Forty Billion Won of Happiness
Ji Seungcheol, Content Business Director of T-Mind.
He was a man with a knife already pressed to his throat.
All because of a thoughtless parachute heir.
"Director, this scenario's pretty good, right? How about we monopolize production and put it up on the platform?"
"Executive Director, the scenario is excellent, but production decisions involve enormous costs and risk, so we should carefully decide at the planning meeting…"
"Whose company is this? Yours, Director?"
"I-it's yours, sir."
"Then whose decision is production?"
"…Yours to make as you please, sir."
"Then push it through."
T-Mind was the OTT platform subsidiary of Songju Film, the largest film conglomerate in the country. The Executive Director was the son of Songju Film's chairman.
If T-Mind thrived, it was thanks to the Executive Director. If it failed, it was the fault of the executives who had failed to serve him properly.
And while the Executive Director loved media, he was a complete disaster at business.
"Isn't this fun? I feel like it'd be a huge hit if we made it."
"I like the vibe of this one. Double the production budget, no questions asked!"
"We should make a sleek rom-com of our own, don't you think? Get a female lead at Chae Seoyun's level."
The works produced that way received decent responses.
But an OTT platform lived and died by the numbers. Tossing up a few self-produced pieces of merely decent quality was never going to lift them out of single-digit market share.
Dead last. A pitiful single-digit share of the market.
Director Ji Seungcheol was constantly summoned to the parent company to be chewed out. Not by the owner himself — the president of Songju Film did the scolding on his behalf.
"Director Ji, how exactly have you been supporting the Executive Director that the company's performance looks like this?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's not like I don't know the situation. When the Executive Director, who doesn't understand business, tries to throw money at something ridiculous, you should have stopped him even if it meant throwing your life away like a discarded straw sandal! You hear me?"
"I'm sorry."
"You think you can keep an executive title like this?"
On the day he came back from yet another thorough thrashing—
"Director, this is the Nike CF that dropped today — the video quality is completely insane."
"Whoa, how much did all this cost…"
Even Ji Seungcheol, a longtime veteran of the industry, found his jaw dropping at the overwhelming visual beauty. Landscapes so vivid they looked real the moment you reached the edge of the sea. A surfing sequence bursting with dynamic energy.
"Director, Nike is basing a blockbuster content project on this CF. They're pouring three hundred million dollars into it!"
"Is that true?"
"Yes! Pine Tree Entertainment is producing, and 30THC is joining as the CG company! The same company that handled the mermaid and sneaker CG!"
Director Ji Seungcheol pictured the Executive Director's wicked face, still scheming ways to waste production money that very day.
If we're just going to throw money into a trash can…
Wouldn't betting it at a casino be better? Even if you lost everything, at least you got your money's worth of thrills.
"Our Executive Director is obsessed with another weird script and about to throw money at it again! I'd rather Team Leader Jo take it and put it toward the Nike advertising drama production!
"I'd rather see forty billion won contribute a handful of dust to Nike's sole than become belly fat on some godawful director!"
The way he personified money, that lifeless thing, suggested he wasn't a bad person by nature.
"Aigoo, Executive Director Song is still at it? Company money or not, that's really too much."
"Take it before the Executive Director throws it away. Okay?"
Unconditional investment — no, unconditional deposit. We just swallow the money whole and give T-Mind streaming rights to the advertising drama. Non-exclusive, of course.
It was a free forty billion won that had practically rolled in on its own.
"But is Songju Group still pushing the OTT business hard? You're still stuck in single-digit market share, aren't you?"
"…The Chairman's will is firm. He believes that if we get pushed out of the OTT market, the media business's very lifeline is cut. I agree with him."
"That's true enough, but isn't the environment a bit too harsh for T-Mind? The whole OTT ecosystem in this country, I mean."
"Nothing we can do about it."
Come to think of it, the service had launched over four years ago, and I'd never even heard of it until now. The parent company could crack the whip for results all it wanted — the heir's head was still full of flowers.
