A New Era
New era.
Ma Seok-du bellowed roughly.
"What the hell - the Baeksang Arts Awards?"
Ma Team Leader’s booming voice startled the Baekhak employees who had been smoking nearby, and they all turned to look our way. I tapped Seok-du hyung on the shoulder and gave him a reprimanding look.
"Hyung, do you want to announce it to the whole neighborhood?"
"Ah, uh... sorry, but..."
Ma Seok-du’s eyes went wide.
"Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin is attending Baeksang? What are you talking about?"
"The marathon movie 46km, the one he starred in last time, was nominated for the Popularity Award."
"So he’s going to Baeksang?"
"Yes. That’s why I need you to push it a little harder in publicity. This isn’t the same as when we went to the Busan International Film Festival, is it?"
A faint smile touched my lips.
"Back then we went as guests. This time he’s been formally invited, so we should go all-out on the promotion."
Ma Seok-du, chewing the inside of his lip as he turned it over in his head, offered a cautious objection.
"But it’s a popularity award. If we push it too hard, won’t it look like spin?"
"Hyung, does anyone really care about awards these days?"
"...Then what matters?"
"The actor matters. Unless it’s an award like Best Actor at Cannes, do regular people even remember what award someone won?"
Seok-du hyung’s eyes widened.
"So you’re saying the issue itself is that Kwon Hyeon-bin is attending the ceremony?"
"Exactly. These days, why do articles about awards get more views only when they’re about the red carpet?"
"Oh... that does make sense."
Ma Seok-du nodded.
"Come to think of it, there are so many award shows these days that the awards themselves don’t carry the same weight they used to. Fine, I’ll talk it over with the publicity team leader and start shaping the plan."
I glanced at him and muttered, "Can I really trust this guy..."
"Heh... when have I ever messed this kind of thing up? This time I’ll push it properly!"
Our Seok-du hyung was good with words, but why did I trust him so little?
We trusted him with that director-general incident too, and what happened? He ended up bringing Baek Representative to our house.
Still, this time all he had to do was write publicity articles, so there shouldn’t be any big problems.
I ground out my cigarette and said, "Should we head down now?"
"Already? Why, you gonna smoke another one?"
"You can stay and smoke one more, hyung."
"Hey, Kwon Chan! Hey! Come with me, you punk!"
Ignoring Seok-du hyung’s shout, I turned on my smartphone.
-[General] The Baeksang Arts Awards, and the countdown to the pre-show begins! A feast of the stars who lit up this year...!
As I read through the article, the corners of my mouth lifted.
"There it is."
The Baeksang Arts Awards, South Korea’s most prestigious entertainment awards ceremony.
The countdown to that festival had begun.
***
Two days later, public interest in the Baeksang Arts Awards was starting to simmer in earnest.
-[Exclusive] Baeksang, the nation’s top awards ceremony, with the year’s brightest stars rushing to announce their appearances...!
-[HOT Issue] Who will take the spotlight at Baeksang? Popular comedians, MCs, and actors all gather!
-Baeksang Arts Awards MCs confirmed! Nation’s MC Kim Yuseok is reportedly stepping up...!
The biggest all-around entertainment awards ceremony in our country was the Baeksang Arts Awards.
There were year-end variety and acting awards from the terrestrial broadcasters too, but in terms of prestige alone, Baeksang stood at the top.
That was why so many fans paid attention: the hottest entertainers, influencers, and actors of the year were all invited to receive awards there.
-That actor lineup is insane??
-Whoa... Actor Kim Jang-seok is coming to Baeksang??
-The actors known for being picky are all coming lol
-Kwon Hyeon-bin is attending too T_T!
-It’ll be fun even just watching the red carpet, right?
-Holy crap, Choi Ha-neul, win Best Actress this time for sure!
Unlike the Busan International Film Festival, Baeksang was already becoming a hot topic on social media and community boards before the ceremony even started.
It was the most public-facing awards show of them all, so fans were already locked in.
