I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 37 - Lee Ha-eun.

It didn’t feel real.

A top star actress.

Lee Ha-eun, now called the nation’s actress thanks to Queen of Joseon, liked me?

‘Why would a woman like that possibly like me?’

I’d agonized over it all night, and I still had no idea.

There was just one thing I could be sure of.

Top star actress Lee Ha-eun still had a secret she hadn’t told me.

The reason she’d come to like me looked like it had something to do with that secret.

I was dying to know that secret.

That flash of curiosity, mixed with how fast everything was moving, was what got Lee Ha-eun into The Priest in Black.

“I really did cause some trouble here.”

But looking only at the outcome, Lee Ha-eun joining had raised The Priest in Black’s tier.

A top star actress joining, on its own, was enough to lift a project’s status.

A snap judgment made in the moment had turned out to be a decision that benefited both Kwon Chan the person.

And Kwon Chan the manager.

At this point, I was starting to feel less scared than curious.

‘Where does this actually end?’

Even something as fixed as my relationship with Lee Ha-eun had changed.

So once this shoot wrapped, what would happen between us then?

We might go back to how things were, or maybe we’d end up in a better place than now.

One thing was certain: it wouldn’t stay exactly the same as it was now.

The anticipation that uncertain future gave me was thrilling enough.

Maybe that’s why.

My stifled chest and head burst wide open, and the sharp nerves I’d had for days melted away.

A vague sense that everything would work out flooded through my whole body.

‘Right. If I can’t avoid it, might as well enjoy it.’

With that, feeling better than I had in a long time, I went in to Baekhak’s head office.

As if they’d been waiting for me, a summons came from the CEO’s office.

“Chief Kwon!!!”

Baekhak’s flagship star, Lee Ha-eun.

It looked like CEO Baek Ji-won had called me in over the surprise news of her next project.

---

The elevator up to the CEO’s office.

The old me would’ve frozen solid at the thought of meeting industry legend CEO Baek Ji-won.

But now… I wasn’t particularly nervous or tense.

Maybe it was because the sharp nerves I’d had until a few days ago had finally loosened up.

That’s probably it.

Of course, Team Leader Ma next to me was trembling like his size meant nothing.

“W, what’s going on here… a summons from the CEO first thing Monday morning?”

“…”

“Kwon Chan! What did you even do! What’s this about Lee Ha-eun deciding on her next project all of a sudden!”

I shrugged.

“Just what it sounds like. I recommended her a project.”

“And Lee Ha-eun just went and took it, no questions asked?”

“Yeah. That’s the whole story.”

“…”

Seok-du hyung’s eyes narrowed.

“Does that even make sense? Lee Ha-eun usually rests a year after wrapping a project, and she jumps straight into a new one just because you suggested it?”

It didn’t make sense.

There was a reason behind it, but… that was a secret I was taking to my grave.

Ahem.

“Ugh… my head hurts just looking at you these days, seriously.”

Seok-du hyung let out a heavy sigh and walked on ahead.

I strolled along behind him, and Secretary Kim, whom I’d seen a few days before, stood up from her seat and said.

“The CEO’s inside, so you can go right in.”

I gave a small nod and opened the door to the CEO’s office.

The moment I did.

“…!”

Seok-du hyung froze at the grim scene in front of him, and I, a little startled myself, took stock of the faces gathered in the office.

‘Wow… what is this?’

All of Baekhak’s executives were there, every single one?

CEO Baek Ji-won sat in the seat of honor.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon sat beside her.

Department-head-level staff and executives from every division.

The people who actually ran Baekhak had somehow all gathered in one room.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

‘Did they gather over Lee Ha-eun’s next project?’

Looked that way.

Then again, this was the next project of Baekhak’s flagship star, Lee Ha-eun herself.

Given she was now called the nation’s actress thanks to Queen of Joseon, it wasn’t strange for all these heavyweights to gather over her next project.

‘Looking at this, I really did cause some trouble.’

Tension climbed up my spine.

But it was an enjoyable kind of tension.

If the box office of Lee Ha-eun’s sudden next project, decided on my recommendation, had been uncertain, that would be one thing.

But I was sure The Priest in Black would be a hit.

So there was no reason to be nervous in front of these people.

If anything, for me, someone who was certain The Priest in Black would succeed, this room was…

…an opportunity.

A chance to build something bigger.

Just then, CEO Baek Ji-won’s distinctively languid voice landed in my ear.

“Should we wrap the emergency meeting here?”

At her single line, Baekhak’s executives rose from their seats.

“We’ll be on our way, CEO.”

“Good. Thanks, everyone.”

The department heads filing past me and Seok-du hyung wore strange expressions.

Faces that looked dying to know what exactly was going on.

Just as the corner of my mouth twitched, Division Head Park Yu-hyeon spoke.

“Both of you, come sit here.”

Seok-du hyung, who’d been frozen solid, finally moved, stiff as a rusted hinge.

I walked over too and sat down next to Seok-du hyung.

