SCT-Novel Chapter 107: Four People (9)
Chapter 107: Four People (9)
The hot topic ‘Writer Rojun’ has signed with one of Korea’s top-tier writer agencies, ‘Culture Drawer’? The female reporter conducting the interview was visibly startled by what Writer Han Seo-ryeong had just said. Her eyes widened dramatically.It was understandable.
“W-wait, are you saying Writer Rojun signed with ‘Culture Drawer’?!!”
She was also an avid fan of ‘Produce That 100!’ and of Rojun. Well, even if she weren’t, anyone who heard this would obviously be shocked. Rojun, who was hot issue right now thanks to ‘Produce That 100!’ and other works, suddenly signed with ‘Culture Drawer’?
In contrast, Writer Han Seo-ryeong remained composed.
“We were fortunate enough to sign a contract with Writer Rojun.”
“R-really?!”
“Yes. Hmm? Your reaction, are you perhaps a fan of Writer Rojun?”
“Ah, yes! I’ve really been enjoying ‘Produce That 100!’”
“Oh- then please write a solid article.”
“Of course!! But……”
After being thrilled, the female reporter suddenly had a question.
“I haven’t heard anything about Rojun having an agency, is this your first time mentioning it in this interview??”
“That’s right.”
“What?!”
Until now, almost no one knew that Kang Rojun had signed with ‘Culture Drawer'. Only Rojun himself, a few people who helped him, and the people at ‘Culture Drawer’ knew. It hadn’t been officially announced to the media or public. And Writer Han Seo-ryeong had suddenly revealed it.
But in fact, this wasn’t just her acting on her own.
The timing had already been discussed among Kang Rojun, the people at ‘Culture Drawer', and others involved. Originally, ‘Culture Drawer’ had planned to announce it simply through social media, but Writer Han Seo-ryeong wanted a more dramatic reveal, and that moment was now.
“Of course, our contract with Rojun is solely as a writer and has nothing to do with the idol side. Please make that clear.”
“O-of course. Anyway, wow…… I didn’t expect this. ‘Culture Drawer', really. Isn’t this the first time? A rookie writer signing with ‘Culture Drawer’??”
“I believe so.”
The female reporter, aside from being a fan, had a strong instinct this story would sell well.
‘How did Rojun and Writer Han Seo-ryeong end up connected?? They had zero overlap, whatever the reason, this is going to draw massive attention!!’
And it was an exclusive.
The next day, Tuesday, November 3rd.
'Produce That 100!' was now like a hot furnace with the final evaluation broadcast just around the corner.
《Final evaluation of ‘Produce That 100!’ to air on the 6th……Netizens say “Time isn't passing!”》
《‘Produce That 100!’ still dominates both Korean and Japanese music charts/ Photo》
Endless issues, rumors, or gossip.
《[Issue Talk] A leaked post about the final line-up of ‘Produce That 100!’ turns out to be fake》
Because ‘Produce That 100!’ was nearing its end, the noise only intensified. Korea had its own chaos, Japan had its own. Both sides were noisy, and around lunchtime on Tuesday, fuel was thrown on the fire with the release of a Rojun-related bombshell.
《[Exclusive] ‘Writer Rojun’ signs with Korea’s top-tier writer agency ‘Culture Drawer’!》
The report stated that Kang Rojun had signed as a writer with ‘Culture Drawer'. Since Rojun was the face of ‘Produce That 100!’ and ‘Culture Drawer’ was a heavyweight, the news spread like wildfire.
《‘Produce That 100!’ Rojun signs with ‘Culture Drawer’? ‘Culture Drawer’ confirms “It’s true, please support him”》
《Writer Rojun, ahead of the premiere of ‘Rental Lover', lands at ‘Culture Drawer', home to star writers!》
《Rojun signs with ‘Culture Drawer’... But which entertainment agency is he under as an idol?》
Within an hour, dozens of articles with slightly different headlines but similar content flooded the media.
《Culture Drawer’s first rookie writer is Writer Rojun/ Photo》
Naturally, this prompted reporters to start chasing the story, but many of these articles were intentionally seeded by the ‘Culture Drawer’ side. As a result, ‘Produce That 100!', ‘Culture Drawer', Kang Rojun, and ‘Rental Lover’ were repeatedly mentioned.
-Whoaahhhh Rojun joined an agency
-What are you talking about?? The final evaluation isn’t even over yet??
