WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈

Chapter 34: You Can't Have This Script! (2)

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After finishing an outside meeting and returning to the studio, Department Head Park Ho-seong's steps felt as light as though he were walking on clouds.

"Phew, finally."

Yesterday, tvM's <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>, which had turned South Korea upside down, came to an end.

And it had done so with the miraculous rating of 30.3 percent.

The previous drama's astonishing success and the public's wild enthusiasm would naturally carry over into blind anticipation for the next one.

Park did not need a calculator to know what kind of halo effect that record would bring.

A free pass into a network's main broadcast slot was a given. Even usually haughty top-tier stars would surely be competing to cling to the legs of anyone who could get them cast in this script.

'The only concern is other pests swarming to the scent of the flowers....'

Miracle was not some hole-in-the-wall business.

Park had already secured the CEO's approval for a jaw-dropping advance and contract terms.

Miracle had plenty of money, so Park was confident they would not lose out to anyone.

"Heh heh."

Park Ho-seong wore a deeply satisfied smile as he leisurely headed toward his private office.

"Department Head!"

An office employee came running over in a panic and urgently blocked his way.

"...? What is it?"

"S-someone is waiting in your private office right now."

"What?"

The faint smile vanished from Park Ho-seong's face, and his brow furrowed sharply.

"What kind of inconsiderate person barges into someone else's private office without even calling first? Who is it?"

"Th-that would be Chief Producer Gong Myeong-ho from MBS."

"...What? Gong Myeong-ho?"

The moment he heard that name, Park Ho-seong's shoulders stiffened.

Gong Myeong-ho of MBS.

Was that not the unwelcome guest who had been whining about a massive hole in MBS's schedule and demanding a script they could put into production immediately? Park had recently been deliberately avoiding Gong's calls.

'Then why is Gong here?'

As he wondered, a flash of realization struck Park's mind like lightning.

The script he had been obsessively rereading until just before leaving for his meeting that morning.

Where had he left it...?

'...Fuck!'

All color drained from Park Ho-seong's face.

That treasure, as confidential as a heavenly secret, had been left defenseless in front of a hyena prowling around for scripts with fire in its eyes.

"Out of my way!"

He shoved the employee aside and rushed toward his office.

Praying that Gong had not found it, praying that Gong was merely sitting quietly on the sofa, Park Ho-seong grabbed the doorknob.

Bang!

As he flung open the door, he saw Gong Myeong-ho standing there blankly.

They said bad feelings always came true, did they not?

The stack of papers in Gong's hands looked all too familiar.

'Goddamn it....!'

Park Ho-seong clutched at his sinking heart and forcibly suppressed his panic.

The water had already spilled. If he showed any sign of fluster now, he would only make that sharp-eyed predator more certain.

He had to act as if it was nothing.

Park pasted on the practiced, utterly fake smile he had polished over more than a decade in this industry.

"Oh, Chief Producer Gong! You were here? What brings you here without calling? Why are you standing inside when you could've waited outside?"

He raised his voice brightly and approached, pretending to be pleased and relaxed.

But no answer came back.

"Ha ha, hm? Chief Producer Gong?"

"...."

Gong Myeong-ho neither turned around nor responded to Park's greeting.

Like someone completely entranced, Gong simply stared wide-eyed at the script and turned page after page.

In the silence, only the suffocating rustle of pages turning filled the office.

A bead of sweat slid down Park Ho-seong's forehead and dripped from his chin.

If Gong was that absorbed, it meant Gong had already recognized the script's true value completely.

"Ahem. But, Chief Producer Gong, it isn't proper to look through someone else's documents so freely...."

Park sensed that something was wrong and reached out to snatch the script away.

"Department Head Park."

"Y-yes?"

The moment Park met Gong's face, he sucked in a breath.

Bloodshot eyes.

A bizarre expression tangled with shock, thrill, and possessiveness.

Even Gong's fingertips trembled faintly with barely contained excitement.

Then Gong Myeong-ho asked cautiously, voice shaking like an animal's.

"Who on earth is the writer who wrote this script?"

#

"Ugh.... God, I'm dying...."

"Y-you're... blegh, you're here, Director...."

