WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈
Chapter 1: Anyone Can Write Dramas? (1)
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“Congratulations on your directorial debut, PD!”
“You said you’d treat us to beef if this drama does well. Don’t forget!”
“For the record, if it isn’t Korean beef, I don’t count it as beef. Ha ha.”
The moment I entered the broadcasting station lobby, the junior PDs popped up around me.
Every one of them looked excited. Even though it wasn’t their own achievement, they were sincerely congratulating me.
“Are you congratulating me on my debut, or do you just want beef?”
“Come on, both, obviously.”
“If you could only choose one?”
“...”
“Hey. You asleep?”
I gave the youngest a playful tap on the shoulder after they instantly clammed up.
That brat had been getting awfully bold lately.
Still, I only found them cute. Given the situation, I felt like I could laugh it off even if someone spat in my face.
‘So this day really came.’
My directorial debut.
I had worked like a dog for five years just for this.
I worked as though every day had forty-eight hours. I even volunteered to run errands for the lead PDs and be their punching bag.
And at last, my first project with my name on it, <Beyond Memory>, was ready to meet the world.
‘Finally.’
I had poured ten full months into my debut project.
The process had been exhausting enough to kill me, but right now, I was simply happy.
“Yeon-woo!”
A voice suddenly called from across the lobby.
It was Ahn Seong-ho, the youngest PD on Drama Team 2, the same team I was on.
I thought he was coming over to congratulate me like the others, but something about his expression was off.
“L-look at this.”
“?”
Ahn Seong-ho held out his phone.
I was about to ask what the fuss was about when my heart dropped.
[Notice: Drama Department Scheduling and Production Staff Assignments, Second Half of 2026]
Change: <Beyond Memory> Main Director Replaced
[Previous]: Ji Yeon-woo, Drama Team 2 PD
[New]: Park Jun-hyung, Drama Team 3 PD
I thought I had read it wrong.
Wondering if I was still hungover from the night before, I rubbed my eyes and stared at the screen again.
But nothing had changed.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
“...”
How could I be okay?
It was my baby, one I had poured my bones and soul into for nearly a year.
From planning and script revisions to every meeting for casting actors, I had handled everything myself. What was this supposed to be?
My mind went blank. Then burning rage filled the empty space.
“P-PD, please calm down.”
“They suddenly replaced the main director... Could there be some mistake?”
Without answering the voices behind me, I headed off.
I shook off even Ahn Seong-ho’s hand as he tried to stop me, then charged up the stairs.
I didn’t have the patience to wait for an elevator.
Bang!
I threw open the firmly shut office door.
Han Kang-hee, the chief producer, looked up from the documents he had been sorting through.
His brow furrowed, and he let out a deep sigh.
It was the reaction of someone who had just watched an annoying headache roll into the room.
That confirmed my suspicion.
“Was this your doing, sir?”
“PD Ji. Calm down first and listen.”
“It’s a project I personally planned and developed. I handled the planning department review and the writer meetings. It’s my project.”
“I know. I know all of that. I completely understand why you’re upset.”
Despite his words, he clicked his tongue as if irritated.
“But we’re doing this so things go well for all of us.”
“All of us? If it’s for all of us, why are you taking my debut project away?”
“Whew... Yes, your proposal was excellent. I know you worked hard. But this project has a production budget of fifteen billion won. Fifteen billion.”
Han Kang-hee tapped the desk as he continued.
“The investors are raising hell because they want a reliable veteran instead of an inexperienced rookie PD. What else am I supposed to do? If we hand it over to you without thinking and it fails, you can’t take responsibility alone. You might bite off more than you can chew.”
“Is that really the reason?”
It was a shameless excuse.
He was blaming the investors, but that wasn’t the real reason.
“Isn’t it because PD Park is in your circle?”
“What? What are you saying?”
“And sir, Park Jun-hyung is the veteran you’re giving it to? Is that the best excuse you could come up with?”
Park Jun-hyung’s standing had become precarious after ruining one drama after another.
The thought of pushing that guy as some seasoned veteran was so ridiculous I couldn’t even laugh.
It was obvious. He was taking someone else’s bowl of rice to expand Park Jun-hyung’s shrinking influence.
“What do you think you’re doing? Are you crazy?”
“Yes. I think I am. Try working yourself to death under a superior like you. See if you don’t go crazy.”
“You little...!”
