A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 38
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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 38
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Bzzzz-
The moment I saw the three characters ‘Seo Jae-yeon’ on the screen, I thought here it comes.
I really don’t want to answer this…
If I don’t answer, he’ll throw a fit.
Suppressing my anger, no wait, it’s not quite anger? Fear… no, that’s not it either. Right, it’s sadness.
Suppressing my sadness, I answered the phone.
“Hello?”
I was sure some teasing words would come out.
♬♩♪♬♪♪~
The sound of live piano playing pours out.
That’s Seo Jae-yeon alright.
Not easy from the start.
Behind the familiar melody of the Congratulations song, I can even hear singing.
-Congratulations~ Congratulations~ We congratulate your varietyyy show~
Should I just hang up.
He’s saying “varietyyy” to match the beat, it’s so annoying,
-Kyaaaah! Milky white Do…!
Click.
I just hung up.
But as if he expected it, the phone rings again immediately.
As soon as I answered, I heard a voice that couldn’t hide its laughter.
-You were going to threaten to hang up if I talked nonsense, right?
“How did you know.”
-It’s obvious. That’s what you always say, senior.
“So. Did you call to tease me?”
-Tease? I called to sincerely congratulate senior on your monumental first variety show appearance.
That was right.
Absurdly, this was my first variety show appearance.
Is it just me who finds it strange to do something as a CE that I never did even during my acting days?
“Why are you watching that when you’re so busy?”
-It was on as soon as I turned on the TV? The preview was well-made? Especially…
“Stop. No detailed comments allowed.”
-Okay. But if there was such a big event, you should have told me! Why didn’t you say anything?
“What’s the point of telling you.”
-I should have appeared with you, or at least appeared in the reference footage! It’s senior’s first variety show!
What a funny guy.
There must be dozens of truckloads of variety show PDs dying to get Seo Jae-yeon to appear.
-I’ll let it slide this once, so next time appear with me.
“I refuse.”
-Without even hearing what it is?
“I won’t go on any variety show.”
-What if appearing on variety shows turns a 500 million won per episode drama into 1 billion per episode?
“…Then I’d have to go, right?”
-What kind of shallow conviction is this?
“Shallow? An extra 500 million per episode means 8 billion for a 16-episode series. For that much, I’d even do a sexy dance in Gwanghwamun.”
-Senior, you know what?
“What.”
-The wording ‘sexy dance in Gwanghwamun’ itself is very old-fashioned and tacky?
“…Please stop tormenting me.”
-Okay. Hobby time over!
“Hah, I’m drained.”
After that, Seo Jae-yeon and I chatted about this and that.
Come to think of it, we barely talked on the phone after Accomplice opened.
-Oh, but looking at the preview, it’s broadcasting next Tuesday? Did you film it in advance?
“No, we’re rushing to prepare it to air before Accomplice ends.”
Originally 【Elegant, Wow】 has a format of broadcasting 3 weeks after filming, but ours will air in just 11 days.
Since it’s a Tuesday variety show, they want it to coincide with the day before Accomplice episode 7 opens.
I heard the variety department PDs are dying from the workload.
-Forcing it to air before the drama ends means the broadcast turned out well?
“Please don’t watch…”
-I should promote it on SNS.
“Don’t…”
-You talked about me, right? Right?
“I didn’t.”
Actually, I did.
Somehow the story of the catering Seo Jae-yeon sent came up from the actors’ mouths.
-If you didn’t, you’re dead. I’ll check during the live broadcast.
Seo Jae-yeon hung up abruptly.
I’ve corrected many of Seo Jae-yeon’s behaviors and made him human, but hanging up after only saying what he wants to say just won’t be fixed.
Surely he doesn’t only do that to me?
“Hah.”
As I hung up and sighed, Chae Seo-hui from the next seat spoke to me.
“Hyeon-u.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t that personal call too long for the office?”
“Huh?”
I was flustered by the sudden comment.
SSK, especially the CL team office, has a very free atmosphere.
Even Senior Ju Yeong-hun, who’s second to none in old-fashioned authority, doesn’t care much if team members eat snacks at their desks or watch UFC matches.
What’s this about all of a sudden?
When I looked at Chae Seo-hui, she glanced toward the partition next to us.
“Ah.”
I understood.
CL 2 Team, the source of gossip about me.
CL 1 Team uses a dedicated floor, but Teams 2 and 3 share the same floor.
The problem was that Team 2 had the most ambiguous position among the CL teams.
Team 1, led by a founding senior with the largest production scale.
Team 3, led by a headhunted regional director senior, smaller in scale but with the highest profit margin.
Team 2 is stuck between these two.
I knew they had some complaints normally, but after Accomplice, their complaints exploded.
They seemed to think Accomplice’s success was due to company-wide support from Tivic and SSK.
The reason that was possible was because I was Sung Tae-chang’s parachute hire.
Of course, from my perspective, it’s quite unfair.
Even if marketing benefited from Seong Tae, fundamentally it succeeded because the work was good, right?
What was everyone doing when that work was floating around unable to get a CE assigned?
I heard it went on a tour from Team 1 to Team 3?
