The next day, inside an unseemly small coffee shop, three men with masks and caps hiding their faces sat next to each other on one side of the table, waiting for a single man.
They were Mikhail, the director, and the writer of the drama, To Your Heart.
Other than the fact that they were hiding their faces, there was nothing unusual about them. Their clothes seemed casual, something normal outgoing people wore on a daily basis.
At this moment, a black cab stopped in front of the cafe, and a young man got out of it, mask and cap hiding his hair and appearance; however, his chestnut brown eyes were exposed to everyone's gaze.
He hurried inside the cafe, looking around as if searching for someone before his gaze suddenly stopped at the table with the three men with caps and masks.
He went and sat on the opposite seat from them before exchanging formal greetings and offering handshakes.
Mikhail mediated the meeting.
"Aren, tell us what your requests are."
Mikhail took out a notebook and a pen, ready to write Aren's requests. He still had to get a contract drafted that included Aren's requests.
"I'm not happy with my character's design. I would like some changes to be done." Aren said without any hesitation, determined to have the changes done to the script.
Currently, his character Shin was written as an introvert who cannot talk to the female lead and is a typical topper of his school. The first few episodes of the second season would show Shin's backstory with the female lead to introduce him into the story as a major part.
Aren didn't have any problem with the thought and story; however, an introverted character who was simply a topper wouldn't do his debut any good.
After observing the actors' careers all his life, he knew what kind of roles would make the viewers the actor's fans and what roles would send them away.
He could already think of the demeaning comments he would get to see on social media in response to this role.
"Aren, an actor's job is to play the role given to them. They are not included in the creative department." The director said, trying to persuade Aren.
If the character design were to be changed, the scenes would need to be rewritten, delaying the production. It would be better if he could just persuade Aren to drop the idea.
"No." Aren shook his head. "Actors aren't robots who would just play any role you give them. They have the right to choose roles."
Aren was firm with his decision. It would be better to debut with a role that he deemed worth doing, instead of just going with this role.
"But the scenes would need to be rewritten. The production will get delayed. The announcement had already been made." The director tried to convince him to go easy on them.
However, Aren was unrelenting. "If you think you cannot accommodate my request, then there is no need to discuss any further. I won't be accepting this role."
Suddenly, the director's face paled.
The only reason the drama had broken records with its second season was Aren's debut. Moreover, since his acting had been praised by a legend like Dailen Shot, casting any other actor would be damaging to the drama.
Even the lead could be replaced, but not Aren.
It was because of Aren that the drama suddenly came to the limelight, receiving a high production budget.
If the news about him not starring in the drama came out, the drama would surely suffer. Moreover, fans would throw curses at them for letting Aren leave.
Well, there were Ventage fans who would praise them; however, they would not watch the drama without Aren.
After all, the drama needed viewership to be judged as successful.
Furthermore, the AxisPlay executives had directed the director to increase Aren's scenes in the second season to get more viewership.
Aren was their golden goose; they couldn't let him go at any cost.
"Then what do you suggest? Tell us how you want the character design to be." The director sighed in defeat and asked.
"I would like to discuss that with Sir Cleo in private," Aren informed, glancing at the writer. "Could you please give us a few minutes?"
The director exchanged glances with Mikhail before nodding. They both went and sat at another table to the back.
Aren talked with the writer, telling him all that he wanted in the character.
After a long while, Mikhail suddenly saw the writer, Cleo Morris, get up.
Cleo walked up to Mikhail and said, "I'll need to take my leave. I have to write the new script."
"What?" Mikhail and the director were wide eyed, looking at Cleo in surprise.
In the next second, Mikhail calmed himself and asked, "How long will it take?"
"About five days." Cleo replied calmly.
Mikhail nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.
It was a short amount of time, nothing major to delay the schedule. Five days would go by in just signing the other actors and securing the location for the shoot.
Cleo gave a short nod before taking his leave.
Mikhail and the director, Wren Woods, went and sat in front of Aren.
"Are you ready to play the role now?" Mikhail asked inquisitively, leaning a bit forward with interest.
Aren shook his head. "Can't say. I'll first need to see the new script."
Mikhail gave a nod of understanding and suggested. "Then why don't we meet after the script is finished to discuss other details?"
****
After five days, in the same cafe, Aren flipped the pages of the rewritten script.
Aren was the first one to look at this revised script since there could be some changes that he might request.
The writer, Cleo, sitting in front of him, was looking at him anxiously, waiting for his reaction.
After flipping the last page of the script, Aren heaved a sigh of relief, letting out a satisfied smile; however, the smile was hidden behind his black mask.
"How is it?" Cleo asked anxiously, raising his eyebrows nervously.
He was still a newbie writer, so he couldn't help but want acknowledgement. He was mostly insecure, making him want to seek people's approval.
However, due to this reason, his writing was passionate and fresh, containing the flames of creativity.
"Great," Aren commented.
Cleo's mood instantly lightened up, a bit on the happier side.
However, Aren wasn't finished. "There can still be some minor improvements, but I will take care of them in my acting."
Cleo nodded, feeling like he was in safe hands. Somehow Aren's confidence gave him reassurance and a feeling that this drama might lift his career to new heights.
Mikhail, sitting beside Cleo, spoke up: "Since you are satisfied with the script, let's discuss your fees."
Aren nodded with a smile. "Let's do that."
"Then why don't you give me a number you see fitting?" Mikhail said with a salesman-like smile.
Aren shook his head. "I think you should quote a number based on my need and value."
Aren had been a CEO of an entertainment agency. He was familiar with these negotiation tactics.
Mikhail wanted Aren to quote a price to know his fee expectations. If Aren asked for a lower price than their budget, he would try to go even lower. And if Aren asked a higher price, he would outright reject him and try to persuade him to a low price.
The correct answer was to let Mikhail quote a price and then ask for more than what he would offer.
Mikhail was silent for a while, seemingly pondering in his head.
Aren, to add more pressure on him, added, "Remember, my name alone brings free publicity. My acting was praised by an acting coach like Dailen Shot. Moreover, I guarantee a high viewership at least on the first episode since fans who hate me would watch the show just to find something to criticize."
His eyes shone with interest as he continued. "Taking all of this into account, what do you think is my value?"
Mikhail gulped hard from the tension in the air, seemingly under pressure.
To get out of this situation, he offered the realistic fees, the same as the lead of the drama.
He showed two fingers and offered, "Two million. That's how much Leon is getting. You will get as much as the lead of the drama."
Aren shook his head. "That's too low, don't you think?"
Mikhail took in a deep breath and raised another finger.
"Three million."
Aren shook his head.
Mikhail and Cleo looked at him with wide eyes.
After a few moments of silence, Mikhail bit his lower lip and raised another finger.
"Four million. This is the max I can offer."
Aren's eyes shone with amusement as he shook his head again.
Mikhail's lips twitched, almost wanting to strangle the shameless person in front of him.
Aren wouldn't have been so bold if the situation was different; however, right now he held the power. He knew he was irreplaceable, so they would agree to pay him a ridiculous amount of fees.
Moreover, they had officially posted on their PulseX account that they were increasing the budget for the drama.
Then there was the article about them receiving a lot of new subscribers thanks to Aren.
Shouldn't he get a part of that profit?
"I can't go any higher. I don't have the authority. Just tell me a number, and I will ask the producers if they agree."
Aren's eyes shone with cold amusement.
The negotiations went on for quite some time before Aren agreed to the final price of 8 million, the highest any rookie received for an AxisPlay drama.
Mikhail went home with shaky legs that day.