, but the genre overlap is the problem.”
At Director Park’s explanation, a crease formed between my brows.
This isn’t a good situation.
Right when the film was about to open, two Hollywood heavyweights were boxing in the release window from both sides.
Since one of the factors that decides a film’s box office performance is the quality of its release competition, Black Bride had been handed a pretty unlucky draw.
“There’s no way to move it to a different month entirely, is there?”
“I’d like to if possible, but these days the distributors aren’t in great shape either, so adjusting schedules doesn’t seem easy.”
Director Park leaned in and said, “There’s still a little room left for negotiation, but we should prepare for the worst, shouldn’t we? Team Leader Kwon, between May and August, which month do you think is better?”
His question sent me into thought.
One side is a $100 million IP blockbuster, the other is a sequel to a film considered a classic in the same genre.
Either way, the situation was ugly. But if I had to choose...
“Let’s go with August.”
At my words, Director Park nodded.
“I thought you might say the same thing, Team Leader Kwon.”
“Yes. The End of Days series isn’t just huge in scale; it also has a massive core fandom, and if it releases, we’d be going head-to-head with it completely.”
“On the other hand, Twin Ghosts at least gives us a little room to expect spillover effects?”
“Yes, that’s right. In occult and horror, even when genres overlap, the core fanbase doesn’t split that dramatically.”
“Hmm. Looking at it that way, August does seem a bit better...”
Director Park trailed off and clicked his tongue.
“Still, it’s a shame. We’d have to give up the Family Month advantage in May.”
“There’s still time, so let’s adjust a little more, Director Park.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll talk with the distributor a bit more.”
After discussing the film’s promotional schedule with Director Park, I got to my feet and said, “Thanks for finishing the shoot so well, Director Park.”
“Oh, that was all thanks to you taking such good care of the actors, Chief Manager Kwon.”
“I’ve been too busy to contact you often, but I’ll be in touch more regularly from now on.”
Leaving Blue Pine Production under the sendoff from Director Park and Choi Team Leader, I let out a long breath.
“Now that we’re talking about the release date, it’s really starting to feel real.”
The end of Black Bride, which had started filming last summer, was finally drawing near.
How many viewers will it actually pull?
I didn’t know.
The future texts had said Black Bride would draw at least five million viewers, but a lot of time had passed since then.
And if the futures shown by the future texts could change because of the butterfly effect, then Black Bride would no longer end at five million.
Which means I can’t feel safe about it.
So, thinking about it the other way around...
The odds of it breaking five million had also gone up.
To raise that chance even further, I should ruthlessly remove anything that might interfere with the film’s success.
I thought back to what I’d just discussed with Director Park and muttered, “I should talk with the distributor. Pushing the release date back entirely isn’t a bad idea...”
At that moment, my smartphone rang. Startled by the vibration buzzing in my pocket, I checked the sender.
[Foreign][Foreign][Foreign][Foreign] (attached image file)
A new future message had arrived.
***
Back at Blue Pine Production after Team Leader Kwon left, Director Park clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Wow... I figured they were backing him, but they’re already letting him become Team Leader? At this point, they’re not even trying to hide it.”
Choi Team Leader, standing beside him, tilted his head. “What are you talking about now?”
“Kwon. He said he got promoted to Team Leader.”
“So what?”
“So what? That’s not normal! He’s become a Team Leader in less than a year as Chief Manager, and you don’t see how strange that is?”
Director Park declared with complete certainty, “I said it before and I’m saying it again: it’s obvious. Team Leader Kwon is Baekhak’s carefully cultivated successor to Director Park Yu-hyeon.”
At that, Choi Team Leader furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue. “Ha. There you go again with that ridiculous conspiracy theory?”
“Hey now. Conspiracy theory? I’m drawing a conclusion based on facts.”
“A guy gets promoted to Team Leader and suddenly he’s Park Yu-hyeon’s successor? Come on! And from what I heard, that Team Leader position is temporary too!”
Director Park shook his head at Choi Team Leader. “What am I supposed to say to you, huh? I saw his influence with my own eyes on set. At the read-through, and again during principal photography, the moment that man showed up, Lee Ha-eun and Seo Tae-jun would practically melt into...”
Director Park suddenly cut himself off and shouted in shock, “Team Leader Kwon?”
The production company door that had just closed swung open again. Through the crack stood Team Leader Kwon, the same man who had left moments ago, bent over and breathing hard. Director Park rushed up in a fluster and asked, “A-are you all right?”
Team Leader Kwon straightened and caught his breath before answering, “Ah, sorry, Director Park. I suddenly ran back, so I got winded.”
“Did you forget something? What brought you running back like this...”
“No, it’s not that. About the release date we were just talking about.”
Team Leader Kwon took in a deep breath and went on, “How about moving it to May?”
Director Park’s eyes widened. Choi Team Leader, standing beside him, reacted the same way.
As the two of them stared at Kwon Chan in confusion, Choi Team Leader spoke first.
“Uh... Team Leader Kwon?”
“Yes? Choi Team Leader?”
“...Did you maybe get possessed by a spirit or something?”
Kwon Chan tilted his head. “Why would you say something like that all of a sudden?”
“...Do you know how strange your eyes look right now?”
“My eyes?”
Choi Team Leader’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard.
“Yeah, like someone possessed... your gaze is completely off.”
At that, Kwon Chan’s eyes widened.
He slowly ran a hand over his own face for a moment, then let out a snort of laughter.
“I guess you’re right.”
He lifted his head again and met their eyes, and there was a faint gleam of madness in his own.
“Thinking about what just happened, it really does feel like I got possessed by a spirit.”
“...Ah, I knew it. So you got a hunch?”
“Yes, a very clear one. Which is why, Director Park...”
A confident smile spread across Kwon Chan’s mouth.
“Trusting that hunch, I’d like to talk it over once more. How about moving Black Bride’s release to May?”