Having those thoughts, I suddenly felt sad.
Why do I get hated wherever I go?
Is there something wrong with me?
Am I bad at social life?
“Oh, was that a call with actor Seo Jae-yeon from D.P?”
What’s with this acting tone?
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Are you doing early networking for casting in your next project?”
“It’s not like that…”
“Just say yes.”
When I answered yes to her low voice, Chae Seo-hui smiled kindly.
“Then it’s an extension of work. As your mentor, I’ll let it slide this once.”
As soon as Chae Seo-hui finished speaking, the sound of rapid keyboard typing came from beyond Team 2’s partition.
I’m guessing it’s something like ‘Look at him acting friendly with a top star when he’s just a failed actor.’
Or maybe ‘Is he pretending to talk with Seo Jae-yeon right now?’
Behind the annoying keyboard sounds, Chae Seo-hui whispered.
“The atmosphere has been unusual lately. Be careful in the office so you don’t get caught.”
“Did you eavesdrop in the restaurant or lounge again?”
“No. This time at the cafe. A lot of employees go to the nearby cafe.”
“At this rate, you’ll get hired by the National Intelligence Service.”
“I wonder if the salary there is better than here?”
Then Chae Seo-hui suddenly brought up something random.
“By the way, hasn’t he told you yet?”
“What? Told me what?”
“Seo Jae-yeon.”
“Jae-yeon? Does Jae-yeon have something to tell me?”
“Well, no. It’s good news, so don’t pry and just wait.”
“…?”
Normally I would have pestered her not to make me curious, but I don’t even have the energy for that.
I must have sighed again without realizing it, because Chae Seo-hui tilted her head.
“Are you that embarrassed about appearing on the variety show? You’ve been sighing all day.”
“Well, yeah. Something like that.”
“Other directors would be dying to get on even once, you know? That’s a privilege only hugely successful directors get to enjoy.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Support staff rarely get to be in the spotlight.”
She’s not wrong.
What the public remembers are the actors, and even if they’re interested, it ends at the director or writer level.
“So what if you get called an attention seeker? I’m jealous.”
I smiled and nodded at Chae Seo-hui’s words.
But the reason I was sighing wasn’t because of the variety show.
I was flustered at first, but it’s already in the past.
I don’t usually dwell on things that are over.
The reason I’m sighing is…
“What’s that on your desk?”
“A script.”
Because of this script.
The one with the working title “Hanging by Fingertips.”
“I know it’s a script. Is it the next work by writers Go Yeongtae and Gil Sanghun?”
“No. A PD at MBY gave it to me. Asked if I could review it.”
“Oh, now that you’re famous, scripts are coming directly to you. Can I take a look?”
“Sure.”
When I handed over the script, Chae Seo-hui skipped the proposal and started skimming through Part 1.
“It’s a volleyball sports drama?”
“Yes.”
How much time passed?
Chae Seo-hui, who had been reading the script with a subtle expression, closed the last page of Part 1.
“How is it?”
“Is the PD close friends with you, Hyeon-u?”
“No. I met him for the first time on set. You can be honest.”
“Then… it’s too old-fashioned.”
“I thought so too.”
“When did they say this was written?”
“The first draft was planned about 15 years ago, but they’ve been revising it for years.”
“Ah, that’s why. The quality is good but it’s excessively old-fashioned. There must be dozens of sports dramas with similar developments and content.”
I think the same thing.
“Who gave it to you? If it’s from MBY’s drama department, it might be a PD I know.”
“A variety show PD gave it to me.”
“Ah. There are many variety PDs interested in dramas. Though there aren’t many successful cases.”
“Right. That’s true.”
Chae Seo-hui returned the script.
“It’s unfortunate because you can tell it’s been worked on for a long time. Who would produce something like this in today’s market? Sports dramas are already difficult to film.”
That was the end of it.
Chae Seo-hui showed no further interest in “Hanging by Fingertips.”
“CE Chae. Are these numbers correct?”
“Oh, just a moment.”
Chae Seo-hui left her seat at CE Kang Mu-tae’s call, and I was left alone, quietly looking down at the script.
Chae Seo-hui’s evaluation of the script matches my thoughts 100%.
Maybe if it was when the first script was written 15 years ago, but by current standards, this script is very old-fashioned.
Of course, I can’t deny that it’s a well-made script.
Clear characters, solid relationships, meticulous key events, and clean structure.
But it’s different from Accomplice.
If Accomplice took viewers to unexpected places with a well-constructed plot, this drama sends them to entirely predictable places.
To the extent that just reading Parts 1 and 2, you can predict the content up to Part 16.
The problem is…
What happened the moment I received the script.
-Waaaaaaah!
I heard a massive roar that tens of thousands of people might make.
“Are we really going to lose like this in the finals?!”
I heard someone’s anguished voice.
And the smell of sweat stung my nose.
I quickly returned to reality, but it was certain.
“Hanging by Fingertips.”
This old-fashioned sports drama was the next script chosen by my supernatural ability.
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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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Mara55
I really like this one. Hyeon u is great as the protagonist. I’m curious if we get a pov from his ex friend though that would be fun.