Chapter 59: The Grand Historical Saga

There are certain sins that cannot be tolerated for any reason in the Republic of Korea.

The first is losing to Japan in a Korea-Japan match in sports.

The second is succumbing to Japan politically.

The third is showing pro-Japanese tendencies emotionally.

That's right.

If you are a citizen of Korea, you must never be unpleasantly entangled with Japan under any circumstances.

And after repeatedly scheming and failing with all kinds of tricks, CL Media finally succeeded in associating that thorn in their side, the author Lee Junghyuk, with the keyword “pro-Japanese.”

And the effect was… far greater than expected.

-If you look at Lee Junghyuk’s works, there’s a lot of Japanese stuff in them. Even the way he deals with twins ㅇㅅㅇ

-I heard this guy’s divorce reason was cheating?

-He pretends to be normal on the surface, but acts shady underneath. That’s exactly how those pro-Japanese authors behave.

Now, even baseless rumors were being mixed in and spreading across the internet as if they were true.

Seeking some advice, I casually brought up the subject with Author Park Eunsook.

‘This too shall pass. I’ve been through it all ㅇㅇ.’

She brushed it off just like that, and all I could do was burn with frustration inside.

“I should stay off the internet for a while.”

With a heavy heart, I moved the mouse and closed the browser window.

For a moment, I even considered not turning on my laptop at all for a while.

Just then, with a cheerful ding— sound, a new notification popped up from Godflix for the first time in ages.

A new notification has arrived!

[Gold Quest (#1)]

-Produce a ‘long-form drama’ with a viewership rating of 20% or higher

-Reward: 1 Wish Coupon (B-rank)

The main quest from Godflix, which had been silent for the past several months, had a difficult condition as expected.

‘How much was a B-rank wish coupon again?’

I clicked on the wish coupon guide on the Godflix page to check.

[Wish Coupon (C-rank): 1,000,000,000 won]

[Wish Coupon (B-rank): 5,000,000,000 won]

[Wish Coupon (A-rank): 10,000,000,000 won]

[Wish Coupon (S-rank): 50,000,000,000 won]

[Wish Coupon (L-rank): 100,000,000,000 won]

The price of a B-rank wish coupon was a staggering five billion won.

Last time, with a C-rank wish coupon, I received a reward that would have been impossible under normal circumstances—an accidental encounter with Areum.

I was excited to see how far a five-billion-won B-rank wish could be granted, but based on my last experience, even material wishes within five billion won were possible, so it was a reward that anyone would be desperate for.

‘A 20% viewership rating… I’ve hit that number before, so it’s not impossible.’

However, there was one condition that caught my eye: it had to be a ‘long-form drama.’

Typically, a drama is considered a mini-series at 16 episodes, and sometimes there are 2–4 more episodes as side stories or additions, but even if it’s over 16 episodes, it’s not classified as a long-form drama.

Especially these days, if a drama is popular, they just make a Season 2, not extend the episodes into a long-form. It’s rare to see broadcast schedules increase like that.

‘Has there even been a long-form drama recently…?’

In the ‘90s and early 2000s, when people mostly sat in front of the TV and watched dramas, long-form dramas were pretty common, but recently I couldn’t recall seeing any.

Even in my memories, most of what comes up are sitcoms, but Korean sitcoms have pretty much gone extinct since 2016.

Just in case, I checked to see if there were any long-form dramas on Godflix, but all the ones I could access—those with ratings in the 2-point range—were mini-series.

It was impossible to just transfer an existing long-form drama from Godflix as before.

For a moment, I felt at a loss, but soon pulled myself together and decided to look for the best option in my current situation.

‘Still, even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out.’

I’m someone who’s started from the very bottom of life, climbed up, fallen again, and stood up on my own through Godflix.

Even if I fail this quest, it’s not like I’ll get kidney stones as a penalty like before, and there’s no deadline for completing the quest, so there was no need to panic.

First, I needed to spend some time considering what kind of long-form drama would allow me to complete the quest.

Lost in deep thought about my next steps, a KakaoTalk notification popped up on my phone screen.

-Actor Park Hyungjun: Hello, Writer Junghyuk! I was thinking about going to the fishing meet I mentioned before tomorrow morning. Are you free?^^

It was a message from actor Park Hyungjun, with whom I’d recently had drinks along with Changsu and Deputy Chief Jo.

I didn’t expect him to act on his “Let’s go fishing sometime” comment so soon.

Normally, I might have considered politely declining out of laziness.

‘Maybe going fishing will help me sort out my thoughts.’

When you have a lot on your mind, sometimes meeting people and getting lost in deep thoughts while fishing can be a good way to clear things up.

-Sounds good. If you let me know the time and place, I’ll be there.

***

Early morning in Daebudo, Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province.

Among fishermen, Daebudo is already well-known as a fishing spot in the metropolitan area, and today it was the meeting point.

Unfortunately, Changsu and Deputy Chief Jo couldn’t join today.

It was scheduled on such short notice, and both of them held positions where they couldn’t just leave, whether it be at the hospital or the bank.

When I arrived at the designated dock, I saw Park Hyungjin unloading what seemed like a truckload of gear from the trunk of a gray SUV.

Since it was still rather chilly, he was dressed in a lightweight padded jacket, a long-brimmed fishing cap, and black sports sunglasses—looking more like a fisherman than an actor.

