Chapter 58: How to Make Money

[Last weekend, at two o’clock in the morning. M Company’s miniseries filming took place in front of Daehangno. As a fan of the actor and idol who played a supporting role there, I witnessed the entire scene and, having seen the unacceptable treatment of the artist, I am writing this to inform you of the facts. This is the absolute truth, not a single word of it is false, and I have attached photos and videos as evidence. The sound was not recorded well in the video, so I have added further explanation.]

The image quality was crisp, probably because it was taken with a telephoto camera. Attached were a photo of Unta slipping after stepping on vomit, and a video of Muyoung and Unta talking to an assistant director.

[I know that drama filming is very difficult. But how can an actor slip after stepping on someone’s vomit, not just water? Is this a reasonable preparation? This caused delays in filming and the actors were extremely exhausted.]

[Furthermore, they compared the actor who played a minor role with the supporting actors in terms of appearance, and under the pretext that it was all for the supporting actors, they urged the minor role actor not to wear makeup. This is an insult to both the minor and supporting actors, and I demand an official apology from M Company and its officials.]

-Wow. If this is true, it’s amazing. What kind of world do we live in where people can say such things openly? Assistant director, please resign.

-Please at least blur it out. This is a violation of human rights.

-Is that Unta? But who’s next to him? Considering Unta’s physique, I think he’s a model.

-The assistant director said the right thingㅋ The guy next to Unta stands out more, don’t you think?

-I thought I’d seen him somewhere before, but it’s him. Late Night Pocha high schooler. Haven’t heard from him in a while, guess he’s filming a drama. Wow.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Ha Muyoung! Wake up!”

It was the middle of the day, but for Muyoung, who had only just come home in the morning, it was like the middle of the night. His roommates climbed up to the bunk bed and shook him.

“Dude. Stop sleeping!”

“Ah. Guys…… please…… The after-party is tonight, right?”

With the final exams over, the seniors were all graduating, so they wouldn’t be seeing each other in the dorms anymore. To celebrate their graduation and the end of the semester, they had decided to go out for a nice dinner together in the evening.

“That’s not the problem right now. Are you okay?”

“Why? I’m not okay because I’m too sleepy…….”

“You were bullied on set, weren’t you!”

“……What?”

What does that mean?

Muyoung raised his head with one eye open. His roommate shoved his phone screen in front of Muyoung. The photo was familiar. Wasn’t it that street where they had been filming all night?

“They didn’t let you wear makeup on set and stuff like that, but then fans passing by did it for you. Is that true?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“A whistleblower post came up, and then people who were there showed up in the comments. Read the comments.”

Muyoung suddenly got up and his head spun, but he tried to pull himself together.

-This is true. They didn’t let them wear makeup, so people around helped the actors with their makeup and stuff. Guys did their hair ㅋㅋㅋ I thought it was weird, but this was the situation.

-Ha Muyoung is so nice and has great fan service, though? Why are the staff like that? I’m going to boycott the drama. Who would watch a drama made with that kind of mindset?

-Unta’s face isn’t the kind that can be compared to anyone else;

-No, but the other guy wasn’t bad. Look at that otherworldly face that shines through the picture quality. I would’ve said something too, I thinkㅋ

-Assistant director, come here. You crazy bastard.

Wow. Oh my God. What is going on?

The phrase “a disaster after waking up” perfectly described the situation. Muyoung scrolled down the comments in confusion. A post that started on an anonymous site had somehow made it into the news.

“Wow.”

This has blown up big time.

But I haven’t lost anything. Anyway, the filming went well, and it was nice to meet the fans. Muyoung lay down and kept reading the articles.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes. It’s true, but, I don’t know. I’m fine. Unta’s stylist sister helped me out, and the filming went well. Haha. But what is this, man. Oh dear.”

“Shit. You scared me.”

“Phew-”

When he mumbled in a playful voice, the seniors finally sighed in relief. They were wondering what kind of terrible thing had happened to this weak and soft guy.

It’s good that it’s not true. Really!

“But when did all this start?”

“I don’t know. The post came up in the morning, but the reporters spread it around and it got huge. The original post has been deleted. It’s currently dominating the real-time search rankings, look.”

[Real-time search 3rd place: Ha Muyoung]

“Wow!”

There was his name, right up there. It was a shame that it wasn’t for something good, but it was still weirdly fascinating.

“You were thinking about Unta and the assistant director’s relationship outside of that, weren’t you?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“People are wondering which actor made Unta, of all people, look ugly. You don’t have to worry about it.”

That still makes me feel sorry for Unta, though.

Muyoung rubbed his eyes and watched the flood of people’s reactions. Then his phone rang. Sure enough, it was Ko Gyeongmin. He got up and pressed the call button.

“Yeah. Hyung. I saw the article.”

-This has become quite a predicament.

“Why? It’s not my fault.”

-No. It’s not that, but we’ve received an interview request.

“In…… terview?”

-Maeil Daily.

Of all things, his first interview would be about this.

Ugh. Muyoung scratched his head and asked,

“Should I do it?”

-Yeah. You can’t ignore the influence of reporters, after all.

“Then I should do it. Oh man! This is like a bolt out of the blue.”

There was a lot to do.

He had to move to an officetel right away, too. Muyoung got down from the bunk bed and picked up his toiletries.

-And we’ve contacted SN Entertainment on our side, you know?

“Unta’s agency?”

-From what I’ve heard, the broadcasting station has tentatively concluded that they will issue a formal apology and fire the problematic assistant director. Unta will then post on SNS that everything is settled and he’s okay, so let’s jump on the bandwagon.

