Free Web NovelFirst—either Jegal Rok had finally gone crazy,
“Say something! I’m dying of curiosity.”
Or second—he had judged that Han Yeoreum had reached a level where she could crush most male actors outright and still pull in investment.
“There are no toxic clauses. Not a single one.”
Jeha handed the reviewed documents back to Yeoreum. At least domestically, it would be hard to find conditions better than these.
“Really? Holy shit... then this is insanely good, right?”
Yeoreum beamed. Then, without hesitation, she signed her name on the documents.
“Mm...?”
Myeong Jeha stiffened as he watched her for a moment. It was a seven-year contract. It hadn’t even been half a day since she’d received it.
“You’re signing already? You’re not going to look into it more?”
“You said it was good. Then there’s no reason to wait. I want to release the contract article starting tomorrow.”
At some point, Yeoreum had even brought out the ink pad and pressed her thumb down firmly.
“That’s too fast.”
“I told you last time. I have to become more famous than Do Gyeoul, fast.”
On the white paper, a red fingerprint settled into place. Next to Han Yeoreum’s name, a round mark was stamped.
“You have to row when the tide comes in.”
Yeoreum’s eyes were already filled with certainty. She looked like someone who had been waiting for this moment alone.
“Once Do Gyeoul starts her drama soon, just like last time, the DaeYeJong talk will come up again, and I’ll get bundled in with it....”
Yeoreum blew softly so the fingerprint she’d stamped on the contract wouldn’t smudge.
The sequence of actions flowed as naturally as a scene from a movie.
At some point, Myeong Jeha felt as though he had become Extra No. 1, watching Han Yeoreum’s success from the sidelines. Having been trapped all this time in the protagonist’s world, this moment pleased him more than anything.
“I don’t want to sit still. I want to grab ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) this chance properly and make my name known, even a little more.”
The Han Yeoreum standing before him now was, to anyone’s eyes, without a shred of doubt, the protagonist.
“But please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m just asking in case, sir.”
“...Fix your tone.”
“I mean, you didn’t hide any toxic clauses on purpose or anything, right? I trust you. I brought it to you because I figured you’ve probably seen more contracts than most lawyers, so there’s no betrayal or anything like that, right? Please.”
“Well....”
“Don’t do this. You can’t do this to me.”
At Yeoreum’s earnest expression, Myeong Jeha smiled pleasantly for the first time in a long while.
He couldn’t even remember when he’d last laughed like this. After smiling for quite some time, Myeong Jeha nodded, as if to tell her not to worry.
And so, Han Yeoreum’s contract was concluded without incident.
The next day, Han Yeoreum’s name began appearing across digital newspapers covering entertainment news, including Daily Media.
[The actress chosen by JC ENM... Han Yeoreum of <ParCheHi> signs an exclusive contract]
[Han Yeoreum X JC ENM, a fresh encounter, “Already feels trendy~”]
[Chosen by the 1020 generation and picked by JC... a rising actress set to shake up the Intube market, Han Yeoreum]
* * *
“Finally....”
This was the seventh floor of JC ENM’s new headquarters building, located in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District.
The woman staring at the monitor had eyes gleaming with madness. Wearing an overstretched short-sleeve T-shirt and her hair roughly tied up, she even had a neck pillow on, as if she lived at the office.
“She’s here!!!”
She shouted while looking at the notification window that had popped up on the company messenger.
“What’s wrong with Manager Ma?”
“Looks like Han Yeoreum’s contract went through.”
Having already anticipated her reaction, the employees returned to their work. As they guessed, what had sent her into such excitement was the news of Han Yeoreum’s contract signing.
“Why did it take so long to finalize the contract! Damn it, seriously, I almost died waiting.”
Anyone who knew JC ENM’s growth trajectory said the same thing in unison.
If Jegal Rok stood behind JC ENM’s innovation, then behind JC ENM’s big hits stood Ma Suyeon.
If Manager Hong was JC ENM’s gem merchant, then Manager Ma was JC ENM’s gem cutter. Target analysis, advertising contracts, collaborations, merchandise production, content development, digital campaigns—
Polishing raw ideas and sending them out into the world was all Manager Ma’s domain. She had prepared countless projects, and not a single one had failed.
“Haa~n Yeoreum~ is here~.”
Humming as her eyes darted rapidly, Manager Ma was clearly running on pure adrenaline.
