Chapter 17: Casting Bait

As the actresses were walking out of the set after finishing their scenes, they were greeted by Lee Ji-Yeon’s bright smile and praises.

“You did great, Eun-Yung. Yoo-Jin, your acting has improved a lot.”

“Thank you, Ms. Lee.”

“No, thank you. It was a pleasure to watch you act. Coming here today was definitely worth it.”

‘

Wow. This was the first time I saw Lee Ji-Yeon smile so brightly like a child.

’

At that moment, a man’s voice echoed from the parking lot.

“Ms. Lee!”

Nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds had passed since Lee Ji-Yeon’s phone call with Kim Myung-Hak. Fortunately for Kim Myung-Hak, he managed to arrive within ten minutes, as promised.

Kim Myung-Hak led the drama directors and rushed over to Lee Ji-Yeon.

At that moment, the particular V10 planner schedule concerning the viewership rating had finally been deleted.

[Everyday V10]

[Date: Dec 24th, 2019]

10:00 PM

(Deleted schedule: Episode 22 monitoring. Viewership 19.5%)

Finally, there was a change in the viewership rating. However, the viewership rating of Episode 22 wasn’t the only thing that changed. The notes I had written down relating to the viewership ratings for Episode 23 and 24 were also being deleted.

‘

Thank goodness. It’s finally over now.

’

Kim Myung-Hak panted heavily and said to Lee Ji-Yeon.

“

Huff, huff, huff

. M, Ms. Lee! I made it in ten minutes as promised. Ugh,

cough, cough!

”

Judging by his ghostly pale face, it was evident that Kim Myung-Hak had raced to the set with all his might.

“Wow. How did you get here so quickly?”

“M-my legs seemed to move on their own at the thought of you waiting for me,

huff, huff

.”

Kim Myung-Hak, who had just turned forty-five years old this year, stood in front of Lee Ji-Yeon, appearing on the brink of collapse.

“You heard about the situation on your way here, right?”

“Oh, um, yes. I did, ma’am.”

I was amazed that Lee Ji-Yeon had already guessed that some staff members had left the set halfway to brief Kim Myung-Hak about the situation.

“So, Myung-Hak, what will you do?”

Under Lee Ji-Yeon’s pressure, Kim Myung-Hak gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Park Doo-Shik.

“Please give me a moment. I’ll sort everything out.

Huff, huff

.”

Kim Myung-Hak took his time to catch his breath and said sternly as he glared at Park Doo-Shik.

“Hey, Doo-Shik.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re no longer in charge of directing this shoot.”

Kim Myung-Hak’s face looked ferocious, almost demonic.

“But Mr. Kim! That’s too harsh of a punishment!”

Park Doo-Shik looked aggrieved at the fact that a prominent figure like Kim Myung-Hak from the same company wasn’t on his side. However, Park Doo-Shik seemed to be mistaken that a PD couldn't be replaced.

A director could be replaced, but an S-class writer like Lee Ji-Yeon was irreplaceable.

Moreover, Kim Myung-Hak’s career progression would definitely be affected, should Lee Ji-Yeon move to another broadcasting company as a result of this incident. Hence, in order to prevent Lee Ji-Yeon from moving to another company and doubling her script fees, Kim Myung-Hak had no choice but to make the tough decision to kick Park Doo-Shik out of this drama.

“Park Doo-Shik. Can’t you grasp the situation? You heard me. Why aren’t you heading back to the headquarters?”

After venting his anger, Kim Myung-Hak called over one of the other directors who came with him.

“Tae-Shik. Can you take over the shoot immediately?”

“Of course. I should be able to manage if you provide me with a few Assistant Directors (ADs) familiar with the set.”

Director Jang Tae-Shik who had come along with Kim Myung-Hak responded while still beating his chest to catch his breath.

Kim Myung Hak nodded and gestured at the staff still frozen on the spot.

“Choi Song-Hyun and Kim Sung-Woon. Can you two handle it?”

“I-I mean...”

“Can you or can you not?”

“We can, sir!”

Being pressured and put on the spot, Choi Song-Hyun and Kim Sung-Woon quickly nodded in agreement.

Kim Myung-Hak then turned to Park Doo-Shik again and warned him.

“Doo-Shik, this won’t just end with you being kicked out of the set if you choose to not return to the headquarters now. So, what’s your decision?”

“Mr. Kim. No, sunbae-nim! The company should support me especially in times like this...”

“Hey, Park Doo-Shik. Do you only call upon the company’s name after causing a scene like this on set? Should I call the CEO right now?”