Jumping on a ready-made bandwagon! That’s great. There’s nothing more delicious and convenient than that. By the way, if the problematic assistant director is fired……

“Park Sang-il AD is getting fired, then?”

-Yeah. I told you he was an asshole. He’s had some issues from the start, I guess, so they decided to cut him off right away, thinking this was the time.

Wow. Still, it’s like he got caught in his own trap, so I don’t feel sorry for him. I just feel bad. Muyoung picked up a towel and asked,

“Hyung manages my SNS account, right? Can you do it for me? I’m busy today and tomorrow. I have to clean up here and move into the officetel.”

As soon as the semester ended, it became clear.

This semester was a failure. He would have to be satisfied with just getting a grade.

-What about the interview, then? It’s your first interview, so I want to get some good photos. A studio would be hard to get on short notice, so is there a good place somewhere? Somewhere with good lighting, spacious, and cool.

Listening to Ko Gyeongmin, a name naturally came to mind. Gold Vista Officetel. The house Muyoung was moving into was just like that. A duplex with a sophisticated interior that could be in a magazine any day.

“Why don’t you ask them to come to the officetel? It’s a great place to take pictures. One wall is all glass.

It’s got a Han River view.”

-Would that be okay? There’ll be a lot to clean up after you move in.

“It’s fully furnished, so I just have to organize my clothes.”

-Okay. Then I’ll make an appointment with the reporter and call you back!

“Yes. Do that.”

Muyoung hung up the phone and leaned against the shower entrance. He watched the feed, which was getting dozens of new posts every second. Everyone was talking about Unta, the assistant director, and himself.

‘It’s weird.’

There are so many people in the world. I just hope this doesn’t affect Unta too much. Since it’s a big agency, they’ll handle it well, right?

[Let’s move a little earlier tomorrow. We might do the interview at the officetel.]

Tap tap.

Muyoung texted that to Junho and went to take a shower. It was his last night at school. He had scrubbed every nook and cranny for a nice dinner with his seniors.

[M Company’s miniseries assistant director eventually fired, sincerely apologizes to actor.]

[The harsh reality of drama filming sets, what is the reason behind it?]

[‘We’re okay,’ Unta and Ha Muyoung reassure fans on SNS.]

Ding. Ding.

Muyoung leaned against the wall and checked the popular articles in order. Then he heard a refreshing honk. Junho, wearing sunglasses, waved his hand out of the driver’s seat.

“Hey. Ha Muyoung!”

“Yo. Junhoss.”

“Is that all your stuff? You could’ve just taken a taxi.”

Two large backpacks. It was all his stuff, clothes and books combined. Junho laughed incredulously and put it in the trunk.

Bang!

“So I said I’d take a taxi, but you insisted on coming.”

“Did I? But it’s more than I imagined. Even a homeless person would carry more stuff than you. There’s no point in unpacking. Just leave it in one room.”

“No. The reporter is coming, I told you.”

Muyoung had decided to have his first interview at the officetel around three in the afternoon. Since it was his first interview, he would be busy all day, going to the salon and all. It was eight in the morning now, so……

“We need to move quickly.”

“But you’re going to take pictures there?”

“Yeah. It’s got good lighting.”

“Hey. Ha Muyoung, you know how to make money?”

“……What are you talking about?”

Junho’s words were incomprehensible. When Muyoung asked what he meant, looking confused, Junho was the one who was taken aback.

“You didn’t call him over there to resell it, did you?”

“Resell? What do you mean?”

“……My mistake. Of course you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you going to keep talking to yourself? Tell me too!”

“Why, when you look at famous celebrities, they show their houses in the media to raise the price, you know?”

Whether the property is on the market or not, just showing that a famous star is living a cool life is enough to create an image of a desirable place to live.

That naturally becomes a premium and leads to a rise in house prices. There were also many cases where the celebrity did it for their own house, but also received sponsorship from a construction company or the homeowner.

“If you package it well and put it out in the media, people will be tempted. They do it to take advantage of that. I thought you were trying to do that.”

As the son of a building owner, he had a unique way of thinking. He was much more sensitive when it came to real estate, money, and buildings.

“It’s not even my house, what would I do. And you said that place was notorious and wouldn’t sell.”

“So you’re going to sell it for him.”

If a famous celebrity lives there, people will trust it, at least to some extent.

“If it wasn’t for that ghost or whatever, that place wouldn’t even be on the market. I saw it that day and honestly got tempted, so I told my dad about it. The location and conditions are great, but my dad said not to even look at it if it’s haunted. He said I’d suffer for the rest of my life.”

Junho turned the steering wheel smoothly and said,

“You should make a deal with that Buyong or Boyong guy. Tell him you’ll sell the house for him and ask for a big incentive.”

“Nah. I’m not at that level yet, and even if it sells, there’s the ghost……”

Ghost…… As long as it doesn’t appear, everything will be fine, right? There’s nothing wrong with the house itself. Muyoung did some calculations in his head.

Squeak.

“Huh? Hey!”

“Grab your stuff and come upstairs!”

“What! Am I your subordinate?”

“Please!”

As soon as the car stopped, Muyoung jumped up immediately.

Even in the elevator, he was fidgeting. As he opened the door to room 2202, his hand was trembling for some reason!

Squeak!

“Hey! Ghost lady!”

The officetel was empty and echoed because it was so spacious. Muyoung put his hand on his waist and shouted boldly one more time.

“Come out here! I need to talk to you!”

Then, a woman with long hair creeping down came out of the bedroom. Ssssss.

With her face pressed against the floor, she was vomiting red blood. Muyoung rushed over and squatted down in front of her.

“Get up quickly and sit properly. This is really, really important.”