The Queen Returns
Press conference.
At Hannam-dong’s restaurant A, the only Korean restaurant in the country to hold three Michelin stars, a man in a black suit clinked his utensils against the table.
Across from him, Baek Ji-won watched him in silence before slowly speaking.
"What did you want to see me about, Mr. Park?"
As she asked, SAG’s CEO Park Su-chan, chewing on a veal steak, muttered back, "I called because it was about time we met. Why? Is that uncomfortable?"
A faint smile touched Baek Ji-won’s lips.
"Isn’t it you who’s uncomfortable?"
"You really know how to talk."
"And you really know how to carve meat in front of a guest."
Park Su-chan broke into a low chuckle.
"You were the one who was late to the appointment, Baek Ji-won."
At his jab, Baek Ji-won glanced at the watch on her wrist.
"Ten minutes."
"Look at that. Late, and still acting busy?"
Baek Ji-won rose from her seat at an unhurried pace.
"If you have nothing to say, I’ll be going."
"All right, all right. I get it."
Park Su-chan extended a hand. His secretary, waiting at his side, immediately offered a handkerchief. Wiping away the sauce and the bloody juices from the veal at the corner of his mouth, Park Su-chan turned back to look at Baek Ji-won.
"You’ve been up to something interesting."
Baek Ji-won sat back down and answered, "What do you mean?"
"The Jang So-yeon sponsor scandal. You were the one who blew that open."
A low silence settled over the restaurant.
Baekhak’s Baek Ji-won. SAG’s Park Su-chan.
The two CEOs looked steadily at each other in that silence, neither speaking.
How long passed like that?
Baek Ji-won broke it first, her lips moving lazily.
"Yes. So?"
A faint smile lingered at the corner of her mouth.
"That’s what you wanted to say?"
At her indifferent reply, the secretary beside Park Su-chan widened his eyes in surprise. Park Su-chan, who had been glaring at Baek Ji-won, let out a long sigh.
"Tch. Was it really that upsetting that I tried to take someone from your company?"
"No, not particularly."
"Then you should’ve just swallowed it. It’s rough enough out there these days. Did you really need to make such a scene?"
"You know as well as anyone, Mr. Park. I’m not the sort of person who just swallows things."
Park Su-chan nodded.
"Fair enough, you’re not exactly the patient type. Then let’s call the Jang So-yeon matter even and move on, but K-1 crossed a line, didn’t he?"
Park Su-chan’s brow slowly furrowed.
"If you keep this up, I’ll be hurt, Ms. Baek."
Baek Ji-won tilted her head slightly. Her distinctive light-brown eyes swept over Park Su-chan’s expression and face.
"K-1? You mean the guy whose hidden-camera scandal just blew up?"
Park Su-chan snorted.
"Don’t play dumb."
"I really don’t know what you mean."
"You’re the one who set it up."
"Why would I?"
"Well..."
Park Su-chan trailed off, then suddenly shut his mouth. In that brief gap, Baek Ji-won casually murmured, "If I had set it up, do you think it would have ended like this?"
At that light question, Park Su-chan’s eyes widened.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If I’d been holding a source like that, I would’ve tied it to your company."
Park Su-chan scratched his chin slowly.
"What, so it really wasn’t you, Baek Ji-won?"
"Ten minutes are up. I’m leaving."
"All right, take care on the way out. Ah, right."
As Baek Ji-won stood, Park Su-chan called after her.
"I heard there’s an employee you’ve been paying special attention to lately."
"Who?"
"...Team Leader Kwon, maybe. That manager of Lee Ha-eun you keep shielding."
The corner of Park Su-chan’s mouth rose slightly.
"Yeah, Kwon Chan. I met him, and he’s pretty interesting."
Baek Ji-won looked down at Park Su-chan.
At that cold gaze, the secretary standing beside him made a small, uneasy swallow.
Then a faint smile touched Baek Ji-won’s lips.
"Why, are you interested?"
