A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 92

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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 92

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Hong Hee-yeong’s house was a luxury villa with a small garden on the outskirts of Hannam-dong.

Not quite as nice as Kim Ra-un’s house, but still an incredibly good home.

Just seeing it made me realize that Hong Hee-yeong was truly S-class.

This kind of house isn’t something you can buy with just a salary – you need incentives like running guarantees or production shares.

But production companies aren’t stupid either, so they don’t pay running guarantees to writers below S-class.

In the global OTT era, it seems they’re taking care of A-class writers too, but Hong Hee-yeong has been debuting for almost 20 years.

Then the door opened and Hong Hee-yeong appeared in a cardigan.

“Hello. I’m Dohyeon-u from SSK.”

“I’m drama writer Hong Hee-yeong. You didn’t need to bring anything.”

“It would be awkward to come empty-handed when meeting for the first time.”

“Come in.”

After exchanging awkward greetings, we went inside the house.

I’d often watched the dramas she wrote, but my first impression of Hong Hee-yeong, whom I was actually meeting for the first time, was ‘kind.’

She seemed to be wearing horn-rimmed glasses to make her impression stronger, but it didn’t seem to be working very well.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Water would be fine, please.”

As I sat on the sofa, Hong Hee-yeong brought a water bottle and spoke.

“I thought about meeting outside, but then we might get pushed around. You know what they say – even a mutt eats half its meal at home before going out.”

“This isn’t something to be pushed around about. I’m the one who came to ask for a favor unilaterally.”

“You’re a bit different from what I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you caught the actors on set like catching mice. I thought you’d be more intimidating.”

“Me?”

Who the hell spreads such ridiculous rumors?

Our staff said there’s no director easier to work with than me.

Could it be the extras?

“I have a million things I want to ask, but let me start with this. Why me?”

“Why?”

“I wondered if you were trying to save the Oxygen Warning writer like you saved Kim Ra-un when he was falling apart.”

“Me? Do I have a reason to do that?”

“To prove your skills?”

“So you’re saying I called Hong Hee-yeong knowing full well I wouldn’t hear good things, just to prove my skills, and came all the way here at this hour?”

Wouldn’t that be too strange?

“You are pretty strong-willed.”

“No…”

“Sorry. I was being a bit twisted. Writers usually get all kinds of thoughts when a work fails. I feel like I’ll become obsolete soon.”

That’s what I heard from President Yun.

But Oxygen Warning wasn’t really a failure.

“You won’t become obsolete.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I read the Oxygen Warning script.”

“…”

Hong Hee-yeong, who had been looking at me quietly, suddenly said something unexpected.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“I feel like I’ve heard people say the script is good thousands of times already, but this time it resonates. Is it really all about results in this industry?”

The conversation continued, cutting through the air that had become softer than when we first greeted each other.

“What do you think was the problem with Oxygen Warning? I think I wrote it well, but the ratings were a bit disappointing.”

“Hmm…”

“You can speak comfortably. It’s embarrassing to say this after being so prickly, but I may have a sharp tongue but I don’t hold grudges.”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. Our manager suggested we bet on whether I’d get salt thrown at me or get doused with water.”

“Salt would be a problem since I only use imported salt.”

“What about water?”

“I only drink Evian.”

Writers really do have a way with words.

“Oxygen Warning – you mixed two scripts together, didn’t you?”

“…How did you know?”

“I think that no matter how capable a writer is, there’s a set allocation of thought. Just like if you focus on the main narrative, the subplot naturally loses strength. But in Oxygen Warning, the density of the merman male lead and chaebol heiress female lead stories was too uniform. Like you combined two separately written stories.”

“Ah, so from episode 9…”

“Yes. Personally, I think the director should have quickly resolved the latter half’s internal company conflicts. That’s what killed the characters.”

Hong Hee-yeong pondered my words and sighed.

“You’re right. That’s exactly it. Did you reject it because you immediately noticed that?”

“Reject?”

“My script. I heard you rejected it.”

“When I rejected it, I hadn’t even turned past the first page of the proposal.”

“What? Then why did you reject it?”

“Because I didn’t like Senior Ju Yeong-hun.”

Saying it made me feel a bit petty, so I added:

“He insulted my hyung.”

Does this sound petty too?

Hong Hee-yeong chuckled.

“I found one thing in common.”

“You have excellent judgment of character.”

“Try being a drama writer. You seem talented.”

“There are too many excellent writers around me, so I don’t dare. There’s one right here too.”

“You’re talented at flattery too.”

Hong Hee-yeong chuckled again and asked:

“Let’s go back to the beginning. So why did you come here?”

“I didn’t come to see Hong Hee-yeong. I came to see the writer of 【Push and Pull】. I want to make a season 2.”

“But why? It’s a 10-year-old script.”

“I watched hundreds of dramas to make a rom-com, and this was the most interesting.”

“Just because something’s interesting doesn’t mean you make a season 2.”

“You’re not buying it.”

“It seems like you haven’t said everything.”

I thought for a moment and then spoke.

“I saw something recently. People whose positions were completely reversed in relationships that seemed like they would never change.”

Now that I think about it, the first thought I had when I saw Tune was ‘What if this person bullies Eum Seong-hyeon again?’

Maybe Tune’s lie about being friends with Eum Seong-hyeon was also a manifestation of the unconscious thought ‘I’m someone who can do that.’

