The Titan's Choice
“We have to snatch her up before someone else does.”
As it happened, MBS had already begun showing interest in Han Yeo-reum. One of the ten-minute clips from Not Interested At All had climbed onto the real-time trending videos list.
That essentially guaranteed Yeo-reum's mainstream popularity. The trendsetting 10-to-20 demographic had fixed its gaze squarely on her.
Jegal Rok believed, without a shred of doubt, that the protagonist of the new world JC ENM was building would be Han Yeo-reum.
Just imagining how high she could climb was enough to make his head throb.
“Ugh, I'm so nervous.”
This was Sangam-dong, Mapo District. Massive terrestrial broadcasting towers rose into the sky, and between them gleamed the JC ENM building.
And today, I had come here to meet Director Jegal Rok himself.
“Calm down, Han Yeo-reum… You're the protagonist…. You're JC ENM's hottest rising star….”
No matter how many times I ran the self-hypnosis, my heart kept pounding like a madman's and refused to settle down.
I hadn't slept a wink since Team Leader Seong's call last week. I'd even arrived thirty minutes early to the appointment. First impressions matter, after all.
I can't look too desperate, either.
Whatever happens, don't chicken out. I had an image to maintain. I took another deep breath.
“Whooo….”
Still nervous. Honestly, nervous to death. But who am I? Han Yeo-reum, the future greatest actress in the world. Okay. That helped a little. I was starting to calm dow—
“Hello, Ms. Han Yeo-reum.”
“Wah! You scared me!”
“My apologies if I startled you. I've been waiting a while, but it seemed like your monologue was wrapping up around now.”
A impeccably dressed woman had approached and bowed politely. She'd heard everything.
She heard all of it. I'm doomed. My image — all of it — just evaporated.
“I'm Director Jegal Rok's secretary. I've come to escort you.”
“Hello. I'm Han Yeo-reum.”
“The Director is waiting upstairs. Please, follow me.”
The secretary turned at once and began leading the way. When she pressed her access card to the door, the transparent security gate slid open, almost as if welcoming my entry.
Several people in the lobby fixed their eyes on me, clearly recognizing my face.
“That's Pi Chae-won, right? Pi Chae-won.”
“Oh… it is. So Director Jegal Rok really did scoop her up.”
“See? I told you. Yesterday's article must have been planted in advance.”
I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching upward against my will. That's right. The first actress Director Jegal Rok ever chose — that's me, Han Yeo-reum.
God, if I could, I'd grab every single one of them and sign autographs on the spot.
“This way.”
At some point the elevator doors had already slid open. The secretary extended one hand with meticulous courtesy, gesturing toward the interior. She truly wasted not a single motion. The elevator serving the executive floor appeared to be its own private one, and it climbed swiftly in perfect silence.
Knock knock.
“Ms. Han Yeo-reum is here.”
The knock rang unusually heavy. Beyond that thick door sat a titan who held the entirety of Korean media in the palm of his hand. I could feel my whole body trembling.
“Yes. Come in.”
Permission came from behind the door, and the secretary turned the handle. A man stood facing me, an enormous floor-to-ceiling window spread out at his back.
“…Hello.”
“I've been expecting you.”
Sweat prickled out onto my palms without my permission. The gaze beyond his glasses was piercing, razor-sharp. I sat down on the sofa as the secretary directed. After a moment, Jegal Rok took a document in one hand and settled onto the sofa across from me. Even in this heat, his suit was buttoned up without a single wrinkle.
“First of all, congratulations on a successful terrestrial debut.”
“Ah, thank you….”
I should act naturally. I rehearsed this so much yesterday in my head, and it's still this hard.
The problem was that I already knew exactly how far Jegal Rok had climbed in my previous life. He was the man who had pioneered territory no one else had even thought to explore.
“I assume you know what kind of company we are. I'd recommend having a lawyer review the contract separately before you sign.”
“….”
