Chapter 82
“I heard you were discharged from the military, but you’re already coming back to work today? Ah, come to think of it, I heard you were returning as a team leader. Has your appointment already been made official? Ah, of all days, PD baek seonghan is out on business today, so he’ll be back late. He’s going to be really happy when he sees you.”
choi seonhwa fired off question after question without even stopping for breath.
kim eunkyung gave her a subtle look and spoke.
“All right, all right. You two can catch up later. For now, I think we need to have a little discussion among ourselves.”
“Ah, I’m sorry... Then I’ll...”
Only then did choi seonhwa realize what was going on.
Looking embarrassed, she quickly returned to her seat.
Once choi seonhwa had left, kim eunkyung finally turned toward won sechang with a smile.
“Why don’t you two introduce yourselves first? Director, this is Team Leader min gibaek. From now on, he’ll be in charge of the overall planning and production of your drama.”
After Executive Director kim eunkyung introduced me, I gave a small bow.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m min gibaek. I look forward to working with you.”
“Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you’re very capable. Almost all the successful projects from ‘Big Picture’ came from your planning, didn’t they? I’m the one who should be asking for your help.”
“Not at all. Dramas and movies have very different systems, so I hope you’ll help me learn a lot.”
won sechang looked like a gentleman.
Relaxed and composed.
But there was something strangely cold in his eyes.
Ha... If I knew this was going to happen, I should’ve watched more dramas instead of only paying attention to movies...
I felt frustrated because I knew absolutely nothing about what dramas won sechang would make in the future or how successful they would become.
No... Even so, I know the names of most truly famous drama writers and directors. If I’ve never heard of won sechang, does that mean he never became that successful?
Even during that short introduction, countless thoughts raced through my head.
We moved to the meeting room and talked briefly about the overall situation.
“Don’t worry, Executive Director. I’ll discuss things with Team Leader min gibaek and decide on a specific direction soon.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to seeing what the two of you can accomplish. Then I’ll leave you two to continue talking.”
kim eunkyung had another meeting scheduled, so she left the conference room first.
After she was gone, I continued my conversation with won sechang.
“Director, then when will we be meeting Writer hong yeonhee...?”
That was when it happened.
won sechang leaned back comfortably, crossed his legs, and spoke to me.
“Your name is gibaek, right? You’re twenty-eight now?”
Ha, what’s this?
He’s suddenly talking down to me?
His attitude was completely different from when kim eunkyung had been in the room.
I immediately felt annoyed.
But even before my regression, I had met plenty of people whose attitude changed depending on the status of the person standing in front of them.
So I tried to let it go and answered calmly.
“Ah, yes...”
“You don’t mind if I speak casually to you, right? I just think it’d be better if we were more comfortable around each other. Don’t you?”
“Yes. Please speak however you’re comfortable, Director. But regarding Writer hong yeonhee, when will we...”
“Ah, and as for the writer, actors, staff, and everything else, I’ll handle all of that myself. Team Leader min gibaek doesn’t need to worry about it.”
won sechang spoke with an openly irritated expression, as if even discussing it was troublesome.
“What? What do you mean...?”
“Team Leader min gibaek, you look pretty sharp, but are you slower than I thought? I meant exactly what I said. I’ll take care of everything, so we don’t need to waste time having unnecessary meetings like this between ourselves.”
I blinked, momentarily speechless.
Seeing my reaction, won sechang smirked and continued.
“PD min gibaek, you should consider yourself really lucky. Your first time working on a drama, and you get to meet someone like me. Do you have any idea how many crazy drama directors there are?”
According to won sechang, there were plenty of drama directors who ordered planning producers around like servants.
Do this.
Do that.
They interfered with everything from beginning to end.
“But I’m not like that. I just handle everything myself. Even when it comes to the writer, I usually take care of things in the middle. So all PD min gibaek needs to do is properly handle the funding. It’s a sweet deal, isn’t it?”
Ha.
So what he was saying was simple.
Don’t interfere with my work.
Just make sure I get whatever money I need.
Was that it?
I desperately stopped the corner of my mouth from twisting and answered.
“Even so, I’m an employee receiving a salary from the company. I can’t exactly do nothing. The work I’m responsible for...”
Before I could finish, won sechang interrupted me.
“Of course. Obviously, you still need to do whatever you’re supposed to do as the team leader.”
Then another smirk appeared on his face.
“By the way, Team Leader min gibaek. Do you play golf?”
Golf?
I nearly laughed out loud.
Ha... What the hell is wrong with this guy?
“What? You never learned golf? Well, I guess you’re still young... In that case, you should learn while you have the chance. I don’t know how things work in the movie industry, but dramas are all about connections. Golf meetings are practically mandatory.”
From there, won sechang continued talking about golf for quite some time.
He told me how he had managed to get a hole-in-one only three years after learning golf.
Then he talked about how much his new approach club had cost.
He even said he could introduce me to a good teaching professional if I wanted to learn.
I quietly listened to him ramble on.
And while doing so, I remembered what kim eunkyung had said to me earlier on the emergency staircase.
Director won... How should I put it... Maybe you could say he’s a little... lightweight?
Only now did I understand what she had meant by lightweight.
“Ah, right. And Team Leader min gibaek, keep this Saturday free. There’s an important business meeting.”
