Episode 121: "Is Our Conversation Over?"
Everyone's attention focused on Lee Kang-sik's fingertips.
At that, PD Woo Seung-hyun gave an immediate reply.
"Ah, yes! We were just wrapping up. Please go ahead, sunbaenim."
"Thank you, director. Well then, how about we get back to talking about the script? Direction is important, of course, but after all, the script is the most crucial thing."
The two actors who had been waiting patiently in the back until the coordination among the directors from each department on scene planning, composition, and other directorial elements wrapped up—
—leaned forward smoothly, rejoining the conversation.
And it wasn't just them. The moment the word script was uttered, writer Kim Soo-rim and Seo Min-kyeong also fixed their intrigued gazes on Lee Kang-sik's mouth.
"Thanks to the writers' perfect explanations, there was no sense of disconnect in the content, but does anyone have any other opinions?"
The room fell quiet, as if everyone was saying, Let's all agree, snap!
After nearly five months of sharing joys and hardships together, they could read the atmosphere in an instant.
"None here."
"I agree with sunbae Lee Kang-sik."
"One addition."
The momentary silence signified tacit agreement. Perhaps it was because Kim Soo-rim's brilliant rhetoric, backed by logical explanations, had swept through like a whirlwind(?). Any lingering concerns from the very start of the meeting—faint worries like, What if this is too much of a stretch?—about the plausibility of the Blue House ending had completely vanished.
The writers nodded vigorously, looking satisfied.
That was when it happened.
"However…."
Lee Kang-sik sunbae continued in a low voice.
"There's one setting right at the very end that feels unnatural and undermines the logical plausibility the writers have so carefully constructed."
The smiles that had formed on their lips vanished in an instant. Not because they were offended—no, far from it. Lee Kang-sik's comment was essentially feedback from a reader or viewer on their own writing, making it precious input. Since Justice was a fully pre-produced drama, revisions were impossible once it was filmed, so their faces naturally took on a serious expression when hearing differing views. That was all.
"Undermines the plausibility?"
"Yes, in my view."
"Please elaborate!"
Kim Soo-rim's eyes sparkled. Beside her, Seo Min-kyeong, who had already grabbed her notebook and the script for episode 20 in both hands, stared intently at Lee Kang-sik's face.
"Quickly!"
"I'm dying to know!"
Their silent screams seemed to echo like ultrasound waves.
Lee Kang-sik began laying out his points one by one.
"The sharp confrontation between the Reclamation forces and the presidential security detail, both sides aiming guns at each other, with their leaders—Lee Jin-tae and Son Min-seok—facing off at the front. That's a scene brimming with tension. Side note, but it's a spot where grand direction could shine, so I'm already curious how it'll turn out."
Woojin nodded silently in agreement.
"Of course, if we nitpick every detail, there's no end to it. Having the president stand out front while the enemy has guns trained on you? Hard to swallow, but that's what dramatic license is for, so we can let it slide."
He approached the main issue—the big elephant—with a deliberate, roundabout style.
"They've already been pushed back from the main gate all the way to the front of the Blue House main building. At that point, Son Min-seok has no real choice. To prevent pointless sacrifices, he has to accept Lee Jin-tae's demand for a private meeting."
"Right."
"So, despite the pleas from those around him, Son Min-seok leads Lee Jin-tae up to the president's office on the second floor of the main building. Up to here, no issues. Covered by that dramatic license I mentioned."
Seo Min-kyeong flipped through the script back and forth with every pause in his words, scribbling furiously in her notebook. Kim Soo-rim tilted her head slightly, focusing even more intently. She was starting to get a sense of which part he was zeroing in on….
"The problem starts here. Two things bother me."
The preamble was over. Time for the main argument!
"First, Son Min-seok's character doesn't make sense. There's a contradiction in his actions."
"Why?"
"If he hasn't reflected even a little on his past choices—abandoning North Korean operatives like used rags not once, but twice…."
"Yes."
"Then why accept Lee Jin-tae's demand for a private meeting at all? Especially risking stepping out front with all those guns pointed at each other. No reason to change locations either."
"Hmm…."
"Without remorse, he wouldn't make that choice. If he needs time to escape, he can just use his guards as shields—let them die or not, who cares? He's the guy who repeated that call twice, dooming dozens of his own North Korean operatives."
"That's it! Just as you said. It's because of his guilty conscience that he leaves room for dialogue with Lee Jin-tae and takes him to the president's office to prevent more sacrifices. No problem there, right?"
"No. The issue is, Son Min-seok shoots Lee Jin-tae dead. If we're setting it up that Son Min-seok feels guilt toward Lee Jin-tae, then Lee Jin-tae absolutely cannot die by his gun."
