Gang Rojun blinked as he looked at Writer Han Seoryeong standing right in front of him. Writer Han Seoryeong? The star writer Han Seoryeong, for real? She had a plain air about her, with a bob cut and glasses, but there was an extraordinary force in her gaze.
And she was calm, at that.
“Team Leader, would you like to be laid out?”
A threat uttered in a cultured voice. Even as Rojun stared at Writer Han Seoryeong’s profile, he recalled the things he had looked up sometime yesterday. From the major management company “Culture Drawer” to Writer Han Seoryeong herself.
The information had been easy to find.
The power of “Culture Drawer” was considerable.
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Writer Han Seoryeong’s influence in the entertainment world was also enormous.
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Her career, her countless hit works, and so on. Because of the writer management meeting, Rojun had searched her up and been purely amazed. And that very star writer, Han Seoryeong, who was also co-CEO of “Culture Drawer,” had come in person.
Gang Rojun’s mouth hung slightly open.
‘I was a hundred percent sure employees from “Culture Drawer” would come.’
He had never imagined Writer Han Seoryeong, the co-CEO, would appear. There had been no word that she was coming, either. It seemed Team Leader Seo Utae of “WW Creative” felt the same.
“Writer-nim, why are you here...”
Panic spread across his broad face. On the other hand, Writer Han Seoryeong, who exuded elegance, murmured with an expression somewhere between impassive and smiling.
“Are you just ignoring my question?”
“Excuse me?”
“I asked if you wanted to be laid out.”
“...N-no. Writer-nim. What happened was—”
Han Seoryeong slowly shook her head.
“Not an explanation. Not persuasion. An answer.”
“......”
“I heard everything you said from the beginning, Team Leader Seo. I don’t need the situation explained. So what will you do?”
In truth, she had been next in line for a meeting, and as the time for her meeting with Rojun arrived, she had come here and happened to witness the situation. Team Leader Seo Utae, who had no way of knowing that, was visibly losing all color from his face.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Writer-nim.”
“That’s strange. No matter how I look at it, from the front or the back, it couldn’t possibly be a misunderstanding.”
Writer Han Seoryeong briefly glanced at Gang Rojun standing beside her, who had no particular intention of butting in, then spoke again.
“You said if he kept resisting, he’d break, and if even the smallest blemish leaked out, he’d be laid out. How exactly is that a misunderstanding?”
“Th-that’s...”
“It’s not as if you’re wrong, though. How many years have you and I been in the entertainment industry, Team Leader Seo? There’s no market as glossy on the outside and rotten within as this one.”
“......”
“But do you know something? The things you said apply to producers like you and me, too.”
Letting out a faint sigh, she pointed at Gang Rojun.
“The market is already narrow enough, and this is how you treat a writer? At a writer management company? I don’t understand.”
“I-I think I got a bit worked up.”
“Team Leader Seo, how many times have I warned you before? I told you that every careless word you throw out is a blade, so don’t treat writers and directors recklessly.”
Team Leader Seo Utae, who had been roaring at Gang Rojun with such arrogance only a few minutes ago, was now a meek lamb. No, he was closer to prey trembling before a wolf. Watching it unfold live at point-blank range, Gang Rojun could only keep admiring it.
‘Whoa—she’s overflowing with style. This is what real power looks like.’
It was a scene one might only see in dramas, so Rojun simply decided to eat popcorn in his mind. Around then, Writer Han Seoryeong took out her phone.
“If I send just one text from here, Team Leader Seo, once you fall, you won’t be able to get back up. That’s why you should have known when to stop.”
“W-writer-nim!! I’m sorry!”
Team Leader Seo Utae abruptly began groveling to Writer Han Seoryeong. It was understandable. The writers signed under “WW Creative,” the actors belonging to “WW Ent,” and furthermore, the CEO leading both companies, and so on. A single text from Han Seoryeong would be no different from a beheading for Seo Utae.
To her, it might be a faint breath, but to Seo Utae, it was a typhoon.
Then Writer Han Seoryeong murmured calmly.
“Go.”
Team Leader Seo Utae bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
“Thank you!!!”
Then, leading the female employees, he disappeared as if fleeing. Writer Han Seoryeong, who had been quietly watching his retreating back, looked at Rojun and gave a small wink with one eye.
“He thanked me, so I should send the text, right?”
