The era of indiscriminate advertisements.
If you have money, you can even get a loan with a 44% interest rate from secondary financial institutions that are now showing up on TV.
There has never been anything more important than choosing the right ads.
Depending on which company’s face you become, your entertainment image can solidify in a certain direction.
Therefore, Choi Seok-ho wanted ads that didn’t lean towards a particular direction.
He still wanted to leave an image that he could become anything.
Getting stuck with a single ad and having your image set in stone was a hard pass.
Then, suddenly…
“Am I really seeing this right?”
He was dumbfounded by an unexpected proposal to be a model for instant rice.
“Wow, FJ from Ottogi really just offered me a gig for an instant rice commercial?”
Ottogi Rice and Haetbap.
Did they coordinate? The contents of their proposals were eerily similar.
Though they were both quite lengthy, the summary went like this:
“When we hit 10 million subscribers, please eat our rice! And then immediately shoot the CF to become our ad model!”
Given the size of the matter, Seok-ho quickly contacted Kim Donghu.
Logically, choosing Haetbap was the right move, but the opinion of the parties involved in the ad mattered most.
Especially since Seok-ho was someone who always fully supported Kim Donghu’s choices.
“Hey Donghu, can you come to the office for a sec? We need to have a quick meeting about the ad. It’s about instant rice, and we have offers from both Ottogi and Haetbap, so we need to decide on one. It’s not urgent, but it’d be great to decide quickly, so please check and get back to me, haha!”
Tata-dada-dah.
His thumb sent the message off like a rocket.
Suddenly…
“I think I’d prefer Haetbap.”
The reply came not from cyber space, but the real world.
What a perfect timing!
“Oh really? Haetbap looks good?”
“Yes, I think they have higher brand recognition.”
“Right? It’s only logical to go with the sure thing.”
Even without Seok-ho’s input, Donghu was already planning to choose Haetbap.
After all, he owed them a debt of gratitude from the military days,
more so than his beloved bibimbap and galbi dumplings.
“If it weren’t for that, my military life would’ve been tough.”
Of course, it wasn’t just an emotional reason.
He was also considering the rational future aspects.
As he momentarily reminisced about that time, Donghu quickly got to the point.
The actual reason he came to the agency before Seok-ho asked him to meet.
That was…
“Hey Seok-ho, do I have a script about a story of a star and a moon?”
It was due to the text sent by [Sims – The Real Life].
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1Wk4ra3o5VVdhNEZFcnptb0dVd2p2WklQUkVMRnMwMUNmRzJYUUU3SzZjRw
+++++
Time rewinds to the day before the Haetbap CF proposal.
Ding-ding! Ding-ding! Ding-ding!
I jolted awake to the sudden morning text, scrambling in a daze.
I woke up groggily to a random text that blared at dawn.
“What, what is it?”
I knew that Sims messages usually come out of the blue, but this early in the morning?
Forcefully prying my sleepy eyes open, the content of the text was pure shock.
-[Kim Donghu receives a million-view pledge?! Let’s eat plenty of rice with fresh rice!]
-[The story of the stars and the moon, unfortunately, fell through. Couldn’t find the right actor… “Shock”]
I wasn’t too surprised by the first text since it was about a CF, but the second one made my eyes widen.
‘Do I have to do another project here?’
Even amidst the chaos of my busy schedule, the thought that I might be doing this was astonishing.
I was already running out of steam and was planning to take a break after finishing [Eclipse].
And then, as if waiting, the next project news just popped up like this.
What kind of work could it be that it would add to my workload like this?
With such expectations, I dashed to the office right after school.
But,
“Umm… there’s no title like that?”
Seok-ho’s response sent me into another shock.
“There’s none?”
“Yeah, it’s hard to forget titles I’ve seen at least once, and I’ve never heard that one before. No email, nothing received separately.”
Does it even make sense that it doesn’t exist?
No, if I really think about it, maybe it does.
Because.
‘The Sims message is from the future.’
So does that mean it’s a project that doesn’t exist at this point?
“But the title is quite unique. Where did you hear about it?”
“Oh, I think I saw it once and got suddenly curious about the content.”
I dodged Seok-ho’s question appropriately.
How could I explain that I was looking for something I saw from the future?
“I feel like I asked too late, but why did you come early? Is there something I can help with?”
“Oh, no, I just wanted to eat some pork and cutlet on the first floor for the first time in a while.”
“Ah, I get that feeling. The boss on the first floor really serves amazing food.”
The service is top-notch too; they even give an extra fried egg to the people in the same building!
Hearing that, I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Yeah, eggs are definitely an important matter.
“Then, Seok-ho, would you like to go together? For pork cutlet?”
“Sounds good.”
Just as I was about to have a meal with Seok-ho,
Ding ding ding!
The phone rang sharply as if questioning where I was going.
I thought there wouldn’t be anyone calling me at this hour, but there was one person indeed.
“Director Kang, hello.”
The director of the movie [Endless Frontline], the legendary Director Kang with the Guan Yu beard.
