4
ch 4
South Korea’s largest production company, Video Dragon.
Kim Yujeong, a PD on the Planning & Production 3 CP Team, was sorting through the scripts pouring in from all over the
place.
‘They’re all basically the same...’
After reading one after another, she had begun to see the patterns.
Which meant there wasn’t a single truly outstanding work among them.
Of course, there were some that weren’t bad, and there were even works by fairly well-known writers.
She had narrowed them down and submitted reports, but that was all.
Until a CP actually started a project in earnest, she had no choice but to continue screening scripts.
Kim Yujeong cracked her neck from side to side while sitting at her desk, then stretched and took a sip of her
Americano.
She was sleepy, tired, and bored.
Still, she hadn’t completely given up hope.
There were bound to be interesting works every once in a while.
Who knew?
Maybe the one she was about to read would be one of them.
Kim Yujeong finally picked up the synopsis that had been left behind by the man who looked like a soldier yesterday.
To be honest, she didn’t have particularly high expectations.
It felt like scratching a lottery ticket with a coin.
She couldn’t help it.
If you thought about what kind of writers personally came all the way here to hand over their scripts, the answer was
obvious.
With only that much expectation and a sense of duty, Kim Yujeong looked over the synopsis.
“Hmm...”
The synopsis wasn’t bad to begin with.
The writing was somewhat messy and disorganized, but the content was interesting.
Her expectations rose slightly, and Kim Yujeong turned to the first page of Part 1.
...
...
...
Kang Seongho, the CP, walked around the office, exchanging a few words with his employees.
“What should we have for dinner?”
“...You’re eating dinner here again today. Do we have to eat a late-night meal too?”
“Ha-ha. I don’t want to eat either. I want to go home and have my late-night meal.”
He nagged them a little and cracked a few jokes as he wandered around the office.
Then his steps stopped in front of someone.
‘What is she looking at so intently?’
Kim Yujeong wasn’t normally the type to concentrate this deeply.
Whenever he made a joke or nagged her, she would usually react or play along.
But right now, she didn’t even seem to know he was there.
Her mind had been completely sucked into the script.
Kang Seongho stood beside her with his arms folded and quietly waited.
His anticipation was steadily growing.
Tick.
Tick.
Time passed.
The office was quiet.
With the CP and Kim Yujeong standing like this, everyone could only sneak glances at them without making a sound.
The employees exchanged looks and silently mouthed words to one another.
‘What’s with that script? Whose is it?’
‘No idea.’
‘Go get the synopsis, at least.’
‘...You go get it, senior.’
‘What did you just say, you punk?’
That was when it happened.
Kim Yujeong closed the script and took a deep breath.
As if she had forgotten to breathe until that very moment.
The expression on Kim Yujeong’s face was something to see.
Her cheeks and eyes were flushed with excitement, and there was pure exhilaration in her expression.
“Uh...?”
Only then did Kim Yujeong seem to realize the atmosphere around her.
She opened her eyes wide and looked around.
Kang Seongho CP asked her,
“How is it?”
“What?”
“I’m asking how it is. That.”
He gestured with his chin toward the script that Kim Yujeong was still clutching in her hands.
Kim Yujeong smiled broadly and spoke in an excited voice.
“It’s amazing. This is seriously amazing.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Really.”
Kang Seongho CP gave a small laugh and picked up the synopsis.
The writer’s name was Kim Seolrok.
“Kim Seolrok...”
He didn’t remember ever hearing the name Kim Seolrok before.
It was definitely their first encounter.
Still, newcomers were the future.
If he had ignored newcomers simply because they were newcomers, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
So the fact that the writer was a newcomer didn’t diminish his expectations.
“But what kind of title is this?”
The title was Good Kim Soli.
His expectations for the script had grown, but the writer’s ability to come up with titles didn’t seem particularly
impressive.
Kim Yujeong smiled sweetly and explained.
“You’ll understand once you see it. It’s about Kim Soli, who is somewhat twisted, growing into a good person. You could
also interpret it as ‘She’s actually a good person,’ or simply as ‘a wonderful person.’ Personally, I think the title
works pretty well.”
