Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Even lines and actions that could have easily felt childish were covered up by incredibly polished direction.

Every scene and every shot added two or three times more flavor to the story.

The direction was so skillful that it honestly made me wonder if these works had really been directed by the same person.

After watching the two works he had made recently, I had no choice but to admit it.

I had clearly underestimated Director Won Se-chang's abilities.

Maybe Director Won Se-chang isn't as shallow as I thought.

I reflected on myself.

Maybe I had been too influenced by my first impression of him and had judged him with unnecessary prejudice.

For now, I decided to trust Director Won Se-chang.

Once I made that decision, I felt much more relaxed.

Even the pointless little stories Director Won Se-chang occasionally told me became somewhat easier to listen to.

Early in the morning, while the darkness still hadn't completely disappeared, I drove the car I had borrowed from the company the previous day and stopped in front of a detached house in Ui-dong, where Director Won Se-chang lived.

At exactly seven, the time he had told me to come, I called him.

"Director, I've arrived."

<Oh, I'll be right out. Open the trunk for me.>

After hanging up, I got out of the car and opened the trunk.

At that moment, the front gate opened, and Director Won Se-chang came outside carrying a golf bag.

"It was easy to find, right? It's just one block off the main road."

"Yes? Ah, yes."

I answered reluctantly.

Just before leaving work yesterday, Director Won Se-chang had told me about the important business schedule he had mentioned on my first day.

Apparently, we needed to arrive at a public golf course in Daejeon the next morning, so he had ordered me to come to his house by seven.

"A golf course?"

"Yeah. I've got a golf meeting with the MBS director there, so keep that in mind."

When I hesitated at the words golf meeting, Won Se-chang narrowed his eyes as if annoyed and continued.

"I know you can't play golf, Team Leader Min, but important business gets done on golf courses. Just follow us around and clap from the side if you have to. Got it?"

Well, it depended on the time and situation, but I wasn't unaware that golf was more than merely useful for businessmen in this era.

For many men, it was practically essential.

I didn't particularly like doing business this way, but business was still business.

I decided to accept it.

However, as Director Won Se-chang walked toward the trunk carrying his golf bag, his expression twisted strangely.

Soon, an irritated voice followed.

"What? This was the only car the company had? I saw a pretty nice black SUV there before."

I explained that whenever I needed a company car, I usually drove this one, so I had brought it without thinking much about it.

"If you were going to bring a car anyway, you should've brought a nicer one. I told you this was an important meeting... Forget it. Why do I even bother talking? Seriously, you have no sense at all... Tsk, tsk..."

And thus began Director Won Se-chang's complaining.

It continued all the way until we arrived at a public golf course near the foot of Gyeryongsan in Daejeon.

Seriously, how did someone like this direct such a delicate drama as The Man Holding Flowers*?*

The bad feelings I'd barely managed to get rid of after watching his works were already coming back.

Still, I forced myself to think positively.

Right... There has to be something I don't know.

He's someone capable of making such excellent works.

I'm probably just missing something.

I continued enduring the situation while hoping there really was some hidden side of him I hadn't noticed.

When we entered the clubhouse, Hwang Dong-hyeok, the head of MBS's Drama Department, had already arrived.

With him was Jung Cheol-woo, a producer from the MBS Drama Department who had apparently joined the broadcasting company at the same time as Won Se-chang.

"Director, you got here early."

"There wasn't much traffic. But what's this? You're actually paying for golf?"

"Come on, when have I ever not paid? Last spring, I paid for the golf and even the resort in Sokcho."

"You little punk. Even if your mouth is crooked, you should speak straight. How was that you paying? The president of DH, the outsourcing company that produced The Man Holding Flowers, paid for it."**

Despite Hwang Dong-hyeok's criticism, Director Won Se-chang shamelessly laughed it off.

"Same thing. I told the president to pay for it, so that's basically the same as me paying."

"You really know how to talk your way out of anything. Anyway, what company did you join? I heard Pan Entertainment tried to recruit you. Was it them?"

Only after hearing Hwang Dong-hyeok's question did Director Won Se-chang finally introduce me, even though I had been quietly standing behind him the whole time.

"Ah, Director, let me introduce him. This is Team Leader Min Gi-baek. He's the planning team leader at the production company I recently joined."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Min Gi-baek."

I greeted him as politely as possible.

Then I quickly took a business card from my card holder and handed it to Hwang Dong-hyeok.

Hwang Dong-hyeok stared at the card for quite a while before tilting his head.

"Big Picture? Wasn't Big Picture a film production company? Hey, Se-chang. Are you planning to make art now?"

There was a subtle hint of mockery and sarcasm in his voice.

"Come on, hyung. What art? Just because a film production company makes a drama doesn't mean they're suddenly making some artistic masterpiece. The president of Big Picture has apparently always been interested in producing dramas."

Won Se-chang quickly continued while carefully watching Hwang Dong-hyeok's reaction.

Then he glanced at me and sent me a desperate look for help.

"That's correct. That's why we've brought Director Won on board this time. We're planning to actively expand our business into drama production as well."

"Hmm."

Hwang Dong-hyeok looked at me.

"This industry isn't so easy that people obsessed with auteurism, art, and artistic quality can casually jump into it."

His words were still filled with sarcasm.

Then again, until the early 2000s, people working in the film industry did have a tendency to look down on or dismiss those working in television dramas.

