To see my sister's face on TV is a novel experience.
On the other side of the screen, Heejung, exchanging useless conversation next to Kang Jun.
No matter how I think about it, there's no reason for Heejung and Kang Jun to be on the same program.
"Hey, why is Kang Jun putting his hand on your shoulder?"
"I'm close with Kang Jun."
"...Kang Jun, that punk."
He dares to touch a writer's little sister?He's throwing the first punch, right?
"Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"K-euu, look how photogenic I am."
I stared blankly at my sister, who was casually ignoring me, and opened my mouth.
"...Don't you look in the mirror? You're just Tyson with long hair."
"What?"
My sister glared at me and pouted.
"Don't do that. You look uglier."
A drama writer's little sister appearing on a major broadcast variety show.
And the nature of this show is mainly to promote the drama.
It seems like a situation ripe for a fabrication controversy to arise if it's revealed later.
'Hmm...'
Honestly, it's also true that I had thoughts of slowly raising my sister starting from a minor role someday.
It's only natural to want to take care of your family once you gain some influence as a star writer.
'But, that's not now...!'
Was it a mistake to have enrolled her in the academy in the first place?
"Phew... what am I going to say to Manager Jung?"
"Huh? She already knows. I told her I was Kim Jinwoo's sister."
"...Good job."
But why didn't you tell me that? Soon, my sister tapped her smartphone and held it out to me.
"Oppa, look at this. The reaction is amazing."
The variety program's gallery, aka the 'Yep-gallery', where posts were regenerating in real-time.
Unlike the scattered drama forums, it was a large site that handled all variety shows.
『Are they openly promoting a drama on a variety show? ㅡㅡ』 『I trust and watch anything by King Jinwoo lololol』 『There are no suckers who don't know who wrote the Oseong Cider script, right?』 『The drama's title is Regressor lolololol』 『Miryung? Let's go Purple Girls coin lololol』 『The protagonists are charming, aren't they? ㅎㅎ』 『Someone share Kang Jun's female friend's SNS』
"Right. Well, for the most part, the reaction is favorable."
"Right? Right? They're curious about my SNS!"
"Do you only see what you want to see?"
"Hehe."
I ignored my sister, who was laughing thoughtlessly, and put my hands in my pockets.
Swish—
I immediately took out my smartphone and thought about what kind of message to send to Saerom.
［Manager-nim, my dummy of a sister, on her own accord...］
"Hmm..."
Tap, tap-tap—
I deleted the message again and thought slowly.
"What should I send so that it's rumored I sent it well?"
"What are you agonizing over? I'll just say it prettily for you."
Whoosh—
At that moment, Heejung reached out and snatched my smartphone.
"Hey, hey, wh-what are you doing!"
"Oops, I accidentally hit send... hmm."
As Heejung grabbed the smartphone, the send button was pressed.
For a moment, my sister's expression was unusual, so I immediately checked the message.
"Ah, qu-quickly, I have to cancel..."
［Manager-nim is a dummy］
Read. Fuck.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
As soon as my sister confirmed her mistake, she quickly fled to her room.
"...Should I really kill her?"
I should kill her and become an only child starting today.
"What on earth could this mean?"
［Manager-nim is a dummy］
Saerom thought deeply to grasp Writer Kim's intention.
"Hmm..."
Is it a challenge to a duel?I'm a 6th dan in Taekwondo.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
Team Leader Byun Hyukjoo entered the manager's office.
"Manager-nim, I have something to tell you about actor Shin Johoon..."
"Ah, I know too. The reaction to him these days is no joke."
"Yes. The evaluation is that he's the best villain since 'Crime City'."
A passage where Kim Jinwoo's eye for talent shines once again.
And what's more, actor Shin had sought out Tempest himself at his suggestion.
If they had let him go even after Kim Jinwoo's recommendation, they would have regretted it for a long time.
At the time, most of the employees had been against it, but Saerom and Team Leader Byun had pushed it through.
If, by any chance, they had followed the employees' choice, wouldn't they have let a jewel slip through their fingers?
"Manager-nim, a strange rumor was going around at the wrap party a while ago."
