Progress Check
Kim Ju-hyeong looked around after receiving Yeon-woo's sudden call.
No one around to brag to.
The department building felt empty today, as if every student had vanished.
A call from the hottest actor of the moment — Ryu Yeon-woo — and Yeon-woo had dialed first.
If any underclassmen had been nearby, his shoulders would have been sky-high as he showed off. For now, he simply raised his phone and answered.
"Yeon-woo."
"Ju-hyeong. You busy?"
"No, no. Just finished lunch, and I've got a free afternoon, so I was heading home."
On the other end, Yeon-woo said that worked out perfectly and continued.
"You're wrapping up the semester soon, right? Got any plans for the break?"
"Not really. Why? Going somewhere?"
"No. I was wondering if you might be interested in taking on a job."
"A job?"
Ju-hyeong tilted his head.
Truth be told, every break he did go work at the pension his grandmother ran — an odd job, really. Just two weeks or so during peak season…
Still, since Yeon-woo was asking, this clearly wasn't some ordinary part-time gig he was trying to set him up with.
Every job Yeon-woo had ever proposed first had always been something fun.
"What kind of job?"
"The director of the new film I'm joining needs an assistant writer… Well, looking at it comprehensively, it's closer to an assistant director, but the title is writer either way."
At the completely unexpected words, Kim Ju-hyeong — walking past the department office — let out a shout.
"What?!"
A teaching assistant opened the department office door, scowled, and pointed at the hallway.
HALLWAY — ABSOLUTE SILENCE
"Ah, sorry."
He bowed quickly, hurried out of the department building, and asked Yeon-woo again.
"S-so you're saying I can join the film you're starring in as staff?"
"Not just ordinary staff. I know how good you are at writing scripts and scenarios. That's why I recommended you."
Fireworks went off in Kim Ju-hyeong's head.
"H-huh. Me, in a movie… Ugh."
"Whoa, whoa, you film nerd. You're gonna choke. Breathe."
"H-hyungnim. I've always respected you, but from now on I'll serve you even more devotedly."
"Axis too, and all these guys my age keep calling me hyungnim…"
American author Dale Carnegie once said that almost no one succeeds at something they don't find fun in the process.
Yeon-woo agreed with that completely.
In that sense, Kim Ju-hyeong was exactly the kind of talent the film industry needed.
Just as Yeon-woo genuinely wanted to act, Kim Ju-hyeong loved film itself.
After hanging up with Ju-hyeong, Yeon-woo stared at his phone for a moment and nodded.
"Right now he'll be grateful to me for getting him into the film world, but I'm the one who should be grateful. With that kind of passion, he'll make the film shine even brighter."
He was smart enough to get into Hanguk University, after all. And he was the kind of guy people called a "film maniac," so he was bound to be a huge help.
Ju-hyeong finishes the semester next week, so after that I'll take him to Director Lee Yong-su's studio and introduce them myself.
Drama filming would probably start in late autumn, so this summer would likely be devoted entirely to shooting the film Moon.
Hmm, then I need to knock out the things I have to do as fast as possible.
Yeon-woo checked the time on his phone and dialed someone else.
"Oh! Jay!"
The person who answered with a delighted greeting was music director Chrissy Monroe.
"Sorry. It's not too late there, is it?"
"Come on, it's only eight in the evening. Did you come to LA?"
Last time they'd spoken, Yeon-woo and the expedition team had been in LA for a talk show, so Chrissy asked with a hint of hope.
"No, calling from Korea. This time I have an official commission for you, Chrissy."
"If Jay had come to visit again, I would've gotten to see my daughter freak out. Shame. A job? If you want to commission me, is this about film music?"
"Yes. You're the world's best music director, after all."
Chrissy laughed softly at Yeon-woo's words.
"Haha, you're flattering me too much. But if it's a request from Jay, of course it goes to the top of the priority list."
Yeon-woo got straight to the point.
They would need to discuss fees eventually, but practical matters like that would be handled by Executive Director Yoon Mi-yeon. Yeon-woo first laid out the nature of the work.
"The most important thing is the main theme music. Should I tell you about the film's scenario?"
"Ah, hold on. Actually, if I know the plot, I tend to get buried in the story and the creative music doesn't come out. Can you just answer simply what I ask? That's how we did it for Sketch."
Yeon-woo nodded slightly.
He hadn't known the tracks in Sketch had been made that way.
"Got it. Ready to answer."
"First, what's the genre?"
"Romance."
"Wow, Jay doing romance? Wait — if you think about it, was Sketch romance too?"
Yeon-woo smiled as he answered.
"It's a story more focused on romance than Sketch. Back then the fresh romance feel was like a side dish slipped in lightly — this time romance is the proper main course, and the emotion is bittersweet longing."
"Oh, I like that. When you answer like that, musical ideas start coming to me. One second."
Something had clearly struck her; the sound of keyboard typing came through.
After a short wait, Chrissy spoke again.
"Anything else you can tell me? Abstractly, like just now."
"Hmm. In the scene where this track plays, I want to express 'a long wait.' And I'd like the piece to feel grand."
"A long wait? And grandeur? Okay. Perfect."
They exchanged a few more questions and answers before Chrissy, satisfied, said she'd start working and hung up.
Hmm, we didn't even talk about fees, and we haven't formally signed a contract — is it okay for her to just start working like this?
Well, he had no intention of lowballing Chrissy or canceling mid-project, so if she wanted to get started quickly, that was fine by him.
