A Useful Shot
Good morning.
As laid out in the cue sheet, the first shoot took place at To.Any’s dorm.
With Park PD away filming in the studio, assistant director Jo PD was in charge on set.
And while To.Any was busy with their first variety show shoot, I was...
waiting in the living room for my interview segment.
They said the interview was mandatory since the show focused on the chemistry between celebrities and their managers, right?
Thanks to that, an ENG camera was right in my face.
I tried to keep my expression under control, but the tension pouring over me made that impossible.
Fumbling in my pants pocket, I muttered, “This is insane.”
...Damn.
Why was I this nervous over something like this?
Just then, when I was suddenly craving nicotine, a female assistant writer who looked barely in her twenties appeared.
“Hello, Chief Manager.”
I barely held back the tremor in my voice and answered, “Yes, hello.”
“We were thinking of starting the interview recording right away. That’s okay, right?”
I nodded.
Right.
It was filming I had to do anyway. Better to get it over with quickly.
At my answer, the assistant writer standing beside the camera suddenly fired off a question.
“First question! Which To.Any member do you think is the prettiest?”
...What?
Was this the show’s initiation ritual?
The question’s a little sharp, isn’t it?
My expression soured.
“Um, writer-nim?”
“Yes?”
“Could we skip questions like that? Ranking the members by looks is... a little awkward for a manager to answer.”
The assistant writer smiled like a devil.
“You can skip it, but if you keep dodging, I can’t promise what’ll happen later.”
“...”
It wasn’t even a real provocation, but to my ears it sounded exactly like one.
In that instant, the tension that had been tormenting me a moment ago vanished like it had never been there.
At the same time, my rough temperament kicked in.
Oh, really?
She was probably thinking she’d land a juicy reaction by pushing a hard question at me...
But I wasn’t the one handing out the material.
I was the one taking it.
The corners of my mouth, stiff from tension, rose before I even realized it.
“I think the youngest, Seol Chae-i, is the most visually striking.”
“Oh? So that’s your personal taste coming through?”
“No. She’s the center visual.”
“...”
“Seol Chae-i has the classic idol look, so if we’re talking purely about appearance, I think she’s the best.”
My sincere answer left the assistant writer looking disappointed, her lips jutting out in a pout.
“Next question, Chief Manager.”
Even after that, plenty of high-pressure questions came flying in.
What was life like, managing a girl group and living with them?
Had I ever had impure thoughts?
Wasn’t it hard managing rookie idols?
Did I expect the first girl group from Baekhak to get this much attention?
But Baekhak wasn’t the entertainment industry giant for nothing.
They’d prepared FM answers for questions like these.
So I answered smoothly without a hitch, and maybe that displeased the assistant writer, because her lips only stuck out farther than before.
As I calmly enjoyed the sight of that expression, the assistant writer’s ducklike pout snapped shut.
“Last question! Of all the To.Any members, which one do you care about most, Manager?”
“!”
Damn it...
This one wasn’t so much sharp as it was the kind of question that could start a fight.
No matter how I answered, I could already picture To.Any hounding me over it.
So I was about to call for my saved-up pass when the assistant writer clasped both hands together and started begging frantically.
“Please, Chief Manager...!”
“?”
“If the interview ends like this, the footage will be way too bland. Couldn’t you just close your eyes and answer once? If I go back with this, Writer Kim will kill me!”
“...”
Her plea made me waver a little.
...Well, I have been answering too cleanly.
It was a variety-show interview in name, but if there was no spice at all, the footage would die on the vine.
My mouth moved slowly.
“...She’s not the one I care about most, but Ga-eul tends to stick to me more than the others.”
The assistant writer, who had been wearing a long face, suddenly lit up.
“You mean the leader of To.Any?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re saying she follows you closely because she’s the leader, and that’s why you look after her?”
At least she had some conscience; this time she put a little polish on it for me.
When I nodded, she let out a long sigh.
“...Thank you for your hard work, Chief Manager.”
“You too, writer-nim.”
“That was the hardest interview I’ve ever done.”
The assistant writer grumbled.
“The key point of this interview is supposed to be the flustered expression of a manager facing a difficult question... Are you sure you’re not too good at keeping your face straight?”
Hearing the explanation, I felt a little guilty.
Well, that’s what you get for provoking me, writer-nim.
Meanwhile, To.Any seemed to have finished their dorm shoot well, because they all looked bright and lively.
I watched them and gave a small nod.
“Pretty smooth, huh?”
A variety show shoot, the graveyard of celebrities.
Maybe this was more doable than I thought.
***
Once the interview and dorm filming were done, we moved to the training center in Sangam.
After the camera setup in the practice room was complete, To.Any started their usual vocal rehearsal.
