A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 52

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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 52

 

I was flustered by the Hyen Games IP manager’s cheerful statement.

 

This is that easy?

 

Sensing my confusion, the manager smiled and added,

 

“We’re conservative when it comes to animation or movies, but dramas are a bit different. We don’t have production plans for those, and the production company is Korean too.”

 

“Are you referring to trust in K-dramas?”

 

“That’s part of it, but Korea is where E-sports was born, right? K-gamers and K-dramas. The higher-ups will like it too.”

 

Ah, right.

 

According to research, Korea’s status in the E-sports industry is tremendous.

 

“Since we’re only highlighting the industry without touching any elements within the IP, it shouldn’t be too difficult. And…”

 

The manager tapped the proposal.

 

“This was really moving. I could feel that a real gamer participated in this, not just surface-level stuff.”

 

This is when I should use the meme Lee Seon-jae taught me.

 

Damn it, Yun Hyeon-sol. I like you!

 

What followed also felt good.

 

“And our content team really enjoyed watching Accomplice. The next animation concept is Chumis.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

“Would it be possible to have dinner with the content team? When I told them I was meeting Director Dohyeon-u, they wanted to join.”

 

“Of course. Please contact me anytime, and I’ll gladly rush over.”

 

I distributed my business card and number, which were becoming public goods, and left the meeting room with a smile alongside the IP manager.

 

“That’s a relief…”

 

It feels like I crossed a huge mountain too easily.

 

Of course, we haven’t discussed any practical matters yet.

 

How much to set the IP usage fee at.

 

Whether it’s permanent use or time-limited.

 

Whether to limit it to domestic drama format only, or include worldwide format.

 

Nothing has been decided.

 

Hyen might even try to take drama shares by taking responsibility for part of the production costs.

 

Come to think of it, this might be the cleanest approach.

 

Anyway, there are mountains of things to discuss.

 

But these are matters to be sorted out at the negotiation table after SSK’s production approval comes through and Tivic joins.

 

It’s beyond my responsibility and authority.

 

My mission was just to get a positive response from Hyen.

 

What I really need to take responsibility for was casting.

 

Especially.

 

‘Kim Ra-un…’

 

To be honest, if my supernatural ability hadn’t recommended him, I wouldn’t have considered Kim Ra-un as the protagonist for my next project.

 

While watching 【Caught at Fingertips】, I never once overlapped Kim Ra-un’s face with Park Seong-hwa’s.

 

There’s also a big age difference.

 

But after experiencing the possession, my thoughts changed.

 

I began to feel confident that no actor could portray Park Seong-hwa better than Kim Ra-un.

 

I even coveted his tendency to focus on, or rather obsess over, his roles.

 

Moreover, the Park Seong-hwa I experienced in the script was younger than in the original script.

 

Late thirties?

 

Or maybe forty?

 

Since Kim Ra-un is 32 this year, it seems like makeup alone could cover it without post-processing.

 

‘Though he might need some training to produce an older voice…’

 

What I heard in the script wasn’t Kim Ra-un’s current voice.

 

I kept thinking it sounded familiar, but it wasn’t to the level where I’d recognize it immediately upon hearing.

 

But Kim Ra-un is even more obsessive about this kind of thing than I am.

 

I believe that once the casting is finalized, he’ll prepare on his own.

 

So the problem isn’t casting fit, but casting willingness.

 

“That’s from our perspective, but would you look good from Kim Ra-un’s perspective?”

 

Mulling over Seong Tae’s words, I accessed a drama community on my phone in the taxi.

 

I wondered if Kim Ra-un was still getting hate, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

 

He occasionally appeared in comments, but the interest level felt faded.

 

Instead, there were more mentions of Accomplice, which was hanging on at the end of the TOP 10.

 

-Seriously, this will be a drama that goes down in Korean history. This is my fourth binge-watch, and I’m amazed every time.

 

-If Tivic Korea or SSK were listed companies, they would have hit the daily limit several times because of Accomplice.

 

-Yeah, thanks to those accomplices, TVING got a lot of new subscribers.

 

-I also signed up because of Accomplice and browsed through their original works, and they’re better than I thought? But it’s disappointing that there aren’t many.

