Chapter 816: Winning or Losing Doesn’t Matter (4)

Last year’s E Sports Idolympics stirred up massive buzz once again!

As soon as the live broadcast ended, posts began flooding entertainment communities.

[At this hour, the unbearably smug Sun Wooju Instagram]

A selfie with an inexplicably arrogant expression.

Below it, a newly edited profile line.

@tjsdnwn [Follow]

☆ NewBlack’s Supreme Game God ★

People burst into laughter.

Ah, this pisses me off so much lololololol

It’s more annoying because he’s handsome

NewBlack’s Supreme Game God (fact)

4Black: 6th place / Sun Wooju: 5th place

nod

Wooju, do you know what “same difference” means??

Honestly they’re all about the same lol

I think NewBlack just sucks at games in general

The ones who drew the most attention in the preliminaries were 4Black.

Partly because of their popularity, but mostly because of every embarrassing thing they showed during the games.

Idol you absolutely do NOT want to meet in a zombie game #1) Ri Hyuk

When an idol can’t distinguish game from reality

Biju “Turned to Dust Ver.”

From Ri Hyuk’s selfish playstyle, to Kim Junhyun dying after confusing his game character with reality.

And then there was Biju’s clip, set to the classic song “Turned to Dust.”

Turned to dust~

The moment Biju’s sniper character scattered like dust the instant the safe zone passed was uploaded to MyTube’s trending videos.

LOLLLLLLLLL this is killing me

Now I get why NewBlack works so hard in real life... it’s because they suck at games

If you’re bad at games you gotta work hard in reality

Wait, does someone with no sense of direction get lost in games too???

Yeah seems like it

I don’t know much about games but I can tell they’re bad lol

People everywhere were roasting 4Black’s game skills.

Naturally, game communities were no different.

“Idol Olympics? They did that again?”

They remembered because last year Sun Wooju had gone viral for his absurd gameplay.

But this time 4Black was the hot topic.

“They were as bad as Sun Wooju, apparently...”

“Is that even possible?”

Game users who had that thought watched the videos and gasped.

You guys should never touch a game again

They’ve got every single trait of bad gamers evenly distributed lol

This isn’t even about control, it’s a personality issue lol they’re all so different it’s impossible to function as a team

How are they even on the same team

Ta-da, that’s spaceship group project teamwork for you

Sun Wooju teacher still stuck in a group project for four years now...

NewBlack was being posted about all over various communities.

Clickbait posts with NewBlack photos attached!

[Common Traits of People Who Are Bad at Games]

(NewBlack pictorial)

They’re handsome and rich

What if you’re ugly and broke?

Oh...

They’re allowed to be bad

Their fans are insanely good instead

LOL seriously if you see usernames with Souffle in them they’re all cracked

If you’re bad you get hit with the “your oppa” line lol

I don’t even hate NewBlack but their fans have killed me too many times ffs just kill me

What’s your username?

Seated Wooju hehe opposite of Sun Wooju

Just die already

While Idolympics stories were popping up everywhere—

In this atmosphere, there was one person who felt the most wronged.

[Rough breaking news) NewBlack maknae vents on Y App broadcast]

Jiho had turned on a Y App live and was pleading not to lump him together with his older members.

Honestly Jiho has a right to feel wronged

Reminds me of a professor giving the whole team a C because teammates slacked

He kind of hard carried though lol

Why is it so funny when he snorts every time they tease him about being bad at games lol that’s why people keep teasing him

I’m listening with earbuds and it’s so cute and funny lol every time a comment pops up he goes “fwoooong” and blows into the mic

Breaking) When Souffles said “Isn’t NewBlack one?” the maknae replied “Right now we’re five.”

[Breaking] Wangmo: “My real skill didn’t come out.” Fans murmuring “What are you, a legendary Japanese first team?”

Why does he look like Wangmochi today lol

The more he reacted, the more the fans teased NewBlack’s maknae.

Meanwhile.

