A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 29

—————
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 29

* * *

In the past, people encountered specific issues through TV news or internet news, but times have changed.

The primary platform where information spreads is no longer the news.

It was YouTube.

Most people were encountering new issues through thumbnails that appeared mixed in with personal algorithms or trending videos.

Thanks to this, fake news and tabloids were thriving, but it was also an unstoppable flow of the times.

College student Kwon In-cheol, who was a drama enthusiast, was no different.

‘A new work by Kim Ra-un?’

Perhaps because he usually subscribed to drama-related channels?

【Algorithm of 0%】 began appearing on his main screen.

Kwon In-cheol nodded after skimming through the early part of the drama through one of the videos.

“This looks worth watching?”

That’s how he stored the title 【Algorithm of 0%】 in a corner of his mind.

The situation continued similarly after that.

Perhaps because he had watched a related video once, information related to 【Algorithm of 0%】 kept appearing through the algorithm.

What the writer’s previous works were, what works the director had directed, what the casting behind-the-scenes stories were…

‘They spent quite a bit of money on marketing.’

Around that time, Kwon In-cheol began calling 【Algorithm of 0%】 by the abbreviation ‘Yeongpeoal.’

He had moved past the period of having a vague impression of the work to having a clear recognition of it.

Additionally, he learned that Yeongpeoal and Tivic’s thriller 【Accomplice】 would be released around the same time.

He didn’t know how he found out, but he just naturally learned it while browsing through shorts.

That the overall director of Accomplice was a fellow agency actor with Kim Ra-un.

Even still cuts from an independent film they appeared in together.

He learned everything in passing.

It was trivial information.

Though it was embedded very small in a corner of his mind, it would evaporate over time.

Because there was no category to bind the information together.

But one day.

“Huh?”

A category was created.

‘He badmouthed Kim Ra-un? He held a grudge because his work was stolen during his rookie days?’

The name of that category was.

‘Ah, so he left because he was pushed out of casting by Kim Ra-un.’

Good and evil.

‘They were both rookies anyway. Then didn’t he just lose in terms of acting skills?’

Kim Ra-un, who tried to appear in a low-budget drama with pure passion, was good.

‘Wasn’t that the drama Kim Ra-un completely hard-carried?’

The Tivic director who held a grudge over something that happened nearly 10 years ago was evil.

So these words had to come out.

“Ah, this is a bit…”

Wondering if he was the only one thinking this way, he looked around the community, and the reactions of those who knew about the situation were similar.

-Fucking stupid. Badmouthing Kim Ra-un because of jealousy?

-They said it was low-budget, but I guess their humanity is also low-budget lol

-I guess they didn’t think Kim Ra-un would go to a competing work.

-Idiot lol thinking is fucking short-sighted

-Inferiority complex lumps are all like that

-Isn’t it actually good for Kim Ra-un? I saw on YouTube that Yeongpeoal looks interesting.

-Yeah, like sending away a shit car and catching a Benz

-I should watch Yeongpeoal once.

What would happen next was obvious.

Director Dohyeon-u getting bashed until he was ground to dust.

But well, wasn’t this self-inflicted?

Kwon In-cheol clicked his tongue and closed the internet window.

As Kwon In-cheol thought, the attacks toward Dohyeon-u continued for several days.

The issue also grew bigger.

This was because netizens who were outraged by Kim Ra-un’s story spread posts here and there.

Among those who appeared to be Kim Ra-un’s fandom, many posted Tivic withdrawal certifications on social media.

‘The Tivic drama is ruined, right?’

If public opinion was like this, there was no way the work could receive proper evaluation when it was released.

As a counterbalance, favorable public opinion toward Yeongpeoal only grew.

‘Only the Tivic actors became pitiful.’

But that’s when it happened.

When change occurred.

* * *

Director Jang framed it well.

So that 【Accomplice】 failing and 【Algorithm of 0%】 succeeding would become justice being served.

The more solid the frame of good triumphing over evil became, the more people supported the success of 【Algorithm of 0%】.

