Why Hesitate to Set Sail When the Southeast Wind Blows? (4)
There's a slogan: "Stop School Violence!"
Of course, that in itself was a comprehensive measure successfully introduced in Norway after countless deliberations and careful approaches.
But in 2012, the Korean Ministry of Education cherry-picked only the part where they stick out their palms in some bizarre pose and declare "Stop!"—presenting it as their astonishing desk-jockey plan to end school violence. Naturally, it got buried amid public indifference and mockery.
But as time passed, around 2021, someone dug it up and turned it into a meme. People started mocking the Ministry of Education all over again, shouting "Stop!"
But once things got that far, the Ministry gave up on the slogan—and unexpectedly, it bore fruit.
"That's what memes do. Kids shout 'Stop!' as a joke whenever a fight breaks out, and everyone bursts out laughing. It won't work on the really nasty ones, but for impulsive scraps, it's surprisingly effective at breaking them up."
"……"
"In other words, our PSA ad has carved out that same niche!"
Shim Yoo-hyeon crowed triumphantly.
Han Ye-seul said nothing.
Mountaineers, naturally, didn't stop hiking illegal trails.
Instead, they joked, "You geared up so you don't end up screaming 'Aaaargh!' like Kang Min?"—making sure to pack proper safety gear.
Gamblers, naturally, didn't quit gambling.
Instead, they'd tease anyone going all-in: "You offering up your life too?"—diffusing the tension.
People, naturally, didn't get proactive about fire prevention.
Instead, whenever they got careless, someone would quip, "Hey, let's not let poor firefighter Kang Min die"—snapping them back to reality.
The result, after a month, was unprecedented statistics.
Mountain accidents dropped by half compared to the same month last year, and fires along with other incidents noticeably decreased.
Reading? Well, couldn't do much about that... but at least sales of the classic Robinson Crusoe and the No-bin-son series spiked.
The government was thrilled enough to hand out commendations.
Shim Yoo-hyeon laughing heartily,
Kang Min calmly accepting it as a given,
Yoo Ji-min unable to hide his awe at Kang Min—
Han Ye-seul PD, who along with that entire band of heroes had stirred massive waves on the front lines of public service, stared blankly in thought.
...Has the world gone mad?
(For the record, that "stirred massive waves" bit was the government's official evaluation at the awards ceremony.)
Han Ye-seul had never, not even when she got booted from her home turf at KBC, been under this much spotlight.
Most of it went to Kang Min, of course, but when it couldn't, she was next in line.
...In other words, reporters shoved mics in her face at every opportunity, firing off questions that were impossible to answer smoothly.
"Han Ye-seul PD! What inspired you to take on this PSA ad?!"
I got pushed into it.
"Did you personally recruit Shim Yoo-hyeon, one of the top CG directors in the country?!"
They told me to do it, the bastards.
"Actor Kang Min said, 'This ad could do without this Kang Min, but it couldn't without Han Ye-seul PD'—what are your thoughts?!"
"This f—ahem."
"?"
At first, Han Ye-seul hadn't entirely hated the attention.
Sure, it was bewildering, but when her sister, the orphanage teacher, said, "Sis, you're a total hit with the kids lately," she felt a tiny, very tiny glow of pride.
She'd hung her commendation plaque in the corner of her room, giggling "Heh heh, hee hee," before snapping out of it.
But as with all things in life, every boon comes with a price...
"See, Ji-min? Told you it'd work out."
"Hyung...! This is all thanks to you...!!"
"What'd I do? It's your hard work paying off!"
Kang Min chuckled and clapped his shoulder. Yoo Ji-min, clutching his commendation as a team member, burst into fresh floods of tears.
Tears enough to wash away the Frog King with bulging eyes from that old folktale and his entire clan.
Makes sense—he'd been submitting manuscripts since middle school, so even just his aspiring years added up to years. Han Ye-seul could understand this time.
...But what followed was beyond understanding.
"Han Ye-seul PD! I revised the script a bit!"
"Oh, finally cut down the death count?"
"No, I increased it...?"
"?"
