Chapter 18
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: What's Up Man!
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Kim Donghwan strode out of the company office full of bravado, but he had no clue where to start.
He first pulled up the list of people Kangyul had mentioned and reviewed it again.
'Should I visit a gym for athlete Kim Dong-hyun or Jung Chan-sung? The easiest one has to be Brother Joon-hyung.'
Since the agency where Kim Donghwan had worked as a road manager was JOP, Park Joon-hyung's old label, they were already acquainted. He was confident that if he reached out, Joon-hyung wouldn't brush him off coldly.
Donghwan called around to some contacts at the company and got Park Joon-hyung's phone number.
'Whew, Brother Joon-hyung's such a mood guy—hard to predict.'
No matter how much money was on the table, if the program didn't vibe with him, Joon-hyung wouldn't do it.
Kim Donghwan hurriedly pulled up the content proposal tailored for Park Joon-hyung and skimmed through it.
The pitch fit Joon-hyung's personality like a glove, as if it had been custom-made for him.
'Hmm. Short filming time, and this kind of show? Not bad at all.'
Donghwan took a quick deep breath and dialed Park Joon-hyung.
Ring— Ring—
After a couple of rings, Park Joon-hyung picked up.
—Hello?
"Brother! How've you been? It's Donghwan, the manager from JOP."
—Oh, Dong-dung! It's been forever. You good?
"Yeah, always doing great. We gotta catch up over coffee sometime! You free today?"
—Today? Just finished working out—plenty of time! Come hang out!
"Got it! Heading over right now!"
Kim Donghwan hung up and clenched his fist triumphantly. Joon-hyung's easygoing personality had made it smooth sailing, as expected.
When the iron's hot, strike it—he jumped in his car and drove straight to Park Joon-hyung's gym.
By the time Donghwan arrived, Joon-hyung had just wrapped up his workout.
The two headed straight to a nearby café.
"Wassup? Bro! Long time no see, yeah?"
"Yeah. First time seeing you since GOD stopped touring."
"Right! I gotta get back on TV. I'm dying to do some shows lately! You know what I mean?"
Park Joon-hyung eyed Donghwan slyly.
"Feels like you didn't just drop by for old times' sake. Got something good?"
Donghwan pretended to mull it over, cheering inwardly. Pulling out his ace too soon might make him look desperate.
"What? Spill it! Come on! Dong-dung! I always looked out for you."
"Well... You know YouTube?"
"YouTube? Yeah. Americans use it like crazy—way more than in Korea."
"Our company's launching a YouTube-exclusive show. Episodes are under 20 minutes, mostly eating or experiences—perfect for you, Brother."
"Oh? 20 minutes? Super short. But wouldn't the pay be peanuts?"
Park Joon-hyung tilted his head.
Regular broadcast shows often shot for 4-6 hours, sometimes a full day, and even then, appearance fees barely hit 500,000 won.
"Pay? Pfft. Way better than broadcast rates."
Kim Donghwan waved his hand like he'd been waiting for the question.
One finger was extended.
"What? Why one finger? 100,000 won?"
"Nah, Brother. We got class. It's one big bill."
"Whoa, 1 million won?"
Donghwan nodded.
"1 million won per episode. Once a week. Special shoots get a 20% bonus—1.2 million."
"Then hell yeah, I'm in! Gotta do it! Dong-bro!"
Donghwan bumped shoulders with Joon-hyung, flashing a satisfied grin. The booking had gone even smoother than expected.
The old Joon-hyung would've played hard to get no matter the money if he wasn't feeling it. But after his recent movie Dragon Ball bombed hard, he seemed more chill about it.
Around that time, Kangyul had just finished a mukbang shoot at the studio. His stomach was churning from all the eyeball jellies and candies he'd force-fed himself.
Bzzz—
[Kim Donghwan: Boss! Secured Park Joon-hyung!]
'Park Joon-hyung?'
