If Baekhak Publishing is described as a company of elites who are high in status but poor in earnings, then Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting could be said to be a company of elites who are not only high in status but also earn well.
So what makes the difference?
The scale of capital?
The type of industry?
The quality of side dishes in the cafeteria?
The answer given by PD Shim Yeon-ho of BMB Variety Department was simply… a positive mindset.
Despite Baekhak Arts Middle School’s reputation as ‘a school attended by many current celebrities’, actual middle school-aged celebrities were rare.
That reputation itself was a rumor spread by the school’s PR department to attract ‘current celebrities’ as much as possible, and minor celebrities were inherently rare.
Therefore, the ‘a school attended by many current celebrities’ Baekhak Arts Middle School was actually closer to ‘a school attended by many aspiring celebrities’, and naturally, those with the highest ambitions were in the Department of Applied Dance.
Unlike non-popular sports like modern dance/Korean dance/ballet, Applied Dance was bluntly more akin to K-pop idol dance, or broadcast dance.
Hence, while schools with high standards in modern dance/Korean dance/ballet departments are called prestigious, schools with a high proportion of Applied Dance Departments are called ‘idol academies’ in both a positive and negative sense.
Baekhak Arts Middle School was a typical idol academy.
Thus, although Baekhak Arts Middle School had enrolled Moon In-seop, a celebrity not typically ‘Applied Dance’-like but more ‘ballet’-like, he himself was making a name in the broadcast industry, so to the students of the Department of Applied Dance, Moon was a role model.
“Please take a picture with me!”
“Are you really friends with Hyo-chan?”
“Have you ever thought about learning to dance?”
“If Min Hyo-chan is blackmailing you, wave.”
Moon In-seop, who often struggles to attend school regularly, seldom sees even the Literature and Creative Writing students, let alone those from other departments.
When this rare creature, who barely manages a 50% attendance rate, makes an appearance, the students from the Department of Applied Dance swarm around Moon In-seop, chewing him out and enjoying his company to their hearts’ content.
Despite despising the popularity of the Department of Applied Dance, the students from the Modern Dance Department, who secretly crave its mainstream appeal, are still too young to be dominated by such dark emotions and instead, consider Moon somewhat a rival. Consequently, they too gathered around him in droves.
Thus, the Applied Dance booth quickly became crowded with people.
Moon In-seop found himself trapped by a wall of people.
Since every single brick in this wall seemed to possess its own intelligence, breaking through was an exceptionally difficult task.
There’s a reason why celebrities always have managers shouting, ‘Excuse me, coming through!’
Regretting not calling Ma Ki-hoon, thinking what need was there for a manager at a school festival, just at that moment when Moon In-seop was having second thoughts, thankfully, he heard the long-awaited sound from somewhere.
“Excuse me! Coming through!”
However, the person who came was not there to ‘fetch’ Moon but to ‘catch’ him.
“I’m Shim Yeon-ho from BMB Broadcasting Station, Variety Department! Coming through!”
Originally, it would be the school’s duty to expel any unauthorized visitors, but such actions are typical only of weak public schools bound by all sorts of red tape.
(Normally, this red tape is referred to as law.)
On the other hand, Baekhak Arts Middle School, a private institution, was able to make more flexible decisions.
Thus, the desires of Chairman Baek Yi-hyun who wanted to promote the school, and PD Shim Yeon-ho, who wanted to ‘kidnap’ Moon In-seop, converged, leading Moon In-seop to meet the PD in the ‘faculty training center’ reception room.
“It’s been a while, Author Moon! Happy to see you here!”
“I really enjoyed ‘Peaceful Uninhabited Island.’ Did you know I was the one who recommended you to Director Park? But after watching the broadcast, I regretted not bringing you myself if you were going to be …! When did you become so articulate? Hahaha!”
Although private schools are also bound by the Education Administration Law, the existence known as the ‘Chairman’ is more like the deity of a private school, rather than merely a corporate representative. The mundane rules are meaningless before divine providence.
