A Coffee Shop Near Hapjeong Station
━Kyaak! Yang Se-hee let out a shriek filled with uncontainable joy before she even realized it, then flushed with embarrassment and asked again.
"·········R-Really? I passed? The audition?"
"Yes, congratulations."
"No way! You're lying!"
"Glad you're happy about it."
"Of course I am! It's Model Detective 3! My next project is a sequel to a ten-million-view film···wow······this is real······thank you so much."
"Thank you too."
Jang Team Leader nodded. He had just secured the final casting confirmation for an additional role in Model Detective 3, a project where DK Entertainment's influence was strong even from the production stage.
The insane acting he'd witnessed from Lee Tae-gyu and Han Joo-hyuk at the script reading had scared off some actors, worried they'd look like they couldn't act by comparison. One of those vacancies—a female role—had been filled by Yang Se-hee, thanks to Kim Kwang-woo's keen eye from the Arena Short Film Festival.
Her acting was even better than Cheon Yoo-seong's━━recalling what Kim Kwang-woo had said after yesterday's audition, Jang Team Leader delivered the final details.
"Filming dates will be set soon. We'll contact you for any additional updates, so please prepare for your role in the meantime."
"Yes, yes! Don't worry!"
With filming for Model Detective 3 just around the corner.
"Alright then."
"Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
After standing to shake hands, she bowed deeply in gratitude and practically danced out of the cafe. Jang Team Leader watched her go.
‘············Hmm.’
But his mind wasn't on the Model Detective series, one of DK Entertainment's key revenue streams.
‘Is he really going to push it that far?’
Lee Tae-gyu's contract renewal. More precisely, DK Entertainment's moves to prove his value to the company by opening pipelines to ‘Hollywood.’
‘Hollywood won't be easy.’
He knew it himself. He wasn't in a position to say such things. And he knew how crucial securing Tae-gyu's renewal—someone poised to bring in massive profits—was for the company.
But still. Weren't things getting chaotic in operations? As a member of the planning team at DK Entertainment, Jang Team Leader was now even supporting the investment and production teams, no matter how urgent it was.
‘President Do······are you sure about this?’
Honestly, he wasn't even sure if this direction was right. Lee Tae-gyu. From what he'd seen up close a few times, and from what the manager and stylist reported daily, that actor had something special.
‘Hollywood doesn't seem like the priority for him······’
What mattered to him was acting itself. You could tell from how, unlike other actors, he erased all interest in a project the moment filming wrapped, as if by magic.
‘He'll probably do the same this time.’
Hoshi-jeol, set to release during the Model Detective 3 shoot? Same story. Just like Monster City and Sai-bi Church Maknae Son, he'd breeze past Hoshi-jeol too once it hit theaters in a few months.
‘Still······’
It was President Do's decision. Wondering if the strategy of the man he idolized would pay off in securing Tae-gyu's renewal, Jang Team Leader stepped out.
Ding-a-ling!
Indeed. President Do's drive was no joke.
DK Entertainment's sincerity toward renewing Tae-gyu's contract, with less than a month left. That sincerity extended outward.
Through networks, lobbying, favors, castings, introductions, and more. Even reaching heavyweights President Do Yoon-seop couldn't contact directly, via painstaking efforts.
West Coast United States. A beach in Northern California······
"·········Haah."
Malibu Beach. A middle-aged Asian man in a Hawaiian shirt muttered while lounging obliquely on a beach chair.
"That's enough."
Gazing at the red sunset crashing against the shore, he spoke to someone behind him.
"Don't you know we're filming right now? Everyone in the industry knows I don't meet anyone but family, even if I go to Korea during shoots."
"That's why we're asking carefully."
"Who asked?"
"DK Entertainment. They're starting production on a film called Model Detective 3, and if you're···"
"Not them."
The man shook his head. A favor passed through several connections. He was curious who had pushed this ‘direct’ request all the way to him.
"Who passed this to Woo-young?"
"Max Gage."
"Ah, that New York producer?"
"Yes. We owe him from last time. If you're planning a Korea trip this month, he really hopes···"
"Owe him? You phrase it like that?"
"Yes."
"Jeez."
He chuckled in disbelief.
"Lending a few smokes at the year-end party counts as owing? Haha."
He was a true industry titan. Brushing off a favor from a somewhat notable Hollywood producer with a laugh.
