Chapter 109: To the Limit.
Chapter 109 < To the Limit. >
(Director, are you really not going to interfere?)
“Hey, don’t you trust me?”
(Director, I know you have a good eye for people.)
The person on the phone with Director Cheon Seong-min was the scriptwriter who had worked with him for a long time. In dramas, the writer had a lot of power, but not in movies.
The director often wrote the scenario, and in the movie industry, the scriptwriters who were hired by famous directors had more power than the original writers.
(But you haven’t answered his calls for days.)
“People can miss a few calls when they’re busy, what’s the big deal?”
(Wow, our director really likes him, huh?)
Yoo Yeon Seo was still a hot topic in the industry. He had the money to sway the production companies and he had the distribution rights. No matter how hard they worked, if the theaters didn’t play their movies, they would fail. The distribution rights were as powerful as anything.
Everyone was watching Yoo Yeon Seo’s moves, wondering if he would have a positive impact or if he would revert to his old habits and send the movies he didn’t like to the remote theaters with few audiences at dawn or early morning.
“He’s a good guy, I saw it myself.”
Yoo Yeon Seo’s clash with the director during ‘Emergency’ was a shock to the industry people, so Director Cheon didn’t like him very much either.
Yoo Yeon Seo was well-versed in both domestic and foreign movies. He would ask, have you seen that? And he would say, yes, I have. And he would talk about the scenes he liked or disliked.
[Especially that director’s work ‘Howling’…]
[I don’t recognize that title, is it a recent work?]
[No, it’s not.]
It wasn’t the right time to bring that up… He muttered and sometimes said strange things, but it was better to have someone who knew this side than someone who didn’t.
Besides, his mother, Choi Yoo-jin, was a big shot who shook the market, and she was famous for her love for the movie industry. She was also known for her flawless work, so she wouldn’t neglect her successor’s education.
[What are you going to do now that you have a foot in the distribution company?]
[I don’t know…]
And there was something that Director Cheon especially liked about him.
[Actually, I’m a bit embarrassed by the modifier ‘the hope of the rookies’ that’s attached to me, but it’s a positive image, right?]
[Yes, it is. So?]
[I want to keep doing that. It’s nice to burn unlimited money on works that have been proven by box office and awards like you, director, but… I think it would be fun to nurture someone like you from the beginning to the end…]
The famous directors who had a name for themselves already had their preferred actors. So he thought it would be nice to grow them from the sprouts and become their persona.
It was a somewhat impure thought, but Director Cheon didn’t know his thoughts, so he was impressed by his answer. He thought he would have a positive influence on the movie industry.
[I guess I made the right choice.]
[Thank you.]
He had a good taste, and he matched well with him, and JSENM was the largest investment and production company and distribution company in Korea, so he had no reason to refuse based on rumors.
(You make me curious when you say that.)
“Then let’s have a meal together sometime.”
(Yes, director.)
When Director Cheon hung up the phone with the scriptwriter and was thinking about the movie, his phone rang again. The caller was Yoo Yeon Seo.
“You.”
(Director, hello. How have you been?)
“What happened? You didn’t answer my calls for a while…”
(I was feeling a bit sick.)
“Oh, are you okay now?”
(Yes. Don’t worry, I’m handling everything related to your work.)
He sounded tired, maybe because he said he was sick.
(I’ll see you soon. There will be a lot of talented actors, right?)
“You’re going to start your own agency at this rate.”
(That sounds good.)
He left the casting authority for the audition to Director Cheon. Yoo Yeon Seo could give some opinions, but he didn’t evaluate the actors. He wanted to be stimulated by seeing the acting of the undiscovered gems. He was also curious about how Director Cheon saw the actors.
Yoo Yeon Seo buried himself in the sofa after hanging up with Director Cheon. He had seen a vision again at the New Year’s dinner with his relatives, and he had to stay in his seat until he had an urgent matter and left early.
‘I think I can handle it a little bit now…’
And he had to work hard for a while to avoid being tormented by the visions and hallucinations. And he was getting used to it now. He spat out blood, but he didn’t lose his mind.
“Ah…”
He lifted his heavy body at the vibration in his hand. It was a message that Im Seung-hyun had arrived at the parking lot. Today was the ‘Night of Film’ that Choi Yoo-jin had opened for JSENM.
“My lord.”
Im Seung-hyun looked like he had a lot to say, but he shut his mouth. Anyway, if he asked him how his health was or said he looked like he had lost some weight, he would scold him for saying useless things, as he had learned from his experience.
The ‘Night of Film’ was held grandly at the JS Hotel. Choi Yoo-jin’s aunt, Yoo Min-jung, who was interested in what she said, gladly gave them the biggest hall of the hotel, and there were a lot of people from the entrance.
Choi Yoo-jin, who had hosted the ‘Night of Film’, was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that she didn’t attend because there would be a lot of people who would be uncomfortable if a high-ranking person like the vice president came to this event. He, who had become the host by default, was also thinking of leaving in the middle of the situation.
“Sir, have you arrived?”
“Please take care of me today.”
The secretary from JSENM followed behind him. There were also JSENM staff on site who would write a report on everything that happened at ‘Film Night’ if he left in the middle.
“Hello, Mr. Yeonseo.”
He turned his head to the side at the voice of a woman as he was about to enter the venue. He noticed that her name tag said Halo Media.
“We are from the same agency, but this is the first time we meet. I’m Hanna Kyung from the production team.”
“Hello.”
“Today, you are attending as the director of JSENM, not as an actor from Halo Media, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll see you at the venue.”
