Chapter 001
<Actor Baek In-ah, Suspected of Drug Use. Summoned by Prosecutors!>
Articles about the drug-use allegations involving Hallyu star Baek In-ah, which broke overnight, flooded every news outlet and the internet.
Ha Sang-do, the CEO of the film company ‘Seungseungjanggu’, who learned about the news late, sat there with a dazed expression as if he had been struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky, smoking five cigarettes one after another.
With a frown on my face because of the smoke blowing toward me, I stubbornly kept calling Baek In-ah's manager and the head of her management agency, even though the voice on the other end kept saying that ‘the customer cannot answer the phone’.
Just as CEO Ha Sang-do was about to light his sixth cigarette, I finally lost my patience and pressed him.
“CEO! Have you tried calling the director?! And how can you smoke inside the office?!”
Only then did CEO Ha put down the cigarette he was about to smoke and pick up his phone.
However, he continued staring blankly at the phone for a long while before finally speaking to me.
“By the way… Min PD, what am I supposed to say when I call the director…?”
Looking at CEO Ha's helpless expression, I immediately had a bad feeling.
‘Ah… This movie is going to fall apart too….’
My sad premonition was correct.
Baek In-ah obediently admitted to using drugs, and the movie we had started producing with Baek In-ah as the lead actress eventually fell apart.
Our film company had nothing proven behind it, and although the director had won an award for a short film, this was his first feature-length movie.
I thought the screenplay was quite good, but was this an industry where a movie could be made simply because the screenplay was good?
Our movie had practically received its investment based entirely on Hallyu star Baek In-ah.
With Baek In-ah out, the investment fell through, and once the investment was gone, the movie falling apart was the obvious next step.
The only words of consolation people around us could offer were that it was fortunate that this had happened before filming began.
Well, they weren't wrong.
If it had happened after filming had already started or when the movie was about to be released, we might have suffered damage dozens, or even hundreds, of times greater than what we were facing now.
But those words offered no comfort at all to CEO Ha or me.
After his debut film was cancelled, the devastated director disappeared.
I quietly took care of everything I had to do until the very end.
First, during the pre-production stage, I officially informed the key staff members, such as the cinematographer and lighting staff, whose schedules we had been coordinating, that the movie had been cancelled.
I also informed the management agencies of the supporting and lead actors whose schedules we had been negotiating, excluding our main actress, Baek In-ah.
All auditions were cancelled as well.
Fortunately, since we were still in the pre-production stage, there wasn't much that needed to be settled financially.
The problem was the wages of the directing and production departments.
“What are you going to do about the staff's wages?”
At the word ‘wages’, CEO Ha's expression became heavy, as if the moment he had been dreading had finally arrived.
The CEO had been struggling just to maintain the office with the initial investment money.
He had been delaying the payment of the directing and production staff, saying that he would pay them all at once when the main investment came in.
There were eight people in total, and the four months of unpaid salaries amounted to well over 100 million won.
“You know that things aren't like they were in our day. You can't get away with things like ‘passion pay’ anymore.”
“I know… I know, but….”
CEO Ha let out a heavy sigh.
I myself had not signed a formal contract until we received the main investment, and I had gone eight months without receiving a salary.
All I had received was enough to cover meals and vehicle expenses under the name of ‘operating expenses’.
But in this situation, I couldn't even think about securing my own share.
I let everything go.
“Even if you put mine off until later, you absolutely have to pay the others. They're only being patient because they're good people. Honestly, we could have already been reported to the Labor Office by now.”
“Yeah… I'll somehow figure something out….”
“How? No, more importantly, exactly when?”
In matters like this, everything had to be clear.
Over the past twenty years, I had started as the youngest member of the production department and experienced every stage of making a movie.
The biggest lesson I had learned as a producer was to eliminate anything that could potentially become a source of conflict, no matter what form it took.
And until the very end, I did my best to fulfill my duty as a PD.
In the end, CEO Ha took out a loan using his house as collateral and used the money to pay the staff's wages.
Of course, the settlement of my own wages was postponed until later.
At the expensive Korean beef restaurant where we had always said we would hold a company dinner once the investment was finalized, we held a small farewell gathering.
Even in the gloomy atmosphere, we quickly grilled the 1++ Korean beef that we might not be able to eat again for quite some time and stuffed it into our mouths.
CEO Ha called each member of the directing and production departments by name and poured them drinks.
The director never came.
I used my father's memorial ceremony as an excuse and filled my glass with a soft drink instead of alcohol.
“It's not over until it's over! Right now, we have to part ways for a while because of something as unavoidable as a natural disaster. But once we find another actor and secure the investment, let's meet again then, for sure!”
As if trying to change the atmosphere that felt like a funeral, CEO Ha repeatedly raised his voice and emphasized that the movie wasn't truly over yet.
The staff, feeling sorry for CEO Ha's desperate efforts, supported him by saying things like, “Yes, of course.” and “We'll wait for you.”
But I couldn't bring myself to respond.
“Min PD, you've really worked hard all this time.”
“But I'm not going to collapse like this.”
“You believe in me, right? This big brother is definitely going to make a comeback.”
“So wait just a little while.”
“When that time comes, I'll definitely call you again.”
I calmly looked at the CEO.
“Yes, hyung, you'll definitely make a comeback.”
“But even if you do, don't call me.”
“I'm leaving the movie industry now.”
“You know that I've done enough too.”
“But if you call me, I think I'll waver.”
