get-shopping Chapter 124: Year-end (1)
Chapter 124: Year-end (1)
Kang Rojun scratched his chin as he looked at Si-hoo. An invitation for me too to the year-end awards ceremony? Rojun hadn’t yet heard anything from PD Jung Soo-ryeong.‘No way, would I really be invited too??’
'Rental Lover' did do well, but in the end, it was a one-act. Do one-act dramas also get invited to the year-end awards? And besides, Kang Rojun was a writer. Do writers get invited too?
‘Well, even if I get invited, it doesn’t matter.’
Still, an unexpected topic sparked a slight tension in his otherwise calm heart. Rojun shook his head as he looked at Si-hoo.
“I don’t know. Would I really get invited? Aren’t those kinds of places just for actors?”
Si-hoo, who had started walking again, responded.
“No. I actually like year-end film festivals and award shows, so I watch them a lot. While it does feel like actors are the main focus, they also give awards to the production staff.”
“Ah-”
“Never seen it?”
“Not really. Even if I did, I only watched a few minutes and stopped.”
Si-hoo smiled faintly.
“You really don’t seem to care about the entertainment industry sometimes. Anyway, the year-end awards from the three major broadcasting stations include variety shows along with drama. So they give awards to PDs and staff, and of course to writers too??”
“One-act dramas too?”
“Hmm- I’m not entirely sure. I think there were awards related to one-act dramas too.”
As the two came down to the first floor, Si-hoo, recalling the past, continued speaking.
“But the year-end awards shows at the broadcasters change their format and flow a bit every year, so the most certain way is to ask the PD of ‘Rental Lover’."
“Got it, hyung.”
Kang Rojun saw Si-hoo off to the entrance and saw his parents in the distance, prompting Si-hoo to turn his head.
“You’re really okay, right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I’m heading out. Message me if anything comes up.”
As if telling him to leave quickly, Rojun waved his hand, and after a slight pause, Si-hoo walked over to his parents. Watching Si-hoo grow distant for a moment, Kang Rojun also turned his body.
-Swish.
As he slowly returned to the dorm, he muttered to himself.
“Now I’m really alone.”
Though a few staff members may have remained, it was practically safe to say that Rojun was the only one left at the campus. No cameras either.
‘Feels free after a long time. Really free.’
The once-crowded campus had grown quiet. Having lived through routine-filled days, things suddenly felt more relaxed, but Rojun wasn’t particularly happy about it. Either way, as he walked, Rojun thought about the year-end awards Si-hoo had brought up. He hadn’t watched them in full, but brief scenes he had caught flashed through his mind.
Glamorous celebrities, the red carpet they walked on, the hundreds of reporters and audience members swarming around, and so on.
Goosebumps rose on Kang Rojun’s forearms.
“Sounds fun though.”
The next day, Tuesday.
Rojun woke up early again, just like the day before, and started running. Perhaps because the campus was so quiet, the noise from Kang Rojun’s running sounded unusually loud.
“Huff, huff.”
After steadily completing his Daily Mission, Kang Rojun checked the stats he hadn’t been able to focus on due to training.
‘Definitely, it’s much slower when they rise naturally.’
Since he hadn’t been able to invest in a while, he poured 50 coins into enhancement today. Next, as he was about to head into the restroom he naturally frequented, he abruptly stopped. Rojun let out something close to a laugh.
"What. I don't need to go there anymore."
Since all the cameras from the 'Produce That 100!' team had been removed, he could now use the practice rooms freely. Kang Rojun entered the largest practice room and enjoyed it to his heart’s content.
Including some experimenting, an hour flew by quickly as he practiced.
Soon after showering, Rojun walked to the lounge and checked his phone. The world was still buzzing with talk of 'Produce That 100!' and 'Rental Lover'. Regardless, Kang Rojun...
-Swish.
...took a seat in the lounge and spread out his belongings. Laptop, tablet, phone, acoustic guitar.
It was time to start working.
‘Let’s start with lyrics writing-’
Although his ‘Lyrics Writing’ stat had already hit 100, he didn’t neglect it.
‘The more I do it, the more I feel like my instincts are improving. And it’s not like 100 points has to be the cap for stats.’
With any MR playing, Rojun smoothly wrote lyrics in Korean, Japanese, and English as he pleased. Then he turned his focus to writing.
“Feels like I could start writing soon, but maybe I’ll just think about what to write for today?”
He had already used up roughly two hours by this point.
“Next.”
Picking up the guitar, Kang Rojun moved on to his next task: composition.
