[THE CHASER] reached ten million viewers.
And [DREAM FUTURE] achieved a 20% viewership rating.
These two milestones were achieved almost simultaneously, leading to a growing interest in Seoyeon, who had acted in both productions. Still, she had only played supporting roles, so this level of attention was impressive.
If she had played a proper leading role, the attention would have been at least twice as much.
“Actually, this level of attention in itself is rather strange.”
One of the three major management agencies, XN Entertainment’s Management Business Division Director Joo Young-bin said so. At XN Entertainment, idol and actor management was handled comprehensively by the Management Business Division.
“Both images are completely different, from the role of a killer to a naive idol from the countryside newly arrived in the city.”
Young-bin said this while sitting in a meeting room, gazing at the other executives.
“I’ve heard RY Entertainment has already reached out.”
“Seems like they’re still not doing well since they’re still at Nova Entertainment, doesn’t it?”
This story had reached Young-bin as well. They were likely among the first to approach her.
“When they first approached, they clearly didn’t recognize her full potential.”
“Hmm. But if you think about it carefully, it might be that she’s overhyped at the moment.”
“Whether overhyped or not, there’s something called marketability. That’s a huge merit.”
Frankly, there wasn’t much thought put into her when she returned from a variety show. He only noticed her when she created buzz through her theater work, then he thought she was decent in [Noman Survival].
“She’s young… rather, still very young. Besides, her looks are out of the ordinary.”
“That’s true. You can really see it in her commercials.”
“Eclat Étoile’s sales have increased by over 10% compared to last quarter. That’s after a slight dip and then a recovery.”
Among those who went to the cinema to watch [THE CHASER], there were definitely some who came specifically to see Sooyeon Joo. Granted, they weren’t many, but the fact that they existed was significant.
‘An actor who can make audiences come looking for her in her first movie project.’
That’s separate from the issue of acting ability. There are plenty of actors who, no matter how well they act or how many projects they appear in, simply don’t draw in crowds.
But Sooyeon Joo created such an audience with just one piece of work, and that was significant.
The biggest strength an actor can have—ticket power.
If she were to act in more dramas and movies, what could be the result?
“Didn’t I hear her contract with Nova Entertainment just started?”
“Yes, probably.”
“Is there a way to cancel the contract and bring her over here…?”
“It’s not impossible if we’re pushy, but many eyes are watching.”
“Hmph.”
Overall, the executives couldn’t help but let out sighs of regret.
XN Entertainment was the largest among the three major agencies, naturally watched by the government. If they made an unnecessary move, they could get into serious trouble.
“Still, can we quietly work on this behind the scenes, see how it goes?”
“Quietly?”
“Ah, Manager Park knows actress Hwang Min-hwa.”
“Didn’t I hear Hwang Min-hwa just moved to Horizon Company?”
“Still, she worked at Nova Entertainment for a long time, so there must be a way to approach her.”
“…Hm. Not a bad idea.”
Could it really be that easy?
Young-bin thought to himself but, regardless, Min-hwa was a ten-million box office actress—someone who achieved that title by truly starring in lead roles.
“If we mention that she’s an actress senior to Sooyeon from Nova Entertainment, maybe we can try to reach out.”
The conclusion that the XN Entertainment Business Division drew, ended the meeting.
“Does anyone know anyone close to actress Sooyeon Joo?”
“Nova Entertainment mentioned their schedule is already very packed…”
“Packed? What a joke! They’re just trying to fish something out!”
While being observed by other agencies and various advertising industries, Seoyeon was slightly busy.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Director Kang Taek-jin from GH Group’s Culture Division.”
GH Group.
A major conglomerate ranked 12th in Korean business circles, with plans for a meeting lined up.
***
Seoyeon received her first contact the day after hearing that [THE CHASER] had broken ten million. It was a sudden call from Director Bae Jin-hwan received by her manager Eun-ha.
I wonder what it could be…
When she answered the phone, Director Bae Jin-hwan said,
“GH Group’s Director wants to meet Seoyeon for once.”
