Chapter 128: Hollywood is tough

I remember seeing a shocking scene on a television channel that specialized in cartoons when I was a child.

As a young boy, I would sneak out to the living room late at night, around 12:00 AM, to avoid my parents’ eyes. I would throw a blanket over the television, crawl inside, and watch programs at the lowest possible volume.

The channels I watched most often were 'Universe' and 'Champ TV'.

I consumed everything from various Japanese animations to American cartoons.

Even if I didn’t fully understand animations actually targeted at adults rather than children, like the famous *The Jimsons*...

The princess stories and fairy tales from *Mizney* were more than enchanting enough for a young child.

Among them, there is one cartoon that still sticks in my memory.

It was *One Hundred and One Dalmatians*.

I was only in the early years of elementary school back then. Seeing Cruella—who led a hundred and one puppies, had a bone-thin body, wore red shoes, and styled her hair in white and black just like the Dalmatians she hunted—made me tremble under my blanket.

Her wickedness in trying to buy and turn 101 adorable puppies into a fur coat was terrifying, but it was likely the overwhelming impact of her appearance that seared itself into my young brain.

And now, a grown man of South Korea in his mid-thirties has stopped in his tracks once again at a shocking sight.

A woman with a bob cut—dyed blonde on the left and black on the right, perfectly divided at the crown—was walking in with the click-clack of her heels. She wore a mountain-like fur coat, looking exactly like Cruella from *One Hundred and One Dalmatians*.

"Hello, trash!"

Her grand entrance made her look less like a showrunner and more like the top show host in America.

As she took off her triangular sunglasses and gave a quick whirl — I wondered if she was reading my mind and trying to play along, but I could only keep my mouth shut.

As if her entrance was perfectly normal, the people gathered in the large conference room greeted her energetically.

"Welcome, Samantha!"

"We’ve been waiting for you!"

"Whoo-hoo!"

The way they welcomed her with whistles was proof that she was the crazy bitch of this area, and everyone following her was just as insane.

As expected, the leader of the lunatics was on a different level.

Even Ted and Helen, who had been acting like ferocious wild dogs, were suddenly wagging their tails like mutts from some corner of North Chungcheong Province.

"Gasp. Samantha! That coat you’re wearing is beautiful. Is it a new arrival?"

"Helen. You don’t remember this?"

"Huh? Wait. No way. Is that the coat Robert wore in season 3 of *Kingdom Game*? The one made from hunting wild goats?"

"Heh. That’s right. Though they weren't real goats, of course."

"Oh, please. You really have a great sense of humor. I wanted that so badly! It’s gorgeous. It would’ve been too flashy if I wore it, but it’s perfect on you, Samantha."

"Helen. If you want something, take it. The reason you’re still under Ted is that you lack that kind of desire."

"Haha. Helen and I have been fighting like dogs for the past few days. Several bloody battles took place."

Ted, who was standing nearby, chimed in as he helped Samantha with her coat.

"Ted, are you still being pushed around by a third writer? How do you expect to take my spot like that?"

Samantha showed an overwhelming level of American seniority, not just through her appearance, but in every word and gesture.

In fact, she was a figure so famous that even I, living in a small country on the Asian peninsula, knew her well.

She was a writer with incredible experience, having written for *Prison Breaker*—the show that first got me into American dramas—as well as *Homeland* and *CSI: Los Angeles*.

I still remember the acceptance speech she gave when she won the Emmy Award for Best Writing.

'The best thing is within me. We must move forward without wavering.'

'At that level, maybe she should listen to others and waver a bit.'

To have an ego as unwavering as a high-end mattress...

It was no different from the spirit of a general standing at the vanguard to unify a continent.

Samantha scanned the room and briefly made eye contact with me.

She then immediately stepped up onto the raised platform.

"I met with the original author of *Kingdom Game* early this morning. That man asked me how we’re going to end it. Hmph. Isn't that a bit much coming from a guy who still hasn't finished the novels?"

I wondered if the eye contact had just been my imagination.

Among the many people there, she didn't seem to recognize a mere Asian part-timer and simply continued with what she had to say.

Samantha went on for a while about how exhausted she was from listening to the original author’s chatter.

*A Song of Fire and Wind*, the source material for *Kingdom Game*, was originally a masterpiece known as the textbook of the fantasy novel world.

However, after being adapted into the drama *Kingdom Game*, its popularity exploded worldwide, and it became a massive bestseller.

And now, as *Kingdom Game* entered its final season, the drama’s story had officially overtaken the progression of the original books.

It was understandable, as the original author hadn't released a new book in seven years.

It was the final chapter, the last mountain to climb, and his contemplation seemed to have deepened.

Samantha said the author had asked her how the drama would end, and she nagged the room for a plausible answer to give him.

