Chapter 89
Chapter 89
The Investor Meeting
[Official] Yu Yeon-seo Confirmed to Star in ‘Demon’
[★Issue] After Soldier, Robot, and Psychic, Now a Priest... Yu Yeon-seo Cast in ‘Demon’
Horror is a seasonal business. Moreover, despite being the comeback drama of a hit writer, ‘Demon’ was pushed back in the programming schedule. It was touted as a highly anticipated work for the second half of the year, but progress had been slow. Yet, with the news of Yu Yeon-seo’s casting, sponsorship and advertising inquiries were already pouring in.
“Didn’t Min Yu-na, who turned it down before, just contact us saying she wants in?”
“Isn’t that a bit too obvious? I heard she’s been trying to get Yu Yeon-seo’s number lately.”
The industry was small, so rumors spread fast. The production company staff member in charge of casting decisively crossed out Min Yu-na’s name.
“With Yu Yeon-seo, the game is already won. Let’s fill the remaining lead roles with rookies or idols.”
Yu Yeon-seo’s star power was so immense that they barely needed to do any promotion. To save on production costs, they began searching for actors with lower fees.
“What about this guy? Seo Ha-jun.”
“Envy... Ah, that group. I’ve heard the name.”
“Their domestic fandom is weak, but their international fanbase is no joke.”
Having a large international fanbase meant it would be easier to sell the distribution rights.
Honestly, even before Yu Yeon-seo decided to join, the production situation for ‘Demon’ wasn’t bad. There was an abundance of actors to cast, and the production company had its own successful formula in the drama world.
“Just as expected. Once Yu Yeon-seo came on board, everything started moving at lightning speed.”
But the palpable difference between having him and not having him was undeniable. Energized, they continued their search for actors to cast.
While Yu Yeon-seo’s name was buzzing online with news about ‘Demon’, he met with Choi Yu-jin to attend an investor meeting.
“Who are we meeting today?”
“They’re CEOs of investment firms I’m close with, or individual investors.”
Choi Yu-jin, who ran the largest production and investment distribution company in South Korea, was beaming at the thought of showing off her son.
“They’d been asking me to bring you along, saying they wanted to meet you.”
“Is that so? I should have come sooner.”
The center of this gathering was, without a doubt, Choi Yu-jin. She herself essentially formed a powerful investment bloc.
‘To think he never took advantage of this.’
Many actors tried to maintain good relationships with investors. But Yu Yeon-seo had no need for that. He already had it all. All he had to do was show his face at gatherings like this a few times.
Even the original owner of this body, with his knack for making money, would have known the advantages of knowing such influential people... No matter how much he refused to acknowledge Choi Yu-jin as his mother, that was some serious stubbornness.
“Let’s go in.”
Seeing the empty parking lot, it seemed they had booked the entire restaurant. Yu Yeon-seo silently followed behind Choi Yu-jin.
“Are we late?”
“No, I just arrived myself. It’s been a while, Vice Chairman.”
A few people were already seated. Their eyes were immediately drawn to Yu Yeon-seo, who entered behind Choi Yu-jin. Choi Yu-jin smiled with satisfaction and gave Yu Yeon-seo a gentle push on the back.
“This is my second son. You all know him, right?”
“Hello.”
As Yu Yeon-seo smiled gently and bowed his head, a spark of interest lit up everyone’s eyes.
“You’re finally here. I’m a fan.”
A middle-aged woman, who seemed to fit the description of a noble lady, spoke elegantly.
“My name is Kwon Mi-hee. I run a small real estate business in Gangnam.”
“I’m Yu Yeon-seo.”
Yu Yeon-seo shook the hand Kwon Mi-hee offered. He had already learned the general background of the people at this meeting through Im Seung-hyeon.
Kwon Mi-hee, a major player in Gangnam real estate and cash-rich. Besides her, everyone else seated at the table was a big shot. There was a chairman of a mid-sized investment firm, a CEO running several production companies, and local magnates—all high-profile investors known as heavy hitters in the industry.