Department Head Han sprang to his feet with a shout.
But then he cleared his throat and went back to pretending to be kind.
“Whew... Still, you brat, do you think I’d keep my mouth shut and give you nothing when I know how hard you worked?”
He sounded as though he was granting me some enormous favor.
But what came next was pathetic.
“I personally appealed to the bureau chief and got you one million won in department store gift certificates for participating in the planning of this project. Your team must be expecting you to treat them for your debut, right? Use this to grill some Korean beef and have a nice meal. Then let it go.”
Department Head Han opened a drawer, took out a crisp envelope, and tossed it onto the desk.
“Starting next week, learn under Jun-hyung. It’ll be better for you to gain practical experience slowly before making your debut. I’ve spoken to Jun-hyung, so he’ll take special care of you.”
“...”
Did he think I was a child he could placate with food?
As if stealing my debut project wasn’t enough, now he wanted me to play lapdog under PD Park?
‘What bullshit.’
I knew exactly what Park Jun-hyung was like.
“Yeon-woo, this is a good idea for structuring the scene. I’ll use it as a reference in the meeting.”
“Y-yes?”
“Oh, and finish the minutes from the script revision meeting. I have a family matter today, so I’m counting on you. Good work.”
He was the worst kind of useless dead weight, stealing junior staff’s ideas and dumping their work on them whenever he could.
There was nothing to learn under someone like that. Even if I worked under him for a hundred years, I would only get worse.
Perhaps Department Head Han knew it, too. That was why he was sending me to Park Jun-hyung under the excuse of giving me practical experience.
So I could keep Park Jun-hyung’s incompetence under control.
‘...Fuck.’
Even if things worked out that way, I would get nothing out of it.
He was telling me to be the higher-ups’ errand boy, just like always.
Once I reached that conclusion, my scattered reason gradually returned.
“Do you understand? It’s unfortunate this time, but a debut is nothing. You can do it next time.”
“Next time? No.”
I roughly pulled off the employee ID hanging around my neck.
The words “SBC Drama Department Producer Ji Yeon-woo” on its blue lanyard felt particularly shameful today.
Thud.
My employee ID fell pitifully to the floor.
“There won’t be a next time. I’m quitting.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Whew, I tried to talk to you nicely, but you still don’t get it. Hey, Ji Yeon-woo. How are you going to survive in society acting like this?”
“Worry about yourself. You still hit on actresses whenever there’s a company dinner, don’t you?”
“W-what did you just say?!”
Department Head Han’s expression flipped in an instant, and he growled at me.
But I no longer had the energy or need to react to every little thing he said, so I turned away without answering.
“You rude little bastard! Get back here! How are you going to deal with the consequences if you walk out like this? You know this industry is small...!”
Creaaak! Bang!
I shut the door behind me and walked out of the office.
As I wandered down the hall in a daze, I ran into the last person I wanted to see.
“Oh, Yeon-woo. I heard the news from the department head.”
PD Park Jun-hyung placed a hand on my shoulder with a slick, friendly smile.
“Ah, I don’t know how to apologize. I feel like I’m always causing you trouble.”
“...”
“Anyway, thanks, man. You set the table so nicely that I can just sit down and eat a hit.”
I brushed his hand off my shoulder and continued on my way.
Then Park Jun-hyung called after me in a mocking tone.
“Yeon-woo. Even if you’re leaving, you should wrap things up properly. Make sure you hand over the location-scouting materials and the finalized supporting and minor-role casting. There’s no reason for us to part ways with hard feelings in such a small industry, right?”
That bastard, all the way to the end.
I wanted to turn around and smash his face in right then, but reality did not allow it.
All I could do was swallow my anger and leave the broadcasting station.
There was nothing else I could do.
#
The smoky smell of grilling pork belly hung thick in the shabby barbecue restaurant.
I downed another shot of soju, though I had lost count of how many.
“Ahh.”
“Hey, slow down. If you get wasted, I’m the one who has to suffer.”
After I emptied my glass, my friend across from me filled it again.
His name was Yoon Dong-woo, my university classmate and now an entertainment PD at another broadcasting station.
“Anyway, I’m paying today, so stop only drinking soju and eat some meat. How many bottles have you finished by yourself?”
“Why does soju taste better than meat today?”
“You crazy bastard. Are you already drunk?”
I had thought all I needed to do was grit my teeth and endure.
