Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The Rookie Who Saved the Music Video (2)
WISH completely stole my soul away.
Every single member hugged me once, held my hand, and even took selfies with me.
The selfies were something I personally requested.
The moment I asked, they burst into laughter and gathered around me, taking pictures from all sorts of angles with me in the center.
I even got signed copies of every limited album they’d released so far,
and they promised to invite me to the best seats at future fan meetings and concerts.
I’d hugged a top-tier girl group I’d only ever seen on TV, taken selfies with them, and even secured VIP concert seats.
I’m really glad I stayed alive—
No, I’m glad I installed <Premium Cut 3000>…
“Do you happen to like the WISH girls? If you want, Doyoung, I could assign you as one of their road managers. It’d be an easy job. You’d mostly just follow them around.”
The middle-aged man—
No, Team 3 Leader Jo Woonseok’s words instantly snapped me back to reality.
“No, thank you. Fans are happiest when they admire stars from the proper distance.”
“Oh?”
“If I get too close, my fandom might burn up. Just like today’s fire.”
“I didn’t realize you were this passionate about WISH. Though honestly, the moment you boldly stepped forward trying to save the music video footage…”
Up until yesterday, I’d just been an average casual listener who occasionally enjoyed their songs.
Starting today, though, I officially decided to become a hardcore fan.
I’d received five hugs in a row. Of course I had to.
“Alright then, shall we talk business now? Sit down.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Honestly, I had things I wanted to discuss too.
No matter how you looked at it, I’d performed a major service for the company.
Not only had I saved them from over one billion won in additional production costs, I’d also saved the time and physical exhaustion of a top-tier girl group where every second mattered.
“We’ll discuss employee reward bonuses later. First, how much is the restoration fee?”
“They said it was urgent, so they handled my request first. We’re really close. We haven’t even discussed money yet.”
I’d been slightly embarrassed wondering how to bring up the recovery fee.
Thankfully, Team Leader Jo Woonseok raised the subject first.
“I looked into it, and apparently water-damaged drives can sometimes be recovered even after years, but once they’re burned like this, recovery is basically impossible.”
“That’s right.”
“There’s really no precedent for this, so I’m not sure how to properly compensate them… but I was thinking maybe around one hundred million won?”
“One hundred million?”
My heart nearly exploded.
I’d expected maybe a few hundred thousand won—
At absolute most, maybe twenty million.
But starting negotiations at one hundred million?
“If we had to reshoot all the lost footage, production costs alone would’ve exceeded one billion won. And if you factor in the girls’ ruined schedules from additional filming, the losses would’ve been even higher.”
Team Leader Jo Woonseok’s eyes remained calm.
“Honestly, I’d love to casually throw around billions if I could, but the company has its limits too. Since it sounds like you’re close with them, could you maybe settle things around one hundred million?”
Of course we can.
But accepting immediately would make me look amateurish.
“The person I know is pretty greedy about money, but I’ll try talking things out so the price doesn’t go above one hundred million.”
“I’ll leave that to you then. Your company reward bonus depends on it too, so treat it like your own business.”
Looks like I’m getting paid twice.
Though compared to one hundred million won, the employee bonus probably wouldn’t be much.
“I heard from Manager Cha. You’re his nephew, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I heard you entered through general administration. Is there a specific department you want? I could transfer you.”
“Huh? Me?”
“This industry’s kind of like that. People believe in superstition. Fortune too.”
He didn’t look like the type to believe in any of that at all.
“A rookie employee joins the company, immediately finds burned external drives, and just so happens to know a top-tier recovery company that restores everything within half a day? In this industry, that’s a serious stat. From the company’s perspective, it’s incredible luck.”
Was that why people still performed pig-head rituals before starting film shoots?
Even so, calling it a “stat” felt ridiculous…
“So instead of leaving you stuck in administration, I’d rather place you near artists and spread some of that good fortune around. You really aren’t interested in being a manager?”
A manager?
I’d never even considered something like that.
Maybe he assumed I’d be interested just because I worked at an entertainment company.
Then suddenly, an idea hit me.
“Actually, I’m somewhat interested in video-related work.”
“Oh, really?”
Even though that interest only started less than a month ago.
“If it’s a position where I could gain experience in that field, I think it’d feel more rewarding than administration…”
“Perfect. Then become a junior manager for our Hyejin. It won’t be too hard. She’s gentle and sweet.”
Why was this guy so obsessed with making me a manager?
My uncle had warned me repeatedly.
—Doyoung. If you ever show signs of being competent, people will constantly try convincing you to become a manager.
If that happens, reject it immediately without thinking twice or three times.
Being a manager is absolutely, absolutely not worth it.
“I think I said I’m interested in video work, not management…”
“Hwang Hyejin is one of our company’s rising rookie actresses, you know?”
“Even so, being a manager…”
“We’re an entertainment agency, not a drama production company. The closest thing to video-related work here would be actor management.”
“…I’ll just stay in administration.”
