I blinked.
…Ina is currently standing at a critical crossroads that will determine whether she becomes a washed-up, failed actress or a Cannes Best Actress Award winner?
It wasn't surprising that she would win a Cannes Best Actress Award in the future. She was an actress fully capable of achieving exactly that.
Even though Hyunah's acting skills had leaped forward since taking on a villainous role, she was still nowhere near Ina's level.
There was a reason her current rank was SS-rank and her potential was evaluated as EX-rank.
The problem was—
If things go wrong, she could become a washed-up flop? An actress of Ina Kim's level?
Well, it wasn't exactly impossible.
How many top actors had fallen from grace and quietly faded into obscurity over the years?
The catch was that, in Ina's case, there wasn't really anything that could trigger such a downfall…
Her personality might be absolute trash, but she doesn't have any scandalous baggage that could blow up.
Having spent three years right by her side, I knew that better than anyone.
Ina's private life was spotless.
She took her temper out on the managers around her, but thanks to her meticulous image management, her public reputation was ridiculously good.
Someone inside Star Entertainment could expose her true colors, but since I was the one managing her for the past three years, no one else really had the ammunition to pull it off.
Unless I leak the voice recordings I've been quietly amassing all this time, there's no reason for her career to derail…
But right then—
[You are worrying about the future of Actress Ina Kim!]
Wait, no, I'm not?!
I frantically denied it, but the appraisal window continued on its own.
[Would you like to perform a special appraisal on the cause of Ina Kim's downfall?]
I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Not because I was worried about her at all, but simply because I was curious.
This is important, so I'll emphasize it again.
I am not worried! Absolutely not!
[Cause of Ina Kim's downfall: Making the wrong choice for her next project.]
…Huh?
I blinked.
But Ina's eye for picking scripts has always been decent.
No matter how great your acting is, you can't succeed as an actor if you can't choose the right projects.
Her personality might be F-rank, but as a top-tier actress, she chose her projects meticulously without making any compromises.
Granted, that didn't mean she only picked surefire hits. But who was Ina Kim?
Even if she chose a B-rank project, she was the overpowered munchkin in the acting world who would hard-carry it with her insane talent and drag it to success regardless.
Perhaps… she ends up choosing a project with some serious issues?
Just as that thought crossed my mind…
"Manager? Are you worried that Actress Ina Kim might bully you again?"
Hyunah lowered her voice, looking at me with concern.
"Don't worry! You're my manager now. If anyone tries to mess with you, I'll rip their hair out to protect you!"
"Haha… Thank you, even if it's just lip service."
"I'm completely serious, though?"
"???"
Judging by the wild glint in Hyunah's eyes, she really did seem dead serious.
…It had been a while since I'd been to a film set, which meant it was also a while since I'd last seen Hyunah act—
She's improved a lot.
And for good reason.
[Hyunah Lim]
Type: Actress
Rank: A
Potential: S
Her rank had climbed all the way up to A-rank.
Although she hadn't reached her S-rank potential yet, considering her rank was D-rank when I first met her, this was a massive leap.
So A-rank basically means an ace in their field?
I couldn't be entirely sure, but judging from my experience so far, while A-rank wasn't quite a superstar yet, it represented a level of undeniable talent that anyone in the industry would recognize.
For an actor, it would be around the level of a critically acclaimed veteran.
Then S-rank is top-tier, S+ is elite among the elite, and SS-rank is the unrivaled best?
People might call this a setting straight out of a trashy web novel with terrible power scaling, but the entertainment industry really was a place plagued by severe power creep.
Whether it came to actors or musicians, there were so many top-tier figures that you genuinely needed to sort them into sub-tiers.
…Though it still made me cringe a bit every time I saw terms like S-rank or SS-rank, which absolutely reeked of cheap pulp fiction.
"You bitch! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do."
Glaring with eyes that burned with fury, Hyunah delivered her line right at the main lead, Ina.
Her acting was so gripping that the staff on set couldn't help but hold their breath.
At that level, shouldn't she be S-rank instead of A-rank?
[Hyunah Lim]
[Currently delivering an (S-rank) performance beyond her usual abilities because her most trusted and favorite person (Chanwoo Lim) is watching her!]
I stared at the appraisal window with a complicated expression.
You really didn't need to tell me that.
Of course, the one shining brightest on set wasn't Hyunah.
While she was still growing, there was already a fully realized, overpowered munchkin of an actress here.
"…Do you really think you can walk away unscathed after what you've done? I will never forgive you."
Sorrowful.
Yet radiating a fierce resolve.
Down to the icy hostility directed at her opponent.
The main character was Ina, who perfectly channeled all those complex emotions through nothing but her gaze and a brief line.
As an actress, she truly was flawless.
She looks even better than before. She still had room to grow?
[Ina Kim is delivering a peak performance today! Would you like to appraise?]
I firmly selected 'No.'
I didn't particularly care to know.
Anyway, this movie is going to be a massive hit.
The script was great, and the actors were excellent. Not to mention the directing skills of Director Hansung Lee, who had already helmed two ten-million-viewer hits.
A massive success was practically guaranteed!
[Would you like to appraise the box office performance of Crime Society?]
Without much thought, I selected 'Yes.'
But then—
[Crime Society]
Verdict: Modest Hit
Huh? That's it?
Of course, a modest hit wasn't a bad result by any means. The phrasing could be misleading, but a hit was still a hit. It meant it would perform above average.
Even so, considering the sheer scale of Crime Society, it fell far short of expectations.
[The box office outlook has been downgraded from a big hit due to an issue that arose with the film!]