But that was really a useless thought.

Now the gap between Tune and Eum Seong-hyeon has widened to an unreachable degree.

It had become a relationship where Eum Seong-hyeon could consider whether to show mercy or not.

“Seeing that, 【Push and Pull】 suddenly came to mind.”

“Suddenly?”

“To be precise, it was the moment when the parking garage barrier wouldn’t go up. It should have gone up when it saw my car number, but it turned away.”

【Push and Pull】 is the story of U-yeon, the female lead who had no choice but to push away, and Destiny, the male lead who always only pulled her toward him.

We are U-yeon.

No, Destiny.

This was the sentence that represented the drama, and in the end, they achieved their happy ending.

“But what would happen if Destiny got tired after a few years? When he became exhausted with life and love, and could no longer pull?”

U-yeon would be as flustered as I was in front of the barrier.

Because he should be pulling, but he’s not.

“What if they broke up like that and met again after 5 years, maybe even 10 years?”

“U-yeon would have realized how great the love Destiny had given her was. She’d want to start over.”

“Yes. The relationship would be reversed. U-yeon would pull, and Destiny would push.”

“Would there even be a reason for Destiny to push?”

“We need to add some ups and downs to life. Actually, if you look at the drama, Destiny’s life challenges weren’t cleanly resolved. It would be strange if there were no complications.”

“…You’re right. Back then, I wasn’t very skilled.”

“It’s not so much that, but I think you knew it instinctively. That if you dug deeper into the story, the rough edges would come out again. You ended it at the smoothest moment.”

“So, Dohyeon-u, you thought the backstory of U-yeon and Destiny would be interesting?”

“Yes.”

“And then?”

“Pardon?”

“That can’t be all. To do that, you’d need to acquire the original rights and cast the original actors, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m considering the actors. It would be nice to cast them, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Because a long time has passed?”

“Yes. If we say 10 or even 15 years, I think we could use actors within a believable range.”

Writer Hong Hee-yeong tapped the table and nodded.

“Well, let’s say we consider that later. Anyway, it’s not going to cost just a few pennies, right? Considering the increased production costs, even a minimal budget would easily require 8 billion won?”

“Ah, I didn’t mention this. I’m thinking of about twelve 20-minute episodes. As a web drama.”

“…A web drama? Season 2?”

“I have no intention of including multi-faceted narratives. I just want to create the real story of U-yeon and Destiny.”

“No, no. No, wait a minute.”

Hong Hee-yeong looked bewildered.

Yes, I thought this would be the biggest obstacle.

To be honest, I had deliberately avoided mentioning the word “web drama.”

Because a writer of Hong Hee-yeong’s caliber has no reason to do web dramas.

She’s too S-class to lose face from doing web dramas, but I can’t match her fees.

She probably gets over 5 million per episode.

So my plan wasn’t originally Hong Hee-yeong.

I planned to first persuade Hong Hee-yeong to create interest, then find a separate writing team and work with her advice.

“Then there’s no business strategy?”

“I do have a strategy. We shouldn’t lose money.”

“Who’s talking about losses? I’m asking if you did any business calculations at all.”

“…? Didn’t I mention it? That I have my own strategy.”

“That’s not what I mean!”

Writer Hong Hee-yeong, who had been staring at me intently, spoke hesitantly.

“So, you really came here just because you wanted to film that story as a drama?”

“Yes.”

“Just because you thought it would be interesting?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I wanted to know if my intuition without supernatural help was useful, and the story of 【Push and Pull】 came to mind at just the right time.

“What if we do this together and it fails? It would be a problem for me, but wouldn’t it also be a problem for you, Dohyeon-u? People would say you saved Kim Ra-un and now your arrogance reaches the sky.”

That’s not really a problem.

The bigger issue is that I’ve been succeeding by relying on supernatural powers.

But I’ve thought of a solution for when that happens too.

“I’ll have to study.”

“Study?”

“Drama studies. I grew up somewhat self-taught.”

I joined the company right after retiring as an actor, and took on projects without having time to build experience as an assistant CE.

I’d have to learn various things with the mindset of going back to the beginning.

But the moment I finished speaking, Writer Hong Hee-yeong burst into loud laughter.

“Ah, I get it. I wondered why the Accomplice writers even did assistant writing work… So this was why?”

“They weren’t assistant writers. All their names went up in the credits.”

“I know, I know. You’re totally a capital T type. Do you want to point that out?”

Hong Hee-yeong, who had been laughing for a while, opened her mouth.

“This is refreshing. It’s been a long time since someone talked to me like this. Usually, they start with the budget, which channel, and which actors.”

“It’s not that I don’t consider those things. It’s just that the story takes priority.”

“So that’s why you used Kim Ra-un too? Because he was the most suitable actor?”

“Yes.”

“Now I’m starting to understand your concept, Dohyeon-u.”

Hong Hee-yeong smiled slightly and said.

“Let’s do it. I’ll write the script for you.”

“Personally?”

“It’s my work, who else would I entrust it to?”

“I think we’ll need some negotiation about the fees.”

“Do I look like someone short on money?”

I reflexively looked around the house.

“No. Of course not.”

“I saw it in an interview. The Accomplice writers said that. That they participated because it looked interesting. I also, well…”

Writer Hong Hee-yeong, who had taken off her glasses, said.

“Because it looks interesting.”

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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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