“Let’s try to make at least the first verse within this week.”
At the same time, at the SBC Drama Department.
In the middle of the bustling SBC Drama Department, PD Jung Soo-ryeong was seen inside the director's office. Her messy brown hair was still tied up, but after a few days of proper rest, her face looked like it had gained a bit of weight. She was sitting on a five-person sofa, chatting with the bald director.
The director looked to be in a very good mood, the corners of his mouth stretched up to his ears and not coming down.
“‘Rental Lover’ final episode viewership rating, 24%! Hahaha, amazing, just amazing! Especially the fact that it was a one-act drama makes it even more meaningful. It’s a bit of a shame that it got overshadowed a bit due to the timing overlap with ‘Produce That 100!', but even so, this is top-tier!”
“It might’ve hit 24% precisely because it overlapped with ‘Produce That 100!’”
“I know, I know, kid. Anyway, great work.”
After several minutes of high praise, the bald director glanced at the tightly packed schedule on the table calendar in front of them and then changed the subject.
“By the way, does Writer Rojun have a tuxedo? Even if not a tuxedo, he should at least prepare a proper suit.”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong shrugged her shoulders and replied.
“I’ll have to ask. I doubt he has one.”
“You punk. Don’t tell me, you haven’t told Writer Rojun yet?? To prepare for the year-end awards ceremony.”
“I haven’t. ‘Produce That 100!’ just ended, so I figured he’d be overwhelmed.”
“Oh, come on, tell him quickly! At this rate, he’ll show up at the SBC Drama Awards in training clothes!!”
“Your rich imagination, as always.”
The director let out a small sigh.
“Make sure he’s properly prepared. No matter what anyone says, all eyes will be on Writer Rojun at this year’s Drama Awards. How common is it for an idol to attend an awards show as a writer?”
“Never, really. Probably- no, 100%, Writer Rojun will be the first.”
“Exactly, kid. Just imagine how many reporters will come swarming.”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong also looked somewhat excited. For reference, broadcasters’ year-end award shows are split into two: the Entertainment Awards and the Drama Awards. The Entertainment Awards cover variety shows, while the Drama Awards focus on acting and dramas.
“Every year the spotlight has been on full-length dramas, but I guess the one-act section will be hot this year.”
“It’s just that a big one like ‘Rental Lover’ hadn’t come out before. Still, both we and MBS, KBC have always kept an eye on short-form content too. Now that ‘Rental Lover’ came out, the one-act scene will be buzzing for a while.”
Then PD Jung Soo-ryeong stood up from the sofa.
“I’ll let Writer Rojun know, to start preparing for the year-end awards.”
Meanwhile, at EY Entertainment.
EY Entertainment, which had been almost certainly mentioned as the new home for the final winners, was now the target of much chatter from the media and public after the end of 'Produce That 100!'
In particular:
《[Feature] EY Entertainment Not Chosen by ‘Produce That 100!’ Final Winners- Why Did They Lose to GN Entertainment?》
Overnight, they were labeled with the tag of loser.
With this situation, the once-festive atmosphere at EY Entertainment had turned quite sour. Employees were watching the executives nervously, and the executives, in turn, were gauging the mood of the CEO of EY Entertainment.
“...We checked with the ‘Produce That 100!’ side, turns out there was no particular discussion with GN.”
“They said choosing GN was purely the decision of the final winners.”
“I still don’t get it. Why GN of all places?”
“What can we do? It’s already happened. Their future is clear now. They’ll crash and burn soon enough, GN is handling them, after all.”
The executives were lying. Deep down, they were already acknowledging that Rojun and the members would succeed. But saying that in front of the stone-faced CEO of EY Entertainment would be insane.
“CEO-nim, we think it would be best to act in time with their debut.”
This meant launching a competitive counter, whether a current popular boy group or a fresh new male idol group. Then the CEO of EY Entertainment swept his cold gaze across the executives.
“That’s obvious.”
He shot a silent look asking if there was anything else. But the executives avoided his gaze. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, the CEO spoke.
“If you can’t even set things up that quickly...”
He began to voice his thoughts to all the executives.
“If it wasn’t trickery or a mistake on our part, shouldn’t we make those four regret their decision that day? They looked down on us.”
“Sorry?”
“I’m saying, don’t let them carry on their careers comfortably.”
“Ah!! O-of course, CEO-nim!!”
At that moment, the executives, finally understanding the CEO’s plan, quickly voiced their agreement, and the CEO of EY Entertainment muttered through clenched teeth.
