Chapter 166: Contract

“Moon cakes?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you see them? They came in boxes.”

“Why?”

“They’re trying to get PPL.”

“……Why?”

“……What’s wrong with her?”

The coordinator smiled slightly and patted Muyoung’s head.

As if soothing a curious and disobedient child. But Muyoung asked the question because he really didn’t understand.

In Joseon, is moon cake a kind of rice wine?

“All done.”

As soon as the coordinator finished touching up the makeup, Muyoung set out to find the box of moon cakes she mentioned. On closer inspection, some of the staff were already wrapped in smog.

“Did you eat the moon cake by any chance?”

“Huh? Yeah. It was delicious.”

“Where is it?”

“I think I saw it near the entrance a while ago.”

Moon cake wrappers piled up in the trash can.

Following the staff’s guidance, Muyoung found the boxes piled up at the entrance of the set. One of them stood out in particular.

“What kind of food is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it before.”

It was a package with Chinese characters written in white on a red background. Not only was the design exotic, but the smog leaking through the cracks caught Muyoung’s eye.

Click-

As soon as the lid was opened, smoke billowed out.

It’s like dry ice bubbling up.

Muyoung frowned and took one out.

“What the hell is going on?”

I’m going crazy.

After resolving the Cha Eun-seong incident, this happens.

‘Dongson Food’ written on the bottom of the box.

Muyoung squatted down and searched for the company’s information on his phone. The staff member stood there blankly, then went inside when someone called him.

“Dongson, Dongson……”

“Mr. Muyoung. What’s wrong?”

Ah. The director, who had just come out of the bathroom, called him. Muyoung frowned and tapped the box.

“Director. Is this really PPL?”

“Moon cakes? Oh. I heard they’re getting a bundle from Dongson Food, so I guess that’s in there too. What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean……”

When the kid, who was always smiling, asked back seriously, the director’s heart sank a little. It felt like something was going wrong. He squatted down in front of Muyoung.

“Why are they eating moon cakes, which are Chinese food, in Joseon? If a Chinese envoy brought them, that would be possible, but there was nothing like that in the script. Are you trying to put it on the royal table?”

“Well… that’s true, but this is a faction.”

“There’s a line. These days, the Northeast Project is very sensitive, and there’s definitely room for problems. And it’s not just anything, it’s the food the king eats.”

“Hmm……”

The director scratched the back of his neck in distress.

I know what he’s saying. But I can’t cancel the PPL on the day of the shoot.

“I know what you’re worried about, Mr. Muyoung. But Dongson Food didn’t just send moon cakes, they sent a lot of other things too. It came in a bundle, so it’s hard to take it out.”

In a bundle?

Muyoung asked back in a stiff voice.

“What are the contract terms?”

“Hmm? Just a moment.”

He fiddled with his phone and told him the contract terms along with the PPL list.

“Four food items from Dongson Food, one exposure per episode. It came in as a bundled contract, and umm. The exposure time is not set.”

Muyoung’s eyebrows furrowed even more.

Exposure is the key to PPL, but there are cases where the time is not set in the contract? Moreover, it was a food PPL, but there was no condition that the actor had to eat it.

“Then I’ll try to minimize it when editing. I’ll pan up from the bottom of the table and as soon as I hit the moon cake, I’ll cut away. How about that?”

“No. That’s even worse.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The intention is too disrespectful. If you’re not going to expose it properly, why put in the PPL? Isn’t the purpose just to put it on the table?”

There has never been a controversy over historical distortion because of food.

So maybe they’re trying to approach it cautiously?

This time it appears on screen, next time it’s cooked, and then it’s eaten…

“We have to stop it at the beginning. We can’t set a precedent.”

At Muyoung’s words, the PD hesitated.

It’s true that the contract was to put it on the royal table or in the palace, rather than other conditions. They were planning to set the table with other food items from Dongson.

“Hmm.”

Honestly, I didn’t think much about it.

When shooting a drama, PPL is inseparable.

This time too, I was just thinking about how to blend it in, and nothing else was considered. It wasn’t just the PD.

“PD-nim. This won’t work.”

The other staff members, who had been mechanically shooting PPL, were also puzzled but didn’t seem to think it was a big problem.

Isn’t it PPL for the main character to ask, ‘SIRY, what time is it now?’ while dying?

“I understand your concern, Mr. Muyoung. But a drama is both a work and a product. We have a contract, so we have an obligation to fulfill it. We can’t be harmed by something that hasn’t happened yet. We have to do what we have to do.”

Muyoung looked him straight in the eye. There was a look of reassurance, but also a hint of condescension.

‘A rookie who appeared like a comet and swept through the broadcasting industry, but is only in his second year since debut.’

That was Muyoung’s position.

For a veteran who has been in the industry for decades, it must have felt like an unnecessary worry.

This is a really important issue…

Have you become desensitized by time and experience?

He patted Muyoung’s shoulder and stood up.

“Don’t worry too much. Shooting will start soon, so take a break.”

Smog rose wherever the director’s feet touched.

