The Big Fish Takes the Bait
Manager Ma's face, half-buried in his neck pillow, was etched with exhaustion.
"If it's come to this, then we should invest in The Great M1 Garand the same way we did with Strange Tales—!"
"No."
Manager Ma cut the words off at once.
"The scales are already balanced on a knife's edge thanks to Cutie's influence. Now we put up the money too? Whew…. That's not an investment, that's a declaration of war."
He pursed his lips and let out a long breath.
"And it would signal that we're throwing our weight around in a very big way."
Simply filling the vacant investor's seat wouldn't cut it. The kind of money it would take to drown out Han Yeo-reum's influence bordered on the impossible. To turn her image around in one stroke would take a gamble. And simply letting time pass and the mentions die down on their own wouldn't work either.
The production company has to announce the finalized casting for The Great M1 Garand soon—they're not going to sit around waiting for us.
In Manager Ma's eyes, Ki Joo-ye had become the better option.
"…If it's come to this, then…."
Every path he considered was a dead end. There was no exit in sight.
But Manager Ma was one of the pillars of JC ENM's success. He could not walk away from a script this good. His mind began to race.
What do we do?
To reshape Yeo-reum's image in a short window, variety shows were the best bet.
But if she consumes too much of her image that way….
She'd drift away from the wistful first-love persona. Worse, there would be no avoiding mentions of Strange Tales on any variety set.
The ideal picture is investors and the production team choosing Han Yeo-reum on their own, and then winning Eun Baek-hap over….
What they needed was trust in Han Yeo-reum.
A single audition would be enough to convince anyone. The problem was that if Eun Baek-hap's side dug in before auditions ever happened, Yeo-reum wouldn't even get the chance.
Which is close to impossible.
And if the lead actress herself turned it down, the rest was plain to see.
If even Eun Baek-hap refuses, do you think other actresses will accept Han Yeo-reum?
The marketing team members watching Manager Ma's grave expression held their breath so quietly they barely seemed to breathe at all.
Tick— tick— tick—.
In that silence, the second hand of the office clock rang out loud enough to be heard across the room.
…Maybe, if we give it some time….
His conclusion: the best option was to hunt for Han Yeo-reum a different role in The Great M1 Garand, instead of Yeon Hee-jae. A rising actor who rushed things invariably broke something.
Han Yeo-reum's talent isn't going anywhere….
Choosing another character among the scripts that had come in on the strength of that talent—that was Manager Ma's rational Plan A.
…But I still want her to play Hee-jae!
He wanted to take the image of Seo-ryeong, drenched and pitiful in the rain, and shatter it—replaced by Hee-jae, smiling even as the rain came down.
And so Manager Ma threw himself into desperately grinding out a Plan B.
I need to build a reason why they'd have no choice but to pick Han Yeo-reum, even with the penalty factored in.
They were on good terms with the Taiwanese platform. If they offered help with distribution, the platform would gladly grant an audition opportunity in return.
If we waive our licensing fee for Strange Tales merchandise in Taiwan as a bold concession, we can renegotiate KBC's platform cut for The Great M1 Garand in Taiwan too.
JC ENM had just claimed the number one spot with Strange Tales, so playing broker between the two sides would be welcomed by everyone.
…It's a lot of legwork for a single audition, though.
Han Yeo-reum was JC ENM's first actress. She was worth every ounce of the effort.
If JC is the one who built Han Yeo-reum, then it's JC's job to build the foundation that gets her new roles.
That was when it happened.
Ziiing—.
Manager Ma's phone rang.
When he checked it, his head cocked sharply to one side. This was beyond a casual tilt. It was a full lean.
"Team Leader, is something wrong?"
Manager Ma had witnessed every imaginable incident and scandal in his career, but he had never once seen a curveball like this.
"…They're saying The Great M1 Garand is holding auditions—and Ki Joo-ye will be auditioning too."
"That's great news! If it's decided by audition, then all we have to do is win it—it's as good as ours!"
The marketing team let out a cheer. Manager Ma spoke, his face still full of disbelief.
"…And who opened that audition, you ask? Ji Hae-beom."
This was the Apgujeong department store where the high-end brand P had set up shop, and an event to promote their newly launched watch line was in full swing.
