Chapter 91
Director Choi Kyung-min and writer Ma Bong-choon were almost always mentioned as a pair.
Every project the two had worked on together had achieved great success, both in ratings and quality.
Wait... No way. Could that Director Choi Kyung-min be the same Choi Kyung-min who's currently working under Won Se-chang as an assistant director?!
I suddenly remembered something Ma Bong-choon had said in an old magazine interview.
<People who don't know the full story say Director Choi Kyung-min benefited from me, but the truth is the exact opposite. He's the one who discovered me and helped me debut. He's also the person who always fills the weaknesses in my stories with his delicate and beautiful directing. That's Director Choi Kyung-min.>
Ha... Why am I only remembering something this important now...?
I felt pathetic.
My mind quickly began working.
Right. First, I have to find out whether that Choi Kyung-min and this Choi Kyung-min are actually the same person...
Ma Bong-choon's debut drama, In Your Name, Father, had aired on MBS in 2012.
So first, I needed to check whether there was another director named Choi Kyung-min in the MBS drama department.
And if the Choi Kyung-min I knew really was the same Choi Kyung-min standing in front of me...
Then perhaps I could investigate Ma Bong-choon before anything happened.
While I was lost in thought, Do Gi-jeong seemed to finally reach a decision after thinking things through.
He looked at me and said,
"Yeah. Like you said, maybe this really is an opportunity for me. Anyway, thank you. Because of you, a path I never even imagined has opened up."
His voice grew more determined.
"I'll work hard under Writer Hong. I'll learn everything I can. Really... thank you."
Hope and excitement about the future shone in Do Gi-jeong's eyes.
Ha... You're right.
Who would've thought a clue would appear in a way like this?
"Ah! Sorry we're late. We went location scouting, but the traffic was terrible..."
Assistant Director Choi Kyung-min and the newly recruited FD, Kwon Yong-min, hurried into the meeting room, both looking out of breath.
"It's fine. Catch your breath first. Hyun-woo, sorry, but could you bring some drinks from the pantry?"
"Ah, I'll go. I could use some coffee myself."
Kang Joo-young smiled and left the meeting room.
I looked toward Choi Kyung-min.
"But where's the director? Didn't he go scouting with you?"
"Ah, well... Director Won said he had something else to take care of... Ahem."
Even though Won Se-chang was his superior, Choi Kyung-min seemed to be trying to protect him and chose his words carefully.
Tch. I don't even need to see him to know what he's doing.
He's probably slacking off somewhere again.
Ever since Choi Kyung-min joined the production, Won Se-chang had dumped nearly all the difficult work onto his assistant director.
Meanwhile, he rarely even came to the office, using casting actors and staff as excuses.
Because of that, we'd actually grown more accustomed to holding meetings without the director present.
Soon, Kang Joo-young returned with the drinks.
Suppressing the irritation rising inside me, I began the meeting.
"This is the list of products available for PPL sponsorship that the agency sent us."
Choi Kyung-min quickly took the file from me.
"Already? We have PPL sponsors?"
"Apparently. Once our broadcasting schedule was confirmed, sponsors started contacting us on their own."
Choi Kyung-min flipped through the documents.
"But wouldn't it be better for the director and writer to look at these together and make the decisions at once?"
"That's true, but Writer Hong is buried in scriptwriting right now, and as for the director..."
I couldn't stop a trace of sarcasm from slipping into my voice.
"It's harder to see his face than to pluck a star from the sky."
Choi Kyung-min smiled awkwardly.
"I've already sent the list to Writer Hong. For now, take a look and mark the ones we should exclude. Send it back to me, and I'll coordinate things from the middle."
Choi Kyung-min nodded and looked back down at the file.
"But what's the difference between the blue and yellow markings?"
"Ah, that's because our lead actors still haven't been completely finalized. The sponsorship conditions could change depending on the actor's grade, so the agency marked them separately."
"Ah..."
Choi Kyung-min stared at the document with interest.
"I've never seen them do it like this before. Anyway, I'll pass it on to the director when he comes in. When do you need an answer?"
"The sooner, the better. Writer Hong also said that if we're going to work the PPL naturally into the script, we need to decide as quickly as possible."
Choi Kyung-min flipped through several more pages before speaking again.
"But hasn't the MBS brand sponsorship list come out yet? Honestly, we're more worried about location sponsorships than PPL right now."
Lee Hyun-woo from the planning team answered.
"Actually, they said it'll be ready by the end of this month. I'll send it over as soon as it comes out."
MBS-related sponsorships were under Lee Hyun-woo's responsibility.
Choi Kyung-min nodded.
I continued.
"Anyway, we're planning to start media exposure soon."
At the mention of media exposure, Choi Kyung-min tilted his head and spoke with some concern.
"Isn't that a little early? I know a lot of viewers are waiting for Writer Hong Yeon-hee's next project, so building anticipation through the media isn't a bad idea..."
He paused.
"But wouldn't it be better to wait until the main cast is finalized?"
"Actually... we're doing it because of the casting."
"Because of the casting?"
Choi Kyung-min blinked, clearly not understanding.
I explained the situation in detail.
Seo Ji-soo had already been confirmed for the female lead role of Se-young.
However, Jeong Se-won, who had received the offer to play the male lead, Han-gyeol, kept delaying his final answer.
"Apparently, he received an offer to star as the lead in a movie around the same time."
"Ha. So he's dragging things out because he's trying to choose between the two."
Choi Kyung-min smirked as if the situation was obvious.
I nodded.
"That's why we're planning to put some pressure on him from our side."
"Pressure? How?"
I explained that we were going to release an article claiming that both Jeong Se-won and Moon Hyun-bin were being considered for the male lead in Hong Yeon-hee's new drama.
Choi Kyung-min looked surprised before tilting his head.
"But isn't Moon Hyun-bin already joining a movie around the same time?"
"Yes, that's right."
I smiled.
"But Jeong Se-won doesn't know that."
"Ah..."
"Moon Hyun-bin's casting is confidential anyway, so his side can't publicly say he's already accepted the movie."
Only then did Choi Kyung-min understand.
He burst into cheerful laughter.
"Hahaha! Now I get it. If Jeong Se-won thinks he might lose the lead role to Moon Hyun-bin, he'll probably hurry up and make his decision."
Exactly.
After discussing several more matters, the meeting finally came to an end.
