No. 1 Actress
The day after the script reading.
Baekhak Public Relations Office.
I looked at the head of the PR team, whose curls seemed even fuller than usual that day, and asked, “How is it?”
“Hmm...”
The PR manager dragged out the end of her answer, then widened her eyes.
“Looks good?”
With a quick tap on the tablet in her hand, she pulled up the trending search data for The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor and let out an admiring sound.
“Wow, the influence of a Hallyu star really is something. It’s hard for a drama to get reaction numbers like this from teens and people in their twenties before it even airs, but look at this. The trend index for the teen and twenty-something crowd is already over 40 percent. I haven’t seen numbers like this since Queen of Joseon.”
The main audience for dramas was people in their thirties and forties, but before broadcast, those trend graphs didn’t really mean much.
What thirty- or forty-something would go looking for a drama that had only just finished its script reading?
Those graphs only started to matter after the drama aired.
In that sense, the teen-and-twenties trend graph for The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor was highly meaningful.
Compared with films, dramas didn’t benefit as much from early word of mouth, but in the end, a drama still had to ride the wave of people saying, “It’s good.”
And these days, that word of mouth spread mostly through Instagram and TikTok, both of which were heavily used by teens and people in their twenties.
In other words, if you wanted the drama to catch on, you had to win over that younger audience.
The fact that we’d already firmly secured those target viewers before airing was a good sign.
Just as the corners of my mouth were starting to rise, the PR manager drummed her fingers on the table and asked, “When’s that special broadcast supposed to air?”
“Probably in the first quarter of next year?”
“Sooner than I expected. It’s being produced in advance, right?”
“Yeah. The whole thing will be pre-produced before it airs.”
“Then since there’s still some time, how about we film a vlog?”
I tilted my head at her question. “A vlog, all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean, all of a sudden? It’s getting a huge reaction from teens and people in their twenties, and you’d just let that go to waste?”
The PR manager leaned in hard on her argument.
“You’ve got to row when the water’s in. If you want to appeal to teens and people in their twenties, steady communication is important!”
I stroked my chin and thought about it.
Not wrong.
Idol groups didn’t keep up with V Live and fan chat rooms for nothing. Fan service mattered.
I nodded.
“I’ll talk to Kwon Hyeon-bin about it.”
“Okay. Send us the footage, and we’ll edit it and upload it on our end. And... Team Leader Kwon?”
“Yes, PR manager?”
“They said Representative Baek picked you, right?”
“?”
A question mark appeared on my face.
At that, the PR manager looked at me with a sly expression.
“The rumor’s been all over the place, hehe...”
“.....”
“Just how did you charm our picky Representative Baek? Tell me your secret! I want to get picked by Representative Baek too, so the PR budget gets a little bigger~”
At her words, I was too stunned to speak.
“PR manager, where did you hear something like that... No, never mind. You’d definitely hear it.”
“That’s right. So tell me how you won over our Representative Baek~”
“You really believe that nonsense?”
“Oh? Why wouldn’t I? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Looking at Team Leader Kwon these days, I can totally see why Representative Baek would be charmed~”
Well.
If I kept talking, I’d be the only one losing.
I picked up the bag I’d brought and stood.
“I’m leaving, PR manager.”
“Whoa, running away? Our Representative Baek pick~?”
I can’t hear you. I can’t.
I covered both ears and walked out of the PR office.
When I checked the watch on my wrist, it looked like I needed to leave headquarters now if I wanted to make it on time.
“Wait a second...”
I stopped walking and thought for a moment.
If the PR manager, who was the loosest-lipped person in all of Baekhak, knew about my ridiculous rumor...
Didn’t that mean the entire company had already heard it?
“Ah.”
A short groan escaped my mouth.
The image of Team Leader Ma Seok-du and the other sly old hands in management cackling to themselves floated before my eyes.
***
Rumors were rumors. The appointment came first.
After arriving at Hongdae’s Hapjeong Station, I parked the car and went straight into the café we’d agreed to meet at.
Warm coffee scent brushed past my nose, and in the otherwise empty café, I could hear the tap-tap of typing.
When I turned my head, I saw a boy in a corner, typing away on a laptop.
Kang Seon-woo?
If there was anyone in this café who’d be hammering away at a laptop, it had to be Kang Seon-woo.
My expression turned odd.
Younger than I expected.
I’d heard he was twenty-four, but just by looking at him, he could pass for a high school student without trouble.
I approached Kang Seon-woo, who was typing, with some caution.
“Hello?”
At my greeting, the typing stopped.
Kang Seon-woo, looking as if a screw had come loose somewhere in his head, stared at me blankly for a moment before speaking belatedly.
“Baekhak Team Leader?”
“Yes, are you Kang Seon-woo?”
Kang Seon-woo nodded.
I smiled faintly and sat down across from him.
As Kang Seon-woo closed his laptop, he said, “You’re much younger than I expected. I thought a Team Leader at Baekhak would be someone with a ton of years under his belt.”
Well, he’d stolen my line right out from under me.
So I gave it right back.
“You’re pretty young yourself.”
