Novelist Running Through Time - Chapter 89

TL: KSD

Baekhak Media Group is a gigantic media corporation capable of exercising comprehensive influence across all Korean media.

In essence, it’s the national kingpin of hooligans.

Therefore, PD Park Young-tae was not entirely unrelated to the Baekhak Group.

Of course, PD Park Young-tae does not work for a Baekhak affiliated company, nor does Baekhak own any shares in Park PD’s variety studio.

However, just as the United States leads the world not because it has conquered the entire globe, but because it can drop nuclear bombs anywhere, anytime.

Baekhak dominates the industry not because it monopolizes media outlets, but because it can discipline anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Thus, it’s unfair to criticize PD Park Young-tae for becoming more cautious after checking Baek Seol’s business card, as if his nature were weak against the strong and strong against the weak.

Rather, he could be considered a family man who carefully attends to the safety and well-being of his family.

In any case, Park Young-tae easily connected the ‘Baek’ of Baekhak Group with Baek Seol’s ‘Baek’ and was shocked.

And naturally, a question arose.

‘Why would a division head…?’

Why would an executive at the director level, especially one who appears to be from the owner’s family considering age and surname, be acting as a manager for a single author?

Do they have a hobby of surprising others?

‘Could it be a power-hiding character…!?’

Startled, PD Park momentarily entertained such a thought. It was the kind of speculation someone might make when shouting out their status window in a crisis.

Of course, the reason Baek Seol, holding the position of a division head, was acting as a manager was not because being discovered as a hidden powerhouse would make her incredibly popular.

‘What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do’

Baek Seol was still trembling.

Though her lineage flows with the blood of a chaebol family, in truth, she is merely an ordinary graduate of the English Literature Department at Oxford’s Lincoln College.

While it’s a story that would incite murderous intent among authors, Baek Seol considers herself to be an ordinary commoner.

(It’s not that Baek Seol enjoys deceiving others; rather, her standard for being considered wealthy is just significantly high)

Why then is Baek Seol acting as a manager while holding a division head’s business card?

Is it because she rolled up her sleeves and stepped up because Ma Ki-hoon was unsatisfactory?

Or did she genuinely become addicted to playing a game of hidden powerhouse?

Of course, it was all due to the scheme of Lim Yang-wook, the worst genius ever who even mocks the mainstream literary world.

EP 6 – The Show Must Go On

Lim Yang-wook, who reluctantly embarked on the ‘Making Baek Seol the CEO of Baekhak Publishing’ project, ended up having to grow a greenhorn division head into a CEO.

Naturally, a division head doesn’t grow into a CEO just by being well-fed, like raising a sea monkey.

Therefore, Lim Yang-wook had to carefully manage Baek Seol’s reputation and achievements, essentially working on what’s called ‘achievement crafting’…

Baek Seol acting as an author’s manager was also part of such achievement crafting.

The discussion that took place in the Baekhak Publishing division head’s office can be summarized as follows:

-From now on, you’re the one who raised the Author Moon.

-Whaaaat?!

It’s natural for history to change following a successful coup.

There’s a reason why medieval leaders were often said to have been born from eggs wrapped in auspicious five-colored clouds.. It’s not because they were reptilians.

As history proves, history can be changed as much as necessary to establish a leader’s legitimacy.

Thus, Lim Yang-wook used his superpower of altering history. Now, the discovery of the Author Moon became a result of the beloved Baek Seol division head’s artistic leadership.

There was no conspiracy or manipulation by sectarian factions against this evident ‘fact’. It could be said that Baekhak Publishing, where only Korea’s top elites gather, indeed consists of individuals equipped with the ‘I-know-everything-and-act-accordingly’ mindset as a basic trait. Their memories had already been manipulated.

But Baek Seol, perhaps due to not attending Seoul National University, lacked a bit of sensibility, which Lim Yang-wook countered with simple logic when she objected, asking, “How could you do that?”

-So, did Moon In-seop become famous because of me?

-Uh…

-Who can say they were the one to promote him?

