Action 9. Getting Serious
After Go Hak-su and Joo Young-hoon left, Team Leader Ko looked a bit flustered.
I got it.
One of the common bits of advice in drama production was, "Don't create villains that are too obvious."
But here they were in real life.
Two of them, no less.
No wonder he was thrown off.
"Hyun-woo, were you always like this?"
"Pardon? You're not flustered because of me, are you?"
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just shocked you stared down those two without blinking and beat them at their own game."
"I didn't beat them senseless."
It was just a fair verbal spar, right?
"No, no. Watching from the side, it felt like you were looking at them like total idiots. Go Hak-su came in swinging, but you made him choke up instead."
Me?
"Now the pieces are falling into place. That's why all the trainers were scared of you... why the management team hated your guts..."
"No, I was the innocent victim in all that."
"You must've put up with a lot. Held it in all the time. But the second they crossed the line, you didn't hold back. Right?"
"Sure, but it was just a healthy argument."
"Those eyes of yours couldn't be healthy."
"Stop saying weird stuff and apologize to me already."
"Me? Why should I?"
"Same surname, Ko."
"...You little punk."
We bickered with Team Leader Ko for a bit, then put our heads together to search up Go Hak-su's family clan.
He popped up as some moderately famous director, but his clan was different from Team Leader Ko's.
Whew, dodged a bullet.
Almost lost some affection there.
That's when Seo Jae-yeon joined us after the red carpet wrapped up.
"What are you two huddling over?"
Team Leader Ko and I exchanged a glance and clammed up.
If she found out what just happened, Seo Jae-yeon wouldn't let it slide.
The premiere venue was dazzling.
As expected from the world's top OTT giant's ambitious project—tons of stars filled the seats.
Back in the day, I would've skipped invites like this no matter who sent them.
Even if I'd grown numb to failure, the sense of looking pathetic was hard to shake.
But now? Here I was, frantically checking out the actors in person. Guess I'd become a full-fledged producer.
As that thought crossed my mind, the host took the stage, and the premiere-cum-press conference kicked off in earnest.
It was rare to hype a drama like a blockbuster movie, but this one had good reason.
The President I Made.
This remake starring Jae-hyuk hyung had a massive global fanbase for the original.
But the original wasn't Korean.
It was a remake of Remington Steele, the 1982 U.S. smash-hit drama, infused with Korean sensibilities.
In other words, a unique experiment: buying U.S. rights and turning it into a K-drama.
The original Remington Steele follows a top detective who gets no cases because she's a woman. She invents a fictional boss named Remington Steele to drum up business. Then a mysterious handsome con man shows up claiming to be Remington Steele, sparking a romantic mystery at her agency.
Enflicks flipped it into a Korean legal thriller: A brilliant female lead unjustly stripped of her law license creates a fake law firm for revenge. She clashes with a man who claims to be the firm's head.
It was a bold swing all around, and Jae-hyuk hyung had agonized over it. But I recommended it after reading the pitch and script.
It just screamed hit potential.
And sure enough, the condensed 70-minute preview of episodes 1 and 2 was a blast.
Thank goodness.
I could smell the blockbuster vibes wafting off it.
Next, the lead actors took the stage, and the press conference shifted to talk-show mode.
Midway through the lively chat, the host tossed a question at Jae-hyuk hyung.
That's when I caught Jae-hyuk hyung grinning my way.
No way he's about to mention me, right?
Phew, safe.
Jae-hyuk hyung was nothing like Seo Jae-yeon.
A textbook answer—I was satisfied. Then a voice piped up beside me.
"Just like I heard."
A stranger.
Blue suit, hair slicked back—total businessman vibe.
Was he talking to me?
"We spoke on the phone last time? You roasted me pretty good."
"Wait, you're the one who made the scout offer...?"
"Cha Seong-woo. I head up Enflicks Original Series."
"Do Hyun-woo, CE at SSK."
We exchanged business cards politely.
For good reason—this guy was a true heavyweight in the OTT world.
I'd known he was big-time from the call, but googling him after blew my mind even more.
If Seong-tae hyung was Tvic's "Korea head," Cha Seong-woo was Enflicks' "Original Series head."
Meaning he had input on every original series Enflicks produced.
Sure, his full authority was probably Asia-limited.
Enflicks had multiple series heads, after all.
Still, a firm "no" from him made HQ listen.
OTT was global these days—no single-region focus.
The man had real power.
"Just added a few words. He's hyping me up 'cause we're close."
If he'd picked it just on my say-so, what would that make D.P's planning team? Jae-hyuk hyung's manager would be pissed too.
"Sorry, but I'll be at SSK for a while."
"Hard to hand a 100-billion-won drama's full reins to someone with my resume."
"Afraid so."
I was puzzled.
Enflicks Korea head scouting me would've been one thing, but why was the Original Series head going this far?
Last time, it felt coincidental—him in the UK with Jae-hyuk hyung when my name came up.
But a love call like this at an event? This was serious.
"You mean Criminal Community's success?"
True enough.
If there'd been reason to staff that many writers.
"Wear and tear?"
I echoed without thinking, and Head Cha elaborated.
"Right."
Obvious stuff.
No one transmits 100% from brain to audience.
I knew the type.
Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express—he'd waited years on a wuxia epic, got fed up, and shot this with the cast in 23 days using cafe-napkin scripts each morning. It sparked a global Hong Kong wave in the '90s.
Not just that.
Léon: Budget issues stalled another film, so they rallied the crew and cranked out a script in three weeks, shot in three months.
"..."
I was honestly surprised.
Never thought of it that way, but he wasn't wrong.
I'd busted my ass recreating the script worlds I'd lived firsthand.
If superpowers counted as inspiration, others' were hazy dreams—mine was 4K crisp.
"I see... Convinced."
The man had killer insight.
Guess that's how you run Enflicks Originals.
As I mulled that, Cha Seong-woo eyed me with intrigue.
"Huh?"
"Just got lucky. For real."
Well, superpower luck.
I wouldn't downplay my effort pulling it out, but what wowed him was the ability itself.
"Yeah. Tripped into some good fortune."
Cha Seong-woo burst out laughing.
Loud enough to turn heads nearby, but not onstage.
"Shoot."