A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 5

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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 5

* * *

I was lost in thought as I took the bus to the meeting place with the writers.

What exactly had I experienced in that conference room?

It definitely wasn’t a dream.

Not just because of the sense of reality that couldn’t be dismissed as a dream.

More importantly, the dream had qualitative superiority over me.

The idea I came up with after hearing the word “repeat sign.”

Because I was able to see in advance the result when that idea bloomed perfectly.

Even including all the details I had never considered.

After seeing something like that, I couldn’t possibly think of it as just a simple dream.

Superpowers, script possession, schizophrenia, delusions…

After thinking of all sorts of words, I settled on one thought.

‘Did I perhaps see the correct answer?’

For instance, the perfect result that could become a drama?

Then why?

Why did I get to see something like that?

“…To find the answer.”

This seems to be the only possibility.

Come to think of it, that’s right.

The first time I felt that strange sensation was when I received the proposal for Accomplice.

Even then, I smelled grass and heard the sound of insects.

But the ability didn’t properly activate.

Because I didn’t know the answer.

The superpower activated the moment I realized the correct direction for the script.

‘This never happened when I was an actor…’

Was it because back then I never thought about fixing the script itself?

While I was racking my brains alone, I suddenly thought it might not be such a big deal.

After all, it was always like this when preparing for auditions.

Looking at the script and visualizing it in my head.

The only difference is that I’m a CE instead of an actor, and the visualization is excessively vivid, isn’t it?

It sounds a bit crazy, but I decided to think of it that way for now.

Getting buried in incomprehensible supernatural phenomena wouldn’t be good for my mental health.

Still…

“It was the correct answer.”

I didn’t feel bad about it.

Because I got a preview of how good the idea I came up with would look when implemented in the script.

Now all that’s left is convincing the writers…

I should be able to do well, right?

* * *

Go Yeongtae, Gil Sanghun.

Oddballs who got into one of the top three prestigious engineering universities in Korea but dreamed of becoming drama writers.

It started when the two met as dormitory roommates and discovered their common ground as huge fans of foreign dramas.

Starting with 【The Big Bang Theory】, they talked about all sorts of dramas and had this thought.

‘Couldn’t we try writing dramas together?’

They started with such a light heart…

But their synergy was real.

Their first script won the gold prize in a university competition, and their second script placed in Tivic’s competition.

They couldn’t help but have high hopes.

But the past two years had been time spent filling those high hopes with frustration and anger.

“The script is so good. It’s really so good, but…”

If they had been told the script was bad, they would have humbly accepted it, but they were told the script was good.

In fact, it was so good that it was a problem.

Four managers had changed like that, and the revisions they had rewritten were countless.

When the fifth manager contacted them, it wasn’t strange that their patience had run out.

“I won’t do it. Don’t do it.”

“Right. I can’t write any more revisions. Either we film it as the original or I won’t do it.”

“I looked up precedents, and in this case, we don’t have to return the contract money.”

“Tivic won’t want to make a fuss since it’s a competition work. Let’s just get our work back and end it.”

The two, clearly expressing their displeasure in refund-ready checkered shirts, sat in the cafe and steeled their resolve.

Until now, they had just been swayed by adults’ rhetoric, but this time was for real.

They wouldn’t write any more revisions!

That’s when it happened.

“You’re writers Go Yeongtae and Gil Sanghun, right?”

A man with looks that seemed to exist in a different dimension from them approached.

“Uh, that’s right…”

“Hello. I’m Dohyeon-u from Tivic, newly assigned as CE.”

“You’re the one who called…?”

“Yes, that’s right. You came quickly? I also hurried out to arrive early.”

Watching Dohyeon-u laugh and put down his bag, the two gulped.

They had planned to confidently express their opinions no matter what manager they met, but they hadn’t expected a completely different species to show up.

But fortunately, being male, they could quickly come to their senses.

After that, the usual predictable words were exchanged.

He really enjoyed reading the manuscript.

He was truly happy to be in charge.

He wanted to create good works together.

Since all the conversation was within expected bounds, Gil Sanghun drew his sword.

“We’ve heard several times that filming preparation would start within this year. What happened with that?”

“The company’s policy remains unchanged. We’ll finish setting up within this year and start filming next year.”

“Then the manuscript…?”

“I’d like to proceed with some degree of revision. Not changing the human story, but more like changing the narrator’s way of telling the story.”

The two had promised to express their refusal the moment the ‘r’ in ‘revision’ came out, but the attitude of the man named Dohyeon-u made them hesitate.

