Chapter 90

Chapter 90

“Huh? Team Leader Min, are you close with Starlight?”

“Yes. I have some connections over at Starlight.”

At the word connections, Won Sechang and Hong Yeonhee’s eyes immediately lit up.

Right in front of them, I pulled out my phone and called Ma Sanghee.

“Ah, CEO Ma?”

• Yes, Gibaek. I was actually about to call you. Our Gichan received an offer for his next project, and I wanted you to take a look at it.

“Ah, yes. We can talk about that later. Right now, I called because... ahem.”

• Oh my, sorry. You were the one who called me, but I only talked about my own business. Haha. What is it?

“I wanted to ask what Hyunbin hyung’s schedule looks like these days.”

• Ah, he decided to do that movie you recommended before. But why are you suddenly asking about Hyunbin’s schedule?

“I’m in a meeting right now, so I’ll explain everything properly this evening. For now, I just needed to know Hyunbin hyung’s schedule. Yes. I’ll call you again later.”

With that, I ended the call.

“What was that? You just called Starlight’s CEO directly? And from the sound of it, you’re personally close with actor Moon Hyunbin too...”

“Wait. I also heard something about Gichan. Is Seol Gichan signed with them too?”

Won Sechang and Hong Yeonhee stared at me with almost overwhelming interest, firing questions one after another.

“Um, please ask one question at a time... Ah, and yes. Seol Gichan is signed with Starlight.”

Hong Yeonhee’s eyes sparkled.

“Really? Seol Gichan is with them too? Then, Team Leader Min, do you get involved in casting Starlight’s actors as well?”

“Ah, not exactly... I wouldn’t say I’m involved in casting. I only help whenever the CEO asks me for advice...”

As though they had discovered another unexpected ability of mine, Won Sechang and Hong Yeonhee’s eyes shone once more.

“How many actors do they have? No, wait. Besides Moon Hyunbin and Seol Gichan, who else is there?”

Won Sechang quickly asked.

“They have around fourteen actors. Besides Moon Hyunbin and Seol Gichan, there’s Gil Boyoung, Seong Nahyun, Kim Doyoon, Seo Inhwa, Oh Taesik, Park Haneul, and several others...”

I listed the names of the actors who had now become Starlight’s leading stars.

“Oh my. They have more decent actors than I expected.”

“Exactly. This actually works out well. If we can work with an agency Team Leader Min already has connections with, it’ll make things much easier for us. We won’t have to sit around forever just waiting for someone to reply about whether an actor’s schedule is available. Don’t you agree, Writer Hong?”

“Absolutely. And I wasn’t going to say this, but honestly, sometimes the agency is more troublesome than the actors themselves. They deliberately don’t even pass scripts to their actors because they want to raise their market value. It’s not like that’s only happened once or twice.”

For the first time, the two of them completely agreed with each other and smoothly continued the conversation.

“Then I’ll contact Starlight and ask them to bring their actors’ profiles to meet with the director and writer sometime soon.”

“If you do that, we’d appreciate it.”

Hong Yeonhee smiled comfortably.

“Ah, speaking of casting, Writer Hong. What do you think about Han Hyejoo for the role of Chae Bora?”

Feeling pleased after finally agreeing on something, Won Sechang casually threw out Han Hyejoo’s name.

But the moment he did, Hong Yeonhee’s brows instantly furrowed.

“Han Hyejoo? Ah... I don’t really like Han Hyejoo. Her acting too...”

Her reaction was completely different from what Won Sechang had expected.

Flustered, he quickly continued.

“Come on, that’s not true. Han Hyejoo has gotten really good lately. It’s not just her looks anymore. Even her acting has improved tremendously. She’s completely in her element these days.”

Despite Won Sechang’s words, Hong Yeonhee still looked unconvinced.

“Producer, seriously. Do you think I don’t have eyes? How is that good acting? And I don’t really like Han Hyejoo. There are too many bad rumors about her too. People say she has a terrible personality.”

“That’s apparently not true. A friend of mine worked with Han Hyejoo before, and he said she’s completely different from the rumors.”

Even after Won Sechang’s continued persuasion, Hong Yeonhee still looked reluctant and turned her gaze away.

“Then let’s at least meet her once and talk. We can see for ourselves whether she really has a bad personality or not.”

Won Sechang continued pushing until Hong Yeonhee finally raised both hands as though surrendering.

“Fine. Then, like you said, I’ll meet her once.”

Completely oblivious to Hong Yeonhee’s expression, Won Sechang looked delighted.

“You heard her, right, Team Leader Min? Check Han Hyejoo’s schedule and arrange a meeting.”

Just then, as though she had suddenly remembered something, Hong Yeonhee quickly turned toward me.

“Ah, and Team Leader Min. I think I’ll need an assistant writer this time. Find someone suitable for me.”

“An assistant writer?”

Unlike films, drama writers often worked with at least one, sometimes several, assistant writers.

Drama productions practically ran like live broadcasts because of their brutal schedules.

To keep up with filming, assistant writers were almost essential. They helped with research and provided various ideas.

However, Hong Yeonhee was famous for working alone without assistant writers.

So naturally, both Won Sechang and I were surprised when she suddenly asked for one.

“Huh? Writer Hong, you normally don’t use assistant writers.”

At Won Sechang’s question, Hong Yeonhee answered with a troubled expression.

“That’s true, but I think I’ll need one this time.”