“Writer, over here! Haha. Thanks for coming all this way.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“Oh right, let me introduce you to the ‘Ajae Club’ fishing group I mentioned last time.”

‘Ajae Club’ was the name of a celebrity fishing circle centered around actor Park Hyungjun, with members ranging from their 30s to 50s.

At Park Hyungjun’s gesture, three men who looked almost identically dressed, as if in a team uniform, put down the gear they were carrying and came forward.

“Hello, I’m actor Lee Sungjae.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Junghyuk, currently writing dramas.”

At first, I didn’t recognize any of them because of their dark outfits, but looking closer, Lee Sungjae was definitely actor material, with a height well over 180cm and a solid build.

“Haha, it’s an honor to meet the renowned Writer Lee Junghyuk these days.”

“The honor’s mine, Lee Sungjae. I’ve always wanted to meet you, and never expected it to be like this.”

Lee Sungjae was the star of Korea’s representative series ‘Squid’ on Setflix, the world’s biggest OTT platform, which had the highest viewership.

Now, he was even cast as the first Asian lead in the US Star Wars series, a true star among stars.

I never dreamed I’d meet someone like Lee Sungjae, who’s achieved so much more than the title of “top star,” out here on Daebudo’s open sea.

I was suddenly struck by how impressive Park Hyungjun’s connections were.

‘And the guy next to Lee Sungjae… he really looks like that guy, doesn’t he?’

Sure enough, standing next to Lee Sungjae was actor Jung Sungwoo, known as his best friend and business partner.

“Hello, I’m actor Jung Sungwoo.”

Jung Sungwoo, like Lee Sungjae, had started as a teen star in the 90s and still held the title of top “handsome actor.”

His distinctive, rough tone and overwhelming acting were second to none in Korea.

Jung Sungwoo, who didn’t look anywhere near his fifties, greeted me with a big, playful smile and reached out to shake my hand.

When I shook his hand, he gripped mine with both of his, his eyes sparkling clear as a lake.

“I’m a fan, Writer. I never miss any of your works.”

“Ah, thank you. I’m so happy that someone like Jung Sungwoo reads my work.”

“These days, there’s hardly anyone in Korea who hasn’t seen your dramas.”

With a warm smile, Park Hyungjun put his arm around Jung Sungwoo’s shoulder.

“Haha, Sungwoo was so excited when he heard you were coming today.”

“Thank you so much for inviting me. Looks like we’re taking a boat?”

“Yes, the captain is someone I’ve known a long time, and he’ll take us to a perfect fishing spot.”

At the dock, a small fishing boat was already waiting for the four of us.

I half-expected world-famous actors to be boarding a cruise or a yacht, so I was impressed by how simple and neat the little fishing boat was.

These top stars were known for their down-to-earth personalities, and seeing them without any unnecessary luxury or extravagance made them feel even more approachable.

“Well then, let’s head out.”

The elderly captain skillfully piloted the boat.

After about 40 minutes out at sea, we reached our spot. The group, clearly used to this, unpacked and prepared their fishing rods, each moving to their preferred spot.

Park Hyungjun checked my gear and handed me a rod with a friendly smile.

“Hope you catch a big one. I’ll head to my spot now.”

Since these guys were known to be heavy drinkers, I wondered if they might start drinking and chatting on the boat, but they all focused intently on their rods, as if they were here just for fishing.

I too set my rod along the side near the stern and found a spot.

‘This is nice. Good for thinking alone.’

Staring out at the gently rolling waves in peace, my tangled thoughts settled down, and I found myself mulling over various ideas—more than I ever did in my studio.

‘A long-form drama…’

I calmly recalled the most memorable long-form dramas from my memory.

, , , and so on.

The epic historical dramas I used to watch every week on TV in my youth came to mind first.

Especially —it was incredibly popular in Korea, but I remembered that after it finished, it aired in Asian countries and achieved truly legendary results.

‘If I recall, in Mongolia, it had a 90% viewership. That’s just crazy.’

Come to think of it, these masterpieces of epic historical drama were the trailblazers that not only promoted national prestige but also introduced Korean drama to the world.

Suddenly, the avalanche of hate comments about me that had recently filled the comment sections came to mind.

‘Some people were calling me a traitor.’

Long-form dramas were important, but it was clear that public reputation was also something I needed to be mindful of as an author.

Among the works listed on Godflix, there was one historical drama, if not an epic.

It was called , with a rating around 2.6—which was average for a Godflix work—but I remembered being impressed by the subject matter.

It depicted King Sejong working with the scholars of the Hall of Worthies to create Hangul, and instead of the gentle image most people associate with Sejong, it showed him as a charismatic and powerful ruler, which was a refreshing take.

However, compared to  and , which I’d given to Im Seonghee and Jung Taemi, the production process was more complicated and the rating was 0.1 lower, so I’d pushed it down the priority list.

‘What if I remade that drama into a long-form version?’

After collaborating with Park Eunsook, my confidence in my own skills had grown, and if the premise and settings were interesting, it didn’t seem impossible at all.

As my thoughts kept linking from one to another, the fishing bobber on the water suddenly shook violently.

Noticing this, Park Hyungjun shouted out to me.

“Writer, pull!”

I quickly reeled in the line with all my strength.

Soon, a large, thrashing rockfish broke the surface of the water.

“Wow, it’s a big one! Congratulations, Writer!”

As I looked at the big rockfish flapping on the deck, I decided to make up my mind.

‘I’ll write a long-form drama as a grand historical saga.’