A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Director Who Dominates OTT

 

Episode 36

 

* * *

 

On the smartphone screen, Eum Seong-hyeon, or rather Unpack, is dancing.

 

He seems to be doing his best, but something feels unnatural.

 

It looks kind of jerky too.

 

Did they manipulate the frames?

 

As I’m watching the screen closely with reasonable suspicion, the video suddenly changes.

 

To a compilation of Kim Ra-un’s acting highlights from Youngpal.

 

It’s not that the shorts moved on.

 

The two videos are connected as one shorts.

 

I can feel the malice.

 

I clicked my tongue and went to the wiki, where Eum Seong-hyeon’s page was in the middle of a real-time editing war today too.

 

Until morning, his occupation was listed as ‘actor’, but now it’s ‘failed idol’.

 

At least ‘failed idol’ is okay.

 

There were cases where much worse expressions were posted.

 

By the way, this kind of wiki defense is also the agency’s role, but M2M is neglecting it.

 

There are about 4 months left on the contract, but Eum Seong-hyeon declared he wouldn’t renew.

 

Go Team Leader, who couldn’t stand watching, gave orders to D.P’s Marketing Team yesterday.

 

Honestly, I don’t understand what’s such a big problem about being an idol.

 

It’s not like he was cast for popularity and then ruined the work.

 

It’s not just me who thinks this way.

 

When monitoring internet reactions, there were many responses asking why there’s such a fuss.

 

But those attacking Eum Seong-hyeon also had their own reasonable logic.

 

Namely, that he’s the protagonist.

 

-There’s nothing wrong with Eum Seong-hyeon’s acting, but isn’t there no particular reason for him to be the protagonist?

 

-Yeah honestly if they weren’t an idol, they probably wouldn’t have been the main character.

 

-Eum Seong-hyeon doesn’t have any special strengths compared to other actors. Isn’t his acting actually slightly inferior?

 

-It would have been better if Jeong-hun played Hyeon-tae.

 

-Who’s playing Jeong-hun?

 

-Jeong-hun.

 

-I mean, who’s the actor?

 

-Jeong-hun.

 

-Fuck, I’ll go search and come back.

 

-Searched and came back? Who is it?

 

-Jeong-hun.

 

Dramas involve investments ranging from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of won.

 

The protagonist of such a big project should have something special, but episodes 1 and 2 didn’t show Eum Seong-hyeon’s specialness.

 

And it’s not like he helps with marketing either.

 

-I was already thinking the protagonist’s role was ambiguous if you take away the loop ability.

 

-The theater troupe actors must feel sorry. They must have felt deprived watching.

 

-Even Eumseong County is only in its 20s lol

 

-Why did Dohyeon-u do that?

 

-What do you mean what? They obviously did it because it benefits them lol

 

-What benefit?

 

-Your Honor, I didn’t say anything.

 

Of course, most of these attacks have no basis.

 

But hatred is an easily contagious emotion.

 

“That’s why he should have used Kim Ra-un. What is this? Making a good drama and then because of one protagonist casting choice.”

 

I turned my head at the sudden voice and saw Chae Seo-hui standing there.

 

“What?”

 

“I just overheard it in the lounge.”

 

“No matter how I look at it, Seo-hui, you have a talent for eavesdropping.”

 

After saying that, we looked at each other and grinned.

 

“Hehehe.”

 

Chae Seo-hui even made a laughing sound.

 

“Hyeon-u, you really seem to have nerves of steel.”

 

“It was going to spread anyway, right? It’s better to release it at the timing we want.”

 

“Still. I couldn’t have done it.”

 

That’s right.

 

Actually, I was the one who spread the information that Eum Seong-hyeon is an idol.

 

I thought it would be revealed naturally if left alone, but it was quiet so I took direct action.

 

Of course, it was done after reaching an agreement with Eum Seong-hyeon.

 

“It’s proceeding according to plan, but are the actors’ mental states okay?”

 

I was worried about that part at first too.

 

-Park Seongwon: Hey, unpack hahahaha

 

-So Jeong-hun: This was edited with AI, right? Right?

 

-Yu Won-sang: I think he dances worse than me?

 

-Eum Seong-hyeon: That’s my actual dancing, but the debut song suddenly changed a week before debut. The choreography even came out 4 days before. I only did poorly on that stage, the other stages weren’t bad, but they maliciously (see more)

 

-Lee Seon-jae: This is the first time I’ve seen Seong Hyeon type such a long KakaoTalk message.

 

“They don’t seem bothered at all.”

 

“What? Weren’t our actors originally kind of like sunfish?”

 

They were like that at first.

 

Everyone was in situations where they had to be weak.

 

But not anymore.

 

They’ve become strong.

 

“Don’t worry and let’s just wait for 10 o’clock.”

 

“Aren’t you drinking with the actors today?”

 

“Everyone’s managing their diet. I got scolded by Go Team Leader.”

 

I don’t know how much I got yelled at when he said that while you don’t gain weight no matter what you eat, not everyone is like that.

 

Of course, this time too I responded with my crying act.

 

“I’m going to watch it at the office. I have some work to do overtime.”

 

“Let’s watch together. I need to organize meeting minutes too.”

 

Time passed quickly as we handled the backlog of paperwork.

 

June 14th. 10 PM.