“Cutting straight to it — the bottom line is this.”
Jegal Rok drew the contract out of the document envelope himself and held it out to me. His signature and seal were already stamped on it.
“JC ENM has chosen you, Han Yeo-reum.”
My throat swallowed on its own.
I knew exactly what that meant. In Korean film and drama — no, across every medium in the country — there was no bigger player than JC.
Investment, distribution, exports, imports. It would be no exaggeration to say everything began at JC and ended at JC.
And later on, it'll grow even bigger than the terrestrial networks….
A company that would swell into a monster riding the currents of the internet had chosen a rising actress barely twenty years old. An indescribable thrill shot straight up the back of my neck.
“I understand other agencies have been in contact with you. It was wise of you not to sign anything yet.”
…Wow, news travels fast.
Right. After Pachehi took off, the MCNs stuffed with every influencer under the sun had bombarded me with offers, and once word spread that I'd passed the Faster Than the Law audition, actor agencies started sliding their business cards in too.
But that's not what I'm after.
I had no intention of settling into some small shop. My hunger to reclaim everything that had been stolen from me had only grown darker and deeper.
I wanted to reduce the mountain of time Do Gyeo-ul had built up to nothing. For that, I needed JC.
“I promise you support of a scale you cannot yet imagine. Domestic and overseas expansion alike.”
Nothing built recognition like an entertainment company. Just as Myeong Je-ha said, one or two hit works wouldn't be enough to beat the bond and familiarity Do Gyeo-ul had spent years cultivating with her audience.
Which is all the more reason to aim for overseas fans right now, at this exact moment.
I needed a fandom as blank as a fresh sheet of paper — one that would love me instead of Do Gyeo-ul. And one more thing besides.
“If there's anything else you want, say it right here, right now. We'll move straight into negotiating the terms without wasting a minute.”
Because very soon, the entire landscape of Korean media was going to change forever.
“Would you really grant me anything?”
“Within the bounds of common sense.”
Two years from now, Netholics would land on Korean shores.
“There's so much I want to learn. Even if I'm not entering a production right away, I want to study everything — vocal lessons, physical action work, all of it. I'd like to learn instruments like the piano, too. I want to become an actress who can perform no matter where you throw her, under any conditions.”
I had to move fast. If I wanted to snatch up my share of the roles before the good scripts started circulating.
Because I never wanted to miss a single opportunity ever again.
“Are you always this greedy? Most actors study on the job, once they're in a production.”
“Yes. I'm very greedy.”
At my answer, Jegal Rok laughed quietly. For just a moment, his face looked as if the fatigue had drained out of it.
He gave a small nod and promised to write the special clauses in for me.
“Take the contract with you for now. Review it, pick a date to stamp your seal, and let us know.”
Confidence radiated off him — the certainty that I would, of course, sign with JC.
As I left the Director's office, I hugged the thick contract tight against my chest. I could already see the success waiting ahead.
“So? What's the verdict?”
Myeong Je-ha watched Han Yeo-reum, who hadn't stopped fidgeting for a single second since sitting down across from him.
This was Dokgo Min's studio — minus Dokgo Min. The moment Yeo-reum's meeting with Jegal Rok ended, she'd called him, and he'd come straight over to review the contract for her. By now, Dokgo Min's studio had all but become Han Yeo-reum's private office.
This isn't like Jegal Rok at all.
The terms were almost identical to the contract Myeong Je-ha had received in his previous life. But back then, he had already been an established star — whereas Yeo-reum was still a rising name.
“Anything bad? Any poison clauses?”
Most media investment revolved around male actors. The big-money investors only attached themselves after the male lead was locked in.
Overseas sales especially hinge on the male lead.
The market was ruthless. The further you went abroad, the more it became a game of fandom commerce. Unless you were one of a handful of top-tier stars, a female actress's pulling power simply didn't carry much weight.
And yet Jegal Rok offered her terms this good.
That left two possibilities.