Ah. What should I do?

Muyoung sat still and racked his brains.

It was clear that the company would be of no help.

They would probably take the same position as the director. They would seem to be on Muyoung’s side while trying to persuade him.

’Think. Think…

Muyoung squatted down, leaning against the wall, and groaned.

Then a cool breeze blew on the back of his neck.

Whoooo-

“What are you doing?”

It was Cha Eun-seong’s hand fan. In the other hand, he was holding a script.

He had come looking for Muyoung because he wasn’t coming in. Petals fell behind him, glowing against the backlight.

“Ahhh!”

“Ah. You startled me.”

Muyoung jumped up and took it in with his eyes.

That’s pollen! Definitely!

If it were Cha Eun-seong? If the representative actor of South Korea, who has the skills, the experience, and most of all, a terrible personality that makes the production team struggle, raises an issue?

The answer was closer than I thought.

“What are you doing? Did you get heatstroke?”

“Hyung. We’re in big trouble.”

“Why? What is it?”

Muyoung whispered and pulled him down to sit. And showed him the box of moon cakes.

Cha Eun-seong blinked and tilted his head.

“They said moon cakes will be on the tea table today.”

“PPL? I don’t like moon cakes. They taste like crap.”

“…More than that. Moon cakes are Chinese food, right? In Joseon, and in the palace where the king and his ministers have tea, there’s no way that would be on the table.”

Muyoung started whispering, trying to entice Cha Eun-seong.

“That’s true.”

“Do you know about the Northeast Project?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“If this gets broadcast, it’s going to blow up. I guarantee it. I don’t know why the director and the staff are not aware of it, but you could be called a traitor.”

“Traitor? My grandfather is a national merit holder.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. The best! But the grandson could become a traitor, a historically distorting actor.”

He looks like he’s joking.

But Muyoung kept chattering with confidence.

Looking at the smog rising like this, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to assume the worst.

“It’ll stick to you like a label. No matter what you do, you’ll be an actor with a lack of historical awareness. A pretty face but an empty head. Just when you think people have forgotten, it’ll come up again and again. Is that all? Since the controversy started with a historical drama, you won’t be able to shoot period pieces anymore.”

“…That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not. If you’re unlucky, you might not be able to work in Korea. You know how hard it is to build an image, but it can crumble in an instant, right?”

Muyoung stimulated his imagination.

How carefully has he built his image over the long years?

Among the top stars currently active, Cha Eun-seong is probably unparalleled in terms of career and reputation.

Of course, putting aside his personal character…

“That much?”

“And more. If it gets serious, the show could be canceled. I don’t want to see a work that could rewrite viewership history end up in the trash because of a PPL mistake.”

Muyoung took Cha Eun-seong’s hand.

And his eyes sparkled.

He was asking him to please think properly and realize the seriousness of the situation.

“Do you know why we get paid a lot?”

“…Because of our faces.”

“That’s right. The production team makes it, but it’s the actors who show it to the viewers. If there’s a problem, we, who put our faces on it, will be the most damaged.”

Cha Eun-seong just frowned and looked at Muyoung. He had a look on his face like he was making up a story.

But it didn’t feel quite right, so he asked again.

“Is this really that serious? It’s just one food item?”

“There’s nothing that represents a country’s identity more than food, clothing, and shelter.”

Muyoung answered firmly, and he looked at him silently. The sound of the hand fan whirring and his bangs fluttering.

“Ah. I don’t know.”

He, who had been calm, suddenly shook his head and turned away.

“Hyung-ahh-”

“Shut up. They told you to change your clothes. The coordinator was looking for you. Change quickly and come back. I get annoyed if the wait is long because of the heat.”

Saying that, he went inside!

Muyoung scratched his head in dismay and sighed.

It’s definitely pollen, so it should be a breakthrough, but I don’t know why Cha Eun-seong reacted like that.

“Mr. Muyoung!”

A staff member poked his head out of the door.

Muyoung got up with a glum look on his face.

“Yeah. Let’s gooo-”

Trudge, trudge. His footsteps were as heavy as wet cotton.

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Cha Eun-seong was gulping down a strawberry latte. Suddenly, he remembered something and called his manager.

“Hyung. That contract…”

“Contract? Which one?”

“The one we’re shooting now.”

“Huh? Oh. The appearance contract? Why?”

“Can I see it now?”

Suddenly?

But if I ask ‘why?’ here, he’ll spill his frustration. It was a survival tactic learned from being around him for a long time.

“You have one copy, and the other is at the company, so you can’t see it now.”

“Call the company and ask them to take a picture and send it to me. That… what was it? There was something like that…”

Cha Eun-seong tapped his temples, trying to recall something. The manager also frowned and tried hard, not knowing what it was.

“Ah!”

Cha Eun-seong snapped his fingers and said,

“That, there was a clause about not damaging each other’s reputation, right?”

The main purpose was to prevent the cast from making mistakes.

It was mentioned twice, in the mutual cooperation and obligations, and in the rights and responsibilities. The manager couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked,

“It’s there. But why?”