"Sketch" Crank-In
In front of Yeon-woo sat not a lavish spread of expensive dishes, but a single bowl of carefully simmered samgyetang.
Of course, though it was samgyetang, the ingredients inside looked far from ordinary.
"I merely acted, yet you've treated me so well. Thank you."
"This old man was moved even if it was just acting. I can't remember the last time I sat and watched a drama with my granddaughter. No—watching television with Hye-a might have been a first, not just after a few years."
Seo Seon-hye, the granddaughter who had always felt distant from her grandfather Seo Tae-gwang, had grown much closer to him while watching the hot historical drama laced with romantic comedy.
Seo Tae-gwang, for his part, was delighted that his relationship with his soon-to-be-married granddaughter had softened.
As he ate the samgyetang, Yeon-woo deduced Chairman Seo Tae-gwang's true intentions.
In his previous life, while handling domestic affairs, he had investigated the people who ran Korea's leading conglomerates. They were not the sort to be easily swayed. There was always the possibility he had sought Yeon-woo out of pure goodwill, but that alone could not be the whole story. He was already a seasoned star of the business world. There had to be another purpose.
Ihan Group under Chairman Seo Tae-gwang has countless subsidiaries. Why Ihan Technology of all of them?
If he had simply wanted to offer a commercial for the reasons he stated earlier, he could have proposed it through any other subsidiary. Ihan Group was a chaebol that had expanded octopus-style across fields during the economic boom, from construction companies to oil refiners.
A hero who saved the nation from the brink of crisis... that hero's descendant... a defense contractor... the recent National Assembly audit...
Yeon-woo organized his thoughts, recalling countless keywords and the domestic political climate. Just then, Chairman Seo opened his mouth.
"Do you happen to know why I paid you such an excessive fee?"
"...I believe the elder wishes to imprint an image onto Ihan Group through me."
"Hmm?"
Chairman Seo Tae-gwang, who had been tearing at a chicken leg with his chopsticks, widened his eyes at Yeon-woo's words.
"An image?"
"If I've overstepped, I apologize. I'm merely a rookie actor, and while I'm grateful you hold me in such high regard, I was also curious about the reason."
Chairman Seo now set down his chopsticks, laced his fingers together, and looked at Yeon-woo with interest.
"Continue."
"So I racked my inadequate brain, and today, upon seeing the portrait of Master Seo Hui, I realized it. Given that Ihan Group has recently been an issue in the National Assembly audit and is under pressure from the Ministry of National Defense, I thought you might be trying to imprint the image of national salvation onto the defense industry through me."
Chairman Seo Tae-gwang gazed quietly at Yeon-woo after he finished speaking. A few seconds of silence passed before he laughed so loudly the hall seemed ready to fly away.
"Hahahaha! Today I've brought home quite the prize."
After laughing for a while, he stopped and his eyes gleamed.
"You're not the sort of talent who would simply remain an actor, are you?"
"I'm satisfied with the profession of actor."
Hearing Yeon-woo's words, Chairman Seo chuckled and stroked his chin.
"Well, whether in a work or in reality, a character is moved by narrative."
Yeon-woo listened to the chairman's words and silently tore into the boiled chicken.
Ihan Group was currently under rather harsh scrutiny due to corruption scandals among military leadership related to defense contractors. Though not directly involved in the incident, they were receiving quite a few cold stares. If, at this moment—right after the drama had ended—they actively leveraged Yeon-woo's hot "Seo Hui" image and linked it to the chairman's roots to form an image of national salvation, it would be possible to craft a group image that carried a certain degree of public participation.
"Starting with this, Ihan Group intends to actively utilize your image by tying it to our ancestor. If we can imprint the image of national salvation as you say, that trifling sum of money is nothing to regret."
"Thank you for the excellent proposal."
Chairman Seo looked at Yeon-woo with interest.
"At first I simply wanted to see our ancestor portrayed, but now you yourself are quite intriguing."
His eyes sparkling as he regarded Yeon-woo, the chairman continued.
"You may find this unpleasant, but I did a bit of background research on you. No drinking or smoking—no private life to speak of outside of acting. And thanks to the recent incident where you rescued a young woman, your image is excellent as well."
That was the story of Seo Ji-eun and the stalker. In fact, with his clean private life, outstanding acting skills, a film currently riding a wave of success, and the image of the male lead who had saved the female lead of the recently concluded drama in real life, Yeon-woo was the perfect model for Chairman Seo.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me."
The meal that followed contained no further discussion of the contract; it was simply like a conversation with an ordinary grandfather who had many questions for a young man. After finishing the leisurely meal, Chairman Seo called an employee and handed Yeon-woo a business card.
"If you ever run into something difficult to resolve in life, contact me. I'll put in a word for you a couple of times at least."
"I'll gratefully accept it."
"I like how straightforward you are."
After exchanging greetings and following the bodyguards out, Min-su, who had been waiting, stood up.
"Hyung Min-su, did you finish eating?"
"Yes. Whatever they made it with, the taste was incredible. I had the samgyetang."
"I had the same thing."
At Yeon-woo's words, Min-su tilted his head.
"I thought you'd be served a finer feast dining with the chairman."
"When a guest comes, one traditionally slaughters a hen to serve them, no?"
"Huh?"
Yeon-woo grinned and walked ahead.
"It's delicious, after all. Samgyetang."
"Ahh, it's been so long since I've been to a recording studio."
"You were originally an idol trainee, right?"
Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun had gathered to practice the songs that would go into Sketch and the instrumental pieces to be inserted. Seo Ji-eun beamed at Yeon-woo's words and answered.