-He didn’t sign as an idolㅋㅋㅋ He signed a management deal as a writerㅋㅋㅋㅋ Just saw the article
-Rojun signed with Culture Drawer as a writerㅎㅎ
-Wow… Culture Drawer… Don’t they have a lot of famous writers and directors??
-This is wildㅋㅋㅋ An idol joining a company as a writer before officially debuting as an idol
Public opinion was in complete chaos.
-So what, Rojun’s going to have separate agencies for idol and writer work now??
-↑Yeah yeah, that’s how it’s gotta beㅋㅋㅋ Happens a lot in the idol industry, but this is the first time for a writer
-Why am I so happyㅠㅠㅠ
-If he signed with Culture Drawer, that means he’ll keep working as a writer too??? Will he have time? Doesn’t writing take a long time?
-At the Rental Lover production presentation, the PD said Writer Rojun works super fastㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Congrats, Rojun!!!!
Kang Rojun’s fans were busy celebrating and cheering for him, but some who were neither fans nor haters left negative comments. Rojun, who monitored real-time reactions, didn’t really care.
‘What are they even talking about, why are they so passionate about trashing someone. Must have way too much free time.’
Insults, criticism, finger-pointing, Kang Rojun had experienced them all to the point of exhaustion back when his face was still hideous. For someone hardened like stone, this was cute at best. Meanwhile, PD Woo Han-suk, who had helped 'Writer Rojun' a lot.
“So it happened, wow- Culture Drawer. He told me about it on the plane, but I didn’t think he’d really sign with Culture Drawer. Anyway, it’s good.”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong also became aware of the news.
“Impressive, Writer Rojun. Seems there’s nothing more I can do for you now? Kind of makes me feel a little empty. From now on, I’ll have to treat him strictly as a PD to a writer.”
Of course, it wasn’t just these two who read the article. Participants of ‘Produce That 100!', actors including Choi Rina, several people who had brushed paths with Kang Rojun, people in the broadcasting industry, and numerous entertainment companies drooling over Rojun, many others saw it too.
Meanwhile, currently active writers in Korea had a wide range of reactions.
Some were in awe at Kang Rojun, who was disrupting the ecosystem.
“Wow- Culture Drawer! Signed with them as soon as he debuted! I already thought it was crazy an idol was writing, but he went straight to a top-tier agency.”
Others were openly jealous.
“What is this, Culture Drawer must be slipping. Signing someone like that? They say they pick based on talent, but it’s clearly about popularity. I don’t like it.”
Rojun was a comet that had fallen from the sky, and within the writer community, talk about Kang Rojun never stopped these days. Whether praise or criticism.
Regardless.
《[Feature] Will 'Culture Drawer' member Writer Rojun's debut work 'Rental Lover' match the hype?》
The atmosphere was heating up.
At that time, near Cheongdam Station.
A tall standalone building with a large book-shaped sculpture hanging on the front. This was the headquarters of the major writer management agency, Culture Drawer, and familiar figures were gathered inside a conference room. At the window side of a ㄷ-shaped table sat Writer Han Seo-ryeong with her bobbed hair, currently looking at a tablet.
“......”
Across from her were Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa of Management Team 1, who handled the contract with Kang Rojun, and a few team members. Right now, Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa was updating Writer Han Seo-ryeong on the current status. Though she called it an update, it was basically a full report.
The topic was ‘Writer Rojun', who was heating up the media.
“This is something that’s already been shared with CEO Heo and the executive team, but Writer Rojun is handling far more projects than we expected.”
Still staring at the tablet, Writer Han Seo-ryeong slightly tilted her head.
“How many?”
“Three projects.”
“...Three?”
“Yes.”
As if demanding further explanation, Han Seo-ryeong shot a look, prompting Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa to continue.
“Two dramas and one film. One of the dramas was even in talks with Netflix Japan.”
“Not even domestic, so he got an overseas offer early on?”
“Yes. After taking over the handover documents, we checked and saw Netflix Japan had approached him first.”
“And now?”
“For now, we’ve told Netflix Japan that going forward, they should communicate directly with us.”
“How was their reaction?”
“They definitely sounded eager, and it looks like they’ll be coming to Korea soon. Right now, we’re in the dominant position. Writer Rojun had already built things up nicely in advance.”
