Chapter 54
Gil Bo-young hurriedly covered her phone with her hand and spoke.
“Oppa, I already made plans to watch a late-night movie tonight.”
<Hey, why are you talking about a late-night movie on a day like this? Don't do that and just come over here. I'm at Bearded Hyung's place right now. If we don't have a celebration party on a day like this, when are we ever going to have one?>
“We can have the celebration party another time···. Oppa, I'm with Gi-baek right now···.”
<Gi-baek? Then he can come too. Woo-joo and Ji-tae are here as well. Everyone is going crazy congratulating you. You can watch the movie another time. Come over. Got it? You're coming.>
After hanging up, a troubled sigh escaped Gil Bo-young's lips.
“Ha, it feels like I can't really not go. What should I do?”
I forced a smile at Gil Bo-young as if to tell her it was fine.
“It's okay, Noona. Don't worry about me. You can go.”
“What are you talking about? If I'm going, you have to come with me.”
“Is it really okay for me to go?”
“Of course. They're neighborhood friends I've been close with since I was young. I'll introduce you to them too.”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Gil Bo-young gave me a small smile and spoke.
“Anyway, it looks like we can't watch a movie today either. At this point, do you think some kind of curse has been placed between us and the movie theater?”
After parking in an alley in a residential neighborhood in Sangsu-dong, Gil Bo-young and I got out of the car.
“There's a bar in a place like this?”
“I was surprised too at first. That's why only people who know about it come here. The owner used to be involved in music, so apparently he opened this place so people in the music scene could drink and hang out together rather than simply to make money.”
“Ah···.”
I followed Gil Bo-young down into the basement of a three-story building in the residential alley where the bar was located.
As soon as we entered, LP records and CDs packed tightly into huge bookshelves caught my attention.
The bookshelves reminded me of a classic medieval library.
Behind the bar, a middle-aged man with a thick, bushy beard was carefully arranging records.
Apart from the table where a group of people, including Moon Hyun-bin, were sitting, there wasn't a single other customer in the hall.
'I guess only people who know about this place really come here.'
Just as I entered through the doorway, the bearded man noticed Gil Bo-young and naturally raised his hand in greeting.
“Oh? Bo-young, why has it been so long? At this rate, I'm going to forget what your face looks like.”
“Come on, Uncle. You're exaggerating again. I saw you last month too.”
“Is that so? I just miss you when I don't see you for a few days. Hahaha.”
“Ah, Uncle. This is Min Gi-baek, a younger friend I'm close with. He works in the film production department. Hyun-bin Oppa and I have received a lot of help from him.”
Gil Bo-young made sure to introduce me to the bearded man.
“Hello. Please take good care of me.”
“Sure. Come by often from now on. Hyun-bin and Bo-young's friends always get one bottle of beer for free.”
After greeting the bearded man, we headed toward the table in the center of the hall where Moon Hyun-bin was sitting.
“Why are you so late? Hurry up and sit down. Alright, alright, today's main character has arrived!”
Moon Hyun-bin spotted us approaching the table and immediately stood up.
He even pulled out a chair himself and made room for Gil Bo-young.
“Oh, Bo-young is here? Congratulations. I heard you got cast in a movie.”
“Unnie, congratulations! You'll be appearing on the big screen often now. Hoho.”
“Then does that mean Bo-young is buying the drinks tonight? Haha.”
“This bastard is always thinking about getting someone else to pay.”
Congratulations continued to pour in toward Gil Bo-young in the cheerful atmosphere.
“Thank you, everyone. And this is Min Gi-baek, a younger friend I'm close with.”
Gil Bo-young naturally introduced me.
“Hello. I'm Min Gi-baek.”
As I bowed my head politely, Moon Hyun-bin continued the introductions.
“These guys are all musicians. Some of them are even in pretty popular indie bands in Hongdae.”
My musical taste was terrible, so I knew almost nothing about music, especially indie music.
But there was one person among those gathered here whom I recognized at a glance.
It was singer Woo-joo Han.
A few years later, Woo-joo Han would appear on Super K-Star, an audition program that would achieve an exceptionally high viewership rating for a show of its kind.
He would go on to receive tremendous love from the public.
“By the way, if you two were going to watch a movie, you should've told me in advance. You went by yourselves. Hmph.”
Moon Hyun-bin pouted at us as we sat down.
“If I went with you again, I'd have to suffer through some kind of disaster. Ahem···.”
I couldn't exactly tell him that I had intentionally left him out, so I deliberately brought up what had happened at the theater before and brushed the matter aside.
That was when it happened.
Moon Hyun-bin's phone, which was lying on the table, began vibrating repeatedly.
“Hyung, I think you're getting a call.”
“No, it's a text. I don't need to check it.”
Moon Hyun-bin glanced at his phone with an annoyed expression, as if he already knew roughly what the messages were about.
“Who is it?”
“Well··· management.”
Moon Hyun-bin hesitated for a moment before answering Gil Bo-young's question.
'Management?'
Moon Hyun-bin explained the situation.
Recently, several management companies had offered him exclusive contracts, and he had already had meetings with them regarding the matter.
Even though Moon Hyun-bin had told them that he needed time to think and that he would contact them himself once he made a decision, they kept sending him messages one after another like this.
'Are the management companies already making their moves?'
Come to think of it, considering Moon Hyun-bin's current popularity, it was only natural that he would already be attracting attention from the free-agent market.
