Chapter 278
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Repercussions
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After PD Park Kyumin left, An Daho, who had returned to the practice room with Seojun, took out his phone and stood up. Seojun, who had picked up a pen to resume the signing he’d stopped, tilted his head.
“Daho hyung, who are you calling?”
“Ah, the CP for this drama. He’s the one in charge, so I need to explain the situation and hear what he has to say. I also need to ask if they knew about this.”
He needed to know if this was PD Park Kyumin's personal doing or MBS's official stance to decide on their next move.
‘Though it’s almost certainly his personal doing.’
Understanding An Daho's thoughts, Seojun asked.
“Do you have the CP’s number?”
“Of course. I have to know the contact information for everyone involved in a drama you're filming. But even if that weren't the case, I have the numbers of almost everyone at the broadcasting stations. We get so many calls from all over asking for you to appear on their shows.”
Because of that, his contact list was updated daily, whether he wanted it to be or not.
‘And yet, for such an incredible actor...’
Recalling PD Park Kyumin's condescending attitude toward such a great actor, An Daho smiled more brightly than ever and said.
“I’m going to make a call, so you keep signing.”
Was it just his imagination, or did that smile seem a bit dark? Seeing this different side of An Daho, Seojun nodded.
A short while later, An Daho returned after finishing his call with the CP.
Seojun, who was placing signed photo cards into a box and taking out a new stack, straightened up and asked.
“Daho hyung. What happened?”
“It seems the CP didn’t know…”
An Daho said, recalling the CP's utterly flustered voice. He had sounded genuinely shocked, almost horrified.
“Even so, you can't say MBS bears no responsibility.”
Seojun nodded at An Daho's words. After all, MBS had failed to manage a producer under their employment.
“But it seems the Director was right next to the CP.”
Oh,
Seojun's eyes widened at An Daho's words.
“It looks like this might get bigger than I thought… but he can’t just drag my actor into his greedy schemes.”
If they didn't take this level of action, people might try to look down on Seojun in the future, who would be acting for a long, long time. You had to get properly angry when the situation called for it, or people would see you as a pushover.
“I’ve never had things be such a mess right from the start.”
As Seojun sighed, An Daho gave a bitter smile.
“I know. I tried my best to make sure you could film with good people, but I never expected something like this to pop up out of nowhere.”
There were as many producers and writers as there were projects. Among them were good people, but there were also greedy ones like Park Kyumin.
An Daho and the staff of Team 2 had always tried to avoid such people and had shown good results, but this time, their luck had run out.
“No one could have predicted this.”
Who would have thought a producer from another project would suddenly interfere? Despite Seojun's comfort, An Daho's heart was heavy. He let out a deep sigh, and his eyes flashed.
“We’ll have to see how MBS handles this.”
It seemed Daho hyung's anger hadn't subsided yet.
Seeing his manager angry for the first time, Seojun watched An Daho with a sense of wonder. And since he was angry on his behalf, Seojun couldn't help but let out a small smile.
Picking up his pen again, Seojun scratched his cheek with the tip and spoke.
“But… will we still be able to film this?”
Seojun wanted to do this project.
But if things were like this from the start, he worried the filming would be a mess too. He was willing to overlook some shortcomings, given it was a debut PD and a debut writer, but he hadn't expected it to be this chaotic.
“Of course we can.”
Seojun, who had been slumping his shoulders, looked up at An Daho at the sound of his voice. His manager was smiling confidently.
“You want to film this, don't you, Seojun? Then it’s the agency and the manager’s job to make that happen. And to set it up perfectly, at that.”
Faced with his undeniably reliable manager, the actor also broke into a wide smile.
“For now, let’s wait and see what they do.”
Hahaha.
An Daho laughed like a villain, entertaining a thought that would have made MBS faint if they knew: if things didn't work out, he'd just take writer Yoo Cheong-a to another network. Seeing this side of An Daho, Seojun clapped his hands.
My manager is so cool!
* * *
“What in the world did you do to make Lee Seojun back out!”
The CP, standing to one side of the director's office, also had a stiff expression. At the director's roar, PD Park Kyumin opened his mouth, looking utterly restless.
“No, I just thought extending it to 24 episodes would be good for the network…”
PD Park Kyumin continued. The director, who had been listening silently, finally spoke.
“Right, it would be good. For the network.”
PD Park Kyumin's face brightened at the director's words. But it instantly darkened at what the director said next.
“If you had succeeded!”
The director's voice boomed through the office.
“Don’t you get it? A rebellion is only a revolution if it succeeds. If it fails, it’s treason!”
The director slammed his fist on the desk a couple of times.
“If it were any other actor, we could just write it off! This project was only meant to fill the April slot from the beginning! We could just find another actor! But we were getting Lee Seojun!”
If they had never known, that would be one thing.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, they had a project Lee Seojun liked in their hands, a chance to at least glimpse the golden goose. Now, they couldn't even see the goose at all. No, that would be fortunate; they might have gotten on his bad side so badly that he'd never appear on MBS again.
‘Well, it probably won’t go that far…’
The director let out a heavy sigh. His stomach churned at the thought of reporting this to his superiors. He had just announced Lee Seojun's appearance a short while ago, only for it to be immediately overturned.
His anger flaring up again, the director scowled at PD Park Kyumin. Pale as a sheet, PD Park Kyumin could only stare at the floor.
“Why did you go to Cocoa Entertainment without a word! How pathetic must our drama department look to them now!”
My god.
How little must a producer—a debut producer at that, from the same project—have thought of Cocoa Entertainment and Lee Seojun to storm into their company, demand they extend the series to 24 episodes, and tell them to switch producers.
‘…Of course, if he had succeeded, it would have been an incredible stroke of luck.’
What came back instead was a call from Cocoa Entertainment's team leader.