Kangyul's eyes lit up.
Back before his regression, he'd gotten hooked on YouTube thanks to Joon-hyung's 'What's Up Man.' The channel's unique charm meshed perfectly with YouTube's vibe, racking up subs overnight.
'What's Up Man pulled in nearly 200 million won a month. That says it all.'
[Boss: Good work, Mr. Kim Donghwan.]
Kangyul sent a quick reply and glanced around at the filming team.
They were the largest crew at Midas Corporation right now, but everyone hustled hard with top loyalty.
'When all the channels pop up later, even this'll feel short-handed.'
Kangyul planned to recreate every fun bit of content he'd enjoyed pre-regression.
"Vice President, can you spare three from the filming team? Tell Team Leader Park Gyusu it's for Park Joon-hyung's content—he'll know."
"Yes, sir."
Park Gyusu, at Jang Deokcheol's word, rounded up four, like he'd anticipated it.
'Filming's one thing, but can editing capture that What's Up Man magic?'
Kangyul headed out, figuring he might need a few reshoots.
The contract with Park Joon-hyung was a success.
1 million won per episode, with ad revenue split by percentage.
The twist? It wasn't just a one-off—it became an exclusive contract.
[Kim Donghwan: Boss, exclusive contract has tons of perks. Keeps the flies off and makes managing our talent easier!]
[Boss: Sure, but that means extra overhead, right?]
[Kim Donghwan: …Yeah, managers, company cars, stylists, errands—but the upsides are huge. If you approve, Boss, I'll bust my ass to set it up!]
'This guy's really into that "bust my ass" line.'
Kangyul worried it might balloon unnecessarily, but an MCN was basically a management firm anyway.
'Broader coverage can't hurt.'
Better to commit fully than half-ass it.
[Boss: Go for it then, Mr. Kim Donghwan. Calling you Manager Team from now on. Talk details with the Vice President. Team Leader Kim Donghwan.]
[Kim Donghwan: I'll bust my ass!]
'Hmm. Growth is good, but it's making me uneasy.'
Kangyul had studied up, but he was no business expert.
The more unfamiliar territory piled up, the more his anxiety grew.
Money overflowed in the accounts, but it wasn't infinite.
'One "Show me the money" doesn't mean minerals for the whole game.'
Kangyul felt the need for an internal audit team.
Generosity could tempt someone to skim for themselves.
"Vice President, should we set up an audit team?"
"Audit team?"
Expecting pushback over headcount, Kangyul was surprised when Jang Deokcheol nodded.
He must've sensed the same issue.
"We'll staff it internally first."
"Yeah. That secretary of yours, Im Honggyu? He looks pretty strict."
"Ugh, ex-military—super by-the-book."
Jang Deokcheol shook his head for once.
"Perfect for audit. Slot him in when we hire more."
"Got it."
Kangyul gazed out the window at the towering buildings.
'How much for those?'
"Vice President, what's the price on the 63 Building?"
"63 Building? Think it went for just under 700 billion back in '99."
"...Whew. Insanely pricey."
'When will I snag one like that?'
Excluding school, land, and buildings, Kangyul's liquid assets sat around 160 billion won, with 10 billion in company reserves.
'Should've memorized developing land or stocks instead of lotto numbers.'
Other regression stories turned that into chaebol empires.
"Ugh. When will I be the kinda chaebol who buys a 63 Building on a whim?"
'...Even Chairman Im Myeonghan might struggle with that kinda casual spending.'
Jang Deokcheol shot Kangyul a side-eye but kept it to himself.
He'd long given up trying to fathom Young Master Kangyul.
"We've arrived, sir."
"Yep. Finally free of this damn school. Wanna hit the foundation chairman's office together?"
"Foundation chairman's office?"
Surprised by the unusual move, Jang Deokcheol quickly nodded.
With Midas owning the school, there was no reason not to.
Kangyul hopped out and marched confidently to the foundation chairman's office.