Happiness That Burns Misery as Fuel
He was in the middle of his morning workout at home, loosening up his body, when the phone rang.
"…And with that, the final screenings wrapped yesterday. It's been pulled from every theater nationwide. The final tally is 5.72 million."
"I see. You've worked hard."
"Not at all. We still have the OTT distribution ahead of us, and I'll see it through with everything I've got until the very end."
"Yes, thank you. I'll be counting on you going forward as well."
Yeon-woo ended the call and looked at the name still lit on the screen.
[A-Pictures · Executive Director Tak Jeong-a]
The more I deal with her, the more solid her work looks.
Unless something unexpected came up, he figured he could keep sailing in the same boat with A-Pictures without issue.
Just as Executive Director Tak Jeong-a had reported, the theatrical run of the film Moon had ended as of yesterday. Ordinarily a distributor rarely bothered to call a lead actor personally, but Tak Jeong-a clearly regarded Yeon-woo not merely as an actor but as an investor and the de facto head of the production company — which was why she had picked up the phone.
At a final audience of 5.72 million, Moon might look modest stacked against Yeon-woo's previous box-office numbers, but it had blown past its break-even point of 1.5 million by a wide margin and counted as a major success. It was the kind of result that could land on the all-time rankings of successful Korean romance films.
Yeon-woo found himself thinking of Executive Director Yoon Mi-yeon, who used to hang posters of the projects she had handled back in the LN Media days in Saebyeol Media's rather sparse lobby and wear a faintly bitter expression. Jeong Hyeok and Kim Ju-seong had probably felt the same way.
Still — now Saebyeol Media's lobby finally has its first poster it can hang under its own name.
He finished his morning workout with a last stretch and headed for the shower, scrolling through the entertainment news on his phone as he went. Articles about the variety shows his members had appeared on over the past two days filled the feed.
Hmm. Last time we met, Jin-uk hyung was complaining his back was about to snap — so he was helping with the fall harvest. Come to think of it, I've never actually done rice farming myself…
He had gone undercover in countless professions, but farmer had never been one of them.
Both articles, by coincidence, had led with mentions of Yeon-woo in the main headline. It made sense — Survival Island was racking up buzz day after day, so any reporter looking to boost click-through rates would naturally stamp Yeon-woo's name into the title. By now everyone in the industry knew the two of them were close friends of his.
Son Jin-uk, who made cameo appearances in every one of Yeon-woo's projects, was one thing — but even Jin Yu-han, who had made a dramatic transfer to the brand-new company Saebyeol and had only co-starred with him in a single work outside of theater, Star Beyond the River, was already being treated as part of the "Ryu Yeon-woo faction."
Lucky, really. The entertainment industry is full of strange people, but I managed to meet good ones on those early projects…
Son Jin-uk and Jin Yu-han were the kind of people Yeon-woo could drop all formality with. And the foundation of any relationship that free was, in truth, mutual courtesy — only once that was in place could the rest exist on top of it. The fact that they had maintained a good relationship for years already was because they respected and looked out for Yeon-woo from the heart.
Of course, I feel the same way about them…
Come to think of it, the day he had come back from Survival Island and gone straight to the company building, Jin Yu-han had been in the conference room saying he was looking for a film he could start early next year as his next project.
Maybe I should do a cameo myself. Assuming there's a suitable role to step into, of course.
His only previous cameo experience had been early in his career, when Director Kim Han-su had asked him to appear in the healing romance Spring's Lover — about a firefighter with PTSD — as the protagonist in his school days. He didn't know how next year would shape up, but if he could, he wanted to at least make cameo appearances in his own actors' projects.
Then again, they're all Saebyeol actors anyway — practically my own projects — so the whole idea of "helping out" is a little fuzzy.
Sorting through these thoughts, Yeon-woo finished washing up and stepped out of the shower.
Drama filming was entering its final stretch. It was about time he, like Jin Yu-han, started considering a next project for early next year.
For now, I'll wrap up this year's second-half work with this…
That didn't mean he had time to rest. He had already submitted his re-enrollment paperwork for Hankuk University this semester and would have to complete the term.
At least I filled almost everything with online lectures.
Padding a curriculum with online classes like this was something he could get away with maybe once.
Next time I re-enroll, I'll have no choice but to actually do campus life.
Finished getting ready, Yeon-woo left the house.
"Today, is it."
Every person's happiness is built upon the unhappiness of others.
Those were the words of Ivan Turgenev, a writer of the nineteenth-century Russian Empire. They might well become the central theme of tonight's episode of Survival Island.
While Yeon-woo had been filming his drama, the episodes of Survival Island that had aired so far had cross-cut between the lodge that had agreed to team up and the lodge where Yeon-woo's refusal had scuttled the alliance — two sides set in deliberate contrast. Now it was the turn of those who had teamed up to burn the misery of the other lodge as fuel for their own happiness and push forward.
Well. Same goes for me.
In the end, he had flipped that dynamic and used their misfortune to complete his own championship narrative. It was an unavoidable element of survival games — and, frankly, the main source of entertainment in the survival genre. The question was always how you packaged it.
