Ha-eun
Lee Ha-eun.
It still didn’t feel real.
The top-tier actress.
Lee Ha-eun, the woman now called the nation’s representative actress after Queen of Joseon, actually liked me?
Why on earth would a woman like that like me?
I’d agonized over it all night, but I still didn’t know.
One thing, though, I could say for certain.
Top star actress Lee Ha-eun was still keeping a secret from me.
And the reason she’d started liking me seemed to be tied to that secret.
I was dying to know what it was.
That moment of curiosity, along with how quickly everything was moving, was what brought Lee Ha-eun into Black Bride.
"I really made a mess of things."
But looking only at the results, Ha-eun’s addition had raised Black Bride's profile.
Just having a top-tier actress join a project was enough to lift the work into a different class.
That instant, impulsive judgment had become a decision that benefited both human Kwon Chan and manager Kwon Chan.
By this point, I wasn’t scared anymore. I was starting to get curious.
What exactly happens at the end of this?
The relationship between Lee Ha-eun and me, which had seemed like it would never change, had changed.
So after this shoot ended, what would happen to us next?
We might go back to the way we were before. Or our relationship might even get better than it was now.
One thing was clear: it wouldn’t stay the same.
The anticipation that uncertainty brought felt thrilling.
Maybe that was why.
The frustration in my chest and head cleared all at once, and the nerves that had been sharp for days melted into something soft and loose.
A vague, almost reckless confidence that everything would work out began to pour through me.
Right. If you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it.
In the best condition I’d felt in a long time, I went to work at Baekhak headquarters.
As if they’d been waiting for me, a call came from the CEO’s office.
"Kwon SILJANG!!!"
Baekhak’s flagship star, Lee Ha-eun.
With the surprise news about her next project, it seemed CEO Baek Ji-won had called for me.
***
The elevator heading up to the CEO’s office.
If this had been the old me, I’d have frozen solid at the thought of meeting Baek Ji-won, an industry legend.
But now... I didn’t feel especially nervous or tense.
Maybe because the nerves that had been eating at me for days had finally loosened up.
That was probably it.
Of course, Team Leader Ma beside me was shaking like a leaf, completely failing to live up to his size.
"W-what the hell is going on... A CEO summons on a Monday morning?"
"..."
"Kwon Chan! What exactly did you do? What do you mean Lee Ha-eun suddenly decided on her next project!"
I shrugged.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I recommended a next project."
"And Lee Ha-eun just accepted it?"
"Yeah. That was pretty much it."
"..."
Team Leader Ma’s eyes narrowed.
"That makes no sense. Lee Ha-eun usually takes a year off after she finishes a project, so you’re telling me she just jumped into another one because you suggested it?"
It didn’t make sense.
There was a real reason behind it, of course... but that was a secret I’d take to the grave.
Ahem.
"Ha... Seriously, just looking at you these days gives me a headache."
With a long sigh, Seok-du hyung led the way.
I followed at an unhurried pace, and the secretary I’d seen a few days earlier stood up from her desk and said, "The CEO is inside. You can go in."
I nodded, then opened the door to the CEO’s office.
And at that moment.
"...!"
The grim scene in front of me made Seok-du hyung freeze, and I also looked around the office with a slight start.
Whoa... what is this?
Baekhak’s executives were all here?
Baek Ji-won sat at the head seat.
Park Yu-hyeon stood beside her.
Department heads and senior executives from every division.
The people who moved Baekhak were, astonishingly, all gathered in one place.
The corner of my mouth twitched.
Is this because of Lee Ha-eun’s next project?
Probably.
After all, this was the next project of none other than Baekhak’s flagship star, Lee Ha-eun.
If the next project for the actress now called the nation’s representative actress because of Queen of Joseon was on the table, it wasn’t strange at all for those heavyweights to gather together.
Looking at it this way, I guess I really did make a mess of things.
Tension crept up my spine.
But it was the pleasant kind.
If I hadn’t been certain that Black Bride would hit, then maybe I would have worried.
But I was convinced it would be a success.
So there was no reason to be nervous in front of these people.
In fact, for someone like me, who was certain of Black Bride's success, this meeting was...
an opportunity.
An opportunity to build an even bigger picture.
Then Baek Ji-won’s lazy, distinctive voice cut into my ear.
"Shall we end the emergency meeting here?"
At a single word from her, Baekhak’s executives all stood up.
"We’ll be heading out, CEO."
"Mm. Good work, everyone."
The expressions of the division heads passing by me and Seok-du hyung were strange.
They looked like they were dying to know what the hell was going on.
Just as the corner of my mouth curled, Director Park Yu-hyeon spoke.
"You two, come sit here."
