Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 53 Post-production: Someone is staring blankly at the screen.

January 3rd, Friday, 8:00 AM.

When Su Yu arrived at the company, Cai Xiubin was already sitting by the window. Today, she was wearing a white turtleneck sweater, her hair tied in a bun, revealing a section of her fair nape. She wasn't holding a script, but a cup of coffee, staring blankly at the green plants on the windowsill.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her profile and making the few stray hairs gleam. The shadows of her eyelashes fell on her cheekbones like two tiny fans.

"You don't have any filming today, why are you here so early?" Su Yu put his backpack on the table, making a slight thud.

"I can't sleep." She turned her head, her eyes were dark and her lips were pale, as if she hadn't slept well. "I had a dream last night. I dreamt that you left. That you stopped writing scripts. That the company closed down." Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking about something she was very afraid of.

Su Yu walked over and sat down next to her. The chair was less than half a step away, and he could smell the shampoo in her hair—the most common strawberry scent you find in supermarkets. "And then?"

"Then I woke up crying." She lowered her head, her finger tracing circles on the inside of the cup, creating tiny ripples in the coffee. "Oppa, you're not leaving, are you?"

Su Yu reached out and ruffled her hair. Her hair was very soft; as his fingertips ran through it, a few strands became tangled around his fingers. "No. I can't leave. The contract's been signed; I can't afford the penalty for breach of contract."

She smiled, and a tear fell. The tear cascaded down her cheek, paused on her chin, and then dripped onto the back of her hand. "You owe me another tear."

"Remember this. It's the end of the year." Su Yu took out a tissue from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to her. She took it, wiped her eyes, and then wiped the back of her hand.

Nine o'clock in the morning, in the editing room.

Post-production on the last eight episodes began. The editor was a man in his forties, surnamed Park, who wore glasses and spoke very little. He was balding and wore a dark blue down vest. He sat in front of the old editing table, his fingers typing slowly but precisely on the keyboard. The screen was filled with densely packed tracks, like musical staves.

Su Yu sat next to him, legs crossed, watching the scenes on the screen. Cai Xiubin moved a chair behind Su Yu and sat quietly, legs together, hands on his knees, like a primary school student attentively listening to a lesson.

She had already seen the rough cut of episodes one through eight, but this was the first time she had seen the last eight episodes. In the scene, Ahn Go-eun jumped from the second floor, stumbled when she landed, grabbed the wall for support, and looked up.

That look in her eyes—stubborn, defiant, like a small beast cornered, baring its fangs. The background music hadn't been added yet; only the ambient sounds from the scene were playing: the wind, footsteps, panting. She could hear her own heartbeat, thump-thump-thump, she could feel it even through the screen.

"Which rule was used for this?" Su Yu asked.

"The third take." Editor Park pushed up his glasses, his finger hovering over the space bar. "You called for the first take, but she said it wasn't good enough, so we filmed two more takes."

Su Yu turned to look at Cai Xiubin. "When did you say that?" His eyes held a hint of surprise, not astonishment, but the kind of question that said, "You actually did this behind my back."

"When you're not around." She lowered her head, her ear tips turning red, her fingers digging into her knees until her nails turned white. "I don't think the first look was ruthless enough. When An Gao En jumped off the building, it wasn't fear, it was a desperate act. I haven't quite captured that feeling in the first one yet."

Su Yu stared at her for a few seconds. Her eyelashes trembled, whether from nervousness or something else, he couldn't tell. "So, the third one was found?"

"Found it." She looked up, meeting his gaze. "Because during the third jump, I was thinking—even if Kim Do-ki isn't down there, I have to live. Not for him, but for myself." Her voice wasn't loud, but the editing room was quiet, and every word was clearly audible.

Master Park adjusted his glasses, glanced at Cai Xiubin, then at Su Yu. He didn't say anything, but the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was suppressing a laugh. He turned back to continue editing, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the keyboard.

