Rekindled Dreams and the Perfect Team
Stepping out of the broadcast station felt refreshingly invigorating.
Because Yeom Jae-moon PD had said he'd dive into revisions starting today.
During my days as an unknown actor, I'd seen plenty of people like him who had ultimately given up on their dreams.
I probably would have ended up the same way.
Most of them vanished, clutching only faded memories of their burning passion, but a rare few—like him today—got a second chance.
And those people charged forward as if today was their last day on earth.
Compared to the soul-crushing feeling of abandoning your dreams, things like a sore body, exhaustion, or a heart on the verge of bursting were nothing.
Yeom Jae-moon PD was surely no different.
Lost in those thoughts as I headed for the main gate, I spotted something off to the side.
Broadcast staff and freelance crew members were hauling gear, all mixed together.
Or more precisely, one person among them caught my eye.
Kang Min-sik.
The senior from my theater troupe who'd taught me acting before Sung Tae-hyung gave me his business card.
And...
A man who'd given up on his dreams.
Was it because I was staring so intently?
"Hm?"
Min-sik hyung turned toward me, his eyes widening in shock.
"Do Hyun-woo?!"
He nearly dropped the box he was carrying and shouted.
"Hey! Wait up! Don't go anywhere!"
Then he hustled to wrap up his work, but there were too many boxes.
No need to just stand there idly, right?
I rolled up my sleeves and went over to help him with the load.
"What're you doing? You'll ruin your suit."
"It's fine. I have another one."
I'd originally vowed to buy weekday suits once I got my incentive pay...
But my petty bourgeois habits die hard.
I'd only bought one.
Still, it was a good one.
Temporary or not, it wouldn't do for the head CE to go around in cheap rags.
"You haven't changed a bit, kid."
Before long, with nonstop hauling, the boxes were cleared out.
Min-sik hyung said something to an AD-looking guy, then jogged over to me.
"Still not smoking?"
"That's a weird question."
"Weird? I've never met a single set controller who doesn't smoke."
"Why do something bad for your health?"
"You my wife or what?"
As we headed to the smoking area together, I recalled chatting with that reporter lady here just a few days ago.
Should I visit MBY station more often?
Every time, I run into pleasant connections.
"Hyung working for a freelance team? Doesn't seem like MBY."
"Yeah, studio started by an ex-MBY PD. Not bad. Pays the bills."
"Sister-in-law doing okay?"
"Yep. She's a daycare teacher these days."
"For real? That's great. Back in the day, she'd pack lunches for the troupe kids."
"Did she? Don't even remember."
We caught up for a good while on recent happenings.
Min-sik hyung was like the king of rookies in our troupe.
He had insane charisma but a heart wide enough to embrace everyone.
We used to be really tight, but contact fizzled after I signed with D.P and he retired a few years later.
"Been watching you kill it. Looks good. Didn't expect the director pivot instead of acting, though."
"Tell me about it. Never saw myself making shows for a living."
"Still, a guy like you deserves it. Looking back, I didn't hustle like you. Just pretended to."
I couldn't agree, but I didn't chime in.
His gaze seemed stuck in the past, not the present.
As silence settled, he chuckled and changed the subject.
"Had soju with some troupe kids recently? About two weeks ago?"
"No kidding?"
"Wasn't planned. Just some who landed jobs in the biz bumping into each other."
"Call me next time."
"Obviously, man. You haven't even graduated to full-time yet."
"Right, our troupe had that tradition."
"Anyway, there was this studio AP at the table."
Studio AP?
Isn't that a pretty big production company?
"He said Ko Hak-soo has his eye on you."
"Ko Hak-soo? Who's that?"
"What? The director who cast Kim Ra-un instead of you and blacklisted you."
"Oh!"
I'd forgotten the name since we never actually worked together.
Directors are usually called by surnames anyway.
Director Ko Hak-soo was the one helming the role Jang Manager had snagged for me.
I'd turned it down after the scandal with the presumptive lead broke.
Kim Ra-un got injected in my place and became a rising star off it.
"Why's he eyeing me?"
"He's nervous. Heard the director got tangled in that scandal too."
True enough.
He'd called me personally to take the role.
No way a no-name actor gets that kind of offer normally.
But the problem was...
"I don't know anything about it."
"Huh?"
"I just know it was tied to the scandal. Never dug into it."
To be precise, Jang Manager tried explaining, but I shut it down.
No need to hear details.
I had zero intention of taking the role.
"For real? So the guilty one's sweating solo?"
"Seems like it."
"Then screw him."
"Yeah. SSK's bigger anyway."
Production scale might be similar to AP, but company weight class is different.
"Good to hear."
Kang Min-sik stubbed out his smoke and shifted topics.
"Hey, I watched Criminal Community too."
"Yeah."
"That PD in the finale? The one at the mental hospital interview, just the jaw showing."
"...Yeah."
"That was you, right?"
"..."
"Holy shit, you sneaky bastard. Isn't that fishy? Did you even audition properly?"