She wasn’t letting him off? As Rojun murmured inwardly, Writer Han Seoryeong sent a text to someone. It did not take long, and after putting her phone into her handbag, she met Gang Rojun’s eyes again.
“I’m pretty close with ‘WW Ent.’”
“WW Creative” was a subsidiary of “WW Ent.” From Han Seoryeong’s words, Gang Rojun recalled Seo Utae’s broad face and became certain.
‘I won’t be seeing that old guy again.’
A short while later.
Gang Rojun and Writer Han Seoryeong were seated facing each other inside the meeting room. With the situation arranged like this, it was only natural that Rojun felt somewhat nervous. He was face-to-face with one of the top three star writers in the country.
‘Especially after seeing her crush a management team leader, it’s even more intimidating.’
Writer Han Seoryeong did not particularly use an oppressive tone or behavior. Rather, she was unassuming. And yet she had a considerable weight to her. It must have been because the aura of a heavyweight was ingrained in her.
At that moment.
“Writer Rojun.”
Writer Han Seoryeong spoke in a calm voice and smiled faintly.
“When I saw you on broadcasts or in articles, I thought you were truly handsome—but even that was an underestimation.”
“Pardon?”
“I saw a comment saying that you didn’t seem human, Rojun-nim. It was true. This is the first time in my life I’ve seen visuals like yours.”
Gang Rojun’s shoulders rose for no reason.
“Th-thank you.”
“Your face... the word beautiful suits it. And the fact that you’re a writer too is fascinating.”
“Is it fascinating?”
“Yes. It is fascinating. The path you’ve walked is like a fairy tale, Writer Rojun.”
A fairy tale? Was it because she was a star writer? Thinking that her way of expressing things was different, Gang Rojun cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem, I was surprised that you came, Writer-nim.”
“To be honest, I insisted on coming. There were other employees who were supposed to come.”
“Ah.”
“I’m the type who can’t stand being curious. I really wanted to meet you, Writer-nim.”
It was hard to believe this was the same Writer Han Seoryeong who had beheaded Seo Utae. Right now, she was infinitely gentle.
“Writer Rojun, how did you end up writing?”
It was the first time he had heard that question during all the meetings he had had so far. How had he ended up writing? After thinking for a moment, Rojun answered honestly.
“I think I didn’t want to be bored or idle. Because when I did, I had too many thoughts.”
Back when Gang Rojun had been hideous, he had to control his mind by the second, by the minute. If he let his guard down even for a moment, despair, hopelessness, pain, pessimism, and all sorts of other emotions tried to consume him. Those tendencies grew even more severe when he spent time emptily. That was why Rojun had done whatever work he could and written in his leftover time.
“If delusions and imagination stop inside your head, that’s the end of them, but if you record them in writing, they remain in the world. That’s part of why I wrote, too.”
“That’s a wonderful thing to say. Dragging delusions and imagination out into the world.”
Writer Han Seoryeong, whose eyes somehow seemed to drip with affection, asked something else.
“Is writing fun?”
“......”
Fun? He wasn’t sure. Honestly, in the past, it had not been fun. It had simply been one of the mediums that helped him endure life. But now, it was a little different. Once the value of what he had thought was crap writing, lettered trash, was recognized, writing had begun to feel enjoyable.
“It used to be something that just helped me endure, but now I think I’m enjoying it.”
“That’s scary—the hardest writer to beat is one who enjoys it. You’ll grow by leaps and bounds, Writer-nim.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes. You will. I feel like my own growth has stopped these days, mixed up in countless interests and obligations. So when I see someone like you, Writer Rojun, you’re dazzling. It reminds me of the old days, too.”
“You were really cool earlier too, Writer Han Seoryeong.”
Han Seoryeong’s smile deepened as she brushed back her bobbed hair.
“Thank you. Writer Rojun, make sure you maintain that way of marching to your own beat that you showed Team Leader Seo. That firmness and spirit will keep you centered.”
“......”
How to put it—Gang Rojun liked these conversations. The meetings so far had been complicated and realistic.
‘Should I say this is finally a conversation related to being a writer?’
On top of that, when else would he get to hear advice from such a great writer? If “Rental Lover” had not risen to the surface, he would never even have met her. While Gang Rojun was thinking this and that, Writer Han Seoryeong tilted her head slightly.
“I heard you consider being an idol your main profession, so how far are you thinking of taking your side job as a writer?”