That put me and Seok-du hyung in the conference room.

Facing CEO Baek Ji-won and Division Head Park Yu-hyeon across the table.

A heavy silence settled naturally over the room.

How much time passed like that?

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon stroked a chin and opened with.

“Um… Team Leader Ma?”

Seok-du hyung, who’d been out of it, answered in a rush.

“Y, yes! Division Head!”

“You know why you were called in, right?”

“… Yes. I do.”

Division Head Park’s body leaned forward.

“What do you think of The Priest in Black, the project Lee Ha-eun picked for her next work?”

Seok-du hyung stole a quick glance at me before answering.

“Just looking at the script itself… the quality seemed pretty solid.”

Division Head Park nodded.

“I think so too. Reading it, the structure was quite tight. The director is… Director Park Jun-seo, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, Division Head.”

“I heard he’s a mid-career director who only does occult work?”

“He works a minor genre, but his box office record isn’t bad.”

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon smiled faintly.

“Hm… so the script’s good, and the director’s not bad either?”

“That’s how it looks, situationally speaking, at least.”

“What do you think, Team Leader Ma?”

Team Leader Ma Seok-du thought it over for a moment before answering.

“… Lee Ha-eun deciding this suddenly is unexpected, but looking only at the script and the director, it doesn’t seem bad.”

“The Seo Rin-bi role Lee Ha-eun would be playing is appealing too, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The faint smile hanging on Division Head Park’s lips vanished.

“But isn’t the project’s tier too low?”

“!”

“When it comes to an actress’s next project, it should be her own choice, sure. But Lee Ha-eun’s case is different, as you well know, Team Leader Ma.”

A smile settled on Division Head Park Yu-hyeon’s face again.

A chilling smile that sent a shiver down the spine.

“Given Lee Ha-eun’s current tier, I think The Priest in Black is well below her weight. What do you think, Team Leader Ma?”

Flustered, Team Leader Ma stammered.

“I, I also… think the project’s tier is too low.”

“So it should be stopped, shouldn’t it?”

“!”

“That’s what our management department is for, isn’t it? Caring for our talent, managing them… and when they wander off onto the wrong path, pulling them back.”

I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon really wasn’t an easy person to deal with.

“Looking at it now, this seems like exactly the moment for that. What do you think, Team Leader Ma?”

Team Leader Ma Seok-du finally froze up entirely.

My brow furrowed too.

‘Guess this won’t go as smoothly as planned.’

Of all people, Division Head Park Yu-hyeon had to take issue with The Priest in Black.

But Division Head Park wasn’t wrong.

Quality of the script aside, given Lee Ha-eun’s tier, it was true that the project fell short.

‘But that’s only true if you don’t know it’s going to be a hit.’

If it was certain The Priest in Black would succeed…

…it wasn’t a bad project for Lee Ha-eun at all.

Lee Ha-eun’s range as an actress was wide, but she’d never done an occult film.

‘Considering one reason top actors deliberately take on art-house projects is to broaden their range…’

The Priest in Black had real merit for Lee Ha-eun.

‘Box office and artistic merit. She could grab both at once.’

But from where Division Head Park Yu-hyeon stood, not knowing any of that, opposing it was inevitable.

I wet my dry lips with my tongue and muttered.

‘Should I step in?

But how?

Jumping in out of nowhere would be terrible timing.

Just then, CEO Baek Ji-won opened her mouth.

“Who picked the script?”

Seok-du hyung, still frozen, sold me out at the speed of light.

“Chief Kwon did!”

“…”

My expression soured.

At that, CEO Baek Ji-won’s and Division Head Park Yu-hyeon’s eyes turned to me.

“Chief Kwon picked it and recommended it?”

“Yes, that’s right, CEO.”

A faint smile rose on CEO Baek Ji-won’s lips.

“Why’d you recommend this script to Ha-eun?”

At the CEO’s question, I caught on instantly.

‘This is my chance.’

Okay.

I had to say the right thing here, Kwon Chan.

I took a short breath and answered.

“I recommended it because I thought it would suit Lee Ha-eun as a project.”

“With the Seo Rin-bi role?”

“Yes. I met Director Park Jun-seo and talked with him, and I heard the Seo Rin-bi role itself was created with Lee Ha-eun as the model.”

CEO Baek Ji-won stroked her chin.

“Lee Ha-eun playing Seo Rin-bi, a role inspired by Lee Ha-eun herself?”

I pushed on without pausing.

“Lee Ha-eun has a wide acting range, but as far as I know, she has no filmography in occult yet.”

“That’s true.”

“Occult isn’t strictly necessary to broaden her range, but Director Park Jun-seo’s previous films have had solid box office too.”

CEO Baek Ji-won nodded.

“So she gets artistic credibility and box office both?”

“Exactly. From that angle, The Priest in Black isn’t a bad choice for Lee Ha-eun.”

CEO Baek Ji-won smiled.

“Good intentions.”

A positive reaction.

The corner of my mouth was rising without me meaning it to.

