Chapter 36: The Writer Behind the Script

A few days later.

Taeha met Han Yun-seong at Sallamander Studio.

Watching Taeha sit with Choi Daepyo, Han Yun-seong shook his head in disbelief.

“How could you possibly be the writer of ? How on earth…”

Even in the moment Han Yun-seong finished signing the appearance contract, he kept repeating the same thing.

He simply couldn’t believe that Taeha was the writer of .

Taeha shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“How many times are you going to repeat the same thing? At this rate, I might end up dragging my Notebook to your place to finish writing episode 9. If that’s what it takes to make you believe.”

“Really?”

Han Yun-seong asked back, as if he’d been waiting for that.

At those words, Han Yun-seong’s Manager, who was sitting nearby, burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha. ‘Really,’ he says. The kid even jokes around.”

Everyone in the room joined in with the Manager’s laughter.

But the laughter soon died down.

It was because Han Yun-seong’s expression was just that serious.

As an awkward silence fell and the atmosphere turned a bit strange, Taeha lightened the mood with a playful tone.

“Ah, seriously, do you really want me to do that? No way. If I feel pressured, I won’t be able to write a single word.”

“Is that so? Yeah. I figured.”

Han Yun-seong pressed his lips together, looking a little regretful.

It was obvious he wanted to directly confirm with his own eyes that Taeha was the writer of .

Thanks to that, the mood grew lighter again, and Choi Daepyo smiled and changed the subject.

“Since our actor has confirmed his appearance, everything will move full speed ahead until filming. As you requested, we’ll make sure filming can begin this Winter.”

It was now August.

Even if they hurried preparations, finalized programming, and set up the Director, it was a rather tight schedule.

But Choi Daepyo had his reasons for such a schedule.

Like many actors lately, Han Yun-seong’s schedule was incredibly tight.

That made reliable actors who could confirm their participation all the more precious.

That’s why filming had to start this Winter and wrap up by next summer.

Otherwise, schedules would overlap with other projects, making it hard to coordinate shooting and manage the actors’ conditions.

“If you can make that happen, I’d be grateful. You’re considering 6/\/ as the platform?”

“Yes. With Han Yun-seong agreeing to appear, I think any broadcaster would want it, but the style of the work suits that side best.”

“That’s true.”

Aside from that, Han Yun-seong meticulously checked the list of the Director and other cast members.

Currently, the leading candidate for Director of was Yun Taeseong.

Director Yun Taeseong, a ten-year veteran, was famous for his work on , considered a masterpiece at Dr. Deoksa.

Unlike Director Lee Hae-ik, who was known for obsessively aesthetic direction, Yun Taeseong’s style was renowned for being stable and well-balanced.

He was particularly adept at on-site management and control.

The proof was that in ten years directing various projects, not once had he caused a single incident or accident on set.

His only flaw was that he’d never directed a mega-hit.

But that wasn’t due to lack of ability; it was simply bad luck.

Most of the works Yun Taeseong had directed so far had been ones he was forced to take on at the last minute.

He gave off a strong vibe as a ‘solid safe pick.’

Still, Choi Daepyo strongly recommended Yun Taeseong as the Director for .

He judged that a field-experienced person like Yun Taeseong was exactly what a rookie writer like Taeha needed.

Taeha also had no objections to Yun Taeseong directing.

No, he actually preferred a Director with a steady hand.

‘At my current level, working with someone like Director Lee Hae-ik is out of the question.’

Given the circumstances, a stable Director like Yun Taeseong was better than one with a strong personal style.

A Director who only had strong personal flair but hadn’t reached a certain level might push their uniqueness and end up lowering the quality of the work.

Just as Lee Hae-ik had done for years.

So for Taeha, Yun Taeseong was the best available option among the Directors he could work with.

Luckily, Yun Taeseong was positive about directing .

He had indicated he’d officially join as soon as the male lead was confirmed.

“With Han Yun-seong cast, Yun Taeseong’s participation is practically guaranteed.”

Casting for the Female Lead was also going well.

Unfortunately, both the first and second choices for Female Lead, Kang Sojeong and Shin Jian, declined.

The reason was simple.

Both were too high-profile to appear in a male-lead-centric drama.

It made sense. After her breakout in , Kang Sojeong had succeeded in several lead roles in a row, so it was natural she’d want to hold out for a Female Lead-centric project.

Shin Jian, too, though not quite at the same level, had grown enough to expect roles with equal screen time as the Main Character.

So it was inevitable that , with its clear male lead focus, wouldn’t satisfy either of them.

“Of course, I could always use the ‘cousin card’ with Kang Sojeong, but…”

He decided against it, not wanting to put her in an awkward position.

In any case, the Female Lead wasn’t all that important in .

Most importantly, the third-choice candidate, Yoo Yeonha, was very positive about joining .

“She’s also expressed willingness to join once the male lead and Director are confirmed.”