I wonder how PD Yoon Chang-joon edited it…
Thinking about tonight's episode of Survival Island, Yeon-woo drove himself to the company building.
"And last, if you could just sign here."
The contract was being finalized in a relaxed atmosphere at the café on the third floor.
"So Jin-uk sunbae and Yeon-woo are finally eating from the same pot, huh?"
"Right?"
The person signing a contract at the company today was Han So-hyun.
Jeong Yeo-reum from Summer's Closet. Jennifer the Deer from Master Plan. Even the hotel lobby staff member she had cameo'd as in White Blood. Across countless projects she had shared the screen with Yeon-woo, and among the actresses he knew, she was honestly the closest. Their agencies had always been different — until now. With her contract period expiring, Han So-hyun was joining Saebyeol.
If you looked at it carefully, Han So-hyun had more hit works than even Son Jin-uk or Jin Yu-han.
"Saebyeol just signed a mega-star."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes. Noona has more hit projects than anyone else at our company."
"Mega-star, my foot! When you say it, it just sounds like you're teasing me, Player Number Seven!"
At the words of the man currently shaking the entire country across drama, film, and now variety, Han So-hyun waved him off. Watching her reaction, CEO Jeong Hyeok smiled — no, his mouth was stretched ear to ear in a full grin.
The Saebyeol of today actually held more major stars than it had even in its LN Entertainment days. The total number of actors had shrunk a little, but every single one on the roster was pure gold. As Han So-hyun herself had put it, Yeon-woo — whose box-office power was enormous no matter what he touched — carried the biggest share of the weight, but even setting him aside, the point still held.
Looking at the contract with Han So-hyun's signature on it, CEO Jeong Hyeok felt full without having eaten a bite. Then he glanced toward CEO Kim Ju-seong, quietly wiping cups behind the café counter. Of course he knew all of this was thanks to Yeon-woo's connections — but even so, it felt like he could finally hold his head up in front of his mentor, Kim Ju-seong.
Heh. It's finally complete. The full Summer's Table cast.
Including An Jun-ho, who was on the verge of finishing his military service, every lead and supporting actor from that show was now under Saebyeol. The content they could produce with this lineup was endless. JNBC still re-aired the healing variety show Summer's Table from time to time because the fanbase was that dedicated.
"We're doing a group watch of Survival Island at the building tonight, as it happens. How about sticking around and getting to know the staff and the other actors?"
In truth, Han So-hyun was already fairly close with the Saebyeol actors, so there wasn't much introducing left to do.
"I'd love that! I was going to go home and watch Survival Island anyway."
"Perfect. A lot of our staff are fans of yours — they'll be thrilled."
"Survival Island?"
When Yeon-woo echoed the nickname, Han So-hyun answered as if he should have known.
"The full title Survival Island is too long, so online they just call it Survival Island for short. You didn't know?"
"No. That's an alternate abbreviation."
"Ooh, Ryu Yeon-woo using internet slang? I've only ever seen that in text — do people actually say it out loud…?"
"Uh, anyway, So-hyun noona — lots of love for Survival Island…"
Like Son Jin-uk, Han So-hyun had known Yeon-woo since he was a student, so she was well aware that he was clueless about slang and something of an old soul for his age.
"…That's weird. Stop with the abbreviations. And those are ancient ones anyway."
Yeon-woo nodded at her words and made a note on his phone.
— Alternate abbreviations aren't actually used much in real speech.
— Using too much slang sounds weird.
— Update needed.
Slang was hard, no matter how you sliced it.
"By the way, the players from the other lodge teamed up with each other, right? So what happens now? Online people are saying it's cheating, or that since it doesn't break the rules the ones who didn't team up are just idiots. There's a lot of talk."
"You'll have to watch the broadcast and find out, noona."
"Aww, come on! Use the insider privilege! Just tell me!"
Yeon-woo was already aware that the internet was buzzing after seeing the contrast between the lodge that stayed individual because of his refusal and the lodge that had formed a team.
Viewer reactions were, as expected, all over the place. Most people viewed the teaming negatively, but plenty also argued that since it didn't break any rules, forming an alliance shouldn't be a problem — and among them were some who watched Yeon-woo refuse the alliance in his lodge and mocked him for being stupid. No one had actually seen the allied players carry out a one-sided massacre yet, after all.
Min-su hyung said it felt like a slaughter — like abuse.
From the control room, watching six people roam in a pack and systematically eliminate the remaining players one-sidedly had not made for a pleasant picture. The edited version would almost certainly look more brutal than the real thing, not less. Once viewers saw it with their own eyes, almost no one would still be rooting for the alliance.
"But if six of them are moving as a pack, even you wouldn't stand a chance, right? I'm a Player Number Seven fan — is he going out here?"
Watching Han So-hyun casually fish for spoilers while claiming to be a fan, Yeon-woo gave her a bright, sunny smile.
"Keep the live channel locked in."
"Aww, whyyy!"