Park Su-chan shrugged.
"When you keep shielding someone, of course he starts to look interesting."
"Don’t get greedy, Park Su-chan. You can’t have Team Leader Kwon anyway."
Park Su-chan’s eyes flew wide. In the meantime, Baek Ji-won turned and left the restaurant. Park Su-chan stared after her retreating back for a moment before belatedly coming to himself and muttering, "Wow... so this is more than just shielding him, huh?"
Baek Ji-won, of all people, showing emotion over a mere manager?
Park Su-chan rubbed his chin, then turned to look at Secretary Park, who had been standing there like a stone pillar.
"Kwon Chan. How’s that investigation I told you to do going?"
Secretary Park hurriedly bowed his head.
"We’ve already started, sir."
"Find out as fast as you can. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yes, understood."
After hearing the answer, Park Su-chan rose from his seat.
Kwon Chan... Kwon Chan... Kwon Chan.
Etching the name into his mind, he licked his dry lips.
"Now I’m really starting to want him."
At first, it was curiosity.
The second time, interest.
The third, greed.
Park Su-chan’s eyes glittered with a faint madness.
"When that bitch Baek Ji-won keeps shielding him like that, it makes you want to take him away, doesn’t it?"
***
After the second round of the competition ended, time slipped by in an instant. It was so fast I could barely remember what I had done in all those days.
Still, one thing was clear.
The projects I was handling were all sailing smoothly.
[Exclusive] "K-Singer-Songwriter" wraps up its third round to great fanfare amid a surge of interest!
Interest in K-Singer-Songwriter, which had already drawn attention after the second round, had only grown hotter.
The finale rating for last week’s twelfth episode was 19.2 percent.
It was right on the brink of twenty percent.
***
K-Singer-Songwriter episode 12 achieved a 19 percent rating.
Unfortunately, it didn’t break the twenty-percent mark, but the interest and popularity were explosive.
[HOT Issue] The entertainment world caught in the K-Singer-Songwriter fever! This year’s first-quarter top stars are joining the contestants!
Competition variety shows were seasonal businesses.
When they hit, they could turn someone into the hottest star of the year. That was the nature of the game.
And so far, that seasonal business seemed to be running at full capacity.
Rumors were already circulating that several contestants had begun receiving all kinds of sponsorships, product placements, and commercial offers.
That wasn’t surprising for the cast of a show hovering near a twenty-percent rating.
And among them, the brightest star was surely this singer.
[Weekly Ranking] Two.N’s Park Ga-eul goes from idol to singer-songwriter! Ranked a proud fifth in the idol preference poll!
Park Ga-eul, who had beaten out the favorite K-1 and advanced confidently to the next round.
The public’s interest in her had burned far hotter than I’d expected.
***
Stars are mirrors to the public.
Depending on the image they reflect, a star’s position and aura can change completely.
After discussing it with the PR team leader, I started shaping Park Ga-eul’s image not as an “idol filler contestant,” but as “the new favorite Park Ga-eul.”
The result:
[This Week’s News] Two.N’s Park Ga-eul defeats Big One ahead of the semifinal stage and ranks second in the popularity survey for K-Singer-Songwriter contestants!
Park Ga-eul took a proud second place in the contestant favorability poll for K-Singer-Songwriter.
Leaving aside first-place Kim Hyeon-a, it was the highest rank.
And the gap between them was only 5 percent.
If she could close that 5 percent gap...
There was nothing strange at all about Ga-eul becoming the winner of K-Singer-Songwriter.
The winner of a competition variety show that had pulled a twenty-percent rating.
At that moment, I realized something.
I’ve done everything I can.
What was left was...
Ga-eul’s part now.
In the end, a singer had to speak through song.
That 5 percent gap was something she would have to overcome with her voice.
And while K-Singer-Songwriter was preparing for a glittering finale, the film industry was getting ready to meet a new wind.
