From the morning of Wednesday the 14th, both online and offline were filled with talk of “Geubaekpeu.” To be precise, talk of the small concert for “Geubaekpeu” that had wrapped up yesterday.
“What was Rojun like in real life?? Insane, right?!”
“No—ha, insane isn’t even enough. The other guys are way better than on the broadcast too, okay? But Rojun is just god-tier??? His visuals are crazy.”
“Ah!! Seriously! If I didn’t have work, I would’ve gone no matter what!”
“For a mini concert, there was honestly so much to see. Oh, right! Rojun playing guitar was so damn cool.”
“Huh?? Guitar? He played guitar too??!”
“Yeah, my ears melted.”
Reviews from the audience who had attended the small concert were uploaded endlessly, and there was plenty in them to make reporters salivate.
《Fans React to Wave of “Geubaekpeu” Mini Concert Reviews: “Rojun Plays Guitar Too?!”》
《From the New Theme Song to Contestant Duet Stages, “Geubaekpeu” Small Concert Packed with Things to See》
While the media and online communities were all buzzing, new reports suddenly began to spread.
《[Star Photo] “Geubaekpeu” Contestants Spotted at Gimpo Airport in Real Time / Photos》
Ten contestants, including Gang Rojun, who had finished yesterday’s concert, had appeared at the airport.
《Airport Thrown into Chaos Thanks to Sudden Appearance of 10 Surviving “Geubaekpeu” Contestants》
《Huge Crowds Gather Around “Geubaekpeu” Members Including Rojun and Sihu / Photos》
The fastest to report it were the members of the public who saw the “Geubaekpeu” contestants at Gimpo Airport. They immediately shared the photos they had taken on social media.
-[Awesome awesome!!! The Geubaekpeu guys are at Gimpo Airport right now!!! People are going crazy lololololol]
Thanks to not just one or two but quite a number of people sharing photos and videos, the reporters who weren’t on-site were delighted.
It was soon revealed why Rojun and the contestants had appeared at the airport. After all, the “Geubaekpeu” side had previously said they would hold concerts in Korea and Japan.
《At the Airport Right After Finishing Their Small Domestic Concert? “Geubaekpeu” Contestants’ Departure for Japan Imminent! / Photos》
In other words, they were going to Japan.
It was a bit early, however. The schedule was tight, but for PD U Hanseok, it was an unavoidable decision. Between the “Geubaekpeu” schedule, filming, editing, and everything else, time was far too short.
At any rate, the issue that the “Geubaekpeu” team was heading to Japan without prior notice—
《Japanese Communities Stirred Up by News of “Geubaekpeu” Departing for Japan / Photos》
—quickly spread to Japan as well. Starting with social media and then across all sorts of communities. The date of the small concert in Japan had already been promoted in advance. However, since there had been no particular announcement about when the “Geubaekpeu” team would depart for Japan, the Japanese fans who received the news in real time began moving in a way that was anything but ordinary.
By this point, Gang Rojun was thinking,
‘Do celebrities go through this every time they leave the country?? Wow—this is intense.’
He had barely managed to get through the departure screening after pushing through the crowds. The same went for the other contestants. Naturally, the airport staff recognized Rojun and the others too, so they were busy whispering among themselves. Somehow or other, the “Geubaekpeu” team boarded the plane, and Rojun, seated by the window, steadied his breathing while thinking,
‘How long has it been since I was last on a plane?’
His heart was pounding. The last time he had ridden on a plane was when he was young. As Gang Rojun vaguely recalled the trip to Jeju Island he had taken with his parents—
“Hyung.”
71 Jeongwoo, the puppy-faced contestant sitting to his right, spoke to him.
“Have you been on a plane before?”
“Yeah, I have. Is this your first time?”
“Yeah, my first. I’m seriously nervous right now.”
“It’s nothing special. But the sky is kind of fascinating.”
“Are there tons of clouds?”
“Want to sit here?”
“...No. I’m afraid of heights, so that’s a bit—if I sit there, I might throw up.”
“Please hold that in.”
At that moment, the female flight attendants, who had been smiling brightly while looking at Rojun and the contestants—
—swish.
—began their safety instructions, and not long after, along with 71 Jeongwoo’s fussing—
“Whoa, damn!! It’s taking off! Hyung, the plane’s taking off.”
—the plane bound for Japan took off.
Several dozen minutes later.
Inside the plane in the sky, the “Geubaekpeu” team members were each passing the time in their own ways, and they were scheduled to arrive at Haneda Airport in Japan in about forty minutes. Gang Rojun was looking out the window at the clouds filling the view when—
“Jeongwoo-ssi.”
PD U Hanseok, his hair disheveled as if he had just woken up, approached and made a request of 71 Jeongwoo.
“Could you switch seats with me for a moment? I have something to discuss with Rojun-ssi.”
