The Arts Awards (1)
Catherine of Hollywood's Snowbish Mount had been sensing a strange undercurrent since the day before.
The series White Blood was climbing the rankings at a terrifying speed.
"It's already global number six. At this rate, it could become a real threat next week."
She immediately requested a conference call to report to Jake and the working-level staff.
Beep—.
Before long, the video work meeting began.
"You say there's unusual activity?"
"Yes. It's about the Asian project Bernard Fenton is handling—the one you mentioned last time."
"Hmm, I remember."
Catherine shared the recent ranking trend graph for White Blood on the screen and continued.
"To be precise, it's a series launched in Korea, but as you can see, the upward trajectory has been steep since last week. The influx isn't limited to Korea—viewership from other countries is substantial as well."
"Catherine."
"Yes?"
From the other side of the screen, Jake sighed and shook his head slowly.
"As I said last time, we are not trying to profit from the Alliance. It seems you still haven't fully grasped what I mean. If another work is rising impressively, that's something to celebrate. Yes—Fenton appears to have accomplished something in Asia after all."
He laced his fingers together, rested his chin on them, and continued at a leisurely pace.
"We are Snowbish Mount. We are not the sort of company that regards a little agency from the periphery as a competitor just because it managed a few results. We don't even bother calculating profit-and-loss ratios in the first place. Simply increase the promotion budget further. Is that so difficult to arrange?"
"…No, sir. I'll add more promotions to make certain of it."
"Good work."
Beep—.
Jake unilaterally ended the call and disconnected the video conference; the rest of the staff followed suit and left the meeting.
"Haa…"
Left alone, Catherine let out a deep sigh.
The day after returning from Chuncheon.
From early morning Yeon-woo had stopped by the shop and was now riding in the car.
"Min-su oppa. Why didn't you show up at the gym yesterday?"
"Huh? Well…"
"You went to the management team dinner, didn't you?"
"……"
While Yeon-woo was adjusting his jacket and bow tie, Lee Ye-eun shot a sideways glance at Kim Min-su in the driver's seat.
"That's why your stomach keeps sticking out! You make time for company dinners but never for the gym?"
"…Sorry."
"Is the dinner more important than the promise you made with me? The management team has dinners almost every week."
"No, it's not like that…"
Watching the current between the two of them, Yeon-woo smiled gently.
"When did the two of you start dating?"
"Eeh?"
"Actor-nim, what are you talking about? We're not."
Yeon-woo tilted his head.
"Then you two just happen to go to the same gym?"
At his question, Lee Ye-eun held the bow tie up against Yeon-woo's neck and answered.
"Ah, lately Min-su oppa looked like he was putting on weight, so I suggested we go together because it would be better…"
"Yes, that's right."
Yeon-woo watched Kim Min-su nodding from the driver's seat and let out a quiet chuckle.
They're interested in each other, yet the only ones who don't realize it are the two of them?
As he tied the bow tie Lee Ye-eun had handed him, Yeon-woo continued.
"Anyway, it's nice to see the two of you getting along so well."
"Aigoo, Actor-nim, absolutely not."
"Oppa. Why 'absolutely not'? That actually hurts a little."
Just then the vehicle carrying Yeon-woo arrived at its destination.
A security officer hurried over, confirmed that the passenger inside was Yeon-woo, and exchanged a few words with Kim Min-su.
"They're saying to enter right away."
"Yes. We're ready."
The van stopped in front of the red carpet. The door opened and Yeon-woo stepped out; camera flashes poured down like rain.
Today was the day of the 56th Korean Arts Awards.
When he entered the awards hall, someone already seated waved cheerfully.
It was Han So-hyun, whom he had spent the entire previous day with while traveling to Gangwon Province.
The newspaper that had organized the Korean Arts Awards had been acquired and merged, so the ceremony—originally held in spring—had been postponed all the way to the approach of year's end.
With the change in organizers, the format of the awards had been completely overhauled as well; there were no assigned team tables.