‘It was a good idea to come.’
These were the very people that actors, eager to build connections, were desperate to meet. The quality of information flowing here would be top-notch.
“Did you see that new movie?”
“The directing was very polished. Vice Chairman Choi, your company produced it, right?”
At first, the attention was focused on Yu Yeon-seo, the newcomer to the gathering, but soon enough, they were all excitedly discussing movies. Yu Yeon-seo listened, chiming in here and there.
“I’ve been very interested in Lee Han-gyeol lately.”
“Is that the Han-gyeol I know?”
“Yes. I became a fan after watching ‘White Tiger’...”
Investing was similar to being a fan. The days of looking down on former idols were long gone. Idols often attracted dedicated investors fueled by fan loyalty, which was why they were so sought after these days.
That’s why even fellow actors were generous towards idols and actors who started as idols. It was because the industry was so small.
“Would you like me to introduce you?”
“I would love that. Let’s have a meal together, the three of us, sometime.”
This was a great opportunity for Lee Han-gyeol as well. There was no harm in being on good terms with an investor. Someone else who had been listening to the conversation spoke up softly.
“Yeon-seo, I’m also looking forward to ‘Demon’.”
“Are you interested in any other projects these days?”
“How about a movie?”
Yu Yeon-seo himself was jokingly called the ‘idol of the acting world,‘ and there were a few people who would invest in any project he showed interest in, purely out of fandom.
‘Those people aren’t here.’
In other words, his investment alone was like that of an entire investment firm.
“Not yet. I am quite interested in movies lately... but you all would know more about that than I do, wouldn’t you?”
“We can trust your eye for projects, Yeon-seo. You’re famous for finding gems in the rough, aren’t you?”
Was I that famous...? Well, the media was calling me the ‘Hope of Rookies,‘ so I guess it would be even more so for people who heard news directly from the industry. Yu Yeon-seo gave a small smile.
“Well... I just think I have good intuition.”
“At this point, it’s not intuition, it’s skill. I’ve recently taken an interest in discovering new talent, but I haven’t had nearly the same success as you, Yeon-seo.”
“Perhaps it’s because I’m an actor myself, so I have a different perspective.”
“But is there a reason you keep picking rookie projects?”
“It’s more fun that way. And to be honest, before, my acting skills weren’t up to par.”
In reality, he had chosen rookie projects so he could act like a king on set, but he packaged it nicely as just for fun. Everyone looked at him, surprised that he would so openly talk about his acting ability.
‘Why? It’s true.’
It was a joke he could only make because he had already shown his improved acting skills. As Yu Yeon-seo brushed it off lightly, everyone chimed in, saying his acting had improved immensely. Choi Yu-jin wore an expression that seemed to say, ‘What do you think? Isn’t my son amazing?’ She was starting to resemble Yu Geon-min.
“My thinking has changed recently, though.”
“Right, it’s time for you to work with renowned directors.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
Everyone was reacting favorably to Yu Yeon-seo. It was probably thanks to Choi Yu-jin sitting next to him. This is why having connections is so great.
“Speaking of which, that reminds me... have you all heard the news?”
After talking about movies for a while, all eyes turned to the person sitting at the far end of the table.
“Director Cheon is making a comeback.”
“Director Cheon Seong-min?”
Choi Yu-jin’s eyes widened in surprise. The others began to murmur.
“Him?”
“My goodness...”
They chattered excitedly. The films they listed were ones he remembered seeing in the future. There was even a film he had rewatched several times. Intrigued, Yu Yeon-seo also focused on the conversation.
“The Emperor of Cannes is making a comeback... The competition will be fierce.”
“He had so many bad experiences with production companies, I thought he had retired for good.”
“I didn’t think he’d ever stop creating. He’s a born artist.”
“That’s right.”
“Ah, Yeon-seo, you might not know him well. Just among his protégés, there’s Director Ahn O-jun and...”
