Action 8. Can You Handle It?
The most prestigious awards that OTT works could aim for were concentrated between May and July.
Baeksang Arts Awards, OTT Awards, Content Awards, and so on...
From the perspective of Gongbeomche, a mid-June production, it was a pretty unfair schedule.
But in the first place, the schedule had been set that way because they'd judged Gongbeomche wouldn't win any awards anyway.
So rather than saying it had no award luck, wasn't it more accurate to say Tvic had no eye for talent?
They'd missed this period, but Gongbeomche's name kept getting called at year-end and New Year's ceremonies.
-The OTT category grand prize goes to... Gongbeomche!
-Congratulations!
This was because, starting a few years ago, even channel-centered award shows had begun adding OTT categories.
Of course, they were treated like side dishes.
There were no awards for actors, directors, or writers—just a lump-sum prize for the entire work.
And there were plenty of cases where other works won instead of Gongbeomche.
By Tvic standards, Gongbeomche had dominated 2028 the hottest, but looking at the entire OTT industry, that wasn't the case.
On Enflicks, Goodbye, Goodnight starring actor Tae-woong had achieved a historic hit.
On Days, Can Love Be Hacked?, produced without much expectation, exploded in popularity and sparked a white-hat hacking syndrome.
Thanks to that, middle and high school kids hacking public institutions with AI help became a social issue.
Both works overwhelmingly surpassed Gongbeomche in total viewing hours.
Relative to platform size, Gongbeomche dominated, but award shows didn't consider that.
In that sense, maybe Gongbeomche had done pretty well to win awards.
Positively, it was recognition of its artistic merit; negatively, it wasn't seen as a threat like Enflicks or Days dramas.
But...
-The OTT Work of the Year is!
-Gongbeomche! Congratulations!
Even so, it felt gratifying.
The fact that the work I, and we, had created was chosen by people around the world.
But regrettably, I couldn't enjoy the year-end and New Year's atmosphere.
Budget allocations, set progress, filming permits, cast contracts, call sheets, outsourcing contracts, and more.
Numerous mid-level bosses were attacking relentlessly.
Only by defeating all these mid-bosses could we take down the final boss: filming.
Still, I wasn't handling it alone.
"Man, why are we the only ones grinding like this at the start of the year? No Happy New Year vibes at all..."
"Hey now. Overtime as daily life, ramen as staple food, day and night as one!"
"What, you're more old-school than the headquarters chief or the rep."
Chae Seo-hee grumbling from the seat next to me.
"For real... I had no idea you were like this, Hyun-woo."
Kwon Cheol CE across from me.
"Ughhh!"
And No Jae-wook CE, twitching periodically while asleep in his chair.
We were all in it together.
Honestly, without Kwon Cheol and No Jae-wook's help, I might've keeled over from overwork.
I nearly died casting fixed supporting roles and regulars.
Kwon Cheol reached out first, and No Jae-wook shyly joined in.
But surprisingly, the biggest help came from...
"I love you, my Hyeok...!"
Him.
Yoon Hyun-sol, tearing up while staring at his smartphone.
Even when problems erupted everywhere, the writers had been issue-free.
Yoon Hyun-sol had been handling the writers.
At some point, I'd left everything to him and barely paid attention.
I just compiled feedback on final drafts and passed it to Yoon Hyun-sol.
But why was he so fresh and lively?
I felt like I was dying.
He was crying over an E-sports awards show, his face all glowy.
Looking at Team 4 like this, gratitude welled up from deep in my chest.
"You guys, thank you so much. I'll repay each of you when you have your own projects. Bring any scripts you're eyeing. I'll read them harder than my own—harder than mine, for real. Love you all."
"Hyun-woo, you didn't sleep last night either, did you?"
"What did I just say?"
"That you love us."
"Ah, yeah, that could happen. It's fine."
"I didn't say it—you did."
"Who said it matters?"
"...?"
As our nonsensical conversation flowed, a familiar voice leaked from the smartphone's awards screen.
"And finally, I want to express my endless gratitude to Director Do Hyun-woo, who brought us this honor and miracle."
It was Eum Sung-hyun.
"Director, we love you!"
"Fighting for your next project!"
The actors behind him shouted uproariously.
A smile tugged at my lips, but Chae Seo-hee barged in.
