“Even if you guys don’t go, I’m going to GN Entertainment.”
At Gang Rojun’s bombshell remark, Sihu, Gang Min, and Do Gyeong all looked at him, visibly flustered. A brief moment of silence.
“······”
“······”
The first to open his mouth was Sihu, the eldest hyung, his eyes wide as saucers.
“G-Go, suddenly?? Rojun. What are you talking about out of nowhere?”
Only now did Gang Min and Do Gyeong, having come to their senses, jump in.
“Hyung?? Hold on. When we talked about this, GN was third in line, wasn’t it? EY and Big Star were first and second.”
“What is it, hyung. Did you hear something??”
Did I hear something? I sure did. ‘AI Automation’ told me EY and Big Star Entertainment were trash, after all. Of course, unable to say it like that, Gang Rojun answered quite solemnly.
“I looked up a lot of information regarding EY and Big Star Entertainment. There was talk about tax evasion at EY Entertainment a few years ago.”
“Tax evasion?”
“Yeah. It was just a few articles, but I feel uneasy. And I heard Big Star isn’t doing so well these days.”
“No, but that’s—”
“If you’re going by that, GN is worse, though.”
The expressions of the three excluding Gang Rojun were somewhat ambiguous. Faces that said this wasn’t enough to convince them. Well, truthfully, it was impossible for Rojun to give a clear reason either. Not unless he talked about the ‘AI Simulation’ app.
Around then, Gang Min, who boasted exotic good looks, slowly scratched his chin.
“Hyung, suddenly bumping GN from third to first is a bit much.”
“No. It’s not about bumping it to first.”
The calm Rojun answered definitively.
“As I said, I’m going to GN.”
“Huh??”
“Even if you guys go somewhere else, I’m going to GN.”
“······”
Gang Rojun’s demeanor, which had been closer to watching from the sidelines or observing, was completely different now. An impregnable fortress.
“Just trust me on this.”
Silence fell again. And it was Sihu who broke it once more.
“···If the leader goes, I’ll go too.”
Gang Rojun looked at Sihu.
“Hyung, I’m done being the leader.”
“It’s not over. And honestly, I’m fine with going to GN. No, I don’t even mind a mid-sized or rookie agency, as long as we can debut.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Wherever we go, we just need to rise up.”
“So if Rojun goes, I’ll go.”
Soon Sihu turned his gaze to the two younger brothers, Gang Min and Do Gyeong.
“Let’s be honest. We got that 30% viewership rating on ‘The 100%’ because Rojun was there, right?”
“···Right.”
“I admit it.”
“It started with him getting attention because of his visuals, but the big break came as more and more of Rojun’s abilities surfaced. We worked hard too, but without Rojun, it would have been bland.”
This was something PD U Han-seok had said himself.
“Plus, if they split us three and Rojun apart, which of those ten agencies would they choose? Rojun, right?”
“······”
“I don’t plan on leeching off Rojun, but still, I only get fired up when I see him. You guys are the same, aren’t you? Anyway, if Rojun goes, I’ll follow him to GN.”
Do Gyeong spoke up immediately.
“I’ll go too. Like Sihu-hyung said, without Rojun-hyung, our team is completely washed up.”
What’s he talking about. It’s not like we’d be totally finished, is it? Do Gyeong made eye contact with Rojun, who was thinking that to himself.
“I’m going to grow big too, just like hyung.”
Finally, Gang Min let out a small sigh.
“If Rojun-hyung had just decided from the start, we all would have followed. So GN wins the bid??”
Sihu, Gang Min, and Do Gyeong were all skilled enough to stand out even if they went out on set right now, but they had oddly followed Gang Rojun well since a long time ago. Rivals, yet with a feeling of looking up to him as a bit of a role model. Did it matter? The conversation had gone well anyway. Feeling that it was settled, Gang Rojun made the decision.
“Then let’s go with GN, but for now, it’s just between us. Deal?”
That same day, around early afternoon.
A standalone building near Cheongdam Station. It was the author management agency, ‘Culture Drawer’. Soon, a man in a suit with a bear-like physique entered the first-floor lobby, and several people, including a familiar woman, were waiting for him. Among them, the familiar woman was Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa of Culture Drawer’s Management Team 1.
She, who was in charge of exclusively managing Author Rojun, bowed politely to the bear-like man.
“CEO.”
The people around Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa did the same, and the man who received the greeting smiled brightly as he moved toward the elevator.
“Hello, hello— Ah, were you all waiting?”
“Yes, CEO.”
