Genius Manager Who Hears Voices - Chapter 88



Only Noblemtl

Episode 88

“If you are an artist who has worked with me, what exactly do you mean by that…?”

When Heeseong asked, An Joongseon answered with a faint smile.

“What kind of country is Saudi Arabia? Isn’t it a country that, once it starts something, it goes beyond what you can imagine? Even in soccer, it is a country that has broken the standards of the entire world.”

Saudi Arabia is the country that has poured astronomical amounts of money into bringing world-class stars to its league.

The transfer fee was so huge that it completely destroyed the existing salary system, and the players had no choice but to turn their backs on it.

In a way, it’s natural.

Because professionals want to be treated well, and that treatment ultimately means money.

Who would not be shaken if they were told that they would be paid dozens of times more than the amount they had previously received?

Their astronomical investments were still ongoing, despite having already poured in ridiculous amounts of money.

“But now, in that country, they are trying to become one of the top 10 entertainment powerhouses in the world. If the information was sent directly by Prince Ali, it means that it is not just a personal greed or ambition. This is especially true when you consider his royal lineage.”

Hee-sung nodded his head in response to those words.

“The order? Do you know anything about Prince Aliba, PD?”

“While we were talking on the phone earlier, I also did some research. There are over 7,000 princes in Saudi Arabia, so I was wondering if it could be an impersonation or a scam.”

“Huh? Seven thousand?! Why, how can there be so many princes?”

“They say that even distant relatives of the royal family are all given the title of prince or princess. Naturally, they are all people with great wealth. We even had a Saudi prince on our radio show a while ago.”

“PD, is this the radio? The Saudi prince?”

“That means there are many people with the title of ‘prince.’ Most of them have been studying abroad since they were young, which is kind of a tradition. The current king is also said to have studied abroad in the United States.”

“ah.”

“But even among those numerous princes, Prince Aliba’s rank seems to be one of the few on the list. He already has a considerable amount of official activity and his name is quite well-known outside of the country.”

At those words, Hee-sung takes out his phone and searches for Prince Ali.

As Ahn Jung-seon said, there were indeed several pages of articles related to him.

“He is neither the king nor the crown prince, but he is known to that extent, which means he has considerable influence in his own country. So, I guess the reason he invited Jeong Hee-seong was to come up with some unconventional and surprising proposals.”

Kim Jae-han, who had been silently listening to Ahn Jung-seon’s words, suddenly chimed in and said.

“Surely, when it comes to the entertainment industry, you can’t help but think of Korea. Saudi Arabia is also an Asian country, and K-POP and K-Drama have a large fandom not only in Asia but all over the world. No matter what, I think you should at least prepare yourself mentally, Heesung-ah?”

“Are you mentally prepared?”

“As Senior An said earlier, once they set their mind to something, they will definitely achieve it no matter how much money they have to spend. Why would they call you here for nothing? It means that you will definitely play a central role in what they want to do.”

“In short, it’s like sitting on a pile of money, Mr. Jeong Hee-seong. And, depending on who Mr. Jeong Hee-seong picks, they will also end up in a similar situation.”

Seo Kwang-ho from the entertainment department also added:

Of course, this is just speculation, but since they are all seasoned PDs, it was a story that I couldn’t take lightly.

Heeseong, who was lost in thought, spoke while touching his chin.

“But I’m not sure whether I should accept their offer or not. I can’t just blindly step forward just because they offer me a lot of money. Above all, it’s a matter of the country’s image.”

At those words, the other PDs nodded their heads as if they agreed with that part.

“That’s certainly true. If it comes across as strange, it could be met with criticism, saying it’s a national disgrace.”

“I think it depends on what shape and picture it is. Jeong Hee-seong will make the decision at that time.”

“Hey, okay. We don’t know what they’ll say yet, but let’s go and listen for now. If not now, when else will we have a one-on-one meeting with a Saudi prince?”

Heeseong, who had a serious expression on his face, burst into laughter at Kim Jaehan’s words.

“Us? Are you going too, hyung?”

“Huh? Of course, Inma. We’re talking about cultural content, so wouldn’t it be better if we had PDs like us to talk about it? We’re in charge of dramas, variety shows, and radio, respectively!”

Heeseong looked at the other two PDs.

Then, they smiled awkwardly and spoke to Hee-sung, as if their feelings were not much different from Kim Jae-han’s.