71 Jeongwoo, who had been enduring motion sickness, nodded with difficulty.
“...Yes, sure.”
As soon as they had switched seats, U Hanseok took off his glasses and pressed hard between his eyes. Then he turned his head toward Gang Rojun.
“You got a call from PD Jeong too, right?”
U Hanseok whispered quietly, and Gang Rojun replied,
“Yes, yesterday afternoon.”
“Right. Since that’s the situation—once we arrive in Japan, Executive Producer Tom Cavill will definitely bring it up during the schedule.”
The topic U Hanseok had brought up was related to “Writer Rojun.”
It concerned the fate of one of the scripts Gang Rojun had written, “A World Gone Mad.” PD Jeong Suryeong had laid the groundwork with Netflix Japan in advance. Of course, Gang Rojun had been informed as well. Jeong Suryeong had given Rojun advice along the lines of, “I’ve already set up the framework, and given the situation, you’re the one holding the cards as Writer Rojun, so act confidently. Yes, it’s best to think of it as you being generous.”
In addition—
‘She also told me that Netflix Japan is the one that needs this, so I should properly raise my value.’
Even so, Rojun couldn’t quite feel it as real.
‘“Rental Lover” hasn’t even aired yet, and I never thought that Netflix Japan would covet another one of my scripts.’
Well, they had seen the script for “Rental Lover,” but he hadn’t expected a reaction to come this quickly. Still, Gang Rojun felt rather at a loss.
‘Meetings, my value, how am I supposed to handle any of that??’
As “Writer Rojun,” the only meeting he had ever had was with Jeong Suryeong. He had never experienced, or even imagined, a meeting where heavy realities like that were exchanged. It wasn’t quite fear, but feeling worried was only natural.
U Hanseok, noticing that, laughed softly.
“Out of nowhere it’s meetings and contracts—hard to tell what’s what, isn’t it?”
“...Honestly, it’s a little difficult. I don’t have any experience either.”
“Of course. If writing were your main job, you could study on your own, ask around, and so on, but Rojun-ssi, you have another main job. And you’ve got a lot of side jobs too. Hmm—during this meeting, PD Jeong asked me as well, and I’m a bit worried too, so let’s go to that meeting together.”
“You, PD-nim?”
“Yeah. Why? You don’t want me to?”
“No, please, I’m begging you.”
U Hanseok, like Jeong Suryeong, was a veteran and a strategist. In fact, he had planned the setup for “Geubaekpeu” and “Rental Lover” together with Jeong Suryeong. If he went with him—
‘That’d be like having an army of reinforcements.’
Then U Hanseok slowly scratched his chin and continued.
“Well, I’m not a broadcast writer, and drama writers and screenwriters aren’t exactly my field of expertise. But pre-contract meetings are more or less all the same, so I can at least help you scatter the seeds.”
“Thank you, seriously.”
“No need to thank me that much. Rojun-ssi, you’ve done far more for our ‘Geubaekpeu.’ Even doing this a few times wouldn’t be enough. Anyway, this meeting with Netflix Japan probably won’t go as far as an official contract. It’ll likely just be the buildup.”
“The buildup?”
“Roughly speaking, since Rojun-ssi is the one holding the upper hand right now, we’ll put some pressure on Netflix Japan, hint that they’ll need to offer a lot for your value—and hand over the script.”
“Ah.”
“If Executive Producer Tom Cavill falls for the script you hand over, things will move smoothly. They’ll start getting anxious, wondering what if another domestic production company snaps it up first? That’s the setup where ‘Writer Rojun’s’ value keeps climbing. The official contract comes after that.”
What did I just hear? It sounded incredible, but U Hanseok said it as if it were nothing. As expected of someone with over a decade of experience as a PD. Soon, U Hanseok added an explanation.
“When it comes time for the official contract, Rojun-ssi, you won’t even need to go to Japan. Netflix Japan will come to Korea. Of course, your price negotiations will have to be settled before that.”
“I expected as much, but it’s complicated.”
“You brought the script, right?”
“Yes.”
Gang Rojun pointed to the backpack placed at his feet. Inside were episodes 1 and 2 of the “A World Gone Mad” script, already translated into Japanese. U Hanseok nodded, stroked his chin, then changed the subject.
“In my opinion, Rojun-ssi, you should have separate agencies for your main idol work and your side job as a writer. For now, you have me and PD Jeong Suryeong, so you can get by somehow, but as Rojun-ssi gradually starts soaring as an idol, there’s no way you’ll be able to handle it all alone.”
“You can sign with agencies separately?”
“Of course. One idol entertainment agency, one agency for you as a writer. Naturally, there aren’t really cases of idols who are writers, but there are similar ones. Well, later on, the entertainment agency you belong to as an idol could also handle the writer side, but since that’s not their specialty, it might be slapdash. You have to clearly separate idol and writer to make sure you get paid what you’re worth.”
