Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? - Chapter 36

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈

Chapter 36: You Can't Have This Script! (4)

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There are days like that in life.

Days when small misfortunes happen one after another like dominoes.

The kind of damned day when you wake up feeling strangely unlucky, uneasy, and unable to shake the sticky sense of impending doom clinging to your body.

Today was exactly that kind of day for Woo Young-taek.

"...Huh?"

In the tvM Drama Department break room, Woo Young-taek stared blankly into the cup of instant noodles before him.

His hand had frozen stiff as he tore open the seasoning packet to add before pouring in the boiling water.

"Ji-young."

"Yes?"

"Does Neoguri[1] normally come without kelp?"

"Kelp?"

At his grave question, PD Ahn Ji-young, who was heating something in the microwave beside him, glanced at the cup noodles and replied casually.

"Ah, the machine probably made a mistake during production and left it out. That can happen sometimes."

"Sometimes? Kelp is practically Neoguri's heart."

"Come on, PD Woo. How much difference can it make? Just eat it."

Ahn Ji-young merely shrugged.

Her unconcerned response even made Woo Young-taek start taking it in stride.

'Right. There are days like this.'

A piece of kelp could be missing sometimes. It was no big deal.

Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling creeping up on him, Woo Young-taek picked up a pair of wooden chopsticks.

He put strength into his hands and snapped them apart.

Crack!

One side was thin as a toothpick, while the other jutted out thick and blunt.

The chopsticks had split into an atrociously uneven pair.

"...Fuck."

Woo Young-taek frowned deeply, tossed the mismatched chopsticks into the trash, and opened a new pair.

This time, he drew a deep breath and carefully snapped them in half, applying exactly equal force with both hands.

Crack!

"No, seriously?"

Once again, they split unevenly. Worse than before, their proportions were even more bizarre and twisted.

Not once, but twice in a row? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

'...This is ominous. Weirdly ominous.'

Woo Young-taek's eyes trembled.

His luck was especially rotten today, and one misfortune after another kept befalling him.

No, now that he thought about it, it had not been just today.

"Make sure you keep that writer under lock and key. Do whatever it takes to make sure some other network or production company doesn't steal him away."

The weighty warning Department Head Ha Do-woon had given him several days ago.

Ever since that day, minor misfortunes had kept tormenting him.

'Tch. Why did the department head have to say something so pointless and make me worry?'

Even as he thought that, dark clouds of unease were already spreading uncontrollably through one corner of his heart.

Still, he ignored his anxiety, scooped up the noodles with the deformed chopsticks, and brought them to his mouth.

Slurp! Plop!

"...! Ah, shit! Hot!"

The noodles slipped from the uneven chopstick tips and splashed bright red broth directly onto the center of the pure-white dress shirt he had gone out of his way to freshly iron and wear.

To make matters worse, when he hurriedly grabbed for some tissues, he knocked over the paper cup on the table, instantly turning the floor into a puddle.

"PD Woo! Are you okay?"

"Argh, seriously! What's wrong with today?!"

Woo Young-taek scrubbed frantically at the stain on his shirt with tissues as he shouted.

The signs of misfortune were coming one after another with eerie consistency.

At this point, he could no longer dismiss them as nothing.

"Phew. Damn it..."

With an uneasy expression, Woo Young-taek pushed the cup noodles aside and discreetly pulled his phone from his pocket.

He scrolled through his contacts, then held his thumb over the name [Writer Ji Yeon-woo] for a long time as he agonized over what to do.

'...Just in case, should I check in on him?'

Should he call or not?

Anxiety sparked by those small misfortunes filled him as Woo Young-taek stared intently at his phone screen.

Studio Miracle, a major outsourced production company.

As I rode the elevator up to the high floors, I felt oddly emotional.

Only a few years ago, I had been a completely green PD running around everywhere. Now, an employee was courteously escorting me to a private meeting room.

'You really never know where life will take you.'

Soon, I reached the large meeting room where we had arranged to meet.

There were already people inside, judging by the sounds coming from within.

After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I entered through the heavy door the employee opened for me.

"Oh! Welcome, Writer!"

"You must have had a tiring trip here!"

Two men had already arrived and were waiting for me inside.

The moment they spotted me, they sprang up from their seats like coiled springs.

"Haha! We met before, didn't we? I'm Park Ho-seong, the department head overseeing production at Studio Miracle."

"Hello. I'm PD Nam Tae-jin, and I'll be supporting the planning and practical work for your project. Ahaha, I've really wanted to meet you personally, Writer."

I had heard both names many times before.

Especially Department Head Park Ho-seong.

Even people in the industry who did not know Miracle would remember those three syllables, Park Ho-seong. His connections were broad, and his abilities were exceptional.

It felt strange to have someone like him smiling warmly and trying to flatter me.

"Ahem. Yes, hello. I'm the writer, Ji Yeon-woo."

I cleared my throat, managed my expression, and took my seat.

The instant I did, the two of them began showering me with praise as if they had planned it, flattering me until their mouths ran dry.

"The emotional arc in the scene where Han Tae-yoon breaks down sobbing in episode ten was truly art. I genuinely watched it while wiping away tears. Especially the writing in that monologue..."

Oh, that?

