SNS
Oh Seok tilted his head as he checked the title.The kid had picked this script instantly after skimming through it. That made him both curious … and a little worried.
"Plague? Don't tell me it's a historical drama?"
"No, it's set in the present day."
"Thank goodness. I was going to stop you if it were a sageuk. Who's the writer?"
"Hmm … I'm not sure."
Only the word "Aaok (雅?)" was printed on the cover. "Graceful Eagle"? It didn't sound like a real name. The manager shrugged and added,
"We got it through a few hands, so we don't really know."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Let's see … about a month ago? Several film companies found an envelope left at their doors—no contact info, just the writer's name. Even if the work looked good, they couldn't reach anyone, so it's just floating in limbo."
"Ah, so this is …"
"Looks like Monnette's testing the waters. Other studios dropped it, but they're still holding on. They're trying to track the writer down, so we'll hear something soon—whether it dies or keeps going."
That discarded script had made its way through several hands until it reached Big Win.Mu-yeong flicked the dust off the pages.… Somehow, it didn't feel like a project that would die so easily.
"Monnette—that's the company that made Moonshot, right?"
"You know Moonshot?"
"I love that movie."
A dreamlike story about an autistic boy who longs to reach the moon. They'd watched it at school—what a shock that had been.
"It felt like getting hit on the head. My first sad ending ever. But the film was still so good. I'm disappointed the director never made another one."
"Their individuality is so strong that there's no room for commercial calculation—that's both their strength and their weakness."
In the film world, Monnette was like a refreshing shower, yet in the market, they were barely keeping the lights on.They only hired new directors by principle.
"They even moved their office to Chungmuro, now that all the other studios left."
In the 1970s and '80s, Chungmuro was packed with film offices.Now? Not at all—no one needs to carry scripts around anymore.
"The landlord was so glad to see a film company again that he gave them a cheap lease."
"Where'd you even hear that?"
"If you've got ears, you've got sources. A-hem."
Na Geum-dong's joking tone made Mu-yeong chuckle as he stacked the scripts neatly—five in total.
"So we've got time before casting talks start?"
"Right. Even if they find the author, there's no guarantee the investment will follow."
"Then can I take these home and read them slowly? The other ones too?"
Since his manager had picked them out, he wanted to check them himself. The man nodded.
"Only the boss uses that cabinet. The other actors are all busy with their own projects."
"Oh, right. There are two others here, right?"
"One's Tae-seok. Should be here any minute …"
He glanced at his watch just as the door opened—perfect timing.Definitely an actor's sense of entrance.
Clatter!
Whoa, that guy's huge.
Mu-yeong flinched without meaning to.He wasn't short himself, but next to this man he'd look like a kid.
"I'm here."
"What took you so long to park, Tae-seok! Come here—our new family member, Ha Mu-yeong."
At Na Geum-dong's gesture, the man strode over.
"Wow …"
The place had already felt like a loan-shark den; with Tae-seok's arrival it now looked like a gangster office.Broad shoulders, bronze skin—an intimidating presence.
"Hello, I'm Ha Mu-yeong."
Mu-yeong greeted him with a bright smile.Tae-seok looked down for a moment and said,
"Nice ta meet ya! Let's get along!"
" … ?"
A clumsy mix of dialect and standard speech—and such a delicate voice for that body.Na Geum-dong poked his ribs.
"He's from Busan, heavy accent. He's taking speech lessons these days."
"Ah, I see."
"And as you can tell, he's an action specialist. He's in SBC's Joseon Playboy right now as the main character's bodyguard. Fully pre-produced, so it'll probably air this fall."
Because every time he spoke the illusion broke, he usually acted with his body instead.No matter how much he practiced, his line delivery never seemed to improve.
"Persistent guy. What was it—just turned thirty?"
Tae-seok only nodded.That huge frame, that distinctive face, and that mismatched voice—hardly ideal traits for an actor.
"He started back in high school—about your age, Mu-yeong."
Someone who'd endured ten years with those odds.Mu-yeong grasped his hand warmly.
"I'll call you hyung. Please take care of me."
"Me too!"
"Then, since we've got a new family member, how about a welcome dinner? Hungry? How's barbecue sound today?"
Barbecue!Mu-yeong and Oh Seok exchanged a grin.No way they were passing that up.
"Sounds great!"
Mu-yeong slung on his bag, now stuffed with scripts, and shouted eagerly.Na Geum-dong, about to lead the way, suddenly turned back.
"Your signing bonus will be deposited this week."
Two million won!
Most of it would go to pay debts, but it was still the first time he'd ever touched six-figure money.Mu-yeong nodded so fast his head nearly blurred.
"Thank you!"
"And since you're with us now, we'll post your profile on the website. Got any photos?"
Go Kyung-min looked up from clearing the table.While the actor chose a project, they had their own tasks to do.
"Photos? My graduation photo?"
" … We'll have to take a new one. Do you have social media?"