What kind of issue would downgrade a project that was originally meant to be a big hit?
I started to wonder, but then I stopped myself.
Why do I even care? It's not like I'm the one making it.
The only reason I interfered last time was out of concern that a trainwreck of a script like kimpitang would ruin the movie and hurt Hyunah's future.
But a modest hit just meant it was slightly disappointing compared to expectations; it wouldn't ruin anyone's career.
Time to mind my own business…
"Well, look who it is! If it isn't our Star Chanwoo Lim?"
A voice filled with warmth rang out.
It was Director Hansung Lee.
Ever since I helped him out back then, he had been keeping in touch quite often to express his gratitude.
He kept offering to buy me a drink as a thank you, but I had been turning him down because I hated losing my free time after work.
"Are you busy today as well? I really want to treat our star to a drink."
I was about to refuse this time too.
Director Lee wasn't a bad guy, but hanging out with him couldn't beat watching NetFlicks with a view of the Han River from my penthouse.
If I'm going to drink anyway, doing it alone while looking out at the Han River just tastes better.
Even cheap convenience store beer transformed into a taste of pure paradise the moment you paired it with that view.
However—
[Hansung Lee]
[Currently in deep agony over an issue that has arisen with the film. He wants to ask for your advice.]
* * *
In the end, I agreed to go grab drinks with the director.
"I should have treated you sooner, but our star is just so busy. Anyway, I bought an especially expensive bottle today, so let's drink up."
I looked at the bottle that had been brought to our private room.
Valvenie 18-year-old. It really was an expensive liquor.
Ordering something like this at a private room bar would easily cost well over 1 million won.
I have an even more expensive one at home, though. A Valvenie 30-year-old.
Well, I bought it more as an interior decoration than for actual drinking.
Either way, I could feel that the director was genuinely trying to go all out to treat me.
"Thank you, I'll enjoy it!"
As I'd mentioned before, while he was a fierce tiger toward actors on set, to everyone else, he was just an easygoing guy who felt like a friendly neighbor or an older brother.
Thanks to that, drinking with him turned out to be a genuinely good time.
However, I couldn't just sit back and enjoy myself the whole time.
Once we were both a little tipsy, I spoke up.
"By any chance, is there something about the movie that's keeping you up?"
Director Lee's face instantly darkened.
"Haha, as expected of our star. Actually, there is something I wanted to consult you about."
"With me?"
"We had to change part of the script, and I was wondering if you could take a look at it? I feel like your eye for these things is incredibly sharp."
I tilted my head.
"The script? Wasn't the original one already great?"
"Well… we ran into an issue with our investors. CB Securities backed out, leaving a massive hole in our budget, so we had no choice but to revise the script."
"Ah…"
CB Securities was the investment firm that kept pushing for that hot mess of a kimpitang script. Since the director had reverted the changes, it looked like they pulled their funding.
Director Lee hurriedly shook his head and added.
"I don't regret changing the script for a single second. If we had done what CB Securities wanted, the movie would have completely bombed even with their money."
He handed over a stack of papers.
"This is the revised synopsis based on our new budget. I'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts, so don't feel pressured!"
I nodded and took the papers.
It was a summarized synopsis rather than the full script, so it didn't take long to read through.
The overall trajectory was similar to the original, but a few crucial parts had been altered.
"It doesn't seem bad."
"…Really?"
"Yes. It's just not bad—nothing more."
In other words, it wasn't good either.
The prediction from my 'Appraise' ability for this new script was also a modest hit.
"…I figured as much."
A gloomy shadow fell over the director's face, as if he had already sensed it himself.
"The original script was so much better. Are you short by a lot?"
"Even if we cut every possible corner, we're still about 3 billion won short. As you know, the climate in the movie industry isn't great right now, so once CB Securities pulled out, others became hesitant to invest too."
A wave of disappointment washed over me.
[Original Script: Big Hit Expected]
It was a bit disappointing to think a guaranteed blockbuster script had to be butchered into an ugly mess all because of money.
But then again, it's a bit too much for me to invest.
The 40 million won for Sena wasn't a big deal, but 3 billion won was a whole different story.
I'd have to save up my rent for nearly ten months—or eight, to be exact.
Hmm… I only need to save up for eight months, so maybe it's worth taking the plunge?
However, I shook my head.
The return on investment seemed too low for the amount of capital required.
Unless it becomes a mega-hit… you know, a movie that draws over ten million viewers.
But right then, it happened.
[Verdict can be upgraded if specific improvements are made to the original script.]
[Mega-Hit (10 Million Views) Guaranteed!!!]
I swallowed hard.
Well, if that's the case, this changes everything…
"Should I look into finding an investor for you?"
"Are you serious?!"
"Yes. There's an amazing chairman I know named BH."
The director's face lit up with immense joy.
"In exchange, I have two conditions."
"Conditions? And two of them?"
"First, we'll increase the investment from 3 billion won to 5 billion won."
Since it's a guaranteed win anyway, it's better to bet big.
Needless to say, the larger the investment, the bigger the share of the profits.
Besides, whether it was 3 billion or 5 billion won, it only amounted to a four-month difference in rent anyway.
The director welcomed the idea with open arms.
"I'd be more than grateful for a condition like that. After all, the bigger the budget, the better the final film will be."
The real hurdle was the second condition.
"Please modify the script exactly the way I tell you to."
Just as expected, the director's expression stiffened completely.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside the head director's office at Star Entertainment.
A shocking conversation was currently taking place…
"…Are you saying Team 5 will be handling Ebony's third album comeback?"
They were referring to Star Entertainment's absolute trainwreck of a failed girl group.
Ebony.
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