A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 77

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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 77

* * *

Lunchtime at SSK.

As the CEs who had finished eating were chatting over coffee, the topic of Team 4 came up.

“The Team 4 CEs are coming in this afternoon, right?”

“Yeah. They had a company dinner yesterday, so everyone’s taking the morning off.”

“Are they going to keep going without a senior?”

“It would be awkward if someone came in before seeing the results of Fingertip Walk.”

“From what I hear, Dohyeon-u is practically the senior? Noh Jae-uk and Kwon Cheol listen to him well too.”

“Isn’t Noh Jae-uk older though?”

“Surely Dohyeon-u won’t become a senior, right?”

“How would that make sense? Even if Fingertip Walk becomes a global hit, that doesn’t make sense.”

“True.”

The small talk that started with Team 4 continued with their projects.

“Dohyeon-u must be under insane pressure. Ten billion for an in-house production.”

“With the money he brought in too, the production budget should be around 12 billion.”

“Anyway, if he screws that up, he’ll have caused the company a ten billion loss. If it were me, I’d be too nervous to sleep.”

“Sleep is the least of his problems. If it flops badly, he might get fired, right? He wouldn’t be able to transfer to another company either.”

Then a CE wearing horn-rimmed glasses snorted.

“Pressure my ass. Would someone like that pick an idol music video director and stick an unknown in the third lead role? That bastard’s crazy.”

“True.”

Accomplice was fine to take risks with, but why grab Jeon So-ra and pull that shit?”

“Isn’t he just picking people he can easily control? There were rumors like that on set too. That Dohyeon-u does all the directing.”

“He does the directing? Really?”

“You didn’t know? There was so much talk about it. The director would film and then get approval from Dohyeon-u. Later the actors only listened to Dohyeon-u too.”

“Wow, he’s fucking crazy.”

Then a CL 3 Team member added:

“But our team leader went crazy too. From the middle on, he went to set every single day without fail.”

“Right. Yeah. He didn’t even bring an assistant CE.”

“I heard it was because Go Hak-su was being sensitive.”

“Go Hak-su was totally trashing Dohyeon-u. Do those two have some bad blood?”

“Directors are usually total power trippers. It must hurt his pride to compete with a B-grade actor.”

The horn-rimmed glasses guy asked:

“Which one do you think will do better?”

“Oxygen Alert, maybe? I heard the set was a bit of a shitshow but they pulled off a good work.”

“The rumors about Fingertip Walk were good too though. The actors were satisfied.”

“But it’s Hong Hee-yeong’s script with Tae-ung.”

“Tae-ung is pretty strong.”

“Netflix might be able to compete with their initial firepower, but in the end Oxygen Alert will win, won’t it?”

* * *

When I came to work…

“You’re on vacation.”

He told me to go home.

“I’m on vacation?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t use any annual leave though.”

“It’s just vacation. Paid vacation. So please just get out.”

The Manager sighed.

“Hyeon-u, something’s wrong with you.”

“Huh?”

Accomplice was small-scale and didn’t have a tight schedule, right? It was only rushed because you decided to film it quickly on your own.”

“That’s right.”

“But Fingertip Walk is large-scale with a tight schedule, and you ended up doing all the oversight work, set work, and communication by yourself. I thought you’d know how to use the CEs and assistant CEs.”

“It’s more convenient to do it alone…”

“Hey! Those guys need to gain experience to grow too. You think doing everything yourself is always the best? Using subordinates in the right place at the right time is also an ability, an ability.”

“I made good use of Yun Hyeon-sol.”

“You just stuck her in the writer’s office. Is that the right place at the right time?”

“Other than Yun Hyeon-sol, I don’t have subordinates. Kwon Cheol CE and Noh Jae-uk CE aren’t subordinates, right?”

“…Even if the rank is the same, you should know how to boss them around when necessary.”

Wait, that sounds weird.

How do you boss people around when the rank and position are the same?

“Even though you and I have the same rank, wouldn’t I boss you around?”

“I think that’s a bit of a stretch.”

“Anyway, it’s wrong. Who works taking responsibility for everything alone like that? And when you’ve gotten over a big mountain, you should know how to rest. What if you suddenly collapse?”

