Chapter 74: Dilution
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The sound of the officetel doorbell rang from early in the morning. Muyoung, who had passed out, barely regained consciousness and stood up. Under the sofa, Junho was lying down and sleeping, wearing only his underwear.
“Hehehehe…….”
He kept laughing in his sleep, as if something was so funny.
Muyoung threw a blanket over him. Anyway, he sure knows how to startle people.
‘What did you do behind my back, huh? The two of you, huh?’
This is ridiculous. Bora was so cold to Junho in front of me! Fighting and then suddenly kissing? Muyoung, who had no dating experience, found it too difficult to understand the missing intermediate process that had sent him floating.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
“I’m going out.”
Muyoung stumbled over to check the intercom. It was Ko Gyeongmin. The sun wasn’t even up yet, what’s going on?
“Hyung, it’s early in the morning-”
“Muyoung, what did you do yesterday, or rather, earlier?”
“What? Me?”
Muyoung scratched his head and yawned. The smell of alcohol still lingered. Couldn’t you tell by looking at him?
“I had dinner, or rather, drinks with Daryeong. That hot pot there was really good. We should go together next time-”
“No, you drank alcohol just with the two of you?”
“No, Junho was there too. Hyung, what’s wrong? Is something going on?”
His expression was serious. In response to Muyoung’s question, he showed him his phone. Daryeong’s name dominated the real-time search rankings from number one to number five.
[1st place: Celebrity drinking at Gangnam Station]
[2nd place: Daryeong]
[3rd place: Gangnam Police Station]
……
“What’s going on?”
“Daryeong got drunk early this morning and caused a scene on the street. I called her as soon as I saw the news, but she didn’t pick up. The boss went to the Gangnam Police Station just in case.”
The circumstances were as follows.
After drinking, she vomited on the street, and when passersby recognized her and took pictures, a fight broke out, and she ended up being taken to the police station. The problem was that she acted like a madwoman even there. Rumors were circulating like trash that she even assaulted a police officer.
“Huh? That’s weird. I’m sure I put her in a taxi and sent her off?”
“Does this have anything to do with you? We were really worried that you might be involved too. Sigh.”
“Yeah, I parted ways with her and came home with Junho. It was around one o’clock this morning? I fell asleep then, so I came home even earlier. I don’t remember the details.”
I was too busy with Junho and Bora’s antics. Ko Gyeongmin sighed in relief.
“Oh, the incident happened at two o’clock in the morning, so you’re not involved. Thank goodness.”
While driving over, he had prayed that Muyoung would be at home. Even though he had no religion, he shamelessly called out to God and Buddha!
“I’m sorry. I must have worried you.”
Muyoung returned the phone and apologized. He hadn’t actually done anything wrong, but he felt sorry and grateful just for causing worry. For him to come all the way here so early in the morning.
“Romin said it. That girl’s personality is terrible.”
“She said she wasn’t good, but she didn’t say her personality was terrible.”
“There seem to be a lot of rumors about her in this area. She’s a troublemaker when she drinks. Looking at the trashy rumors, it seems like some of the stuff that was covered up before is going to come out now. If you get a call from Daryeong’s side, block it immediately and tell us. Got it?”
“Yes, I understand. But it’s really strange. Did she get out of the taxi on the way?”
“What do I know? This has nothing to do with you.”
Oh, it’s so hard!
Ko Gyeongmin sprawled out on the sofa, then jumped in surprise at the sight of Junho sleeping half-naked.
“Are you feeling stressed? Would you like some water?”
“Yeah, give me a glass.”
Saying that, Ko Gyeongmin sent a text to Na Geumdong. Muyoung was fine and at home. Don’t go to the police station, just go back inside.
“But hyung, were you at the office all this time?”
Muyoung asked as he handed him a glass of cold water. Considering how fast the news spread and that he was able to contact the boss at this hour, it seemed like they were together at the office.
“Uh-huh. Because of work.”
“You mean the call you got in the car earlier? What’s going on?”
Muyoung asked, checking his phone as he spoke. There were thirty-two missed calls and nearly a hundred text messages. I didn’t know because I had it on silent. Surprisingly, there was also a text message from Romin.
[Hyung, were you with Daryeong until early this morning by any chance? Where are you now?]
Does this guy not sleep either? Muyoung replied that he was fine and looked at Ko Gyeongmin. He looked troubled, scratching his cheek and avoiding eye contact.
“What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t confirmed yet.”
“It’s okay. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s about The Plague. If we’re not careful, the release date might get pushed back a bit.”
Huh. That’s news I didn’t expect.
Muyoung drank the water and opened his eyes wide.
“Why? Is there a problem with the editing?”
“No, that’s going smoothly, but the distributor is…….”
Distributors are responsible for putting movies in theaters and distributing them once they’re made. Majors have the same production and distribution companies, so there’s no big problem, but the company that produced The Plague was Monet, wasn’t it? A minor among minors.
“There are so many projects that have finished filming lately, so it might get pushed back in the queue. It’s not confirmed yet. Since it’s Director Jin Gyeongmun’s work, it won’t get pushed back right away.”
The fact that rumors are already circulating is a bit suspicious.
“What’s the forecast?”
The plan was to release it in theaters in the first half of next year, but it might get pushed back to the second half if we’re lucky. In reality, the company is more desperate for profits than the actors, so it’s an urgent situation. They need to recover their investment quickly.