“If the protagonist’s name were Kim Mandeuk, it’d be Good Kim Mandeuk, and if it were Will Hunting, it’d be Good Will
Hunting?”
“...There’s actually a name called Will Hunting?”
“Somewhere overseas, there’s probably someone with a name like that.”
Kang Seongho threw out a cold manager-style joke and decided to put the title aside for now.
He started with the synopsis.
Then Part 1.
Then Part 2.
Just like Kim Yujeong had moments earlier, he concentrated entirely on the script.
Standing there without moving an inch or saying a word.
...
“Writer, why don’t you trust us and leave it to us? If it’s your work, we can begin production immediately.”
What was happening?
I was still dumbfounded.
I had handed over the script yesterday.
And yet, right now, I was sitting face-to-face with the CP in a meeting room at Video Dragon.
The look in his eyes was incredibly intense.
I had received plenty of frightened or wary looks before, but this was the first time I had seen eyes like these.
I simply wasn’t used to it.
But it wasn’t as though I couldn’t understand.
‘Even I have to admit, this script is amazing.’
Before I could even say anything, Kang Seongho CP launched into an impassioned speech, practically spraying spit as he
talked.
“This script is nothing like what you’d expect from a new writer. Even when we work with established writers, there are
usually plenty of things we need to revise in the planning or the script, but I can’t find a single thing that needs to
be changed here! This is already a finished script! And despite having this much detail! We could assign a directing PD
and start casting as soon as we sign the contract!”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of it.”
“It’s not just that we think highly of it. This is going to be a huge hit! No matter who directs it, it’ll become an
outstanding drama, but we’ll assign one of the top PDs in the industry to it. Honestly, I’m tempted to jump back into
the field myself!”
But did people normally talk like this?
I had heard that they usually tried to keep writers’ egos in check rather than praising them like this.
Well, what did it matter if it wasn’t normal?
There were all kinds of people in the world.
They liked my work here, and I was happy about it.
That was all that mattered.
“Especially Kim Soli. This protagonist is incredibly appealing. She’s special and full of personality, just like a
protagonist should be, but she doesn’t feel out of place at all. It genuinely feels like someone like this exists in
real life.”
I had written her while looking at someone who actually existed.
The real her wasn’t a mathematical genius, though.
Because I had created the character while looking at Kim Sori, I had even named the character Kim Soli.
‘Kim Sori...’
This was definitely the moment I had always dreamed of.
Yet strangely, I couldn’t concentrate on the situation.
Kim Sori’s face kept appearing before my eyes.
Kang Seongho CP continued his barrage of praise.
Every word went in one ear and straight out the other.
Could I bring up casting here?
The lead role, no less?
I was a brand-new writer who was only just signing my first contract.
My mouth was itching to say something.
If it were up to me, I wanted to bring up Kim Sori.
Something like, “I know an actress who would be perfect for the role of Kim Soli. Would it be okay if we cast her as the
lead?”
But I swallowed the words that had risen all the way to the back of my throat.
‘It’s still too soon.’
Before coming here, I had searched for her on the internet, but there weren’t even any new articles about her yet.
The controversy hadn’t even been cleared up.
It was too early to bring it up.
More importantly than anything else was her acting.
I still wasn’t sure whether she could handle this role.
In the dramas she had appeared in before, she hadn’t exactly been terrifyingly good at acting.
I shook hands with Kang Seongho CP.
He was smiling broadly, and the contract I had signed was lying on the desk.
I left the building and got into my car.
As I started the engine, I made a call.
My fingers worked the navigation system.
The destination was her house.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Sori, could I see you for a little while right now?”
So I could meet her and write Part 3 as well.
Would my ability activate today?
“R-Right now?”
“Is now not okay? I already entered your house into the navigation.”
“Ah! Yes, yes! It’s okay! It’s okay! Take your time! Slowly!”