 

-Tivic is secretly a hidden gem for original series. Especially the ones made under the SSK label are mostly good.

 

-?? Are you dissing Gyeongseong Bakery?

 

-I said mostly…

 

-Yo crazy, they say Dohyeon-u cast Kim Ra-un?

 

-What nonsense. He would have dissed Kim Ra-un and cast Eum Seong-hyeon.

 

-This rumor is still going around? Didn’t it take a break?

 

-No, fuck, I’m saying they picked Kim Raun for the next project, not as an accomplice.

 

-Huh?

 

-Huh??

 

What?

 

I hurriedly opened a portal site and saw an article on the main page.

 

【Accomplice Director Dohyeon-u, Kim Ra-un Internally Selected as Next Project’s Protagonist?】

 

* * *

 

Usually, directors don’t become famous just because one drama succeeds.

 

Even frontline directors are like that, let alone OTT directors.

 

How many people in the world would know Ju Yeong-hun?

 

But my case was a bit different.

 

The issues involving Kim Ra-un and Youngpal were big, and at the end of it all, there were the contrasting results of Accomplice and Youngpal.

 

Well, I also appeared on variety shows.

 

And such a person picked Kim Ra-un as the protagonist for his next project?

 

There was no way it wouldn’t blow up.

 

-Is he crazy? After dissing him and now this?

 

-Seems like his attention-seeking disease has reached its peak;

 

-I’m telling you Do Hyun-woo is such an attention seeker lol

 

-When I watched him on variety shows, he didn’t seem like that type.

 

-Am I the only one who doesn’t find this strange? Dohyeon-u originally said Kim Ra-un acts well, right? He just said Eum Seong-hyeon was better specifically for Accomplice.

 

-Yeah, isn’t this just buying the dip?

 

-This is right. No matter how much he got roasted recently, Kim Ra-un has basic fandom and recognition.

 

-Overseas audiences aren’t affected by domestic issues at all anyway.

 

-Youngpal probably did better overseas? Though they do go wtf at episode 7.

 

-Hahahaha

 

Public opinion was split.

 

Some people said I was an attention seeker, others said it was a natural choice.

 

There were even people who showed interest in the combination of Dohyeon-u X Kim Ra-un.

 

But the interest didn’t last long.

 

Because there was no additional evidence.

 

-Isn’t this just a rumor? They only say next project but there’s no work information, nothing.

 

-Right. No follow-up reports are coming out.

 

-Ah, damn it, what the hell.

 

Even if reporters try to dig around, there has to be something there for it to come out.

 

It seems like someone among the SSK staff ran their mouth, but I haven’t even contacted Kim Ra-un yet.

 

No, I couldn’t.

 

I haven’t received production approval from SSK yet.

 

Manager Gong Seok-jun still couldn’t shake his doubts about the E-sports drama.

 

“I understand that gaming has become culture, but is it really something worth making into a commercial drama?”

 

He looked up dramas that were successful in China, but no matter how he looked at it, he said they wouldn’t work in the Korean market.

 

In the end, what was needed was results.

 

At minimum, episodes 1-2.

 

To be safe, episodes 1-4.

 

I needed this to persuade the manager and get approval from the CEO…

 

“Let’s restructure the beginning of episode 2. I think Han Guk-yeong’s story as the team owner should be the main focus rather than Park Seong-hwa’s story.”

 

-Understood. I’ll rework it and send it to you.

 

PD Yeom’s revision work was sluggish.

 

Episode 1 didn’t change much from the existing script, but from episode 2 onward, the world expands.

 

We had to change the tone and manner of the volleyball story to the E-sports industry, but the writer couldn’t grasp it at all.

 

Of course, she probably understood it intellectually.

 

After all, what’s important in dramas is character arcs and conflicts.

 

It’s not like a volleyball drama explains how to set the ball or how to spike.

 

What matters is what pain caused this player to lose their way, how they’ll find their way back, and what conflicts arise in between.

 

So even if the players hold a mouse and keyboard instead of a volleyball, the essence of the drama doesn’t change.

 

Only the outfit changes.

 

The problem was that even knowing this, PD Yeom was struggling.

 

It wasn’t a matter of effort but of instinct, so there was nothing I could do about it…

 

Then tremendous reinforcements came charging in.

