Chapter 190: A Way that Suited Me (2)

TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir

The Han River was completely red. The Team 2 Leader looked at the river from a half-opened car window. Perhaps it was the sunset or the wine he had during the meeting, but his face was flushed. Above his beard, his lips formed a crescent.

Chief Jo Byunghwan sitting in the driver’s seat said with a laugh,

“It’s been a while since you’ve been in such a good mood, team leader.”

“Been a while? Have I ever not been in a good mood?”

It hadn’t been long since the Team 2 Leader had been frowning everywhere he went. Also, it was Chief Jo Byunghwan, whose tongue had worn down from trying to find ways to cheer him up. His expression was bitter.

“Well, I mean, you look to be in a better mood than usual.”

“Maybe it’s because I don’t see Jung Sunwoo?”

The Team 2 Leader revealed his thoughts. Chief Jo Byunghwan received his words out of habit.

“He was so frightened after one incident with Lee Songha’s family once, and he’s shirked back since then. If he was going to lower his tail so easily, I don’t know why he barged into your office. He looked like he was about to start a fight.”

“Start a fight?”

The Team 2 Leader snorted as he leisurely said,

“How can he start a fight when he has no guts? That bastard, unlike his appearance, he spares himself. The company treasures him, calling him ‘Lucky Charm’, and the public lifts him up as ‘Midas’s Hand’. Do you think he’s ever participated in a battle of wits?”

“Still, he did decisively handle the matter about Nam Joyoon and Director Park in the past.”

Chief Jo Byunghwan recalled the past.

“I heard he made the press move against him and ripped the contract in front of him.”

“Maybe he thought Director Park was a pushover.”

As if he was a little drunk, the Team 2 Leader opened the window even wider. Then he muttered at the wild wind,

“He probably has his suspicions about me telling the director to remove Nam Joyoon. But all he did was talk big, no action. There’s no need to worry about him.”

The Team 2 Leader laughed for a while.

“I have no reason to be stressed now that he’s quieted down. My enteritis is all better. Inho’s debut is going well. Jijoon made me worry by not picking a project, but he set up a project proposal meeting on his own.”

“I know, right? I was worried that Jijoon would become like Chaeyoung, but seeing as he set up his own meeting, I guess he does plan on working. Did he like the project? Director Seo Byunghwe and Writer Jo Eunhye are leading this project, right?”

“That’s right. When was the meeting again?”

“Let’s see. It’s at 8, so it should be starting soon.”

“Let’s visit.”

“Pardon?”

Chief Jo Byunghwan’s eyes widened.

“You are personally going to visit? Chief Lee Bongjoon said that this was a casual meeting with the CEO of the subcontracting company and the director and writer to listen to the project proposal details. If you go there, our side might seem too aggressive.”

“There’s no need to be there the whole meeting, I’m just saying we can at least say hi. There was also the issue with Chaeyoung.”

“The issue with Chaeyoung?”

The Team 2 Leader clicked his tongue as he replied,

“I received Director Seo’s proposal to persuade Chaeyoung. The writer had picked out Yoon Jungah as the female lead, so they weren’t handing these proposals to actresses, but I got one by bringing Chaeyoung up. However, she rejected it without so much as a glance.”

“Ah, so Director Seo might have a grudge.”

“That’s why I’m going to visit and settle the matter.”

The car headed back to where they came from. The meeting was going to be at Yeouido, which was close. While they were parking the car at the restaurant, Chief Jo Byunghwan called Chief Lee Bongjoon.

“Uh, aren’t you Team Leader Lee at W&U?”

The two halted in their steps. Someone was approaching them with a pleased expression from the counter. It was a middle-aged man, whose dizzying patterns on his shirt left quite an impression. A UBS Broadcast Company employee card hung from his neck.

The Team 2 Leader and Chief Jo Byunghwan went over with welcoming faces.

“You’ve come too, General Manager Shin?”

“I just came to visit since it was right in front of our broadcasting company.”

“I came to visit because I happened to be in the area. It was good that I came.”

The general manager brought up a pleasant topic.

“I heard that you’re busy raising that rookie. Song Inho? Rumors have spread that he’s quite the actor.”

“It’s only the start.”

The Team 2 Leader’s smile thickened.

“If this movie’s a success, he should make his TV debut too. Once Seo Jijoon signs onto Director Seo’s project, I should ask Director Seo to create a good supporting role for Song Inho. He won’t feel as pressured if he works on the same project as his sunbae. The mood on set will be good too.”

Maybe it was because Seo Jijoon was on the line, but the general manager’s attitude was very friendly. His voice dripped with sweet honey. Noticing the Team 2 Leader was reacting positively, the general manager took another step. Right on a landmine.

“Like how Mr. Seo Jijoon and Ms. Lee Songha on Cat Guardian Ghost. What do you think?”

“… I think I’ll have to discuss it with Jijoon.”

