Chapter 93: Advertising Fees
S Company editing room. One large screen and three small screens clustered together below it. Director Lee Yujin frowned and sighed.
“Are you still doing that?”
“Yeah. Just look at this for a second.”
“Haha. What is this?”
One shot taken straight on by the main camera. Two shots taken left and right by the camera team with a handheld. And several more cellphone screens shot by other staff members. It was a collection of videos with varying image quality.
“How can we do this?”
“Exactly. Ugh. I must be crazy. I should have just filmed it separately.”
A fellow director sipped coffee and flipped through the video. The quality, color, and composition of the footage were all different. He shook his head and glanced at Director Lee Yujin.
“You took first place in the same time slot, so throw up all night.”
“I’ve been here for 19 hours now.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
No matter what he tried, it didn’t feel smooth.
She tapped the enter key repeatedly, pointlessly, in frustration. Her colleague said quietly,
“Instead of doing that, just go with the main camera all the way through and then paste one collage at a time.”
“This isn’t your project right now—”
“No, I’m serious. You know that variety show where they go to Europe and busk? It’s like that, just capturing the front and sides like this…… and then the fancam shots in between. Yeah. This is good.”
Tap-tap!
He held coffee in his mouth, roughly cut and pasted the video, and explained what was in his head to Director Lee Yujin.
“The texture is too different. Is it okay?”
“That’s why I said to use several collages.”
“Oh. I see what you mean. But—”
“But what else?”
“This doesn’t feel like a drama.”
It was an editing technique you’d see in a music show or a variety show. Would it be okay to use that kind of direction in a drama? It seemed like a risk no matter how she thought about it.
“Then shoot it again.”
“You make it sound so easy. Really.”
“The problem isn’t that it’s ‘not like a drama,’ it’s that the ‘technique is sloppy.’ As long as it looks good, who cares? Right?”
At his words, she turned her head.
Why is this guy saying all the right things today? At her gaze, the man just raised his eyebrows and smiled confidently.
“If it fails, I’ll take your place.”
“Yeah. Get lost. Go away!”
“Aigo, I’m joking, you person.”
She gave him a light kick and chased him out of the editing room. But hearing a new opinion definitely made her feel like her horizons were broadening.
She put the unsatisfactory video aside for a moment and rolled up her sleeves again.
“Yeah. If I want to do my own project, what are they going to do about it? Huh?”
It was as if she was hypnotizing herself with her muttering. If there’s a problem, she’ll just write a nice, refreshing incident report. She scribbled down a new directing method that came to mind on a piece of paper.
“I can’t reach the director.”
“Huh? Director Lee Yujin? Why?”
Muyoung, Na Geumdong, and Ko Gyeongmin were eating ramen together in the Big Win Entertainment office. It was a rare night when they all had time.
Thanks to that, this is the first time we’ve been able to get together and monitor.
“I don’t know. They asked me to watch what aired today and let them know how it was, but there’s no answer.”
“They must be busy. Eat your ramen. It’ll get cold.”
“Huh? It’s starting.”
Muyoung slurped up his ramen and fixed his gaze on the screen. The words <You Are a Star, I Am a Star> Episode 9 appeared on the screen.
It’s been almost a month since I’ve had time to watch the live broadcast!
“Whoa. Finally.”
Finally, I get to sit and watch comfortably like this!
Even though he already knew the content, watching the edited video was fun and fresh. More than anything, seeing his own face on television felt strange and weird.
“Ah. It was really cold back then.”
“Yeah. The wind was so strong that we couldn’t fly the heli-cam in the end. That scene would have been even cooler if it was included. Ah. You edited it like this here?”
“This is fine too. Good job, camera director.”
“Hyung! Do you remember when we filmed that? We got lost—!”
Muyoung didn’t know.
Unlike before, his perspective on watching dramas had changed to that of an ‘actor.’
In the past, he watched as a viewer, simply chasing excitement, but now he analyzed and felt regret, recalling memories.
“But it’s not much different from usual—”
Why did you suddenly ask me to monitor it?
The moment Muyoung tilted his head in confusion and picked up the last bite of ramen, the busking scene from Hongdae Street appeared.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Ko Gyeongmin and Na Geumdong, who were sitting next to him, also stopped in surprise. The band playing music and singing was captured in a long take, with occasional shots of the audience enjoying themselves in between.
“Aha. That’s why?”
“You startled me. I thought it had turned into a music show.”
“It’s not bad. They’re all idol veterans, so they’re great at finding the camera. Or did they just cut that part out?”
“They really look like real musicians, don’t they?”
Muyoung watched the screen and nodded his head unconsciously.
Considering the overall tone, that part stood out in particular, but it actually had more impact because of that.
“They also gave it a long runtime.”
It took up almost a verse’s worth of time. The members captured as the main focus were barely cut out, so the vividness of the actual scene came through intact.
‘Well. It was actual busking, after all.’
Ko Gyeongmin laughed and handed Muyoung his phone.
“I understand why the director asked you to contact them. Send them a text quickly. Tell them you watched it and not to worry.”
“Worry? About what?”
“Trying something like that in a drama is such a nerve-wracking thing to do. And it was the number one show in the same time slot.”
“Oh. I see. Then……”
Muyoung sent a text to the director, then habitually logged into the portal. He was about to close it after scrolling through it absentmindedly, but his eyes caught his own name.
[Ha Muyoung, who appeared on
“What is this again?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ko Gyeongmin poked his head out and looked at the phone together.
“The Great Challenge aired two days ago. There wasn’t much reaction back then.”