“Really?”
“The reason wasn’t explained in detail, but it doesn’t seem to be anything bad.”
Director Bae Jin-hwan explained: [THE CHASER] was a movie that had been made with GH Group’s initial investments.
However, GH Group had been skeptical about the box office hit of [THE CHASER].
Though full authority was given to Director Bae Jin-hwan and he was strongly supported in various ways, the movie had apparently become a much greater hit than GH Group initially expected.
“Originally, they expected at most 6 million.”
6 million—a number that’s quite substantial. In a year, there truly aren’t that many films that exceed 6 million.
Unless someone has heard a name somewhere, it’s nearly impossible to reach that milestone.
“But it reached 10 million, didn’t it? You know as well, Seoyeon, 10 million is very special in the film industry.”
Throughout Korean history, there really haven’t been that many “ten-million movies.”
It was placed, as if in a Hall of Fame, where [THE CHASER] now resided.
With the quality considered, there were promising expectations for international success as well.
“Especially, GH Group seems to think that Seoyeon played a major role in [THE CHASER]’s box office success.”
Bae Jin-hwan was a renowned director. The two actors playing the detectives were also well-known and famous leads. Additionally, Jung Si-hyun, known as a talented actress, appeared in the role of Han Ye-hwa.
Considering their star power and the marketability of the film, the predicted box office revenue was 6 million. Yet, [THE CHASER] reached 10 million.
Given the remaining release period, they were in a situation where considering reaching double the initial projection might not be out of the question.
“So if there’s an opportunity, I’ll try to arrange a meeting with GH Group.”
Bae Jin-hwan gave Seoyeon the option to decide on GH Group’s invitation. Honestly, this was a very significant decision for the still young Seoyeon.
Consulting her mother, Sua, the conversation went like this:
“If Seoyeon wants to do it, she should, but if it’s too major, rejecting it might be a better idea.”
Seoyeon nodded. Indeed, going too far would not be good.
Then she asked her father, Young-bin,
“Dad, he’s in the middle of a game.”
Seoyeon ripped the protective suit in front of him dramatically.
“Well, Seoyeon’s thoughts are the most important. If she wants to, trying it could be a valuable experience.”
Hearing this advice, Seoyeon spent the night pondering it. Finally, she discussed it with Ji-yeon.
“GH Group?”
“Yep.”
“An offer from such a major place?”
Jiyeon got the gist of Seoyeon’s dilemma. GH Group wasn’t just any ordinary company. Even the cable drama Jiyeon starred in had GH Group’s influence.
“…If this meeting happens, whatever the proposal is, it’ll likely be difficult to refuse.”
“I think so too.”
“But I still think you should go ahead and do it.”
She didn’t know what the proposal would be, but at least she was confident it wouldn’t be bad.
“And I think it won’t be quite as major as we expect.”
“Really?”
“You knew too, so I thought I’d just ask for confirmation.”
Seoyeon nodded weakly. GH Group’s proposal might not be as major as expected.
Setting up the meeting at this point indicated a situation where GH Group’s proposal might be hard to refuse.
Too ambitious a move could be a problem, but even if it turns out to be less significant than anticipated, refusing would be challenging.
‘Even though she’s called a ’Ten Million Actress’ now…’
Everyone labeled Seoyeon a ten-million actress. And her performance in [DREAM FUTURE] had also achieved good results.
However, there was one drawback from the perspective of the large corporation: in each, she hadn’t played the lead role.
She took heavy-weight roles, brought impact, but both were ultimately supporting roles. Only in [THE CHASER] her role was a villain almost akin to a leading role, but still, it remained a villainous part.
Businesses tend to judge everything by numbers, and more than we assume, they care about the distinction between lead and supporting roles. Community reactions may be numerous, but that doesn’t always translate directly into numbers.
Data-wise, leads have more influence compared to supporting characters. Hence, even with the community frequently mentioning Seoyeon, there might be some hesitation in believing the data.
Rather than that, the quarterly profit increase of Éclat Étoile could make more of a data-impact.