If it had been a team leader from any other agency, the director wouldn't have cared, but Team Leader An Daho was Lee Seojun's first manager and a close confidant who had supported him until now without a single issue.
“You just focus on filming your own show! If I hear you so much as utter the ‘L’ in Lee Seojun’s name again…!”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Get out!”
PD Park Kyumin, his face ghostly white, left, and the director gasped for air.
Even though the reprimand wasn't directed at him, PD Gong Huichan stood quietly with his shoulders hunched. The director looked at him and spoke.
“Gong Huichan!”
“Yes.”
“Go with Jinmyeong and apologize.”
Kim Jinmyeong.
He was the CP of the 4-episode project, the one who had received the call from Manager An Daho, and the man currently standing in a corner of the director's office, sighing with his hand on his forehead.
“His appearance is a lost cause, so just do your best to make sure they don’t hold a grudge against us. If they want an apology from Park Kyumin, call him immediately.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Just then, PD Gong Huichan's phone vibrated briefly. The director and the CP flinched.
“…What is it?”
“Is it Cocoa Entertainment?”
At the director and CP's questions, PD Gong Huichan looked at his phone screen.
>Kim Danbi: This time for sure!
>Choi Hyunwoo: I recorded it!
>Kim Danbi: (Stairwell recording file)
>Choi Hyunwoo: Fighting!
After a moment of hesitation, PD Gong Huichan looked up at the director. Seeing the somehow solemn expression on his face, the director and the CP grew anxious.
“What? Did Cocoa Entertainment tell you not to come at all?”
“Are they refusing to even accept an apology?”
“…What kind of disciplinary action will PD Park Kyumin receive?”
The unexpected question made the director and the CP blink.
A deal with an actor falling through right before the contract is signed happens occasionally, so it wasn't grounds for disciplinary action. Of course, since the cause was PD Park Kyumin's personal actions, he would have to take some responsibility, but it wouldn't be a severe punishment.
If the drama Lee Seojun was scheduled to appear in was PD Park Kyumin's project, simply replacing the producer would have been enough, but PD Park Kyumin's project was a different one.
‘Why did that bastard have to covet someone else's drama…!’
That made things even more complicated.
The CP, his head starting to ache, spoke.
“We haven't decided yet, why do you ask?”
“Please take this into consideration as well.”
PD Gong Huichan placed his phone on the table.
The director and the CP looked at the phone screen, their eyes full of questions. PD Gong Huichan pressed the play button, and PD Park Kyumin's voice flowed from the phone.
-It worked out great. You do the thriller you were preparing, and I’ll do this one.
-The actors and staff are all set up according to your list, so you can start filming right away. Wow, Gong Huichan. Thanks to me, you'll have an easy shoot. Oh, and I heard the script for the first episode is done, right? Hand that over. I need to prepare for filming too. Give me the writer's number as well.
The director and the CP, who had been alternating their gazes between PD Gong Huichan's face and the phone screen, clutched the back of their necks.
“Is… is this real?”
“Yes. The thriller Park Kyumin is doing. That’s my project.”
At PD Gong Huichan's words, the director put a hand to his forehead, and the CP rubbed his face with dry hands.
“From where to where?”
“From the script to the cast and staff composition.”
“…So, everything!”
The CP was aghast at Gong Huichan's words. The director clicked his tongue.
“This bastard… this… He's the type you can't predict what he'll do once he gets more experience.”
A debut producer who steals someone else's project, then barges into the agency of a superstar—a word that doesn't even begin to describe him—to try and steal another one.
If he was this reckless as a debut, there was no telling what kind of power trips he'd go on with more experience.
The faces of the director and the CP grew serious.
“Gong Huichan.”
“…Yes.”
PD Gong Huichan, who had been standing with his hands clasped, swallowed hard. He had made his move to protect this project and his future ones, but he didn't know if it was the right decision.
The director said in a heavy voice.
“Go get Park Kyumin.”
“Yes.”
PD Gong Huichan left the director's office and headed to the main office, where he called for PD Park Kyumin, who was shaking his leg nervously. Hearing the director was calling for him again, Park Kyumin muttered a curse and headed to the director's office, his face tense.
Following behind Park Kyumin, PD Gong Huichan turned his head. In a corner of the tense office stood assistant directors Kim Danbi and Choi Hyunwoo. When his eyes met theirs, PD Gong Huichan gave a nod, and Choi Hyunwoo and Kim Danbi’s eyes lit up as they clenched their fists tightly.
“Nice!”
“But we lost one thing to gain another.”
“I know. The loss is too great. I really wanted to see actor Lee Seojun in person!”
Choi Hyunwoo nodded in agreement at Kim Danbi's words.
* * *
Seojun put down his pen and stretched. He had been signing all afternoon, but the box of photo cards showed no signs of emptying.
“Wow, there are so many photo cards. I don’t think I can finish today.”
“Take your time. You just need to finish before the fan meeting.”
An Daho smiled as he placed a glass of orange juice in front of Seojun.
“We’re giving them to the fans who come to the fan meeting, and we’ll also give them away through a lottery to fans who can’t make it. That includes overseas fans, too.”
Since the fan meeting was in Korea, it would be difficult for foreign fans to attend. Seojun's eyes sparkled at An Daho's words.
“Then I need to do a lot! Daho hyung. Can’t we make more photo cards? It doesn’t look like enough!”
An Daho laughed at Seojun's excited demeanor.
“We can't give them to everyone, you know.”
Just then.
There was a knock on the door.
Seojun, who was happily sipping his orange juice and getting ready to sign again, and An Daho, who was about to take out new photo cards, both froze. Their eyes met.
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, An Daho opened the practice room door. The lobby employee from a few hours ago was standing there with an awkward smile.