Ch.70I realized.

The entertainment industry is an ecosystem that moves faster than anyone else in response to public opinion, and sometimes leads trends to dominate public discourse.

Because of this, there were many opportunities to access the latest information before anyone else.

“Hm? What’s this?”

The junior staff member of ST Entertainment’s marketing team expressed confusion while looking at an article that had just been published.

“Kim Donghu, is his contract ending soon…?”

Before Gil-dong’s article flooded the real-time search rankings.

The junior staff member, who was the first to see the article, blinked twice.

Then immediately asked a question to his senior who was working beside him.

“Senior, do you know how many years Kim Donghu’s contract is for?”

“How would I know that? There’s no information out there. But generally speaking, it’s probably more than 5 years, right?”

“But what if it’s just a one-year contract?”

“What?”

“What if Kim Donghu isn’t typical, and he only signed for one year with plans to work elsewhere after that?”

“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting? Did you eat rat poison for lunch?”

The senior was annoyed, and instead of answering, the junior copied the article link and sent it as a message.

“…Veritas’ next nest is where?”

The moment he read the article title.

A thought process only possible for someone who had been in the entertainment industry for a long time unfolded instantly.

‘Kim Donghu said he would take a break this year.’

It’s a well-known story.

He had already announced that he wouldn’t do any projects except for advertisements.

But what if the reason wasn’t simply for rest?

‘Is he doing this to make his journey to find a new nest more comfortable?’

It wasn’t completely nonsensical.

No, it was actually quite a reasonable thought.

‘The reason companies usually sign multi-year contracts with newcomers is because they need to develop them.’

Idol trainees, aspiring actors, and so on.

They typically have long contract periods because companies need to recoup their investment after developing talent.

But what about Kim Donghu?

‘He doesn’t need development time.’

From the beginning, Kim Donghu broke through the High Dream audition with pure skill.

Of course, having good skills and being commercially successful are different stories.

But Kim Donghu had perfectly proven himself in this aspect too.

Performance? Every drama he appeared in had at least 30% viewership.

In films, he won four Mise-en-scène awards, and his commercial film debut reached 10 million viewers.

So, the probability of Kim Donghu signing a long-term first contract?

‘0%.’

The calculation comes out.

The math quickly adds up.

“Hey, good job. Contact the person who wrote this article now, fact-check it, and gather information.”

“Yes, what?”

“I’m going to report this to the higher-ups, so get ready to be busy.”

Whoooooosh.

It was the moment a bomb dropped on the entertainment industry.

+++++

Five hours after the article about Kim Donghu’s contract was published.

The real-time search rankings were already flooded,

and follow-up articles were pouring out non-stop.

Ring ring ring ring.

Ring ring ring ring.

Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling.

Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling.

Gil-dong quietly watched as the telephone and cell phone in front of him rang frantically.

“You… can you really handle this?”

Even his senior came over to ask worriedly.

But Gil-dong’s expression was remarkably calm.

“It’s not like I touched politics, buried someone, or wrote something malicious, so what’s there to handle?”

“You say that after stirring up Kim Donghu?! He’s a minor!”

“I know he’s a minor. But I didn’t write anything bad about him.”

“…”

The senior couldn’t respond to Gil-dong’s words.

Because it was true.

“Besides, it’s just a light article with somewhat ambiguous content.”

“You’re not wrong… but it might not be a one-year contract.”

“At first, I was just going to test the waters and quickly take it down if it wasn’t true.”

But that wasn’t the case.

Gil-dong showed several articles in succession.

“…Could the reason for Kim Donghu’s recent break be because of his contract? To look for a new nest?”

“If you only read that far, you might think, ‘What is this trash?’ But the entertainment company’s behavior afterward is very strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“Don’t look at me, look at the screen. You’ll see the calculation.”

“…”

The senior looked at the screen with a curious expression.

‘Gil-dong’s article only asked if the contract was ending… but the subsequent articles are making definitive statements.’

There were no question marks.

And what made it most convincing was Veritas’s behavior.

It was a one-person agency,

and if false news about the contract of the only actor from such an agency was spreading?

They should normally respond strongly.

‘They weren’t responding at all.’

In this situation, no response was indeed the best choice.

If they didn’t add any fuel, the fire would die down quickly.

It could be seen as good handling, but.

Conversely, it was also a response that provided solid evidence.

‘They really did sign a one-year contract with Kim Donghu.’

Nothing was certain.

“We’d need to hear Veritas’s official position to be 100% accurate, but why would they announce that their contract with an actor is ending?”

But all circumstances indicated that Kim Donghu’s contract was ending.

In this situation, there was no need for a correction article.

“Other guys might just be guessing the situation, but I’m different.”

“How are you different?”

“I roughly know when Kim Donghu signed his contract.”

“What?”

“You weren’t at the scene back then, senior.”