The bear-like man, who had a high tension contrary to his somewhat overwhelming physique, was a co-CEO of ‘Culture Drawer’. His name was Heo Gitae. Author Han Seoryeong also held a CEO business card, but it was no exaggeration to say that Heo Gitae handled all of ‘Culture Drawer’’s practical operations. Heo Gitae, Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa, and the others got on the elevator.
-Swish.
As Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa, her long hair tied back in a single line, pressed the floor button, CEO Heo Gitae asked a question.
“How is the situation regarding Author Rojun?”
Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa immediately answered his question, his voice rather soft despite his bear-like physique.
“Inquiries and casting offers are pouring in.”
“Aren’t they enormous?”
“Yes. They are enormous.”
In fact, recently, an explosive amount of contact regarding Gang Rojun had been coming into ‘Culture Drawer’. Naturally, it was as Author Rojun. From work proposals to variety show appearances, and so on.
“We’re even getting casting offers from the actor side.”
“Actor?? Well—let’s keep that on hold for now and pass it on to Author Rojun later.”
“I’ve already informed him.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“He said he doesn’t want to decide on the acting side hastily.”
Although casting offers for Gang Rojun as an actor were exploding as well, Rojun, having received the details from ‘Culture Drawer’, was not particularly in a hurry. He had plenty of time. He judged that acting would be sufficient as a side job while he properly pursued being an idol.
CEO Heo Gitae nodded as if he understood.
“Makes sense. ‘The 100%’ is also nearing its end now. There’s no rush to worry about acting until after ‘The 100%’ or ‘Rental Lover’ ends. Well, we only need to worry about the author side. Which places sent work proposals?”
“I will organize and report them.”
“Yeah, do that. If there are proposals that seem decent, toss them to Author Rojun.”
Around the time the conversation was roughly wrapped up, the elevator doors opened, and CEO Heo Gitae and Team Leader Ryu Jeonghwa stopped in front of a meeting room. The bear-like CEO Heo Gitae adjusted his suit.
“How do I look?”
“You look impeccable.”
“Do I look like I have some presence? It’s been a while since I wore a suit, so it feels awkward.”
“Your physique alone is overwhelming, CEO.”
“Okay—let’s go in.”
CEO Heo Gitae, smiling in satisfaction, opened the meeting room door. Inside, familiar figures were visible. A foreigner with yellow curly hair and a few others. General Director Tom Cavil and employees from Netflix Japan.
In other words, it was a meeting between ‘Culture Drawer’ and ‘Netflix Japan’.
The topic was, of course, the work ‘Like a Yojigyeong’ that Gang Rojun had passed over to Netflix Japan.
Truthfully, there was no need for CEO Heo Gitae to appear personally at such meetings. The management teams could have handled it, but this time the counterpart was none other than Netflix Japan. It was ‘Culture Drawer’’s first overseas expansion in a while, and since it was Gang Rojun’s first work contract, CEO Heo Gitae had stepped up himself.
Then CEO Heo Gitae extended his hand to General Director Tom Cavil.
“Hello, I am Heo Gitae of ‘Culture Drawer’.”
When Heo Gitae threw out a greeting in fluent Japanese, Tom Cavil was slightly surprised.
‘He speaks Japanese well. But more than that, his build is considerable. Is he a former athlete??’
Tom Cavil felt as if he were greeting a bear and took CEO Heo Gitae’s hand.
“Hello, I am Tom Cavil of Netflix Japan. Your Japanese is quite impressive, CEO.”
“We’re aiming for global expansion. I’ve been studying hard, hahaha.”
‘Culture Drawer’ and ‘Netflix Japan’, having exchanged appropriate greetings, sat facing each other. The first to speak was CEO Heo Gitae.
“You wish to produce Author Rojun’s ‘Like a Yojigyeong’.”
Straight to the point without beating around the bush. General Director Tom Cavil seemed to want the same and answered immediately.
“Yes, we at Netflix Japan want to make it.”
“I see.”
For reference, Netflix, which had conquered the world, generally had two methods of production. A production company would secure a work by contracting with an author and pass it to Netflix, or Netflix would secure a work directly and toss it to a production company to make. This was similar for Netflix worldwide, including Netflix Korea.
Netflix would pour in investment funds the moment they purchased the rights to a work. Depending on the work, it could cost tens or hundreds of billions of won, and once the start was made, production was unconditionally a go regardless of whether the work failed or not. A form where Netflix bore everything, whether it was profit or loss.
By that logic, for this ‘Like a Yojigyeong’, it felt like Netflix Japan was buying the rights first. After that, a production company would be selected and the work would be made. At any rate, Netflix Japan’s top priority was to buy the rights to ‘Like a Yojigyeong’ first.
“For Author Rojun’s ‘Like a Yojigyeong’, we—”
General Director Tom Cavil brought up the money talk in a weighty voice.