“So we’re planning to meet with the production company to negotiate the differences. Once the promotion is set, the schedule will start rolling, but if it gets pushed back too far, we’ll be in trouble too.”
You could lose your current job because of something that might or might not happen. Given the nature of an actor’s work, which can be booked anywhere from a year to several years in advance, this is really…….
“It’s troublesome.”
“I know. Who knows what project you’ll be working on then.”
“It’s not confirmed yet, right?”
“Yeah, I’m still looking into it. I heard a rumor that they’re going to show something imported from abroad first.”
No matter how high you fly, movie theaters are firmly controlled by big corporations. A world high above that even connections between agencies can’t reach. It’s inevitable that information is a little scarce.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that. It’s nobody’s fault. What can I do? And-”
Whatever it is, it will be the best choice.
Thinking about the incredible sparkle that radiated from The Plague’s script, he felt at ease. The outcome was already going to be lucky in some way or another.
“And there’s something else.”
“Something else? What is it? Are you trying to ward off bad luck or something?”
“It’s not related to you, but it’s about Taeseok. You know, PD Hong Seokjo, the one working on Crescent Moon’s Waist?”
“Yeah, I remember. He’s the one we had dinner with that time.”
“He ended up driving drunk. He got into an accident and was hospitalized.”
Whoa. Muyoung’s mouth dropped open as he pictured his face.
I told him not to drink and drive, I tried to stop him so much! But he couldn’t avoid the black smog in the end.
“Was he badly injured?”
“Twelve weeks of recovery. The good thing is that he hit a guardrail by himself, so there were no other victims. But it messed up the filming schedule.”
“……The boss and my hyung must be really busy.”
And on top of that, with the Daryeong incident happening, they must have been so worried. Muyoung laughed and apologized again.
“I need to work harder.”
“No, you’re doing really well right now. Haha, you’re on a smooth road.”
He checked his phone and stood up from the sofa. Junho, who was sleeping soundly and knew nothing, scratched his stomach.
“Get some rest. I have to go back in.”
Muyoung’s schedule was empty for the time being.
The movie was over, the promotional schedule was pushed back, and the drama audition was finished for now. Muyoung yawned widely and saw him out.
“Be careful on your way.”
“Yeah, I’ll contact you when the documentary schedule is set.”
“Oh, right.”
I completely forgot. Muyoung waved his hand and closed the front door. Sleep completely disappeared. It was a quiet morning. The dark officetel was filled only with Junho’s snoring.
“Hmm.”
The movie’s release has been delayed. The boss and manager hyung can’t get in touch with them either, so that’s why they’re like this now? I want to help…….
‘I don’t know! A path will appear soon!’
Muyoung lay down and just searched for articles on his phone. Even though it was early morning, this was the situation, so by morning, the whole country of Korea would be in an uproar.
‘What about the drama? Tsk.’
It’s pre-produced, so it hasn’t aired yet. If Daryeong messes up like that, will it get canceled? Then who will play the female lead? The drama’s reputation was already ruined because of the assistant director incident.
“Hehehe…… Bora’s there.”
“Ah, you startled me.”
Junho smirked evilly and talked in his sleep. What a creepy guy! Muyoung threw a pillow and covered his mouth.
“What the hell is this now!”
Park Moonchul, who had been urgently called to the police station early in the morning, was stunned by the absurd situation. An actor! The lead actor in a drama about to air! She was crying with her hands handcuffed to a wooden bench!
“……D, Director.”
“You! I told you to stop drinking so much!”
“I’m sorry. Waaaah!”
At his thunderous scolding, Daryeong shed tears. He held his throbbing head and glared at the manager.
“F*ck, really…….”
If you’re going to take money, at least do your job properly!
He glared at him with a fierce look, his teeth grinding. The manager wrote down the details as instructed by the police, and the handcuffs were removed.
“Young people should behave properly, okay?”
“I’m sorry…….”
Daryeong wiped her tears and looked up at Director Park Moonchul with a pitiful expression. But it didn’t work. He muttered coldly.
“Reporters can be stopped if you feed them money. But if you cause a scene in the middle of the road, what am I supposed to do? Huh? The broadcasting station is calling, what are we going to do? Let’s all die together, is that it?”
“I’m sorry. I really only had a little bit to drink.”
“Who was the woman with you?”
“Mori. She left earlier.”
“F*ck, really…….”
Daryeong cried and begged, her hands clasped together.
“Ha Muyoung and Im Junho left me behind. I was so angry, I mean, why would they chase after Kang Bora when I was there…….”
“Wait, who? Ha Muyoung? Did you drink with him?”
At Park Moonchul’s words, Daryeong just nodded her head. He seemed deep in thought, his eyes rolling like a snake. In situations like this, it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. The director gestured to the manager and called him over.
“You, go to XX bar in Gangnam right now and check the route.”
“Route? What route?”
“Check if there are any CCTV cameras from the bar to the taxi stand.”
What’s the plan? The manager just said he understood and quickly ran outside. Park Moonchul threw a jacket at the disheveled Daryeong and said,
“If you want to live from now on, listen to me carefully.”
“Wh, what do you mean?”
There are three main ways to avoid an issue.
One is money. Another is time. And the last one is dilution. Daryeong’s antics were spread online through citizen reports, but so far, articles only referred to her as Celebrity D.
“Let’s dilute it.”
But he was missing something.
To make dilution work without being noticeable, you need to mix things of similar quality. If you mix the wrong things, it can make the problem even worse.