A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 108

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Genius Director Who Dominates OTT

Episode 108

* * *

3 PM, well past lunch time.

The lights turned on in the 7th floor conference room at SSK, and team leaders from each department began gathering one by one.

CL Team, Research Team, Management Support Team, Marketing Team, Finance Team…

The company’s key personnel had filled their seats for the quarterly meeting.

“Watchout might withdraw from self-production, don’t you think?”

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems like they’re completely turning to distribution for dramas, and they’re still considering the movie side.”

“But that makes sense. Initially, Watchout had a higher market share in Korea than Dayz.”

“They made too many missteps. And their conditions are the worst.”

“Looking at things like this, isn’t the President’s foresight amazing? When he first said we’d sign a supply contract with Tivic instead of Watchout, many people opposed it…”

“If we had gone with Watchout back then, we might have been in the red.”

“Come on, not in the red.”

While the staff were chatting quietly about trends in the OTT industry, the conference room door opened.

The team leaders who had straightened up thinking the Manager had arrived quickly relaxed.

It was Dohyeon-u who had opened the door and entered.

At first, everyone didn’t think much of it.

Since Gong Seok-jun had been temporarily handling Team 4’s senior position for quite a while, they thought he had come to run an errand or something.

But the moment Dohyeon-u sat down in CL Team 4’s seat, people’s gazes poured onto him.

‘What? Why is he sitting down?’

‘Did the Manager tell him to?’

That seat is vacant.

During CL team meetings hosted by President Han Seong-hun, Gong Seok-jun only sits there for convenience.

Even with gazes pouring on him, Dohyeon-u’s expression remained calm.

Just as Marketing Team Leader Jeong Seon-yeong, who was on good terms with Dohyeon-u, was about to ask a question.

“Ah, sorry. I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”

The door opened and Gong Seok-jun entered.

“Shall we start the meeting right away?”

At Gong Seok-jun’s words, the team leaders began adjusting their materials, but the gazes toward Dohyeon-u couldn’t be stopped.

Noticing this, Gong Seok-jun smiled and spoke up.

“Ah, it’s still confidential, but Director Do Dohyeon-u is scheduled to be appointed as Team 4’s senior. I thought it would be good for him to experience a quarterly meeting, so I called him.”

“…Senior?”

“Yes.”

Breaking the brief silence, the CL 2nd Team Leader spoke up.

“So, you mean a supervisory position?”

“No. It’s a rank.”

A silence mixed with bewilderment settled over them.

Of course, everyone knew that Dohyeon-u would eventually become Team 4’s supervisor.

Some people attributed Accomplice and Hanging by a Thread to luck, but Changed Relationship couldn’t be luck.

So the prevailing expectation was that Dohyeon-u would take over as supervisor once Team 4’s production cycle completed one full round without major issues.

But senior was different.

Although used interchangeably within the company, ‘supervisor’ and ‘senior’ were words with significant differences.

Supervisor literally means taking charge of supervising one work or one team.

This was why Dohyeon-u could become supervisor of Accomplice when he was an assistant CE.

But senior was a rank.

A rank that naturally contained the meaning of ‘supervisory position.’

In terms of a regular company, it was the difference between project supervision and promotion to department head.

When serving as supervisor, one would have to vacate the position if an externally recruited senior appeared, but now that wouldn’t be the case.

In other words, Dohyeon-u couldn’t be demoted from senior unless he was fired.

But would President Han Seong-hun have any reason to fire Dohyeon-u?

When casting flows smoothly just by his touch, production luck follows, and box office hits explode one after another.

Even if they were the president themselves, there’d be no reason to fire him.

That meant Dohyeon-u had become the fourth power player in the CL team with fixed authority.

Perhaps…

“Wh-what do you mean.”

The flustered CL 2nd Team Leader.

“…”

He might even become the second power player, surpassing the CL 3rd Team Leader who was sending sharp glances.

Manager Gong Seok-jun couldn’t be unaware of the team leaders’ atmosphere, yet he smiled brightly as if he knew nothing.

“As you all know, Director Do has contributed greatly to the company through Accomplice, Hanging by a Thread, and Changed Relationship, right? It’s a decision to ensure we don’t become an organization that ignores merit… Now, everyone applaud!”

As Gong Seok-jun clapped, they followed with bewildered expressions one by one.

Throughout this, Dohyeon-u maintained his composed expression.

“Now, we’ve congratulated our junior’s promotion, so shall we proceed with the quarterly meeting? Finance Team Leader?”

After the meeting ended, it was natural that Dohyeon-u’s name filled the entire SSK building.

* * *

It was the time when sunset light was spreading through the window of the President’s office.

Han Seong-hun, leaning deep into his chair, let his thoughts drift to a few days ago.

To the moment when he had a conversation with Dohyeon-u right here in this very spot.

“President. I believe I’ve proven myself to both myself and the company. Now I want to take responsibility for Team 4.”

“Of course. Promises must be kept. Director Dohyeon-u will officially become Team 4’s supervisor.”

“No. Not supervisor. I want to become a senior.”

It was something Han Seong-hun had been thinking about too.

