Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Between Opportunity and Scandal (1)
The Cha Seoyoon Na○ki commercial situation was currently stalled.
I’d already said she wouldn’t need to get even a single drop of water on her, yet all they sent back was that they were “still persuading the artist.”
Now I’m curious what exactly is happening inside Management Team 1.
Still, it wasn’t like I could casually probe Team 3 coworkers like Jo Woonseok either.
The fact that Cha Seoyoon landed a Na○ki commercial was still under embargo.
“Doyoung oppa, but you don’t even do manager work. Why do you keep introducing yourself as a manager?”
“Because it’s easier that way.”
I’m not a manager.
I don’t handle manager duties at all.
Team Leader Jo Woonseok made that very clear when he handed me the hundred-million-won camera.
—Doyoung-ssi, just carry the camera around and film anything you want while following Hyejin. You don’t need to report every little thing to me at all.
“I am technically Hyejin’s manager, but I’m a rookie who doesn’t really know management work yet, so I think you should discuss that with Manager Ahn Byungwook instead.”
Whenever people at filming sets misunderstood me, I just introduced myself as a manager.
Explaining my vague free-role position in detail was annoying.
Most days, I spent more time sitting around chatting with Hwang Hyejin while sketching scenery from the script than actually using the camera.
I only lifted the camera when Hwang Hyejin entered full acting mode.
In other words, I was living the true dream of being a complete salary thief.
Sometimes I felt a tiny sting of guilt wondering whether this lifestyle was really okay.
But then I remembered restoring the WISH girl group music video data and justified everything instantly.
Sure, I’d received a huge reward bonus already—
but based on that contribution alone, didn’t I deserve one or two years of getting paid while barely working?
“Hyejin, want to try reading this line once according to the script here?”
[Han Yuna] Remember? You said you’d never forget until the day you died, so I should never forget what you did to me either?
“Doyoung oppa, I’ve never seen this line before. Is this Han Yuna ten years later?”
“Yeah. I just got curious what your version of Han Yuna ten years later would look like if you acted it now.”
“You wrote the dialogue yourself?”
“Yeah. Absolute secret from the PD and writer though. They might find it offensive.”
“I’d never tell. But is this also for making-of footage?”
“I just personally wanted to see it.”
Hwang Hyejin giggled before stepping in front of the camera with a sharp, composed expression.
The future app framed Hwang Hyejin in the optimal visual composition possible.
“Remember? You said you’d never forget until the day you died, so don’t ever forget what you did to me either.”
Her vicious acting honestly suited her perfectly— no, what kind of nonsense am I thinking right now?
‘Show both videos side by side. The one Hyejin just acted herself, and the ten-years-later version you created last time.’
【Comparative playback initiated.】
On the left: Hwang Hyejin’s actual acting from moments ago.
On the right: the future app’s imagined version of Hwang Hyejin ten years later.
Comparing which one was better felt meaningless.
Both were overwhelmingly captivating.
‘What a waste. It’d be amazing if Hyejin could play adult Han Yuna too.’
【CG post-processing can recreate her twenty-eight-year-old appearance perfectly.】
‘What’s the point? They already cast an adult actress.’
Hwang Hyejin’s role was the teenage version of female lead Han Yuna.
Strictly speaking, she wasn’t the main lead herself.
‘Even to me, our Hyejin and Jo Siyeon’s images feel completely different.’
Our Hyejin looked naturally innocent and delicate.
Meanwhile Jo Siyeon carried the atmosphere of a beautiful but fierce fighter-type older sister.
The gap felt so large that viewers might genuinely get confused transitioning from teenage Han Yuna to adult Han Yuna.
When I mentioned that to road-manager hyung—
“You didn’t know? The writer personally chose Hyejin because her image matched perfectly.”
“Not Jo Siyeon?”
“I heard the writer wasn’t enthusiastic because Jo Siyeon’s image didn’t fit.”
“But isn’t casting usually decided by the writer?”
I’d always heard dramas revolved around scripts and writers were basically gods.
Especially Lee Sihyang, who wasn’t some rookie but a veteran star writer with multiple hit works.
“Writer Lee Sihyang isn’t really the type to throw around power trips. She coordinates a lot with PDs and broadcasters. Surprisingly timid, actually.”
“Still, actress Jo Siyeon’s image feels way too different.”
“Yeah. But she guarantees ratings.”
So even star writers become slaves to ratings eventually.
Honestly, as someone currently living as a slave to WeTube view counts myself, I completely understood.
‘Speaking of views… oh?’
Journey of the Green Star Episode 1 finally surpassed ten million views.
The remaining five episodes were scheduled for sequential weekly release.
‘Guess it’s time to open memberships now.’
I created a paid membership system.
Too lazy to complicate things, I only made one tier.
For fifteen dollars a month—roughly twenty thousand won—members could watch all remaining episodes immediately instead of waiting five weeks.
‘At work I spend all day fooling around with a pretty actress, and for WeTube content the future app creates everything while I just click upload. Life really is easy.’
I wish life could stay like this forever.
【Until Cha Doyoung chooses to delete me, I will not disappear.】
Team Leader Jo Woonseok paused before entering the break room after hearing voices leaking through the open doorway.
“That manager Cha Doyoung guy. Seriously, what’s his deal?”
“Why suddenly?”
“Last time I saw it, road-manager Byungwook was running around sweating bullets while Cha Doyoung just sat around chatting with Hyejin.”