Among all the humorous Idolympics posts, one image went viral among idol fans.

[5-year idol who reportedly assembled juniors today]

A photo of idols politely clasping their hands and listening intently to someone speaking.

Opposite them was Junhyun, looking like a university professor mid-lecture.

People blinked.

“What’s this situation?”

The explanation beneath the photo:

His Idolympics nickname was “If you kill me I’ll buy you beef,” so he bought them beef.

LOLLLLLL

Cute

What is Junhyun even saying there

A rookie posted a review and said he mainly gave advice about stage and promotions

Gotta focus when you’re listening to a top instructor lol

Direct lecture from the number one tutor lol

You can’t resist that lol

Wait did Junhyun go alone?? Didn’t the other 4Black members feel left out

Everyone assumed he must have told them in advance.

But not long after, Junhyun uploaded a post on his SNS.

A photo of himself standing blankly in front of a door.

@Sweet_Potato

When I got home, the door was locked.

Then another photo.

Through the narrow gap in the door chain, four members were glaring like sulky puppies.

Souffles burst into laughter.

After the younger members showed truly pathetic performances at Idolympics—

“Good grief. So pathetic.”

“They say younger siblings grow up watching their older brothers.”

“.......”

Since it felt like only emotional scars would remain, we decided to bury the Idolympics topic.

That day the maknae had been so dejected that we had to cheer him up by buying him meat. He asked for a copy of some game called Breath of the Wild, so we bought that too.

Fortunately, our maknae quickly returned to normal.

“Ahhh. I feel good~”

“Why?”

“Sbo and Teen Spirit got eliminated in preliminaries too. Hahahahaha!”

Our maknae faithfully practiced the saying, “Someone else’s misfortune is my happiness.”

I asked about the two groups’ eliminations.

“I get Sbo, they’re bad. But Teen Spirit got knocked out in prelims?”

“Yes.”

“That’s weird.”

If there was one thing the boys downstairs were passionate about, it was games.

Every time we visited, they were gaming.

Stealing cars and smashing up cities. Controlling soccer players like dark sorcerers. All sorts of things.

Kids who merged with games like addicts, crumbs stuck to their lips, getting eliminated in prelims?

“There’s a funny reason, hyung.”

The maknae said.

“They said they couldn’t focus because of the cameras.”

“Why?”

“They were managing their expressions.”

“Ah....”

Now I understood.

Those instinctive exclamations that burst out during games.

They must have been suppressing the “damn it” rising in their chests, unable to focus.

In front of cameras, even when you’re furious, you have to keep smiling.

“No wonder they never talked about Idolympics.”

“Told you there’s always a reason.”

When we attended the Korea Music Awards at Gocheok Dome, they hadn’t even mentioned the word “game.”

So that was why.

After we won our awards, they just said “Congratulations...” in a strangely wistful tone and disappeared.

Well. Anyway—

“Korea Music Awards, NewBlack sweeps three Grand Prizes... ‘No surprises.’”

At the Korea Music Awards, which considers last year’s performance, we achieved the feat of winning three Grand Prizes.

Digital Song Award went to Dokkaebi.

Album Award went to Coin.

As public opinion said, the results followed performance metrics. A clean ceremony without controversy.

On the day we earned the triple crown, another long-awaited schedule arrived.

Doo-doong!

An OTT main screen appeared with a giant “N.”

As soon as we entered, we saw the rankings.

[Today’s Top 10 Content in Korea]

NewBlack: Making Wave

Love and Match: Singles Die

Wizards of Sindorim Station

Our documentary was ranked above popular dating shows and dramas.

Biju smiled brightly.

“We’re number one, hyung.”

It had been a week since the Sundance Film Festival screening.

Seeing the documentary thumbnail finally uploaded on Netplus, I could only smile in satisfaction.

It hadn’t been up long, so gauging reactions was difficult, but considering the screening response... it should do well, right?

Bzzzzz—

We were monitoring the documentary again, this time with Korean narration layered over it.