Kim Gyuk-Shik was the CEO of MBS. He was known to be a very rigid person and a stickler for rules, so if he were to get involved, even a manageable and small situation could blow up into something big.

‘

He surely loves to make a big deal out of things.

’

“Damn it.”

With his face turning red and then pale, Park Doo-Shik threw the script on the floor and headed to the parking lot.

Swoosh!

A4-sized pages were scattered everywhere as the script’s binding came loose. Seeing the script pages scattered on the dirty floor, Lee Ji-Yeon’s eyebrows twitched and Kim Soll-Ip’s face also turned bright red out of anger.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

‘

Yikes. His career is over now.

’

Upon witnessing Park Doo-Shik's reckless toss of the script, a cherished possession to the writers, it was clear that it was no longer possible for him to continue working in the drama department. After all, it was unlikely that any writers would be willing to entrust their scripts to him once news of this incident spread.

“Why, that jerk! Do you think the good ratings were all because of you!?”

Kim Myung-Hak raged after peeking at Lee Ji-Yeon’s expression.

As the startled ADs picked up the script from the floor, Kim Myung-Hak bowed politely to Lee Ji-Yeon.

“Oh my goodness, Ms. Lee. Please let me apologize on his behalf. I’ll deal with that punk once I return to the headquarters!”

Lee Ji-Yeon watched the retreating figure of Park Doo-Shill for a moment and let out a sigh.

“Myung-Hak. Now that I think about it, asking for a raise in my script fees kind of feels like I’m bullying you. There’s a lot of talk about bullying these days. So can we forget I ever mentioned it?”

Kim Myung-Hak repeatedly bowed at Lee Ji-Yeon.

“Thank you so much, Ms. Lee.”

“Oh, stop it. I wasn’t actually trying to bully you. And also...”

“Also...what?”

Kim Myung-Hak straightened his back, eagerly awaiting Lee Ji-Yeon’s words.

“The chemistry between the lead actress and the new character is really good. So I’m thinking of writing around two more episodes. What do you think?”

“W-wait. Really? But you previously declined when I begged for an extension of the drama.”

“You don’t like it? Then nevermind~.”

“No, no! Who in their right mind would refuse an extended script from you, Ms. Lee?”

Kim Myung-Hak’s face brightened.

Having two more episodes of a drama nearing a 20% viewership rating was a significant favor from Lee Ji-Yeon to MBS.

“You’ve come running this way for me, so I should at least save your face and offer this much, right?”

“

Haha!

You are the only person who truly understands me, Ms. Lee!”

Kim Myung-Hak put his hands together and flattered Lee Ji-Yeon.

“Myung-Hak~. You’re not funny. Hahaha.”

Despite saying it wasn’t funny, Lee Ji-Yeon had a bright smile on her face.

“What do you think about extending it to four more episodes and...”

“Shut~up~!”

“No, no. Nevermind. Two episodes are enough. Yes, haha.”

‘

Wow. he’s trying to push for more even in this situation?’

I admired how thick-skinned Kim Myung-Hak was. One could even say he was quite remarkable. Although he promptly backed down when Lee Ji-Yeon told him to shut up, it was rare to see someone in a high position humbling themselves so much.

Kim Myung-Hak then immediately started yelling into the phone, ordering the headquarters to revise the broadcast schedule.

***

“Mr. Jung. Thank you for the coffee and also informing us about this situation. Ms. Lee specifically asked me to convey her thanks to you.”

As there were many people watching, Kim Soll-Ip delivered the message to me on Lee Ji-Yeon’s behalf. As she handed over the empty thermos, Kim Soll-Ip took a quick look around and whispered.

“Also, she mentioned that Miss Yoo-Jin will appear in Episodes 25 and 26.”

‘Yoo-Jin is going to appear in two more episodes?’

I felt like I had received an unexpected gift. However, Lee Ji-Yeon’s gift didn’t just end there.

“Also, please take this.”

On the small note were handwritten numbers.

[Writer Lee Ji-Yeon]

[010-9XXX-1234]

“This is Ms. Lee’s phone number. You can also add her on KkTalk using this number as well.”

Lee Ji-Yeon wasn’t the type to hand out her business card to just anyone. But when she took a liking to an actor, she’d often make this gesture.

‘

Is she considering Yoo-Jin for her next drama?

’

However, there was an issue with Lee Ji-Yeon’s next drama. To be exact, the issue was not with the drama itself but with external complications.

Lee Ji-Yeon’s offer would definitely be a gift under normal circumstances, but this one was risky since we might eventually have to decline her offer for Yoo-Jin to appear in any of her upcoming dramas.