Hearing market dynamics he had never heard of before in his life, Rojun’s curiosity grew.
“Are there many agencies specializing in writers?”
“Quite a few. Places that specialize only in writers, places that include star writers or master directors, places that do it alongside content production. If you look, there are plenty. In particular, management companies with lots of big names like writers and directors have considerable influence. They’ve got a long list of people whose names you’d recognize right away. The dinosaur-level agencies that come to mind immediately are—‘Culture Drawer,’ ‘M&D Pictures,’ and so on. Those places are the best, but right now, Rojun-ssi, you’re still a rookie as a writer, so it’d be hard to get in. Once you build your career little by little, they might show interest.”
“Oh—”
“Anyway, think about the agencies you’ll sign with for both your main job and your side job. Especially since, with this Netflix Japan matter and all, Rojun-ssi, you could end up writing works overseas too, right? You’re good at Japanese and English too.”
“That’s true.”
“Then, even if it’s quite a way off, you might be going back and forth for meetings in countries like Japan, and further down the line, the U.S. How are you going to handle all that alone? Whether you’re an idol, a writer, or anything else, the miscellaneous work is something you hand off completely. That’s what those people are there to do.”
Rojun’s mind grew complicated. Still, he decided to think of it simply.
‘Separate management for idol work and writing. For now, let’s just settle on that. I’ll look into the details when I have time.’
At the same time, U Hanseok crossed his arms and raised the corners of his mouth.
“But—while I don’t know about the major ones, a medium-sized writer management company may already have targeted you, Rojun-ssi.”
He pointed a finger at Gang Rojun, whose visuals were insane.
“Because there’s no way a writer with a face like this could exist in the world.”
At the same time, in Korea.
A large Korean restaurant in Seoul’s Samseong-dong area. It looked like a tile-roofed house and even had a small garden. Inside a private room of the Korean restaurant, which looked expensive at a glance, sat a familiar woman with long straight hair. It was the top actress Choe Rina, with a beauty mark beside her sharp nose.
Across from her, whose long hair was tied into a single line—
“Rina, you’ve gotten even prettier in the meantime.”
—sat a middle-aged woman who appeared to be over fifty. Her bobbed hair covering her ears and round glasses were modest, but the force contained in her gaze was considerable. Choe Rina smiled and replied to the middle-aged woman.
“Oh, come on, Writer-nim, your skin is glowing?? You look much younger.”
“Your signature lip service is as strong as ever, Choe Rina.”
“No way—how could I offer mere lip service when the star writer, Writer Han Seoryeong herself, is sitting right in front of me!”
“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“Would I do something that’d get me kicked out of this industry by teasing you, Writer-nim??”
“You are teasing me.”
The conversation between the two seemed quite close. Even while talking, the middle-aged woman was composed and exuded the aura of a heavyweight.
There was good reason for that.
The middle-aged woman sitting in front of Choe Rina was the colossal Writer Han Seoryeong, a star writer among Korea’s most renowned star writers. She churned out scripts for dramas and films alike, and she had a long list of hit works. On top of that, she was the first person to sell rights overseas and make them succeed as a writer.
As such, her manuscript fee easily reached several hundred million won per episode.
Recently, she had been expanding her scope into production as well.
That Writer Han Seoryeong opened her mouth with a subtle smile.
“You saw the article, right? That I’m starting a new work this time.”
“Of course I saw it. You went with KBC, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. PD Park begged me for days, saying it would be his final directing project. Anyway, I’m in the middle of writing the script right now, and you came to mind perfectly for the female lead, Rina. I’ve seen the recent news about your ‘Rental Lover.’ Do you have anything lined up after that?”
“No?? Aside from the schedules that’ll be set before and after ‘Rental Lover’ airs, I’m free for now.”
“Then warm up your form and wait for my script. I’ll send it to you when episode 1 is out.”
“Wow—our CEO is going to dance with joy. He’s already been singing nonstop about how we need to have a meal with you, Writer Han.”
“Mm, CEO Kim is doing well, right?”
“Very.”
Holding her teacup, Writer Han Seoryeong abruptly changed the subject.
“Since ‘Rental Lover’ came up, that kid called ‘Writer Rojun.’ What’s he like?”
Choe Rina’s eyes instantly grew as wide as a goldfish’s.
“Writer Rojun? All of a sudden? What exactly are you asking—”
“No, just overall. There’s been such a fuss about him lately that I looked him up a bit too, and he’s unusual.”
For some reason, Choe Rina’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she laughed for no reason.
“He is... unusual.”
“Our CEO Heo at the management company seems to have his eye on him too.”
“CEO Heo??”
Startled, Choe Rina looked at Writer Han Seoryeong, who wore a mysterious smile, and shouted inwardly.
‘If it’s the management company Writer-nim belongs to—that’s “Culture Drawer,” isn’t it??!’
“Culture Drawer” was a super-large agency when it came to writer management.