Junhyun spoke.

“Hyung, Director is calling you.”

“...Hm?”

I looked at the caller ID and nodded.

[Director Jo Gyuhwan]

It must be about my father’s film.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

An office decorated in black and white tones.

Director Jo sat inside an office that looked like it belonged to a chaebol heir from a TV drama.

“Ugh....”

A handsome man in his late thirties who resembled a Tibetan fox.

Perhaps the meeting had been exhausting; he had loosened his tie and tossed it onto the sofa, gulping cold water.

I sat across from him.

“Back from the meeting?”

“Yeah. I’m dead.”

With a drained expression, Director Jo spoke.

“Wooju, you passed along through Team Leader Yoon last week that budget was needed for your father’s film, right?”

“Yes.”

“I just came back from meetings with domestic distributors to secure that budget.”

“And the result....”

He shook his head.

I smiled.

“The reaction was negative?”

“Don’t even ask. They all jumped out of their seats. Asking if this was really a project worth investing 40 billion won in.”

“I would probably think the same.”

Forty billion won.

Compared to Hollywood blockbusters that easily exceed 100 billion, it might seem modest.

But in Korea, that would be the second-largest production budget in history.

“Domestic distributors all said the same thing. Doubtful profitability. At that budget it would need ten million admissions just to break even. The director’s unknown—on what basis was she hired?”

“So domestic investment is a dead end.”

“Right.”

Director Jo scratched his chin.

“I did try leveraging your father’s buzz... but even that didn’t get great reactions.”

“By the time it releases, the heat will have died down.”

“That seems to be their thinking.”

If the film were releasing now, maybe.

But by the second half of the year, public interest would have cooled.

“It’s gotten complicated.”

“Very.”

Films are usually financed by distributors.

They invest in production companies and later recover returns through distribution networks.

So the key question is:

“How much money will that film make?”

If you invest, how much profit will you gain?

My father’s biopic would not fail in Korea.

Even if the fever cooled, the “Sun Myungju Wave” would leave residual heat.

The problem was not revenue, but investment size.

Invest 10 billion and make 60 billion? Profit.

Invest 40 billion and make 60 billion? Loss.

Generally, revenue must double the investment to break even.

“I expected investment would be difficult.”

Even to me, it wasn’t an attractive proposal.

Top-tier Korean production cost.

A buzz that might not last.

An unproven production company, Studio Lemon.

An independent-film director with no commercial track record.

But there were strengths too.

Top-tier Hollywood staff.

Exceptional music for a music film.

A compelling protagonist narrative.

And NewBlack’s fandom interested in Sun Myungju’s story.

That last one was a little embarrassing... but it was true that Souffles around the world cared deeply about my father’s story.

“If I’m the main story, my father feels like the prequel.”

“Did you mention these points?”

“I did. Said that aside from the director, the cinematographer and screenwriters had Emmy or Golden Globe wins.”

“And?”

“They said they didn’t know those people.”

“....”

“They just didn’t want to invest. Didn’t even hide it.”

I could imagine their expressions.

Polite smiles. Tea served. Then sent away.

“It was practically a door slam. You’re successful in music, but what do you know about film? That’s what it felt like.”

“To you?”

“The film industry can be arrogant.”

I laughed.

Director Jo was famous for his discerning eye.

He once predicted a ten-million-viewer hit and pushed an actor into it—still a legend in the company.

He had also structured NBS and Studio Lemon.

“Well.”

Director Jo smiled bitterly.

“It’s not like we have zero offers. There is one company willing to invest 40 billion.”

“Really?”

“You know DK Group? DK Link.”

“K Net’s parent company?”

“Yes.”

A telecommunications giant known as K Net’s parent.

They also operated an OTT platform.

“They made an offer....”

“Yes.”

“The conditions are clear. Replace the current director with one of their choosing. Allow them participation in casting. Agree to cooperate if they request edits to the cut.”

“...Room for negotiation?”

“None. Take it or leave it.”