“Why are you acting like it’s such a big deal? I already know your house is messy. Oh, did you still not clean yourself
up? It’s okay. I know very well how dirty you are.”
“...I might as well install a prison in my house. I already have a modern art gallery and a warehouse, so what’s one
prison?”
“Even better.”
“...Don’t come. I’m warning you.”
“I’m coming right away!”
I hung up and stepped on the accelerator.
...
What greeted me when I arrived was a new version of Kim Sori.
No.
It was the character.
Kim Soli, whom I had seen in my visions and written into my script.
I wasn’t seeing a vision right now, was I?
Her clothes were somewhat shabby and scruffy.
Her hair was slightly messy, as though she had casually brushed it with her hands and let it dry without properly
styling it.
There wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face.
It wasn’t just her styling.
Even her behavior somehow resembled Kim Soli.
Her hands were shoved deep into her pockets, and she stood with her weight shifted to one leg, her posture slightly
hunched.
‘Did she tell me to come slowly because she was preparing this?’
With my extraordinary ability to read situations, I was certain this had been intentional.
I stared at her eyes.
She avoided my gaze.
Her face was slightly red, too.
Apparently, she was embarrassed that she had made it this obvious.
I was chuckling when my head suddenly gave another sharp throb.
I hadn’t even exchanged a single word with her yet, but I sat down at the dining table, hurriedly took out my laptop,
and set everything up.
I stared blankly at her as I wrote.
Before I knew it, Part 3 was complete.
“Are you done?”
Kim Sori asked with a mixture of pride and nervousness on her face.
Come to think of it, she looked pretty even like this.
Even after doing her best to make herself look shabby, she was still beautiful.
‘No wonder she became the CF Queen.’
That soju commercial really was legendary.
I never thought I’d actually click on the advertisement myself on YouTube and replay it several times.
It was the first and last time I had ever watched an advertisement like that.
“But why are you wearing a suit? Did you go somewhere?”
“Ah, I’m on my way back from Video Dragon. I signed a contract. For the drama.”
“...!”
Her eyes widened.
She looked shocked.
Her pupils soon began trembling as though an earthquake had struck.
“Ah... I see. Congratulations!”
“The CP praised it like crazy. Is that normal? Do they do that to boost new writers’ confidence?”
“...”
“I guess they have to boost your confidence so you can write well. Oh! And they said there wasn’t a single thing that
needed to be changed in the planning either. They said they were going straight into production like this. They also
said a top PD in the industry would be assigned.”
“...Ah.”
Every time I repeated what I had heard, her body gave a tiny flinch.
Her body gradually shrank in on itself.
It was cute.
I grinned and said,
“They praised the protagonist like crazy. They said she was incredibly appealing. I made her based on you, Kim Sori.”
Her eyes, which had been slowly lowering toward the floor, immediately shot back up.
I looked directly into her eyes and said,
“Ms. Sori, if you’re okay with it, could you show me some of your acting?”
“...What?”
“I don’t have any casting authority yet, and I don’t really have anything else either, but I still want to see it once.
If you feel like doing this. If you’re not interested, you don’t have to.”
She probably hadn’t expected to hear something like this from me today.
“Of course I want to! I really, really like it!”
She hurriedly poured out her words in surprise, but beneath them was unmistakable anticipation.
“But my controversy hasn’t been resolved yet. Even if an article comes out clearing my name, my bad image won’t
disappear completely. Is it really okay for me to do this? The CEO has been having meetings yesterday and today and told
me to wait a little longer. But nothing has been decided yet... Ah...”
It seemed she had spoken without thinking and only realized afterward what she had said.
Perhaps she felt she had been too honest.
“Th-That doesn’t mean you have to look at it so negatively. I’m confident about this role. It really suits me perfectly,
you know? Maybe because you created the character based on me, I can act it really well. It was honestly amazing. Shall
I try it? Do you want to see? I’ll start!”
She hurriedly stood up from the dining table.
I struggled to force down the corners of my mouth that were trying to twitch upward.
This was dangerous.
At this rate, I was going to become a hardcore fan.