"?"
The initial script Yoo Ji-min brought was decently polished. Aside from the baffling obsession with killing off the protagonist, it followed loop-story tropes adequately and had a solid framework.
But Kang Min wasn't satisfied.
Hmm, one death per shoot might feel a tad light...
Kang Min instructed writer Yoo Ji-min: "Don't get too bound by formulas and conventions." And Yoo Ji-min revered him for it.
He gradually succumbed to Kang Min's toxic sludge, a seven-colored factory effluent of malice.
"Got it! Time to shatter the mold!"
"That's the spirit."
"How about five deaths in a row right where it originally transitioned?"
"Perfect! Genius! IQ must be 200!"
"Hahaha!"
"Uahaha!"
...No, on second thought, this guy was the real sludge.
Naturally, director Shim Yoo-hyeon didn't object either.
"Grr, ditching formulas and charging ahead like a man! That's the romance of it!"
"Counting on you, Director Shim."
"Uahaha, leave it to me, actor Kang! No matter how absurd the death, I'll make it flawless!"
"Hahaha!"
"Uahaha!"
...Come to think of it, Shim Yoo-hyeon was a master of effects and CG, clueless about story. But with Kang Min's example, of course he'd buy into anything.
The result of those three barreling ahead like a runaway train naturally landed with project lead Han Ye-seul.
She trembled at the "perfected" proposal.
"Eight deaths for the protagonist in episode 1 alone..."
"That's right!"
"Double that in episode 2..."
"Heh."
"Double again in 3... quadruple in 4..."
"Uahaha, what do you think, Han PD? Pure MZ innovation, right?!"
MZ-gen herself Han Ye-seul wished Shim Yoo-hyeon would just fuck off and eat some kebab, but no such luck.
After mumbling for a while, she turned to Kang Min with desperately earnest eyes.
"Uh, Kang Min-ssi?"
"Yes."
"You're really, really going with this...?"
"Yes. I think it's perfect."
"........."
"......?"
Goddamn it—
Han Ye-seul shuddered and glanced at the newspaper on the conference table.
With their hot-topic status, knockoff articles were already flooding the internet.
Public reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
"........."
The truth was, it wasn't unavoidable, it was made in perfect sanity, and the new script was a hundred fifty times more insane than the ad.
Han Ye-seul trembled at the public's massive expectations—but that wasn't even the end.
Soon, big-name producers chimed in, fanning the flames.
Kang Min the actor had been proven long ago; mentioning him more would be uncool.
So these articles focused elsewhere.
Specifically, on his co-recipient of the Prime Minister's commendation.
Choi Bong-man, especially, fired a blatant shot.
Why!
No...
No it's not...
Goddamn it all...!!
Han Ye-seul went home and pounded her pillow in anguish, but it was too late to turn back.
The writer and actor were set, and thanks to that damn commendation and plaque, she couldn't bail alone.
No choice now.
She'd have to go through with it, sink or swim.
Urk...!
A few days later,
Han Ye-seul finally steeled herself.
Her eyes gleamed fiercely with resolve.
Yeah. No other way.
But.
I won't die alone...!!
She shot up, grabbed her gear, and hopped into her old Avante.
Her target: the root of all this evil, home to a certain bald-headed monster.
"So, how much for this project?"
"Urk...!"
MBS Drama Department.
Kim Kang-hyun, the department head, broke into a cold sweat at Han Ye-seul's "casual"—desperately feigned—expression.
Kim Kang-hyun feared that madman Kang Min.
No, most of MBS upper management did.
Even VPs would jolt awake from naps at the sound of Unbelievable, stirring old ailments.
But separately, King and Sovereign had saved the near-doomed MBS Drama Department, and Unbelievable too.
Kim Kang-hyun swallowed hard.
Regrettable we couldn't snag him for Reborn Chaebol Hunter, but it's still Kang Min's new project. Reactions are hot. Gotta keep riding this.
I know what kind of producer Han Ye-seul is. This time, even that lunatic Kang Min won't cling to Unbelievable...
But he'll demand a fat budget for sure. Gotta haggle it down...