"I like Gongbeomche! No—At Your Fingertips! One, two, three!"
"Back to work."
"Yep!"
And so, early 2029 passed amid the paperwork.
"Reporter Jung? It's been ages!"
"Oh, sunbae! Still in entertainment?"
"Yeah, till I drop dead. Didn't you move to social affairs?"
Entertainment reporters, cigarettes dangling, gathered in clusters at the smoking area, chatting away.
A few hours earlier, KBX's new production press conference had wrapped, ending a war of article uploads.
After a long yak, someone changed the subject.
"But isn't today the first shoot for At Your Fingertips?"
"So what? It's closed-door."
"Script reading closed, set closed... Aren't they too cocky?"
A nearby reporter chimed in.
"No promo needed with Jeon So-ra. Her buzz is insane."
"Right. I chewed out an intern who wrote she's role four, and it was true."
"Our interns probably did a hundred cheers for her confirmed casting."
The one who'd first mentioned it said,
"That Do Hyun-woo kid really knows how to stir buzz, huh?"
"Feels like he aims for it subtly. The director's that idol MV guy, right? What's his name?"
"Im Woon-jae."
"Ah, yeah. I thought he was nuts when I heard."
"But he must have skills? They wouldn't give a no-name director over 100 billion won."
"Probably."
Then an older reporter who'd been listening spat out,
"Skills aside, the set's probably a mess."
"Huh? Why?"
"Obvious, right? Kim Ra-un who clashed with Do Hyun-woo, Min Jae-yul timing for lead, top star Jeon So-ra... Even a no-name higher than her?"
"Oof, yeah. Sounds suffocating already."
"Do Hyun-woo and Kim Ra-un might be fine—they cast him after burying the hatchet."
"Hatchets get buried? You don't know actors."
"True. They hold grudges for a decade if their lead flops. Seen 'em bitch at assistant directors over bad reflectors."
"Kim Ra-un might've OK'd just to bleed Do Hyun-woo dry."
The older reporter flicked ash and added,
"Who'll rein in that vibe?"
It's different from Gongbeomche.
That was my impression from the first day on the At Your Fingertips set.
Actually, I'd felt it from script reading.
In Gongbeomche, actors felt zero rivalry.
The most competitive was "Gotta nail my scenes best."
But At Your Fingertips was different.
Kim Ra-un was itching to show his prep, Min Jae-yul's ambition to lead the dual-top shone through.
No-name senior Min-sik or idol Ruan weren't immune either.
They awkwarded the set compared to others but burned to stamp their roles.
The one detached was only Jeon So-ra.
She did a simple scene, giving exactly what's needed.
Top-star caliber, career-polished pacing.
Of course, Gongbeomche was abnormal; this was normal.
Prioritizing your role isn't blameworthy.
But role over work is a problem.
The mindset should be "Nail the work" first, "Prove my role" second.
After morning's deliberately bland scenes wrapped, I approached director Im Woon-jae.
"Director, how's the footage?"
"Hm, like a rookie boy group."
"Meaning?"
"They're good, but over-eager—big picture suffers. Straight-to-fancam acting?"
I got it; matched my thoughts. Relieved.
Over months, to vet if Im Woon-jae could solo direct, we'd run drills.
Sent him as C-team on Team 1's manpower-short project; gathered no-names via my network for At Your Fingertips practice shoots.
Result: My eyes were right.
This guy's a genius.
Directing talent and eye for vision both passed.
"How do you direct then?"
"Usually kill time. Make 'em dance five hours; energy drains naturally."
Won't work on actors—they'd strike.
"Got a plan?"
"Yes."
"What?"
Waiting, but he just stares at me.
"...Is it to pass it to me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Staff say it's most accurate and quick. Saw it on Gongbeomche."
"Don't swing too much on staff. They're great but gossipy."
"Mi-gam and Eum-gam said it too."
Ah, their word counts.
"So? No ideas from you, CE Do?"
"I do, but... Worried it'd undermine your authority."
"Totally needless worry."
"Why?"
I followed his gaze to the set.
Then realized.
Everyone's staring at me.
Yeah, staff felt it too.
The actors' overambition.
"Alright... I'll give it a shot."
Director Im Woon-jae nodded.