Ding.
[This is the … floor.]
The elevator doors opened, and Han Seongtae stepped out into the hallway.
Step.
As Han Seongtae walked along one step at a time, he suddenly stopped in place when he felt eyes on him.
“….”
He turned his head and looked around. PAN Entertainment employees who had been sneaking glances at him hurriedly scattered from their spots.
Step.
After watching them, Han Seongtae started walking again.
For some reason, he could feel even more eyes on him than before the autograph event.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says that is the fate of a celebrity.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that, considering what you showed at the autograph event, it is not that strange.]
Han Seongtae chuckled at the gods’ messages and went straight into the office.
“Where’s the team leader?”
“In the conference room. Would you like me to let her know?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
The employee got up from her seat and walked over to the conference room.
She knocked, went inside, then soon gestured to Han Seongtae.
“She says you can come in.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Han Seongtae bowed his head to the employee, then immediately entered the conference room.
“You’re here?”
“Seongtae, you came. Come sit over here.”
Jung Dusik and Min Najung welcomed him.
But when Jung Dusik motioned for him to take the seat beside him, Han Seongtae did not move.
‘Why is the CEO here?’
Jang Panseok was there as well.
Min Najung frequently met with him and talked, so that much could be brushed aside.
Even so, Han Seongtae could not help wondering if the CEO of the company was moving around a little too readily.
“What’s going on? You never said the CEO would be here.”
“Sorry. I only found out just now too.”
Seeing Jung Dusik whisper quietly, Han Seongtae could not say anything more.
If the CEO had shown up without any warning, what could Jung Dusik have done?
He could fully understand why Jung Dusik had been unable to tell him in advance.
“Seongtae, the response to the merchandise is extremely good right now.”
“Yes.”
“So we really want to sell it. If you give us permission, we can go straight into production.”
Han Seongtae’s expression turned serious when Min Najung immediately brought up business.
“Of course, we’ll take responsibility for production and promotion as well. We’re thinking of splitting the profits seven to three. Naturally, you would get the seven, Seongtae. Here’s the contract.”
Min Najung placed the contract in front of Han Seongtae.
He looked it over as he listened to her explanation.
‘Simply put, they’re saying they’ll make money for me even if I just sit there and do nothing.’
There was absolutely nothing for him to lose.
He had already confirmed that the fans’ response was good, and he knew they wanted the merchandise.
Looking at the situation as a whole, there was no reason not to sell it.
The only reason he was hesitating now was that he did not want to burden his fans.
If the price were too high, it would be hard on them.
“Normally, that is about the average ratio for a contract.”
Jang Panseok, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
He reached out and took the contract.
Riiip.
He tore it apart right there.
Han Seongtae blinked at what he had just done.
What was he doing?
While Han Seongtae stood there bewildered by the sudden turn of events, Jang Panseok gestured to Min Najung.
“This is the contract we are offering you.”
A new contract was placed in front of him.
It contained far better terms than the one he had just seen.
“Nine to one. We’ll let you take the nine.”
The CEO himself said the company would take only ten percent.
It was an extraordinary offer that left relatively little for the company, so Han Seongtae could not immediately say he would accept it.
Favors always came with a corresponding price.
That price soon came from Jang Panseok’s own mouth.
“Actor Han.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We would like to continue maintaining a good relationship with you in the future.”
Hearing Jang Panseok’s words, Han Seongtae began to understand the CEO’s intentions.
‘A contract renewal?’
What Jung Dusik had said, what Min Najung had said, and now what the CEO himself was saying.
In a way, Jang Panseok stepping in personally was also something designed to make him think about it, whether consciously or not.
No.
This was openly expressing what he wanted.
“I feel the same way.”
Han Seongtae answered with a smile.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says that when an actor is good enough, the world moves around him even if he simply stays still.]
“Let’s meet somewhere else next time.”
The CEO rose from his seat.
Min Najung followed him out of the conference room.
Han Seongtae was left alone with Jung Dusik.
Only the contract he had just signed remained in front of him.
“Whew… I didn’t expect the CEO to suddenly show up. I thought my heart was going to pound itself to death.”
“…”
“Nine to one. Our Seongtae is going to make a fortune. When you make a lot of money later, you’ll buy me something, right?”
“We’ll see.”
Han Seongtae chuckled as he gathered up the contract.
It was about time he went back and practiced.
“Oh, right. Seongtae, have you thought about filming overseas?”
“What?”
“Your works are insanely popular overseas right now. Like that talk show you were on last time. You’re getting a lot of casting requests.”
“I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
“I figured. You’re busy filming right now. You can talk about it later if you ever feel like it.”
“Yes, hyung. I’ll tell you if I start thinking about it later.”
Even at this point, Han Seongtae did not know.
He had no idea what kind of results this conversation would produce in the future.
He did not know that something big was beginning to move overseas.
He had not expected it at all.
[‘The Pioneer of Method Acting’ looks toward a certain place with a peculiar smile.]