Yoon Hyeon-jo, arriving earlier than the appointed time as always, let out a soft sigh.
Ha…. I shouldn't have picked up….
It was all because of the phone call he'd just taken. A junior actor of his had asked for a birthday favor. On paper, it was a simple request—nothing difficult about it.
"…And you want me to say that to Ji Hae-beom?"
"Yes, sir…."
"Who put you up to this? That's not an idea you'd come up with on your own."
"It really was just my idea, sunbae…."
"Liar."
But sometimes a single sentence could flip the entire board—and what Han Yeo-reum had asked for was a wish calculated down to the decimal.
"If I overstepped, I'm sorry. I just got greedy."
Scripts had surely been pouring into Chungmuro for her—not just one or two.
Even if Director Ja's project is the better work, leaving a decent impact as a lead does more for a filmography than leaving a strong one as a child role….
She had a good eye for projects. Picking one of the others would have been the sensible play. And yet Han Yeo-reum was reaching.
"You want it that badly? Using your wish card on a four-episode role feels kind of wasteful, don't you think…."
"I want it more than anything. Really."
The Yoon Hyeon-jo of ordinary days would have declined gracefully. It had always been easier to take nothing and give nothing. He hated being bothered more than anything.
"Ha…. This is why taking nothing is easier."
But he'd already accepted something, and there was no undoing it. What Han Yeo-reum had given back to him was something Yoon Hyeon-jo had lost long ago.
For the junior actor who had taught him ad-libs all over again—
"…Fine, then. I'll only mention it. Don't get your hopes up that it'll actually happen."
"Thank you! You are truly the best sunbae in the business!"
A word in someone's ear—he could manage that much.
Just then, a dark shadow slid up beside Yoon Hyeon-jo's van. A black van of nearly identical size. Ji Hae-beom's car.
Yoon Hyeon-jo stepped out and offered a casual wave. Ji Hae-beom, watching him through the window, opened the door and climbed out.
A man who looks better in the dark.
That was the nickname given to Ji Hae-beom right after his debut. His strikingly sculpted bone structure meant that whenever shadows fell across his face, his natural lines only grew sharper.
The play of light and shadow running from his brow down to the hollow of his eye and along his jawline had made him the perennial number one pick for 'celebrity who looks even better in person'.
"Hello, hyung. It's been a while."
His deep, resonant voice rolled through the parking garage. Yoon Hyeon-jo returned the smile lightly.
"I heard the news. Word is you're headlining The Great M1 Garand."
"Nothing's confirmed yet, but the script looked solid."
"There's something I want to ask of you."
Yoon Hyeon-jo, asking for a favor. The air around them tightened for a moment, and the nearby staff traded glances.
Everyone in the industry knew that Yoon Hyeon-jo had taken a young Ji Hae-beom under his wing back when he was a nobody.
Call it a favor if you like. Whatever Yoon Hyeon-jo asked, Ji Hae-beom would have to grant it.
"Hyung, when you talk like that, it scares me."
But contrary to his words, Ji Hae-beom's eyes gleamed. There was anticipation in them—the look of a man expecting something interesting to happen.
"Take part in the Great M1 Garand auditions. The child roles."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You."
Was there anything more absurd than a man making demands about the auditions for a production he wasn't even in? Right now, Yoon Hyeon-jo was effectively saying: you take the lead in The Great M1 Garand, and while you're at it, open the auditions and cast the young roles I recommend.
Ji Hae-beom grasped all of this in an instant and burst out laughing.
"Hyung, you can't just drop a request this heavy on me. All those years of refusing every gift anyone tried to hand you—and now you come in swinging big."
"It's not a request for influence, just a favor. I never said anything about who gets picked."
"It's because of her, isn't it. Seo-ryeong."
Yoon Hyeon-jo gave a small nod. Leaning against the back of Yoon Hyeon-jo's suit as he pressed the elevator button, Ji Hae-beom said playfully:
"That's cold, hyung…. These days you only play with the young ones. Us old-timers don't count anymore?"
"If you're an old-timer, I should be measuring for a coffin."
"When I invited you over to my place, you said no unless it was an official engagement."
"I didn't even drink when I did come."
"Then why did you come at all?"