The seating was theater-style, like foreign awards shows, so people seemed free to sit wherever they liked.
"Yeon-woo-yaaa."
"Why are you sitting alone, Noona?"
"Senior Maseok Do is shooting overseas and couldn't come today, and Director Park Chan-hong hasn't entered yet."
Today Yeon-woo had been nominated for Best Actor in the television category for Star Beyond the River and in the film category for Master Plan.
Then which team am I supposed to sit with?
Having filmed Master Plan in the first half of last year and Star Beyond the River in the second half, Yeon-woo had been invited for both works, leaving him unsure which group to join.
"Looks like there are no assigned seats this year?"
"Yeah, they said as long as it's within the first three rows, you can sit wherever you want!"
For the moment he sat beside Han So-hyun.
While they were chatting quietly, Director Park Chan-hong entered.
"Oh, Yeon-woo."
"Director, it's been a long time."
Yeon-woo and Han So-hyun rose from their seats and shook hands with Director Park Chan-hong.
They had traveled to Berlin together relatively recently, yet that had been early this year; several months had already passed since then.
"Being at an awards ceremony with you, Director, really brings Berlin back."
"Haha. You're right."
Master Plan had been filmed much earlier, but because the Korean Arts Awards covered releases and broadcasts from the previous year, the order had effectively been reversed.
In the same way, around the time filming for Master Plan had wrapped last year, he had received the Rookie Award for his debut work from the year before that, Summer's Closet.
"I've been watching that new series of yours. The material is quite intriguing."
"Ah, you've seen it, Director?"
"Of course. Who loves interesting films more than a film director?"
Han So-hyun raised her hand slightly and smiled.
"I appeared as a cameo too!"
"Yes, I saw everything. It was fun."
While the three of them talked, actor Jeong Ha-gyun—who had played Park Kang-woo—and the rest of the Master Plan cast entered.
After exchanging greetings and taking their seats, it was not long before the cast of Star Beyond the River and Director Lee Sang-hun arrived.
"Yeon-woo-yaaa."
"Ji-eun Noona."
Her way of calling him oddly overlapped with Han So-hyun's.
That was why, when they first met, he had thought of her as a little Han So-hyun—and now she was finally meeting the real one.
Sure enough, the moment Seo Ji-eun spotted Han So-hyun sitting beside Yeon-woo, her eyes began to sparkle.
"Ahh! Senior Han So-hyun! I'm such a huge fan!"
Watching Seo Ji-eun approach with dazzling intensity, Han So-hyun looked a little flustered.
"Oh, th-thank you. I've been enjoying your work as well, Ji-eun-ssi."
"Uwaa, look at that skin. Senior, why are you so pretty?"
"Ah. Y-you too, Ji-eun-ssi…"
"Oh my, Senior, even your arms are so slender."
Watching Seo Ji-eun stick to Han So-hyun's side like a devoted fan and chatter away about everything while Han So-hyun was swept along by the force of it, Yeon-woo wore an intrigued expression.
Come to think of it, he had never seen Han So-hyun with other actresses before.
Hoh. Surprisingly, Han So-hyun gets completely overrun by little Han So-hyun.
Naturally, Director Lee Sang-hun and Jin Yu-han followed Seo Ji-eun over to Yeon-woo's side and exchanged greetings.
"It's been a while. Yu-han, your musical starts soon, right?"
"Yeah. So I wanted to invite you to the premiere."
Yeon-woo smiled and nodded.
"Of course I'll be there."
Jin Yu-han had no idea just how sincerely Yeon-woo had loved the musical Deyandor even in his previous life.
And so, almost by accident, the Master Plan team ended up seated to Yeon-woo's left and the Star Beyond the River team to his right.
It's not like choosing between Mom and Dad, but it was a bit awkward—this actually worked out pretty well.
