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[One-line review] One million, two million... and now past five million, 6.5 million! Black Bride has finally soared past six million viewers, riding the cheers of movie fans all the way!
"Kyaa... 6.5 million? That’s a total monster hit."
And not just any hit.
The break-even point for Black Bride was 3 million.
By audience count alone, it had already recouped the investment and then some.
And the film still hadn’t even left theaters yet.
That alone was astonishing, but when you factored in overseas rights, OTT, IPTV, and all the secondary revenue still to come, it was impossible to estimate how much profit this one film would ultimately generate.
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Director Choi clicked his tongue and muttered, "I heard the guy who picked that movie was Team Leader Kwon."
This business was tiny.
And if you happened to be sitting in a position like drama department director in a place this small, you were bound to hear all sorts of things.
They say Representative Baek brought that Team Leader Kwon to one of her gatherings.
Not just that. Rumor had it that at that gathering, when Black Bride was brought up, the person who’d picked it wasn’t Director Choi himself but Team Leader Kwon.
It was surprising enough that the great Baek Ji-won had brought a manager to such a gathering, but she had even singled him out in person.
Thanks to that, everyone who mattered now believed Team Leader Kwon was Baek Ji-won’s "pick."
And now that Baek Ji-won’s pick, Team Leader Kwon, had also "picked" The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor...
Could he have some kind of instinct for this?
He had better.
Just like Black Bride, Director Choi hoped Team Leader Kwon had felt some kind of spark and chosen The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor for that reason.
Even if that wasn’t the case, the mere fact that Team Leader Kwon was paying attention to the drama was a very positive sign.
"A drama picked by the manager picked by Baek Ji-won..."
As Director Choi trailed off, his eyes widened slightly.
"Could Baekhak be gearing up to push this hard?"
Given the situation, it wasn’t unreasonable.
After all, the great Baek Ji-won had rarely moved personally, and this time she had done so to declare that Team Leader Kwon was one of her people.
After crunching the numbers for a while, Director Choi called in Ho PD, the executive producer overseeing The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor.
Not long after.
"Director, may I come in?"
Ho PD appeared with the look of a man who’d barely been able to shower while buried in pre-production.
Director Choi nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
"Looks like you’re working hard, Ho PD."
"...I have to. Script reading’s almost here."
"Then I should give you a little present."
Ho PD’s eyes widened.
"A present? All of a sudden?"
Director Choi held out a single sheet of paper.
As Ho PD took it and slowly read through the contents, he cried out in surprise.
"What? You’re saying you’ll give us a special broadcast slot?"
Director Choi folded his hands and rested his chin on them.
"So? Feeling a little more motivated now?"
"Well... it’s not just a little. I’m extremely grateful."
"Then gear up and make the scale bigger."
"...When you say bigger, you mean?"
"The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor has a good feeling to it."
Ho PD’s eyes went wide.
A drama that hadn’t even started script reading yet had a good feeling to it?
Ho PD couldn’t make sense of it, but Director Choi’s voice was already full of certainty.
"Make it bigger, Ho PD. No questions."
In Director Choi’s mind flashed the image of Black Bride, the monster hit.
And alongside it, the back view of the manager who had picked that film.
"The manager picked by Representative Baek Ji-won chose this drama too, so no matter what Baekhak ends up doing, they’ll push it hard. We’re just going to ride the wave and inflate the scale as much as we can."
***
A few days after my meeting with Kwon Hyeon-bin, Ho PD from The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor called me.
"Team Leader Kwon, have you been well?"
"Ah, yes. Ho PD. I’ve been well."
After the usual pleasantries, I tilted my head.
There was still some time before script reading would begin, so why was Ho PD calling me now?
Then something I hadn’t expected came out of his mouth.
"Um... a special broadcast has been scheduled after the script reading."
I was so startled that I asked back immediately, "A special broadcast?"
"Yes. I was surprised too when I heard it... The Director suddenly called me in and told me that."
If it was an MBN director... he meant Director Choi?
According to rumors, the man was notorious inside and outside the company for being miserly.
But maybe because I’d personally secured Kwon Hyeon-bin for The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor...
When I’d spoken to him briefly before, he hadn’t seemed like such a bad person.
Of course, that was only because he had a reason not to seem bad. Judging by Director Choi’s usual reputation, this decision was pretty strange.
If they’re willing to give us a special broadcast, doesn’t that mean MBN is planning to back The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor properly?
That was welcome news from my point of view, but considering Director Choi’s reputation for watching every penny, it still felt odd.
The reason came out of Ho PD’s mouth.
"You said Team Leader Kwon was Baek Ji-won’s 'pick,' right?"
I blinked like an idiot.
"Baek Ji-won’s pick?"
"Yes. I didn’t understand it either, so I called. Are you saying you don’t know why either, Team Leader Kwon?"
"..."
My face soured.
Baek Ji-won’s pick?
So they were saying I was Baekhak’s Representative Baek Ji-won’s pick?
While my lips moved uselessly without forming words, a memory from a few days ago surfaced.
The industry heavyweights I’d met out with Representative Baek Ji-won.
In front of those people, who could be called the network of Baek Ji-won, the top entertainment boss in the industry, the Baekhak representative had introduced me.
As those moments flashed through my mind like a panorama, a low sigh slipped from my mouth.
So that gathering had led to this kind of rumor?
"Team Leader Kwon?"
Gathering myself at Ho PD’s voice, I answered, "Ah, sorry, Ho PD."
"No, no. So... what should we do?"
"About the special broadcast?"
Ho PD explained in a voice that had picked up a bit of enthusiasm.
"Since we’ve been given a special broadcast slot anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to edit the script reading well and air that?"
Of course it would be good.
It would definitely help with early promotion too.
I answered at once.