In a blood-soaked red ocean centered on the traditional number-one king, Netprince, what future could a single-digit OTT channel possibly have… Even with a chaebol parent company pushing from behind, there had to be a ceiling on growth.
"Does Executive Director Song know about this, though?"
"I can persuade him — no, he'll welcome it with both hands open. I'll handle that part, so you'll take our money, right?"
Anything was ten thousand times better than pouring it into some monstrosity of a production. Riding Nike's coattails was the smarter play by far.
That said, Director Ji Seungcheol's eyes looked gaunt. You could feel the sorrow of a working man suffering under a spoiled chaebol heir who had never tasted failure.
Team Leader Jo Unseok of the 3rd Team met my eyes.
Call?
He mouthed the word, so I mouthed "Call" back and gave him a nod.
"Understood. I've freeloaded plenty of drinks off you over the years — I'll gladly take that forty billion."
"Thank you. Really, thank you."
Color returned to a face that had looked ready to die at any moment. Surely this wasn't one of those candles that burns brightest just before going out?
"By the way, have you eaten?"
"No, not yet."
"Then let's go get a meal. My treat. Perfect timing, too."
And so we received forty billion won and a free dinner of premium Korean beef omakase in Gangnam.
I introduced myself simply as a member of Pine Tree's 3rd Team. As the drinks flowed, industry talk poured out freely.
Director Ji Seungcheol lamented,
"The domestic media market is already finished. It's become Netprince's content production factory. The only way a latecomer survives is a Korean-style Sherman Act."
"Breaking Netprince's monopoly would take antitrust law, sure. But do you think that's realistic?"
"It'll be hard. Production companies, broadcasters, and viewers are all friendly toward Netprince."
From what he said, Netprince's domestic influence was far greater than I'd imagined. Virtually every quality studio leaned pro-Netprince. And because the relationship had been forged not through coercion and bullying but through showers of cash, the bonds were even stronger.
"But don't the broadcasters have some complaints? If they want to make a drama, they have to check Netprince's production delivery schedule first."
"When the dramas made that way also air on their own channels, what's there to complain about?"
"Songju Film takes some damage too, doesn't it?"
"From the company's perspective, watching production houses and directors keep attaching themselves to Netprince is irritating, sure. But I still think Netprince has improved production sites a great deal."
"That's true. Netprince has been the number-one contributor to fixing terrible shooting conditions."
"Excuse me a moment. I need to make a call."
Director Ji Seungcheol stepped away from the table.
"Wow, I really didn't expect him to show up with a diamond ring and drop straight to his knees."
That was Siljang Kim Gyeonguk.
"T-Mind's situation must be worse than we thought."
"A company in crisis is offering forty billion?"
"The ones in crisis aren't the company — it's the executives and employees working there. The company has a rock-solid parent. What's the problem?"
Team Leader Jo Unseok poured me a drink with a pleased smile.
"Good thing we at least listened to the last-place team, huh?"
"Yes. From now on, I should hear anyone out at least once, no matter who."
"Has that blockage from Netprince cleared up a bit?"
"It melted away cleanly. My stomach feels peaceful now."
"Now we can pull in Songju Group's studios too, so keep that in mind."
We had settled on a full-CG route, but that was before Ji Seungcheol showed up carrying forty billion. Using T-Mind's connections, we could bring in capable production companies.
If I only think about my CG company's profits, full CG is still the right call…
"If we help Director Ji Seungcheol out a little this time, it'll pay off later, right?"
"There aren't many industries that run as tangled and interconnected as this one. Share things out reasonably, coexist, and it all becomes your network — which eventually becomes your asset."
I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of swallowing most of the three hundred million dollars under the heading of CG fees anyway. The original plan had already allocated an overwhelming proportion to CG costs. Nike had given that much from the start precisely because they were thinking about CG expenses.
Ji Seungcheol returned.
"Director, you're not just going to toss the money and sit back with your arms crossed, are you? Introduce us to a studio."
"Oh, really? All right. I'll set you up with some genuinely hardworking people, perfectly matched."
"As you know, we don't have experience producing dramas…"
"Don't worry. I'll send them after a thorough mental re-education."