Only the gods smiled as they watched the approaching current.
Tap. Tap-tap.
Thick fingers tapped against a desk.
“Not bad.”
The man watching the video murmured quietly.
It was Benjamin, a world-renowned master with a fierce-looking face.
Drip.
He raised a hand and wiped away the tears running down his cheeks.
He had barely blinked while watching the video, so tears had continued streaming from his eyes.
Bzzzt.
His smartphone had been ringing for a while, but Benjamin paid it no attention.
“Vroooom!”
The action in Rampage captured his attention.
[13 Missed Calls (Josh)]
Only after the video ended did he pick up his smartphone and check the name of the caller.
It was Josh, a director at one of the film companies competing for the top one or two spots in the world.
| Messages |
| Josh: Director, please answer your phone. |
| Josh: If you keep refusing to answer, I’m going to come find you myself. |
| Josh: The investors are already making a huge fuss asking when filming is going to start! |
| Josh: We could just use any decent actor. How long are you going to keep searching? Huh? |
The area beneath the missed-call log was filled with messages from the director.
Tap.
Without even reading all of them, Benjamin moved his fingers.
| Messages |
| Benjamin: Find me a ticket to Korea. |
| Josh: What? Director, what are you talking about? Why Korea all of a sudden?! |
There was no reply.
Benjamin turned the smartphone that had been bothering him face-down.
Then he looked at the paused video.
Han Seongtae was driving a car on the screen.
Benjamin’s expression as he watched was blank.
No.
The corners of his mouth had risen ever so slightly.
“Han.”
His brief voice echoed through the quiet room for a moment, then disappeared.
Benjamin, a master respected by great directors all over the world.
He was about to make his move.
“We’ll begin filming in thirty minutes!”
A staff member’s voice rang across the filming location.
It was the set of Youth My Way, now approaching its end.
As the finale drew nearer, everyone moved even more busily.
Amid everyone rushing about, Han Seongtae alone was still.
Rustle, rustle.
The only sound he made was the sound of turning the pages of his script.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ remains silent.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ glances at you and firmly closes his mouth.]
With even the gods refusing to speak, Han Seongtae was alone in a world consisting only of himself and the script.
As he read, the acting he would soon have to perform arranged itself inside his head.
His mind kept turning, searching for better acting.
“…Seongtae.”
“Ah.”
The moment his concentration broke, a sigh escaped him without his realizing it.
“Did I interrupt you? Sorry.”
“…No. What is it?”
“They’re about to start selling the merchandise. A thousand have been produced, and we’re going with preorders.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but you really are popular. There are a thousand of them, and the reservations are already filled.”
“Oh. How much is each one?”
“Fifty thousand won. That’s the maximum.”
Jung Dusik added that merchandise from the autograph event had been listed for three hundred thousand won on resale sites, then continued.
“But Seongtae, have you thought about doing variety shows or commercials? We’ve gotten a lot of good offers.”
“For now, I just want to focus on my work.”
Han Seongtae was already busy enough concentrating on filming.
If it were preparation for another project, perhaps it would be different, but there were not even any projects he liked.
“Okay. Think about it slowly. You have plenty of time.”
No sooner had Jung Dusik finished speaking than a voice rang out.
“We’re starting filming.”
Han Seongtae rose from his seat.
Jung Dusik followed him toward the set.
“Ready.”
Jung Dusik took a seat beside Kim Minseok, and Han Seongtae stepped onto the set.
“Action!”
Under everyone’s gaze, the final shoot began.
“We finally made it this far.”
Shin Jaehyun spoke to Park Sejun.
“Yeah. We finally made it this far.”
Park Sejun answered.
His eyes were fixed on the stage directly in front of him.
It was a small concert hall with fewer than a thousand seats in total, but Park Sejun’s face held nothing but anticipation.
‘My own concert.’
He had dreamed of becoming a singer.
He had been forced to give up being a singer.
He had lived for eight years after giving up everything.
But now, could he not chase his dream?
A dream he had taken hold of once again amid all the interference.
He moved forward.
“Ready?”
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
He had finally been able to reap the fruits of his efforts.
He could hold his own concert.
The nearly one thousand seats were filled with fans.
Every single one of them had come to see Park Sejun.
People had gathered to hear his songs.
That fact made Park Sejun’s heart pound wildly.
Park Sejun stepped forward.
As he walked up onto the stage,
“Waaaaah!”
the crowd’s cheers grew louder and louder.
Feeling the heat of the fans surrounding him on all sides, a smile spread across Park Sejun’s lips.
The lights went out.
There was no light anywhere, not on the stage or in the audience.
In the heavy darkness, a blue light appeared.
“…!”
One light became two, and two lights became ten.
Before long, they filled the entire audience.
Watching the blue lights sway like waves, Park Sejun smiled brightly.
Blue was Park Sejun’s color.
Amid the blue waves, he raised the microphone.
The moment he opened his mouth,
“Cut!”
And with that, filming for Youth My Way came to an end.
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