To Find a Path within a Fog (3)

… What? What would fail?

I felt like I had taken a blow to the back of my head. I flailed in this shock for a few seconds before hastily regaining my senses.

Now was not the time to do this. Figuring out why Royal Family flopped was the most important thing to do right now. If I knew the reason, I could look for a way to change the future.

Tense, I waited for the woman's voice. A second was terrifyingly long.

Say it. Right now. Quickly.

"The reason the drama flopped…"

That's it!

Just as the woman opened her mouth and my ears were perked, my vision went dark again.

"Wow, Mr. Sunwoo! I think the impact of this will be quite large?"

Someone slapped my back.

My static-filled vision abruptly became clear. A blinding white light was beaming down on me. The employees around me were chatting noisily, and Im Seoyoung and LJ were reflected on the TV screen in front of me.

When I willed it, my hand rose. I had returned to the present.

What the heck? Was that really the end of the foresight? It ended like that?

"Why do you look so out of it?"

The female PR Team employee shoved her flushed face towards me and asked.

"Is it because netizens will cause a commotion? Uh, wait. Royal Family rose to fifth place in the real-time search rankings!"

People kept patting my shoulders and back as they talked, but I didn't have the leisure to reply. I was completely absorbed in my thoughts about the future I had just seen. As I hadn't been able to listen to it until the end, a question left my mind in a mess.

Why did Royal Family flop?

Just why?

*

I didn't sleep a wink.

I carefully read Royal Family's synopsis and script again. I meticulously checked all information regarding the drama, including Well-Made Production.

I still didn't know why this project would flop.

If Royal Family was a stock, it would be the 'blue-chippiest' stock amongst blue-chip stocks. It was a project Well-Made Production, which produced a mountain of hit dramas and movies, worked hard on. Since the Chinese side was providing the capital, their production budget was so big that we would be filming overseas half the time.

It was also headed by a producer known for his direction and a famous writer.

The script's polish couldn't be better.

They were also putting tons of work into casting, especially for the main face of the drama, the male lead. Yoon Taekyung, a world star whose popularity reached the sky in China, was being mentioned a lot, and I heard that discussions were almost over and all they had to do was sign.

On top of all that, the drama was completely produced beforehand.

No matter how closely I examined things, there was no reason for it to flop.

Only one thing remained. Either too many cooks spoiled the broth because of hardcore fans like in Mermaid out of Water's case or an unexpected incident occurred like how the writer and director had an extramarital affair like in Time Slip's case.

If that was the case, then there wasn't anything I could do unless I saw the future again.

However, there was no guarantee that my future foresight ability would help me at an opportune time. Hindsight was 20/20. Damn it, if I saw the future before we chose Royal Family, no, even if I saw it before we signed the contract…

I was going crazy. Really. What should I do?

I agonized over this while pulling my hair. How could I change the future?

While I was doing this, my name reached first-place on a portal site's real-time search ranking.

Morning arrived, yet I hadn't straightened anything out. It was time to go to work.

I quickly finished getting ready and took my phone. Messages were pouring in throughout the night because of yesterdays' broadcast, and yet, it was still vibrating nonstop.

I didn't have the leisure to go through all of them so I flipped through a few public contacts, but the contents were similar, asking me to contact them back because they would like an interview or discuss making an appearance on their show.

Many were about how the internet was in a commotion after yesterday's broadcast.

I had completely forgotten about the broadcast because I was preoccupied with thoughts of the stupid hint from the future and Royal Family. After thinking that I will look over them again when I got to work, I put my phone in my pocket.

My odd day began when I met the woman living in the unit next to me. We had only greeted each other with nods before, yet she gave me weird glances before asking,

"Excuse me, I'm having a hard time because I haven't gotten a job for the past few months, I'll probably get one before summer, right?"

"Ah… Yes, I hope you get one soon."

While I wondered where this question suddenly came from, I didn't dwell on it long because of the chaos in my head and simply nodded, thinking, 'I guess she's really frustrated with job hunting.'

The next incident occurred when I entered a coffee shop so that I could down some caffeine and come to my senses. I was standing in line when I heard a woman and a man talking in front of me.

"Hmm, what should I drink? Oppa, what do you think's tasty here?"

"How would I know that? Am I Chief Jung?"

I was shocked as I initially thought they were talking about me.

Thinking that it was one of the countless 'Chief Jung's in Korea, the two turned around after ordered. Our gazes met.

"Euaah, what a surprise!"

"Oh my god! What the heck? Speak of the devil."

I was also freaked out.

Though I forgot to wear my glasses, I shouldn't be at the point where I cause that sort of reaction. What 'speak of the devil'? Don't tell me the 'Chief Jung' they were talking about was me?

It wasn't just them either. From the coffee shop employees to the customers sitting at tables, they were all looking at me. I kept hearing 'Jung Sunwoo' and 'Chief Jung' being mentioned in their murmurs.

Something was odd.

While there were people who recognized me, they were a minority with sharp eyes. On top of that, an even smaller minority amongst them actually acted familiar and struck a conversation with me even though I wasn't a celebrity. Yet, it felt like the majority of people were going to come at me.

Was 'Now, We're's influence this great?

"Uhhh, hello. Could I ask you something?"

I controlled my expression after hearing a woman talk to me with a face flushed with excitement.

"Ah, yes. What is it?"

"We're going to get married this year. What month do you think would be best to hold the ceremony?"