At Ji Hae-beom's question, Yoon Hyeon-jo straightened his posture as he always did. The moment the elevator doors opened, his schedule began.
"Dunno~. It was fun, I guess?"
Inside the elevator, Yoon Hyeon-jo met Ji Hae-beom's eyes. At those words, Ji Hae-beom took one unhurried step closer.
"…Did she order that too? Telling you to say it was fun?"
Yoon Hyeon-jo didn't bother answering. The bait had been cast in Ji Hae-beom's direction.
Whether the great fish would swallow it or let it drift by was no longer in Yoon Hyeon-jo's hands.
"Mr. Myeong Je-ha!"
"Could you turn left for us, just once more!"
Myeong Je-ha, bathed in flashes at the photo wall, stepped into the store. When he slipped the watch offered by the staff onto his wrist, the shutters went off in a fresh clamor.
Time to use my wish card.
That very morning, Myeong Je-ha had called Han Yeo-reum. The flow of things said now was the moment.
One word from Ji Hae-beom could take investors and the production company alike and wrap them around his finger. And the man who moved Ji Hae-beom was Yoon Hyeon-jo.
"One word from him is enough?" "What if Ji Hae-beom refuses to even hold auditions?…. Honestly, my crime is being too good an actor…."
"Not going to happen."
No one read the board as well as Myeong Je-ha did. He had played this game so many times before, in another life, that it bored him. For him, there was only one variable: Han Yeo-reum.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Ji Hae-beom's instincts are sharp, and a man with instincts like his runs on curiosity."
Between projects, a shut-in who binged every box-office hit from cover to cover.
A film and drama fanatic who had memorized every famous work down to the line.
A man whose eye for a script out-predicted even the top-tier production companies.
"And he likes things that are fun."
Just then, the man himself came walking in, trailed by a swarm of cameras. Smiling naturally into the lenses, Ji Hae-beom wore his usual business smile.
But Myeong Je-ha caught the one-degree difference. It was the smile Ji Hae-beom wore when he was expecting something interesting.
Go get ready for your audition.
In that instant, their eyes met. Ji Hae-beom, looking straight at Myeong Je-ha, gave the slightest nod.
It was a brief greeting. Myeong Je-ha bowed his head in return—and before he knew it, a pair of impeccably polished dress shoes had entered his field of vision.
Ji Hae-beom had come over.
"My young lead, Mr. Myeong Je-ha. Good to see you here."
"Hello, sunbae-nim."
"Mind if I ask you something?"
"Please, ask away."
That mischievous glint in his eyes was something Myeong Je-ha already knew well.
"Why on earth did you come to The Great M1 Garand?"
"Because it's a good project."
"—Spare me that line. You shouldn't lie to your elders."
Ji Hae-beom took hold of Myeong Je-ha's wrist. Playing at examining the watch, he set off a fresh round of shutters.
"You've planted both feet in the double ten-million club in a film industry that's nearly impossible to crack…. The moment you said you wanted to do a drama, your agency's team lead must have thrown a fit."
Ji Hae-beom's mind was razor-sharp. He understood exactly what interests were entangled in a single project. He was an actor who knew how to read the board.
"And it's not even a lead—it's a child role. Nothing but image consumption, with nothing left over for you…. Isn't that right?"
"…."
"It's too late to make a name as 'Ji Hae-beom's junior' anyway—you're already tagged as 'Police Guy' from your last film…."
Myeong Je-ha had prepared two lures.
"Even though everyone can see that pushing past it toward lead and supporting roles in genre films is the smarter path—"
The first was Yoon Hyeon-jo's favor.
"Why would you insist on a child role? I honestly can't figure it out."
And the second was—
"Do I need a grand reason?"
He had kicked aside a seat in the film industry that everyone was clawing to reach, and chosen a drama child role instead.
"It just seemed like it would be fun."
The gamble of a rising actor named Myeong Je-ha.
The Ji Hae-beom I knew never turned his back on something this interesting. Not once.
"I see."
Ji Hae-beom unclasped the watch from his wrist. Running a hand lightly over the bare skin, he smiled.
"I suppose I'm in it for the fun myself…."
Ji Hae-beom's decision was unmistakable.
The big fish had taken the bait.