Eh? Kim Soo-rim and Seo Min-kyeong felt… well, like their brains had frozen solid. A total system shutdown.
Before Lee Kang-sik's utterly obvious point, it was as if Gestalt collapse hit them— their minds seizing up temporarily.
Right? That's so obvious!
Which meant….
What? Where did we go wrong?
Such an easy error, and both of us missed it until now?
Why did we gloss over this?
And so on. Lee Kang-sik's observation triggered a flood of thoughts the moment they heard it. It was like committing a basic spelling error—confusing -roseo and -roseo—something they'd never normally do, smack in the middle of the most critical scene.
"Hey, Min-kyeong…."
"Yes, teacher…."
"Why did we write it this way?"
"…I don't know. My mind's blank right now."
"Same here… Hold on, Kang-sik sunbae."
Kim Soo-rim, her expression dazed, dove back into the script alongside Seo Min-kyeong. An impromptu writers' meeting broke out among them. Amid the chatter, a tiny aside(?).
While the writers conferred, PD Woo and the directors stepped out briefly for a nicotine break.
"Aren't you going, Dad?"
"Not really~ Oof!"
Lee Kang-sik sunbae leaned back comfortably against the sofa by the wall. Woojin smiled and took the seat beside him.
"When you read too much, little slip-ups happen sometimes."
Lee Kang-sik said.
"I had one like that back on Corporate."
"What was it?"
"In that movie, I played a guy imprisoned for 15 years, eating only frozen dumplings, no idea why. I go around shooting wildly to find my captor, and bam, we come face-to-face."
"I remember that scene. 'Who the hell are you?'—such an iconic line."
"Yeah. Can't recall the character's name offhand, but anyway, it's asking the one thing I'm dying to know: what's your deal, the guy who locked me up? That's gotta be the top question, right?"
"Sure is."
"As the character, that's what I wanted most. But on set, in that actual scene, guess what I said?"
"What?"
"Instead of asking who he was, I started with, 'Why'd you do this to me?' Pfft!"
Lee Kang-sik burst into hearty laughter.
"Director Ryu came rushing over, dragged me to a quiet spot, and…."
"And?"
"Got an earful~ You know Director Ryu's style. He doesn't usually lose his temper."
"Yeah, I know."
"That's when I first realized: getting calmly dressed down is scarier."
He took a sip of his drink and continued.
"'Why'd you do this to me?' implies 'I already know who you are.' But in the movie, I don't learn my captor's identity until the very end. It could never be the first thing out of my mouth."
"Ah…."
"And it was filmed near the end, so the character's emotions were all built up to a peak. Total boneheaded mistake. Just like the writers now."
Lee Kang-sik finished with a warm smile.
"The script was so thumbed-through it was turning brown. Read it that much, and subconsciously, the killer's identity got etched in my brain—bam!"
"Makes sense."
Woojin nodded.
"Yeah. It's a silly error, but I wanna applaud the writers for it. Don't you, son?"
He was right. Five grueling months of teeth-grinding persistence… no, even longer. They'd started writing long before Woojin's Burnt and Hidden Marks meeting.
Over a year of creation for this one work. Seo Min-kyeong had been on board for more than half that.
This tiny slip only made their tenacity and passion shine brighter. Impressive. Worthy of respect.
"Anyway, let's not dwell on it."
"Of course, Dad."
"Time's short, so once the writers finish discussing, let's huddle up and brainstorm ideas."
Woojin smiled back at Lee Kang-sik's words.
Because Yes, I've got a concept in mind.
It was the stepping stone to granting Lee Jung-hyuk's wish.
And an opportunity to bring it up more easily than expected had arisen.
* * *
After a short break, the full meeting resumed.
Kim Soo-rim and Seo Min-kyeong acknowledged the mistake and promised immediate revisions to that section. Then,
"Kang-sik sunbae. You mentioned two things earlier, but we only heard the first. Please share the second!"
Kim Soo-rim didn't forget to ask again.
"Ah, the second one might be better coming from my son than me?"
Lee Kang-sik patted Woojin's shoulder.
"Me?"
"Yeah. It ties more to Lee Jung-hyuk than Lee Jin-tae. We're on the same page anyway, right, son?"
Right before the meeting restarted, as they sat at the table, Woojin had quietly asked Lee Kang-sik what the second point was. It matched exactly what Woojin had in mind.
That was why Lee Kang-sik suddenly passed the floor to him.
"Ah, yes. Then I'll take it."
Woojin cleared his throat and began.
"The second thing sunbae was about to say is also what I felt was lacking. It's…."
Woojin organized his thoughts for a moment, then slowly laid it out.
"Lee Jung-hyuk's absence."
The die had been cast.