In fact, there was no way to stop this plan.

SSK wasn’t the National Intelligence Service, so how could they prevent Director Jang from utilizing his media connections?

However…

There was a situation that Director Jang would absolutely hate.

A situation that no sane producer would ever choose.

A strategy that even CEO Han Seong-hun evaluated as something only a crazy person would think of.

Precisely…

* * *

Q. Please introduce yourself.

A. Hello. I’m Dohyeon-u, a director at SSK, a label under TVictory.

I’m currently serving as the overall director of Tivic’s original drama 【Accomplice】.

An interview with a famous YouTuber who was a former actor.

Q. You voluntarily requested this interview. Can we hear the reason?

A. As you already know, it’s because of the recent issue between myself and actor Kim Ra-un.

Of course, such an interview couldn’t instantly reverse the situation or resolve all suspicions.

That wouldn’t be possible in the internet age.

However…

A. The casting wasn’t done with personal feelings. It was a decision made solely for the work’s completeness.

Q. That sounds like a dangerous statement. Aren’t you saying that if Kim Ra-un had been cast, the work’s completeness would have declined?

A. Yes.

Q. Yes?

A. I mean that’s correct.

Q. Yes?

Kwon In-cheol’s mouth fell wide open as he watched the interview.

“…Is he crazy?”

* * *

“Team Leader Jeong. Dohyeon-u, isn’t this person crazy?”

SSK’s marketing team leader Jeong Seon-yeong looked up.

Her team members were staring at her with reddened eyes.

They hadn’t been able to take their eyes off the monitors for hours because of the interview that exploded like a bomb last night.

“Does it seem that way?”

“What?”

“Does Dohyeon-u look like he’s doing something crazy?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Can we handle this public opinion?”

Jeong Seon-yeong had thought the same way at first.

Even after hearing all the explanations from Dohyeon-u, she had felt that way.

But as she monitored public opinion, she could feel the tide slowly changing.

Exactly as Dohyeon-u had predicted.

“What do you think Dohyeon-u is doing right now?”

“He’s trying to cover up the previous issue with a bigger one.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why is he covering it up?”

“Well… because he’s getting criticized?”

“You shouldn’t do marketing. Is that all you can see?”

“…”

“He’s trying to change the frame.”

A witch hunt criticizing personal morality has no answer.

No matter how much Dohyeon-u explained that he didn’t dislike Kim Ra-un, the public wouldn’t believe him.

But “A work without Kim Ra-un would be better” is a different story.

People would want to compare “a work with Kim Ra-un” and “a work without Kim Ra-un.”

“Still don’t get it? Accomplice has stuck its straw into 0% Algorithm.”

“Ah…!”

Now 0% Algorithm and Accomplice are bound by fate.

0% Algorithm’s weight class now applies to Accomplice as well.

Why?

Because they have to be compared.

No, because people want to compare them.

“Still, it’s still crazy, isn’t it? If he can’t beat 0% Algorithm, Dohyeon-u’s career is over…”

Now there’s no such thing as “fought well despite losing.”

Platform differences, production budget differences, and actors’ name value differences can’t be considered.

From the moment Dohyeon-u claimed that rejecting Kim Ra-un was justified, it became a structure that could only be divided into winners and losers.

That’s why that bastard Director Jang didn’t expect Dohyeon-u to come out like this.

But…

“We should be grateful.”

“What?”

“Could you create this much buzz with eight unknown actors, or even half of this?”

“…It would be impossible.”

“Dohyeon-u staked his entire career and even sacrificed his reputation to set up the stage, and you’re saying such things?”

“…”

“And if Dohyeon-u hadn’t stepped up, the next target would have been the Eum Seong-hyeon casting controversy.”

It’s obvious they would have brought it up when Dohyeon-u’s witch hunt ended and the buzz died down.

They would have screamed everywhere that Kim Ra-un was criticized because of a failed idol.

Then Kim Ra-un would have received a lot of sympathy votes again.

“So we need to drag the confrontation between Accomplice and 0% Algorithm until the release date. Can’t we do that much when our CE sacrificed this much?”

