Chapter 168: America (10)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Director Yu Gil-tae, who had been watching the monitor, shouted to the actors, including Yoon Da-yeon.

“Cut!! OOOK! Let’s change the camera angle and go again.”

“Yep!!”

“Yes!”

The film ‘Mask of Murder’ had only its final scene left to shoot. In other words, once they finished the current shot, it would be Crank-up. Perhaps because of that, not only renowned Director Yu Gil-tae, but all the actors and crew had serious looks in their eyes.

They were always sharp during filming, of course, but now it was like their energy had doubled.

Lee Chan-hoo quietly watched them, enjoying himself.

‘I’m so hooked on this now that I don’t think I could do anything else. Well, even if the Commander told me to get lost, I’d cling to him anyway.’

In a way, Lee Chan-hoo might have been the highest-ranking person on the set. After all, it was ‘MEG’ that was paying renowned Director Yu Gil-tae, the top actors, the rest of the cast, and around a hundred crew members. By now, there was no one in the industry who didn’t know that ‘MEG’ was the sole investor in ‘Mask of Murder’.

‘Nearly 10 billion won has gone into ‘Mask of Murder’. This one needs to do well too.’

Everything Commander Kang Jae-ha had gotten involved with was going well so far, but Lee Chan-hoo still couldn’t help feeling a little anxious about projects that had yet to be released. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Commander.

It just felt like Kang Jae-ha’s role was to charge straight ahead with his usual No Backing Down attitude, while Lee Chan-hoo cleaned up after him.

At that moment.

“Action!”

Director Yu Gil-tae gave the cue again, and the actors began performing. Yoon Da-yeon didn’t have many lines in this part. All she had to do was react to the other actors with her expressions. It looked easy, but it wasn’t a role she could afford to take lightly. Whenever the camera focused on her, she had to keep the tension alive using nothing but her facial expressions and eyes.

“......”

At the same time, Yoon Da-yeon found herself remembering the past for some reason. The days when she had been rotting away at Leon Entertainment as a washed-up actress. Then she had met Kang Jae-ha, and had even been called a crazy bitch on the set of a morning drama.

‘And now I’m on the set of a renowned director.’

No one called Yoon Da-yeon washed-up anymore. If anything, more and more people were saying that she might soon break into the A-list.

‘Kang Jae-ha... I wonder where that man is right now.’

They contacted each other from time to time, but all Yoon Da-yeon had heard lately was that he had taken charge of a girl group and was working them hard. It had been quite a while since she had actually seen Jae-ha.

‘Would it kill him to stop by the set for even a little while! At least on a day like today.’

Of course, she knew it would be strange for Kang Jae-ha to come here. Just then.

“Cut!!! OK!”

Director Yu Gil-tae gave the OK.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

With that, he announced the end of filming for ‘Mask of Murder’. The actors, including Yoon Da-yeon, immediately applauded and bowed repeatedly.

“Great work, everyone!!”

“You all worked so, so hard!”

“Ahh, now that it’s over, I’m going to miss it! Great work, everyone!!”

Around a hundred crew members joined in the closing greetings as well. ‘Mask of Murder’, which Jae-ha had seen through ‘Deja Vu’, had officially reached its Crank-up. While the actors and crew were still busily calling out to one another, Director Yu Gil-tae...

“Whew... We’ve cleared one hurdle. Though this is only the beginning.”

He had no time to relax and had to start thinking about what came next immediately. They needed to move into post-production and begin editing. At that moment, after receiving congratulations from the key staff, Director Yu Gil-tae was approached by Lee Chan-hoo.

“Director-nim, congratulations.”

Director Yu Gil-tae shook Lee Chan-hoo’s hand and smiled warmly.

“Haha. Thank you, but it’s still too early for congratulations. I’ll accept them once the movie is released.”

“Still, the long shoot is finally over. You can at least breathe a little easier now.”

“That’s true. Hmm, how should I put it? I’ve felt this way with other projects too, but I’m a little more nervous about this one. Maybe it’s because ‘MEG’ is the sole investor.”