It’s touching words, but…

Isn’t this something you can only say because the drama is over?

“Anyway, you’re on vacation starting today. For three days, don’t even piss in the direction of the company.”

“Then with Director Im…”

“Hey! Director Im is probably organizing scenes right now, what is there for you to help with?”

After that, I got a long lecture from the Manager about being a workaholic.

This is ridiculous.

A salaried worker gets scolded for working.

So I left the Manager’s office and went down to Team 4.

“Why do you look like that?”

When I told them what happened in the Manager’s office, Chae Seo-hui clicked her tongue.

“There’s not a single wrong word in what he said.”

“That’s right. Director Do goes a bit overboard.”

“Watching from the side, it’s suffocating.”

Kwon Cheol and Noh Jae-uk joined in too.

“Hyeon-u. Do you know you’ve lost your original intention?”

“Me?”

“When we were casting our regular supporting actors and characters, what did you say? That once the drama ended, you’d show your bed who’s boss.”

“Oh, right.”

Back then I really wanted to lie on my studio apartment bed for even just 10 minutes.

But not now?

“The set too. What kind of supervising CE follows the set every single day without missing one? That’s what assistant CEs do.”

“The person who told me not to slack off in the future…”

“Ah, I don’t know! Just pack your stuff and get out.”

As I was packing, I realized I didn’t know what to do.

Should I call Seong Tae and have drinks?

But it’s still a long time until he gets off work.

Then Yun Hyeon-sol quietly approached.

“May I give you some advice, no, some counsel as a fellow SSK CE?”

Counsel as a CE?

Yun Hyeon-sol to me?

It felt like getting lectured on manners by Seo Jae-yeon, but I nodded anyway.

“Go ahead.”

“Start with a PC Bang.”

“PC Bang?”

“Think about it. Our drama is going to be a huge hit, right? There’ll be lots of coverage from the gaming industry too. They’ll definitely ask what appeal you found in TOOL, why you chose this game. What about you, CE? You haven’t even played TOOL! You’re a traitor, a traitor.”

The accusatory tone was a bit much, but…

When I thought about it, he wasn’t wrong.

“Accepted.”

So I left the company and headed to a PC Bang, feeling incredibly awkward.

How should I put it.

Like I was doing something bad?

Come to think of it, this was probably my first time at a PC Bang in almost 10 years…

It looked like some coffee shop or restaurant.

Incredibly clean.

I sat down, registered as a member, and turned on the computer, but no matter how I looked, I couldn’t find TOOL.

“Excuse me, does TOOL have designated seats?”

“Huh? What’s TOOL?”

“It’s a game, like ROR.”

“I don’t really know about games that aren’t installed… Try downloading it.”

Following the counter staff’s advice, I tried to download TOOL, but the download kept stopping midway.

Frustrated, I moved to the PC Bang next door, and fortunately they had TOOL installed.

Finally managing to access the game, I felt motivated.

TOOL didn’t have a pro league, but since we couldn’t film the in-game screen poorly, we had invited amateur experts.

I had watched their gameplay and observed the actors learning the game directly.

So shouldn’t I be able to do well enough too?

If I climbed the rankings, it would be good promotion too.

Oh, I should ask Reporter Moon for help.

With that mindset, I finished the tutorial and started the game, but…

-Wait, this game has newbies too?

-Where’s the newbie here, just a troll.

-Ah, just get lost. Just leave.

-Came here because ranked was bugged but what’s this bug doing here ffs

I felt betrayed.

“The world inside the game I wanted to portray wasn’t like this…”

The person next to me was looking at me strangely.

* * *

To heal my wounded heart from TOOL, I had some soju with Seong Tae for the first time in a while.

“Hey, I’m hurt.”

“About what.”

“It feels like my share in your life has gotten too small lately.”

“Well, who told you not to give me production funds? You traitor who should be promoting Mountain Liquor Alert.”

“Hey, damn. How much did I push for Fingertip Walk!”

“Traitor.”

“Why do you keep calling me a traitor? Did someone betray you or something?”

“…Yeah.”

“Who?”

“Romance.”

“…?”

After talking nonsense and drinking soju, I asked.

“How’s Tivic these days?”

