WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

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◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈

Chapter 15: Are You Trying to Ruin the Drama? (1)

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SBC's outdoor set for the drama <Suspect X>.

The set was enormous enough to make your jaw drop. Dozens of cameras stood ready, and around a hundred staff members rushed busily through the site.

Anyone could see the grandeur of a tentpole drama the network was staking everything on.

And amid that hectic scene stood a middle-aged man with his arms folded, staring at the monitors from a distance.

It was Han Kang-hee, the powerful chief producer of SBC's drama department.

His eyes were on the A-list leads giving their all within the camera frame, but his mind was occupied by something else.

'Ha! That bastard thinks he can write? The guy who couldn't even last as a PD?'

Not long ago, Han had heard that Ji Yeon-woo was the lead writer of <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>, a competing drama set to air in the same time slot.

The guy had always been interested in scribbling scripts back when he was working as a PD, but Han had never imagined he would suddenly make his writing debut at tvM.

Still, this might work out for the best.

Just as Han had been wondering how to crush that arrogant bastard, Ji had crawled into a death trap of his own accord.

"Oh? Uncle! What brings you all the way to the set today?"

A gentle voice broke Han Kang-hee out of his thoughts.

A slim young man trotted over, his hair and makeup perfectly styled and a long padded coat emblazoned with a large luxury logo draped over his shoulders.

He was Kang Min-hyuk, the actor who had secured the second male lead role in <Suspect X>. He was Han Kang-hee's university junior and the son of a major production company CEO.

"Oh, Min-hyuk. Ready to shoot? You look even better than usual today."

"Haha, of course. It's all thanks to CP Han backing me so strongly. I looked over the script, and my character's got some really choice scenes too."

To put it bluntly, Kang Min-hyuk was also an actor Han Kang-hee had openly parachuted into the production.

The busy CP had come all the way to the set to boost his confidence.

"Right, right. Anyway, do well. This drama will be a very important stepping stone in your career. You need to make a real impression here so you can confidently take lead roles next time."

"Of course! Oh, Uncle. Have you heard the news?"

"Hm?"

Kang Min-hyuk lowered his voice with a nasty smile.

"You know Do Jae-hyun, right? I heard he got into that tvM drama. That <Living with an Ex-Boyfriend> thing."

"Do Jae-hyun? Ah, the theater actor you said annoyed you. Why would he join that?"

"Hehe, who knows? Apparently, he came crawling over to work as an extra with no lines."

"Ha, really? Not even a bit part, just background work? Looks like he's thrown away all his pride."

Kang Min-hyuk and Do Jae-hyun.

The two had once belonged to the same theater troupe.

But the important roles in the troupe had always gone to Do Jae-hyun, and at every crucial moment, Kang Min-hyuk had been pushed aside and treated like scenery.

His inferiority complex had swelled like a snowball until Kang Min-hyuk eventually decided to bury Do Jae-hyun completely.

He had subtly used his father's influence and Han Kang-hee's connections in broadcasting to block every one of Do Jae-hyun's casting opportunities.

As a result, Do Jae-hyun, once praised as an acting genius with a bright future, had been thoroughly isolated from the industry. Work had dried up, and now he had fallen so low that he drifted from one extra job to another just to make ends meet.

"Isn't it hilarious? He used to act so lofty and artistic, showing off like crazy. Now he's out there shivering all day for 100,000 won as a background extra. Hehe. When I heard yesterday, it felt so damn satisfying."

Han Kang-hee gave a short laugh at Kang Min-hyuk's malicious mockery.

"Enough. He's been cut loose for a long time. Stop worrying about him and focus on your script, Min-hyuk. Got it?"

"Yes, sir! I'll keep that in mind. I'll go get ready, Uncle."

Kang Min-hyuk bowed to Han Kang-hee, then headed toward the set under the staff's escort.

Once it grew quiet again, Han Kang-hee clicked his tongue in displeasure.

'tvM's standards are obvious too. Tsk.'

A writer who couldn't last as a PD and ran off to scribble with a pen.

An extra so full of artistic delusions that he didn't even know his place.

How had such pathetic people all gathered in one place?

'Pathetic bastards. Go on, struggle all you want.'

Since things had turned out this way, Han would crush them thoroughly.

The corner of Han Kang-hee's mouth twisted unpleasantly.

#

At that very moment, filming had begun in earnest on tvM's <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow> set.

"Ready, action!"

The actors came alive on the monitor, while dozens of staff members held their breath so they would not miss even the smallest sound. Watching the world I had written become reality beyond the camera lens was a stranger experience than I had imagined.

'Wow... My script is really becoming a drama.'

The first shoot of my debut work.

Something surged up inside my chest.

Joy? Ecstasy? Emotion? Not at all.