And that meant the guest list for this year’s ceremony was glittering.
"Choi Wooseong, Geon Jiwoo, Choi Ha-neul, Kim Hyunsoo..."
The nation’s MC and the nation’s younger sister were hosting together, and the lineup ran from veteran actors with more than thirty years of experience to the travel creators who were hottest right now.
In the truest sense of the word, stars from both film and variety were all heading to Baeksang to shine for the year.
"If this goes wrong, Kwon Hyeon-bin might get less attention than he should."
If 46km had been a monster hit, that would have been one thing, but compared to Kwon Hyeon-bin’s drawing power, the film’s box office had only landed at an average level, leaving us short on buzz.
Of course, not getting as much attention at the ceremony wasn’t a disaster, but this would be Kwon Hyeon-bin’s first appearance under the Baekhak banner.
A star has to draw attention wherever he goes.
For an actor of Kwon Hyeon-bin’s caliber, not being noticed at an event like this would make no sense.
I drummed my fingers against the table, then picked up my smartphone.
"Originally, I was going to set up a meeting next week, but..."
At this point, there was no helping it.
I called the MBN drama department right away.
"Yes, Director Ho."
If there was no issue, we’d just make one.
"If you’re free today, should we move forward with a meeting for Kwon Hyeon-bin’s next project?"
The next project of hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin. That should make for a pretty decent issue, shouldn’t it?
***
MBN office conference room.
Director Ho looked across the table at Writer Kim.
For the past hour, the writer had been shaking one leg and fidgeting in her seat, unable to settle.
Thanks to that, even the hallway felt like it was leaking out from under his feet.
Then Writer Kim suddenly cried out, "Director Ho!"
"Yes? Writer Kim?"
"Baekhak has lost its mind! Right?!"
"...?"
"No, this doesn’t make any sense! Why are they giving us Kwon Hyeon-bin?! Why!?"
Director Ho looked completely baffled.
"...Are we not supposed to take him?"
"What do you mean, not supposed to?! The scales don’t match! The scales!"
"Uh... then maybe he wants to come because he likes your script, Writer Kim?"
"No matter how good the script is, does that even make sense!? Nobody in this business doesn’t know that Kwon Hyeon-bin was offered the lead in Backstreet Police!"
"..."
"A production budget of 40 billion won, and Kwon Hyeon-bin’s appearance fee would have been at least another 100 million on top of that, so does it make sense that he’d turn it down and come to us instead!? This is really... it just doesn’t make sense!"
Writer Kim was denying reality.
Watching her, Director Ho nodded too.
"Well, now that I hear it from you, Writer Kim, I do find it hard to understand why they’d want Kwon Hyeon-bin in our drama."
"What did you say! What’s wrong with my work!"
"..."
"Is it really okay to tear down the project you’re producing like that, Director Ho!?"
At Writer Kim’s reaction, Director Ho was at a loss for words.
Pick a lane already. Which beat am I supposed to follow?
In the meantime, Writer Kim was biting her nails and muttering, "Right... this is a conspiracy! For some reason, Baekhak is bringing Kwon Hyeon-bin to us..."
With a scream from Writer Kim, the conference room door suddenly flew open.
Through the gap, a man with a cold air about him appeared. Writer Kim, who had been throwing a fit, clamped her mouth shut, and Director Ho’s eyes widened.
"Are you Director Ho from MBN by any chance?"
At the cold-eyed man’s question, Director Ho sprang to his feet.
"Are you perhaps Director Kwon from Baekhak?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Director Kwon. I’m Ho Cheolnam, director in MBN’s drama department."
Kwon Chan naturally extended his hand.
Director Ho, taking it almost reflexively, asked cautiously, "You must have had a long trip over. Shall we sit and talk?"
"Yes, let’s."
"Would you prefer green tea or coffee?"
"Green tea, please."
Once Kwon Chan sat down, his eyes met Writer Kim’s by chance, and she flinched.
