Chapter 5

KBS headquarters is located in Yeongdeungpo District, directly across the Han River from Mapo District, where Lee Jung-hee and his friends live, making it quite close.

The agreed time was 9:00 AM. At 8:30 AM, Lee Jung-hee and Zhang Dongguo arrived early at the KBS headquarters. Looking at the sign by the entrance, Lee Jung-hee suddenly smiled, a mix of complex emotions in his eyes, and softly murmured, "Yoido 18."

He had visited this place many times in his previous life, but almost every time he left disappointed. Today, he was about to take the first step in his new life, and although he wasn't overly excited, his heart was far from calm.

Zhang Dongguo, who had dressed up in a suit to support him, was even more nervous, loosening his tie and taking a deep breath.

Yesterday, they had talked and joked about it, even on the way here, but now that they were actually here, it felt somewhat unreal. However, he quickly shook off these feelings. Lee Jung-hee trusted him so much, and in his eyes, no matter how smart Lee Jung-hee was, he was still a young and naive kid. It was his responsibility to handle things properly for him.

With this in mind, he composed himself, turned to Lee Jung-hee, and said firmly, "Let's go!"

Seeing his still somewhat stiff face, Lee Jung-hee relaxed, smiled, and nodded, teasing him, "Bro, I should be the one who's nervous, right?" With a chuckle, he ran in as Zhang Dongguo turned to him with a scowl.

They crossed the square, climbed the steps, entered the main hall of KBS, registered at the front desk, and after the front desk confirmed their visit with the relevant department and issued them temporary passes, they finally made it to the third floor.

The third floor was the TV drama production department, which was part of the content production division. It was further divided into three smaller departments. Production Department One mainly handled family dramas, such as the famous "The Men of the Bathhouse" and "The Club of Wives." Production Department Three handled historical dramas, such as the recently aired "King Taejo" and the later "Queen Min." As for Production Department Two, where Lee Jung-hee and his team were visiting, it specialized in trendy romance dramas, such as "First Love" and "Winter Sonata."

"Young man, you must be Lee Jung-hee!" In the reception room of Production Department Two, they were greeted by Director Song Yong-jin and Deputy Director Park Dong-jean. The latter warmly shook Lee Jung-hee's hand, looked at his bright and slightly childish face, and patted his shoulder, saying, "You are indeed a young talent. I was quite surprised when I saw your profile, but your script is really well-written. I love it..."

Director Song Yong-jin, however, frowned, squinted at Lee Jung-hee, and asked sternly, "You are really eighteen and pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University?"

Lee Jung-hee didn't know they had such detailed information about him, but he had prepared for this. He took out a stack of documents from his backpack and placed them in front of Song Yong-jin, then shrugged, "Here are my American documents, my Harvard student ID, student number, library card, and even my professor's phone number, which you can call to verify..."

After they had a quick look, he smiled and continued, "I know you might have doubts about my age, but Seo Taiji started a band at fourteen, and I'm four years older than him, four years!"

Light laughter filled the meeting room at his playful words. He continued, "Moreover, I have a good understanding of the industry. I've taken drama courses and studied film production. I've also spent time on sets in New York, so I know the basic processes of making a TV drama or movie, and I have a basic understanding of lighting, props, costumes, and photography..."

Most of this was a lie, except for his knowledge of film production, which he had gained from his rebirth. As long as he knew, the lies didn't matter.

"Hmm, well said," Park Dong-jean clapped his hands, looking at him approvingly, "I feel even more confident now!"

Director Song Yong-jin, however, still had a stern face, his gaze full of suspicion. Clearly, he didn't trust this rookie, even if he was a Harvard genius. No matter how well he spoke, it didn't change his mind.

Lee Jung-hee could see this. Park Dong-jean was clearly won over by the game, but the game could only do so much. Therefore, Song Yong-jin was treating him this way. However, the project had already been approved by the departmental meeting and the vice president in charge, so he couldn't stop it.

With the script discussed and a consensus reached on the tone and style of the drama, it was time to discuss the contract. This was when Zhang Dongguo, as Lee Jung-hee's agent, stepped in.

"Director Song, Deputy Director Park, I am Zhang Dongguo from Empire Entertainment, Lee Jung-hee's agent. Please take care of us!"

Zhang Dongguo said this while handing over his newly printed business card to Song Yong-jin and Park Dong-jean with a slight bow.

"Empire Entertainment?" Song Yong-jin frowned, not recognizing the name.

Lee Jung-hee chuckled inwardly, but Zhang Dongguo, now more relaxed, nodded seriously and smiled, "Yes, our company is quite new, so we may not be well-known yet. We hope Director Song will take good care of our artists in the future."

Not only was the company new, but it was essentially a shell, a name Lee Jung-hee had made up on the spot. The business cards were rushed and printed for a hefty 100,000 won yesterday afternoon, and they had only received them at 7:00 AM today.