[Exclusive] The Queen returns! Top actress Lee Ha-eun’s next film, Black Bride, heads into its production press conference!
Yes.
The queen was returning, just like that.
The production press conference for top actress Lee Ha-eun’s next film, Black Bride, arrived with the soft spring breeze.
***
I looked at the watch on my wrist.
1:00 p.m.
In thirty minutes, the reporters would be seated.
Then the MCs would appear, and once the actors took their places, the Black Bride press conference would finally begin.
Replaying today’s schedule in my head, I sank down onto a nearby sofa.
Maybe because I’d worked overtime last night preparing for the event and hadn’t slept a wink, a heavy fatigue rolled over me like a wave.
I was wondering whether I should put in some eye drops, my eyes felt so dry, when Lee Ye-ji, who had come running after my help call, asked in a worried voice, "Team Leader, are you okay? You look like you’re dying."
Taking the coffee she handed me, I gave a wry smile.
"I’m not dying. I think I’m already dead."
"Oh, come on! Then you should rest a little while you work! Your dark circles are all the way down to your chin!"
Fair enough.
If I’d known I’d be this tired, I should have rested a bit more.
But the Black Bride press conference was right around the corner. I couldn’t rest now.
The materials I’d checked over while working late last night rose in my mind.
[Best Comment]: Queen of Joseon was the best drama of my life...
[Best Comment]: No matter what, if it’s a movie with our Ha-eun, I’m buying tickets, lol
[Best Comment]: Heard about the next project and left this comment during school study hall. Lee Ha-eun, I love you!
Public interest in Black Bride was boiling over.
For one thing, the lead actress was top star Lee Ha-eun.
Her ticket power was guaranteed, and more than that, her name alone had already become a brand in the film industry.
With her returning after a year-long hiatus, public curiosity over her next project was bound to be intense.
On top of that, the fact that her next film was in the occult thriller genre, something rarely seen in the Korean film market, had added a heavy dose of fuel to that interest.
[One-Line Review] Could Black Bride become the only light in Korea’s bleak film market?
“When something is extremely niche, it becomes mainstream,” or so the saying went.
Hardcore film fans were voicing high expectations for Black Bride, which broke away from the usual Korean film genres.
Because of that, Black Bride was becoming a movie expected by both heavy viewers and casual viewers alike.
Casual viewers because of lead actress Lee Ha-eun.
Heavy viewers because of Black Bride’s genre.
Considering that the full-scale promotion hadn’t even started yet, the response was not only positive but beyond expectations.
With things like this, how could I possibly rest?
If I was going to collapse from exhaustion, I intended to do it only after finishing the job.
I stood up and said, "Mr. Choi, did you contact Mr. Jeon Hyeong-u, Ye-ji?"
"Yes. Seo Tae-jun said he’ll arrive in twenty minutes, and Lee Ha-eun just left the salon."
"Once the actors arrive, please step forward and explain today’s schedule."
After taking a sip of the coffee Lee Ye-ji had handed me, I turned and went looking for Director Park.
I should greet him before things start, right?
I’d already neglected Director Park because of K-Singer-Songwriter, so I thought I should at least show my face now.
When I reached the waiting room, Director Park was rehearsing the interview alongside Team Leader Kim.
"Director Park."
"...Ah, Team Leader Kwon!"
Director Park Jun-seo shot to his feet and grabbed my hand tightly.
"My goodness, isn’t it really been too long since we last saw each other?"
"I’m sorry. Work’s been a bit hectic. Have you been well, Director Park?"
With a smile at the corner of my mouth, I briefed him on the situation.
Seo Tae-jun and Lee Ha-eun would arrive soon. I’d already circulated the question list to the reporters, so there shouldn’t be any awkward questions. I’d also paid special attention to the MC and hired Park Su-rim, who was well known in press conferences like this one.
Director Park Jun-seo looked stunned after hearing me.
"Wait, you prepared all of that, Team Leader Kwon?"
"Once I started paying attention, I kept noticing more things to handle, so I went ahead and arranged them."
