Chapter 39

Today, an advertisement became a major topic on social media.

Frankly, considering the success of Pure Macho, it was quite possible for Jaejun's ad to become popular.

However, isn't an ad just an ad, after all?

Even a top star's ad, sparkling like a star, is ultimately just a promotion for generating revenue.

Unless you're a die-hard fan, most fans don't really pay attention to ads.

But this case transcended the ordinary.

《Campus Couple Soda 1. Full Version. (feat. Oh Sung Soda)》

-23 hours ago

-1.07 million views

"Just over a day... 1 million views?"

Saerom watched Jaejun's 10-minute ad video with a bewildered expression.

Most of the comments were fans demanding the next episode.

The Oh Sung Soda was prominently placed throughout the video.

Mentions and drinking scenes of the beverage were frequent in the dialogues.

If it were a real drama, it would be a PPL that would make you frown.

"But this is just a real ad, isn't it?"

People were shouting for the next episode as if they were waiting for a real drama.

The promotional effect is greatest when people don't realize they're being exposed to an ad.

The presence of Oh Sung Soda naturally seeped into the viewers' minds.

"But even knowing it's an ad, they don't care."

Because this short drama is that entertaining.

Knock, knock—

Team Leader Byeon, who had obtained permission from Manager Jung, opened the door.

"Manager, did you see the ad?"

"Of course."

The same goes for the Tempest staff.

No one expected such a positive reaction.

"We should probably re-evaluate Actor Jaejun's next project guarantee."

"Fortunately, we haven't signed the contract yet."

"Yes. If we had been a little late, we would have suffered a significant loss."

Honestly, there wouldn't have been a loss.

Just not as much gain.

After all, Jaejun has already grown to the level of Jisunho.

"Manager, has there ever been a star who rose so quickly?"

"Among a thousand actors... Actor Lee Joon-gu, who rose as the male lead in The King's Man."

What if the protagonist of Pure Macho wasn't Jaejun?

Whoever was in that position would have definitely become a star.

But the result would inevitably have been downgraded compared to now.

Because Jaejun was an actor who fit Pure Macho in ways that couldn't be explained by acting skills or looks alone.

In other words,

"Is it... the power of the script?"

Yes, the reason Jaejun could become Pure Macho was precisely that.

No matter what lines he delivered, they felt as natural as if they were his own.

"Oh, did you know, Manager? I came up to tell you."

"What about it?"

"The script... It was written by Kim Jin-woo."

"???"

"The Oh Sung Soda ad script. It was written by Kim Jin-woo."

"What, what did you say?"

Saerom swallowed and looked at the video.

Now that I see it, it strangely overlaps with his works.

It's not that the atmosphere or development of the works are similar.

"There's no excess."

From a commercial standpoint, there's nothing to criticize.

* * *

"What's going on here?"

Unlike dramas, YouTube provides immediate feedback.

I've been reading the comments that keep coming in all day.

Honestly, I can't help but be curious about others' opinions.

Even though it's an ad script, it's a result of my work.

-If you don't want to die, release the next episode ㅡㅡ

-Why is it only 10 minutes? Why not 1 hour?

-I bought a box of Oh Sung Soda, so release episode 2 right away ^^

-Take my money and remake it as a 16-episode series ㅅㅂ

-So, what about the next episode? ㅎㅎ

People were furious after watching the 10-minute, engaging drama.

"24 hours have passed... Why hasn't episode 2 been released?"

From what I heard, they planned to release one episode per day for four days.

I'm calculating the situation.

"They're just trying to make money."

By releasing one episode per week, they can sustain the issue and increase the promotional effect.

It's a market that moves based on profit and loss.

Zzz—

At that moment, Manager Jung Saerom received a call.

"Yes."

-Writer, I heard you wrote the ad script.

"That's right."

-We're getting a flood of sponsorships right now.

"Oh, this drama won't have to worry about money."

Especially since a drama writer hit it big in the ad industry.

There's no need to worry about a lack of sponsorships or PPL.

"Hmm, but I don't usually include PPL, you know?"

-...I don't interfere much either.

That's why I like Manager Jung Saerom.

A purely professional relationship between the production company and the writer.

-But Oh Sung Foods wants to sponsor us officially.

"Really?"

-They want to be the main sponsor for your next project.

"Is that a good thing?"

-Of course.

I don't know anything about that part.

Maybe it's best to leave it to the experts.

"Please do that. I'll include a drink in the script."

-Thank you.

"Well, we need to make money."

To raise my rating again.

-We'll be in touch.

"Sure. Come in."

Click.

Since I did a good job today, I should give myself a gift.

"Heejeong! Do you want chicken?"

Why is she closing the door?

I was going to buy it for her today.

Knock, knock—

"...What are you doing?"

Since the door wasn't locked as usual, I opened it abruptly.

"Hey, chicken...?"

She's wearing headphones and watching Jaejun's debut video with wide eyes.

Just by her expression, you'd think she's watching porn.

"Thankfully, I'm not into idols."

If I had become friends with Se-mi a little later, would I have been a fan like this?

Swish—

I lifted my smartphone and opened the camera app.

-Here, look.

"Huh? Oh, what are you doing...?"

Beep—

Heejeong frowned at the sound from my smartphone.

"You're taking another picture... You s**t."

"It's not a picture."

"Huh?"

"It's a video."

My sister looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"It turned out well. When you become a top star, I'll sell this for 10 billion."

"What, what are you doing? Delete it. You're not deleting it?"

"Man, you need to make a lot of money."

"You s**t... Do you want to die!?"

At that moment,

Zzz—

A call came from an unknown number.

It's a new business phone, so only a few people know the number.