“Hmph, wouldn’t it be great? I’d like to meet with GH Group too.”
Jiyeon said, nudging Seoyeon’s side with an elbow. Jiyeon, who was always somewhat envious, was quite jealous of such an invitation.
‘Well, this girl deserves it.’
Internally, Jiyeon felt a sense of pride. She had also subtly advertised for Seoyeon on broadcasts, hoping for her success.
‘I need to work hard too.’
Regardless, Jiyeon was a significant presence in Seoyeon’s life, and Seoyeon was a significant presence in Jiyeon’s.
She had always been since they were young.
“Speaking of which, Jiyeon.”
“What is it?”
Seoyeon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s hang out with Seohui Jo later. Of course, with me.”
“She’s your friend.”
“Not really.”
Though Jo Seohui had always seemed overly friendly toward Seoyeon, Jiyeon genuinely didn’t like her much.
‘She called her a parachutist back in the day.’
Seoyeon didn’t seem to care, but Jiyeon hadn’t forgotten. It was because Seoyeon had told her all the details about the audition at kindergarten back then.
Jiyeon was annoyingly persistent and always remembered grudges.
Still…
“Alright.”
Having a real talk with her might be good. After all, Jo Seohui was the best-performing actress among their age group.
***
“First of all, congratulations on [THE CHASER] reaching ten million.”
Director Kang Taek-jin said this with a smile while gazing at Seoyeon. Though his lips smiled, his eyes did not.
‘Awkward.’
Dealing with such personalities was always inconvenient for her. Even in her past life, she had met this sort several times.
‘He has a keen eye for commodities.’
Back then, Seoyeon hadn’t properly understood emotions, so she hadn’t given it much thought and found it somewhat easy to handle. Due to years of meticulously observing others’ emotions, she could understand their expectations almost immediately.
“[THE CHASER] was very entertaining. First off, Cha Sooah’s emotions stood out vividly. The feeling I got was quite different from what I originally heard from Director Bae Jin-hwan; I felt it was probably the actor’s personal interpretation. Furthermore, the action scenes were superb. I heard you trained at Cheonghong Action School? When I asked Professor Kim Hong-baek, he mentioned the tremendous talent in action acting. I learned that you handled all the stunt action yourself, causing many people within GH Group to be genuinely surprised.”
“…”
“And I’ve been thoroughly enjoying [DREAM FUTURE] recently. To be honest, at first, it didn’t resonate much with me, especially for my daughter. At the time, I remember it was heavily criticized online, but I heard that Jo Ha-rin’s performance in Episode 1 drew a lot of praise. If I had watched it live, I might have been even more moved. Later, I heard there was a minor conflict with the drama writer. Such issues happen sometimes, but it’s best not to dwell on it too much. The ratings rose above 20% after Episode 7, and the roles became much heavier. Honestly, I’ve been enjoying it a lot too. Especially…”
“Director.”
At that moment, a secretary-like figure nearby gave a small reminder, causing Director Kang to nod his head.
“I found it very entertaining.”
“Thank… you.”
Seoyeon watched Director Kang, who smiled at her, somewhat lost in thought. His eyes, however, were still not smiling.
‘Hmm, what is it?’
Could it be that he memorized her acting merits?
It was difficult to figure him out.
“The Director mentioned that he thoroughly enjoyed the movies and dramas featuring actress Seoyeon.”
The secretary emphasized this once again. It seemed very sincere.
Hearing this, Seoyeon genuinely became curious.
‘Could it be that Director Kang has some issues with expressing emotions?’
Similar to her past self.
His impression was striking to the extent that she couldn’t help but think of such an unusual possibility.
“Getting back to the main point, I have a few proposals I’d like to bring forward.”
“Proposals?”
Even more than one?
Seoyeon tilted towards a conclusion in her mind that the proposal could be “excessive.”
“It’s an action movie.”
“Action movie?”
“Before this, we are planning a large-scale audition. It’s a variety show.”
As he mentioned this, his grin widened again, his sharp snake-like eyes flaring with intent.
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