A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 90

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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 90

* * *

I was yawning to chase away post-lunch drowsiness when the internal phone rang.

-Hey, Hyeon-u. Come up for a bit.

Looking at it lately, it seems like there’s only the CEO and Manager above me.

They call me whenever they’re bored.

But thinking about it, if I become a senior, there really won’t be many people above me?

The CL team handling creative work is separate from the company’s regular hierarchy, but seniors are usually treated as department head level.

If you get promoted above that, you become an executive, right?

Anyway, people like the financial director intentionally keep their distance from the CL team…

Right?

Is that why they call me like that?

I was thinking about that when I arrived at the Manager’s Office, and an unexpected person was waiting for me.

“Director Do Dohyeon-u. How have you been?”

An executive from Tivictory.

It was that guy I saw at the Ethics Committee.

But this is kind of interesting.

At the Ethics Committee, he had a condescending attitude looking down from way above my head, but now it’s different.

Suddenly, Seong Tae’s words came to mind.

He said the managing director and executive received considerable pressure from headquarters because the SSK contract fell through.

So did his eyes become kinder?

“Hello.”

“Yes. It’s nice to see you like this.”

It was a bit funny how he acted like we were meeting for the first time, but I played along for now.

Still, he’s an executive of the OTT that holds our company’s first look and matching rights.

We shook hands and sat on the sofa.

After that, light conversation passed between the three of us.

From stories about how well he watched Handtip Crawl to how Oxygen Warning had pretty good performance overseas.

Except for somehow trying to avoid comparing it with Handtip Crawl when talking about Oxygen Warning’s performance, they were ordinary stories.

But anyone could see this wasn’t the main point.

Sure enough, the executive who finished the small talk while drinking coffee opened his mouth toward me.

“Director Do. Tivic has a work they’ve been putting effort into for a long time. Writer Moon Ah-yeong, Director Kim Dae-hyeon.”

The Manager interjected.

“Those people’s next work was with Tivic?”

“Yes. We put a lot of effort into it.”

That makes sense.

Moon Ah-yeong’s scripts and Kim Dae-hyeon’s direction are a duo that has never failed.

Their reputation is so high that even 10% viewership would be treated as a failure.

“How about entrusting that to Director Do Dohyeon-u?”

“You mean me?”

“Wouldn’t it make a good picture? With Writer Moon Ah-yeong and Director Kim Dae-hyeon skillfully holding the center, and Director Do Dohyeon-u backing up with young sensibilities.”

Various pleasant-sounding stories came from the executive’s mouth.

Production budget, at least 25 billion won.

They’re planning to set up top stars for at least the top 3 roles, and the channel will air together with terrestrial broadcasting.

“We’ll release special episodes in a Blu-ray style, and those will only be released on Tivic.”

I can really feel their determination to spend a tremendous amount of money.

The fact that terrestrial broadcasting okayed this means Tivic took responsibility for most of the production costs.

I got a feeling as soon as I heard it.

This is Tivic extending a hand of reconciliation to SSK.

A signal to bury all past matters and work well together going forward.

SSK’s form has been good lately too.

But why give it to me?

With the Moon Ah-yeong and Kim Dae-hyeon duo, it’s at least break-even, right?

Wouldn’t it be better to toss it to the stable Team 1?

No matter how much I’ve made hit works recently, I’m not proven in terms of stability.

Like Chae Seo-hui said, I also have an image of only being obsessed with unusual subjects.

Ah, could the subject matter be unusual?

I was thinking that when the executive took out a proposal and handed it to me and the Manager.

I read through it with curiosity, but it wasn’t an unusual subject at all.

A male lead who lived as an ordinary citizen discovers he’s of chaebol bloodline, and is put in a situation where he can only inherit the fortune if he has a contract marriage with his 20-year childhood friend – it’s exactly Writer Moon Ah-yeong’s style.

It looks like a common romantic comedy, but when it actually comes out as a drama, you can’t take your eyes off it.

No, really, why did they give this to me?

I wondered if there was some scheme, but there couldn’t be.

25 billion won and the reputation of Moon Ah-yeong and Kim Dae-hyeon are no joke.

Perhaps feeling the same doubt as me, the Manager spoke up.

“Wouldn’t Senior Ryu Hyeon-seok or Senior Ju Yeong-hun be more appropriate for this?”

“It was Writer Moon Ah-yeong’s wish.”

“The writer’s?”

“Yes. Writer Moon Ah-yeong debuted early so it’s like that, but she’s already in her late 40s. She wants to fill in the feeling of young people.”

“Doesn’t she have many assistant writers at that level?”

“Assistant writers can’t help but be mindful of others, right? It’s different from directors.”

The executive who said that turned toward me.

“What do you think of the proposal, Director Do Dohyeon-u?”

“It’s interesting.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It feels like content that would be hard to fail with.”

This isn’t lip service.

The proposal is much more detailed than ordinary proposals, with character arcs and key events all included.

They don’t seem to have decided how to assemble and show this, but the materials are so good.

Considering Writer Moon Ah-yeong’s writing skills, the floor has to be high.

