Chapter 60

The next day, at MBS Broadcasting Corporation.

“What’s going on here?”

Kim Young-sik, the head of the MBS Drama Department, hurried over at the summons of the chief.

Just yesterday, this man was scolding him for only bringing in a 200 million won per episode contract.

Today, he was as warm as the spring sunshine.

“Hahaha, Kim Director, you did a great job!”

“Huh? Ah, hahaha.”

“Didn’t you only pay 5 million won per episode for the web drama script?”

“Well, that’s because the writer wanted to write it casually….”

“Tsk, even so. Which broadcasting station treats a star writer like that?”

“….”

‘Didn’t you say he wasn’t a star writer yesterday…?!”

The MBS Nertube channel, which until now had only been posting clips of dramas and variety shows.

A pleasant wind blew through the broadcasting station in just one day.

“I heard the CEO praised me today? That stingy person.”

“Ah…. Congratulations.”

“Haha. The CEO’s daughter really liked that web drama?”

“R-Really?”

Seeing the chief, who was as happy as a child, Kim Director didn’t know what to do.

It had been so long since he had spoken to him so comfortably, given his usual prickly nature.

‘When he was angry about spending 3.2 billion won on a drama….’

The chief, who had been yelling about money just yesterday, had completely changed his stance in just one day.

“Chief, I watched that web drama, and it was really interesting. Haha.”

“Really? I should watch it too. What’s it about?”

“Huh? Well, um….”

He hadn’t finished watching it.

“…. So, in the campus, couples drink soda….”

“Oh, really? Just hearing that much makes it sound really interesting!”

What could he do? Kim Director was just a weak employee.

He just had to go along with the chief’s mood without a peep.

“Who is it, Na Jisu assistant director?”

“Ah, yes!”

“Prepare to debut the actor Kim Na-yeon from the overseas sales team 3 as soon as the current project ends.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Okay. Go back to work.”

“Yes! I’ll go.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Creak, thud—

“…. Is this a dream?”

The web drama production, reluctantly approved to avoid upsetting Kim Jin-woo, the writer.

Even with the focus on the production of “Overseas Sales Team 3: Kim Na-yeon,” he had such leisure.

He had clearly thought that way.

“Not bad….?”

Kim Director immediately rushed to the office where the directors worked.

“Na Jisu? Na Director!”

“Yes? Yes! Director!”

One assistant director ran over at the call of the head.

At first glance, she was clearly not in a normal state.

Her puffy eyes showed how many nights she had stayed up.

Anyone would think she had fled from a war-torn country.

“You didn’t sleep…?”

“Ah, I did sleep a little today.”

“…. I see. When you’re an assistant director, you often stay up all night.”

“Yes, Director.”

Thud—

Kim Young-sik Director lightly patted her shoulder and gave her a warm word of encouragement.

“I’ll talk to the chief and make sure you get a good bonus.”

“Yes? Thank you.”

“Keep up the good work.”

“Yes….!”

However, those words were received differently by the listener.

‘…. I need to go edit the second part.’

He realized today that the words “keep up the good work” were the scariest in the world.

* * *

On the way to MBS, after hearing Kim Young-sik Director’s earnest request.

Although he didn’t say it, the reason for the summons was clear.

《Campus Couple Soda, Second Story Part 1. Full Version.》

-23 hours ago

-1,602,143 views

-110,000 likes, 600 dislikes

-11,000 comments

He could feel how much the influence of Im Jae-joon and Kang Jun had grown.

“Views in just one day….?”

The smooth scene transitions and the introduction of the two actors.

The extreme character-focused narrative using upbeat music to announce the appearance of the two men.

Given the limited budget, they chose to maximize the characters.

As a result, the comments were divided on which of the two actors was the main character.

-Obviously, Im Jae-joon is the main character;; Didn’t you watch Season 1?

- Kang Jun’s scenes are two more _sg

-Both are amazing, wow

-Didn’t I say Season 2 would come out?

-I love the twins so muchaaa

The comments were filled with warm encouragement and support from the fans of the two actors.

“The reaction is good.”

Honestly, when Na Jisu Director sent him the video yesterday, he was genuinely impressed.

She had created something that couldn’t be made with just a decent script.

“…. The direction did it all.”

Then, he visited the MBS Drama Department and found Na Jisu Director.

As soon as he arrived, he was overwhelmed by the chief’s praise.

“Thank you, Director.”

“Ahaha. Our star writer, let’s go inside….”

“No, more than that….”

“I’ll get you a hot iced coffee in a moment.”

“….”

A star writer at MBS, when he was just an assistant writer?

“Excuse me, where is Assistant Director Na Jisu?”

“She’s probably editing on the 5th floor Nertube channel management team.”