Watching her tremble, Kwon Chan asked bluntly, "Are you Writer Kim Han-gyeol, who wrote The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor?"
Writer Kim Han-gyeol was startled and answered, "Ah, yes! I’m Kim Han-gyeol!"
"It’s nice to meet you, Writer-nim. I’m Director Kwon Chan of Team 5."
"Yes, it’s an honor to meet you too!"
Kwon Chan gave a light laugh.
"Honor is a bit much. That makes this feel heavy."
Realizing her slip, Writer Kim’s eyes went wide.
...Aaagh! Damn it, honor? Honor!?
Her ears went slightly red with embarrassment, but even so, her eyes never left Kwon Chan.
...But if he’s a director at Baekhak, is this kind of heavy atmosphere just how they always are?
It felt similar to meeting the drama department head.
Like someone was holding the leash. He hadn’t said much at all, but it already felt as though Director Kwon had taken control of the room.
While that was happening, Director Ho exchanged a few light pleasantries with Kwon Chan before carefully broaching the subject.
"Um, Director Kwon? I’m sorry to bring this up the moment we meet, but..."
Director Ho swallowed hard and went on.
"Did Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin really express a desire to appear in our project?"
Kwon Chan nodded slowly.
"Yes, that’s correct."
"!"
"Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin strongly wants to appear in The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor."
At that, Writer Kim blinked like a fish and then abruptly asked, "C-could I ask why, Director-nim?"
Kwon Chan’s gaze shifted to her.
When their eyes met, Writer Kim’s shoulders jolted and she hurried on.
"Why... exactly does Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin want to appear in our work?"
Kwon Chan stroked his chin and answered slowly.
"Hmm... because the script is good."
"...Is it really because of the script?"
"Yes. Both Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin and our side at Baekhak judged The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor’s script quality to be quite solid."
The corners of Kwon Chan’s mouth lifted slightly.
"A good script. Isn’t that reason enough for an actor to take a project?"
Writer Kim’s eyes went wide.
"Uh, uh... right! If the work is good, then of course he should do it!"
"Of course, it is a little disappointing that the project is on the small side."
Watching the situation, Director Ho quickly answered, "If Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin confirms his appearance, I think we’ll be able to secure a larger budget. The department head also said that if Kwon Hyeon-bin’s casting is finalized, MBN’s drama department would back us, so you don’t need to worry about that part."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes, so as for Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin’s fee..."
Kwon Chan cut off Director Ho’s sentence in the middle.
"500 million won per episode."
"...?"
"That was the appearance fee Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin was offered by Backstreet Police."
"!"
Director Ho and Writer Kim both gaped in shock.
"F-five hundred million won per episode?"
"Yes. If The Wise Life of a Namhae Intern Doctor is sixteen episodes, you’d need at least 8 billion won. Would that be possible, Director Ho?"
".............."
Director Ho’s face went pale.
"Uh... well..."
Flustered, he looked at Writer Kim.
Writer Kim happened to be looking back at Director Ho too.
Five hundred million per episode? Is that real?
But if it’s Kwon Hyeon-bin, maybe it actually is...
With foreign capital like Netflix pouring in, the average production budget for Korean dramas had climbed to nearly 20 billion won.
In particular, the appearance fees of famous actors started at around 500 million won, and top star actress Lee Ha-eun could even push close to 800 million.
But those numbers only worked when there was astronomical capital, like Netflix.
In terrestrial network drama departments that had already lost Gen Z to NutTube and Instagram, matching that kind of amount was no easy task.
As Director Ho and Writer Kim’s expressions darkened, Kwon Chan muttered lightly, "Looks like that’s difficult for you."
Director Ho hesitated, biting his lip before finally speaking up.
"Well... I’d have to discuss it with the drama department head first..."
"Then how about this?"
Kwon Chan leaned forward.
"We cover Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin’s shortfall..."
Kwon Chan’s sharp eyes curved faintly, almost pleasantly.
"...with overseas licensing revenue and a guarantee fee."