Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Every Careful Stroke by the CG Director
“These are CG-processed versions of videos from Hyejin’s acting practice sessions. Please take a look.”
PD Son Jungu stared at the footage Cha Doyoung showed him as though hypnotized.
Hwang Hyejin’s acting practice video.
Inside the screen, a mature Han Yuna in her late twenties smiled softly with emotional depth.
—Why did you only come now?
—I was hurting so much.
—I missed you the whole time. I guess you didn’t feel the same.
Her face, voice tone, and atmosphere all carried subtle maturity.
PD Son rubbed his eyes repeatedly and watched again.
‘This is really CG?’
It felt too natural.
Rather than CG processing, it looked more like someone had used a time machine to bring back future Hwang Hyejin and make her act.
‘Seriously?’
If he hadn’t watched the original footage side by side for comparison,
he genuinely might’ve believed it.
That the actress herself had crossed through time.
The edited compilation lasted over twenty minutes.
Tap. Tap tap tap. Taptaptaptap.
Only after it ended did he finally notice the typing sounds beside him.
Turning his head, he saw writer Lee Sihyang had already opened her laptop.
She typed frantically as though nothing else around her even existed.
‘The writer’s inspiration got triggered.’
Moments like this required everyone else to quietly step aside.
The surrounding staff had already begun moving away silently.
PD Son quietly picked up the laptop after the video ended—
“Play that again.”
“Yes, writer!”
PD Son replayed the video immediately in a low but tense voice.
Looking around, only he and the writer remained inside the room.
‘Guess I lacked awareness.’
He carefully slipped outside and quietly closed the door.
Writer Lee Sihyang typed furiously enough to look ready to destroy her laptop.
Watching her somehow brought him peace.
The crushing anxiety tormenting him moments earlier suddenly felt fake.
“How did this happen?”
“I asked a CG company I know for help. A close friend works there.”
“How long did this work take?”
“About one hour to apply adult-version CG processing onto ten minutes of footage.”
Considering the quality, the speed was unbelievable.
But could it really keep up with such a tight filming schedule without delaying the broadcast?
Broadcast dramas weren’t giant CGI-dependent Hollywood blockbusters in the first place.
That was why their production timelines stayed extremely short.
“But they said once full-scale work begins, they can achieve economies of scale.”
“Meaning…?”
“They said applying CG to one full hour-long episode wouldn’t even take two hours.”
PD Son ran rapid simulations in his head.
“So once editing finishes, we can send it to them before audio work starts, then receive the completed CG version back before sound editing finishes?”
“Exactly.”
No problems existed within the editing timeline.
They could simply continue post-production audio work while waiting for the adult-CG version to return.
“Since I work in drama production, I don’t really know how far CG technology has advanced. Is this kind of speed normal now?”
“Of course not. Only this company can do it. They also operate a WeTube channel called 30THC. If you watch it later, you’ll understand why we trust them.”
A completely unfamiliar channel name.
PD Son engraved it firmly into memory.
“You’re absolutely certain there won’t be issues with either quality or schedule?”
Cha Doyoung glanced subtly toward Team Leader Jo Woonseok.
As though it was his turn now, Jo Woonseok smoothly stepped forward.
“Our company’s Team 1 also collaborated with them on Cha Seoyoon’s commercial. The quality was insane, but the work speed was even crazier. We’re recommending them because we’re genuinely confident.”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’ve already decided to move forward with this. I’m just checking the stone bridge one last time before crossing it. As you know, after everything that happened….”
“You got burned badly. I understand how you feel.”
“Haah…. Anyway, thank you. PineTree Entertainment seriously saved our drama.”
PD Son glanced through the window at the writer still typing furiously.
His heart felt peaceful.
“Honestly, it wasn’t our company. Cha Doyoung handled everything himself.”
“Manager Cha Doyoung?”
“Yes. Apparently his close friend works at 30THC, so he could negotiate directly.”
Cha Doyoung hurriedly added,
“My friend originally refused. I practically begged him to at least show Hyejin’s acting once to the CG director. But apparently the CG director approved immediately the moment he saw her.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The CG director apparently loved Hyejin instantly and said he wanted to make sure her debut project succeeded no matter what.”
Emotion visibly welled inside PD Son’s eyes.
“This really… casting actress Hwang Hyejin turned out to be a divine move. The entire project almost collapsed, and now somehow….”
The other staff members also fell into strange emotional silence.
The relief of escaping a disaster that once seemed unavoidable.
The emotional moment ended.
Now it was time to discuss reality.
I subtly signaled toward Team Leader Jo Woonseok.
Honestly, it felt awkward bringing this part up myself first.
“PD-nim, regarding the CG costs.”
“Ah, right. The CG costs.”
“As you know, Hollywood can absolutely produce this level of CG too. The problem is always time and money.”
“Mm, probably. I don’t know much about CG, but even I understand that finishing work in two hours makes absolutely no sense.”
“Normally it would take at least a month.”
At this point, I’d probably demonstrated enough how absurdly overpowered 30THC was.
“30THC requested CG compensation equivalent to Jo Siyeon’s appearance fee after her removal….”
I’d already hinted this amount to Team Leader Jo beforehand.
