Acquisition (4)
Kang Jaeha’s answer was to buy out Munbak Film.
Lee Chanhoo, his eyes narrowed to slits, gave a small laugh.
“So you’re taking over Munbak Film too?”
Jaeha nodded without changing expression.
“I am.”
“Then you’re planning to hand Gyeollo: Heeyeol over to Munbak Film as well, right?”
“Yeah. I saw CEO Jeong Taewoo while we were making the short, and he seemed pretty sharp. He’s got a feel for production, and he’ll do fine handling Gyeollo: Heeyeol.”
“True. Even to my eye, and I used to work in production, CEO Jeong Taewoo looks like he knows what he’s doing.”
In truth, Kang Jaeha had been watching a great many people during the production of the short film Gyeollo. Director Kwon Seongmin, of course, but also Yoon Dayeon, An Jihee, and the rest. CEO Jeong Taewoo of Munbak Film had been among them. In the end, that meant the man’s ability had already been verified.
Besides, Jaeha had intended to buy a film company eventually anyway.
After entertainment, then film.
Munbak Film was just about the right size for what Kang Jaeha had in mind. Its finances were poor, but the work itself was good. More than that, Munbak Film was already tied to Gyeollo.
The place that made the short can handle the feature, Gyeollo: Heeyeol, a lot better.
With the acquisition of LX Entertainment, where Choi Rina was currently signed, already in full swing, Munbak Film would be the next target. Soon, Kang Jaeha gave Lee Chanhoo his orders.
“Tomorrow or so, go over to Munbak Film with Cha Chunghyun and have a meeting. Toss them the bait, and in the meantime finish wrapping up LX Entertainment. By then, CEO Jeong Taewoo will answer.”
“Got it.”
Lee Chanhoo nodded and changed the subject.
“And as you can see, Natdaljib is crushing it!”
“Yeah.”
“The industry’s already going crazy, calling it a miracle for Korean animation and all that.”
“It is a miracle. A Korean animated film hasn’t hit this hard in over a decade.”
As Kang Jaeha recalled the déjà vu from Natdaljib, Lee Chanhoo jumped in.
“We’ve absorbed Director Kwon Seongmin. We should probably start reeling in Director Hong Manseop too, shouldn’t we?”
Jaeha gave a short shake of his head.
“Leave him alone for now. Let him enjoy the situation enough first.”
“Yes, sir!”
Then Kang Jaeha thought of the thick-browed Director Hong Manseop.
“We’ll pull him in once he’s fully warmed up.”
On the morning of the fifth, Kang Jaeha went to work. Leon Entertainment’s Management Team 4 was busy as always that day, and the entertainment industry as a whole was even more frantic.
What was hottest of all, naturally, was Woo Jeongcheol’s drug scandal from a few days earlier.
Whether Woo Jeongcheol was hiding or not, the police were moving fast.
What mattered was the great Director Yu Giltae it would inevitably connect to.
Well, more than half the design was already in place. Still, Kang Jaeha did not immediately tell Lee Chanhoo to meet Director Yu Giltae. It was not time yet.
He needs to see this a little longer. Yu Giltae has to get a little more chilled to the bone watching what happens to Woo Jeongcheol.
As the Woo Jeongcheol scandal deepened, Director Yu Giltae needed to keep shaking inside. That was the only way the savior image attached to Lee Chanhoo would become truly powerful. And in fact, Director Yu Giltae was already feeling his knees go weak.
“Th-there was really a chance this could’ve gone completely sideways.”
If the current situation had broken out while his new project was already filming or had been released, recovery would have been impossible. In addition, he thought back to Lee Chanhoo, who had warned him in advance.
Still, it really feels like CEO Lee Chanhoo handled this Woo Jeongcheol mess ... in any case, thanks to that, we avoided the sewer.
The great director’s mind had branded both the investment company MEG and Lee Chanhoo deep into memory.
At the same time, Lee Chanhoo began the acquisition work for LX Entertainment, which would become MEG’s first subsidiary.
He was accompanied by Go Chunseok and Cha Chunghyun.