“Oh, is that so? I think I’ll go there first….”

“Then, come back after you finish your work.”

“Yes, Director.”

Following the director’s advice, he went to the Nertube channel management team.

He found Na Jisu Director in a corner of the editing room.

“She’s sleeping.”

Seeing her lying on the table, having fallen asleep while editing, he felt a pang of sympathy.

Empty energy drink cans were piled up in front of the computer.

It was clear how much she had struggled with filming and editing.

“I’m…. really sorry.”

Given the short nature of web dramas, like movies but even shorter.

The dialogue had to be reduced, and the meaning of descriptions and actions had to be expanded through editing.

And, because Na Director was a true genius who could make up for his lack of skill.

‘I need to work harder.’

Exactly as much as Na Director had struggled.

It was proof of his own lack of skill.

He would try to improve his own skills while using the existing system.

The moment Na Director didn’t have to stay up all night because of his inadequate script.

That would be the time he could proudly say he had truly grown.

Swoosh—

He covered her with a blanket up to her shoulders and placed the script next to her.

The 6th and 7th parts of “Overseas Sales Team 3: Kim Na-yeon,” which he had finished last night.

“Na Director, work comes first, but health is more important….”

He left to meet Director Ko Hyun-rae, leaving her behind.

* * *

Jeong Saerom, the manager, headed to a meeting place after receiving a call from the CEO.

Knock, knock—

While walking, she sent a message to writer Kim Jin-woo.

[Writer, did you check the Japan trip schedule I sent you?]

He often forgot things, so she had to remind him.

Ding—

[Of course ㅎㅎ]

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t forgotten this time.

A moment later,

Saerom arrived at the destination and greeted the CEO.

“Hello, I’m Jeong Saerom.”

The two CEOs were having a light conversation.

One of them was Jeong Gi-tae, the CEO of Tempest Entertainment, her uncle.

The other was,

“Nice to meet you. I’m Joo Sang-cheol from Joo Sang Media.”

“…. Nice to meet you.”

His influence in the industry was not to be underestimated.

He had built his company from scratch and was now one of the top three in the industry.

She listened quietly to the conversation between the two CEOs.

‘…. He’s beating around the bush.’

He was constantly praising Kim Jin-woo’s works.

“Yesterday, I watched the second season of Campus Couple Soda. It was really interesting.”

“Ahaha. I’m satisfied too.”

“I heard he’s a freelancer, not an exclusive writer…. Is that right?”

This was a clear attempt to gauge her intentions.

‘As expected….’

It was strange to invest a large sum of money without a reason.

Then, the CEO of Tempest cleared his throat and spoke.

“Cough, Mr. Joo, let’s talk about this project first.”

“Ah, sure?”

“Yes.”

“Overseas Sales Team 3: Kim Na-yeon. I’ve read a few parts….”

Jeong Saerom joined the conversation cautiously and pulled out some documents.

“First, we have prepared the casting like this.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be directly trying to poach Kim Jin-woo.

But after this project, they would likely turn into hyenas ready to pounce.

‘Let’s accept the investment for now.’

She would need to carefully check the contract for any poison pill clauses.

If there were no issues, there was no reason to refuse the money.

* * *

A few days later, in a conference room at MBS.

A meeting was held to discuss the casting for “Overseas Sales Team 3: Kim Na-yeon” and the supporting roles.

In the meeting room, Director Ko Hyun-rae and Assistant Director Na Jisu were already discussing.

“Hello.”

“Writer, congratulations!”

“Congratulations?”

“Haha. You really have the Midas touch. Everything you touch turns to gold.”

Hearing Director Ko’s words, he turned to look at Assistant Director Na Jisu.

“Assistant Director, you worked hard. Thank you.”

“Yes? Ah, the script was really good. Hehe.”

He genuinely thought Na Director had done all the work.

But hearing this, he felt a bit embarrassed.

Knock, knock—

At the appointed time, Manager Jeong Saerom arrived.

“Hello. It’s been a while, Director.”

“Yes, nice to see you again.”

Before starting the meeting, Manager Jeong distributed the documents.

“This project requires a lot of production costs due to the many overseas locations.”

Just the locations already mentioned were Vietnam and Japan.

Moreover, he had made it clear that more locations might be added.

“However, as you can see in the documents, there is a production company willing to invest a lot.”

“Joo Sang Media?”

“Yes.”

A top drama production company in Korea.

They had produced “Sky Blue,” which was a huge hit last year.

“Does the production company usually invest a lot?”

“It varies by company…. But Joo Sang Media does invest a lot.”

“That’s good.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

Manager Jeong’s hesitant expression and trailing off.

Why not just say thank you and accept it?

“Is there something bothering you?”

“Well, I met the CEO of Joo Sang Media a while ago.”