Lee Chan-hoo delivered the line Commander Kang Jae-ha had told him to use.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’re part of the family now anyway, so there’s no need to push yourself so hard.”

“Because I’m part of the family now, the results need to be even better. This is my first project after moving to ‘MEG’, and you’re even the sole investor. For both me and ‘MEG’, ‘Mask of Murder’ is important.”

Director Yu Gil-tae’s fighting spirit suddenly surged, and he brought up Kang Jae-ha.

“By the way, where’s Director Kim Ha-jae-nim?”

“Ah, he’s in the U.S. right now. He went on a business trip.”

“I see. So you’re starting to think about overseas business as well.”

Lee Chan-hoo nodded.

“Korea is too small for ‘MEG’. We’re preparing to go beyond Japan, all the way to Hollywood. So, when do you think ‘Mask of Murder’ can be released?”

Director Yu Gil-tae thought for a moment before answering.

“It’s April now. Late summer or early fall at the earliest?”

The 23rd, Los Angeles, USA.

Morning. Kang Jae-ha came out of the bathroom, shaking out his wet black hair as though he had just finished showering. He checked the time first.

“Eight o’clock...”

Kang Jae-ha’s U.S. schedule was gradually nearing its end. Still, he had gotten everything he needed out of America. First, he had recruited a new subordinate, Park Eun-jung, and he had also gotten a feel for the state of Hallyu in the U.S. On top of that, his plans for MEG's U.S. branch had become much clearer.

‘‘K:FESTA’ made progress too. Ah, right. I learned English through the ‘Language Pack’ as well. And the 70 billion won.’

With native-level English now under his belt, Kang Jae-ha’s U.S. trip had been a success filled with nothing but gains. At that moment, his phone rang. The caller was one of the Leon staff members who had come with him.

“Yes, speaking.”

“Manager Kang Jae-ha-nim. Once you’re ready, come down to the hotel lounge! CEO-nim wants to have breakfast together! I think he’s in a good mood because of ‘Kisera’.”

“Understood.”

After hanging up, Kang Jae-ha slowly rubbed his chin. Right, ‘Kisera’ had actually broken into the top 100 of the global chart. Of course CEO Han Tae-sung would have heard about it.

“It’s a little annoying, but I guess I can humor them a bit for this.”

Kang Jae-ha would be returning to Korea soon anyway. Whether he saw them after going back or saw them here made no difference.

A little while later, Jae-ha headed to the hotel lounge.

The lounge was fairly crowded with foreign hotel guests, and among them he spotted the Leon Entertainment team occupying a section of their own. The moment one of the PR Team employees saw Kang Jae-ha, they waved.

“Over here! Here! Manager Kang-nim!”

When he approached, CEO Han Tae-sung was already waiting for him. Today, he was dressed fairly casually instead of in a suit. His hair was down naturally too. Han Tae-sung smiled when he saw Kang Jae-ha.

“The man of the hour is here.”

After briefly greeting CEO Han Tae-sung, Kang Jae-ha asked.

“I’m the man of the hour?”

Instead of Han Tae-sung, the other team members answered.

“Of course you are! You’re the man who created the ‘Kisera’ miracle!!”

The ‘Kisera’ miracle? When Jae-ha gave no response, CEO Han Tae-sung pointed at the sofa beside him.

“Sit down first.”

“Yes.”

“Your goal might still be a long way off, but you’ve already accomplished something huge. You can afford to be a little proud of yourself. This isn’t something just anyone can do.”

“I don’t particularly intend to get cocky about it.”

“You’re not the type to put on a humble act, are you?”

“There’s still a long way to go.”

“......”

CEO Han Tae-sung stared steadily at Kang Jae-ha before continuing.

“You’ve probably seen it, but Korea is losing its mind over ‘Kisera’ right now. Even this alone is unprecedented in the girl group market. Even if the ‘Spotimy’ global chart stops right here, ‘Kisera’ has already gained a massive amount of recognition. It’s been a successful launch. On a completely different level from before the rebuilding.”

The Leon team members cautiously glanced back and forth between Kang Jae-ha and CEO Han Tae-sung. Han Tae-sung slowly crossed his legs and asked Jae-ha.