"How about bringing in an entertainment writer and making a proper, fully planned broadcast out of it?"
"Oh, not bad. Then I’ll start sketching something out for this separately."
"Yes. I’d appreciate that, Ho PD."
After ending the call with Ho PD, I slowly crossed my arms.
"The manager picked by Baek Ji-won..."
It sounded good.
Thanks to that, the scale of The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor had grown too.
But it wasn’t all good.
A heavy pressure pressed down on my shoulders.
If I slipped even a little here...
Wouldn’t that become Representative Baek Ji-won’s failure, and in the end Baekhak’s failure as well?
Right now things were going well and momentum was on my side, but if I failed, how would this situation be applied to me then?
I didn’t know.
I couldn’t even picture what kind of criticism, or what kind of gaze, it would turn into.
It was a little suffocating, but...
I soon thought otherwise.
This was pressure worth enjoying.
I have no intention of failing.
No, not just failing.
I was going to succeed even more than I was now and climb higher.
And someday, when I felt I was worthy of it, there was something I absolutely wanted to say to someone.
Thinking about that made this situation seem almost fortunate.
Because I could even use Representative Baek Ji-won’s name to climb higher.
After settling my thoughts that way, I headed to Yeouido during lunch.
When I entered the Japanese restaurant I’d reserved in advance, my ten-year friend waved me over.
"Yo."
"You came fast."
"I had to. I’ve got to eat lunch and then run the afternoon market."
Taking the seat across from Hyun-sung, I asked, "If you’re the one who wanted to meet, that means you’ve decided?"
"Well, damn. You see me and immediately throw a straight punch, huh?"
Im Hyun-sung grumbled, but still handed me a stack of documents.
"I had some time, so I laid out the initial plan."
Opening the file folder, I read through the contents carefully.
From the outline for founding a film investment company to the detailed specifics, everything was meticulously organized in the documents.
I let out a quiet laugh to myself and murmured, "For something you did with time to spare, this is pretty detailed."
Im Hyun-sung poured me water and said, "It’s not decided yet, but if we’re doing it, we should do it right."
He lifted the water glass like it was a shot glass and said, "So I want to make one thing clear. The company operations. I really get to run them however I want?"
I nodded.
"Just don’t bankrupt it."
Im Hyun-sung’s expression turned strange.
"Seriously? You want me to take the representative position?"
"Yep. I’ve got other things to do."
Im Hyun-sung tilted his head.
"If you’re going to do it for real anyway, wouldn’t it be better for you to be the representative? Be the face of the company and all that?"
He was right.
If I were really going to establish a film investment company and use the Future Text Messages to make money, I should be the one sitting in the representative’s seat.
But there was one important problem.
Future Text Messages.
To be honest...
I still didn’t have a clue.
The mechanism behind those messages coming to me, or how exactly they arrived.
It had been more than a year since I’d gone through this strange phenomenon, and I still had no idea how it worked.
What if I quit the company I was working at, became the head of an investment firm, and then lost the source of the Future Text Messages?
I’d be fine, maybe, but what about my ten-year friend, who’d quit his own job to come help me because he trusted me?
Since this was an investment company, I was ready to take risks.
That didn’t mean I was going to gamble.
So what I chose, in the end, was to keep things as they were.
Hyun-sung would found the film investment company as a Yeouido securities man, and I would become the investor.
I’d receive the material sent by the Future Text Messages and pass it to Hyun-sung.
That was the best option I could come up with.
Of course, persuading Hyun-sung without letting him in on any of that was a different matter.
I clinked his water glass with mine and said, "This business is all about connections, right?"
"So you’re saying you’ll keep being a manager because of those connections?"
"Yeah. The backing Baekhak gives me is far bigger in this industry than you think."
That wasn’t empty talk.
The fact that Baek Ji-won had taken me to one meal had already made The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor grow in scale.
"If I’m just a film investment company representative with nothing to my name, it’ll still be easier to get industry information as Baekhak’s Team Leader because of the backing Baekhak gives me."
At my explanation, Im Hyun-sung stroked his chin.
"That’s an explanation that somehow makes sense and doesn’t at the same time. Damn."
Trailing off, Hyun-sung tossed me a casual question.
"So, did you find the film to invest in?"
I nodded.
"I already picked them out."
"Good. Then let’s just confirm one thing here."
Im Hyun-sung said to me, "If your first investment fails, we call the whole thing off. If it succeeds, then I’ll take the company representative role and run it properly the way you want. Do you agree?"
I smiled faintly.
"Deal."
Im Hyun-sung let out a breath that was half sigh, half laugh.
"Ha... This bastard, why does he sound so slick now that I haven’t seen him for a while?"
"Says you."
"Forget that. So what’s this legendary first investment film?"
This time, I slid the stack of documents over to Hyun-sung.
His eyes widened.
"...What the hell is all this?"
To my friend’s question, I answered in a relaxed voice, "The films I’m investing in this time."
Im Hyun-sung’s eyes went even wider.
"You crazy son of a bitch!"
He pointed at the documents I’d handed him and said, "You’re seriously investing in all of these movies? Are you out of your mind?"
His face was twisted in disbelief.
"If the movies here flop, all your lottery winnings go up in smoke. You’re really going to invest in every single one?"
At Hyun-sung’s shout, I nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah. Invest in all of them."
I had no intention of gambling.
But that didn’t mean I planned to avoid risk.
In the end, this business was all or nothing.
So...
I needed to throw down a bet that put everything I had on the table, at least once.
Of course, from Hyun-sung’s perspective, what I was doing probably looked like gambling. But, well.
To me, it was different.
This wasn’t gambling.
"These ten independent films listed here. Invest in all of them."
It was just a bet where the winner had already been decided.
And that winner was me.
---
