Residual Image
At the very moment the Busan International Film Festival was under way, the To.Any members, having finished every item on their schedule, gathered in the living room of their lodging. On the large TV screen, the festival’s glittering stage filled the room. The girls were settled in their own spots, snacking at their leisure and watching the broadcast.
The short-haired Nova suddenly blurted out, startled.
"Huh?"
Starting with her reaction, surprise and confusion spread across To.Any’s faces. Seol Chae-i covered her mouth and murmured, "That actress... she just mentioned Chief Manager Kwon, right?"
Nova couldn’t hide her flustered expression. "Uh, I think so? Kwon isn’t exactly a common surname."
Rei tilted her head. "Why does that actress want to spend her whole life with Chief Manager Kwon-o?"
At Rei’s question, the members’ expressions turned serious.
Only Rei, who still hadn’t caught on, blinked in bewilderment. Then Seol Chae-i turned her head and said, "Ga-eul unni, call Ye-ji unni once..."
Seol Chae-i’s sentence cut off midstream.
"G-Ga-eul unni?"
Park Ga-eul, To.Any’s leader, who had spent seven years with them including trainee days, was wearing an expression none of them had ever seen before.
Holding her breath, Seol Chae-i gripped Ga-eul’s shoulder. "...Unni, are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"Your face... looks really bad."
Slowly, life returned to Park Ga-eul’s eyes as she stared into space.
"...Oh. Really?"
Like a broken clockwork toy, Ga-eul’s voice came out a beat off.
"Does my face look that bad?"
Seol Chae-i’s mouth pressed into a straight line.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After finishing her acceptance speech and bowing toward the audience, Choi Go-eun caught my eye. Watching her, I let out a dry laugh.
"Seriously."
How exactly had she understood my advice?
She had gone and made a declaration like that?
While I was shaking my head in disbelief, Choi Go-eun stepped down from the podium and looked over here with an infuriating grin.
She was shining so brightly that my urge to flick her forehead the moment she got back melted away in an instant.
Then she came over to me, the corners of her mouth twitching upward, and asked, "How was it?"
"How was what?"
"Come on, you know what! I won Rookie of the Year!"
With a snort, I answered, "You did well."
"That’s it?"
"Then what, should I give you a piggyback ride?"
Choi Go-eun burst out laughing. "I’m kind of heavy, though. Can you handle it?"
"Hmm, then I’ll pass."
"Aigoo, I’m an idiot for expecting anything from Chief Manager. Here."
With that, Choi Go-eun handed me the Rookie of the Year trophy. I tilted my head and asked, "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Because it’s an award you made happen!"
Choi Go-eun’s eyes curved into crescents. "The film, the role, the investment..."
Her words trailing off, she placed the trophy in my hand. "You made all of it, so this trophy belongs to you too."
I raised my eyebrows slightly and looked at Choi Go-eun for a moment in silence.
Was she the type who could say things like that?
She was always snapping at me, so seeing her suddenly like this made her seem like a different person.
I cautiously ran my fingers over her Rookie of the Year trophy.
This isn’t actually gold, is it?
No, of course it wasn’t real gold. Still, it probably wasn’t gold. Then again, if it were, I might be a little tempted.
After idly rubbing the trophy for a while, I muttered, "Being a manager really is a thankless job."
No matter how hard you ran yourself ragged, no matter how much sweat you poured into the work, all the glory and all the attention ultimately went to the celebrity.
That’s just how this job works.
I understood that in my head. But being human, I couldn’t help feeling slighted now and then. Not as much as the celebrity, of course, but sometimes... I wanted the world to notice my effort just a little.
Today, though, I didn’t feel that sting at all.
"So? How does it feel, holding the Rookie of the Year trophy?"
A young actress who understood my hardship was grinning at me playfully.
Seeing that million-dollar smile, I nodded.
Yeah. This is enough.
Even if no one else recognized it, if my actor recognized my effort, that was the best reward I could ask for.
With a smile lingering at the corners of my mouth, I handed the trophy back to Choi Go-eun and said, "Since it’s Choi Go-eun’s trophy, it feels like the best of the best."
At my terrible dad joke, Choi Go-eun burst into laughter.
"Seriously, what even is that?"
With Choi Go-eun’s bright laughter, the Busan International Film Festival came to an end.
Choi Go-eun won Rookie of the Year, and Multicultural won the Short Film Selection Award.
It swept two trophies in the short film category and became the star of the Busan International Film Festival.
And just like that, the story of Multicultural came to a close. But my story was only beginning.