The address and phone number on the card were Zhang Dongguo's home address and landline. Everything was fake.

However, with the rise of Hallyu in Asia, many people, including those from the streets of Seoul, had joined the entertainment industry, leading to a surge in the number of entertainment and talent agencies in Seoul.

Thus, although Song Yong-jin was puzzled, he didn't say anything. He wouldn't go out of his way to investigate.

"Three million won per episode?" They sat down, and as the producer responsible for "Autumn in My Heart," Park Dong-jean had the authority to negotiate the scriptwriter's fee.

However, when Zhang Dongguo received the contract and saw the fee of three million won per episode, he frowned.

Of course, he was actually very satisfied. "Autumn in My Heart" had sixteen episodes, so three million won per episode would total 48 million won.

48 million won was a huge sum for him. Lee Jung-hee had already told him he could take 30% as his agent's fee, which meant he would get about 15 million won.

He was already quite excited about it!

However, he remembered that Lee Jung-hee had told him to use a specific negotiation method if the offer was below 20 million won per episode.

At first, Zhang Dongguo thought the kid was crazy, but seeing the three million won, he felt Lee Jung-hee's plan might work.

So, he took a deep breath, put on a negotiating face, and after a moment of feigned contemplation, frowned and said, "Isn't this a bit low? I mean, although this is Jung-hee's first script, as Deputy Director Park just said, the script is really excellent..."

"Three million is too low!" Song Yong-jin interrupted coldly, his expression full of mockery. "In our industry, a junior scriptwriter usually gets around 2.5 million won per episode, and many new scriptwriters earn apprentice wages, which are only 500,000 to 600,000 won per episode or even less."

Song Yong-jin was right. Initially, he had only offered 1 million won per episode, and the 3 million won was what Park Dong-jean had negotiated for from the departmental meeting.

"Director Song is correct, and we are aware of these conditions. However, we still feel the price is a bit low," Zhang Dongguo said, maintaining his composure despite Song Yong-jin's cold remarks. This was a negotiation, after all, and there had to be some give and take.

He then turned to Park Dong-jean, knowing that the deputy director was more approachable. "Deputy Director Park, thank you for your positive feedback on Jung-hee's script. Our company has great confidence in it. However, we all know that the success of a TV drama depends on its ratings, and advertisers also base their decisions on ratings. So, why don't we use Nielsen's national ratings to create a performance-based contract?"

Seeing the two men on the other side of the table look stunned, he remembered the detailed plan Lee Jung-hee had explained to him the previous day. He felt a bit more confident and placed the contract on the table, his expression growing more assured. "Typically, a TV drama with an average rating of 20% is considered a hit. Hit dramas bring in a lot of advertising revenue, and they are rarely canceled mid-season. So, let's use an average rating of 20% as the benchmark. If 'Autumn in My Heart' has an average rating below 20%, we will only ask for 1 million won per episode. If it is canceled mid-season, we won't ask for anything. However, if it reaches 20%, we will ask for 10 million won per episode. For every additional 5% in the average rating, we will ask for an additional 5 million won per episode..."

"No!" Song Yong-jin, who seemed to be deliberately opposing Lee Jung-hee, firmly rejected Zhang Dongguo's proposal and even rudely tapped the table.

Zhang Dongguo was also annoyed, narrowing his eyes and suppressing his anger. "Why not, Director Song? We are not making one-sided demands. We are also taking on the risk. Isn't this a fair way to protect both parties' interests?"

Song Yong-jin snorted but didn't speak immediately. He had a reason for rejecting Zhang Dongguo's proposal. In the current industry, an average rating of 20% was a standard for a hit drama, but it wasn't too difficult to achieve, especially with a bit of luck.

However, in the future, with the rise of the internet, achieving an average rating of 20% would be nearly impossible, and even a single episode reaching 20% would be a cause for celebration.

Therefore, Song Yong-jin was afraid that "Autumn in My Heart" might accidentally achieve an average rating of 20%, which would mean they would have to pay 10 million won per episode.

"Mr. Zhang!" When the situation became tense, Park Dong-jean, who had been silent, stepped in to mediate, though he was unhappy with Song Yong-jin's interference in a project he was handling. However, he couldn't do much about it, as Song Yong-jin was his superior.

Zhang Dongguo's business card listed him as a director at Empire Entertainment, and his proposal was not unreasonable. Park Dong-jean said politely, "Director Song's point is that we have never had such an agreement before, so we need to carefully consider your proposal before giving you an answer..."

Hearing this, Zhang Dongguo didn't press the issue and nodded. "Of course," he thought to himself, relieved. He was most afraid of the other side outright refusing to negotiate.

It seemed everything was under control. Of course, he didn't know that this was a deal that couldn't be avoided, or Lee Jung-hee wouldn't have been so confident.

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