Lee Chanhoo spoke calmly to Park Zahi, the CEO of LX Entertainment.
“If our MEG acquires LX Entertainment, the company name will be changed first.”
That meant the LX Entertainment sign would come down once the acquisition was complete. For Park Zahi, that meant LX Entertainment would vanish into history, so naturally she felt grim about it. But the topic had already come up in their earlier meeting.
“...Yes. I understand.”
She had no choice but to accept it. No, she had to accept it. The name on the sign wasn’t what mattered right now. Survival came first. Even at that moment, plenty of domestic agencies were collapsing, and before long LX Entertainment would have been on that list too.
At least they had caught MEG’s eye. No, Kang Jaeha’s eye. That made them one of the lucky ones.
Then Lee Chanhoo continued.
“The company will be renamed not LX Entertainment, but MEG Entertainment, and of course you’ll remain as CEO Park Zahi.”
He went on, calmly explaining what would change and what Park Zahi would be expected to do from here on out. It was a little long-winded, but the point was simple enough.
“You’ll keep doing what you’ve been doing, and start doing the things you haven’t done before.”
The basic line of work would stay the same, but the tempo would have to increase.
“Once the sign changes, please focus on strengthening the company’s internal foundation.”
“Understood.”
“And soon, we’ll be bringing in actors.”
“Pardon? Actors? Who?”
“I can’t say yet. For now, just know that much.”
The actors Lee Chanhoo was referring to were, of course, Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee. There would likely be more added little by little after that.
“And Choi Rina, who’s already signed with us. I intend to develop her properly.”
Sometime around the tenth, the LX Entertainment acquisition was finalized.
That meant LX Entertainment had officially become MEG Entertainment. As soon as MEG Entertainment was established, Park Zahi began moving quickly, and Lee Chanhoo immediately moved on to the next target: Munbak Film.
“CEO Jeong Taewoo, don’t shut the place down. Stay on with us.”
When Lee Chanhoo revealed his intention to acquire Munbak Film, the broad-faced CEO Jeong Taewoo was visibly startled.
“Y-you’re really going to do that?”
“Yes, sir. Let’s make Gyeollo: Heeyeol together.”
With his company’s finances on the edge of the cliff, CEO Jeong Taewoo could only see Lee Chanhoo. No, MEG, as a savior. He had genuinely been considering closing the doors after finishing the short film Gyeollo.
“...Thank you.”
But he was saved. Munbak Film had not only survived; it had gained a chance to run on a stage far larger than before. In any case, Cha Chunghyun handled the fine details of the Munbak Film acquisition.
“Haa—this is rough. It’s fun, but Commander ... you’re really running me ragged.”
Cha Chunghyun complained with a lazy drag of the voice, and Go Chunseok answered him.
“I will help.”
Lee Chanhoo snickered.
“We’re just getting started, and you’re already whining. At least you get to sleep properly, Cha Chunghyun. I feel like my eyeballs are about to pop out lately.”
“I’ll ... do it.”
“Still, the commander does take care of the rewards. He’ll give us a fat bonus this time.”
In any case, once the acquisition of Munbak Film was complete, the film company would also be renamed.
Film MEG.
Once the acquisitions were done, the control tower known as MEG would have two subsidiaries: MEG Entertainment and Film MEG. Both were still small, but for the parent company, MEG, it was a remarkably fast expansion.
In less than a year, it would have two subsidiaries under its wing.
At this time, Yoon Dayeon was in the radio station waiting room at a broadcaster’s studio. She was due to appear as a guest on a radio program about an hour later, and right now she was seated on the sofa, reading a thick stack of papers with complete focus.
“...”
An Jihee was with her as well. Jihee was dozing off, nodding as she fought sleep. It made sense. These days, her schedule had expanded so fast with variety shows, interviews, and the like that she was probably short on rest. Today they were appearing as radio guests together as the two actresses who had won awards at the BIFF.
By contrast, Yoon Dayeon, fully made up, did not stop reading the stack of papers. No, the script. She wasn’t forcing herself.
This is insane. It’s ridiculously good.