The Team 2 Leader laughed a little late. Unlike before, his eyes were no longer smiling. At that moment, the employee who was guiding them stopped in front of a private room. Even though the door was closed, they could hear loud noises coming from inside.

“Oh wow, it seems the mood inside is good.”

The general manager laughed as he opened the door wide. The people sitting around the table got up and greeted the general manager. There were the CEO of AA Studio, a subcontract production company, and his employees. Director Seo Byunghwe and Writer Jo Eunhye. As well as Seo Jijoon and Chief Lee Bongjoon.

The AA Studio CEO hurried came over and greeted them but was surprised when he saw the Team 2 Leader.

“Team Leader Lee! I had thought that only the general manager would be coming. How did you end up coming together?”

“If we knew that you were coming, we would have prepared you a seat…”

“We-we’ll leave.”

A few AA Studio employees hastily stood up from their seats.

“Uh, team leader. Why…”

Chief Lee Bongjoon was even more flustered. He stuttered while holding his fork in the air.

However, the Team 2 Leader’s gaze was fixated on one person. His smile has quickly faded since entering the room as he only looked at that person. It was the same for Chief Jo Byunghwan. He even rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

People tried to start a conversation, but the Team 2 Leader ignored them and walked over.

To the person slowly wiping his mouth with a napkin next to Seo Jijoon.

“Hello, Team 2 Leader.”

“… Jung Sunwoo. What are you doing here?”

The Team 2 Leader asked, having barely managed to dial back his voice.

Jung Sunwoo calmly said,

“I’m working.”

Chief Jo Byunghwan and Chief Lee Bongjoon gulped at the same time. They even retreated a step like they were running away from a time bomb. However, UBS’s general manager and the others approached with puzzled expressions.

An AA Studio employee cautiously joined in,

“We were in the middle of discussing the scenario with Team Leader Jung. Uh, Team Leader Jung, do you happen to have other appointments? If you need to go, we can hurry up…”

“No, I don’t have any other appointments. We can take our time.”

Jung Sunwoo shook his head. Hearing their exchange, a thick vein on the Team 2 Leader’s forehead squirmed. The knuckles of his clenched fist turned red. Having made a calm face, he said,

“Let’s talk outside.”

The Team 2 Leader’s hurried steps stopped. They were in front of the washroom a bit away from the private room. He didn’t seem to have the composure to go in as he turned his blood-red gaze. His angry voice, which he suppressed in front of others, finally exploded.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m working. As you can see.”

Jung Sunwoo shrugged nonchalantly.

“Why are you at Jijoon’s meeting?! Without my permission!”

Having lost his patience, the Team 2 Leader grabbed Jung Sunwoo by his collar. Chief Jo Byunghwan and Chief Lee Bongjoon, who had been quickly following after them, retreated seeing this. Then they looked around as though they were checking for watching eyes.

“You said you wanted to talk.”

Clicking his tongue, Jung Sunwoo pried the Team 2 Leader’s hands off him.

“I didn’t come for Mr. Jijoon’s meeting.”

“What? Then who-!”

“He came with me.”

A voice suddenly cut in.

Wiping her hands with a paper towel, Son Chaeyoung walked over from the women’s washroom.

The Team 2 Leader’s mouth gaped like something was caught in his throat. It was worse than when he discovered Jung Sunwoo next to Seo Jijoon. If he had been taken aback and furious before, he was now in doubt. His mind was on the verge of escaping reality.

He simply blinked like he was seeing someone who shouldn’t be here.

Then he blankly asked,

“Chaeyoung, why are you here?”

***

Son Chaeyoung said,

“Then go tell them. That Son Chaeyoung will do another project.”

She clinked her glass of juice with mine. Then she added,

“But me thinking about doing a project and actually choosing one is different. I don’t do projects I don’t like.”

“Even though you said you weren’t going to do any, you still looked through a lot of projects. Did any of them catch your eye?”

As though she thought of something, Son Chaeyoung’s eyes turned into crescent moons.

“Do you know Director Seo Byunghwe?”

“I do.”

There were a few famous directors in broadcast companies’ drama departments, and Director Seo Byunghwe at UBS was well-known for his beautiful cinematography. He shot a 20-part mini-series like it was a film. There was nothing more to say about his directing abilities.

“I like Director Seo’s directing. He’s preparing his new project right now. I saw the proposal, and it was quite good.”

I probably paid careful attention to it if it was Director Seo Byunghwe’s new project.

But I had no recollection of seeing it.

“The writer was thinking of Yoon Jungah as the female lead.”

Ah, was that why they didn’t hand out the proposals?

“The Team 2 Leader persuaded Director Seo, saying that I would do it, and brought it over. What about you?”

Son Chaeyoung leisurely propped her chin up and smiled,

“Can you get me that?”

-Ah… If only you had contacted us a bit earlier.

Director Seo Byunghwe’s voice on the other side of the call sighed with regret.

I quickly churned my mind. They might have already confirmed Yoon Jungah as their female lead because some time had passed since the Team 2 Leader showed Director Seo Byunghwe’s proposal to Son Chaeyoung.