It was an extremely high-handed proposal.

“If you don’t take our money, where else will you get it?”

“It’s a dead end.”

“It is. We can’t accept those terms.”

All domestic investment proposals had collapsed.

“Maybe I’m the strange one. Maybe industry professionals are right, and this won’t succeed....”

“That’s not it.”

Director Jo’s eyes gleamed.

“If it were truly hopeless, I wouldn’t be running around knocking on every door.”

“Really?”

“I can’t explain exactly... but I have a feeling.”

“Ooooo.”

I clapped excitedly at his intuition—

Then silence returned.

“....”

“....”

We looked at each other.

“What do we do now?”

“Hmm....”

“Should we pivot to overseas investment? Appeal to a major U.S. distributor?”

“There’s an issue there too.”

Director Jo said.

“From overseas investors’ perspective, the project still looks ambiguous. They’ll need collateral.”

“Collateral?”

“Something to trust with their money. A famous director. A famous actor. Or a famous producer.”

“Ah.”

“They need a recognizable banner to hang their money on. We don’t have that.”

We needed a name on the poster.

“A marquee actor....”

“Difficult.”

A famous Korean actor wouldn’t move Hollywood.

And we already had Director Kim Bora.

That left bringing in a famous producer.

“Ah!”

I gasped.

Director Jo jolted.

“Why? What?”

“I just thought of someone perfect.”

An industry legend with recognition and ambition.

A Broadway titan who eyed me like I was the One Ring.

“How about Frank Chow?”

“Frank Chow...?”

The original creator of Nostalgia and an EGOT-winning musical legend.

Director Jo asked skeptically.

“Would he accept a producer offer?”

“If we can’t eat the persimmon, at least poke it once. It doesn’t hurt to try.”

“That’s true.”

“Just show him the staff list.”

A staff list filled with surnames like Kim, Lee, Park, Choi.

I smiled.

“If it’s him, he’ll know exactly what that means.”

New York.

A Broadway office.

“Hmmm....”

A heavyset Asian American man scratched his stomach while reviewing documents.

Frank Chow examined the neatly organized English document.

Sharp eyes.

To wield influence on Broadway, one needed instinct.

He scanned.

“Film director... Deborah Kim.”

His assistant’s notes said she was promising.

But what stunned him was the staff lineup.

A team capable of turning even a bad director’s mess into gold.

“Nostalgia’s screenwriter is here. Wasn’t that cinematographer award-winning? And the special effects team won an Emmy....”

Over 80 percent Korean American staff.

The protagonist: Sun Myungju, an icon for Korean Americans.

“The best staff will pour their lives into this.”

Then—

OST: Woojoo Sun.

Leader of NewBlack.

A young composer he had been watching.

In a musical film, music was everything.

And the person handling it was the protagonist’s son.

“That goblin-like kid will grind the music industry for his late father. The best songs will come out.”

The image of a mad genius gleamed in his mind.

Once all the information settled—

“Hmmm.”

Frank Chow stroked his double chin.

Half tempted.

Not desperate to do it, but reluctant to let someone else have it.

“Very well....”

The Broadway legend made his decision.

“What did he say?”

“He’ll decide after seeing the script. If the screenplay quality satisfies him, he’ll accept.”

“We’re almost there!”

Wooju clapped.

Director Jo smiled.

“So this is how things connect.”

A reckless remark from World Art Studio brings in Director Kim Bora.

Director Kim Bora gathers top Hollywood staff.

Top Hollywood staff attract the best producer.

That producer secures distributor investment—

“Hmm?”

Something about this process felt familiar.

“Wooju.”

“Yes?”

“Doesn’t this feel....”

Director Jo asked.

“Like multi-level marketing?”

“Huh?”

“....”

“....”

Suddenly, the two major shareholders’ reflections gleamed in the glass table.

Sparkling.

Smiling like Platinum-tier MLM reps of Lemon Co.

“...Wait.”

Are we an MLM?