 

Accomplice Episode 3 was released.

 

* * *

 

Old friends don’t need much conversation.

 

Silence is uncomfortable because of the pressure to fill the gaps between relationships.

 

It wasn’t unusual for Go Yeongtae and Gil Sanghun to watch Episode 3 without a single word of conversation.

 

That’s when the drama passed the 1/3 point.

 

“Hey, Yeongtae.”

 

“What.”

 

“Did you know the drama would do well?”

 

“The timing matters. Before receiving grace or after?”

 

“Before.”

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

He hated holidays.

 

Because of relatives who clicked their tongues saying that after parents worked their bones off to send him to a prestigious engineering school, he’s just doing drama writing.

 

Moreover, even his parents, who had taken his side for the first few months, gradually changed their attitude.

 

They said he could pursue that as a hobby after getting a job.

 

Both studying and getting a job have their timing, so how could he ignore the golden opportunity?

 

He knew those words were so rational that he had no rebuttal, but he persisted that dreams are inherently irrational.

 

But when he had been revising for 3 years in total, 2 years in actual time, and was still stuck in the same place.

 

For the first time, he had that thought.

 

‘This path doesn’t seem to be mine.’

 

Maybe if just a few more months, or even weeks had passed, he might have quit being a drama writer.

 

That’s when Dohyeon-u appeared and changed everything.

 

Coming up with the time loop concept, casting the actors, raising the actors’ performance levels—all of it was because of Director Dohyeon-u.

 

“This is kind of a bad thought, but I hope Director Dohyeon-u’s industry image was terrible.”

 

“Why?”

 

“So other writers can’t receive this blessing.”

 

“You bastard, that’s really bad.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I’m really bad too.”

 

It was the moment when both of them chuckled.

 

The drama, which had loose narrative tension, suddenly shifted into high gear.

 

On screen, Hyeon-tae limped to stand in front of the mirror.

 

A scene of self-doubt.

 

A very difficult scene, but the stage directions they wrote weren’t long.

 

It wasn’t a scene that could be completed through lengthy stage directions.

 

The only thing that could complete that scene was the actor’s performance.

 

At that moment, Hyeon-tae on screen moved.

 

* * *

 

In front of the mirror in the dark dawn.

 

Hyeon-tae wiped the mirror with his hands dripping with water.

 

Rough touches filled with frustration.

 

Bloodshot eyes filled with self-doubt.

 

Trembling lips filled with anxiety.

 

Even without any special direction, Hyeon-tae’s emotions projected through the silent screen.

 

At the end of all those emotions, what emerged was doubt about himself.

 

Did I really kill my friends?

 

Do I have a mental illness?

 

Is the time loop a manifestation of schizophrenia?

 

The moment when non-verbal communication stronger than language filled the silent space.

 

-If I’m a murderer….

 

The first words were established.

 

If I’m a murderer.

 

At that moment, the tone of the screen changed.

 

Even without any change in expression, the emotion Hyeon-tae conveyed became different.

 

Contempt and mockery.

 

Viewers were amazed by Hyeon-tae’s acting that changed emotions without any change in expression, and realized they were looking at Hyeon-tae from ‘inside the mirror.’

 

Was Hyeon-tae, who doubted his own innocence, actually making that expression?

 

If so, was Hyeon-tae really the culprit?

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Bang!

 

Hyeon-tae outside the mirror threw a punch at Hyeon-tae inside the mirror.

 

-No! Fuck!! It’s not true!!

 

With a crash, the world shattered into pieces.

 

The screen remained as if the camera lens had shattered.

 

Through that fragmented and broken screen, Hyeon-tae’s face swallowing his tears could be seen.

 

-I’m… not.

 

Just when it seemed like the scene would end like that.

 

Hyeon-tae, whose eyes had rolled back, suddenly cut his own arm without warning.

 

Sizzle!

 

Blood splattered, and Hyeon-tae’s face was shown in close-up.

 

Did Hyeon-tae want to wake up from doubt through pain?

 

Or was he trying to prove his innocence through self-destructive behavior?

 

Whatever it was….

 

-It’s not true…!

 

Maybe Hyeon-tae wasn’t the culprit after all?

 

* * *

 

Suspicion about the protagonist who leads the story is a double-edged sword.

 

While it has the advantage of injecting strong tension, if that suspicion drags on, viewers feel fatigue.

 

So Hyeon-tae’s innocence had to be proven in Part 3….

 

Originally, complex logical reasoning scenes were planned.

 

Scenes that were necessary for the plot but boring.

 

Scenes that made Director Jeong Hee-su rack her brains.

 

However, Eum Seong-hyeon’s acting blew away Director Jeong’s worries in one shot.

 

The public naturally empathized with Hyeon-tae’s innocence.

 

In other words, this performance wasn’t just good acting, but a game-changer that transformed the fun density of Part 3 itself.

 

There was a reason Director Jeong Hee-su got fired up on set after seeing that scene.

 

Controversies about the protagonist had no room to take root.

 

So what I want to say is….

 

【The miracle created by 8 unknown actors!】

 

【Accomplice main and supporting cast’s total appearance fee only 400 million? Tivic’s expected return on investment (ROI)?】

 

【’After running for 10 years, I can finally stand at the starting line.’ In-depth interview with Accomplice actors】

 

Everything had gone well.

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