Chapter 3
Chapter 3
A Long and Polite Proposal
[I watched the video created by your channel. I was deeply impressed by its astonishing level of completion.
The artist herself was sincerely touched and delighted by the heartfelt parody video made about her.]
A private comment far more thoughtful and much longer than the proposal I painstakingly squeezed out myself.
[We would like to seriously propose a collaboration or partnership.
Please feel free to contact us through the information below.
We will be waiting.
Manager Kim Kyungwook: 010-XXXX-XXXX]
Just to be sure, I checked, and it really was PineTree Entertainment’s official WeTube account.
After googling Kim Kyungwook, I realized,
“So he’s the dedicated manager who’s been taking care of Cha Seoyoon since her debut.”
Things were going smoothly.
I thought for a moment.
Obviously, I wasn’t debating whether to accept or not.
‘There isn’t much time left.’
The quest period set by the video app was thirty days.
Now only a little over twenty days remained.
A proper meeting, discussing opinions, signing contracts, arranging schedules...
At that rate, the quest period would disappear instantly.
And I’d lose the extra model slot.
‘If I want to save time, it’s probably better to aggressively push things forward before the other side has time to think.’
I revised the proposal I still hadn’t sent.
This time rewriting it as a response to the agency’s offer.
After finishing the revisions, I immediately began creating the video.
‘The background should be Arctic glaciers. Emphasize a vast, majestic atmosphere. Make the resolution 8K.’
【The image in Cha Doyoung’s mind lacks clarity. Arbitrary corrections and gap-filling procedures will be applied.】
Based on my vague imagination and instructions, the video app generated thousands of background samples.
I picked the ones that felt appropriate.
‘I’ll direct a scene where Cha Seoyoon hugs, plays with, and rolls around together with a polar bear. Use a green female mannequin as a placeholder for where Cha Seoyoon will go.’
By the way, why did Cha Seoyoon like polar bears so much?
Could it just be some celebrity branding concept?
Not that it mattered.
‘I don’t like the mannequin’s arm movement here. Raise it slightly. Lower the fingers a bit more. No, actually the opposite.’
‘Brighten the colors here a little more.’
‘Something doesn’t stand out enough. What’s the reason?’
【There are too many distracting props. I will adjust the composition so focus remains on the model and the polar bear.】
‘Then do that.’
Creating videos through thought-based instructions.
It felt incredibly strange.
At first, the images inside my head were blurry.
But as the video app refined them and continuously displayed different samples,
the scenery in my imagination gradually became clearer too.
It began developing its own identity.
At first, I felt completely lost, like being dropped alone onto Arctic glaciers without knowing what to draw on a blank canvas.
But as I followed the video app’s coloring process while constantly nitpicking details,
before I realized it, an incredible picture had already been completed.
‘Yeah! This is it. This is exactly the kind of image I wanted from the beginning.’
【I’m glad you’re satisfied.】
Just like that, a fifteen-minute commercial was completed.
The graphics and scale were unbelievable.
The background didn’t look like CG at all. It looked exactly like real drone footage shot in the Arctic.
No, actually, it was impossible to distinguish from the real Arctic.
‘Now edit a separate one-minute highlight version focusing only on the best scenes.’
【Highlight version editing completed.】
Not with my hands.
Not even with my voice.
Just a thought-click.
People in the 30th century really lived comfortably.
The fifteen-minute full version and the one-minute highlight version.
I attached both videos to the email and sent my reply.
Cha Seoyoon’s manager, Kim Kyungwook, checked the notification on his phone.
[Hello, this is a reply from the WeTube channel 30THC.]
“That was fast.”
Not even thirty minutes had passed before they replied.
Normally people would take at least a day to carefully consider things before contacting them.
“Is this person seriously Seoyoon’s fan?”
“What? Who’s my fan?”
Cha Seoyoon asked from the back seat of the van while lying down wearing an eye mask.
“That WeTube fan channel.”
“Ah, them.”
“Yeah. I think the owner of that channel might genuinely be your fan.”
“Not just using me to advertise their CG skills?”
“Why would someone at that level bother promoting themselves like that? Probably just a professional whose creative urges got itchy during break time.”
Cha Seoyoon said nothing more.
Kim Kyungwook opened the email.
As he casually read through the body, his eyes widened.
[…If you could film and send footage of acting that matches the mannequin’s movements, I plan to composite and edit it into the final version before uploading it to my channel.
Your company is welcome to use it commercially as well.
All outfits, styling, and acting concepts will be left entirely up to actress Cha Seoyoon.]
“Hah...”
Kim Kyungwook let out an empty laugh before downloading the one-minute video first.
Without blinking once, he watched it.
Then he immediately started the full fifteen-minute version as well.