It made sense. As a Korean director in the lineage of Academy Award-winning filmmakers, his influence was unmatched anywhere. He'd even turned a hit collaboration with a famous Hollywood director, and now a few Hollywood stars were willing to cut their own fees to work with him—demand was high ‘there’ too.
"Say I'm busy."
In the star wars of Hollywood. To alter schedules crammed minute-by-minute for Hollywood stars, it had to be ‘truly important.’
"I'll focus only on shooting for the next year."
"Got it."
Not even worth considering.
"DK Entertainment. Heard getting tangled with them is a hassle······ugh, anyway, tell them I'm not taking external schedule contacts for a year."
"Yes."
His secretary turned away. As the man recalled the rejected DK request with a wry smile, something clicked.
"·········Wait."
He called back the secretary heading the other way.
"What did you say earlier?"
"Which?"
"What film are they shooting?"
"Ah."
With that response.
"·········'Model Detective 3.'"
Pulling his phone from his pocket, the man scrolled through old messages with someone.
He'd already felt so regretful. Watching his dejected daughter was tough. From his position of avoiding Korea because he couldn't bear seeing her struggle after her short film flopped.
Of course he wanted to see his daughter up close, growing into a better actress without his halo. It was only natural.
‘How could I not know.’
He already knew. That her short from the recent Arena Short Film Festival had taken grand prize.
‘I should've seen you myself······’
Yang Se-hee. His grateful daughter who'd endured his foolish past decision to keep the family secret for his mystique. Wanting to witness her major film debut, earned from the bottom up on her own···
"Tell DK."
Doting dad director Yang Yong-chan nodded.
"·········I'll drop by the Model Detective 3 set sometime."
As the crank-in for Model Detective 3 took shape, Tae-gyu was looking at a peculiar post.
Pretty outlandish talk. Tae-gyu knew even the joint CF with Seol A-yoon a few days ago would've been tough without DK Entertainment.
The post was flooded with supportive comments. For one simple reason.
This was the place that cheered for Lee Tae-gyu harder than any other actor's fans in Korea.
‘·········Hmm.’
Tae-gyu scrolled through the replies carefully. A faint bewilderment clouded his face. Even for his usual stoic self, this stirred something.
His fan cafe. Or rather, this group with a name that looked like a shady cult to outsiders was enough to fluster even him.
Grand Celestial Acting Gospel (Daeyeonbok)
Even kindly noting the abbreviation, this cafe went beyond the usual hype for other actors.
High Lord? It could pass as a cheeky joke from time-rich fans around a currently cult-favorite actor.
‘What the···kinda creepy······’
But it felt way too serious for a prank.
Members of the ‘Grand Celestial Acting Gospel’ (aka ‘Daeyeonbok’) scraped every scrap of ‘Lee Tae-gyu’ news—from famous stars’ SNS and portal headlines to every corner of the internet.
They weren't just discussing his acting.
Testimony Corner
Since Tae-gyu started gaining cult popularity with Monster City, eyewitness accounts from fans who'd met him were spreading one by one.
And not just that. Though few, fans were starting to comment on news articles with ‘actor’ or ‘acting’ keywords.
Even as ‘Nah, pass;’ replies popped up, Tae-gyu's fans proselytized undeterred. Still a minority, but.
This over-the-top fervor was enough to make Tae-gyu swallow dryly.
Gulp.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
‘Because of the cult leader role···’
With Sai-bi Church Maknae Son clearly influencing this twisted concept. As an actor seen through screens, he felt his influence acutely.
Great power comes with great responsibility━━in this situation.
The elite few fans gathered here started predicting Tae-gyu's next project.
Weird ideas started popping up.
‘·········What.’
Surprisingly, some matched actual offers he'd received. Possessed trot singer, first Asian-American US President, China's top dog trainer, Zainichi yakuza boss······
‘Like industry insiders are lurking in the cafe shilling.’
Various opinions on his next projects flooded in.
‘Hmm.’
Tae-gyu sighed faintly. Next project. Right now, as Model Detective 3 filming loomed, he had to pick scripts for concurrent shoots.
‘·········They really sent everything.’
He sensed the pleasant heavy labor ahead. Honoring his wish to review every script personally, DK had sent ‘all’ next-project scripts.
In other words. Rough drafts from big-shot directors treating him like a star, plus countless commercial ones assuming his current fee was baseline······
Thud thud!
···Enough to form small mountains on the floor.