“No, we can!”

“Understood!”

The marketing team members, now motivated, began moving diligently.

Watching them, Jeong Seon-yeong had one question.

‘Did Dohyeon-u really sacrifice himself?’

Looking at the situation, Dohyeon-u did sacrifice himself for Accomplice.

But Dohyeon-u’s face when he talked about the plan was too bright.

‘I’ll find out by watching.’

* * *

This is probably the first time in Korean drama history.

A producer shouting for people to compare his work with another work.

SBX and the 【0% Algorithm】 side were angry, asking what that crazy guy was doing, but it was already too late.

Countless people’s attention had started focusing on it.

Of course, the charges against me hadn’t disappeared.

-Doesn’t Dohyeon-u seem like a fucking attention seeker?

-Yeah, they said he was a failed actor, but he seems to really love being in front of people.

-Is this really something a director needs to step up for? There are directors and actors too.

-Isn’t a director the same as a director? I thought Dohyeon-u was a director?

-No, he’s an OTT director. There’s a separate directing director. Someone called Jeong Hee-su.

-Jeong Hee-su? Orange Tunnel Jeong Hee-su?

-Jeong Hee-su directs really well? He was a successful director in the independent film scene.

-Then why is he stepping up when there’s such a director lol

-But since this all started with Dohyeon-u being unfairly criticized, isn’t it right for him to step up?

-Face fan hello

-Honestly, that’s right. He is handsome…

-Why is there no production information about Accomplice? Didn’t these guys even do script reading?

-I looked it up too, but there’s nothing on Tivic’s homepage except that it’s a June release;

-It’s a contest work

-Oh, it’s a contest work?

-Yeah

-Independent film director, contest work, and thriller genre…?

-Isn’t that the boring trinity?

-Still, we’ll have to watch to know. Seeing the director doing crazy things, he must be confident in his work.

-Let’s stay neutral for now. Kim Ra-un might really not have fit.

-He is a one-trick chaebol second generation lol

-Right. He’s not at the level to be paired with Seo Jae-yeon and Choi Jae-hyeok, but got pushed up because his company is DP.

-What bullshit;; Kim Ra-un is the victim.

The judgment against me was suspended.

Until viewers could watch the works and compare them directly.

Accomplice’s weight class rose at an tremendous speed…

Tivic and SSK released money.

* * *

A college student riding the subway with a friend was looking at his smartphone for a while, then happened to see an advertisement board.

[But when they arrived at the deep forest cabin, the way back had mysteriously disappeared?]

‘What fairy tale are they advertising?’

Since it was a subway ad, there was no sound, but thanks to the subtitles, he could tell it was a fairy tale.

The video itself was made of characters created from primary-colored paper moving crookedly.

‘Is it something like Pororo?’

Just as the college student was about to lose interest and look at his smartphone again.

[My friend is dead, you know?]

Something about the fairy tale content was strange.

The first murder.

A community system where everyone monitors each other.

A truth game to find the culprit.

Friendship and memories crumbling in the process.

The extreme contrast between the screen and content captured the college student’s attention.

At the same time, images of a completely different tone intruded between the innocent fairy tale scenes.

A face screaming in front of a mirror.

Hands strangling a neck.

Someone’s back silhouette catching their breath in the darkness.

A man rushing forward violently….

Short ones lasted 0.3 seconds.

Long ones lasted 0.5 seconds.

Still cuts containing suspense were inserted like flashes in fleeting moments.

‘What was that?’

The College Student watched the mysterious trailer without blinking an eye.

Then he tapped his Friend’s shoulder.

“Did you just see that?”

“See what?”

“Didn’t you see the ad?”

“What? The fairy tale ad?”

“No, that wasn’t a fairy tale.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Wait. It’ll come on again.”

Eventually, the College Student was able to confirm the title ‘Accomplice’ when the next ad started.

It was that work that had been heating up the internet lately.

This same phenomenon began happening on TV, Subway, Bus, Outdoor, and YouTube.

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