"Yep! From age twelve to eighteen."
"Then you must not have attended school properly?"
"No, up through middle school I still went to school and then headed to the practice room afterward."
Nodding, Yeon-woo gazed quietly at the guitar and violin placed in one corner of the practice room as he chatted about this and that with Seo Ji-eun, when the door opened and a middle-aged woman with blonde hair entered.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Chrissy Monroe."
"Hello. I'm Ryu Yeon-woo. Just call me Jay."
"Ah, hello! I'm Seo Ji-eun. Please call me Nari too!"
Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun bowed in the Korean style as they greeted the music director who had entered with her introduction. Since the film had been planned from the start for overseas film festival submissions, the protagonists' names had been set to ones as easy as possible for foreigners to pronounce. Seeing Seo Ji-eun's English skills, which were better than expected, Yeon-woo gave a small nod.
"Alright. Jay, Nari. It's an honor to be involved in this film."
"The honor is ours for having you with us."
At Yeon-woo's words, music director Chrissy smiled and pulled out a USB drive.
"Shall we listen to the music I've made first and then talk? I haven't finished everything yet, but I've written the three songs that will go into the early part."
Yeon-woo took the USB Chrissy held out and handed it to the engineer in the corner of the practice room.
"She says there are three tracks. Please play them in order."
"Yes, understood."
When the engineer plugged in the USB and hit play, a sweet melody flowed out.
"I arranged it so it can be carried as much as possible with just guitar, as requested."
Yeon-woo nodded as he listened to Chrissy's explanation.
"Wow, the song's great, Yeon-woo."
"Yeah."
The music played one after another, and when they had heard all three tracks, Chrissy spoke.
"I don't really know how good Jay's performance skills are, but we can solve it with cinematic editing. Do you know what a loop station is?"
"Mm, I know what it is. I've never actually seen one, though."
A loop station was a device that repeatedly played a certain section, helping one person stack harmonies using multiple instruments alone. Hearing Yeon-woo's words, Chrissy nodded and continued.
"When I talked with Director Park in the pre-meeting, he seemed interested. He was thinking of using it for a scene in the latter part. As long as you can handle the instruments to some degree, the editing will take care of the rest. Before writing the other songs, I'd like to hear Nari's singing first."
Chrissy pointed toward the recording booth with her hand, smiling as she looked at Seo Ji-eun.
"Yes! I'll give it a try. Ahh, I'm nervous."
Jeong Cheol-min slapped both his cheeks with his hands.
"Ha, I'm nervous."
"You're still trembling even with over twenty years of acting experience?"
Today they were heading to Incheon Airport in the early morning hours to shoot the first airport scene together with Jeong Cheol-min. Time had passed; various concept commercials had been filmed smoothly, and the pre-practice sessions with Chrissy and Seo Ji-eun had progressed quite a bit as well. At last, Yeon-woo was about to begin the first shoot for Sketch.
When Yeon-woo asked with a smile, Jeong Cheol-min slapped him on the back.
"You brat, it's Director Park Chan-hong we're talking about. How am I supposed to not be nervous?"
"Hahaha, have you memorized the entire script?"
"I suffered memorizing English at my age. I've got it down cold."
"That's a relief, then. And we were able to get cooperation just in time..."
Most other shoots were fine since they took place in the outskirts, but for the airport scene he had worried that the limited number of staff might make control difficult. Normally an actor wouldn't worry about such things, but this time, thinking from the dual perspective of actor and producer, he found himself fretting over even these fine details.
"Heaven must be helping us. Expansion construction, of all things."
"Right."
Fortunately, Incheon Airport was undergoing expansion construction and had closed off part of the facility, allowing them to obtain a permit for a controlled shoot in the early morning hours with no ordinary citizens present. Before they knew it, Yeon-woo and Cheol-min arrived in Min-su's car.
"It's rather sparse, isn't it."
They could see the team preparing for the shoot on one side of the airport. Truly the bare minimum of staff, only those absolutely necessary.
"Shall we go, Teacher."
"Yes. Living large thanks to my disciple."
Yeon-woo smiled as he led Jeong Cheol-min over to where the staff were gathered.
"Whoa, it's really Ryu Yeon-woo."
"He's even more insane in person."
The extras hired to prepare for the airport scene murmured as they saw Yeon-woo. Director Park Chan-hong, who had been giving various preparation instructions, heard the voices and approached upon seeing Yeon-woo.
"Ah. My collaborator has arrived."
"Director, hello. This is Teacher Jeong Cheol-min."
When Yeon-woo introduced Jeong Cheol-min, the man, face full of tension, bent his waist at a perfect right angle in greeting.
"It's an honor! Director. I'm Jeong Cheol-min."
"Yes. I've seen Jeong Cheol-min's theater work once with my family."
"Pardon?"
Seeing Director Park extend his hand for a handshake, Cheol-min was startled and took it as he asked again.
"I believe it was a piece called Blues in Hyehwa."
"Hup! That's right. Oh my, it's truly an honor."
It had been a performance that went up in Daehangno when Cheol-min was last living the theater troupe life about five years ago. Thinking that Director Park Chan-hong had actually bought a ticket and gone to see his own play filled Jeong Cheol-min with emotion.
"I remember the acting was good even then, and you've raised such an outstanding disciple."
When the industry giant that was Director Park Chan-hong acknowledged him, Jeong Cheol-min felt as if he might float away with joy today; his eyes reddened as he stared at the ground for no reason and bowed deeply.
Meanwhile, Yeon-woo was exchanging greetings with the other staff.