The Third Work (2)

"So? You were talking about the script, and then all of a sudden you wanted to come here. Not that I mind — it's only thirty minutes from headquarters."

"Hmm… I just wanted to come by. It's been a while."

"……?"

I was walking the streets of Itaewon with Yongseok hyung.

The reason I'd come was simple — I wanted to stir up a few old memories. In my previous life, the drama production company I'd worked for had been based right here in Itaewon.

This place was deeply familiar to me. And yet, paradoxically, it always felt new. Walking these streets — packed with people of every race, free spirits of every kind, as if the whole world had been compressed into a single neighborhood — that feeling came naturally.

That was why, in my previous life, I'd wanted to write a script set in this free-spirited place. And the script that was born from that desire was none other than Itaewon Revolution.

In my previous life, this script had become a drama almost by pure chance. If Producer Kim Jincheol hadn't spent an entire day running around the broadcasting station, persuading every superior he could find, the show would never have seen the light of day.

For the record, the protagonist of that script — Gang Cheol — was a portrait of the person I wanted to become. No matter how inevitably hardship and adversity came crashing down, he never stopped and never bent. He only moved forward, until he finally achieved what he set out to do.

But Gang Cheol was hardly the brilliant figure one expects of a lead. He wasn't particularly clever, nor did he possess any extraordinary talent. He was simply stubborn. Stubborn as steel, just like his name.

Remembering the early stretch of Gang Cheol's story, a bitter smile tugged at my lips. Right. There had been a scene like that, too…

Unable to stand injustice, Gang Cheol threw a punch at school and was handed an expulsion. But that same night, his father, Gang Baeku, told him it was all right — that his own son had been magnificent — and stood firmly behind him.

Then Gang Cheol received a glass of soju from his father for the first time in his life. Half curious, half still burning with the unfairness of it all, he knocked it back — and his eyes went wide with shock.

That was how Gang Cheol described the first taste of alcohol he had ever known.

"I think he said it was sweet…"

The idea that soju — a drink that makes your face twist the moment it hits your tongue — could taste sweet was genuinely ridiculous. But this was my own experience talking.

When I started out as the youngest writer on staff, the hard moments had far outnumbered the good ones. Just like Gang Cheol, I'd endured my share of unfairness and the grinding, top-down bullying that came with the job. Honestly, after living through enough of that, my entire first year had been spent wearing negativity like a second skin.

Then one day, my father took one look at my dark expression, pulled me along, and brought me to a little restaurant tucked down an alley. There, he said something almost identical to what Gang Baeku would later say in Itaewon Revolution, and comforted me.

And for the first time, he poured me a glass of soju. For some reason, it was truly sweet. I couldn't even taste the usual bitterness.

Watching me complain that the liquor tasted strange, my father smiled brightly and said:

……He was a good father.

He'd been busy enough to work even on weekends, but I knew the reason behind all that work was his family. When I told him I wanted to walk the path of a drama writer, he had cheered me on without a moment's hesitation.

Anyway. Itaewon Revolution was a drama that meant a great deal to me. In my previous life, I had only managed to watch the first episode air. Here, I would get to see it all the way through to the finale.

That was when it happened.

"What was so sweet?"

Yongseok hyung, walking beside me, suddenly asked with a puzzled look. He must have caught the quiet muttering under my breath.

I grinned and answered.

"I just felt like having a glass of soju for the first time in a while."

"……? What are you talking about? You're still a middle schooler."

"Ah."

Yongseok hyung's words cut straight through bone, and the brutal reality hit me all over again. There were still three and a half years left before I became an adult…

Since it was a script I had already written once, putting it together again didn't take long. Hmm — roughly five days, maybe?

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment I finished, I emailed a copy straight to Producer Na. And the very next day, after school let out, I visited Studio NMIX headquarters…

"You could do it in a mere five days, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet…"

For some reason, Producer Na was sitting in a corner of the room, tears streaming down his face. I carefully leaned over and whispered a question to Bureau Director Park Yongo.

"I think he's resenting you for being able to produce a masterpiece like Itaewon Revolution in the blink of an eye and only showing it now… Mm. Just ignore him."

Uh… I hadn't expected the situation to get this serious either, but what was I supposed to do about it? Haha.

"Anyway, to the main point. The reason we called you in today is about casting."

"You're moving straight into production?"

"Yes. Given the circumstances, the sooner the better. First, the female lead — Yu Ara. Is she the actress I'm thinking of?"

I nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

If Gang Cheol was an ordinary person, Yu Ara was the perfect genius set against him. Emotional and passionate on one side; on the other, a near-sociopathic temperament — rational, cold, his complete opposite in personality. Of course, it was precisely because they were so incompatible that they were drawn to each other.

Either way, only one actress in my mind fit the role of Yu Ara.

"If Soyoung accepts the casting offer, we'll lock her in."

"I agree she's a perfect match for Yu Ara. Though you do seem rather fond of her, Writer."

"…?"

"Well, of course. She's the only person to star as a lead in all three of Writer 927's works. And every single role fits her so suspiciously well that one can't help but wonder."

"……Uh."

But this time it really was pure coincidence. Itaewon Revolution was a script I had written in my previous life, so of course the character already existed. It was simply that, in this era, no other actress came to mind who suited Yu Ara.

"Why the flustered look? I was joking. Hahaha."

"R-right, of course."

Watching Bureau Director Park Yongo laugh so heartily left me with a faintly uneasy feeling. Hssss…

At least, the Bureau Director Park Yongo I knew was not the type to make that kind of joke with me. Strange…

"But this drama gives the male lead, Gang Cheol, an unusually large share of the story. Do you have anyone in mind? If not, we'll dig as thoroughly as we can."

"No. Actually, there is one actor who comes to mind."

"Oh? Who?"

"Well…"

I hesitated for a moment. The person who most vividly called Gang Cheol to mind was upright and passionate beyond anyone else — and, as a bonus, ridiculously handsome. In terms of pure acting ability, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol Soyoung stood at the top among actresses, and among actors, it was almost certainly him.

He was one of the lead characters in A Flower-like Couple, the original novel that formed the backdrop of this drama world's setting.

"Do you know Park Hajun, by any chance?"

"Ah! That kid? Anyone working in the drama industry would know the name. He's a major rising star who's been building a solid foothold since he started two years ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ago."

Seventeen by current age. One year older than me, he had been recognized for his exceptional talent and begun acting at fifteen. By now he would be enrolled in the entertainment department at Hanbit Arts High School, the finest arts high school in Korea.

Of course, in the original timeline, he would transfer to Yeonggwang High School because of Seol Soyoung.

……That was right. Park Hajun was destined to become one of the greatest actors of his generation, standing shoulder to shoulder with her — and he was also the man fated to be her match.

"Shall we reach out, then? For a Writer 927 project, I doubt he'd turn down a casting offer."

"Yes… well. Let's put it out there, and if he accepts, we'll lock him in."

From the standpoint of the work's quality alone, Park Hajun was talent I couldn't afford to miss. And honestly, I was curious, too.

What kind of result would be born if the Seol Soyoung and Park Hajun of the present moment met…?

In the original course of things, they would appear together in a drama a year from now and cross paths by chance. But at that time, Seol Soyoung would still be reeling from the aftermath of a string of unjust incidents. She would never show it on the surface, yet inside she would be quietly suffering. Without even realizing it, Park Hajun would become a source of strength for her, and almost without meaning to, the two of them would begin to take an interest in each other.

But the Seol Soyoung of now had not suffered a single one of those unjust incidents — because of me.

So, having created the opportunity, I had to see it through. I needed to confirm how their fates would flow once I had stepped into the middle of them…