If they had already cast her, then I would have looked for a different project.

Probably. Most likely.

However, the situation turned in a different direction.

-We’re about to lose the timeslot for that project right now. Our attempts at casting our leads went belly-up.

I quickly acted. The one who was producing the project was AA Studio, a subcontract production company, instead of UBS. I went over after receiving their address, and it was a company situated in a worn building with a single sign.

It was incomparably inferior to Well-Made Production and SBE Film, which I had visited quite often recently. The inside was even messier than Pan Production, which had been a budding production company at the time.

Stacks of paper, crumpled paper cups, and half-eaten jjamppong^{1} bowls were scattered here and there. The employees all had their heads against their desks. It was so poor that I had to double-take and check the sign before entering.

A lanky man walked over. The pink neck pillow resembled a lizard coiled around his neck.

“What is the reason for your visit?”

“I wanted to discuss casting.”

“Who?”

“Ms. Son Chaeyoung.”

He stopped mid-yawn and stared at my face. Then he stiffened.

The employees jolted to their feet like corpses crawling out their graves. In a blink of an eye, a table was cleared, and they brought over freshly brewed coffee in a normal paper cup. They also brought over their project proposal. I read the synopsis and list of characters before raising my head.

Across from me sat the lizard, I mean, the man who introduced himself as the CEO.

I ignored the gazes fixed on me as I asked,

“I heard that the casting for Director Seo Byunghwe flopped.”

“Ah, that.”

The CEO glanced at me before gloomily saying,

“We dug our own graves. We had already made a verbal agreement with Ms. Yoon Jungah, but Team Leader Lee from W&U took a proposal last time. That Ms. Son Chaeyoung liked Director Seo’s directing and wished to see the proposal.”

His voice was mixed with guilt and frustration.

“Then Ms. Son Chaeyoung replied, saying that she wasn’t ready to do it, but UBS suggested we wait a little. That they would like Ms. Son Chaeyoung to do it over Ms. Yoon Jungah. To be honest, as a company, it was enticing.”

The CEO ruffled his hair, almost to the point of ripping it out.

I could understand the broadcast and production companies’ view. Although Yoon Jungah was a solo female lead material, Son Chaeyoung outshined her. If they also added licensing it to China, the scales tipped towards Son Chaeyoung.

“Why Ms. Son Chaeyoung took a long break. Since it was about time for her to return and we didn’t hear of any other projects she was interested, we futilely decided to wait a little longer. However, Ms. Yoon Jungah got wind of it.”

“Ah.”

“We got rejected. Though it was understandable.”

It was normal for a production company to approach multiple actors, but they had nothing to say if they were caught stalling after a verbal agreement with one actor for another one. Celebrities were people who lived and died with their pride.

“The male lead we were in talks with was in the same company as Ms. Yoon Jungah, so we were rejected by both of them. We hastily tried to cast new people, but UBS put the project on hold. There is a project from another production company that had already cast their lead, and they might hand over our timeslot to them. Our production time is quite tight.”

The CEO looked at me with desperate eyes as he spoke.

I could easily tell what he wanted to hear, so I decided not to waste any more time and said,

“It’s not like you’ve completely lost your timeslot, right?”

“Yes, not yet. But it’s only a matter of time at this rate. We might even lose it today.”

“Even if Ms. Son Chaeyoung is interested in this project?”

The clouds over the CEO’s face were completely swept away. The employees, who had been glancing at me from around the office, gathered around me. Their eyes were burning with passion as though they saw an opportunity to revive this almost dead project. Putting their heads together, they discussed,

“If we tell them that we are in talks with Ms. Son Chaeyoung, then I think we’ll be able to persuade UBS.”

“Tell UBS that we’ll set up a meeting with Ms. Son Chaeyoung right away so that we can stall for time.”

“But the other company says they can start filming tomorrow. The UBS director hates filming during broadcasts, so he might just hand it over to whoever is ready to go. We need to show that we’re ready right away…”

“Then what if we bring up a male lead for the time beings? That we are in talks with someone. If we stall for time, we can just say that talks broke down and cast some other actor.”

“And who can we ask right now? It’s not a supporting role but the lead. Do you have an actor you’re close with?”

I watched the noisily discussing people before saying,

“If a meal just for show… How about Mr. Seo Jijoon?”

As though someone had pressed the ‘mute’ button, sound completely stopped. Someone’s head bounced up and down. A few employees turned back at me. Seeing their expressions, it seemed I didn’t have to wait for their answer.

I spoke with a bright smile,

“Then let’s arrange a meeting.”

*

The Team 2 Leader’s gaze alternated between Son Chaeyoung and me.

With the most dazed expression I’ve seen in years, he asked,

“Chaeyoung, why are you here?”

Son Chaeyoung gestured at me with her chin and smiled.

“I followed my manager.”

^{1} Jjamppong – Korean spicy noodle soup.