The Prequel Breakthrough
In the midst of a passionate debate between Woojin and Lee Kang-sik over the crucial plot element of disposing of the Four Great Evils, Kim Soolim silently downed cup after cup of coffee as she watched.
"Teacher."
Seo Min-kyeong cautiously tapped her shoulder and spoke.
"Oh, Min-kyeongie."
"Could we step aside for a moment...? There's something I'd like to discuss."
"Sure? Okay."
Leaving behind the scene that had grown even hotter with Woo Seung-hyun PD joining in(?), Kim Soolim and Seo Min-kyeong moved to a small room.
The moment Seo Min-kyeong sat in the chair, she adjusted her glasses and broached the topic.
"It's something for you to decide, Teacher, so I've been holding back, but honestly, I don't know what's best either. Woojin-ssi has a point, and so does Senior Lee Kang-sik."
"Right? I think so too. It's just making me worry more and more."
The worry bred yet another worry.
Something else is needed.
This concern seemed on the verge of resolution by bringing back Yoon Tae-o, whom they'd previously cut, but it immediately spawned a new one.
Balancing the power dynamics between the new character and the existing ones was proving incredibly difficult.
In other words:
If we go with a story where all Four Great Evils are killed, do we even need Yoon Tae-o?
If we save all the Four Great Evils, it could highlight the relationship between Lee Jung-hyuk and Yoon Tae-o. But then Lee Jin-tae's presence would fade.
Mixing it half and half just feels half-baked somehow.
The proper order should be conceiving a logical story first, then writing it down.
Yet when the lid was lifted, it felt like they were writing the story first and then retrofitting the logic.
"I've thought about it seriously too," Seo Min-kyeong continued in a low voice.
"What if we keep Episodes 1 and 2 as is, but break the mold from there on?"
Break the mold?
"Hm? What exactly do you mean?"
"The simplest way is to eliminate the problematic element altogether."
Seo Min-kyeong added her explanation.
"The Four Great Evils."
Kim Soolim's eyes widened in shock.
This meant...
"You're saying we scrap the whole board and start over?"
"Exactly."
With only two months until cranking in, this was a proposal to overhaul the entire 18-episode script.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, completely."
It was something she hadn't even considered, and anyone hearing it would deem it realistically impossible.
Yet for some reason, Seo Min-kyeong wore a confident smile.
Her head couldn't comprehend the idea, but her heart was drawn to it.
What was the basis for it? She was curious.
"How? By what means?"
"Writing it all from scratch would take too much time, but Teacher, you already have something written."
Seo Min-kyeong slowly opened her mouth.
Hanbando.
"...!"
It was a single word from her disciple that snapped her mind awake, like a hammer blow to the head.
Kim Soolim instantly grasped the meaning behind the smile still lingering on Seo Min-kyeong's lips.
"...You're talking about the prequel."
"As expected of you, Teacher! Yes."
Prequel (a work set chronologically before the original within the same universe).
If B is the prequel to A, then A and B share a connected story, but everything in B occurs in the past relative to A.
Seo Min-kyeong was suggesting turning Justice into the prequel script to Hanbando.
Her rationale was:
1. Hanbando was a 30-episode drama depicting the sharp North-South conflict on a 'future' Korean Peninsula. In contrast, Justice unfolds in the 'present.' The timeline fits perfectly for a prequel.
2. Both works feature 'North Korea,' making it easy to connect the stories.
Moreover,
"The synopsis states Lee Jin-tae's vow: 'I will return to this country and exact vengeance in blood.' But with the Four Great Evils introduced, that national vengeance shrinks to 'four individuals.' That's where it felt most unnatural to me."
Just as Woojin freely exchanged acting insights with his senior Lee Kang-sik without pretense, Seo Min-kyeong candidly shared her thoughts on her mentor and senior writer's script.
Kim Soolim listened quietly to her disciple, who knew the script better than anyone as a fellow 'writer to writer.'
"It also feels off that Lee Jin-tae, who doesn't even know who the Four Great Evils are, delegates to Lee Jung-hyuk. He's the inciting incident, yet it dilutes the national fury."
As the saying goes, even a monk can't shave his own head, and a shaman can't know her own fate.
No matter how brilliant the writer, viewing one's own work with 100% objectivity is impossible.
"Not just us, Teacher—the three outside felt it too. We have to change this."
"Hm... If Justice is Hanbando's prequel, then yes."
Seo Min-kyeong's frank words made Kim Soolim nod.
This approach would make Lee Jin-tae's presence independent of Yoon Tae-o's inclusion, while breathing new life into Yoon Tae-o as well.
It neatly resolved the worries.
"Right. Plus, Hanbando was originally planned as 40 episodes."
A smile began to creep onto Kim Soolim's lips too.
"Yeah, it was."
Hanbando had been planned as Seasons 1 and 2, 20 episodes each.
But lead actor Yoo Tae-seok's injury overlapped with the main PD's assault scandal on an extra, forcing cuts to the latter half.
Seo Min-kyeong had participated as Kim Soolim's assistant writer back then, but left midway when scheduling delays allowed her own Wanted to fill the slot.
