Top Management

There were two gift boxes.

One held a luxurious three-piece suit, the kind you'd wear to a formal occasion, so pristine it barely invited touch.

The other contained a watch, its value unfathomable.

As he blankly stared at the boxes on his desk, the door burst open.

"Team Leader!"

At the knock, employees flooded in.

"Interview requests keep coming. Can we schedule the round interviews more tightly?"

"Every hour on the hour, we get a call from Mr. Oh at TVL about next year’s lineup!"

"Team Leader!"

He snapped to attention.

It felt like getting hit by gravity after floating in zero gravity. Unlike Cannes, where he had felt out of control and somewhat powerless, here reality was palpable.

His blood pumped faster.

Fatigue evaporated, replaced by exhilaration.

"Let's gather all updates and meet in the conference room in ten minutes?"

It was time to get back to work.

***

Simultaneously.

The president of SBE Film looked grave as he leaned over the conference table, hands resting over the City Jungle poster.

"Let’s redo everything from the posters to the flyers. Can it be done by tomorrow?"

"Me?"

A marketing employee’s fingers halted on the keyboard.

"Put the Cannes award title on it! And make some limited edition posters too."

"Should I handle that? Isn’t that the distributor’s job..."

"They must be swamped too! Help them out! Remember those designs we scrapped? Let’s turn those into limited editions and distribute them in select cinemas nationwide."

"Wait, President, our premiere is in two days?"

"So, we need to hurry."

Ignoring the employee's puzzled look, the president glanced at the production manager.

"And add more to the trailers and making-of videos."

"Sir?"

"Make it sexy with the award title. You know what I mean?"

The production manager looked clueless, but the president was already looking elsewhere.

The next victim was a planning manager, looking utterly exhausted in the corner of the room.

"Get interviews from the Cannes jurors who saw our film."

"Me? How?"

Ignoring the bewildered manager, the president slammed his hand on the table.

"Book experts for a live movie talk, and arrange more stage greetings! Let’s boost our opening week scores, even if it means touring the whole country!"

"But, Lee Songha might not be available..."

"I’ll talk to Manager Jung Sunwoo. Everyone, get moving! Get up! This is no time to sit around!"

His commands echoed as he pounded the table.

"Row, people, row!"

And finally, on June 3rd.

City Jungle premiered.

***

As the credits rolled, the audience erupted into noise.

"Damn, I couldn't even breathe. My heart hurts."

"See? I told you to watch this instead of Supernatural. Right?"

"Lee Songha’s acting is fierce. What would she have done if not acting?"

Even after the crowd thinned, a few remained, watching the credits roll.

A middle-aged couple, Jung Sunwoo’s parents, sat at the very back. Straining their eyes to follow the fast-moving credits, they squirmed when a cinema employee entered.

"Seems they’re here to clean. Sorry, just let us see our child’s name."

"Take your time."

Embarrassed, they scanned the credits faster.

"Can hardly see it, the text is so small and moving fast. Did we miss his name?"

"Not yet."

The father responded nonchalantly.

The employee came back.

"What’s the name? I’ll find it for you."

"Jung Sunwoo, from W&U. Lee Songha?"

"Really? I’ve seen you on TV."

As a proud smile spread across the mother's face, the father seemed quietly pleased.

"Really? Is he that famous? Our neighborhood kids don’t know him, just think he works with celebrities. But he got an award abroad..."

"Why bring that up outside? Makes us seem pretentious."

"Excited to meet someone who knows him, that's all."

The employee sat down beside them, chatting.

"This movie's getting great feedback. There are already people seeing it multiple times."

"N-times?"

"People watch it multiple times. Look, there's his name!"

Excitedly pointing at the screen.

"There! Look, it's going up now!"

"I see it, I have eyes."

Jung Sunwoo, Team Manager (W&U Management)

The name vanished in a flash. The couple caught their breath, their heads lifting momentarily.

"Gone in three seconds."

"Thought it’d stay for like 30 minutes?"

They thanked the employee and gathered their things, preparing to leave.

As they did, a new couple argued by the ticket machine.

"Should we see City Jungle? I'm curious about it."

"No, no film festival winner is ever fun."

"But the audience reviews are good."

"Let’s just watch Supernatural. It's a safer bet."

Watching

 them, the father headed to the box office and returned with new tickets for City Jungle, starting soon.

"Let's try this N-times thing, whatever it is."

Together, they re-entered the theater they had just left.

June 3rd opening scores.

Audience numbers for "City Jungle" (183,465)

Audience numbers for "Supernatural" (361,115)

Daily box office leader 'Supernatural'

*

[Domestic Movies/Spoiler-free] Third filming of "City Jungle"! Why isn't everyone watching this?