"Pardon? What kind of..."
"That Writer Kim Jinwoo had chosen actor Shin for the villain role in his next project..."
"Ah..."
When it comes to casting, he's practically a dictator.
What's surprising is that, without a single exception, it's always perfect casting.
'Maybe he's the type to write the script to fit the actor from the beginning...'
Team Leader Byun continued, looking a little worried.
"Um, he might get too buried in only villain characters."
"I think that will be fine. Just like how everyone acknowledges actor Ma Dongsik, who only plays fighter roles."
"Ah...! Then I will mention it at the next meeting with Director Song."
"No. I'll speak to the director separately."
"Yes, Manager-nim. This is the last thing..."
Team Leader Byun hesitantly handed the approval documents to Saerom.
"It's Netflix. But what are these conditions?"
"Ah, they've been putting up a wall of exclusivity lately, so this is the most..."
In reality, there were no other alternatives besides Netflix to attract overseas viewers.
The popularity of Hallyu dramas in Asia, Southeast Asia, and even the Middle East showed no signs of cooling down.
However,
"Still, a 9-to-1 profit share is too much."
"W-well, that's... they said they made that choice because we already sold the rights to a Japanese station..."
It was a clear abuse of power.
An abuse of power that was possible because it was none other than Netflix.
The bait of "Pure-hearted Macho" was tempting, but to them, it was just one of many choices.
Because there was no platform that could replace Netflix in expanding into a global drama.
"No, there is Diziney Play."
"Ah! Actually, the Diziney side did show a favorable reaction. Especially to Writer Kim Jinwoo..."
"Hmm..."
It seemed this phenomenon occurred because the gap between the number 1 and 2 in the industry was too large.
The gap between Netflix and Diziney Play, evaluated arithmetically, was more than double.
Of course, considering that Diziney had grown explosively in just a few years, they were also quite amazing.
"It's too much of a gamble..."
It would be too much of a loss for Writer Kim Jinwoo's first work to falter in the overseas market.
She wondered if she should just bow down to Netflix, even if it meant a bit of a loss.
Thud—
Saerom closed the contract file and said to Team Leader Byun.
"Please prepare for a meeting with the Diziney side."
"A-are you sure you'll be okay?"
"It's just one meeting, so don't act rashly."
"Ah... yes."
"I'll contact Writer Kim Jinwoo right away."
"I understand."
Soon, Team Leader Byun bowed his head and left the manager's office.
"Is the Netflix side not interested...?"
It was a drama that had already gotten on track in Korea and Japan.
Isn't it a work with endless potential if it expands overseas?
To offer such conditions meant one of two things.
Either they were trying to gain the upper hand to get favorable terms.
"They might not have had any intention of signing from the beginning."
If they held a meeting with a competitor without hiding anything.
She would probably be able to grasp Netflix's intentions precisely.
"I should leak some information."
Saerom began to search for the number of a suitable trumpeter on her smartphone.
On the way to Tempest Entertainment after receiving Manager Jung Saerom's call.
"Hmm, should I have just said it was a mistake?"
Once I missed the timing, it's now strange to even try to explain.
I think it's better to just come up with a plausible excuse.
For example,
"My cat sent it by mistake."
"Pardon...?"
"The message from before... the 'dummy' one."
"..."
Looking at her expression, I think she's even more pissed off.I should have sold out my baby cousin instead of the cat.
"Never mind that, please read this contract."
"Hmm."
She's cooler about it than I thought.
"What is this contract...?"
"Netflix."
"Kiyaa."
To think a day would come when my work would be on such a giant platform.
Even Writer Lee Minjoo barely got in on her sixth work.
'Well, before that, Netflix hadn't even grown yet.'
Swish—
As I skimmed through it, the first condition that caught my eye was,
"9-to-1 is a little harsh. Considering how popular 'Pure-hearted Macho' is these days."
"I agree."
The other conditions seemed pretty standard.
If you had to determine the power dynamic, a production company couldn't win against a large platform.
"Couldn't the conditions be eased through negotiation?"