Meanwhile, Han Ye-seul, trying to offload her bad debt, swallowed too.
If they say "wait on the script," it's dead! Leverage this info gap!
Act casual, like it's no big loss...
Play it like we're offering MBS first out of loyalty!
Each lost in their own schemes, they smiled at each other: haha ho ho.
Their eyes didn't smile.
Kim Kang-hyun asked with a Buddha-like grin.
"So, what's your number?"
"20 episodes, 200 billion total. In-house production, naturally."
"Hmm, 10 billion per episode..."
Kim Kang-hyun inwardly groaned.
Broadcaster in-house productions were jackpots if they hit, but investment caps were real.
Risks too.
200 billion in-house equaled about 400 billion outsourced burden.
Considering KBC's all-out Black Forest at 300 billion in-house, it was hefty.
The head cleared his throat, probing.
"C'mon, a little lower? Or no need to insist on in-house..."
"King and Sovereign's selling like hotcakes lately. Pony up a bit more?"
"You know that had investments. No profit left."
"Still made bank—200 billion too much?"
"Not that—why insist?"
"Can't ditch in-house. It's actor Kang Min's call too."
"Hmm..."
Obviously, outside investment for films or dramas meant meddling from day one—casting to nitpicks. Deviations from the original were common.
For this insane plan, in-house was essential. Investors would flee barefoot after seeing Kang Min's script: "What the fuck!"
And Han Ye-seul, in the same boat, had to push.
Feigning ignorance, she ranted.
"Any reason to hesitate? Back in Black Forest, I saw Kang Min as a strategic weapon. He'd bulldoze anything I threw at him."
"Mm."
Even Kim Kang-hyun pitied that...
"Not dissing PD Yu Ho-hyeon, but I've got confidence directing him better than in King and Sovereign. It's about understanding."
"Hmm."
"And you see the hype? Places would kill for this pitch. But Kang Min's loyal to MBS, right?"
Pure bluff, of course.
Sure, drooling interest, but they'd demand the script first, then "?"
Opportunity now only.
Bluffing the script's incomplete, slipping the first draft in the proposal—now or never!
Urk.
Han Ye-seul swallowed calmly, eyeing the balding head's deliberations.
Cold sweat beaded on her own forehead.
"Mm, in-house aside..."
"Yes."
"Budget... trim a bit?"
"Sigh, fine."
Han Ye-seul sighed theatrically.
"In-house 150 billion. 7.5 billion per ep?"
"Great, that works!"
Kim Kang-hyun beamed, offering a handshake.
Han Ye-seul inwardly screamed triumph, grasping it.
Dumped it!
Successfully offloaded responsibility for this mad plan—a hyper-concentrate of those four nightmare PSAs!
Well done, Han Ye-seul! You're a genius...!
She snorted in satisfaction.
"Contract now!"
"N-no rush? We can take it slow—"
"Good things don't wait. And with everyone salivating, better conditions elsewhere could sway hearts!"
"Mm, true!"
Naturally, MBS VP and President had no reason to refuse.
With approval, the head happily appointed Han Ye-seul interim chief producer and greenlit the Must Die to Live project and press conference.
...Greenlit it big time.
Meanwhile,
Kang Min sat before Yoo Ji-min's genius script, lost in thought.
The thoughts stretched long.
"Mm."
Truth be told, losing Unbelievable stung.
Lucky to team with miracle talents like writer Yoo Ji-min and director Shim Yoo-hyeon, but this was one-off. End it, and hunt new "dying roles"—suffering each time.
But seeing Yoo Ji-min, who'd challenged endlessly like him, stirred his heart.
Yeah. How can a man spend 20 years riding others' coattails!
That's right! No need to obsess over just Unbelievable!
If Emergency Escape 119 or Thousand Tales reject him, make his own!
Yeah!
Kang Min slapped his knee in enlightenment.
Succeed here, gain fame, then make my own Unbelievable at MBS! Head Kim Kang-hyun will love it!
The kind of epiphany to make what little hair Kim Kang-hyun had left fall out.