Having finished the interview shoot and regained a bit of breathing room, I folded my arms and took in the whole picture.
Jo PD and the writers, watching To.Any rehearse, were bursting with admiration.
“Wow, how do joints bend like that? That’s incredible.”
“No, more importantly, why are these kids so good at singing?”
“It’s not just the main vocal. Every single member can sing.”
“Jo PD-nim. This looks great. Should we shoot a separate cut of their stage practice?”
I slid into the conversation.
“They can do a live stage right now.”
“Huh? They can do a live stage right now, Chief Manager?”
“Yes.”
“Then could we get about a minute of the highlight parts?”
“I’ll tell the girls.”
I went over to To.Any, who were so absorbed in practice they’d forgotten they were in the middle of a variety shoot.
“Everyone. Come here for a second.”
At my voice, To.Any stopped rehearsing and walked over.
Lowering my voice on purpose, I explained the situation from a moment ago.
“Jo PD wants you to do a live stage.”
“!”
“This is a chance to show off our album properly on a variety show. You can handle it, right?”
Nova blinked in surprise.
“Huh? Is it okay to promote it that openly?”
“Of course. That’s what we came here to do.”
Energy surged in the girls’ eyes.
“Damn. That’s huge.”
“Unnie! We’re filming, so don’t swear!”
“We’ll definitely do it, Chief Manager.”
“W-Won’t it be bad if we make mistakes?”
“It’s okay. If you mess up, Chief Manager will cover for you.”
“Please tell them we can do it right now, Chief Manager!”
With a grin, I went back to Jo PD.
“They say they can do the stage right now, PD-nim.”
“Oh? They can do it right away without any prep?”
“Yes. If we set up the handheld mics, they can go on immediately.”
Jo PD looked a little startled.
“Wow... I heard To.Any was one of those groups known for skill, but this is the real deal.”
“Pardon?”
“If this were another idol group, they’d never want to do live. These days, who actually wants to sing live without AR?”
Without thinking, I nodded.
He was right.
How many idol groups could actually pull off a stage with nothing but handheld mics and no AR?
That’s what makes To.Any impressive.
Leaving that satisfied feeling aside, I quickly brought over the handheld mics.
And so To.Any’s live stage began, relying only on the instrumental without AR.
Jo PD from Star Observation! nodded in satisfaction.
“They’re really good.”
“At this level, even if we’re promoting the song, the footage still works.”
“It might even be good to shoot the whole song and edit it separately, Jo PD-nim.”
The feeling was good.
To.Any’s faces were bright because they’d delivered the stage without a mistake, and the production team from Star Observation! looked pleased too, having captured strong footage.
My own expression brightened along with theirs.
So all that’s left is the fan meeting?
The end of a shoot that had started that morning was finally coming into view.
Turning my head, I saw To.Any, who were about to attend their first fan meeting, barely able to contain their excitement.
“W-We actually have fans?”
“No way... They must be planted guests.”
“Ga-eul unnie! What do we do if we make a mistake in front of the fans?”
“It’s fine. Chief Manager will cover for you.”
With the girls buzzing with excitement, we left Sangam Training Center and headed for Hongdae Art Hall, where the fan meeting would be held.
Normally, Yeji would sit in the seat beside me, but today Rei had claimed it.
Thanks to that, snacks kept getting shoved into my mouth without pause.
“Sil-jjang-nim! This is zero-calorie snacks!”
That’s not zero-calorie snacks, Rei.
Still, the sugar gave my nicotine-starved brain an immediate jolt of life.
I parked at the Hongdae mini art hall, the final filming location of the day, and got out first.
To.Any followed with bright faces as they stepped out of the van.
I was checking whether they’d left anything behind, and also making sure everyone was okay, when I noticed something strange about Ga-eul’s expression as she passed in front of me.
I lightly tapped her shoulder.
“Ga-eul?”
“Yes, Chief Manager?”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
At my question, Ga-eul looked a little startled before answering, “Uh... no? I’m fine.”
My eyes narrowed.
No, you’re not.
She looked uncomfortable.
As proof, her face was flushed red like a ripe persimmon.
I’d thought she was just red from before filming started, but when had she gotten this bad?
Still, with the camera right there beside us, I held my tongue for the moment.
Instead, I kept my eyes on Ga-eul and headed toward the fan meeting venue.
But the staircase leading down to the basement stage felt wrong somehow.
Ga-eul’s steps as she went down were impossible to ignore.
She wobbled.
Her body swayed as if she couldn’t keep her balance.
I snapped my eyes wide open and shouted, “Ga-eul, watch out—!”
Before I could finish, she missed a step.
I barely managed to catch her arm as she toppled forward.
Then I pulled her straight into my arms.
“!”
The To.Any members who were walking ahead froze in shock at the sudden accident, and even the camera operator behind us startled.