In short, she knew Hanbando inside out, just like Kim Soolim.
No need to revisit the Hanbando script for the Justice prequel work—saving significant time.
"You still have the original 40-episode draft, right?"
"Of course. I get what you mean."
Kim Soolim clenched her fist.
Why were those sensational articles from back then suddenly resurfacing in her mind?
I didn't do anything wrong.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the writer or script, yet headlines dragging her name had seared into her memory.
An unhealed wound that made even the ever-confident, bold Kim Soolim hesitate.
Seo Min-kyeong's advice was like ointment on the wound, a lighthouse in the dark steadying her reed-like heart that wavered dozens of times a day.
Perhaps that's why.
The moment her shoulders, weighed down by immense pressure, felt light as air—
Thwack!
She slapped her knee at her disciple's groundbreaking idea and stood up.
Yes, the tangled threads had finally unraveled.
One could say Justice was born from the lingering regrets of Hanbando.
Shake off the regrets by creating a work from them.
If she succeeded in 'proving' with a formula that failed once before, what greater thrill could there be?
Kim Soolim's mind cleared refreshingly, ideas bubbling up.
"That's a brilliant idea!"
"Right? Heh."
"Min-kyeongie, how are you so smart?! Who raised you?! Aigoo, my baby! Come here, let's hug—it's been ages!"
"Eek, wait a sec!"
Kim Soolim pulled Seo Min-kyeong into a tight embrace and bounced around the room.
A moment later.
They returned to the living room.
Then,
"I have something to say."
Kim Soolim faced the three still animatedly discussing the Four Great Evils.
"I've decided."
Her voice boomed louder than ever.
"...?"
"...?"
"...?"
"I talked it over with Min-kyeong Writer and thought it through..."
The moment they heard it, the same thought flashed through Woojin, Lee Kang-sik, and Woo PD's minds.
What have we been doing all this time...?
The heated(?) debate ended more anticlimactically than expected.
But it was undoubtedly the best, irrefutable choice.
* * *
Notifications of the changes were sent out in real time.
Park Min-jae, head of the department, expressed slight concern over the bold decision amid the tight schedule but ultimately approved.
All remaining script meetings were canceled, but Kim Soolim sought the cast's understanding and called another gathering.
In the tvKR Drama Department seminar room, with the full cast and crew assembled.
She bowed her head without preamble.
"First, I'm truly sorry for causing confusion with all these frequent changes."
Surprised by the writer's sincere apology, everyone waved it off.
"Oh, no worries!"
"Azaja, Justice fighting!"
"Let's do our best~!"
Their cheers, full of support and encouragement, warmed the atmosphere.
Kim Soolim hid her reddening eyes and declared,
"The script absolutely won't delay cranking in! I'll finish on time no matter what. If anything changes even a little after today, I'll raze my castle!"
From that day on.
She threw herself into work like a madwoman, delivering steaming-hot fresh scripts to the actors as they were completed.
As announced, major changes began from Episode 3.
Comparing the old and new scripts made it even more engaging.
To change it like this...
Woojin couldn't stop marveling at the new script.
A major shift in core settings meant changes to character relationships.
Yet Kim Writer was pulling off a masterful adjustment with minimal impact on casting and pre-production.
To execute such a notoriously difficult task this swiftly.
It rivaled the 'vibes born of experience' he'd seen in Director Ryu Chang-min.
"I wonder if Senior Lee Kang-sik is okay."
Jun-an, helping Woojin practice lines to sync Lee Jung-hyuk and Yoon Tae-o, said.
"Yeah. So many changes—must be a ton to prepare."
To outward eyes, the actor suffering most in prep would seem to be Woojin with his 'one actor, two roles.'
But Woojin's view differed.
With the prequel shift, the character undergoing the biggest change was Lee Jin-tae, in his opinion.
His life goal of 'taking four lives' had ballooned to 'toppling a nation.'
This was fury and hatred incomparable to before—on another level entirely.
Woojin even thought, Thank goodness I experienced the old version of Lee Jin-tae first...
Even the relatively smaller emotions had been overwhelming to embody—what would the current one be like?
Impossible to gauge...
"Hyung, let's run lines once more."
"Again?!"
"Twenty times at least."
"You practice bug~!"
Woojin burst out laughing at Jun-an clutching his head.
He wasn't trying to torment his hyung, but it always looked that way.
Still! Practice couldn't stop.
Then—
RRRRR.
His phone rang.
"Who is it?"
Woojin checked the screen.
Senior Lee Kang-sik?
It was Lee Kang-sik calling.
"Yes, Senior!"
Woojin answered brightly.
Hey, Woojin-ah. What're you up to?
"Practicing lines. What's up?"
At Woojin's words, Lee Kang-sik's voice brightened.
Perfect. If my junior's okay with it, how about bunking together for prep?
"Pardon? Bunking?!"
Yeah, thought it'd be good to prepare in the same space. What do you say?
Lee Kang-sik's proposal.
Woojin's eyes sparkled.
Senior... you're gonna regret this.
Jun-an, seeing his expression, thought to himself.