Only then did the stiff, frozen Seok-du hyung begin to move with a creak of resistance.
I walked over and sat beside him.
That left the conference room arranged with Seok-du hyung and me on one side, facing Baek Ji-won and Director Park Yu-hyeon on the other.
An oppressive silence settled over the room.
How long passed like that?
Director Park Yu-hyeon rubbed his chin and broke the silence first.
"Mm... Team Leader Ma?"
Still dazed, Seok-du hyung answered in a panic.
"Y-yes, Director!"
"You know why I called you here, right?"
"... Yes. I do."
Park’s body leaned forward.
"What do you think of Black Bride, the next project Lee Ha-eun chose?"
Seok-du hyung glanced at me once, then answered.
"Just looking at the script itself... it seemed quite strong."
Director Park nodded.
"I think so too. After reading it, the structure was pretty solid. The director is... Director Park Jun-seo? That’s right, isn’t it?"
"Yes, that’s correct, Director."
"I heard he’s a mid-career director who only works in occult films?"
"He does specialize in a minor genre, but his box office track record isn’t bad."
Park Yu-hyeon gave a faint smile.
"Hm... so the script is good, and the director isn’t bad either?"
"At least, from a practical standpoint, yes."
"What do you think, Team Leader Ma?"
After a brief pause, Ma Seok-du answered.
"... Lee Ha-eun’s decision was sudden, but if you look only at the script and the director, it doesn’t seem bad."
"And the role she’s trying to take, Seo Rin-bi, is attractive too, right?"
"Yes, that’s right."
The faint smile that had been hanging at the corner of Director Park’s mouth disappeared.
"But isn’t the project too low-level?"
"!"
"When it comes to an actor’s next project, sure, the choice should be theirs. But Lee Ha-eun is a different case, as Team Leader Ma knows well, isn’t she?"
Park Yu-hyeon smiled again.
A chilling smile that sent shivers down my spine.
"Right now, considering Lee Ha-eun’s standing, I think Black Bride is a major step down. What do you think, Team Leader Ma?"
Thrown off balance, Ma stammered.
"I-I also think... the project is a step down."
"Then we should stop her, shouldn’t we?"
"!"
"That’s what our management department is for, isn’t it? Taking care of entertainers, managing them... and when they start down the wrong path, grabbing them before they go too far."
Without meaning to, I clicked my tongue.
Park Yu-hyeon really wasn’t easy to deal with.
Still, he wasn’t wrong.
Whether Black Bride's script was good or bad, if you considered Lee Ha-eun’s level, it was true that the project was beneath her.
But that’s only if you don’t know whether it’ll hit.
If I knew for certain that Black Bride would be a success...
then it wasn’t a bad project for Lee Ha-eun at all.
She had a wide acting range, yes, but she had never done an occult film before.
If you consider that one reason top actors do artistic projects is to broaden their range...
Black Bride had a lot to offer Lee Ha-eun.
It could give her both box office success and artistic value.
But from Park Yu-hyeon’s point of view, who didn’t know that, he had no choice but to oppose it.
I wetted my dry lips with my tongue and muttered to myself,
Should I step in?
But how?
If I jump in now, the timing is terrible.
Then Baek Ji-won opened her mouth.
"Who picked the script?"
The frozen Seok-du hyung sold me out at the speed of light.
"It was SILJANG Kwon!"
"..."
My expression soured.
In that moment, Baek Ji-won and Park Yu-hyeon both turned their eyes to me.
"You chose it and recommended it, Kwon SILJANG?"
"Yes, that’s right, CEO."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Baek Ji-won’s mouth.
"Why did you recommend this script to Ha-eun?"
At her question, I sensed it immediately.
My chance has come.
All right.
Say this well, Kwon Chan.
I took a short breath and answered.
"I recommended it because I thought it suited Lee Ha-eun as a work."
"And the role of Seo Rin-bi?"
"Yes. I met with Director Park Jun-seo and talked with him, and I was told the role of Seo Rin-bi itself was created with Lee Ha-eun as its model."
Baek Ji-won rubbed her chin.
"Seo Rin-bi was inspired by Lee Ha-eun, and Lee Ha-eun is playing Seo Rin-bi?"
I kept pressing forward.
"Lee Ha-eun has a broad range, but as far as I know, she hasn’t done anything in the occult genre yet."
"That’s true."
"It doesn’t have to be occult just because she’s broadening her range, but Director Park Jun-seo’s previous works have also done fairly well at the box office."
Baek Ji-won nodded.
"So it gets both artistic merit and commercial success?"
"Exactly. From that perspective, Black Bride is not a bad choice for Lee Ha-eun."
Baek Ji-won smiled.
"Your intention is good."