The rights offer came in for Multicultural, which had won the Short Film Selection Award.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The day after the awards ceremony, I got a call from Director Kim Jun-su.
"Chief Manager! We’ve got a big problem!"
"What? A big problem, Director Kim?"
"!"
My eyes widened.
"Really, Director Kim?"
"Y-Yes. Um, what should we do?"
"Of course we should accept."
"...Uh, but I feel a little nervous going to the meeting alone. Could you come with me?"
"..."
Laughing to myself, I thought, Seriously? Is this really the director who won the Short Film Selection Award?
"When is the meeting?"
"Today at 2 p.m. We agreed to meet at Gwangalli!"
"Then I need to head out now. Let’s meet at Gwangalli around 1:30."
After hanging up, I immediately started getting ready to leave and thought, I knew an offer would come, but this is a lot faster than I expected.
The revenue structure for short films was miserable. With a runtime of only twenty minutes, they were difficult to monetize commercially.
But there was exactly one way they could make money.
Winning at a film festival and having the work’s value recognized.
In cases like that, the festival would pay a licensing fee and buy the rights.
So when Multicultural won the award, I had expected a rights-related call to come in. But the timing was far faster than I’d imagined.
Does that mean the festival committee has taken a liking to Multicultural?
A slight smile tugged at my lips.
"At least I don’t have to worry about recouping the investment."
With time to spare, I headed to Gwangalli in Busan. The Busan International Film Festival was over, but plenty of tourists who hadn’t left the city yet were still enjoying themselves along the beach.
Amid that crowded sea of people, I met Director Kim Jun-su and then headed straight to the cafe where we’d arranged the meeting.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, a man in his early thirties wearing a beret stood up from his seat.
"Are you Director Kim Jun-su?"
"Y-Yes! Hello!"
"Ah, I’m Song, the team leader in charge of the short film division at the Busan International Film Festival."
Team Leader Song smiled warmly and turned his gaze toward me.
"Um... and who might this be?"
"Director Kim Jun-su’s manager."
At my deadpan lie, Director Kim Jun-su’s eyes went wide. I turned my head and winked at him.
Realizing the signal, Director Kim Jun-su hurriedly answered, "S-Sorry! I should have let you know in advance that I had someone with me..."
"Oh, that’s fine. Of course your manager should come with you."
Team Leader Song offered us seats.
"Please, have a seat."
Director Kim Jun-su and I sat down side by side.
Across from us, Team Leader Song gently steered the conversation.
"As you may know, the Busan International Film Festival connects award-winning works with distributors and public institutions."
Team Leader Song let out a heavy sigh.
"But the situation isn’t what it used to be. You know the independent and short-film market in Korea isn’t exactly healthy right now."
Instead of the frozen Director Kim Jun-su, I answered, "Yes. I understand that not only short films but independent films as well have trouble attracting investment."
"The commercial sector took a hit from this year’s no-ticket boycott, and that pulled down the entire film market. Commercial films can still hold on thanks to the Hallyu boom, but short and independent films are being squeezed out."
Team Leader Song’s voice grew firmer.
"That’s why I think the more difficult the situation gets, the more we need to protect short and independent films."
There was force behind his words, and with it came conviction. Without realizing it, I found myself listening closely.
"A structure that focuses only on commercial films is bound to have limits. For the sake of the Korean film market, I believe we need to support short and independent films more strongly. That’s why I hope..."
Team Leader Song’s eyes curved into crescents as he trailed off.
"Multicultural is backing me up."
"!"
"The response to Multicultural has been excellent. Especially among the MZ generation, it seems people are treating it like a short-form film."
Team Leader Song slid a folder over to us.
Inside were evaluations from MZ viewers, trend data, and SNS analytics related to Multicultural.
My eyes widened.
He wasn’t just talking?
What Team Leader Song had said was, incredibly, true.
The short film Multicultural was ranked third in Busan International Film Festival search share.
Considering the number one spot is Kwon Hyeon-bin, that’s enormous, isn’t it?
Among films released at the Busan International Film Festival, it was in first place.
Just as my eyes changed at that fact, Team Leader Song pulled his chair closer and finally got to the point.
"We’re thinking of releasing Multicultural on an online platform as a paid title."
Sensing that the real negotiation had begun, I cleared my throat lightly.
"Releasing it directly on an online platform seems a little premature, doesn’t it? I thought the standard route was to start with small theaters."
"In principle, yes. We’ve received offers for that route too. Small theaters that specialize in independent films have contacted us, but from our side, the profitability doesn’t look very promising. After all..."