“But isn’t that all it is, good intentions?”

“!”

“If that’s the goal, wouldn’t a higher-tier project make more sense?”

CEO Baek Ji-won tilted her head.

“That’s a little unconvincing, isn’t it, Chief Kwon?”

CEO Baek Ji-won’s strange expression flew at me like a blade and lodged in my chest.

---

The tension climbed a notch.

‘Unconvincing, huh… right.’

Hearing it put that way, she had a point.

What I’d just said really was nothing more than a plausible excuse.

An excuse for shoehorning Lee Ha-eun into The Priest in Black.

‘I need something more solid. One decisive shot.’

Luckily, I had that shot.

The problem was, this hidden card…

…depending on how you looked at it, was total nonsense.

‘But if I can’t answer here, isn’t that the end of it?’

If that’s how it was going to go, wasn’t doing something better than doing nothing?

At that moment my mouth started moving.

“… I’m also considering bringing the whole project in-house.”

That one line flipped the mood of the room.

“Like the CEO said, The Priest in Black is a low-tier project. So wouldn’t it make sense for us at Baekhak to bring it over to our side?”

CEO Baek Ji-won’s eyes went wide.

“You mean produce it ourselves?”

“Even just investing would be enough, I think.”

“Hm… why?”

“The script’s good, the director’s good, what The Priest in Black is missing is tier.”

“And we build up that tier from the Baekhak side?”

Instead of answering, I nodded.

Interest crept into CEO Baek Ji-won’s expression.

Just then, Division Head Park Yu-hyeon, who’d stayed quiet until now, cut into the conversation.

“That sounds like nonsense to me, Chief Kwon.”

“…”

“If a movie you invest in flops, what happens to that risk?”

I answered calmly against Division Head Park’s sharp jab.

“On the flip side, if it’s a hit, wouldn’t that be huge?”

“…?”

“Assuming failure, the risk sounds crazy, but…”

I trailed off, then spoke with conviction.

“Thinking about what happens if it succeeds, it looks like a deal that would pay off just as much.”

At my words, Division Head Park Yu-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.

Team Leader Ma Seok-du beside him sat there with his mouth hanging open, appalled.

And CEO Baek Ji-won was smiling.

I steadied my breath, which had heated up a little, and thought.

‘Not as bad as I expected, actually.’

Nonsense bordering on delusion, but it had clearly won over the room.

Still, it wasn’t enough yet.

I knew The Priest in Black would be a hit, but what would give Baekhak any reason to believe that, to invest in it?

Right as I was about to open my mouth to drive one more nail in, for good measure.

CEO Baek Ji-won got there first.

“I hear Chief Kwon got his actor Seo Tae-jun into it too. That right?”

“Yes, that’s right, CEO.”

“So you slotted in both of the actors under your charge?”

“… For now, yes.”

CEO Baek Ji-won’s body leaned forward.

“You sound pretty confident?”

“…”

“Throwing both your actors into one project, and bringing up in-house production on top of it, sounds like you’re that sure this thing’s going to be a hit?”

My eyes widened slightly.

Was I confident it’d be a hit?

Of course I was.

I’d seen through the text from the future that The Priest in Black would succeed!

I said exactly what I was thinking, no filter.

“Yes, that’s how I see it right now.”

“To what degree?”

“…”

“You must have a rough number in mind. I’d like to hear it.”

I meant to answer without hesitation.

“5…”

“?”

“…”

My mouth, which had opened, closed again.

‘Wait, The Priest in Black, just five million?’

That was the figure from before Lee Ha-eun joined.

But now…

…Korea’s top actress had joined as the lead.

Would The Priest in Black really stop at just five million with her attached?

With that thought flashing through my head, my mouth moved again.

“Ten million.”

Right.

If I’m going to cause trouble, might as well do it properly.

“It’s just a projection, but… yes. I’m looking at ten million.”

The mood in the room froze solid.

Everyone went silent and stared at me.

I hid behind a mask of shamelessness and weathered that suffocating gaze.

‘Still… not bad.’

That one line of mine seemed to have landed harder than I expected.

A rich smile spread across CEO Baek Ji-won’s lips.

Just then Seok-du hyung shouted.

“H, hey… Chief Kwon! Even so, ten million? Ten million…!”

Right as Seok-du hyung’s scolding was about to start, CEO Baek’s gaze turned to Division Head Park Yu-hyeon.

“Division Head Park.”

“Yes, CEO.”

“Get me a call with Green Pine Productions.”

“!”

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon looked startled.

At the same time, my heart started pounding.

“CEO. Don’t tell me…”

CEO Baek smiled softly.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon, mouth opening and closing, let out a heavy sigh.

“I’ll get in touch with CEO Park.”

“Good. Bring him in to our company if you can.”

“Yes.”

“And…”

CEO Baek trailed off, looked at me, and smiled.

That strange smile seemed to say.

“You two can head out now. We’ll have a result by tomorrow, probably.”

That my nonsense from a moment ago had been pretty convincing after all.