"Nope!"
" … Let's just go eat first."
So much to do.Kyung-min mentally mapped out the order of things.
Still, it's been so long…
Not since Tae-seok and Mirae first joined had it felt like this—the excitement of sharing someone's first beginning.
"Let's get you set up with SNS and go over what comes next, okay?"
"Sure."
Click!
At Go Kyung-min's words, Mu-yeong raised both thumbs enthusiastically.
He wasn't sure what exactly there was to do, but who cared? They were treating him to barbecue.
A dystopia in the near future.
The sky was always ashen, and the city drowned in dust. Nature had long lost its color.
Unemployment had driven people mad, and gunshots echoed everywhere.
A world destroyed—
yet society still somehow functioned.
Then one day, a report came from Seoul Northeast Zone 3:
Gas was leaking from inside FG Pharmaceuticals' production complex.
At first, it seemed like a minor disturbance.
But soon, residents' lives turned into a nightmare.
Their eyes oozed pus.
They vomited constantly.
Blood ran from their ears.
Their skin decayed until they looked like the walking dead.
Everyone assumed it was caused by the FG Pharmaceuticals gas leak.
No one doubted it—
until the government's announcement.
[According to the authorities' investigation, the phenomenon in Zone 3 is not an accident but a "plague."
Therefore, we will be enforcing a complete lockdown of Zone 3.]
Mu-yeong lay on his dorm bed, reading the synopsis attached to the front of the script.
Now he understood why Monnette wanted to take this project on.
"A dystopian Seoul, huh."
A futuristic yet Harlem-like depiction of modern Korea—rare to see.
Maybe only The Time of the Hunt on Netblox had tackled something similar for mainstream audiences.
"But this one's… different."
The protagonist was a child actor.
A story about a kid trapped inside Zone 3, struggling to survive in a wretched world.
Told through the pure eyes of a child—it would amplify the tragedy even more.
"At least it's consistent."
From Moonshot onward, Monnette's tone had always been similar:
child protagonist, blurred lines between fantasy and reality, and tragedy.
Creaaak—
"Consistent? What is?"
Bong-gun, fresh from the shower, shook the water from his hair as he noticed the pile of scripts.
Mu-yeong poked his head out from the top bunk.
"You're back?"
"Yeah. Hey, Mu-yeong—your phone's on fire."
"Huh?"
Startled, Mu-yeong dangled his head upside-down like a bat to look below.
His phone was charging on the desk—but the screen was going wild.
"What the—?"
"DMs. You're getting tons of DMs."
"DMs?"
"Didn't you say you didn't have social media? Guess you made one after all?"
"At the… barbecue place… Wait, hold on!"
Even though it was plugged in, the battery was draining fast.
Notifications scrolled endlessly up the screen.
Thankfully it was on silent—otherwise his eardrums would've exploded.
"Holy crap. What do I even do?"
There were so many alerts that he couldn't even tap anything.
As Mu-yeong stared in shock, Bong-gun picked up the phone.
"Well, well. 'BigWin Entertainment rookie actor Ha Mu-yeong.'
Username HAmoo_zero? Who came up with that? That's so lame."
"What? They said it was trendy!"
"You've got 4,070 followers already. When'd you make this?"
"Just a while ago."
Literally—just a while ago.
A few hours earlier, before the barbecue had even finished digesting.
Mu-yeong stared at his phone, watching the battery tick down.
"No way."
Over four thousand followers already?
He didn't know that BigWin's YouTube "More Info" section had been updated with a link to his new SNS account.
Bong-gun could only gape in disbelief.
Bzzzt, bzzzt.
Then came a call—Jun-ho!
Oh no. With the battery already dying, a phone call would finish it off.
Mu-yeong hurriedly hit the answer button and yelled,
"Hang up!"
He was afraid the call tone would be drowned out by the notification pings.
But the connection was clear enough—Jun-ho ignored him completely.
—Nope.
"Why? Anyway, can you hear me okay?"
—Yeah, loud and clear. But aren't you even a little curious? Someone's been missing in action.
Mu-yeong hadn't had time to think about much lately.
He started counting days on his fingers.
"What, two weeks maybe?"
—Enbin ended up wearing our outfit at the airport that day.
"Ah, really? Nice!"
—Yeah, thanks to that, the company's been screaming with joy. I asked for a break, but now I'm busier than ever.
"Uh-huh. You're that busy and still calling me—so what's up?"
Urging him to get to the point, Mu-yeong waited as Jun-ho sighed deeply.
—Can't get in touch with Bora.
That unexpected statement made Mu-yeong blink.
"She never answers your calls anyway."
—Hey! She used to reply once in a while, okay?
Maybe once out of twenty messages. Of course, he didn't mention that part.
"So? She's probably busy. She's shooting a drama now, right?"
—Exactly. That's why I'm asking you. Actually, my brother wants to use you as the face for our SNS campaign. I snuck Bora's name into the deal while I was at it.