Chapter 144: Mastermind (12)

Translator: Dreamscribe

After Kang Jae-ha returned to reality from the 'Deja Vu', the A&R employee who had been the focus of the Deja Vu asked him.

"Manager Kang Jae-ha, you'll handle the overseas viral marketing on your end, right??"

"Yes."

"Then I'll coordinate with the promotions team and......"

She went on about this and that, but Kang Jae-ha did not pay much attention. What mattered right now was the 'Deja Vu' he had just seen.

'Let's see- was the drama's title definitely 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon'?'

At least, it was not a title Jae-ha remembered. That meant it was either not yet in production or still being prepared. Kang Jae-ha soon went back over the key points from the 'Deja Vu' he had just seen.

'Title, 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon'. A Jackpot with a 20% Viewership Rating, but then it falls to Rock Bottom over controversies like Historical Distortion. It's an Outsourced Production, and it looks like a substantial portion of the investment is Chinese Capital. Around episode 4, the original writer Steps Down and gets replaced by a writer who does what they're told.'

Kang Jae-ha then inwardly recited the Top Actress mentioned in the 'Deja Vu' as well.

'The Female Lead is Jeon So-hee.'

Top Actress Jeon So-hee was a highly popular actress. If one had to compare them, Moon Ji-a commanded a slightly higher fee. Perhaps because of that, Moon Ji-a and Jeon So-hee were often compared as Top Actresses.

After roughly grasping the flow of the 'Deja Vu', Kang Jae-ha smiled faintly.

'A 20% Viewership Rating is surprising, but the rest is pretty familiar territory,'

Movies, dramas, and so on. Looking at the domestic content market as a whole, Historical Distortion controversies had cropped up from time to time. There were numerous causes besides a writer's ignorance or an investor's interference. Well, the Deja Vu suggested that 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' would face several controversies, but.

'Historical Distortion is probably the biggest one.'

Some works slipped by almost unnoticed despite controversies such as Historical Distortion, while others enraged the public and became major headline news.

Judging that 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' would be the latter kind, Kang Jae-ha rose from his seat.

"Good work today."

Because the meeting was over. After briefly saying goodbye to the 'Kisera' members as well, Kang Jae-ha headed straight to Team 4. Before long, Jae-ha sat down at Team 4's area and continued thinking about 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon'.

'The Deja Vu didn't make it clear when this happened or which broadcaster it was, but- the Viewership Rating was a whopping 20%.'

In this day and age, a drama getting a 20% Viewership Rating was an astronomical number. Forget 20%, even ratings in the teens were enough for a drama to be called a Jackpot. If it reached a 20% Viewership Rating, it was not merely a massive hit, it could be called the biggest hit for years to come.

'With that much attention on it, the scale of all those controversies, including Historical Distortion, would've blown up even bigger. Naturally, the public's anger would've been several times worse too.'

Kang Jae-ha's guess was probably correct. It happened frequently in the actual entertainment industry. Having roughly organized his thoughts, Jae-ha moved his hands. He opened the laptop he had left closed. Before searching for 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' on a portal site, he planned to check Leon's internal system first.

A few minutes later, Kang Jae-ha suddenly smiled faintly. Naturally.

"There it is."

First, Kang Jae-ha read the planning proposal.

'The main point is that they're looking for investment.'

Every drama and film started with financing, no exceptions. In other words, securing investment came first. 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' was no different. That meant 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' was currently at the starting point of Pre-production.

'The broadcaster is LBS, one of the three Terrestrial Broadcasting networks, and they've decided to use Outsourced Production, but the production company hasn't been finalized yet. GOO Production is the leading candidate, and they're currently negotiating.'

'GOO Production' was a fairly large and highly active company that handled both management and production. Big enough that even Kang Jae-ha knew of it. In any case, the various information on 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' also stated that they were looking to cast actors for Supporting Roles and that, although several actresses were being discussed for the Female Lead, Top Actress Jeon So-hee was the leading candidate.

Stroking his chin, Kang Jae-ha murmured quietly.

"And according to the Deja Vu, Jeon So-hee definitely gets the role."

The corners of Kang Jae-ha's mouth rose as he went over the information. Because he had picked up on a few interesting facts,

'Interesting. Jeon So-hee's agency is 'GOO Production'.'

The company Top Actress Jeon So-hee belonged to was none other than 'GOO Production'. Slowly crossing his legs, Kang Jae-ha began putting his mind to work. He was trying to make a rough guess from the various pieces of information. No, he was putting the picture together.

''GOO Production' probably offered Top Actress Jeon So-hee to snag 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' as an Outsourced Production. Well, if they offered a top-tier actress and investment money on top of that, there's no way the broadcaster could refuse.'

Taking the information he had heard in the 'Deja Vu' into account as well, the Outsourced Production company for 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' would definitely be 'GOO Production'. There was a high chance Chinese Capital was mixed into the investment funds 'GOO Production' had raised.

Or.

'Chinese Capital might've had a stake in 'GOO Production' from the start.'