“That's great. You were looking for an agency anyway, Oppa. Which companies are they?”
“Well··· SR Entertainment, NM Actor, and BHB Entertainment. Those three have the best conditions for now, but···.”
For some reason, Moon Hyun-bin's expression remained gloomy as he answered.
Gil Bo-young didn't notice his expression and continued happily.
“Oh~ All three are well-known companies. Senior Min Sung-jae is also at BHB Entertainment, right? If things work out, you might even be working at the same company as Senior Min.”
At that moment, my mind began working rapidly.
'What should I do if Moon Hyun-bin gets an agency like this···?'
My original plan had been to ask Ma Sang-hee to take care of both Gil Bo-young and Moon Hyun-bin.
That was why, when Gil Bo-young had told me at the coffee shop earlier that it would be difficult for her to afford Ma Sang-hee's salary by herself, I had planned to bring up this matter when I met Moon Hyun-bin today.
But if he had already met with major management companies···.
My plan to connect Ma Sang-hee, Gil Bo-young, and Moon Hyun-bin and lay the foundation for the beginning of Starlight Entertainment from this point onward would fall apart.
But··· wait···.
When had I started making plans like this?
Had I unconsciously been making such plans without even realizing it?
Come to think of it, ever since I first met Ma Sang-hee, the thing that had constantly occupied my mind was the upcoming era of comprehensive programming channels.
At first, even viewers ignored the comprehensive programming cable channels.
But as comprehensive programming channels began to establish themselves, the dramas and variety shows they produced would eventually enjoy popularity comparable to terrestrial broadcasts.
Then, as drama production for comprehensive programming channels rapidly increased, there would even be a shortage of actors to the point where people would say, 'The drama has been scheduled, but there's no actor, so we can't make it.'
Because of this, many actors who were still unknown rookies on terrestrial broadcasts would be cast in leading roles on comprehensive programming channels.
An era where the person who secured the actors was the winner.
That was the era of comprehensive programming channels.
This was also the period when what people commonly called the industrialization of the entertainment industry began to be discussed in earnest.
Just like the film industry, the entertainment industry had also begun to systematize itself due to an explosive increase in supply and demand.
If Ma Sang-hee's Starlight were prepared to match the era of comprehensive programming channels···.
Perhaps Starlight wouldn't be ranked third in the industry in 2024.
Perhaps it could even become the number one entertainment company in the industry.
And if I had such a Starlight behind me···.
Wouldn't I be able to become a major figure who could influence not only the film industry but the entire media market of South Korea?
When my thoughts reached that point, an absurd laugh escaped me without realizing it.
It was almost ridiculous.
Until I met Gil Bo-young today, I had been worrying and agonizing over these things.
Yet, without even realizing it, the desires hidden inside me had already begun to stir.
“Hey, Min Gi-baek. What are you thinking about so seriously?”
I suddenly came back to my senses.
“Ah, no. I was just thinking about something···.”
Right.
This wasn't the time to sit around thinking about such things and weighing them over.
First, I had to secure Moon Hyun-bin.
I quickly organized my thoughts.
“So what about you, Hyung? Is there any company you like?”
Moon Hyun-bin hesitated for a moment before speaking with a troubled expression.
“Well··· honestly, I don't know. It's hard to explain in words, but my feelings are··· complicated.”
I turned my gaze away from Moon Hyun-bin and slowly ran my fingers over the beer glass that had been placed in front of me.
“I suppose so. Once you sign a contract, you'll have to live like family for at least several years, so the signing bonus isn't the only thing that matters···. Sometimes you'll also have to work on projects you don't want to do···. And I've heard they make you appear on variety shows a lot at first to make your face known.”
As far as I remembered, in the future before my regression, Moon Hyun-bin had appeared on variety shows quite frequently.
He was always cheerful on those shows and actually gained a lot of popularity through variety programs.
But when he reached middle age, Moon Hyun-bin said this in a magazine interview.
“Actually, now that I can admit it, appearing on variety shows back then was really difficult for me. Dancing, singing, running around, rolling around in front of so many people···. Ha··· My heart would pound so hard back then···. Looking back now, I sometimes think that maybe I was suffering from panic disorder.”
Variety shows didn't suit Moon Hyun-bin's personality.
However, since Moon Hyun-bin was practically a rookie at the time, his agency had pushed him into variety shows recklessly in order to raise his public recognition.
As a result, Moon Hyun-bin had no choice but to appear on them, even though he hated doing so.
'I hope this works···.'
Just thinking about having to appear on variety shows he didn't want to do seemed to drain his energy.
Moon Hyun-bin let out a short, frustrated sigh.
“Honestly, that's one of the reasons it's so difficult to choose an agency.”
Moon Hyun-bin probably wanted to take more time to think about it.
But he had already struggled quite a bit when he had worked alone during Director Song Jae-hyun's previous shoot.
He had even gotten into a traffic accident while returning home after driving following a late-night shoot.
“Still, most of the filming was in Seoul back then. This time, it's a historical drama, so most of the filming will be outside the city···. And the shooting is right around the corner, so there are schedules, costumes, script management, transportation, and everything else···. It would be difficult to handle all of that alone, so I really do need to choose an agency quickly···. Sigh···.”
Moon Hyun-bin shook his head from side to side as if even thinking about it gave him a headache.
I didn't miss the opportunity and cautiously tested the waters.
“Then how about getting a personal manager and working with them for the time being, like last time?”