“I did hear he got assigned exclusively for vlog camera work…”
“That’s basically a parachute hire. What kind of manager in this industry gets paid while playing around like that?”
“Even managers from other companies on set are talking about it. They’re asking if Cha Doyoung is basically some kind of dedicated Hwang Hyejin playmate manager.”
“The fact that Byungwook even handles Doyoung’s lunchboxes says everything.”
“I heard Team Leader Jo personally gave him that insanely expensive camera. Are they relatives or something?”
“No way….”
Jo Woonseok smirked quietly before swinging the break room door fully open.
The three employees chatting while holding canned drinks instantly froze.
“Ah, Team Leader Jo….”
“C-coffee? Would you like coffee? I can get you one right away—what kind, what kind would you like?”
“I accidentally overheard part of your conversation.”
The moment Jo Woonseok smiled, the three employees stiffened completely and started nervously watching each other.
“There’s something you’re misunderstanding, so I think I should clear it up before leaving.”
“S-sorry.”
“What exactly are you sorry for? Is misunderstanding someone a crime? If anything, the side causing misunderstandings should explain themselves, right?”
“W-we’re really sorry.”
The three lowered their heads awkwardly.
Jo Woonseok leisurely bought a canned coffee, clicked it open, and took a sip.
“Doyoung-ssi belongs to our Team 3, but he’s not really a manager.”
“…What?”
The three employees raised their heads simultaneously like frogs frozen before a viper.
Jo Woonseok smirked.
“People just mistake him for a manager because he carries a camera around.”
“Th-then if he’s not a manager…?”
“He’s talent we’re raising within Team 3.”
“Wait, a rookie actor?”
“No, then why does he keep introducing himself as a manager…?”
“Well, he definitely does have visuals that could work for intense-character acting.”
Jo Woonseok clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“He’s talent our Team 3 is pushing as a future director.”
“A d-director?”
“Yeah. You know the CEO’s preparing an in-house web drama production department, right?”
“Ah, so that’s why….”
Only then did the three employees finally understand and begin whispering among themselves.
“To you guys, it probably looks like he’s fooling around with an actress. But he’s actually coaching her acting. He even draws storyboards personally for her too. Didn’t know that, right?”
“Ah, so that’s what it was.”
“We’re sorry for gossiping behind his back….”
“It’s fine. Gossip is daily life in this industry anyway. Just spread the explanation properly if you meet other gossipers too. Better than letting ugly misunderstandings spread.”
After tossing the empty can into the trash, Jo Woonseok calmly left the break room.
I clicked the future app to process Hwang Hyejin’s “Imaginary Script Ten Years Later” acting from yesterday.
She was transformed into a mature twenty-eight-year-old adult.
The styling changed completely to match.
The background was rebuilt too.
“Wow. This quality’s high enough to release directly as promotional making footage.”
Pure femme fatale energy capable of killing male fans instantly.
But I couldn’t use it publicly.
The content itself was dangerous.
If Jo Siyeon—the actress playing adult Han Yuna and our drama’s female lead—saw it, her mood definitely wouldn’t stay pleasant.
Jo Siyeon herself already knew.
She knew the writer personally loved Hwang Hyejin and originally wanted her image, while Jo Siyeon got cast despite not matching perfectly.
Now imagine if footage spread online showing Hwang Hyejin acting adult Han Yuna through CG.
That would basically be an invitation for a full hair-pulling war.
When I entered the video community, my inbox was practically exploding.
[You’re the 30THC animation director, right?]
[I’m a huge fan. It’s an honor.]
[I loved Journey of the Green Star Episode 1 so much. I even bought membership and binge-watched all six episodes. Seriously incredible.]
[I’m genuinely proud our country produced a masterpiece like this despite being an animation wasteland.]
Because of the black-and-white animated storyboard videos,
community members now realized the account “BrainClick” belonged to WeTube’s 30THC.
Me, a famous community insider.
The feeling was strange, but honestly pretty good.
【Tutorial Stage 2 Quest Completed.】
【One additional model slot granted.】
【Current slots: 2/4】
【Registered models: Cha Seoyoon, Hwang Hyejin】
So the WeTube revenue finally surpassed one hundred million won.
Opening memberships really was huge.
Let’s see.
Current accumulated WeTube revenue is….
Huh?
Membership revenue alone is ninety thousand dollars per month?
One hundred four million won?
“Wow. What did I even do to make so many people subscribe?”
The future app did all the work,
yet all the profits belonged to me.
The 30th century really is amazing.
[Caller: Team Leader Jo Woonseok]
At this hour?
A terrible feeling hit me, and I answered immediately.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
—Doyoung-ssi, did you see the breaking news?
“What breaking news?”
—Open any entertainment portal right now. Don’t hang up.
“Yes. One second.”
I didn’t even need to enter the entertainment section.
The massive headline greeted me the moment I opened the main portal page.
[Will Winter Castle Collapse Before Broadcast?]
[Lead Actress Jo Siyeon Arrested for Drug Use! Positive Test Confirmed!]
[Who Is Male Idol A, the Drug Accomplice?]
Drugs?
She used drugs?
Our drama’s female lead?
And together with a male idol?
“…We’re completely fucked, aren’t we?”
Team Leader Jo Woonseok let out a long sigh.
—Sorry, but can you come in right now? It’s an emergency situation.