Chapter 14
CHAPTER TITLE: A Queen’s Challenge
It was the weekend.
Baek Ji-won stood there in a pristine white suit, her hair cut short in a sharp crop.
With that outfit and her signature languid expression, she looked less like a business executive than a queen out of the Middle Ages.
No, she really was a queen.
A legendary figure who had started as a one-woman agency and gone on to carve the entertainment industry into three great powers, building the Baekhak empire with her own hands.
If this business were a class system, then Representative Baek Ji-won was royalty.
Maybe that was why.
The rising tension left my throat a little dry.
My future messages had me running wild these days, but just thinking about meeting Baek Ji-won alone made my spine prickle.
Then the queen of the entertainment world broke the silence.
"Shall we have some tea and begin?"
I turned my head and saw green tea steaming softly in a cup.
As someone who preferred iced Americanos even in winter, it was not exactly a welcome drink.
But if it was expensive, that was all that mattered.
Drawn in by the mellow fragrance before I even realized it, I brought the cup to my lips.
Damn.
This green tea was ridiculously good.
Baek Ji-won took a sip as well, then asked, "Siljang Kwon, what would you like?"
!
My shoulders jumped.
Slowly, I lifted my head and found her brown eyes fixed squarely on me.
"The trend looks good."
!
"The premiere rating was 9.5 percent, and episode four came in at 14.4 percent, beating expectations."
With her mouth closed, Representative Baek waited for my answer.
I rolled my tongue lightly against my teeth and searched for the right words.
What should I say to avoid getting my head bitten off?
How could I get through this safely?
Then a thought flashed through me.
Was this really a meeting to scold me?
No.
It was for the blockbuster Queen of Joseon, the one that had Baekhak’s queen smiling all the way here.
Did I really need to tiptoe around and brace myself in a place like this?
At that moment, my nerves turned into confidence.
I lowered my head briefly and answered, "Thank you, Representative."
"How far do you think it'll go?"
"...Pardon?"
"I think it’ll hit twenty percent."
Representative Baek slowly crossed her legs.
My eyes drifted, almost without meaning to, to the blade-sharp stilettos on her feet.
"How far do you think Queen of Joseon, the project Siljang Kwon chose, will go?"
Ah. That’s what she meant?
After I understood the question, I thought about it carefully.
How far would the queen of Joseon fly once she spread her wings?
The script for Queen of Joseon that I had read again and again.
Top-class production staff and actors.
The current momentum, already punching through the ceiling.
Weighing all of it together, I answered, "I think it can go to 25 percent."
At my answer, Baek Ji-won looked faintly surprised.
"You're setting the bar pretty high."
"I think the trend is there to support it."
"If it rides a wave of buzz... 25 percent does seem possible."
Before I knew it, I found myself pushing back on what she said.
"In my opinion, if it rides a wave of buzz, 30 percent is possible."
Her eyes widened.
The change in her expression made me flinch.
What the hell am I doing? Why am I arguing with the representative?
Too much confidence was a problem too.
Regret washed over me, but there was nothing to do now.
The water had already been spilled.
I forced my face to stay steady and waited for what she would say next.
Baek Ji-won looked at me quietly and murmured, "If that happens, wouldn't it be the biggest record in nearly five years?"
"For an SBC drama, it'd be the biggest record in nearly ten years."
A faint smile touched the corner of Baek Ji-won’s mouth.
"So if your prediction is right, one of our actors will be setting a ten-year record?"
This time, I needed to be humble.
I killed my ego as best I could and answered, "If things go well, it’s the kind of record that’s possible, but I think it’d be more conservative to aim for 20 percent, Representative."
"Twenty percent is still a high number. Isn't it?"
"...Yes. It is."
Representative Baek propped her chin on her hand.
"So then, what do you want?"
"!"
"The drama hasn't even finished airing yet, so it's too early for a bonus. But I can't exactly give nothing to a manager who already refreshed the company’s flagship star image."
Refreshed the company’s flagship star image?
What was she talking about?
Fortunately, Representative Baek gave a small shrug and explained.
"Siljang Kwon, you know how nasty Ha-eun's rumors are, don't you?"
"..."
"That’s why I was honestly surprised when I saw the article. I never imagined I’d hear praise for a manager come out of Ha-eun’s mouth."
Representative Baek took another unhurried sip of tea.
"It was just lip service, if you think about it... but since it came out of her mouth, it made waves. Thanks to that, it’s become much easier to curb the rumors about Ha-eun in the stock-market gossip circles."
