Chapter 71: Do you like kids?

PD Choi Heewon, writer Lee Geum-sook, and Kim Yi-seo.

The three of them had gathered in one place, engaged in a heated discussion.

“PPL, huh… Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about it…”

“Even if we include it, we can’t make it too obvious. It can’t have prolonged screen time either. It should be inserted subtly, as if passing by.”

“Of course. The story comes first, not the advertisement.”

They were actively discussing the insertion of the CF for ‘Extreme,’ the drink that Sua had brought, as PPL in Special Task Force 808.

Huh? Are they proceeding without Sua?

No way! Sua is here too!

‘…What is this?’

Sua tilted her head in confusion.

All she had wanted was to quickly finish this conversation and go eat beef. But before she knew it, the barracks had turned into a conference room.

And somehow, they were deep in discussion—without her.

Of course, it wasn’t that Sua was being excluded.

From their perspective, they didn’t want to bother Sua, who had just finished filming the climax scene. And for Sua, it was actually a relief. If they started bombarding her with questions, things would just get messy.

‘I’ll just eat my beef quietly.’

Lately, Sua had been obsessed with Arctic fox videos. On MyTube, there was a video titled “An Arctic Fox’s Reaction to Eating Beef for the First Time.”

It looked so delicious.

Yes, this must be fate.

Sua had to enjoy her beef.

Just as she picked up a piece with her chopsticks—

“Sua-ssi.”

“Ah, yes.”

At PD Choi Heewon’s call, Sua hastily put down her chopsticks. Image management. Image management…

“I’m really sorry for keeping you when you should be resting. But I feel like we need your input…?”

“I don’t mind. Please, go ahead.”

As Sua joined the discussion, writer Lee Geum-sook spoke up. She looked rather serious, as if she had a headache.

“Sua, first, I want you to know that the three of us trust your judgment more than anyone else. There must be a reason you chose this CF, right?”

“Yes.”

Of course, of course!

Sua barely held back those words.

She had a solid reason. She checked her special perk window.

[Energy Drink CF / Extreme]

· Grade 2

(…Currently under recalibration…)

A compelling reason backed by her special perk—it was a Grade 2 CF. And since they were discussing its insertion as PPL, it was undergoing various recalibrations.

Isn’t it obvious to have high expectations?

Sua didn’t want to give up on this advertisement.

So she nodded once more.

“Yes. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

“Hmm, I understand your position, Sua.”

Writer Lee Geum-sook nodded in agreement.

“But, Sua.”

“Yes?”

“The problem is that it’s an energy drink. PPL—indirect advertising—needs to be subtle and natural. But there’s no scene where it would fit seamlessly.”

“…I completely understand.”

This time, PD Choi Heewon spoke up.

“Lee Kang-chul would never even glance at an energy drink, and at this point in the story, it would be odd for Kim Yuhan to be looking for one. There really isn’t a suitable place to insert it.”

Sua tilted her head.

‘Not suitable?’

Strangely, a scene where it could fit naturally popped into her head.

Maybe it was because of her script experience, or perhaps it was purely her special perk at work.

Sua spoke up.

“Kim Yuhan is about to have a scene where he protects the children from danger, right? To reassure them, he jokes around and draws cute things for them.”

“Yes. I know what scene you’re talking about.”

“What if he buys a bunch of drinks from a vending machine then? Of course, it’d be weird if he only got energy drinks, but if he picks a variety and one of them happens to be an energy drink…”

“Oh?”

Writer Lee Geum-sook and PD Choi Heewon reacted simultaneously.

Even Kim Yi-seo seemed surprised, as if she hadn’t considered that possibility.

Soon, writer Lee Geum-sook clicked her tongue in amazement.

“It actually seems fine. Since it’s mixed in with other drinks, it doesn’t even feel like product placement, and it doesn’t take up much screen time.”

“Yes. Most importantly, it looks natural.”

“I agree too. It’s not a difficult scene for Sua to act in either.”

PD Choi Heewon and Kim Yi-seo quickly voiced their support. At this point, the product placement for the drink was practically confirmed.

But then, Lee Geum-sook suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm, but Sua.”

She glanced at Sua cautiously.

“Do you… like children?”

“Yes.”

Without any hesitation, Sua nodded. She absolutely adored the unique charm that children had.

‘Is she worried the kids might misbehave?’

To Sua, that concern seemed completely unfounded.

She always felt she had a natural affinity with children.

She had never encountered a child who refused to listen to her. It was proof that there really was no such thing as a bad child in this world.

“Oh… If that’s the case, then that’s a relief…”

The others also nodded, but their thoughts were quite the opposite of Sua’s.

‘What if the kids are too scared of Sua?’

‘Will this really be okay for the children…?’

‘Convincing the parents is going to be tough.’

They were all worried about the children.

Now, it was time to check in on From Tomorrow, Crescendo.

After PD Choi Heewon and writer Lee Geum-sook left, Kim Yi-seo stepped out of the barracks and pulled out her phone.

She was about to call the PD from From Tomorrow, Crescendo, someone she had exchanged numbers with earlier.