“We must never let them have it easy.”
And meanwhile, at GN Entertainment.
“Contract preparations are complete! We’ll submit the report as is!”
“What about the dorm?!”
“It’ll be finalized within this week!”
“CEO-nim went to see the kids in person! Get your heads straight and prepare!!”
They were completely tied up preparing to bring in Rojun and the members.
The next day, Wednesday.
Right after finishing his Daily Mission, Kang Rojun’s phone rang. It was a call from PD Jung Soo-ryeong. As the thought of the year-end awards flashed through Rojun’s mind, he immediately held the phone to his ear.
“Yes, PD-nim. Hello.”
“Hi, are you resting well??”
“Not bad, I think.”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong’s voice was notably high in energy.
“It’s nothing else, I just wanted to pass on a hot piece of news. Writer Rojun, looks like you’ll need to come to our SBC year-end awards ceremony.”
What he thought was just a vague possibility had now become reality.
“I’m really going too??”
“Of course you are! If you don’t go, who would? You sound surprised.”
“A little, yeah. I was kind of hoping for it.”
“You held a concert too, right? It’s kinda like that. It’ll be fun. Oh, and of course, this time the invitation is for you as both actor and writer. But your main identity is writer, so I passed things along to Culture Drawer.”
“...Understood.”
Soon, PD Jung Soo-ryeong’s laugh came through the phone.
“On the day of the awards, Writer Rojun, you’re going to get sooo much attention. Even the actors are super curious about you. Oh, and one more thing.”
She suddenly offered a bit of advice.
“They haven’t decided on the award nominees yet, but just in case, maybe start thinking about an acceptance speech.”
An acceptance speech? What kind of speech? Blinking in confusion, Kang Rojun asked again.
“Should I really be preparing something like that?”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong responded as if it were no big deal.
“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, right? Who knows?? Maybe they’ll call your name? Oh, and that’d be a first too. Receiving an award within your first year in the entertainment industry.”
So, in a state where it still didn’t quite feel real, Rojun ended the call with PD Jung Soo-ryeong. But before he could even process anything, another call came in, this time from Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa of Culture Drawer.
“Hello, Writer-nim. Did you get a call from PD Jung?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Congratulations! Your debut as a writer and an invitation to the year-end awards! This is the first time for us too, so we’re in a frenzy!”
Startled, Rojun was momentarily taken aback, and then Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa continued.
“More importantly! It’s your first awards ceremony, so we need to you a fitting appointment! I’ll schedule it as soon as possible!”
“A fitting appointment?”
“The day you get your tuxedo fitted! We have a place we work with at Culture Drawer, and since it’s a special occasion, of course it should be custom-made, right??”
A tuxedo. He never imagined there would be a day in his life when he’d wear one. After finishing the call with Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa, Kang Rojun slowly lowered his phone. Then he searched celebrity tuxedo on his phone. Photos of massive stars popped up.
‘Damn, they look super cool.’
Imagining himself in a tuxedo, Kang Rojun thought.
“Let’s work out a bit more.”
And he began focusing more on building his body.
A few hours later, around lunchtime.
The setting was the broadcasting station JTVM. Inside one of the variety department’s meeting rooms, PD Woo Han-suk could be found. Naturally, several writers were there as well. 'Produce That 100!' had ended, but it wasn’t completely wrapped up.
There were still YouTube videos to shoot continuously, as well as music and other loose ends to tie up.
Still, the atmosphere was lighter than during the broadcast period.
“PD-nim, Music N Top keeps messaging us, asking where the final winners will make their music show debut!”
“Just ignore it.”
“They’re saying since it’s the same network, shouldn’t we obviously choose Music N Top instead of another music show??”
“We’ve already handed off the kids, have GN handle the PR now. Anyway, how’s the YouTube video situation?”
“It’s good. The new videos are getting solid views too.”
Then it happened.
-Swish.
The glass door of the meeting room opened in a rush, and Writer Kim Se-hee, who resembled a hamster, burst in.
“PD-nim!! L-look at this!!!”
Her already high-energy demeanor was now overly excited, causing PD Woo Han-suk to let out a long sigh.
“What now. What are you bouncing around for this time.”
Writer Kim Se-hee quickly shoved her phone toward PD Woo Han-suk.
“I-it just dropped!!”
On her phone was a breaking news article.
《[Exclusive] EY Entertainment Caught in Multi-Billion Offshore Tax Evasion》
PD Woo Han-suk’s eyes widened to double their size.
"...What, what is this."
*****
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