Chapter 51. Between Love and Politics
When I called Go Won-jun, he immediately told me to come to Go Won-hee's studio.
He had another schedule right away, which was why he couldn't meet me himself.
Go Won-hee would be staying in her studio all day, so I would be able to meet her there.
First of all, just as Go Won-jun had said, both versions of 〈Good Pro〉 really were being produced at the same time.
"Ah...! Mr. Do Jun-hyeok, you're here. I've been waiting for you. Please come in!"
Writer Go Won-hee welcomed me as she opened the door to an extremely neat studio.
"Director Go only gave you his own contact information, so I couldn't even call you first. I've just been waiting and waiting. I haven't even been able to thank you properly myself..."
"Not at all. I wanted to contact you earlier too, but I knew the two of you were extremely busy, so I deliberately waited a little."
Even though they were married, she still called her husband Director Go.
Professionals really were different.
Go Won-hee began placing fruit on a table prepared to one side.
Apparently, the moment she'd heard I was coming, she'd rushed to prepare refreshments.
Being treated this respectfully made me uncomfortable.
She repeatedly asked me about what had happened that day and thanked me over and over.
Every time she did, I softened the story as much as possible and summarized it for her.
As she already knew, her son's arm had simply been broken, and his perfectly healthy heart had only stopped beating for a little while.
Of course, she didn't look like she believed my casual explanation.
"Actually, the reason I came today is... you're currently working on a drama called 〈Good Pro〉, right? I had a few personal questions about it."
"Yes, yes. 〈Good Pro〉. I'm working on it right now. Hmm..."
It seemed Go Won-hee also had something she wanted to say about 〈Good Pro〉.
Her sentence trailed off slightly.
It would probably be better to hear her out first.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Actually, after what happened to my son, I looked into you and Blue Moon. Serin has become incredibly popular lately, hasn't she? ...Ah, first, this is our script."
What was this?
I had no ability to decide whether Yoon Jin-seo's script or Go Won-hee's script was objectively superior.
But I did believe I could tell which script would create better synergy with Serin and improve the final work.
That was why I'd come to read it.
Yet she was offering it to me herself.
She even seemed interested in Serin.
The timing of Serin's Nation's First Love craze had been perfect.
"Director Go probably told you already, but our version of 〈Good Pro〉 is going to be a Watflix drama. Watflix productions are difficult to predict, so I'm putting as much effort into it as possible. But after looking into Serin, I thought she'd fit the female lead perfectly."
"You want to cast Serin?"
"Yes. If her schedule allows it, and if you're interested."
Stay calm.
I began reading the script Go Won-hee handed me.
The beginning was a fairly serious political noir.
But once the first main episode ended, the story turned fully into romantic comedy.
Romance in Yoon Jin-seo's version was like a rare rain shower during a drought.
In Go Won-hee's version, it was a downpour.
This was it.
This was exactly what I wanted.
"It would be an honor for us to appear in a work written by Writer Go Won-hee! Then... is Serin already cast?"
"Yes. Ah, no. Of course she still has to audition. If this were a regular broadcasting station drama, I could probably force it through somehow, but the production company is Watflix. Still, I absolutely want Serin, so I'll push strongly for her casting. I'll even adjust the script to fit her if necessary."
An audition?
So they weren't going to feed me the role that easily after all.
Then my phone began vibrating loudly in my pocket.
"Go ahead and answer it first."
"Excuse me for a moment."
It was Yoon Jin-seo.
I stepped out of the studio and answered.
"Yes. What is it?"
"Mr. Do Jun-hyeok! I saw the articles! 'Nation's First Love'? I watched her scenes again, and Serin's acting is seriously incredible!"
"Ah, haha. You're flattering her."
Was Yoon Jin-seo about to ask for Serin too?
"I'm still the screenwriter, so I can make one or two casting decisions. What do you think? If Serin doesn't have another schedule, why not let her appear in my film?"
"Ah... but Serin has only done romance so far. I'm not sure whether she'd fit."
"I'll change it. I'll add more romance if that's what it takes to cast a trending actress like Serin. We caught a shaman together and saved a person's life together, didn't we?"
Last time, he'd acted as if he wasn't desperately concerned about commercial success.
Now this.
What a headache.
This brought me right back to the beginning.
"Please. I want to make mine more entertaining than Director Go Won-jun's drama, no matter what."
"First, calm down. Let's talk about the script."
Apparently, until recently, Yoon Jin-seo hadn't even known that the Go couple was adapting 〈Good Pro〉 at the same time.
Then again, he'd been extremely busy with his prosecutor work.
He'd even said getting permission for outside employment had taken quite a while.
People only revealed their ambition once competition appeared.
Let's think about it one final time.
Both works became successful enough to receive Grand Prize nominations.
The future didn't show which one actually won.
That meant my choice would help create the final result.
And by my choice, I meant the work Serin participated in.
Both creators desperately wanted Serin.
That only made me more indecisive.
Still, perhaps the spam system had no intention of torturing me forever.
The moment I finished that chaotic call with Yoon Jin-seo and lowered the phone, another message arrived.
Naturally, it was spam.
Monday.
Four thirty in the morning.
The hour when almost every human brain was half dead.
I was standing in front of a day-labor market in Namguro.
Because of the spam message.
[Title: 2/7]
[Recorded: 2023.03.11. 12:13]
The GIF showed part of a livestream hosted by an actor named Jeong Un-young.