Since Park Chang-woon, the madman of the Literature and Creative Writing Department, who could kill the deity himself, was absent from school, there was no one to protect Moon In-seop.
Why the department head of Literature and Creative Writing, Park Chang-woon, was absent on the day of the school festival, nobody knew. Not even the teachers in his department knew since he didn’t talk about it and simply took an unannounced leave.
Originally, Park Chang-woon doesn’t listen to anyone weaker than him. And nobody had the guts to text the former Minister of Culture (who got fired within a week due to a swearing scandal) to ask why he was absent.
How can this not be called irony when Moon In-seop fell into the clutches of two greedy adults due to such a tragic overlap?
Fortunately, though, Moon In-seop knew how to defend himself.
Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, Chairman Baek Yi-hyun was flustered, while PD Shim Yeon-ho desperately dragged up the past.
He was the PD who had produced the special broadcast on New Light Spring Orphanage and was also responsible for Moon In-seop’s first variety appearance.
But it was to no avail.
If Baek Yi-hyun is the god of Baekhak Arts Middle School, and Shim Yeon-ho is the god of the film set, then Moon In-seop is the supreme and terrible genius author who would even blaspheme against gods.
To someone who has died once, worldly values mean nothing. And one who fears nothing meaningless has no fear.
And if ignorance makes one brave, knowledge makes people free.
Moon In-seop, the most free ‘flying teenager’ of this school, flew away like a butterfly right in front of the Chairman.
“Wait, just a moment… Author Moon!”
But PD Shim Yeon-ho did not give up.
Unlike the Chairman, whose stomach is full from being a chaebol, he is an ordinary office worker. The intensity of his desperation was different.
Shim Yeon-ho (34, PD) put his pride aside and chased after the fleeing Moon In-seop.
PD Shim Yeon-ho caught up with him quickly. Catching a boy wrapped in a blanket and scampering away with short legs wasn’t hard.
However, convincing him to stand in front of a camera was the difficult part, so PD Shim Yeon-ho ran alongside the fleeing Moon In-seop, continuously chattering to persuade him.
“If it’s about not having enough writing time, I can guarantee that! It’s a literary variety show, you know?!”
“Why, why are you chasing me…?”
“Just this once! Come out just once! I’ll negotiate with the director and make sure your pay is top-tier, okay?! No, I don’t even need to negotiate. I’ll set the terms myself on my discretion. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just write a apology letter!”
PD Shim Yeon-ho pursued Moon In-seop as persistently as stalker or maybe even the second So Tae-woong.
Their chase continued until Moon In-seop returned to the Literature and Creative Writing Department booth.
Moon In-seop’s terrified instincts instinctively sought out a beast, no, a person who would protect him.
Accordingly, the moment he entered the Literature and Creative Writing booth, PD Shim Yeon-ho’s pursuit was forcibly cut off.
As proven by Ma ssi from a certain orphanage, those who act on what they believe to be right have no hesitation.
Only righteousness and morality.
With such firm belief, one can even slay a Buddha upon meeting, or cut down a patriarch.
Thus, Gu Yu-na met the PD, and headbutted him.
Like a bolt of lightning, the avatar of chivalry dressed as a log slammed into PD Shim Yeon-ho.
Gu Hak-jun, who witnessed his daughter who had been sitting on his lap suddenly running out and headbutt someone, opened his eyes and mouth wide in shock.
PD Shim Yeon-ho, who was suddenly attacked by the log monster, was hit in the solar plexus by Gu Yu-na’s round head and fell to the floor, rolling around.
Amidst the silence that fell over the Literature and Creative Writing booth following the agonized screams of PD Shim Yeon-ho, Gu Yu-na, a true chivalrous fighter of this era who cares only for her own conscience, flashed a winner’s smile.
“Are you okay, In-seop?”
“I’m fine, but that man…”
“Then it’s all good.”
Gu Yu-na sat back down with a subtly pleased smile.
Moon In-seop quietly helped PD up, guessing that he probably wouldn’t be able to avoid appearing on the variety show.