“Same as always. What else is there to do besides pray that Mountain Liquor Alert does well? It’s the first time I’ve seen the Managing Director personally handle marketing.”

“The people you saw at the Ethics Committee were the Executive and Managing Director, right? Those people seem to have something with Ju Yeong-hun?”

“I don’t know what they have, but they’re acquainted. They probably still meet occasionally to drink wine.”

After thinking for a moment, I spoke up.

“Hyung. I’m getting curious now, do you know what Go Hak-su did back then?”

Jang Gi-un became my manager after Seong Tae quit, but I didn’t think Seong Tae wouldn’t know.

“Why suddenly now?”

“I met him at Jae-hyeok’s premiere venue and he suddenly picked a fight. I figured I should know what happened.”

“I’m not directly involved so I don’t know exactly… Do you remember that scandal back then?”

“Scandal?”

“The scandal Jang Gi-un broke to give you the role.”

“The drunk driving.”

“Right. Kim Tae-seon’s drunk driving.”

I was slightly shocked at myself.

Because the name Kim Tae-seon felt unfamiliar.

Back then, I felt so sorry for actor Kim Tae-seon.

Director Jang would have broken the scandal even without me, but anyway, it was my manager who broke it at the time.

After that, I looked into how actor Kim Tae-seon was living, but I couldn’t find any news about him.

But for me to forget that name and find it unfamiliar…

“Actor Kim Tae-seon had no intention of driving, but Go Hak-su probably forced him to. Saying the taxi fare was a waste.”

“Taxi fare? So he was driving Go Hak-su’s car?”

“Yeah. The media probably covered it a bit? Well, it was concluded as the actor drunk driving to impress the director.”

This was different from what I had thought.

I thought there was drunk driving at the end of some dirty problem involving money.

“Wasn’t it caught on dashcam or something?”

“I don’t know the details, but Director Jang probably controlled it? He was the only one who benefited from that incident.”

“Can that kind of thing be controlled? It’s not like he bribed the police.”

“Don’t you know how ghostly that bastard is? He might have actually bribed them.”

“Come on, does that make sense? What manager bribes the police.”

“That’s how disgustingly competent he is.”

Well, that’s true.

“Then what about Ju Yeong-hun? There’s also a reason why Ju Yeong-hun was kicked out from Tivic management.”

“Hmm, do you really want to hear it?”

“Why?”

“Well, it involves very private stories of another actor. Their life was ruined by it.”

After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.

“Then it’s fine.”

Seong Tae, who had been looking at me briefly, said.

“I hope you beat Mountain Liquor Alert.”

* * *

Time passed in an instant.

While I was devoted to post-production with Director Yeom, a sudden craze swept through South Korea.

It was the 【The CEO I Made】 syndrome.

This drama starring Jae-hyeok was recording a global hit.

What was particularly encouraging about this success was that it brought North American older viewers, who had little interest in K-dramas, in front of their screens.

Without any exaggeration, Netflix’s stock price soared steeply thanks to 【The CEO I Made】.

This was considerable good news for me.

Within Netflix, reactions of ‘K-dramas are the way’ were emerging, and interest in Netflix dramas was rising among the public.

Even the timing was appropriate.

If it had been the very next batter, interest would have been weak being swept up in the syndrome, but there was still a 2-month gap until Fingertip Walk’s launch.

It meant Fingertip Walk would launch just when viewers had fully enjoyed The CEO I Made and were looking for the next work.

[Jae-hyeok: You saw it, right? This is real trickle-down effect.]

Thanks to that, I even got to witness Jae-hyeok showing off in front of Seo Jae-yeon.

I was too busy to see his face, just in the group chat.

* * *

When summer had fully arrived, the post-production work for Fingertip Walk was completely finished.

And that day.

The trailer for 【Oxygen Advisory】, which was launching on Tivic two weeks before us, was released.

-Holy shit, is Gatoong insane.

-I thought a male mermaid would be cringe, but what’s with this CG?

-So Togi is playing the Dragon King? That suits him well ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Hong Hee-yeong, always reliable.

-I wasn’t really a fan of Go Hak-su’s directing, but this looks like it might be fun.

The reaction was tremendous.

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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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