2030, Seoul.
A world overrun by Zombies.
There, a man with his face hidden beneath a grimy gray cloth is in the middle of a desperate chase.
Zombies pursue him with relentless ferocity.
The man leaps across outdoor units atop the building with desperate speed.
At the same time, the gray cloth is whipped away by the gritty wind.
His face is revealed.
This is the protagonist of our story, Han Seo-yul (Han Yun-seong).
Han Seo-yul continues the dangerously close chase.
“Kkyaaaah!”
Just before ducking into a building to hide, a Zombie bites his shoulder.
Even in that state, he barely manages to slam shut the heavy steel door, blocking the Zombies’ entry, and collapses onto the floor.
Boom, ku-oom, ku-woong.
Zombies hurl themselves against the steel door, showing no sign of giving up on Han Seo-yul.
The screws on the steel door are loosening bit by bit.
From below, he hears the sound of Zombies climbing the stairs.
To make matters worse, the infection from the Zombie virus is spreading from his shoulder.
Han Seo-yul realizes there is no way to survive this.
Feeling his mind grow foggy, Han Seo-yul pulls a Syringe and a Recording Device from his breast pocket.
He presses the record button, and at last, Han Seo-yul’s first lines begin.
“April 21st, 2030, 17:31. I was bitten on the shoulder by a Zombie. I can’t delay the experiment any longer. I will become the test subject myself. Administering Space-501.”
The Syringe pierces Han Seo-yul’s forearm.
As the substance inside is injected, Han Seo-yul’s consciousness turns hazy.
And when he regains his senses, Han Seo-yul wakes up in the past.
***
In front of his eyes, the first episode of is being Broadcast.
Watching it together with assistant Writer Jeong Hyo-seop, Taeha had a thought.
“Yun Taeseong’s directing isn’t as artistic as Director Lee Hae-ik’s, that’s for sure.”
But that didn’t mean the directing was bad.
On the contrary, because it was so by-the-book, it gave off a clean and understated impression.
It also had the effect of adding a sense of pace and tension to the Drama as a whole.
Yun Taeseong’s directing style was consistently like this.
When Han Seo-yul woke up in the past, unsure whether this was a dream, or if the world of Zombies had been the dream.
And later, when he was shocked to confirm that his actions could change the future.
Or when, at the research institute developing a new drug, he resolved to stop the future where the Zombie virus would be leaked.
With his unique, no-frills style, he perfectly distilled the essence of the story’s excitement.
Because of this, Taeha found himself caught up without realizing it.
He found himself, fists clenched, fully immersed in the Drama.
Taeha glanced sideways at Jeong Hyo-seop, sitting at the edge of his seat.
Jeong Hyo-seop was holding a pen, watching the Drama, but there was almost nothing written in his notebook.
In other words, he was so absorbed that he’d forgotten even to take notes.
“If Jeong Hyo-seop, who even reviewed the edited version with me, is this engrossed…”
The audience’s reaction would likely be no different.
Satisfied, Taeha smiled.
Meanwhile, episode 1 of was depicting Han Seo-yul’s desperate efforts to stop the development of the Zombie virus.
He demonstrated through experimentation that combining molecules of the anticancer drug would result in fatal side effects.
Thus, Han Seo-yul succeeded in stopping the research that once created the Zombie virus.
Han Seo-yul believed he had stopped the spread of the Zombie virus, but the next day at work, that hope was shattered.
“I’ll personally take charge of Project Conquest Cancer Cells.”
The unexpected move by the Research Center Director.
At the same time, a memory Han Seo-yul had forgotten surfaced—astonishingly…
“Come to think of it, there was someone who kept pressuring the researchers to speed up the Zombie virus research.”
That person was the Research Center Director.
The cold look in the Director’s eyes met the determined gaze of Han Seo-yul, filled with resolve to save humanity from destruction.
That was the ending of episode 1 of .
And as the ending played out, Taeha clenched his fist.
He instinctively realized that he had done it.
It was just then that the doorbell rang.
***
At the same time.
Kang Sojeong watched the ending of episode 1 of and thought to herself.
“Did Taeha really write this?”
At the same moment, she recalled the first time the Script for was brought to her.
To be honest, Kang Sojeong found the Script for incredibly entertaining.
And she was convinced.
would definitely achieve significant success.
Even just reading the Script gave her a sense of its quality.
Vivid characters, clear purpose in the directions, dialogue that flowed off the tongue, twists upon twists in the plot…
Not a single flaw; every element was perfect.
Yet, in the end, Kang Sojeong declined the offer to join .
She couldn’t help it.
To Kang Sojeong, there wasn’t a role for her to take in .
“…If only the Main Female Lead’s share were a bit bigger, I would have seriously considered it.”