Writer Han Seo-ryeong recalled the moment she met Rojun, when he crushed Team Leader Seo Woo-tae.
“He did seem pretty sharp.”
“Yes, I agree. As for the next drama script, I heard it’s currently with PD Jung Soo-ryeong, but she’s holding off for now since ‘Rental Lover’ is a priority.”
“What about the film? Where did he submit the script?”
“To BG Pictures, to Manager Jang Hak-seon. Seems it was passed through PD Jung.”
“Ah- that networker, Manager Jang?”
“Yes. But it seems he hasn’t contacted PD Jung yet. Maybe he didn’t like the script. If there’s any interest, PD Jung said she’d let us know.”
“When did she submit it?”
“A little over a week ago.”
“Still too early to judge, he might be in the middle of reading it. Or it could have progressed further.”
Writer Han Seo-ryeong, who had been tapping the table with her index finger, made a decision.
“‘BG Pictures’ doesn’t know that the script was written by Writer Rojun yet, right?”
“No.”
“If they don’t reach out in a few days, we’ll just pass. BG isn’t the only film company out there.”
“That’s right.”
“But if it’s something Writer Rojun really wants, we’ll have to secure BG Pictures somehow. Either way, BG is one of the top domestic film companies.”
Soon, Writer Han Seo-ryeong swept back her bobbed hair, removed her glasses, and let out a small laugh.
“Still, he really leaps over common sense, doesn’t he?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean Writer Rojun. When I met him, I thought he wasn’t ordinary, but who’d have guessed he was juggling three projects while doing ‘Produce That 100!’”
“...I almost dislocated my jaw when I heard too. And the movie script was written during his ‘Produce That 100!’ activities. The other scripts were revised too.”
“So, he’s more than just a genius at both his main and side jobs.”
Even for Writer Han Seo-ryeong, who had decades of experience and founded Culture Drawer, she had never seen a case like Kang Rojun’s.
At this moment, Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa joined in.
“Writer Rojun mentioned during the meeting that he can write scripts and screenplays in both Japanese and English without any problem."
“Both Japanese and English?”
“Yes. His Japanese has already been proven on ‘Produce That 100!', and for English, PD Jung Soo-ryeong vouches for him.”
“He’ll need to build a bit of a track record first… but maybe he could be the first or the fastest Korean writer to launch a work in Hollywood.”
Han Seo-ryeong smiled humbly, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Of course, the idol side might move faster.”
To this, Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa handed over several stacks of paper.
“These are the scripts and screenplays we received from Writer Rojun. Please read them when you have time.”
There was 'Like a Kaleidoscope' that had been sent to Netflix Japan, two scripts currently with PD Jung Soo-ryeong, and the screenplay passed to BG Pictures. Then, Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa let out a sincere word of admiration.
“I’m reading 'Like a Kaleidoscope' right now, and I’m so absorbed I can’t focus on work.”
Writer Han Seo-ryeong gave a happy groan.
“This is bad, I’ve got writing to do myself.”
A few days later.
The location was the 'Produce That 100!' campus. The time was early morning. Kang Rojun in his frequently used workout clothes came out of the dormitory.
“Phew- the weather’s great.”
With November beginning, the once-warm weather had turned a bit chilly.
"I'll need to wear a windbreaker starting tomorrow."
After warming up, Rojun began running in a nearby park. His usual morning running or daily mission that he never missed. Today, Kang Rojun ran an extra hour compared to usual. Because 'Produce That 100!' had entered a break after the final evaluation performance, he decided this was the perfect time to build up stamina.
After running for quite a while, his black hair swaying as he moved.
“Huff- haah.”
He slowed his breathing and relaxed his legs. Time for final stretching. Next was strength training. As he moved, Rojun pulled out his phone. He first searched his own name, then switched to searching 'Produce That 100!'
The articles popped up instantly.
《Finally, it’s the 6th! Episode 16 of ‘Produce That 100!’ airs tonight at 9 PM... Fans already hyped for ‘final evaluation performance’/ Photo》
Next came ‘Rental Lover’.
《[Issue Pick] The hot drama ‘Rental Lover’ premieres tonight, the 6th, at 7:45 PM!》
Today was the 6th.
“Once the ‘Rental Lover’ premiere ends, ‘Produce That 100!’ kicks off right after.”
Which meant a string of bombs would go off in just a few hours.
*****
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