Breathing hard, I slowly lowered my head.
Ga-eul, half in my arms, was staring up at me with her mouth slightly open.
“Ch-Chief Manager?”
Seeing her up close, I could tell for sure.
The flush I’d noticed before filming had spread across her entire face.
The breath slipping from her lips was hot, almost painful, like she was burning up from the inside.
Getting my own shock under control, I asked, “Ga-eul, are you hurting somewhere?”
Her real name was Ga-eul.
Her stage name was also Ga-eul.
But she couldn’t answer. She just lowered her head deeply.
***
After finishing the studio shoot, Park PD arrived in the editing room and yawned as he spoke.
“Jo PD. Did the location shoot with To.Any go okay?”
Jo PD, who had been working furiously at the edit, answered, “Uh... there was a bit of an accident?”
Park PD, exhausted to the bone, jerked upright.
“W-What? An accident? What kind of accident?”
“One of the members seemed to have caught a nasty chill.”
“A chill...? A cold?”
“Not a cold, just a bad case of body aches, I think. Maybe she didn’t mention today’s shoot.”
Park PD scratched his head, flustered.
“S-So what happened to the shoot?”
“Honestly, I was worried too, but it finished safely. She took some fever medicine, and we somehow got through the fan meeting too.”
Park PD let out a breath of relief.
“Whew. So the member with the body aches is okay?”
“She said she was fine. But Park PD-nim...”
“Yeah?”
“Heh heh... We got a great shot!”
“A great shot? What kind of shot?”
“Take a look.”
Park PD tilted his head and focused on the monitor.
Jo PD burst out in admiration.
“Wow! That shot is killer, isn’t it? If this airs, people are definitely going to react.”
“...”
“Jo PD?”
“Yeah?”
“You crazy bastard! A person almost fell, and you’re talking about the shot?”
Jo PD looked startled and scratched his head.
Park PD shook his head and muttered, “Honestly, when are you ever going to develop a little common sense?”
“...Sorry.”
“Still.”
“?”
“That shot really is good.”
Jo PD blinked stupidly.
Meanwhile, Park PD took over Jo PD’s seat and replayed the earlier scene, muttering to himself.
“Look at this?”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“That expression on Ga-eul... this is delicious.”
***
CEO Office, Baekhak Entertainment.
CEO Baek Ji-won poured a glass of Opus One, the famed wine from Napa Valley in the United States, for President Park Yu-hyeon and said, “You’re that worried, Park President?”
Park Yu-hyeon’s lips moved slightly.
“If I’m being honest, yes.”
“About what part?”
“The investment in Black Bride. The decision to put in 15 billion won was a bit too hasty, wasn’t it, Madam President?”
CEO Baek Ji-won smiled faintly.
“Did I go too far with the investment?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I suppose it was a little impulsive.”
Baek Ji-won admitted it readily and rolled her wine glass slowly between her fingers.
“But, Park President. The results are speaking for themselves, aren’t they?”
“Pardon?”
“The To.Any that Chief Manager Kwon is handling, their double title track. It made it into the top five on the charts, didn’t it?”
“!”
Park Yu-hyeon’s brow tightened slightly.
“Still, Madam President...”
“And Queen of Joseon went over 30 percent viewership.”
“...”
“Did either of us really expect this to turn out the way it did?”
Baek Ji-won let out a soft laugh.
“It may all be coincidence, but if the same coincidence produces results twice, you have to acknowledge it. Don’t you?”
Park Yu-hyeon let out a deep sigh.
“Even so, the investment decision was still hasty.”
“That’s one of the things I like about you, Park President.”
“...”
“Someone who says plainly when something isn’t right. In this business, I think it’s lucky to meet a person like that.”
Baek Ji-won lifted her glass against Park Yu-hyeon’s.
“But, Park President. I don’t care if this investment fails.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Even if the investment fails, it’s still a profitable deal.”
Park Yu-hyeon’s eyes widened.
Even if a 15 billion won investment failed, it would still be profitable?
No matter how large Baekhak was, there was no way a 15 billion won investment carried no risk.
Then Baek Ji-won casually murmured, “The offer that came from Hollywood this time was five million dollars.”
“What?”
“If the film becomes a hit and we collect all the extras, wouldn’t that easily be worth at least 15 billion won?”
“!”
Park Yu-hyeon’s pupils shook sharply.
Watching him, Baek Ji-won smiled faintly.
“Fifteen billion won? It’s a huge sum. But if investing that money in a film fails and we can still keep hold of Lee Ha-eun’s leash...”
Her voice trailed off, and though her mouth curved upward, her eyes glinted coldly.
“Wouldn’t that be the more profitable deal for Baekhak? What do you think, Park President?”