Thus, Lim Yang-wook’s argument was as follows:

1. Moon In-seop wasn’t a star made by someone’s promotion in the first place.

2. Even if I hadn’t found him, he would have become famous on his own eventually. I did nothing.

3. Therefore, it’s okay to be vague about who discovered Moon In-seop.

4. Perfect!

Convinced by this logical persuasion, Baek Seol had to somewhat accept it. It sounded like nonsense, but there was no helping it. Baek Seol’s experience was insufficient to counter Lim Yang-wook’s crafty mouth.

And so, Baek Seol became Moon In-seop’s manager.

She knew nothing about the job, but her mission was to stick closely with Moon In-seop and show off their connection by going around the industry.

And it didn’t matter that she lacked practical skills. After all, if you’re not born with certain talents, you just have to work harder with what you have.

“Of course! We’ll prepare as much as we can on our end.”

“Th-thank you.”

“We’ll make sure you have nothing to worry about regarding the shooting…”

The business meeting about Moon In-seop’s variety show appearance went incredibly smoothly, to the point where managers who had spent months trying to insert their celebrities into PD Park Young-tae’s variety shows would feel unjustly treated.

Moreover, Baek Seol had the task of lobbying to have Park Young-tae’s variety studio produce a show related to authors, for the smooth operation of the publishing management department’s model of ‘turning authors into celebrities’, which also succeeded as soon as luck turned in their favor.

Indeed, the wisdom of the ancients, who said that discussing profit and wealth over the success of a task is the way of petty men and that true royal business lies in enlightening others through propriety and virtue, was not wrong.

Of course, with the appearance of an unprecedented genius boy causing a literary boom, the collaboration between the farm supplying quality authors and the factory creating quality literary culture entertainment was bound to happen.

However, a business card with the title of division head from Baekhak Group skipped all the tedious discussions and persuasions, allowing one to grasp the sweet fruits instantly.

Baek Seol felt no exhilaration from this.

The weight of her business card, heavier than she imagined, only weighed down her pocket.

“……”

Baek Seol stared intently at her business card, which had made one of Korea’s most famous variety show PDs squirm.

A mere piece of paper being this formidable.

Her lineage had always influenced her life in a not-so-good direction. Now, it seemed to be swaying it in a slightly better one.

But what meaning does a life have, swayed by something determined the moment one is born, whether it leads to death or survival?

Such thoughts crossed her mind.

It was a strange feeling.

* * *

The reason PD Park Young-tae is called the best variety show PD in Korea is not because of grand achievements, but because he’s the best at pulling in ratings.

In fact, that in itself is a grand achievement.

But no one can be at their peak for 21 years straight. Everyone has their ups and downs.

Yet, PD Park Young-tae’s variety shows are almost always hits.

And that’s not because he has a status window, but because he has a keen ear.

As one can guess from leading a variety show studio, Park Young-tae does not play solo.

If comparing to “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” he would be Liu Bei, carefully considering and humbly accepting the opinions of the many talents gathered around him.

(Disposing of trivial things like human relationships and pursuing only fun, So Tae-woong is closer to Cao Cao.)

Anyway, PD Park Young-tae’s latest variety show was planned by the young talents in his studio, and its content revolves around cooking meals in the countryside.

-Hey, do you think bringing expensive celebrities to cook meals in rural areas will get good ratings?

-It does.

-What the fuck, why does it work?

The young geniuses of Park Young-tae’s crew realized that creating a variety show without “uncomfortable scenes” is more important than extracting fun.

And no one finds scenes of cooking meals in the countryside uncomfortable.

The result was a surge in incredible ratings, and the variety of shows based on cooking meals in the countryside developed by them swept through the industry several times.

In a way, it could be said to continue the legacy of “Family Outing” and “2 Days & 1 Night”. The revived rural variety show achieved popularity in an era when the masses had disappeared.

And after several waves had passed, and as the seasons accumulated and the format became stale, the staff decided to bring in new faces.

That was precisely the young and MZ-generation Kim Byul and Moon In-seop.

“Hello! Seniors! I’m actress Kim Byul!”

“Oh! Byul is here?”

“Welcome~”

Professional entertainer Kim Byul joined the <Peaceful Uninhabited Island> members with a fresh and energetic charm, maintaining the perfect angle for the camera.

Having already appeared as a guest last season, Kim Byul was greeted with a warm welcome by the existing members.

