Chapter 34

Chapter 34. Set to Take This Summer by Storm

"Ah, Director Kwon. Mr. Do Jun-hyeok. Let's get this over with quickly. These days, even meeting time feels too precious to waste, doesn't it?"

Oh Su was suddenly pretending to be flexible and easygoing.

I gave a full report on Team 2's recent activities.

That included the design arrangement with Choi Joo-hong, Youngchae successfully getting booked for 〈Hong Fashion People〉, and Joo-hong's promotional comic.

There was so much to report that I had to leave out the things everyone already knew about publicly.

Oh Su spoke proudly.

"Let's add one more thing. It was just confirmed. Serin received a casting offer for a web drama."

Serin got a casting offer?

"I know a guy named Moon Pil-su. A while ago, he and I planned a minor program called 〈Susu Brothers〉. He recently started a web-drama production company. He's a former PD like me. They offered Serin a scene-stealing supporting role."

Of course.

This was Oh Su we were talking about.

We didn't call something like that a casting offer.

We called it helping each other out.

Still, 〈Susu Brothers〉?

I'd never even heard of the program, but apparently the connections formed through it had lasted surprisingly long.

My reaction must have seemed lukewarm, because Oh Su added,

"The company itself is new, but the producers are all experienced. It feels almost like a subsidiary spun off from the KBC Drama Center. They have plenty of capital for a web drama too."

"Ah. I see."

"I'm serious. The executive producer is PD Moon Pil-su. The writer is Seo Mi-joo, who's famous for romance. And you know actor Han Seo-hyung, right? He's the male lead."

That was actually a fairly strong production team.

Writer Seo Mi-joo wasn't some legendary name, but a few years ago she'd enjoyed major success with an action-romance miniseries called 〈Detectives of Prague〉.

And then there was Han Seo-hyung.

He was still young, but he'd built an excellent acting career from childhood and was considered a promising star.

His filmography so far was already impressive.

More importantly, people expected even bigger things from him in the future, so his appearance fee was high.

"Really? What's the drama called?"

"It's a web drama. They haven't decided whether it'll be uploaded only to Nutube or whether KBC will give it a broadcast slot too. The title is 〈Introduction to Unrequited Love〉. The story is a little unusual. The female supporting character is already in a steady relationship with the male lead."

With the word love right there in the title, Seo Mi-joo clearly intended to use her specialty again.

Han Seo-hyung and our Serin were both exactly the right age for a romance story too.

And if the supporting female character was already dating the male lead, wasn't that Serin's role?

The story would probably follow the female protagonist with the unrequited love as she watched the couple from the outside.

If so, this wasn't an ordinary supporting role at all.

They might call her a supporting character, but it sounded more like the drama had three leads.

Between this and Youngchae's booking, it felt as if the snowball we'd started rolling had finally grown large enough to move on its own.

That was exactly when you had to be careful.

"You did really well. This is a great opportunity."

"Right?"

Oh Su puffed up with pride.

We'd only just brought in Yeo Eun-joo as part of our music-video promotion plan and as a way to build Serin's long-term career.

And already, we had a chance to see results.

"There is one problem, though."

"What is it?"

"They received a fairly large investment from a Philippine travel company on the condition that some location filming takes place there. So before shooting begins, I think I need to stop by the Philippines and meet their people."

That was fine.

If visiting the Philippines was genuinely necessary for the drama, then by all means, he should go happily.

Oh Su barely did anything around here anyway.

If he'd brought us an opportunity as valuable as 〈Introduction to Unrequited Love〉, I could forgive him for spending several relaxing days in the Philippines or even Hawaii.

"But why do they need outside investment? You said they had plenty of capital."

"Even if they're basically KBC's child company, it's still difficult for a brand-new production studio to fund everything entirely from its own pocket. Anyway, I'm flying out the day after tomorrow. From what I heard earlier, that's the same day Youngchae is appearing on Nutube, right?"

I confirmed that it was.

Oh Su said Dae-hun would act as the company representative for about a week while he was gone.

Maybe he felt like he'd suddenly received summer vacation.

An unexpected trip to the Philippines.

He was probably secretly excited.

Of course, if he'd gotten the role through a personal connection, it was only proper that he help entertain the investors too.

There was an old saying.

You don't notice the seat someone fills until it's empty.

Oh Su, who stood in the CEO's position every day and supported us in every possible way, was about to leave for a distant vacation.

I was probably going to feel sad for quite a while.

About four minutes, maybe.

Soon, the filming day for 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉 arrived.

The studio was in Insa-dong.

I'd thought they were exaggerating, but in broad daylight a truck covered with a tarp really did pull up in front of the company and carry away Youngchae's entire wardrobe.

Of course, we'd prepared for that.

The moment the monthly meeting ended, I'd put Youngchae in the car and taken her all over Seoul.

We visited practically every place famous for clothes except department stores.

The theme was alteration, after all.

Youngchae needed clothes she could freely modify and wear however she wanted.

And if the clothes were too expensive, viewers would quickly lose interest.

Some celebrities appeared on these programs just to show off luxury brands.

That wasn't our strategy.

Youngchae went from clothing store to clothing store and began collecting pieces she could use.

Her eyes really were different from mine.

There were clothes so long that I hadn't even bothered looking at them.

Youngchae would pick them up, fold different sections as if she were folding paper, and hold them against her body.

Suddenly, the silhouette looked completely different from what I'd first seen.

We filled her wardrobe enough to make it presentable.

She had also already decided which combinations she wanted to show.

Of course, the real battle would begin in 〈Hong's Closet〉.

"Oh! Impressive! Very impressive!"