Better to remain in a department with guaranteed working hours.
Sure, experiencing real filming sets firsthand would probably help my creativity.
But becoming a manager was impossible.
“Why?”
Man, this guy was persistent.
He refused to let me go and kept trying to persuade me somehow.
“Managers don’t have personal lives. I was never interested in the job to begin with.”
“What if I guaranteed eight-hour workdays and five-day workweeks?”
Okay, that was tempting.
But why go this far?
“I told you already. This industry clings desperately to even the smallest superstitions. I genuinely want my artists to benefit from your good luck.”
“You really guarantee working hours?”
“Of course. If anyone complains about you leaving work on time, contact me immediately. No, wait.”
Team Leader Jo Woonseok quickly scribbled something onto a sheet of paper and handed it to me.
「Employee Cha Doyoung’s forty-hour workweek and punctual departure times are strictly guaranteed.
Team 3 Leader Jo Woonseok」
“Does this have any legal power?”
“It carries authority inside the company. If anyone gives you trouble, show them that first.”
Still, if I followed an actress around…
what exactly would I even do?
“It’s not difficult. Just run errands mostly. Honestly, this is just my intuition, but I think you’ll naturally become good at it over time even if nobody teaches you.”
Saving the music video footage really created a butterfly effect.
The praise and expectations felt so excessive my face grew hot.
“By the way, Doyoung, what’s the name of that recovery company? I’d like to keep skilled companies in mind for the future.”
I’d already prepared an excuse for this.
“It’s not actually a recovery company. I know someone who works at a CG company, so I asked them for help.”
“A CG company?”
“Yes. They’d mentioned before that they specialized in restoring damaged video data, so I contacted them and they told me to bring it over.”
I casually laid the groundwork for the future.
After all, I couldn’t receive one hundred million won through my personal account. It had to go through 30THC’s business account.
If the day ever came when 30THC needed offline meetings with clients, I planned to act as the company’s sales representative.
That way it’d be much easier hiding the existence of the video app.
‘I’m just in sales, so I don’t really understand the technical details well enough to answer that accurately.’
A perfect universal excuse.
“You’ve got good connections.”
“You know actress Cha Seoyoon’s polar bear conservation video from our company? It was made by them.”
I tried acting as calm as possible while explaining.
But Team Leader Jo Woonseok reacted even more dramatically than expected.
“What? Seriously? You know people from the 30THC channel?”
“It’s just someone I know who works there. I don’t actually know the channel itself.”
“Wow. How can connections overlap like this? Team 1’s been absolutely thrilled because of that video. Team 3 was thinking about commissioning something for Hyejin too. This is incredible.”
“But I really don’t know much about them. I just told my acquaintance I enjoyed the polar bear video, and they mentioned their company made it as a hobby project. That’s all I know.”
I kept a reasonable distance because getting deeply entangled already felt burdensome enough.
Still, the way Jo Woonseok looked at me had clearly changed.
“The more I think about it, the more I feel I made the right choice.”
“Huh?”
“Transferring you to Team 3, I mean. Leaving a totem like you in administration would be a waste.”
So I’m not talent. I’m a totem.
Still, oddly enough, that made me feel more relaxed.
“We settled on one hundred million won.”
I almost exaggerated my contribution, but decided to keep things clean for the future.
As expected, Team Leader Jo Woonseok accepted it casually.
“Good work. Your reward bonus will be paid within the week.”
I also gave him the corporate account information that would receive the one hundred million won.
It was a limited liability company I’d established beforehand after consulting a lawyer.
Apparently it was the best method for hiding business information.
It was a massive amount of money that should’ve made my hands shake,
but strangely, I felt calm.
Maybe because compared to the value of the video app, this money felt insignificant.
“We’re heading to Hyejin’s acting academy now. You should come too.”
“Ah, okay.”
I rode together with Team Leader Jo Woonseok in his car toward the acting academy.
“Hyejin’s a really gentle and sweet kid. Soft-hearted, cries easily, emotionally sensitive.”
“I heard.”
“She’s innocent enough not to understand all the vicious catfighting between actresses, so please watch over her on set. She’s still young and pure, so I worry a lot.”
Hwang Hyejin.
An eighteen-year-old rookie actress still attending high school.
People described her as a rising star whose charm came from eyes that always looked moist with tears.
I’d seen pictures of her before, but what would she feel like in person?
“Team Leader oppa!”
“Hyejin, say hello. Starting today, this is your junior manager.”
“Hello, manager oppa.”
A small pale face.
Large, moist eyes like a deer’s.
If Cha Seoyoon felt like beauty itself had taken human form,
then Hwang Hyejin felt like purity itself had transformed into a person.
I think I completely failed at controlling my expression without realizing it.
【Registering Hwang Hyejin into the model slot.】
Wait a second.
Did I really think that the moment I saw her?
【Would you like to remove Hwang Hyejin from the model slot?】
Yes, I thought it.
Happy now?