“Haha, we would like to go there sometime this time.”

***

A few days later, Hee-sung and his party visited Saudi Arabia and their mouths were wide open.

I accepted their invitation, but I didn’t expect the hospitality to be this amazing.

Kim Jae-han opened his mouth after staring at the mansion for a while, the end of which was unclear.

“Wow… … The mansions in Hollywood were nothing. What is this? It’s hard to tell if this is a house or a city.”

Other PDs also showed similar reactions.

“This is my first time on a plane, and it’s been a series of amazing things since I set foot here. If not now, when else in my life will I have an experience like this?”

“Haha, thanks to Mr. Jeong Hee-seong, I ended up doing a field trip without even intending to. It was called ‘Overseas Exploration to Develop Future Capabilities.’”

At those words, Heeseong suddenly remembered why they had come to America.

After some time had passed, they finally met Prince Aliba, the host of this place.

“… … So, in short, can I interpret this to mean that you want to invite Korean celebrities to Saudi Arabia to perform and engage in various cultural exchanges?”

Heeseong asked the interpreter Park Seung-hwan, who was interpreting Prince Ali’s words right next to him.

In order to ensure smoother communication, Alibaba hired a Korean interpreter this time.

“Yes, that’s right. We have already invited world-famous artists, and Prince Aliba wants K-pop singers to join them.”

What I learned when I came here was that the person in charge of the entertainment business in Saudi Arabia was none other than Prince Ali.

And he was making remarkable progress with the full support of the Crown Prince.

“We also hope that more dramas and movies set in Saudi Arabia will be produced. The two places that the prince has chosen as the first targets are Korea and Hollywood.”

“Hollywood? So you made a similar offer to Hollywood?”

At those words, Prince Aliba started to say something, and after a while, Park Seung-hwan interpreted what he said.

“It is said that Hollywood is already producing several films set in various parts of Saudi Arabia. Also, all of these films are scheduled to be released here.”

“Are there movie theaters in Saudi Arabia…? As far as I know, the nearest movie theaters are in Dubai or Bahrain.”

Before coming here, Heeseong searched various things about the popular culture here.

One of the most shocking things was that Saudis had to travel to other countries to see movies.

But now things seemed to have changed quite a bit.

“Yes, theaters have just recently resumed operations. And they plan to support the production of close to a hundred films in the coming years, not just in theaters, but also in Hollywood and the Korean market.”

“About a hundred? No, how much are you going to invest in that…?”

Park Seung-hwan immediately continued the interpretation in the middle, and soon a shocking number came out of Prince Ali’s mouth.

“76 billion dollars.”

This time it was in English rather than Arabic, so I was able to convert the size of the number right away.

At the same time, the mouths of the group, including Heeseong, couldn’t help but drop open.

“Did you just say 76 billion dollars… … ? Then in Korean currency… … .”

“It’s probably 100 trillion. As you can see from the information I sent you, Saudi Arabia hopes to become one of the top 10 entertainment countries in the world. It also hopes to surpass all the surrounding countries and become the center of film in the Middle East. I think it’s easy to understand that this is a large-scale investment for that purpose.”

Who knew oil money could be this powerful?

I was simply dumbfounded when I heard the stories I had only ever heard about in articles in person.

100 trillion. That’s a whopping one-sixth of our country’s annual budget.

To think that you would pour all that money into just the entertainment business.

It was difficult to decide whether this country was great or whether Prince Aliba, sitting before me, was great.

Prince Aliba, who had been staring blankly at Heeseong and his party, opened his mouth and began a long explanation.

“We decided that the fastest option for growing the film market was Hollywood. No matter what anyone says, it is the number one place in the world film industry. And the reason we chose Korea was also very simple. It is because the people of the country are very passionate about their music and dramas.”

“Are you talking about Korean dramas?”

“We have maintained a very closed policy for a long time. But even in North Korea, the most closed country in the world, aren’t South Korean music and dramas widely available? It’s the same here. There are now a significant number of people who love K-pop and K-dramas.”

“ah.”

“What I’m going to tell you from now on will be a very groundbreaking proposal for you. Also, I have no doubt that it will be a wonderful collaboration that will be a win-win for both of us.”

At those words, Heeseong swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

Because I had already heard the investment amount of 100 trillion, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about what would be said next.

And then, the words that came out of Aliba’s mouth were truly shocking to everyone.

Genius Manager Who Hears Voices