"God, I'm dying. Kid, get me some ice water...."

Everyone in the office groaned under brutal hangovers.

At yesterday's wrap party celebrating the drama breaking thirty percent ratings, they had all poured bomb shots down their throats like maniacs.

Woo Young-taek was no exception.

His stomach had been churning since morning, to the point where he felt like he would throw up every time he walked.

"Ugh, did we go too hard yesterday?"

Still, it had been a day worth celebrating.

They had set an unprecedented record of 30.3 percent, a rating even terrestrial broadcasters could not achieve. They could be forgiven for drinking until their livers gave out for one day.

Suppressing the grin that kept creeping onto his lips, Woo Young-taek was about to head for the break room.

"PD Woo."

Ahn Ji-young, whose dark circles were just as deep beneath her eyes, approached him.

"Oh, Ji-young. What is it? Is your stomach bothering you too?"

"It is, but Department Head Ha just called for you."

"...? The department head did?"

The person who had been most excitedly mixing bomb shots yesterday had business this early in the morning?

Woo Young-taek tilted his head and immediately headed to Ha Do-woon's office.

"Department Head, you called for..."

Woo Young-taek stopped as he entered.

Ha Do-woon, seated behind the desk, looked far darker and more lifeless than the zombie-like employees groaning outside.

"Heh heh. Oh, Department Head, what's with that expression?"

"...."

"Our department head is getting old. You barely had anything to drink, and your liver is already failing to detox, huh? Heh heh...."

Woo Young-taek made the joke with a grin, but Ha Do-woon did not play along as usual.

With one hand pressed to the forehead, the department head only stared heavily at Woo Young-taek with a rigid expression.

"PD Woo. Sit down."

"...?"

This was not the mood for joking around.

Woo Young-taek picked up on the ominous atmosphere and carefully sat down on the sofa, his expression turning serious.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"You know writer Kim Hee-su, right?"

"Sure, I know the name."

Kim Hee-su's name had come up several times.

The writer's credits were not particularly impressive yet, but Kim had recently put out several moderate hits or better in a row and was emerging as quite the dark horse.

"I heard Kim Hee-su was set to start a project with MBS next July. Why bring up that writer?"

"That project's broadcast has been pushed back to the second half of the year after next. The rumor spread everywhere this morning."

"Ah, figures."

Woo Young-taek nodded as though he had expected it.

The broadcasting industry was already buzzing over the bloody tentpole showdown between KBC's writer Baek Min-hee and SBC's writer Hong Eun-seo.

Their broadcast times happened to overlap with the date scheduled for Kim Hee-su's MBS project.

"It looks like MBS is just trying to avoid the competition. Well, it is a smart choice."

"You think so?"

"Pardon?"

"Sure. Like you said, they could dig themselves a grave and cram a lower-profile writer's script into it. But listen."

Ha Do-woon fixed Woo Young-taek with a sharply honed gaze.

"What if those MBS bastards don't intend to avoid the fight? If they mean to take it on properly, who do you think they'd put in that slot?"

"...!!"

Ji Yeon-woo, the monster writer whose stock was currently at its highest.

A great deal of public attention was blindly focused on his next work.

In terms of both script quality and timing, Ji Yeon-woo was the perfect card.

If MBS intended to fight back, they would do anything to land that writer.

As Woo Young-taek reached that conclusion, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"So keep that writer secure. Do whatever it takes to make sure another network or production company doesn't snatch him away. There are already widespread rumors that Gong Myeong-ho, with MBS's schedule in shambles, is personally hunting down writers in a frenzy."

Still, Woo Young-taek forced out a relaxed smile.

"Ha ha. Department Head, you're worrying too much. Surely that won't happen. Aren't you assuming only the worst-case scenari..."

"Hey, Woo Young-taek."

Ha Do-woon abruptly cut him off.

"In this industry, what excuse is more foolish than 'surely'?"

"...."

"And you should know by now that in this business, the worst scenario is always the right answer."

#

Behind every success, someone else's jealousy and inferiority are bound to follow.

Especially when the person at the center of that success has a deeply bitter history with you, those twisted emotions can only grow beyond control.