The moment we entered the set, Hong Eun-hye, who had been sitting calmly, spotted us and immediately made a fuss.

She specialized in women's styling and makeup, so this was actually my first time meeting her in person.

Until now, I'd only heard about her from people in Pantheon's Team 2 office or seen her on television.

"I was wondering what handsome man and beautiful woman had just walked in. Of course it was Youngchae! Then this gentleman must be your manager."

"Yes. I'm Do Jun-hyeok from Universe. And this is our member Youngchae."

I handed over my business card and began introducing us.

Hong Eun-hye naturally cut me off.

"Youngchae doesn't need an introduction~! More importantly, look at Manager Do here. Tall, clean proportions, nice long lines. Everyone, come look at Manager Do Jun-hyeok! Come on, take a look!"

The staff around the set turned toward Hong Eun-hye.

"What did I always say completes fashion?"

"F-Face?"

"Shoes complete fashion."

At Hong Eun-hye's answer, the staff lost interest and went back to work.

Apparently, this wasn't the first time she'd baited them with an obvious answer and changed it at the last second.

"But if your face is good enough, you don't need fashion at all. You don't even have to wear anything. Whatever you wear will look good anyway, so why bother spending money in midsummer? Just walk around naked. If you were naked, everyone would forgive you. You should try it sometime."

"I'd rather not go that far... Anyway, Youngchae here is a huge fan of yours."

"Thank you so much for watching me favorably, Youngchae. I've seen every photo and video of you. You almost never wear printed T-shirts, do you?"

Hong Eun-hye asked smoothly.

Youngchae's eyes widened as she nodded.

She always preferred plain shirts, adding accents only through layering or accessories.

Even when wearing street fashion, she rarely made exceptions.

If Hong Eun-hye knew something that specific, it meant she'd genuinely watched Youngchae's fashion closely.

"Yes. If the print is too large, all I can see is the picture, so I don't really like it."

"There are styles you haven't learned yet, but there isn't really such a thing as a style you simply hate. You just haven't seen a printed T-shirt styled beautifully enough for your taste. I've already got ideas, so we'll talk about that during the solution section. Anyway, everyone, look at Manager Do Jun-hyeok again!"

Hong Eun-hye changed the subject and began flirting with me again.

She kept doing that.

"Forget this. Come with me to the wardrobe room. We have plenty of men's clothes too. These proportions, this body, this face, this hair, and even today's lighting, temperature, and humidity. Perfect conditions for making my creative instincts explode. Come on. What do you like? Any interest in Hawaiian shirts?"

"I don't dislike them, but do I really need to wear one?"

"If you're interested, come with me!"

Hong Eun-hye began dragging me toward the wardrobe room.

If she was going to do this, she should pay me a model fee too.

"My fashion people~ My yogurts~ Starting this week, we're beginning a one-month project to become true trendsetters~!"

The broadcast began without incident.

Before filming, Hong Eun-hye had shown me awkward calf-length shorts and an oversized Hawaiian shirt in the wardrobe room.

But if I wore that, I felt like my last shred of fashion pride would collapse.

In the end, we compromised on something similar in style but much safer.

"With this alone, even I can become a trendy MZ insider starting today! Our first theme is... alterations!"

Hong Eun-hye hosted the program as naturally as ever.

Youngchae sat with perfect posture and quietly followed her lead.

This wasn't a major network show, but the atmosphere was still professional enough to make most people nervous.

And this was a program Youngchae had genuinely wanted to appear on.

Yet dressed in mint-colored cotton pants and a white blouse tucked neatly inside, looking brighter than usual, Youngchae didn't show much tension.

If anything, she probably thought that because this was an opportunity she'd desperately wanted, she couldn't afford to ruin it by being nervous.

Among all the members, Youngchae was the strongest at managing her emotions.

"So, for our very first closet guest, we've invited someone all of you know well. Blue Moon's street-fashion expert, Youngchae!"

"Hello, I'm Youngchae~."

Youngchae greeted the camera with a bright smile.

She normally had a cool image.

Today, we'd deliberately preserved that outward style while adding just a little more warmth and friendliness.

In truth, we'd filled her closet in a hurry.

Still, today was the day she was opening that closet to the public.

She would probably feel a little more approachable to the fans after this.

Bzzzt.

That was when it happened.

My phone suddenly vibrated in the middle of filming.

I quickly switched it to silent mode.

The sender was Spam.

[Web Message]

[Would you like to see the future?]

[Choice 1. Yes]

[Choice 2. No]

[If there is no response for five minutes, Choice 1 will be selected automatically.]

I still hadn't seen the final benefit from the recent cafe-fire incident, but I had already resolved it.

Come to think of it, had Choi Joo-hong originally been destined to burn to death there?

I was a little curious.

But there was no reason to spend much time thinking about something that never happened.

Especially now that the next spam message had already arrived.

[Title: 9/10]

[Photo Taken: 2022.10.18. 21:13]

I sent 1 and immediately received the photograph.

It was quite dark.

At first, I couldn't even tell what had been photographed.

There was a strange structure made of old concrete squares stacked in a grid like shoe lockers.

Long strings of unfamiliar alphabet-based writing were carved or written across each compartment.

Several sections were broken.

A few were empty.

After staring at the image for longer, I finally noticed a person.

They were hard to see because a thick structure rose from the ground like a tree stump, probably something installed to block vehicles from entering.

Beyond it, a small child lay perfectly still on the ground.

From the location and atmosphere, I could roughly guess what condition that child was in.

The date was tomorrow.

The time was nine in the evening.

It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie destined to take this summer by storm.