He'd already heard that Executive Director Yoon Mi-yeon had contacted CG Director Jeong Yo-han, and that Jeong Yo-han and his team had confirmed their participation in this film.
"Filming for Moon might start even sooner than expected. Not that I have much else to do."
If Kim Ju-hyeong joined and teamed up with Director Lee Yong-su to pour everything into the script, the scenario would probably be polished in no time.
"The script isn't out yet, but should I lock in the table read schedule in advance?"
When the current picks up, you have to row faster.
Looking closely, Sketch and Moon had a lot in common.
Both were films where a successful director from another field was trying something new for the first time, and both had a clear persona.
In Sketch, Yeon-woo had been that persona; in Moon, it was Hong A-yun.
Both were films centered on a man and a woman who started with a fresh, fluttery relationship.
There were differences, too.
Both are fully self-funded with no outside investment — that's a common point. But Sketch was an indie film, while Moon is an in-house production by Saebyeol Media.
In a way, it was wordplay.
Both films were ultimately being made with Yeon-woo and Representative Kim Ju-seong's money.
Ah, Sketch also had a lot of Director Park Chan-hong's own funding in it.
And with the film Sketch, Director Park Chan-hong had transcended his title as a successful commercial director to become a maestro of Korean cinema.
Come to think of it, Director Park Chan-hong kind of bridged this film too.
It was Park Chan-hong who had tipped Yeon-woo off about Director Lee Yong-su's scenario.
Yeon-woo figured Park Chan-hong hadn't recommended Moon simply because the scenario was interesting.
He would have weighed the chemistry between Yeon-woo and the scenario for Moon.
A recommendation from the maestro of Korean cinema had to mean something different.
"If this succeeds, Saebyeol Media's reputation will shoot up."
Industry people knew the key staff had come over from LN, but they still didn't have any major achievements to show for it.
"Well, as long as it's fun while we're shooting, that's enough. I've never acted with box office in mind."
The next day, Yeon-woo went into the office and attended a meeting to get a handle on the projects currently in preparation.
Most of the content in meetings involving the working staff of Saebyeol Media and Entertainment was schedule-related.
The main agenda was coordinating the schedules of their actors currently shooting variety shows or dramas with those for new projects — and Dong-ha and Jin Yu-han's schedules were fuller than expected, so filming for Parabola looked like it would be delayed a bit further.
"Hmm, then it should be fine to start shooting after Actor Jin Yu-han joins our agency, right? His contract's expiring soon anyway."
At Yeon-woo's words, Representative Jeong Hyeok's eyes lit up.
"Jin Yu-han is definitely coming, right?"
"Yes. Definitely. Only a few months left until his contract expires, so the company should start making formal contact soon. The part Yu-han values most will be freedom in his acting work. If there's a project he wants to be in, he'll want support without fretting over profitability."
Jeong Hyeok nodded.
This was Jin Yu-han — any other entertainment company would accept those terms just as readily as Saebyeol.
The meeting moved on to the next item, and Marketing & Planning Team Leader Gong Min-jeong began her briefing.
"First, the planning team is pushing forward on the goods business together with Representative Kim Ju-seong. Production of the goods is going smoothly, but the location of the goods shop is the problem."
"The location of the goods shop?"
When Representative Jeong Hyeok asked back, Gong Min-jeong nodded.
"The first floor of this building is already fully occupied by commercial tenants. If we put the goods shop inside the building, accessibility drops for fans, and from the company's side we'd have to open the first-floor security doors, which creates security issues."
Yeon-woo stroked his chin at Gong Min-jeong's words.
Hmm, the goods shop location…
Then Gong Min-jeong continued.
"So we looked around the nearby commercial area and found the perfect spot."
"Oh? Where is it?"
"Right behind the Mokhwa Building, there's a closed Chinese restaurant called Mokhwaru. That location can solve both building security and complaints from nearby residences, so we judged it optimal — but the owner is listed as the CEO of a foreign company called Terren Williams, and contact has been difficult."
Yeon-woo coughed awkwardly at Gong Min-jeong's words.
"Ahem…"
"Are you all right?"
"Ah, I'm fine. Just something caught in my throat."
The unexpected name in the meeting had thrown him for a second.
Of course you can't get through. That's me.
Even if they'd reached Han Hae-un, he would have refused, saying there was no intention to sell or lease.
Yeon-woo sank into thought at Gong Min-jeong's words.
The more this area's commercial district develops, the more people will covet that spot. We can't leave it closed forever. If we keep rejecting good offers, someone might get suspicious that it's a front for illegal gambling or something and file a report.
Plus, this building had originally been used as a gambling den, so an investigation would come quickly.
Even if an investigation did happen, the chances of discovering the secret passage double-hidden inside the refrigerator were low — but there was no need to go looking for trouble.
"Hmm? Come to think of it, isn't Terren Williams the owner of this building?"
Representative Jeong Hyeok asked, looking at Yeon-woo.
Even if Jeong Hyeok was the representative, the real owner of this company was Yeon-woo.
Yes. That would be me.
Yeon-woo swallowed the words and nodded.
"You're right. Then I'll try contacting them through the real estate agent who handled this matter before and see if leasing the closed Chinese restaurant building is possible."
It looked like they'd need to put up a wall between the dining hall and the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant and split it in half.
The front half as the goods shop, and the inner half kept as a secret passage like now, with a separate secured corridor.
That might actually be safer. The darkest place is always under the lamp. Our agents are going to have some overtime tonight.
It looked like a wall that hadn't existed would need to appear tonight.