The sense of opening a new era wasn’t something only a rookie in the PR team could feel. The production of <ParCheHi> itself had originated from Manager Ma’s ideas.
“Haa~n Yeoreum~ has come into Ma Suyeon’s arms~.”
She couldn’t help but like Han Yeoreum, who had taken the project she’d wanted to push forward and made it succeed—not just successfully, but several times beyond expectations.
With Han Yeoreum, she was certain that the success rate of everything she planned going forward would only rise.
Click— click— click—.
The clicking continued without pause. Soon, Han Yeoreum’s neatly organized branding PPT filled her monitor. freewebnøvel.com
Because she had recorded every idea the moment it came to her, the quality of the PPT was astonishing.
“Hmm~.”
Han Yeoreum filled the large dual-monitor screen.
The selling points Manager Ma had analyzed, the image Yeoreum would present to the public, the modifiers that would define her, the path that would make the name Han Yeoreum shine the brightest.
“As expected, perfect.”
After checking for any shortcomings, Manager Ma looked at the very last slide.
“How can someone have this kind of character profile? This way, even the viewers will have fun—.”
Bundled alongside her was Do Gyeoul.
Same age, same university classmates—one a famous actress who’d had everything since childhood, the other an underdog who had barely managed half a year of entrance exam prep to break through the walls of DaeYeJong.
“Let’s see, let’s see—our cutie. She’s been paired before with Do Gyeoul as ‘same outfit, different vibe,’ so from now on they’ll be rivals, right? I’m so excited!”
Clapping her hands, Manager Ma immediately picked up her phone. At last, all preparations for the project were complete.
– This is Jegal Rok.
“Director! I’m coming up, okay? I’m coming up? Huh? We need to have a meeting, right? I’m heading up right now!”
– Yes.
It was time to begin.
* * *
“Yes. I took the call.”
“Oh, reporter. Her profile photos haven’t been shot yet. We don’t have new photos to give you. You know that blue-background photo that got a lot of likes on social media? Yes. Please use that one.”
As soon as the news of JC ENM and Han Yeoreum’s contract broke, the PR team became busy as well. They were used to planning projects around celebrities already signed to other agencies; declaring that they would take one person and build them up like this was unusual.
“An interview? Of course. We’ll prepare a bit more internally and proceed right away.”
The atmosphere in the PR team, which had been focused on promoting how interesting JC ENM–produced films, dramas, and shows were, began to change.
The focus shifted squarely onto Han Yeoreum.
“Whew—. The response is bigger than I expected.”
“Of course. It’s Jegal Rok.”
After hanging up briefly to catch his breath, Manager Hong summed it up for the rookie. In the industry, Jegal Rok’s choices always drew attention. It was only natural that reporters would be curious about the rookie actress he had chosen.
“How long has Manager Ma been preparing this? She’s insane.”
“That’s just how she is. Kind of like Jegal Rok. They’re total opposites, but they click.”
The keywords Manager Ma had prepared for Han Yeoreum were short and clear.
#Rookie #DaeYeJong #Trendy #1020 and #Skilled.
“But bundling Do Gyeoul in feels kind of... off, right?”
“Yeah. But what can you do? That’s just how this industry works. Why do you think they mention famous people’s cousins and classmates? You need at least some crumbs people can latch onto and remember.”
Among them, the #DaeYeJong keyword went out bundled together with Do Gyeoul.
For now, the difference in weight class was simply too big. Do Gyeoul’s recognition—having dominated child roles for top actresses—was leagues beyond Han Yeoreum’s current standing.
“Still, it feels kind of bad. Like, a little....”
“Hurts your pride?”
“Exactly! That’s it.”
At Manager Hong’s analysis, the rookie nodded vigorously. Sipping his coffee, Manager Hong let out a snort of laughter.
“This bastard’s getting company loyalty now. Soon you’ll be saying you’ll do this and that. You’re about to get hooked.”
Bzzz— bzzz— bzzz—.
That was when it happened. The PR team’s phones all vibrated at once.
“What is it?” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Uh....”
“Wow. This is insane.”
Amid everyone’s reactions, the rookie hurried to join in. Looking at his phone screen, his mouth fell open.
“Manager....”
“Yeah.”
“There’s no way you wouldn’t get hooked.”
The rookie lifted his phone. An unbelievable number was displayed there.
“...Ten million views?!”
Episode 1 of <ParCheHi> had finally broken through ten million views.
