novellhall 29. The meeting of the sun and the moon
29. The meeting of the sun and the moon
In Minister Park's office, the silence after the call ended carried a subtle tension. As expected, Bae Yong-joon's suppressed, angry questioning and his near-rude hanging up were like a pebble thrown into still water, creating only a few ripples.
Kim Min-joo picked up the now-cold teacup, her fingertips gently tracing the rim. Her smile was polite, but her eyes held no warmth.
She completely understood Bae Yong-joon's resentment and indignation. "Embracing the Moon and the Sun" was the debut work she specially chose for Kyung-sung from all his recent projects. Naturally, she knew about Keyeast's early investment and Bae Yong-joon's public support. Overnight, due to CJ's intervention and MBC's choice, all his efforts were wiped out. This feeling was definitely not pleasant.
While he understood the situation, Bae Yong-joon ultimately chose to swallow his anger for the time being and use his connections to communicate with CJ's management to try and salvage the situation or negotiate. This was the best course of action.
To crush Kim Soo-hyun? No, that was never her goal.
In her eyes, Kim Soo-hyun wasn't even worthy of shining Kyung-sung's shoes, much less worth stepping on.
As long as Bae Yong-joon and Keyeast face reality and completely cooperate in silently erasing, transforming, or covering all the publicity, groundwork, and even lingering audience expectations that Kim Soo-hyun had done for this role, ensuring that Lee Kyung-sung's image of Lee Hwon is implanted in the audience's hearts in the purest and most powerful way, that will be enough.
"Minister Park, you don't need to worry about President Bae," Kim Min-joo put down her teacup, her tone calm and even, as if she were talking about a trivial matter. "He's a smart man, he'll figure it out soon. Now that all the distractions have been eliminated, our focus should be entirely on how to make the character of Lee Hwon the most successful in Kyung Sung's life."
Minister Park nodded in agreement, his face showing deep appreciation. He admired Kim Min-joo's decisive and goal-oriented style.
The entertainment industry has never been a warm and affectionate place. The allocation of resources and the transfer of popularity are often accompanied by similar purges. As long as the final result is beneficial to the ratings, he is happy to see it happen.
"Representative Kim is right," Minister Park echoed, then, remembering something, his smile widened. "Speaking of the focus, Kyung Sung-ssi at the entrance gave us a huge surprise. The scene... wow, in all my years in this industry, I've rarely seen a newcomer with such a spectacle. The fans are still gathering, and the security guards are almost losing control; they're all incredibly nervous."
He recalled the initial scene: as soon as Li Jingcheng's car appeared, the waiting crowd erupted like a lake tossed with a boulder, instantly boiling over. The screams of fans, the raised support signs, the surge attempting to break through the cordon...
The security guards were sweating profusely, on high alert, yet dared not utter a single harsh reprimand or attempt to disperse them. Faced with such a massive and enthusiastic fanbase, any inappropriate behavior could have uncontrollable consequences. The sea of people only heightened his anticipation for tomorrow's ratings.
Li Jingcheng remained composed, even patiently pausing for a moment through the gaps created by the security guards to accommodate the requests for photos from several fans in the front row. His face maintained an impeccable, gentle smile, which only excited the fans even more.
As Kim Min-joo listened to Minister Park's description, a faint, reserved smile appeared on her face.
With Luo Yonghao and Wang Zilu present, she wasn't worried that Li Jingcheng's handling of the situation would go wrong. Luo Yonghao knew how to guide artists in such situations, showing approachability while maintaining distance, keeping the fans' enthusiasm within a safe and beneficial range. It seems that the effect was excellent.
"Fans' enthusiasm is a good thing, but it needs to be guided in the right direction." Kim Min-joo chimed in at the right time, bringing the topic back on track, "Kyung-sung has already gone in to prepare, right? His audition with Han Ga-in is crucial. This is the first time the two leads have officially acted together, and how their chemistry is will directly affect how the audience will feel after the show airs."
"It's all arranged, in the third rehearsal room," Minister Park said immediately. "The director and the scriptwriter will also be there."
"Very good." Kim Min-joo nodded, clearly satisfied with the arrangement. "After the audition, regardless of the outcome, we need to immediately launch the next wave of promotion. The focus can be on the atmosphere of Lee Hwon-Yeon-woo's first encounter, the chemistry between the two leads in their first collaboration, and..." She paused, hinting, "to appropriately release some of the enthusiastic reactions from the fans at the scene, to demonstrate the audience's high expectations. But we need to be careful with the angle; it shouldn't seem like over-hyping. We should highlight the natural anticipation arising from the characters and the plot itself."
Although some of what he said was technical, it was all within Minister Park's area of expertise, so he nodded in agreement. "I understand. The publicity team has already prepared several plans. We're just waiting for the audition footage to come out so we can immediately select the most impactful clips or behind-the-scenes footage to release in press releases and on social media. The domestic buzz has already picked up, and we're also looking to CJ for overseas promotion."
Kim Min-joo maintained a polite smile and nodded slightly. "Minister Park, rest assured, CJ has always spared no effort in supporting key projects. Overseas channels are already prepared and will be promoted in tandem with the broadcast schedule."
This suddenly reminded Kim Min-joo of something.
When CJ was initially vying for the role of Lee Kyung-sung, they primarily showcased the company's strength, their endorsement of the project, and Lee Kyung-sung's potential and suitability for the role. Lee Kyung-sung's considerable international profile was not mentioned. Now, it seems that the aspect they didn't emphasize has unexpectedly become a positive factor.
Kim Min-joo smiled, her tone casual yet tinged with smugness, "By the way, if Minister Park has some free time, he might as well pay a little attention to the discussion trends on those mainstream overseas social media platforms. He might find some interesting points of resonance, which could be of some reference value for fine-tuning the overall publicity strategy."
Minister Park paused slightly, his gaze lingering for a moment on Kim Min-joo's calm face. He understood all too well what often lay behind such casual remarks. The surge in domestic popularity had already surprised him, and now Kim Min-joo was casually pointing overseas. It seemed that this actress, specially signed by CJ, and with such a large investment in her debut work, must have something special about her.
Without pressing further, Minister Park nodded thoughtfully, his smile deepening slightly. "Representative Kim is right. It's always good to understand the audience's reaction from all angles." He had already decided to have his assistant carefully collect and analyze Lee Kyung-sung's online buzz data overseas. If domestic popularity was the open flame, then the potential overseas buzz might be the simmering oil. He could almost see the spectacular sight of this fire potentially spreading to a wider area with the help of CJ's overseas channels. After all, MBC and Kyung-sung had priority in choosing their channels.
Kim Min-joo stood up, straightened her clothes, and prepared to go to the vicinity of the rehearsal room to take a look. "Minister Park, shall we go and take a look together? After all, this is the first official meeting of our sun and moon." She used a metaphor from the drama, her tone carrying a sense of confidence and composure.
Minister Park also stood up with a smile, even more excited than Kim Min-joo, laughing and saying, "Of course. I'm already looking forward to it."
The two walked out of the office one after the other, heading towards the rehearsal room. The corridor was much quieter, but the air still seemed to carry the scent of the small storm outside the door, as well as the tension and anticipation of the first "chemistry" that would determine the fate of the play, which was about to take place in the rehearsal room.
Outside the gate, the fans, guided by staff, gradually dispersed with satisfaction and excitement. The newly acquired photos on their phones and the thrill of seeing their idols in person were about to transform into a new wave of enthusiastic promotion on social media. The storm seemed to have subsided, but in reality, even greater energy was brewing in the online world and within the television station. Everything was steadily progressing in the direction that Kim Min-joo and Minister Park had hoped for.