“Yes.”

“He seems to want Kim Jin-woo’s next work.”

“….”

He didn’t expect her to be so honest.

After all, he wasn’t exclusively signed with Tempest.

From Manager Jeong’s perspective, it was natural to be unsure.

“Manager.”

“Yes.”

“Actor Kang Jun is signed with Tempest.”

“Yes?”

“He’s my sponsor…. No, a valued actor, so he won’t leave for a while.”

“Oh…. Yes!”

Manager Jeong’s expression brightened.

“Then, let’s start the casting for the supporting roles.”

Casting for supporting roles is as important as the lead roles.

Especially, the importance of the supervisors of the new employees was undeniable.

“Actress Yu Seol-a, the supervisor of the main character…. Especially, the manager-level character, I want to cast the best actor.”

“Actors Choi Man-ho or Lee Kyung-yun would be good.”

“It won’t be easy to cast either of them.”

They were actors with unregistered experience in the system.

They needed to be actors with proven acting skills.

“I’ll try to contact Actor Choi Man-ho again.”

“Yes. Please do your best, Manager.”

Not only that role, but the drama required many supporting characters.

The three of them brainstormed and checked other possible actors.

In the end, they couldn’t finish the casting meeting and had to get up.

Before parting, Manager Jeong left an exciting message.

“Writer, today might be the settlement day.”

“Yes?”

“This time, part of the script fee and Actor Kang Jun’s profit share should have been deposited. Check it.”

“Oh!”

He immediately checked his balance.

[Bank Account: 572,131,105 won]

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“Yes?”

“No, nothing.”

The system required 500 million won this time.

It was getting harder to upgrade with script fees alone.

‘I need to focus on developing Kang Jun for a while.’

Without hesitation, he poured almost all his savings into the system.

It was the source of his power, and he still had a lot of unpaid script fees.

‘I can always earn more money.’

【※ Gold Upgrade: 110-110101-1011 (Virtual Account, W Bank)】

【※ Deposit Amount: 500 million won / 500 million won】

Ding—

Immediately, various information flooded his mind with the system notification.

【You have been upgraded to Gold.】

【The range of actors the system can apply to has increased.】

【The probability of writing three consecutive works has increased.】

【You have obtained additional benefits.】

【You have obtained 1 point of benefit enhancement.】

“Now, up to three works….?”

He immediately checked the new benefits.

【Pre-investigation Lv 1: Without contact, check the compatibility of the selected actor. (Cooldown: 1 month)】

“Oh….!”

This seemed like a very useful ability.

Thinking back to the days he had racked his brain just to shake hands with a female actor.

Moreover, if he could check the compatibility of veteran actors he didn’t know.

It was a benefit worth 500 million won.

“I’ll keep earning money in the future….”

* * *

In the lobby of Tempest Entertainment.

He sat in a prepared seat and carefully examined the new ability.

“A 1-month cooldown is almost no burden.”

It would decrease with upgrades.

Most importantly,

He needed to define the concept of compatibility.

Acting skills and suitability for the role seemed to be the primary factors.

But he wondered if other factors determined compatibility.

“I’ll keep using it as soon as the cooldown is over.”

Then, he would become more familiar with the system.

“Since it’s not urgent, I’ll think about it slowly….”

He took out his smartphone and checked his schedule for the coming days.

There was an interview schedule that Hyo-ju had mentioned a while ago.

《June 5: Nertube Channel ‘Long Interview’ Schedule (with Actress Yu Seol-a)》

“Next week.”

Also, he had a business trip scheduled for this week.

“Japan….”

What if the system activated as soon as he arrived?

He accepted it because it was a public event and he couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

“Well, if I can work in Japan while I’m there, that would be good.”

What if Tempest asked him to work in Japan?

What would he do?

He would have to jump off the plane and return to Korea.

“I’m a professional.”

The most important thing for a writer is to write the script.

At that moment, he saw someone enter the lobby from a distance.

“Actor Lee Jin-ho….?”

Seeing Team Leader Byun Hyuk-ju with him, it seemed he had come to sign a contract.

Seeing a familiar face, he stood up to greet him.

Ding—

Suddenly, the system notification sounded, indicating a new location.

【Content: Overseas Sales Team 3: Kim Na-yeon Part 8】

【Genre: Office, Company, Ensemble】

【Location: Tokyo, Shibuya, ‘Tower Records’】

【Time Limit: 3 days 4 hours】

【※ Platinum Upgrade: 110-110101-1011 (Virtual Account, W Bank)】

【※ Deposit Amount: 0 won / 3 billion won】

“This…. It’s like it’s reading my mind?”

Given the content of the drama, the Japanese location was almost certain.

The system’s choice of location made sense.

However