Countless viewers on the right side of the screen were writing messages such as:
[Congratulations on five million~]
[Jeong Un-young fighting!]
From the comments and Jeong Un-young's expression, it looked like people believed he was the main reason a web drama had reached five million views.
Actors' contributions weren't always as large as viewers believed.
Sometimes they were.
Sometimes they weren't.
Maybe his fans were simply praising him too much.
But the only definite information in the GIF was that the web drama became successful.
And besides people saying, It's all thanks to Jeong Un-young!, there were no clues explaining why.
Was this another clue meant to help Serin succeed as an actress?
I searched Jeong Un-young's name.
The web drama had already finished filming and was currently in editing.
So this wasn't an opportunity to join that production.
Instead, I found a few of his other acting videos.
Despite the popularity he'd have in the future GIF, the acting-practice videos I found now had only twelve to twenty views at most.
He was completely unknown.
But his acting skill was excellent.
Because Jeong Un-young was still unknown, I quickly reached one conclusion.
I could put him into the same 〈Good Pro〉 as Serin and use the future popularity of his web drama to increase attention for that production.
In other words, casting Jeong Un-young could slightly increase the success probability of whichever adaptation I chose.
Was the spam system telling me to trust my own decision?
After digging through Jeong Un-young's social-media account, I learned that he worked daily labor jobs in Guro-gu to pay for acting academy tuition.
That was why I was standing outside at this ridiculous hour, breathing cold morning air.
I searched through what looked like nearly two hundred people for Jeong Un-young.
It wasn't easy.
Then a small van appeared.
The crowd immediately moved toward it.
Once the van completely stopped, a labor broker ran forward and shouted.
"Uh... Son Gyu-nam, Shin Geun-sik, Ahn Byeong-ung, Ahn Seong-su, Oh Seung-ho, Lee Sang-gil, Jang Moon-su, Jeong Un-young... get in!"
Jeong Un-young!
The crowd surged forward.
I quickly mixed into them and searched for the face I'd memorized.
A man wearing a black cap low over his face was about to climb into the van.
I reacted instantly and grabbed his arm.
"Are you Jeong Un-young?"
"What? Yes. Who are you...?"
I had no idea how much he would've earned from today's job.
So I simply handed him an envelope and pulled him away.
"What? Jeong Un-young, you're not getting in? Fine, whatever. Next... Jeong Jun-gi, get in!"
There was three hundred thousand won in the envelope.
Even after checking the money, Jeong Un-young looked confused.
Still, I'd managed to dramatically rescue him from the van.
There was no better place to talk than a cafe.
Despite the cold weather, Un-young ordered something called a Strawberry Peach Frappe.
Then he stared blankly into space.
I handed him my business card.
"I'm Do Jun-hyeok from Universe Entertainment. The reason I came is that I happened to see some of your acting videos recently. And also the edited footage of the web drama you just filmed."
"Ah, Universe Entertainment...?"
I had built my early career by personally searching for trainees.
Situations like this were extremely familiar to me.
"Yes. We're planning to recommend an actor for a major drama soon. After watching you, I think you'd do extremely well if you auditioned. Are you interested?"
"An audition? Uh... would that mean I become an actor under Universe Entertainment?"
"That's right."
Un-young searched Universe a few times and tilted his head.
"It's an amazing opportunity for me. Acting is my dream too... but doesn't Universe have no actors? What drama is it?"
"〈Good Pro〉. You know the famous American drama, right? It's a Korean remake."
The final script hadn't been chosen yet, so I only explained that much.
Still, this man was waking up before dawn to work construction jobs just to become an actor, yet he was cautious enough to check whether our agency even managed actors.
That meant he had confidence in his own future.
He seemed much smarter than the average desperate aspiring actor who would sign anything.
"You're right. We currently don't have actors. I'm making this offer because I have confidence in you, but if joining the company makes you uncomfortable, we can manage you only for this specific drama without a long-term agency contract."
"What? Uh, that honestly sounds even better. Would Universe still benefit from that arrangement?"
The benefit was obvious.
I would secure an unknown actor who was guaranteed to become popular, at a low cost.
Judging from the future comments, there were no scandals or dark secrets waiting to explode around him.
And the fact that he was so cautious about signing with an agency suggested he was seriously building his future.
"You mean you'd manage me only during production of the drama you suggested? I really like that. You're valuing me highly enough to offer that. I won't forget this favor."
Good.
Honestly, even if your acting is excellent, taking care of you for years sounds exhausting to me too.
Better to tolerate the inconvenience only while filming the drama.
An agency's main job was schedule management.
If I gave him one drama schedule and only needed to manage that, there wasn't much work for me.
Jeong Un-young lived alone in a studio apartment anyway.
The only real issue would be transportation to filming.
He could simply travel with Serin.
Occasionally, I'd buy him food or drinks.
"Your acting is already excellent, so you probably don't need training, right? You already have experience too. The web drama."
"Ah, the web drama... it's nothing special. We only finished filming. It hasn't even aired yet. If training is available, I'd really like it. Would that be possible?"
Then I'd add one more thing.
Introduce him to Yeo Eun-joo.
If I explained the situation, she'd probably gladly help.
After exchanging contact information, I sent Jeong Un-young home.
Starting tomorrow, when he came to the company, I'd pay him one hundred thousand won each day.
Anyway, every preparation was finished.
Yoon Jin-seo or Go Won-hee.
I only needed to make that final decision.