Team Leader Song trailed off, then said with certainty, "The buzz around Multicultural spread mainly through the MZ generation. These days, teens and people in their twenties don’t go to theaters as often anyway, so expecting them to seek out small theaters because of Multicultural would be too optimistic."
I nodded slowly.
"If you look at the data, that does seem to be true."
"That’s why we’re thinking of skipping theaters altogether and showcasing Multicultural on an online platform."
Rubbing my chin, I asked casually, "I’ve heard online platforms don’t pay much for rights."
"Ah, not necessarily. Streaming sites launched with foreign capital these days often pay far more than distributors."
More than distributors? I lowered my head slightly, let the silence stretch for a moment, then asked, "As far as I know, the average rights fee for a short film that wins the Short Film Selection Award at the Busan International Film Festival is around thirty million won."
I gently tossed out the bait.
I wondered how Team Leader Song would respond to it.
"From what you’re saying, it sounds to me like you’ve received an offer above market price. Is that right?"
Team Leader Song looked at me silently for a moment.
Without looking away, I met his gaze with the same intensity, and then Team Leader Song gave a brisk nod.
"Yes, that’s right."
My eyes widened.
"Netflix made the offer."
"!"
"After seeing the response to Multicultural, Netflix said they wanted to buy the rights exclusively."
So shocked, I stumbled over my words.
"Netflix, you say?"
"Yes. We were surprised too when they contacted us... haha. Doesn’t that just mean Multicultural is a very good film?"
My heart started pounding.
With that heartbeat came a jolt of tension that sent a tremor through my fingertips.
"Then the rights fee would be..."
Team Leader Song smiled.
"Sixty million won."
"!"
"The initial rights fee Netflix offered is sixty million won, but..."
Trailed off, Team Leader Song shrugged.
"To put it plainly, that’s the figure they opened with. Depending on the situation, it seems we could push the rights price as high as one hundred million won."
At Team Leader Song’s words, a pleased, disbelieving laugh escaped me.
"Seriously?"
Invest twenty million won and turn it into one hundred million?
Then...
Isn’t this a jackpot?
My first film investment had hit big.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The contract talks went smoothly. They went so smoothly that I even wondered if I should pick a fight just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
No, can a meeting really go this smoothly?
But there wasn’t much to object to. Team Leader Song’s attitude was a big reason for that.
"We’re absolutely going to raise the rights fee for Multicultural."
The short film division head, Team Leader Song, seemed firmly hooked on Multicultural. His favorable attitude made the contract atmosphere smooth and easy.
"I hope Multicultural can be the starting point."
Team Leader Song smiled warmly. "I hope this opportunity helps spread the word that Korea has plenty of great short films too."
Returning his smile, I said, "I’ll get straight to the point, Team Leader Song."
"Yes?"
"Please take good care of the Multicultural contract."
"Haha, don’t worry. Leave it to me, Manager."
The negotiation ended on a good note. And that evening, I had a dinner gathering with the Multicultural production team.
"No way... a short film is worth one hundred million?"
"Does that even make sense? This is a total jackpot, isn’t it?"
"Wait, more importantly... that means Multicultural is going up on Netflix, right?"
"I-is this really real? Our names are going to be in the Netflix end credits...?"
The dinner atmosphere was at its peak.
With the Selection Award, Rookie of the Year, and now a rights deal that had struck gold, it couldn’t have been better.
We ate, we drank, and for the first time in a long while, I think I completely let myself go and enjoyed the dinner.
Then the next day, I wrapped up the Busan schedule and returned to Seoul. Only then did I really feel that the dreamlike Busan International Film Festival was being put behind me for the moment, and that I was back to ordinary life.
As always, I woke up at 8 a.m., got ready, and headed straight to the company.
With the familiar two-thousand-won oversized coffee in one hand, I opened the door to the management office.
Huh?
I tilted my head.
Which was understandable, because...
The office was packed, unlike usual.
It was rare for the managers, who were often out on external duties, to all gather in one place like this.
Oh, was there a regular meeting today?
So that was why everyone was here?
Still, the timing was suspiciously perfect.
All of them happen to be gathered here on the day I come back after the Busan International Film Festival ends?
I chuckled to myself and started counting.
One, two...
Three.
With that silently counted three came a sudden surge of energy in the once-quiet office.
"...........Chief Manager Kwon! What is this? Busan International Film Festival Choi Go-eun!"
All the eyes and attention from the management team gathered in one place came rushing toward me.
And all of it made my shoulders shoot up to the sky.
"Hmm, maybe the best rookie actress of the year?"
In the end, I proved it.
I, Kwon Chan, was not just some lucky manager who succeeded because of a top star actress.