It wasn’t strange to run into a colleague from the same agency, since he had sent out invitations to all the film production companies. Besides, Halo Media was a fairly well-known production company.
“Yeonseo.”
“Huh? You’re here too, hyung.”
“They gave me a ticket at the agency.”
Park Seunghwan, who had appeared with him in ‘Welcome to the Guest House’, also participated in ‘Film Night’. Some production companies also doubled as actor agencies, so it was possible. And he wasn’t just any actor, he was a top star who had achieved triple 30 million.
“I heard you became a director. Congratulations. Wow, you really became a director of a big company.”
He stepped back and admired Yu Yeonseo’s neat suit and the secretary behind him. The people passing by glanced at them.
“Ah, hyung, don’t joke around.”
“By the way, you said Junyoung helped you?”
“I just said something because I didn’t like him.”
“Junyoung really liked it, though.”
Did he like it that much that he dissed Park Juhyun? Yu Yeonseo smiled faintly and followed Choi Junyoung into the venue. As they entered, the people nearby stopped talking and looked at Yu Yeonseo.
“······See you later.”
Park Seunghwan quickly left the spot, sensing the unpleasant atmosphere. The officials who were watching him gathered around Yu Yeonseo.
“Hello, Mr. Yeonseo.”
“This is the first time we meet at such an event, right? Hello. I’m…”
“Mr. Yeonseo, hello.”
He casually greeted them and finally freed himself. He slowly looked around the venue.
The venue had a relaxed atmosphere. Industry insiders were holding champagne glasses and chatting with each other, and there was a place where they could dance later. He noticed a few actors besides Park Seunghwan. They were all top actors who made a splash in the film industry.
In this atmosphere, the pitching of each production company began.
“Our scenario is a satire on the social issues that are emerging these days…”
“Hello, our production company is producing this kind of work these days.”
There was a famous anecdote in the film industry that a work that had no investors for six years changed its copy line slightly at the pitching and got a lot of investors as a result. That’s how important pitching was in business.
‘What is this?’
But some production companies were blatantly looking at Yu Yeonseo’s side and pitching.
“Also, we are still in the casting stage for the actors…”
“We haven’t decided on the lead actor yet, but we plan to cast a handsome person who fits the scenario.”
It was as if he was saying, “Do you like our scenario? How about investing and playing the lead role?” He chuckled. It was nice to have such an opportunity. He didn’t have to look for scenarios; they came to him. But none of the productions that showed such desperate eyes appealed to him.
And there was a rather interesting pitch.
“The lead actor for our planned project is Mr. Jin Suho. Thank you.”
The man who casually stepped onto the stage as if he was going for a walk in the neighborhood said this short sentence and stepped down. Some people clapped and cheered. It was as if they meant, “Our movie is settled with one word from the lead actor Jin Suho.” If a top actor joined, investors would flock and the screening would go smoothly.
“That’s what we did for ‘White Tiger’ too.”
Hanna Kyung from Halo Media whispered to Yeon Seo, who was next to her.
“Did you announce that I was the lead actor?”
“Yes, we said that you were participating and investing in our movie, so we asked for a lot of interest. That’s why we got a lot of calls for the remaining investment spots.”
As it turned out, ‘White Tiger’ was so famous in the production industry that it was called ‘The Miracle of White Tiger’. The usual movie production period was from script development to five years at most, and three years at least.
And ‘White Tiger’ was also a scenario that had been floating around for a long time. It required a lot of production costs for the monster special effects, and no top actors who were interested in the synopsis had joined.
But when Yeon Seo, who had gotten out of bed after shaking off his illness, said, “I’ll do this,” the production to screening took less than a few years. And the results were good too.
“Those people will probably look for you a lot, Yeon Seo.”
“Thank you for the information.”
“Don’t mention it. The president told me to take good care of you.”
Maybe that’s why he seemed restless to tell me something. Was the president behind him? Yeon Seo smiled lightly and listened to the pitches from each production company and had various conversations with the movie industry insiders. The DJ played music, and a dance floor opened in the center.
“It would be fun to have both Seunghwan and Yeon Seo.”
“That sounds good. But can you afford the production costs?”
“If Yeon Seo invests, it’s possible.”
“Then why do you have to produce it there? I’ll do it.”
“Hey, just do it once.”
When he heard the joking words mixed with sarcasm from a production company insider, he turned his head carelessly and saw two legs in a white skirt flickering behind Park Seunghwan.
“…”
“Yeon Seo?”
Yeon Seo, who stared at it as if he was piercing it, picked up his phone and made a call.
“…Mr. Lim Seunghyun. Get the car ready.”
The party was over.
***
Yeon Seo, who ran away and came home, lay down on the sofa in the living room, staggering.
“Ha…”
He wanted to stop seeing it. Could he end it by catching Jinbeom?
But that was the only clue he had. He got up with a start after being immersed in his thoughts with his eyes closed for a while.
“Beta.”
<Yes, master.>
He thought that the decisive clue came when he pushed the memory synchronization to the limit as before. Then maybe now…
“Memory synchronization, to the limit.”
<I do not recommend it.>
“Start.”
<I recommend calling someone. Have a secretary or a manager nearby.>
“Start it.”
He knew it wasn’t enough to kill him because he had tried it before.
His voice, which sounded like it was tearing, was threatening. When Beta realized that persuasion wouldn’t work, he said after a brief silence.
<Understood. Be careful.>
<…With the 45% memory synchronization bonus, you can access ‘memories within memories’.>
<Another bonus, ‘replay memory’, has been added.>
His vision went dark.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