It was a positive reaction.
Just as my mouth started to lift.
"But isn’t it only the intention that’s good?"
"!"
"If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to do something with a little more prestige?"
Baek Ji-won tilted her head.
"Isn’t your argument a little weak, Kwon SILJANG?"
Her strange expression flew at me like a knife and buried itself in my chest.
***
Tension rose a little higher.
Weak argument... Right.
Now that I heard it out loud, it was true.
What I’d just said was nothing more than a plausible excuse.
An excuse for trying to shove Lee Ha-eun into Black Bride.
I need one stronger shot.
Fortunately, I had one.
The problem was that this hidden shot...
depending on how you looked at it, was complete nonsense.
But if I can’t answer here, isn’t it over?
In that case, maybe doing anything is better than nothing.
At that moment, my mouth moved.
"... I’m also thinking about taking the project itself."
With that one sentence, the atmosphere changed.
"Like the CEO said, Black Bride is a lower-tier project. So wouldn’t it be easier to bring it over to Baekhak?"
Baek Ji-won’s eyes widened.
"You mean produce it in-house?"
"I think investing alone would be fine."
"Hmm... why?"
"The script is good, and the director is good. What Black Bride lacks is size."
"So Baekhak should give it that size?"
Instead of answering, I nodded.
A trace of interest flickered in Baek Ji-won’s expression.
Then Park Yu-hyeon, who had remained silent until now, entered the conversation.
"That sounds a little too absurd, Kwon SILJANG."
"..."
"If a film that received investment fails, how do you plan to handle the risk?"
I answered calmly to his sharp jab.
"On the other hand, if it succeeds, wouldn’t that be a huge win?"
"...?"
"If you assume failure, then yes, the risk sounds ridiculous..."
I let the sentence trail off, then said with conviction,
"But if you think about what happens when it succeeds, it looks like a deal with a lot to gain."
At that, Park Yu-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
Ma Seok-du, sitting beside him, stared with his mouth open in shock.
Baek Ji-won, meanwhile, was smiling.
As I steadied my breathing, I thought,
Not bad, actually.
My half-delusional nonsense had certainly taken control of the room’s atmosphere.
But it still wasn’t enough.
I knew Black Bride would be a hit, but why would Baekhak gamble on it?
I was about to drive the point home more firmly when Baek Ji-won spoke first.
"You said you also cast the actor Seo Tae-jun that Kwon SILJANG handles, right?"
"Yes, that’s correct, CEO."
"So you put in both actors you’re in charge of?"
"... For now, yes."
Baek Ji-won leaned forward.
"Sounds like you’re pretty sure of yourself."
"..."
"You shoved two actors you manage into one project and even brought up in-house production. Sounds to me like you’re convinced this thing will hit."
My eyes widened slightly.
Did she think it would succeed?
Of course it would.
I had seen through the future text messages that Black Bride would be a success!
I said exactly that, without softening it.
"Yes. At the moment, that’s what I think."
"How big?"
"..."
"You must have some rough estimate in mind. I’d like to hear it."
I was going to answer without hesitation.
"50..."
"?"
"..."
My open mouth closed again.
Wait. Only five million for Black Bride?
That was before Lee Ha-eun joined.
But now...
Korea’s top actress had joined the film as its lead.
Would Black Bride stop at only five million?
Along with that thought, my mouth moved again.
"10 million."
Right.
If I was going to make a mess, I should do it properly.
"It’s a prediction, but... yes. I’m looking at ten million."
The atmosphere in the conference room turned cold and still.
Everyone shut their mouths and stared at me.
I held out under those suffocating gazes by hiding behind a mask of shamelessness.
Still... not bad.
My words from a moment ago must have landed harder than I expected.
A deep smile had appeared on Baek Ji-won’s lips.
Then Seok-du hyung shouted,
"Y-hey, hey... Kwon SILJANG! No matter how you slice it, what do you mean ten million! Ten million is..."
Just as his scolding was about to begin, CEO Baek’s gaze shifted to Park Yu-hyeon.
"Director Park."
"Yes, CEO."
"Call the Blue Pine Production company."
"!"
Park Yu-hyeon looked startled as he spoke.
At the same time, my heart began to pound.
"CEO. Don’t tell me..."
Baek Ji-won smiled softly.
Park Yu-hyeon, who had been about to speak, let out a heavy sigh.
"I’ll contact President Park."
"Mm. If possible, bring them to our company."
"Yes."
"And..."
Baek Ji-won let the words trail off, then looked at me and smiled.
That strange smile seemed to say,
You two can go now. I’ll have the result by tomorrow or so.
What I’d just said had apparently been much more convincing than nonsense had any right to be.