Chapter 95

Chapter 95

“No, what I mean is... Of course, I understand how Writer Hong feels better than anyone. It’s just that... hearing you say you’re pulling out at a time like this caught me completely off guard...”

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk was sweating bullets as he tried to calm Hong Yeon-hee down.

She had declared that there was absolutely no way she could work with Director Won Se-chang after finding out that he had secretly hired a ghostwriter to revise her script behind her back.

“Hey, Team Leader Min! Why are you just sitting there? Are you saying you’re fine with Writer Hong quitting like this?!”

Hwang Dong-hyuk suddenly shouted at me, almost as if he were taking his frustration out on me.

“What I think is...”

Just as I was about to answer him...

Knock, knock.

The door opened.

Won Se-chang entered the director’s office with his head hanging low, practically dragged inside by Jang Cheol-woo, who had joined MBS at the same time as him.

The moment Hong Yeon-hee saw Won Se-chang, she turned her head away with a sharp flick, clearly disgusted.

After glancing nervously at Hong Yeon-hee, Hwang Dong-hyuk deliberately raised his voice and began scolding Won Se-chang.

“Hey! Won Se-chang, you bastard! What the hell were you thinking?! Huh?! Filming hasn’t even started yet, and you dared to revise the script? And not just anyone’s script, but Hong Yeon-hee’s? Who the hell do you think you are?!”

But even with Hwang Dong-hyuk putting on such a show, Hong Yeon-hee didn’t so much as blink.

“That’s enough. You don’t need to deliberately yell at him just because I’m here. Like you said, Director, filming hasn’t even started yet. If anything, that makes this easier.”

Hong Yeon-hee said she would simply wash her hands of the project.

They could find another writer or do whatever they wanted.

Then she added that she would never work with MBS again.

As if she had said everything she needed to say, she quickly rose from her seat.

Hwang Dong-hyuk hurriedly stopped her.

“Come on, Writer Hong. Why are you saying something so frightening? If you think about it, MBS is practically your family home. Where are you planning to go after abandoning your own home?”

Hwang Dong-hyuk tried desperately to soothe her.

Then he turned toward Won Se-chang, who was standing blankly by the door watching everything unfold, and shouted once again.

“Hey, Won Se-chang! Why are you just standing there like an idiot?! Get over here and apologize to Writer Hong!”

“No. I don’t need an apology. I have no intention of working with someone who dislikes my work so much that he hires a ghostwriter to rewrite it.”

That was when it happened.

Won Se-chang, who had kept his head lowered the entire time, twisted his lips as if Hong Yeon-hee’s firm attitude had finally gotten on his nerves.

Then he suddenly shouted.

“Forget it, Director! You don’t have to keep begging her like that! Tch. Does she think she’s the only writer in the world?!”

Startled by Won Se-chang’s sudden outburst, Hwang Dong-hyuk quickly tried to stop him.

“Hey! Won Se-chang, you bastard! Have you lost your mind?! How dare you say something like that?!”

“Did I say anything wrong? Tch. Who does she think helped her make her debut in the first place? She doesn’t even know how to be grateful!”

Hong Yeon-hee let out a hollow laugh at Won Se-chang’s unbelievably arrogant attitude.

“Ha... My debut? Good thing you brought that up, Director Won! Whenever I think about that project...”

Hong Yeon-hee finally lost her patience and raised her voice.

“Even if it was only a one-act drama, you had absolutely no basic understanding of the story! It wasn’t some commercial shoot, yet you kept cutting every single scene apart! The emotional flow was broken into pieces! How was the audience supposed to follow any of it?!”

Won Se-chang stared at the furious Hong Yeon-hee as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Still unable to calm down, Hong Yeon-hee sharpened her tone even further.

“You shot a drama like that, and now you have the nerve to ask who I owe my debut to?! After my first project flopped, I spent years unemployed without a single job! That project is the darkest stain in my entire career! My! Darkest! History!”

“What?! Hey, Hong Yeon-hee! Are you done talking?!”

Their words clashed like blades.

As the situation reached its breaking point, Hwang Dong-hyuk finally lost his temper.

“Both of you, enough!”

Heavy silence instantly filled the director’s office.

After cautiously watching Hwang Dong-hyuk for a moment, Hong Yeon-hee slowly spoke.

“I’m sorry, Director... But as you can see, I can’t work with Director Won. How am I supposed to work with him when things are already like this...? Please find another writer...”

“Then what exactly do you expect us to do? The drama airs in October! If we start looking for another writer now, when are we supposed to get the scripts? When do we cast the actors? And when the hell do we film it?”

Just thinking about it seemed enough to frustrate Hwang Dong-hyuk, who sighed deeply.

Won Se-chang glanced at him and cautiously added,

“I-I’ll find someone somehow. There are writers everywhere, after all... Ahem...”

“Hey! Won Se-chang, shut your mouth!”

Hwang Dong-hyuk exploded.

“Writers everywhere?! Since you brought it up, there are plenty of guys at MBS who can direct besides you too! But how many writers do you think there are like Writer Hong, whose dramas practically guarantee ratings every single time?!”

At Hwang Dong-hyuk’s furious rebuke, Won Se-chang quickly lowered his eyes.

That was when Hwang Dong-hyuk turned toward me.

“Hey, Team Leader Min. Why have you been so quiet this whole time? You think this has nothing to do with you? If Writer Hong walks out and the contract gets canceled, we’re suing ‘Big Picture’!”

I smiled calmly at Hwang Dong-hyuk.

“Writer Hong won’t be breaking the contract.”

At my unexpected words, everyone immediately turned toward me.