Part 1 of the 56th Korean Arts Awards has concluded. Part 2 will begin shortly. Distinguished guests, please take a brief rest and return to your seats before the ceremony resumes.
Hearing the host's announcement, Yeon-woo rose from his seat.
Other actors could be seen standing as well, heading for the restrooms.
Yeon-woo glanced briefly toward the second-floor seating, then sent a message to a teammate who belonged neither to Master Plan nor to Star Beyond the River.
That teammate was none other than Han Hae-un.
And today, mid-tier actor Jeong Tae-seon was attending the awards ceremony.
Jeong Tae-seon had gone to the restroom and, the moment he rounded the corner of the corridor leading back to the main hall, collided head-on with someone.
"Ugh!"
Irritation flared instantly.
This fucking—where the hell are you looking while you walk?
He could not swear the way he normally would at an official event, so he glared with axe-blade eyes.
"Senior, I'm so sorry!"
It was Ryu Yeon-woo, the next-generation star whose stock had been soaring lately.
Seeing the young man bow at a full ninety degrees with a genuinely apologetic expression, Jeong Tae-seon's anger softened a little.
"No, well. There are a lot of people—collisions happen. It's fine."
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you, Senior Jeong?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. This is our first meeting, isn't it?"
Yeon-woo bowed once more in greeting.
"Yes. Rookie actor Ryu Yeon-woo, Senior."
His consistently deferential manner softened Jeong Tae-seon's mood even further.
"Haha. For a 'rookie actor,' your filmography is quite dazzling, junior."
"Aigoo, in front of Senior Jeong Tae-seon I'm still far from enough—it's embarrassing. Back when I was just an aspiring actor, I watched your film I Am the Culprit and thought, 'Ah, so this is what acting is.'"
Jeong Tae-seon felt pleased that Yeon-woo had singled out the one work in his filmography that had done relatively well and praised it.
"Oho, that film is from more than fifteen years ago. The young fellow has a good eye."
Then Yeon-woo continued.
"Meeting you like this feels like fate, Senior. Would it be rude if I gave you my contact information?"
"Ah, rude? Having a junior like you is good for me."
By now in a thoroughly good mood, Jeong Tae-seon even dropped his formal speech and nodded.
Yeon-woo rummaged through his pockets, then made a troubled face.
"Oh no—I completely forgot I left my phone with my manager when I entered the hall."
Yeon-woo looked at Jeong Tae-seon.
A well-connected industry figure with a dirty past would never hand his own phone over to someone else. He would definitely be carrying it.
Sure enough, Jeong Tae-seon pulled a smartphone from the inner pocket of his jacket.
"I'll save it. What's your number, junior?"
Yeon-woo glanced around, then spoke to Jeong Tae-seon in a low voice as if embarrassed.
"There are quite a few people walking past… I'll just enter it myself and save it for you."
Jeong Tae-seon looked back and forth between his smartphone and Ryu Yeon-woo's face, then nodded and held out the phone.
"That so? All right, go ahead."
Yeon-woo accepted Jeong Tae-seon's smartphone.
Then, using the muscle at the base of his thumb—the classic technique magicians employ—he slipped a coin-sized device he had been concealing in his hand into the charging port with ghostly speed.
It was a method called the Classic Palm, a fundamental sleight magicians use to make a coin vanish and reappear.
While entering the number, Yeon-woo continued speaking with perfect composure.
"It's truly an honor to meet a senior I respect so much today. And finally… saved. Here you are, Senior."
He detached the device from the smartphone so smoothly it was invisible, hid it again in his palm, and returned the phone with both hands in a respectful gesture.
"Hahaha. I'm honored to get to know a rising star who's doing so well these days, too."
For a moment Yeon-woo recalled 'Jennifer' from Master Plan, who had swapped the SIM card in Park Kang-woo's phone.
Jennifer the 'Deer,' the role Han So-hyun had played.
In a way, one could say that in this particular field, 'Velvet Antler' Ryu Yeon-woo was the original.