'I should stay off the internet for a while.'

It was a vague sense of anxiety.

Watching the production of a drama that was obviously going to fail was hardly pleasant.

On top of that, the staff's excessive kindness made me even more uncomfortable.

"Writer Ji, is the monitor angle all right? Should we get you a more comfortable chair?"

"Writer Ji! Please take some more hot packs. It's chilly outside."

"You don't look well. Is something bothering you?"

The staff, the PDs, even the actors waiting nearby, all kept glancing my way and watching my mood whenever they had the chance.

I wasn't some feudal lord.

Sure, dramas were writer-driven, but wasn't this more care than necessary?

'At this rate, I won't even be able to breathe properly from the pressure.'

I felt like I would develop panic disorder if I stayed here any longer.

After coming up with a rough excuse, I quietly got to my feet.

"Ahem. Maybe it's because I'm nervous, but my throat is dry. I'll go buy a cold drink at the convenience store nearby."

"Gasp! Writer Ji, I'll go! Just tell me what you'd like...!"

"No, I'll go."

"No, I'll go right away...!"

"I said I'll go. Please."

I barely shook off the junior staffer blocking my way as if their life depended on it, then fled the set.

As I walked through the cold night wind, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

When I reached a nearby convenience store, I loaded up on every kind of sports drink and canned coffee for the staff.

Jingle!

I came out carrying two heavy plastic bags full of drinks.

Had I bought too much? I had just grabbed everything because I didn't know what they liked.

I was thinking such pointless thoughts as I entered the edge of the set again.

"Ah! You're the one who was getting coffee, right?!"

Someone suddenly stepped in front of me.

He was a tall man with friendly yet striking features that caught my eye at once.

But who was he?

Before I could ask, he snatched the bags from my hands.

What the hell? Was he a thief?

"You're late, hurry! We need to get ready!"

"Pardon?"

"The background coordinator is furious right now! Run!"

Question marks filled my head.

Did he think I was an actor?

'Seriously? You've got to be kidding me.'

People did tell me I looked like an actor sometimes, but I hadn't expected anyone to mistake me for one.

Maybe I should've become an actor instead of working in directing.

While I stood there giving an incredulous laugh, he quickly dragged me away.

A short while later, we arrived at the edge of the set.

The man, now mixed in with the waiting background actors, hurried around handing out coffee and drinks.

But damn it, I bought all of that.

"Whew, that was hard. Would you like a coffee too?"

"Of course. I paid for it."

"Pardon?"

"...Never mind."

I drank the coffee he handed me and watched the scene in front of me.

The lead actors were rehearsing their scripts before filming began.

Their eyes held fierce determination not to make even one mistake.

They were showing that much passion for this kind of drama. It almost made me feel bad.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"...? Yes?"

The man suddenly spoke to me.

"Those senior actors. You really have to be that crazy about acting to survive in this business."

"...."

The man wrapped both hands around his canned coffee and let out a quiet sigh of admiration.

He looked like a boy gazing at an idol he admired.

"It's amazing, and a little enviable, that they can perform in front of dozens of people like that."

"You want to be like them?"

"What? Ahaha! No. That would be too much to ask."

Maybe he himself thought it was a distant dream, because he smiled sheepishly.

"I just... I would be happy if I could stand in front of a camera and deliver even one line."

Then he stretched out his canned coffee and lightly tapped it against mine.

"But someday, that day will come, right? I don't know when, but if I hang on desperately, someday... Ahaha."

"...."

As a brief silence passed, the assistant director's voice came through a loudspeaker from the main set in the distance.

"All background actors playing cafe customers, please gather over here! We're checking blocking!"

The man seemed to snap back to attention. He hurriedly set down his empty can.

Then, as if it had been planned, he pulled a worn, tattered notebook from inside his jacket.

'What's that?'

I thought he was about to leave, but he stopped right there and began writing furiously.

His fingers around the pen were tightly clenched.

Unable to resist my curiosity, I leaned over to look inside. The moment I did, I couldn't help but let out a small exclamation to myself.

The battered notebook was filled not only with dialogue from the scenes being filmed that day, but also with character analyses for nearly every role in <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>.

There were even detailed notes on the blocking and fleeting emotional beats of extras who didn't have a single line.

"You wrote down everyone else's lines too? Why?"

At my unthinking question, the man scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, this? It's just fun."

"It's fun?"

"Yes. I keep imagining, if I had that role, how would I breathe and what expressions would I make in front of that camera?"

"...?"

"Ahaha, does that sound presumptuous?"

He spoke with an awkward laugh.

"But when I roll the characters' lines around in my mouth and try to understand how they feel, even for a moment, it feels like I'm the protagonist of the story. That feeling is so overwhelming that I can't stop."

"...."