 

-Wait, you’re making an E-sports drama?

 

Gil Sanghun, Go Yeongtae.

 

Currently the two most prominent writers in South Korea.

 

* * *

 

When the Accomplice writers first called, I thought they were calling to complain about the next project.

 

I must have heard them talk about working together on the next project more than ten times.

 

But that wasn’t it.

 

-Director. You might not know this, but engineering students and gamers are practically synonyms.

 

-We absolutely won’t leak it, so could we possibly see the script…?

 

The two of them showed pure curiosity about the E-sports drama project itself.

 

So I handed over the script.

 

“…?”

 

Revisions came flying back.

 

What? Don’t tell me they’re coveting the material?

 

Hijacking?

 

But again, that wasn’t it.

 

-Isn’t this interesting?

 

-Don’t you have detailed materials about the team situation?

 

It was just pure, 100% genuine passion.

 

While I was at it, I got PD Yeom’s permission and sent them the script and proposal up to episode 16.

 

-Director Do…

 

-We want to write…

 

-This time it’s for real…

 

Absurdly, the two writers ended up joining as assistant writers for 【At Your Fingertips】.

 

8 years as an actor, 1 year as a CE.

 

I’ve been in the entertainment industry for a total of 9 years, but this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.

 

Established writers who achieved success joining as assistants to a rookie writer?

 

Isn’t this like a square circle?

 

Something that can only exist in words?

 

“Hey, Hyeon-u.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Do you happen to have something you could blackmail the writers with…?”

 

Manager Gong Seok-jun’s question didn’t sound like a joke at all, but whatever the case, it was reassuring.

 

I know the Accomplice writers’ talent best.

 

These people are geniuses.

 

They’re definitely geniuses, but…

 

“Wait, what do we do if you put this much game content in the script?”

 

“It’s an E-sports drama!”

 

“Exactly. It’s not a documentary…”

 

“What if we shoot it documentary-level first and then leave only the essence when editing?”

 

“You want to film all of this?”

 

“Can’t we?”

 

They’re also crazy people.

 

The problem was that Yun Hyeon-sol was going crazy along with them.

 

“Wow, writer. This is really great. In this team fight scene…”

 

“Isn’t this scene the romance that only the profession of pro gamer can have?”

 

“I teared up a little watching it…”

 

I got them a writer’s office near SSK, and Yun Hyeon-sol started going there after work.

 

Then she’d hang out with the writers all night, catch a quick nap, and come to work.

 

Even when PD Yeom joined the writer’s office on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Yun Hyeon-sol clocked in all three days.

 

She apparently left work on Friday, went to the writer’s office, and stayed until Monday morning.

 

Should I record Yun Hyeon-sol’s overtime hours?

 

It doesn’t seem like work though.

 

“How… can she be so passionate… What about me, me?”

 

Chae Seo-hui, watching this, was overwhelmed by an inexplicable anxiety and was biting her nails.

 

Why is our team like this?

 

Is it because I’m the problem as the supervisor?

 

Monday morning, after a weekend that passed in the rampage of game nerds.

 

PD Yeom called at an unexpected time.

 

-I just quit.

 

“What?”

 

I jumped up from my seat in shock.

 

What does that mean?

 

“You quit? You left the broadcasting station?”

 

-Yes. MBY seemed to like it too.

 

“No, how can you make such a major decision so easily? Our script hasn’t even been approved yet…”

 

I heard PD Yeom’s quiet laughter through the receiver.

 

It was the first time I’d heard such laughter from someone named Yeom Jae-mun.

 

-Seeing the Accomplice writers made me snap to attention. When people like that joined to help you, Director…

 

I don’t think they came to help me.

 

-I’m going to give it a proper shot.

 

-Even if this drama gets scrapped before we can even start filming…

 

-My heart already feels lighter.

 

And two days later.

 

The final drafts of parts 1, 2, and 3 were completed.

 

Built on the framework created by writer Yeom Jae-mun, with details added by Gil Sanghun and Go Yeongtae.

 

There were many differences from what I had experienced, but…

 

“It’s interesting.”

 

It was simply different.

 

I couldn’t see anything wrong with it.

 

I was satisfied.

—————
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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