If Dohyeon-u really succeeded with the web drama as well, there would be no reason not to promote him to senior.

But it was completely different whether it came from Han Seong-hun’s mouth or from Dohyeon-u’s mouth.

“The CL team’s rank structure has independence, but typically seniors are viewed as department head level. Is Director Do asking me to give you a department head position?”

“I’m sorry, but yes.”

“Are you confident you can handle it?”

“Yes. I’m confident.”

The Dohyeon-u that Han Seong-hun saw was someone strangely lacking in desire for honor or material wealth.

Of course, he receives incentives and is happy when his position rises.

But that joy is pure.

He had never seen him deviate from the premise that ‘recognition comes from creating good works.’

Money and honor were all treated merely as byproducts of his works.

The reason Dohyeon-u continuously rejected Netflix’s Cha Seong-u’s love calls was probably because SSK was freer for creating works.

But his current attitude was somewhat different.

He wanted the ‘rank of senior’ rather than recognition.

He thought there must be a specific reason.

“Is there something you want to do if you become senior?”

“Yes. There is. But to tell you that, I need to ask a presumptuous question.”

“What is it?”

“If you refuse to answer or say no, I’ll cleanly erase today’s conversation from my mind.”

Dohyeon-u, having said that, brought up something unexpected.

“Are you trying to keep Senior Ju Yeong-hun in check? Or do you judge that his usefulness has ended?”

Han Seong-hun’s eyes widened.

Except for Manager Gong Seok-jun, it was a conversation he had never had with anyone.

“Why did you think that?”

“No matter how I think about it, the reason I could come this far was because President Han Seong-hun didn’t support Senior Ju Yeong-hun. I also felt like you were protecting me to keep him in check.”

“If that’s all, I think it’s a leap of logic.”

“It’s a leap to put it into words, but I’ve been watching you for three years, President.”

It was as if he had figured out who Han Seong-hun was as a person.

“Continue.”

“I’m curious whether your actions are a reasonable level of restraint, or if you’re trying to discard me because my usefulness is over.”

“If it’s the former, what would you like to do as a senior?”

“Team 4 will become Team 3.”

He was saying he’d crush them with performance and weight class.

“And if it’s the latter?”

Dohyeon-u spoke with an expression no one had ever seen before.

“I’m going to drive Senior Ju Yeong-hun out of SSK.”

* * *

Employees gathered around the bulletin board in front of the elevator, murmuring.

–

Subject: CL Team 4 Dohyeon-u

Position Change: CE → Senior CE

Effective Date: April 3, 2030

–

“Wow, it’s really true. I didn’t believe it until the end.”

“Wait, how old is Dohyeon-u? Thirty-two? Around that?”

“That was when he joined. He’s thirty-five now.”

“Even thirty-five is young. Too young.”

“Wow, fourth in the CL team at that age? Could he actually be Han Hyeon-u?”

It was because of the personnel announcement that had been rumored but most people didn’t believe.

“So from now on, when we see Dohyeon-u, do we have to call him Senior? Will he make a fuss if we say Hyeon-u?”

“He’s not that type of personality.”

“Only the CEs from Teams 2 and 3 are screwed. They talked so much shit behind his back.”

“If I were on the CL team, I’d just transfer to Team 4. I heard the incentives are no joke… If Dohyeon-u manages the CEs, won’t the performance go up even more?”

“Kwon Cheol started filming, right?”

“Yeah. Dohyeon-u helped a lot with that too. I heard the manager got hooked as soon as he saw the script and called the top-tier actors right on the spot.”

“What about Chae Seo-hui? The historical drama? Did it end up that way?”

“Yeah. Senior Ju Yeong-hun…”

“Shh.”

The Research Team employees who had been chattering shut their mouths.

The 5th floor has the Research Team and Script Team on the left side of the elevator, and CL Teams 2 and 3 on the right side.

Just then, Ju Yeong-hun and a man in his mid-forties had gotten off the elevator.

It was the scriptwriter of the historical drama that Chae Seo-hui had been holding onto, who had just been the topic of conversation.

“Wow, they’re having a meeting at the company.”

“How bold. I heard the writer requested to work with Team 3 first.”

“Really? He must have done something behind the scenes.”

“Dohyeon-u saying that work would be a hit spread through the Marketing Team.”

“Why did that happen? Don’t the Marketing Team usually watch their words?”

“You know that employee who confessed to Dohyeon-u and got rejected? The tall one.”

“Ah, her?”

“It’s just circumstantial evidence.”

Just as the employees who had been whispering were about to return to their seats.

With a ding sound, the elevator doors opened and a handsome man walked out.

It was Dohyeon-u.

Dohyeon-u nodded to the employees and headed straight toward the CL team area without hesitation.

“No way?”

The Research Team and Script Team employees, sensing what was about to happen, followed Dohyeon-u as if entranced.

Those who were holding something tucked their items under their arms, pretending it was a work-related visit…

But there was no need for that.

Because Dohyeon-u was standing with the door open to the meeting room where Ju Yeong-hun and the writer were having their meeting.

“Senior Ju Yeong-hun. Is it really that difficult to keep your word about just quietly doing your work?”

Along with those sharp words.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————