It was just a lukewarm reaction, like, “Oh, a new actor appeared.” The viewership ratings were about the same as before. It was a result that focused on publicity, so there wasn’t much impact.
“But why is this suddenly number one on Today’s News?”
“I don’t know. Click on it quickly. The title isn’t bad.”
It was a column of entertainment articles listed in order of total views and recommendation scores. The article ranked number one was prominently displayed there, and Muyoung let out an exclamation as soon as he clicked on it.
“Aigo.”
A photo of Kim So-woon, who appeared on the show, smiling brightly during an interview, was plastered across the page like a headline.
[‘I worked really hard to solve it. But I was a little disappointed that I lost. My family situation wasn’t good, so I needed money right away. But on my way back, Muyoung hyung called me. He handed me an envelope and said it was money he borrowed from his grandmother, but it was such a large amount. Our grandmother didn’t have that kind of money. There were rarely days when she had even 10,000 won in her pocket her whole life. When I asked my grandfather, he said he didn’t know about the money either. And most importantly, from what I saw online, Muyoung hyung seems to be a Seoul native, but we just moved here from Changwon not long ago.’]
So-woon, who was trying to find out where the money came from, came to a conclusion. The grandmother story was just a lucky coincidence, and it wasn’t repayment but a gift.
“Is that the guy? The one you competed against?”
“……I should have put more effort into lying.”
“What’s the big deal? He’s grateful too. Look. ‘Thanks to Muyoung hyung, I think I’ll be able to spend this winter warmly! Thank you!’ The kid’s got good manners too.”
Hmmph. But it wasn’t something that needed to be made into such a big article. Muyoung scratched his neck, which had turned an embarrassed red. So embarrassing!
[-In addition, Ha Muyoung, who is currently attending Seoyeon University, scored 92 points in the math section of the CSAT, showcasing his ‘brains and looks’ charm. He is currently playing the role of Im Doha, the lead in the drama <You Are a Star, I Am a Star>, which is airing on S Company, and despite it being his first lead role, he is showing perfect acting skills. The new actor Ha Muyoung, who has both a handsome appearance and a warm heart. Kim So-woon wished him success.]
“This is like, the reporter’s personal bias, right?”
“Yeah. Puhahaha! Muyoung. The reporter must be your fan. Hey, Ko manager. Did you meet the reporter without me knowing?”
“That’s what I should be asking. Did the CEO make you write this?”
The article, filled with affection, had 7,000 recommendations. That was enough to rank it among the top five reactions in the entire entertainment section. There were no comments, but it showed just how hot a topic Muyoung was right now.
“Where is this place? Let me see. I should send a thank-you gift or something.”
Na Geumdong checked the newspaper and the reporter’s name and wrote it down in his notes. Muyoung was still bewildered and embarrassed.
“Why did that guy even do an interview? He should have just told me.”
“How would you have contacted him?”
“Oh. I see. You could have called the office.”
At his words, Ko Gyeongmin glanced at Na Geumdong’s desk with a gesture. The phone, with its cord unplugged. Due to the influx of fan calls and various aggravating contacts, it was turned off completely outside of business hours.
“When you earn a lot of money, do good things too.”
“Of course I will.”
Being able to make a living from unproductive work is all thanks to the interest of fans and the public.
It’s only natural to enjoy it fully and then give back! Muyoung rubbed his head shyly against the sofa.
“Ah. I don’t know. If I go on SNS again, the fans will have left all sorts of comments. Really.”
“Uh-oh? Your lips are curling up? Ha Muyoung?”
“I’m so happy! Really!”
Muyoung laughed playfully, “Puhahaha.”
Meanwhile, on television, the ending music played and the drama ended.
“Has the director contacted you yet? Still no word?”
“No. I’m sure they’ll contact me soon.”
He said that and flopped down on the sofa.
In some ways, it was a historic episode 9 broadcast.
It was the day <You Are a Star, I Am a Star> finally surpassed the same time slot’s number one spot and took third place in daily viewership ratings. It surpassed the viewership ratings of the 9 o’clock news, which had held its position since the company’s founding, with 16.9%.
“Does that Ha Muyoung guy not do commercials?”
“Rumor has it he’s not doing anything yet.”
“Why? You have to row when the water comes in.”
“I don’t know. How much water has to come in before you start rowing?”
“Should we put him in as a model for our new snack?”
At that time, employees at an advertising company, who had not been able to leave work until late at night while planning a project, were chatting.
“The kid’s a complete newbie, so there’s no data.”
“How much should we pay him?”
“Isn’t Ha Muyoung the most popular kid these days?”
The team leader asked, shuffling through papers.
“Yeah. His debut film, directed by Jin Gyeongmun, got a good response, and the drama is his first lead role, but it’s been number one in the same time slot continuously. There’s no image consumption either, so it’s not bad.”
“The MeTube videos featuring Ha Muyoung have surpassed a cumulative 20 million views.”
“Let me see. Let me see. Let’s do some calculations.”
Model fees are determined by considering factors such as awareness, preference, future activity, and brand suitability.
“Is there any news yet about what he’ll be filming next?”
“No. I’ll have to contact the company.”
“There was a similar case like this before. Who was that guy?”
“Joo Yoon? He was popular too. That was a case where two movies in a row were huge hits. Back then, I think they paid him 40 million for six months and 80 million for a year.”
That was a story from over ten years ago already.
There weren’t many celebrities who made a big splash from the start like that. I heard that
“He’d be fine with that amount too. Contact the agency first.”