Rather than accepting their own misery, the loser begins an ugly struggle to drag the person shining high above down into the mud.

And here, in a private room completely cut off from the outside world at an upscale Japanese restaurant in Gangnam, Han Kang-hee filled Reporter Choi's glass with expensive sake.

"Really? Writer Ji Yeon-woo used to be an SBC PD? What was he like when he worked as a PD?"

"Don't get me started. He was a useless washout, and things behind the scenes were shady as hell. He brought in a script from some no-name rookie writer and tried to force it into the main broadcast slot. Tch."

"I see. Is that so?"

"That wasn't all. At auditions, he raised hell trying to force some nobody actor into the cast. He must have pocketed a hefty payoff."

Reporter Choi's eyes lit up, and Han Kang-hee clicked his tongue with a sly smile.

"Just look at that. What do you think that means for Do Jae-hyun? It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Hmm, there were suspicions that he had a sponsor before the drama aired."

"Exactly. Maybe Ji Yeon-woo arranged the sponsorship himself. He's an old hand at that sort of thing. Heh heh."

Casually, Han leaked tabloid rumors laced with fabrication and malice as though they were nothing.

That would make the other side eager to keep digging.

Then...

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Reporter Choi's phone, sitting on the table, began to vibrate loudly.

"Ah, sorry. My bureau chief is calling. I'll take this real quick."

"Sure, take it. It's work."

Reporter Choi smiled amiably and brought the phone to their ear.

"Yes, Chief. I'm having a meal with Chief Producer Han Kang-hee right..."

"Hey, you bastard! Can you seriously eat right now? Open the news portal this instant!"

Reporter Choi's shoulders jerked at the booming shout leaking through the receiver.

"What? An article? Did some huge dating scandal break or someth..."

Grumbling, Reporter Choi switched off the speakerphone and checked the screen.

In an instant, the reporter's face turned white as paper.

Reporter Choi looked back and forth between the phone screen and Han Kang-hee's face in disbelief.

The flattering look from moments ago was gone, leaving only shock and bewilderment.

"...? Reporter Choi? What is it? Did something happen?"

"Ah, um... Well...."

Reporter Choi cautiously watched Han Kang-hee's reaction, then sprang to their feet.

"Ahem. Something urgent came up, so I should get going first."

"What? Where are you going when you haven't even finished eating? Hey, Reporter Choi!"

Han Kang-hee shouted irritably, but Reporter Choi hurriedly grabbed their coat and fled the room.

It was as if even sharing the same room with an infected person was horrifying.

"Th-that fucking trash reporter!"

Han Kang-hee fumed alone at the sight of the slammed door.

Who did they think had laid out this spread for them, that they dared throw down their spoon and leave?

Unable to contain his anger, he roughly drained the remaining sake.

Bzzz! Bzzz!

This time, the phone in Han Kang-hee's pocket began vibrating violently.

Han creased his brow and answered irritably.

"What?! Don't you know I'm in an off-site meeting right now?!"

"D-Department Head! Where are you right now?!"

Park Jun-hyung's voice from the receiver was cracked and strange, like an animal's scream.

In the background, other PDs could be heard running about and shouting.

"Has this bastard lost his mind? Why are you screaming like a lunatic? What happened?!"

"Th-the article! Get online and check the article right now!"

"What? An article? What article?!"

"Department Head, it's about you! Open the portal right now!"

As Park Jun-hyung shouted through tears, Han Kang-hee's brow furrowed.

What article was this all of a sudden?

He closed the call screen and opened a news portal.

Then he saw the massive headlines dominating the real-time searches and front page.

"...Huh?"

A dazed groan escaped Han Kang-hee's lips.

[Scoop] SBC Drama Department power broker Chief Producer Han Kang-hee exposed in casting-rigging corruption... The ugly truth behind Kang Min-hyuk's selection as Suspect X lead

[Scoop] Secret kickback and sponsorship deal with a major production company, is this really acceptable?

[Scoop] SBC's Han Kang-hee: Audio recordings of habitual verbal abuse and abuse of power toward staff and PDs released....

"W-what the fuck is this?!"

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