WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈
Chapter 43: Fake Madness, Real Madness (4)
──────
Hi-Up Entertainment.
One of Korea's leading major agencies, packed with top stars anyone would recognize and owning a massive headquarters on prime land in the heart of Gangnam. This entertainment giant had reached into every field, from management and IP ventures to music production, and countless people had poured their blood and sweat into building its current status.
But if Hi-Up's employees had to name the single greatest contributor, they would not hesitate to name one person.
Woo Yeon-hee.
She was Hi-Up's beginning and its pillar, an absolute presence who had perhaps contributed even more than its representative, Namgung Seok, to growing the company into what it was.
Hi-Up as it existed now was only possible because of Woo Yeon-hee.
That was why, when that horrifying drug scandal broke, Namgung Seok had not coldly cast her aside.
Instead, Namgung Seok mobilized all the company's capital and connections, taking desperate measures to protect Woo Yeon-hee.
A major law firm was retained, and aggressive legal action was launched against malicious gossip channels and tabloid rags that crossed the line, suppressing the uproar in public opinion through sheer force.
They also placed her in a top-tier specialist treatment facility to demonstrate her sincere remorse to the public, supporting her in every way through a grueling process of recovery and relapse prevention.
Then, after some time had passed and the incident seemed to have quieted down somewhat, Namgung Seok swallowed their pride and personally attended drinking gatherings, knocking on the doors of countless network bureau chiefs and major production companies.
Step by step, as carefully as possible, they tried to set up her return.
But it was useless.
The label of “drug addict,” deeply branded into the public's mind, was not some shallow stain that a single agency could erase.
Even now, online communities and back-alley tabloids were still full of sensational, malicious rumors about Woo Yeon-hee's scandal.
More painful still was the industry's cold nature.
Countless production companies and PDs who had profited from their wonderful working relationship with Hi-Up and Woo Yeon-hee in the past were now ignoring every call and drawing firm lines between them.
It was hopeless.
They had mobilized every effort they could make and every connection they could rely on, yet there had been no progress at all.
That dark, desperate situation with no end in sight had continued, suffocating them.
“What? From Miracle?”
“Yes.”
An opening had appeared from a completely unexpected place.
Though only for a moment.
“They asked her to come audition for that role?”
“Yes. Mantis. The role of that mad drug-addicted leader... Ahem.”
Namgung Seok's brow immediately furrowed.
“...Miracle.”
The production company that had made this outrageous proposal was Studio Miracle.
They had no particular debt or grudge with Hi-Up Entertainment. In fact, there had never been any connection between them at all.
‘But why?’
The network bureau chiefs and major production companies whose favor Namgung Seok had personally courted with crates of expensive liquor were openly ignoring them. Why was Miracle offering a hand?
Their intentions made no sense.
‘Still, is this an opportunity...?’
Namgung Seok did not know whether the cup being offered contained poison or medicine.
But they were not in a position to be picky.
They had to rack their brains and find some positive way forward. After considering it, Namgung Seok carefully asked,
“Team Leader Han. Did you tell Yeon-hee?”
“Yes. I went to her home this morning and told her exactly what I heard.”
Namgung Seok tilted their head, signaling for Han Young-soo to continue. Han Young-soo swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.
“...She said she would go find the writer immediately.”
“Really? That's a relief. She's being calm for once...”
“She said she was going to find the writer and kill him.”
“....”
Of course.
Namgung Seok silently nodded.
Offering the role of a drug addict to an actress whose career had crashed because of drugs was insane from the start.
Naturally, Woo Yeon-hee could only take it as a direct challenge.
‘What a headache.’
Namgung Seok sank into another deep dilemma.
What should they do?
If they readily drank from this cup that might be poisoned, all the work they had built up could vanish overnight.
The remorse they had tearfully appealed to the public with by placing her in a specialist treatment facility. The media displays of atonement they had staged with drug prevention groups.
The public would see every one of those efforts as disgusting deception and point fingers at her more viciously than before.
But should they kick away this one lifeline with their own feet?
And then what?
It was not as if sitting here doing nothing would solve anything.
‘More than anything...’
The person who had written this crazy script and sent Woo Yeon-hee an offer was the writer of <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>.
Never mind the astonishing 30 percent ratings from a debut project. He was a genius with the discerning eye to discover Do Jae-hyun, a pearl buried in the dirt.
Had not everyone involved in that drama said the same thing?
That writer's eye was 100 percent accurate. Anyone that writer picked was guaranteed to make it.
Going by what they said, there was obviously a good reason and careful calculation behind choosing Woo Yeon-hee over so many other actors.
The writer must have seen something in her that could pull off that role perfectly.
‘Maybe... this is the only chance to turn everything around at once.’
At last, after a long period of deliberation, Namgung Seok made a decision and abruptly rose from their seat.
As they put on the coat hanging over their chair, Team Leader Han Young-soo, standing nearby, asked in alarm,
“Representative? Where are you going?”
“Where else?”
Namgung Seok fastened their coat buttons as they replied,
“We need to persuade our esteemed actress.”
#
Pyo Won-ho had never experienced what anyone could call a crisis in his life.
His family had been reasonably well-off, and with his tall, handsome looks, his school life had been smooth sailing from childhood.
But when he was about to enter society as an adult, he had worried a great deal.
You cannot survive in this harsh world with that kind of personality. If you do not install some social skills right away, life will become hard for you.