The work itself had an absurd level of pull. The script she was reading was Mask Murder, the one she had received from Director Yu Giltae. She had expected a lot since it was a script given directly by a master, but not this much. And this was her second time reading it.
I want it. I absolutely want this role.
Greed filled Yoon Dayeon’s eyes.
At the same time, Kang Jaeha in Management Team 4 at Leon Entertainment was also reading a script. These days, Team 4 was fairly noisy. It was noisy even now. But only Jaeha remained quiet.
“Hm.”
He had already finished reading Mask Murder, and was now going through Gyeollo: Heeyeol, the script from Director Kwon Seongmin. Not long after he finished that one too, Jaeha closed the script.
A smile tugged at his mouth almost immediately.
Mask Murder, Gyeollo: Heeyeol. Both are good.
Then Kang Jaeha recalled the déjà vu from the two scripts he had just read.
Both of them are the kind of projects that can blow up, so I guess that makes sense.
Still, it was Gyeollo: Heeyeol that caught his eye most. Mask Murder was understandable, given the hand of the great Director Yu Giltae, but Gyeollo: Heeyeol belonged to Kwon Seongmin, who was handling a feature film for the first time. Even so, Gyeollo: Heeyeol was not missing much compared to the work of Director Yu Giltae.
Crossing one leg over the other, Jaeha rubbed his chin.
I’m curious how big Kwon Seongmin will get.
Next, Kang Jaeha began sizing up the cast for Gyeollo: Heeyeol.
First, An Jihee.
That was the first face that came to mind. But unlike the short film Gyeollo, An Jihee was not especially suited to the lead in the feature-length Gyeollo: Heeyeol. Shorts and features differed drastically in scale, and in everything else as well.
Even the filming period was night and day.
In a production process that brutal, being the lead carried a great deal of weight and responsibility.
To be the lead of a project means carrying a lot on your back.
The saying that the lead drags the whole work forward by the collar existed for a reason. Ticket power, on-set atmosphere, and more. But An Jihee had only just debuted. Separate from whether she was hot or rising, she still lacked far too much experience.
So An Jihee would be better as a supporting role.
Kang Jaeha murmured inwardly, then went on.
Yeah. For now, a supporting role suits An Jihee better. It also lets her keep up with her other schedules more easily.
At the same time, in Tokyo, Japan.
Japan was in the grip of a powerful Korean wave. In the office of a production company in Tokyo, a dozen or so Japanese staff members were in a rather serious meeting. Calm Japanese voices went back and forth. From the sound of it, they were talking about a drama production, and the current topic seemed to be casting.
Among the dozen or so people, a gaunt woman let out a sigh and spoke in Japanese.
“Haa ... for this supporting character, it’s not easy to find someone who hasn’t become too well known yet, but still has a fresh, distinctly Korean look.”
The large-faced man seated beside her replied.
“And the acting has to hold up too. The public’s standards keep getting higher. We can’t ignore acting ability.”
“Exactly. But if they aren’t well known, they’ll be a rookie, and it’s not easy for rookies to act well. On the other hand, if we only look at acting skill, then they’ll have to be famous already.”
“This is not easy. Should we look for one of our actors who speaks Korean well?”
“The viewers will start insulting them the second they see them. How many Korean dramas are people watching these days? No matter how well a Japanese actor speaks Korean, it will show. If we use a Japanese actor in a role like this, criticism is guaranteed.”
The large-faced man clicked his tongue.
“Then we have no choice but to find a Korean actor, do we.”
“The role itself is a Korean female university student who came to Japan to study in the first place.”
“What about looking among Korean idols?”
“Not bad. But I’m worried about acting ability, and Korean idols are too well known in Japan. It might clash too much with the character image. Still, if we really can’t find anyone, that may be our only answer.”
At that moment, a woman in glasses who had been tapping away on her laptop the whole time cut in.
“What about this actress? I did some digging on the materials this morning too...”
She turned the laptop so everyone could see.
“She’s an actress who won the New Actress Award in the short film category at the Busan International Film Festival in Korea.”
The screen displayed a familiar photo of a Korean rookie actress.
“Her name is An Jihee.”