That was only possible because Do Jae-hyun carried the scene after grabbing it by the collar.

"And the tempo of the buildup in the latter half of the final episode, that taut tension whenever the scenes changed. Ah! The script was so perfect that the screen practically filled itself!"

Well.

That was thanks to Director Woo polishing the direction like a madman.

I nodded with a friendly smile on the outside, but calmly sorted through the facts in my head and let their praise go in one ear and out the other.

Maybe my reaction was more indifferent than they had expected.

The two of them had been talking excitedly for quite some time, but their voices gradually grew quieter as they started watching my reaction.

After their empty praise had finally died down a little, Department Head Park Ho-seong placed a document envelope carefully on the table with a solemn expression.

"Ahem... Anyway, Writer. This is the official writing contract Miracle has prepared. Would you like to look it over at your leisure...?"

"Ah, yes."

As I scanned the contract I had been given, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

The terms were truly exceptional.

The per-episode fee easily exceeded one hundred million won, and the incentive and copyright clauses were among the best in the industry.

Yet even looking at those enormous figures, I felt nothing.

'I've already made more than enough money from <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>.'

From now on, I intended to prioritize my reputation over money in my career as a writer.

Besides, look at the situation.

The public and the broadcasting industry were entirely focused on me, and an uncontrollably enormous bubble of hype had formed around me.

Everyone was already watching for my next work with bated breath. If I recklessly released another drama under those circumstances and it bombed miserably, it was obvious what would happen.

A genius writer whose bubble had burst. A writer carried by actors and directors. Called it.

I would be showered with every kind of mockery and criticism until my mental state was ground to dust.

So it would be better to wait until time had passed and the public's attention and expectations had completely cooled before starting again, slowly and steadily.

"This is a draft, so there may be points you would like to negotiate. Please take your time and speak freely."

"Um... No, the contract terms are more than good enough. But..."

"But?"

Just as I reached that conclusion and carefully set the contract on the table, about to gently decline their offer...

"Hey! You can't do this here! Hey!"

"No! I'm telling you, it'll only take a moment! Let go of me!"

Suddenly, loud shouting and a rough scuffle broke out outside the meeting room.

It sounded as though someone was trying to force their way in, and chaos reigned beyond the door.

"Good grief, that person really is pushing it...!"

Department Head Park Ho-seong's face instantly crumpled at the commotion.

But when our eyes met, he quickly forced an awkward smile as though nothing had happened.

"Is something going on outside?"

"Ah, ahaha. Well, you see."

Department Head Park Ho-seong hesitated for a long time, sweating nervously before he finally confessed.

"I'm truly sorry, Writer. The person causing trouble outside is... MBS's CP Gong Myeong-ho."

"CP Gong Myeong-ho? Why are they here?"

"Ha, well... You must have heard the rumors going around the industry too, Writer. Next year's first-half main slot has KBC's Writer Baek Min-hee and SBC's Writer Hong Eun-seo going head-to-head, doesn't it?"

I had ears. I had heard the news in passing.

It was the kind of rumor that could practically be taken as fact already.

But why bring that up now?

As I wondered, Department Head Park Ho-seong spoke again.

"After hearing that news... Writer Kim Hee-su, who had been scheduled for MBS's slot at the same time, postponed the broadcast to the second half of the year."

"So they need someone to fill the gap."

"Exactly. CP Gong came all the way here because they went mad looking for a writer to fill that hole."

Hmm... Was that really all?

Someone like CP Gong Myeong-ho would not personally rush around just to find one replacement.

I looked at Department Head Park Ho-seong suspiciously, but he discreetly cleared his throat and turned his head.

'...There is something else.'

I decided not to ask.

It would be strange for an outsider like me to pry into every detail.

'Anyway, that's the situation.'

After hearing Department Head Park Ho-seong's lengthy explanation, I slowly nodded.

Writer Kim Hee-su had some name recognition too, but I completely understood the decision.

'No matter how brilliantly you make a drama, if it gets stuck between those two monsters, the ratings are bound to bomb.'

No matter how great a writer was, it was only natural that they would not dare put themselves between Baek Min-hee and Hong Eun-seo in a direct clash. Both had rock-solid viewer bases.

Wouldn't a 3 percent rating be enough to make them grateful?

The thought passed through my mind casually.

"...!!"

Then my train of thought suddenly stopped with a jolt.

My shoulders twitched, and my eyes flew open.

'Even if the drama turns out well... it can still bomb?'

If I put a script into that slot, then even I would have a perfectly reasonable excuse, no matter what I wrote.

I was unlucky because I got wedged between Baek Min-hee and Hong Eun-seo.

Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to escape this suffocating pressure surrounding my next work and blow away all the hype clinging to me in one go?

'This is it...!'

A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

I stopped myself from cheering inwardly and calmly opened my mouth.

"Excuse me, Department Head Park."

"Ahem. I'm sorry. I'll go outside and try to calm them down..."

"Could we invite MBS's CP Gong Myeong-ho inside as well?"

Department Head Park Ho-seong, who had been awkwardly trying to rise from his seat, froze.

Even the relaxed business smile he had struggled to maintain until then collapsed.

Then he asked with a blank, foolish expression.

"...Pardon?"

I smiled gently and gave a short answer.

"I'd like to talk together."