The director of the film that Jin Su-ho took a 50% pay cut to be in? A man with that much influence was talking about retirement just because he got burned by a production company?
“But what happened with the production company? Was there some incident?”
“Ahh... He did a project with a new production company as a favor to an acquaintance, and they apparently told him not to ‘do art with their money’.”
“...They told an artistic director not to do art?”
“Exactly. It’s a shame. I would invest any amount in him.”
Wouldn’t a master like Cheon Seong-min be able to handle the demands of most production companies? But that production company supposedly pressured the director, boasting that the one who pays the bills calls the shots.
[“Do I really have to work while hearing things like this?”]
He was apparently so hurt at the time that he declared a semi-retirement, saying he wouldn’t return to the film industry for a while, and then disappeared. And that production company reportedly filed for bankruptcy not long after.
“Are you interested?”
Choi Yu-jin, sitting beside him, whispered in his ear.
‘Director Cheon Seong-min...’
He was a director whose every project was invited to international film festivals, and he never came back empty-handed. If possible, I’d like to participate as an actor, but if I don’t catch the director’s eye, there’s always the option of winning a Best Picture award as an investor. He could provide the required investment funds immediately without interfering with the project at all.
“Yes.”
Yu Yeon-seo replied with a small smile.
After forging several connections at the investor meeting, Yu Yeon-seo immediately immersed himself in analyzing his character for ‘Demon’.
“...This is difficult.”
It was an unexpected hurdle.
Sergeant Kim Woo-jin in ‘White Tiger’ hadn’t been difficult to portray because the profession of a soldier was intertwined with his own life.
In ‘Dreaming’, the future setting of 2207 and the frequent tactical operations with robots also provided plenty of material to draw from for his acting.
For ‘People Who Lack’, he could synchronize his own memories with the slightly unhinged protagonist, finding common ground in their shared mental state of being pushed to the brink.
His acting coach, Park Hyeon-jeong, called this method ‘affective memory,‘ where one recalls the sensory details of a past experience and uses them in their performance. The ‘Method acting’ technique was born from this very approach.
‘First, should I try to find some common ground between Father Raphael and myself?’
Alexander Knox, baptismal name Father Raphael
A mysterious exorcist.
A boy raised by an unwed father who had dedicated his life to a cult. For some reason, he was adopted overseas and became an exorcist for the Vatican.
Is this really the entire character description? Yu Yeon-seo furrowed his brow. The writer was famous for her brevity, but he hadn’t expected a trap like this.
‘First, the fact that he’s an overseas adoptee.’
His name isn’t Korean-style, but rather an English one. He was likely adopted into a family of a different ethnicity, not even Korean-American.
Furthermore, the key word here is ‘unwed father’.
‘Registering the birth of a child born out of wedlock to an unwed father must have been difficult when Raphael was young.’
A quick search revealed that the bill allowing such birth registrations was only passed in 2015.
Add to that a childhood where he couldn’t even get a resident registration number. In that case....
‘He must have felt like an outsider, no matter where he was.’
Here, he found a commonality between himself, a man from the year 2207, and Father Raphael. Kang Jin-hu, who fell into the past after dying, and the black-haired foreigner in an adoptive family.
He fluently wrote down his thoughts on the very first page of the episode one script.
‘Perhaps the church was his only sanctuary, which is why he became a priest.’
Yu Yeon-seo let his imagination run wild.
Even if his interpretation was off, he could always refer to the director’s and writer’s notes during the table read, where they would merge everyone’s ideas about their characters.
‘Alright, this is enough analysis for now...’
He opened the scripts for episodes one and two. If the other lead, Father Kim Leo, was in charge of the passionate, fiery side, then Father Raphael would naturally have a cold image. I’ll have to keep that in mind, too.
A smile gradually spread across his face as he read the script. He was only on episodes one and two, so he couldn’t grasp the overall flow of the drama yet, but he found the process of analyzing the character and reading the script to be fun.