[Domestic Movies/Question] Thinking of watching a movie this weekend, how about "City Jungle"? Some spoilers, please.

└Awesome!

└Seriously, tell me how it's awesome.

└This one you have to watch without any spoilers, avoid even the trailers if possible.

└I usually read spoilers before I go watch.

└You haven't seen it yet? Lucky, watch it soon.

└Damn, I asked for spoilers!

-"City Jungle" seems divisive, but it'll be a masterpiece for those whose taste it suits. It's exactly my style.

└I got hooked because of Nam Joyoon, but there was barely any foreshadowing...

└It was kind of bad, the direction and the actors’ performances were cringy, watched it because the reviews were good but feels like they were all paid.

└Why assume everyone who liked it was paid? You make me want to write a review.

(Light spoiler) Watched "City Jungle" at a midnight showing. It was more thrilling than I thought.

(Question) "Supernatural" vs "City Jungle", which one should I watch? Recommendations, please.

└"City Jungle" is worth every penny after a long time.

└Can I spoil it? Nam Joyoon at the end...

└Dude, don't live your life like that.

June 4th

Audience numbers for "City Jungle" (272,886), cumulative audience (456,351)

Audience numbers for "Supernatural" (396,169), cumulative audience (757,282)

Daily box office leader ‘Supernatural’

*

"Heo Kakyung! You look so handsome!"

After the greeting on stage, cheers followed the cast of "Supernatural" as they left. Whether they were moviegoers or fans at a fan meeting, someone was even grabbed by a bodyguard while following them out.

Director Cha Jaeho looked somewhat satisfied.

"I'll head down after stopping by the restroom."

As he walked away, the observant staff sighed in relief.

"Every day is suffocating, seriously."

"What more to come? Look at 'City Jungle' catching up. What if they catch up in audience numbers, what will we do about director’s ass then?"

"Hopefully not."

"It’s not just a hope, they are about to break even already."

"It won’t surpass us, right? It can’t be..."

While the staff murmured, Director Cha Jaeho was in the bathroom sitting on the toilet. As he tore off some paper, a voice came from outside.

"Hey, I just arrived. Got tickets for 'City Jungle.'"

Director Cha Jaeho's face crumpled,

"I saw 'Supernatural' as soon as it was released."

His face brightened immediately.

The voice outside nonchalantly added.

"Don’t bother, it's totally boring."

"..."

Director Cha Jaeho sat unable to leave the bathroom stall for a long time.

June 7th

Audience numbers for "City Jungle" 588,154, cumulative audience 1,974,894

Audience numbers for "Supernatural" 342,789, cumulative audience 1,762,983

Box office leader 'City Jungle'

*

["City Jungle" breaks even in just 5 days after release!]

["City Jungle" overtakes "Supernatural" for first place, long-term dominance possible?]

["City Jungle" crowd-funding success attracts investors’ attention]

...The momentum of "City Jungle" is extraordinary. Notably recognized at the Cannes Film Festival, "City Jungle" broke even with 1.6 million viewers in just five days, currently at a cumulative total of 1.97 million...

Interest in the profitable returns of the much-discussed crowd-funding is also peaking. Industry insiders predict that by next week, the returns could exceed 100%...

*

"Hello, QM Live Movie viewers! I'm Heo Kakyung, playing Hyukwoo in 'Supernatural.'"

"I'm Han Seohyun, playing Iju."

As the actors exchanged smiles and responses to scripted questions in front of the camera, Director Cha Jaeho sat in the center, snorting angrily.

"Really? Film critic Kim Hwanju left a review of our 'Supernatural'? What did he say, let me see..."

Kim Hwanju is among the top five recognized film critics in the country. He runs a personal channel specializing in movie analysis and reviews on YouTube, particularly popular among the younger audience.

"Uh, oh..."

Han Seohyun, checking the smartphone, appeared flustered. Heo Kakyung quickly took over.

"He was quite harsh. But such criticism comes from affection, so we'll humbly accept it. Now..."

"Harsh? What did he say? Let me see."

Director Cha Jaeho snatched the phone.

[Rehash, re-rehash, now it's just bland. Tired of it. Better to watch 'City Jungle' one more time instead of 'Supernatural'.]

Already on edge, sparks flew from his eyes.

"Tired of it?! How old is this guy! Nowadays, anyone's a critic, don't watch my movie! Just keep watching those typical Jung Sunwoo movies!"

"..."

A chilling silence fell in the interview room.

The actors and even the staff widened their eyes, wondering if this was really happening.

"Di, Director. This is on air..."

"Edit it!"

"It’s live..."

"..."

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