Led by Ted and Helen, several people, including the main writing staff, offered their opinions.

Even the staff working on the periphery threw out various ideas.

"Is this really the best you can do?"

Samantha was not satisfied at all and continued to press them.

Those who had been squeezing out ideas until the very last moment were all knocked down.

"Whew. This won't do. Everyone, stop everything you’re doing and bring me a plausible answer by tomorrow morning."

But the indomitable Samantha showed no signs of fatigue even after a two-hour-long, one-on-many meeting. She left the conference room while maintaining the same high pressure she started with.

"Wow. She’s doing this over the final episode at a time like this?"

"What did the original author say to make her act like this?"

"Samantha is really out for blood."

Groans and sighs could be heard from everywhere.

It made sense. Since the final season’s production was confirmed, these people had been holed up here for two months having script meetings. How could they come up with an ending in a single day that they hadn't been able to figure out in all that time?

No, it was lunch, so they had less than 12 hours left.

'Man, Hollywood is tough.'

Suddenly, I missed my family back in Korea dearly.

***

The general story of *Kingdom Game* is as follows:

It is a story of eight kingdoms fighting fiercely to claim the single throne that will rule the continent.

It is rife with various relationships and emotions such as friendship, love, family, betrayal, lust, revenge, pity, and loyalty.

The reason this story received so much love compared to others was thanks to the diverse characters who were despicable yet human, and lovable yet frustrating at times.

But it was also due to the harsh narrative where characters tried desperately to escape their assigned fates, only to eventually follow their family’s destiny or meet death as fated.

A happy ending or a tragic ending.

If asked which makes for a good drama ending, the answer would vary depending on the viewer.

If asked which ending I would choose as a writer...

That, too, would depend on the writer’s values.

However, most writers agree on one thing.

A tragic ending leaves the strongest and longest-lasting impression on the audience’s mind.

When you think of the shows considered masterpieces in South Korea during the 2000s, most of them are tragedies.

This is because writers know all too well how stimulating the depth and desperation of a tragic character can be.

However, for modern audiences who have been exposed to stories through numerous video media since television became widespread in the seventies, tragedy was also nothing more than a 'predictable ending'.

Therefore, they had to consider dozens or hundreds of endings in various directions, rather than a simple happy or sad ending.

The geniuses of storytelling gathered here had also come up with and discarded countless endings that might occur to the average person.

They calculated every single word and every action of the characters to give viewers satisfaction with a slight twist hidden within the familiar.

'They really are fighting tooth and nail.'

It was a debate where the professionalism of these people I had observed so far truly shone.

But as they say, after all the tuning in the world, one eventually returns to the original.

In a meeting that lasted over six hours, dozens of people eventually split into two camps.

'Let's turn the righteous protagonist dark, show the contradiction that one must be covered in black blood to sit on the throne, and then kill him.' VS 'Let's not have him tied down by the throne and let him lead a new nation.'

A tragic sad ending versus a positive ending that might be a bit anticlimactic but implies the protagonist’s happiness.

The ones raising their voices over these two cutthroat results were, as expected, the second writer, Ted, and the third writer, Helen.

The staff, split in half like the Red Sea behind them, added weight to their respective sides by tossing in their own comments.

"What is the essence of this story? It’s about claiming the throne! Shouldn't the protagonist of this series, John Brown, obviously take the throne?"

"But John has always stood on the side of the weak against those who oppress and extort. If he becomes the same as them, how can he still be called the protagonist?"

While there were logical conversations like that...

"Are you John? Did you ask John if he wants to sit on the throne?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with him! John said he wants to kill all the morons like you and take the throne!"

"Holy moly, what the fuck!"

...a dogfight also broke out using vocabulary on par with children.

'Hmm. I guess after being here for a few days, this isn't even surprising anymore.'

I calmly wrote down the meeting minutes (or what I decided to call them) on my assigned laptop.

It was then.

**[Platinum Quest (#?)]**
**— Give an answer that will satisfy the original author of Kingdom Game!**
**— Success Reward: $50,000 cash**

Gatflix, which had been staying quiet, suddenly issued a quest as if it found my current situation interesting.

When I clicked the window that popped up at the bottom of the laptop screen, it kindly gave me a mission of the highest difficulty.

Moreover, since it was a mission received on the American continent, it said it would pay in dollars.

At a time when the value of the won had plummeted, this was a very happy and profitable development, but...

'How am I supposed to come up with an ending when dozens of experts couldn't?'

It was absolutely ridiculous.

As I was huffing and puffing while looking at the laptop screen, Ted approached me.

"Junghyuk. Have you thought of an ending while watching the meeting so far?"

Heh.

If anyone heard him, they’d think he’d left the task of writing the ending to me last night.