As he said it, Director Ji Seungcheol smirked — and for a second I thought he was a different person. The man who had looked ready to sob and cling while begging Please take this money! suddenly looked like a cold-blooded veteran salaryman with neither blood nor tears.
"By the way, this young man here has barely said a word since earlier…"
Now that he had relaxed, he finally had the mental bandwidth to look my way.
Team Leader Jo Unseok wore a wicked smile.
"As I mentioned earlier, he's the new Siljang of our 3rd Team."
"A Siljang at that young age? He must be truly capable."
"He's also an agent for 30THC. If you need to talk to them, going through Siljang Cha is the fastest and most reliable route."
With a clatter, Ji Seungcheol shot to his feet. He gripped the bottle with both hands and held it out to me with a deference that could not possibly have been more polite.
"Aigoo, I had no idea such a precious person was here and treated you so casually. Allow me to pour you a drink."
"You can just be comfortable…"
Jo Unseok kept feeding him lines from the side.
"You know the mermaid and sneaker CF? Siljang Cha held the camera and communicated directly with 30THC's CG headquarters to make it. He handled everything from start to finish."
The angle of the Director's elbow grew even sharper. I took the glass in a daze, accepted the drink with proper formality, and poured one for him in return.
Was this… the power of 30th-century CG?
Director Ji Seungcheol, who until now had only spoken with Team Leader Jo and Siljang Kim, now had his gaze locked completely on me and showed no sign of leaving. On top of that, the Team Leader and Siljang competed to hype me up in front of the Director.
"Every single frame of the Nike CF storyboard, from one to a hundred, was drawn by Siljang Cha."
"Oh, really?"
"His drawing skill is genuinely insane. I want to see the face of whatever deranged art school dean rejected him."
"Siljang Cha, show us once, will you?"
I got a little carried away myself and decided to "print" something on a napkin.
Uh, but I don't have a ballpoint pen…
No problem. The materials required for image output are right in front of you.
What's right in front of me. Wait, you don't mean—?
"Want to borrow a pen?"
"Ah, I think I'll be fine…"
Could this actually work? My heart pounded with curiosity.
Beginning output.
My hand dipped red wine and various sauces onto bits of meat fat and rib bones, then swept them across the napkin.
No way. This is actually working?
Using red wine and food sauces like oil paints. Was this artificial talent realized through artificial intelligence?
This wasn't drawing. It was closer to mechanical printing.
At last, a vivid picture — impossible to believe had been painted with alcohol, blood, and sauces — clicked into completion. It was the giant deep-sea fish from the Nike CF, jaws gaping wide.
"…"
"…"
"…"
All three were speechless. They stared at the napkin drawing — the one the Future App had output using my hand as a tool — as if they had forgotten how to breathe.
This is a bit much, isn't it?
Until now I had only ever shown rough black-and-white storyboards sketched with a ballpoint pen or pencil. But the first color piece I revealed was a painting made at a restaurant table by mixing alcohol, sauces, and blood like paints on a napkin…
Director Ji Seungcheol looked at me with a notably vacant gaze.
"Are you a genius?"
"No, it's really nothing like that."
Not a genius — just someone randomly chosen by an app from a thousand years in the future.
Siljang Kim Gyeonguk snapped out of it and started fussing.
"Wow. Wow. Insane. Completely insane. This isn't just 'good at drawing' — this is genius. No, how do you even think to dip rib bones in alcohol and food sauce on the spot and paint something like this?"
"Director, this is truly… a demonic talent. That's the only way I can put it."
"Siljang Cha, I'm going to keep this carefully. In about thirty years it'll sell for a fortune."
"…Team Leader, it'll rot long before that."
He looked serious about keeping it, so I moved to crumple the napkin—
"Then at least let me take a photo."
"Director, I politely request the same."
"Come on, our Director spent forty billion on art today. A photo is fine, right?"
"…Go ahead."
Three middle-aged men snapped photos like mad. When they were done, I crumpled the napkin.
I caught Siljang Kim Gyeonguk muttering under his breath.
"Did Siljang Cha install a printer in his hand?"