Kang Sojeong had succeeded several times in proving herself, and now she had to aim for starring as the sole female lead.
A cameo might have been different.
But for a work like this, the loss would have been too great.
“Even if I wanted to join, there would have been disagreements with the Entertainment Agency over the appearance fee.”
It was clear just by looking—the Main Female Lead’s set appearance fee in was lower than what Kang Sojeong usually received.
It was only natural, since the role had a smaller share.
That meant Kang Sojeong would have to lower her fee, and the agency would never agree to that.
That’s why she considered a cameo appearance instead.
She wanted to participate, but being the Main Female Lead was virtually impossible.
“It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do.”
With lingering regret, Kang Sojeong politely declined the casting offer.
Afterward, she forgot about for a while.
She’d gotten busy after landing her next project.
Then, Kang Sojeong remembered again when Han Yun-seong was making the rounds promoting it.
She also learned about the rumors of discord and the Rookie Writer’s Dual Employment Controversy.
But Kang Sojeong reacted differently from others.
“That was a Rookie’s side project? How can that be?”
As someone who’d read the Script for , this was her immediate reaction.
It was shocking.
In Kang Sojeong’s opinion, was the sort of work only a veteran Writer could create by pouring in their very soul.
And she wasn’t worried about the controversy that had caused such a stir at the time.
Such reactions usually faded naturally once the Drama started Broadcasting.
Especially for a Drama like , which was sure to receive rave reviews upon airing.
“The whole issue was that the Rookie Writer was seen as unfocused because of dual jobs—makes sense, I suppose. Anyway, I should remember this Writer. It’s easy since his name is the same as our Taeha.”
With her surprise subsiding, Kang Sojeong returned to her routine.
That was when news reached her—something she couldn’t just ignore.
It was that the Writer of was none other than Taeha.
At first, even hearing it, she couldn’t believe it.
Even after reading Internet Articles that dominated the portals, she felt the same.
But after watching the YouTube Shorts from , she had no choice but to believe.
In the YouTube Shorts, Taeha personally announced that he was the Writer of .
Stunned, Kang Sojeong was left speechless for a long while, before roughly grabbing her phone and dialing a number.
Then,
– “Oh, noona.”
The moment a voice answered on the other end, Kang Sojeong shouted.
“Hey! Why didn’t you tell me!”
– “Ah, ah. Sorry.”
So it was.
The person who answered Kang Sojeong’s call.
That person was Taeha.
Listening to Taeha’s voice, with not a trace of remorse, Kang Sojeong was left exasperated.
“I mean, why do you always… If I’d known you wrote this Drama, I would have cut my appearance fee to get in somehow!”
– “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. Well, everything worked out in the end, didn’t it? Yoo Yeonha, who took your place, is a good Actor too.”
“That’s true, but…”
Kang Sojeong was disappointed she couldn’t help Taeha, but above all, she felt a bit hurt.
That Taeha would keep such important news from even her.
It felt as if the emotional distance they’d finally bridged had opened up again.
But perhaps reading her feelings, Taeha spoke up.
– “And, above all, I wanted to tell you after the Drama had aired a bit. If I said I was the Writer of , would the Drama have even been Broadcast? Would it go well? The Family would just worry.”
– “You know how I tend to make people worry.”
At Taeha’s mischievous words, Kang Sojeong let out a sigh, “Hoo.”
A sigh that held both lingering disappointment and understanding.
Yet, at Taeha’s casual mention of ‘Family’, her feelings eased a little, and she spoke.
“We wouldn’t have worried.”
– “Huh?”
“We wouldn’t have worried. I read a Script that was bound to succeed—how could I be worried? So next time, write a show with a female lead, okay? One where I can appear without any issues.”
– “Sure. I will.”
Taeha replied with his signature bright, cheerful voice, and that was their last conversation before aired.
Now, Kang Sojeong was once again watching episode 1 of , full of admiration.
And how could she not be?
Episode 1 of had every scene she’d imagined when reading the Script brought perfectly to life.
In other words, not just the performances of the Actors, but the directing, editing, and even the sound met her every expectation.
This was why so many people, even with a great Script, cast, and Director, still couldn’t be sure of success.
The harmony of it all.
Only when this harmony is achieved can a Drama reach the heights of success.
There’s a reason people say that for a Drama to do well, even the dog passing by has to act perfectly.
For a collaborative comprehensive art to succeed, every single element must reach a satisfying standard.
And today, episode 1 of had shown just that harmony in action.
Kang Sojeong smiled contentedly, thinking that perhaps a masterpiece Drama was about to be born.
“My Champagne, sent by Quick to arrive at the ending time, won’t be left in the fridge, it seems.”
Indeed.
The reason Taeha’s studio doorbell rang.
It was because Kang Sojeong had sent Champagne by Quick.
It was a result well worth raising a toast.