Ah, so that’s what she meant?
I nodded before I could stop myself and thought, That actually makes sense.
No matter how good the trend was, I had been wondering why Baek Ji-won had called me in over a drama that wasn’t even finished airing.
But if Lee Ha-eun’s image was tied up in this case, then it made perfect sense.
Her personality might be rotten in places, but Lee Ha-eun was Baekhak’s flagbearer.
If I had helped refresh that flagbearer image, then it made sense that I’d be summoned.
Meanwhile, Representative Baek offered a light, almost casual suggestion.
"So tell me what you want."
What I wanted, huh...
What should I say?
"Even though the manager in charge has changed, as the Siljang for Team 5, you’ll still need to keep an eye on Ha-eun. I’ll give you a gift as a way of saying thank you for your work on this drama and everything else."
Dopamine started kicking in.
Without meaning to, I found myself enjoying the moment as I thought, So this is my chance?
And not just any chance.
A real one.
As long as I didn’t screw up...
The board in front of me was mine to tilt however I wanted.
So I just need to stay calm.
I took a short breath and said, "I’d like to change the structure of To.Any’s album."
Representative Baek tilted her head.
"You’re managing To.Any?"
"Yes, I am."
"Hmm... go on."
"After discussing it with Director Choi Jeong-eun, I think this To.Any album would work better as a double title track."
!
Her eyes widened.
"You want to push a girl group album with two months left before debut as a double title?"
"The schedule is tight, but the song we want to push is originally a B-side. I think we can still make it in time."
"Did Director Choi Jeong-eun agree to this?"
"Yes. She did."
Interest flickered in Baek Ji-won’s eyes.
And then, for five minutes, not a single word passed between us.
In the suffocating silence, I waited endlessly for her response.
Looking at the faint curve of her mouth, it didn’t seem like she disliked the idea itself...
So why wasn’t she saying anything?
Just as I was starting to grow uneasy, Baek Ji-won finally spoke.
"Siljang Kwon, you're a very interesting person."
!
"When we met before... how should I put it? You looked like someone who wasn't interested in company affairs."
Did I?
I couldn’t really remember.
Back then my head had been a mess because of the blunder I’d made.
"But now you’re full of drive?"
"..."
"I’m not criticizing you. It’s good to see, since you look so motivated."
Baek Ji-won leaned forward.
"Fine. Push it as a double title track."
!
"If the director approved it, that’s probably the right direction. Still, the directors will need to do a mid-stage check."
My fist clenched tightly.
It worked!
I had grabbed the chance that had fallen into my lap without making a mistake.
Just as the tension in my body began to loosen, Representative Baek shoved a fresh wave of it back into me.
"I heard you made a bet with Director Park Yu-hyeon about To.Any’s debut performance?"
My eyes went round as dinner plates.
Baek Ji-won let out a soft chuckle.
"Oh? It was a secret bet?"
"...It wasn't like that."
"Is that so? Then..."
She tossed out the suggestion as if it were nothing.
"How about making that bet with me instead of the director?"
!
"As for the terms... yes. It’d be best to keep them the same, wouldn’t it?"
Baek Ji-won looked at me with a provocative gleam in her eyes.
"Get To.Any into the top five on the charts, and there'll be a bonus. How about it? Think you can do it?"
My heart pounded hard under that stare.
If I just said, “Understood,” the situation would probably end peacefully enough.
And yet, for some reason...
Seeing that gaze, as if she were testing me, only made me stubborn.
Get To.Any into the top five?
Of course.
No, I was going to make To.Any number one on the charts.
This wasn’t confidence.
It was a future that had already been decided.
Then a thought struck me.
If I handle this well, I can make the whole thing bigger.
What should I do?
After thinking it over, I decided to trust my instincts.
"If I get them to number one..."
My gut was telling me to push the board further.
"What do I get if I make To.Any’s debut music rank number one, Representative?"
Her eyes widened.
"...Number one?"
"Yes."
Baek Ji-won fell silent for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
"You really are an interesting man, Siljang Kwon."
The bait I’d thrown sent sparks flickering through Representative Baek’s brown eyes.
My talk with Representative Baek was over.
In the end, the board had been made bigger.
As a side effect...
It looked like I’d caught Representative Baek’s attention, but what could I do about that?
It had already happened.
Feeling my legs go weak all at once, I muttered, "I’m really going to die."
The fatigue I’d been ignoring surged over me in one wave.
I wanted to collapse right there, but there were too many eyes on me for that...
So I dragged my exhausted body up to the rooftop and dropped onto a bench with a thud.