Nonetheless, I decided to accept the business card politely with gratitude for now.

“Thank you so much,

Writer

Kim.”

Kim Soll-Ip flipped her hair back and smiled.

“Ah, every time you call me that, it really makes me feel like a writer when I’m not.”

“But you are a writer.”

“I haven’t even managed to get my work on TV yet. Calling me a writer is a bit too much, hahaha.”

Seeing Kim Soll-Ip’s smile, I made a bold decision. Rather than Lee Ji-Yeon’s next drama, I was interested in Kim Soll-Ip’s first debut drama.

I quickly checked my surroundings. Yoo-Jin was in the middle of shooting and Oh Duk-Gu was on the phone. Confirming that no one was listening, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Um, Ms. Kim. I actually have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it? Go ahead and tell me.”

Kim Soll-Ip said I could leave her a message if I had a request for Lee Ji-Yeon, explaining that Lee Ji-Yeon was actually a quite warm-hearted and receptive person, contrary to rumors.

“Rather than that, I was wondering if you could consider Yoo-Jin in your debut drama.”

“I’m sorry? Not in Ms. Lee’s next drama, but...my debut drama? Are you sure you’re asking the right thing?”

Kim Soll-Ip looked genuinely surprised by my request.

“Yes, of course!”

There were over 10,000 individuals preparing to become drama writers but only fewer than hundred would be given the chance to see their script come to life as a broadcast drama series. The number of writers who become as famous as Lee Ji-Yeon could be counted on one’s hand. Writers who managed to succeed against all odds were those known to produce provocative and cliche drama scripts.

However, Kim Soll-Ip would come to stand out as a writer known for her meticulous and intricately woven plot, along with her witty dialogues. She would become one of the few writers to capture both high viewer ratings and the hearts of critics.

“You seem to be serious about this.”

“Yes, I am.”

Kim Soll-Ip examined my expression once again.

“

Sigh.

Mr. Jung. I need a script, investors, and a slot for airing in order for my drama to debut. You might forget about me by the time my first script comes out.”

But that wasn’t the case.

Kim Soll-Ip’s script was already prepared and would soon be adapted into a drama. In just a matter of days, the production schedule for SBC’s

The Strongest Wife

set to air in April, would be canceled and Lee Ji-Yeon would take an active role in supporting Kim Soll-Ip’s debut.

With the help of many investors and Lee Ji-Yeon leveraging her reputation to promote Kim Soll-Ip, the latter would soon start production for her drama.

Nonetheless, Kim Soll-Ip was unaware of this at the moment and mumbled to herself.

“You don’t even know what I’d write...”

‘

Ah. Was that it?

’

Every writer hoped for their work to be recognized. However, putting forth such a request before she even had a script seemed to make me appear a little too rash and presumptuous.

I wanted to tell her that I watched

Blue Sky

three times in my past life, but I held myself back because she would think I was crazy if I did.

Instead, I shared a fact that only she and I were privy to at the moment.

“I enjoyed reading

Good Person

.”

Instantly, Kim Soll-Ip’s smiling face turned awkward.

Good Person

was one of her early works, posted on

Drama Work

, a website for aspiring drama writers, under her pseudonym, “Bluebird”.

Kim Soll-Ip avoided my gaze with an uncomfortable smile and stammered.

“W-what is that? Haha. I’m not really a good person...”

“Ms. Bluebird. Come on and be honest with me and...uff!”

Kim Soll-Ip quickly covered my mouth with her hand. She was fairly well-known among aspiring writers, but she seemed embarrassed.

“Do you happen to be a member of

Drama Work

?”

Unable to answer because my mouth was still covered, I nodded in response.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry. But please promise me you won’t ever tell anyone about it!”

Kim Soll-Ip gestured with her free hand and pleaded. She removed her hand after seeing me nod vigorously once more.

“

Huff, huff

. I thought I was going to die.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”

Flustered, the twenty-eight year old Kim Soll-Ip fanned her flushed face with her hand, but she soon let out a soft laughter.

She looked quite cute when embarrassed.

“How on earth did you know Bluebird was my nickname? My curiosity will keep me up all night if you don’t tell me.”

“In exchange for telling you how I found out...please help Yoo-Jin do well in the audition.”

“But you know that the casting of actors is handled by the production company.”

“I’m not talking about that. You know there’s something called a writer’s recommendation, right? I’m sure you’d have enough influence to choose the actors you want for at least a couple of roles.”

At that moment, Kim Soll-Ip looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.