Chapter 53: Global Contract
A few days later.
Geonwoo arrived with Yoon Jihye at the building housing NetPlus Korea’s offices.
Once they finished registering in the lobby, an employee guided them upstairs.
Inside the elevator, Jihye checked the documents she was carrying.
“Director, let’s look at the changed conditions first today.”
“Yes. Sounds good.”
The elevator doors opened.
The two followed the employee toward a meeting room deeper inside.
When the glass door opened, two people who had arrived earlier stood.
One was in charge of content.
The other handled contracts.
“You’re Director Baek Geonwoo and Team Leader Yoon Jihye, correct?”
“Yes. Hello.”
Geonwoo and Jihye exchanged greetings with them.
“First, congratulations on your award at Fribourg.”
“Thank you.”
After the brief greeting, all four sat.
A proposal prepared by NetPlus lay on the table.
The content manager pushed two copies toward Geonwoo and Jihye.
“Let’s begin with the newly revised terms.”
Geonwoo opened the proposal.
Jihye immediately began reading from the first page.
Several pages later, her hand stopped.
“The service regions have expanded quite a lot.”
The content manager nodded.
“Yes.”
“This time, we’re making the proposal based on global availability.”
Geonwoo checked the same section.
A long list of regions appeared.
His eyes moved to the next item.
“The release date is still blank.”
“Yes.”
“We wanted to coordinate that while discussing everything today.”
Jihye turned several more pages.
Then stopped.
“Then we should probably confirm this first.”
The contract manager looked at her.
“Go ahead.”
“We’re currently receiving inquiries about overseas theatrical distribution.”
The content manager nodded.
Jihye continued.
“If NetPlus releases the film first, it could affect those negotiations.”
The contract manager pulled the proposal slightly closer.
“That’s true.”
“What timing is NetPlus considering for release?”
“We don’t want to delay it too long either.”
The content manager answered.
“If global availability is confirmed, we’d like to move relatively quickly.”
Jihye looked once at Geonwoo.
Geonwoo stared at the proposal.
From NetPlus’s perspective, it made sense.
Geonwoo asked,
“Can the release date be adjusted separately only in countries where a theatrical release is confirmed?”
The contract manager didn’t answer immediately.
“You want the theaters to have it first?”
“Yes.”
“If theatrical distribution is actually secured in a region, we’d like it to play in theaters first and then release on NetPlus afterward.”
“That’s possible.”
“But you’ll need to notify us by a certain deadline that the theatrical release has been confirmed.”
Jihye responded,
“Of course.”
“What about regions without theatrical distribution?”
“Those would follow the basic NetPlus release schedule.”
Jihye marked that section with her pen.
“Then there’s no need to delay the entire global release because of the distributors we’re currently speaking to.”
“Correct.”
“We can adjust it by region.”
The content manager made a note.
“Then we’ll revise the terms in that direction.”
The first issue was settled faster than expected.
The content manager turned to the next page.
“And if we proceed with global service, we’ll handle localization.”
Geonwoo turned the page too.
It contained details about subtitles and translation.
“Not only English, but other languages as well?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll gradually prepare all languages needed for the service regions.”
“Can we review the final translations?”
“Of course.”
Geonwoo nodded.
“As long as the meaning of the dialogue doesn’t change.”
“We’ll send review copies for that purpose.”
Jihye asked,
“Will you use the English subtitles from Fribourg as reference too?”
“Yes.”
“But we’ll review them again for global service.”
Geonwoo turned another page.
After that, they went through detailed terms such as promotion, localization, contract duration, and payment structure.
Whenever Jihye pointed out an ambiguous clause, the contract manager explained how it could be revised.
Geonwoo focused mainly on things that directly affected the work itself, like the feature edit and trailers.
Finally, the contract manager asked,
“Is there anything else you’d like to confirm?”
Jihye opened one of the pages she had marked.
“If you revise the wording about regional release schedules and schedule changes we discussed earlier, I think that should be enough.”
The content manager nodded.
“Then we’ll revise it based on today’s discussion and send it over.”
Jihye asked,
“When can we expect it?”
“If we move quickly, within two days.”
“Understood.”
The remaining discussion didn’t take long.
They confirmed required materials and contact procedures.
The content manager stood.
“Thank you for taking the time today.”
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”
Geonwoo stood too.
They exchanged handshakes.
The elevator doors closed.
Jihye put the proposal into her bag.
“That took longer than expected.”
“Yeah.”
The elevator slowly descended.
Jihye said,
“I’ll go back today and organize the overseas situation first.”
“But Director, you want to proceed with NetPlus, right?”
“Of course.”
“It’ll clearly be a good opportunity for both me and the actors.”
The elevator reached the lobby.
The doors opened.
The two walked outside.
Jihye said,
“I’ll contact you as soon as the revised contract arrives.”
“Yes. Please.”
They separated in front of the building.
Over the next several days, they exchanged several rounds of messages.
Jihye reorganized the business cards received at Fribourg and the emails that had come in afterward.
Not every contact became an actual distribution negotiation.
Some companies only requested materials and never replied.
Some discussions ended because the expected terms didn’t match.
Others remained active and asked about specific territories and release methods.
Jihye updated Geonwoo along the way.
While the overseas distribution situation was being organized, NetPlus sent over a revised proposal.
Jihye checked it first, then forwarded it to Geonwoo.
Geonwoo looked at the revised sections first.
After reading the contract to the end, he messaged Jihye.
[Checked.]
[Looks fine to me.]
Jihye replied.
[I don’t see any major problems either.]
[I’ll have legal review it and contact you again.]
Geonwoo put his phone down.
The next afternoon.