“I served in the military. Artillery, 32nd Division.”
I hadn’t asked whether he’d been in the military.
“Ah, I figured you’d be curious. Usually when people meet me for the first time, the first thing they ask is whether I served.”
That made my eyes widen a little.
Distinctive.
Yeah, he had a unique character.
Writers were usually a little unusual, but this was unusual in a very specific, first-meeting sort of way.
Feeling a little flicker of interest, I asked, “Did Kim Ye-seon tell you why I wanted to meet?”
Kang Seon-woo nodded.
“Yes, she said it was because of my script.”
“That’s right. I happened to see a script you wrote, and the moment I read it...”
I let the sentence trail off, then tapped the table with my finger.
“I had a feeling, and it was just too fun to put down. Especially the dialogue.”
Kang Seon-woo’s mouth curved slightly.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of it.”
“When did you start writing?”
“Since high school. Ah, the City of Murder that Team Leader saw was also written in high school.”
My eyes widened.
You wrote that script in high school?
Look at this guy.
He was even more talented than I’d thought.
In the meantime, Kang Seon-woo explained The City of Murder in a voice full of energy.
“It’s a script with a kind of Marvel-hero concept. A hero cop who takes down killers with brute force instead of superpowers. So the protagonist just smashes the killers down in a really exhilarating style... Ah, sorry.”
Kang Seon-woo gave an awkward smile.
“You’re not really interested in stories like this, are you?”
I shook my head.
“No, it’s fine. I did ask to meet you because of that script, after all.”
“...”
“But, Kang Seon-woo, I heard you quit that Gangnam ‘A’ academy. Does that mean you’re not writing anymore?”
This time, Kang Seon-woo shook his head.
“No. I’m still writing.”
“You’re still writing, but you quit the academy for some special reason?”
“It felt like a waste of time.”
My expression shifted.
A waste of time?
What did he mean by that?
“If you want to debut as a drama writer, you usually have to go under an established drama writer and start as the youngest writer, right? Thinking about spending ten years writing under someone else like that, I just didn’t think I could handle it.”
At Kang Seon-woo’s explanation, I let out an “Ah...” in understanding.
Fair enough. Breaking into drama writing really was rough.
The drama world belonged to writers.
But the number of established writers who could play that game was extremely limited.
There were various realistic reasons for that, one of which was money.
Nowadays, getting a drama into production cost at least 10 billion won, and could you really sink that kind of money into a script written by a rookie?
And beyond that, there was the territoriality of existing writers...
For all those reasons, becoming a first-time drama writer was harder than plucking stars from the sky.
“I don’t think I can wait that long.”
Kang Seon-woo pointed out the practical side of it.
“No matter how good the writing is, I felt that approach was inefficient. So I quit the academy.”
At that, I asked softly, “Then you’ve given up on becoming a drama writer?”
“No. I still plan to keep trying, but I want to build some financial stability first.”
Ah, so he was going to make money first.
“Then doesn’t that interfere with your writing?”
“Hmm... not really. I make money by writing.”
“Oh? What are you writing now?”
Kang Seon-woo shrugged.
“Web novels.”
***
I blinked like an idiot.
Web novels?
So, the web novels I knew?
Kang Seon-woo went on.
“I’m currently making money writing web novels.”
I crossed my arms.
He wrote web novels? That was unexpected.
I rummaged through my head and pulled up what I knew about the web novel market.
A snack-culture offshoot from the genre market.
Which meant it was a fairly minor market.
For one thing, the act of reading books itself was niche.
Even if Korea’s literacy rate was basically zero problem, not that many people read books as a hobby.
When had web novels started getting noticed like this?
Not long ago, really.
A drama adapted from a web novel became a huge hit, and that brought this minor market back into the spotlight.
As a form of original IP, that is.
A popular web novel was turned into a popular webtoon, and that popular webtoon was then made into a movie or drama.
In that case, the story risk that mattered so much in dramas and films was reduced, and you could also tap into the response of the original fandom.
Of course, that sort of case wasn’t common. It was still only a small share of the whole.
So web novels were still just a possibility in this industry.
One possible route for replacing story writers in dramas and films someday.
After sorting through my thoughts, I asked, “Aren’t web novels and drama scripts pretty different?”
“They are different. But once I started doing it, they ended up feeling the same.”
“The same? In what way?”
“The act of writing.”
Kang Seon-woo pushed his glasses up and answered.
“Read a lot, imagine a lot, write a lot. Once I got used to that, web novels started feeling perfectly manageable.”
I let out a quiet inner exclamation.
Wow.
Was this what a genius looked like?
At that moment, curiosity suddenly rose in me.
“How are your current web novels doing?”
“My current web novels?”
Kang Seon-woo held out his smartphone to me.
I looked at the phone he’d offered for a moment, then my eyes flew open wide.
“...Is this the settlement statement?”
“Yes.”
“...Kang Seon-woo, are you a million-won-a-month writer?”
“Oh, not a million. On average, I make about two million won a month.”
“.........”
At his answer, I lost my words.
No, wait.
A writer making two million won a month was not some average writer.