Perhaps because of that, people in the drama industry carried a strange inferiority complex deep inside them.

Of course, there were industrial, artistic, and historical reasons behind it.

But the biggest reason was probably the perception that films traditionally emphasized artistic merit and quality, while dramas were closer to "factory products" created according to a broadcasting station's schedule.

I carefully tried to calm the situation without upsetting Hwang Dong-hyeok.

"Easy? Of course not. Everyone knows that when it comes to the actual production environment, dramas can be even more intense than films."

Maybe it was because I showed that I understood how difficult the actual production environment was.

Hwang Dong-hyeok's expression softened slightly.

"Well, as long as you're not jumping in because you think it's easy, that's good enough."

And with that slightly dangerous introduction finally over, we followed the caddie's guidance and officially began our eighteen-hole round.

"Good shot! Wow, hyung, when did you get this good at golf? Don't tell me you've stopped working and started living at the screen golf center."

"You crazy bastard. Don't even joke about something like that. Someone might hear you and actually believe it."

The golf game continued peacefully until we finished nine holes.

Since I couldn't play golf, I simply followed them around as Won Se-chang had told me to.

It was winter, so instead of fresh green grass, the field was covered in yellowish grass.

Even so, walking around such a wide-open golf course while breathing fresh air for the first time in a while felt refreshing.

After finishing nine holes, we stopped at the halfway house and ordered some simple jajangmyeon.

That was when it happened.

"Hyung, are you seriously going to be like this? You don't trust me?!"

Won Se-chang's voice began to rise as he spoke to Director Hwang Dong-hyeok.

"I'm saying I need to see at least the scripts for Episodes 1 and 2 before I can give you a broadcast slot or anything else."

"But I already showed you the proposal. It even has rough summaries for each episode."

"Hey. Be serious. If you were the director, would you give someone a broadcast slot after looking at one lousy proposal?"

What?

Didn't he say the broadcast slot was practically confirmed?

Was that not true?

I focused closely on their conversation, trying to understand the situation.

"Come on, if we really focus, we can write the script in a week. Hyung, we're talking about Writer Hong Yeon-hee. Hong Yeon-hee!"

Hwang Dong-hyeok looked doubtful.

"Since you brought it up, are you absolutely sure Hong Yeon-hee agreed to do this?"

Won Se-chang immediately raised his voice again.

"Hyung! Seriously? Are you saying I'm lying to you right now?!"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll secure the broadcast slot first and then replace the writer."

"Ha... That's really hurtful, hyung."

"Then bring me Writer Hong's script and contract."

Hwang Dong-hyeok's attitude was firmer than expected.

Director Won Se-chang hesitated for a moment before apparently deciding to change his strategy.

His tone suddenly softened.

"Hyung, I already told you. Writer Hong recently lost her father, so she hasn't been feeling well emotionally. That's why the script has been delayed."

He continued.

"And you know someone at Hong Yeon-hee's level hates being tied down by contracts too early. She deliberately waits until the broadcast schedule is roughly settled before signing anything. It's how she raises her fee."

Won Se-chang leaned toward him.

"You already know all that, hyung. So just secure the broadcast slot for us first. I heard one of your fourth-quarter slots opened up this year. Give me that one. Please? Hyyuuung~."

My face automatically twisted at Won Se-chang's completely unfitting attempt to act cute.

Seriously...

Is this what Won Se-chang calls business every time?

This time, Won Se-chang sent a desperate look toward Jang Cheol-woo, who had remained silent the entire time.

Under that stare, Jang Cheol-woo reluctantly spoke.

"Come on, Director. Just help him out this once. You know, there's such a thing as giving a former colleague some special treatment... Ahem..."

"Bullshit. Is this broadcasting station a prosecutor's office or a courthouse? Why are you talking about special treatment for former officials? Once you've left the company, that's it."

Even while saying that, Hwang Dong-hyeok cleanly finished his entire bowl of jajangmyeon.

Then he placed his chopsticks on the table with a sharp tak.

"Hyung~ Are you really going to treat me like this? Do you know how many bottles of thirty-year-old Ballantine's I've brought you?"

"That's right. And Writer Hong is apparently having a hard time because of her father's death... Ahem..."

"Tsk. Having an old colleague really is useful. You two are working together perfectly."

Still, whether Won Se-chang's shameless pleading had actually worked, or whether it was because of the special circumstances surrounding Writer Hong Yeon-hee's father's death, Hwang Dong-hyeok's attitude finally softened.

"Fine. Bring me Writer Hong's contract by the beginning of next month. If you do that, I'll give you the empty fourth-quarter slot."

Won Se-chang's eyes immediately lit up.

"Really? Hyung, you promised, okay? I'm recording this right now."

Excited, Won Se-chang began making a fuss like a child.

Hwang Dong-hyeok clicked his tongue.

"Tsk. I've really gotten soft with age. I'm giving you a broadcast slot when you don't even have a script or actors yet..."

Then he sighed.

"But what can I do? Whether I like you or not, you used to work under me. For old times' sake, I'll help you once."

His expression became serious.

"But this is really the last time. Next time, absolutely none of this. Got it?"

"Got it, hyung. No, next time, I'll raise the ratings so much that you'll be the one grabbing onto my pants and begging me to work with you. Okay? Hahaha!"

Hwang Dong-hyeok gave a faint laugh at Won Se-chang's endless flattery.

Seriously...

That actually worked?