“What are you talking about...? Didn’t you hear Writer Hong? She said she would never work with Director Won!”

“Yes. I heard her very clearly. But...”

I looked directly at Hwang Dong-hyuk.

“Didn’t you just say it yourself, Director? There are plenty of people at MBS who can direct.”

The moment they realized what I meant, everyone’s eyes shifted toward one another.

“Are you saying...”

“Yes. From our perspective as well, keeping Writer Hong is far more advantageous than keeping Director Won. Of course, that depends on whether you approve, Director.”

For a moment, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s eyes wavered.

Feeling threatened by the atmosphere, Won Se-chang suddenly yelled at me.

“Hey, Min Gi-baek, you bastard! What the hell are you talking about?!”

I calmly stared back at him.

“Do you really need me to explain?”

Turning away from Won Se-chang, I looked at Hwang Dong-hyuk again.

“Isn’t it about time Assistant Director Choi Kyung-min made his directorial debut? I only learned this by chance, but from what I heard, Assistant Director Choi played a rather large role in Director Won’s previous two dramas.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Choi Kyung-min? Hey, that bastard’s still a nobody!”

I casually ignored Won Se-chang, who was still shouting at me.

“Hey, Min Gi-baek! If you really think about it, this whole mess is your fault! If you hadn’t brought up the ghostwriter on the emergency stairs...!”

“Hey, Won Se-chang! You’re the one who needs to stop.”

Hwang Dong-hyuk cut him off firmly.

“This started because you secretly hired a ghostwriter and revised Writer Hong’s script in the first place. You were the one in the wrong.”

His voice made it clear there was nothing more to discuss.

“D-Director... No... Dong-hyuk hyung...”

Won Se-chang’s face stiffened.

“Hyung, you’re not seriously going to do what that bastard said, are you? You’re not really going to kick me out of this project and assign another PD, right?”

“You should’ve known when to stop. What do you expect me to do? Throw away Writer Hong instead?!”

At Hwang Dong-hyuk’s answer, Won Se-chang staggered backward as if completely devastated.

Done!

Won Se-chang is out.

So... that’s what ended up happening...

Choi Kyung-min let out a troubled sigh.

“That’s surprising. So you already expected that if one of those two had to leave, Director Won Se-chang would be the one getting kicked out?”

“Our director takes very good care of people in his own circle, but there’s one thing he values even more than that.”

Choi Kyung-min paused.

“Writers.”

He explained that during a company dinner in the past, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk had once said that the reason he had managed to rise all the way to his current position was because he knew how to recognize writers capable of bringing in high ratings.

“That’s why I knew Director Hwang might abandon Se-chang hyung if he had to, but he would never let Writer Hong Yeon-hee go.”

“That’s the cold reality of the business world.”

Perhaps those words, the cold reality of the business world, hit a little too close to home.

Choi Kyung-min couldn’t hide the bitter expression on his face.

“Then what happens from here? Since there isn’t much time, I assume Director Hwang will send over a new PD from MBS?”

“No.”

Choi Kyung-min tilted his head at my unexpected answer.

Then he asked again.

“Then... are you planning to hire someone independently through ‘Big Picture’? Ah, if that happens, I suppose I’ll have to return to MBS.”

“No. That’s not it either.”

“Not that either? Then what are you going to do about the director...?”

Choi Kyung-min blinked several times, clearly confused.

“Director Hwang Dong-hyuk will probably tell you himself soon, but you’ve been chosen as the director of this drama.”

“The assistant director? Which assistant director?”

Choi Kyung-min asked again, apparently unable to understand what I meant.

I smiled at him.

“Do we have another assistant director on this drama besides you, Assistant Director Choi Kyung-min?”

Then I said it clearly.

“You’re going to be the main director, Assistant Director Choi.”

At my sudden declaration, Choi Kyung-min spoke as though he couldn’t trust his own ears.

“What do you mean...? Are you saying you want me to direct this drama?”

“Yes. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk has already approved it. There are still a few internal procedures left at MBS, so he’ll probably tell you personally sometime tomorrow.”

Even after my calm explanation, Choi Kyung-min still looked completely bewildered.

“But I... I’m still not ready to take full responsibility for an entire production...”

The thought alone seemed overwhelming enough that he couldn’t finish his sentence.

I gave him a relaxed smile.

“No, Assistant Director. You’re more than capable.”

I continued.

“I only found out by chance, but I know that Director Won Se-chang’s previous two dramas were practically directed by you anyway.”

“T-That...”

Choi Kyung-min fell silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought.

Then he finally spoke again.

“Then... what about Writer Hong? Did Writer Hong also agree to having me direct her drama?”

Since writers at Hong Yeon-hee’s level rarely worked with rookie directors, Choi Kyung-min asked cautiously.

I nodded.

“Yes. I told her that you were practically the real director behind Director Won Se-chang’s previous two dramas, and she immediately agreed.”

In truth, Hong Yeon-hee had told me that after her first one-act drama, she had believed she would never work with Won Se-chang again.

However, the two dramas Won Se-chang had supposedly directed over the last four years had both turned out incredibly well.

Because of that, she had assumed that Won Se-chang had grown significantly compared to the past, and that was why she had changed her mind about working with him again.

But once she learned that the person who had actually directed those two dramas was Choi Kyung-min...

Hong Yeon-hee had agreed without a second thought.

Choi Kyung-min once again fell silent, deep in thought.

Then—

“Um... Before I make my decision, may I ask you just one last question?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

Choi Kyung-min stared at me carefully.

“This whole thing... You didn’t plan it from beginning to end, did you, Team Leader Min?”