Wasn’t that a total breakout hit author?
I couldn’t suppress my shock and searched up Kang Seon-woo’s works online.
When I entered his pen name into the search bar, endless information about his work appeared.
I clicked my tongue and said, “Wow, Kang Seon-woo. You’re insanely popular.”
“It’s embarrassing, but a lot of people read them.”
“If you’re this popular, you don’t really need to become a drama writer, do you?”
Kang Seon-woo tilted his head.
“Why not?”
“If you’re that popular, you could just keep writing web novels.”
“That’s true.”
“So why bother becoming a drama or film writer?”
Kang Seon-woo answered at once.
“Because it’s my dream.”
“Your dream?”
“Yes. If I only wanted to make money, I wouldn’t have become a writer at all. There are plenty of other things I could have done.”
At that, I pressed my lips into a straight line.
In the meantime, Kang Seon-woo continued.
“Since I was young, I’ve wanted my writing to be adapted into something visual. That’s why, the moment I got out of the military, I signed up for the academy and started going to drama writer offices. Of course, I quit now, but...”
Kang Seon-woo let the sentence trail off, then said firmly, “I haven’t given up on the dream yet. I’ve run down this one road for more than ten years, so giving up without even trying would feel too unfair.”
A dream.
A sweet word.
The Kang Seon-woo sitting in front of me was chasing that dream without compromising with reality.
But he was only twenty-four and already making two million won a month?
What was I doing at twenty-four?
...Probably just out of the army and drinking.
Kang Seon-woo glanced at me and muttered, “So I was really happy when Team Leader Kwon contacted me.”
Getting myself back together, I asked, “Is there a reason you’d be happy about me contacting you?”
“Because a manager team leader from a big company like Baekhak looked at my writing and reached out.”
Kang Seon-woo’s pitch-black eyes looked at me steadily.
“If I make a good impression on Team Leader Kwon, then the chance to achieve my dream will be right in front of me, won’t it?”
A look full of expectation.
I slowly crossed my arms and thought.
Well, just making a good impression on me wouldn’t be enough to debut him directly as a drama or film writer.
But I could help Kang Seon-woo.
I knew a slightly easier, faster way to get this talented writer into drama and film writing.
And at that moment, I started wanting him.
Ah, I want him.
This writer, Kang Seon-woo.
He had talent, and his goal was clear.
And I loved talented people.
The problem was that Baekhak didn’t actually manage writers.
But that didn’t mean I should let him slip away.
As I searched for some way to make it work, my eyes soon lifted.
If Baekhak doesn’t manage him, then I can take him in myself.
Right.
Why was I even worrying about this?
I could just recruit Kang Seon-woo myself.
I made my decision and immediately made an offer.
“Kang Seon-woo.”
Kang Seon-woo looked at me quietly.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“I’ll be honest. I like you, Kang Seon-woo, but Baekhak doesn’t recruit writers.”
A faint look of disappointment appeared on Kang Seon-woo’s face.
Without pausing, I continued.
“But personally, I’d like to bring you on board.”
A question mark appeared on Kang Seon-woo’s face.
“Personally, Team Leader?”
“Yes. Have you ever thought about becoming a writer under a film investment company?”
Kang Seon-woo blinked at me like an idiot.
“You mean, become a writer under a film investment company?”
“Yes. If you’re okay with it, Kang Seon-woo...”
I trailed off and leaned slightly toward him.
“I’d like to introduce you to an investment company that can turn your precious work into a film.”
***
It was very common for film investment companies to also have drama and film writers or production staff under contract.
Right now, even Star Nova Capital, one of the most famous investment firms in Hollywood, also doubled as a production company that developed drama content at the same time.
In the end, this business was all about IP.
The better the IP you had, the better the films and dramas that came out of it.
And now, I was thinking of recruiting a talented writer who could create that kind of IP.
“Of course, Kang Seon-woo has to say yes first.”
If he turned me down, there was nothing to be done. If he gave me the okay...
Would Kang Seon-woo become the first employee of Futures Investment?
Our first employee being an aspiring drama writer...
I stroked my chin and muttered, “Feels like the board is getting bigger.”
In other words, the number of possibilities had opened up a little more.
If Kang Seon-woo’s script had a chance of being adapted, our investment company could directly invest in and produce that IP.
Of course, that was still far in the future.
To make that happen, we’d need more money and more talent.
Still, wasn’t the mere existence of that possibility meaningful enough?
Just as the corners of my mouth lifted slightly, the smartphone in my pocket rang.
“Hello?”
- Ah, Team Leader Kwon.
It was a voice I knew well, and yet didn’t.
For a moment, I ran through my memory, then my eyes widened.
“Daniel?”
-Haha! Thankfully, you still remember my voice!
Daniel, head coach at AMG, Hollywood’s megagency.
At his sudden call, my eyes grew wide.
“What brings you to call me...?”
-If I’m calling Team Leader Kwon, then of course it can only be about that.
Daniel’s voice was brimming with confidence.
-I’d like to invite Korea’s No. 1 actress, Lee Ha-eun, back to Hollywood once again, Team Leader Kwon.
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