I thought that if I was good at directing, things would work out somehow.
But they didn’t.
I had stayed out of that damned company politics, and I couldn’t climb any higher.
Not having a rope to hold onto was one thing, but how was I supposed to climb when the people above kicked me down every time I tried?
“Fuck... This is so damn miserable.”
“Hang in there. With your personality, you put up with a lot. It’s impressive you even finished the handover properly.”
“I didn’t exactly finish it properly.”
A crooked smile crossed my lips.
“Why? What did you do?”
“I just picked out rough drafts full of continuity errors and packed them together as the final version.”
I also handed over the shooting location reservation dates and the actors’ schedules with each one off by a day.
Let Park Jun-hyung choke on that.
“Wow. You’re seriously insane. What if they find something to pin on you?”
“I’ll just say it was a mistake. What are they going to do if I say that?”
Yoon Dong-woo burst out laughing at that.
Then we clinked our glasses.
Clink.
For some reason, the sound was especially clear today.
But the thrill was followed by an enormous emptiness.
The price of four years of youth was a revenge story fit only for a few shots of soju and drinking snacks.
What a meaningless life.
“So.”
While I was lost in heavy thoughts, Yoon Dong-woo looked at me seriously.
“What are you going to do now? Are you quitting broadcasting work entirely?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go on a working holiday, maybe work at a factory. I’ll see what comes up. But I definitely won’t go anywhere near this industry.”
“Heh. I figured you had no regrets once you left after making such a mess of the handover.”
I answered with a faint smile and picked up a piece of pork belly.
Before putting it in my mouth, I drank another shot of soju.
“Ahh.”
Was the alcohol finally getting to me?
My head felt as though it were spinning.
I rubbed my face, trying to clear my drunkenness. That was when Yoon Dong-woo spoke.
“Hey, by the way. Do you still write these days?”
“What? Write?”
“Yeah. Writing novels has been your hobby for a long time. I think I still have a bunch of manuscripts you sent me on my laptop.”
Writing.
I did still write from time to time as a hobby.
I had even stayed up late tapping away at my laptop last night.
But why was Yoon Dong-woo suddenly asking?
“Why bring that up? Are you going to ask me to show you something new again?”
“That, too, but look at this first.”
Yoon Dong-woo pulled out a bundle of papers from his bag.
I didn’t bother checking it and waited for Yoon Dong-woo to continue.
“Our drama department is holding a script contest this time. The grand prize is huge, and they say the winning script goes straight into production.”
“So?”
“You remember that rom-com you showed me before? Can I quietly submit it to our drama department?”
“What?”
I had drunk all the alcohol, so why was he acting drunk?
The suggestion was so absurd that I let out a hollow laugh.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Why submit a script by someone who isn’t even a writer?”
“No. I’ve seen scripts from a lot of writers in my life, honestly. Yours are more entertaining. Hell, didn’t Seo Eun-hye say you had talent, too?”
Seo Eun-hye, the star writer who had once dominated Korea.
The writer had retired now, but I had joined the production of one of Seo Eun-hye’s dramas when I first entered SBC.
Back then, I sometimes showed the writer things I had written and asked for advice about writing.
And as Yoon Dong-woo said, Seo Eun-hye had praised me, saying I had some talent.
But.
‘It was just empty flattery.’
A cheap, routine comfort offered to a pitiful junior PD who was working day and night cleaning up after Seo Eun-hye.
I knew all too well how ruthlessly harsh the professional world was. I wasn’t stupid enough to get carried away by a little lip service and lose sight of who I was.
“Hey, how can you compare me to professional writers? I’m not even an amateur. I’m just an ordinary person who writes as a hobby.”
“That’s why I’m saying I’ll submit it. It’s a waste to let your talent rot away. Come on?”
“What’s a waste? Your time is the waste, idiot.”
“Come on.”
Yoon Dong-woo looked surprisingly earnest.
“I’ll take care of the submission anyway, so what’s the problem? And you never know. Your script might become a huge hit.”
“Fine, fine. Do whatever you want. Whether you submit it or not, nothing is going to change in my life.”
“Oh, really? Okay! But if you make it big later, repay the favor, all right? I’m the one who made you a writer.”
Why was Yoon Dong-woo getting so excited when I didn’t expect anything at all?
‘It’s not like just anyone can become a writer.’
I only let out a faint, pointless laugh at the fuss.
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