“How high do you think ‘Kisera’ can climb? In the blueprint you designed, what rank does ‘Kisera’ reach?”

‘Kisera’ had broken into the top 100 of the global chart. That alone was practically a miracle. Yet with a calm expression, Kang Jae-ha gave an answer that went beyond even that miracle.

“I think ‘Kisera’ can break into the top 10 of the global chart.”

The surrounding employees immediately jolted in shock.

“W-Wait, what??!! The top 10??!”

“Wow... That’s seriously......the kind of level only established American pop stars can usually reach!”

“Y-You were expecting them to go that high?!”

By contrast, CEO Han Tae-sung propped his chin on one hand, his eyes brimming with interest.

“The top 10 of the ‘Spotimy’ global chart. You know a song has to become a genuine hit with the overseas public to climb that high.”

“I know.”

Kang Jae-ha alone remained calm as he answered in a low voice.

“But once we give it a boost, I think they can get there by next month.”

Meanwhile.

A large number of foreigners were coming and going in front of a massive building in Los Angeles. An imposing sign bearing a red logo stood proudly outside.

This was Netflix headquarters.

Inside the enormous Netflix headquarters, employees of various ethnicities worked in a relaxed atmosphere, while more than twenty people were in the middle of a meeting inside one of the large conference rooms.

What was interesting was.

“......”

One person participating in the meeting in silence stood out.

It was the bald Executive Director Heo Seong-jin.

Of course he was there. This meeting had brought together the Executive Directors of Netflix branches around the world. Netflix headquarters had always been known for emphasizing close coordination between its branches, and the heads of various regional offices, including Korea’s Executive Director, frequently visited headquarters like this.

Minor matters were generally handled through video conferences, but when discussing global content strategy, approving investments in productions, or reporting new lineups like today, in-person meetings were essential.

So naturally, Netflix’s CEO and all of its key executives were attending this meeting as well.

In any case, the meeting continued for about an hour.

“Shall we leave it there for today?”

As the meeting was wrapping up, the foreigner seated at the head of the table called out to Executive Director Heo Seong-jin.

“Executive Director Heo Seong-jin, you and I need to talk.”

He was a tall foreigner with graying hair slicked back, a mustache, and a goatee. He was none other than Oliver Miller, the legendary founder and CEO who had built Netflix into what it was today.

A short while later, only Oliver Miller and Executive Director Heo Seong-jin remained in the large conference room.

Of the two seated across from each other, Netflix CEO Oliver Miller was the first to speak.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on Korean content. Hallyu’s influence is growing stronger around the world, and we need to make use of that.”

“Yes, I agree. That’s why we’ve been actively producing various kinds of content, and recently, as I mentioned before, we’ve been working on a Korean-style animated film.”

“‘Moonless Village’, right?”

The look in Oliver Miller’s eyes made it clear that he was already very familiar with ‘Moonless Village’.

“You made a strong case for it, Executive Director Heo, and we already had an agreement in place, so we watched ‘Moonless Village’. We watched its predecessor, ‘House of the Daytime Moon’, too.”

Netflix CEO Oliver Miller had watched ‘House of the Daytime Moon’ and ‘Moonless Village’? Executive Director Heo Seong-jin’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. It felt like the moment he had been waiting for had finally come.

‘I need to make this count here.’

Executive Director Heo Seong-jin studied Oliver Miller’s expression. He couldn’t tell whether the man was smiling or not.

‘Which way is this going? Don’t tell me he was disappointed by ‘Moonless Village’??’

It was becoming a huge hit in Korea, but to foreign viewers, both ‘Moonless Village’ and ‘House of the Daytime Moon’ could feel unfamiliar. As worry began to get the better of Executive Director Heo Seong-jin.

‘I’ve got to push this as hard as I can. ‘Moonless Village’ has strong artistic merit and excellent quality. I can frame its intensely Korean flavor as what makes it unique...’

Oliver Miller murmured.

“Let’s move forward immediately with a worldwide Netflix launch of ‘Moonless Village’.”

*****

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