With that, my first meeting with won sechang came to an end.
It had certainly been memorable, if nothing else.
I returned to my desk on the twelfth floor, where Planning Team 2 was located.
For some reason, I felt mentally drained.
Almost numb.
I had no idea how I was supposed to interpret the situation.
No.
With everything being like this, I didn’t even know what I should start with.
I continued worrying without coming up with any solution, even after lunchtime had passed.
Then someone suddenly called out to me.
“Hey, min gibaek. I heard you’re back.”
“Huh? PD baek seonghan! I heard you were out on business. You’re back already?”
“Yeah. I heard you were back, so I came running straight over. Hahaha.”
It was already well past the beginning of spring according to the calendar, but the February air was still cold.
Standing on the rooftop and looking out beyond the railing, I finished explaining the situation with a short sigh.
“That’s basically what happened, so I honestly have no idea what I’m supposed to do...”
baek seonghan had quietly listened to everything from beginning to end.
His brows slowly furrowed.
“So what he’s saying is that he’ll handle everything himself, and you shouldn’t even think about sticking your nose into his business? Tch. I thought only his mouth was light, but apparently his head is just as light.”
baek seonghan told me that during the two weeks he had shared an office with won sechang, practically everything he heard from him had been useless entertainment-industry gossip.
Actress A had supposedly become pregnant with the child of a major corporation’s chairman.
Actress B had supposedly slept with Director C to get a role.
Things like that.
“I don’t know where he picks up rumors with no reliable source, but he loves spreading them around... Most directors aren’t that loose-lipped.”
Hearing baek seonghan say that only made me feel even more uneasy.
“Ha... Anyway, I’m worried. I really don’t know what I should do from here.”
“Hey, PD min gibaek, don’t worry too much. I happened to overhear the CEO and Executive Director talking. It sounds like getting the MBS broadcast slot is practically guaranteed already. And the project is written by hong yeonhee, right?”
If movies were a director’s art, dramas were a writer’s art.
That was how people often described the difference.
And it was true that writers held enormous power in the drama industry.
In any case, hong yeonhee had already reached the very top of the romantic comedy genre.
And she was someone who would remain at the top in the future as well.
That’s true. The fact that won sechang is working with hong yeonhee means I should probably give him at least some credit...
“You’re right. Maybe I got too caught up in my first impression and started worrying about things I don’t need to worry about.”
“Exactly. Relax and watch him for a while. Compared to the way he talks and behaves, he seems pretty good at his actual job. He’s still a director who made two dramas in a row that broke thirty-six percent in ratings. Doesn’t that prove he has ability?”
I had never felt such resistance to hearing someone described as capable before.
“And there’s a saying that no matter how terrible someone’s personality is, they’re still better than an incompetent boss.”
baek seonghan gave me something that sounded like comfort while somehow not being very comforting at all.
I looked at him.
“PD baek seonghan, do you really think everything can be forgiven as long as someone is competent, no matter what their personality is like?”
“Hahaha. Why are you suddenly getting so serious? Of course, personally, I also think character should come before ability.”
Still, baek seonghan said that such an opinion usually came from people who didn’t understand the business world.
Or from idealists.
In the real world of business, ability itself became part of a person’s character.
A business world where ability becomes character...
I could understand that idea to some extent.
Even so, when I actually thought about it like that, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling bitter.
Then baek seonghan grinned.
“That’s why someone like me, who’s both good at his job and has a great personality, is so rare.”
It was clearly a joke meant to lighten my mood.
Understanding his intention, I gave him a small smile.
“You’re right. I should’ve treated you better when I was working under you. Anyway, thank you. Talking to you helped me organize all those complicated thoughts a little.”
“Good. Just take it easy. You haven’t even put your team together yet, right? Why don’t you start by choosing the people you’ll work with? You can slowly learn how to work with Director won sechang after that.”
Instead of answering, I slowly nodded.
“By the way, we should all get together soon. Me, director song, seungjun, and you. We need to celebrate you becoming a civilian again.”
“Sure. I’ll treat everyone properly this time.”
Following baek seonghan’s advice, the first thing I did was post a recruitment notice looking for members for the drama planning team.
I accepted applicants from both related and unrelated academic backgrounds.
There was no distinction between experienced applicants and complete newcomers.
I also removed any age restrictions.
After all, I was only twenty-eight despite being the team leader.
If experienced people applied, there probably wouldn’t be many younger than me anyway.
And as far as I was concerned, age didn’t matter at all as long as someone had the ability to do the job.
Next, I began searching for all six dramas that won sechang had directed.
Just as baek seonghan had said, if ability was considered character in the business world, then I needed to see won sechang’s ability for myself.
Most of won sechang’s early dramas were ordinary.
Of course, the story itself was the writer’s responsibility, so that wasn’t something I could criticize won sechang for.
But his directing was also fairly ordinary.
No.
Rather than simply being ordinary, it actually felt old-fashioned and boring.
In lively romantic comedies, the pacing was too slow.
And in scenes that were supposed to show subtle and delicate emotions, he used overly grand direction and music, which made the scenes feel strangely comedic instead.
However...
The two dramas he had made consecutively starting four years ago felt completely different.
The directing had changed noticeably.