"What're you talking about? I'm the aggrieved party here."
I hadn't planned on acting at all.
The original actor froze from tension, so I stepped in front of the camera for directing.
Every time acting went south, I'd direct on the fly.
Meant to just block movements, but Director Jung liked it and used my take out of nowhere.
(The original actor got demoted to junior role, FYI.)
"It was supposed to show the actor's face, but mine came out, so they cropped to jaw to avoid breaking immersion."
"That's how it was? The jaw shot had great vibe, though."
"I thought so too. That's why Director Jung used it."
Call it catching a rat while backing up the cow.
"Anyway... you nailed it."
Sensing the irrepressible nostalgia on Min-sik hyung's face, I changed the subject.
"Any more troupe reunions for drinks?"
Back at the office, I sank into thought.
Yeom PD was starting script revisions today, but I knew zilch about E-sports.
I'd studied hard, but I was clueless on the common sense of E-sports fans.
How to fill that gap?
As I pondered, someone approached hesitantly.
"Um..."
New hire assistant CE, Yoon Hyun-sol.
Info flashed through my mind.
27 years old.
Prestigious uni grad, but zero drama career.
Average height for an adult male, but slim frame made him look scrawny.
What was this about?
"Yes, Hyun-sol? What's up?"
"Pl-please speak casually."
I hesitated, then nodded.
Even I felt comfy only after the department head dropped formalities.
"Sure. What's going on?"
"I, I want to work with Director Do Hyun-woo on... on that."
"...What?"
"The game, the E-sports drama. The boss said to show initiative if there's a project you want..."
Unexpected.
He'd seemed timid, always glancing around nervously.
"Why? What's the reason?"
Yoon Hyun-sol checked surroundings, then leaned in.
"I was obsessed with games, nearly ruined my life, and then I randomly land at a company doing an E-sports drama? My heart's been pounding non-stop..."
Those manic eyes were a bit scary.
"Uh, CE Yoon?"
"Y-yes."
"Mind stepping back a bit?"
"Ah, sure."
I mulled it over.
I did need an assistant CE.
For Criminal Community, Chae Seo-hee filled the role despite same rank, since I was lead.
Couldn't do that now; she was full CE.
But was this guy the right fit?
With Team 4's lean setup, once assigned, no switching.
"CE Yoon, take a look and give your thoughts?"
"Uh... what kind?"
"From a typical E-sports fan's view, any weird bits?"
The materials were my attempt at sorting E-sports elements for the drama.
I'd lived Park Hwa-seong's life, but troupe details escaped me.
He was a coach handling players; owner managed the team.
That owner character was intriguing, though.
Unique backstory from living Park Hwa-seong's life.
If dramatizing, owner'd be third or fourth lead, so I'd need team knowledge...
"CE?"
"Huh?"
"This is a mess. This schedule means players skip personal streams and solo queue entirely—no way. And this league system's outdated; wasn't used recently, but just a few years back..."
"You're hired."
"Pardon?"
"Hired. Let's do this, CE Yoon."
"Ah, yes. Anyway, continuing—this player at 22 treated like a kid..."
Yoon Hyun-sol ranted for 30 minutes straight.
My ears were bleeding.
Funniest part? Once game talk ended, he turned super timid again.
Asked what coffee he wanted; couldn't even answer properly.
Still, his passion seemed genuine, so I felt at ease.
That evening, though.
Post-shower, a wall of text hit my phone.
From Stat Window...
What the hell?
Voice phishing? Hack?
Worried, I called. Chae Seo-hee's sharp voice answered.
"-What."
"What do you mean 'what'? What's this nonsense? Ballon d'Or?"
"-You don't know the soccer meme?"
"What's that?"
"-Sigh. No SNS. You know nothing."
Some random meme, out of nowhere?
Seemed like she wanted respect...
What'd I do?
Answer came quick.
"-Why pick him over me?!"
"Him? CE Yoon Hyun-sol?"
"-Yes!"
"Can't give assistant CE duties to you. You're full CE now."
"-But we're soul partners!"
No, I'd love Chae Seo-hee as CE.
We clicked perfectly.
But was it okay?
"-People are watching! I'm idle, and Team 3's sneaking support requests my way!"
"They are?"
News to me.
I'd become a stranger leaving Team 3.
Made sense; she'd spent longer there.
"Then... wanna join?"
"-Yes!"
In the end, a solid team formed.
Me as head CE.
Chae Seo-hee as main CE.
Yoon Hyun-sol as assistant CE.
Roles perfect.
Hyun-sol knew games better than me; Seo-hee knew SSK better.
Now, convince Hyen Games.
Hyen Games.
Global giant holding IP for <ROR>, synonymous with E-sports.
The game from my script possession was ROR.
Issue: They had tons of in-house story IPs, so licensing wouldn't be easy...
Still, had to try.
Team set; tackle the toughest first.
"This is too good! Let's greenlight it!"
Huh?