Chapter 91: Cracks in the Throne

After Lee Hyun-seung left the studio due to the issue with Shin So-hee’s casting, the other assistant writers followed him, leaving Baek Seung-chul behind.

At the same time, ugly rumors began to circulate within the industry regarding Baek Seung-chul’s studio. The rumors claimed that Baek Seung-chul had harassed his assistant writers with verbal abuse, physical violence, and personal attacks, which was why everyone had quit.

Though it was more fact than rumor, Seoljungmae, the production company Baek Seung-chul was signed with, scrambled to stop the stories from spreading. However, their efforts were in vain.

The rumors continued to grow, and it became an open secret that this situation had exploded because of the Shin So-hee casting issue. If reporters caught wind of this, a major scandal could erupt. Seoljungmae needed to make a firm decision.

And they did. They decided to give Baek Seung-chul a period of rest until public opinion quieted down.

“Just go rest for a few months somewhere with fresh air and water. I’ll settle everything else,” the CEO of Seoljungmae told him. Baek Seung-chul, who was sensitive to the rumors, accepted the proposal.

So, while he was resting and traveling in a quiet place, a few pieces of unpleasant news reached Baek Seung-chul’s ears just as he was starting to get restless.

First was the success of *Your Brilliant Sparkle*. Baek Seung-chul still considered Shin So-hee’s choice to be the female lead of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* a betrayal. His anger toward her had only intensified as things twisted into his current predicament. He believed that if only Shin So-hee had listened to him and accepted the sub-sub role, Lee Hyun-seung wouldn’t have had a reason to challenge him.

Of course, this was entirely Baek Seung-chul’s delusion. Shin So-hee hadn’t betrayed him in the first place. The reason she decided to appear in another project was that Baek Seung-chul had tried to force her into a sub-sub role. Fearing for her career, she had been searching for other projects when she discovered the offer for *Your Brilliant Sparkle*.

Furthermore, even if the issue with Shin So-hee hadn’t happened, it was only a matter of time before Lee Hyun-seung left the studio. Ultimately, Lee Hyun-seung didn’t leave because of the casting issue; he left because his disillusionment with Baek Seung-chul had reached its limit. There was nothing more to learn under him. Shin So-hee’s casting issue was merely the trigger.

Naturally, Baek Seung-chul refused to accept this reality. He hadn’t even considered that there could be another reason. In his mind, Shin So-hee was bad, and Lee Hyun-seung was bad.

That was why the success of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* left a bitter taste in his mouth. The mere thought of the woman who “betrayed” him doing well was irritating. When he heard that the show’s ratings had surpassed the all-time top ten and were even aiming for the top five, it was difficult for him to contain his rage.

That wasn’t the only bad news that reached him. He heard that Lee Hyun-seung, the man who had stabbed him in the back, was preparing for his official debut as a Writer.

If it were just a normal debut, he would have dismissed it as pathetic. But it wasn’t just any debut. Lee Hyun-seung was preparing as a co-writer with Park Hee-jeong, an assistant writer who had worked under Ho-jun—another person who had betrayed him in the past.

To Baek Seung-chul, this felt like a blatant challenge directed at him. He felt such a combination couldn’t have been formed otherwise. Of course, this was also a result of Baek Seung-chul’s overinflated ego. CEO Han had simply paired two people together whose strengths and weaknesses complemented each other to prepare them for their debut.

Baek Seung-chul didn’t see it that way, and as a result, he watched their movements closely. He soon found what he considered “decisive evidence” that they were targeting him: they were trying to cast Tae-ha as the main character of their drama.

Attempting to cast Tae-ha, the man who had “stolen” Shin So-hee from him. To Baek Seung-chul, their intentions were clear. He was so aggravated he couldn’t even sleep.

Then, a brilliant idea struck him. He would stop his current work, quickly write a new script, and cast Tae-ha in his own project instead.

‘If that happens, Lee Hyun-seung and Park Hee-jeong will be left with nothing after all their effort.’

It wasn’t a thought a normal person would easily come up with. However, Baek Seung-chul was confident that even if he wrote a script quickly, it would be better than anything Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung could produce. He had always been a fast writer, and his track record proved his skill.

Hurrying back from his vacation, Baek Seung-chul began writing the script while relentlessly driving his three newly assigned assistant writers. He finished the script in just a few days and hurried to send it to Tae-ha.

He also gave Seoljungmae strict instructions. He told them to call AH Entertainment separately and pressure them to ensure Tae-ha chose his work. This was the process through which Baek Seung-chul’s script had arrived before Tae-ha.

And Baek Seung-chul was certain of his success.

“I wrote it as a solo male lead, so there’s nothing to even think about. He’ll definitely choose my work, no matter what sweet deal Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung offer him.”