Honestly, it wasn’t excessive at all.
Considering the drama had basically been rescued from guaranteed collapse.
“Huh? They’re seriously only charging that much? Understood! We’ll sign the contract immediately!”
“Then I’ll relay that to 30THC.”
Alright.
Negotiations complete.
“PD-nim, then could you send over all existing Hyejin filming footage immediately? I need to deliver it straight to 30THC.”
“Ah, they need that?”
“Yes. They create CG modeling data through AI learning, so the more footage they receive, the more precise the CG becomes—and the faster the work progresses.”
“I understand. Where should we send it?”
“You can just give it to me. 30THC doesn’t have a domestic office, so my friend asked me to handle transfers.”
“Ah, then I’ll leave it to you.”
Honestly, it wasn’t necessary at all.
Just camouflage tactics to make things look more believable.
[Winter Castle Announces Jo Siyeon’s Official Removal]
[No Broadcast Cancellation — Airing Will Proceed as Scheduled]
[Who Is the Actress Replacing Jo Siyeon?]
[No Replacement Casting Confirmed Yet]
Our drama became a total issue black hole consuming the entire media industry’s attention.
Even Hallyu fans from Japan and China began paying close attention.
└Never imagined Jo Siyeon would fall this hard from one drug-sex scandal
└Physiognomy never lies
└Damn it!!!! It wasn’t drug sex
└Dexkey center-member fangirls already arriving lol
Personally, I couldn’t imagine either Jo Siyeon or the male idol ever returning to entertainment again.
From Hyejin’s perspective, it was technically good fortune—
but celebrating too happily still felt uncomfortable since it came from someone else’s downfall.
After already holding the production press conference, I became slightly curious how PD Son planned to introduce the new female lead.
There had to be a reason they still hadn’t revealed Hwang Hyejin would now play the adult role too.
The CG footage I first showed PD Son had completely transformed Hwang Hyejin’s age, background, and clothing.
The quality was high enough to insert directly into the drama itself or use immediately for promotional material.
Basically, I’d sent her to the arranged marriage meeting wearing full makeup because I needed to completely capture PD Son’s heart.
And now it seemed that had awakened a tiny bit of greed inside him.
“Doyoung-ssi, this is shameless of me, but I still wanted to ask just in case.”
“Yes, PD-nim.”
“Looking at it, your background CG quality also seems absolutely insane. Is there any chance you could help with that too? I’m not saying everything, just certain scenes. We could negotiate the costs reasonably….”
“Mm. Could I hear the details first before deciding?”
“Ah, of course.”
Excitedly, PD Son began pointing throughout the script while explaining the scenes he envisioned.
And listening to him,
I finally realized why the predicted final quality of the actual drama had looked so poor earlier.
Not because PD Son lacked skill.
Simply because this era’s production environment had limits.
And because production budgets and timelines had ceilings.
‘PD Son really was squeezing every ounce of talent possible within the time, budget, and conditions he’d been given.’
Completely incomparable to me lazily clicking future-app buttons with zero actual talent.
I should probably reflect on how I previously complained:
<Our Hyejin’s debut drama looks this low quality?>
The future app was simply absurdly overpowered.
It wasn’t that this era itself lacked ability.
“They said it won’t be possible. Apparently they already have major projects underway and can’t allocate huge resources to sudden outsourced requests like this.”
“Ah, understandable. Still, thank you for helping like it was your own project.”
For Hwang Hyejin’s debut success, stepping forward aggressively made sense.
But doing too much would lower 30THC’s perceived value excessively.
Too much generosity becomes harmful.
For the drama and Hyejin alike, this level of support was already more than enough.
“Still, remember the first major incident after the adult storyline begins? The building fire caused by the gas leak?”
“Ah, that scene.”
Ten years after the teenage arc ends.
The male lead, heir to a chaebol conglomerate, receives news that a massive fire has erupted at the Seoul headquarters building.
It serves as the first major signal launching the main conflict storyline—
but in the drama itself, it only appears through several attached report photos.
Obviously because of production costs.
“Just watch directly.”
“Huh?”
I played a CG video painstakingly created after over a minute of detailed nagging toward the future app.
For more immersive viewing, I connected the laptop to the beam projector.
Gangnam Station intersection.
Anyone familiar with Gangnam instantly recognized the scenery.
“Wait… those cars and crowds are all CG too?”
“Yes. Even Gangnam intersection wouldn’t realistically have that many supercars driving around.”
Half sleek supercars.
Half heavy luxury sedans.
Then suddenly, flames erupted from a gigantic luxury skyscraper occupying one side of the intersection.
The fire spread instantly across the entire building.
BOOM.
An enormous explosion shook the structure—
then the skyscraper collapsed directly toward the roads below.
A massive billion-won luxury building engulfed in flames crashed over the traffic lanes.
Expensive supercars were crushed helplessly beneath debris while others desperately accelerated to escape.
The quality honestly belonged in the opening sequence of a massive Hollywood blockbuster film.
PD Son stared so intensely it looked like he wanted to lick the screen itself before turning toward me with watery eyes.
“Can… we really use this?”
“Of course. Apparently the CG director painstakingly handcrafted every single shot because he wanted Hyejin’s debut project to succeed.”