At noon, downstairs in the editing room.

Su Yu and Cai Xiubin bought two boxes of rice balls at the convenience store and sat on the steps to eat them. The plastic bags from the convenience store rustled in the wind, brushing against their legs. The sun was shining brightly, warming them and giving the concrete steps a slight warmth.

In the distance, children are flying kites. A blue butterfly floats in the sky; the string is long, but the kite is small.

"Oppa." Chae Soo-bin took a bite of the rice ball; it was tuna flavored, and a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth.

"Um."

"After the last eight episodes are edited, is it just a matter of airing?" Her voice was a little muffled, as if something was stuck in her throat.

"Hmm. Once it's finished airing, the show will be over." Su Yu opened his rice ball; it was beef flavored, and the wrapper made a ripping sound when it was torn open.

She chewed slowly, her cheeks bulging like a hamster. "What about Cai Xiubin?" She swallowed the rice ball, her eyes fixed on the ground, refusing to look at Su Yu.

"Wait for the next script." Su Yu took a bite, the flavor of the beef spreading in her mouth, a little salty.

"When are you going to write it?" She turned to look at him.

Su Yu thought for a moment, chewing on a rice ball, and mumbled, "Almost there. I have a story in my head, but it's not fully formed yet."

"What story?" She placed the rice ball on her lap, holding it in both hands as if afraid it would run away.

"A woman's story. Not a hacker, not a thug, just an ordinary woman. She was bullied, and no one helped her. She helped herself." Su Yu looked at the kite in the distance; the blue butterfly swayed in the wind for a moment, then stabilized.

Cai Xiubin stared at him. "It doesn't sound like a feel-good drama." Her eyes were bright, like two small mirrors reflecting his face.

"It's not a feel-good drama. It's a sad drama. You only feel good after you've suffered through it all."

"Who is the female lead?" Her voice was a little softer, as if she was afraid of hearing the answer, yet also afraid of not hearing it at all.

Su Yu turned to look at her. Sunlight shone on her face, clearly illuminating her freckles. The tip of her nose was slightly red, whether from the cold or something else, he couldn't tell. "What do you think?"

Her face flushed instantly, from her neck down to her forehead, her ear tips turning a deep, almost blood-red. She lowered her head, picked up the rice ball, and took a few big bites, mumbling, "I don't know." Her voice was muffled, as if it were coming from the rice ball itself.

"If you don't know, then forget it." Su Yu's lips curled up slightly.

She glared at him, her cheeks puffing out even more.

At 2 PM, Shirley sent me a message.

[Oppa, how's the editing for the last eight episodes going?]

Su Yu leaned against the corridor wall outside the editing room, holding her phone. [Just beginning. The first episode isn't finished yet. Color grading hasn't been done, and sound effects haven't been added.]

Are your editors any good? If not, I can recommend one. I know someone who's edited for movies before.

Su Yu glanced at Master Park, who was frowning at the screen in the editing room. [Okay. Master Park has twenty years of experience. He's experienced enough.]

Okay. I'll take a look after you're done. If I'm not satisfied, I'll re-edit it.

Didn't you say you'd wait for it to be sent to you?

I can't wait. Send it to my cloud drive. I'll download it myself.

Su Yu looked at the line of text and smiled. 【Okay. I'll show you the first episode after I finish editing it. But you have to sign a confidentiality agreement. You're responsible for any leaks before the show airs.】

[It's your fault for leaking it. Who told you to send it to me?]

[Robber logic.]

Women are all robbers. You're only realizing that now?

Su Yu didn't reply. After a while, she sent another message: [Oppa, what are you doing?]

Standing in the hallway. Taking a break.

Where is Cai Xiubin?

Su Yu glanced at the other side of the corridor—Cai Xiubin was squatting in the corner, holding her phone, looking at something, and chewing on the rice ball she hadn't finished eating. [Eating rice ball.]

Is this what you're having for lunch?