Apparently, this drama required far more research than usual.

There were also many sections involving school violence and crime.

She wanted an assistant writer who could help with detailed research and exchange ideas with her.

“Then I’ll post a recruitment notice in the writers’ community. You’ll conduct the interviews yourself, right?”

“Ah, I don’t really have time to hold separate interviews... Team Leader Min, don’t you know anyone who could work as an assistant writer?”

“Ah... I’m not sure... an assistant writer...”

Once again, I was caught off guard by the unexpected request.

But then...

Ah, Do Gijeong! Gijeong hyung!

Do Gijeong, who had been discharged from the military only a few days ago, suddenly came to mind.

“I think I know someone. Someone who could work as your assistant writer.”

“Really? That’s great. What kind of person is he? How old is he? Actually, age doesn’t really matter. I doubt there’s anyone older than me anyway. Did he graduate from a writers’ academy? Or maybe a creative writing department? Does he have experience in this field?”

Hong Yeonhee bombarded me with questions.

“Ah, well... He didn’t graduate from a writers’ academy or a creative writing department. He doesn’t have any professional experience in this field either...”

“Ah... really? But you still think he can do the job, Team Leader Min?”

Hong Yeonhee looked a little disappointed.

I continued.

“Yes. He doesn’t have professional experience, and as far as I know, he studied writing on his own. But after reading his screenplay, I felt that he has a natural sense and talent as a writer.”

Then I added,

“Even putting that aside, I believe he’s more than capable of handling the duties of an assistant writer.”

The words natural sense and talent immediately caught Hong Yeonhee’s interest.

Her eyes lit up.

“Really? Then I want to meet him soon. Since we’re already talking about it, can we meet him tomorrow?”

As if she believed there was no reason to delay once a decision had been made, Hong Yeonhee immediately tried to arrange a meeting for the next day.

“He may already have plans, so I’ll check his schedule first. I’ll arrange the meeting as soon as possible and let you know.”

After passing through the familiar residential alleys of Sangsu-dong, I entered Bearded Man’s Music Salon.

“Huh? Gibaek, long time no see.”

As always, the heavily bearded owner was organizing records behind the bar.

He spotted me and greeted me warmly.

I ordered a bottle of beer before walking toward the table where Do Gijeong was sitting.

“Hyung, you got here before me.”

“Ah, Sergeant Min!”

Do Gijeong, who apparently still hadn’t completely shaken off his military habits, immediately shot to his feet the moment he saw me.

I hurriedly stopped him.

“Come on. We agreed that once you were discharged, we’d speak comfortably as hyung and dongsaeng.”

Only then did Do Gijeong smile awkwardly.

We had talked over the phone, but this was the first time we had met in person since his discharge.

Apparently, his body had reacted automatically out of habit.

“Ah... old habits are still there.”

“Anyway, judging by how much healthier you look, I guess your final months as a sergeant were pretty comfortable? Haha.”

Over the past few months, Do Gijeong had noticeably filled out.

I jokingly teased him about it.

“Right after you were discharged, I suddenly started gaining weight. Haha.”

Do Gijeong laughed casually.

He looked far more relaxed than he ever had in the military.

“By the way, this place is really nice. I’ve lived around this neighborhood for more than twenty years, but I had no idea there was a bar like this hidden in a residential area. This place is completely my style.”

He seemed to love the atmosphere.

Do Gijeong kept looking around with admiration.

We spent some time catching up, talking about how we had been doing and reminiscing about the comrades who were still serving in the military.

Then eventually...

“Assistant writer for Writer Hong Yeonhee?”

Startled, Do Gijeong placed the beer bottle he had been drinking from down on the table with a clack.

He immediately turned toward me.

“Yes. I think it would help you in several ways. And in a certain sense, it could also become an opportunity for you...”

Do Gijeong seemed to have many thoughts running through his mind.

He couldn’t answer immediately.

After a while, he slowly spoke.

“I don’t know... Would I really be able to do it...? Besides, if it’s Writer Hong’s project, there’s a hundred-percent chance it’ll be a romantic comedy. I’m not very strong in that genre...”

“Ah, this one does have romance, but the atmosphere is very different from Writer Hong’s usual works.”

“Really...?”

Encouraged by my earlier advice that he should never give up and should keep writing, Do Gijeong told me that as soon as he was discharged, he had started looking into writers’ academies and planning what to do next.

“Of course, I think an academy can be useful for a complete beginner.”

I looked directly at him.

“But from what I’ve seen, hyung, you’re already past the stage where you need to attend an academy just to learn how to write.”

In Do Gijeong’s case, I thought it would be far better for him to work as an assistant writer.

That way, he could learn how things actually worked in the field while also building valuable connections.

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes.”

Then I smiled.

“And you don’t need to worry that much. You’d be an assistant writer, after all.”

Even after I tried to reassure him, Do Gijeong still looked deep in thought.

Watching him, I once again wondered how Do Gijeong’s work had ended up in the hands of the writer Ma Bongchun in my previous life.

And maybe...

Through this opportunity, I could help Do Gijeong bring his own work into the world before that ever happened.

Then, at that exact moment...

Thinking about Ma Bongchun suddenly triggered another memory.

There was a certain director who had worked with Ma Bongchun from his debut project onward.

A director who had been responsible for directing every single drama Ma Bongchun had written.

My eyes widened.

‘That’s right... That director’s name was Choi Kyungmin too...!’