"Well. I don't know about that, but I'm thinking of having a meeting with another place."
"Pardon?"
"Because Diziney Play offered good conditions."
"Hmm..."
I don't really know, so I should just follow Manager Jung Saerom's lead.
"Let's go to the meeting together."
"Me too?"
"Yes. The Diziney side requested it first. They said they'd like to have the meeting together."
"Really?"
Swish—
Saerom showed me a translated version of the email sent from the Diziney side.
As she showed me the smartphone from the seat next to me, her hair brushed against my nose.
'What shampoo does she use.'
Roughly, the content was that they wanted to meet me and have an in-depth conversation about the work.
"Oh, they like me a lot."
"Well, in Korea at least, you've hit back-to-back home runs."
"???"
"The Im Jaejun commercial."
"Ah..."
The perspective of industry officials was subtly different from the public's.
When a viewer chooses a drama based on the writer, the priority is how many works they've succeeded with.
But for industry people like production companies or sponsors, the top priority is whether or not it can bring in money.
"In that sense, Writer Kim Jinwoo has become the best box-office ticket among rookie writers."
Hmm, not bad.
"They're predicting the Oseong Cider commercial effect to be about a 15-fold increase in sales."
"I'm pretty good, aren't I?"
"...Don't joke around."
Saerom continued with a serious expression.
"We have to be careful about going with Diziney Play."
"Isn't that side also growing rapidly these days?"
"It's not a problem to be decided easily. If it fails, by any chance, it will be fatal to your career."
"Hmm..."
It's not even an exclusive contract, yet she's worrying about my career.
"You're right."
I'm just a rookie who is now entering the production of my second work.
'But if I succeed...'
I might be able to raise my tier again in no time.
"Phew... for now, let's meet and decide."
"Who?"
"The head of the Diziney Play Asia branch."
A figure I couldn't even dream of meeting when I was under Writer Lee Minjoo.
Time passed, and the broadcast date was confirmed at the KBC station.
"Four months from now..."
The time was not rushed at all and was quite relaxed.
The casting for the main roles was already all finished.
"Still, it's better to be perfect."
This time, let's actively intervene in the supporting role casting.That's better than leaving it all to Tempest Entertainment.That way, I can find an actor with even a slightly higher compatibility rate. I've already written most of the script, so finding such an actor is important. Soon, I picked up my smartphone and looked for related articles. A few reporters were drawing attention with provocative headlines.
"Lee Minjoo vs. Kim Jinwoo! A friendly competition between master and disciple!"
"What do you mean, friendly competition."
Is that human's idea of 'goodwill' to just jump in because I'm starting a drama? And of all people, SBC's Director Cha Choongheon was in charge of directing.
"So what Director Joo said was true."
I had a feeling, but were they really such childish people? Both Cha Choongheon and Lee Minjoo.
"How disgusted would the actors working with them feel if they knew the truth."
Because it would be like they had joined a project started with the petty feelings of two adults.
I'm not an actor, but if I were in their shoes, it wouldn't have ended with just a bad mood.
I checked the group chat for the "The Regressor Who Erases Memories" production team.
［There is a lead actor meeting this weekend. The location is inside the KBC station... ］
An official event where the writer, director, and lead actors all gather before the script reading.
Finally, the production of the second drama with the actors I had chosen was beginning.
Ding-dong—
At that moment, the system's notification sound activated, announcing the location of the next work.
[Content: The Regressor Who Erases Memories, Part 13] [Genre: Time Loop, Romance, Crime Thriller] [Location: KBC Broadcasting Station Main Building Lobby] [Time Limit: 19 hours] [※ Gold Promotion: 110-110101-1011(Virtual Account, W Bank)] [※ Deposit Amount: 0 won / 500,000,000 won]
"KBC Broadcasting Station."
Come to think of it, Purple Girls will be on a music show tomorrow too.
I should at least say hello to Miryung-ssi and Semi-ssi while I'm there.
"A music show..."
Usually, there aren't many opportunities to hear singers' songs 'live.'
Unless you go to a concert or are a broadcast official.
He had not anticipated what effect that would have on the system.