"Goodness, you’ve done so much. I’m almost worried you’re feeding everything to us too neatly..."
He held my hand tightly and looked at me with what was almost a tearful expression.
The expression was a little hard to handle, so I gently pulled my hand free and said, "Then I’ll be waiting at the press conference site, Director."
"I’ll get the interview ready properly and make sure I don’t make any mistakes."
After hearing his reply, I left the waiting room.
As I walked, I checked the time and saw that the minute hand had already reached 30.
When I reentered the press conference hall, it was packed with reporters exactly as scheduled.
Watching the scene, I felt a small swell of anticipation.
This is really happening now.
Once this press conference was over, all that remained was the VIP preview and the release itself.
Black Bride, which I’d been preparing for over the past six months, was finally about to be shown to the world.
What would the public think after seeing it?
I can’t quite tell.
According to the future messages, it seemed like it would comfortably pass five million admissions...
But honestly, I didn’t think it would stop at five million.
The situation was very different now than it had been back then.
I’d already watched the edited version first to accommodate Director Park’s schedule...
and the finished cut came out far better than the original script.
If the script was already strong and the edited version came out even better, then shouldn’t the final audience count be treated not as five million but as a floor of at least five million?
If that happened... yes.
Ten million.
Like I’d boldly told Representative Baek a full year ago, maybe we could really hit a ten-million viewer film.
Of course, it was still too early to get ahead of ourselves...
"The actors are here!"
Suddenly, camera flashes flooded the press conference hall.
I snapped out of my thoughts and lifted my head.
"Hey, hey, shoot it! Shoot it!"
"There’s veteran actor Park Tae-sik over there!"
"And that premium supporting actor Kim Nam-seong is beside him!"
Amid the uproar from the reporters, my eyes searched for one actress.
The star of the moment, the top actress herself.
But as befit the day’s main attraction, she still had not appeared.
"Seriously, does she have to come out dead last even now?"
Letting out a quiet laugh, I thought to myself.
What kind of styling and makeup had Lee Ha-eun gone with today?
Since this was her first press conference in nearly a year, she’d probably gone all in with the makeup and coordination, knowing her personality.
As I pieced together that image in my head, I belatedly noticed my own heart thudding fast.
If it had been before...
I would’ve forced myself to ignore that heartbeat. But now, I just let it be.
I wanted to see Lee Ha-eun as soon as possible.
Just as that thought rose and the corner of my mouth lifted, the smartphone in my pocket rang.
Instinctively, I pulled it out and glanced sideways at the source of the vibration.
At that moment.
[Attached file image]
The corners of my eyes dropped as I stared at the smartphone screen.
***
At last, the Black Bride press conference began.
The carefully selected reporters let out murmurs of admiration.
"Wow... Lee Ha-eun really is different."
Hadn’t one of the promotional articles posted ahead of today’s conference said that “the queen is returning”?
Everyone gathered here could tell that it wasn’t just empty hype.
Scarlet killer heels. A scarlet mini dress.
Top actress Lee Ha-eun was carrying off a color so intense it practically seemed to explode with presence, and she did it as naturally as breathing.
Who else but Lee Ha-eun could make that kind of color look so good?
As a result, every eye in the room was fixed on her.
The queen of film, returning after nearly a year with a new project.
Every move she made was being captured by cameras.
Yet Lee Ha-eun, who had seized all those eyes, was in fact fixed on one man rather than the camera or the host MC.
All through the interview, she kept her gaze on him, but the man who had captured her attention couldn’t tear his eyes away from his smartphone screen.
Because of that, in the moment Lee Ha-eun’s gaze grew faintly impatient as she looked at him, the man’s lips slowly moved.
"I’d been thinking about this for a while, but if it’s come to this..."
Kwon Chan, Baekhak’s manager.
Staring hard at the smartphone screen, he let the corner of his mouth rise.
"I think it’s time I got serious about film investment."