In his mind, it wasn’t even a fair fight. Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung were just rookie writers who had proven nothing as leads, whereas he was Baek Seung-chul. He was the Republic of Korea’s top drama writer with a string of successes. Even without reading the script, Tae-ha would choose him. And if he did read it, the choice was even more obvious. His script would be far superior to theirs.

In fact, Baek Seung-chul was offended by the very idea of being compared to those two. He believed he could write better than them even if he used his feet. He couldn’t imagine any option other than Tae-ha choosing him.

This didn’t mean Baek Seung-chul viewed Tae-ha positively. He was only trying to cast him as the solo lead because the situation demanded it; he actually disliked Tae-ha. He thought of him as an insolent brat who had snatched Shin So-hee away right under his nose. Even though Tae-ha had proven his skill in two projects as a Writer and performed impressively as an Actor, Baek Seung-chul had no intention of acknowledging him.

He was Baek Seung-chul, and Tae-ha was just a greenhorn who had proven himself a few times. He intended to use this opportunity to show Tae-ha the clear difference in their levels.

He also planned to break Tae-ha in as an Actor. Since he was a young and promising talent, if he was “tamed” properly, Baek Seung-chul thought he could use him in various future projects. Like a hunting dog.

Without a single doubt that Tae-ha would choose his work, Baek Seung-chul even planned for the future. He raised his voice at the assistant writers who had recently joined his studio.

“Is there still no word from that insolent brat, Kang Tae-ha?”

However…

“I just got word from the director, and he says Kang Tae-ha has officially declined the casting offer.”

“What?”

Hearing the assistant writer’s words, Baek Seung-chul doubted his own ears. He had promised a solo lead role, yet his offer had been rejected. It was unbelievable.

Standing dazed for a moment as he lost his sense of reality, Baek Seung-chul suddenly felt his blood pressure spike. At the same time, unable to contain his rage, he screamed.

“Hey! Did you hear that right? How could Kang Tae-ha reject my work? He rejected my work? Huh?”

Baek Seung-chul’s voice was incredibly loud, booming like a freight train. Countless assistant writers who had passed through his studio had been overwhelmed by that voice and hadn’t been able to utter a peep. The history of verbal abuse, physical violence, and personal attacks in his studio had been sustained by that very voice.

But…

“I heard correctly. Kang Tae-ha has rejected your work, Writer.”

The new assistant writer who delivered the bad news showed no sign of fear. It wasn’t just him; the other two assistant writers didn’t seem afraid of Baek Seung-chul at all. Instead, their eyes looked as if they were observing someone strange.

The truth often stings the most. His buttons pushed, Baek Seung-chul succumbed to his old habits and raised his hand.

“How dare this brat glare at me!”

*Slap!*

Baek Seung-chul’s hand struck the assistant writer’s cheek. In that moment, he regained a bit of his senses and thought, ‘Oh no.’

The words of the CEO of Seoljungmae before he returned from vacation flashed through his mind.

[‘Kids these days aren’t like they used to be, so you have to be careful. They don’t understand that you have to endure to finally taste the fruit of success. So, no matter how angry you get, please don’t lay a hand on them. I can handle anything else, but that.’]

In short, he had been warned never to use physical violence against an assistant writer. Baek Seung-chul knew the current climate, so he had intended to follow the CEO’s advice. But just now, unable to control his temper, he had hit the assistant writer, and he finally realized why the CEO had given him that advice.

“What? You hit me?”

The assistant writer who had been slapped glared at Baek Seung-chul as if he wanted to kill him. And that wasn’t all. As if they had anticipated this, the other two assistant writers were recording the scene with their handphones.

Flustered, Baek Seung-chul spoke to the two recording him.

“You… what do you think you’re doing? Put those down right now! Do you hear me?”

But Baek Seung-chul didn’t have time to worry about those two. The assistant writer who had been hit was approaching him.

“You son of a bitch. The rumors were so filthy I thought something like this might happen, and it really did. Hey, stop recording for a second. I need to hit this guy, too.”

The two assistant writers lowered their phones, and at the same time…

*Slap!*

Baek Seung-chul was struck across the face by the assistant writer he had just slapped. The force was incomparable to Baek Seung-chul’s own. The proof was that he went rolling across the floor the moment he was hit.

Baek Seung-chul clutched his red, swollen cheek and stammered with a bewildered expression.

“You… you…”

But the assistant writer just spat a curse at him.

“Fuck. You’re nothing.”

—

At the same time.

Tae-ha was in the middle of a conversation with Go Seok-jun, the CEO of AH Entertainment.

Go Seok-jun asked Tae-ha, “Are you really planning to reject Writer Baek Seung-chul’s project?”