Those adults' advice had frightened him for no reason.
He stepped cautiously into society with that anxiety weighing on him, but what did he find? Contrary to everyone's concerns, society was incredibly easy.
In fact, he found this vast world far more comfortable than the confined space of school.
Why?
Because he had realized he possessed an incredible talent for directing.
Wasn't broadcasting an industry where the talented ones took everything anyway? And he had talent that rivaled anyone's, so what was there to fear?
With nothing but his innate instincts for directing, he scored hit after hit. As the number of hits grew, fewer and fewer people dared to criticize him, until eventually there were none.
This was his world now.
The reckless colt, running wild without knowing fear, had tried to leap over the sky itself.
But the fall of that arrogant colt had been foreordained to some extent.
“No, fuck!! She really said she'll come audition?! What the hell are they going to do about the actress's image?!”
Pyo Won-ho tore at his hair and shouted loudly enough to shake the department head's office.
He had just heard that Hi-Up Entertainment had readily accepted the audition offer for Woo Yeon-hee.
Unable to comprehend the situation in any reasonable way, Pyo Won-ho bounced around in agitation.
“Are those bastards in their right minds?! Did they all get high together or something?!”
“What insane nonsense are you talking about? You little punk! Will you shut up?! Calm down!”
“What calm down?! Does this look like a situation where I can calm down?!”
Park Ho-seong, who had been watching Pyo Won-ho's frantic display from beside him, could not hide his bewilderment.
He had watched that guy for years, but it was the first time he had ever seen Pyo Won-ho's mental state completely crumble like this.
What the hell had happened at the casting meeting?
As Park Ho-seong clicked his tongue inwardly, Pyo Won-ho huffed, veins bulging in his neck.
“Seriously! I can't take this anymore! It's so fucking ridiculous, I can't work with that writer!”
“Are you seriously out of your mind?!”
“Yes! I am! Being around that crazy bastard has rubbed off on me, so now I'm a crazy bastard too! And fuck! Why are we even filming a drama that'll collapse before the first episode airs?!”
Park Ho-seong finally lost his patience too, furrowing his brow as he shouted.
“The casting hasn't even been finalized yet! If she auditions and she isn't right for it, we can just drop her. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“What?! What?”
Pyo Won-ho's eyes widened before he suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Wow! Hahahaha! Must be nice being you, Department Head. You don't know anything, so you can relax? Hehehe!”
“What, you bastard?”
“What have you been listening to this whole time? That's not the problem! The problem is that writer! That crazy bastard's eyes are completely unhinged!”
It took one crazy bastard to recognize another.
The instant Pyo Won-ho had seen the clear, madness-filled gleam in writer Ji Yeon-woo's eyes, he had instinctively realized it.
This one was truly crazy.
Auditioning a drug-addicted actress?
That was only the beginning.
That lunatic would keep doing insane things beyond anyone's imagination and eventually blow up the drama.
Every instinct in Pyo Won-ho's body was sounding the alarm that it would happen.
“Let's be honest, Department Head! I may not be desperate, but I at least have the will to somehow get a project made, right?!”
“What are you talking about? When have you ever been like that?”
“No, fuck! Anyway! But that writer? Forget having any will, he's completely let go of his mind! Even if viewers boycott the drama and it disintegrates, even if it gets pulled in the middle of airing and episodes are canceled! That bastard won't care one tiny bit!”
Whether the drama succeeded or failed? Ratings? What a joke.
Even if it got 1 percent ratings, that writer was the kind of lunatic who would laugh and say, “Ha, so this didn't work.”
Pyo Won-ho even suspected that ruining the drama was that writer's true intention.
But Park Ho-seong still shook his head, treating only Pyo Won-ho as the crazy one.
“Honestly, you're making a huge deal out of one audition. Stop worrying over nothing. From what I can see, the writer at least has his head on straight, unlike you...”
“Nooooo!!! The goddamn audition is not the problem!!!”
In the end, the distraught Pyo Won-ho wailed as if the sky were falling.
“Fuck!! How many times do I have to say it?! Why does nobody understand how I feel?! Why am I the crazy one while that bastard's normal?! Why?! Why?!”
“What the hell is wrong with you today?! Will you cut it out already?!”
Was this how a two-eyed person felt in a village of one-eyed people?
Since nobody could understand him at all, Pyo Won-ho decided to give up on any further conversation.
“Fuck it!”
Still fuming, Pyo Won-ho roughly grabbed his coat and strode out the door.
“Pyo Won-ho! Where are you going?”
“To work! Work!”
“...? What? You're going to work?”
“Why? Should I let go of my mind like that crazy bastard too?!”
Pyo Won-ho shot out with that disgruntled reply.
He then grabbed the junior PD walking down the hallway and began furiously assigning work he would not normally even glance at.
Watching that unbelievable sight blankly, Park Ho-seong let out an incredulous laugh.
“Huh... What's gotten into that guy who only ever slacked off?”
Should he be glad that the loafer had come to his senses on his own?
The thought briefly crossed his mind, but then he remembered the words of Pyo Won-ho and the staff who had attended that day's meeting.
Every one of them, as though they had made a promise, had adamantly insisted that the writer was crazy.
‘....’
Nah, it couldn't be true. The writer had achieved 30 percent ratings, after all.
Park Ho-seong forced himself to shake off the unease.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