“20 million won per episode, with a separate signing bonus. How does that sound?”
Currently, star authors on the level of Han Seoryeong were receiving about 80 million to 100 million won per episode. Mid-tier authors called A-list were below that—around 30 to 50 million won. That meant Netflix Japan was evaluating Author Rojun at about the mid-tier level.
At 20 million won per episode, and with ‘Like a Yojigyeong’ being about 10 episodes, that was 200 million won. Plus a separate signing bonus. It was quite a substantial offer.
New authors or those slightly above usually received about 3 to 5 million won per episode. Of course, that was when things went very well, and there were plenty who received less. Strictly speaking, Gang Rojun was a new author who had just made his debut. So being offered 20 million won per episode was definitely a generous amount. After all, unlike ordinary authors, Rojun possessed something special.
But CEO Heo Gitae, stroking his chin, thought:
‘20 million per episode. That’s strong from the start. Netflix Japan’s greed for Author Rojun is great. But it’s a bit disappointing. There’s room to raise his price.’
He was not satisfied.
“Hmm—it falls short of the figure we had in mind.”
Although this matter regarding Author Rojun was something ‘Culture Drawer’ was doing on a service level, CEO Heo Gitae did not handle it roughly.
“What Netflix Japan has proposed is certainly impressive. However, ‘Rental Lover’ has just recorded a 21% viewership rating in Korea, and that ‘Rental Lover’ is scheduled to launch on Netflix Japan. On top of that, Author Rojun’s recognition and the explosive power of his popularity. There is much to discuss here and there, but I don’t think Author Rojun will OK 20 million won per episode.”
“······”
“We at ‘Culture Drawer’ also wish to work with Netflix Japan. But since the decision lies solely with the author, some compromise will be necessary regarding the manuscript fee and such.”
“What figure is ‘Culture Drawer’ thinking of?”
“For starters, 20 million won per episode is a bit disappointing.”
From then on, the meeting atmosphere grew increasingly amicable.
Several hours later, at ‘The 100%’ campus.
The time was around 7:30 PM. Gang Rojun and the kids could be found in the lounge. Tablets and laptops were placed on the table. The reason was simple.
“Today too, we can just watch ‘Rental Lover’ and switch straight to ‘The 100%’ like last week.”
“Right, episode 2 of ‘Rental Lover’ and then ‘The 100%’ airs our final winning scene!! I’m already nervous! I wonder what the fans’ reactions will be??”
“What if they’re all cursing that I got picked.”
Just as Sihu, Gang Min, and Do Gyeong had been talking about, in about 15 minutes, starting with episode 2 of ‘Rental Lover’, episode 17 of ‘The 100%’ would air. Especially since today, the final winner of ‘The 100%’ would be broadcast over the airwaves. Thanks to that, not only the kids but also Gang Rojun was—
‘Extremely curious about the viewers’ reactions.’
They were busy chattering, half in anticipation and half in worry.
Right then.
-Buzz, buzzzz.
A long vibration rang from Gang Rojun’s phone. A call. It was an unknown number. Rojun tilted his head and gestured to the kids that he would take the call for a moment.
-Swish.
He left the lounge and put the phone to his ear in the hallway.
“Hello.”
A man’s voice he was hearing for the first time came from beyond the phone.
“Hello, Author-nim. This is Heo Gitae of ‘Culture Drawer’.”
The caller was CEO Heo Gitae. Gang Rojun mentally kicked himself. He had received a call from him once before for greetings but had forgotten to save the number.
“Yes, hello, CEO.”
“Haha. We haven’t met face-to-face yet, but I’ll arrange for that as soon as possible. More importantly, do you have a moment to talk?”
“Yes, yes.”
“We had a meeting with Netflix Japan this afternoon and discussed ‘Like a Yojigyeong’. First—I should tell you about the negotiated manuscript fee and such.”
Gang Rojun had been informed about today’s Netflix Japan meeting as well. But he hadn’t thought deeply about it.
‘Manuscript fee, huh—how much would it be? A few hundred thousand?’
It wasn’t that he didn’t view it as important; he simply lacked experience. Because this was his first time doing a proper work contract involving money like manuscript fees. Anyway, Rojun listened intently, and CEO Heo Gitae on the other end of the phone began with the manuscript fee.
“The final negotiated amount is 30 million won per episode. The signing bonus is separate.”
The moment he heard the answer, Gang Rojun blinked.
‘......Huh?’
It was a valid reaction. If ‘Like a Yojigyeong’, which was 10 episodes in total, was 30 million per episode.
‘Uh, how much? How much did you say?!’
That meant 300 million won.