As time passed, the reality of what had just happened slowly began to sink in.
"Wow, what did I just do?"
I’d provoked Baek Ji-won and pushed the board wider?
I was so dazed I was almost scared.
Could I really get away with moving this recklessly?
Even if I’d boarded a roller coaster with no brakes, this was a little much, wasn’t it?
Then my smartphone rang.
-Ding!
It looked like an urgent message, since I had left alerts on, but I had no mental energy left to check it.
I swept my messy bangs back and wiped away the cold sweat gathering at my temples.
"Hey, Kwon Chan!"
At the familiar voice, I turned my head and saw Seok-du hyung.
He rushed toward me, breathless, and asked, "Y-you alive? Chan?"
I didn’t have the energy to answer, so I just waved a hand.
Seok-du hyung squeezed his eyes shut.
"Your face says you got wrecked."
"...What wrecked?"
"So you didn't get wrecked?"
"No. I actually got praised."
!
His eyes went wide.
"You got praised by Representative Baek? What do you mean by that?"
I hesitated for a moment over whether to explain, then decided to do it.
It was probably fine to give Seok-du hyung at least a rough picture of what had happened.
I gave him a compressed version of the conversation with Baek Ji-won.
Of course, I left out my bet with Representative Baek.
Listening carefully, Seok-du hyung’s jaw dropped.
"Whoa... huh? Hey, you."
"..."
"Chan... Kwon Chan! You bastard! You pulled it off!"
He yanked me into a bear hug.
I made a strangled sound and started patting at his arm.
"I’m dying... I’m dying, Team Leader."
"Hngh! Our Chan is so pretty these days!"
"Go date someone. It’s not normal for a guy to look pretty."
Seok-du hyung tried to plant a kiss on my cheek.
"Haah... you’re really driving me crazy. What have you been eating wrong? Why do you keep doing cute things lately?"
Horrified, I shoved his face away from me.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem serious about it and backed off easily, shouting, "Perfect! I was preparing a gift for you anyway, so this just gives me a reason!"
"What gift are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Oh, come on, you didn’t even read the article?"
I had not looked at the news in a while.
Lee Ha-eun’s face plastered all over the entertainment section was enough...
And every so often, I saw my own name, which gave me chills.
"Baekhak just signed actors Seo Tae-jun and Choi Su-hyeon as free agents."
My eyes widened slightly.
Seo Tae-jun and Choi Su-hyeon were both well-known actors in the industry.
The Romance Prince came to Baekhak?
He didn’t have an especially wide range of roles, but in romance dramas alone Seo Tae-jun was outstanding, both in performance and popularity.
He was considered an A-list actor with the potential to reach the top tier if he widened his range.
Choi Su-hyeon didn’t have Seo Tae-jun’s level of recognition, but he was a rising newcomer drawing attention in Chungmuro.
His strong performance in the recent film Men of the Back Alley had caused quite a stir.
Seok-du hyung puffed out his chest and said, "If we bring in Actor Seo Tae-jun, I’ll personally hand him over to you! Heh heh..."
Without thinking, I shot back, "Is Actor Seo Tae-jun even coming to Team 5?"
"That’s hard to say until we look under the hood, but from the way things are moving, he’s got a pretty good chance of landing with our team. Team 5 hasn’t gotten a proper assignment in ages! This time we need to push hard."
Seok-du hyung slapped my shoulder.
"So from now on, just keep doing this, yeah? Hyung takes care of the rest!"
"Aigoo, take care of your own business first."
"If you’ve got nothing else today, head home early."
"Thank you, Team Leader."
"You only answer properly when it suits you. Hyung’s got outside work today, so I’m heading out first. Let’s pick a day and have soju sometime."
After messing up my hair, Seok-du hyung hurried off.
Watching his back disappear, I merged with the bench and murmured, "So this is really over now?"
After finishing my conversation with Seok-du hyung too, my battery had hit absolute zero.
If someone would just let me close my eyes, I had confidence I could sleep through the day without moving an inch.
Still, at least tomorrow’s the weekend.
My body was exhausted, but it had still been a day full of gains.
A new bet with Representative Baek.
To.Any’s double title track.
Amid the whirlwind of events, I’d managed to secure results far more valuable than I’d expected.
Letting out a relieved breath, I put a cigarette to my lips.
Then I remembered the alert that had gone off a moment ago.
Without thinking, I set the lighter down and checked the new message.
At that instant.
[Attached Image]
The long cigarette I hadn’t even managed to light slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.