After replaying the videos repeatedly several times,
a sigh escaped him naturally.
‘They already created the rest of the video without Seoyoon included. And they did this before even knowing whether she’d agree to participate?’
It was said that famous Hollywood blockbusters spent over 200 million won per second on CG.
From Kim Kyungwook’s perspective, this surpassed even that quality.
This was absolutely not amateur work.
Obviously professional among professionals, top-tier even within the industry itself.
‘This can’t be one person. It has to be a team.’
But no likely candidates came to mind.
Among all the domestic film CG companies he knew, none possessed skills at this level.
‘Probably Hollywood. Then they’re probably not even in Korea. Meeting them won’t be easy.’
That was likely why they avoided discussing meetings and only sent the unfinished video without Cha Seoyoon added.
He could feel their determination.
If Cha Seoyoon simply filmed acting footage to replace the mannequin...
‘they’ would handle the rest and complete it themselves.
“This person’s the real deal.”
“Huh?”
When the road manager asked, Kim Kyungwook shook his head with a bitter smile.
“The real deal. Both the skills and the fan devotion.”
An approval reply arrived in barely half a day.
I thought it would take at least a full day, but their internal decision-making process was incredibly fast.
Because I now had a good impression of the agency, I even worked harder than usual at my office job after arriving at work.
Even though it was just miscellaneous office tasks.
The people around me started looking at me more favorably too.
A few days later, the footage arrived.
Cha Seoyoon’s personal acting footage.
Standing in front of a green screen, she wore various outfits and acted as though an actual polar bear stood before her.
“But why are there so many files?”
Looking closer, they had filmed from as many angles and close-up perspectives as possible.
“They could’ve just sent footage matching the mannequin angles from my original video.”
I guess they figured that if they were filming anyway, they might as well shoot as many angles and compositions as possible.
But what surprised me most was the outfit.
“A skintight suit?”
Cha Seoyoon wore a green bodysuit.
But it was strangely unique.
Usually bodysuits either covered the entire body or exposed only the face.
But Cha Seoyoon’s looked more like a strapless one-piece swimsuit.
Her collarbones, shoulders, and lower thighs were all exposed.
[Please apply CG outfits according to the original concepts envisioned by 30THC.]
The explanation said this was done because if Cha Seoyoon wore actual costumes while acting, compositing her into the original footage later would become much more difficult.
I appreciated the consideration...
But honestly, I didn’t really care.
After all, the one doing the hard work wasn’t me.
It was the future video app from a thousand years ahead.
【The difference in processing power is so vast that comparison is meaningless.】
It didn’t get offended, right?
I was just joking.
Anyway, intentionally or not, I ended up receiving multiple videos of Cha Seoyoon acting in a green swimsuit-like bodysuit.
From various angles and close-up shots too.
‘What outfit should I use?’
In the email, I had lightly suggested expedition clothing or comfortable casual wear concepts.
But now they had completely handed me the reins instead.
Of course, we had already agreed beforehand that only the final approved version would be uploaded.
‘Why overthink it? I’ll just try every outfit that comes to mind.’
This part was incredibly easy.
I only had to choose from the dresses and outfit suggestions recommended by the video app.
I could also design outfits myself or select clothes I liked from online shopping sites.
Soon dozens of versions were completed.
And then I fell into another dilemma.
‘This is driving me insane. They all look good. How am I supposed to choose just one?’
After agonizing over it for a long time, I picked one version I absolutely wanted to include.
Then I selected four more based on expedition gear and picnic outing concepts.
After finalizing all five versions, I emailed them to the agency.
“Seoyoon, 30THC sent five completed versions and asked us to choose the final confirmation. Let’s watch them together now.”
Cha Seoyoon, who had been busy doing yoga on a mat, stopped and turned toward Kim Kyungwook.
“Oppa, didn’t you say we only sent the footage two hours ago?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“And the completed versions are already here? And they want us to choose one out of five?”
“That’s what happened.”
“Does CG work normally finish that fast?”
“Absolutely not. That’s what makes this channel even more incredible.”
“Alright. Let’s watch.”
Kim Kyungwook opened the laptop and started the videos.
While wiping away sweat, Cha Seoyoon watched the footage, and her eyes gradually widened.
Her face moved closer and closer to the screen.
Meanwhile, Kim Kyungwook calmly stepped aside as if used to this reaction and checked the videos on his phone instead.
After a long while,
Cha Seoyoon finally turned back toward him with an excited expression.
“They’re all good, but I like the fifth video the most.”
“The one with the spaceship?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, but we can’t use that one anyway. Pick one more out of the other four.”
“Why?”
“They said they want to upload that one only on their own WeTube channel. Apparently they specifically added extra scenes afterward just for that version.”