Whichever it was, it amounted to practically the same thing. Whether 'GOO Production' itself put up the money or not, it did not change the fact that it was Chinese Capital. And so, Terrestrial Broadcasting station LBS, Outsourced Production company 'GOO Production', Female Lead Jeon So-hee, and Chinese Capital. That was roughly the core production lineup for 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' that Jae-ha expected would come together.

'Chinese Capital, huh- It'll be fine at first, then at some point they'll start interfering with the content, and they probably won't even hesitate to practically threaten people. Then they'll outright change the story, settings, and everything else.'

Kang Jae-ha recalled the animated film 'House of the Daytime Moon' from the past. Chinese Capital had nearly gotten involved with 'House of the Daytime Moon' too. Their demand had been to add a Chinese character. Of course, Kang Jae-ha's intervention had shattered the whole thing to pieces. That was how pervasive Chinese Capital was in the domestic market, and while it was not true of all of them, they generally made a lot of demands.

'They said the original writer Steps Down around episode 4, right? They must put the writer through the wringer pretty damn hard if it's enough to make them run.'

It was not unheard of for writers to be replaced in the drama industry either. All kinds of things happened in that market, so replacing a writer honestly was not even that unusual.

Then Kang Jae-ha.

-Swish.

"This is fun. The writer's got good Writing Flair too. Writes dialogue well."

From the feel of the Writing Flair, Jae-ha figured the writer might be a rookie. The sensibility and raw edge had a similar flavor to Oh Jong-man's writing. The drama 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' that Jae-ha was reading told the story of a modern-day female culinary researcher who was suddenly transported to Joseon.

It also had a fair amount of comedy and romance.

"......"

About 2 minutes. Having organized everything in his head, apparently intending to take 'The Cooking Teacher of Joseon' for himself.

"Okay, I'll take it."

That night, he ordered his subordinates to assemble.

The night of the 17th, one day later.

It was nearly midnight. A black SUV entered the entrance of a fairly upscale apartment complex in Seoul. Its license plate number was 2XXX. A somehow familiar license plate number. The black SUV stopped near the apartment complex's outdoor parking lot.

A fairly young man stepped out of the driver's seat.

After him, another man got out of the back seat. He had a rather protruding belly and fairly thick lips. On closer look, the man was Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin of terrestrial broadcaster CBC's Current Affairs Department, recently pegged by Kang Jae-ha as a follower of the 'New Light Truth Church'.

The young man who had gotten out of the driver's seat soon handed the car keys to Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin.

"Then I'll be going."

The young man appeared to be a designated driver, and Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin's face was slightly red from the alcohol. After the designated driver disappeared into the darkness, Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin let out a rather long sigh.

"Phew- the booze is really hitting me hard tonight."

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and stuck one in his mouth. He exhaled cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke and alcohol mingled into a peculiar odor around Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin.

He tapped the cigarette he had finished a couple of times.

Apparently about to head home now, Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin slapped both cheeks with his hands. Probably to sober himself up. He shook his head a few times as well and was just about to start walking.

"Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin."

A low, dry male voice came from somewhere. Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin flinched and stopped in his tracks, scanning his surroundings. But there was no one around. Only darkness scattered beyond the reach of the streetlights.

"...Did I mishear that."

Just as Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin decided the alcohol was making him hear things, the man's voice came again.

"You heard right, Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin."

No mistake about it. This time, Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin had definitely heard it and snapped his head toward the direction the voice had come from. Darkness covered the area, but he could faintly make out a human silhouette. Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin narrowed his eyes even further and spoke.

"Wh, who are you?"

The silhouette in the darkness moved. Step. Step. After the steady, unhesitating sound of footsteps, a man with a face Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin had never seen before came into view. A high-bridged nose and quite a handsome face. Before he knew it, the man was standing in front of Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin, and Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin tilted his head at the unfamiliar face.

"Do you- know me?"

The man gave a faint scoff and answered.

"Sure do. You're Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin of CBC's Current Affairs Department."

"......That's true. But why are you talking down to me? You look much younger than me."

Still wearing a faint smile, the man answered roughly.

"If you've got a problem with it, talk down to me too."

"What the hell is your deal? Who are you?? No matter how I look at you, I'm sure I've never seen your face before."

Tension surged through Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin as he went on guard, and the man watching him leisurely abruptly asked.

"Hey, how long's it been since you became a follower of the 'New Light Truth Church'?"

"!!!"

The instant he heard the words 'New Light Truth Church', Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin's eyes flew wide open. Panic, bewilderment, filled his gaze.

"I don't really... know what you're talking about."

"Going to play dumb?"

"......"

"Lee Chan-jin, you're a follower of the 'New Light Truth Church', aren't you? Denying it is just a waste of time. Let's do this the easy way."

Bureau Director Lee Chan-jin's eyes darted around. He was checking whether anyone else might be nearby. Having noticed that, the man shoved one hand into his pocket and continued.

"I also know you were the one who blocked the 'New Light Truth Church' episode of 'Trace File X'. And I know plenty of other things about you too."

"N-no, I."

"Either way, you're going to spill a lot to me tonight. So don't waste your energy for nothing. How long's it been since you became a follower of the 'New Light Truth Church'?"

The man was Kang Jae-ha, wearing a different face.

*****

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