"And more than anything, the script is good. The dialogue has so much life that it feels like a waste to just let it pass by. I keep finding myself digging deeper. Haha."

It was an answer so idealistic that it was almost foolishly pure.

I was so shocked that it felt like I'd been struck in the back of the head, and I couldn't say a word.

He was studying my script, the one that was openly bound to fail, this earnestly? Why?

I was staring at him, caught by that strange feeling, when someone called out.

"Writer Ji! What are you doing here? We've been looking everywhere for you!"

The assistant director, who had spotted me from far away, came running over with an ashen face.

At the same time, the tall man's movements froze.

"Let's go, Writer Ji! Director Woo is looking for you!"

"...Writer Ji?"

The man looked back and forth between the assistant director and me as if he couldn't believe it. Then his eyes began to shake violently.

"Y-you were the writer...?! Gasp, I'm sorry! I thought you were another background actor waiting to play a cafe employee...!"

His face turned pale, and he bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow.

He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

Come on, did he really need to go that far? I waved my hand with an awkward smile.

"It's all right. The set is hectic, so it could happen. I understand."

I turned away with the assistant director, leaving the stiff man behind.

But as we walked, the assistant director glanced back and whispered to me.

"Writer Ji. Did that bastard make some kind of mistake with you earlier?"

"Pardon?"

There was open hostility and displeasure in the assistant director's voice.

I asked back with a puzzled expression.

"No? Nothing happened. Why?"

"That's a relief. If possible, you should stay away from that guy. He looks normal enough, but he's got a really bad character."

"...? Bad?"

"Yes. His reputation in the industry is terrible. He's been blacklisted so thoroughly that he might as well be buried."

"...."

"I heard he's been in this business for seven years. But if he's still drifting around as an extra after all that time, you can tell what level he's at. He's useless, completely useless. We only called him today because we were short on people. Normally, we never would've hired him."

At the assistant director's words, I turned to look at the man's retreating back.

His shoulders drooped weakly, making him look completely different from the man who had spoken so brightly about his innocent dreams.

But he had a bad reputation?

That face smiling happily as he watched the actors perform.

That pure voice passionately saying even a minor role could become the protagonist of a story.

From those brief glimpses, he hadn't seemed like a bad person at all.

"Do you know that man's name?"

"Pardon? His name?"

"Yes. I'm just curious."

The assistant director blinked, then reluctantly opened his mouth.

"Um, it's Do Jae-hyun. Anyway, Writer Ji, just treat him as if he doesn't exist. You'll only get tired if you get involved."

"...."

Do Jae-hyun.

I slowly rolled those three syllables over my tongue.

For some reason, it felt like a name I wanted to remember.

But then a beastlike roar from the main set shattered my thoughts.

"You bastards! What are we supposed to do about this?! Find a solution somehow!"

...Huh?

#

After following the assistant director back to the set, I had no choice but to stop dead.

Until just moments ago, the set had been lively and busy. Now it was frozen cold like a morgue.

The staff stood silently, watching one another's reactions. Woo Young-taek stood in the center, his face red as if it might explode at any moment.

"This is driving me insane! We can't film like this! We're going to lose all the day scenes! We might as well pack up and go home!"

"D-Director, then should we revise the schedule and push all of Baek Kang-min's scenes back, then film other cuts first...?"

"Don't talk bullshit! Today's set blocking is all centered around Baek Kang-min's character! Without him, the scenes won't connect at all!"

Had something happened?

I had already been wondering when Baek Kang-min, the second male lead, was going to arrive.

But instead of the actor, a major disaster had reached the set first.

"Should we contact Baek Kang-min's agency first?"

"You idiot! What am I supposed to say to the agency?! That lunatic got drunk, drove, and hit someone! A seven-year-old kindergartener!"

"T-then what do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do, you moron?! Are we supposed to carry around a bomb like that and get ourselves killed too? Remove him from the cast immediately!"

A drunk-driving hit-and-run.

And the victim was a seven-year-old kindergartener.

Hm. This was a much bigger incident than I'd expected.

Baek Kang-min, the second male lead.

And the central character in this scene.

The problems caused by that absence were not limited to one or two things.

There was the outdoor footage that had to be shot that day, and all the equipment tightly set up around Baek Kang-min.

If they scrapped it, tens of millions of won in production costs would disappear into thin air each day.

And booking this location again would take at least several months.

They were completely fucked.

"Fuck! Get a replacement right now! They don't even need to know the lines! Bring me anyone who can wear an in-ear monitor and act like a puppet!"

The usual gentle Director Woo was nowhere to be found. In his place was a vicious demon spitting curses.

And it wasn't just the director.

The staff and everyone involved were frantically making calls with their minds completely shattered.

It was utter chaos.

"Um... Writer Ji, did you hear?"