Yoo Yeonha had steadily built a reputation by handling several supporting roles well, and was being considered for leading roles in various projects.

Her acting skills were good, but she lacked recognition and looks compared to those who carried Roko or Melo leads, so she was often considered just a bit short for Main Character status.

Overall, she was often cast in supporting roles—good, but not quite enough for a true lead.

“But that’s exactly why she’s perfect for the Female Lead of .”

In , the Female Lead was technically the main supporting character—her role was closer to a side character.

With the Male Lead being Han Yun-seong, one of the hottest actors at the moment, it was better to have a Female Lead of this type.

It helped cover up the lack of impact in the Female Lead role.

Han Yun-seong himself also seemed positive about Yoo Yeonha joining.

Unlike Seon Min-gi, he didn’t seem pleased simply to have all the attention on himself.

“Ah, Yoo Yeonha! I know who she is. She’s a good actress.”

For Han Yun-seong, acting ability was a key consideration.

It showed just how much he cared about immersing himself in the role and the quality of the project as a whole.

With Yoo Yeonha, both role immersion and project quality would benefit.

Han Yun-seong spent quite a while discussing various aspects of before heading out.

At one point, their conversation ran so long they had to move to a restaurant for a meal together.

Even after all that, he seemed a bit disappointed, saying,

“Do you have time? If you’re free, want to grab a drink nearby? I know a great cocktail bar.”

Han Yun-seong even made such an offer.

Taeha shook his head, politely refusing.

Now that the filming schedule was roughly decided, he felt he needed to hurry and write the script.

“That’s a shame. I wanted to hear more about , too. Next time, let’s have a drink. If you really have nowhere to write, let me know.”

After Han Yun-seong, who still wanted to watch Taeha write in person, left, Taeha thought to himself.

“Come to think of it, the final episode of is just around the corner.”

Which meant, the wrap-up party for was also right in front of him.

***

finally ended with a strong rating of 18.4%.

The last scene, where Jinseong defeats his father and mourns quietly by Lee Jae-hyun’s grave, drew a great response from viewers.

It was a perfect ending without a single wasted moment.

Of course, quite a few viewers left comments saying they wouldn’t have been satisfied unless Lee Jae-hyun died for real.

But those comments were simply an expression of regret over Lee Jae-hyun’s death.

As proven by its fourth place in ITBC’s all-time ratings, was undoubtedly a masterpiece with far more strengths than weaknesses.

For that reason, the wrap-up party held a few days later at a spot in Hannam-dong was filled with a fantastic atmosphere.

Satisfied with the rare success, the group enjoyed a full course from the First Round to the Third Round at 180.

Even as the smell of grilled Korean beef from the First Round lingered, those who made it to the Third Round grew tipsy and loud.

It was so noisy, Taeha thought it was lucky they’d rented out the whole place.

Even after three rounds of drinking, few people had left for home; everyone seemed to be in great spirits.

“…Wow, amazing. How did they even hold back from having a gathering like this until now?”

Taeha thought to himself as he watched Staff push Director Lee Hae-ik and Kim Jeong-sik into doing a Love Shot.

Honestly, watching two middle-aged men do a Love Shot wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight.

“What a mess. No one here has any class.”

As if thinking the same, a voice came from across the table.

Turning his head, Taeha saw Seon Min-gi, who’d only been drinking wine, now flamboyantly mixing somaek.

He lined up beer glasses and dropped soju shots on top with the ease of someone who’d done it countless times.

Seon Min-gi handed Taeha one of the drinks and said,

“Drink. Not a drop left.”

“Hyung, do you know how many glasses I’ve already had for you to say that?”

“Don’t be weak. The only thing worse than having no class is being weak.”

Perhaps he was really drunk.

At some point, Seon Min-gi’s speech was full of Second-year Syndrome.

Looking at Seon Min-gi, Taeha sighed and emptied the glass in one go.

Luckily, his body handled alcohol quite well.

His liver must be healthy—he seemed to be able to drink even more than Lee Ho-jun, who’d been called a heavy drinker.

Meanwhile, Ju Hyo-jin and Han Woo-ri, sitting at the same table, could barely lift their heavy somaek glasses and nodded off where they sat.

Incidentally, the reason the two hadn’t gone home and were still at the table was because of Seon Min-gi.

Drunk, Seon Min-gi was more of a Gondae than expected.

Anyway, when Taeha finished his glass, Seon Min-gi beamed in satisfaction.

“As expected of Kang Taeha. Only you fit my tastes.”

Is he a Black Flame Dragon or something?

The more the drinking went on, the darker Seon Min-gi’s words became, but Taeha just nodded along.

“Yes. Thank you.”

But the next thing Seon Min-gi said couldn’t be ignored.

“Even thinking about it again, it won’t do.”

“What won’t?”

“Us parting ways like this.”

“What?”

At Taeha’s question, Seon Min-gi paused for a moment, then spoke.

“You, work with me again.”