I didn’t know what was going on, but after a moment of silence, he spoke in a trembling voice.
-“Oh, hey, our Donghu, have you been well?”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you, director, that I’ve been doing well.”
“Thanks to your kind words, I’ve been doing great.”
“Wow, look at you speaking so nicely, haha. Anyway, the thing is, I have a feeling our movie is going to hit ten million in the next week or so…”
“So, I wanted to ask what you think about doing a countdown together when that happens.”
Hearing Director Kang’s voice, I immediately understood the reason for his excitement.
‘How long has he been hoping for this?’
I suddenly remembered watching an interview with Director Kang about his films in my previous life.
He had proudly stated that a commercial film director should make enjoyable movies, yet his eyes held a sadness from not hitting that ten million mark.
Was that memory surfacing because of his gaze?
“Of course, I’ll go! Just call me, and I’ll be there right now.”
I had originally planned to go, but now I was determined to make it happen no matter what.
+++++
“…The stats are out! Ten million and 73 people! Endless Front, our ten-million film has arrived!”
At the words of Park Geum-gang, the representative of Studio Geum-gang,
“Whaaaaaaaaat!”
Director Kang erupted with a roaring cheer, as if he had been waiting for that moment.
On the fourth Sunday since the release of Endless Front, the film, having hit ten million without a surprise, was throwing an extravagant party.
“…Ah… I hit ten million…”
During the joyous gathering, Director Kang sprang up from his seat, stuck a spoon into a soju bottle to make a microphone, and immediately expressed his thoughts on achieving ten million.
“…It took me really, really long to get here. Honestly, I even thought I might never get to make a film like this.”
“But now that it has happened, I realize something.”
“Oh, this isn’t something I can achieve alone; it’s only possible when everyone moves as one.”
“Thank you so much for supporting this clumsy director.”
The production team gasped in surprise at Director Kang’s rare 90-degree bow.
They were already shocked by the bow, but tears were dropping down from beneath his lowered head.
And of course, these were not tears of sorrow.
Joyful tears spilling over as emotions reached their peak.
Actor Han Tae-geon casually threw an arm around Kim Donghu.
“Honestly, no matter how you look at it, our Donghu is the real star of ten million.”
“Why not? I mean, what’s with the promise of eating rice and beef soup for hitting ten million?”
“Where did this lucky charm come from? It’s a mystery.”
Following Han Tae-geon’s words, Ko Chang-sik and Seo Myung-woo chimed in, showering compliments on Kim Donghu’s face.
“Ah, no… um… thank you for seeing me in a good light.”
Still not used to the compliments, Kim Donghu lowered his head shyly.
“No, wait!”
Seeing this, Park Geum-gang stepped in to boost the mood.
To make it happen,
“First drama ‘Hydream’ ratings at 30%! First short film ‘Mise-en-scène’ won 4 awards! First commercial film reaches ten million!”
Kim Donghu officially started polishing his golden touch.
“Do you really think it’s okay to move on without hearing superstar Kim Donghu’s thoughts, folks?!”
“No way! No way!”
“Donghu, since you made Director Kang cry, you must give a speech!”
“Hahaha!”
The production team of [Endless Frontline] kept the cheerful vibe going, laughing and chatting.
Nobody here had a clue.
“Is it finally time for the swordsman Baek Dong-su?”
While filming the movie, Kim Donghu was also simultaneously working on a historical drama.
Maybe they’ll be shocked when they see the teaser at SKS tomorrow?
It was a moment full of anticipation.
+++++
“[Endless Frontline] hit ten million! How did it even happen? It’s analysis time…”
“Kim Donghu has become a ten million actor. A remarkable feat achieved with his first work!”
The morning after the [Endless Frontline] wrap party, journalists didn’t rest, churning out articles related to the film.
There was plenty to write about, and responses came in quickly.
Donghu really stirred things up, huh.
Looking at what he’s done so far, it’s mind-boggling!
Is he getting paid off or something? Is it even possible?
Can ten million just be bought with money? Hahaha!
Is Nova 1592 gonna blow up? The guy is insane!
The real-time search rankings were dominated by [Endless Frontline].
1. Endless Frontline
2. Endless Frontline Han Tae-geon
3. Han Tae-geon
4. Kim Donghu
5. Endless Frontline 10 million promise
6. Rice
7. Kim Donghu ten million
8. Kim Donghu Han Tae-geon
9. Student Soldier
They could talk about Kim Donghu all day without running out of material.
In a way, they may not have even covered everything yet.
Trying to write about the Mise-en-scène, it hit them that he was shooting a commercial film hitting ten million.
It was a rare phenomenon that journalists found it hard to keep up with the actor’s information.
“But surely he’ll be free now, right? He’s a person too, he can’t be that busy.”
With these thoughts, the relaxed journalists welcomed dinner.
“…Hey, why are you here?”
They had to see Kim Donghu on TV, where he played the child role of Jawan in [Swordsman Baek Dong-su].
“This isn’t right, is it?!”
It was definitely overtime.
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