"… Why would you ask me…?"

I was so dumbfounded that my concerns floated away.

With the soon-to-be newlyweds as the start, people who seemed to have waited for this moment crowded around me. They began jokingly asking me strange questions as though they had come across a fun event.

Almost fleeing, I ran to my van. I immediately went online.

I doubted my eyes for a moment. My name was spread like cockroach eggs on social media, portal, and community sites.

My name was inserted in posts and comments completely unrelated to Neptune and 'Now, We're'.

For example, like these…

-If you're curious, ask Jung Sunwoo/

-Do you think I'm Chief Jung?

-Even my daughter-in-law doesn't know. Even Jung Sunwoo doesn't know.

Oh my god. What was this? Was this a dream?

What was happening right now?

I was blankly staring at my phone screen when my phone range. It was Team Leader Park. I heard her voice before I even placed my phone on my ear after accepting the call.

-You're on your way to work, right? Come quick! Quick!

*

"Ohh, Chief Jung!"

When I put my hand out for a handshake, a woman I was seeing for the first time massaged my hand as though it was made of gold. It felt like she would soon hug me and pat me on my butt.

"She's in charge of marketing over at Well-Made Production."

Team Leader Park smiled happily as she introduced the woman.

When I sat at the table in a dazed state, Team Leader Park said,

"You have a good idea of what's going on online, right?"

"I did see it on my way here."

"A fan in Neptune's official fan café made this and posted it on there. Other people began posting it elsewhere and it spread throughout the night."

Team Leader Park turned on her tablet and showed me what the fan had made.

The title was [Sorted Facts Regarding Neptune's Manager, Chief Jung. Warning: You may wet your pants].

From Next K-Star, the person neatly organized all the projects I partook in and enclosed a description. The clip of yesterday's 'Now, We're' broadcast couldn't compare to this. This was almost a research paper.

It even included about how Im Seoyoung's mother went to a shaman, the shaman's declaration that a snake biting good luck would arrive and to not let go of it, as well as the fact that I was born on the Year of the Snake. We had only mentioned it once in a magazine interview in the past.

At the end of the post was the information that I was promoted to a chief position.

"Look at the comments below."

Team Leader Park scrolled down.

-What the heck is this? I wet and changed my pants twice while reading this.

-These are all true? Really? I want him to predict the results of the World Cup.

-This is real. I heard from someone I know that, because everything he touches turns out well, W&U promoted him so that he wouldn't go somewhere else.

-Is he just unbelievably lucky? Or is he that talented? This could be the mystery of the year?

-While his talent must have played a part, most of it should have been luck. If he had the skill to pick out successful projects and songs, why would he be a chief? He should just found his own company and be CEO.

-But if his luck is that good, isn't that itself amazing?

-I want to ask him various questions. I feel like he'll guess the right answer.

-I also want to ask him questions.

"Your name spread like this and the situation has become like this. You saw how people began using your name like some sort of buzzword, right?"

Team Leader Park looked like she had won the lottery.

"It isn't just the entertainment industry, your name is popping up in cultural, societal, and even political discussions. I don't think will fade in a day or two. I think it'll spread like a trend."

"And we'll be fanning the flames so that it does."

The woman in charge of Well-Made Production's marketing joined in.

"Would you like to have a look at this as well?"

She flipped to another page on the tablet. It was pasted with excerpt comments from another website.

-What's the new drama Chief Jung Sunwoo chose? Will that also be a success?

-It's Royal Family. If that's a success too, then it'll really send shivers down my spine.

-During Cat Guardian Ghost, they made up curious about the broadcast because of Lee Songha's acting controversy, now they're making us curious whether this drama will be a success or not.

"Since the project you selected after Cat Guardian Ghost was Royal Family, our project is trending as much as you."

At her words, Team Leader Park nodded as she added,

"People are curious about the drama before it's even started, doesn't how much anticipation they have remind you of Cat Guardian Ghost? That's why we're planning on using the same strategy for Royal Family."

"… The same strategy?"

"Raising the stakes like then."

I felt like I was going crazy.

I almost spat the words that had crawled their way up my throat. The situation this time was different from before. Royal Family was going to flop. Thinking about how to raise the stakes wasn't the issue, it was figuring out a way to get off this sinking ship.

The woman in charge of marketing said,

"We didn't expect this situation at all so there's a fuss at our company as well, talking about how we hit jackpot by just sending out a single press release. This really seems like the heavens are helping Royal Family become a hit."

"Well-Made saved marketing expenses because of Mr. Sunwoo and it looks like promoting this will be a breeze. Will nothing come his way if things go well?"

"Of course, there will. We get tons of inquiries from potential investors when promotions are good. We might even be stacked with product placements. If Mr. Sunwoo can keep helping out like now, how can we take it all for ourselves?"

"For your reference, Mr. Sunwoo already has a car."

Team Leader Park said jokingly as she winked at me. Damn it, it felt like someone jump roping using my windpipe.

Team Leader Park tapped her tablet as she said,

"Also, getting to the main point. The press is making a fuss, asking for a few comments from you. It's about time for us to start sending additional press releases anyways. We are planning on adding one or two comments from you. It's okay if they are simple, what do you think?"

The woman in charge of marketing held my hand as she requested,

"If it's okay, I want to ask you something. What made you choose Royal Family as a project that will succeed, and how successful you think this project will be?"

I really felt like I was going hopping mad.

… How would I resolve this situation?