"Hmm, who is it?"

"Hey, delete it now!"

I held Heejeong's forehead with one hand as she lunged at me and answered the call.

"Hello?"

-Is this Kim Jin-woo?

"Yes, who is this?"

It was a middle-aged man's voice.

-I'm Jung Kitae.

"Who, who?"

-I'm the CEO of Tempest Entertainment. I apologize for the late greeting.

"Ah..."

At that moment, Heejeong started looking for a weapon in her room.

She picked up a wooden stick that looked threatening.

"What a lunatic..."

-Yes?

"No, not the CEO."

Thump, thump—

I quickly went into my room and locked the door, but Heejeong shouted from behind.

"Hey, Kim Jin-woo!!! Open the door!?"

Jung Kitae paused before answering.

-...Should I call back later?

"No. What's the matter...?"

Why did he call all of a sudden?

Most of Tempest's business is handled by Manager Jung.

I thought the CEO just enjoyed a chaebol lifestyle.

Then, Jung Kitae proposed a meeting.

-How about we have dinner together sometime?

"Really? Just the two of us?"

-New... No, Manager Jung Saerom can join too.

"No, it's better just the two of us."

I don't want to make Manager Jung uncomfortable because of me.

-Let's set a date this month. If you're not busy.

"Even if I'm busy, I'll make time."

It's not a client-vendor relationship, but we are bound by a contract.

Most importantly,

"He's a chaebol."

Maybe because I've written many chaebol drama scripts over the past six years.

In my mind, most chaebols are a bit off.

Thump, thump—

More than my crazy sister behind me.

* * *

A massive 700-pyeong office with no partitions.

Many people were busy working or moving around in the open space.

Everyone was dressed casually, and casual conversations were common during work.

Among them, a woman was reading something intently in a relaxed posture.

A mixed-race beauty with the charm of both Eastern and Western cultures.

A Korean-American with golden hair and blue eyes.

A large neon sign hung behind her.

『Diziney Play』

A beautiful woman, like a Hollywood actress, approached her.

"Angela, why did you offer such generous terms to Tempest Entertainment?"

The global company had a flat organizational structure.

If there were questions about a superior's decision, they could always ask.

"Angela...?"

Diziney Play, established in 2019, rapidly expanded its business.

It quickly became the second-largest video platform after Netflix.

Angela, who was in charge of Diziney Play's Asia branch, put down the script she was reading and slowly spoke.

"Jaden."

"Yes."

"How many drama scripts do you think I've read in my life?"

"Um...?"

What made Diziney rise to second place in such a short time?

Recently, Diziney has been innovating to surpass the top platform.

They were ready to offer the head position to anyone, regardless of age, if they had the ability.

A global platform that didn't require a high position or education.

A ruthless company that evaluates solely on performance and reduces its workforce by 30% annually.

To be in charge of the Asia branch at just over 30 years old.

No one in the company doubted Angela's abilities.

Such a person couldn't survive in a company where only the best could thrive.

Angela looked at her subordinate with her blue eyes.

"Hmm."

The man swallowed.

"I asked how many scripts you think I've read, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, drama scripts... I don't know."

"I've read one script every four days for 15 years without fail."

The sheer volume is hard to imagine.

"I've read almost everything, regardless of nationality, language, ideology, or genre."

"Such... is the case?"

"I can count on one hand the times I've been confident about a hit."

"That, I know too."

She's the one who gives scripts harsher scores than any critic.

There were quite a few scripts that matched her prediction of moderate success.

But the number of scripts she was confident would be a huge hit was less than 100.

Among them were 'Outstella,' which opened new horizons in SF films, and 'The Doctor,' which was praised as a revolution in medical dramas in North America.

"I include this work in my list of surefire hits."

Jaden's eyes widened as he took the script Angela handed him.

But he couldn't read it because it was in a language he didn't know.

"Ah, it's in Korean, so I can't read it..."

Angela smiled in response.

After her subordinate left, the book lover revealed her true colors.

"Ha... This is so interesting."

The two-part script Angela possessed.

On the cover of the script in her hand, it read:

「Memory Erasing Regressor 1」

It was a script distributed to industry professionals by Tempest for a supporting role casting.

* * *

A few days later,

On my way home from script work at Tempest Entertainment.

"How much time is left until the appointment?"

The dinner appointment with CEO Jung.

Given that he's a chaebol and a mysterious figure, it's bound to be stressful.

"Rumor has it he's gentle."

I opened the front door, lost in thought.

Beep, beep, beep—

When I opened the door and came home, Heejeong was glued to the TV.

"Bro! Come here quickly."

"What is it?"

"You have to see this."

A pilot program was airing on TV.

Actor Kim Hyunji was shopping with her friends.

"Ah, I missed the part with the Purple Girls. I can't believe I missed it."

"They're already airing this. It's a pilot."

"Yeah. The highlight is coming soon, so wait."

"Highlight? Isn't that the part with Miling?"

"Not really. The part with Kang Jun is the real deal."

"...Are you now a Kang Jun fan instead of Jaejun?"

What, are you a migratory bird or something?

My phone has a video of Jaejun that makes me drool, but it's just sitting there.

"No, Kang Jun is a true friend."

"???"

A moment later,

The broadcast naturally shifted to Kang Jun after the Kim Hyunji part.

It showed a short acting scene with a flashback to his high school days, where he was known as an acting genius.

The problem was the scene where Kang Jun was taking a class at an acting school.

A small, elite acting school with only four students per class.

But a familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Why are you there!?"

My sister, Heejeong, was depicted as Kang Jun's closest friend.

I wanted to splash water on her face as she smiled at me.