Unlike the CEs they had met so far, he was full of confidence.

Moreover, they were curious about the content.

“You want to change only the narrator’s way of telling the story?”

“Yes. Our drama talks about human nature through the time that eight characters have built up from past to present. And that story is very meticulous.”

“Yes.”

“I was saying I’d prefer not to touch that. Actually, I wonder if there’s room to add or subtract anything.”

“Then what do you mean by changing the way of telling the story?”

“Could you immerse yourselves in the story I’m about to tell? Like you’re watching a drama.”

“Sure, I guess.”

Dohyeon-u, who had been looking into the two writers’ eyes, slowly opened his mouth.

It seemed like he was going to tell some amazing story, but it was all familiar.

A trip to a Gangwon-do mountain cabin with eight close friends.

A pleasant drinking session away from society, using memories as side dishes.

Hyeon-tae waking up thirsty.

The discovered murder scene.

Evidence of an acquaintance being the culprit and suspicion blooming among friends.

The second evening at the Mountain Lodge due to the blocked road.

It was a script he had seen to the point of being sick of it.

Because nothing had changed in the content up to this point.

But since Dohyeon-u’s attitude was so serious and his speaking skills were quite excellent, Go Yeongtae and Gil Sanghun found themselves unconsciously absorbed in the story.

“Hyeon-tae, who can’t sleep, decides to look around the Mountain Lodge just in case. Then he discovers a suspicious rope that looks like a murder weapon. Huh, what’s that?”

It was exactly like real actors doing a script reading.

“The moment he approaches the rope, thwack! Someone hits Hyeon-tae on the back of the head. Even as he loses consciousness, he’s afraid. Have I become the second victim? Am I going to die like this?”

“Yes.”

But Hyeon-tae opens his eyes. However, when he looks around, it’s not the Mountain Lodge.

“What? He’s on a bed?”

At Gil Sanghun’s question, Dohyeon-u smiled as if telling him to wait.

“He hears the sound of insects that can’t be heard in the city, and the scent of grass that’s hard to smell in the city fills the air. Wondering what this is, he looks around and sees his friends with bright expressions.”

One, two, three, four…

Counting the numbers, seven people.

Clearly seven, even though Jeong-hun died yesterday.

No, Jeong-hun is there?

The moment a shocked Hyeon-tae runs to Jeong-hun, his friends say:

What’s wrong with you?

Everyone is calm.

As if nothing happened.

What? Could it be that I was dreaming?

Only then does Hyeon-tae recognize the reality around him.

Right now, they are at the moment of driving down the Highway and arriving at the Mountain Lodge.

“…Are you talking about a time loop?”

“Yes. When Hyeon-tae faces death, he returns to the first day.”

* * *

This was the idea I came up with when I heard the word ‘repeat sign.’

When you think about it, ‘Accomplice’ is a very interesting drama.

If you can just get immersed, the characters’ pasts and their intricately intertwined relationships are fascinating.

Moreover, their experiences aren’t stories that don’t exist in reality.

Most people would have experienced this during their school days.

That even within the same framework of friendship, there are subtle hierarchies and power struggles.

So our drama deals with relatable experiences.

Yet despite that, the reason it’s not fun is…

“Viewers don’t have an opportunity to proactively accept and interpret information.”

“…Opportunity.”

“Mystery dramas make viewers accept complex crime scenes because of curiosity about who the culprit is. Even if they don’t understand exactly, they don’t feel resistance.”

Our drama doesn’t have that kind of opportunity.

No, in some ways it’s worse.

The moment a murder occurs, viewers expect the format of a mystery, but then it digs into human psychology.

“Of course, that story is very interesting. If you can get immersed.”

“So you’re giving Hyeon-tae time loop abilities for that immersion?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“If there’s only one contrived part in our drama, where do you think it would be?”

At my question, Gil Sanghun and Go Yeongtae simultaneously bit their lips.

They knew it too.

That it was contrived for Hyeon-tae not to be killed despite being attacked.

Objectively speaking, there’s no reason Hyeon-tae shouldn’t have died then.

The killer places meaning on the order of murders, but that’s not enough reason to spare Hyeon-tae, who’s a police officer.

To reinforce that reason, the writers added several devices, and that makes the drama loose.

“Hyeon-tae dies from being hit by a baseball bat. He has to die to return to the first day.”

“Then if Hyeon-tae doesn’t die on the second day…”

“Another victim would occur, and it would go to the third day. Just like the original script. The loop element is just added, but the drama’s progression itself hasn’t changed much.”

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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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