Chapter 84
Up until now, Won Se-chang's behavior had left me dumbfounded.
But at the same time, I also felt strangely empty inside.
Seriously...
Could that man, who acted more lightly and carelessly than a feather blowing in the wind, really be the same director who created a drama that had moved me so deeply?
Every scene of that drama had weight.
Every shot had meaning and depth.
Yet the Won Se-chang standing in front of me right now seemed like a completely different person.
The gap between Won Se-chang the person and Won Se-chang the director was so huge that it felt like the distance between heaven and earth.
Just when I thought everything had finally been settled, Won Se-chang spoke again.
"Oh, and hyung. Since you're already helping me, send Choi Kyung-min over too. Let him work under me as an assistant director."
Hwang Dong-hyuk let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Wow, look at this guy. I save you from drowning and now you're demanding I hand over my bag too? You're just a producer from an outside production company, yet you're openly asking me to put a broadcasting station producer under you?"
He clicked his tongue.
"I always knew you were shameless, but I didn't know you were this shameless. Damn... Hahaha."
Won Se-chang grinned without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Come on, hyung. Why are you like that? If you're already helping me, you might as well help me properly. Hehe."
No way... Hwang Dong-hyuk isn't actually going to agree to this too, right?!
After the Broadcasting Act was revised in 2004, terrestrial broadcasters were legally required to have at least thirty-five percent of their dramas and entertainment programs produced by outside production companies.
As the percentage of outsourced productions gradually increased, it became common for producers from broadcasting stations to be dispatched to outside production companies.
Sometimes they went there for cooperation.
Sometimes they were assigned as field coordinators.
However, at this time, the main reasons broadcasting station producers were sent to outside companies were to monitor and keep those companies in check, or to give rookie producers real on-site experience.
But Won Se-chang was openly asking for a terrestrial broadcasting station producer to become his assistant director.
Hwang Dong-hyuk thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Fine. I'll assign Choi Kyung-min to you."
He immediately added,
"But in exchange, you have to break forty percent this time. No excuses. Got it?"
What the... He agreed that easily?
At this point, I suddenly became curious about just how many bottles of thirty-year-old Ballantine's Won Se-chang had given Hwang Dong-hyuk over the years.
After our golf game ended, Won Se-chang naturally pushed the bill onto me.
"You brought the company card, right?"
His shamelessness was so incredible that I couldn't even laugh anymore.
Fine. I guess this counts as business too...
While I paid the bill, Won Se-chang, Hwang Dong-hyuk, and Jang Cheol-woo went into the locker room to change clothes.
After finishing the payment, I headed toward the locker room.
But just as I approached it...
I stopped.
A conversation was coming from inside.
"Hey, by the way. What's the real reason you joined 'Big Picture'? Sure, they're a pretty influential company in the movie industry, but when it comes to dramas, they're practically a new company."
It was Jang Cheol-woo's voice.
Then I heard Won Se-chang answer with amusement in his voice.
"Because they're easy to handle."
W-Wait.
What the hell did that bastard just say...?
Won Se-chang continued.
"Movie people are more naive than you'd think. They don't really know how things work in the drama industry. So when I tell them something works a certain way, they just believe me."
Although Won Se-chang himself worked in dramas, he said people in the drama industry were all too cunning.
They knew too much.
Existing drama production companies constantly interfered with directors, complained about every little thing, and never gave anyone an opening.
From his perspective, a company like Big Picture was much better.
They didn't understand the drama industry well enough to argue with him.
Instead, they simply went along with whatever he wanted.
Jang Cheol-woo clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. So basically, you chose them because you thought you could wrap them around your finger?"
He laughed.
"Seriously, you were born with a talent for scheming."
The two of them burst into laughter.
Without realizing it, a hollow laugh escaped my lips as well.
So that was it.
When Won Se-chang told Executive Director Kim Eun-kyung that he could handle me too...
If I looked at his true intentions, what he'd really meant was...
That guy looks easy enough to use, so put him under me.
That was all.
I had thought he might be different because he was a director who had created such an excellent drama.
Even when he behaved like a complete thug with garbage manners, I kept telling myself there had to be something I was missing.
I had forced myself to tolerate him.
But...
Ability and personality really were completely separate things.
No matter how talented someone was, if their personality was trash...
Then they were still trash.
It wasn't that I had been prejudiced against him.
My first impression had simply been correct.
Ha... If that was your intention from the beginning, then I can't just sit here and let you use me anymore.
As soon as I thought that, the rebellious side of me that I had been desperately suppressing began to slowly rise again.
"It must've been hectic coming back to work. How are things? Have you settled back in?"
Han Tae-sung had been away on a long business trip.
The moment he returned to work, he asked how I'd been doing.
"Yes. More or less..."
I paused before changing the subject.
"Anyway, Executive Director Kim Eun-kyung told me that you're considering acquiring a VFX company."
"Nothing has been finalized yet..."
"Still, I was surprised. I didn't know you were interested in VFX."
Han Tae-sung laughed.
"Hahaha. If you really think about it, this is all because of you."
Han Tae-sung became interested in VFX because of me?
I blinked in confusion.
Seeing my expression, Han Tae-sung smiled and explained.
When producing Timeless, he had been disappointed with the level of CG and VFX technology available in Korea.
After that, he began taking an interest in the computer graphics industry.
Then he saw Avatar, which earned more than 2.9 billion dollars worldwide.
That convinced him that the computer graphics market would grow rapidly in the future.
Because of that, he began considering creating a VFX team within Big Picture.
Now that I thought about it...
I vaguely remembered hearing that Big Picture had once entered the VFX business.
But according to my memories from before my regression...
Wasn't VFX the only business Big Picture had ever failed at?
I searched through my memories from my previous life.
Unfortunately, I didn't know the exact circumstances.
All I had were bits and pieces I'd heard from different people.
"Anyway, we'll probably make a decision on that soon, so let's talk about it again when the time comes."
Han Tae-sung looked at me.
"What about you? Are you getting along well with Director Won Se-chang?"
"Ah... Well..."
I couldn't immediately think of an answer.
So I just gave an awkward smile and avoided saying too much.
Han Tae-sung's lips curled slightly when he saw my reaction.
"Judging by that reaction, I suppose you and Director Won aren't getting along very well."
He chuckled.