“How about it? Is your evening schedule okay?”

“Evening?”

“I arranged to meet with Writer Moon Ah-yeong. Since it’s come to this, why don’t we go together?”

What, why are you acting like you’ve already assigned me the directing?

“Um, could I see the script?”

“The script?”

“Yes. I need to know what parts I can contribute to in order to communicate with the writer.”

At my words, the executive made a coughing sound.

“Couldn’t you figure that out while communicating with the writer?”

“Come on, writers are so eloquent. If I meet her, I’ll be completely charmed, so I should look at it when I can be objective.”

“Then I’ll send you the script, so let’s have dinner together after you look at it.”

“How many episodes are there in total? If there are many, it’ll take time to review.”

“Ah, geez. Is meeting a writer once that difficult?”

At the executive’s words, the Manager quickly interjected.

“Executive. Director Do isn’t a Tivic employee, is he?”

“It’s not like that…”

“And isn’t it a bit much to say ‘young people’ in front of the person involved?”

“Ah, did I say that? I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Well, I understand the Executive’s behavior.

Most of the production labels are subsidiaries or equity affiliates anyway.

They probably seem like subordinates.

I used to say ‘Dohyeon-u from Tivic’ when I had external meetings before Handtip Crawl too.

It was kind of a customary practice.

‘I’m from Tivic’ is more intuitive than ‘I’m affiliated with SSK, but our works are unconditionally released through Tivic.’

So I understand it, but I only understand it.

There’s no reason for me to go along with it, right?

I wasn’t planning to do this in the first place anyway.

“Executive, since it’s an important project, I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’ll look at the script first and contact you.”

“Alright, well. Let’s do that.”

The Executive reluctantly nodded.

* * *

As soon as the Executive left, the Manager’s tone of voice changed.

“Well done.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was annoyed that they still act like we’re a label, but thanks to you, I got to give them a piece of my mind.”

No wonder he jumped in right away.

He was waiting for it.

“But Hyeon-u, do you have any complaints about the company?”

“Complaints?”

“If you have complaints, say it with words. Why are you breaking parking barriers?”

“No way, that reached your ears too? I clearly told the security guard I’d handle it with my own money.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Do we own this building? We’re tenants.”

“Really?”

I had no idea.

Wasn’t this SSK Headquarters?

“But why did you do it? Is the proposal bad?”

“No? The proposal was good though.”

“Then?”

“I have something I want to do.”

“Something you want to do? Dissing Moon Ah-yeong and Kim Dae-hyeon?”

“If you’re going to be so blunt about it, wouldn’t that make me a bit embarrassed?”

“It’s fortunate you at least know embarrassment. They say if you don’t know shame, you’re not human.”

The Manager who threw out a light joke made a serious expression.

“Hyeon-u.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe because Handtip Crawl did so well, I’m getting a bit excited too. I’m curious about what you’ve got up your sleeve again.”

“Yes.”

“But are you going to keep working with the same standards as now?”

It was quite a weighty question.

“The more successful you become, the more you’ll face good options. That’s the privilege of successful people. Are you going to only do what you want to do each time?”

I thought about it quite seriously, but it was a difficult question to answer immediately.

Still…

“Manager.”

“Yeah.”

“CE is quite an ambiguous job category, isn’t it? You have to look at scripts, directing, casting. You even have to look at art, sound, and music, right?”

“That’s right. To put it nicely, it’s a multi-player, and to put it badly, it’s a job created by content distribution companies with money who want to interfere in all sorts of places.”

That job has taken root even in production companies after 15 years of the OTT era, and that’s what I do.

Too close to the work to be called an investor, too close to money to be called a creator.

Too far from the work to be called a director, too close to the work to be called a supervisor.

When I think about it, it’s a strange job that sometimes makes me wonder if it’s really necessary.

“Then shouldn’t I at least love my work with my soul?”

Writer Moon Ah-yeong’s work, I could do it if I wanted to.

Honestly, it’s not like I can’t do it.

But I don’t think I could love it more than a work that came to mind with throbbing inspiration.

The Manager who heard my story chuckled.

“Love my ass. A guy who can’t even date. You know, what’s her name, that tall employee from the Marketing Team. That friend is openly showing interest but you’re avoiding her.”

“…Did you install CCTV? That’s a violation of labor law.”

“You’re talking like CCTV. So what is it? Your heart has gone to some flower field but you’re dissing Moon Ah-yeong?”

“You’re giving me permission, right?”

“I know now, so just tell me.”

I quickly opened my mouth, afraid he might change his mind.

It was that plan I had thought of yesterday while ramming into the parking barrier.

The Manager’s face, who had been seriously listening to my story, contorted in an instant.

“Are you a pervert?”

“What?”

“Did you catch a disease where you get excited when you hear the word crazy bastard?”

“Where in the world would such a person exist.”

“You! You crazy bastard!”

“No, why are you shouting…”

“Do you really think that makes any sense? No, how did you come up with such original nonsense…!”

Looking at the Manager’s protruding temples, I became worried.

Wouldn’t there be a problem with his blood pressure?

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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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