Beep— Beep—

The dial tone rang as she waited for the other person to pick up.

But at that moment—

“There’s no need for you to call the production team.”

A sudden voice interrupted her.

Kim Yi-seo, who had been focused on her phone, instinctively froze.

The voice was strangely familiar.

And when she turned her head, she was even more surprised.

“…Huh? Director Go Tae-min?”

The person standing before her was none other than Director Go Tae-min.

He looked exactly the same as she remembered.

A frail build with sunken eyes, as if he had sold his soul to art itself. He resembled an ancient tree that had withered for the sake of its craft.

“Yes, it’s me. Thanks for recognizing me so quickly.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize you. Considering who you are.”

“Anyway, that person won’t be answering your call. I already told them in advance. I made it clear that there was no need for them to take the call since I planned to visit in person.”

Kim Yi-seo put her phone back into her pocket.

“If you’re personally coming here, then…”

“Actually, the reason I originally came to this set was because of Do-hee. She had strongly expressed her desire to be part of my project, and I admired her passion. That’s why I wanted to see for myself how she had changed.”

“Park Do-hee’s acting was truly outstanding.”

Kim Yi-seo recalled Park Do-hee’s performance, one that was filled with—

No, one that was practically overflowing with emotion.

Just how much courage had it taken for her to act like that in front of the camera?

…But honestly, she didn’t want Mystic Entertainment’s actors to have to go through something like that.

It was impressive, sure, but still.

“Then, if you were here for Do-hee, why did you come to see me? I don’t have any particular connection with her.”

“I already met with Do-hee. I told her I was impressed by her remarkable growth and encouraged her to keep working hard. But…”

Go Tae-min smirked.

“…After arriving on set today, I changed my mind. I plan to have a different conversation with the Mystic Entertainment representative. A conversation I didn’t have with Do-hee’s side.”

At that moment, Kim Yi-seo’s business instincts kicked in.

It was an intuition she had developed naturally over time.

Ah, so this was going to turn into a business discussion.

And if even a renowned director like Go Tae-min was the one bringing it up, it had to be something big.

Go Tae-min continued speaking.

“Sua is truly impressive in many ways.”

“I feel the same. She’s always unpredictable.”

Kim Yi-seo was being sincere.

Now, Sua was officially part of Mystic Entertainment.

Sometimes, she felt like she was finally getting used to her, but then Sua would always find a way to surprise everyone—

And in the most unexpected ways.

Go Tae-min went on.

“The incident with the sound team… You were there too, right? From what I saw, it seems like she’s studied sound engineering a bit. And she has a solid grasp of English as well.”

“That’s right.”

“I couldn’t help but think, Wow, CEO Kim really went all out. How did you even go overseas and bring back such a disruptive species?”

“Overseas… A disruptive species…”

Kim Yi-seo paused to think.

But what was there to think about?

‘Honestly, even I don’t know much about Sua’s past.’

However, she quickly shook off the thought.

‘No, just from the circumstances alone, it’s clear she’s from overseas. And besides, Go Tae-min is an opportunity that I absolutely cannot afford to lose. This is not the time to waste energy explaining minor details.’

Her mind quickly reached a conclusion.

Now was not the time to explain everything about Sua in meticulous detail.

Now was the time to turn Go Tae-min’s interest into a business opportunity.

A massive one.

Kim Yi-seo gave a slight nod.

“First of all, thank you for your compliments on our actress. Should I be looking forward to what you’re about to propose?”

“Good. It’s about time we got to the main point.”

Go Tae-min pulled out his phone.

The calendar app was open on the screen.

“Pick a date for Mystic.”

“A date?”

“Yes. This is, after all, the set of 808. If we’re going to discuss something else, we should properly set a time and place.”

“In other words, you want to schedule a meeting?”

Go Tae-min nodded, and Kim Yi-seo swallowed dryly.

‘A meeting with a renowned director.’

And when she looked at his calendar—

She was even more shocked.

‘What the—? It’s completely empty.’

His schedule was entirely blank.

There was no way a director of Go Tae-min’s caliber had such a free schedule.

Even just checking her own schedule, or that of Mystic’s actors, would show how tightly packed everything was.

Which meant—

‘He’s willing to adjust to our availability?’

Kim Yi-seo realized, once again, that something insane was happening.

But this was an opportunity she could not afford to miss.

It was also clear that someone who showed this level of sincerity shouldn’t be kept waiting.

So, she chose the earliest possible date.

“There’s no need for a long wait. How about three days from now?”

“Three days? Sounds good.”

Go Tae-min nodded.

“Then, Mystic should review this over the next three days.”

“Oh? And what is this?”

Instead of answering, Go Tae-min handed her a paper envelope.

On the front, written in marker, were the words From Tomorrow, Crescendo.

Inside, of course, was a script.

“…!”

Kim Yi-seo had to make a conscious effort to suppress her surprise.

After all, this was practically a direct casting offer from the director himself.

The next day.

At the tvS broadcasting station’s drama conference room, the director sat alone, reviewing various things on his tablet.

His expression was not good.