Gil-dong still remembered that time.

That cold winter, when Kim Donghu, who always came to the set alone, arrived in a van.

‘If the contract started from that point, it would already be over, and if not…’

Gil-dong quickly wrote another article with confidence from where he sat.

“Kim Donghu FA, Where Will the Released Beast Find His Home?”

A somewhat chuunibyou-like article.

But regardless, the views multiplied.

Originally, the more primitive and emotionally stimulating the words, the more they appeal to instinct.

Of course, people couldn’t help but be curious.

And as more articles like this came out.

“Ugh… hnngh…”

Choi Seokho showed signs of anxiety as he pulled at his hair.

Ring ring ring ring.

Ring ring ring ring.

Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling.

Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling.

Just like Gil-dong,

all devices that could contact Seokho were ringing like they were on fire.

Even knowing that no response was the best option right now, his heart was pounding.

‘I’ll have to bring up the contract renewal now.’

Tremble tremble tremble.

How should I say it? Will he even agree to renew?

How many people are sending emails to Kim Donghu right now?

Amid such worries.

The subject of this incident, Kim Donghu, was currently.

“Ah, I’ve realized it.”

Witnessing an incredible truth before his eyes.

++++++

Why did Sims – Real Life recommend a one-person agency?

Why did it make him join a new agency when he could have had a major company’s infrastructure?

This concern that had been bothering him recently was completely resolved by the articles being scattered everywhere.

‘There’s no autonomy.’

Major company infrastructure? Of course, it was incredibly good.

What you could use, what they had,

it was clearly solid due to the years they had built up.

But.

‘I can’t do as I please.’

No matter how favorable the profit distribution might be.

Once you join such a large place, you have to work to maximize profits.

‘And I can’t freely choose models either.’

The bigger the company, the more likely strange rumors would spread.

But Veritas had none of these constraints.

Regarding investing in Shin Yerim as a model,

Seokho’s response showed this.

‘He said let’s have a meeting first.’

As the situation unfolded this way, Kim Donghu’s view of Veritas changed.

Before, it was simply an agency that handled complicated matters.

But now, it was more like.

‘It’s like my own company with a professional manager.’

Even the profit distribution showed this.

Of course, the ratio would change for the company’s benefit if he renewed his contract.

But the current ratio was 9:1.

It was understandable even if people called Seokho a figurehead.

‘It’s the perfect place to develop Yerim as a model and invest in Kangsik’s game funds.’

Being a new agency with few staff, there was also no worry about information leaking.

It was literally an agency I could develop according to my taste.

Now that I’ve reached a clear conclusion, should I go see him?

I ignored all the calls and messages from unknown numbers.

And emails from who-knows-where.

My own agency that I’m developing.

Veritas.

‘I’m renewing the contract.’

I suddenly remembered the comments on the first article that was published.

‘Was it like “If you want to contract with me, try to catch me”?’

If I had to add a slightly cringeworthy sentiment to answer:

‘What would you do if you caught me? I’m the one who gets to choose.’

Ugh.

After saying that much, I barely straightened my cringing limbs and headed to the agency.

As soon as I opened the office door, I immediately blurted out:

“Seokho hyung, shall we renew the contract right away?”

“Huh, huh? Uh, yes?”

Had he been worrying a lot?

I could see hair that had fallen on Seokho hyung’s desk.

I was even worried he might get bald spots.

But regardless, Seokho hyung asked with a disbelieving expression:

“Wh-what did you say?”

“Let’s renew the contract, and this time not for just one year, but for a long time.”

As soon as he heard those words, Seokho hyung.

“Huheunghung!”

He cried.

‘First Director Lee Seongdeok, and now him.’

Why do grown adults cry with a “huheunghung”?

It’s truly baffling.

+++++

While the internet was heating up over Kim Donghu’s contract issue.

His fans weren’t actually aware of the news.

“…He’s really incredible.”

Especially Jieun-bi, 18, an ardent fan who had been supporting Kim Donghu since High Dream.

She was watching Kim Donghu on TV with her mouth wide open.

He looked incredibly handsome in traditional Korean clothes.

And that intense gaze was unbelievable.

And as if to prove how amazing his acting skills were.

Episode 6 achieved a viewership rating of 32.6%.

There was one program PD who was closely watching this progress.

“Just a little more, when Kim Donghu grows a bit more… let’s try to cast him then.”

“Huh?”

“For a child actor special… Kim Donghu is good at sports too, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Not doing variety shows with that face is truly a crime.”

A program with the concept of running like crazy!

<Rushman!> PD Joo Hojin eyed Kim Donghu with sharp eyes.

And he wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

“He said he’s taking a break this year? Okay, I understand.”

Then next year, the year after, or the year after that.

I’ll keep in contact and definitely get him to appear on variety shows.

All variety show PDs began to covet Kim Donghu.