“By how far, you mean—”
“You know how people have things like that, right? Like, ‘I’ll at least rise this far.’ Looking at you, Writer Rojun, I feel like even for a side job, you must have set a goal.”
Gang Rojun’s answer came quickly.
“A global-level hit work, I guess? I heard that you’re supposed to set your goals big.”
The corners of Han Seoryeong’s mouth twitched.
“A global-level hit?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about being an idol?”
“Cosmic-level?”
In the end, Writer Han Seoryeong burst into a pfft of laughter.
“I’m sorry. It’s not that I’m laughing at you. I’m impressed. You’ve already achieved one of those.”
“Which one?”
“Your face. Your face already seems cosmic-level.”
At that point, Writer Han Seoryeong checked the time and rose from her seat.
“I have another schedule, so I’ll have to wrap things up here. Hmm, as for recruiting you, Writer Rojun—I think this should be enough to say. Our ‘Culture Drawer’ can become a stepping stone that lets you reach the global level and cosmic level you’re aiming for a little faster.”
She offered her hand for a handshake.
“Think it over and contact us. I think it was good that I met you, Writer Rojun. You were a great stimulus for me as well.”
With a faint smile in his eyes, Gang Rojun abruptly made his decision.
“I’ll join ‘Culture Drawer.’”
Afterward.
Writer Han Seoryeong, slightly surprised, asked if he was sure, but Gang Rojun was firm. At that, Han Seoryeong, with a smile on her lips, exchanged numbers with Rojun.
“Someone from ‘Culture Drawer’ will come within a few days.”
She said that a formal contract would proceed soon. She also added that most reasonable conditions would be accommodated. After finishing her conversation with Gang Rojun like that, Writer Han Seoryeong got into her parked foreign sedan.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, she did not start the engine right away.
“......”
After thinking for a few seconds about Gang Rojun, whom she had just seen, Han Seoryeong made a call. The other party was someone called CEO Heo, the co-CEO of “Culture Drawer.”
“Yeah, I just met him and came out. Writer Rojun—he far exceeded my expectations.”
During the call, Han Seoryeong informed him that the contract had been secured.
“Accept most of his conditions, and we need to adjust the contract percentage a bit too.”
After exchanging some fairly realistic matters, she ended the call. At the same time, a ringtone sounded from her phone.
-♬♪
This time, a call was coming in. The caller ID showed top actress Choe Rina. Han Seoryeong smiled and put the phone to her ear.
“You’re like a ghost, you know that? How do you call right after the meeting ends?”
“Really? It’s over?? How was it meeting Rojun-nim??”
“Writer Rojun—he was something I’d never seen or heard of before.”
Soon, as she recalled her conversations with Gang Rojun, a strange chill spread over Han Seoryeong’s forearm.
“Maybe that kid will accomplish a feat no one else ever has.”
The next day, Tuesday morning.
Gang Rojun could be found inside the hall with the stage on campus. Of course, he was not the only one there. He was with the nine contestants who had finished their break. The interesting thing was that cameras, lights, and so on had been set up in front of the contestants standing in a straight line.
In short, they were filming.
Therefore, along with dozens of staff members, PD U Hanseok, mixed in among the writers, also had quite a serious expression. At that moment, several cameras filmed each of the contestants one by one, and the writers, including Gim Sehui, called the contestants starting with Gang Rojun.
It was to get simple interview cuts.
When roughly an hour had passed, Rojun and the nine kids once again stood in a straight line in front of the stage.
-Slide.
PD U Hanseok, who had been waiting, appeared while pushing up his glasses. His face was even more serious than before.
“Did you rest well?”
“Yes—”
“Yeah—”
After hearing their answers, U Hanseok swept back his messy hair.
“Before we knew it, ‘Geubaekpeu’ has aired its thirteenth episode. In terms of the plan, we’ve already entered the latter half.”
He continued speaking in a calm but serious voice.
“From now on, I will announce the details regarding the fifth evaluation.”
The contestants murmured quietly. Regardless, U Hanseok’s briefing remained composed.
“And after this fifth evaluation ends, there will be a total of four survivors.”
In other words, the fifth would be the final evaluation.
“Those four will be the final winners.”
Out of the current ten, six would receive a death sentence, and only four would survive. Gang Rojun thought to himself.
‘Already the final evaluation—those four will debut as an idol team.’
In the meantime, PD U Hanseok, who had lifted a tablet, opened his mouth.
“The fifth. No, the final evaluation task is ‘Freedom.’”