“But Byul-ah, why are you calling me senior when you debuted earlier than me as an actress?”

“Hey, junior. Let’s just overlook that and move on.”

“Yes, Senior!”

Kim Byul smoothly joined the conversation among the members, fitting in without any awkwardness since everyone was a veteran.

The only uncomfortable person might be a 20-something rookie actress who joined this season.

Kim Byul disliked 20-something rookie actresses.

It wasn’t because she was being petty about debuting at a young age, but for experiential reasons.

Having gone through all sorts of troubles on set, Kim Byul is sensitive to the subtle hierarchy among actors.

Her dislike stems from 20-something, female, rookie actresses.

Teen actors are fine. Kim Byul is a dominating senior, so the hierarchy is clear.

30-something actors are also fine. At that age difference, age takes precedence over career, so Kim Byul falls below.

Male actors of any age don’t matter. Since the genders are different, they naturally keep their distance. And they should.

But 20-something, female, rookies.

Actresses who meet these three criteria are a bit tricky.

When two actresses of the same gender meet, they must establish their relationship as either friends or in a senior-junior hierarchy, but with 20-something rookie actresses, the relationship with Kim Byul is quite ambiguous.

Kim Byul is overwhelmingly ahead in terms of career, so she is the senior. But the rookie is older in age.

However, the age difference isn’t significant, only about four or five years, which makes it ambiguous.

So, they usually treat each other with formal speech until they become closer, at which point Kim Byul allows informal speech, but occasionally there are irritating instances.

Before Kim Byul can say “Feel free to speak comfortably,” some rookies act like they’re older and start using informal speech.

And those people are often clearly more successful stars than Kim Byul.

The reason is obvious. They are confident because they are currently successful, considering Kim Byul beneath their notice.

Anyway, it seems like recent rookie actors can’t distinguish between those above and below them.

(This is the personal opinion of actress Kim Byul, not the official stance of Baekhak Entertainment)

In such a manner, after being treated like an outdated fossil from 10 years ago, Kim Byul now instinctively feels wary when she meets 20-something rookie actresses.

However, Kim Byul, with an acting veteran’s skill, had put on a capybara-level friendly expression and was pretending to be cute in front of the camera when she spotted Moon In-seop among the staff.

Right, prioritizing friendships comes first.

As Kim Byul was deeply concerned about Moon In-seop’s actions, PD Park Young-tae opened his mouth.

“Now, and…! We have one more new member joining this season!”

Everyone who had already greeted Moon In-seop before shooting acted as if they had no idea who the new member could be, making a big fuss.

“The youngest ever nominee for the Booker International Prize, a literary genius boy! Do you know who it is?”

“Oh…! Could it be…! That…!”

“Yes, that’s right. Please welcome Moon In-seop!”

A boy wrapped in a blanket trotted out in front of the camera and greeted the members.

Kim Byul was on edge, worrying about Moon In-seop possibly making a verbal slip-up from his “hellish mouth.”

She even sent telepathic messages saying, ‘Please give a normal greeting.’

Perhaps heaven was moved by Kim Byul’s wish.

Moon In-seop completed his self-introduction without any issues.

“Hello, I’m Moon In-seop. I write under the pen name ‘Moon In.’”

“Phew…”

Kim Byul sighed in relief and brushed her chest.

It felt like she had just left her child by the water’s edge.

Though the greeting went well, her worries hadn’t subsided.

Come to think of it, isn’t this Moon In-seop’s first time on a real variety show?

This isn’t a talk show.

During the 4-night-5-day shoot, what matters isn’t momentary provocative remarks but chemistry with other celebrities.

It’s human friendliness that’s important.

He’d better do well…

* * *

“Kim Sunbae… doesn’t have many friends.”

“That’s a lie! That!”

“Being busy with schedules, I was always alone at school, and being a famous celebrity, I was always an outsider among my peers.”

“Oh, dear…”

“No, it’s not! Really! It’s really not like that!”

“Even though she seems prickly on the outside, Kim Sunbae is always looking for friends…”

“Hey! Moon In-seop! Stop it right now!”

“Please… become friends with Kim Sunbae…”

“You, you, do you really want to die?!”

*****

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