"Yes."

"Ah, you looked so calm... Are you okay, Writer Ji?"

The exhausted assistant director asked with a blank expression.

Was I okay? What was there to say? Of course I was.

'If this goes well, I might be able to overturn the whole board.'

I had felt frustrated watching the filming go smoothly.

But thanks to the bomb Baek Kang-min had dropped, I felt unexpectedly clear.

Right, my debut work had been obviously destined to fail anyway.

Now I had the perfect excuse: 'Ah! It failed because of that bastard Baek Kang-min!'

It meant I'd been handed a sturdy lifeline, one that would place the blame entirely on the lead actor's risk instead of my script.

Holding back a smile, I asked in a worried tone.

"So what happens now? Is today's shoot canceled?"

"...They'll probably replace the actor first. But finding someone available right now isn't as easy as it sounds. Haah, this is nerve-racking."

Just as the assistant director said, everyone involved was frantically calling around for a replacement.

But this wasn't just any supporting role. Finding an actor with Baek Kang-min's level of recognition and looks on the same day was nearly impossible.

"Choi Min-seong says his schedule overlaps, so he can't do it!"

"Director! We reached Park Sung-jun's agency, but they say it would be difficult to step in as a replacement immediately without discussing it first..."

"Hey! Min Seong-ho isn't the right level! I said find anyone, but that doesn't mean bring in some complete nobody, you bastard!"

The names of top stars came out one after another from the staff.

Fortunately, plenty of actors were being rejected because of scheduling conflicts, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that things might work out.

'Tsk... I can't let that happen. Not after getting an opportunity like this.'

What if a star on Baek Kang-min's level happened to fall into our lap and made this disaster go away?

That couldn't happen.

I wanted Baek Kang-min's huge scandal to have a major effect on whether this drama succeeded or failed.

Then who should I put in the role instead?

"Whew, Writer Ji. I'm truly sorry to ask this, but..."

As I turned the problem over in my head, Director Woo trudged toward me.

"Do you know any actors? Is there anyone we could call right now who could at least replace Baek Kang-min...?"

"Hm...."

I had been considering the same question.

Though for a completely different reason.

"If possible, someone good-looking. As you know, Writer Ji, the role of Han Tae-yoon that Baek Kang-min was playing is..."

"A character whose face is the entire justification."

Director Woo nodded like crazy at my answer.

"Yes, yes! Exactly! Acting ability comes second. When he appears on screen, viewers need to be instantly convinced by overwhelming looks. But none of the people with that kind of presence are free right now... This is driving me insane."

Director Woo was completely right.

The Han Tae-yoon I had written was practically a walking statue of David, a cheat of a character who filled every gap in the story with his face alone.

'Hm....'

I rubbed my chin and thought.

Someone so devastatingly handsome that I'd have enough justification to force him into the role of Han Tae-yoon, but whose acting was a complete mess or whose filmography was miserable.

Someone who could drive a solid nail into this drama's already disastrous fate.

Of course, I couldn't find a person like that immediately.

'Hmm. No actor comes to mind.'

The moment I thought that and casually turned my eyes away, someone caught my attention.

At the edge of the disorderly set, a man was packing up and turning away bitterly because filming had stopped.

The extra I had spoken to earlier.

'Wait...?'

Even through a shabby jumper, his tall, well-built physique stood out.

Even standing in a dark corner untouched by the lights, his defined features instantly drew the eye.

When it came to looks alone, he could easily crush someone like Baek Kang-min, once called the very definition of visual appeal.

As I stared blankly at the man, the assistant director's words rang in my ears like an auditory hallucination.

'His reputation in the industry is terrible. He's been blacklisted so thoroughly that he might as well be buried.'

'He's been in this business for seven years, but he's still drifting around as an extra. You can tell what level he's at. He's useless, completely useless.'

The gears in my mind began spinning wildly.

Looks? He crushed Baek Kang-min. Perfect justification that the director and staff would accept.

Recognition? A complete unknown. A nobody whose name the public wouldn't even recognize.

Acting? A proven bomb who, even after seven years, couldn't escape background work.

The moment my thoughts reached that point, an involuntary gasp escaped me.

"Ah!"

"...!? W-what is it? Did someone come to mind!?"

There was.

The perfect excuse for me, and the best card to thoroughly ruin my debut work, was right there.

"Director."

"Y-yes! Please, tell me!"

Director Woo looked at me with desperate eyes, as if he had found a savior.

Without hesitation, I raised my hand and pointed to the man walking away at the edge of the set.

"There he is. An actor suited to Han Tae-yoon."

"...Pardon? That man? I've never seen him before. What's his name?"

His lonely back moved away with slow, dragging steps.

In a voice full of certainty, I spoke his three-syllable name.

"Do Jae-hyun."

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