Bought at a convenience store. Convenient.

Shirley was silent for a few seconds. Then she sent a voice message. Su Yu opened it, and her voice was full of disdain: "Oppa, can't you treat yourself better? You're a company boss now, not a convenience store worker. Eat well, don't skimp on that little bit of money."

Su Yu listened to the voice message and his lips twitched slightly. 【Understood.】

[I know you won't do it. It's always the same. Next time I'll have my assistant bring you food.]

No need. It's too much trouble.

It's no trouble. The assistant's got nothing better to do anyway.

Su Yu didn't reply. He put his phone in his pocket and walked back to the editing room. Cai Xiubin looked up at him, still chewing rice, and mumbled, "Shirley?"

"Um."

"What did she say?"

They said we were eating too poorly and needed someone to bring us food.

Cai Xiubin chewed twice and swallowed. "She's so good to you."

Su Yu didn't reply. He sat down and continued looking at the screen.

The editing team wrapped up at 7 p.m.

Master Park packed up his things to go home, putting the reading glasses into the glasses case and zipping it up. "Continue tomorrow. The rough cut of the first episode is almost done; we can start coloring next week."

Su Yu stood up, stretched, and his spine cracked a few times. "You've worked hard."

"It's not hard work. The script is good, so editing is easy." Master Park slung his bag over his shoulder, walked to the door, and stopped. "Representative Su."

"Um?"

"That scene of her jumping off the building took three takes. The actress's improvement was very obvious between the first and third takes." He glanced at Cai Xiubin. "In the first take, she was playing Ahn Go-eun. In the third take, she *was* Ahn Go-eun."

Cai Xiubin was taken aback for a moment. "Thank you."

Master Park didn't reply, and went out the door.

Su Yu looked at Cai Xiubin. "Did you hear that?"

"I heard you." Her eyes were a little red.

"Why are you crying? People are praising you."

"I didn't cry." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm happy."

At 8 p.m., Su Yu took Cai Xiubin home.

The two walked down the alley, the streetlights casting halos of light that spread through the mist like a thin veil. Her shadow stretched long, overlapping with his.

"Oppa".

"Um."

"Master Park said the third one is that I am Ahn Go-eun. What about the first one? What am I in the first one?"

Su Yu thought for a moment. "The first point is that you, Cai Xiubin, are playing Ahn Go-eun. The third point is that you forgot you are Cai Xiubin."

She was silent for a moment. "Then who am I now?"

Su Yu stopped and turned to look at her. The streetlight shone on her face, outlining her features with a luminous edge. "It's Cai Xiubin now. She's talking to me."

She laughed. "Then I don't want to be Angoun anymore."

Why?

"Because Ahn Go-eun and Kim Do-gi waited for eight episodes. Chae Soo-bin doesn't have to wait."

Su Yu reached out and took her hand. "Okay. No need to wait."

At nine o'clock in the evening, Su Yu returned to the semi-basement.

He pushed open the door and went inside; water was still dripping from the ceiling. Drip, drip. He lay down on the bed and took out his phone. There was an unread message from Cai Xiubin.

Oppa, are you home yet?

Su Yu replied: 【We've arrived.】

Oppa, when Master Park said those words today, I remembered the line you wrote in my script: "You are the first. And the only one."

Su Yu looked at the screen. 【Hmm.】

Oppa, will you keep writing?

【meeting.】

[Write until I can't act anymore?]

[Keep writing until you don't want to act anymore.]

She sent a smiley face. Then another message came: 【Then you'll have to write for a long time. I won't give up on acting.】

Su Yu's lips curled into a smile. "Then I'll write until the day you win the grand prize."

You need to be watching from the audience that day.

[Yes. Sitting in the first row.]

She sent a voice message. Su Yu opened it; her voice was soft and chuckled: "Oppa, you have to keep your word."

Su Yu listened to it twice. He placed the phone next to his pillow and closed it.